2018 Arbitration Committee Elections
Status as of 06:00 (UTC), Saturday, 27 April 2024 (
)
These guides represent the thoughts of their authors. All individually written voter guides are eligible for inclusion. |
The nomination statements of editors running in the 2018 Arbitration Committee elections appear below.
Footnotes
Because we believe that safeguarding the privacy of the Wikimedia community is an important Wikimedia value, those who have access to nonpublic information need to:
- Be at least 18 years old (except email response team members, who must be at least 16 years old);
- Provide contact and identification information; and
- Sign a confidentiality agreement.
Arbitration Committee Election 2018 candidate:
Lourdes
|
Arbitration Committee Election 2018 candidate:
Isarra
|
I've been at Wikipedia for the last eleven years as editor and administrator. Over those years I've worked with new articles and drafts, trying to keep improvable ones from being deleted--and removing the others, while trying to give realistic advice to new editors and dealing with questions about reliable sources.
I've been a member of Arb Com for the last four years My most accomplishment was helping persuade the committee to accept their part of the responsibility for dealing with violations of the terms of use, particularly about undeclared paid editors; when I suggested this at the beginning of my first term, no one else supported it; by now, almost all the committee does, and procedures are about to be announced. I have helped influence our being a little more willing to judge by the merits rather than the technicalities of procedures -- both in appeals and in decisions; towards our taking a slightly more serious attitude towards gross impoliteness, towards devising more effective remedies; and even perhaps making some progress towards rationalizing arbitration enforcement. It seems reasonable to want to follow these up. I try to be a voice for editors interested in the quality of the encyclopedia; their efforts can sometimes be lost in the bureaucracy--in this respect I may be a little different than some of the other returning candidates.
My real name and my background are on my user page; I am identified to the foundation, I've signed the necessary agreements. and alternate accounts have been previously disclosed.
Arbitration Committee Election 2018 candidate:
DGG
|
I have been an admin since 2008, and I served on the Committee during 2012 and 2013. I joined Wikipedia in 2006, not just so I could help build articles, but also so I could be part of this project, which I feel is a remarkable example of collaborative human achievement. I love and respect Wikipedia and the community that has developed to build it and keep it moving in the right direction. I feel that the rules we have generated here for our community are a model for how society as a whole could be run. While ArbCom is a part of our community - it is not above or separate from it, it is set up and run by the community, with the consent of the community - it is a weak part of our community, showing where our guidelines and methods sometimes let us down. As time has gone by, we have needed the Committee less and less, showing that we are growing and developing as a community. This is good. We may one day be able to disband ArbCom, but for now we still need it as a backstop. So these days the main function of the Committee is in deciding when to accept or reject a case. Send a complex case back to the community, and we can end up with prolonged disruption and frustration with perhaps the wrong people leaving the project. Take on an easy case, and we weaken our community's resolve and confidence, allowing the community to rely too much on the backstop rather than finding solutions ourselves - something we are actually very good at doing. Once ArbCom take on a case the Committee needs to work together with the community to find a water-tight solution. While resolving the case quickly is helpful to all concerned, finding a decent solution is more of a priority than speed.
I created User:SiikTook in December 2008 purely to test out the account creation tool. It's never been used. I gave my identity credentials to the Foundation back in 2011, though am happy to do so again if required. And I confirm that I will fully comply with the criteria for access to non-public data.
Arbitration Committee Election 2018 candidate:
SilkTork
|
So, I'm Courcelles, or Brad, as those who've gotten email from me or met me at various conferences know. Either one works. I've done this before for a total of 3 and a half years, though I was largely inactive at the end of my second term. Why? Had some serious medical issues that are under control now, and I had my last two eye surgeries, the last one in March of this year. So, yay, I'm not worn out all the time, and I'm not blind! And as long as I take my medicine daily, this isn't going to change. SO I've been back to full activity all this year, and am fully prepared for the workload and e-mail volume if I get elected again.
What's an Arbcom statement supposed to say, anyhow? This is my third, and I still don't know. I promise to give each decision my full attention, to read everything submitted, and to try and make the best decisions I can. Wikipedia is in a bit of a crisis when it comes to both recruiting and retaining editors, and I'll do my best to focus Arbcom on doing what it can on these areas. WE need to do what we can to keep editors happy, as our motivation for doing anything here has to come from within. I'm offering my learned experience, and the mistakes I've learned from while on the committee in the past, for service again, I hope that's enough. I'll answer any questions you have, I just ask your patience.
