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{{userboxtop |toptext=KieferSkunk}}
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{{User WPVGi}}
{{User Featured Article|Super Nintendo Entertainment System}}
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{{user please be nice}}
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{{user AGF}}
{{user RV War}}
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{{User:UBX/Twinkleadmin}}
{{User:Will Pittenger/User Boxes/Edit Count Usefulness}}
{{User:Orangemonster2k1/Wikipedia}}
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Hello! Welcome to my User Page. :) This is my space to give a little info about myself and catalog my major contributions. I also help out occasionally on [[WP:WQA|Wikiquette Alerts]] with mediation issues between other users. You're encouraged to help out too!

== Links and templates that I use frequently ==
This table is a list of WP shortcuts and template specs that I use frequently. I put it here mainly for my own reference and quick jumps when I want to visit the pages. (This may be more convenient than having to remember the shortcuts and type them into the Search/Go box.) Feel free to copy this table for your own user page if you like!

Most of the links here are to Wikipedia policy pages that I tend to cite when responding to [[WP:WQA|Wikiquette Alerts]], working on consensus issues, or proposing major edits to articles (such as deleting whole sections containing game-guide material or original research).

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Shortcut !! Link/description
|-
| <nowiki>[[WP:VG]]</nowiki> || [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Video games]]
|-
| <nowiki>[[WT:VG]]</nowiki> || [[Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Video games]]
|-
| <nowiki>[[WP:CVG/GL]]</nowiki> || [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Video games/Article guidelines]]
|-
| <nowiki>[[WP:WQA]]</nowiki> || [[WP:WQA|Wikiquette Alerts]]
|-
| <nowiki>[[WP:RFC]]</nowiki> || [[WP:RFC|Requests For Comment]] (articles)
|-
| <nowiki>[[WP:RFC/U]]</nowiki> || [[WP:RFC/U|Requests For Comment]] (user)
|-
| <nowiki>[[WP:RFCU]]</nowiki> || [[WP:RFCU|Requests For Checkuser]] - Stronger than RFC/U
|-
| <nowiki>[[WP:CIVIL]]</nowiki> || [[WP:CIVIL|Civility Policy]]
|-
| <nowiki>[[WP:SKILL]]</nowiki> || [[WP:SKILL|Civility Policy]] on language skills
|-
| <nowiki>[[WP:NPA]]</nowiki> || [[WP:NPA|No Personal Attacks]]
|-
| <nowiki>[[WP:AGF]]</nowiki> || [[WP:AGF|Assume Good Faith]]
|-
| <nowiki>[[WP:COOL]]</nowiki> || [[WP:COOL|Keep Your Cool]]
|-
| <nowiki>[[WP:CON]]</nowiki> || [[WP:CON|Consensus Policy]]
|-
| <nowiki>[[WP:NOR]]</nowiki> || [[WP:NOR|No Original Research]]
|-
| <nowiki>[[WP:V]]</nowiki> || [[WP:V|Verifiability Policy]]
|-
| <nowiki>[[WP:Cleanup]]</nowiki> || [[WP:Cleanup|Cleanup Guide]]
|-
| <nowiki>[[WP:TC]]</nowiki> || [[WP:TC|Templates for Cleanup]]
|-
| <nowiki>[[WP:FURG]]</nowiki> || [[WP:FURG|Fair-Use Rationale Guidelines]] for images
|-
| <nowiki>{{gameguide|date=mo/yr}}</nowiki> || Game Guide Cleanup Template
|-
| <nowiki>{{vgrationale}}</nowiki> || [[Template:vgrationale|Fair-Use Rationale template]] for video game screenshots and boxart
|-
| <nowiki>{{uw-voablock}}</nowiki> || [[Template:uw-voablock|Vandalism-only block template]]
|-
| <nowiki>{{uw-soablock}}</nowiki> || [[Template:uw-soablock|Spam-only block template]]
|}

== Major contributions ==
=== Movies and TV Shows ===
*'''[[The Red Green Show]]''' &mdash; Rewrote and reorganized Show Description, Show History and Main/Secondary Characters sections. Split out minor characters from main article - secondary article was later deleted per [[WP:AFD|AfD]].
*'''[[Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner]]''' &mdash; Various fixes and cleanup.
*'''[[Tron (film)]]''' &mdash; Rewrote the plot summary, extensive rework of most of the article.
*'''[[Studio Ghibli]]''' &mdash; Cleanup
**'''[[Castle in the Sky]]''' &mdash; Some fact-checking and cleanup
**'''[[Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind]]''' &mdash; Cleanup
**'''[[Pom Poko]]''' &mdash; Cleanup
*'''[[Who Framed Roger Rabbit]]''' &mdash; Attempted to clean up the plot summary - most of my changes were reverted under the opinion that they were "excruciating".
*'''[[Tiny Toon Adventures]]''' &mdash; Massive revisions and cleanup to the entire article.
*'''[[Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope]]''' &mdash; Rewrote the plot summary for clarity.
*'''[[Jack Horkheimer: Star Gazer]]''' &mdash; Rewrote the entire article, provided references for some facts, reintegrated trivia section.
*'''[[Pac-Man (TV series)]]''' &mdash; Significant fixes and cleanup to Overview section.

=== Video Games ===
*'''[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Video games]]'''
**Participating in numerous consensus discussions regarding level of detail in video-game articles.
**Clarified [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Video games/Article guidelines|Article guidelines]] for Xbox Live Achievements and scoring details, as well as proper use of verb tense.
**Helped to enforce consensus decisions on numerous articles (see below).
**Created [[Template:vgrationale]], a helper template to assist with writing Fair-Use Rationales for video game screenshots.
***Originally [[User:KieferSkunk/furvg]], this was moved into the main namespace by [[User:Jacoplane]] on August 5, 2007.
**Assisted in revising the WikiProject guidelines (main editor: [[User:RandomRan]]).


*'''Arcade Games''':
**'''[[Galaga]]''' &mdash; Revised large parts of the article, added and corrected several facts, condensed Gameplay section
**'''[[Galaga '88]]''' &mdash; Rewrote almost the entire article, provided lots of up-to-date info.
**'''[[Pac-Man]]''' &mdash; Significant revisions, up-to-date info based on Xbox 360 release.
**'''[[Bosconian]]''' &mdash; Major rewrites and corrections.
**'''[[Gorf]]''' &mdash; Rewrote Description section, extra formatting.
**'''[[Dance Dance Revolution]]''' &mdash; Added several modes to "Other Modes", refactored "Arcade Releases" sections, other miscellaneous cleanup.
**'''[[Tempest (arcade game)|Tempest]]''' &mdash; Rewrote entire article up to Ports and Sequels.
**'''[[Millipede (arcade game)|Millipede]]''' &mdash; Rewrote entire article up to External References.
**'''[[Asteroids (arcade game)|Asteroids]]''' &mdash; Rewrote Gameplay section, condensed "Lurking" strategy.
**'''[[Off the Wall (arcade game)|Off the Wall]]''' &mdash; Created the article, populated initial information.
**'''[[Lunar Lander (arcade game)|Lunar Lander]]''' &mdash; Major cleanup of introduction and Gameplay sections.
**'''[[Mr. Do!]]''' &mdash; Completely rewrote the article, removed larged amounts of trivia and scoring details.
**'''[[Mr. Do's Castle]]''' &mdash; Rewrote Gameplay section, removed game strategy and trivia.


