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WikiPediatrics 101. Diseases of Infancy Symptomania 1. Inversion of Priorities (IOP)
The pages on [[WP:POLICY]] clearly identify the three content-definitive and non-negotiable policies of WP as [[WP:NOR]], [[WP:NPOV]], and [[WP:VERIFY]], reiterating three times over on each of their individually dedicated pages, with no substantive variation, the following norm of participation in WP:
* These three policies are non-negotiable and cannot be superseded by other policies or guidelines, or by editors' consensus.
Pending a properly controlled study of WikiPediatric epidemiology (Proposal Pending), it is this observer's estimation that the most prevalent IOP is the one that inverts the priorities of the superordinate policies cited above and the unofficial dictates of what is here nomenclated as "De Facto Consensus" (DFC). DFC must not be confused with Genuine Consensus -- defined as the absence of dissent -- DFC as it's currently observed in WP means that any three users, or evatars, coming to agreement in a half hour period, can impose their absolute dictatorship over the direction of an article.
If it were merely a matter of educating users about the standardized meanings of the words "consensus", "non-negotiable", and so on, then there might still be some cause to hold out a few dim hopes, for a better prognosis or a gradual remediation, but if WP administrators continue to exhibit themselves, as they do in my experience, to be every bit as (1) ignorant of, or (2) indifferent to these principles, then that is a sign that the condition is terminal.
Jon Awbrey
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