Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee Elections December 2018/Candidates/Mkdw/Statement

Mkdw

 * Hello, I am Mkdw. I was first appointed to the Arbitration Committee in 2016 and I am putting myself forward for a second term.


 * To tell you a little bit about my time on Wikipedia, I first began editing in 2006. I worked on a number of regionally related articles and portals (when they were a much more common entity). I stepped away while at school and came back in 2012. I became an administrator in 2013 (RFA) and I retain access to OTRS and UTRS.


 * I consider myself one of the more active participating members of the Arbitration Committee and take on some of the internal clerical work with some others. It has meant my time has shifted away from editing but I am typically on everyday. ArbCom is far less busy with cases but receives a significant number of appeals and inquiries by email. We have been exploring a way to publish statistics. Hopefully a way can be found. There have been some reforms that are mid-process or being discussed that I would like to see completed, such as a better process and set of requirements for functionary activity. Undisclosed paid editing and checkuser appeals are steadily on the rise and my experience at SPI has been very helpful.


 * Transparency has been a defining issue for the Arbitration Committee. It has been tremendously challenging to deal with matters that require strict confidentiality while also preserving the trust of the community. While it is not always possible to disclose information about those situations, despite inquiries from the community, it is unquestionably important that the community trusts in the individuals with whom they have appointed to make these decisions. As such, any appointment process largely benefits from having a broad selection of candidates to best represent the community with whom they elect. I am here to stand as one of those options.


 * As a current member of the Arbitration Committee, I have signed the Confidentiality Agreement for Non-public Information and will comply with the criteria.


 * My inactive alternate accounts are User:Mkdw Bot and User:Mkdw VF. I recently registered User:Mkdw (Public) as part of a workshop and outreach partnership with the main public library branch in my city.