User:LAAFan/Editor coaching

Okay, here's the page where we will have our editor coaching. In my past coaching experience I would start by asking you the three standard RFA questions, but I'm trying a different angle. Instead, let's start with these questions below. Once you've answered them, we can determine the direction this editor coaching will go.

What areas of the encyclopedia do you enjoy editing? Which WikiProjects, if any, are you active in? Are you still active in the Baseball and Chicago Cubs projects?
Well, I enjoy writing articles on a subject I enjoy. I tried, months ago, to take on a task of creating articles to help get an article to FL status. After three articles written, I gave up, as i found it difficult. I'm signed up at five Wikiprojects. Those projects are WP:LAA, WP:CUB, WP:PHI, WP:Baseball, and WP:The Simpsons. For WP:LAA, CHI, PHI, I am not as active as I am at the other two. However, because of my activity at WP:Baseball, I do something come over articles that fall under the criteria. I would say I'm most active at Wikiproject Baseball. I've tagged and assessed for them, and also written Cy Young, and now Major League Baseball. I'm also active at Wikiproject The Simpsons, but not as much as WP:Baseball. I've worked on two of their articles (Homer's Odyssey, The Telltale Head), but besides that, I rarely work on their articles.
Where do you do background or behind-the-scenes work? Do you find yourself at WP:ANI, WP:XFD, WP:ER, etc?
There isn't really an area I spend a lot of time at. The two area I work at the most would have to be WP:AIV and WP:RFPP. I have applied for an editor review, and have also reviewed an editor. I do participate in XFDs a little, but only AFDs and this point. I find the other areas, particularly MFDs, a little dull. I would much rather participate in the deletion of articles. As for WP:ANI, I have no experience there. I have never gotten around to looking and participating in it. I would like to, though. I also have started to occasionally help out at the help desk and newcomers desk.
What is a dispute you have been in and how did you handle it?
I was in two disputes when I was brand new. Both were pretty bad; so bad I wish not to speak of it unless you need to know. During that early time, I violated WP:COOL and WP:CANVASS. I did actually retire because of my rage, but I was quickly brought back by User:Sharkface217. In case you want to know, both disputes were MFDs, so I guess a little trauma spills over into what MFD means to me. ;) Anyway, I finally decided to work on articles more, and, I have to say I have not been in a conflict since.
What are your goals on Wikipedia? Hopefully you have some and we can try to point this coaching in that direction, what ever it is.
I believe I have three goals I would like to do at this point. For one, I would like to shake my reputation from the early conflicts. I have apologized, but I feel I need more all around rounding out to shake the reputation. Second, I would really like to start participating at ANI. I feel I'm closing a door to an entire world by not participating. Finally, I would like to start to "major" in an area. I had a quick RFA about two days ago, because I wanted to see what happens. In theory, I am very glad I had that RFA, because it opened my eyes, sort of like a large editor review, even though that wasn't my original intention. In that RFA, I attempted to major in tagging for CSD. I quickly learned how many opposes I could get because of my "sloppy" work. I have decided to overall stop tagging for that. I now need something I can have as my main admin area. I also was advised by Xenocidic to get a closer relationship with my Admin Coach, eventually leading me to drop my then current coach, and find you.

"Major"

So let's find that area of emphasis where you can really make a footprint. You said above, "I would much rather participate in the deletion of articles." The areas related to deletion are basically: tagging articles for speedy, XFD, and there are the contested speedy deletions. You stated above that your work with speedy tags came back to haunt you at your recent RFA. I had the same problem with my first RFA. What I did after that was review the speedy deletion criteria on a regular basis and took it very slowly when tagging. Perhaps the same could be beneficial for you; if you want to continue tagging, first go over the criteria a couple more times and then start by tagging on the most blatant cases. Leave the more questionable ones for someone else. Gradually ease yourself into it.

Or, if you don't want to deal with that anymore at all, you could work with the contested speedies. There you can explain to the editor contesting the deletion what criteria the article has not met and why it will be deleted (or in some cases, you may agree with the one contesting). This would still keep you in the realm of the deletion process while limiting the chances of making mistakes, and then you can move into other areas.

But, you did say above that you think ANI might be the place for you. I, personally, cannot be found at ANI very often as I rarely find it interesting. But, if you would like to help resolve issues, that might be the place for you. It can be drama-filled at times, so there is that caveat. Useight (talk) 23:02, 13 September 2008 (UTC)

Well, let me clarify what I meant by that, I didn't make it clear. I don't have to participate at ANI, I just thought it could be of interest. What I overall meant by that was a need a main area. As for CSD, I'm still tagging, but very carefully. So, in theory, I'm already tagging carefully to start. I will take the contested speedies advice. I'll start on that as soon as I can. While my main area has yet to be determined, I have started at AIV more. I have 3 reports today. I'm also trying higher activity at RFPP.

