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I'm leaving Misplaced Pages for a while in protest

Giano, one of our best editors has finally been driven away from Misplaced Pages, and I've decided to stop editing for a month to protest the poor treatment he has received, and the editorial climate that has allowed this. You could say I am on strike, à la mode (and no that doesn't mean "with ice cream"):

• … I simply can't imagine the amount of disrespect, unilateralism, and pettiness that has been par in the last week or two being tolerated. I have no other way, since I believe in achieving consensus, respecting the minority voices, and never trying to force my will on others, to show my displeasure aside from this. It isn't a storming away. It is a strike. Geogre,

Some things that have bothered me:

• Carnildo's most recent RfA and repromotion against consensus.

• Tony Sidaway's block of Ghirlandajo for his "defiant response" here.

• The RFARB against Ghirlandajo.

• Tony Sidaway's block of Giano for being "hysterical".

ALoan expresses my thoughts well:

• … marked decrease in tolerance … I am no longer sure I know what consensus is, nor that I can trust the ArbCom and the bureaucrats to do the "right" thing. … it now seems to be a blockable offence to fully and frankly (but civilly) exchange views, or to disagree with certain admins, particularly if that disagreement is expressed in forceful (but civil) terms, and that the rules seem to change when it suits the people making the rules. ,

I encourage everyone to use my page for a constructive conversation concerning the above, and the current state of affairs on our 'pedia. I'll check back in a month. Regards all. Paul August ☎ 17:43, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

You have my support

People who don't even know where the articles come from are deciding that their egos' needs are greater than community, consent, consensus, and common sense, are deciding that their private beliefs are superior to the negotiated rules of the site, and are deciding that they know better than all others. For that, they deserve no articles, no input, no debate, no conversation, and no more than the isolation of their self-congratulations and self-adulation. My own strike was a labor action, and I agree with others with the same impulse. Pretty boxes and category tags and stub parades will never take the place of people willing to put their professional-level work on a volunteer project. And, if we were all replaced tomorrow, the replacements, like scabs, would soon join the desertion unless conditions were to change. Geogre 17:52, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

You have good points Paul. Carnildo should not have been promoted the way he was (if at all), and Tony is not one of our best admins. I can't comment anything on Giano, as I am unfamiliar with the case.

If the current trend continues, I would also consider bailing out. So far I am left with the hope that these are just a few irregularities in an otherwise rather well-behaving community (and I think that irregularities have happened in the past too, and the ArbCom/Jimobo have taken pretty good care of the worst ones). (I hope I am right :) Good luck. Hope you come back. Oleg Alexandrov (talk) 18:01, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

I endorse the view that things are messed up around here. Carnildo's RfA was a travesty, and there is nothing I can say about Tony Sidaway's behavior of late that doesn't infringe WP:NPA. —Bunchofgrapes (talk) 18:13, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

Agreed on both counts. I'm not sure that there's anything that could be said that wouldn't be seen by the subject as a hysterical public attack. Uh-oh, BoG, we might both be blocked now. •Jim62sch• 18:28, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

Fuck! Hope your back from your strike soon. --Salix alba (talk) 18:51, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

Good luck with your break. I can't stop you going, but I think I am staying for the time being, in an effort to try to counterbalance the prevailing idiocy. I think Geogre's WP:IAA must be the way forward. Please come back in a month - enough good people have left already. -- ALoan (Talk) 19:05, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

I understand your decision Paul, and I also am worried by what's being done to some of our very best editors. Like ALoan and all of us, neither I can stop you from going; but I can pray you to return when the month is past, for the project would be a bleaker place without a man like you.--Aldux 21:12, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

I hope you'll return soon, Paul. SlimVirgin 13:38, 18 September 2006 (UTC)

Ah, so this is where the party is; I feel a little out of place in the illustrious company here, but I feel compelled to post here after the singularly unpleasant experience of reading over the administrators' noticeboard and several other pages just now. Talented, committed writers are the heart of this project, especially now as issues of quality, not quantity, become paramount, and without them we cannot move forward. This whole episode is very discouraging, but hopefully something worthwhile can come out of it. Come back Paul, in a month or sooner; the ideal of a great 💕 still deserves all of our efforts, and this project is too valuable to abandon. --Robth 15:36, 18 September 2006 (UTC)

I'm in full sympathy with Paul August's action, and yet I know it will pass quite unnoticed by Misplaced Pages's self-involved "administrators". There needs to be some kind of "sunset law", by which administrators must be "re-certified" at the end of a period: every two years at the most. --Wetman 17:53, 18 September 2006 (UTC)

Enjoy your break, and I hope we'll see you back around in a few weeks. I can't say that I entirely agree with you - Giano and Ghirlandjo both badly needed to cool it and weren't getting the message, but at the same time, they're both good editors, and I'm fed up with people being needlessly provocative towards generally good people. Rebecca 23:26, 18 September 2006 (UTC)

