Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee Elections December 2024/Candidates

2024 Arbitration Committee Elections

Status as of 09:58 (UTC), Thursday, 7 November 2024 (Purge)

Self-nominations for the Arbitration Committee are open until 23:59, 12 November 2024 (UTC).

Shortcut

WP:ACE2024/C

The nomination statements of editors running in the 2024 Arbitration Committee elections appear below.

Eligibility criteria

An editor is eligible to stand as a candidate if they:

have a registered account which has made at least 500 mainspace edits before 1 November 2024,
are not prevented from submitting their candidacy by a block or ban,
meet the Wikimedia Foundation's criteria for access to non-public personal data,
are willing to sign the Foundation's non-public information confidentiality agreement,^[a] and
have disclosed any previous or alternate accounts in their election statement (legitimate accounts which have been declared to the Arbitration Committee before the close of nominations do not need to be publicly disclosed).

Caution about scrutiny

Candidates should be aware that they are likely to receive considerable internal and external scrutiny. External scrutiny may include attempts to investigate on- and off-wiki activities; previous candidates have had personal details revealed and unwanted contact made with employers and family. We are unable to prevent this and such risks will continue if you are successful.

Simultaneous membership on other committees

To avoid any potential conflicts of interest, current arbitrators may not serve as members of either the Ombuds Commission or the WMF Case Review Committee.

Candidate statements

Statements must:

be submitted after 00:00 UTC on 03 November 2024 and until 23:59 UTC on 12 November 2024,
not exceed a limit of 400 words^[b] (although candidates are free to link to a longer statement if they wish),
confirm that the candidate will fully comply with the criteria for access to non-public data,
include a disclosure of all prior and alternate accounts or confirmation that all such accounts have been declared to the Arbitration Committee, and
be created using the inputbox below, by appending your username to the existing text, clicking the button, and following the instructions.

Applications are considered complete only when properly filled out and transcluded by the deadline. Deadlines will be strictly enforced regardless of technical problems that may occur. Candidates are advised to have their application ready early.

Once you have saved your statement, you will need to transclude it below using the following code:

|{{Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee Elections December 2024/Candidates/{{subst:REVISIONUSER}}/Statement}}

Congratulations! You are now an election candidate.

Footnotes

^
From the Wikimedia Foundation's Access to nonpublic personal data policy:
Because we believe that safeguarding the privacy of the Wikimedia community is an important Wikimedia value, those who have access to nonpublic personal data need to:
- Be at least 18 years old (except email response team members, who must be at least 16 years old);
- Provide contact information; and
- Sign a confidentiality agreement.
^ The mandatory disclosure of alternate accounts and declaration of intent to comply with the WMF identification policy are exempt from the 400-word limit, although candidates are encouraged to be concise.

Standing candidates

Click to shuffle candidates

CaptainEek

Howdy hello folks! It's been an honor to serve the community for the last four years at the helm of the SS ArbCom. I humbly put my name in the captain's hat to serve you for a third term. With my sea legs under me from two terms, I come to you as an seasoned Arb with considerable experience and expertise in our processes. I am lucky to have recently entered a very stable period in my life, so I have significant time to dedicate to ArbCom.

Much of ArbCom's work happens behind the scenes. I believe in fairness, sensitivity, and minimizing bureaucracy when it comes to the Committee's private workload. During my last term, the Committee finally moved away from hearing CheckUser appeals, which has freed us to focus on our still considerable task list.

The minority of ArbCom's work is in cases, but they are certainly the Committee's most dramatic element. Cases should be as short as possible, and as drama free as possible. Cases should also be open to unusual and creative solutions. We must understand that the editors who come before us are people too. I strive to avoid simply voting along group lines.

I believe in transparency, and advocating for the Community. I routinely attend ArbCom's monthly meetings with WMF staff, each time being a voice for the Community's interests. I will vigorously push for the Community at every turn. Wikipedia is sailing into a turbulent future, and ArbCom must often deal with our hardest questions. I am committed to advancing the Community's interests in a changing world, as I did in an interview with the New York Times about AI last year.

When I am not Arbing, I love writing about birds and history. I have two FA's to my name, as well as a variety of other accolades, including my favorite GA—the Gallic Wars.

Ultimately, I am running because I deeply believe in Wikipedia's mission to present the sum of all human knowledge. I think the best way to achieve that is to have a harmonious and welcoming community. Without our editors, we are nothing. We must focus on not only retaining, but also recruiting editors, and the decisions that ArbCom makes have an outsized impact on that. I am honored to have been on the Committee. I hope that you will again empower me to serve as your representative. Smooth sailing.

