CZ:Nomination page/Editorial Council/Mary Ash

While I have written a few articles at Citizendium, I do have a degree in English/Communications and an extensive writing history as a reporter. I have spent close to 10 years writing professionally. I also spent approximately three years writing how to articles at wikiHow. At wikiHow I was also one of the first beta testers for New Article Boost. Before leaving wikiHow I edited and brought up to format 5,900 articles performing the NAB process. NAB was designed to edit and format articles to wikiHow standards.

I am married to an engineer, we have two adult special needs children, and I am owned by three cats.

At Citizendium I have done some minor editing and have written several cat articles. I plan to write more when time permits.

Key Points

• Allow fair and objective review of all articles.
• Ensure articles are fact-based and referenced using reliable information.
• Promote clear and concise writing.
• Discourage perceived but well meaning censorship. Both editors and authors need to have the freedom, and to feel comfortable when making contributions, without worry of censorship as someone took a personal dislike to an article.
• Allow user pages to choose whether to display a biography or resume. Constables review applications before Citizens memberships are approved so any and all personal information is known when the application is approved. I make this proposal as some people do not feel comfortable providing so much personal information on the Internet as it makes them feel unsafe. Please review my user page to see my comments concerning online safety: [[1]].
• Encourage an ambassador program to welcome and encourage new Citizens. While at wikiHow numerous "awards" and other friendly messages were created and sent to fellow volunteers. Here are a couple templates I created at wikiHow: http://www.wikihow.com/Template:Kindness2 or http://www.wikihow.com/Template:Kindness. Both are samples of things that can be created to promote a friendlier more harmonious place for volunteers to volunteer at. Welcoming and encouraging templates could be created at Citizendium for the same reason.

I promise to be fair and objective. A good reporter and a good editorial council member needs those qualities. I also believe Citizendium should encompass a wide range of fact-based articles that is documented with proven reliable research. While we may not always agree on all articles, my vision of Citizendium includes making it the best encyclopedia online. Limiting or censoring articles based on personal beliefs would not allow this to happen.

Thank you for nominating me as I am a relative new comer. I promise to work hard, learn lots, and hopefully with your help make Citizendium a better place. Mary Ash 04:02, 29 September 2010 (UTC)