User:Ryan Paddy

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I'm a New Zealander. I'm interested in Wikipedia on many levels. The idea that such a commonly-referred-to and presumably influential reference can be edited by anybody is fascinating. I find the search for balanced viewpoints, although often difficult, very inspiring. As an editor, the balance between following policies and guidelines and using common sense of what belongs in an almost infinite encyclopedic resource is a wonderful challenge. The way in which the policies and guidelines are themselves constantly changing with consensus provides a personalised, interactive insight into a system analogous to those that create the legal fictions that pervade modern life.

If you'd like to chat then post on my talk page.

[edit] Larp

I'm working on the Live action role-playing page and on larp-related pages such as Foam weapon.

I would like to see the larp article reach WP:GA status. It's an ambitious goal, as larp is a highly diverse activity that is difficult to find credible references for.

I've been writing and organising larps since 1989. The best known larp I've run was called Mordavia. I sell equipment for larp via my company Paddywhack Productions Ltd. I'm also involved in larp advocacy via the New Zealand Live Action Role Playing Society Inc.

I'm interested in the international larp scene which I've learned about via online discussion & publications and personal discussions with visiting foreign larpers over the last 10 years. Outside of New Zealand larp I've played in larp in the UK and seen larp played in Russia.

I've put up a draft for a New Zealand Live Action Role Playing Society article here: User:Ryan_Paddy/New Zealand Live Action Role Playing Society

[edit] Politics

Contraversial political pages are where the good intent of Wikipedia goes into the most testing fire. Blind footsoldiers thrash their nation's propaganda and mythology against those of other nations. The systemic Western bias of an English-language wiki emerge. Yet articles that describe contraversial criticism of the West, while boiling with distemper in the talk pages underneath, still manage to describe the debate somewhat faithfully and survive deletion. While I wouldn't rely on positive outcomes in every such case, I'm impressed that the overall mood of Wikipedia often supports a final result that approaches neutral description, even under trying circumstances.