Discussion concerning Riposte97
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Statement by Riposte97
Riposte97's statement contains
677 words and
exceeds the 500-word limit.
Bruh. Riposte97 (talk) 02:53, 2 March 2026 (UTC)
- @TarnishedPath are you saying Americans are a race? Be serious. In any case, we’re both Australian, and you know as well as I do that yank is not used as an insult. Riposte97 (talk) 03:48, 2 March 2026 (UTC)
- @Theleekycauldron re the two edits of 18 Feb, I was trying to be tongue-in-cheek. My detractors have failed to mention that I apologised once it was made clear to me that it was coming across wrong.
- The comment today was the gentlest possible rebuke to somebody appearing to indirectly suggest that I would support the holocaust. Riposte97 (talk) 04:13, 2 March 2026 (UTC)
- I see we’re getting the band back together. Well, I’ve no interest in responding to everyone point-by-point. Uninvolved admins can assess the strength of those arguments. I still find bizarre the hand-wave that Imane Khelif, an Algerian Arab, is ‘basically black’ because…why? She’s from Africa? That is actual racism, not just an accusation that can be weaponised in a petty online crusade. Riposte97 (talk) 21:41, 2 March 2026 (UTC)
- As a side note, she is not an ‘indigenous Algerian’ either, as far as I can tell. That term in a domestic context does not mean what it means in the West, and would seem to imply she is a Berber. Riposte97 (talk) 21:49, 2 March 2026 (UTC)
- @Simonm223 read the sentence after the one you selectively quoted. Riposte97 (talk) 12:42, 3 March 2026 (UTC)
- @Newslinger, I stand by that comment, and if that means I fall on my sword, so be it. Simonm223 said
Riposte97 has asked the lead to introduce doubt as to whether Khelif is a woman
(emphasis mine), quoting me as saying "stating unequivocally that she is female is, in my view, no longer responsible". In the very next sentence, I say, "It would be more responsible to say that Khelif was born a woman." I don't believe it is battleground behaviour to call our that kind of selective quotation. Riposte97 (talk) 23:42, 10 March 2026 (UTC)
- @Arcticocean Could you please tell me exactly what I've said that violated content rules severely enough to merit a ban? Or is the rule that if enough mud is thrown at someone, some has to stick? Riposte97 (talk) 09:57, 3 March 2026 (UTC)
- @MjolnirPants I doubt you'll need to retire to your fainting couch, particularly considering that just since the start of February, and just on that page, you have attacked fellow editors again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again. Riposte97 (talk) 00:58, 10 March 2026 (UTC)
- ...and again and again and gearing up for some gravedancing re this very thread here. Riposte97 (talk) 00:06, 11 March 2026 (UTC)
I'm probably close to the word limit, so I will content myself with one final observation: something that is hugley disruptive to this project is when a brigade comes together to systematically pursue someone with a different opinion on noticeboards. It wastes an unbeliveable amount of editor time, and when successful, is a large contributor to the systemic bias of this website, weakening the experience for readers. Riposte97 (talk) 00:30, 4 March 2026 (UTC)
- As the Alans, Goths, and Vandals continue to circle the borders, I'd like to request a modest word extension to defend any other points that emerge. Riposte97 (talk) 01:04, 10 March 2026 (UTC)
- @Theleekycauldron I'm not alleging a coordinated conspiracy, just making what I think is a pretty obvious observations about how noticeboard discussions operate. They are far more likely to be an extension of a content disagreement than some kind of neutral community assessment of behaviour. The person filing this complaint freely owned (with commendable honesty) that we had a content disagreement. Some of my other accusers in this thread have said far more objectionable things in GENSEX from an objective standpoint, but decided to lay the boot into me, I assume because our disagreements trump consistency. Riposte97 (talk) 04:22, 10 March 2026 (UTC)
- As a sidenote, are delusions of grandeur not permitted? Apologies, I was unaware. I will restrict self-comparisons to the Mughal Empire and smaller. Riposte97 (talk) 04:27, 10 March 2026 (UTC)
Statement by TarnishedPath
Noting that the two comments towards Simonm223 at Talk:Imane Khelif (Special:Diff/1339082921 and Special:Diff/1339091605) aren't just personal attacks, they're also explicit acts of racism. TarnishedPathtalk 03:15, 2 March 2026 (UTC)
- @Riposte97, you and I both know that tone and usage are large parts of whether terms like that are meant as insults. Telling someone to stop acting like a yank, after they've told you that they aren't a yank is unambiguously using the term in an insulting and racist manner. TarnishedPathtalk 03:55, 2 March 2026 (UTC)
- @ErnestKrause, writes the following:
Editing on Political pages can often be a heightened and contested area to start with, and it seems that some added latitude should be allowed in the cases where Politically centered questions are disputed
(my emphasis). This is entirely incorrect. The exact opposite is expected in CTOP areas. Refer to Wikipedia:Contentious topics#General provisions. TarnishedPathtalk 22:11, 3 March 2026 (UTC)
Statement by Simonm223
