User talk:Valjean

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This user is aware of the designation of the following as contentious topics: post-1992 politics of the United States and closely related people pseudoscience and fringe science He should not be given alerts for those areas. Note: Alerts are no longer necessary. Please see Wikipedia:Contentious topics/Awareness repeal FAQ for more information.

This page has been mentioned by multiple media organizations: Ashe Schow (November 25, 2015). "Wikipedia founder advocates for updating policies following 'The Hunting Ground' controversy". Washington Examiner. Retrieved February 8, 2020. Another editor, whose username is BullRangifer, suggested Wikipedia not become "a kangaroo court or lynching" by rushing to ban accounts who break COI. BullRangifer suggested following seven steps to determine whether "The Hunting Ground" crew member should be banned and whether his edits should be removed. Some of the steps included how he handled questions related to his edits and whether he stuck to discussion pages to ask for edits rather than making them himself. Marcus Gilmer (October 3, 2018). "Wikipedia demotes Breitbart to fake news". Mashable. Retrieved October 5, 2018. Support. If anything, it's even more unreliable than the Daily Mail, as they at least use trained journalists, whereas Breitbart is a fringe propaganda organization which lets its extreme partisan bias get in the way of how it reports things, and whether it does so, just as Fox News does. It too should be deprecated, but let's start with Breitbart (and InfoWars). — BullRangifer 17:51, 8 September 2018 (UTC) Alexander Hall (August 13, 2020). "Report: Wikipedia Editors Censoring Evidence Supporting Michael Flynn". NewsBusters. Retrieved August 15, 2020. Liberal user Valjean responded by condemning this revelation as 'conspiracy theories' and 'part of a cover-up,' even 'when it comes from the now-sitting government of the USA.' Valjean specified that 'Nothing coming from Trump's Justice Department, FBI, CIA, anything, can be trusted.' Breitbart alleged that Valjean, formerly under the name 'BullRangifer' has been 'previously involved in slanting articles about the Russia investigation.' Raymond Sturman (October 23, 2024). "Top 5 Editing Conflicts in Wikipedia Pages on Religion". World Religion News. Retrieved October 24, 2024. Located on the Catholic Church Wikipedia talk page, the screenshot below details a recent discussion of the tension between the Roman Catholic Church and other branches of Catholicism. Editor 'Valjean' is protesting that the word 'Roman' has been removed from the title, arguing that there are other branches of Catholicism, while the Roman Catholic Church says it is the real Catholic Church.

• How to find word count
• List of lint errors

BTW, have you gotten closer to figuring out a way for us to communicate privately? You can contact me at that external website devoted to criticism of Wikipedia. -- Valjean (talk) (PING me) 20:46, 12 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

Holy shit! I just looked at the history and discovered you had hatted and deleted some content. I did not know that at the time, and none of my edits were made with that knowledge. I had, on my own, figured it was a good time to shut that down and archive stuff. -- Valjean (talk) (PING me) 21:25, 12 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

Hey. It's been more than a month since the bad stuff happened. Since that time, you haven't really moved on and are just ruminating on what happened. The sooner you can put that behind you and start working on other stuff, the better off you are going to be in the future. Something to consider? Viriditas (talk) 22:35, 12 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

I have been busy elsewhere, as encouraged by others. There my talents are better appreciated, so I'm a sysop. Here the thread about the tBan naturally kept things on that topic, so it's gone now, and it is indeed time to get on. I have added a few new things to my new watchlist, none of much interest. I usually need to have some knowledge of a topic for it to "grab" me. Otherwise, it's just bits and pieces here and there of little consequence. 23 years of built up knowledge and experience unusable now. I may find some way to use a bit of it, but since the tBan touches on nearly everything, it will be difficult. Do you have something for me to do here? -- Valjean (talk) (PING me) 00:47, 13 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

23 years of built up knowledge and experience unusable now. I find that impossible to believe. There's millions of things you can apply your knowledge and experience to here. Viriditas (talk) 01:00, 13 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

I have knowledge about the workings of this place, its PAG, and about creating content and finding and using sources. I'm good at formatting references. That's where my aspie tendencies are useful. -- Valjean (talk) (PING me) 01:10, 13 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

