"We must make the world honest before we can honestly say to our children that honesty is the best policy" -George Bernard Shaw
Every (self) nuke request I slaughter causes me to stop for a moment, read the node, and, unless it's slanderous or murderous, upvote the thing before sending it along to the killing floor.
I think of the upvote as a payment or tribute to the noder (who will also lose one XP as a result of the node's removal after all) and in gratitude to them for asking for the removal of their work as a result, more often than not, of recognizing that the node in question (and perhaps only in its current form) wasn't much of an addition to the nodegel/database/thingie.
I know that there are some who believe that their lesser nodes are simply waiting to be replaced by shinier examples upon the same subject, or that they should get culturally grandfathered 'cos cuz it was different back in the day before your ass came shinin' through with these thoughts that have already been pooped out by better big dogs than you, but I still intrinsically, even strategically, object to more senior members of the power structure of E2 and other long time noders who built their cabins and castles on a structure of at-the-time-acceptable short or poor nodes that would be deleted in a minute here today.
For all the other portentousness that can be on display, I believe it's quietly incumbent, almost as a matter of good manners or etiquette, for experienced noders to go back and cull or improve their clearly lesser work. I especially feel this because, with one or two rare exceptions, these folks have subsequently proven that they have the ability, intelligence and interests to contribute some of the best stuff this great site has to offer.
I'm banging on about this now because I seem to receive more messages from other, newer, noders confused on this subject than any other. Therefore, this editorial month, I will be walking around here with my mythical I FEEL THE URGE, THE URGE TO PURGE t-shirt to encourage others to revisit their back catalogues with a positive eye to the future..
If you see me, give a honk.
"The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be." - Socrates