New admin

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Hi, there. This is Tom Fucoloro.

I graduated, and should no longer be the leader/administrator/whatever of this site.

The good news is, this is of no real loss to the site. I have totally neglected it for much of the past year, and it has done wonderful things on its own. The site is in the hands of a large group of users (some more active than others) who really keep it in good order and interesting/useful/controversial. It's truly amazing what the Wiki Fire community can do.

Anyway, to the job:

Responsibilities

You will NOT be the publisher of anythings written on the site (unless you write them). This is important. If someone writes something libelous or otherwise problematic, the forum manager is not liable for it. This is an aspect of libel law that is still in a relatively undecided state, but the most recent court rulings have freed online forum managers from liability. Each individual user of the site is self-publishing on the Wiki Fire.

However, you may get some flack from people at the visible head of the site. But most people don't care about it once they realize they can just go and change it themselves.

So, if you are not the publisher, then what responsibilities do you have? Well, you will have access to the site's backbone software. You can install extensions (for example, the youtube and reCAPCHA extensions were added later in the site's life). But don't let this scare away people without technical knowhow. You don't have to do anything unless you want to. The site functions pretty well as it is. But someone has to hold the keys to the library, right? (OK, not a perfect analogy, but you get the idea. Open door, public, whatnot. OK, ignore the library bit)

Also, and perhaps most importantly, you will have to figure out how to raise $120 by April or so. The first year was funded by a Richter Grant I received to start it. The second year was funded by me because I was too lazy to fund raise. You can raise those funds however you want. Be creative. Or just pay it yourself. Whatever you want. Just don't go through Senate or Campus Life or anything. Raise it independent of the school. Independent media will be vital come the revolution... And trust me, Knox media is not exactly independent...

Other responsibilities are yours to invent. You don't really have any more power over the content than any other sysop on the site (except that you can pull plug. But don't do that). However, as the leader, you should take a role to get things moving if they grow stale. How should the front page articles be managed? Up until now, I have just been picking ones that I like, but that process could be much more democratic. You could organize that process. You can take on advertising for the site. You can organize meetings on campus to generate interest in the site. You can do whatever you want. Just be better than I was. Hell, you could even incorporate the Wiki Fire if you wanted to. I was meaning to do that, but never got around to it. Not-for-profit paper work is insane.

Prestige

Well, you can call yourself owner of the site. That has gone pretty far as a resume-builder. But don't just do it for resume purposes, of course. But that is an added bonus to taking the time to manage the site.

How to apply

Well, I don't really have a great idea for this. My plan unless someone else has a better idea is just to have people email me and I'll pick one. But if you have another idea, please share on the discussion page of this article and we can discuss it. Maybe we could hold elections! Or just e-mail me and I'll pick whoever has the most passion for free Knox media.

What to put in your e-mail

An updated resume...just kidding. I mean, if you have a resume you can send it to me, but I really hate updating my resume and would never ask anyone to update (or create) one for me.

Just e-mail me with

  • name
  • class
  • what you do in your free time
  • why you want to manage the site, any places you would like to see the site go, whatever you think I should know.

I will not age-discriminate. If a freshman thinks ze will do a good job, then please e-mail me. (tfucoloro at gmail dot com)

If you have any other questions, either write on the discussion page or e-mail me.

Thanks, everyone.

Tfooq 19:03, 20 September 2008 (CDT)