No offense to you my dude, but don't limit yourself to "tendencies", customs, traditions, and more specifically, habits. Those are the kinds of things you want to actively practice letting go of. I realize that might sound impossible to you, but I would invite you to think long and hard about it. You don't need to pigeonhole yourself or think of your way of being as narrow and predetermined. Who you are, or rather who we think we are, isn't who we are at all. It's what other people have led us to believe we are. Once you break free from that, it's like leaving prison for the first time. Plato's cave, etc. Go beyond words, ideas, concepts, beliefs, and preconceptions. Check yourself. Are you holding tightly to some thing or some idea? What would happen if you loosened up a bit? This might sound incredibly silly to you, and frankly childishly silly and simple, but it's one of the most lasting changes you can make in your life. You ever get home and try to relax, either on your couch, in a chair, or even lay down in bed, only to realize you are still tense and can't relax? That's an observation related entirely to the body, but guess what, the same kind of stiffness can be found in your own mind. There are many different practices to work on this. Gratitude practice is one, service to others is another. I tend to do both, but I also like long walks through nature. For a while, I was walking six miles every other day, and this really made a difference. Lots of blood flowing to the brain. Some people who are holding on really tightly for dear life swear by the opposite practice. There's no one true way. Think about this for a bit. No need to reply. Viriditas (talk) 01:33, 13 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

Not at all silly, but very wise. Thanks. You are very inspiring. What is your profession or background? -- Valjean (talk) (PING me) 01:41, 13 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

Brain retraining lesson #1693: Ask people about what they love, not what they do. This is because at the end of the day, you are what you love, not who chooses to hire you. "You're not your job. You're not how much money you have in the bank. You're not the car you drive. You're not the contents of your wallet. You're not your fucking khakis." Viriditas (talk) 01:51, 13 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

Are you a lover of movies? Bergman is one of my favorites, and since I understand Swedish, I have seen many of the originals. Persona (1966 film) is probably my favorite. -- Valjean (talk) (PING me) 02:14, 13 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

Myself, I'm nobody's dude (although I could twist that into a Big Lebowski reference). Viriditas and I discuss films a lot. Something I mentioned before, but I'll repeat myself, is that the concept of "radical acceptance" is well worth reading about in the context of breaking loose from unhelpful mental habits, or at least it was very helpful for me. Wikipedia is worthless on the subject, but if you search online, it's worth finding out about. --Tryptofish (talk) 16:45, 13 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

I was actually wondering about the "Dude" reference, as that's part of my Twitter handle. The Big Lebowski holds a well-deserved place in the pantheon of cult classics. Young Frankenstein and the Rocky Horror Picture Show too. Here's a nice list. -- Valjean (talk) (PING me) 17:27, 13 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

I haven't followed Twitter since Musk bought it in 2022. Get yourself to Bluesky. I met Jack Dorsey in 2006 when he first started the original. Super nice guy. Good vibes. Viriditas (talk) 22:09, 13 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

I am also at Bluesky, same handle. I like it much better there. Follow me. I have made a list of National Security Pros. When you open it, you get all kinds of good stuff from them. Really good info. National security is a big interest of mine. Only a few pounds kept me from entering our national security services during the Vietnam war. I was too skinny and couldn't gain the weight, so I had to disappoint them. They tried for a long time to get me to join. I had just the skills they needed. -- Valjean (talk) (PING me) 22:34, 13 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

At this point, I tend to prefer Reddit for that sort of thing, although my enthusiasm is waning as that site undergoes massive changes. Viriditas (talk) 22:50, 13 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

Are you familiar with the paper "What Is It Like to Be a Bat? (1974). Had an interesting dream last night along these lines. I was no longer human but some kind of bird, similar to an egret or heron. My consciousness was entirely bird-based, and all I could think about was signaling to the others in my flock through vocalizations and satisfying an intense need to eat and reproduce. I could view the world in the same way as a human, but my thoughts about it were entirely confined to bird-based ideas and concepts. When I woke up, it occurred to me that this might be a good practice for you to experiment with. An easy way to start is to watch living things up close in your own area. You can do it with ants, reptiles, dogs, cats, whatever. Then try to put your mind into theirs. It's a great way to loosen up your own mind and relax your thoughts about ideas. Try it. Viriditas (talk) 22:04, 15 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

Hey, good buddy. Got your email. Sounds like you are stuck on some ideas and are not willing to give any of these practices a try. Sorry to hear that, but I'm probably going to pull back at this point. Viriditas (talk) 21:41, 16 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

Update: Peterson N, Larson LR, Ford T, et al. (July 2026). "Both restored forest and birdsong promote psychological well-being". Environmental Conservation. Viriditas (talk) 00:47, 26 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

See also: Nature therapy. Viriditas (talk) 00:49, 26 July 2026 (UTC)Reply

We are fortunate to live in green surroundings, with trees, vines, flowers, gardens, birds, squirrels, snakes, deer, mountain lions, and bear. We have 13 fruit trees, and right now we are eating delicious oranges, peaches, pluots, grapes, tomatoes, and sweet peppers. Nature is indeed therapeutic. We are also blessed with mockingbirds. They are wonderful singers. To Kill a Mockingbird is a great sin. -- Valjean (talk) (PING me) 02:13, 26 July 2026 (UTC)Reply