User:WereSpielChequers/Request For Comment - Service Awards proposal

This is a draft working towards a proposal for adoption as a Wikipedia policy, guideline, or process.
The proposal must not be taken to represent consensus, but is still in development and under discussion, and has not yet reached the process of gathering consensus for adoption. Thus references or links to this page should not describe it as policy, guideline, nor yet even as a proposal.

Request for Comment - Change the metals used in Wikipedia's service awards

This request for comment is to seek feedback on three potential reforms to the Wikipedia:Service awards, specifically to the metals used for the medals. Good reasons to do this now include the Wikimedia Foundation's need for justifications for its fundraising success, and the movement's need to pivot from a focus on recruiting new editors to an attempt to retain more of our existing editors. Obviously one part of this is the need to build on the existing long service award system, and fill in the missing step of actually making these medals and awarding them. It also solves the existing problems that Bronze is an alloy, Iron rusts and why does Rhodium come up three times? Plus the practical problem that as many of the current metals involved are fictional. Some of these metals are not licensed under an open source, and not all of them are currently in production. So we need to tidy up this system with some metals that really exist (albeit briefly and in rather small quantities).

As per the following table we have two very different proposals for new metals, One giving a first commercial use for many new transuranic elements, the other creating a logical link between service length and half life.

Both proposals have the advantage that for many of these metals this would be the first practical use of this substance - which should let us fill out some relevant Wikipedia articles once the press picks up on this. More to the point, not only would this project be expensive enough to justify the continued existence of the WMF fundraising team, the necessary investment should usefully reflate the global economy.

This request for comment is seeking consensus as to which proposal we should implement, 1 and 2 are alternatives, 3 is a logical extension to option 2 but could be combined with 1.

More information °, Award ...


°	Award	Alternative Award	Minimum number of edits	Length of service	Current Metal	Proposal 1 Transuranic	Proposal 2 Isotope	Proposal 2 half life
1	Registered Editor	Signator	1	1 day		Neptunium	Berkelium-248	23.7 hours
2	Novice Editor	Burba	200	1 month		Plutonium	Mendelevium-260	27.8 days
3	Apprentice Editor	Novato	1,000	3 months		Americium	Thulium-168	93.1 days
4	Journeyman Editor	Grognard	2,000	6 months		Curium	Gold-195	186.1 days
5	Yeoman Editor	Grognard Extraordinaire	4,000	1 year		Berkelium	Ruthenium-106	1.02 years
6	Experienced Editor	Grognard Mirabilaire	6,000	1.5 years		Californium	einsteinium-252	1.29 years
7	Veteran Editor	Tutnum	8,000	2 years	Iron	Einsteinium	caesium-134	2.07 years
8	Veteran Editor II	Grand Tutnum	12,000	2.5 years	Bronze	Fermium	sodium-22	2.6 years
9	Veteran Editor III	Most Perfect Tutnum	16,000	3 years	Silver	Mendelevium	Polonium-208	2.9 years
10	Veteran Editor IV	Tutnum of the Encyclopedia	20,000	3.5 years	Gold	Nobelium	Rhodium-101	3.3 years
11	Senior Editor	Labutnum	24,000	4 years	Rhodium	Lawrencium	rhodium-101	3.3 years
12	Senior Editor II	Most Pluperfect Labutnum	28,500	4.5 years	Rhodium	Rutherfordium	Cobalt-60	5.27 years
13	Senior Editor III	Labutnum of the Encyclopedia	33,000	5 years	Rhodium	Dubnium	Cobalt-60	5.27 years
14	Master Editor	Illustrious Looshpah	42,000	6 years	Platinum	Seaborgium	Radium-228	5.75 years
15	Master Editor II	Auspicious Looshpah	51,000	7 years	Platinum	Bohrium	Radium-228	5.75 years
16	Master Editor III	Most Plusquamperfect Looshpah Laureate	60,000	8 years	Bufonite	Hassium	Radium-228	5.75 years
17	Master Editor IV	Looshpah Laureate of the Encyclopedia	78,000	10 years	Orichalcum	Meitnerium	krypton-85	10.76 years
18	Grandmaster Editor	Grand High Togneme Vicarus^[a]	96,000	12 years	Neutronium	Darmstadtium	californium-250	13.08 years
19	Grandmaster Editor First-Class	Grand High Togneme Laureate^[a]	114,000	14 years	Mithril	Roentgenium	Plutonium-241	14.29 years
20	Vanguard Editor	Grand Gom, the Highest Togneme of the Encyclopedia^[a]	132,000	16 years	Unobtanium	Copernicium	vanadium-48	15.97 years
21	Senior Vanguard Editor	Supreme Gom, the Most Exalted Togneme of the Encyclopedia	150,000	18 years	Duranium	Nihonium	curium-244	18.1 years
22	Ultimate Vanguard Editor	Cardinal Gom, the August Togneme of the Encyclopedia	175,000	20 years	Meitnerium	Flerovium	Actinium-227	21.77 years
23	Sagacious Editor	Ephoros of the Encyclopedia	205,000	22 years	Carbonadium	Livermorium	Lead-210	22.3 years
24	Most Sagacious Editor	High Ephoros of the Encyclopedia	235,000	25 years	Azbantium	Tennessine	Strontium-90	28.79 years
25			250,000	30 years		Oganesson	Caesium-137	30.17 years
n			1 Billion	19 Quintillion years			Bismuth-209	19 Quintillion years

