 | This is an explanatory essay about the Wikipedia:BOLD, revert, discuss cycle page. This page provides additional information about concepts in the page(s) it supplements. This page is not one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. |
 | This page in a nutshell: You should discuss and collaborate instead of edit warring. |
When editors tell you to "follow BRD" or that "BRD is practically policy", they almost always mean you need to follow the talking and editing policy. In short, these editors are telling you to stop reverting and start discussing.
They almost never mean you should follow the real bold, revert, discuss (BRD) cycle, which describes one method of reaching consensus when an existing talk page discussion has bogged down or fails to address an editor's concerns. That explicitly optional method involves one-on-one negotiation, and advises editors to do things like only talking to the person who reverted your edit. It is not always appropriate, and it even lists a variety of situations in which you shouldn't follow it and alternatives that might be more appropriate.