User talk:Vassyana

I will not be sending out RfA thank you notes. I simply dislike the practice. However, thank you to everyone who participated in my RfA, regardless of your opinion. Consensus can only be reached when editors participate in the discussion. Cheers! Vassyana 20:48, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

I have proposed a reviews/feedback-orientated WikiProject. If you would be interested in participating, please sign under the proposal or let me know. Vassyana 11:47, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

If you speak to me over e-mail or IRC about an informal mediation, an article I am involved with as a neutral party or simply seeking advice, anything said within reason will be held in a strict confidential manner

Talk Page archives: /Archive001 /Archive002

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Request

Hi Vassyana, could you revert my last edit of Wikipedia:Mediation Cabal/Cases/2007-05-21 Landmark Education; my browser has shredded some comments by the parties involved and isn't letting me revert. Thanks. I'd vote again in your RfC if I could. Addhoc 21:41, 26 May 2007 (UTC)

Done. Vassyana 21:45, 26 May 2007 (UTC)

Old WikiProject proposals

Do they only have a limited time period before they are deleted? Simply south 13:18, 27 May 2007 (UTC)

Not at all. I was cleaning up the list. Please check the proposal talk page. Old proposals that had not yet gained enough support for a launch and had little activity were removed in the interests of cleanup and manageable list size. That you're the first person to raise the issue (besides an error I made), demonstrates how little attention has been paid to most of the proposals I deprecated from the list. If I removed one of your proposals, or one you expressed interest in, I will restore it if you wish. There's no set time period for listing, so I'd have no objection. Again, I was just cleaning up old and neglected proposals. Be well! Vassyana 13:37, 27 May 2007 (UTC)

I think i might just launch it anyway and hope it gets enough people. I can think of a couple who might be interested. Simply south 16:15, 27 May 2007 (UTC)

Good deal. Do you want me to relist the proposal? If so, which one was it? Best of luck with your endeavour! Vassyana 16:22, 27 May 2007 (UTC)

Possibly, its Hertfordshire. Thanks.

Separately, do you know how to get members of another project to get more involved with that same other project? Simply south 16:27, 27 May 2007 (UTC)

You might wish to hit the talk pages of WikiProject London and WikiProject UK geography for advice and possible interested editors. You may also find the UK geo project's advice about settlements helpful. I have restored the proposal.[1] If there's anything else I can do, please let me know. Vassyana 17:35, 27 May 2007 (UTC)

I will prob try UK proj and others.

Do you know how to get people more involved in the setting up of the project in which they are already members of? (This time, i'm not talking about Herts). Simply south 17:49, 27 May 2007 (UTC)

To-do lists are always good. It may also prove helpful to ask specific editors for help with specific tasks you think they might be suited for. Vassyana 18:05, 27 May 2007 (UTC)

FOF - Original Research?

Hi Vassyana - when you have a moment, would you look at the talk page discussion on "Other beliefs"? There is a suggestion to add material to round out the article from personal knowledge, since there are no documented sources. Is this ok to do? Thanks for your help, and good luck on you RfA. --Moon Rising 00:50, 28 May 2007 (UTC)

The editor who requested original research has rescinded his request. You can ignore this. Thanks anyway. --Moon Rising 03:31, 28 May 2007 (UTC)

Your RfA

Vassyana, please note that I have removed my opposition to your admin. While I still believe you need more experience before becoming an admin, I feel the continual defense of my opinion is distracting from your RfA. I hope you will understand that I think you're a really good editor who merely needs a bit more experience, especially with editing actual articles. I have nothing against you and, as I have repeatedly said, would have supported you in the near future.--Alabamaboy 01:40, 29 May 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for your kind words. The problems with RfAs today is that one is unlikely to know a lot about the different candidates. I made a good faith effort to analyze your ability to be an admin and came away feeling you needed more experience. This may be a mistake--Lord knows I've made enough mistakes on Wikipedia. But all RfA discussions are based on personal opinions, nothing more. Being attacked over an opinion in an RfA is not appropriate and not something I intend to waste any more time with. I wish you the best in your future admin duties b/c it appears you'll be approved.--Alabamaboy 11:55, 29 May 2007 (UTC)

