Ban Moderation
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What is Ban Moderation?
Ban Moderation is a corrective procedure guide that should be followed closely by Advanced Users in order to ensure an infringer is afforded exhaustive resources for rehabilitation before he/she is restricted or banned.
When should you use Ban Moderation?
Before progressing with any case it is important to assess it thoroughly. As covered by the Banning Guidelines, you must determine the intentions of the infringer, the nature of the infringement and you must be able to distinguish between:
- Deliberate vandalism (any deliberate action intended to corrupt information). Examples: inserting spam, porn images, deleting information which complies with Wikimapia guidelines, intentional adding of nonsense/false information to Wikimapia etc.
- Mistakes made by newcomers and/or inexperienced users due to misunderstandings about Wikimapia guidelines, tools and wiki concept. Examples: first experiments with “Add place” tool by a newcomer, drawing roads with polygons and etc.
The role of an Advanced User exemplifies the qualities of a peace-maker/keeper. You agree to promote a peace-maker/keeper personality by practising the principles of being polite, patient and perceptive. You should also keep the following points in mind:
- Punishment is not always necessary. Sometimes you can just correct the problem, and contact user with explanations.
- Assume good faith that every user is here to improve Wikimapia.
- Use common sense.
- Avoid extreme formalism and bureaucracy.
- Avoid preventive measures. A user cannot be punished if he/she has not violated the Guidelines, no matter what your experience tells you
- Do not ban without sorting out the case.
- If in doubt - discuss the case in the forum.
Wikimapia's philosophy is based on good will, so it is essential for you to keep the recommendations in mind when using Ban Moderation.
Ban Moderation explained
Ban Moderation comprises of four actions. They are Guidance, Warning, Temporary ban and Permanent ban. To better understand the functions of each action, they have been divided into two stages. The first three actions are grouped under the Education stage. The fourth and final Permanent ban action is grouped under the Exclusion stage.
| Education | ► | Exclusion | |||||||||
| 1. Guidance | ► | 2. Warning | ► | 3. Temporary ban | 4. Permanent ban | ||||||
Education
The Education stage is a remedial process which aims to provide corrective assistance to an infringer. A few essential requirements for Education stage to be successful is for you to be friendly, patient, approachable. These qualities shall greatly benefit your communication and mediation skills.
- Infringers should be given the benefit of the doubt depending on the level of their cooperation.
- An infringer who exercises actions of good faith or has exhibited potential to benefit Wikimapia should be given ample time to reform.
- You are more likely to see positive results with a communicative infringer than one who doesn't respond to messages.
- Try to determine the circumstances of a case and ascertain whether an infringer is purposefully ignoring your messages.
- An infringer who doesn't respond to messages shouldn't be deemed uncooperative if he/she hasn't had the opportunity to open their messages.
Each case should be treated using common sense and sound judgement.
Aside from extremely rare exceptions, you are required to adhere to the conditions listed under section 1 & 2 of the Banning Guidelines when communicating and handling an infringer regardless of his/her culpability.
Guidance
The Guidance action should always be perceived as the only one required in the Education stage to enlighten new, inexperienced and settled users. It is customary as well as necessary to communicate with an infringer by sending them a polite notice. A polite notice is a personal message which establishes initial contact with an infringer. A polite notice should:
- make them acknowledge the error(s) they are committing, be it on the map or with another user
- show them why the error is incorrect by citing rules which have been violated
- provide solutions for them to correct the error
- advise them to avoid making the same mistake again
- encourage them to ask questions about things they do not understand
- notify them that persistent infringements may incur a warning or even a ban
If an infringer commits further infringements after Guidance, or if an initial infringement is considered a major violation, you may progress to the Warning action.
Warning
An infringer who repeats or commits further violations during or after the Guidance action is to be regarded as a repeat infringer. The repetition of errors or offences warrants the issue of a Warning action because the Guidance action by itself has proven inadequate. Additionally, major violations committed by first-time infringers shall also warrant a direct Warning action. Examples of behaviour that can result in a Warning action are:
- persistence in committing similar errors
- cancelling or reverting correct edits
- misconduct
- abusive behaviour
Repeat infringers who commit further infringements should be sent a warning message indicating that their repeat actions have been detected. You should repeat the mediation techniques of the Guidance action with a more persuasive approach. You should also emphasize that failure to comply with the conditions set henceforth shall not be tolerated and may ensue in a temporary or permanent ban.
Warning actions are quite delicate matters and should be conducted with extra care. This action is critical in the Education stage because the case can easily erupt into volatile situations if handled incorrectly. Remember, calm & patient communication is key.
If a repeat infringer commits further infringements after a warning, or if an initial infringement is considered a major violation, you may progress to the Temporary ban action.
Temporary ban
A temporary ban is an account restriction with variable limits on time and functions. An infringer's account can be imposed with a temporary ban if he/she has persisted with infringements despite being given ample warning.
