Guild Wars 2 Wiki:Requests for adminship/Idris

Idris

Idris (talk • contribs • logs • block log)

Started 18:05, 15 October 2019 (UTC)

Status

Withdrawn.

Candidate statement, update

I'd like to say thank you to everyone who took the time to respond to this RfA; your feedback and constructive criticism have been both touching and eye-opening. It seems that I'm more or less the only person who worries I'll be a bad admin, but a fair number of you are concerned by my negative attitude. This is understandable, and I think the fact that I wasn't expecting this reaction is a sign that perhaps I'm not quite ready to take on the role just yet.

This past week has helped me realize that adminship is something I want after all, though. I want this to start off on the right foot, so I've decided to step down from this RfA and take a few months to work on my attitude before trying again; hopefully, by then I'll have a better understanding of your expectations and be capable of presenting myself in a way that inspires confidence. Thank you all again.

—Idris 17:57, 22 October 2019 (UTC)

Candidate statement

So there's been some talk over the past few weeks about how we could use more admins, and Inc's recent nomination has been the push I needed to put myself forward. Candidates for adminship haven't typically nominated themselves in the past, but there's no reason why this has to be the case -- we've always been adamant that our admins are not superior authority figures, merely fellow users with some extra tools and responsibilities, yet between the intimidating RfA process and our currently small number of users with admin privileges, this is not the message we've been communicating. I'd like to take the first step towards changing that.

That said, I don't feel like I'm currently in a position where I would be an effective admin. In true wiki fashion I'll let the community decide what they'd like to do, but regardless of how you vote after reading the rest of my statement, I hope I've at least emboldened others to give it a shot too.

Why Idris might make an acceptable admin

I'm proud of what we've been able to accomplish here on the wiki, not only in terms of documenting the game but also our friendly community, and I feel that with a larger admin team, especially admins who are dedicated to fostering a welcoming, collaborative atmosphere, we can only get better.

I generally try to be welcoming and helpful towards new users. I have experience with mediating difficult user conflicts, and I try to put the wiki's needs -- rather than my desires -- at the forefront when it comes to my own conflicts. (I'm not great at it but I try. :p)

I've been a member for about five years now, and an Extended Editor for two. I use these Extended tools often and take the responsibility seriously, and would continue to do so if granted admin-level tools.

Why making Idris an admin is a terrible idea

I'm a bit of a flake, to be honest.

I am not a frequent contributer, regularly taking months-long breaks from the wiki. I am also incapable of seeing a project through to completion, with the worst example of this being how I let Dashface down by abruptly abandoning my duties on OWoG without so much as a warning. I regret the way I handled that and hope to do better in future, but the fact remains that, for the time being at least, I absolutely cannot be trusted to follow through on any projects I take on. This is, in my opinion, a terrible quality for an admin to have.

In addition, I'm currently experiencing personal difficulties which are making it even harder than usual to maintain interest in editing and causing me to be somewhat of a loose canon on discord. For all the effort I put into trying to be kind and helpful on the wiki, I'm in a bit of a capricious headspace right now, and I would rather not take on extra responsibility when I don't trust myself to live up to the expectations that come with it.

Like I mentioned at the start of my statement, I am nominating myself because I feel like we need to expand our list of admins, and I hope to demonstrate to others that there's no need to be afraid of giving it a try. My name also came up as a favoured choice in discord discussions about adminship for some reason; I'm humbled by your faith in me, and if what little I can contribute helps to lessen the load on others, then I'm willing to accept this role... but please be aware of my limitations before you vote yes.

—Idris 18:05, 15 October 2019 (UTC)

