Wikipedia talk:Requests for adminship/Ironholds 2: Difference between revisions

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*[[/archive_1|During the Q&A]]
*[[Wikipedia:Requests_for_adminship/Ironholds_2/Post-mortem|Post-mortem]]
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==Edit count for Ironholds==
==Edit count for Ironholds==
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* The edit count was retrieved from [http://toolserver.org/~interiot/cgi-bin/Tool1/wannabe_kate?username=Ironholds&site=en.wikipedia.org this link] at 18:06, 7 October 2008 (UTC).
* The edit count was retrieved from [http://toolserver.org/~interiot/cgi-bin/Tool1/wannabe_kate?username=Ironholds&site=en.wikipedia.org this link] at 18:06, 7 October 2008 (UTC).


== Support/Oppose/Neutral section headings ==

I'm going to add these headings now, and try to formulate something to prevent people from actually voting early. The reason is: Tangobot (used at [[WP:BN/R]]) is handling this by saying "Parse failed" in the S/O/N section, which is OK I guess, but SQLBot (which is used at [[WT:RFA]] and the actual [[WP:BN]] page) doesn't pick up this RFA at all. Particularly since this is somewhat experimental, as many people as possible should know about it, so there are no cries of "sneaking thru under the radar" later.

If someone can come up with a cleaner way of having this show up on both bot reports, feel free, but I strongly feel this RFA needs to be on both reports to ensure legitimacy. --[[User:Barneca|barneca]] ([[User talk:Barneca|talk]]) 19:15, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
:Sorry, didn't know that'd happen :S. Something that needs to be addressed if this becomes widespread practice, then. [[User:Ironholds|<b style="color:#D3D3D3">Ir</b><b style="color:#A9A9A9">on</b><b style="color:#808080">ho</b>]][[User talk:Ironholds|<b style="color:#696969">ld</b><b style="color:#000">s</b>]] 19:24, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
::I didn't either; this is just a temporary fix. If this becomes an accepted method, we'd probably want to pester the bot owners. --[[User:Barneca|barneca]] ([[User talk:Barneca|talk]]) 19:29, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
: Go for it, barneca. [[User:Garden|<font color=#660000>'''Garden'''</font>]]. 19:27, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
::I did go for it once; Ironholds nuked them accidentally, while answering questions. Re-done. --[[User:Barneca|barneca]] ([[User talk:Barneca|talk]]) 19:29, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
:::It was deliberate, actually, to reduce the chance of people voting pre-saturday. [[User:Ironholds|<b style="color:#D3D3D3">Ir</b><b style="color:#A9A9A9">on</b><b style="color:#808080">ho</b>]][[User talk:Ironholds|<b style="color:#696969">ld</b><b style="color:#000">s</b>]] 19:35, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
::::Ah. Well, if you can come up with a better way to have this show up in the bot report, fine. But you're probably asking for complications and complaints later if your RFA doesn't show up on anyone's radar screens during Q&A time. Still, now that I know you did it on purpose, I won't re-add if you want to nuke it again. --[[User:Barneca|barneca]] ([[User talk:Barneca|talk]]) 19:39, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
:::::Oh right, no, what I meant was I had removed the S/O/N headings deliberately, but my intent was not to screw with the bot. [[User:Ironholds|<b style="color:#D3D3D3">Ir</b><b style="color:#A9A9A9">on</b><b style="color:#808080">ho</b>]][[User talk:Ironholds|<b style="color:#696969">ld</b><b style="color:#000">s</b>]] 19:52, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
::::::Question: It may be too late now, but would putting the S/O/N headings in an html comment work? <font color="#3300ff">[[User:Thingg|Thingg]]</font><sup><font color="#33ff00">[[User talk:Thingg|&#8853;]]</font></sup><sup><font color="#ff0033">[[Special:Contributions/Thingg|&#8855;]]</font></sup> 02:39, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
:::::::Apparently people can't handle having them there, so we either need to accept the bot output not being correct or ask their owners to update them to at least still list the RFA with no tally. Please don't add the sections back until it is time for them. - [[User:Taxman|Taxman]] <sup><small>[[User talk:Taxman|Talk]]</small></sup> 03:33, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
::::::::Sigh. I can't help but feel that about 10% of the responsibility for the pre-voting voting idiocy below is my fault. Sorry, was just trying to help. --[[User:Barneca|barneca]] ([[User talk:Barneca|talk]]) 17:36, 8 October 2008 (UTC)

== New format ==

I hate change, but this may actually be better than I expected-- with more time to consider the candidate before !voting. [[User:Dlohcierekim|<font color="#00ff00"> Dloh</font>]][[User_talk:Dlohcierekim|<font color="#bb00bb">cierekim''' </font>]] 21:28, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
:I just hope it doesn't lead to "oppose per random question 16b" or any other answer that may not read "perfectly". [[User:Wisdom89|'''<font color="#660000">Wisdom89</font>''']] <sub>([[User_talk:Wisdom89|<small><sub><font color="#17001E">T</font></sub></small>]] / [[Special:Contributions/Wisdom89|<small><sup><font color="#17001E">C</font></sup></small>]])</sub> 21:30, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
::My only comment is that this would seem likely to end up very intensive for the candidate. One would think that it would be far better they could continue productive work rather than answering a mass of questions that may not, in actual fact, generate more understanding than a review of contributions would. I'm not against the idea and I applaud Ironholds for making a stab. It will be interesting to review the total number of questions asked against those of a traditional RFA. <small><span style="border:1px solid #0000ff;padding:1px;">[[User:Pedro|<b>Pedro</b>]] : [[User_talk:Pedro|<font style="color:#accC10;background:#0000fa;">&nbsp;Chat&nbsp;</font>]] </span></small> 21:38, 7 October 2008 (UTC)

::My hope is that rather than the traditional oppose one would normally see, with a broad argument and supporting diffs, that the same information was presented as a question to the candidate instead. That way, the contributor (and others) can select their stance based on both the statement and thee response from the candidate when the debate phase completes at the weekend. With this style of RfA, I'd consider it pretty poor form to keep reasons for opposing until after the debate has completed - if you have a concern, air it now! Many thanks, '''''<font color="green">[[User:Gazimoff|Gazi]]</font><font color="blue">[[User talk:Gazimoff|moff]]</font>''''' 21:52, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
:::I'm not sure if that was to myself or Wisdom, but I don't have any concerns that are likely to be ameliorated by asking a question, put it that way. <small><span style="border:1px solid #0000ff;padding:1px;">[[User:Pedro|<b>Pedro</b>]] : [[User_talk:Pedro|<font style="color:#accC10;background:#0000fa;">&nbsp;Chat&nbsp;</font>]] </span></small> 21:59, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
::::Ok, this raises a concern I have. If I have a reason to oppose, and I have not looked at Ironholds so this is purely hypothetical, I'm worried about the poison question, which is really a comment.---'''[[User:Balloonman|<font color="purple">Balloonman</font>]]''' ''[[User talk:Balloonman|<b><sup><small>PoppaBalloon</small></sup></b>]]'' 22:49, 7 October 2008 (UTC)

:::::Well, the way I envisaged this working was to have a question/statement phase. So you could either ask a question or make a comment, as it's all part of a debate. Then, when you move over to the !vote, you just ref questions or comments in the debate phase. No badgering, no fuss. As it is this is a kind of "halfway house" setup. I agree that it will force people to think, but I'm also concerned that it won't mitigate the problem of the early tenuous or tendicious oppose that can torpedo an RfA. The trick is to design a mechanism that provides the candidate with the opportunity to refute or respond to these types of opposes before a dozen "per X" opposes pile on top without any review or fact checking taking place. Hope this makes sense. '''''<font color="green">[[User:Gazimoff|Gazi]]</font><font color="blue">[[User talk:Gazimoff|moff]]</font>''''' 23:07, 7 October 2008 (UTC)

::At least it's better organized than before. And everyone should have a clear idea of how they feel before the ''!voting phase'' starts. I hate it when something comes up I had not seen before that would cause a position change. Has anyone else been interviewed for a job by a panel. ''That's'' harrowing. But that was only half an hour, not 4 days. Any limit to the questions? [[User:Dlohcierekim|<font color="#00ff00"> Dloh</font>]][[User_talk:Dlohcierekim|<font color="#bb00bb">cierekim''' </font>]] 22:04, 7 October 2008 (UTC)

:::I've a small question: is discussion then discouraged ''after'' the "discussion" phase? In other words, would one just type "Support"/"Oppose"? As an aside: I was interviewed by a panel, once. Everyone had their pet questions (I felt that there was a sort of air of superiority, too). I emailed them afterwards to indicate I would pursue alternate employment. [[User:Lazulilasher|Lazulilasher]] ([[User talk:Lazulilasher|talk]]) 22:29, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
:I am going to be a tough sale on this process. I really think it highlights the worst aspect and least meaningful aspect of the RfA process---questions. 90% of the questions asked are garbage questions that shouldn't be asked and I think this is just going to make the process a lot more tedious. That being said, there is one aspect that I do like... it forces people to wait. I've always been highly critical of people who !vote immediately after an RfA begins. It's ridiculous that somebody could have 40 supports within 2 hour of transposing an RfA.---'''[[User:Balloonman|<font color="purple">Balloonman</font>]]''' ''[[User talk:Balloonman|<b><sup><small>PoppaBalloon</small></sup></b>]]'' 22:47, 7 October 2008 (UTC)

::I completely agree that it has plusses and minuses. Whatever the outcome of this RfA, I think it's important to do a post-mortem on it then feed the findings into another test case. It's like any new process - you hav to run through it a couple of times in order to work out any pitfalls and pinch points. '''''<font color="green">[[User:Gazimoff|Gazi]]</font><font color="blue">[[User talk:Gazimoff|moff]]</font>''''' 23:07, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
::I love this format. It will help to get people to actually review the candidate before jumping right in. The candidate has the right to not answer off-topic questions. Erik the <font color="red">[[User:Erik the Red 2|Red]]</font> 2 <small><font color= "green">[[User talk:Erik the Red 2|~~]]</font><font color= "blue">[[Special:Contributions/Erik the Red 2|~~]]</font></small> 22:52, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
:::I might be able to buy into a 24 hour period, for the simple reason that it gets rid of the immediate !votes. I don't like the 4 day question period that is way too long for this period.---'''[[User:Balloonman|<font color="purple">Balloonman</font>]]''' ''[[User talk:Balloonman|<b><sup><small>PoppaBalloon</small></sup></b>]]'' 00:14, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
I like it the new format so far. The wait seems to be making people finally do their own research into the candidates. I hope it will help the pile-on votes that add no additional constructive comments/criticisms for the candidiate. [[User:Jamesontai|'''''<font color="#000066">- Jameson L. Tai</font>''''']] <sup>''<font color="#660000">[[User talk:Jamesontai|talk]] ♦ [[Special:Contributions/Jamesontai|contribs]]''</font></sup> 23:01, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
:Sorry, just got back from a long Afk. The entire idea is to do a detailed post-mortem that would simply ask (If people aren't tired of questions at that point :P) "Do you feel this would work? If not, why not? If so, is there anything that should be changed?" At the moment I'm thinking a shorter questioning time just because with the number of questions that've popped up in 3 hours I can't see there being anything left to ask after more than 2-3 days. A notable advantage of this version; by presenting possible opposes as questions to be answered it removes any accusations of badgering when a user tries to defend his or herself, and issues with the concept of badgering was one of the few things the RfA debaters agree on.[[User:Ironholds|<b style="color:#D3D3D3">Ir</b><b style="color:#A9A9A9">on</b><b style="color:#808080">ho</b>]][[User talk:Ironholds|<b style="color:#696969">ld</b><b style="color:#000">s</b>]] 00:53, 8 October 2008 (UTC)

Not to hold it against this candidate, but I '''absolutely detest''' the new format. The traditional one is much better. The idea of artificially cutting off questions to the candidate after a particular date is extremely objectionable. It may be that everything is OK in the case of this candidate, but there may easily arise situations (which usually come up when people start voting and commenting), when follow-up questions or questions on topics that have not been asked yet, are needed. It is very counterproductive (not to mention undemoctratic), both for the candidate and for the voters, if such questions cannot be asked and answered. Moreover, as mentioned above, the new format actually increases the number of questions that the candidate has to answer (not really such a great idea) and, by reducing the time of the actual voting, increases the pressure on the candidate and introduces a greater element of randomness and instability in the process. ''Please'', shelf this misguided idea and get back to the traditional format. [[User:Nsk92|Nsk92]] ([[User talk:Nsk92|talk]]) 02:16, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
:Let's let it run for now. If it works, great. If it needs tweaking, OK. If it becomes a dismal failure, we will celebrate its passing and move on. It would not be best to halt it or change it now that it's running. [[User:Dlohcierekim|<font color="#00ff00"> Dloh</font>]][[User_talk:Dlohcierekim|<font color="#bb00bb">cierekim''' </font>]] 02:24, 8 October 2008 (UTC)

::I don't care for the new format. The candidates are liekly to be swamped with questions before voting opens. [[User:Majoreditor|Majoreditor]] ([[User talk:Majoreditor|talk]]) 02:49, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
:::Sweet, I found the complaint department. This new format is in no way an improvement on the traditional format, and is regrettable in the way it cabins and stifles discussion. Rules like these are the reason WP:IAR exists. [[User:Townlake|Townlake]] ([[User talk:Townlake|talk]]) 03:10, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
:If the intention is to cut off questions after a certain point, then I too will never buy into this. Questions can and should arise throughout the process.---'''[[User:Balloonman|<font color="purple">Balloonman</font>]]''' ''[[User talk:Balloonman|<b><sup><small>PoppaBalloon</small></sup></b>]]'' 03:32, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
::Based on the discussed that happened on WT:RFA, additional questions and discussion are permitted after the voting period begins. [[User:Useight|Useight]] ([[User talk:Useight|talk]]) 03:59, 8 October 2008 (UTC)

I'm the SOB that proposed this change. My hope (not working out so far) is that people would ask questions like the one I did. I went through the contribution record, and found some things that troubled me. Instead of putting a !vote in, I've asked three questions so that I can understand his perspective on these issues. My concerns haven't got an enthusiastic userbase, so it's unlikely that I could have torched an entire RFA with one !oppose, but I've seen it happen. One guy votes !oppose, and 7 more say "!oppose per the first guy". If first guy asks a question, maybe there will be an answer. Maybe not. Can't hurt to ask.

If it turns out to be a pile of hypothetical questions with little relevance to the candidate and questionable relevance to Wikipedia in general, the experiment has failed.&mdash;[[User:Kww|Kww]]([[User talk:Kww|talk]]) 04:10, 8 October 2008 (UTC)

I feel like this encourages a pile-on of questions, which in reality we should be trying to avoid. I mean, if he starts getting "oppose per Q 2x", then that would be symbolic of a failure. I'm willing to give this method a shot, though I have no clue what's going to happen in practice. Granted, I've never been a fan of questions. [[User:Wizardman|<span style="color:#060">'''''Wizardman'''''</span>]] 05:06, 8 October 2008 (UTC)

==Move==
:Does anyone have a problem with me creating a subpage of Wikipedia talk:Requests for Adminship to move this to and act as a venue for post-mortem evaluation? Since it's already started here we may as well keep it all together, and I can see from the posted comments that some useful changes can already be implemented in the second of the three runs. [[User:Ironholds|<b style="color:#D3D3D3">Ir</b><b style="color:#A9A9A9">on</b><b style="color:#808080">ho</b>]][[User talk:Ironholds|<b style="color:#696969">ld</b><b style="color:#000">s</b>]] 00:26, 8 October 2008 (UTC)

== Voting before voting is supposed to begin ==

''<small>I moved this here from the main page as it's not related to Ironholds '''[[User:Naerii|<span style="font-size:15px;font-family:helvetica;color:#1693A5;">naerii</span>]]''' 01:26, 8 October 2008 (UTC)</small>''

I'm confused as to why RMHED has !voted neutral with this new format. The reason we are refraining from doing so is because we don't want to set a precedent for others without vetting the candidate adequately first. RM, could you elaborate for me? [[User:Wisdom89|'''<font color="#660000">Wisdom89</font>''']] <sub>([[User_talk:Wisdom89|<small><sub><font color="#17001E">T</font></sub></small>]] / [[Special:Contributions/Wisdom89|<small><sup><font color="#17001E">C</font></sup></small>]])</sub> 23:36, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
*My guess from the edit summary and his response on the talk page is he wants to see what we do in the 100% likely outcome that someone ignores a flashing red edit notice, a big sign, a section header and a giant crocodile and votes anyway. Do we remove it? Indent it? Ask politely? Ban for life? Move to voting early as people follow the leader? [[User:Protonk|Protonk]] ([[User talk:Protonk|talk]]) 23:45, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
**That very well may be - but now that the stance has moved into the oppose section when it explicitly requests that all editors should wait until the question and answer period has lapsed to cast their vote, I'm failing to see the motive behind it...especially since it reads "for now". If you are likely to change your mind, then you support or go neutral at the proper time. Even if someone has made up their mind already, why not just wait? I just don't see the point. [[User:Wisdom89|'''<font color="#660000">Wisdom89</font>''']] <sub>([[User_talk:Wisdom89|<small><sub><font color="#17001E">T</font></sub></small>]] / [[Special:Contributions/Wisdom89|<small><sup><font color="#17001E">C</font></sup></small>]])</sub> 00:56, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
***Yeah, I don't see the point either, but people do that in normal RFAs too. Is your issue with the 'for now' or the 'voting early' or both? '''[[User:Naerii|<span style="font-size:15px;font-family:helvetica;color:#1693A5;">naerii</span>]]''' 01:27, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
****Naerii, yes, I realize it's a fairly regular action in the normal format. I'm actually taking issue with both. 1.)I don't understand why (especially given this format) one finds it necessary to cast a tentative/mutable position and 2.)Why, if everyone participating is well aware, are people finding it necessary to respond so early? Your voice isn't going to be lost at any point during this process. [[User:Wisdom89|'''<font color="#660000">Wisdom89</font>''']] <sub>([[User_talk:Wisdom89|<small><sub><font color="#17001E">T</font></sub></small>]] / [[Special:Contributions/Wisdom89|<small><sup><font color="#17001E">C</font></sup></small>]])</sub> 02:24, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
**And it's been removed again. I'd feel better if RHMED did it himself, not another user. Also, this should probably be moved to the talk page. [[User:Wisdom89|'''<font color="#660000">Wisdom89</font>''']] <sub>([[User_talk:Wisdom89|<small><sub><font color="#17001E">T</font></sub></small>]] / [[Special:Contributions/Wisdom89|<small><sup><font color="#17001E">C</font></sup></small>]])</sub> 00:57, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
*Just let people !vote if they are ready too. I've missed the discussion that lead to this ridiculously tedious process, and I'm glad that I did. I do not need a Q/A forum to decide how I feel about an RfA on Wikipedia. I get enough debate talk from CNN. If users take the time to review an editor, as they should as a responsible community member, this dog and pony show is unnecessary. I'm sorry for the folks that feel a panel needs to be engaged in a discussion before the motion, but this is bureaucratic beyond belief. When are we going to institute [[Robert's Rules of Order]] in an RfA? We used to complain about people asking too many questions because most are unrelated to adminship or are rhetorically unsound. Now we are ''encouraging'' it? Good grief. [[User:Keegan|<font color="maroon">Keegan</font>]]<sup><small>[[User talk:Keegan|<font color="gray">talk</font>]]</small></sup> 01:52, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
**Blah blah blah, change is hard, suck it up and stop bitching.--[[User:KojiDude#(top)|<font color="00CD32">Koji</font>]][[User talk:KojiDude#(top)|<font color="green">Dude</font>]] [[Special:Contributions/KojiDude|<sup><font color="90EE90">(C)</font></sup>]] 01:58, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
***I'll say all I want and when I please, this has nothing to do with change but once again an inadequate solution to a problem that barely exists. If you bother to read my comment with respect and esteem rather than a knee-jerk "blah blah blah" rude answer, you'd see that my point is that format elevates a process of questions that has inheirently been the source of most discord in RfA over the past...at least 2 1/2 years, since the questions moved to the top. Don't be a [[WP:DICK|dick]], KojiDude. [[User:Keegan|<font color="maroon">Keegan</font>]]<sup><small>[[User talk:Keegan|<font color="gray">talk</font>]]</small></sup> 02:02, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
****I was thinking about reading your last post, but then I remembered how much of a gigantic time waster your last one was, and how much I wish I could have the 3 minutes of my life back that I used up processing that steaming pile of shit. I dunno, I have to go weigh my options here. This is definitly a mental road block. I'll sleep on it and get back to you. :-) --[[User:KojiDude#(top)|<font color="00CD32">Koji</font>]][[User talk:KojiDude#(top)|<font color="green">Dude</font>]] [[Special:Contributions/KojiDude|<sup><font color="90EE90">(C)</font></sup>]] 02:08, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
*****I certainly hope that was an attempt at a joke or sarcasm, and it failed at both. If you're looking for the [[WP:CIVIL|line to cross]], it is waaaayyyy behind you. In my five years here I have never been talked to with such disregard for communal civility. Congratulations on ruining any respect I had for you with that one post. [[User:Keegan|<font color="maroon">Keegan</font>]]<sup><small>[[User talk:Keegan|<font color="gray">talk</font>]]</small></sup> 02:12, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
******I do what I can.--[[User:KojiDude#(top)|<font color="00CD32">Koji</font>]][[User talk:KojiDude#(top)|<font color="green">Dude</font>]] [[Special:Contributions/KojiDude|<sup><font color="90EE90">(C)</font></sup>]] 02:13, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
<<undent>> Assuming that the Crat's are OK with this, then I'd say it's up to them to weigh the comments. It seems to me that we have two premature comments as acts of protest against this experimental format. We'll probably have more of them. My hope is that this does not lead to disruption and some sort of three ring circus. It is unfortunate that they have chosen this means to express their views. Far better, IMHO, to discuss views here than to make protest votes. I note their right to their opinions and move on. It saddens me that editors here are becoming overly heated.[[User:Dlohcierekim|<font color="#00ff00"> Dloh</font>]][[User_talk:Dlohcierekim|<font color="#bb00bb">cierekim''' </font>]] 02:15, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
*Thanks for the respectful reply, Dlohcierekim. One of the few lessons that my hippie mother taught me that I actually listened to was that the time to protest is when something is underway and still a tennis net- once it has passed, you are protesting against a wall. [[User:Keegan|<font color="maroon">Keegan</font>]]<sup><small>[[User talk:Keegan|<font color="gray">talk</font>]]</small></sup> 02:23, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
::You are welcome. I actually opposed the idea till I saw it running. This is the first major proposed change in RFA since it was done by mailing list. I have a lot of hope for it. Please, be patient. If it turns out to be a bad idea, we need not embrace it. Cheers, and happy editing. [[User:Dlohcierekim|<font color="#00ff00"> Dloh</font>]][[User_talk:Dlohcierekim|<font color="#bb00bb">cierekim''' </font>]] 02:30, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
Well, now we have one early support, one early oppose, and one early neutral. I say we leave it at that :P<br>In all seriousness though, this is an experiment. We must let it run at least once, just to see how it turns out. Let's not jump to conclusions right away. [[User:CountyLemonade|C]][[User talk:CountyLemonade|L]] — 02:47, 8 October 2008 (UTC)

