Hey everyone. So, basically, this is my resignation. Here I (rather long-windedly) explain why I'm going to be resigning from all my Wook positions (with the exception of Rollback) effective immediately.

I've given this serious thought over the past several weeks, and have been entertaining the idea pretty much all summer. There are several reasons for this decision. First off, uni work is getting quite heavy and I'm getting exhausted just from trying to juggle academic and social stuff, let alone just personal relaxing time or other hobbies, leaving me really no room to be anywhere near as active on here as I should be. And this is just term one of my second year, so if I don't have time now then I definitely won't in third or fourth year, when I'm revising for exams, and as shown by this summer just gone, I also struggle trying to edit alongside a near-full-time job.

Second, I've really lost my passion for both the site and Star Wars in general. It's nothing specific, it's just I don't get excited to edit on here anymore. The edits I have recently been making tend to either be out of habit or worse, obligation. I feel no sense of pride or accomplishment when editing, and to be honest it's gotten quite mundane. I used to use Wookieepedia to distract myself from both real life and schoolwork, but now the sad truth is I find it far easier and engaging to work on a uni essay than write or review on here. I have a lot of Star Wars novels and games I've bought over the past year that I've not actually delved into, and I find myself generally disinterested in the universe with the exception of a couple of very niche topics. And that's an incredible shame, considering how much my life revolved around Star Wars a couple of years ago, and how excited I always was to log onto IRC after school and jump into editing. But I just don't have that passion anymore. I hope one day I can get back into it, but at the moment I feel I'm forcing myself to be interested in these things for the sake of the site, which really isn't authentic.

I'd just like to drop a couple of quotes from my RFB here because I think they're relevant:

• "My personal belief is that admins and especially bureaucrats need to be utterly dedicated to this site, above all else."
• "Bureaucrats should be spearheads of the community, which means daily community involvement."
• "If something life-changing happens which utterly compromises my ability to perform my duties as an admin or bureaucrat, I would step down, albeit with a heavy heart, because I know that in that situation someone would be able to act in those roles better, so I should not be taking up space on a team I'm not committed to being a member of."

While I don't think my current situation is life-changing, I still think my words then are fitting for my decision now. I don't feel comfortable remaining as a bureaucrat with my current activity levels, knowing they won't really improve. This site is constantly changing and evolving, and top positions like bureaucrats need to be maintained by people with high involvement in the site. I promised that I would step down if I couldn't properly fulfil my duties as a bureaucrat, and so I have a duty to stick to my word. As predicted, it's with an incredibly heavy heart that I do this, as this site has helped me through some hard times and up to this point has always been my pride and joy. I've become friends with so many of you wonderful people and it's been an absolute pleasure to improve this site alongside all of you. I've changed massively as a person from the shy fourteen-year-old I was when I joined to the outgoing adult I've become, and I have no doubt that my time on here with you all has had a heavy hand in who I am now. Though, ironically, I do also think me becoming more outgoing also plays a part in my waning interest in this site.

However, I'll always be grateful to everyone who's helped me and worked alongside me over the past five years. I would not be who I am today without this site and community, from knowledge in writing and reviewing, to coding, to just interacting with and leading other people, so thank you all for that. I'll always have incredibly fond memories of this site, from first joining, to my first official position in the EC, enduring 3AM Mofferences, right up to becoming a bureaucrat just in time for one of the biggest shakeups in the site's history, and the explosion of returning editors and wonderful new direction the site is going in over the past half-year. I like to think I've made a significant impact on Wookieepedia, even if my tenure as bureaucrat was rather short in comparison to others (though, in all honestly, I think we put too much of an emphasis on the longevity of those in this position, and it wouldn't be a bad idea for us to shuffle the bureaucratic structure on a semi-regular basis, taking into account how active and driven admins are at a certain time and basing the hierarchy off that, but I digress).

Nonetheless, I'm incredibly proud to have held that position, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to lead the site in such a way. A part of me wants to stay on, as I still love this site, but I know my interest will just lessen and lessen. Leaving now, as difficult as it is, just feels like the right choice. To quote the greatest TV show ever, "Everything's got to end sometime. Otherwise nothing would ever get started."

