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By tradition, Wikipedia shows considerable leniency towards pages in userspace. However, it is unclear whether this means that literally anything is allowed, or that existing policy should still apply in some form. The issue has recently come up in a variety of discussions, such as on the admin's noticeboard and votes for deletion. Many people mention they are unsure what to do with it. Hence, this proposal.
Basically, there is a conflict between the existence of policies that claim to apply to userspace, and the reality that these policies are not presently enforced. Logically, then, we should either assert that the policies do apply and can be enforced iff extreme cases make it necessary, OR we should amend the policies stating that they do not apply in userspace.
Particularly relevant policies
- WP:UP#Ownership and editing of pages in the user space "Community policies, including Wikipedia:No personal attacks, apply to your user space just as they do elsewhere."
- WP:WIN#Wikipedia is not an experiment in anarchy "Wikipedia is free and open, but restricts both freedom and openness where they interfere with the purpose of creating an encyclopedia."
This should not be taken as a witch hunt, nor is it a call for massive purges of user space. It is merely a fall-back so that if and when a debate again arises over the appropriateness of a certain page in userspace, people will know where the consensus lies, and can act accordingly.
If you have a good idea for a variant proposal, or know of a general controversy in user space not listed here, please add it.
Please realize that this is not proposing NEW policy, but rather verifying if EXISTING policy should or should not apply in user space.