*'''[[Star Fox series]]''':
**'''[[Star Fox]]''' &mdash; Some fact-checking and editing, fully explained Easter eggs
**'''[[Star Fox 2]]''' &mdash; Significant editing and rewrites.
**'''[[Star Fox: Assault]]''' &mdash; Major rewrites and organization.
**'''[[Star Fox Command]]''' &mdash; Major rewrites and organization.
**'''[[Star Wolf (Star Fox)|Star Wolf]]''' &mdash; Rewrote the entire article (condensing and cleaning up).
**'''[[Arwing]]''' &mdash; Significant editing and formatting.
**'''[[Krystal (Star Fox)|Krystal]]''' &mdash; Rewrote almost the entire article, before it was condensed and merged into the main character list.
**'''[[List of characters in the Star Fox series]]''' &mdash; Significant rewrites/edits to several characters.


*'''[[Metroid series]]''':
**'''[[Super Metroid]]''' &mdash; Major revision and cleanup of the plot and gameplay sections.
**'''[[Metroid Fusion]]''' &mdash; Added notes about intentional sequence break in plot.
**'''[[Items in the Metroid series]]''' &mdash; Major revisions and cleanup in multiple sections. ''(Since transwiki'd)''
**'''[[Samus Aran]]''' &mdash; Merged "Samus Aran's gunship" into this article, performed some cleanup, significant edits.
**'''[[Dark Samus]]''' &mdash; Extensive rewrites and cleanup, removed original research and POV phrasing. ''(Since merged with Metroid Series article)''
**'''[[Metroid Prime 3: Corruption]]''' &mdash; Completely rewrote Plot section, significant edits in other sections and lead.


*'''Puzzle League series''':
**'''[[Puzzle League series]]''': Created the series page, started work on consolidating common gameplay info from individual game articles.
**'''[[Panel de Pon]]''' &mdash; Major cleanup, split back into its own article from merged ''Tetris Attack'' article.
**'''[[Tetris Attack]]''' &mdash; Major cleanup and rewrites to almost entire article. Split out ''Panel de Pon''.
**'''[[Nintendo Puzzle Collection]]''' &mdash; Minor cleanup to stub article.
**'''[[Pokémon Puzzle League]]''' &mdash; Cleaned up and expanded Gameplay sections.


*'''Pac-Man series''':
**'''[[Pac-Man Championship Edition]]''' &mdash; Major rewrites and cleanup. Called for consensus on scoring details.
**'''[[Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures]]''' &mdash; Major rewrites to intro, Plot and Gameplay sections.
**'''[[Pac-Man]]''' &mdash; Significant cleanup, assisted with research and citation of original Japanese release date, rewrote "Split-screen" and "Perfect play" sections.
**'''Pac-Jr.''' &mdash; Merged with ''Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures'' - PJ is a minigame within one version of PM2.
**'''[[Jr. Pac-Man]]''' &mdash; Rewrote and condensed the article.


*'''Miscellaneous''':
**'''[[Shadow the Hedgehog]]''' &mdash; Readability/grammar/spelling rewrites to major sections of the article.
**'''[[Twilight Zone (pinball)]]''' &mdash; Rewrote Single-ball and Multi-ball mode descriptions and rules.
**'''[[Boom Boom Rocket]]''' &mdash; Rewrote Gameplay section, corrected several facts.
**'''[[Geometry Wars]]''' &mdash; Major rewrites and cleanup. Split out ''[[Geometry Wars: Galaxies]]'' into its own article.
**'''[[FunHouse]] (pinball)''' &mdash; Started on writing major rules and shots for the game.
**'''[[Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge]]''' &mdash; Major rewrites to intro, Plot and Gameplay sections.
**'''[[Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty]]''' &mdash; Cleanup in Plot and Critical Reception sections.
**'''[[E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (Atari 2600)]]''' &mdash; Cleanup in Gameplay section.
**'''[[WWE WrestleMania 21]]''' &mdash; Fixed numerous formatting problems.
**'''[[Hexic]]''' &mdash; Completely rewrote the article and reorganized sections.
**'''[[Rez]]''' &mdash; Completely rewrote the Gameplay section.
**'''List of Virtual Console games''' ([[List of Virtual Console games (North America)|North America]], [[List of Virtual Console games (Europe)|Europe]], [[List of Virtual Console games (Australia)|Australia]], [[List of Virtual Console games (Japan)|Japan]]) &mdash; Added subsection headers for each console in the list of released games to make the page more browseable.
**'''[[Sandlot Games]]''' &mdash; Assisted with creating a proper stub for this article, proper copyright/Fair-Use Rationale for logo.
**'''[[Assassin's Creed]]''' &mdash; Rewrote/condensed article intro, partially rewrote Plot and Gameplay sections.
**'''[[Geometry Wars: Galaxies]]''' &mdash; Created new article as a split out from ''[[Geometry Wars]]''.
**'''[[Poker Smash]]''' &mdash; Extensive expansion of Gameplay section.
**'''[[Super Stardust HD]]''' &mdash; Extensive expansion of Gameplay section.
**'''[[Mr. Driller Online]]''' &mdash; Wrote Gameplay section, copyediting in Reception.
**'''[[Virtual Console]]''' &mdash; Removed detailed pricing info per WikiProject guidelines and [[WP:NOTDIR]].

