User:voorts/On the interpretation of Wikipedia policies and guidelines
 | This is an essay on Wikipedia policies and guidelines. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints. |
Wikipedia policies and guidelines are not statutes. They are not written by a single body at a single point of time; there are no legislative drafters, investigative committees, or policy advisors; and the overriding concerns are not precision, consistency, or rule of law. Rather, they are written by volunteer editors—many with opposing viewpoints—over the course of decades according to a process that values consensus, with the recognition that ignore all rules is an overriding principle.