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On Wikipedia, CheckUser is a tool allowed to be used by a small number of users who are permitted to examine user IP information and other server log data under certain circumstances, for the purposes of protecting Wikipedia against actual and potential disruption and abuse. Checkuser itself simply produces log information for checking; it can require considerable skill and experience to investigate cases even with the tool.
On the English Wikipedia, CheckUser is entrusted to a restricted number of users, who can both execute CheckUser inquiries subject to the requirements below, and monitor and crosscheck each other's use of the function.
The permission is approved (exceedingly rarely and only with good cause) by the Arbitration Committee, who handle many privacy-related functions. Users authorized for CheckUser must be 18 or over, and have provided personal identification to the Wikimedia Foundation.
Template:Main The CheckUser feature is approved for use to prevent disruption, or investigate legitimate concerns of bad faith editing. The Wikimedia Foundation policy on CheckUser reads as follows:
The tool is to be used to fight vandalism, to check for sockpuppet abuse, and to limit disruption of the project. It must be used only to prevent damage to any Wikimedia project.
The tool should not be used for political control; to apply pressure on editors; or as a threat against another editor in a content dispute. There must be a valid reason to check a user. Note that alternative accounts are not forbidden, so long as they are not used in violation of the policies (for example, to double-vote or to increase the apparent support for any given position).
Notification to the account that is checked is permitted but is not mandatory. Similarly, notification of the check to the community is not mandatory, but may be done subject to the provisions of the privacy policy.
Some wikis allow an editor's IPs to be checked upon his or her request if, for example, there is a need to provide evidence of innocence against a sockpuppet allegation; note, however, that requesting a checkuser in these circumstances is sometimes part of the attempt to disrupt.
[Note: English Wikipedia does not usually undertake such checks on request]
Template:Main The CheckUser feature accesses non-public information. The Wikimedia Foundation takes privacy of its editors extremely seriously, and there may at times be a conflict between the high priorities given to both protecting the Wiki from damage and disruption, and privacy of even problematic users. This is a very delicate area and at times no solution is ideal; the following cover some of the principles and common practices on English Wikipedia. If in doubt please ask an experienced CheckUser.
It is not normally considered a breach of privacy policy to state that different named accounts are operated from the same IP or range if details of the range are not given, or if a generic description only is given (country, large ISP etc) that in no way is very likely to identify a specific person. It is undesirable to link an IP to a named account, since an IP is often much more tightly linked to a specific person. (This is often less so for larger IP ranges: the larger the range, the less obvious the connection will often be to any specific person.) CheckUsers will employ a variety of means to avoid doing this, but in some cases it is hard to avoid and "Wikipedia norms are not a suicide pact" -- a user who is disruptive and needs to be addressed as such may have to accept that the price of disruption is that their IP becomes linked to their account.
This can happen in several ways:
CheckUsers will often use a variety of techniques to avoid drawing such connections (new checkusers should ask and pick these up), but in many cases it is hard to avoid in a practical sense. Users who engage in problematic conduct to the point that requests for administrative action or blocking are raised and considered valid for CheckUser usage, and where Checkuser then determines that the user probably has engaged in such conduct, must expect that the protection of the project is given a higher priority than the protection of those who knowingly breach its policies on editorial conduct, if the two conflict or there is a problematic editing history.
As configured by Wikimedia, Checkuser keeps IP and other information on users for a certain time only, to prevent abuse of older information. In general if a matter is not current, it is less likely to require administrative intervention.
m:CheckUser policy gives this guidance on privacy compliance:
A further norm on English Wikipedia is: if you are requested to perform a check, always ask for the evidence of the user that a check is needed and appropriate, and confirm for yourself that there is indeed a valid basis that you can explain if needed. Do not assume, no matter who asks.
A user with CheckUser access will get an extra "CheckUser" option under Special:SpecialPages.
Template:Main CheckUser's help page gives the following tips to users:
CheckUsers are expected to have policy-compliant grounds for Checkuser actions, identification, and blocks, and to discuss openly and fully with other CheckUsers their rationale if asked.
CheckUser requests are logged privately with a comment for each. The full log of all searches is visible to other CheckUsers at Special:CheckUser. The log lists who made a request, when, what the request was, and a provided comment. They do not list the results of the check, nor do they store any user IP data.
This section, in a nutshell; This section is currently not set in stone. Those users who think that they have need of CheckUser must contact the Committee (or an individual member) first and proceed from there. However, be aware that typically only around 1–2 such appointments are made per year. |
Users who require the CheckUser permission are typically members of the Arbitration Committee and former Arbitration Committee members. For those users who are not, in order to be approved for the CheckUser flag, a case should be made and sent to the ArbCom mailing list or to any active Arbitrator. Users are advised to initially sound out interest, discuss suitability, and check the current position via an off-list email to any active Arbitration Committee member, understanding that most times, new Checkusers are not being looked for. Appointments that are confirmed by the Arbitration Committee will be posted on Requests for permission on Meta-Wiki, a Steward will assign the permission once identification is confirmed.
Just as easily as the CheckUser permission can be approved, it can be revoked. If the Committee feels that an editor has abused CheckUser, such as by performing checks which do not qualify under one of the above criteria or inappropriately disclosing privacy related information from a CheckUser inquiry, they will immediately request a Steward to remove the permission from the editor. This may be done by any of the usual ways, including e-mail or a request on requests for permission on Meta.
Emergency requests based upon clear evidence may also be made in exceptional circumstances, the same way. 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.
Template:Main WMF policy on removal states that:
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The Ombudsman usually considers breaches of privacy policy. On English Wikipedia, complaints about misuse that do not result in privacy breaches should therefore be referred to the Arbitration Committee initially.
An automatic list is available at Special:Listusers/checkuser. Accurate as of 25 August 2008, the CheckUser team is:
Developers do not typically patrol the site for violations, but require occasional access for maintenance and enhancement purposes. Members of the Ombudsman commission also do not typically run routine requests for checkuser. "Others" includes non-Arbitrators selected for the permission, and WMF officers.
*: denotes members of the Ombudsman commission, who have global CheckUser access; see also Special:GlobalUsers/Ombudsmen.