Cannabis Ruderalis


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Thursday
15
September
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Hi, I'm Andreas Kolbe.
I serve as co-editor-in-chief
of Wikipedia's community newsletter,
the Signpost, and occasionally contribute to
the German Wikipedia's equivalent, the Kurier.
I also have a longstanding account on the
Wikipedia criticism site Wikipediocracy
(link), where my handle is HRIP7.
My Twitter handle is Wikiland.


Selection of articles about Wikipedia
Bons mots

On the internet[edit]

By removing the face-to-face aspect of human interaction, the internet dehumanises people, and our imagination often turns them into inflated monsters, more terrifying because they are in the shadows. Meeting them in person rehumanises them again. —Jamie Bartlett, The Dark Net

On Wikipedia in general[edit]

  • The apparent accuracy of a Wikipedia article is inversely proportional to the depth of the reader's knowledge of the topic. —Kozierok's First Law
  • Wikipedia is like an old and eccentric uncle. He can be a lot of fun—over the years he's seen a lot, and he can tell a great story. He's also no dummy; he's accumulated a lot of information and has some strong opinions about what he's gathered. You can learn quite a bit from him. But take everything he says with a grain of salt. A lot of the things he thinks he knows for sure aren't quite right, or are taken out of context. And when it comes down to it, sometimes he believes things that are a little bit, well, nuts. If it ever matters to you whether something he said is real or fictional, it's crucial to check it out with a more reliable source. —Charles Seife, Virtual Unreality, Appendix, "The top ten dicta of the internet skeptic", Dictum no. 1.
  • Wikipedia isn't governed by the thoughtful or the informed – it is governed by anyone who turns up. There are a small core of people who like playing wiki as an in-house role-playing game and simply deny real-world consequences that might limit their freedom of action. There are a larger group who are too immature or lazy to think straight. And then there are all those who recognise "something must be done", but perpetually oppose the something that's being proposed in favour of a "better idea". The mechanism is rather like using a chat-show phone-in to manage the intricacies of a federal budget – it does not work for issues that need time, thought, responsibility and attention. I doubt this problem can be fixed – since it needs structural change to decision making – which is impossible for precisely the same reasons. —Scott MacDonald
  • The Wikipedia philosophy can be summed up thusly: "Experts are scum." For some reason people who spend 40 years learning everything they can about, say, the Peloponnesian War – and indeed, advancing the body of human knowledge – get all pissy when their contributions are edited away by Randy in Boise who heard somewhere that sword-wielding skeletons were involved. And they get downright irate when asked politely to engage in discourse with Randy until the sword-skeleton theory can be incorporated into the article without passing judgment. —Lore Sjöberg, from "The Wikipedia FAQK"
  • The present system favors the bold promotionalist, who can exploit it to force an article to his liking. It harms the modest unfortunate, who has to resort to extremely public and unnecessary discussions of whether his private life should be publicized here. It harms the people it should be helping, and helps those who a NPOV reference source has no business in assisting. —DGG, on Wikipedia's handling of biographies of living people
  • Wikipedia is a porch light for the moths of bias, editors battering themselves to death arguing over their objections of true belief. The porch floor is littered with their corpses, each with a "banned" banner stamped in tiny print. Wikipedia has no system for managing systematic bias and harnessing it into anything useful. It is one of Wikipedia's most pernicious aspects. —Greybeard

On the accuracy of press sources[edit]

  • Everything you read in newspapers is absolutely true, except for that rare story of which you happen to have first-hand knowledge. —Erwin Knoll
  • What people outside do not appreciate is that a newspaper is like a soufflé, prepared in a hurry for immediate consumption. This of course is why whenever you read a newspaper account of some event of which you have personal knowledge it is nearly always inadequate or inaccurate. Journalists are as aware as anyone of this defect; it is simply that if the information is to reach as many readers as possible, something less than perfection has often to be accepted. —David E. H. Jones, in New Scientist, Vol. 26
  • Actually, I'd say newspapers are more like commercial fast-food than soufflé. It isn't just that they are prepared in haste, it is that unwholesome additives and artificial sweeteners are added to true content, in order to make the whole thing more tasty. No one really asks whether the result is edifying or healthy, because it is generally consumed with a pinch of (even more superfluous) salt. —Scott MacDonald

The NPOV policy explained[edit]

  • Nasrudin was a judge and arbitrator in a dispute. First the advocate of the first side gave an eloquent discourse advancing his claims. Nasrudin, who had been listening intently, agreed and said, "That's right."
    Next, it was the other advocate's turn, and he was just as erudite. Once more Nasrudin agreed, adding, "That's right."
    Listening to Nasrudin's pronouncements, his clerk commented, "They can't both be right." To which Nasrudin agreed by saying, "That's right!" —Idries Shah

