LIMSWiki:Bans and blocks

The printable version is no longer supported and may have rendering errors. Please update your browser bookmarks and please use the default browser print function instead.

LIMSwiki administrators can block users for many reasons. When a user is blocked, they will not be able to change LIMSwiki, but can still read LIMSwiki.

Block

A block is a software setting in the wiki that will not allow changing. Common reasons for blocking are:

Vandalism
Breaking LIMSwiki policy
Adding pages or sentences that are against copyright
Having an inappropriate user name

Blocked users should be warned with the right warning templates before administrators block them. However, administrators can block a user at any time if they are abusing the wiki on purpose or going against other policies. All administrators who block users must have an email address in their settings so they can be contacted or talked to by a blocked user if needed.

If you feel you have been wrongly blocked, please talk to the administrator who blocked you on your talk page or in an email. Make sure to tell the administrator what IP address you are using. When you go to change a page you will see this, and it will tell you your IP address. Ways to contact or talk to administrators are listed on the administrators page.

Most blocks should be for 24 hours, but a user may be blocked for longer if it is needed.

Ban

A ban is when the community decides that an editor may not make any changes to the wiki ever again. This should occur after many users have talked about it and reached a concensus. Sometimes, the community may say that a user can not change certain pages, areas, or do certain things for a long time (usually one year). To make sure that the banned user does not do what he is not allowed, that person's accounts may be blocked.

Block options

When blocks are set, the administrator can change the effects of the block. They are listed here:

Auto block

This changes the effect of a block on registered users. When enabled, it blocks the most recently used IP address by that user, and any other addresses they try to edit from.

Block account creation

This changes the effect of a block on a registered user or IP. When enabled, it will stop them from creating an account while they are blocked.

Block anonymous users only

This changes the effect of blocks on IP's. When enabled, the block will only affect anonymous users editing from that IP address, not registered users.

Block e-mail

This changes the effect of a block on registered users. When enabled it stops them from using the emailuser tool. This should be used to stop abuse of the emailuser tool. In some cases, it may be used for bad usernames.

Bots

Bots may be blocked at any time. The main reasons this may be done are for not being approved or for making edits they are not approved for. For example, a bot approved for interwiki edits should not be making anti-vandalism edits. Bots may also be blocked in the same way as any other account if they are found to be vandalizing or spamming. Vandal and spam bots should be blocked as soon as possible.

Reciprocal bans

Administrators also have the option to block users who have been banned on other wikis. This is decided on a case-by-case basis. Usually, a user who broke the rules on another project is not blocked unless they also break the rules on the Simple English Wikipedia. They can be blocked if they break the rules here even once, and do not need the same amount of warning as a new user. This is often called the "one-strike" rule. It is made to stop disruptive users, who have a history of making bad edits, from disrupting this LIMSwiki project.

Proxies

Administrators should block anonymous proxies. Open proxies are usually blocked for three years. If it is a Tor proxy, it should be blocked for a shorter amount of time, since they are not usually proxies for long. Administrators should try to not block ISP proxies; this sort of block would affect many people.