== Let's just cool down ==

This is an experiment. It was undertaken due to consensus on a board that isn't exactly the WP watering hole. We should expect not a small number of people to be rightfully confused or angry at the change. '''It doesn't mean they are right'''. It also '''doesn't mean they are wrong'''. They aren't just supposed to suck it up and we aren't just supposed to accept all frustration as constructive criticism. I haven't been here long enough to see a major change to RfA but I have to imagine that this will be rocky. We may discover that these problems are real and insurmountable. We may discover that the response to the RfA hints at a lack of consensus to change the format. We may discover that we can solve these problems and that this RfA is basically an improvement.

While it is ongoing we don't do anyone any good by either reacting strongly ''in protest'' or ''to protest''. If we visibly shit on "Oppose per format" votes we could very well sink Ironholds' RfA in general. We could also lose out on what might be valid, actionable complaints.

Let's try to hash out real solutions to this problem. Options:

*Just make a note that says "if your vote is stamped in prior to X date, we won't count it"

*Indent votes in order to stop people from following along and voiding the purpose of the experiment.

*Accept this as a necessary sign of displeasure.

*Remove votes immediately. (Probably not the best idea).

There are other ideas. We just need to take each wrinkle as it comes and not accuse people of [[WP:POINT]] for testing the bounds of an experiment. We ''do'' have a responsibility to Ironholds to make sure that he doesn't become collateral damage but we also have to respect that this isn't the Main Page. Experimentation and testing of boundaries (especially in an experimental setting) is less problematic here than elsewhere. [[User:Protonk|Protonk]] ([[User talk:Protonk|talk]]) 02:48, 8 October 2008 (UTC)

Since editors at RfA often have a penchant for piling-on (it's easier to let other people do the homework/vetting/research), we should probably remove them with a note on their talk page informing them as to why. [[User:Wisdom89|'''<font color="#660000">Wisdom89</font>''']] <sub>([[User_talk:Wisdom89|<small><sub><font color="#17001E">T</font></sub></small>]] / [[Special:Contributions/Wisdom89|<small><sup><font color="#17001E">C</font></sup></small>]])</sub> 02:51, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
:I'd be happy to vote again once we're allowed to; I voted support just for the sake of balance. Of course, if someone else decides to vote early then we do have a problem [[Image:Face-grin.svg|20px]] However, I do agree with implementing the first and second options; this way, we still get to see what the early voters have said and it says that this won't be allowed. [[User:CountyLemonade|C]][[User talk:CountyLemonade|L]] — 02:56, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
::I think we should leave be. Removal will probably lead to more disruption and hard feelings. Since the start time is not till Saturday, their votes would probably not be counted-- depending on how the Crat's feel about this. Cheers, [[User:Dlohcierekim|<font color="#00ff00"> Dloh</font>]][[User_talk:Dlohcierekim|<font color="#bb00bb">cierekim''' </font>]] 02:57, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
*This experimental RfA is poorly thought out. Any new process that reduces the time people have to vote is a retrograde step. It also has no consensus and therefore the removal or negation of anyone's vote as suggested above would be akin to vandalism. The 'crats do not get to decide RfA process, the community does. [[User:RMHED|RMHED]] ([[User talk:RMHED|talk]]) 03:02, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
:RHMED has a valid point. The voting time should be kept the same. Cheers, [[User:Dlohcierekim|<font color="#00ff00"> Dloh</font>]][[User_talk:Dlohcierekim|<font color="#bb00bb">cierekim''' </font>]] 03:21, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
::He does but we also need to allow for some flexibility. We can let this monumental RfA review process come to a conclusion and see some approximate consensus, but what if that just shows people are upset about the RfA process but have no agreed solutions? This is experimental and if we want to move forward with an actual experiment we can't just say "only ask questions, please, or just vote instead", because that is just another RfA. I don't have a problem keeping the voting time about the same (7 and 7 is too long for questions). This is a little different from [[WP:BRD]] but we have to think about what we want this RfA to be rather than just saying that it doesn't have consensus, revert it. [[User:Protonk|Protonk]] ([[User talk:Protonk|talk]]) 03:31, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
*Just for the record I fully support the removal of !votes cast early, how are we supposed to see if this method is viable if a few editors blatantly disregard the instructions? In the end the real voting period will be seven full days so they reviewers are not being cheated out of time. <font color="#708090">[[user:Icewedge#|''Icewedge'']]</font> (<font color="2F4F4F">[[user talk:icewedge|''talk'']]</font>) 03:28, 8 October 2008 (UTC)

== Visibility of this discussion ==

Considering the importance of issues brought out here, should mention of this discussion made on other notice boards? [[User:Dlohcierekim|<font color="#00ff00"> Dloh</font>]][[User_talk:Dlohcierekim|<font color="#bb00bb">cierekim''' </font>]] 03:27, 8 October 2008 (UTC)

==Early "votes"==
I'm removing them since now isn't the time. They are perfectly appropriate for commenting though, so here is a good place. - [[User:Taxman|Taxman]] <sup><small>[[User talk:Taxman|Talk]]</small></sup> 03:31, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
*I've re-added them, you don't get to remove user's legitimate votes. The default RfA process is still operational this experiment is fine for those who wish to follow its rules, but there is no requirement to do so. [[User:RMHED|RMHED]] ([[User talk:RMHED|talk]]) 03:40, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
**...as all hell breaks loose. Great. [[User:CountyLemonade|C]][[User talk:CountyLemonade|L]] — 03:44, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
**Yes, we have choices about how to go about things. One is to consider the calmest course of action that will most likely help the articles of this encyclopedia improve. And then there are others that are more inflammatory and less likely to tend toward that goal. In my role as bureaucrat I am tasked with helping to make sure RfA runs smoothly and I'd like to make sure everyone has their say and that consensus is achieved. The old format is not sacrosanct and no one has a right to vote a certain way. I submit that the best course of action is for everyone to take a deep breath and consider the path that most directly leads to improving articles. Spread some wikilove instead of inflaming the situation by making emotional edits. - [[User:Taxman|Taxman]] <sup><small>[[User talk:Taxman|Talk]]</small></sup> 03:52, 8 October 2008 (UTC)

=====Support=====
Please do not voice a "support", "oppose", or "neutral" opinion until the question/discussion period is over; see disclaimer at the top of this RFA.
#Just to balance the early oppose and neutral votes. What the hell, apparently anything goes. [[User:CountyLemonade|C]][[User talk:CountyLemonade|L]] — 02:46, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
#:I started to, but overcame my rationale exuberance for the candidate. LOL. Cheers, [[User:Dlohcierekim|<font color="#00ff00"> Dloh</font>]][[User_talk:Dlohcierekim|<font color="#bb00bb">cierekim''' </font>]] 02:48, 8 October 2008 (UTC)

=====Oppose=====
Please do not voice a "support", "oppose", or "neutral" opinion until the question/discussion period is over; see disclaimer at the top of this RFA.
# For now. [[User:RMHED|RMHED]] ([[User talk:RMHED|talk]]) 23:57, 7 October 2008 (UTC)

=====Neutral=====
Please do not voice a "support", "oppose", or "neutral" opinion until the question/discussion period is over; see disclaimer at the top of this RFA.
#Screw the idea of "vetting" a candidate. This is politics at the worst, and I do not feel this format is in the candidate's best interest. Do not remove my !vote. [[User:Keegan|<font color="maroon">Keegan</font>]]<sup><small>[[User talk:Keegan|<font color="gray">talk</font>]]</small></sup> 01:56, 8 October 2008 (UTC)

=====Awesome=====
[[Image:718smiley.svg|right|100px]]
Please voice an "awesome" opinion at any time.
#For always. --[[User talk:NE2|NE2]] 03:54, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
#Ready[[User:Dlohcierekim|<font color="#00ff00"> Dloh</font>]][[User_talk:Dlohcierekim|<font color="#bb00bb">cierekim''' </font>]] 03:55, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
#NE2, I believe you have been using this awesome smiley ever since I directed a comment containing it to you. At the same time, you have been inconspicuously absent from editing Utah roads. Is this a new, secretive NE2? [[Image:Face-grin.svg|20px]] [[User:CountyLemonade|C]][[User talk:CountyLemonade|L]] — 03:58, 8 October 2008 (UTC)

=====[[Wikipedia:Requests for process|Request for process]]=====

If you feel this request needs to be properly processed, please vote below.

