Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/Floquenbeam: Difference between revisions

Voice your opinion on this candidate (talk page) (40/1/0); Scheduled to end 16:40, 19 January 2010 (UTC)

Floquenbeam (talk · contribs) –
Nomination from Pedro It is with pleasure that I nominate Floquenbeam for the sysop tools. Firstly, as noted on the talkpage of this RFA, Flo is not a new user, having edited previously under another account, now retired for privacy reasons. Alison's comments on the talk page are, I hope, sufficent to reassure the community that this is not a "SOCK" account but a returning user with a new name. So, on to the rationale;

• Flo is mainly active in gnoming and vandal fighting - but not without experience at getting articles up together too : [1] [2]
• Whilst around 3,500 edits may not be enough for some I think quality over quantity and the consistently pleasent attitude displayed in the edits weighs more heavily.
• Extremly active at Wikipedia:Main Page/Errors where the sysop tools would be very handy.
• Regular at the Helpdesk, AN and ANI giving useful, well considered, and above all helpfull input.
• As an expereienced wikipedian Flo has, IMHO, the right mix of article, talk, user talk and project space edits.
• Not a huge number of speedy deletion requests, but accurate and in policy.

I appreciate that "returning user" may be a bit of a red flag, but I implore the community to look at the quality of Flo's edits, and their measured and calm approach to working in a colaborative atmosphere, and hope the community agrees that granting the sysop tools will be nothing but a benefit to Wikipedia with zero risk. Pedro :  Chat  12:25, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Nomination from Majorly

I haven't done an RFA for ages now, so hopefully this will be good. I offered Floquenbeam a nomination some time ago now, and he declined, but now has accepted. He's one of those "thought he was one" candidates. While article work is somewhat lacking, I don't consider this a negative point (afterall, several fine administrators don't write articles). That is not to say he never has written an article, or edited one; I strongly believe if an editor makes a useful and productive edit to an article, they are a productive editor, and Floquenbeam fits that description. He makes himself useful in many areas of Wikipedia, from wikignoming and discussing policies, to helping to resolve conflicts and dealing with help desk queries. His wide-ranging editing areas are probably what made me notice him. The edit count isn't uber high either, but who cares? I don't believe there's a genuinely unhelpful edit to be found in his contribs. And he has been around a while, so it isn't as if the edit count has been boosted by playing on Huggle.

Additionally, he does not seem like the kind of person who is self-righteous, argumentative, negative, pessimistic or bitter, traits found in many administrators I have come across who still cling on to their tools (I also believe Floquenbeam would hand his tools in without a fuss if, for whatever reason, he lost trust in the community). He is always polite, courteous, and friendly, everything you could possibly want in an admin. I hope you agree with me and support him for admin. Majorly talk 16:23, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Candidate, please indicate acceptance of the nomination here: With thanks to Majorly and Pedro for their kind words. --Floquenbeam (talk) 16:40, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Dear candidate, thank you for offering to serve Wikipedia as an administrator. It is recommended that you answer these optional questions to provide guidance for participants:

1. What administrative work do you intend to take part in?

A: I enjoy puttering about in various corners of Wikipedia, and I've done so in a few admin-ish areas. So far, things have worked well when I've requested admin action at AIV, RFPP, CSD, etc. The main reasons I want the additional tools is (a) I'm occasionally frustrated by the wait at some of these pages; (b) wonderful, altruistic person that I am, I'd like to help others needing admin help, or when things get backlogged; and (c) being able to see deleted edits makes dealing with vandals and socks easier, makes it easier to answer "why did my article get deleted" type questions at the help desk, etc.

I anticipate working in the following areas:

