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User:The Devil's Advocate

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About me

My first foray into editing Wikipedia was updating the article on the Six-party talks over North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Gradually, I moved into editing about regional unions and other political topics, such as the 2008 U.S. Presidential primaries and articles about geopolitical developments. This included my first trial by fire when a geopolitics article I created wound up at Articles for Deletion due to a rather poor naming choice on my part. On several occasions during my time editing here I have become so disenchanted with the flaws in the process that it prompted lulls in my editing with the most recent one having been for a couple of months and the longest one being for about a year. In the past two years I have diversified my content contributions to focus less on politics, which has often proven too stressful for an enjoyable editing experience.

Although I started out being mostly interested in contributing content, the various situations I have confronted on Wikipedia have prompted me to show a more general concern over this site's culture and governance. I have been involved in the Wikipedia criticism site Wikipediocracy for over two years because of this, although anyone there can tell you of the many times when I am not on their side either. My concerns about Wikipedia also mean I was more of a regular on various conduct noticeboards and sometimes weighed in on arbitration matters until I took an arbitration case to the knee. Typically, I only become involved when I notice a particular problem is not being discussed or feel one or more editors are being treated unfairly.

In addition to my contributions on the Wikimedia projects, I have become fairly active on the RWBY Wiki hosted by Wikia. Outside my involvement with wikis, my time on the Internet is mostly spent doing typical Internet things of no consequence. During my time off-line I similarly do things of little consequence and am generally a person of no consequence to anyone, even in my humble rural community, though as the song goes "we all want to change the world" and I do hope I could have a realistic chance at that one day.

My editing philosophy

In my editing I strive to take the approach of a Bohemian Wikipedian. I draw my inspiration from the values espoused in the film Moulin Rouge! of Truth, Beauty, Freedom, and Love. These also reflect the kind of values I try to uphold in life. As it pertains to Wikipedia I apply these values in this way:

  • Truth - Far too often people take the dictum of verifiability, not truth too far by presuming that if a reliable source can be found to make the claim then it is ok for Wikipedia to say it in the editorial voice. Usually this occurs because of an editor's own bias seeping into his or her editing process. At times because there is an absence of contravening sources editors similarly feel confident in using stronger language than that of their sources. However, I believe this goes against an unspoken rule that Wikipedia should always strive for factual accuracy. I seek to counter the systemic bias that often works its way into contentious topic areas in pursuit of the greater truth. That means using the most neutral wording the sources support and, save for "sky is blue"-type situations, in-text attribution should be the norm. The goal is making the project a place to find the whole story with eyes unclouded by prejudice, contrary to the more controlled sources of information in the world.
  • Beauty - When it comes to any article one is likely to find more than a few instances of repetition and less-than-engaging wording. One of my objectives in contributing to Wikipedia is to improve the stylistic appearance of any article I come across. That means, to provide an example, trimming down the instances of paragraphs starting with the same letter, and especially the same word. Another big issue is avoiding the timeline-like style certain articles about ongoing events tend to take on out of a general apathy of editors. By beautifying the project wherever I can my hope is that more readers will be engaged with the repository of knowledge Wikipedia represents.
  • Freedom - This project is first and foremost an experiment in information democracy. Submitting the whole of human ingenuity and knowledge to the task of building a source of knowledge for all requires great care and consideration. As predicted by the iron law of oligarchy, Wikipedia has fallen prey to the same abusive tendencies of any governance system. Rule by consensus may appear to be a policy to cherish, but it is all too often misused by editors to impose their own will on the project. Assuming good faith keeps us willfully blind to some extent about what is taking place. Look through any article in a contentious topic area and you are liable to find a consortium of editors from the same ideological persuasion who have become the page's self-appointed gatekeepers. Enterprising users who go against their will often find themselves driven away, whether it is by falling into a revert trap or simply becoming frustrated with endless stone-walling. Unfortunately, Wikipedia looks more favorably upon the gatekeepers as they greatly outnumber their opponent. Always looking for a way to satisfy all parties without compromising my principles and drawing attention to the biases of all sides is the best way I can think of to insure this experiment remains open to as many people as possible.
  • Love - Above all things I believe in WikiLove. WikiLove is like oxygen. WikiLove lifts us up where we belong. All you need is WikiLove. For me it means keeping an open mind on all things. Were more editors to leave themselves open it would be easier to defuse most disputes. Remain open to having your edits rewritten. Remain open to changing your mind. Remain open to changing your actions even if you won't change your mind. Too much potential is lost in the ideological rigidity of groupthink and confirmation bias. Pursuit of WikiLove means that the only things we should try to take seriously are the feelings of others. Sometimes it is hard to stay cool and we have all been there at one point or another. We should thus not let an occasional lapse determine someone's fate as none of us are perfect. Keep in mind that we do this not for ourselves, but for all those who may witness this body of work.

