Original Position

Welcome!

Hello, Original Position, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are a few links to pages you might find helpful:

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Please remember to sign your messages on talk pages by typing four tildes (~~~~); this will automatically insert your username and the date. If you need help, check out Wikipedia:Questions, ask me on my talk page, or , and a volunteer should respond shortly. Again, welcome! MjolnirPants Tell me all about it. 21:24, 6 January 2016 (UTC)

AN/I notice

There is currently a discussion at Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard/Incidents regarding an issue with which you may have been involved. The thread is Admin attention needed at Appeal to authority. Thank you. MjolnirPants Tell me all about it. 17:07, 8 January 2016 (UTC)

Just an idea

I noticed on your main user page it says you are finishing a PhD in philosophy. I don't doubt this, given your command of the subject at appeal to authority. I was attempting to find sources which address common misconceptions about fallacies, in the hopes that I could find a source to support a short section on the (unfortunately quite common) misunderstanding which caused the recent issues with the page. Alas, I could not find one online, nor indexed in google books, and -having just graduated myself- I no longer have access to my school's library to search their database. I have a feeling that such works might be few and far between. If you have the inclination, upon graduation you would certainly be qualified to write such a work. Anyways, I just thought I'd mention it in case it's a good idea. Feel free to mock my naivete if I am mistaken, and the academic world is flooded with them. MjolnirPants Tell me all about it. 20:09, 9 January 2016 (UTC)

Talkback

Hello, Original Position. You have new messages at MjolnirPants's talk page.
Message added 03:13, 11 January 2016 (UTC). You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{Talkback}} or {{Tb}} template.

Most of my discussion on WP have been very polite and productive. MjolnirPants Tell me all about it. 03:13, 11 January 2016 (UTC)

Formal mediation has been requested

The Mediation Committee has received a request for formal mediation of the dispute relating to "Argument from authority". As an editor concerned in this dispute, you are invited to participate in the mediation. Mediation is a voluntary process which resolves a dispute over article content by facilitation, consensus-building, and compromise among the involved editors. After reviewing the request page, the formal mediation policy, and the guide to formal mediation, please indicate in the "party agreement" section whether you agree to participate. Because requests must be responded to by the Mediation Committee within seven days, please respond to the request by 8 February 2016.

Discussion relating to the mediation request is welcome at the case talk page. Thank you.
Message delivered by MediationBot (talk) on behalf of the Mediation Committee. 22:22, 1 February 2016 (UTC)

tech tip

@Original Position: If you want to ping someone (like you seemed like you wanted to do with your last edit at the talk page of doom, you can use the following code: {{ping|username}}. WP's servers are tricky about capitalization (sometimes it's necessary, other times not), so be sure to capitalize correctly. They'll get a notice (if they're logged in) that they were mentioned. If you edit this section, you can see how I used it above to ping you. MjolnirPants Tell me all about it. 19:20, 2 February 2016 (UTC)

@MjolnirPants: Thanks for the help.

Request for mediation accepted

The request for formal mediation of the dispute concerning Argument from authority, in which you were listed as a party, has been accepted by the Mediation Committee. The case will be assigned to an active mediator within two weeks, and mediation proceedings should begin shortly thereafter. Proceedings will begin at the case information page, Wikipedia:Requests for mediation/Argument from authority, so please add this to your watchlist. Formal mediation is governed by the Mediation Committee and its Policy. The Policy, and especially the first two sections of the "Mediation" section, should be read if you have never participated in formal mediation. For a short guide to accepted cases, see the "Accepted requests" section of the Guide to formal mediation. You may also want to familiarise yourself with the internal Procedures of the Committee.

As mediation proceedings begin, be aware that formal mediation can only be successful if every participant approaches discussion in a professional and civil way, and is completely prepared to compromise. Please contact the Committee if anything is unclear.

For the Mediation Committee, TransporterMan (TALK) 21:09, 2 February 2016 (UTC)
(Delivered by MediationBot, on behalf of the Mediation Committee.)

