Details of activity on Balkans pages since January 2011 in chronological order. The purpose of this was a brief outline of my activities on Balkans pages since January 2011, also showing where possible how I arrived at a particular article. In view of DIREKTORs allegations I have also indicated where he is not a participant. He is one of the participating editors unless the entry says otherwise. Other frequent participants were FkpCascais (until recently), PANONIAN, PRODUCER and WustenFuchs. Also Timbouctou, Jesuislafitte, far less often, NoSuchUser, Nuujinn.
Once I had edited an article or talkpage it remained on my watchlist. Once it was on my watchlist I checked out any posts. Some of the disputes repeatedly returned, such as the Yugoslav Front naming/infobox disputes, the Serbia under German occupation naming disputes. Some issues like the issue of collaboration by Chetniks/Mihailovic spread from one page to another, including editors talkpages, and never really die down. Some pages I was asked to intervene on. Some disputes I found myself by looking around (Talkpages, contribs etc) or by noticing a reference to it on a talkpage, as the same groups of editors tended to pursue the same or similar arguments from article to article and on each others talkpages. Once I realised Infoboxes were flashpoints for nationalist warring I checked them all out. Quite often, if I stopped an edit war or helped resolve an issue on one page the same group would go and edit war and argue on another page, sometimes without anybody making the agreed changes. I have not included here all the many talkpage discussions with various participants.
Talk:Yugoslav Front
- Subjects: belligerents in infobox (Chetniks etc, Axis or Allies?), name of article, lead issues, including language (Serbia/Croatian/Serbo-Croat)
- Arrival: from an ANI complaint by an editor(DIREKTOR) here. Second ANI complaint shortly afterwards here. DIREKTOR asked me to protect the page on 10th January and again here. DIREKTOR then invited me to read up on the Chetniks and help out as an independent here. Asked my views again in April. FkpCascais subsequently asked me to intervene.
- Specific admin actions: blocked User talk:Слободни умјетник twice for edit-warring. Reverted two of FkpCascais’s edits pending resolution of issue on talk, to stop ongoing revert warring (FkpCascais reported me to ANI as an abusive admin for blocking Слободни умјетник [Слободни умјетник here]). Protected page a week later to stop more edit warring.
- Non-specific actions: getting people to discuss and not edit war, refining issues for discussion, suggesting solutions to long-running issues (eg 3 columns in the infobox), translations of title etc.
Talk:Croat-Bosniak war#Belligerents - Croatian Defence Forces?
- Arrival: PRODUCER asked me on my talkpage to help because an IP was refusing to accept the validity of a source.
- Subjects: whether the HOS took part in this conflict
- Specific admin actions: none
- Non-specific actions: mediating discussion on sources and providing detailed information from another mainstream source on the issue.
- NB: No involvement by DIREKTOR.
Talk:Josip Broz Tito
- Arrival: Potential revert war involving two IP’s, Nuujinn, PRODUCER and DIREKTOR
- Subject: dispute on Tito over insertion of content.
- Specific admin actions: protected page for 24 hours.
- Non-specific actions: pushing for sources from User: Свифт and suggesting a mainstream source on the issue. DIREKTOR asked for details and we had a discussion.
Flag of Serbia + Kingdom of Serbia
- Arrival: longish edit war on Flag.
- Subject: which is the real flag?
- Specific admin actions: protected Flag of Serbia. Subsequently saw and took part in ANI report re Kingdom of Serbia (flags) and blocked an IP who was probably the same one.
- Non-specific actions: here the editor dealing with all the IP revert warring stuff on flags thanked me.
- NB: no involvement by DIREKTOR
Chetniks
- Arrival: asked by DIREKTOR to intervene here. More conversation re the subject here. Commented here onwards. Huge ongoing argument about sources. Carried on here. Invited to take part again in April by DIREKTOR.
- Subject: mainly sourcing issues – reliability, revisionism, misrepresentation
- Specific admin actions: Protected page twice – once recently, due to edit warring. Variously warned and blocked User talk:John Gradwell.
