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This is an essay.
It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints. |
 | This page in a nutshell: That a rule allows you to do something isn't an argument that you ought to do it. |
An almost sure sign of a problem editor is someone who has "because I can" syndrome. You see this play out like this: Editor A notices something he thinks is a problem. He says "Hey, Editor B, please don't do this." Then editor B quotes some rule and insists that he's allowed to do it. Editor A explains why said behavior is harmful. Editor B merely blows off the objection, and insists he'll continue doing it because he can.
Editor B has a temperament that is fundamentally incompatible with a collaborative project like Wikipedia. Since Wikipedia isn't going to change to match that misguided temperament, the editors suffering from "because I can" need to either change their ways, or refrain from participating here.
If you see that you are suffering from "because I can", there is an easy solution. Simply recognize that while "because I can" is a perfectly good reason to do something on your own website, Wikipedia does not belong to you. Here, the general operating principle is that you should do only what is helpful, rather than anything you can.
