Angela wrote: It seems like a long time not just because Wikipedia is young, but because realistically, it is a very long-term commitment relatively to the contributing lifespan of quite a few Wikipedians. Turnover and attrition will happen among arbitrators as well. Sure, IFF they are actually developing experience in the arbitration process during that period. The combination of these factors leads me to conclude that the issue is not with the three-year term per se, but that arbitrators need to recognize whether they are serving effectively and be prepared to step aside if not, even if it's before their term ends. I think there is an obvious problem when an arbitrator who has not really been active in the process at all still has two years left to serve, and based on the past year there is no reason to seriously expect this arbitrator to begin participating. No experience is being gained by anyone that way. If arbitrators resign responsibly when they recognize that they won't be able to serve effectively, they can be replaced and the process will function more smoothly. I commend Martin and Camembert for taking this step. In many systems, elected officials may resign before the ends of their terms, and a mechanism is available to replace them. We did this earlier this year with Jwrosenzweig and Raul654. I understand that going through election cycles too often can be a little draining. To be honest, I don't care that much whether interim appointments are handled by special election. I would be fine with letting the Board of Trustees appoint interim arbitrators, and just adding these positions to the regular election at the end of the year. This is similar to the model in my own local jurisdiction. We have elected judges, but frequently there are mid-term vacancies (resulting from resignations due to retirement, advancement, other career opportunities, and occasionally death). Such vacancies are filled through appointment by the executive branch of government, until the next election. I haven't observed any significant problems with this system, unless you simply have philosophical concerns about whether judges should be elected at all. --Michael Snow