Requests for global permissions

Agent Isai's Request for Interwiki Administrator

 * The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section.
 * Clear consensus. Dmehus (talk) 01:51, 8 October 2021 (UTC)

User: Agent Isai ( contributions &bull; CA &bull; blocks log &bull; rights log &bull; global rights log )

Reason(s) for request
I am requesting Interwiki Administrator as I wish to help out more, not only locally but globally. I believe that by becoming an interwiki administrator, I would be able to improve user satisfaction with Miraheze by helping process interwiki requests in a timely manner. At this present moment, 6 of the 9 Interwiki Administrators have not had any significant community interaction in over a few months and about 3 of those haven't had any log actions on Meta in nearly 2 or more years. Of the remaining 3 Interwiki Administrators, since the beginning of July, Ugochimobi has mostly been handling interwiki requests (as far as I can see on Discord) which is understandable as the remaining 2 interwiki administrators are busy as, apart from their real life duties, they also help Miraheze globally (for Doug, as a Steward. For Universal Omega, as a sysadmin.). For the aforementioned reasons, I would like to help the current Interwiki Administrators to continue processing interwiki link requests in a timely manner while not compromising security to help improve user satisfaction with Miraheze. Thank you.

Requirements: Agent Isai Talk to me! 19:08, 16 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Global edits (1,000 required): ✅ (1,437 locally)
 * 2 months account age: ✅
 * Be involved in community matters: ✅, I actively help on the noticeboards and on Discord/IRC

Questions for candidate

 * 1) One question: What do you plan to do once you have acquired the right? DarkMatterMan4500 (talk) (contribs) 19:19, 16 September 2021 (UTC)
 * As stated in the request, I plan to help in processing interwiki requests in a timely manner. There is not a whole much an interwiki administrator can do other than processing interwiki requests. Agent Isai  Talk to me! 19:28, 16 September 2021 (UTC)

Support

 * 1)  I mean, there's no limit to Interwiki administrators, right? So, why not? DarkMatterMan4500 (talk) (contribs) 19:27, 16 September 2021 (UTC)
 * 2)  I think the rationale is reasonable and the user is quite capable of the responsibility that's needed. --Raidarr (talk) 20:02, 16 September 2021 (UTC)
 * 3)  Will be a good addition to the interwiki administrators' team. --Mazzaz (talk)  01:43, 17 September 2021 (UTC)
 * 4)  Agent is an extremely active user (both on Meta and discord, which are both ways to make a IW table change request), very trusted user, and overall seems likes a great addition to the team.  —［ <span style="font-weight:800; padding:0.25em 0.5em;border-radius:.35em;background-color:#d2527f;background:background-image: linear-gradient(45deg,#CF121F,#F83A0C,#F83A0C,#FF6347,#FFD228); background-image: -o-linear-gradient(45deg,#CF121F,#F83A0C,#F83A0C,#FF6347,#FFD228); background-image: -moz-linear-gradient(45deg,#CF121F,#F83A0C,#F83A0C,#FF6347,#FFD228); background-image: -webkit-linear-gradient(45deg,#CF121F,#F83A0C,#F83A0C,#FF6347,#FFD228); background-image: -ms-linear-gradient(45deg,#CF121F,#F83A0C,#F83A0C,#FF6347,#FFD228); background-image: -khtml-linear-gradient(45deg,#CF121F,#F83A0C,#F83A0C,#FF6347,#FFD228););color:rgba(255,255,255,1);text-shadow:0 1px 1px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2)">Bukkit  ］［  Talk  |  Contributions  |  Barnstars  15:56, 19 September 2021 (UTC)
 * 5)  Agent Isai appears to currently be very active on Miraheze and I would have no problem with supporting for interwiki admin per the comments made above. --DeeM28 (talk) 13:21, 30 September 2021 (UTC)

