Universal Code of Conduct/Coordinating Committee/Election/2024/Candidates/Soni
| Account | Soni (talk • meta edits • global user summary • CA) |
|---|---|
| Candidate details |
|
| Selected home wiki | English Wikipedia |
| Type of seat (regional; community-at-large; or both) (division of regional seats) | South Asia or Community at Large |
| Candidate Introduction | |
| Introductory statement / Application summary (maximum 200 words): Why are you running for the Universal Code of Conduct Coordinating Committee? What would you contribute? | I am Soni. I'm running primarily to make sure U4C has enough diverse and experienced voices here. I've been editing on-and-off for a decade, and professional experience working in committees and large groups. I hope to be a stabilising voice of reason in a large committee. |
| Please describe your Wikimedia experience (such as contributions to the Wikimedia projects, memberships in Wikimedia organizations or affiliates, experience working on conduct issues in your community, activities as a Wikimedia movement organizer, or participation in building Wikimedia policies). | For Wikiconference India 2016, I was one of the core organisers and part of Reporting, Scholarship and Finance teams. I've organised offwiki hackathons and events. My primary experience is from onWiki editing, where I've worked at several community initiatives. I was previously a VRT member for the English queue. |
| Professional Experience, Skills and Education | |
| Please briefly describe 3 situations that show how you worked on, or advised others on, a complex conduct or policy issue. How did you work with others to address the situations? | I cannot offhand recall 3 significant conduct issues that I would also publicly talk about. So I will leave this blank instead of dressing up smaller cases. |
| Leadership Experience | |
| Can you describe a policy, on wiki or off, that you helped to create or change? What did you learn from this experience? | In 2013, I started an RFC on the English Wikipedia that created the Drafts namespace. That made it easier for new editors to make articles that don't get deleted. It needed 'policy writing' and compromise between 100 editors' concerns, as well as liaising with WMF on the technical details.
Though I am not an admin, I am currently involved in proposals to help improve the Adminship process on English Wikipedia. We've looked at our counterparts at German Wikipedia for inspiration. If existing processes already work, we always must use or adapt instead of creating new ones at every opportunity. |
| How have you been able to empower people to make their voices heard? | When working on IRC helpdesk or VRT queue, I would help new editors navigate complex Wikipedia policies and stay long term. I was part of a WMF Grant to make Co-op, a dedicated space to help with mentorship. While that project eventually shut down, I always keep an eye out on how to let more people contribute to our projects. |
| Sometimes in professional situations, there are personality conflicts. Explain how you remain productive even with personality conflicts. | I believe in rules as written and applying them fairly towards everyone. Personality conflicts are easier to resolve when everyone has a shared goal to work towards. In my personal life, I've handled enough events with dozens of organisers. It requires people to set aside past conflicts when a bigger problem needs fixing. |
| Strategic Thinking | |
| In your opinion, how can the U4C be a positive influence in the Wikimedia movement? | I would echo 1233's sentiments on this. I believe clear rules and central policies to be a good thing, but am not convinced UCoC specifically is the best way forward. The heart is in the right place, but our implementation needs work and fairness. We should not want a committee that exists for the sake of existing. Positive influence is not guaranteed before community trust is restored further, so that's the first step. |
| How would you help the Universal Code of Conduct develop and improve over time? | I would not. UCoC is untested and it's impossible to know how it will affect the community. I do not wish to change anything before we can learn if the charter succeeds in the primary goals. I would advocate fairness and greater transparency, and more Committee engagement with the community at large. I cannot commit to a specific direction for UCoC before we achieve those goals. |