Just another 50 something classical conservative trapped in the wrong century. His interests are eclectic and include politics (he is a monarchist with some libertarian sympathies), philosophy, theology (he’s an Orthodox Christian), economics, history (European & Byzantine), ships especially ocean liners and baseball (GO METS!). He enjoys reading on a wide range of topics and also enjoys the occasional historical fiction novel (Patrick O'Brian, Dewey Lambdin, Julian Stockwin). My alternative account is The Mad Monarchist. For security reasons that account does not have administrator rights.
"Fear no insult, ask for no crown, receive with indifference both flattery and slander, and do not argue with a fool." - Aleksandr Pushkin
OK, we have the two world wars and the sinking of the Titanic covered. How much more do we really need?
!Voting Keep should be safe, legal and rare.
An article without a single cited reliable source is not an article. It is a 21st century specie of graffiti and should be dealt with accordingly.
I am SOO glad I did not find this group before my RFA. I would never... ever... have passed.
Some Thoughts on AfD
When Commenting Be pithy. Be concise. Cite policies or guidelines if possible. Confine your comments to what is germane to the discussion and be brief. Above all, be brief! None of us are paid (and certainly not by the word). Plowing through walls of text when there are another 60 AfDs waiting for closure is not what we want to deal with.
Relist? Sure. But not ad infinitum. The first relist is not an issue as long as there is no discernible consensus. A second is also not a big deal if there is little or no participation. Especially if what participation there is, is not of one mind. But after two I generally will be looking to close the discussion and will only relist a third time if I think there is a realistic chance it will add clarity. I don't relist AfD discussions beyond three times. If we can't reach a verdict over the course of a month then it's time to admit the jury is deadlocked and declare a mistrial. Which brings me to...
No consensus I suspect that some admins regard a "no-consensus' close as some kind of personal failure. I however think it is not a big deal and simply reflects the messy reality that is Wikipedia. I don't close as no-consensus unless the discussion has been relisted at least once and I prefer twice unless there is very heavy participation and it is obvious that no agreement is going to be reachable. A no consensus defaults to Keep and almost always is w/o prejudice to a future renomination. In some cases where participation is very heavy and opinions are all over the place I may add a note encouraging a short cooling off period before renominating.
Soft delete If a discussion has been relisted at least once, with either no participation or just a single delete vote, the article has not been the subject of a previous AfD or contested Prod, and I find the OP's rational to be reasonable I may call it a soft delete. That is effectively treating it as an expired Prod (per the recently revised deletion guidelines). In such cases WP:REFUND applies.
Some Thoughts on ANI
ANI is not a place typically associated with happy endings. In my experience most of the time you are better off avoiding it if you can. There is a reason it is often referred to as the drama board. Talk to an individual admin first if that's a viable option.
Yes, there are times when ANI is the least bad course of action or you just really don't have a choice. Make your case. Be concise. Cite diffs where applicable. And be sure to notify all interested parties.
ANI discussions have a bad habit of taking on a momentum and life of their own, becoming bloated, unwieldy and WP:TLDR. Conceding the odd exception, in my experience most ANI discussions cease being productive after 2-3 days. Admins should consider closing discussions after that point.
Don't be afraid to admit you were wrong. We all make mistakes and if you do or say something that turns out to have been wrong or less than great, admitting as much upfront can actually end up enhancing your position. In the case of OPs it may also help deflecting the dreaded BOOMERANG.
Some Thoughts on RfA
If you are interested in what I look for in a Candidate for Admin click here.
Adminny Things I (probably) Won't Do
Administrator Assisted Wikicide Ok, you have decided to leave, and you want someone to lock the door after you. Sorry, you will need to ask another admin. Yes, there are some admins who will block non-disruptive users on request as a form of RETIRED and I really mean it. I however, am not one of them. If your stress level has reached the point where you think it's time to go, then just post the retired template and move on. But if you really really want to be blocked you can post the request at WP:AN.
