User:Giraffer/Sworn enemies

One of the most common areas for new users to dive into is counter-vandalism. And like many people here (both old and new), they do so with enthusiasm -- checking edits, reverting vandalism, and warning and reporting users. It's a thankless and important job, but occasionally some users take it too seriously, by demonizing vandals. So please, don't make vandals your sworn enemies.

Vandalism is obviously to be discouraged, but most of it is not worth getting emotionally involved with. The vast majority of vandals are either trolling or bored, and it usually takes only a few seconds to revert whatever changes they've made; the impact of their edits are negligible.

Why you shouldn't write curse tablets

Overzealous counter-vandalism is counterproductive. Being overly enthusiastic or harsh often leads to premature reporting, which in turn clogs up noticeboards and reporting venues, making the whole process less efficient. It makes the noticeboards harder and less enjoyable for admins to work at, and in worse cases can lead to the sanctioning of the reporting users. Grossly exaggerating the impacts of vandalism also feeds the trolls and will probably make other people (not the vandals) more likely to ignore you.

No-one is directly responsible for clearing up vandalism. Everyone is welcome to volunteer to help out, but that's exactly what it is: volunteering. You are not obliged to edit/revert anything any more than the next person is.

Editing too quickly or harshly can also lead to blatantly incorrect reverts/warns. This risks scaring off good-faith editors, doing actual damage rather than fixing it. The world should not be viewed solely through Huggle, and it never hurts to have a deeper look to double check something before reverting.

Being serious

This is not to say that all forms of vandalism should be treated with equally light weight. There are some more serious forms of vandalism that should be dealt with immediately and firmly, but those will not be elaborated on here. You should know them when you see them.

What this all means

Although this essay is in some places facetious, there is a core message: don't get overly wrapped up in counter-vandalism. At the end of the day all anyone is doing is adding or removing text on a website, and we have adequate and very established practices for dealing with it. Take things lightly, don't stress about vandals, and always wear your seatbelt.

Related content

• Wikipedia:Revert, block, ignore
• Wikipedia:Do not insult the vandals
• Wikipedia:MMORPG
• Wikipedia:Not every IP is a vandal