User:FT2: Difference between revisions

Browse history interactively ← Previous edit Next edit →Content deleted Content addedVisual WikitextInline

Revision as of 10:16, 9 May 2011 view sourceFT2 (talk \| contribs)Edit filter managers, Administrators55,546 edits "earlier"← Previous edit		Revision as of 09:37, 20 January 2012 view source FT2 (talk \| contribs)Edit filter managers, Administrators55,546 edits →Recent articles and contributions: updateNext edit →
Line 105:		Line 105:

	== Recent articles and contributions ==		== Recent articles and contributions ==
			''Incomplete!''

	:{\| class=wikitable style="font-size:95%"		:{\| class=wikitable style="font-size:95%"
			\|-
			\| ''']'''<br />and related articles:
			:* ]
			:* ]
			:* ]
			:* ]
			:* ]
			\| December 2011
			\|
			\| Major expansions and refactors
			\| Prompted by a verdict after 17 years on one of Britain's highest profile racial crimes of all time, this one case changed the social and cultural world of a country and its police force.
			\|-
			\| ''']''' \|\| December 2011 \|\|   \|\| Major expansion and reorganization \|\| Follow-up from ] and ]
			\|-
			\| ''']'''<br />and related articles:
			:* ]
			:* ]
			:* ]
			\| December 2011 - Jan 2012
			\| Expansion and reorganisation, ] submitted for ]
			\| The Higgs Boson hit the news hard in December, but our article didn't explain much about this crucial area of cutting edge physics, nor the linked areas behind it.
			\|-
			\| ''']''' \|\| December 2011 \|\|   \|\| New \|\| Novel encryption module for Linux, notable for keeping keys in the CPU, the only public encryption system known to defeat cold boot attacks on system RAM.
			\|-
			\| ''']'' \|\| October 2011 \|\|   \|\| New \|\| Actual laws studied in the real world, as opposed to the fictional one.
			\|-
			\| ''']''' \|\| April 2011 \|\|   \|\| Major expansion and rewrite \|\| Resulting from Arab Spring media reports.
	\|-		\|-
	\| ''']''' \|\| April 2011 \|\| {{nowrap\|DYK ]}} \|\| New \|\| DDR4 is the newest up-and-coming memory type for desktop computers. First test samples were produced in Q1 2011 - expect to see this hitting the market in 2012 and going mainstream around 2014-2015.		\| ''']''' \|\| April 2011 \|\| {{nowrap\|DYK ]}} \|\| New \|\| DDR4 is the newest up-and-coming memory type for desktop computers. First test samples were produced in Q1 2011 - expect to see this hitting the market in 2012 and going mainstream around 2014-2015.
Line 119:		Line 147:
	\|-		\|-
	\| ''']''' \|\| February 2011 \|\|   \|\| Expansion and reorganization \|\| Ex–justice minister and Chairman of National Transition Council in Libya		\| ''']''' \|\| February 2011 \|\|   \|\| Expansion and reorganization \|\| Ex–justice minister and Chairman of National Transition Council in Libya
			\|-
			\| ''']''' \|\| December 2010 \|\|   \|\| New \|\| along with ] (cleaned up) a crucial article. This one article set is one of those I value most. This article isn't about mere information. Misplaced Pages will directly over time save many lives. It's humbling.
	\|}		\|}
	: ''(])''		: ''(])''

Revision as of 09:37, 20 January 2012

Template:Multicol

Welcome to the Misplaced Pages user page of FT2.

Enjoy exploring :)

articles
project contributions
barnstars and accolades
(all potentially out of date!)

Template:Multicol-break

Planned absences - yes. next: unknown -
November: Unknown December: (none yet)

Contact details.

	Contact details:		main talk page wiki email direct public address: ft2wikipedia.inboxgmail.com ft2 on irc
	On other Wikimedia projects		→ 'meta' → commons

What is NPOV?
(Posted at Wikipedia_talk:Neutrality Project, responding to a question, what NPOV is and whether one should always present an opposing view.) Misplaced Pages articles are not required to invent or embellish an opposing point of view if there isn't one. We are reporting upon a subject, whatever the article topic may be. Within that, some facts (or their interpretations) will be contested, others will be mostly accepted, others again will be almost universally accepted. We are obligated to ensure that when the article is complete, it mirrors and characterises, without re-enacting, the subject to which it refers. The presence of opposing views in the article is purely a function of whether there were significant opposing views in the subject itself. The acid test if NPOV is achieved, is the map-territory relation -- the extent to which the article can be used as a "map" to guide a lay-person through the "territory" of the subject, including its relevant detours, conflicts and highways. Like a map, no article perfectly mirrors a subject, nor is this expected; if it did it would have to re-enact and be as large as the subject itself. There is a "cutoff" of detail, called "notability" (or sometimes, "salience") in Misplaced Pages, and a good map must have enough detail, but not too much as to be unwieldy and unhelpful in navigating ones way. --

What is NPOV?

(Posted at Wikipedia_talk:Neutrality Project, responding to a question, what NPOV is and whether one should always present an opposing view.)