History Merge Huh?
Filters My command of tech probably peaked with the advent of the electric typewriter (it was a wondrous thing). So if you see me playing with edit filters there are probably just two potential explanations; my account has been hacked or I've gone mad.
A man has got to know his limitations. -SFPD Inspector (Dirty) Harry Callahan
For consistent and careful application of our notability criteria in AfD discussions. RomanSpa (talk) 13:24, 28 July 2014 (UTC)
The Barnstar of Diplomacy
for your two proposals to settle the great "allision" controversy of 2014 I hereby award you your second Barnstar. Keep up the good work. Now you can't say you have just one anymore... Cheers! Cuprum17 (talk) 00:10, 13 November 2014 (UTC)
The Citation Barnstar
From one royalist and medievalist Orthodox to another. Prayers to your father.. Sigehelmus (talk) 00:54, 3 May 2015 (UTC)
The Half Barnstar
Thank you for your many common sense edits to the USS PC-552 article, making the previous well-intentioned but malformed work more worthy of its subject. For improving the page, I award you with appropriate partial credit (shared with User:Dual Freq) and this very equally shared barnstar. BusterD (talk) 22:21, 31 May 2015 (UTC)
The Admin's Barnstar
Thanks for your help today! Patient Zerotalk 13:51, 6 January 2017 (UTC)
The Original Barnstar
Thank you for your detailed explanation! Lasalleexplorer (talk) 15:46, 16 February 2017 (UTC)
The Admin's Barnstar
Thanks for helping me out with that rather unusual issue yesterday.
I actually find it really amusing that my home IP is blocked with good reason, hahaha. Seppi333 (Insert 2¢) 22:54, 26 February 2017 (UTC)
The Admin's Barnstar
Thank you for cutting a stubborn knot with a great edit. Well done. Please stick around over there. SW3 5DL (talk) 03:25, 3 April 2017 (UTC)
The Anti-Vandalism Barnstar
Thank you for your tireless anti-vandalism work on Titanic II. There seems to be no end to those who maintain that this ship is going to be built despite all evidence to the contrary. BlueRiband► 04:58, 17 May 2017 (UTC)
The Barnstar of Diplomacy
Well done/thank you for achieving what I thought was impossible. — Calvin999 09:51, 29 June 2017 (UTC)
The Admin's Barnstar
Thanks for the diplomatic relations, but also being responsive and helpful about other issues I've contacted you about here. Not sure if I've thanked you properly for it, so here's a barnstar! Ss112 10:46, 29 June 2017 (UTC)
The Admin's Barnstar
For single-handedly cleaning out a backlog of nearly 40 requests at RfPP. You deserve a medal, but all I can give you is a barnstar. From the looks of your talk page, you need a bigger cabinet to keep them all in. MelanieN (talk) 00:49, 2 July 2017 (UTC)
For stepping up to the mantle and co-nominating 331dot’s successful RfA, here is a barnstar. Ritchie333(talk)(cont) 10:11, 30 March 2018 (UTC)
The Original Barnstar
thanks for your note, I desperately need some help setting up few items on wikipedia. would you be kind to help me setting up with few basic steps? need to learn siting as well I have to add one item to another page. Rami Al Hatab (talk) 11:54, 13 May 2019 (UTC)
The Defender of the Wiki Barnstar
Once we get this solved, I hope I can welcome you back. Thanks for everything. Doc James (talk · contribs · email) 21:05, 28 June 2019 (UTC)
The Padlock Barnstar
Hello Ad Orientem, welcome back and thank you for protecting Wikipedia via WP:RFPP. About this Barnstar, Awarded to any administrator who secures Wikipedia by placing a padlock. per Barnstar criteria. I've chosen you to be the first admin to receive this award. Again, welcome back and thank you. JudeccaXIII (talk) 16:01, 28 July 2019 (UTC)
The inevitable user boxes
RS
This user believes every article should be required to cite at least one reliable source.
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