Weird Gloop elections/2020/Candidates

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This page contains candidate presentations for the 2020-21 Weird Gloop board elections.

You may notice that for each group, we have the same number of candidates as we have available board seats. Clearly, in the ranked-choice voting system we normally use, an election would be rather pointless. After some deliberation (and checking consistency with our articles), the elections committee (Gaz and I) have decided that we will move forward with an up-or-down approval vote on each candidate. If any candidate fails to reach a majority*, then we will have a contingency election for those spots, likely canvassing for additional candidates. Going forward, we may alter our articles to more directly deal with this type of situation.

Voting will begin on December 24th through the SecurePoll extension, and ends on January 7th. Please ask the candidates additional questions in the sections below. If you have questions you wish to ask all candidates, please put them in all relevant sections.

*here, a majority is defined as yes_votes > no_votes

RuneScape Wiki

There are 3 candidates for 3 positions.

Elessar2

Elessar2 ^{Talk • Contribs • Meta contribs}

Statement	Hey everyone, for those who don’t know me I’m Elessar2, an admin on the RuneScape Wiki and I’m nominating myself to continue serving on the Board. I’m proud of the work we’ve done this past year and we have established a good routine that works well. I’d like to continue moving forward and improving in the next year, we’ve been doing great but there’s always room for improvement.
Wiki work	My work on the wiki has primarily been working on modules/templates and a lot of js/css stuff including the hit calculator (at the bottom of monster inboxes) and the events gadget. This year I created the front end for the new events gadget, and did the integration with the portables discord (provides current portables locations). Currently I'm developing fancy page previews for the wiki (see my user page), as well as my continued work cleaning up and completing the Help and RuneScape namespaces (help & policy pages). While I primarily do work on the RuneScape 3 wiki I’m an occasional editor on the Portuguese wiki (primarily porting and adapting modules and gadgets) as wells as on the Old School wiki (mostly js/css work by proxy, including the Trailblazer League gadget). Currently I coordinate the OSWF for the RS3 wiki with biweekly tasks. This past year I served on the board, and was responsible for running the meetings as well as publishing the posts announcing meetings and containing meeting notes.
Other work	My full time job is as an Architect in Switzerland (also covers the duties of a general contractor), additionally I’m a volunteer fire fighter and an officer (finishing off my OF-2) in the Swiss Army. Over the years I’ve also developed and maintained (including sysadmin duties) a number of small business websites (including e-commerce).

Questions from the community

Question for all candidates - What is one thing you're afraid of falling short/failing at/etc. if elected as a board member? --Legaia 2 Pla ^{ᴛ · ʟ · ᴄ} 01:06, 22 December 2020 (UTC)

I think for me a big thing is getting more technical/infrastructure related projects started and then also finished up (the type of projects that need more technically knowledgeable coders, and generally also access to non-MediaWiki frontend areas). I think these types of projects generally need the boards help to really get going and I think that's one thing we may fall short in. Elessar2 (talk) 13:40, 26 December 2020 (UTC)

What are some examples of technical projects you think warrant the board's involvement? BigDiesel2m (talk) 14:22, 26 December 2020 (UTC)

I think a big one is looking into the viability/advantages/disadvantages of using wikibase (what wikidata uses) and possibly implementing it. Elessar2 (talk) 14:48, 26 December 2020 (UTC)

I'm most curious about what in your eyes elevates a project to needing the board's approval before going forward. I think we'd agree that not every backend thing requires the board to weigh in, so what makes certain projects like the one you mentioned different? BigDiesel2m (talk) 15:22, 26 December 2020 (UTC)

It's not really about the board's approval, and much more about allocation of resources (time and money) and promoting it. This is especially true for projects that provide benefits to the wikis as a group more than to an individual wiki. Elessar2 (talk) 15:45, 26 December 2020 (UTC)

