With great regret, I announce my semi-retirement from Wikipedia. I have enjoyed helping to build this encyclopedia since 2007, and we have achieved a lot together, but times have changed.

The WMF was formed to facilitate Wikipedia and initially did so well. The disks spun reliably; the software mostly worked. Since then, the WMF has bloated exponentially. Funded by aggressive and deceptive begging, it has turned to ever more tangential ways to dispose of its embarrassingly large cash surplus. This arrogant parasite is now so aloof that it cannot even remember who funds it: its mission statement and annual goals don't even mention an encyclopedia. I see little point in continuing to contribute to an enterprise which has lost its way so badly, and I feel that my time would now be more productively spent elsewhere.

On a practical note, I have turned off various daily and weekly reports listing tasks which I will no longer be doing. Please feel free to reinstate any which you find useful. I have marked my status as semi-retired as I will log in occasionally and respond to messages, though perhaps not very promptly, and may even fix the odd error which particularly irritates me.

Thank you to those who have worked with me. I apologise for leaving you with many incomplete projects. The fine colleagues I have met along the way are too numerous to mention individually, and I wouldn't wish to insult anyone by omission. However, you know who you are. The readership, of which I remain a grateful member, appreciates your dedicated and skilled service. I shall miss your company. Certes (talk) 15:26, 17 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

If I have left you a message: please answer on your talk page, as I am watching it. If you leave me a message: I will answer on my talk page, so please add it to your watchlist. Please click here to leave me a new message.

Archives

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Hello. I just started asking about a mysterious paragraph in 2, about the digits of pi: talk:2#Transcendental numbers. You might just be able to see what this is about, and if you could explain it to me I would be grateful. Imaginatorium (talk) 14:03, 14 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

So, based on your reply to the on-going conversation about the article for 2, I want to ask you: do you believe that my work has been of worth? Since you said, “Wikipedia is not a place to play.” Do you think, using your vocabulary and different definition than mine of “play”, that I am not contributing worthwhile information? That someone else is capable of doing what I have done for the page for 5, for example, or even for 58? If so, then why hasn’t that person showed up? I’m about to quit editing here if either I don’t receive my due respects, since I see it as a disgraceful lack of gratitude for my effort. *No one has said even a “thank you”, in any way, for what I have done. So much for these barnstars! Radlrb (talk) 04:49, 19 June 2024 (UTC)*[reply]

Especially, in the landscape that as encyclopedists, it is our duty to reveal published information that makes sense, together; to show the best possible configurations and layouts of information on a subject, and that if that reveals something special, not to hold back even if it looks like “OR”, or might be in part, even if it happens to be in Wikipedia. Especially with all that is going on the world, it’s not the time to start setting limits at the wrong time & place (people have tried in the past, and breaking points lead to laws being broken for the interest of much higher ideals). I’m not malingering here, adding what I perceive as essential information (most points, at the very least), and if you think that I am wasting time here (most seem to not think so, else I wouldn’t have done as much as I have), then you have a perspective on my editing vision that is entirely wrong. Think carefully of what I have added, if you’ve followed most of it. Radlrb (talk) 19:31, 15 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I haven't looked through your contributions in detail but I do think your work has been of worth and that you are contributing worthwhile information. Editing can be a thankless task, but let me say a belated thank you. However, I do think that you sometimes go into more detail than is ideal, especially when the text is not primarily about the article's topic. Adding information about pi to an article about 2 is an example of that. Yes, it is our duty to reveal published information, which means summarising reliable sources rather than drawing conclusions for ourselves. Mathematics is unusual in that statements can be proven true even if they don't appear in the literature, but we should still follow Wikipedia's general rule that we are reporting knowledge rather than creating it. Certes (talk) 19:40, 15 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Count your blessings, you never know how or in which form something will come to be; so be careful to get picky. Secondly, adding information about pi in the article for 2 is not improper, different from what you are saying; clearly, the generalized continued fraction showcased for pi in the article is quite remarkable, and has been known in high regard for a long time. Happy editing, and thank you! Radlrb (talk) 06:45, 16 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Special:Diff/1113515685/1229574528 - Hi, I'm going to comment it out in the crontab, otherwise it keeps running (but doesn't upload the report). It can be re-enabled anytime just let me know. -- GreenC 16:01, 17 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@GreenC: Thank you for all your help. Yes, please turn off the job. I hope a talk page stalker may adopt some of the most frequently mislinked titles from User:Certes/Backlinks but they'll probably have their own way of doing that rather than using my entire list. I've tried to be consistent with edit summaries and have a shorter list of the links I've fixed most often, in case someone wants to take over just the most prolific cases. X (social network) should probably be added, as it now gets mislinked as just X. Wishing you all the best and thanks again, Certes (talk) 16:43, 17 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you to the editor(s) who have been manually running some User:Certes/Reports in my absence. If you wish to act on this data regularly, please feel free to set a suitable interval (in days). Certes (talk) 07:50, 5 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

		The Bluelink patrol Barnstar
		See User talk:Narky Blert#A barnstar 4 U!. Please reward other deserving editors. Narky Blert (talk) 10:15, 28 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@Narky Blert: Thank you for the recognition and for all your hard work on the WikiProject and elsewhere. I'm also almost inactive nowadays, but it's heartwarming to see our efforts being appreciated. I hope that a younger generation of editors will be able to build on our foundations and keep Wikipedia's links accurate. Certes (talk) 10:24, 28 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

A tag has been placed on NWFP (disambiguation) requesting that it be speedily deleted from Wikipedia. This has been done under section G14 of the criteria for speedy deletion, because it is a disambiguation page which either

• disambiguates only one extant Wikipedia page and whose title ends in "(disambiguation)" (i.e., there is a primary topic);
• disambiguates zero extant Wikipedia pages, regardless of its title; or
• is an orphaned redirect with a title ending in "(disambiguation)" that does not target a disambiguation page or page that has a disambiguation-like function.

