User:Madman

“

After I'm gone, your earth will be free to live out its miserable span of existence, as one of my satellites. And that's how it's going to be.

”

Good insert morning/afternoon/evening here! I'm the resident Madman on Wikipedia. I've been around since November 2005 (on my first account) and I've been an administrator since September 2007. I suffered a brief WikiDeath in October 2009 but I've been back since January 2012. I basically work on Wikipedia full-time, though I'm sure my real employer would be very unhappy to hear that. :) I keep somewhat irregular hours, but you should see me on IRC and Wikipedia around 8 p.m. - 4 a.m. UTC; when work's slow, I may spend up to twelve hours a day on Wikipedia (!).

I volunteer my time for Wikipedia because while free knowledge helps everyone, it especially helps the disadvantaged. My foremost principle in working on Wikipedia is that if you always try to assume good faith, it's easier to be civil, it's easier to resolve disputes, and it's easier to follow policy in general. It's also good for your blood pressure! When others refuse to assume my good faith or refuse to show me courtesy, I find it easiest to just step back and let someone else handle whatever the problem was; sometimes that means I'll leave discussions abruptly. I'd like to continue contributing to Wikipedia for as long as I can, and circular discussions going nowhere and flame wars with no content just lead to my WikiAge rising and eventually my burnout.

I'm heavily involved in the bot approvals process. I'm a fairly experienced bot operator and have been programming for many years. I have a bachelor's degree in computer science with a focus on information security and assurance, and I'm thinking about going for a master's degree one of these days. I'm always willing to write a dissertation on the minutae of the MediaWiki API or help review code. My native languages in this respect are C, C++, C#, Perl, PHP, and I can read but not write Python. I have a Toolserver account; if you want me to make a database query, please request it here and leave a note on my talk page.

I'm also heavily involved in copyright work. I work most with Wikipedia:Suspected copyright violations, and when I have time I'll contribute at Wikipedia:Copyright problems. This work is what most frequently brings me into conflict with other editors, but I think it's some of the most important work I can do. As above, I try to assume good faith at all times. I know how unwelcoming a copyright violation or speedy deletion warning is when slapped onto a new user's talk page, and I know how shocking any expression of copyright concerns can be to well-established contributors. All I'm trying to do is help uphold the five pillars. When given the option to delete or rewrite a page with promise, I'll choose to rewrite it. If you have any questions about copyright and licensing on Wikipedia, please feel free to leave a note on my talk page.

Cheers! — madman 05:29, 28 January 2012 (UTC)