[nailer]

The article constantly refers to users as being people who will benefit from making editing easier, so it's fairly clear they consider all users potential contributors. That usability of editing tools leaves something to be desired is implied by them improving it. That Wikipedia wants more contributors is implied by its mission.

[jacquesm]

A few tweaks to the UI are not going to undo the cumulative effect of people having their articles axed because of 'non notoriety' and a very hostile attitude towards 'newbies'.

[nailer]

That's a separate issue. Both need to be addressed, I'm personally glad they're doing something about usability.

For what it's worth, personally my own edits seem to stick around - I write a lot about architecture (buildings), industrial design, and software. I've written about Ron Arad, Konstantin Grgic, Zaha Hadid, btrfs, SystemTap, Python, Django, Zed Shaw, and popular culture in Portland, and they've all still there. I appreciate you may have had different experiences.