Email

FYI, I've sent you an email. JoshuaZ 18:24, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

Mathematics

You will be missed on Mathematics, where I think you have helped to successfully achieve consensus as we improve the article. Stephen B Streater 18:58, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

Email

I've also sent you an Email.--CSTAR 19:56, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

As have I. (Though the Misplaced Pages e-mail tends to be slow and unreliable at times...) Mindspillage (spill yours?) 17:34, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

CfD

Paul, check this out: bunix 01:59, 14 October 2006 (UTC)

I'm back, and thanks

Hi all, I'm back from my "strike". Thanks for all the kind words above. Looks like I missed a lot of things while I was gone. Giano's reincarnation, Tony and Kelly's various resignations, Geogre's proposed de-sysopping by Fred … I hardly know what to say. Paul August ☎ 21:39, 16 October 2006 (UTC)

Welcome back, anyway. Charles Matthews 22:11, 16 October 2006 (UTC)

Thanks Charles. Paul August ☎ 22:13, 16 October 2006 (UTC)

It is good to see you back. I trust you had a good break? -- ALoan (Talk) 23:31, 16 October 2006 (UTC)

Just ducky, thanks. Paul August ☎ 01:03, 17 October 2006 (UTC)

What, you were gone? ;-)

Welcome back. FYI, we just lost Chris Hillman, who finally gave up for good. There's been no sign of Lethe activity in weeks. It appears that Charles Matthews, having failed to win a seat on the board, has discovered renewed enthusiasm for editing. If you like geometry mixed with computer science, you may welcome editor David Eppstein (of Geometry Junkyard fame), who has decided to dip his toes in the Misplaced Pages water. Emeritus professor Vaughan Pratt has complete his first major Misplaced Pages contribution, an extended article on Boolean algebras canonically defined.

A pretty little animation of Villarceau circles has won a featured picture slot, as has an animation depicting pi.

I'm disgruntled, as usual, from an excess of boneheaded editors and boneheaded policies, and from a scarcity of interesting questions on the reference desk. Maybe I'll try a Wikibreak myself, when I finish up a couple of projects. --KSmrq 11:24, 17 October 2006 (UTC)

Nice to know I was missed K ;-) Thanks for the updates. Sorry to see that Chris finally left. And I hope Lethe hasn't. Otherwise it sounds like some good things (as usual) are going on. I noticed though you left out that 0.999… is now an FA. Is that contributing to your disgruntlement? Is there anything I can do to make you more gruntled? I won't stoop to asking interesting questions on the reference desk though. — Regards Paul August ☎ 12:23, 17 October 2006 (UTC)

Did it win FA? I took that page off my watch list when many of the sane editors went on holiday or break or disappeared, and events in real life consumed most of my time and emotional energy. With Melchoir making scores of edits a day, and ganging up with Mets501 to threaten me with a block for 3RR if I objected, I decided to “cut and run”, leaving the field to the terrorists. But it saddened me greatly, and I fear it sets a bad precendent that will only embolden the forces of darkness.

An article targeted at a specific objective has turned into a sprawling monstrosity, most of whose references are redundant or useless and most of whose content belongs in a general discussion of number systems, especially the reals. There are now mathematical and other errors (in the intro, no less), chaotic organization, and language and concepts inaccessible to the original audience. I cannot imagine a typical schoolchild or curious adult will benefit. Instead of understanding, they will be left with intimidation.

As for getting gruntled, I'm sure a trip to Santorini would do wonders. It would remind me that Misplaced Pages has not (yet) gone the way of the Minoan civilization after the Thera eruption, and I'd love to sample the wine, food, and dancing, not to mention the sunsets and other attractions. :-)

Anyway, I suspect the mathematics community remains one of the happier segments of Misplaced Pages, and perhaps we can still have a little fun and do a little good. --KSmrq 11:46, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

Glad to se you're back. No it is not a re-incarnation just the same old me - exactly the same in fact. Not a lot has changed. Tell me do you play bridge or poker, I am mentally dividing people up these days - I suspect, like me, you are a bridge player. Giano 20:17, 17 October 2006 (UTC)

Thanks Giano, welcome back to you too. Yup I play bridge. I was a fairly serious player in my college days, way back when. By the way, I recently had an Italian volcanic adventure. I went up Vesuvio, Mamma Etna, and Stromboli. So I now see where your fiery Sicilian temperament comes from. Paul August ☎ 20:59, 17 October 2006 (UTC)

Are those two sets necessarily disjoint? -- ALoan (Talk) 21:23, 17 October 2006 (UTC)

Being a poker player — also in my college days — as well as a mathematician I can say with authority that they are not. Paul August ☎ 21:39, 17 October 2006 (UTC)