Oppose

 * 1)  YellowFrogger (talk) 15:53, 19 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Hey, could you give a reasoning why you strongly oppose this request? Thanks,  —［ <span style="font-weight:800; padding:0.25em 0.5em;border-radius:.35em;background-color:#d2527f;background:background-image: linear-gradient(45deg,#CF121F,#F83A0C,#F83A0C,#FF6347,#FFD228); background-image: -o-linear-gradient(45deg,#CF121F,#F83A0C,#F83A0C,#FF6347,#FFD228); background-image: -qmoz-linear-gradient(45deg,#CF121F,#F83A0C,#F83A0C,#FF6347,#FFD228); background-image: -webkit-linear-gradient(45deg,#CF121F,#F83A0C,#F83A0C,#FF6347,#FFD228); background-image: -ms-linear-gradient(45deg,#CF121F,#F83A0C,#F83A0C,#FF6347,#FFD228); background-image: -khtml-linear-gradient(45deg,#CF121F,#F83A0C,#F83A0C,#FF6347,#FFD228););color:rgba(255,255,255,1);text-shadow:0 1px 1px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2)">Bukkit  ］［ Talk  |  Contributions  |  Barnstars  16:01, 19 September 2021 (UTC)
 * It just doesn't help others much, and makes a lot of repetitive responses. I try to be an interwiki admin myself, but I can't. YellowFrogger (talk) 16:05, 19 September 2021 (UTC)
 * DarkMatterMan took me to this page, saying it was here to request the interwiki admin, but I want to be interwiki admin locally only. YellowFrogger (talk) 16:07, 19 September 2021 (UTC)
 * As per the discussion we had on my talk page, we have a policy on Interwiki Administrators which must be followed. I linked to discussions on the Stewards' noticeboard which establish precedent for being granted rights locally on a wiki where no community exists but you seem to have unfortunately disregarded that. The reason why some of my responses seem repetitive is because there's not much to add to already established policies, I am unable to add my own commentary or override the policies. I will note that I am not a Steward, you seem to have confused me for one, and a such cannot assist you or even grant you the rights if I did believe you met the criteria. I am sorry for not being able to assist you but I did direct you to the Stewards' noticeboard where a Steward can give you additional advice or determine your case on a discretionary basis. Agent Isai  Talk to me! 16:30, 19 September 2021 (UTC)
 * I thought you were a steward (who can do anything) and that's why I charged you... YellowFrogger (talk) 17:29, 19 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Current stewards are listed in a few places and will also have that clearly noted on their main profile. It's best to make sure before assuming, for something of this scale especially. --Raidarr (talk) 23:30, 19 September 2021 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section

Raidarr's Request for Global Sysop
User: Raidarr ( contributions &bull; CA &bull; blocks log &bull; rights log &bull; global rights log )

Reason(s) for request
This is a fairly bold request. After conferring with various users including a current Global Sysop, I believe this is as good a time as any to make the request and let the collective decide.

I have been on the platform for a while now, and while there is always more to learn, I believe I have a strong grasp of global policies, including ones especially pertinent to a Global Sysop's scope - Code of Conduct, Username Policy, Content Policy (in addition to my capacity as Wiki Creator), and of course others including Terms of Use and Privacy Policy which I may partially address, but defer as necessary to other operatives including Stewards, Trust and Safety and SRE.

I would offer offer an additional hand on deck CVT matters (deferring for advanced cases), community support through the capacity described in the opening lines of Global Sysops policy (which allows me to mediate as a third party in communities that clearly request for it in the event Stewards may simply be too busy or not necessary), and allow for more proactive outreach and investigation by having another hand on deck. I would also offer an alternative perspective and field of contribution, as existing members of CVT (GS/Stewards) are often overcome with life or their other duties, and I am in a position where I can offer daily availability. I am a firm believer that multiple eyes make better decisions; even where I am confident, there are cases I'd still like to seek additional input to refine my own process and to make the decision stronger. For issue resolution if I cannot fix it personally or collectively with peers, I like to set what groundwork I can and pass the issue to someone who can resolve it cleanly.

I make a point of at least observing, if not participating in many notable communities hosted by the platform on top of Meta itself. Some, such as AllTheTropes, are administratively quite stable even if I make a point of knowing and visiting as a reader from time to time. Others including the recently added Ball wikis, the renowned reception wikis, and others newly created (perhaps by me :p) and found via Special:WikiDiscover (which I make a point of looking at periodically) may require extra hands. In several cases I have offered support and participated. With or without this global group I intend to continue efforts to try and stabilize them, for their own stakes and for the image of Miraheze. But I do think this request can make me more useful.

