The autobiographers

trout · Unread post by **trout** » Tue Nov 15, 2016 12:19 pm

Ara Paiaya (T-H-L) seems like an autobiography.

Jim · Unread post by **Jim** » Tue Nov 15, 2016 4:34 pm

trout wrote:Ara Paiaya (T-H-L) seems like an autobiography.

Heh. We should add that, and the thousands like it, to Category:Autobiographies (T-H-L)... Imagine the fun...

edit: Stuff it - I added it since it seems to apply...

This category contains autobiographies. An autobiography is a biography written by its subject (or sometimes, in modern usage, composed conjointly with a collaborative writer, styled "as told to" or "with").

And... conjointly? wtf? There's probably a word for that unnecessary perversion of English to demonstrate that one can type "long" words and look "clever". I'm stuck on "wordwank". but someone may improve...

lonza leggiera · Unread post by **lonza leggiera** » Tue Nov 15, 2016 8:08 pm

Jim wrote: …
And... conjointly? wtf? There's probably a word for that unnecessary perversion of English to demonstrate that one can type "long" words and look "clever". I'm stuck on "wordwank". but someone may improve...

Polysyllabophilia? Unfortunately it's a word you can't use without being guilty of the very offence it refers to.

ReverendWayne · Unread post by **ReverendWayne** » Wed Nov 16, 2016 12:38 am

Terry Teachout (T-H-L) was wise to edit his article without creating a WP account. He's a good writer, so it's a decent article, IMO.

Jim · Unread post by **Jim** » Wed Nov 16, 2016 2:24 pm

lonza leggiera wrote:
Jim wrote: …
And... conjointly? wtf? There's probably a word for that unnecessary perversion of English to demonstrate that one can type "long" words and look "clever". I'm stuck on "wordwank". but someone may improve...
Polysyllabophilia? Unfortunately it's a word you can't use without being guilty of the very offence it refers to.

Thanks. I used it anyway. The ironic, syllabic guilt does sting a little, but seems bearable.

Wonderer · Unread post by **Wonderer** » Sun Dec 25, 2016 2:31 am

I suspect a lot of autobiographies get deleted. The author generally doesn't know the proper Wikipedia style, but more importantly, doesn't know how to ingratiate him/herself to the Wikipediot god-kings. Meanwhile, there are other people who wish the articles about them would get deleted.

From yesterday's deletion nominations, I wouldn't be at all surprised if Ahmad Rafah (T-H-L), Spag Heddy (T-H-L), Linda Underhill (T-H-L), Paola Mendoza (T-H-L), Robert Adam Barnett (T-H-L), Kim Pagel (T-H-L), Drew Monson (T-H-L), Jef Klein (T-H-L), etc., were all autobiographies.

I'm not sure about Jonathan Soros (T-H-L). For obvious reasons, I don't think Nawang Kapadia (T-H-L) is an autobiography.

thekohser · Unread post by **thekohser** » Sun Dec 25, 2016 1:56 pm

Linda Underhill (T-H-L) cannot be an autobiography, because its initial author has been active on Wikipedia since 2012, and Underhill died in 2011.

While looking at Paola Mendoza's article history, and interesting character popped up: GeraldoAbbson (T-C-L) -- no purpose on Wikipedia other than to get articles deleted.

Looking at a few more of these, I do not get the sense that they were created at all as autobiographies. Maybe they were touched up after that by the subject, but they didn't seem to come into being as written by the subject.

Poetlister · Unread post by **Poetlister** » Mon Dec 26, 2016 10:44 am

Wonderer wrote:For obvious reasons, I don't think Nawang Kapadia (T-H-L) is an autobiography.

It could well be by a close relative, which might lead to deletion on grounds of COI and POV. That can go too far, of course. Would anyone claim that if Ernest Hartley Coleridge (T-H-L) could have posted his brief life of his grandfather Samuel Taylor Coleridge (T-H-L) on Wikipedia, it should have been deleted?

Unread post by **tarantino** » Mon Jan 23, 2017 6:19 pm

Roger Jones (physicist) (T-H-L) is mostly written by Complexica (T-C-L) (who identifies as Roger Jones on his user page), his sockpuppet account Bellweather (T-C-L), and IPs of his when not logged in.

The photos he added to the Harvey Lloyd (photographer) (T-H-L) bio he created show no evidence of permission from Lloyd.

thekohser · Unread post by **thekohser** » Thu Jan 26, 2017 10:47 pm

This one is really astounding to me, for its complete over-the-topness as a self-authored resume... Robert Schriesheim (T-H-L)

... and his cast of sockpuppet/COI accounts:

TruHistory (T-C-L)
67.163.20.110 (T-C-L) (thank you for your business as a Comcast customer, Mr. Schriesheim.)
Cattalkone (T-C-L)
Botauto1 (T-C-L)
Autoseeker (T-C-L)
- and -
Autoautoseeker (T-C-L)

Poetlister · Unread post by **Poetlister** » Fri Jan 27, 2017 9:14 pm

How do we know that it's Robert Schriesheim? It could be one of his children. There's also an article on Alan Schriesheim, presumably another relative but well deserving of an article.

thekohser · Unread post by **thekohser** » Fri Jan 27, 2017 9:44 pm

Poetlister wrote:How do we know that it's Robert Schriesheim? It could be one of his children.

