User:Xiong/Build

It's not as hard as it looks: Build; don't destroy. As Mom used to say, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." Or, "Do as you would be done by."

If we don't feel we can contribute usefully to a discussion, that's fine. We can move on to other stuff. There is no lack of good work to do. We read widely -- very widely indeed; here in this Project, on related wikis, and on dozens of other sites, collaborative and otherwise. If we try hard to stick to this principle, that often means we have nothing to say.

"Being nice" doesn't just mean shouting, "Oh, yeah, that's great!" Often, we can contribute usefully to a page -- policy, article, discussion, or other -- by criticizing it. But we must have something to bring to the table. If something does not work for us, we need to be able to express why it doesn't work, and what would have to be done to make it work. If we don't think something meets an expressed need, we need to tell what we think would meet that need.

It may very well be that we don't agree with the expressed need. That's fine, too. But others do see a need, and are working on a solution. They may not feel all of our needs are important -- and sometimes, they may not even be willing to help us with them. Sorry. But let's hope that they will be permitted to work to meet their needs; and let us meet ours.

Who knows? If we refrain from destroying something that doesn't seem immediately useful to us now, it may change and improve, and eventually grow into something that we do find a need for -- sometime later.

The key here is understanding that the world is full of people, full of needs -- and any two or three of us will only share a very, very small portion of those needs at any given time. But please, let's not go around burning wheelchair ramps today, just because we still have both legs today. Somehow, we all have to live together, and a big part of that is letting other people do the best they can to meet their needs.

Another big part is pitching in and helping others meet their needs -- even if they are not ours. Later, we might find those same people helping us with our needs -- even though they may not feel the same needs we do.

Above all, if we don't think we can help, please, let's not do any harm. Thank You!