User:Adam Cuerden/Sandbox/WikiCup

Text text text text text. We asked the sixteen semifinalists to tell us why they joined the Wikicup, what they hoped to get out of it, and what their favourite contributions to Wikipedia were this year. In an order that I'm going to make The ed17 rearrange as he sees fit, here are their answers:

czar

 * It seemed like a good idea at the time—everyone could use some appreciation for the work they're already doing. My most Signpost-worthy recent work includes my collection of video game-related assets released under a free license and Menacer, which went from merge candidate to FA after lots of database work. I look forward to building longer, more complex "vital" articles when this is over.

Godot13

 * This my first year. I didn’t have any real expectation except to advance as far as I could.
 * I’ve been very involved in numismatic education and saw the Wikicup as an opportunity (motivated by a competition) to make images of U.S. banknotes and related numismatic material available to the public. It’s not that I couldn’t do the same thing without being in the competition, but it forces you to complete tasks with the least amount of procrastination. I’ve also gained more knowledge through researching and writing articles way outside my areas of expertise or even general interest.
 * So far, the Silver certificate featured list and accompanying featured set of banknote images. It was, I believe, much harder to convert a poorly sourced article into a featured list then starting from the beginning. But overall, I think my best contribution is making the material (i.e., high res images of U.S. banknotes) publicly available. Win or lose the competition, Wikipedia and our readers are the ultimate beneficiaries.--Godot13 (talk) 18:44, 20 July 2014 (UTC)

The C of E

 * This is my second year in the WikiCup. I made the quarter finals in my debut year and this is my first appearance in the semi-finals.
 * I joined because I was lacking an incentive to create articles and the drive for competition encouraged me to take part. My points have primarily come from DYK as well as a few GAs. I primarily edit on sports and Christian related content.
 * My favourite contributions are mostly from April Fools Day where the Fugging, Little Cockup led to the United States suing 50,000 boxes of clackers (that with Silver Cross Tavern led to me for a short time holding the honour of creating the most viewed image and non-image hooks on DYK) as well as Segar Bastard. I am also glad that I managed to get to GA Kent vs Lancashire at Canterbury and Billy Boys. Another favourite was "Jesus Christ Is Risen Today", (the subject of the now infamous Easter Scandal) and several others that are too numerous to mention.

Cloudz679

 * I joined the WikiCup after seeing a notice about it on a fellow Wikipedian's talk page. Although I was aware of it before, I had never seen it at "the right time". Until this year.
 * My reasons for taking part are basically to promote Czech articles to a wider audience and improve their quality at the same time. I would say it has been quite successful, evidenced by my journey to the competition's semi-finals, although time constraints have meant I stand no chance of progressing any further this year.
 * It's always nice to see any article I work on achieve GA status, although in the case of Antonín Kinský, I turned the article from a three-line stub to a reasonably comprehensive article. That meant DYK points and GA points in round three. That was pretty rewarding. C679 06:33, 20 July 2014 (UTC)

Cwmhiraeth

 * I enjoy the WikiCup because I am competitive and the Cup is closely aligned to what I like doing on Wikipedia anyway, - creating, expanding and improving articles on interesting organisms.
 * Having won the Cup in 2012 and 2013, I am trying to make it three in a row, after which I intend to "retire" to give someone else a chance ;-)
 * I haven't done anything particularly noteworthy this year so far because I have been busy making preparations to score highly in the final round of the Cup. My most satisfying achievement was probably bringing Isopoda (that's woodlice etc.) to GA. Cwmhiraeth (talk) 12:41, 19 July 2014 (UTC)

ThaddeusB
Give your response here.

Prism

 * I joined the WikiCup competition essentially because editing in Wikipedia when you don't have anything to keep you motivated can get pretty tedious. I figured this would be a new and exciting incentive!
 * I hope I'll get some more recognition for my Wikipedia work when I do exit the competition; I'm not here to win the Cup.
 * My favorite contributions to the WikiCup? That's a hard question. I'll go with List of songs recorded by Sophie Ellis-Bextor, which earned me my third featured list and was a bit hard to construct, considering it took a lot of search and an equal dose of organizing and codes. pedro &#124; talk 00:34, 19 July 2014 (UTC)

