User talk:Coaster1983/Archives/2008/October

Iditarod
I don't believe you want this article to give equal space to the animal protection viewpoint. Every time I add FACTS about the Iditarod you either call it a controversy or delete what I write. I am the director of the Sled Dog Action Coalition. I have read extensively about this race and have spoken about the cruelties on the radio and to reporters. I think it's very wrong to have information about Iditarod winners and no information about the dog deaths. The article is highly skewed in favor of the Iditarod. It's not a neutral article.


 * I do want to see the article returned to neutrality from the both the Iditarod viewpoint and the animal rights viewpoint. However, what you have posted is clearly skewed to the negative (including at least 3 areas with misinformation).  Dog deaths should be discussed and the names of dogs listed.  Do you know those names and official reasons of death?  I can get started with deaths that occurred from 1997 onward.  That is how far ADN's web coverage goes back.
 * We need to create a neutral section on vet care, injuries, and possibly diseases .  Common injuries to dogs (and mushers if possible) should at least be listed with no bias.  We both know that this event is tough and injuries do occur.  We both also know that when you bring 1500 dogs from all over the world together, various diseases spread like wildfire (this is part of the reason why mushers blow through checkpoints and then camp on the trail.  They do not want their dogs getting sick)


 * A little about me. I am Michigander whom has been following and researching the Iditarod for 3 years now. Although my research of print sources is not as great as yours, I do have first-hand experience.  Over the course of the last year I have personally met and talk to several mushers.  I have visited Nature's Kennel (NK), run by Ed and Tasha Stielstra on 2 different occasions of 3 days each.  I have volunteered my time and dog handled for NK during the Upper Peninsula 200.  That gave me an opportunity to observes the race vets as they checked over the dogs prior to the start of the race.
 * --Coaster1983 02:46, 5 May 2006 (UTC)

Coaster - Thanks for your prior contributions and unbiased editing to the articles about the 2006 Iditarod and 2007 Iditarod]. Last year's [[2008_Iditarod|2008 Iditarod article saw very little activity, and I am wondering if you have any insight as to why that was so?  Also,  do you anticipate being active on that topic this year?

I am with a school district on the Iditarod trail, and we have students involved every year in collaborative units with other schools. We have used Wikipedia as a resource in the past, but want to have our students along the trail help out editing much more actively this year.

Since the Discovery Channel series is on now about the race, I would be willing to help out if folks wanted to retroactively edit the 2008 page, but I'm mostly interested in helping with the 2009 one if you think others are likely to help ;-)

Either way, thanks for all your contributions in the past.

BSSD UNK (talk) 18:37, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

Edit to Dog
In |this edit, you changed the reflist format of the Dog article so that the references would show a double row of numbers. IMO, this detracts from the article, and is unnecessary. Could you explain your actions? Thanks, Elucidate (parlez à moi) Ici pour humor 07:58, 23 October 2008 (UTC)