User:Curtis Bledsoe

Hi everyone!

You can call me Curtis if you like.

Why am I here? To improve wikipedia by declaring open war on things that, to quote Eric Cartman, "really piss me off". Let me also assure everyone here that by "things", I don't mean "people". People aren't the problem - even when they're excessively abusive and confrontational - the problem is:

• 1. Poor understanding of cause and effect. It constantly surprises me how many adults (and, sadly, wiki editors) fail to understand the true meaning of the post hoc fallacy.

• 2. Bad grammar. I'll clean it up wherever I see it.

• 3. Unsourced and/or vague claims. If I see one, I'll try to either find a reference to support the claim or try to rewrite the section so that the source is no longer necessary.

• 4. Bad science and quackery. This one really bugs me. It bothers me that there are people in the world who take advantage of the weak, gullible and uninformed. The only antidote to that poison is information and education.

• 5. People who look upon skepticism as a bad thing. Anyone who uses "skeptic" as a derogatory term or habitually puts it in quotation marks as to imply derision or sarcasm. These people should tread lightly in my presence. Skepticism is a good thing. Always has been and always will be.

If I sometimes come off as aggressive, I apologise in advance. The wiki mandate is to be "bold". So full speed ahead and may the devil take the hindmost. However, If someone I say or do bothers you then please let me know. I don't consider anything I say here to be above criticism or challenge. If you have a problem the feel free to speak your mind. If you respond to me politely, you may expect boundless civility in return. What goes around comes around, that's what I say.

However, one thing that really winds me up is vague accusation. If you have a problem with something I write and all you can manage to say in criticism is "that's bad", then don't bother. I never criticise anyone unless I can explain EXACTLY what my problem is with what they've done. I would never insult someone by using the "because I said so, that's why" style of argument and I require the same respect in return.