User talk:Katie Ryan A

You have been mentioned on Jimbo Wales' talk page

Hello and welcome to Wikipedia. As a courtesy, I am leaving you a note to let you know that there is a discussion centering around comments you made recently about feeling uncomfortable editing on Wikipedia due to some comments during the Chelsea Manning naming debate. I discovered the discussion and while reading noticed that you had not been notified. While this is not a requirement, it is considered best practice to do so. The original posting editor should have informed you but was not required by policy.

You may find the discussion located at User talk:Jimbo Wales/Archive 143#This comment makes me sad.. In a nut shell, an editor is expressing their disappointment in having editors feel uncomfortable editing Wikipedia due to such uncivil comments as you mention. Many of these rude comments are being given as evidence in an Arbitration case involving the name change and homophobic/transphobic issues as well as edit warring etc. Please feel free to join the discussion. If you have any questions feel free to drop me a note at my talk page.--Mark Miller (talk) 03:52, 14 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks!

Thank you for the "Thanks"...I continue to be shocked at the recent bias against transgender individuals' articles on Wikipedia. The attempts to dehumanize them is unacceptable. The fact is is that before the Chelsea/Bradley Manning dispute in August, there doesn't have been much controversy about renaming articles to accommodate gender transitions. I have no idea why this animosity has suddenly emerged this summer. I hope that respectful policy can be enacted to make renames just a matter of course, not subject to debate. Liz ^{Read! Talk!} 13:47, 17 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The whole case has been a bit crazy for the trans community and the polarization is happening everywhere. It has brought a lot of trans issues into the mainstream press, and there has been a lot of positive coverage of the problems we face. However, Chelsea Manning was a polarizing subject before anyone knew she was trans, so her case isn't very helpful towards the cause when people can't seperate their disapproval with her actions from her gender identity. The people that bother me the most are the ones who claim that they support trans people and understand and respect transitioning as necessary, but then go on to say that Chelsea deserves to be denied her transition because they don't like her. I've never heard this sort of outrage about providing heart medication to convicted murderers...

One of my favorite arguments I've seen on-wiki is that she has male genitalia and it is therefore inaccurate to refer to her as anything but male. If that logic somehow gets put into the guidelines here (not that there is any chance it will), then I look forward to putting together a team of "gender police". They would go through articles on every person on wikipedia, converting them to gender-neutral language until someone could provide a reliable source on the configuration of that person's genitals. Otherwise calling them by the pronouns they prefer would be original research, right? Katie R (talk) 14:15, 17 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for your answer to my question on the reference desk about changing the HD serial number

However, I still wonder why there are special programs for changing the HD serial number (see ibid. and the second page as well), if there's a simple command <uniqueid>?

Additionally, your link about the command <uniqueid> claims this command "displays or sets the GUID partition table (GPT) identifier or master boot record (MBR) signature for the disk with focus". So, are you still sure this refers to changing the HD serial number? 87.68.62.25 (talk) 19:34, 19 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

No, it is distinct from the serial number, which will be a manufacturer-specific thing to change. Like I said on the reference desk, the thing that uniqueid sets is commonly called the disk signature. This is what is usually used by the operating system to uniquely identify the disk, not the serial number, so I thought it may still be of interest depending on why you needed to change the serial number in the first place. Katie R (talk) 19:47, 19 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Thankxs. 87.68.62.25 (talk) 19:55, 19 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

A kitten for you!

I didn't need a reason, i just think the advice you give on the help desk is very valuable. Also what you went through with the Chelsea/Bradley Manning rename was terrible and you should have earned a medal for putting up with that. Thanks for sticking around Katie and keep up the good wikiing =]. I hope to continue seeing you around the help desks for a long long time!

ツ Jenova 20 ^(email) 14:24, 25 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Removed hat and some explanation

I removed your hat here [1]. I find it wrong for you to suggest there is something wrong with me pointing out that AFAIK a person does not identify as female after some has said they do, as somehow wrong. I would add you seem to have missed the point of the pronoun issue (which wasn't really what the discussion was about).

AFAICT, no one is suggesting we should sit around someone's preferred pronoun in the absence of anything. However the person we're talking about here said things in the past which the vast majority consider to be clear self identification as female. Some people therefore began to use the female pronoun. Once or twice, people proffered correction to others who used the male pronoun. This is perfectly normal and reasonable behaviour although care has to be taken to make sure you're correct as the risk of harm is generally a bit greater from offering a correction than not offering one. But it's still the sort of stuff which happens all the time on wikipedia and other online communities without comment or complain. If you believe someone has clearly self identified as a certain gender identity, there's no harm in offering a simple correction. No one is saying there needs to be extensive speculation about the gender identity. If someone does object to such corrections, whatever their actual gender identity, they're obviously entitled to request people don't make them and no one has suggested otherwise.

However the person we're talking about here did none of this. About 2 years back, they made an extensive complaint, including apparently misidentifying the source of some commentary they objected to and accusations of "nigger" jokes which most people found nonsense and some commentary which suggested people should take care when commenting on their gender identity. While they did offer some followup, most of these didn't help much and they then proceeded to disappear as they always do offering little explanation for their complaint. Nor any apology or even real acknowledgement that they had made some highly offensive but poorly supported claims and apparently even one mistaken claim (incorrect attribution). Since then, except perhaps for once or twice early on, I've been careful not to comment on their gender identity until this case, where someone said that they claim to be female, something which I believed and still believe to be wrong so I mentioned that.

You can perhaps say I went over the line with my second comment about what I previously believed but this was a fairly complicated case as

1) It's apparent many people still believe the person we're talking about is female however the reasons for this seem to significantly be because others call them female

2) My honest impression from what they've said (i.e. ignoring what others have said) was that they're male and didn't really mind people knowing that or identifying them as such provided care was taken although precisely how much care was unclear and looking back at the earlier discussion I started to become less certain over the whole thing.

3) It's apparent as I've said that the person we're talking about here may have some objections to something relating to people commenting on their gender identity but precisely what is unclear because the discussion from which this arises is very confused and the person we're talking about here has offered no explanation

4) My comment which rereading it I feel I decent job of (even though I probably didn't have to say what I previously believed); was intended to convey the fact that wide confusion of precisely what the person we're talking about here has said we should and shouldn't do. And while I've done my best to respect their extremely unclear desires as I guess have others, I can understand why people are confused over this whole matter. And in fact I came away from rechecking the earlier discussion which started the whole thing from do years ago even more confused than I was before. (Noting of course that a key part of the reason for the confusion is that the person involved made as a I said a massive complaint including widespread accusations of Ad hominem attacks, which few people really understood because the stuff that were complaining about didn't actually seem to be harmful or in any way what they were suggesting it was, and part of the stuff they were complaining about didn't even come from who they were proscribing it to, yet they offered no further explanation.)

To be clear, the issue is not over the existence over the confusion of the identity, which the person we're talking about here, and anyone else, is entitled to if they desire. But over the confusion over whether that's what they desire perhaps including people never mentioning it in any way, or they don't actually mind people believing and mentioning they're gender identity X provided people don't go too far like use it to make what they regard as personal attacks, or what. While there obviously should always be some care taken, since this can be a sensitive subject matter, I don't feel and I don't think there's any community consensus that agrees that under normal circumstances that goes as far as to never mentioning someone's clear self identification (which BB believe) when it's highly relevant, or correcting that comment when it's apparently incorrect (as I believe). In fact, one of my beliefs before my first reply in the matter (something which I still actually think may be the case) was that the person involved possibly objected to people saying they'd self identified as female, which was partly what the previous fuss was about, so mentioning when someone had made what I thought and still believe to be a good faith error seemed not only reasonable but important.