#Requires proper submission to the RfP committee. [[User:TimVickers|Tim Vickers]] ([[User talk:TimVickers|talk]]) 21:10, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
#Something needs to be done to get an enforceable decree, regardless of who's favor it's in.--[[User:KojiDude#(top)|<font color="00CD32">Koji</font>]][[User talk:KojiDude#(top)|<font color="green">Dude</font>]] [[Special:Contributions/KojiDude|<sup><font color="90EE90">(C)</font></sup>]] 21:18, 8 October 2008 (UTC)

===Continuing===
I continue to believe that early support, oppose, neutral opinions should be removed to the talk page. I don't believe in revert wars though so I'm not going to revert them out right now. It appears most people are comfortable taking them out so far, but some time for discussion is ok too. - [[User:Taxman|Taxman]] <sup><small>[[User talk:Taxman|Talk]]</small></sup> 04:35, 8 October 2008 (UTC)

== Tweaking suggestions ==

*I think the questioning period is too long. It could be shorter. RHMED is right-- the voting phase should be no shorter than before. The new format seems to separate discussion from voting-- how does that work? Consensus building discussion has taken the from of point-counter point voting. Separating them seems awkward.[[User:Dlohcierekim|<font color="#00ff00"> Dloh</font>]][[User_talk:Dlohcierekim|<font color="#bb00bb">cierekim''' </font>]] 03:38, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
*I agree. For a 2 week total time, how about 3 and 11? [[User:Protonk|Protonk]] ([[User talk:Protonk|talk]]) 04:31, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
:*Update, or, more in line with 2 weeks voting time, 3 and 14? Although I don't see what is sacred about 14 days. It's just a number. [[User:Protonk|Protonk]] ([[User talk:Protonk|talk]]) 04:33, 8 October 2008 (UTC)

== Please stop ==

This is about to turn into a wheel war-- please stop before we all regret it.[[User:Dlohcierekim|<font color="#00ff00"> Dloh</font>]][[User_talk:Dlohcierekim|<font color="#bb00bb">cierekim''' </font>]] 03:49, 8 October 2008 (UTC)

Premature support and oppose votes were removed by a bureaucrat. Have some respect for the attempt that is being made here to investigate a potentially superior alternative to the current system that many describe as broken. Don't sabotage this unnecessarily because you personally don't believe this is the best method. It may not be, but it may turn out to work better than the method we're currently using and I think it takes courage on the part of the candidate to be the guinea pig of this experiment. [[User:Avruch|<strong style="color:#000;background:#fff;border:0px solid #000">Avruch</strong>]][[User talk:Avruch|<sup><strong style="color:#000;background:#fff;border:0px solid #000"> T </strong></sup>]] 03:50, 8 October 2008 (UTC)

I cannot believe one editor has such contempt for the process that they are willing to willfully and stubbornly revert users to the stone-age. Have some respect for the candidate who politely requested this alternative. [[User:Wisdom89|'''<font color="#660000">Wisdom89</font>''']] <sub>([[User_talk:Wisdom89|<small><sub><font color="#17001E">T</font></sub></small>]] / [[Special:Contributions/Wisdom89|<small><sup><font color="#17001E">C</font></sup></small>]])</sub> 03:55, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
*You cannot insist that these new rules are followed, you can follow them voluntarily if you wish, but others are free to stick to the default RfA process and vote normally. [[User:RMHED|RMHED]] ([[User talk:RMHED|talk]]) 04:00, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
**If we do what you propose, RHMED, that defeats the purpose of having an experiment. How do we see if this new process is effective at all if we're not even fully implementing it solely for this RfA? [[User:CountyLemonade|C]][[User talk:CountyLemonade|L]] — 04:02, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
<ec>::Would it not be better to not partake at all? Surely it could not be worth the aggravation. Cheers, [[User:Dlohcierekim|<font color="#00ff00"> Dloh</font>]][[User_talk:Dlohcierekim|<font color="#bb00bb">cierekim''' </font>]] 04:03, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
::(ec)that's not the point. The point is that this is an ostensible change in format and style that was initiated by the candidate and discussed with many editors. You are disturbing the process made in good faith by willfully disregarding these wishes. [[User:Wisdom89|'''<font color="#660000">Wisdom89</font>''']] <sub>([[User_talk:Wisdom89|<small><sub><font color="#17001E">T</font></sub></small>]] / [[Special:Contributions/Wisdom89|<small><sup><font color="#17001E">C</font></sup></small>]])</sub> 04:04, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
::As intimated above, how on earth do we look at this objectively as an experiment when editors choose to pay no heed? [[User:Wisdom89|'''<font color="#660000">Wisdom89</font>''']] <sub>([[User_talk:Wisdom89|<small><sub><font color="#17001E">T</font></sub></small>]] / [[Special:Contributions/Wisdom89|<small><sup><font color="#17001E">C</font></sup></small>]])</sub> 04:05, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
:::Icewedge and I have been having a lovely chat about the candidate [[Wikipedia:Requests_for_adminship/Ironholds_2#Discussion|here]]. Would anyone like to join us? [[User:Dlohcierekim|<font color="#00ff00"> Dloh</font>]][[User_talk:Dlohcierekim|<font color="#bb00bb">cierekim''' </font>]] 04:14, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
:RHMED, I understand your point but I don't think we benefit from being stubborn. Arguing that the removal of the vote is in violation of the rules and that you haven't seen the rules change is pretty confrontational. The local consensus at the RFA talk page was to try this experiment. In order for it to be worth anything (although arguably this whole discussion is valuable), early voting can't happen. Otherwise it is just another RfA. In saying that you want to keep your vote there, you are saying that the whole discussion at WT:RFA was not worth anything. I don't want to browbeat you into changing your mind but I invite you to consider it. Please. There is a ''real'' risk of the RfA process being frozen in place if this is the sort of reaction to changes undertaken as an experiment. Let's try this and discuss it. Let's not actively try to make it worse. [[User:Protonk|Protonk]] ([[User talk:Protonk|talk]]) 04:31, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
::<blockquote>''The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere<br/>The ceremony of innocence is drowned;<br/>The best lack all conviction, while the worst<br/>Are full of passionate intensity...''</blockquote>
::If a large number are in agreement that a process has problems associated with it, and then we as a community are vehemently opposed to even minor change to that process, then surely we resign ourselves to the rising trend of discontent and disillusionment? Let it run its course, and we can debate its futility afterwards. <font color="#FF0000">[[User:Haza-w|'''haz''']]</font> <font size="1">([[User_talk:Haza-w|talk]])</font> 07:52, 8 October 2008 (UTC)

===Please Note===
I tweaked the wording of the pre-vote discussion (though it's not a vote?), removing the "many fine" preface to contributions. I have been vocal on this RfA talk page, but this edit was strictly procedural and one I would have made to any RfA. Just a heads up that this had malice toward none. [[User:Keegan|<font color="maroon">Keegan</font>]]<sup><small>[[User talk:Keegan|<font color="gray">talk</font>]]</small></sup> 05:21, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
:No prob. I just wanted a line between the procedural discussion and the candidate discussion. Just too tired to get it right the first time. cheers, [[User:Dlohcierekim|<font color="#00ff00"> Dloh</font>]][[User_talk:Dlohcierekim|<font color="#bb00bb">cierekim''' </font>]] 13:25, 8 October 2008 (UTC)


== Opposes based on participating in an experiment ==
== Opinions on format ==


Come on, these are some of the most ludicrous, barrel-scraping opposes I have seen. The fact that the candidate was encouraged and thanked for being a participant in this experiment on [[WT:RFA]] itself (a thread none of these opposes seem to have noticed) clearly shows that he wasn't acting solely on his own judgement, but with the support of a number of RfA regulars themselves. These opposes aren't against the candidate. These are opposes against the very concept of a group of contributors trying to change a process in order to improve it. These are opposes which, if taken seriously, seek to stifle any kind of innovation or change in an attempt to improve the way WP works. These are opposes which, in my opinion, should be discarded. Many thanks, '''''[[User:Gazimoff|<span style="color:green;">Gazi</span>]][[User talk:Gazimoff|<span style="color:blue;">moff</span>]]''''' 09:33, 11 October 2008 (UTC)
(As distinct from opinion on Ironholds which will come when I'm allowed to.)
:I agree but I would prefer not to discuss it here. Let the closing crat sort it out, I am quite confident that the outcome will be the same as when someone gets opposed on a normal RfA based on the fact that the opposer thinks the system is broken. But I fear by posting this here you opened the arena for a big discussion about those !votes and about those who !voted that way. Maybe [[WP:BN]] would have been a better place, although, as I said, I doubt the crats need such a reminder. '''[[User:SoWhy|<span style="font-variant:small-caps; color: #AC0000">So</span>]][[User talk:SoWhy|<span style="font-variant:small-caps; color: #1F3F53">Why</span>]]''' 11:08, 11 October 2008 (UTC)


== Explanation ==
This sucks. You get a week to look through a candidate's work, and there's no requirement to vote in the first half hour of the RfA (despite what some people will tell you). If you really can't judge a candidate in seven days, there's a problem, but I don't think it's with the RfA system. [[User:Giggy|Giggy]] ([[User talk:Giggy|talk]]) 11:41, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
:Agree. <s>This really sucks!</s> [[User:AdjustShift|AdjustShift]] ([[User talk:AdjustShift|talk]]) 15:08, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
:Why four days are given to ask questions and review candidates? When a candidate is editing, we can review her. We can decide what she is doing right and what she is doing wrong. Two days are enough to ask questions and review candidates. [[User:AdjustShift|AdjustShift]] ([[User talk:AdjustShift|talk]]) 15:16, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
::Then suggest that, don't just go "this all sucks". We're planning on doing a post-mortem and one of the common suggestions so far has been shorter questioning time; if that's your sole complaint then there's no need to go "this whole format sucks" when that's something easily fixeable in the future. [[User:Ironholds|<b style="color:#D3D3D3">Ir</b><b style="color:#A9A9A9">on</b><b style="color:#808080">ho</b>]][[User talk:Ironholds|<b style="color:#696969">ld</b><b style="color:#000">s</b>]] 16:13, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
:::Thanks for the respectful reply, I've strikeout "This really sucks!". [[User:AdjustShift|AdjustShift]] ([[User talk:AdjustShift|talk]]) 16:56, 8 October 2008 (UTC)


I feel an explanation is needed for my oppose, so I'll give one as best as I can. I'm writing it here so it'll be easier to read.
== Random thought ==


First off, I wish to apologize to everyone for any drama that has come/may continue to come out of my oppose: it was not my intention to cause a storm, and even more so due to the nature of this RfA.
If the crats want to enforce "no voting" here perhaps the acceptance/nom, Q&A and discussion sections should be transcluded in the middle, and the RFA itself (including the voting section at the bottom) protected against editing until it "opens"? I don't see how else you'll stop people voting. <font color="0D670D" face="Georgia, Helvetica">[[User:Rootology|rootology]]</font> (<font color="#156917">[[Special:Contributions/Rootology|C]]</font>)(<font color="#156917">[[User talk:Rootology|T]]</font>) 17:22, 8 October 2008 (UTC)


Secondly, I hold no ill-will or grudges against Ironholds: I am not a fan of grudges, and I can assure everyone that my oppose was intended to give my concern about why I was not comfortable with Ironholds being an admin ''at this stage'': it was not done to torpedo his request and/or to "get even" over something.
== trick question ==


