User:Tanaric

My name is Cory "Tanaric" Petosky, and you've stumbled across my user page!

GameWikis
I'm a long-time GameWikis contributor&mdash;I was one of the founding members of the GuildWiki, and continue to serve as a policy and user moderator there. I also try to work more with the server administrators. I'd like to consider myself the GameWikis Community Relations Manager, but my duties haven't quite taken me to that point yet.

I firmly believe that the GameWikis network can become a large organization, run at the top by horribly underpaid volunteers and at the bottom by a throng of dedicated editors. I think that a GameWikis Foundation should be created, so that this organization can create the structure of a typical non-profit. And I think, working hand-in-hand with our current editors, that the GuildWiki can be our poster child for that vision, so that all games can receive the level of detail and support that we provide for Guild Wars.

I think we, as a network and an organization, need to be more open, and I think that will eventually mean that Gravewit will hire more help. It will be interesting to see what he chooses to do in this regard.

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.
 * 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.

Personal information
I'm a student at Hood College in Frederick, Maryland, pursuing a B.S. in Computer Science. This is my senior year; I should have my degree in hand in May, 2007. I currently plan to stay at Hood to attain an M.S. in Computer Science. I don't particularily feel that an M.S. will be that useful; however, I was a little immature during the first few years of attaining my B.S., and my academic record is currently pretty unfavorable. Attaining an M.S. will therefore give me two bonuses: it will show potential employers what I'm really capable of, and it will give me an opportunity to do some research.

I'm considering applying for a PhD program after I get my Master's, but I have not yet decided. It depends on how I feel about research as a Master's candidate.

o2d Project
This is my current timesink. The o2d project has the end goal of producing a prototype MMORPG with a Zelda: Four Swords–like style, implemented in pure Java. This is a pretty big undertaking, but I'm really enjoying the challenge. Every few days, I post an article about game concepts or design; I'm quite proud of these, and intend to continue posting articles at this pace until the project is finished. Stop by and have a look; they might be interesting. If you do find it interesting, sign up on the website, and I'll occasionally send you messages about important updates.

Ormgas
I'm an admin at Ormgas, a site which streams the music from Overclocked ReMix (OCR), a video game music rearrangement community. I highly recommend tuning in. If you want to download the tracks we play, OCR has torrents. There's some amazing stuff hidden under the guise of "Video Game Music"&mdash;not that I have to tell you guys that.

Tanatopia
I also run my own website, Tanatopia, but it rarely has anything interesting on it. Right now, my mum uses it to exchange recipes with my ex-girlfriend.

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

Also note that I don't play Guild Wars anymore, so contacting me in-game is unlikely. However, if you want me on your friends list anyway, my main character is "Tanaric Dterra."

.plan
User:Gravewit and I are currently researching caching and load distribution solutions, as we're about ready to put our third server up. Anybody with any insight on these sort of matters is welcome to post on my talk page.

Unpaid Advertisements
The following are things I use that I find incredibly cool, and so I pass the information onto you!

BudgetDedicated
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Free Web / Domain Hosting
If I've interacted with you before, just ask, and I'll host your domain name on my DreamHost server -- this includes mail service, mySQL, and everything else that comes with a level 3 hosting account. I paid for two years in advance, and I'm barely using it, so I figure I'll spread the joy around. Donations accepted but by no means required. Get in touch with me and we can work out details.

Ruby on Rails
I'm implementing the web frontend of the o2d project using the Ruby on Rails framework. It's absolutely amazing, and I heartily recommend trying it out. If you need a public server to do said trying out on, look at the subheading above this one. :)

Notes to self

 * /Meta/Main Page