Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 03:37, 8 February 2008

Meltdown

Do you happen to know what happened here? (it's supposed to be red) Anynobody 02:03, 12 January 2008 (UTC)

Bit of a strop, I expect. I've noticed that some people blank their User pages as a form of pissed-off protest (eg. Guy) and others seem to be under the bizarre delusion that, in not posting a User page, they are somehow saving Mr. Wales a vast sum in server-hosting charges.

See also: Misplaced Pages:Requests_for_arbitration/IRC/Proposed_decision. As far as I can work out, someone called Tony Sidaway referred to Bishonen as a 'bastard bitch from hell'. He did this on the Admin IRC, and a whole load of Bishonen-enthusiasts, whose names will be wearisomely familiar, then took it upon themselves to vandalise the corresponding Misplaced Pages article, Misplaced Pages:IRC_channels/wikipedia-en-admins - in other words, doing themselves exactly what the rest of us are always told not to do. It's all up before the ArbCom, who, seem to be adopting a bit of fudge for the resolution of this latest outbreak of cretinism; the obvious judgment would be a de-SysOp-ing of any Admin found to have engaged in naughtiness, but that's not happening. This is Giano's 4 ArbCom in eighteen months.--Major Bonkers (talk) 13:59, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

It is difficult to believe that we're to listen and respect such a bastion of rational self control. Though it does make actions like blocking someone out of the blue without warning or resenting those who disagree with her much easier to understand.

These are strange times where I'm finding it difficult to understand why people do what they do. Giano must be some sort of masochist, I can't think of a recent arbcom case that actually resolved anything so being involved in yet another case seems a bit, odd.

Speaking of weird things people do, did the Cruiser make any news in your area regarding the video of him speaking about Scientology and their legal actions to get it nixed from the web? (I assume the biography did.) Anynobody 01:36, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

Well, my own take is that some people take Misplaced Pages far too seriously; the puerile palimpest that runs alongside the actual articles - the various Talk pages, AN/I, ArbCom, etc. - is generally so stupid that it - it seems to me - actually discourages anyone with any sense or maturity from contributing. My feeling about Lloyd's of London is that it is a place where any honest man should be ashamed to say that they do business, and my feeling about WP is rather similar. Most of us have got better things to do than waste our time with somebody else's out-of-control children.

During the Troubles ArbCom, someone explained to Rockpocket how they had managed to track down one of the participant's (W. Frank's) address, because he had used his real identity; they had had to go through a number of reasonably complicated steps to work it out. Rockpocket was astonished that anyone would bother to go to the effort, and I have to say that I agree with him: it strikes me as completely bizarre.

Regarding Giano, he pops in for a chat over here every so often; I've nothing against him - he's always been polite to me (if forceful) - but the relationship that he has with the ArbCom doesn't seem particularly healthy. I suspect that they rather need each other.

By the way, I have added some links to photographs in our recent discussion which is now in my archive; I'm too idle to drag the whole thing out, but you'll find links to our esteemed politicians making clear their contempt for the rest of us. As for the Cruiser, see: Tom Cruise compared to Joseph Goebbels; of course, in one important respect this comparison is completely false! --Major Bonkers (talk) 15:19, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

Couldn't agree more, there are quite a few people who definitely take it way more seriously than they should. I've seen more than one meltdown where a person swears off ever contributing here again and is back sooner or later anyway. (If you watch User talk:Jimmy Wales long enough you'll see a few of them. Here's one that looks ready to go critical soon User talk:Jimmy Wales#Your Lack of Involvement on Misplaced Pages and other Wikimedia Projects) I feel embarrassed for them, choosing to flip out in such a public forum over essentially nothing.

I have nothing against him either, actually I feel like he is generally misunderstood. (Whatever the case, he didn't really want to be on the arbcom even if he doesn't realize it yet.)

Wow, the Goebbels aspect is even more creepy, when reading their reply: ... urging other people to become involved in similar humanitarian activities to the betterment of all. After all, the Nazis only wanted "help" the rest of the world too. (They'd of been better off either saying nothing or saying, "Yeah, he likes being a Scientologist..." instead of suing to have it removed and implying the good of human kind is involved.) Anynobody 08:28, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

I couldn't find the link to Herr Wales' Talk page - I expect some helpful Admin has 'oversighted' the rant in question.

You're probably interested in more fallout from The Cruiser: Hackers wage web war on Scientologists. I can't help feeling that he should worship something more normal, like Great Cthulu, for example. But why would anyone pay any attention to his religious proselytising, or his political views, come to that? He's only a hack actor, not particularly well-educated, and his views are no more valid that anyone else's --Major Bonkers (talk) 18:19, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

I took your advice

Misplaced Pages:Articles for deletion/Law in Star Trek (second nomination). Tim Vickers (talk) 23:24, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Thank you for the notification, although I'm not sure that you have taken my advice, which is to leave well alone.

As I say, my experience of these !votes and 'debates' is that they almost always end up pissing people off and generally cause more trouble than they're worth. To that extent I've become an 'inclusionist', although with the obvious exceptions of hoax and/or malicious articles. Whilst the subject of Law in Star Trek is certainly not to my taste, I have to recognise that someone has gone to a lot of work to produce it. I see that my other favourite example of misapplied labour, the Murloc (a creature from the World of Warcraft computer game), has also bitten the dust. In fact, if you are inclined, I suggest, the entire List of species in fantasy fiction could be reviewed 'with extreme prejudice'!

I suspect, in general terms, the problem is that some of the younger contributors enjoy editing articles such as these and, mutatis mutantis, deleting 'boring' articles, such as those of a 16h. century provincial farmer, and those of us of 'more mature years' have editing interests which are exactly the opposite. The end result is that you end up with a bizarre agglomeration of trivia rather than the 21t. century equivalent of the great Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition.

Anyway, although I don't propose to insert myself into the !vote, it looks to be shaping up into a most entertaining battle, so I shall certainly keep an eye on it! Good luck.--Major Bonkers (talk) 12:10, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

PS - I suppose this is a 'personal attack', but I really can't see why DGG can claim that Simon Dodsworth is OR ( I think the primary sources given represent the whole of the information available, and the subject has been discussed in no secondary sources at all.) and that Law in Star Trek isn't (This is a compilation of material sourced from the primary source in an obvious fashion, and thus not OR.). That's a bit Humpty Dumpty-ish to me; an example, perhaps, of policies and essays being used to support the editor's subjective opinions of worth.--Major Bonkers (talk) 12:46, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Perhaps, but we are all the prisoners of our POV, the best we can expect is that others will make us aware of our biases and assumptions. Tim Vickers (talk) 17:48, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Oh, I do hope they don't. CarbonLifeForm (talk) 18:28, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Ha, ha! Let the war begin! Onwards, sons of James Tiberius Kirk! (I expect that they will win, simply on the grounds that there are more of them.)--Major Bonkers (talk) 19:34, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

List of massacres

Could you explain (on this page) why Dublin and Monaghan is a massacre, but Birmingham is not? Why is Greysteel a massacre, but Enniskillen, Shankill Road bombing, Harrod's and LaMon not? This is an absolutely outrageous double standard and it's too bad that you don't have the integrity, regardless of your political opinions, to point this out and fix it. Yours (An interested Misplaced Pages observer and follower). 216.194.3.163 (talk) 03:37, 8 February 2008 (UTC)