The 'Shroom:Issue XLV/Special Interviews/Plumber

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Part I: In The Belly of the Beast
 Hello, 'Shroomers! This is SMB coming to you with a special interview with former director and former editor-in-chief, Plumber!

 Thanks for letting me interview you, Plumber.


 *  Oh I thought we were going to go into #interview or something.


 *  Well, whatever. Hi people.


 *  Estoy excited.

 Awesome. So, tell me...

 How did you find the wiki? When did you join, and what was the community like when you first registered your account?


 *  Ah. Well...


 *  I think I found it in Wikipedia under "Extra Links" or something in October 2006.


 *  But I didn't join until January 2007 because there was a mistake on the Bowser article IIRC (if I remember correctly. Ugh why didn't I just say that, now I have to explain myself in this note).


 *  The wiki was pretty small then, I think we had just made our 4,000th Article


 *  Ah I think I made the 5,000th and 7,000th article now that I think of it.


 *  I think one of them got merged though :(


 *  Back then, all users knew each other IIRC.


 *  I almost got banned because I didn't know how to use a wiki and edited templates and stuff that I thought I was the sandbox or something stupid.


 * <Plumber> Oh, and Jorge thought Bean was my sockpuppet because we didn't tell people she was my sister.

<SMB> Ah. :P

<SMB> Oh, I read about that...


 * <Plumber> Oh! And people thought Bean was a boy then lol

<SMB> Oh lol.


 * <Plumber> Wayoshi also had a lot of power back then, and made most of the decisions even though he was just a sysop.

<Plumber> I remember becoming friends with a lot of users before me (3D, WarioLoaf, Jorge, etc.), but the first one I became friends with after me was Great Gonzo (later to be called Xzelion).


 * <Plumber> And Max2 after that and then RAP.

<SMB> Oh cool.


 * <Plumber> Xzelion and Max would help lobby for Fantendo to be created (I was inspired by Jorge's Unmario Wiki), and RAP gave me the nickname Plums.


 * <Plumber> I think I was a nobody in the community along with Xzelion and Max2 but we became famous during the Cheese Craze of '07.

<SMB> Heh. I read about that too. It sounds like it was fun.


 * <Plumber> Yup. I saved it. http://www.mariowiki.com/User_talk:Plumber/Archive_4


 * <Plumber> It conveniently happened when Wayoshi wasn't on the wiki that weekend xD


 * <Plumber> I met HK through that and he kind of became a role model to me because I wanted to be a sysop but I wanted to also be cool like him.


 * <Plumber> So we started becoming good friends.


 * <Plumber> He was bitter after Wayoshi became a Crat and he was demoted since they had joined at the same time and were best friends. But then HK went to boarding school, and we he got back he said Wayoshi had changed. They rehabilitated later and still talk from time to time IIRC.


 * <Plumber> I still talk to both of them on occasion.


 * <Plumber> But Wayoshi had a stressful job, and he let off steam by pretending to be Willy.


 * <Plumber> KPH figured it out and retired, Xzelion did too but kept quiet. Hk also figured it out and helped expose Wayoshi.


 * <Plumber> Well, get him to confess I guess.


 * <Plumber> After Wayoshi resigned, he got a lot more relaxed and the three of us started hanging out during the summer.


 * <Plumber> And Xzelion started to fill the void that he left, which I admit I was a bit jealous of. You see, we were best friends, we had became patrollers at the same time, but I had been demoted and he had been promoted. Whenever I was going to ban a troll he got it first Dx xD


 * <Plumber> And also I used to spam the chatroom a lot with RAP and Xzelion but when the chatroom moved from the forum to the wiki they stopped (since more people came on) and I was slower to catch on.


 * <Plumber> That was not beneficial xD

<SMB> Heh.


 * <Plumber> I realized though that I didn't really want to be a sysop.


 * <Plumber> I had made Fantendo by then and sysophood isn't as fun as you'd think.


 * <Plumber> Part of it was Xzelion wasn't as fun as he used to be but that comes with the job: you have to act serious to make sure people follow the rules but I didn't realize that then.


 * <Plumber> Though I would've tried to balance fun and professionalism better :P

<SMB> :P


 * <Plumber> I remember during the Wiki Drought, Wiki Crash, Great Freeze or whatever, he got a nice break because MarioWiki was down.


