Wikipedia:How to lose
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Every Wikipedian needs to know how to lose with a semblance of grace.
We like to think of the community as being infallible, but in the short term, mistakes are often made: A tangent derails a discussion for a much-needed clarification of policy; the community fails to show up and defend itself against poorly conceived plans; an editor's reputation or an early knee-jerk reaction prevents a clear analysis of a proposal; an advice page recommends an action well-suited to one problem, while inadvertently creating serious problems in other situations.
When you are on the losing end of an argument, remember these things:
- Let it go—for now, at least. So what if your ideal improvement can't be made today? If your idea is a good one, it will still be a good idea next year.
- Failure isn't the end of the world. Failure is unpleasant, but there are still 3,630,099 articles out there, and 99% of them need to be improved.
- Recognize when no means no. Your idea of what Wikipedia should be or do may be completely different from what the community believes. Sometimes "no" means "I don't understand", but more often, it means "we understand, and the answer is still no." If you're in the minority, recognize and remember this fact. Don't continue to press for your desires against clearly expressed community-wide consensus. Doing so will just make yourself look like a child who thinks, "No, you may not have a cookie" means "I must not have yelled COOKIE! loud enough for my parents to hear me."
- Act like an adult. Don't get mad, don't pitch a fit, and don't write a resignation manifesto.
LivingEditing well is the best revenge. Go do some good work in an undisputed area. - Remember that it may not be important. When WP:Nobody cares, that's a sign that your issue isn't that important to the community. Advice pages need to focus on real problems without providing endless instruction on avoiding hypothetical problems. The change that seems critical to you might seem trivial to others.
[edit] Tips and tricks
- Stick to real, current, practical problems. There might be an ideal solution to a hypothetical problem, but WP:Nobody cares. In discussions, give simple, concrete examples.
- WP:Too long; didn't read is the law of the internet. If a discussion gets too long, everyone loses. Keep your responses brief, and stick to the main point. Avoid the WP:Chunk o' text defense.
- Silently limit yourself to one or two comments a day on a particular page. You've got to give other editors a chance to participate and to defend you and your idea. Work on one of those 3,630,099 articles instead of endlessly refreshing the page so you can pounce on any reply. By doing this, you force your opponents to slow down, too, and perhaps they'll use the extra time to think more deeply about the issue.
- If you're feeling stressed, take a break. WP:Wikipedia is not that important, and it will be here tomorrow. Who cares what the page says for the next 24 hours? Plan something fun to do, catch up on your real life, and come back tomorrow, or next week.
[edit] See also
- WP:Perennial proposals
- meta:How to win an argument
- Wikipedia:Get over it
- Wikipedia:The Most Important Thing Possible
