User:Mendel/Talk Archive 9

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If you want to contact me in a timely manner, don't use the talkpage; send me wikimail, or use the contact info in the source of my user page.

I reserve the right to edit section titles to coincide with the section content. Size: bytes. =Comments=

Clean slate
Tabula Rasa. Miss that game :( --Gimmethegepgun 02:50, September 23, 2009 (UTC)


 * Bakula Scott. Miss that name... not so much.  &mdash; Tennessee Ernie Ford ( TEF ) 03:30, September 23, 2009 (UTC)

 I realized that I had fallen asleep at the wheel, and it was all just a dream about me, and listening to Edguy, who I thank skuld for introducing me to. Additionally, the fanfic didn't actually exist, I dreamt about reading a bad fanfic, well, at least thats what my brain wants me to, oh and one more thing, DO DA DO DA DO!  Also, Take a look into the book of fantasy and poetry until you find that in your mind a feeling most unnaturally has taken hold, and growing bold , has caused quite a calamity while drumsticks dance around like candycanes  on a bright snowy summer evening in alberta, Mexico.
 * I don't know that name, but thats fine, because I'm just a lot [[File:coffee-32x32.png]] overstimulated right now, and thus I'm going to go on a [[File:Ant-32x32.png]] ant about squirrels, except squirrel [[File:Squirrel-32x32.png]] is a very hard word to write with your eyes closed, so I will probably wander off topic, but what really is a good topic for random free writing? How about [[File:Music-2-32x32.png]] music, but that's very confining.  How music tastes, like metal and chocolate [[File:Chocolate-47x47.jpg]], and....  Shoe laces.  Which taste nothing like [[File:Shoes-32x32.png]] shoes, nor laces, do NOT ask how I know that, and my left ring finger feels weird, and I don't know why, but I'm talking much much to much about myself, and thus we come to the first sequitor of the evening in which a flying monkey [[File:Monkey-32x32.png]] appears from the very depths of the dark sea itself to accost young maidens [[File:TinkerbellUnion.jpg]] saving young and strapping young men from very large unicorns [[File:pink_unicorn_icon_by_gescheitert.gif]] with nothing but evil thoughts on their mind.  Which reminds me of a bad fanfic I once read about how a human met a charr, and had little charr babies, which makes no sense, because the two species would not be compatible .  Additionally, they defeated them in combat , but there are not female charr in combat, so that would be....  Odd.  Because then it would have to be gay , otherwise it wouldn't make sense, but then, where did they get the little charr from, which reminds me of a conversation I had about Lady Gaga where I had to explain to a group of 20 year olds what a hermaphrodite is, it was very amusing until the point where they all started giving me wierd looks, and


 * --Łô√ë [[Image:Gigathrash_sig_G.jpg|Roar.]]îğá†ħŕášħ 03:39, September 23, 2009 (UTC), edited ◄mendel► 11:15, September 23, 2009 (UTC)


 * Horse + donkey = mule. I rest my case :P *shudders* --Gimmethegepgun 05:48, September 23, 2009 (UTC)
 * Strange combination is strange Random Time  06:11, September 23, 2009 (UTC)

Mendeeeeeeel
Wikia made disgusting changes to the Monaco skin, particularly those involving the masthead and article tabs. And what the hell is Special:MyHome? Fix it please! 19:33, September 23, 2009 (UTC)


 * MyHome looks like a glorified RC to me. --- [[Image:VipermagiSig.JPG]] -- (contribs) &emsp;(talk)  19:38, September 23, 2009 (UTC)


 * I'm a bit busy right now. -- ◄mendel► 22:37, September 23, 2009 (UTC)

Nyquil based Hallucinations

 * It does absolutely no justice to your prose to say that there's evidence suggesting that at least one (if not several) of the popes in the middle ages were females. So, in order to ensure that all due praise is heaped upon the above, I won't mention it. (If I do, I blame the trojan horse, which used correctly, helps reduce the risk of equinely transmitted diseases and reduces the likelihood of unwanted pregnancy. Use as directed.)  &mdash; Tennessee Ernie Ford ( TEF ) 06:16, September 26, 2009 (UTC)
 * Those popes didn't have any cleavage to speak of. -- ◄mendel► 17:54, September 26, 2009 (UTC)

Shameless advertisement and Giga ripoff
Come and take a look at my elite skill contest!--El_Nazgir 16:28, September 29, 2009 (UTC)