In any case, although I still don't feel I crossed any line, I've modified my response to remove mentions in that response of gender identity [2]. Again I'm not saying and I don't think anyone is saying that we should have extensive discussions about the person we're talking about, or anyone's gender identity, but this is quite a different thing from mentioning it when you believe it is highly relevant (as BB did), and mentioning that you believe someone is mistaken when they make a point blank statement which they believe to be correct about something having claimed to be female when AFAIK the person has done no such thing and some brief followup mentioning there's extensive confusion about precisely what we should and shouldn't about the issue.

P.S. I appreciate the irony over this extensive discussion, but I see no choice since I feel as I'm sure is clear, that I did not do anything substantially wrong here and therefore am entitled to offer some explanation from where I'm coming. While I appreciate gender identity can be a sensitive subject, I'm sure you appreciate accusing someone of being insensitive in that regard is also a sensitive issue for many. Given the sensitivity, I've avoided referring to the person by name, although it's obviously easily possible to know who I'm talking about. But I see no way to avoid this since I cannot explain my position without mentioning what happened and why from my POV. I did consider emailing but I feel I prefer my response to be public come what may. As per WP:TPG you can of course delete my response as you discretion.

Nil Einne (talk) 07:17, 5 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for your kindness & time

(cf your help on "Apple 17' display") . Please, take 2 minutes, put down your hat, so you'll have a close look at my roses, & smell their fragrance (the rose chafer is harmless) . T.y.Arapaima (talk) 16:00, 11 October 2013 (UTC)[reply]

disk image

Thanks, I only just saw your answers at the ref desk. After about 24 hours stuck in a loop going from "scanning and repairing disk" to "unexpected error, restart and continue windows installation" I have pretty much given up. I should say, the computer's owner has given up, and will take it to a shop or maybe get a MAC, he hates windows so. I was never able to get into safe mode like you do with Windows 7. I might look into this later in the week, but my family is coming into town as we speak, and I will be enjoying my niblings. μηδείς (talk) 18:10, 26 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Okay, just let me know if you want any more help - I saw you posted it several days ago so I figured you may have already decided to give up on it. I work with this stuff, but in the Windows Embedded world where everything is just a bit different and we haven't moved to 8 yet because we don't need to. I've had pretty terrible experiences with the Windows 8 auto-recovery stuff at home too, but I chalked that up to using a motherboard and hard drive scavenged from the scrap bin at work to build that system. Enjoy your time with your family. :-) Katie R (talk) 19:26, 26 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Barnstar!

Thanks for the answer dated 13:48, 8 January 2014 (UTC) at the ref desk. I couldn't find the dif for some odd reason. The barnstar is not topically appropriate either, but I like the one that spins. Hehe. μηδείς (talk) 01:41, 10 January 2014 (UTC)[reply]

		The Tireless Contributor Barnstar
		For you patient answer at the humanities desk μηδείς (talk) 01:41, 10 January 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks! I try to be pretty active in fighting for trans awareness and rights in the real world and other parts of the internet, and it feels like I have to explain the same basics over and over because even the people that I know want to be accepting and supportive have big misconceptions about us and the issues we face. It's great to know that it's appreciated. :-) The spinny one is nice - the special barnstar is fun for anything vaguely LGBT-related because of the rainbow. Katie R (talk) 13:25, 13 January 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Request to Continue an Old Conversation With You

Folding this up because it is getting long... Feel free to keep discussing things here.

Dear Katie,

I would like to continue this conversation from several months ago with you:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Archives/Humanities/2014_January_4#Sexual_preferences_of_transgendered_people

I was busy over the last several months, which is why I didn't respond to you sooner.

If it is okay with you, I will write a response (which I will post here) to your last comment on that link.

Have a good day and take care,

Sincerely,

Futurist110 (talk) 13:14, 7 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Sure, I have no problem continuing that discussion. I've been very busy, so I may be slow to respond, but I'll definitely get back to you. Katie R (talk) 15:19, 7 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

OK--in that case, let me respond to your last post on that page here right now.

For reference, here is your last post on that page:

"I didn't think you had any sort of negative attitudes towards any of this, but like you said it's that initial response that set me off. I do understand why you worded it the way you did, considering how the question was asked. I didn't want anyone going away from this thread thinking that being trans was defined by surgery, because that is one of the misconceptions that leads towards the attitudes that we (and hopefully most people) realize are horrible.

The question about classifying pre-transition sex is complicated - it really depends on the situation and how the people involved feel about it. I know someone who was dating a lesbian and they both agreed they were having lesbian sex even though at the time she still considered herself a very femme gay man.

The mention of disclosure is complicated too, but I can tell you're aware of that.

I'm happily married, and have been since before realizing that I was trans, so it's not an issue I've personally had to put much thought into.

I don't have a source for you on the numbers - I do most of my wikipedia editing from work, and I can't research it here. I've seen those numbers quoted by bloggers on the subject that I trust to use accurate sources, assuming that I remembered them right. It certainly seems to match for the trans people I know that have talked about it.

Gender-fluid, but not transgender is how I started out! :-P Then I realized that girl me was always happy and relaxed and I was always dissapointed when ended up back in boy mode. But anyways, I think we're getting far enough off topic and close to archiving that we can probably end the talk here. If you ever want to talk more about this sort of stuff feel free to contact me on my talk page. I haven't gotten around to enabling email on my account yet, but I'll do it tonight if I remember."

Yeah, again, I am sorry for my initial response there, and Yes, I agree that being trans is not defined by surgery.

I see what you mean in regards to pre-transition sex--essentially, you are saying that it depends on the personal views of the people who are transitioning, correct? For instance, there could be more cases like with your lesbian couple, and there could possibly be cases in reverse.

In regards to disclosure, I am assuming that you mean revealing the fact that one is trans, correct? And Yes, that is something which needs to be done very carefully and delicately.

If you don't mind me asking, I am assuming that you are married to a woman, correct?

Thanks for this info.

It is certainly interesting to hear your story in regards to figuring out you were trans. Personally, I don't think that I am trans. After all, the ideas of functioning as a male sometimes and as a female at other times both appeal to me (actually being a male, bodily-wise, is less appealing to me, though). I can elaborate more on this if you want.

Anyway, have a good day,

Sincerely,

Futurist110 (talk) 07:28, 8 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

1. I think that my disclosure comment was a response to "As a side note, though, I do think that it is a good idea for transgender people to tell people whom they are dating about their "status" (for a lack of a better word) before their relationship gets too deep/serious." It's a complicated issue, but not one I've had to personally deal with or put much thought into.

2. Yes, I'm married to a woman. We just had our fifth anniversary. :-)

3. There are certainly lots of gender-fluid or otherwise non-binary people out there who have taken some steps towards medically transitioning.

4. I've heard it can be a lot harder to get started out though, because they aren't following the path set out in the WPATH Standards of Care.

5. No matter what, I highly recommend finding a support/discussion group in your area, even if you only participate via something like Facebook.

