Changes

'''Free at last!''' Executive Director Sue Gardner finally left Wikipedia on June 1. She and her favored bullies couldn't figure out how to get a visual editor to work. But they certainly knew how to drive off conservative users. They would harass the victim until he reacts. Then they use his reaction as the basis for a complaint to Administrator's Noticeboard/Incidents (ANI). Established liberal editors rarely get sanctioned for harassing a conservative, the situation has to be resolved somehow, so the result is often a "topic ban" for the conservative. At this point, Team Harassment smells blood, and more people get involved. They accuse the victim of violating the topic ban. He generally has to stop editing for an extended period, and he may even be banned altogether. If he doesn't fall for any of these gags, the matter can always be referred to a trollocratic clique of senior admins who act as feminist enforcers. This clique has extraordinary powers that are not documented anywhere in the guidelines, at least as far as I am aware. They hand out extended blocks without prior warning, make up their own rules, and skip ANI.

'''Free at last!''' Sue Gardner finally left Wikipedia on June 1. She and her favored bullies couldn't figure out how to get a visual editor to work. But they certainly knew how to drive off conservative users. They would harass the victim until he reacts. Then they use his reaction as the basis for a complaint to Administrator's Noticeboard/Incidents (ANI). Established liberal editors rarely get sanctioned for harassing a conservative, the situation has to be resolved somehow, so the result is often a "topic ban" for the conservative.

 

At this point, Team Harassment smells blood, and more people get involved. They accuse the victim of violating the topic ban. He generally has to stop editing for an extended period, and he may even be banned altogether. If he doesn't fall for any of these gags, the matter can always be referred to a trollocratic clique of senior admins who act as feminist enforcers. This clique has extraordinary powers that are not documented anywhere in the guidelines, at least as far as I am aware. They hand out extended blocks without prior warning, make up their own rules, and skip ANI.

Wikipedia's guidelines make it clear that users have no right to due process. After all, it's not their job to give every troll and vandal a fair shake. All the same, with eight years experience and 33,000 edits, I feel I am entitled to something more than a "'Shut up,' he explained" and a form letter from Arbcom. (I'm "Kauffner" on [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:List_of_Wikipedians_by_number_of_edits this list].) It's not like one day I decided to go on a rule-breaking rampage. I kept doing my thing while old editors who had been my friends moved on, new editors with chips on their shoulders arrived, and Arbcom adjusted various policies.

Wikipedia's guidelines make it clear that users have no right to due process. After all, it's not their job to give every troll and vandal a fair shake. All the same, with eight years experience and 33,000 edits, I feel I am entitled to something more than a "'Shut up,' he explained" and a form letter from Arbcom. (I'm "Kauffner" on [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:List_of_Wikipedians_by_number_of_edits this list].) It's not like one day I decided to go on a rule-breaking rampage. I kept doing my thing while old editors who had been my friends moved on, new editors with chips on their shoulders arrived, and Arbcom adjusted various policies.