This user may have left Wikipedia. AustralianRupert has not edited Wikipedia since January 2022. As a result, any requests made here may not receive a response. If you are seeking assistance, you may need to approach someone else.

Archives

15 January 2009 – 30 June 2009 1 July 2009 – 30 June 2010 1 July 2010 – 30 June 2011 1 July 2011 – 30 June 2012 1 July 2012 – 30 June 2013 1 July 2013 – 30 June 2014 1 July 2014 – 30 June 2015 1 July 2015 – 30 June 2016 1 July 2016 – 30 June 2017 1 July 2017 – 30 June 2018 1 July 2018 – 30 June 2019 1 July 2019 – 30 June 2020 1 July 2020 – 30 June 2021 1 July 2021 – 30 June 2022

There is a proverb that says all (I won't say "good") things must come to an end, and indeed it is time for me to cease my involvement with Wikipedia. For some time I have been losing my desire to contribute content to the site. For awhile I tried to busy myself with admin work or minor edits, however, now it is time to down tools completely and call stumps. I am sorry to say, but I no longer gain enjoyment from my time here. I haven't for many years now but for some reason felt compelled to help maintain what we had started. But, it is too easy for hard work to be destroyed. It is too time consuming to have to continually check watchlists to try to prevent uncited content or misinformation being inserted. It is too odious having to argue with irrational people for the pursuit of a hobby. Too disheartening seeing the good work of others torn asunder or deleted.

It is too depressing seeing friends depart, both online and in real life. It is too impactful having strangers cast aspersions about one's politics without ever having met one. I have grown tired of the increasing politicisation of the site, the agendas of some editors and the continuing assault on the sense of community that once seemed to be the best aspect of the site. There are more important things in life than arguing with people on the internet.

That said, I will forever remain grateful for having had the opportunity to work with many dedicated volunteers from many different walks of life, with many different perspectives. If not for Wikipedia, I doubt I'd ever have been exposed to such diversity of thought. I have learnt a lot from my time here. Most of it was positive, although, I will continue to regret some aspects forever. I had the good fortune to collaborate with some incredible editors on a diverse range of topics; I remain in awe of what a few dedicated editors pulling in the same direction can produce, but I have also seen the opposite. I hope that there will be more of the former than the latter as Wikipedia proceeds into its third decade. Until we meet again. Bona fortuna. Regards, AustralianRupert (talk) 07:12, 29 January 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Thank you for all your contributions over these 13 years—I don't believe we've crossed paths (though I had your page watchlisted solely because of our shared Cornish ancestry), but its always sad to lose an editor. Best wishes for the future -- TNT (talk • she/her) 07:21, 29 January 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Respect. If anybody deserves a long and plush shore leave, you do. Your work endures, brother. BusterD (talk) 07:28, 29 January 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

• Walk long, stay strong, bro. All the best for the future, SN54129 07:30, 29 January 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

• Dude. Very sorry to see you go. I feel your frustration. Your four years as lead coordinator of Milhist were some of the most productive the project has had. Your involvement in the project coordination team from to 2010 to 2018 was also pivotal to our success in that period. Thank you for the cheerful and collegiate way you have gone about your volunteer work here, your wise words of guidance for newcomers and for your hundreds of reviews. Hvala i doviđenja! Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 07:50, 29 January 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

• Gutted to see you go mate, I learnt a lot from your guidance since starting working in the MilHist space and your collegiality will be missed. I wish you and yours all the best for the future. Zawed (talk) 07:55, 29 January 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]
• quite sad to see editors of quality decide to go... your editing and congeniality has been much appreciated JarrahTree 09:10, 29 January 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

• I understand your frustrations about good work being destroyed. I have always admired the work you did on articles and as an administrator. I also know that it is difficult to put a military career, family, and Wikipedia administration together without something getting the short shrift. Let it be the Wikipedia thing to ditch. Your career and especially family must come first. I kind of semi-retired from Wikipedia a few years back as far as writing articles and now only clean up messes from the great number of unregistered who come here to cause havoc. We will miss you and your contributions and sense of humor (that is humour, Mate). Stay safe and God bless! Cuprum17 (talk) 15:20, 29 January 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

• Sorry to see you go. I understand so much of what you posted... bon voyage. Shearonink (talk) 21:36, 29 January 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

• You're a name I recognize and respect, and there's real merit to raising the issues you raise here. Best of luck with your life in this weird and wonderful world. Vaticidalprophet 02:12, 30 January 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

• Thank you for everything. –♠Vami_IV†♠ 23:08, 30 January 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

