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Wikipedia:TheWikiWizard/The Wikipedian/May 2019

< Wikipedia:TheWikiWizard‎ | The Wikipedian

User:2601:188:180:1481:65F5:930C:B0B2:CD63 has agreed to be interviewed, Thank You.

I Thegooduser would like to ask this editor the following questions;
  • When did you start editing Wikipedia?
  • Answer: 2006. The articles I edited were mostly in my field, and back then they were in terrible condition, badly written and poorly sourced. Working with a few other editors, we gradually brought hundreds of articles up to decent condition, and even raised a few to featured status.


  • Have you always edited as an Ip?
  • Answer: No. I made tens of thousands of edits as a registered account. I'll return to that account on occasion, mostly for reverting vandalism to protected articles. I decided to stick to editing as an IP for several reasons. Since I was fairly well known by other editors in my field, I wanted anonymity to engage in 'non-contributing' endeavors, and not get pulled back into writing. Also, since I'm the subject of a Wikipedia bio, I wanted a further degree of anonymity against vandals. Another possible advantage has been to frustrate vandals who like to hit back at fixed names--not as much fun for them to go after a number. And lastly, though I'm well past the midpoint of life, I'm still a contrarian. Every time a registered account treats me patronizingly, I'm resolved to continue as an IP. Stubborn.


  • Since you don't have a watchlist, how do you monitor pages?
  • Answer: By going back through my edit history. I alternate between the recent changes page and revisiting the past.
  • Is is hard to do certain tasks without an account?


  • Answer: Yes. Often I have to type in code before reversions or reports to noticeboards are accepted, which is a pain in the neck. An IP can't open an AfD. And perhaps the most exasperating aspect is being wrongly warned, and even mistakenly blocked multiple times, for editing as an IP. I miss not using rollback, but that compels me to take an extra second or three to make sure the edit I'm about to revert really is disruptive.
  • What do you like most about Wikipedia?


  • Answer: What most folks like: access to a base of rudimentary scholarship. If the content isn't deep or stable enough for me to trust as source material for my writing (I publish in multiple magazines and online journals), Wikipedia can often point me to reliable sources. As an editor, I'm deeply appreciative of others who value the encyclopedia's function, those who contribute content and those who work to preserve it from malicious and promotional purposes. I'm especially grateful to many administrators for their labors.

Thank you very much, Thegooduser, for inviting me to answer these questions. Cheers, 2601:188:180:1481:65F5:930C:B0B2:CD63 (talk) 01:15, 12 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

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