(talk page) (78/0/0); Scheduled to end 04:54, 26 October 2019 (UTC)
Nomination
Girth Summit (talk · contribs) – Members of the community, I am honored to present you Girth Summit for consideration at RfA. Girth began regularly editing in May 2018, and ever since he approached me with questions about counter-vandalism last year, I have found him to be one of the most perceptive and personable Wikipedians I have had the pleasure to interact with. In the content space, he has written dozens of articles and collaborated with others on improving several more. His work includes five GAs, almost all of which he started from scratch. He is active in many of the behind-the-scenes areas of Wikipedia where the administrator toolset would be helpful, such as new page patrolling, recent changes patrolling, and AfD.
What really caught my eye about Girth Summit is the thoughtfulness with which he approaches collaboration. If you look through his user talk page archives, you will find that he never gives dismissive or half-baked responses, even in difficult situations. If he is working with a new editor, he will break down the relevant policy and guidelines in English, instead of linking to all-caps jargon that newcomers would be unfamiliar with. If he is working with experienced editors, he will listen to you carefully and explain his position thoughtfully, always thinking about the project first. If he is unsure about something, he is never shy about seeking help or asking. Indeed, with Girth, you will find that even when you disagree with him, it feels like you're still working with him, not against him. For these reasons, I am always happy to see Girth Summit's signature in a discussion, and I believe he will benefit the project immeasurably with the extra buttons in his toolset. Mz7 (talk) 23:57, 15 October 2019 (UTC)
Co-Nomination
Girth is an editor who has shown a lot since he became a regular editor. His primary activity is being a great counter-vandalism worker and regular new page patroller. However, he’s not just one-dimensional having gotten interested in content creation after finding a niche. In the last few months he's written five GAs and 10 DYKs, with more coming at a regular pace. This is what happens when an editor is as truly committed to learn as Girth has shown himself to be. I met him when he asked to join my NPP School while Mz7 met him as a student at the Counter Vandalism Unit Academy. Girth is now the one to pass along knowledge - see his own extensive work as a CVUA trainer. As a teacher in his off-wiki life, he is expected to explain difficult concepts clearly and concisely. So it’s no surprise to find him able to engage a large number of editors, of varying skill levels, on his talk page or elsewhere.
Fundamentally I think Girth is ready to be an administrator one because he’s got a core area where his policy understanding is strong and has a wider area where he understands what policy exists and if he doesn’t know something he’s unafraid to get help. You might have noticed that I didn’t refer to him as a vandalism fighter but instead a worker. This reflects how he sees the work and how he encourages his CVUA students to see it, as more janitors than warriors. When there’s a question asked Girth is as helpful as they come if he can answer it and will seek out the answer or the person who has the answer if he doesn't know and is as reflective as they come when it’s a concern about something he did. This combination of disposition and knowledge means that his having the administrator's toolbox will be a benefit to the project. Barkeep49 (talk) 00:10, 16 October 2019 (UTC)
- Candidate, please indicate acceptance of the nomination here: I accept this nomination, and thank Mz7 and Barkeep49 for their kind words. I confirm that I have never edited for pay. GirthSummit (blether) 05:54, 16 October 2019 (UTC)
Questions for the candidate
Dear candidate, thank you for offering to serve Wikipedia as an administrator. Please answer these questions to provide guidance for participants:
- 1. What administrative work do you intend to take part in?
- A: There are a few areas where I think I could contribute usefully at first; I expect that this might change and expand as I become more experienced.
- My main focus would be counter-vandalism, which is an area that I have worked in extensively. I would monitor AIV and RfPP, doing my bit to ensure that reports are investigated promptly and thoroughly, and that necessary action is taken to stop disruption.
- I am also interested in working to keep spam off our site, so would monitor G11 CSD nominations and UAA. I believe Beeblebrox’s guidelines for dealing with problematic usernames to be a good interpretation of policy, elegantly treading the line between the AGF and SPAM guidelines, and would aim to follow that approach in this arena.
- I would also like to get into closing AfD discussions. This is something I have not done as a non-admin, because I have concerns about relist bias, but I believe that it is something I would be able to do usefully. I would start out slow of course, starting with discussions where the consensus is clear and in-line with policy, and building up experience before attempting any potentially controversial closures.
- I’d be interested in keeping an eye on the queue of CSD nominations – I appreciate the need to check nominations carefully before deleting, and would be happy to discuss deleted pages with their authors should they query a deletion.
- A: There are a few areas where I think I could contribute usefully at first; I expect that this might change and expand as I become more experienced.
- 2. What are your best contributions to Wikipedia, and why?