In my view, I have the required blend of basic competence/familiarity, ability to defer and improve, and an assortment of pre-inputs necessary for this request to make sense. Naturally though, this is a question for the wider community of Meta, global operatives I have not had a good chance to discuss with, and the global community who may or may not know of me. In any of those cases I am open to advice, feedback and discussion in public or private. Thank you for your consideration, and my apologies if this came off as too wordy. --Raidarr (talk) 14:28, 16 December 2021 (UTC)

Questions for candidate

 * 1) What do you plan to do when this is accepted by all means, aside from helping with doubling up CVT reports? --DarkMatterMan4500 (talk) (contribs) 14:35, 16 December 2021 (UTC)
 * Firstly, familiarize with the resources I have little ability to experience as a regular user, such as cvt (I have heard of this page, but lack full context). Any adjustments including logging process, perhaps a bit of action on the test wiki as necessary should be explored before I use the tools outright. From there I intend to support in handling clear cases in shorter time and where needed, deferring for advanced matters but observing their process so I may handle them optimally in the acceptable bounds of a GS. From there, I'm afraid my plans are unformed and speculative. As much as I would like to act in a community operative capacity as the policy indicates is possible, it is an unexplored area and not something I would be comfortable working with immediately, outside of what I could do as an ordinary user of course. Avoiding intrusion on the wide and clear scope of a Steward on this topic would be important and likely require a dedicated conversation with them to explore how I may support them within the bounds of policy. --Raidarr (talk) 15:14, 16 December 2021 (UTC)
 * 1) How would you monitor and respond to vandalism or violations of policy? --DeeM28 (talk) 18:33, 16 December 2021 (UTC)
 * In monitoring I expect to depend on user reports often provided via chat to CVT, but additionally keep an eye on known areas of vandal and/or CoC problematic activity. A majority of reports that I have seen and situations that arise tend to come from areas that predictably are subject to unwanted attention. From time to time I'd also give the CVT feed a glance as it offers useful flags of what may be problematic both from the regular areas and less known locations. In other words, a combination of addressing reports and proactive glances at areas that could be sources of concern. --Raidarr (talk) 21:13, 16 December 2021 (UTC)
 * 1) What previous countervandalism experience (if any) do you have that would make you a good choice for this position? --DeeM28 (talk) 18:33, 16 December 2021 (UTC)
 * Via the usual reporting outlets, this is a weaker point for me. Not because I am unable or have never produced reports, but because situations are typically caught and forwarded by a variety of users who proactively scout for issues. Ultimately I prefer to fill gaps in coverage and attempt to see situations through in their entirety; I am not the best candidate to be on the front lines proactively identifying them. However, between Meta and a variety of other wikis including sweeps through recent entries of WikiDiscover, I have found and attempted to address, resolve, or properly forward local issues to users who can help. These ranged from mundane instances, to potential incivility/light CoC disruption requiring mediation but not global intervention, to manual reversions of vandalism alongside other responders (such as when Meta was attacked by the 'noncyclopedia lta' not long after I received patroller right and before getting rollback) and observing, reporting or lending input regarding more serious cases, ie, background discussion and light investigation of a well known LTA who uses sentences for usernames. --Raidarr (talk) 21:13, 16 December 2021 (UTC)
 * 1) Do you plan on being regularly active? --DeeM28 (talk) 18:33, 16 December 2021 (UTC)
 * I do, ideally to usually appear on the platform and resolve pressing matters within a day or so, and at least keep tabs on more intricate ones to hopefully resolve them sooner than later. I don't forsee my current activity being compromised in the near future. --Raidarr (talk) 21:13, 16 December 2021 (UTC)
 * 1) Global Sysops assist Stewards and support the community. Based on your interpretation of policy, what is the scope of Global Sysops and when do they become involved in matters?  Agent Isai  Talk to me! 19:15, 16 December 2021 (UTC)
 * Global sysops in a nutshell 'take the edge off' for Stewards. While more intricate matters and functions such as CheckUser, Oversight, reopening wikis for adoption requests, providing exemptions and so forth all are and will remain in Steward hands along with ultimate discretion on tricky subjects noted within their scope, CVT/GS traditionally has and currently does resolve fairly routine cases of vandalism and other clerical/typically obvious violations. At times they may act more deeply to address a community on behalf of and with oversight from Stewards.
