User:15versts

Philosophy
I think that Wikipedia is more than, and shouldn't just replace, any traditional encyclopedia. I don't think it's possible or helpful to deny its role as an internet-based community. So I take an inclusionist stance with respect to article notability; internet memes and obscure warships, sure, they have a place.

However, I also think Wikipedia is meant to provide useful information right now about whatever it's covering. So I take a deletionist, immediatist and statusquoist stance when it comes to information and sourcing. There shouldn't be a single line on Wikipedia that isn't reliably sourced; such a line (or even an entire article) should be simply deleted unless a good reference is added to it. It is better to have no information than wrong information.

I am a sysopist. A minority of especially dedicated and competent users tend to produce the best edits; there are many trolls and idiots out there who we just don't need; troublemakers should be simply banned and they have a lot to prove if they ever want to edit again. Locking articles is acceptable and desirable if an invasion or something similar is suspected, never mind expected. Adminships are not sinecures and should not be handed out like candy.

I am a factionalist out of pragmatism rather than principle. People naturally form factions, so pretending they don't is pointless. Factions aren't always harmful, since they can be productive committees of people who know what they're talking about, and if they aren't, it's not difficult to frustrate their aims on a site as open as Wikipedia.

I am a mergist. Long articles aren't bad unless their information is inaccurate or poorly-written. If we use elegant minimalist English, we can cut down on length without removing helpful information or making Wikipedia unnecessarily complicated. It's nice for people to be able to print an entire article as one task, rather than as multiple ones.

I am a structurist and a categorist. Good formatting and style is very important. Consistent template use, images and good English all really help to make Wikipedia professional and viable. Copyright paranoia should be avoided. Fair Use is fine.