- A: I have written a handful of GAs myself about historic buildings in Scotland, which is the subject I’ve written about most so far. While researching one of them, I stumbled across a source about the life of its founder, which fascinated me. I couldn’t believe that her story was not more widely known, and I decided to do some more research to see whether it would be possible to write an article about her - Margaret Macpherson Grant. Since the only biographies I had written at that point had been pretty short stubs, I contacted a more experienced editor, and we wrote the piece collaboratively. We were short of images to illustrate the article, so I reached out to Walkers Shortbread, the current owners of the house she spent most of her adult life in, and persuaded them to donate some photographs - those are now used in her article, and the one I wrote about the house itself (Aberlour House (building)). I learned a lot during the whole process, and I believe that the resultant article is the best single piece of work I’ve done so far.
- In addition to content creation, I do a lot of counter-vandalism work, and I enjoy taking editors through the CVUA training process – that’s mostly their work of course, with just a bit of steering from me, but I believe that welcoming and guiding enthusiastic people who want to help is important, and I like to think that my contribution in that realm has also been significant.
- 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: So, I’ll start this answer by differentiating between conflict with attention-seeking trolls, and disagreements with editors who are acting in good faith. I have encountered a fair share of abuse from trolls and vandals, but I usually consider that to be fairly trivial – revert, block, ignore without engaging, I don’t find that stressful. I was peripherally involved once in a more serious case of harassment, with an IP-hopping LTA making threats of doxing and real-world violence against another editor; in that case, we involved the WMF Emergencies team, as well as discussing other options with a number of experienced admins, which is what I would do in any case of even vaguely credible threats. That experience was stressful, but far more so for the victim than for me, and I felt it my duty to offer what support I could.
- When it comes to conflicts with other editors who are here to improve things (even if they are misguided), I always try to approach these by demonstrating and assuming an abundance of good faith, in the spirit of Dweller’s ‘old fashioned’ pledges, and seek to defuse tension with humour or friendly discussion. The closest I think I’ve come to a stressful conflict was with the ANI case concerning a message on FWTH’s signature – I was genuinely concerned about the message he was giving out to hundreds of new users, but his response to my approach on his talk page indicated that he had no intention of stopping. I did find that somewhat stressful, as I didn't want to cause him distress by raising the case - ultimately though I judged that it was necessary.
- A more recent example of a minor conflict with another editor was at Coxton Tower. I had recently taken it through a GA review, and it was on the mainpage with a DYK when another editor objected to my use of the word ‘via’, removing it with an edit summary that I thought was unhelpfully critical. We reverted each other a couple of times, as can be seen in the article's history; I then started a talkpage section with this post, with a view to discussing the issue and resolving it amicably.
- At the end of the day, we all work in the same space – it’s in my own interest to maintain friendly relations with people who I am likely to come across again, even if I disagree with them or their approach to editing.
You may ask optional questions below. There is a limit of two questions per editor. Multi-part questions disguised as one question, with the intention of evading the limit, are disallowed. Follow-up questions relevant to questions you have already asked are allowed.
- Additional questions from Coffeeandcrumbs
- 4. You appear to have a particular interest in participating in AfDs. As a thought experiment, if I asked you to evaluate Jennifer Mercieca and offer any and all possible arguments to keep or how she may meet WP:NPROF, how would you respond?
- A:Thanks for your question. Reviewing the discussion:
- A number of people felt that Mercieca's media work was sufficient to satisfy NPROF C7; in other words, that she was frequently quoted in conventional media as an expert in her subject area.
- Another argument was put forward to the effect that she would meet criterion 3 of AUTHOR (rather than NPROF) on the grounds that there were multiple academic reviews of a book that she wrote, and another one that she contributed to.
- I can't think of any further arguments myself that she would meet NPROF. The evidence isn't there to suggest that her work to date has had the impact to satisfy C1 or C4; C2,3,5,6, 8 and 9 seem unambiguously not to apply; C7 is the only argument I can see for an NPROF pass.GirthSummit (blether) 10:39, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- A:Thanks for your question. Reviewing the discussion:
- 5. What are the reasons that convinced you that Merciaca is not notable in light the possible arguments you posited to keep in response to my previous question?
- A: It's probably worth touching on the background here. The subject had been through a lengthy discussion at AfD a few weeks prior to this, which had concluded with a consensus that the subject wasn't notable. I saw that this new article had been created, and I did not see any new claims towards notability, or any new sources that would strengthen any of the existing arguments.
- I didn't think that NPROF C7 was a pass because, while she had been quoted a few times and written the odd piece in the national media, it didn't seem to be enough to describe fairly as 'substantial impact outside academia'. As the specific criteria notes for this criterion set out, a small number of quotations is not unexpected for academics - I simply didn't feel that the number of quotes that were presented were sufficient to demonstrate a clear pass here.
- The AUTHOR argument had some merit, but since one of her reviewed works was as co-editor to an edited collection, we were really looking at a single book. It would be quite unusual for an academic in the humanities not to have authored an academic book that had been reviewed - I didn't think this was a clear pass either. GirthSummit (blether) 10:39, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- A: It's probably worth touching on the background here. The subject had been through a lengthy discussion at AfD a few weeks prior to this, which had concluded with a consensus that the subject wasn't notable. I saw that this new article had been created, and I did not see any new claims towards notability, or any new sources that would strengthen any of the existing arguments.
