Celeste Etoile

fairydoctor

gashv

winkwonkboi

Woedenaz

administators (not subject to above policy):
DrEverettMann
HarryBlank
Pedagon
Prismal
pxdnbluesoul
Rounderhouse
SoullessSingularity
thedeadlymoose

operational staff:
Aftokrator
Anky swallow
Cicada3301Fan
EstrellaYoshte
Ethagon
Fishish
JackalRelated
Joreth
OriTiefling
ProblemPal
S D Locke
sailorenoch
sugarush
tetsusquared
Zoobeeny

HaydenSaintPascal

wackdog

AstralNavigator

battlecruiser12

MetalRavioli

Sinking_Otter

Abstaining from those whose work I'm unfamiliar with.

HaydenSaintPascal

wackdog

AstralNavigator

battlecruiser12

MetalRavioli

Sinking_Otter

Abstaining for those involved in work I am unfamiliar with.

HaydenSaintPascal

wackdog

AstralNavigator

battlecruiser12

MetalRavioli

Sinking_Otter

Abstaining on those I'm not familiar with

HaydenSaintPascal

wackdog

AstralNavigator

battlecruiser12

MetalRavioli

Sinking_Otter

(As always, my abstentions are due to a lack of familiarity with the candidate in question and their work rather than a lack of confidence in them.)

HaydenSaintPascal

wackdog

AstralNavigator

battlecruiser12

MetalRavioli

Sinking_Otter

No vote on the last one.Leaving it up in the air, off-site work is hard.

HaydenSaintPascal

wackdog

AstralNavigator

battlecruiser12

MetalRavioli

Sinking_Otter

Strongest pick of op staff candidates in a long time. Not a single weak one.

See Promotions-Policy for how promotions are to be handled. And see the Candidate Discussions on the main-site thread and 05 thread for more information about candidates.

These are votes of confidence. If you are unfamiliar or on the fence about someone, vote NO or Abstain. Only vote yes if the candidate has your confidence and you genuinely feel that they are ready for promotion.

Please post even if you are abstaining from voting. Staff may abstain from voting on any individual votes.

This promotion vote will end in:

Operational Staff Candidates:

Below is a group of suggestions regarding Junior Staff who Team Captains have nominated to be voted upwards to Operational Staff. Please read the commentary provided in order to help your judgement regarding these staff.

Junior Staff Member:	HaydenSaintPascal
Captain/Team:	Tech (aismallard / stormbreath)
Why:	HaydenSaintPascal has been an fantastic addition to the Technical Team. Since joining, they have been helpful as a theme reviewer, has brought valuable contributions to team and technical policy discussions, and is co-leading an accessibility initiative on the site along with wackdog. We do not have any reservations about their promotion to operational staff.
Optional areas of improvement:	N/A

Junior Staff Member:	wackdog
Captain/Team:	Tech (aismallard / stormbreath)
Why:	wackdog has been an extraordinary addition to Tech. He has contributed to tech policy work and discussions, theme reviews, and has been co-leading a valuable accessibility initiative alongside HaydenSaintaPascal. We do not have any reservations about his promotion to operational staff.
Optional areas of improvement:	N/A

Junior Staff Member:	AstralNavigator
Captain/Team:	Discord Crit (AstersQuill/Queerious)
Why:	AstralNavigator has been an active and productive member in both moderation and process work. He recently took the initiative to rewrite the writing channel rules for clarity, and drove the process through to completion. He has a good head for issues of moderation and policy, and acts with the level of confidence and care we look for in all Discord Critique members. When asked to self-reflect on why he should be promoted, Astral responded as such: "I think I've found my footing in my staff role to the point where I am able to take initiative and contribute in ways beyond just "clocking in" and doing the usual assigned tasks only, such as with the rules rewrite."
Optional areas of improvement:	We asked AstralNavigator where he could improve as an OS, and he noted wanting to be involved more in general staff matters.

Junior Staff Member:	wackdog
Captain/Team:	Discord Crit (AstersQuill/Queerious)
Why:	Wackdog, though a more recent addition to our roster, has proved himself to be competent and committed in moderation. This is best shown with his frequent contributions in spotting and reporting AI-generated works. When asked to self-reflect on why he should be promoted, Wackdog responded with: " Since joining critique I have made an active effort to integrate into the team and handle the day to day duties of critique staff to the best of my ability. I feel as though I have done a good job maintaining the respective topics and encouraging supportive culture of the Deer College channels. I have also made sure to keep on top of certain aspects of critique that get overlooked: such as mirroring sitebans as crit kicks and so on."
Optional areas of improvement:	We asked Wackdog where he could improve as an OS, and he responded with: "Something I can think of improving on is being slightly more decisive during staff discussions. A couple times I have found myself saying "I'm easy" during a discussion on what action to take. While it is fine to do this, I feel there might be times where it is better for me to make sure I pick a definitive side for a clearer consensus."

