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The motto of the AIW is Conservata veritate, which translates to, "With the preserved truth" This motto reflects the inclusionist desire to change Wikipedia only when no knowledge would be lost as a result.
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[edit] General Information
I choose to keep my name confidential most places online, and will do so here. I go by a few different aliases on the Internet, including Rogue 9, Renegade, and Renegade Paladin.
I am a student at Murray State University. My interests include playing music (music education being my major), biking, fishing, and water tubing, as well as more sedentary activities like engaging in debate both online and off, and playing real time strategy games as well as Dungeons & Dragons, in which I am quite fond of playing paladins, especially unusual multiclass combos thereof such as rogue/paladins. I operate a general discussion message board with a focus on gaming known as the Paladin's Domain, though it's all but defunct and abandoned now. I'd dearly love to change that, though. I have also recently (as in today, January 26th) acquired a weblog at last, found here. Don't know if much is going to go on it yet.
[edit] Political Views
I am a political centrist, having views on different issues scattered far about the political spectrum. Some people have said that I am closest to being a classical liberal. To get as close to an accurate generalization as possible, I am generally speaking a foreign policy and fiscal conservative, and a social liberal. Despite my failure to commit to any "side" of the standard United States political order, I am an active member of Protest Warrior, a decision I took to help counter the impact of the radical left and the often socialist positions advocated during street protests.
[edit] Wikipolitics
And then there's Wikipolitics. On the Wiki I stand firmly against deletionism (though not all deletions; patent nonsense in the article namespace obviously needs to go) and censorship in all forms. Users should be allowed to express themselves in their userpages as they see fit, including through the use of userboxes.
I am similarly against the absolutist stance of the no personal attacks policy, since as it stands right now NPA could be taken to ban such things as Requests for Comment against abusive editors (and admins) since the existence of an RfC implies that something wrong has been found with the subject's behavior, a fairly clear direct attack. I am further of the belief that sometimes a person has been stupid/abusive enough to warrant massive flaming. Intellectual dishonesty, particularly in an encyclopedia, is far more uncivil than condemning someone for being so, even with the strongest terms. Put simply, if someone's being a fucking idiot then call him a fucking idiot. Truth hurts sometimes, but we are (or should be) in the business of providing truth.
Speaking of truth, the truth isn't neutral either. Articles should be as neutrally toned as possible, but frankly to take a neutral stance on some things (the Holocaust, for instance) is morally reprehensible in itself. In the interests of academic tone we need not spend an entire article condemning such subjects, but we should neither offer justifications in the article, as absolute neutrality requires we must. I will not be party to justifying Stalin, Pol Pot, or any others of their ilk in the name of being neutral.
[edit] Religious Views
I am a Christian and a member of the United Methodist Church, though many consider me a heretic. I am not heavily involved in religious activities beyond going to church on occasion.
[edit] Wikipedia-related interests
I am an amateur historian, specializing in American history leading up to the American Civil War. I also take great interest in Star Wars-related articles, as well as lesser interest in most other science fiction. I also have a lesser interest in political articles. You might see my edits in any of these topics.
I am also highly interested in putting a stop to rampant deletionism. For the articles, Wikipedia is not paper, and there are some who would do well to remember that. Wikipedia is also a community, and messing with the rights of a community's members is an excellent way to make them seek out other communities. If we wish the encyclopedia to grow and benefit from a large number of serious users, we need to not interfere with those users' rights on their personal userpages.
Salva veritate
[edit] Articles I'm working on or watching
Putting these here so I can get at them quickly.
January 20, 2005 counter-inaugural protest
September 24, 2005 anti-war protest
Kfir Alfia
hate speech
Joshua A. Norton
Communists for Kerry
Star Destroyer
Rogue Squadron
/Seigenthaler
List of Forgotten Realms deities
Sergey Nechayev
/Sandbox
[edit] Articles I've Created
Speech code
Malar (god)
Talos (Forgotten Realms)
Eldath
Tempus (Forgotten Realms)
Red Knight (Forgotten Realms)
Sune
Garagos
[edit] Creative writing
I'm in the process of writing a couple of stories, one of them well on its way to being novel-length. As several circumstances surrounding this work make seeking publication impossible, I'm making it available in several places on the Internet for free. My only requirement is that no one attempt to claim credit for my writing.
The story is entitled "Shades of Eire," and is set in a slightly modified version of the Forgotten Realms. It centers around Gilchrist, crown prince of one of the city-states of the Western Heartlands. For the interested, the story is available here and will be updated regularly.
Last update: 11/2/2007
Another, entitled "Trollbane," may be found here.