- Additional question from John M Wolfson
- 6. An editor creates an article on an elementary school that entirely comprises material copied and pasted from that school's website. What criterion for speedy deletion applies, and in particular which criterion/a do(es) not apply?
- A:Thanks for the question. A7 definitely does not apply, since it contains an explicit exception for educational establishments. G12 (copyvio) would be the obvious one that jumps to mind for a copy/paste from a website; there may potentially be an exception here as well though, if there is a credible assertion that the school's website is in the public domain, so that would be worth checking before adding the tag. There's also the possibility that it might be a G11 (promo) - the school's website is likely to be talking about itself in promotional terms which would not be appropriate for an article. GirthSummit (blether) 10:59, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Additional question from John M Wolfson
- 7. Is office.bomis.com an acceptable username?
- A:Interesting - I hadn't read that before. Something like that wouldn't be acceptable nowadays in my view - WP:PROMONAME explicitly the use of URLs as username (unless the '.com' bit is dropped). It would also probably fall foul of WP:ISU - it doesn't identify an individual, so implies shared use and may indicate a role account. So, yeah - if I saw a username like that, I would expect to see them creating content about their website or the company that owns it, which would justify a UAA report. GirthSummit (blether) 11:13, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Additional questions from Cryptic
- 8. You tag a lot of user pages U5 or G11. What's the difference, besides, obviously, that U5 can only be used in the User: namespace? Can a user page be a G11 but not a U5, or vice-versa? If so, bonus points for some plausible mockups. —Cryptic 06:39, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- A:Good question. There is obviously some overlap between the two - if you are writing about something on your userpage, you are in a sense promoting it. G11 is appropriate for userpages that are obviously promoting a particular company, product, website, cryptocurrency, etc - basically, where the page has been set up as an obvious advert, often with language in the imperative mood telling the reader to check out a product or visit the website etc. U5 is for instances where people are writing extensively about stuff which is of no benefit to the project, perhaps using their userpage as a blog, or a soapbox to disseminate political views. Writing a blog about your holiday in France would be a possible U5 without necessarily being a G11; writing your resumé, extolling your SEO skills, linking to successful past projects and giving contact details, would be an example of where they overlap - it's promo, and it falls foul of WP:NOTCV, which is covered by U5. GirthSummit (blether) 11:45, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Additional question from Feminist
- 9. Comment on the closure of Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Fight the New Drug, and explain whether you would have approached the discussion differently.
- A:Well, on the face of it that closure looks fairly uncontroversial - near universal consensus for delete, based on a lack of sources that would satisfy WP:NCORP. However, it seems clear that there actually were some sources out there, which now support the new version of the article. I can't put myself in the position of the closer of that discussion, since I can't see the version of the article that was under discussion or the sourcing that it used; hypothetically though, if I came across a deletion discussion where there was an apparent consensus to delete, but I was able to find sources which seemed to have been overlooked, and which I thought would support retention, I would vote to keep and link to the sources, rather than attempting to close the discussion. Does that answer your question, or were you looking for more commentary on this specific example? GirthSummit (blether) 12:08, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- FYI, Special:Permalink/888570378 was the version that was deleted. Let me know if this affects your answer. feminist (talk) 12:15, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Feminist, ah, thanks - I hadn't noticed the old history was still there. I think I'd stand by my original answer - the sourcing in that version of the article is poor, and there's a clear consensus that the article should be deleted for a lack of available sourcing, but if I'd been able to find good sources such as those used in the current version, I'd have linked to them and voted keep (while noting that a substantial rewrite would be necessary). GirthSummit (blether) 12:26, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- FYI, Special:Permalink/888570378 was the version that was deleted. Let me know if this affects your answer. feminist (talk) 12:15, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- A:Well, on the face of it that closure looks fairly uncontroversial - near universal consensus for delete, based on a lack of sources that would satisfy WP:NCORP. However, it seems clear that there actually were some sources out there, which now support the new version of the article. I can't put myself in the position of the closer of that discussion, since I can't see the version of the article that was under discussion or the sourcing that it used; hypothetically though, if I came across a deletion discussion where there was an apparent consensus to delete, but I was able to find sources which seemed to have been overlooked, and which I thought would support retention, I would vote to keep and link to the sources, rather than attempting to close the discussion. Does that answer your question, or were you looking for more commentary on this specific example? GirthSummit (blether) 12:08, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Additional question from Jovanmilic97
- 10.. What would you have done if you were to close Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Brendy Glackin, which had a Wikipedia:Notability (sports)/FAQ (which WP:NFOOTY is a part of)/WP:GNG relation disagreement?
- A:Tricky one; I think I want to give a slightly evasive answer here and say that I probably wouldn't have closed that one.
