Why am I doing this?

In the debate about my worthiness for administrator status on Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/ClockworkTroll, some good points have been raised concerning my username, and the fact that it contains the word "troll". Some of these points are:

• That the term troll refers to somebody disruptive to the community, and by allowing an admin with such a name may suggest that we allow such conduct, and therefore don't care about the community or our work.
• Such a username is not appropriate for someone who wants this position of respect
• Such a name may make life more difficult in disputes.
• That an admin named "ClockworkTroll" would have a detrimental effect on Wikipedia

In summary, the word troll can be seen as inflammatory, and may cause others to come make negative assumptions about me (the name-holder) and Wikipedia in general, who has (in this scenario) allowed me to represent them.

I don't agree with all of the points above, or with the intensity of the feelings that others have, but the very fact that a number of people have those feelings in the first place is indictive of a potential future issue.

What now?

Now, I'm faced with a dilemma: what name shall I choose? I've used ClockworkTroll for a number of years and am reluctant to part with it. This is where the power of the community comes in: you can help me decide in the Name the Admin Candidate contest!

How to submit

Well, thats the bad news: this contest is closed. Sorry. Below the runners up are listed, along with name names of those that submitted them. Many thanks to everybody that helped me out here.

If you're looking for the entries, they have been archived on this page's discussion page.

My name criteria

1. They must be valid, legal usernames. No profanity, please.
2. They must not contain the word troll, or any other word or concept that may be overly inflammatory.
3. Names should (but are not required to) maintain the "clockwork" concept (such as, "robotic", for example) while still maintaining a "charming frivolity".
4. Most importantly, I have to like the name. Preferrably alot.

And the winner is...

With so many excellent submissions, I had alot of trouble choosing a single name. In the end though, I had to make the difficult choice.

So now, I'm pleased to announce my NEW name: ClockworkSoul!

Many, many thanks go to the name's author: sannse (talk)! And now you can brag that you've actually named a candidate for administrator!

ClockworkPoll Runners Up

In the event that the winner is disputed, dies, gets caught up in a political sex scandal, or otherwise cannot fulfil its duties, these runners up will take its place:

1. ClockworkFrog, submitted by TOR (1st Runner Up)
2. ClockworkMole, submitted by Ta bu shi da yu (2nd Runner Up)
3. Daemon Machina, submitted by PedanticallySpeaking (3rd Runner Up)
4. BillyGatesGruff, submitted by Geogre (4th Runner Up)

Thanks again

I would just like to thank everybody who participated in my contest. Everybody taking time out to come up with a name or comment on a submission really makes me feel welcome here.

I offer my sincerest gratitude: thank you.

Congratulations to the great new name to complement your old good name :-). Unfortunately the admin vote is looking gloomy, so... ;-). — David Remahl 06:18, 19 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Congrats to sannse and thank you CT... er... CS ;) for this great contest. I had a great time reading the proposals. Question: will you be putting up a new admin request with the new name or will you just update the current one? I think I might vote... :) --TOR 11:09, 19 Nov 2004 (UTC)

• Lucky for me, adminship is associated with a person, and not a name, and official name changes allow for transfer of administrative powers. Lucky for you, voting is still open for another day or so! ClockworkSoul 16:28, 19 Nov 2004 (UTC)