Directory:Virgilio A. P. Machado/Lack of brotherhood spirit and Wikimedia

Article 1. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Monument of Brotherhood and Unity in Pristina

Human rights in Wikimedia projects

• "Virgilio, your accusations are outrageous and false to the point of making no coherent sense whatsoever. No one is violating anyone's human rights on Wikipedia. Please stop wasting people's time."--Jimbo Wales (talk) 11:16, 19 January 2011 (UTC)

Wikimedia Strategic Planning

Talk:March 2011 Update

• Feedback from new editors, Asinthior, 14:19, 17 May 2011 (UTC)
  • "I've participated in a couple of discussion pages. On one of them an experienced user was downright hostile from the very start. As if I was being a naughty kid or I was disrupting the article on purpose. I hadn't done any changes, I was just suggesting it be done. As I see it I had a logic argument that would suffice anywhere in the world. What they told me (or what I interpreted I was being told) was that according to WP policies my argument meant nothing. I found that profoundly unfair and frustrating. Add to that the fact that this editor were completely uncivil and hostile from the start and it's miracle I'm still here. A second experience was slightly civil. Once again I posted a comment on a discussion page of an article suggesting a change. This time a very civil experienced editor showed me the ropes and give all kinds of information on WP policy to explain why this change was unfitting. I did my homework, followed all the links, read them, ask questions to other users and came back to argue my case just to be confronted with a veiled threat that I was rocking the boat for no good and it may have repercussions. As I've never been blocked before and I don't intend to be, I just gave up. [...] To my surprise I found the editor from the first story I recounted (easily a couple of years after I first crossed paths with him or her) in a wikiquette alert. All administrators participating in the discussion wanted nothing to be done, as this was an experienced user and a new user should know better than upsetting an experienced user."
• New users creating new articles, Flatterworld, 21:06, 12 March 2011
  • "You may as well hang out a sign: We Hate Non-Nerds! and be done with it. Fix the obvious first instead of looking for endless ways to spend more money and time. This. Isn't. Rocket. Science. A few descriptions would solve the problem for 90% of the people. (I really can't believe no staff or Admin has ever noticed that. That tells you a lot, right there.)
• case in point "article probation.", Decora, 16:13, 12 March 2011 (UTC)
  • "I have never heard of this until today. "Article Probation"
    "The community has placed this article on article probation as specified at Talk:Barack Obama/Article probation. Any addition of content that is not properly sourced, does not conform to Wikipedia's neutral point of view policy, or is defamatory will be promptly removed. In addition, you may be blocked from editing Wikipedia without any further warning."
    Imagine how a n00b feels reading that? Dont screw up or we will ban you. Not very inviting. we wont just remove your edit, we will banish you. no discussion, no appeal, no explanation.
    I have already suggested several times that the Edit Notice (the thing you see right above 'save my edit' button) should include a link to the EFF 'blogger legal guide',and advise people not to post defamatory or libelous material. my suggestion has been routinely ignored"
  • "what is 'you may be blocked without further warning'? the idea that violators of rules get to know what they did wrong is a principle as old as the Magna Carta. a good organization does not banish someone without giving a reason.
    This is a 'redundant regulation'. It is alreayd the policy, under Biography of Living Person, that any material not properly sourced is immediately removed. What is the extra step of banishing the editor? There are already procedures to ban people who have broken the rules repeatedly. You can also simply lock articles for a while. Why the redundancy?
    The upshot is that, if you want to know what drives people away, its that sort of thing. IMHO. Not a lack of a visual editor or whatever. It's the attitude of 'guilty of bad faith until proven innocent'."
• New users creating new articles, Finell, 09:22, 12 March 2011
  • "A lot of experienced editors treat well meaning newbies badly, with nasty edit summaries on their reverts, nasty talk page posts ("Welcome to Wikipedia, thanks for your contribution, but what you wrote is utter nonsense ..."), and overly aggressive use of warning templates."
• Another simple explanation of editing trends, Light First Light, 04:27, 12 March 2011
  • "[...] is the main purpose of Wikipedia [...] to create a welcoming and friendly online community, at which it seems to be failing?"
• Glossary of Terms, Raymond Kerry Raymond], 01:42, 12 March 2011
  • "Every time I turn around someone seems to be complaining about something I've done (although I am not clear about exactly what it is)
    [...]
    I saw a comment somewhere about whether people felt they are members of the Wikipedia/Wikimedia community. After a number of years, I never have. Partly because (until I stumbled on this page this morning) I never found anywhere I could talk to anyone, and talking is surely the basis for community."

