Final Fantasy Wiki:Consensus

Loosely defined, consensus is "a general agreement". However, in the context of the Final Fantasy Wiki, consensus refers to the specific process by which ... 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SignIn Advertisement in: Policiesandguidelines FinalFantasyWiki:Consensus Editsource History Talk(0) ThispagedocumentsanofficialFinalFantasyWikiproceduralpolicy.Itapproximatesawidelyacceptedstandardthatalleditorsshouldnormallyfollow.Changesmadetothispageshouldreflectconsensus. Looselydefined,consensusis"ageneralagreement".However,inthecontextoftheFinalFantasyWiki,consensusreferstothespecificprocessbywhichdecisionsaremadeandcontentdisputesareresolvedonthewiki. TheFinalFantasyWikiisnotademocracyorabureaucracy.Instead,wefollowamoreorganicprocessofreachingagreementthroughdiscussionratherthanrigidprocesses,prioritizingthecogencyoflegitimateconcernsoverundefended"sides"ofanargument.Whileunanimityisideal,itisnotrequired.Editsensuantonconcessionandgoodfaithestablishconsensusforpracticalpurposes;resultingadjustmentsoradditionstopoliciesandguidelinesformallycodifythesedecisions. Contents 1Buildingconsensus 2Roleofdemocracy 3Commonpitfalls 3.1Democracy 3.2Consensus 4Notes 5Seealso Buildingconsensus[] Theabilitytodecidewhenconsensushasbeenreachedwithoutdependinguponademocraticsystemresideswithintherelevantparties'abilitytocompromise,remaincivil,andrememberthateditingawikiisnotaboutwinning.Occasionally,thediscussionmaysimplyreachanimpasse.Whenthisoccurs,eithertheresultisnoconsensusandthestatusquoismaintained,[note1]ortheinvolvedpartiesmayunanimouslyagreeonsomealternativemeansofresolvingtheyet-intractabledispute(arbitration,strawpolling,etc.) Allpartiesareexpectedtomakeadequateeffortstoputforthandrespondtoallgoodfaithattemptsatobjectivearguments.Contributorswhodeliberatelydisregardthisstandard,makenogoodfaithattemptsatengaginginconversation,orengageinstatusquostonewallingmaybeexcludedfromtheconsensus-buildingprocess. Roleofdemocracy[] Althoughthewikiisnotademocracy,strawpollsmayserveasameanstoanend—justnotaswhatultimatelydeterminesconsensus.Votingguidelinesareasfollows: Votesarenottobetalliedatfacevalue.Votesinthiscaseshouldbeseenasawayofstructuringtheconversation,ratherthantallyingmajoritysentiment.Countedvotesmustbeatleastbrieflydefendedusingreasonablywell-formedargumentsthathavenotbeensatisfactorilyrebutted."Ilikeit"or"Idislikeit"(andthelike)donotcountaslegitimatevotes. Thedecisionisnotautomaticallymadebythemajorityvote.Rather,amajorityresultplacestheburdenofproofandrebuttalontheminorityside.Failuretoadequatelyaccountfortheconcernsofthemajority,eitherbycomingupwithanalternativeoradjustingtheproposalinsomenewway,orfailuretoreasonwhytheresultofthevoteshouldbenon-binding,willresultinconsensusfavorabletothemajority. Commonpitfalls[] Democracy[] Votesshouldbetreatedwithcaution.Inthesamewaythatvotescanbeuseful,theycanalsobedetrimentaliftheirutilityismisunderstood,oriftheirpitfallsareignored: Thepresumptionthatthemajorityisanaccuraterepresentationofthemajorityaffectedbyadecision.Infact,a"majoritydecision"istechnicallyimpossible;saidmajorityisthemajorityforthatparticularjunctureintimeandgathering.Ifthemajoritydecisionwasnotbackedbydefensiblereasoning,itdoesnotholduptofuturescrutinyandcanmoreeasilybeoverturnedbysimplerconsensusandfewerparticipantslateron. Participantsmayvoteinawaythatisbiased.Whileamoreorganicconsensussystemdoesnoteliminatebias,itforcesparticipantstoreasonwithothersandexplainfullytheirposition.Ifthereasonfortheirpositiondoesnotgobeyondsimplepersonalpreference,itshouldnotweighintoanydecisionmadefortherestofthecommunityandthewiki'sreaders. Participantsmayvotelazilyorinhaste.Inensuringthatthediscussionhasachancetoplayoutinitsentirety,itismorelikelythatparticipantsmayhavetheirmindchanged,thereasoningfortheirpositionstrengthened,orthatbetteroptionsandcompromisescomeaboutasaresultofdiscussion. Consensus[] Consensus,too,hascommonpitfallsthatareimportanttounderstandaheadoftimetohaveahigherchanceatavoidingormitigatingthem: Reachinganintractableimpasse.Sometimes,level-headededitorswithwell-reasonedpositionssimplycan'tseeeyetoeye.Or,theseeditorsacquireapersonaloremotionalinvestmentin"winning"thedebate,andthediscussionbecomesuncivil.Whilearesultof"noconsensus"isacceptable,movingthewikiforwardinawaythatsatisfiesallinvolvedshouldbethegoal. "Heorshewhoarguesthelongestwins".Someeditorsmayargueadnauseamtotheeffectofdisenfranchisingothereditorsfromcontributingtotheconversation,knowinglyorunknowingly.Theymayattempttobludgeontheprocess,putforthconfusingoroverlywordyarguments,orarguestrictlyonthebasisofexistingconsensus(seeWikipedia:Don'tdrinktheconsensusKool-Aid).Thisisdisruptivebehaviorthatisgenerallyobjectivelyidentifiableandpunishable. Notes[] ↑Exceptinrareexceptionswhereotherwisenoted,likewiththeNotabilitypolicy. Seealso[] Wikipedia:ConsensusonWikipedia. Category:Policiesandguidelines CommunitycontentisavailableunderCC-BY-SAunlessotherwisenoted. Advertisement FollowonIG Newsletter JoinFanLab