Wikipedia:Keepin a caum souch whan the editin gets hot

Frae Wikipedia, the free beuk o knawledge

Wikipaedia haes seen some bitter threapin. It is aesie to stert fechtin online, especially on a wabsteid allouing as immedant a repone as Wikipaedia, but we'll thank ye ti mind that we're aa here for mair or less seimlar raesons, and that there is a chiel at the ither end o yer collogue. Flame weirs are coonter-productive an mak Wikipaedia a less pleasant projeck for aabodie.

Here's a short leet o tips that langtime contreibutors hae funnd ti work for them:

  1. If a bodie disagrees wi ye, try ti understaund whit wey, an in yer collogue on the Collogue pages tak the time ti gie guid raesons whit wey ye think yer ain wey is better.
  2. Dinna label or insult fowk or thair edits. Names like "racist" or "fascist" (or e'en "moron") fash fowk an mak them defensive. Whan this happens, it gets haird ti hiv a productive collogue.
  3. Tak it slow. Gin ye're fashed, tak time oot stead o postin or editin. Come back in a day or a wik. Ye micht finnd that some ither bodie haes eikit the chynge or comment ye wanted.
  4. Mind that raa text is ambiguous an aften seems mair gallus nor the same words comin frae a chiel staundin afore ye. Text comes athoot facial expressions, vocal inflection or the bodie leid. It is aesie ti misjudge the mood an intention o the chiel that wrot it, aa the mair cause, whan twa fowk are at loggerheids, it is aften cause they are workin under gey different assumptions and/or arena communicatin weel wi ilk ither. In reponin, mak it clair whit conceit ye are reponing ti: quotin a post is fine, but paraphrasin it or stating the wey that ye read it is better. Mairanower, qualifee yer interpretation wi a remark sic as "as ye seem ti be seying" or "as I understaund ye" ti acknowledge that ye're makkin an interpretation. E'en gin ye doot that ye've gotten a person wrang, ye micht well hae duin sae, an oniegate it is poleite ti suggest that ye micht hae misinterpreted e'en atho ye gang on to sey that the chiel is deid wrang.
  5. Assume the best aboot fowk onietime ye can. Wikipaedia haes worked gey weel this faur based on a policy o candour. This suggests that maist fowk that veisit div ettle ti holp, an div succeed at holpin.
  6. Be ready ti apologise. In the heat o the moment whiles we sey things that we wad be better nae til; the least we can dae aifter is ti mak amends.
  7. Try ti evyte deletin things as a maitter o principle. Whan ye amend an edit, it is extraordinar the times that ye see something uisefu in whit was said. Maist fowk hae something uisefu ti sey. That includes yersel. Deletion fashes fowk an maks them feel they hiv wasted thair time: conseider flittin thair text til a sub-page o thair uiser pages stead o deletin. That wey ye're seyin "nae quite the richt place for it but ye can uise it yet": faur less provocative.
  8. Whiles, ye juist need ti wauk awa. There are monie ither uisers that can tak ower for ye. Dinna let an edit weir tak ower yer personal Wikipaedia time. Tak a time oot frae an edit weir that gets ower hait; work on ither airticles. Aifter aa, is that nae the wey that ye're here? To screive?

Dealing wi insults[eedit soorce]

Whiles on Wikipaedia, despite aabodie greein that we shuidna insult fowk, harsh words get flung aroond—nou an then bi langtime contreibutors, but mair aften bi newcomers. There are twa-three gates ti deal wi this:

  1. Juist ignore it. Name-crying may be vexsome but it isna that holpfu nor mature. Gang aboot yer business an dinna fash yersel aboot it; ye're nae required ti repone.
  2. Poleitelie aisk the chiel that ye feel haes insulted ye ti retract whit they said. Whiles fowk say something insulting by accident, nae realisin that thair words cuid be takken the wrang gate. Ither times fowk will chynge the gate that they act whan they realise that they haev offended a bodie.
  3. Gin, throu accident or anger, ye insult somebodie yersel, an apology micht smooth things ower. Gin ye sincerely meant the insult an canna honestly apologise, whiles it is best ti faa silent. Gin that daesna work, try gettin back ti the issue at haund; try ti be mair speceific aboot the action ye disagree wi, raither nor insultin the chiel.

Comin nearer ti NPOV[eedit soorce]

Whan we correck violations o the neutral pynt o view (NPOV) policy, we aften mak the mistak o uisin phrases like "a mannie pynts oot that ..", "McX explains ..". Thir phrases themsels can be thocht non-NPOV, sith they imply a certain agreement bi Wikipaedia. The oreiginal author then aften sees this as non-NPOV an deletes the chynges. Aifter a while, an edit war results. It is better til uise the follaeing method:

  1. Enquire poleitelie on the airticle's Collogue pages aboot aspecks o the airticle ye conseider non-NPOV (unless they are rael aesie seen), an suggest replacements.
  2. Gin there's nae repone, mak the chynges. Uise yer watchleet ti keep track o whit ye're aifter daein.
  3. Gin ye get a repone, try ti gree aboot the different phrases ye're aifter uisin.

That gate, whan ye rax an agreement, an edit weir isna like ti happen. The disadvantage is that the airticle is in a roch state for a langer time, but an airticle that chynges ilka five seiconds daesna leaves a muckle better impression wi ither Wikipaedians.

Nou, there are cases whaur this strategy daesna work. There are uisers that juist canna screive and are na aifter screivin NPOV airticles, uisers that want ti delete relevant wittins, uisers that are weel kent for rochness, an sae furth. Thir chiels are the kinnd o uisers that we're nae raellie aifter on Wikipaedia, an a feow hae bin banned. Houanivver, atho monie Wikipaedians are like ti screive airticles, a wee bit POV, on subjecks that are near an dear ti their hairts, maist o them can be worked wi and shawn the error o thair weys gin it's necessary.

See forbye[eedit soorce]