User talk:Guldenat/Admin coaching

Guldenat,

I've decided to move our discussion here so that it will be in one place and our messages won't be mixed in with messages regarding other topics. Feel free to leave your questions and comments here. This page is on my watchlist. If I don't respond within 24-48 hours, feel free to leave a message on my Talk Page and/or send me e-mail.

--Richard (talk) 18:57, 15 January 2008 (UTC)

Request for a Coach
Hello Richard. I've had my name up on the WP:Admin coaching/Requests for Coaching since December 20, and since nothing has been matched, I've decided to look around myself for a volunteer who hasn't taken on a student yet. I noticed your name on the coach volunteers page, and was wondering if you'd be interested in being my coach. I don't normally watch others user talk pages, so if you don't mind, perhaps you could respond on User Talk:Guldenat? If not, no worries. Have a good one. Guldenat (talk) 16:56, 15 January 2008 (UTC)


 * Hi Guldenat,


 * In response to your request that I serve as your admin coach, I would be happy to do so although the next couple of weeks will be a bit busy for me so I may not be able to give you a lot of attention until February. (i.e. I can manage short responses to questions but I won't be able to go into a lot of detail until then)


 * Perhaps we should start by having you tell me what your goals are (presumably you want to become an admin). If so, please explain why.  Second, explain to me why you think you need an admin coach (i.e. how do you think I can help you?).


 * Also, please go to WP:RFA and answer the three standard questions.


 * I think that is enough to get us started. Based on your answers, we can discuss how to proceed.


 * Richard —Preceding unsigned comment added by Richardshusr (talk • contribs) 17:26, 15 January 2008 (UTC)

3 standard RFA questions
I believe the 3 standard questions answer the first one you asked me, so I'll start with them.

1.)1. What admin work do you intend to take part in? Overall, my main area of interest in admin work is wp:vandalism. Not only reverting vandals, but frequently working in wp:aiv. Also, I would like to be involved in checking for articles that need to be speedily deleted.

2. What are your best contributions to Wikipedia, and why? At this point, overall my contributions have mainly been to fight vandalism. I have posted several vandals to wp:aiv already, and I think my judgement in this area is fairly sound.

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? Other than with vandals or people attempting to insert unsourced information into an article, as far as I can remember I have never been involved in an edit conflict. I am a firm believer in wp:concensus, and will always attempt to find one in a civil and constructive manner if their is a dispute. as an example (it's old, but it was the last time I had an edit dispute not concerning a vandal.)

Goals for admin coaching process
As far as how I think you can help me... basically, even though I've had an account since Feb 07, I really haven't been editing heavily except for the past couple months. Before that, editing is sporadic. I know their is a great deal to learn about wikipedia, there are a lot of guidelines, and a lot of work that needs to be done. Overall, what I would like from a coach is someone to show me all the facets of wikipedia, and point out areas of weakness that I have, and also to point out facets of wikipedia that I do not seem to have much experience in. While I said my main focus has been vandalism in the past, as an editor, I would like to have knowledge of all areas of wikipedia, and have experience working in them.

Not only that, as an administrator, you already possess a great deal more experience than I have, as well as wisdom inasmuch as the wikipedia operates. My main goal in working with an admin coach is simply to learn from his experience. I am open to all criticism (I have a pretty thick skin as well, so please be blunt if you prefer). If after working together for a time we realize that I do not have the personality or simply what it takes to be an admin, then this whole experience will still have been worth it, because I'll have become a better editor, and will be able to contribute to wikipedia in a more wholistic manner as an editor. To me, admin coaching, while perhaps its main function is to give an editor knowledge and skill to perhaps be an admin, I think just as important it improves the student to be a better contributor, regardless of what tools he has available to him. Guldenat (talk) 18:37, 15 January 2008 (UTC)

RFA reading list
OK, great. Have you read the three documents referenced at the top of WP:RFA? These are: administrators' reading list, how-to guide, and guide to requests for adminship.

You may or may not want to read all of the above material in detail. I had the goal of doing so but someone offered to nominate me before I had a chance to sit down and plow through it so I decided to submit my RFA without having done so. So... I'm not going to insist that you read and memorize all of the material. However, it's probably worthwhile for you to skim through it and delve into the areas that interest you. If you have any questions that arise from this reading, feel free to shoot them by me.

--Richard (talk) 18:57, 15 January 2008 (UTC)


 * Ok, I'm going to go ahead and give those a look. Now, will any coaching assignments be place here as well? Guldenat (talk) 19:18, 15 January 2008 (UTC)


 * Yes, although I have to admit that I'm "winging it" here. I don't have specific "coaching assignments" lined up to give you.  I do have some advice about preparing for RFA which I will give to you in due course.  Some of that advice may result in assignments but I haven't thought it through in any organized way yet.  Let's see how things develop as we discuss various admin-related topics.
 * --Richard (talk) 07:14, 17 January 2008 (UTC)


 * Just to let you know, I've been and will be a bit busy for the next few days, so my activity level will be low. You mentioned yours will be as well due to school and what not until about February, so it looks like we're on the same page by circumstance.

By the way, winging it sounds good. Sometimes that's the best way to get things done. ;) Guldenat (talk) 20:43, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

Participation in RFA
I noticed in your contributions list that you have expressed an opinion in at least one RFA. I think participation in RFA is the only way to really understand what other editors look for in a prospective admin. One way to find RFAs to participate in is to look at WP:BN for the table of active RFAs. Look especially for the ones that have between 50%-80% support. If an RFA has over 80% support, then this is probably a shoo-in and you won't really learn what tends to disqualify an admin candidate. If the RFA has less than 50% support, it will be for obvious reasons and you also won't learn much. It's the "could almost make it" candidates that provide the most useful understanding of what can cause an RFA to fail. As always, if you have any questions, feel free to ask me or leave a question on WT:RFA. WT:RFA is usually filled with long discussions of philosophy and theory about RFA, why it's broken and the perennial proposal to fix the RFA process. I don't read it often because I don't have that kind of time and energy. It might be worth reading just once to get a sense of what people are concerned about. However, my advice is "Don't get sucked into it. It is an incredible time sink."

--Richard (talk) 19:06, 15 January 2008 (UTC)