Wikipedia:Assume good faith.html
 
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“ Civility, Maturity, Responsibility ”
This page documents an English Wikipedia behavioral guideline. It is a generally accepted standard that editors should attempt to follow, though it is best treated with common sense and the occasional exception. Any substantive edit to this page should reflect consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on the talk page.
Shortcuts:
WP:AGF
WP:FAITH
WP:GOODFAITH
This page in a nutshell:
  • Unless there is strong evidence to the contrary, assume that people who work on the project are trying to help it, not hurt it.
  • If criticism is needed, discuss editors' actions, but avoid accusing others of harmful motives without particularly strong evidence.
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Assuming good faith is a fundamental principle on Wikipedia. Most people try to help the project, not hurt it. If this were false, a project like Wikipedia would be doomed from the beginning.

When disagreement occurs, explain yourself using talk pages, and give others the opportunity to do the same. Consider whether a dispute stems from different perspectives and look for ways to reach consensus.

When others cast doubt on their own good faith, continue to assume good faith yourself where you can. Be civil and follow dispute resolution processes, rather than attacking editors or edit warring with them.

Contents

About good faith

Everyone makes mistakes, both behavioral (like personal attacks) and content-based (like adding original research), and we can correct them with reminders most of the time. However, there will be disagreements on Wikipedia for which no policy or guideline has an easy answer. When disagreements happen, it may not be that someone has ill intent. Keep a cool head, and consider dispute resolution if disagreements seem intractable; many of them are not.

This guideline does not require that editors continue to assume good faith in the presence of contrary evidence. Assuming good faith does not prohibit discussion and criticism, but instead editors should not attribute the actions being criticised to malice unless there is specific evidence of malice.

Violation of some policies, such as engaging in sock-puppetry, violating consensus, and so on, may be perpetrated in either good or bad faith. There are processes for dealing with all of these, and sanctions for repeated violation of policy apply regardless of whether bad faith was involved.

Good faith and newcomers

Main article: Wikipedia:Please do not bite the newcomers

Newcomers unaware of Wikipedia's culture and the mechanics of Wikipedia editing make mistakes. Some newcomers advocate changing an unfamiliar policy to match their experience and expertise elsewhere, especially if they find the policy in question unclear or notice that there is already disagreement over it. Behaviors arising from these perspectives may not be malicious, and many new users who lack an intuitive grasp of Wikipedia customs are gradually brought around once the logic behind them becomes more clear. Be patient with new users in spite of their sometimes inappropriate behavior, as many will become valuable contributors in the future.

Demonstrate good faith

Shortcut:
WP:DGF

In addition to assuming good faith, encourage others to assume good faith by demonstrating your own good faith. You can do this by articulating your honest motives and by making edits that show your willingness to compromise, interest in improving Wikipedia, adherence to policies and guidelines, belief in the veracity of your edits, avoidance of gaming the system, and other good-faith behavior. Showing good faith is not required, but it aids smooth and successful interactions with editors.

Dealing with bad faith

Even if bad faith is evident, do not act uncivilly yourself in return, attack others, or lose your cool over it. It is ultimately much easier for others to resolve a dispute and see who is breaching policies, if one side is clearly editing appropriately throughout.

Wikipedia administrators and other experienced editors involved in dispute resolution will usually be glad to help, and are very capable of identifying policy-breaching conduct if their attention is drawn to clear and specific evidence.

Accusing others of bad faith

Shortcut:
WP:AOBF

Making accusations of bad faith can be inflammatory and hence these accusations may be unhelpful in a dispute. It can be seen as a personal attack if bad faith motives are alleged without clear evidence that others' editing is actually in bad faith. The result is often accusations of bad faith on your part, which tends to create a nasty cycle.

Reminding others to assume good faith

Care should be taken not to over-invoke this guideline in discussion. Reminders to "Assume Good Faith" may be taken as offensive if one was not actually doing otherwise, and can even be seen as assuming bad faith by failing to assume the assumption of good faith. Short of an explicit accusation of bad faith, consider noting another applicable guideline or policy which mentions the expectation to Assume Good Faith, rather than actually cautioning a user to do so.

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