User:Xiaphias

My Bio
I live in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. I have a B.A. in History but I'm currently working and studying in the realm of Computer Science. My interests are pretty diverse and include most academic subjects.

My Focus
I value proper referencing within articles. As a history major, I'm familiar with footnoting credible, scholarly sources to validate my academic papers, and I believe Wikipedia articles should be held to the same standards. As the encyclopedia's primary criticism is its perceived factual fallibility, this seems all the more important. All of my submissions, long or short, are supported with a proportional number of citations.

My Contributions
My favorite way to contribute is to write a non-existent article from scratch, revive a deleted one, or completely rewrite a horrible article. By starting without a baseline, I can ensure objectivity and factual accuracy; plus, I find it easier to work without a predefined structure. I've enjoyed writing research essays since I was in elementery school, and Wikipedia provides an ideal vehicle for this 'hobby,' providing a simple and useful method of publication and exposing me to topics I'd never think to write about – my first article was on press passes; I've since written of frogs, airplanes, lightning, truck stops, and Christian sects. Strangely, I've yet to write a single article even remotely related to the fields of history or economics, my college majors.

Additionally, I enjoy creating graphics from Wikipedia. Usually I'll do this in conjuncture with creating an article, but if you'd like me to make an image for something you're working on, let me know – I'll give it a go.

I've also written a few (pretty crude) Wikipedia-related programs for myself, including a citation-generator and an infobox-maker.

Articles I've started: One-liners to full articles:
 * Press pass ([[Image:Symbol support vote.svg|15px]]  Good Article)
 * List of active Solar System probes
 * Eleutherodactylus limbatus
 * Lyndsey Marshal
 * Jesse Hutch
 * John Paulitious
 * Monte Iberia Eleuth
 * Curtiss 18
 * Drug-Free Century Act
 * The Use of Knowledge in Society
 * Threadleaf giant hyssop
 * Crucera Express
 * João de Trasto
 * Keraunomedicine
 * Iowa 80
 * Autograph book

Massive Rewrites:
 * Long-term effects of alcohol

My Pictures '''My Graphics My Uploads My Templates

Stuff for Me

 * to-do list
 * sandbox


 * /flags
 * Template messages/Sources of articles
 * Neutrality_templates