Editing Eurovision Wiki:Teahouse (section)

== Policies, Building Trust, and Community Health ==

Wikipedia is often at a crossroads. They have to maintain the wiki health for one, but also not make it hostile to new editors. Even experienced editors may feel unwelcome if other editors unilaterally reprimand them without any empathy. Furthermore, many Wikipedia policies are tucked away in policy articles and TL:DR issues also persist (Some editors assume that everyone had the time to read the policy, but that's not often the case. Or they look at a long-term editor and use the excuse of "You should know the rules by now." to be rude and blunt to them.). The other issue is [[Zero-tolerance_policies_in_schools|zero-tolerance policies]] that have left many individuals with bad memories, causing them to be cautious and skeptical of further disciplinary action they feel is unjust, including potential Wikipedia editors reprimanding them for things they didn't realize (or threatening disciplinary action) because of the things I mentioned above, which may even cause experienced editors to leave out of fear.

I've been rambling on for a while now. How do I ensure I and many others with anxiety still feel welcome here long-term. [[User:TheEternalOutsider|TheEternalOutsider]] ([[User talk:TheEternalOutsider|talk]]) 20:58, 16 March 2026 (UTC)

:Hi @[[User:TheEternalOutsider|TheEternalOutsider]]!
:First, good on you for bringing up these issues.  I think this is a great place to talk about it.
:To make yourself feel welcome, I'd advise you make sure to take breaks when things aren't working out and stand up for yourself when you are not being treated well.
:To make sure others feel welcome, I guess try to make sure to [[WP:assume good faith|assume good faith]] -- assume that people have good intentions and work from there to make things work better for them and the encyclopedia. [[User:OmegaMantis|✨ΩmegaMantis✨]]<sup>(he/him) </sup> <small>  [[User talk:OmegaMantis|❦blather]] &#124; [[Special:Contributions/OmegaMantis|☞spy on me]]</small> 21:16, 16 March 2026 (UTC)
::It's hard for me to stand up for myself, because I still remember authorities who abused their power to leave me unable to talk and feeling hopeless, none of which had any empathy. A moderator could threaten to drag me to the Arbitration Committee, get me blocked through a biased testimony of me, and get no repercussions for it. Furthermore, on my end, it's hard for me to assume good faith since my anxiety perceives any slight as a threat to my peace of mind. Other people may have similar problems in anxiety. [[User:TheEternalOutsider|TheEternalOutsider]] ([[User talk:TheEternalOutsider|talk]]) 21:27, 16 March 2026 (UTC)
:::I almost forgot. I've heard stories of [[WP:POV|POV pushers]], [[WP:COI|conflict of interest]] editors, tendentious [[WP:LTA|LTAs]], and [[WP:GAME|those who game the system]], including [[WP:FRINGE|extremists]] who slyly game the policy and maliciously cherry-pick or misinterpret passages in [[WP:NPOV|NPOV]] to turn Wikipedia into a [[WP:SOAPBOX|soapbox]]. I remember many who promised to protect me in the past chose not to protect me, were blindsided by tendentious abusers, were played by Machiavellian deception, or had higher ups who hurt me. I've been rambling on again, haven't I? I care about Wikipedia's long-term health and don't want anyone to get led astray by bad faith actors. While consensus is the main policy here, [[Machiavellianism (psychology)|Machiavellian]] behavior to twist opinions is still something I am wary of. [[User:TheEternalOutsider|TheEternalOutsider]] ([[User talk:TheEternalOutsider|talk]]) 21:37, 16 March 2026 (UTC)
:::Wikipedia is not a dictatorship, and admins absolutely do not have the power to unilaterally block you based only on their own testimony, nor is anybody going to 'threaten to drag you' to arbcom. All of the other things you've listed do indeed exist, but they simply aren't a problem for most editors on a day-to-day basis. If you're minding your business and editing in whatever area interests you, you're generally not going to run into issues with POV pushing or COI or LTAs or what have you. Participating with all of that sort of 'drama' is entirely optional, and you're fully welcome to (and encouraged to) just stay in your lane making edits to whatever articles interest you and never getting bogged down in inter-editor relations. [[User:Athanelar|Athanelar]] ([[User talk:Athanelar|talk]]) 22:48, 16 March 2026 (UTC)
::::Thanks for listening to me. [[User:TheEternalOutsider|TheEternalOutsider]] ([[User talk:TheEternalOutsider|talk]]) 22:50, 16 March 2026 (UTC)