===Removal of Scoring Details and Game Strategy===
I removed significant portions of scoring details (bonus tables, etc) and strategy references from the following articles. Much of this is covered in the [[WP:CVG/GL|CVGProj Guidelines]], but consensus discussions also took place in [[Talk:Pac-Man]] (addressing article precedent) and [[WT:VG|CVGProj Talk]] (addressing general level-of-detail issues). Because consensus was reached in [[Pac-Man]], the precedent it set for related articles is no longer a factor.

*'''[[Galaga '88]]''': Game strategy, level/dimension details
*'''[[Pac-Man]]''': Fruit table, specific scoring details, some game strategy
*'''[[Ms. Pac-Man]]''': Fruit table
*'''[[Super Pac-Man]]''': Fruit/item table
*'''[[Pac-Man Plus]]''': Fruit table
*'''[[Pac-Mania]]''': General strategy details, complete list of all levels (condensed to general descriptions).
*'''[[Asteroids (arcade game)]]''': Scoring details, detailed strategies (left mention of Lurker strategy due to cultural significance).
*'''[[Pac-Man Championship Edition]]''': Scoring details, fruit table, Xbox Live Achievements.
*'''[[Mr. Do!]]''': Scoring details and strategy hints.

=== Computers/Video Game Hardware ===
*'''[[Amiga (computer)]]''' &mdash; Made some rewrites to the History and Technical Features sections.
*'''[[TurboGrafx 16]]''' &mdash; Significant editing.

*'''[[Virtual Console]]''' &mdash; Significant rewrite to the lead:
**Explained that "Virtual Console" is the emulation feature, not the download service.
**Virtual Console is ''supported by'' the Wii Shop Channel, which has a "Virtual Console" section.

*'''[[Super Nintendo Entertainment System]]''' &mdash; Major copyediting and organizing to multiple sections to assist toward Featured Article status.
**This article was promoted to '''Featured Article''' status on July 26, 2007.
**This article appeared on '''Wikipedia's Main Page''' as Today's Featured Article on August 2nd, 2007.

*'''[[SAM Coupé]]''' &mdash; Copyedited intro and hardware overview sections for active voice and present (abstract) tense. (Incomplete)

*'''[[Intellivision]]''' &mdash; General cleanup and refactoring.

=== Other ===
*'''[[Valspeak]]''' &mdash; Reformatted and improved "Emphasizers", renamed section to "Common Words and Phrases".
*'''[[Schizophasia]]''' &mdash; Some cleanup, explained why Homsar (from Homestarrunner.com) should not be referenced.
*'''[[Third degree AV block]]''' &mdash; Added information on symptoms and treatment
*'''[[C (musical note)]]''' &mdash; Helped rewrite the intro for better flow and [[WP:WEIGHT]] issues.

