User talk:Keith Johnston
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before the question. Again, welcome! Fiddle Faddle 18:50, 28 June 2014 (UTC)
Your submission at Articles for creation: Draft:Kingmaker (play) (June 28)
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Hello! Keith Johnston,
I noticed your article was declined at Articles for Creation, and that can be disappointing. If you are wondering or curious about why your article submission was declined please post a question at the Articles for creation help desk. If you have any other questions about your editing experience, we'd love to help you at the Teahouse, a friendly space on Wikipedia where experienced editors lend a hand to help new editors like yourself! See you there!
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Draft:Kingmaker (play) concern
Hi there, I'm HasteurBot. I just wanted to let you know that Draft:Kingmaker (play), a page you created, has not been edited in 6 months. The Articles for Creation space is not an indefinite storage location for content that is not appropriate for articlespace.
If your submission is not edited soon, it could be nominated for deletion. If you would like to attempt to save it, you will need to improve it.
You may request Userfication of the content if it meets requirements.
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Thank you for your attention. HasteurBot (talk) 02:05, 8 January 2015 (UTC)
Your draft article, Draft:Kingmaker (play)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/1d/Information_icon4.svg/48px-Information_icon4.svg.png)
Hello Keith Johnston. It has been over six months since you last edited your WP:AFC draft article submission, entitled "Kingmaker".
The page will shortly be deleted. If you plan on editing the page to address the issues raised when it was declined and resubmit it, simply {{db-afc}}
or {{db-g13}}
code. Please note that Articles for Creation is not for indefinite hosting of material deemed unsuitable for the encyclopedia mainspace.
If your submission has already been deleted by the time you get there, and you want to retrieve it, you can request its undeletion by one of two methods (don't do both): 1) follow the instructions at WP:REFUND/G13, or 2) copy this code: {{subst:Refund/G13|Draft:Kingmaker (play)}}
, paste it in the edit box at this link, and click "Save page". An administrator will in most cases undelete the submission.
Thanks for your submission to Wikipedia, and happy editing. TKK! bark with me! 21:31, 29 January 2015 (UTC)
Notice of edit warring
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/15/Ambox_warning_pn.svg/30px-Ambox_warning_pn.svg.png)
You currently appear to be engaged in an edit war according to the reverts you have made on Causes of World War I. Users are expected to collaborate with others, to avoid editing disruptively, and to try to reach a consensus rather than repeatedly undoing other users' edits once it is known that there is a disagreement.
Please be particularly aware that Wikipedia's policy on edit warring states:
- Edit warring is disruptive regardless of how many reverts you have made.
- Do not edit war even if you believe you are right.
If you find yourself in an editing dispute, use the article's talk page to discuss controversial changes; work towards a version that represents consensus among editors. You can post a request for help at an appropriate noticeboard or seek dispute resolution. In some cases it may be appropriate to request temporary page protection. If you engage in an edit war, you may be blocked from editing. Jim1138 (talk) 08:04, 16 September 2016 (UTC)
Please format your talk
Would you please format your talk on talk:Causes of World War I per Help:Using_talk_pages#Indentation? The format does not make it clear who is responding to whom. There is unusual formatting with equal signs about "==". Also ref: wp:talk page guidelines and Help:Using_talk_pages Thank you Jim1138 (talk) 08:24, 16 September 2016 (UTC)
Your recent edits
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Thank you. --SineBot (talk) 19:18, 11 March 2017 (UTC)
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Your recent edits
Hello and welcome to Wikipedia. When you add content to talk pages and Wikipedia pages that have open discussion (but never when editing articles), please be sure to sign your posts. There are two ways to do this. Either:
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Thank you. --SineBot (talk) 17:04, 23 July 2017 (UTC)
Editor assistance
Hi SilkTork I have been editing the wikipedia page on White Privilege. I have been accused of bludgeoning on the talk page.
I have concerns that the habitual editors of this page are not neutral. That they are editing in a way to avoid or neutralise criticism by engaging in original research, denying RS and are not interested in improving the article by including legitimate criticism of the theory. Given the controversy surrounding the topic I need to absolutely keep on the right side of the rules, perhaps I can take your advice and you can advise if I am maintaining my objectivity? Keith Johnston (talk) 22:06, 24 July 2017 (UTC)
- Thanks for getting in touch. I have looked over the article, and the discussions on the talkpage. I can understand your frustrations. However, the rationales and explanations on the talkpage regarding what you have done and continue to want to do are in line with Wikipedia policies and guidelines, and have been presented to you in a collegiate manner. I can understand the thinking in your argument for wanting to use the YouTube piece, that the video shows a notable figure, Jordan Peterson, speaking on the topic of white privilege. However we use "verifiability, not truth" on Wikipedia, which means that it doesn't matter if Jordan Peterson spoke to you in person (or via a video on YouTube), what we require is the material has been published by a reliable source. The idea is that Wikipedia summarises the most notable pieces of information, and we use reliable sources to decide what is notable, rather than the opinion of an individual editor. If a reliable source prints and comments on what Peterson said, then we can use that. But what we can't do is have an editor, such as you or me, listen to what he says, and decide that it is important. I suspect that there will be sources out there which will have commented on that video, but you would need to take care to check the reliability of those sources. For example, while the Daily Mail is a well known British newspaper, we don't regard it as a reliable source.
