User:Wilhelmina Will/Ownership compared to parenthood

I've created a good deal of articles in my time on Wikipedia, just over 50,000 at this point. I have also uploaded files, here and at the Wikimedia Commons. I like to think of these pages and files as being like my children, as I mention at User:Wilhelmina Will/Creations. It has happened once or twice, however, that other users have likened this behaviour to perceived ownership. After doing some reseach on "ownership", I've decided to compose this essay, to explain the difference between "ownership" and "parenthood".

Ownership

As decribed in Wikipedia:Ownership of articles, a user exhibiting symptoms of "Wikipedia ownership" might feel possessive towards something on Wikipedia, and might try in any way from a patronizing to a hostile tone, or by simply continually reverting others' edits, to discourage other editors from changing the page or the file. They might also try to act as a "guard" over the page/file, beyond simply monitoring it for changes on their watchlist, and may tell other users to run their proposed changes through with them, first.

Parenthood

On the other hand, it is a good practice to feel a certain level of affection for an article/image/project page/etc., that you've created or worked hard on, on Wikipedia or even on other Wikimedia projects. After all, it is the basic emotions like affection which drive us to do what we do. When a mother and/or father put a lot of time (9 months, usually) and effort into bringing an infant safely into the world, all that time and care builds into ultimately one thing: a deep, profound affection for the infant. Likewise, but on a smaller scale, when you've spent a lot of time reading and writing for something, or when you've searched hard for a picture over the internet, or when you've spent anywhere from minutes to hours taking a photograph/drawing a sketch or diagram, and making sure it's just right, before uploading it, you can hardly help but feel a devotion or an emotion-based obligation towards it. So feeling a certain amount of affection for what you've made and done is a natural, human thing to do.

Taking a closer look

Parenthood is not the same as ownership. It can mean an obligation, but it does not mean a superiority. Supposing a page or a file can think and feel like a human, I do not think they would like the prospect of being owned by their makers or substantial contributers. After all, do we like it when our parents treat us that way? Of course not. But when we think about their behaviour towards us, and when we realize that what they do for us is done out of love and care, and when our parents do give us space and respect, we are very happy with that. Likewise, again supposing that pages and files on Wikipedia or other Wikimedia projects could feel as we do, I'm confident it would be the same.

A large amount of the users on Wikipedia, in my observation, like to list the pages/categories/templates/files/other that they've created, either on their main userpage or on a specific subpage. This might also be seen as a good practice, as it can allow others to see how involved you are, and where. I don't know how many of the users watch all of the things they've created, but I can imagine that for some of the ones who've created/uploaded a good deal of things, it would be tiresome and even confusing to have to watch over every one of them. I happen to be one of these cases, myself. In such circumstances, it eventually becomes necessary to let your "children" just "grow up and face the open world". All the same, now and then, I like to go over the articles that I've created, and see how they are doing, occasionally helping some of them out as I can.

All of this is perfectly fine, as long as you remember that other users may also want to help and contribute to these pages, or adjust those files. If what they are doing is valid, by Wikipedia standards, then you have to let them do it. The same as you cannot lock your children in their rooms and hide them from society, you cannot hide your "wiki-children" from other editors. "If you don't want your writing to be edited mercilessly and redistributed, do not submit it" we are all warned whenever we go to make a change to a page. Furthermore, why would we have written on an encyclopedia that anyone can edit if we want to hog all the rights to ourselves? Almost makes you want to drum on your lips, when you think about it...

Finally, I'm sure you've all had at least one page that you did not create, but take pride in the fact that you worked hard on building it up from where it was when you first saw it, and got it up to comfortable, or even really good standards. I myself have at least one of those under my belt. Perhaps you feel a little authoritative over that page, and maybe even exhibit one or more of the traits of "Wikipedia ownership". But, what if the creators of those articles had felt possessive towards them, and wouldn't allow you to do that? What if they didn't want a "nanny" or a "tutor" or a "governess" for those pages? Doubtless you would feel dejected, annoyed, or even angry. Maybe you would even feel put off of editing Wikipedia altogether! Therefore, when you start to behave that way, remember that you might end up doing exactly what I've just described.

The bottom line

You can feel like a parent or some form of caretaker over a page/file you've created, as long as you bear in mind that you do not own it, and that it is part of a free, collaborative database. Just as human children are enriched by exposure to multiple caring adults in their formative years, pages and files are enriched by exposure to multiple constructive contributors. Who knows? It might even help you to be a better "wiki-parent"!