It could also be his dog, or his sentient cheese sandwich. You're absolutely right, Mr. "Poetlister" -- it's difficult to know for certain who is who online. That was bad of me to assume that he wrote his own Wikipedia biography.

trout · Unread post by **trout** » Sat Jun 03, 2017 1:40 am

John Maeda (T-H-L) seems awfully like an autobiography.

As an artist, Maeda’s early work redefined the use of electronic media as a tool for expression by combining computer programming with traditional artistic technique, laying the groundwork for the interactive motion graphics that are taken for granted on the web today.

thekohser · Unread post by **thekohser** » Sat Jun 03, 2017 11:12 am

trout wrote:John Maeda (T-H-L) seems awfully like an autobiography.

As an artist, Maeda’s early work redefined the use of electronic media as a tool for expression by combining computer programming with traditional artistic technique, laying the groundwork for the interactive motion graphics that are taken for granted on the web today.

Yes, looking at the biography's edit history, it's littered with redlinked Users of a single purpose.

Rogol Domedonfors · Unread post by **Rogol Domedonfors** » Sat Aug 12, 2017 4:46 pm

Sarah Walker (television presenter) (T-H-L) reads like an advertisement and was largely written by Sarah1974 (T-C-L), who has edited only this and the article on Sarah's TV programme, and speaks of herself as the subject on the article talk page.

thekohser · Unread post by **thekohser** » Sat Aug 12, 2017 5:28 pm

Rogol Domedonfors wrote:Sarah Walker (television presenter) (T-H-L) reads like an advertisement and was largely written by Sarah1974 (T-C-L), who has edited only this and the article on Sarah's TV programme, and speaks of herself as the subject on the article talk page.

That's kind of how things were done back in 2008. I've found that articles like that are sometimes "grandfathered" in.

Unread post by **tarantino** » Sat Aug 12, 2017 8:31 pm

Tenebrae (T-C-L) is an autobiographer. He owns the articles on himself and his wife, and he's added both of their names to hundreds of other articles. One user dared to bring this up, and was indefinitely blocked by that slimy Alabama professor and their edits were rev-deleted.

thekohser · Unread post by **thekohser** » Sun Aug 13, 2017 3:53 am

tarantino wrote:Tenebrae (T-C-L) is an autobiographer. He owns the articles on himself and his wife, and he's added both of their names to hundreds of other articles. One user dared to bring this up, and was indefinitely blocked by that slimy Alabama professor and their edits were rev-deleted.

Wow, and no warnings to the reader that the content they're reading was generated under a conflict of interest. I thought Wikipedia was "always improving"? This doesn't seem like an improvement to me.

(I loved some of the sources on the McDonagh biography. Things like Gay City News and her personal blog. Good stuff.)

thekohser · Unread post by **thekohser** » Wed Aug 16, 2017 5:57 pm

It seems possible, if not likely, that Babel41 (T-C-L) is Mark Satin (T-H-L). Seems to have been affixed to the Satin article from 2005 up until just a few days ago. The very first edit summary seems to have been "signed" by Mark.

Randy from Boise · Unread post by **Randy from Boise** » Wed Aug 16, 2017 6:58 pm

thekohser wrote:
tarantino wrote:Tenebrae (T-C-L) is an autobiographer. He owns the articles on himself and his wife, and he's added both of their names to hundreds of other articles. One user dared to bring this up, and was indefinitely blocked by that slimy Alabama professor and their edits were rev-deleted.
Wow, and no warnings to the reader that the content they're reading was generated under a conflict of interest. I thought Wikipedia was "always improving"? This doesn't seem like an improvement to me.

(I loved some of the sources on the McDonagh biography. Things like Gay City News and her personal blog. Good stuff.)

Speaking in generalities: the important thing isn't the gravitas of the specific source, but whether the information presented is accurate. Obviously, there are many at WP that worship at the alter of the New York Times, etc., but for most biographical topics, smaller — even frighteningly small — publications are apt to be best available.

Correct information in a small publication tops incorrect information in a large publication.

RfB

Rogol Domedonfors · Unread post by **Rogol Domedonfors** » Wed Aug 16, 2017 7:46 pm

Randy from Boise wrote:Speaking in generalities: the important thing isn't the gravitas of the specific source, but whether the information presented is accurate. Obviously, there are many at WP that worship at the alter of the New York Times, etc., but for most biographical topics, smaller — even frighteningly small — publications are apt to be best available.

Correct information in a small publication tops incorrect information in a large publication.

Indeed, if you have some way of telling that it is correct. How do you do that exactly?

Poetlister · Unread post by **Poetlister** » Wed Aug 16, 2017 8:42 pm

Randy from Boise wrote:Correct information in a small publication tops incorrect information in a large publication.

RfB

The important issue is verifiability, not truth. Wikipedia is a tertiary source that ideally records only what reliable secondary sources say. To investigate what is the truth is often Original Research.

thekohser · Unread post by **thekohser** » Wed Aug 16, 2017 9:01 pm

Rogol Domedonfors wrote:
Randy from Boise wrote:Speaking in generalities: the important thing isn't the gravitas of the specific source, but whether the information presented is accurate. Obviously, there are many at WP that worship at the alter of the New York Times, etc., but for most biographical topics, smaller — even frighteningly small — publications are apt to be best available.

Correct information in a small publication tops incorrect information in a large publication.
Indeed, if you have some way of telling that it is correct. How do you do that exactly?

Apparently, the easiest technique is to be the subject of the article.

