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Wikipedia essay
"WP:FUCK" redirects here. For the use of potentially offensive words and images in articles, see
WP:SHIT
.
Humorous Wikipedia essay
| This page in a nutshell:
Don't-give-a-fuckism is the idea that attachment to things (articles, policies,
AfDs
, etc.) which are essentially beyond your control is a stumbling block to being a good Wikipedian.
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Don't-give-a-fuckism
("
DGAFism
") is an
ism
concerned mainly with not giving a
fuck
. This is not a joke; it's as serious an endeavor as anything else.
An example is at
User:Antandrus/observations on Wikipedia behavior
, Observation #60:
It is easier to get a sincere 'thank you' for reverting "you're a faggot" from someone's userpage, than it is for writing a researched, thorough, and referenced encyclopedia article on an encyclopedic topic. The best way to continue as a writing Wikipedian for many years is to be 'indifferent to both praise and blame.' Indifference to praise is a hard task for mere humans, but millions of potential anonymous readers demand it of you, for if you require praise you will burn out
...
Suffering (conflict and stress) is caused by attachment (giving a fuck) and can be relieved by detachment (not giving a fuck).
Not giving a fuck improves your quality of life significantly by drastically reducing your capabilities of giving a fuck.
"Don't give a fuck" originated from
England
, originally used as "Don't care a rap for". A rap was a half-penny, or a very low denomination. "Don't care a ___ for" means that you wouldn't sacrifice even this very small thing for whatever it is you are talking about. Variations of the phrase include "Don't give a rat's ass" or "Couldn't care less". A common Irish variant "Ah sure, it'll be grand" literally rejects the possibility that something bad will happen. This is a good example of not giving a fuck being far more than a reductive approach to stress. The origins of this phrase are shrouded in mystery, presumably because no one could be arsed to write it all down?and even if they did, sure, who'd give a fuck?
Indirect variations include DILLIGAF ("Do I look like I give a fuck?"), "You could cry me a river", "Blow it out your butt", "
Tell somebody who cares
", or "My heart is bleeding", basically meaning that any damaging of the subject's credibility is accepted. Another option is the phrase "I think you're mistaking me for somebody sitting under the
I Care
Sign". This phrase is difficult to work into ordinary conversation, but enormously satisfying when you can. Many DGAFers are skilled players of the
world's smallest violin
.
One can even extend the wording by suggesting that you would rather do anything else but care, such as
I will spend the time that I would have spent on this doing something more useful and entertaining, like maybe gouging my eyes out with forks
. This is the ultimate in don't-give-a-fuckism.
Contributors who couldn't care less help both Wikipedia and themselves in many ways:
- By not caring, they are far less likely to act on strong emotions and do something mindlessly stupid.
- This detachment means they are not slaves to strong opinions they previously formed.
- This freedom from pre-formed ideas means it is easier for them to see what is actually happening in front of them.
- Detachment from strong opinions leads to neutrality, and neutrality is important on Wikipedia.
- Not caring about an edit after you have saved it means if anyone reverts it, your disinclination to give a fuck will avoid the possibility of starting an
edit war
.
- Not caring reduces fear and inhibition, and lends itself to
ignoring all rules
and
being bold
.
- Come on ... really. This is not a big deal!
Using DGAF as rationalization for
a dickish action
is an abuse of the live-and-let-live ethos of don't-give-a-fuckism. Behaving like an
angry mastodon
, maybe stemming from excessively
possessive feelings
toward an article you have created or edited, is symptomatic of caring too much. Take a deep breath. Count to ten. Consider moving on. Better yet, count down
from
10?after promising yourself that from the moment you reach zero you will move on.
DGAFism is not to be confused with
nihilism
. You have to really care to commit deeply to a negative view of life. Likewise, being deliberately sloppy in your editing and sourcing is an abuse of Wikipedia, and has nothing to do with true DGAFism.
A true DGAFer is likely to not GAF about promoting their position much, but if you would like to support this essay, you can use one of these userboxes:
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- Adminitis
- Akin's Laws of Article Writing
- Alternatives to edit warring
- ANI flu
- Anti-Wikipedian
- Anti-Wikipedianism
- Articlecountitis
- Asshole John rule
- Assume bad faith
- Assume faith
- Assume good wraith
- Assume stupidity
- Assume that everyone's assuming good faith, assuming that you are assuming good faith
- Avoid using preview button
- Avoid using wikilinks
- Bad Jokes and Other Deleted Nonsense
- Barnstaritis
- Before they were notable
- BOLD, revert, revert, revert
- Boston Tea Party
- Butterfly effect
- CaPiTaLiZaTiOn MuCh?
- Complete bollocks
- Counting forks
- Counting juntas
- Crap
- Don't stuff beans up your nose
- Don't-give-a-fuckism
- Don't abbreviate "Wikipedia" as "Wiki"!
- Don't delete the main page
- Editcountitis
- Edits Per Day
- Editsummarisis
- Editing Under the Influence
- Embrace Stop Signs
- Emerson
- Fart
- Five Fs of Wikipedia
- Seven Ages of Editor, by Will E. Spear-Shake
- Go ahead, vandalize
- How many Wikipedians does it take to change a lightbulb?
- How to get away with UPE
- How to put up a straight pole by pushing it at an angle
- How to vandalize correctly
- How to win a citation war
- Ignore all essays
- Ignore every single rule
- Is that even an essay?
- Mess with the templates
- My local pond
- Newcomers are delicious, so go ahead and bite them
- Legal vandalism
- List of jokes about Wikipedia
- LTTAUTMAOK
- No climbing the Reichstag dressed as Spider-Man
- No one cares about your garage band
- No one really cares
- No, really
- No sorcery threats
- Notability is not eternal
- Oops Defense
- Play the game
- Please be a giant dick, so we can ban you
- Please bite the newbies
- Please do not murder the newcomers
- Pledge of Tranquility
- R-e-s-p-e-c-t
- Requests for medication
- Requirements for adminship
- Rouge admin
- Rouge editor
- Sarcasm is really helpful
- Sausages for tasting
- The Night Before Wikimas
- The first rule of Wikipedia
- The Five Pillars of Untruth
- Things that should not be surprising
- The WikiBible
- Watchlistitis
- Wikipedia is an MMORPG
- WTF? OMG! TMD TLA. ARG!
- What Wikipedia is not/Outtakes
- Why not create an account?
- Yes legal threats
- You don't have to be mad to work here, but
- You should not write meaningless lists
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