As a checkuser and oversighter since 2011, I'm fully complaint with the policy on access to non-public data, and will continue to do so. The only other account I use is Courcelles is travelling, though I had one for testing purposes I've forgotten the password and username of, and a holding bot account just in case I ever decide to run one, though that's rather unlikely.
Arbitration Committee Election 2018 candidate:
Courcelles
|
I have been an editor of the English Wikipedia since 2005. The areas in which I have been providing volunteer support include content dispute resolution at the dispute resolution noticeboard, draft article review at Articles for Creation, and new page review at New Page Patrol.
The English Wikipedia, with nearly six million articles, is a success story, one of the great success stories of the collaborative use of the Internet to provide convenient access to human knowledge via the Internet. It is essential that the Wikipedia community and the Arbitration Committee preserve and maintain the quality of Wikipedia, primarily against two problems. The first problem, older and more obvious, is troublesome or uncivil editors, who disrupt the electronic workplace, impeding the maintenance of the encyclopedia. The second problem is more recent, the result of Wikipedia’s success and respect, and less obvious and more subtle, and is editors with conflicts of interest. Now that the English Wikipedia has nearly six million articles, maintaining quality is more important than any expansion of the encyclopedia. As an elected member of the ArbCom, I will work with the other arbitrators and the community to preserve the quality of the encyclopedia.
In recent years the ArbCom has heard fewer cases than in earlier years, because many cases are resolved by the community or by Arbitration Enforcement. I think that the ArbCom should follow a middle-ground approach, more than recently but fewer than in the past, as to how many cases to hear, and would suggest a “three-trip rule” under which issues, either content issues or contentious editors, that have already been considered twice by the community and come back a third time are ready for the deliberate quasi-judicial process of arbitration.
I would also suggest that the ArbCom occasionally consider cases of undisclosed paid editing. The duck test may be appropriate; an editor who walks like a paid editor and quacks may be a paid editor. The ArbCom can receive privileged information, avoiding the prohibition against doxing undisclosed paid editors.
An evolving statement can be read at User:Robert McClenon/ArbCom Nov18 Statement.
I understand that arbitrators are highly trusted functionaries who are entrusted with non-public privileged data. I intend to maintain that trust by safeguarding the non-public data. I meet the requirements for trusted functionaries and will sign the agreement to safeguard privileged data.
I have one additional account, User:McClenon Test, which I have used for test purposes, for instance, in order to look at my primary account.
Arbitration Committee Election 2018 candidate:
Robert McClenon
|
Arbitration Committee Election 2018 candidate:
Kelapstick
|
Hi, I'm Joe. I've been an editor since 2006 and an administrator for just under a year. My main editing interests are archaeology and academic biography; recently I've been focused on filling in our biographical coverage of notable women in archaeology. On the administrative side, I work mostly in articles for deletion, deletion review, and new page patrol.
I'm nominating myself because several editors whose judgement I respect have suggested I'd be a good candidate, because I have the time to serve on the committee, and because I think I will find the work engaging and rewarding. Since getting the admin tools last year, I've learned a lot about assessing consensus in complex and often contentious discussions. I don't frequently participate in dispute resolution venues like WP:ANI, and I think they can be overemphasised: most disputes on Wikipedia take place, and are resolved, in regular article and project talk pages or discussion venues like AfD. My general approach to dispute resolution is to try to cut away extraneous "drama" and encourage editors to focus on the salient common ground: our policies and guidelines, verifiable information, and the fact that we are all here to build an encyclopaedia.
I would not be joining the committee with any specific agenda in mind. I'm a firm believer in consensus as Wikipedia's most important organising principle. In that context, I see ARBCOM as the necessary exception to the rule: it exists to deal with those few edge cases where consensus-building fails. It follows that the cases it considers should be extremely limited, but that it should not be shy in passing effective resolutions when they are needed.
I edit under my real name and am willing to formally identify myself to the WMF. I have never been blocked or banned, meet the critera for access to non-public data, and am willing to sign the confidentially agreement. I have one alternate account, User:Joe Roe (mobile), which I use when travelling or on public computers.
