The following discussion is preserved as an archive of a request for adminship that did not succeed. Please do not modify it.

Sharkface217[edit]

Final (talk page) (28/42/15); Ended Sat, 12 Apr 2008 03:18:15 (UTC)

Sharkface217 (talk · contribs) - It is my pleasure to introduce to you as a candidate Sharkface217. You've undoubtedly seen him around RfA before, commenting on others in their candidacies, yet he himself has never been the subject of one. This surprised me, as I know he is a competent and experienced editor - he comes to be about every other week asking me to design a new ribbon for the barnstar he's just been awarded, and boy howdy, does he have a lot of them (even excluding all those hidden barnstars)! Sharkface has been on Wikipedia since May 2005, and been an active contributor since October 2006. For being around that long, he may not seem to hold a large edit count, however his contributions, from what I have seen, have been of high quality and always aiming to improve himself. Along that line, Sharkface has been blocked twice; however he has come a long way since then. He requested an Editor review shortly after the double block, in which some improvement was already noticeable, leading even User:Zscout370 (the blocking admin) to state that he "still [felt] that Shark is a good editor and in some time, he can be a good admin." To this day, Sharkface keeps a running tally of his mistakes at User:Sharkface217/screwups in his continual mission to improve himself. In terms of admin work, Sharkface has taken up some good work in WP:AFD, WP:CSD, and anti-vandalism, and I'm confident would be able and willing to expand elsewhere as needed. He is always a cheerful face and I believe would make an excellent addition to the administrative team. Hersfold (t/a/c) 19:39, 2 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Co-Nomination by - Milks F'avorite Cookie It's always been a pleasure to work with Sharkface. He has been an active member for Wikipedia for over an year now, with nearly 5000 edits. I have seen him do some good work at WP:AFD, and he has 22 reports to WP:AIV, some nice vandalism work. He keeps a list of his "screwups" avaliable here, which I think - not only is that a good thing to look back too, but there have been no "screwups" since early 2007. He also has great edit summary usage. I doubt Sharkface will abuse the tools, and will make a great admin! - Milks Favorite Cookie 22:20, 2 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Co-Nomination by The Transhumanist : I highly recommend Sharkface for the mop. I've worked with him closely from time to time, and have had my eye on him for quite awhile. He's smart, and he's a conscientious and dedicated contributor to Wikipedia. His heart is in the right place, he wishes the best for Wikipedia, and his efforts reflect this. When he takes on a project, it's a certainty to improve. I trust him to do his best should he be granted the mop, a move which would definitely provide a net benefit to the encyclopedia and the Wikipedia community. The Transhumanist 00:57, 4 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Co-Nomination by Malinaccier (talk) 01:15, 4 April 2008 (UTC): I have had only positive interactions with Sharkface. His work in the mainspace has been great, especially in the area of article creation and development (the list of articles created and improved on his userpage is overly long and tiring to read to say the least), and his anti-vandal work isn't skimpy. As you may know, Sharkface maintains the Award Center, and is always eager to take up challenges posted there by other editors. His attitude has always been positive, and he has obviously learned from his mistakes (per the "screwups" page in his userspace). It is obvious to me that Sharkface's great contributions will only increase in quality with the addition of the mop. Thank you, Malinaccier (talk) 01:15, 4 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Candidate, please indicate acceptance of the nomination here:

I graciously accept this nomination. --Sharkface217 00:22, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Questions for the candidate[edit]

Dear candidate, thank you for offering to serve Wikipedia as an administrator. It is recommended that you answer these optional questions to provide guidance for participants:

1. What admin work do you intend to take part in?
A: There are several areas which I intend to take part in:
  • Vandal Hunting: In order to keep Wikipedia accurate and free of misinformation, vandal hunting is required. I always "enjoy" hunting vandals using Special:RecentChanges while drinking chocolate milk and listening to Pink Floyd. I prefer slogging through the Wikipedia change log manually, as I believe the speed afforded to one by the tools can lead to silly mistakes. Drive-by vandal fighting is not my style. I conduct diligent, methodical, and educated vandal fighting in order to minimize the amount of mistakes I make and ensure that the job gets done right the first time. I also plan on keeping a watchful eye on WP:AIV.
  • Cleaning up CAT:CSD: This page always seems to be slightly backlogged. I hope to help clean it up, as it always seems to be busy, even with all the editors who visit the page regularly.
  • Working at CAT:RFU: As a person who has been blocked twice, I know the terrible feeling a person can experience when making good-faith edits that are against Wikipolicy. I hope to help those who, like myself, jumped straight to editing Wikipedia without first reviewing official policy. I should note that I try to keep WP:AGF in mind at all times.
  • Working at WP:UAA: This place is always busy and could use another helping hand.
  • Speedy Deletion: There never seems to be enough sysops to deal with vandals creating pages that qualify for speedy deletion. I plan on working especially with obvious pages that qualify, such as attack pages or pages that aren't in English.
  • Working at WP:RFP: I plan on keeping an eye on WP:RFP for when articles are reported there and qualify for semi-protection (i.e. constant vandalism, attacks by a spambot, etc.). This page is in constant need of attention and I hope to help alleviate the strain on the editors who are always active here.
  • Working at WP:ANI: As a sysop, I'd keep a watchful eye on this page, as it is the primary place many turn to when in need of administrator help.
  • Working at WP:AN3: Breaking Wikipedia's WP:3RR rule is a serious offense and I expect that I will keep tabs on this page, as it can be busy during certain times of the year (holidays, birthdays, political strife, weekends, etc.).
