Arbiter Candidates v.2011

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Arbiter Candidates v.2011

PostPosted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 3:00 am

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Stracius
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Everything you wanted to know about him (or her) that you always wanted to know more about.

Candidates, please make a post with a short blurb about yourself, relevant thoughts, strengths and/or weaknesses. Requests to bow out of candidacy are strongly discouraged, as this is a responsibility that every member must shoulder. In all honesty, it's not exactly a time consuming job, nor a stressful one - I wouldn't even call it a job. The only way someone couldn't do it is if they suddenly decided to depart this mortal realm for the halls of Valhalla, and even then I suspect they could still do it.

So far the candidates are:
Anubis
Isileth
Mechanus
Messiah
Stracius

Nominations for anyone you think would do a better job than those four people are still accepted at this point, though please do so in the other thread.
Last edited by Stracius on Tue Oct 18, 2011 12:22 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: De-stickying

Re: Arbiter Candidates v.2011

PostPosted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 3:08 am

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Stracius
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/begin shameless copy and paste
Stracius wrote: My views on how the role of arbiter have not changed, I'm still the type that believes in a hands-off approach to management. Unless I see something causing significant disruption, or is requested my attention, I'm not likely to go about making changes to how things are currently run. If it's not broke, don't fix it. That being said, nothing is perfect and if anyone thinks changes need to be made I won't discourage discussing/trading of ideas.

My current activity revolves around playing EVE and lurking on the forums, the latter seemingly sufficient for the job.

Vote for me if you will, but don't forget to wear your Peril Sensitive Sunglasses111 should you decide you must.

I know we had a bit of a debate regarding the role the arbiter plays, whether it's strictly arbitration or whether the person should also be a leader of sorts. I cannot deny that groups benefit from leadership, but I don't believe the arbiter is the right position for that. We're a conglomerate of different groups, and each group can have their own leader positions if they see fit (e.g., guild leaders for the upcoming The Old Republic). That's my view anyway.

If someone else believes the arbiter can be a useful leader as well, and gets enough people to agree with him, then by all means; I'm not opposed to it, but a convincing argument would help ;)
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Re: Arbiter Candidates v.2011

PostPosted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 6:30 am

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Isileth
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Well since this is my first time being nominated I sadly dont have a nice post to copy and paste from last year :p. However I shall give it a go.

First off I appreciate the nominations, it wasn't that long ago I was constantly being kicked from the irc channel by esd and the like for being an annoying kid so its nice to know ive progressed somewhat.

My view on the position is that it should not be one of leadership. Not because those that have had it haven't done the job well, infact the opposite. The reason im sure a lot think of the position as the leader of the group is simply because the people we have elected have been the leaders. While this is no bad thing I think if you look at the individual groups the ones that have done well are those with excellent internal leadership. Members who have gone out of their way to advance the group, get new recruits, write up guides and tables and really be very hands on with the arrangements and running of the group ingame.
As such I think that is the more important role in terms of leadership.

Personally I am extremely active and very easily reached on the forums and irc. However if you are looking for someone to take a solid leadership position ingame, as everyone on irc will know from my constant moaning, my computer does make the wheel look quite modern at the moment so when the new games come round its unlikely I will be straight in there.

Re: Arbiter Candidates v.2011

PostPosted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 7:41 am

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M.Steiner
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Stracius wrote:Requests to bow out of candidacy are strongly discouraged, as this is a responsibility that every member must shoulder.
I cannot deny that groups benefit from leadership, but I don't believe the arbiter is the right position for that.
I know I'm not on the list but since I was one of the people to previously "bow out of candidacy" a couple of times and also viewed the arbiter position as such I felt I should respond. Hope you don't mind :)

Not to open up the debate about what what the arbiters roles should and shouldn't be but my views on it now are quite different to what they were last year and the year before.
Personal reasons aside, part of the reasoning why I withdrew myself from the past couple of elections was because I was viewing the arbiter position as someone who could help push the group forward, cheerlead, rally people together or whatever you want to call it and help bring new blood here too. To be actively trying to make a difference and not just on the forum.
When I've joined a group in the past 9 times out of 10 I've ended up in a mod position of some sorts as I'm not someone who can just sit back, always looking to do what I can to help, improve & give imput. With no interesting games for so long now I didn't think it was fair to let people nominate me when that's how I saw the position because I knew there was nothing I could physically do in a game when I wasn't playing any to begin with.
I do still believe we need someone like that but not necessarily just one person and I no longer believe this should be the arbiter. I think they're two different roles entirely.