Thank you for your consideration. – Joe ( talk) 17:09, 13 November 2018 (UTC)
Arbitration Committee Election 2018 candidate:
Joe Roe
|
I find ArbCom to be a kind of necessary evil, except that it's not evil. It should be a last resort, and I think that in the last couple of years it has indeed become more of that, with fewer high-profile cases (something that started before my tenure--I take no credit for that), and fewer high-profile cases also means fewer opportunities for the community to rip itself apart.
One of the things I learned is that much ArbCom work is done behind the scenes. Some of that is administrative, governing the use of CU and alternative accounts and stuff like that. Other issues are highly privacy-sensitive, and when I was on ArbCom we dealt with a fair number of them. Like others, I don't have much of a platform to run on, though transparency is one of them--and it's ironic, or unfortunate, or both, that in some cases it's impossible to be transparent, and the community will just have to take ArbCom's word for it. All the more reason to vote in trusted editors, and I hope some of you trust me along with this slate of other candidates, some of whom are among the editors whose judgment and discretion I trust most.
OK, I maybe have one thing to offer to you: I want the WMF to be much more proactive when it comes to harassment. And I'm not talking about civility, which is a big thing but cannot be pursued by the WMF or easily mandated by Arbcom--I mean the very real online harassment some of our editors experience from various trolls and socks. I've asked for this repeatedly, already when I was on the committee, and will continue to do so.
I have a few alternative accounts, all of which are disclosed to ArbCom, and none of which get in the way of "usual" business. For the peanut gallery, I'll be a bit more specific: I used to have a few "funny" accounts, but I forgot their names, and if I remember correctly they were created for me by someone else. It's been ages. I have an account I use for teaching Wikipedia classes. And I have a near-dormant account, last used in May of last year, which has a female user name and was an experiment in seeing how female editors are treated; she's not been very active, and what she's done has been mostly in article, not Wikipedia space. It's a very busy time for me right now workwise, and I hope I will be able to answer all y'all's questions in a timely manner--but next spring should be more calm than this.
Arbitration Committee Election 2018 candidate:
Drmies
|
Arbitration Committee Election 2018 candidate:
Mkdw
|
I would like to return to the Arbitration Committee. I took part in the original discussions that resulted in creation of the committee. In large part that discussion revolved around civility, one of the pillars of Wikipedia. My history as an arbitrator is complicated, I served for several years... As an arbitrator now, I would emphasize re-establishing civility as a central policy. I don't have the time or energy I had 10 years ago, but I think I could effectively contribute to the work of the Committee. As you view negative comments ask why anyone would be extremely opposed to having someone on the Arbitration Committee who would enforce civility and forestall using incivility and other nefarious tactics to limit participation by others in order to control content. I'm after the bullies, but they're fighting back! See the question page and Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Case/Fred Bauder/Workshop.
I will fully comply with the criteria for access to non-public data. All prior and alternative accounts have been declared to the Arbitration Committee in the past, although I do not remember the names of any of them other than Fredbauder ( talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log). I think there is one with a few edits.
Arbitration Committee Election 2018 candidate:
Fred Bauder
|
Hi everyone! I'm GorillaWarfare, or Molly White. I'm a 25-year-old software engineer and team lead. I've been an editor since 2006 (active since 2010 or so) and an admin since August 2010. I've served on the Arbitration Committee for four years (January 2014 – December 2017). I've also been an oversighter since 2013 and a checkuser since I joined the Committee in 2014. I chose not to run last year because I needed a break and because I'd become increasingly busy in real life. While I'm still busy, I'm confident based on my past experience with the ArbCom workload that I can continue to be an active member of the Committee.
I will copy a (mildly edited for accuracy) part of my statement from 2015, because it still rings true today: "I was not an uncontroversial arbitrator in my four years on the Committee. I certainly made some mistakes during my tenure; I personally think my biggest shortcoming was my timidness to speak my mind when I thought something was wrong when I first took the position. I think many people will agree that I have overcome that. I realize that I've made a reputation for myself as a feminist and as someone who is willing to acknowledge and fight against the gender gap issue on Wikipedia. I think that making Wikipedia a welcoming and safe place for non-men to contribute will help the project immeasurably, and be beneficial to all editors regardless of gender. If you don't think that that is suitable for an arbitrator, I urge you not to vote for me."
