Wikipedia:Editing Wikipedia is like visiting a foreign country

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Editing Wikipedia is like entering a foreign country. It is no one's native country.

As a linguist by profession, I have visited around 30 foreign countries, some repeatedly. I'm sharing with you here my take on how not Wikipedia itself, but editing Wikipedia is like entering a foreign country.

One way Wikipedia is NOT like a foreign country: just as in "the real world", there are good people, inspiring people, modest and humble people, self-sacrificing people, people who would be delighted to learn whatever you can teach them, or answer any of your questions they can. Then there are bullies, braggarts, bigots, bandits, conspiracy theorists, those for whom evidence is irrelevant, miscellaneous assholes, and evildoers: vandalizers, or those who deliberately create misleading edit summaries, for example. People are still people, good and bad. But in the Wikipedia world, you assume good faith. Not so much the practice in "the real world".