- As regards wanting to put a criticism section in the article. As has been pointed out, we do discourage those. And I am unsure why you wish to have one, when the article is already well balanced with criticism. Have you noticed that it's there in the lead, and in the Contrasting concepts sections. It appears to me that the article is currently doing a good job of presenting all aspects of the topic. I had not heard of the concept prior to you getting in touch with me, and I find the article has given me a fair, balanced, and helpful overview of the topic, including the criticisms it has received. SilkTork ✔Tea time 23:16, 24 July 2017 (UTC)
3RR
![Stop icon](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f1/Stop_hand_nuvola.svg/30px-Stop_hand_nuvola.svg.png)
Your recent editing history at Google's Ideological Echo Chamber shows that you are currently engaged in an edit war. To resolve the content dispute, please do not revert or change the edits of others when you are reverted. Instead of reverting, please use the talk page to work toward making a version that represents consensus among editors. The best practice at this stage is to discuss, not edit-war. See BRD for how this is done. If discussions reach an impasse, you can then post a request for help at a relevant noticeboard or seek dispute resolution. In some cases, you may wish to request temporary page protection.
Being involved in an edit war can result in your being blocked from editing—especially if you violate the three-revert rule, which states that an editor must not perform more than three reverts on a single page within a 24-hour period. Undoing another editor's work—whether in whole or in part, whether involving the same or different material each time—counts as a revert. Also keep in mind that while violating the three-revert rule often leads to a block, you can still be blocked for edit warring—even if you don't violate the three-revert rule—should your behavior indicate that you intend to continue reverting repeatedly.
You're up to at least three reverts.Volunteer Marek (talk) 23:01, 8 August 2017 (UTC)
- good luck with that Keith Johnston (talk) 06:29, 9 August 2017 (UTC)
- You should have heeded this warning rather than dismiss it. Swarm ♠ 17:16, 9 August 2017 (UTC)
Notice of Edit warring noticeboard discussion
Hello. This message is being sent to inform you that there is currently a discussion involving you at Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard/Edit warring regarding a possible violation of Wikipedia's policy on edit warring. The thread is Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard/Edit warring#User:Keith_Johnston reported by User:NorthBySouthBaranof (Result: ). Thank you. NorthBySouthBaranof (talk) 17:09, 9 August 2017 (UTC)
August 2017
![Stop icon with clock](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/39/Stop_x_nuvola_with_clock.svg/40px-Stop_x_nuvola_with_clock.svg.png)
{{unblock|reason=Your reason here ~~~~}}
.During a dispute, you should first try to discuss controversial changes and seek consensus. If that proves unsuccessful, you are encouraged to seek dispute resolution, and in some cases it may be appropriate to request page protection. Swarm ♠ 17:16, 9 August 2017 (UTC)
- This is fair. I accept I have trangressed the rules here. I will be more careful in the future.Keith Johnston (talk) 06:56, 10 August 2017 (UTC)
- Thanks, Keith. That's all we want to hear! I've gone ahead and unblocked you early. Please refrain from any reverts on that article for the remainder of the 24 hour period, as to avoid unnecessary drama. Regards, Swarm ♠ 08:18, 10 August 2017 (UTC)
Google Request for Comments
You have started a Request for Comments on the Google memo. You say that the discussion has petered out, but a Request for Comments is not primarily a vehicle for discussion, but a vehicle for the statement of opinions and reasoning that will be reviewed by an uninvolved closer after the RFC has run for 30 days. Just wait. The opinions are running heavily in the direction of Oppose, but there may be many more participants by 9 September. Robert McClenon (talk) 16:01, 19 August 2017 (UTC)
- Thanks I will wait. Nevertheless I am not persuaded by an argument about the number of opinions, only by the strength and validity of the arguments. I note the Wkipedia's guidelines on consensus state: "In determining whether consensus has been reached, administrators should not consider their own views about the idea, merely if all viewpoints have been examined through the vigorous debate criterion listed above". There must be vigorous debate on the arguments.Keith Johnston (talk) 23:07, 19 August 2017 (UTC)
Please carefully read this information:
The Arbitration Committee has authorised discretionary sanctions to be used for pages regarding all edits about, and all pages related to post-1932 politics of the United States and closely related people, a topic which you have edited. The Committee's decision is here.
