User talk:I'm Spartacus!/archive 11
admin coachee/admin coach
[edit]I'll do both, and I will be very very tough on my coachees, so pls do the same for me. ;-) But I'll tak care of the subpage etc. tomorrow. Ling.Nut (talk—WP:3IAR) 19:09, 3 October 2008 (UTC)
- And another one, between you and me and the wall and everyone else who reads your talk page. Can you do your checkie thingie on Steve (talk · contribs)? That guy has really impressed me and should be an admin. SandyGeorgia (Talk) 22:49, 4 October 2008 (UTC)
- I've asked him if he is interested... I didn't see anything that triggered any alarms, but I didn't look that close. I spend too much time reviewing candidates to do a full review on somebody who isn't interested.---Balloonman PoppaBalloon 05:56, 5 October 2008 (UTC)
- He's responded on his talk page.---Balloonman PoppaBalloon 07:06, 6 October 2008 (UTC)
- Me, too. SandyGeorgia (Talk) 07:38, 6 October 2008 (UTC)
Hi
[edit]Tango and SQL bots - boy, you're keen. <grin> Oh, and <bong> you've got mail. --Dweller (talk) 16:50, 6 October 2008 (UTC)
The Military history WikiProject Newsletter : Issue XXXI (September 2008)
[edit]The September 2008 issue of the Military history WikiProject newsletter has been published. You may read the newsletter, change the format in which future issues will be delivered to you, or unsubscribe from this notification by following the link. Thank you.
This has been an automated delivery by BrownBot (talk) 21:55, 6 October 2008 (UTC)
Coaching
[edit]Balloonman...
I've done some thinking, and I've come to the conclusion that maybe adminship isn't the right way to go for me yet. Although I feel confident as an editor, I don't think that I am ready to undo go an entire examination of my attitudes/thoughts/etc. Furthermore, I think that I'm just not quite the admin-type. I'm actually very much at ease with my position as it is. I might try in a year, but that is all.
My apologies if this has caused any disappointment, and by no means have I been let down by any of your constructive and helpful comments. :)
Regards,
La Pianista (T•C•S•R) 02:09, 9 October 2008 (UTC)
- No problem... if you ever change you mind let me know...---Balloonman PoppaBalloon 02:50, 9 October 2008 (UTC)
You responded substantively and productively, and properly so, to my silly comment, one that was, I suppose, offered for my own amusement and not much else, so I feel compelled to note (and this is something you've probably realized but simply did not state explicitly because (a) I was being stupid and (b) I was being useless [I am often one or the other here, but even I struggle to pull of the double]) that I meant not to compare your oppose to one of Kurt's or to suggest that you were partaking of any of the putatively problematic behaviors partaken of by Kurt; I was simply playing on your typo of "kurt" for "curt", and I apologize for any confusion. (In the time that it took me to make my pointless comment, add a qualifier to the first, and then offer a second clarification, I might have done something more productive here, but I might also have added to my own verbally masturbatory !vote, causing heads to explode, so we'll mark this one of the plus side of the ledger.) Again, apologies. Cheers, Joe 07:09, 12 October 2008 (UTC)
Quick question
[edit]I think I need to review what I've learned. I think I've pretty much got down the ban and block guidelines, as well as the deletion policy. Would it be possible for you to quiz me or something similar? Cheers. [Formerly LordSunday] —Ceran [speak] 11:30, 12 October 2008 (UTC)
- Er your talk page says that you aren't interested in being an admin and that you are retired?---Balloonman PoppaBalloon 00:07, 13 October 2008 (UTC)
- Not retired, just extremely 'tired. I'm swamped right now, and the anti-admin thing is um, my rebellious side. I don't really want to be an admin at the moment (or any time soon), but I would like to know what I need for adminship. It's a tad confusing, though. —Ceran ¿? 19:15, 15 October 2008 (UTC)
Rfa counter tool
[edit]You mentioned on Ironhold's RFA that x and y people have 80% oppose rates or whatever. What was the link to that tool? I remember seeing it before and have completely forgot where it is. naerii 16:55, 12 October 2008 (UTC)
