Welcome to Avgusztyn's Talk Page... If you want to discuss my current research projects, or Wikipedia editing principles, you've come to the right place! Since it's my talk page, it uses my own organization. I have a few major topics here. If one does not suit you, post at the bottom. I will attempt to archive posts by topic, but we'll see if I'm successful in that.

My Current Research Projects

Here are my current research projects. In each of these, I usually survey hundreds of relevant Wikipedia pages, and you may notice where I'm working based on my edit history. If you have any input on these projects, it is welcome.

A Taxonomical Menu

As of April, 2012, I'm working on completing a list of every species of living thing eaten anywhere in the world, organized by scientific taxonomical principles. As a result, I've been spending a lot of time going through species stubs.

Modern History

As of March, 2012, I've been working on a day-by-day timeline of world history from 1880 to the present.

Medieval History

As of January, 2012, I've been working on a detailed history of the period from 1100-1130 BCE accross Europe, the Middle East and Asia, related to the First Crusade and the Silk Road.

My Current Wikipedia Issues

Here are the current issues I'm trying to improve on Wikipedia. If in the process of doing this, I have swooped in and messed with an article you were working on, let me know, and I'll try to help be as constructive as possible.

How To Issues

As of April, 2012, in my Taxonomical Menu project, I have been going through a lot of articles on individual species. I've found a lot where the articles were written in a mostly how-to format by hobbyists, so I've been flagging them or editing them. I think this is very important to maintaining the quality of Wikipedia, because it should be a resource for facts. How to advice presumes a certain audience, primarily, that of a hobbyist. When articles about wild animals (such as tarantulas and mantises) are written in a how-to formula about keeping them as pets, it fails to provide the basic biological information that a general audience might be seeking. Even more alarmingly, I have discovered many articles that present information about a wild species almost exclusively from the point of view of keeping it in captivity. When the "Habitat" section of an article on an animal that lives in the wild mainly describes what kind of terrarium or enclosure you should keep it in as a pet, it presents a misleading and incomplete understanding of the animal, as if its natural place is in captivity, not in the wild.

Help Offered

I am here to help. If there's any way I can, just ask.

Resources

Although I am naturally focused on my on research, I have vast library resources at my disposal, both in Seattle at the University of Washington and in Chicago at the University of Chicago. So if anyone would like my help tracking down resources, just post a request here and I will get to it as soon as possible.