User:Your Friendly Neighborhood Sociologist

Barnstars, DYK, and Awards

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On 3 April 2022, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Boots theory, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that according to the "boots" theory, poverty is more expensive than being rich? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Boots theory. You are welcome to check how many pageviews the nominated article or articles got while on the front page (here's how, Boots theory), and if they received a combined total of at least 416.7 views per hour (i.e., 5,000 views in 12 hours or 10,000 in 24), the hook may be added to the statistics page. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

	The Original Barnstar
	Thanks for your work expanding articles on trans topics, e.g. this and this. Hope you didn't mind my minor alterations to the former edit Endwise (talk) 10:31, 22 April 2022 (UTC)

		The Socratic Barnstar
		I don't think we've every interacted directly, but we've had some briefly overlapping edits on some pages related to trans topics and I've come to associate your username with responsible editing and some of the most level-headed discussion from anybody in the Wikipedia:GENSEX area. That ANI discussion is a bit of a farce and I think you handled it just about as well as possible - Don't let them get you down! ThadeusOfNazereth(he/him)Talk to Me! 05:55, 19 February 2023 (UTC)

		The LGBT Barnstar
		For your excellent working maintaining and improving the standards of a variety of LGBTQIA+ Topics. Awarded by Cdjp1 (talk) 27 February 2023

		The Helping Hand Barnstar
		For your kind and helpful comments to new user Johnp99999. Love to see it. ––FormalDude (talk) 19:11, 18 March 2023 (UTC)

		The Purple Barnstar
		Nice job continuing to improve Wikipedia even after all of the recent attacks against you! You are a very productive contributor good at countering Wikipedia's systemic bias, and the campaign to drive you away is disappointing. I am looking forward to having you fully back after your ban expires!  — Freoh 10:05, 9 May 2023 (UTC)

The Lavender Heart

The Lavender Heart is awarded to Wikipedians who endure anti-LGBTQ+ harassment in the course of their efforts improving the encyclopedia. While we may all do our best to laugh it off and not feed the trolls, it's important to recognize that words can cut deep, and to make sure that no one feels they're alone when they deal with bigotry and harassment. 💜 — TheresNoTime (talk • they/them) 14:19, 29 May 2023 (UTC)

		The LGBT Barnstar
		For your commendable efforts to improve coverage of queer topics; for overcoming your sanction with grace; for pushing through with undiminished resolve; for your great work on Trans history in Brazil. -- Maddy from Celeste (WAVEDASH) 22:41, 24 November 2023 (UTC)

		The LGBT Barnstar
		I never knew her [Cecilia Gentili] but the community of queer historians is small and the people who knew her in my circles are grieving hard. Thanks for taking the time to make this.Computer-ergonomics (he/him; talk; please ping me in replies ) 15:01, 7 February 2024 (UTC)

		The Barnstar of Diplomacy
		I am amazed by your patience and precision at WP:FTN, in spite of the matter at hand proving (unfortunately, but rather expectedly) tricky. A lot of the discussion keeps being derailed in every possible direction, but seeing you consistently navigate this mess while expertly wielding policy and RS is genuinely impressing. Great work! Choucas Bleu 🐦‍⬛ 23:56, 12 February 2025 (UTC)

		The LGBTQ Barnstar
		For you patience and your persistence to provide high quality verifiable and NPOV articles on queer and particularly trans topics. Thank you very much and hope to take a page out your book Bejakyo (talk) 17:50, 15 March 2025 (UTC)

		The Trans Barnstar
		Inaugural awarding of the Trans Barnstar for your consistent and high quality efforts to create and improve transgender specific articles such as Transgender health care misinformation and Transgender history in Brazil to good article status as well as the creation and substantial improvement of dozens of articles related to anti-trans groups and individual activists. Awarded by Relm (talk) 9 April 2025

	Hugs
	Thinking of you and all other trans editors in our communities ~ 🦝 Shushugah (he/him • talk) 18:07, 18 April 2025 (UTC)

	The Original Barnstar
	For working on a new draft article about the Dutch Protocol that meets Wikipedia policy — The Anome (talk) 19:56, 6 September 2025 (UTC)

	The Special Barnstar
	I couldn't quite find the right barnstar to give you, so the Special Barnstar seemed appropriate. I think you are an exemplary Wikipedian, and your hard work and resilience in the face of difficult situations is admirable. Wikipedia is a better place because you are here. Thank you for all that you do! MrAureliusRYell at me! 14:41, 7 September 2025 (UTC)

		The LGBTQ Barnstar
		Thanks for your work and contributions to Wikipedia including the WP:NQP essay and the article on documenting transgender healthcare misinformation. Raladic (talk) 03:23, 7 October 2025 (UTC)

		The LGBTQ Barnstar
		For lots of things but especially for creating trans health care misinformation and raising it to GA status. Loki (talk) 00:27, 10 October 2025 (UTC)

Pets!