Thirdly, as for why I did not bring up those concerns in the discussion period, it was because I was trying to find a good way to bring them up ''without'' looking as though I was trying to sink this request. I then felt that bringing up the concerns all up at once in a single oppose, rather than in bits and keep asking "Why did you do this? This? This?", would be better. I was wrong, and I fear I may have helped sink this type of RfA format...and I do feel bad over that. Even now, I'm not happy with the entire way I wrote my oppose: I had to reword it several times to make it as civil and as least harsh as possible, and still, I perhaps could have written it better.
TimVickers brought up privately something i'd been thinking about xenocidic's question; admins aren't meant to do ''anything'' with their own blocks; isn't this a bit of a trick question? [[User:Ironholds|<b style="color:#D3D3D3">Ir</b><b style="color:#A9A9A9">on</b><b style="color:#808080">ho</b>]][[User talk:Ironholds|<b style="color:#696969">ld</b><b style="color:#000">s</b>]] 19:21, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
:Technically admins aren't supposed to decline unblock requests from their own unblocks but they can certainly grant them... –<font face="Verdana">[[User:Xenocidic|<font color="black">'''xeno'''</font>]] ([[User talk:Xenocidic|<font color="black">talk</font>]])</font> 19:23, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
::You get the point, though. [[User:Ironholds|<b style="color:#D3D3D3">Ir</b><b style="color:#A9A9A9">on</b><b style="color:#808080">ho</b>]][[User talk:Ironholds|<b style="color:#696969">ld</b><b style="color:#000">s</b>]] 19:24, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
:::This is why the question is phrased "how would you respond...?" rather than "would you grant/deny the unblock request?" FWIW I don't believe many people fault candidates for not knowing that admins should not decline their own unblock requests - it's something most people (this writer included) learn(ed) on the job. –<font face="Verdana">[[User:Xenocidic|<font color="black">'''xeno'''</font>]] ([[User talk:Xenocidic|<font color="black">talk</font>]])</font> 19:26, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
::::Fair enough. I'm constantly learning new things anyway (although mainly cute little syntax commands). [[User:Ironholds|<b style="color:#D3D3D3">Ir</b><b style="color:#A9A9A9">on</b><b style="color:#808080">ho</b>]][[User talk:Ironholds|<b style="color:#696969">ld</b><b style="color:#000">s</b>]] 19:28, 8 October 2008 (UTC)


I will recuse myself from further participation if it is deemed necessary. [[User:Acalamari|Acalamari]] 18:59, 11 October 2008 (UTC)
== Support both the experiment and the nomination ==
*To summarise the above statement: ''Dear Ironholds I'm sorry I kicked you in the balls, it really wasn't deliberate. I was aiming for your stomach, but mistimed my run-up'' [[User:RMHED|RMHED]] ([[User talk:RMHED|talk]]) 19:34, 11 October 2008 (UTC)
::Inappropriate comment. Much like your oppose. Please, tone it down. ''Way'' down. -- [[User:How do you turn this on|<span style="font-family:Times New Roman; color:white; background:gray;">how&nbsp;do&nbsp;you&nbsp;turn&nbsp;this&nbsp;on</span>]] 19:36, 11 October 2008 (UTC)
:::Really? I thought it rather pithy. [[User:RMHED|RMHED]] ([[User talk:RMHED|talk]]) 19:38, 11 October 2008 (UTC)
:Like you did anything wrong Acalamari. Some people just can't grasp the fact that (shock horror) someone out there might disagree with them. '''[[User:Naerii|<span style="font-size:15px;font-family:helvetica;color:#1693A5;">naerii</span>]]''' 19:48, 11 October 2008 (UTC)
::You are quite correct Acalamari did nothing wrong. He did everything exactly right, timed to perfection in fact. [[User:RMHED|RMHED]] ([[User talk:RMHED|talk]]) 19:58, 11 October 2008 (UTC)
:::It's rather obvious this "test" hasn't worked. -- [[User:How do you turn this on|<span style="font-family:Times New Roman; color:white; background:gray;">how&nbsp;do&nbsp;you&nbsp;turn&nbsp;this&nbsp;on</span>]] 19:56, 11 October 2008 (UTC)
::::Well if the purpose of this 'test' is to try and eliminate perfectly reasonable opposes then yes, thank God, it's failed. '''[[User:Naerii|<span style="font-size:15px;font-family:helvetica;color:#1693A5;">naerii</span>]]''' 21:27, 11 October 2008 (UTC)
:i think you gig fine... you are under no obligation to raise concerns in the q/a period. the only people who are upset are those that want a perfect world---which won't happen. people can produce evidence at any point...---'''[[User:Balloonman|<span style="color:purple;">Balloonman</span>]]''' ''[[User talk:Balloonman|<b><sup><small>PoppaBalloon</small></sup></b>]]'' 20:59, 11 October 2008 (UTC)
::FFS this isn't a trial, it's just a sodding RfA on a website that takes itself wayyyyyy too seriously. [[User:RMHED|RMHED]] ([[User talk:RMHED|talk]]) 23:17, 11 October 2008 (UTC)
:I think everything went fine as well, nothing will ever be perfect and you don't need to apologize, you still followed the rules. --[[User:Banime|Banime]] ([[User talk:Banime|talk]]) 21:18, 11 October 2008 (UTC)


:As I was the main responder to your oppose, I feel the need to comment further.<br />No drama here, I think. Similarly, I see no need for a recusation. :) Your oppose was legitimate, especially since it was supported by evidence. Nor do I (or most here) think you have a grudge; that would be assuming bad faith, and I know I wasn't when I responded.<br />I think bringing up those concerns during the discussion period would have been much preferable as opposed to being the second oppose. It gives him some time to say (if this is what he were to say), "uh oh, I screwed up. I'll tone it down, and if I don't, come talk to me about it," or maybe "I fully and completely support my responses in those cases," etc. I think you could have asked all the questions in one question, or in parts of a question, or possibly with something like the question [[WP:Requests for adminship/Ironholds 2#Questions 41-50|that jc37 asked]] as a capstone to your paragraphs, rather than as a set of questions which are so specific to the candidate, that they are more or less "wtf?". However, as noted above, this isn't a perfect world, and so we'll just have to live with what happened, and wait to see if Ironholds passes. --[[User:Izno|Izno]] ([[User talk:Izno|talk]]) 22:41, 11 October 2008 (UTC)
One of the best things about this experiment is that the use of the RfA ''talk page'' is being encouraged: RfA talk pages tend to be frequently and woefully underused. I will also support the nomination as [[Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/Ironholds|before]]: I think he'll be a good admin when he gets there. — [[User:Athaenara|Athaenara]] [[User talk:Athaenara| ✉ ]] 20:22, 8 October 2008 (UTC)
:If people really want to reform RfA they should be supporting at [[Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/Krm500]], an RfA of a perfectly good candidate who is receiving a ridiculous amount of completely empty and baseless opposes. The only way to reform is to change attitudes (and that means your attitude too! don't just wait for everyone else to change their stance). Simply rearranging the discussion in a different way will do nothing. '''[[User:Naerii|<span style="font-size:15px;font-family:helvetica;color:#1693A5;">naerii</span>]]''' 16:51, 12 October 2008 (UTC)
:Thanks :). I've no idea if, if this catches on, the talk page will continue to be used as much as it is here (much of the conversation is this is a good idea/this is a bad idea and related topics) but it makes a change. It could possibly in future be used for the "discussion" section if that's expected to become massive. [[User:Ironholds|<b style="color:#D3D3D3">Ir</b><b style="color:#A9A9A9">on</b><b style="color:#808080">ho</b>]][[User talk:Ironholds|<b style="color:#696969">ld</b><b style="color:#000">s</b>]] 20:25, 8 October 2008 (UTC)


== Who opposes more than Kurt ==
::It's an interesting comment in that I think it could help in determining the way to go from each RfA that's held in this manner. It might end up that we need more than 2 RfAs to continue tweaking the process. I personally disagree with the "discussion" section being moved to the talk page, as that is oft what happens to contentious arguments that break out on the main page. --[[User:Izno|Izno]] ([[User talk:Izno|talk]]) 21:42, 8 October 2008 (UTC)