Exclusion
The definition of Exclusion is to reject, bar or compel to leave. The Exclusion stage is necessary when an infringer fails to accept the Guidance, Warning and Temporary ban stages of the Education stage.
Permanent ban
The process of expelling or blocking a user is accomplished by implementing a permanent ban. Aside from extremely rare exceptions:
- a permanent ban must only be applied after the failure of the Education stage
- you cannot directly impose a permanent ban on a first-time infringer
Unlike a temporary ban, you do not have flexibility in restricting certain functions an infringer has access to for varying lengths of time. A permanent ban means all functions are restricted (see the 'Ban types & ban lengths' table below).
Choosing the correct ban
As explained in section 3 of the Banning Guidelines, you can choose to restrict certain functions an infringer has access to for varying lengths of time during a temporary ban.
A ban comes into effect immediately if an infringer is already logged in. If an infringer is not logged in, the ban will commence once he/she logs back in.
Bans can be cancelled by overriding them with another ban.
| Ban types | Temporary ban length | Permanent ban | ||||||||
| 6 hours | 1 day | 7 days | 1 month | |||||||
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| PMs & forum posts |
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Ban types
AUs should use sound judgement to determine which ban type to use in conjunction with an appropriate ban length. A ban type should be proportionate to the violation committed, do not use an inappropriate or severe ban type if it is not necessary. Remember, restrictions are for education purposes only.
Edit map
This ban type restricts an infringer's access to functions related to editing the map. Communication via PMs and participation in the forum is still possible. You cannot set a ban length of one month or a permanent ban with this ban type.
This ban type should be used to restrict infringers who specifically abuse map editing functions.
PMs & forum posts
This ban type restricts an infringer's ability to communicate via the personal messaging system and the forum. Map editing functions can still be accessed. You cannot set a ban length of one month or a permanent ban with this ban type.
This ban type should be used to restrict infringers who abuse the communication functions of PMs and the forum with offensive language or spamming.
Full
This ban type restricts both map editing functions and the ability to communicate.
This ban type should be used to restrict infringers who abuse both the map editing and communication functions.
Ban lengths
The duration or ban length of a ban type should be proportionate to the violation committed. Do not use lengthy restrictions if they are not necessary; remember, restrictions are for education purposes only. The following are temporary bans and will expire once the duration has been served:
- 6 hours
- 1 day
- 7 days
- 1 month (this ban length can only be chosen when applied in conjunction with a Full ban type)
A permanent ban length, as the name suggests, is indefinite and can only be implemented in conjunction with a Full ban type. This is the severest ban and should only be used in the direst circumstances. A permanent ban can be cancelled by overriding it with a temporary ban length.
Mandatory Requirements
- It is compulsory for an AU to consult a third-party AU or the AU community to review cases involving major decisions before a ban is implemented.
- AUs are required to complete all sections of a ban form in accordance with the banning guidelines.
Exceptions to the above can be made for spammers, unauthorized clone accounts and users with notorious histories.
Case Specific Ban Moderation
Copyrighted Photo Moderation
The handling of photo copyright issues[1] is based on the following:
- AUs must prove a user has violated the rules. Excuses should not be made, a photo uploader is presumed innocent in the absence of proof to back allegations.
- A photo uploader assumes full responsibility for his actions, including responsibility to the laws of his/her country, by uploading copyrighted photos under Creative Commons license.
- If a photo uploader claims he/she has the right to upload photos, this statement is to be considered true by default.
- If an AU has strong evidence that a photo uploader has violated the rules (for example, the AU asked the photo copyright holder and found that consent was not given to use their photos under Creative Commons license) he/she should warn the infringer. If the infringer ignores the warning, then the Ban Moderation procedure should be adopted (i.e. a ban for a week, then for a month etc.).
- A ban is not applicable if an AU finds similar photos on another website, but has no evidence to prove:
- the photo's owner was against their use
- the website is the legal owner
- If an AU is unsure and/or argued a doubtful case, the ban is not qualified.
- If a photo uploader is banned erroneously, he/she can lodge an objection in the forum by using the relevant forum topic. Bans can be lifted very quickly.
Key Points to Remember:
It's important you are 100% certain about the ownership/licensing of an image. If you just found a photo in Google or on another website — this doesn't mean anything by itself. If a website uses an image it doesn't necessarily mean it is the owner/licence holder.
If you want to know about user permissions for an image, you should ask the image owner/licence holder about it. If you don't ask ► you won't know ► if you don't know ► you can't do anything about it.
However, there are some exceptions. For example, if you see a popular image and you are sure the user doesn't have the right to use it, you can ask for proof. Again, you should ask the user first; do not remove the image(s) and do not initiate a ban without sorting out the matter first.
You can also collaborate with other AUs on issues about dubious images. For example, you may find a website which is the rightful owner/licence holder of a dubious image, but you are not sure. In cases like this, seek advice from your colleagues in the forum.
