Misplaced Pages

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Three years ago to the day I made my first edit on Misplaced Pages. What I saw was a site where everyone went in, and, through magic, useful information came out. It was a bedazzling concept. I wondered if perhaps, maybe, I could get involved, if I could help in some way. And I did. I quickly found that my skill set was not tailored to writing articles, and tried to get involved in a more administrative role. I quickly ran in to trouble. If not for the dedicated efforts of many great editors, BD2412 is of particular note, I would not have been here.

I quickly realized that this is a place I could work, I could try to help other people, I could try to be the 'good guy' the guy who follows the rules, the guy who always assumes good faith, the guy to go for if you need help. Well I tried, I passed my RfA with flying colors, I have never done anything controversial, I have been there to help you, to help the average editor out there. I have worked on tools, and projects, from VandalProof, to the account creation tool, and it was good. I hope I have succeeded, I have many barnstars showing some people were positively influenced, and I really feel I have helped. There have always been some less than helpful editors out there, but I always hoped Misplaced Pages would only get better as more and more people joined.

Alas, it was not to be. Today Misplaced Pages is much worse off than when I joined. Editors are clearly in it for power now, they create rules and apply them to other people, but not themselves. They argue that they know better, that they can ignore the rules and polices, because they know it will improve the encyclopedia. I will make a short digression, it is important to be able to ignore all rules, but it is also important to ignore the rules for a reason. Ignoring rules because you can has never been the intention of that policy.

When I came across Misza13, I saw an unauthorized bot, something I had come across many times. As usual, I left a note asking the user to stop until they get their bot approved. Misza refused. Because Misza was a long term editor, I filed an RfAR, hoping that the Arbcom could resolve this issue. They could not, or perhaps, would not. I had no option left to me. I had to do what policy says, which is that "Accounts performing automated tasks without prior approval may be summarily blocked by any administrator". To not do so would be an affront on the unauthorized bots I had blocked in the past. According to ANI, the bot policy does not does not apply to Misza, and I was wrong to do so.

A level playing field, where everyone is treated equally, is the cornerstone of an encyclopedia anyone can edit. Without it, it is nothing but a brawl, controlled by those savvy enough to get to the top. Perhaps one day, it will once again be a place anyone is treated equally. But until then, I don't think there is a place for someone like me. Thanks to all my friends for the ride, it has been a great 2 years of adminship, but I can no longer take a position where the rules I am supposed to respect are ignored.