 * Less tested in the current writing of the policy is: "supporting the community and working with communities to address issues facing them locally". Currently I do not know of any precedence where communities have gone out of their way to solicit a Global Sysop in place or on behalf of a Steward aside from functions noted above. If solicited to mediate an issue, I'd be inclined to follow up on it if convinced it is the community's will. That said, in scenarios with substantial ambiguity or if a request is made with say, particular users unhappy about local administrative actions that are in line with local policy/convention and do not counteract global policies, it would not be my place to engage, especially not without the aforementioned oversight. Either way for communal issues I believe multiple eyes are better. --Raidarr (talk) 21:13, 16 December 2021 (UTC)
 * 1) Do you have previous experience in using some of the tools without the Global Sysop toolset? Namely the CentralAuth interface for locking users?  Agent Isai  Talk to me! 19:15, 16 December 2021 (UTC)
 * I consider myself proficient in all notable administrative interfaces, special pages and naturally the CentralAuth tool in a local administrator and ordinary user capacity. I claim awareness and proficiency, but admit I am not the most efficient or expert with MediaWiki tools. In particular I am not confident with AbuseFilter, and I'd leave it to an experienced colleague until I've become sure I won't do something exceedingly dumb. Likewise I intend to be conservative with interfaces I haven't used much or require a certain process to be done accountably (though from what I see, this is typically just performing the actions through Meta so they are centrally visible). --Raidarr (talk) 21:13, 16 December 2021 (UTC)
 * 1) What are your definitions of a long-term abuser, what about someone who abuses multiple accounts? Additionally, when would you lock a user? For example, when would you lock a user for a Username Policy violation? What about a Code of Conduct violation? Vandalism?  Agent Isai  Talk to me! 19:15, 16 December 2021 (UTC)
 * Roughly, multiple account abuse is measured as an isolated case where a user has used another account to deceive or abuse presumably only once, up to a few times with the understanding that it will stop. Long term abuse marks where the previous case is taken well past the point of stopping, many accounts for obvious bad faith intentions where remediation is no longer the key and instead patterns emerge to identify and eliminate the LTA when they appear. In both cases I may need to defer the matter to Stewards, as LTA tend, but don't always make themselves obvious, and multiple account abuse typically requires sufficient evidence as provided by Steward investigation including the use of CheckUser.
 * A lock is typically employed when (per above) there is no apparent chance from the start that the user is present to bring something good to Miraheze, or when the activity is sufficiently disruptive/repeated despite warning. Duration may apply by the nature of the issue (ie, I believe it is 6 months to block a proxy, a special case where it is a clerical violation of the no open proxies policy), otherwise if they're necessary they would typically be applied on an 'appeal manually' basis. In the second scenario and in any case where a user has reasonable benefit of the doubt, a lock is a measure of last resort. The more ambiguous, established and justifiable the user, the more remediation should be considered unless it becomes apparently impossible to do so. Typically (and especially when the topic is clearly 'sticky') this should involve the consultation of fellow GS and/or Stewards.
 * In general for a UP violation, it is preferable to leave a message reminding of the policy, a note that specifies where the issue is, and direct them to the rename request form to resolve the issue. In cases where the username is sufficiently disruptive on its own, an outright lock may be employed - there is a line, if a little tricky to define, where a user is acting in good faith and just didn't realize the policy and when remediation is not worth the time. Behavioral evidence (ie, account created with a questionable name then used to perform vandalism) makes this question easy. Often these violations transparently accompany LTA behavior as well. Otherwise, there's no reason it can't be resolved amicably.
 * Typically I would prefer to escalate based on the nature of the violation with steps being a) local warning/discussion, b) local block/stronger warning, c) global warning + whatever extra local action is needed, and d) global lock. Severity is measured by the nature of the violation (user who gets into fights with certain other people but generally contributes for example, vs a user who is constantly argumentative on just about anything, employing homophobic slurs to result in quick wipe of the content + firm globally-applicable warning if not an outright lock if that is the sum of their value based on contribution history). I would be inclined only to act at a) and b) scale if local management is not present or not able to resolve the issue, most proactively (but hopefully not too frequently) at c) scale and if necessary at d) scale. I'd escalate more quickly for users who only perform CoC violations as their Miraheze activity and in cases where the abuse crosses multiple wikis, especially if it enters the vein of targeted harassment. Otherwise I prefer a stance of conciliation and being conservative with the tools.
 * While vandalism may be subject to modifiers requiring discretion, it typically falls in two camps; local vandalism which wouldn't merit my action if suitably handled, and lock in the case of an account made to vandalize multiple wikis. --Raidarr (talk) 21:13, 16 December 2021 (UTC)

