Wikipedia:Don't come down like a ton of bricks
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Wikipedia project page
Essay on editing Wikipedia
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 do that which creates rancor amongst good faith contributors. People are not obliged to memorize policies and guidelines before editing. |
Wikipedia has a lot of
something that required the guideline to be made
. A huge list of policies and guidelines have been created to solve various problems, and remembering every single one of them is impossible.
What this means is that policies and guidelines verifiability policies, so they won't necessarily know that adding unsourced content is a bad thing. It's really important not to come down like a ton of bricks[1] on them—they don't deserve to be treated like they've just kidnapped the First Lady.
In fact, even users who've been around for a while might not have come across certain parts of Wikipedia where those policies are most relevant. Somebody might have a sizeable number of edits that are just small typo fixes, but then they discover something they like is
try to fix
the problem for them.
Users occasionally disagree or do things that are technical violations of
speedy deletion criteria
standing upside down blindfolded in shark infested custard, but the newbie whose talk page you just stuck a big fat template on certainly can't, and may need a sympathetic and calm word before they convince themselves that Wikipedia isn't worth the bother. In that case, it is much better to let go of disputes.
See also
- Wikipedia:Drop the stick and back slowly away from the horse carcass
- Wikipedia:Please do not bite the newcomers
- Wikipedia:Advice for hotheads