User:Kirbanzo/Unintended consequences

All actions have consequences, and this is true, even on Wikipedia. However, not all can be seen right away. Sometimes, implementing a new policy causes new issues to arise besides the one it was intended to solve, and blocking someone threatening legal action could result in said legal action being taken.

Prevention

If you find that an action will result in negative consequences, bring it up. If the action's unintended consequences will cause more damage than the action was fixing, oppose the action or propose a better option. The best way to stop unintended consequences is to prevent them from occurring.

However, there are cases where the fix is the only solution to a problem - thus necessitating the action despite the negative unintended consequences - or compared to other options the costs are worth the fix. In that case, it's best to deal with the consequences when they arise.

Mitigation

If unintended consequences of a negative nature arise after an action is done, or if brought up but the action is taken anyway (i.e "despite the issues it would still be the better option"), steps should be taken in order to prevent too much damage from unintended consequences. For example, tweaking a new policy to remove any loopholes it creates, or removing libelous content if it turns out an editor threatening legal action was right about it being defamatory.

Some steps to follow

1. Identify the problem - Identify what the problem is exactly and why it is a problem.
2. Fix it - Propose a fix at the appropriate venue (be it the village pump or a talk page), with a request for comment if needed. Alternatively, you can be bold if a change does not require consensus (i.e. removing libelous content). If you fix is not approved by consensus if required, figure out a different fix before trying again.
3. Implement the fix - If consensus approves your fix to the problem, implement it. This can take several forms - it could take the form of a policy rewrite, page protection, etc.
4. Watch for further issues - Your fix could have unintended consequences as well, so it's best to monitor the issue until you are certain the status quo has been restored. If problems with the fix do arise, repeat this process with a revision to the fix.

How not to mitigate policy issues

Main page: WP:Avoid instruction creep

If a policy has unintended consequences, it's best not to implement new policies to fix the holes - like the original policy, this could result in more problems. Instead, propose a rewrite of the policy that fixes the issues without creating too many new ones. Avoid instruction creep while doing so.