Poetlister · Unread post by **Poetlister** » Wed Aug 16, 2017 9:15 pm

thekohser wrote:Apparently, the easiest technique is to be the subject of the article.

Ah, but then you're not a valid source. Even a published autobiography is dubious as a source becuse it is a primary source and clearly has a POV.

thekohser · Unread post by **thekohser** » Thu Aug 17, 2017 2:59 pm

Matthew Hiltzik (T-H-L)

Detailed info here...

thekohser · Unread post by **thekohser** » Wed Sep 06, 2017 8:11 pm

Toddcarmichael 63 (T-C-L) and SpokaneNative (T-C-L) and Q.D. Tran (T-C-L)
Todd Carmichael (T-H-L)

Possible COI helper, also with: MainlyTwelve (T-C-L) , although he could just be a zealous Philadelphia-area editor who is eager to expand all topics related to Philadelphia.

thekohser · Unread post by **thekohser** » Thu Sep 07, 2017 3:47 pm

Morgan York (T-H-L) has had enough, and so she's authoring her own Wikipedia biography -- damn the COI guidelines.

(She got an invite to the Teahouse, and no confrontation about her editing about herself... yet.)

thekohser · Unread post by **thekohser** » Thu Sep 07, 2017 4:04 pm

Probably written by handlers or friends... but...

OG Cuicide (T-H-L)

Just look at the "mainstream" reference sources. The best one is a free weekly newspaper, OC Weekly (T-H-L).

thekohser · Unread post by **thekohser** » Thu Sep 07, 2017 4:06 pm

Oh, Rocky Stone... why do you tweet that you have a Wikipedia biography, when it's so obvious that you or someone very close to you wrote it? You seem like a sweet, super-nice guy, though... so maybe the Wikipedians will have pity on your BLP.

Poetlister · Unread post by **Poetlister** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 7:38 pm

thekohser wrote:Oh, Rocky Stone... why do you tweet that you have a Wikipedia biography, when it's so obvious that you or someone very close to you wrote it? You seem like a sweet, super-nice guy, though... so maybe the Wikipedians will have pity on your BLP.

You'll never guess who has just rewritten the article and then sent it to AfD (no indication of notability).

thekohser · Unread post by **thekohser** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 8:39 pm

Poetlister wrote:
thekohser wrote:Oh, Rocky Stone... why do you tweet that you have a Wikipedia biography, when it's so obvious that you or someone very close to you wrote it? You seem like a sweet, super-nice guy, though... so maybe the Wikipedians will have pity on your BLP.
You'll never guess who has just rewritten the article and then sent it to AfD (no indication of notability).

Well, now we know that Yngva is a racist -- s/he didn't touch the article about the black rapper.
:irony:

Unread post by **tarantino** » Tue Oct 05, 2021 2:49 am

Jett Craze (T-H-L), added by Jettcraze (T-C-L) in 2012, and not updated since. Less well known than his sister, Galaxy Craze (T-H-L).

Poetlister · Unread post by **Poetlister** » Tue Oct 05, 2021 11:51 am

tarantino wrote: ↑
Tue Oct 05, 2021 2:49 am
Jett Craze (T-H-L), added by Jettcraze (T-C-L) in 2012, and not updated since. Less well known than his sister, Galaxy Craze (T-H-L).

Galaxy Craze (T-H-L) is a good candidate for the crap articles thread.

Beeblebrox · Unread post by **Beeblebrox** » Tue Oct 05, 2021 8:58 pm

Poetlister wrote: ↑
Tue Oct 05, 2021 11:51 am

tarantino wrote: ↑
Tue Oct 05, 2021 2:49 am
Jett Craze (T-H-L), added by Jettcraze (T-C-L) in 2012, and not updated since. Less well known than his sister, Galaxy Craze (T-H-L).
Galaxy Craze (T-H-L) is a good candidate for the crap articles thread.

I've nominated Mr. Craze's article for deletion as he does not seem particularly notable. The sister probably is kind of notable, having had a credited role in at least two notable films, including one by Woody Allen, but I can't argue with the contention that it is a crappy article.

Moral Hazard · Unread post by **Moral Hazard** » Tue Oct 05, 2021 10:26 pm

Moral Hazard wrote:I want to remind Wikipediocracy of the playwright Writegeist (T-C-L)'s tragicomedy about Kevin Gorman (T-C-L), Arbcom, and Eric Corbet (T-C-L), which was formerly at User:Writegeist/play (T-H-L) but which is now at https://web.archive.org/web/20140316074 ... geist/play
Writegeist wrote:

Little Kermit and the Curmudgeonly Soothsayer
A play in two acts

Characters:
I.P.COPIUS-LEE, a troll
ERIC CORDITE, a curmudgeonly soothsayer
KERMIT GOERING, a little boy
A BYSTANDER
ASSORTED HARMLESS LUNATICS, all naked
A CHORUS

The play takes place in a cemetery in Sangerville, a small town.

ACT I
As the play begins, the troll I.P.COPIUS-LEE emerges from under a nearby bridge, crouches beside a grave, cuts open an onion and rubs it under his eyes.

COPIUS-LEE (much weeping, and wailing): Oh shame, shame on you all! Lo the boy you never knew! Lo these my tears! Shame on you who knew not the boy nor what he wrote and did nothing! You whose eyes are dry!

A crowd forms. It is the CHORUS.
COPIUS-LEE: Yes shame on you who never knew him and heeded not his plight. Oh woe, oh woe, is me! Woe, woe, woe! And more woe! Behold my tears! Accursed are you all who knew him not and did nothing and wept not!