Discretionary sanctions is a system of conduct regulation designed to minimize disruption to controversial topics. This means uninvolved administrators can impose sanctions for edits relating to the topic that do not adhere to the purpose of Wikipedia, our standards of behavior, or relevant policies. Administrators may impose sanctions such as editing restrictions, bans, or blocks. This message is to notify you that sanctions are authorised for the topic you are editing. Before continuing to edit this topic, please familiarise yourself with the discretionary sanctions system. Don't hesitate to contact me or another editor if you have any questions.Template:Z33 — Malik Shabazz Talk/Stalk 12:48, 23 August 2017 (UTC)
- Im confused by this. This message does not correspond to the page under dispute, nor a dispute I am engaged in. Can you explain the purpose of this message?Keith Johnston (talk) 13:05, 23 August 2017 (UTC)
- (edit conflict) You asked about the relevance of these sanctions to "our debate" concerning White privilege. First, I'm not engaged in a debate. Second, you keep citing opinion columns about... post-1932 politics of the United States. I hope the connection is clearer. — Malik Shabazz Talk/Stalk 13:06, 23 August 2017 (UTC)
- Im sorry its not clear. I am interested in debates about RS and their relevance, not misdirection and threat. Please engage constructively on the talk page - not here - and I can understand your issues.Keith Johnston (talk) 13:19, 23 August 2017 (UTC)
July Crisis reference problem
Hi, in this edit you introduced a reference to "Clark (2013), p. 466" but no such work is listed. Please could you fix this? Thanks, DuncanHill (talk) 18:52, 6 November 2017 (UTC)
White privilege, again
Trawling the internet every month for a few opinion columns that have bad things to say about "white privilege", adding them to the article, then challenging other editors to describe their specific objections to that month's sources is a waste of everybody's time. You've started multiple discussions, including an RfC. At this point, you're merely being tendentious and disruptive. Please stop yourself or I will take action to stop you. — Malik Shabazz Talk/Stalk 01:00, 3 December 2017 (UTC)
@Malik Shabazz Thanks, I can see now that at no point do you have any evidence to contest these RS. You have no arguments that any wikipedia editor can support, you are a bully and you give me strength to continue. Thank you and bless you.Keith Johnston (talk) 09:58, 3 December 2017 (UTC)
ArbCom 2017 election voter message
Hello, Keith Johnston. Voting in the 2017 Arbitration Committee elections is now open until 23.59 on Sunday, 10 December. All users who registered an account before Saturday, 28 October 2017, made at least 150 mainspace edits before Wednesday, 1 November 2017 and are not currently blocked are eligible to vote. Users with alternate accounts may only vote once.
The Arbitration Committee is the panel of editors responsible for conducting the Wikipedia arbitration process. It has the authority to impose binding solutions to disputes between editors, primarily for serious conduct disputes the community has been unable to resolve. This includes the authority to impose site bans, topic bans, editing restrictions, and other measures needed to maintain our editing environment. The arbitration policy describes the Committee's roles and responsibilities in greater detail.
If you wish to participate in the 2017 election, please review the candidates and submit your choices on the voting page. MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 18:42, 3 December 2017 (UTC)
Request for mediation
Your request for mediation, filed here, was sufficiently malformed that our administration bot did not pick it up. I've reformatted your request and am waiting to make sure that the bot recognizes it before going forward to determine whether it initially meets the prerequisites for mediation. For the Mediation Committee, TransporterMan (TALK) 20:40, 3 December 2017 (UTC) (Chairperson)
Formal mediation has been requested
The Mediation Committee has received a request for formal mediation of the dispute relating to "White Privilege". As an editor concerned in this dispute, you are invited to participate in the mediation. Mediation is a voluntary process which resolves a dispute over article content by facilitation, consensus-building, and compromise among the involved editors. After reviewing the request page, the formal mediation policy, and the guide to formal mediation, please indicate in the "party agreement" section whether you agree to participate. Because requests must be responded to by the Mediation Committee within seven days, please respond to the request by 10 December 2017.
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Request for mediation rejected
The request for formal mediation concerning White Privilege, to which you were listed as a party, has been declined. To read an explanation by the Mediation Committee for the rejection of this request, see the mediation request page, which will be deleted by an administrator after a reasonable time. Please direct questions relating to this request to the Chairman of the Committee, or to the mailing list. For more information on forms of dispute resolution, other than formal mediation, that are available, see Wikipedia:Dispute resolution.
For the Mediation Committee, TransporterMan (TALK) 21:04, 3 December 2017 (UTC)
(Delivered by MediationBot, on behalf of the Mediation Committee.)
