Byankno1

About Me

http://www.wikihow.com/User: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, 2014 onwards)

(former featured author from feed from February 2,2015 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 four letters stand for the first four letters of my favorite Major League Baseball team from the state team (yank for Yankees)
• And the no1 portion of my username stands for how far I feel they place in the standings (and that I think they are #1).

How I discovered wikiHow

I originally came across wikiHow while searching through 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 ALL wiki sites have only downsides (and no upsides exist), and when I told him how much 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.

Original Intended Purpose When Creating This Account

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 grammar errors, but after doing a few searches and a few fixes for articles I knew a treasurable amount about, I ended up staying put. As of August 26, 2014, it's been more than 3+1/2 years, 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 most of my time with each-and-every application that's been available to me on the Community Dashboard. Since converting myself from being a valued Wikipedia editor (between 2009-2011), I started to learn the basics of editing here with the Recent Changes Patrol feature. A few days later, I began 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(which later re-obtained better images by Wikivisual)). I went on to become a featured author in May 2011. I was originally granted the NAB rights on February 4, 2013.

I spent most of my time editing the site with the tools the team had devised. When using the apps on the Community Dashboard, my intended plan was to bring the totals from above a very large number to a mediocre or tiny number. These applications included the Format app, the Categorizer, the Quality Guardian, and even the Video Picker apps (while still focusing on quality over quantity). I used the Stub Greenhouse a few times to improve some so their templates could be removed.

With all the time spent here, I've also began 875 articles. I've spent multiple hours publishing the initial edits of articles about Facebook, Yelp, Twitter, and a few things I've found interesting and exciting about the iPhone. I've even written a few articles about (as freaky as this may sound) incontinence, along with a variety of other helpful topics. Look over my articles and take a peak if you wish. A complete list of all the article's I've ever began can be found near the bottom of this page.

I've always held myself up to high standards. I've tried to and support the focus on wikiHow's mission of becoming "the world's largest and highest quality how-to manual." If I know something that I feel other people might not or don't know that they will need to know, I'll try to begin the article that deals with that feature in a how-to format.

Through much of my work on the site, I sometimes end 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 669 articles here and there. I've also previously worked in NFD Guardian, voting to keep or delete articles (I've tried to save some articles for deletion. Seeing how many other articles that can be saved, I recognize that I'm just about in line as I can expect to be.

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

Sidenote: The article I began 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 the steps the very next day. If you've read it, the day I did the uploading of the steps without pictures, was the first day that voting was able to be completed.

My "Work" Life

Although I am currently unemployed, I have had jobs in the past for several really interesting companies. I used to work as a tax processor at a major-branded bank who was processing (a central step in between preparing and the recipient actually receiving the information) our state's income taxes (long story). After ten years, that job ended 2 years ago.

For the last two years, I had found a similar job that had the same end result, but that too, ended.

I've been looking but have found nothing in my line of work. It's hard when there's nothing out there that's even close to my data entry position that's either (a)not in a warehouse (bad back) or (b) needs phone skills (which (1) positions want previous experience (2) telephones always have problems and I can't master these skills at a job as I tried a few years ago when I volunteered for the American Red Cross in my area of the US.

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, I do all sorts of other things. From writing reviews on Yelp to talking with my friends on Facebook, and tweeting/retweeting on Twitter to a majority of other sites online; if I find it useful, I'm there (but being I've stayed the longest on this site, you know I'm a dedicated editor who's willing to stay through it all to get things done right!)

And on top of those, I also contribute to Pinterest (mostly only links of articles I begin on wikiHow) but occasionally others I do like that I didn't start, along with giving some time to Goodreads too. I even try to contribute to the GasBuddy website (i'm byankno1 there too), and have earned the right to have the Master Database which I can help edit and adjust the addresses and station information for (I still post updated prices as they are found). And when that's not even enough, I try to go onto IMDb on occasion, but I'm rather sporadic on that site, but look forward to seeing others there too.

