Byankno1

About Me

Please leave me a message on my talk page, and I will be happy to respond to any questions you may have.

former featured author from feed in May 2011

(former featured author from feed from February 6, 2013 onwards

Hello all. As you can see, my username is Byankno1. I joined this site on February 6, 2011 and have been very happy here. I've written several good articles, most of them are of "Rising Star" quality. I've even had several Featured Articles Quality be featured on the wikiHow home page. I've even been selected twice to become a Featured Author on the site's Featured Author widget.

Two years later, on February 4, 2013, I became a New Article Booster ^[1].

My username, Byankno1, stands for three different parts.

• One part stands for the first initial of my last name (B),
• The next 4 stand for the first four letters of my favorite Major League Baseball team from the state team (yank for Yankees)
• And the no1 stands for how far I feel they place in the standings (and that I think they are #1).

How I discovered wikiHow

When I originally came across wikiHow while searching through the massive database on StumbleUpon, I didn't realize that my brother had already known about wikiHow and had previously signed up (not once, but twice, having not known about the Facebook problem where it would create a separate account.) (By the way, he lost credibility with the site, and decided not to use either one. The reason: Teachers at the middle school he attended at the time, had told him that ANY Wiki-site has only a downside, and when I've told him how each edit is monitored here, he does everything in his power to make it sound as if that fact is the least credible thing in the world. So Bon voyage User:Horsesbatchelor, and thanks for informing me about this site.

My ORIGINAL intended Purpose When Creating This Account

Oh yeah, before I forget. When I first signed up, like most once-a-day-(and never to return again) editors, I thought I'd just use the site on occasion, perhaps potentially fixing spelling and errors, but after I did a few searches for articles I knew a treasurable amount about, I ended up staying put. As of September 30, 2013, it's been more than 2 years and 7 months, and I'm glad to still be editing here. It seems I've made myself a "home" here Good editors don't tend to ever leave. So thanks for accepting me.

My wikiHow Editing History

While I've spent numerous days helping to write and edit articles for quality, I've spent much of my time with each-and-every application that's been available to me on the Community Dashboard. Since conversion from being a valued Wikipedia editor since 2009, I started learning the basics of editing here via the Recent Changes Patrol feature. A few days later, I wrote my first article, Change a Cloth Diaper (I've even edited Change a Disposable Diaper and fleshed it out with pictures I took from my digital camera). I went on to become a featured author. I obtained a Featured Author badge in May 2011, and have obtained NAB rights on January 31, 2013 (apps awarded on February 4, 2013).

I spent most of my time editing the site with the tools the team had devised. I brought the totals from above a very large number to a mediocre number. These applications included (at the time) the Format app, the Categorization app, the Quality Guardian app, and even the Video Picker app. I did use the Stub portion of the Article Greenhouse, but I didn't understand enough about the topics it picked, so I didn't get much use out of it.

During my times spent with writing articles, I've written 707 articles. I've spent multiple hours writing articles about Facebook, Yelp, Twitter, and a few things I've found interesting and exciting about the iPhone. I tend to paper-draft all my articles first, unlike many other authors. I've even written a few articles about incontinence (as freaky as it sounds), along with a variety of other helpful topics. Look over my articles and take a peak if you wish.

I've always held up to wikiHow's mission of becoming "the world's largest and highest quality how-to manual." I definitely support the mission. If I know something that I feel other people might not/don't know, I'll try to write the article to let people know about these secrets."

Through much work, I sometimes ended up with some articles being requested and never being written by myself. If I have a question, I realize other people might have that same question too" (which was the reason behind "Complete a High School Euclidean Proof" which became a featured article a few months after being written).

As for boosting work in New Article Boost, I have boosted 609 articles here and there. I've also worked in NFD Guardian, voting to keep or delete articles (I've tried to save some-but that was a rather rare occurrence). Seeing how many other articles they try to save, I feel I'm just about in line as I can expect to be.

