I am R. Stuart Geiger, a graduate student at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. I study new media and virtual communities from many different points of view. One of my favorite topics to write about is Wikipedia.
Wikipedia
I have been an editor on the English Wikipedia since 2004. However, I am new to the Simple English Wikipedia. I know that things are different here. I believe in Consensus and discussion. If you have any questions or just want to talk, I'm free.
I am working on articles about monuments and museums in Washington, D.C. I am also working on articles in philosophy. I may also write some articles related to what I am writing. For example, I started the article about the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, and then realized we needed an article on reflecting pools.
University
I study many subjects - philosophy, history, anthropology, technology studies, communication, and political science. I have always been a computer geek and began college as a Computer Science major. I even worked as a database programmer for a little while. However, I did not like programming.
I am more interested in politics and law. But I still love computers and virtual communities (I started playing MUDs when I was 11). I decided to study the politics of computers and the Internet. I have written papers on the Open Source Software movement as well as Wikipedia.
Wikipedia and Universities
I believe that Wikipedia and universities can get along. They have the same goal: education. I think both sides can learn a lot from each other. I want bring them together. I am even giving a speech on this at this year's Wikimania. I will talk about how professors see Wikipedia - some of them do not like us! I will also talk about how we can come together.
My Research
I am currently researching Wikipedia for a few articles I want to publish. I like Wikipedia, and if you're going to write about something, why not write about something you like? I'm currently writing a paper about the importance of history in helping people understand what they believe and why. If you want to talk to me about Wikipedia, I'd love to chat. You might even get mentioned in a journal or book (or kept anonymous, if you prefer). If you want to see some of my works, they are available at my website.
Other Wikis
I also run another wiki, the Virtual Worlds Almanac, which is sponsored by the Federation of American Scientists. It is a structured semantic wiki designed just for virtual worlds. When you edit articles, you get a nice form to fill out instead of confusing wiki-formatting and templates. Check it out!
