Wikipedia:No personal attacks
 | This page is a policy on the Simple English Wikipedia. Many people agree with it. They see it as a standard idea that all users should normally follow. When changing this page (except for minor errors like typos), please check that other people agree with your changes. Use the talk page when you are not sure or when you want to suggest a change. |
 | This page in a nutshell: Comment on what is written, not on who wrote it. |
In Simple English Wikipedia, many people work together to make an encyclopedia. Sometimes, users do not agree on what is written in an article, or on a talk page. Rather than commenting on what is wrong with the article or talk page, they make a bad comment about the user, the person who wrote the comment. This is called a personal attack, and will not be tolerated. Personal attacks help no one. They will not help people make a point about an issue. There are some users who wanted to help make this Wikipedia better, but who no longer want to because the personal attack scared them away. People who make bad comments about other people must show these comments are true (by giving some kind of evidence) - If they can not or do not want to do this, making bad comments about another user is considered to be a personal attack.
People who make personal attacks may be blocked, so they can no longer change this Wikipedia. - People who make personal attacks over and over again may be blocked indefinitely.
What is a personal attack?
With some comments, it is difficult to say if they are personal attacks. Some kinds of comments are almost always personal attacks:
- Talking about a person's race, sexual orientation, religion, political opinions, or disabilities in a bad way.
Disagreeing over what is the most important aspect of a religion, sexual orientation or preference, race, etc. is no excuse.
Other behaviour that is considered a personal attack includes:
- Making on-wiki threats of any kind (Vandalism to User pages or talk pages)
- Threatening with violence or another off-wiki action (most often death threats)
- Threatening to do things that will affect another user's life in the real world. This includes finding their personal information and putting it online. This is called outing, and can lead to an immediate block.
It does not matter if the threat is made on-wiki, or if a link to another website is given where the threat is made.
These are only examples. Often, a personal attack fits more than one of these examples. Insulting a user is a personal attack regardless of how it is done.
When you are not sure, comment only on what is written, not on who wrote it, especially if you disagree with the user.
Warning users who attack others
Here is a set of warnings you can give to users who attack other users: