Wikipedia:Don't call editors trolls
 | This is an essay. 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: Calling an editor a troll can be viewed in itself as disruptive. |
This very brief essay is very similar in spirit to WP:NOSPADE. Calling an editor a troll can very rarely be justified:
- If the editor is a good faith editor, they become alienated and potentially irritated.
- Accusations of trolling violate the spirit of WP:NPA and WP:NOSPADE.
- An editor who some may categorize as a troll may not be viewed as a troll by others.
- If the edits made by an editor cannot be legitimately reverted due to their content, calling the editor a troll is a flat denial of WP:AGF.
- Certain disruptive users may actually take pride in being labeled a troll.
If an editor displays troll-like behavior, it should be the content of those edits that is criticised rather than the editor's general attitude or editing pattern. A troublesome editor will respond much better to coherent discussion and assumptions of good faith than to accusations of disruption. Truly disruptive editors eventually exhaust the patience of the community through the content of their edits alone.