View source for Wiki143:Emailing users

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{{Caution|text=<span style="background-color:#ffd8d8">'''''If you have received an abusive or objectionable email, please see [[#Abuse handling|Abuse]] below, or if necessary, the [[WP:HARASS|policy on dealing with harassment]].'''''</span>
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{{Information page|WP:EMAIL}}
{{nutshell|The [[MediaWiki]] software has an opt-in option to send email between users. You do not have to reply to such emails and can disable the feature if desired.}}

[[Image:Emailuser location.png|right|thumb|alt=Image of Wikipedia user page with "Email this user" link highlighted under "toolbox" heading.|"Email this user" is available from the "toolbox" on the left of the screen, when the [[Wikipedia:User page|User or User talk page]] of any editor with email enabled is viewed.]]
This page sets out information on the '''[[Special:EmailUser]]''' feature, a [[MediaWiki]] feature that allows registered users to exchange [[email]]s with other registered users privately ("off-wiki").

Users can send emails to other users via the built-in email facility on Wikipedia and any of its sister websites. Both the sender and recipient must have provided email addresses in [[Special:Preferences|their preferences]]. The sender's username and email address are disclosed but not their IP address. ''<span style="color:red;">(Note that {{em|replying}} "the wrong way" {{em|can}} disclose personal information—see [[#Privacy_issues_and_protecting_personal_information|Privacy issues]] below for how to avoid this if needed, when you reply)</span>''. 

Emails sent using Wikimedia's mail facility are private. Their contents cannot be read by administrators or anyone else, even to check for appropriateness, so only limited help is possible if the feature is being abused.  It is possible for users able to access the [[WP:CHK|CheckUser]] tool to confirm if and when a user sent any emails, but not the content of the emails. In the event of [[WP:HARASS|abuse, threats, or harassment]] through this facility, users may contact any [[WP:ADMIN|administrator]] for advice and assistance (by email or any other way, if they wish, in order to keep it private).  In more serious cases they should email the [[WP:OTRS|Volunteer Response Team]] for help.

Users have the right to disable the email facility on their account '''at any time''' (and can ask users who email them to communicate on-wiki instead), although users active in roles that require accepting of user email should probably consult appropriately first (on or off wiki).  Use of the email facility can also be disabled by any administrator as part of [[WP:BLOCK|blocking]] an account, although usually this is only done if the blocked user has abused or is likely to abuse the email facility. 

There are some important "best practices" about this facility – Wikipedia is designed to work based upon public dialog, so communication between users is often better if it's in public (on users' [[WP:TP|talk pages]] or elsewhere on Wikipedia's [[WP:TP|talk and project pages]]), where others can review and note them. This is especially the case where improper use might later be claimed ([[WP:CANVASS|canvassing]], [[WP:HARASS|harassment]] and so on); this would not be possible to claim if the posts are on the website itself. Also, unlike messages on the website, messages via email are not subject to Wikipedia's [[Free content|free]] license and therefore are copyright by their sender, and '''should not be pasted onto the website''' in a way that breaches [[WP:COPYRIGHT|copyright law]].

== General information about the Wikimedia email facility==
If you've added and confirmed an email address in your [[Help:Preferences|user preferences]], you can exchange [[email]]s with other Wikipedia accounts using the Wikipedia interface. To send an email to another Wikipedia account, simply visit your correspondent's [[Wikipedia:User page|user page]], and click on the "Email this user" link that is located in the "toolbox" on the left-side navigation menu. This link is only present if the correspondent has enabled the "Allow other users to email me" option in their user preferences. The email address that you've set and verified in [[Special:Preferences|your user preferences]] will be provided to the recipient so that they can respond to you directly. It will appear in the "From" address of the email they receive, so that the recipient can easily respond just by clicking "reply".

Users who have openly disclosed their email addresses can be emailed directly. However, Wikipedia ''does not'' encourage such open disclosure. Emailing users through Wikipedia is a privacy feature that protects your email address from [[Spam (electronic)|spam]]. 

