Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee Elections December 2013/Candidates/LFaraone/Statement

LFaraone

 * Hello, I'm LFaraone. I'm an administrator, CheckUser, and Oversight team member. I first registered a Wikipedia account in 2004, although I was not active until several years after. Like others, I was on the fence about running, and I'm presenting myself to the community because as a voter I wanted a strong candidate pool.

I became an administrator in 2008, and have been very active as a respondent with OTRS. Recently, most of my work has been in the functionaries team.

I am running for ArbCom for the opportunity to help craft future decisions on topics like the intersection of WP:OUTING, WP:COI, and WP:NOTCENSORED. I've been troubled by the recent mixed signals given by ArbCom on the scope of relevant policy, and as an arbitrator I would seek to provide clarity as to what they mean in context.

I've seen firsthand how powerful Wikipedia can be, both as a positive force and (sadly) as a detriment to biography subjects. Needless to say, I support a strong WP:BLP that protects the dignity of article subjects while still allowing us to provide neutral coverage. Some focus in this area and additional guidance from ArbCom would most certainly be useful, and I would like to ensure that such decisions are made taking in concerns of all involved.

I am used to dealing with nonpublic information through my previous work on Wikipedia and elsewhere. As such, I would take the same care with the information I receive as an arbitrator. I am over 18, have identified to the WMF, and have not used any non-test accounts besides this one. My account was previously known as User:Firefoxman prior to a rename in 2008; User:LFaraone_(usurped) was the account that was previously under my current name.