White Privilege and Wikiedia consensus in general
When I asked on the DRN talk page about my close, I was actually not asking for continued discussion of the issue, but as to whether I had been properly diplomatic. It now appears that you are answering the questions for me, and I think that I may have been more diplomatic and patient than was necessary. By responding to a meta-question by continuing to bludgeon the dispute resolution process, you confirmed why the other editors don't think that moderated discussion will be useful, and just showed that it appears that you are being tendentious. I see that you have already been cautioned about persistent refusal to accept consensus on another topic, the Google memo, and you seem to be doing the same on "white privilege" also. Please pause, and consider that if saying the same thing twice doesn't persuade, then saying it five times won't either. You are setting yourself up for sanctions because both of the topics involve American politics (since 1932), an area subject to discretionary sanctions. Sometimes it isn't useful to keep making the same points, or a series of closely related points, over and over and over again. Maybe I was too diplomatic in closing that thread, because you didn't get the message that I tried to tell you that consensus is against you. You are forum shopping. Maybe you have used up your fora. Robert McClenon (talk) 22:35, 5 December 2017 (UTC)
- I see this is a recurring issue for you. As Robert McClenon and others said, it appears you are being tendentious. Moreover, your insults and casting of aspersions are not acceptable. EvergreenFir (talk) 20:12, 30 January 2018 (UTC)
- User:Keith Johnston - See my comments at Talk:White privilege. Do you really want to push the other editors into going to Arbitration Enforcement? Robert McClenon (talk) 01:02, 31 January 2018 (UTC)
(talk) Thanks I would make three points:
Firstly, its is difficult to take your critical intervention seriously when you admit you have not read my comments. Secondly, the timings of your intervention is poor, since Greyfell and I are having a useful and potentially constructive discussion. Your intervention threatens to skupper this. Thirdly, and most importantly, my defence is Wikipedia guideline: "Consensus is ascertained by the quality of the arguments given on the various sides of an issue, as viewed through the lens of Wikipedia policy." It is not a numbers game, so I do not accept your implicit assertion that because consensus was against me on creating a Critique section that I no longer have the right to suggest further interventions now and forever more. Your argument is essentially a ban on me ever making any further interventions, whatever the merit of the individual arguments - and this is disproportionate, unjust and is not supported by wikipedia policy.
Many of the editors comments are just assertions not backed by argument or they are insults. I note you have not objected to the "Don't feed the animals" sign posted next to my earlier post. Others are inconsistent. If you read my interventions you will see above all I am seeking is consistency and quality argumentation. This means that opinion pieces are allowed or not allowed, you don't get to cherry pick left wing ones and ignore conservative ones. Furthermore academics are either allowed or not, that doesn't mean excluding academics who are critical.
I assume you are working on the assumption that I am vexatious - and I am sure experienced editors see lots of vexatious cases, so this makes sense to me - but please do me the honour of reading my interventions before being critical of them. Keith Johnston (talk) 13:30, 31 January 2018 (UTC)
- User:Keith Johnston No, no, no. I am not working on the assumption that you are being vexatious. I am working on the assumption that the other editors think that you are being vexatious. I did observe that you were definitely being vexatious at the beginning of December 2017. As a result, even if you and User:Greyfell are having a constructive discussion, it is very likely that the other editors will assume that you are not being any more constructive than you were seven weeks ago. I am not really that interested in the article in the first place, but I have been editing Wikipedia long enough to know that editors who start out by being vexatious often continue to be vexatious, and I don't think that it is fair for you to criticize the other editors for assuming that you are likely to waste their time. So I suggest that you and User:Greyfell collaborate on a proposed addition to the article on your talk page or their talk page, where you don't bother the other editors whom you have already bothered. When the two of you think that you have developed something worth consideration, try another Request for Comments. The other editors might still not be interested, but that is the course that is least likely to wind up being reported to Arbitration Enforcement. I am not working on the assumption that you are being vexatious, but on the observation that you were vexatious, and that the other editors think that you are still being vexatious. In the meantime, go and work at Greyfell's talk page. Robert McClenon (talk) 17:08, 31 January 2018 (UTC)
talk Its not clear to me that working exclusively on Greyfell's talk page this will be helpful. I am already in a dialogue with another editor and its seems likely that, even assuming that I can come to a consensus with Greyfell, other editors not part of the discussion might object, possibly because they do not understand the logic that we have achieved through debate. Its worth emphasising that I am having these wider debates on the talk pages and I am not trying to force edits. I'd also ask you to bear in mind that, unlike (I imagine) vexatious editors, I rarely make assertions without backing up my claims with RS. I think the current debate is useful. Its limited to one paragraph and its not abstract. I'd like to see where it goes. Keith Johnston (talk) 17:06, 1 February 2018 (UTC)
Copyright problem on Nicky Gumbel
Sone of the material you included in the above article appears to have been copied from the copyright web page http://www.virtueonline.org/england-meaning-life-reverend-nicky-gumbel. Copying text directly from a source is a copyright violation. Unfortunately, for copyright reasons, the content had to be removed. Please leave a message on my talk page if you have any questions or if you think I made a mistake. — Diannaa 🍁 (talk) 22:00, 11 December 2017 (UTC)
Threading comments on talk pages
Quick note on the logistics of discussing things on Talk pages, which are essential for everything that happens here.
