Commons:Not staying mellow

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Shortcut: COM:NOTMELLOW

This page is an essay; it contains the advice and/or opinions of one or more Commons contributors.
It is not a Commons policy or guideline, and editors are not obliged to follow it. Please update the page as needed, or discuss it on the talk page.

There are good reasons why you should not always be mellow on Commons.

[edit] About mellowness

It is good to be nice towards these people:

• Well intended users. That is: anyone who is receptive and listens to you when you inform them of their mistakes and relevant policies and guidelines.
• Newbies. That is: users whose intentions you don't know yet.

However, be sure to be critical towards the following users:

[edit] Ignorants

Many users on Commons have biases. The might just come here to vote to keep some useless image, no matter how obvious that the images are copyright violations. You cannot argue with these people. You have to inform them how wrong and ignorant they are. You can use harsh words, or "sticking them the truth". But make sure to behave in a civilized way and not make any personal attacks, or they will just get personal with you.

[edit] Admins

Even admins are subject to biases and incompetence. Being an admin doesn't make a user a semi-God. But some admins think so. This happens everywhere some people can get more power than others without fearing to lose them. You shouldn't have to accept oppressive power: always fight the injustice!

[edit] People who mess up your work

This is a wiki which means that even if you spend 1,000 hours fixing something, you risk that someone else drops by and starts messing it up. You should be respectful to them, but to stop them from messing with your work you should harshly inform them of their mistakes. Otherwise they'll think they can get away with it by tweaking their actions, and then you'll be sorry you didn't tell them off at once.

[edit] Trolls and vandals

Cutting trolls and vandals some slack is the best way to encourage them. And if you encourage bad behaviour, the risk is that an ordinary disturbing users will eventually turn into a troll, because you let him get away with it for so long that it became a habit for him.

[edit] Other benefits of not being mellow

It can be good for your health to let go some steam every now and then. So long as you don't have any bad intentions, you'll get forgiven for almost everything.

[edit] Conclusion

Not staying mellow is sometimes the most effective way to get things done, and to ensure the integrity of Commons.

[edit] See also

• Commons:staying mellow - a counterpoint view.