I also use a Kindle Fire to read books. I've read more than 100 books this way, and have found this to be the one and only effective way I've been able to read books over the past 4-5 years (bought a Kindle Keyboard in 2011 and haven't stopped reading since, although I upgraded in 2013 to a Kindle Fire then).

I also try to get involved with Evernote and Remember The Milk, and sometimes can be found on those two sites too.

I 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.

Although I have plenty of 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.

And when that's not enough, I can sometimes be found listening to Disney Parks music on Live365 or listening to LiveATC or Broadcastify's streams for airports or the area's police/911 dispatch centers nationwide and/or around me.

I do own a HomePatrol device, and I do occasionally get to listen to it. I used to heavily be into police scanning and like to listen to it every once-and-awhile.

I don't frequent my Pogo account as often(I do love Yahtzee Party), nor my WheresGeorge (byankno1) or even Fandango (I am byankno1 there), but I do have accounts there when the needs arise.

A long time ago, I used to frequent TripAdvisor's forums page (I don't even remember my user data on their forums), but after a few discussions, I discontinued use and haven't been back since!

In September 2013, I went ahead and started a Club Penguin (guess my username as you see the sequence of sameness, as I'm the same here too) account for myself. I wanted to find out a few things about why some of my articles I began here about the service, became my most repined items on Pinterest. I also edited another article that was incorrectly documented based on my time spent there.

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

Besides Editing

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

I also collect baseball cards. I have over 4 completely filled notebooks containing cards from Upper Deck, Fleer, Topps, Score and a variety of other major-known companies from 1988 onwards.

I could tell you all about most of them, but my all-time favorite one was the double-A card I received inside a collector's sportsbook of the Albany-Colonie Yankees in 1993 of Derek Jeter.

Although the sport I collect most of my sports cards from is baseball, I do have a select number of basketball cards on hand. To be exact: my most valued card is a Michael Jordan card worth $4.00 (US). I received the card in the mail from a "write-away" (lying to an almost brand new team saying I was becoming a fan of them (when I clearly wasn't). I figured they would send me stuff, but I definitely didn't expect to see something sent to me that was as valuable as this card I had received from them in 1996 all for free!

Both of these cards are in mint condition to this day.

My life never ends when I get off my editing PC. I have a set of twin brothers who are 16 years old now, so I sometimes pal around with them too.

Sources and Citations

(for the above reference)

Miscellaneous Notes

http://www.wikihow.com/User:Byankno1/MyProblems
Just to let everyone know some little "blips" I've noticed myself making on the site too. 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(I'm a perfectionist at best). (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 (called diffs) in the Recent Changes Patrol app, but for the betterment of the site, I know I'm still making a big difference. I know I'm not the only one who ends up doing this; Others end up doing these small edits too.
• I tend to not insert a space between a word and a introductory parenthetical(such as this reference-but please don't fix). If you notice any of these edits going through, please fix them. I sometimes tend to not close off the parenthetical that I started. Both of these are fixable, and if I could ask you to do me a favor and fix them as you come across them, much help would graciously be appreciated. It only takes a few seconds of your time. I don't necessarily spot these issues as I work at this site.
• 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 on an article, go ahead and fix it; sometimes my eyes overlook an 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 the 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 is: during the times that I'm in RCP doesn't give me too much chance to make a rather-lengthy edit, and this template 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 one, it's because I didn't catch it. Intro templates never get added to articles I begin 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 not to place any Related wikiHows in the articles I started. However, I haven't ever started one recently without these articles added to them, or if I did just recently, I (within 15 minutes of starting it) went and used another Relateds Adder (Manage Related wikiHows link). At first, I always devoted a small amount of time to starting articles, and even if that meant dropping some small helpfulness "points". As I became an NABer, I recognized that starting them without ones does give away a problem, and have edited all the articles I've started. There are still some seldom times when the article only contains 1-2 related articles, but even these few are better off than none at all, since the quality is always trumping quantity in this respect.
• When I add Related wikiHows to the articles I start, 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 articles I begin should be good Related wikiHows to use going the other way too (in most articles, that is).