While I am resigning I plan on remaining in the Discord server and may check in on conversations from now or then to make sure the site's doing well and to chat about any new Star Wars stuff that may be out. I sincerely hope that one day I'll be able to come back properly, with my passion for the site and the universe reinvigorated, perhaps when I'm out of uni and in a stable job. But that's years away so I won't make any promises. I'm also keeping Rollback for now since it won't hurt to retain that in case I see any vandalism while randomly browsing, though it may be the case that I fall behind on the productivity requirements, low as they are, but we'll see.

As for my duties, I feel the review boards are in the best place they've been for a while, and I'm sure they'll flourish even more in the future. Obviously, a new bureaucrat will need to be appointed, but I have no doubt the administration will find a great candidate to carry this site forward. Similarly, we have a plethora of bot operators so I don't think me leaving will damage that area of the site too much either. I'd just say that my main jobs in recent months were closing TCs and CTs and managing bot requests, so other people will need to take over those duties. Speaking of bots, I'll leave the entirety of my user-fixes.py file here (along with any other things that may be of use to me in the future or any other editors). That contains the entirety of my general formatting fixes script which I periodically ran on the main namespace, and I encourage someone to run that regularly as it contains some useful and common fixes. Oh, and this may be a little cheeky, but if any of my FAs or GAs are probed or need updating, could someone ping me on Discord please. I'd like to keep those in a good state if possible, at least.

I can't really think of anything else to say. I've probably said too much already, but I wanted to be honest in explaining why I'm leaving and to properly express my feelings towards the site and community that mean so much to me. But yeah, that's that I guess. Once this has been posted I'll begin removing my positions over the course of today. If any of you want to reach out to me in the future, to talk about the site or anything else, please don't hesitate to DM me on Discord, I'd be happy to chat!

So, thank you again to every editor I've worked alongside, it's been an honour and I will never forget the fantastic times I've had on this site. May the Force be with you all.
Tommy-Macaroni 11:25, 9 October 2021 (UTC)

