The project coordinators are generally responsible for maintaining all of the procedural and administrative aspects of the project, and serve as the designated points-of-contact for procedural issues. They are not, however, endowed with any special executive powers.
The Lead Coordinator bears overall responsibility for coordinating the project; the Coordinators aid the Lead Coordinator and focus on specific areas that require special attention.
The primary responsibility of the project coordinators is the maintenance and housekeeping work involved in keeping the project and its internal processes running smoothly; this includes a variety of tasks, such as keeping the announcement and open task lists updated, overseeing the assessment and review processes, managing the proposal and creation of task forces, and so forth. There is fairly little involved that couldn't theoretically be done by any other editor, of course—in only a few places have the coordinators been explicitly written into a process—but, since experience suggests that people tend to assume that someone else is doing whatever needs to be done, it has proven beneficial to formally delegate responsibility for this administrative work to a specified group.
The coordinators also have several additional roles. They serve as the project's designated points of contact, and are explicitly listed as people to whom questions can be directed in a variety of places around the project. They also try to regularly contribute to the reviews involving film-related articles, looking out in particular for reviews which require additional voices. In addition, they have highly informal roles in leading the drafting of project guidelines, overseeing the implementation of project decisions on issues like category schemes and template use, and helping to informally resolve disputes and keep discussions from becoming heated and unproductive. The coordinators are not, however, a body for formal dispute resolution; serious disputes should be addressed through the normal dispute resolution process.
Some more specific examples of day-to-day coordinator work can be found here.
The nominations period is currently open for two weeks, starting on September 3 and ending at 23:59 (UTC) on September 14. However, if the candidate pool does not exceed the number of open positions (5) by at least 5 nominations by the end of the nominations period, then nominations will be allowed through to the end of the voting period.
The election will run for two weeks, starting at 00:01 (UTC) on September 15 and ending at 23:59 (UTC) on September 28.
Any member of the project may nominate themselves for a position by adding their statement in the "Candidates" section below by the start of the election. The following boilerplate can be used:
=== Name ===
{{user|Name}}
: Statement goes here...
==== Comments and questions for Name ====
* ''What have been the achievements of which you are most proud within WikiProject Films?''
** Response goes here...
* ''What skills/qualities can you contribute as a Films coordinator?''
** Response goes here...
==== Votes in support of Name ====
#
The election will be conducted using simple approval voting. Any member of the project may support as many of the candidates as they wish. The candidate with the highest number of endorsements will become the Lead Coordinator (provided he or she is willing to assume the post); the next four candidates will become Coordinators. The coordinators will serve a term of one year. The number of Coordinators may be increased if there is a tie or near-tie for the last position.
Both project members and interested outside parties are encouraged to ask questions of the nominees or make general comments.
Well, hello everyone! I just came across this election process, after going through the discussion page of My Name is Khan, and I thought that I would see if I have the ability to be a coordinator. Basically, this Project attracts me a great deal simply because I'm an avid film-watcher, and I always take time out to watch a film atleast once a month. I had recently taken a long Wikibreak to give myself some rest after exhaustive editing, but I've come back some time back. My main aim, if I become a coordinator, is to revamp some major article issues such as stubs, cohesion, presentablility, etc, which are my main strenghts. I generally concentrate on Indian films, though of late I have started taking much more interest in Hollywood films. Hope you find my『resumé』satisfying. Cheers!!!
What have been the achievements of which you are most proud within WikiProject Films?
My biggest achievement till date under this project was to hugely revamp and expand the article My Name Is Khan, though there are still some issues to be sorted out. Other than that, I have generally added to the presentability and content matter of many other film articles, and intend to continue doing so.
What skills/qualities can you contribute as a Films coordinator?
As I have already satted, my biggest strength is article maintenance, expansion, presentation issues and the like. I do also take an interest in creating new articles, like the 54th Filmfare Awards or the 2009 IIFA Awards. Overall, I will be most helpful as a general "maintenance coordinator", overseeing all the aspects of the articles which are directly visible to the viewers.
Hello everyone. I believe that this Project is one of the best projects in Wikipedia. I believe the reason for that is because of the Coordinators. I really enjoy film and believe that these wonderful expressions of art and life deserve the best representation we can give them. Although I don't work greatly on improving articles beyond Start-class, I do spend a lot of time with standardization of certain aspects that really make this Project cohesive.
