User talk:History DMZ/Archive 1

hi
I'm curious to know how you found the request for adminship page. Chris Troutman ( talk ) 14:25, 25 February 2020 (UTC)
 * User:Chris troutman, there was a notice announcing it on my Watchlist. History DMZ (talk) 14:28, 25 February 2020 (UTC)
 * I thought as much. That practice was started a couple years ago. What motivated the question you asked? You don't seem to have experience with RfA before. Chris Troutman  ( talk ) 14:33, 25 February 2020 (UTC)
 * User:Chris troutman, I was INVITED to ask questions. I asked a fair question: What (not who) makes a bad administrator? Do we not all want to know what the candidate has to say? History DMZ (talk) 14:39, 25 February 2020 (UTC)
 * When I noticed the discussion, it sounded like a misunderstanding. RfA tends to be very insular and for good reason. Because Wikipedia is beset by hordes of vandals and other banned editors with a fixation on causing trouble here, anyone new posting questions is automatically seen as a troublemaker in hiding. Your edit history doesn't indicate to me that you're one of those; I think this was an honest misunderstanding. Generally, new users don't feel so emboldened to ask questions like yours, because those of us regulars assume it's meant to trip up a candidate even though you assert you didn't mean it that way. I'm sorry this has blown up. I opposed the invitation measure that drew you in; the belief was that inviting other editors to comment would improve our current process which tends to be toxic to some of our more-coddled editors. In this case, perhaps an editor protecting Wikipedia overreacted; perhaps not. Regardless, I hope you continue to contribute to Wikipedia. Chris Troutman  ( talk ) 14:53, 25 February 2020 (UTC)
 * User:Chris troutman, thank you very much for your kind words. Could you please intervene and stop this madness at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Bureaucrats%27_noticeboard

Thank you. History DMZ (talk) 15:06, 25 February 2020 (UTC)

Chris Troutman ( talk ) 14:55, 25 February 2020 (UTC)
 * Thank you :) History DMZ (talk) 08:41, 26 February 2020 (UTC)
 * And Thank you again! History DMZ (talk) 08:41, 26 February 2020 (UTC)

Reverted at BN
Hi, History DMZ, I appreciate that you're trying to defend yourself at BN, but you shouldn't add comments to discussions that have been closed. It was closed without prejudice against you; it's better to just leave it be. Thanks, Writ Keeper &#9863;&#9812; 15:44, 25 February 2020 (UTC)
 * User:Writ Keeper: Thank you for your message and for putting an end to this madness. I can't believe how I was attacked for asking a simple question: What makes a bad administrator? That was my crime. History DMZ (talk) 15:47, 25 February 2020 (UTC)

“Invited”
There may be a semantic disconnect here. You were not invited to participate, you were notified via your watchlist of an open discussion. Similarly, optional questions are permitted, not invited. There are any number of open discussions on the project right now you should avoid, even if they come across your notice - at least until you have spent more time participating in the non-administrative areas of the project. I do not mean this harshly. There are discussions ongoing about hiding the notice from newer editors, which may have helped here. Happy editing, –xenotalk 15:52, 25 February 2020 (UTC)
 * User:xeno: Thank you for your message I guess. You guys should really work on making users feel more welcomed... History DMZ (talk) 15:55, 25 February 2020 (UTC)
 * User:xeno: And happy admin-ing to you. History DMZ (talk) 15:59, 25 February 2020 (UTC)

Welcome - in more detail!
I see you were already welcomed, but here's a load more reading materials to help you settle in swiftly. Top tip from me: accept that this place is complicated for newbies. It's not [just] us being unfriendly and it's definitely not your fault. --Dweller (talk) Become old fashioned! 16:11, 25 February 2020 (UTC)
 * User:Dweller: Thank you very much for all that you just did and said. You and User:Chris troutman are what makes Wikipedia great. Perhaps you and the other fair admins can work on un-complicating things...But thank you again. History DMZ (talk) 16:16, 25 February 2020 (UTC)
 * One day, if you stay here long enough, you will look back at that suggestion (to un-complicate things) and reflect on what it actually would require. Cheers, &middot; &middot; &middot; Peter Southwood (talk): 04:04, 26 February 2020 (UTC)
 * User:Pbsouthwood: I would rather laugh than cry about that apparent reality. History DMZ (talk) 05:06, 26 February 2020 (UTC)
 * I would like to add my agreement to the comments above by, , . we are glad you're here. thanks for joining!! --Sm8900 (talk) 22:42, 5 March 2020 (UTC)
 * Thank you very much for your kindness and for your cordial welcome. You guys are an amazing bunch. History DMZ (talk) 01:11, 6 March 2020 (UTC)

