Wikipedia:Assume bad faith

Everybody is acting in bad faith except for me and my monkey.

Here are a few things that, if you ever find yourself thinking them, are probably signs that you should take some time off away from edit wars.

• "That editor is a..."
  • "sockpuppet"
    • "...just like me."
  • "zealot"
    • "...just like me."
  • "cliquish POV pusher"
    • "...just like me."
  • "troll"
    • "...just like me."
  • "power-drunk admin"
    • "...just like me."
  • "stalker"
    • "...just like me."
• "This is the work of the Cabal!"
  • "TINC."
    • "Only a member of the Cabal would deny existence of the Cabal!"
  • "Which one?"
• "That editor is gay!"
• "That editor is tag-teaming to revert me."
• "This is all to promote the ________ agenda!"
• "The other guy is only doing this because he hates me."
• "If I compromise, they'll know it's a sign of weakness."
• "I can do whatever I want, even if policy goes against me."
• "I have my own prime directive, Wikipedia:Ignore All Rules"
• "Everybody is wrong, crazy, retarded or all of the above. Except me."
• "If all else fails, I'll complain to Jimbo. That'll shut them up."
• "Policy was misused against me, and even if it wasn't, the policy sucks."
• "Don't you people have anything better to do than to keep asking for sources?"
• "That policy page is wrong, because it doesn't describe what I do. I'll fix it."
• "These are only guidelines! Unless they support my position, in which case, they are policy."
• "I know! I'll do the most trollish, evil, and/or assholish thing I can, because it'll be funny!"
• "Filling a user's talk page with the word 'fuck' 800 times will persuade him to my point of view."
• "An article formerly here was deleted, so this new article must be a re-creation of deleted content!"
• "That editor knows NOTHING about what he's writing about, what business does he have with this article?"
• "That so-called 'fact' presented is just the author's POV. After all, truth is a whole, and on the whole, only I have the truth."
• "That guy who's supporting my opponent is either a puppet or a friend called in to help. After all, could more than one person oppose my natural good sense?"
• "Yes, I'm an irrational troll. And yes, any third-grader chosen at random could see that my edits are made with a desperate need to control my surroundings and browbeat all opponents into submission. BUT YOU CAN'T DRAW THAT CONCLUSION! YOU HAVE TO ASSUME GOOD FAITH, OR YOU'RE AN EVIL MONSTER!"
• "If all of Wikipedia doesn't shape up and remove everything that doesn't reflect the truth as I know it, and change all of its policies and structures to ensure that none of the stuff I don't like ever makes it back again, it's certain to get sued and/or prosecuted for libel, slander, defamation, product tampering, DUI, global warming, treason, blasphemy, buggery, defenestration, and/or genocide. And, no, this is not a legal threat."

See also

• m:How to win an argument