Verifiability and truth explained[edit]

  • One day the King decided that he would force all his subjects to tell the truth.
    A gallows was erected in front of the city gates. A herald announced, "Whoever would enter the city must first answer the truth to a question which will be put to him."
    Nasrudin was first in line. The captain of the guard asked him, "Where are you going? Tell the truth – the alternative is death by hanging."
    "I am going," said Nasrudin, "to be hanged on that gallows."
    "I don't believe you."
    "Very well, if I have told a lie, then hang me!"
    "But that would make it the truth!"
    "Exactly," said Nasrudin. "YOUR truth." —Idries Shah

"Assume good faith" explained[edit]

  • Nasrudin dreamt that he had Satan's beard in his hand. Tugging the hair he cried: "The pain you feel is nothing compared to that which you inflict on the mortals you lead astray." And he gave the beard such a tug that he woke up yelling in agony.
    Only then did he realize that the beard he held in his hand was his own. —Idries Shah

On God and the world[edit]

  • The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one's time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all. —H. L. Mencken (Mencken on Wikiquote)
  • Questioners sooner or later end up in a library ... And answers are dangerous, they kill your wonder. —Osho (Osho on Wikiquote)
  • Poems are made by fools like me / But only God can make a tree / And only God who makes the tree / Also makes the fools like me / But only fools like me, you see / Can make a God who makes a tree. —Yip Harburg (Harburg on Wikiquote)
  • Now every moment of consciousness, every moment of insight, through self-observation in the light of the Work, every sudden moment of seeing what a fool one is in different ways, not only alters the future but alters the past. It begins to re-arrange the memory of the past in a different way—that is, in a way that corresponds to the internal memory where things are rightly arranged in value, in scale, in importance.—Maurice Nicoll
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de Dieser Benutzer spricht Deutsch als Muttersprache.
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pt-1 Este usuário/utilizador pode contribuir com um nível básico de português.
nl-1 Deze gebruiker bezit beginnende kennis van het Nederlands.
it-1 Questo utente può contribuire con un livello semplice di italiano.
la-2 Hic usor media latinitate contribuere potest.
WikiWed.jpg This user is married to DracoEssentialis, a fellow Wikipedian.
Wikipedia contribution statistics
Articles I have started, nominated for DYK and/or made significant contributions to

Note: FA and GA which I wrote or co-wrote are displayed in the header at the top of this user page. Contributions to other FA and GA consisted in proofreading, copy-editing, reference organisation, minor content contributions, ALT texts and sorting out issues at FAC.

GA candidates I've reviewed
Guidelines and essays I've written or contributed to

I have written or significantly contributed to the following Wikipedia guidelines and essays:

Barnstars and such
DYK and image credits
Updated DYK query On August 9, 2009, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Afghan Massacre: The Convoy of Death, which you created or substantially expanded. You are welcome to check how many hits your article got while on the front page (here's how) and add it to DYKSTATS if it got over 5,000. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page. WP:DYK 20:14, 9 August 2009 (UTC)


Updated DYK query On December 31, 2009, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Bruce High Quality Foundation, which you created or substantially expanded. You are welcome to check how many hits your article got while on the front page (here's how, quick check ) and add it to DYKSTATS if it got over 5,000. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page. Royalbroil 03:42, 31 December 2009 (UTC)


Updated DYK query On January 3, 2010, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article INFORM (Information Network Focus on Religious Movements), which you created or substantially expanded. You are welcome to check how many hits your article got while on the front page (here's how, quick check ) and add it to DYKSTATS if it got over 5,000. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page. Wizardman Operation Big Bear 06:00, 3 January 2010 (UTC)


Updated DYK query On January 4, 2010, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman, which you created or substantially expanded. You are welcome to check how many hits your article got while on the front page (here's how, quick check ) and add it to DYKSTATS if it got over 5,000. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page. Wizardman Operation Big Bear 06:00, 4 January 2010 (UTC)


PetitPiton.JPG
An image created by you has been promoted to valued picture status

Your image, File:PetitPiton.JPG, was nominated on Wikipedia:Valued picture candidates, gained a consensus of support, and has been promoted. If you would like to nominate an image, please do so at Wikipedia:Valued picture candidates. Thank you for your contribution! Elekhh (talk) 07:08, 19 April 2010 (UTC)


Updated DYK query On 24 May, 2010, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Swim ~, which you recently nominated. If you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page. The DYK project (nominate) 00:02, 24 May 2010 (UTC)


Updated DYK query On June 23, 2010, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article James A. Beckford, which you created or substantially expanded. You are welcome to check how many hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, quick check ) and add it to DYKSTATS if it got over 5,000. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page. RlevseTalk 06:02, 23 June 2010 (UTC)