Part of why I chose to run this year is the lack of women candidates throwing their hats in the ring. The Arbitration Committee and the quality of its work suffer when it is made up of too many people from similar backgrounds.
I meet the criteria for access to non-public data and will sign a confidentiality agreement if it needs to be renewed. I have used a few other accounts in the past, notably User:Theunicyclegirl (my first account, until I lost the password a year in) and User:NEU-Molly (an account used when I was helping with the WikiEd program in college). I also have some unused doppelganger accounts ( User:Gorilla Warfare and User:GorrillaWarfare being the ones I remember) and a now-unused User:GorillaWarfarePublic account for editing on shared computers.
Arbitration Committee Election 2018 candidate:
GorillaWarfare
|
Arbitration Committee Election 2018 candidate:
AGK
|
Hello, I'm Patient Zero, and I would like to apply for this year's Arbitration Committee. I've been on Wikipedia for quite a while; however, I have recently returned from a wikibreak having just completed my A Level examinations. I'm now an undergraduate Law student who is hoping to do the BPTC after finishing my degree. Some of you may be reading this and thinking, well, if I've constantly got other commitments then how on earth would I be a suitable arbitrator? I'll answer this question concisely: I plan on returning to my original activity levels (from between 2016-17) starting this month.
I mainly specialise in anti-vandalism work on Wikipedia, using Huggle and Twinkle to identify and remove problematic edits; this is something I have been doing for a few years now, albeit on-and-off. However, nowadays having returned after a short absence I'd like to pursue something different too!
I've matured significantly over the years and consider myself to be an individual who is capable of staying cool when the editing gets hot. Furthermore, the degree I am currently pursuing requires me to read case notes and legal transcripts, and then come to a decision with regards to the judgement. I am capable of being a neutral third-party in disputes and I am not an individual who becomes emotionally involved in such matters.
I'm very knowledgeable about confidentiality owing to my parents' (and grandparents', actually!) field of work. I cannot go into details with regards to what that entails on here, however if a member of Arbcom were to email me with any questions regarding this, I'd be more than happy to explain. I have had to handle sensitive data in the past and as such this is not beyond my capabilities in any way. I can confirm I am exactly 19 years and 0 months of age, I am identified to the WMF, and I have signed the Access to nonpublic information policy.
All alternate accounts can be found
here.
EDIT : After some consideration, I have decided to withdraw my application for this year, as I am afraid I will not have the time to answer all the questions that people have asked, and I must prioritise other matters (in real life) right now. However, this does not mean I will be inactive again; I will most definitely continue trying to be more active around here. Perhaps I'll give this another go next year. Best,
Patient Zero
talk 21:24, 12 November 2018 (UTC)
Patient Zero
talk 16:13, 5 November 2018 (UTC)
Arbitration Committee Election 2018 candidate:
Patient Zero
|
I'm Doug Weller (my real name) and I have been an editor since April 2006, an administrator since September 2008, and a member of the Arbitration Committee since January 2015. I'm also a fairly active editor and of my about 191,000 edits 49.5% are to
WP:Main space. My only alternate accounts are
User:DougWeller and
User:Dougweller each of which has 2 edits and is dormant.
The number of cases coming before the Committee has declined but there
can be significant delays, both in accepting or declining cases, and
in reaching a decision. The Committee has to deal with a lot of email,
and again there can be significant delays before they are handled. If
re-elected I will do what I can to minimize those delays. During the four years I have been an arbitrator I believe that I have been open-minded and willing to change my mind when new arguments are presented. That won't change.
I'm identified with the WMF and meet the requirements specified in the
access to nonpublic information
policy.
WITHDRAWING: I'm withdrawing now that so many more excellent candidates have decided to run. I'm glad to see the experienced Arbitrators willing to take on this onerous task again, but I'm particularly pleased to see that User:Joe Roe, who has never been an Arbitrator and will thus bring a fresh perspective, has thrown his hat into the ring. Doug Weller talk 08:39, 15 November 2018 (UTC)
Arbitration Committee Election 2018 candidate:
Doug Weller
|
These guides represent the thoughts of their authors. All individually written voter guides are eligible for inclusion. |
2018 Arbitration Committee Elections
Status as of 06:00 (UTC), Saturday, 27 April 2024 (
)
These guides represent the thoughts of their authors. All individually written voter guides are eligible for inclusion. |
The nomination statements of editors running in the 2018 Arbitration Committee elections appear below.
