Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee Elections December 2012/Candidates/YOLO Swag/Statement

YOLO Swag
When I started this journey more than six years ago, I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t know the politics or the policies. I didn’t know how to make a difference or how to make this site a more harmonious, welcoming editing environment.

All I had was this youthful idealism as well as a bit of a rebellious recklessness. I was drawn in by the concept of this encyclopedia as the sum of all the world’s knowledge. It seemed like a project with limitless possibilities.

I appreciated the freedom to edit and the diversity of editors’ background that made collaboration that much more fulfilling. There was also a faint sense of community, of being able to relate to each other despite all our individual differences and eccentricities. The implicit acknowledgement that hate me or love me, we were all in this together. We all strived to build and expand this project, to educate the masses, to prove the doubters and naysayers who said this could not be done wrong.

Six years later, I am older and wiser. While I still value authenticity, brashness, and the mantra of “keeping it real”, the youthful idealism is in the rearview mirror. I suspect the aforementioned naive idealism was the reason most of us signed up to contribute to this project in the first place. Then we all had our disillusioned coming-of-age moment that hardened us. I am world-wearied and cynical beyond my years. Yet the passion to make this community a better place still burns.

If elected, I promise to the bring the passion (shoutout to Giano/Malleus), 100% transparency except privacy concern (open ArbCom balloting, no secret mailing list/IRC), efficiency, integrity (Malleus’ civility enforcement case problematic), accountability, and the sense of community back (editor retention, userpage freedom, joke banner, satire, humor, shoutout to ‘zilla). I still firmly believe that we have more common grounds than we think, that consensus-building is not impossible. As part of the WikiProject ArbCom Reform Party, me and my running mate Count Iblis are offering fresh ideas and bold solutions. I truly believe together we can change Wikipedia for the better.

Last but not least, I have to give a shoutout to Bishonen for all her kind words and encouragement. I would not have lasted half as long here without you.

Wikipedians deserve better! We can do better!--YOLO Swag (talk) 01:55, 15 November 2012 (UTC)


 * If elected, I would be willing to identify myself to the Wikimedia Foundation. I've only ever had this one account.