Imo the Arbiter should be there to assist, encourage and advise. To step in and get involved if & when necessary and have good sense of judgement, has the final say and should be completely impartial to the running of any group so they are always unbiased. I know we had a lot of unfortunate drama some years ago which I'd like to hope will never happen again but I do think that had one of us group runners held the arbiter position at the same time it would have been a different kettle of fish entirely and not in a good way. Probably not a good idea to mix the two.

So yeah. I do view the cheerleaders & the arbiter as two separate roles now, the former being what I naturally fall into doing. I'm not on the ballot for arbiter this year and wasn't going to withdraw should I have been put forward but since I will be one of the "leaders" of the TOR group I do believe it'll be better to keep those roles separate anyway. Besides, we have a good choice of candidates for the position this year and it's especially refreshing to see 2 new names up there. Nice to see different people being considered. :thumb:
"My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

Re: Arbiter Candidates v.2011

PostPosted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 2:19 pm

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Whizbang
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To be bluntly honest, I have no clue what the Arbiter does. In my 3+ years of being here I've never seen the elected Arbiter do anything so I really don't have much to go on in regards to what an Arbiter should or shouldn't do.

I'm extremely logical in how I view things....to a fault. I also have a strange fixation in thoroughly ensuring that whatever is started gets done just to have resolution in that project/work. I'm also an American. :eek:

But I'm also a person who understands that a community and games aren't the end-all/be-all of our daily lives and that this is a community of somewhat like-minded people who enjoy each other's company and participate in activities together when our busy lives permit such things. I've been playing games/running communities/involved in communities for a good 15+ years of my life and have always enjoyed trying to create and ensure an environment that helps foster new friendships and helps continue existing ones. I like watching ideas blossom and grow and I like people to offer new ways of encouraging participation and expanding the membership base. If this is what it means to be Arbiter, I'd say I'm probably qualified for the role. If it isn't, then I'm probably not the best guy suited for the role and I have no problem admitting that.

I'm loyal to the community and it's members but will not tolerate stupidity and ignorance. So if elected, first thing is giving Anubis the boot. I'm sure we can all appreciate that. :p

But seriously, I don't know what is expected of the Arbiter or what exactly the role does, but I will try my hardest at fulfilling the requirements of such a position should I find myself elected.

Ok, can I turn this mic off now and get back to what matters? There's the BF3 beta out and I've yet to log in and get TK'd. :thumb:
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Re: Arbiter Candidates v.2011

PostPosted: Mon Oct 03, 2011 4:19 pm

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Messiah
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As arbiter, my goal would be to strengthen and grow our loyal band. Beginning with an internal pogrom to eradicte discontent and opposition, I would take a revitalized SSX core into the gaming world where we would stealthfully infiltrate other groups, breaking them down and taking away their core elements. Resistance would be futile.

I am honored to again be nominated. We have a small but loyal band here. I would love to see it grow, and to see the SSX become a hive of activity again. I have traditionally believed that the role of arbiter is that of a moderator or a mediator - one who can preserve balance and harmony, diffuse tensions, and keep the family together. Leadership used to be a dirty word around here, but I think many of us have come to believe that leadership is something we could use. We might benefit not from a leader who sets directives and issues orders, but from one who generates vision and shows us a path. We need a motivator and an organizer. There is no doubt that our independence and individuality, as members/gamers and as a community, has long been one of our strengths. What we need is someone who can channel that strength, who may help us spread our egalitarian values, and who does so mindful of our traditions and beliefs. There are many here who can fill this role.

For myself, I will serve where asked, to the best of my ability and to the limits of my availibility. I do not believe myself to be the best candidate for my expanded vision of the position of arbiter, but I am a good candidate. I am dedicated to this community, though I haven't the time I would like to spend here. Personally, I run a small business, manage three over-scheduled kids and three dogs, have a wife who travels frequently, and find myself on a console for 30 minutes when I can manage it. Under normal circumstances, I check in here regularly. I am available and can make time as needed and when notified, but as an abiding presence here, I may not be the right person.