Footnotes
Because we believe that safeguarding the privacy of the Wikimedia community is an important Wikimedia value, those who have access to nonpublic information need to:
- Be at least 18 years old (except email response team members, who must be at least 16 years old);
- Provide contact and identification information; and
- Sign a confidentiality agreement.
Arbitration Committee Election 2018 candidate:
Lourdes
|
Arbitration Committee Election 2018 candidate:
Isarra
|
I've been at Wikipedia for the last eleven years as editor and administrator. Over those years I've worked with new articles and drafts, trying to keep improvable ones from being deleted--and removing the others, while trying to give realistic advice to new editors and dealing with questions about reliable sources.
I've been a member of Arb Com for the last four years My most accomplishment was helping persuade the committee to accept their part of the responsibility for dealing with violations of the terms of use, particularly about undeclared paid editors; when I suggested this at the beginning of my first term, no one else supported it; by now, almost all the committee does, and procedures are about to be announced. I have helped influence our being a little more willing to judge by the merits rather than the technicalities of procedures -- both in appeals and in decisions; towards our taking a slightly more serious attitude towards gross impoliteness, towards devising more effective remedies; and even perhaps making some progress towards rationalizing arbitration enforcement. It seems reasonable to want to follow these up. I try to be a voice for editors interested in the quality of the encyclopedia; their efforts can sometimes be lost in the bureaucracy--in this respect I may be a little different than some of the other returning candidates.
My real name and my background are on my user page; I am identified to the foundation, I've signed the necessary agreements. and alternate accounts have been previously disclosed.
Arbitration Committee Election 2018 candidate:
DGG
|
I have been an admin since 2008, and I served on the Committee during 2012 and 2013. I joined Wikipedia in 2006, not just so I could help build articles, but also so I could be part of this project, which I feel is a remarkable example of collaborative human achievement. I love and respect Wikipedia and the community that has developed to build it and keep it moving in the right direction. I feel that the rules we have generated here for our community are a model for how society as a whole could be run. While ArbCom is a part of our community - it is not above or separate from it, it is set up and run by the community, with the consent of the community - it is a weak part of our community, showing where our guidelines and methods sometimes let us down. As time has gone by, we have needed the Committee less and less, showing that we are growing and developing as a community. This is good. We may one day be able to disband ArbCom, but for now we still need it as a backstop. So these days the main function of the Committee is in deciding when to accept or reject a case. Send a complex case back to the community, and we can end up with prolonged disruption and frustration with perhaps the wrong people leaving the project. Take on an easy case, and we weaken our community's resolve and confidence, allowing the community to rely too much on the backstop rather than finding solutions ourselves - something we are actually very good at doing. Once ArbCom take on a case the Committee needs to work together with the community to find a water-tight solution. While resolving the case quickly is helpful to all concerned, finding a decent solution is more of a priority than speed.
I created User:SiikTook in December 2008 purely to test out the account creation tool. It's never been used. I gave my identity credentials to the Foundation back in 2011, though am happy to do so again if required. And I confirm that I will fully comply with the criteria for access to non-public data.
Arbitration Committee Election 2018 candidate:
SilkTork
|
So, I'm Courcelles, or Brad, as those who've gotten email from me or met me at various conferences know. Either one works. I've done this before for a total of 3 and a half years, though I was largely inactive at the end of my second term. Why? Had some serious medical issues that are under control now, and I had my last two eye surgeries, the last one in March of this year. So, yay, I'm not worn out all the time, and I'm not blind! And as long as I take my medicine daily, this isn't going to change. SO I've been back to full activity all this year, and am fully prepared for the workload and e-mail volume if I get elected again.