#:I knew we'd get [[User:Kmweber|Kurt]] back at RfA one way or another! <small>(No, I'm not having fun at Kurt's expense&mdash;I have been, on the whole, a strong supporter of his and would not make light of his having been forced [untowardly] to elect to refrain from editing in project space for a period if I did not imagine that he would not mind or were I not sure that my comment would be understood in the jocular fashion in which it is offered; I suppose, though, that any joke that requires so much qualification or explanation must be other than funny.)</small> [[User:Jahiegel|Joe]] 06:31, 12 October 2008 (UTC)
== Questionable question ==
#::Actually, Kurt opposed about 94% of the RfA's he commented on... there is a person who has contributed to almost 600 RfA's and has a 99% oppose rate! Anybody know who that is?---'''[[User:Balloonman|<span style="color:purple;">Balloonman</span>]]''' ''[[User talk:Balloonman|<b><sup><small>PoppaBalloon</small></sup></b>]]'' 06:44, 12 October 2008 (UTC)
#:::No. But maybe he/she is one only to vote when they see something wrong in the candidate and will leave the supporting to the regular voters. [[Special:Contributions/220.239.56.131|220.239.56.131]] ([[User talk:220.239.56.131|talk]]) 08:38, 12 October 2008 (UTC)
#:::Yes, Balloonman: that would be [[User:Boothy443]]. That's why I coined the term '''''"[[User:OwenX#Wikiholic.27s_Dictionary|get the Booth]]'''''". [[User:OwenX|Owen&times;]] [[User talk:OwenX|<big>&#9742;</big>]] 12:53, 12 October 2008 (UTC)
#::::Actually, Booth only opposes about 83% of the time and has only participated in about 150 total RfA's... Kurt was at 94% and opposed 155 RfA's. The person I'm thinking of has OPPOSED 589 candidates while supporting only 8!---'''[[User:Balloonman|<span style="color:purple;">Balloonman</span>]]''' ''[[User talk:Balloonman|<b><sup><small>PoppaBalloon</small></sup></b>]]'' 15:54, 12 October 2008 (UTC)
#:::::Is it Masssiveego? -- [[User:How do you turn this on|<span style="font-family:Times New Roman; color:white; background:gray;">how&nbsp;do&nbsp;you&nbsp;turn&nbsp;this&nbsp;on</span>]] 15:58, 12 October 2008 (UTC)
#:::::No, it isn't. Nevermind. -- [[User:How do you turn this on|<span style="font-family:Times New Roman; color:white; background:gray;">how&nbsp;do&nbsp;you&nbsp;turn&nbsp;this&nbsp;on</span>]] 16:01, 12 October 2008 (UTC)
#::::::(ec)Nope, Masssiveego opposes about 88% and has contributed in about 150 RfA's. The person I am thinking of is somebody who, frankly, I didn't realize had nearly as many contributions as he does.---'''[[User:Balloonman|<span style="color:purple;">Balloonman</span>]]''' ''[[User talk:Balloonman|<b><sup><small>PoppaBalloon</small></sup></b>]]'' 16:03, 12 October 2008 (UTC)
#:::::::Do you know who it is? -- [[User:How do you turn this on|<span style="font-family:Times New Roman; color:white; background:gray;">how&nbsp;do&nbsp;you&nbsp;turn&nbsp;this&nbsp;on</span>]] 16:05, 12 October 2008 (UTC)
#::::::::Jimbo. I knew it was a big deal! ;-) [[User:Hiberniantears|Hiberniantears]] ([[User talk:Hiberniantears|talk]]) 16:07, 12 October 2008 (UTC)
#:::::::::LOL! Of course it's Jimbo... er not... but yes, I do know who it is... but I'm curious as to who else people think it might be before revealing it. On the flip side, there is a person who has SUPPORTED 571 times and only opposed 14 times... anybody know who that person is? ---'''[[User:Balloonman|<span style="color:purple;">Balloonman</span>]]''' ''[[User talk:Balloonman|<b><sup><small>PoppaBalloon</small></sup></b>]]'' 16:15, 12 October 2008 (UTC)
#:::::::::Oh Crap... the person who I wrote down as oppossing 589 didn't oppose 589 times... the tool couldn't parse his opposes 589 times!!! The worst person to oppose, that I've looked at thus... was kurt... others have opposed more, but they support more too.---'''[[User:Balloonman|<span style="color:purple;">Balloonman</span>]]''' ''[[User talk:Balloonman|<b><sup><small>PoppaBalloon</small></sup></b>]]'' 16:19, 12 October 2008 (UTC)
#:::::::::I'm guessing the person who has supported 571 times is Siva1979. [[User:Wisdom89|'''<span style="color:#660000;">Wisdom89</span>''']] <sub>([[User_talk:Wisdom89|<small><sub><span style="color:#17001E;">T</span></sub></small>]] / [[Special:Contributions/Wisdom89|<small><sup><span style="color:#17001E;">C</span></sup></small>]])</sub> 16:34, 12 October 2008 (UTC)
#::::::::::No, I don't think it was him. -- [[User:How do you turn this on|<span style="font-family:Times New Roman; color:white; background:gray;">how&nbsp;do&nbsp;you&nbsp;turn&nbsp;this&nbsp;on</span>]] 18:11, 12 October 2008 (UTC)
#:::::::::::I'll narrow it down significantly, the person who has supported 571 times and opposed only 14 times has opposed THIS RfA (Which I don't know if is part of the 14 or if this RfA makes 15.)---'''[[User:Balloonman|<span style="color:purple;">Balloonman</span>]]''' ''[[User talk:Balloonman|<b><sup><small>PoppaBalloon</small></sup></b>]]'' 22:31, 12 October 2008 (UTC)
#:Wizardman? Erik the [[User:Erik the Red 2|<span style="color:red;">Red</span>]] 2 <small>[[User talk:Erik the Red 2|<span style="color:green;">~~</span>]][[Special:Contributions/Erik the Red 2|<span style="color:blue;">~~</span>]]</small> 22:33, 12 October 2008 (UTC)
#::Does it matter? ;p [[User:Ironholds|Ironholds]] ([[User talk:Ironholds|talk]]) 22:35, 12 October 2008 (UTC)
#:::Ultimately no... just some statistical curiosities.... Wizardman has participated in close to 500 RFA's but he's about 75% support.---'''[[User:Balloonman|<span style="color:purple;">Balloonman</span>]]''' ''[[User talk:Balloonman|<b><sup><small>PoppaBalloon</small></sup></b>]]'' 22:37, 12 October 2008 (UTC)
#::::I know - Acalamari! But yeah, as Ironholds says, does it matter? (in the context of this RFA) Maybe this should get moved to RFA talk? -- [[User:How do you turn this on|<span style="font-family:Times New Roman; color:white; background:gray;">how&nbsp;do&nbsp;you&nbsp;turn&nbsp;this&nbsp;on</span>]] 22:38, 12 October 2008 (UTC)
== I'm posting this here, since any kind of reply on the main request will be lost completely ==


*Well, I congratulate Ironholds for being bold to test a new RfA format, but I have some reasons to oppose this request. To begin with, I came across [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Requests_for_adminship/Tutthoth-Ankhre&diff=prev&oldid=237738524 this oppose] which, in my opinion, was incredibly biting, as were [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Requests_for_adminship/HappyCat12&diff=prev&oldid=232382762 these] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Requests_for_adminship/Borgarde&diff=prev&oldid=235634923 two]. [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Requests_for_adminship/Everyking_4&diff=prev&oldid=234564028 This oppose], like a couple of the ones I mentioned above, was unnecessarily uncivil. I also came across a few other opposes that came across as aggressive in tone and/or lack the assumptions of good faith on behalf of the said candidates: [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Requests_for_adminship/Islaammaged126_5&diff=prev&oldid=229101527][http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Requests_for_adminship/MrKIA11&diff=prev&oldid=228824923][http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Requests_for_adminship/Derfboy&diff=prev&oldid=227875883] I'm also not happy with an event surrounding Ironholds' last RfA: two weeks prior to it, he [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Requests_for_adminship/Izzy007_2&diff=prev&oldid=215249287 tells another editor to wait to be nominated, and that is what he (Ironholds) was planning to do], yet he goes against his own advice and [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Requests_for_adminship/Ironholds&diff=prev&oldid=218201928 self-nominates]: I do not consider that to be good judgment. On top of my other concerns, I have two more: I came across [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User%3AIronholds&diff=220374008&oldid=220334107 this], an inappropriate hidden comment on his user page, and is still on his user page as of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User%3AIronholds&diff=229852298&oldid=225894980 most recent edit] (note that the most recent edit may change during the course of this RfA). Lastly, note in the first part of how I congratulate Ironholds for running in an experimental RfA? Well, ''I still do'' congratulate him, but I noticed part of his reasons for opposing two other candidates, [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Requests_for_adminship/Ali%27i&diff=prev&oldid=219111868 Ali'i] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Requests_for_adminship/Mr._IP&diff=prev&oldid=229634944 Mr. IP]: in Ali'i, he mentioned, "''In addition, applying to prove a point makes a mockery of the process. Yes, admins are technically no more important than users, but RfA in a way shows the quality and quantity of your contributions to Wikipedia; debasing that to prove a point is almost disruptive."'': the RfA for Ali'i was somewhat of an experimental one, and Ironholds partially opposed her on that basis. As for Mr. IP, I found that more worrying; Ironholds' entire rationale was: "''Oppose. This RfA does nothing but disrupt the process and create DRAMAH. If you want to test the RfA policy then you can contribute to the discussions about overhauling it, not waste peoples time here. By posting this RfA as a "test" you've proven yourself an inappropriate admin candidate.''" That oppose was uncivil, which was bad enough, and now that Ironholds himself is running in a "test" RfA, after accusing two other people of “disruption” and/or “DRAMAH” for doing the same/similiar thing, and he has not followed his own words. Suffice to say, I am not comfortable with Ironholds' judgment for the time being. [[User:Acalamari|Acalamari]] 01:57, 11 October 2008 (UTC)
[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia%3ARequests_for_adminship%2FIronholds_2&diff=244034270&oldid=243993993 Is it just me, or is this out of bounds?] Has this shown up in his editing here-to-fore? If no, I think this question is unreasonable. [[User:Dlohcierekim|<font color="#00ff00"> Dloh</font>]][[User_talk:Dlohcierekim|<font color="#bb00bb">cierekim''' </font>]] 01:06, 9 October 2008 (UTC)
#The first oppose wasn't, in my opinion (not that that counts as much) bitey. "But listen. Jimbo Wales said the Adminship is no big deal. So why not? I leave you there." is pretty much an "annoying statement". ""Adminship is not a big deal" does not translate to "lets give everyone with 100 edits the banhammer". " is perfectly accurate, and there is little hyperbole involved; the user in question had 180 mainspace edits.
:It is a bit border-y, but I don't mind it being asked. It is at least related to my ability to edit, which is more than some questions I've seen in my time. I think in future, however, this should be one of the ones candidates can bow out of (rather than the current "you don't have to answer, but the unwritten rule is we'll oppose if you don't") form of "bowing out". [[User:Ironholds|Ironholds]] ([[User talk:Ironholds|talk]]) 01:13, 9 October 2008 (UTC)
#The second oppose is bitey, fair enough; I'm not going to make "not a good day" excuses; people going for it without reading any of the associated material annoy me greatly (which I did a couple of times, and still make me mentally hit myself). The third oppose is not in the least part biting; the candidate was exactly what it says on the box, and the internet is a difficult place to transmit emotive content; one man's honesty is another man's rudeness. The same applies to Derfboy's RfA, for that matter; "you've got 30 edits. I recommend you withdraw it, this is never going to pass" is honesty, not rudeness.
I see this not in the context of a single RFA-- I liked your answer-- but in the broader sense. This crosses a line that should not be crossed. If it does not affect one's editing, it should not be an issue at RFA. Cheers, [[User:Dlohcierekim|<font color="#00ff00"> Dloh</font>]][[User_talk:Dlohcierekim|<font color="#bb00bb">cierekim''' </font>]] 01:16, 9 October 2008 (UTC)
#The oppose per... experimental nature were from around 3 months ago, and people can (suprisingly) change. Voting oppose based on a user not assuming good faith in candidates while at the same time not assuming good faith within your oppose is hypocritical at best (although I appreciate you're not running for admin).
::My general thought is that if someone has rapid-cycling manic depression or similar and is subject to wild mood swings every couple of months we'd see it in the contributions. And another issue; if someone's perspective is distorted, do you expect them to not just lie? Nobody can really ''check''; heck, it's only due to my mentioning it dans la userboxen that it even became semi-public knowledge. [[User:Ironholds|Ironholds]] ([[User talk:Ironholds|talk]]) 01:20, 9 October 2008 (UTC)
**While I appreciate you didn't want to cripple this experiment, and may have held back because you felt it would be bad to post in dribs and drabs, the fact of the matter is that users who did find things they took issue with posted all in one load (or in dribs and drabs) and I had ''no trouble or issue with answering these'', something which could've been detected from the first to fourth days of the RfA. If other users are doing it and I take no issue with that, surely common sense says that I would have no problem with you posting those differences; the fact that you were trying to work out a way to bring them up "without looking as though I was trying to sink this request" even while posting the oppose shows you understand the damage they could do through the conventional RfA method (one of the main things we're trying to reform) and yet ''Still'' failed to bring it up. You have done nothing against any kind of "rule", and you're completely allowed to post differences in that format, but the fact that you knew it was an experimental RfA designed with such things in mind, could clearly see that differences such as yours were being brought up in the discussion in numbers with no ill-will from the candidate, was perfectly aware such differences could "torpedo" an RfA if brought up normally and yet ''did nothing to bring them up during the question stage'' is incredibly frustrating. [[User:Ironholds|Ironholds]] ([[User talk:Ironholds|talk]]) 21:40, 12 October 2008 (UTC)
:Sorry if the question was out of line. This is the first RfA I have participated in. My question involved something that he brought up on his user page, I referenced a specific essay dealing with POV, and it seemed relevant to his ability to contribute to the project. I read through the list of issues not to bring up in RfA, and I didn't see anything that would indicate this was off-limits. I was very impressed by his answer. [[User:Wronkiew|Wronkiew]] ([[User talk:Wronkiew|talk]]) 01:25, 9 October 2008 (UTC)
***The thing is, after reading your response I don't feel any differently and I still believe that you'd be a poor admin. If Acalamari hadn't posted those diffs I certainly would have, as I'd already decided to oppose you around five minutes after you'd posted the request. Does that make me a bad person? Am I contributing to the 'flaws' of RfA by thinking that you'd make a bad admin right now and not being particularly interested in discussing it? It's funny; during the questions phase I did draw up a comment about your behaviour at RfA and was about to post it when I changed my mind. It felt really pointless; "hey guys, I have issues with the way that Ironholds frequently opposes RfAs". And then what - you'd have said what you said above and then another dozen people would have chimed in with what ''they'' felt about it (which would have been particularly irrelevant as I don't much give a crap about other people's opinion on the matter). I really doubt it would have made a difference to your RfA, as people who don't think you'd make a good admin would have opposed you regardless of whether it was posted in the questions phase or the voting phase. You'd be making a big mistake to blame the imminent failure of this RfA on Acalamari's oppose or "pile-on" voters. Perhaps if you were a bit more civil and thoughtful when commenting on other people's requests then you wouldn't have to resort to an editor-review-cum-rfa in order to pass? After all, you're only really receiving the treatment I've seen you give to others many, many times. I have a big problem with the fact that people who are making perfectly reasonable opposes are being castigated as if they alone are the cause of the flaws in RfA. If you are a bad candidate you will be opposed; deal with it. '''[[User:Naerii|<span style="font-size:15px;font-family:helvetica;color:#1693A5;">naerii</span>]]''' 22:39, 12 October 2008 (UTC)
::Well I ''personally'' didn't find it out-of-line, but then I've always been fairly open to people about being a slight nutjob. I think it's probably something that the majority of candidates would find offensive, though (although I don't expect the majority of candidates have addled brains). [[User:Ironholds|Ironholds]] ([[User talk:Ironholds|talk]]) 01:29, 9 October 2008 (UTC)
::::Again, people are not under any obligation to raise questions during the QA. And I think his oppose does a great job of illustrating how this method doesn't avoid any of the problems previously expressed---but only highlighted the thing I find least helpful in RfA's---the Questions.---'''[[User:Balloonman|<span style="color:purple;">Balloonman</span>]]''' ''[[User talk:Balloonman|<b><sup><small>PoppaBalloon</small></sup></b>]]'' 22:42, 12 October 2008 (UTC)
If you choose to post [[WP:NOT#MYSPACE|personal information]] on your user page, it's fair game. If you don't want it to be fair game, don't mention it on your user page. The question is completely fine; it is also optional, and the candidate could have declined it. [[User:Townlake|Townlake]] ([[User talk:Townlake|talk]]) 01:41, 9 October 2008 (UTC)
:::I take it that's a general comment rather than one directed as me as a candidate in particular, since my opinion in the matter is along the same lines as yours. [[User:Ironholds|Ironholds]] ([[User talk:Ironholds|talk]]) 01:45, 9 October 2008 (UTC)
::::Correct; that was meant to be a generic "you." Apologies for any confusion. [[User:Townlake|Townlake]] ([[User talk:Townlake|talk]]) 01:47, 9 October 2008 (UTC)
:::::No confusion per se; I'd assumed from your point of view that it wouldn't be a specific one, I just wanted to make sure. [[User:Ironholds|Ironholds]] ([[User talk:Ironholds|talk]]) 01:48, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

