Wikipedia:Administrators

For the encyclopedic article about administrators on Wikipedia, seeWikipedia administrators.

For information on the administrative structure of Wikipedia, seeWikipedia:Administration.

Human administration
Wikimedia Board of Trustees
Wikipedians
Wikimedia staff
Stewards
Arbitration Committee
Bureaucrats
Administrators

Wikipedia's administrative tools are often likened to a janitor'smop,leading to adminship being described at times as being "given the mop". Just like a real-worldjanitormight have keys to offices that some other workers are excluded from, admins have some role-specific abilities, but – also like a real-world janitor – they're not more important than the other editors.

Administrators,commonly known asadminsorsysops(system operators), are Wikipedia editors who have been granted the technical ability to perform certain special actions on the English Wikipedia. These include the ability toblockand unblock user accounts, IP addresses, and IP ranges from editing, editfully protectedpages,protectand unprotect pages from editing,deleteandundeletepages,renamepages without restriction, and use certain othertools.

Administrators assume these responsibilities as volunteers after undergoing acommunity review process.They do not act as employees of theWikimedia Foundation.They are never required to use their tools, and must never use them to gain an advantage in a dispute in which they were involved. Administrators should not be confused withWikimedia system administrators( "sysadmins" ).

The English Wikipedia has 851 administrators (seefull list of accounts with administrator privilegesorlists of administrators by activity level).

Administrators' abilities

Administrators have the technical ability to perform the following actions:

• Blockand unblock user accounts, IP addresses, and IP ranges from editing
• Apply, modify, and removepage protectionon a particular page to restrict or allow editing, moving, or creation
• Deletepages with 5,000 or fewer revisions
• Grant and revoke certain user permissionsrequested by user accounts
• View and restore deleted pages
• Restrict and restore public visibilityof information in individual logs and page revisions
• Edit fully protected pages
• Edit pages in the MediaWiki namespace, excluding JavaScript and CSS pages
• Movea page to any desired title
• Perform other special actions as listed atSpecial:ListGroupRights § sysop

By convention, administrators normally take responsibility for judging the outcomes of certain discussions, such asdeletion discussions,move discussions,andmove-review discussions,but non-admin editors may alsoclosediscussions (see, e.g.,WP:Deletion process § Non-administrators closing discussionsandWP:Requested moves/Closing instructions § Non-admin closure).

Becoming an administrator

Main page:Wikipedia:Guide to requests for adminship

TheEnglish Wikipediarequires that administrator candidates possess theextended-confirmeduser right.Any extended-confirmed user canrequest adminship( "RFA" ) from the community. However, administrators are expected to have the trust and confidence of the community, so requests from users who do not have considerable experience are not usually approved. Any editor can comment on a request, and each editor will assess each candidate in their own way. However, only editors possessing the extended-confirmed user right can "vote" in such requests.

Before requesting or accepting a nomination, candidates should generally be active, regular, and long-term Wikipedia editors, be familiar with the procedures and practices of Wikipedia, respect and understand its policies, and have gained the general trust of the community. Candidates are also required to disclose whether they have ever edited Wikipedia for pay. Questions regarding this are permitted to be asked of every candidate, by any editor in the community, throughout the RFA process.

A discussion takes place for seven days about whether the candidate should become an administrator. Per community consensus, RfAs are advertised oneditors' watchlistsandTemplate:Centralized discussion.The community has instituted a question limit: no editor may ask more than two questions of a candidate. Also disallowed are multi-part questions that are framed as one question, but which in effect ask multiple questions and exceed the limit.Bureaucratsmay "clerk" RfAs, dealing with comments and/or votes which they deem to be inappropriate.

The RfA process allows other editors to get to know the candidate. Editors explore the candidate's involvement and background as an editor, conduct in discussions, and understanding of the role they are requesting. Editors state if they support or oppose the request, along with their reasons and impressions of the candidate. Anuninvolvedbureaucrat then determines if there isconsensusto approve the request. This determination is not based exclusively on the percentage of support, but in practice most RfAs above 75% pass. The community has determined thatin general,RfAs between 65 and 75% support should be subject to the discretion of bureaucrats. (Therefore, it logically follows that almost all RfAs below 65% support will fail.)