  • Working at WP:COIN: The Conflict of Interest Noticeboard seems to be a bit understaffed. There are cases of outright vandalism reported here that would receive attention on other boards in a jiffy. I hope to deal swiftly with those who vandalize Wikipedia due to a conflict of interest.
  • Working at WP:SPLICE: I would be interested in helping out here, as admins are the only ones who can cut and paste moves.
  • Working at WP:DYK: Considering the amount of DYKs submitted, the administrators here are hard pressed and the page itself appears to be understaffed. I plan on contributing here in order to relieve the stress on the admins who work here daily.
  • Visiting CAT:AB: There will always be administrative backlogs, and I will do my part to help out in whatever area may require assistance.
  • Work in other areas that I find interesting or that need assistance: I'm always exploring and looking for new things to try out here on Wikipedia. I'm sure I'll find other areas in which I can assist the project. If I am asked to help out in a certain area, I hope I can lend my assistance.
2. What are your best contributions to Wikipedia, and why?
A: I am particularly proud of the following Wikipedia contributions:
  • Stevens Institute of Technology: I added 62+ pictures to this article after a tiring day of taking and then uploading photographs. This achievement brings me pride because I was able to properly illustrate (some would say over-illustrate) an article that before had low-quality pictures. A person who visits this article now has a very good idea of what the campus looks like (if I may say so myself).
  • Glossary of philosophical isms: I spent a long time doing research on various schools of thought and I created short blurbs for at least 50 different philosophies. This effort was tedious but ultimately educational and rewarding, as I learned much about different philosophies while at the same time giving back to the Awards Center. Which brings me to my next point...
  • The Award(s) Center: I know that I'm probably going to take a lot of flak for this one, but I consider my body of work for the Award Center to be among my greatest Wikipedia contributions. I am the current keeper and primary sponsor of challenges at the Award Center. Through it, I sponsor challenges for such things as fighting vandalism, article improvement, article illustration, etc. in exchange for barnstars. I consider it to be in the same vein as WP:BOUNTY and WP:REWARD, except no money is involved and the only prize is a little barnstar. I understand the misgivings that one may harbor against such a system. I take a different view to this project: because of the Award Center, literally dozens of articles have been drastically improved. This is not to mention the vandal fighting/projectspace/portal/tagging challenges. The Award Center provides a place where Wikipedians can and do come together and work collaboratively on articles. I take pride in knowing the amount of vandal fighting that came as a direct result of the Recent Changes Patrol. I bask in the knowledge that such articles as The Man Nobody Knows, Heuschrecke 10, Anthony Swofford, O le Ao o le Malo, and Fly pentop computer have all improved due to the efforts of those who contribute to the Award Center. While I don't participate in sponsored challenges as often as I would like (as I am the sponsor of most of the current challenges), I am proud of my administrative efforts in keeping the project (including a newsletter and a new fortnightly article drive) running smoothly.
  • Article Creation: I have created a good deal many articles, a list of which can be found here. While most of them I have not contributed to significantly, the sheer amount of articles created is a testament to sometimes too many hours spent editing Wikipedia. I am particularly proud of articles I started that became great through the contributions of others, including but not limited to Holocaust (sacrifice), Colonial Viper, and Dov Feigin.
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: I have had a few major run-ins during my time here, as my Mistakes page can attest to. Rather than focusing on my triumphs, I have found that my mistakes are what help me learn the most. The following two cases have greatly shaped my character as a Wikipedian and as a human:
  • My Second Block: I was blocked a second time from Wikipedia by User:Zscout370 for canvassing the vote at WP:ACOTF for the article United States-Australia relations, which I had created. Not only this, but it would not be unreasonable for one to come to the conclusion that I was attempting to bribe people with barnstars so that they may vote for my nomination at WP:ACOTF. That was not my intention, and in hindsight I have come to regret my mistake here. My ignorance of the rules is no excuse, however, as it is expected that every Wikipedian who wishes to contribute to this project in a meaningful way has read the guidelines of Wikipedia, of which WP:SPAM and WP:CANVASS are major ones. While I tend to be a bold Wikipedian, I try to stay well within the rules due to my past infractions.
  • Blowing off some steam: Over a year ago, I flipped out after a long day of editing (and several days at WP:AFD). I was pretty burned (burnt?) out at the time and in a lapse of judgement I decided to take my anger out on an entire group of editors. In an utterly stupid, anger-driven reaction, I blamed the deletionist Wikiphilosophy and all it adherents for the cutting of what I saw to be "good" articles due to their laziness. I do regret what I said at the time and am deeply sorry for not being civil. I consider this to be my one and only case of incivility on Wikipedia. All my work for Wikipedia since then has been professional and free of rude remarks. If it means anything, I can say that after having spent a good deal of time in WP:AFD since then, I now consider myself to be a slightly deletionist-leaning moderate. I again profusely apologize to User:Pascal.Tesson and especially to the now-departed User:Elaragirl for my outright rudeness, collectivist generalizations, and for being a dick. As I have done since this incident, I will the exhibit the epitome of manners and treat all Wikipedians with the respect they deserve.