6. You'll get to meet and discuss things with people that fall under the transgender umbrella in all sorts of ways, and hopefully meet others who feel a lot like you. Katie R (talk) 12:03, 8 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Dear Katie,

1. That's what I already previously suspected.

2. Congratulations for you! I am very glad that your spouse was willing to stay/remain with you after you realized that you are trans (and presumably transitioned? Or I am wrong on this?)

3. Will their insurance still cover their steps even though they are not transgender, though? Honestly, if insurance is not going to cover this, and even if I am sure that I want to begin transitioning, then I might need to delay/postpone at least some of my plans in regards to this. After all, I am not made of money.

4. Can they follow that path that you are talking about, though? Or is it simply not an option for them at all?

5. I'll see what I can do in regards to this, though nowadays I prefer not to talk about this sort of stuff on Facebook just to be safe. I'll see what other websites and whanot I can find, though.

6. Yeah, this would probably be nice. :)

Also, out of curiosity (if you don't mind answering):

1. How much does transitioning and/or getting a sex change hurt one's chances of getting a job and/or of keeping one's job?

2. What exactly (other than not doing what Angie Zapata did) should people who transition and/or get sex changes need to do in order to try their best to avoid becoming victims of violence? (This is an important question in regards to personal safety.)

3. A person question for you -- did you ever, prior to begining your transition, feel like a female trapped in a male's body? (Again, since you said that you are a female, I obviously consider you to be a female regardless of your answer to this question -- I am simply asking this question out of curiosity.)

4. How hard is it to be gender-fluid (meaning functioning as a male on some days and as a female on other days) at work?

5. Does transitioning (from a male to a female) affect one's total lifespan, on average? If so, then how?

6. I apologize for asking this question, but out of curiosity -- let's say that I hypothetically get castrated (Yes, castrated, as in becoming a eunuch) and then get hormone replacement therapy (the one that people who transition from physically male to physically female get), but still keep my penis for the time being. Will I still be able to get erections at this point in time if I still want to get them (and Yes, this is genuinely a completely serious question)?

7. How hard and expensive is it to change one's name and one's sex/gender on one's documents/records?

I think that these are all of the questions which I have for now. Anyway, have a good day and take care,

Sincerely,

Futurist110 (talk) 07:14, 9 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

A. My wife has been incredibly supportive - it's obviously been tough for both of us, but we're making it work. She's straight, but the key thing was focusing on that she's in love with me, and I'm still the same person.

B. Insurance is a tough call - mine doesn't cover anything (not even mental health), but I'm hoping that changes next year when my employer is forced to move to ACA-compliant insurance. If your insurance covers transition expenses it will likely frame it in terms of "gender identity disorder," which I would expect to cover pretty much any case where someone would want to transistion. You can do a lot of things cheaply (that wouldn't be covered anyways) - building up a new wardrobe slowly, wearing a feminine haircut, doing your nails, makeup, shaving or waxing body hair, and probably a million other things like that. If you have dark hair, laser facial hair removal costs somewhere around $1500 by the end if you get it done through a cosmetic surgery office, and your insurance may cover the cost. If it doesn't, some salons will do it as well, but the savings isn't a ton and I don't know if the technicians are as experienced.

C. WPATH overall is controversial - it has steps such as living full-time for a certain amount of time, which might not make sense for everybody, and slows down the process for people who are ready to keep moving. Many insurance programs mention WPATH as the standard they cover, but a lot of therapists and doctors are willing to tweak the program to fit your needs and still get it covered by insurance.

D. The group I'm in meets in real life but also has a secret facebook group. I haven't made it to a meeting because the town is about an hour away. People can see that you're in it, but that's all. The public description mentions that it is for friends and allies of trans people too. If your town or one near you has some sort of LGBT resource center, that's the place to start. Pride month is coming up, so you can probably get information at a nearby pride event.

Now to your next set of questions...

1. Surveys of transgender people show that a huge number of them have faced employment discrimination because of their status. I'm not Katie at work yet because of the conservative environment, and I'm still trying to work out the best way to change that. I think I'm going to aim for getting LGBT-inclusive policies in place before actually coming out, but that's hard because I can't explain how they would affect me personally if I don't come out at the time. I don't know of any other LGBT workers here, even though statistically there must be a few. I've been parking with a rainbow flag bumper sticker facing the front door of the building for a year hoping that it would convince another LGBT worker that they could talk to me about things and give me an ally in working towards change. Of course, there are also tons of employers that are very supportive. Check the HRC's Corporate Equality Index to get an idea. It breaks down hundreds of companies LGBT policies, including insurance that covers transition.

2. I don't have a good answer for you there. I honestly just don't worry about it. I've never felt threatened going out, but in my area you're probably more likely to get prayers and threats of eternal damnation thrown at you rather than slurs and violence.

3. No, it's really a big misconception that this is an essential part of being trans. When the media writes about a trans person they love to focus on cliches like that or a history of sexual abuse, even though that doesn't fit the narrative of a huge chunk of the trans population. There have been things I realize in retrospect should have stood out, such as the fact that for as long as I can remember I've been female in the majority of my daydreams, and I never really questioned it.

4. No idea. I haven't spoken to any gender-fluid people about that.

5. Not that I know of, but that's probably a question for the doctor prescribing hormones.

6. That's called a bilateral orchiectomy. It's a somewhat common choice - it's an outpatient procedure that eliminates testosterone production, and is much cheaper than full reassignment surgery. I've heard that without insurance it falls in the $1000 area. Without testosterone, you don't need a spiro prescription, which is the one that can lead to kidney problems in some situations, and hormones are easier to balance overall. It does mean that you're committing to medication for life at that point - your body needs sex hormones, so you'll need to keep taking estrogen. (Or go back to testosterone, I guess) I don't know how erections work with an orchi, but they get harder to maintain as HRT progresses anyways. I don't know about the experience of gender-fluid or other non-binary people in this area, but a lot of trans women don't mind and find plenty of other things they enjoy more than using their penis anyways.

7. It varies by state, and sometimes by county. In Michigan I think it costs $120, and you need to schedule a court date for the name change. Court dates are scheduled on a quarterly basis here, so it can take up to three months. A posting of public notice will be made (usually in the classifieds of your local newspaper), it's a requirement for notifying debt collectors and such, but if you want privacy the judge can waive that requirement with good cause. Most judges will consider transitioning good cause for wanting privacy. Right now there is no way to change my gender on my birth certificate and driver's license. Some states let you do it easily, some don't let you at all, and others require certain steps to be taken such as sexual reassignment surgery. Several states with that requirement have accepted documentation of an orchiectomy as meeting the requirement.

8. If you find a local group, they'll be able to talk about their experiences with local employers, violence, doctors that are willing to work with non-binary people, and getting name changes. I think I covered most of your questions, but feel free to keep talking about it. It's a huge subject, and I know there is a ton to learn as you jump into it. Katie R (talk) 12:27, 9 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Don't worry, Katie--I will respond to you within the next several days. I simply have some stuff to do right now, which is why I did not respond to you yet. Futurist110 (talk) 20:55, 12 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Dear Katie--I owe you a response. I have had finals for my classes recently, which is why I didn't get around to this until now. Anyway, here goes:

First of all, though, please forgive me if I say anything here which might be interpreted as offensive. I try my best to avoid saying such things, but sometimes one can make mistakes.

