I don't often contribute to the English Language & Usage Stack Exchange because the answers needed for the questions posed here are often well above my expertise and very often already answered by those whose credentials far exceed my own. Perhaps, with the proper education, training, and experience, I'll have something more to contribute down the road. As it is, I've asked more questions than I've answered and expect that trend to continue for some time.

If you've come to my profile because the question I asked or answer I gave made you curious about me, then I would imagine you'd be interested in knowing a bit more about my credentials, so here they are:

• I'm a native speaker of English who has been immersed in the language since birth and have been speaking and writing in this language for more than three decades
• 4 years of English at a reputable, public, U.S. high school
• 1 year of Advanced Placement English
• Graduation from the University of Washington, a reputable, public, state school that requires a certain number of English composition credits before graduating
• Graduation from the Basic Journalism and Broadcasting courses at the Defense Information School

I've never won any awards, but (and few people know this) ...

• I did get a score of 4.0 (scale of 0–4.0) on one of my college papers

Other credentials:

• As a Combat Correspondent, I've had a few articles published in Marines magazine, the flagship publication of the United States Marine Corps
• I've taken and passed the Graduate Records Examination (GRE). Relevant scores are as follows: Verbal Reasoning: 160 (Rank Below: 84%) and Analytical Writing: 5.0 (Rank Below: 93%)

I don't know if any of the above makes me qualified to answer any of the questions here, but I do want it to be known that I find no pleasure in contributing to a thread of answers unless I think I have a unique perspective to add and/or need to try to help correct something for the record of
posted answers.

I do know that this is a great resource and that even if some of my answers seem a bit long-winded, it is not my intention to clutter up a thread with irrelevant, useless information. Even if I don't state this, I often read and reread a question as I attempt to answer it and the details in my answer are typically provided to either add support or evidence for any claims I make in my answer. Sometimes, though, details are included to to courteously, subtly, and indirectly counter what may be misleading information found in the thread or elsewhere.

Lastly, I realize that any skill I may have developed is merely a point on a spectrum and that if I'm doing things right, I will know more about my language tomorrow than I do today. A resource such as the English Language and Usage Stack Exchange will definitely propel me further along that spectrum, so thank you to all who take the time to contribute to it.