User talk:Jimbo Wales

Message of an anonymous on your user page.

I find that Wiki's are very helpful. I and other gamers that I know use Wiki for our gaming needs. Thanks Jimbo for creating a user friendly source of information.. DT 129.71.117.210 10:15, 16 May 2009

Friendly Message from Shane91c

User:Shane91c has given you a bubble tea! Bubble teas promote WikiLove and hopefully this one has made your day better. Spread the WikiLove by giving someone else a bubble tea, whether it be someone you have had disagreements with in the past or a good friend. Happy drinking!

Spread the bubbliness of bubble teas by adding {{subst:bubble tea}} to someone's talk page with a friendly message! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Shane91c (talk • contribs) May 18, 2009

"Writing for the enemy" vs. Writing for the opponent"

At the proposal page Wikipedia talk:Neutrality enforcement we are discussing more NPOV ways of writing for Wikipedia and a user keeps using the phrase and referring to WP:Writing_for_the_enemy. I object to the phrase, and wrote on the talk page (updated slightly): To assume another editor or a reader is an enemy does not assume good faith. Plus saying the word "enemy" brings up visceral negative reaction making it more difficult to write for that negatively visualized person. However, the word "opponent" makes it sound more like the intellectual battle editing Wikipedia often is and is a more respectful term which is more likely to get people thinking in positive terms. I then was told you originated and liked the phrase. If true, I’d like to suggest you think about replacing “writing for the enemy” with “writing for the opponent.” CarolMooreDC (talk) 02:34, 20 May 2009 (UTC)

I am happy with your suggestion. I am opposed to a model of Wikipedia as a battleground in the war for ideas. I think every editor should write neutrally (as best as he or she can) at all times. I am favorably impressed by the attitude embodied in proposals like this one: Wikipedia:Neutrality enforcement. --Jimbo Wales (talk) 14:21, 20 May 2009 (UTC)

Great! Will inform Wikipedia talk:Writing for the enemy and see if they want to change the name of article. Note that I got the idea from a great little book called "Fighting with Gandhi" which purposely uses the word opponent. CarolMooreDC (talk) 16:04, 20 May 2009 (UTC)

I want the desblock in spanish wikiquote

Hello dear Jimbo, my IP adress is blocked because a mistake, I`m a innocet user, but Drini hates Jehova's Witnesses users, and he is a proscriptor and a very bad enemy of us. I want, please, the desblock in spanish wikiquote, because I`m working constructuvely. Can you Speak with Drini the Ip's policeman an say him I'm innocent an I`m not a vandal? Thank you very much. --87.220.31.209 (talk) 14:56, 20 May 2009 (UTC)

Hello Jimbo, I wait for a response. Thanks. --87.220.31.14 (talk) 21:04, 20 May 2009 (UTC)

General note for everybody: Drini is a steward who has confirmed that the above IP belongs to a sockpuppeteer. Griffinofwales (talk) 02:55, 21 May 2009 (UTC)

I'm not a sockpuppeteer. Drini hates Jehovah's Witnesses users because he likes Maya's gods. I was working constructively but he hates Bible quotations in the proyect. If I'm writing here is because I'm innocent. I want the desblock. --87.220.31.238 (talk) 10:25, 21 May 2009 (UTC)

Orwellian Changes To Words

I do have a question (actually, more of a concern). I think you have distorted the meaning of the word 'vandalise'. Sure, some people do vandalise Wikipedia pages - in the real and proper sense of the word - but others just tweak things for fun, or to prick pomposity, or to hint at a more serious flaw in an entry. I think it is wrong to call such 'tweakers' vandals. A vandal is in many societies a form of criminal yet many of the so-called Wikipedia vandals are no such thing. 'Vandal' is also an emotive word and should perhaps be reserved for those who fall at the extreme end of the scale i.e. those who recklessly despoil and ruin an otherwise valid and accurate entry. Some thought needs to be given to creating more accurate names and terms on this issue or else you risk irritating and alienating people. Indeed, they might even become the thing they are accused of if goaded long enough. Finally, from a Devil's Advocate position, I think it is bad for language and social progress to distort and twist words. Orwell showed us how this can lead to a form of creeping, pernicious thought control. So besides objecting to the catch-all use of the word 'vandal' on the grounds of grammatical pedantry, I also worry where it might lead, what with CCTV and IP traces. Who knows, in five years time somebody could theoretically be convicted of Wikipedia vandalisation, and possibly imprisoned. One need only reflect upon relatively recent events in Stalin's Russia and contemporary events in China to realise that is not a far-fetched concern. Most of us live in a 'free' world now, but who's to say what might happen in a few years time? The controls and systems currently being introduced via new technology would hand any future dictatorship complete control over our lives. [For example, although I am posting without a user name, I am certain that my comments will be quickly logged, filed and linked to my IP address.] —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.16.208.83 (talk) 16:05, 20 May 2009 (UTC)

I think that 'vandal' is a perfectly appropriate term, used very gently here at Wikipedia.--Jimbo Wales (talk) 17:02, 20 May 2009 (UTC)

Tried to send you an email

But it kept saying "mailer error". Thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by 220.233.68.44 (talk) 05:31, 21 May 2009 (UTC)

Admins unwilling/unable to deal with abusive edits by other admins?

You might want to check out Wikipedia:Administrators'_noticeboard/Incidents#Bishonen_using_status_as_admin_to_control_others_while_violating_our_civility_policy if you have a moment. Exxolon (talk) 01:36, 22 May 2009 (UTC)

Thankyou, I'm sorry I had to bring you into this but I could not see any other means to get this dealt with effectively. Exxolon (talk) 02:26, 22 May 2009 (UTC)

Block of Bishonen, question

Is this an endorsement of the long absent ideal that any user, from the newly registered user, to the Arbs, up to yourself, are held to identical requirements of adherence to policy? rootology (C)(T) 02:22, 22 May 2009 (UTC)

Using this a platform to push your views forward, eh, Rootology? A bit uncouth and unnecessary. Jimmy: It's customary to leave a note on the talk page of the person you've blocked. (Though I imagine you're doing this as I'm typing, surely.) --MZMcBride (talk) 02:30, 22 May 2009 (UTC)

No, it's a serious question. Are all of us supposed to be held to matching standards? rootology (C)(T) 02:33, 22 May 2009 (UTC)

I'm reluctant to answer the general question because I'm not sure of what baggage it is intended to carry. My block is an illustration of the concept that admins are expected to behave in a particular way, a way that doesn't include that kind of thing.--Jimbo Wales (talk) 02:46, 22 May 2009 (UTC)

There's no baggage. A lot of commentary of late has been floating around that we admins are 1) above the rules, or 2) held to different standards--looser standards--than non-admins. The question is literally what it is--are all users here supposed to follow the policies the same, with the same levels of repercussions if they don't? rootology (C)(T) 02:47, 22 May 2009 (UTC)

Basically, yes. Indeed, I would say that admins should be held to a higher standard. ArbCom members, to a still-higher standard. And me - to the highest standard. This I say with an acknowledgment that we are all capable of error and folly, and should be forgiven such if we are acting in good faith. Nothing is simple. Justice is complex and thoughtful. Kindness is a lifestyle not an algorithm.--Jimbo Wales (talk) 02:52, 22 May 2009 (UTC)