 * <Plumber> And even though he had to take care of Userpedia it was a more relaxing place.


 * <Plumber> (That was when the MW server crashed and Userpedia boomed btw)

<SMB> I see.

<SMB> Say, that also makes me think: you were a sysop of Userpedia at one point.


 * <Plumber> Yeah.


 * <Plumber> I was nearly sysop of MarioWiki a few times too.

<SMB> Yeah. What was it like administrating the sites during these times? Were there a lot of spam and vandals?


 * <Plumber> Um well when I was a patroller there was.


 * <Plumber> Or maybe I just remember it more.


 * <Plumber> Oh! I think I was demoted from patrollerhood after patrollers became chatroom ops.


 * <Plumber> And I wasn't responsible enough for it or something.


 * <Plumber> In Userpedia there wasn't really spam.


 * <Plumber> A few dedicated vandals I think but I can't remember and they don't deserve to be remembered anyways.

<SMB> So UP had a more calm environment at the time?


 * <Plumber> Yeah. Most of us were waiting for MW to be back but UP always was very active after the Wiki Drought too. Until Scribblewiki died.


 * <Plumber> After that I didn't use it as much and I think I was demoted for inactivity.

<SMB> Yeah... UP has been in a ditch pretty much ever since the crash.


 * <Plumber> Yup. I focused more on MWiki after that. I was head of The 'Shroom for a while.

<SMB> Oh!


 * <Plumber> After Wayoshi resigned HK became Director of The 'Shroom.


 * <Plumber> But his Directorhood was frustrated by the Wiki Drought.


 * <Plumber> By the end of the summer HK had gotten disillusioned with the wiki and a few people in particular. He had to go back to school so he would be more inactive IIRC also.


 * <Plumber> So he resigned and I got the job. It was very hard became PEOPLE WERE NOT TURNING IN THINGS ON TIME.

<SMB> Heh. The 'Shroom actually had that problem for quite a while during late 2009 and early 2010.

<SMB> It was a nightmare.


 * <Plumber> Yes.


 * <Plumber> How was it solved anyways?


 * <Plumber> I was too nice to be strict enough to kick people off. And I abolished the Editor-in-Chief position to do everything myself. Glowsquid (is he Blitzwing now? I remember when he was Gofer, oh boy...) was brilliant for making the Sub-Director position.

<SMB> To address your question,


 * <Plumber> Is The 'Shroom just more strict now or what?

<SMB> Things got a little stricter. We now conduct background checks (like if a user has ever been blocked) and require a sample section to be sent in.

<SMB> There are a few questions in the applications users have to fill out.


 * <Plumber> Oh that's cool.

<SMB> Also, I agree with your point above.


 * <Plumber> *high five* I remember I made a lot of neat little changes that no one noticed >.> but they made me happy.

<SMB> Ah. Cool.


 * <Plumber> By this point Xzelion had gotten to tire of the wiki (Bureaucrats don't have much fun) and he promoted me to patroller again.


 * <Plumber> This was cool, because I actually could be a chatroom op now, which made many people nervous :P

<SMB> Lol. :P


 * <Plumber> But I ended up kicking people properly. Sometimes TOO properly. You see, I would kick other ops if I thought they had broken a rule. Partly to be fair, partly to annoy them :P

<SMB> Ah. Funny thing... That actually has become the standard now.

<SMB> You probably influenced that, didn't you? :P


 * <Plumber> Probably not. I don't think most people remember it. But maybe I'm being modest. I wasn't an op for that long.


 * <Plumber> It was only a month or so because Pokemon DP (My Bloody Valentine, Black Hole Sun, The Wonder From Down Under) and I got into a fight over Maka.


 * <Plumber> He was a new user who had joined and made friends with Moofle (Moogle/Guiliant/Isyou) and was AWESOME, but DP and I argued about him being banned.


 * <Plumber> I thought he should have been only kicked, DP thought otherwise.


 * <Plumber> And DP convinced Steve that I shouldn't be a chatroom op anymore so after that I was bored and mostly stayed on the wiki to talk to Xzelion.

<SMB> I see. It seems that despite that dispute, you and DP are pretty good friends now...?


