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: Do not make arguments or proposals solely based on interpretations of what Jimbo said. |
Argumentum ad Jimbonem is the logical fallacy that "what Jimbo said" is The Truth™. Avoid creating policy proposals based upon vague (or even precise) interpretations of his words.
Nobody likes to be misquoted, and Jimbo is no exception to that.
Misquotes can originate by ignoring the original context of a quote: so if you're thinking about quoting someone in a talk page discussion, the very least you should do is to look up the original context of the quote to check whether it really applies: you'll see that often it is not possible to use the quote for what you intended. If you're adding or removing emphasis, or applying an ellipsis, or whatever editing of the quote, be careful not to make the quote into a contorted travesty, and always clearly indicate when and where the layout modifications were applied.
For this reason it is usually unacceptable to present something in a quote-like format without clearly indicating where you got the material for the quote. Preferably also add a hyperlink to where you got it, to make it easier for others to check whether the quote really occurred, and was not quoted out of context.
The reason why so many argumenta ad Jimbonem cause grief is that they are more often than not misquotes to begin with:
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: Do not make arguments or proposals solely based on interpretations of what Jimbo said. |
Argumentum ad Jimbonem is the logical fallacy that "what Jimbo said" is The Truth™. Avoid creating policy proposals based upon vague (or even precise) interpretations of his words.
Nobody likes to be misquoted, and Jimbo is no exception to that.
Misquotes can originate by ignoring the original context of a quote: so if you're thinking about quoting someone in a talk page discussion, the very least you should do is to look up the original context of the quote to check whether it really applies: you'll see that often it is not possible to use the quote for what you intended. If you're adding or removing emphasis, or applying an ellipsis, or whatever editing of the quote, be careful not to make the quote into a contorted travesty, and always clearly indicate when and where the layout modifications were applied.
For this reason it is usually unacceptable to present something in a quote-like format without clearly indicating where you got the material for the quote. Preferably also add a hyperlink to where you got it, to make it easier for others to check whether the quote really occurred, and was not quoted out of context.
The reason why so many argumenta ad Jimbonem cause grief is that they are more often than not misquotes to begin with: