Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/ScottishFinnishRadish

ScottishFinnishRadish

Voice your opinion on this candidate (talk page) (65/26/8); Scheduled to end 21:58, 19 September 2022 (UTC)

Nomination

ScottishFinnishRadish (talk · contribs) – Friends, colleagues, fellow editors, it is my pleasure to present ScottishFinnishRadish‎ as a candidate for adminship. SFR came to my attention with his helpful and well-considered interventions on the talk pages of contentious articles. His extensive work on edit-requests in particular has earned him appreciation, but SFR is far from a one-trick pony; he has a solid portfolio of content work to his name, including two GAs, and has substantial contributions to anti-vandalism and at AfD. SFR has impressed me with his patience, his knowledge of policy, and his communications skills, and I believe he will make an excellent addition to the admin corps. Vanamonde (Talk) 09:14, 10 September 2022 (UTC)

Co Nomination

I am pleased to co-nominate SFR, a friendly guy whom I also consider to be a friend. SFR displays a breadth and depth of knowledge in various areas, so he knows content and he knows the various plights that content contributors face. Likewise, he exhibits a sound understanding of our policies and guidelines, our procedures and best practices. An understanding which he articulate in a clear and unassuming way. SFR is also familiar with the many challenges that admins face, mostly because he pays attention and asks the right questions.

SFR often takes on resolving challenging, conflict-ridden disputes, doing so with a mixture of bluntness and grace. And above all else, with positive outcomes. He can also frequently be seen grinding on resolving requests that are more mundane and tedious, but which nonetheless are in need of attention. Requests which otherwise would become a source of conflict if left unattended. Critically, he has the kind of rare temperament that does not fracture and which rarely even bends (he even tolerates my incessant spammage, so that says a lot!).

At a time (a long time) in which we are consistently losing far more admins than we are gaining, and where some backlogs have become unwieldy, I know he'll be a welcome addition to the admin corps. So Let's Make RfA Gleat Again [←this is a joke], and let's start right here right now with SFR. As an admin, SFR is sure to positively embiggen the project, so I urge everyone to join me in supporting his nomination! El_C 11:15, 10 September 2022 (UTC)

Candidate, please indicate acceptance of the nomination here: I accept the nomination, and thanks to Vanamonde93 for convincing me this wasn't a horrible idea. I have never edited for pay, and I do not, nor have I ever, operated another account. ScottishFinnishRadish (talk) 21:58, 12 September 2022 (UTC)

Questions for the candidate

Dear candidate, thank you for offering to serve Wikipedia as an administrator. Please answer these questions to provide guidance for participants:

1. Why are you interested in becoming an administrator?

A: I plan to do most of my mop-work around AIV, RFPP, and BLP revdels/page protections, as well as adding the fully protected edit requests to my patrolling. I spend a decent chunk of my time patrolling the edit request queues, which gives me a view at an under-patrolled part of Wikipedia, and I often find questionable statements or outright BLP violations. Anything that speeds up the process of getting flagrant BLPvios hidden is a decent boon in my eyes. I also plan to close AfDs and do some copyright work when my time permits.

2. What are your best contributions to Wikipedia, and why?

A: I've written a couple GAs (The amazing Rosetta Lawson and her husband Jesse Lawson) and plan to expand Frelinghuysen University to GA and work on articles of some of the associated people. I've rescued a few more from failed drafts (Lisa Winter and Margaret Bartlett Thornton to name a couple) and written an article with a funny name on a topic I discovered researching during an AfD (Shit flow diagram), which are the normal things to cover in this question. I think, however, the contributions I think are most important are my contributions dealing with BLPs. I've made many oversight requests via email, often found during edit request patrolling, to get some vile stuff removed. I spend a decent chunk of time lurking about WP:BLPN and like to think my contributions there are positive, and kept unsourced dross out of many articles. I've also nominated several problem BLP articles for deletion.

3. Have you been in any conflicts over editing in the past or have other users caused you stress? How have you dealt with it and how will you deal with it in the future?

A: Well, there was this little thing, but it wasn't overly stressful. I also believe that, for the most part, I've mended fences with most of the editors involved there and we share a mutual respect. We may have different views on how exactly leads should be constructed and sourcing should be used but we all agree that the "healing crystal" that someone gave me at work is just a rock. Things also got pretty heated at JP Sears where balancing WP:BLP, WP:FRINGE, and an overall lack of good sources made for a contentious discussion, but I tried (unsuccessfully) to forge a compromise here that would address the BLP concerns as well as provide the necessary context about the article subject. In general, it takes a lot more than the internet to stress me out, and when I'm feeling stressed I have a beautiful wife, some lovely dogs and cats, and plenty of hobbies to help me recenter myself. I also don't have an issue just removing an article from my watchlist and shrugging, which I did at Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed. It's a big Wiki and I don't have to work on all of it. I don't have a problem stepping away or reducing activity if I'm feeling burnt-out, and if I'm really worked up maybe I'll spend another hundred hours building a bed.

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You may ask optional questions below. There is a limit of two questions per editor. Multi-part questions disguised as one question, with the intention of evading the limit, are disallowed. Follow-up questions relevant to questions you have already asked are allowed.

Optional question from CollectiveSolidarity

4. You already have my enthusiastic support, but I would like to ask you : What was your biggest mistake while editing? And what did you learn from it?

A: When I was a newer editor I was responding to either a BLPN or COIN posting dealing with the article on Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, and with the belief that I was right, I edit warred trying to address the problems with the article. I should not have done that, and now I would be better equipped to get the assistance necessary to resolve the problem. What I learned is that I can just remove the article from my watchlist and walk away, which is what I ended up doing. None of us are under any obligation to fix any specific article, or deal with a dedicated undeclared COI editor. ScottishFinnishRadish (talk) 23:03, 12 September 2022 (UTC)

Oh, there was also the time I hid most of an arb case request because I messed up my cot/cob templates. I've gotten better at using them since then. ScottishFinnishRadish (talk) 23:15, 12 September 2022 (UTC)

Optional question from GeoffreyT2000

5. I like the nice rhyming words in your username! So, what do the rhyming words mean to you as a Wikipedian?

A: I assume you're asking what my username means? It's a nickname my old college roommate gave me after imagining me as an old timey bare knuckle boxer. Some pilsners were involved as well. I'm pretty sure I have the drawing he made of me as an old timey boxer in a box somewhere. ScottishFinnishRadish (talk) 23:41, 12 September 2022 (UTC)

Optional question from TheresNoTime

6. Prior to registering this account, had you previously edited Wikipedia?

A: This is going to be a bit of a broader answer that also covers 10 and 14. I've also explained much of this in the past in different conversations, but not all in the same place all at once. I started editing wikis in around 1999 or 2000, back when the preferred method of wikilinking was TwoCapitals rather than brackets. In the mid-to-early 2000s I also ran two MUDs, and set up a wiki at that point and edited extensively. Starting about a decade ago some pals and I set up a wiki as an easy way to log our tabletop RPG sessions and store our character sheets. Wiki editing is not new to me.

I had made probably a few dozen edits before I created my account. Normal productive IP stuff, copyedits and the like. What I did do that was unusual was read the back pages of Wikipedia, starting somewhere around 8 years ago (based on the job I was working when I started reading). I was always one to check talk pages when reading an article on a contentious topic, and during one of those talkpage reads, I saw a link to ANI or AE, which I checked out. This led me to read a whole lot more about Wikipedia that normal readers never see. It was pretty interesting, from an outside perspective, to see how much went on. Reading those types of discussions, seeing the arguments and results, makes one pretty familiar with a lot of the acronyms and cavernous PAG pages. I've read quite a few arb cases before I started editing, I'm familiar with the Eric Corbett drama, and watched FRAMGATE unfold from the sidelines. I also work in a field that requires reading significant amounts of technical documentation, ATPs, and SOPs, so the policy pages of Wikipedia are not nearly as dense to me as they would be to others.

I started editing because I found myself with some partial down-time at work, where I was sitting at a work station monitoring a test but not needing to use the vast majority of my attention. I figured that I'd read Wikipedia long enough, including all of the internal stuff, that I could lend a hand reasonably well and hopefully without friction. New changes patrol was a nice and easy low bandwidth activity that I could work on while still paying all the necessary attention to the units I was working on. If troubleshooting or refixturing arose I could drop it immediately without losing my place. When I had a bit more time I'd try to help on AfDs, as I knew they were chronically underattended. Fairly quickly I was accused of being a sock. At that point I emailed arbcom directly from my actual, real life, real name email address. I continued using that email address up through the Arbcom case I was involved in. When I was IP blocked and dealing with checkusers and UTRS I disclosed both my real name and employer. My hope was that by being honest in that way I could avoid some of the sock-accusation shenanigans. I don't think that Arbcom or checkusers do "proof of not being a long term crypto-sock" statements, but they've had my personal information for well over a year. Oversighters have access to my real name as well, because my early reports to the OS email were sent when my real email address was still linked to my account. I may expand on this a bit more later, but I'm already a bit late starting my commute, but didn't want to let this sit all day. I'll have some dedicated time to answer questions in depth in about 11 hours. ScottishFinnishRadish (talk) 09:51, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

Optional question from Tomorrow and tomorrow

7. I'm curious because it has been raised in the discussion: With the majority of your edits talk pages rather than at main, do you feel that that you have the needed knowledge of content editing?

A:

Optional questions from Wugapodes

8. Citing WP:BLPDS, an administrator has fully protected a high-traffic, controversial biography for 30 days. The full protection is to prevent the insertion of potentially defamatory material to one section of the article pending the conclusion of an RfC on whether to cover the material. You find yourself fielding edit requests on the talk page: under what circumstances (if any) would you edit through full protection?

A:

9. An editor requests page protection. You review the edit history and see 50 edits going back 4 years. Those edits are mostly back-and-forth reverts between dynamic IPs (v6 and v4), redlinked usernames, and some names you recognize as recent change watchers, but there are some helpful IPs who improve the page every few weeks. The disruptive editing occurs in clusters, and an RC watcher or helpful IP usually reverts the disruption within a minute or so, though on a few occasions the disruption has lasted for up to an hour.

My question: in this situation, whats action would you take, and why?

A:

Optional question from HouseBlaster

10. Thank you for putting yourself forward at RfA! Below, some people are raising concerns about how quickly you learned your way around the encyclopedia. For example, you knew that [[this]] is called a wikilink on your fourth edit, were asking people to discuss changes on the article's talk page soon thereafter, and made a successful report at AIV, all on your first day! You also made your way to AfD on your second day editing. How did you learn to edit?

A:

Optional question from Espresso Addict

11. You seem to have created a single article (Shit flow diagram) during your tenure. How well do you feel that you understand the concerns of editors focused on content creation, particularly given your stated interest in working on copyright and closing deletion debates?

A:

Optional questions from Ixtal

12. Many editors have questioned your suitability as admin based off your low percentage of mainspace edits. Seeing how you plan on working mostly on AIV, RFPP, and BLPP, how have other areas of the wiki helped you gain experience with PAGs relevant to these areas?

A:

13. Would you be open to recall? If so, under what criteria?

A:

Optional question from MaxnaCarta

14. Given the concerns raised by others that you have possibly edited previously without disclosing, please can you explain how you became familiar with vandalism, what AIV is, and how to report someone there the same day you started editing?? While newbies are not always clueless, this shows rather advanced knowledge for someone’s first day of editing.

A:

Discussion

• Links for ScottishFinnishRadish: ScottishFinnishRadish (talk · contribs · deleted · count · AfD · logs · block log · lu · rfar · spi)
• Edit summary usage for ScottishFinnishRadish can be found here.

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Please keep discussion constructive and civil. If you are unfamiliar with the nominee, please thoroughly review their contributions before commenting.

Support

1. First! El_C 16:16, 12 September 2022 (UTC)
2. Support SFR and I have not agreed on everything, but they seem to be WP:CLUEful and to play it straight even in controversial areas, and that counts for a lot. Bon courage (talk) 17:15, 12 September 2022 (UTC)
3. Support support support! Firefangledfeathers (talk / contribs) 22:01, 12 September 2022 (UTC)
4. Support My only regret is that I can support this but once. SFR is one of my favourite editors, and per El_C's co-nomination statement above, I agree has all of the skills and understanding we like to see from admins. I think they will be a fantastic holder of the mop. Sideswipe9th (talk) 22:14, 12 September 2022 (UTC)
5. Support Excellent candidate who will make a fine addition to the admin corps. scope_creep^Talk 22:30, 12 September 2022 (UTC)
6. * Pppery * _{it has begun...} 22:34, 12 September 2022 (UTC)
7. Support. User can be trusted with the admin mop. NASCARfan0548 ↗ 22:36, 12 September 2022 (UTC)
8. support per nominators. seen 'em around.-- Deepfriedokra (talk) 22:37, 12 September 2022 (UTC)

   enthusiastic support -- Deepfriedokra (talk) 22:38, 12 September 2022 (UTC)

9. Support, I've hoped to see this for a while now, and certainly have no reservations now that I do. Seraphimblade ^{Talk to me} 22:38, 12 September 2022 (UTC)
10. Pile-on support Andre🚐 22:39, 12 September 2022 (UTC)
11. Support. POS (for pile-on support) . More candidates like this, please! P.I. Ellsworth , ed. ^put'r there 22:46, 12 September 2022 (UTC)
12. Trusted, competent. ~ ToBeFree (talk) 22:53, 12 September 2022 (UTC)
13. support seems ok--Ozzie10aaaa (talk) 22:59, 12 September 2022 (UTC)
14. Support. I have been impressed with SFR's deft hand at resolving disputes and edit requests in high-conflict areas. Simply put, we need more admins like him. Generalrelative (talk) 23:07, 12 September 2022 (UTC)
15. Support. Sure. But always remember... CollectiveSolidarity (talk) 23:11, 12 September 2022 (UTC)
16. Support. Being an admin should not be a big deal. ✠ SunDawn ✠ (contact) 23:15, 12 September 2022 (UTC)
17. Support. BilledMammal (talk) 23:26, 12 September 2022 (UTC)
18. Support. Easy support. This editor is always pretty great to work with! –MJL ‐Talk‐^☖ 23:30, 12 September 2022 (UTC)
19. Support, absolutely and completely. -- LCU ActivelyDisinterested ∆transmissions∆ °co-ords° 23:33, 12 September 2022 (UTC)
20. Support Of course! Beccaynr (talk) 23:35, 12 September 2022 (UTC)
21. Support. No concerns. Arbitrarily0 ^(talk) 23:39, 12 September 2022 (UTC)
22. Support Oh my goodness, yes and please. Absolutely would be a net positive with the tools. RickinBaltimore (talk) 23:44, 12 September 2022 (UTC)
23. Support Great work on edit requests and reverting unhelpful edits! GeoffreyT2000 (talk) 23:46, 12 September 2022 (UTC)
24. Supprt Admins who are willing to do behind the scenes tasks are greatly needed, and I really have no reason to oppose, as any accusations of being a sock are currently evidentiary baseless. Sea Cow (talk) 00:47, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
25. Support I’ve seen this user around. This user will enjoy having the mop. Sarrail (talk) 00:59, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

