User blog:Madman97/What Fun! More Wikia Drama!

Be honest with yourselves. Would any of these policy change threads and discussions be happening if I hadn't come back and lit the fuse by stating what a poor condition the wikia was in? Ok ok, I am sure it has been on all of your minds for a while now and you just needed someone to say something, but I have to say, I am quite proud to be along for the ride in yet another great wikia event that will determine its history. In my last blog, I noted the many great events that took place since I joined this website in the summer of 2013, along with a majority of the old dogs you see here, who I like to call the Generation X of the website, with anyone coming afterward in the summer of '14 being the Generation Y. These events in order are:

Golden Age of Blogs

Great Kirkbride Schism

1st User Recession

Silver Age of Blogs

Jimeee/Zippertrain85 war

2nd User Recession

And now we're here, back when I first came onto the site about two weeks ago to check up on things after quite a few months to observe what's been going on. And while the site's basic functions of providing information about the game are fulfilled, quite nicely so according to Admin Timeoin, garnering 10 million views in a single week (An impressive number), the site has since gone beyond its basic function to become not just a website, but a central hub. And the Hub is once again threatened by the divides within the community. I first came back to see that a Consensus policy totally scrapped the RP page and a lot of users were angry, and when I chose to write a blog about it, it hit off a policy change discussion and talks with the Admins...

Well then, cool! Fine! We can take advantage of this and change for the better-Oh, three Admins just up and quit. Yeesh. Well then, sh*t. Being an Admin is a tough job, and the pressure gets to some people, but holy crap, we're practically without a government besides the two Admins we currently have left. They certainly can't run things by themselves. And then there is this business with the banishment of SuperSajuuk, which many have called, "Unwarrented." Striking story, I must say. The Admins are positively riddled with controversy, despite their best efforts to run the website effectively. We made a big show out of it in the Jimeee/Zippertrain85 war, and with the resignation of these three Admins, some of whome have been around as long as me, if not longer, we are left in dire straits. Ok, let me get to the thesis of the blog.

This is a delicate time for the website, community-wise. While Mainstream pages are our priority, a healthy community moves the website beyond an average information pile to a place where all can come and enjoy the Elder Scrolls together, and that is something worth fighting for in my book. Part of the problem stems from the universal bashing of the Admins, whether warranted or not, and there seems to be a certain support for user: SuperSajuuk for candidacy to become an Admin. Alright, I support him too. But dear people, is that enough to have popular vote? In this dark time, we have to be careful when transferring the powers that have been to the powers that will be to new users. I put my trust in GhostAnubis, and he walked out due to stress. I really thought he had it in the bag, but like I said, being an Admin must be no easy feat, and I don't envy their position.

It's not a position of power. It's a position of responsibility. And there is a certain responsibility a candidate for Adminastrator needs to take when agreeing to become one. That's part of the problem GhostAnubis went through. He was naiive in accepting his post. An Admind should not be selected unless they meet these three requirements, which I urge the new candidates for Admin to consider:

1) Able to spare enough time

2) Have damn near flawless editing skills

3) Have strong ties to the community

Let's run through the list here. Number one, this was GhostAnubis's, among others, problem, and its a necessity to reflect on this carefully. If a person has enough time to make 10,000 edits on this site within two years or so, then they can spare time to become an Admin, which essentially is like a full-time job. No, we probably don't need them 100% of the day, but a good chunk of it requires them to be here and make sure everything is ship-shape. If a candidate accepts their new post without even considering if they would have enough time, or make room in case something personal comes up, they are destined to fail as an Admin, and almost deserve to be ousted.

Next, this one is common sense. A person should not be even considered if he/she has not made an unfathomable amount of edits that are flawless in every respect. An admind requires the sharpest eye for mistakes and should provide direction to those who wish to help out with editing. To be honest, an elite force of editiors should be established to edit under the Admin's direction in order to share the work load and ease the pressure on top of the Admin's shoulders. Admin's can crack, and they have apprently, under the pressure of all this responsibiity, enough to make them walk right off the job, and that is not what we need right now. There are hundreds of dedicated editors out there. Use them.

Finally, the third point was demonstrated no more than the fabled Jimeee/Zippertrain85 war. Back and forth, senseless debate, consensus's, bans, ending in defeat for poor Jimeee but also setting the stage for the 2nd User Recession where a large portion of users skedaddled back to reality, including me and Dear Dave. Jimeee almost never came onto the chat, and when he did, he never said anything. You hardly see any of their blogs (Timeoin might have been the first I've seen from an Admin to do so), we don't see forum threads unless its consensus, and all walks of the community are basically without the Admin's presence. This has to change. Want to know why? Because if an Admin displays a certain care for one side of the wikia than another, deeming it inferior, that spawns hatred, and eventually division. A healthy relationship with the community will bolster numbers of those who are willing to aid an Admin with his/her job is vital to keeping the pressure off their shoulders, the wikia is united and less fights break out, and less users end up leaving. Admins may not realize how important their involvement in the more social side of the wikia really is, but I seek to dipose that information upon them.

But this is all really common sense, isn't it? However, the events that led to the User recessions and schisms came about because we didn't use it (for the most part). And that, I believe, is where we failed. Like my fellow user Pelinal Whitestrike said in his analysis of the wikia blog, common sense is what we need. I advise caution when considering new candidates, and I ask that the voting process be much more grueling for them in order to test their mettle and see if they are truly worthy for the job.