User talk:Skristol

August 2012[edit]

Hello, and welcome to Wikipedia. This is a message letting you know that one of your recent edits has been undone by an automated computer program called ClueBot NG.

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The following is the log entry regarding this message: Lyme disease was changed by Skristol (u) (t) ANN scored at 0.920528 on 2012-08-18T10:29:05+00:00 . Thank you. ClueBot NG (talk) 10:29, 18 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Welcome back[edit]

I see you had a little trouble, a dozen years ago. Remember, we're working in a goldfish bowl; all of us can see what all of us have done, the hundred million or more edits that have been done in the past nearly quarter century. My earliest boneheaded disputes and errors can still be found and either blamed or more usually forgiven.

We have bots at work catching vandals, and one of them, years ago, decided some of your edits were bad. You were using personal experience too much but the bot wasn't smart enough to tell you so. If you make that kind of mistake in a less prominent article it may escape even mechanical notice, or in a more prominent article it can attract a human who may be vengeful or sympathetic but is probably smarter than the bot.

So, yesterday you came to an edit-athon, met me, and started a stub. Barely started, and already it has language that's too gushy, not properly scholarly. " . . . through the generous help of donors and volunteers . . . ". No, no. Do not write a promotional piece; you must put on the mask of an observer from Mars studying the strange antics of a distant species. Not a happy participant seeking more participants. Expository is the right style. In the actual article, any persuasive intent must be carefully veiled. The article is to speak with the Voice of Wikipedia, looking down from her ivory tower and not taking sides. Argumentative prose, or celebratory or whatever, belongs in the Talk Page, in your own voice, where you personally attempt to persuade fellow editors.

I hope to see you again on Wednesday evening but if not, you'll learn anyway. Jim.henderson (talk) 06:10, 5 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]