On 5/5/06, Bacchante Maenad bacchante@gmail.com wrote:

Both times I've tried to register with a name I was reading wikipedia and wanted to make a small addition/correction. Inspired by some of the other funny user names I've seen on wikipedia, I wanted to make one. But this

Ok, but seriously - we'd love to have your corrections and improvements, and you don't need a funny user name to do that. Hell, I don't. And David Gerard certainly doesn't (no offence, David) :)

whole process has left me with a bad taste about what wikipedia is. Rather than 'assume good faith' and not resorting to ad hominem attacks like I've seen recommended in so many wikipedia pages, I've seen a lot of nastiness, on this list (which I don't read often, but just glancing at some of the side conversations and other conversations, it's hard to find one devoid of insults) and on wikipedia. I guess this list isn't held to the same standards as wikipedia, so I suppose maybe why the concentration of nasty people here is because this is where angry wikipedians go? I don't know. I'm sure someone will just insult me for being earnest. Have at it.

This list is where some of Wikipedia's most passionate editors hang out. It's not surprising that emotions can run high. Seriously, though, if you just want to make good contributions to Wikipedia, you don't need the list, and there are thousands of pages that need your help where you won't hit any nastiness at all. We tend to discuss some of the worst corners of Wikipedia here, but they're pretty rare.

Steve