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Alert
This is a standard message to notify contributors about an administrative ruling in effect. It does not imply that there are any issues with your contributions to date.
You have recently shown interest in living or recently deceased people, and edits relating to the subject (living or recently deceased) of such biographical articles. Due to past disruption in this topic area, a more stringent set of rules called discretionary sanctions is in effect: any administrator may impose sanctions on editors who do not strictly follow Wikipedia's policies, or any page-specific restrictions, when making edits related to the topic.
For additional information, please see the guidance on discretionary sanctions and the Arbitration Committee's decision here. If you have any questions, or any doubts regarding what edits are appropriate, you are welcome to discuss them with me or any other editor.
Swarm ♠ 15:35, 5 August 2018 (UTC)Template:Z33
This is a standard message to notify contributors about an administrative ruling in effect. It does not imply that there are any issues with your contributions to date.
You have recently shown interest in post-1932 politics of the United States and closely related people. Due to past disruption in this topic area, a more stringent set of rules called discretionary sanctions is in effect: any administrator may impose sanctions on editors who do not strictly follow Wikipedia's policies, or any page-specific restrictions, when making edits related to the topic.
For additional information, please see the guidance on discretionary sanctions and the Arbitration Committee's decision here. If you have any questions, or any doubts regarding what edits are appropriate, you are welcome to discuss them with me or any other editor.
Template:Z33 EvergreenFir (talk) 07:51, 4 September 2018 (UTC)
Your comments at Talk:White privilege show that you are still failing to assume good faith
You are accusing the editors of being a cabal and of bullying, all without providing any evidence. You've had advice from various editors such as User:SilkTork, User:EvergreenFir, and User:Robert McClenon, all senior editors with many thousands of edits more than yours (indeed over 240,000 edits more than you've made). You aren't going to get any changes made if you aren't able to work with others. Doug Weller talk 14:08, 4 September 2018 (UTC)
- talk thanks, have you read the previous discussions? I stand by my statements and am quite happy to support them by reference to previous debates if you thought it would be useful. That page is a disgrace as are a number of its editors who are deliberately obscuring critique.Keith Johnston (talk) 17:00, 4 September 2018 (UTC)
- Based on this comment, I'd recommend reviewing WP:BATTLEGROUND. EvergreenFir (talk) 17:25, 4 September 2018 (UTC)
Thanks (talk) my preference would be to talk about the reliability and importance of RS critiquing the theory of white privilege.Keith Johnston (talk) 17:58, 4 September 2018 (UTC)
- User:Keith Johnston - Let me add another comment. I told you more than six months ago that, if you have already said something twice, you cannot expect that saying it five more times will be persuasive. What I can see you are doing and have been doing is saying the same thing over and over again. I also said that I wasn't really interested in the original topic, the content issue. If you are saying that there is politically correct left-wing position on the topic, I largely agree with you, but that isn't relevant to the conduct issue, which is that you are being tendentious and are ignoring consensus. Consensus was established a year ago August with an RFC. If you think that consensus has changed, there has been sufficient time for another RFC, but only if you will let it be discussed in a more orderly fashion than the way you have been bludgeoning the process recently. You are in the minority here, and sometimes discretion is the better part of valor. (You and I are also in a demographic minority in the world, and trying to play a reverse racism card in a very international community isn't likely to work.) Since you clearly are not willing to accept consensus, I suggest that you find some other topic, such as sports, to edit about, because you will soon be told that you can't edit white privilege or its talk page any more. If you want to change the consensus, go ahead and start another RFC; a year has elapsed. Just don't demand that everyone who states their opinion has to justify it to you. Robert McClenon (talk) 21:59, 4 September 2018 (UTC)
Robert McClenon thanks. Do you believe that losing an RFC on the principle of a criticism section invalidates proposing further critique in the body of an article?Keith Johnston (talk) 08:00, 5 September 2018 (UTC)
- User:Keith Johnston - It would depend. If by critique you mean the same criticisms as would be in a criticism section, then you would be on the edge. In that case, if you merely propose the critique, then you should expect that you are likely to be told, "We already discussed that and said no. Move on". If you instead edit the article to insert the critique without prior discussion, then you can expect to be reverted and warned, and 3RR wouldn't apply to the other editors but would apply to you because you would be trying to force your edits against consensus. The most serious problem with your conduct has been that you have been ignoring and disregarding consensus, and editing against consensus can result in sanctions such as topic-bans. If you aren't sure whether a particular edit or proposed edit is consistent with consensus, then it is better to leave it alone. Editors have frequently wound up being topic-banned, blocked, or even banned for ignoring consensus or pushing their luck. Robert McClenon (talk) 11:42, 5 September 2018 (UTC)
- I strongly caution not insulting the other editors by suggesting that they are acting as a cabal or are bullying you by force of numbers. Even if there is a cabal, it isn't a good idea to insult and antagonize the other editors. If you really think that there is a conduct issue by the other editors, read the boomerang essay and take your case to WP:ANI, Arbitration Enforcement, or the Arbitration Committee, knowing that you are putting yourself at risk also. Don't just re-argue a decided case by stating the same thing five or ten times with new insults. Robert McClenon (talk) 11:42, 5 September 2018 (UTC)
- Robert McClenon thanks, this is useful. On your second point I take the point and I shall endeavour to try harder.