A. I am very glad to hear this. Hopefully I can eventually find a wife such as this as well once I will go into dating. I am still pretty young right now, so I don't intend to get married until 10-15 years from now. I apologize for saying this, but honestly, if my future wife later discovered that he was a male and began transitioning, then I am not sure that I would be too eager to remain married to him; I mean, I would love to remain great friends with him, but in regards to physical/sexual attraction, I don't appear to have any attraction towards trans-men whatsoever, and no offense, but physical/sexual attraction is a part of the deal for me when I will decide to get married. Futurist110 (talk) 07:02, 24 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

B. Thank you very much for this info. Overall, $1,500 doesn't sound like too much in the grand scheme of things.

C. Thank you very much for this info. Honestly, I suppose that I could live full-time as a woman for a year or two or three if necessary if this will make the difference in regards to insurance coverage and if I decide to transition. Of course, even in such a scenario, I will still resume functioning as a male sometimes after the 1/2/3/whatever years are over.

D. Thank you very much for this info. Also, I was wondering if I should (eventually, in several years; I myself am in no rush to transition) see a gender therapist as well.

---

1. Thank you very much for this info, and I am sorry that you are unable to be your true self at work yet. Based on what you said here, I suppose that I can function as a male at work (once I will finish my studies and get a full-time job) as long as necessary and very slowly begin adding some small feminine traits to my outfits, if that will not be against the workplace rules, that is.

2. I am very glad that you do not have this problem and that people in your area appear to have never threatened you.

As for me, I suppose that if I ever want to be on the safe side, I can simply dress up as a man if I feel that this is necessary (even if I want to dress up as a woman).

3. What exactly do you mean by "a history of sexual abuse"? I don't think that I have ever heard of this as being a characterization of transgender people. Also, I find it interesting that your specific case appears to be more focused on the euphoria of being a female and that your case does not appear to have that much dysphoria in regards to your birth sex. (Or am I wrong on this?)

4. Well, in that case, I guess that I will need to research this more for myself.

5. Thanks for this info, and Yes, if I will transition, then I will ask the doctor(s) prescribing hormones to me about this.

6. Thank you very much for this info. Yeah, honestly, it appears that I would love to get a bilateral orchiectomy (get castrated) even before I decide whether or not to transition. Also, I've got a question--couldn't one theoretically stop taking any sex hormones at all? After all, I think that I read about some males who became eunuchs and who have stopped taking any sex hormones at all, and I don't think that any of them had any un-fixable problems as a result of this. As for a castration, I appear to have discovered that there is a doctor in the San Francisco area named Marci Bowers who is willing to perform orchiectomies on biological/genetic males even if they are not planning to transition, assuming that certain conditions are met. Of course, I wonder if I myself can get an orchiectomy while I am asleep--I appear to be very sure that I want to do this, but I do appear to have become a bit squeamish at this procedure itself. Thus, if possible, I think that it would be better and more comfortable for me to temporarily get put to sleep via anesthetic before I get an orchiectomy. Do you know if this is possible? Also, I am aware that many trans-women don't like their penises, but then again, I myself am not transgender; Personally, I appear to be rather ambivalent about my penis--it does seem to be rather useful for giving me the option of peeing standing up without assistance, but then again, I might very well be able to live without a sexually functioning penis or even without any penis (after all, I could use my fingers, a strap-on dildo, and/or something else to pleasure and to satisfy my future wife in bed). As a side note, if someone gets an orchiectomy, begins taking female hormones, and still has a penis, is such an individual no longer capable of getting orgasms and/or ejaculating as long as he or she still has a penis? I apologize for my ignorance in regards to this, but I am genuinely curious about this.

7. Thank you very much for this info. In regards to getting a name change, maybe I would like to do it eventually, though personally, due to me being gender-fluid (or something along those lines), I wouldn't mind if people referred to me by my old (birth) name even after I got a sex change. Of course, it appears to be rather nice that the female version of my current name sounds almost the same as my current name.

8. Thank you very much for this info, and Yes, I will see what I can do in regards to this.

Also, a couple more questions for you, for now (if you don't mind responding to them, of course):

1. Will getting an orchiectomy (getting castrated) and using female hormones for a certain amount of time gradually result in a former biological/genetic male losing most of his or her body hair (assuming that he or she begins transitioning in his or her 20s or beyond, after he or she has already completed going through male puberty)? For reference, I myself personally detest all of my body hair (and unfortunately I have a lot of it), excluding certain hair on my head, of course.

2. Will getting an orchiectomy (getting castrated) and using female hormones for a certain amount of time gradually result in hair restoration if one is already going bald? This is a problem which I myself appear to have due to my genetics. I myself am still very young, and I already appear to be going bald; this appears to be a trait which I inherited from my maternal grandfather, who also apparently began to go bald at a very young age.

3. How old are you? As for me, I myself am 21 years old. My current guess would be that you are in your late 20s or early 30s, if you are curious.

4. What was your name before you began transitioning? Ryan? Another name? As for me, I will respond to this question if and after you are willing to respond to it. (I'm sorry, but I don't want to give away too much of my personal info without someone else likewise telling me the same info about him or her.)

Anyway, have a good day and take care.

Sincerely,

Futurist110 (talk) 07:02, 24 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

1. I never experienced dysphoria that I was aware of until I started realizing I'm trans. Since then I've realized that I've been suffering from depression since puberty, and that transitioning is helping with it. The biggest part of my physical dysphoria right now is body hair - it takes a lot of shaving, and although I'm usually happy with the result I hate having to do it. It's just a reminder of another step I have to do that most women don't. My understanding is that HRT will help with body hair over time, at least in places where most women don't have it. Your body eventually starts producing the fine vellus hair that cis women have rather than dark coarse hair. It can also always be lasered off. The details of how it works may vary for you. I don't know if you'll gain any hair back. I've heard some people have had a few spots fill in, but I also know people who transitioned much later in life and it doesn't do anything for them.

2. I'm 27. My name is Katie, and my middle name is Ryan. My old name really doesn't matter at all.

3. Now back to your first set of questions... A common idea is that there must be a "reason" someone is trans, and a lot of people think that childhood sexual abuse causes it. It seems like it is mainly older people who feel that way, and for a while it was reinforced by the occasional sensational news story with "shocking" looks into the life of people who had transitioned. They only focused on extreme cases that matched what people expected to hear - someone like me would be too boring for a show like that. It's been a long time since I've heard of a story like that, and it's a very good sign that you've never heard that at all. It means things are getting better. :-) I actually had to deal with that attitude from my own father - one of his first thoughts was trying to figure out if anyone had the chance to abuse me.

4. I had heard that your body needs some sort of sex hormones, I think I heard it caused thyroid problems if you have none. However, it's not something I've researched in particular, and medical questions like that and anesthetics for an orchi are definitely questions for medical professionals.

5. I also learned very recently that WPATH has changed pretty significantly - a lot of the requirements that slow people down have been removed, and informed consent is considered acceptable. Informed consent basically lets you manage what steps you're ready for (especially in regards to HRT), as long as you're informed about the effects. It's harder to find doctors that practice it, but it is a very good thing for people who are non-binary. It also gives people who used to have to self-medicate (via online pharmacies) a way to get a legal prescription and have their hormone levels tested and doses adjusted properly.

