User:Theleekycauldron/It's okay to be wrong

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 fuck-off massive amount of policies and guidelines. Navigating the labyrinth that is the WP: namespace, not to mention the MOS: and Help: namespaces, 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 you're feeling down because you realized that you were totally wrong about some argument and have to go back and correct yourself, or you're just struggling to figure out what the hell is going on here, there is one thing you should keep in mind at all times, no matter what. It is okay to be wrong.

It is.

It is okay to be wrong. It is okay to not know. It is okay to not understand. It is 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. It is okay to feel defensive when someone is yelling 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 them–it's okay that you didn't know, because 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, 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 commonplace on Wikipedia–and it is actually one of the reasons for the gender gap on Wikipedia. And guess what? No one has it right all the time either.

Take the articles for deletion process, for example. You'd 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 usually average around 75% of the time. But when an AfD is closed as keep, it usually means that there's a lesson in there somewhere to be learned from–and even though it's hard sometimes to keep going, just try to find the lesson and move on. It's not a referendum on your smarts. You are smart, but more importantly, you are 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 skills you need to survive on Wikipedia–not some stupid memorized digital encyclopedia of rules, but the ability to grow and change, and not let the inflated egos of others get in the way of your goal: to make this site a better place.

It 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–or an old one. 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.