The first point I am going to need help in understanding more fully to avoid future aberrant behaviour. On building consensus I am guided in particular by these wikipedia guidelines "in determining consensus, consider the quality of the arguments, the history of how they came about, the objections of those who disagree, and existing policies and guidelines. The quality of an argument is more important than whether it represents a minority or a majority view. The arguments "I just don't like it" and "I just like it" usually carry no weight whatsoever." I quote the guidelines not because I think you don't know them, rather I am sure that you do, but so that you understand my thinking.
I should make it clear I don't now make edits on the White Privilege page. I always make proposals on the talk pages because I understand that introducing critique is controversial and requires thorough discussion of the quality and relevance of the RS.
I need to understand more about the objection to introducing critique. Yes, I do mean critique that might be included in a critique section if there was one. But I am not arguing for a critique section. That ship sailed with the RFC. But I remain confused if your saying that I could be subject to sanctions because I am proposing any critique. That line of thinking would suggest that, after the RFC, no critique could be included ever. Is that what you are suggesting? (genuine question, not rhetorical).Keith Johnston (talk) 21:17, 5 September 2018 (UTC)
- You may have some good points to make, Keith, but while you are prodding people and insulting them, you are unlikely to convince them of your ideas because instead they will be reacting to your hostility. We don't require people to be polite and friendly, but we do ask that they refrain from hostility. The reason for this is not just so that we can work without being distracted by behavioural side-issues but so that people can share ideas and make critiques of articles in a productive manner and so advance those articles. If you feel you have genuine ideas regarding how to improve the White privilege article please do so without making negative comments regarding other editors. Put forward your ideas and your evidence for those ideas in a neutral manner. You may manage to convince others that your ideas are an improvement, or you may not. But at least you will have given it your best shot. Wikipedia is not perfect. We have millions of articles that are imperfect in one way or another. But we keep moving in the right direction, and slowly, but by bit, articles do improve. If you can't make an improvement to this article, then shrug it off, and move on to another article that would benefit from your attention. If you are unable to do that, then you may find yourself growing increasingly frustrated to the point where you either give up on Wikipedia altogether, or you start getting sanctioned as your frustration bowls over into uncivil behaviour. SilkTork (talk) 09:17, 5 September 2018 (UTC)
Thank you, (talk, sage advice.Keith Johnston (talk) 09:45, 5 September 2018 (UTC). I'd like to draw your attention to the latest discussion, - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:White_privilege#Criticism_of_the_Invisible_Backpack - which has been summarily closed by an editor with the statement:
"There is not and never will be a consensus to insert material from this source. Wikipedia is not a WP:BATTLEGROUND, so please stop wasting the time of people who actually care about the project. – FenixFeather (talk)(Contribs) 17:55, 5 September 2018 (UTC)"
This statement is quite unusual, bearing in mind that Quillette is a reliable source used in other wikipedia articles, and the idea that there "never will" be a consensus on using Quillette is not for that editor to decide. Its certainly not an argument and to me falls under the "I just don't like it" category, and as such "carries no weight whatsoever". I have never seen a discussion summarily closed in this way. Keith Johnston (talk) 21:17, 5 September 2018 (UTC)
- If I may jump in? Everything in Wikipedia starts with sources. They are the foundation. That means, that your understanding of how the community thinks about sources, is essential, as is your understanding of how the community generates content from sources. Does that make sense? Jytdog (talk) 21:35, 5 September 2018 (UTC)
Jytdog Thanks, thats very useful and I quite agree. Relevance, reliability and accurate summary of sources is foundational. Most other argumentation is just hot air. Keith Johnston (talk) 21:49, 5 September 2018 (UTC)
- OK, I am glad you agree. So ....when you write "Quillette is a reliable source", this shows that you misunderstand how the community thinks about sources. I can explain that, if you like. Jytdog (talk) 21:55, 5 September 2018 (UTC)
Jytdog yes thanks for taking the time, I'd appreciate that.Keith Johnston (talk) 22:18, 5 September 2018 (UTC)
- If somebody says "X is a reliable source" an experienced Wikipedian is left hanging....waiting for... "for Y". Reliable for what, is an essential part of how the editing community thinks.
