Wikibooks:Protected page/Unstable
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[edit] Page Protection
Wikibooks users known as Administrators have the ability to "protect" pages such that they cannot be edited except by other Admins. This ability is only to be used in limited circumstances.
Page protection can be done in one of several different ways:
- Full Protection
- Pages that are fully protected cannot be moved nor edited by any user that is not an admin. Full protection should not be used except for a handful of project pages, high-visibility main pages, or pages which should not be edited by anybody without a very good reason.
- Semi Protection
- Pages that are semi-protected can be edited by all registered users, but cannot be edited anonymously by users from an IP address. This is used as a method to minimize instances of anonymous vandalism, and can also be used to protect high-traffic pages from being incorrectly edited by new and inexperianced users.
- Partial Protection
- Pages can be protected against both page moves, and page edits independently. Both page moves and page edits can be protected to either full- or semi- protected status. Some pages are protected against page moves (to prevent common page move vandalism), but are not protected against edits, or vice versa. Also, a page can be semi-protected in one area, and fully protected in another area, or any other combination of the above options.
- Permanent Protection
- Some pages are protected with the intention that they stay protected forever. This is usually the case for high-profile pages that should probably never be edited by people who don't have a good reason for doing it (and who know precisely what they are doing). Pages that are permanently protected should not be unprotected without discussion.
- Temporary Protection
- Some pages are temporarily protected from being edited. These pages have been protected, but they will be unprotected again in the future. This can be done as a response to repeat vandalism of a particular page, or because of edit wars where people are constantly altering the text of the page. Temporary protection is usually lifted when the problem that provoked the protection in the first place is removed. If a page has been temporarily protected, but hasn't yet been unprotected, any user can ask an admin (nicely) to remove the protection so editing can continue.
[edit] Admins and Protection
Admins should not protect pages when they have been personally involved in a dispute on that page. Admin powers are not editor privileges - Admins should only act as servants to the user community at large. If you are an admin and you want a page in an edit war in which you are somehow involved to be protected, you should contact another admin and ask them to protect the page for you.
[edit] Talk Pages
Talk pages should not be protected unless they are historical (and no longer used), or if they are the targets of vandalism.
[edit] Editing temporarily protected pages
Admins should be cautious in editing temporarily protected pages, and do so in accordance with consensus and any specific guidelines on the subject. In many cases it is appropriate for an Admin to first raise the issue on the relevant talk page, as a non-Admin would have to do.
In cases of temporary page protection, Admins should refrain from editing pages while they are protected. They should not continue editing content while people with different points of view who are not Admins are unable to do so. There are, however, a few times when Admins may cautiously decide to edit such a page:
- Adding a link to Wikibooks:Accuracy dispute or Wikibooks:NPOV dispute, or a similar disclaimer about the current state of the page.
- Reverting to an old version of the page from a week or so before the controversy started.
- Reverting vandalism to the page.
[edit] Permanent Page Protection
Some pages have been permanently protected, as a matter of importance to the community at large. Some of these pages, such as the Main Page are seen by nearly every visitor to the site, and so they should be kept clean and organized. Admins can edit these pages to make small changes and improvements, but they should not make large changes to the content or layout of these pages without discussing the matter first with the community.
