User:PeterKa

Wikipedia Executive Director Sue Gardner and her favoured bullies couldn't figure out how to get a visual editor to work. But they certainly knew how to drive off conservative users. Although I had eight years experience and 33,000 edits, I could still be dismissed with a "'Shut up,' he explained" and a form letter from Arbcom. (I'm "Kauffner" on 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 Gardner adjusted various policies. Gardner finally left Wikipedia on June 1.

In June 2012, Arbcom decided to topic ban a user named GoodDay after he was harassed by pro-diacritic editors. Editors who saw this decision as a vindication of bullying tried to extend it broadly. An editor named In ictu oculi became obsessed with my case, spent the next year going through my editing history looking for people who might have grudges against me, and fashioning them into a team. I was brought before ANI several times. Each time, I argued circles around Team Harassment and escaped sanction. After all, I was implementing a guideline for Vietnamese titles which I had written myself, and this guideline conformed to higher-level Wikipedia policies.

A few months later, Team Harassment set up a trap for me. One member started blanking articles that I'd written. I reverted the blanking and was blocked for "edit warring" by Ponyo, a high ranking admin and oversighter. The edit warring guideline classifies article blanking as a form of "obvious vandalism," so I don't see how what I did could be considered edit warring. Even if I was edit warring, it is most unusual for an admin to block a user without warning. The message explaining the block refers to my "diacritics crusade." So I don't think it was primarily about edit warring anyway. Perhaps Ponyo was more interested in this essay.

After I was blocked, an ANI discussion could be held without my participation. There is of course a rule against this sleazy tactic. To bring up the same set of complaints repeatedly is called "forum shopping." In fact, the discussion which resulted in my being banned consists almost entirely of references to previous discussions. Proper procedure is to appeal an ANI finding to Arbcom. There is not much in the way of specific accusations against me, much less diffs to support them.

One editor in the banning discussion suggests that I used multiple accounts to vote multiple times in Requested Move discussions. Although the post does not give the name of the RM in which this nefarious activity allegedly occurred, this is the closest thing I saw to a specific accusation. It is complete nonsense. In fact, the entire subject of multiple voting had never even come up earlier. The post was made by a drive-by editor who admits that he does not understand the situation. Yet it is now treated as a more or less official explanation o f why I was banned.

In an Orwellian twist, the past is fair game too. Some oversighter has removed a post a made concerning my essay on gender categories, obviously to make me look worse. When I took my story to Wikipediocracy, I was blocked almost immediately with the notation, "If they didn't let you get away with this on Wikipedia, you certainly can't do it here." Going to Wikipediocracy is the logical next step after being banned from Wikipedia, and they were ready for me. There has been plenty of gloating along the way, and my real name has been given out several times. Both of these are normally serious violations of Wikipedia etiquette. So somebody with the authority to override standard procedure had it in for me.

Sue Gardner was executive director at that time. Based on what Gardner has said and written, I gather that I represent everything she hates about Wikipedia. I'm certainly "the crusty old desk guy who knows the style guide backwards." [1] I'm also the guy who favors "accuracy" over "kindness."[2] On top of that, I'm the guy who thinks "Ganges" is an excellent name for a river in India.[3]

See also

• Read my notorious parody of the gender categories bruhaha
• My Arbcom appeal has a blow-by-blow account of what happened to me.
• Diacritic — This is a zippy overview of the subject, if I do say so myself.
• Diacritics proposal — You can find a detailed set of arguments here.

What I have written

• Nazarene‎, J. Frank Norris, Peter Ruckman, Textus Receptus, sensus plenior, divine accommodation, Yule, Johannine Comma, Codex Washingtonianus, Star of Bethlehem, Fundamentalism, Andy McIntosh

• Diacritic, Nuclear option, Star_Trek_franchise#Political_themes, Tang Tuyet Minh, Roman Warm Period, No Gun Ri, Vietcong, Republic of China, rule of law, YAD06, Girls' Generation, Xia dynasty, Shang dynasty.