- Per WP:DAILYMAILRFC for example (the close of which is worth actually reading), the DM is unreliable for finding facts about the world, generally. However, it is reliable for sports coverage, and reliable of course for what it says. But overall, we just said "generally prohibited" and set aside those things it is actually reliable for, because there is far too much crap in it.
- That opens up something about how the word "source" is used here. It means: a) the publisher; b) the specific piece; c) its author. The editing community shifts among these three all the time, and not always carefully. It can be hard to follow. So The Daily Mail (the publisher) is considered generally unreliable, even though there are pieces in it (like sports reporting) that are actually reliable. (not touching on the author thing now).
- Going to the other end of the spectrum -- articles that are actually reported news pieces in The Wall Street Journal (publisher), are RS for facts about the world (pieces and publisher; not dealing with author here). That is not ambiguous. The WSJ (and the New York Times) each have a "reputation for fact-checking and accuracy."
- The Wall Street Journal and NYT also have editorials and analysis pieces; the editing community generally considers these to be opinion pieces and these pieces are only reliable for the author's opinion. (see WP:RSOPINION) Not for facts about the world.
- In a situation where somebody wants to add content to WP about someone's opinion or thoughts about something, the "who cares" issue frequently comes up. The world is full of opinions and ideas, so how does the editing community adjudicate whose opinion deserves WP:WEIGHT in WP, by being stated in WP at all? (that is a real question, that I am asking you to think about). This is where author comes into it. We ask - does the author have a reputation for fact checking and accuracy and we also think about whether they are important in the world or not. Paul Krugman is a nobel laureate economist who writes opinion pieces in the NYT; people would have a hard time saying his opinion doesn't matter when it comes to economics; his opinion about oh, classical music? A different story.
- So turning to Quillette. As far as I can tell, it is, per its about page, a sort of edited blog, aimed at giving a platform for people to express ideas. So it is an essay/opinion site. Not a place to find "accepted knowledge", but a place to find people's ideas. Yes, a piece in Quillette is probably a reliable for the ideas of the author, of a given piece. It will come down to the piece and the author.
- The question is also going to be inevitable - "why does some specific author's opinion expressed in Quillette, matter?"
- To persuade others (and as Robert McClenon noted above, you do have to persuade others) you would need to be able to bring actual RS, showing that William Ray's opinon on the issue of white privilege is WP:DUE (in other words, that it deserves WP:WEIGHT). Sources showing why his opinion on white privilege is important.
- So there you go. That was probably too long.
- If it is helpful, you might want to read:
- WP:CLUE (probably the most important piece in Wikipedia space, for understanding how Wikipedia actually works)
- User:Jytdog#NPOV_part_1:_secondary_sources, where I try to pull together what all the policies say about how we work here, and why, with a focus on the kind of sources the editing community respects and uses the most.
- User:Jytdog/How where I have tried to lay out the mission of WP, and how this place works, what the key policies and guidelines say, and how the policies and guideline make Wikipedia possible.
- That is a lot I know, but if you don't understand the foundations of this place, you are going to keep stumbling and wasting your own time, and that of others as well. That is good for nobody.
- If you want to add critical content to the White privilege page, you are going to have to bring very high quality sources that other editors can only respect, and generate content from them carefully, hewing closely to all the policies and guidelines. I have helped transform some of the most contentious articles here.... slowly, carefully, after having done a shitload of reading from very high quality sources. (doing that work changed me as well. Letting yourself really listen to sources, changes you. That's another reason to engage with high quality sources and take them in the deepest. Understanding where a given field deposits the "accepted knowledge" it creates, is the first step).
- ooo, way too much. sorry. Jytdog (talk) 23:27, 5 September 2018 (UTC)
Jytdog This is very helpful and I shall reflect upon this. Thanks so much for taking the time to write this. Keith Johnston (talk) 06:47, 6 September 2018 (UTC)
- You are welcome. By the way, in this discussion you have consistently not threaded your comments.
- This is something you obviously don't think is important (since you have been ignoring it) but in Talk page discussions, we "thread" comments by indenting (see WP:THREAD) - when you reply to someone, you put a colon in front of your comment, which the Wikipedia software will render into an indent when you save your edit; if the other person has indented once, then you indent twice by putting two colons in front of your comment, which the WP software converts into two indents, and so on. And when that gets ridiculous you reset back to the margin (or "outdent") by putting this {{od}} in front of your comment. This also allows you to make it clear if you are also responding to something that someone else responded to if there are more than two people in the discussion; in that case you would indent the same amount as the person just above you in the thread. I hope that all makes sense. And (you already have this part down) at the end of the comment, please "sign" by typing exactly four (not 3 or 5) tildas "~~~~" which the WP software converts into a date stamp and links to your talk and user pages when you save your edit. Threading and signing, are how we know who said what to whom and when.
