Universal Code of Conduct/Coordinating Committee/Election/2024/Candidates/Superpes15
Superpes15 (Questions)
| Account | Superpes15 (talk • meta edits • global user summary • CA) |
|---|---|
| Candidate details |
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| Selected home wiki | Italian Wikipedia |
| Type of seat (regional; community-at-large; or both) (division of regional seats) | both regional (NWE) and community-at-large |
| Candidate Introduction | |
| Introductory statement / Application summary (maximum 200 words): Why are you running for the Universal Code of Conduct Coordinating Committee? What would you contribute? | My application comes from my willness to be able to bring my contribution as a Wikimedian with a global vision to the team. I believe that my experience as a local administrator, global sysops, steward and former member of the ombuds commission can bring substantial help in the work of the U4C both in terms of policies and dispute resolution.
I intend to collaborate in this team therefore bringing my experience, with a neutral and objective point of view, and with the willingness to listen and support all communities as I have always done. I also really like coordination work, and I believe I can be very helpful from this point of view, obviously abstaining from everything concerning situations in which I'm involved. |
| 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). | My activity on Wikipedia is related to community work. I started as an active user on itwiki, then discovered global patrolling, and this allowed me to appreciate the global community and grow closer to it, and I liked to deal with a bit of everything, ranging from translations to local and global topics. I then started to be active globally and indeed have been a sysop on itwiki, a global renamer, rollbacker and sysop and am currently a steward, VRTS operator and a metawiki sysop and checkuser. I also served as a member of the Ombuds Commission in 2021 and am active on phabricator, in particular for changes affecting project configuration, usually following local/global policy changes.
I'm subscribed to the Wikimedia Stewards User Group, although my membership is only formal (I simply added my username to the page), having never contributed directly to it. To be honest, I can see that all stewards could be potentially involved in WMSUG matters without being subscribed there. I have never had roles in chapters or affiliates. |
| 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? | There were a lot of situation involving policy issues or complex conduct. I remember 2 cases in particular when I was an ombuds - I cannot specify which ones for privacy reason - which I investigated and unfortunately led to consequences, such as changes to local CU policy or the removal of rights for very serious abuses and I am particularly proud of the meticulous work I did in analyzing these cases and propose a resolution to the commission. I'd also like to see an update to the unclear oversight policy, but I wasn't able to get it as it doesn't seem like a priority issue. I also mention, randomly choosing from the various discussions, the introduction of a new level of protection on itwiki. This is a very delicate topic, as the protection prevents users who do not meet some requirements from editing, and is in fact a limitation of the possibility of editing. Unfortunately in some cases it is necessary, and the introduction of a new intermediate level has allowed, in my opinion, to limit the use of "only administrator" (or "full") protection (which was, for example, previously used in the event of an edit war between autoconfirmed users or some template). As for disputes, I've always tried to mediate between users, but it is not always possible to find a solution that satisfies everyone and is at the same time the fairest. In particular, since I have been GS I have had to deal several times with various small projects in which there are disputes on the conduct among the few active users, I cite just for example this RfC. The important thing behind all this, however, is teamwork, in all these cases I have always listened and requested other opinions from other trusted users, and in policy discussions we have always worked to seek consensus. I think that working in a team, bringing your own ideas, with the awareness and acceptance that they can still be rejected because they are incorrect or perhaps improved is the key to always working without negative feelings and at your best. |
| 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? | Per my past experience I've had to deal with policies several times, both for minor and major changes, so I report the last discussion I opened on itwiki: the creation of an appeal structure for the blocks and an introduction to WP:INVOLVED, since itwiki was the only project in where the blocked users' talk page was also technically blocked, and there was no way to unblock them, so users had no way to ask for a formal appeal. Discussions on a new policy always allow all opinions to be listened to, the various points of view need to be considered also in order to improve the original proposal and to seek a consensus that satisfies the community. I believe that this is an excellent way to know how to question yourself, since personal desire must not prevail, but rather a solution that is convenient for everyone. It's not always easy or possible to obtain a good consensus, but good faith and the desire to improve often allow a compromise to be found, for the good of all users. |
| How have you been able to empower people to make their voices heard? | I've always listened to everyone's needs and I believe that every single user can always teach us something, this has allowed me to learn more and more and to continue to learn something new every day, giving me the willpower to be increasingly active in supporting everyone's needs. My role as steward (and, previously, as global sysops) means that I also act as a "representative" for small communities and can make the needs of even small communities known both to the global community and to WMF (either by writing them myself, or by indicating the appropriate spaces to the users), in particular when the users perhaps don't know the place to get support, without interfering with the projects themselves, unless the local policies conflict with the global ones. I try to be responsive to everyone and generally, unless due to lack of time, I never forget to respond. The goal is to build a participatory community, where no one feels excluded, and every voice and need is heard. |
| Sometimes in professional situations, there are personality conflicts. Explain how you remain productive even with personality conflicts. | This is a common situation in teamwork in general and I think I have already addressed it in the previous sections. It's very easy for friction to be created when components with different characters and thoughts interface with each other, but the important thing on Wikimedia projects is to remember that we are working not on the centrality of a single user, but for the well-being of the entire community, and this ensures that frictions can be put aside in discussions. I believe that the key is knowing how to listen to the opinion of others, being able to empathize and remaining aware of the fact that each of us has a different character and can also have different opinions. By putting conflicts aside, you can work peacefully in a group for a long time, without problems arising. We, as functionaries, serve the community and not our own interests. |
| Strategic Thinking | |
| In your opinion, how can the U4C be a positive influence in the Wikimedia movement? | U4C will be of fundamental importance at the coordination level, will allow projects to stay standardized on a line of conduct that is as uniform as possible everywhere. Collaboration with local functionaries is essential, and I believe that U4C must always be available to listen to anyone, without trying to force local communities but actively collaborating with them. There are several projects without structures of any kind and it will be necessary to carry out profound awareness-raising and educational work on UCoC and enforcement guidelines, remembering that each project has the same importance. The work of resolving disputes regarding violations of the UCoC will be crucial to ensure that projects do not lose balance and a serene management. |
| How would you help the Universal Code of Conduct develop and improve over time? | I'd like to work mainly on the awareness and training processes, in fact I also applied because I believe that this first U4C is fundamental given that, as time passes, the U4C and the community can realize what can be improved in the procedures. Coordination will be fundamental in this first phase, but management in enforcement will be equally important. I believe that soon we will be able to know what can really be improved. |