What have been the achievements of which you are most proud within WikiProject Films?
Possibly the creation of {{Film date}}, a convenient way to standardize the presentation of something that could be, and has been, very inconsistent.
What skills/qualities can you contribute as a Films coordinator?
Although I'm not the most verbose editor, I do allow others to express their opinions and always respond to genuine requests from any kind of any editor. I am also interested in finding what works best for everyone, not necessarily what works best for me.
Support I always welcome Bovineboy2008's contributions in improving the consistency among articles. This dedication helps to reinforce his contributions to discussions about improving/expanding the guidelines that oversee the thousands of articles WP:FILMS covers. --Happy editing! Nehrams2020 (talk • contrib) 05:10, 20 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I'm Erik, and I have worked with film articles ever since I ventured onto Wikipedia in late 2005. For several years, I worked mainly on articles about contemporary superhero films, helping some to Good Article status. I have also had several pet projects that I got promoted to Good Article status. Most notably, I wrote Fight Club (film) from ground-up and got it promoted to Featured Article status. The article was on Wikipedia's main page for the film's 10th anniversary. I have nearly 50,000 live edits, with more than half in the mainspace and about 16% on talk pages.
What have been the achievements of which you are most proud within WikiProject Films?
Within WikiProject Films, I am proud of managing the future films department, which followed up on articles about upcoming films and addressed them based on their actual status. I believe that the department's work helped bring recognition to the notability guidelines for future films to ensure that articles about upcoming films were created at the right time. The widespread use of the guidelines made the department less needed, but I believe it served its purpose.
In addition, I believe that editors benefit from guidelines on writing film articles, and I have made many contributions to MOS:FILM. I have attempted to reflect best practices yet to ensure flexibility. Sections of the guidelines that I helped draft are listed below. I also shaped the guidelines to suggest possibilities, such as the "Guidelines for related topics" section, since the guidelines currently focus on articles about individual films.
Lead section
Plot
Reception (Critical response, Box office, Accolades, and Home media)
References
External links
Historical and scientific accuracies
Marketing
Further reading
Images (incl. Free licence images)
Navigation under Templates
Ratings
I am also most proud of my involvement with the community at WikiProject Films. According to revision history statistics, I've edited the WikiProject Films talk page the most; let that impress you or scare you. I try to participate in discussions where I think my comments will be useful, based on my experience editing articles and working with policies and guidelines (both general and film-related). I strive to make editors both old and new to feel welcome, and I like to think I've helped ensure a high level of discussion on the WikiProject's talk page. It's amazing how quiet other WikiProjects' talk pages are by comparison!
What skills/qualities can you contribute as a Films coordinator?
I have been a coordinator at WikiProject Films in the past, so I have brought my experience and my collaborative dialogue to the table before. I stepped down due to lesser involvement and a period of absence, but I would like to bring my aforementioned experience back to the table. I especially put together the agenda seen at WP:FILMC, though I believe the objectives should be updated. Below, I discuss some ideas for the future term in brief.
How can you improve the mission of WikiProject Films as a coordinator?
My experience with editing in general and with serving as a WikiProject Films coordinator has shown me what works and what does not work. I think the WikiProject has a tendency to become too bureaucratic, and we should be wary of adding more structure to it. We have to remember that Wikipedia itself is a volunteer project where editors will work under specific preferences. Like I worked with upcoming films, there are editors who work with horror films or foreign-language films. There are also editors who focus on certain aspects of film articles, such as categories, release dates, link-fixing, plot summaries, etc. I think that it is in the best interest of WikiProject Films to keep encouraging that, and I think coordinators could help make certain tools (like Twinkle) more available to expedite such editors' contributions.
In terms of content-building, there will always be work to do. We are seeing some of the WikiProject's older Featured Articles up for review, and for good reason. Older articles did not undergo a stringent FAC process and tended to use online-based references, which are admittedly easier to find. We do not have many new Featured Articles lately, mainly because of completeness and copy-editing. I will have to contemplate the copy-editing aspect, but I've become familiar with ways to research film. I would like to introduce such techniques to readers because some films' best references will not be available in a Google search. In addition to better research, I hope we can engage in quality control of our newer Good and Featured Articles. Without attention, all articles degrade in quality over time, but a periodic review process will help these articles keep their quality. If we can make this process intuitive in WikiProject Films, we can build and maintain a set of quality articles for readers.
