Wikipedia:POV railroad
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 | This page in a nutshell: Taking advantage a disagreeing editor with Wikipedia policy and guideline violations is against Wikipedia's code of conduct. |
Point of View (POV) railroading is the use of bullying tactics to discredit an editor with an opposing viewpoint or to take them out of a discussion. Railroading tactics can include frustrating the editor, discouraging them from participating, or creating a false narrative that misrepresents actual events or edits in order to discredit the editor. These tactics are used to win an argument or take control of an article or topic area by focusing on the editor rather than the edits and editing process.
Tactics
[change source]False narratives
[change source]A false narrative is a bending of a "story" about another editor in an attempt to discredit them, damage their reputation within the community, frustrate, or bait them. Unsubstantiated accusations of canvassing or conflict of interest, labeling an editor as a point-of-view pusher, or accusing them of being a sock puppet or of a banned or blocked user are common false narratives. Editors may also misrepresent actual edits (including their own) or take diffs out of context to support a skewed version of events that supports their false narrative.
Policy misuse
[change source]Editors may attack or discredit another editor using a distorted interpretation of Wikipedia's behavioral policies and guidelines. They may quote policies in misleading ways, by sourcing them out of context, with extreme interpretations and without relevant disclaimers and exceptions. In other cases, a "policy bomb"—known as "alphabet soup"—may be used to overwhelm an editor with so many accusations of violations that the targeted editor feels scared.