DISCLAIMER: Bunch of TLDR here, feel free to not read past the 1st paragraph if we have never crossed paths.
Hello. Steel1943 here. You may have seen me before ... editing something or making changes to Wikipedia at various times since 2012. I originally joined Wikipedia so I could be part of whatever Wikipedia was growing into; thus the reason though I did not perform my first edit until 2011 (2nd edit in 2012), I registered my account in 2006. Yeah, it was like that.
So ... if you've known my editing tendencies on Wikipedia for a while, you may ask ... why does this editor keep leaving or retiring, then coming back? Well, I don't have a specific answer for you there for any of the previous instances, but I can tell you why I'm back this time (July 2024):
- After not editing Wikipedia for a while, I realized that my brain has not been as sharp. Apparently, taking the time to realize, propose, and make corrections to various aspects of Wikipedia has been stimulating my brain quite a bit. I found that over the past month (June–July 2024), I just have not been as motivated or encouraged to proactively engage in thoughtful conversation or research. Turns out that at this time, it seems Wikipedia has been a glue to keeping my mind intact, something I would have thought I would have confirmed prior to now. (I think my most recent retirement/absence was my ... 5th in the last 12 years?)
- Also, I realized the response I had to an editor prior to my most recent "retirement" was a bit over-the-top; not saying I haven't been over-the-top in the past, but lately I had attempted to be a bit more self-conscious of having such reactions to others upon editing again in 2021 (after an editing absence that lasted over a year). After some self-reflection, I thought ... dang, I was trying to avoid going down this path again, but it happened.
Since starting to edit in 2012, my goal has been to help and improve Wikipedia in whatever ways I can with the knowledge I have. And yes, I soon after realized that Wikipedia is a site where one editor's idea of an improvement can be another editor's idea of a disservice to the encyclopedia. I was a bit more ambitious on Wikipedia than I am now: I recall proposing and wanting a "Draft:" namespace before its official proposal, proposing and orchestrating the official depreciation of WP:NFCR to merge it with WP:FFD (which was renamed "FFDeletion" to "FFDiscussion" as a result), and going through 2 failed RFAs (I have no desire to do those again ... I'm good where I'm at, and it seems that's one stance of mine which the community agrees). It's been a ride, and I both do not see any ways I could propose such a massive change anymore, nor do I see any need for there to be any more such massive changes in the future. I think most of what could be done on Wikipedia has been done, leaving editors to work on the always ongoing tasks of adding new material, preserving the material, fixing issues with new material and changes (where I tend to hover), and protect the encyclopedia from bad actors.
Anywho, not sure if you read all of that, but if you did, you have my thanks ... and let's get back to making Wikipedia the premier free encyclopedia!
P.S. It's good to remember ... we are all volunteers here (well, except Wikimedia Foundation and editors who are paid to edit pages), so let's not perform any bludgeoning or hounding; just hit the other editor with a trout (while potentially expecting some sort of response and/or explanation for their actions) and move on.
P.P.S. Disclaimer, since I found myself doing it occasionally: If I cite the target of WP:DROPTHESTICK in any way in a discussion (including using the shortcut I just linked), there is a 99.9% chance I am not responding to any further statements in the discussion chain after that one.
 | This editor is not an administrator and does not wish to be one. |
Oh, and to retain the link from before ... here is "The old days" of my user page.