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• 
  I am saddened to see you topic-banned; I hope you have fun with other topics, and wish to see you return to GENSEX in an appropriate amount of time. ■ ∃ Madeline ⇔ ∃ Part of me ; 21:09, 3 March 2023 (UTC)
• 
  Behold! some cool rocks! see you around in the geology topic space then, I guess? It's a shame you got topic banned, but then again, I bet you'll find the rest of wikipedia a lot less likely to crucify you over single sentences. 😁 Anyway... have some cool rocks to get you started! :P --Licks-rocks (talk) 21:59, 3 March 2023 (UTC)
• 
  Ppt91 has given you a puppy!

  Puppies promote WikiLove and hopefully this one has made your day better. Your puppy must be fed three times a day and will be your faithful companion forever! Spread the WikiLove by giving someone else a puppy, whether it be someone you have had disagreements with in the past or a good friend.

  Three times a day is without treats, I should add. Not to even mention plays and walks. In other words, plenty of work to do here. ^{ps. I know it seems hard now, but keep your chin up and think about all of the good work you have done and will continue do in the future.} Ppt91^talk 23:39, 5 March 2023 (UTC)
• 
  I am pretty sure this forward-marching kitty is singing a punk song, and I hope you are, too. Beccaynr (talk) 00:19, 6 March 2023 (UTC)
• 
  Thanks for protecting me and other LGBT+ people
  *Wikipedia:No queerphobes
  You are too cool Bluerasberry (talk) 00:07, 2 May 2024 (UTC)
• 
  Continuing my tradition of delivering cool rocks in lieu of awards, cats or coffee. Keep on keeping on! --Licks-rocks (talk) 20:44, 8 May 2024 (UTC)

Stella O'Malley & Genspect

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Stella O'Malley complained about the Genspect article, stating: Wikipedia can be gamed and trans activists use Wikipedia as a way to attack Genspect and myself. We are not given the opportunity to argue the points as the moderators always side with trans activists, no matter how many quality references they are supplied with. Consequently, articles by gender extremists such as Lee Leveille, are favoured over the more conventional Sunday Times. - Telling the Truth in a Time of Deceit (Part 1): Stella O’Malley’s Statement on Conversion Therapy - Genspect

Genspect tweeted: Wikipedia co-founder [ Larry Sanger ]: “I no longer trust the website I created”-it’s “increasingly partisan”, “propaganda” & “broken beyond repair”. Yes! Genspect & many others critical of transactivism face near-constant defamatory campaigns against us on Wikipedia

Which was quoted by Jordan Peterson with the note

The
Woke
Broke
Everything
They touched

Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull

edit Complained about me and her article here, stating The defamatory page about me on @Wikipedia @JWalesF has been semi-protected and cannot be edited. All edits in the history have been undone. The sad little incels are ensuring the lies remain. Then she tweeted HINT : the wikipedia entry is made by a rather boastful trancel who enjoys lying about people online.

The Atlantic on Gloria Hemingway

edit The desire to fix something wrong—in this case, articles that have not kept up with the times—is meant to play out on an article’s “Talk page,” a companion page dedicated to discussing edits. Take the debate over Gregory versus Gloria. Last February, Hemingway’s Talk page fielded a proposal on what name to use. There was a week of debate, long discussions in which a dozen or so editors grappled with how Hemingway would have wanted to be perceived. The main advocate for moving the page from Gregory to Gloria was an editor named Friendly Neighborhood Sociologist#Thanks!_(R.E.:_Gloria_Hemingway) TheTranarchist, and the main opponent was an editor named StAnselm, a self-described Calvinist who has created more than 50 articles about biblical characters and scenes. Yet the discussion on the Talk page was about facts and Wikipedia policies and guidance, not politics. “It didn’t seem culture warrior–ish,” Reagle said.

The discussion ended with a hung jury: seven editors for Gloria, seven for Gregory. An experienced editor, Sceptre, stepped in and ordered the article to be renamed. The decision was appealed, and an administrator concluded that Sceptre had made a tough call that was ultimately reasonable. On the biggest social-media sites, such a decision might have descended into endless mudslinging. Instead, everyone has respected the outcome and moved on. The article hasn’t been touched in five months.

The Culture Wars Look Different on Wikipedia (available with 12ft.io ;) )

I must confess, it would have been nice if they noted that I was accused of being an WP:SPA whose request to rename the article based on Wikipedia's very clear policy about handling trans people's names should be ignored due to my username, a fact called out in the close.

