Board Thread:Naruto Discussions/@comment-1514283-20140829001753/@comment-24531362-20140830083856

Just going to speak my mind, and let the flames bathe me as they may:

The entire point of a wiki is that it exists as a sort of synthetic hive mind, with every user contributing something to the knowledge of the group, and the scrutiny of the group rectifying errors. A great example of this is when SuperSajuuk, TU3, Seel, and I collaborated to fix the error that seemingly sent the Main Page back in time a week. We worked as a group to identify an error, find the source of the problem, create a solution, and implement the fix. The wiki also exists so that users can gain or provide new ideas on a given topic in the boards. An example (and these sound a bit braggy, I know, but I have direct evidence of their existence) is my using biology metaphors to help clarify, or in some cases expound, on Kishimoto's ideas. The final purpose of the wiki is to ensure the most correct info possible is published. For example, for the Kamui Raikiri page, I had a completely incorrect understanding of how the technique worked, and posted such an understanding on the newly created page. Other users who understood the content better than I fixed this, so that future visitors can not be burdened by falsity.

Within these tenets, we must decide if the idea of inference fits the purpose of the wiki. Personally, I suggest yes, to a point. Do I agree that the inference that Asura's avatar is aesthetically similar to Naruto's Bijuu Mode, and so the two may be tangentily related, should be mentioned, at least on trivia? Yes. Do I think that some of my personal theories on how the Naruto universe functions should be canonized on the wiki because they are based upon given facts? No. It is my view that 'A leads to B' style inferences should be allowed, while 'A leads to B leads to C leads to...' style inferences should stay in the forum setting. We are a society based upon logical reasoning, which, when controlled, can lead to great things. We cannot wait for a data book that may never come, or a magical hand-wave from Kishimoto that explains everything mentioned in the manga since Chapter 1 in perfect detail.

Finally, in regards to the communication breakdown on the forums and subsequent deadlock in editing: As stated above, we are a hive mind. If the majority of the hive mind thinks something, and can back it up with evidence, we should let the consensus stand. After all, thanks to the glory of the wiki format, we can easily change the pages if new facts or retcons emerge (see Black Zetsu). We cannot let the crucial self-maintenance and evolution of the wiki as a fact source grind to a halt just because Elveonora or Foxie or TU3 or ActionmanRandall or Mrlmm0605 have ideas that go against the grain.