RFA voting stats
[edit]Hey,
I'm very interested in your stats for different people and they way they vote. You mentioned a few people on the talk of Ironhold's RFA, but it would be good if a page could be created that listed "interesting facts" (such as "who has opposed the most times?" "who has voted the most?" "who has gone neutral the most" etc). I tried using SQL's bot but it throttled me. -- how do you turn this on 18:49, 12 October 2008 (UTC)
- That happened to me, as well. Seems the tool is down... –Juliancolton Tropical Cyclone 18:51, 12 October 2008 (UTC)
- The tool has been very annoying... it's working 50% of the time.---Balloonman PoppaBalloon 22:26, 12 October 2008 (UTC)
Hi
[edit]Ok then HK22 Talk to me! 05:48, 13 October 2008 (UTC)
New username
[edit]Hey there, Balloonman. Long time no see. Well, it has only been about a 1.5 months. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I've been renamed to RyanCross (talk · contribs), so I'm not RyRy (talk · contribs) anymore. Yours truly, – RyanCross (talk) 05:51, 13 October 2008 (UTC)
- Yeah, I saw that on Keeper's page a few days ago. Seems like everybody is getting a name change lately... LordSunday above also changed his name recently...---Balloonman PoppaBalloon 05:54, 13 October 2008 (UTC)
- Well then, you might find this interesting. – RyanCross (talk) 06:14, 13 October 2008 (UTC)
- Yes I did.... and it explained A LOT! BTW, I've thought about changing my name too... I just can't think of anything I'd rather have... the one's that I can think of are A) too personal, and I don't want wikipedia to know who I am in real life or B) Promotional (Eg won't be allowed due to various policies.)---Balloonman PoppaBalloon 06:23, 13 October 2008 (UTC)
- You have a userbox saying, "This user was a Professional Balloon Twister". I assume that's where you got "Balloonman" from? You also have "This User is a Black Belt in Kung Fu" and "This user is an Auditor userboxes. Maybe your username should be "BlackBeltMan" or "AuditorMan"? I like your current username though–most of the community knows you as "Balloonman" (the RfA man). Sorry for the long wait between replies. I'm a bit busy. – RyanCross (talk) 06:40, 13 October 2008 (UTC)
- Yeah, I haven't done Kung Fu in a few years, so that wouldn't be a good name... audit... while I'm an auditor, it is a job, not a passion. I haven't done balloons in years either... but... who knows... I'll probably stay with Balloonman because there is nothing I like better.---Balloonman PoppaBalloon 14:05, 13 October 2008 (UTC) EDIT: As for my name... yeah, when you twist balloons people come to you and say, 'Balloonman' all the time, but my stage name was "PoppaBalloon" (or Pop-a-Balloon) thus my talkpage linkname---Balloonman PoppaBalloon 17:34, 13 October 2008 (UTC)
- You have a userbox saying, "This user was a Professional Balloon Twister". I assume that's where you got "Balloonman" from? You also have "This User is a Black Belt in Kung Fu" and "This user is an Auditor userboxes. Maybe your username should be "BlackBeltMan" or "AuditorMan"? I like your current username though–most of the community knows you as "Balloonman" (the RfA man). Sorry for the long wait between replies. I'm a bit busy. – RyanCross (talk) 06:40, 13 October 2008 (UTC)
- Yes I did.... and it explained A LOT! BTW, I've thought about changing my name too... I just can't think of anything I'd rather have... the one's that I can think of are A) too personal, and I don't want wikipedia to know who I am in real life or B) Promotional (Eg won't be allowed due to various policies.)---Balloonman PoppaBalloon 06:23, 13 October 2008 (UTC)
- Well then, you might find this interesting. – RyanCross (talk) 06:14, 13 October 2008 (UTC)
You !voted twice on this RfA. Once in the neutral section and later in the Support Section. Since the Support !vote came after the neutral, I indented the Neutral. If I got it wrong, and you want to be neutral (not support) please fix it.---Balloonman PoppaBalloon 05:59, 13 October 2008 (UTC)
- Thanks for catching that.
- I had indented it (see here), but apparently someone changed it.