[a]
Before December 2019, these Alternative Awards used "Lord" instead of "Grand", and uses of the original terms may still be seen in the wild. See Wikipedia talk:Service awards/Archive 7#Inclusivity? (or, Gender-Neutral Service Award Titles).

Option 1 - the transuranic elements

This proposal would standardise the metals for elements by sourcing all new awards from the periodic table, specifically the upper end. Most of these elements are suitably dense for medal purposes, and many have a natural glow to them. The vexed issue of when to announce a new service level award would be solved by issuing one whenever a new element is first made. The new interval being scientifically determined by the difference in time between the first edit on Wikipedia and the discovery of the new element.

Support standardising long service awards to transuranic elements

Oppose transuranic

Discuss transuranic proposal

Option 2 use elements with commensurate halflives

This proposal would put the award system on to a sound scientific basis by basing new award levels on the commensurate half life. Unfortunately there isn't an exact fit between all current levels and suitable elements. Though Ruthenium-106 is a near natural for the one year award, or at least would be with a modest (and usefully climate change mitigating) boost to Earth's orbit. However future levels would simply be triggered by reaching the next half life. Would these medals be distinctive and suitably weighty? True many of them will eventually decay to lead, but when first awarded they should really glow. Is this proposal future proof? Even when the Foundation has loaded Wikipedia onto Von Neuman Machines and sent copies out across the galaxy, those editors who have chosen to be uploaded as AI editors after death will still qualify for long service awards for thousands of millions of years into the future.

Sadly some of the table entries are quite a long way from the commensurate service length, if anyone can track down a more appropriate radioisotope please upload the table, and of course the source.

Support Option 2 the halflife proposal

Oppose Option 2 the halflife proposal

Discuss Option 2 halflives

Option 3 redesign on the assumption that Wikipedia will be around for quite a while

Up to now the awards system has grown with Wikipedia. Every year or two we look around and see that Wikipedia still exists, pinch ourselves, realise that there are now people who might soon qualify for a new award, and respond by creating a new award level. There is some charm in this method, but it has created anomalies such as the overly early use of mithril, and excessive use of coffee cup stains and post it notes from Jimbo. Reworking the existing award medal system to use isotopes of commensurate half life gives us a logical extension path, not just for the near future as the adolescent admins of the mid 2000s become the middle aged editors of the Wikipedia of 2030, but the empty nesters of the 2050s, the retirees of the 2060s, the carehome keyboarders of the 2090s and after uploading, the cyborg stewards of the 2100s. linking the award system to the list of radioactive isotopes gives us clarity and foresight with a system that will work from now to the heatdeath of the universe, and beyond!