Junior Staff Member:	battlecruiser12
Captain/Team:	Licensing (Naepic)
Why:	Battlecruiser has been actively and quietly working her way through the Sisyphean task that is checking licenseboxes and adding the tag. She is working with the same initiative that led to Elenee successfully finishing a similar initiative a few years ago, and in due time, she and her fellow licenseheads will overcome. She knows how to pace herself well; if an article has an overwhelming number of images or otherwise requires extra work, battlecruiser will act accordingly and limit herself. Moreover, promoting her would potentially grant her access to mod tools, something she will need in future as she stumbles into more images that need replacement. Battlecruiser has been diligently working at this for half a year now, taking breaks when needed, and I think its time for a promotion. —Nico
Optional areas of improvement:	I asked battlecruiser to tell me what she views as her own areas of improvement as an OS and this is what she said: "I believe my greatest shortcoming as a member of staff is that I struggle with self-discipline. I will often end up taking breaks of a couple of days from making license boxes without really intending to because I become distracted by other things, which is something I will really need to work on if I'm going to be promoted to operational staff, and potentially being trusted with mod tools later down the line." Personally, I think that as previously mentioned, battlecruiser is merely pacing herself well. I think she has an excellent head on her shoulders and is able to keep herself from burnout— a very important skill to have as staff.

Junior Staff Member:	MetalRavioli
Captain/Team:	Community Outreach (Naepic)
Why:	Ravioli is dependable, diligent, kind, and intelligent— all good traits I think staffers should have. She, alongside another user who has unfortunately not been with us long enough to promote, have been key in revitalizing the Data Analysis team, which has oft languished in the past. That aside, Ravioli has been a key player in Site News team for her entire tenure on staff, helping to get it pushed out on time efficiently. —Nico
Optional areas of improvement:	I asked Ravioli to tell me what she views as her own areas of improvement as an OS and this is what she said: "I definitely feel my biggest weakness as a staffer is procrastination. I’ve procrastinated on staff tasks before, (eg. the Site News page features) which can stress me out when I have to get it all done at the last minute." Personally, I think that Ravioli does a good enough job of keeping herself on task. The only instance of which we have had an issue relating to news being late was January 2026, but that was not Ravioli's fault, or anyone's, really, we were just doing something new that took time to execute correctly.

Junior Staff Member:	Sinking_Otter
Captain/Team:	Community Outreach (Naepic)
Why:	Otter is an unstoppable force. Managing the Facebook and Instagram almost singlehandedly and fielding constant promotional posts where I am unable, she has proven herself incredibly diligent as well as intelligent and capable when it comes to general IO policy. I am proud to call her a member of my staff and see a very bright future for her on this team. —Prom
Optional areas of improvement:	I asked Otter if she felt she had any shortcomings as it relates to staff or areas she felt she could/should improve. This is what she has to say: "In terms of shortcomings, I do realise that I have a very formal and I would say corporate approach to how I communicate which isn’t always ideal given social media often demands a more informal approach. I also recognise that while I communicate frequently with off-site, I don’t reach out to the on-site community as much. I’d like to fix that as I believe in my position being immersed in both communities is key. When it comes to staff specifically, I recognise I'm not as involved as other junior staff as I prefer to hold back unless I feel I can benefit a discussion by contributing. I'd like to jump in more or potentially get involved with other teams so that I might contribute more." I agree with Otter's assessment regarding her relative lack of on-site presence, but I believe she is more than capable of remedying this easily. I would like to see her participate in policy discussions among other staff, as she is excellent at it with respect to IO-focused matters. Regarding communication styles and formality, I appreciate her sense of conversation and attitude, as while it differs from my natural demeanor and that of other IO members to some degree, I feel a diversity of personality is valuable in any group that expects to reach people. Otter is a very strong organizing force that helps me keep things on track.

Vote YES or NO. Someone who you are ambivalent to should not receive your vote of confidence for staff, thus abstain or no. If you don't know who someone is, then I invite you to educate yourself and get to know their work before voting.

||~ Operational Staff Candidate||~ YES||~ NO|| ||[[*user HaydenSaintPascal]]|| X || X || ||[[*user wackdog]]|| X || X || ||[[*user AstralNavigator]]|| X || X || ||[[*user battlecruiser12]]|| X || X || ||[[*user MetalRavioli]]|| X || X || ||[[*user Sinking_Otter]]|| X || X ||