User:Barkeep49/ACE2020

Thanks for coming. Below you'll find my candidate statement and thoughts on a variety of other topics related to ArbCom. I also plan to add my answers to selected questions asked by the community. There’s a lot written below so you can use the box below for the nutshells of my thoughts.

Platform summary

If you click on a summary statement you can read my full thoughts on the topic.

What makes an effective arb: A wide range of skills, many of them organizational or behind the scenes, are necessary to be a good arb (this one doesn't summarize well so I'd encourage you to read the full list)
Appeals and amendments (ARCA): Appeals and amendments (ARCA) could be better.
Functionary appointing process: ArbCom should encourage more public discussion, especially by functionaries, during the functionary appointment process
Administrator Conduct/What kind of cases to accept: In general ArbCom should only accept cases the community can’t handle. By policy the community can’t handle administrator misconduct cases so ArbCom should accept those with a lower standard than other cases.
- Does ArbCom have any options besides warnings/reminders/admonishments, and permanent desysops?: I am open to exploring new solutions beyond warnings and permanent desysops for administrator misconduct.
- Number of mistakes vs percentage of mistakes: The type of administrator error determines whether to look at the issue on an absolute (# of errors) or relative (% of errors) basis.
Communication and community engagement: Communication with the community during formal processes is an important trait for arbitrators.
Talking with the Wikimedia Foundation: Arbs need to be community ambassadors to the Wikimedia Foundation
- IP Masking: ArbCom can hopefully nudge IP Masking, a potentially disruptive change, in a slightly more positive direction
Universal Code of Conduct (UCoC): The UCoC is important, communities like ours should be left alone as we go above and beyond its minimums, and ArbCom needs to help advocate for enwiki in this process.
Timeliness: I want to provide the community with updates on the status of ArbCom’s work
Email management: I will effectively handle the volume of emails ArbCom receives

Introduction

Hi, I'm Barkeep49, and I'm running for ArbCom, after just missing being elected last year, because I believe in Wikipedia. Since joining in 2005, I have believed in our mission to provide high-quality information to the world. For free! I believe in our community, the ways people from different cultures come together, work out differences through discussion, and successfully write informative encyclopedic material.

Work

I'm proud of the work I've done on Wikipedia. Both through content, with more than 20 good articles and 2 featured lists, and the community where, as an administrator, I try to be a thoughtful helpful presence. One accomplishment from this past year was having been the second most frequent nominator of potential administrators (all successful).

Why I’m running and what I’ll do

I'm running because of a commitment to service to the community and I'm drawn to tackling challenging problems. I don't think the issues that come before ArbCom are "fun." I also know that the increased scrutiny and the accompanying decrease in good faith extended to arbs can make editing less enjoyable. Despite these challenges, I will, if elected, be an effective arbitrator and because I...

am committed to the community, trusting it to handle difficult issues, with ArbCom only acting as a last resort
will bring a fresh set of eyes, complementing the experience of re-elected Arbs
will do the work, knowing how much work this is required after discussions with current and former arbs
can manage heavy email loads, like the kind experienced by ArbCom. This will also include checking the undeclared paid editing email address regularly.
will, depending on the situation, listen, be willing to speak first, express a unique viewpoint to avoid groupthink, and find consensus
approach what I say and do with thought and care for others

Ideas

I think ArbCom does a good job on the whole, especially since they're handling issues too hard for a competent community to solve on its own. However, I don't think ArbCom is perfect, and I would like to help as a committee member. For instance, Appeals and Amendments can linger. To help here, I would do things like try to provide periodic updates to interested editors in public and behind the scenes to (nicely) ask my colleagues to respond. I hope I’ve earned your support.