User:MacMed/Admin coaching/RfA Questions

This is exactly how the first three questions will appear on an RfA. Please reply so I can get an idea of how you rate yourself. -- King of &hearts;   &diams;   &clubs;  &spades; 05:39, 3 October 2009 (UTC)

Questions for the candidate
Dear candidate, thank you for offering to serve Wikipedia as an administrator. It is recommended that you answer these optional questions to provide guidance for participants:
 * 1. What administrative work do you intend to take part in?
 * A: I'd start off pretty slowly, closing clear AFD cases, as well as situations at UAA that are obvious violations of the username policy. I would observe both of these pages as well as possibly WP:RFPP and requests for permissions, and move forward as I learnt more about these environments. I may also get more involved at both WP:AN and WP:ANI.


 * 2. What are your best contributions to Wikipedia, and why?
 * A: So far, my best contributions have been those to the article John Tavares (ice hockey). I did some work on it, and then proposed it for featured status, but withdrew the nomination after realizing it would be more prudent to wait until the end of the current NHL season, for more information to emerge. I have 3 In The News updates, and I am also working with the Account Creation Team. I am starting to get involved with the MediaWiki code itself over at the MediaWiki siteand finally, I have also become a co-ordinator over at Abuse Response.


 * 3. Have you been in any conflicts over editing in the past or have other users caused you stress? How have you dealt with it and how will you deal with it in the future?
 * A: Right back when I was getting started with Wikipedia, I joined in a discussion with User:Supersentai, who has since left the project after being blocked for sockpuppetry. There were some RS and edit warring issues, and I found myself getting very irritated by his comments. In that situation, I just stepped away from the computer for an hour or two, and waited to calm down before making any rash comments. Other than that, there have been other, smaller incidents that were not enough of a problem to remember clearly. In future, I would probably handle stress the same way I dealt with it when I was talking to Supersentai. Just back off a little bit and make sure that I can make a calm, rational decision.

Commentary
Pretty good work you have there. Here's a list of concepts you should familiarize yourself with, if you haven't done so already: Administrators' reading list. King of &hearts;   &diams;   &clubs;  &spades; 21:46, 5 October 2009 (UTC)
 * Thanks :) Yeah I've gone through that whole page :P I read it after my first RfA. Regards, MacMedtalk stalk 00:21, 6 October 2009 (UTC)
 * Here are some additional questions below. -- King of &hearts;   &diams;   &clubs;  &spades; 22:43, 8 October 2009 (UTC)

Blocking questions

 * Additional optional questions from King of Hearts
 * 4. What is the difference between a ban and a block?
 * A: A block is a technical restriction that stops people from editing Wikipedia pages. A ban is a community-enforced decision to stop an editor from participating in different areas (topic bans), or stop them from editing all together.
 * Good. King of &hearts;   &diams;   &clubs;  &spades; 23:35, 12 October 2009 (UTC)


 * 5. When should cool-down blocks be used and why?
 * A: Cool down blocks should never be used. They tend to only inflame the situation/editor, and make them more voracious in the dispute upon their return.
 * Good. King of &hearts;   &diams;   &clubs;  &spades; 23:35, 12 October 2009 (UTC)


 * 6. You see a UAA report for the username "Foobar Records." The account was created 6 hours ago, and has made no edits. What action should you take?
 * A: I would leave a note on their talk, letting them know about WP:COI and suggesting a possible visit to WP:CHU. If the editor started to leave promotional messages or make spam articles, I would block the username as spam.
 * Good. King of &hearts;   &diams;   &clubs;  &spades; 23:35, 12 October 2009 (UTC)

Deletion questions

 * Additional optional questions from King of Hearts
 * 7. What is the difference between no context (CSD A1) and no content (CSD A3)?
 * A: An A1 deletion is when the article makes no sense, but forms coherent sentences. Ie "They hate me so I got back at them. They won't do it again." A3 is for when a page has nothing in it, meaning it contains only categories, external links, or see also sections.
 * Good. King of &hearts;   &diams;   &clubs;  &spades; 23:39, 12 October 2009 (UTC)


 * 8. Why is merging and deleting not a possible outcome for an AfD?
 * A: Merging and deleting is unacceptable because it violates some of Wikipedia's copyright policies. The GFDL states that article history must be provided, and deletion of a page removes that.
 * Good. King of &hearts;   &diams;   &clubs;  &spades; 23:39, 12 October 2009 (UTC)


