Wikipedia:Tip of the day/July 10, 2008

The fastest way to end a conflict: walk away

Edit warring is bad. Idea exchange has stopped and has been replaced by reverting edits. Not good. It disrupts Wikipedia, and wastes resources (Wikipedia's main resource is the time and effort that you and other Wikipedians devote to it). Edit warring is like a game of tic tac toe: once you know how to play, nobody ever wins. Edit warring is worse though, because it can go on indefinitely, and can get you banned. The solution? Chill out. Relax. Go edit somewhere else on Wikipedia for a few days (Wikipedia has hundreds of thousands of nice quiet pages to work on). Meanwhile, you may think of a solution that everyone will be happy with which you can bring to the talk page. When you come back, stay calm, and keep your involvement in the dispute on the talk page. Others who refuse to do so will answer for it eventually. Building consensus is the Wikipedia way of resolving disputes, as continued discussion brings new possibilities and solutions to light. Think "what if we..."

Read more: Resolving disputes Consensus

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