This is an
essay. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of
Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been
thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints. |
This page in a nutshell: Dissent is not disloyalty, but it is also not an excuse to be disruptive. |
Editors who express dissent about Wikipedia and its policies and guidelines may be accused of being disloyal or of not working to improve the encyclopedia. In discussions on or about Wikipedia, avoid trivializing others' opinions by attributing the difference of opinion to others' character flaws, immorality, trolling, or other wanton bad faith. Instead, try to recognize the fundamental philosophical differences underlying the disagreement, accept the validity of opinions other than your own, and discuss the issue rather than the participants.
When dealing with dissent, the following advice may help:
Dissent plays an important role in democracies as it enables citizens to contest laws and actions of the government. Wikipedia is not a democracy, however, even though it incorporates some elements which are also present in democratic governments, such as forums for review of decisions, administrators and bureaucrats, and rules. Moreover, like democracies, Wikipedia allows editors to express dissent regarding the content on the encyclopedia or the rules governing the project.
There are limitations to this, though. For example, soapboxing is not allowed, nor are personal attacks, nor is disruptive editing. Some forms of dissent on Wikipedia, such as respectfully proposing changes on talk pages, can be done without leading to any negative consequences for the editor. Other forms of dissent, such as engaging in personal attacks or disrupting the encyclopedia-building process, may lead to editors being blocked or even banned. This shows one of the many differences between a democracy and how Wikipedia is governed.
Another difference is that in many democracies, citizens are given a wide latitude to criticize specific government leaders, even to the point of using pejoratives in protests or the editorial pages of newspapers. On Wikipedia, however, insulting another editor in this manner—including those in administrative, arbitrative, and bureaucratic positions—is strictly forbidden and can lead to blocks or bans.
In Wikipedia, the text of articles can be changed by the consensus of editors, even longstanding content that has been given Featured article status. Indeed, even the policies and guidelines can be changed by the consensus of editors, though substantial changes to policies and guidelines tend to require a much larger level of consensus across the entire Wikipedia community. It is acceptable to advocate for changes to policies and guidelines by doing so in the appropriate talk pages. That said, expressing dissent regarding a particular policy or guideline by deliberately disrupting the encyclopedia-building process is not acceptable. For example, if an editor disagrees with the Wikipedia's notability guidelines for sports, it is acceptable for that editor to argue their position on the talk page of the sports notability guideline. However, the editor should not go around deleting content because it does not conform to their views on sports notability.
If a Wikipedian expresses dissent regarding policies or guidelines inappropriately, such as through disruption or personal attacks, they may be blocked or given other sanctions. As is stated in the policy on Wikipedia not being a soapbox or means of promotion, editors' expression of their opinions in the Wikipedia namespace must be "non-disruptive". This does not prohibit proposals to change policies and guidelines, however, nor would one lose editing privileges for doing so. The key elements to expressing dissent constructively are as follows:
So long as these elements characterize your criticisms, your dissent can help improve the encyclopedia. Although Wikipedia is not a democracy, Wikipedia is not perfect, either. Just as constructive edits can help bring Wikipedia closer to achieving its purpose, so too can constructive dissent.
This is an
essay. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of
Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been
thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints. |
This page in a nutshell: Dissent is not disloyalty, but it is also not an excuse to be disruptive. |
Editors who express dissent about Wikipedia and its policies and guidelines may be accused of being disloyal or of not working to improve the encyclopedia. In discussions on or about Wikipedia, avoid trivializing others' opinions by attributing the difference of opinion to others' character flaws, immorality, trolling, or other wanton bad faith. Instead, try to recognize the fundamental philosophical differences underlying the disagreement, accept the validity of opinions other than your own, and discuss the issue rather than the participants.
When dealing with dissent, the following advice may help:
Dissent plays an important role in democracies as it enables citizens to contest laws and actions of the government. Wikipedia is not a democracy, however, even though it incorporates some elements which are also present in democratic governments, such as forums for review of decisions, administrators and bureaucrats, and rules. Moreover, like democracies, Wikipedia allows editors to express dissent regarding the content on the encyclopedia or the rules governing the project.
There are limitations to this, though. For example, soapboxing is not allowed, nor are personal attacks, nor is disruptive editing. Some forms of dissent on Wikipedia, such as respectfully proposing changes on talk pages, can be done without leading to any negative consequences for the editor. Other forms of dissent, such as engaging in personal attacks or disrupting the encyclopedia-building process, may lead to editors being blocked or even banned. This shows one of the many differences between a democracy and how Wikipedia is governed.
Another difference is that in many democracies, citizens are given a wide latitude to criticize specific government leaders, even to the point of using pejoratives in protests or the editorial pages of newspapers. On Wikipedia, however, insulting another editor in this manner—including those in administrative, arbitrative, and bureaucratic positions—is strictly forbidden and can lead to blocks or bans.
In Wikipedia, the text of articles can be changed by the consensus of editors, even longstanding content that has been given Featured article status. Indeed, even the policies and guidelines can be changed by the consensus of editors, though substantial changes to policies and guidelines tend to require a much larger level of consensus across the entire Wikipedia community. It is acceptable to advocate for changes to policies and guidelines by doing so in the appropriate talk pages. That said, expressing dissent regarding a particular policy or guideline by deliberately disrupting the encyclopedia-building process is not acceptable. For example, if an editor disagrees with the Wikipedia's notability guidelines for sports, it is acceptable for that editor to argue their position on the talk page of the sports notability guideline. However, the editor should not go around deleting content because it does not conform to their views on sports notability.
If a Wikipedian expresses dissent regarding policies or guidelines inappropriately, such as through disruption or personal attacks, they may be blocked or given other sanctions. As is stated in the policy on Wikipedia not being a soapbox or means of promotion, editors' expression of their opinions in the Wikipedia namespace must be "non-disruptive". This does not prohibit proposals to change policies and guidelines, however, nor would one lose editing privileges for doing so. The key elements to expressing dissent constructively are as follows:
So long as these elements characterize your criticisms, your dissent can help improve the encyclopedia. Although Wikipedia is not a democracy, Wikipedia is not perfect, either. Just as constructive edits can help bring Wikipedia closer to achieving its purpose, so too can constructive dissent.