[WikiEN-l] GoodBye (was "Another admin burnout")

[Tony Sidaway]

I see no substantial evidence of Physchim62 "blowing up" over the
case, though obviously he disagrees strongly with the arbitration
committee's involvement and its manner of resolving the dispute, and
puts his misfortunes down to the influence of cabals.

In some ways, without actually leaving, his jeremiad resembles the
kind of thing we sometimes see in a "Goodbye".  The most famous of
such "more in sorrow than in anger" litanies was Radiant!'s
much-copied farewell of early February. 2006:

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Radiant%21&oldid=48400694

On the meatball wiki, the GoodBye page gives a reasonable explanation
of why this kind of fist-shaking is so common in online communities
and why it is so often associated with the temporary departure of a
fairly prominent member who feels that he is under-appreciated.

http://www.usemod.com/cgi-bin/mb.pl?GoodBye

Most of us come and go quietly, but those comings and goings are not
so noticeable.

I don't believe the phenomenon of the noisy departure is a symptom of
an ailing community.

I suggest that the best we can do in response is to make sure that all
members of the community feel appreciated, even when (or perhaps
especially when) their opinions and actions don't command complete
accord.

And those members who do want to leave should be permitted to do so
with dignity, and feeling that they'll be welcome to return whenever
they want to.  I do find it remarkable that so many valued editors who
have left us at one time or another, somtimes marking their departure
with doom-laden words like those of Radiant, or even copied from his,
have eventually returned and resumed their much-valued work.