Wikipedia:Tag team

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: "Tag teaming" is a technique in which editors work in concert in a disruptive way.

Tag team characteristics

A Tag team is a term used to describe a group of editors that has been working together in a way that is disruptive to an article or project.

Note that some behaviors described as "tag team" characteristics may not be negative, or even evidence of tag teaming. For example, it might be reasonable for the same editors to show up on the same pages, since they have a common interest in the subject matter. Similarly, it should be no surprise to find that on any give article many editors adhere to the academic or scientific consensus. "Tag team", however, describes a kind of coordinated activity that becomes disruptive, such as happens when members of a tag team collectively push a POV (especially one that is counter to the prevailing view in reliable sources), circumvent normal consensus-seeking methods, evade dispute resolution mechanisms, claim ownership of an article, or act in other ways which are disruptive to the project.

Tag teams are typically characterized by aggressive tactics, including:

Consensus-blocking. Tag-teamers are usually reluctant to consider properly sourced perspectives with which they disagree, and resistant to requesting opinions from the wider community. They may refuse to "let the matter drop" at article talkpages, and instead continue to bring up the same matters again and again, usually agreeing with each other, in an attempt to create an illusion of consensus.
Name-calling and personal attacks at perceived opponents.
Attempts to discredit their opponents' character or motivations.
Harassment and intimidation tactics. Tag-teamers may make coordinated attacks at "dissenting" editors, not just on the talkpage of an article in dispute, but also at the user's talkpage, and sometimes at other unrelated articles where the targeted editor may be working, in an attempt to distract them from another dispute.
Baiting techniques that attempt to provoke opponents into uncivil behaviours or other rash actions. Tag-teamers may show obstinate but superficially polite behavior in an attempt to goad their target into responding with incivility. Any negative reaction by the targeted editor is then identified, and amplified to create further attacks.
Tendentious editing.
Diversion of attention. Tag teams can hijack any administrative action against their members, suddenly appearing to fill ANI or other administrative threads with attacks against the accusers or administrators involved. This can can simultaneously bury a complaint in a mountain of unrelated information, and cast aspersions on the motives and intentions of all participants.

Goals of tag teams

Potential goals of tag teams are many, but might include:

Wanting to push a non-mainstream POV (often a tiny-minority or a fringe POV), in disregard of the Neutral point of view policy
Claiming ownership of an article
Coordinating activities to exclude appropriately sourced and proportionate information in an article construed as critical of their POV. Tag-teamers may also try to discredit reliable sources

External links

Meatball:DefendEachOther

Tag team characteristics

Goals of tag teams

See also

External links