- Fundamentally, I agree that while passing an SNG like NFOOTY is a good indication that a subject is likely to pass GNG, if it can be shown that the subject actually doesn't pass GNG then delete is the right call.
- This particular discussion was quite finely balanced, looking early on like a clear keep, but with the wind changing after your break-down of the sources, and a majority for delete emerging. There were some very experienced editors on both sides, who I expect have more familiarity with sources in the football arena than I do, disagreeing with each other about whether the sourcing was adequate. I just searched for sourcing myself, and I'm seeing quite a lot of hits, but my knowledge of sources in this area is not great so I would need to investigate each of these carefully to come to a conclusion about whether or not it is reliable, secondary and independent. If I had put the time in to do that research, I might have persuaded myself to vote one way or the other, but as for a closure I don't think I'd have touched that one - it would be better to let someone with more familiarity with the subject area, in terms of our norms and WP:OUTCOMES, to do that.
- Sorry if that answer isn't as informative as you'd hoped for, but I think it's better to be honest and say that there are some things that I don't feel sufficiently knowledgeable about to express a clear view. GirthSummit (blether) 14:36, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Additional questions from Oshwah
- You've indicated in Q1 that you intend to use the administrator toolset to combat vandalism by monitoring and responding to reports made to AIV, RFPP, as well as UAA.
- 11. Let's say that you're evaluating a report made to AIV regarding an IP user who made three edits that were blatant vandalism 32 days ago, and was (correctly) warned each time for doing so, but does not have a block record in their log. The IP user has made two more edits that were vandalism, both made 24 hours ago. Between the first three instances of vandalism and the two instances of vandalism made 24 hours ago, this IP user has made 147 non-problematic edits to Wikipedia that are spread out over that timeline evenly. How exactly would you investigate, handle, and respond to this AIV report, and what details, pages, and relevant information would you look at and use to factor into your decision? Why?
- A:Good question. So, first off, on the face of it this isn't an obvious block - it would need looking into. The old warnings are probably a bit stale, and the positive contributions from the IP may well outweigh the disruption.
- I'd start by looking at the edits - what is the vandalism? Posting highly offensive racist abuse into a highly viewed BLP, or adding sensitive personal information about an individually identifiable child, for example, would be much more disruptive than adding 'poopbubbles' into the lead of Cheese.
- If there didn't appear to be an urgent need for a block to stop genuinely harmful content being added, I think I would decline the report, and attempt a discussion with the IP. It seems possible that more than one person is using the IP - could it be a productive editor, whose teenage son occasionally decides to cause a bit of chaos, or something similar? Might they be able to stop that from happening, if it were drawn to their attention? I know WP:DENY is a thing, but if this is two people, we would want to engage with the productive one to see whether the problem can be fixed that way. If it became apparent that the 'bad' person was using the IP at the time, I might put a short block on the account to prevent any immediate disruption - a few hours perhaps, until the time when the 'good' person is likely to be back in front of their screen, and then I'd keep an eye on the IP and its talk page to see whether communication would be possible.
- I'd also reach out to the person who raised the report, and explain why I wasn't blocking immediately - just a quick personal message, rather than a template, since they presumably reported the IP in good faith and deserve a response. GirthSummit (blether) 13:12, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- 12. You're evaluating a request for page protection that was filed by a user asking for full protection of an article, Americans for Prosperity. You find in the article's edit history that the reporting user (an account with 24,239 edits, and the autopatrolled, rollbacker, and pending changes reviewer user rights) and an anonymous IP user have been reverting the article back-and-fourth and over a disagreement regarding the addition and removal of information to its infobox. You observe that the two users have reverted each others edits a total of 32 times (16 times each) over the last three months, with the latest revert being made five days ago. How exactly would you investigate, handle, and respond to this RFPP report, and what details, pages, and relevant information would you look at and use to factor into your decision? Why?
- A:It doesn't look like page protection is required here - if it's just one account and an IP, this is disruption that could be stopped in other ways without restricting access to the article by others.
- I'd start by checking the article's talk page (and probably the IP's and the user's talk pages) - can I find any evidence that discussion is happening? Is there a strong consensus that one or other editor is ignoring? If it is one person disruptively ignoring consensus and refusing to communicate, a warning that they will be blocked if they persist would be appropriate, and perhaps a note to the other user that WP:AN3 would be a better way to deal with this than RfPP; I'd probably also mention that even though they have consensus on their side, edit warring isn't a good idea, and they ought to have drawn others' attention to the problem sooner instead of reverting sixteen times in succession.
