Arbitration Committee

For non-Wikimedia uses, see Arbitral tribunal.

For the main page of the English Wikipedia's Arbitration Committee, see Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee.

On Wikimedia Foundation projects, an Arbitration Committee (ArbCom) is a binding dispute resolution panel of editors. Each of Wikimedia's projects are editorially autonomous and independent, and some of them have established their own ArbComs who work according rules developed by the project's editors and are usually annually elected by their communities. ArbComs generally address misconduct by administrators and editors with access to advanced tools, and a range of "real-world" issues related to harmful conduct that can arise in the context of a Wikimedia projects.^[2][3] Rulings, policies and procedures differ between projects depending on local and cultural contexts. According to the Wikimedia Terms of Use, users are not obliged to have a dispute solved by an ArbCom.^[4]

Arbitration Committee

Screenshot of the English Wikipedia Arbitration Committee main page in 2021
Abbreviation	Arbcom
Formation	December 4, 2003 (2003-12-04)^[1]
Website	en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Arbitration_Committee

The first Wikimedia project to use an arbitration committee was the Swedish Wikipedia, soon followed by the widely covered English Wikipedia Committee. Over time, other Wikimedia projects have established Arbitration Committees as well.

The English Wikipedia ArbCom was created by Jimmy Wales on December 4, 2003, as an extension of the decision-making power he formerly held as CEO of site-owner Bomis.^[1][5] Wales appointed members of the committee either in person or by email following advisory elections; Wales generally appointed editors who received the most votes to the ArbCom.^{[6][needs update]}

The English Wikipedia's ArbCom acts as a court of last resort for disputes among editors and has been described in the media as "quasi-judicial" and a Wikipedian "High or Supreme Court", although the Committee states it is not and does not pretend to be a formal court of law. English Wikipedia's ArbCom has decided several hundred cases in its history.^[7] The Foundation's Arbitration Committee process has been examined by academics researching dispute resolution, and has been reported in public media in connection with case decisions and Wikipedia-related controversies.^[5][8][9]

History

The Swedish Wikipedia "thing" of November 2002 became the first instance akin to a prototype arbitration committee on any Wikipedia language version.^[10]

In October 2003, as part of an etiquette discussion on Wikipedia, Alex T. Roshuk, then legal adviser to the Wikimedia Foundation, drafted a 1,300-word outline of mediation and arbitration. This outline evolved into the twin Mediation Committee and Arbitration Committee, formally announced by Jimmy Wales on December 4, 2003.^[5][11] Over time the concept of an "Arbitration Committee" was adopted by other communities within the Wikimedia Foundation's hosted projects.

When founded, the Committee consisted of 12 arbitrators divided into three groups of four members each.^[1][12]

On English Wikipedia

Controversies

A statistical study published in the Emory Law Journal in 2010 indicated that the committee has generally adhered to the principles of ignoring the content of user disputes and focusing on user conduct.^[5] The same study also found that despite every case being assessed on its own merits, a correlation emerged between the types of conduct found to have occurred and the remedies and decisions imposed by the committee.^[5]

In 2007, an arbitrator using the username Essjay resigned from the committee after it was found he had made false claims about his academic qualifications and professional experiences in a The New Yorker interview.^[13][14][15] Also in 2007, the committee banned Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Carl Hewitt from editing the online encyclopedia for "disruptive" behavior of manipulating articles to align with his own research.^[16] In May 2009, an arbitrator who edited under the username Sam Blacketer resigned from the committee after it became known he had concealed his past editing when obtaining the role.^[8]

In 2009, the committee was brought to media attention as a result of its decision to ban "all IP addresses owned or operated by the Church of Scientology and its associates, broadly interpreted", as part of the fourth Scientology-related case.^[7][17] Such an action had "little precedent"^[7] in the eight-year history of Wikipedia and was reported on several major news services such as The New York Times, ABC News, and The Guardian.^[7][17][18] Satirical news-show host Stephen Colbert ran a segment on The Colbert Report parodying the ban.^[19] In 2022, the Committee lifted the ban citing the lack of disruption in recent years.^[20]

In 2015, the committee received attention for its ruling pertaining to the Gamergate controversy, in which one editor was indefinitely banned from the site and several others were banned from editing topics relating to Gamergate and gender.^[21]

In June 2015, the committee removed advanced permissions from Richard Symonds, an activist for the British political party Liberal Democrats.^[22] Symonds had improperly blocked a Wikipedia account and associated its edits with former Chairman of the Conservative Party Grant Shapps,^[23] and leaked this to The Guardian.^[22] Shapps denied ownership of the account, calling the allegations "categorically false and defamatory".^[24] Symonds said in an interview he stood by his actions.^[25]

In academic studies

A 2017 study found the committee's decision making was mostly unaffected by extra-legal factors such as nationality, activity, experience, conflict avoidance, and time constraints. The same study found the committee's decision making was much more affected by time constraints than that of conventional courts.^[26]

On Wikimedia Foundation projects worldwide

Further information: meta:Arbitration Committee

The Swedish Wikipedia "thing" of 24 November 2002 became the first prototype arbitration committee on any Wikipedia language version, effectively making Swedish Wikipedia the first decentralized Wikipedia while the other Wikipedias were still under Jimmy Wales' personal supervision.^[27]