Your edit to the Zchallenge page
You said that the future prediction may change. Why is that? I asked on the talk page there, but I have no idea if you'll be passing by there again sometime soon. Are the rotations going to be reset for some reason? Or is it because of the plan to remove hero battles (are there any citations for that anyway? I've heard lots of people say it but no one official)? 199.102.47.72 15:56, October 8, 2009 (UTC)
 * I see you've received an answer there, and I've also butted in. Since you've started to edit all over the wiki in a useful way, why not make an account on wikia so we can recognize you when you do it again? (Or log in if you have one.) Thank you for sharing your thoughts! -- ◄mendel► 21:43, October 8, 2009 (UTC)

uhhh... I broke something
My final line (several lines in editing window) are beneath the bottom of the page because... well... for no reason that's obvious enough for me to notice. Just thought I'd give you a shout. A F K When Needed 18:39, October 12, 2009 (UTC)
 * I used my time machine and fixed it already. -- ◄mendel► 18:42, October 12, 2009 (UTC)

Doing the right thing wrong
Forgive me, I know I can't talk on such a matter. But, when pointing out things that Rose has done, do you always have to come down on her like a ton of bricks?

I doubt she'd ignore you if you said "Yo, thanks for [1], [2] and [3] ! I appreciate you trying to make GuildWiki a better, more friendly place to be. By the way, it might be worth trying to explain why this is bad for GuildWiki and rely less on using the policy to solely make your point, as then contributors who have a problem with authority will be more likely to take what you say on board. Regards, Mendel ."

It might just be me, but when you point out something she has done wrong, you always seem to... be more blunt than you normally are. I don't think you're an overly blunt person who lets that get in the way of your point. Except when you talk to her. A F K When Needed 22:12, October 15, 2009 (UTC) (Yes, I'm pretty much expecting you to pop onto my Talk Page with an identical header.)


 * Yes, I was in a bit of a hurry this morning, and it occurred to me later that I could have polished that a bit more. Especially the header. It is only sort of implied that I think mentioning the policies to those people at that time was the "right thing", and I fear she didn't read it that way, judging from her response. -- ◄mendel► 22:38, October 15, 2009 (UTC)

Broken Links...
&mdash; Tennessee Ernie Ford ( TEF ) 09:44, October 20, 2009 (UTC)
 * Deleted. You can find a link atop RecentChanges. -- ◄mendel► 05:51, October 22, 2009 (UTC)

Janitorial rights
I'd like to request image move (if you need rights for this) and deletion powers :< Jennalee 10:56, October 20, 2009 (UTC)
 * I think you must be at least admin for deletion powers. Image move is a little easier, I have it as a (rollback) user group, which was given to me for that very reason.  RoseOfKali [[Image:RoseOfKaliSIG.png]] 14:50, October 20, 2009 (UTC)
 * Done. And yes, you'd need admins to have delete. [[Image:Entropy Sig.jpg]] (T/C) 17:36, October 20, 2009 (UTC)
 * Nice try! Random Time  17:53, October 20, 2009 (UTC)
 * But but... Power comes with responsibility, and there's so much more of that attached to being an admin :( Jennalee 21:30, October 20, 2009 (UTC)

Pic doesn't wanna update
File:Lina icewind.png doesn't wanna update for some reason, when I upload a new version it shows the old one (no it's not a browser issue), when I upload a 2nd new one, it shows the new version in the "previous versions".... then I tried reverting to that, but it STILL shows old version, can you please fix this? Thanks. -- 00:31, October 21, 2009 (UTC)
 * It is a cache issue, because I see the updated version, if that version is on Shing Jea.--Łô√ë [[Image:Gigathrash_sig_G.jpg|Roar.]]îğá†ħŕášħ is hosting a Card Creation Contest! 00:34, October 21, 2009 (UTC)
 * Wow, you're a good spotter. :D I have tried reloading the image several times but it still loads the old one =( --[[Image:Takisig2.png]] 00:44, October 21, 2009 (UTC)
 * I uploaded a version with PPE now, so the big one updated and is fixed, but the thumbnail version is still the old one >_> seems to be the same bug as with the Dragon Gauntlet pics I once uploaded long ago... I hope it'll fix itself over time. --[[Image:Takisig2.png]] 03:21, October 21, 2009 (UTC)
 * It's a server issue. If you have purged the Image (with ), waited some time (quarter hour to an hour) and did that again, all that's left is to use Special:Contact to report it. You can see that the image has uploaded correctly by displaying it in a size that hasn't been used yet; you'll usually see the new version then. -- ◄mendel► 05:55, October 22, 2009 (UTC)