• Tommy, I can honestly say it has always been an absolute pleasure working alongside you and that I will deeply miss your presence, but greatly respect your reasons for stepping down. I don't think a single editor here would disagree that in your time here you have been a huge force for good and that the Wookieepedia of today is hugely improved by the work you've done, on articles, policy, and in the community. I wish you the best in university, life and all else and hope that one day you can find the passion for Star Wars again that was so evident in everything you've done here (and after all, if you don't come back how will you ever nominate Devastator so I have do Lorth Needa :P). Ayrehead02 (talk) 11:50, 9 October 2021 (UTC)
  • Damn it I meant Avenger! Ayrehead02 (talk) 12:06, 9 October 2021 (UTC)
• Real sorry to see you go Tommy, you were an amazing member of the community here and have always been a great leader, especially in organising the immediate response to the crisis last spring. I have tremendous respect for you and hope that one day you're able to return. Godspeed. Fan26 (Talk) 12:10, 9 October 2021 (UTC)
• It's been a real honour working with you despite my relatively short time here (and great fun, with the speed-run meetings). You've always been a trusted member of the community, and there is little more I could add to the above, so I wish you all the best beyond the Wook. OOM 224 12:41, 9 October 2021 (UTC)
• Even though I've been here for a short time, you were the first admin I've interacted with (even if, in the beginning, not in the best way :P), and you have immediately gained my respect. It's really sad to see you leave. Take care. LucaRoR ^(Talk) 12:48, 9 October 2021 (UTC)
• Thank you for everything you have done, Tommy. It is sad to see you go, but I am happy you have found the best choice for yourself. Again, thank you for everything Editoronthewiki (talk) 16:33, 9 October 2021 (UTC)
• Thank you for all that you have done for this website. Take care. Rakhsh (talk) 16:49, 9 October 2021 (UTC)
• As someone who's been exactly where you are, but didn't have the good sense to step down on his own, I hope you get the chance to figure out a way to have fun on here without that weight of obligation. It's a hell of a lot better this way. IFYLOFD ^(Talk) 17:06, 9 October 2021 (UTC)
• Your contributions to the site are greatly admired, and it is sad to see you have to step away. Wishing you the best for the future to come, and thank you! Braha'tok enthusiast ^{Hello there} 17:26, 9 October 2021 (UTC)
• With life as it sounds, this is definitely a good step in the right direction for you. It was awesome to see you climb up the Wookieepedia ranks, and I wish we could've nominated the 7th Fleet article like we planned to one day years ago. You'll definitely see Stalker back up, and I'm happy that your last act as a bureaucrat was Star Destroyer-related, and I'm grateful that it was an article I worked on. Very much on brand :P. I sincerely wish you the best in everything, and I do hope that we see you around more often than not. I still owe you a beer, and I'm going to be traveling to the UK later this year so if you're ever down just let me know and maybe we can work something out. Wishing you the best, Tommy! --Vitus Infinitus^Talk 17:27, 9 October 2021 (UTC)
• Very sad to see you go, you've been a great help to me and others on the site. Best of luck for your future. UberSoldat93 (talk) 18:45, 9 October 2021 (UTC)
• I said this on discord, but want to reiterate it here. It's been an absolute pleasure knowing and working with you. I've no doubt you will succeed beyond all expectations in school and life, and I hope there comes a day when we see you here regularly again. May the Force be with you!Supreme Emperor ^Holocomm 01:00, 10 October 2021 (UTC)
• Damn, this is too bad to see, but school does always come first. Good luck with uni! JediMasterMacaroni^(Talk) 02:17, 10 October 2021 (UTC)
• You've been a great help to me during my time here, and I really appreciate your leadership over the past few months. Best of luck in all of your future endeavours. VergenceScatter (talk) 03:23, 10 October 2021 (UTC)
• Really a shame to see you go, Tommy. Thanks for all the hard work you've put in here over the years—good luck with school and your career! DwartiiDelver (talk) 15:17, 10 October 2021 (UTC)
• You've been a cornerstone of the community for as long as I have been here and are always a positive influence whether it be Wook-related topics or just having fun in Discord. Hope to see you back at some point and as a fellow student, I wish you all the luck through your next couple years of school. Wok142 (talk) 04:31, 11 October 2021 (UTC)
• I've said a lot in private, but I need to make my thoughts public, because you deserve that. It's been an absolute journey working alongside you on the review boards all these years, and more recently as a fellow admin and bureaucrat. You really are one of the most level-headed and professional people I've ever interacted with, and I can't wait to see where that takes you in life. You supported me for every position I've been nominated for, and you selected me as a candidate for bureaucrat after the most difficult time I've ever had on this site. Your confidence in me was inspiring, and I promise not to let it be misplaced. I'm happy you'll still be around, and I hope that one day I'll get to show you around Batuu, and maybe hit up a dance studio. I wish you all the best, friend. MasterFred(talk) 05:02, 11 October 2021 (UTC)
• I'll just borrow the words of a captain from that other franchise and tell you this: "in best maritime tradition... I wish you clear horizons." It was a pleasure (and an honor) having you here all these years! Lelal Mekha ^{(Audience Room)} 09:07, 11 October 2021 (UTC)
• I'm sad to learn of your departure from your position as I'm myself just coming back from several months of absence, but I truly understand your reasons. You've been a delight to work with, and a much-needed pillar of this community in our recent time of struggle. You've earned my respect time and again. This is not an "adieu". See you, Space Cowboy. --NanoLuuke^{Cloning facility} 13:21, 15 October 2021 (UTC)
• I am very saddened to hear of this, but I wish you the best of luck with uni and the new chapter in your life. ~ D MCCG (chat) 02:35, 18 October 2021 (UTC)
• All the best mate. Commander Code-8 ^{Hello There!} 08:25, 23 October 2021 (UTC)
• Sad to see you go Tommy, wish you all the luck. Efe Önem (talk) 19:31, 26 October 2021 (UTC)
• I didn't hear about this until now so I'm somewhat embarrassed to come to this a month later, but I just want to say thank you. You've been a great admin for this wiki and stepped up as a lead bureaucrat in one of if not the most intense circumstances a wiki has been in. Wookieepedia is better off for having you helped lead it and I genuinely appreciate everything you've done for this community. - Brandon Rhea^(talk)(he/him/his) 06:52, 12 November 2021 (UTC)