Comments by other users

 * 1) So far, I've seen a lot of support for Raidarr to become the next global sysop, and it seems like it's going well. --DarkMatterMan4500 (talk) (contribs) 21:33, 19 December 2021 (UTC)

Support

 * 1)  This guy has been helpful in providing advice on here and on other wikis on this platform, but we'll see if this passes by any means necessary. --DarkMatterMan4500 (talk) (contribs) 14:35, 16 December 2021 (UTC)
 * 2)  He is one of the most helpful and active members of the community, and has worked alongside high-authority users in the community countless times. I would say he would be able to do this job well. TigerBlazer (talk) 16:46, 16 December 2021 (UTC)
 * 3)  Definitely support this request. Always been helpful; definitely active; definitely trusted.  17:16, 16 December 2021 (UTC) ］ |
 * 4) I'm voting support here because it doesn't seem to hurt: although it's a bold choice, or your account isn't a year old yet, it would be nice of you to have that role. He has already created several wikis without injustice and has already helped some users on the noticeboards. YellowFrogger (✉ Talk  ✐ Edits ) 18:00, 16 December 2021 (UTC)
 * 5)  It's like an early Christmas present for the community. Raidarr is an excellent and active community member who regularly interacts with everyone on IRC/Discord and provides thoughtful ideas and insights. I completely support this and am very glad to see it. I hope this leads towards a Steward request in time too when you've had a bit of experience.  ~ RhinosF1 - (chat)· acc· c -  21:57, 16 December 2021 (UTC)
 * 6) Raidarr is an amazing user here, definitely a great volunteer. I also believe I have said that he should be a Global Sysop. If only there was a strongerest support. -- Cheers, Bukkit ( Talk • All Contribs ) 22:02, 16 December 2021 (UTC)
 * 7)  Strongest support chain!!! haha  AP 📨
 * Just to interject and not shoot my own supporters, while I certainly appreciate what seems like a record set of enthusiastic supports, I'd like to see and encourage supports that provide concrete rationale and reflect a honest personal assessment, rather than support for a trend. Superficial supports can and should be dismissed upon Steward review. --Raidarr (talk) 01:33, 17 December 2021 (UTC)
 * I actually support you in that comment, per Bukkit.  AP 📨 02:07, 17 December 2021 (UTC)
 * He's asking you to express your opinion because you want to keep him as a global sysop. You just randomly voted like it was just 'fashion' because the others were just voting in a humorous way . But I think that, in my opinion, he didn't need that on his part. YellowFrogger (✉ Talk </b> ✐ Edits </b>)</b> 02:41, 17 December 2021 (UTC)
 * Anyway, thankfully you cited Bukkit as an example, although that's not really recommended (Bukkit just said he was a volunteer fighter). As you've been editing for months, I suggest you speak because you want Raidarr as global sysop YellowFrogger</b> (✉ Talk </b> ✐ Edits </b>)</b> 02:45, 17 December 2021 (UTC)
 * Ugh, I meant I would say the same thing as bukkit: Raidarr is an amazing user here, definitely a great volunteer., but I'm just busy at that time and also lazy to type :P <span style="display:inline-block;border:2px solid #bfff00;border-radius:8px;background-image:linear-gradient(to bottom right, #75ff75, #ffff80)"> AP 📨 02:48, 17 December 2021 (UTC)
 * Thank you for the clarification ^ --Raidarr (talk) 08:30, 17 December 2021 (UTC)
 * 1)  After reading the responses to the questions posed and also the contributions of Raidarr it is my opinion that he is fit for the role. In an ideal world I would have preferred that Raidarr applied for Global Sysop at a later point in time to amass even more knowledge about the functioning of Miraheze as this request is made only 5 months after having registered. That being said the responses to the questions demonstrate that Raidarr has a good understanding of Miraheze's global policies and also has a good idea about how he would enforce said policies and what the role of Global Sysop entails. I also appreciate Raidarr's proposed approach of conciliation rather than immediate use of tools and think that it is something important that has sometimes been ignored by some. I can therefore see no reason to oppose this request and believe that Raidarr will do a good job enforcing global policies and engaging with communities and will be helpful to the current Stewards and Global Sysop whose activity has not been great in the last few months. I would like to recommend to Raidarr that at the beginning of his tenure as Global Sysop he takes things a little easier and does not hesitate to ask his colleagues for help regarding the customs, conventions and other aspects of the position as to not do things substantively differently than the current 'Team' does it. Good luck! --DeeM28 (talk) 08:47, 17 December 2021 (UTC)
 * 2)  I may be only a little active at the moment (student life is hard...), I see that this user is active, and can be trusted with these tools, so I can only support that. :p HeartsDo (Talk / Global / Wiki Creator) 14:46, 17 December 2021 (UTC)
 * 3)  --Cocopuff2018 (talk) 16:54, 17 December 2021 (UTC)
 * 4)  After reading all responses, plus the fact that Raidarr is actually gonna be a good GS, I know this personally even before this request came up. --Ugochimobi (talk) 16:58, 17 December 2021 (UTC)