User:Stephen B Streater/Policy
This is a concise practical description Wikipedia's core content policies. Verbose and ever-changing details can be found at WP:NPOV, WP:V, WP:NOR etc.
This work is being centralised at User:Kotniski/Neu
Editing and consensus
[edit]Wikipedia is a collaborative effort, combining the best input from multiple contributors. Editors should reach consensus on the talk pages before implementing controversial changes. A consensus requires that:
- Involved editors generally support the change.
- All significant objections have been addressed.
- The resultant content does not give rise to any strong objections based on policy.
Note that:
- If no other editor is willing to implement your idea, this confirms that consensus has not in fact been reached.
- Consensus is not the same as apathy: lack of response now makes it more likely that a future group of editors will reverse the changes.
- Consensus is not the same as compromise, which avoids resolution of issues.
- Consensus is not the same as majority rule, which not only avoids resolution of issues but also can lead to unproductive see-sawing as a majority changes over time.