=== Fair Use Rationales on Images ===
{{main|User:KieferSkunk/Fair Use Log}}

==Barnstars==
I am proud of the contributions I've been making to Wikipedia. While I don't make a practice of calling a huge amount of attention to my contributions outside of my user page, several users have been kind enough to award me Barnstars. Thank you to everyone - it's really great to be working with you. :) (These have been copied over from my User Talk page.)

{| style="border: 1px solid {{{border|gray}}}; background-color: {{{color|#fdffe7}}};"
|rowspan="2" valign="middle" | [[Image:Random_Acts_of_Kindness_Barnstar.png|100px]]
|rowspan="2" |
|style="font-size: x-large; padding: 0; vertical-align: middle; height: 1.1em;" | '''The Random Acts of Kindness Barnstar'''
|-
|style="vertical-align: middle; border-top: 1px solid gray;" | Thanks for working so hard to forge consensus and encourage friendly editing at [[Integral]]. Both sides of the conflict appreciate your noble efforts and positive attitude.[[User:Cronholm144|Cronholm]]<sup>[[User talk:Cronholm144|144]]</sup> 23:12, 17 July 2007 (UTC)
|}
{| style="border: 1px solid {{{border|gray}}}; background-color: {{{color|#fdffe7}}};"
|rowspan="2" valign="middle" | [[Image:SpecialBarnstar.png|100px]]
|rowspan="2" |
|style="font-size: x-large; padding: 0; vertical-align: middle; height: 1.1em;" | '''The Special Barnstar'''
|-
|style="vertical-align: middle; border-top: 1px solid gray;" | This barnstar is hereby presented to [[User:KieferSkunk|KieferSkunk]] in appreciation for his peacekeeping efforts. "Blessed be the peacemakers, for they make Wikipedia worth inheriting." -- <i><b><font color="004000">[[User:Fyslee|Fyslee]]</font></b></i>/<b><font color="990099" size="1">[[User talk:Fyslee|talk]]</font></b> 19:52, 20 July 2007 (UTC)
|}
{| style="border: 1px solid {{{border|gray}}}; background-color: {{{color|#fdffe7}}};"
|rowspan="2" valign="top" | [[Image:BarnstarCVG.png|111px]]
|rowspan="2" |
|style="font-size: x-large; padding: 0; vertical-align: bottom; height: 1.1em;" | '''The [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Video games|VG]] Barnstar'''
|-
|style="vertical-align: top; border-top: 1px solid gray;" | Also, for creating that [[Template:vgrationale|FU template]] and for your contribution to the WP:CVG project in general, here's a barnstar :) <small><font color="AE1C28">[[User:Jacoplane|JACO]]</font><font color="#21468B">[[User_talk:Jacoplane|PLANE]]</font> &bull; 2007-08-6 00:54</small>
|}
{| style="border: 1px solid {{{border|gray}}}; background-color: {{{color|#fdffe7}}};"
|rowspan="2" valign="top" | [[Image:BarnstarCVG.png|111px]]
|rowspan="2" |
|style="font-size: x-large; padding: 0; vertical-align: bottom; height: 1.1em;" | '''The [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Video games|VG]] Barnstar'''
|-
|style="vertical-align: top; border-top: 1px solid gray;" | Every time I open up [[WT:VG]], I see an intelligent, well thought out, and very helpful comment with your signature next to it. Either you have great impersonators, or you're doing a great job (I think number 2), so I'm awarding you this barnstar. Use it well! [[User:Giggy|<font color="green">Giggy</font>]] <sup>[[User talk:Giggy|Talk]]</sup> 07:13, 23 August 2007 (UTC)
|}
{| style="border: 1px solid {{{border|gray}}}; background-color: {{{color|#fdffe7}}};"