Tarot and Project Occult

The article Tarot has been split for NPOV and clean up purposes. The article Tarot handles the history of tarot cards and I don't think this article is directly related to the occult anymore. The article Tarot reading has been created to deal with the esoteric applications. I think Tarot reading rather than Tarot should fall under the Project Occult umbrella.Smiloid 20:12, 29 May 2007 (UTC)

FOF - comment please

Dear Vassyana, we have come a long way since you're first involvement: the article is much more brief, the criticism is integrated per your example, and most editors are being respectful towards one another. Thanks for your help getting us to this point. We still have some areas of dispute, but I doubt they are out of the ordinary. Would you be able to look at the article and comment on it in terms of what we would need to do to upgrade the quality from a "start" to a "B"? Thanks again. --Moon Rising 03:28, 30 May 2007 (UTC)

I fear I spoke too soon. There is a bit of an edit war brewing (I don't pretend to be innocent here). Would it be better for your review if we all agreed to stop editing for a 'short' period of time? And thanks for encouraging me set my goals higher - to aim for GA status, not a "B". --Moon Rising 00:26, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

---

Could you comment on the mentioning of Alex Horn (read from Eric's comment on the bottom). The FoF website states that he was a student of Pentland, while many others that write about Gurdjieff state that he wasn't. How should this be written? Aeuio 03:34, 30 May 2007 (UTC)

---

I asked this on the talk page:

Question to Vass - is it okay to reference the 2nd suitcase concerning the fof with the images that Rick Ross uploaded.[[2]][[3]][[4]]. I know that his opinions can't be referenced, but this picture is a court file and I don't see a problem as it is a picture and it doesn't reflect RR. Aeuio 01:30, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

Dear Vassyana, Over the past few days, the article has seen a lot of editing. This comment was posted today by a new visitor to the page: "The Fellowship of Friends is a small weird religious group and this page has zero interest for the general public. It is a miracle that the article hasn't been deleted already (it may be soon, since it is on the AfD list). There are thousands of religious groups the size of the Fellowship that don't have a page on Wikipedia. Why does the Fellowship have a page then? Because it is an arena for bitter ex-members, devoted members, and occasional hard-line orthodox Gurdjieffians to try to destroy each other. Administrators, if you are reading this, please do the Wikipedia community a favor: delete this page and end this non-sense."

What do you think about what's been happening? --Moon Rising 08:24, 6 June 2007 (UTC)p.s.: the talk page has been even more active.--Moon Rising 08:26, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

Congrats

Let me be the first to congratulate you on your successful nomination. I am sure you know all about this, but it is a good reminder: Wikipedia:Advice for new administrators. If you need any help with the new tools, let me know. Be well! ≈ jossi ≈ (talk) 16:13, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Congratulations, Vassyana. Your cool-headed and thoughtful responses provide a textbook example on how an RfA candidate can succeed in the face of a very serious vein of criticism. In all other respects you seem to me as fine a candidate as we can hope for. If you move forward with the reflection that the BLP debate was the only reason why support wasn't virtually unanimous, I feel that I have accomplished something with my oppose.

Congratulations again; you've earned it.Proabivouac 21:45, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

You're an Admin!

