Wikipedia:RFC/How to present a case
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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. |
Please note that this guide is descriptive, not normative. That is to say, it is explicitly uninterested in sorting out how the community and those involved in RFCs should behave. It is based on empirical observation of what arguments have worked and what have not, as well as discussions with editors about what they pay attention to.
There are three very important things to realize about RFCs.
- They are a request for comments, to the entire world, not a court hearing;
- Product is much more important than process.
- If they do not resolve the situation they lead to ArbCom cases (see corresponding essay on ArbCom cases)
Almost everything you need to know about making or responding to an RFC is an extension of one of those two facts.
The absolute best way to fare well in an RFC is to not do things wrong. If you are trolling, actively POV pushing, or generally being an asshole, there is no guide in the world that can help you. Don't do that.
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[edit] The perception of your case
At any time, there are twenty or more active cases in Arbitration, almost 200 closed ones, a stack in mediation and a handful of RFCs under way. Individuals cannot keep close track of each of these. If you mention a user anything to a user not intimately involved in the current process they are not likely to remember particular details of the argument or which POV that user was advocating.
Write your evidence and proposals so that they help jog everyone's memories. Assume that every time a user pulls up the RFC page, or the discussion page, they won't remember what was concluded last time or elsewhere. They are not clueless - but they need information.
[edit] What users will and won't look at
RFC pages and their discussions can get long. Nobody has time to read through 100 KB evidence pages, and they especially don't have time to reread them after they've forgotten what was what.
Don't let your page get to 100 KB. Be concise, be direct, be clear. You do not need to cross every t, dot every i, and show every single instance of a given user being a problem — doing so can be counterproductive. Pick the clearest examples you can, and present them with as little commentary as is necessary.
[edit] Context
Users do not read up on disputes that might reach RFC eventually. It is very unlikely they know the history of the dispute going in — that someone is a known advocate of a point of view, that someone has a history of defending problem users, or that everybody who has ever dealt with a user recognizes them to be a complete lunatic. Point these things out to them. If you point to an edit that comes after a month of heated discussion, it may not make sense to someone who was not a part of that discussion.
Take care with evidence that requires context. If there is better evidence for the same point, use that. Otherwise, be ready to explain the context. Note that the more explanation a piece of evidence requires, the less likely anyne is to have time to pay attention to it.
[edit] Expertise of the users
Most users are not subject experts, but some are. This is why RFCs unlike ArbCom cases may come to conclusions on content. In practice, users are likely to be cautious about basing a ruling on the grounds that one side is right in a content dispute. There are exceptions to this - in general, we have looked unfavorably on people who are using Wikipedia as a platform for advocacy, and people who allege a conspiracy to suppress their point of view.
Wikipedia is not collectively hostile toward the documenting of minority views - only toward those who break fundamental Wikipedia principles (such as neutrality and personal attack policies) in their edits relating to such views.
Content issues are complicated and take time to figure out. Other approaches may be indicated. Instead of arguing that somebody is advancing a nutty conspiracy theory with no credibility, find statements on talk pages where they express a desire to advocate a cause, instances of them removing well-sourced information, instances of them accusing those who disagree with them of conspiracy, and other more concrete and self-explanatory things. Almost none of the cases which fail resolution at RFC and become Arbitration cases have actually required careful attention to content issues to get the necessary result.
[edit] Effective arguments
The community generally considers that the Wikipedia method works, that Wikipedia is on the whole a successful project, that admins are generally trustworthy. They explicitly choose any outcome that results in Wikipedia working better.
Arguments opposing Wikipedia's basic principles, suggesting a massive cabal of rogue admins, or holding the process to be an end in itself will not work.
It is mistaken to argue on the assumption that an RFC functions like a court of law. See Wikipedia:Wikilawyering.
Arguing about flaws in the Mediation and RFC process is usually a waste of time and will make editors, admins and eventually Arbitrators look dimly upon you. Take the time that you could spend arguing about the details of process and apply it to trying to gather useful evidence. The first to try to rules-lawyer the arbitration process invariably loses — because they wouldn't be rules-lawyering if they had a case, and the same may be taken to be true of RFCs, with the addition that rules-lawyering an RFC tends to predict the progression of the case to ArbCom, and might reasonably be used as a cue to take it there rather than waiting for tardy responses to be completed.
[edit] Discussion
Clear and persuasive presentation of evidence will almost always be more effective than what is said on the talk pages. Almost nothing useful ever comes out of arguments between and among parties on the talk pages. The chance of anything argued on other pages getting noticed or cared about drops dramatically the longer or more numerous they get. If you must engage in discussion, short and simple and on the RFC talk page is probably most effective.
[edit] Meta-discussion
Questions about the conduct of RFCs - the process in general - are best taken to a sympathetic forum elsewhere, as if they are placed on the talk or RFC page they may have an unfortunate appearance of wiki-lawyering and prevarication - see above.