 * 9. A user comes to you asking why his article got deleted. You look in the log and see that another admin deleted it with the reason "Expired PROD." What action should you take?
 * A: I would first look at the article's deleted history and see what the deletion reason was. I would then explain that reason to the user and offer to userfy the article for them (as long as the page wasn't copyvio, attack page, etc.)
 * You got the copyvio/attack part right - no restoring those! But otherwise, if you are asked to restore a PROD, you are supposed to do so, no userfication required. After all, it is a way for the author to "contest" the PROD after it's been deleted. It may be a good idea to leave a coutesy notice to the original deleting admin, if in the unlikely case it's not you. King of &hearts;   &diams;   &clubs;  &spades; 23:39, 12 October 2009 (UTC)
 * Alright. MacMedtalk stalk 00:38, 13 October 2009 (UTC)


 * 10. A non-free image is brought to FfD under the grounds that it does not significantly add to the reader's understanding. We end up with 5 people !voting to delete "per nom," and 5 people !voting to keep because it cannot be replaced with a free alternative. How should you close this FfD?
 * A: First I would ensure that the image is actually in at least one article, and check to make sure that there is no free alternative. If there is no free alternative and it is used in an article, I would most likely close as no consensus.
 * NFCC is an area where many people have issues. The image was brought to FfD under grounds of NFCC #8, but was refuted under NFCC #1. Since those arguing for retention are required to show that the image meets all ten criteria, the image should be deleted as they have failed to show how it passes #8. King of &hearts;   &diams;   &clubs;  &spades; 23:39, 12 October 2009 (UTC)
 * Alright, got it. MacMedtalk stalk 00:38, 13 October 2009 (UTC)

Protection questions

 * Additional optional questions from King of Hearts
 * 11. Why are pages not preemptively protected?
 * A: The answer is within our motto. "Wikipedia, the encyclopedia that anyone can edit." If we started to preemptively protect pages, we would be going against our mission and start turning into the dreaded cabal.
 * Good. King of &hearts;   &diams;   &clubs;  &spades; 23:40, 12 October 2009 (UTC)


 * 12. An article is reported on RFPP for vandalism. About how often (in hits per week) does the vandalism need to occur in order to justify semi-protection?
 * A: Personally, I would put different levels on different kinds of articles. For a BLP, probably around 15 hits a week, and around 20 hit for other articles. It also depends on whether there are constructive IP edits, or just vandalism.
 * Good. King of &hearts;   &diams;   &clubs;  &spades; 23:40, 12 October 2009 (UTC)

Miscellaneous questions

 * Additional optional questions from King of Hearts
 * 13. What do you interpret IAR to mean? When will you invoke IAR?
 * A: IAR seems like it is often misinterpreted. To me, it does not mean "Do what you want, as long as you think it's right". IAR should be invoked only when it has to be. The only example I can really think of is closing an AfD as a speedy delete when the community opinion is opposed to that. The only reason I can even think of that situation cccurring would be some blatant copyvio that no one else noticed.
 * Good. King of &hearts;   &diams;   &clubs;  &spades; 23:42, 12 October 2009 (UTC)


 * 14. Some RFPP requests end up with a user being blocked, while some AN3 requests end up with a page being protected. As you can see, in some cases where an edit war is clearly occuring, there exists a fine line between choosing to block and choosing to protect. How would you decide which method to use in order to prevent editing?
 * A: It would be very important to check histories. In the RFPP example, a user can be blocked if he is the only one vandalizing. As for the AN3 example, I would look to see if the editors were going crazy on other pages, if they were responding well to discussion, and if they were the only ones editing the page. If 20 editors and IPs are reverting each other, protection would probably be a better idea.
 * Good. Careful though - no matter how egregious an edit warrior's actions are, do not label them as "vandalism"! King of &hearts;   &diams;   &clubs;  &spades; 23:42, 12 October 2009 (UTC)


 * 15. You make an edit on an article, and another user reverts you. You re-revert, telling him in your edit summary to see the article's talk page, on which you initiate a discussion. That user reverts again without leaving an edit summary. You leave a note on his talk page and wait for a day, and he still does not reply. Now you revert again, assuming that he's given up on the issue. But he hasn't, and comes back with a revert. What do you do?
 * A: I would leave one more talk page note for him, directing him to the talk page. If he still doesn't reply, I would take it to WP:AN3 for an uninvolved admin to handle.
 * Good. King of &hearts;   &diams;   &clubs;  &spades; 23:42, 12 October 2009 (UTC)