4. You noted in Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/Milk's Favourite Cookie that the candidate had received a large number of barnstars. It was then revealed that most of them were from you. Comment on this, please, without a large box around your answer. dihydrogen monoxide (H2O) 01:33, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
A. MFCis an extremely prolific Wikipedian and he went above and beyond in his vandal-fighting contributions. I honestly didn't expect that one would make such an effort in such a short period of time in the way of fighting vandals. The large number of barnstars is due to the fact that he completed the three challenges multiple times. It didn't seem fair to give him just one barnstar for 2400 warnings when the challenge explicitly stated that one barnstar would be awarded per every 100 warnings. The result was at least 24 barnstars in one sitting. --Sharkface217 03:32, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Questions from ChetblongTalk/Sign

5. What is the difference between a ban and a block?
A: Blocks are technical mechanisms that prevents an account from editing. Bans are restrictions imposed upon a person in which they are not welcome to edit Wikipedia. Blocks are among several tools that enforce bans. --Sharkface217 03:32, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
6. If another administrator removes material from an article and cites a BLP concern as the reason - but you believe the material does not violate BLP policy and should be included- what do you do?
A: I would calmly discuss the issue with the other administrator in question for an extended period of time. If we continue to agree to disagree, I would seek a second opinion. However, I would only do this after the debate had been thoroughly exhausted. I believe that personal, intelligent diologue between two well-informed users can more often than not result in a positive conclusion. --Sharkface217 03:49, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
7. When should "cool down blocks" be used?
A: Cool down block should never, ever, ever be used. Candid diologue and an addressing of the issues at hand are what's needed. --Sharkface217 03:43, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
8. What is your opinion on WP:IAR?
A: Wikipedians should use common sense. We should do our best to limit bureaucracy here. As the rules of Wikipedia can sometimes be contradictory, WP:IAR provides the common sense basis that is sometimes needed in order for an editor to be bold while constructively editing an article. --Sharkface217 03:41, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]


Optional questions from Tiptoety talk

9. Why is it important that wikipedia not be used as a social networking site?
A: Wikipedia exists to provide free, accurate information to the peoples of the world at a moments notice. Wikipedia shouldn't be a social networking site because, among other reasons, it is not one. The editors of Wikipedia should be here with the sole focus of trying to improve articles and contribute productively to the project. --Sharkface217 23:19, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
10. Do you feel that fun, friendships, and jokes/pranks (like some pulled on April Fools) have any room here at wikipedia? Do they help or hinder it? Why or why not?
A: I don't feel that fun, friendships, and (for the most part) jokes really hinder work on Wikipedia. WP:FUN is always entertaining and provides an escape for those who want to take a break from their wiki-duties while at the same time staying on the site. I'm not the biggest fan of April Fools pranks, as I think they detract from the serious nature and goals of Wikipedia. --Sharkface217 23:21, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
11. What do you consider to be your worst edit/choice you have made and why?
A: My diatribe against deletionists is probably the worst call I've had here for the reasons stated above. --Sharkface217 23:30, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

General comments[edit]

Please keep discussion constructive and civil. If you are unfamiliar with the nominee, please thoroughly review Special:Contributions/Sharkface217 before commenting.

Discussion[edit]

Support[edit]
  1. Support, it's been a long time coming, I dare say. (beat every nom, haha!) Take what the opposers say to heart though, most of them are ones that you should be able to fix/improve upon without much trouble. Wizardman 00:29, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  2. Strong support - I was waiting for this. Wisdom89 (T / C) 00:34, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  3. Nominator's support. As stated in my nomination, this user is ready for the resposibilities of adminship. Malinaccier (talk) 01:00, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  4. Support per my co-nom. - Milks F'avorite Cookie 01:05, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  5. Strong Support as the original nominator, yet one of the last to cast their official support. Whoops. I'm not sure I've ever seen so many co-noms... Hersfold (t/a/c) 01:18, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Support - What impresses me the most about this user is that he does not run from his mistakes; he confronts them and learns from them. His contributions are also admirable. —  scetoaux (T/C) 01:19, 5 April 2008 (UTC) Changed to Oppose per concerns raised. —  scetoaux (T/C) 18:20, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  6. Support he seems to know what he's doing around here. He deserves the tools.   jj137 (talk) 01:52, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  7. Support per huge nominations and excellent preparation. Hesitant to !vote before the usual deluge of questions, but I guess I could always change my stance. For now, looks like an excellent candidate. Tan | 39 01:56, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  8. Strong Support Great work at WP:AWARD Fattyjwoods (Push my button) 02:41, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  9. Support, no reason to believe that this user would misuse or abuse the tools. A willingness to publically admit mistakes is also a trait that I view extremely positively. Lankiveil (speak to me) 03:01, 5 April 2008 (UTC).[reply]
  10. Support the good humour and award-work are morale building. I do agree some more concerted article work would be good (and was almost but not quite a deal-breaker). Net positive (just). Cheers, Casliber (talk · contribs) 03:09, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  11. Support. As above. Axl (talk) 10:13, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  12. Support. Sharkface may not be the wiki's most prolific article-writer, but it is to his credit that he does try; his answer to q2 reveals a long list of new articles created. I don't see any evidence that he's "only here for socialising", as the opposers assert. As to the "mistakes page", I see that as a strong point. No Wikipedian should take themselves too seriously, and we should all be prepared to laugh at our own mistakes, while at the same time learning from them. WaltonOne 11:32, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  13. Support The opposers have not convinced me would abuse/misuse/go haywire with the tools. Cheers, Dlohcierekim 12:36, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  14. Strong Support He is a really good candidate. Help the wiki a bunch. Nothing444 12:40, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  15. Support I do not see why socializing makes someone not suitable to be an administrator. As long as plenty of work gets done (as is the case with Sharkface) there are no problems at all. Captain panda 12:53, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  16. Support It is time to give him the mop! --Siva1979Talk to me 12:57, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  17. Very weak support. Despite the opposition's concerns, I believe giving him the tools would carry a net-benefit. Dorftrottel (canvass) 16:25, April 5, 2008