While RFA is an intensive process, the quality of feedback and review on the candidate's readiness and demeanor by experienced editors is often very high. Applicants who are unsuccessful but take steps to address points raised will often succeed on a subsequent request some months later. If you are interested in requesting adminship, you should first read theguide to requests for adminshipand thenomination instructions.When you are ready to apply, you may add your nomination to theWikipedia:Requests for adminship( "RFA" ) page, according to the instructions on that page.

Only one account of a given person may have administrative tools.The only exception is administrators may ownbotswith administrative access. SeeWP:ADMINSOCK.

Adminship is granted indefinitely, and is removed only upon request, under circumstances involving high-level intervention (seeadministrator abusebelow), or due to inactivity.

Places where administrators in particular can assist

Administrator rights can be particularly helpful in certain areas of Wikipedia:

• Administrative backlogs
• Anti-vandalism
• Copyright problems(advice for admins)
• Incidents for admin attention
• Main Pagesections, such asIn the newsorDid you know
• Recent changes patrol
• Speedy deletion requests
• Three-revert rule and edit warring violations

See alsoWikipedia:Admins willing to make difficult blocksandthe administrators channel on IRCfor IRC users.

"Uninvolved administrators" can also help in the management ofArbitration Committeeremedies and thedispute resolutionconcerning disruptive areas and situations. Administrators acting in this role areneutral;they do not have any direct involvement in the issues they are helping people with. Lists of sanctions that are to be enforced by neutral administrators can be found atWikipedia:General sanctionsandWikipedia:Arbitration/Active sanctions(see also requests for enforcement atWikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Enforcement).

Administrator noticeboards

Three mainnoticeboardsexist on which general administrator discussions take place (any user may post or take part in discussions there):

• Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard(WP:AN) – Used for things administrators may wish (or need) to know, such as notices and general information.
• Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard/Incidents(WP:ANI) – Used for matters needing attention from passing administrators. Although threads here can become long, this board is primarily for incidents and other matters needing advice or attention.
• Wikipedia:Administrative action review(WP:XRV/WP:AARV) – Is a noticeboard where administrative actions by administrators can be discussed and reviewed by the broader community.

Expectations of adminship

Care and judgment

If granted access, administrators must exercise care in using these new functions, especially the ability to delete pages and to block users and IP addresses (see theadministrators' how-to guideandnew administrator pageto learn how to do these things). New administrators should also look at the pages linked from theadministrators' reading listbefore using their administrative abilities. Occasional lapses are accepted but serious or repeated lapses, or lapses involving breaches of'involved' administrator conductmay not always be.

Administrator tools are also to be used with careful judgement; it can take some time for a new administrator to learn when it's best to use the tools, and it can take months to gain a good sense of how long a period to set when using tools such as blocking and page protection in difficult disputes. New administrators are strongly encouraged to start slowly and build up experience in areas they are used to, and to ask others if unsure.

Administrator conduct

Administrators should lead by example and, just likeall editors,should behave in a respectful, civil manner in their interactions with others atall times.Administrators are not exempt fromanyof Wikipedia'sestablished policies;they are expected to follow them and perform their duties to the best of their abilities. Occasional mistakes are entirely compatible with the use of the administrator toolset; administrators are not expected to be perfect. However, sustained or serious disruption of Wikipedia through behavior such asincivilityorbad faith editingis incompatible and adirect conflictwith the expectations and responsibilities of administrators, and consistent or egregious poor judgment may result in the removal of administrator tools. Administrators should strive to model high standards of courtesy and civility, and their edits, discussions, interactions, and conduct should set the example for all other editors and atall times.This is both arequirementanda conditionwith holding administrator privileges.

Administrators should bear in mind that they have hundreds of colleagues. Therefore, if an administrator cannot adhere to site policies and remain civil (even toward users exhibiting problematic behavior) while addressing a given issue, the administrator should bring the issue to a noticeboard or refer it to another administrator to address, rather than potentially compound or escalate the problem with poor conduct.

