Talk:Lobaria quercizans

I don't fully understand why a) the original photograph has been discarded and b) why there are so many other minor edits. Whilst I can see that the replacement photo shows more closeup detail (that perhaps an academic lichenologist would like), the original does show the overall appearance of the lichen - this is important for people who are unfamiliar with it and its habitat. To my mind Wikipedia is primarily a general interest reference and not a specialist research tool. At the very least the other photo could have been placed in a gallery section. I went to a lot of trouble to take the photo - I had to wade through a swamp! Regarding the edits - it seems to me that almost as soon as I come up with a new article someone jumps in and makes changes, regardless of whether they are genuinely useful. In my humble opinion it would be a more profitable use of effort to increase the coverage by new articles (eg. there are still many missing important lichen articles) rather than tinker with adequate existing ones. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Richtid (talk • contribs) 16:02, 19 December 2011 (UTC)
 * a) The original photo was simply not as good as the replacement. We don't give preference to images that involved greater personal effort by the photographer, we give preference to what is better for the encyclopedia. There will will be room for additional images as the article gets expanded. Image galleries are discouraged per WP:Gallery. b) Minor edits serve to help improve the article in minor ways. I have reviewed every edit since the article was originally created, and to me, they have all been useful. Regarding "someone jumps in and makes changes", once you submit to Wikipedia ("By clicking the "Save Page" button, you agree to the Terms of Use," ...) the article is open to anyone who wants to edit it. I agree, there are many (thousands) lichen species articles that have yet to be created, just as there are many species articles that need to be expanded or otherwise improved (i.e., tinkering). Any help that you or others provide with either of these tasks helps the encyclopedia. Thanks, Sasata (talk) 18:54, 19 December 2011 (UTC)