While many discussions are closed by administrators, according to Wikipedia policy and convention, any registered editor in good standing may close a discussion. For practical purposes, non-administrators should not take formal action in discussions whose outcome would require the use of administrator tools, such as those at AIV, RFPP or PERM. This page offers guidance to editors considering doing such a closure.
Who should close discussions
There are many ways in which competence is required when editing Wikipedia, and often more so when accurately judging the outcomes of discussions. Although there are no formal requirements in terms of time spent on Wikipedia or number of contributions made for non-administrators to close discussions, it is important that those who do close are able to do so properly. Improper closures may have detrimental effects on the project, such as necessitating potentially time-consuming reviews or contributing to backlogs for various tasks.
While rare mistakes can happen in closes, editors whose closes are being overturned at decision reviews, and/or directly reverted by administrators, should pause closing until they have discussed these closes with an administrator, and that administrator gained comfort that the closer understands their mistakes, and will not repeat them.
Editors who are experienced
As experienced editors who have passed a community review, administrators will normally have gathered the knowledge necessary to close community discussions appropriately, or to identify when they cannot and defer to others. Non-administrators who close discussions should ensure they also have the requisite experience and knowledge necessary to do so.
- Knowledge of policy: Wikipedia is not a bureaucracy, but it does employ a sometimes complex set of policies and guidelines which document established consensus, and in some cases, legal requirements which may have serious consequences if not adhered to. Editors who close discussions should have a good understanding of when and how these apply, as well as when they do not, and how this helps uphold the fundamental principles of the project.
- Knowledge of process: Different venues for discussion on Wikipedia often include their own agreed-upon standards for procedural matters, such as how those discussions are formatted, how long they can or must continue, and what steps should be taken prior to their beginning and following their end. Editors who close discussions should have thoroughly familiarized themselves with these standards, and have enough history participating themselves that they are able to fulfill these expectations.
- Knowledge of subject matter: Wikipedia is written and maintained by a large and diverse body of contributors, each of which have individual strengths, interests or academic backgrounds. Editors who close discussions concerning highly technical subject matter should have the necessary background to effectively evaluate the evidence and arguments presented.
Editors who are uninvolved
Closing editors must abide by the standard of being uninvolved as described at Wikipedia:Administrators § Involved admins. Closing editors should be aware of any actual, potential or apparent conflicts of interest they may have that could affect their decision making, or give the appearance of impropriety, potentially compromising a consensus reached by the community by casting doubts on a closure. For the avoidance of doubt, editors should never close any discussion where they have !voted, or XfD discussions where they created or non-trivially contributed to the object under discussion.
Just as policy prohibits canvassing for participants with the intention of influencing the outcome of a discussion, editors should not attempt to close discussions they have been improperly notified of, or notified of in a way which may cast doubts as to their impartiality.
Editors who are registered
Per the results of this request for comment, unregistered editors may not close formal discussion anonymously. However, those who wish to be more involved with the Wikipedia community are encouraged to register an account, and unregistered users may participate in formal discussions, so long as they do so in a way that does not violate Wikipedia's policies on abusing multiple accounts.