Updated DYK query On June 25, 2010, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Journal of Contemporary Religion, which you created or substantially expanded. You are welcome to check how many hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, quick check ) and add it to DYKSTATS if it got over 5,000. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page. Mifter (talk) 12:03, 25 June 2010 (UTC)


Updated DYK query On June 25, 2010, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Peter B. Clarke, which you created or substantially expanded. You are welcome to check how many hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, quick check ) and add it to DYKSTATS if it got over 5,000. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page. Mifter (talk) 12:03, 25 June 2010 (UTC)


Updated DYK query On June 27, 2010, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Lorne L. Dawson, which you created or substantially expanded. You are welcome to check how many hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, quick check ) and add it to DYKSTATS if it got over 5,000. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page. RlevseTalk 06:04, 27 June 2010 (UTC)


Updated DYK query On June 27, 2010, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Andreas Grünschloß, which you created or substantially expanded. You are welcome to check how many hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, quick check ) and add it to DYKSTATS if it got over 5,000. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page. RlevseTalk 18:03, 27 June 2010 (UTC)


Updated DYK query On 29 June, 2010, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Gregory Berns, which you recently nominated. If you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page. RlevseTalk 18:02, 29 June 2010 (UTC)


Updated DYK query On July 7, 2010, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Dick Anthony, which you created or substantially expanded. You are welcome to check how many hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, quick check ) and add it to DYKSTATS if it got over 5,000. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page. RlevseTalk 18:03, 7 July 2010 (UTC)


Updated DYK query On July 11, 2010, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article John A. Saliba, which you created or substantially expanded. You are welcome to check how many hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, quick check ) and add it to DYKSTATS if it got over 5,000. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page. Materialscientist (talk) 12:04, 11 July 2010 (UTC)


Updated DYK query On 18 August 2010, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article The Lazarus Effect (film), which you created or substantially expanded. You are welcome to check how many hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, quick check ) and add it to DYKSTATS if it got over 5,000. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page. Courcelles 18:03, 18 August 2010 (UTC)
Updated DYK query On 17 February 2011, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Red Barked Tree, which you created or substantially expanded. The fact was ... that while it took Wire three months to come up with a title for their last album, Object 47, the band immediately agreed on naming their current record Red Barked Tree? You are welcome to check how many hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, quick check) and add it to DYKSTATS if it got over 5,000. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page. Materialscientist (talk) 00:03, 17 February 2011 (UTC)


Updated DYK query On 8 March 2011, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Ivy Alvarez, which you recently nominated. The fact was ... that award-winning poet and Cardiff resident Ivy Alvarez (pictured) was born in the Philippines, grew up in Tasmania, has worked in Scotland, Ireland, and Spain, and had her first book published in the US? If you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page. —HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 01:48, 7 March 2011 (UTC) 03:04, 8 March 2011 (UTC)


Updated DYK query On 8 March 2011, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Anna Murray-Douglass, which you created or substantially expanded. The fact was ... that Anna Murray (pictured) helped her future husband, Frederick Douglass, escape slavery by giving him sailor's clothes and a part of her savings? You are welcome to check how many hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, quick check) and add it to DYKSTATS if it got over 5,000. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page. —HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 19:02, 8 March 2011 (UTC)


Updated DYK query On 8 March 2011, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Maureen Corrigan, which you created or substantially expanded. The fact was ... that according to book critic Maureen Corrigan, today’s narratives of women’s suffering are breaking with a tradition going back to Homer, in that they show women talking – and fighting – back? You are welcome to check how many hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, quick check) and add it to DYKSTATS if it got over 5,000. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page. —HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 19:03, 8 March 2011 (UTC)


Updated DYK query On 24 June 2011, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Rosie Vanier, which you created or substantially expanded. The fact was ... that singer-pianist Rosie Vanier, whose musical style has been described as "Kate Bush on crack with Goldfrapp on synths", grew up in Bodmin Moor without electricity and TV? You are welcome to check how many hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, quick check) and add it to DYKSTATS if it got over 5,000. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page. The DYK project (nominate) 12:03, 24 June 2011 (UTC)


Updated DYK query On 7 July 2011, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Marimba Ani, which you created or substantially expanded. The fact was ... that Marimba Ani first introduced the term Maafa to describe the African holocaust? You are welcome to check how many hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, quick check) and add it to DYKSTATS if it got over 5,000. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page. Thanks from me and the wiki Victuallers (talk) 08:02, 7 July 2011 (UTC)


Updated DYK query On 20 August 2011, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Mangrove restaurant, which you recently nominated. The fact was ... that the Mangrove restaurant in Notting Hill, London, attracted a clientele that included Christine Keeler, Mandy Rice-Davies, Jimi Hendrix, Nina Simone, and Bob Marley? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Mangrove restaurant. If you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page. Gatoclass (talk) 08:03, 20 August 2011 (UTC)


