User blog:SpaceWeather/A Formal Assessment of a Pressing Issue

Now... once more there has been a large chunk of drama which has occured between our users. It's not the first (or last time) in which this has happened, but this time it carries severe implications. The threat of having one of the wiki's most influential admins demoted looms over our heads. The accusing party is claiming at times this person has abused his powers and made others feel uncomfortable. Now for the mutual respect of this admin (despite people most likely knowing who he is) and the group of users pursuing his demotion I will not mention any names. I would like to simply go over the positives and negatives in which I've encountered in this person and perhaps sway the opinions of others to a more... fitting conclusion.

The Negatives

 * 1) This admin has, at times, misused the power he holds on chat to kick and ban people for seemingly no legitamite reason.
 * 2) This user has a history of letting his temper flare and get the best of him at the worst possible times.
 * 3) Many have said this user is rude and/or just flat out mean to them because of how they act or what they say.
 * 4) At times this user has let personal preference blind himself from using his powers for the greater good.

The Positives

 * 1) This users spear-headed the fight against, and subsequent new rules against socks, a bad problem on the wiki.
 * 2) This user has positively influenced more than a few (myself included) users here on the wiki and shared his knowledge to help those who ask.
 * 3) This user has never backed down from defending us as a community, no matter how bad things have gotten in the past.
 * 4) This user is passionate about this wiki and the community behind it.
 * 5) I'm sure there are quite a few things I'm leaving out (as I haven't been here for the length of this users tenure) but these are the things that immediately came to mind

Adding It All Up
When you take all the circumstances and put them together, I can see why some people would lean towards trying to demote this person. I realize he hasn't been as nice to many others as he has been to me. But I would like to pose a question, In his position... how would you fare? Now don't give me the, "I'm not an admin and I don't want to be one," crap. I want everyone right now to think about how they'd handle the responsibilities which come with being an administrator here. I can almost assure you that many people wouldn't handle their powers as well as the user in question has. Now I know there are users who could handle the powers which come with being an admin just fine, but many of the users hoping to get this user demoted I don't believe are in that category. Also take into consideration how you'd feel in this situation as well. From my point of view the ends may not justify the means... but in anyone else's hands they rarely would anyways

A Proposed Solution
Now my proposition is one (actual three) that take a diplomatic approach to this situation.

Proposition 1: We can give this user a trial period in which he must act accordingly as an admin to be able to keep his powers. If he fails to do so then we bring in an inquiry to this situation and let WC decide his fate.

Proposition 2: He willingly has himself demoted to the status of ChatMod and is allowed to earn his powers back through being a modle user.

Proposition 3 (and the proposition I think most of you will probably go for): We truly take a look at his actions as a whole and have a true vote of confidence or no confidence before we allow WC to come in and decide for themseves how to handle the issue.

The End Result
Anyway this problem ends up solved, the wiki probably won't be the same because of it. Whether things will get better or worse when we get past this falls to us as a community. I believe we have the capabilty to prevent this type of thing going forward... but I don't think we have the right mindset in which to do so. I'd just ask that you all take a serious look at the issue at hand and decide for yourselves where your going to stand on it. At this point, I truly feel that neutrality is no longer an option for any of us.  Now, I'm not insinuating that sides must be chosen... I'm just saying that this is not an issue people should remain neutral upon like some have for so many others.

Oh... and if it comes down to a vote of confidence or no... I put my vote to the side of full confidence.

Thank you for taking the time to read this,

Sincerely,

Space