 * <Plumber> Yeah. We were friends before and after. That was just a little blotch. I forgave him for it.


 * <Plumber> He's an awesome fellow. Got me into David Bowie.


 * <Plumber> But by this point most of the really good friends I had on the wiki were now inactive or retired.


 * <Plumber> I think I had to bring up my math grade at this point too, so I decided to retire. I figured I could still talk to Xze and the others.


 * <Plumber> But he was angry because he was about to promote me to sysophood and I think he might've wanted me to be his successor or something cuz he retired after I did.


 * <Plumber> IIRC he was only staying on near the end to talk with me. Or maybe my memory is arrogant xD

<SMB> Heh. :P Well, he did come back some point in early 2009.


 * <Plumber> Yeah I remember I came on the chats then to see him.


 * <Plumber> A month after I quit patrollerhood was abolished for the time being and all patrollers became sysops so if I waited an extra month I would've gotten sysophood and probably stayed on longer Dx xD


 * <Plumber> Hahaha if I wanted I could've probably eventually become a 'crat!

<SMB> Heh. Do you regret your retiring, or do you feel it was the right move?


 * <Plumber> Or maybe not. It's fun to think about. But it would be pretty boring.


 * <Plumber> I think it was a good idea in the end.

<SMB> Ah.


 * <Plumber> Most of the people I really liked talking to were gone.


 * <Plumber> The wiki was much better than when I had joined.


 * <Plumber> I'm sad because I don't drop by here as much as I should.


 * <Plumber> Ah, well. I'm too busy nowadays with school and gf and crap.

<SMB> Heh. Well you still visit anyway... I've seen you come on a few times in the pas, and everybody always notices.


 * <Plumber> I only check Fantendo now, I don't try to interfere with day-to-day stuff.


 * <Plumber> Yeah. And then I feel bad because I'm not up to date on name changes so I get confused about who's who xD

<SMB> Heh. :P

<SMB> Speaking of name changes...

<SMB> You yourself had 2 name changes. One was to "D", and one was to "Daniel Webster".


 * <Plumber> Yes! xD


 * <Plumber> I'll explain about this another time. I gtg now. We can continue this later this week probably. Sorry :(


 * <Plumber> But I can't do the story justice right now >.>


 * <Plumber> K?

<SMB> Alright, it's fine. We'll have part 2 some time soon. :P


 * <Plumber> Oh yeah and I think using #interview would be a good idea because I can talk to you "off the record" during the interview in query.


 * <Plumber> If we do that.


 * <Plumber> Vios!

<SMB> Alright, that'd be cool.

<SMB> Bye!

Part II: A Brief Interlude
<SMB> Hey Plumber! :O


 * <Plumber> :O


 * <Plumber> I might ahve to go again >.>


 * <Plumber> but we can do a little now

<SMB> Alright.

<SMB> In #interview ?


 * <Plumber> ah this stupid client won't let me go there >.>

<SMB> Oh


 * <Plumber> just ask your last question again?

<SMB> Alright..

<SMB> The question we left off with?


 * <Plumber> yeah

<SMB> You yourself had 2 name changes. One was to "D", and one was to "Daniel Webster".


 * <Plumber> was it about name changes?


 * <Plumber> Ah, yes.


 * <Plumber> Well the first one happened shortly after Xzelion and I had a reconciliation IIRC.


 * <Plumber> And I was testing how serious he would be towards me now or if he would become more casual like he used to.


 * <Plumber> I am sometimes known as


 * <Plumber> Which originated in an argument with Jorge in chat I think.


 * <Plumber> I think it ended up involving Steve too, and he sided with me so the name became ok for me to use.


 * <Plumber> This annoyed Xzelion because of the chat name = username policy, but he had to go with Steve's word IIRC.


 * <Plumber> By this time had become accepted as short for Plumber.


 * <Plumber> And I asked Xze to rename me to on the wiki.


 * <Plumber> But the {} characters don't work as usernames.


 * <Plumber> So I was just renamed D.


 * <Plumber> Then I said I was joking but he had already renamed me xD

<SMB> Ha. :P


 * <Plumber> So I was D for about 45 seconds :)


 * <Plumber> And I gtg again D: tell you about Daniel Webster later

<SMB> Alrighty.