Katie R (talk) 11:59, 27 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Dear Katie,

1. I am glad that your transitioning is helping you deal with your depression. Thus, maybe your depression was a hidden case of gender dysphoria for you--of course, this is only speculation on my part. I am sorry about your problem with your body hair; I myself strongly dislike all of my body hair as well, and unfortunately, I have a lot of it. Yeah, I suppose that I can consider laser hair removal as well, though I am not made of money, and thus, I need to be careful to avoid overspending on things such as this. If it won't do anything in regards to hair restoration, then I might need to seek other ways to restore the hair on the top of my head if I will transition later on.

2. Thank you for this info. In regards to your old name, you don't have to tell it to be if you want to. I was simply curious about this in order to see how much nicer your current name is in comparison with your old name. That said, I am aware that some/many transgender people dislike remembering things from the time before they transitioned, and thus, I apologize if you were offended by this question of mine. I guess that I am more at ease with my current life because I myself am not transgender and don't completely detest all aspects of male-hood.

3. Isn't the main reason that someone is trans the fact the most or all trans-people have brains which are more similar to the gender that they identify with rather than to the sex which they were assigned at birth? Based on what I have read, this appears to be the main reason that someone would be trans, at least in most cases. Am I mistaken in regards to this? Honestly, I don't see how childhood sexual abuse would cause someone to be transgender. Also, I am sorry that you had to experience these views from your own father. :( I hope that both of your parents are fully supportive of your transition nowadays, though.

4. Thank you very much for this information. I guess that I myself will need to do more research on this later on.

5. Thank you very much for this information. It might end up being of use to me later on.

Also, I don't think that you've answered this question of mine yet: "As a side note, if someone gets an orchiectomy, begins taking female hormones, and still has a penis, is such an individual no longer capable of getting orgasms and/or ejaculating as long as he or she still has a penis? I apologize for my ignorance in regards to this, but I am genuinely curious about this."

Finally, is it okay if I tell you more about my own case in regards to gender identity, desiring to eventually get a sex change, et cetera? I would like to hear your thoughts in regards to it. Thank you very much.

Have a good day,

Take care,

Sincerely,

Futurist110 (talk) 07:19, 3 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah, I meant to imply that the depression was part of dysphoria that I simply wasn't even aware of at the time. As for hair, the normal solution is a wig, and I know one trans woman who keeps her head shaved... It's whatever works best for you. The gendered brain idea is interesting but also controversial. It's been a while since I looked into it, but I remember people discussing flaws in the sample size and diversity. People are also worried that if it becomes a standard explanation of why people are trans, then it also has the possibility to make things worse for people who need to transition. Imagine if it became a standard test to see if someone is "really" trans, and was used as a requirement for things like HRT, surgery or legal name/gender changes. Poorer people may not be able to afford the brain scan and false negatives would affect people who do feel a need to transition. On the orchi side I don't really know for sure. Orgasms are certainly still possible, and are even with full reassignment surgery, but erections and ejaculation are affected, and I don't know enough about orchis to know how things work in the long run.

Feel free to discuss your situation with me. :-) Katie R (talk) 18:55, 4 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Dear Katie,

You previously wrote this:

"Yeah, I meant to imply that the depression was part of dysphoria that I simply wasn't even aware of at the time. As for hair, the normal solution is a wig, and I know one trans woman who keeps her head shaved... It's whatever works best for you. The gendered brain idea is interesting but also controversial. It's been a while since I looked into it, but I remember people discussing flaws in the sample size and diversity. People are also worried that if it becomes a standard explanation of why people are trans, then it also has the possibility to make things worse for people who need to transition. Imagine if it became a standard test to see if someone is "really" trans, and was used as a requirement for things like HRT, surgery or legal name/gender changes. Poorer people may not be able to afford the brain scan and false negatives would affect people who do feel a need to transition. On the orchi side I don't really know for sure. Orgasms are certainly still possible, and are even with full reassignment surgery, but erections and ejaculation are affected, and I don't know enough about orchis to know how things work in the long run. Feel free to discuss your situation with me. :-)"

Now, please let me respond to you in regards to this:

Thanks for clarifying your situation with your depression; this is what I already previously suspected. As for wigs, they might work, though I don't intend to wear a wig all of the time (of course, I myself don't plan to function as a female all of the time either even if/after I get a sex change). Why exactly does this trans-woman keep her head shaved? Is it okay if you tell me? As for the gendered brain idea, I am not trying to generate controversy--I am simply trying to honestly and accurately analyze this situation. Also, the problem with your standard test scenario is that I don't necessarily see why someone needs or should need to be transgender in order to transition. After all, why exactly shouldn't a gender-fluid person be able to transition? Likewise, why exactly shouldn't someone who has a brain/mind of one sex/gender but who for some reason prefers the body and/or the life(style) of the other sex/gender be able to transition? From my perspective, your standard test scenario here appears to be an extremely good example of gate-keeping. Personally, I myself appear to be very open and tolerant in this regard. Honestly, I think that any adult who is mentally sane should eventually be able to get rid of gender-/sex-specific body parts of his or hers which he or she dislikes for some reason in a safe, medical setting regardless of whether or not he or she ever plans to transition/get a sex change. After all, I don't see why someone who has the brain/mind of one sex/gender should necessarily like all of his or her gender-/sex-specific body parts. Likewise, doing this in a safe, medical setting would be much better than having these individuals try doing this by themselves and/or "in back alleys", both of which are (much) more dangerous (and for the record, I think that I did previously read about some cases of back-alley castrations and castration attempts occurring). As for your test scenario, such a test could be made free, though I share your concern about false negatives; in addition, all of my points above still appear to be valid ones. Thank you very much for this information about orchis; I've previously read that there appeared to be some cases of people getting sex changes and then being unable to get orgasms any longer afterwards or something like that; however, I could be wrong on this. Also, I apologize for asking, but if you don't mind telling me, did you yourself ever get an orchi yet?

As for my own situation, here is a decent summary of it (I have copied and pasted a lot of the text below from one of my previous messages (on another forum) to another individual with whom I have also shared this information online):

Basically, I would like to (eventually) get a sex change because I find the female body to be much nicer than the male body (in regards to looks, lack of body and facial hair, aesthetics, smell, in regards to getting long hair on one's head more quickly, et cetera), as well as due to the fact that I want to have ovaries and a uterus and thus to get pregnant and to get periods. In addition, it appears that females have a broader and better collection of clothes and outfits to wear than males do (for instance, it is acceptable for females to wear pants but not for males to wear dresses).

In regards to functioning, even after I would get a sex change, I would still like to function as a male for a part of the time (though obviously not all of the time) while still having a female body. Of course, I would also like to function as a female sometimes as well. Also, sometimes I would simply prefer to ignore gender/sex altogether, if you get what I mean. This is what I previously meant by my gender-fluidity. Also, I would like to point out that I myself don't feel trapped in a male body, though I still prefer to have a female body over a male body.

As a side note, I prefer to have an androgynous face over a female face, and interestingly enough, mentally/brain-wise, I do appear to have a bit of a male lean. However, functioning as a female sometimes still strongly appeals to me. While many/most people prefer to have bodies which fully correspond with their brain/mind, I myself find the activity of functioning as a male (which, even with a female body, I plan to sometimes do, but not always do) to be much more appealing than actually being a male.

Whether or not I will actually get a sex change will depend on various factors, such as whether or not my insurance will cover it, whether or not my future girlfriend/wife will support me in regards to this, whether or not (and exactly to what extent) my job opportunities will be affected by this, et cetera.