Question - Which of the board's achievements are you most proud of this year and how did you contribute to it? What do you think the board biggest failing was this year and how would you seek to overcome it? cqm ^talk 10:57, 22 December 2020 (UTC)

I think the thing I am most proud of is that managed to normalize board operations, and keep the community informed. My main contributions too that were organising the meetings, posting the announcements and then posting the meeting notes (in a more or less timely manner). I don't think that the board had any major failings this past year, the things that jump to mind are wikifest and the GCP/MW1.35 upgrade both of which were/are beyond the boards control. Elessar2 (talk) 13:40, 26 December 2020 (UTC)

IsobelJ

IsobelJ ^{Talk • Contribs • Meta contribs}

Statement	I am again putting myself forward to continue as a representative of the RuneScape wiki on the board, having been on the board for the past 2 years. In the first year I performed a function similar to what is now formally the role of minute-taker. In the past year I have acted as liaison for the RuneScape Wiki, which has mainly involved providing updates on the wiki’s status in meetings. I have also volunteered to undertake several of the actionable items that the board came up with over the year: namely creating easy read versions of the company association and resolutions on the meta wiki; investigating the feasibility of/interest in transcribing Jagex stream/video content; proposing and implementing a switch from .gif to .mp4 on RSW; and working with Cook on running a project to give away wiki merch to active editors. I feel that I have made significant contributions to the effective operation of Weird Gloop so far by thinking critically about proposed actions and considering the values and interests of the wiki communities when discussing them. As an active editor and member of the RuneScape wiki community I feel I am in a good potion to represent the community’s interests.
Wiki work	I have been an editor since 2013 and became an admin in 2016. I generally work on projects, historically doing things like re-vamping the scan clue guide, skill training guides and upcoming updates. I enjoy image work and editing transparencies. I try and be active in the community, monitoring and wikifying contributions from newer editors and nominating editors for The Wikian title. Over the last year I have continued to contribute projects to One Small Wiki Favour and have tried to encourage other regular editors to host projects when they have ideas for tasks that newer editors could help with.
Other work	I work full time in an administrative job which requires a large amount of scheduling/planning/following up type of skills. The area I currently work in involves knowledge of UK employment law, though I will soon be leaving my role. My work has been impacted hard by Covid and has been demanding a large amount of my time/energy so I am hopefully that I will soon have more time to devote to wiki and board work.

Questions from the community

Question for all candidates - What is one thing you're afraid of falling short/failing at/etc. if elected as a board member? --Legaia 2 Pla ^{ᴛ · ʟ · ᴄ} 01:06, 22 December 2020 (UTC)

I don't have a lot of technical knowledge so I am not able to help with more technical projects, but I try and make up for volunteering to do things that don't require that kind of background. It can also take some explaining for me to understand these projects, but I guess in a way that is helpful for ensuring that our board records remain accessible to other people who don't have that kind of background knowledge. IsobelJ (talk) 16:13, 23 December 2020 (UTC)

Question - Within the proposed actions that you considered, how did you decide which would positively and/or negatively impact RSW? As a result of these decisions, was there any time when you opposed a proposal and, if so, what was the result of that? cqm ^talk 11:03, 22 December 2020 (UTC)

Over the past year there have not been any proposals that I have felt opposed to/would negatively affect the wiki. I think as we've gone into the second year of Weird Gloop it has been with a more realistic idea of what can be achieved with the resources we have available (which is honestly not a lot!). With our limited sysadmins' time we chose mostly to focus on migration to GCP which was uncontroversial due it being necessary for us to provide the best site stability for readers. With our finances we did look at a few options such as the transcription service and shirts which were things that we thought could be effective in improving the content of the wikis/encouraging editor retention. Over the next year we may have more options for different proposals/direction of what to do with our resources, with the GCP move hopefully being completed and more money saved for the upcoming year. My consideration of whether a proposal would be positive for RSW would involve considering how it would affect both readers and editors, and whether it is in line with community policies e.g. AGF or SAOW. IsobelJ (talk) 16:13, 23 December 2020 (UTC)

