Testimonies of a Former VS Battles Wiki Admin (Organizing)

Hello.

My name (or at least the one most people know about) is MrKingOfNegativity. I've been taking part in VS debates of every description for several years now, and I have been to many different communities over the course of that time.

I am a former admin for VS Battles Wiki. As of this writing, I am no longer a part of the site, and have no intention of returning.

I left my position on [---] due to many separate factors. More than anything else, it was the growing resentment and disgust I felt towards the community around me that finally pushed me over. By the time I resigned, I had seen many awful things and come to understand many more. My years as admin, in particular, yielded more of this than anything else; my position allowed me to see a much larger extent of what was going on between staff members, 'regular' users and many members in-between. I've seen more people's bad sides than the most well-paid psychiatrist you'll ever meet, and I've witnessed firsthand what happens when those bad sides clash with one-another.

More than anything else, however, I've come to see that those outside of the VS Battles Wiki forum (and even some *within* said forum) don't seem to know or fully understand the scope of what goes on in that place, or the behaviors and conventions that are frequently perpetuated by the community.

And I've decided I'm going to change that.

What you see before you is the first in a series of essays detailing what I've seen in the VS Battles Wiki community, both as a normal user and during my tenure as an admin. I will be covering all of the major issues I've come to recognize, the actions and behaviors that have caused them (or have been caused *by* them), and all of the reasons I cn perceive for why the issues themselves have been allowed to grow to their current extremes. Names and direct links will be spared as per this site's rules regarding such. All other details will not.

I, myself, will not be an exception to that rule either. My own involvements in certain events will be taken into account alongside everything else. Because I'm not doing this to make myself look good; I'm doing this to help people understand the truth.

I am a former VS Battles Wiki staff member. These are my testimonies.
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The Debate Testimony: How and Why Genuine Debate is Not Encouraged
-What's Not On the Profile Doesn't Matter
-The "Make A CRT" Rabbithole
-"For Reasons Above"
-Profile Wins Are All That Counts

A Revisionist Testimony: The Content Revision Process (And Where it Fails)
-The Start of Most CRTs
-How Things Tend to Go Wrong
-"The Bullshit Theory"
-The Lasting Impact of a CRT

The Xenophobic Testimony: Attitudes Towards Other Sites and Sources
-The "Official" Rule Regarding Other Communities
-How the Rule is Ignored/Circumvented
-Why the Rule is Ignored/Circumvented
-Immune to Criticism (From Without)

The Manipulation Testimony: The Politics of VS Battles Wiki
-Profile Wins as Bragging Rights
-Attack On Progress
-The Boy Who Cried "Stomp"
-Community Backstabbing Disorder

The Gatekeeping Testimony: Arbitrary Biases and Slants
-"Powerscaling Rules" (No, It Doesn't)
-Anti-Popularity Stigma
-Where Obscure Works Take Over
-"D i m e n s i o n a l i t y"
-Selective Ignorance

The Staff Testimony: The Power of Being a Staff Member, and Why It Corrupts
-Rising Quickly Through the Ranks
-"I Am The Law"
-(No) Fear of Retaliation
-Staff VS Regulars
-Protected by Reputation