I first started editing on 29 May 2003 (on a dynamic university IP), when most articles were a few unreferenced lines, and most links were red. I was pulled in because I enjoyed adding content and seeing the links turn blue. There were only about 800 active editors on English WP. I remember when it hit mind-boggling 200.000 articles, and I doubted it would get much bigger. I got an account in January 2004 and soon became an admin, due to my prolific article writing and troll-fighting. But I got extremely tired of the trolls (there were more of them back then) and left late 2005.
I could not stay away so in 2006 I started this account and in 2008, I was again made an admin. Wikipedia has changed a lot during these years. In spite of the larger population of trolls back in 2005, I miss how much smaller it was and in retrospect the atmosphere was more relaxed, and ... convivial. Wikipedia has grown bigger than I could ever have imagined, and so important, but we have lost things in the process. Still, I am very fond of Wikipedia, and although I may not log in for long periods, not a day has passed without me browsing it.
I would give you a boar's head but as there is none please accept this barnstar for your inspiring work on Beowulf grendelsmother 14:46, 25 September 2006 (UTC)
The Working Man's Barnstar
I bestow this award upon you for your patience in dealing with the uncivil and those who make unreasonable demands which they are too lazy to fulfill. WeniWidiWiki 18:31, 7 December 2006 (UTC)
Exceptional newcomer
To Berig, for his amazing work on Norse and Scandinavian subjects, I, R.D.H. (Ghost In The Machine), do hereby award this token of esteem. Given this 11th day of December 2006
Thor's Hammer
To aid in smashing the bonds of ignorance regarding Norse culture and literature (and the skulls of the uncivil), I award you this Hammer of Thor. Briangotts(Talk)(Contrib) 03:30, 18 December 2006 (UTC)
You, Berig, are awarded the Black Cross of St. Declan for going medieval on our asses with your excellent work on articles of Dark Ages and Middle Ages interest. De réir a chéile a thógtar na caisleáin - "It takes time to build castles" Ciarán of Clonmacnoise 05:27, 8 January 2007 (UTC)
Like a rock.
Your work rocks
Berig, I find more and more of your work as I go along, following links and reading. You have been incredibly productive lately! All your contributions about runestones are amazing--So here's a pic of cheer for you: You rock. And at the same time: here's to all those who are rock steady contributors, rocks to hold on to in stormy weather, those standing on rock firm ground in their knowledge of a subject (and who often land between a rock and a hard place because of it on Wikipedia). ;) Pia 00:01, 20 January 2007 (UTC)
Focus
The Sutton Hoo Zen Mantra
I present you with this object of meditation suitable for all outstanding early mediaevalists who are troubled by invisible spirits. Dr Steven Plunkett 10:52, 3 February 2007 (UTC)
Germanic WikiProject award
I, Odin Rex, hereby award you the Snorri Award for your work in Germanic articles. 08 April 2007. King Óðinn The Aesir 20:08, 8 April 2007 (UTC)
To Berig, for his outstanding work in transcription, transliteration, and translation on so many runic articles on Wikipedia. Eat your heart out, Jean-François Champollion! —Aryaman(Enlist!) 17:33, 13 May 2008 (UTC)
The Alu of epic achievement
I present you with an honorary dose of "divine leek-water" for your epic achievements in the Runestone corner of Wikipedia. Seriously, every time I come across one of these articles, the mind boggles at the mere comprehensiveness of coverage. Cheers, dab(𒁳) 19:25, 21 May 2008 (UTC)
Editor of the Week
Your improvement of the encyclopedia have not gone unnoticed: You have been selected as Editor of the Week in recognition of your ongoing efforts to create concensus. Thank you for the great contributions! (courtesy of the Wikipedia Editor Retention Project)
Thankyou Berig for creating this interesting article. GeeJo kindly nominated it for DYK. The majority of entries are self-nom, so please don't be shy.Blnguyen (bananabucket) 07:06, 4 December 2006 (UTC)
On January 6, 2007, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Runamo, which you created or substantially expanded. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the "Did you know?" talk page.
Thanks for your contributions! Nishkid64 01:50, 6 January 2007 (UTC)
Hello Berig and thankyou for your many runes contributions. Thanks for your many contributions. Blnguyen (bananabucket) 08:11, 11 January 2007 (UTC)
On January 13, 2007, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Estrid, which you created or substantially expanded. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the "Did you know?" talk page.
Thank you for your contributions! Nishkid64 01:30, 13 January 2007 (UTC)
On January 16, 2007, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Image stone, which you created or substantially expanded. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the "Did you know?" talk page.
Thanks for your contributions! Nishkid64 23:46, 16 January 2007 (UTC)
On January 18, 2007, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Öpir, which you created or substantially expanded. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the "Did you know?" talk page.