It is my pleasure to inform you that you are now an admin. Congratulations. You can feel free to do everything you're supposed to do and nothing you're not supposed to do. If you haven't already, now is the time look through the Wikipedia:Administrators' how-to guide and Wikipedia:Administrators' reading list. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me, or at the Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard. Best wishes and good luck, -- Cecropia 16:16, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Congratulations on becoming an administrator, best of luck for the future. Ryan Postlethwaite 16:19, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Well done :-) I will indeed get back to you about living bios. Probably pointing you at what I'll be writing for the current arbitration on the matter - a history of WP:BLP and why IMO it hasn't changed in meaning or intent in the eighteen months since its inception; that is, why the recently controversial actions under it are entirely within process. Of course, the arbitration case may determine that I'm wrong ... - David Gerard 16:36, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

And congratulations from me too. For the record, my own position on BLP is similar to the the positions held by many of the people who opposed you; but from what I've seen of you on article and user talk pages, I felt absolutely confident that you would never jump in and undelete a rather iffy article that had been deleted by an admin citing that policy, so it never occurred to me for a second to change my vote. I hope you won't think it very pompous and patronising to say this to an administrator ;-) but I think it's quite likely that you'll find your views changing a little bit on that issue in time. Anyway, I'm very glad that the people whose views I share on BLP didn't manage to make your RfA fail. I'm confident that they're going to find their fears were misplaced. Cheers. ElinorD (talk) 16:51, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Pfft, patronising!? I'm no different today than I was yesterday. Besides, you've probably a better grasp of the nuances than I do! So, when are you going to let me nominate you for adminship? :)

Regardless, I wouldn't just jump in and undelete something. I'm pretty sure the closing admin would have at least a talk page available to ask them why they did it. If I disagree strongly, I can always raise the issue for discussion in the appropriate forum, instead of reverting another sysop. My opinions regarding consensus expressed in my comments about BLP slice both ways. And, what can be undeleted today can still be undeleted next week, if it should be. I don't plan on going rogue yet. :D Vassyana 21:15, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

My sincere condolences at your becoming an admin. Now you are stuck with one of the most horrific jobs known to mankind, and for a year, no less. ^^;;

Try and be nice to the OTRS folks! :-) --Kim Bruning 16:58, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Thanks everyone for the congratulations and well-wishes. :) Vassyana 21:15, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Congrats, and I strongly second what Kim said (although I have no doubt you will be a sensible administrator). If you're on IRC now, or have a chance to get on shortly, I'd love to talk with you about helping out at RfM, if you're still interested. Again, congrats! Daniel 09:01, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Congrats from me too. Good luck. —Anas ^talk? 14:15, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Congratulations, Vassyana, you will make an excellent Admin. And, please, stay close to the Fellowship of Friends page - we need you there. Mario Fantoni 20:39, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

Deletion of Wikipedia:Spam

I've restored your presumably mistaken deletion of WP:SPAM. Let me know if it was intentional; otherwise, don't worry about the "new admin" mistake. :) --Mr. Lefty (talk) 22:37, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for understanding. I tried to restore it myself. :P It was an error in script usage. Sorry! *hides head in shame* :) Vassyana 22:42, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Comparative religion

You might find this interesting. --Ideogram 09:34, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

I told you so

I told you what would happen on the fof page. Mario is slowly delting everything from me, Wine ark, Nix.. saying "clean up" or "irrelevant" I commented on Mario's deletion of every negative fact on the fof under the subtitle "this isn't working out", and Mario has replied "You (Aeuio) are not working out"[5] and went and again deleted the info - which happens to be negative - which he feels "is irrelevant". Can you take a look at this please. Aeuio 17:40, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

Could you give a yes or no (and a reason) for whether or not it is relevant that this Robert Burton, stating that he was receiving guidance from higher beings, is said to have predicted a world-wide depression, an earthquake which would destroy California, and a nuclear war. be changed to this Robert Burton, stating that he was receiving guidance from higher beings, is said to have predicted a world-wide depression for 1984, an earthquake which would destroy California for 1998, and a nuclear war for 2006; in which cases his school would survive. I personally think that the second is more precise (and it is part of the sources given). Others say that it is "irrelevant to the reader". Aeuio 01:25, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

RFA

Congrats on becoming and admin. Hope you enjoy your new role. Simply south 21:05, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

True or not?