Last update: 12/18/2007
[edit] Rogue's Rant
Where I scream and holler about things that suck.
[edit] Dumbasses and bomb threats
Okay, so some kids (who are probably older than I am, but until I know for sure, I'll work with apparent maturity) thought it would be absolutely hilarious to pick up an employment application at work and then return it with a bomb threat written on it. I had to deal with the police for about four hours, which is really something I often do at my job, but usually it isn't in their official capacity.
At least they got the fuckers. They get to spend the night in jail, and I get to go to the witness stand before too long. Joy.
[edit] Pwnage
Okay, this one doesn't suck. I would just like to commemorate the fact that Cyde got himself owned on the issue of the deletion of religion-related userboxes. To quote: "They're not coming back." They're back, baby. Self pwn!
[edit] Mistress Selina Kyle's banning
Mistress Selina Kyle has been banned indefinitely after making a nuisance of herself to the admin establishment one too many times. What was the problem, hmmmmm? Were they afraid she might upset their cushy position at the top of the heap, where they get to dictate to us proles all day long?
Frankly, she was what Wikipedia needed; occasionally things need to be stirred up to expose the rot. The stirring up isn't pleasant, but stopping it only ensures that it will be worse later. MSK was a tireless and indomitable fighter for what she believed was right, particularly against corruption among the administrators. Whenever an admin abused his power, especially in unilateral deletions, she was there.
Unfortunately for her, she was there one too many times and the admins decided she was too much of a risk. Wikipedia has lost one of its best. Here's to you, Mistress. It was a good run.
[edit] Wikipedia "vote stuffing"
Okay, seriously. Why the hell do people refer to telling people about a vote on Wikipedia as vote stuffing? Are we to have secret elections comprising only the most ardent of deletionists that hang out at the AfD page looking for a chance to destroy other peoples' work? Telling people about an impending vote isn't vote stuffing, cheating, "subverting democracy," or anything else; it's simple fairness. If all Wikipedians are entitled to vote in any given AfD (as we theoretically are), then why is it wrong to inform people that such a vote is taking place when it might be of interest to them?
[edit] The United Nations
The United Nations sucks. I'm sorry, let's face it. The whole mess is a bloated, incompetent bureaucracy that can't actually do its job worth a damn... unless that job consists of picking the pockets of taxpayers the world over, but especially in the United States. The Security Council can't get anything done because any one of the permanent members can veto everyone else, and fucking China and France are among them. Half the sitting members of the Human Rights Commission are prime candidates to be brought before that very same commission. There are no provisions for loss of privilege for dictatorships, no matter how loathsome they may be; the Soviet Union under Stalin held primacy in the UN all through the purges and no one batted an eye. The worst dictatorships on the planet today are all members in good standing, with some sitting on the most ironically inappropriate commissions imaginable. (Sudan on Human Rights, anyone?)
I'll be fair. The World Health Organization does its job reasonably well, and I definitely support its mission. But on global security? The UN is a sad, sad joke. The troops in the blue helmets didn't hit the ground in Darfur for years after the genocide there was widely known... and those grand world forces consisted of twelve men from Nepal. Either make the damned thing halfway effective or trim the fat.
[edit] Random quotations
"The only freedom which deserves the name, is that of pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs, or impede their efforts to obtain it." -- John Stuart Mill
"The attempt to silence a man is the greatest honor you can bestow on him. It means you recognize his superiority to yourself." -- Joseph Sobran
"At the end of a century that has seen the evils of communism, Nazism and other modern tyrannies, the impulse to centralize power remains amazingly persistent." -– Joseph Sobran
"For every action there is an equal and opposite government program." -- Bob Wells
"If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it's free." -- P.J. O'Rourke
"Pacifism is a shifty doctrine under which a man accepts the benefits of the social group without being willing to pay - and claims a halo for his dishonesty." — Robert A. Heinlein
"Anyone who considers protocol unimportant has never dealt with a cat." -- Robert A. Heinlein
"The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who in the name of charity and goodwill shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and a finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee." -- Ezekiel 25:17 combined with a few other verses, from Pulp Fiction.
"The driving is like that of Jehu, son of Nimshi -- He drives like a madman." -- 2 Kings 9:20
"We may indeed in counsel point to the higher road, but we cannot compel any free creature to walk upon it. That leadeth to tyranny, which disfigureth good and maketh it seem hateful." - Morgoth's Ring, J.R.R. Tolkien
"The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary." -- James D. Nicoll
"Socialism is the philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance and the gospel of envy." -- Sir Winston Churchill
