Firefly (talk·contribs) – It is my great pleasure today to nominate Firefly for adminship. Friendly, talented, and dedicated, Firefly has been a trusted community member for a long time – he’s been editing since 2005 (previously as Richard0612 and Reticulated Spline) and served as an elected Bot Approvals Group member from 2008 to 2013. Firefly has never been blocked, has made 21,000 edits, and has written five GAs (mostly about computer science and engineering, but also one about fraudster Anna Sorokin!). Firefly is also a trainee ArbCom clerk, and contributes a great amount of maintenance and anti-abuse work. With his good judgment and expert grasp on Wikipedia policy and practice, I am confident that Firefly will serve the project well as one of our best administrators. KevinL (aka L235·t·c) 19:27, 3 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Co-nomination by Barkeep49
It is always a pleasure to be able to nominate someone who can produce high quality content and who is an adroit technical editor. Firefly is both these things. And then on top of it, he is friendly and helpful. Truly the full package. To see what I mean, let's look at the GA that Kevin mentioned Anna Sorokin. Writing a GA BLP about someone who is notable as a fraud is always going to require a good understanding of many policies, guidelines, and community expectations. But there is a whole new set of skills to act as a responsible shepherd when the article goes from a few thousand views a day to hundreds of thousands a day after a hit Netflix series. And yet you can see Firefly navigate the increased editor interest with aplomb, working hard to keep the quality high while also letting new editors make their mark on the article. This is one story, among many, that explains why I hope you support Firefly's RfA. Barkeep49 (talk) 15:47, March 3, 2022 (UTC)
Candidate, please indicate acceptance of the nomination here: I accept the nominations, and thank Kevin and Barkeep for their very kind words. I have never edited for pay, and I never will. My prior username and account are listed on my userpage. firefly ( t · c ) 15:33, 4 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
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: Fundamentally, because I believe I could make myself useful as an administrator, and want to continue to help out. Much of my editing has been in the areas of cleaning up copyright issues (e.g. CCI and CopyPatrol) and dealing with spam and promotion. As such I’d probably look to start in adjacent admin areas such as performing RD1 revision deletions and G11/G12 page deletions and patrolling UAA for promotional usernames. I’ve also made a fair few SPI reports and have a decent handle on procedures there - with some guidance from the clerks I could see myself offering administrative assistance as needed.
Given my experience with templates and technical matters I’d also be happy to look at edit requests for things like additions to the spam blacklist. I’m sure I’ll branch out as I gain experience, as many people do, but I’ll only start out where I have a solid understanding already and not rush into anything.
2. What are your best contributions to Wikipedia, and why?
A: In content terms, while I’m proud of each of my GAs, I’d have to say that getting Windows XP (a widely-viewed article) back up to GA standards after being delisted was a lot of work but entirely worth it for an article that better serves readers. An honourable mention must go to Anna Sorokin, another article I took through GAN - I'm glad I could play a part in ensuring we had a quality article to serve its recent influx of readers.
In administrative areas, it would be my work with copyright cleanup and fighting spam. It’s an area that is chronically under-resourced and poses in extremis a real threat to Wikipedia’s core mission of free, neutral content available for use and reuse by all without encumbrance. CCI et al are Sisyphean tasks, but I am happy to make even a small dent in the backlog.
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 think it’s inevitable that anyone who works in the areas I do will have disagreements with other users from time to time. For instance I can recall a few instances where I’ve removed some copyrighted content from an article, and the original editor has protested that my removal was in error because (e.g.) they purport to own the copyright and therefore believe they can add the text to Wikipedia.
In my opinion, the key thing to remember in any potentially emotive situation onwiki is that there is almost never a need to respond or act immediately (obvious exceptions to the latter apply, such as egregious BLP violations, or things requiring contacting emergency@). If in any doubt whatsoever, I take some time to do something else, and then come back to it. On returning, I make sure that I’ve understood the message(s) involved fully, and then look at responding. Regardless of the tone of other messages, I always endeavour to stay at the top of the ‘disagreement pyramid’ - i.e. responding to the substance of the matter rather than tone. I think it’s also very important in any discussion to remain open to the possibility of simply being wrong, and if that happens - to say so, apologise, and move on.
Administrators in particular should be committed to de-escalating rather than inflaming conflict with their actions and comments, and I will wholeheartedly commit to doing so should I be trusted with the mop.
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.
