Wikipedia:Shadowless Fists of Death!

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Hook Kick
, hoping his opponent will agree that Steven's right and he's wrong. Don't resolve arguments on Wikipedia like this.

I would really really appreciate it if people actually bothered to read policy/guideline pages rather than just quoting them like some fighters in an old kung fu movie ("

WP:Shadowless Fist of Death!")

A discussion or an argument on Wikipedia is not a martial arts fight from an old kung fu movie.

Wikipedia policy and guideline titles, for example

magical incantations which, when invoked at the proper moment, will defeat your opponents in arguments. Editors should not mindlessly invoke various Wikipedia guidelines and policies, or just their shortcut names, like some kind of magical mantras
, without having bothered to read the actual guideline/policy, or adequately explaining how a particular policy/guideline actually applies in a particular case.

Because policy pages are in

explaining oneself clearly and succinctly
, and linking to policy pages only when it serves as a useful shortcut. More times than not, the average Wikipedian's understanding of policy is more accurate than what the relevant page actually states, and it may take a critical incident to force the community to bring the page up to date.

Furthermore, invoking certain policies or essays can often backfire. One common example is when an editor, who has

WP:AGF
. Unless the editor's following sentences prove remarkably persuasive, everyone reading the thread for more than entertainment purposes will be busy studying that editor's contribution history very carefully, expecting to find further examples of misbehavior.

See also

  • WP:TL;DR
  • WP:BATTLEFIELD
  • WP:WL
  • WP:ESSAYS
  • WP:VAGUEWAVE
  • WP:WHACAMOLE