Gays Against Groomers

edit Gays Against Groomers tweeted: Recently, there have been multiple hit-pieces about our organization that are full of lies. This information has now been used to create a Wikipedia page about our organization, which is quite literally entirely false, and we would like to clear some things up.

Then they wrote an article: A few months ago, we noticed that Gays Against Groomers had its own Wikipedia page. It was surprisingly much longer than we predicted it would be. And what we found was very disturbing. It was filled with incoherent conspiracy theories, fabricated stories about non-existent members, fairy tales about how we are secret billionaires who want to take over the world, bigoted slurs, and it even compared us to Adolf Hitler. The author made outrageous accusations that are not backed up by any facts or evidence. The Wikipedia page includes a reference list, indicating where they got their information. It is based on tabloids from vicious publications like Media Matters, random tweets from deranged trans activists, and a podcast episode where Imara Jones lists off some ideas that they outright admit are conspiracy theories. It is odd that someone would go through such great lengths to discredit a nonprofit organization with a noble mission. But after we did some digging, we found that it was created by a user named "TransAnarchist" and was locked for editing. We released a short statement correcting some of the odd claims that were made. Since we had no way to edit and fix this issue, we hoped that it would eventually just go away. It hasn't. - Lies, Fallacies and Fabrications: Addressing Our Wikipedia Page

Assigned Media

edit On Trans Issues, Wikipedia is a Bulwark Against Disinformation One person reported for vandalism had posted a transphobic statement that included a wish that “Trump boots this troll den masquerading as an encyclopedia off the internet.” The person was subsequently banned indefinitely from editing by the Wikipedia community.
The vandalism had been reported by the Wikipedia editor “Your Friendly Neighborhood Sociologist” (YFNS), a 21-year-old woman from New York City who transitioned at the age of 16.
YFNS told Assigned Media that she is determined to continue her volunteer work on trans-focused articles, which she started over three years ago. The barrage of false anti-trans attacks, she said, “is the start of a genocide: exclusion from public spaces, arguments we're a danger to children, making it harder to travel, describing us [as] an ideology and scrubbing the very fact we exist from every federal resource.”
It was YFNS who helped rally editors in the LGBTQ+ studies WikiProject, one of the many affinity groups that help guide editors, with her post stating their work is “more important than ever.”
...
YFNS, who has been targeted by hate-inspired attacks outside of Wikipedia, is of course most concerned about her own safety. But she is worried that “Wikipedia's defense of the truth and trans history makes us an exceptional target” for people like Musk, Trump and powerful right-wing groups like the Heritage Foundation. Just last week, Slate reported on the Heritage Foundation’s plans to dox Wikipedia editors.

"LGB Courage Coalition"

edit Trans Wikipedia: Activists control the "facts" on Youth Gender Medicine

BRAZEN ACTIVIST
This isn’t a hidden campaign — it’s a public one, hiding in plain sight. Activist-editors have been celebrated in media profiles or have openly boasted about using Wikipedia to discredit dissent. One of the most striking examples is “Your Friendly Neighborhood Sociologist” (YFNS), formerly known as “TheTranarchist.” YFNS was recently profiled in an article on Wikipedia trans editing, published by Assigned Media, a transgender news outlet. The author — YFNS’s friend and colleague—noted that “she is determined to continue her volunteer work on trans-focused articles, which she started over three years ago,” and added that “it was YFNS who helped rally editors in the LGBTQ+ studies WikiProject.” YFNS says “Wikipedia is not in the business of pretending the views of WP:QUACKS are more supported than they are.”
What Assigned Media didn’t tell you is that YFNS was topic-banned in 2023 from editing articles on Gender and Sexuality (GENSEX). According to the administrator notice board, YFNS (going by TheTranarchist at the time) is “trying to mold the topic area to fit her worldview. That is incompatible with Wikipedia. She has become a WP:TENDITIOUS editor. Given all the factors discussed, there is rough consensus for an indefinite GENSEX topic ban. She may appeal it in no sooner than 6 months.”
After six months, YFNS successfully appealed the topic ban and, despite having openly admitted to creating articles with the premeditated intent to tarnish organizations and boost negative coverage in search rankings, remains highly active on the Wikipedia pages of those very organizations. This is best showcased with the Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine (SEGM), where YFNS employs the full range of tactics with impunity. As a result, while the BMJ describes SEGM as “a group of researchers and clinicians that has pushed for systematic reviews and an evidence-based approach,” SEGM’s Wikipedia page opens with the vague assertion that it is “known for transgender health care misinformation” — linked, of course, to the latest article created by YFNS.
A FIXED OUTCOME?
The Wikipedia page on Transgender health care misinformation appears to be YFNS’s magnum opus. YFNS created it, extensively contributed to it, and then nominated it for “Good Article” (GA) status. While GA is supposed to reward quality, in some contexts — especially controversial ones — it can be strategically used to protect an activist-controlled article. To earn GA status, an article must meet six criteria, including neutrality: “represent viewpoints fairly and without editorial bias, giving due weight to each.”
During the GA review, editors raised concerns about neutrality — one pointedly argued, “This is a field where both activist sides have indulged in misinformation. I'd expect a Wikipedia article to state that clearly and give examples of both.” But perhaps the most telling moment came before when the reviewer who posted on YFNS’s personal talk page offering to help, wrote: “If it comes to this, feel free to tag me or leave a message on my talkpage to get my attention as I wouldn’t be shocked if someone takes the nomination with the intent of failing it.” With that preemptive defense, it was no surprise the review ended in a Pass.
THE PRICE WE PAY All told, the ironically titled “Good Article” on Transgender health care misinformation may be the finest example yet of how activist editors can freeze their wishful version of reality in place — even as the world continues to evolve. Experts know not to trust Wikipedia—but the average person may not. As more people engage with this topic, society would benefit from access to honest, balanced pages. When the encyclopedia is rigged, it doesn’t just distort the record — it misguides the conversations we have with our neighbors, our children, and our leaders.

