Ombuds commission

The ombudsman commission is tasked with investigating complaints about violations of the privacy policy (in particular concerning the use of CheckUser tools) on any Wikimedia project for the board in an official manner. To file a complaint, please contact an Ombudsman privately.

In addition to official investigation, they will mediate between the complainant and the respondent (usually a CheckUser, bureaucrat, administrator, or arbitration committee member). When legally necessary, the ombudsman will assist the General Counsel, the Executive Director or the board in handling the case.

When the case is litigious, the ombudsman will be in charge of educating CheckUsers or others about the Foundation's privacy policy. When the privacy policy has been breached, the commission should report to the Executive Director or to the Board and recommend a course of action (such as removal of CheckUser access). Additionally, the commission might suggest suitable changes to policies or software.

An ombudsman's investigation should be conducted in a manner determined by the ombudsman to ensure fairness and impartiality. As a general guideline, it is best that ombudsmen avoid conflicts of interest as much as possible, particularly by avoiding routine use of CheckUser access and not processing complaints on the projects on which they are very active editors. However, matters that come before the commission are not clearcut, and the language and culture of various projects may pose barriers to outsiders. As such, how the commission investigates complaints is left to the discretion of its appointed members.

Ombudsman requests may be made to the following email address:

cu-ombuds-l@lists.wikimedia.org

Members of the ombudsman commission are selected by Wikimedia Foundation officials from the Wikimedia community (there is no call for volunteers or elections). They are appointed (assuming they agree) for a period of approximately one year. An ombudsman's real identity must be disclosed to the Foundation legal counsel.

See also Special:GlobalUsers/Ombudsmen (terms expire January 2010):

• User:PatríciaR from commonswiki
• User:Sam Korn from enwiki
• User:Schiste from frwiki
• User:Shizhao from zhwiki
• User:Tinz from dewiki

• Resolution ombudsperson checkuser
• foundation-l: "Ombuds-wo-men commission" 2007年11月24日
• foundation-l: "Checkuser ombudsmen" 2009年01月21日
• Ombudsmen rights (log)

Template:User classes

• Wikimedia committees