Haidro

Haidro ^{Talk • Contribs • Meta contribs}

Statement	Hi! I'm Haidro, an Australian editor and admin for RSW. Since we forked in 2018 I've seen our wikis grow to a state unimaginable years ago. I would like to be a member of the board to ensure the best for not just all the wikis, but Weird Gloop itself. Weird Gloop has the potential to grow even further, and I'd love to be a part of it. I believe I can offer a unique eye on matters, examining current and future practices, while maintaining the high standards of the wikis.
Wiki work	I've been an editor for almost 10 years, and admin on RSW for over 7. Nowadays, I primarily focus on maintenance work, new updates, and helping users on Discord.
Other work	I'm a software engineer, recently graduated from uni. I was also interning at a company this year, but next year I'll be starting as a grad. At university, I was an executive for a student-driven society for two years: the first year as treasurer, the second as president of the society. Both years gave me great experience with how to work with a team, while maintaining a focus on providing a great experience for the community.

Questions from the community

Question for all candidates - What is one thing you're afraid of falling short/failing at/etc. if elected as a board member? --Legaia 2 Pla ^{ᴛ · ʟ · ᴄ} 01:06, 22 December 2020 (UTC)

It would probably have to be my lack of experience as a board member. Assuming every candidate running is elected, only one other person hasn't been a board member before. I imagine I'll fall short at understanding how the board runs as a whole - but I'm not really afraid of it. It's just a temporary hurdle I'll overcome as I learn. Haidro ^(talk) 11:05, 22 December 2020 (UTC)

Question - Which matters do you believe you'll be able to provide a unique viewpoint on? How do you believe standards have evolved over time and what impact do you think that has had on the wiki and those that edit it? cqm ^talk 11:04, 22 December 2020 (UTC)

I can see we're slowly getting to a point where most board members may be the same every year. By no means is this a bad thing - people reapplying means the board is doing great and they want to keep being a part of something strong. But a pair of fresh eyes is always useful to provide viewpoints that existing members may not have considered before, and I think this is where I can be useful to the board.

Standards have increased over time due to various factors: Grove threads adding and refining policies, game mechanics becoming uncovered, more complex updates getting released, and wiki technology upgrading (SMW is a good example). Wikis are a complicated thing, RuneScape is a complicated game, and we were not as polished years ago as we are now. I can't think of an example where higher standards is worse-off for our readers. However, it is worse-off for our editors. I would say the majority of editors do not edit modules or complicated templates. It can be intimidating for users who want to edit the wiki to face something complex, and so we lose a valuable contribution.

I don't think this is a huge problem right now. With the introduction of projects alongside OSWF and having a strong community in our Discord server, it's still very easy for new users to start editing, and there's always plenty for existing users to do. Haidro ^(talk) 07:01, 27 December 2020 (UTC)

OSRS Wiki

There are 3 candidates for 3 positions.

BigDiesel2m

BigDiesel2m ^{Talk • Contribs • Meta contribs}

Statement	My name's Dan, and I've been a member of the wiki since May 2017. Since then I've taken a lot of different roles around here, first as an editor, then as an admin, and most recently as a member of the board this last year. I love the collaborative spirit of the wiki, and I find myself working on all sorts of projects with people both from within the wiki and from the larger RS community.
Wiki work	While I've done a little bit of everything on the wiki, I'm most proud of the times where we get to work with new contributors from across the RS community. These range from large projects like the League guides and OSWF, to smaller opportunities where we can get a new editor started when they see something to improve. I try to pay attention to all the myriad projects going on around the wiki, and for the last year part of my role on the board has been keeping everyone informed about all the great things we've got going on. Checking in with all the editors to hear what they've been working on and how their projects are going is always an exciting part of the season for me!
Other work	I've been editing wikis for over ten years now, trying to improve what I can depending on my knowledge and interests at the time. Beyond the wiki, I have volunteered and worked at my local library in their youth program, helping manage various summer programs aimed to increase library engagement and encourage reading outside of school. While not a direct analogue, my experience at the library shares that same focus on community engagement that I bring to the wiki and the board.

