Battlestar Wiki talk:The Merovingian Ban

It must have been a hard decision to take such a drastic action, but I'm sure that this move will only benefit the wiki in the future. --Ribsy 00:14, 30 August 2006 (CDT)

I'm intrigued to know what's happened in the last few days for such a hard decision to be made. I was on vacation from the wiki all last week and I dont use Skiffy boards or other forums to know what happens off-wiki... --Mercifull ^{(Talk/Contribs)} 04:07, 30 August 2006 (CDT)

I suspect the off-wiki behavior has just come to a head. But I'd not speculate further. We are what we are outside and inside the wiki. While Merv's face was improving here, it seems he began to claim the wiki as his own, and this isn't a place we can take ownership in. We can all take pride in adding our own contributions to form, together, one great resource for everyone, yes, but we can not take ownership to be point of being catty, rude or representing yourself as a wiki official without authorization. --Spencerian 12:42, 30 August 2006 (CDT)

It was not only that, but his general behavior to people off-wiki -- his behavior even prompted RDM's own wife, Terry, who posts on the SciFi.com boards as "Mrs Ron", to warn Merv about his's own behavior. (In light of how she herself is painted as "a champion of [Merv's] bad behavior", I do not envy her current position as well, which apparently mirrors our own in some ways.) What I do know through conversing with others who aren't contributors to the Wiki, but have their pulse on the fandom, is that he has damaged the wiki through his actions as he is associated with us. (He's made this association clear through a banner on the SciFi.com boards, a banner that I will ask be removed from his signature immediately.) I know that he's caused damage to the wiki; it's not like any of this is not out there on the boards and the like -- it is. I've tried to establsh damage control, hence the Official Representation policy, which, I will freely admit, is a direct response to Merv's previous actions. He has (almost) cost us a very good contributor in the process just within the last 48 hours and, in talking with others, I have determined that an RFC would have caused much, much more issues than the primary issue we were attempting to fix. I'll make it pretty clear that this decision was not a spur of the moment; I've thought about it intermittently for some time now, until I could put the pieces together all of the events that have transpired for the last six to eight months, without massive bias on either side of the issue. The sad thing is that it all adds up to a very nasty picture, which I refuse to have this wiki be a part of. -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 17:35, 30 August 2006 (CDT)

I dont need to know about the reasons that leave to Merv´s banning ,hes childish behavior and arrogance are very well known arround the BSG fanbase.These action open the gate to our group of fans that avoided these place because we didnt want any involment to do with the Merovignian. The FRAKHEADS! and the BSG-55 board will celebrate these desition and ad theyr contributions to the BSG wiki project.

Moctezuma. BSG-55 FRAKHEADS! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Moctezuma (talk • contribs).--Moctezuma 19:17, 30 August 2006 (CDT)

Dont worry about these site image on the contraire,the relevance of the content and the profesional structure are really amazing, im very pleased to read about a young profesional entrepenour like you and the TEAM that makes these site posible.--Moctezuma 19:17, 30 August 2006 (CDT)

Thank you for your kind words. I personally appreciate them. :-) -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 22:22, 31 August 2006 (CDT)

I don't understand what has prompted this move at this time, and there is nothing in your announcement, Joe, that really explains it. I have been clued out of the community for a few weeks now, and there may well have been some new incident that showed Merv not only to be unworthy of adminship, but unworthy of editing as well. But if there is, you haven't cited it. When I saw the title of this page I expected to see laid out for me a series of recent references to Merv's transgressions both here and off-site. I didn't get it. Why not? Banning people out of the blue for vaguely generalised past behaviour casts, IMO, an even worse impression on the wiki. Is it because he called somebody a moron in that thread? If it is, just say so. Why the hints and characterisations? Is the trigger that MrsRon spoke against him? I wouldn't call what she wrote a scathing indictment, just a mild voice of reason.

Judging from the arguments I have seen from people on this site in such matters, which have been generally very rational and of a high level, I find this announcement disappointing, more for the content of the announcement than the actual decision that was taken. It comes across as an emotional reaction -- something that I thought the wiki was above indulging. If you were going to ban somebody from editing, I would expect this to include a carefully cited set of examples of his behaviour, not a link to a single slur wrapped in several paragraphs of what basically boils down to 'People don't think he's cool and therefore they think the wiki isn't cool.' I suggest that in the future if you ban anyone from doing anything that you dispense entirely with all of the talk about wiki's reputation (which dominates your announcement and is not on point, i.e. it's not the relevant issue), and instead take a much more rational and carefully laid out approach that concentrates on examples (especially recent ones) of Merv's actual behaviour, because without that, there is no 'there' there. And that presents the appearance at least of having arbitrarily and without careful consideration (but merely out of a sense of fed-upness) chosen a side in what is ultimately a personality conflict in fandom, and chosen the side that will result in the least repercussions for the wiki. As in, maybe if you get rid of Merv the whole conflict will just go away? Okay, leave aside the fact that this doesn't seem to be an actual valid reason for banning anybody; more importantly, what happens to the next target chosen for unpopularity by your secret sources? Do we all have to curry favour now with certain off-wiki fan personalities to remain in good standing here? And exactly who are these people, anyway, with their "fingers on the pulse of fandom"? They don't have their fingers on MY pulse. You might as well have said that Merv has been excommunicated because a shadowy figure came to your doorway and slipped you a note after you left an X on your window. It really leaves an awful impression.