Accountability

Administrators are accountable for their actions involving administrator tools, as unexplained administrator actions can demoralize other editors who lack such tools. Subject only to the bounds ofcivility,avoiding personal attacks,and reasonablegood faith,editors are free to question or to criticize administrator actions. Administrators are expected to respond promptly and civilly to queries about their Wikipedia-related conduct and administrative actions, especially during community discussions on noticeboards or during Arbitration Committee proceedings. Administrators should justify their actions when requested.

Administrators who seriously or repeatedly act in a problematic manner, or who have lost the trust or confidence of the community, may be sanctioned or have their administrator rights removed by the Arbitration Committee. In the past, this has happened or been suggested for the following actions:

• "Bad faith" adminship (sock puppetry,gross breach of trust,etc.)
• Breach of basic policies (attacks, biting/civility, edit warring, privacy, etc.)
• Conduct elsewhere incompatible with adminship (off-site attacking, etc.)
• Failure to communicate– this can be either with editors (e.g., lack of suitable warnings or explanations of actions), or to address concerns of the community (especially when explanations or other serious comments are sought)
  • While best practices are for administrators to have email andnotificationsenabled, they are not required to do so, nor are they required to read and/or respond if they are enabled. Administrators who do not have notifications enabled are strongly encouraged to indicate this on their user page.
• Repeated, consistent, or egregious misuse of a tool or user permission that is bundled with the administrator toolset (such asmoving filesor the use ofrollback) – an administrator can be stripped of their administrative privileges completely just to remove access to a bundled user permission.
• Repeated or consistent poor judgment.

Security

Main page:Wikipedia:User account security

Wikipedia'spolicy on password strength requirementsrequires administrators to havestrong passwordsandfollow appropriate personal security practices.Because they have the potential to cause site-wide damage with a single edit, a compromised admin account will be blocked and its privileges removed on grounds of site security. In certain circumstances, the revocation of privileges may be permanent. Any administrator who is discovered to have a password less than 8 bytes in length or among the10,000 most common passwordsmay also be desysopped. Discretion on resysopping temporarily desysopped administrators is left tothe Arbitration Committee,who will consider whether the rightful owner has been correctly identified, and their view on the incident and the management and security (including likely future security) of the account.

Two-factor authenticationis available to further secure accounts from unauthorized use.

Administrators mustnevershare their password or account with any other person, for any reason. If they find out their password has been compromised, or their account has been otherwise compromised (even by an editor or individual they know and trust), they should attempt to change it immediately, or otherwise report it to a bureaucrat for temporary desysopping. Users who fail to report unauthorized use of their account will be desysopped. Unauthorized use is considered 'controversial circumstances', and access will not be automatically restored.

Involved admins

"WP:INVOLVED" redirects here. For guidance on involvement for non-administrator actions, seeWikipedia:Non-admin closure § Editors who are uninvolved,andWikipedia:Third opinion.

"No man is a fit arbitrator in his own cause"

Thomas Hobbes,Leviathan

In general, editors should not act as administrators in disputes in which they have been involved. This is because involved administrators may be, or appear to be, incapable of making objective decisions in disputes to which they have been a party or about which they have strong feelings. Involvement is construed broadly by the community to include current or past conflicts with an editor (or editors), and disputes on topics, regardless of the nature, age, or outcome of the dispute.

One important caveat is that an administrator who has interacted with an editor or topic areapurely in an administrative role,or whose prior involvements are minor or obvious edits that do not show bias, isnotinvolved and is not prevented from acting in an administrative capacity in relation to that editor or topic area. Warnings, calm and reasonable discussion and explanation of those warnings, advice about community norms, and suggestions on possible wordings and approaches do not make an administrator involved.

In straightforward cases (e.g.,blatant vandalism), the community has historically endorsed the obvious action of any administrator – even if involved – on the basis that any reasonable administrator would have probably come to the same conclusion. Although there are exceptions to the prohibition on involved editors taking administrative action, it is still the best practice in cases where an administrator may be seen to be involved to pass the matter to another administrator via therelevant noticeboards.

