Wikipedia:Don’t make placeholder neutral votes
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 | This page in a nutshell: If you have nothing to say, don't say anything. |
Wikipedia:Requests for adminship is where we decide who is to be an administrator of this project. This is done through what is nominally a discussion but in point of fact is essentially a vote. Users come in and voice their support or opposition to the candidate. There is also a section for those that are neutral. If you’ve reviewed the relevant material on the candididate and simply can't find your way clear to outright support or opposition, this is where you should comment and there's nothing wrong with doing so.
Placeholder comments[edit]
However, it seems that in every single RFA there are a few users who feel compelled to add “placeholder” comments in the neutral section, indicating that they are aware of the discussion but have not yet taken the time to review it and form an opinion. They are useless remarks that do nothing to further the conversation. Other users in this section actually have something to say, they are often the most insightful and well-reasoned remarks in the whole discussion, unfortunately paired up in a section with comments that don't say anything, don't mean anything, and will have no impact whatsoever on the ongoing discussion.
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They also make the user posting seem very self-important, as if we are all waiting with baited breath to see what this one particular user, who is clearly a kingmaker, will say here and so they must “issue a press release” in order to keep the wiki-paparazzi from their door.
These users usually come back later and switch to either “support” or “oppose” and are then obliged to strike out their neutral comment, ths adding to clutter and noise in the discussion.
Nobody cares[edit]
Sorry to tell you, but nobody cares that you haven't even tried to make up your mind yet. All you are doing with these remarks is saying “look at me, I'm here, but I have literally nothing to say on the subject! Look at me.” Yeah, we're looking, and we're thinking, “Who cares, come back when you actually have something to say.”
Seriously?[edit]
Yeah, seriously. When you make these comments you are misusing this section. If you ever find yourself making an edit in a conversation, anywhere on Wikipedia, that you know you will be striking out later, don't post it in the first place.