Rebecca (misfitgirl@gmail.com) [041222 11:06]:
I don't object to the idea of shorter terms in theory, but based on the experience of the last few weeks, I think it's too early to be talking about it. This election turned into, to put it bluntly, a crapfight, with open season on the candidates. I found it to be a painful experience, and I wasn't even one of the ones being targeted most. I would also seriously consider not running again entirely on that basis, despite the fact that I'm looking forward to getting into my work as an arbitrator. That's why I chose one of the three-year terms - and I believe I'm not the only one.
I missed this crapfight, and that sounds like a good thing. What happened?
I think it would be wise to make absolutely damned sure that the events of this election don't happen again before we start talking about shortening the terms of the newly-elected arbitrators, or we may well find next time that we once again won't have enough suitable candidates, or that a certain class of users won't run. Being tremendously thick-skinned shouldn't, IMO, be a requirement for running for arbitrator.
I chose one year rather than two because seeing how I feel about it in a year sounds about right. Of course, I am remarkably thick-skinned ;-)
A certain thickness of skin would pretty much be a requirement for the job.
- d.