  18. Weak support - While I agree with some of the concerns raised below I do not think they matter when it comes to handing out the mop. Sure would I like to see Sharkface217 take wikipedia a little more seriously and treat it for what it is, an encyclopedia? Yes, but at the same time I do not see any harm that is done to the project by boosting morale, and recognizing other users good work and dedication. We are ultimately discussing whether the user is ready for the tools, and whether or not they will abuse them, and the opposes do not raise either of those concerns (at least not with me). I think the Sharkface217 has shown that he has learned from his mistakes and for that reason I must apply WP:AGF. But, having said all that, I hope that Sharkface217 will carefully take all of the opposes to heart and learn from them. Tiptoety talk 17:21, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  19. Weak Support You are not the perfect candidate, but who is? You need to focus more on doing article work, and less on socializing. That is my biggest problem with you. However, I don't see that as a huge problem, because I don't see any indications that you will abuse the admin tools. Good luck!--SJP (talk) 18:06, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  20. Weak support per Dorftrottel - giving him the extra buttons would be a net benefit to the project. PhilKnight (talk) 22:31, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  21. Support A couple concerns here and there, and a bit uncertain at times, but still trustworthy enough. Ten Pound Hammer and his otters • (Broken clamshells•Otter chirps) 03:41, 6 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  22. Strong Support. Good editor, won't abuse. Basketball110 pick away... 04:57, 6 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  23. Strong Support - You really seem to have the qualities needed as an admin, not only are your answers consice, truthful, and honest, but as it looks, your experience with the MediaWiki coding also shows you have what it takes to be an admin, Good Luck! Tails0600 (talk) 01:32, 9 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Please log in if you want to support or oppose (or even neutral). Enigma message Review 04:02, 7 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Crap, I thought I was in, thank you very much for letting me know, I logged in, and have edited this. Tails0600 (talk) 01:32, 9 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  24. Support When someone is conominated by 3 people who I've heard of and respect, I think that they will be alright ~or~ take a turn for the better. the_ed17 18:31, 7 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  25. Oh go on! -- respected nominators and I think this editor has matured such that his previous indiscretions should be set aside. Nothing those in opposition have said has convinced me Sharkface should not be granted access to the tools. Xdenizen (talk) 09:23, 8 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  26. Support, mainly to oppose the oppose arguments. I have had nothing but good interactions with Shark and I have no evidence that he will abuse the tools. Citing a user subpage is not a very valid oppose argument, particularly when that page is aiming to give Wikipedians the recognition they deserve and hardly ever receive. A social admin is a good admin, and I'd rather he was an administrator than many administrators we have with us now. weburiedoursecretsinthegarden 22:19, 8 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  27. Support - the concerns raised below don't worry me. Someone who likes to socialise isn't necessarily going to abuse the tools. And an admin needs to be willing to talk to others rather than being held-back and withdrawn. However, whatever the result of this RfA, take note Sharkface217, they do have good advice, but I do not think that socialising and giving out barnstars are a reason not to support this RfA. Lradrama 07:58, 10 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  28. Support - Sharkface's award center shows me that he is willing to reach out to newer users, and trying to make them feel important on Wikipedia. iMatthew 2008 10:34, 10 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose[edit]
  1. I have never seen Sharkface as someone interested in the encyclopedia, but rather, as one interested in socialising and in earning (and giving out) as many barnstars as possible. Furthermore, his blatant preparation for this RfA (I echo Majorly's comments here, at least to some extent), for instance, his removing of the unfavourable content from a page that has been oft cited in the nom here (User:Sharkface217/screwups) and his jacking up his edit count with something most people do in 3 edits at most doesn't sit favourably with me. Open to discuss. dihydrogen monoxide (H2O) 00:48, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    The so-called "unfavorable content" was indeed jocular in nature and should have been removed long ago. My Mistakes page had not been updated since at least early 2007 and, upon reviewing it, I realized that the easy-going attitude I once held towards my mistakes had changed long before. If you look at the page history, you'll notice the serious nature of my last report on the mistakes page. It has been over a year since I have taken my mistakes so lightly. I consider this as a sign of personal improvement and I am proud to say that I have matured since then. The light nature of the page didn't reflect the seriousness with which I now regard (had have regarded since 2007) my Wikipedia editing. I take offense to such a claim that I have been jacking up my edit count. The vast majority of my edits on this Wikipedia are incremental; one only has to view the history of my work to see that to do a small bit of work I may make dozens of revisions. Clarification of language is vital to all forms of communication. I often write and rewrite my work in order to find the most perfect and aesthetic use of language in order to properly convey information to the reader. An example of this can be found here. I also do this because I have often accidentally closed out my Mozilla Firefox window, only to lose several hours worth of work. --Sharkface217 01:02, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    "you'll notice the serious nature of my last report on the mistakes page."—Sorry, which one? The last report by you (apart from the comments of yesterday/today which I've noted above and stand by my summary of) was this one on 9 January 2007. I'm not seeing a major difference there.