A notable issue with Wikipedia

• Artw, 1:47 PM, 11 March 2011. (96 comments total) 13 users marked this as a favorite
  • "Between 2005 and 2007, newbies started having real trouble successfully joining the Wikimedia community. Before 2005 in the English Wikipedia, nearly 40% of new editors would still be active a year after their first edit. After 2007, only about 12-15% of new editors were still active a year after their first edit. Post-2007, lots of people were still trying to become Wikipedia editors. What had changed, though, is that they were increasingly failing to integrate into the Wikipedia community, and failing increasingly quickly. The Wikimedia community had become too hard to penetrate."

Requests for assistance

• are there enough resources to correct the course? Virgilio A. P. Machado, Fri Jun 5 17:16:24 UTC 2009
  • [...] this state of affairs in the Portuguese Wikipedia cannot be tolerated, condoned and supported by the resources of the Wikimedia Foundation, generously provided by volunteers and donors keen on improving the general knowledge and welfare of humankind and not the misguidance of a group that actively or with their silence have taken over the Portuguese Wikipedia. Swift and drastic measures need to be taken to stop this.
    I believe that as a consequence of the self management of the [Portuguese Wikipedia], it is now being operated and run on a daily basis by a group of people with severe mental, emotional, and behavioral problems, completely out of control and without any kind of supervision and/or regulation. This has been corroborated by several pt-wikipedians. In an attempt to gather a sample of their statements, a non-exhaustive collection was made ([1]). It was voted for deletion ([2]) with arguments from both sides that are outright embarrassing. Maintaining the page won by four votes. [See also [3]]
    This voting is just one of many examples of rampant disrespect for the five pillars, occurring, unchallenged, on a regular basis on the Portuguese Wikipedia. Mobbing is practiced matter of factly, and promoted openly on discussion pages. Just for your information, please be aware that I was already harassed on the Portuguese Wikipedia ([4]) for bringing up this subject on "foundation-l." I was under the threat of banishment ([5]) from the pages where this harassment takes place, by the same administrator bureaucrat and member of the of arbitration committee mentioned [...]. When I questioned the voting for violating that Wikipedia is free content, I ended up blocked for six days ([6]).
    I don't think that analysis of much of the goings on in the pt:wiki by competent professionals would give it a clean bill of mental health. It's a crazy world, I know, but the project is of an encyclopedia, not a crazypedia (forgive my hyperbole.) "Pero si muove." Certainly, it does, but at what cost, it is my turn to ask. Is it really as impossible to bring a project like this under control, once it gets spinning on its own axis, as it is to stop the Earth from moving? Or are there enough resources to correct the course?
• I believe I need some serious help Virgilio A. P. Machado Fri Nov 12 23:16:56 UTC 2010
  • [...] There is an almost systematic interference by «Yanguas», a wiki.pt administrator, with the user pages of the students listed on these two pages (further details available): "Logística 2008/Trabalhos concluídos" and "Logística 2009/Trabalhos concluídos" besides my own user page. I would like to know if there is someone willing and able to help with this situation.
• deafening silence, Virgilio A. P. Machado, Mon Dec 6 23:41:28 UTC 2010
  • What a timely post.[7] What an opportunity to test the Santa Claus hierarchical structure.[8]
    I do feel your pain, but given my extensive experience of bring up all sorts of shenanigans to the attention of this list and meeting the most deafening silence, I'm taking bets on what kind of response you going to get here or anywhere else, including where it would matter most: Commons. The house, as always, has an advantage: it has been already more then three hours since you posted your message and the response has been an overwhelming zero.
    If you do succeed in bringing any change to Commons through this request of yours, I will follow with a similar one of my own concerning the Brazilian Wikipedia, whose de facto "president" has recently delivered a speech that includes some well oiled quotes like "I'm not a crook."[9]
    Actually the place is falling apart from rot: no bureaucrats, no checkusers, and an arbcom which is the epitome of fairness and due procedure, and now under the spell of a steward that lay in waiting for his time to take over. All of you that are believers join me in prayer for the salvation of that project, although I think that is not going to be enough. Things are going to get a lot worse, before they have a chance to get better, if ever.
    Best of luck to you too, Carolina.[10]
• Request to undelete, Virgilio A. P. Machado
  • Please undo all deletions made within the scope of the following log: [11]. Thank you so very much. Vapmachado 00:02, 24 December 2010 (UTC)
    Background
    Unaware of the essay published in August, 2007, a RfC was open, in late July of 2010, on what is public or non-public personal information. The RfC was announced on the Oversight talk page. There are comments on the RfC talk page and "an anonymized, yet exact copy of the user subpage on pt.wiki to make the discussion possible." There was also a questioning of the use of Oversight, on it's own talk page, about "Removing private information, that users published themselves?" The RfC was closed Sept. 19, as announced on Meta:Babel. Vapmachado 20:42, 31 December 2010 (UTC)
• Request for assistance Virgilio A. P. Machado Wed Jan 5 19:15:37 UTC 2011
• Updated request for assistance Virgilio A. P. Machado 19:55, 5 January 2011 (UTC)
  • Please let me know:

