Forum:SH Archive/RFA questions

Wookieepedia &gt; Senate Hall &gt; 

I've decided to answer the new RFA questions due to popular demand. I urge other "old" admins to do the same! =) --Imp 13:16, 14 November 2006 (UTC)

G1 Why did you want to become an administrator? so I could patrol Recent changes more efficiently (In particular, I coveted the Rollback button).
 * Back in December 2005 I think I mostly wanted the position for its tools&mdash;the admin crew was way smaller back then, which meant things like deleting nonsense articles, protecting pages and determining consensus would often take some time. This frustrated me, so I thought maybe I'd nominate myself

G2 In your opinion, what is the role of an administrator?
 * We have several roles&mdash;helping maintain the wiki, helping diffuse conflicts, helping new users understand how Wookieepedia works, and making sure policies are followed.

G3 In your view, do administrators hold a technical or political position?
 * The sysop powers are technical, but here on Wookieepedia administratorship has developed into something of a political position as well&mdash;our RFA and RFB voting privilegies clearly show this. In addition, we are expected to determine consensus in difficult cases, which is a huge&mdash;and purely political&mdash;responsibility.

G4 How do feel admins should use their power/stand in comparison with other users?
 * I'm opposed to using my powers as a means to push my own agenda (Although I may use the rollback button when disagreeing with changes made to an article, I use it purely because it's a lot more convenient than regular revertion). In regular consensus cases I feel admins should have no more say than other users (except for difficult cases, but even then I think an admin should contact another, unbiased admin to determine consenus).

G5 Have you been in any conflicts over editing in the past or do you feel other users have caused you stress? How have you dealt with it and how will you deal with it in the future?
 * Yes, I have been in conflicts before (but no real quarrels), for example in the issue of add (cyborg) to the species field in the infoboxes of individuals with cybernetic enhancements. I generally deal with it by referring to Wookieepedia policy, or simply explaining my arguments (sometimes per talk page, sometimes per edit summary). I guess I could improve in that area&mdash;perhaps I should be less quick to rollback in cases where I'm biased.

G6 Of your articles or contributions to Wookieepedia, are there any with which you are particularly pleased, and why?
 * I'm currently working on the Lando article, and I must say it's growing into a pretty complete overview of the gambler. I'm not done yet, but even at this point I can say that it's the contribution I'm most proud of.

G7 What sysop chores do you anticipate helping with?
 * Now, like when I was first sysop-ed, I generally patrol Recent changes, making sure vandalism never gains a foothold. I help out with most sysop chores, but I'd say Recent changes is where I contribute the most by far.

G8 How important is it for you to be involved in things such as CT, IDrive, FA, and other community-centered items that involve discussion and voting?
 * It's very important. In fact, I was the one to first establish both the IDRIVE and FA systems. Nowadays, however, I'm mostly concerned with discussions on the CT, RFA and RFB pages. I've nominated two admin candidates myself (LtNOWIS and Breathesgelatin), and urged two others to nominate themselves (Darth Culator and Sikon). I think it's important that users voice their opinions. When everyone is heard, better decisions can be made.

G9 Do you think admins performing actions (I.e. deletions, blocks, etc.) for reasons not covered on policy should be sanctioned/punished? If so, how?
 * Yes, I think they should, although the only real punishment I can see is the removal of their powers&mdash;however I think such things should be saved for extreme cases. It is better to talk to the admin in question and try to work out a solution.

G10 What is your policy, if any, of welcoming new users? Should you welcome a new user, do you look at his/her contributions beforehand? What about anonymous IPs?
 * I generally welcome all new users with red talk pages (save for vandal sockpuppets), regardless of their contributions. If I see the user has added fanon or vandalized, I explain to them that such things aren't welcome. If I see an anonymous user actually contributing positively, I try and convince them to register by substing anon on their talk page.

G11 How would you react if someone undeleted an article you'd mistakenly speedied? Under what circumstances would you consider it appropriate to undelete an article mistakenly speedied by another administrator, if any, and how would you approach this task?
 * I wouldn't react at all to someone correcting a mistake I made&mdash;this is a wiki, after all. ;) Similarly, I do not hesitate to correct the mistakes of other admins. I would approach the task by simply telling the other admin that he or she made a mistake, and that I fixed it for them. =)

G12 How would you react if your user page was vandalized? Under what circumstances would you block the offender? Is there anything else that you would do in this situation?
 * I would assume good faith were it an anonymous IP or new user&mdash;it may be a test edit. I would tell the anonymous one that their test worked, and was removed. If the act was repeated, I'd warn the offender by placing more and more severe warnings on their talk page. If ignored after the third warning, I would block them for 24 hours. Were it an obvious vandal sockpuppet, I'd simply revert and block the user indefinitely. If an established user vandalized my page, I'd adress them on their talk page.

G13 Under what circumstances would you consider blocking an established user?
 * Repeated vandalism (including adding fanon) or personal attacks, after being warned several times.

G14 If you could change any one thing about Wookieepedia, what would it be?
 * I'd want every article and picture to be sourced, adding to our credibility.

G15 Would you look at a glass to be half-empty or half-full?
 * Half-empty, but that's just me being gluttonous. ;)

C1 Do you feel the current blocking policy is too restrictive, not restrictive enough, or OK as it is?
 * I think it's fine the way it is.

C2 Have you ever considered becoming a regular visitor to the Wookieepedia IRC chat?
 * I'm a regular already! I think it's a great way to get to know my fellow Wookieepedians.

C3 How do you feel about people who already have some influence on other Star Wars communities (TheForce.Net, StarWars.com) trying to change policies here?
 * That depends on what they want to change, and how they go about trying to achieve it. For example, I think it's a good thing that Dark Spork warned us aginst the use of exclusive Hyperspace content, which resulted in a new policy. I disapprove of "vote farming" though, and hope I never see it here on Wookieepedia.

I1 What's more important to you: consensus or policy?
 * I think that page-by-page consensus should be overwritten by existing policy. Except for when new policies are being proposed, of course. ;) I try and follow the old saying "Being an administrator is not about doing what's right, not what's popular." "Right" being to follow policy.

That's that. I hope I was able to formulate my answers to correctly represent my views. ;) --Imp 13:16, 14 November 2006 (UTC)