The 'Shroom:Issue LXXV/Poll Chairperson Election

Poll Committee Chairperson Election

Sunday, 23 May 2010, a proposal concerning several changes in our current Main Page was accepted by the community and passed. This proposal can be viewed here.

One point this proposal addressed was the creation of a Poll committee, a selected group of users to create and select polls to feature on the Main Page. The members of this committee are meant to be selected by a person in charge of the committee, the Poll Committee Chairperson, who shall be elected by the community. The fourth annual Poll Committee Chairperson Election is taking place here.

What does the Chairperson do?
As the person in charge of the Poll Committee, the Chairperson holds several responsibilities. The essential obligations of the Chairperson are listed below.

The Poll Committee Chairperson...
 * ...needs to select six users who will, together with the Chairperson, form the Poll Committee. These six users should be trusted members of the community.
 * ...needs to select one of these six users to be their surrogate. The surrogate will replace the Chairperson in case they are not able to hold their position anymore.
 * ...should suggest, discuss, and vote on polls in a sub-forum exclusively for the Poll Committee. These polls should be appropriate and not be detrimental for the Mario Wiki's reputation. A forum account is required for the position of the Chairperson, as well as for every other member of the committee.
 * ...should be active. They should be able to cast a vote every two weeks. If a decision cannot be made, the Chairperson holds the right to abstain from voting (the committee needs to be informed of this abstain however). Repeated failure to cast a vote or abstain might result in a loss of the chair position.
 * ...holds the right to suggest the dismissal of a certain committee member if said member does not uphold their responsibilities properly. A vote among all committee members will then commence. If three other members agree with the suggestion, the member in question will be dismissed. The Chairperson then has to select another user to take their place.
 * ...will keep their position for one year, provided that nothing out of the ordinary happens. After that period, a new Chairperson will be elected. The old Chairperson holds the right to attend this election as a candidate once again and thus has the chance to be elected for another year.

If you think you might be a suitable candidate for this position, you can enter this election as a candidate.

How do I become a Chairperson?
To become the Poll Committee's Chairperson, you need to be elected by the Mario Wiki Community. For this matter, you can campaign in the election below. You can join the election as a candidate at any time, except if the election reaches Overtime. If you are interested, follow these steps to nominate yourself:

===Your Name=== Your reason why you should become the Chairperson

Votes

 * You can enter the election by filling out this form and posting it below. New campaigns go to the bottom of the page.
 * Listing a runningmate is not a requirement to be a candidate and is only optional.
 * You can only nominate yourself. Entering someone other than you in this election will not be tolerated.
 * Make sure your campaign is of reasonably proper grammar, so that people can understand what you are trying to say.
 * After your campaign is set up, people might add their votes to the Vote section of your campaign. As a user of the Mario Wiki, you have a vote as well, and you are allowed to vote for yourself.
 * If you have the most votes by the end of the election, you will become the new Chairperson. If there is a tie by the end of the election, it will continue between the candidates with the highest amounts of votes for one week. This procedure is called Overtime. If there is still a tie by the end of the new deadline, the election will once again be extended by one week. Overtime continues until one candidate has the highest amount of votes.
 * Please take this matter seriously! Joke campaigns and profanity will be removed without warning. Additional steps might be taken against violators of this rule.

How do I vote here?
You can vote by going to the Vote section of a campaign and add this form to it. Remember to replace “Name” with your actual user name. # Alternatively, a user may cast an anonymous vote by using the form below. Note that people may see who voted anonymously when viewing the page history. You can only vote for one person at a time. If the election reaches Overtime and your candidate gets eliminated, you can cast another vote for the remaining candidates if you like.
 * 1) X

Debates

 * To be scheduled.

If there are still questions left, feel free to ask one of Mario Wiki's admins.

It is currently , 27 (EST/EDT) This election ends July 20th 20:00 (EST/EDT)

Toad Eightyfive / New Super Mario
Hiya! I'm, and over to my right a little is. We're two experienced members of the Poll Committee who, after 's retirement, want to run for the Chairperson position.

We both have done much for the Poll Committee during our tenure. Combined we have created one-fourth of the polls you have seen over the past year, and we've submitted even more proposals. We have both been as active as possible in voting, and have contributed much discussion. But it's not as if that's all we have done for the community. I have also been a former member of the Shroom's writing staff, winning a record seven main-team Section of the Month awards. NSM has experience on the Mafia Hosts' committee, and has hosted nine games expertly.

Platform
The Poll Committee, for the most part, has worked like a dream the last three years. Super Mario Bros., Dippy,, , and did all they could to make the committee as flawless as possible. Therefore, if you're looking for that one candidate who's going to swoop in, reform everything and make huge changes, I'm probably not the guy you're looking for.

However, that doesn't mean there aren't any spare wrinkles to iron out. No committee's perfect. And I wanted to run for Chairman for the purpose of ironing out these very wrinkles. There are really three big things I want to improve on if I'm elected: the sign-up process, quality control and creativity.

Now, I'll be honest. I'm the first to admit that my short-term memory is horrendous. Heck, I posted this platform three weeks after I initially announced my candidacy. However, I do hope to change that fact during my term. I will try my hardest to attend every event, run every vote and do my best to run the committee in the smoothest, most efficient way I can. Now that I've got that PSA out of the way...