- Thanks again : ) - jc37 08:38, 13 October 2008 (UTC)
Barnstar
[edit]Thanks :). Even if it didn't work, at least it's something we can rule out for the next time the perennial debate comes around. I'm not one for any kind of grudge, and I look forward to seeing you around-wiki in the future. Ironholds (talk) 14:18, 13 October 2008 (UTC)
- You deserved it... while the RfA failed, and I think the concept failed, you were the first person to bring a meaningful attempt at reform to the project in a long time. For that, you deserve credit.---Balloonman PoppaBalloon 14:20, 13 October 2008 (UTC)
More Caspian
[edit]Now I'm a vandal... I dunno what his issue is. He doesn't seem to get the meaning of the word "stop". I can't see what possible benefit in templating me was, and reverting my perfectly acceptable edit. Ah well. Best wishes, -- how do you turn this on 22:40, 13 October 2008 (UTC)
- yeah, if a crat hasn't removed it by the time I get home from work, I'll probably take him to ANI... I'll give a crat the chance first... don't want to appear to be forum shopping.---Balloonman PoppaBalloon 22:42, 13 October 2008 (UTC)
As for your personal attacks
[edit]October 2008: RfA
[edit]Hey, Balloonman. I'd like to be an admin, but I wonder if Wikipedia:Guide to requests for adminship is the way to go. If so, I'll read up on it and study it, attempt to pass, and try to know how to be a better Wiki Admin. Also, I'd like to ask you for a favour; is my history going to effect my nomination? Lastly, where can I find someone who would nominate me? Thanks for all your help, A talk 22:05, 16 October 2008 (UTC)
teacher, I didn't do my homework..
[edit]... and I probably will be offline for a day or two. I'll try to get on it after that. Ling.Nut (talk—WP:3IAR) 01:35, 17 October 2008 (UTC)
- No problem... like I said, I take the long range approach to coaching... and homework is really of secondary importance... contributing to difference facets of the project and getting experience in a few adminly areas is much more importance.---Balloonman PoppaBalloon 02:28, 17 October 2008 (UTC)
Reply to RfA
[edit]Thanks an awful lot; I'll remember additions to edit summaries and remain neutral and impartial. Thanks for the tip, a lot. A talk 21:02, 17 October 2008 (UTC)
DR
[edit]My close was to keep the article, overturning it would be to redirect which seems mutually exclusive with renaming. BJTalk 03:43, 18 October 2008 (UTC)
- Thanks revised position.---Balloonman PoppaBalloon 03:51, 18 October 2008 (UTC)
Admin coaching
[edit]Hi Balloonman, I'm looking for guidance on becoming an admin. I notice you are currently only coaching one potential admin at the moment. Would you be willing to take me on as well? Yours, Aervanath lives in the Orphanage 06:30, 20 October 2008 (UTC)
oh seems like I didn't come first but after reading (on the admin coaching page) that you're willing to accept more than one user ,I thought it wouldn't heart to ask if you could train me aswell. Alexnia (If you reply here, please leave me a {{Talkback}} message on my talk page.) @ 19:02, 20 October 2008 (UTC)
- What are you asking to be trained in? How to pass an RfA or how to be a good administrator? Shall I guess? --Malleus Fatuorum (talk) 19:08, 20 October 2008 (UTC)
- Both, actually.--Aervanath lives in the Orphanage 19:17, 20 October 2008 (UTC)
- Well, at least you're obviously (apparently) not another child wannabee admin candidate. Good luck. --Malleus Fatuorum (talk) 19:24, 20 October 2008 (UTC)
I'll be happy to take a look at both of you, but it might be a few days before I get around to it. My time on wikipedia is a little limited lately.---Balloonman PoppaBalloon 01:36, 21 October 2008 (UTC)
You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{Talkback}} or {{Tb}} template.
