Wikipedia:Butterfly effect

A beautiful butterfly peacefully editing, blissfully unaware that it's about to cause a shitstorm

In the chaotic world of Wikipedia, the butterfly effect is often set into motion when one or more editors are sensitive to small changes in the environment, leading to large differences of opinion that may ultimately result in a fiery shitstorm. Though individual editors are largely deterministic they are in some respects stochastic, and the large number of possible interactions between different editors comprise a nonlinear system that is wholly unpredictable. For this reason, great care must be taken when dealing with even the most seemingly innocuous situations in order to avoid unintended consequences.

If you sense a sudden rise or drop in temperature, or the wind begins to blow the other way, it is likely that the shit is about to hit the fan, so unless you brought an umbrella it's important to know when to stop arguing with people and simply let them be wrong.

If another editor has led you here it's probably for the best if you step away from editing for the time being, enjoy one of your favourite beverages and think about how you might resolve any dispute you may be involved in, or think twice before getting involved, because things can take a turn for the worse surprisingly quickly.


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