Misplaced Pages articles are not required to invent or embellish an opposing point of view if there isn't one. We are reporting upon a subject, whatever the article topic may be. Within that, some facts (or their interpretations) will be contested, others will be mostly accepted, others again will be almost universally accepted. We are obligated to ensure that when the article is complete, it mirrors and characterises, without re-enacting, the subject to which it refers. The presence of opposing views in the article is purely a function of whether there were significant opposing views in the subject itself.

The acid test if NPOV is achieved, is the map-territory relation -- the extent to which the article can be used as a "map" to guide a lay-person through the "territory" of the subject, including its relevant detours, conflicts and highways. Like a map, no article perfectly mirrors a subject, nor is this expected; if it did it would have to re-enact and be as large as the subject itself. There is a "cutoff" of detail, called "notability" (or sometimes, "salience") in Misplaced Pages, and a good map must have enough detail, but not too much as to be unwieldy and unhelpful in navigating ones way.

What's expected of editors?
No personal attacks - do not disparage, insult, or attack others in any form. Be civil - even if not an attack, talk nicely, respectfully. Being nice does not contradict being effective (if they cause a problem) Assume good faith - ask if there seems to be a problem, don't assume. Seek dispute resolution -- if you can't reason with them, and their actions need intervention, don't do it all yourself. Stay calm, and allow time for dispute resolution. It's a lot easier for others to sort out one person acting up than two. Don't be a fanatic - extremes help nobody. This is a collaborative project, it is never wrong to ask another uninvolved person to handle it, or check it, or tell you what they think. It's by far the most trouble-free option. Ask an admin rather than get into trouble yourself - they're there to help. Any experienced user can act like an administrator though, so again, ask anyone who sounds like they are able to help. Make mistakes gracefully - we all do. When it happens to you, learn from it, understand it, and let it go. The reasons people have trouble is they can't learn, or can't let go.

What's expected of editors?

No personal attacks - do not disparage, insult, or attack others in any form.
Be civil - even if not an attack, talk nicely, respectfully. Being nice does not contradict being effective (if they cause a problem)
Assume good faith - ask if there seems to be a problem, don't assume.
Seek dispute resolution -- if you can't reason with them, and their actions need intervention, don't do it all yourself. Stay calm, and allow time for dispute resolution. It's a lot easier for others to sort out one person acting up than two.
Don't be a fanatic - extremes help nobody. This is a collaborative project, it is never wrong to ask another uninvolved person to handle it, or check it, or tell you what they think. It's by far the most trouble-free option.
Ask an admin rather than get into trouble yourself - they're there to help. Any experienced user can act like an administrator though, so again, ask anyone who sounds like they are able to help.
Make mistakes gracefully - we all do. When it happens to you, learn from it, understand it, and let it go. The reasons people have trouble is they can't learn, or can't let go.

Writing for Misplaced Pages
Writing for an encyclopedia is not the same as writing for a newspaper, or even an academic paper. In a way, it's more like writing the bibliography for an academic paper. In a way, we aren't even trying to decide (as experts would) what is "true" and what isn't, because that's not what this is. We are summarizing a field, creating a balanced collation of multiple perspectives and views. Theres few decisions to make, few opinions to form, other than to observe which views seem to be more or less relevant views of note, and to understand each (and its sources) well enough to document. We care that we document each view carefully and with understanding. That is the "truth" we work to here. That, and that alone. Our truth is the truth of the bibliography, and the measure is, have we represented collectively in summary the multiple verifiable sources of note. Drawing editorial conclusions from all of them is the end-use of an encyclopedia, not the work of encyclopedists.

Writing for Misplaced Pages

Writing for an encyclopedia is not the same as writing for a newspaper, or even an academic paper. In a way, it's more like writing the bibliography for an academic paper. In a way, we aren't even trying to decide (as experts would) what is "true" and what isn't, because that's not what this is. We are summarizing a field, creating a balanced collation of multiple perspectives and views. Theres few decisions to make, few opinions to form, other than to observe which views seem to be more or less relevant views of note, and to understand each (and its sources) well enough to document.

We care that we document each view carefully and with understanding. That is the "truth" we work to here. That, and that alone. Our truth is the truth of the bibliography, and the measure is, have we represented collectively in summary the multiple verifiable sources of note. Drawing editorial conclusions from all of them is the end-use of an encyclopedia, not the work of encyclopedists.

About Arbcom

Arbcom the punchball

And last...
There are thousands of people having fun editing! And their message to you is -- Have fun! :) Catch you on the Wiki! If you need anything, just shout! FT2

Template:Multicol-end

Misplaced Pages and me

Quick guide

This user has been editing Misplaced Pages for more than ten years.

10 20 years

48 000

This user has over 48,000 edits on around 5,000 pages on the English Misplaced Pages.

This user is an administrator on the English Misplaced Pages. (verify)

This user served on the Strategic Planning Taskforce.

This user is a member of the Wikimedia OTRS team. (verify)

This user is a participant in WikiProject Misplaced Pages - improving Misplaced Pages's coverage of itself.