- If discussion was not taking place, or it's happening but there is no clear consensus about what the article should say, I'd be looking at warnings for slow edit warring. You haven't indicated whether the users have been giving each other edit warring templates - I'd be surprised if they hadn't, but if not, I'd dish some out, along with personal notes suggesting that they start discussing their disagreement or (if they are talking already, but there's no consensus) they investigate some form of dispute resolution. For the experienced user who raised the report, I'd also ask them why they were edit warring without engaging in discussion - I'd try to avoid being patronising, but they really ought to know better than that by now. GirthSummit (blether) 13:12, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Additional question from AmericanAir88
- 13. Your stance on A7 and G11 seem to be on point. I am impressed by your knowledge of CSD. However, as an admin, you can encounter other criteria for CSD. Could you please give an example of a candidate that would qualify for G2, a candidate that would qualify for G3, and a candidate that would qualify for A11? I am not looking for specific articles, you can make them up. An example answer for say G12 would be like "An article on a BLP completely copied and pasted from their self published autobiography". Thank you. AmericanAir88(talk) 19:01, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- A:Hi, and thanks for the question. These are indeed 'lesser used' CSD criteria, but I think I've had cause to use them all a few times in the past - obviously I can't see the pages any more, but I've noted some examples below with what I can remember about them:
- G2 is for test pages - pages that appear to have been created as a result of users testing functionality. I recall that one of the ones I tagged was literally something along the lines of 'Does this work? Test test test'. I tagged it, and left a friendly note on the user's talk page, congratulating them on a successful test.
- G3 is pure vandalism and/or hoaxes. I've nominated quite a few like that - like, for example, list articles of TV shows that don't exist, or an article about an island off the coast of Australia that I spent an excessive amount of time looking into, only to come to the conclusion that the island didn't actually exist and the author was jerking our collective chain.
- A11 is similar to G3, in the sense that it's about stuff that's made up, but it's not intended as a hoax - rather, it's someone writing about their own invented idea, theory or whatever - they're not setting out to deceive, but they're writing about their own ideas which, not having been discussed by anyone but themselves, are clearly not notable. Articles I've tagged along these lines include one about a political ideology which was obviously the author's own idea, or another about a genre of music that seemed never to have been mentioned by any source, and was purely the author's own classification. GirthSummit (blether) 20:02, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- A:Hi, and thanks for the question. These are indeed 'lesser used' CSD criteria, but I think I've had cause to use them all a few times in the past - obviously I can't see the pages any more, but I've noted some examples below with what I can remember about them:
- Additional question from Nosebagbear
- 14. As it's traditional, what would you say your two worst broad areas are (broad meaning, for example, gadgets/scripts etc would be 1 area)?
- A: Thanks for the question - I'd been wondering if this classic would come up! My problem with answering it is deciding which two of the many areas I'm inexperienced in to talk about...
- Since you've said broad areas, I'll wrap up 'technical stuff' as a single area, to include bots, scripts, investigating/blocking IP ranges, and the like. My userpage declares that I teach coding, which is true, but I teach it to children using things like Beebots, Kodu and Scratch - my technical knowledge isn't actually that great. IP ranges are something that I intend to do some reading about, since I can see how useful it would be to be able to take action in this area, but I certainly won't use the tools in an area I don't understand, and will ask for support from someone more knowledgeable if I see a need for action in an area I'm not confident in.
- I also recognise that I need to learn a lot about permissions for images, and indeed copyright in general. My understanding of our policies (and the law) is a little vague, but I recognise its importance and so, in my eagerness to be cautious, I have been leaning on Diannaa quite heavily when I come across potential problems at NPP. I promise to put this on my reading list so I can become more independent in this area. GirthSummit (blether) 08:29, 20 October 2019 (UTC)
- Additional question from Robert McClenon
- 15. What experience can you cite in the area of dispute resolution, either content disputes or conduct disutes, that you had a role in trying to resolve? Will you be able to use the administrative tools constructively in dispute resolution? Also, do you frequently get involved in content disputes, and can you explain your interpretation of the guideline on involvement? Robert McClenon (talk) 22:42, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
Discussion
- Links for Girth Summit: Girth Summit (talk · contribs · deleted · count · AfD · logs · block log · lu · rfar · spi)
- Edit summary usage for Girth Summit can be found here.
Please keep discussion constructive and civil. If you are unfamiliar with the nominee, please thoroughly review his contributions before commenting.
