Wikidata:Universal Code of Conduct consultation/FAQ
Universal Code of Conduct (UCoC)
This page contains some quick FAQs about the consultation on Wikidata. Please also refer to the FAQs on Meta about the consultation process.
About the consultation
[edit]What is the Universal Code of Conduct?
[edit]The Universal Code of Conduct (UCoC) is one of the key policy initiatives that has come out of the Wikimedia 2030 community conversations and strategy process.
Wikimedians from around the world have put forth 10 recommendations to guide the movement towards its 2030 vision. One of these recommendations, to “Provide for Safety and Inclusion,” included creating a Code of Conduct that aims to provide a universal baseline of acceptable behavior for the entire movement without tolerance for harassment.
The UCoC was officially approved on 2 February 2021 by WMF Board of Trustees.
On what basis was this community selected for the local consultations?
[edit]The UCoC is being developed in consultation with the Wikimedia community with respect to context, existing local policies, as well as enforcement and conflict resolution structures. All communities involved in the consultations were selected based on several factors, including the rate of growth and the state of local conduct policies. More information on the process is available here. The availability of qualified local language facilitators was also one of the factors that influenced the final pick.
Has the Wikimedia Foundation announced that there is going to be a UCoC for all Wikimedia projects?
[edit]Yes. The announcements about UCoC have been clear that UCoC will apply to the whole movement. The team working on UCoC also announced this matter to many Wikimedia projects and on meta.
How is the consultation structured?
[edit]As per the Board of Trustees’ statement, there are two phases for the UCoC project.
The first phase (now concluded) involved research, community and stakeholder dialogue, as well as a joint volunteer-staff committee that drafted the UCoC text proposal. The proposed text was submitted to the Board of Trustees for ratification on 13 October 2020 and was officially approved on 2 February 2021 by WMF Board of Trustees.
We are now in the second phase of the consultation, that will focus on how to enforce the UCoC. As with the first phase of the project, outlining clear enforcement pathways will involve broad input from the Wikimedia community, including the Wikidata community.
About this phase of the consultation
[edit]What is the scope of this phase of the consultation?
[edit]As per the directives from the Foundation's Board of Trustees (BoT), the focus of the second phase of the project will be how the UCoC will be enforced on the projects.
As you will see, the Universal Code of Conduct is a collection of very basic principles about how to behave in a collaborative environment, most of which our community already implements and shares as a value. It is, though, an important attempt at strengthening our mutual commitment to protect those users who might suffer from harassment, abuse or threatening behaviors, because of their involvement on the projects.
Will UCoC also apply to projects that already have local policies and guidelines?
[edit]Yes, as the UCoC aims to create the most basic standards for conduct across the movement. Projects with well-developed policies typically already meet or even exceed the UCoC expectations, and in general will not have to make many changes to local policies in order to adhere to the global policy.
This community already has its own behavioral guidelines and policies written by the users, based on their needs and the needs of this project. Is the UCoC going to replace them?
[edit]No. The UCoC is not supposed to replace existing and effective behavioral standards, but will provide a basic standard for all projects and users to respect.
This means that communities can use the UCoC, if deemed appropriate by the communities, to re-evaluate and/or adjust existing guidelines.
What happens if the local policies are in conflict with the UCoC?
[edit]After the acceptance of the UCoC by the Board, the Wikimedia communities will be encouraged to look at their existing policies in light of UCoC expectations. Communities can go beyond UCoC and develop more elaborate policies, but they should ensure that their local policies do not fall below the basic standard set by UCoC.
If needed, communities and WMF can work together to harmonize policies. The Foundation will be available to assist after the second phase of the project is completed.
What if UCoC does not 100% meet our community needs?
[edit]The UCoC will most certainly not meet all community needs, and is very likely to evolve in the future. Communities are also encouraged to build their own policies on top of it.
For example, the UCoC may say “You should focus on what is best not only for you as an individual editor, but also for the Wikimedia community as a whole”. This is very broad. Many Wikis already have much more detailed policies on how to handle Conflicts of Interest. If your project does not have one, such a sentence in the UCoC would be the fallback rule for any conflicts arising on this topic. But the UCoC could also be a good reminder to develop a more detailed policy around this or other related topics.
Will there be periodic reviews and amendments in the UCoC once formed? If yes, who will be responsible for doing that?
[edit]Yes. The Legal Department will host a policy review on the UCoC one year after the final acceptance of the policy. Succeeding reviews may be facilitated by emerging governance structures recommended by the Movement Strategy.
Like other Foundation-hosted policies, requests for urgent changes can be submitted to the Foundation’s Legal Department. Legal has already led community-driven amendment conversations in the past, and has a structure and process for facilitating these situations.
Involvement of WMF and Trust & Safety
[edit]Why is the Wikimedia Foundation involved in this policy?
[edit]The Wikimedia Foundation was requested by the Board of Trustees to support the process. On the recommendations built by community members in the Movement Strategy consultations, the UCoC is being written by a volunteer/staff committee.
What would be the "actual" action from WMF if someone has violated the UCoC?
[edit]The exact details of enforcement are not yet determined, since they are the scope of the current phase of consultation.
It is already fair to say, though, that most violations of the UCoC will not be dealt with by the Wikimedia Foundation, but will instead be handled by the local communities or global functionaries. This is similar to what happens in case of violations of the Terms of use, which are currently dealt with in the same way.