Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee Elections December 2015/Feedback

2015 Arbitration Committee Elections

Status

• The December 2015 Arbitration Committee Election results have been posted.
• Please offer your feedback on the election process.

Feedback by role

Voters

• Very easy and simple voting process.
• When returning to the voting page after having voted once, something like 'You've already voted. To change your votes, please...' could be shown. Then a preselected (displaying the previous votes made by the voter) vote form must be provided.—UY Scuti ^Talk 06:37, 23 November 2015 (UTC)
  • It is my understanding that it is not technically possible to show you your previous votes when you go to vote the second time, so all you would have to do is change the votes you want to change. This has been suggested many times over the years. The explanation I received is that there is no way to do that without compromising the security of your vote. I don't understand the technical issues, so I can't explain it any further than that. Neutron (talk) 01:01, 24 November 2015 (UTC)
    • Also note, before you hit the "submit" button on your vote, you can print the voting page if you are connected to a printer. That way you do have a record of who you voted for. If you are on a tablet or something you can probably take a picture of the screen. Neutron (talk) 01:21, 24 November 2015 (UTC)
• This is the first time I have been qualified to vote. So, I went to the page which lists numerous candidates. I could not find any quick way to see a few sentences from each one as to their belief as to the role and how they have, and would, make Wikipedia better. I did go to the discussion page, but most candidates have not been discussed; perhaps I should have waited a few more days, for more discussions. Also, I had no idea after reading some of the discussions whether a candidate would be ideal or not. Yes, I found the long section that each candidate provided, but there are so many of them and so much content on those pages. I just wonder if there is a better way to educate voters about each of the candidates, such as one paragraph about each person, right under his or her name on the ballot page. Anyway, I think I will need to start the vote process again. When does the voting period end? (i.e. how much time do I have to educate myself about each candidate?) Peter K Burian 17:10, 23 November 2015 (UTC)

As per top box on Elections December 2015 Candidates, voting "to close Sunday 23:59, 6 December". ◃Λmniarix▹ (talk) 20:29, 23 November 2015 (UTC)

• Very difficult & complicated voting system!

* too many candidates; overwhelming amount of irrelevant information.

* I only have a limited amount of time that I'm willing to spend on this; need to have an efficient way to obtain info on these candidates.

* Their current statements are too long; I don't have time to read all of them. And the discussions are worthless; most don't have any discussion (but you can't tell that until clicking on each one and wasting time waiting for the page to load).

* Need a short (25 words or less) statement from each candidate of why they are running -- that I would have read.

As this system was, I voted on very superficial reasons, unhappily. T-bonham (talk) 20:57, 23 November 2015 (UTC)

There is no doubt about it, there is an information overload for voters. I myself don't have time to read all the questions and answers. But it's probably better to have too much than too little, and each voter can decide how much to read. And I don't think the candidate statements themselves are too long, it's all the other stuff. I don't think a 25-word statement would really tell you anything useful. Neutron (talk) 01:01, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

Initial "voter experience" impressions of a first-time voter

• Good: (1) succinct message on my talk page, with well-selected links, saying I may have won the right to vote (that part was kinda weird - I "appear to be eligible to vote"? Did my bowler hat and pince-nez give me away?); (2) clutter-free landing pages - those that were prominently linked on my talk, anyway; (3) good word-limit on the Statements, not too hard to read them all; (4) good input box for posting questions to the candidates on the main discussion page (granted that people who don't read instructions break em).
• Not so good: Election day procedures were not clear to at least one candidate, who asked me why my questions were where the instructions told me to put them. Looks like there was another process going on before the general invitation to vote went out, and some candidates may not be aware that some procedures changed.
• Very, very bad: The bickering on the main discussion page. Negativity suppresses voter turnout. Does anyone question that? I almost turned away to vomit, but am determined to see what voting on Wikipedia is like as a participant-observer (inmate-visitor) for the first time. And to exercise my duty as a Wikimedian. Of course. If Wikipedia leaders - candidates, proponents, opponents - continue to contaminate Wikipedia with the political diseases and dysfunctions of our extra-wiki lives, or allow that contagion to continue to spread, that's their choice. But expect the same level of disgust that ordinary people have for politics and politicians. And how is that good for Wikipedia?

Thanks; LeoRomero (talk) 05:02, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

1st time voter feedback

• I agree with what T-bonham (whose account seems to have just been deleted) about information/candidate overload, and much of the info seems irrelevant. I also agree with what Neutron said about too much is better than too little, but it would be nice if there were an efficient way of prioritizing/summarizing important information.

• Along the same lines, I don't understand why Voting must be done in a single sitting. With so much information, it would be more convenient to have more flexibility. (I could hear that by doing so, votes may be based on a voter's mood at the time he votes on a given candidate rather than how they compare relative to the other candidates.

• Along opposite lines, it might be cool if there could be some sort of candidate debate so candidates can be compared and contrasted more easily. Maybe have a (standard) list of the most commonly asked questions, to which each candidate will have a reply.

• I like the way the voting is done with being able to vote on each candidate pos., neg., neutral (as opposed to just voting for (9) candidates). (IDKY they don't make governmental elections similarly.) However, I would have prefered a bit more flexibility to be able to differentiate between a candidate who I strongly prefer and one who I prefer, but less so. Like give a 1-5/10 rating on each candidate, but I can see how that might make things too complicated.

