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My user name is a portmanteau of the words truth and aficianado,[1] meaning one who strives for the truth.
I started editing Wikipedia in March 9, 2007 (17 years ago) (2007-03-09). After eight (8) years of some serious editing and patrolling on Wikipedia, I got into a bit of a Wikifunk starting in April 2015. Other things going on in my life limited the amount of time I spent on Wikipedia. In October 2019, I tried to make a conscious effort to become more active in Wikipedia, probably not as active as before though. From 2020 to 2021, the shelter-in-place and work-from-home recommendations due to the COVID-19 pandemic gave me a renewed opportunity to be more involved in Wikipedia, which has really picked up in 2021 with my work retirement.
In November 2023, some other things have become more important in my life, and my involvement in Wikipedia, though still there, is not as active as in the recent past.
Multilicense -- see bottom of page. Today's UTC date is December 21, 2024 (mdy format) or 21 December 2024 (dmy format).
The English Wikipedia has 845 admins; 6,927,659 articles; 62,078,788 pages and 48,441,383 users ... and is still growing. In addition, there are 353 different language editions of Wikipedia: 340 active and 13 closed.
I am a retired Systems Engineer living in Atlanta, GeorgiaUSA. I have an AAS in Engineering and a BS in Electrical Engineering from the Rochester Institute of Technology. I worked in Rail Transportation and Electric Power industries for 50 years before my retirement in 2021. My personal motto is "to make life easier for everyone, including me". To that end, I strive to help put the most complete, correct and easy to find information possible in Wikipedia.
Wikipedia is the best source of information out there, and I do my part to make it (and keep it) free, vibrant and current. That includes making annual financial contributions.
In my opinion, the most important Wiki policy is WP:BOLD.
My Wikipedia Philosophy, or Wikilosophy, is not a set of hard and fast rules. I prefer shades of gray, making appropriate choices based on each situation. Having said that, I believe in processes, and my actions typically follow what's described below.
I tend towards Inclusionism. If someone has taken the time to do something, whether that be creating a new article or modifying an existing one, that is important. So long as the work falls within the clear guidelines as to what can be included in Wikipedia: verifiability, no original research, and neutral point of view, I accept the work as-is. If it falls outside the guidelines, I prefer to take action. I usually prefer discussion to resolve questions, although I do not hesitate to suggest speedy delete or PROD for articles that obviously violate Wikipolicy. Quick action is often the best course in the case of blatant vandalism.
This one is tough for me. I fully believe in the value of improving articles over time, and I see nothing wrong with a weak article that can and will be improved. After all, Wikipedia didn't suddenly become what it is today, it evolved over time. I am someone who desires consistency and professionalism, and I generally do not hesitate to make format changes and general copyedit so that articles on similar topics have a similar professional look-and-feel. For example, I routinely add or update an infobox to articles about schools so that most school articles look the same. And I often edit articles for consistent layout and format (especially dates) as described in the Wikipedia Manual of Style.
I tend to be an Exopedian. The encyclopedic value of Wikipedia (providing useful information to our readers) is why we are here, so that should be the most important. I edit mostly on my own, and also value interacting with others; it's the way I learn, and hopefully, the way I help others learn too.
I tend towards Inclusionism for information inside articles, and Exclusionism for the articles themselves. I have no problem including various facts about a topic in the article, so long as the article's topic is notable. Non-notable topics are candidates for deletion, using the clear deletion policy.
Notability is not an opinion, it is based on facts and a set of Wikipedia policies. A topic is notable if it has been the subject of multiple, non-trivial, reliable published works, whose sources are independent of the subject itself. Enforcing notability criteria for articles is important, and ensures that articles meet core criteria such as verifiability and no original research. It is less important for the specific content of articles ... that is more subjective and is usually resolved by the opinions of the community as a whole. I generally try to avoid notability discussions about music, especially bands and band members; my personal idea of notability in those areas does not agree with many others.
I have been a Wikipedia user since March 2007; 17 years ago (2007-03), I became an active member of the Wikipedia community. In my spare time, I often cruise around various Wikipedia articles, educating myself, adding bits of information as appropriate, and helping to clean up and organize. Occasionally, I may create a new article about an interesting and informative topic. I often check New pages and Recent changes to see what's new, to make sure changes are appropriate and to perform general copyedit and article improvements. I am not afraid to tag an inappropriate article for speedy delete, PROD or AfD; or to seek the help of a Wiki admin. I also use Random article, which is an interesting way to see what's out there. I am often surprised by the breadth of information in Wikipedia, as well as recognizing that some of it could use updates and improvements.
