Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/Larry V

Larry V

Voice your opinion! (4/0/1) Ending 03:22, 2006-08-21 (UTC)

Larry V (talk · contribs) – I would like to nominate Larry V for adminship. I like his work, he seems to get along good with the rules and with Wikipedia itself, and he seems like the perfect choice for adminship. I just don't know anyone else who can do a better job than him. Larry V is the perfect choice. imdanumber1 17:49, 12 August 2006 (UTC)

Candidate, please indicate acceptance of the nomination here: I'll accept the nomination. Thanks! Larry V (talk | contribs) 03:12, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

Questions for the candidate

Dear candidate, thank you for offering to serve Wikipedia in this capacity. Please take the time to answer a few generic questions to provide guidance for voters:

1. What sysop chores, if any, would you anticipate helping with? Please check out Category:Wikipedia backlog, and read the page about administrators and the administrators' reading list.

A: Unfortunately, up until this point I have not really been very involved with sysop-type tasks, since almost all my Wikipedia time has been spent at WP:NYCS. However, with several new editors making huge contributions with that project, I'll definitely have more time to help in such fields as:

• Deletion debates such as WP:AFD, CAT:SPEEDY, WP:CFD, and so forth. I feel strongly about having fluff and inappropriate articles/templates/categories/etc. floating around Wikipedia, and I would regularly make sure that such materiel is flushed out. That's not to say that I will delete articles left and right; while I tend toward the deletionist point of view, I would be perfectly willing to listen to reason and sources in defense of a seemingly inappropriate article.
• WP:CP and other issues with copyrights and such, which are obviously contrary to the ideals and goals of Wikipedia and often indicate the work of a lazy editor whose presence is detrimental to the project anyway.
• WP:AIV, WP:RFP, etc. In my opinion, one of the best ways to fight vandalism is semiprotection, and I would see to it that "deserving" pages be protected from the work of vandals. I would also be vigilant in blocking those users who blatantly vandalize and refuse to listen to reason.
• Checking over the general administrators' noticeboard, which seems like it could use some more attention that it currently receives.
• WP:RM. I've noticed that requested moves usually take a little while to be noticed and implemented, and I would work to reduce the delay characteristic of that list. On second thought… there are quite a few lists of this sort that need attention. I would frequently process these as well.
• WP:SPLICE. Something always irritated me about botched cut-and-paste moves; I would diligently work towards fixing such problems and straightening out edit histories, which are essential to Wikipedia's workings.
• Dressing up tables. While not an admin task in and of itself, and certainly not requiring any sort of sysop privileges, fixing tables is something that I enjoy doing for some reason or another, and is something that I will continue to do regardless of the outcome of this nomination process. If you will, messy tables are a sort of pet peeve of mine. Another non-sysop task I plan on working on is streamlining and adding functionality to templates, as this process is somewhat similar to programming, which I enjoy doing.

2. Of your articles or contributions to Wikipedia, are there any about which you are particularly pleased, and why?

A: For better or worse, the majority of my work on Wikipedia has been towards improving WikiProject New York City Subway, seeing as how the NYC subway system is an interest of mine. ("Interest" is an understatement. Try "obsession.") I've spent a great deal of time perfecting Template:Infobox NYCS, which I then applied to most of the articles about the 468 or so stations in the system. Much of my work has been towards some sort of standardization among subway articles, including intro paragraphs, "external links" sections, and infoboxes, all of which are highly repetitive tasks. Formerly, it was almost necessary for me to spent 100% of my editing in that project, due to a lack of help from proficient editors. Recently, however, several editors have come on and made tremendous contributions—most notably Alphachimp and Marc Shepherd—and I am anticipating that their help will free me up to expand my Wikipedia horizons and broaden the scope of my own contributions.

3. Have you been in any conflicts over editing in the past or do you feel other users have caused you stress? How have you dealt with it and how will you deal with it in the future?