Thanks for your contributions! Nishkid64 02:04, 18 January 2007 (UTC)
Thanks for your contributions! Nishkid64 19:22, 28 January 2007 (UTC)
On 2 February, 2007, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Kjárr, which you created or substantially expanded. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the "Did you know?" talk page.
On February 3, 2007, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Níðuðr, which you created or substantially expanded. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the "Did you know?" talk page.
Thanks for your contributions! Nishkid64 22:24, 3 February 2007 (UTC)
On 1 October, 2007, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Staveless runes, which you created or substantially expanded. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page.
On October 9, 2007, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Runa ABC, which you created or substantially expanded. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page.
Thanks for your contributions! Nishkid64 (talk) 02:05, 9 October 2007 (UTC)
On 18 October, 2007, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Galdr, which you created or substantially expanded. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page.
On November 7, 2007, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Þingalið, which you created or substantially expanded. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page.
Thanks for your contributions! ++Lar: t/c 02:44, 7 November 2007 (UTC)
On November 7, 2007, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Ulf of Borresta, which you created or substantially expanded. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page.
On 12 February, 2008, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Heimir, which you created or substantially expanded. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page.
On 24 February, 2008, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Urnes style, which you created or substantially expanded. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page.
On 30 March, 2008, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Midvinterblot, which you created or substantially expanded. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page.
On 2 April, 2008, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Viking funeral, which you created or substantially expanded. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page.
On 14 April, 2008, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Stolt Herr Alf, which you created or substantially expanded. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page.
The Did you know? hook based on a fact from the article you created or substantially expanded, Death in Norse paganism, has been added to the Wikipedia PortalPortal:Norway. Thank you for your contributions in this topic! If you know of another relevant fact from an article that has appeared at Did you know?, then please suggest it at the associated portal talk page.
On 15 May, 2008, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Arkils tingstad, which you created or substantially expanded. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page.
On 16 May, 2008, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Jakun, which you created or substantially expanded. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page.
On 5 June, 2008, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Gällsta Runestones, which you created or substantially expanded. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page.
On 6 June, 2008, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Šimon, which you created or substantially expanded. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page.
On 6 June, 2008, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Berezan' Runestone, which you created or substantially expanded. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page.
On 12 June, 2008, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Manx Runestones, which you created or substantially expanded. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page.
On 13 June, 2008, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article medieval runes, which you created or substantially expanded. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page.
On 27 June, 2008, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Dalecarlian runes, which you created or substantially expanded. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page.
On 4 July, 2008, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Snake-witch, which you created or substantially expanded. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page.
On 16 July, 2008, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Sigtuna box, which you created or substantially expanded. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page.
On January 12, 2009, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Johan Hadorph, which you created or substantially expanded. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page.
On 14 February 2021, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Strängnäs stone, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that the Strängnäs stone(pictured), long considered a forgery, is probably authentic? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Strängnäs stone. You are welcome to check how many pageviews the nominated article or articles got while on the front page (here's how, Strängnäs stone), and if they received a combined total of at least 416.7 views per hour (ie, 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.
On 27 October 2021, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Ganna (seeress), which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The entry was: ... that the early Germanic priestessGanna may have been named for her magic staff?. The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Ganna (seeress). You are welcome to check how many pageviews the nominated article or articles got while on the front page (here's how, Ganna (seeress)), 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.
On 29 October 2021, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Gambara (seeress), which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that according to legend, the god of wisdom Odin was tricked by his own wife, and her priestessGambara, to give victory to Gambara's tribe? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Gambara (seeress). You are welcome to check how many pageviews the nominated article or articles got while on the front page (here's how, Gambara (seeress)), 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.
On 31 October 2021, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Haliurunas, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that the account of the Haliurunas in the 6th century history of the Goths, the Getica, is a precursor to later Christian traditions that wise women had sex and orgies with demons and the Devil? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Haliurunas. You are welcome to check how many pageviews the nominated article or articles got while on the front page (here's how, Haliurunas), 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.
On 31 October 2021, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Waluburg, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that the Germanic seeressWaluburg is only known from a pot shard found on the island Elephantine in southern Egypt? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Waluburg. You are welcome to check how many pageviews the nominated article or articles got while on the front page (here's how, Waluburg), 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.
I just wanted to say that becoming a sysop is *not a big deal*.
I think perhaps I'll go through semi-willy-nilly and make a bunch of people who have been around for a while sysops. I want to dispel the aura of "authority" around the position. It's merely a technical matter that the powers given to sysops are not given out to everyone.
I don't like that there's the apparent feeling here that being granted sysop status is a really special thing.
Many bright high quality editors have graced English Wikipedia with their presence, only to face its dark side with aggressive POV-pushers who relentlessly and remorselessly harass them. Some of these "editors" pride themselves in treading the thin line between staying and being blocked knowing that eventually they will push away their moral superiors through sheer attrition.
"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts." - Bertrand Russel
This is my memorial to some of those who have come and gone. They being gone is a great loss for this project.
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