    That the candidate would enjoy having the mop is among the strongest arguments to oppose.Banks Irk (talk) 12:42, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

    That might be the worst argument I've seen in about 12 years of watching RfAs. — Rhododendrites ^talk \\ 13:24, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

26. Support. Oh my God. I cannot take the complaints about SFR's tenure seriously. Two years is enough time to learn the essentials three times over. About the mainspace percentage: Do you guys realize there are other tasks to do here? We're set to tank under 1000 admins in January and it'll only decrease from there. And here we are talking about mainspace percentage, as if he hasn't made 5,000 edits and created a good article there anyway. —VersaceSpace 🌃 02:39, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

    And re the concerns about figuring things out so quickly: I think the more experienced Wikipedians have a bad tendency to assume that any editor who gets into the rhythm too quick is a sockpuppet. That happened to me too. Guess I'll eat my words if this ends up being a clean start or worse, but I heavily doubt either of those are the case here. —VersaceSpace 🌃 02:50, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

27. Support I’m a relatively new editor, but I’ve seen SFR’s work and think they would make an excellent addition to the admin team. I also have tremendous respect for the opinions and judgment of our two co-nominations, and have no reason to doubt their conclusion that SFR would be a good admin. Regarding some comments concerning SFR’s ratio of Talk-to-Mainspace edits: While I understand these concerns, I believe they are misplaced. We are discussing whether SFR should be made an admin, not whether SFR should be promoted to the (non-existent) position of “Editor Who Contributes Lots of Mainspace Content.” The work I’ve seen from SFR on Talk pages is precisely what qualifies them for the position of admin: behind-the-scenes negotiation and dispute deescalation. ThanksForHelping (talk) 03:09, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
28. Support. I believe this editor has protentional to become a good admin on the platform.`~HelpingWorld~` ^(👽🛸) 03:25, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
29. Support. I've had the pleasure of working with ScottishFinnishRaddish in quite a few places. They are a great editor, and would make a good admin. There is unhelpful scrutiny on their number of edits and how long they've been here. We should not be counting it in the hundreds of thousands or in decades. SWinxy (talk) 04:17, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
30. Support As someone who firmly believes that, unless you're creating new articles by yourself, you should be editing talk pages far more than you should be editing main, I believe someone who spends a lot of time on talk pages is an asset to the community. FrederalBacon (talk) 05:17, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
31. Support, ScottishFinnishRadish is one the greatest editors editing here and he'll be a great admin! -----Lilach5 (לילך5) discuss 05:19, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
32. Support, Seems more than qualified and clearly capable of helping.DocFreeman24 (talk) 06:20, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
33. Support, naturally, as nominator. And I want to note that percentage of edits by namespace is a rather poor indicator of whether a candidate knows what's what with content. Talk page content discussions (which SFR has participated in a lot of) do a lot more for one's understanding of content than anti-vandalism or category cleanup, and yet the latter categories will inflate your mainspace contributions quite substantially. Vanamonde (Talk) 06:43, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

    Just seeking clarification, as nominator what are your thoughts on concerns raised about SFR not being a new editor or their responses here? Tomorrow and tomorrow (talk) 07:16, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

    @Tomorrow and tomorrow: Thanks for asking nicely. When I offer to nominate a candidate, I do so after investigating their record quite thoroughly, and I was aware of both discussions you link above. I spent quite literally days searching for evidence that SFR was here for non-constructive purposes, and failed to find any. I'll note that I consider hat-collecting non-constructive, and didn't find evidence of that, either: I had to persuade SFR to run, rather than him needing to persuade me. I also chatted with others who did similar investigation, and spoke with SFR about his history, and the responses contained further lack of evidence of malicious intent. I don't think it's reasonable for to continue to be suspicious after all that: I'd never get anywhere, on Wikipedia least of all. I'd also like to point to the eloquent answer given by my previous nominee Wugapodes, when asked a similar question: "it shouldn't be strange that someone read the fucking manual" (I'd encourage you to read his full response).

    With respect to your other concern; I do not think it is in any way a bad thing for an admin to be a strict enforcer of BLP; not only is it a core policy, it's one of the few areas in which Wikipedia and its editors can face legal consequences. It's an unfortunate reality that we have any number of articles on people not in the public eye, whose questionable activities we cannot document, because no source that's good enough has paid them attention. Under the circumstances, I do believe SFR was justified in demanding a consensus building discussion. That discussion, and the reverting that occurred during it, got more heated than it should have: but if it's the number of reverts SFR made that concerns you, I'd point to his answer to Q4. Vanamonde (Talk) 07:59, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

    Thanks for responding. I figured you would likely have looked into this so glad to hear your thoughts. Tomorrow and tomorrow (talk) 10:17, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

34. Support, I am unconvinced by the opposes at this point.--Ymblanter (talk) 08:13, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
35. Support Yeah. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 08:35, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
36. Support based on excellent tenure, accomplishments in various fora, and, yes, personal positive feelings towards the editor. I do not mean to downplay the content issues. I would significantly prefer a more content-oriented editor myself, all else equal. Still, all else is rarely equal, and I have a high opinion of SFR's potential for adminship. Vaticidalprophet 08:39, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
37. Support. I'm sure if I looked at his noticeboard posts, I could find something I disagreed with. And we have very different pie charts. But from one precocious editor to another (my fifth edit after registering, I think I had one IP edit before I registered, but it's been a while; note that I used another article as a template for biographical format and wiki-syntax, and wrote in Word, and I've been told I would have been blocked as an obvious sockpuppet of somebody experienced if I hadn't failed to preview and note that Word on my laptop was still set to smart quotes), I like the cut of his jib. Looking at the discussion on his user talk referred to in a couple of Opposes, I'm impressed by the candidate's calm and to the point responses, including his suggestion that the ongoing discussion at BLPN is a more appropriate place to discuss. Looking at his edit summaries in rejecting edit requests, linked in another Oppose, I expected to find he was just templating; but he gives a reason each time. An important part of being an admin is explaining things to people, so I was concerned about that, and I did wince a bit at this talk page section referred to in another oppose, but that was an unfortunate collision between, on the one hand, a well-meaning newbie with a valid point that, since we have an entire article on the specific issue, was to a large extent a matter of balance, and on the other an experienced edit request patroller (and most edit requests languish unexamined, this editor is doing something much needed, and doing it competently and with a good grasp of relevant policies) who saw a wordy, value-laden post that buried the actual request (I read it twice and I still can't quite see what specific edit was being requested). With two GAs, the candidate has two more than I will ever have (I used to write articles, and I still sometimes improve them, but I've never competed in that arena). His other mainspace contributions are useful: the first-day edit linked in an Oppose as an example of precocious knowledge of link syntax usefully applies specialized knowledge to inform the reader, I'm very glad he made it. He seems to have a good head on his shoulders, does explain himself, and gives a very good account of why he needs the tools. 19 months of high activity is sufficient for me; others may differ of course, but the one thing I would advise is, if you do become an admin, remember that lesson from Talk:Climate change; especially as an admin, you need to remember that the obvious response isn't always the right one, and in particular, that someone's communication style may mask something you hadn't thought of and should take into account—in this instance, someone pointed out that there was actually a valid edit request buried in there, along with a source (although a better one was available). This may be the longest Support made here, but here's the end of it :-) Yngvadottir (talk) 09:00, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
38. Support IMO two years is enough experience. More importantly their understanding of policies and practice shows that they'll make a good admin.. ‐‐1997kB (talk) 09:36, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
39. Support The editor knows how to properly skin and clean a rabbit. →StaniStani 10:37, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
40. Support I've seen them around and they gave me a positive impression. I find arguments about tenure unconvincing: 19 months is plenty to learn. SFR did have a precocious beginning, which required a very good explanation. I'm a disappointed that people opposed before giving them the chance to reply, as I found the explanation convincing. We see a very steep learning rate in the first few hours of editing, but anti-vandal work isn't so difficult that this is completely unrealistic. Are we thinking too much about Eostrix here? Another set of opposes are about answering edit requests. I think we're partially blaming SFR for a fundamental fault in the edit request system, where the standard answers are not well-aligned with what new editors expect. Perfectly fine requests that need consensus are answered (using Template:EP) with a red  Not done for now:, and requests without a reliable source with Not done. This neglects the fact that new editors often use edit requests in an attempt to open discussions. I see talk and mainspace both as content areas, so not worried about a low mainspace percentage. Femke (talk) 11:23, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
41. Support I think the nominators have got it right. The lack in experience in editing actual content is certainly a minus but the general picture is fine. Nxavar (talk) 11:39, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
42. Weak support I'm not concerned about the length of time (if it was under a year I'd be concerned), and no inherent problem with newbies with a clue. Only about 18% of edits to mainspace is a bit of a concern (hence me saying weak), but they have a couple of GAs and edit request experience at least. More content creation would be better though. I'm sure I'd disagree with some talk page comments (e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Climate_change/Archive_90#Greater_regard_for_Indigenous_People_as_related_to_Climate_Change), but overall is a net positive. -Kj cheetham (talk) 12:12, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

