User:RenniePet

One year of Wikipedia
I made my first contribution to Wikipedia back in November 2006. But it wasn't until March 2007 that I began to use too much time on Wikipedia. Now (November 2007) I'm at 1200 "contributions", and am using way, way too much time here. :-)

Major (for me) projects have included the following:


 * I'm an amateur photographer, and, as a nerd, am interested in the technology of digital photography. My greatest accomplishment so far here at Wikipedia has been the creation (with some help from other editors, of course) of the article Lenses for SLR and DSLR cameras, including the picture shown with the introduction. I also created the first version of Image:SensorSizes.png and started the page for the Olympus E-410 digital camera. I've also made some revisions to other photography-related pages, especially the ones about the Four Thirds System and Digital single-lens reflex camera.


 * I'm a fan of the Michael Palin travel documentaries and books. I created a new template for the Michael Palin trips and created pages for each of the seven travel books written by Michael Palin. I also expanded the Basil Pao page a lot and created pages for the four photography books made by him. I've also edited all of the pages about the TV documentaries and significantly expanded several, for example Sahara with Michael Palin.


 * As a Modesty Blaise fan I wrote plot summaries and uploaded cover pictures for all of the Modesty Blaise novels, and created a page for the TV pilot program made in 1982. I've also made a lot of other minor contributions to the Modesty Blaise-related pages.


 * Because I live in Denmark I find myself keeping an eye on, and occasionally making minor changes to, some of the pages related to Denmark, for example Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy.

In addition to these more focused projects, I let myself get caught up in whatever else happens to interest me, for example after reading a book or seeing a film. I created a page for The Looming Tower book (amazed that nobody else had done it), and have rewritten the plot summaries for a couple of movies. I renamed the page about the film Blood Work and re-linked all of the pages referring to it. Got agitated about the Blackwater USA scandal in Sept. 2007 and spent way too much time fiddling with that page and many of the related pages. And there are many other random pages that interest me in some way or another and I end up editing, for example I revised the description of a hiking trail in the French Pyrenees known as the GR 10, and I created a page for Douglas Adams's Guide to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

I also do quite a bit of simple maintenance-style things like reverting vandalism and making minor updates to articles where I happen to notice a spelling mistake or a missing comma, etc.

About me
I'm male, 63 and originally Canadian, but have lived most of my life in Denmark. I work in the computer (software) business, writing programs in C# and creating build processes and install packages using tools such as CruiseControl.Net and WiX.

Blogging about Muhammad
In early February 2008 the so-called Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy once again became front-page news when three men were arrested in Denmark for plotting to kill one of the cartoonists, Kurt Westergaard. In solidarity and in support of freedom of speech many Danish newspapers reprinted the Muhammad cartoon drawn by this cartoonist, one that depicted Muhammad with a bomb in his turban. Following this for several weeks there were many both peaceful and violent demonstrations in Denmark, with young Muslims marching and a few of them setting fire to cars and schools. The more violent demonstrations were apparently not directly connected to the reprinting of the cartoon, but more a release of pent-up frustration and anger, similar to the demonstrations and rioting in France in 2005 and in Greater Paris in 2007, although fortunately much less serious.

These demonstrations and disturbances and obvious lack of communications sadden me. Twice (so far) during this period I have felt the urge to try to bridge this huge communications gap that separates Islam and Danish (and Western) society. When confronted by a message of anger and resentment here on Wikipedia, presumably written by a young Muslim, I have occasionally tried to compose an answer that might result in some understanding of Western ideals and norms. I realize that Wikipedia is not intended for this purpose, and these activities may well be in violation of Wikipedia standards, but I think it is important to try to communicate and achieve understanding.

User talk:202.56.7.168 16 February 2008 - My reply to a Muslim living in Asia (I think) who posted a message on the Denmark page.

User talk:71.128.200.39 19 February 2008 - My reply to a Muslim living in Denmark (I assume) who posted a message on the "Talk:Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy" page.