Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Arbitration Committee Elections December 2025/Electoral Commission

Sohom Datta

Sohom Datta (talk · contribs · deleted · count · AfD · logs · block log · lu · rfar · spi)

Hi, I'm Sohom, I've been around in the community for more than 6 years (since 2019), though I became active on Wikipedia much later (in 2023). My background is largely on the technical side of the project, I've done a fair bit of work maintaining extensions, Toolforge tools and bots. More recently I've taken on a more active advisory role as a member of the first Product and Technology Advisory Council organized the WMF and worked to draft recommendations for the WMF to improve communication with the community. I'm running as an election commissioner this year because I want to volunteer my technical knowledge and understanding of MediaWiki towards having a smoother transition to using a local SecurePoll instance for our elections. I think my knowledge of the technical side of MediaWiki could especially come in handy if the electcomm wanted to test different configurations in a sandbox or wanted specific patches for bugs in the elections. I will flag that this is my first time running for election commissioner, but I do hope to take whatever institutional knowledge and learning I can get and transfer the knowledge (in the form of documentation) to future members. I have signed the ANPDP(verify) and am sufficiently familiar with privacy and security constructs underpinning elections of such kinds. Thank you for the opportunity to serve! -- Sohom (talk) 01:44, 2 October 2025 (UTC)

Dr vulpes

Dr vulpes (talk · contribs · deleted · count · AfD · logs · block log · lu · rfar · spi)

Hi, I’m Dr Vulpes and this is my third time running for the ArbCom election commission. I previously served as the second reserve commissioner in both 2021 and 2024, neither of which involved significant duties. I’ve worked my way up starting as an IP editor in 2003 making small copy edits, to creating an account and authoring content, participating in AfC, AfD, and NPP, running a bot, and last year I was elected as an administrator in the first election.

If you review my edit history I tend to go into submarine mode and disappear for months at a time and I recognize that this is a reasonable concern. There are two main reasons for this. At one point I dealt with the effects of long COVID and the other times I had to care for my parents. Both of my parents live near me and have both had joint replacements done over the last couple of years. This last round over the summer there were a few complications which had me moving back home a few days a week to help around with their care (bathing, cleaning, cooking). Last month my sister moved in to help care for them full time and I go over on the weekends to deal with anything large that needs moving or any handyman work around the house. If I felt their health would be a significant issue to my serving I would not be running. I am not opposed to serving as a reserve commissioner for a third time, it’s an important safety net to the election process.

I admit what I don’t know openly and quickly. I try my best to be respectful and give people as much grace as possible when handling disputes and issues. I’ve made mistakes but I do my best to document them and learn from them so I can improve as an editor and administrator. I’ve made tough calls/edits/closers/votes on wiki and I stand by them because each one of them is part of my growth here.

I am over the age of 18, have signed the NDA for access to nonpublic information, and have never been blocked or banned. Dr vulpes (Talk) 05:40, 2 October 2025 (UTC)

Mz7

Mz7 (talk · contribs · deleted · count · AfD · logs · block log · lu · rfar · spi)

Hello, I am Mz7. I previously served on the Electoral Commission in 2020, 2021, and 2022, so I am familiar with the role and its responsibilities. I have been an administrator since 2017 and a checkuser and oversighter since 2019.

Usually at least one thing comes up every year that is important for ElectCom to resolve. For example, in 2020, we had to decide what to do in a situation where someone violated a topic ban when asking a question, but some candidates had already answered the question by the time someone pointed this out (see discussion). We also had to decide whether one of the candidates should be required to disclose the name of one of their privacy-related alternative accounts (see discussion). In 2021, we had to decide whether a particular voter guide was eligible for inclusion in Template:ACE2021 (see discussion). I expect more unexpected questions to arise during this year's election, and I feel that my previous experience as an electoral commissioner would be helpful in responding to those.

Outside of the formal ElectCom duties, I've also been helping out over the years in an informal role in setting up election pages—I started jotting down some notes at User:Mz7/Running Arbitration Committee elections a while back, though the to-do list at WP:COORD25 has broadly taken over. I have contributed to some of the templates used in the election space, e.g. . More recently, I created the first iteration of the {{Administrator elections navbar}} you see at the top of admin elections pages.

I am over 18, have signed the ANPDP, and am not blocked or banned. Mz7 (talk) 09:54, 4 October 2025 (UTC)

Giraffer

Giraffer (talk · contribs · deleted · count · AfD · logs · block log · lu · rfar · spi)

Hello, I'm Giraffer. I've been editing for over five years now, and have served as an administrator since March of this year. Most of my work here over the years has been to do with countering spam, vandalism, and sockpuppetry; in recent months I've also been dealing with unblocks on UTRS.

My work has led me to interact with people from a wide range of backgrounds, from newbie editors to functionaries, stewards, and WMF staffers. Regardless of who I am speaking to, I strive to be open-minded, respectful, and helpful where I can be, regardless of whether we agree or not. I admit when I'm wrong and I'm always open to changing my mind on a topic.

This is my first time running for election commissioner. I have signed the ANPDP (not yet added to the noticeboard). I have never been blocked or banned. Giraffer (talk) 14:07, 7 October 2025 (UTC)