I am a retired Wikipdedia editor and admin. Not sure what the current experience is like, but back in my day I didn't have much beef. Most people have no idea how much crap people try to put into Wikipedia on a daily basis. It's also legitimately a very complicated place. So I can believe a lot of novices walk away with an opinion like yours, in that the gap between "what Wikipedia needs" and "what J Random Editor wants to put in" is often miles apart.