• WP:AIV. I've somehow morphed into a QA/QC person. I don't Huggle, and I usually patrol my (unmanageably) large watchlist rather then recent changes, but it's a decent percentage of what I do. I believe my judgement is sound in this area, I've never had an AIV report I made declined.
• WP:ERRORS. There seems to be a small (dedicated, but small) group of admins that routinely deal with this page. When any one of them is active, things usually get taken care of quickly. When none are online, items (occasionally embarrassing ones) can languish for hours. One more admin actively watching that page is a step in the right direction.
• WP:HD and WP:NCHP, where the ability to view deleted edits will make it easier to help with "why was my article deleted" type questions, or help fix page move errors that have gone all pear shaped.
• WP:AN/WP:ANI. If I have the tools, I'll be able to kibbutz less and help more.
• CAT:CSD. I don't do much new page patrolling, but when I run across inappropriate pages, I've {{db}}'d maybe a couple dozen (someone who can see deleted edits can give a more accurate count, I haven't kept track), and the requests have never been declined. Very occasionally I'll look at a few pages already in this category and remove a {{db}} tag if I don't think it's appropriate, but that can piss people off, so lately I've usually left that for an admin to do. I don't/won't get involved very much in A7 deletions, neither deleting nor declining anything non-obvious; I'm sure I'd be too kindhearted and let too much stay.
• WP:RFPP. I'm not too active in this area, but I know how it works and I'm willing to help out. I've only asked for protection of a handful of articles, but the requests have never been declined.
• WP:ANEW. I'm not too active in this area, either. I'm probably too willing to try a last round of talking before blocking, even when the bright line of 3RR has already been crossed, but I'm not too far outside the norms; I won't let it go on forever.

I do not anticipate closing XFD's; it's not an area I enjoy. I understand that nothing is keeping me from doing so if I get the tools, so if my few contributions in that area concern you, ask a question or two. But I very seriously doubt I'll ever close anything remotely non-obvious.

2. What are your best contributions to Wikipedia, and why?

A: I'm not an article writer; I don't have any articles I can point to with pride. While a lot of my contributions are anti-vandalism, I take more pride, and enjoyment, in generally just trying to be helpful, including attempts at de-escalating disputes, or helping new users find their way around. So maybe my "best" contributions are the ones where I get a "thanks for the help" message on my talk page.

3. Have you been in any conflicts over editing in the past or have other users caused you stress? How have you dealt with it and how will you deal with it in the future?

A: Stress? No, not really. A couple of people have been annoyed/angry with me, I believe all but two such cases (see Q5) can be found on User talk:Floquenbeam, User talk:Floquenbeam/Archive 1 and User talk:Floquenbeam/Archive 2. I've a reasonably thick skin. I find it fairly easy to ignore insults or name calling, and am usually capable of de-escalating and responding politely (or, at worst, ignoring) even when insulted. In future, I'll discuss things until my patience or ability to AGF runs out, at which time I'll (a) just move on, if it isn't critical, or (b) ask for help at an appropriate noticeboard or talk page, if it is important.

Saving someone some time, I'll ask the now-semi-standard Q4, and what would be a good standard Q5, of myself

4. Did you ever edit Wikipedia prior to registering your present account? Would you be willing to disclose publicly or to key trusted editors any past, current, and future accounts?

A: Yes, I previously edited under another name. I retired that account for privacy reasons, so I don't want to publicly disclose its name. I've asked a Checkuser/Oversighter, Alison, to review the old account's edits, and verify on-wiki that I'm not hiding any blocks, bans, warnings, aggressive editing, or any other skeletons in the closet or bad behavior. I've also asked her to review my "privacy reasons", to verify it's a legitimate concern, and not a smoke screen. Her comments can be found here.

I do not have, nor do I plan to have, any undisclosed alternate accounts. If for some unanticipated reason that ever changes, I'll be happy to notify ArbCom, or whoever else the then-current policy says should be notified. I do have two publicly disclosed alternate accounts: User:Floquensock and User:Floquenstein's monster; if this RFA passes, their main use will be if I happen to be on a public terminal, as practice dummies for blocking, and if Bishzilla needs to be put in her place.

5. Discuss the times when you've done something you regret doing. What happened, and what did you learn?

A: I can think of only two real black marks, times when I've wished I could take something back.

• Here, back in June, when I WP:POINTily nominated an obviously notable article for deletion. This was in response to an ANI thread I stumbled onto, where an editor was being threatened with a WP:NLT block for objecting (in an admittedly inappropriate way) to the article's emphasis on some rather unflattering material. Rather than pointing out WP:DOLT at ANI and fixing it, I AFD'd the article instead. I'm a bit embarrassed about this for a couple of reasons. First, it wasted the time of those who participated; we all knew what the result of the AFD was going to be. Second, while I was busy being righteously indignant, User:Steve Crossin was busy actually cleaning up the article, which is what I should have been doing.
• Here, back in September, where in my rush to be wise and clever, I ended up being snotty and rude. FWIW, I did try to apologize/clarify here. It is a reminder that an extra 5 seconds between finishing composing, and hitting Save Page, is time well spent.

