 | This is anessay on theIgnore all rules 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. |
On Wikipedia, a great deal of virtual ink is spent debating if variouspolicies,guidelines, andessays apply to specific situations or not, or debating secondary questions about whether or not they have sufficientconsensus to apply. When you find yourself in that situation, take a step back,ignore all rules, and ask yourselfthe one question:
Answer that questionfirst, and then pick whatever policy, guideline, essay, or argument supports the answer. Don't flip the order. If you look at a policy page first, then decide that something is good/badbecause that's the conclusion of the policy, you forgot to ask yourself the one question. And you could very well end up supporting an outcome which does not make Wikipedia better.
