Floquenbeam

MEH

Folly, thou conquerest, and I must yield! Against stupidity the very gods Themselves contend in vain. --Friedrich Schiller

April songs

story · music · places

The first (few) pics from back home, including our favourite place ;) -- Gerda Arendt (talk) 20:23, 3 April 2024 (UTC)

Hope it was as enjoyable as it looked (the vacation, and the food). Floquenbeam (talk) 20:38, 5 April 2024 (UTC)

We've finally got spring flowers here, too. I dumped some trellises in the backyard last fall, forgetting I'd planted daffodils in the same place. I went out to backyard to do a little early garden thinking, and discovered the daffodils had come up thru and around the trellises in a matter of days. To the point that if I tried to move the trellises, I'd be unable to avoid damaging the daffodils. So now I'm trapped, trellisless, until the flowers die off for the year. Floquenbeam (talk) 20:42, 5 April 2024 (UTC)

"Trellisless" should definitely be a word. Silly spellcheck. Floquenbeam (talk) 20:43, 5 April 2024 (UTC)

yes - should be a word - both vacation and food were enjoyable - less enjoyable was a cold that kept me from singing in choir for Easter - at the same I had three articles on the Main page at the same time because they died, a sad record - yesterday's is a problem: I worked on the article in 2010 when I was impressed by his playing and dedication, but later others did the same, and without adding references, sigh - On a brighter note: which of the three appearances of Hildegard do you like best? I couldn't decide. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 21:17, 5 April 2024 (UTC)

I like the composition of No. 1 the best. Floquenbeam (talk) 13:25, 10 April 2024 (UTC)

Marian Anderson is my top story today (by NBC, 1939), and below (on my talk) three people with raised arms, - and the place is the cherry blossom in Frauenstein --Gerda Arendt (talk) 14:58, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

Beautiful. Floquenbeam (talk) 13:26, 10 April 2024 (UTC)

Thank you. For a short while last night, I had again three RD articles together on the page, including the Finnish organist who is probably the person having played most different organs, ever. He came to our church because it was a "free" day between two with a concert, and our conductor was afraid that he would have to entertain him, but no, he turned to the organ, fell in love with the instrument and played for the rest of the day, into the concert. I took photos but not good enough to share. I'll make him my story tomorrow. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 13:34, 10 April 2024 (UTC)

My story today is about a piece composed for the Second Sunday after Easter 300 years ago, and I just returned from a (long) opera about the same age, with soprano Pretty Yende --Gerda Arendt (talk) 23:08, 14 April 2024 (UTC)

relief: the last of six RD articles in one week is now on the Main page - yesterday a great recital with many anti-war songs by Jewish composers whose music was banned by the Nazis. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 19:19, 18 April 2024 (UTC)

images of a flock of sheep that I met by chance on the 300th birthday of cantata Du Hirte Israel, höre, BWV 104 --Gerda Arendt (talk) 19:41, 21 April 2024 (UTC)

today a sad task - memory of Andrew Davis - turned into entertainment (yt at the bottom of his article, actually both) -- the latest pictures capture extreme weather --Gerda Arendt (talk) 21:35, 23 April 2024 (UTC)

That's a lot of RD articles, sad to hear. Floquenbeam (talk) 16:10, 25 April 2024 (UTC)

A thank you, and a question

Hello Floquenbeam. I want to thank you for your kindness in our earlier dealings. You might remember them: they are fairly recent, so they are still on my talk page.

The reason I was writing is also another. I am considering terminating my wikipedia account. But before I go, I have a question to ask you. You may be aware of the User: M.Bitton.

My impression of him, is that he is well versed in Wikipedia's rules and wishes to use them in order to erase information that does not fit an agenda. This is simply my impression. However, the reason why I have this impression is experience.

On several occasions, he has removed well referenced information about slavery in Islamic states, by calling the information "cherry picking". View for example his act in Aghlabids. I added well referenced information about slave trade performed by the Aghlabids as a part of their warfare in Italy; in the section about their warfare in Italy. It is hard to understand how this can be viewed as "cherry picking" by any neutral person.

View also Haratin. The topic of the article describe an issue regarding slavery in Algeria. Consequently, I added the appropriate category of slavery in Algeria to it. Yet, he removed the categories by asking for references for the categories. Naturally, no references are needed when adding the category of Algerian slaveri to an article about Algerian slavery.

You may perhaps understand, why I have the impression that User: M.Bitton has an agenda to simply remove as much as possible in the topic slavery in Islam when the rules can be bent to allow it.

