Volunteer Response Team/Volunteering

Volunteer Response Team

For prospective volunteers

OTRS Volunteers are always welcome, but there is a fairly selective application process, given the nature of the work. Generally, OTRS administrators must be familiar with you and your work on Wikimedia projects before accepting you as a volunteer and issuing you an account. It may take some time before you receive a response in regards to your request, so please be patient.

If you are truly interested in helping out with OTRS and have not yet received a response as to that status of your application, please feel free to join the IRC channel and introduce yourself to some of our members. You still may be able to help out without an OTRS account (for more information, check out OTRS/IRC channel).

Before applying to volunteer, please read OTRS/info-en recruiting and make sure that the following statements accurately describe you:

you're willing to work on difficult, sensitive, and at times hostile messages;
you're courteous, skilled at resolving disputes, friendly even in the face of hostility, sensitive to the needs of those outside Wikipedia, and have exemplary discretion;
you're willing to provide identification to the Wikimedia Foundation (please see Access to nonpublic data policy for why we ask for this).

Please note that there is a firm recommendation of 16 as a minimum age for participation in the OTRS system, to ensure people have adequate real life and Wikimedia experience before taking on what is a considerable and important responsibility for the Foundation and the projects.

====[[User:Example|]]====

*'''languages you can reply in:''' Zulu, English-3, Inuktitut-3, and Sinhala-2
*'''most active user talk pages:''' [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Example]
*'''Email sent''': Yes

I'd like to help out on OTRS because . ~~~~

Feel free to specify if you are entrusted with any special tools on wikis (sysop, bureaucrat, checkuser, etc.). You may also add to your application links to archives of help desk posts, or identification on active mailing lists if you think they are relevant.

Please also send an email to volunteers-otrs AT wikimedia D0T org linking to your application on this page and giving your age, each time you apply. Thanks.

Note: Additional language skills are a plus. Currently, additional help is needed in: German, Hebrew, Arabic, Finnish and Italian queues (in order of backlog). Please make sure you mention any language skills you have.

The Placebo Effect

Required:

languages you can reply in: English
rfxs (if any): rfa,
history of most active user talk pages: [1]
Email sent: Once this is done

I'd like to help out on OTRS because I believe that I am qualified to continue to help Wikimedia in one more way than I do now. I am very immune to being being annoyed or bothered, and can talk/reply calmly to any situation. I understand that being an OTRS clerk is a heave responsibility, one that I would be willing to bear and take full responsibility for my actions. The Placebo Effect 14:08, 3 April 2008 (UTC)Reply

Confused by your edit summary on adding this: "lets go, hopefully, this is easier than RFA" This is something that is not comparable to RfA. Please be sure to understand the importance of who in the end is allowed to become a volunteer. This is not "no big deal". Majorly (talk) 14:30, 3 April 2008 (UTC)Reply

Sorry, it was a little in-joke between me and another user. I understand this is serious and would not act so playfully when answering OTRS tickets. I understand what a big deal this is and plan to treat this seriously with out joking around like i tend to do in my edit summaries. The Placebo Effect 16:21, 3 April 2008 (UTC)Reply

Blueboy96

languages you can reply in: English (native), French-3
most active user talk pages: [2]
Email sent: Yes

I'd like to help out on OTRS because I feel I want to branch out more in the Wikimedia world. Also, I have encountered a few instances where OTRS came into play during my short time as an admin on the English Wikipedia, and figure I can be a better admin when dealing with such issues. Blueboy96 13:25, 5 April 2008 (UTC)Reply

Endorse, as a calm, collected, and helpful user. Giggy\^Talk 03:34, 6 April 2008 (UTC)Reply

And that's despite my opposing his RfA—I'm sure he's learned a lot from that, and won't repeat the behaviour that got him opposed there. Giggy\^Talk 03:36, 6 April 2008 (UTC)Reply

Rjd0060

languages you can reply in: English (native)
most active user talk pages: [3]
Email sent: Yes

I removed my last request about a month ago because I was going to be unable to monitor it, however I was still interested in assisting. Now, I submit another request, still very interested in becoming an OTRS respondent. Basically, I'm always interested to see what else I can do to help the project. I've been an administrator on the English Wikipedia for about 2 months, and am familiar with the inter-workings of the projects. Now I definitely have the time to be an active respondent, and look forward to the possibility of joining the team. Rjd0060 21:17, 7 April 2008 (UTC)Reply

For what it's worth, this one has always been very helpful to me when I need an admin to do something relating to a ticket I am handling. NonvocalScream 22:49, 7 April 2008 (UTC)Reply

An excellent administrator here on en.wiki - although he's only been one for 2 months, it's as if he's been in the role for years. He's friendly and knows his stuff so will make an excellent addition to the OTRS team. Ryan Postlethwaite 16:32, 9 April 2008 (UTC)Reply

Ryan speaks well here. Endorse: good communication skills, can handle heated matters, well suited to OTRS. Anthøny 13:40, 10 April 2008 (UTC)Reply

I also endorse Rjd for the above reasons. Majorly (talk) 10:27, 18 April 2008 (UTC)Reply

MBisanz

languages you can reply in: English
most active user talk pages:[4]
Email sent: Yes

I'd like to help out on OTRS because I've done a good deal of work in tagging images and interpreting copyright tags. I hear there is a backlog in image permissions and have a good enough understanding (college degree in legal studies) of the relevant legal and wiki policy situations to handle such things. I'm an admin over at en-wiki and have done template creation at an intermediate level if that matters. MBisanz 10:13, 13 April 2008 (UTC)Reply

I'm uncertain this user is ready for OTRS work. Perhaps with permissions, but I don't know him that well for that, but not for general enquiries. Majorly (talk) 21:22, 13 April 2008 (UTC)Reply

Mmenal

languages you can reply in: French, English
most active user talk pages: fr:User_Talk:Mmenal, fr:q:User_Talk:Mmenal
Email sent: Yes

I'd like to help out on OTRS because I feel I might be useful there : I've been a wikimedian for a few years now, a sysop on fr:wq for more than a year, a checkuser on fr:wp since November; I know the various projects pretty well. I've been in the free software world for quite a period too, so I'm aware of licensing and copyright issues. I know OTRS is a lot of work for few volunteers, so I hope I'll be able to help. Manuel Menal 10:57, 13 April 2008 (UTC)Reply

Neil

languages you can reply in: En (native), Fr-3
most active user talk pages: [5]
Email sent: Yes

I'd like to help out on OTRS because I'm an experienced Wiki-editor and admin, with over 2 years experience as an administrator on en.Wiki. I believe I am calm, capable, and careful, and have a history, I believe, of being supportive of new users. I also have accounts on most of the other English language Wikimedia projects. I believe there is a continual backlog on the OTRS ticket system, and am willing to lend a hand to help out if you'll have me. I am pretty familiar with ticketing systems, having used Clearquest and RMTrack in a previous life in contact centres while at university, and will make sure I'm familiarised with the OTRS one Wikimedia uses and the common templates etc. Note my username on en.Wikipedia is en:User:Neil, not Proto. Thanks. Proto 16:04, 18 April 2008 (UTC)Reply