Finally, I would like to point out that I hope that we will eventually be able to fully change people's bodies and to fully change people's brains to fit the sex/gender that they want it to fit. I would also love to see much greater equality, acceptance, and tolerance of LGBT people in the United States and worldwide. Honestly, hatred of LGBT people should have no place anywhere in the 21st century and beyond.

Anyway, I think that I wrote enough on this topic for now.

Have a good day. Take care.

Sincerely,

Futurist110 (talk) 06:16, 5 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Dear Katie,

If there is anything which I wrote which you found to be offensive and/or want me to clarify, then please let me know. Again, I try to be careful to avoid saying offensive things, and thus, if you have a problem with anything I said, then please let me know so that I can examine and/or explain it. Also, please take as much time as you need responding to me, though I simply want to remind you that over a week has passed since my last comment to you.

Anyway, have a good day and take care,

Sincerely,

Futurist110 (talk) 02:46, 14 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Just been busy - I edit from work, and haven't really had the time to put into a response. I'll try to get to it soon Katie R (talk) 11:47, 18 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah, please take as much time as you need. However, could you please tell me when you think you will be able to respond to me (as in--during what time frame)? For instance, do you think that you will be able to respond to me within two weeks? Within a month? Within two months? Futurist110 (talk) 03:00, 8 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Ping me again on Monday to remind me - I should have time to get back to you then. Katie R (talk) 11:26, 8 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Dear Katie,

It is now Sunday, but I am posting this message right now in order to avoid forgetting to post it later on. Anyway, I want to remind you to please respond to me whenever you are able to, which you said will be on Monday. As a side note, you might see this message of mine for the first time on Monday, so yeah. Futurist110 (talk) 20:55, 13 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

1. I'm going to try to answer all your questions, let me know if I miss anything you wanted to discuss more. :-)

2. The woman I know who keeps her head shaved does it because she prefers it to dealing with wigs, I don't know more about her particular reasoning. She does get tired of people assuming she has cancer though ...

3. I agree that anyone should be able to transition without gatekeeping, I was just letting you know about the controversy I have seen discussed in trans groups when it comes to the gendered brain concept.

4. I haven't had any surgeries yet, and I don't know what ones I'll need in the long run. I'm still pretty early on in transitioning.

5. Thanks for sharing your story - it's always interesting to hear other people's experience of gender.

6. I haven't really talked much with anyone who considers themselves genderfluid.

7. If you start living in "girl mode" more, I would love to hear how it makes you feel. :-)

8. The one particular point I want to comment on is "whether or not my future girlfriend/wife will support me in regards to this." You should make sure you find someone who you can be open about this with and that will support you - I've seen the harm that gender dysphoria can cause with someone who doesn't transition due to family pressure. Katie R (talk) 12:08, 15 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Dear Katie,

1. I will ask you some additional questions somewhere below in this response of mine.

2. Thank you for your response in regards to this. And Yes, nowadays one doesn't see many bald women, which is why I am not surprised that unfortunately some people think that she has cancer.

3. This is good to hear. As for the controversy in regards to this concept, honestly, I think that this whole controversy should be limited to whether or not this theory applies to every single transgender person. However, as I previously said, I don't think that one being transgender should be a requirement for getting a sex change. Getting a sex change is certainly an extremely big, serious, and important matter and thus it should be carefully thought out before one goes through with it (as far as I know, while the overwhelming majority of people who get sex changes are happier and better-off as a result of this, it doesn't hurt to be safe in regards to this by very seriously analyzing and thinking this over before one actually goes through with it). However, if after careful thought, consideration, and analysis one decides to go through with transitioning and with getting a sex change, then he or she should not be prevented from doing this. After all, individuals themselves should be able to decide and to control what happens to their own bodies.

4. Thanks for this info. Out of curiosity--if you don't mind me asking, how long ago exactly did you realize that you are a woman and how long ago exactly did you begin transitioning?

5. No problem. :) In addition, I would also like to point out that until around a year ago, I simply suppressed and ignored my thoughts and feelings in regards to this. In other words, until this time, I simply didn't bother thinking about the options in regards to this and felt that I should simply be happy with being a biological male simply because that is what I currently am. It was only during the last year or so that I began figuring out and exploring all of my options in regards to this, as well as making myself much more educated about transgenderism. (Back when I was uneducated about transgenderism, I unfortunately didn't understand why transgender people felt the way that they did; I believed that they were denying reality, that they should be happy with their current bodies, and that gender is overrated in the sense that one shouldn't focus so much on it. Thankfully I did not actually say anything such as this to anyone, transgender or not; rather, I simply kept these thoughts inside of my head up to the point when getting educated in regards to this (including actually personally meeting a transgender/genderless (his gender identity is a little complicated to explain) person for the first time ever a little more than three years ago) thankfully caused me to abandon these thoughts and to feel extremely sad, ashamed, and awful about having such thoughts in the first place. I beg for forgiveness, including from you, for previously having such thoughts (which I thankfully never acted upon in any way); ignorance and intolerance can be quite nasty and extremely unpleasant things; heck, I myself appear to be much more educated and tolerant, including in regards to transgenderism, than I was several years ago.) As I thankfully became much more tolerant (by learning more about logic and thus gradually using logic to cause myself to adopt more libertarian views, including in regards to individuals' own lives, goals, and desires), accepting, and educated (such as finding out that males and females do, in fact, have different brains) in regards to transgenderism, I gradually began questioning why exactly I myself should be happy with my current body and with my current life. (Also, for reference, I myself still think that gender is overrated; this thought could have been an earlier indication of my gender-fluidity; however, I certainly understand why most people do not appear to share this view of mine, and I am completely fine with this.) Anyway, I seriously hope that this explanation was extremely useful to you, and again, I am extremely sorry about my previous extremely ignorant and uneducated thoughts in regards to transgenderism. :( Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned these extremely unfortunate and unpleasant previous thoughts of mine, but I hope that you are able to understand my experience in regards to this. Anyway, after I myself began exploring my own goals, desires, wishes, and hopes in regards to this, I gradually figured out that I appear to be gender-fluid, at least to some degree, and that there are certain aspects of "femaleness" which I myself appear to want to acquire (for a lack of a better word) for myself.

6. Well, now you have! :)

7. Will do, but unfortunately, my extremely large amount of body hair prevents me from functioning as a female; heck, I wish that I had no hair on my body other than on the top of my head. For now, the closest that I came to functioning as a female was to put a shirt (unfortunately, we only have one wig, and we don't know where exactly in our house it is currently located) on the top of my head (to simulate female hair; yes, I know--this might appear to be extremely silly) right after I got shaved to see a very rough approximation of what I would look like as a female. Frankly, I was rather pleased with the way that I looked; heck, I think that I might very well make a beautiful woman (albeit an androgynous-looking one, since I will still want to frequently function as a male even if/after I will get a sex change) if/after I will transition and get a sex change. I did and do sometimes think about the idea of me transitioning and having a female body, and frankly, this idea also appears to at least somewhat appeal to me (the reason that I said somewhat is because getting a sex change brings its own set of circumstances and (possible) difficulties with it). As a side note, I myself have also already picked out a possible female first name and female middle name for me in the event that I decide to transition and to get a sex change.

