Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee Elections December 2007/Candidate statements/MastCell

MastCell

 * I've been a user since August 2006 and became an admin in May 2007. I'm a fairly active admin and editor; my content contributions are mostly to medical articles, including the featured articles acute myeloid leukemia and cholangiocarcinoma. I don't use IRC or the mailing list, so what you see in my contribution history is pretty much what you get. I initially wasn't going to run, because there is already an impressive array of excellent candidates. However, having expressed mild concern about a couple of prior decisions, the ethic of sofixit suggests that I should try to be part of a solution rather than just point out problems. So here I am.


 * My "platform" is pretty straightforward. I think that in-the-trenches experience with the practical application of policy and dispute resolution to controversial articles is essential for an Arbitrator, as the gap between theory and practice in these areas is substantial.


 * Given Wikipedia's prominence, it attracts people whose primary goal is to advance an agenda rather than improve the encyclopedia within the bounds of policy. Our current system of dealing with such editors is cumbersome. The best approach is not to adopt a circle-the-wagons siege mentality, nor to endlessly bicker about and enable such editors. Instead, we should deal quickly and decisively with editors who are evidently using Wikipedia as a battleground or a soapbox rather than working to improve the encyclopedia, and just as quickly move on and get back to improving the encyclopedia. Interestingly, identifying such editors is often quite straightforward, but actually dealing with them effectively is not. I would like for this to change.


 * I believe in second chances, probationary periods, and temporary topic restrictions instead of outright bans where feasible. However, I also believe that there is a point where efforts to reform a disruptive editor outweigh any potential benefit and take away time and energy that could be spent actually editing the encyclopedia. I think we too often pass this point.


 * The Arbitration Committee can't dispense Truth and Justice. It can only adjudicate matters of user conduct in a way that defends the encyclopedia and the community as a whole. I like Wikipedia; I spend a lot of time here, and I don't want anything bad to happen to it. I'm heartened to see such an impressive field of candidates, and hope you'll consider me among them. MastCell Talk 18:38, 30 November 2007 (UTC)


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