Laboratory Wiki:Consensus

A consensus, as defined on Laboratory Wiki, is an agreement among all discussing editors. Discussing editors are those that actively participate in discussion of a given topic, and whose opinions on the topic have been voiced in the discussion. Editors that have not participated in the general discussion up to the point of reaching consensus may voice their opinion at such a time, and their input shall be included. Therefore, consensus cannot be reached until all discussing editors are in agreement. However, this also means that editors seeking to make changes after consensus has been reached must petition other editors to re-engage in discussion. Editors may not undo the results of a previously achieved consensus unless a new consensus has been reached, regardless of whether they were part of the original discussion.

Disagreements
There will be situations in which agreement among all editors cannot be reached (oftentimes these may escalate into disputes). In such cases, discussing editors should endeavor to reach a compromise. If no compromise can be agreed upon, administrative intervention may be required. In this situation, a Supervisor should be contacted first to help find ways to achieve consensus or compromise. Supervisors have the authority to resolve disputes on this wiki, but do not possess full administrative authority. If they cannot resolve a disagreement, a Manager should be contacted. Managers have the authority to resolve disputes, but also possess full administrative priveleges that may prove necessary in such situations. If Managers cannot resolve the situation, the final step is to contact an Executive Director, who has the ultimate authority on this wiki.

Policy
Because discussion is fundamental to the proper functioning of this and any other wiki, all decisions made on this wiki are naturally the result of a consensus of interested editors. This means consensus is a foundational aspect of policy, and should be the intended end result of all discussions on this wiki. Any serious digressions from this intent will be regarded as vandalism and/or hostility. This includes personal attacks, insults, epithets, slurs, general disrespect toward fellow editors, deliberate and repeated distraction from the topic at hand, and a general demeanor antithetical to productive discussion.

Log
A consensus that has been reached on any topic should be logged so that there is an easily identifiable and locatable record. For this purpose, the Consensus Page exists. Any consensus reached on a topic of interest to more than one editor should be logged on this page. Simply add a link to the talk page on which the consensus was reached below the last entry. Make sure to include the first heading under which discussion took place. The code would be as follows.