[Editor’s note: there have been many debates about which policy or policies at Wikipedia are most to blame for the wretched outcome there. But perhaps the problem lies not in the policies, but in the way that they are customarily used by “teh community”: as weapons in the world’s most widely used MMORPG (Massively multiplayer online role-playing game). It’s the Double Standards Gambit: for any given rule or policy, there is one interpretation that applies to whatever one particular contestant is doing, and another interpretation that applies to his or her opponent(s). Consequently, many contestants wind up spending little time actually writing or editing articles, and much time crafting long-winded and specious legalistic arguments in an effort to get their opponents censured or banned. For the minority of Wikipedians who are simply there because they enjoy writing articles, this situation may give rise to indignation, disgust, or despair. Or, it may engender essays, like this one by Mr. D. Tobias:]
There’s an old saying, “What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.” This meshes well with the Golden Rule, or ethic of reciprocity, which is a key moral principle in many religions and philosophies, and is often stated as “Do unto others as you wish to be done for you”, or conversely, “Don’t do unto others what you would not wish to be done to you.”
Unfortunately, when the infighting here in Wikipedia gets heated, participants often forget this principle and do unto their opponents things that would not be fair to be done unto them, and sometimes add insult to injury by crying “foul” if their
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