User blog:The GreatPerhaps/Whatever Happened to "Assume Good Faith"?

Hello, general public. Thanks for clicking, thanks for reading, thanks for taking the time of day to read my blog.

I'd like to start the central point I'm trying to make with a personal story.

I didn't start using Wikia because of Community Central. I didn't begin using it because I "heard about it" from another source or because I wanted to build something on the Internet and came here to start, no.

Of all the ways to discover such a vast database, such a productive community - I found my favorite current wiki (Magic: The Gathering Wiki) by discovering the only Magic - related website that wasn't blocked on my filtered Internet connection. XD

I started looking around at a website that had multiple blog posts, comments, talk pages and messages that all pointed to one thing - the Wiki had been abandoned. I instantly gained interest, not knowing how to contribute and being too scared to click the "Edit" button (because I thought I would mess up an article.) However, still, my favorite button became the "Random Page" button, that would show me a new article almost every time I clicked, because the Wiki already had about 4,000+ pages at the time.

My first time editing an article, I instantly got an message from one of the administrators in the site telling me "thank you for your edits, come back and contribute more" essentially. Even though I didn't know that the message was automated, I still got happy and excited that someone has noticed "little old me" making but one contribution.

This was pretty critical for me.

That day I replied to the automated message telling him that I would just be there to make "grammar edits", funny thing. I had no idea Wikia was going to become my primary hobby. ;D

Since then I started contributing and I met HolyCrap_WOTF and Yami Michael and I made my first friends. We all started making big edits, with each person doing a generally specific type of editing.

My point, you ask? Kindness and assuming good faith kept me from straying from the site.

 Fast Forward 

I have since gained confidence with my edits and I have adopted the wiki. I sure don't know everything about programming, I hardly don't know the first thing about templates. I feel like I'm not all that qualified, other than to be a kind guide for the more productive members of the community. This will continue to be a learning experience for me.

However, when I went to adopt the wiki I discovered Community Central, and I learned:
 * What VSTF is
 * What Wikia Stars are
 * What Vanguard users are
 * (Insert other cool Wikia feature I didn't include that I learned about)

I also learned something even more relevant... How some of this Community's users and admins can be.

 The Point of My Blog 

I started using Wikia in all the wonder of what it was meant to be created for, unaware that there was an overwhelming abundance of people who wish to see these databases and communities destroyed, simply for the "fun" of doing so.

I see sysops and users here who deal with these "trouble" users and they do not seem to enjoy what they actually do contribute to in separate processes, this is very saddening.

I'm not here to blame anyone, I'm not here to point fingers - but can we look past the ones who do nothing but tear down what Wikia builds up?

And can we please notice that there is an overwhelming amount of users who want nothing but to see communities grow and flourish?

It really makes change, how we act, to how many people are willing to be a part of this huge, beautiful work in progress. I'm a living, breathing example.

Thank you for your time. :D

Perhaps? (talk) 18:15, May 19, 2016 (UTC)