<SMB> See you around. :P

Part III: Part the Last

 * Plumber has joined #interview

<Plumber> in here

<Plumber> I think


 * <SMB> Alright.


 * <SMB> So, I suppose we'll start right where we left off:


 * <SMB> You told me about your name change to "D", but what about "Daniel Webster"?

<Plumber> Ah well.

<Plumber> About a year after HK left, he came back.

<Plumber> IIRC. It might've been less than a year

<Plumber> He kidnapped Jorge (not really), and threatened to kill him unless someone changed their name to Daniel Webster.


 * <SMB> Oh wow.

<Plumber> And I didn't really care about Jorge dying (but not really), but I thought Daniel Webster (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Webster) was a bamf.

<Plumber> And I knew it would make HK laugh if I was the one who did it (and it did).

<Plumber> It was funny.

<Plumber> I was Daniel Webster for about a year I think. I had retired so it didn't matter.

<Plumber> I changed it back later because I was too lazy to type Daniel Webster everytime I wanted to login every few months :P
 * <SMB> Heh. :P


 * <SMB> So, shortly after he started this whole ordeal, HK was banned from the wiki. What did you think of this?

<Plumber> What was the excuse for why he was banned again?


 * <SMB> "has gone south - disturbed peace of wiki, generally nasty to all, threats were made, etc." - Wayoshi's block comment.

<Plumber> Wayoshi blocked him?


 * <SMB> Yup.

<Plumber> Hmmm I think both of them still speak from time to time but maybe not.

<Plumber> Oh well wasn't that when HK was causing trouble? He was retiring and wanted to go out with a bang, I think.


 * <SMB> Yeah, something like that. Although he had said a few months before "Is he back?" or something to that effect on his talk page.


 * <SMB> So he probably ended up deciding he didn't want to stay.

<Plumber> Well, most of his old friends were gone.

<Plumber> They had retired.

<Plumber> And he was getting back to boarding school so he would be away anyways.

<Plumber> During the school year.


 * <SMB> Ah.

<Plumber> I don't think he should have been banned though. Cuz then I could still see him randomly when I pop-in every few months.

<Plumber> For instance, I am talking to Crash right now because we coincidentally are here at the same time.

<Plumber> But I still contact HK other ways anywhoo.


 * <SMB> True.


 * <SMB> And yeah, it still is good to hear that you guys maintain communication.

<Plumber> Yeah. Not as much as we used to, but still there.


 * <SMB> Yeah. Anywho, I think we should perhaps get into some questions about The 'Shroom! I actually have quite a few to ask. :P

<Plumber> Ok

<Plumber> Go!


 * <SMB> When did you start writing for The 'Shroom?


 * <SMB> And what was it like when you started?

<Plumber> Well The 'Shroom was one of the things that got me to join.

<Plumber> I joined after the first issue came out and was like "Whoa that's cool I want to be on it."

<Plumber> I thought all writers were sysops xD

<Plumber> Ahhh, WarioLoaf and 3DeJong would be cool sysops. They both turned down chances IIRC.

<Plumber> They were not interested in petty things like sysophood.


 * <SMB> Heh. Speaking of WarioLoaf...


 * <SMB> He wanted to go out with a bang as well.

<Plumber> Yeah I wasn't there for that. What happened exactly?


 * <SMB> He vandalized the wiki by moving about 50 pages onto articles with inappropriate names. It took hours for the two or thre sysops online to undo, and he got imself blocked.

<Plumber> LOL that's ridiculous. I love that guy.

<Plumber> Well, same as HK.

<Plumber> His friends were pretty much gone.


 * <SMB> He mentioned something along those lines, yeah.

<Plumber> But I'm friends with him on facebook though so I can still talk to him :P


 * <SMB> Ah. :P

<Plumber> I thought about doing something like that.

<Plumber> But I realized one day I would be bored and might login randomly.

<Plumber> Oh yeah, I just realized that would piss off Bean xD


 * <SMB> ...Lol. :P


 * <SMB> But yeah, I'm personally glad you didn't do that. No matter what HK or WarioLoaf did productively, they will always have their bad actions attached to their names around the wiki too.


 * <SMB> You still have respect from most (if not all) members of the community that reconize you.


 * <SMB> *recognize

<Plumber> Eh, they don't care. Pretty much all of the community they care about it gone.

