User:Bob the Wikipedian

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Being the best citizen I can.

Hi! Call me Bob (as opposed to BTW - that gets confusing!).

Where's Bob?
You may have noticed I've been significantly less active on Wikipedia in recent years. Many things have happened-- job changes, lifestyle changes, Internet availability, computing styles...but I'm still a contributor to free and open knowledge, just in a different way. While Grimm aired, I became an admin on the Grimm Wiki, where I eventually became an admin. I've also (in case it isn't reflected strongly enough for you in my infobox) taken up genealogy, and have made many contributions to WikiTree. My natural world observations make up a large portion of the contributions to iNaturalist. I've become an area manager for Waze, a GPS system, and have helped make Waze's GPS maps of southern Indiana the most up-to-date there are. I've published a book that introduces hundreds of monsters to the Theros setting for Dungeons & Dragons. I'm also now a curator for HobbyDb, where I have been busy cataloguing miniatures for roleplaying games.

About me
I'm a computer scientist, a violinist, and a longtime zoology enthusiast. With my exposure to the Internet, I've developed a passion for paleobiology as well, and Wikipedia has become an irreplaceable part of my life. Where will you find me on Wikipedia? Writing and maintaining code for the Tree of Life WikiProject, developing the Wikipedia trading card game, and helping out here and there. I've played a big role in the Wikipedia Education Program, though I regret I haven't been able to volunteer any time for it the past few months.

About my username
Yes, my name really is Bob. Well, Robert, but Bob is short for Robert. There are actually LOTS of diminutive forms of Robert, and I respond to several (but not all) of them.

When picking a username, it's important to pick something both memorable, distinguishing, and neutral. A memorable username means you'll be recognized later on down the road if you've talked to someone before. A name that's easy to pronounce by native English-speakers is far more memorable than, say, your last name with your first initial on either end (well, at least in my case). As for the "Wikipedian" part, many folks have asked me if that was Joe-the-Plumber-inspired. The answer is no-- Joe the Plumber was in 2008, and I registered in 2006. I was actually going for a spinoff of Alexander the Great.

What's a WikiDragon, anyway?
A WikiDragon is a Wikipedian who doesn't worry so much about the tiny opportunities for improvement of Wikipedia, such as fixing typos. WikiDragons focus instead on heavier aspirations, such as rewrites of entire sections of articles, creating useful stubs (sometimes whole articles), moving projects forward, or even reforming the way people do things on Wikipedia. WikiDragons, by their very nature, leave large footprints on Wikipedia (for better or for worse).

WikiDragons tire quickly, though, and are known for taking frequent and often extended breaks, often due to a busy life outside Wikipeda.

Thanks, Fellow Wikipedians, for the awards behind this link!

Click to see the pictures I've contributed to Wikimedia

=Important contacts= Coding: Martin * Erik * Peter

Paleo: Matt * FunkMonk * Eric

Trading card game: Hi * Nicky * EWikist

Illustrations: Shyamal * Nobu Tamura

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