Enter ERIC CORDITE, the curmudgeonly soothsayer.
CORDITE: Ee by gum enough of your shite.

CORDITE chases COPIUS-LEE around the cemetery, kicking his backside.
Enter KERMIT GOERING, the little boy. He is in fancy dress as a policeman, and carries a stick, a plastic toy sheriff's badge, and a toy bullhorn. He has a squeaky voice.
KERMIT: You! Ewwic Cordite! I thaw that!

CORDITE: Ee by gum. Kermit. You saw what?

KERMIT: You danthing on this poor boy's gwave.

CORDITE: Bollocks. I was kicking the troll.

COPIUS-LEE, trolling done, scuttles off stage.
KERMIT: No you were danthing. I thaw it with my own lickle eyes. I'm a politheman. Watch! I shall get the wabble on my thide and then I'll do thome thmiting with my thtick! (Now uses his toy bullhorn to squeal at the crowd.) Behold the heartleth monthter! A wapsheet as long as my arm (rolls up his sleeve: his arm is indeed long for one so young), and now thith! Gwavedanthing! Pure evil! Ewwic Cordite is Thatan!

CHORUS: Ooh! Satan! A hanging! Boiling oil! Disembowelment! Guts! Blood, blood, blood!

BYSTANDER: No, Kermit. It's just Uncle Eric. He was kicking the troll.

KERMIT: Who cares. I don't like Uncle Ewwic, he's wude. And I've got a shiny lickle badge and a big thtick, so if I tell you he's Thatan, then for sure he has howwible horns and a tewwible tail. I don't have to live by your wules. You have to live by mine. I have a thilver thtar of offith! And I shall thtwike Thatan with my politheman's thtick!

CHORUS: Ooh! Satan! Off with his dick! Hanging! Boiling oil! Disembowelling! Guts! Blood, blood, blood!

KERMIT: Take THIS for your wudeness and mowwal turpitude and your wotten chawwacter and your histowy of awwests, and for being thmarter than me, and for—oh I don't know, I'll fink of thome other thtuff. (Pokes CORDITE in the eye with the stick.)

CORDITE: Ouch. Ee by gum. You little tyke. I'm off.

Exit CORDITE stage right.
BYSTANDER: Oh come on Kermit. It was just Uncle Eric, our curmudgeonly soothsayer.

KERMIT: Cumbludgeonly? Thoofthayer? Your words are not in my politheman's book of words. Behold my shiny badge, my thtar! (Waves plastic toy sheriff's star.) I can do what I like! He's Thatan!

Enter the HARMLESS NAKED LUNATICS
HARMLESS NAKED LUNATICS: We are the arbitrators! Behold our flowing robes of office. Bow down!

KERMIT: Hello harmleth naked lunatics. Oh dudes. Look at your.. your things. Down there. Eew. Anyway, I thmote Thatan! With my own eyes I thaw him gwavedanthing! All wight-finking people were in mortal danger! I'm a politheman! I enforthed the law!

BYSTANDER (who has been joined by SEVERAL OTHERS): No really. It was just Eric. No gravedancing. He was kicking a troll. We all saw. Kermit was out of order.

KERMIT: My thilver badge of offith!

HARMLESS NAKED LUNATICS: Our flowing robes of office!

BYSTANDER (to the HARMLESS NAKED LUNATICS): Little Kermit told outrageous fibs. He savagely poked our curmudgeonly soothsayer with his stick. Or as savagely as a mewling infant can. Will you act on the facts? Will you take Kermit's stick away from him until he learns to speak the truth and to treat others with fairness and respect?

HARMLESS NAKED LUNATICS: We shall act! We are the arbitrators! Behold our flowing robes of office!

KERMIT: And wemember, Ewwic is Thatan!

CHORUS: Ooh! Satan! Off with his dick! Hanging! Boiling oil! Disembowelment! Guts! Blood, blood, blood! Act! Act! Act! Act!

The HARMLESS NAKED LUNATICS lower their posteriors onto a convenient slab of monumental masonry and ceremoniously raise their hands.
A hush of anticipation. All eyes are on the seated HARMLESS NAKED LUNATICS.
The HARMLESS NAKED LUNATICS ceremoniously lower their hands, and sit on them.
—CURTAIN—

—ACT II—
(note to American readers: this is not the eleventh act)
The cemetery. Save for the BYSTANDER, who is not on stage, the same characters are in the same positions as before.
There is a long silence.
Enter the BYSTANDER
BYSTANDER (to the HARMLESS NAKED LUNATICS): Ladies and gentlemen . . .

KERMIT (screaming): Out of prothethhh! He's a thcoundwel and a cwiminal! A thcoundwel and a cwiminal! (Chanting now, turning to THE CHORUS, trying to get them to join in): Out of prothethhhh! Cwiminal! Out of prothethhhh! Cwiminal! Out of prothethhhh! Cwiminal! Out of prothethhhh! Cwiminal! Out of prothethhhh! Cwiminal! Out of prothethhhh! Cwiminal!

KERMIT gives up when he sees the CHORUS yawning and hanging their heads. He flops onto the ground, exhausted.
CHORUS (mumbling to themselves): Boring. Wanted Satan's dick. Hanging. Boiling oil. Etcetera.

Again the BYSTANDER addresses the HARMLESS NAKED LUNATICS
BYSTANDER: Don't just sit there. Do something.