<Plumber> Am I well-known?

<Plumber> People always say hi to me and act surprised but half the time I'm not sure if they're old people with new names or new people x)


 * <SMB> I'm not sure.. I've kind of distanced myself from most of the mainstream MarioWiki community due to school and stuff...


 * <SMB> It kind of depends.

<Plumber> Ah. Well I was known as a kind of annoying spammer back in the day, but still a good guy (or at least that's what I thought).


 * <SMB> I would suppose the Userpedia and Xephyr crowd would mostly recognize you.

<Plumber> Though I will say that folks like Xzelion, RAP, and Max2 did that as well! :P


 * <SMB> And heh. :P

<Plumber> Oh yeah. Those guys are old hat.


 * <SMB> Yeah. :P

<Plumber> Max2 actually was banned though.

<Plumber> And not the "I want to retire with a bang" thing...

<Plumber> Haven't seen him for a long time.


 * <SMB> I see... I actually have never met the guy, but I understand opinions of him are mixed among the community.

<Plumber> Yes. He was very friendly, but when he got mad, he got mad.


 * <SMB> Ah.

<Plumber> Oh, and I forgot to mention, but when I first joined The 'Shroom I was too lazy to do anything big, so I did random things like crossword and riddles. Eventually this became the core of the Fun Stuff section.


 * <SMB> Oh cool!


 * <SMB> I actually think that is the current sub-director (Tucayo's) favorite section. :P

<Plumber> My favorite was always Fake News.

<Plumber> I admire WarioLoaf for the fantastic job he did with that.


 * <SMB> Tucky actually directs Fun Stuff now. :P


 * <SMB> And I've read through 'Shroom archives

<Plumber> Well obviously WarioLoaf isn't :P


 * <SMB> WarioLoaf did a pretty good job.

<Plumber> His style was my favorite.

<Plumber> Most people preferred 3D IIRC, which was my second favorite.


 * <SMB> Ah.


 * <SMB> So you pretty much made the core of the Fun Stuff when you joined. After a while, Wayo gave up directing and ut HK in charge of The 'Shroom and you ended up becoming Editor-in-Chief. What were the circumstances behind this? Were you surprised to find out you became EIC, or did you kind of expect something of the sort when HK took over?

<Plumber> I didn't really think about it, but the EIC was HK's right hand man, and I was his best friend on the wiki.

<Plumber> So it made sense.

<Plumber> Too bad the Wiki Drought ensured HK didn't have a very long Directorhood.

<Plumber> After he left, there was confusion about the status of The 'Shroom.

<Plumber> So I kind of became Director unexpectedly since I was EIC.

<Plumber> Either before or after I became Director, HK said "yeah you can have it :)" about The 'Shroom.

<Plumber> I forget which x)


 * <SMB> Heh. :P

<Plumber> That's cool now that I think about it. I join the wiki because I am amazed at The 'Shroom. Eventually I become head of The 'Shroom. But it's a bitch to run and most of my closer friends are retired/retiring, so I create the concept of Director elections and retire from the wiki.


 * <SMB> Yeah. :P

<Plumber> Well, I suppose technically I joined the wiki because I edited a mistake on Bowser or something xP


 * <SMB> Oh lol.


 * <SMB> So, you created the Director Election. Ar you happy to hear that the system (with a few minor adjustments here and there) is still in practice?

<Plumber> I am, actually. I didn't want the confusion that surrounded my accession to Directorhood to happen again.


 * <SMB> Awesome.

<Plumber> Ah, my edit on Bowser was not about grammar after all... However, it was... less than professional xD

<Plumber> http://www.mariowiki.com/index.php?title=Bowser&diff=prev&oldid=75937

<Plumber> Nearly four years ago....


 * <SMB> Lol. I find it interesting to browse through old edits. :P


 * <SMB> You can actually see how some usershave changed over time.


 * <SMB> *users have

<Plumber> Oh definitely.

<Plumber> It's interesting to see people I know progress with the times.

<Plumber> I guess I could be called one of the wiki's "elder statesman" and I remember I was a chat-spamming Cheese Lover revolutionary noob who-almost-got-banned-by-making-several-harmful-and-unrelated-mistakes.

