User:ATren
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Me and Wikipedia
I am currently busy in real life, and therefore I've largly stopped editing anything substantial for the time being. The one exception is the THF arbcom case, which I got involved in 2 months ago when I wasn't busy. So a cursory check of my edit history will show only edits from that case, which has dragged on for months. One editor has used this recent edit history to accuse me of "obsessing" over this case, which is, at best, an unfair characterization.
In any event, I invite David to point me to which policy or guideline says that an editor may not focus on one issue for an extended period of time. He has relentlessly pursued THF, his ideological opponent, for nearly 4 months - and in the process has engaged in some pretty vile personal attacks - yet I'm the one who obsesses and "carries the torch". I have no ideological interest in this case, I came onto it as an uninvolved third party, yet I am attacked for seeing it through. I suspect this is more about THF than me - I am guilty by association with someone who has been run off the project not because of his edits or behaviors (which, for the most part, were in perfect compliance with Wikipedia policy), but because of his political views.
I am apolitical, and my personal beliefs are generally very moderate, so it repulses me when intellects from either side of the spectrum are hounded off the project. It nearly happened with User:Mr Grant, a progressive who became the target of a certain political opponent, and now it's happened with THF, a conservative who was similarly targeted by opponents. Mr Grant was exonerated, and rightly so, but here we have THF who has been successfully chased from the project even though he did everything possible to adhere to policy.
Perhaps THF is right and Wikipedia has a systemic liberal bias. I never believed that before (never wanted to believe it) but it's hard not to come to that conclusion when you have Raul654, an arbitrator, quoting Ralph Nader as an authoritative source on the activities of a conservative think tank - and doing so on the talk page of a case in which he is participating!
This case is dramatic evidence that Wikipedia has lost its way. It's one thing for political battles to occur on the talk pages of contentious topics - that's natural. But when you have the ultimate judicial authority endorsing one side of that battle in complete conflict with the evidence presented, that's a really bad sign. I came to Wikipedia because I thought this was a place where intellectual discourse would trump petty political battles. I can't believe I could have been so naive.
And now, back to our regularly scheduled user page. :-)
My former username was "A Transportation Enthusiast". That name was too long and restricting -- I have other interests besides transportation. :-)
So, my username is now ATren, which still references my old name (A Transportation Enthusiast) but is much less verbose and looks better in edit histories.
I am a thirty-something software engineer from Western New York State. I am married with three children.