Discussion

• Explanation of why the candidate should or should not retain rights/be given additional rights.
• Support. Sensible and trusted user who has been around for years. Number of edits varying with the seasons is completely normal - editing isn't necessarily a prerequisite for being given the admin toolset (heck check out the b'crat contributions, barely 250 edits between them in the space of a year). Admin tools can take some getting used to, but we don't tend to use them all at once, and there's a bunch of us around on Discord (and watching Special:RecentChanges) should you need advice. That being said, if you're not comfortable with us bestowing the greatest wiki honour trying to tempt you into becoming a sysop able to assist others, that's alright too - we don't want to annoy an excellent editor, and we'll support you with your decision anyway. --Chieftain Alex 22:08, 15 October 2019 (UTC)
• Support. Sounds good yo I've seen ya more than the other guy --— Cronos 01:52, 16 October 2019 (UTC)
• Support. Good mediator, and the admin board needs more people willing to do such instead of discuss in private or let things reach a boiling point before stepping in as it feels they frequently do. Konig (talk) 03:38, 16 October 2019 (UTC)
• Oppose. This one's a bit of a head-scratcher, to be honest. I think Idris is capable of being a good admin, but I don't see how anyone can read that candidate statement and come away thinking they actually want the role. It seems to me that this RFA should serve as an example to the community of what not to do. - Felix Omni 17:33, 16 October 2019 (UTC)
  • Thank you for your honesty, Felix. I will admit that my statement came across as way more negative than I meant it to; I'm actually fairly willing to become an admin, but I know my flaws and I wanted to temper expectations. I would hate to let everyone down. —Idris 00:04, 17 October 2019 (UTC)
• Support. Good attitude and self-reflected guy. And self-reflection is both immensly useful and powerful but also incredably tough. Most people kid themselves in that regard. So his own statement shows maturity and self-reflection in my book. Steve1 (talk) 18:10, 16 October 2019 (UTC)
• Oppose With all of the negative aspects this candidate expresses, I would NOT feel comfortable dealing with this RFA-----------serious concerns as to whether ANY issues would EVER be addressed----------or if a quick return to an "I'm bored" mindset would ensue. Anyone asking for a RFA, for themselves or others, needs to be concerned about the degree of commitment the candidate has toward the position, as well as the necessary knowledge of the position's requirements. I don't see this in Idris's RFA. Undouble (talk) 22:32, 18 October 2019 (UTC)
• Support. But on the condition that you actually want it; it's still your choice even upon a successful nomination. I understand the desire to temper expectations, but this is not the kind of pitch that would be effective in job interview. As Alex mentions, varying activity per season is not uncommon, and being admin is not a role that requires 100% uptime. I appreciate the help you gave me with On Wiki of Gold at a time that I personally was feeling a bit burned out. By the time you stopped, I was able to continue solo. Maybe this is not a great example of communication, but I think the work you did there is actually a great example of you being a positive and helpful presence on the wiki. -- Dashface 12:36, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
• Support. My first interaction with Idris was over a top contributor status they won, which was a part of a 2014 Feature Pack contributor contest over five years ago! Although a massive list of users applied for the contest, Idris was one of the few (new) users who stayed and continued diligently editing the wiki. Over the years, I formed a great respect for them, their edits, and the care they put into communicating with wiki users, most notably being a sort-of mediator between the Konig-Santax interactions. Even though it wasn't their responsibility, they jumped in, willing to work with both sides to come to an agreement, which was (and continues to be) very admirable. As for the candidate statement, I agree that it doesn't necessarily inspire confidence, but I believe Idris could be a valuable member of our team, and if not, well, I hope they see that other users consider them a valuable member of the wiki. —Ventriloquist 16:01, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
• [Oppose] I'll be a bit blunt here, and ideally it belongs here and not in the talk page.

If I hadn't read the paragraph above, I would have casted my vote as a yes, without really doubting it. Idris has done quite a bit of work all over the wiki and seems to understand how (more or less) everything around the wiki works. This knowledge of how things work all over, and how they intertwine is in my opinion something that cannot be replaced as a quality for an admin. Does this mean one can solve every problem that comes around, no of course not, but it does grant a really good insight to how things work. Idris is often either around the wiki or the discord keeping in touch with the problems and what's happening.

Now with this last paragraph really presenting a user that has no intention of actually being an admin (if that's not the interpretation to take away from that last paragraph, well it's sure what I understood). From what I gather from the (again, in my opinion) self destructive comments, this means there's either some serious self doubt or unpreparedness on Idris' side. Being an admin will mean being in the middle of some arguments; and being in the wrong will happen from time to time. It requires to accept it, fix it (if possible/appropriate), and ultimately move on looking back on it as a learning experience. I am not sure that Idris as they describe themselves is in a position to do such a thing.

To be clear, I have nothing against people knowing their weak points, that's what makes for personal growth, but seemingly insisting these will make them a poor admin; well makes me think they will be a poor admin. My personal opinion is that Idris should take some extra time and work on themselves a little, understanding what they know, what they do well, and how to improve on aspects without thinking they are incapable of being a proper admin. Confidence in one's self is important for an admin role, and I don't believe that it is the case at present. -Darqam 04:55, 20 October 2019 (UTC)

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