Jytdog is doubtless unique.
I cannot think of a single other Wikipedia editor who has shown the level of integrity, courage and basic self awareness to know that he was a clearly incompatible with Wikipedia. The ability to know that if he did what hundreds of editors were quite literally begging him to and actually fought the site ban that was heading his way fast, he would have become a massive time sink and huge drama magnet, and potentially been the genesis of one huge media shitstorm.
The realisation that passion for Wikipedia is not enough to be a good editor, let alone what hundreds thought he was, an editor great enough to not just enforce but change policy and Defend Wikipedia. The self awareness to know (and show) that his departure had to be seen as for cause, and be unambiguously permanent. That he had to leave absolutely no doubt in anyone's mind that he was manifestly not hoping to return, either as his very well known persona, or as a clandestine editor. And he has clearly kept his word. He has either never returned, or in the spirit (and letter) of CLEANSTART, he has returned a totally reformed character. Unrecognizable.
Granted, these realisations came all too late and in the lead up to them he did some terrible things, but that describes pretty much every bad actor on Wikipedia. What marks him out as eminently credit worthy, is that arrive they did.
For that alone, he can truly be said to have been totally dedicated to Wikipedia. A true martyr to a cause.
We all know it is an evil cause, but we can respect and admire the rare (unique?) example of someone who believed in it so much, he put Wikipedia before his own interests.
It is fitting that in rather quickly forgetting who he was and not carrying on his efforts with the same zeal, the Wikipedia community showed quite well that you
never get back what you put in, so why even bother? Proof that Wikipedia is evil, an evil community working toward an evil goal.
I absolutely love the fact that one of their best/worst ever editors is now a quite brilliant example of how pretty much all other established/experienced Wikipedia editors, especially the ones who like to see themselves as significant drivers of change or effective Defenders of The Wiki, up to and including the ones among them who certainly talk a good game regaeding their potential future martrydom, are nothing but selfish, self interested, unprincipled cowards.
And what describes Wikipedia perfectly?
A hobby for selfish, self-obsessed, unprincipled cowards. People with absurdly grand delusions about their place in the world and their right to influence a thing as major as world knowledge.
Complete and total assholes.
You can find perfect examples of them on Wikipediocracy, their natural home.
I have no doubt the Wikipediocracy stalwart Volunteer Marek thinks of himself as Defender, and perhaps one day a Martyr. He sure as shit won't ever be a reformed character. A site ban is his future. What he does when it comes, is all he can control. Marek wishes he had even a tenth of the integrity Jytdog showed, in the end, the final act. But we have already seen Marek has absolutely nothing in him, nothing at all in his make-up, that would make him feel In the slightest bit guilty that his approach to Wikipedia is not just a cause of huge drama, it is the cause of a media scandal. He will fight to the death, when it comes. Take anyone who stands with him, down with him.
A true Zealot, in every negative sense of the word.
Jytdog was the complete opposite of Marek. The former was clearly deeply ashamed that his personal views and character flaws had already led Wikipedia into disrepute and if he didn't act with integrity, would only cause further harm. He saved the Wikipedia community from its tendency to shine a light on the worst of humanity and potentially self destruct. If he cannot win, Marek prays for the day he can take the exact opposite path. Jytdog was ultimately accepting of the fact that he had failed in his efforts (without perhaps realising he had failed because Wikipedia is evil). Marek is the evil. Marek will never accept defeat.
No surprise that someone as deeply flawed as Malik Shabbaz would be seen as a mentor by someone like Marek.
Marek is a freak, a psychotic asshole who lacks the integrity required to admit that Malik Shabbaz was just as much of a racist asshole as the people he blocked, he just knew that on Wikipedia, it pays to hide your racism if you want to achieve things. If you want your side to win in the Blood Feuds you came to Wikipedia to fight, and which Wikipedia in its wisdom has not only not prevented, but in recent years has actively encouraged, as if somehow that is how Wikipedia content was always meant to be produced.
No surprise that a person like Malik Shabazz is respected by the scumlord who manages Wikipediocracy. No surprise that they see nothing wrong in the manner of Malik's departure, which only confirmed to everyone who already knew it, that he was a fucking fraud, a perfect example of how Wikipedia can do what It does. It's easy to see the people who are open in their assholery, it's far worse when they are smart enough to deliberately hide it. Hide it until it inevitably makes them snap.
Malik snapped, and had a psychotic break. Hopefully the same fate awaits Marek.
You just can't be that much of a deliberate and self aware asshole for that long, knowing how many lies you tell to your "community", knowing why you do it, and knowing it goes against everything Wikipedia stands for, without it eventually breaking you apart.
Jytdog was never like them. You always knew what he thought and you could always see how he was trying to achieve it. No games. No lies. No hiding who he was. An honesty, an integrity, or as good as it can manifest in a fucked up environment like Wikipedia.
As such, whereas Malik's end no doubt saw him being forcibly detained in a mental health facility, at his own end, Jytdog was probable the calmest he had felt in years.
A calm that Marek will never know, because he has earned his place in Hell.
Wikipediocracy and Marek are sympatico. Wikipediocracy and Jytdog were never aligned.
It is known.
Wikipediocracy knows what it is. It knows it so well, that on the rare occasion a truth emerges on their forum.....
The Blue Newt wrote: "Volunteer Marek" wrote:
Malik Shabazz......One of the best......he'll always have a special place in my heart
Based on the work you’ve done in an extremely contentious area, I have a great deal of respect for your opinion.
I am trying to square that with my personal experience with MS, and so far it isn’t working.
.....they deliberately ignore it.
Don't pull at that thread, Wikipediocracy.
You'll expose your rotten Gollum like corpse to the world, and not even Wikipedians will want to play with you anymore.