Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2005-11-14/ArbCom update

This week, Arbitrator Kelly Martin announced that she would not be seeking her first full term on the ArbCom in the December elections unless asked to serve by Jimbo Wales, the current Arbitration Committee, or the community. Martin was appointed by Jimbo last month and made her decision on 11 November, stating:

"I have, after much thought, decided not to seek a full term as Arbitrator, and will further be resigning my adminship at the end of my current term. This is due to my increasing frustration with the general governance of the project, an issue I hoped to be able to do something to fix, but which is apparently broken beyond my ability to help. I hope that others will step up and fix the problems, but I don't have the energy to do it right now."

Her decision came after a week of controversy and disappointment for her. First, her request for bureaucratship was denied (see relevant story, link to Features and Admins), and a dispute, involving Mediation Cabal-related matters and catalyzed by the RfB, sprung up between Martin and Durin. Tensions were high between the two users and Martin subsequently filed a requests for comment against Durin. Later this week, Martin was the center of more controversy as several users objected to the CheckUser tool being granted to her (see related story).

On 12 November, though, Kelly Martin modified her statements:

"I have, after much thought, decided not to actively seek a full term as Arbitrator, although I will nonetheless stand for election if asked to do so by the community, the ArbCom, or Jimbo. I have, on advice from the community, elected to defer my decision whether to resign my adminship and my CheckUser rights until after the ArbCom elections are finished."

This leaves yet another seat on the ArbCom without an incumbent.

In other news, a straw poll was formed regarding the elections. Created by Radiant!, the poll was "put together to gauge public opinion. Needless to say this poll is not official or binding in any way whatsoever. It is simply a measurement." As of press time, there was limited input on the poll, but most Wikipedians indicated that they preferred an elected ArbCom.

Finally, this week Filiocht withdrew his candidacy, stating that his decision was based on "the uncertainty over the selection/election process, a state of affairs that effectively renders these candidacies meaningless." Also, Sam Korn entered the race, commenting that he is "interested in aiding the functions of our hard-worked Arbitration Committee." Korn also stated a caveat regarding the uncertainty of the elections.