User:Ks0stm/Discourse Community 1

My group in Principles of English Composition I is assigned to do an essay over online discourse communities. Two of us are doing Wikipedia based communities. Part of the assignment is interviewing people from the discourse community, and these are my questions. Please answer any and all to the extent that you want (especially the one about describing yourself).

Describe yourself (as specific as you are willing to get).
1. From North Carolina, 14, Male, in High School as a Freshmen..That's as specific as I'm getting.TropicalAnalystwx13 (talk) 22:35, 13 October 2011 (UTC)
2. Wikipedian, from England, not a child; I like tea and sausages. That's about all I tell anyone - I like to be mostly anonymous. Chzz ► 22:31, 13 October 2011 (UTC)
3. Italian, 24, Literary Translation Student for MD. I am sadder than I was when I was dumber. Zidanie5 (talk) 23:08, 13 October 2011 (UTC)
What do you like to do on Wikipedia?
1. I edit the Tropical Weather section of Wikipedia.
2. Usually, I like to 'add to the sum of all human knowledge' but, currently, I have reservations regarding the operational nature of Wikipedia, so I'm taking a break Chzz ► 22:31, 13 October 2011 (UTC)
3. Mainly translating articles that in en.wiki are too small or absent (from it. and es.). Also fixing typos and other gnome things. Zidanie5 (talk) 23:08, 13 October 2011 (UTC)
Why do you edit Wikipedia?
1. Because its fun and I am trying to make the website better and make people think of it as more reliable. TropicalAnalystwx13 (talk) 22:35, 13 October 2011 (UTC)
2. For t3h lulz. For fun; it's really quite altruistic; I kinda like the idea that, in years to come, people will read things I wrote. And most of my efforts are helping other people, and I get a kick out of that. Chzz ► 22:31, 13 October 2011 (UTC)
3. It adds to my own knowledge and I train in translation in a context which is not University. I learn new things. Zidanie5 (talk) 23:08, 13 October 2011 (UTC)
What makes Wikipedia special compared to other websites?
1. Its like a super site... TropicalAnalystwx13 (talk) 22:35, 13 October 2011 (UTC)
2. There's no other resource that provides the same level of encyclopaedic knowledge. It's the start of the Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, sort of thing. Chzz ► 22:31, 13 October 2011 (UTC)
3. Probably the fact that it will be a work-in-progress forever. Zidanie5 (talk) 23:08, 13 October 2011 (UTC)
How did you get started as an editor?
1. I edited the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season article for Hurricane Igor, changing it from a tropical storm to a hurricane. TropicalAnalystwx13 (talk) 22:35, 13 October 2011 (UTC)
2. Edited a page about my home town; I wanted to make it better Chzz ► 22:31, 13 October 2011 (UTC)
3. Making an account and forgetting about it for months on end, then remembering it, doing some edits, then forgetting it again. Rinse and repeat. Until the nice folks at IRC trapped me into SeriousWikiying. Zidanie5 (talk) 23:08, 13 October 2011 (UTC)
What about Wikipedia itself would you change if given the chance?
1. I'd make it harder to publish vandalism. TropicalAnalystwx13 (talk) 22:35, 13 October 2011 (UTC)
2. I'd enforce the true spirit of WP:AGF and reduce the power of established users, so that all users had an equal voice in progress. See WP:CABAL Chzz ► 22:31, 13 October 2011 (UTC)
3. I'd make a complete reorganization of all the help, rules and guidelines pages, to make them less dispersive and discouraging. Zidanie5 (talk) 23:08, 13 October 2011 (UTC)
What is your favorite thing about Wikipedia?
1. Its an awesome site, and really fun to edit. TropicalAnalystwx13 (talk) 22:35, 13 October 2011 (UTC)
2. The users. Most people are nice. Chzz ► 22:31, 13 October 2011 (UTC)
3. The concept is wonderful. Zidanie5 (talk) 23:08, 13 October 2011 (UTC)

If you answered the questions here, please also take the time to answer my questions at User:Ks0stm/Discourse Community 2 if you haven't already done so. Thanks in advance for participating in these interviews. Ks0stm ^{(T•C•G•E)} 22:16, 13 October 2011 (UTC)

Answers by TParis

Describe yourself (as specific as you are willing to get).

I am a 25 year old USAF Staff Sergeant, married, with two kids. I am a computer programmer and fluent in about a dozen language. I really enjoy reading young adult science fiction/fantasy novels and generally like a bit of older teenage romance in the stories (not to the Twilight level). I'm also an avid computer gamer and enjoy MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft as well as first person shooters such as Battlefield 3. I play poker at a local bar about once a month with some buddies. My political views are generally center. I tend to be liberal on some issues such as abortion and gay rights, but conservative on school discipline, welfare/medicare, and the war on terrorism. I am a protestant. I am a home owner and I live in Texas but I was born in Oregon.

What do you like to do on Wikipedia?

I enjoy maintenance work that doesn't take a lot of time. I tend to get distracted easily so I can't get heavily involve in anything or else I'll get interrupted. I also enjoy reading, so even when I am doing maintenance work I often stumble on an article that peaks my interest and then I end up crawling Wikipedia.

Why do you edit Wikipedia?

I edit Wikipedia because I have spare time. Wikipedia falls at the bottom of my list of hobbies and I'll so any of my other hobbies first. But sometimes I get bored playing Battlefield 3 or my kids won't let me concentrate on my book so I end up here. That or I get bored at work.

What makes Wikipedia special compared to other websites?

The community. I enjoy the collaboration with folks of all different cultures. The only kinds of people who don't fit in Wikipedia are folks with extremist points of view (whatever they are) who are willing to argue to the death about their viewpoints and cannot stomach any form of compromise. Wikipedia, in my opinion, is proof that folks with differences can get along.

How did you get started as an editor?

A book I liked. I'm a bit embarrassed which book but I actually created an article on it and I'm surprised it hasn't been deleted yet.

What about Wikipedia itself would you change if given the chance?

If I had the chance, I would change the way Wikipedia is perceived. I think this might be a bit outside of the spectrum of "Wikipedia itself" but that's what I would change. I wish I could change folks perceptions that Wikipedia is hard to edit and that Wikipedia isn't a good source for information. Wikipedia may not be a reliable source, but it's great for any research project looking to get started and find sources. I also wish folks could put Wikipedia's policies in context and realize this is an encyclopedia; and then they wouldn't get upset that their page on their cat "Fluffy" was deleted and call me a 'virgin asshole (even though I have two kids) who gets a hard on deleting pages.'

What is your favorite thing about Wikipedia?

The idea of free content. I am supportive of copyright holder's rights and certainly support intellectual property rights of artists and smart folks out there. But Wikipedia is great because folks freely and knowingly give away information for anyone else's use.