Non-administrators closing discussionsand assessing consensus are held to the same standards;editors closing such discussions should not have been involved in the discussion itself or related disputes.

Grievances by users ( "administrator abuse" )

Further information:Wikipedia:Requests for review of admin actions

If a user believes an administrator has acted improperly, they should express their concerns directly to the administrator responsible and try to come to a resolution in an orderly and civil manner. If the matter is not resolved between the two parties, users can proceed with dispute resolution (seethis section belowfor further information). One possible approach is to start a discussion atadministrative action reviewor theadministrators' noticeboardto request feedback from the community – however, complainants should be aware that their behavior isequally taken into accountas the user that they are discussing. If a user believes they have been blocked improperly, they can go through theblock appeal processand explain the situation and why they believe the block is improper or unjustified.

While theArbitration Committeedoes not routinely review short or routine blocks, concerns about an administrator's fitness and suitability for the role may be brought to the committee with aRequest for Arbitration,usually when other dispute resolution approaches are unsuccessful and when this process is a last resort (seethis sectionbelow).

Misuse of administrative tools

Misusing theadministrative toolsis considered avery serious issue;they are provided to trusted users for maintenance and other tasks, and should always be used with thought, care, and with due diligence and good judgment. Serious misuse of the tools may result in sanctions or even their removal. If a user believes that an administrator has not used their administrative tools as per the established Wikipedia policies and guidelines, then they should first discuss their concerns and issues with the respective administrator directly. In cases where the issue is not resolved by discussing it directly and/or when broader community input is determined to be necessary or required, users can post their concerns regarding the issue atWikipedia:Administrative action reviewfor review by the broader community.

Common situations where avoiding tool use is often required:

• Conflict of interest or non-neutrality– Administrators should not normally use their tools in matters in which they are personally involved (for example, in a content dispute in which they are a party). SeeInvolved admins.
• Communal norms or policies– When a policy or communal norm is clear that tools should not be used, then tools should not be used without an explanation that shows the matter has been considered, and why a (rare) exception is genuinely considered reasonable.
• Administrator actions in conjunction with paid editing– Administrator tools may not be used as part of any paid editing activity, except as aWikipedian-in-Residence,or when the payment is made by the Wikimedia Foundation or an affiliate of the WMF.
• Reversing the actions of other administrators– Only in a manner that respects the admin whose action is involved, and (usually) after consultation.
• Reinstating an admin action that has already been reversed(sometimes known as "wheel warring") – Responses have includedArbitrationanddesysoppingeven the first time.

See below for these and for the very few exceptions.

Even when use of the tools appears reasonable, if doubt exists it is better to ask another independent administrator to review and (if justified) take the action.

Reversing another administrator's action

Administrators are expected to have good judgment, and are presumed to have considered carefully any actions or decisions they carry out as administrators. Administrators may disagree, but administrative actions should not be reversed without good cause, careful thought, and (if likely to be objected to), where the administrator is presently available, a brief discussion with the administrator whose action is challenged.

Special situations

In some situations, the usual policy for reversing another administrator's action does not apply:

• Blocks made by the Arbitration Committee:Blocks authorized by the Arbitration Committee must include a clear indication of their source, such as "For the Arbitration Committee", "Appeal is only to the Arbitration Committee", or "{{ArbComBlock}}".Administrators must only place, reduce, or remove such blocks with the prior, written consent of the committee. (See also:Wikipedia:Arbitration/Policy § Appeal of decisions.)
• CheckUser blocks:Blocks designated as "CheckUser blocks" (that is, blocks relying on confidential checkuser findings) may not be reversed by administrators who do not have access to the CheckUser permission. Appeal of these blocks may be made to theUnblock Ticket Requests System(which has a designated "checkuser" area) or to the Arbitration Committee. Administrators were remindedin July 2010that they may not reverse CheckUser blocks without prior consent from the committee or a checkuser.
• Oversight blocks:Blocks designated as "Oversight blocks" (that is, blocks relying on information that has been suppressed) may not be reversed by administrators who do not have access to the oversight permission. The Arbitration Committee ruledin March 2013that oversight blocks cannot be reversed without prior consent from the committee or an oversighter.