On an unrelated note, I have asked the Infosphere (A Futurama wikia) if I could become an admin. They're going to think about it. If approved, my overall goal would be to use it on an rfa. I think maybe 1 line like "have spent a couple of months as an admin there" could maybe help my chances later on.--LAA Fan^sign _review 23:18, 13 September 2008 (UTC)

Yes, perhaps become an admin on another wiki would be beneficial in giving you experience that you could potentially put on a résumé during an RFA here. RFPP could potentially become your "major" as well. There's a lot of options, dip your feet in a bunch of them to find one that you enjoy. Don't just edit some areas because you want adminship. If you're editing to please some group of people, you'll run the risk of "burning out" and retiring. If you enjoy what you do, you're more likely to keep on doing it. Useight (talk) 23:38, 13 September 2008 (UTC)

Well, I'm going to try to become an admin there. I am trying to "sample" areas. I want to edit other areas, because, I want to have experience in as much areas as possible. I've started to help out at MOTD. I know that's not an admin area, but it's another area to help out. I've also started to help at WP:RA. I got the link from WP:ADCO. I do have skeletons in my closet, so I guess that's my reason for wanting to be exposed to different areas; I want to become a more well rounded editor. I do enjoy writing articles about baseball, as said above, so I'm trying not to "burn out", but I remember that feeling when editing the other articles. The writing became dull and repetitive.--LAA Fan^sign _review 23:57, 13 September 2008 (UTC)

WP:RA is an excellent place to get ideas for interesting articles to write. Content writing is the real reason we're here on Wikipedia, but unfortunately, it is also an easy way to burn out when you don't have a vested interest in the article's topic. That's why I pretty much stick to articles related to video games or the NFL. At least in my theory, article writing/improving should be everyone's main focus with a set of admin tasks as a "side dish". Useight (talk) 00:18, 16 September 2008 (UTC)

Yeah, I'm only writing baseball articles so I don't burn out. The wikia said no, so that's forgotten. I'm still looking for a niche. I reviewed two Good Article Nominations. At this point, I would like to participate in anything I can. I'm also looking toward working on articles, the same way you said admin activities would be a side dish. In a future RFA months from now, I'm hoping to have a "net positive" nomination.--LAA Fan^sign _review 03:25, 16 September 2008 (UTC)

Questions to help find that "major"

What do you think of the following areas?

!Voting in RFAs?
I like that idea. I've done it before; I've just stopped
Listing vandals and/or clerking at WP:AIV?
Well, I already do it, but I wouldn't consider it a "major"
Requesting page protection at WP:RPP?
I need to get more experience there. That could be the major.
Tagging articles for speedy deletion, PROD, XFD?
No, I don't really wan't that. I little traumatized from the RFA.
Critiquing other users at WP:ER?
I've done it, but I can do it more.
Participating in XFDs?
Same as above.
Answering questions at the Reference Desk or the Help Desk?
I'll try to help if I see a question, but I don't usually see any questions unanswered.
Uploading images?
No, I wouldn't want to do that.
Welcoming users and/or participating in the Birthday Committee?
I welcome users every now and again, but I should into the BC.
Mediating or otherwise acting as a neutral party in a dispute?
I don't think that's right for me.
Participating in discussions at WP:AN or WP:ANI?
I have no experience, but I'll check it out.
Writing a DYKs, GAs, or FAs?
Attempting to work on that. Currently have two GAN and one DYK nom.
Expanding or sorting stubs?
I expand stubs for DYKs, but not much outside of that
Copyeding or otherwise cleaning up articles?
I do that, more commonly recently.
Helping out on the Account Creation Toolserver Interface?
No.
Clerking at WP:CHU?
I'll have to see what that is. I thought it was only for bureaucrats.
Assessing articles by quality and/or importance?
I do that every once in a while.

Well, thanks for the suggestions. I'll need to check out ANI, CHU, and the Birthday Committee sometime.