    @Kj cheetham: you forgot to sign your comment 😀 X-750 _{List of articles that I have screwed over} 12:11, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

    D'oh! -Kj cheetham (talk) 12:12, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

43. Support seems ok Dhoru 21 (talk・contribs) 12:38, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
44. support SFR has a clue and is no nonsense we need more admins like that. I am unconvinced by the opposition based on his tenure here. he has more recent experience than dozens of our legacy admins. PICKLEDICAE🥒 12:47, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
45. Support I've seen good work from them and the opposes based on suspicion of socking without concrete evidence are unconvincing. — Ingenuity (talk • contribs) 12:48, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
46. You have my support. Very disheartened to see opposes due to experience, despite the candidate having been here for close to two years with no gaps in activity, and content creation, despite the GAs. Now the baseless sock accusations are being thrown around. I've been dealing with sockpuppets on Wikipedia for a while now, and have come to learn that not every new editor starts out totally clueless. Sro23 (talk) 13:02, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
47. Support I've seen this candidate around and they do a lot of good work. Two years is long enough, and I'm not convinced by the opposes. -- Pawnkingthree (talk) 13:07, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
48. Support answer to Q6 is perfectly reasonable; I know many people who have done similar things. ScottishFinnishRadish is a generally productive behind-the-scenes editor and I see no issue with them being an admin. Elli (talk | contribs) 13:31, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
49. It appears that most opposes are of the three primary arguments: 1. low percentage of mainspace edits 2. low tenure and that 3. knows things from the start. The evidence has been presented, and whether these three affect the ability of performing administrative actions is entirely subjective. I personally do not find an association. 0xDeadbeef 13:59, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
50. If you judge editors by mainspace percentage, or you think it's difficult to learn how to file AIV on the first day, you're clueless. SFR has clue. Levivich^😃 14:25, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
51. Support. Have seen this user around and his consistency and dedication is evident, particularly when it comes to dealing with edit requests. Would make a good admin. ser! ^{(chat to me - see my edits)} 14:32, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
52. Support Given the prevalence of Wikis these days, and for at least a decade prior to this, I don't find it at all unusual that someone would have had experience with the format prior to coming to Wikipedia. We don't have an exclusive claim to it, after all. I also remain unconvinced by the opposes. And since so many think adminship is "no big deal," if he messes up it should be easy enough to rectify. SFR seems to have a clue to me and is certainly more active than many legacy admins (and likely much more up to date with current policy and practice). Intothatdarkness 14:52, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
53. Support. Fully qualified candidate. I agree with most of the supportive comments above. The opposers have relied on four main grounds. The first is that the candidate hasn't been editing long enough. I disagree with the idea that more than a year's experience at most is needed to evaluate a candidate's judgment and commitment. (I passed my RfA, by a wide margin, after six months' editing, and while Wikipedia is more complicated today than it was in 2007, it isn't that much more complicated.) The second is disbelief that this is the candidate's first and only account. I find arguments based on "candidate understood how a wiki works too quickly" to be generally weak given the number of other wikis that now exist, and I find the answer above to Q6 completely credible. (I also have some empathy with the position the candidate is now in; early in my wiki-career I was told that I was almost certainly a sock for much the same reasons.) The third is the namespace-balance issue (too much time doing "admin-y" stuff rather than editing articles). While a perfect candidate might have more article-writing experience, perfect candidates don't often happen, and experience on the administrative side of things (yes, even including some "drama," as long as one isn't often the cause of the drama) is also valuable for a future admin. The fourth is an occasional ill-thought handling of an edit-request. I advocate for patience with all good-faith editors, especially newcomers, but again the candidate's explanation is reasonable, and in any event I try not to judge people based on isolated mistakes. I will keep an eye on this RfA, including the answers to the remaining questions that will be forthcoming later today, and on any additional information that may be presented, but based on what I have seen so far ScottishFinnishRadish would do good work as an admin. Newyorkbrad (talk) 14:54, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
54. Need more root vegetables, but more seriously, the Radish has been someone great to work with both on content and admin-lite areas, including flagging issues to the needed folks and patrolling where possible. A net positive to admin corps. Star Mississippi 15:12, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
55. Support. Looks good. No issues that I can see. Bearian (talk) 16:02, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
56. Support. I've been an administrator for seven years and I still have yet to be named Editor of the Week like you have. I'm a bit jealous. Clean block log, and my standard noticeboard search finds lots of participation, but not much in the way of drama. Wikipedia has too many non-administrator administrators and it's about time more of them like you summoned up the courage to run. – wbm1058 (talk) 16:09, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
57. Support — thank you for answering my Q6. — TheresNoTime (talk • they/them) 16:27, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
58. Support – I've seen you around answering edit requests like it's your calling in life. As for the socking allegations, it'd be hypocritical of me to give them weight when my early editing history is much more sketchier in hindsight [1]. Editing Wikipedia isn't rocket science. Clovermoss (talk) 16:31, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
59. Support. ––FormalDude (talk) 16:42, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
60. Support – In my opinion, I have found SFR to be clueful and competent, and I am not concerned about misuse of the mop. I remain unconvinced by the opposes based on low tenure, and find the ones based on "too skilled for a n00b" to be bordering on ridiculous. –FlyingAce^✈hello 16:50, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
61. Support – I'd have liked to see more content creation but I can't see a good reason to oppose. Deb (talk) 16:52, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
62. Unconvinced by opposes. It's a shame that 18 months of relatively high activity is considered by many "too soon". In 18 months, SFR has made 80% of the number of edits I've made in 14 years. Can't find any fault with non-dramaboard edits. Don't always agree with them at AN/ANI, but they seem to have clue and don't seem likely to abuse the bit. The baseless evidence-free accusation of "hat collecting" is a good example of things I wish could be somehow prevented in RFA discussions, but oh well. Anyway, based on not agreeing with me 100% all the time, they aren't perfect, but I don't want to let perfect be the enemy of the good. --Floquenbeam (talk) 16:55, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
63. Support – Gets my 'thumbs up'.—Aquegg (talk) 16:56, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
64. Support – I find the sock and tenure arguments unconvincing. Definitely going to be a net positive. W42 17:04, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
65. Support – great contributor, seen them around. Oppposing arguments aren't very convinving to me. Madeline (part of me) 17:12, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

