User:Phil Sandifer
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[edit] Notes on Wikipedia
It's too easy for editors to lose a readerly perspective. To try to focus myself better on Wikipedia as a resource I am trying to keep track of what I use Wikipedia for in a day. Not how I edit it, but what I try to look up and learn from it.
What I used Wikipedia for today
[edit] 6/29/08
- I attempted to figure out what was already known about the Medusa Cascade in Doctor Who. Success (but only because I knew what articles to look in. Not even a quick sentence or two pointing me from Medusa Cascade to where the information I'm looking for is.).
- I attempted to figure out what the Daleks' master plan was in The Dalek Invasion of Earth. Summary was too long, and I failed to find it usefully.
- Attempted to find actual information about the dangers and addictiveness of salvia divinorum. Article was quite good, if perhaps a little too long on discussions of vision quests.
- Tried to figure out if I should look at Kim Stanley Robinson's Red Mars and sequels for a course I'm thinking about on American visions of the future. The books, each of which have won a Hugo Award, are merged to a single article with inadequate plot summary on the later books. Enough to make the books look interesting to me, but not enough to significantly increase my confidence that they are a worthwhile investment of time. In particular, no real information on where the trilogy goes with its themes. Phooey.
- For the same course, tried to see if the Tom Swift books would be of any use. Read some summaries of the original series, which suggested "no" is the answer there, but only lists of titles existed for the later series, so I'm without help there.
- Checked whether anyone has a credible chance of unseating David Villa as the top goalscorer in Euro 2008. Easy to do.
- Just how long *is* the complete Doctor Who? 346 hours, if my math and our list of episodes is correct.
- Something called Enrique Iglesias is singing on my television screen and it is bad. I must understand better.
- What countries other than Spain have national anthems with no words? No easy way to tell. Unsurprising.
- Learned a lot about the corner kick and strategies in taking them. Good fun.
- A few more checks about players in the Euro 2008 final. Information in this area is always readily available.
[edit] 6/30/08
- Are Tom and Jerry episodes structured like Road Runner, where each short is a set of discrete gags, or like Bugs Bunny, where each episode also has an overall premise? Answer - Bugs Bunny. Thankfully we repeatedly have articles on individual shorts here.
- How does indoor plumbing work? Decent explanations. Good good.
[edit] 7/1/08
- In The Prisoner, which one is Number 2, and which one is Number 6? Oh. Number 2 is the villain. All right then.
[edit] 7/4/08
- Is London After Midnight lost? What was its plot? OK.
- What was the plot of Tideland? Ah. Yes. It is that upsetting. Good.
- I'd like a general overview of RIAA efforts to prosecute file-sharing, and specifically the successful legal challenges against it. OK overview, but definitely some holes - no mention of the Harvard opposition that I could quickly find.
[edit] 7/25/08
- Is the Garden State Parkway full of toll plazas? Apparently it is. Thank God we didn't delete our road coverage. (Checked this one from my sister's iPhone while driving the Jersey Turnpike.)