I saw you made quite a few requests for page to be semi-protected and most of them were successful requests, so if you enjoy doing that, perhaps that could be your area in which you make your footprint. Useight (talk) 15:35, 24 September 2008 (UTC)

Yeah, I never knew many many pages needed to be protected. Also worked once at the Birthday Committee, but it's only part time, so I didn't add myself to the "members" list.--LAA Fan^sign _review 21:52, 24 September 2008 (UTC)

Need a page to store the link, so here it is: CAT:CCSD. Now I can start working on explaining the deletion criteria to angry users.--LAA Fan^sign _review 22:14, 24 September 2008 (UTC)

Before I continue to do the above, I would like to ask what you think about my process. Here is what I'm doing:

Adding a message to the creator's talk page and explain about notability. I throw in a wikicookie so they don't get a bad impression of Wikipedia. Next, I go to the article's talk page and add the note to the reviewing admin that I talked the user about notability. What do you think?--LAA Fan^sign _review 01:31, 25 September 2008 (UTC)

That is an excellent method, I especially like the WikiCookie idea. When I was working in that area I only used the article's talk page, so using both that page and the creator's talk page in conjuction is great. I think using that method would be an excellent way to proceed. Useight (talk) 02:57, 25 September 2008 (UTC)

How is that coming along for you? Do you enjoy that particular work or are you still on the prowl for something else to focus on? Useight (talk) 21:37, 27 September 2008 (UTC)

No, I enjoy working there. I've decided to make RFPP my "major" (see contribs), but I'm still going to help out with the hangon tags and AIV.--LAA Fan^sign _review 19:07, 28 September 2008 (UTC)

Continuing

Sorry for the delay. I have some ideas for proceeding, but I'm going to still be very busy for the next 10 hours. Some time after that I will post the next section here. Useight (talk) 15:31, 15 October 2008 (UTC)

Blocking

When moving to block a user reported on WP:AIV, what are the exact steps you should take?
A: None
Examine the user's contributions and talk page to see if they really did vandalize and were sufficiently warned. You may have to check the history of the talk page to see if warnings were removed. Select a block length depending on previous blocks and the severity of the vandalism (i.e., vandalism-only accounts should be indefinitely blocked while IP addresses should never be indefinitely blocked). Useight (talk) 04:10, 17 October 2008 (UTC)
When would it be appropriate to decline a request at WP:AIV?
A: It would be appropriate to decline a request if the reported user or ip doesn't follow the AIV rules, if they haven't received a final warning, or if their vandalism isn't recent.
When should "cool down blocks" be used?
A: Cool down blocks should never be used. They only anger a user, and the blocked user will most likely vandalize or leave Wikipedia because of the block.
Excellent answer. Useight (talk) 04:10, 17 October 2008 (UTC)
A user requests a block to help enforce a Wikibreak. What is your response? Where do you direct them?
A: None
Generally, on-demand blocks are not administered, however, if the user would like, they can use the script here to force their Wikipedia account to log them out automatically when they log in. Useight (talk) 04:21, 17 October 2008 (UTC)
Another administrator blocks a user, but you disagree with the block. What do you do?
A: Well, I would discuss it with them on their talk page, and give reasons why I disagree. If they still leave the block, I would consult a third party admin on his opinion.
If unsure about making a block, what should you do?
A: If I'm unsure about making a block, I would ask another admin about what they think. I would also might leave it to another admin if it's an extremely hard decision.
You notice that a respected administrator has begun posting vandalism at a very high rate. After blocking what would you do?
A: I would contact him through email or Wikipedia, whichever is better for the user. I would ask if the account has been hijacked. If it has, I would consult a B-crat, seeking an emergency desysop. If the admin did vandalize himself, a desysopping and possibly indefinite block might be needed, depending on how much vandalism the admin makes.
Good answer. Useight (talk) 04:21, 17 October 2008 (UTC)
A user threatens to sue Wikipedia for article content. What action do you take?
A: None
A user can be blocked per Wikipedia:No legal threats. The block should probably also be brought up at WP:AN. Useight (talk) 04:21, 17 October 2008 (UTC)
A new user account is created with the name of "KCLSOKMDJSD." Would you block the user? Why or why not?
A. None
I'd have to say that is not a blatant enough violation of WP:U, especially if they haven't vandalized. I would go to their talk page and suggest they change it, though, pointing them toward WP:CHU. Useight (talk) 04:31, 17 October 2008 (UTC)
What is the difference between a hardblock and a softblock?
A: None
A hardblock prevents any user from editing from a particular IP address (even if they are logged into an account). If an IP is softblocked, an editor can still log into an account and edit. Hardblocks are very rarely used. Useight (talk) 04:31, 17 October 2008 (UTC)

I found some of these to be tough, so I didn't answer some that I don't know anything about.--LAA Fan^sign _review 22:04, 16 October 2008 (UTC)

Major

I just checked by edits, and I just got by 100th edit to RFPP.--LAA Fan^sign _review 15:23, 17 October 2008 (UTC)

Why so you have! Congratulations on the milestone. In fact, it's your second-most edited page. Good work on getting a sizeable foothold in a particular facet of Wikipedia. Useight (talk) 22:02, 17 October 2008 (UTC)