Updated DYK query On 25 August 2011, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Frank Crichlow, which you recently nominated. The fact was ... that in 1992, Black British civil rights activist Frank Crichlow was awarded record damages of £50,000 for false imprisonment, battery and malicious prosecution? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Frank Crichlow. If you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page. Casliber (talk · contribs) 16:03, 25 August 2011 (UTC)


Updated DYK query On 8 November 2011, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Hilya, which you created or substantially expanded. The fact was ... that a hilya (example pictured) in Islamic calligraphy contains a description of the prophet Muhammad? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Hilya.You are welcome to check how many hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, quick check) and add it to DYKSTATS if it got over 5,000. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page. The DYK project (nominate) 00:02, 8 November 2011 (UTC)


Updated DYK query On 24 November 2011, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Frightful Cave, which you recently nominated. The fact was ... that archaeological excavations in Frightful Cave, in Coahuila, Mexico, recovered over 950 fibre sandals and the remains of an aged woman? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Frightful Cave. If you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page. Orlady (talk) 15:14, 23 November 2011 (UTC) 00:04, 24 November 2011 (UTC)


Updated DYK query On 2 December 2011, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Remi Kanazi, which you created or substantially expanded. The fact was ... that the key inspiration for Palestinian-American performance poet Remi Kanazi was seeing Def Poetry Jam on Broadway? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Remi Kanazi.You are welcome to check how many hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, quick check) and add it to DYKSTATS if it got over 5,000. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page. Materialscientist (talk) 08:02, 2 December 2011 (UTC)


Updated DYK query On 4 December 2011, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Īhām, which you created or substantially expanded. The fact was ... that the use of īhām in Persian poetry means that a text may have a surface meaning different from the one actually intended? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Īhām.You are welcome to check how many hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, quick check) and add it to DYKSTATS if it got over 5,000. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page. Casliber (talk · contribs) 16:02, 4 December 2011 (UTC)


Updated DYK query On 27 December 2011, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Bolton Brown, which you created or substantially expanded. The fact was ... that American painter and lithographer Bolton Brown was the first person to climb Mount Clarence King? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Bolton Brown.You are welcome to check how many hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, quick check) and add it to DYKSTATS if it got over 5,000. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page. A Merry Christmas - and other winter festivities Victuallers (talk) 08:03, 27 December 2011 (UTC)


Updated DYK query On 9 July 2012, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article The Stool Pigeon (newspaper), which you created or substantially expanded. The fact was ... that the print identity of UK music newspaper The Stool Pigeon is modelled on Victorian tabloids? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/The Stool Pigeon (newspaper). You are welcome to check how many hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, quick check) and it will be added to DYKSTATS if it got over 5,000. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page. Yngvadottir (talk) 08:03, 9 July 2012 (UTC)


Updated DYK query On 29 June 2013, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Magnus Manske, which you created or substantially expanded. The fact was ... that German biochemistry student Magnus Manske wrote an early version of the Wikipedia platform, and Jimmy Wales declared January 25 to be Magnus Manske day in his honor? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Magnus Manske. You are welcome to check how many hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, quick check) and it will be added to DYKSTATS if it got over 5,000. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page. Gatoclass (talk) 10:54, 29 June 2013 (UTC)
Some of the images I uploaded, taken either by myself or my wife
Gros Piton ...
 
... and Petit Piton ENWP VP Logo.svg
 
La Désirade seen from Guadeloupe
 
Alpinia purpurata (red ginger)
 
Tapeinochilus ananassae (wax ginger)
 
Alpinia purpurata (red ginger)
 
Alpinia purpurata (red ginger)
 
Delonix regia var. Flavida (yellow poinciana)
 
Leptophyes punctatissima (speckled bush-cricket)
 
Leptophyes punctatissima (speckled bush-cricket)
 
Places I've been or lived
Spent Decades: Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Flag of Germany.svg
Months to Week(s): Flag of India.svg Flag of the United States.svg Flag of France.svg Flag of Thailand.svg Flag of Saint Lucia.svg Flag of Jamaica.svg Flag of Martinique.svg Flag of Guadeloupe (local).svg Flag of Austria.svg Flag of Italy.svg Flag of Spain.svg Flag of Madeira.svg Flag of Greece.svg Flag of Cabildo Gran Canaria con escudo.PNG
Day(s): Flag of Denmark.svg Flag of Belgium.svg Flag of the Netherlands.svg Flag of Monaco.svg Flag of Turkey.svg Flag of Barbados.svg
To go some day: Flag of Australia.svg Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Flag of FLNKS.svg

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