Wikipedia:Divisiveness
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This is an essay. It is not a policy or guideline, it simply reflects some opinions of its authors. Please update the page as needed, or discuss it on the talk page. |
Divisiveness on Wikipedia between members of the Wikipedia community is against Wikipedia's policies, guidelines, and reason for existing because Wikipedia is an encyclopedia and dividing Wikipedia contributors up into separated camps hinders rather than helps the process of creating and maintaining an encyclopedia.
For example, if people see this:
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on your user page and complain of divisiveness, you can better communicate what you had originally intended to communicate by EXPANDING it to this:
"Remember what we are doing here. We are building a free encyclopedia for every single person on the planet. We are trying to do it in an atmosphere of fun, love, and respect for others. We try to be kind to others, thoughtful in our actions, and professional in our approach to our responsibilities." Jimbo Wales 16:49, 26 August 2005 (UTC) [1]
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[edit] Guideline in a nutshell
If content on your user page might be divisive then expand the content in question.
[edit] Relevant policies in a nutshell
- Wikipedia is first and foremost an online encyclopedia, and as a means to that end, an online community. Please avoid the temptation to use Wikipedia for other purposes, or to treat it as something it is not.
- You agreed to allow others to modify your work. So let them.
- Do not make personal attacks anywhere in Wikipedia. Comment on content, not on the contributor.
- Being rude, insensitive or petty makes people upset and stops Wikipedia working well. Try and discourage others from being incivil, and be careful to avoid offending people unintentionally. Mediation is available if needed.
[edit] Relevant guidelines in a nutshell
- Don't vote on everything, and if you can help it, don't vote on anything because when you try to distill an essay's worth of thought into a single phrase it becomes divisive rather than the careful consideration, dissection and eventual synthesis of each side's arguments that is needed for the goal of an encyclopedia.
- Wikipedia is a communal effort so to make it work, contributors must think from a community perspective as well as a personal one.
[edit] User space
Divisive content in user space, whether in the form of divisive user boxes or any other kind of bumper-sticker type labeling is discouraged as harmful to Wikipedia. Creative, explanatory, or otherwise useful information is encouraged as these efforts can help build a community that in turn builds an encyclopedia. If it is generally perceived that a label, userbox, or bumper sticker type self-expression on your user page is divisive, then expand it with creativity, explanations, and other positive inclusive elements or remove it because that's what is good for building the community that is building this encyclopedia.
Facile labels, polarizing "bumper stickers", polemical user boxes, factionalism, and division are bad for Wikipedia. Creative informative explanatory self-expression is good for Wikipedia.
Individuality of expression always looks more meaningful than branding.
[edit] Talk space
If the existing policies and guidelines are broadly interpreted; then within talk space, this guideline can be seen as redundant. If the existing policies and guidelines are narrowly interpreted; then within talk space, this guideline fills a loophole by explicitly discouraging divisiveness.
[edit] Article space
The point of the Wikipedia community not being divisive within itself is to help us create the best encyclopedia we can. This guideline neither adds to nor subtracts from existing article content guidelines.
Stylistic elements within articles should not be pointlessly divisive.
If anything in an encyclopedia article doesn't make it a better encyclopedia article, it shouldn't be there. But if it does make it a better encyclopedic article, that someone sees it as being divisive doesn't count against it.