Nobody's perfect, and I try to learn from my mistakes.

Additional question from Keepscases

6. Would you sacrifice your own life to save Wikipedia? Why or why not?

A: It depends; are we talking a peaceful death, at an old age, while asleep and dreaming about Salma Hayek, or are we talking pouring lemon juice into multiple stab wounds? Actually, don't answer that, the answer is probably "No" no matter what method you're talking about. Why not? Because I'm just selfish that way. However, if it helps, I'd be happy to draw up a list of people I would be willing to sacrifice to save Wikipedia. I'd have to email it to you, to sidestep WP:NPA.

Additional optional questions from Phantomsteve

7. Could you please answer the following questions related to CSDs:

a. In your own words, could you explain the difference between CSD A1 and CSD A3?

A. Neither one seems very common, really. A1 means there a little bit of text there, but you can't for the life of you figure out what they're trying to say. A3 means there's no "there" there; no encyclopedic content. Both are usually the result of someone experimenting, rather than vandalizing, so I'd be fairly gentle in my message on their talk page. If it looks like an honest attempt at something, I'll try (as an intellectual exercise more than anything else) to figure out what they're talking about. Not a perfect example, but for example, from yesterday, There's a hole in the sky, although tagged differently, could have been an A1, but out of curiousity I poked around a little to see what was up, and replaced the speedy tag with a redirect.

b. In your own words, could you explain what would cause you to decline a request for a speedy deletion using criteria A7?

A. OK, but first, as I mentioned in Q1 above, I will tend to steer away from deleting, or declining, A7 speedy noms. The key with A7's is a credible assertion of notability. If the article said "John Q. Frankenhoople is the most awesome man in the Universe", I'd delete even though there's an assertion of notability, because it isn't credible. However, if a good faith user creates an article has a fuzzy assertion of natabilty, I think we should err on the side of letting it breathe for a little while, mostly in order to not chase away a potential future contributor. I've left a message on user talk pages before, suggesting that an author read WP:NOTE before continuing, so they don't waste their time, but without threatening to tag the article myself.

Actually, I'll take this opportunity to clarify that comment up in Q1. I'll avoid deleting or declining A7's that aren't blindingly obvious, but I'll certainly delete an obvious A7 and decline one with an obvious credible assertion of notability. It's the fuzzy ones I plan to leave for others.

c. In your own words, could you explain what would cause you to accept a request for a speedy deletion using the relatively new criteria A10?

A. Well, it's hard to improve on the wording there; I can read, and that's what I'd do. This appears to be mostly for cut and paste moves to odd titles, although I suspect most of the time a simple redirect would make more sense.

8. You have been editing an article Article-1, adding information, sorting out layout, etc. Another editor (editor-123) reverts some of your edits, with the edit summary "removing of unsourced information". How do you deal with this, which admin tools (page protection, page deletion, blocking, etc) or other methods you would use to deal with it, and which policies/guidelines/essays you would use in justification?

A. Aha! Trick question! I would not, of course, use any admin tools. If I really had added contentious unsourced information, then I would give myself a little troutslap, and either find a source, or thank the editor for noticing my screwup. If it was sourced, I'd explain why on the talk page, and ping the editors user talk page to make sure they were aware of the comment. In the few instances when I've been reverted on content, I just stick to WP:1RR, and either discuss on the talk page, or just let it slide as not worth arguing about.

9. In your own words, could you explain what the difference between a block and a ban is?

A. Meh. I can't decide whether to crib an answer from one of the 150 previous successful RFA's where this question was asked, or paraphrase from Wikipedia:Banning policy#Difference between bans and blocks, so I think I just won't answer, in the hope that it inspires people to retire this old chestnut.

