User talk:Boing! said Zebedee/Archive 20

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2014

Trust

Move Like This
by 28bytes

Thank you for your vote of trust, - see my talk for the significance of blue, --Gerda Arendt (talk) 14:57, 7 January 2014 (UTC)

On the 28th: a blue duck attacks the German Main page, right now, --Gerda Arendt (talk) 13:06, 28 January 2014 (UTC)

Have a nice break

Have a nice break, and I hope you'll return! Cheers, Amalthea 14:23, 8 January 2014 (UTC)

A kitten for you!

I am really sorry to see you have retired. I hope this wiki-kitten will keep you company, and eventually help you find your way back here. You are missed! Cheers,

_{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here} 15:53, 10 February 2014 (UTC)

Hola

For whatever time, it is always good to see you back. I always smile when I see your sig. I'm quazi-active for a little while myself, just started yet a new business so I don't expect it to last. This place is like the Hotel California, isn't it? Dennis Brown | 2¢ | WER 13:09, 12 April 2014 (UTC)

Well, I popped in briefly after a few months off and had a look around, and about the first thing I see is Sitush almost single-handedly holding off yet another series of POV assaults on Indian topics and taking months of shit for it - "Welcome to Wikipedia, the encyclopedia that any obnoxious idiot can edit" :-( -- Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 16:25, 12 April 2014 (UTC)

(Oh, and good luck with the new business :-) -- Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 16:25, 12 April 2014 (UTC))

Thanks. I'm not much help on Indian topics, I don't know enough to fill a thimble, unfortunately. As for the new business, next weekend I'm flying to Denver for the 2014 Cannabis Cup, an exploratory trip (no pun intended) to learn a bit more about the burgeoning cannabis industry. I've been enjoying telling others about the trip because it confuses the hell out of them. I'm not getting into growing cannabis, just selling industrial gear to those that do. If you have to start a business, might as well start a fun one ;) Dennis Brown | 2¢ | WER 16:48, 12 April 2014 (UTC)

Ha, sounds good - it's always the sellers of picks and shovels who do well when there's a gold rush! -- Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 17:19, 12 April 2014 (UTC)

Any sign of life sounds good, compared to recent deaths, --Gerda Arendt (talk) 11:18, 13 April 2014 (UTC)

Oh dear, yes, what a horribly sad week to come back to. -- Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 19:14, 13 April 2014 (UTC)

The last Signpost was a bit less heavy, see talk also ;) --Gerda Arendt (talk) 20:08, 13 April 2014 (UTC)

Nice feature :-) -- Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 10:50, 14 April 2014 (UTC)

Thank you. Today, I remember the dead. Before, we had an interesting discussion, including if I ever have sex, --Gerda Arendt (talk) 11:06, 14 April 2014 (UTC)

Ah, BWV340 is beautiful - just listened to it (in memory of someone I never knew, which seems fitting) -- Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 11:14, 14 April 2014 (UTC)

(And I didn't know BuxWV41! Just listening on YT while waiting for an MP3 download from Amazon - Wow! -- Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 11:21, 14 April 2014 (UTC))

Wikipedia:Administrator's noticeboard/Incidents

There is currently a discussion at Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard/Incidents regarding an issue with which you may have been involved. Thank you.

Per WP:AN/I, I must notify you that you have been mentioned in a discussion involving an incident on WP:AN/I. The discussion can be found here [1].Vuzor (talk) 22:21, 29 April 2014 (UTC)

Not me

Please don't include me as a contributor to Vuzor's wall of text and examples AN/I report. Your comment was an unfair attack where I'm concerned. I've responded only as necessary. -- Winkelvi ● ✉ ✓ 11:24, 2 May 2014 (UTC)

You were *both* sniping at each other, and you *both* need to stop! -- Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 16:05, 2 May 2014 (UTC)

Desysops

Hey B!sZ. How sure are you about the egregious misuse of tools being the only reason for a desysop? Have a look at the past few...

• Kafziel - for conduct unbecoming an administrator by failing to respond appropriately, respectfully and civilly to good faith enquiries about his administrative actions
• Nightscream - for repeatedly violating the policy on administrator involvement
• Ironholds - for conduct unbecoming an administrator, and for bringing the project into disrepute

On top of that, there have been a number of admonishments and reminders for behaviour - be it not meeting professionalism requirements or acting in a manner incompatible. Perhaps the committee is doing a better job than you think ;) Worm^TT(talk) 10:30, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

I'm not actually criticising the committee - and I think you did a great job in those cases. But I do think they were clear examples of egregious behaviour (and I should have said "behaviour" rather than being too specific about misuse of tools), and I think the ArbCom venue works well for those. But what I think is badly missing is the ability for the community to remove admins they have lost confidence in, but who are not guilty of the clear-cut kinds of misbehaviour as those above and are instead part of that insidious passive-aggressive behaviour that everyone recognizes but which nobody can address. ArbCom does nothing about those - and, I think, can't and shouldn't. My view is that there are admins who should not be admins and who I think the community would eject given the chance, but that should not be down to ArbCom to decide. -- Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 10:50, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

I don't disagree with the philosophy, remember I put forward the community de-adminship proof of concept - just no one really cares about changing things. Worm^TT(talk) 10:58, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

Indeed - so we get constant whining about problems, but a community too moribund to do anything about them. Can you see why I don't want anything to do with admin these days? -- Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 11:10, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

