This page is an archive of a community-wide discussion. This page is no longer live. Further comments should be made in the Senate Hall or new Consensus Track pages rather than here so that this page is preserved as a historic record. Toprawa and Ralltiir 19:12, December 13, 2010 (UTC)
I would like to report a possible case of administrator abuse (it might just be lack of communication which I have addressed below). I had a disagreement of opinion concerning some articles that I had moved, and felt that the changes made were bringing the wookieepedia a better and more accurate representation of the material (one or two were even articles that I had created myself some time ago). Since I have a sub-par connection to the internet, I am not able to receive page refreshes regularly. Therefore, I rely on communication to be addressed to my talk page to alert me to new messages concerning any changes I am making.
Apparently, I was given a warning not to make any further changes to the articles. However, I would have desisted had I known that the admin in question, Borsk Fey'lya, had threatened to block editing privileges. He left no message in my Talk page, so I received no alert to his message, and when my computer finally caught up with this site's server, I discovered that I was blocked with the most severe penalty—an entire month. I had not done anything in bad faith to intentionally to lower the quality of the wiki, and was not given the appropriate consideration that other users have been given according to the Wookieepedia:Blocking_policy. On the contrary, I felt that the changes I was making were making the wiki more accurate, based on evidence that I was gathering from broken links I was recovering (I also have requested Leland Chee to verify the accuracy of info). I would have desisted if I knew that the admin felt that strongly about the changes being made.
In addition, after being blocked, all attempts to appeal or resolve this issue have been met with silence from Borsk. I am unable to contact him to appeal the matter and it is inappropriate to appeal to another admin. It is either that or he does not use an email with this wikia, which defeats the purpose of having an appeals process in the first place. In that case he is not adhering to the policy by using the ability without providing a means to appeal.
Borsk appears to be a fine contributor to this site and his administration of it has thus far been of quality work that I can discern, so I am not trying to attack his character. I simply would like this issue can be resolved quickly as possible and addressed in a manner that will prevent this situation from arising again. Therefore, my purpose for bringing this up is to bring to attention a flaw in the policy that allows an admin to go unchecked in using admin abilities in what appears to be a harsh and impugning manner. According to the quote by D.H. Stamatis (shown on the Admin description page), who stated, "The hallmark of a well-managed organization is not the absence of problems, but whether or not problems are effectively resolved."
I feel that Borsk's action is excessive and punitive in nature instead of instructive and corrective, and since the matter can not be resolved appropriately with Borsk, it needs to be addressed here with others. As an act of good faith, I am being open about this issue and except for the reporting of the lack of appeal process available to me as allowed by the Blocking policy, I have not violated the block imposed on me in any way by circumventing it.— GethralkinHyperwave 18:02, October 28, 2010 (UTC)
- You would do better to visit the IRC channel (if possible, given your internet quality as you have said), that is the "official" way to contest a block. NAYAYEN 19:07, October 28, 2010 (UTC)
- Already did email and IRC. Borsk does not respond to email (he has been highly active daily during my attempts), and is he is not on IRC (I queried two other admins who can verify that I did indeed use IRC to attempt appeal (Toprawa and Green tentacle).—GethralkinHyperwave 09:20, November 1, 2010 (UTC)
- Contrary to your claim, you did violate your block. Borsk's "email this user" option is enabled, and I have seen no effort on your part in my last three days of logs to discuss the matter on IRC. I see no option but to block your current IP and any subsequent ones you may use for further attempts to circumvent your block. This block will not be lifted even if Borsk unblocks your username and further attempts at circumvention will cause your original block to double each time. I suggest you do not try to challenge this, as it will only go downhill for you from here. -- Darth Culator (Talk) 23:36, October 28, 2010 (UTC)
- I never made claim to the contrary. Please read my statement above carefully. However, I was given the right to post here under the Administrator's abuse reporting policy: "If you think an administrator has acted improperly against you or another editor, you should express your concerns directly to the administrator responsible. Try to come to a resolution in an orderly and civil manner. However, if the matter is not resolved between the two parties, please post on Forum:Administrators' noticeboard." As for emailing him and IRC, see my comment to Nayayen above. As for posting while logged off, what recourse of appeal do I have other than the policy-approved noticeboard post when I have attempted the initial steps to no avail?—GethralkinHyperwave 09:20, November 1, 2010 (UTC)
- I am not going so far as to ask for Borsk's rights to be removed. I just want the Wookieepedia to be proved fair to all. Why even mention the appeals process in the first place if a User has no access to it, especially when the admin action taken was excessive and inappropriate (according to the Blocking policy guidelines, a week-long block generally is preceded by a warning—mine is slated for a month!). On top of that, the excuse he gave for blocking me is for Vandalism, which does not coincide with the Wookieepedia policy's definition [emphasis mine]:
"Any good-faith attempt to improve Wookieepedia, even if it is misguided, should not be considered vandalism. This may include:
- Adding information to the wiki from unreliable sources (assuming the editor in question is not aware that the sources are unreliable).(not applicable)
- Adding information which may or may not be correct, but doing so in a way which violates Wookieepedia:Manual of Style, Wookieepedia:Layout Guide, the rules of MediaWiki syntax, or the rules of English grammar and spelling.(not applicable)
- Removing information which the editor believes to be incorrect."(most applicable; I moved some articles based on what I believed correct)
The edits that I made were far from vandalism. In fact, I would have been ready to leave off editing if I received his warning in due time just to keep peace. However, Borsk's block was excessive and an abuse of admin powers. Since my appeal has gone unnoticed/ignored (not denied, there is a difference), I appeal to other admins collectively. This is in agreement with the process of appeals, and it is made with the proviso that I will not edit the articles in question (those involving Sienar Fleet Systems ship systems) until either a vote or enough evidence satisfies general consensus concerning them. I have been a good contributor to this wiki since early 2008, and there have been other times where POVs have differed; however other admins and users can verify that I have been reasonable and yielding in most if not all instances.—GethralkinHyperwave 09:20, November 1, 2010 (UTC)