Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2012-05-21/From the editor
 Article display preview: | This is a draft of a potential Signpost article, and should not be interpreted as a finished piece. Its content is subject to review by the editorial team and ultimately by JPxG, the editor in chief. Please do not link to this draft as it is unfinished and the URL will change upon publication. If you would like to contribute and are familiar with the requirements of a Signpost article, feel free to be bold in making improvements!
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The Signpost has been an integral part of Wikipedia since its inception in 2005. Nearly a thousand editors on the English Wikipedia alone have subscribed to it, in addition to the many editors on other foundation sites who have subscribed to global delivery. Others subscribe via email, including outside individuals interested in the movement. The Signpost's rise has been aided by a series of extremely respected and capable people; those who have been around for years will easily recall names like Michael Snow (January–August 2005), Ral315 (August 2005–December 2008), and Ragesoss (February 2009–June 2010). Those of us who joined more recently will recognize HaeB (June 2010–July 2011) and the interim editors-in-chief the Signpost has had since then (Jarry1250, SMasters and Skomorokh).
After the recent departure of Skomorokh and SMasters, I offered to complete the largely formal process of pushing buttons to publish the Signpost every week. While the issues have gone out with few issues, the Signpost journalists felt that appointing a new editor-in-chief was necessary to serve as a point of contact and as an final arbiter over journalistic decisions that confront us each week, like what topics to cover, weighting, etc. My name was floated as a possibility, and many of the regular journalists supported the idea, so I accepted.
Being the eighth editor-in-chief of the Signpost is an intriguing challenge, as the newspaper is in a unique genre as opposed to the rest of the project: we have deadlines, are not limited to an encyclopedic style, and disseminate Wikipedia-related news—and I am sure nearly all of you have heard "Wikipedia is not a newspaper." I also feel that I have to live up to the esteemed former editors who have done so much for the Signpost, while simultaneously blazing my own trail, bringing the Signpost to new heights, new places, and new readers.
One of my goals in changing the Signpost is reviving its dormant opinion desk. My definition of an op-ed has traditionally been expansive, thanks to my time as an editor of the Military history Project's Bugle. In my view, they can be anything from 'how-to' articles (e.g. the oft-cited "Let's get serious about plagiarism", or the Bugle's "John Goodall's The English Castle and delving into castle editing"), in-depth observations into a Wikipedia process, calls for participation in an important new initiative, or position pieces on a divisive newsworthy development. I am keenly aware that no matter what topic is being discussed on-wiki, you will find strong support and determined opposition among Wikipedia's diverse contributors. While we cannot publish every submission that comes our way, as we are looking for high reader interest and engagement, your imagination is the outer limit.
Send us your preliminary thoughts for an op-ed at the opinion desk, on my talk page, or to my email, whichever you are most comfortable with.
— The ed17
Discuss this story
Welcome to your new job. I hope that The Signpost continues its success with the new leadership. Pine(talk) 03:39, 22 May 2012 (UTC)[reply]
It's a tough job, but someone's got to do it :-). Can you comment as to the approach you intend to take regarding the previous editors' excellent work in also covering the negative stories about Wikipedia, and their resistance to efforts to make the Signpost a mouthpiece and cheering section of the Wikimedia Foundation? -- Seth Finkelstein (talk) 05:22, 22 May 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Great news; welcome, and kudos to the 'post. – SJ + 06:35, 22 May 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Good luck. I looked forward to the best news of you. Wagino 20100516 (talk) 07:37, 22 May 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Congratulations, Ed! I'm sure you will do beautifully in the role. :) --Moonriddengirl (talk) 10:28, 22 May 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Congratz! I look forward to reading more opinion pieces. --J36miles (talk) 14:14, 22 May 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Congratulations, and good luck wrangling the 'post! -- phoebe / (talk to me) 16:44, 22 May 2012 (UTC)[reply]
The right choice was made. Sven Manguard Wha? 01:21, 25 May 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Perhaps a good idea would be to run the article on TCO's report on the FA which was spiked last year after his attackers refused to write a rebuttal.--Wehwalt (talk) 11:09, 25 May 2012 (UTC)[reply]