One of the HARMLESS NAKED LUNATICS turns to the others.
HARMLESS NAKED LUNATIC: Did anyone bring the Ex-Lax?

HARMLESS NAKED LUNATICS: Tee hee. Poo!

BYSTANDER (impatient now, bellowing): So shit or get off the pot!

HARMLESS NAKED LUNATICS (rising to their feet): Behold our flowing robes!

They all point at KERMIT
KERMIT (softly, imploring, voice quavering, hands clutching plastic badge to chest): Behold my thilver badge of offith.

There is a hush. At last the HARMLESS NAKED LUNATICS make their pronouncement.
HARMLESS NAKED LUNATICS: Tut!

Everyone waits. But the HARMLESS NAKED LUNATICS have nothing to add, and stop pointing. Eventually KERMIT breaks the silence.
KERMIT: Meh.

He thrusts his toy badge at the BYSTANDER'S face. Then triumphantly raises the badge aloft and commences a victory jig.
KERMIT (sneering chant provides the rhythm for the jig): Thilver badge of off-ith, thilver badge of off-ith, thilver badge of off-ith . . . "

Exit KERMIT stage right, jigging and chanting.
The HARMLESS NAKED LUNATICS all bow.
HARMLESS NAKED LUNATICS: Flowing robes!

KERMIT (off-stage, faint): Thilver badge of off-ith!

Blackout.

—FINAL CURTAIN—

Binksternet and Writegeist wrote: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk ... ist/Gorman

Play
The play you wrote in userspace should be deleted as it does not appear to be part of building the encyclopedia. It's clearly a parody of Kevin Gorman (T-C-L)'s recent sally against Eric Corbett (T-C-L), so it likely falls under WP:ATTACK (T-H-L). I think you should nominate it for deletion.
Binksternet (T-C-L) 22:20, 14 March 2014 (UTC)

User page
The autobiography you wrote in userspace should be deleted as it does not appear to be part of building the encyclopedia. It's clearly a humorless parody of George and Weedon Grossmith's The Diary of a Nobody, so it likely falls under WP:BORING and WP:CRAP. I think you should nominate it for deletion.
On a more serious note, I was sorry to read about your rocky marriage. I sincerely hope the rockiness didn't come as any great surprise. Writegeist (T-C-L) 08:40, 16 March 2014 (UTC)

More thespian news
Thank you for so generously recommending a nomination for Little Kermit and the Curmudgeonly Soothsayer. My first-ever nomination! Thrilling! Oh God, where to start. I want to thank my agent Stella Gushington . . . the play's darling director Max "Stuffy" Clark, who can do no wrong . . . er, my adorable wife Lysistrata, where are you babycakes, oh yes there she is in the aisle seat! And by the way don't believe what you read, those are real! Where was I, oh yes, Lysistrata's hairdresser Crispin Primp . . . and my mother . . . and . . . Oh, okay, later.
Binkie, without doubt it was your review that helped lift the play from its relative obscurity at the off-off Broadway Prints of Whales theatre, which in turn precipitated its recent successful transfer to the storied Wikipediocracy Palace. As a token of gratitude and esteem, and encouraged both by your thespian credentials and the beard in your headshot, the producers are willing to offer you the opportunity to try out as understudy for the small but pivotal role of the troll in the new, all-star Wikipediocracy Palace production.
Writegeist (T-C-L) 00:42, 17 March 2014 (UTC)

Binksternet' (T-C-L)s autobiographical parody of "Diary of a Nobody", violating WP:Boring and WP:Crap:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Binksternet

I am Michael "Bink" Knowles, known as Binksternet on Wikipedia, a California-based live audio engineer and Wikipedia editor. I have edited Wikipedia since July 2007, starting 202 new articles, and I have an edit count of more than 275,000.[1]

As an audio engineer, I spend a lot of time sitting and listening to the sounds that are coming off of the stage and out of the loudspeakers. When everything is going smoothly, and the job is not complex, I pay attention only if something sounds wrong to me. This sort of light duty work lets my mind wander a bit. As a crew member, I also spend time waiting for the video and lighting people to get done with their adjustments. As well, I often spend time waiting for the people who are supposed to be rehearsing on stage. I like to devote all of this light duty time to editing Wikipedia.

Contents
1 Early life
2 Telephony
3 Audio
4 Wikipedia
5 Personal life
5.1 Nickname
6 References
Early life
My first home was in Rialto, California; a breezy city swept by clean desert air coming through Cajon Pass. The little city started as orange groves but in the 1960s it was fast changing to tracts of homes. I was raised in a family of six singers and musicians. All the members of the Knowles family were involved in summer stock plays and light opera productions in the Inland Empire. Some unusual people came through our house: Turbaned Korla Pandit played for a living room full of guests, and left long, curving scratches on the Steinway piano because of his oversized rings. People tried ESP experiments, and a medium read the auras of us children. An early version of The Ungame was tested on us.

I was an active child except when I was reading books, which was often. I read the family's World Book Encyclopedia, and I probably annoyed people by quoting facts from it. I learned to sing in harmony with others and as a soloist, and I played clarinet. In 1975, my mother moved us four children to Irvine, California; I was in the first class of students at Irvine High School. I earned a National Merit Scholarship Program grant for college.

At the University of California, San Diego, I began as a biology major but soon swapped major and minor to focus on music. I learned about the physics of sound waves, the characteristics of music perception and psychoacoustics, and about the new field of digital audio. During college, I married my high school sweetheart. The rocky marriage produced a son and a daughter but lasted only four years.