Support
- Support as nominator. Mz7 (talk) 04:57, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support as co-nom. Best, Barkeep49 (talk) 05:03, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support as first non-co-nom. bd2412 T 05:05, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support – every time I have seen Girth Summit around I have been impressed with their ability to communicate clearly and competently. Their work at NPP has been excellent, and their content creation efforts demonstrate a strong commitment to the project. No concerns. – bradv🍁 05:07, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support – I see this user's reports frequently when I report things at AIV. They obviously know what they're doing and it would be great to have another set of experienced eyes at AIV and RPP to help out when backlogs occur. Aoi (青い) (talk) 05:10, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support I see no reason to oppose, has decent enough experience for the tools. – John M Wolfson (talk • contribs) 05:53, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support – strong anti-vandalism work through AIV, UAA, as well as their work with CVUA. Excellent candidate for the mop. Girth Summit all the best and good luck! —MelbourneStar☆talk 06:42, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support I have great confidence in both the nominators and the nominee. In my review of the candidate, I believe that Girth Summit will make a decent admin and certainly be an asset to the project in this role. --TheSandDoctor Talk 06:43, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support Based on my previous interactions with the candidate, their contribution history and per nom, I have complete confidence that they would not abuse the tools. That means, given their commitment to the project, they would be a huge plus with more tools at their disposal than not, which I have every confidence they'll use with utmost care and consideration, especially considering their approach of teaching-when-they-know/learning-by-asking-humbly-when-they-don't. Usedtobecool TALK ✨ 06:59, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support, I have seen the candidate around, though I am curious how they are going to answer questions.--Ymblanter (talk) 07:10, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support Looks okay to me. Deb (talk) 09:22, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support Easily one of the strongest RfA candidates in recent times. Great content creation plus great AfD stats (which is where the Girth wants to contribute to). Jovanmilic97 (talk) 09:31, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support Have only ever had positive interactions with this user who is a great editor and done great work for the project. Hughesdarren (talk) 09:53, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support - a bunch of positives (helping fairly new editors with CVUA in particular), and I've had a few good chats with them. Amongst their generally excellent AfD stats, I would say there's a few nominations where a better BEFORE check could have helped. That said, they aren't too common, and they also show a reassuring willingness to withdraw upon improvements. A little too deletionist for my bent, but much more than a net positive to the mop corps. Nosebagbear (talk) 10:07, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support precious teaching about historic buildings --Gerda Arendt (talk) 10:14, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Strong support. This user is one of the more helpful and friendly Wikipedians. "GirthSummit" would be an absolute net gain. LefcentrerightTalk (plz ping) 10:20, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support. I am glad to see this nomination and happy to support it. – Athaenara ✉ 10:34, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support I came across this editor recently when I assessed one of their GANs. I have since assessed another and am currently acting as their - very light touch - FAC mentor. I have found their behaviour to be collegiate, well mannered, good humoured and friendly. They have been happy to be corrected, and/or to discuss any aspect of their articles. Their last GAN, which is also their wannabe FAC, was/is a collaboration, and it has been a pleasure to observe their interaction. I cannot speak to their ability in areas which are more obviously "adminy", but if they behave in them in a similar manner to how they behave in the content creation areas they will make a very good mop wielder indeed. Gog the Mild (talk) 10:40, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support - clear asset. Although I almost voted oppose for purely selfish reasons, since I fear admin duties will reduce the time he spends over at NPP
. Onel5969 TT me 10:50, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support - works well with others. Interstellarity (talk) 11:08, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- I will be interested in the answers to Qs 11 & 12, but barring them being horrendous disasters it is easy to land here. Happy days, LindsayHello 12:10, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- LindsayH, Girth has now posted those answers. Friendly ping. Best, Barkeep49 (talk) 14:20, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Thank you, BK. They are posted, and are neither horrendous nor disasters; guess i can happily stay here
Happy days, LindsayHello 18:38, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Thank you, BK. They are posted, and are neither horrendous nor disasters; guess i can happily stay here
- LindsayH, Girth has now posted those answers. Friendly ping. Best, Barkeep49 (talk) 14:20, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Not a jerk, has a clue. Happy to see this. TonyBallioni (talk) 12:32, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support Answer to Q8 is on point, knows what they are doing. Thanks,L3X1 ◊distænt write◊ 12:54, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support Not seeing any reasons why not. EPIC (talk) 12:57, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support Clear net positive.Pharaoh of the Wizards (talk) 12:58, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support I've explored a couple of avenues of investigations and see no reason to oppose or even go neutral, I also note support from existing respected admins. Unless something emerges under later scrutiny see no reason not to support.Djm-leighpark (talk) 12:59, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support About time! creffett (talk) 13:07, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support. Looks like an excellent candidate. — MRD2014 (talk) 13:57, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support - Simply one of the best Wikipedians, all around. – Levivich 14:04, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support Trustworthy, responsible, net positive. Vermont (talk) 14:23, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support