| Any private material intended for the Committee's attention should be sent throughthe main contact page. Please see theCommunications and privacystatement below. |
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TheArbitration Committeeis the panel of editors responsible for conducting theWikipedia arbitration process.It has the authority to imposebinding solutionsto disputes between editors, primarily for serious conduct disputes the community has been unable to resolve. Thearbitration policydescribes the Committee's roles and responsibilities in greater detail.
In addition to its role in dispute resolution, the Committeedetermineswhich editors have access toCheckUserandOversightpermissions, and considers certain matters where exceptional factors such asprivacypreclude a public hearing.
Arbitrators are volunteer users—usually experienced editors andadministrators—whom the community of editors at largeelectsto resolve the most complex or intractable disputes that may arise within the community, and to oversee the few areas where access to non-public information is a prerequisite.
Members
These editors are theelectedmembers of the Arbitration Committee (known as arbitrators). Votes of the committee are taken among the active members. Members are markedactiveorinactiveso that themajorityfor new votes can be calculated. Members onwikibreak,not participating in arbitration within the past week, or indicating they will be absent are markedinactive.
Members moving back to active may remain inactive on some or all existing business. If you wish to know whether an arbitrator is active on a particular matter, please ask on their talk page (or check the proposed decision talk page, for cases). The list below is used to determine whether each arbitrator is active by default. Arbitrators who go on to participate in a vote will be counted as active for it even if they are listed as inactive below.
The following list is accurate as of 11 September 2024:
Clerks
TheCommittee's clerk teamassists the Committee with procedural tasks, such as opening and closing cases, maintaining arbitration pages, and issuing notifications of decisions. Parties with questions about the arbitration process are encouraged to consult a clerk for assistance.
Contacting the Committee
Thearbcom-enmailing list is the primary venue for internal Arbitration Committee discussion on all matters under the Committee's remit. It can also be used by any user as a means of contacting the Committee privately (but seeCommunications and privacybelow). The mailing list address isarbcom-en
wikimedia.org.It may also be reached through the "Email this user" feature at "User:Arbitration Committee".Allcurrent arbitratorsare subscribed to this list.
Mailing lists
In addition to thearbcom-enlist, the Committee operates several otherofficial mailing lists:
| Mailing list | Description |
|---|---|
| functionaries-en | Thefunctionaries-enmailing list is used for general discussion among current Arbitration Committee members, former members in good standing, advanced permission (CheckUser and/or Oversight) operators, and other editors with official Wikimedia Foundation status. Please seethe functionary pagefor more details and a list of subscribers. |
| clerks-l | Theclerks-lmailing list is used for coordination by theCommittee's clerk team.Please seethe clerk pagefor more details and a list of subscribers. |
| arbcom-en-bandarbcom-en-c | Thearbcom-en-bandarbcom-en-cmailing lists are secondary mailing lists used instead of arbcom-en "solely for discussions involving (i) the conduct of an arbcom-en subscriber or (ii) cases, broadly defined, to which an arbcom-en subscriber is a party" perWikipedia:Arbitration Committee/Noticeboard/Archive 5#Motion to establish secondary ArbCom mailing list.They are also used for CheckUser and Oversight applications, and may be used when one or more arbitrators recuse on a case. All arbitrators potentially have access to the archives of these mailing lists upon conclusion of the incident that either list was used for. |
What happens to incoming ArbCom email?
The committee is not necessarily the most appropriate body for every matter we are contacted about. Therefore, emails are shared with other trusted permissions holders on Wikipedia when, in an arbitrator's judgement, they cannot or must not be handled by the committee alone.
- Spam:Almost all incoming email is spam that we delete at moderation. Please include an informative subject line to avoid deletion. Messages are normally acknowledged by an arbitrator within 48 hours.
- Child protection / child pornography:Reports should be made to WMF Legal.legal-reportswikimedia.org.
- Content change requests:Referred toVRT,either by forwarding or by an arbitrator writing back to recommend you send to there.
- Suppression requests:Normally forwarded to theOversight team,unless immediately actioned by an arbitrator.
- Requests forcheckuser/sockpuppetry investigations:Normally referred either to theFunctionaries mailing listor to an individual checkuser.
- Legal matters outside ArbCom's scope:Referred to theWMF Legal and Community Liaison.
- Threats of harm to self or to others:Referred to theWMF emergency address,emergencywikimedia.org.
- Appeals ofblocksorbansdirectly related to Arbitration Committee decisions orarbitration enforcement:Discussed and decided by the full committee.
- Requests about"checkuser"or"oversighter"blocks or bans:Appeals reviewed by the committee, or forwarded to theFunctionaries.
- Requests to review actions of checkusers or oversighters:Discussed and decided by the full committee.
- Emails about currently open arbitration cases:Handled according to thearbitrationpolicy.
- Emails relating to closed cases:Normally referred toArbitration Enforcementunless private or non-public personal information is involved.
- Other:Handled on a case-by-case basis, according to applicable policy and convention.
Communications and privacy
Arbitrators usually seek to treat communications with the committee, including emails, as confidential. That said, we cannot guarantee against public disclosure for a number of reasons, including potential security limitations. Accordingly, you should not disclose sensitive personal information in your communications with us.
Once received, your communications may be shared with committee members and – in some limited cases – with third parties as deemed appropriate. Your communications may be archived indefinitely and made available to future members of the committee.
Your email address may contain personal information that could reveal your real-life identity. Many people create email accounts specifically for Wikipedia use. Further information about safeguarding your privacy may be found atOn privacyandHow to not get outed on Wikipedia.