https://wiki.tachyony.co.uk/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Wikipedia%3AAssume_no_clueWikipedia:Assume no clue - Revision history2026-05-16T02:02:38ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.35.5https://wiki.tachyony.co.uk/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Assume_no_clue&diff=5136&oldid=prevTachyony: Imported page2021-12-19T16:52:25Z<p>Imported page</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{supplement|pages=[[Wikipedia:Assume good faith]] and [[Wikipedia:Don't bite the newcomers]] pages|shortcut=WP:NOCLUE|shortcut2=WP:CLUELESS}}<br />
{{nutshell|Assume that people don't know what they're doing before you assume bad faith.}}<br />
[[File:The puzzled voter by Thomas Hovenden.jpg|thumb|right|180px|A clueless Wikipedia editor on day one, puzzled after his quotation from a blog post on "Extremist-web-rants.com" was reverted.]]<br />
{{cquote|1=Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.|4=[[Hanlon's razor]]}}<br />
[[WP:AGF|Assuming good faith]] is a fundamental principle on [[Wikipedia]] and it generally isn't helpful when you get angry at someone who doesn't know how Wikipedia really works. Therefore, when an editor insists that what they're doing is an improvement when it isn't, '''assume no clue'''<ref>"No clue" means that the editor is [[wikt:clueless|clueless]], i.e., they are lacking knowledge or understanding, or they are uninformed.</ref> before assuming bad faith.<br />
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Instead of assuming that fellow editors are out to harm the project and its ideals, assume that they don't ''know'' how they're contributing in a non-constructive way. Assuming no clue preserves sanity and helps communication: instead of accusing someone of harming the project, you can help them contribute constructively.<br />
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==Examples==<br />
*If an editor just added material into a [[Wikipedia:Featured articles|Featured article]] on a film that is sourced to a fan blog site, don't assume bad faith. Assume that they do not know about Wikipedia's policy on [[WP:RS|Reliable Sources]]. <br />
*If another editor just reverted a direct quote you made from the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' regarding the etymology of the article name with the edit summary "dubious-never heard that origin of the word before", do not assume bad faith. The editor may genuinely believe that [[false etymology|folk etymology]] is the best source for word origin, rather than Wikipedia's approach, which is to prefer etymologies that are found in sources published by reputable publishing houses.<br />
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== See also ==<br />
*[[Wikipedia:Assume Ignorance]]<br />
*[[Wikipedia:Assume stupidity]]<br />
*[[Wikipedia:Competence is required]]<br />
*[[Wikipedia:Editors can be wrong]]<br />
*[[Wikipedia:Give 'em enough rope]]<br />
*[[Hanlon's razor]]<br />
*[[Wikipedia:Imagine others complexly]]<br />
*[[Wikipedia:Please do not bite the newcomers]]<br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
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{{Wikipedia essays|civility}}<br />
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[[Category:Wikipedia essays about civility]]<br />
[[Category:Wikipedia essays about competence]]</div>Tachyony