Guild Wars Wiki:Only revert once
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This page is a rejected policy proposal. It has been unable to gain consensual support or it was replaced by an improved proposal. |
Only revert once ("1RV") states that no editor should revert the revert ("re-revert") of another editor without discussion on the talk page first. Consecutive reverts risk starting a revert-war (two or more editors reverting each others edit repeatedly). We strongly prefer discussion about different opinions on the talk page to reverting.
An editor who had his edit reverted should take his case to the article's talk page. He can then explain why he believes his edit is beneficial and belongs in the article. The articles' editors can then work towards consensus. If an article is popular, support for a reverted edit may spring up immediately; however, less popular articles may not garner the talk page traffic needed to generate a strict consensus. In these cases, if nobody objects, a reverted edit can be reinstated after three days after justifying on the talk page.
When you see somebody breaking the "Only Revert Once" policy (ie, an article getting reverted twice), please do not revert it back to the only-reverted-once state. Just leave it along and note the occurrence in the talk page.
Corollary: Do not re-revert, do not re-re-revert, do not re-re-re-revert.
What is a revert?[edit]
A revert, in this context, means undoing, in whole or in part, the actions of another editor or of other editors. This can include undoing edits to a page, undoing page moves ("move warring"), undoing administrative actions ("wheel warring"), or recreating a page. In order to prevent misunderstandings, reversion should generally be mentioned in the edit summary, however there is no obligation to do so.
Exceptions[edit]
Since the rule is intended to prevent edit warring, reverts which are clearly not such will not breach the rule. Exceptions to the rule include:
- Reverting your own actions ("self-reverting").
- Reverting simple and obvious vandalism, such as graffiti or page blanking (this only applies to the most simple and obvious vandalism).
- Reverting by a user within their own user space.
Any of these actions may still be controversial; thus, it is only in the clearest cases that they will be considered exceptions to the rule. When in doubt, do not revert; instead, engage in dispute resolution or ask for administrative assistance.
Enforcement[edit]
If an editor violates the 1RV rule, they may be blocked from editing for up to 24 hours, or longer in the case of a repeat violation. Administrators may use escalating block lengths for users with prior violations, and may take other factors into account, like edit warring on multiple pages, or incivility, when assigning a block. In the cases where multiple editors violate the rule, administrators should treat all sides equally.
Additionally, the rule is enforced by:
- Educating editors who may not be aware of good practices in the matter;
- Peer pressure and leadership by example.
Apparent breaches of the rule may be reported to any administrator.
