User:MarydaleEd

My truth

For a while I was semi-retired. My retirement came after my awareness that there is an uneven application of decisions at Wikipedia dictated by the whims of hobbyists who watch news or magazine shows on television and try to write how they think professional writers do. I should have grasped this years ago, but my enjoyment in editing here blinded me to it until I got caught in its web and could no longer deny its existence.

It is not the fault of the editors, hobbyists, whom I do not blame.

My belief is that there should be professionals, even at the first level of decision making. There is a reason journalists have to have a college degree in journalism. Despite what many believe, not everyone is a writer. It is a craft, a skill one learns at the university level and perfects through years of experience.

I will say, I have come across editors with no prior experience who seem to have a knack for proper encyclopedia writing, and when I collaborate with them it is true joy to me. I am so grateful and truly impressed by them. There are actually many of them here.

Having spent more than 40 years as a professional journalist and editor, it is difficult being subjected to the decisions of people who know nothing about proper writing or English grammar. I cannot abide having my efforts inaccurately judged by people who are wrong in their decisions, yet do not know enough about writing to know they are wrong and understand why. I respect that they truly believe what they are proposing, but as the saying goes, "You don't know what you don't know." They don't know they are wrong and often my efforts at educating them fall short. Those are the challenging ones, but as long as we are both civil and respectful, it works out. When I cannot get through to editors like that and it is clear they are not going to budge, I will walk away, but I won't sugar coat it, walking away and leaving errors in an article is not easy.

It is natural for me to feel this way and it often makes me wonder if I should be a Wikipedia editor. I am sure this is why other professional editors do not volunteer here. I am the one out of place here, not the everyday editors. I volunteered here to give back to an industry that has given me so much and has taken me all over the world and allowed me to sit with people of greatness whom I otherwise would have never met.

Wondering if I should remain volunteering at Wikipedia prompted me to semi-retire. However, I am encouraged about giving it another try. I encourage the hobbyist editors to keep at it and learn all they can about proper encyclopedia writing. I still believe in the idea of Wikipedia.

I am grateful for the enjoyment Wikipedia has brought me. I have worked with some hobbyist editors of the highest caliber who sincerely thought a well-written, well-sourced article was more important than their egos, and who proved to me that there is always more for me to learn. To them, I am eternally grateful for the satisfaction that comes from a robust collaboration and a job well done.

As always and forever, God bless and happy editing.

RETIREMENT UPDATE:

I have returned to active editing on Wikipedia because I enjoy it so much. Actually, it is mainly because whenever I am researching something and click on a Wikipedia page with errors, I simply cannot close the article knowing those errors are there. I must correct them, which has kept me busy. And the truth is, I love it! I love to look at the history of the articles and see all of the people who have put their time and effort into making the articles, and I love how that process is constantly evolving. I have so much respect for all of those usernames that represent hard-working, well-intentioned editors who give of themselves in search of excellence.

I do want to mention a problem I have been having for a long time. I edit on my computer, but mostly on my iPhone. When I created my account in 2007, I created a username and password. The problem was, as time went by I forgot what my password was, so when I tried to login on my phone I was never successful. I went to the "Forgot Password" many times and put in my information, and each time Wikipedia promised to email me a way to reset my password, but I never received an email. As a result, when I edited from my phone I was not logged in, and in the interest of full disclosure, I have learned that when I am not logged in, my identification is "2601:482:17f:e9d0:c108:60b3:8ce1:85cb." I write this so there can be no concern that I am trying to hide behind something when I am not logged in.

The good news is that I have recently learned how to find my password and have added it to my phone, so there will not be an issue of me editing without being logged in. SO glad to get that cleared up.

I am happy to return to Wikipedia as an active editor. The truth is, I never really left. All the best to all of you.