A: Like most editors, I have had my fair share of disputes/edit conflicts/what-have-you in the past. Very few of them have been particularly heated; however, I have learned from those few examples that such arguments are detrimental to Wikipedia as a whole. Informed, calm discussions are far more beneficial and generally produce better results. In addition, I've found that walking away from the computer for a while greatly helps me to calm down and open up my mind to others' opinions—which, more often than not, are perfectly valid and have a lot of potential for improving the project. I very rarely maintain a stubborn hold on my opinion for very long; even within discussions in which I disagree strongly, I usually come around and realize that my "opponents" (for lack of a better term) have very good points and make perfectly feasible suggestions, which I then help them to implement.

(Optional question from Yanksox)

4. Can you elaborate on your opinions on protection and when it should be used? Yanksox 03:38, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

A: From experience, I know how frustrating it can be to have to constantly revert vandalism on single articles, time after time after time. These vandals usually refuse to listen to any sort of reason or warning. In cases such as this, I feel that semi-protecting a page for a short time can help deter such repetitive vandalism by discouraging the offender; if a single vandal is the cause, then a short block of the user (e.g., 24 hours or so) may be effective. But by no means do I advocate reckless protection of pages, and I feel that complete protection is almost never necessary — usually, nor is semi-protection for longer than a day or so. But brief "stints" of semi-protection can be useful, and can't hurt, provided that their length remains within reason.

Comments

• See Larry V's edit summary usage with mathbot's tool.

I guess everyone else puts some stuff here, so why don't I:

• Edit count as of 03:12, 15 August 2006 (UTC):

Total edits	5665
Distinct pages edited	2225
Average edits/page	2.546
First edit	19:39, 25 September 2004
(main)	4298
Talk	268
User	80
User talk	194
Image	3
Template	455
Template talk	41
Category	14
Category talk	1
Wikipedia	199
Wikipedia talk	112

• NOTE FOR VOTERS: I might as well make the most of this process. Regardless of your vote — Support, Oppose, or Neutral — please try to include a detailed piece of constructive criticism regarding my editing habits. I know for a fact that I can improve, and I would greatly appreciate it if you all could provide me with a quantifiable list of ways in which I can make better contributions to the project as a whole.

Support

1. Support A great user. --Siva1979^{Talk to me} 03:38, 15 August 2006 (UTC)
2. Strong Support. While Larry might not meet some of our requirements for namespace edits (particularly WP space), I have felt for some time that he would make an excellent candidate for adminship. Larry V leads WP:NYCS, the project to create articles for all NYC subway stations and to standardize and develop them along the same format. He is constantly active on the NYCS discussion board, and is always calm and working to build consensus ({{RFA CLICHE #1}}). At the times I have disagreed with Larry, he has been fair, thoughtful and reasonable, characteristics well becoming of a future administrator. At times, Larry has even travelled on the New York City Subway system on trips specifically to clarify article ambiguities. Larry V. is an excellent example of a long-term hard-working Wikipedia user, and it is my pleasure to support him in this nomination. alphaChimp ^laudare 03:47, 15 August 2006 (UTC)
3. Weak support waiving my criteria - CrazyRussian talk/email 03:48, 15 August 2006 (UTC)
4. Support. I generally want to see a lot more Wikipedia-space edits than you have (per my criteria) but your answers to the questions leave me confident that you know how things work around here. I trust Alphachimp's endorsement as well. Grandmasterka 03:49, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

Oppose

1. Oppose Fails my criteria. --Masssiveego 04:15, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

Neutral

1. Neutral for now. Larry wants to take on a lot of tasks, which is great, though I'm not sure he's quite ready for them. Looking through his AfD contributions, I couldn't find a single keep vote other than this quasi-withdrawal. Maintaining CAT:CSD or new page patrol is almost unreviewable as the only record is the deletion log and clueless newbies who see their pages deleted often don't know where to turn. I couldn't find any evidence of new page or RC patrol, so I'm hesitant to support.--Kchase T 04:07, 15 August 2006 (UTC)