The 'Shroom talk:Issue 183/Poll Chairperson Election

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Election Process
This page is where members of the community may make nominations and vote for candidates to oversee the Poll Committee for the next year. The rules for the election process may be viewed on the election rules article.

Voting starts on Saturday, June 25th, 2022 at 00:01 GMT.

Candidates and Voting
Candidates post their campaigns and receive votes here!

OhoJeeOnFire
Hello. I am OhoJeeOnFire and I am running for Chairperson. I know I don’t have pretty good qualities, but I am willing to help everyone and make sure our community is a better place. I know that I qualify for this important role because I care for others, I love to help my community, and I use my common sense and my knowledge to make good decisions. If you want a good Chairperson, vote for me, OhoJeeOnFire. I would also like to introduce my Vice-Chairperson, MightyMario. He qualifies for Vice-Chairperson because he is very kind, he allows everyone to speak their ideas, and he is a very good friend and person overall.

My Goals:


 * Prevent vandalism anywhere in my community.
 * Make sure nobody is left out.
 * Fulfill my responsibilities for Chairperson.

BabyLuigiOnFire / LeftyGreenMario
Salutations! My name is BabyLuigiOnFire, otherwise known as on this wiki. I had been on the Poll Committee from Fourth Committee through the Seventh Committee, and I was elected to Poll Chairperson for the Twelfth Poll Committee (12 just so happens to be my favorite number, who knew!). Currently, I additionally serve as an administrator for MarioWiki, was promoted on November 2021, but I was active on the wiki since 2009. I also am currently writing for a section on The' Shroom and I remain active on multiple facets of the community, including participating in the annual Awards event, a 'Shroom sponsored mafia, and currently very active on the wiki's Discord channel. As I'm writing this, I'm the current incumbent chairperson, and I wish to run again. However, this time around, is going to be my vice chairperson, who was recently promoted to Patroller on the wiki and someone I trust the most out of anyone on here, and she can absolutely help me out on the polls should I not be available for them.

What are my goals?


 * Taking advantage of my status as Wiki Staff to help coordinate polls between parts of the community, such as the April Fool's Day poll.
 * Experimenting with what types of polls I can put up on the main page. Experimentation has brought us images on the poll template, as well as the possibility of introducing more multi-optioned polls.
 * Most of my focus is primarily maintaining status quo of what I did before, especially maintaining standards of what polls can be on the main page, the images used, and general poll upkeep so no days are missed. Special projects such as Awards Analyses will additionally be maintained, with no further plans to create more overarching projects outside of writing monthly 'Shroom sections from poll committee members.
 * Advocate past chairpeople for collaboration, if they are interested. Several inputs from prior chairpeople has immensely helped with collaboration of what kind of poll ideas I can do, such as Roserade's participation on April Fool's last year.
 * I haven't quite grasped the rotational leader system in committees prior but I am willing to experiment with it once more. This really depends on how many members sign up and their activity level; basically the only way this system will succeed is if I have dedicated people who actively take part in collaboration of polls.
 * Ensuring that all members have a laid-back, relaxing experience while on the committee, so the work will be as stress-free as possible. Me and my sister are willing to take obligations if they cannot be met due to real life circumstances, which can work alongside increased activity with the rotating leadership system.
 * I will draw the banner myself yet again. I'll additionally attempt a different theme this year. I cannot spill any more details regarding the last Poll Committee's strokes with World Domination.

If elected, I will do my best to fulfill my duties on making the poll committee an amicable and stress-free experience for everyone while also continuing the tradition of putting quality polls on the main page.

Hiya! It's-a me, LeftyGreenMario! I'm BabyLuigiOnFire's sister! I'm also known as Bazooka Mario in the wiki, and I'm happy to be a potential candidate as vice chairperson for the Poll Committee. I previously served a while back as a poll committee member and I'll be more than happy to serve again! I'm mostly active helping the wiki, answering questions on talk pages, and being cordial on both the forums and on Discord. My current goals for the wiki include the following:
 * LEFTYGREENMARIO

Fun With Despair
You may know me as the "Killing Game guy" or "that guy who joins every Mafia game" or any other number of things (including an ex-member of the Poll Committee!). Today however, I, come to you simply as the people's candidate. Jokes aside though, that description isn't entirely wrong. Looking back on my own experience in the Poll Committee, as well as the platforms of and feedback given to previous Poll Committees, there is one crucial aspect of the Poll Committee that is often lost amongst the politics and tensions of committees past.

In fact, it's even in the name.

The Oxford Dictionary defines a Committee as "a group of people appointed for a specific function, typically consisting of members of a larger group.", and the "group" aspect is what I've personally felt has been missing. At the end of the day, the Poll Committee is a group of people from a Mario community working together to spice up the main page of wiki and provide insightful or entertaining (sometimes both!) content for the 'Shroom newsletter. The Poll Committee isn't the Senate, and I'm not running for President. Rather, I'm running for the Chairperson, to ensure a committee where all members are heard, and our goals and rules are based primarily on feedback from our members rather than a set of rules introduced in a campaign before the committee is even selected to begin with. Similarly, this is why I am not running with a Vice-Chairperson. If I am to select someone who can help the Poll Committee thrive and assist in times of struggle, I would much rather select someone from the Committee itself who is helpful, earnest, and reliable rather than run with someone who I have selected prior to them being able to display these traits - a choice that most of the time ends up coming down to nepotism rather than merit.

So with that in mind, rather than list off credentials or anything of the sort, I'm going to jump right into my goals. My Goals:


 * Reinstate Hooded Pitohui's Rotating Leadership System: When was Chairperson, he introduced a system where members would take turns "managing" the upcoming poll, with feedback from other members of the Committee and the Chairperson being mostly there for support and potentially veto power should the poll be inappropriate or cause other issues. Personally, I believe this system to be very beneficial for the growth of new Poll Committee members, and an excellent method of preparing people without any experience for running for Chairperson themselves one day. That being said, the system was removed and there are concerns about activity affecting it, which is why I plan on making a few small changes.
 * If I am elected, I plan on making the system opt-in on Poll Committee applications. Members that opt in will be prioritized as opposed to those who don't, but opting out will not on its own prevent you from joining the committee. That being said, I also plan on implementing slightly tighter rules on general activity for those who opt out, though all of this will depend somewhat on feedback from the committee itself and its members.
 * This may be changed based on feedback from the Committee, although I feel most are in support of getting to try out a leadership role. Nonetheless, I would rather not scare away members who are either younger or very busy who don't feel as though they can deal with the responsibility, though I would still like to encourage participation and teamwork primarily, as they are the core tenets of my platform and of what I feel is an ideal committee.
 * Create Rules and Goals based on the Committee's collective desires: While I don't think other candidates are in the wrong by proposing a large amount of their goals before being elected, I am very interested in seeing how a Poll Committee run by the members working as a collective to decide the inner workings will go over. There will obviously be executive decisions that need to be made, but the Poll Committee is a team, and ideas for managing it proposed by the team members should be considered in order to keep it a positive working environment for everyone. I have heard people talk about how they would join the Poll Committee but don't engage because they do not like the rules and platform of the current leader, and I do not think that people should be scared away by that.
 * Soft cap of eight members: Really, why is the hard limit on member numbers still a thing? If we already have say, 8 members, and someone reaches out wanting to apply for the committee and has a legitimately good application and is active in the community, why would I turn them down, especially when the Poll Committee already struggles at times with activity? The Poll Committee, once again, is a team that aims to make the main page more interesting every couple of weeks. What the Poll Committee should not be is a secret club that locks up at eight people and tells someone who is genuinely interested in helping the community to just wait a year for a chance to get in.
 * To prevent mass-signups for clout however, any members over the limit of 8 will be required to opt-in for the Rotating Leadership System in order to ensure activity and participation.
 * That being said, if we end up with fewer members than 8, that is also fine. As long as activity keeps up, everyone has a chance to contribute, and the polls keep running smoothly, the amount of members we have are completely arbitrary in my opinion.

When the initial Committee is selected and we have a discussion about our further goals and rules, I will publicize all of that for transparency's sake in a special 'Shroom post about exactly that. The Poll Committee works for the people of the community, and our policies and inner workings should be as transparent as possible. Again, we are not a government or a secret club, just a bunch of people making fun stuff.

Comments
Out of curiosity what would happen if no users were to run even though that's extremely unlikely?

, 11:16, June 19, 2022 (EST)


 * Too late. It’s impossible now. But I think it will be postponed.

@OhoJeeOnFire: Wiki maintenance isn't related to the duties of the Poll Committee, in fact it's not at all uncommon for Poll Committee members (even the Chairperson) to rarely edit the wiki at all, and censorship of wiki content is not allowed. I'm not sure what you mean by making sure nobody is left out - do you mean making the committee as inclusive as possible, or trying to cover all possible options in polls, or something else? What sorts of plans do you have for the Poll Committee besides fulfilling the regular duties, if any? Do you plan on having a Vice-Chairperson? Overall, I'd like some elaboration on what we can expect from your campaign. -- 13:17, June 27, 2022 (EDT)


 * According to your recommendation for elaboration, the committee is going to be as inclusive as possible. I’m planning on having as my Vice-Chairperson. When I talk about censorship, it’s mainly about the boards. I also plan on allowing other users to submit their own polls so that everyone has a voice in the community. I hope you understand. I’ll keep elaborating if you have any more questions.
 * Forum moderation isn't part of the Poll Committee's duties either, especially not making changes to the rules. I'm not sure if you were aware, but the Poll Committee already has a form for external submissions that they periodically look at for poll ideas. If one of your goals is to emphasize letting anyone submit polls, do you plan on having a full committee, or is it just going to be you and MightyMario? -- 13:36, June 27, 2022 (EDT)
 * As the forum moderation's representative, I can confirm we have no plans to implement a censorship policy, and that the Poll Committee has no jurisdiction over that decision.
 * I understand. I have made a few changes to the campaign. I also would like to say that I plan to have a full committee.

