SmashWiki:Requests for bureaucratship/Aidanzapunk

Aidanzapunk (talk • contribs • edit count • passing RFA • RFB page)

Candidate, please summarize why you are running for bureaucratship below.

Hi. I'm Aidanzapunk, but you can just call me Aidan. I joined this wiki almost seven years ago, put out a request for adminship two years later, got denied, put out another request for adminship three years after that, got accepted, and I've been an admin since. I've had a lot of ups and downs, but I'd generally like to think that things have gone well.

So, admittedly, I didn't initially want to do this. I didn't think I'd be ready, especially given my tendency to ask other admins and crats what their opinions were on what was happening, either on the wiki or in the Discord server, and how it should be handled. And then both Disaster Flare and Serpent King went on hiatus. Though Disaster Flare would end up coming out of hiatus shortly after Serpent King started his, this effectively left Toomai as the sole crat, which he rightfully brought up concern towards.

Now, Serpent King actually spoke to me before he stepped away from the wiki and passed on the ownership of the server to me, unsure of whether or not it was the right decision, and looking for someone to pass the server onto. Given the fact that I had previously temporarily handled ownership of the server while he dealt with his grandmother's passing, this was a good call on his part. Toomai, while he's been around on the wiki much longer than I have, even admitted he didn't think he would've been a good person to pass the server onto, due to him not being as active in the server as other staff. But it was in that moment while I was talking with him that I realized that someone would need to handle his responsibilities and make sure everything was going as smoothly as possible, and Toomai mentioned it as well. So, I'm coming forward today, putting a request for bureaucratship out, and seeing what you all think. I will clarify that this is not a pity RfB, but rather one that's being presented with hindsight and rethinking.

I could choose to go on about my strengths and weaknesses as an admin, and how those would come into play if I were to be a crat, but there's two major things that really tie it all together: judgement, and communication. I'll be going over those individually, while also discussing how those play into both the different powers of a crat, and each other.

• Judgement: Admittedly, I have a terrible sense of judgement sometimes; I either overcompensate, or undercompensate. Hell, even this could fall under that, because I didn't think I'd be willing to try for cratship. But hindsight is a very good friend of mine, and it's especially prevalent if other people are involved with judgement. Yes, the wiki has had some incidents that probably could've been handled better with better judgement, but those are all learning experiences. Judgement is formed after the fact, you learn how to judge future situations by how you judged past ones. If someone is promoted to be admin or crat and something happens that causes them to be disliked by the community or, worst case scenario, lose that position, then I will know to be a better judge in the future, and communicate with the right people in future situations. This is not to say that I'm not willing to own up to situations ending poorly, far from it. But that's also just it, I will take the failure to heart, and know to handle the situation better should there ever be another situation that is like it, or could lead to it. Judgement also plays very much into a crat's role of deciding who does and who doesn't get to become an admin. With being an admin, you have to have good judgement (how long does X user get a block, based on what they've done), good managing skills (being able to handle everything thrown at you), and good communication (being able to work with the rest of the admins). You have to watch out for people who only want the admin status just to be an admin, as well as people who let their own judgement get in the way of being the best admin they can be. As a crat, I would watch out for these points when looking to promote a user to admin status. I would also take a look through their edit history, and look for any conflicts or things that are unbecoming of a user or admin (such as a heavy emphasis on minor edits rather than anything major).
• Communication: I am very much a fan of communicating to work better. As I am autistic, communication has been a big part of my life from the moment I could talk. I'm very much willing to communicate with people, both individually and on a larger scale, and this extends to my position as an admin here on SmashWiki. As I mentioned, I was initially concerned over my tendency to go to others instead of being able to handle things myself—this has been an issue I've seen in myself for a very long time. However, thinking back on it, I see it more as a strength than a weakness, especially in terms of being an admin; I would rather a group decision be made, even if it's just two people, than an individual decision on my own. (Hell, even Serpent King himself read over this RfB before I submitted it.) I'm more than willing to communicate with people I trust and have been trusted by the community—be it other admins/crats, chat ops in the server, or other people I genuinely trust—on situations that I don't think I could handle on my own, to help me be a better judge on those situations and future ones as well. Additionally, as I have ADHD, I can forget to do things from time to time...to time...to time. If I've forgotten to handle a troublesome user, change someone's username, or promote someone looking for a position, then a casual reminder on that would be perfect. Communication also plays a key role in deciding to promote, because if a user is disliked by the community, or someone else brings up an issue that, in my own judgement, I missed, it would definitely be worth noting, and confronting the candidate about; communication would also help with actions after promotion, as users should be able to call out an admin for making poor choices, regardless of how major or minor they are, without the fear of going against a "person of power," since admins and crats are just regular users with a few extra tools they can use.

There are some genuine flaws of mine that I would like to address, though. I briefly mentioned me being autistic and having ADHD, and while these are not, nor will they ever be, "flaws" by definition, they do still act as detriments to my everyday capabilities due to being disabilities; while there is not much I can do in terms of handling them, as they will forever exist, communicating with me in regards to me doing something wrong or forgetting to do something is greatly appreciated, and I implore you to not hesitate to contact me in regards to it, regardless of whether I become a crat or remain an admin. Additionally, as was mentioned in my second RfA, there have been some times where I've let my temper get the better of me, but I fully believe that I am beyond that; while I am not afraid to make myself clear, I believe I'm capable of doing so in a less outburst-ish way. I also have noticed a decline in my activity and overall communication with the greater community (not just in regards to the server itself, but also people outside the server who don't work on the wiki), which I plan on remedying; I helped spread the SmashWiki's statement on our stance regarding the uprising of information regarding the competitive community, which was met with praise, and I also plan on helping further the connection between not just the SmashWiki and the rest of the Smash community, but myself and the rest of the wiki community.

Would I be the perfect bureaucrat? No, everyone makes mistakes, we're only human. But would I try my hardest to be the best one I can be? Without a doubt. Aidan, the Rurouni 13:00, July 8, 2020 (EDT)

Support

1. For the words, I think, I should support. Well it’s probably due to SK hiatus. NGL you’ve been in the server for many years and it’s just been decided with each run and edits, it’ll be a good opportunity for you to become a Bureaucrat. It’s even likely that you helped people, give advice, etc. Even in the discord too btw. HowplayzPrepare Yourself 13:19 July 8, 2020 (EDT)
2. I definitely support your RfB, and it's not just because we're currently in dire need of another. I've seen you put in a lot of work when it comes to helping around the wiki - especially things that typically might not be on the scale of requiring direct admin/bureaucrat assistance. If there's ever a vote, tag, or anything that's been left alone and needs to get done, more often than not I've seen your name come around to help out. Seems to me that you've acknowledged (what you consider to be) your own personal weaknesses, which I believe is the first step towards improving yourself. You've got my trust - I'm certain that having you in a Bureaucrat position will be a great help to the wiki, now and likely far into the future. Acgamer28 14:04, July 8, 2020 (EDT)

Oppose

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Neutral

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