PeterKa

==My time at Wikipedia==

==My time at Wikipedia==

Back in 2012, I estimate that I ranked somewhere around No. 5 as an active non-administrative editor at Wikipedia. I could boast tens of thousands of edits on as well as a clean eight-year track record. So what does it take for a senior editor to get banned? Write [[User:PeterKa/Filipacchi | an essay mocking a friend of the executive director]]. Sue Gardner, executive director at that time, moved on long ago. But [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Administrators%27_noticeboard/IncidentArchive929#User:Kauffner_request_for_unblock_per_WP:STANDARDOFFER the ban itself continues] as senior admins still nurse grudges. It's no longer about politics or anything interesting, just the rage of those who blank articles at those who write them.

Back in 2012, I estimate that I ranked somewhere around No. 5 as an active non-administrative editor at Wikipedia. I could boast tens of thousands of edits on as well as a clean eight-year track record. So what does it take for a senior editor to get banned? Write [[User:PeterKa/Filipacchi | an essay mocking a friend of the executive director]]. Sue Gardner, executive director at that time, moved on long ago. But [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Administrators%27_noticeboard/IncidentArchive929#User:Kauffner_request_for_unblock_per_WP:STANDARDOFFER the ban itself continues] as senior admins still nurse their various grudges. It's no longer about politics or anything interesting, just the rage of those who blank articles at those who write them.

The appeal I link to above got sixteen angry replies in the space of eight hours. According to the guidelines, the admin is always right and the user must apologize. So there is a basis to reject the appeal. But all the same, why are all these people I never heard of before so angry at me? And why do so many replies make similar points? They are not points that were made in previous discussions, but were created for this occasion! During my time on Wikipedia, I count five occasions when angry mobs came out of nowhere to dominate otherwise sleepy talk pages. The system is obviously rigged. Somebody is the whip and sends out notices to the troops. Note that many of these people have less one tenth, or even one twentieth, the level of experience I have. Yet each and every one them is confident that they understand the system better than I do.  

The appeal I linked to above got sixteen angry replies in the space of eight hours. According to the guidelines, the admin is always right and the user must apologize. So there is a basis to reject my appeal. But not one response includes a constructive suggestion on how the appeal could be improved or what else might be done. Instead, they are full of bitter personal attacks on my "mentality" and so forth. And why do so many replies make similar points? These are not the same as the points that were made in previous discussions. They sound like they are based on talking points that someone created specifically for this occasion. During my time on Wikipedia, I count five separate occasions when angry mobs came out of nowhere to dominate otherwise sleepy forums and talk pages. The system is obviously rigged. Somebody is the whip and he sends out notices to the troops (in Wikispeak, "canvasses"). Few of the editors who condemn me have even one tenth the level of experience that I have. Several have less than one twentieth. Yet each and every one them is confident that they understand Wikipedia better than I do.

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