Editing tools cannot be used and quality control cannot be applied without the editors themselves. The original participants of WikiProject Films are long gone, and some editors with whom I've worked in the past few years have moved on. Fortunately, I am happy to see a new batch of editors come on board, such as Mike Allen below, and we will always benefit from editors interested in film articles. I monitor recent changes a lot, and I think there are a lot of low-level editors who can be invited into the fold to show them the guidelines and the community that WikiProject Films can offer. Regardless of the role of coordinators in this WikiProject, I hope everyone will help each other build great articles and enjoy doing so. If you have any questions to ask of me, you can add them below. Thank you.
Support Erik's contributions to all areas of WP:FILMS have helped to make this a project that other projects can look up to. His guidance in contributing to discussions, assisting new editors, and dedication to advancing content-building has helped to strengthen this project. I look forward to his further contributions in improving and expanding the project. --Happy editing! Nehrams2020 (talk • contrib) 05:10, 20 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]
What have been the achievements of which you are most proud within WikiProject Films?
I've now created over 8,500 articles for the project. Following on from my Cannes-centric 2009 year, this past year I've been working on the Berlin International Film Festival. I've filled in the gaps of missing films, directors, actors and adding references to existing articles. I start lots of stubs, but I believe there is a Wiki-Culture that puts of some users (esp. new people) from creating articles (tagging instead of helping, un-friendly interface, etc). Quite a fair few of the articles I start then get expanded by other users. My proudest 2010 achievement is creating and expanding the article for one of the best films in the last ten years, Dogtooth. I rarely write plots for films, but this one was fun to do, ditto for the awards table.
What skills/qualities can you contribute as a Films coordinator?
Simple - I get things done. As above, I fill in the gaps. You can't get a GA/FA without having the article there in the first place. If you want a 3 week long debate on weather it's a 3D film or a 3-D film, then don't ask me, as I'll be busy doing much more important work.
Support Although I have little interest in starting articles, I'm glad there is someone that is dedicated to taking on the task (while ensuring that the articles meet guidelines). Although he may indicate little interest in discussions above, he has significantly contributed to discussions that have helped to shape the project and the articles we oversee. --Happy editing! Nehrams2020 (talk • contrib) 05:10, 20 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Hi... Michael Q. Schmidt here. Since I began editing Wikipedia in 2008, I have concentrated on film and film-related articles, doing what I can to help these articles better serve the project. My special interest is in helping newcomers better and more quickly understand the hows and whys and ways of Wikipedia in order to assist them in becoming productive contributors, and to avoid their bumping heads with veteran editors due to newness.
Creating new articles are not my only interest. I like fixing up the problem ones as well. So I suppose my strength is in my willingness and ability to help improve deficient articles through cleanup, expansion, and sourcing in order to allow them to better serve the project.
Though hey... don't get me wrong... if something is unsuitable or beyond salvation, I am just as happy to opine for deletion as anyone. I've been keeping a personal talley of my deletion disussions going back (so far) to last February... and yup... I have absolutely no problem seeking a deletion of unsalvagable articles. It's just that I am not afraid of a little work.
What skills/qualities can you contribute as a Films coordinator?
It's a recognized problem that Wikipedia can be pretty overwhelming to newcomers when they try to understand this place and they find guideline and policy written in a manner more suitable to a book on Tax Code. So, an essay nearing completion is my WP:NEWBIEGUIDE... a one-stop-shop where I couch the basic precepts of Wikipedia and article creation in the simplest terms possible.
And as there are situations where an article on a film or actor is not quite ready for mainspace, my essay WP:TOOSOON puts the pertinent guides and policies in one place for cross-reference and contextual comparison.
So, and despite some who may disagree, in looking at the "plus" checks on the right side of this talley sheet, I can see that where film-related discussions are concerned, I have a pretty decent understanding of policy and guideline and what it takes for an article to best serve the project.