I'm commenting here because I was mentioned. I wasn't personally very offended by Riposte97 erroneously calling me a "Yank". People forgetting Canada is a sovereign country with people who are influenced by but distinct from the United States is, frankly, kind of normal online. I was even willing to extend the AGF that they didn't intend the expression as an insult. But I do have some racism related concerns with Riposte97's comment that I think are more serious. And that's to do with the real thrust of their comment here: she isn't black
. Khelif is an indigenous Algerian and Algeria is a north-African country with a recent history of severe colonialism. My comment was to situate the culture war furor which has made managing that page difficult for two years in the context of intersectional marginalization. "Black" was effectively used as short hand for North-African woman of colour. Attempting to suggest there is some specifically American thing about recognizing how her ethnicity was impactful upon the media circus seems almost willfully obtuse. I've had concerns with Riposte97 and race issues long before I encountered them on gender issues. This was present in their disruptive editing of Canadian Indian residential school gravesites of which this diff is a good example and their contributions to the Grooming gangs scandal talk page such as this . I was unaware of the dispute about Donald Trump and his patently obvious oppression of trans people because I don't watch the Donald Trump page very closely but I would say there is a consistent pattern to Riposte97's editing across political topics. Simonm223 (talk) 12:59, 2 March 2026 (UTC)
- These diffs from this morning are also pertinent to this discussion as Riposte97 has asked the lead to introduce doubt as to whether Khelif is a woman, saying
stating unequivocally that she is female is, in my view, no longer responsible
: . Simonm223 (talk) 12:33, 3 March 2026 (UTC)
Statement by MjolnirPants
MjolnirPants's statement contains
395 words and complies with the 500-word limit.
I don't have a whole lot of experience interacting with Riposte. In fact, most of my interactions with them consisted of them apparently fishing for a reaction that they could use to get me removed from this topic.
The result of those efforts was a narrow escape from a boomarang. Which, of course did not seem to register, as no sooner was that thread shut down, they decided to cast more aspersions on editors who disagree with them.
See specifically this comment of mine in the above-linked ANI discussion, where I lay out some problematic diffs I'd found with a look at just part of the first page of their edit history. ᛗᛁᛟᛚᚾᛁᚱPants Tell me all about it. 15:13, 2 March 2026 (UTC)
The argument that Riposte is deliberately provoking other editors in an effort to get them sanctioned may also warrant investigation.
- @Toadspike:, see the statement by M. Bitton, who observed the same behavior. I would note that I can be a sort of lightning rod for this sort of nonsense, as I'm generally unafraid of using sarcasm, foul language and colorful euphemisms in my communications, and that creates the impression of a hotter head than I actually have. Also, being the author of WP:NONAZIS doesn't help. So it's not surprising that efforts to the same end directed elsewhere weren't followed through as far as they were with me. ᛗᛁᛟᛚᚾᛁᚱPants Tell me all about it. 13:20, 6 March 2026 (UTC)
- I woke up today to find that Riposte is still engaged in the exact same type of behavior that almost caused their WP:BOOMARANG back at AN. They decided to cast some aspersions again. For context, the comment they are replying to was one in which I said that the transvestigation of a successful female athlete was motivated by "hate", and in which I implied a distinction between the editors here and those engaged in pushing this narrative. It's quite telling that they would take an attack on a minority belief as a personal attack. ᛗᛁᛟᛚᚾᛁᚱPants Tell me all about it. 15:02, 9 March 2026 (UTC)
- Many of the diffs of mine Riposte just posted were previously posted in the ANI thread they started about me. I've documented how that went, above. This one in particular illustrates how bad-faith Riposte's attack is: I'm literally directly answering a question without providing any commentary or interpretation. Just a factual answer to a direct question.
- (Apologies if I have exceeded my word count. I will not post here again unless asked a question.) ᛗᛁᛟᛚᚾᛁᚱPants Tell me all about it. 13:05, 10 March 2026 (UTC)
Statement by ErnestKrause
I'm not a participant in the topic discussion under question here and am responding mainly to the conduct issues being raised against Riposte97. The comment from Toadspike below needs to be taken seriously as to whether the high bar of conduct issues has in some way been breeched, which Toadspike states does not appear to be the case here. Editing on Political pages can often be a heightened and contested area to start with, and it seems that some added latitude should be allowed in the cases where Politically centered questions are disputed. Siding with Toadspike seems to be a good path to take here, with emphasis that care should be taken when Political issues are being disputed. Going with Toadspike on this. ErnestKrause (talk) 15:40, 3 March 2026 (UTC)
Statement by M.Bitton
I second what Black Kite said. Claims such as The second issue with the above phrase is that is asserts that claims Khelif is biologically male (again, nothing to do with her gender identity) are false. I simply do not believe we can make that assertion anymore, given the weight of sourcing that go so far as to say she is male.
can only mean one thing and one thing only.