My bad, I should have added the "Votes" part. I won't make that kind of mistake again this page. , 13:06, June 28, 2022

@BLOF Out of curiosity, since you mention your approach might depend some on how many users sign up, do you have a particular number you're aiming for? Do you have any individuals in mind who you might encourage to sign up (there's no need to name anyone - I'm only wondering if you, generally, have some people you plan to encourage to join, since the PC is often a good way for folks to get involved with a community project). Hooded Pitohui (talk) 23:12, June 29, 2022 (EDT)
 * I'd prefer not to run with 6 again this year (since we didn't actually meet 7 last year, the minimum amount). I don't really have anyone particular in mind, but I want to advertise the position as much as I can, emphasize that you don't need strong obligations to be part of it at all, that it's not a high-effort job to be part of at all and very easy to grasp if you're a newcomer, plus you come with having a nice "hey I did that poll" contribution when you see it on the main page. The only thing you really need to do is at least comment on polls, vote, maybe come up with a few yourself, and you'll be fine, I do not run with any intent of kicking anyone out on grounds of inactivity unless it is severe enough (such as not logging into the forum for at least two months). The only major project I will highlight is Awards Analysis. 23:26, June 29, 2022 (EDT)

@Electrical Bowser jr. "one time they said they would select the image for my nomination no matter what I proposed next, when I came up with one very flawed image and even after I came up with another one they rejected it without critiquing it, which I do not intend to do as a policy towards other members" (Keep in mind my preferred pronouns are not "they") I primarily acted this way because the last thing we need is arguments over what image to use. Like every poll out there, I believe chairperson should have the final say (as they are the ones who are ultimately responsible for the upkeep of the poll template on the main page, having the keys to crowd signal and all) and I don't want to get bogged down by discussions on what images to advertise on the main page (discussions surrounding it can be subjective and is not the primary focus of the nomination, all it is is aesthetic flair to the template). I want to make it clear that users can freely submit their own images if they wish, but if I reject an image, it's for a good reason. Images on polls is still a new idea that I can further experiment with the more I can get into but for now, leaving image submission up to the creators with the poll chairperson still having the final say, including rejecting images and making it clear that I will select an image for their nomination is still a practice I'd like to keep. 00:10, June 30, 2022 (EDT)
 * @Ray Trace: I understand where you are coming from, however my attitude as chairperson would be to state my reason for rejecting even a second, or third or etc. image so there would be no unclearness. It would also help give members firsthand learning experience on me not accepting their image., 1:44, June 30, 2022 (EST)

Since we have several candidates running, for visibility we also have a thread on the forums for the election if you would prefer to ask questions there. -- 12:52, June 30, 2022 (EDT)

Especially since Discord went down to restrictions a few hours ago, this is one factor that is leading me to withdraw my campaign, as I think I could provide an effective, positive, and honest chairperson leadership but another year might be best for me giving and getting the full experience because of how unpredictable my restrictions are, as well as some potentially tough college work coming up. I trust both BLOF and Fun With Despair with the chairperson spot; I know BLOF will work their hardest to keep things flexible instead of unfun or overly rigid as chairperson if they win this election, and I expect Fun With Despair to live up to their campaign promises for giving everyone who thinks their voice should have a chance one if they get this spot. , 19:26, July 2, 2022 (EST)

I have decided to withdraw my vote for Fun With Despair because I find their soft cap policy to be unrealistic. “What the Poll Committee should not be is a secret club that locks up at eight people and tells someone who is genuinely interested in helping the community to just wait a year for a chance to get in.” I actually would prefer this to be how the Poll Committee works as then if you get a slot at the very beginning it’s a complete experience, and lumping a ton of people in the Poll Committee makes it a feel like a less important position. 23:40, July 3, 2022 (EST)


 * What complete experience are you referring to? I understand that a late joiner would be missing out on active participation in some of the earlier discussions, but there's always the opportunity to re-read topics later on and get a feel for the position. I also don't understand the "less important position" point because like... in my own opinion, why SHOULD it be a secret club? It's year-round and people can start getting interested later on during that period. The thing is, with comparable limited-time endeavors like the Awards Committee, we close signups after a period of time but conduct our meetings in public areas, with logged discussions, votes, and etcetera; non-members are also allowed to speak during meetings. The only private discussion really just pertains to actual awards setup, and we archive our boards at the end of the season. In comparison, outside writeups and bits of public discussion for each poll, my impression of the Poll Committee is that the meat of it is done behind-the-scenes. And that's fine! But I don't see how people taking an interest and being able to join whenever they want with no limit apparently makes the position less important. I don't want to put words in your mouth, but I hope that's not meant as a more people = less clout thing - it just makes more sense to me that someone with genuine interest should be able to apply and possibly join, instead of going "Hey dude do this" at Poll Committee members all the time just because they missed the sign-up period. - Turboo (talk) 00:05, July 4, 2022 (EDT)


 * I uh, also forgot to make the point that the clout issue is addressed in his campaign by having the extra members integrated into the Rotating Leadership system and kept active, so yeah I'm not really sure where the less important thing is coming from. - Turboo (talk) 00:15, July 4, 2022 (EDT)