User:SilkTork/ArbNotes 2017

Preamble
ArbCom is a committee which resolves difficult disputes, and deals with matters detailed here. It has limited scope for doing harm to the project, so voting is less stringent than for becoming an admin, steward or bureaucrat - essentially, if you put your name forward, you have a better than 50% chance of being elected; however, being part of the Committee is seen as a Big Deal, and for some current and ex members of the community, especially those who either get into or deal with disputes, ArbCom is of significant interest. The majority of the community, thankfully, get along without ArbCom, and many may not even be aware of it.

What is required of a committee member (or "Arb") to deal with the varying aspects of the role is a good understanding of the project, tact and diplomacy, a collaborative mindset, discretion, decisiveness, patience, moral courage, communication skills, and organisational skills. Not everyone will have all of these, but the more someone has, the better. What is helpful in any committee is for members to have a range of experiences and interests and opinions, and to be able to share their varying experiences, interests and opinions in a helpful and collaborative manner. Having a committee composed fairly equally of experienced and new members is also of benefit.

The more I look at the candidates this year, the more I am thinking that this is the weakest selection we've had. There are four experienced ArbCom members, Opabinia regalis, Callanecc, Worm That Turned, and Mailer diablo. These will almost certainly, especially given the circumstances, retake their seats on the committee; however, two of those, Worm That Turned, and Mailer diablo, are questionable candidates given their recent lack of activity, and Worm is running on a dubious non-admin platform that may alienate people.

There has been growing interest in recent years in non-admins nominating themselves. The first time I can recall this happening was when User:Giano stepped forward in 2007. (For the record, I supported). We have five non-admins this year - one of whom, Worm, is an admin, but put his tools in the cupboard for safekeeping while he was away from the project, and he can pick them up tomorrow just by asking, so effectively is an admin. Another one, Rambling Man, was an admin but was desysopped/resigned under a cloud. Of the nine remaining admin candidates, one, Sarek, resigned after he came close to being desysopped, but gained back the tools on the second time of asking; another, Alex Shih, gained his tools in 2007, then two months later virtually vanished for a decade, only returning recently to hand out lots of blocks. Another, Mailer, also has CU and OS tools, and is a former Arb, but his activity level has been very low. It's not clear, this year, that admin status counts for much if people are using it as a quick guide to the user being committed and trustworthy.

Support

 * 1) Opabinia regalis
 * 2) Callanecc
 * 3) BU Rob13
 * 4) SMcCandlish
 * 5) Worm That Turned
 * 6) KrakatoaKatie

Probably support

 * 1) Mailer diablo
 * 2) Premeditated Chaos

Probably neutral

 * 1) RickinBaltimore

Probably oppose

 * 1) The Rambling Man

Oppose

 * 1) Alex Shih
 * 2) Sir Joseph

Probable finishing order

 * 1) Opabinia regalis
 * 2) Callanecc
 * 3) BU Rob13
 * 4) Mailer diablo
 * 5) Worm That Turned
 * 6) KrakatoaKatie
 * 7) RickinBaltimore
 * 8) The Rambling Man
 * 9) Premeditated Chaos
 * 10) SMcCandlish
 * 11) Alex Shih
 * 12) Sir Joseph