Thread:Algorithmz/@comment-188432-20170217214223/@comment-188432-20170221172101

Hey! Thanks for writing back!

It's great that you have goals that you can so clearly enumerate. However, it's even more important that your goals be realistic.

Understanding Fandom's international structure
A part of me thinks that you may have a slight misapprehension about the way Fandom is set up. You've said:


 * What I plan on doing in the future (or even better, now) is completing tasks similar to tasks that the Technical and Development Staff do around the English Community, but internationally.

But the thing is, there actually is a whole department called "Community Development International". That's not to say we can't use help, but it's important for you to realise that there are several staff members dedicated to developing Fandom internationally.

Making this wiki more of a sandbox
That's a part of the reason I contacted you here initially. This wiki looks like it's competing with, rather than working with, an existing staff department. So it's important you change your wordmark and theming as soon as possible. And I can change the URL to something that better fits whatever new name you want to give this place as a sandbox.

The Utilities right
A lot of what you're asking for is dependent upon having the Utilities right, which isn't even a right that all staff members have. Some Helpers also have this right, but if you go to the list of people who have the Fandom Utility right, what you'll find is that almost all of the people who have this right are staff. And if you peruse the list of helpers, you'll see that only some also have the util right. It's given out on a case-by-case basis, typically to people who've been volunteering at Fandom for several years. But even age-of-account has no demonstrable relationship to getting util rights.

So for the time being I have to advise that you're not going to be able to:
 * add extensions
 * configure wiki settings
 * do anything else that requires the util right

Things assigned to other teams
I also think that you've listed a few other things that you aren't realistically going to be able to do because they're assigned to other teams:
 * Various community enhancement projects (like SpecOps). The theming request page is administered by SpecOps staff only. It would be inappropriate for you to offer assistance on this page. Additionally, some theming projects are handled by Community Development staff members directly, without the use of the request page. You wouldn't be able to help with these, either.
 * Stopping spam and vandalism globally. The VSTF have additional tools you don't currently have. So you'll need to leave the blocking up to current VSTF members until such time as you're asked to join. (But see below.)
 * Enabling Discussions. (But see below.)
 * Monitoring Statistics on wikis. Some Stats are available to you. But daily pageviews do require you to be at least an admin. (But see below.)
 * Creating portable content. This is kind of tricky because you can create Portable Infoboxes even as an IP. But they do require support from CSS, which you can't edit except as an admin or other privileged group. There's also the possibility that you might inadvertently interfere with Vanguard work that's ongoing. (But see below.)
 * Act as a support system for international users (definitely in Technical aspects). You'll build a better reputation for yourself if you're absolutely sure of your answers. I'd recommend you test any answer before you give it. But remember that we have a good number of non-EN speakers on staff. And if you don't know the answer, just ask the user to send in a Special:Contact. A lot of users don't know that Special:Contact exists, so it can be surprisingly helpful just to mention it.
 * Working with curated content. You can't actually do this without being at least an admin. (But see below.)

Things you can do

 * Offer translations. But you should keep in mind the basic guidelines set down at the WLB. I'd even specifically go to Yatalu and say, "Hey I'd really like to help with translations. But I may have made some mistakes in the past. How can I offer better help with translations?"
 * Report spam at w:c:vstf. That's very important. If you're genuinely interested in this topic, I encourage you to use w:c:vstf to report as much problematic activity as you see. If you gain a reputation for a good, solid reporter of spam, you'll increase your chances of being asked to join the team.
 * Encourage adoption of Discussions. Approach admin on non-EN wikis where Discussions aren't enabled. Explain what you like about Discussions. Then say something like, "If you'd like to get Discussions enabled here, I can help you get them going." If they say yes, give a bulleted link to the discussion at Wikis that want Discussions enabled. Then the appropriate staff member will be alerted. Doing work like this would also make you a top candidate for being a Discussions Moderator on these communities.
 * Help with interwiki links. Yes. Please. Anywhere you'd like. Interwiki links are actually the single most important thing a user can do to help with localisation efforts.
 * Monitoring Insights on wikis. Sure. Even an IP user can do that. You can also check Special:Statistics.
 * You can create Portable Infoboxes, but you can't edit the CSS that's required to style infoboxes. So you'll have to create infoboxes on a sandbox where you're an admin (like here). Because of the possibility of inadvertently stumbling onto a wiki where Vanguard work is ongoing, please ask me before starting any PI work, anywhere. That way, I can check our lists and make sure your time isn't wasted.
 * Working with curated content. As with Discussions, you may not be able to enable it, but you can encourage adoption. A lot of communities don't know they can have a different, more portable mobile main page through curation. You can tell them about this and therefore make Fandom significantly more portable. As with Discussions, you could keep "score" on a page like Wikis that want curated mobile main pages.
 * Randomly reviewing wikis internationally for any questions, comments, or concerns. Sure. I mean there's nothing wrong with approaching admin and politely asking if they need help. It's a little vague, though.  I'd probably recommend you concentrate on more specific topics like making sure they know about Discussions or Curated Main Pages. You'll probably not want to hit them with everything at once. Just pick a single topic, introduce it, and let them know you're available for questions.  And make sure you keep a list like the ones suggested, above — just so you know where you've been!
 * Helping with wiki design issues. I'm reminded by my boss, JoePlay, that a good place for you to spend some time, if you're interested in helping people with design issues is community:Board:Support Requests - Designing Your Wiki. Take a look over there to see if it might be a fun place for you!