Yaakovaryeh (talk) 19:50, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

• The issue I would really like to see discussed is apprehension of bias. A few years ago a Christian wikipedia editor tore apart the wikipedia entry for Reconstructionist Roman Polytheism (i.e., a Pagan entry). I think it is outrageous that he was allowed to do this. There should be a policy around this sort of thing. Ever since this incident I have had a greatly diminished view of wikipedia - I perceive it as having more than its fair share of self-inflated young White men from the US with an editorial power high.

Candidates

To be on the Arbitration Committee is a TERRIBLE job / task. I cannot imagine why anyone would want to be "elected" to torture. Unless, they enjoy stimulating complaints, bad language, & odd comments from some "very badly raised children." Chaos4tu (talk) 11:50, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

reluctant voter

Not having had direct experience with any of the candidates, I am reluctant to vote up or down for any listed. I do appreciate the opportunity to vote because if I did have direct experience with any, it then would be meaningful for me to vote preferences. Thanks to all who choose to run, hope it is with the best intentions that they do, and may the best candidates be chosen by those familiar with their actions. _ _ _ _ 83d40m (talk) 20:42, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

Algorithm

The current algorithm for calculating results strongly rewards those with fewer "opposed" votes (but only when support minus oppose is positive) and takes no account for number of supporters. E.g., someone with only 1 supporter but 0 opposed votes will get a higher score than someone with 10,000 supporters and 1 opposed vote; someone with 30,000 supporters and 10,000 detractors will get the same score as one with 3 supporters and 1 detractor; and among those with more opposed than support votes, those with fewer opposed votes score lower (someone with 0 support votes and 1 opposed vote scores lower than someone with 1 support vote and 10,000 opposed votes).

Among those with more support than opposition, this algorithm tends to favor both lesser-known and more mediocre candidates. Among those with more opposition than support, it will favor those who are more controversial.

I suggest something like the following mod: $(({\frac {\text{support}}{\text{support + oppose}}})-0.5)\cdot {\sqrt {|{\text{support - oppose}}|}}$

where ${\sqrt {|x|}}$ yields the square root of the absolute value of x. Patrickwooldridge (talk) 20:11, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

In theory, this is a problem. In practice, every candidate gets hundreds of votes, with a variation between top and bottom candidates of no more than a factor of 3, so the problem doesn't really arise. If you really want to be mathematically correct, you should use the algorithm here, which does a statistically-correct weighting of the support votes to find a lower bound on the "true" level of support. --Carnildo (talk) 00:33, 26 November 2015 (UTC)

Thank you for your suggestion. Please note that any change to the selection process will need to occur in a community request for comment. There's one specifically for the elections held around August/September. Best, Mike V • Talk 02:26, 26 November 2015 (UTC)

Anonymity

I looked in vain on the voting page for a declaration that voting is anonymous. Some editors may feel uncomfortable about voting if they suspect that their usernames will appear in Support/Oppose lists for each candidate. Akld guy (talk) 01:02, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

@Akld guy: The voting process is anonymous in the sense that no one will know who you voted for. The individual votes are encrypted and only decrypted in aggregate. (Not even the election commissioners and scrutineers will have knowledge of individual votes.) Please note that if you do vote, you're name will be recorded as having voted. Mike V • Talk 01:14, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

This is stated on the main elections page, here, third paragraph of the "For voters" section. Neutron (talk) 01:19, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

It might be good policy to state it categorically on the voting page itself. Akld guy (talk) 01:22, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

Anonymity is good, because in the RL voting is also what way. But I like to have some polls or an advise of the current arbitrators if there are some rotten apple between the candidates. Sometimes users vote only for the names they know and everybody else get a negative advise. In my view an arbitrator needs to be neutral and keep a low profile and have clean hands. So I vote for a strong arbitration committee. So a public support will help. Because some voters like to express their support. Carsrac (talk) 15:14, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

How many?

I'm not seeing anywhere how many people I can vote for. How many people are on the committee normally?Sgerbic (talk) 18:45, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

@Sgerbic: There are 9 available seats this year. The top 9 candidates with a minimum of 50% support will be elected to the committee. For each candidate you can vote either support, neutral, or oppose. The committee normally has 15 members. Mike V • Talk 19:58, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

Sgerbic, in case that response doesn't answer your question you can support all, some or none of the candidates. You can oppose all, some or none, too. There are 9 open spaces but the only limit for how many candidates you can support is the number of candidates. Liz ^{Read! Talk!} 21:25, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

Thank you both. I understand now.Sgerbic (talk) 01:59, 26 November 2015 (UTC)

Voter log

Please consider making the voter log a sortable list - sortable alphabetically and by time. That way it'll be easier for the curious to do a rough count without including re-votes. Also, can you link each name to the user's global contributions page, so people can easily spot-check voters' backgrounds? --Anthonyhcole (talk · contribs · email) 02:46, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

The list is already sortable by time and name. Click on the header and it will sort accordingly. As for the contributions, it's very unlikely that we can incorporate that into this poll (as we don't want to risk any unexpected bugs to affect the polling) but I'll pass it on to James as a recommendation for future elections. Mike V • Talk 04:43, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

Ah. Thank you, Mike. --Anthonyhcole (talk · contribs · email) 08:21, 25 November 2015 (UTC)