Reinstating a reverted action ( "wheel warring" )

"WP:WW" redirects here. You may be looking forWikipedia:Avoid weasel words,Wikipedia:WikiProject WikipediaWeeklyorWikipedia:WikiProject Women writers.

When another administrator hasalreadyreversed an administrative action, there is very rarely any valid reason for the original or another administrator to reinstate the same or similar action again without clear discussion leading to a decision by consensus.Wheel warringis when an administrator's action is reversed by another administrator, but rather than discussing the disagreement, administrator tools are then used in a combative fashion to undo or redo the action. With very few exceptions, once an administrative action has been reverted, it should not be restored without consensus.

Do not repeat a reversed administrative action when you know that another administrator opposes it. Do not continue a chain of administrative reversals without discussion. Resolve administrative disputesby discussion.

Wheel warring usually results in an immediaterequest for arbitration.Sanctions for wheel warring have varied from reprimands and cautions, to temporary blocks, to desysopping, even for first-time incidents. There have been several relevantarbitrationcases on the subject of wheel-warring.The phrase was also used historically for an administrator improperly reversing some kinds of very formal action.

Wikipedia works on the spirit ofconsensus;disputes should be settled through civil discussion rather than power struggles. There are few issues so critical that fighting is better than discussion, or worth losing your own good standing for. If you feel theurgeto wheel war, try these alternatives:

• Seek constructive discussion, and aim to cool the situation and bring it back to normal processes, if able. Adopting a deliberately calming manner and approach as you explain may help. In some cases,emailmay allow heartfelt personal advice to be given that could not easily be posted on-wiki.
• If concerned by improper conduct, followdispute resolutionprocesses, as with any other conduct matter. For example: move the issue toWP:ANorWP:ANIand wait for input. Forserious and egregious misuse of toolsconsiderfiling an Arbitration Committee case request.
• If you are concerned that not acting (or the delay needed for dialog) could quickly cause the situation to get much worse or would be grossly inappropriate, it can sometimes be sensible toemail the Arbitration Committeeand let them know about the situation or request intervention or speedy advice. (This might be the case where non-public information or harm could result).
• And remember that you have hundreds of colleagues: you are not alone and most issues are made worse by poor judgment. If you are seen to conduct yourself well, usually the matter will blow over soon, however bad it may seem. Sometimes it's best simply totake a break and calm down.

The term "wheel" comes from the description ofhighest privileged accountson thePDP-10andTOPS-20mainframe computers, where "wheel" was used the way "root" is used on Linux/Unix systems.

Exceptional circumstances

There are a few exceptional circumstances to this general principle. (Note: these are one-way exceptions.)

• Biographies of living persons– Material deleted because it contravenes BLP may be re-deleted if reinstated, if it continues to be non-BLP-compliant.
• Privacy– Personal information deleted under the Foundation's privacy policy may be re-deleted if reinstated.
• Emergency– In certain situations there may arise an emergency that cannot be adjourned for discussion. An administrator should not claim an emergency unless there is areasonable belief of a present and very serious emergency(i.e., reasonable possibility of actual, imminent, serious harm to the project or a person if not acted upon with administrative tools), and should immediately seek to describe and address the matter, but in such a case the action should not usually be reverted (and may be reinstated) until appropriate discussion has taken place.
• Page protection in edit warring– Reasonable actions undertaken by uninvolved administrators to quell a visible and heated edit war by protecting a contended page should be respected byallusers, and protection may be reinstated if needed, until it is clear the edit war will not resume or consensus agrees it is appropriate to unprotect.

Review and removal of adminship

If an administrator abuses administrative rights, the rights can be removed via a ruling of theArbitration Committee.Arbitrators can also opt to place lesser penalties against problematic administrators, including the restriction of their use of certain functions or placement on administrative probation.

