View source for User:Wikid77

{{banned user|by=the community|link=[https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Administrators%27_noticeboard&oldid=874266333#time_to_move_on? discussion at AN]}}

This is the user-page for '''User:Wikid77'''. {{nobr|Similar usernames:}}

: &bull;&nbsp;[[User:Wikidan7]] &bull;&nbsp;[[User:Wiki9777]] &bull;&nbsp;[[User:Wikid14]]  &bull;&nbsp;[[User:Wiki7070]] &bull;&nbsp;[[User:Wiki711]] &bull;&nbsp;[[User:Wiki77798]] &bull;&nbsp;[[User:Wiki779finn]]

Wikipedia user '''Wikid77''' (alternate account: [[User:Wikid77b|Wikid77b]]) is an American [[computer scientist]], [[#Travels|world traveller]], and [[User:Wikid77/Template:Convert/f|wiki-]][[Template:Cvt|inventor]].

His interests include [[astronomy]], [[search engine]]s, [[computer programming|programming]], [[computer graphics]], [[ergonomics]], [[encyclopedia|electronic encyclopedia]]s, and [[WP:Advanced table formatting|advanced]] [[WP:Advanced text formatting|wiki-formattting]]. He's the guy, in school, who corrected the answers in the back of the ''Physics'' textbook <span style="font-size:87%">("Don't ya hate people like that?")</span>.

He has been editing Wikipedia since mid-2005 (or earlier), in over 15,000 articles.<br> Contact by: [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Wikid77&action=edit&section=new leave him a user-talk message]: he checks Wikipedia daily, but is extremely busy, often gone over 13 hours, never reads Wikipedia on vacation. Alternate account [[User:Wikid77b|Wikid77b]] is used for testing and minor edits.
:::::<span style="font-size:x-small; font-family:Georgia ; color:#BB6622;">"Some people see things as they are and ask "Why?" but I dream things<br />that never were and ask, "What the heck is taking you guys so long?..."</span> <small>-Wikid77, after [[RFK]].</small>
__NOTOC__

==Hints==
* For rapid edit, turn off "Show edit toolbar" (<small>Click top "preferences" then tab "Editing"</small>).
* An article intro can be edited as part or section zero "&action=edit&section=0".
* Use ref-tag footnotes: <small>&lt;ref>...&lt;/ref></small> displayed by <small>&lt;references/></small>.
* Always copy the edit-buffer (ctrl-A ctrl-C) in case web transmission loses the page.
* Focus on big issues: it is shocking how, into 2017, major topics are still missing.
* Beware other users may focus on tiny details, so be open to other viewpoints.

==Details and userboxes==
{{Userboxtop|header=Userboxes}}
{{User Texas}}
{{User degree/MS}}
<table style="float:right">
<tr><td>
{{userbox |id=[[Image:Nopngs.gif|55px]] |id-c=white |info=This user knew massive [[PNG]]-format images were often 8x to 21x slower than [[JPEG]] or [[GIF]] images in WP / Wikimedia in 2007.|info-c=white |border-c=gray}}
</td></tr>
</table>
<table><tr><td>
{{userbox |id=[[File:User_browser_firefox.png|43px]] |id-c=white |info=&nbsp; This user uses '''[[Mozilla Firefox]]''' to &nbsp;&nbsp;update '''Firefox''' every hour.|info-c=#FFE294 |border-c=darkorange}}
</td></tr>
</table>
{{User structurist}}
{{user contrib|511700|Wikid77}}
{{User en}}
{{User de-1}}
{{User WikiProject Missing}}
{{User gatech}}
{{user:Disavian/Userboxes/Cpp}}
{{User:Disavian/Userboxes/C}}
{{User:Disavian/Userboxes/Java}}
{{User:Disavian/Userboxes/HTML}}
{{Userbox
  |border-c = #888
  |border-s = 1
  |id-c     = #FF8
  |id-s     = 12
  |id-fc    = #000
  |info-c   = #FFE
  |info-s   = 8
  |info-fc  = #000
  |id       = <!--[[Image:Exquisite-gphoto.png|43px]]-->
  |info     = This user enjoys '''[[photography]]'''.
}}
{{Userboxbottom}}
All Wikipedia articles: {{NUMBEROFARTICLES}}&nbsp;&nbsp;Edits: {{NUMBEROFEDITS}}.
{| class=table align=right
|-
|Revisions per article:  {{#expr: {{NUMBEROFEDITS:R}} / {{NUMBEROFPAGES:R}} round 2}}&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|}

===To do===
{{tasks
  |requests=Need 900+ [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Films/List of films without article/List of missing Australian Films:N-Z|Australian films]]<br/>- [[List of Roman nomina]]: define 170 family names<br/>- Fix Julian weekdays: [[1821]]-[[1918]]<br>&nbsp;&nbsp; (completed 3May07)
  |copyedit=Click "Random article"
  |wikify=
  |merge=
  |cleanup=
  |expand=Events in [[1400]]-[[1799]]<br>Add roadmaps to Louisiana towns to show 10 towns near each.
  |disambiguation=
  |stubs=
  |update=
  |npov=
  |verify=[[1800s]], [[Heidelberg Castle]]
  |other=
}}
==Wiki opinions==
Originally intended as the "sum of all knowledge"&nbsp; (vision), WP efforts continued as the "sum of all censorship" in 2017, as suggestions or advanced templates were deleted, text was trimmed or simplified (film plots), with images or maps cut to reduce data.  Many people quit in disgust during 2006-2017, unable to handle the negative chaos.

Wiki [[collaboration]]s have been often wide-open territory, ruled by groups, or individuals who live to wiki and edit upon waking.  There is little protection for normal people, except in a [[Wikipedia:WikiProject|WikiProject]] or such.  Diversity is not sought, since "[[consensus]]" often ranks higher than "correctness" and power is controlled by groups.  If you want civility, join or form a group: else, the [[American frontier#Code of the West|Code of the West]] ([[Old West]]) applies, so don't get stabbed in the back. [[#Wiki opinions continued|(more...)]]

===Useful links===
*http://stats.wikimedia.org/EN/TablesWikipediansEditsGt5.htm - edit-counts >= 5
*2015 Community Wishlist Survey: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/2015_Community_Wishlist_Survey/Results
*Community Tech - Improved diff compare project: [[:meta:Community_Tech/Improved_diff_compare_screen]]
*[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Africa|WikiProject Africa]]
*[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Germany|WikiProject Germany]]
*[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Georgia Tech|WikiProject Georgia Tech]]
*Current projects:
**[[architecture timeline]]

===Friends===
* Everyone, hopefully.

===Useful Templates===
*Image tags: {{tl|non-free magazine cover}} |  {{tl|non-free newspaper image}} | [[:Category:Wikipedia non-free file copyright templates]]
*Verification: {{tl|citation needed}} | {{tl|verify source}} | {{tl|or}} | {{tl|POV-statement}} | {{tl|clarify}} | {{tl|specify}} | {{tl|verify credibility}} | {{tl|citation}}
*Templates: {{tlg|db|''reason''}} | {{tl|tl}} | {{tl|tlu}} | {{tl|BLP}} | {{tl|ArticleHistory}} | {{tl|WikiProjectBanners}}
*WP:TECH: {{tl|WikiProject Georgia Tech}} | {{tl|Welcome User GaTech}} | {{tl|Invite User GaTech}}
*Misc: {{tl|col-2}} | {{tl|cquote}} | [[Wikipedia:Template messages|Template messages]] | [[Wikipedia:Template messages/User talk namespace|User talk messages]] | [[Wikipedia:Welcoming committee/Welcome templates/Table|Welcome messages]]

===Useful or Interesting Pages===
*[[WP:AFD|AfD]] | [[WP:TFD|TfD]] | [[WP:MfD|MfD]] | [[WP:DRV|DRV]] | [[WP:AIV|AIV]]
*[[WP:GAC|GAC]] | [[Wikipedia:Release Version Nominations|RVN]] | [[WP:FAC|FAC]] | [[WP:RFA|RFA]]
*[[WP:UA|Unusual articles]] | [[Wikipedia:List of Wikipedians by number of edits|List of Wikipedians by number of edits]]

==Articles edited==
Keeping revisions below 60,000 extensive edits, I have worked on over 15,000 WP articles, thousands anonymously, including:
{|
|
*[[Image:Point_rouge.gif|25px]] Years [[1500]]-[[2011]] (illustrations)
*[[Image:Point rouge.gif|25px]] Years [[101 BC]] - [[101]]
*[[Image:Point_rouge_croix_frontier_vert_green.gif|25px]] [[Template:Year nav BC]]
*[[Image:Point_rouge_croix_frontier_vert_green.gif|25px]] [[Template:Year nav topic]]
*[[Image:Point_rouge_croix_frontier_vert_green.gif|25px]] [[Template:Commonscat show2]]
*[[Image:Point rouge aqua circle.gif|25px]] [[Hurricane_Katrina_effects_by_region]]
*[[Image:Point rouge.gif|25px]] [[Lightweight methodology]]
*[[Image:Point rouge aqua circle.gif|25px]] [[Ernst Haeckel]]
*[[Image:Point rouge aqua circle.gif|25px]] [[Heidelberg Castle]]
*[[Image:Point_rouge_croix_frontier_vert_green.gif|25px]] [[Lake Naivasha Country Club]]
*[[Image:Point rouge.gif‎|25px]] [[Darfur]]
|
*[[Image:Point rouge.gif‎|25px]] [[Sharm el-Sheikh]]
*[[Image:Point rouge.gif‎|25px]] [[Ceiling fan]]
*[[Image:Point rouge.gif‎|25px]] [[FEMA trailer]]
*[[Image:Point rouge.gif‎|25px]] [[Semmelweis]]
*[[Image:Point rouge aqua circle.gif‎|25px]] [[Vienna General Hospital]]
*[[Image:Point rouge aqua circle.gif‎|25px]] [[The Four Feathers]]
*[[Image:Point_rouge_croix_frontier_vert_green.gif|25px]] [[Galli-Bibiena family]]
*[[Image:Point rouge aqua circle.gif‎|25px]] [[Search engine]]
*[[Image:Point rouge.gif‎|25px]] [[Out of Africa (film)]]
*[[Image:Point_rouge_croix_frontier_vert_green.gif|25px]] [[Clotilde (slave ship)]]
*[[Image:Point_rouge_croix_frontier_vert_green.gif|25px]] [[World Riddle]]
|}
I would have made over 975,000 edits, but I learned (after months) to edit offline, search/replace text, then check an article's revision history to merge multiple edits, using just one SAVE operation.  Tips:
* '''''Copy to text editors:''''' copying the edit buffer to a text editor allows multi search-and-replace.
* '''''Use subheaders:''''' Collaboration is simplified using titled sub-sections for each person to edit. The top section is zero ("action=edit&section=0").
* '''''Log multi-changes:''''' Edit-summary lines can be long: 5 or 6 sets of changes can be abbreviated as just 1 edit-summary save.
* '''''Copy before Send:''''' Copy (ctrl-C) the edit buffer before Preview/Save in case a send transmission-error loses the edit data.
* '''''Paste into text editors:''''' Paste (ctrl-V) the edit buffer before Preview/Save in case the browser dies (Microsoft Internet Explorer can die & fry previous clipboard contents).
* '''''Avoid other edits:''''' Check revision-history to avoid when revisions are frequent, or edit during slow periods of activity.
* '''''Avoid busy articles:''''' Anticipate changes being reverted depending on peer comprehension, and consider updates to other thousands of quiet, but significant articles, instead.
* '''''Avoid one-word changes:''''' (make over 10 changes at once) when fixing a spelling error, also add text or source footnotes; make each revision 10x times more significant.
* '''''Seek helpers:''''' There are many dedicated people, but rare, who can adjust thousands of articles if alerted to better avenues.  It is more important to be pleasant than clever, because the world does not revolve around Wikipedia. From ''[[Harvey (film)|Harvey]]'', "I've tried both, and I recommend ''pleasant''."
* An edit-page window can be updated between sessions by login via a 2nd window, then previewing differences to merge intermittent changes as just one save.
Double-checking of modifications can avoid creating another 20,000 edits, by waiting and combining updates as one save operation.  Remember: Many planned changes can be postponed until other changes are ready; tolerance for vandalism has provided tolerance for "late" changes to be batched together.

==Images edited==
I have created and uploaded hundreds of images, many to Wikimedia Commons.
<gallery>
Image:United_States_1803-04-1804-03-narrow.jpg|<div align=center>[[Louisiana Purchase]] [[1804]]</div>
File:Egypt-region-map-cities-2.gif|<div align=center>[[Egypt]]ian towns / oases</div>
Image:SCUBA_diving_flag_icon.gif|<div align=center>[[SCUBA]]</div>
Image:Mardi Gras mask cateyes icon.png|<div align=center>[[Mardi Gras]] mask</div>
Image:Katrina_Bayou_La_Batre_2005_ship_in_trees.jpg|<div align=center>[[Hurricane Katrina]] at [[Bayou La Batre]], AL</div>
Image:Peter Minuit portrait New Amsterdam 1600s light.jpg|<div align=center>[[Peter Minuit]] (bought [[Manhattan]] for "$24") founded [[New Sweden]]</div>
Image:Egypt Siwa Oasis town panorama 2006.jpg|<div align=center>[[Siwa Oasis]] (one of 6 vast palm oases in [[Egypt]])</div>
</gallery>

==Comments==
* Wikipedia has struggled for years, but, like the initial years of the Internet, the information is maturing.  Rampant vandalism is being fought by protected articles & anti-vandal [[Wikipedia:Bot policy|bot]]s.
* I have added hundreds of articles, mostly historic or year-in-topic.
* '''The search for knowledge is a fool's errand.'''  The most valuable knowledge I have learned is to be polite and forgiving with other people (although WP can be an extreme test of patience!).
* Wikipedia feeds articles to [[Citizendium]] & [[Veropedia]].
* (The name "Wikid77" is a contraction for "Wiki id77" as a user name.)

==Travels==
{|
| valign=top |
{{flagdeco|United States}} West/Midwest [[United States|U.S.]]
*[[Image:Flag of Arizona.svg|22px]] [[Arizona]]
*[[Image:Flag of California.svg|22px]] [[California]]
*[[Image:Flag of Colorado.svg|22px]] [[Colorado]]
*[[Image:Flag of New Mexico.svg|22px]] [[New Mexico]]
*[[Image:Flag of Nevada.svg|22px]] [[Nevada]]
*[[Image:Flag of Texas.svg|22px]] [[Texas]]
*[[Image:Flag of Washington.svg|22px]] [[Washington]]
*[[Image:Flag of Kansas.svg|22px]] [[Kansas]]
*[[Image:Flag of Missouri.svg|22px]] [[Missouri]]
*[[Image:Flag of Ohio.svg|22px]] [[Ohio]]
<hr />
{{flagdeco|United States}} Eastern [[United States|U.S.]]
*[[Image:Flag of Maryland.svg|22px]] [[Maryland]]
*[[Image:Flag of North Carolina.svg|22px]] [[North Carolina]]
*[[Image:Flag of South Carolina.svg|22px]] [[South Carolina]]
*[[Image:Flag of Virginia.svg|22px]] [[Virginia]]
| valign=top |
{{flagdeco|United States}} Southeastern [[United States|U.S.]]
*[[Image:Flag of Alabama.svg|22px]] [[Alabama]]
*[[Image:Flag of Arkansas.svg|22px]] [[Arkansas]]
*[[Image:Flag of Georgia (U.S. state).svg|22px]] [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]
*[[Image:Flag of Florida.svg|22px]] [[Florida]]
*[[Image:Flag of Louisiana.svg|22px]] [[Louisiana]]
*[[Image:Flag of Kentucky.svg|22px]] [[Kentucky]]
*[[Image:Flag of Mississippi.svg|22px]] [[Mississippi]]
*[[Image:Flag of Tennessee.svg|22px]] [[Tennessee]]
<hr />
{{flagdeco|United States}} Northeastern [[United States|U.S.]]
*[[Image:Flag of Connecticut.svg|22px]] [[Connecticut]]
*[[Image:Flag of Maine.svg|22px]] [[Maine]]
*[[Image:Flag of Massachusetts.svg|22px]] [[Massachusetts]]
*[[Image:Flag of New Jersey.svg|22px]] [[New Jersey]]
*[[Image:Flag of New York.svg|22px]] [[New York]]
*[[Image:Flag of Rhode Island.svg|22px]] [[Rhode Island]]
| valign=top |
{{flagdeco|United States}} Other [[United States|U.S.]]
*[[Image:Flag of Hawaii.svg|22px]] [[Hawaii]]
*[[Image:Flag of Puerto Rico.svg|22px]] [[Puerto Rico]]
<hr />
*{{flagdeco|Austria}} [[Austria]]
*{{flagdeco|Bahamas}} [[Bahamas]]
*{{flagdeco|Barbados}} [[Barbados]]
*{{flagdeco|Belize}} [[Belize]]
*{{flagdeco|Canada}} [[Canada]]
*{{flagdeco|People's Republic of China}} [[China]]
*{{flagdeco|Egypt}} [[Egypt]]
*{{flagdeco|Ethiopia}} [[Ethiopia]]
*{{flagdeco|Finland}} [[Finland]]
*{{flagdeco|France}} [[France]]
*{{flagdeco|Germany}} [[Germany]]
*{{flagdeco|United Kingdom}} [[Great Britain]]
*{{flagdeco|Greece}} [[Greece]]
*{{flagdeco|Grenada}} [[Grenada]]
*{{flagdeco|Hong Kong}} [[Hong Kong]]
| valign=top |
*{{flagdeco|Italy}} [[Italy]]
*{{flagdeco|Israel}} [[Israel]]
*{{flagdeco|Jamaica}} [[Jamaica]]
*{{flagdeco|Japan}} [[Japan]]
*{{flagdeco|Kenya}} [[Kenya]]
*{{flagdeco|Martinique}} [[Martinique]]
*{{flagdeco|Mexico}} [[Mexico]]
*{{flagdeco|Monaco}} [[Monaco]]
*{{flagdeco|Netherlands}} [[Netherlands]]
*{{flagdeco|Russia}} [[Russia]]
*{{flagdeco|Sudan}} [[Sudan]]
*{{flagdeco|Sweden}} [[Sweden]]
*{{flagdeco|Switzerland}} [[Switzerland]]
*{{flagdeco|Tanzania}} [[Tanzania]]
*{{flagdeco|Trinidad and Tobago}} [[Tobago]]
*{{flagdeco|Turkey}} [[Turkey]]
*{{flagdeco|Venezuela}} [[Venezuela]]
|}

==Wiki opinions continued==
The Wikipedia collaboration is a vast organization that allows, not only writing in encyclopedia articles, but also copy-edit revisions to articles, writing reviews of articles, and judging deletion/cleanup of various articles and templates, etc.
There are many groups of cooperating users, some organized as [[Wikipedia:WikiProject|WikiProjects]], and some acting as "inter-wikicity gangs" with limited civility (speaking [[euphemism|euphemistically]]); however, the Wikipedia universe is vast enough to just ignore some groups and focus on wide-open areas of frontier articles.  In 2010, there will still remain thousands of articles that can be revised/expanded without clashing with groups of a particular mindset.  Thousands of important articles are still drafts, and major topics still have no article: I created ''"[[Merger mania]]"'' in Wikipedia's 6th year.

'''''Writers needed:'''''  For people who are good at writing but strongly dislike the idea of their articles being hacked within 2 months, the process of review writing might be a better avenue, since reviews are based on personal written remarks, not subject to such rehashed writing.  However, even in articles, original authors are usually free to correct added text for grammar errors and awkward word-flow, which often gets introduced within a few months of the original writing.  Thousands of new articles have been requested, such as:
:* over 900+ articles are needed for [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Films/List of films without article/List of missing Australian Films:N-Z|Australian films]];
:* over 150+ articles are empty for ''[[List of Roman nomina]]'', the Roman family names.
'''''Freedom awry:''''' Wikipedia efforts are hindered by the [[catch-22]] problem of "freedom of editing" which allows anonymous truth to be revealed, but more often allows anonymous slanting or hacking of articles.  A large amount of slanting is done by registered users, because there is little to "block" any registered user against psychological or commercial tainting of text (or images): if users were blocked for slanting, they could return as an IP address or [[sock puppet|sock-puppet]] name, so blocking is currently a waste of time, resulting in rampant slanting.  In extreme cases, wiki-terrorism is facilitated when people become upset and generate widespread hacking of articles.

'''''Screening needed:''''' Despite complex anti-vandal, robotic [[Wikipedia:Bot policy|bot]] edit programs, reliability of articles remains a major problem in Wikipedia efforts, which need a verification process before release.  Almost any article, after hours of polishing, can be hacked to add "not" or defamatory ''"was widely condemned for child abuse"'' (etc.).  To avoid errors, many articles are just hollowed to the verifiable basics, dumbing down Wikipedia, except where nerd herds rule over numerous technoid who-cares articles. Most articles should have an honest top disclaimer stating, ''"Unverified: articles often contain errors or hidden jokes"'' as a warning to readers.  Wiki credibility could be improved by a 2-step approach that would release screened articles to be tagged ''"Verified"'' or ''"Reviewed"'' (less binding), for facts and serious tone, while hacked articles continue the warning "Unverified" before screening.  Screening actions could be widespread, similar to widespread editing, but disallow anonymous (or same-ID) self-screening, making editing and screening as 2 separate steps, with screening accountable to user name.

'''''Mob rule:''''' Large areas of Wikipedia have been run by [[mobocracy]] voting. Numerous [[WP:edit war|edit wars]] and conflicts exist in some highly popular groups of articles, especially in recent events or news articles. In those conflicts, typically 99% of debates are decided by mob rule, not mediated reason.  Some article cuts are extreme, such as the deletion of the statement that the [[Virginia Tech shooter]] was "suspected of prior bomb threats and had been under investigation" for months: that statement was immediately censored as "clever vandalism" (only to be justified days later by news that school officials had referred him to psychiatric counseling).

'''''Avoid trouble:''''' As in any psychological conflict, it is better to avoid conflicts involving people or groups with severe mindsets: it is difficult to know who is "[[gunnysack]]ing" resentment against another person.  Just walk away into another open frontier of the Wiki universe, until policies are developed to restrict such difficult people.  Troubled people might seem to be living in an unreal world, but they could be discovering real residential or workplace addresses. Some people have made daily stalk-edits, tracking another user, for months. Beware the "En-psycho-pedia".

'''''Future open:''''' From what I've seen, the Wiki concept could be extended to greatly improve reliability, but allow anonymous editing of articles outside a screening phase, warning users to refer to the fact-checked revision as screened for accuracy (this eventually happened in German Wikipedia); see "[[wp:Pending changes]]".  Perhaps users could select a setting to default to viewing screened articles (when available).  Rampant hacking could be reverted by an "undo-all" tool to revert all unscreened changes by a given user.  However, many people have quit using WP due to the demoralization of hacking and censorship that thwarted their efforts to improve the maturity of the text.  Boundaries should be added to ensure respect, as needed, to mature beyond "Kidipedia".

== WP problems ==
There are many problems, easily hundreds, with priority depending on what each person wants.  Some problems are:

* '''''Weakipedia:''''' Many articles have limited, hollow content that still lacks simple [[WP:GUIDE|reference footnotes]] to support claims.  Because many articles were created as quick stubs, with no follow-up plan, they have remained weak and hollow (for years).  Also wiki collaboration lacks the power to deter troublemakers, since the system is too weak to "ban" people, while "freedom of editing" allows users to hack articles from hundreds of anonymous IP addresses.  Anyone with a mindset or corporate agenda can "hire" people to slant wiki articles, and so information is only revised as neutral due to extensive efforts of many part-time volunteers who guard against troubles.  Ask any school teacher what would happen if [[laboratory|chemistry lab]]s were left unlocked day-and-night (''also see:'' [[poisoning wells]]).
* '''''Hunches:''''' Some articles contain several hunches about the information, even though many articles could be sourced with verifiable footnotes, within only 2 hours of editing.  There is great potential for management to direct efforts in quick, effective avenues, rather than let trivial minor edits dominate the landscape.
* '''''Edit wars:''''' A huge amount of time is wasted in "[[WP:edit war|edit wars]]" due to a lack of focus in writing.  Most conflicts are decided by mob rule, so joining an active group can help resolve some conflicts.
* '''''[[The vision thing]]:''''' Unlike organizations that teach a short overview of project vision and supportive goals, wiki efforts can seem like mindless chatter.  Joining any of the various [[Wikipedia:WikiProject|WikiProject]]s could help provide some vision to avoid wasting efforts on useless activities.
* '''''Unsourced images:''''' Within 6 months, any non-free image is likely to be deleted as a total waste of time.  Uploading popular images, CD or book covers requires complex, specific "[[fair use rationale]]" that takes time to handle smoothly.  Perhaps 3 or 4 solid days of examining other non-free images/sounds should be spent to better understand how fleeting those files can be, and avoid the wasted time of uploading non-free files that will be axed within weeks.
* '''''Subheader traditions:''''' A "typical" wiki article has specfic subheader titles and almost never has an "overview" section, for separate editing, so keep the lede section short, and add subheaders such as History, Career, Family, Legacy, etc.  The ending bottom sections are typically given exact subheader names (in order):  ''See also, Notes, References, External links'', as fully described in the WP guideline "[[Wikipedia:Guide_to_layout]]" (or [[WP:GUIDE]]).
* '''''Wiki life is messy, clean it up:''''' Many mainstream articles will get amended and hacked, within 2 months, so just like rooms open to the public, expect cleanup: check old facts, new word-flow or commas, and use the History-diff options to detect overlooked vandalism. People with great ideas are not always the best writers; when choosing between facts and grammar, the cleanup can wait.  If the cleanup would aggravate writers, wait longer. Don't sweat the small stuff: focus on major articles, adding sources.  Minor errors are common and OK: many people already fix one word per article (sad but true). Also, articles can be added to your watchlist; however, other people also help repair wording.
* '''''Strict consistency:''''' Even though a consistent format can allow repeated edits to a pattern or common displays from a template, some people try to use "consistency" as a means of suppressing changes. Quoting "consistency" is a false justification, because the first improved article is inconsistent with the others.  Use the [[80-20 rule]], and accept that 80% of particular articles being consistent is a plateau goal, but remember that only 20% of particular articles will be read by 80% of all users.  That viewpoint avoids the push for strict consistency.
* '''''Psycho-pressures:''''' With millions of articles and images to sort/revise or remove, there is a frantic tendency to go, go, go.  Few take the time to recruit or mentor others to be productive team players.  Rather than teach others to focus on writing/uploading quality files, many people are obsessed with slashing, trashing and deleting the unfocused stuff that gets thrown hourly into the wiki giga-bit-bucket.  The lack of visionary teamwork produces a somewhat psychotic, adversarial attitude (of almost everyone), fostered by fringe element types that are slanting articles or scattering corporate "ads" in hopes to mass-market via wiki.  Some people seem compelled to struggle faster, harder, as if speed and determination will end the need for [[garbage truck]]s in a city.  It's another [[fool's errand]].  The wiki world seems a chaotic mix of "stamping out fires" while trying to hold sandpiles of accuracy in bare hands.  The burnout pressures are very great.
* '''''No feedback:''''' Visionary management would use customer feedback and [[trend analysis]] to analyze responses from users and track which article groups are read most (at what time of the year), in order to focus efforts in those arenas as trends are spotted (see: [[wp:Surveys]]).  However, privacy was threatened by snooping, so Wikipedia no longer reports who is reading what, which a search-engine might log for various government snoops.  But, other websites are counting Wikipedia page-views.
* '''''Bots gone bonkers:''''' Several robotic "[[Wikipedia:Bot policy|bot]]" processes edit articles for trivial fixes, such as upper/lowercase, or reverting vandalism. By mid-2008, bots were choking Wikipedia, even fixing "spelling errors" in vandalism, with over 1 million new revisions per week, clogging disk storage. Why is Wikipedia so slow? Well, duh, all changes must be re-saved (daily) for disk backup. But of course, "Don't worry about performance" ([[WP:PERF]]), even when people have good ideas, some developers do not want to hear about them, or are too distracted with trivial changes to the MediaWiki software.
* '''''Wackopedia:''''' Many Wikipedia articles are slanted in a vast array of subjects, by people with severe mindsets. You think you know strong attitudes, but you have no idea.  Psychotic people should not be blamed alone, for living in fascist countries, having a father like Chancellor Hitler, coping with Mommie Dearest, or being a product of [[fetal alcohol syndrome]], etc.  However, be aware that more than 60,000 articles are slanted, purposely biased by the unbalanced, for whatever agenda. A employee was once paid by Microsoft to slant tech articles.  Road maps are removed. Cleopatra was wikified as an alluring beauty, rather than a 27-language [[polyglot]] who controlled the vast wheat fields of Egypt. Wikipedia is a ''[[psycho magnet]]'' with glue, like flies on stink sealed in varnish.  Once they conclude they are effectively warping the world, they remain for years before psycho-burnout (or become reporters for the communist party?). ''What the hey?'' I only reveal this (bias problem) in hopes that wiki policies could one day change to prevent such slanting of [[tendentious copy]] as being article contents.  Yes, numerous people have left WP in disgust, some of them even out-psychoed the others into quitting, so the impact is real in articles, as well as people.  Always beware that articles might be slanted, and check outside sources when possible.

Those are just a few of the many wiki-issues.  Stay tuned for more....

==Awards==
It took me years to finally create this section, more focused on articles, than appreciating other users presenting gifts.
<br>
{| style="border: 1px solid gray; background-color: #fdffe7;"
|rowspan="2" valign="middle" | [[Image:Vitruvian Barnstar.png|75px]]
|rowspan="2" |
|style="font-size: x-large; padding: 0; vertical-align: middle; height: 1.1em;" | '''The da Vinci Barnstar'''
|-
|style="vertical-align: middle; border-top: 1px solid gray;" | For fixing a complex coding error in [[Template:Google Inc.]] when no one else could figure it out! - [[User:Ahunt|Ahunt]] ([[User talk:Ahunt|talk]]) 02:54, 3 February 2009 (UTC)
|}

[[File:Graph WP extended growth 2025.gif|right|200px]]
* '''Good essay''': Your essay [[Wikipedia:Modelling Wikipedia extended growth]] looks very good. I would suggest to add an introduction and a link to [[Wikipedia:Modelling Wikipedia's growth]]. As you might know I introduced the 3, 4 and 5M limit as the maximum number of articles on the english wikipedia (the logistic model). This as contrast to the belief that growth was exponential. My model was created in March 2006, THREE YEARS ago. Until this essay I have not seen new models. [[User:HenkvD|HenkvD]] 18:54, 28 March 2009

* '''Kudos for the work on image placement''': Thanks for the effort you put into dealing with the issue of placing images when there is already a floating table. I fear that there were quite a few nights put into it. I'd given up worrying about a response after a week. I'll have to look more carefully at it when I can find the headspace. And thanks for the border + cellpadding tip. Cheers. -- [[User:Doktorspin|<b><span style="color:#20406F;">spin</span></b>]][[User talk:Doktorspin|<sup>control</sup>]] 23:01, 11 April 2009 (UTC)
<br>
{| style="border: 1px solid gray; background-color: #fdffe7;"
|rowspan="2" valign="middle" | [[Image:Vitruvian Barnstar.png|75px]]
|rowspan="2" |
|style="font-size: x-large; padding: 0; vertical-align: middle; height: 1.1em;" | '''The da Vinci Barnstar'''
|-
|style="vertical-align: middle; border-top: 1px solid gray;" | For fixing the convert template's ft-in to cm conversion and eliminating significant conversion errors in thousands of articles, I award you this barnstar. And so should WikiProject Basketball! '''[[User:Jayen466|<span style="color:#0000FF;">JN</span>]][[User_Talk:Jayen466|<span style="color:#FFBF00;">466</span>]]''' 09:08, 2 November 2009 (UTC)
|}
<br>
[[File:Kercher Knox house Perugia Italy.gif|right|thumb|140px]]
* '''Thanks for Kercher flat concept diagram''': Wikid77, Thanks for including the new Kercher flat concept/diagram. It looks great and makes it easier for the reader to understand the story. [[User:Zlykinskyja|Zlykinskyja]] ([[User talk:Zlykinskyja|talk]]) 22:34, 5 February 2010 (UTC)
:Indeed, yes, very welcome. I have, though, a slight problem with the text beneath it - please see [[File talk:Kercher Knox house Perugia Italy.gif|its Talk]]. [[User:Rothorpe|Rothorpe]] ([[User talk:Rothorpe|talk]]) 01:40, 6 February 2010 (UTC)

* '''Thanks on Convert templates''': Thanks for your work with {{tl|convert}} and its many subtemplates. It's time someone took them in hand. I can't shake the feeling that it might be better to start from scratch and design a sensible, simpler and efficient template which does the job. ..., but they are a real handful, and I don't think having hundreds of subtemplates is the best route to go. What do you think? &mdash;&nbsp;Martin <small>([[User:MSGJ|MSGJ]]&nbsp;·&nbsp;[[User talk:MSGJ|talk]])</small> 17:06, 4 February 2010 (UTC)

* '''Thanks on Convert templates''': A big thank you for sorting out the miles/chains template, hopefully you should see the fruits of your efforts as part of a FA penciled in for June 2011. [[User:Lamberhurst|Lamberhurst]] 21:26, 22 February 2010 (UTC)

* '''For Convert with mid-text''': I'm really making hay of articles like [[CFPL Television Tower]] now that you have added mid-text capability. Just wanted you to know that your efforts are not being wasted. Have fun! [[User:Chris the speller|Chris the speller]] 19:58, 30 March 2010 (UTC)
{| style="border: 1px solid gray; background-color: #fdffe7;"
|rowspan="2" valign="middle" | [[Image:Tireless_Contributor_Barnstar.gif|100px]]
|rowspan="2" |
|style="font-size: x-large; padding: 0; vertical-align: middle; height: 1.1em;" | '''The Tireless Contributor Barnstar'''
|-
|style="vertical-align: middle; border-top: 1px solid gray;" | For all your difficult work with the many Convert templates '''[[User:Ronhjones|<span style="border:1px solid black; color:green; padding:1px; background:yellow;">&nbsp;Ron<span style="color:red;">h</span>jones&nbsp;</span>]]'''<sup>[[User talk:Ronhjones|&nbsp;(Talk)]]</sup> 23:12, 2 April 2010 (UTC)
|}
Thank you, to everyone, for those awards.  -Wikid77

==Thanks!==
{| style="border: 1px solid gray; background-color: #fdffe7;"
|rowspan="2" valign="middle" | {{#ifeq:{{{2}}}|alt|[[File:Original Barnstar Hires.png|100px]]|[[File:Original Barnstar.png|100px]]}}
|rowspan="2" |
|style="font-size: x-large; padding: 0; vertical-align: middle; height: 1.1em;" | '''The Original Barnstar'''
|-
|style="vertical-align: middle; border-top: 1px solid gray;" | For a lengthy series of smart, perceptive, and analytical comments about Wikipedia as an institution on Jimmy Wales' talk page. Your work on these topics is appreciated. [[User:Carrite|Carrite]] ([[User talk:Carrite|talk]]) 01:28, 6 June 2013 (UTC)
|}

{{User:Wikid77/Disambiguation user}}

[[Category:Wikipedian computer scientists|Wikid77]]