User:Lar/ArbCom2007/Giano

Why I am voting for Giano:

I am supporting Giano for a seat on the Arbitration Committee. I have given this some considerable thought. Why Giano?


 * There can be no question in anyone's mind that Giano is here to build an encyclopedia. And he is good at it. The articles he writes are among our very best work, bringing out what makes Wikipedia special and different than printed work or even prior electronic efforts. His many featured articles attest to this being a view that is shared.
 * Giano may deny it, mushiness is not his style, but he loves this place and this project. It is obvious in how he speaks of it that he wants it to succeed. Very much. Else why would he have stayed around through everything?
 * Giano is passionate. Some may say this is a drawback, but the best things are built by those who are passionate. Being dispassionate has its place, to be sure, but some passion needs to be part of the mix.
 * Giano is capable of deep thought and nuanced thinking. Consider his responses to some of the questions he was asked. They show a depth of analysis that is remarkable. Consider especially the question about copyright. (like this one) His thought provoking answer is a model of how we should think about these matters.
 * Giano brings a needed perspective. He's turned out to be right about a number of things lately and it is important that the arbcom have his perspective. There are a number of other highly qualified candidates I would be pleased to see get seats (and who I plan to support), but no one else running has his depth of article writing experience.
 * Giano is fair. I don't think he holds grudges and I do think he'll give people a fair shake. Heck... he and I get along now, so he MUST not hold grudges. :)

So Giano would be good for arbcom and for the project. But arbcom would also be good for Giano... Some offer criticisms and concerns of various sorts. I will try to address some of them:
 * Giano is incivil - What does this really mean? Yes, he is outspoken, and yet, Giano can be perfectly helpful and friendly. But he is not afraid to tell it like it is. Sometimes that includes very acerbic commentary. Could he always use a gentler tone? Perhaps. But I think the ArbCom will be a moderating influence on him in this regard. All of a sudden his words will have much more gravitas! How could it not be an influence.
 * Giano is a troll or a drama seeker - Not so. Sometimes he says things to outrage but it's to make his point. He is not one who seeks drama for its own sake, he is just someone that will not tolerate a bad situation without speaking out about it. Sometimes his judgment could be better, but I expect again, that being on arbcom will moderate this.
 * Giano does not respect ArbCom - Sometimes the best thing for a democracy to do is to co-opt its critics. Electing Giano will make it "put up or shut up" time for him, and I expect he will rise to the challenge. I expect he will argue passionately for what he believes is right, but I think he will do so with respect and fairness.
 * Giano will not respect privacy - This is a hard one to rebut, after all he did just release a private email and then edit warred to preserve it. But consider his answer to Seraphimblade... when asked if he would release material on the ArbCom private list, his answer was an emphatic "Never!"... no prevarication, no possible extenuating circumstances... just "Never!"... I believe him.
 * Giano cannot be effective without adminship - Well maybe that's true. I'm sorry, whether he wants it or not, we're just going to have to make him an admin so he can look at deleted revisions in order to do his ArbCom related tasks. Expect an RfA shortly after he passes.
 * Giano will possibly be writing fewer articles if he takes an ArbCom seat - This one is a danger I suppose. But if things get better for the other article writers it may be a net gain.

In summary then, I'm voting for Giano. Not as a protest vote, not as a way to go on strike, not as a way to prevent him from being blocked, and especially not because I think the current arbitrators are doing badly, because they are doing as well as could be expected with some terrifically hard problems. Not because none of the other candidates are any good... there are several very good ones I am going to proudly support as well (but they're all obvious ones, and I don't need to write a book about why :) )

No, none of these things. I am voting for Giano because I really think he will make a great arbitrator. I hope you feel the same way too.

++Lar: t/c 23:20, 2 December 2007 (UTC)