Vassyana, do you think that the following statement that I removed is true?

Dear contributor: The paragraphs in the introduction of this article reached their form through heated debate and careful wording via the contributions of many editors over an extended period of time. Please do not update its text without first placing your proposal for a change in Talk:Prem Rawat to allow discussion for at least 24 hours.

If not, how is removing this statement disrutive? If yes, where is the "heated debate and careful wording via the contributions of many editors over an extended period of time"? You cannot find it for this version. Andries 18:38, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

June 2007 Wikiproject Christianity Newsletter

The Christianity WikiProject Newsletter Volume I, no. 1 - June 2007
Project News Four articles are at FA level and sixteen are GA level articles. You can help by adopting a topic. There is a lot of work for this Wikiproject. Go to tasks to find out how to help. Please help with the Destubbification Drive. John Carter created the template {{Christian list}}. There are currently five article being peer reviewed by the peer review team. Please stop by and see if there is any way that you could contribute to those articles. It has been proposed by John Carter that the various other projects which relate to Christianity ought to all at least tag those articles which fall within their scope. That way, this project would have a better idea which articles do not fall within the specific scope of any of the other related projects. Articles can be "tagged" by placing {{ChristianityWikiProject}} in the articles talk page.	Current proposals and discussions We're sorry if you did not want to receive this newsletter, but this is sent to all Wikiproject Christianity Members as it is the first newsletter. If you would like to recieve this in the future, or if you wouldn't, you must add your user name accordingly here. If you've just joined, add your name to the Members section of Wikipedia:WikiProject Christianity. You'll get a mention in the next issue of the Newsletter and get it delivered as desired. Also, please include your own promotions and awards in future issues. Don't be shy! Lastly, this is your newsletter and you can be involved in the creation of the next issue (Issue 2 – July 2007). Any and all contributions are welcome. Simply let yourself be known to any of the undersigned, or just start editing! Contributors to this Issue Nswinton\talk Wikihermit • Talk HermesBot
Christianity Articles by Quality Make visible or invisible by clicking Show or Hide, respectively. Christianity articles by quality and importance Quality Importance Top High Mid Low NA Other ??? Total FA 10 8 37 126 3 1 185 FL 1 14 20 35 FM 201 1 202 A 1 1 2 GA 21 16 191 450 33 2 713 B 221 255 793 2,183 370 224 4,046 C 342 806 2,295 6,645 1 2,451 635 13,175 Start 224 226 1,313 18,711 2 10,468 991 31,935 Stub 10 264 14,658 8,279 483 23,694 List 13 39 700 1,001 2 78 27 1,860 Category 4 22,960 1,314 24,278 Disambig 1 322 18 341 File 879 31 910 Portal 374 1 375 Project 175 14 189 Redirect 6 40 109 689 1,692 584 2 3,122 Template 2 1 2,179 112 2,294 NA 12 20 12 44 Other 113 113 Assessed 838 1,401 5,719 44,501 28,920 23,769 2,365 107,513 Unassessed 2 2 Total 838 1,401 5,719 44,501 28,920 23,769 2,367 107,515 WikiWork factors (?) ω = 368,227 Ω = 4.99
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Congrats

Congrats on becomeing an admin. I know you will do good for Wikipedia!

Politics rule 11:21, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

Congratulations. Here are what pass for words of wisdom from the puppy:

Remember you will always protect the wrong version. Remember you must always follow the rules, except for when you ignore them. You will always pick the wrong one to do. (See #5) Remember to assume good faith and not bite. Remember that when you are applying these principles most diligently, you are probably dealing with a troll. Use the block ability sparingly. Enjoy the insults you receive when you do block. Remember when you make these errors, someone will be more than happy to point them out to you in dazzling clarity and descriptive terminology. and finally, Remember to contact me if you ever need assistance, and I will do what I am able. KillerChihuahua?!?