If you'd like to see where I've spent my time recently, you can always check out my contributions list found here.

The article I first published on April 30th titled Cast an Official Ballot for the Players to the MLB All‐Star Game went from being just the basic words to Rising Star and with a Featured Article nomination. I uploaded screenshots for all steps the very next day. I don't normally do a lot of screenshot uploading, but I'm proud that it could have been nominated so quickly, and all thanks to my own editing with no help from others-at that point). If you've read it, the day I did the uploading, was the first day that voting was able to be completed.

Miscellaneous Notes

http://www.wikihow.com/User:Byankno1/MyProblems

Just to let everyone know some little "blips" I've even noticed myself making on the site. Here is my list of blips, that I've found I've made in my edits.

• Even though I tend to save articles I've started as drafts several times, I do sometimes publish the article, just to find something I've completely missed. I always feel that I MUST go back and make the revision until the article is absolutely perfect (even if that takes several edits to get it to that point. which I've sometimes found myself doing. However small the edit may be, even the smallest edits matter, to making this site and it's articles, a high quality database of how-tos. I'm sorry if this creates several records in the Recent Changes Patrol app, but, for the betterment of the site, I know I'm still making that-much of a difference. I know I'm not the only one who ends up doing this Others end up doing these small edits too.
• If you notice any of these edits going through, please fix them up: I tend to not insert a space between a word and a introductory parenthetical(such as this reference-but please don't fix). Also, I tend not to close off my parenthetical. Both of these are fixable, and if I could ask you to do me a favor and fix them as you come across them. It only takes a few seconds of your time. I don't necessarily spot these issues as I work at this site.
• Although I'm spectacular at adding step-by-step screenshots, I don't divulge too much time into taking step-by-step pictures, and because I don't draw well (I draw people as stick-figures which is the best I can draw) and my handwriting otherwise is quite terrible to tell you all the truth. If you have the chance or time, please help yourself to upload them that best match each step. I'll take care of those screenshots; even though it may not be in the very first edit that had been made (such as within the same edit as the creation of the article).
• In prior years, I've found myself mistyping words. However, with my Windows 8 PC that I use almost several times a day, I haven't had a big problem with that. If you do find a spelling correction you need to make, go ahead and fix, sometimes my eyes overlook even the accidental "close call" in spelling.(such as the word visualization would be typed visualisation(do not fix this word-as done to prove the closeness) inside an article.)
• Early in my editing career, I tended to always place more templates on articles. But now that I'm a New Article Booster, I see why it's pertinent not to do this. The fact that I'm in RCP sometimes and don't have a chance to make a lengthy edit for which I don't currently have the time, will at least give others a chance to figure out what's wrong and fix the issues. (I'll eventually come back and edit away, if still not fixed within a unknown amount of time).
  • In the very beginning, I always used to place format and intro templates on articles. However, I've gotten very good at formatting articles so that ALL steps contain an action verb at the beginning of each step. As you look through all the article's I've started, you'll see how each step of each article begins with the correctly-formatted action verb at the beginning of each step. If I miss, it's because I didn't catch it yet. Intro tags never get added anymore, since I've sacrificed a few extra moments of my life to adding ones.Sorry if those edits EVER bothered you.
• Early on in my wikiHow life, I always decided to not place any Related wikiHows in the articles I started. However, I haven't ever started one recently without ones, or if I did, I, within 15 minutes of starting it, went and used another Relateds Adder (Manage Related wikiHows link). You see, at first, I always devoted a small amount of time to writing articles, and even if that meant dropping some small helpfulness "points". As I became an NABer, I recognized that it does give away a problem, and have edited all the articles I've started. There are sometimes now, however, when the article only can contain 1-2 related articles, but even these few are better than none at all, since the quality is always trumping quantity in this respect.
• I tend to shy away from adding edit summaries. I don't know why! Maybe I'm just a bit lazy at sometimes or maybe it's something else which I have yet to put a handle on
• The newest problem I have is: when I add Related wikiHows to my own articles I started, I tend to only link them to the article itself and never back in the return direction. If anyone notices these articles as I publish them, could you link them going the reverse way? These should be good Relateds to use going the other way too (in most articles, that is).

