Wikipedia:Our social policies are not a suicide pact
 | This is anessayon theconduct policy. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one ofWikipedia's policies or guidelines,as it has not beenthoroughly vetted by the community.Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints. |
 | This page in a nutshell:Assuming good faithdoes not require that editors extend good faith in instances where there is clear bad faith. |
Wikipedia guidelines instruct editors toassume good faith.The idea that this should not be taken to foolish extremes stems from a statement made byJimmy WalesinMarch 2005:
Oursocial policiesare not asuicide pact.They are in place to help us write the encyclopedia.[...] We need to takedue processseriously, but we also need to remember: this isnot a democracy,this isnot an experiment in anarchy,it's a project to make the world a better place by giving away a free encyclopedia[...] We can cut some serious slack toadministratorswho are doing the good work of defending us from nonsense.
The inspiration was likely the American political phrase, "The Constitution is not a suicide pact".Since 2005, the words" not a suicide pact "have beencommonly quotedin relation to Wikipedia's policies, particularly "assume good faith". "Our social policies are not a suicide pact" is essentially a restatement ofWikipedia:Ignore all rulesas applied to editor behavior: "If a rule prevents you from improving or maintaining Wikipedia, ignore it."
Remember this principle is anexceptionto allow admins to protect the encyclopedia without getting bogged down in bureaucracy, not a general invitation to breach our behavioral guidelines. Quoting this essay is not a get-out-of-jail-free card. You shouldn't assume that every single harmful edit is intentional, but you don't have to pretend that all bad actions were accidents and mistakes, either.