Wikipedia:Drama

This is an essay. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints.

Shortcuts WP:DRAMA WP:POPCORN

This page in a nutshell: Creating and spreading drama disrupts and harms Wikipedia – and it may get you blocked.

Much of Wikipedia's success is attributable to it being open to contributions from all. However, this openness sometimes attracts people who seek to exploit the site as a launchpad for unnecessary conflict and strife; in other words, drama. As with trolling, drama is a negative form of interaction that harms and destabilizes online communities. As with trolling, the goal of those seeking to create and expand drama is to provoke a reaction. Unlike trolling, the goal of drama is to confuse and divide the community in order to weaken the community's policies, gain support for a cause or policy interpretation, or serve some other goal such as driving away contributors.

Along with Wikipedia:Do not disrupt Wikipedia to illustrate a point and Wikipedia:Disruptive editing, this proposed guideline serves to document the community's methods for minimizing disruption and the wasting of Wikipedia volunteers' time.