Shoot for the Stars

I am wanting to appeal my ban implemented in August 2021, nearly three years ago. At the time of my ban, I was still a teenager in high school. My main mistake was uploading low-quality images, many of which were mugshots. Despite repeated advice and warnings from different users, I ignored them and continued to upload these images. Almost three years later and through my current studies in the US criminal justice system at college, I realize that these mugshots can unjustly criminalize individuals, which can potentially damage their reputations (WP:MUG). Another significant factor in my ban was my behavior back in 2019, when I was just 16 years old. I repeatedly added fabricated music album covers to articles, again ignoring explicit instructions from editors not to do so. A lot of editors tried to (WP:assume good faith), but I consistently persisted my disruptive actions. My biggest problem was that I didn't have any (WP:COMPETENCE) when it came to Wikipedia's policies. And because of how uninitiated I was of the rules and couldn't accept them, I was banned by the community. Following my ban, instead of trying to stay away and contribute to other projects, I engaged in (WP:Sockpuppetry), using only these two accounts: user:TheCleanestBestPleasure and user:Beatlesfan210. I also engaged in sockpuppetry by using various IP addresses. During my previous unban request a year ago, it was pointed out by another user that I had created several articles on Simple Wikipedia that broke the (WP:BLP) policy. While I initially believed these individuals to be notable under (WP:Notability) based on the sources I found, I was told by Simple Wikipedia admin Ferien that they were not notable and didn't apply to (WP:BLP1E). I want to clarify that my intentions from creating these articles were never meant to be malicious; I was honestly unaware of these specific guidelines until they were explicitly explained to me. Additionally, the same user brought up that throughout late 2022 to early 2023, I submitted more than ten (WP:UTRS) appeals, highlighting a concern that my issues off-wiki were not resolved. I want to admit that during this period, I struggled significantly with impulse control, and instead of stopping and taking a (WP:Wikibreak), I continued to do these disruptive actions. Following that, the comments from opposers left me feeling very discouraged. I was so stressed from it I made the decision to request a self-block on both Simple Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons, needing a break to focus on myself. During that time, I maintained communication with Panini! off-wiki. Panini! has served as a mentor to me, providing guidance, insight into what I did wrong that lead to my ban, and offered constructive feedback about what I should do. Panini! is an excellent editor and has truly helped me realize my mistakes. I then realized the user on my appeal last year was right. I truly didn't understand the extent of my disruptive behavior. I took a break from creating BLP articles until I truly knew the rules better and limited myself to submitting only one UTRS appeal in the past year, specifically to request access to my talk page for the purpose of this appeal. I want to acknowledge that my actions in the past were not in line with Wikipedia's policies and standards. At the time, I was a young, naive teenager not fully understanding just how disruptive my behavior was towards Wikipedia. My understanding was limited, and I failed to stop when others told me I was disruptive. Since then, with guidance from more experienced editors and a deeper dive into Wikipedia's policies, I continued to edit at Simple English Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons, learning way more about the guidelines, like what makes an article notable for BLP. I am open to any questions regarding my incompetency back then as well as what I can do to improve. Shoot for the Stars (talk) 04:43, 14 April 2024 (UTC)Reply

Successful community ban appeal, showcasing an overwhelming consensus to unblock (AN permalink) — welcome back! El_C 14:26, 16 April 2024 (UTC)Reply