View source for Scratchpad:Rough guide to semi-protection

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<div id="contentSub">< [[Scratchpad:Protection policy]] | [[Scratchpad:Protection policy#Semi-protection|semi-protection]]</div> -->

The official policy related to applying and removing semi-protection is located at [[Scratchpad:Protection_policy#Semi-protection|Scratchpad:Protection policy]].  This '''rough guide''' describes how the '''semi-protection''' policy is currently being applied by [[Project:Administrators|Administrators]]. Every case is different, and “passing” every criterion does not mean a page ''must'' be protected: Administrators are at liberty to use their discretion.
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==General considerations==

An editor considering requesting semi-protection for a page at [[Scratchpad:Requests for page protection]] ([[SP:RFPP]]), and an Administrator considering applying semi-protection, must assess each situation individually before deciding on a course of action.
* Is the problem [[Help:vandalism|vandalism]], or an editing dispute?
* How much vandalism is taking place?
* Is the vandalism from a wide range of accounts/IPs?
* Are any constructive edits being made to the page, especially from unregistered users?
* Is the problem on a high-profile, widely followed page?
* Does the problem have a detrimental effect on how Scratchpad looks to the public?
* Is the subject of the page a [[wikipedia:WP:BLP|living person]]?
* What is the quality of this article?
** Higher-quality articles are more damaged by vandalism than similar, low-quality articles, and there is also less likelihood that a given edit will improve the article.
** Since higher-quality articles are more complete, there is less likelihood that the article will ''need'' to be edited in the first place.

==Criteria for semi-protection==
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Articles subject to heavy and continued [[Help:vandalism|vandalism]] can be semi-protected.  There are no explicit rules that determine the level of vandalism that is necessary to trigger semi-protection. Administrators should use their best judgment to determine if semi-protection is warranted. Here are some criteria that may be helpful to determine if semi-protection is appropriate:
# {{anchors|1}}All or almost all of the vandalism is coming from unregistered users (i.e., IP-only, anonymous editors)
# {{anchors|2}}Unregistered editors should be making very few quality contributions to the article compared to the amount of vandalism coming from unregistered editors.  The negative effects of semi-protection on discouraging positive contributions should be more of a concern than the positive effect of decreasing vandalism.
# {{anchors|3}}There are regularly many new vandals, therefore it would be a huge unending task to notify and warn all the vandals individually.
# {{anchors|4}}According to [[wikipedia:Wikipedia:WikiProject Vandalism studies#Conclusions from study 1]], on average 5% of edits to a page are vandalism. So, 5% is the level of vandalism to be expected, and semi-protection should not be applied in this case. More than usual levels of vandalism occur when anything over 5% of edits constitute vandalism. If each vandal edit was followed by a revert, without any further edits to the page, then 50% of edits would be vandalism. More than 50% is rare, but may occur when multiple vandalism edits are reverted by a single edit. The higher the percentage of vandal edits, the greater the need for protection.
# {{anchors|5}}Consider a lower threshold for protection for [[wikipedia:WP:BLP|articles on living people]] as vandalism is potentially more damaging in these cases.

==Determining the duration for semi-protection==

If semi-protection is to be tried, its first application should be for a short duration, a few days or a week.  If [[Help:vandalism|vandalism]] continues after the protection expires it can be added for a longer duration.  At some point an [[Scratchpad:Administrators|Administrator]] might determine that the semi-protection should be made indefinite. This is reserved for only the most vandalized articles, and any Administrator is free to lift “indefinite” protections.
* Pages that are indefinitely semi-protected must have been semi-protected previously.  This shows that the problem is ongoing, and that temporary semi-protection does not have a lasting effect.
* Vandalism that resumes very shortly after semi-protection is removed demonstrates that the page is a popular target for random vandalism.  Such pages are likely candidates for indefinite semi-protection. 
* If vandalism is related to a current event, the semi-protection should be lifted after the event is out of the public eye.
* The only way to determine if ongoing semi-protection is still necessary is to remove the protection and see if the vandalism resumes at previous levels.  For this reason, all pages that are indefinitely semi-protected can have their protection removed from time to time.  The Administrator should monitor the page after removing the protection.

{{wikipedia|Wikipedia:Rough guide to semi-protection}}

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