|rowspan="2" valign="middle" | [[Image:Peace Barnstar 6.png|100px]]
|rowspan="2" |
|style="font-size: x-large; padding: 0; vertical-align: middle; height: 1.1em;" | '''The Barnstar of Peace'''
|-
|style="vertical-align: middle; border-top: 1px solid gray;" | For working to research and listen to all sides and ultimately keep the peace over at [[Pac-Man]] [[User:Wgungfu|Marty Goldberg]] 03:01, 11 October 2007 (UTC)
|}
{| style="border: 1px solid {{{border|gray}}}; background-color: {{{color|#fdffe7}}};"
|rowspan="2" valign="top" | [[Image:BarnstarCVG.png|111px]]
|rowspan="2" |
|style="font-size: x-large; padding: 0; vertical-align: bottom; height: 1.1em;" | '''The [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Computer and video games|CVG]] Barnstar'''
|-
|style="vertical-align: top; border-top: 1px solid gray;" | KieferSkunk has been award the CVG Star for his tireless contributions to the ''[[Lunar Lander (arcade game)|Lunar Lander]]'' article.
|}
{| style="border: 1px solid gray; background-color: #fdffe7;"
|rowspan="2" valign="top" | [[Image:Civility barnstar.png]]
|rowspan="2" |
|style="font-size: x-large; padding: 0; vertical-align: bottom; height: 1.1em;" | '''Civility Award'''
|-
|style="vertical-align: top; border-top: 1px solid gray;" | For daring to point out rules where others fear to tread. For being amenable to participate in something against the rules, but yet asking others to keep the rules in mind. Lastly, for remaining civil in a tense situation and taking consideration for others to move the situation to your own space to resolve. [[User:Jappalang|Jappalang]] ([[User talk:Jappalang|talk]]) 00:48, 10 June 2008 (UTC)
|}
{| style="border: 1px solid #999999; background-color: #FFFFFF}; width:100%;"
|rowspan="2" valign="middle" | [[Image:Socratic Barnstar.gif|100px]]
|rowspan="2" |
|style="font-size: x-large; padding: 0; vertical-align: middle; height: 1.1em; color:#9D741A; font-family:Comic Sans MS, Arial, Helvetica;" | '''The Socratic Barnstar'''
|-
|style="vertical-align: middle; border-top: 1px solid gray;" | I stumbled across your essay/discussion on Wikipedia talk:Age and Adminship. Well expressed, thought out and very, very logical :). Here's a little something as a token of appreciation. [[User:Ironholds|<b style="color:#D3D3D3">Ir</b><b style="color:#A9A9A9">on</b><b style="color:#808080">ho</b>]][[User talk:Ironholds|<b style="color:#696969">ld</b><b style="color:#000">s</b>]] 19:01, 26 June 2008 (UTC)
|}
{| style="border: 1px solid gray; background-color: #fdffe7;"
|rowspan="2" valign="middle" | [[Image:Random_Acts_of_Kindness_Barnstar.png|100px]]
|rowspan="2" |
|style="font-size: x-large; padding: 0; vertical-align: middle; height: 1.1em;" | '''The Random Acts of Kindness Barnstar'''
|-
|style="vertical-align: middle; border-top: 1px solid gray;" | You always do kind things to me. Yiu always make sure that I keep my head on straight and tell me what I've done wrong even when I can't reconize. You help alot with my Editor Coaching, and to top it off, you remain my friend no matter how ignorant I get. Thanks. ''[[User talk:Gears of War|<font face="Times New Roman" size="2.0" color="black">'''Gears'''</font>]] [[Special:Contributions/Gears of War|<font face="Times New Roman" size="2.0" color="black">'''Of War'''</font>]]'' 11:08, 1 July 2008 (UTC)
|}