DISCLAIMER: This humor does not reflect the official humor of Wikipedia, the Wikimedia Foundation, or Jimbo Wales. All rights released under GFDL.

Request for Buddy

Hello. First of all, I want to congratulate you on becoming an admin. I'm sure you'll do a great job. Secondly, I'm here because I recently became interested in matters regarding the Wikipedia Mediation Cabal and I saw your name under the section explaining the Buddy system at Wikipedia:Mediation_Cabal/Suggestions_for_mediators. I would like to know if you would like to make me your buddy, so I can have a better understanding of how to mediate cases. Feel free to deny my request at any time. Thank you. Yours truly, Eddie 01:10, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

No problem at all. Do you have some questions currently? Did you want anything explained or any particular advice? I'll be glad to help however I can. Vassyana 15:12, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

Personal Attacks?

I have already presented a great deal of evidence that Vision Thing is a meatpuppet of RJII. It took a lot of time and effort to put together that evidence, and it was completely ignored. I am not the first or only person to suspect Vision Thing of being a sockpuppet, in fact there are five distinct cases of different editors stating such a suspicion User:Aarons, myself, User:MastCell, User:Crotalus_horridus and user:Nikodemos and user:infinityo often for different reasons. The RJII account stated the following, "most of our edits were not done through the RJII account but through multiple "sockpuppets" (from a seperate IP(s) for increased security against detection)... In the meantime, the "sockpuppets," who evinced a somewhat amiable personality did not engage in personal attacks and other such disagreeable behavior that may have risked blocks by adminstrators, went about editing the encyclopedia." [6]

So we have an individual whose edits fit those of two previously banned sockpuppets perfectly, and whose previous sockpuppets explicitly admitted to using other accounts which less blatantly violated wiki policy, and who has been recognized as a sockpuppet by multiple users over a period of more than a year. Yet nothing is done because after being banned many times he learned the trick of using a proxy and the admins are too busy to take the time and sift through the evidence to confirm the fact that over and over again VT inserts the exact same edits into articles that his sockpuppets once did.

You said if I had any questions to feel free to ask. So my questions follow: Why am I expected to treat VT like a normal user when he clearly isn't? Why should I be extra careful not to step on his toes when his behavior has driven many wikipedians off the project while he gloats about it (We were successful in driving several individuals off of Wikipedia, or away from particular articles, who through their hands up in disgust probably literally) [7]? Why should I pretend he is not a sockpuppet when all the evidence points against such an assumption, when everyone knows that RJII/Anarcho-capitalism creates new sockpuppets regularly [8]. Regardless of his ability to mask his IP address there is unambiguous and overwhelming evidence that VT is at the very least a meatpuppet, but nothing has been done about it despite numerous requests by numerous people, and I'm supposed to pretend that VT is just any other editor? Wiki policy explicitly says to treat meatpuppets the same as sockpuppets. Given this, why can't I simply ignore VT and continue to improve wikipedia without relying on overworked and unresponsive admins who appear powerless to solve the problem? Etcetc 10:48, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

Having a sockpuppet violate wikipedia articles without remediation is also distinctly unhelpful to the editing climate. Its appears to me that you are a strong believer that following policy will resolve all issues regardless of the particular circumstances. I respect that belief, but I don't have the faith in policy written by human beings or enforced by human admins that you appear to have. This faith is especially hard to have since I and others have already taken steps to resolve this issue using the methods you have suggested with no result. Out of respect for wikipedia and your comments I will refrain from any further posting that you might regard as "uncivil". However, because I believe this is a serious issue that should be taken seriously by the wiki community I have no intention of removing the comments I have already made on the anarcho-capitalism talk page. As the page already indicates, the overwhelming presence of sockpuppets has already created a highly unhelpful editing climate, if my comments alert wiki editors to the continued abuse of wiki policy that is ongoing around the anarchism articles then I firmly believe they will do more good than harm. Etcetc 11:17, 7 June 2007 (UTC)