User talk:Jerry/Coaching

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Jerry's Admin-coaching talk page
This is a User talk page primarily for User:Jerry and User:Johann Wolfgang to discuss Jerry's Admin Coaching program. Any user may post here, but please keep comments on-topic. Jerry 22:07, 7 April 2007 (UTC)

Intro

Hello, Johann, I am pleased that you have agreed to take me on as a student for Admin coaching. I am eager to begin. I think it would be a good idea to start out with a dialogue about goals, agreements, and what we intend to do. Perhaps it would be a good idea for us to each create a list of questions for eachother? I think communication is very important, and if we have the same expectations for this coaching, we probably have a better chance of it being a "success". What do you think? Jerry 22:07, 7 April 2007 (UTC)

Sounds like a great idea. However, I don't currently have any questions for you right now. Perhaps you would like to start? (I'll be sure to think of some soon, though). Johann...[ T...C ] 22:16, 7 April 2007 (UTC)

Student's questions for coach

• What would you consider to be the criteria for "successful" administrator coaching?
• What level of interaction do you anticipate we will have? (eg. frequent, daily, weekly, etc,)
• Do you think that with the right coaching, attitude, and effort that anyone can become an administrator, or do you think certain inherant prerequisite qualities are required? If so, which?
• What expectations do you have of me as your student?
• Do you think the "unwritten rule of thumb' for prospective admin candidates to have brought an article to GA or FA status is very important? What about vandal-fighters and cleanup experts, can they make good admins?

Jerry 22:40, 7 April 2007 (UTC)

Answers

1.All I want is for the student to listen to the advice given, as well as being open to some constructive criticism.

2.I believe daily, or perhaps biweekly would suffice.

3.Certain qualities such as: civility, neutral POV, and good editing skills, are essential.

4.Since I haven't ever successfuly completed an administrator coaching*, I don't currently have any expectations, except for those mentioned in the first answer.

5.Having brought an article to GA or FA status is definitely important, and might even be the reason for a successful RfA. However, adminship is meant for 'janitorial' tasks such as recent changes patrolling, blocking vandals, and protecting pages. Adminship is not essential for editing articles.

• * My student decided to leave Wikipedia, citing stress as the reason.

Comments

Firstly, four to six months is what I would consider a good starting point in terms of experience. On many RFA's anything less than three months of experience has a high failure rate.

Secondly, involvement in different areas of Wikipedia, such as the Portal namespace, the Wikipedia namespace, the Category namespace, et cetera, is very important.

Lastly, your edit count is good, and you've been here since December 2006. I would wait until at least May 1st 2007, before you begin an RfA. (That's of course if you want start it soon.)

I hope my answers will help, if there is anything you would like clarified, or would like to ask more questions, please feel free to contact me, or post it here. I also must apologize for taking so long to add my answers. Happy editing! Johann...[ T...C ] 18:02, 15 April 2007 (UTC)

A Few Questions

1. How would you like to go about your coaching? (i.e. Asking questions infrequently, or maybe a more thorough approach.)

2. How soon do you wish to be an administrator?

3. And when you become an administrator, what task will you most likely focus on?

After you answer these questions we can get started with the coaching. Happy editing! (Sorry it took so long to post these questions). Johann...[ T...C ] 01:40, 22 April 2007 (UTC)

Hey, thanks for the replies. I am currently on business travel, and depending on public free wifi internet hotspots, so my contribs/ responsiveness may be lower than normal for the next couple days. To answer your questions:

1. I think a weekly dialogue would be sufficient. You could point me to do some research or exercises during the week, and we could followup the following week.
2. I am not in a mad rush to be an administrator. I certainly don't want to go up for RfA before I am ready. I think that with your help I could be ready in a few months. I would probably target early July. There are quite a few times when I find a mess that needs to be mopped up, and would like to help do it, but I don't want to be overeager.
3. In particular, I have spent quite some time reviewing a serious backlog that was created a few months ago by the automatic tagging of fair use images. The backlog has cleared now, as more adminstrators have begun routine patrolling of these images, but for a while there, it got quite out-of-hand. I was BOLD and began cleaning these up without being an admin, which I think was helpful for a while. But then it seemed a few admins did not appreciate it, so I backed off. The list of speedy deletion candidates seems to get rather long from time to time, and other backlogs also frequently occur. I'd focus on those items that tend to get backlogged and help out where I could.

Thanks, Jerry 03:57, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

FYI I am back from my business trip, but I have experienced a medical emergency, and will be on wikibreak for at least a few days. I am confined to my bed, and it is difficult to type and I'm on meds that make it slighly difficult to fully concentrate. Jerry 02:10, 29 April 2007 (UTC)

I'm sorry to hear about your ill health. I hope you get well soon. Happy rejuvenating! Johann...[ T...C ] 20:02, 29 April 2007 (UTC)

Thanks. Jerry 22:48, 29 April 2007 (UTC)

It turns out my medical emergency was actually due to cancer. At 38 years old that's pretty bad news to get. It should be treatable, but my use of wikipedia will be quite low for a while. It does not change my desire to seek an admin mop, but it may require an adjustment of the timeline. I'll let you know, but for now I remain on a wikibreak. Jerry 03:38, 4 May 2007 (UTC)

I'm really sorry to hear about this, I hope everything works out. If there is anything you would like me to do on Wikipedia for you, please feel free to ask. Again, I hope everything works out for you. Johann...[ T...C ] 20:18, 4 May 2007 (UTC)

I see you are feeling better now. I hope we can continue with the coaching as soon as you feel up to it. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Happy editing! Johann...[ T...C ] 20:35, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Yes, the surgery went very well, and the doctor does not think I will require chemotherapy. So very good news all around. I am unable to dedicate as much time (3+ hrs /day before) to wikipedia these days, but I do spend around 45mins to an hour or so. My energy levels continue to get better, so I will gradually return to my old routines. Until then, no mass editing (ie: vandalproof or wecanlinkit). My edits these days are all manually done, and normally about subjects I see on television or in 'real life'. That said, I do feel up to learning administrator tasks. So if you feel we can make good use of my 1 hour or so a day, let me know. Thanks, Jerry.

Sorry for not getting back to you sooner. (I have about 4300 pages on my watchlist). I'm glad you are still interested in becoming an administrator. I think you could start off with a look through the Administrators how-to guide. This is what I did before becoming an administrator, it also gave me an idea of what I was getting myself into. :). There are certain tasks which can be performed by non-administrators, but to a lesser extent. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Happy editing! and reading! Johann Wolfgang 02:51, 18 June 2007 (UTC)

<tab reset> No problem on the delay... I'm not in much of a hurry these days :) I will begin reading the guide, as you recommend, and I'll let you know if I have any questions. Jerry 02:51, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

Obviously, I no longer have the time and energy to devote toward achieving administrator privileges on wikipedia. My change in health and the associated lifestyle changes have put my focus on other things. I appreciate your kindness and willingness to assist me, however at this time I am choosing to withdraw my name from the list. My interest in editing wikipedia is still high, and I plan to stick around, just in my usual editor role. Thanks, Jerry 01:11, 6 September 2007 (UTC)

I am sorry to that you are no longer feeling up to 'administratorship'. I hope everything goes well for you, and the best of luck for all your endeavors. I will be here for some time if you ever change your mind. Happy editing! JW..[ T..C ] 22:55, 9 September 2007 (UTC)