Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee Elections January 2006/Candidate statements/Dmcdevit

The Arbitration Committee's main role is to smooth out disturbances in the community by dealing with problem users. Individual admins, or even many editors, often cannot, or should not, legitimately deal with non-vandals who persistently misbehave with any kind of lasting remedies. I think the ability of ArbCom to enforce binding remedies more creative and productive than a standard block is a major part of its success. Solutions like revert or personal attack parole, probation, per article, or topic banning, and other more customized remedies allow users to continue to operate in the community and contribute to the community, while targetting the source of the problem. I would continue to encourage such targetted solutions and view banning as a last resort.

The ideal arbcom decision is the one that benefits our encyclopedia most: by allowing cooperative collaboration to continue, and by retaining the productive editors. I think in order to accomplish this it's important that I have a good sense of both our policies (obviously) and the stance of the community at large. However, I would not feel compelled to defer to policy, but rather, would defer to the best solution. I believe firmly that policies do not govern the encyclopedia, but that our encyclopedia governs the policies. I've acted as mediator several times, and been involved in a few arbitrations as well, as an admin or mediator that dealt with the problem editors (not a party). I also have a thick skin, but I think I'm a pretty non-controversial character. While I did not plan to seek the position, Kelly Martin and Mindspilage suggested I run, and I think I have something to offer. I consider myself extremely open, approachable, and friendly, and I encourage anyone to ask me a question, especially if we haven't met. Dmcdevit·t 23:04, 3 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Question from Marsden

You seem to have thrown your hat into the ring a week after the discussion page warned that anyone who wished to be considered for ArbCom should list himself "immediately." Were you aware that the "race" had essentially been declared closed before you entered yourself into it? Has the "race" been re-openned without an announcement? Has some special consideration been made for your candidacy, and if this is the case, do you know why it was made? Marsden 01:02, 5 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I was approached a while ago by Kelly Martin befoe the newest round of clarifications by Jimbo. At the time, it appeared that the candidate statements would be irrelevant. Since I felt I did not really want to seek the position, but would not refuse if Jimbo or the other arbitrators felt I was reasonable enough to offer, I decided not to list a candidacy, but just wait and see. This was about the same time some other candidates were withdrawing because they didn't think the statements had any clear purpose. As the mood changed and the announcement to list immediately was made, I was still wary of seeking the position, so I decided to hold off. I decided to list myself only yesterday after I had a talk with Mindspillage, and became convinced that I might as well make a statement, especially as I think I may not be all that well-known (at least as much as some other candidates), so the community should have a chance to get to know me. I guess since I'm listed anyway, it would have been better to have done so earlier, but I can't change that. I don't expect any special treatment; if it's too late, then it's too late. :) Dmcdevit·t 01:34, 5 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for your response. You seem to have made a real fan in 129.82.30.53. ;) Marsden 02:08, 5 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, I appreciated the effort on his part, so I've remembered that particular vandalism all these months. :) Dmcdevit·t 02:58, 5 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Some questions being asked of all the candidates by jguk

Q: How old are you and what do you do? (If student, please state what subjects you are studying.)

A: I am old enough to vote and buy alcohol, and young enough not to qualify for senior citizen discounts.

Q: How many hours a month do you think you will need to be a good Arbitrator and are you really willing to put in the time?

A: I tend to commit about one hour a day to Arbitration tasks, with three to five hours over each weekend, subject to other restrictions on my time (for example, the holiday season is cutting into my time available for Arbitration tasks). (I do not count time I spend on CheckUser as part of this time.) I believe this to be sufficient for the task at hand.

Q: If chosen, you will need to arbitrate on disputes arising from the creation or revision of articles. Experience of creating and revising articles yourself, particularly where it has involved collaboration, is very valuable in understanding the mindset of disputants who come to arbitration. With reference to your own edits in the main article namespace, please demonstrate why you think you have the right experience to be a good arbitrator.

A: I disagree with the premise of this question, and decline to answer it on that basis. I instead stand on my history as an Arbitrator, which you may research over on the Arbitration pages.

Q: Please list out what other Wikipedia usernames you have edited under.

A: This is the only account I use for editing Wikipedia.