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This is an offshoot from a comment I posted earlier today:

Not everyone is interested in editing. I used to be a very heavy editor -- editing way more than closing. It was, for quite some time, my #1 contribution to SO. Now, though, I've grown so tired of bad questions and broken English that I've completely lost the motivation to do it ... Even with the new Copy Editor gold badge.

That's really the long and the short of it. I used to love editing questions and answers to clean them up, help with grammar and spelling, etc. Nowadays, looking at all the broken English and incomplete questions just disheartens me -- to the point where I barely participate on SO proper at all, other than the occasional close or reopen vote.

What are some ways I can get back my mojo motivation to edit and contribute more positively?

EDIT: BTW, this smells like a dupe to me, but I can't find it. If it is and you find it, please vote to close and I'll pile-on a vote myself. (Assuming I'm online/watching the question when that happens.)

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2 Answers 2

It's burnout. I have the same problem, although my frustrations weren't so much with the broken English as with just plain lazy posts: questions that didn't include enough detail and answers that don't attempt to even solve the problem ("here's a link to my favorite plugin, hope this helps!" - up-votes from plugin fans). Setting out to edit, only to find myself burning through close- and down-votes instead.

My solution thus far has been to just step away for a bit. Spend some time (too much time...) on Meta, read the cooking site, etc. Eventually, I'll feel like helping again.

...or, I won't. Someone else can. If they don't, then it's not my problem. Getting too invested in something you don't control is a recipe for madness.

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If you are sick of looking at badly written questions (judging by your rep you've seen and done a lot) try concentrating on what you know best for a while rather than doing the cleaning role switch to answering questions that you are passionate about.

The other option is to take a break from SO for a while and try and build something for yourself. Maybe you will find some questions that you need answering and that might help in increasing your appreciation of SO. Taking back from the community by finding questions to your own problems.

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