In 2004, an Arbitration Committee was founded on the French Wikipedia,^[28] and in 2007, on the German,^[29] Polish, Finnish and Dutch Wikipedias.^[30] Arbitration Committees are now used on eleven Wikipedia versions and the English Wikinews.^{[citation needed]}

References

1. Wales, Jimmy (December 4, 2003). "[WikiEN-l] Wikiquette committee appointments". lists.wikimedia.org. Wikimedia Foundation. from the original on June 29, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
2. "Arbitration Committee". Archived from the original on February 24, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
3. "Wikimedia Committees". Archived from the original on April 18, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
4. "Wikimedia Terms of Use - # 13 Disputes and Jurisdictions". Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
5. Hoffman, David A.; Salil Mehra (2010). "Wikitruth Through Wikiorder". Emory Law Journal. 59 (2010). SSRN 1354424.
6. Broughton, John (2008). Wikipedia: The Missing Manual. O'Reilly Media. pp. 208–209. ISBN 9780596553777. from the original on July 26, 2020. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
7. Cohen, Noam (June 7, 2009). "The Wars of Words on Wikipedia's Outskirts". The New York Times. from the original on March 28, 2014. Retrieved June 9, 2009.
8. Welham, Jamie; Nina Lakhan (June 8, 2009). "Wikipedia sentinel quits after 'sock-puppeting' scandal". The New Zealand Herald. APN Holdings NZ Limited. from the original on September 18, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2009.
9. Moore, Matthew (May 30, 2009). . The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on June 2, 2009. Retrieved June 9, 2009.
10. "Så fungerar Wikipedia/Wikipedias historia". Lennart Guldbrandsson, sv.wikisource.org. March 9, 2010. Archived from the original on November 25, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
11. Roshuk, Alex T. (2008). . Archived from the original on June 29, 2009. Retrieved June 14, 2009.
12. Hyatt, Josh (June 1, 2006). "Secrets of Greatness: Great Teams". Fortune. Time Warner. from the original on April 13, 2010. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
13. Cohen, Noam (March 12, 2007). "After False Claim, Wikipedia to Check Degrees". The New York Times. from the original on June 24, 2017. Retrieved June 14, 2009.
14. Hafner, Katie (June 17, 2006). "Growing Wikipedia Refines Its 'Anyone Can Edit' Policy". The New York Times. from the original on May 6, 2014. Retrieved June 9, 2009.
15. Cohen, Noam (March 5, 2007). "A Contributor to Wikipedia Has His Fictional Side". The New York Times. from the original on May 6, 2014. Retrieved June 9, 2009.
16. Kleeman, Jenny (December 9, 2007). "Wikipedia ban for disruptive professor". The Guardian. from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
17. Fitzsimmons, Caitlin (May 29, 2009). "Wikipedia bans Church of Scientology from editing". The Guardian. from the original on June 11, 2009. Retrieved June 14, 2009.
18. Heussner, Ki Mae; Ned Potter (May 29, 2009). "Wikipedia Blocks Church of Scientology From Editing Entries". ABC News. from the original on June 2, 2009. Retrieved June 14, 2009.
19. Colbert, Stephen (June 4, 2009). "Wikipedia Bans Scientologists" (Flash Player). Comedy Central. MTV Networks. from the original on December 12, 2015. Retrieved June 14, 2009.
20. "Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Clarification and Amendment". Wikipedia. January 7, 2022. from the original on March 25, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
21. Dewey, Caitlin (January 29, 2015). "Gamergate, Wikipedia and the limits of 'human knowledge'". Washington Post. from the original on January 29, 2015. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
22. "Censure for Grant Shapps' Wikipedia accuser - BBC News". BBC News. June 8, 2015. from the original on August 18, 2015. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
23. "Andy McSmith's Diary: Ed Balls and Jack Straw off the Labour peerage list". Independent.co.uk. June 8, 2015. from the original on July 28, 2015. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
24. Randeep Ramesh (April 22, 2015). "Nick Clegg mocks Grant Shapps over Wikipedia affair". the Guardian. from the original on July 8, 2017. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
25. Ramesh, Randeep (April 24, 2015). "Wikipedia volunteer who blocked 'Grant Shapps' account: I stand by my decision". The Guardian. from the original on December 10, 2016. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
26. Konieczny, Piotr (August 11, 2017). "Decision making in the self-evolved collegiate court: Wikipedia's Arbitration Committee and its implications for self-governance and judiciary in cyberspace". International Sociology. 32 (6): 755–774. doi:10.1177/0268580917722906. ISSN 0268-5809. S2CID 149261265.
27. "Så fungerar Wikipedia/Wikipedias historia". Lennart Guldbrandsson, sv.wikisource.org. March 9, 2010. Archived from the original on November 25, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
28. Florence Millerand; Serge Proulx; Julien Rueff (2010). Web Social: Mutation de la Communication (in French). PUQ. p. 66. ISBN 9782760524989. from the original on December 23, 2016. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
29. ,Kleinz, Torsten (April 30, 2007). "Wikipedia sucht Schiedsrichter" (in German). Heise Online. from the original on May 1, 2009. Retrieved June 9, 2009.
30. "Komitet arbitrażowy oraz mediatorzy w Wikipedii" (in Polish). Blog wikipedystyczny. August 31, 2007. from the original on May 1, 2009. Retrieved February 1, 2012.