User:Amost42n81

I am a retired American Foreign Service Officer and current business executive living in the Washington, D.C., area. I'm old enough to care about my online privacy, so I prefer not to publish my full name. I have lived and worked in Europe, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and the South Pacific. Early in my professional career, I edited a magazine and was responsible for a direct-mail fund-raising campaign for a non-profit organization. I have published a few articles in political and cultural journals, and I am a student of the English language and of writing and the written word in general. I enjoy editing; in fact, I find it relaxing. I have long thought about getting involved in Wikipedia, and I finally took the plunge in late 2016. I have many interests, so I don't edit on a particular subject. I do, however, avoid making substantive changes in articles about which I have no knowledge or insight.

Generally, I will edit articles based on three criteria:

1. The writing is sloppy or there are errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling or syntax that need to be corrected. 2. The writing is wordy and needs to be tightened. 3. I can provide useful information. 4. The article seems unfair, ideologically biased or intended to harm someone's reputation. Wikipedia is no place to grind axes or settle personal scores.

I strive to keep my writing neutral and balanced. I frankly get annoyed when I read articles that clearly show a personal bias, either positive or negative, and I will try to change them by challenging poor or missing documentation and replacing loaded language with neutral language. This is particularly true of entries on living persons. Yes, as Edward R. Murrow once said, not every story has two sides. But everyone has a right to have the truth written about them.

I will edit articles on subjects about which I have some knowledge or expertise, including international affairs, diplomacy, the U.S. federal contracting sector, baseball, U.S. history and culture, finance and private equity, and rock and roll. I will also perform non-substantive edits for grammar, style, punctuation and syntax on any article I happen to come upon that I believe needs work.