Interviewed by Thibbs

This issue we interview Guyinblack25, who has been a significant force within the project editing in numerous departments including Requests, Sources, various Article Quality departments (e.g. Good Content, Essential Articles, Featured Content), and notably for the WP:VG Newsletter. Guyinblack25 has been involved in several taskforces including Retro Games, Nintendo, Sega, and Arcade, and he has provided support for the Inactive Taskforce Cleanup project. Guyinblack25 has been quite active on the WP:VG talk page and even outside the hard confines of WP:VG he has made significant contributions to Portal:Video games. Although he is currently retired, the staff of the WikiProject Video Games Newsletter salute one of our fellow Newspaper volunteers and we are delighted by this opportunity to interview Guyinblack25!

1. What drew you to Wikipedia, and what prompted you to begin editing?

   Like most people, I came across Wikipedia looking for information about things that interested me. After checking out a few pages, I learned more about Wikipedia in general as well as the whole "anyone can edit" premise. When I first came across a piece of incorrect information, I said to myself, "That's wrong and I know the right info. I can fix this." So I took that first step and slowly got more comfortable to the point that I wanted to create new pages and upload images.

2. What's the significance of your username? How did you select it?

   I based my username on the first email account that I made when I was around 20. 1) I'm a guy. 2) At the time, I was training/working out constantly so I was frequently wearing my black Karate gi pants. 3) And back then, there were apparently 24 other guys in black that wanted the same email account. Who knew, right?

3. How did you become involved with WikiProject Video Games?

   The obvious answer is that I love video games. More importantly, I became involved with the project because it was a good fit. I had tried taking on various tasks on Wikipedia such as finding minor fixes, creating redirect/disambiguation pages, and trying to expand the pages of topics that interested me (mainly pop culture articles) with horrendous trivia sections. When I started editing video game articles, I discovered the project's review/feedback processes and eventually got sucked into the talk page. Since the project already had established guidelines for creating quality articles, I was able to learn the lessons needed to become a productive member.

4. How much of a gamer are you and what type of games do you gravitate toward?

   When I become involved in the project, I considered myself a serious gamer, specifically on consoles. But as I've grown older and started a family, my attention has shifted away from console gaming to mobile gaming. The bite-sized gameplay is very easy to quickly pick up and put down. When I played console games, I enjoyed RPGs, action-RPGs, action-adventure, and puzzles. I've always enjoyed puzzle games, and most of the games that I now play on my phone have some level of puzzle/strategy to them.

5. Your taskforce efforts have mainly concentrated on older games (from the Nintendo vs. Sega days or earlier). Why is this?

   I always considered myself an "old school" gamer because I grew up on Super Mario Bros., Mega Man, and Zelda. But when I started looking into the articles about retro games, I learned that there were chunks of video game history that I had never known about. I also noticed that those topics were in poorer shape compared to the more contemporary ones because fewer people were editing the retro topics. Due to their historical value, I felt that they were the more important ones and that they should be in better shape because of that importance. And after I began encountering edit wars, vandals, and other editing headaches more frequently, it was nice to be able to go to a secluded section of Wikipedia. It afforded the chance to decompress while still accomplishing something I felt was important.

6. What is considered your best work on Wikipedia?

   That's a tough one... When I was editing, I always considered the most recent thing I worked on my best because I would use what I had learned from working on the previous articles. But looking back on all the stuff I contributed to, I'd have to go with the things that have stood the test of time: Maniac Mansion, P.N.03, and Final Fantasy. Not surprisingly, I worked with a good group of editors for each of those, and I attribute the articles' staying power to the hard work everyone put in.

7. You had been rather active in connection to work for Wikipedia's Portal:Video games. Can you tell us a little about what function the Portal provides and what drew you to this part of the project?

   Wikipedia's Portals serve as starting points for readers and provide useful information about a specific subject area. It is also another outlet for a Project's quality work to be showcased. Thankfully, the VG Project didn't have a shortage of quality content. My focus on our video games portal was due to the lack of activity on it. A little attention along with some automation/randomization perked it up. And I'm glad that others kept it going and continued to improve it.

8. Are there any other areas of Wikipedia where you involved yourself beyond WikiProject Video Games?

   I tried to spend time reviewing all types of articles at Wikipedia:Featured article candidates and Wikipedia:Good article nominations because I wanted to improve my writing skills. I also generally tried to dabble in different areas like (Wikipedia:Articles for deletion, Wikipedia:Adopt-a-user, etc.) as I came across them. If I used a type of service, I would try to pay it back or forward.

9. You were instrumental in the development of the WP:VG Newsletter. Not only were you one of our most prolific interviewers, but you were the originator of the bulk of our frequently asked questions (i.e. interview questions #1, 3, 4, 6, 11, 13, 14, and 15). How does it feel to sit on the other side of the interviewer's screen? Any thoughts on the Newsletter as a project? Any thoughts on its future?