Wikipedia emails are sent immediately when you click on "send". You can set your preferences so that you'll also receive a copy of every email you send; if you don't choose this option, this can still be done for individual emails. It may be useful at times to leave a brief message with a courtesy notification on the recipient's [[WP:TP|user talk page]] that you've emailed them, as some users may not check their inbox regularly.

A link to the email feature can be created in text or a signature by typing <code><nowiki>[[Special:EmailUser/</nowiki>''Username'']]</code>.

=== Enabling and disabling user email ===
{{shortcut|WP:ENABLEEMAIL}}
Email is disabled unless you specify and verify an email address with your account. This can be done while you are setting up your account for the first time, or at any time by adding one to [[Special:Preferences|your user preferences]]. Your preferences can be accessed from the top-right corner of any page on Wikipedia while you're logged into your account. If you are enabling the ability to  send emails to other users, MediaWiki requires you to verify that the email address you provide actually belongs to you. It will do this by sending a confirmation email to the address that you provided. Simply access your email's inbox, open the confirmation message, and click on the link that is provided in the message. The link will navigate you to the Wikipedia site, which will mark your email address as 'confirmed' and inform you of the successful completion of the process. The confirmation link will expire seven days from the time that it was generated and sent to you. If you don't click on the link within that time, you will need to have another one resent. See [[Help:Email confirmation]] for help and additional information.

Once you have confirmed an email address to your Wikipedia account, you may enable or disable the email ability by visiting "[[Special:Preferences|my preferences]]", and by ticking or un-ticking the "Allow other users to email me" option. You can also prevent users without the [[Wikipedia:AUTOCONFIRM|autoconfirmed]] permissions level from emailing you by un-ticking the "Allow emails from brand-new users" option.

=== Prohibiting email from specified users ===
[[File:MediaWiki screenshot of user preference to prohibit or mute emails from specified other users.png|thumb|right|Screenshot of preference to prohibit emails from specified users]]
If you have the email preference enabled, you can specify usernames which you do not want to be able to send you emails. These users will not see the "Email this user" link on your user page and will see a standard error message when using Special:EmailUser as if your entire email preference has been disabled. 

Emails triggered by watchlist and notifications are not affected by this preference.

==Reposting emails publicly ==
{{See also|Wikipedia:Harassment#Private correspondence}}
There is no formal consensus by the community regarding the act of reposting private off-wiki correspondence onto public Wikipedia locations, or the restriction or prohibition of the exercise thereof. However, it is often considered to be an unacceptable action for legal reasons. Unlike edits and posts to Wikipedia's web pages, emails that are sent through the email facility are not automatically [[WP:LICENSE|"freely" licensed]] by the sender, and therefore, reposting the messages or correspondence to a public Wikipedia location would suggest or imply to any and all readers that the text is freely licensed for reuse and republication by its author, which is generally not the case. 

Users who feel that they are allowed to repost text from an email or other off-wiki source, or that doing so is necessary or the right to do so given a certain situation, discussion, report, or event, are advised to take ''extreme caution'', and to consult with other trusted and experienced users before doing so, in order to ensure that the act will not accidentally create a problem for themselves, or create a negative perception or result in negative consequences. This might involve consulting, or asking the sender if they will allow the email to be quoted under Wikipedia's license in a post on Wikipedia's discussion pages. Note that this only applies to reposting on Wikipedia and its sister projects – other forms of quoting which do not involve risk of copyright breach (such as forwarding the text to an administrator for advice, or quoting words or brief phrases in a way that constitutes [[WP:FAIRUSE|Fair Use]]) are generally unaffected by this concern.

== Privacy issues and protecting personal information==
{{main|Wikipedia:Security|Wikipedia:Personal security practices}}
Sending an email via the [[Special:EmailUser]] system will disclose your email address for the purposes of a reply, but no other information will be provided by the system to the recipient. (Note that emails sent this way are private – they are sent as written, as a private communication between willing parties who have agreed to send and receive emails.)