4. Firefly, you made zero edits from the aforementioned accounts in the periods April 2009 – October 2014, January 2015 – March 2018, and September 2018 – January 2021. Could you comment on these bouts of inactivity?
A: Of course. I found my way back to Wikipedia last year, having dropped off the radar for a while since my last active period owing to real-life work priorities (which account for all the gaps, really). Editing has since then become a part of my day (as no doubt is the case for many of us), and I don’t see that changing any time in the foreseeable future.
5. Where on the deletionism-inclusionism spectrum do you fall and why?
A: I think the answer to this depends on the specific type of content we're talking about. Ultimately I feel we should do whatever would be of maximum service to readers - that may be deleting something (in the case of obvious spam or self-promotion for instance), merging a very small article into a 'parent' article if one exists, or keeping an article outright if warranted. We should however also bear in mind that each additional article increases the maintenance burden on editors - that thought may bias me more toward merging on occasion. I'm not sure where that places me on the spectrum - perhaps a mix of AWWDMBJAWGCAWAIFDSPBATDMTAD and mergism?
6. Besides contributors' copyright investigations, what would being an administrator help you at content creation?
A: Fundamentally, it wouldn't. Being an adminstrator is orthogonal to content creation - indeed, administrators should not use their tools in areas where they have strong feelings or have been involved in disputes. Personally, I'd steer clear of using tools around articles where I have made significant contributions to avoid even the appearance of WP:INVOLVED actions.
7. Would you be open to recall? If yes, what is the criteria you are ideally looking at?
A: Yes - I wouldn't want to remain an admin if I had lost the trust of the community. If I pass, I will detail my recall criteria in userspace as is I believe the typical procedure. I would take inspiration from the criteria of other administrators I trust when designing the specifics.
9. Is it ever ok for an admin to delete a page from the mainspace entirely on their own initiative, w/o it either being first nominated for deletion or reviewed by another admin? Explain (briefly).
A: Yes, and indeed this happens regularly. The speedy deletion policy permits admins to delete articles at their discretion if they meet one of the criteria defined in the policy (there are other nuances to consider as well as simply meeting a criterion, e.g. in many cases whether an article has survived its most recent deletion discussion, but I will try to keep my answer brief as requested!). For articles, the relevant criteria are the "A" set (mainspace only), and the "G" set (any namespace). In practice, speedy deletions usually result from someone tagging an article, and then an admin reviewing the tag & deleting if they are in agreement. While this is not required, it is probably a good thing - acting as a pseudo-separation of duties - and even as an admin I would tag and leave for someone to review if I was in any doubt whatsoever that a page met a criterion.
10. You already have my vote, I note you say you have worked in anti spam and promotion this is great, please explain to me what measures or ideas you have in mind to negate this sort of editing if giving the mop?
A: Thank you Celestina! I would probably look to patrol places like CAT:G11 and handle reports at WT:WPSPAM and the cross-wiki Antispam project that require admin attention. I could also see myself handling spam blacklist requests given my familiarity with regex.
12. An editor repeatedly edits a mathematics article to add their own conjecture, which is reverted by other editors on the grounds that it was proven false over a century ago. The editors asserts that everyone is entitled to express their own opinion on Wikipedia, since it is the encyclopedia that anyone can edit, and that WP:V is just an argument from authority. Which of our policies and procedures apply, and how should such an editor be dealt with?
A: I am assuming for the purposes of this scenario that the editor is adding the conjecture as fact, and without suitable sourcing - i.e. rather than something like "in the past, it was conjectured that <blah>[cite], however...". Adding the conjecture as fact without citations to reliable, independent sources would almost certainly count as original research, which is not permitted in articles. As such, the content should be removed, and the editor warned. I would also take the opportunity to explain that everyone is entitled to express their opinion (within reasonable bounds) in discussions on Wikipedia, but not in articles themselves, which must comply with our various policies on verifiability and reliable sourcing. If the editor in question continues to re-insert the content, they are liable to be temporarily blocked for edit warring, or indefinitely for not being here to contribute to the encyclopedia (given their rejection of core policies) depending on their other contributions.
13. An administrator deletes a page on a band incorrectly per A7, as the page makes a claim of significance for the band winning an award, but the page does not meet notability guidelines by a hair, and would probably not pass at AFD. Do you leave the deleted article alone, or do you undelete it and start an AFD discussion?