== Administrator Notes ==
*[[:Category:Candidates for speedy deletion#Pages in category]]
*[[Wikipedia:Criteria for speedy deletion]]

=== Open to Recall ===
On Sunday, October 28th, 2007, I was promoted to [[WP:ADMIN|Administrator]] status (see the archive of my [[Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/KieferSkunk|RfA]]). I have voluntarily added myself to [[:Category:Wikipedia administrators open to recall]], which means that I am willing to be held accountable for my actions. If you feel that I have misused or abused an administrator function, I respectfully ask that you let me know and give me an opportunity to discuss the matter with you, before taking the situation to a recall vote. As of this writing, I am new to admin tasks on Wikipedia (though not new to administration in general), and I may make a mistake or two (I will do my best not to, and will ensure that I am well-read on the policies and admin tools before I use them), so I ask for your patience and understanding.

Failing a resolution between us, I have no problem with being taken to a recall vote for any serious problems that may arise as a result of my actions. Thank you. &mdash; '''[[User:KieferSkunk|KieferSkunk]]''' ([[User talk:KieferSkunk|talk]]) &mdash; 23:46, 28 October 2007 (UTC)

=== The Big Mess ===
I have maintained for some time now that Wikipedia is an interesting social experiment, and certainly one done in good faith to better mankind with a central repository of human knowledge. But I have also maintained that, given the open nature of the project and its worldwide appeal to people of all ages, races and levels of knowledge, the project will ultimately fail by collapsing in on itself. WP's policies are in some cases self-contradictory; in many other cases they are vague and difficult to follow. Of particular concern is the rise of heated discussions and debates about exactly what kind of information should be included on Wikipedia, and in what form. (As a recent example, a discussion is currently going on about whether detailed character information on the [[Sonic the Hedgehog (series)|Sonic the Hedgehog series]] should be included even if it does have third-party sources.) This is a growing problem that is exhausting the talents and patience of WP administrators and seasoned editors, and it is my belief that the Big Collapse will happen when admins such as myself simply leave Wikipedia for quieter waters.

In short, the sound-to-noise ratio on Wikipedia is and has been falling dramatically for some time, and it leaves people like me feeling powerless to stop it. Many of us have full-time jobs and are unable to keep up with the rising tide of vandalism, unhelpful edits, trivia, inclusionist/deletionist debates, [[WP:WQA|uncivil behavior]], [[WP:ANI|administrator noticeboard reports]], [[WP:RFAR|issues requiring arbitration]], etc. As the user base continues to grow and more of us become fatigued by the problems we're facing, the quality of the project is likely to nosedive much more quickly than it already has been, and the hundreds, thousands or even millions of hours we've collectively put into improving this project will be for naught.

At that point, I can see one of three things happening:
#Wikipedia will go through a massive reorganization in which it no longer becomes a public project, or in which the editors must gain approval of some sort before they can edit. In other words, it would become a dictatorial system in which there actually ARE people assuming control of the project - right now, this form of control is extremely limited in the spirit of an open and collaborative environment.
#Wikipedia will become completely unmanaged and anarchistic in its structure, with nobody left to enforce policies. My guess is that Jimbo Wales would not allow this to happen, however.
#Wikipedia will shut down completely, either due to lack of management or lack of funding. At best, it would remain in some read-only state as of the time it was shut down, to serve as a point of history.

In any event, people like me are rapidly hitting the burnout stage on this project, and I for one am considering calling it quits. It's getting to the point where it just isn't worth my time anymore.

If you have any comments on these thoughts, please feel free to leave a comment in my [[User talk:KieferSkunk|talk page]]. Thanks. &mdash; '''[[User:KieferSkunk|KieferSkunk]]''' ([[User talk:KieferSkunk|talk]]) &mdash; 20:44, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

== Simple English Wikipedia ==
I just became aware of the [http://simple.wikipedia.org Simple English Wikipedia] this morning, and I'd like to encourage people to check it out and help out there. I read through a few of the articles up there, and it's obvious that this project is still just in its infancy. I don't think I can really help all that much, though - I understand the reasoning behind such a project, but it goes to show that I have a hard time thinking in simple enough terms to really be useful in translating from "professional English" to "Simple English".