a) why my request for unblock was never answered,

b) where on page (2) are the occurrences of "harassment,"

c) if after Dec. 23, "he's just returned to do the same thing that lead him to be blocked in the first instance.",

d) where are the occurrences of "continued hostile behavior,"

e) towards what or whom is that "continued hostile behavior,"

f) why my "interesting history" of "cross-wiki" pioneering achievements is never mentioned, a clear violation of a NPOV in decision making.

• Please give us some links...
  • Fred Bauder
    Sat, 9 Apr 2011 18:47:56
    Was there an arbitration case? Or other dispute resolution events? If so, could you share your reactions to the fairness and comprehensiveness of what happened? Please give us some links...
    Fred
  • Virgilio A. P. Machado
    Sun, 10 Apr 2011 05:37:44
    What is the purpose of all those questions? I've always provided that information to this list and if anything ever come out of it, besides being scolded by the list masters for making off-list posts, was to gain a new following of admirers.
    Sincerely,
    Virgilio A. P. Machado
  • Fred Bauder
    Sun, 10 Apr 2011 11:57:49
    The reason to ask is because if there is a problem we might be able to resolve it. At this point I don't know what your problem was or is. You seem to be nursing a grievance; trying to milk it rather than solving it.
    I'm sorry if I've not paid perfect attention, but I don't think I've got the tone wrong.
    Fred
  • Virgilio A. P. Machado
    Mon, 11 Apr 2011 03:36:10
    Of course there are problems, some of them in plain English. Is anybody on this list able to do anything about them? I'm sure there is. That is why I have posted here so many times asking for help. Have I received any help? None whatsoever.
    It's kind of hard to believe that any assiduous member of this list is totally unaware of my "Request for assistance" posted Jan. 5. That's already more than three months ago. Have I seen any results? You bet. You can see by yourself looking at my Meta talk page from http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Vapmachado#Block all the way down to the declining of my request to unblock "with an expiry time of infinite", on Jan. 16.
    Am I nursing a grievance? You bet I am. For three months and still counting. Will I ever forgive? There's nothing to forgive. Will I ever forget? Never. I can assure you that is not in my nature. Once someone gets on my ignore mode it stays there until chickens grow teeth.
    Am I trying to milk it? There's nothing to milk. I'm not sure of the exact meaning in which that expression was used, but anyway I look at it, it does not seem very relevant. Nevertheless you can bet that I believe that one day the chickens will come home to roost.
    Except for overlooking a bunch of my previous requests for help, including the one above, it seems you were paying perfect attention and you got my tone wright: "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore! I want you to get up right now, sit up, go to your windows, open them and stick your head out and yell - 'I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!' Things have got to change. But first, you've gotta get mad!... You've got to say, 'I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!' Then we'll figure out what to do about Meta, the Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Foundation. But first get up out of your chairs, open the window, stick your head out, and yell, and say it: 'I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!'
    Sincerely,
    Virgilio A. P. Machado (Vapmachado)