8. Agreed; this is why I myself am going to be extremely open in a future relationship in regards to this immediately. As a side note, I would like to point out that I would like to get castrated (get an orchiectomy) before I decide whether or not to proceed further with transitioning; after all, even if I, for some reason(s), will decide to remain a biological male for now, the idea of being a euncuh still appears to appeal much more to me than being a non-castrated biological male. After all, it is worth noting that castration is extremely effective as birth control (and frankly, while I remain a biological male, I want to acquire as much control over my own reproduction as possible; due to biology and the current law in regards to this, castration appears to be the most move for me in regards to this) and that castration can also help in regards to regulating and controlling one's sex drive. Finally, I also read that, without hormone replacement therapy, castration also causes biological males to develop female smells, female thoughts, more female-like bodies, et cetera, which also has its appeal to me. I will obviously tell about my future dates about this as well, and I would like to point out that I read about a surgeon in San Francisco (her name is Marci Bowers) who is apparently willing to castrate males who do not want to transition as well (if I can't get castrated anywhere else which is closer, then hopefully I can go to her in order to get this done; after all, it is much more appealing to me (for extremely obvious reasons) than self-castration and back-alley castration).

For now, I have just one question for you--if you don't mind me asking: back before you began transitioning, how exactly did having sex with your (future) wife feel like for you? Were you dissatisfied with your genitals and with your body and/or role during this sex?

Anyway, have a good day and take care. :)

Sincerely,

Futurist110 (talk) 07:23, 18 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Dear Katie,

Since you did not respond to me yet, is it okay if I ask you several additional questions right now? Futurist110 (talk) 03:34, 20 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Sure, go ahead. :-) Katie R (talk) 11:22, 21 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry for the late reply. Anyway, here goes:

1. Can you please share some examples of this part? -- "I've seen the harm that gender dysphoria can cause with someone who doesn't transition due to family pressure." I am not disputing that you are telling the truth here; I am simply interested in hearing stories in regards to this.

2. Exactly how tall are you? Personally, I am thinking that you are 6 feet, 0 inches (like myself) or taller. As a side note, I find the height of trans-women who transitioned after puberty to be very appealing due to the fact that I myself like tall women.

3. Did you ever get physically/sexually aroused by wearing female clothes, putting make-up, and/or doing other "female" things before you transitioned? In other words, did you experience autogynophilia? (As a side note, I am aware that this does not appear to be the case with most transgender people.)

4. During your childhood and early teenage years, did you already have a preference for things such as female pronouns over male pronouns (in the sense that you preferred to be referred to using the word "she" rather than using the word "he", et cetera)?

5. Out of curiosity--what race/ethnicity are you? As for me, I am White and of Russian, Belorussian, and Jewish ancestry. For the record, as of right now, I am assuming that you are White and of European descent due to the fact that this appears to characterize most people who live in Michigan right now.

6. Which languages can you speak fluently, besides English? As for me, Russian, and that's it (I also previously used to speak Hebrew fluently back when I was a small child, but I literally forgot almost all of it by now due to not using it.).

7. Are your parents and siblings (if you have any siblings) currently supportive of your transition?

8. Exactly how many siblings do you have? As for me, I just have one younger sister, and that's it.

9. How many of your friends and acquaintances did you tell by now about the fact that you are trans?

10. If the answer to question #9 is one or more, then what exactly was the reaction of these friends and/or acquaintances of yours after you told them about this?

11. I apologize if this question is offensive, but anyway: Do you currently consider yourself to be very "passable" (for the lack of a better word) as a female? As far as I know, this is one of the goals that transgender people at least generally aim for (for obvious reasons).

12. How much body hair did you have before you began transitioning? For instance, did you have a lot of chest hair (like I unfortunately do)?

Anyway, I apologize if anything which I asked and/or said here is offensive. You don't have to answer any of these questions if you don't want to. I myself am simply extremely curious in regards to this. Also, please feel free to ask me whatever you want to. As a side note, I will probably be unable to respond to you for the next couple of days due to the fact that I will be getting (probably extremely intense) surgery tomorrow to fix my underbite (in regards to my teeth) and due to the fact that I will probably spend the next couple of days in the hospital afterwards recovering from this surgery. (And No, I am not joking about any of this.) Anyway, have a good day and take care. Also, if I will have any additional questions to ask you in the future, then I will certainly do so. Futurist110 (talk) 03:08, 30 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Dear Katie,

I already came back home from the hospital a while back. Anyway, I've got three additional questions for you:

13. Do you and your wife currently have any children (including adopted children)?

14. Do you and your wife plan to have and/or to adopt any (additional) children in the future?

15. Did you freeze some of your sperm before you began transitioning?

Again, please feel free not to answer any of these questions if you consider them to be too personal, et cetera. I am aware that many of the questions which I have asked are of an extremely personal nature and could be considered to be very offensive by some people. I am simply extremely curious about this topic, which is why I asked all of these questions.

Anyway, have a good day and take care. :) Futurist110 (talk) 02:55, 12 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Dear Katie,

I don't want to rush you or anything, but since it already appears to have been more than a month since your last response to me, I was wondering when exactly you think you will be able to respond to me. Within one week? Within two weeks? Within one month? Longer than this? Also, again, I might simply be overly cautious, but if there is anything I said and/or asked which strongly offended you, then you are certainly welcome to strongly criticize me for this. I understand that this is an extremely sensitive issue and that thus, one can offend others extremely easily when one discusses this issue.

Anyway, have a good day and take care. :) Futurist110 (talk) 06:38, 26 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]

@Katie Ryan A: Katie, I just wanted to apologize to you if my questions from six years ago were too nosy and intrusive. I don't know if these nosy and intrusive questions of mine are the reason that you left Wikipedia or if there is some other reason that you left Wikipedia six years ago, but anyway, wherever you are right now, I do hope that you're okay and doing well. For what it's worth, I myself might be on the autism spectrum, so sometimes I could fail to realize proper personal boundaries. So, again, I'm sorry and I hope that you would at least consider eventually returning to Wikipedia. I miss you, and I might not be the only one on Wikipedia who still misses you even after six years. Futurist110 (talk) 00:16, 9 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 21 May 2014

News and notes: "Crisis" over Wikimedia Germany's palace revolution

Featured content: Staggering number of featured articles

Traffic report: Doodles' dawn

The Signpost: 28 May 2014

News and notes: The English Wikipedia's second featured-article centurion; wiki inventor interviewed on video

Featured content: Zombie fight in the saloon

Traffic report: Get fitted for flipflops and floppy hats

Recent research: Predicting which article you will edit next

The Signpost: 04 June 2014

Special report: IEG funding for women's stories: a new approach to the gender gap

News and notes: Two new affiliate-selected trustees

Op-ed: "Hospitality, jerks, and what I learned"—the amazing keynote at WikiConference USA

Featured content: Ye stately homes of England

In the media: Reliable or not, doctors use Wikipedia

Traffic report: Autumn in summer

The Signpost: 11 June 2014

News and notes: PR agencies commit to ethical interactions with Wikipedia

Traffic report: The week the wired went weird

Paid editing: Does Wikipedia Pay? The Moderator: William Beutler

Special report: Questions raised over secret voting for WMF trustees

Featured content: Politics, ships, art, and cyclones

The Signpost: 18 June 2014

News and notes: With paid advocacy in its sights, the Wikimedia Foundation amends their terms of use

Featured content: Worming our way to featured picture

Special report: Wikimedia Bangladesh: a chapter's five-year journey

Traffic report: You can't dethrone Thrones

WikiProject report: Visiting the city

The Signpost: 25 June 2014

News and notes: US National Archives enshrines Wikipedia in Open Government Plan

Traffic report: Fake war, or real sport?