   To be honest, it's kinda cool. I never thought I'd be on the other side of this. It's also very cool to see how the newsletter has changed and diversified. I read some of the features since I stopped contributing and they are impressive. They make me want to dive back into editing again. After reading them I'm quite proud to have been a part of something like this. Regarding the newsletter's future... your guess is as good as mine where the newsletter will go from this point. Though I have no doubt that the contributors will do an great job.

10. You have provided assistance at several of the project's core departments. Can you tell us a little about your work with Requests, Sources, and the various Article Quality departments listed in our intro?

    Unfortunately, I don't remember everything I did with those... :-p I'd have to dig through my edit history to jog my memory. Back then I would just try to help out wherever was needed.

    • Requests: I simply remember trying to help clear out the backlog. At the very least doing a search for sources to help determine notability or for someone else to create the article.
    • Sources: I don't remember what I did with sources; I assume that I helped organize links and vet sources.
    • Quality: Most of my efforts here were targeted at improving the class ratings of our Essential articles. Those articles were too important to let them stay Start and B-class. Getting more of those up to GA and FA helped legitimize what we were doing. When we do finally finish those articles, I know the information in them will be eye-opening and well beyond what the average person would ever expect.
    • Inactive Project Cleanup: This I do remember and I actually want to say a few things about it. I know there were editors that were quite upset at this initiative and some probably felt strong-armed by what happened. In the end though, I think the restructuring was necessary for things to progress. Especially at the time when video game articles and those that edited them were seen as second-class on Wikipedia. It helped focus everyone's efforts, which made things more efficient and allowed us to improve upon them. I hope that anyone that was upset during the restructuring sees what was trying to be accomplished and understands why it was a necessity for the project at the time.

11. What has been the most difficult part of editing Wikipedia?

    I can't speak about editing now, but I can about when I was active. I don't think there was one part that was the most difficult. It all depended on the situation for me. Sometimes the edit wars and bickering really got to me because they distracted me from actual editing. Other times, it was the frustration of trying to write engaging, professional-level prose, or even just finding the time to do some edits. Regardless of the difficulties, it was bearable because of my fellow editors. We disagreed from time to time, but we all wanted to help and improve the VG Project. Being able to lean on each other made the project strong, which I think is most evident by our quality output.

12. Now at this time you are listed as retired. Why is that? Are you enjoying retirement? Any regrets?

    Plain and simple- there just aren't enough hours in the day or days in the week. The demands of my job increased and I started a family. While I loved contributing here, my contributions to Wikipedia pale in comparison to the needs of a family. My family is very important to me and they all bring me a great deal of happiness. Because of that, I have no regrets and would make the same choice again in a heart beat. Maybe I'll start up again when the time is right.

13. What advice would you give a new editor interested in working on video game articles?

    I'm going to rip off advice I gave in a feature I wrote in 2011. I think it still applies today; to video game articles as well as any article on Wikipedia.

    • Take the time to research the topic.

      Wikipedia articles are intended to be written by topical experts. To craft a quality article, you as an editor must become such an expert. Playing every single Final Fantasy game does not make someone a Final Fantasy expert because the topic encompasses more than just gameplay. Reading news articles, previews, reviews, interviews, books, and virtually everything you can lay your eyes on will. I mention books because this article would not have been comprehensive (and thus not reach FA) with web sources alone. My first efforts at researching the topic where not comprehensive enough, and the flaws showed up later when the article was put up for review at FAR. The research during the review provided a better foundation when addressing the issues.

    • Addressing criticism is an important thing here.

      Articles are meant for everybody, so be pleased if someone disagrees with you over the best treatment for an article. What works in your mind may not work for the reader, and multiple approaches should be considered. If a new suggestion isn't better, then you've strengthened the rationale for your original idea. If it is better, then the article benefits. Or even better, a new third way emerges from the discussion that is better than the first two. Don't be afraid to discuss criticism. We're all here to improve articles, so there should be no reason to be unreceptive to your fellow editors.

    • Wikipedia works best when you work with others.

      Reiterating how much I enjoyed working on the article, the whole process was great because everyone I worked with genuinely wanted the article to be the best it could be. Even if it looked like someone was criticizing others' efforts, it was for the benefit of the article. My fellow editors here have been a tremendous help in every article I edit, and I've tried to return the favor as best I can. I hope that we as a project continue working together to build the most comprehensive encyclopedia about video games and its history ever.

14. Are there any projects you want to work on right now?

    Nomader contacted me about finishing up List of Pac-Man video games. If he doesn't mind the snail's pace that I'd have to work at right now, then I'd like to work on it. Aside from that, I still have a few article drafts saved on my computer that I think would be cool to finish up. I also still have all my books and old magazines that I would like to utilize eventually.

15. Anything else you want to say?

    Thank you for the invitation to come back and stroll down memory lane. I am proud to say that I have been a part of something like the VG Project and am impressed at how far it has come since I left. Maybe one day my two boys will stumble across some video game articles on Wikipedia (which will of course be comprehensive master pieces by then) and I can tell them that I know the people that wrote those. Keep up the great work everyone! :-)