This page is currently inactive and is retained for
historical reference. Either the page is no longer relevant or consensus on its purpose has become unclear. To revive discussion, seek broader input via a forum such as the village pump. |
Fundamental to Wikipedia is the concept of consensus. Proposals and suggestions that might be contentious must generally achieve consensus before being implemented. Most changes to Wikipedia are probably uncontroversial, and most of the rest can be discussed in an ad-hoc manner on the appropriate talk page, but in the case of certain proposals that are both routine and likely to be contentious, we have established various fora for discussion and polling to determine whether consensus exists: Articles for deletion, Requests for adminship, and so forth.
No matter what we do, such discussions will involve only a tiny percentage of active Wikipedians. This is unavoidable. The results, however, should ideally reflect the views of all Wikipedians, not just those who happen to stop by—polls are not "votes", where everyone in a certain group gets one vote if they choose to exercise it. Certainly, those who are more interested in the subject matter deserve a greater say, and they receive it by natural selection bias. This is fine; discussions should be as informed as possible.
But in some cases, users who favor one side try to skew the outcome of the poll by inviting a large number of people to support their view, when otherwise those people wouldn't have come. As far as discussion goes, the more the merrier, but in the interests of determining whether this microcosm of Wikipedians is in accord with Wikipedians as a whole, it's important to know who was invited to participate. Skewing toward those knowledgeable and interested in the subject matter is good, but skewing toward those more willing to electioneer and form factions is not.
Of course, as with any guideline, there will always be those who don't know about it, and probably (unfortunately) a few who know about it and try to deliberately evade it. The first group, fortunately, can be easily educated; the second hopefully isn't large, but nevertheless may be more troublesome. Remember, however, that nobody is perfect, and everyone will make mistakes. Sooner or later, someone will be contacted who doesn't believe in flouting guidelines, and after a couple of times, the game will be up. So what should you do if you suspect that some people are breaking this guideline?
{{subst:
WP:Survey notification/Solicit then inform|page}} ~~~~
to their talk page. If you suspect a particular user was solicited by others to participate, post {{subst:
WP:Survey notification/Solicited then inform|page}} ~~~~
instead.How can secret solicitations be uncovered? The most obvious way is that someone will leak. Most people have some respect for authority and don't want to break rules, and many will surely see the reason behind this guideline. If you're worried about super-secret cabals disrupting surveys, keep in mind that the more influence they have, the more members they need to have, and the higher the chances of their being discovered. Nobody can keep their actions secret forever.
This page is currently inactive and is retained for
historical reference. Either the page is no longer relevant or consensus on its purpose has become unclear. To revive discussion, seek broader input via a forum such as the village pump. |
Fundamental to Wikipedia is the concept of consensus. Proposals and suggestions that might be contentious must generally achieve consensus before being implemented. Most changes to Wikipedia are probably uncontroversial, and most of the rest can be discussed in an ad-hoc manner on the appropriate talk page, but in the case of certain proposals that are both routine and likely to be contentious, we have established various fora for discussion and polling to determine whether consensus exists: Articles for deletion, Requests for adminship, and so forth.
No matter what we do, such discussions will involve only a tiny percentage of active Wikipedians. This is unavoidable. The results, however, should ideally reflect the views of all Wikipedians, not just those who happen to stop by—polls are not "votes", where everyone in a certain group gets one vote if they choose to exercise it. Certainly, those who are more interested in the subject matter deserve a greater say, and they receive it by natural selection bias. This is fine; discussions should be as informed as possible.
But in some cases, users who favor one side try to skew the outcome of the poll by inviting a large number of people to support their view, when otherwise those people wouldn't have come. As far as discussion goes, the more the merrier, but in the interests of determining whether this microcosm of Wikipedians is in accord with Wikipedians as a whole, it's important to know who was invited to participate. Skewing toward those knowledgeable and interested in the subject matter is good, but skewing toward those more willing to electioneer and form factions is not.
Of course, as with any guideline, there will always be those who don't know about it, and probably (unfortunately) a few who know about it and try to deliberately evade it. The first group, fortunately, can be easily educated; the second hopefully isn't large, but nevertheless may be more troublesome. Remember, however, that nobody is perfect, and everyone will make mistakes. Sooner or later, someone will be contacted who doesn't believe in flouting guidelines, and after a couple of times, the game will be up. So what should you do if you suspect that some people are breaking this guideline?
{{subst:
WP:Survey notification/Solicit then inform|page}} ~~~~
to their talk page. If you suspect a particular user was solicited by others to participate, post {{subst:
WP:Survey notification/Solicited then inform|page}} ~~~~
instead.How can secret solicitations be uncovered? The most obvious way is that someone will leak. Most people have some respect for authority and don't want to break rules, and many will surely see the reason behind this guideline. If you're worried about super-secret cabals disrupting surveys, keep in mind that the more influence they have, the more members they need to have, and the higher the chances of their being discovered. Nobody can keep their actions secret forever.