User:HighInBC/What "Ignore all rules" is not

From Ignore all rules: "If a rule prevents you from improving or maintaining Wikipedia, ignore it."

There is some disagreement as to what this statement means. Some think it simply means that you can ignore a rule of it prevents you from improving or maintaining Wikipedia. Others find a deeper meaning. This essay it to talk about what Ignore all rules is not.

Ignore all rules is not a shield
Ignore all rules is not a promise that you will not be held accountable for your actions. You are still responsible for the actions you take and the burden is on you to convince others that it was justified to ignore a rule to improve or maintain Wikipedia if challenged.

Ignore all rules is not a license for anarchy
When you ignore a rule it needs to be for a reason. It needs to be because the rule prevented you from improving or maintaining Wikipedia. While it is you who decides when to use IAR, it is ultimately the community that will decide if it was justified.

Ignore all rules is not an effective way to bypass consensus
While one can use IAR to ignore consensus and do something they feel is improving or maintaining Wikipedia, it is not likely to be effective. The reason for this is that it is the community itself that ultimately decides if your use of IAR was justified. If you cannot get consensus for an action, then invoking IAR is not likely to change that.

Ignore all rules is not just for people who know the rules
You don't need to know all the rules, or even any of them to ignore them. If you are a new user and do not know the rules and you are attempting to improve or maintain Wikipedia then you are successfully applying ignore all rules without even knowing it. New users should not be expected to know all the rules and should be kindly informed of them and not abused or punished for violating them without knowledge.

Ignore all rules is not mandatory
If following ignore all rules prevents you from improving or maintaining Wikipedia, ignore it. If you don't see the need, then you don't have to use it.