Disputes Regarding Edits

I have to beg to differ regarding people eventually getting banned for being assholes. On en.wikipedia at least, there may not be a cabal, but there is definitely a network and several editors have a seemingly infinite licence to be bloody rude.

Granted, I don't think the civility policy is the be all and end all of Wikipedia. I think better of one of these licensed gadflies since I saw on the Did You Know nominations page a damned good article s/he had written on a topic dear to my heart.

However, I believe the high level of rudeness on Wikipedia is far more important in driving people away - particularly women - than the existence of line drawings in some articles that resemble those in The Joy of Sex except the people in them are less hirsute. In fact I feel condescended to and belittled that the two are equated in importance.

Beyond which, it would be nice if the stated policies were actually those in effect. I can understand the occasional well reasoned exception, and I know one of the policies is "Ignore all Rules," but the bureaucracy can seem like a funhouse mirror.

(Since I don't respond well to instruction manuals, especially online, since I first decided to edit on en.wikipedia, I have spent hours reading the ANI noticeboard, to get a handle on the place. The links have been invaluable, but the lessons hair-raising.)