Under the criteria for speedy deletion, such pages may be deleted at any time. Please see the disambiguation page guidelines for more information.

If you think this page should not be deleted for this reason you may contest the nomination by visiting the page and removing the speedy deletion tag. Shhhnotsoloud (talk) 16:39, 8 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Hi there! The trial of the RfA discussion-only period passed at WP:RFA2024 has concluded, and after open discussion, the RfC is now considering whether to retain, modify, or discontinue it. You are invited to participate at Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/2024 review/Phase II/Discussion-only period. Cheers, and happy editing! MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 09:38, 27 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The redirect Draft:Engineering has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Anyone, including you, is welcome to comment on this redirect at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2024 October 8 § Draft:Engineering until a consensus is reached. jlwoodwa (talk) 23:00, 8 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

A tag has been placed on Sony Computer Entertainment Japan (disambiguation) requesting that it be speedily deleted from Wikipedia. This has been done under section G14 of the criteria for speedy deletion, because it is a disambiguation page which either

• disambiguates only one extant Wikipedia page and whose title ends in "(disambiguation)" (i.e., there is a primary topic);
• disambiguates zero extant Wikipedia pages, regardless of its title; or
• is an orphaned redirect with a title ending in "(disambiguation)" that does not target a disambiguation page or page that has a disambiguation-like function.

Under the criteria for speedy deletion, such pages may be deleted at any time. Please see the disambiguation page guidelines for more information.

If you think this page should not be deleted for this reason you may contest the nomination by visiting the page and removing the speedy deletion tag. Shhhnotsoloud (talk) 09:00, 11 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Hello,

The Wikimedia Foundation is conducting a survey of Wikipedians to better understand what draws administrators to contribute to Wikipedia, and what affects administrator retention. We will use this research to improve experiences for Wikipedians, and address common problems and needs. We have identified you as a good candidate for this research, and would greatly appreciate your participation in this anonymous survey.

You do not have to be an Administrator to participate.

The survey should take around 10-15 minutes to complete. You may read more about the study on its Meta page and view its privacy statement .

Please find our contact on the project Meta page if you have any questions or concerns.

Kind Regards,

WMF Research Team

BGerdemann (WMF) (talk) 19:28, 23 October 2024 (UTC) [reply]

A tag has been placed on Phoenix Force (disambiguation) requesting that it be speedily deleted from Wikipedia. This has been done under section G14 of the criteria for speedy deletion, because it is a disambiguation page which either

• disambiguates only one extant Wikipedia page and whose title ends in "(disambiguation)" (i.e., there is a primary topic);
• disambiguates zero extant Wikipedia pages, regardless of its title; or
• is an orphaned redirect with a title ending in "(disambiguation)" that does not target a disambiguation page or page that has a disambiguation-like function.

Under the criteria for speedy deletion, such pages may be deleted at any time. Please see the disambiguation page guidelines for more information.

If you think this page should not be deleted for this reason you may contest the nomination by visiting the page and removing the speedy deletion tag. Shhhnotsoloud (talk) 20:15, 25 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Hello,

I recently invited you to take a survey about administration on Wikipedia. If you haven’t yet had a chance, there is still time to participate– we’d truly appreciate your feedback. The survey is anonymous and should take about 10-15 minutes to complete. You may read more about the study on its Meta page and view its privacy statement.

Take the survey here.

Kind Regards,

WMF Research Team

BGerdemann (WMF) (talk) 00:40, 13 November 2024 (UTC) [reply]

@BGerdemann (WMF): I had already responded. I have been invited to RfA but declined, for the reason given at the top of this page. If Wikipedia ever escapes WMF control and regains the freedom to spend its income on desperately needed technical fixes rather than irrelevant virtue signalling, I will be delighted to resume editing and might even be willing to serve as admin if required. I understand that the WMF includes a few talented people who do actual productive work. If you are one of them, unable to speak freely about the problems we both see, thank you for your contributions and please understand that my criticism is directed at your less useful colleagues rather than yourself. Certes (talk) 09:48, 13 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Hello! Voting in the 2024 Arbitration Committee elections is now open until 23:59 (UTC) on Monday, 2 December 2024. All eligible users are allowed to vote. Users with alternate accounts may only vote once.

The Arbitration Committee is the panel of editors responsible for conducting the Wikipedia arbitration process. It has the authority to impose binding solutions to disputes between editors, primarily for serious conduct disputes the community has been unable to resolve. This includes the authority to impose site bans, topic bans, editing restrictions, and other measures needed to maintain our editing environment. The arbitration policy describes the Committee's roles and responsibilities in greater detail.

If you wish to participate in the 2024 election, please review the candidates and submit your choices on the voting page. If you no longer wish to receive these messages, you may add {{NoACEMM}} to your user talk page. MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 00:17, 19 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Sohail 36.252.197.81 (talk) 10:56, 6 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, Certes. I realize you're semi-retired and I hope I don't bother you with this message. But given what I've read on your user page, I'd be honoured if you decided to share your perspective here. Feel free to pass if you're not interested and I wish you the best IRL. Clovermoss🍀 (talk) 15:58, 12 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I've replied there. Thanks for the good wishes, and all the best to you. Certes (talk) 22:06, 12 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]