Wikipedia:Purple cows in Arkansas
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 | This page in a nutshell: Don't get sidetracked |
A wise user once said:
Purple cows eat red bananas on the North beach of Arkansas.
If you too find that your discussion has become about a subject only tangentially related to the dispute which led to it, or if it appears like total nonsense to you,[a] it might be time to take a few moments to refocus and get back on track. Discussing minor details, or getting extremely verbose over a minor wording change and bringing up all sorts of tangentially connected issues, does not help build a clear consensus.
As the saying goes, keep calm and carry on. With a clear subject in mind, this both avoids frustration caused from talking past each other, prevents drama and visits to the dramaboard, and keeps discussions to a reasonable length, encouraging participation from uninvolved editors who would otherwise have a hard time trying to grasp what's going on.