I found myself looking at an article on the [[Metroid (series)|Metroid series]] ([[:simple:Metroid (series)|SE link]]), and all I could think to do was to try to make it read more like the main article on the series. Hard to keep myself from "professionalizing" it, since all of my training and skill on ''this'' Wikipedia has gone into that. So if you decide to contribute at the SE WP, keep in mind a few things:

# It's ''Simple English'', not ''mental-retard English''. Explain a subject like you would to a child of around 7-8 years, or to someone who only understands a small amount of English. Don't talk down to your reader.
# As they say in their "[[:simple:How to write Simple English articles|How-to]]" page, the language should be simple, but the ideas certainly don't have to be. Try to find ways to express complex ideas in a simple format.
# In the spirit of not talking down to your reader, try to find ways to write concisely, so that you get to the point with simple language without needing to put extra explanations in parentheses, unless they're absolutely necessary.

Here are some hypothetical examples of what I'm talking about above:

* '''Pro English:''' "'''Middle C''' resonates at a frequency of 261.626 Hertz and is designated '''C4''' in scientific pitch notation."
* '''SE English:''' "The note '''Middle C''' makes a sound at 261.626 Hertz (vibrations in a second). Most scientists officially call this note '''C4'''."
* '''Bad SE:''' "The note '''Middle C''' makes a sound at 261.626 Hertz. (That's how many times it vibrates in a second, which makes noise.) Most people who study science, called scientists, call this note '''C4''' because that's how it's named in music." (Not only does this example talk down to the reader, it also has redundancies and circular definitions.)

Just some thoughts. I think the SE WP is a good-faith effort to reach out to people who would find the regular WP intimidating or too difficult to follow, but it's going to be a very tricky project, methinks - right now, most of the stuff I read sounds more like the bad example than what I'd think to be a good example.

Also, SE WP has potential to teach us some lessons here, too - if it gains wide adoption, SE WP will force its contributors to think about how they can phrase things simply. That's sometimes a big problem here in regular WP as well - we get edit wars sometimes over just what a certain word or phrase means, and I think we could sometimes avoid those if we just thought about the subject at a different level.

What do you think? Reply at my Talk page if you're interested. :) &mdash; '''[[User:KieferSkunk|KieferSkunk]]''' ([[User talk:KieferSkunk|talk]]) &mdash; 15:56, 16 June 2008 (UTC)

==Funny Vandalism Log==
This section serves as a diff archive of vandalism that made me laugh when I saw it in my Watchlist. I don't condone vandalism, but you have to admit that sometimes it can be pretty funny. :)

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Kirby_characters&curid=9599972&diff=203553092&oldid=203518573 List of Kirby characters/King Dedede]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Samus_Aran&diff=206844846&oldid=206844837 "Penis" Aran] (somebody put a lot of work into this one).
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Windows_Vista&diff=210666936&oldid=210644390 Venting against Windows Vista] (yeah, good luck with that, dude)
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Metroid_Prime_3:_Corruption&diff=prev&oldid=224869745 Metroid Prime 3: Corruption] (patent nonsense that made me laugh)

===Not Vandalism, but still funny===
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Malleus_Fatuarum/WikiSpeak&curid=17647391&diff=220285161&oldid=220283118 Oh, the irony!] (taken from [[User talk:Iridescent]])
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Zicraccozian&oldid=245775549#Blocked One user's unsuccessful attempt to fool an administrator]

== You can also find me... ==
...on the [http://www.hrwiki.org Homestar Runner Wiki]. I do quite a bit of Gnome-type work there. :) See my [http://www.hrwiki.org/index.php/User:KieferSkunk User Page] there for more information about me. I also invite you to visit my [http://www.kieferskunk.net website] and my [http://www.livejournal.com/users/kieferskunk LiveJournal].

I also have accounts on [http://www.wiktionary.org Wiktionary] and [http://furry.wikia.com WikiFur].

Enjoy!

[[Category:Wikipedia administrators open to recall|{{PAGENAME}}]]

Revision as of 20:22, 31 December 2008

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