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 guidelines as to when it should be used, or consensus on how to review changes that are pending.

Phase 1: Open discussion

Request for Comment February 2011 began on the 16th February 2001. It was not originally intended to have more than one phase. Editors were invited to discuss pending changes, in the hope that it would lead to clear and specific instructions for administrators and users requesting pending-changes protection. It was made clear that it was intended to be a discussion, not a vote. A large variety of opinions was expressed.

Phase 2: Endorsement of positions

In order to gauge how much support the different opinions had, a number of positions were stated and people were asked to put their name to those with which they agreed. A large number of positions were stated. These positions weren't all mutually-exclusive, so it was possible for editors to endorse a number of positions. The analysis of this phase showed that the three most supported positions were "PC helps with libel on BLPs", "PC is confusing" and "PC reduces vandalism, but so does semi-protection".