 | This is an essay. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints. |
 | This page in a nutshell: It's okay to be wrong sometimes. Do not listen to those who make you feel less than for being newer or less knowledgeable. Learn at your own pace, and you will fit right in. |
Wikipedia, the site to which we've all chosen to devote an inexplicable amount of our time, resources, and energy to improving for the betterment of civilization... is rather confusing. It contains mountains of policies and guidelines, in-jokes and other aspects of an in-culture, and–this cannot be stressed enough–a massive amount of policies and guidelines. Navigating the labyrinth that is the WP: namespace, not to mention the Help: namespace and the Manual of Style, can be an exhausting endeavor. There are plenty of tips to assist you in navigating the labyrinth–try to specialize in a specific area, instead of doing it all, and give it as much practice as you can. However, despite Wikipedia's warnings to itself not to bite the newcomers, "experienced" editors too often make others feel insignificant, small, insecure, unintelligent, or unworthy of the mantle that is the Wikipedia editor's toolbox. But instead of repeating the warnings to ourselves to little effect, I'd like to address those who still consider themselves some kind of newcomer–if you're trying to acquaint yourself with a new area of Wikipedia policy, or if you're completely new to Wikipedia and scratching your head. Know that it's okay to be wrong.
It's okay to be wrong
editIt is.
It's okay to be wrong. It's okay to not know. It's okay to look at the expanse of Wikipedia's policies, and then feel so tired of how much remaining there is to learn. It's true, there's always more—and it's okay to feel discouraged. Learning the ropes of a new area of Wikipedia is going to involve a lot of mistake-making—it's a natural, or even necessary, part of learning.
Sometimes, other editors are going to tell you that you got something wrong, and instead of doing so in a way that helps you learn, it's going to be a "gotcha"—it's going to be hurtful, and discouraging. Try not to listen to them. When someone is lecturing at you that you don't have a good enough grasp on the guidelines to be participating in the discussion, or to contribute anything meaningful, don't listen to that–we all make mistakes sometimes. There's always going to be something you don't know. And if someone makes you feel like you're a lesser Wikipedian because you didn't know something off the top of your head, or didn't know about a relevant policy, or even just had a reasonable disagreement, it was never about you–it was so that they could pat themselves on the back about just how cool and interesting and well-versed they are, at your expense. That attitude is unfortunately commonplace on Wikipedia, and it's one of the reasons for the gender gap on Wikipedia.
We're all wrong sometimes: The AfD process
editVery few have it right all the time—take the articles for deletion process, for example. One would think that the most experienced editors would be able to get the articles they nominate for deletion taken off of Wikipedia nearly every time. But here's the thing–they don't! Very few editors can actually secure a deletion more than 95% of the time–the most experienced editors average around 75% of the time. And when a discussion is closed without the article being deleted, it usually means that there's a lesson you can learn from that—so try not to get discouraged. The discussion isn't a referendum on your smarts, or policy knowledge. If you're capable of growing and learning, and you were brave enough to speak up about something you thought was amiss–that's commendable. That's the real skill you need to survive on Wikipedia–not memorizing every rule of a digital encyclopedia, but the ability to grow and change, and to not let the inflated egos of others get in the way of your goal: to make this site a better place.
Conclusion
editIt is irrelevant whether you are just beginning your time on Wikipedia or you've participated for months or years and are still struggling in a new area. You should be proud of how far you've come. Do take a moment pat yourself on the back, because you decided to spend your time making the internet a better place for all of us. And if you're wrong once in a while? It's okay. You'll learn, you'll get better, and don't listen to that asshole who's telling you that you need to "educate yourself". Maybe you don't, maybe you don't. You'll do it at your own pace, and guess what? It's okay. Don't forget to be awesome, because your participation certainly is.