User talk:Kendaniel

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You have new messages (last change).

Welcome!

Hello Kendaniel, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are a few good links for newcomers:

I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian! Please sign your name on talk pages using four tildes (~~~~); this will automatically produce your name and the date. If you have any questions, check out Wikipedia:Where to ask a question or ask me on my talk page. Again, welcome!  HGB 17:20, 27 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Hi Ken

I just got your message on my talk page, sorry I've been offline for a bit. I hope you're not discouraged by the reception you got here. I think it's mostly just some misunderstanding of the purpose behind Wikipedia.

First, let me say, wow, what an incredibly interesting person you are, and quite adventurous! I've really enjoyed reading a bit about you on your user page. I hope you stick around, I think you have much valuable insight to offer.

I saw a post somewhere by another editor (I forgot who, sorry) who said that encyclopedias are purposely at the trailing edge of knowledge and are basically a repository of old ideas, not fantastic new ones. This may sound sort of boring, but it's in line with Wikipedia's purpose to report and describe information from reliable and reputable sources for readers to consult in order to further pursue their own research. This doesn't mean that yours and my original ideas aren't valuable, only that Wikipedia isn't the right venue for them. Here as editors, our job is to cite information from reputable sources. Being able to cite sources is a big deal at Wikipedia. As editors we're supposed to present information in a third person neutral narrative voice, like a reporter, and make sure our personal opinions and perspectives are opaque to the reader. Bla, bla, bla, you'll notice editors refer to these policies regularly to keep us all on track.

I hope this doesn't upset you and that you'll be willing to continue as an editor here. It's not uncommon for new editors who have a lot of valuable personal insight to offer to feel a bit disappointed with Wikipedia, but if you research a bit the goals here, I think you'll at least understand the perspective.

I hope I've explained adequately, I would like you to feel welcome and not chased off. Feel free to discuss further with me. I'd like to know what you think.

p.s. - I'd be interested in reading more about your 25,000 mile hitchhiking journey, that's amazing! Best, HGB 04:28, 12 December 2005 (UTC)

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