Wikipedia:Snowball act
From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change
The "snowball act" relies on users using their common sense to stop things which don't have a snowball's chance in hell in passing. The snowball act says:
- If an issue doesn't even have a snowball's chance in hell of passing, then there is no need to run it.
The snowball clause is not policy, but it is designed to prevent editors from using Wikipedia policies and guidelines as a filibuster.
[change] What the snowball clause is not
Do not simply assume that an issue will not pass just because things don't look good. It is best to settle the problem through discussion and debate, and use SNOW as a last resort.
[change] The snowball test
- If something is run through some process and the resulting decision is unanimous, then it might have been a good problem for the snowball act.
- If something is 'snowballed', and somebody later disagrees with the result with a good reason, then it might not have been a good problem for the snowball act. raises a reasonable objection, then it probably was not a good candidate for the snowball clause. However, if the objection raised is unreasonable, then the debate needs to be restarted, and editors should pay attention to avoid disrupting Wikipedia to make a point.