Oppose

1. Oppose I have a few concerns: (1) The candidate is a very new editor, with less than 2 years here; (2) The candidate's edits are overwhelmingly at talk pages rather than at main, with <20% on main; (3) Of the main space edits, the editor started out principally by undoing edits...a very strange pattern for an obstensively novice editor... and even now roughly 10% of their main space edits are simply reverting others' edits. I'd want to see a year or two more experience, and more focus on adding content before a yes vote. Banks Irk (talk) 22:53, 12 September 2022 (UTC)

   Wikipedia has reached a point where undoing unhelpful contributions is an easier way to start meaningfully participating than creating or noticeably expanding a new article about a notable subject. The talk page edits are from reviewing edit requests for articles, a task way too few people perform in an encyclopedia that requires people to submit such requests when attempting to edit protected pages, and that encourages editors with a conflict of interest to do so even in the absence of protection. ScottishFinnishRadish's work for the encyclopedia is neither suspicious, as you seem to imply, nor does it need any change, as your request for "more focus" seems to say. ~ ToBeFree (talk) 23:09, 12 September 2022 (UTC)

   This is a bit of a tangent but depending on what your interests are this can vary highly, areas such as metalworking and other industrial processes and motorsport related articles dearly need editors, but generally speaking yes, it is hard to find a niche. Just my two cents X-750 _{List of articles that I have screwed over} 04:59, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

   More focus on content after two GAs and thousands of edit requests? Also, plenty of editors can pass RFA with less than two years of experience. I mean, lots of people learn faster than a stumbling oaf like myself, but there are great numbers of admins who have done well with the mop after just one our two years of tenure. Sure, my criteria says that I prefer editors with more than three years experience, but that is just a preference, not a requirement. CollectiveSolidarity (talk) 23:10, 12 September 2022 (UTC)

2. Strong oppose. Creating their account on 22 January 2021, this editor has been editing only a bit over a year-and-a-half. When they started editing on 11 February, one of their first edits was to blank the welcome template—an odd way to start editing. My concerns are in line with those raised early on at the editor's talk page: "You must be the most precocious editor we have ever had". This editor had a very unusual start, highly suggestive of a returning editor, and set about from the outset appearing to be checking all the right boxes towards RFA, which is where it always appeared they were aiming. Content creation was never primary for this editor, who nonetheless indicated considerable knowledge of Wiki-processes. An 800-word and an 1,110 word GA—passed by editors I'm unfamiliar with—do not convince me, and in fact, look like another box to be ticked on the much-too-quick route to RFA. I can't recall recently seeing an editor with only 18% of their edits in mainspace. I'm additionally concerned that neither the nominators nor the RFA candidate addressed this editor's odd history in their nomination statements. Considering this editor's early history, there is nothing that can be said to convince me that it is not much too soon to trust this "new" editor with the tools. This is my strongest possible oppose. SandyGeorgia (Talk) 23:42, 12 September 2022 (UTC)

   Wikipedia:Newbies aren't always clueless; some editors learn very quickly. BilledMammal (talk) 02:14, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

   Of course, particularly when they are motivated to improve content, or create bots, or scripts, or propose new and better processes or policies. But this editor did not appear to aim for or excel at any of that. Unlike the example of editors who have few edits in mainspace because they excel in technical areas and write scripts or bots rather than mainspace content, this editor came right out of the starting gate with a specialty that appeared to be to tick off the boxes to RFA at a steady pace. Of course one can learn quickly, particularly if they've been observing Wikipedia for a long time. But typical new editors have an interest in more than adminship, or what years ago we referred to as "climbing the pole to RFA"-- the kind of editor I trust the least. SandyGeorgia (Talk) 03:00, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

   Typos fixed, [2] SandyGeorgia (Talk) 05:50, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

   The answer to question 6 (with 10 and 14) leaves me more concerned.

   With respect to the concerns raised by Koa about this thread, that even after discussing them, neither the candidate nor the nominators thought the past acknowledged concerns worthy of bringing up in the candidate statement demonstrates the very attitude characterized by Koa as "too much of a just barrel ahead attitude". The "barrel ahead" attitude is reinforced by putting up an RFA at a time when apparently it would be hard to answer questions (many editors time their RFAs around knowing they will need to be very much available for a week to answer questions, and yet with still questions 7, 8 9, 11, 12 and 13 unanswered, the candidate is engaging elsewhere). If indeed these issues were acknowledged and foreseen backchannel, they might have been better addressed before launching an RFA.

   Add to this not reverting supports entered before the RFA was launched reinforces the "barrel ahead" concern.

   Regarding concerns raised by several about previous editing history, revealing a current name and email address to the arbs has no relationship to whether the editor previously edited under any other account or other name, which is something that can't necessarily be determined by revealing a current name, so that is little more than a strawman. But it does lead to other questions about how this editor approaches the project.

   Given that all apparently acknolwedged the concerns going in, it's perhaps telling that the candidate decided not to share relevant information about their editing experience on their userpage, rather instead chose to write to the arbs. This ties in to ...

   Clayoquot's oppose about this thread and how the nominator might view the "regular" editor (that is, not a fellow admin, and not an arb). The concerns some others have raised here about "cabalism" are made more understandable, but might be characterized instead as "elitism", which is just what we don't want in admins (someone who approaches disputes as if the arbs or other admins or backchanneling is more important than presenting yourself to the entire community which includes everyone on an equal standing). Information which they must have known would come up during an RFA was shared backchannel with a select few instead. I don't want to see an editor with this kind of approach having power to influence the edits of those in the trenches building content. The answer leaves me more concerned than before. An editor who acknowledges experience with other Wikis evidences interesting priorities. As I indicated below, this is not a "length of tenure" oppose; it is how one spent that time. SandyGeorgia (Talk) 16:52, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

   SandyGeorgia, respectfully, it's been a day since the RFA started. While the expectation is that editors are available throughout the week to answer questions, expecting the candidate to answer all outstanding questions every 2-3 hours for the 168 allocated seems excessive to me. I'm sure SFR will answer our questions soon enough. — Ixtal ^{( T / C )} ⁂ Non nobis solum. 17:23, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

3. I don't endorse the sock accusations above, but having only 18.5% of edits to mainspace is shocking and indicates a worrying lack of experience in actually editing the encyclopedia. I'm someone who spends far too much time outside of mainspace, and I still manage to have twice that. I'm aware that the candidate spends a lot of time answering edit requests - however I don't think that's the sort of maintenance work that prepares one for adminship, and I'm concerned that a lot of their responses involve slapping newbies with a canned template telling them to "get consensus", which is just going to be confusing and meaningless to most inexperienced editors [3][4]. Frankly, most of the times I've seen this user around they've been involving themselves in drama at some noticeboard or other, which doesn't give the best impression. Spicy (talk) 00:03, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

