Wikipedia:WikiMercenary

A WikiMercenary is a wandering Wikipedian in search of work. Not to be confused with WikiKnights who know their purpose, WikiDragons who design their own purpose, or WikiOtters who find purpose in projects needing assistance, WikiMercenaries aimlessly roam Wikipedia, offering their assistance to anyone who needs help.

Behavior
WikiMercenaries ultimately wish to improve upon Wikipedia like so many other WikiFauna, but they lack the community spirit or expertise to make any one aspect of the Encyclopedia their sole domain, never committing to any one area and constantly susceptible to bouts of wanderlust and Rabbithole behavior. Nonetheless, anyone who finds a WikiMercenary among their enemies would be well advised not to mistake this versatility for weakness or absent-mindedness, as the eclectic occupations of WikiMercenaries serve to whet their abilities against a wide range of issues and situations, with keen instincts that allow them to pick out the weak links of any article no matter how little prior experience they might have with its subject. Wanting for the scholarly bonds that tie a WikiKnight to the noble bloodlines and houses of his chosen WikiProjects and lacking the humble spirit that allows a WikiGnome to work across the breadth of Wikipedia without engaging with its content, a WikiMercenary instead marauds from land to land and from kingdom to kingdom, accepting brief but deeply binding assignments from whoever they deem worthy.

WikiMercenaries can thus be expected by their employers to specialize in a broad variety of areas, proficient in a range of fields so that they may handle any contract offered; A WikiMercenary with poor or few skills is a WikiMercenary who won't find work. With work covering everything from finding sources, to rewriting prose, to handling article structure, a WikiMercenary might spend dozens of detailed edits whittling down the issues in one article, or completely shift the direction and potential of another article with a single, well-placed strike before disappearing into the wilderness, never to be seen in that region of the Encyclopedia again. They are knowledgeable in Wikipedia's rules and codes of conduct, so that they may call upon them when needed. They also have a great deal of general knowledge and may know WikiScholars who specialize in one area. WikiMercenaries can also be called in to act as mediators and solve disputes, by providing obscure lore and knowledge or citing Wikipedia's rules. WikiMercenaries greatly appreciate being rewarded for their services, which can include barnstars from the client, help from the client in a matter the WikiMercenary themselves is troubled with, and so forth. WikiMercenaries sometimes do business with each other, one offering the other their services as payment.

Although they frequent social places, WikiMercenaries themselves are quiet loners. Because their loyalties are uncertain, there may be any number of Wikipedians bearing a grudge against the WikiMercenary, referring to them with slurs like "WikiAssassins", or "WikiHitmen". However, these are simple misinterpretations of the WikiMercenary's otherwise honorable intentions. Due to such negative attitudes, WikiMercenaries prefer to do business with clients personally rather than in public, to keep themselves safe. WikiMercenaries are clandestine beings, and although they may seem shifty and shady, they know the contract is binding. Once a WikiMercenary offers their services, they will complete their end of the bargain without fail, lest their reputation tarnish. However, while a WikiMercenary will complete their contract loyally, once they collect their fee they depart to find more work as their business is concluded.

WikiFauna interactions
WikiMercenaries frequently stop at pubs and taverns, listening to the conversations of others. If they overhear someone in need of help, the WikiMercenary will extend the hand of friendship and offer their services. However, WikiMercenaries rarely take jobs they do not find interesting or do not have a personal opinion of. Although their loyalties are shaky in regards to other WikiFauna, WikiMercenaries always act in the best interests of Wikipedia, and so they only lend their services to those who do the same. A WikiTroll or a WikiKraken may request the WikiMercenary's services, but they will likely be turned down. In fact, some WikiMercenaries take up contracts on their own to fight the beasts without being asked.

WikiGryphons and Wikiprincesses are often coveted as employers due to their wide range of concerns and open-ended contracts tending to complement the WikiMercenary's own interests and methods, while WikiGoons and WikiHunters make for natural allies should their assignments align with the WikiMercenary's own. A WikiMercenary will rarely seek out WikiGoblins or other vandals of their own accord, but will gladly help eradicate any they encounter in their travels and the Nomadic lifestyle of a WikiMercenary makes them uniquely suited to combat WikiBarbarians and WikiPoachers in particular.

All WikiMercenaries set out with good intentions, however the pressures they are expected to handle without the support of a WikiProject to call their own can occasionally cause a WikiMercenary to transform into a ruthless and battlescarred WikiReaper, carving a trail of destruction across Wikipedia as they mercilessly cull anything they find beneath their own secretive standards.

Identification
One may identify oneself by using the userbox below:

One may identify other WikiMercenaries by the behavioural traits described above, or by the presence of the aforementioned userbox.