A: The first thing I would do, assuming I felt strongly enough to do anything, would be to ask the deleting administrator about the deletion, and request that they restore it, as I wouldn't want to go unilaterally overturning another admin's action in a case like this. If the deleting administrator is not willing to restore the page, I could take the issue to deletion review (rather than undelete-and-AfD, as DRV is the correct venue for challenging disputed speedy deletions). Whether I do that in this scenario would probably depend on the merits of the article itself - a single line article along the lines of "Band Foo are a cool band and they won <award> in 2021[cite to primary source]" would likely not motivate me to contest the deletion strongly, whereas a more complete, well-sourced article may.
A: I admit that I've always pronounced it ay-enn-eye in my head, but I really want annie to catch on if only for the potential Smooth Criminal jokes. I would also question in what circumstances any of us would actually be saying "ANI" out loud...
15. Let's say an article has held a copyright violation for a long time, but nobody notices and editing continues as normal, for many revisions. Later, you stumble upon the article, and decide to revdel some of the revisions. Do you revdel all of the revisions containing the violation, or do you only revdel the revisions where the copyright material was added, or somewhere in between?
A: There is only a point in using revdel for copyright infringement if all the infringing revisions are redacted - otherwise the material remains accessible. Whether to use revdel for 'historic' copyvio is definitely a judgment call - and involves balancing the amount of infringing material removed with the age and number of intervening revisions.
I am familiar with Firefly's excellent work around the project and we could always use more administrators working in copyright cleanup. DanCherek (talk) 15:35, 4 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Support – I have had nothing but positive experiences with this user, and I absolutely trust them in matters of copyright cleanup, a field that, as DanCherek mentioned, could use some more hands on deck. — GhostRiver15:36, 4 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
This is one I've been waiting for. Firefly brings a rare combination of skills to the table: He's a good writer, is technically skilled (more-block-info has quickly become one of my favourite scripts), has experience in combating abuse, knows and cares about the very much understaffed area of copyright investigations, and – perhaps most importantly – is a pleasant and thoughtful person. I wholeheartedly support handing him the mop. --Blablubbs (talk) 15:45, 4 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
I am not personally familiar with Firefly, but his nomination by Kevin and Barkeep - two people whose judgment I have the highest regard for - is good enough for me. -- MelanieN (talk) 15:59, 4 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Support - I think he is much qualified for the job, based on my interactions with him (mostly off-wiki). He has a need for the tools as he is fairly active in copyright cleanup. I'm also impressed by his content work, including his good articles, so he's well rounded on that count. Finally, he has a cool previous username.Epicgenius (talk) 16:10, 4 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Support, without hesitation. Firefly has always been friendly and insightful in all my experiences with him, and that alongside his great skills (across the board!) would make him a fantastic sysop. Giraffer(talk·contribs)16:17, 4 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
I had this one pre-watchlisted. Every time I have seen Firefly around, I have been consistently impressed by his calm, rational demeanor, his knowledge of policy, and his dedication. I think he'll be a fantastic administrator. --Dylan620 (he/him · talk · edits) 16:47, 4 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Support. Firefly's impressive content creation, strong experience in administrative areas, and unflappable temperament convince me that he'll be a top-notch sysop. No concerns whatsoever. Extraordinary Writ (talk) 18:26, 4 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Support: long overdue. Very skilled editor, no temperament concerns and works in areas where we desperately need more admins. Thank you for running for RfA! — Bilorv (talk) 18:29, 4 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Delighted to support, per noms and my own observations in various areas of the project. Great to see this off to a strong start. Not a jerk, has a clue; happy days; why not? Etc. GirthSummit (blether)18:50, 4 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Support—an all-round brilliant candidate for adminship. Firefly has an abundance of clue (both of policy and technical skill), and is certainly no jerk. I look forward to welcoming them to the team, even if it is very overdue! -- TNT (talk • she/her) 19:25, 4 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Support Clearly HERE, and the mop is NOBIGDEAL. Everyone's life gets in the way of editing at some point(s) in time, so the gaps in activity are not a problem. HouseBlastertalk20:31, 4 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
