Wikipedia talk:Dispute resolution noticeboard

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Dispute Resolution (inactive)

This article is within the scope of WikiProject Dispute Resolution, a project which is currently considered to be inactive.Dispute ResolutionWikipedia:WikiProject Dispute ResolutionTemplate:WikiProject Dispute ResolutionDispute Resolution articles

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Frequently asked questions

This FAQ page may be developed or changed over time.

Q1. Why was I invited to the discussion?

You have been listed by a filing editor in hopes that the discussion of content can be continued here with the guidance of a volunteer. You do not have to participate but are encouraged to.

Q2. Are resolutions enforceable?

The dispute resolution noticeboard is informal, and resolutions formed here are neither binding nor enforceable. DR/N relies on all involved parties to self-enforce the agreed upon resolution. Should the dispute continue with all or some involved parties ignoring the resolutions that they participated in, this may be considered as part of the next step of the DR process. Editors who continue a dispute after accepting a resolution may be perceived as disruptive by refusing to engage collaboratively on consensus.

Q3. If resolutions are not binding, why should I participate?

Wikipedia only works when editors collaborate to form a consensus. Discussion is as important in the editing process as editing itself. While participation is not a requirement at DR/N, refusing participation can be perceived as a refusal to collaborate, and is not conducive to consensus-building.

Q4. How long does a case last?

It depends on the dispute, but ideally no more than a week. Volunteers will attempt to resolve disputes as fast and as thoroughly as possible. A case can remain opened for longer than a week, if the participants are nearing a compromise.

Q5. Why are the volunteers not responding to my case?

The noticeboard has to handle a large number of cases, despite having only a small pool of volunteers. Some volunteer editors will not open a case if they are uncomfortable with or unfamiliar with the subject matter. The bot will flag the case after a set period of time if a volunteer's attention is still required.

Q6. Why was I asked to step back from a discussion?

Participants who go off-topic or become uncivil may be asked step back from the discussion if warnings for disruptive behavior go unheeded. This is to keep the discussions civil and focused on the goal or resolution and discourage further disputes from arising out of the DR/N filing. Generally an editor will recieve a warning first and will be given the opportunity to contribute in a civil and respectful manner. Should warnings not be heeded, comments may be collapsed and/or personal attacks removed entirely in some cases after warnings as well.

Q7. What is the role of a volunteer?

Volunteers are editors that assist in resolving disputes as neutral third parties. Volunteers do not have any special powers, privileges, or authority on the noticeboard or on Wikipedia.

Q8. Are there any requirements for volunteering?

No. All editors on Wikipedia are invited and encouraged to participate. The noticeboard is always looking for new volunteers.

Q9. Why are disputes over an editor's conduct not allowed?

Other boards are better equipped to handle behavioral disputes. Conduct disputes should be directed to formal arbitration in extreme cases, or If you need immediate assistance or intervention from administration, use the Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard/Incidents or Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard.

Q10. Why was my case closed?

The noticeboard is only for content disputes that have been extensively discussed. Conduct disputes, disputes with no discussion, and disputes that are already under discussion at other dispute resolution forums, should not be brought to DRN. However, don't be afraid to post a request, if it's outside of the noticeboard's scope, our volunteers will point you in the right direction.

Q11. Why is prior discussion required?

The dispute resolution noticeboard is not a substitution for talk pages. Editors must attempt to resolve the dispute between themselves before seeking outside help as part of a collaborative effort to form consensus.

Q12. How extensive should the prior discussion be?

While time may not be a deciding factor, discussions that have only gone on for a day, and/or consist of only one or two responses, do not qualify as extensive. Edit summaries are not considered discussions.
While we accept disputes with discussions on individual user talkpages, discussions that focus on editor conduct or that only involve a minority of the dispute's participants may not qualify as extensive.
It is always recommended that discussions on content take place on the relevant article talkpage to involve as many editors as possible to form a local consensus for the subject. Sometimes editors will request discussion on their own talkpage in order not to disrupt the flow of other discussions on the subjects talkpage when a dispute is between only a small group or just two contributors.

Q13. The other editor refuses to discuss. What should I do?

Repeatedly refusing to discuss changes, especially controversial ones, is considered a conduct issue and should be brought to the administrator's noticeboard. Although Wikipedia supports bold editing, refusing to discuss can be problematic and is discouraged by Wikipedia's editing policy.

