Wikipedia Sucks!

Kumioko wrote:I think it's an outlier. So many admins have been leaving and so few joining that the Wikipedia admin procedure had collapsed. It was so low, that it was really only a matter of time until this happened. Unless it happens for a few months in a row though, it doesn't really mean anything.

CrowsNest wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 16, 2019 3:10 pm

Kumioko is talking his usual unverifiable nonsense for the usual reasons, but it is genuinely hard to prove what seems to be happening here. My best take is as follows....

1. All the talk of an Admin crisis has finally worked, and candidates have finally realised what had been obvious for a year or two, that most people's RfA standards have dropped markedly. This is reflected in how people of all stripes and experiences, many you have never even heard of, are getting passed no bother.

2. Moderately good candidates finally got sick of seeing what utter shite in the veteran ranks passes as the supposed higher standard for RfA regulars, and have decided to get some overdue recognition. It would certainly boil my piss if I knew Fram was as bad as you could be, and still have it debated whether you were fit to serve or not, or that you could do what Floquenbeam did and still be considered trustworthy. Having a username that makes women uncomfortable (literally, fnar, fnar) isn't even a disqualifier now. Standards? What standard? If it isn't already, the nominal standard is basically, candidate hasn't personally attacked anyone this year. Even that is flexible, given the next item...

3. Divisive candidates realized the change that the RexxS debacle represents, confirmed by Floquenbeam. RfA is no longer about persuading the community of your merits, much less winning over doubters, it is just all out war, and not even Bureaucrats are neutral anymore, should you need that extra hand. It is now just about winning, and doing whatever you need to do to win, so you just need to have a good idea your gang is bigger than the ones that would deny you your Precious, and that your obvious faults and failings are already widely known to your gang so your loyal troops have their strategies and excuses ready for when they need to do what they need to do, chiefly to paint the opposition as a bunch of crazy Wikipedia destroying heretic bastards, even if they're making pretty darn sensible points like he called someone a prat the day before his RfA.

4. Good people finally stepping up. There will be some who was FRAMGATE and are heartily sick that the likes of Kudpung can basically be an Administrator until they die. As the saying goes, for evil to flourish and all that. If you can't get rid of them, you can dilute their toxic influence. Probably not a huge factor, given the dearth of genuinely good people on Wikipedia.

5. All that talk of inactivity limits, and notable RfAs like Floquenbeam, reminding potential candidates that as uncomfortable as an RfA might be, the prize of being able to have your opinion count more in community debates, while never having to actually do any real Admin work, is actually pretty neat. Ealdgyth is a perfect example. RexxS also, sort of, even though it didn't quite work out as he had hoped.

The uptick in reactivations is of course all the pathetic bastards who went on strike over Fram, now slowly coming back to work as if a great victory was achieved.

Long term, although interesting, not likely to get Wikipedia where it needs to be. They needs hundreds more, and all fine and upstanding citizens. Impossible.

Bbb23sucks wrote: ↑

Fri Mar 31, 2023 10:54 pm

This post is a thousand words, yet is less insightful than the proceeding one.