From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hi, my name is Kathryn and I am a Wikipedian.
With a background in professional writing, editing, photography and publishing, I was originally recruited to Wikipedia by friends and acquaintances who asked me to help flesh out some articles they were writing. My primary interest in Wikipedia is still as a writer and editor, though in recent months I've gotten pulled into some of the less-scintillating housekeeping tasks. While I don't enjoy the latter as much as the former, I do feel a desire to give back to the Wikipedia community, so I do my best to divide my time between both. I also do a fair amount of wikignoming - largely through sourcing and copyediting articles, and the ever-glamorous CVU patrol.
I have writings, music and artwork published in various places in hardcopy and on the web. My first professional publication was in 1980 (I was very young) (But I guess that still means I'm old now). My long-term involvement in the Celtic, Pagan and Feminist communities tends to influence the type of articles to which I gravitate. I have been a Netizen since 1985 and a Wikipedia editor since July, 2005.
If you are here to ask about The CR FAQ or paganachd.com, please see this section on my talk page (now archived).
I work primarily on religious, cultural and music articles, with forays into languages, literature, psychology and sociology. I've started a handful of articles, and contributed substantially to many others. In addition to my Irish and Scottish cultural and religious interests, I have experience with various sects of Hinduism, Afro-Diasporic religions, First Nations religions, and a passing acquaintance with some forms of Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity and some far more obscure mythologies and belief systems. I am an aging Punk Rocker and semi-retired politico. (OK, I'm not as old as that makes me sound, I'm just not as active in those things as I once was.)
Je parle seulement un peu de français; j'ai étudié la langue au lycée... mais j'ai perdu beaucoup. Tha mi ag ionnsachadh Gàidhlig; chan eil Gàidhlig mhath agam fhathast. Tá mo chuid Gaeilge go hainnis.
In addition to the WikiProject teams I belong to, I also like to occasionally work on Music and Locale articles, especially for music scenes I've been involved with, and places I've lived or visited (Note, not bands I've belonged to, jammed with, toured with or promoted ;-) Just bands whose work I know). Now and then I'll do a copyedit on something I know little to nothing about, as it pretty much guarantees NPOV and I'm just geeky enough that that sort of thing is fun for me.
On the other hand, ignorance does not automatically equal NPOV. I believe one can be an expert in one's field and still write with a neutrual, encyclopedic tone. I believe this is preferable to people with no knowledge of the topic hacking away at articles, categories or page names in the belief that what they are doing is "neutral" and "common sense". Sometimes "common sense" is actually ignorance. The primary value in the situation is community consensus. I have a background in collectives and consensus decision-making, and that is one of the things I actually enjoy about Wikipedia. I have little tolerance for trolls. We are here to create an encyclopedia, not to have stupid Intarwebs flame wars.
After giving much thought to the debate over userboxes and the posting of biographical information on user pages, this is my conclusion: I am of the old school of journalism; I believe that it is important to disclose personal interest and, therefore, possible bias. I believe honest disclosure serves WP:NPOV policy better than does editing anonymously and offering no information about areas of expertise or potential conflicts of interest.
I also believe the journalist is not the story. At least, not on Wikipedia. Here, I am fully capable of behaving like a grownup and suppressing any gonzo tendencies. Or that's what I tell myself. Anyway, I have other outlets for that vice.
I forgot to celebrate my 1,000th edit as I believe it took place on an admin's page, in the midst of a discussion about the need to lock down some articles in the face of seasonal mischief. It's so much easier when they just throw corn at the windows and TP the trees. My 2,000th edit was on The Troubles. My 3,000th edit was in the midst of CVU patrol. I notice a definite trend since edit 1,000. On that note, this userpage has been vandalized 9 times by trolls to whom I gave vandalism warnings. I am happy to say that those retaliatory screeds got all those vandals blocked :-)
|
Bling
 |
|
The Barnstar of Diligence |
| The Barnstar of Diligence is hereby awarded in recognition of extraordinary scrutiny, patience, and community service.
Awarded by Addhoc
23:09, January 27, 2007
|
 |
|
The RickK Anti-Vandalism Barnstar |
| is hereby awarded to Kathryn NicDhàna for her tireless work in protecting the Halloween article from becoming the Anti-Halloween article! Mo sheacht mbeannacht ort!
Awarded by weirdoactor t|c 23:41, 6 November 2006 (UTC)
|
 |
|
the modest barnstar |
| I hereby award you the modest barnstar, anonymously, as tradition would have it, for your unassuming and modest way of contributing to the project, in many small ways, and some larger ones.
Cheers! 67.49.8.228 20:25, 1 March 2007 (UTC)
|
|
|
|
Wiki Defcon
| 3 |
WikiDefcon 3
Significantly elevated levels of vandalism from shared IPs and experimenting users.
|
| Vandalism levels are still above normal... CSD is severely backlogged. —-- Hdt83 Chat 01:53, 3 April 2007 (UTC) |
Whoot!
|
|
And More Bling!
 |
|
Copyeditor's Award |
| This Copyeditor's Award is awarded for excellence in copyediting. --South Philly 15:36, 1 March 2007 (UTC)) |
For your contributions to Wikipedia and humanity in general, you are hereby granted the coveted Random Smiley Award
Awarded by Jerry lavoie 22:29, 26 January 2007 (UTC)
|
|
|
Bocsaichean
 |
This user basically supports the legalization of same sex marriage. Except for her exes, dammit. |
|
|
|
[edit] This is a User Page
This is the Wikipedia user page for Kathryn NicDhàna. Please do not edit this page, except where invited. You are always welcome to have a discussion with me on my talk page.
