CZ:Nomination page/Managing Editor/Peter Schmitt

Of course it is an honour to be nominated. But I hesitated for a long time to accept it.

Now I have accepted it. If the community should think that I can be useful in this position, I shall do my best.

As requested, I accept with the intention to serve -- if elected -- for the full period of two years, but with two exceptions:
I shall resign from office

• if CZ should develop in a direction that I cannot honestly support, and
• if it should turn out that I am not able to fulfil my duties as necessary.

General remarks

Relying on a single source for information would be dangerous. There must not be a monopoly for an online encyclopedia. It is crucial that there is competition.

• The Citizendium has the potential to be a competitor of WP.

But: CZ may not try to directly compete with WP. WP was the first, it is the biggest, it is the best known. It has the most contributors (and the most users, too). The chances to beat WP in Google hits is minimal. Even after a very successful campaign to recruit new Citizens,

• CZ will not be a match for WP measured by resources.

Thus CZ has to try to gain reputation (evolve a brand) and to establish itself as a site where to go directly, bypassing search engines. For this purpose, CZ must not imitate WP, but has to be recognizably different from its competitors. Consequently,

• CZ has to (mainly) strive for quality, not for quantity.

To hope for a fast growth -- as fast as that of WP -- is likely to be an illusion.

Upcoming tasks

There is much to do.
All policies have to be reviewed. Many suggestions and problems have been discussed in the forum and on talk pages. All of them have to be considered, many of them deserve to be realized.
But: There is TOO much to do!
We shall not be able to handle everything at once. Thus,

• when starting now to (re)form CZ it is important to choose priorities carefully and to be patient.

Else there is the danger that nothing will be accomplished.

In order to reach its ambitious goals, CZ will need the cooperation of all Citizens. While it is the responsibility of the officials (EC,MC,ME, and Ombudsman, who will have to closely cooperate) to guarantee the reliability of all content and that the fundamental principles are observed, they will need the support of all Citizens.

• All officials will have to work in close contact with all interested Citizens.

We are lucky to finally have a Charter on that CZ can be built. However,

• the Charter needs some revisions.

Content

For a statement on content issues see the statement for EC candidature.