I don't really have time to debate this at length, but I think the way this decision was presented reflects very poorly on the wiki, because I find most of the things you have talked about to be not relevant. Think about somebody with no prior experience of this conflict reading what you just wrote, Joe. You have given this hypothetical newbie almost no actual clear and present reason to believe that The Merovingian is still the imperious dictator you say he is, and instead given him/her a major reason that is right in their face to believe exactly that about you and about the wiki.

I'm not asking that you reverse the decision. I don't know enough to say that. As I say, I have not been privy to what's been going on, which is why the paper-thinness of what is on this page is so glaringly obvious. But I hope that in the future any bannings of longtime members that are under consideration will be handled much more carefully and methodically than what I see here. It also would help if there were reference made to violations of an official policy on exactly what is bannable and what is not. Is being unpopular with other fans a bannable offence? You give a very strong impression here that it is.--Dogger 03:22, 1 September 2006 (CDT)

What prompted the banning were the fact that, repeatedly, editors have tried to up and leave regarding his behavior -- behavior which is well documented on the message boards to which he participates as well as the wiki. It is not only pathetic that I have to keep on talking down contributors who have had issues with Merv, but it is also pathetic that people, like Shane (who isn't even an admin, for pete's sake), have to talk people out of doing such an act. Perhaps you didn't know this, as it wasn't common knowledge, but myself and the other administrators, such as Peter, have been endeavoring to help Merv soften his behavior. For a while, it seems he was improving in his behavior, until the complaints -- from people who hardly participate in message boards -- started rolling in again.

I'm not going to release names because they have come to me in confidence -- though I do hope that they have the courage to come forward, since I believe it would be cathartic for them. But Merv is directly responsible for us almost losing a very good member of this community 24 hours prior to making my decision.

We have had issues with Merv for quite some time now, including the whole KR thing which, sad to say, almost damaged the wiki more than I've ever let on. This is detailed in his three Requests for Adminship, which I believe you may have read, as well as throughout the wiki. Feel free to do a search in our wiki, or even a Google search. (As I said, it's all out there for review.)

Merv has also attempted to comport himself as taking ownership of the wiki on various occassions, despite our attempts to curtail such behavior by establishing our Official Representation policy. No one here, including myself (who shoulders the burden of financing, tech support, and being the one who tends to mediate issues here), dares take ownership of the wiki because it is a team effort. We are one here; everyone works together to build this reference. If there is someone who tries to use Battlestar Wiki as his personal pulpit, such as in the whole KR thing which is documented in our archives here.

Fact of the matter is that I haven't included links due to the fact that his behavior outside the wiki and goals are so glaringly apparent that I believed such a thing was unnecessary; I now know why he was so insistant on getting adminship here at the wiki as well, which was to solidfy a position to be some sort of prima donna information broker in the fandom. (This motivation doubtless lead to the near-disasterous incident with KR, which Peter should be thanked for mitigating.) I firmly believe that Merv never wanted the responsibility; he wanted the title, which is something that the cynical part of me has always suspected.

To satisfy your curiousity regarding links and a dossier of his behavior on and off wiki, there are people who are working to create a compilation of all of Merv's replies and actions to date. A link to it, most likely in PDF format, will be uploaded to my website and linked here as an archive for all to see upon completion and review. I personally think such a thing is a waste of time, but I want everything out there because the truth will come out sooner or later, as it always does.

Also, Merv's assertion that people such as Darth Marley have been mailbombing me with complaints is totally ludicrous and strikes me as an indicator of Merv's paranoia, as well as solidifies what I've found to be a characteristic of his personality: that he will take leaps of logic without thorough research and pithy information. I have never corresponded with Marley or others (I've talked to Larocque, but that's because I respect him for all his work he's done with the original Battlestar Galactica FAQs and so forth); to continue, I've read what they've said on the boards and had I heeded them immediately, this ban would have happened several months ago. Merv's popularity, or lack thereof, had no bearing on this decision -- it was his actions and his treatment of others both on and off wiki that came to a head. Call it the powder keg just waiting to be lit that Merv's actions (and consequences of his actions) have built up for months, if you will.

There was no "ban Merv" caucus or calls from said non-existant caucus to ban Merv that lobbied me; Merv acted uncivily and nearly scared off new and even established contributors (that I know about, anyway), as a result, was banned indefinitely, until he wishes to act like a respectful human being and not the overbearing person he's projected himself to be.

If Merv wants to be a part of a community, he can't act like the progeny of a prima donna and pitbull. The two are mutually exclusive and have no place with one aother.

Humility. Integrity. Respect. Honesty. Collaboration. These are things that the wiki stands for and, quite frankly, Merv's actions do not fit in line with the philosophies of this wiki. And, needless to say, Merv is being watched very carefully now more than ever even from people who have better uses for their valuable time. Think about that for a moment, or for as long as you need to... why would people waste their valuable time to watch him like a hawk?

I think there is something very wrong with this picture, and it is something I have no desire to have this wiki be a part of. Hence my executive decision. Now I've said enough and have better things to accomplish... do excuse me. -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 09:18, 1 September 2006 (CDT)