Questions from the community

Question for all candidates - What is one thing you're afraid of falling short/failing at/etc. if elected as a board member? --Legaia 2 Pla ^{ᴛ · ʟ · ᴄ} 01:06, 22 December 2020 (UTC)

I don't have much experience negotiating contracts, so if that's an important part of the board's responsibilities next year I don't know how much I'll be able to contribute there. BigDiesel2m (talk) 10:11, 25 December 2020 (UTC)

Question - I see you've acted as OSW liaison this past year. How do you think your work on the board has impacted the health of OSW? cqm ^talk 11:27, 22 December 2020 (UTC)

While there's probably some inherent value in keeping the other members of the board up-to-date on OSW going-ons, it's hard to point to any specific impacts from this role. There haven't been any major issues that have required the board to get involved on a professional level, and I think any discussion of general editing and administration of the wiki should be going on in more public spaces rather than board meetings. In preparing for each board meeting I also made an effort to ask editors for anything they'd like me to bring up at the meeting, in terms of financial or technical changes the board should be looking at. BigDiesel2m (talk) 10:11, 25 December 2020 (UTC)

Legaia2Pla

Legaia2Pla ^{Talk • Contribs • Meta contribs}

Statement	Over the past year of helping out with the wiki, the “bigger” picture sort of things has interested me. I have been fascinated with the behind-the-scenes management of the company and its relationship with key stakeholders, such as Jagex. Since becoming comfortable within the community, I have found that I would like to be able to act as their voice when bringing matters up to the company; working then with the company in a way to serve the best interests of both parties. This is something that I would also like to do in order to further my experience for the world outside of the wikis and Gielinor.
Wiki work	In my time editing the Old School RuneScape Wiki, a lot of my attention has been on the File: namespace as well as general maintenance around the wiki. At the time of writing this, approximately 41% of my edits have been within the File: namespace, mainly with licensing and other maintenance. This serves as an example of my attention to detail and understanding of policies in order to best represent the wiki to the community. Along the way, I was granted Custodian rights and currently, Admin rights. Outside of the Old School Wiki, I have done some maintenance on both the Meta and Classic RuneScape Wikis. Further, I have earned Admin rights on the Classic Wiki; my want to help improve the wikis is companywide and not just isolated to the main wiki to which I am a part of.
Other work	Outside of the Wikis, my focus in life is in business. I graduated college with a Bachelors of Business Administration with my majors being Marketing and Management. During college I served on various committees that served as liaison-type roles, approximately five in total as well as other leadership roles throughout college. One was the Connection Student Council where I served as the representative for the LGBTQ* student group that I was an elected official on. Another was with the College of Letters and Sciences Dean's Advisory Council where I represented the Women and Gender Studies’ department. These experiences would support me in my endeavor to continue to serve as a leader and representative for different communities.

Questions from the community

Question for all candidates - What is one thing you're afraid of falling short/failing at/etc. if elected as a board member? --Legaia 2 Pla ^{ᴛ · ʟ · ᴄ} 01:06, 22 December 2020 (UTC)

I think something that I will fall short at initially is having the confidence to get super involved right away. I think it'll be a transition that will take me a little bit of time to adjust to, however, I'm excited for the challenge that being a new board member would bring. Plenty of opportunities to learn and perhaps provide a prospective that hasn't been shared before. --Legaia 2 Pla ^{ᴛ · ʟ · ᴄ} 22:34, 22 December 2020 (UTC)

