Editing Battlestar Wiki:Words of wisdom

{{Policy|shortcut=BW:WOW<br/>BW:WW<br/>BW:WISDOM|2006 October 25}}
    {{derivative2| 
    INTERWIKI=Wikipedia| 
    TITLE=Wikipedia:Words of wisdom| 
    TITLE_TEXT=Wikipedia's '''Words of Wisdom'''| 
    LICENSE=GNU FDL 
    }}
{{Battlestar Wiki List of Policies}}
'''Sometimes when you are paranoid, the mysterious group known as "They" may actually be after you.'''

But take heart: '''They''' aren't after you, at least not here at Battlestar Wiki.

== The universe does not revolve around you ==

Battlestar Wiki [[BW:NOT|is not a forum or a soapbox]]. Editors should remember that their egos are not on the line while they are here at Battlestar Wiki. Please remember that the majority of the editors are human and are prone to mistakes, errors, flared up emotions and stress. Editors should remember that the goal is encyclopedic information and should attempt to set aside their egos while they are here at Battlestar Wiki.

While editors' points of view are certainly welcomed, please remember that Battlestar Wiki has a [[Battlestar Wiki:Neutral point of view|neutral point of view]] policy with regards to writing articles. To that effect, editors should work with other editors despite their conflicting egos and points of view. Through collaboration and presentation of either a neutral point of view or all points of view article, Battlestar Wiki helps to illustrate good information.

By remembering that '''the universe does not revolve around you''', editors avoid [[Battlestar Wiki:Things you just don't do, not even in war|disrupting Battlestar Wiki to illustrate a point]].

== Online Communities and the Cabal ==
[[Image:Cabal in english.jpg|right|thumb|300px|We only exist if you want us to.]]
A common complaint in online communities is that there are groups of users, usually longtime members of the community, who have all the power, make all the decisions, police the behavior of everyone else, and disclaim any responsibility for such actions — a '''[[Wikipedia:cabal |cabal]]'''.
=== There is only a cabal if you want there to be one  ===
:''When you start accusing everyone of being in on a conspiracy, you shouldn't be surprised if they decide to confirm your paranoia by banding together against you.'' <ref>[[Wikipedia:User:khaosworks| Wisdom from Wikipedia user khaosworks]]</ref> 

Especially among your fellow editors and peers, there really ''is'' no cabal. A cabal works in secret and avoids claiming responsibility. Battlestar Wiki's editors, as unlikeable and unfair as the ideas and actions of some may seem, cannot be accused of those failings. You can call those groups that are a little too cohesive and prominent for your taste a [[Wikipedia:faction |faction]] or an [[Wikipedia:oligarchy |oligarchy]], if you're into politics, or you could consider the possibility that they're only human, and have a tendency to stick together when confronted with hostility towards all of them. But if there is a cabal, only a [[Wikipedia:conspiracy theory |conspiracy theory]] could confirm its existence.

:''[[Wikipedia:User:Extreme Unction|Extreme Unction]]'s first law: If enough people act independently towards the same goal, the end result is indistinguishable from a conspiracy.''

It's much more productive to refute the arguments of the majority than implying they are wrong ''because'' it is the majority, or implying you are being repressed because it doesn't agree with you. If you attack people who oppose you as if they were a collective with an agenda against you, then whether they were or not, they will certainly become one.  There is no cabal conspiring against you surrounding this or that article — unless you created it.

[[Image:Nocabal.JPG|right]]

=== Battlestar Wiki - No (ca)Bull ===
It is the overwhelming sentiment of the users at Battlestar Wiki that normal business of the wiki is discussed and decided on the wiki's [[Battlestar Wiki:Tutorial (Talk pages) | talk pages]].

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== See also ==

*[[Wikipedia:There Is No Cabal|There is no cabal]] has further discussion of this concept on the Internet in general.
*[http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/MPOV Megalomaniacal point of view]

== References ==
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[[fr:Battlestar Wiki:Paroles de sagesse]]