CAP 13 CAP 2 Topic Leader Nominations

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This is the thread for people to announce their desire to become the Topic Leader (TL) for this creation project. Do not suggest other users. If someone wants to become the TL, they will post on their own, and if they don't have a strong urge to be it then they shouldn't be signing up anyway. The CAP project requires the utmost dedication and a substantial amount of free time, especially to lead, meaning that only those who have carefully considered the magnitude of their application will apply at all. If you are not prepared to fulfill all of the responsibilities to the very end, then do not throw your hat into the ring.

Topic leaders should have the following qualifications:

  • Deep knowledge of the game of Pokemon
  • Familiarity with competitive Pokemon concepts, strategy and philosophy, as practiced within Smogon
  • Willing to voice opinions and lead others
  • Open-minded to new ideas
  • Creative, "outside-of-the-box" thinker
  • Good writing skills
  • Level-headed when resolving disputes
  • Liked and respected by the CAP community
Once this CAP starts, the Topic Leader will be the most important, most visible member of the CAP community, and is expected to be a strong guiding force throughout the creation process. If you are selected, you will have a great deal of power to influence the project. But you also have a responsibility to stay on top of things. You will have forum moderators and an assistant to help you sometimes, but you need to be regularly active on the project until it is complete. All potential candidates should look through the Topic Leadership Guide, to get an idea of what will be expected of you, if you are selected to be the CAP 1 Topic Leader.

Furthermore, the Topic Leader will select at least one other person to guide him or her as an Assistant Topic Leader (ATL). The Assistant Topic Leader has responsibilities and powers outlined in the Active ATL Guide. Be aware that even if you are not selected as the Topic Leader you may still have a very large influence on the project.

To avoid confusion -- Topic Leader nominees will automatically be considered applicants for the Policy Review Committee, after the Topic Leader vote is complete. See the Policy Review Committee Application thread for more information regarding the Policy Review Committee.

This thread is strictly for candidacy posts and posts supporting those candidates. Please stay on topic. Below are the guidelines for posting in this thread:
  • Candidates must have been actively involved through the entire duration of the most recent CAP project. Involvement in multiple CAP projects is strongly preferred.
  • Do not suggest other people. If you want you encourage someone else to run, then send them a PM or talk to them on IRC.
  • If you are new to the CAP project, do not sign up to be a TL. Instead, spend a project or two lurking, learning, and participating first.
  • Include a summary of your involvement in the CAP project.
  • Make a pitch for why you should be selected. If you can't present and defend yourself, then you can't expect to lead a project whose primary function is discussion and debate. Convince us that you are a good choice.
  • Poor spelling, punctuation, and grammar are great ways to look as though you don't know what you're talking about. A thoughtful and intelligent community leader should be capable of typing at a level above typical internet banter.
  • Even if you don't think you are better qualified than certain other candidates, you still should consider posting your application. Candidates not selected as the TL for this project will be on the watch list by the PRC for next time around. Don't post your name if you don't intend to be active in the project, even if you are not selected, since people will be scrutinizing your involvement more closely.
  • Feel free to post support for any candidates already named.
  • Do not post disparaging remarks about any candidates.
If these rules are not followed, the offending user will be subject to moderation.
 
Ok, I guess it's my time to step in.

Hello people, my name is Zarator. Those of you who have been around CAP for the last years will probably know me well enough. I've been involved with this project since the end of CAP 3 (Pyroak), and I think I can say my posts have positively influenced CAP several times. I have not limited my activity to posting, either: I have been an active battler on the CAP server for quite long, and with good results, too (for those of you who haven't battled me, my custom title should be a good enough proof to believe my words).

In the last CAP (Tomohawk), I voiced my opinion thoughtfully a fair amount of times. An example is the case I made for considering Flying as the primary type over Ghost (here), and Water as the secondary type (here), or again my comments about non-attacking moves to add/remove (here). I always strived to be clear, persuasive, and understandable in regards to the others' opinions, and the amount of support Water got as a secondary type after my post seems to support - to a reasonable extent - my ability to leave a mark on the discussion.

I can vouch for several contributions outside CAP as well. I have won three tournaments so far, and managed to get far in a few others. Many of these involved unconventional metagames which forced me to think out of the box, but I've proved to be decent at more standard competitions, too. I have joined the Battling 101 program as a tutor, and I've written two extensive articles about priority attacks and entry hazards in the OU environment. Between battling skills, teaching skills, and writing skills, there are few aspects I haven't proved myself at without getting remarkable results.

As for the human qualities a TL is expected to have, obviously the burden of judgement on this aspect should lie on the people who know me, not on myself. However, I think I can tell with reasonable boldness that quite a lot people respect my opinions, and even those who don't can at least attest my willingness to consider every point of view and every person, no matter how distant from mine. I always make my best to understand everything and everyone, but at the same time I'm more than capable of defending my positions from critiques. Again, I'm confident many of you can back me on this.


In the end, I have displayed knowledge of the metagame, remarkable writing skills, helpful attitude towards others (my tutees, my IRC fellows, Smogoners in general), decision-making skills, originality and love for experimentation in my play. And all of this while being a CAP veteran who's been around for years. I'm sure I'd be a good choice as a Topic Leader for this project, and I hope you will consider my nomination. Thank you.
 