Re: Ynhockey RFA
[edit]Hi, and thanks for the tip! In retrospect, I wish I saw this page before the nomination. Since the candidate's userpage pretty much details his contributions, I was afraid of "overselling" him. Is it considered appropriate to edit the nomination after the voting started? Cheers, Nudve (talk) 05:07, 22 October 2008 (UTC)
- At this point, I would probably leave it as is... I was hoping that you could make those changes earlier on... I think enough people have seen the nom now that I would just leave it as is... Ynhockey is one of those candidates who I can't decide on... on the one hand, I want to support... on the other, his lack of experience and desire to work in areas with nominal experience are a concern... it's a case where I think a strong nom might have helped shaped people's first impressions. (The person who added the co-nom helped out.)---Balloonman PoppaBalloon 05:10, 22 October 2008 (UTC)
- Alright. Strange, somehow, I thought his record of over 25,000 mainspace edits would speak for itself. Now, after four years of positive contributions, he might start abusing admin tools and block users arbitrarily? Anyway, thanks again. Cheers, -- Nudve (talk) 05:40, 22 October 2008 (UTC)
- It's politics. Does 26 years of Senetorial Experience speak louder for John McCain, than rhetoric does for Obama? He looks like he's going to pass, he has the support of some of the people whose voices often doom candidates. But a well formed oppose which cited diffs could have done the candidate in.---Balloonman PoppaBalloon 14:21, 22 October 2008 (UTC)
- Alright. Strange, somehow, I thought his record of over 25,000 mainspace edits would speak for itself. Now, after four years of positive contributions, he might start abusing admin tools and block users arbitrarily? Anyway, thanks again. Cheers, -- Nudve (talk) 05:40, 22 October 2008 (UTC)
Oi, I'd forgotten about this
[edit]Oh dearie me, my bloomers are showing here.
My position, then and now, is that there is neither a policy nor a guideline which prohibits making your User talk a redirect to your User page. If there is one now, then I'm pretty sure it didn't exist then. Either way, it's an egregious case of CREEP and needs to be resisted. Ling.Nut (talk—WP:3IAR) 01:08, 24 October 2008 (UTC)
I owe you an RFA thanks...
[edit]... for your RfA commentary pages. Although you did not comment in my recent RfA, the advice you give there was of great asssitance to me in crafting my initial statement in my recent RfA. I also found the hints about not commenting on the opposes to be valuable (if difficult to follow) advice. I'm not not an RfA regular, and my nomination came upon unexpectedly, so I appreciated having those pages to quickly put together my RfA. Thanks for the insights! Xymmax So let it be written So let it be done 14:18, 24 October 2008 (UTC)
- Now you have my curiosity up... if you aren't an RfA regular, how did you know that they existed? EG how did you find them?---Balloonman PoppaBalloon 14:45, 24 October 2008 (UTC)
- Oh, I just know how to ask for help... Xymmax So let it be written So let it be done 15:00, 24 October 2008 (UTC)
I have indented your duplicate !vote. Gary King (talk) 02:05, 25 October 2008 (UTC)
- oops wasn't supposed to be an !vote, but a comment... thanks for indenting...---Balloonman PoppaBalloon 02:10, 25 October 2008 (UTC)
personal update
[edit]HI BalloonGuy,
- My Wikipedia participation in every area has dropped off recently, including in the admin coaching. recently I've been hit with a triple-whammy, mostly in real life. To wit:
- I have been dealing with burnout issues with respect to Wikipedia. I'm feeling better, but still not 100%. Maybe I'm up to 65% or 70%. They were mainly caused by hardcore AWB work last month (see my contribs). I managed to get 8,000 of the 30,000+ articles on the CD spell-checked, but it messes with your mind and your energy after a while.
- My wife has been repeatedly requesting that I spend more free time with her. :-)
- I recently rec'd an email from the chair of my dissertation committee, outlining improvements that need to be made to my dissertation.
- Definitely do NOT want to drop the coaching, but I guess I'm a dstracted student at the moment. I hope it will all clear up within two weeks.
later Ling.Nut (talk—WP:3IAR) 03:04, 25 October 2008 (UTC)
- Hehe... LOL... I was wondering about your recent activity... has seemed off a little. There is no rush...---Balloonman PoppaBalloon 03:32, 25 October 2008 (UTC)
Admin coaching
[edit]I see from the WP:Admin coaching/Status page that you have five coachees out of a total of two places. But then I never believe any statistics I read on Wikipedia unless my Mother tells me it's true as well. Do you have room for one more? Just to put the cards on the table, I also asked at User:Johann Wolfgang's talk page about a week ago, but his account seems to be dead at the moment. 18:37, 26 October 2008 (UTC)
- I'll try to take a look at you tonight, but I have one other person who asked me first... so I need to do her first.---Balloonman PoppaBalloon 02:25, 27 October 2008 (UTC)
Re: Congrats!
