Wikipedia:Wikipedia is not an escape

You start joining in Wikipedia thinking it is your escape, right? Guess what? Wikipedia is neither built for you nor the place to escape from real-life situations or whatever else you are running away from, and Wikipedia is neither an escape nor built as the place to fulfill your escapist ideals. To put this another way, if you are seeking an escape, Wikipedia it is not. Also, Wikipedia is neither escapism nor built as the place solely for escapists but rather for anyone to edit and build Wikipedia.

When working on Wikipedia, you will be facing editors whom you might not or may not be able to handle or communicate with well. Then again, you will be facing other editors whom you might or may get along well but would be afraid to do so. Then there are other types of editors... and administrators and bureaucrats.

Not to mention policies and guidelines that you might or might not understand. Nevertheless, you have plenty of options regarding rules, like obeying the rules, discussing the rules, breaking them, ignoring them, and so forth. However, every option has advantages and disadvantages. For starters, ignoring all rules would seem like an "easy" route to take, but then, if you do not know what the rules are, you would not be able to understand why you choose to ignore them. Committing something based on ignoring all rules would risk scrutiny if it is not proven to have improved Wikipedia.

Almost everywhere you see may be ones that you wanted to escape from, like articles about topics that you would not handle, including but not limited to ones considered "contentious".

Any attempt to fulfill your escapist needs would also risk scrutiny, especially from (but not limited to) the community, the Arbitration Committee, and/or the Wikimedia Foundation.

That is not to say that you are not welcome to Wikipedia. Indeed, anybody is welcome to edit Wikipedia. However, please be prepared to face a potentially toxic, unhealthy environment... if there is one (or you encounter one) within Wikipedia and if you are willing to set aside your escapist expectations.

Indeed, internet content encouraging negativity has existed for years since the internet age in the mid-1990s or 2000s but has never been a good example of escapism of any kind.

If you have already treated Wikipedia like an "escape" for a long time, like months or years, you should from now no longer continue to do so and then face reality or whatever else you are escaping yourself from, harsh or not. It will not matter whether you are an experience editor, an administrator, a bureaucrat, or whichever else you have considered yourself to be. Now is the time to stop assuming Wikipedia to be your "escape" before it is too late for you, like a potential block or ban... maybe for an "indefinite" amount of time or... who knows.

In-person meetups related to Wikipedia (and its existing sister projects) have existed for years since the establishment of Wikipedia. However, safety concerns have been raised and one of issues especially for your own well-being. Not only on-wiki interactions, off-wiki communications are not without caution, especially if you still treat Wikipedia like your "escape", permanent or not. Indeed, off-wiki harassment is a serious matter, especially for those who have not edited Wikipedia yet, and can inflict not only one's mental and/or emotional health but can also crumble your irreparable escapist shield inside and out.

Overall, if you want an escape, then Wikipedia is not the right place for you. Rather you have decisions to make, like joining in and editing Wikipedia but then abandoning your escapist ideals... or avoiding Wikipedia entirely and finding an escape elsewhere.

See also

Essays

• Collaboration first
• Communication is required
• Competence is required
• Wikipedia is in the real world
• Wikipedia is not therapy

Policies and guidelines

• What Wikipedia is not

Articles

• Escapism
• Real life
• Reality