User:Bon courage/The big mistake
 | 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: Wikipedia articles are not opinion pieces ; articles can only summarize what other sources say about a topic. |
Sometimes newbie editors coming to Wikipedia will be outraged about what "Wikipedia" says, and demand that it be corrected to conform to their own point of view. Often this outrage will have been prompted by campaigns on social media or controversy in the wider world away from the Project.
This shows a fundamental misunderstanding about what Wikipedia is. Wikipedia is an
encyclopedia: all it does is summarize what good sources[1]
are saying about a topic. That's it. Any discussion of article content without reference to sources is a waste of time.
Note
- independent.
See also
- The Cynic's Guide to Wikipedia
- Righting great wrongs