To sum it all up, my goal is to try and uphold the idea of what Wikipedia can be, while dealing with the reality of what Wikipedia is at this moment. More than anything I want this project to be a great service to all truth-seekers in the world. It should be a light of knowledge in dark places when all other lights go out. One could say that I am a true believer when it comes to this idea and, even if it leaves me battered and bruised, I will strive to defend the principles of this project above all else.

Things to do

Articles I've created

Articles where I've made major contributions

Essays I've written

Good article nominations I've reviewed

Tools

Userboxes

Politics
This user is a history buff.
This user is interested in geopolitics.
This user is interested in economics.
This user is interested in political science.
This user supports Ron Paul.
This user is an independent voter who doesn't like partisan politics.
Life This user is Pro-Life
This user believes that the death penalty should never be used.*
This user believes that fighting for peace is akin to fucking for virginity.
This user believes in the power of nonviolence.
This user finds censorship offensive.
This user is opposed to regional lockout.
Just say NO to political correctness.
This user supports Citizen Media.
This user supports sustainable living.
This user supports
renewable energy.
This user is interested in freecycling.
This user is interested in recycling.
This user is interested in regiving.
This user supports public transit.
This user supports immigration and the right to travel freely upon the planet we share.
This user supports both straight and gay marriages, and is against any restrictions on who can marry.
This user supports the legalization of all drugs for adults.
This user wants to reform the United Nations.
This user trusts the EU about as far as they can throw it.
This user likes Swiss direct democracy.
This user supports a binational solution to the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict.One State
This user would like a stable Iraq.
This user recognizes the right of Iraqis to resist occupation.
This user is interested in conspiracy theories but thinks lizards, UFOs and antisemitic theories are disinformation.
Music
This user likes all types of music.
This user was brought to life by Evanescence.
This user is a Linkin Park fan.
IMThis user likes the song "Iron Man", by Black Sabbath.
ESThis user likes the song "Enter Sandman", by Metallica.
CThis user was Getting Closer to God.
NCThis user is a fan of Nickel Creek.


This user loves
The Beach Boys.
This user loves
The Beatles.
ƎThis user's name is not Ticka Ticka Slim Shady.

.30-06
Black crow 16 shells from a thirty-ought-six whittles
this user into kindlin'
This user is a Lady Gaga fan.
[[ABBA]] This user can not only dance, but can also jive.
This user enjoys computer and video game music outside gaming.
TSThis user never gets tired of listening to Love Story by Taylor Swift
Science Fiction
This user took the Red Pill.
This user actually liked The Phantom Menace.
Star
Wars
This user is a part of the Rebel Alliance and a traitor.
This user believes that the Jedi have not found the true light.
Told you did I, reckless is he! Now, matters are worse.
This user is interested in the belief that there is no light or dark side of the Force, but only a single Unifying Force.
¡This user knows the Chewbacca Defense and is not afraid to use it!
Literature
This user has been There and Back Again.
This user enjoys the works of
J. R. R. Tolkien.
This user is a fan of
The Lord of the Rings.
This user wonders who is watching the Watchmen
CthulhuThis user is interested in the Great Old One.
This user likes to chant "orgy-porgy."
This user enjoys the works of George Orwell.
Science and Philosophy
This user realizes that people from the Middle Ages already thought that the Earth was spherical.
This user is interested in religion.
This user advocates personal belief but does not support organised religion.
This user respects the beliefs and religions of others.
This user believes a true skeptic questions everything, not just minority views.
Video Games
YoshiThis user's favorite character from the Mario series is Yoshi.
This user plays games from The Legend of Zelda series.


This user enjoys playing
Assassin's Creed.
Animé
*_*This user loves anime.
アニメ
sub
This user prefers to watch
their anime subbed.
HaruhiismThis user adheres to Haruhiism.
This user is searching
for a samurai who
smells of sunflowers
.
GITSThis user has a
Stand Alone Complex.
GGThis user works for the Social Welfare Agency.
This user is a One Piece fan.
FMP!This user watches Kaname Chidori very closely.
This user is a fan of Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyojin.
進撃の巨人
ネギま!This user teaches magic English in Japan.
RWBYThis user is a fan of RWBY.