Telephony
After college, I obtained work with AT&T in San Francisco, training on old 1A2 business telephone systems which were being replaced by digital phones. In the aftermath of the breakup of the Bell System, I was suddenly in demand as a telephone technician for various independent phone companies all around the San Francisco Bay Area. I honed my electronics knowledge as well as my trouble-shooting skills.

Audio
Despite some success in the telephone business, I longed for a career in the music industry. In 1987 I enrolled in Leo de Gar Kulka's College for Recording Arts, and joined the Audio Engineering Society (AES). After completing the year-long recording program, I was hired by Harry McCune, Jr., president of McCune Audio Visual. Instead of working in the recording industry, I took up sound for live events—a field with a one-shot, must-get-it-right performance aspect which reminded me of my youth when I was an actor and singer on stage. This characteristic appealed to me more than the thought of sitting in a recording studio, mixing the same pop song over and over, and I settled into my role as live sound engineer. I helped with sound at the Bohemian Club and the Bohemian Grove (both Leo de Gar Kulka and Harry McCune were club members) and I assisted on the main stage at Monterey Jazz Festival. I mixed sound for bands, churches, conventions, corporations and politicians. Notable artists I worked with include Tony Bennett, Rita Rudner, Carlos Santana, the Peninsula Symphony, Peter Duchin, Graham Nash, Bernie Krause, Michelle Shocked, Ozzy Osbourne, Tito Puente, and Steve Miller with Norton Buffalo. One memorable event was mixing sound for the San Quentin inmates, a special taping of Comic Strip Live in August 1990 – when Paul Rodriguez opened the show by turning his rear toward the prisoners and shouting, "You aren't getting any of this!" I thought, well now, it's on.

In 1994, I left McCune to work as an independent audio engineer; a role that has continued to the present. My focus is on corporate events and tech conventions, but I still mix musical acts. I have worked with Joan Baez, Meklit Hadero, Peter Buffett, the California Honeydrops, funkster George Clinton, Quartet San Francisco, Atsuko Hashimoto, Gerald Clayton, the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, Pamela Z, Patti Labelle, Beardyman, Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers, Charlie Mars, Eric Lewis (ELEW), Julian Lage, Charlie Haden, Ravi Coltrane, Geri Allen, Houston Person, Warren Hellman, Lenny Williams, Kailasa, Manooghi Hi, Ken Peplowski, Wycliffe Gordon, Rosie Flores, Geographer, the New Mastersounds, Nishat Khan and Masayuki Koga. People who know me have probably heard the funny stories about Slayer, Richard Simmons, Danielle Steele, Andy Grove, Bill Walsh, Larry Ellison and more.

I stumbled upon Dave Stevens' online Live Audio Board (LAB) in 2001; it had been serving as a conversation point for live audio engineers since 1994, starting as a Listserv distributed by email. When I encountered LAB it was a bulletin board system at http://www.roaddog.com, which was Dave's domain. I became a frequent contributor to LAB, and in addition to other live sound mixers, I met some professional design engineers working for audio manufacturers. I announced in late December 2001 that I would mail copies of my "Bink Audio Test CD" to LAB members for free as a Christmas gift and promotion. I created the CD using Cool Edit Pro software; some 50 discs were mailed. In response to continuing demand, in February 2002 the audio test CD was offered online by a LAB member who had available server space. Later, other sites mirrored it. The CD proved to have a lasting effect.

In late 2003 I put together a shootout of various makes and models of graphic equalizers, with Mike Allen/Butler analyzing them on a test bench, and other volunteers listening to them on a stage. I ran a series of test signals through the units and compared the input to the output by way of Smaart software. I published the results online, saying that an Audient product had won: the ASP231.[2]

As a member of AES, I have volunteered to lead panel discussions on various live sound topics at AES conventions. I moderated some panels on automixers, and corporate sound mixing practices, in San Francisco, New York, London and Los Angeles beginning in 2008.[3]

Wikipedia

I participated in the first Roundtable on Editor Engagement at WMF. In the photo I am suggesting that Wikipedia editors should always be logged in, which would stop IP vandalism but not other disruption.
I started editing Wikipedia in July 2007 after seeing an incomplete list of films featuring tango dancing.[4] My interests are wide-ranging, covering architecture, military history, aviation, film, California, the Bohemian Club, musicians and music, and of course audio engineering. I have taken four articles to the level of Featured Article, showcasing Wikipedia's best work. Three of the four articles were ones that I started from scratch, on topics that I knew nothing about until I began research for the article. I find it stimulating to learn just enough about a certain topic to write a good encyclopedia article—the process of reading new books, and searching online, engages me.

In January 2013, I was named in a Daily Dot article about Wikipedia editors working to uncover and correct a series of internal hoaxes created by User:Legolas2186.[5] Legolas2186 had introduced fabricated references and text on a number of articles, the most prominent being Madonna (entertainer), which is in the top 500 Wikipedia articles by volume of internet traffic. The Daily Dot noted that I was the first person to question Legolas2186 about his problematic references. At User talk:Legolas2186/Fixing citation problems, I created a page to serve as a place for the community to investigate and fix the problems.