- Non-specific actions: trying to get editors who had added new material and links to justify/evidence their sources. Also said I was willing to help work through all the sources used on the page to establish their compliance with policies. Reverted an editor who deliberately misquoted a source etc. Posted a source on the reliability of a source. Recently on the talkpage, “exploded” passages removed as cited to a particular disputed source to show editors what was cited to what and enable sensible discussion.
Serbia under German occupation
- Arrival: huge ongoing naming dispute, February. Posted a source on 14th Feb, then was asked to intervene again a week later by PANONIAN. Recently asked to intervene on maps by DIREKTOR.
- Subject: recurring article name dispute. Came back again July 2011
- Specific admin actions: protected page from edit-warring in July.
- Non-specific actions: Mainly discussions on alternative proposals, trying to refine ambit of dispute, reproving editors who insulted each other, sourcing, sourcing policies, provision of sources, mediating discussions on various names etc.
Ustase
- Arrival: raised on my talkpage by FkpCascais.
- Subject: dispute re identityof country in which ustasha regime was created.
- Specific admin actions: none
- Non-specific actions: opinion on what sources said, plus behaviour.
Aloysius Stepinac
- Arrival:slow but ongoing revert wars
- Subject: POV/sourcing type dispute
- Specific admin actions: none
- Non specific-actions: suggesting a mainstream source on post-war political issues. Offering to help disputing editors go through the disputed sources one at a time. Removing IP trolling.
Ante Pavelić
- Arrival: copy-editing to help out GA nom. Then edit war ongoing - so protected page.
- Subject: infobox
- Specific admin actions: page protection for 3 days.
- Non-specific actions: later - advising newbie on sources etc
Croats
- Arrival: edit war. Asked to intervene recently by Timbouctou.
- Subject: infobox (pictures of notable Croats)
- Specific admin actions: page protection, blocked Direktor and Timbouctou for 8 reverts each under ARBMAC
- Non-specific actions: mediating discussions on infobox at "Infobox part II" and "Infobox take III" until consensus reached. Subsequently reverted to a pre-edit-war position on a different dispute until consensus reached. Asking for sources.
- NB: DIREKTOR not involved in dispute when I arrived but subsequently suggested a compromise. Became involved in subsequent ongoing dispute. He then made an ANI complaint about Timbouctou. This was at about the same time (early April) that I had decided to topic ban DIREKTOR for 1 month WP:OWN and WP:DISRUPT. Not involved in most recent dispute.
Fausto Veranzio
- Arrival: cleaning up results of naming dispute
- Subject: spelling of name - Italian or Croatian
- Specific admin actions: none
- Non-specific actions: removing duplicated sentence from article left by edit war + talkpage comments.
NB: no involvement by DIREKTOR though he came and commented on my talkpage afterwards. (actually on checking it looks as if he was involved - F)
Serbs of Croatia
- Arrival: notified on talkpage by Timbouctou.
- Subject: infobox contents (people) which turned into usual dispute re Chetniks/collaboration etc., plus recurring theme of whether to put alleged genocidal fascists into infoboxes.
- Specific admin actions:
- Non-specific actions: replacing pre-edit war version of pictures until consensus reached. Mediating dispute at Infobox images, Infobox part II and Infobox III.
Momčilo Đujić
- Arrival: edit war. Asked to keep an eye on it by PRODUCER.
- Subject: category + chetnik collaboration issues
- Specific admin actions: none
- Non-specific actions: intervention on talkpage to stop edit war
- NB: DIREKTOR not involved at that point. Arrived later.
Foibe killings
- Arrival: alerted by DIREKTOR to sock
- Subject: how many killed and who by
- Specific admin actions: blocked Ragusino sock.
- Non-specific actions: reverting sock edit. Correcting info from a source.