Again, I am honored by the nomination. This place is close to my heart.
"All I was trying to do was get people to want to make their own new ring of light so that it is forever a name with meaning and substance ...." - BlackDove the Beneficent

Re: Arbiter Candidates v.2011

PostPosted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 5:40 pm

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Anubis
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And here I thought for the first time in 6 years I wouldn't have to do one of these :)

I'll be honest here and say that I've been wondering for the last few months whether the Arbiter is actually necessary as a position any more. I think I could speak for Strac as well as myself in saying that for the last four years (covering both my own and Strac's time in the post), the role has been realistically little more than a title with no incidents requiring direct intervention/mediation. We've gotten very good at policing ourselves, mainly because we're all friends here and don't aggravate each other all too often, but I think that whether or not the last few years have been quiet for the Arbiter this year could be an important one for the role.

For the ultimate good or ill of the community, we've been in a state of "waiting" for a couple of years now - for something we could gather round as we once did other games (such as WoW EU, LOTRO, Neocron, etc). Now, hopefully, that period of waiting is soon to come to a close. I hold very high hopes for TOR, and also hope that we can establish some sort of footing in Firefall too if possible. With that in mind, it's important for us to be prepared for that - and an Arbiter is an important part of that preparation, just in case they're needed when we're (hopefully) integrating new blood into our corner of the Internet.

Am I the right person for the role with that in mind? That's not really for me to answer. I visit the forum incredibly frequently each day, and am contactable by either IRC or e-mail whenever I am at home (though sadly, now that I'm working I cannot be on IRC all day long as I have been in past). As such, I would like to think that I'm a highly visible member of the community and somone who can offer a 'low response time' on any issues that may come up. Whether my judgement/abilities suit the role is, of course, a matter that only you can answer for yourselves.

But it's also true that I have other responsibilities around here, which I willingly admit that I enjoy having and carrying out - I am quite happy with my role at present. As I have mentioned during the past 2 elections though, these responsibilities mean that there is a question that all members need to ask themselves in seeing my name on the ballot, and that is whether all 'power/responsibility' should be concentrated in one individual. Again, that's something everyone will have their own views on.

At the end of the day, whether it be as Administrator, Arbiter, or another role, I will always be happy to serve if called upon. I would deliberately advertise myself as a more traditional 'moderating Arbiter', however. I've always held the view that the Arbiter is not our leader in the sense that Messiah describes it, but at the same time I have found his post compelling and generally an accurate representation of my feelings on the matter - indeed, something that has changed my view of this election somewhat. We do need a leader, who can take us beyond 'waiting' and into actually doing things. I do not believe myself to be a suitable candidate for such a role though (though each of you may have your own opinions on this), and feel it important to make clear that if elected I would more likely than not serve as a more traditional, moderative Arbiter.

Finally, I'd just like to echo what Messiah said in the conclusion to his post. This place means the world to me, and I wouldn't be who/where I am today without it. I don't take this nomination lightly, and find myself once more incredibly honoured to be put on the ballot. Thank you for your faith in me.
"Perhaps this is what I have always wished for since that day. The loss and destruction of all. That's right, one must destroy before creating. In that case, if my conscience becomes a hindrance to me, then I will simply erase it. I have no other choice but to move forward....therefore!" - Lelouch vi Britannia/Zero, Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch

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Re: Arbiter Candidates v.2011

PostPosted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 2:20 pm

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esd
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I'll be honest here and say that I've been wondering for the last few months whether the Arbiter is actually necessary as a position any more.
Sure we don't need one... until we need one. And by that time it's a bit late to be arguing over arbiters!
""I like my women like I like my coffee. In a plastic cup.""

Arbiter Candidates v.2011

PostPosted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 11:41 pm

Inquisitor
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It's necessary.
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Re: Arbiter Candidates v.2011

PostPosted: Thu Oct 06, 2011 6:09 pm

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Anubis
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Don't get me wrong, I wasn't opening it up to say "Is this really necessary or not?" Just using something I've been mulling over for a while to emphasise that I feel this year's election is quite important.
"Perhaps this is what I have always wished for since that day. The loss and destruction of all. That's right, one must destroy before creating. In that case, if my conscience becomes a hindrance to me, then I will simply erase it. I have no other choice but to move forward....therefore!" - Lelouch vi Britannia/Zero, Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch

Forever an eXile and proud of it!

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