WikiQueer:Arbitration Committee/CheckUser and Oversight

While most current and some former arbitrators hold CheckUser and/or Oversight permissions, the Arbitration Committee recognizes the need for additional and independent coverage and also appoints other suitably qualified candidates to these roles.

This page describes how the committee manages the CheckUser and Oversight teams, and describes methods for both appointment and removal. The permissions reflect the high trust placed in the holder but are not granted in perpetuity and holders are expected to use them regularly for the benefit of the project. On this project, users with access to these advanced permissions are part of a larger group collectively known as functionaries.

Appointments
Interested parties may apply for advanced permissions by:
 * making a good case to the Arbitration Committee on WikiQueer:Arbitration Committee/Noticeboard

While applying following a call for applications is the typical route, expressions of general interest are possible at any time. With the understanding that new functionaries are not always being sought and only exceptional applications would be considered, users with good reason to seek these tools sooner than a possible next call for applications may apply directly by contacting the committee via email to sound out interest, discuss suitability, and check whether there is a need for additional personnel.

Appointments that are confirmed by the Arbitration Committee will be posted to the noticeboard at which time the Lead Administrator will assign the permission after confirming the user has been identified to The Aequalitas Project.

Preamble
This describes the proposed method to be used in determining which suitably qualified and trusted editors are recommended to the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) for granting of CheckUser and Oversight permissions. This process is not set in stone: it will inevitably change based on experience and evolving best practise and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

Please note that CheckUser and Oversight permissions are subject to periodic review.

Roles

 * 1) The committee's role is to evaluate potential candidates (including an initial assessment of technical competence, familiarity with applicable policy, and whether they have obtained a level of trust commensurate with the granting of access to private data) and then to allow suitably qualified candidates to be reviewed by the community.
 * 2) The community's role is to vigorously scrutinise the candidates presented and determine whether the users presented are suitable for appointment to the CheckUser and/or Oversight team(s), at which time they are encouraged to submit their comment on the candidates publicly or privately.
 * 3) For legal and policy reasons, The Aequalitas Project retains the final authority over access to Checkuser and Oversight permissions.

Removals
Just as users with CheckUser and Oversight are appointed by the committee, so too can they be removed by the committee. The Arbitration Committee may request that Stewards withdraw advanced permissions if they lose confidence in an editor's ability to serve as a functionary; feel they have abused their privileges (such as by performing checks or oversighting edits that do not qualify under the criteria); or feel they have violated global privacy policies (such as inappropriately disclosing privacy related information obtained via their advanced privileges). Users appointed to this role are also subject to activity expectations.

Emergency requests based upon clear evidence may also be made directly to Stewards in exceptional circumstances. In an exceptional case, and for good cause, a Steward may temporarily remove the permission, pending a decision by the Committee. The Steward should check the matter is well founded, and make clear immediately that it is a temporary response only, since such an action could lead to controversy and contact the committee immediately following the removal of permissions.