Introductory statement / Application summary (maximum 200 words): Why are you running for the Universal Code of Conduct Coordinating Committee? What would you contribute?
Hi, I am 0xDeadbeef, and I am an administrator, edit filter manager, and trainee sockpuppet investigation clerk on English Wikipedia. I am running for U4C because I believe it would benefit from someone with administrative experience on a large Wikimedia project. I would like to offer my perspective serving on the committee as someone actively involved with different communities in the Wikimedia movement.
Please describe your Wikimedia experience (such as contributions to the Wikimedia projects, memberships in Wikimedia organizations or affiliates, experience working on conduct issues in your community, activities as a Wikimedia movement organizer, or participation in building Wikimedia policies).
I started contributing to English Wikipedia through fighting Vandalism, then became interested in internal discussions. Following a successful request for adminship in 2023, I mostly helped with administrative backlogs on enwiki. Recently, I have been more active in helping with Chinese Wikipedia's governance, and helping with policy reforms there.
Professional Experience, Skills and Education
Please briefly describe 3 situations that show how you worked on, or advised others on, a complex conduct or policy issue. How did you work with others to address the situations?
I always consider communication to be the most important thing when it comes to collaboration. Disagreements happen, and I believe it is important to empathize with people I disagree with, and recognize that we have different perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences that may influence what we think. This is an example of a disagreement on an admin action I had with another admin on English Wikipedia. When this could not be resolved, I sought broader input from the community by opening a review request for the admin action. It is important to consider perspectives of other people and understanding their positions in disagreements, as that would help us be more productive in resolving conflicts. On Chinese Wikipedia, I helped with a case of disagreements from different interpretations of policy, working to come to a consensus and move forward despite different perspectives editors take. Here I was also invited to comment about the conduct of users in an edit war, where I reminded the user in question of their policy violations.
Leadership Experience
Can you describe a policy, on wiki or off, that you helped to create or change? What did you learn from this experience?
The Chinese Wikipedia recently had a series of reforms which included a consensus for establishing an Arbitration Committee. When people started making proposals for a policy, I recognized that it was hard to form consensus without discussing the details individually first. I therefore opened a subsection where I collected all possible details and their options for people to discuss. As a result, we made a lot of progress in obtaining consensus, where disagreements could be resolved more productively. The main takeaway from this experience has been that forming policy is a complicated progress, where appropriate handling of disagreements can help create something that more people are on board with.
How have you been able to empower people to make their voices heard?
I've said this above, but this is about communication, as well as understanding different perspectives. Effective communication comes in the form of asking and answering clarifying questions when there is confusion, and in respectfully conveying reasons for disagreements. Throughout my time participating in Wikimedia projects, I have held myself to these standards, and try to help making sure that this applies to everyone.
Sometimes in professional situations, there are personality conflicts. Explain how you remain productive even with personality conflicts.
By showing respect. In conflicts, it is very important to comment on content, and not on contributors. I always try to have productive conversations with people, and avoid escalating situations unless necessary. In terms of personality conflicts, when communication has been ineffective, I would defer to someone else to handle the situation if continued engagement would lead to worse outcomes.
Strategic Thinking
In your opinion, how can the U4C be a positive influence in the Wikimedia movement?
The main purpose of a Universal Code of Conduct is to outline expectations we have for all projects in the Wikimedia movement. As projects have different activity and participation levels, the expectations for user conduct are sometimes enforced in one project but unenforced in another. This can result in toxicity in environments due to people unable to handle disagreements in a collegial manner. The U4C, by appropriately enforcing the UCoC, can help reduce toxicity in these spaces.
How would you help the Universal Code of Conduct develop and improve over time?
Through reflecting on different cases that the U4C handles, and engaging with the community to obtain feedback in potential changes in the UCoC or how it should be enforced differently. It is important to note that the U4C does not change the UCoC, but provides recommendations on what changes would be beneficial. Therefore, I would help identify and prioritize issues within the UCoC that are the most important to the benefit of the Wikimedia movement.
