Philosophy[edit]
In thinking about Wikipedia, my main goals are to ensure that a page is helpful to the casual reader, and that it can be authoritative; Wikipedia is nothing if people browsing don't feel they can trust it. This does not mean that Wikipedia is prescriptive, but that it must be certain in its description of the world.
Advice[edit]
Lead follows body[edit]
Lead follows body. I don’t have much to add beyond what’s said there, but this is well-underrated advice that many of us—including myself—need to follow more often.
Other people[edit]
The longer I spend editing Wikipedia, the more assh*les I come across. Some advice for those less experienced than me:
- Don't let them get to you. The Project is big enough that you can find space elsewhere, if you need to get away from someone for a while.
- Don't put too much faith in edit counts. Some really longstanding editors are some of the most disruptive; some of the newest editors are way more thoughtful and deliberate than you'd expect.
- Ask other editors for help. Wikipedia has official avenues for dispute resolution, but sometimes even an informal reach out can be useful. You're always welcome to sip some tea at my place.
Opinions[edit]
- Oxford commas add visual clutter with no net benefit.
- “Smart quotes” are preferable to "straight quotes", adding clarity and direction for readers, with nearly zero downside.[a]
- Twenty-four hour time is unnecessary unless you're in the airline industry or the military. I will admit this one is a pure preference of my anglophone upbringing though.
- Both American and British English[b] are fine ways to transcribe the language, but it would be nice if we just picked one. But I also believe that any push for Wikipedia to adopt one over the other just isn't worth the debate, and so I will never push for this change.
Current pseudo-projects[edit]
Listed here in part to remind myself. Some are personal interests of mine, but many are just pockets of Wikipedia that need someone to work on them.
- New Zealand and Australian artists
- Goat cheeses
- Photography — a lot of photography articles are surprisingly underdeveloped. Especially chemical processes.