The community may start arecall petitionto require an administrator's status to be reconfirmed through a re-request for adminship (RRfA).Some administrators will voluntarily stand for reconfirmation under certain circumstances. See§ Administrator recall.Users may also usedispute resolutionto request comment on an administrator's suitability.

The technical ability to remove the administrator user right from an account is granted to thebureaucratandstewarduser groups (seeSpecial:ListGroupRights). In emergency situations where local users are unable or unavailable to act, stewards are permitted by theglobal rights policyto protect the best interests of Wikipedia by removing administrative permissions orglobally lockingaccounts and advising the Arbitration Committee after the fact.

Tracked inPhabricator
Task T6055

Technical note– Removal of rights performed by stewards doesnotshow up in the usual user logs. Use{{Userrights|username}}for full links to user rights information and full logs, including the stewards' global logs onmetaas well, orSpecial:ListUsersto verify a user's current rights.

Procedural removal for inactive administrators

Further information:Wikipedia:Inactive administrators

Administrators who meet one or both of the following criteria may be desysopped for inactivity:

1. Has made neither edits nor administrative actions for at least a 12-month period
2. Has made fewer than 100 edits over a 60-month period.

This desysopping is reversible in some cases (see§ Restoration of admin tools) and never considered a reflection on the user's use of, or rights to, the admin tools. The admin must be contacted on their user talk page on two occasions before the desysopping depending on the criterion:

For criterion (1): One month before the request for desysopping and again several days before the desysopping goes into effect.

For criterion (2): Three months before the request for desysopping and again one month before the desysopping goes into effect.

In addition, any editors who are falling lower than an average of 50 edits per year over a 5-year period should be notified by talk page message annually that they are at risk of falling below the required level in the future.

Desysopping on inactivity grounds should be handled by English Wikipediabureaucrats.The summary in the user rights log should make it clear that the desysopping is purely procedural.

If necessary, the user's userpage should be edited to clarify the status — particularly if any categorization is involved.

Voluntary removal

Administrators may request that their access to administrative tools be removed atWikipedia:Bureaucrats' noticeboard.

Disputes or complaints

Further information:Wikipedia:Dispute resolution

In most cases, disputes with administrators should be resolved with the normal dispute resolution process. If the dispute reflects seriously on a user's administrative capacity (blatant misuse of administrative tools, gross or persistent misjudgment or conduct issues), or if dialog fails, then the following steps are available:

Administrator recall

Main page:Wikipedia:Administrator recall

The community may start arecall petitionto require an administrator's status to be reconfirmed through a re-request for adminship (RRfA); administator privileges will be removed if the administrator does not start an RRfA within 30 days of a successful recall petition, or does not pass the RRfA.

In addition to this procedure, individual administrators maypledge to voluntarily step downif specified criteria are met. These criteria are set by each administrator for themselves, and usually detailed in their userspace. Administrators who made such pledges may change them at any time, or decline to adhere to previously made recall pledges. Most of these voluntary pledges were made before the RRfA procedure was introduced for all administrators.

Arbitration Committee review

This is an involuntary process. Generally, the Arbitration Committee requires that other steps of dispute resolution are tried before it intervenes in a dispute, such as raising the issue atWikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard/Incidents.However, if the matter is serious enough, the Arbitration Committee may intervene early on. Remedies that may be imposed, at the discretion of the committee, include warnings, admonishments, restrictions, and removal of administrator privileges.

Administrators subject to bans

In general, administrators who are subject to restrictions such as topic bans, interaction bans, or blocks of any length keep their tools unless one of the above removal processes applies. However, as withall other granted user rights,the administrator tools will be removed from a user who is subject to an indefinite sitewidecommunity ban.

Restoration of admin tools

Regardless of the process by which the admin tools are removed, any editor is free to re-request the tools through therequests for adminshipprocess.

