User:Michael Rawdon

Michael Rawdon contributed to Wikipedia from 2003-2004.

I decided to stop contributing to Wikipedia after butting heads this past summer in an edit war with a particularly obnoxious user, User:Rorschach567 (a.k.a. Nick Keppler, pnk6@pitt.edu - info he provided on WP talk pages) over the X-Men article. Unwilling to compromise and making changes with comment lines like "Michael Rawdon is insane", it was just a very stressful experience considering I tried very hard to find some common ground and middle point. Alas, Keppler's attitude was flatly "my way or the highway" and there simply was no middle ground to be found.

User:Danny attempted to mediate the process, but it took many days between communications, which frustrated both Keppler and myself. After suggesting an avenue to reach a compromise, I (and presumably Keppler as well) submitted proposed revisions which Danny was to knit together - and then I never heard from him again. (You can read the whole sordid story at Talk:X-Men. No one comes out smelling like a rose, be warned.)

After providing my submission to Danny, I went away on a pre-scheduled vacation, and realized that I just didn't need the stress. I decided that although contributing to Wikipedia has been fun, my confidence in the site's mediation process had been reduced to nil and I didn't want to risk further grief as a result of editing other pages. So I decided to stop contributing to WP altogether.

It was an unfortunate thing all around. I realize one encounters undesirables such as Keppler from time to time on the Internet (hopefully I'll never encounter him in real life), but it's still a bit of a shock to lock horns with one in this way. Hopefully both my life and Wikipedia will be the better for my choosing the drop the whole matter.

Best of luck to people who are continuing the Wikipedia endeavor.

--
Michael Rawdon
14 November 2004