The 'Shroom:Issue XXXVIII/Interview

Interview by

Hello, all! Welcome to another edition of The 'Shroom's interview, starring your most favorite person of all time &mdash; me! This month, I spent quite a bit of time contemplating who to interview. I browsed the wiki and forum for a couple of weeks before I figured out who I wanted to interview: Marcelagus. Thankfully, he was up for an interview.

The Target
Marcelagus has had quite a long history on the Super Mario Wiki. He joined a little over 3 years ago under the name "Super Luigi Sunshine"; he was fairly inactive while he had this name, but when he changed his name in early 2008 to "Garlic Man", he became a much more active part of both the wiki and forum. On the wiki, he edited numerous articles, helped get a few policies in place (such as our Unfeaturing process for articles), started the Sub-Director position for The 'Shroom (in fact, he was the first one), and always voiced his opinions on important matters.

After a couple of months, Garlic Man had become a nominee for Sysop. Word spread about this nomination fast, encouraging him to be even more active on the wiki; he wanted to prove that he was ready for a promotion, and that he would do all he could to help the wiki once he was promoted. Months passed, but Garlic Man still hadn't been promoted. Why was this? Garlic Man's attitude began to change for the worse; he had become rather arrogant both on the wiki and forum. Around this time, evidence in the Sysop board on the forum showed Garlic Man saying that he was the same person as Mr. M (who registered on the wiki before Garlic). Mr. M was supposedly Garlic Man's brother, so it came as quite a shock to many to find out that this was a lie. This, along with his poor attitude, resulted in Garlic Man losing his Sysop nomination, as well as receiving a short suspension on the forum. Shortly afterward, Garlic went inactive.

Garlic man had been away from the wiki for about four months when a new member, known as "Shiancoe", joined the wiki. This new member was a very helpful member to the wiki during his short time here &mdash; he was even a nominee for Patroller. However, it was discovered the Garlic Man was actually Shiancoe, and that he was apparently trying to start anew. Garlic left the wiki and forum yet again &mdash; this time, however, he was gone for much longer.

Nearly a year had passed without any word from Garlic Man. Many people assumed he had retired and moved on; some others still wondered what happened to him (and even missed him). Then, one day, Garlic Man appeared in the chatroom. He wasn't too talkative, but he noticed that some people were glad to have him around again. So, Garlic came by chat again another day...and then another day, and another day. Eventually, Garlic came by chat nearly daily. He then started editing the wiki once more, and even became active on the forum again. Some people were still leery about Garlic Man, and were somewhat worried that he was going to "go back to his old tricks" (as a few people said).

He didn't.

Garlic Man renamed himself to "Marcelagus" earlier this year. His contributions on the wiki slowed down greatly, but he was still very active on the forum. Perhaps the most notable thing that Marcelagus has done this year is take an enormous part in NIWA. I think it's safe to say that without his help, NIWA wouldn't be anywhere near as organized and well-built as it is right now. Marcelagus has made huge strides to become a better member; I think it's safe to say that this year he has proven himself to be a better member.

*takes a breath*

Now, let's take a look at what Marcelagus is like today.

The Interview
Me: So, Marcelagus, can you tell me how you came across the MarioWiki? Marcelagus: Hmm Marcelagus: I'm pretty sure it was one of the links in the external links section of a Wikipedia article. Marcelagus: And I clicked it and was lead there. Me: That seems to be how a lot of people get here. Do you remember what type of Mario information you were looking for that day? Marcelagus: Honestly, not at all. After all it was over 3 years ago. Me: Haha, that's true. :P Me: Also, considering how long you've been a member, I'm sure you've made quite a few accomplishments on the wiki and forum. Me: What do you consider your greatest accomplishments? Marcelagus: There's a couple that I can think of Marcelagus: One was the Super Smash Bros. article. It looked a lot better (in fact, now featured) after I did some good amount of work on it Marcelagus: I also got the Unfeature process figured out with Time Q which is significant I think Me: Definitely. The Unfeaturing process has done wonders! Marcelagus: And of course, I've contributed probably hundreds of Japanese translations for various article subjects. Me: You could probably still contribute quite a lot to the wiki. How come you're more active on the forum than the wiki? Marcelagus: It used to be the other way around, but I'm on somewhat of a wiki hiatus right now. I'm hoping to return once school lets out in June. Me: Oh, good. I'll be looking forward to that. Me: Do you have any goals that you think you'll try to beat if you return to the wiki? Marcelagus: Well, I've always aimed to become a wiki staff member, but I guess these frequent hiatuses don't really help my cause, huh. :P Me: Well, not right now. Becoming more active might be a big help, though. Marcelagus: Yes, yes. Me: So, if you were a Sysop, what would you do to improve the wiki more? Me: (protip: deleting images is fun and helpful :P) Marcelagus: Haha Marcelagus: But to answer your question, there's still some changes I want to happen with the proposal, FA, and the widely-discussed Featured Image system, which hopefully I'll have some influence over if I were a sysop. Marcelagus: And of course, blocking vandals is important. It's happened on a couple of occasions when a vandal goes wild and there's nobody online to stop it. Me: I'm impressed. It sounds as if you've prepared yourself for whenever that day comes. Kudos. Marcelagus: Thanks Me: And now for something completely different! Me: Do you have any hobbies off the wiki? Marcelagus: Well one of my main things is that I play trombone at my high school as well as play soccer on the JV team. Ironically I haven't been able to play much video games recently, but I look forward to playing Super Mario Galaxy 2. Me: Cool. Soccer is one of the only sports that I enjoy. Me: Do you plan to be a professional soccer player some day? Marcelagus: Haha, I wish. My future career will more likely be oriented around trombone. Me: Ooh, maybe we could collaborate as musicians someday. Marcelagus: Totally Me: Let's see, I've got a couple more questions... Me: Are you excited about this year's awards ceremony? Marcelagus: I'm pretty neutral. Haven't been following it that closely, but I'll probably still vote for stuff. Me: Voting is an important part of the awards, so I guess I can't give you a hard time. :P Me: So...is this the last question? Marcelagus: No. Me: Oh. Me: You were wrong. Me: It was. :) Marcelagus: Because if I ask a question, it counts as a question, right?  Me: No. Only my questions matter.  Marcelagus: Curses.  Marcelagus: :P  Me: Maybe next time, champ. :P  Me: Anyways, thanks.  Marcelagus: Alright, nice talking with you.

In Closing
This interview was very special to me. Marcelagus was nominated for Sysop at the same time I was, which created a sort of rivalry between us back in '08. If it weren't for that rivalry, I honestly don't think I would have had the gumption to keep contributing &mdash; an, in extension, become a Sysop and Bureaucrat. So, in a sense, I look at Marcelagus as one of the people who has helped me the most on the wiki. He probably doesn't even know that yet, but it's true.

One thing that's quite obvious is that Marcelagus has had quite a shaky past. He's made a lot of mistakes, which a lot of members actually disliked him for. When Marecelagus returned, even I was a little worried that he was going to mess up again like he had before. But he didn't. And he's become a fantastic member because of that. Marcelagus is a prime example that just because you've made a lot of mistakes, doesn't mean you can't fix them (or make up for them). He went through quite a bit of trial and error to get where he is today &mdash; and even if he isn't a wiki Sysop or a forum Moderator, his efforts are pretty inspirational.

I hope you guys enjoyed this (really long) interview. Please come back next month for another interview. Until then, take care.