Latest revision as of 11:00, 22 March 2023

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Edit count for Ironholds[edit]

User:Ironholds

   run at Tue Oct 7 18:06:39 2008 GMT

   Category talk:         1
   Category:              17
   Image talk:            1
   Image:                 2
   Mainspace              5730
   Portal talk:           1
   Portal:                1
   Talk:                  130
   Template talk:         60
   Template:              15
   User talk:             2835
   User:                  754
   Wikipedia talk:        80
   Wikipedia:             923
   avg edits per page     1.54
   earliest               19:46, 2 April 2008
   number of unique pages 6829
   total                  10550

   2008/4  1450
   2008/5  2027
   2008/6  2424
   2008/7  1873
   2008/8  1453
   2008/9  810
   2008/10 513

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                      Mainspace
   38 [2]List of Stewards of the Manor of Northstead
   19 [3]Chief Justice of the Common Pleas
   15 [4]Pure Reason Revolution
   12 [5]Mark Kirk
   11 [6]Nower Hill High School
   11 [7]Vesper bat
   8  [8]Cautionary Tales for the Brave
   8  [9]Jon Courtney
   7  [10]High Sheriff of Northamptonshire
   7  [11]The Dark Third
   7  [12]George Treby (judge)
   7  [13]Tim Smith (musician)
   7  [14]Oryzomyini
   7  [15]Amphinectomys
   6  [16]The Bright Ambassadors of Morning

                        Talk:
   9 [17]Pure Reason Revolution
   7 [18]Ancient Olympic Games
   5 [19]Richard Stover
   4 [20]Mark Kirk
   3 [21]2005 Hit convoy ambush
   3 [22]Antichrist
   3 [23]Athene (MovieLOL)
   2 [24]Dionne Mahaffey-Muhammad
   2 [25]Channel stopper
   2 [26]Prodigious Savant
   2 [27]James Ralph
   2 [28]List of Stewards of the Manor of Northstead
   2 [29]Judicial system of Iran
   2 [30]George Hammond Whalley
   2 [31]V Sambasivan

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   6 [32]Speaker of the British House of Commons
   3 [33]PRRevolution
   2 [34]Announcements/Community bulletin board
   2 [35]KidsTVBlocksUS

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                     User:
   175 [37]Ironholds/Sandbox
   135 [38]Ironholds/Sandbox2
   76  [39]Ironholds/CP
   53  [40]Ironholds
   44  [41]Ironholds/page
   28  [42]Ironholds/header
   17  [43]Ironholds/DYK
   16  [44]Ironholds/Sandbox3
   12  [45]Ironholds/monobook.js
   11  [46]Ironholds/Awards
   7   [47]Ironholds/requestdraft
   2   [48]Coldgarden
   2   [49]Allison Poulos/Crop wild relatives
   2   [50]Durova/RFA Review boycott
   2   [51]Andrew C. Bowman

          User talk:
   40 [52]Ecoleetage
   27 [53]Ironholds
   26 [54]Choess
   25 [55]Bbadree
   24 [56]CultureDrone
   20 [57]Red Thunder
   20 [58]Rjecina/Archive4
   20 [59]Hellboy2hell
   19 [60]Shapiros10
   19 [61]Ironholds/archive1
   16 [62]Omghax111
   16 [63]Mastrchf91
   14 [64]Juggernaut0102
   12 [65]Cenarium/Old
   12 [66]Pirakafreak24

                                  Wikipedia:
   172 [67]Usernames for administrator attention
   92  [68]Administrator intervention against vandalism
   62  [69]Miscellany for deletion
   23  [70]Requests for adminship/Ironholds
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       [71]Featured list candidates/List of Stewards of the Manor of Northstea
       d/archive1
   21  [72]Miscellany for deletion/User:Spiritus Nirin
   17  [73]Suspected sock puppets/72.75.24.245
   12  [74]WikiUpdate
   11  [75]Requests for adminship/Danielfolsom 2
   11  [76]Miscellany for deletion/User:Voldemore
   10  [77]Miscellany for deletion/User:Hexagon1/Imagfriend
   7   [78]Articles for deletion/The Intention Craft (single)
   7   [79]Requests for adminship/Ecoleetage 2
   7   [80]Suspected sock puppets/Voldemore
   7   [81]Requests for adminship/Foxy Loxy 2

            Wikipedia talk:
   28 [82]Requests for adminship
   13 [83]WikiProject Mammals
   8  [84]WikiUpdate
   5  [85]Meetup/London 13
   5  [86]Meetup/London 11
   5  [87]Meetup/London 12
   4  [88]Requests for adminship/SoWhy
   3  [89]Use diacritics

   If there were any problems, please [90]email Interiot or post at
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  • The edit count was retrieved from this link at 18:06, 7 October 2008 (UTC).


Opposes based on participating in an experiment[edit]

Come on, these are some of the most ludicrous, barrel-scraping opposes I have seen. The fact that the candidate was encouraged and thanked for being a participant in this experiment on WT:RFA itself (a thread none of these opposes seem to have noticed) clearly shows that he wasn't acting solely on his own judgement, but with the support of a number of RfA regulars themselves. These opposes aren't against the candidate. These are opposes against the very concept of a group of contributors trying to change a process in order to improve it. These are opposes which, if taken seriously, seek to stifle any kind of innovation or change in an attempt to improve the way WP works. These are opposes which, in my opinion, should be discarded. Many thanks, Gazimoff 09:33, 11 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I agree but I would prefer not to discuss it here. Let the closing crat sort it out, I am quite confident that the outcome will be the same as when someone gets opposed on a normal RfA based on the fact that the opposer thinks the system is broken. But I fear by posting this here you opened the arena for a big discussion about those !votes and about those who !voted that way. Maybe WP:BN would have been a better place, although, as I said, I doubt the crats need such a reminder. SoWhy 11:08, 11 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Explanation[edit]

I feel an explanation is needed for my oppose, so I'll give one as best as I can. I'm writing it here so it'll be easier to read.

First off, I wish to apologize to everyone for any drama that has come/may continue to come out of my oppose: it was not my intention to cause a storm, and even more so due to the nature of this RfA.

Secondly, I hold no ill-will or grudges against Ironholds: I am not a fan of grudges, and I can assure everyone that my oppose was intended to give my concern about why I was not comfortable with Ironholds being an admin at this stage: it was not done to torpedo his request and/or to "get even" over something.

Thirdly, as for why I did not bring up those concerns in the discussion period, it was because I was trying to find a good way to bring them up without looking as though I was trying to sink this request. I then felt that bringing up the concerns all up at once in a single oppose, rather than in bits and keep asking "Why did you do this? This? This?", would be better. I was wrong, and I fear I may have helped sink this type of RfA format...and I do feel bad over that. Even now, I'm not happy with the entire way I wrote my oppose: I had to reword it several times to make it as civil and as least harsh as possible, and still, I perhaps could have written it better.

