Tom Parmenter wrote:
Zoe, if you see this, don't jump.
After one has hung around for a while one develops an image of the different characters the hang around the pot-bellied stove at Wikepedia. Very few (Mav, Isis (and TMC?!) being notable exceptions) have posted their picture on their user pages. One can only imagine what the others really look like, and I'm afraid that a lot of illusions would be shattered if they in fact did post those pictures. If I imagine Tom as a Walter Matthau Grumpy Old Man lookalike sitting on a broad verandah in rural Georgia (USA) with his computer perched on top of the washing machine (meaning that he can only join us on Wikipedia when his wife is not doing the laundry), I am entitled to my illusions. Similarly, I can imagine our "Uncle" Ed as "Mister" Ed viewed from the wrong end, and be confident that his sense of humour will overcome in the context of some often divisive debates.
Any experienced duplicate bridge players among us may know of Victor Mollo's book "Bridge in the Menagerie" provided some very readable descriptions of the characters that are often found at a bridge club. That microcosm of personalities could easily be transferred to Wikipedia.
Zoe is not exempt from caricature. Sticking to the movie theme (a subject area where Zoe's contributions have been outstanding) leads me to the Sandy Dennis character in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?". She is sometimes quick to see offense where none is intended, and would do well not to accept the invitation to go for drinks with George and Martha. We don't all have the thick skin that is needed when dealing with offensive people. A passion for seeing things put right is no protection in the heat of battle; it is more often a vulnerability.
My suggestion to Zoe. Stay. Do what you do well. Let others do the dirty work. Wandering away from what you do well can leave you suffering from a bad case of "illegitmis carborundum".
Eclecticology