User:Gotanda

Userboxes This user has rollback rights on the Simple English Wikipedia. (verify) This user is a member of the Simple English Wikipedia. (verify) This user lives in Japan. This user has written or significantly contributed to 2 good articles on Wikipedia.

I edited on Wikitravel off-and-on for several years. After a few anonymous edits here, I decided to make an account and contribute more actively. I did that for several years, then took an extended break. I teach English at a university in Japan, and found it was quite easy to create a Simple English Wikipedia page if I am already grading/adapting English Wikipedia content for use with students.

I took a break for a year from April 2024 to March 2025 while on sabbatical, but back to work and back to some editing here.

Update September 2025: I will respond to requests for deletion or other requests for input.

Alternate account

I used an alternate account User:ELTted for editing with students and presenting SEWP to language teachers. I never voted or commented from that other account. It was strictly for editing articles that my students or workshop participants were working on.

Useful yet rarely used tool

• Web Vocabulary Profiler / British National Corpus-COCA 1-25K

Common complexity that is not needed and suggestions

A few simple changes here and there can help. The verb to be is often the simplest way to write something

• Former: use retired, was, or used to be
• It is found in/It lies in/is located in: use It is in.
• ...in the northwestern part of France: use in northwest France
• It has a population of 1,200: use The population is 1,200.
• ...a large number...: use many
• ...situated...
  • ...situated in...: use in
  • ...situated by...: use by
  • ...situated near...: use near
• ...the process by which...ː use how
• For politicians and government or military officers, "served as": use was

I could go on, but simplification is less important here than gatekeeping and maintaining systemic bias. I hope that will change.