Wikipedia:Requests for edit wars

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The High Seas Fleet had proven to be a gigantic miscalculation; a product of vanity, conceit, and fuzzy military thinking. It proved useless as a means of exerting political pressure. (Johansson 1991)

Requests for edit wars is where editors request for assistance to start an edit war (EW). Edit wars are usually hard to start alone, because of several bad rules in place on Wikipedia, a legacy from the times when everything was still ruled by the iron fist of Jimbo Wales. These rules cause excessive bureaucracy, and help the wrong side of the conflict to delay their imminent defeat by wikilawyering. The two worst rules are the three revert rule and the "bold, revert, discuss" cycle. The three revert rule prevents the right side of the conflict from getting the page to their version, and often leads to the the wrong version being protected. Moreover, the editor who is trying to improve the page is often blocked, while the vandal is left alone. The bold, revert, discuss cycle is even worse, because it forces well-meaning editors to engage in 'discussion' with idiots. Also, editors are only supposed to revert once, which greatly decreases their productivity.

To alleviate the damage these rules can do, you can request for an edit war here. After listing your request below, other editors will repeatedly perform the revert you did until the other side surrenders. It is not necessary to explain your request, because it is obvious that you are right. By letting other editors perform your revert repeatedly, every editor reverts only once. This abides by the letter of both rules mentioned above, while achieving the right result.

Instructions[edit]

  1. Capture a diff (see Help:Diff) of a revert you have done.
  2. Paste the link below, along with a link to the page.
  3. Sign with four tildes.
  4. After the other side of the war has surrendered, remove your request from the list.

Open requests[edit]

Add your request at the bottom of the list