Any of these actions may still be controversial; thus, it is only in the clearest cases that they will be considered exceptions to the rule. When in doubt, do not revert; instead, engage in dispute resolution or ask for administrative assistance.

Note that in the case of vandalism, blocking editors who have engaged in vandalism or protecting the page in question will often be better than reverting. Similarly, blocking or page protection will often be preferable in the case of repeated addition of copyrighted material.

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Not an entitlement

Edit warring is disruptive, and attempts to avoid this rule are even more disruptive. Trying to avoid breaching this rule by only making two reverts per day over an extended period, for example, is "gaming the system" and can also lead to administrative action. Rules such as this exist as guidelines for action, but are not set standards. Editors should remember that edit warring is not helpful to building an encyclopedia, and adhere to the spirit of the rules rather than the letter.

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Enforcement

Editors who violate the three-revert rule may be blocked from editing for up to 24 hours, or longer in the case of a repeated or aggravated violation. Many administrators use escalating block lengths for users with prior violations, and tend to consider other factors, like edit warring on multiple pages or incivility, when assigning a block. In the cases where multiple editors violate the rule, administrators should treat all sides fairly.

Additionally, the rule is enforced by:

• educating editors who may not be aware of good Wikipedia practice in the matter; and
• peer pressure and leadership by example (see Wikipedia:Revert only when necessary and Wikipedia:Harmonious editing club).

Editors can be warned about 3RR by using this warning template.

Apparent breaches of the rule may be reported at Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard/3RR.

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Avoiding 3RR violations

Editors who find themselves on the verge of 3RR violations have several options to avoid engaging in such an edit war. These options include discussing the subject on the article Talk page, requesting a third opinion or comment on the article, or one of the many other methods of dispute resolution.

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I have violated 3RR. What do I do?

If you have broken 3RR by mistake and now realize it, or if another user has left you a note on your talk page that points out that you broke 3RR, then you should revert your change back to the "other version", even though you may not like the previous version. In general, this should be enough to prevent you from being blocked, although there are no guarantees.

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Notes

1. ^ See Wikipedia:Requests for arbitration/Charles Darwin-Lincoln dispute#3RR is not an entitlement.
2. ^ See Talk:Gdansk/Vote#VOTE: Enforcement.

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See also

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• Wikipedia:Three revert rule enforcement
• Wikipedia:Edit war
• Wikipedia:Reverting
• Wikipedia:Wikiquette
• Wikipedia:Resolving disputes
• Wikipedia:Blocking policy
• Wikipedia:Consensus