The reason I am telling you this, is because a User recently noticed an article started by me: Slavery in al-Andalus. The user expressed some concerns which I read and attempted to adress and adjust. However, the user asked User: M.Bitton to take a look at the article. I am convinced, that User: M.Bitton will erase as much as possible of the content, and ultimately the article itself by calling the information "cherry picking" and use the rules to complain about the smallest technicalities in the references until they are erased, thereby gradually erasing the article. I am also convinced, that User: M.Bitton will do so in more articles concering this subject.

I do not write this to make User: M.Bitton appear bad. I do not enjoy writing it. I am describing my impression and the reason for it, in order to explain myself and a serious concern.

I have to say, that I am not a well person. The reason I mention it, is not to get sympathy or get an advantage in a conflict. It is to explain my own behaviour. I am aware, that to first criticise a person and then refuse to engage in debate with them, can give a bad impression. But this is the responsibility I have to take for my health. I am forced to identify my triggers, and then avoid them. And to encounter - and this is only my impression, and I might be wrong - a hidden agenda to censur a subject by using the rules, is something that stimulate anxiety. My anxiety does not lower my lewel of comprehension: I have the intellectual capability to identify what I view as an agenda, and this will cause concern, but I rarely have the strenght to continue to engage in a conflict with someone who is apparently stronger than me. This is something I have the responsibility to accept.

I do not have the strenght to engage in a conflict with a person I suspect for an agenda, since that can trigger my anxiety. The article Slavery in al-Andalus will, I am quite sure, be heavily reduced and perhaps even erased. Can it be saved somewhere? To save it in a sandbox for me would not do much good. I am considering to terminate my account or simply stop logging in: if this agenda will ran its course, Wikipedia will not feel like a project of much use for me to be a part of. I have saved it in my sandbox, but if my account disapears, it will of course no longer be there. Perhaps the article can be saved somewhere else, until some person with more strenght than me can fight for the subject? I have been a member a long time, but I mainly write and do not know much of what can be done in these situations. But I have a vague memory of a user who "saved articles" several years ago.

I am not quite certain why I write this, other than the fact that I see what I identify as a serious problem. To be blunt, it saddens me deeply, and I do not know what else to do, but to simply express these concerns to someone.

I see you are on a break, and I appologise for writing to you with a thing like this, in a time like this: I realise my text is unsitably long. But I felt I needed to do something, and there was nothing else I could think of. I have to be honest and say openly, that I am not well enough to think of much else. There is no pressure to reply, or take any action. Thank you so much. --Aciram (talk) 02:02, 20 April 2024 (UTC)

@Aciram: Sorry for the delay in replying.

It's possible to edit WP while avoiding any conflict, but you have to be willing to just give up. It's hard to have it both ways; it's hard to prevent what you consider pushing a POV while at the same time avoiding conflict. I don't think I have much of an answer, except you could maybe make a neutral request for more eyes on a few relevant wikiproject talk pages. I wonder if there is a Wikiproject slavery? Surely there is a Wikiproject Algeria. Look at the talk page(s) of the article(s) in question for relevant projects. It's easy to forget sometimes that it doesn't need to be two people arguing; it can always be a larger group discussing.

I will say that my past experience has been that the editor you mention is often (not always, but often) right on the merits, even if there is too much stress-inducing behavior. I know absolutely nothing about the topic you disagree about, so for all I know they are just dead wrong here, but just keep in mind the possibility that they are right, while too rude/brusque/uncollegial?

I am kind of trying to avoid too much conflict here myself, as I've felt kind of close to burning out on this place recently. Everything and everyone tend to annoy me. So I'm selfishly going to choose not to look into this further, and I hope you understand. I do support you quitting if you think it best, while I still hope you can still find some corner of this place where you can still enjoy it. -Floquenbeam (talk) 16:27, 25 April 2024 (UTC)

Disappointing

... that it was only an accident. Kinda genius, I'd thought, as a rickroll. — Usedtobecool ☎️ 15:13, 23 April 2024 (UTC)

I'm not, unfortunately, that clever. Floquenbeam (talk) 15:20, 23 April 2024 (UTC)

In fact, I was going to link to the log out page here, as an actual rickroll, and all I managed to do was log myself out. Floquenbeam (talk) 15:21, 23 April 2024 (UTC)

Sorry I missed the look on your face — Usedtobecool ☎️ 16:26, 23 April 2024 (UTC)

I'm so sorry, Floq. Writ Keeper ⚇♔ 15:35, 23 April 2024 (UTC)

If someone proposed a desysop due to my incompetence, I wonder if I'd be able to defend myself properly. --Floquenbeam (talk) 15:41, 23 April 2024 (UTC)

Why would you even bother? You excel at passing reRFAs — Usedtobecool ☎️ 16:29, 23 April 2024 (UTC)

oh. my. god. --Floquenbeam (talk) 16:30, 23 April 2024 (UTC)