Disclosure: I have one alt account: AdmiralEek. I meet the WMF's criteria for access to non-public data and have already signed the various NDA's.

Arbitration Committee Election 2024 candidate: CaptainEek

Just Step Sideways

You know what, yeah, I'm doing this. I'm an experienced arb and functionary. Previously known as Beeblebrox. And yes, I was suspended from this committee at the end of my last term. I do not deny any of the findings of the committee regarding what I did: I did, on more than one ocassion, leak material from the arbcom mailing list on an offsite forum. I believed at the time that I was acting within the discretion granted to me by the community when they elected me (three times) to that position. The committee did not agree, amd suspended me, and revoked my functionary status as well. Ultimately the ombuds backed up their decison as regards arbcom emails. Given that, I must concede that there is a demonstrable consensus amongst those that are supposed to know best on these subjects that I should not have done what I did, and I accept that.

What I do not accept is the contention that this was clear beforehand, and the committee has conceded that I was correct in the belief that it had not made that entirely apparent previously.

I therefore make the following promise: Nothing from the arbcom mailing list will ever be reposted by me, ever, without the express permission of the committee. That was my only sin, and easily corrected now that the committe has made it abundantly clear where they believe the line is.

I was an arbitrator for nearly five years altogether, and a functionary for twelve years, and I believe I did a good job at both. I feel that the committee, this past year in particular, has been indecisive and ineffectual. I believe that it needs help, and voices of experience, and I am volunteering to be just that. I believe in both this project and the potential for this committee to provide help to this community by mitigating seemingly intractible disputes. I believe I have a track record of being helpful and decisisive in evaluating cases before the commitee, and I ask for your support to do so again.

Thank you for your consideration.

I remain a signatory to the WP:ANPDP and have never edited for pay. Again for the record I used to be called Beeblebrox, but you can call me Beebs or JSS these days. Just Step Sideways ^{from this world ..... today} 17:34, 6 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Arbitration Committee Election 2024 candidate: Just Step Sideways

Worm That Turned

Hi folks. I'm here to stand for the Arbitration Committee. I have spent something like 2/3s of the past 12 years on the committee, and strive to be a voice of reason on there, please do look at my history to find out more.

I have achieved a lot as an Arb, and am proud of my contributions, though I accept there have been places where the circle could not be squared and I came down on the wrong side, I hope I have learned from these mistakes. You can also see my article contributions, FAs and GAs, linked from my user page.

So, why this run? I have concerns about the committee since I have left a year ago. The main one is around morale, which I'm judging by the significant inactivity and retirements. I believe that this is an area I excel, keeping the committee going. Next, internal communication and concerns about other arbs - if I see a problem within the committee, I handle it head on. I discuss it openly and I make sure the individual who the community has placed their trust in can course correct.

I will address the obvious concerns. My activity, I have been inactive on Wikipedia since the beginning of the year. This was down to my work outside Wikipedia, where I was leading many small projects simultaneously and the context switch, a skill I've learned from the committee was exhausting - since June, this work has been outsourced, meaning I have some more time available. I haven't taken the plunge into editing again, but I do feel I am ready to do so.

Secondly, I am not currently an administrator and I have committed to running RfA rather than simply asking for the tools back. I will do this prior to being elected, so you will have two places to judge me.

Finally, I've never been a high volume work load arb, and I don't expect to be one this time either. I will respond promptly though and will not hold up the committee decisions

I have never edited for pay, though I have received swag as part of my volunteering over the past 15 years.

I have also signed the non public data agreement and am not aware of any reason I am ineligible. My sock drawer has not changed in years, WormTT and Wyrm That Turned I believe.

Arbitration Committee Election 2024 candidate: Worm That Turned

[1] From the Wikimedia Foundation's Access to nonpublic personal data policy:
Because we believe that safeguarding the privacy of the Wikimedia community is an important Wikimedia value, those who have access to nonpublic personal data need to:
Be at least 18 years old (except email response team members, who must be at least 16 years old);

Provide contact information; and

Sign a confidentiality agreement.

[2] Be at least 18 years old (except email response team members, who must be at least 16 years old);

[3] Provide contact information; and

[4] Sign a confidentiality agreement.

[2] The mandatory disclosure of alternate accounts and declaration of intent to comply with the WMF identification policy are exempt from the 400-word limit, although candidates are encouraged to be concise.

[a]

[b]