User:John Vandenberg/recall
- Background
The concept of a recall election is good, however I have not previously participated in the Wikipedia equivalent (WP:AOR) because it is drama prone and usually gamed.
As an arbitrator, I am likely to have 10 or more people quickly decide that I am unsuited for the role when I vote in a arbitration case in a way that points out their unsavoury user conduct, curtails their editing, or is out of alignment with their theories. As a result, on any given day it is easy to find a group willing to initiate a recall election, so I have restricted who can participate in this recall. My rationale is that people who are not eligible should be able to convince a few of the people who are eligible, if the problem is serious enough to warrant a recall. This approach means that there is no need to have restrictions on the venue, protocol, or type of my actions are recallable.
The committee has planned to investigate an standard "arbitrator recall" process.[1] If the committee passes a motion for a recall procedure which applies to all arbitrators, it supersedes this procedure.
- Criteria
Participation in a request for a recall election is limited to people who meet one of the following criteria:
- members of functionaries-en. These people know privileged information, and need to be able to act on that.
- supported me either for adminship or for Arbcom. These people saw fit to put me in this position, and despite that I trust their collective judgment.
- 1000 quality edits to Wikisource, of which 100 are new pages.[2] This option is to ensure that anyone can participate in a recall request, even people who are banned from en.WP, if they are motivated enough. This criteria may appear onerous to people unfamiliar with Wikisource, however it is possible to create 500 Wikisource pages in a single working day.[1]
In total, there are around 400 community members who are eligible by default. (299 arbcom supporters + 54 RfA supporters + 54 functionaries-en members + more en.ws editors; there is probably a sizable overlap) This is a biased cross-section of the community, however this is intentional in order to encourage that unhappy people who are ineligible would actively discuss the problem with those who are eligible rather than requiring that they discuss it with me (as would be expected before an RFC). If there is a problem, I sure hope that people who are eligible will realise it is their responsibility under this criteria to step up.
Five people meeting any of the above criteria can initiate a recall.[3] I don't care how those five people communicate and organise themselves. One person is free to initiate a recall request on my talk page and canvass for others to join in, however it would be helpful if they made it clear that the recall has eligibility criteria, in order to reduce the chance that ineligible people will sign up.
Recall[edit]
I will step down from the arbitration committee within two weeks of a valid recall being initiated (a little time to tidy up), or as soon as an arbitrator requests it this (publicly or privately).
If the problem can be resolved within two weeks to the satisfaction of three of the original five, I will resume my role as an arbitrator. If not, I will resign my adminship or start a request for adminship within a further two weeks. If I resign or fail the RfA, naturally I will be stripped of any functionary status and tools.
Whether I return to the committee after a recall, with or without adminship, is a decision I will leave in the hands of the arbitrators.
Reelection[edit]
If three of the five would prefer to avoid a midyear recall, I will stand for re-election in the 2009 election, or resign at the end of this year.
This option makes more sense if the election is fast approaching, or the concerns are issues that don't require an immediate removal.
One of my election promises was to only serve a two year term, at which point I may choose whether to stand for re-election.
During the 2008 election I indicated that I would not accept a seat from Jimmy Wales due to special consideration. i.e. if it wasnt in accordance with the election format decided upon by the community before the election commenced. The same would apply to future arbcom elections.
Resignation[edit]
I plan to see out the full two year term. My employment circumstances are only pre-arranged until April 2010, so I don't expect to have any changes which could cause a resignation prior to then.
If I resign for personal reasons, excluding unforeseen real world circumstances, I will give the arbritration committee two weeks notice.
Once I have published my intention to resign publicly, I will not resume my seat.(unless I get a pay raise :P)