As for them deliberately provoking other editors, I will quote what Tamzin said in a previous report: "Riposte decided who their allies are, and who their enemies are, and are treating users accordingly":
Statement by Valereee
Commenting here because I am involved w/re:GENSEX at Imane Khelif. IMO that talk page needs to be ECR'd. It's bad enough when multiple experienced editors are being disruptive in ways that are just not quite disruptive enough to get them pblocked from it, but the talk also gets heavy attention from newer-but-AC editors drawn there by every bit of breaking news sparking outrage in social media. This is a BLP, and things being posted at that talk are overwhelming for well-intentioned editors there. Valereee (talk) 12:49, 9 March 2026 (UTC)
- @Fiveby, discussion among/between non-party commenters here is almost never helpful and causes more work for workers here. If you disagree with something another commenter has said, it's generally more helpful to express that to the workers here rather than starting a discussion with that commenter. Happy to discuss at my talk, though. Valereee (talk) 15:00, 9 March 2026 (UTC)
Toadspike has invited me to point out he probably should have mentioned here that he was asked by Kingsindian to respond to AO's intention to close. Valereee (talk) 14:56, 14 March 2026 (UTC)
Statement by fiveby
Valereee, if as you say "multiple experienced editors are being disruptive" then why is the solution ECR? Can you demonstrate that these newer editors are not "well-intentioned"? fiveby(zero) 14:02, 9 March 2026 (UTC)
Statement by Kingsindian
I will begin with a disclosure: I voted in the recent RfC on the Imane Khelif article, and I have written about this matter on Wikipediocracy. I have not edited the article itself. I note that none of the other participants in this discussion appear to have made the equivalent disclosure, despite the requirement that Editors participating in enforcement cases must disclose fully their involvement with parties (if any).
That omission is worth noting, given that most of the commenters here are in active content disputes with Riposte97, including on the RfC above, which did not go their way.
The original filing contained three diffs showing talk page comments, for which Riposte97 has already apologized and which Toadspike has found not sanctionable -- noting that the first diff came in response to another editor comparing a viewpoint to failure to condemn the Holocaust. In my view, the original filing was thin. What followed was a series of additional allegations made by several parties. The current approach -- assessing each charge in turn and moving on when it proves unactionable -- is procedurally inadequate, because it provides no disincentive whatsoever to bad-faith filing. It structurally rewards a "throw mud and see what sticks" strategy, whether or not that is anyone's intention here. From the perspective of someone casting a wide net, the downside is zero.
The racism allegation illustrates this problem directly. Toadspike has found it unactionable, stating that the evidence is not clear enough to be sanctionable.
But that finding raises a follow-up question this discussion has so far avoided: does making an unsubstantiated allegation of racism against a fellow editor constitute casting aspersions? That is explicitly prohibited in enforcement discussions: Insults and personal attacks, soapboxing and casting aspersions are as unacceptable in enforcement discussions as elsewhere on Wikipedia
. "Not actionable against the subject" and "appropriate to have said" are not the same standard, and treating them as equivalent lets the conduct pass without examination.
These are experienced editors familiar with AE procedures. They should be aware that The scope of a discussion is limited to the conduct of two parties: the filer and the user being reported.
If they believe there is a genuine case, they should file their own focused request with specific evidence, with the understanding that their own conduct would then be in scope. The current proceeding, as conducted, rewards exactly the behavior the policy is designed to deter. Kingsindian ♝ ♚ 11:39, 10 March 2026 (UTC)
Statement by Emeraldflames
I don't know the particulars of every one of Riposte97's comments, but I looked through a sampling and the ones I have seen did not seem to cross a line. Some of the interpretations of certain things he has said do not appear to be at all reasonable to me.
I would also like to 100% support his point that a number of the individuals commenting here have, themselves, come across quite aggressively and WP:Incivil. Far, far more aggressive and incivil than anything I have ever seen him comment on the Imane Khelif page. The most egregious example is MjolnirPants.
Very recent examples:
Example 1
Example 2
Example 3
For him to be here commenting on civility is actually quite remarkable. And this is rather typical of the attitudes of a certain bloc of editors on Wikipedia.
I would also *completely* agree that there is the appearance of a brigade here with a very similar WP:POV, very similar interests, etc. It absolutely is a large contributor to the systemic bias, which, unfortunately, as per the previous examples is actually both blatant and rampant on Wikipedia.
This is a very serious issue and existential threat to the goals of Wikipedia and I hope there are admins that understand and will act to remedy this. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Emeraldflames (talk • contribs) 18:38, 10 March 2026 (UTC)
Statement by GoodDay
I looked over Riposte97's userpage. I don't see any "God Emperor's Inquistion" membership bar. GoodDay (talk) 18:43, 10 March 2026 (UTC)