<Plumber> Times change :P


 * <SMB> XD Yeah. :P

<Plumber> I remember when you joined.

<Plumber> Now I fell old :P

<Plumber> *feel


 * <SMB> Ha. :P

<Plumber> But you were inactive weren't you?


 * <SMB> Yeah... I joined on March 8th, 2008. I made several edits on the 9th and fell inactive until April 2009.

<Plumber> I just remember "wow can't believe no one took that name before him. On second thought, I think it is a bit arrogant and unoriginal to have a username like that." :P But you are deserving of the name.

<Plumber> *remember thinking "wow I can't believe


 * <SMB> Haha, thanks. I actually changed my name for several months at one point... "Super Paper Mario Bros." I used to claim that it was for my love for Paper Mario, but I now realize that my initial reasoning is just a view of the surface.


 * <SMB> I think it was because I was on such a path that wold have led me to falling out of grace from the community.

<Plumber> Oh do tell.

<Plumber> I know what that's like.


 * <SMB> Well, the crux of my first term as Patroller (for 3 days) was that I spammed and trolled chat, got promoted afterward, and lost quite a bit of popularity amongst the cha users. I lied for (I think) more than a year to cover it up, but ended up admitting on UP what I did. I also did some nasty things on UP (it involved many scandals that lead to a demotion on UP).

<Plumber> Ah well, I accidentally edited the wrong pages of things when I joined.

<Plumber> The first edit on my talk page was a warning from Son of Suns, not a welcome :( (I think I welcomed myself xD later)


 * <SMB> I eventually changed my ways and am actually a sysop of MW and the Steward of UP, but those don't matter so much to me as much as I just overall improved.


 * <SMB> Oh, and lol.

<Plumber> That's good. I'm not known as a spammer anymore I guess.

<Plumber> Back in the day when the chatroom was on the forum, there were no rules soo... :P


 * <SMB> Ha.

<Plumber> I ALMOST became a sysop :P Twice :P :P

<Plumber> How is it being a sysop? Do you find it enjoying, or not what you expected?


 * <SMB> If I could be honest, I really haven't had the time to d what I should be doing. However, it comes in handy when I take up the few requests I get on my talk page to delete images or to go ahead and protect pages.


 * <SMB> So I'd say it's not too bad.

<Plumber> Yeah. I used to think sysophood would be really cool, but when I founded Fantendo I realized you're just a janitor :P

<Plumber> I sometimes wished I was one though because it was annoying to flag things for protection or deletion and stuff.

<Plumber> Well, it must be comforting to be interviewed, huh? :P


 * <SMB> Lol. xP


 * <SMB> Oh yeah... Sorry to change the subject, but I'd like to jump back onto the topic of The 'Shroom (if you don't mind). I would like for you to choose one of these two options: current or past.


 * <SMB> I have questions for you about both.

<Plumber> Ok


 * <SMB> You held the election: Glowsquid wins!


 * <SMB> During his directorhood, he did one thing I know you are particularly fond of: creation of the sub-director position.

<Plumber> Glowsquid FTW

<Plumber> This is true, yes.

<Plumber> Although I am sad he likes merging things :(


 * <SMB> Heh.

<Plumber> With the exception of Snufit Balls, due to their aggressiveness.

<Plumber> xP


 * <SMB> :P


 * <SMB> Glowsquid was faced with many problems during his directorhood.. Mainly the quantity and quality of sections put out. Many users retired, resigned, submitted their sections in late, and were fired. What do you think caused this drought of writers?

<Plumber> Well you said Glowsquid was more strict right?


 * <SMB> I'm not quite sure whether he was more strict or not. Not even sure if I said that, to be honest. :P

<Plumber> Well, there were firings going on. Firings weren't that common before unless the user had missed a lot of things and were inactive.

<Plumber> Writers who were unwilling to commit to The 'Shroom properly weren't punished.


 * <SMB> I am not sure whether he fired them due to the reasons listed above or not. I would assume so.

<Plumber> Oh well I'm assuming this. I wasn't around back then, so don't think I know what I'm talking about! :P

<Plumber> But that was why there was probably a drought; everyone who wanted to be writers weren't up to 'Shroom standards

<Plumber> Well not everyone, but you know what I mean.


 * <SMB> Yeah.