Exclusive: "We need to be true to who we are": Foundation's new executive director speaks to the Signpost

Discussion report: Media Viewer, old HTML tags

Featured content: Showing our Wörth

WikiProject report: The world where dreams come true

Recent research: Power users and diversity in WikiProjects

The Signpost: 02 July 2014

In the media: Wiki Education; medical content; PR firms

Traffic report: The Cup runneth over... and over.

News and notes: Wikimedia Israel receives Roaring Lion award

Featured content: Ship-shape

WikiProject report: Indigenous Peoples of North America

Technology report: In memoriam: the Toolserver (2005–14)

The Signpost: 09 July 2014

Special report: Wikimania 2014—what will it cost?

Wikicup: Wikicup's third round sees money, space, battleships and more

Wikimedia in education: Exploring the United States and Canada with LiAnna Davis

Featured content: Three cheers for featured pictures!

News and notes: Echoes of the past haunt new conflict over tech initiative

Traffic report: World Cup, Tim Howard rule the week

The Signpost: 16 July 2014

Special report: $10 million lawsuit against Wikipedia editors withdrawn, but plaintiff intends to refile

Traffic report: World Cup dominates for another week

Wikimedia in education: Serbia takes the stage with Filip Maljkovic

Featured content: The Island with the Golden Gun

News and notes: Bot-created Wikipedia articles covered in the Wall Street Journal, push Cebuano over one million articles

The Signpost: 23 July 2014

Wikimedia in education: Education program gaining momentum in Israel

Traffic report: The World Cup hangs on, though tragedies seek to replace it

News and notes: Institutional media uploads to Commons get a bit easier

Forum: Did you know?—good idea, needs reform

Featured content: Why, they're plum identical!

The Signpost: 30 July 2014

Book review: Knowledge or unreality?

Recent research: Shifting values in the paid content debate

News and notes: How many more hoaxes will Wikipedia find?

Wikimedia in education: Success in Egypt and the Arab World

Traffic report: Doom and gloom vs. the power of Reddit

Featured content: Skeletons and Skeltons

The Signpost: 06 August 2014

Technology report: A technologist's Wikimania preview

Traffic report: Ebola

Featured content: Bottoms, asses, and the fairies that love them

Wikimedia in education: Leading universities educate with Wikipedia in Mexico

News and notes: "History is a human right"—first-ever transparency report released as Europe begins hiding Wikipedia in search results

The Signpost: 13 August 2014

Special report: Twitter bots catalogue government edits to Wikipedia

Traffic report: Disease, decimation and distraction

Wikimedia in education: Global Education: WMF's Perspective

Wikimania: Promised the moon, settled for the stars

News and notes: Media Viewer controversy spreads to German Wikipedia

Op-ed: Red links, blue links, and erythrophobia

In the media: Monkey selfie, net neutrality, and hoaxes

Featured content: Cambridge got a lot of attention this week

The Signpost: 20 August 2014

Interview: Improving the visibility of digital archival assets using Wikipedia

Traffic report: Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero

WikiProject report: Bats and gloves

Op-ed: A new metric for Wikimedia

Featured content: English Wikipedia departs for Japan

The Signpost: 27 August 2014

In the media: Plagiarism and vandalism dominate Wikipedia news

News and notes: Media Viewer—Wikimedia's emotional roller-coaster

Traffic report: Viral

Featured content: Cheats at Featured Pictures!

The Signpost: 03 September 2014

Arbitration report: Media viewer case is suspended

Featured content: 1882 × 5 in gold, and thruppence more

Op-ed: Automated copy-and-paste detection under trial

Traffic report: Holding Pattern

WikiProject report: Gray's Anatomy (v. 2)

Recent research: A Wikipedia-based Pantheon; new Wikipedia analysis tool suite; how AfC hamstrings newbies

The Signpost: 10 September 2014

Op-ed: Media Viewer software is not ready

Traffic report: Refuge in celebrity

Featured content: The louse and the fish's tongue

WikiProject report: Checking that everything's all right

The Signpost: 17 September 2014

In the media: Turkish Twitter outrage, medical translation, audience metrics

WikiProject report: A trip up north to Scotland

News and notes: Wikipedia's traffic statistics are off by nearly one-third

Traffic report: Tolstoy leads a varied pack

Featured content: Which is not like the others?

The Signpost: 24 September 2014

Featured content: Oil paintings galore

In the media: Indian political editing, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Congressional chelonii

Recent research: 99.25% of Wikipedia birthdates accurate; focused Wikipedians live longer; merging WordNet, Wikipedia and Wiktionary

Traffic report: Wikipedia watches the referendum in Scotland

WikiProject report: GAN reviewers take note: competition time

Arbitration report: Banning Policy, Gender Gap, and Waldorf education

The Signpost: 01 October 2014

From the editor: The Signpost needs your help

Dispatches: Let's get serious about plagiarism

News and notes: Wikipedia article published in peer-reviewed journal; Wikipedia in education

WikiProject report: Animals, farms, forests, USDA? It must be WikiProject Agriculture

Traffic report: Shanah Tovah

Featured content: Brothers at War

The Signpost: 08 October 2014

In the media: Opposition research firm blocked; Australian bushfires

Featured content: From a wordless novel to a coat of arms via New York City

Traffic report: Panic and denial

Technology report: HHVM is the greatest thing since sliced bread

The Signpost: 15 October 2014

Op-ed: Ships—sexist or sexy?

In the media: College player falsely linked to sports scandal by Wikipedia; the Nobel Prizes

Arbitration report: One case closed and two opened

Featured content: Bells ring out at the Temple of the Dragon at Peace

Technology report: Attempting to parse wikitext

Traffic report: Now introducing ... mobile data

WikiProject report: Signpost reaches the Midwest

The Signpost: 22 October 2014

Featured content: Admiral on deck: a modern Ada Lovelace

Op-ed: Hong Kong's Umbrella Revolution—a wiki-protest

In the media: The story of Wikipedia; Wikipedia reanimated and republished; New UK government social media rules; death of Italian Wikipedia administrator

Traffic report: Death, War, Pestilence... Movies and TV

WikiProject report: De-orphanning articles—a huge task but with a huge team of volunteers to help

The Signpost: 29 October 2014

Featured content: Go West, young man

In the media: Wikipedia a trusted source on Ebola; Wikipedia study labeled government waste; football biography goes viral

Maps tagathon: Find 10,000 digitised maps this weekend

Traffic report: Ebola, Ultron, and Creepy Articles

Recent research: Informed consent and privacy; newsmaking on Wikipedia; Wikipedia and organizational theories

The Signpost: 05 November 2014

In the media: Predicting the flu, MH17 conspiracy theories

Traffic report: Sweet dreams on Halloween

The Signpost: 12 November 2014

In the media: Amazon Echo; EU freedom of panorama; Bluebeard's Castle

Traffic report: Holidays, anyone?

Featured content: Wikipedia goes to church in Lithuania

WikiProject report: Talking hospitals

A kitten for you!

Dear Katie,

How are you doing right now? You haven't posted on Wikipedia at all for the last 3.5 months; thus, I seriously hope that everything is going okay for you.

Have a good day and take care,

Sincerely,

Futurist110 (talk) 03:10, 19 November 2014 (UTC)[reply]