One bluffs and one calculates; no my temperament is not fiery at all, it is cool calm and collected at all times. Hope you had an interesting holday Paul, and found time to look at some architecture too while you were there. I haven't been to Pompeii for years, do they still show you the atrophied brothel? I remember a school trip to that when I was about 11, we were fascinated, it was the only thing we all wrote about afterwards in detail! Giano 21:45, 17 October 2006 (UTC)

Yes I saw these lovlies (below) at Paestum, as well as the Villa of the Mysteries at Pompeii (I think I've seen the brothel before, don't remember it this time). Paul August ☎ 22:14, 17 October 2006 (UTC)

• Temple of Hera
• Temple of Apollo Temple of Apollo
• Temple of Athena

Glad to see you returned. I hope our paths cross again. -- llywrch 23:09, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

Thanks. Me too. Paul August ☎ 01:29, 19 October 2006 (UTC)

Hi

Hi, Paul. Bishonen | talk 12:17, 18 October 2006 (UTC).

Hi Bish, How are things? Paul August ☎ 13:13, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

Symbol in Subset

Thanks for putting the correct symbol for proper superset in Subset. I'm glad that someone knew where to find it; as my note on the Discussion page said, I was making the best correction that I could in the interim... Pawl 17:30, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

You're welcome. Paul August ☎ 17:31, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

Cleopatra

The info on her alternate deaths was sourced, there was no reason in editing it. The suicide itself is speculation — Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.26.131.217 (talk • contribs) 13:53, October 23, 2006 (UTC)

This is the edit I reverted: ). It made several novel assertions about Cleopatra's death, without providing any sources, for those assertions (see WP:V). So I reverted it as "unsourced speculation". If you want to discuss this further the best place to do so is at Talk:Cleopatra_VII_of_Egypt. Regards, Paul August ☎ 15:34, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

Today's featured article

Just wanted to let you know a featured article you worked on, 0.999..., was featured today on the Main Page. Tobacman 00:34, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

Attalus

Cheers. This gives me the opportunity to congratulate you on that excellent article, which must have taken hours of painstaking work. I knew nothing about the subject in advance (even though I've traipsed round a few Greek ruins in Turkey) and thoroughly enjoyed reading it. qp10qp 15:32, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for your kind words. It took much more work than I'd care to admit. I'm very glad you enjoyed it. Paul August ☎ 15:37, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

Misplaced Pages:Articles for deletion/Vashist Narayan Singh

I believe you wanted to !vote delete, right? ~ trialsanderrors 18:45, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

Yes thanks for catching that and pointing that out to me. Paul August ☎ 18:48, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

Paul, can you explain the change from \equiv to = in Analytic signal?

this diff

the two mathematical statements that you changed are true only because of their definition. there is no other reason for equality there other than equivalence. (you can answer here or the article talk page, i'm watching both.) r b-j 22:27, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Hi r b-j, I've copied your question to talk page, and replied there. Paul August ☎ 17:02, 31 October 2006 (UTC)

Thanks

Thank you for reverting the vandal on my page. Hu 02:01, 2 November 2006 (UTC)

You're very welcome. Paul August ☎ 02:03, 2 November 2006 (UTC)

Changes on Element (mathematics)

Thanks for editing Element. Really. It's a bit below par, and could a bit of content. However, I noted that you replaced ${\displaystyle \in }$ with ∈. On IE (the browser that I use at school; I use Firefox at home), the latter is displayed as box: it's an unsupported character. So, if you have no objections, I'd like to change it back so that on all browsers, the true symbol is displayed. Is that OK? --Gracenotes § 20:13, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

OK. Paul August ☎ 20:19, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

Dionysus

All praise for restoring the lost bit of text (with footnote link) about Prosymnus. Andrew Dalby 15:50, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Aww shucks twern't nothin. Paul August ☎ 16:03, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

I've nominated myself for the Arbitration Committee

After some thought, and talking it over with some folks I respect, I've decided to volunteer for ArbCom. You can read my candidate statement. Paul August ☎ 15:14, 15 November 2006 (UTC)

Yes, but will you be happy there, will you have anything in common with any of them? Giano 15:31, 15 November 2006 (UTC)

I will be happy to be of some help. Are you worried I'll burn out? Yes I know the job is stressful. But I care about our encyclopedia, and I want to serve in the best way I can. If that means a bit of stress, perhaps it's worth it. As for getting along with other members? Yes I am an odd geeky antisocial eccentric old bird who spends half his life staring at a computer screen, having little in common with most other folks. But I count Mindspillage and Theresa Knott as good friends. I hope to have Geogre with me, maybe Filioct will return. I'll survive. Paul August ☎ 16:42, 15 November 2006 (UTC)