User:WilyD/Win Arguments by Following Rules

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Anyone editing Wikipedia is bound to end up in an editing dispute. Suppose you see that Wikipedia has not article on pumpkin pie, and so you start one.

Consider this innocent seeming introduction:

Pumpkin pie is a traditional North American dessert usually made in the late fall and early winter, especially for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. The pie consists of a pumpkin-based custard, ranging in color from orange to brown, baked in a single pie shell, rarely with a top crust.

This may seem fair and obvious, but there's a host of problems that any editor could raise. For example, some editor may come along and complain that Pumpkin pie doesn't have to be made with pumpkins. For instance, my nana used to make them only with carrots. Now, this editor could've used google to verify for themselves pumpkin pie is made with pumpkins. They could have applied simple logic or linguistics. But instead they just added a {{fact}} tag.

Your first instinct may be to privately offer the editor a citation, it may be to tell them that it's straightforward logic. You might even revert with a rv - unnecessary tag. You may refer the other editor to Wikipedia:You don't need to cite that the sky is blue.

These are mistakes. Anyone one of those actions is just an invitation to have an edit war. Instead, add a citation to this effect to the article. Leave a nice edit summary like citation, per request. Maybe leave two or three.