Notifications[edit]

The notifications of a DRN discussion which I have just received (which I assume is transcluded from a template) User_talk:Nigel_Ish#Notice_of_Dispute_resolution_noticeboard_discussion doesn't actually give a link to DRN at all, just to a generic noticeboard.Nigel Ish (talk) 20:47, 8 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Nigel Ish I just fixed that. I sent the notification with a broken link. Sorry for that. Cheers! The Weather Event Writer (Talk Page) 20:54, 8 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

DRN rules[edit]

Hi! I was wondering if there is a summary of the differences between WP:DRNA, WP:DRNB, and WP:DRNC? I see that WP:DRND and WP:DRNE are for CTOP areas, and new articles subject to CTOP rules, respectively, but there does not appear to be a summary of when the others are used. Thanks, House Blaster^talk 21:23, 16 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I am going to BOLDly ping @Robert McClenon. Best, House Blaster^talk 05:14, 30 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

User:HouseBlaster - I don't always check this talk page. I will provide the summary within 24 hours. WP:DRNA is the oldest and original, and is used unless either the moderator chooses to use a different rule, or the topic is contentious. Robert McClenon (talk) 17:59, 30 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

User:HouseBlaster - See WP:DRN Rule Guide. Robert McClenon (talk) 18:56, 30 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

We really need to fix the summary/preview function[edit]

Oof, Sorry for the poor formatting in my dispute resolution request. In my defense, it looked completely different when I hit "Next" -- There were no newlines, the links showed as text, no formatting (bold, italics, etc.) was applied -- I kept editting, based on the preview, which did not match what I am seeing now. Sorry! (Like I said in my dispute resolution request, I really am a wikipedia lightweight) --Bertrc (talk) 17:10, 29 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I’m having a similar problem: My DRR is not formatted correctly and there is a reference list from the immediately preceding request following mine — I hope I didn’t cause this. If I did, I greatly apologize. Also, the “What have you done” section is empty, even though I filled it in during the dispute resolution request process. Jdbtwo (talk) 20:38, 17 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

As you can see above, I accidentally overlooked that I was not logged in. If this created more problems then I sincerely apologize. Jdbtwo (talk) 20:26, 17 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

First-timer[edit]

@Robert McClenon: You seem to be running the show here (alone, for a really long time), so you probably want to take a look at my first attempt at moderating a discussion here—Wikipedia:Dispute resolution noticeboard#Talk:Mukokuseki#Undo. Snowmanonahoe (talk · contribs · typos) 18:00, 3 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

User:Snowmanonahoe - Thank you for taking a dispute. Robert McClenon (talk) 21:40, 3 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@Robert McClenon, could you please review this dispute resolution if you have the time. Thank you, IOHANNVSVERVS (talk) 01:43, 7 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Does a mention for reference in an article mandate notability[edit]

I have a dispute with another editor and could use some feedback from other editors. I appreciate any input. My main issue revolves around the Off topic / Notability guidlines. There is a person (who at this moment does not have their own wiki-article) that is in the news about participating in unlawful activity. In the reliable sources that are cited, they mention that this person was employed at a notable organization as a high ranking member. All reliable citations use one single sentence that reads, "Individual, who held this position at XYZ organization, is being charged with _______ crimes" (Or some variation of that single sentence). All reliable sources state zero correlation between the notable organization of employment and the crime being committed by the individual. There is no minority view that there would be any association between said organization and the illegal activity. There have been several editors (some who were IP editors), that have felt the need to place that information onto the page of the organization. One of the early editors to add this information felt the need to mention in their edit summary that this might not be the best place for the information and may merit deletion and to discuss it on the talk page. After challenging the inclusion of this information on the organizations article talk page, all of the editors who were involved have been pinged and asked to come discuss, as of yet none have responded(over the course of several weeks), minus one editor who seems pretty hellbent on keeping the info pertaining to the illegal, un-associated crimes on the page. His defense for inclusion of this individual's crimes within the organization's article is that mere mention for reference of his employment at said organization equals notability for that organization. In an effort to try to compromise with keeping the information on Wikipedia, as it should not be completely removed, I tried to re-locate the information about the illegal activity with creation of a page for the individual it was pertaining to, or move it over to the actual organization in which the illegal activity was associated with (Not to be confused with the notable organization in which where he was employed and has no relevance to). The editor in opposition won't budge even when I and one other editor believe that our arguments based in policy seem to be quite clear that the information is off-topic, and not relevant for inclusion. I am assuming good faith, but this editor has made it clear he will not compromise on re-locating the info and is showing patterns of WP:STONEWALLING. What is the best course of action? I will note that I tried to remove the content but new un-involved editors would come and just drop the information in again and again (there was another editor who removed the content as well), unaware of the talk page discussion(efforts to compromise) going on, and then proceed to ignore pings to come discuss their addition on the talk page. MaximusEditor (talk) 22:59, 3 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

MaximusEditor, this isn't really the place to bring up specific disputes. In your case, I would suggest the BLP noticeboard. When you post there, remember to specify which article you are talking about; I can't make that out from anything you said above. Seraphimblade ^{Talk to me} 01:52, 4 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]