'''''This document aims to outline how disputes over articles will be dealt with on OrthodoxWiki.'''''

==Overview==In cases of dispute, an appeal may be made to [[User:FrJohn|Fr. John]] or one of the [[Special:Listusers/sysop|other sysops]] asking for intervention. (The sysops are collectively usually very good at catching things like this quickly, but somethings some things may fall through the cracks.)

OthodoxWiki OrthodoxWiki is not a place to grind out ideological or personal battles. We assume that all our contributors are adults, able to take part in a reasonable discussion, even in cases of disagreement. Moreover, as Orthodox Christians, we hope for a genuine mutual love, even of one's enemies, and ask that all contributors and sysops pray for each other, especially in cases of disagreement.

[[User:FrJohn|FrJohn]] has the final say in disputed matters, though he takes advice from the sysops very seriously.

== Disputed Articles No Legal Threats==The most contentious area in OrthodoxWiki has been pages dealing with the [[Western Rite]]. I'm not sure why that is -- maybe the folks committed to the vision of Western Rite feel embattled and tend to become a little defensive? Enough speculation!

The only Don't make legal threats against other major area that has been contentious has been the relations between the Chalcedonian ("Eastern Orthodox") and non-Chalcedonian ("Oriental Orthodox") churchesusers of OrthodoxWiki.Apart from being rude, doing so causes a number of serious problems:

Other than these two areas* It severely inhibits free editing of pages, a concept that is absolutely necessary to ensure that OrthodoxWiki remains neutral. Without this freedom, we risk one side of a dispute intimidating the other, thus causing a systematic bias in our articles. * It causes bad feelings and a lack of trust amongst the OrthodoxWiki community, damaging our ability to proceed quickly and apart efficiently and with an assumption of mutual good faith. *A legal threat may lead to you being blocked from various individual editsediting (on a case by case basis), things so as not to exacerbate the problem through other than legal channels. '''Instead''', first attempt to resolve disputes using the above-mentioned dispute resolution procedures. This will oftentimes lead to a solution without resorting to the blunt tool of the law. If the dispute resolution procedures do not resolve your problem then you can use the law in the knowledge that you have been pretty peaceful taken all reasonable steps to resolve the situation amicably. '''But''', if you really feel the need to take legal action, we cannot prevent you from doing so. However, we ask that if you do so farthen you do not edit OrthodoxWiki until the matter of law is settled, one way or the other, thanks to ensure that all legal processes happen via proper legal channels. If you do decide to proceed with legal action, you should deal with it privately with the user by e-mail. Do not thrash out the issue in a OrthodoxWiki forum or talk page; you may find that other users take the side of the other party. (Would you really want to sue a group of users if that happened?) If your issue involves OrthodoxWiki itself, you should contact OrthodoxWiki's chief administrator, [[User:FrJohn|FrJohn]]. '''NOTE''': "No legal threats" does not mean, of course, that claims of copyright infringement are not to be made. If you are the owner of copyrighted material which is on OrthodoxWiki, a clear statement about whether it is licensed for such use is welcome and appropriate. Copyrighted material not licensed for OrthodoxWiki (with very limited fair-use exception) is not welcome on OrthodoxWiki.  Similarly, slander, libel, or defamation of character is not to be tolerated on OrthodoxWiki; true instances of such writing, that might legitimately expose OrthodoxWiki to God!legal sanction, should immediately be called to the attention of an administrator and/or the community at large. Disagreements as to the identity of a person, their motivations for a given action, opinions of third parties about them, ''etc''. do not fall under slander, however, and legal threats cannot be used to have points of view enshrined in an article. These guidelines have been adapted from [[w:Wikipedia:No_legal_threats]]. See also [[MeatBall:LegalThreat]]. ==See also==*[[OrthodoxWiki:Disciplinary policy]]*[[OrthodoxWiki:Frequently Asked Questions]]