Thread:Uskok/@comment-4133106-20161020092419/@comment-996391-20161020102315

Another reason is to distinct the in-universe articles from the out-of-universe articles (articles about the real-world topics). That's why we use "was" for in-universe ships (The HMS Providence was a ship, for example) and "is" for real-world ships (The HMS Surprise is a ship).

The admins should always assume that editors' edits and comments are made in good faith, which means that they're trying to help the project, not hurt it, even when the edit looks like it's doing more damage than good. You can see more here. As for trolls, you can see the explanation here.