Wikipedia:Administrator elections/October 2024/Candidates/Bastun

Nomination

Bastun (talk · contribs · they/them) – Back in the early noughties, I noticed more and more search results pointing me at a site called Wikipedia. I added the site to my favourites, and created an account in 2005. I've been here ever since, 19 years now. I edit in a large number of areas - Ireland and Irish-related, politics, current affairs, pop culture, and... apparently I've over 4,000 pages on my watchlist now. I don't create many new articles, but do my best to improve and maintain existing ones, revert vandalism, and generally contribute where I can. Since January of this year, I've been involved in WP:NPP, an area I find very interesting, getting me out of my 'comfort zone' areas of interest.

I have a clean block log (I received one block, in error, but the logs can't be expunged). I've never edited with another account, and I have never edited Wikipedia for pay. Bastun^{Ėġáḍβáś₮ŭŃ!} 20:30, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

Candidate, please indicate acceptance of the nomination here:

Please disclose whether you have ever edited Wikipedia for pay.

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. Why are you interested in becoming an administrator?

A: Wikipedia needs admins, and we have gone from several simultaneous RfAs, on a rolling basis, to one or two a month. And we are losing admins, too. I would like to volunteer my services. The mop, if I am successful, will mostly be used around WP:NPP-related issues, such as WP:PROD and WP:CSD, and WP:AIV. Some years ago I built my then employer's intranet using the Mediawiki platform, but I wouldn't call myself familiar with the tools. I learn quickly, though.

2. What are your best contributions to Wikipedia, and why?

A: As mentioned, I don't create too many new articles, but Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation and Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse are both articles I created, focusing on a murky area of Ireland's past, that are both B-class, and I'm quite proud of them. I should really revisit them to see about raising them to GA status. Back in 2009, I was heavily involved in WP:IECOLL's discussions on how to resolve the perennial question of what to name the various Ireland-related articles, which resulted in the Poll on Ireland article names. This resulted in a two-year moratorium on any move discussions and, until earlier this year, an agreed venue for all such move proposals. On a more whimsical note, on 27 August, 2024, I got to write the edit summary No Camel Case, per WP:MOS! on the article Kharai camel!

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: I'm an Irish editor, who edits articles concerning The Troubles, so yes, I've been involved in many disputes related to that area, in the past! Thankfully, that's an area that's become a lot quieter over the last 15 years, with hardline Republican and Loyalist editors seemingly moving away from the project. I would have had disagreements with some editors on tangentially-related issues in this area in the past (such as the Ireland-article-naming disputes), but we are now friendly, any hatchets long since buried. I have been involved in other disputes, the most significant one in recent years being a full four years ago now, and I don't think I've had cause to visit AN/I since. That last one related to Wikipedia:ARBGG and yes, it was stressful at the time. When challenged, as I was, I will absolutely defend myself, with diffs, where necessary. I've largely avoided the more contentious articles in that area since, and, largely thanks to a GA drive by some interested editors, the main articles in that area (or at least, the ones involving the dispute that I was involved in) are a lot quieter, too. If I am successful in my application, I am obviously not going to use my mop in either Troubles- or ARBGG-related areas, nor on articles where I've done any significant editing.

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Discussion

• Links for Bastun: Bastun (talk · contribs · deleted · count · AfD · logs · block log · lu · rfar · spi)
• Edit summary usage for Bastun can be found here.

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Please keep discussion constructive and civil. If you are unfamiliar with the nominee, please thoroughly review their contributions before commenting.