This user is a member of the
Misplaced Pages Neutrality Project.

This administrator can and will make difficult blocks if needed.

I started editing in 2004, became an administrator a while later, then appointed to the Arbitration Committee in December 2007.

As a CheckUser and Oversighter I've dealt with a large number of fairly nasty sock-users, taken more than my share of abusive admins to Arbcom, and stood up for a level field for all; we're here to write a reference work, which means that's the focus of this community - not gaming, not disruption, not advocacy for the cause of the day, not distraction with drama and politicking. Content writing, and decisions about how to operate as a content writing community.

I lean towards "community ownership" advocacy where workable. At a time when most Arbcom process was shrouded in secrecy, I pushed for communal input in the Checkuser/Oversight appointment process (took 6 months to get it), provided the first on-wiki analysis of what Checkusers actually did, the first analysis of how the new RevisionDelete tool was being used by Oversighters, argued for unbundling "ViewDeleted" so that trustworthy non-admins could view deleted revisions and participate more in some processes, argued for a community based ban appeals committee so that there was an appeal route on Arbcom bans that wasn't back to Arbcom, and a load of others. At Arbcom itself I fought hard for better process, a formal structure for proposals to be examined and voted on, and better collaboration/workflow.

I also had a share of controversies (it's literally impossible to be on Arbcom without them even at the best of times, there are some users who really don't like Arbs, or don't want their problematic actions impeded.) And two major problems - clearing them up would have breached privacy, or caused the same drama and project harm just pointed elsewhere. Perhaps I could have found a way to handle these better. I'll never know, they're long ago now in any event. They won't repeat and that's the main thing.

As of October 2009, I stepped down as a Checkuser, Oversighter, Oversight list admin, and sysop (later reacquired). I remain a Functionaries list admin. I'm still round though. In mid 2010 I was asked to spend time contributing to various projects at the Foundation's offices, and in 2011 I was invited onto the WMF Communications Committee.

My Misplaced Pages work remains much as it has always been:

Writing content - I've written or substantively written around a hundred articles at this time, and made significant improvements to many more. My interests are wide - on the science side cosmology and clinical sciences; on the social side history and law; and add in a bunch of technology, current interest, BLPs, religion and psychology, and a bunch of fringe subjects. I was on a GA binge for a while earlier this year.

Fixing messes and problems that get in the way of editors - anyone need help with a difficult article wording or AFD decision, tricky NPOV or content issue, 2nd opinion, admin problem, third party email, or sensitive problem?

Improving editorial processes and guidance - policy wordings, manuals, process updates, all the things that can help and hinder us in improving the project. I was involved in preparing to roll out RevisionDelete and on the wikimedia quality taskforce a while. If I improve one process, a thousand editors benefit from it; improve one policy and a thousand editors have better understanding, streamline a poor wording and users will save time, stress and frustration in future. It's not a trivial area to work in.

I also have a "real" life, and balancing the two's important. But I'm free to choose my work hours. It helps :)

I'll update this at some point. Right now the old version's just a little out of date.

Recent articles and contributions

Incomplete!

Murder of Stephen Lawrence and related articles: Double jeopardy Criminal Justice Act 2003 Murder in English law Born alive rule Born alive laws in the United States	December 2011		Major expansions and refactors	Prompted by a verdict after 17 years on one of Britain's highest profile racial crimes of all time, this one case changed the social and cultural world of a country and its police force.
Fusion power	December 2011		Major expansion and reorganization	Follow-up from Higgs boson and NIF
Higgs boson and related articles: Large hadron collider Collider Synchrotron	December 2011 - Jan 2012	Expansion and reorganisation, Higgs boson submitted for peer review as GA	The Higgs Boson hit the news hard in December, but our article didn't explain much about this crucial area of cutting edge physics, nor the linked areas behind it.
TRESOR	December 2011		New	Novel encryption module for Linux, notable for keeping keys in the CPU, the only public encryption system known to defeat cold boot attacks on system RAM.
'Laws of robotics	October 2011		New	Actual laws studied in the real world, as opposed to the fictional one.
Exile	April 2011		Major expansion and rewrite	Resulting from Arab Spring media reports.
DDR4 SDRAM	April 2011	DYK	New	DDR4 is the newest up-and-coming memory type for desktop computers. First test samples were produced in Q1 2011 - expect to see this hitting the market in 2012 and going mainstream around 2014-2015.
Gödel's incompleteness theorems	April 2011		Rewrite of proof sketch of first theorem
Exile	April 2011		Expansion and reorganization
Fusion power	March 2011		Expansion and reorganization
Shōgun (novel)	February 2011		Rewrite of plot
Mustafa Abdul Jalil	February 2011		Expansion and reorganization	Ex–justice minister and Chairman of National Transition Council in Libya
Instinctive drowning response	December 2010		New	along with Drowning (cleaned up) a crucial article. This one article set is one of those I value most. This article isn't about mere information. Misplaced Pages will directly over time save many lives. It's humbling.

(Earlier...)

Categories: