Wikipedia talk:Online Ambassadors

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Application of Theopolisme

Theopolisme

Theopolisme (talk · contribs)

1. Why do you want to be a Wikipedia Ambassador?

   During my time on Wikipedia, I've seen...quite a bit. The CVUA. The Teahouse. ACC. Article feedback. New pages...and more. And I think I can help. Communicating with and teaching people is one of my real-life passions, and bringing it on-wiki seems like a natural way for me to extend my enjoyment of Wikipedia.

2. In three sentences or less, summarize your involvement with Wikimedia projects.

   On enwiki, I do a lot of New Pages Patrolling, AFDing, etc. I also was an administrator on Wikidata for several months, during which I expanded documentation and backend materials, as well as helped new Wikidatians (??—we never figured out what we were going to call ourselves, as you can see) learn the ropes of that exciting new project.

3. Please indicate a few articles to which you have made significant content contributions. (e.g. DYK, GA, FA, major revisions/expansions/copyedits).

   User:Theopolisme/creations can answer this better than I can; while not as much a "content"-y person as a behind-the-scenes-person, I still consider myself well-versed in that area.

4. How have you been involved with welcoming and helping new users on Wikipedia?

   I'm a (less active than I like nowadays, but nonetheless) member of the ACC, and as such am often the first contact new editors have with a "real live Wikipedian." My first fifty edits interestingly enough contained a bunch of welcoming as well: why, I have no idea now...but I think it's rather revealing. After that, I also answered new users' questions at the Feedback dashboard and through Article feedback. I also am a host/maître d' at the Teahouse, watchlist the Help desk, answer questions on IRC (#wikipedia-en-help ^connect), etc.

5. What do you see as the most important ways we could welcome newcomers or help new users become active contributors?

   It's simple, really: be real. Don't be a template-spitting machine; don't be an ANI-addict. Just be a person. No police officer catches you speeding and plays a recorded message informing you of your sin. Wikipedia shouldn't be that way, either.

6. Have you had major conflicts with other editors? Blocks or bans? Involvement in arbitration? Feel free to offer context, if necessary.

   I have a clean block log and haven't been in any *major conflicts* (i.e., ones that resulted in Mediation/3O/DRN/etc.) I feel quite ready to handle them, though: I'm a levelheaded person and, if things seem to be getting out of hand, am always ready to phone a friend.

7. How often do you edit Wikipedia and check in on ongoing discussions? Will you be available regularly for at least two hours per week, in your role as a mentor?

   I typically check Wikipedia at least twice a day (morning and nights CST) on weekdays, and much more obsessively over the weekend: two hours is not at all a roadblock.

8. How would you make sure your students were not violating copyright laws?

   Google is your friend! As far as text goes, the tried and true "copy a block of text, search, repeat" method hasn't failed me yet. As a last resort, Earwig also has an excellent tool, copyvios, which crawls the web for potential violations. However, since it isn't free for the Foundation (various API search costs/etc—a moot point due to all their other costs, but bear with me...it's a phobia of mine), I try not to use the tool unless absolutely necessary. Images are a bit of a different story: TinEye is typically able to help me track down the truth, though.

9. If one of your students had an issue with copyright violation how would resolve it?

   Talking. Most often, the violation is an honest mistake, and a light slap is all that is needed to make sure it won't happen again. If that isn't effective, or I'm worried that the student doesn't quite understand, I wouldn't hesitate to contact their instructor/campus ambassador.

10. In your _own_ words describe what copyright violation is.

    Let's keep this simple and concise: copyright violation is the use or distribution of another's work without permission. We can of course delve deeper and deeper and wikideeper, but at its heart, copyright violation is remarkable simple...agh, who am I kidding. While the mechanics of this complicated sport can fill books, my humble take: it's really an ethics thing.

11. What else should we know about you that is relevant to being a Wikipedia Ambassador?

    I'm a student and musician, so for a few times each year (January, May, November--although they vary), I'll be frantically preparing for various auditions, which sometimes inhibits my ability to respond s quickly as I'd like (although I still manage to logon at least once a day).

Endorsements

(Two endorsements are needed for online ambassador approval.)

• Endorse - Great user to work with. -- Cheers, Riley 07:33, 27 January 2013 (UTC)
• YES --Tito Dutta (talk) 09:57, 27 January 2013 (UTC)

Application length?

Hi all; curious about a discrepancy at the Wikipedia:Online Ambassadors/Apply page — at one point it says, in regard to closing a request, 'preferably after at least a week has past or at least for four ambassadors have weighed in and agree', but in another spot it claims 'open for at least 2 weeks'. Just to further add to the confusion, in looking at this recent application, it appears the time frame is just 5 days—clarification? ;) —Theopolisme (talk) 02:28, 29 January 2013 (UTC)

I think the two week window is good. That gives time for several people to review the application. The Interior (Talk) 02:30, 29 January 2013 (UTC)

Jesse V.

Jesse V.

Jesse V. (talk · contribs)

1. Why do you want to be a Wikipedia Ambassador?

   I'm familiar with how Wikipedia operates, I've put significant contributions into it, and I want to share my knowledge with others. There are many people who want to help Wikipedia grow and become new editors, and I think I can help them out.

2. In three sentences or less, summarize your involvement with Wikimedia projects.

   I have nearly 26,000 edits (85% were using AWB, but I've still got 4,000 manual edits). I brought one article from a messy state up to FA status pretty much by myself, I'm involved in several different WikiProjects, discussions on the AFT5 Feedback Tool, and I've interacted with many different editors. I also tried to launch my own bot: User:StubSyncBot.

3. Please indicate a few articles to which you have made significant content contributions. (e.g. DYK, GA, FA, major revisions/expansions/copyedits).

   I spent 13 months steadily bringing the Folding@home article up to GA, through peer review, and then to FA status. The article started in this messy state and it was a very complicated article, so it's a significant achievement. Twice I GA-reviewed Minecraft, and eventually passed it as a GA article. I also helped out with yogo sapphire, which is now a FA article.

4. How have you been involved with welcoming and helping new users on Wikipedia?

   I've helped out new users when I run across them. A good while ago I helped out User:Entertainer91 and User talk:DXproton, answered their questions, and helped out with their userpage. Lately I've helped a few people out on IRC, but to date I have not pursuit new users in order to help them. I do know enough to explain things to new users when I can. I also spend time on the support forum for Folding@home, and there I welcome newcomers, answer their questions, and try to resolve any problems they are having. So I know how to help out.

5. What do you see as the most important ways we could welcome newcomers or help new users become active contributors?

   How to edit properly. They need to understand how to write correctly, and the pillars of Wikipedia. Neutrality, encyclopedic tone, and well-cited are especially important. They need to know that Wikipedia is a real encyclopedia and we're serious about maintaining high standards. Editing is also fun!

6. Have you had major conflicts with other editors? Blocks or bans? Involvement in arbitration? Feel free to offer context, if necessary.

   No, my record is pretty clean. Other editors have suggested that I correct my edits on occasion, and I've promptly responded. Nothing serious.

7. How often do you edit Wikipedia and check in on ongoing discussions? Will you be available regularly for at least two hours per week, in your role as a mentor?

   I check my watchlist very frequently, right now the rate is about 10 times a day or so. I am currently attending Utah State University, so from time to time I may be busy with homework and other activities. However, I do what I can to help out because I believe in this project. So yes, I could do 2 hours a week or so.

8. How would you make sure your students were not violating copyright laws?

   Through education. I'd explain about copyright laws, point them to policy pages, and tag any offending articles. I would again recommend that they read their sources, then minimize that page or close their book, and then writing what they just learned. I've found through experience that this is one of the best ways to avoid copyright violations.

9. If one of your students had an issue with copyright violation how would resolve it?

   I would tag any offending articles, and remind them of policy. Copyright laws are pretty serious, so I'd want to take any violations pretty seriously too. If I can't resolve the issue myself and they repeatedly violate copyright, I know where to report the incidents.

10. In your _own_ words describe what copyright violation is.

    Plagiarism. Copy-pastes, a minor reword, or other clear infringements of someone else's works. There's numerous ways to say something, and it's generally pretty obvious when someone is using someone else's writing.

11. What else should we know about you that is relevant to being a Wikipedia Ambassador?

    I know a lot about computer science and technology. I'm also knowledgable in computational and molecular biology, thanks to my work and research with the Folding@home article.

Endorsements

(Two endorsements are needed for online ambassador approval.)

• Endorse Jesse and I first crossed paths last year when, at the beginning of my wiki career, I nominated Minecraft for GA. Jesse promptly began a review which was extremely thorough and true to Wikipedia policies. True it was failed, but now I look at it through my much more experienced eyes and I see why. Jesse took into account everything demonstrating his clear understanding of policies, necessary for an ambassador. My experiences with Jesse have been positive and he was very nice and helpful to me as a new user. Jesse is willing and able to serve as an online ambassador, is kind and polite to new users and experienced alike, is experienced with policy and article editing, and would overall be an asset to the Online Ambassadors program. I endorse with no problem. Vacation9 00:29, 30 January 2013 (UTC)