Skeptic Tim Farley wrote about me in December 2013 in regard to a WP:Conflict of interest noticeboard (COIN) discussion and the Deepak Chopra biography. The COIN thread started out with editor Vivekachudamani accusing me and Alexbrn of having a conflict of interest on Chopra topics. After a misstep by Chopra briefly revealing Vivekachudamani's real name at the Chopra Foundation blog, I searched various online sources and found that Vivekachudamani (under his real name) had stated in a brief biographical blurb that he had been performing research work for Chopra for 15 years. This discovery turned the COIN discussion around 180 degrees, resulting in Vivekachudamani saddled with conflict-of-interest limitations—a WP:Boomerang result.[6]

Personal life
I live in Oakland with my second wife, a web programmer. We met in early 1996 and married in May 2001. I learned to tango with my wife and we have danced in Washington DC, Berlin, Madrid, Buenos Aires, Puerto Vallarta, Denver and many cities along the West Coast of the US. From my previous marriage I have a son and daughter, and I have six grandchildren. I like to listen to music, to hike, and to drink microbrews, especially ones with a pronounced hops flavor.

Nickname
The nickname "Bink" comes from a gig I had on May 19, 1989, when I was the junior member of a McCune road crew working an event in Chicago. We flew into town the night before and I said I was going to read and get some sleep rather than go drinking and carousing with the others. They said I was doing it all wrong, that road gigs are for cutting loose. The next morning they announced that they had dubbed me "Binky", and that I must answer to that name whether I liked it or not. I did not like it, and I worked hard the next few years to get people to call me "Bink", which I thought was a better moniker, somewhat more mature-sounding. I had more success with this effort as time progressed. On the positive side, the nickname helped me stand out from all the Mikes and Michaels.

References
*My edits per WMF Labs counter
*Total edits: over 275,000
*Top 100 at WP:List of Wikipedians by number of edits (and I don't use a bot.)
Baldock, Lee (January 21, 2004). "Audient wins in graphic EQ shootout". LSi Online.
"125th AES Convention Charts Live Sound Events – Automixing, White Space Issues, Innovations in Live Sound & More". AES Press Release: AES San Francisco 2008. Audio Engineering Society. September 12, 2008. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
This was my first-ever edit to Wikipedia, as an anonymous IP editor, on July 28, 2007. That same IP was used previously and subsequently by my wife who has never registered a Wikipedia username.
My first non-IP edit was on July 28, 2007, with this announcement on my user page, 33 minutes after my anonymous edit.
Morris, Kevin (January 18, 2013). "How vandals are destroying Wikipedia from the inside". The Daily Dot.
Farley, Tim (December 11, 2013). "Quantum variations in Wikipedia rules – Deepak Chopra and conflict of interest". Skeptical Software Tools. Retrieved February 18, 2013.

Poetlister · Unread post by **Poetlister** » Wed Oct 06, 2021 4:12 pm

Beeblebrox wrote: ↑
Tue Oct 05, 2021 8:58 pm
I've nominated Mr. Craze's article for deletion as he does not seem particularly notable. The sister probably is kind of notable, having had a credited role in at least two notable films, including one by Woody Allen, but I can't argue with the contention that it is a crappy article.

Two supports so far for deletion, including Yngvadottir (T-C-L). I'd be surprised if it doesn't get deleted, but of course there are plenty more and I expect new ones will appear regularly. Why are people daft enough to use their real names?

Beeblebrox · Unread post by **Beeblebrox** » Tue Oct 12, 2021 9:01 pm

Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Jett Craze (T-H-L) closed with a unanimous consensus to delete.

AndyTheGrump · Unread post by **AndyTheGrump** » Mon Oct 18, 2021 8:32 am

Chris Metzler (T-H-L)

A biography of a documentary filmmaker created by Henry kumagai (T-C-L) back in 2007. Said contributor's only other edits also concerning Metzler and his works. Subsequently edited by various IPs that seem, like kumagai to be rather familiar with the subject. And then edited by Cametzler (T-H-L), which is at least honest, I suppose, though Cametzler has now been blocked indefinitely as a 'Promotion / advertising-only account'.

Possibly Metzler merits an article. Not this one. Not without proper sources to back up the endless promotional claims.

Poetlister · Unread post by **Poetlister** » Mon Oct 18, 2021 11:49 am

Sometimes these articles do get deleted, but it takes time. David Mertz (T-H-L) (aka Lulu of the Lotus-Eaters (T-C-L)) was deleted on the third attempt: see here (the AfD was courtesy blanked, as he has influential friends).

AndyTheGrump · Unread post by **AndyTheGrump** » Tue Oct 26, 2021 6:02 pm

An addition to the Johnathon Schaech (T-H-L) biography, made by one John Schaech (T-C-L), who claims to be said actor, or at least to represent him:

Schaech exploded onto the scene as one of Hollywood’s most handsome leading men in Jocelyn Moorhouse’s How to Make an American Quilt (1995) and Tom Hanks’ directorial debut That Thing You Do! (1996) Since then, Johnathon has shown incredible versatility as an actor. Over the last twenty years, he's starred in over one-hundred and sixty productions. Working opposite some of the most acclaimed and awarded actors, producers, writers, and directors including Gwyneth Paltrow, Kenneth Branagh, Ed Harris, Idris Elba, Antonio Banderas, Bruce Willis, Tom Fontana, Gary Goetzman, Neil Moritz, Greg Araki, Cary Brokaw, Roy Lee, Jessica Lange, Pen Densham and Bill Paxton.

link

The article seems to have been repeatedly edited, in a most flattering manner, by single-purpose accounts. Personally, even if I was one of Hollywood's most handsome leading men, I wouldn't edit my biography under my own name to say so. Then again, I'm not a Hollywood actor: maybe they consider that normal behaviour...

