Wikipedia:Pending changes/Request for Comment February 2011

Request for Comment February 2011 is a multi-phase discussion of the use of the pending changes feature on the English-language Wikipedia.

• The first phase was open discussion.
• The second phase was endorsements of positions, the analysis of which is available here.
• The third phase was a proposal on what to do with pending changes in the short term.

In accordance with consensus during the third phase, pending-changes protection was removed from all articles on Friday, 20 May 2011, with no prejudice against future reinstatement, in some form, based upon consensus and discussion.

Background

Pending changes (PC) is a tool that underwent a two-month trial on the English Wikipedia in 2010. A straw poll at the end of the trial, which closed on September 4, 2010, showed 407 in favor of implementation in some measure and 217 opposed, with 44 other responses. Among those in favor, there was no clear consensus as to what form the implementation should take. PC remained active on some pages, but without clear guidlines as to when it should be used, or consensus on how to review changes that are pending.