My "Work" Life

Outside of my time spent on the site, I've spent numerous hours at a seasonally-staffed workplace approximately 10.1 miles from my home location. In New York State, the location I work at doesn't prepare the Income Taxes, but submits the tax data that was sent to us by the taxpayer to the New York state Department of Taxation and Finance. I'm sworn to secrecy, so I can't go into any further detail on this topic.

Although my job with this former company came to a complete close in May 2012 (the building closed for all workers on December 31,2012), the county was able to work out a deal with a Texas-based company to come and help the state. When a newspaper article was published saying this, I decided to pursue it, and I'm glad I did! The new job will begin on Monday January 14, 2013 and I am one of the first few workers this job has ever seen in the Kingston, NY region.

Now if only other jobs would see my great work. I'm looked at as if I'm the worst person who just isn't fit to do anything. But when they DO get to know me, they tend to realize that they've invested in a very useful person (if there's training, I'm more than apt to do the work).

My "Hobbies" when not editing on wikiHow

As for when I'm not working and not editing here, well, I do all sorts of other things. From writing reviews on Yelp to talking with my friends on Facebook, and Twitter to a majority of other sites online, if I find it useful, I'm there (but being I've stayed the longest here, you know I'm a dedicated editor, who's willing to stay through thick and thin to get things done right!)

I've just got so involved with the computer, I've found myself coming back more and more to my computer, I've never been able to live without it. I must be addicted to my computer. Oh gosh, oh golly!

Although I have plenty Wrebbit Co. 3D puzzles to assemble, I've put together many of their (now collectible) mini and also quite as collectible regular-sized 3D puzzles. I have about 30 regulars and about an additional 15 minis already put together. The puzzles I have that I haven't gotten to yet include their biggest, New York City (which I voted in 2000 for Walt Disney World) and about 6-7 other slightly smaller ones).

When I'm not editing wikiHow, I can sometimes even be writing reviews on Yelp, or listening to Disney Parks music on Live365 or reading several good books on my Kindle (exact books vary in scope) or updating my progress with reading at Goodreads. I just started in September 2012 with using Twitter without using Tweet It Forward at times, and have made good progress with understanding the scope of it too.

A few months ago, I went ahead and started a Club Penguin account for myself. I wanted to find out a few things, according to the 4 articles I published about the service from a split-up article. I also edited another article that was incorrectly documented.

I also have been found myself entering the wikiHow IRC room on Freenode (under my wikiHow username). Although I'm not paired with another Admin (shout-out to Krystle and Anna, it seems to many that that's all I ever do when I enter into IRC, but that's not the case.

Offline Editing

I used to collect key chains. But since my drawer got a little too heavy, I kind of got a little bored with this collection, and I dropped the matter and only kept a few of the super-rare key chains.

I also collect, from time-to-time, sports cards (more so baseball than any others). My most-prized card is a Michael Jordan basketball card worth $4.00 (US) that I got in the mail from a "write-away (lying to a almost brand new team saying I was becoming a fan of them, when I clearly wasn't. (Vancouver Grizzlies) I figured they'd send me stuff, but I definitely didn't expect to see something sent back to me, that was as valuable as I had received in 1996 FOR FREE! It's in mint condition to this day. And, if the members of this team are reading this, I do thank them for responding and sending.

My life never ends, when I get off my editing PC. I have two brothers who are 15 years old who I actually get the chance to "pal around with them". And with other medical problems that have caused major legal problems that prompt a family-counselor to consult with all the members of my family, things just move foreword quite quicker than I could ever imagine.

Sources and Citations

(for the above reference)