Wikipedia:Don't hand out panda sandwiches at a PETA convention
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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. |
While Wikipedia is part of the internet, it doesn't necessarily conform to all of the whimsical and wonderful traits that make the internet so great.
The "spirit of the internet" is great, and lots of fun, but this strange little corner of it does have some fairly clear policies and guidelines, which do indeed dampen some parts of that spirit (or at least it dampens that spirit if you insist that it takes part in that spirit: wikipedia is like the guy who goes to the keg party and doesn't drink, but then again it's nice to have guys like that around when you need a ride home).
While Wikipedia could be anything we might want it to be, there's a certain consensus that's been reached over the years about what Wikipedia is not. This has of course caused a lot of problems over time, because as Wikipedia has grown to become a "powerful force" on the internet, it's tempted a lot of (usually well-meaning) people to try to make it into something else.
Wikipedia is just an encyclopedia. The Wikipedia community is at its core just a community made up of a bunch of people who think writing a free, complete, and accurate encyclopedia is a good idea (and a lot of fun, too).
The Wikipedia community isn't too happy about people trying to use Wikipedia to promote causes other than having a good online encyclopedia. This includes contributions meant to promote websites and products, political causes, religions, and other beliefs, and of course one's personal view of what's really funny.
So, just like you probably wouldn't hand out panda sandwiches at a PETA convention (even though you might be convinced that there's just nothing yummier than a panda sandwich), please remember that even though you might think that everyone would be better off if they saw things your way, it doesn't mean that Wikipedia is a good place to convince them.
