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Justin Knapp

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Justin Knapp
Justin Knapp—a Caucasian male with brown hair and a bushy beard—stands with his arms folded
Knapp in 2012
Born
Justin Anthony Knapp

(1982-11-18) November 18, 1982 (age 41)
NationalityAmerican
Other namesKoavf
CitizenshipUnited States
EducationIndiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis

Justin Anthony Knapp (born November 18, 1982),[1] also known by his screen name Koavf, is an American Wikipedia user who was the first person to contribute more than one million edits to Wikipedia.[2] As of July 2015, Knapp had made almost 1.5 million edits to Wikipedia.[3] As of August 2016, he has contributed to and nominated two articles recognized as "featured articles" which he described as "the highest quality of article on Wikipedia".[4][5] He was ranked No. 1 among the most active Wikipedia contributors of all time, from April 18, 2012 to November 1, 2015.

Education

Knapp attended Covenant Christian High School, where he enrolled in 1997.[1] He holds degrees in philosophy and political science from Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis.[6][7] As of 2013, he was pursuing a nursing degree at Indiana University.[8]

Career

Wikipedia

Knapp (third from left) at a Wikipedia training session in 2011

Knapp announced his millionth edit to Wikipedia on April 19, 2012.[6] At the time, he had been submitting on average 385 edits a day since signing up in March 2005; about his performance he said: "Being suddenly and involuntarily unemployed will do that to you."[6] His Wikipedia username, Koavf, was chosen as an acronym for "King of all Vext Fans", a reference to a contest Knapp entered for the comic book Vext in the 1990s.[7] Knapp was a significant contributor to Wikipedia's bibliography on George Orwell,[8][9] and he has also made many edits involving the categorization of albums through Wikipedia's category structure.[10] In 2012, Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales congratulated Knapp for his work and presented him with the site's highest award for his achievement[11] by declaring that April 20 would be Justin Knapp Day.[12] In a 2014 interview with Business Insider, Knapp said that "there is no typical day" with regard to his Wikipedia editing, and that his "go-to edits are small style and typo fixes." He also argued that the declining number of Wikipedia editors is "not necessarily a problem".[13]

On July 21, 2014, his editing was the subject of a question on the BBC quiz show University Challenge.[14]

Activism

In 2005, at the United Nations Sixtieth General Assembly, Knapp advocated for the Sahrawi people and spoke about the situation in Western Sahara.[15] He has also done community organizing for a Restore the Fourth rally in 2013.[16]

Other

Knapp has had several jobs including delivering pizzas, and working at a grocery store and a crisis hotline.[3][13]

List of publications

  • "The Grant Shapps Affair Is a Testament to Wikipedia's Integrity and Transparency", published by Guardian Media Group for The Guardian online, April 23, 2015
  • "Engaging the Public in Ethical Reasoning About Big Data" in Ethical Reasoning in Big Data: An Exploratory Analysis (ed. Jeff Collman and Soren Adam Matei), published by Springer Publishing, April 2016, pp. 43–52, ISBN 978-3-319-28422-4 and ISBN 978-3-319-28420-0 doi:10.1007/978-319-28422-4_4

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Comisky, Daniel S. (July 26, 2012). "King of Corrections". Indianapolis Monthly.
  2. ^ "The hardest working man on Wikipedia April 19, 2012". Daily Dot. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  3. ^ a b Dewey, Caitlin (July 22, 2015). "You don't know it, but you're working for Facebook. For free". Washington Post. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  4. ^ Morris, Kevin (December 11, 2012). "Meet Justin Knapp, the hardest working man on Wikipedia". The Daily Dot. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
  5. ^ List of Wikipedians by featured article nominations
  6. ^ a b c "First man to make 1 million Wikipedia edits". The Telegraph. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  7. ^ a b Pogue, Paul F.P. (May 23, 2012). "Wiki's Million Edit Man is lifelong Hoosier". Nuvo. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
  8. ^ a b Hansen, Lauren (January 30, 2013). "6 super-dedicated employees". The Week. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  9. ^ Horn, Leslie (April 20, 2012). "Seven Years, One Million Edits, Zero Dollars: Wikipedia's Flat Broke Superstar". Gizmodo. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
  10. ^ "Wikipedia: Meet the men and women who write the articles". BBC News. July 14, 2012. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
  11. ^ "Hardest working man on the internet passes one million Wikipedia edits". Engadget.com. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  12. ^ Alissa Skelton (April 23, 2012). "Wikipedia Volunteer Editor Reaches 1 Million Edits". Mashable. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
  13. ^ a b Lubin, Gus (September 19, 2014). "This Guy Has Edited Wikipedia More Than 1.3 Million Times — And He Doesn't Believe In The Decline Of The Free Encyclopedia". Business Insider. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
  14. ^ "Episode 2". University Challenge. Season 2014/2015. Episode 2. July 21, 2014. BBC. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ "REPRESENTATIVES OF MEMBER STATES, NON-SELF-GOVERNING TERRITORIES, PETITIONERS ADDRESS FOURTH COMMITTEE, AS IT CONTINUES GENERAL DEBATE ON DECOLONIZATION: Statements Focus on Questions of Gibraltar , Western Sahara , Guam". United Nations. October 6, 2005. Retrieved February 14, 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  16. ^ Ritger, Carla (July 3, 2013). "Protesters to March Against Government Surveillance in Nationwide Rally". Indianapolis Star. Gannett.