User talk:Whittlej89

Take care not to let your feelings carry you away
No matter how strongly you feel that some things are true, are facts, Wikipedia has rules and guidelines about what can be included. Chiefly these require that everything recorded here is a referenced statement from another published source. We can't just be adding words at will according to our own wishes or feelings. I have reverted your two edits that add your personal modern impression of the 'intent' or 'meaning' behind these. I've also added a "[citation needed]" note on your edit at American Civil War.

Mainly these rules exist to make it possible for Wikipedia to exist at all. Near everything _can_ be argued about, and nearly everything here _has_ been argued about. Argument - by itself - does nothing. Wikipedia summarizes what other (presumably) qualified sources have said, and when possible having each significant viewpoint reported.

Did you know that the same body of water has many people insisting its name is Sea of Japan and a very loud set of people insisting it is really called the East Sea? And that according to the talk page
 * An entry from Sea of Japan appeared on Wikipedia's Lamest edit wars ever in the Ethnic feuds column on January 19, 2007.

(Check out the entry for "Liancourt Rocks") Hey, the Saudis hate that maps say Persian Gulf rather than Arabian Gulf (Persian Gulf naming dispute). Amazing, but very very emotional.

There is even an ever larger List of controversial issues at Wikipedia, just so people can keep track of who's who in all the screaming people? There have even been 'wars' over the 'correct' names of articles or even how to spell certain words.

Everybody has an opinion, yet Wikipedia is not supposed to have an opinion. WP just reports well-sourced facts and, yes, opinions, but just the well-sourced and significant ones. (And, yes, 'significant' is often yelled about)

I hope I haven't given you a bad, um, opinion about Wikipedia. Rather, a better one. (Just another editor here) Shenme (talk) 06:03, 7 November 2016 (UTC)


 * Oh dear, I just found Category:Wikipedia controversial topics - 2432 articles!?! Oh well, it is good conversational material for when I next meet an Icelandic yodeling base jumper and want to insult them. (sigh) Also, makes conversations with my relatives seem... 'okay'. Shenme (talk) 06:13, 7 November 2016 (UTC)