https://wiki.tachyony.co.uk/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Wikipedia%3ASettle_the_process_first 2026-05-15T21:56:27Z Revision history for this page on the wiki MediaWiki 1.35.5 https://wiki.tachyony.co.uk/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Settle_the_process_first&diff=5514&oldid=prev 2021-12-19T17:49:04Z

<p>Imported page</p> <p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{essay|WP:SETTLE|WP:P1ST}}<br /> {{nutshell|When there are process issues with a discussion, those need to be resolved before the underlying question is debated.}}<br /> <br /> [[File:Horse and buggy 1910.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|This cart is &#039;&#039;after&#039;&#039; the horse, [[Cart before the horse|where it belongs]]. Likewise, debates should always take place &#039;&#039;after&#039;&#039; process questions have been resolved.]]<br /> <br /> Wikipedia has [[Wikipedia:Talk page guidelines|many established rules]] to help guide discussions towards more productive outcomes. However, in reality editors regularly start discussions that violate these rules, sometimes out of ignorance and sometimes because they are seeking to gain an advantage. This can take many forms, from [[WP:RFCNEUTRAL|non-neutral RfCs]] to [[WP:TALKFORK|discussion forks]] to [[Wikipedia:Non-admin_closure#Editors_who_are_uninvolved|attempts to close discussions by involved parties]].<br /> <br /> When these things happen, it creates process questions that can disrupt the discussion and, if left to fester, ultimately [[WP:PROCESS FRUIT|undermine confidence in the result]]. The longer the problems go unaddressed, the messier the situation becomes and the harder it is to resolve. It is therefore important that such problems be nipped in the bud as soon as they are spotted.<br /> <br /> Unfortunately, this often does not happen. Voicing your opinion on a hot topic is satisfying, whereas trying to wrangle a discussion into compliance can be thankless, and it&#039;s often inadvisable to try to do both. But for Wikipedia to function smoothly, the project needs editors who come across a discussion and see a process violation to [[Wikipedia:Administrators without tools|pick up the mop]] in that moment and set things straight. Likewise, when someone comes in and raises a process-related point, editors engaged in the discussion need to temporarily set down their pitchforks and give space for the point to be resolved before resuming the debate.<br /> <br /> Wikipedia has few technical means to enforce discussion rules, so it ultimately falls on human editors to keep everything in line. When process is settled first, discussions work better.<br /> <br /> ==See also==<br /> *[[Wikipedia:Talk page guidelines]]<br /> *[[Wikipedia:Process is important]]<br /> *[[Wikipedia:Procedurally flawed consensus]]<br /> *{{section link|Wikipedia:Fruit of the poisonous tree|Wikipedia processes}}<br /> *[[Wikipedia:Don&#039;t lose the thread]]<br /> *[[Wikipedia:Wikipedia is not a battleground]]<br /> *[[Wikipedia:Wikipedia is not a bureaucracy]]<br /> <br /> {{Wikipedia essays|state=collapsed}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Wikipedia essays identifying problems and/or solutions]]<br /> [[Category:Wikipedia discussion]]<br /> [[Category:Wikipedia behavioral essays]]</div>

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