The 'Shroom:Issue LVI/Interview

Interview by

Welcome everyone to an exciting month, with interviewer Baby Mario Bloops here to get a scoop on vital users. We are edging closer and closer to Thanksgiving. However, the Wiki has already been ‘giving’ to make users on the wiki with Patroller or Sysophood. Thankfully I was able to drag get MrConcreteDonkey – an autopatrolled user that just got promoted to patroller – to answer a few questions.


 * BMB – Okay, MrConcreteDonkey, you don’t mind right, do you?
 * MCD – ahh, not at all.
 * BMB – Alright, let’s begin. Where you surprised to find out that you got promoted?
 * MCD – Not really, I was sent a PM about a day before I was told I was going to be promoted.
 * BMB – They would.
 * MCD – I was rather surprised, though, when I got the PM, because I felt I was pretty inactive at the time on the Wiki.
 * BMB – Okay. Anyways, do you think you deserved the promotion?
 * MCD – Well, It’d be hard to give an opinion myself, because that’d that would be rather biased, but I guess I did deserve a promotion, considering I was fairly active, and had been a good contributor for a long time.
 * BMB – When did you join the Wiki again?
 * MCD – May of 2010. I think it was the 25th? But I was a guest since about 2007, but I thought there were age limits, so I didn’t register.
 * BMB – Okay, so how has Patrollerhood been treating you?
 * MCD – Patrollerhood is pretty good. There isn’t too much different on the Wiki, I feel, yet, except almost clicking “Block” when I’m trying to check somebody’s [Contributions]. :P
 * BMB – Alright then-
 * MCD – Not done with my answer yet. But on the forums, the admin boards are good, because now I can input my opinion on quite a lot of different stuff. And the staff channel sometimes has good conversation.
 * BMB – Alright now, thanks MrConcreteDonkey for the intriguing chat. I hope the rest of your patrollerhood goes well.

Let’s do another fellow patroller. That is, as I hope you already know, Mario4Ever! May I just remind you that they were both autopatrolled before they became patrollers.


 * BMB - Where you surprised to be promoted?
 * Mario4Ever - That's an understatement. Due to my real life schedule, I occasionally do not have as much time to be on the wiki as I would like, and as it happens, I wasn't on the wiki or the forums while the admins were discussing Patroller nominations (something I found out later). Anyway, I logged on to the wiki one day and found I had a new message on my talk page from Coincollector, who informed me that she had something to ask me on the forums. I was slightly confused, since my having a forum account is a relatively recent event, and I had no idea what was in store. It was surreal to find out that I had been nominated for Patroller status and that I was being asked if I would like the position. It's not the sort of thing that comes to mind when I do my best to contribute to and improve the wiki (what made it even more interesting was that the forum message was sent on my birthday, so it was almost like receiving a surprise gift).
 * BMB - Do you think you deserved that promotion?
 * Mario4Ever - Whether or not I deserved the promotion is something I can't definitively confirm or deny. Like the majority of users on the wiki, I don't see promotion as one of my goals as a contributor. All I've ever wanted to do since making an account is to improve what I see as the definitive resource on one of the most beloved video game franchises in the industry, a franchise that has sentimental value to me as the one which sparked my love of video games and my addiction to Nintendo. I did that before I had any sort of status other than autoconfirmed, and I'm going to continue to do that now and in the future, whatever that may hold for me. The important thing to remember is that the administration thought I was qualified for the position, and I view it as a means by which I can better improve the wiki.
 * BMB - How has “patrollerhood” been treating you?
 * Mario4Ever - It's a learning experience. I've gained a better understanding of the sorts of things the administration goes through by participating in wiki-related discussions, and I've come to see wiki policies in an entirely different light. When you go from simply following a policy to doing that and directly enforcing it, it's almost like coming on the wiki for the first time all over again, since you have to get acquainted with features to which you previously didn't have access. I'm still getting used to the idea of being an admin, though I don't feel superior to any other user. Nothing significantly separates a user with rank from a user devoid of it. In the end, we're all (for the most part) Mario enthusiasts working toward improving a wiki based around the series. Quality edits are equally valued, proposal votes are equally weighed, and any problems, concerns, or suggestions are equally addressed, and I think that at best, being a Patroller enables me to help ensure that that continues to be a reality.

Well, there you have it. It seems that many of the newly promoted users are doing a fine job so far. Keep up the great work! This was Baby Mario Bloops, and I plan to see you next month!