Absolutely, I don't blame you. I'm looking forward to a possible break from all things admin in just 7 short months :) Worm^TT(talk) 11:15, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

Can you just hand Boing! your Arb super bits while you are gone? That should be interesting. Dennis Brown | 2¢ | WER 11:19, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

If I could persuade Boing! to even look at being an Arb, Wikipedia would be a better place. Worm^TT(talk) 11:22, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

Hehe, I can always rely on the two of you to give me a laugh :-) -- Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 11:48, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

We both would like to see you as an Arb, which has to make you wonder "What did I do to make them mad?" ;) Dennis Brown | 2¢ | WER 13:56, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

Well, I won't pretend the suggestion is not flattering - but I had a bad case of dysentery once in a faraway place, and I'd rather have that again than join ArbCom :-) Besides, I know I'm not the right kind of person for it - I won't go into detail, but trust me I'm not. -- Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 14:53, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

On not being an admin

Just a word here for any talk page stalkers who might be wondering, because it's come up once or twice recently. It is my opinion that admins are afforded too much unchecked power - I don't know of any other institution in which the population has a genuine ability to elect those in power but has no corresponding ability to remove them. And that is wrong. As that is my opinion, it would be hypocritical of me to choose to wield such unchecked power, and so I will not rejoin the admin ranks under the current governance structure. -- Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 15:30, 9 May 2014 (UTC)

• We agree that the system is critically flawed. I proposed WP:Request for Admin Sanctions, and others have tried as well, but the community (including non-admin) haven't supported any of these measures. They appear to want only ArbCom empowered to remove or sanction admin. It's no secret that I founded WP:WikiProject Editor Retention partly due to the concerns of the broken system and those empowered within it. I understand and have worked towards the same goals. Whether the system is more likely to be changed from the inside or outside, I can't say for certain. I have complete respect for your choice, and the reasons behind it. Still, I will continue to hope you will change your mind. If we set aside other concerns and focus solely on the goal of building an encyclopedia, that goal is better served if you have the bit. Dennis Brown | 2¢ | WER 16:50, 9 May 2014 (UTC)

  It would be better served if many of us had the bit, even including me. But Boing! is quite right, the governance structure needs to change first. Eric Corbett 16:57, 9 May 2014 (UTC)

  I agree with everything you are saying, but I think it would be easier to change the system if we had many admin that wanted to change it. I want it easier to lose and get the admin bit, but if every admin that agrees resigns his bit, then only those that disagree will remain. Those dots are easy to connect. Dennis Brown | 2¢ | WER 17:03, 9 May 2014 (UTC)

  Re "If we set aside other concerns and focus solely on the goal of building an encyclopedia, that goal is better served if you have the bit"": The problem with that approach is that all admins surely think the same of themselves, don't they? Were I to adopt such a position I would have to accept the same position being adopted by all other admins. Otherwise I'd be saying "You admins should not be in the job without there being a community process for removing you - except for me". My opinion is that no admins should be in the job without there being a community process for removing them, and there's no way I can take such a stance without including me in it. And as it happens, I also think Eric would be a better admin than a good few we currently have - he has a deep understanding of what it really takes to build a knowledge source of genuinely world-class standard, which many admins do not. So I really am with Eric on this - until the community has the ability to also remove those whom they install in positions of power, I cannot morally take up such power.

  And Re "many admin that wanted to change it" - perhaps what we need is a process where admins are prohibited from !voting in such action, and only non-admins should have a say in it? That would remove the corrupt self-preservation contingent -- Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 17:26, 9 May 2014 (UTC)

  But how to change it? Whether or not other admin think enwp is better with them than without isn't relevant, as I wasn't speaking of myself, but giving an outside, objective perspective of someone besides myself. More admin who are pro-change is good. And I've told Eric that I would support him as admin. A few would gasp at the idea, but I have no reservations. My point is that I've tried sweeping changes, and they failed spectacularly. Incrementalism may be the only way, which would start with having many change-minded admin. We all want the same thing, the question is (again) "How do we change it?" Dennis Brown | 2¢ | WER 17:38, 9 May 2014 (UTC)

  No, we don't need more admin wanting change, we need more editors and community members in general wanting it. If my opinion carried more weight purely because I was an admin, that would also be wrong. It would, therefore, again be hypocritical of me to become an admin on the grounds that my opinion might then carry more weight - it should not. -- Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 17:49, 9 May 2014 (UTC)

Re: Jimbo

I was only changing the wording to read better. I wasn't intending to alter the meaning. I'm not sure what other kinds of changes he'd allow if not that... Tezero (talk) 14:44, 11 May 2014 (UTC)

Hi. You actually did change the meaning - for example "often go by" does not mean "prefer". And it's established Wikipedia etiquette that we never change other people's words written in the first-person. As for editing his page - go add something to it if you must. -- Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 14:52, 11 May 2014 (UTC)

Same thing

happens on Wikipedia, see e.g. Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Eugene Plotkin and the long follow-up. Smallbones_(smalltalk) 18:09, 16 May 2014 (UTC)

Ah yes. -- Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 18:14, 16 May 2014 (UTC)

Kudpung

He's been missing a while, can't remember if you live near him or not, or if you know someone that does. He hasn't returned email or edited in a couple of months. Dennis Brown | 2¢ | WER 00:12, 25 May 2014 (UTC)

