[WikiEN-l] Could we tone down the language a bit?

[Ray Saintonge]

Marc Riddell wrote:

>A least one problem I envision with such MH Articles in WP is the fact that
>you would, in some cases, have patients writing the textbook. There are many
>aspects of mental, emotional, and behavioral conditions that are beyond some
>persons¹ ability to accept. In the very first month that I signed on as a WP
>editor I encountered such a problem. I wanted to upgrade an existing Article
>on a chemical dependency-related subject, and immediately encountered strong
>resistance from another editor. I was attempting to emphasize the disease
>component of the condition, but the editor refused to acknowledge this fact.
>Being very new to WP, after a least a week of back and forth with this
>editor, of endless diatribes by them, and every one on my edits being
>changed, I finally gave up, left the Article, and haven¹t looked back since.
>
One emotion that this will not evoke in me is surprise.  ;-)

>I have practiced (one day I may get it right :-) ) in the fields of Clinical
>Psychology and Psychotherapy for 42 years now. I wanted to bring some
>expertise to the Articles in WP related to my fields, but have backed away.
>
>I would love to see more, well-written Articles on all aspects of MH in the
>encyclopedia. I believe they should be written by persons schooled in the
>fields, and should be written so that any sentient person could understand
>it. For me, the true measure of an ³expert² in something is his or her
>ability to explain it to someone who isn¹t.
>
I'm just glad that I'm not writing in this field.  While most fields 
already have the dynamic tension between well-meaning but unschooled 
amateurs and professionals the inertia of whose schooling may have 
involved accepting certain assumptions withut question, mental health 
can also involve people who refuse to accept reality on a more personal 
level.  They can too easily show the respect level of a scientologist.

Still, some amateurs are careful in their research, and some 
professionals do not feel offended when their assumptions are questioned. 

>I would also like to see links to biographies of persons in the encyclopedia
>who have suffered from these conditions.
>
I think this last point would run into Wikipedia's verifiability 
meat-grinder.

Ec