AN/I (again)

There is currently a discussion at Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard/Incidents regarding an issue with which you may have been involved. The thread is User:FL_or_Atlanta. MjolnirPants Tell me all about it. 03:47, 5 February 2016 (UTC)

Request for mediation rejected

The request for formal mediation concerning Argument from authority, to which you were listed as a party, has been declined. To read an explanation by the Mediation Committee for the rejection of this request, see the mediation request page, which will be deleted by an administrator after a reasonable time. Please direct questions relating to this request to the Chairman of the Committee, or to the mailing list. For more information on forms of dispute resolution, other than formal mediation, that are available, see Wikipedia:Dispute resolution.

For the Mediation Committee, TransporterMan (TALK) 03:33, 6 February 2016 (UTC)
(Delivered by MediationBot, on behalf of the Mediation Committee.)

A Barnstar for you

		The Philosophy Barnstar
		Despite the drama, despite the horrid first impression you may have gotten from Wikipedia, your contributions to Argument from authority have not gone unnoticed or unappreciated. You have improved the article far beyond what I could have done on my own, and always remained focused on that. For this, you deserve a barnstar. MjolnirPants Tell me all about it. 14:18, 13 February 2016 (UTC)

Argument from Authority

I just went back through the last several days of argument on that talk page, looking to see if I said anything that needs to be walked back on. I generally try to keep 'honest' by periodically looking through what I've said in the past to see if I used bad logic or made false claims. While I didn't find anything I think I should self-correct there, I did realize that I've gotten too frustrated with Perfect and FLoA to continue. I'm so annoyed that I just recently broke the three revert rule (inadvertently, as I thought I had waited more than 24 hours) in trying to keep the page stable until things settle down on the talk page. I could make excuses for that, but the fact is that I've been extremely careful to avoid breaking it in the past, even leaving contentious material and horrible sourcing alone for days on end to avoid the appearance of edit warring. There's no excuse for why I wasn't just as careful this time, only the explanation that I've gotten frustrated and acted without due consideration.

So my point is that I'm un-watching the page. I'm not going to participate in a discussion with people as irrational as those two, even if it means letting that article go to crap. If you have any interest in maintaining it, I'm sorry to say you'll be on your own. I edit WP for my own pleasure, and that article has become anything but pleasurable to edit. MjolnirPants Tell me all about it. 19:28, 1 April 2016 (UTC)

@MjolnirPants:I'm sorry to hear that. My own level of frustration with that page had also grown enough that I've been avoiding wikipedia a bit over the last couple weeks. I just don't have the time that seems necessary to maintain it right now and am skeptical that consensus is likely to be found with FLorA or POS. But, I'll continue keeping an eye on it to try to keep it from getting too out of hand and hope to bump into you again in the future.Original Position (talk) 20:49, 1 April 2016 (UTC)

Had it just been one user, the matter would have been decided long ago. But with POS actually making an effort to make his case, and FLoA 'running interference' by following me around, filing repeated RSN questions, and making a point of trying to bait and badmouth me, it just got to be too much. I just want to assure you again that this is not how WP normally works. I tend to stick to controversial topics, and I haunt to Fringe theories noticeboard, so I see a lot of disagreements. However, if you look at my edit history you can see numerous cases of disputes being handled rationally, and irrational editors getting stonewalled in one way or another. MjolnirPants Tell me all about it. 21:01, 1 April 2016 (UTC)

Hey

It's been a while since we conversed directly. But I thought you should know that FL or Atlanta and Perfect Orange Sphere turned out to be the same editor, along with a few other accounts. So the conflict over the past year was all because one person refused to accept correction, and was willing to engage in any level of dishonesty to win the argument. Now, all of those accounts have been blocked, and with an Sockpuppet investigation having already been done, it will be easy enough to spot and report any future socks.

The short version is; the troubles at that article are pretty much done for. I hope you see this, and I hope you decide to come back. You were one of the best contributors that article had, and while I'm trying to get it back to a good state, I surely miss your efforts. ᛗᛁᛟᛚᚾᛁᚱPants Tell me all about it. 18:38, 17 May 2017 (UTC)

@MjolnirPants:Thanks for the heads up - and for your greater patience with the trolls on that page. I'll take a look at the article. Original Position (talk) 20:28, 17 May 2017 (UTC)