zomg
Not sure who else to call for this one :P Anyway, my comment there says it all really. And though the history says otherwise, I ASSURE you that his name was signed when I edited it, especially since it would be impossible for me to add that since I used the + button and not a full page edit --Gimmethegepgun 13:46, October 22, 2009 (UTC)
 * I forwarded this to wikia staff, it seems to be a server issue. -- ◄mendel► 22:49, October 22, 2009 (UTC)
 * What I found a bug? 0_o I don't understand, what did I do?? Fleshcrawler Soban 13:55, November 1, 2009 (UTC)


 * Don't worry about it. The wiki software has had more random issues, but they mostly either don't matter or can easily be fixed. --- [[Image:VipermagiSig.JPG]] -- (contribs) &emsp;(talk)  13:59, November 1, 2009 (UTC)
 * You didn't do anything, and it will most likely (read:hopefully) never happen to you again. -- ◄mendel► 18:02, November 1, 2009 (UTC)

Guild Wars on Linux
Recently switched to Linux and it runs excurtiatingly slow on it with wine. How were you able to get it running? Please and thank you. &mdash; Powersurge360  06:28, October 30, 2009 (UTC)
 * You need to install the video drivers that actually provide access to the 3D acceleration hardware. They're often sort of proprietary, so they don't install out of the box. -- ◄mendel► 07:52, October 30, 2009 (UTC)
 * So where might I find these drivers? I can't figure it out and I'm blaming it on me being tired, but if it's me being incompetent I'll get the answer while you're available, lol. &mdash; Powersurge360  08:05, October 30, 2009 (UTC)
 * For ubuntu, they were accessible via synaptic in the third-party repository, I think - I'm no sure, it's been awhile. Since I don't know your Linux distribution nor the make and model of your graphics card, it's a little hard to get more detailed than that. -- ◄mendel► 08:11, October 30, 2009 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the help. I'm sure that it's nothing I can't handle now that I know the problem, I just wanted the advice I could get just in case. Hopefully I'll get it up before the Halloween events end. If I don't do this, I'll dual boot for the weekend, lol. &mdash; Powersurge360  08:17, October 30, 2009 (UTC)
 * About Ubuntu, have you checked out the 9.10 sweetness? Released thursday :) Random Time  13:24, October 30, 2009 (UTC)

This is a public Service Announcement courtesy of GD&D
Please update your available times so that I can arrange the (hopefully) last session in the current campaign.--Łô√ë îğá†ħŕášħ is hosting a Card Creation Contest! 00:14, November 2, 2009 (UTC)
 * Nice! -- ◄mendel► 05:11, November 2, 2009 (UTC)

mgdoNEHt
Hi! xSutZir
 * Hi! Do I know you? You seem to speak with a strange tongue ... -- ◄mendel► 22:21, November 21, 2009 (UTC)
 * *sigh* It was an obvious spambot. Why do you have to be so annoying about things like this?  &mdash;Dr Ishmael [[Image:Diablo_the_chicken.gif]] 22:59, November 21, 2009 (UTC)


 * Have a guess why I didn't delete it.. :p --- [[Image:VipermagiSig.JPG]] -- (contribs) &emsp;(talk)  23:01, November 21, 2009 (UTC)


 * I need to be educated about spambots that single out the accounts of two largely inactive admins (but not PanSola). Is it the fact that the letters are jumbled? -- ◄mendel► 23:31, November 21, 2009 (UTC)


 * Talk:Inscription/Archive1+User_talk:Takeya
 * Gotta give him credit for everything it's done, eh? ;) (Maybe a range block for 91.214.45.xx so it stops?) --- [[Image:VipermagiSig.JPG]] -- (contribs) &emsp;(talk)  10:23, November 22, 2009 (UTC)
 * Range block would probably block many others, range softblock might work (can't edit until logged in, but can create account)  Random  Time   10:45, November 22, 2009 (UTC)


 * It's a narrow block (only last 2 digits are variable), but yes, there'd probably be other 'victims' as well. --- [[Image:VipermagiSig.JPG]] -- (contribs) &emsp;(talk)  10:48, November 22, 2009 (UTC)