Riblet15

Riblet15 ^{Talk • Contribs • Meta contribs}

Statement	I am running for the board to represent the active editors in the business decisions of Weird Gloop. I want to ensure that Weird Gloop serves our community to the best of our ability and spends our funding appropriately. I will make sure we have justification for Weird Gloop expenses and proper record of the decisions made during board discussions. As a member of the board I will continue to ensure OSW is equitably represented.
Wiki work	I joined the wiki in 2009 and became active on the old school wiki in mid 2017. Historically I have put significant work into standardization, allowing us to be thorough in our coverage with streamlined templates and research tools like MOID. My experience with infobox templates lets us have a quick turnaround when supporting new features like Trailblazer League regions. I have been a member of the board in both years since its inception. During this time I have requested statements of justification for any spending of gloop funds and have regularly asked questions during board meetings to clarify points for the meeting notes. I also served as the notetaker in 2019 and did administrative tasks to improve the meta wiki in 2020. I am currently active on the Discord, and aim to help newer editors understand the basics of the more confusing aspects of editing the wiki, such as images, modules, dpl, and our API.
Other work	I currently work full time as a software engineer, which involves a significant amount of collaboration within a team. This has given me experience in explaining my perspective on issues precisely to work through challenges in a technical way, while still understanding the perspectives of others. This technical background has also made it easier to take the lead on the old school wiki modules to make a larger impact on the experience of the users of our site.

Questions from the community

Question for all candidates - What is one thing you're afraid of falling short/failing at/etc. if elected as a board member? --Legaia 2 Pla ^{ᴛ · ʟ · ᴄ} 01:06, 22 December 2020 (UTC)

Having been on the board for two years, I'm not really worried about meeting the requirements for the position. My biggest concern would be that we've reached a point of complacency and haven't made all the improvements that we can for the site. For a specific example, I want to make sure that we don't leave the GCP migration unfinished if we determine that the board allocating more funds would allow this project to land sooner. Riblet15 (talk) 04:21, 28 December 2020 (UTC)

Question - Justifying expenses logically means sometimes denying a request. Have there been any examples of unnecessary expenses during your time on the board? If not, what would you consider to be unnecessary? cqm ^talk 11:28, 22 December 2020 (UTC)

So far all the expenses that have been approved by the board have had reasonable justification, so nothing has really been denied. The main reason I would find an expense to be unnecessary is if there's no clear benefit for our users and editors. Additional factors could include if the price is clearly too high, or if it may put us in deficit and impact our ability to keep the wikis running. Riblet15 (talk) 04:21, 28 December 2020 (UTC)

RuneScape Wiki (Portuguese)

There is 1 candidate for 1 position.

Crowborn (Yuri Nikolai)

Crowborn ^{Talk • Contribs • Meta contribs}

Statement	I edit under the username Crowborn. I am interested in applying to renew my position as representative for the Portuguese-language RuneScape Wiki.
Wiki work	I am very interested in contributing to the creation and spread of open information on whatever topics I can contribute to, and the RuneScape wiki has been a part of my life and of this pursuit for many years. I have contributed primarily to the Portuguese RuneScape Wiki since about 2014, translating content in all areas of the wiki, being an admin there for a few years and a bureaucrat since earlier this year. I have ported modules. CSS code, gadgets and other similar work, and have taught how to do so to many editors who recently did so.
Other work	I also have experience editing and translating content in many other collaborative platforms, especially Wikipedia, Appropedia and Cataclysm-DDA's Transifex project.

Questions from the community

Question for all candidates - What is one thing you're afraid of falling short/failing at/etc. if elected as a board member? --Legaia 2 Pla ^{ᴛ · ʟ · ᴄ} 01:06, 22 December 2020 (UTC)

I'm always concerned about not managing to appear in discussions and board meetings due to IRL stuff and timezone differences. I always try to be as present as i can, but not managing to represent Pt-Br everytime i could is my major concern. Crowborn (Talk) 15:43, 10 January 2021 (UTC)