I had to look up the LGB Courage Coalition and unsurprisingly, it's another front for the Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine/Genspect/SEGM

• 1) That TBAN was supported by a minority of respondents in the initial case (launched by a sockpuppet who's otherwise a pretty chill guy), and the admin (who's one of my favorites) who placed it later said I actually agree with TT that the circumstances of her asking me to close this may have resulted in a different sanction than she might have otherwise received. When I first read the discussion, I admit that I felt a certain solidarity with TT, and that was part of the reason I felt hesitant to close it. But a closer's job is not to impart their will, it is to impart the community's will. Perhaps in trying to account for my own bias I overcorrected and misread the community's will
• 1.1) At every article I was accused of bias over, people tried to cite my case to rewrite it, only for other editors to continue to agree they were neutral
• 2) WP:RGW says If, however, the wrong that you want to address has already been sorted in the real world, and if you have the reliable sources to support it, then please do update the articles.
• 3) The BMJ author has been criticized by the British Medical Association, UK Association of LGBT Doctors and Dentists, and the LGBT Chapter of the Royal College of Surgeons - hardly impartial
• 4) Transgender health care misinformation is, and will remain, a good article
• 5) If there is any doubt about the political slant of this blog, know that their last few published pieces include
  • Calling on people to oppose a bill that would count repeated deliberate misgendering, deadnaming, and public outing when making custody decisions, and protect parents of trans kids from criminal prosecution by other states for supporting their transgender kids
  • Talking about their efforts to criminalize transgender healthcare for minors.
  • A fictional memo about how Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria (the unevidenced theory that kids are catching trans from the internet) could be strategically suppressed
  • Claims that people are transing gay kids

Some good WP:UPPERCASE and WP:OWB

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• Key ideas: The five pillars of Wikipedia, WP:PRINCIPLE, WP:1Q, WP:PI, and three core content policies: WP:NPOV, WP:NOR, and WP:V
• Problematic content: WP:NOT, WP:FRINGE, WP:NPOVD, WP:PROTECT, WP:REVDELREQUEST
• Problematic editors: WP:POVPUSHING, WP:HATEDISRUPT, WP:0T, WP:DISCUSSFAIL, WP:SIGNS, WP:COI
• Not being a problematic editor: WP:CIVIL, WP:COAL, WP:BRD, WP:1AM, WP:YANI, WP:MASTODONS, WP:SUPERHERO, WP:COPYWITHIN, WP:EIGHT
• Building consensus: WP:CONSENSUS, WP:NOSUMMARIES
• Writing good articles': WP:GNG, WP:AMNESIA, WP:ASSESS, WP:ENDURE, WP:BETTER, WP:HOWEVER, WP:PROSELINE, WP:INSCRUTABLE, WP:EDITFAST
• Avoiding burnout: WP:CGTW, WP:OWB, BMK's Wikipedia survival guide
• Accessibility and tips: WP:COLAS, WP:POPUPS
• Humour: WP:Akin's Laws of Article Writing, WP:Seven ages of editor, WP:SARCASM, WP:ALLMAD, WP:MMORPG, WP:WikiFauna

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