 * I beg to disagree, there probably won't. The IP falls into the range of altushost.com, an internet host registered in Belize, but the IP is in the UK (one or two hops off a router in London, possibly in Luxembourg if that's what "lxb" stands for), so the probability is high that it's a blackhat address; furthermore, we have no contributions other than these 4 from any IP in that /24 subnet. I've blocked the next one in sequence now, trying to forestall the next edit, using softblock as RT recommends. -- ◄mendel► 11:33, November 22, 2009 (UTC)


 * Weird bot, found contributions on gaming and here for one IP, on another wiki for another, what IPs has it used here? Thanks. Joey (talk) 22:41, November 22, 2009 (UTC)


 * 91.214.45.45, .46, .47 and .48. IP .49 has been blocked preemptively. --- [[Image:VipermagiSig.JPG]] -- (contribs) &emsp;(talk)  22:47, November 22, 2009 (UTC)

aedi lanigironu na
Hi! xSutZir A F K  When  Needed  11:55, November 22, 2009 (UTC)
 * Hi! gdegYDsr Cress Arvein [[Image:Cress sig.JPG]] 22:26, November 22, 2009 (UTC)

Hey Mendel!
I'm KJ, an admin over at PvX. I'm sick and tired of our MediaWiki.css over there. Unregistered users can hardly use our page because of how ridiculous it looks for them. I was wondering if you could help me make a .css similar to this site's (something close to monobook), so we don't have to force people to click "monobook" everytime they sign up :/. Hope you can help. Karate  Jesus  <font face="Arial" color="gray" size="1">01:25, 2 December 2009
 * If you had been logged into your #pvx channel on GameSurge after you left the #wikia chat, I would already have done so. ;) -- ◄mendel► 07:27, December 2, 2009 (UTC)
 * What now? Oh, yea, the wikia chat the other day. Yea...irssi doesn't like W7 as much as I'd hoped. So, could you help me out? I feel like I'm sprinting to catch up with all this wikia stuff, especially since I'm the newest admin >.< <font color="Black" face="cambria">Karate [[File:KJ for sig.png]] <font color="Black" face="cambria">Jesus  <font face="Arial" color="gray" size="1">15:54, 2 December 2009
 * There are other chat clients. I have a hard time helping you when I can't chat with you and can't edit the skin files on pvx; you could just copy MediaWiki:monaco.css to your personal w:c:pvx:Special:MyPage/monaco.css for testing and have a look to see if it's missing anything. Or even @import ours there (but then you'd also see our seasonal changes). -- ◄mendel► 16:20, December 2, 2009 (UTC)
 * Ok, I'll give that a try. Btw, my MSN is karatejesus_kj@hotmail.com (if you use MSN). If you don't use MSN, I'll hop on the gwirc in a bit. I'm at work and need to get some stuff done before I goof around too much. <font color="Black" face="cambria">Karate [[File:KJ for sig.png]] <font color="Black" face="cambria">Jesus  <font face="Arial" color="gray" size="1">16:29, 2 December 2009

Edit Count figure

 * Same here on opera. Also the small icons that link to your userpages on other wikis.--[[Image:El Nazgir sig.png|Talkpage]]<font color="Green">El_Nazgir 14:05, December 5, 2009 (UTC)
 * That is an experimental feature that is as yet unfinished (it needs to be done differently). I hope you were not inconvenienced by this. -- ◄mendel► 19:41, December 5, 2009 (UTC)
 * No, no, not at all.
 * I just wanted to bring your attention to it in case you weren't aware of it. A_F_K_sig_2.jpg <font color="SteelBlue">A F K <font color="SteelBlue">When  <font color="SteelBlue">Needed  22:30, December 5, 2009 (UTC)

User:M.mendel/wikianswers
"Ooooo?
 * Efforts to teach English to fish have never progressed much beyond this stage."

You win. Here's a cookie. *hands Mendel a crumbly choco-chip cookie* Khono 02:11, December 8, 2009 (UTC)


 * I bow and eat your delicious cookie. -- ◄mendel► 03:22, December 8, 2009 (UTC)

Wintersday
Have a happy and a merry! &mdash; Tennessee Ernie Ford ( TEF ) 18:12, December 25, 2009 (UTC)
 * Crystal Snowflake.png Merry X-mas!!! Crystal Snowflake.png -- F1Sig.png <font face="Comic Sans MS" color="darkred"> † F1 ©  Talk  18:40, December 25, 2009 (UTC)

Happy New Year
Happy New Year! --  <font face="Comic Sans MS" color="darkred"> † F1 ©  Talk  11:14, January 1, 2010 (UTC)

Hey, listen!
I am tentatively setting up a GD&D session for January 17th (16th for everyone besides mendel), for 5:00 ust until the <SPOILER TEXT REMOVED> dies. This translates to 9:00 p.m. Saturday the 16th West Coast USA. If you can't make it drop a message on my talk page.--Łô√ë <font color="Black">îğá†ħŕášħ is hosting a Card Creation Contest! 06:56, January 11, 2010 (UTC)

Pronz?!
On File talk:Motivator526d870f2edeb713fe9e67d2943cc230402d8013.jpg, I removed your link to a pornographic gallery on Uncyclopedia and hid all revisions containing it. Considering the conversation surrounding it and that you knew at least one of the contributors was a minor, you really should have realized that was a bad idea. 10:17, January 14, 2010 (UTC)
 * Sigh. Thank you. -- ◄mendel► 12:19, January 14, 2010 (UTC)

stop it
Please stop counteracting me without even saying anything. It makes me feel like you don't even respect me anymore. &mdash;Dr Ishmael 15:13, February 2, 2010 (UTC)
 * I wrote a detailed edit summary; I kept the category you added and fixed an error. I didn't expect there'd be a need for discussion on this edit. (And in fact you're not discussing it now.) -- ◄mendel► 17:29, February 2, 2010 (UTC)


 * The only thing that was actually wrong with that edit was that I removed the includeonly tags. There was no reason to do a full revert of my edit - in fact, by doing so, you re-broke the formatting that I had fixed.  &mdash;Dr Ishmael Diablo_the_chicken.gif 20:56, February 2, 2010 (UTC)
 * Yes, the &gt; escaped me because it was on the same line as the onlyinclude tag that you removed. "Undo" seemed the fastest way to achieve what I wanted. -- ◄mendel► 23:33, February 2, 2010 (UTC)

Wikisoft
That guy seems to be trying to acheive "Google Bombing" in hope to increase the visibility of french Wikia wikis. I dont like his ways but i can't say french wikis dont need a little help. — TulipVorlax 18:00, February 10, 2010 (UTC)

Formulation
Would you prefer "please discuss things with me on the Wiki on which they are to be found" ?

What I said was good practise. People knowing what you're talking about generally is. A F K When Needed 17:08, February 23, 2010 (UTC)


 * I already stated, "your talkpage,your call" -- I merely thought you were a little harsh on Miss Lauren, she couldn't have known it would be unwelcome as it generally isn't. -- ◄mendel► 22:12, February 23, 2010 (UTC)
 * What are you talking about?
 * Not my talk page.
 * I wasn't trying to be harsh (I can think of a few other things I considered adding in but didn't - e.g. my talk page is this way -->)
 * But it's not the first time (scroll up on that page) that she's done that.
 * It's really a bad habit. A_F_K_sig_2.jpg A F K When Needed 23:15, February 23, 2010 (UTC)
 * Why is it "bad", exactly? If you meet somebody you know from crafting on the street, and they say "good morning", do you say "don't talk to me here, we're not in crafting!"? Talk pages are for being social, we impose very few limits what to be social about, and IMO that is good. -- ◄mendel► 23:05, February 24, 2010 (UTC)
 * I did say please.
 * And when someone is talking about comments not even made here (without saying so) or talking about things you're not likely to think of... it's not like she said "So AFK, I heard you got perma'd from the Wiki" which would be much more prominent in my mind.
 * I don't like to give new people a list all at once of what they're doing wrong. Too much to take in more often than not.
 * Like I said; she already did that. I was starting off with the Wiki thing (as the timer was a once off edit I'd forgotten about and thus /shrugged when I saw the comment initially) and then the next time mention about possibly editing my talk page when appropriate. A_F_K_sig_2.jpg A F K When Needed 23:15, February 24, 2010 (UTC)

User priorities
Mendel, I don't believe I've brought this up with you before, but I have mused on it, and the current discussion on the admin noticeboard refreshed it in my mind. It seems to me that your priorities are skewed when it comes to dealing with users- you value new and problem users, particularly ones who are causing trouble or have no redeeming qualities, but you take experienced and capable contributors for granted.

You are always helpful and courteous to new users, and you're extremely conscious of the impressions they might receive from various interactions with other users (see Miss Lauren, etc). You're always ready to side with the underdog and help people understand and integrate with the community (see AFK last year, Warwick, yarrow on UA, recently Ariyen, etc). It seems as though you have infinite empathy and patience when dealing with these people. Those are positive qualities, mendel, and I appreciate the time you take in your role as a good shepherd.

But at the same time, you can be positively dense when dealing with users that you should, by all rights, be the most familiar with- users who form the very backbone of this wiki. RoseOfKali, for instance. She's been faithful to GuildWiki since time immemorial; an enormous amount of our screenshot content is thanks to her efforts. And she's had a lot of crap in her life in the last year or so. Yet you've been downright rude to her at times! You declined her RfA and waited for months before explaining your decision, and you even went so far as to call her a bitch on her talk page. And Ishmael has spent an extraordinary amount of time working here for no profit, using his technical expertise to write templates, comb the .dat, and maintain the wiki. We owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude for all he's done. You know Ish is protective of his work because you participated in the discussion a while ago where PanSola altered his .css code without consulting him. Yet you don't seem to take that into account at all, because you've managed to offend him twice now by reverting his actions with no discussion.

Mendel, I don't want you to think that I'm calling you out here (although I guess I am), and I don't want you going on the defensive. I just want you to remember that our older users aren't made of stone, and they deserve the same consideration you give to everyone else. 01:47, February 26, 2010 (UTC)


 * I wasn't aware of treating Dr Ishmael any different - in fact, I understand that you are in effect asking me to treat valued users differently from new users. My understanding of YAV runs counter to this request. Every user action is potentially subject to scrutiny, every doubt is merited to be heard, and so was mine. Dr Ishmael waltzed over me; he's already suspected me of going after him personally, and he did so again, and this false accusation already violates AGF. How do I deserve to be treated? Just because I'm the guy who always looks for the way forward, to a way out of the mess it is ok to insult me and to call my integrity into question publicly without proper facts and argument. I've never gone as far as that; I question actions I don't understand, and in this special case, I have accepted the consensus once it was pointed out to me and implemented a solution (the page move) that I was ok with, and from the look of things, Dr Ishmael as well. And then I turned my back on the wiki because I couldn't bear it any longer.


 * I'm sorry for the late answer, I have avoided the wiki since February 24th. The reason was this quote: "Or is our bureaucrat too busy with more important things to pay attention to what's actually happening on the wiki? Do you just check the deletion log to see what I've deleted that you can revert to irritate me? Because that's exactly what it feels like you're doing, and yes, it's working." I am very much insulted by the insinuation that I am being influenced by (nonexistant!) personal issues; I thank Gimmme for his support in this matter, but I do assume that most other wiki users silently agree with him [Dr Ishmael] (nobody called him out for NPA either). Entropy expects me to read RC, and I already said I wouldn't; AFK expects me to not check on the sysop's use of the sysop tools, and nobody contradicts him. Given this reputation and these expectations, I don't see how I can be useful to this wiki any longer, and I hereby offer my resignation from sysop and bureaucrat duties.


 * I feel that my values have, over the past year, helped to keep this wiki from drama; I'm proud of our rather short block log; and while that may be owed to our, in comparison to gww, smaller number of contributors, I think that gww's admin attitude attracts disruption. (Case in point is the affair where a user afraid of other impersonating him didn't get told "don't worry, we'll ban any impersonators", but instead got trolled by mock impersonation that weren't (and to this day haven't been) blocked, because the impersonations were done by admins or with their approval. These kind of double standards don't fly with me, I'll never edit gww as long as they exist.) It's up to you to set the new course; good luck with that. -- ◄mendel► 11:19, March 19, 2010 (UTC)


 * This may sound surprising, but I'm sad to hear this. I didn't want to get involved in the above, because I was directly mentioned there, which would have made anything I said look un-objective. I seem to be "good" at being mis-read. :P But I do want to say that it's people like you who help keep order, despite the questioning and "frownies" from other users, which is something that often "comes with the job." The reason I prefer this wiki a thousand times over the official one is exactly what you stated about their admins - calling them a "drama magnet" is an understatement. I hope our "new course" doesn't go in that direction, in fact I'd prefer it not change at all. I would ask you to reconsider your decision, but sounds like you've made up your mind for a while now. I will welcome you if you decide to return. RoseOfKali [[Image:RoseOfKaliSIG.png]] 12:48, March 19, 2010 (UTC)


 * Ok, so wow, where do I start? Admin conflict: there's no issue with checking another admin's actions out; that's why we have multiple admins with different viewpoints. I think the issue comes up on how to respond to what you discover. I don't expect perfect responses, just improvements from response to response. In this case with conflict with Ish, I just think that you two do have room for improvement in responses. Ish being a little less touchy, and you digging a bit more (talk histories or asking) before reverting. As for the perception that you're going after Ish, well, perceptions can be very powerful things and have to be closely watched and controlled (hard to seem impartial, eh?).


 * BCrat role: it did seem to drag out a bit, but that occasionally happens. Not a real deal breaker for me. It did seem a bit odd that you would just let it hang with the previous conflict between you and Rose still on mind. Like I said above, it's a perception issue.


 * Future and philosophy: I think part of the issues you see with GWW stem from the difference of "User improves himself" vs "user gets help improving himself". With a smaller wiki it's easier to do the latter, whereas a larger wiki will just wait for the former and not bother as much with the latter. As to the future of this wiki (and possibly your involvement), I think you have been a strong balancing force to complacency. But if you come back (and I do think it'd be a net good), I do think you'd need to re-tool your role a bit, perhaps to more of an observer and encourager and less an actor or something. /stream-of-thought --JonTheMon 15:19, March 19, 2010 (UTC)


 * (edit conflict)
 * "Dr Ishmael waltzed over me; he's already suspected me of going after him personally, and he did so again, and this false accusation already violates AGF."


 * You might want to read what I wrote again: "Because that's exactly what it feels like you're doing." I did not accuse you of anything directly, I was describing how the situation felt to me, and it did indeed feel like you were singling me out for some reason.
 * "I question actions I don't understand"


 * The problem was that you only questioned my actions after you reverted them. If you had truly applied AGF to my actions, then you should have "assumed" that I had good reasons for them, and you should have asked me to explain them BEFORE you blatantly overruled me.
 * And you might want to re-evaluate your own actions before you accuse GWW admins of double standards (although I completely agree with you on that). Like Felix said, you are extremely empathetic to new users, and you easily forgive them for mistakes, no matter how stupid they may be.  When it comes to wiki veterans, however, you expect us to have a perfect understanding of wiki philosophy/policy and call us out for even the tiniest missteps.
 * But, meh, whatever. If my "insults" were what drove you away, then here's some good news: I'm planning on leaving for good soon.  I've spent way too much time on this wiki over the past few years, nearly all of it overshadowed by GWW, and it's definitely time for me to move on.  &mdash;Dr Ishmael Diablo_the_chicken.gif 15:57, March 19, 2010 (UTC)

To clarify my response: (long!)

We've always held that admins are just regular editors with extra tools. When there are two opinions about an edit, we follow "revert and discuss". I do the same with new users. I don't usually forgive them any more mistakes than I do experienced users, except when they're doing too many things at once (getting slammed with 5 minor wiki-tradition infractions at once can put one off the wiki), and that has never been necessary with experienced editors. I am more helpful to them, for example, when they need to have explained what our 1RV rule is or why we have community consensus, I explain it to them. As you may have noticed, I have a hard time explaining this to experienced GuildWiki members, because to do so without being patronizing and not using an approach they have so far not picked up on is difficult (and it is rarely ever necessary). Most of the time they're also self-confident enough to ask or discuss, while new users neeed to build confidence in the community. (And I don't accept the "size" argument - being welcoming and explaining things is something that everyone can do, and when there's a wiki culture that promotes this, bigger size means there are more people who explain as well.) ''Rose does the same thing pretty much whenever somebody new posts screenshots: she doesn't point to our image guide and says "get better, or we'll delete it", she explains in detail what is wrong and how it gets better. It's a sign of valueing the users and their contributions.''

But back to the editors with tools. Dr Ishmael (and the, unknown to me, consensus) wanted the page deleted, I wanted it kept. I undelete the page and start a discussion, standard operating procedure. The undeletion has no immediate negative consquence: there is no vandalism, personal attacks or anything on the page; its content is even about the game and correct. Having it undeleted affords the community members a better opportunity to take part in the discussion. I expressed my motive for keeping the page on the discussion I started; I didn't criticize his, because I didn't even know it. When we have different opinions, it doesn't mean one opinion is wrong; in fact, our opinions have the same weight as any editor's, and I found a solution that accomodates both: the content is no longer in mainspace, yet it is kept. A consensus solution, something we strive for. (And I find that explaining things to new users often helps bring about this consensus.) To see this as me "overruling" another editor completely misconstrues what this situation is about.

Most reverts, even of experienced users, is allotted less care than I did of mine: unfortunately, often a terse note on the revert suffices (sometimes there is none); it is rare that the person who reverts starts the discussion. I've always held (and (I believe) led by example) to do reverts with more information and more readiness to discuss. I hope nobody can honestly claim that I have treated the revert of Dr Ishmael's deletion with any less care than I would the revert of any other editor who knows what a revert is. If there is, as Felix contends, a class of users whom we may not revert before discussing it first - and how else am I to interpret his "reverting without discussion" - then you instill an authority into them that, by GuildWiki tradition, nobody here is allowed to have (for the sake of argument, anyway; we know that in reality many people would be shy to do just that). That's where my side note about gww comes in - where Gordon Ecker's decision to review the use of the permaban tool raised public outcry and much drama.

In any case, Felix chides me for "reverting without discussion" -- Dr Ishmael re-reverts me with no more discussion than "useless wiki-bloat" as an edit summary, but he doesn't get a note to his talkpage. We've actually come full circle - one of my first edits here almost put me off the wiki altogether, because it was [ reverted] without discussion. Felix, please re-examine the standard that you hold me to. I don't believe it is fair.

Re: the "accusation": most of you know me for over a year now, and the fact that Dr Ishmael is certain enough of it to publish that thought, others uncertain enough of it to not protest, and Felix able publish that I seem biased against experienced editors, means I'd better get out before my reputation deteriorates further. It is not a reputation I like to have; I have tried to avoid it by every action; and since I don't know how else to avoid it, to escape the feeling that it brings means to leave the wiki. To me personally, the suspicion alone constitutes an insult of the highest order, one that I bodily felt and that made me avoid the wiki for longer than I ever saw the need to before.

Dr Ishmael, as should have become clear now, I did not "overrule" you; nor am I leaving the wiki because of what you said alone; my perception of the community reaction to it plays the major part, and my own sensibilities, of course. I bear you no grudge, and in fact, I wish you and your family all the best for the future.

Rose, I thank you for your kind words, you've been very patient with me. -- ◄mendel► 22:27, March 19, 2010 (UTC)


 * Shame to see you go. Gonna miss you. Arnout aka The Emperors Angel 12:29, March 21, 2010 (UTC)


 * See, there's the problem again. It seems like you're not even trying to understand my position on this, you just continually rebutt my arguments by re-asserting your own.  I guess I'll try to explain myself one more time.
 * The way I see it, you were in a position where you did not have full knowledge of the situation, and you should have endeavored to gain that knowledge (either by searching RC or by directly querying the people involved in the situation) before you decided to do anything. The way it happened, though, you just swooped in out of nowhere to revert an action which had already been under discussion for some time.  Forget wiki policy/procedure for a moment and think about how it looks to the rest of us when you (seemingly randomly) do something like this.
 * To me, immediately reverting the deletion without even trying to know the situation implied that you were ignoring both AGF and YAV - the impression I got was that you assumed I had made the deletion on a whim, rather than in good faith after achieving consensus, and that you felt I was not valuable enough to bother asking me directly. Actually, I made sure to achieve that consensus specifically because I knew you had a habit of "rescuing" pages that no one else would think twice about deleting.
 * Yes, I made a mistake by not linking to the discussion in my delete reason, and maybe that would've avoided this whole stupid fiasco. In any case, this is the last argument I'm going to make about it.  Thank you for the well-wishes, and I wish the same for you.  &mdash;Dr Ishmael Diablo_the_chicken.gif 14:50, March 21, 2010 (UTC)

We can be exile buddies!
Although no one actually noticed I left. Eh. Yes I know it's contradictory to write about not being here on here, but this is the easiest way to talk to mendel. Also: I always believed in you, and always will, and hope that we remain in touch.--Łô√ë <font color="Black">îğá†ħŕášħ is hosting a Card Creation Contest! 03:51, March 20, 2010 (UTC)
 * Actually, we've all been wondering where you got off to since you seemed to have disappeared from the face of the earth. I conjectured that maybe the swine flu got you or something. Just the other day (today?), Warwick did  in IRC. And I have always been waiting patiently for the results of your card contest. It is good to know that you are still alive. [[Image:Entropy Sig.jpg]] (T/C) 04:09, March 20, 2010 (UTC)

Thank you for your service
I don't have anything else to say. You have performed admirably despite constantly being in positions of authority that you never wanted. I know that I've done my fair share of Mendel-bashing, too. So I thank you as well for putting up with the whiny brat of a "boss" that I've been these past years. :) (T/C) 04:09, March 20, 2010 (UTC)