   Per Edit Summary Search [[5]], the candidate Templated edit requests as denied, almost always without further explanation, well over 600 times in the past two months alone. Banks Irk (talk) 01:08, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

4. Strong oppose. The editor is very new and needs sufficient experience. To gain these features and responsibility you must be reliable enough and able to resolve disputes smoothly. I do not see that this currently applies to the candidate.--Sakiv (talk) 00:19, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
5. Oppose, largely per Sandy and Spicy. Way too much time on the noticeboards, and minimal content editing. My time as an editor has personally convinced me that those who spend the most time on noticeboards and the least time on consistently building article content (no, 2 short GAs isn't particularly impressive and shooting back at new editor requests mainly with canned templates doesn't help, either) don't make good administrators. Hog Farm _Talk 00:29, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
6. Oppose per SandyGeorgia. I've reviewed a number of the candidate's early edits, and it's pretty clear this isn't their first account. I would like to see ScottishFinnishRadish be more forthcoming about their past editing history. -FASTILY 01:18, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
7. Oppose - Way too few edits in mainspace, only 18.5% of their contributions. Much too much time on Talk (48.7%), User talk (19.95%), and Wikipedia (8.8%) - a combined 77%. Admins should understand the needs and requirements of Wikipedia's content editors, and I don't believe SFR's experience lends itself to that. WP:Communication is required, but it's not the purpose of Wikipedia, creating and editing content is. Beyond My Ken (talk) 01:46, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
8. Oppose – I don't vote at RfA as a rule but I think some very valid concerns have been raised here, namely the strange namespace makeup of the candidate's edits, that they seem to be flatly rejecting quite a lot of edit requests (which is the bulk of their activity), and seem unusually policy-aware on their first day of editing. 5225_C (talk • contributions) 02:19, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
9. Strong Oppose. Personally, I've seen too much of a "just barrel ahead attitude" on enough occasions that I don't think they would be suitable as an admin at all. I do recall warnings myself and another editor gave them on their talk page earlier this year and just saw talking past attitude in response. Too trigger-happy to edit war and too much WP:NOTTHEM attitude when their behavior was at issue. Others above already summarize many of my other concerns already when seeing this name here. The combination of too new, too much time on noticeboards, and too few mainspace edits is a huge red flag. KoA (talk) 03:14, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

   oh wow. I really encourage people to read this section KoA is talking about. The alleged edit warring is one thing, but the open wikilawyering and evasiveness in response to Koa and @Roxy the dog isn't what we want from an admin in my opinion. Tomorrow and tomorrow (talk) 03:31, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

10. Oppose. Too new to the project. Sportsfan 1234 (talk) 03:19, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
11. Oppose Sorry but there seems to be several red flags here. ɴᴋᴏɴ21 ❯❯❯ talk 03:58, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
12. Strong oppose. I was just going to say it's too soon, in general, and raises questions about how a new editor can have most of their edits on talk pages and pick up enough to be trusted with the tools. But having read the comments above, as well as the observations by SandyGeorgia, I am concerned that this user has edited under another account. I think we would be foolish to believe anyone would gain enough knowledge and experience to be an admin, by just spending the majority of their time on talk pages. No ... not enough experience ... and the above-raised questions about a previous account cause too much doubt. — Maile (talk) 04:09, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
13. Oppose Demonstrably unsuited for admin work, perfectly welcome as a fine and sometimes humorous contributor elsewhere. I hope we can revisit sooner than later, as the resolve is very obviously present. ~ Pbritti (talk) 04:50, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

    Realizing I ought clarify my concerns: The editor seems to tread into WP:NOTSOCIALNETWORK territory on occasion and a significant number of SFR's edits are personal, non-substantive interactions with some of those in the supporting section. This would not be such an issue of the editor was as committed to other front-facing sections of the project (see Joe's comment below). The Wiki needs fewer admins like SFR; we need editors like SFR. ~ Pbritti (talk) 16:55, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

14. Oppose - A few months ago this treatment of a new editor, and subsequent failure to acknowledge having screwed up, was shocking. It does make me wonder why someone would choose to respond to edit requests but not bother to read them. Clayoquot (talk | contribs) 05:09, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
15. Oppose Lack of engagement with content creation - the actual product of this project - demonstrated by a low proportion of edits to main space and creation of only one article. Their first 24hrs of edits are very fishy. The account immediately set about dealing with vandalism using WP acronyms/lingo in edit summaries ("ce", "go to talk first", "rv", "blanking welcome template", "rm vandalism", "rm or") talks about things A lot of people do [6], uses templates and even welcomes new editors and nominates articles for speedy deletions. The sheer rate and volume of initial edits (something like 100 to 50 different pages in the first 24hrs many only minutes apart) make it a practical impossibility that they could have been reading up on policies and guidelines as they went. Vladimir.copic (talk) 05:22, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

    No comment on the rest, but creation of only one article seems only technically correct (the best kind of correct). Jesse Lawson was a longstanding redirect with no other edits until the nominated radish turned it into an article, which is an article creation that doesn't show up under the basic click-me tool. Indignant Flamingo (talk) 05:36, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

    The same applies for many editors. For every 1 technical creation, there are 5 stubs or redirects that have been fleshed into real articles. Are you suggesting this editor does this to redirects or stubs at a higher rate than others? Vladimir.copic (talk) 05:44, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

    I am saying that the radish has created more than one article. Indignant Flamingo (talk) 05:45, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

16. Oppose The observations made by SandyGeorgia about the candidate's early edit history are quite on point and are substantiated down below by Hammersoft. I'm surprised that the candidate and their nominators did not consider it necessary to offer a convincing explanation. Their content creations are acceptable but do not make a dent for me. Modussiccandi (talk) 09:18, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
17. Reluctant oppose; i'm not convinced by all the talk of knowing too much when starting ~ do we have to assume that new editors are idiots who can't have a look around, read instructions, practise, &c.? ~ but i am very concerned by Clayoquot's illustration of the candidate not responding appropriately to an edit request and then not admitting the error and maybe even apologising for it. I expect admins to be able to do these things (especially the latter two) automatically. Maybe i ought to ask a question about that to offer a chance of correction or clarification; till then, though, i have to be here. Happy days ~ Lindsay^Hello 09:34, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
18. Oppose What I have seen from him, does not gives me positive vibes. Contrary. No confidence in him. The Banner talk 09:42, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
19. Oppose I usually steer well clear of RfAs, but felt compelled to cast my !vote at this one. I have an uncomfortable feeling (and no, I won't unpack that) about the possibility of this user becoming an admin. Among my reasons are that they're too new (barely 18 months), with only one article creation under their belt. I get that we desperately need more admins, but I want admins to have considerably more experience, not just mastery of the rulebook (important as that is). Sorry, --DoubleGrazing (talk) 10:00, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
20. Oppose per socking concerns raised by eminent colleagues. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Serial Number 54129 (talk • contribs) 12:24, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

    @Serial Number 54129: looks like your signature was messed up here. — Ingenuity (talk • contribs) 12:42, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