- We are all aware that this unwieldy, but this is the software environment we have to work on. You will notice that anybody else who is experienced, does this.
- Please be aware that threading and signing are fundamental etiquette here, as basic as "please" and "thank you", and continually failing to thread and sign communicates rudeness. This is probably part of why people are getting fed up with you; it is sort of the same cloth as neglecting to learn how we actually build content here, yet pushing and pushing for the content you want.... Jytdog (talk) 16:25, 8 September 2018 (UTC)
- talk Great thanks Keith Johnston (talk) 15:39, 9 September 2018 (UTC)
- unrestrained and foolish. You learned exactly nothing from our exchange above and are heading full steam for a TBAN. Jytdog (talk) 13:57, 5 October 2018 (UTC)
Thanks, thats kind. Keith Johnston (talk) 14:04, 5 October 2018 (UTC)
- I closed those discussions but they are drawing you offsides. If you want to continue heading over the cliff, that is your deal. Jytdog (talk) 14:19, 5 October 2018 (UTC)
- Ill give you some time to reconsider your understanding of what a "productive discussion" on a Wikipedia talk page actually is. Jytdog (talk) 14:25, 5 October 2018 (UTC)
- can you explain why you thought it was OK to close and archive active discussions? I'm confused at your high-handed behaviour. Keith Johnston (talk) 14:30, 5 October 2018 (UTC)
- I did, in the edit notes and closing notes and the specific note I left on the talk page. I believe you wrote your remark above before you read that. Jytdog (talk) 15:25, 5 October 2018 (UTC)
- can you explain why you thought it was OK to close and archive active discussions? I'm confused at your high-handed behaviour. Keith Johnston (talk) 14:30, 5 October 2018 (UTC)
I don't think its productive. The editors making contributions need some guidance. You can see from my comments back to them I am encouraging them to make specific suggestions backed by RS. This is, in fact, what you are also suggesting. In that sense we agree, but I disagree that your approach will encourage these editors. In fact I believe it will put them off. Assume good faith and give them an opportunity to make a constructive contribution. Keith Johnston (talk) 15:31, 5 October 2018 (UTC)
Welcome to Milhist!
G'day Keith Johnston, and welcome to WikiProject Military history! I'm looking forward to seeing your work on military history articles. If you'd like to sign up for our monthly newsletter, The Bugle, you can do so here. It is an excellent way to get a feel for the project. Once you are happy with any article you've worked on, you can ask for a re-assessment of it at WP:MHAR, where you may also get some constructive feedback, often from others working in a similar area. You might also like to enter any such articles in our monthly article writing contest at WP:MILCON. If you have any questions about the project, feel free to contact me on my talk page anytime. Cheers, Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 00:35, 6 October 2018 (UTC) for the project coordinators
The Bugle: Issue CL, October 2018
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The Bugle is published by the Military history WikiProject. To receive it on your talk page, please join the project or sign up here.
If you are a project member who does not want delivery, please remove your name from this page. Your editors, Ian Rose (talk) and Nick-D (talk) 07:00, 7 October 2018 (UTC)
Googles ideological Echo Chamber
I got busy with other things, if you add a couple of references to what I wrote and put it up and let me know then I will support you. This will be strongly opposed by people hostile to Damore, because the memo speaks for itself to any sensible reader. The truth is indeed POV. So expect a fight. Tuntable (talk) 07:07, 8 October 2018 (UTC)
Research Project
Hi Keith Johnston
I'm an anthropology student doing an online research project on wikipedians and their motivations and ideals for writing and editing wikipedia pages. I was wondering if you would be interested in answering a few questions I have - sort of like a small online interview.
Best Karoline Husbond (Student at University of Texas Austin) Karohusb (talk) 23:47, 2 November 2018 (UTC)
sure, Karohusb (talk) just let me know. Keith Johnston (talk) 00:20, 10 November 2018 (UTC)
- Great, thank you so much! I have few questions, but please feel free to change them if you don't feel they apply.
- How long have you been editing on wikipedia? - How would you define your define your position on wikipedia? (new user, administrator, or something else)? and what are your primary activities on wikipedia (editing, creating articles etc)? - What is you guiding ideals for editing and writing wikipedia articles? - How do these ideal shape your activity on wikipedia? - What does it mean, to you, to live up to the ideal of neutrality in writing/editing on wikipedia? - How do you ensure that you live up to this ideal?
You can reply on my talk page or on ka28456@utexas.edu whatever suits you! Thank you very much for your time - Karohusb (talk) 01:03, 12 November 2018 (UTC)