    You may take offense at the edit count claim, but I have only my opinion to go by. In seeing this RfA, I clicked on your contribs and saw (barring a few RfAs and one article) only user/usertalk edits in the last 50, mostly to your /rfa page. I clicked "next 50" and saw the exact same thing. In viewing your last 250 edits, this is what I see. This is your article edits in that time. Let's analyse those edits; taggings; [1] [2] (despite the edit summary). Minor text fixes; [3] [4]. Wikilinking; [5] [6]. Vandal revert; [7]. Removal of one word for minorly better prose; [8]. This is in your last 250 edits, which you're welcome to compare to mine at time of writing.
    I stand by my oppose. dihydrogen monoxide (H2O) 01:21, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I respect your opinion that my last edit (barring the recent ones) was not significantly more serious than the previous, more lighthearted (possibly even disrespectful) entries. I only ask that you assume good faith and trust me when I say that that entry regarding my mistake to the Pentagon Papers was much more serious in tone (which cannot be conveyed well in a text-only environment) than the previous entries on the page. Regarding my last 250 edits, I can only say that recently I have been caught up in administrative work for WP:AWC, as I just launched the Award Center newsletter and WP:ACCOTF. --Sharkface217 01:28, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Very well, I will assume good faith on that particular incident. I will also recommend you look into AWB botting for mass newsletter delivery, or else register an alternate account. dihydrogen monoxide (H2O) 01:32, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I think that your assumption that he is jacking his edit count is unfounded. I do not know HTML very well, and I sometimes try up to 25 times before I get something relatively complicated (like his boxes around his answers) to work. I think that Shark just needs to start using the preview button. J.delanoygabsadds 01:08, 6 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    He could have used the preview button. Harland1 (t/c) 16:18, 11 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  2. Oppose - not sure about your maturity, which, to your own credit you admit is an issue [9]. I don't read RFAs as much as I used to, but I can't think of one I've seen without you commenting on it (the signature is hard to miss) and your RFA !votes and AFD !votes are sometimes a minute apart. Rarely can you come to a reasoned, researched opinion about the quality of a candidate or an article in a minute and if you can, it's probably already in the pile on stage anyway. It's a far greater service to Wikipedia to cut the number of times you opine in half and make sure that they are well though out opinions, not just "x per y" or "support - looks good" rubber stamping of someone else's thoughts. --B (talk) 01:59, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I just want to point out in regards to this that the time between edits isn't really a good indicator of how much time an individual has actually spent working on those edits; many people (including myself) like to open several pages in several browser tabs or windows at once, and work on them over the span of several minutes or even hours, and then submit them all at once. Just something to keep in mind... Kurt Weber (Go Colts!) 03:03, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Two other things in the way of general advice: (1) When you tag an article, it is helpful to put in the edit summary what tag it is. Your last several edits this evening have been to add ((Unreferenced)) or ((notability)) to a few articles, but your edit summary in each was "tagged". If you say what the tag is, then there's at least a decent chance that someone who has the article watchlisted will see it and do something about it. Even if that doesn't happen, it at least is helpful for someone looking at the article history to know what tag you added without having to click on the diff. (2) In all of your edits I looked at, including your most frequented articles from the edit counter, I don't think I saw you add a single reference. It's extremely important that everything on Wikipedia be reliably sourced and verifiable. --B (talk) 02:32, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I will strive to be more specific in my edit summaries. As for references... It has been a while since I've added one. --Sharkface217 03:12, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  3. Usually I don't comment on RfAs, however... I read what DHMO had to say, and I agree with him when he states you are here only for socializing. It appears you have made less than 500 edits to the article space in the past year. While I'm not a die-hard "article writers only" kind of guy, this is less than TWO mainspace edit a day (41 edits a month in the article space). You really haven't even contributed to the Project space - most edits are to the user talk page, and when you aren't improving articles (which, user talk pages are used for collaboration), I'm lead to believe that you are simply socializing. Mønobi 02:06, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  4. The three opposes above raise the two concerns I have; I do not believe Sharkface217 will make a good administrator at this time. Daniel (talk) 02:07, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  5. I have several concerns with this candidate. First of all, he has very few article edits. I don't need to see FAs or GAs, but, as Monobi said, he has barely more than 1 edit/day in the mainspace. Second, though there are quite a few very mature young editors, I am concerned about his maturity. This meads me to think that he will have problems as an administrator - civility and maturity are paramount. Also, the excessive socializing worries me. I see a lot of badly though out !votes and comments, often very close apart. I understand that in some cases it's open-and-shut, but the quantity is worrying. I would suggest admin coaching first. Regards, Keilana|Parlez ici 02:13, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  6. per Daniel. There are too many concerns for me to support. —Dark talk 02:39, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  7. Giggy's got that good. Here to play games. east.718 at 03:19, April 5, 2008