I only see this when there are already 73 supports? Oh well -- I've been looking forward to this one for months, it's no surprise everyone else was too! Now you have no excuse not to finish the GAN bot ;) Vaticidalprophet22:11, 4 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Support - I'm not particularly familiar with the candidate, but I respect both nominators and see a lot of people whose judgment I trust supporting. Hog FarmTalk01:10, 5 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Support, having had reassurances about future activity. For clarity, Q4 was based on concerns that Firefly might become inactive soon in the future – not because I want an explanation of what he was up to during those years away. The candidate is a competent editor who has flair in topic choice and a good temperament. Sdrqaz (talk) 01:14, 5 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Support I am not familiar with the candidate's work here, we apparently have not intersected anywhere that I can remember. I have looked at a "quick and dirty" sample of his work and interaction with others. I could not find any valid cause to oppose, so herewith my support !vote. Roger (Dodger67) (talk) 06:32, 5 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Support, did a quick review, couldn't find any red flags. Though I haven't had much interaction with him, he's being unanimously supported by everyone I know are great editors/administrators. I see no issue with granting him the mop. All the best. ---CX Zoom(he/him)(let's talk|contribs)09:51, 5 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Support: Strangely I have one reason not to support which would be an inappropriate reason to !vote oppose and possibly a reason to !vote neutral over one point unique to myself. But mop to this user is very much an overwhelming net benefit. Handling of withdrawal Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Pool Party Massacre was good and shows willingness to change mind when necessary. Involvement of User:FireflyBot notifying creators of five months inactivity in draft is also a plus point, and means I am absolutely pleased to support. Periods of inactivity explained and not a problem to me. Djm-leighpark (talk) 11:59, 5 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Support I'm so happy to see this RfA! I've had plenty of interactions with Firefly aand know them as a greatly competent technical editor who is a pleasure to interact with and has a very high clue level. Good luck! --Trialpears (talk) 13:59, 5 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Support A very strange comment by a highly experienced editor made me wait a while to see if there was anything of substance to be concerned about, but it seems that this was only a bizarre attempt at "humor". After a deeper look. I will agree with Newyorkbrad: "Fully qualified candidate." Cullen328 (talk) 07:09, 6 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Support. This nominee seems to me to have all the qualities Wikipedia needs in a conscientious administrator, I'm happy to support this candidacy. – Athaenara ✉ 08:13, 6 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Support. One of those RfAs I've been expecting for a while, so I'll just say per nom and basically all above. Regards SoWhy12:36, 6 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Support - A very reliable and competent editor, and has excellent knowledge on coding and script development. Wikipedia always needs administrators like this. Would eb really happy to see his work as an administrator. Best wishes. ItcouldbepossibleTalk15:50, 6 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Support: Haven't encountered this editor, and wouldn't normally have commented, but there are so many firm supports, above, from editors I particularly respect that an additional support from me seems called for. Tim riley talk17:22, 6 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Support Nice to see a skilled technical editor run for adminship. They have some impressive content contributions, have won the trust of two good nominators (and apparently plenty of other editors), and there are no red flags. Modussiccandi (talk) 18:42, 6 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Support The area of copyright needs a lot of work, and someone with technical know-how is always appreciated. Like others, the bouts of inactivity doesn't bother me. Everyone needs a break once and awhile, you know? ♠JCW555(talk)♠ 19:50, 6 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Support. How could I not support Firefly?! I've loved working with him, and Firefly having admin tools would only be a net positive to the project from my perspective. –MJL‐Talk‐☖19:52, 6 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Support how can I not join this band of merry yea-sayers! (do I leave the humour tag here? Sorry new at this ... humour, that is). Joke aside; civil, has a clue...had me at civil. Regards, --Goldsztajn (talk) 21:35, 6 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
support I have rarely seen Firefly here 'n there. I am not sure if we've interacted before. But given the support votes here, there tenure/contributions, and based on my a little of digging, I have no concerns at all. I also think that this RfA should have taken place sooner. —usernamekiran (talk)19:42, 7 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Support. I mean 163-0 at this point is really all I need to know. I believe that we need more admins (my opinion), so yes put this editor in. Herostratus (talk) 20:16, 7 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
SupportAdministrators are trusted members of the community. They are expected to lead by example and to behave in a respectful, civil manner in their interactions with others. Administrators are expected to follow Wikipedia policies and to perform their duties to the best of their abilities. Occasional mistakes are entirely compatible with adminship; administrators are not expected to be perfect. Administrators are also expected to learn from experience and from justified criticisms of their actions.
