User:Jaberwocky6669/Ruminations

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This page set aside for my random ruminations and non-notable crap.

Contents

[edit] The Opera web browser

At times I imagine that the Opera web browser was created for editing Wikipedia! First there is the password wand. All you have to do when you come to a sign-in page is click the wand button and instantly you're signed-in! When Opera does have to close unexpectedly (if you have windows, ahem) it remembers all of your last tabs that you had open! Wikipedia editors all know that multiple tabs are a must. You can save 'Notes' which are accessible through the right click menu! So, if you have a handful of common summaries, templates, or tags that you add several times a day they are right there at your fingertips. Opera is awesome!

[edit] List of other editors essays

I am interested in the thoughts, experiments, ideas, and proposals that Wikipedians write down. These writings are often tucked away on a sub-page somewhere and aren't yet considered policy. I believe that these are the users who will influence the future direction of Wikipedia, be it large or small.

  • Save Wikipedia

[edit] Essay

  • I really like this essay, however, I still need to really massage some good prose out of it. It attempts to explain who Wikipedia's target audience is based on certain factors as they exist in the Wikipedia.

The essay has been moved to here: Wikipedia:Wikipediology/library/essays/Jaberwocky6669-1

  • I just found the originial incarnation of this essay. I wrote it some time back on a meta talkpage.
If an article becomes ultra complex then it has defeated its own purpose. The purpose of an encyclopedia seems to be as a reference material for individuals who know little to nothing about a particular subject. If you knew alot about a subject then there is no point in consulting an encyclopedia, therefore, articles need to be aimed for an average high school level. The reason behind links to other articles indicates that the reader is assumed to not be knowledgeable about every aspect of a particular subject. When a WP contributor sets out to write an article about a subject which could potentially become ultra complex, then no links would have to be highlighted within that article because it would be assumed that the target audience would already know everything there is to know about the subject, and yet every single article either has or is supposed to have links to other articles. What I am trying to say is that the fact that links exist proves that WP's target audience is not all-knowing. WP's target audience is not elementary kids either. This is ruled out by the fact that Wp's article base encompasses a massive wealth of topics that no elementary kid is expected to know.

[edit] How I came to find myself at Wikipedia

Some people may be interested in this story -- those of you who are possibly brain dead.

I was given an assigment in my History class to write a report on Tsar Ivan the Terrible. I worried about being able to find enough sources through books and the Internet. One day while searching for Internet sources I remembered this page that my brother had told me about called Wikipedia. I went there and typed in my search terms and instantly there was information about the tsar that I had not found elsewhere! Shortly before I left, I saw a link that said 'Edit this page' and something about this being a free encyclopedia for anyone to contribute. I thought to myself that this must be a mistake! I immiediately went to the Woman article and shamelessly posted some vandalisms about all women being my slaves! I received a box that warned me that all of my edits were being watched for which actually kind of scared me! From that day on I began to think about what I may have that I can contribute to Wikipedia. Soon I found that Wikipedia is not so simple and easy to take in all at once.

[edit] Favorite quotes

I am actually going to start my collection of favorite quotes. I promise that there will be no Einstein quotes here.

  • "If we begin with certainties, we shall end in doubts; but if we begin with doubts, and we are patient in them, we shall end in certainties." -- Francis Bacon
  • "When you make peace with authority you become authority." -- Jim Morrison
  • "When we love a woman we don’t start measuring her limbs." -- Pablo Picasso
  • "We live in a decaying age. Young people no longer respect their parents. They are rude and impatient. They frequently inhabit taverns and have no self control." -- Inscription, 6000 year-old Egyptian tomb

[edit] Edit(s) of which I am most proud

  • Schreck ensemble -- I began editing this page at a time when I was not on the lookout for notoriety of subjects. Still not sure if this is a notable musical group. The article was listed on cleanup and it looked as if no one would touch it. I adopted it and brought it to a good home where I could clean and groom it. I believe that through my efforts and others efforts of course, this Engrish page has come a long way to finally have its cleanup tag removed. For this, I am most proud.

[edit] Why help?

Example paragraph...

Imagine with me for just a moment...

That there is a single location reserved for all of the world's knowledge and experience. Imagine that you can contribute to this knowledge in myriad ways. People the world over with various backgrounds including science, business, humanism, students, housewives, truckers, movie buffs, factory workers, and the unemployed contribute everyday. This is the goal of all those people involved behind the scenes of Wikipedia.
There are a number of gears that exist naturally inside of Wikipedia that continually conflict with our goals. One of these being the existence of ethnocentrism. With every unique contribution the threat of ethnocentrism is overcome little by little.

Maybe we shouldn't yet speak about this being free. First you have to be privileged enough to own a computer and afford ISP payments or at least access to a public computer. So, in a way it isn't free in the true sense of free. If anyone has anything to say about this feel free to replace this comment


[edit] Wikipedia and the clear communication of ideas

In one of his many excellent essays, Paul Graham has stated that an essay should begin with a question. The essay should then attempt to answer that question. Therefore, I shall take that route in this essay.

Should Wikipedia editors concentrate on semantics? I read an article earlier in the evening and I finally realized that ideas are not being clearly expressed. For example, the article Functional Programming states: "Functional programming is a programming paradigm that treats computation as the evaluation of mathematical functions and avoids state and mutable data." My problem lies with the opening of the sentence. Essentially: "Functional programming ... treats computation ..." Functional programming cannot treat anything as anything at all. Functional programming isn't even a thing, an object. It is merely a technique. The rest of my essay will expound further on my point and some possible solutions. Anyone familiar with my edit history ( no one ) clearly realizes that I care only about the clear and proper conveyance of ideas, thoughts, beliefs, what have you.