Wikinews:Requests for permissions/Bureaucrat/Adambro

Adambro (Bureaucrat)
I was just prompted to look around for a bureaucrat to contact and noticed that we could perhaps do with some more bureaucrats. Of the four bureaucrats currently listed as active on this page we have Brian who has stated he is unlikely to be active for 6 months to a year, IlyaHaykinson who isn't terribly active, and Chiacomo who whilst has been reasonably active as late has a contributions history with large breaks. Also, of the three active bureaucrats listed as active (excluding Brian), all seem to reside in North America which means they are likely to be active at similar times of the day so any issues might not be dealt with as promptly as if we had a better spread of bureaucrats across timezones. On this basis, I consider my request to become a bureaucrat is justified and appropriate.

Whilst I have been editing Wikinews for a relatively short length of time since joining in early/mid 2007, I feel I quickly became a useful contributor and since becoming an administrator I think it would be reasonable to suggest that I'm amongst the more active admins. I'm also an admin on Wikimedia Commons and the English Wikipedia, and an OTRS volunteer, which has been useful both in terms of the experience it has given me and practically in dealing with issues which cross between the WMF projects. Whilst I've had numerous disagreements, I have at all times remained civil, and I'd suggest that not being afraid to speak up where I have concerns is a good characteristic of any user.

I have a good knowledge of the operation of bots on WMF projects and operate AdambroBot to update the weather map every hour which I think puts me in a good position to, if I become a bureaucrat, review requests for bot flags.

I'd invite everyone to assess my request and welcome comments or questions. Thank you for your time. Adambro 19:44, 16 January 2008 (UTC)

Questions
--Mark Talk to me 10:14, 17 January 2008 (UTC)
 * You claim that it would be better to have an even spread of B'crats across time zones to provide a prompt response, what would this be to as theres is rarely anything that requires quick responses from b'crats. (i'm stuggling to think of anything)
 * Why do you feel that your contribution to other project (such as commons etc) has any relevance here?
 * Do you feel that these contributions should be considered to show relation to this project with respect to your low (comparitive) edit count and time spent here?


 * On your first point, I would accept that there is unlikely to be the same urgency to deal with any issues as there would be in respect of admin rights but I still feel it is in the interests of the community that our bureaucrats are, not only in different time zones to enable requests to receive a more timely response, but also to better reflect the mix of different cultures from which the Wikinews community draws its contributors.


 * With reference to your second question, I feel very strongly that experience gained on other WMF projects is beneficial to me and the community and also feel that this should be taken into consideration with respect to my relatively short length of time participating in this project. When I started contributing here, I was already very familiar with how WMF projects work and their common policies, and as a result was able to quickly establish myself on the project needing only to take time to understand the variations in policies and the unique aspects of the Wikinews project whereby it differs from other WMF projects. Adambro 17:30, 17 January 2008 (UTC)

Comments and votes

 * . I agree that we need another active Bureaucrat for when User:Brian is less active, and possibly someone from another time zone. I think you have an excellent admin record, your contributions have been valuable and copious and your adminship on other wikis and your OTRS work are a real plus. However, I feel that there are more suitable candidates on the site who are still very active but have been around for a lot longer. The only thing holding me back is that I feel that you are still relatively new for Bureaucratship; I would personally expect something like 2 years of experience. --Steven Fruitsmaak (Reply) 22:01, 16 January 2008 (UTC)
 * . Same reason as Steven, no reasons to oppose, just too new. Thunderhead - (talk - email - contributions) 22:58, 16 January 2008 (UTC)
 * As I've noted, I appreciate I haven't been active here for terribly long but I've been involved in WMF projects since mid 2004 which I feel makes up for this. I may be relatively new here but I've been able to rapidly turn myself into a valuable contributor because of my familiarity with WMF projects, their policies and their conventions. Adambro 23:05, 16 January 2008 (UTC)
 * . Nothing against your qualifications, Adambro, but I feel that for this position there are some longer-tenured admins that I would like to see given consideration. --Jcart1534 01:36, 17 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Appears to have strongly held opinions on process. Plus bureaucrats do almost nothing, they don't need to be active.  Nyarlathotep 11:29, 17 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Nyarlathotep, can you explain what you mean by "strongly held opinions on process"? What opinions might he have? Can you show us examples of what you mean? --Steven Fruitsmaak (Reply) 12:12, 17 January 2008 (UTC)
 * I'd also invite Nyarlathotep to clarify his point. Of course I have opinions but before I express an opinion I make sure that I'll be prepared to stand by it. Are bureaucrats expected to have no opinions or immediately withdraw their opinion when any opposition to that is made? I don't consider having strong opinions a bad thing but more importantly, I don't believe I've ever let my opinions negative impact on my actions as an admin. Adambro 12:45, 17 January 2008 (UTC)
 *  —Fellow Wiki  Newsie 18:14, 19 January 2008 (UTC)
 * It's not a bad thing that potential bureaucrats have strong opinions. It is, however, a bad thing when said potential bureaucrat can be seen as combative when expressing those opinions. So, for me? I'm good, but thanks. TheCustomOfLife 04:53, 21 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Okay, fair enough. I appreciate that this request is going to fail anyway now but I would like to make the most constructive use of the comments I've received. In particular, I'd ask TheCustomOfLife to expand on his point that I could be seen as combative in my approach to some discussions, could you point to some examples where I should have taken a different approach. Adambro 07:24, 21 January 2008 (UTC)
 * There is a world of difference between having a strongly held opinion which you assert and having a strongly held opinion which you use as a basis for persuading other users to see an issue from your side. I don't expect Adambro would have misused the buttons, but the community has shown little eagerness to give him the dust-buster as well as the mop. --Brian McNeil / talk 16:37, 21 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Could you explain what you mean by your first sentence, I don't understand. Thanks. Adambro 17:56, 21 January 2008 (UTC)
 * I mean what I say, although to put it more bluntly I could say you stake out a position then invite others to challenge it. This is a somewhat confrontational approach although I can understand it might not seem so when you are confident of the foundations for your belief. --Brian McNeil / talk 18:00, 21 January 2008 (UTC)


 * per Steven, Brian. --Skenmy(t•c•w•i) 17:21, 21 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Adambro would make a fine Bureaucrat. His particular proclivities, to which some have objected, are actually valuable in this position. Bureaucrat is a pretty simple job and those entrusted with it should follow the rules, for which Adambro is a stickler. This is not a job for someone is trying to be bold and it doesn't carry the more sweeping powers, with which Stewards are entrusted. --SVTCobra 00:15, 23 January 2008 (UTC)