National Memorial Day of the Exiles and Foibe
- Arrival: same subject as above
- Subject: as above
- Specific admin actions: Ragusino sock blocked by LessHeardVanU
- Non-specific actions: cleaning up
Operation Storm
- Arrival: alerted by Timbouctou to possible problems following Hague judgment
- Subject: judgment on Bosnian war case
- Specific admin actions: warned IP
- Non-specific actions: reverting inappropriate edits, stopping edit war, cleaning up re what sources say.
- NB: no involvement by DIREKTOR
Petar II Petrović-Njegoš
- Arrival: ethnicity/nationality dispute
- Subject: FAQs box
- Specific admin actions: none
- Non-specific actions: suggested compromise solution.
- NB: no involvement by DIREKTOR
Ante Gotovina
- Arrival: alerted by Timbouctou to possible problems following Hague judgment
- Subject: Hague judgment
- Specific admin actions:
- Non-specific actions: reverted various IP inappropriate edits. Discussed quality os sources on talkpage.
- NB: no involvement by DIREKTOR
Yugoslavs
- Arrival: undiscussed removal of person from infobox
- Subject: ethnic/national issues
- Specific admin actions: see below re Hammer of Hapsburg
- Non-specific actions: reverted removal
- NB: no involvement by DIREKTOR
Croatia
- Arrival:checking Hammer of Hapsburg
- Subject: nationalist language issues
- Specific admin actions: warned Hammer
- Non-specific actions: revert
- NB: no involvement by DIREKTOR
Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Arrival: infobox disputes. Asked to take a look by PRODUCER re Emir Kusturica
- Subject: putting alleged genocidal fascists in infoboxes. ethnicity -v- nationality of Ivo Andric
- Specific admin actions: none
- Non-specific actions: attempting to mediate a discussion on the talkpage
Syrmian Front
- Arrival: unsourced material
- Subject: ethnic issues
- Specific admin actions: none
- Non-specific actions: reverted unsourced materal and requested sources
- NB: no involvement by DIREKTOR. He arrived on my talkpage to discuss it afterwards.
Josif Runjanin
- Arrival: move war
- Subject: Serbian or Croatian spelling of name
- Specific admin actions: move protected
- Non-specific actions: tried to mediate a discussion on talkpage
- NB: no involvement by DIREKTOR
Emir Kusturica
- Arrival: asked to take a look by PRODUCER
- Subject: ethnicity -v- nationality
- Specific admin actions: none
- Non-specific actions: restarted and tried to mediate a discussion on talkpage
- NB: no involvement by DIREKTOR
Serbophobia
- Arrival: offensive nationalist edits.
- Subject:
- Specific admin actions: reverted and warned IP
- Non-specific actions:
- NB: no involvement by DIREKTOR
Bosnian war
- Arrival: offensive nationaist edits
- Subject:
- Specific admin actions: warned IP
- Non-specific actions: reverted edits
- NB: no involvment by DIREKTOR
Ivo Andrić
- Arrival: ethnicity/nationality dispute already arisen re infoboxes - edit war.
- Subject: whether Serb, Croat or Bosnian - or all 3. (Or Yugoslavian)
- Specific admin actions:protected page
- Non-specific actions: Started and attempted to mediate talkpage discussion.
- NB: no involvement by DIREKTOR
Draža Mihailović
- Arrival: after mediation moved back to mainspace although I was given a link to it by Nujinn right back not long after I first started on the Balkan articles. This article has been under mediation since before I arrived on the Balkans pages and virtually no editing took place on it for that reason. (I reverted the odd bit of inappropriate editing). I offered to release DIREKTOR from his 1 month topic ban to continue to take part in the mediation. When the article and talk was moved to mainspace I took part with the intention of assisting in the mediation of the discussion. DIREKTOR invited me to look at it here on 31st May on my talkpage.
- Subject: redrafted article - partly done in mediation - work continuing in mainspace.
- Specific admin actions: none.
- Non-specific actions: reminding/challenging editors (mostly but not always DIREKTOR) about rules of discussion and provision of sources. Sources, sourcing policy, provision and validation of sources.