• Thank you for all your contributions here. Hog Farm _Talk 23:58, 30 January 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

• I am sorry to see your name in this month's admin newsletter. I can't recall if we have directly collaborated on anything, but we have certainly collaborated in the wider sense. I wish you well in the future and hope to encounter you again on some other project. Thank you for your contributions here. --Scott Davis ^Talk 10:40, 3 February 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

• Rupert! I'm just seeing this. While this is a big loss for all of us, I totally understand where you're coming from. Best wishes to you and yours as you discover new adventures to embark upon. Ed ^{[talk] [majestic titan]} 21:55, 3 February 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

• Damn! I just heard and come here to wish you well, although it appears I'm a little too late for that. Wherever you go and whatever you do, know that you'll be welcomed back when and if you decide to return. Until then, good luck, and may you find a new hobby to occupy your time. TomStar81 (Talk) 05:33, 4 February 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

• I'm sorry to see you go, but I understand and respect your decision. At some point, we all burn out, some just recognize earlier than others. Best of luck in your future endeavors. Parsecboy (talk) 00:15, 5 February 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

• You've left big shoes behind for new and existing editors to fill. You'll always remain exemplary and irreplacable. Danidamiobi (talk) 12:16, 22 February 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

• Respect - and all the best looking into the future. Hchc2009 (talk) 00:32, 5 February 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]
• I just have a feeling that We'll Meet Again ... don't know where, don't know when. Until then, I'll enjoy many happy memories working with you over the years. - Dank (push to talk) 21:53, 6 February 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]
• Wikipedia loses another honorable legend in a cesspit of crud :( Bumbubookworm (talk) 23:10, 27 April 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]
• Only just now seeing this, but so long my friend. Enjoy your very deserved retirement. Iazyges Consermonor Opus meum 07:40, 30 July 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

		Job Done
		For good services as an admin, and for resigning the tools in a noble manner. Presented by SilkTork (talk) 12:22, 29 January 2022 (UTC))Reply[reply]

	private project
	Thank you for quality articles persuing your private project, such as Battle of Milne Bay, that "first broke the spell of the invincibility", - repeating: you are an awesome Wikipedian (22 February 2010)! --Gerda Arendt (talk) 13:36, 26 August 2012 (UTC)Reply[reply]

repeated as farewell, and note the old style of the first year, almost 10 years ago, quality that will be missed --Gerda Arendt (talk) 20:46, 29 January 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Your Military History Newsletter Project news: From the editors; awards and honours; contest results Articles: Last month's new featured and A-class content Book review: Nick-D on the Australian Army in Somalia Review essay: Hog Farm on American Civil War sites in the South and Midwest

News and updates for administrators from the past month (January 2022).

Administrator changes AustralianRupert • Cimon Avaro • Euryalus • Jehochman • Nunh-huh 28bytes Bureaucrat changes 28bytes

Interface administrator changes Evad37 • Galobtter Ragesoss

Guideline and policy news

• The Universal Code of Conduct enforcement guidelines have been published for consideration. Voting to ratify this guideline is planned to take place 7 March to 21 March. Comments can be made on the talk page.

Technical news

• The user group oversight will be renamed suppress in around 3 weeks. This will not affect the name shown to users and is simply a change in the technical name of the user group. The change is being made for technical reasons. You can comment in Phabricator if you have objections.
• The Reply Tool feature, which is a part of Discussion Tools, will be opt-out for everyone logged in or logged out starting 7 February 2022. Editors wishing to comment on this can do so in the relevant Village Pump discussion.

Arbitration

• Community input is requested on several motions aimed at addressing discretionary sanctions that are no longer needed or overly broad.
• The Arbitration Committee has published a generalised comment regarding successful appeals of sanctions that it can review (such as checkuser blocks).
• A motion related to the Antisemitism in Poland case was passed following a declined case request.

Miscellaneous

• Voting in the 2022 Steward elections will begin on 07 February 2022, 14:00 (UTC) and end on 26 February 2022, 13:59 (UTC). The confirmation process of current stewards is being held in parallel. You can automatically check your eligibility to vote.
• Voting in the 2022 Community Wishlist Survey is open until 11 February 2022.

Your Military History Newsletter Project news: From the editors; awards and honours; contest results Articles: Last month's new featured and A-class content Book review: Hawkeye7 and Nick-D on World War II in Europe

News and updates for administrators from the past month (February 2022).

