User:Mz7

Why do I edit Wikipedia?

Userboxes This user helped promote Wings for My Flight to good article status. This user helped promote Vinicius and Tom to good article status. This user helped promote Feathers: The Evolution of a Natural Miracle to good article status. This user helped promote Plumhoff v. Rickard to good article status. This user helped promote McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission to good article status. This user helped promote Safford Unified School District v. Redding to good article status. This user is an administrator on the English Wikipedia. (verify) This user has checkuser rights on the English Wikipedia. (verify) This user is an oversighter on the English Wikipedia. (verify)

If you have been editing Wikipedia for a while, you have probably heard the joke:

“

The problem with Wikipedia is that it only works in practice. In theory, it would be a total disaster.

”

This rings more true today than ever. With the proliferation of ad companies like social media, you would think a project like Wikipedia would get overrun with bad actors, but remarkably, the people who genuinely want to help build an encyclopedia far outnumber those who want to misuse the platform to promote falsehoods, sell stuff, or manipulate people. If this were not true, Wikipedia would be doomed to fail.

In other words, Wikipedia's success and continued existence requires that more humans want to help each other than hurt each other. That is so cool. These days, there is no shortage of reasons to be cynical, but the fact that Wikipedia exists at all means that, hey, maybe there is hope for us yet. To be sure, Wikipedia is far from perfect, but that only means there is more work to be done, more articles to improve, more topics to cover. On Wikipedia, if you see a problem, you can go in and fix it yourself. On most articles, that is something you can just do right now. This is a project where the people who use the product and the people who make the product are one and the same.

Along the way, you'll meet all sorts of amazing Wikipedians, not all of whom will share the same opinions or interests as you. That's okay. That's good. Disagreement and conflict are inevitable in any diverse community. As long as we have mutual respect for each other as individuals—as long as we are all trying to build an encyclopedia—I have faith that we can find common ground and move forward.

More about me

Hello, and welcome to my user page. I'm Mz7, and I am a volunteer editor at Wikipedia. I made my first edits to Wikipedia in 2008 as an anonymous user. I created an account in March 2010, but I really only started actively editing in late 2011. Most of my work here is behind-the-scenes: As an administrator, lately I've been helping with various administrative backlogs, such as: conducting sockpuppet investigations intervening against ongoing vandalism Every now and then, I create and develop articles. See here for a list of pages I've created, and below for a list of pages I have significantly contributed to. I have several DYK credits, listed at the bottom of my user page. I have three alternative user accounts: User:Mz7 (alt), which I use on non-personal or otherwise insecure computers; User:Mz7 (test account), which I use to see how Wikipedia looks to new users; and User:Mz7 (bot), which I am currently using to update the case table you see at WP:SPI. Articles I have significantly contributed to: Wings for My Flight Vinicius and Tom Feathers: The Evolution of a Natural Miracle Plumhoff v. Rickard McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission Safford Unified School District v. Redding Miraitowa and Someity On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft Hydraulic Press Channel The Prairie Keepers Poppy (novel) Praying Drunk Thor Hanson (biologist) Wikipedia essays I've written: Wikipedia:Wikipedia is stressful Wikipedia:Core administrator rights Wikipedia:Avoid political banners Wikipedia:G5 is not a firm rule User:Mz7/Running Arbitration Committee elections User:Mz7/Attack ideas, not people Well then, I'll see you around! —Mz7