 * <SMB> After his directorhood, Stooben Rooben won and took control. However, he constantly switched positions wth his sub (Tucky). They considered each other's opinions very important, so you coud say they are were amost co-diretors. :P


 * <SMB> 'Shroom activity and quality was good for a while


 * <SMB> But in late 2009 (around this time of the year), The 'Shroom declined a bit. This set the stage for the 2009 election.


 * <SMB> Stooben, Tucky, and I all ran, and Stooben won again. He and Tucky started dealing with some of the problems and fixed them for the most part. However, both of them won't be returning to the staff next year.


 * <SMB> This has set the stage for the 2010 election.


 * <SMB> The projected candidates are me, Marioguy1, and Ralphfan (although this is only a projection; some ofus may run or not).


 * <SMB> *of us


 * <SMB> Do you have any of us you'd personally like to see win? Also, what advice would you have for us potental candidates?

<Plumber> Ah, you dare to ask that?

<Plumber> Well it pays off, as I am endorsing YOU, SMB! :D

<Plumber> You have a good head on your shoulders, and have previous administrative experience.

<Plumber> And Directorhood is tough. Though luckily there are Sub-Directors now.


 * <SMB> Oh wow; thanks! It really means a lot to have your support. :)

<Plumber> No prob :)


 * <SMB> And yeah, I'd imagine directing to be difficult.

<Plumber> It is. I think I was too nice on people that didn't turn things in.

<Plumber> But you don't have to archive or single page things anymore.


 * <SMB> True. :P

<Plumber> Still, it takes a while to do each 'Shroom thing, and it's always a scramble trying to get things to get turned in when you realized no one has (they usually turn it in the last week).

<Plumber> The most important thing is to relax.

<Plumber> Also, I think it would be less confusing if Stooben and Tucayo had just become Co-Directors or something :P


 * <SMB> Yeah. :P Well they haven't switched this year; Tucky just took on the duties of the director when Stooben has been absent.

<Plumber> That makes more sense.


 * <SMB> Yeah.


 * <SMB> So... We've covered quite a bit in this interview. We're actually almost done. :P (Just a few more questions.)

<Plumber> :O It has been very pleasant. I've always wanted to be interviewed :)


 * <SMB> I'm glad to have been able to interview you. :)

<Plumber> Ah, such a flatterer, you :P :)


 * <SMB> xP


 * <SMB> As for those last few questions, I'll kick it off with one that many would probablybe interested in knowing:


 * <SMB> Have you ever considered coming out of retirement since you retired from the MarioWiki? Many users that have retired have returned at one point or another... Some of those users have stayed, although many of them have become inactive or retired again. If you were to hypothetically unretire, what would you do?

<Plumber> I have considered it, but not seriously. I have much less free time than I used to. If I did unretire, I would probably try to get over 10,000 edits just to say I've done it (I already have got OVER 9000). Probably would try to get the Bowser article featured. And I would do some maintenance, try to undo some Proposals that I think are bad moves. I will probably fail, though.

<Plumber> It would be cool to be involved in the Awards Show again somehow I guess.


 * <SMB> Ah.

<Plumber> But Wayoshi thinks that the Awards has peaked in festiveness, and he's a smart man so he's probably right. So idk about that.

<Plumber> Don't really have the time for long-term stuff like that.


 * <SMB> Speaking of Wayo, did you hear of what happened? He's no longer in charge of the Awards.

<Plumber> I (like to pretend to) have a life, you know! :P


 * <SMB> And lol.

<Plumber> Yes he told me.

<Plumber> But my memory's fuzzy, what exactly happened?


 * <SMB> Well, Stooben Rooben made a presentation for A30 that was made to be played (it was a mini-RPG game). Most people liked it, but a few people didn't. Wayo took the disliking side, and (in my, and many others' opinions) harshly criticized the award. Stooben quit the Awards Committee, and a few others followed suit.


 * <SMB> I then called for his resignation. Ralphfan ended up usurpering the awards and fired Wayo.

<Plumber> Ah, a coup. That's what I thought.


 * <SMB> It wasn't so much that he criticized the award that stirred us up as much as the fact that the only thing he did in the whole process of the award was (basically) complain about our decisions when he wasn't there half the time. It was that he was detrimently dettached from the community.


