Hey there â I'm Kevin, a 30-something Wikimedian and software engineer from the United States.
I made my first edit to Wikipedia in 2007. I was pretty young when I first started editing, and Wikipedia has been a pretty big part of my internet experience growing up (there are worse sites to grow up on!). Over the years, I found myself spending more time on event organizing and software development. I founded the Ohio Wikimedians User Group, and serve on the Board of the Wikimedia District of Columbia chapter. I help organize WikiConference North America, Wiki Loves Monuments in the United States, and WikiPortraits.
If you would like to contact me, I am available on my talk page or through email.
I edit Wikimedia projects under the username of "SuperHamster", except for Wikimedia Commons where I contribute as Kevin Payravi.
Conflicts of Interest Disclosures
Most of my work, projects, and grants are listed on my CV. I have received funding for various Wikimedia projects, but have not been paid for editing Wikipedia articles.
An overview of my work and grant funding is provided here:
I am currently doing contract work for the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA).
While the DPLA has done work related to Wikimedia, nearly all of my work is unrelated to Wikimedia and my work does not include editing Wikimedia projects.
I did contract work for the Wikimedia Foundation from August 2022 - January 2023, to build View it!.
I have received or been an advisor on grants from the Wikimedia Foundation for various projects, including event organizing and software development.
Notable examples include funding for WikiPortraits (current), Wiki Loves Monuments in the U.S. (current), WikiConference North America, WikiGameJam, Wikipedia Asian Month, and the Wikipedia Connection student organization at Ohio State.
Depending on the grant, I may receive no compensation, a stipend, or pay for specific deliverables. Paid work has primarily been for software development and administrative efforts. I have never received pay for editing Wikipedia articles.
I am on the Board of Wikimedia DC (unpaid position).
I have been a volunteer organizer for WikiConference North America (at various levels of involvement) since 2017.
I have had travel to events partially or wholly covered by several Wikimedia orgs, including scholarships to attend WikiConference North America and Wikimania, as well as travel to events for WikiPortraits.
Software Development
Here are some of the wiki-related software projects I've created or help maintain:
commons.gallery, a platform for Wikimedia Commons users to create sleek, sharable portfolios of media. Funded by Wikimedia CH.
Cite Unseen, a user script that adds categorical icons to Wikipedia citations (editable sites, advocacy groups, government-controlled sources, etc.), to provide readers and editors a quick initial evaluation of citations at a glance.
View it!, a suite of tools to help Wikipedia users discover all relevant Wikimedia Commons media depictingâor otherwise related toâthe article they are reading. This includes a user script that embeds a gallery of images at the top of articles, as well as an API for other users to pull media related to any topic that has a Wikidata Q-ID.
Wiki Arcade, a fun arcade showcase of wiki-powered games.
Indie Wiki Buddy, a browser extension that redirects users from corporate wiki farms to independent, community-controlled alternatives.
WikiPortraits Tools, a suite of tools to help WikiPortraits newcomers and contributors.
Barnstars
Thanks to everyone who goes out of their way to recognize each other for their contributions!
Original Barnstar
"On behalf of the Guild of Copy Editors, I hereby award you this Original Barnstar for copyediting the most articles on the first day of the Backlog Elimination Drive. Nice work!" ÉģorÉfĘ, 2 July 2010
"For taking up the spatula and turning up the sizzle to create yet another successful Bacon Challenge - you are one heck of a hamster!" Geoff, 16 March 2011
"This barnstar is awarded to everyone who - whatever their opinion - contributed to the discussion about Wikipedia and SOPA. Thank you for being a part of the discussion." Wikimedia Foundation, 21 January 2012
Cleanup Barnstar
"Thanks for copyediting six articles (and a total of 12,129 words) during the GOCE January drive." Miniapolis, 2 February 2014
WikiConference North America Barnstar "Thank you for the role you played at WikiConference North America 2016. This year's conference could not have been a success without your contributions and we hope you will continue to be involved in 2017." Gamaliel, 29 November 2016
"Thank you for helping me learn about uploading to Commons! " andritolion, 19 September 2019
Barnstar of Reliability
"Thank you for developing Cite Unseen, a user script that helps Wikipedia readers and editors understand the reliability of cited sources by annotating them with icons based on their type. Your project introduces a novel approach to countering disinformation with awareness and mindfulness." Newslinger, 19 October 2019
Random Acts of Kindness Barnstar
"Thanks for helping me with the image questions." I dream of horses, 26 August 2020
Technical Barnstar
"Thank you for your work on the CiteUnseen extension." Jenny8lee, 20 October 2023
Original Barnstar
"Thank you for being so welcoming at the meetup today!" Keplersj, 27 January 2024
Real Life Barnstar
"Thanks for your hard work helping to organize WikiConference North America!" Another Believer, 7 October 2024
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