What's an Arbcom statement supposed to say, anyhow? This is my third, and I still don't know. I promise to give each decision my full attention, to read everything submitted, and to try and make the best decisions I can. Wikipedia is in a bit of a crisis when it comes to both recruiting and retaining editors, and I'll do my best to focus Arbcom on doing what it can on these areas. WE need to do what we can to keep editors happy, as our motivation for doing anything here has to come from within. I'm offering my learned experience, and the mistakes I've learned from while on the committee in the past, for service again, I hope that's enough. I'll answer any questions you have, I just ask your patience.
As a checkuser and oversighter since 2011, I'm fully complaint with the policy on access to non-public data, and will continue to do so. The only other account I use is Courcelles is travelling, though I had one for testing purposes I've forgotten the password and username of, and a holding bot account just in case I ever decide to run one, though that's rather unlikely.
Arbitration Committee Election 2018 candidate:
Courcelles
|
I have been an editor of the English Wikipedia since 2005. The areas in which I have been providing volunteer support include content dispute resolution at the dispute resolution noticeboard, draft article review at Articles for Creation, and new page review at New Page Patrol.
The English Wikipedia, with nearly six million articles, is a success story, one of the great success stories of the collaborative use of the Internet to provide convenient access to human knowledge via the Internet. It is essential that the Wikipedia community and the Arbitration Committee preserve and maintain the quality of Wikipedia, primarily against two problems. The first problem, older and more obvious, is troublesome or uncivil editors, who disrupt the electronic workplace, impeding the maintenance of the encyclopedia. The second problem is more recent, the result of Wikipedia’s success and respect, and less obvious and more subtle, and is editors with conflicts of interest. Now that the English Wikipedia has nearly six million articles, maintaining quality is more important than any expansion of the encyclopedia. As an elected member of the ArbCom, I will work with the other arbitrators and the community to preserve the quality of the encyclopedia.
In recent years the ArbCom has heard fewer cases than in earlier years, because many cases are resolved by the community or by Arbitration Enforcement. I think that the ArbCom should follow a middle-ground approach, more than recently but fewer than in the past, as to how many cases to hear, and would suggest a “three-trip rule” under which issues, either content issues or contentious editors, that have already been considered twice by the community and come back a third time are ready for the deliberate quasi-judicial process of arbitration.
I would also suggest that the ArbCom occasionally consider cases of undisclosed paid editing. The duck test may be appropriate; an editor who walks like a paid editor and quacks may be a paid editor. The ArbCom can receive privileged information, avoiding the prohibition against doxing undisclosed paid editors.
An evolving statement can be read at User:Robert McClenon/ArbCom Nov18 Statement.
I understand that arbitrators are highly trusted functionaries who are entrusted with non-public privileged data. I intend to maintain that trust by safeguarding the non-public data. I meet the requirements for trusted functionaries and will sign the agreement to safeguard privileged data.
I have one additional account, User:McClenon Test, which I have used for test purposes, for instance, in order to look at my primary account.
Arbitration Committee Election 2018 candidate:
Robert McClenon
|
Arbitration Committee Election 2018 candidate:
Kelapstick
|
Hi, I'm Joe. I've been an editor since 2006 and an administrator for just under a year. My main editing interests are archaeology and academic biography; recently I've been focused on filling in our biographical coverage of notable women in archaeology. On the administrative side, I work mostly in articles for deletion, deletion review, and new page patrol.
I'm nominating myself because several editors whose judgement I respect have suggested I'd be a good candidate, because I have the time to serve on the committee, and because I think I will find the work engaging and rewarding. Since getting the admin tools last year, I've learned a lot about assessing consensus in complex and often contentious discussions. I don't frequently participate in dispute resolution venues like WP:ANI, and I think they can be overemphasised: most disputes on Wikipedia take place, and are resolved, in regular article and project talk pages or discussion venues like AfD. My general approach to dispute resolution is to try to cut away extraneous "drama" and encourage editors to focus on the salient common ground: our policies and guidelines, verifiable information, and the fact that we are all here to build an encyclopaedia.
I would not be joining the committee with any specific agenda in mind. I'm a firm believer in consensus as Wikipedia's most important organising principle. In that context, I see ARBCOM as the necessary exception to the rule: it exists to deal with those few edge cases where consensus-building fails. It follows that the cases it considers should be extremely limited, but that it should not be shy in passing effective resolutions when they are needed.
