User:Tanaric

My name is Cory "Tanaric" Petosky, and you've stumbled across my user page! Unlike most user pages, please feel free to edit this page if you think you have something to add! Style and formatting assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Status
I'm around.

GuildWiki
I'm one of the oldest administrators here. Out of the or so users we have here, I'm user ID # 14. When I came here originally, I brought a bevy of content from my guild's Guild Wars community wiki&mdash;most of which was written by me, though some other contributors from around the community helped too.

Seeing the GuildWiki, which at the time had about the same amount of content as my own wiki, I thought that we could work more efficiently if we banded together. I ported all my content to the GuildWiki, and the existing editors hacked it up and made it fit the GuildWiki standard of writing and organization.

I'm teling this story because I believe two things. I believe that cooperation is greater than competition&mdash;and so I've worked here since the inception of the wiki to ensure that we maintain a cooperative environment. Secondly, I believe change is important. It's no exaggeration to say that I, along with LordBiro, Fyren, and a couple others, shaped the vast majority of the GuildWiki's policy, style, and content in the summer of 2005. Nonetheless, looking at the wiki today, I see a totally different creation. Our original goals and ideals have been adapted, stretched, and altered to make the GuildWiki what it is today. While sometimes it is hard to step back and allow what I worked on morph, sometimes radically, in hindsight, this process of evolution is what makes the GuildWiki so great.

What I help with
You can come to me for nearly everything, but I'm best suited for the following tasks:


 * Policy discussion – I actively monitor all policy discussions that occur on the GuildWiki. I usually chime in with what I feel is best for the wiki, and, more often than not, this has been what we've adopted in the end.
 * User disputes – So far, I am the only GuildWiki administrator to issue formal arbitrations. I am usually considered neutral. I will hand off any issue in which I do not feel I can maintainly objectivity.
 * Server concerns – Though I don't have direct access to the server, I do regularly converse with the server administrators privately. As far as I can tell, concerns have a better chance of being fixed/implemented if they go through me.
 * Licensing issues – If you wish to use GuildWiki content on your own site, I'm happy to advise you on how to do so without violating our license.

What I'm against

 * Template proliferation – The (older) community here has become incredibly savvy with the MediaWiki system because of their extensive use and familiarity with this system after months or years of editing. As with anybody, because they're savvy, they use the system to its fullest potential, delving into complex logical constructs and styling ideas. However tempting, I feel this is a Bad Thing. The wiki initially thrived because of its simplicity to edit and maintain. I believe that, as more and more advanced features appear in every article, the GuildWiki will eventually become a conclave of only a few elite editors.
 * Note that this certainly doesn't apply to userspace, where I think creative use of templates is a powerful means of expression.
 * Title Case – Just because something is used as a title of a window in game ("Bronze Sword") does not mean it should be capitalized as such here. I've lost this battle time and time again, though, and I'm unwilling to fight it anymore.
 * Deletion based on formatting – Certain parts of the GuildWiki are currently deleting or squelching content based upon poor formatting, regardless of the information contained within. Editors should instead reformat the article&mdash;it's better for the GuildWiki in the long run.
 * Voting – A poll to summarize opinion is okay. A vote that decides... anything! ... is not. Votes are about as unwiki as one can get, as they give everyone an equal voice regardless of their qualifications or knowledge. Discussion gives those with insight more of a say, which is how things ought to be.

Contact Information
Username: Tanaric Real Name: Cory Petosky Email Address / MSN Messenger / Jabber (Google Talk): cory@tanatopia.net AIM / Skype: Tanaric IRC: I'm on EnterTheGame (#ormgas) as Tanaric Website: http://www.tanatopia.net

Guild Wars account information
Like these templates? Check /Character and /Title for more information on how to use them yourself.