 * <SMB> *detrimentally

<Plumber> I see. Well Wayoshi always has been keen to be in charge of things. It was bad politics to make the rest of the committee feel like that. However, Wayoshi is very good at what he does. I would have preferred he stayed on. But that's just me.

<Plumber> Wayoshi is also my good friend, so I may not be the most neutral person out there :P

<Plumber> But the past is past.


 * <SMB> Yeah. I've always held respect in regards to Wayo's leadership skills... But I feel that his downfall in this whole ordeal was that he relied too heavily on his suboordinates.

<Plumber> Oh how so?


 * <SMB> Well, he didn't know much of what was going on.


 * <SMB> Ralphfan was basically managing meetings and leading us while Stooben had to do a ton of back-up presentations.


 * <SMB> Wayo didn't do any prsentations this year, either.

<Plumber> Ah. I have been on the other Awards Committees and he was always there. Guess he got busy.

<Plumber> Neither did I :(

<Plumber> I was very busy this summer though.


 * <SMB> He probably did get busy. But past is past. I just hope that he and I aren't on bad terms... I felt Wayo was pretty cool despite the Awards thing.


 * <SMB> And yeah, I can understand where you're getting at with being busy and stuff.

<Plumber> Yeah. Well you can talk to Wayoshi on AIM sometime.

<Plumber> If you ever want to reconcile.


 * <SMB> Alright, awesome. I'll look into that. :)


 * <SMB> Alright, I suppose I'll ask you one last question and then we'll wrap it up.


 * <SMB> Is this the last question, Plumber?

<Plumber> HEAD ASPLOSION


 * <SMB> :O


 * <SMB> :(


 * <SMB> What?

<Plumber> HEAD ASPLOSION


 * <SMB> What?

<Plumber> HEAD ASPLOSION


 * <SMB> What?

<Plumber> Well, I've been wondering, why did you become active again on the wiki?


 * <SMB> Well... I just got a spark of interest. I thought it would be cool to contribute to a Mario site, and I remembered I had previously registered a MarioWiki account.

<Plumber> Oh, ok. Whoa what's that!


 * Plumber seizes SMB and shoves him out of the interviewers chair. Plumber sits in the interviewer chair, and attempts to get SMB to sit in the interviewee chair. But it breaks, and SMB ends up lying disheveled on the ground.

<Plumber> *Ahem* Is this the last question? ;)


 * <SMB> Yes? x_X


 * Plumber snaps his fingers and two suited individual comes and taze SMB until he loses consciousness.

<Plumber> He is correct, actually. Well almost.


 * Plumber grabs a frozen trout and holds it threateningly above SMB's head.

<Plumber> Some user better change their name to Henry Clay or SMB gets it! My birthday was two days ago, you see, and I got no presents from ya'll. So I would like just one Henry Clay, please. Or two. Or three. If it makes you feel better, you don't have to completely change your name.

<Plumber> For example, if your name is "Paper 'Eww' Jorge", then you can be "Paper 'Ewww' Henry Clay Jorge".


 * Plumber suddenly hears theme music


 * Xzelion has joined #interview


 * <Xzelion> Choba so!

<Plumber> LE GASP!


 * Xzelion grabs the frozen trout and slaps Plumber with it in a very not-nice manner.


 * Plumber runs away not because he is bleeding profusely, but because he realized he left the oven on.

<Plumber> Choba so!


 * <Xzelion> That's only for saying hi!

<Plumber> Vios!


 * Xzelion shakes his head and mutters dark things under his breath as Plumber flees. He tries to wake SMB up until he realizes he wants to taste the cheese Plumber is baking.


 * <Xzelion> Hey, I'm gonna go before he eats all the cheese.


 * <Xzelion> But thanks for reading this interview. Oh, and make sure SMB doesn't get eaten by that or something.


 * Xzelion points at a previously unnoticed giant squid in the corner of the room.


 * <Xzelion> Remember to always brush your teeth, watch The Rocky Horror Picture Show at least once before you graduate college, and always cite your sources!


 * <Xzelion> Three great men have taught me those (well, one was a cartoon character).


 * <Xzelion> Take care, MarioWiki

''' **Please make Plumber's birthday wish come true! Change your username to incorporate 'Henry Clay' in it somehow!** '''