I trust them with the tools given our prior interactions. SusunW (talk) 14:32, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Strong Support Great user, and is a great helper, I know as he took me through the CVUA. Will use the tools well. James-the-Charizard (talk to me!) (contribs) 14:44, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support Great user, and will make a great admin! CodeLyokobuzz 14:54, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support Impressed me interacting with this editor. SlightSmile 15:00, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support Trustworthy; will be an excellent admin. aboideautalk 15:01, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support I've seen Girth Summit around. Great contributor. Here for all the right reasons, with the right temperament and understanding of policy. Vexations (talk) 15:18, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support for meeting my minimum criteria and seeing nothing but positive interactions between this editor and others. Ifnord (talk) 15:37, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support He/she developed good skills in a very short time. Interested, focused, and polite. Rowan Forest (talk) 15:39, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support no brainer, no risk, net positive. The Rambling Man (Staying alive since 2005!) 15:51, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support No concerns at all. Thoughtful, patient, knows what they’re doing. Will be an asset to the project. Neiltonks (talk) 15:55, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support Vexations summed it up well. S0091 (talk) 15:58, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support Since he is a good contributor and I could not find any reason to oppose. Plus TonyBallioni is also supporting this. --DBigXrayᗙ 16:08, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support - Barring some major discovery, this is going to be a shoe-in. Reaper Eternal (talk) 16:24, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support - After a short bit of digging, I found this discussion helping out a new user, giving them lots of friendly advice and pointers, and showing them the way forward. Elsewhere, I see them fielding questions (including here) politely and diligently, with a view to getting people on track to improving the project. Which is exactly what admins are for. Ritchie333 (talk) (cont) 16:25, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- This is an excellent example. ~ Amory (u • t • c) 16:27, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Good, thoughtful editor who has shown a well-keeled temperament in the past 18 months. Great answers to questions back up what the very lovely nomination statements say. ~ Amory (u • t • c) 16:26, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support The candidate's stats looks excellent. He also has a very polite demeanour when dealing with other editors, which will serve him well as an admin.ThatMontrealIP (talk) 16:37, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support They seem like a knowledgeable, friendly and helpful editor. I'm sure they'll make a great admin. Sarahj2107 (talk) 16:46, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support I'm one of their WP:CVUA trainees. Based on that and insightful comments already made by others, I think that Girth Summit would make a great admin. Clovermoss (talk) 16:55, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- @Clovermoss: - that's helpful to hear, thinking about it, I should have asked a couple of his trainees for their thoughts since I considered it such a major plus, so I'm reassured by this Nosebagbear (talk) 17:25, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support Excellent answer to Q12, and most importantly, has a great demeanor. 💵Money💵emoji💵Talk💸Help out at CCI! 17:14, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support – The judicial humility in the answer to question 10 was what convinced me. --- Coffeeandcrumbs 17:51, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support. Strong knowledge of policies and guidelines. Great communication skills. — Newslinger talk 18:58, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support will be a net-positive to the project. « Gonzo fan2007 (talk) @ 19:02, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support. I was wondering how long this would take, and about time too! Has been hugely helpful with Counter Vandalism training, new page patrolling. Has plenty of requirement for the tools and has a clue. Agent00x (talk) 19:52, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support. likely to be net positive Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 19:57, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support. Per nominators' statements – Ammarpad (talk) 20:09, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support per everyone else above, pretty much. Top candidate. Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 20:10, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Trusted, competent. ~ ToBeFree (talk) 20:15, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support Good work at NPP and excellent answers here. signed, Rosguill talk 20:20, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Keep per noms. Steel1943 (talk) 20:33, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support Being Teahouse hosts, I have seen Girth Summit helping out a lot. His helpful replies indicate he is experienced enough for the adminship since he knows how Wikipedia works. --LPS and MLP Fan (Littlest Pet Shop) (My Little Pony) 20:38, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support I've seen this editor around several times. Their edits are constructive and the answers to questions look promising. Thanks for applying, Willbb234Talk (please {{ping}} me in replies) 20:56, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support Looks like a fine candidate. Pawnkingthree (talk) 23:06, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support it is a yes from me Mujinga (talk) 23:13, 19 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support it would be bad form not to since he's cited one of my userspace pages as being brilliant. No seriously, solid candidate, demonstrated clue, good, thoughtful answers to questions. Beeblebrox (talk) 00:09, 20 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support The editor has experience in the areas they want to be active in. Several hundred reports to AIV and RPP. I have not looked into those in any depth but there are enough that if they were making extraordinary errors it would have been picked up on. Their CSD log looks good and AfD record shows their views are generally in like with community norms when they vote. Answers to questions show both knowledge of policies and ability to express their reasoning. Jbh Talk 00:49, 20 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support Fine candidate. Would be wonderful to help handle the backlogs, particularly RPP, AIV, and CSD. From AnUnnamedUser (open talk page) 01:13, 20 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support all the best with the admin tools. Tolly4bolly 01:53, 20 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support, was thinking about opposing, just to be contrary, and no one can be this good admin material
