"The problem with quotes on the internet is that it's hard to verify their authenticity." -- Søren Kierkegaard[verify]
Gender: Male. Not something I’m particularly proud of. Humans are not known for rapid evolution; as is most obvious by observing the male of the species in his habitat. I only mention it here so that anyone who wishes to file a complaint regarding me on a noticeboard can avoid awkward, cringe-inducing, chalkboard scraping, gender-neutral pronouns.
On civility: There's an old line in Poker. If you don't know who the sucker is at the table, it's you. Of course, Poker aphorisms often carry into "real life". In many interactions between humans, you will find that one of the folks at the table will be an asshole. Civility doesn’t just mean not being the asshole. It also means being reasonably polite to the asshole. This usually doesn’t work. But, on the whole, it’s better than increasing the number of assholes. Besides, as in Poker, their response will provide clues on how to proceed. Those temporarily afflicted with [assholism] are calmed by a polite response; while true assholes are enraged and/or confused when you’re polite to them. (I'm probably an asshole for posting this to my user page.)
On Wikipedia: Wikipedia is the only game I’ve played where so many players argue against the rules. It’s so simple. Follow the guidelines. (Which are brilliantly conceived, IMHO.) Look, if you’re a fan of the Astros, and the odds are that you will lose betting on them – why would you bet on them? In WP, like sports betting, you must ignore your own biases. You must examine everything from a neutral point of view. Non-human animals often appear to adapt far more quickly than humans as they are less prone to such psychological hang-ups. Yes, you can edit articles of other humans about whom you have strong opinions, negative or positive. That should in no way stop you from arguing against removal or additions that you do not feel are appropriate in an encyclopedia, even when this is contrary to your own personal views. WP must be honest in its presentation of any subject. Otherwise, it’s useless, and no one wins.
Advice to WP editors: You will occasionally find that an editor with whom you are debating, having run out of arguments, will look at your user page to find something about you to add to the argument. For that reason, you should not put anything on your user page. In particular, and this is important, never put any advice to editors on your user page as they will surely accuse you of not following your own advice. O3000 (talk) 20:06, 15 July 2018 (UTC)
Fear of losing oneself: