According to the topic at [[WP:AN]] right now, Piperdown has been unblocked per "User request, and per community agreement on AN"

There ya go

Though I think "wicked" a little harsh…how very wrong they were.

Whatever was happening, you could always be certain of one thing: Wikipedia would never, ever say, "we fucked up, we're sorry."

Great!

So all it takes is nearly a 1000 posts to this site from Piperdown, and more outraged posts by other contributors here over a period of 6 months, plus many discussions on Wikipedia, and an expose in the Register which named the blocking administrator, to undo one obviously bad decision made one of the Wikipedia "ruling elite"!

Things are progressing. Next time it should be a little less arduous don't you think?

Consciousness. Not just one unblock, but consciousness - an opportunity to face how the community has worked all along.

WOW

Good on ya Dorftrottel, I especially liked his AN message.

PIPERDOWN...YOU SELL-OUT! You're one of them now!

Somey, please immediately delete Piperdown's WR account.

Kidding.

Well friends, the Cabal's back has been broken. For the first time, I'm almost prepared to say...there is no cabal (TINC).

At least until they get back from Cannes...

Wow indeed.

This is normally where Kyle from South Park normally would show up and say, "I think we've learned something today," right?

Will they be doing the Cannes-Cannes?



Oh my god, they killed the Cabal! The bastards!

Dude, there is no cabal (tinc).

First, how do I "scramble" my password on WP. I am now logged in and don't see anything but the New password form.

Second, I will add a word here consistent with my previously stated intentions.

@Piperdown: You can go here or here and randomly generate something to your liking, then change your Wikipedia password to that.

Hey, good for you for holding true to your word. Respect!

Click on "my preferences". In a separate text editor, type in some garbage by thwacking your head on the keyboard (works for me!), copy it, then paste it into "New password" and again into "Retype new password". Type in your old password in "Old password". Click <Save> and trash the old text file. Job done!

Done. The Piper is Down. Hopefully honourable statement on W-R to follow.

Thanks for sticking to your word PD.

In tribute to Piperdown's long pursuit of justice, I present this musical offering, a traditional piper's lament played on the ancient English pipes of the North Country.

All this talk of password scrambling brings back memories...

My intent is now to stop posting here, as I stated I would if the situation of my WP blocking were resolved. While I doubt that unblocking will go quietly into the WP night, let's hope it does. W-R is even more sick of my squeaky wheel than WP is. I'd like to think I didn't just get the grease for squeaking.

As much as I admire Brandt's Stand, that affair ended (?) with what I felt was a sort of hostage situation payoff (in WP's eyes). Brandt I believe was forced to prove a big WP:POINT (one that Murphy is re-inventing again, with much less precision), and the 14th AFD Nervous Breakdown of WP vs Brandt ended in what reeked of a "just go away if we do what you want, not because its right".

I did paint myself into a bit of a corner with my pledge. It too reeks of a Brandt-ish "do this and I'll go away", with neither party acknowledging wrongdoing as the RL lawyers would say. That stinks.
Hopefully that's not what occurred with Brandt, and hopefully what has occurred here is not a "shut up the W-R complainer" and is more a correction of a relatively small wrong.

I didn't have a real name dragged all over this. Some of the people that I've come to learn through WP:OR of all this have, and unjustly to put it mildly. I think those people have been vidicated, regardless of what "just go away" concessions occur as a result of the current MM Arb (hmmmm...coicidence that my unblock/retire was finally fulfilled by stange admins not involved with the orig block? Gift horses and mouths they would respond. Some gifts have horsebreath.)

I have said all I know, some things I don't know, and more than worn out my WR welcome I believe. I'm tired of it too. The RL people involved in all this don't need my "help", and I hope I haven't hurt the cause of what's right (not just the "good guys" or "bad guys").

All I needed to know I learned in Googlegarten...

Carry on, W-R, this is quite a forum. No Chilean Wine excuses, I meant everything I said here, for better or worse depending which side of those words you might have felt you were on. I spoke freely and thank W-R for the privilege to do so. Thanks for the platform, Somey/Guy/Kato et al, you run a tight ship and made me laugh all along the way.

And not to get all Christian and stuff (I'm more in league with Brandt's philosophy on that), but remember this on WP. This sounds like some parable of the wonderful but later taken out of context too often JC:

I could have been a Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist
A CEO of a Fortune 500 Company
A Priest, A Rabbi, etc
Essjay's Life Partner
Gary's Email Buddy With Second Thoughts
Warren Buffet
Julian Robertson
Your Mom or Dad

If you're going to play anonymous games on WP, treat the beggar as you would a king. You never know.

I'll leave my gmail open for any google search help you might need to fill in any gaps. It's about the only skill set I had or have to offer.

Good luck to others here who got a raw deal and have also separated from WP due to creative differences. Awbrey, you're better off, off W-P. Although WP should allow a subpage with your version for the less-astute to draw from, with attribution of course. The Runcorn-Poetlister thing I wasn't able to get in depth enough to make sound calls on, much like many you must have felt about this naked pipering mess.

WP BLP subjects, good luck. You are screwed, lol. I tried to help anonymously. I don't think, now, that I should be allowed to do that, and am definitely not willing to edit WP outoftheRLcloset either. So that's that. You W-R'ers are doing a great job of either reforming WP or blowing it up, depending on your POV, lol. I'll be reading, of course, and will exercise my W-R in good standing right to return to right any piperwrongs that any cabalistasendenial lash back with.

and somebody get Cla68 the damn buttons already. His cabal has peacefully occupied Japan for decades without abusing the peasants. Prolly not a good comparison what with the 1945 thing and all, but my point is that the guy has been solid. To you other W-R lurkers, just be honest out there; wikipower isn't more important than being able to stand the sight of yourself in the mirror every morning. Although almost a year later, I'm still wondering - who is Essjay now? Aw who cares...

Seeya Piperdown. As I just said to someone on IRC:

[16:58] (Viridae): well
[16:58] (Viridae): there is a lesson for all the nasty people out there: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...oldid=194366008
[16:58] (Viridae): treat people nicely and they generally react the same way
[16:58] (Viridae): wow
[16:58] (Viridae): who would have though
[16:58] (Viridae): t

Good luck, enjoy your new life free of WP.

Congratulations :-)

We'll miss you :-(

In a way, I envy you. Thank you for being here. Good luck.

I'll second that, though to be honest I shall mainly be glad not to see that Avatar again

I hope you don't get too many withdrawal symptoms from WR and find yourself a suitable new fixationhobby to fill your time, hopefully something in real life that has fun and fresh air.

Good luck, Piperdown!

Sincerely

The Joy

Well, we'll leave a light on for you here, just in case someone gives you the old double-cross. But if not, if was nice having you.

Not to put a damper on things, but I think we have to assume that the backlash against those who have been working on this whole Weissocks problem over there is just getting organized. I suspect the whole SirFozzie investigation and the events that followed sort of hit them by surprise.

Traditionally, Wikipedia has always been all about the revenge... Maybe that's changing, but it's probably too early to tell, even in just this one instance. If the various players are lucky, it may just resolve itself into ongoing grumbling about "troll-enabling" and such. We'll see soon enough!

Meanwhile, if Piperdown leaves, that just puts more pressure on me to provide an ongoing stream of low-grade wisecracks, puns, and double-entendre, doesn't it? Dammit, don't go, man!

Indeed. But c'mon. Have you not seen my Piper tribute video? Is that not keeping the double-entendre spirit alive? And it's a genuine expression from an old Robbie Burns poem as well!

No, that's not what's going to happen. People are waking up.

Wikipedia's political direction, even sans the deus ex machina of new hands on the foundation, is far from unalterable.

We see a flowering of rhetoric, of opinions, of reviews of and about Wikipedia - like those found on the Wikipedia Review. Speaking the truth changes minds. Here, we're allowed to do it freely, and so freely we do.

Truth: Jimbo, Morven, JzG, "Cabal:" You've been had.

He'll be back in weeks having had another indef block. Wikipedia never forgets a traitor.

His position is untenable.

It's a matter of which comes first -- spring (in the Northern Hemisphere) or Piperdown's next block.

WP hasn't shown the collective intelligence or class to leave well enough alone. They will provoke another block just as soon as they think nobody's looking.

Just don't scramble your WR password.

Wow. He ran the gauntlet and came out the other side. That's a remarkable accomplishment.

Doubleplus, it's the first time in these pages that I've seen an exception to Moulton's Law: Once a bureaucracy makes a mistake, it can't be fixed.

Yeah, but look at what happened in Australia. They apologized to the aborigines, and the aborigines turned right around and sued 'em. The Ingrates!

That's why the U.S. Cavilry never apologizes.

Jonny

Nice words Piperdown.

Obviously, you and I know that leaving here, or Wikipedia for that matter, does not make a whole lot of sense in the macro scheme of things...at least as it applies to the Once and Forever universe.

I suspect you are far too much of a player to be out of it for the duration, so until you get a new "handle" or fake profile, or you can come back as a real live person with a real name, I hope and pray that the lessons herein and at WP will hold a candle out there for all the world to see.

It only takes an inner mounting flame and a flicker of light against the darkness to solve mysteries and create a new dawn.

Thank you for being legitimate and sharing some wisdom.

A closing memoir would also be appropriate.

Sorry to put a downer on this, but could this not be a sneaky little move to allow Mantanmoreland and associated drama to just "go away" for a while, only to resurface ala Jayjg a few months down the line?

Take the new password form, type something random without looking into the first password field. Copy and paste it to the second field, and submit. log out and you NEVER EVER come in again!

Is there a whim-inspired fool,
Owre fast for thought, owre hot for rule,
Owre blate to seek, owre proud to snool,
Let him draw near;
And owre this grassy heap sing dool,
And drap a tear.

Is there a bard of rustic song,
Who, noteless, steals the crowds among,
That weekly this area throng,
O, pass not by!
But, with a frater-feeling strong,
Here, heave a sigh.

Is there a man, whose judgment clear
Can others teach the course to steer,
Yet runs, himself, life's mad career,
Wild as the wave,
Here pause-and, thro' the starting tear,
Survey this grave.

The poor inhabitant below
Was quick to learn the wise to know,
And keenly felt the friendly glow,
And softer flame;
But thoughtless follies laid him low,
And stain'd his name!

Reader, attend! whether thy soul
Soars fancy's flights beyond the pole,
Or darkling grubs this earthly hole,
In low pursuit:
Know, prudent, cautious, self-control
Is wisdom's root.

-- Robert Burns, "A Bard's Epitaph"

Piper, you achieved an appropriate level of irreverence. I haven't often witnessed such a thing. Take care.

It's very possible. Remember, JzG got into a whole new scuffle with me about the original (ab initio) authorship of Arch Coal, some FIFTEEN MONTHS after the event had been peacefully resolved by the Wikipedia Community!

Greg

That's right. There is no closure on Wikipedia. There is no learning curve.

Seth Finkelstein thought he had closure last Summer when his biography was deleted. On New Years Eve someone re-started the whole thing and he was forced to reenter the fray all over again.

Jimbo Wales maintains a monster that never sleeps.

Jimbo created that monster by selecting and promoting people based on obedience and malleability rather than merit. The quintessential public example of which is here, I'll paraphrase:

Honest admin "... but what about all those pesky references, Jimbo"
Jimbo: "please don't troll me right now, ok?"

Utterly un-fucking believable.

When the god-king is clearly more interested in his own status and reputation than the well being of the project to the point of being unethical, then yes - a monster is created. Leadership makes a difference.

A group's culture is kind of a funny thing - it can take on a life of its own, mature and grow, rot and die, walk down different paths over time. I truly believe that Wikipedia's culture could be nudged, slowly but surely, into a merit based goal oriented group, rather than the current crop of pompous admins who spend their life on IRC and don't create content. I also think the number of admins could increase by several times, just by looking at who's writing articles. The community could start reaching out to or creating expert groups to help create content as soon (as stable versions is switched on and the efforts aren't squandered) and so on ... the list of possibilities is endless.

But instead, we have a stagnated culture run by incompetent nincompoops and megalomaniacs who, for the most part, can't write their way out of a hole in the ground.

One can see a mile off which people put the project ahead of their own petty self interests, and contrawise.

To Piperdown: Wow - I mean wow - well done.

To Pumpkin Muffins: You're so right. But you must know what happens to people who try to put the project ahead of their own petty self interests.

The monster is the result of a flawed premise, bad software, terrible ideas at its root that have been addressed here at length etc. It doesn't matter which cast of characters took the helm, the result would be the same.

Uh-oh, I can imagine that the whole BADSITES thing will start up again - there are those on WP who would not care to link to a site where one denizen is shewn being true to their word...

To Piperdown; I possibly never interacted with you, but it was a pleasure being of the company.

Partially agree with you. however, a group culture moving in a certain direction can change those terrible ideas, modify the software and address flawed premises. It will choose different people and vice versa and behaviors and perceptions will change. Off the top of my head some examples, say Mav's idea from 5(?) years ago to use Nupedia as wikipedia's 'released version' happened (a genuine release and revision cycle - retains many people who feel thier efforts are otherwise squandered); say anon edits didn't show right away unless you went looking for them (thereby eliminating 90% of the garbage and defamation); say the group culture rewarded mature and academic behavior, instead of juvenile socializing on irc. All these things together are a self-feeding cycle; change the culture in this way and you change the types of people who choose to stay and go, and which ones rise to the top who then affect the way the project works - full circle. Simple ideas like this in infinite varieties can change the direction of a battleship over time. The missing ingredient effective leadership, currently displaced by dead wood. Do you really think the result would be the same if Giano was on the arbcom? x100 similar personnel changes over time?

… and flowers never bend with the rainfall …

Jonny

There's nothing in the street
Looks any different to me
And the slogans are replaced, by-the-bye
And the parting on the left
Is now the parting on the right
And the beards have all grown longer overnight

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around me
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
Don't get fooled again
No, no!

Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss

OK, so my first 'what if' example was fantasy. Let me tell you another example that isn't fantasy:

A union manufacturing shop builds some of the highest quality product in the world and at a reasonable price. Another union shop in the same industry builds some of the worst product and at uncompetitive prices; it is closed down and moved off shore.

What's the difference between these two? The first one had a culture of quality and pride. The union workers held eachother to standards. When someone wasn't pulling his weight he was 'encouraged' to move on down the road by his fellow workers.

At the second shop, I saw a young union employee who worked hard and had a good attitude. His fellow workers in neighboring stations would spend all swingshift throwing chicken bones at him as they ate ... because he had a good attitude.

This is a true story . Culture and leadership matter. Good culture and leadership aren't fantasy, they actually exists in some parts of the universe.