Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2014-12-24/From the editor

Dear readers,

With increasing demands on my time in the real world, something that has been reflected in my edit history over the last several months, I have decided to step down from my role as the editor-in-chief of the Signpost after finding a successor. I am looking for two people to replace me, both as a safeguard against similar real life changes and to spread the overall workload.

Why should you apply? First, you will have established contributors who are currently producing consistently stellar work, thus making your initial learning curve far smaller. Second, it is an area far different than Wikipedia itself; writers at the Signpost frequently use and develop a different range of skills such as editorial judgment and journalistic tenacity. Third, the personal reporting you want to do is wide open. With "News and notes" having been on an extended hiatus, you are free to take it in the direction you want, but you will not have to fight to get readers—you will have thousands from the very beginning. Do you want to bring valuable content contributions to light? Do you want to examine arcane financial details of the Wikimedia Foundation and its affiliates? Do you want to investigate sockpuppet armies and their effects? Do you want to be the hub for fostering innovative ideas that will keep Wikipedia relevant for decades to come? The limit, quite literally, is your imagination.

If you are even tentatively interested or have any questions about the role, please email me by 7 January 2015. Tell me why you could be an excellent editor-in-chief, and do not be afraid to pitch new ideas!

Finally, I must thank, who has very nearly been the sole publisher of the Signpost in my stead for the last several months, and the rest of the Signpost team for admirably carrying on. In no particular order: has taken over "In the media" and made it into a weekly feature, something we have not seen in quite some time;  has produced consistently interesting interviews with WikiProject members;, along with a rotating set of contributors, have brought sardonic wit and commentary to  "Featured content"; and  and  have continued excellent analysis in the "Traffic report".

With all that said, I should emphasize that I will not be leaving Wikipedia nor am I planning to quit writing for the Signpost. As a departing US late-night talk show host recently said, "I'm not retiring. I'm stopping doing this; I'm not stopping doing it."

—, Signpost editor-in-chief