User talk:Netsnipe/User Bureaucratic F**k

Introduction
If you can't laugh at yourself, life's gonna seem a whole lot longer than you like.

Rationale
This userbox satirises the Encyclopædia Dramatica article at [redacted] which is well known among Wikipedians for its vile and libelous attacks on Wikipedia administrators and editors by trolls and vandals that been banned or censored on Wikipedia.

By no means is this userbox an endorsement of that hate-filled page on Encyclopædia Dramatica. It would also be unethical for us to deliberately interfere with their site either since their policy accepts all free speech.

This "silly" userbox is a tongue-in-cheek symbol of defiance and protest. We hold our heads up high upholding Wikipedia:Policies and guidelines and won't sink to their levels of crudeness while all they can do is call us "Bureaucratic F***s" on a poor parody of Wikipedia. I want my userbox to tell people that my decisions regarding their contributions will always remain impartial and guided by policy no matter what insults that might throw at me.

I volunteer a lot of time on the Recent Changes patrol and contribute regularly to Article for Deletion discussions. Thanks to that work, I've copped a lot of insults including being called a "gook". But not once have I ever broken the golden rule of Do not insult the vandals. This userbox isn't about provoking the trolls and vandals either -- it's about acknowledging the fact that we hold the high moral ground while poking fun at the absurd reality of it all.

I am not the only one who has seen the humour in this userbox. Here is a comprehensive list of all reactions I've had to the userbox so far:

Positive Responses

 * Ha-ha only serious. I proudly linked this page on several occasions in talk and vote pages for more than a year now. I am also "IRREDENTIST and CHAUVINIST Communist ANTI-ROMANIAN plus ANTI-SEMIT VANDAL", russia hater, anti-Polonist, Muslim terrorist, enemy of free speech, and many other things, but I prefer to announce this only selectively, on appropriate occasions. Otherwise the joke wears out. So thanks, I am glad that my glory finally was confirmed independently, but I am removing the userbox: I dislike any clans. `'mikka (t) 05:59, 11 July 2006 (UTC)
 * I can appreciate that. I really don't care about their website, since they are obviously trolls. What I don't like is the fact that they aren't even funny! It is such adolescent childishness, I decided really quickly that I wasn't going to bother with them. What they don't understand is that prior legalities aside...anyone can be sued...all you need is the financial resources, a lawyer and a court that will hear the case...litigation is expensive and I doubt any of them have more than a few bucks to rub together...it doesn't matter what prior laws were decided...if a good enough lawyer decided to he could shut them down and sue the crap out of those that knowingly allow libellous misrepresentations to perpetuate...rights to privacy are other issues as well. Worse yet, some really easy digging and the major players there are easily exposed...I was amazed at how stupid they are about their own personal information in some cases.--MONGO 06:17, 11 July 2006 (UTC)
 * Oh my! Well, I'm not sure it really fits with my userpage scheme, but I certainly know the feeling! You might run into a few problems with those who object to foul language, but aside from that, I think I can sympathize. :) Essjay  (  Talk  •  Connect  )  06:11, 11 July 2006 (UTC)
 * Added to main page. I like it :P Killfest2 07:02, 11 July 2006 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the note and the box with the link. I had no idea that I'd reached such a level of infamy :-) I don't use userboxes, but I'll leave it in place on my talk page. The only problem is that Image:Encyclopaedia Dramatica logo.PNG is under a fair use license. As such it can only be used in the appropriate article about the topic, and NEVER in userspace (see Fair_use, in particular item #9). Could you find a free alternative or change the image for some text. I've resisted the temptation to be a Bureaucratic Fuck and do this for you :-) Thanks. -- Cactus.man  &#9997;  07:17, 11 July 2006 (UTC)
 * I don't use userboxes, but thank you. DS 12:50, 11 July 2006 (UTC)
 * Hmm, it was deleted as being "inherently divisive". Looking at the content, I don't personally see that. I wish these crusaders against "unencyclopedic" content would focus on article space instead of playing silly games elsewhere. Oh well. Friday (talk) 15:06, 11 July 2006 (UTC)
 * Clever, but I'm not an admin. Perhaps if/when I become one I'll add it to my userbox page ;). You know, there are tons and tons of parodies and criticisms of wikipedia......it's kind of ironic: the ones that claim to be serious, like Wikitruth, are almost parodies of themselves in the fact that they resort to ad hominem attacks on Wikipedians. I find uncyclopedia's article about NEVER clicking links the funniest. Dramatica seems to be a weird cross between Wikitruth and Uncyclopedia. BTW, it seems your userbox got salted as I was writing this. The ikiroid (talk·desk·Advise me) 14:21, 11 July 2006 (UTC)
 * I am one of the people ED called this term, I found this funny. I won't use it, but very funny. User:Zscout370 (Return Fire) 17:49, 11 July 2006 (UTC)
 * No way. Keep it. If you can't laugh at yourself, what's the point? --Blacken 06:30, 19 October 2006 (UTC)

Reaction from #Wikipedia on Freenode IRC
Jul 11 15:23:59  Netsnipe: stupid box, as most are, but it could be userfied. Jul 11 15:24:20  WikiTeke: I should move it to my Userspace? Jul 11 15:24:46  errrr Jul 11 15:24:55  I just clicked the link... Jul 11 15:25:13  http://www.encyclopediadramatica.com/index.php/Bureaucratic_Fuck Jul 11 15:25:30  I couldn't resist after seeing some trolls calling us that. Jul 11 15:25:42  Userfy Jul 11 15:25:44  I like it ... Jul 11 15:25:56  Netsnipe: I am a bureaucratic fuck according to ED...that is why I found it funny :D Jul 11 15:41:06  so Zscout370, are you going to use that Userbox? = ) Jul 11 15:41:26  Netsnipe: nah Jul 11 15:41:36  Netsnipe: I dont use userboxes Jul 11 15:41:43  I have user categories, but not boxes

Yes, I allow for my words to appear here. User:Zscout370 (Return Fire) 17:52, 11 July 2006 (UTC)

Negative Responses

 * No thanks. I suggest that you delete this userbox as the concept is clearly intended to alienate genuine Wikipedia editors of all hues. --Tony Sidaway 08:09, 11 July 2006 (UTC)
 * Since we hold the moral high ground, I see no sense in jumping down and rolling in the mud with the likes of E.D. --Tony Sidaway 15:52, 11 July 2006 (UTC)
 * It was funny, but the speedy delete seemed justified to me. I no longer feel that "fighting fire with fire" is any sort of viable option around here, even in jest. Liberal bias has too much of a grip on Wikipedia now. --Uncle Ed 13:11, 13 July 2006 (UTC)

Other

 * More comments (both positive and negative) were made about this userbox during my request for adminship.