Poetlister · Unread post by **Poetlister** » Tue Oct 26, 2021 8:48 pm

AndyTheGrump wrote: ↑
Tue Oct 26, 2021 6:02 pm
The article seems to have been repeatedly edited, in a most flattering manner, by single-purpose accounts. Personally, even if I was one of Hollywood's most handsome leading men, I wouldn't edit my biography under my own name to say so. Then again, I'm not a Hollywood actor: maybe they consider that normal behaviour...

Quite a few actors have tremendous egos. I don't know about this chap, but I'm sure that many actors are quite capable of such conduct.

Unread post by **Midsize Jake** » Wed Oct 27, 2021 12:31 am

AndyTheGrump wrote: ↑
Tue Oct 26, 2021 6:02 pm
Personally, even if I was one of Hollywood's most handsome leading men, I wouldn't edit my biography under my own name to say so.

But let's bear in mind that the rule/guideline preventing you from doing so (putting aside any ethical concerns about it) is almost completely arbitrary, and serves mostly to give Wikipedians an unfair advantage over their article subjects. So while you'd be doing the more honorable thing in that case, which is commendable, you'd also be doing it in the service of a dishonorable, ehh, thing. (IMO.)

Anyhoo, that same wording is used in Schaech's IMDb mini-bio, which strongly suggests that either Schaech is an fool or he's hired a rather untalented (or just lazy) PR firm to handle this stuff for him. Or, perhaps more likely, his agent hired the PR firm — and if that's the case, then Schaech should probably find a new agent. (He hasn't been getting particularly good roles lately anyway.)

Poetlister · Unread post by **Poetlister** » Wed Oct 27, 2021 8:26 am

Obviously, "Wikipedians" (however they may be defined) are superior beings, while article subjects, except for those few who are themselves Wikipedians, are non-persons in Wikiworld. Why shouldn't the superior beings have the advantage?

Vigilant · Unread post by **Vigilant** » Wed Oct 27, 2021 5:53 pm

I'm reminded of a quote from The Imitation Game

Do you know why people like violence?

It is because it feels good. Humans find violence deeply satisfying.

But remove the satisfaction, and the act becomes... hollow.

thekohser · Unread post by **thekohser** » Thu Jul 28, 2022 9:30 pm

The autobiography is: Darrell M. West (T-H-L)

The authors:
DarrellWest (T-C-L)
SusanBluestone (T-C-L)
SupplyRoute (T-C-L)

AndyTheGrump · Unread post by **AndyTheGrump** » Sat Jan 14, 2023 7:31 pm

Another autobiographer: Arthur Graaff (T-H-L). The lede:

Arthur Graaff (born in Hilversum in 1948) is a Dutch journalist, author, whistleblower, educator, publicist and anti-fascist. He successfully campaigned to organize funding for the beleaguered Sarajevo daily Oslobodjenje in 1993, and to cease the commemoration of Nazis in the Ysselsteyn German war cemetery. Graaff also called to end the exhibition "Design of the Third Reich" in 2018, and campaigned for the extradition to the Netherlands of Klaas Carel Faber.

Created by Webnetprof (T-C-L), who admits to being Graaff: link

The Dutch-language Wikipedia has repeatedly deleted articles on Graaff. link There seem to be questions as to the reliability (or even actual existence) of some sources being cited in the English-language bio. link.

Lurking · Unread post by **Lurking** » Sun Jan 15, 2023 12:03 am

AndyTheGrump wrote: ↑
Sat Jan 14, 2023 7:31 pm
Another autobiographer: Arthur Graaff (T-H-L). The lede:
Arthur Graaff (born in Hilversum in 1948) is a Dutch journalist, author, whistleblower, educator, publicist and anti-fascist. He successfully campaigned to organize funding for the beleaguered Sarajevo daily Oslobodjenje in 1993, and to cease the commemoration of Nazis in the Ysselsteyn German war cemetery. Graaff also called to end the exhibition "Design of the Third Reich" in 2018, and campaigned for the extradition to the Netherlands of Klaas Carel Faber.
Created by Webnetprof (T-C-L), who admits to being Graaff: link

The Dutch-language Wikipedia has repeatedly deleted articles on Graaff. link There seem to be questions as to the reliability (or even actual existence) of some sources being cited in the English-language bio. link.

Not just an autobiographer. At least as far as the Dutch wiki goes, he also had a habit of repeated copy-vio to the point he got indeffed for it, repeated block evasion, legal threats, self-promo (and not just the autobiography), failure to adhere to a neutral pov, failure to cite sources for a fair bit of what he added and misrepresenting sources a good portion of the time he did add one.

A real gem, that one.

AndyTheGrump · Unread post by **AndyTheGrump** » Sun Jan 15, 2023 9:24 am

That didn't take long: Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Arthur Graaff (T-H-L).

Unread post by **tarantino** » Fri Apr 21, 2023 6:35 pm

Eerik-Niiles Kross (T-H-L) (Enkross (T-C-L)) wrote his own biography, and also the one for his wife Mary Jordan (filmmaker) (T-H-L), though neither article mention they are married to one another.

The Blue Newt · Unread post by **The Blue Newt** » Mon Jul 03, 2023 4:39 am

Jill Stewart (T-H-L) appears to have the signs and stigmata of autobio.