User talk:Durova

You are missed!

Dear Durova, I was excited to see you editing here again, until I saw it was for a recurring drama.

It is good of you to come back on behalf of Ottava; I don't know whether it would be kinder to echo your thoughts or to let him find other outlets.

May you continue to find ways to inspire people through your work. –SJ · talk | translate 04:20, 22 February 2011 (UTC)

Strange how people supposed I was coming back "on behalf of Ottava". That was a factual correction; it had become almost axiomatic among WMF culture that he "could not collaborate with anyone". Actually he could, and the fruits of those collaborations were a large body of highly encyclopedic contributions. Could he collaborate in that way often enough to be suitable for wiki structures?--probably not. In private conversations I had been encouraging him to retire for months. Not every talented person is the best fit for wikis.

Likewise, wiki culture itself has shifted. Wikimedians have become too apt to draw up sides and peg people as partisans; too ready to paint all conflict with the broad brush of drama. Another doctoral candidate nervously ran Google searches after a WMF editor accused her of plagiarism: although the accusation was utterly frivolous she was very worried about the effect it might have on her prospects in a difficult job market. A professor from a major university was embarrassed at conferences after he contributed. If it must be trivialized as theatrics to suggest that it might cross the line of acceptable discourse to accuse a doctoral candidate of hallucinatory fantasies, then you can count on more people departing. I really would not recommend this place to any academic who lacks either independent wealth or tenure. Durova 23:17, 28 February 2011 (UTC)