Additional optional questions from Doc Quintana

10 Cooldown blocks: what's your take?

A I suppose two "I refuse to answer on the grounds that this question is stale" answers would come off as too snotty, huh? Since the latest and greatest definition of "cooldown block" at WP:COOLDOWN defines it as a block intended solely to calm an editor down, with no other disruption going on (my emphasis) I'd agree with the policy that this isn't the case very often. If someone isn't being disruptive (or doing some other bad thing, like, I don't know, violating copyrights all over the place or something) I see no reason to try to force calmness down their throats. Their state of mind is their problem, not mine. That said, if I thought it would make things better instead of worse, I'd have a quiet word with an angry editor, letting them know that maybe they're headed in an unproductive direction.

11 Do you believe that "fallen" users can be rehabilitated, and if so, how?

A I don't know about "rehabilitated"; they aren't criminals, and a block/ban isn't prison. And situations vary so much from one person to another that it makes little sense to talk about "how", like there's only one best way. But yes, in general, editors who have been asked to leave can change their mind and become useful/welcome. I like the idea of {{secondchance}} for relatively short term disruptive editors who want to "start over"; it's a handy way of separating honest requests for another chance from dishonest ones. I like the idea of Durova's WP:standard offer for longer term editors; I suppose that is more like rehabilitation, in a way. In general, once an editor has been identified as "fallen", and blocked/banned, giving them a chance to start over is nearly cost-free; you unblock, and if they restart anything resembling the problem editing, you reblock. The cost associated with "fallen" editors is usually in reaching the stage where they're recognized as "fallen" in the first place.

12 What is a "Rouge"/"Rogue" Admin, IYO?

A

Requisite rhetorical verse requirement by Proofreader77

13 PREAMBLE: This requirement was foreshadowed on your talk page, and now comes to fruition ... at a propitious moment, three days before the 9th anniversary of Wikipedia ... and perhaps an Arbcom case surrounding the two blocks Proofreader77 received amidst giving $1,000 to Wikipedia (smiling but not joking).

REQUIREMENT: Please compose and present one Shakespearean form sonnet illuminating something about Floquenbeam in the role of Wikipedia administrator.

• Links for Floquenbeam: Floquenbeam (talk · contribs · deleted · count · AfD · logs · block log · lu · rfar · spi)
• Edit summary usage for Floquenbeam can be found here.

Please keep discussion constructive and civil. If you are unfamiliar with the nominee, please thoroughly review Special:Contributions/Floquenbeam before commenting.

Why would someone support with "every reason to back the candidate", and then ask a bunch of questions? Tan | 39 19:17, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

• They are not for my benefit, but for other editors who haven't decided yet. As the candidate has said that they intend on working on CSD, then I thought it might be an idea to ask some questions in this area. I'd be very surprised if the answers changed my !vote, but they might help someone else make a decision. -- PhantomSteve/talk|contribs\ 19:20, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
  • I think that's very silly. If someone is having a hard time making up their mind, they're free to ask a question. But I agree with Tan, it's rather odd. iMatthew ^talk at 23:30, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

