Welcome! edit

Hi SvorLyl12! I noticed your recent contributions on the Ukraine-related topics, and it is my great pleasure to welcome you to Wikipedia. I hope that you will continue editing, and if you do I'm sure it will be a great way to learn on a variety of topics that capture your curiosity, and to meet interesting people. I've been around for a few years, and if you wish I can assist you with any beginner troubles you might have, just leave a message on my talk page.

Here are some standard links you may find helpful:

Thanks, and happy editing! Heptor (talk) 10:33, 11 July 2020 (UTC)Reply

Discretionary sanctions on articles related to Eastern Europe and the Balkans edit

This is a standard message to notify contributors about an administrative ruling in effect. It does not imply that there are any issues with your contributions to date.

You have shown interest in Eastern Europe or the Balkans. Due to past disruption in this topic area, a more stringent set of rules called discretionary sanctions is in effect. Any administrator may impose sanctions on editors who do not strictly follow Wikipedia's policies, or the page-specific restrictions, when making edits related to the topic.

For additional information, please see the guidance on discretionary sanctions and the Arbitration Committee's decision here. If you have any questions, or any doubts regarding what edits are appropriate, you are welcome to discuss them with me or any other editor.

Civility edit

Hi, SvorLyl12.

Thanks for participating in the discussion at talk:Russo-Ukrainian War. I think you have raised some important questions about Eastern European media sources that should be addressed. In the short term, I think it could be more effective if you identified specific statements in the article that are not cited by a suitable source.

If you think particular specific sources should be flagged or blacklisted, you could research the right place for that proposal, but as a new editor, maybe get to know the territory a bit first. I don’t know the detailed answer to this question, I only found the lists of unreliable sources during the course of the discussion regarding that article.

But I’m writing mainly to draw your attention to the guideline at Wikipedia:Civility. Please have a look over that. Some of your comments are inappropriate, particularly in broadly labelling editors: “Wikipedia's been infiltrated by lots of rabid pro-Ukrainian, pro-Maidan, and anti-Russian editors. To me, that says something sad about Wikipedia.” There’s no point in this, at it creates a hostile environment. And it is against the rules. And Wikipedia will go on, whether you personally like it or not.

The template in my previous comment is not any kind of rebuke, but merely a formal notice that you’re aware of the discretionary sanctions that affect editors of article on Eastern Europe and the Balkans. It means you’re aware that an uninvolved editor may levy restrictions as an arbitration enforcement action on users editing in this topic area, after an initial warning. —Michael Z. 16:08, 11 July 2020 (UTC)Reply


Hey, if I may intrude, I think everything Michael wrote is a good idea. This is certainly not the most serious incivility that I've seen lately, but we do aspire to keep an educated tone on this project. If you see any specific statements in the article that are not cited by a suitable source, please do edit the article as you find appropriate and we can take it from there. If your edits are reverted we can resume the discussion. It is not expected that you know it all as a beginner, but this is our BRD policy, and you can learn more about it if you follow the link. Cheers, Heptor (talk) 19:36, 11 July 2020 (UTC)Reply