This essay contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. Essays may represent widespread norms or minority viewpoints. Consider these views with discretion. Essays are not Wikipedia policies or guidelines.
The Wikibaddies are Wikipedians whose sole objective is to disrupt the encyclopedia and its contributors. Although some of these unpleasant editors are easy to find and report, a considerable number of them are good at disguising their deplorable actions. Understanding these editors and how their actions hurt Wikipedia is an important step in helping to stop them.
Never underestimate the ability of Wikibaddies and always make sure to remain civil when interacting with them.
Note: This list does not include the strange "pets" that many of these editors may own (house & breed), including (but not limited to) Gremlins, Komodos, and Goats. Also note that factions sometimes employ Hunters to do their dirty work. Be aware that many of these editors have some sort of connection with The Fallen.
WikiKing: Regardless of whether they are the true faction leaders or not, WikiKings will always see themselves as the rulers of the faction. Their primary role is keeping the separate faction units together and declaring ownership over specific parts of the WikiRealm. The faction WikiKings tend to be editors who have gained the respect of their peers, but their insatiable desire for control has placed them on the wrong path. They usually also serve as the diplomats among different factions. There may be more than one in a faction. Only they can return their group to the light.
Rogue Admin: Although Wikipedia administrators try to pretend that these beings do not exist, the Rogue Admin is a real threat to Wikipedia. They may have been former WikiKings, or are simply trying to find a way to get greater power over the WikiRealm. Some factions may in fact be led by Rogue Admins (always behind the scenes), but in other cases they are simply faction members who have attained the admin powers (call it luck or vote manipulation). All successful factions have at least one Rogue Admin on their side, and most serve as Consigliere to the faction.
The Diva: Lovely beings, the content-based members of the faction who through their apparently beneficial actions provide legitimacy to the faction. Every smart Diva needs a faction just as much as a good faction needs her. Challenging a Diva is generally what initiates conflicts (and may result in WikiWars), because nothing is too small for a Diva to ignore. Enlightened Divas may even be the true faction leaders. Not many are capable of standing up to Divas, and admins are often fearful of blocking users who so effectively pretend to be productive editors.
WikiWarlock: Another beloved faction member who uses his technical magic to entertain admins and peers into legitimizing the faction.
WikiChef: Perhaps the most important role in the faction. The WikiChef makes sure to keep everyone (and their pets) well-fed and robust through the abuse of "WikiLove", barnstars, and the invention of new rewards (dishes) that keep the faction alive and happy with itself. Faction WikiChefs are civil, kind, and are only guilty of desperation to feed hungry mouths. Faction WikiChefs are even known to honor the Fallen and continuously provide them with offerings in their afterlife. One of the dangers is that regular editors are drawn to faction WikiChefs, thinking they are going to also receive some share of the pie. However, this usually leads them into Gingerbread houses that are used as traps by Trolls and the unfriendly faction vermin.
Beware the factions! Here one is caught marching into the battlefield. Can you point out the WikiBarbarian, Diva, and WikiKing? Photo is a courtesy of Dennis Jarvis from Halifax, Canada.
Factions may hide inside WikiProjects, are themselves a WikiProject, or are a gang of editors without a formal banner. On case 1, it is difficult to hurt a WikiProject were not all members are aware of a faction's existence; on case 2, it is plain difficult to shut down a whole WikiProject; on case 3, a close analysis is required to catch editing trends.
Factions can often be found working their strength on move requests, content disputes, articles for deletion, noticeboard incidents, and even arbitration committee cases. However, the most notable "faction wars" have taken place over Wikipedia policy disputes.
Factions are, essentially, single-purpose accounts. They move and act as a group on particular niches, absorbing weak independent users and annihilating all who oppose them.
Ownership of articles is typical for some factions, but these tend to wither either due to lack of activity (they get bored after a while of having no serious opposition) or retiring members (it gets old). These factions essentially implode, but the damage they cause to Wikipedia is immeasurable.
The strongest factions are those who are continuously moving (like a herd searching for grass) and trampling over different articles and disputes (but, remember, all are on related topics). They may leave articles after removing their primary opponents, often promising to "improve" the articles (but never actually doing it, because they need to move to a new dispute), but they will eventually return and again eliminate any opponent that might have appeared during their absence.
The nature of factions is that they form to control areas in which no current domination exists. No successful faction has ever been formed to oppose another faction. When factions "clash", it is because they have stepped into borderline territories which both want to claim as their own. It is difficult to stop incipient factions because editing trends are difficult to find. When the trends are obvious, their control is generally strong enough to prevent their dismantling.
Faction wars exhibit great displays of power and influence. These "wars" are currently the only effective way of eliminating factions. The outcome may result in the fall of one faction (which is good), but it causes an increased consolidation of the winner (which is not good). In some cases, both sides may end up facing heavy casualties (bans, retirements, etc.) that weaken both factions (ideally to the point were both fall apart); however, this usually just results in periods of build-up and preparation for the continuation of the conflict.