I edit under my real name and am willing to formally identify myself to the WMF. I have never been blocked or banned, meet the critera for access to non-public data, and am willing to sign the confidentially agreement. I have one alternate account, User:Joe Roe (mobile), which I use when travelling or on public computers.
Thank you for your consideration. – Joe ( talk) 17:09, 13 November 2018 (UTC)
Arbitration Committee Election 2018 candidate:
Joe Roe
|
I find ArbCom to be a kind of necessary evil, except that it's not evil. It should be a last resort, and I think that in the last couple of years it has indeed become more of that, with fewer high-profile cases (something that started before my tenure--I take no credit for that), and fewer high-profile cases also means fewer opportunities for the community to rip itself apart.
One of the things I learned is that much ArbCom work is done behind the scenes. Some of that is administrative, governing the use of CU and alternative accounts and stuff like that. Other issues are highly privacy-sensitive, and when I was on ArbCom we dealt with a fair number of them. Like others, I don't have much of a platform to run on, though transparency is one of them--and it's ironic, or unfortunate, or both, that in some cases it's impossible to be transparent, and the community will just have to take ArbCom's word for it. All the more reason to vote in trusted editors, and I hope some of you trust me along with this slate of other candidates, some of whom are among the editors whose judgment and discretion I trust most.
OK, I maybe have one thing to offer to you: I want the WMF to be much more proactive when it comes to harassment. And I'm not talking about civility, which is a big thing but cannot be pursued by the WMF or easily mandated by Arbcom--I mean the very real online harassment some of our editors experience from various trolls and socks. I've asked for this repeatedly, already when I was on the committee, and will continue to do so.
I have a few alternative accounts, all of which are disclosed to ArbCom, and none of which get in the way of "usual" business. For the peanut gallery, I'll be a bit more specific: I used to have a few "funny" accounts, but I forgot their names, and if I remember correctly they were created for me by someone else. It's been ages. I have an account I use for teaching Wikipedia classes. And I have a near-dormant account, last used in May of last year, which has a female user name and was an experiment in seeing how female editors are treated; she's not been very active, and what she's done has been mostly in article, not Wikipedia space. It's a very busy time for me right now workwise, and I hope I will be able to answer all y'all's questions in a timely manner--but next spring should be more calm than this.
Arbitration Committee Election 2018 candidate:
Drmies
|
Arbitration Committee Election 2018 candidate:
Mkdw
|
I would like to return to the Arbitration Committee. I took part in the original discussions that resulted in creation of the committee. In large part that discussion revolved around civility, one of the pillars of Wikipedia. My history as an arbitrator is complicated, I served for several years... As an arbitrator now, I would emphasize re-establishing civility as a central policy. I don't have the time or energy I had 10 years ago, but I think I could effectively contribute to the work of the Committee. As you view negative comments ask why anyone would be extremely opposed to having someone on the Arbitration Committee who would enforce civility and forestall using incivility and other nefarious tactics to limit participation by others in order to control content. I'm after the bullies, but they're fighting back! See the question page and Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Case/Fred Bauder/Workshop.
I will fully comply with the criteria for access to non-public data. All prior and alternative accounts have been declared to the Arbitration Committee in the past, although I do not remember the names of any of them other than Fredbauder ( talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log). I think there is one with a few edits.
Arbitration Committee Election 2018 candidate:
Fred Bauder
|
Hi everyone! I'm GorillaWarfare, or Molly White. I'm a 25-year-old software engineer and team lead. I've been an editor since 2006 (active since 2010 or so) and an admin since August 2010. I've served on the Arbitration Committee for four years (January 2014 – December 2017). I've also been an oversighter since 2013 and a checkuser since I joined the Committee in 2014. I chose not to run last year because I needed a break and because I'd become increasingly busy in real life. While I'm still busy, I'm confident based on my past experience with the ArbCom workload that I can continue to be an active member of the Committee.
I will copy a (mildly edited for accuracy) part of my statement from 2015, because it still rings true today: "I was not an uncontroversial arbitrator in my four years on the Committee. I certainly made some mistakes during my tenure; I personally think my biggest shortcoming was my timidness to speak my mind when I thought something was wrong when I first took the position. I think many people will agree that I have overcome that. I realize that I've made a reputation for myself as a feminist and as someone who is willing to acknowledge and fight against the gender gap issue on Wikipedia. I think that making Wikipedia a welcoming and safe place for non-men to contribute will help the project immeasurably, and be beneficial to all editors regardless of gender. If you don't think that that is suitable for an arbitrator, I urge you not to vote for me."
