Wikidata:Canvassing
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On Wikidata, canvassing is defined as soliciting votes from other users in a request or proposal, when the other users can be expected to vote disproportionately in favor of a specific stance. Examples include:
- Posting on users' talk pages and asking them to vote on your RFP.
- Asking users on other projects to come vote on a local proposal or request for permissions, when they are not sufficiently familiar with Wikidata practices to take a well-informed stance.
- "Off-wiki" coordination, such as mailing lists or blog posts aiming to create an illusion of greater support or opposition in a discussion.
A common type of canvassing is asking users on your home wiki to come vote in your requests for permissions. Users who do this often say that they feel it was acceptable since Wikidata content is used on other projects. However, Wikidata is its own community, and local discussions should be conducted by the local community. While users without Wikidata experience are of course welcome to contribute, an excessive amount of this distracts from consensus-building.
Also note that something can be considered canvassing even if you don't explicitly say "come vote for such-and-such".
What canvassing is not edit
It is not considered canvassing to:
- Invite a user to comment on a request for deletion or a proposed policy if they've previously been involved with the matter.
- Advertise your request for permissions on your own userpage and/or talk page.
- Request broader input on a matter in a neutral forum.