User:Garth of the Forest

My Wikipedia philosophies

 * Read first; read again, and then consider editing or adding to the article.
 * If you are too impaired to drive, you might be too impaired to edit.
 * We are all human and therefore not infallible. If you think I have made a poor judgement call or a mistake, please tell me so I can learn and become a better editor - or, an even better outcome: we may both actually learn something from the experience and both become even better Wikipedians. Keep it civil.
 * Don't take yourself too seriously. Respect other people's opinions, even when you know they are wrong. i.e. see the talk page for Mensa
 * I try to be polite, and respectful of other opinions. If you think I haven't been so, please let me know so I can apologize. But please also remember this is an encyclopedia, not a soapbox, we need to stick to the facts, and by "facts" I mean information from reliable verifiable sources that have been presented in a balanced way (see WP:NPOV). If I suspect that someone is pushing opinion over fact, or that their point of view is suspect, I will stand and deliver (references).
 * I just want Wikipedia to be a good and accurate encyclopedia.
 * I try to always distill the good from other people's edits. Occasionally this requires a complete revert.

Useful Links

 * Citation templates
 * Good article nominations
 * Extended image syntax
 * Fair use rationale guideline
 * Good fair use rationale examples

About me
I am a resident of Western Canada, and my initial introduction to Wikipedia stemmed from a passing interest in the history of my Gaelic and Norse ancestors. I've been a user for many years, but a member only since September 2007.

My interests include:


 * Motorcycles, because I've been riding since the early seventies and still love to "jam in the wind".
 * Politics
 * History
 * Economics; I have formal training in the field
 * Hockey
 * Curling
 * Skiing
 * Computing science and electrical engineering (20+ years related business experience)
 * Financial planning; I have formal training in the field
 * Music, particularly jazz, blues, and the good stuff from the sixties and seventies (i.e. minus most of the disco)

A few articles I've started, or been a major contributor to (or which are in progress)
These are other motorcyle-related articles that I have contributed to, and will continue to monitor, as time permits:
 * Grim Reapers Motorcycle Club (Canada) - my first wikipedia article written from scratch, originally about the Canadian club that patched-over to Les Hells in 1997, it became an amalgam about three different clubs; I then split it into two separate articles in July 2012 to avoid confusion between the American and Canadian clubs. If anyone feels the UK club by similar name is notable enough to warrant its very own article, please feel free to write it.
 * Rebels Motorcycle Club (Canada) - Another historical article about a club in Canada, not to be confused with the boys down under.
 * Popeyes Motorcycle Club - these bad boys were French Canada's earliest precursor to what later became the Hells Angels first Canadian chapter.
 * Satan's Choice MC - English Canada's largest outlaw motorcycle club's prior to the Hells Angels takeover of the Great White North.


 * Motorcycle - vandalism patrol
 * Motorcycle club - still needs work on refs and neutrality, vandalism patrol
 * Hells Angels - vandalism patrol, add additional Canadian info
 * Mongols (motorcycle club) - vandalism patrol, expand content
 * Outlaws Motorcycle Club - much unverified information, vandalism patrol
 * Bandidos - Needs additional POV work, continue with vandalism patrol
 * Pagans MC - vandalism patrol
 * Quebec Biker war - still need to add additional (well referenced) material
 * RICO
 * List of motorcycle gangs
 * List of motorcycle clubs

I've also made contributions to these articles:


 * Western Canada
 * Canadian Senate
 * Conservative Party of Canada
 * Calgary
 * Edmonton
 * Red Deer
 * Red Deer Rebels
 * Red Deer Rustlers
 * Peter Lougheed
 * Ralph Klein
 * Ed Stelmach