Wikipedia:Editors will sometimes be wrong
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: Individual editors, and even groups of editors, are sometimes wrong. Consensus at a given article may be at odds with the will of the community at large. Strive for "rightness". |
As Wikipedia has matured, the inevitable development of
However, ultimately, the goal of writing a reliable
Examples
For example, if three editors of an article say that the
A tongue-in-cheek example of how wrongness can frustrate experts on a topic was provided by Wired contributor Lore Sjöberg:
For some reason people who spend 40 years learning everything they can about, say, the Peloponnesian War -- and indeed, advancing the body of human knowledge -- get all pissy when their contributions are edited away by Randy in Boise who heard somewhere that sword-wielding skeletons were involved. And they get downright irate when asked politely to engage in discourse with Randy until the sword-skeleton theory can be incorporated into the article without passing judgment.[1]
Wikipedia does pass judgement
Wikipedia does not explicitly say that a point of view is "wrong", but Wikipedia does pass value judgements in other ways. For example, Wikipedia does not obscure that a view held by a minority is, in fact, a minority view. It does not try to present such a view as "equal" to more popular views.[2]
Many editors, especially new ones, forget this aspect of the core
NPOV does not require us to present all these views as if they are equal! This is one of the things that's hardest to remember about NPOV. If a view is the majority view of a broad consensus of scientists, then we say so. If a view is a minority view of some scientists, scientists who are respected by the mainstream that differs with them on this particular matter, then we say so. And if a view is held only by a few people without any traditional training or credentials, and if that view is dismissed by virtually all mainstream scientists, then we can say that, too.[3]
The approach of presenting views as equal to avoid bias is probably familiar to readers. It's a practice often used in journalism. However, according to Wales, it is not Wikipedia's approach:
There's a popular view of bias in journalism, held more in practice out of laziness I think than held as an actual theory of bias, that the way to be unbiased is to present both sides of an argument without prejudicing the discussion for or against either one. "Some say that the earth is round, others say that it is flat."
Our approach is more sophisticated, I think.[3]
Wikipedia prejudices the discussion by
While NPOV prohibits us from saying a particular view is "wrong", in many cases it is our duty to point out that few people believe the view is "right". Neutrality also prevents us from defending minority views, or elevating them to a position they haven't earned on their own, as neutrality simply means "not taking sides in a dispute". As Wales pointed out, when a topic is correctly covered, the discussion is prejudiced towards "rightness".
Ignoring wrong "rules"
In the absence of a consistent system for Wikipedia to figure out when an editor is right or wrong, and given the consistent resistance toward making such determinations, the best we can hope for is that editors who are right will
Ignoring the "rules" in this case really means ignoring a particular narrow interpretation of the rules; that is, the interpretation that a micro-consensus among a group of editors at a given article somehow protects it from the greater consensus of the community at large. Often, a small group of editors at an article may develop an internal consensus that isn't compatible with the overall goals of Wikipedia to be a reliable encyclopedia. Too often, small groups attempt to
Macro-consensus
Consensus among a limited group of editors, at one place and time, can not over-ride community consensus on a wider scale.
This is unfortunately of no help when the macro-consensus also supports the occasional exception
Are you wrong?
The following are clues that you may be wrong and may want to rethink your position.
- Your friends agree with you, but no one else does.
- Most of the people agreeing with you seem to lack the intelligence of those who disagree with you.
- Your opponent has well-reasoned arguments. Even you don't buy the rationale your friends are using to agree with you.
- Your opponent cites policies and guidelines. You can't seem to find any policies or guidelines to support your position, even in a loophole sort of way.
- You rely on loopholes.
- You learn that your major supporter has a
conflict of interest.- An approach you take at a minor, less trafficked article seems to go over well. You try the same approach at a higher trafficked article and encounter a great deal of resistance. It's possible, then, that the approach you took wasn't right at the minor article either, just no one was around to call you on it.
- If you're wondering whether you are wrong, then likely there's a reason for thinking you might be. Assume that you are wrong and ask for an outside opinion.
What to do when you're right
Be
Notes
- ^ "The Wikipedia FAQK". Wired. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
- WP:FRINGE.
- ^ a b "NPOV and 'new physics'". Retrieved 2008-08-13.
- ^ See Wikipedia:Verifiability.
- ^ See Wikipedia:Consensus.
- ^ Wikipedia:Reliable sources is a content guideline, and as such is treated with common sense and the occasional exception.