"You're an idiot"

• Wikipedia is not the encyclopedia anyone can edit Gregory Kohs August 9th, 2010 9:02 am ET
  • "Wikipedia may claim as a headline on its very own main page to be "the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit", but nothing could be further from the truth. [...] you could be the sweetest, most innocent Wikipedia editor ever to grace its community, but if you choose a user name like "Gbmontreal" or "Rawnuke", you're liable to be blocked (as was the case with these two editor accounts) by a guy like "Orangemike"."
• Wikimedia Foundation's boss gives orders Gregory Kohs August 4th, 2010 1:23 pm ET
  • "Seth, you're an idiot." --Jimbo Wales January, 2008
  • [...] "I have said this many times in the past and will say it many times in the future I am sure: some people need to find a different hobby, because whatever they are here for, it is not to help build an encyclopedia." [...] --Jimbo Wales (talk) 20:52, 23 November 2007 (UTC)
• Wikipedia criticism group purges three critics Gregory Kohs July 27th, 2010 5:50 pm ET
  • "An academic group dedicated to fostering a "critical point of view" as regards Wikipedia has decided to purge three noteworthy Wikipedia critics from its ranks. The crime? They were too critical of Wikipedia."

Forget altruism

• "antisocial production", Eddie Tejeda, Sat Jun 27 21:57:44 UTC 2009
  • 'Forget altruism. Misanthropy and egotism are the fuel of online social production. That's the conclusion suggested by a new study of the character traits of the contributors to Wikipedia. A team of Israeli research psychologists gave personality tests to 69 Wikipedians and 70 non-Wikipedians. They discovered that, as New Scientist puts it,[12] Wikipedians are generally "grumpy," "disagreeable," and "closed to new ideas."'[13]
• Always knew this, Fred Bauder, Sat Jun 27 22:07:15 UTC 2009
  • Always knew this, Wikipedia is generally an outlet for folks who have low interpersonal social skills, or at least insufficient outlets for self expression. As to "Disagreeable and closed to new ideas", that is policy, Wikipedia is a compendium of established knowledge, not a place for new ideas, which we call original research.
• it is "policy" to be "disagreeable"? Marc Riddell, Sat Jun 27 22:27:23 UTC 2009
  • C'mon, Fred; it is "policy" to be "disagreeable"?
• pretty accurate, David Moran, Sat Jun 27 22:35:25 UTC 2009
  • While not exactly science, having gone to more than one Wikipedia picnic to break bread with my fellow contributors ... the conclusions seem pretty accurate to me.

In Portuguese

• Diário da Wikipedista, blog de Anne Valladares, February 9, 2008
  • A fotografia que uma wikipedista mostra de outro wikipedista
• From WikiPT, Felipe Micaroni Lalli, December 15th, 2007 2:52 (UTC)
  • «Na própria Wikipédia o que se vê nos bastidores é uma disputa de egos sem fim. Eu diria até que numa empresa extremamente capitalista não há tanto corporativismo e tanta deslealdade como na política da Wikipédia.»

Human rights

On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights [...]. Following this historic act the Assembly called upon all Member countries to publicize the text of the Declaration and "to cause it to be disseminated, displayed, read and expounded principally in schools and other educational institutions, without distinction based on the political status of countries or territories."[14]

Preamble

Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,

[...] the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,

Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,

[...]

Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,

[...]

Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,

Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance [...]

Article 1. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 28. Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.

Article 29. (1) Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible. (2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society. (3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 30. Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any [...] group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

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