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{{Short description|Wikpedia Essay}}
{{hatnote|You may be looking for [[WP:DRN]], the dispute resolution noticeboard.}}
{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{essay|WP:DENY|WP:DFTT|WP:DNFTT|WP:DNFT}}
{{nutshell|Recognition is a motivation for vandalism. Trolls require food − don't feed the trolls.}}
[[File:DoNotFeedTroll.svg|thumb|right|Never feed the trolls.]]

True [[Wikipedia:Vandalism|vandals]] and [[m:What is a troll?|trolls]] (as distinguished from users who dabble in minor vandalism) usually suffer from chronic alienation and real or perceived powerlessness. They seek recognition and infamy by interrupting and frustrating the Wikipedia project and community. Such users experience exceptional attention as empowerment, reward, and encouragement. This is particularly true for those prolific vandals who have been immortalized on Wikipedia pages, meticulously catalogued by [[Wikipedia:Categorization|category]] pages, targeted by dedicated templates, and thereby become a noted part of wiki culture.<ref>One notable example is [[Special:Diff/69263075|here]], where a vandal requested their own long term abuse page be created for them – that same user had previously taken screenshots of their own sockpuppets' vandalism and added them to other [[Wikipedia:Long-term abuse|long term abuse]] pages</ref>

== Encouragement ==
This glorification of vandalism through infamy encourages [[Internet meme]]s through [[reinforcement]], where users imitate notorious or unique vandalism methods for amusement, to share in the infamy, or for the thrill of defying authority and/or interfering in other users' work. Denying recognition and infamy neutralizes common primary motivators for vandalism and disruption.

Media exposure of vandalism on Wikipedia seems to invite increased vandalism. When a person writes in a newspaper or says on television that it is easy to insert nonsense in Wikipedia, invariably a number of imitators want to see it for themselves and believe they are "[[Hacker (computer security)|hackers]]". Making this issue seem more important than it is reinforces this behavior (see [[positive feedback]]).

== Continuing to deal with vandalism ==
Some material is still going to be valuable in dealing with vandalism, so this is not about pretending vandalism does not exist. Instead, information on vandalism should be critically appraised: first, whether it has genuine value; then, whether that value outweighs any detriment from the publicity of that vandal or their vandalism. Stating that a certain individual is involved in very obvious vandalism probably does not enable any better recognition or response to that vandalism—it merely adds to the legend of a specific vandal. On the other hand, documenting a new form of vandalism in a neutral manner like [[Wikipedia:Vandalism#Types of vandalism]] ensures a suitable awareness of that vandalism's existence.

== How to mitigate vandalism ==
If you see information pages about vandals or vandalism that you think have no practical purpose,

* If this page is pure vandalism, tag it with {{tl|Db-g3}};
* If this page is created by banned or blocked users '''after''' the ban or block, tag it with {{tl|Db-g5|''username''}};
* If this page is an obvious personal attack, remove all content and then tag it with {{tl|Db-g10}};
* Otherwise, quietly revert or blank. Reserve [[Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion|listing the page as miscellany for deletion]] for serious matters, noting that a high-profile forum discussion of vandalism is the opposite of "deny recognition".

User pages of [[WP:INDEF|indefinitely blocked]] users (except [[WP:SOCK|sockpuppets]] and banned users) that have no practical purpose can be nominated for deletion as such after a short while.<ref>IP addresses stored for registered users are only kept in the system for so long; categorising a user after this period of time serves no useful purpose.</ref> '''Remember that this is not a [[Wikipedia:Criteria for speedy deletion|criterion for speedy deletion]]''', unless the page is pure vandalism, or a personal attack. In general, "socktags" on blocked sockpuppets' user pages should only be added, removed, or modified by administrators or [[WP:SPI/C|sockpuppet investigations clerks]].

== See also ==
'''Similar pages:'''
* [[Wikipedia:Do not insult the vandals|Do not insult the vandals]]
* [[Wikipedia:Don't eat the troll's food|Don't eat the troll's food]]
* [[Wikipedia:Don't stuff beans up your nose|Don't stuff beans up your nose]]
* [[Wikipedia:Griefing|Griefing]]
* [[Wikipedia:The motivation of a vandal|The motivation of a vandal]]
* [[Wikipedia:Revert, block, ignore|Revert, block, ignore]]
* [[User:The Cunctator/HomePage Vandalism|The Cunctator/HomePage Vandalism]]
* [[User:Yaris678/Deny automated recognition|Yaris678/Deny automated recognition]]
* [[Meatball:DissuadeReputation|DissuadeReputation]] on [[MeatballWiki]]
* [[v:Wikiversity:No shrines for vandals|No shrines for vandals]] on [[Wikiversity]]
* [[m:What is a troll?|What is a troll?]]
* [[Template:User Troll]]
* [[Template:User Feed trolls or not]]

'''Contrasting pages:'''
* [[Wikipedia:You must feed the trolls]]
* [[Wikipedia:Editing policy#Try to fix problems]]
* [[Wikipedia:Please be a giant dick, so we can ban you]]

== Footnotes ==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==
*{{cite book |last=Sutton |first=Robert |author-link=Robert I. Sutton |title=[[The No Asshole Rule]] |date=February 2007 |publisher=Business Plus |isbn=978-0-446-52656-2 }}
*{{cite web |title=How to Keep Hostile Jerks from Taking Over Your Online Community |url= http://www.informationweek.com/d/d-id/1055100 |first=Cory |last=Doctorow |authorlink=Cory Doctorow |work=[[InformationWeek]] |publisher=TechWeb Business Technology Network |date=May 14, 2007 |accessdate=September 22, 2015}}

{{Wikipedia essays|civility}}

[[Category:Wikipedia user conduct]]
[[Category:Wikipedia essays]]
[[Category:Wikipedia trolling]]

Wikipedia:Deny recognition - Revision history

Tachyony: Imported page