Wikipedia:Blocking policy

Blocks are one of the technological means by which bans are enforced, and are also used to deal with vandalism, bots, and inappropriate usernames.

There are three types of blocks:

• User accounts
• Anonymous IPs
• IP ranges.

Administrators have the power to block any of these for any period of time, but such blocks should follow our blocking policy. Blocks on usernames may be used to enforce formal bans, or to deal with cases of vandalism.

The situations when sysops are permitted to block users are given below. Blocks should not be used in other cases. In particular, blocks are not meant to be used against unpopular opinions, or one-off vandalism incidents.

As discussed in Wikipedia:Bots, bots must have prior approval on Wikipedia talk:Bots, and must follow certain minimum standards. In any case, sysops may block on sight any bot that appears to be out of control.

See Dealing with vandalism for detailed policy.

Sysops may, at their judgement, block IP addresses that vandalise Wikipedia. For dynamic IPs, such blocks should last 24 hours. For static IPs, such blocks should initially last 24 hours, but repeat violators may be blocked for a maximum of one month.

Sysops may also permanently block user accounts that do essentially nothing but vandalism. However, user accounts that perform a mixture of valid edits and vandalism should not be blocked in this manner.

Reincarnations of blocked vandals can be reblocked if they continue vandalising, or if they edit in a way which suggests they are likely to continue vandalising - eg "YOU CAN'T BLOCK ME!!11!!", etc, etc.

Blocks should not be used against isolated incidents of vandalism.

According to our username policy, inflammatory, deliberately confusing, and other inappropriate usernames are not allowed, and in certain circumstances, sysops may block accounts with such usernames.

Sysops can force a namechange by blocking the username (with an expiry time of infinite). The blocking sysop should include Template:UsernameBlock in the block message (by writing {{UsernameBlock}} in the "reason" field), along with a link to the RfC or user talk page where the matter was discussed. If a user page has already been created, any user may add an explanation of why the user was blocked and a link to the RfC page on the blocked user's userpage. It is not advisable to create user pages or talk pages for users with offensive usernames.

Care should be taken to unblock the user's IP address. To unblock the IP but not the username, wait until the user next tries to edit a page, and something like #1234 was blocked because they share an IP with OldUserName will appear at Special:Ipblocklist. Click "unblock" next to that number. Then the user can log in under their new name.

If an account has been blocked both for vandalism and for having an inappropriate username, the IP should be left auto-blocked.

Usernames that are designed to impersonate legitimate users may be blocked immediately. The IP address of these users should be left autoblocked.

Sysops may, at their judgement, block IP addresses that disrupt the normal functioning of Wikipedia. Such disruption is to be objectively defined by specific policies, and may include changing other user's signed comments or making deliberately misleading edits. Users should be warned that they are violating policy before they are blocked. For dynamic IPs, such blocks should last 24 hours. For static IPs and user names, such blocks should initially last 24 hours, but repeat violators may be blocked for a maximum of one month.

Sysops may also block new user accounts that make lots of disruptive edits, for any length of time or permanently, at their discretion. Sockpuppets that were created to violate Wikipedia policy should be blocked permanently. However, blocks should not be used against isolated incidents of disruption from IP addresses nor against user accounts that make a mixture of disruptive and useful edits.

Reincarnations of blocked disruptive users will be reblocked if they continue being disruptive, or if they edit in a way which suggests they are likely to continue being disruptive—such as "YOU CAN'T BLOCK ME!!11!!" A user should remain unblocked if there is no consensus about whether they can be blocked under this policy.

Users that have been banned are typically blocked from editing Wikipedia. Such bans may occur as the result of:

• Community consensus that the user should be banned
• Ruling by Arbitration Committee
• Ruling by Jimbo Wales
• Ruling by the Wikimedia Board of Trustees

When it becomes clear that a user account is a "reincarnation" of an existing banned user, the reincarnating account can likewise be blocked.

See banning policy.

Sysops are permitted and encouraged to IP-block anonymous proxies indefinitely [1]. See the entire thread for discussions about the legitimacy of using an anonymous proxy to edit Wikipedia.

User:Proxy blocker used to automatically blocks open proxies, but was turned off as it "spooked" some people's ISPs. Block them manually.

The suggested block message is Template:BlockedProxy.

