User:Academic Challenger

Welcome to my user page!

Language

enThis user is a native speaker of the English language.

es-2Este usuario puede contribuir con un nivel intermedio de español.

My Licensing policy

Multi-licensed into the public domain

I agree to multi-license my eligible text contributions, unless otherwise stated, under Wikipedia's copyright terms and into the public domain. Please be aware that other contributors might not do the same, so if you want to use my contributions in the public domain, please check the multi-licensing guide.

My Awards

For your many contributions on political figures world-wide, I award you this barnstar. Isomorphic

• For fighting vandals above and beyond the call of duty, I hereby award you this Barnstar.--FWDixon 13:19, 23 August 2005 (UTC)

• For fighting vandals above and beyond the call of duty, I hereby award you this Barnstar.-- Vufors 07:38, 5 February 2006 (UTC)

• For fighting vandals above and beyond the call of duty, I hereby award you this Barnstar.-- Arhain 08:37, 5 February 2006 (UTC)

• For fighting vandals above and beyond the call of duty, I hereby award you this Barnstar.-- Doobi18 07:38, 5 February 2006 (UTC)

This user is a member of the
Counter-Vandalism Unit.

• For fighting vandals above and beyond the call of duty, I hereby award you this Barnstar.--

Howdyhody 10:27, 8 April 2006 (UTC)

• For being self-important and conceited, I award you this barnstar.--

68.4.58.77 00:22, 2 May 2006 (UTC)

• For being self-important and conceited, I award you this barnstar.--

Arhain 00:22, 12 August 2006 (UTC)

For your contributions to Wikipedia and humanity in general, you are hereby granted the coveted Random Smiley Award
by Pedia-I ^{Project Jesus}
(Explanation and Disclaimer)

There are several more awards on my talk page and its archives.

About Me

Introduction

Hi there. I am known on Wikipedia as Academic Challenger. I will not disclose my real name on this website. I chose this user name, Academic Challenger, because I am interested in academic subjects, the challenge of contributing to Wikipedia, and I was on a TV show called Academic Challenge in high school.

I began contributing to Wikipedia in late August 2003. I edited anonymously for three months and then created this account on November 15, 2003. A year later, all but my first dozen or so anonymous edits got reattributed to this account. I became an administrator in September 2004, and I believe that I am now one of the top 500 contributors to this project.

I first discovered Wikipedia in 2002 while searching Google for Ragnar Lodbrok. I was intrigued, but did not become a contributor and soon forgot about the website. I rediscovered it in August 2003 when I was searching Google for politicians who got assassinated. I found List of assassinated persons and started adding more people to it.

In 2005 I created accounts on several other wikis, including Anarchopedia, Uncyclopedia, the Simple English Wikipedia and the Spanish Wikipedia. However, I do not edit these sites much and will continue to spend nearly all my WikiTime on Wikipedia.

In December 2005 someone created an account called User:Academic Challenger on Wikinews. However, this is not me.

My Life and Interests

I am a young American male currently attending college in northern California. I am studying for a degree in political science. My main academic interests are history and politics. I am also interested in music and literature. Politically I am a Progressive member of the United States Democratic Party though I make sure to edit articles about American politicians with a neutral point of view. I am almost totally blind, and edit Wikipedia using a computer with the Job Access With Speech software.

My Areas of focus on Wikipedia

I began my contributions to Wikipedia by creating and expanding articles about twentieth century and current political figures, particularly american politicians but also politicians from other countries. I have probably edited an article about almost every country in the world, and I also update articles about countries and political parties, as well as politicians from the sixteenth through nineteenth centuries. I still significantly contribute to those areas, and I also occasionally write about other topics such as music and literature. Since I became an administrator in September 2004, I have been active in deleting junk pages that have just been created. I am an avid patroller of Special:Newpages. I also warn vandals, occasionally block them and fix new pages which need cleanup. My user page has been vandalized about 30 times. In December 2005, when anonymous contributors were prohibited from creating articles, I started doing Recent Changes patrol, and revert vandalism wherever I find it. On April 5 2006 I made my hundredth block.

Ever since I started contributing to Wikipedia, I have enjoyed reading pages about vandals and problem users such as WP:VIP and more recently WP:AN, as well as Wikipedia:Articles for deletion. I enjoy reading about the insanity of the many vandals and trolls we have here, though I am glad to be a useful contributor and not to be a vandal or troll. I do not vote on AFD very often, but I consider myself to be a moderate inclusionist.

One of my most significant projects was in late 2003 when I created articles about most of the current (at that time) members of the United States Senate and many state governors of the United States. By the time I became an administrator I had a bit over 1000 edits. As of September 2005, the second aniversary of my joining Wikipedia, I had abit over 5000 edits. I consider myself to be an acute wikiholic, though I have many other interests, including ones not involving the Internet! Though I have generally edited almost every day for the past 3 years, I have taken some wikibreaks for traveling, including long ones in July 2004 and June/July 2005. I believe that editing Wikipedia helps me deal with stress. I also restructure and modify my user page every few months.