Support -- Happy to pile on my support for this experienced candidate, who has a clue and can be trusted with the tools! - tucoxn\talk17:11, 8 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Support. Demonstrates trustworthiness. Willingness to learn arb-clerking. Not a disruptor. Supporters and nominators I admire. I see no downside as of this date stamp. BusterD (talk) 22:31, 8 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Support. Firefly has been around so long and done so much good work I was kinda surpass to realize they weren't already an admin. Levelheaded, thoughtful, competent, and collegial. Everything an admin should be. oknazevad (talk) 02:47, 9 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Support. Have seen the copyvio and clerking work. Happy to see someone so trusted pick up the mop. Note to future RFA candidates: I automatically support anyone with a username starting with "Firef" for unbiased reasons.Firefangledfeathers (talk | contribs) 03:18, 9 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Support - Looks perfect! Would love to see more of such candidates in the future-- as Oknazevad said, "thoughtful [and] collegial." GeraldWL04:51, 9 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
It doesn't look like you need my support, with no opposes or neutrals so far, but I'm happy to give it anyway. No red flags, experienced, content creator and has a clue, so what's not to like? Welcome to the corps. — Amakuru (talk) 11:03, 10 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Support A qualified candidate, and congrats on WP:200. (Not part of my !vote, just some advice for the candidate) Re. your answer to Q11, I can assure you that having more tools and more responsibility is quite empowering and can motivate you to expand your scope of work. That was true for me, anyway (not necessarily on Wikipedia, but definitely on other wikis). Just remember when to take your admin hat off, and never be ashamed to admit ignorance. —k6ka🍁 (Talk · Contributions) 13:35, 11 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Neutral - per your acceptance statement: "My prior username and account are listed on my userpage." I visited your user page several times (to be sure I wasn't just missing it) and I did not see any such declaration of prior accounts. Though I came to support, I am instead neutral; for the time your statement prompted me to waste.--John Cline (talk) 01:49, 5 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
It would be nice to know the reason why, if you want to give it. I have an inherent distrust of elections that give 100% support (they just seem a bit too North Korean to me) but it would still be good to know why anyone has to declare their lack of support here, just in case people above have missed something. Phil Bridger (talk) 21:05, 10 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Oh, I actually support Firedly, but like you said, I get suspicious when I see 100% support. Also because even if I voted in support, it wouldn't make a difference. Is it weird that I did this? Toad40 (talk) 21:14, 10 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Who are these "people"? What does it matter if someone decides not to follow the crowd? If I was being discussed here I would be much more unhappy with your comment than any action of Toad40's. Phil Bridger (talk) 21:28, 10 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
@Serial Number 54129 Not Blablubbs, obviously, but I've simply not gotten around to writing the documentation yet (oops!) - the script was written in response to my own personal frustrations with MediaWiki more than anything else. Namely, as MediaWiki doesn't show overlapping rangeblocks on contributions pages, (e.g. if an individual IP in a range is blocked along with a wider range, only the specific IP block is shown), I wrote a script to show the rangeblock. It also shows global locks in a similar format to blocks, rather than just a "this account is globally locked", as sometimes lock summaries contain useful information. I should definitely write the documentation and will do so now while I remember :) firefly ( t · c ) 17:09, 4 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
If you want to ask an actual question, please feel free to do so in the appropriate section. Given that the candidate is not applying to be a bureaucrat, though, this seems to be a non-question. Primefac (talk) 08:38, 5 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
It's strange, frustrating even, but I've found out how to fix this. Basically, one needs to prepend one more # right at the start of each message in that thread. It changes the resultant neutral vote totals to 0, BUT adds the serial number 1 before the vote. You guys decide what to do. ---CX Zoom(he/him)(let's talk|contribs)12:47, 5 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
@Cullen328, Primefac — Have you ever heard of this thing called humor? Because I've heard that Floq practices that a lot, and so does Bishonen. I guess you take Wikipedia more seriously, and that's fine… we all have our own views. — 3PPYB6 — TALK — CONTRIBS — 13:28, 5 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
I think it's best practice to use humor sparingly when we're discussing a person (who is closely following this page) in detail, and especially when jokes are made in the oppose section, potentially making them unpleasant for the candidate. Giraffer(talk·contribs)15:15, 5 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
@GeneralNotability — Again, assume good faith… like Jimbo Wales said, "RfA is a horrible and broken process". If I were nominated someday and I see something similar to that I would likely might as well explode. To be honest, it wasn't that funny to me… I just wanted us all to understand why Floq left that in the Oppose section. — 3PPYB6 — TALK — CONTRIBS — 18:33, 5 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Bbb23 fixed the counter (thanks!). If people really want to continue litigating the (non-)!vote in question, now would probably be a good time to move that to the talk page so as to not clutter up this section. --Blablubbs (talk) 15:35, 5 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]
The above adminship discussion is preserved as an archive of the discussion. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the talk page of either this nomination or the nominated user). No further edits should be made to this page.