Support A very motivated and dedicated editor, who can find reliable sources to save notable articles time and again. Has done a lot of work with film articles, improving a great deal of them. DreamFocus02:41, 18 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Support When I've popped my head in on some of the film deletion discussions that I doubted would survive AfD, I've always been impressed with the ones Michael has saved. His dedication to improving these challenging articles continues to serve as a great example and can provide guidance for new members taking on the daunting challenges of searching for sources and creating new articles. --Happy editing! Nehrams2020 (talk • contrib) 05:10, 20 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Support Michael's good judgment and sense of intellectual honesty make him a precious commodity for these pages. Every time I read one of his comments, I learn something valuable. Evalpor (talk) 15:58, 24 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Hi, I'm Mike Allen... obviously. I signed up in August 2009 but didn't edit until I found interest in film articles in October 2009. I've not received any editing restrictions and so far my edit count is over 11k. I enjoy working with a respectful partner, but it seems the type of film articles I fancy—no one else does. :P My favorite type of film articles to work on are horror. I don't like reporting other users as I like to try to talk with them—given they're willing to communicate civilly. I believe in second chances, but not third ones.
What have been the achievements of which you are most proud within WikiProject Films?
I've gotten 2 film articles (Inglourious Basterds and Saw VI) to GA (the latter I plan on taking to a FA). I've done quite of bit or work on articles like, Resident Evil: Afterlife, The Smurfs Movie, and Scream 4. The Saw 3D article is the one I'm most proud of, and have been actively working on it since it was born (on my userspace) in December 2009. :)
What skills/qualities can you contribute as a Films coordinator?
As a coordinator, I am capable and willing to help any newcomers on the film project understand guidelines/policy and feel welcomed. I've reviewed one peer review but would like to branch out to reviewing GA's. Any help requests I get on my talk page, I nine times out of ten fulfill them swiftly. I do article clean up (while keeping in mind the latest Film MOS guideline recommendations) like: reference 'tweaking', copyediting, infobox cleaning, category clean up, upload film posters for infoboxes and help find free images to upload to Commons.
Support I was hoping that MikeAllen would toss his hat in the ring, I've been impressed with his contributions in the short time he has been here (well, I guess not that short anymore). His contributions to maintaining newly released films and joining in on discussions help to illustrate his dedication to the project. I would welcome his devotion as a Coordinator. --Happy editing! Nehrams2020 (talk • contrib) 05:10, 20 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]
We need some more candidates with later-alphabetical names, my name is almost always on the bottom... Anyway, I've been a coordinator since 2007, serving at different levels of responsibility for the last five terms. This last term, I was happy to see that we were able to complete the Tag & Assess Drive we had kept putting off, and as always, I'd like to continue to see more and more participation, especially in completing some of our current tasks first designated by Erik. My goal for this next term is improve the overall quality of our GA/FAs so that we continue to have helpful examples to spawn additional quality articles. I've initially started this with the Spotlight cleanup listing, but will probably take this more head-on with other members' assistance. In addition, I'm stepping up my efforts on continuing to secure free images for actors and other film-related people (I just recently signed up for a free trial of IMDBPro to get some direct contact information, which could lead to new high-quality images) and will try contacting organizations, museums, and possibly film studios to help illustrate our articles (as well as other articles outside of our scope).
Since I tend to delve into other projects unrelated to WP:FILMS (such as military and historical events), if elected, I would prefer to serve under the lead coordinator. With my work schedule, I tend to get to discussions usually at the ending point, so it would be beneficial to have a lead that was more active in all areas of the project to properly represent WP:FILMS to guide new and current members. I've enjoyed working with this project since the early stages of my WikiCareer, and will be happy to continue to guide it through new changes and article improvement.
What have been the achievements of which you are most proud within WikiProject Films?
My favorite thing to do is work on a variety of film articles and improve them to GA/FA status. With such a large number of potential articles that increases all the time, I like to guide others in taking steps to improve articles they work on. I have initiated several drives with varying degrees of success, which have led to article improvement, assessment, and collaboration. Continuing to help write and distribute the monthly newsletter is a great way for me to keep an eye on all areas of the project while seeing all new and current members.
What skills/qualities can you contribute as a Films coordinator?
I love films, and a large portion of my time on Wikipedia continues to be improving film articles, encouraging others to meet project guidelines for taking on GA/FA levels, and working in a variety of departments. I have experience in a variety of areas within the project along with other projects and Wikimedia Commons. As an administrator, I can continue to help with protection and deletion issues for some of our maintenance templates.