  8. Oppose per Dihydrogen Monoxide. Antonio Lopez (talk) 03:22, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  9. Oppose I am very disturbed by the tendencies of some editors to value style over substance, and even more disturbed by the concept of dangling barnstars out in front of users to entice them to create new content. I can't say I've taken part in many RfA's, but I don't remember seeing anyone add "bells and whistles" to one before. Beeblbrox (talk) 05:35, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  10. Oppose I really have a problem with awards that are given based upon mere quantity rather than quality. By making his award center, and giving out awards for meeting certain edit counts, he is engaging in the worst possible type of editcountitis. Additionally, he seems to be a master at reviewing AfD discussion. For example, in a 12 minute on March 21, he was able to read, assess, investigate 17 different articles---highly prolific or careless? Prior to that he assessed 22 articles in 17 minutes. Could it be that he is going after edit counts to meet the criteria within his own guidelines for barnstars? Between 3:13 and 3:16, he was able to tag this article for references, and this one for references and expand, and this one for neutrality and his one for references and this one for references and this one for references and this one for references. That's 7 tags in 4 minutes. Which of his awards is he seeking? Might this be an overly cynical perspective? Yes, but when you run an awards center whose primary criterion is edit counts, it casts your rapid edits into question. I should also mention that I am uncomfortable with somebody who cites a desire to work in virtually every area where Admins are needed, but doesn't have a strong foot print in all of them.Balloonman (talk) 05:46, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  11. (double edit conflict, sorry for the timing to seem like a pile on) My opposition is based on what I believe the administrator's function on Wikipedia was fundamentally built upon: maintenance of the project that requires trust to give access to, as a janitor does. I do not feel that the user is trusted to receive the tools in those regards. I spent a good while reviewing the users contributions, and I agree with the above opposition reasons regarding the use of the website as an encyclopedia. Don't get me wrong, I've only ever written two articles and my interest in Wikipedia has always lay in relaxing and reading, many many many many more hours than my edit count would suggest so I'm certainly no "Article Builder!" opposer. My issue is that the user has virtually no experience in dealing with users that they are unfamiliar with. Looking over the User_talk contributions alone gave me caution- this place should involve dealing with the unfamiliar with regular use of the encyclopedia. Heck, posting in Talk: space is what first motivated me to register my account. Even warning vandals gives experience in how to handle the situations that were expressed in the answer to question one. How can I trust someone to resolve an issue on the COIN when they have never dealt with COIN in starkness? The answer to Q1 is a litany of duties that seems to me to be derived to please the audience. Personal opinion, not a judgment call there. I feel the user doesn't truly understand the principle of an administrator on Wikipedia. This isn't a crown or status, it's a greatfully accepted burden. Sharkface, you are a valued member of the community and you should remember that. I want to see you branch out into the world of maintaining the encyclopedia, which is doable without writing but not without working in the mainspace. Keegantalk 05:47, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  12. Oppose Not enough experience, coupled with my feeling(s) that the editor isn't here for the right reasons at times. Jmlk17 06:08, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  13. My apologies, but I don't believe you are quite ready yet. You lack experience in several areas. And while I'm not a huge opposer regarding experience, and while your edit count isn't small, you still need to become more proactive in editing and/or maintaining the encyclopedia before requesting for adminship. That being said, you are a respectable and valued contributor, and I encourage you to continue contributing the way you do. Basically per Keegan. Valtoras (talk) 07:48, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  14. A keen user who has good intentions at heart, but not enough experience at the 'proper-work' of administrators. Potential sysops need to express their thoughts eloquently and make sure they have experience in the right areas. Immaturity (not at all related to the age of this particular user, I think) is quite a problem, and an administrator who could be open to making mistakes every couple of days or so, is not someone I'm comfortable with the tools. Also, per Dihydrogen Monoxide. Rudget (review) 10:24, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  15. Oppose - some scary accusations of possible misuse of tools! Well, and also the fact that the candidate mainly seems to spend time handing out barnstars and chatting on talk pages. I'd like to see more "hard" contributions - more than stubs - and maybe I'll reconsider. The candidate would be well advised to demonstrate more commitment to the project that way. Biruitorul (talk) 14:27, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  16. Per User:Sharkface217/Award Center. Some people may not understand this reason. I'm not sure it's productive to try to explain it.. you'll either see what I see or you won't. If you don't, it's unlikely further explanation will help. Friday (talk) 15:43, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    If you don't, you might want to look over the MfD for it. dihydrogen monoxide (H2O) 23:47, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  17. Oppose there are just too many worrying concerns raised above for me to support or neutral. Baloonmans arguments are very good. Also doesnt meet my requiremnts... --Cameron (t|p|c) 15:55, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  18. Oppose - I have heard many good points in this oppose column, and I don't really trust that this user is telling the truth about his plans and whatnot. The fact that he self-nominated and then had a flurry of co-noms looks suspiciously of either sock puppetry or meat puppetry. Otherwise one of his conominators could have just nominated him. Given the discussion about barnstars and so on, I would guess at meat puppetry, people trying to get awards. Also, given the rather low edit count considering that most of these edits were quick and easy tagging, minor edits, I don't think the user knows what it truly is to edit. I get the strong feeling that he doesn't want the mop to do actual work (and given the short length of thought made in posts, perhaps that's a good thing) but is rather trying to do this as a form of social promotion. There is very little talk on talk pages, the editor does not seem to discuss things with others about articles very often. KV(Talk) 16:40, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    So, the administrator Malinaccier and established editors The Transhumanist and Milk's Favorite Cookie are sockpuppets/meatpuppets? Do you have any evidence to prove this, or this just an unfounded accusation worthy of being discounted? EJF (talk) 18:31, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I already questioned him on his talk page about it. I was surprised at being called a sock/meatpuppet. Also, Sharkface was nominated by User:Hersfold (an admin) but KV says that Sharkface self nominated...Malinaccier (talk) 18:36, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Whilst I'm also opposing this particular candidate, I will state that accusations of meat/sock puppetry are completely unfounded, unnecessary, and unproven. Hoping King Vegita will retract that. Keeper | 76 | Disclaimer 18:39, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Indeed. I think we need to assume good faith, particularly since half the nominations are from administrators, the other two being from well-established