If you receive an email via this feature, it is important to know that '''you are not obligated in any way to reply or respond to the message'''. If you do wish to respond to the user, you may do so in three ways:

* ''By replying with your email client''<br />This will disclose whatever information your emails usually contain, including your email address. It may contain your [[IP address]], or a signature line, or time zone, or the like.
* ''By visiting the [[WP:UP|user page]] of the sender, and using the "Email this user" feature''<br />This will disclose nothing except your email address. You can do this by visiting the sender's user page (their name will appear in the header or footer of the email), then selecting "Email this user" from the "toolbox" on the left of the page.
* ''By replying to their message on Wikipedia (usually done by visiting the editor's [[WP:TP|user talk page]])''<br />In some cases, you may wish to leave a note on their user talk page, for example, to inform them that their email was received, or to provide a brief response there. Since communication using email is usually performed (as opposed to starting a public discussion or correspondence on Wikipedia) in order to facilitate private communication or to discuss private or confidential matters, it is often courteous to keep such replies made on Wikipedia as brief as possible and without disclosing private details or breaching any level of privacy or confidentiality as possible, since the sender will usually expect such details or information to be communicated back to them using private channels.

== Abuse handling ==
{{Main|Wikipedia:Harassment}}
{{shortcut|WP:EMAILABUSE}}
If you receive an objectionable email through this system, you should contact an [[WP:ADMIN|administrator]], possibly by email, to ask advice. In serious cases you may wish to escalate the matter, especially if there is a pattern of [[WP:HARASS|harassment]] involved. Please note the following:

* ''Do not post the email on-wiki without permission''<br />You should '''not''' post the email itself on the wiki without permission (although you can describe briefly in summary what it contains or shows). This is partly due to [[WP:COPYRIGHT|copyright]] concerns, given that Wikipedia pages can be re-used by anyone. For information on posting emails on Wikipedia in general, see [[WP:POSTEMAIL]].
* ''You can prevent specific users from emailing you''<br />See [[#Prohibiting email from specified users|Prohibiting email from specified users]] for instructions.
* ''Email can be disabled at any time''<br />See [[#Enabling and disabling user email|Enabling and disabling user email]] for instructions.
* ''Retain objectionable emails in case they are needed''<br />You may need to refer to them again. At a minimum, consider saving the email header and text for future reference.
* ''Do not disclose any [[Wikipedia:Harassment#Posting_of_personal_information|personal information disallowed on Wikipedia]]''<br /> Posting real names or email addresses not previously and voluntarily disclosed on Wikipedia can be considered [[WP:OUTING|outing]]. Such information may be communicated privately to the [[Wikipedia:ArbCom#Contacting the Committee|Arbitration Committee]].
== Permitted uses ==
The email facility described here is intended to support the goal of building an encyclopedia and other WMF projects.  Any widespread use of this facility for other reasons is considered abuse.  Please note that the [[:foundation:Policy:Terms_of_Use#4._Refraining_from_Certain_Activities|WMF Terms of Use]] prohibit {{tq|transmitting chain mail, junk mail, or spam to other users}}.

==See also==
*General email information
** [[Email]]
** [[Email privacy]]
*Wikipedia pages related to email functionality
**[[Template:Email user]]
**[[MediaWiki:Emailuserfooter]] - the footer that is added to all emails from this site
**{{tl|MediaWiki messages}} - lists some key MediaWiki system messages relating to email
* [[WP:POSTEMAIL]], policy discussing the issue of posting emails and other private correspondence on Wikipedia, particularly:
** [[Wikipedia:Requests_for_arbitration/Durova#Private_correspondence|A 2007 ArbCom decision on private correspondence]]
** [[Wikipedia:Private correspondence]], a proposal rejected by the community in 2008
** [[Wikipedia:Correspondence off-wiki]], another proposal rejected in 2008

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