RfA question
Out of interest, do you have an answer to your question? I know that assuming it is intended to identify people before they become admins who actually got the bit and later showed they should not have, I don't have an answer, and any test that would work reliably and consistently would be of great value to us all. Cheers, &middot; &middot; &middot; Peter Southwood (talk): 18:59, 25 February 2020 (UTC)
 * User:Pbsouthwood: The whole point of my question is/was for the community to know what an admin-candidate believes a bad admin is before deciding to approve him or her. My answer to what makes a bad admin?: Lack of transparency, abuse of power, big ego, and hypocrisy. A good example? Read User:Levivich's comment at the WP:BN trainwreck. Cheers. History DMZ (talk) 19:22, 25 February 2020 (UTC)
 * I think that these characteristics are fairly universally agreed to be undesirable in an admin, and anyone who appeared to show any of them before RFA would be likely be to have this pointed out. Probably in some detail. Most people would probably find these characteristics generally undesirable in any Wikipedian, except themselves - see your last point - very few people will admit to themselves that they are hypocrites, and most people seem to think their ego is the right size for them, but we tend to tolerate them in proportion to the value of the work produced and in inverse proportion to the time they cause to be wasted dealing with them. Cheers,  &middot; &middot; &middot; Peter Southwood (talk): 03:19, 26 February 2020 (UTC)
 * PS: I would add poor communication skills to your list. Also fairly universally agreed to be undesirable. Are you familiar with WP:ADMINACCT? &middot; &middot; &middot; Peter Southwood (talk): 03:37, 26 February 2020 (UTC)
 * User:Pbsouthwood: Thank you again for reaching out. I'm glad that you understand that we ALL need to look at ourselves in the mirror regardless of how important we are. I do lament that the user who was first to falsely accuse me has not yet apologized, but that's OK, I moved on. Yes, poor communication is a serious matter because it ties-in with potential lack of transparency about the internal processes that take place here that have a direct impact on us the common users. Also, I just read WP:ADMINACCT and I think that "poor judgement" should be first in the list and not last. Cordially, History DMZ (talk) 06:53, 26 February 2020 (UTC)


 * You've made your point all over the place, but you haven't moved on. Just saying. Cheers, -  FlightTime  ( open channel ) 07:09, 26 February 2020 (UTC)
 * User:FlightTime: Thank you for that, I really feel "welcomed" by you. Most of the other admins have graciously offered me an olive branch, perhaps you can try doing that too? Cordially, History DMZ (talk) 07:13, 26 February 2020 (UTC)
 * Sorry don't have any branches. I can only (on your issue) give advice drop the stick. You said above that you've move on, in my opinion you're still in park. -  FlightTime  ( open channel ) 07:22, 26 February 2020 (UTC)
 * User:FlightTime: I'm saddened by your attitude towards me. What did I do to you again? FYI, I never asked for your advice or opinion, but I still thank you. History DMZ (talk) 07:31, 26 February 2020 (UTC)
 * I'm saddened also. You've done nothing to me, but you've "done" a lot of disruption to the project. This will be my final comment here, I have a short fuse with trolls. -  FlightTime  ( open channel ) 07:37, 26 February 2020 (UTC)
 * User:FlightTime: That's your own opinion and nobody else's. Your user participation counts only as one vote, not more. And please stop insulting me. Goodbye and I wish you well. History DMZ (talk) 07:48, 26 February 2020 (UTC)
 * Per that discussion you point to, it's actually the opinion of a number of discrete editors. Fyi. ——  SN  54129  09:31, 26 February 2020 (UTC)
 * User:Serial Number 54129: OK, this is approaching harrassment, I don't deserve to be treated like this because I asked a single (optional) question to an admin-candidate. Stop now please, thank you. By the way, you should be supporting users not spend time hounding them. History DMZ (talk) 10:03, 26 February 2020 (UTC)
 * Yes, both hounding and harrasment are taken very seriously here: I encourage you to raise your concerns at the appropriate noticeboard and request an investigation. Cheers, ——  SN  54129  13:41, 26 February 2020 (UTC)
 * User:Serial Number 54129: Thank you for that. I sincerely hope that will never be necessary. I joined Wikipedia to help make the Encyclopedia even better for the readers, not to play war games with fellow users. History DMZ (talk) 13:53, 26 February 2020 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

 * Thank you very much :) History DMZ (talk)