italic text that said consensus is not simple agreement a handful of editors agreeing on something does not constitute a consensus except in the thinnest sense consensus is a broader process where specific points of article content are considered in terms of the article as a whole and in terms of the article's place in the encyclopedia in the hope that editors will negotiate a reasonable balance between competing views as well as with the practical necessities of writing an encyclopedia and legal and ethical restrictions italic text thanks for giving me more proof that i'm right libs