User:8UB3RG1N3/Penperfectionism: Difference between revisions

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.

Hello, Wikipedians. I'm writing this essay to talk about my beliefs.

I joined Wikipedia on a whim, thinking it'd help me study better. But now, I understand that Wikipedia is a complex machine, requiring millions of users to help. To the untrained (or "unedited," if you will) eye, Wikipedia articles seem like a quick thing, something you write and forget about. But in reality, articles are imperfect. They are flawed. And they will NEVER be perfect. This means that Wikipedia will never be perfect. That's also because new information will always be flooding in.

I call this belief penperfectionism. Pen- as in the Neo-Classical prefix meaning "almost," and perfectionism as in believing that everything must be perfect.

Penperfectionism is the belief that Wikipedia will never be perfect and that we should get as close to perfection as possible. It is also the belief that we must work as hard as possible to achieve this goal.

I rank penperfectionism somewhere between completionism and eventuality.

However, near-perfection is subjective. I believe you can work to your standard, as Wikipedia is a public encyclopedia that anyone can use to meet their needs.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk :3