Wikipedia:Editor review/Bwowen

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[edit] Bwowen

Bwowen (talk · contribs) Hello, I'm Ben. I've been editing Wikipedia since September 2005, and editing regularly since the beginning of the summer (pretty much). Since I just hit 500 edits today, I thought it would be good to put in an editor review. I've gotten regular feedback from my friend and adopter, Leebo, but he's been my IRL friend for something like eight years and I would like to get some other outside reviews. Here are some of the things I've been working on: I am trying to make a big difference in the Suikoden project by putting together the Suikoden Task Force, I try to contribute regularly to AfD discussions, and I have recently found an efficient way to fight vandals as well. Thank you very much for taking the time to read this and for your helpful comments! bwowen talk•contribs 03:35, 20 July 2007 (UTC)

Reviews

I remember when I first got hooked on Wikipedia around January 2007. As with you, it happened to me many months after my first edit. Beware the dangers of becoming a Wikipediholic!

Your work with the Video Games WikiProject demonstrates a maturity well beyond what I normally see in users after just 500 edits. I attribute this to a number of factors. First, your edits tend to be substantive, with a small percentage of minor edits such as reverting vandalism. Second, you have benefited from the mentoring of one of the senior Wikipedians, Leebo. Third, you have demonstrated a willingness to interact with other users and to learn from your occasional mistakes (I noticed your conversation with Jmlk about a report to WP:AIV). These are all excellent traits to nurture.

If you haven't already realized it, you will soon understand that there is a limit to what you can do within a single Task Force. You should be looking for ways to branch out and try new things. The Community Portal (link on the left sidebar) is a great place to search for ideas. I wish you good luck. Shalom Hello 22:16, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

  • Mm. Never done an editor review before, but since you asked twice, and I have a rather different opinion than Shalom, suppose I should comment. Before, though, I should declare my own biases and viewpoints. I consider actual editing and content creation the main reason to spend time on Wikipedia; talking in the Wikipedia namespace tends to be a waste of time. This is why I am still rather cool to the idea that a Suikoden task force is needed at all. In any case, edits to the main space are the things that actually matter in the long run; discussions elsewhere are only relevant in so far as they impact actually improving the articles (such as by talking out disputes on the talk page).
So, with that in mind, I can't actually really offer much a review. In examining your mainspace edits, it seems that about 98% of them are either minor or vandalism reversion (and so Shalom's comment above about your edits puzzles me). So... I can't really offer any input, because I don't know what kind of editor you are.
Now. Wikipedia is a volunteer project, so definitely feel free to do what you enjoy doing, and don't spiral too much into letting Wikipedia control your life. And there's certainly something to be said for lurking awhile first and making changes later. That said, I'd suggest more main space work like this edit. And despite what Shalom says, there is still lots lots more work to do in the Suikoden Wikiproject, like adding more sources for starters. SnowFire 20:07, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

Review by User:Pedro

Hi, Ben and thankyou for your kind comments on my user page and your generous invitation to participate in your editor review. I agree with SnowFire that a lot of your edits are centred in routine maintenance and clean up. I disgaree however that this is less important than article writing, but I'll come to that later regarding WP:RFA. You seem to be very accurate in your reports to WP:UFA, and your speedy deletion tagging also looks spot on. That's impressive - Usernames are fairly easy to identify but quick and accurate assessment of WP:CSD candidates is hard. It's also important to remember to advise the articles creator of the tag, which I see you do. I see you have done some WP:AFD work and I'd recommend you spend a bit more time there if possible, as it really helps an understanding of policies, guidelines and often previous debates are referenced which saves editors having to re-hash things. It's also nice when you get to keep an article through your own research. I would sugest that as per Shalom you also move out a bit, into something else of interest to you. Sometimes on RC patrol (which you clearly do) I sometimes find a great article that could be expanded or tided up. I tend to add these to my watch list, and then (when I have time - which is rare!!) look to see what I can do to exapnd them. A lot of the joy of Wikipedia is reading, at least for me, and it's often pleasent after a hard slog battling the vandals to simply read a totally random article, copy editing a bit if needed. Not only do you learn, you also help this work so it's all good! With regards to a future RFA - a simple bit of advice - don't rush! At RFA most people like to see a well rounded contributor - AFD, AIV, ANI, contributions to main space, image work, talk (both article and user) and so on. Now it almost makes you think you have to be super human (as well as having endless hours to do these things). In reality though a reasonable level of activity across the 'pedia coupled with strong contributions in one area will help. As to my thoughts on article writing; At time of typing this we have over 1.9 million articles. If we never improved or created another one this would still be a valuable resource for years. If we didn't revert vandalism and spam this work would be useless within weeks. So whilst article writing was a cornerstone previously I personally feel that it is less important to an aspiring admin. That's not to say do none at all - there is a powerfull argument that if you have not added well referenced content then it is tricky for you to understand certain admin tasks and responsibilities. I hope this has not been to long, or a personal diatribe on my belief systems (at least not too much!). In summary;

  • continue what you are doing
  • look to widden out a bit
  • watch WP:AFD (even if not participating)
  • if you are looking at adminship consider in the future Wikipedia:Admin coaching
  • but most of all remember that this is voluntary, adminship is not a reward or trophy, and that if you're not doing this for fun you're in the wrong place!

Very best wishes, and Happy Editing. Pedro |  Chat  07:36, 3 August 2007 (UTC)

Brief Review by User:Deckiller

You are an enthusiastic editor who has a ton of potential. Additionally, you are showing an understanding of how Wikipedia treats fiction, and that is always a good thing. I recommend balancing your time between article editing and maintenance just so you can enjoy the full experience. I'm also a Suikoden fan, so I can help out if I have free time. — Deckiller 11:48, 4 August 2007 (UTC)

Brief Review
I'm not quite sure what to say, since this is the first time I've ever done an editor review. Looking at your contributions history, I think that most of your edits are helpful (such as reverting vandalism, clean up, or correcting/improving grammar and punctuation of articles) and you should continue doing so. It would seem to me that you are knowledgeable in the more sophisticated areas of wikipedia (at least, compared to me) and I would suggest that you look into those areas to see they interest you. I agree with some of the stuff SnowFire said, such as the suggestion concerning the main space work and the Suikoden wikiproject; for the latter, I hope that the task force will be able to accomplish that. I hope I've been of service. ^_^ EikaKou 06:01, 7 August 2007 (UTC)

Comments

Questions

  1. Of your contributions to Wikipedia, are there any about which you are particularly pleased, and why?
    I was really pleased to find that I could sink my teeth into the Suikoden project and make a real difference. I decided in mid-June (while I was away from a regular internet connection) that I would create a WP:TASKFORCE upon my return to my regular internet connection at the beginning of this month. I started at my userspace, mapping out a plan for the task force and trying to identify all of the Suikoden-related articles, as there was a lot of cruft that needed work. Then, I contacted other editors who I thought would be interested in helping out from their contributions. They signed on and helped me come up with a more clear set of goals. Finally, just this week, I got the task force page up and running without too much hassle. Many of the goals that I set out to fulfill when I thought of the task force have already been fulfilled through the work of other editors. This was almost to my chagrin, as I had been looking forward to really getting my hands dirty - but those editors' hard work was soon greatly appreciated, because it allowed the other members of the TF and I to really start thinking about how to make these articles into high-quality articles. I think that about sums it up.
  2. Have you been in any conflicts over editing in the past or do you feel other users have caused you stress? How have you dealt with it and how will you deal with it in the future?
    I've not been in many conflicts, but the ones I have been in I've tried to remedy through a cool head, an even mind and a civil attitude. Civility is extremely important to me, as I wish to have others be civil to me in their collaborations with me. When things get too hot, I don't hesitate to take a Wikibreak and to suggest that the other party/ies do the same - as is evident in these diffs, which actually come from the thing that has stressed me out the most since I joined Wikipedia, the AFD and later DRV of the article "Plot of Les Miserables". The main thing I try to do is be civil - it's harder to get mad at someone when they're being civil to you - and let people know as politely as possible that they are being uncivil. A lot of times people don't even realize it, as evidenced here. Thanks again for reading and commenting.