 | This is an essay on Wikipedia:Policies and guidelines and the Wikipedia:Edit filter guideline. 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. |
 | This page in a nutshell: Editors have duties to comply with Wikipedia's policies and guidelines. |
Although Wikipedia is not a bureaucracy, editing is a privilege, not a right. Therefore, editors have a duty to comply with Wikipedia's policies and guidelines, unless the policies and guidelines would not allow an action, where Wikipedia:Ignore all rules would apply. Policies and guidelines that have strong consensus are often the most strongly enforced. Edit filters are in place to enforce these duties. Prohibited behaviors, such as vandalism, sockpuppetry, and edit warring, are usually driven by emotion. Users who commit these behaviors may be blocked, banned, or both.