Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee Elections December 2009/Candidate statements/William M. Connolley

William M. Connolley
Brief summary: http://abstrusegoose.com/strips/ignorance.PNG

I've been around since 2003; I was an admin between 2006 and 2009. I mostly edit global warming type stuff, since I used to have a professional interest. My unique selling point for the arbcomm post is my thorough familiarity with arbcomm from the plaintiff side which gives me valuable insight into arbcomm's failings. I used to do lots of WP:AN3 stuff if you want evidence of dispute-familiarity.

Amongst the many failings of Arbcomm are:


 * Interminable unneeded delays: Arbitration/Requests/Case/Eastern European mailing list is but the most recent example.
 * Opacity: too much goes on behind the scences that should be on-wiki.
 * Failure of engagement: evidence, and participants, should be actively questionned.
 * Loss of control of case pages: workshop and evidence pages routinely degenerate into unreadable mess (the 1000 word evidence limit should be enforced).
 * Taking on cases that should be left to the community.
 * Laziness: failing to disentangle the root causes of disputes, instead relying on behaviour during the case for a decision.

Arbcomm needs to sanction fools and not feed the trolls.

[Update: No-one asked but: I'd have preferred public voting.]

[Late update: I just refound this:

"For the laws of nature, as justice, equity, modesty, mercy, and, in sum, doing to others as we would be done to, of themselves, without the terror of some power to cause them to be observed, are contrary to our natural passions, that carry us to partiality, pride, revenge, and the like. And covenants, without the sword, are but words and of no strength to secure a man at all. Therefore, notwithstanding the laws of nature (which every one hath then kept, when he has the will to keep them, when he can do it safely), if there be no power erected, or not great enough for our security, every man will and may lawfully rely on his own strength and art for caution against all other men."

Don't take it too literally.]