I know, I've been concerned for a while myself - he hasn't returned my emails either. I'm not in Thailand right now, and I can't find his phone number :-( It's possible I have it in one of the thousands of old emails I have on another computer here - I'll do my best to find it and try a call. -- Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 18:35, 25 May 2014 (UTC)

He he

Not a Wiki related question, but why did Boing! said Zebedee??? he he he Jim Carter ^(talk) 16:55, 28 May 2014 (UTC)

Zebedee was an almost human creature in a yellow jacket with a spring instead of feet. He always appeared and disappeared with a loud "boing" sound and usually closed the show with the phrase "Time for bed." - The Magic Roundabout -- Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 16:58, 28 May 2014 (UTC)

Ooo... Thank you for your quick reply :) Jim Carter ^(talk) 17:03, 28 May 2014 (UTC)

Are you really back, Boing? Very glad if you are. Martinevans123 (talk) 09:10, 3 June 2014 (UTC)

No, no, it was my little brother who did it, honest! Actually, I'm doing a few bits here and there, but I'm a lot less active than before - thanks for the thoughts. -- Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 10:13, 3 June 2014 (UTC)

"We ain't seen you, roight!" Dougal (and Dylan) 10:18, 3 June 2014 (UTC)

Hehe :-) -- Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 10:30, 3 June 2014 (UTC)

Thank you two for being (at present) not among the 12 names on top of my talk, - and don't miss the bottom, --Gerda Arendt (talk) 10:40, 3 June 2014 (UTC)

I'd never knowingly want to miss your bottom, Gerda, I'm sure. Maybe you could try adding just one or two sides of an infobox and let another editors complete it? Haha. Martinevans123 (talk) 12:43, 3 June 2014 (UTC)

Seriously: it works exactly the other way round: someone else starts with a minimum, I can add parameters, they failed to restrict that. Richard Adeney: I forgot that I had not started the article, this was 2010 and some hundreds of articles ago. What the collective arbitrators thought (if at all) when they decided that I didn't "create" if I didn't fill a red link, I don't know, possibly that it's easy to check, which my personal police does better than I do. Who will think of the readers? What would the readers think if they examined the history and find out why Neill Sanders has an infobox but Adeney only had one? --Gerda Arendt (talk) 13:12, 3 June 2014 (UTC)

ps: don't miss the bottom line --Gerda Arendt (talk) 13:16, 3 June 2014 (UTC)

.. sorry, I must have forgotten that anyone actually reads these articles! Martinevans123 (talk) 13:18, 3 June 2014 (UTC)

he he, sounds the horse pictured on the Main page, 3k minimum every day during the last month, more than 50k on the peak day, --Gerda Arendt (talk) 13:58, 3 June 2014 (UTC)

Hmmm, maybe we should allow the punters to place bets? Martinevans123 (talk) 14:04, 3 June 2014 (UTC)

The horse is a friend's pet project, I will sing with the spirit, --Gerda Arendt (talk) 14:28, 3 June 2014 (UTC)

I feel so inferior sometimes. Martinevans123 (talk) 14:43, 3 June 2014 (UTC)

Last word here (then your place or mine?): I could happily change one of the 12 names! --Gerda Arendt (talk) 15:02, 3 June 2014 (UTC)

Do feel free to use this place for a chat any time, folks :-) -- Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 18:47, 3 June 2014 (UTC)

Mine is also free, some even romantic, --Gerda Arendt (talk) 18:55, 3 June 2014 (UTC)

"The human being is in the most literal sense a political animal not merely a gregarious animal, but an animal which can individuate itself only in the midst of society. Production by an isolated individual outside society ... is as much of an absurdity as is the development of language without individuals living together and talking to each other." Martinevans123 (talk) 18:59, 3 June 2014 (UTC)

How dare you refactor my unblock decline message? I will be reporting you to the admin cabal.

(Just joking.) Actually, in answer to your edit summary here, I hate it too, but I just can't be bothered reformatting it. Since you were willing to put in the work, that's great. The editor who uses the pseudonym "JamesBWatson" (talk) 18:39, 4 June 2014 (UTC)

Hehe :-) I just copied and pasted from the pre-declined version. -- Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 19:57, 4 June 2014 (UTC)

Do you know, incredible though it may seem, it never occurred to me that it was as easy as that to deal with the problem. The editor who uses the pseudonym "JamesBWatson" (talk) 13:29, 5 June 2014 (UTC)

I did it the hard way myself a few times before I had a head-slapping moment ;-) -- Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 15:54, 5 June 2014 (UTC)

Russavia‎

We now have three socks today from him, I do not think keeping his sock edits a very good idea, and do not for the life of me get why yourself and Nick seem to think it OK for him to sock. Darkness Shines (talk) 15:11, 15 June 2014 (UTC)

I write this as he is obviously having a laugh at my expense, what with thanking me for creating an article then adding images to it, which Nick restored, twice, then threatens me with a block. Darkness Shines (talk) 15:13, 15 June 2014 (UTC)

