I totally disagree. Arbco. Decisions have a huge impact on the community even if the majority of the community doesnt see it. Since you mention discretionary sanctions, that is an area where i have seen abused many times. Some admins who like power frequently hide behind ds's and use them as a means to get rid of editor they dont like. They are too broad, too discretionary and too "broadlt construed". It makes them open to abuse in a project where its nearly impossible to remove the tools from even the most abusive admin.

 

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------ Original message------

From: Risker

Date: Wed, Dec 10, 2014 9:43 AM

To: Addressing gender equity and exploring ways to increase the participation of women within Wikimedia projects.;

Subject:Re: [Gendergap] Arbcom election

 

 
 
 

On 9 December 2014 at 09:37, Jim Hayes <slowking4@gmail.com> wrote:
one take away is how few voters there are.

we have a lot of feminist editathons coming up
should we consider recruiting at events to get new editors over 150 edits,
with a view of block voting in next year's election?

if we organize now, we could run a civility slate of candidates.
 
 
Slates are specifically banned from arbcom elections. The majority of candidates who are running this year (and the past several years, for that matter) have stated they were very pro-civility. However, I'm not sure that it makes a difference, since Arbcom decisions and actions have so little impact on the project as a whole. Aside from actions against individual editors (i.e., banning or otherwise sanctioning individuals), pretty much everything else they "decide" has to be implemented by the broader community, and the committee has no way to leverage these things. Better than half the time when Arbcom asks the community to review certain things, it's ignored; discretionary sanctions are entirely based on who is willing to risk the boomerang effect of reporting someone at the DS noticeboard; and there is no apparent willingness of the community to proactively address these issues.
 
Again, I think you're caught in the trap of believing Arbcom has more power and authority than it really has.  
 
Risker/Anne