User:Pgallert/Yet Another IAR Essay

Ignore all rules: If a rule prevents you from improving or maintaining Wikipedia, ignore it.

First of all, this is a much weaker statement than the literal "ignore all rules". What this rule means is that you should not forget common sense when applying rules in Wikipedia. It does not mean the rules are there for others but not for you.

Wikipedia does not require you to know all rules. You may edit right away, and if you break something in the process, someone else will come and repair it. However, to invoke IAR in an argument you must know the rule you intend to ignore. People will quickly call you a troll if IAR is the only rule you know and apply.

Common misunderstood readings

1. IAR means what it says, Ignore all rules.
2. IAR applies to all rules.
3. IAR applies to all rules I don't like.
4. IAR applies to all rules at once.

Where IAR does not apply

1. "Ignore all rules" is not what this policy means. It does not apply to all rules. Particularly, it does not apply to four of the the five pillars:
   1. Verifiability and encyclopedic relevance: Wikipedia attempts to be an encyclopedia like any other. The only difference is that due to its paperless presentation, it can take a lot more content. Unverifiable statements do not belong into Wikipedia, even if they are true, even if they are the last piece of the puzzle to complete the description of a topic, even if the opposite cannot be proven either.
   2. Neutral point of view: Although there is no such thing as objective truth, topics should be described in their entirety. If a certain position has been criticised, the article should say so. If certain procedures have alternatives, they should be given their due coverage, not more, not less.
   3. Copyright: Do not break copyright laws, and attribute your findings, verbatim or not. If you are the owner of the copyright, and you want to grant it to Wikipedia, there is a process for that.
   4. Civility: You are still required to be civil in your conversations, even if insulting a vandal would scare him away.
   5. Pillar #5 is the IAR rule itself, the only pillar to which IAR applies in full, see below.
2. IAR does not apply to actions that can properly be substantiated by another valid rule or guideline. In other words, IAR is not an excuse for not being able to cite proper policy.
3. There is a zoo of other rules out there that must not be broken either, for example:
   • You may not close a potentially successful Request for Adminship discussion early, even if all other support votes were a waste of time.
   • You may not override the Manual of Style by changing all speed values into Ångström per fortnight, even if this might be useful for some of the world's slowest snails.

     Note that this example is ignoring WP:BEANS.

     Note that BEANS is not policy.

     Note that BEANS is regarded community consensus and as such a rule.

   • You may not apply criteria for speedy deletion to their spirit, only to the letter. What you think is nonsense might be perfectly lucid to others.
   • You may not delete certain templates, from certain pages, under certain conditions. In such a case the templates themselves usually say that you must not delete them. Read what you intend to delete!
   • You may not change other editors' discussion contributions, except in rare circumstances. Yes, even if what they say is wrong.
   • You may not sign with another editor's user name, even if you are sure that this is what s/he would have said.

Where IAR does apply

1. "Ignore all rules" does apply to itself. For if it were IAR that prevented you from improving or maintaining Wikipedia you should not apply IAR. In fact, this is the normal case - to adhere to the rules.
2. "Ignore all rules" does apply to other metarules as well. Metarules are rules about other rules, such as the rules about the status of essays or lawyering. If you are trying to enforce policy and someone stands in the way calling you a wikilawyer, that's not automatically the end of the story -- but do seek consensus before retaliating.
3. "Ignore all rules" does apply to users with extra buttons although some Wikipedians are of a different opinion. Of course it particularly applies to contested decisions; all clear-cut cases do not need to cite IAR anyway.