Oh, I don't think it's OK to sock at all, no. I just think it's very sad that, because of the confrontational way the Wikipedia community works, we got to this point where a very good content creator needed to be stopped from contributing - as I said at ANI, reaching the point where we are fighting to stop someone improving the encyclopedia is a lose-lose outcome. And having worked to include Russavia's changes, I can see that our Druk Air article would definitely have been the poorer without that hard work - whatever the reasons behind it, we've failed if we can't find a way to accept such good work. How could we have handled this better? I'm really not sure, but I can't help thinking that more empathy and understanding (and better governance) earlier on can stop these things escalating to the point at which all bridges are burned - but as a community we do seem to be endemically incapable of finding any better way. I don't think that's down to any individuals, I think it's just the way this online medium works - I've been professionally involved in web sites and forums for years, and for some reason people do seem to become far more confrontational and belligerent when deprived of those vital body-language cues that we subconsciously rely on in face-to-face interaction. Anyway, my overwhelming feeling in cases like this is just one of sadness. (And as an aside, I'd be flattered if someone paid for a Pricasso painting of me ;-) -- Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 15:31, 15 June 2014 (UTC)

A bit odd

Yo Zeb. Any idea what's going on with this editor? Am unable to understand the comment they recently added to my Talk Page. Many thanks for any advice/ help you can give. Martinevans123 (talk) 19:07, 16 June 2014 (UTC) ... oh, and while you're here, is this edit actually within policy? Thanks.

Ha, no, I'm afraid I haven't a clue what that IP's comment is about - and it looks like they've been posting nonsense on other people's Talks too. In your place, I think I'd be tempted to ignore it and hope they go away ;-) As for the PROD, yes, I'm pretty sure you can PROD an article for any reason at all -- but anyone else can contest and remove the PROD, and it must not be re-applied. -- Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 20:04, 16 June 2014 (UTC)

Many thanks. Should the PROD template be copied to the Talk Page? (not that I think it deserves to be there at all, of course!) Martinevans123 (talk) 20:10, 16 June 2014 (UTC)

No, just remove it. A PROD is only for uncontroversial deletions, and the fact that anyone disagrees with it makes it controversial - whoever wants to delete it would then have to take it to AfD after that. -- Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 20:13, 16 June 2014 (UTC)

Many thanks for the advice. Martinevans123 (talk) 20:17, 16 June 2014 (UTC)

RfA

Some more things need fixing in the latest RfA, like a link to the talk page and the counters. I don't dare to touch it ... --Gerda Arendt (talk) 09:18, 25 June 2014 (UTC)

Yeah, it looks like it needs a bit more tweaking, but it doesn't look like it'll last long enough to make it worthwhile really - seems like a good contributor, but nowhere near the experience needed for admin. -- Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 11:26, 25 June 2014 (UTC)

Sir

Good Tips, and got it now :-) A.Minkowiski ^{_Lets t@lk} 14:52, 28 June 2014 (UTC)

Your comments

I thought briefly about a flip response but decided a simple thank you would be better. Take care.--Bbb23 (talk) 02:23, 30 June 2014 (UTC)

You too. I used to have a gripe about a few specific admins, but I can't remember who they are now (and I remember one I was definitely wrong about)! I guess I should be a bit less snarky when I'm talking about admin recall really. Cheers -- Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 14:07, 30 June 2014 (UTC)

Hiya

Pleased to meet you, Alan. Don't hesitate to drop me a line if I can ever be of assistance to you in a Wikipedia-related matter. —Tim //// Carrite (talk) 04:45, 30 June 2014 (UTC)

Very kind, thanks. It feels good to be out ;-) — Alan / Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 14:10, 30 June 2014 (UTC)

Arbitration Committee

Spoilsport!—we were trying to turn the Committee up to 11. Regards, Newyorkbrad (talk) 16:41, 30 June 2014 (UTC)

Hehe — Alan / Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 17:04, 30 June 2014 (UTC)

Some easy work for you

Can you take a look at one of my reverts: [2] and go through the remaining edits. This is spamming for an IT consultancy through an anti-corruption portal. I came to it through the India page where this was added masquerading as a reference, and found that it's been added to a boat load of other articles and have had articles created using this! It's much easier than your corruption in Haryana article :) cheers. —SpacemanSpiff 19:50, 25 June 2014 (UTC)

Sure - it's getting a bit late here, but I'll be happy to have a look in the morning. -- Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 20:07, 25 June 2014 (UTC)

Oops, I forgot about this - I'll have a look as soon as I have some brain to spare! — Alan / Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 17:13, 30 June 2014 (UTC)

The Indian Graph

Hey there Alan, I messed up by marking The Indian Graph for deletion under CSD-A7. Sorry about that. Anyway I have listed the article at Afd here. Thank you.  NQ  talk 17:42, 2 July 2014 (UTC)

No problem. I suspect you're probably right with the AfD, but I haven't had time to look around and check notability yet — Alan / Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 18:16, 2 July 2014 (UTC)

RSN

You have some experience of caste articles - see Wikipedia:RSN#Are_British_Raj_ethnographers_unreliable.3F. Qwyrxian is unlikely to return, which is unfortunate because their experience is even greater. - Sitush (talk) 12:28, 7 July 2014 (UTC)

(talk page stalker) Joshua Jonathan seems to be around. I've pinged him on his page. Bishonen | talk 13:34, 7 July 2014 (UTC).