but wow!!! after reading their answers, supports above, looking at their wikicontributions, and linked material ... give them the mop! Coolabahapple (talk) 02:33, 20 October 2019 (UTC)
- Happy to support. El_C 03:34, 20 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support A look at some of the areas I tend to focus on in RfA candidates yielded nothing of concern. No red or yellow flags. Most of what I saw suggests the candidate is a well rounded editor with a solid record and above average demeanor. Happy to endorse. -Ad Orientem (talk) 03:40, 20 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support Seems reasonable -- BoothSift 05:06, 20 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support Why not? -FASTILY 06:00, 20 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support
, with small reservationOverall, Girth Summit's answers to my questions weren't terrible, but were definitely on the right track. Both hypothetical reports and situations that were provided in Q11 and Q12 were carefully and deliberately written, and in order to have no clear path to a resulting action that was right or wrong. The best answers that could've been given to those questions were "it depends". Is the IP user in Q11 a shared or school IP? What kind of vandalism are we talking about here? How severe is it, and to what level and aspect? Is this IP part of a range that's been blocked for disruption before? Girth Summit asks many of these questions in his answer to Q11. On Q12, he missed a few things, but were the same things that I not only missed somewhat in a response to a question on my RFA, but also would've totally missed had I been asked this same question. The Americans for Prosperity article is within a topic where discretionary sanctions are authorized by the Arbitration Committee as involving post-1932 American politics (see WP:ARBAPDS), as are edits that add or remove information from infoboxes - exactly what the account and the IP user in Q12 were edit warring and in a dispute over (see this page). Again, I don't hold that heavily against Girth Summit, as I was no expert in ArbCom process, sanctions, enforcement, etc when I became an Administrator. With that information in mind, there's many options at your disposal depending on the circumstances and factors that are discovered when looking into the situation: Take them both to ANI, protect the article in order to maintain a positive and collaborative editing environment, apply edit warring notices on their user talk pages or apply edit warring blocks if they've already been appropriately warned and given a chance to stop, leave discretionary sanction alerts on their user talk pages if they haven't received one, apply and enforce appropriate sanctions if they have been alerted.... many pathways to take, again, depending on different circumstances, discussions, attempts at communication, and interaction or past interaction made. Overall, the answer wasn't bad, and shows that Girth Summit understands that there are different areas and details that would need to be considered before making a decision. I initially took pause when I looked through Girth Summit's contributions from 6 July 2018 to today, and only counted 196 reports to AIV and 51 requests being made to RFPP - pointing to a possible issue with participation and experience in those areas. However, Girth Summit's answers have left me feeling somewhat assured, as with his support from users and administrators in the community that I respect and that I trust. What pushes my vote the furthest into the "support" direction is the high level and degree that Girth Summit's interactions, communication, conduct, teamwork, civility, care, and respect that he's demonstrated and consistently gives toward others (as detailed and mentioned by many supporters here). Experienced editors and long-term users on this project and who have a high level of respect from the community will agree that, much more than anything, the most important factor that this project and we as a community need with the administrators we support are those who are very strong in this area - users who are civil and respectful toward others at all times, have strong communication and teamwork skills, have no problem with admitting mistakes and apologizing for them, and who (underneath it all) have a strong mind and a kind heart. Without a strong level of skill and achievement in this area, everything else can fall apart and crumble when things get heated and tough, bad situations happen, and when accountability is expected. Girth Summit very well hits the right marks in this area, and I believe he will use the tools with care and that he is very unlikely to cause issues or problems, or be reckless with the tools. ~Oshwah~(talk) (contribs) 06:00, 20 October 2019 (UTC)- For what it's worth, according to User:SQL/AIVAStats, I had only 93 reports to AIV as of September 2018 (a year after I became an admin). In this area of Wikipedia, I would argue that quality matters far more than quantity, and I'm happy that so many have vouched for Girth Summit's superior judgment and communication skills in this area. Mz7 (talk) 06:26, 20 October 2019 (UTC)
- Mz7 - I agree, and I almost think that I may be comparing his participation in these areas compared to the amount that I do, which isn't exactly fair... This is why my reservations were small, and clearly outweighed by other factors that I believe are more important - hence my support. :-) ~Oshwah~(talk) (contribs) 07:02, 20 October 2019 (UTC)
- For what it's worth, according to User:SQL/AIVAStats, I had only 93 reports to AIV as of September 2018 (a year after I became an admin). In this area of Wikipedia, I would argue that quality matters far more than quantity, and I'm happy that so many have vouched for Girth Summit's superior judgment and communication skills in this area. Mz7 (talk) 06:26, 20 October 2019 (UTC)
- He doesn't need my support at this point. He's got it anyway. —Cryptic 06:41, 20 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support Girth Summit has always been a voice of reason, I'm very excited to support them for the mop! Captain Eek Edits Ho Cap'n!⚓ 07:24, 20 October 2019 (UTC)
- Absolutely delighted to support this excellent candidate. Best, Kevin (aka L235 · t · c) 08:01, 20 October 2019 (UTC)
- Support - Oshwah sums it up well. Girth Summit should make a useful addition to the admin corps. Cwmhiraeth (talk) 08:18, 20 October 2019 (UTC)
- Oppose per [1]. MOS:INOROUT is fundamental, non-negotiable policy. I recommend the candidate fix these issues in past editing before nominating again, and I would be happy to support. --Mkativerata (talk) 08:36, 20 October 2019 (UTC)
Oppose
Neutral
General comments