DarkSlay

Guess who's back? Na na na! *breakdances*
is a CAP Contributor Alumnus
I've been waiting a long time for this.

Hello fellow CAP participants! My name is DarkSlay. I have been a member of Smogon for over two years now, and have been an active participant in the CAP program since Gen IV's CAP10. CAP has been such an amazing learning opportunity for myself ever since my involvement. Never has there been such an institution on Smogon that allows participants to feel deeply involved in the study of competitive Pokemon. I have learned much through the CAP process, whether as an active poster in the forum or a participant in the numerous active discussions in the #cap IRC chatroom. At this time, however, I feel that CAP has taught me enough so that I may start giving back to the program as much as I can. The position of Topic Leader allows me to do just that, and I feel that I am an extremely viable candidate who is willing to do his best for the program that shaped him into the battler - and person - that he is today.

To start off, let me give you all some background as to how I became involved in the CAP process. Back in February of 2010, as I was starting to become involved in the team rating process in the RMT forum, I stumbled upon the Create-A-Pokemon forum. At first, I didn't exactly understand what the point of CAP was. Was it a fanboy Pokemon club where people just came together and made really overpowered Pokemon? Was it just for fun? I took a look at some of the final threads made for CAP9 (Colossoil), found it very interesting, and decided to participate in the next CAP project, which turned out to be our favorite little shrimp Krilowatt. As soon as the project started, I immediately became submersed in the in-depth discussions of the project, putting numerous hours of work into the Counters discussion thread, the typing of the project, and various posts in the moves threads, such as this. I had an enjoyable time, and learned a lot in the process. During CAP11 and the Voodoom project, I furthered my involvement in the program, creating my own stat spread for the project and movepool, which came in second to Jibaku's. During the Generation IV period, I was also a vOPs member of the #cap channel, and participated in many thorough discussions with my colleagues concerning both projects.

With the introduction of the new generation, my involvement did not stop. CAP1 and Tomohawk provided an outlet for vivid Generation 5 discussion, and I took full advantage of the opportunities of studying a brand new metagame. I decided to create a concept design for the project, which you may see in the future as well. I continued to strongly voice my opinions on such topics as Poison Heal. Aside from these things, I also submitted a stat spread once again and voiced my opinions on moves and abilities. Tomohawk was an amazing opportunity for individuals such as myself to really take a hold onto the new metagame, and even though the project proved that times were indeed changing from what I had been working on for the past year in CAP, the project also reassured me that I would continue to excel in discussions and continue to learn.

Outside of the CAP experience, I have also been hard at work both learning Pokemon and helping others in their quest for education (and enjoyment!). While I have never battled enough over the course of one period to warrant a suspect vote, I have battled enough to reach around the area of #175 on the Smogon standard ladder during the fifth generation. I have also hit #3 on the Smogon DW ladder at one point, as well as top ten marks on other PO server ladders for DW. Here is an example of my battling technique, a warstory in which I battle a very talented Pokemon player (who will be kept nameless out of respect) in a very exciting DW match that received good reception. (Note, the pictures in the warstory broke a while ago, so apologies for the weird format if there's issues.) I have also been assigned as a project mod for the CAP ASB subforum, "infamous" for its anime style battling. However, much like the CAP institution has supplied Pokemon information to me, CAP ASB has taught me a lot about Pokemon in general, has made me acquainted with every single Pokemon in the fifth generation to a T, and has allowed me to practice policy decisions and discussion. This thread highlights some of the policy discussions I have created and involved myself with in ASB. You'd be surprised at just how comparable the learning process of CAP is with the creation and implementation of ASB has been. Aside from these things, in the past I have been an avid team rater (evidenced here and here, as well as various other RMTs) and have contributed in C&C (I was responsible for the Machoke analysis found on site for Generation IV, and have given comments in numerous C&C threads).

Through my friends in CAP, CAP ASB, and Smogon, I have been able to display my talents as a leader, as a listener, as a supporter, and as a person who is willing to compromise. By evidence of my many discussions in IRC and in the CAP projects, I will strongly make a case for items that I find outstanding in discussion, whether it be supporting a move's inclusion or pleading for the striking down of a certain ability. I am not afraid to put forth my opinion, and more importantly, I am not afraid to support it. That being said, what makes me so effective as a leader is the deep consideration I give to an individual's reasoning, support, and ideas. If you notice in my posts, most of my work doesn't go into just spouting out words supporting my claims or someone's else's work. It's almost always backed up by research. Calculations, test battles, you name it. And most importantly, I have treated all claims the same. I want to make sure that people understand why I agree or disagree with them. Giving support or productive criticism is just as important as portraying my own beliefs. I fully understand that CAP is not a one man effort, but the point of being a leader in the CAP community is to guide discussion through intelligent pathways and viewpoints. I strongly believe that these viewpoints and pathways come from the outstanding ideas of the community, and a true leader combines both his own style of ideals and the community's input into one project. Other areas in which I excel is policy making, where I have shown in the past that I can draw up and plan out decisions in an orderly fashion (evidenced here in the most recent Counters Discussion policy agreement).