Blocks may be imposed in instances where threats have been make or actions performed (including actions outside the Wikipedia site) which expose other Wikipedia editors to political, religious or other persecution by government, their employer or any others. In such a case a ban for a period of time may be applied immediately by any sysop upon discovery. Sysops applying such sanctions should confidentially notify the members of the Arbitration Committee and Jimbo Wales of what they have done and why. See No personal attacks.

The occasions when blocking is appropriate are detailed above. Blocking should not be used in any other circumstances. If you wish to use blocks in other cases, please discuss changing the policy first, or seeking alternative solutions. In particular, blocks should not be used for:

Blocking may not be used to prevent a user from posting unpopular opinions. A content dispute between users should be settled on the article's talk page or on their own user talk pages. If it cannot be resolved that way, there is a clearly defined dispute resolution procedure to resolve contentious issues. See Wikipedia:Dispute resolution for more.

Users are not permitted to block themselves or request that they be blocked for a temporary period to enforce a Wikiholiday or a departure. Such blocks are a distraction to people who follow the block log. They also have the potential to cause trouble because of the IP autoblocker - many IP addresses are either dynamic or shared, and thus have the potential to inadvertantly block many other users.

An additional concern is that this kind of "vanity" use of the block feature trivialises what should be a serious matter. In addition, it gives the incorrect impression that admins are privileged, or especially vulnerable to Wikipedia addiction. Further, admins can unblock themselves anyway, rendering the process fairly pointless.

Administrators can, however, request de-adminship at m:requests for permissions if they feel this would help them take a wikibreak or if they intend to leave Wikipedia.

Blocked users can still see all Wikipedia pages, but the "Edit this page" link brings up a "User is blocked" page which explains the reason behind the block and gives information on how to request unblocking. Links and template includes all work as normal in the "reason" section.

The scope of the block depends on the expiry time that was entered at the time of the block, which may be "indefinite" or "infinite" (ie, until explicitly unblocked).

When an IP is blocked, or range of IPs are blocked, accounts which share that IP are automatically blocked, preventing one from simply creating a new account to avoid the block. When a logged in user is blocked, IPs of the account are also automatically blocked.

There is an internal autoblock expiry time variable, which is set to 24 hours, meaning that when a username is blocked indefinitely, their IP will be automatically unblocked 24 hours after they last accessed a page.

Occasionally, users with floating IPs will find that they have been blocked accidentally, because their present IP was previously used by a vandal or hard-banned user. These blocks will disappear if IP change can be forced. If that is not possible, the block should be reported to the nearest friendly sysop via email - see the list of administrators for some likely candidates.

Users who act so as to impersonate a previously banned user, to impersonate a known vandal, or to pretend to be engaging in vandalism, are also likely to be accidentally blocked. To avoid this problem, do not act in this way. "Don't do that then". It is good practice to edit so as to demonstrate your trustworthiness, not to put up a facade of untrustworthiness.

Sysops may go to Special pages and select the "Block a user/IP address" link. This takes them to Special:Blockip, which has further instructions. Special:Blockip is also accessible via the [block] link that appears next to each non-logged in user on recent changes.

Expiry times are entered in the GNU standard format, which is described in the tar manual. Alternatively, a block may be "indefinite" or "infinite", meaning the block is permanent, until a sysop explicitly unblocks the account.

If you don't enter an expiry time, you will see an error message.

For information about blocking ranges of addresses, see Range blocks.

Special:Ipblocklist contains a list of all currently blocked users and IPs. Sysops will see a link to [unblock] next to each user. After clicking this, you should type in the reason that you are unblocking the user and then click the Unblock this address button. Sysops are able to unblock themselves by following this procedure.

Sysops may unblock users if:

• They were blocked in violation of this policy.
• The reason for blocking no longer applies.
• The block has lasted too long.
• In other appropriate cases

There are no hard and fast guidelines on unblocking, hence the "in other appropriate cases" guidance. Sysops must use their common sense and good judgement. In controversial cases, you should discuss things first. Note that block wars, in which a user is repeatedly blocked and unblocked, are extremely harmful. If there is serious disagreement over whether a user should be blocked, err on the side of leaving them unblocked, and consult the arbitration committee for an authoritative ruling on the matter.

Special:Ipblocklist, Wikipedia:Block log, Block log archives