On March 2, 2006, I reached 8000 edits. About 3/4 of these were in the article space, and most of the rest are in the user talk space, particularly from warning vandals. I have also deleted several thousand junk pages. In May 2006 I made my 10000th edit, and later in the year I reached 12000 edits. I currently edit almost every day, and though I may not always be able to keep this level of activity, for now I will continue to expand my work here, though I will probably not be creating many new articles in the near future.

Favorite websites

Favorite websites besides Wikipedia http://www.rulers.org (political information). http://digital.library.upenn.edu/books/ (the online books page) http://www.google.com Search engine. http://groups.google.com http://www.google.com/grphp?hl=xx-elmer&tab=wg&q= Usenet, including archive for the last 20 years. http://news.google.com

Here is a list of articles that I have started. I began work on this in November 2004 when I saw that other users have one. It is by no means complete, and most of these articles have been expanded much since I first wrote them. This also does not include some articles that I have worked a lot on expanding, but I may create a list for those later.

Literature

Philip Gourevitch, Hendrik Willem van Loon, John D. Fitzgerald, Jacques Lusseyran, Manil Suri, Milton Meltzer, Dudley Randall, Mari Evans, Judith Viorst, Conrad Kottak

American Politicians

John Cornyn Kent Conrad Byron Dorgan Frank Lautenberg Arlen Specter Zell Miller Max Cleland William H. Murray Howard Cannon Styles Bridges Mitt Romney John Rowland John Baldacci William Cohen Moses Alexander Frank Steunenberg Vito Marcantonio Jeb Bradley Chris Cannon Rob Bishop John Spratt Jim Talent Chuck Grassley John C. Walton Peter Fitzgerald Ben Nighthorse Campbell Craig Thomas Larry Craig Conrad Burns Sam Brownback Pat Roberts Arthur Capper John Breaux Richard Shelby Jeff Sessions Paul Coverdell David Beasley Jim Hodges Mark Sanford Thad Cochran Jennings Randolph Burton K. Wheeler Harry Reid Patrick Leahy Arch A. Moore, Jr. J. Caleb Boggs Richard Durbin Thomas R. Carper John Ensign Togiola Tulafono Tauese P. Sunia A.P. Lutali Daniel Inouye Bill Richardson Jim Doyle Mike Rounds William Maclay Lee Cruce Johnston Murray Dirk Kempthorne Phil Batt Larry EchoHawk Ted Schwinden Stan Stevens Jon Corzine Christopher Dodd Judd Gregg Susan Collins Olympia Snow Barbara Mikulski Paul Sarbanes Jeff Bingaman Peter Domenici George Voinovich Francis Cockrell Bob Holden Michael Enzi Ben Nelson Bill Nelson Saxby Chambliss David F. Cargo Bob Taft Lisa Murkowski Mark Andrews Norris Cotton John Culver Harold Hughes Carl Curtis Clifford Hansen Roman Hruska Walter Huddleston Irving Ives James Phelan Herman Welker Moses Robinson Walter F. George Thomas W. Hardwick Henry Latimer James W. Good Stephen R. Bradley Jonathan Robinson Israel Smith John Rutherfurd John H. Mitchell Guy Cordon Matthew Butler John Tipton Waller Taylor David Turpie Samuel Pasco Algernon Paddock Benjamin Swift Hernando Money Lindsey Graham Eligius Fromentin Fred Dubois William P. Kellogg Donelson Caffery

Francis Case James Kyle John J. Patterson Samuel S. Phelps Josiah Evans George Evans (politician) George W. Malone William M. Stewart John P. Jones Daniel Dickinson Clarence Morley Albert Washington McIntire James Bradley Orman Mike DeWine Gaston Caperton Steven Schiff Charles Foster Bass Richard Swett Frank Annunzio

Political Parties

American Labor Party Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League Eritrean Liberation Front Liberal Party (Paraguay)

Southeast Asian Politicians

Ba Maw Pote Sarasin Hor Namhong Truong Chinh Syed Hamid Albar Alberto Romulo Delia Albert Heng Samrin Kantathee Supamongkol Long Boret

East Asian Politicians

Dong Biwu Tsakhiagiyn Elbegdorj Lee Bum Suk Lee Hun Jai Nobutaka Machimura

Central Asian and Afghan politicians

Askar Aitmatov Sultan Ali Keshtmand Hasan Hasanov Vilayat Guliyev Mohammad Hashim Maiwandwal Roza Otunbayeva Abdul Rahim Ghafoorzai Ahmad Shah Ahmadzai

Mohammad Nur Ahmad Etemadi Mohammad Musa Shafiq Mohammad Yusuf

South Asian Politicians

Muhammad Zafrulla Khan Sikander Bakht Jaswant Singh Lokendra Bahadur Chand Mohan Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana Surya Bahadur Thapa Fathulla Jameel Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit

Dudley Shelton Senanayake Kirti Nidhi Bista Marich Man Singh Shrestha

European Politicians

Emilio Colombo Luigi Facta Ivanoe Bonomi Jens Otto Krag Bogdan Filov István Horthy Miklós Horthy, Jr. Géza Lakatos Hari Kostov Stanislav Gross Gabriel Narutowicz Charles Goerens Michael Frendo Joe Borg Bettino Craxi Walter Schwimmer Daniel Constantin Hilmar Baunsgaard Yevgeny Primakov Mate Granic Adil Carcani Christos Sartzetakis Ljupco Jordanovski Vulko Chervenkov Stanislaw Kania Toomas Ilves Vladimir Rushailo Leonid Kravchuk István Dobi Eugen Bejinariu Razvan Ungureanu Irfan Ljubijankic Lojze Peterle Vasil Kolarov Mykola Azarov Corneliu Manescu Urmas Paet Valery Kokov Leonid Markelov Vladimir Torlopov Nikolay Merkushkin Mikhail Yevdokimov Geir Haarde Ivars Godmanis Valdis Birkavs Paul Vanden Boeynants Zlatko Tomcic Zlatko Matesa Alexander Berdnikov Mikhail Lapshin Jean-Paul Proust Branko Kostic Veselin Djuranovic Radoje Kontic Nikola Uzunovic Lazar Mojsov

Israeli Politicians

Ephraim Katzir Shlomo Ben-Ami Moshe Arens Avraham Burg

Other Middle Eastern Politicians

Abdul Salam Arif Abdul Rahman Arif Nazim al-Kudsi Marwan al-Muasher Hani al-Mulki Omar Karami Rashid Karami Selim al-Hoss Adnan Badran Mudar Badran Farouq Qasrawi Farouk al-Sharaa

African politicians and topics

Ahmed Abdallah, Ali Said Abdella, Didier Ratsiraka, Edwin Barclay, Charles D.B. King, Antoine Ghonda, Ahmadou Ahidjo, Johnny Paul Koroma, Macky Sall, Carlos Gomes Júnior, Tamirat Layne, Belaid Abdessalam, Atef Sedki, Tafari Benti, Abdellatif Filali, Mustafa Osman Ismail, Abdullahi Sheikh Ismail, Ali Muhammad Ghedi, Gregoire Kayibanda, Moheli, Grand Comore, Moshoeshoe II, Pasteur Bizimungu, Kalonzo Musyoka, Habib Ben Yahia, Abdelbaki Hermassi, Rogatien Biaou, Raymond Ramazani Baya, Rodolphe Adada, Soares Sambu, Mutesa I, Sidi Moro Sanneh, Mohlabi Tsekoa, Monyane Moleleki, Tom Thabane, Makonnen Endelkachew, Endelkachew Makonnen, Bonaya Godana, Michel Micombero, Seyoum Mesfin, Jean Ping, Ali Soilih, Miguel Abia Biteo Borico, Bubi, Tom Butime, Sam Kutesa, Anastase Gasana, Michel Gbezera-Bria, Pierre Ngendandumwe, Fatoumata Kaba, Ahmed Hassan Diria, Thomas Nimely, George Chaponda, Daniel Lisulo, Kebby Musokotwane, Musa Gibril Bala Gaye, John Warburton Paul, Lam Akol, Gabriel Bacchus Matthews, Charles Brumskine, Bola Ige, Samuel Akintola, Georges Rawiri, Samson Kisekka, George Cosmas Adyebo, Kintu Musoke, Abdallah Mohamed, Salim Ben Ali, Mamdouh Salem, Emile Zinsou,

Caribbean, Mexican, Central American and South American Politicians

Juan Jose Torres Reinaldo Gargano Luis Ernesto Derbez Gérard Latortue Buenaventura Baez Victor Paz Estenssoro Samuel Lewis Navarro Virgilio Barco Vargas Carolina Barco Rafael Bielsa Desmond Hoyte Edward Oliver LeBlanc Herbert Blaize Milton Cato Baldwin Spencer Nicholas Liverpool Ricardo Maduro Osborne Riviere Petrus Compton Nita Barrow Errol Barrow Alfredo Baldomir Kenneth Hall Arthur Dion Hanna Carlos Hevia Eduardo Montealegre

Independent Pacific Islands Politicians

Kinza Clodumar Kuniwo Nakamura Nathaniel Waena Laurie Chan Paulias Matane Serge Vohor Alfred Maseng Roger Abiut Josias Moli Kalkot Mataskelekele Barak Sopé Ham Lini Maatia Toafa David Adeang Ned Young Jim Marurai Donald Kalpokas Maxime Carlot Korman Danny Philip David Sitai Patterson Oti Tupua Leupena Tulaga Manuella

Music

Mark Russell Michael Ball Colm Wilkinson Alexander Lagoya Enrique Granados Ferdinando Carulli The Fantasticks Lee Greenwood Eddie Daniels Richard Stoltzman Sabine Meyer Buddy Greene Fela Sowande Morton Harvey

Allan von Schenkel Lee Hoiby

Film

Night of the Iguana Irwin Winkler

Technology

Freedom Scientific Ted Henter

Medicine

Jonathan Drummond-Webb

Philosophers

Antony Flew

Education

Shasta College

Shasta High School

Blindness

National Federation of the Blind

Religion

Einosuke Akiya Ignatius IV of Antioch Michael Drosnin