I sometimes take part in notability and deletion discussions, as well as suggestions to modify Wikipolicy. It's an interesting part of the Wikipedia experience, and an important one as well. After all, Wikipedia's rules and guidelines have been developed by the members themselves. And it is important to review them from time to time.
Following the Wikipedia style guide, I believe in consistency (it makes things easier to understand), and I sometimes make minor edits to an article so that it is consistent within itself, with other similar articles and in agreement with Wiki guidelines. I copyedit and try to simplify text by removing peacock terms and unnecessary and over-used words like but, currently, however; and the over-used comma punctuation mark, as well as consistent usage of "which" versus "that"; and by using simplified and easier-to-understand verb tense where appropriate. I also edit articles for consistent usage of date format (dmy vs mdy) and British versus American English (depending on the article).
I spend quite a bit of time in the following areas:
Random articles
History (especially biographical articles)
Railways, Rail Suppliers and Equipment
Geography (especially towns and villages, goal is to standardize the format and content using geoboxes)
In June 2007, I scored 517 on the Wikipedia:Wikipediholism test, which rates me as a person with few edits. My retest in August 2007 scored 3784 points, which rates me "officially addicted". I took the automatic test in May 2008 and scored 4792 points, which makes me an official "Wikipediholic". In December 2011, I took the test again and scored 17174 points, which makes me (according to the test) "Only the world's best psychiatrist, physiologist and witch doctor combined can cure your Wikipediholism at this stage. Normally you would get off of Wikipedia and go find those people... Normally...". In June 2021, I scored 323 on the updated test, which classifies me as "You're a Pro." In June 2023, I scored 429 on the updated test, which classifies me as "You're a Pro."
Though not a Wikipedia admin (I believe I can be more helpful as an editor), I was an admin and key user of a separate Wiki where I work (my company decided in 2020 to retire its internal Wiki in a move to standardize on using Microsoft Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive for collaboration)[2] My experiences on Wikipedia helped the work wiki and vice versa.
I believe that quality of edits is more important than quantity. I have seen several editors with more edits than I have in the same (or less) amount of time. Having said that, keeping a record of edits can be interesting.[3]
On November 22, 2021, the number of my edits for the calendar year surpassed my previous yearly high of 6146 in 2008, with more than a month to go. The COVID-19 pandemic (working from home) and my retirement contributed to making this possible. The year 2021 ended with a total of 6688 total edits. On October 26, 2022, my total calendar year edits passed the previous high set one year earlier, with more than two months to go; the year 2022 ended with a total of 7978 edits, more than a thousand more than the previous year.
I avoid editing musical group articles whenever I can. It's generally not an area that I'm familiar with, and much of the information in such articles has questionable notability and is there for political (not encyclopedic) reasons.
I have helped promote the following to good article status:
Expand the Rochester Telephone article using info from the book This Great Contrivance, The First Hundred Years of the Telephone in Rochester (1979) (added September 7, 2008)
Create an article about the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA), see [1] (added June 6, 2009)
Create an article about American Optical Company; seems to be important in the film industry and also has ties to Old Sturbridge Village (added July 4, 2009)
Resolve mis-spellings of "orginal->original" and "relase->release" in many articles and Wikicommons images, see [11] (added December 28, 2009, asked for help at the Wikipedia help desk)
Update the article for the Immaculate Conception Church in Atlanta GA; Georgia Historic Marker says it's the first Catholic Church and the oldest standing building in Atlanta, spared from destruction when Atlanta was burned in the Civil War. (added February 25, 2012; updated November 9, 2014)
Locate and/or create articles for the Niagara and St Lawrence power dams, see [12] (added February 26, 2012)
Create Camilla Tominey article (added December 30, 2020) - no longer needed, article was created 1 May 2021 by Andysmith248
Create Blessed Sacrament Church (Rochester, New York)article, noting that there is a picture in Wikimedia Commans (added January 2, 2021)
Add {{Start date and age|yyyy|mm|dd}} and/or {{End date and age|yyyy|mm|dd}} template to dates in infoboxes for locations, structures (buildings,bridges), organizations and others to provide a historical perspective (added June 13, 2021)
Ecoleetage (talk) has smiled at you! Smiles promote WikiLove and hopefully this one has made your day better. Spread the WikiLove by smiling at someone else, whether it be someone you have had disagreements with in the past or a good friend, Go on smile! Cheers, and Happy editing!=) Smile at others by adding {{subst:Smile}} to their talk page with a friendly message.
Truthanado has been identified as an Awesome Wikipedian, so I've officially declared today as Truthanado's Day! For being a great person and awesome Wikipedian, enjoy being the star of the day, Truthanado!