Part of why I chose to run this year is the lack of women candidates throwing their hats in the ring. The Arbitration Committee and the quality of its work suffer when it is made up of too many people from similar backgrounds.
I meet the criteria for access to non-public data and will sign a confidentiality agreement if it needs to be renewed. I have used a few other accounts in the past, notably User:Theunicyclegirl (my first account, until I lost the password a year in) and User:NEU-Molly (an account used when I was helping with the WikiEd program in college). I also have some unused doppelganger accounts ( User:Gorilla Warfare and User:GorrillaWarfare being the ones I remember) and a now-unused User:GorillaWarfarePublic account for editing on shared computers.
Arbitration Committee Election 2018 candidate:
GorillaWarfare
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Arbitration Committee Election 2018 candidate:
AGK
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Hello, I'm Patient Zero, and I would like to apply for this year's Arbitration Committee. I've been on Wikipedia for quite a while; however, I have recently returned from a wikibreak having just completed my A Level examinations. I'm now an undergraduate Law student who is hoping to do the BPTC after finishing my degree. Some of you may be reading this and thinking, well, if I've constantly got other commitments then how on earth would I be a suitable arbitrator? I'll answer this question concisely: I plan on returning to my original activity levels (from between 2016-17) starting this month.
I mainly specialise in anti-vandalism work on Wikipedia, using Huggle and Twinkle to identify and remove problematic edits; this is something I have been doing for a few years now, albeit on-and-off. However, nowadays having returned after a short absence I'd like to pursue something different too!
I've matured significantly over the years and consider myself to be an individual who is capable of staying cool when the editing gets hot. Furthermore, the degree I am currently pursuing requires me to read case notes and legal transcripts, and then come to a decision with regards to the judgement. I am capable of being a neutral third-party in disputes and I am not an individual who becomes emotionally involved in such matters.
I'm very knowledgeable about confidentiality owing to my parents' (and grandparents', actually!) field of work. I cannot go into details with regards to what that entails on here, however if a member of Arbcom were to email me with any questions regarding this, I'd be more than happy to explain. I have had to handle sensitive data in the past and as such this is not beyond my capabilities in any way. I can confirm I am exactly 19 years and 0 months of age, I am identified to the WMF, and I have signed the Access to nonpublic information policy.
All alternate accounts can be found
here.
EDIT : After some consideration, I have decided to withdraw my application for this year, as I am afraid I will not have the time to answer all the questions that people have asked, and I must prioritise other matters (in real life) right now. However, this does not mean I will be inactive again; I will most definitely continue trying to be more active around here. Perhaps I'll give this another go next year. Best,
Patient Zero
talk 21:24, 12 November 2018 (UTC)
Patient Zero
talk 16:13, 5 November 2018 (UTC)
Arbitration Committee Election 2018 candidate:
Patient Zero
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I'm Doug Weller (my real name) and I have been an editor since April 2006, an administrator since September 2008, and a member of the Arbitration Committee since January 2015. I'm also a fairly active editor and of my about 191,000 edits 49.5% are to
WP:Main space. My only alternate accounts are
User:DougWeller and
User:Dougweller each of which has 2 edits and is dormant.
The number of cases coming before the Committee has declined but there
can be significant delays, both in accepting or declining cases, and
in reaching a decision. The Committee has to deal with a lot of email,
and again there can be significant delays before they are handled. If
re-elected I will do what I can to minimize those delays. During the four years I have been an arbitrator I believe that I have been open-minded and willing to change my mind when new arguments are presented. That won't change.
I'm identified with the WMF and meet the requirements specified in the
access to nonpublic information
policy.
WITHDRAWING: I'm withdrawing now that so many more excellent candidates have decided to run. I'm glad to see the experienced Arbitrators willing to take on this onerous task again, but I'm particularly pleased to see that User:Joe Roe, who has never been an Arbitrator and will thus bring a fresh perspective, has thrown his hat into the ring. Doug Weller talk 08:39, 15 November 2018 (UTC)
Arbitration Committee Election 2018 candidate:
Doug Weller
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