• To be honest, all I really know of the reliability of those sources is from what you, Qwyrxian and others have said - it makes a lot of sense and I'm quite sure you're right, but there's not a lot I can add myself. But maybe a comment along those lines might help. Are there any links to earlier discussions you can add? — Alan / Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 13:55, 7 July 2014 (UTC)

That ANI

I emailed Oversight, gone now. Dougweller (talk) 12:09, 6 July 2014 (UTC)

Thanks — Alan / Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 12:12, 6 July 2014 (UTC)

@Dougweller: Actually, looking at the history, it all seems to be still there — Alan / Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 12:37, 6 July 2014 (UTC)

Actually, I see what's happened - the oversighter has only suppressed the one edit, where the material was added. But that doesn't work - all versions between that one and the edit in which it was removed need to be suppressed too. I'll email oversight. — Alan / Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 12:41, 6 July 2014 (UTC)

Oddly, the article that gave rise to the first of those allegations - Nair - has suddenly become a bit toxic again. And it involves someone who really should know better, given how long they've been a registered user. I've hit 3RR and they're not talking even after being informed of sanctions. This nonsense never goes away for long, does it? - Sitush (talk) 15:15, 6 July 2014 (UTC)

Looks like someone else has it covered, and hopefully an admin will step in and issue a sanctions-based block if it continues. I can't help seeing another organized attack here - I don't believe for a moment that Jerrysharma just happened to find that blog and those other things. — Alan / Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 16:36, 6 July 2014 (UTC)

Indeed. If you look at Jerrysharma's stuff on my talk page, they are quite obviously not the new user their account stats make them out to be - too familiar with policy. - Sitush (talk) 16:39, 6 July 2014 (UTC)

Yeah, I read it - he's no innocent newbie. — Alan / Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 16:45, 6 July 2014 (UTC)

On a completely different and hopefully levious (is that a word? from levity?), I took a trip to Salford today to get a photo relating to James Farmer (knight). On my way back through Charlestown, I passed a shop that advertised itself as "African Butchery". Ignore the fairly obvious stereotypical Idi Amin type of "humour". It was shut, being Sunday, but the chap I was with, who once worked at Farmer's factory, claimed to have been in there once. He asked for an elephant buttie but they apologised, saying they had run out of bread ... - Sitush (talk) 23:35, 6 July 2014 (UTC)

Hehe — Alan / Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 10:09, 7 July 2014 (UTC)

(talk page stalker) re those Nair edits — it's good you posted a general sanctions notice, Sitush. I'll topic ban the user if they persist. Well, if they persist before I go on vacation tomorrow. Bishonen | talk 13:33, 7 July 2014 (UTC).

Hope you're going somewhere nice :-) — Alan / Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 14:05, 7 July 2014 (UTC)

afk, anyway. :-) Bishonen | talk 17:49, 7 July 2014 (UTC).

Disambiguation link notification for July 11

Hi. Thank you for your recent edits. Wikipedia appreciates your help. We noticed though that when you edited New Haven County, Connecticut, you added a link pointing to the disambiguation page State Street. Such links are almost always unintended, since a disambiguation page is merely a list of "Did you mean..." article titles. Read the FAQ • Join us at the DPL WikiProject.

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Clever bot, thank you — Alan / Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 10:47, 11 July 2014 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

	The Civility Barnstar
	Thank you for your support of me during a recent situation regarding another editor. I really appreciate it, Daniellagreen (talk) (cont) 00:01, 12 July 2014 (UTC)

Very kind, thank you — Alan / Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 09:04, 12 July 2014 (UTC)

Nikkimaria

Hi Boing

I saw your comment at WP:AE#Nikkimaria, and I agree. There is no way that she would pass an RFA now, and I'd add probably no way that the RFA would have enough support to run the full 7 days.

Right or wrong, we don't have a recall process for admins, and this is one case where we could really do with it. However, we do have RFC/U, and I had already committed to bstarting one on her. It now occurs to me that apart from addressing the edit-warring, the lack of accountability, the hounding, and the sneak removals of content, an RFC/U could also ask Nikkimaria to surrender her adminship.

Any such conclusion would not be binding, but it would be a powerful step in that direction.

Would you be interested in helping to draft the RFC/U? --BrownHairedGirl (talk) • (contribs) 09:38, 22 July 2014 (UTC)

I'm actually writing an AN report as we speak to request a community ban from infoboxes - RFC/U has no ability to actually enforce anything, but AN can produce a community ban. — Alan / Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 09:45, 22 July 2014 (UTC)

Done — Alan / Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 10:17, 22 July 2014 (UTC)

A request

Hi Alan--

I'd like to have a little chat with you off-wiki via email about a project, if that's possible. ShoeHutch@gmail.com is my addie. Drop me a line if you get a chance. best regards, —Tim //// Carrite (talk) 18:10, 24 July 2014 (UTC)

YGM — Alan / Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 19:04, 24 July 2014 (UTC)

Courtesy notification

Hi, Boing. There is a discussion at Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Clarification and Amendment#Clarification request: Infoboxes that you may be interested in. While I didn't name you directly, I did comment on an ANI action you were involved with. Regards, —Neotarf (talk) 13:33, 28 July 2014 (UTC)

Thanks for letting me know - it's a shame you so badly misrepresented the various reasons for supporting the topic ban — Alan / Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 13:49, 28 July 2014 (UTC)

