Forum:Policy on Canvassing and Campaigning

During the discussion at Forum:Achievements, suspicious activity on the part of some has come to light. This concerns attempts to influence peoples votes by intimidation, using off-site mediums.

Yuri has rightly pointed out in that discussion that there is no policy against this. I believe there should be. Over at Wikipedia, we have a policy on canvassing which bans several aspects of vote campaigning and canvassing. While I am not suggesting the same for here, I would like to propose that including the following be added as a new section to BF:VOTE:

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Campaigning
When a vote is held, each user gets the chance to voice their opinion and cast a single vote. Attempts to improperly sway a vote are considered a breach of policy. This comes under four types: Any attempts to sway a vote in an improper manner should be reported to an admin. Users responsible should be issued a warning, with a possible block if ignored.
 * Spamming: Users should not spam others to get their opinions on a matter. For important debates and votes, a central notice (a blog, forum, etc.) may be posted and users who have previously expressed opinions on a matter notified. Uninvolved or inactive users shouldn't be actively harassed for their opinions. No attempt should be made to sway an outcome by selectively notifying editors on the basis of how they are likely to vote.
 * Campaigning: Any central or inter-user notifications of debates and votes should be phrased in a neutral manner, without attempt to sway opinions. Arguments and opinions should be consigned only to the debate itself.
 * Stealth Canvassing: Campaigning for involvement in a debate or vote should always be done in a transparent manner, here on the wiki. General discussion of issues in off-site media is permitted, but harassing users to either get or change their opinions through email or messaging service is considered improper.
 * Sockpuppetry: Each user is given one vote and one vote only. Attempts to vote multiple times with different accounts is considered a breach of policy. Voter requirements are set and should be enforced for the purposes of preventing such activity.
 * }

I would like to suggest this be adopted as official policy as soon as practicable. The vote will close on Sunday 22 December. - 23:35, December 18, 2013 (UTC)

Discussion

 * Support - as nominator - 23:35, December 18, 2013 (UTC)