1. Strong support - they are already an admin, they just need the bit flipped on. –xeno^talk 16:42, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
2. Support with gusto! Floquenbeam is certainly trustworthy and would be a fantastic addition to the list of administrators. Ioeth (talk contribs twinkle friendly) 16:44, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
3. Strong Support As co-nom. Pedro :  Chat  16:49, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
4. Majorly talk 16:49, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
5. Thought you were an admin already, see no problems :) Regards, --—Cyclonenim | Chat  16:50, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
6. Support I trust he'll the job right. ~DC _{Talk To Me} 16:52, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
7. Absolutely. Xeno said exactly what I was thinking. JamieS93 16:53, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
8. Support I see no cause for concern, and every reason to back this candidate. -- PhantomSteve/talk|contribs\ 16:55, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
9. Record of positive contributions, no obvious signs of kookery. The AFD mentioned above was a bonehead move, sure, but he recognizes this. A mistake is no big deal- we all make them. Friday (talk) 17:02, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
10. Support Why not? The candidate has a record of strong contributions, is friendly and helpful and not ashamed to admit mistakes - something which is very important in an admin. The only reason to doubt their suitability would be the previous, undisclosed account - but if Alison says that there were no concerns with that account, I trust her. And from what I can review, this candidate will do a fine job. Regards SoWhy 17:08, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
11. Support Tan | 39 17:09, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
12. Strong support. Good attitude, mature user, lots of contributions; no reason to oppose. Ironholds (talk) 17:12, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
13. Support, speedy tagging in your del contribs looks good to me, otherwise per noms and Alison. ϢereSpielChequers 17:14, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
14. Wait a minute... he isn't already?--Unionhawk ^{Talk E-mail} 17:20, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
15. Support - I've seen Floquenbeam around doing good work. I think this editor is unlikely to misuse the mop. -GTBacchus^(talk) 17:23, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
16. Support What I have seen of Floquenbeam's editing (example, at User_talk:Drew_R._Smith) has been impressive in terms of cluefulness, temperament, and inclination to deescalate disputes. Will make a fine addition to the admin corps. All the best. Abecedare (talk) 17:31, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
17. They're not one already!? What took so long? The Thing _{Editor Review} 17:32, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
18. Support Keepscases (talk) 17:37, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
19. Certainly, per the two respected nominators. I see nothing that would suggest this editor is incapable of using the tools responsibly. –Juliancolton | ^Talk 17:41, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
20. Support no reason to think they'd misuse the tools. FeydHuxtable (talk) 17:43, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
21. Support - I see Floquenbeam around everywhere, making great contributions to discussions, this is someone I would certainly trust with the tools. Addendum: the answer to question #6 is just awesome. -- Atama頭 17:44, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
22. Support, acknowledging your failings and mistakes is an excellent trait to have, and can be very difficult. An excellent candidate, best of luck. --Taelus (talk) 18:00, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
23. Support, based on trusting Alison's recommendation and on the answer to Q6. ⇦REDVERS⇨ 18:33, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
24. Support. It's a green light from me. Useight (talk) 18:38, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
25. Yessir.  GARDEN  18:42, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
26. Support - an excellent, knowledgeable, and trustworthy candidate. --Jezebel'sPonyo^shhh 19:07, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
27. Support Şłџğģő 19:16, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
28. Self-righteous-argumentative-negative-pessimistic-bitter-still-clinging-on-to-my-tools support (per Majorly's nom). :P In all seriousness, Floquenbeam is a sensible, mature, calm, level-headed individual. S/he clearly gets it; I see a substantial benefit from providing clueful people with a few extra buttons, and I have no concerns here. History of prior account is not a concern given that behavior with the old account was apparently quite upstanding and constructive as well, and I completely trust Alison as to the details. And per answer to Q6, because it's funny. MastCell ^Talk 19:29, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
29. Support. Article writing is great but there is many parts to a machine and his work is useful. Hell In A Bucket (talk) 19:42, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
30. Support No concerns and WP:WTHN. --Shirik (Questions or Comments?) 19:45, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
31. Support and I like answers 5, 6, and 9. --Tryptofish (talk) 20:40, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
32. Support I trust Pedro's judgment as a nominator (arrogant much?) and I've seen Floquenbeam around enough times to believe he can be trusted, he's already showing good judgement without the tools, [3]--Jac16888^Talk 20:44, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
33. Weak support per Taelus (talk · contribs) – I'm not 100% happy with the former-account-jiggery-pokery, but Alison (talk · contribs) and the nomination statement written by Pedro (talk · contribs) put my mind at rest somewhat! ╟─TreasuryTag►senator─╢ 21:17, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
34. Slight Support I say Slight because I made a few more contributions than you did, but what I understand is that the quality of the edits are more important than the quantity. Fine, go for it. PS: I like the answer you made to question 5! :) Minimac94 (talk) 21:19, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
35. Strong Support I can think of no one better suited for the position. Basket of Puppies 22:09, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
36. Support Trustworthy to me.  fetchcomms☛ 22:29, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
37. Support. Sensible, trustworthy and knows what he's doing. I can see no reason to make me think Floquenbeam would be anything other than an even greater asset to the project with a few extra tools. HJMitchell You rang? 22:32, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
38. Support per answer to question 6. Admin dealings could always use more levity. In all seriousness, candidate appears to have the right attitude, and, I trust, the right knowledge. Would welcome as an admin. Throwaway85 (talk) 22:43, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
39. Allie! Allie! Allie! Oi! Oi! Oi! —Dark 22:49, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
40. Support - No concerns. EdJohnston (talk) 23:50, 12 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]