Welcome to the next installment of our Featured Wikian blog series. Recently, we chatted with BobNewbie, a Wikian who hails from South Africa, loves the Sims, and (we're willing to bet) prefers slow style zombies. Check out the interview below to learn more about BobNewbie's interests on Wikia.
Wikia: Tell us a little bit about yourself — some general information about you.
BobNewbie: General, mmm, okay! I have an uncanny interest/obsession with zombies. It's been that way for quite a few years, however, the cause of it remains a mystery. I'm often called "old-school," as I love the 80s (though I was born nowhere near that decade). I enjoy watching horror movies, learning about architecture, and reading. I write nearly every day, and sleep at least 9 hours after arriving home on Fridays (No Rebecca Black jokes, please) at the end of the week.
Wikia: How did you first discover Wikia?
BobNewbie: I first discovered Wikia a while back with a simple Google search for help with a project. I wound up on a wiki, and realized that there were many encyclopedias like it about a wide range of topics.
Wikia: Which wikis do you spend the most time on, and which is your main wiki?
BobNewbie: My main wiki is undoubtedly The Sims Wiki, the first one I joined (avid The Sims players will recognize my name as that of a Sim). I would say I try to spend an equal amount of time on the others I'm on. Each one has a spot in my heart... and "favorites" bar.
Wikia: What do you think is great about Wikia?
BobNewbie: The greatest thing about Wikia is perhaps being able to work on a collaborative project together with others. It's, like I say time and time again, amazingly awesome to see the way people want to share information with others.
Wikia: How has Wikia inspired you or supported your passion?
BobNewbie: Many, many ways. It has allowed me to learn more about things I love, and it's sparked interest in others. It's also helped me grow my passion for working with online communities in more ways then one... actually, more ways then a dozen.
Wikia: What would your top 5 tips for new folks on a wiki be?
BobNewbie:
- Interact, interact, and interact! Build relationships with your fellow contributors; in the end, the amount of trust you have in them is going to be what makes the wiki grow.
- Be creative! Try to think of ways to grow the wiki you're on -- creative ways -- then suggest it in a blog post or where appropriate. Sometimes, your ideas may not work out, but at other times, it'll make the wiki a better place!
- Don't feed the trolls. This also applies to vandals and spammers. Whatever right you have, never remotely make a bad faith editor think they've gotten to you. That includes insulting them; just contact an admin, block or warn them, revert, and ignore.
- Hard work pays off. It really does, and you'll see more editors respect you for trying to contribute as often as possible.
- Respect other contributors. It's common for people to, on the Internet, forget that the people behind the screen on the other side are people with emotions. Remember that whatever you say can be offensive to them, so it's better to not say anything at all if the possibility of someone getting mad is there.
Wikia: What would you like to see that isn't on Wikia already?
BobNewbie: To be honest, I don't really have anything I would like more at the moment. A few improvements to some of the current stuff, but other then that, I'm fine with what we have.
Wikia: I know you have signed up to be on the Wikia Gaming News team; what's that about?
BobNewbie: Haha, yup! And I'm super excited to be a part of it! Journalism is extremely interesting, and for the most part, oodles of fun. Every week, I have to write two gaming-related news blogs, specifically one on Saturday. It's a blast, and I recommend everybody who like gaming to check it out. At the moment, the team could still use some users.
Wikia: Since you are one of our international Wikians (from South Africa) what do you think makes it so universal?
BobNewbie: I think what makes Wikia so universal is perhaps not much more then the goal of it, which is appealing to many people in almost every continent I can think of (there are seven, right?).
Wikia: Thank you BobNewbie for taking the time to answer our questions!
BobNewbie: It's been fun doing this! And to all the users out there, happy editing!
If you or someone you know would make a great Featured Wikian, please let us know by leaving a comment here with their username and one sentence about why they should be featured. And feel free to introduce yourselves by answering one of the questions from this interview in the comments below.
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