Administrator changes Modussiccandi BOZ • Brookie (deceased) • Jackmcbarn • Jamesday • Jonathunder • Master of Puppets • Saravask

CheckUser changes Callanecc Oversighter changes Callanecc

Guideline and policy news

• A RfC is open to change the wording of revision deletion criterion 1 to remove the sentence relating to non-infringing contributions.
• A RfC is open to discuss prohibiting draftification of articles over 90 days old.

Technical news

• The deployment of the reply tool as an opt-out feature, as announced in last month's newsletter, has been delayed to 7 March. Feedback and comments are being welcomed at Wikipedia talk:Talk pages project. (T296645)
• Special:Nuke will now allow the selection of standard deletion reasons to be used when mass-deleting pages. This was a Community Wishlist Survey request from 2022. (T25020)
• The ability to undelete the talk page when undeleting a page using Special:Undelete or the API will be added soon. This change was requested in the 2021 Community Wishlist Survey. (T295389)

Arbitration

• Several unused discretionary sanctions and article probation remedies have been rescinded. This follows the community feedback from the 2021 Discretionary Sanctions review.

Miscellaneous

• The 2022 appointees for the Ombuds commission are Érico, Faendalimas, Galahad, Infinite0694, Mykola7, Olugold, Udehb and Zabe as regular members and Ameisenigel and JJMC89 as advisory members.
• Following the 2022 Steward Elections, the following editors have been appointed as stewards: AntiCompositeNumber, BRPever, Hasley, TheresNoTime, and Vermont.
• The 2022 Community Wishlist Survey results have been published alongside the ranking of prioritized proposals.

I don't recall if I ever interacted with you directly, but I am saddened somewhat to see that a long-time administrator has laid down the mop. I would, however, like to bestow this userbox I just created, making you the first recipient:

This user is an administrator emeritus on the English Wikipedia. (verify)

— Jkudlick ⚓ (talk) 20:21, 31 March 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Ten years ago, you were found precious. That's what you are, always. We miss you. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 05:31, 26 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Thank you today for Bougainville counterattack, introduced (in 2018): "This article covers what must be one of the worst military blunders of World War II. In March 1944 around 15,000 Japanese troops attempted to attack fortified positions on the island of Bougainville which were held by 62,000 Americans who knew that they were coming. While the Japanese fought bravely, the offensive ended in total failure, with the veteran US Army units stopping the attack in a matter of days."! --

Nominations for the upcoming project coordinator election are opening in a few hours (00:01 UTC on 1 September). A team of up to ten coordinators will be elected for the next coordination year. The project coordinators are the designated points of contact for issues concerning the project, and are responsible for maintaining our internal structure and processes. They do not, however, have any authority over article content or editor conduct, or any other special powers. More information on being a coordinator is available here. If you are interested in running, please sign up here by 23:59 UTC on 14 September! Voting doesn't commence until 15 September. If you have any questions, you can contact any member of the current coord team. MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 17:50, 31 August 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Voting for the upcoming project coordinator election opens in a few hours (00:01 UTC on 15 September) and will last through 23:59 on 28 September. A team of up to ten coordinators will be elected for the next coordination year. The project coordinators are the designated points of contact for issues concerning the project, and are responsible for maintaining our internal structure and processes. They do not, however, have any authority over article content or editor conduct, or any other special powers. More information on being a coordinator is available here. Voting is conducted using simple approval voting and questions for the candidates are welcome. If you have any questions, you can contact any member of the current coord team. MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 22:26, 14 September 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Just a quick correction to the prior message about the 2022 MILHIST coordinator election! I (Hog Farm) didn't proofread the message well enough and left out a link to the election page itself in this message. The voting will occur here; sorry about the need for a second message and the inadvertent omission from the prior one. MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 17:40, 15 September 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

Voting for the upcoming project coordinator election closes soon, at 23:59 on 28 September. A team of up to ten coordinators will be elected for the next coordination year. The project coordinators are the designated points of contact for issues concerning the project, and are responsible for maintaining our internal structure and processes. They do not, however, have any authority over article content or editor conduct, or any other special powers. More information on being a coordinator is available here. Voting is conducted using simple approval voting and questions for the candidates are welcome. The voting itself is occurring here If you have any questions, you can contact any member of the current coord team. MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 20:12, 26 September 2022 (UTC)Reply[reply]

		Military history reviewers' award
		On behalf of the Military History Project, I am proud to present the The Milhist reviewing award (2 stripes) for participating in 4 reviews between January and March 2022. Peacemaker67 (talk) via MilHistBot (talk) 06:00, 3 October 2023 (UTC)Reply[reply] Keep track of upcoming reviews. Just copy and paste ((WPMILHIST Review alerts)) to your user space