12george1

 * I have participated in the WikiCup since 2011. My rationale is that I am motivated to work on more articles than I normally would. Additionally, there is also an incentive for me to improve articles that are difficult.
 * I'm not really sure what I hope to get out of the WikiCup. It would be awesome winning, but at the end of the day, "Wikipedia is the real winner" - Durova.
 * What was my favorite contribution to the WikiCup? That would probably be the overall Good Topic for the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season. The work I put into the main article was a bit tedious and stressful, especially considering that it recently went through an FAC. But in the long-run, I feel that the contributions I put into that topic will be rewarding and well worth it.--12george1 (talk) 00:58, 19 July 2014 (UTC)

Figureskatingfan

 * This is the second year I've participated in the Wikicup. My goal this year is to make it to the finals, which I was unable to do last year.
 * I participate because I like friendly competition. If handled well, competition can be a good way to motivate folks.  For me, it has motivated me to complete some important personal WP accomplishments; for example, the Maya Angelou FT  I completed for Round 3, something that I've worked on for several years.  It's also great fun.
 * The Wikicup has helped me accomplish some personal goals and bring articles to higher levels. One downside is that it has caused me to neglect articles that aren't worth any points, and not create and develop articles that wouldn't benefit me during the competition. Christine (Figureskatingfan) (talk) 18:07, 20 July 2014 (UTC)

Matty.007

 * This is my first WikiCup, I think I cama across it in a Signpost article. I had a look, and thought it looked like fun; and personally I feel that some sort of motivation is always helpful, and this allows me to experiment in areas I'm not so familiar in (such as reviewing good article nominees). Any kind of featured content I managed to achieve in the Cup would be truly amazing.
 * Experience. in the beginning I was just staying in my comfort zone with DYKs, but I gradually moved to getting GAs-13 of my 17 GAs have been in the WikiCup, again evidence of its motivational power. Fairly obviously, just getting to the final would be incredible, but getting to this stage has been enourmous fun, and just to be mentioned in the same sense as some of the Wikipedians who I admire most is fantastic.
 * Best contribution? That's tough. I loved getting articles I created to GA, but Herm was a fantastic GA to achieve. I think that just pips having a long list of Winter Olympians, primarily from Team GB, featured on DYK. Another close contendor is writing articles in a round and getting them featured on DYK, then a round or two later at GA level-"His Last Vow", HMS Algerine, Millie Knight, Jade Etherington...

Sturmvogel 66
Give your response here.

Yellow Evan

 * I have participating in the Cup since 2009. I participate because I'm competitive and the WikiCup motivates me to edit articles.
 * I want to win the WikiCup and have fun.
 * This year? Hurricane Manuel, one of the worst hurricanes to hit Mexico in decades. From previous years? Hurricane Liza, which was the most fun I've ever had doing an article in my six years editing. YE Pacific Hurricane  01:16, 19 July 2014 (UTC)

Bloom6132

 * This is my second WikiCup, having advanced to the quarterfinals last year. I joined because I feel this is a fun incentive that motivates me to edit.
 * I just hope to advance as far as I can in the competition and to have as much fun as possible.
 * My favourite WikiCup contribution this year? It's difficult to pick just one, but I'd have to say the Bolshoy Ice Dome GA.  Passed just a few weeks after the Winter Olympics ended, it was where Canada's men and women's hockey teams successfully defended their Olympic gold medals.  I felt really proud of my home country, and that motivated me to take the article to GA. —Bloom6132 (talk) 19:30, 24 July 2014 (UTC)

WikiRedactor

 * I decided to join the WikiCup in 2014 because so I would be further motivated to work on articles that interest me for the sake of friendly competition.


 * Surely the possibility of winning the WikiCup is motivating, although I primarily wanted to improve articles so readers will be interested learning about topics that I am passionate about (typically involving pop music).


 * Of my work in 2014, I am most proud of the featured article Electra Heart. I loved being able to bring the article from a poorly-formatted B-class to a GA, and from a GA to an FA, especially for an album that I very much enjoy. WikiRedactor (talk) 15:15, 19 July 2014 (UTC)

Casliber

 * I first entered in 2010. I generally aim to 'park' all my content at an audited stage (DYK/GA/FA) so I have something to refer to later on - it seemed a logical conclusion to enter. I am interested in how using carrots rather than sticks encourages editors to edit and produce material. I think anything that encourages this is a Good Thing and I am proud to use myself as a guinea pig. Lately I've been working on constellations and enjoying same. Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 03:00, 21 July 2014 (UTC)

Adam Cuerden
Give your response here.