I'm guessing this is not the first time you've done this, and it may not be the first time anyone has thanked you, but no matter--such editing needs to be heralded. Too many people around here write in a conditional tense when they mean the past tense, though why that is, I've never understood. I'm glad to see someone else who understands this. HuskyHuskie (talk) 22:59, 31 August 2012 (UTC)
The Copyeditor's Barnstar
I think the volume of your c/e edits make this Copyeditor's Barnstar self-justified. Thank you for your hard work, Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here 13:45, 10 February 2014 (UTC)
For both business and pleasure, I have done a lot of traveling (more than one million miles (1.6 million km) in planes), and enjoy meeting people from different countries and cultures. I have completed three round-the-world trips by plane (all on business), two going East-to-West and one West-to-East:
United States to Japan to Australia to Hong Kong to England to United States
United States to Belgium to Netherlands to Hong Kong to United States
United States to Australia to Hong Kong to Germany to England to United States
Countries and Independent Territories I have visited
My world vision changes a bit over time, although the basic stay the same. Over time, I've become slightly more Libertarian and less Leftist, putting me somewhere in the middle.
I took the questionnaire at Quizfarm,[dead link] which gave me these results.
You scored as Cultural Creative. Cultural Creatives are probably the newest group to enter this realm. You are a modern thinker who tends to shy away from organized religion but still feels as if there is something greater than ourselves. You are very spiritual, even if you are not religious. Life has a meaning outside of the rational. .
Cultural Creative
69%
Existentialist
56%
Postmodernist
56%
Idealist
50%
Modernist
44%
Romanticist
44%
Fundamentalist
38%
Materialist
31%
In January 2022, I took the Personality Test at Free Personality Test, which rated me as a Logistician (ISTJ-A):
27% EXTRAVERTED ... 73% INTROVERTED
You’re mostly Observant. You’re likely highly practical, pragmatic and down-to-earth, focusing on what is actionable, tangible, and useful.
48% INTUITIVE ... 52% OBSERVANT
You’re mostly Thinking. You’re likely to prioritize logic over emotions, hide your feelings, and see objectivity as more important than cooperation.
53% THINKING ... 47% FEELING
You’re mostly Judging. You’re likely decisive, thorough and highly organized, with a focus on structure, planning, and closure.
68% JUDGING ... 32% PROSPECTING
You’re mostly Assertive. You’re likely self-assured, even-tempered and resistant to stress, refusing to worry too much or to push yourself too hard.
Logisticians don’t make many assumptions, preferring instead to analyze their surroundings, check their facts and arrive at practical courses of action. Logistician personalities are no-nonsense, and when they’ve made a decision, they will relay the facts necessary to achieve their goal, expecting others to grasp the situation immediately and take action. Logisticians have little tolerance for indecisiveness, but lose patience even more quickly if their chosen course is challenged with impractical theories, especially if they ignore key details – if challenges becomes time-consuming debates, Logisticians can become noticeably angry as deadlines tick nearer.
Some Logisticians are: Sting, Denzel Washington, Angela Merkel, Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, George Washington, Condoleeza Rice, George H.W.Bush, Edward Stark (Game of Thrones), Hermione Granger (Harry Potter), Dana Scully (X-Files) and Jason Bourne.
^"It has been pointed out that the correct spelling is "aficionado". Oh well. Poetic license?
^It's interesting that a simple-to-use Wiki (at its peak used by over 200 people) got replaced by a much-harder-to-use set of software tools.
^Edit counts are primarily based on data as of the completion of each month; this data can change and be inaccurate because it may contain articles that are later deleted.
I agree to release my text and image contributions, unless otherwise stated, into the public domain. Please be aware that other contributors might not do the same, so if you want to use my contributions under public domain terms, please check the multi-licensing guide.
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I have helped promote the following to good article status:
Australia (*)
Bahamas
Belgium
Brazil
Canada
China
Croatia
Denmark
Dominican Republic
England (*)
Finland
France
Germany (*)
Greece
Honduras
Hong Kong (*)
Italy
Japan
Macau
Mexico
Montenegro
Netherlands
Norway
Puerto Rico
Russia
Saint Kitts
Saint Martin
Scotland
Singapore
Sint Maarten
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
Taiwan
Türkiye
United Kingdom (*)
United States (*)
US Virgin Islands
Vatican City
Venezuela
Alabama
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida (*)
Georgia (*)
Illinois
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maryland
Maine
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Nebraska
New Hampshire
New Jersey (*)
New York (*)
North Carolina
Ohio
Pennsylvania (*)
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Vermont
Virginia
West Virginia
Wisconsin