Wrapping up, I want to emphasize the real truth as to why I am a viable TL candidate: it's not because of what I have done by myself. It's because I, too, am a product of the community of Smogon. All of these examples I have given were influenced by what I have learned and have combined with my own gifts. I believe that through experience and determination to learn, one becomes a truly viable option to lead. For this reason, the desire to lead my colleagues in a CAP discussion stems from me wanting to give back to the institution of friends that I have, who have guided me to be the person I am now at Smogon. Thank you for your time, and I hope you consider me to lead another exciting, successful CAP project.
 
Welp. CaP moderator Wyverii applying for TL here.

I've been involved in Create-a-Pokémon since gen 4 CAP 3 (Pyroak) and was modded at the beginning of CAP 10 (Krilowatt). To put it in perspective I've been active in CAP for 3 years and a moderator for over 1 year. My main job as a moderator of this section is to oversee all the posts and topics here, solve disputes, manage the site and insure that the project moves as smoothly as possible. Essentially my main trait is managing the community.

So why am I applying for TL? Well, I feel that I have a unique outlook and experience that no other member of CAP has. I was not made moderator because I could draw pretty pictures but I was made so due to my connection to the community. I keep my finger on the very pulse of CAP by constantly monitering places such as #cap IRC, the forums, instant messaging and communication via PM. All of this brought forth by a deep love for people that make this community and the potential new members that are introduced each project. This I feel is something that only a few other people can boast.

So what will I bring to the project by being a TL? Well I'll line out for everybody exactly what they'll be in for if they pick me:

  • Friendly Environment: Active communication with every participant old and new. I will make this project as friendly a place as absolutely possible for all to be in. This isn't a go ahead to post any random rulebreaking thought, however I do want to provide cultivation and some small measure of leniency on newcomers. I'm sure many of our old members remember what it was like to be new.

  • Emphasis on clean competitive arguments: As someone familiar with Pokémon but not its current metagame you might think I'll be a lot more lax on competitive discussion. Rather the opposite I'm afraid. I'll be tough and possibly scary on competitive discussion since you will not be able to make assumptions in my presence. If you want your competitive arguments to have any merit with me you will be almost required to properly explain it, preferably with data to back it up. I'll be a tough person to convince even on subjects I already know about so brush up on that competitive knowledge!

  • Solid leadership: Even though I will be enforcing my own views onto the project to give it direction I will commonly ask for and listen to the opinions of others. I will be a flexible and confident leader capable of taking criticism and keeping a professional tone when required.

That will be all I have to say. I'm not one to talk more than nessessary if I can help it. I will be providing support to the winner regardless who wins as my duty and my pleasure towards a no doubt excellent member of the community. Good luck to all.
 
I would finally like to join the race for Topic Leader of a CAP.

My name is Rising_Dusk—informally Dusk—and while I have not been a member of the community for years on end, I have participated vigorously in three CAP projects and now believe myself ready for both the responsibility and honor of the position. I have been extremely active throughout the processes that formed Krilowatt, Voodoom, and Tomohawk. As ATL for Tomohawk, I took an active stance that allowed me to help shape Tomohawk into the success that it ended up as and craft with the community the first fully developed pre-evo, Scratchet.

I have always been a forward thinker in CAP, and have consistently brought interesting discussion to the table. My primary concern in CAP is a unique learning and development process for the CAP. While the end result is critical, CAP's mission demands that a TL spur creativity from the community and welcome criticism and ideas at all fronts. It is through this creativity that a masterpiece is made, and that is an ideal that I will foster wholeheartedly as TL. My leadership experience is visible both on Smogon and in my real life, where I work as a leader with many other engineers to craft useful and meaningful aerospace parts and systems for top manufacturers. This carries over to CAP, where I try not to lead with an iron fist, but by being a mediator of the many—often equally matched—ideas presented over the course of a CAP. I will always keep both the end result and the journey to get there at every step, and I will not be afraid to use my super moderator powers to quell uprisings that would otherwise harm the project or its community.

My competitive experience in Pokemon is, additionally, one of my strong points. I may not have actively sought out the official tournaments of Smogon, but I have been actively involved in the playtesting of every CAP I've been involved in, and have been ranked on the top 5 of every playtest ladder since my joining at Krilowatt. This competitive edge and thinking will be a great asset if I am chosen as TL, and will allow me to weigh community decisions against what I believe to be the best qualities for a competitive Pokemon within our current metagame. I believe that my experience makes me fully capable of keeping our CAP from being too overwhelming or underwhelming with relation to the target metagame.

I know that I will support and be active through this CAP regardless of who is chosen to be TL. I will support whomever the PRC thinks best fits the bill, and regardless of the outcome thank you for considering me for this CAP's TL. Cheers.
 

tennisace

not quite too old for this, apparently
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Top Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Researcher Alumnusis a Top CAP Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis an Administrator Alumnus
Deadline is Saturday at 2 pm EST, at which point the PRC will begin voting.

Edit: deadline.
 
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