Wikipedia:Duty
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This page is an essay on civility. It contains the advice and/or opinions of one or more editors on how civility may be interpreted. It has not been accepted as a Wikipedia policy or guideline, though it may be consulted for assistance during an act of disruptive behavior or when sanctions that shall be taken against an editor, and may become accepted as a guideline at a future date. The degree of consensus that went into creating this essay (a potential measurement of the reliability of the advice) can be judged by consulting the history and talk pages. WikiProjects are encouraged to write essays on civility. Please update the page as needed or discuss it on the talk page. |
Editors when debating what should or should not be included in articles often base their arguments on Duty, Safety, or Doing the Right Thing. These debates most often occur on current events.
- "Because people are illogically killing hogs, we should remove all references to swine from the name of this disease."
- "Because people may hurt themselves, we should not put this in the article."
- "Because Ron Paul said it, we need to put it in the article; He is a doctor."
These arguments are based on emotion, a sense of duty, and a false sense of what Wikipedia is for.
Wikipedia's only Duty is to build a great encyclopedia.
| Wikipedia is not a platform for undertaking causes. | no wiki-crusades |
| Wikipedia is not an agent of social change. | no wiki-change |
| Wikipedia is not a forum for free speech. | no wiki-forum |
| Wikipedia is not here to save the whales. | no wiki-save |
| Wikipedia is not here to do "The Right Thing". | no wiki-right |
| Wikipedia is not here to free Tibet. | no wiki-free |
| Wikipedia is not here to hug trees, pet puppies, or kiss babies. | no wiki-love |
| Wikipedia is not here to keep people from doing stupid stupid things. | no wiki-dumb |
| Wikipedia is not here to sing the praises of a religion or any religious figures. | no wiki-praise |
| Wikipedia is not here to deify Barack Obama, Ron Paul or Stephen Colbert. | no wiki-fluff |
| Wikipedia is not here to campaign for candidates, laws, or issues. | no wiki-campaigns |
| Wikipedia is not a tool to crush ignorance or make people think right | no wiki-ganda |
| Wikipedia is not a substitute for common sense. | no wiki-duh |
Wikipedia is only here to build a great encyclopedia, present well sourced reliable information in a concise NPOV manner, and let the world take it from there.
