User talk:Defiant Elements/RFA

The role of bureaucrats
Instigators of discussion. Auron's biggest complaint about RfAs is that they aren't useful because they don't usually generate any discussion. If ya want discussion, ya might as well start some yerself. Press other users to better explain their opinions, present counter-arguments, anything to impel other users to do more than post a single comment and leave. &mdash;Dr Ishmael 01:37, 25 June 2008 (UTC)
 * Frankly, RfA is fine as it is. All this would do is make official policy closer to what you should have done last time. Not to sound accusing, but there's no reason to amend policy just because you screwed up on the community side of Phalange's promotion. If you wait just 3 days to promote a user no one else knows about, of course it's going to cause controversy. A normal nomination of an active, trusted community member doesn't cause problems. And frankly, I doubt a strange situation like Phalange is likely to come up any time soon. [[Image:Entrea Sumatae.png|Entrea Sumatae]]Entrea   [Talk]  01:51, 25 June 2008 (UTC)
 * What I should have done :/? I'm confused... are you addressing Auron?  Also, this really has very little to do with Phalange's nomination/promotion except in so far as it caused discussion and drama which made it clear (to me) that there was a reasonably fundamental difference of opinions when it came to the "considerations" I list on this page (thus the revamp).  [[Image:DE Sig Test 2.jpg|50x19px]]  *Defiant Elements*   +talk  09:14, 25 June 2008 (UTC)
 * Oops, yeah, addressing Auron. d'oh. Anyway, he screwed up, but I hope he learned his lesson and won't incite any more wiki-drama next time.[[Image:Entrea Sumatae.png|Entrea Sumatae]]Entrea  [Talk]  15:19, 25 June 2008 (UTC)
 * Whether or not Auron learned his lesson (whether or not he even believes there's a lesson to be learned other than "Next time, don't create an RFA") is immaterial. Now that the question's been raised, I think it's important to at least make an attempt to clarify/revamp the policy.  If people decide the final product is a bad/unnecessary idea, that's fine.  [[Image:DE Sig Test 2.jpg|50x19px]]  *Defiant Elements*   +talk  15:30, 25 June 2008 (UTC)
 * True, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to, shall we say, encourage Auron to do future RfA's in the same way our previous beurocrats did.[[Image:Entrea Sumatae.png|Entrea Sumatae]]Entrea  [Talk]  15:46, 25 June 2008 (UTC)
 * Meh. At the moment, I'm thinking the most viable option would be to combine the 2nd and 3rd options listed under "Possibilities" which would be a semi-radical change (2 wouldn't be so radical, but 3 probably would).  It's not about "putting Auron in his place so that this never happens again," it's about taking a critical look at the policy and seeing if it's an accurate reflection of the way things work, the way things maybe "should" work, etc.  And, if it turns out that it doesn't (which seems to be the case to me given the wikidrama) then it should be revised (which is what I'm suggesting).  [[Image:DE Sig Test 2.jpg|50x19px]]  *Defiant Elements*   +talk  15:51, 25 June 2008 (UTC)

shift emphasis to a discussion
The current RfA process doesn't have an aim because there is no clear consensus what makes a good admin. As long as that issue remains unadressed, you can tinker with the mechanics all you want - all you'll achieve is that you'll favor someone's hidden agenda because it might favor a style of candidate over another - and it is not clear which style, much less why.

So the solution is to put that aim in the spotlight. What are we looking for in an admin? Do we find it in the candidate? If the community addresses these questions, then the Bureaucrats will find their decisions made lighter. I have put a tentative list up at User:M.mendel/Admin Criteria. Please comment on that and help make it better.

No mechanism can prevent a Bureaucrat from abusing his power. As regards your point 2, I would suggest that "Bureaucrats provide a reason" not only "when acting in defiance of community consensus", but for most of their decisions. PanSola usually does that admirably, and JediRogue's did it here. Entropy set a bad precedent here, at least in my eyes, because I do not understand even today what motivated her Bureaucrat promotions.

I also expect of Bureacrats that they respect and, if need be, seek out community opinion on important issues before forming a decision, excepting emergencies, of course. --◄mendel► 18:19, 25 June 2008 (UTC)
 * As to defining what makes a good admin, if you intend it as anything other than a WikiEssay, it's a horrendous idea. Yes, there are general things you look for in an Admin, but trying to take a list of "objective" criteria and apply them to every candidate and then basing decisions on that set list of criteria is a crappy idea.  They're indicators at best.  Besides, there's no one "template" or "definition" which can ever hope to define a good admin properly and not everyone is gonna agree on whether candidate X fits that template anyway, so what's the point?  I also don't like the implication that it's intended to make the decision for the Bureaucrats.  That said, if you're just trying to get down some thoughts on various things people should take into account (among others), I don't have a problem with it.  Either way though, it doesn't change the fact that I want to revamp RFA.  Regarding Bureaucrats providing a reason, yes, it's always a good idea to provide a reason, but the important note to make is that the issue I'm attempting to address is transparency, and the only time there's a lack of transparency (or at least, a major one) is when a Bureaucrat defies community consensus without a reason.  [[Image:DE Sig Test 2.jpg|50x19px]]  *Defiant Elements*   +talk  18:30, 25 June 2008 (UTC)
 * Yes, I agree they're indicators - better than the "support - oppose - neutral" criteria that we're using as indicators now, with sometimes haphazard opinions to enlarge on them. If one of us had gone down that list for R.Phalange, Auron would have had a hard(er) time to dismiss our opinions out of hand when making his decision.
 * I do not anywhere imply that this is meant to make the decision for the Bureaucrat. If the Bureaucrat is meant to make a decision alone, the RfA as it is established is a farce. The RfA is there to help the Bureaucrat decide, not to make the decision for her - that's as it always was. What changes might be the sections on an empty RfA, or maybe just what people will write for an opinion.
 * When a Bureaucrat defies community consensus without a reason, no policy or mechanism can mitigate that except a way to have her or him removed from office - and I am NOT suggesting that. --◄mendel► 19:03, 25 June 2008 (UTC)