Commons talk:Role account

No clarity on this issue

When Commons:Username policy was voted to become a Commons policy I asked for clarity on the issue of role accounts. I do not feel that the issue was addressed. Since I feel that the username policy is good except for on that one point, I am spinning the role account issue into its own page for its own separate discussion.

See Commons_talk:Username_policy#Making_official for the vote about making the "username policy" official, and the outstanding issue of role accounts. Blue Rasberry (talk) 17:03, 15 July 2016 (UTC)

@Jameslwoodward: just noted that this page is against some policy, and it is. At the same time there is contradictory and incompatible policy which allows it. I would join any conversation on reconciling the policies one way or the other. If anyone feels bold, please change policy everywhere to make all policy say the same thing. Blue Rasberry (talk) 14:49, 1 September 2016 (UTC)

Breadth of existing discussion

If printed on paper, there might be tens of thousands of pages of text on the issue of role accounts in Wikimedia projects. Probably most of the discussion is in English Wikipedia. Some of that may be relevant to Wikimedia Commons. Ultimately Commons has different needs and will set its own rules.

I would not want anyone to duplicate any previous discussion that is relevant, but also, there is no compilation of the pros or cons of this available for me to recommend. A lot has already been said.

It could be worthwhile to start this discussion by going through archives in Commons and collecting the major discussions on this issue in Commons. Blue Rasberry (talk) 17:03, 15 July 2016 (UTC)

Examples of shared role accounts

At present there are accounts which are blocked and other accounts which are allowed for being role accounts. I do not think that any user operating a role account necessarily needs to be contacted to take part in this discussion, because this is tedious and esoteric Wikimedia bureaucracy. Only people who care about such things should be invited into the conversation, and people who have not expressed interest in such things do not need to be asked to participate.

Just as examples, and not to compel or coax anyone into this conversation, I will share an example of a blocked account and a permitted account.

Blocked -

• Simpleshow foundation, see also simpleshow and en:wp:simpleshow

Encouraged -

• Swiss National Library, see also Category:Media contributed by the Swiss National Library

Blue Rasberry (talk) 17:03, 15 July 2016 (UTC)

November 2023 on Commons Pump

• Commons:Village_pump#Role_accounts

Bluerasberry (talk) 13:15, 26 November 2023 (UTC)