[Something I posted as a message to Pradeep's talk page on his decision to retire from Wikipedia. But I think may make sense to many of you. Please ignore if you think I'm caballing]

Why retire from here?

Remember the good old days? When we used to edit in our own cocoons? The only communication between two editors was through talk pages and the occasional use of [[Special:Emailuser]]. And we had fun. That fun is why we're still here.

We moved on to more communication, more outreach. All good. We need to spread the word. We're evangelists of the noblest of causes. It's all good.

Now there are mailing lists. And IRC. And meetups. And Chat. Chain mails and more chain mails. Each more frustrating than the other. We're all in cabals. If not voluntarily, we're slotted into them by force of opinion. As this message is being read by others visiting this page, I'm being slotted into one. You have to be pro-someone and anti-someone else. And we fight till our teeth come loose. And then some more. Politics is fun now. Wikipedia, not so much.

And if this lack of AGF, too much BITE, BATTLE and blah is too much, retire. But not from Wikipedia.

Retire from the mailing lists, the meetups, the cabals and the works. If you're considering quitting Wikipedia, quit those instead. Wikipedia can still be fun. Edit the articles on astronomy and India space projects again. India-related patrolling. Contribute to Commons. Only respond to messages on your talk page. And that occasional email.

As an experienced editor who's largely inactive, I've considered retiring often rather than staying in limbo. Time and again, I've decided not to. I may not be able to contribute regularly, but I can step in that one time when all the experience probably counts for something. Because Wikipedia was there for me when I really needed it and I will be there when it really needs me.

We've been struggling with editor retention and that's understandable. People quitting Wikipedia because it's now a battleground is understandable. Valuable, experienced editors quitting because the mailing lists are suffocating, is NOT.

You can edit. Always.

Cheers

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