Re-sysopped

Alan, your administrator rights have been restored. Please ensure you take on board the comments from the Bureaucrat's noticeboard. Worm^TT(talk) 14:02, 30 July 2014 (UTC)

Thank you. You can be assured I will not intentionally abuse the privilege — Alan / Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 14:04, 30 July 2014 (UTC)

Apology

Well, after reading the stuff on BN that got posted after I made my reply and went to bed, I guess it's pretty clear that I owe you an apology. You're right in that, when you made your request at first, there was no threat to wheel war, since unblocking Eric wouldn't have been a wheel war--that's why I didn't object at the time. The reinstatement of the request, though, did make it look like you were seeking the bit back to start one by unblocking Eric again should he have been reblocked, which would have beeen either starting or perpetuating a wheel war. (An argument could have been made, I had thought at the time, that if DP had reversed his unblock another unblock wouldn't really have been a third move, since DP's two actions could be considered to have canceled each other out, but that was too fine a point for me; that's what I was referring to when I was talking about lawyering the definition of a wheel war.)
Anyway, I hope you can see why I thought what I thought and why I decided what I did, but you've since made it clear that I was wrong. So I'm sorry I misjudged you, and sorry I had the reaction I had. Clearly assuming made an ass out of me this time. My AGF was deficient, I guess. I guess you have no particular reason to respect me, but know that I still greatly respect you, and did even while deciding not to personally action your request. Good luck with whatever you decide to do next, and peace always, Writ Keeper ⚇♔ 16:55, 30 July 2014 (UTC)

That's extremely gracious, but you do not owe me an apology. My request for resysop was deliberately pointy and your caution was entirely understandable — Alan / Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 17:21, 30 July 2014 (UTC)

• I suppose this is a reading lesson for me too--I derived my conclusion about your POINTiness from it, I suppose. For the record: you and I go way back, and I have always felt this project was the better off with you having the bit. I could say more, about your superb net positive, but I'm cooking ramen noodles and the girls are unruly (dancing in the kitchen to "Babooshka"...). Enjoy your regained immense power, Drmies (talk) 17:19, 30 July 2014 (UTC)

  Thanks, but it really was POINTy and my resysop was on the understanding that I would shortly relinquish the privilege. It would be dishonest of me to renege on that — Alan / Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 17:23, 30 July 2014 (UTC)

  (Hmm, Babooshka - I was thinking of Slade Alive, but I'm swayed... — Alan / Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 17:25, 30 July 2014 (UTC))

• Alan, I have only two brief comments. First, I'm really glad I missed the discussion at WP:BN. Second, welcome back for however long you're here. Regards.--Bbb23 (talk) 23:06, 30 July 2014 (UTC)

You've got mail!

Hello, Boing! said Zebedee. Please check your email; you've got mail!
Message added 23:28, 31 July 2014 (UTC). It may take a few minutes from the time the email is sent for it to show up in your inbox. You can at any time by removing the {{You've got mail}} or {{ygm}} template.

Tutelary (talk) 23:28, 31 July 2014 (UTC)

Self-block or self-requested block (or pocket)?

Yeah yeah, me too. Oh, gee, this wasn't so smart: I see you're trying to stop cold turkey, but of course there are several of us who'll slip you your favorite poison at any time. Presumably intended to be in some sense helpful or at least upbeat. By contrast, you know I for my part will kick up a stink if anybody undoes my self-requested blocks. I'll block you for six months if you like, or, as an exceptional concession, for a whole year, and you sure as hell won't get unblocked on request. Somebody who'd enjoy doing you or me a bad turn might still unblock, of course, but it might perhaps still stick better than your self-block. See what you think. And Sitush, that's Mr Urge. I recommend Mr Urge against posting any further condescensions/recommendations to Boing on this page. Bishonen | talk 16:36, 1 August 2014 (UTC).

A beer for you!

I got lucky and picked up a Nebuchadnezzar for cheap. Fun fact: not actually brewed in Stockholm, but by Brouwerij De Proef in Belgium. It makes lots of things better. Thanks for having spent so much of your time here. Drmies (talk) 19:25, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

And I'll get the next round. Sorry to see this - but I do understand it completely!! — Ched :  ?  15:05, 2 August 2014 (UTC)

Why leave?

Take a sabbatical and then return, or not. Good luck and cheers either way. --Malerooster (talk) 23:47, 31 July 2014 (UTC)

Given the timing, I suspect that this was the last straw. And I do mean "last straw". Happen I'll be going the same way before long, although I cannot indef myself. I'll miss Alan here - he is a class act - but hopefully we'll find a time to revisit our one real-life meeting, which was at a Manchester Wikimeet. As I recall, he still owes me a beer. Or was it me who owed him a beer? Actually, we may have managed two of those Wikimeets and evened out on the beers - my memory is hazy ; ) - Sitush (talk) 00:14, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Ooh, Sitush, I'd think of that as a trophy. You're welcome on my talk page anytime. It's not as exciting as Drmies's, but then no one's is.--Bbb23 (talk) 00:59, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Was that the same wikimeet that someone who supposedly calls a spade a spade, said he had looked forward to meeting other local Wikipedia editors, but instead actually ended up meeting Wikimedia UK people whose train fares he suspected were paid for by someone other than themselves? --Demiurge1000 (talk) 01:07, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Not to my knowledge, Urge. But then I'm profoundly deaf and really do not follow conversations very well. That's why I spent practically all of my time talking just to Alan, face-to-face and with a fair amount of makeshift sign language. I can say with certainty that Alan said no such thing and it was my impression that most of the others were local. Perhaps you should ask @RexxS: as he was certainly present and is/was not "local".

Bbb, kind of you to offer but I'm at a complete loss at the moment. Demiurge and I have recently clashed (and they were 100% wrong) but it is the child porn stuff that was tipping me and Jimbo's recent comments have only served to reinforce a view that, really, Wikipedia is a dangerous place. He's high-profile and so he counts, whereas me and other minions do not. - Sitush (talk) 01:22, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

When you move on to brighter things than keeping score (with percentages!) as to who was right and who was wrong, then Wikipedia will seem a much more welcoming place. I recommend it. --Demiurge1000 (talk) 01:34, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

@Demiurge1000: Actually it was the Manchester meetup where about a dozen local Wikimedians, plus Iridescent, Harry Mitchell and myself had an enjoyable afternoon in very pleasant company. As I drove, gave Harry a lift, and paid for my own fuel, I'm quite certain that nobody had any costs paid for by anybody other than themselves - although Drmies did send some money from the USA to buy Eric a drink. Considering that I've been to perhaps a couple of dozen wikimeets around the country in the last few years, and paid my own way in every single case, I find your snide insinuations offensive. How about an apology and a withdrawal? --RexxS (talk) 16:15, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

• This is true! Apparently ten bucks went a long way. Some of the best money I've ever spent. Rexx, I had fun riding that bus with you too--unfortunately it wasn't to a bar, was it! Drmies (talk) 21:54, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

Actually that doesn't surprise me at all. But I can't withdraw a claim that was not made by me. --Demiurge1000 (talk) 16:21, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Sounds like you're the one making the allegation here. I know the nonsense originated at WPO or WR, but don't you think you should be checking facts before smearing me with falsehoods? --RexxS (talk) 17:06, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

No, I'm alleging that the individual claimed it. (I should've used the word "claimed" instead of "said"). As I've said elsewhere, the claim was entirely implausible for a number of reasons (not least that the meetup was indeed largely local or at least regional attendees, contrary to the claims made), and it was also a very odd thing to say after the individual had only very shortly before said how much he enjoyed meeting the people there. --Demiurge1000 (talk) 17:18, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

If you're referring to me, which you do far more often than is healthy, why would I have claimed/suggested/alleged (whichever word you prefer) that RexxS had his train fare paid when I knew, because he told me, that he'd driven up with Harry? Perhaps you're confusing me with that secret admin account you persist in believing that I have? Eric Corbett 18:23, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

The likelihood that anyone who spent quality time at the meetup would know that RexxS had driven up with Harry, was indeed one of the many reasons that I found the claim odd to the point of being preposterous. I think anyone seeing the claim would think it odd (except perhaps in the twisted make-believe fora that RexxS refers to above). But leaving that rider unstated when I originally mentioned it here turned out to be upsetting to RexxS, and for that I apologise. --Demiurge1000 (talk) 20:54, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

(outdent) I expect that this sort of pointless bickering typifies the sort of thing that may have driven Boing! said Zebedee into leaving us. I'm frankly sick of it myself, though I'm not going anywhere. If you absolutely must continue to harass each other in this fashion, although I can't imagine why you would, please take it to a different page. Newyorkbrad (talk) 18:47, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Absolutely bloody typical bs from you. Everything is always both party's fault in your world. Eric Corbett 19:11, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Wikipedia is not compulsary. Nobody is obligated to edit and everybody has a right to vanish. RWCasinoKid (talk) 00:27, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Or indeed just to stop editing - many have! Thank you for your contributions, Boing! said Zebedee. --Demiurge1000 (talk) 00:47, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Don't leave Planet Wikipedia. Just move to a different region. ANItown is like Hong Kong, an interesting place to visit for a half day, but you may go nuts if you stay too long. Arbcomia is way too dangerous. Don't go there. Sometimes I summer in Snailsville, a place where things move pretty slowly. Antarctica is a great part of Planet Wikipedia. It is very relaxing and the isolation is like a warm blanket. There's actually lots to do there. Think about it. Anna Frodesiak (talk) 02:11, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

I don't blame you for not wanting to be part of this community, Boing, but I just want to let you know that I still want you to be part of this community. Heimstern Läufer (talk) 11:03, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Me too. --RexxS (talk) 16:15, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Me too. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 17:37, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Me++ Favonian (talk) 18:13, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Me three or four or whatever. Montanabw^(talk) 22:35, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Shit, shit, shit (can I say that)? I'm getting really depressed with all these good people going or at the very least seriously considering it. Please reconsider. Every good editor that leaves makes it harder for the rest. I guess that's pretty selfish, but I still have hopes for the project although certainly not some other people who don't seem anywhere near leaving. But I may have to just abandon certain areas where I'm trying to keep my thumb in the dike. I agree with Malerooster, see this as a sabbatical. Dougweller (talk) 18:11, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Sorry, that ended up in the wrong place so moving it where it belongs. I will say that I seem to have pissed off someone in the outside world for something I did here and they are coming after me, but I'm damned if I'll let it bother me (don't ask who or what, sorry but I can't talk about it at the moment). Dougweller (talk) 18:15, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Thanks for your service

	The Working Man's Barnstar
	Thanks for your service to The Project, Alan. Rest and recharge and come back when you're ready. There will still be plenty of work to be done! Carrite (talk) 22:29, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

• Tim, if Boing wants to come back they'll have to be unblocked. Can you imagine how ANI will blow up for that act of "wheelwarring"? They'll have to file a regular unblock request, but since the blocking admin is also the "victim" of the block, the COI/invoooolvement is thicker than overcooked grits. No, it'll never fly. Unless Boing gets ArbCom to approve an alternate account, which runs for admin and succeeds, and then unblocks Boing, and we all pretend that we didn't know that Eedebez dias !gniob had anything to do with it. (We'll get Writ Keeper to sign off on it.) Boing, hope you're doing well. I know you're not reading this, so I'm flipping you a bird *right now*. Drmies (talk) 21:58, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

Belated, I know, but: I'm sorry to see you go. I hope whatever you're doing now is bringing you joy. Cheers, 28bytes (talk) 23:31, 11 August 2014 (UTC)

The spirit of peace

One song for you, for saying Boing in this case! (A sign I saw in Southwest Australia said: "Steep cliffs. You have been warned.") For peace music see also Anna Kravtchenko, or "Joyful piano playing to warm the heart and thrill the senses" --Gerda Arendt (talk) 12:35, 20 July 2014 (UTC)

While some still think there's a war, I see the signs of peace, The Company of Heaven (June 2013), Anna Kravtchenko, and today, --Gerda Arendt (talk) 13:05, 27 July 2014 (UTC)

Precious and missed

Thank you for what you did for more peace, --Gerda Arendt (talk) 11:54, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Did you know ... that Geistliche Chormusik, a collection of 29 motets by Heinrich Schütz (pictured) containing a "plea for peace", appeared in 1648, when the Thirty Years' War ended? --Gerda Arendt (talk) 07:11, 3 August 2014 (UTC)

Spreading your spirit, round I --Gerda Arendt (talk) 13:52, 3 August 2014 (UTC)

Round II

Do you know how this makes me feel? Sad. Seeing a productive editor making a change to an article that is so obviously an improvement (and was obviously fixing what was intended as an infobox and doing it properly, and was not adding a new one) being dragged here by a pedantic process-wonk out of battleground spite saddens me a lot. Seeing a couple of Arbs actually supporting the accusation using nothing but pedantic process-wonkery while ignoring the plain fact that Andy's change was simply a fix to an existing but badly-formed infobox - well, that saddens me even more. What have we come to when pursuing personal vendettas and pedantically enforcing the letter of Arb sanctions against those who clearly only desire to improve the encyclopedia? Those bringing this accusation and those supporting it should carefully read what Rexxs said above - and you should be ashamed of yourselves. If Arbcom should actually go ahead and sanction Andy over this, I'll be more than sad - I'll be disgusted. — Alan / Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 10:45, 20 July 2014 (UTC)

--Gerda Arendt (talk) 14:59, 6 August 2014 (UTC)

hope over experience

Pic cropped for SG, thanks to Sagaciousphil, --Gerda Arendt (talk) 21:55, 9 August 2014 (UTC)

Thanks to Sitush for the caption, --Gerda Arendt (talk) 12:11, 12 August 2014 (UTC)

I think you might agree, --Gerda Arendt (talk) 06:38, 16 August 2014 (UTC)

A short article with you in mind: Mouvements d'Harmonie --Gerda Arendt (talk) 22:01, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

On the Main page now, a fitting date of hope, "Let us not forget ..." (round III) --Gerda Arendt (talk) 13:36, 28 August 2014 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

	The Defender of the Wiki Barnstar
	Here's hoping you'll come back one day and continue the fine work you've always done here. Best wishes either way! Dreadstar ☥ 18:52, 17 August 2014 (UTC))

Precious again

buying of beer and firm stance
Thank you for offering to buy beer to help "passionate Wikipedians" to settle scores in "the best interests of the project", and for standing firmly for consensus against "autocratic rights", for oppose, - repeating: you are an awesome Wikipedian (24 September 2010)!

--Gerda Arendt (talk) 09:25, 20 August 2012 (UTC)

Two years ago, you were the 219th recipient of my PumpkinSky Prize. Yesterday, I dedicated a piece of music to you which roughly translates to move in harmony, in other words move in harmony, or - as Sitush worded it - "the triumph of hope over experience", --Gerda Arendt (talk) 13:07, 20 August 2014 (UTC)

Same flavour: Did you know that Carmen has a happy ending? --Gerda Arendt (talk) 11:44, 31 August 2014 (UTC)

SG for Superlambanana

--Gerda Arendt (talk) 22:03, 1 September 2014 (UTC)

RM notification

Since you have participated in at least one Requested Move or Move Review discussion, either as participant or closer, regarding the title of the article currently at Sarah Jane Brown, you are being notified that there is another discussion about that going on now, at Talk:Sarah Jane Brown#Requested move #10. We hope we can finally achieve consensus among all participating about which title best meets policy and guidelines, and is not too objectionable. --В²C ☎ 16:51, 24 October 2014 (UTC)

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