[edit]Hi Balloonman! Thank you very much for you support and warm comments on the RfA. To be honest, I also believed that it would turn into a political election, and was totally glad and relieved that the users supported or opposed based on WikiPerformance, experience, adherence to policy, etc. and not political views. I'm glad it's finally over, as now I have more time to edit articles and read/test admin tools in the designated areas (after finishing over 100 notes to users!). Cheers, Ynhockey (Talk) 22:44, 28 October 2008 (UTC)
Re:OWU
[edit]
You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{Talkback}} or {{Tb}} template.
§hep • ¡Talk to me! 04:07, 29 October 2008 (UTC)
let's wait two weeks
[edit]Hi Balloon Guy,
After two years on Wikipedia, I feel as though I am really and truly burned out. If you were to ask me at this exact moment, I would say that I should drop the admin training. But the problem is, I have no way of knowing whether this precipitous drop in energy level is a temporary bonk or a more prolonged burnout.
Let's wait two weeks. I'll ping you again at that time. If I still feel like crap, we'll put the admin training on the shelf for another day.
later! Ling.Nut (talk—WP:3IAR) 14:33, 29 October 2008 (UTC)
- Let me know... just as an FYI, I would not be totally opposed towards your running without coaching. The more I looked at your edits, the more I realized that you are a strong candidate either way. (My concern was and is that displays of policy knowledge is a little limited.)---Balloonman PoppaBalloon 15:18, 29 October 2008 (UTC)
- Thanks for the kind words, and for all your time and attention! I think I'm gonna hang up my spurs for a while—perhaps as long as a couple months. We'll see later! Ling.Nut (talk—WP:3IAR) 15:39, 29 October 2008 (UTC)
RfA
[edit]Lol. No doubt you'll have spotted my latest nom under way... --Dweller (talk) 18:05, 29 October 2008 (UTC)
- I like your suggestion. Run it at WT:RFA as a proposed change to the template? --Dweller (talk) 18:48, 29 October 2008 (UTC)
- Not a bad idea... heck, it might be something just to be bold and add... I think consensus is that pre-votes are bad...this would be a sign to people to check first... I think the way people pre-vote is because they have the candidate's RfA page watchlisted and don't realize it hasn't gone live yet.---Balloonman PoppaBalloon 18:50, 29 October 2008 (UTC)
- See, by the time I get around to review your nom, it's already pretty much over... ergo, I probably won't even bother.---Balloonman PoppaBalloon 04:27, 30 October 2008 (UTC)
- I dunno, you might want to oppose because the candidate has been reminding people to substitute their templates. Tan | 39 04:56, 30 October 2008 (UTC)
- Actually, there is a better than average chance that I would support... I do have concerns about his lack of article building... but when I looked at him briefly at work, I noticed that he had a solid talk page and developed his communication... which are positives, but I didn't vet him well enough to !vote...and now that it's looking like it'll pass, I probably won't bother.---Balloonman PoppaBalloon 05:05, 30 October 2008 (UTC)
- I was being sarcastic. You either didn't pick up on it, in which case, see oppose #3. Or, you picked up on it and decided to take the high road. :-) Tan | 39 05:06, 30 October 2008 (UTC)
- No, I hadn't seen oppose #3... but now that I think about it... you do have a point... an oppose it is!!!---Balloonman PoppaBalloon 05:50, 30 October 2008 (UTC)
- I was being sarcastic. You either didn't pick up on it, in which case, see oppose #3. Or, you picked up on it and decided to take the high road. :-) Tan | 39 05:06, 30 October 2008 (UTC)
- Actually, there is a better than average chance that I would support... I do have concerns about his lack of article building... but when I looked at him briefly at work, I noticed that he had a solid talk page and developed his communication... which are positives, but I didn't vet him well enough to !vote...and now that it's looking like it'll pass, I probably won't bother.---Balloonman PoppaBalloon 05:05, 30 October 2008 (UTC)
- I dunno, you might want to oppose because the candidate has been reminding people to substitute their templates. Tan | 39 04:56, 30 October 2008 (UTC)
Happy Halloween!
[edit]As Halloween is my favorite holiday, I just wanted to wish those Wikipedians who have been nice enough to give me a barnstar or smile at me, supportive enough to agree with me, etc., a Happy Halloween! Sincerely, --A NobodyMy talk 21:11, 31 October 2008 (UTC)