Former administrators may re-request the admin tools subsequent to voluntary removal or removal due to inactivity. The request is granted unless one of these situations applies:

• The admin tools were removed while the administrator was "under a cloud".If there were serious questions about the appropriateness of the former admin's status as an administrator at the time of resignation or removal, the request will be referred toWP:RFA.In doubtful cases, re-granting of the tools will be deferred until a broader community discussion takes place and is closed.
• Removed as a result of acommunity ban.When an editor's admin tools are removed as a result of a community ban, the editor will need to re-apply through the typical process (WP:RFA) to regain the tools.
• Lengthy inactivity
  • Over two years with no edits.If an editor has had at least two years of uninterrupted inactivity (no edits) between the removal of the admin tools and the re-request, regardless of the reason for removal, the editor will need to request reinstatement through theWP:RFAprocess;requestingthe restoration of administrator tools through thebureaucrats' noticeboardis no longer an option. In the case of an administrator desysopped due to a year of inactivity, one additional year of continued uninterrupted inactivity (no edits) from the removal due to inactivity will make a newWP:RFAnecessary for reinstatement.
  • Over five years since administrative tools were last used.For any administrator who does not have a logged administrator action in five years, bureaucrats should not restore administrator access upon request.This applies to all former administrators.
• Security of account cannot be established.At their discretion,bureaucratsmay decline to restore admin tools to an editor if they are not satisfied that the account is controlled by the same person who used it previously.
• A bureaucrat is not reasonably convinced that the user has returned to activity or intends to return to activity as an editor.Should there be doubt concerning the suitability for restoration of the admin tools, the restoration shall be delayed until sufficient discussion has occurred and a consensus established through a discussion among bureaucrats.

Procedure

Former administrators may request restoration of admin tools by placing a request atWikipedia:Bureaucrats' noticeboard.There is a standard 24-hour review period before the request may be granted by a bureaucrat according toresysop procedures.The change is recorded at thelist of resysopped users.

History

In the very early days ofWikipedia,onlyBomisemployees were administrators, as the server password was required to make any administrative changes.The idea of an administrator role was proposed in late 2001 during the development of the first version ofMediaWiki.Wikipedia co-founderJimmy Walesdirectly appointed the first administrators in February 2002.

Under therole-based access controlcurrently used, individual accounts are marked with the special roles they may play; these roles in turn determine any special tools they may access. Administrators were not intended to develop into a special subgroup. Rather, administrators should be a part of the community like other editors. Anyone can perform mostmaintenanceandadministrationtasks on Wikipedia without the specific technical functions granted to administrators. An often paraphrased comment about the title and process of adminship was made by Wales in February 2003—referred to as "sysops" here:

I just wanted to say that becoming a sysop is *not a big deal*.

I think perhaps I'll go through semi-willy-nilly and make a bunch of people who have been around for awhile sysops. I want to dispel the aura of "authority" around the position. It's merely a technical matter that the powers given to sysops are not given out to everyone.

I don't like that there's the apparent feeling here that being granted sysop status is a really special thing.

— Jimmy Wales, 2003

Stated simply, while the correct use of the tools and appropriate conduct should be considered important, merely "being an administrator" should not be.

As Wikipedia's worldwide cultural impact and visibility grew, and as the community grew with it, the role of administrators evolved and standards for adminship rose. Given the lengthy procedures required to remove administrative access, which often include attempts to resolve the dispute prior toarbitration,the community carefully scrutinizesrequests for adminship.

See also

History and statistics

• Former administrators
• Requests for Adminship by month
• Statistics of administrator activity
• Administrator activity graphs
• S-index

For administrators

• Administrators' guide
• Administrators' noticeboard
• Administrators' reading list
• Advice for new administrators
• Administrators' Mass Message list

Miscellaneous

• List of administrators(automatically generated version)
• Advice for RfA candidates,essay
• What adminship is not,an essay
• Wikipedia:User access levels
• Wikipedia:Inactive administrators
• m:Tech/News

Contacting administrators

• Wikipedia:Requests for administrator attention(various methods of contacting administrators for general help)
• Active Wikipedia administrators listandsemi-active Wikipedia administrators list(for contacting specific administrators)

External links

• Administrators in all Wikipedias,Meta-Wiki