21. Oppose I am going to have oppose off the concerns and red flags this editor has and good points from SandyGeorgia. ― Kaleeb18^Talk_Caleb 12:50, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
22. Per SandyGeorgia, Hog Farm, and others who shares general bad vibes about this editor. It's really hard to believe this is his first account but, even extending the benefit of the doubt there, the way SFR has inserted himself into nearly every drama and expressed Strong Opinions on nearly every single policy discussion in his very short time here so far makes me seriously doubt he'd be an admin who put the interests of the encyclopaedia first. If reading policy pages and hanging around backstage boards is really what floats his boat, more power to him, but it should take more than making friends in the cabal to pass RfA. – Joe (talk) 12:57, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

    @Joe I don't understand what making friends in the cabal means. Best, Barkeep49 (talk) 13:05, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

    I believe that that insult was directed at me. It's disappointing that a former arbitrator treats RfA as a free-for-all. But oh well, I learned something from my first RfA nomination ever. El_C 14:21, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

    No? I'm not sure why you would think that. Nor why you would describe what I said as an "insult" towards anyone at all. I was trying to make a pithy reference to Tomorrow and tomorrow's observation below: that being very active in certain places (dramaboards, WP:BADSITES, etc.) might make you popular, which might translate to a lot of less-than-substantive support !votes at RfA, but it's not actually a sign that someone would be a good admin. That doesn't mean that making friends is a bad thing, just that it's not enough. – Joe (talk) 14:38, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

    Sorry, are you asking me? Why would I think that? Maybe because I'm the co nominator and my opening sentence reads: I am pleased to co-nominate SFR, a friendly guy whom I also consider to be a friend. El_C 14:47, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

    I don't believe Joe Roe's words should be taken so literally. I personally consider any reference to a "cabal" as implying a half-joking or lighthearted mood. Though that may be considered irritating in an honest "oppose" vote, I don't think it should be understood as an intended insult. And he has clarified that making friends is not a bad thing. Maybe the vote was worded in an unfortunate way, but I don't think it was meant to criticise you or anyone in particular, @El_C. –LordPeterII (talk) 15:44, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

    I am sure that absolutely no insult was intended, but I have learned from experience that references to a "cabal" on Wikipedia tend to be misunderstood, and that hence, except in purely humorous contexts, it is better that the word not be used. Newyorkbrad (talk) 16:00, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

23. oppose, with an invitation to return for another try. I don't think a lack of article edits or a high level of policy knowledge is inherently bad, since we do not track what editors read. What's been offered as evidence shows that this editor's knowledge is used in an imperious manner; we don't need administrators discouraging editors in that way. Let's see if a year or two can mellow this editor's tone. If that occurs, I will eagerly support.~TPW 14:33, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
24. Oppose, it's almost a shame to find myself down here. However, for someone who at first blush appears to be squeaky clean, they don’t actually check all the boxes on my ‘laundry list’ which while long, is one of the easiest sets of user criteria for a pass. I’ve often said: ‘users who join Wikipedia with the intention of becoming an admin some day have joined for the wrong reasons’ ; that, together with a major focus on maintenance areas and such a consistent high AfD score reinforces that opinion. The further I dig, time and time again I find myself concurring with @Hog Farm, Fastily, SandyGeorgia, and Joe Roe:. The Radish has done the governance stuff, if they would spend the next 12 months making the segments of the coloured edit count clock spin the other way, it would be a 'yes' from me. Kudpung กุดผึ้ง (talk) 15:50, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
25. Oppose Insufficient time as an editor, and insufficient mainspace edits. Figureofnine (talk • contribs) 16:01, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
26. Oppose this feels too much like hat collecting. LEPRICAVARK (talk) 16:32, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

    I find this quite unconvincing, and a line of argumentation that may discourage people to step forward to run. This is a candidate who needed convincing to run, and who has not taken one of the easy routes to RfA (which I believe are content writing, script writing or NPP work), but has had a rather obscure backlog of answering edit requests as a main area. Isn't hat avoiding a much bigger problem? Femke (talk) 16:43, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

    Hat-collectors are typically over-eager for permissions. SFR was not; it took considerable persuasion on my part to bring him here. Vanamonde (Talk) 16:53, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

    @Femke and Vanamonde93: I think you'll find that Lepricavark has done nothing other than bluntly express concerns that other opposers have been alluding to in a more guarded manner. Kudpung กุดผึ้ง (talk) 17:00, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

    This would be their first hat. Not much of a collection. Levivich^😃 17:21, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

Neutral

1. While I don't participate in these RfA's anymore, I encourage enthusiastic support for this candidate. Chris Troutman (talk) 22:09, 12 September 2022 (UTC)
2. Neutral, for now. I'd like to point out that on this editor's very first day of editing they had already learned about wikilinking [7], knew about WP:CSD#G11 (admins can see deleted history of this userpage), knew about WP:AGF [8], knew about how to request semi-protection [9], and knew about WP:AIV [10] (and despite saying they didn't know about template warnings, they were using {{uw-vandalism2}} less than 3 hours later [11]. That's a rather astonishing level of knowledge for someone on their first day of editing. I would like to see this reconciled with their statement that they have never had another account. --Hammersoft (talk) 01:10, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

   I haven't placed a vote yet, and while I do find some of these things quite odd for a new editor (especially CSD), I figured out wikilinking in my second ever edit, so I don't see what's strange about that. In general though, I do agree that this editor's immediate competence when they first began editing is worth scrutiny. Trainsandotherthings (talk) 01:41, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

   I agree that wikilinking isn't suspicious (it's not too hard to figure out), but the templates and other policy knowledge is worth examining. I'm starting to get the vibe that the candidate has always viewed themself in an 'administrating' role on WP rather than an 'editing one'.Tomorrow and tomorrow (talk) 01:47, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

   I would say that there is a significant difference between knowing how to add a link and knowing the jargon of "wikilinking". Sdrqaz (talk) 02:41, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

   Yes, but seeing how we refer to internal links as wikilinks in our help pages and MoS, I don't think that in particular should raise suspicion, Sdrqaz.— Ixtal ^{( T / C )} ⁂ Non nobis solum. 06:15, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

   I'm not saying that it's indicative of sockpuppetry, Ixtal. I just wanted to point out that two situations are not comparable. Sdrqaz (talk) 15:11, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

3. Neutral I am waiting for their answer to question 6 but am considering opposing. Scorpions13256 (talk) 01:53, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
4. Neutral pending the answers to the already-proposed questions – let's give the candidate some breathing room to respond. theleekycauldron (talk • contribs) (she/her) 04:11, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
5. Neutral pending answers to questions. Even though I nominated SFR for EOTW, that has little influence on whatever my vote may end up being. Opposing editors that are suspicious of SFR's quick learning (which is understandable), should come up with questions that will allow the candidate to explain themselves. While RFA votes are subjective evaluations of trust-worthiness, there is no benefit to prejudging the abilities of editors as newcomers. — Ixtal ^{( T / C )} ⁂ Non nobis solum. 07:45, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
6. Neutral for now (might change my vote later). I do believe the GA sufficiently demonstrate the editor's ability to write quality content, even if they are mostly engaged in discussions. And I am likewise not convinced that "ticking off boxes" to someday become an admin is inherently a despicable thing to do. This application is certainly somewhat unusual, so I'll wait and research a bit more before making up my mind. –LordPeterII (talk) 12:57, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
7. Neutral - I've been going back and forth. For some reason, I thought I remembered disagreeing with SFR on some substantial issues, but when I look at our interaction report and various other areas where he's been active, I'm just seeing someone who's pretty reasonable. There are understandable concerns expressed in the oppose section, but they're not enough to pull me to that side. I nearly jumped into the support column in response to an argument above that one should not enjoy being an admin, but although tempting, !voting in response to anyone other than the candidate seems like bad form. The thing I have a hard time getting past is, well, there's someone who goes by the same name who appears pretty active at a certain self-described "Wikipedia criticism" forum. That alone isn't enough to pull me into the oppose column, either, absent evidence of problematic behavior (which, to be clear, I'm not aware of). Still, the prospect of anyone in a position of trust (starting with admins, and more so for OS/CU/Arbs) seeking out engagement on a forum known for harassing Wikipedians and welcoming users banned from our projects (even if it's gotten a bit tamer in recent years, as some folks I trust have attested) is enough of a red flag that I find myself back to neutral. (I will of course strike my comments as needed if it's not the same SFR). — Rhododendrites ^talk \\ 13:45, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