editors. I opposed this RfA, but I bear no ill will towards any of the nominators, who I'm sure exercised good judgement. This is similar to the issue that doomed Riana's RfB. —  scetoaux (T/C) 18:45, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I am retracting, I was tired when I wrote that up and misread the nomination as a self-nom, I think because sharkface was linked twice so close together. That was my bad and I apologize for that. My other reasoning stands, and I do apologize for jumping to conclusions, though I would keep the same reasoning if it were indeed a self-nom on the basis that it would be rather awkward. Now, I am not censoring thoughts that cross my mind, that's what that was; I was not stating there that they were such or even probably such, only possibly such. I didn't check out the nominators themselves of course. KV(Talk) 04:25, 6 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  19. Per DHMO. I'm a hardcore article-building RfA evaluator, so I feel that I can't support such a candidate. Nousernamesleftcopper, not wood 17:01, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  20. Oppose. Many above have expressed it better than I will, but I'll say it anyway. I have strong concerns about maturity (which is distinctly different than age -- I know a number of immature 50 year olds and a number of very mature 12 year olds), lack of encyclopedia building, policy knowledge, a viewing wikipedia mainly as a social club. Sharkface seems to be part of a group that view adminship as a social trophy rather than a commitment to making wikipedia a better encyclopedia. I just can't support.--Fabrictramp (talk) 17:02, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    How did you come to the conclusion that the candidate views adminship as merely a "social trophy" given the detailed answers above, and the fact that he was approached by another editor for nomination? Wisdom89 (T / C) 20:58, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I had already formed this opinion before the nom, while researching Milk's Favorite Cookie's nom. I spent a long, long time reading talk pages with posts by MFC, and came across Sharkface and a couple of other editors often on those pages. I made a mental note of those comments, because I had a feeling noms for those editors would be coming up in the very near future.--Fabrictramp (talk) 19:09, 6 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  21. Oppose. Sorry for the pileon here, but I have to agree with Fabrictramp, DHMO, and balloonman. Not ready yet. Keeper | 76 | Disclaimer 18:13, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  22. Oppose per concerns raised above. My support was written after inadequate assessment. I do not believe this user has demonstrated that possession of the tools will help maintain the encyclopedia. —  scetoaux (T/C) 18:20, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  23. Per Friday, and immaturity concerns. Ral315 (talk) 19:14, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  24. Oppose: Per above concerns. Otolemur crassicaudatus (talk) 20:31, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Oppose: Immaturity concerns, see Chuggo. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.203.89.240 (talk) 23:55, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Please log in, thanks. Daniel (talk) 00:26, 6 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Maybe the IP was reffering to Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Chuggo. In this AFD I believe that Sharkface actually made a fine point...Malinaccier (talk) 01:12, 6 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    I have to disagree. The article clearly made an assertion of notability. AfD is the forum where we can debate the accuracy of this portrayal and whether or not reliable sources back up claims made in the article. Nishkid64 (Make articles, not love) 03:27, 6 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  25. Oppose, per DHMO, B, and a few others. I don't think Sharkface is here to "play games", but he does spend too much time doing unnecessary things, and I don't see how he would help if he had the tools. · AndonicO Hail! 02:03, 6 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  26. Oppose Past interactions left me worried about maturity (eg [10]), and whether the editor had ever had any experience using an encyclopedia, or any other authoritative reference source, before deciding to write in one (eg [11][12]). The diffs I just listed are quite old indeed, but the Awards Centre is an example of recent behaviour that makes me unable to trust with the bit, for fear that it will result in more noise and distractions for productive article writers to work around, and mop pushers to plow through. Pete.Hurd (talk) 07:05, 6 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  27. My gut feeling is that the maturity thing will keep popping up. Five Years 15:46, 6 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  28. Oppose As has been said above, the social-network aspect jumps out at me. George The Dragon (talk) 18:12, 6 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  29. Oppose, per all the concerns mapped out here by several editors, I must oppose. --ChetblongTalk/Sign 21:11, 6 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  30. Oppose Sharkface is a very civil editor, and contrary to what some people have said above, he does value the project. However, that value is popping up in the wrong places at the moment. Its great to see how he likes to acknowledge the importance of editors on this project and rewards them with a motivating barnstar or two. But of course, too much of his focus seems to be placed on that and his criteria for awarding needs some revision. Also, this type of endeavor makes him appear too focused on socializing and not enough time editing. I also think he needs a bit more time showing his experience as far as tool wise. Admin coaching would probably amend concerns about experience easily though. I think there exists good potential in Shakeface to make a good administrator, all that is required is that he take what has been said in this section to heart and work off of it.¤~Persian Poet Gal (talk) 01:46, 7 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  31. Oppose per Rudget. Couldn't have said anything better in my own words. OhanaUnitedTalk page 16:36, 7 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  32. Oppose Per Rudget and dihydrogen monoxide. Juliancolton The storm still blows... 16:51, 7 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  33. Oppose Sorry, the roughly 1:5 ratio of mainspace to other edits deters me from supporting at present; it shows that whereas your edits may be good (and the ones I've seen are), I think you need more experience in article building for now. --Rodhullandemu (Talk) 16:58, 7 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  34. Oppose mostly per Rudget and DHMO, seems to be some maturity concerns. However, I do agree that this user seems to have the best interest of the project at heart, and if he can get his act together, I would support in the future. GlassCobra 17:36, 7 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  35. Oppose maturity concerns, a user who seem to be here to get credit and awards more than actually help the encyclopaedia. Sorry to pile on. Harland1 (t/c) 18:12, 7 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  36. Strong oppose - Both via the fact I see a lot more socializing than encyclopaedia building, and per User:Dihydrogen Monoxide. asenine t/c 22:28, 7 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  37. Oppose per User:Dihydrogen Monoxide.