Simon Edward Pulsifer (born September 11, 1981) is a Canadian contributor to the English-language Wikipedia whose prolific participation made him a "minor media celebrity".

English Wikipedia

Pulsifer became an active contributor to the English Wikipedia on December 10, 2001 under the

username A user is a person who uses a computer or Computer network, network Service (systems architecture), service. A user often has a user account and is identified to the system by a username (or user name). Some software products provide serv ...

'' SimonP'', just after hearing about the site from ''

The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. The magazi ...

''. In 2006, he said he spent over 40 hours a week on Wikipedia. He has been an

administrator Administrator or admin may refer to: Job roles Computing and internet * Database administrator, a person who is responsible for the environmental aspects of a database * Forum administrator, one who oversees discussions on an Internet forum * N ...

since at least 2006, and is a former member of Wikipedia's Arbitration Committee. Pulsifer's productivity at Wikipedia has made him the subject of human interest stories in the local press. Copy of full text her

/ref> ''

The Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as the Bytown ''Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris, it was renamed the ''Citizen'' in 1851. The newspap ...

'' August 11, 2005 p. A2 and ''

'' December 13, 2005 p. A13 Together with

Jimmy Wales Jimmy Donal Wales (born August 7, 1966), also known as Jimbo Wales, is an American List of Internet entrepreneurs, Internet entrepreneur and former Trader (finance), financial trader. He is a Founders of Wikipedia, co-founder of the non-profi ...

he appeared on the ''

On Point ''On Point'' is a radio show produced by WBUR-FM in Boston, Massachusetts, and syndicated by American Public Media (APM). The show addresses a wide range of issues from news, politics, arts and culture, health, technology, environmental, and bu ...

'' show on August 2, 2006. In December 2006, ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

''s annual " Person of the Year" issue contained a feature about Pulsifer. On February 6, 2011, Wikimedia's Executive Director

Sue Gardner Sue Gardner (born May 11, 1967) is a Canadian journalist, not-for-profit executive and business executive. She was the executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation from December 2007 until May 2014, and before that was the director of the C ...

presented him with a token of appreciation from the Wikipedia community for being one of their most prolific writers and editors.

Personal life

Pulsifer was born in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

, and was raised in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. He has a brother, Andrew. In June 2000, he graduated from

Lisgar Collegiate Institute Lisgar Collegiate Institute is an Ottawa-Carleton District School Board secondary school in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The school is located in downtown Ottawa by the Rideau Canal. History In 1843, a grammar school with 40 paying students was ...

, and went on to study

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

, Victoria College. Residing in Toronto (as of 2007), he lived in Ottawa for many years. He has worked for the political campaigns of politicians in both cities— Paul Dewar ( Ottawa Centre) and

Olivia Chow Olivia Chow (born March 24, 1957) is a Canadian politician who has been the 66th and current mayor of Toronto since July 12, 2023. Previously, Chow served as the New Democratic Party (NDP) member of Parliament (MP) for Trinity—Spadina fro ...

( Trinity—Spadina)—and was the database manager for 2006 Ottawa mayoral candidate Alex Munter.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pulsifer, Simon 1981 births Living people Canadian encyclopedists University of Toronto alumni People from Halifax, Nova Scotia Canadian Wikimedians Wikipedia people Writers from Ottawa

English Wikipedia

Personal life

See also

References

External links