If there's only one thing I could change about how the poll committee operates, it would be sign-ups. I do like how Dippy has set up during his term. I will admit that it has created a large, diverse pool of polls to choose from. However, my problem with Dippy's method is that it does not test or challenge the new recruit in any way. In order to write for the 'Shroom, you must submit a pilot article. In order to join the Mafia Guild, you must be an experienced host. Why should this be any different with the Poll Committee? I propose a system where, yes, anyone can sign up, but they must also submit a "Trial Poll" to be eligible. That way, NSM and I can judge their pollmaking skills before they enter.

Onto the "quality control" portion. While I don't believe this has been a problem, and previous chairpeople have done much to handle it, quality control is something I do want to address as well. The poll is one of the first things a user sees when they, and is often their first chance to interact with the wiki. The quality of the poll influences the user's experience for the duration of their stay. However, there have been polls and options to polls over the past three years that I feel should have never seen the light of day, either because they are far too silly, or reflect the community in a bad light, or whatever. The poll on the front page should reflect our community in a positive way, and give a new user what to expect from us. This isn't Mindless Junk, people. Now, that's not to say that the polls can't be silly. This is a website devoted to a wacky children's video game series, after all. But humor should be done in a way that still comes across as professional.

The last portion is perhaps the most self-evident, but I want my team to be the most creative possible. I do not want a member who will only show up occasionally, vote once and are never seen again. I want members who are as active as they are able to; who post opinions of and ideas for nominations, if not necessarily making nominations themselves, every period; who have a vivid imagination and an ability to bang out outside-of-the-box polls week in and week out; and who are willing to devote their valuable time to thinking up better and better polls. That's what NSM and I have tried to done during our service, and that's what we want the next generation to strive for.

In conclusion, that's it. I want to make the committee better, I hope to do that by running for office. If you like what you see, check your name down there in that "votes" column. Good luck to Super Mario Bros. and Tucayo. And thank you if you do decide to vote for us.

Super Mario Bros. / Henry Tucayo Clay
Hello, I am ! I would like to express interest in running for another term as Poll Committee Chairperson. I have experience in running the Committee, as I am the first person to have ever served in the position and set many of the precedents and policies that have been followed to date. I was elected to my first term in July 2010 and was reelected to the position in July 2011, leading the First and Second Poll Committees in a manner that allowed the members to come up with interesting and creative polls. In the year that followed since I finished my term in the Poll Committee, I have maintained various other administrative and leadership roles in the community. And now I would like to ask the members of our community to give me the opportunity to return as the Chairperson of the Poll Committee, to do again what I did well for two years some time ago.

My running mate, and my choice for Vice Chairman, is. Tucayo is currently a member of the Poll Committee, having joined in July 2012 when started his term as Poll Chairperson. In addition to serving on the Committee and contributing ideas and votes on that front, Tucayo has been with the wiki since 2008 and has a lot of experience and knowledge about the community and its workings. He has served in several administrative teams, has directed some of the biggest projects on the wiki, and has made a big impact on the Super Mario Wiki overall. He and I have worked together for many years on several projects (such as The 'Shroom) in order to ensure their proper management and growth, and we have developed both a great friendship and an ability to work and coordinate with each other.

Promises

 * Should I be elected, I would like to continue the system implemented by Crocodile Dippy during the last term in which those interested in being a part of the Committee must apply to join. I feel that this system has worked very well and has produced a Poll Committee which has a great variety of members who are interested in providing great poll ideas. Tucayo and I will go through each application and admit those five additional members that we feel are most fit to contribute to the Poll Committee.
 * That said, I will conduct the applications in the same manner that Crocodile Dippy did in the last election: if you are interested in joining the Committee, please be sure to send me a Prviate Message detailing your skills and experience in the community, why you would like to join us on the Poll Committee, and what your future plans are in regards to the community and the Poll Committee. Tucayo and I will review these throughout the time of the election and announce our Committee upon the start of our term.
 * As mentioned earlier in my campaign, I have selected Tucayo to be my running mate. I have confidence that he would do a great job should I have to leave the Committee for any reason, and I can count on him to help out should I not be able to fulfill my duties for temporary periods of time.
 * I will actively partake in the discussions that pertain to the Committee and its internal policies, and will also nominate polls when I have ideas that I would like to share. I want to be an engaged Chairperson, and will not become detached from the Members that I am supposed to work with to make the team work.
 * As per my policy for my first two terms, I will maintain an implied abstention for any votes that take place in the Committee except for special circumstances that would require my vote in order to ensure that the Poll Committee continues to run (such as tie-breaking votes or placing a vote when nobody else has).
 * I doubt that I will need to dismiss any Members for any reason, but if it is necessary that I do so in order to uphold the integrity of the Poll Committee and the Super Mario Wiki, then I will do so. I promise to uphold the proper process for the dismissal of Members should the occasion arise, and that it will be carried out in an organized and professional manner.
 * I promise to keep my position for one year and, outside of any emergency circumstances, will not step down from Chairperson or forgo the responsibilities that come with it. I wish to maintain a disciplined and respectable Committee, so I must set a proper example as the figurehead.
 * Finally, I would like to start a process to allow users to suggest polls for the Committee to vote on. I would like to introduce an application form that people can submit on the forum through Private Message, filling out the necessary information for us to enter into the PollDaddy poll software. We will then review these forms and include them in the nominated polls to vote on. I feel that this system will allow the poll process to open up more to the community-at-large, while allowing for the Poll Committee to maintain its important role in sorting and selecting these polls.


 * Overall, I feel that my plans will continue the success that the Poll Committee has enjoyed for the past three years. I would like to thank the members of the community for supporting the Committee and the system that was set up three years ago, and I hope that you all will allow me and Tucayo to lead it for the next year. Thank you!