--KojiDude (Contributions) 01:33, 8 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  38. Oppose unfortunately, per Dihydrogen Monoxide, Rudget and Persian Poet Gal. paranomia (formerly tim.bounceback)a door? 22:08, 8 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  39. Weak Oppose. per dihydrogen monoxide and the others above, I don't fell this user is ready for the mop. Spinach Dip 18:28, 9 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  40. Oppose. While (I believe) this is the first time I've commented on an RFA, and I'm not exactly a beacon of righteousness either, I think the first three comments above have detailed more then enough reasons to hold on to the mop for a bit longer. Q T C 09:18, 10 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  41. Oppose. The replies given here give me little confidence in the ability of this person to communicate effectively. The replies don't look open and clear responses to me. Rather then saying, "man it was a prank, I was just having a funny moment", there seems many politically correct replies and the same can be said for replies #5, #6, #7, #8 in the question list. SunCreator (talk) 19:07, 10 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  42. I feel that Sharkface would be a greater asset to the project without the tools; consequently I cannot support. DS (talk) 02:34, 11 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Neutral[edit]
  1. Keen to learn, but still has a lack of article-writing and admin-related experience. Epbr123 (talk) 02:22, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  2. Leaning oppose per answers to question 3, but awaiting responses to other questions before I pass final judgment. ArcAngel (talk) 03:23, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  3. Neutral leaning toward support. I want to take a closer look at this candidate than usual. I see the points of both the supporters and opposers, I like what the noms have to say and they are respected editors. But this isn't about them, but about Sharkface217. I don't like his gigantic answers or his userpage formatting, but I'm going to take a real close look at his contribs before taking sides. Useight (talk) 03:41, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  4. Neutral leaning toward oppose -- I worry Sharkface misunderstands the gravity of content deletion from an encyclopedia:
    That's certainly not my approach when I look at an AfD -- at a minimum, I read both the other AfD comments and the article itself. If notability is an issue, I'll try my own reference search. --A. B. (talk • contribs) 16:01, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    As a person who has had to recreate articles several times due to their deletion, I am familiar with and appreciate gravity of content deletion. I also know that many other sites mirror wikipedia and, more often than not, there's a copy of the deleted article somewhere on the internet. --Sharkface217 23:27, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Umm ... several problems there. There are zero external references given in the article. There's no evidence from looking at the article that it meets WP:BAND - assertions of importance need to be backed up by reliable sources. Whether the deletion was correct or not, simply recreating the article is a really bad idea. You should discuss it with the deleting admin instead. --B (talk) 00:27, 6 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
    Oops, sorry about that. I didn't clarify. I meant for the deleting of articles in general, not in that specific case. Sorry for the confusion. --Sharkface217
  5. Neutral Gut feeling. SpencerT♦C 20:49, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  6. Neutral leaning towards support. I have had some experience with this editor, and I do believe he is a good person. His Award Center, imho, is a valuable tool. I have read all the AFDs for it, and I think that, whatever the motives, it has significantly improved Wikipedia. However, I cannot bring myself to support this nom mainly due the issues raised by Dihydrogen Monoxide. While I disagree that Shark was trying to jack his edit count when he started this RFA, (It is FAR easier to read than any of the others I have seen) I cannot ignore the other issues. J.delanoygabsadds 23:56, 5 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  7. Neutral leaning towards support. I simply cannot oppose this one; The work invested in the award center is tremendous, and i am absolutely sure that this initiative helped Wikipedia forward a lot. But at the same time i just cannot get myself to support due to a feeling the editor is still a little to green on the project space. While i am quite certain that there is nothing but good will, i am a little scared that mistakes will sneak in; Personally i made my fair share of those, and i certainly won't want to make those mistakes as an admin Excirial (Talk,Contribs) 09:39, 6 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  8. Leaning towards oppose. 21655 τalk/ ʃign 14:38, 6 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  9. Neutral - Will probably support their next RfA. TheProf - T / C 16:03, 6 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  10. Neutral - No point in piling on, but I will note that overly busy Wikipedia user space pages hurt my eyes, just like overly busy MySpace pages. -Optigan13 (talk) 03:30, 7 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  11. Neutral. I could really go one way or the other. I always look for article contributions first, but barring that, I really respond to the user questions. I do not believe the candidate has enough questions up top to help me decide one way or the other. None of the opposes up above really give me pause, but I will evaluate this again after it has gone on for a bit longer. MrPrada (talk) 03:35, 7 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  12. Neutral per Spencer. SexySeaShark 16:45, 8 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  13. Neutral - good editor, with useful contributions and a great user space. Not yet ready for prime time. Sorry. Bearian (talk) 00:16, 9 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  14. Neutral - More time and taking the opposer's constructive criticism to heart will likely help this editor pass their next RfA. -- Avi (talk) 05:02, 9 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
  15. Neutral leaning toward oppose A slight maturity issue here, but good contributions, I really could go ether way. Mww113 (talk) (Report a mistake!) 01:14, 10 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
The above adminship discussion is preserved as an archive of the discussion. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the talk page of either this nomination or the nominated user). No further edits should be made to this page.
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