User:Sakaratte/Principles

All visitors and contributors to the wiki are important to the community and should be treated with respect, dignity and be welcomed. As a collaborative volunteer project and community healthy collaboration is a must. To this end the following principles should be followed as a general code of conduct for collaboration.


 * 1) The spirit, not the word of the rule should be followed.
 * 2) All users are equal in decision making.
 * 3) All decisions are based on consensus.
 * 4) All decisions are open to challenge.

The spirit, not the word of the rule should be followed
Rules are written to either ensure or prevent an act from occurring, be it to allow for consistency in articles, or to encourage positive behaviours. What they are not there for is to allow users to bludgeon their stance into other users, or intimidate other users into a certain standpoint; the spirit of the rule is the intent.

A rule that states "please speak English" for example is there to reflect conversation should be in English, however it should not be taken as "speak English at all times, or suffer the consequences". Other languages certainly do add flavour and variety to conversation and expands our minds culturally.

The same also applies to sanctions. The rule may say this offense is this result, but in many cases, the rule doesn't fit the offence and in some cases the offence doesn't quite fit the rule. The rule should be used as a guide and the decision made must be one that the issuer can confidently present and justify.

All users are equal
In short, everyone from a new user to a bureaucrat are equal. No one voice is more important than another and no voice should be dismissed. Those who are dismissing or arguing a voice is lesser should be challenged on their behaviour and in extreme or persistent cases conduct/rights abuse policies should be considered.

The intent of this is to ensure everyone has a voice to collaborate and to also break down barriers between those with rights and/or experience and those without. No-one owns a wiki nor has more right to it than anyone else.