Dylan620 (4)[edit]

Dylan620 (talk · contribs · count) I've had this on my mind lately, so I wanted to get this out of the way.

I was an inadvertent MySpacer in my early days. I had started off as someone who was just clueless, spending 90% of my time creating imaginary hurricanes than actually helping out. After that, I found it difficult to pay a drop of attention to the article space, which led to the intervention of multiple admins and trusted editors in an attempt to help, culminating into an AN thread that signified the height of my troubles. In addition to this, I was obsessive over adminship. From my eyes of that period, 99% of respected users were admins, and if I could become an admin, it would mean I had fit in at last.

Since my troubled days from fall 2008 to spring 2009, I have improved greatly. I have contributed significantly to combating vandalism, I have cut the MySpacing, and I have even acquired a featured list (currently working on getting another one there as well). Since returning to active editing earlier this month, I have also retained a calmer, less bouncy attitude about Wikipedia (though I don't know if this is just my current mood). But my greatest advance as far as my Wiki-philosophy is concerned is the fact that my views on adminship have changed for the better. Being a sysop at Admin Tools Wiki (where I edit under the moniker HurricaneMaker99) taught me what everyone else was trying to teach me all along; the admin buttons are indeed just a toolkit. A powerful toolkit, but a toolkit nonetheless.

Unlike my past ER's, this one is less about preparation for an RfA and more about looking to my future as a Wikipedia editor, and how I can serve the wiki to the greatest of my ability. Also, at my unsuccessful RfA from December 2009, User:Majorly said that I had poor judgment. Can someone please point out any specific instances of such, and if I have improved (or if not, how I can improve) since then? Thanks in advance, Dylan620 ^{(t • c)} 19:23, 21 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Questions

1. What are your primary contributions to Wikipedia? Are there any about which you are particularly pleased? Why?

   My contributions to vandal-fighting and the two articles I mentioned above. Why? Vandal-fighting protects Wikipedia from defilement, and my 1996 AHS timeline was, as mentioned in previous ER, my first DYK and piece of featured content. My 2004 PHS timeline is also a contribution to the 'pedia that I am proud of.

3. Have you been in editing disputes 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? If you have never been in an editing dispute, explain how you would respond to one.

   Pretty much the same answer as my last ER.

5. Would you ever try for a real featured article? A list is generally easier to get featured, after all. --Hurricanehink (talk) 01:59, 30 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

   I certainly do know of a few articles I would like to see featured, but I get distracted far too easily - one minute I could be working on something, and the next, I find myself perusing completely unrelated pages. I suppose I'm the curious type :/

   I suggest you work on that, then. Being distracted too easily is a problem. --Hurricanehink (talk) 01:53, 2 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Reviews

• Being a sysop at Admin Tools Wiki (where I edit under the moniker HurricaneMaker99) taught me what everyone else was trying to teach me all along; the admin buttons are indeed just a toolkit. – No offense, but having sysop rights on a test wiki is not even comparable to serving as an admin on a live content project, let alone one with millions of articles and a seemingly equal amount of angry users. Cucurbitaceae (talk) 01:39, 30 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]
  • I'm well aware of that, and I suppose I worded that poorly. Let me clarify: by "just a toolkit," I meant that it was simply a few extra buttons used to help out with extra tasks (vital tasks, but still extra nonetheless), rather than some sort of trophy. --Dylan620 ^{(t • c • r)} 01:44, 30 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]
• Sorry for not posting here earlier, I just haven't really run across you lately and figured anything I'd say would be just feel-good pep talk sort of stuff. I have looked at your recent edits now, though, and it looks like you're doing a lot of good work. The only thing I would suggest is to try not to let your mainspace edit count dip too low *if* you plan to run for adminship anytime soon. A lot of experienced editors, admins and otherwise, tend to drift towards Wikipedia space over time and while there's nothing wrong with that it does tend to have a bad effect on RfA's even if you're being very helpful and productive. However if RfA isnt a short term goal for you I would relax and just do what appeals to you the most. —Soap— 20:05, 2 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]