Misplaced Pages

:Use common sense - Misplaced Pages

Article snapshot taken from[REDACTED] with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Rd232 (talk | contribs) at 22:00, 23 August 2009 (undo upgrading to guideline without apparent talk consensus). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Revision as of 22:00, 23 August 2009 by Rd232 (talk | contribs) (undo upgrading to guideline without apparent talk consensus)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)

Template:Redirect6

Misplaced Pages information page
This is an information page.
It is not an encyclopedic article, nor one of Misplaced Pages's policies or guidelines; rather, its purpose is to explain certain aspects of Misplaced Pages's norms, customs, technicalities, or practices. It may reflect differing levels of consensus and vetting.		Shortcuts

Misplaced Pages has many rules. Instead of following every rule, it is acceptable to use common sense as you go about editing. Being too wrapped up in rules can cause loss of perspective, so there are times when it is better to ignore a rule.

Even if a contribution violates the precise wording of a rule, it might still be a good contribution. Similarly, just because something disruptive is not forbidden in a written rule doesn't mean it's a good idea (e.g., don't disrupt Misplaced Pages to illustrate a point). The principle of the rules is more important than the letter.

Invoking the principle of ignore all rules on its own will not convince anyone that you were right, so you will need to persuade the rest of the community that your actions improved the encyclopedia. A skilled application of this concept should ideally fly under the radar, and not be noticed at all.

Be careful about citing this principle too aggressively. While it is quite acceptable to explain your own actions by saying, "it seemed like common sense to me," you should be careful not to imply that other editors are lacking in common sense, which may be seen as uncivil.

Why isn't this page an official policy?

If you need to be told that this is a rule, you've missed the point entirely.

See also

Listen to this page
(2 parts, 1 minute)
  2. Part 2
Spoken Misplaced Pages iconThese audio files were created from a revision of this page dated Error: no date provided, and do not reflect subsequent edits.(Audio help · More spoken articles) Categories:
Misplaced Pages:Use common sense Add topic