   You know that there are many high-profile admins and current/former arbs that actively post at WPO, right?... ansh.666 15:37, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

   I do. It doesn't mean I'd automatically oppose (as here), but it's certainly a red flag, and I'd be unlikely to support any of their requests for additional perms/trust. I can only think of one time I opposed someone's bid for anything on the basis of their comments there, which I found egregious. — Rhododendrites ^talk \\ 15:53, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

8. Neutral, leaning oppose per SandyGeorgia and others. The community was burned by this RfA (which I supported!) less than a year ago. Miniapolis 13:50, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

General comments

I think it is worth noting that a Wikipedian who has spend much of their time editing talk/user pages rather than mainspace will naturally acquire more 'friends' than someone who edits content primarily. As such it might be constructive if support comments have more than a few words saying "yes please" or similar. Tomorrow and tomorrow (talk) 01:27, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

In theory they'd also naturally acquire more 'opposite of friends' for the same reason though. ––FormalDude (talk) 01:30, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

That's true, and I fully endorse *everyone* leaving detailed comments, but in this case none of the oppose !votes seem to be based on negative past experiences with SFR (whereas we get phrases like "favourite editor" from the support side).Tomorrow and tomorrow (talk) 01:35, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

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I think it's absolute nonsense that you need more experience than SFR has to be an admin. First we have User:Enterprisey/Tenures at RfA which shows that 18 months is hardly unprecedent. But I think that table is pretty misleading. For instance, I show up at 14 years. In reality I had been here ~18 months when I RfA'd. Some editors have more than enough experience after 12 months while others will not develop enough experience after 12 years (like me - 12 years in I wouldn't have been fit for RfA). We have other ways of judging whether someone has enough experience - the oft bemoaned questions being one way, another way is looking at their actual edits. It feels to me like these opposes are using "not enough experience" as something a bit more concrete than "I find this editor unsuitable for adminship" but this has the unfortunate effect of suggesting to some candidates who might be very ready to run that they should wait. I hope editors judge SFR on what he does or doesn't know (and what he has and hasn't done) rather than based on how long he's been around. Best, Barkeep49 (talk) 01:51, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

I'll be back to tender a specific (!)vote, but am really concerned by the idea that the editor might not have sufficient tenure to have acquired and demonstrated adequate competence. Writing this, I read the above and BK49 is of course also correct on the effect on other potential candidates with this. Even in the post 2016 admin world, we've have multiple candidates with 18 months (and several with much less) active editing. Those saying the candidate lacks experience should be able to demonstrate where the editor is falling short. 20% too low mainspace % many say - but are their multiple GAs flawed? Or point to some problematic small-a admin work diffs. Nosebagbear (talk) 09:46, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

In particular with this candidate, there several different substantive criticisms people have. Personally "The namespaces you edit indicate you might not be a good fit for the social capital that being an admin gives you" feels like an OK oppose to me (though I understand why NBB doesn't like it). But beyond that is a coherent concerns expressed by people like Lindsay. If that doesn't concern you but the length of tenure does I think we're firmly in the It used to be far easier to pass RfA however the standards necessary to pass have continued to rise such that only "perfect" candidates will pass now. phase that NewYorkBrad talks about. Best, Barkeep49 (talk) 15:01, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

BK, re your first post in this section, we are in violent agreement that this RFA should not discourage others relative to tenure, but the characterization of opposes as based on "length of tenure" is less than correct. I have supported (probably) many candidates with less tenure than this one; it's not how much time one has been editing, but how one has spent that time, and whether their edits inspire trust. RFA is about trust; I've read the explanation, and I can still say trust has not been inspired by this editor's trajectory, and the explanation leaves more questions than answers, which I won't belabor in an environment where one is allowed only two questions. SandyGeorgia (Talk) 15:07, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

With respect to them, I see quite a few non-perfect candidates this year that would have either passed with lower percentages or outright failed in other years. Sdrqaz (talk) 15:11, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

Depends on which other years we're talking about. If it's 2005 that's probably not true. If it's 2014 maybe it is true. I would suggest the fact candidates seem to either be passing with 90%+ support or not at all means it's both true that people might have passed in the past with lower support percentages and that the community found consensus that standards have risen are true. That the current "all or nothing" is a symptom of increased standards and "perfect" candidates rather than a suggestion that this problem is not currently an issue at RfA. Best, Barkeep49 (talk) 15:22, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

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There's a couple of interrelated threads in the oppose section that are confusing to me. Experience, and mainspace contributions. Wikipedia is a collaborative project, when we edit an article we aren't just editing an article, we're also discussing it on the article talk page, or in an edit summary, or on a user's talk page. Sometimes, almost exclusively in controversial content areas, changes are contentious and have to be discussed either prior to their implementation or as part of a WP:BRD cycle. In that circumstance, a piece of prose that is added to or changed in an article is the work of several editors. However because of the nature of editing pages, only one person gets to actually make the edit in the mainspace. Something similar exists for editors who contribute to feature article reviews and good article reassessments , where much of the discussion on the prose happens in a talk page archive in the Wikipedia space. Even edit requests on a FA can involve multiple editor drafting and redrafting a piece of text, but ultimately only a single editor will actually hit the edit button on the article proper. I fear that editors who are focusing entirely on the overly simplistic piechart on Xtools are missing much of the overall nature as to what exactly the article talk page contributions by SFR actually are.
I know SFR primarily through their edits in the GENSEX content area, one of our more contentious topics on enwiki. As such, BRD followed by a protracted talk page discussion is often the norm when adding or editing content on an article. My question then for folks who wish to use the breakdown of SFR's contributions as a barrier to becoming an admin is, have any of you actually looked in depth at what the nature of SFR's talk page contributions are? Have you checked to see if SFR has made significant contributions to a piece of text, but ultimately was not the editor who made the final edit to the article proper? Sideswipe9th (talk) 15:32, 13 September 2022 (UTC)

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I think there's one point that needs urgent clarifications, and that are the "possible sockpuppet" allegations. There have been several votes above who argue either based on Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/Eostrix, highly suggestive of a returning editor, pretty clear this isn't their first account and so forth. A sockpuppet-admin must ofc be prevented at all cost, but it's not helpful if we have people voting against one purely based on speculation. I have not seen any proof of the allegations presented apart from their short tenure and fast learning of the rules, but if there is any reason for doubt, it should imo be discussed rather now than later. I don't know how much can be done to clarify the situation, but I wanted to bring this up. –LordPeterII (talk) 15:54, 13 September 2022 (UTC)