UDWiki:Administration/Policy Discussion/Policy to Revamp Historical Events
The current Historical Events system is woefully inadequate and contains several flaws which render it less of an exercise in "history" and more of an exercise in "popularity". Additionally, the current policy is vulnerable to a "vote stuffing" denial attack. This policy seeks to address those problems.
Currently, any "event" page may be nominated for inclusion into the Historical Events category. Voting then ensues, and events with a 2/3rds majority are added to the category (providing that they recieve a requisite number of "pro" votes). This is vulnerable to three major problems, all of which are easily evident within the history of the current system:
- Entrance to the category is not about historical importance and is instead about the popularity of the event. That is not to say that popular events are not important or historical; rather, that the popularity overshadows the importance.
- Events of obvious historical importance (e.g., the First Siege of Caiger Mall) are often not included, because the current base of voters is too "new" to have been aware of their importance.
- Voting "blocs" may be able to prevent any one event from being entered into the historical record in sufficient numbers, despite its importance.
Proposed Changes
Overview
First, admission to the Historical Events category will no longer be subject to a popular vote. Instead, a group of community-selected Historians will vote on whether or not an individual entry will be included.
The position of "Historian" is subject to popular vote and nomination. Any wiki user may be nominated to the position of Historian. Nominations must be accepted, and a 2/3rds majority of the popular vote must be obtained for a Historian to be elected. No more than 10 Historian posts may exist at any one time. Historians must be re-elected every three months. Historians may choose to step down from their post at any time. Historians may be removed from their position upon a 2/3rds majority vote by the remaining historians.
Any wiki user may nominate an event as being "Historical". Nominated pages are subject to a set of criteria; if they meet said criteria (described below), then they are voted on by the Historians.
Process for Nomination to the Post of Historian
A page for nominations to the post of Historian will be created. Any wiki user may nominate any other wiki user (including himself) for the position of Historian. Historians should have a demonstrated knowledge of Urban Dead history and preferably show a desire for impartiality. No limitation on "account age" should be applied, as this is often an incorrect gauge of knowledge about the subject.
Nominations must be accepted to be valid. For expediency, voting may continue without acceptance of the nomination. All nominations are to be announced via the Wiki News.
Upon nomination, the voting process begins. Each wiki user is allowed one vote: "for" or "against". Voting continues for a period of two weeks. If, after this time, the "for" votes are 2/3rds majority, the user is accepted as a Historian.
Process for Re-Election to the Post of Historian
After six weeks' time, each Historian is automatically placed for re-election. (this occurs after six weeks rather than two months so that there will be no interruption in term-of-service). All re-elections are to be posted to the Wiki News.
The process of re-election is then identical to the process of election, save that:
- The Historian can choose to reject the automatic re-nomination
- In the case of a situation where two users are simultaneously elected (same day close) and there is only one seat, the existing Historian retains his seat.
Process for Removal from the Post of Historian
At any point in time, a Historian may nominate any other Historian for removal from his post. This is useful when someone has been elected to a post and then dissappears for weeks at a time.
The Historian to be voted on is placed in a "Nomination for Removal" section by another Historian, and his position is then voted on ("keep" or "remove"). Voting is only open to existing Historians. Voting for removal lasts for one week. If, at any time, a clear majority (for one side or the other) exists, then voting immediately closes.
If the Historian is removed, the post is considered vacant and nominations are to be immediately opened.
Process for the Nomination of an Historical Event
Articles to be nominated to the Historical Event category are added to a queue. This queue is first examined to make sure that the article meets the criteria for admission (defined below). If this is the case, then each Historian will vote upon the article (either "add" or "reject"). At least three historians must vote on the article before it can be accepted or rejected.
Articles nominated for acceptance will have a template placed on the top of the page indicating that it has been nominated.
A discussion page or section will be made for each nominated article (in a sub-page under the article itself) that any wiki user may comment on.
Rejected articles may be resubmitted with changes, if the discussion indicates that the article might be accepted at a later time.
For expedience sake, if at any point an article has obtained a clear majority in the "add" or "reject" list, then that article may immediately be added or rejected. For example, if there are 10 historians, upon recieving its sixth "yes" vote, it would be added; no further time or voting is necessary.
If an article is accepted, it is added to the category, protected, and will have a template added to the top noting that it is an historic event.
Criteria For Nominated Articles
Articles to be nominated must meet the following criteria:
- Be written in a neutral point of view. An article may contain pointers to other, external POV articles, and may contain POV sections, but POV sections must also be countered within the same article
- Follow a similar format as existing event articles (TBD by Historians, though First Siege of Caiger Mall can serve as a good template)
There are no other criteria, as defining "historical value" is the job of the Historians.
Immediate Changes
If this policy is accepted, all existing articles in the Historical Events category are to have their status stripped. These articles will then be automatically nominated under the new policy.
Until such a time as the quorum of three Historians is met (two weeks after the first Historians are nominated, or thereabouts), articles may continue to be nominated (though will not be accepted or rejected until sufficient Historians exist that voting may ensue).