I will recuse myself from further participation if it is deemed necessary. Acalamari 18:59, 11 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

  • To summarise the above statement: Dear Ironholds I'm sorry I kicked you in the balls, it really wasn't deliberate. I was aiming for your stomach, but mistimed my run-up RMHED (talk) 19:34, 11 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Inappropriate comment. Much like your oppose. Please, tone it down. Way down. -- how do you turn this on 19:36, 11 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Really? I thought it rather pithy. RMHED (talk) 19:38, 11 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Like you did anything wrong Acalamari. Some people just can't grasp the fact that (shock horror) someone out there might disagree with them. naerii 19:48, 11 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
You are quite correct Acalamari did nothing wrong. He did everything exactly right, timed to perfection in fact. RMHED (talk) 19:58, 11 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
It's rather obvious this "test" hasn't worked. -- how do you turn this on 19:56, 11 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Well if the purpose of this 'test' is to try and eliminate perfectly reasonable opposes then yes, thank God, it's failed. naerii 21:27, 11 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
i think you gig fine... you are under no obligation to raise concerns in the q/a period. the only people who are upset are those that want a perfect world---which won't happen. people can produce evidence at any point...---Balloonman PoppaBalloon 20:59, 11 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
FFS this isn't a trial, it's just a sodding RfA on a website that takes itself wayyyyyy too seriously. RMHED (talk) 23:17, 11 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I think everything went fine as well, nothing will ever be perfect and you don't need to apologize, you still followed the rules. --Banime (talk) 21:18, 11 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
As I was the main responder to your oppose, I feel the need to comment further.
No drama here, I think. Similarly, I see no need for a recusation. :) Your oppose was legitimate, especially since it was supported by evidence. Nor do I (or most here) think you have a grudge; that would be assuming bad faith, and I know I wasn't when I responded.
I think bringing up those concerns during the discussion period would have been much preferable as opposed to being the second oppose. It gives him some time to say (if this is what he were to say), "uh oh, I screwed up. I'll tone it down, and if I don't, come talk to me about it," or maybe "I fully and completely support my responses in those cases," etc. I think you could have asked all the questions in one question, or in parts of a question, or possibly with something like the question that jc37 asked as a capstone to your paragraphs, rather than as a set of questions which are so specific to the candidate, that they are more or less "wtf?". However, as noted above, this isn't a perfect world, and so we'll just have to live with what happened, and wait to see if Ironholds passes. --Izno (talk) 22:41, 11 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
If people really want to reform RfA they should be supporting at Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/Krm500, an RfA of a perfectly good candidate who is receiving a ridiculous amount of completely empty and baseless opposes. The only way to reform is to change attitudes (and that means your attitude too! don't just wait for everyone else to change their stance). Simply rearranging the discussion in a different way will do nothing. naerii 16:51, 12 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Who opposes more than Kurt[edit]

  1. I knew we'd get Kurt back at RfA one way or another! (No, I'm not having fun at Kurt's expense—I have been, on the whole, a strong supporter of his and would not make light of his having been forced [untowardly] to elect to refrain from editing in project space for a period if I did not imagine that he would not mind or were I not sure that my comment would be understood in the jocular fashion in which it is offered; I suppose, though, that any joke that requires so much qualification or explanation must be other than funny.) Joe 06:31, 12 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Actually, Kurt opposed about 94% of the RfA's he commented on... there is a person who has contributed to almost 600 RfA's and has a 99% oppose rate! Anybody know who that is?---Balloonman PoppaBalloon 06:44, 12 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    No. But maybe he/she is one only to vote when they see something wrong in the candidate and will leave the supporting to the regular voters. 220.239.56.131 (talk) 08:38, 12 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Yes, Balloonman: that would be User:Boothy443. That's why I coined the term "get the Booth". Owen× 12:53, 12 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Actually, Booth only opposes about 83% of the time and has only participated in about 150 total RfA's... Kurt was at 94% and opposed 155 RfA's. The person I'm thinking of has OPPOSED 589 candidates while supporting only 8!---Balloonman PoppaBalloon 15:54, 12 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Is it Masssiveego? -- how do you turn this on 15:58, 12 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    No, it isn't. Nevermind. -- how do you turn this on 16:01, 12 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    (ec)Nope, Masssiveego opposes about 88% and has contributed in about 150 RfA's. The person I am thinking of is somebody who, frankly, I didn't realize had nearly as many contributions as he does.---Balloonman PoppaBalloon 16:03, 12 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Do you know who it is? -- how do you turn this on 16:05, 12 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Jimbo. I knew it was a big deal! ;-) Hiberniantears (talk) 16:07, 12 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    LOL! Of course it's Jimbo... er not... but yes, I do know who it is... but I'm curious as to who else people think it might be before revealing it. On the flip side, there is a person who has SUPPORTED 571 times and only opposed 14 times... anybody know who that person is? ---Balloonman PoppaBalloon 16:15, 12 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Oh Crap... the person who I wrote down as oppossing 589 didn't oppose 589 times... the tool couldn't parse his opposes 589 times!!! The worst person to oppose, that I've looked at thus... was kurt... others have opposed more, but they support more too.---Balloonman PoppaBalloon 16:19, 12 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I'm guessing the person who has supported 571 times is Siva1979. Wisdom89 (T / C) 16:34, 12 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    No, I don't think it was him. -- how do you turn this on 18:11, 12 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I'll narrow it down significantly, the person who has supported 571 times and opposed only 14 times has opposed THIS RfA (Which I don't know if is part of the 14 or if this RfA makes 15.)---Balloonman PoppaBalloon 22:31, 12 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Wizardman? Erik the Red 2 ~~~~ 22:33, 12 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Does it matter? ;p Ironholds (talk) 22:35, 12 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Ultimately no... just some statistical curiosities.... Wizardman has participated in close to 500 RFA's but he's about 75% support.---Balloonman PoppaBalloon 22:37, 12 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I know - Acalamari! But yeah, as Ironholds says, does it matter? (in the context of this RFA) Maybe this should get moved to RFA talk? -- how do you turn this on 22:38, 12 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I'm posting this here, since any kind of reply on the main request will be lost completely[edit]

  • Well, I congratulate Ironholds for being bold to test a new RfA format, but I have some reasons to oppose this request. To begin with, I came across this oppose which, in my opinion, was incredibly biting, as were these two. This oppose, like a couple of the ones I mentioned above, was unnecessarily uncivil. I also came across a few other opposes that came across as aggressive in tone and/or lack the assumptions of good faith on behalf of the said candidates: [1][2][3] I'm also not happy with an event surrounding Ironholds' last RfA: two weeks prior to it, he tells another editor to wait to be nominated, and that is what he (Ironholds) was planning to do, yet he goes against his own advice and self-nominates: I do not consider that to be good judgment. On top of my other concerns, I have two more: I came across this, an inappropriate hidden comment on his user page, and is still on his user page as of the most recent edit (note that the most recent edit may change during the course of this RfA). Lastly, note in the first part of how I congratulate Ironholds for running in an experimental RfA? Well, I still do congratulate him, but I noticed part of his reasons for opposing two other candidates, Ali'i and Mr. IP: in Ali'i, he mentioned, "In addition, applying to prove a point makes a mockery of the process. Yes, admins are technically no more important than users, but RfA in a way shows the quality and quantity of your contributions to Wikipedia; debasing that to prove a point is almost disruptive.": the RfA for Ali'i was somewhat of an experimental one, and Ironholds partially opposed her on that basis. As for Mr. IP, I found that more worrying; Ironholds' entire rationale was: "Oppose. This RfA does nothing but disrupt the process and create DRAMAH. If you want to test the RfA policy then you can contribute to the discussions about overhauling it, not waste peoples time here. By posting this RfA as a "test" you've proven yourself an inappropriate admin candidate." That oppose was uncivil, which was bad enough, and now that Ironholds himself is running in a "test" RfA, after accusing two other people of “disruption” and/or “DRAMAH” for doing the same/similiar thing, and he has not followed his own words. Suffice to say, I am not comfortable with Ironholds' judgment for the time being. Acalamari 01:57, 11 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  1. The first oppose wasn't, in my opinion (not that that counts as much) bitey. "But listen. Jimbo Wales said the Adminship is no big deal. So why not? I leave you there." is pretty much an "annoying statement". ""Adminship is not a big deal" does not translate to "lets give everyone with 100 edits the banhammer". " is perfectly accurate, and there is little hyperbole involved; the user in question had 180 mainspace edits.
  2. The second oppose is bitey, fair enough; I'm not going to make "not a good day" excuses; people going for it without reading any of the associated material annoy me greatly (which I did a couple of times, and still make me mentally hit myself). The third oppose is not in the least part biting; the candidate was exactly what it says on the box, and the internet is a difficult place to transmit emotive content; one man's honesty is another man's rudeness. The same applies to Derfboy's RfA, for that matter; "you've got 30 edits. I recommend you withdraw it, this is never going to pass" is honesty, not rudeness.
  3. The oppose per... experimental nature were from around 3 months ago, and people can (suprisingly) change. Voting oppose based on a user not assuming good faith in candidates while at the same time not assuming good faith within your oppose is hypocritical at best (although I appreciate you're not running for admin).
    • While I appreciate you didn't want to cripple this experiment, and may have held back because you felt it would be bad to post in dribs and drabs, the fact of the matter is that users who did find things they took issue with posted all in one load (or in dribs and drabs) and I had no trouble or issue with answering these, something which could've been detected from the first to fourth days of the RfA. If other users are doing it and I take no issue with that, surely common sense says that I would have no problem with you posting those differences; the fact that you were trying to work out a way to bring them up "without looking as though I was trying to sink this request" even while posting the oppose shows you understand the damage they could do through the conventional RfA method (one of the main things we're trying to reform) and yet Still failed to bring it up. You have done nothing against any kind of "rule", and you're completely allowed to post differences in that format, but the fact that you knew it was an experimental RfA designed with such things in mind, could clearly see that differences such as yours were being brought up in the discussion in numbers with no ill-will from the candidate, was perfectly aware such differences could "torpedo" an RfA if brought up normally and yet did nothing to bring them up during the question stage is incredibly frustrating. Ironholds (talk) 21:40, 12 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
      • The thing is, after reading your response I don't feel any differently and I still believe that you'd be a poor admin. If Acalamari hadn't posted those diffs I certainly would have, as I'd already decided to oppose you around five minutes after you'd posted the request. Does that make me a bad person? Am I contributing to the 'flaws' of RfA by thinking that you'd make a bad admin right now and not being particularly interested in discussing it? It's funny; during the questions phase I did draw up a comment about your behaviour at RfA and was about to post it when I changed my mind. It felt really pointless; "hey guys, I have issues with the way that Ironholds frequently opposes RfAs". And then what - you'd have said what you said above and then another dozen people would have chimed in with what they felt about it (which would have been particularly irrelevant as I don't much give a crap about other people's opinion on the matter). I really doubt it would have made a difference to your RfA, as people who don't think you'd make a good admin would have opposed you regardless of whether it was posted in the questions phase or the voting phase. You'd be making a big mistake to blame the imminent failure of this RfA on Acalamari's oppose or "pile-on" voters. Perhaps if you were a bit more civil and thoughtful when commenting on other people's requests then you wouldn't have to resort to an editor-review-cum-rfa in order to pass? After all, you're only really receiving the treatment I've seen you give to others many, many times. I have a big problem with the fact that people who are making perfectly reasonable opposes are being castigated as if they alone are the cause of the flaws in RfA. If you are a bad candidate you will be opposed; deal with it. naerii 22:39, 12 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Again, people are not under any obligation to raise questions during the QA. And I think his oppose does a great job of illustrating how this method doesn't avoid any of the problems previously expressed---but only highlighted the thing I find least helpful in RfA's---the Questions.---Balloonman PoppaBalloon 22:42, 12 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]