Misplaced Pages

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{{essay}} {{Essay|WP:0FA}}
⚫ ] are regular ] who have access to maintenance tools which give them the ability to ], ], and ]. Administrators are given these tools following a ].


⚫ Although there are various ] that are applied when making a recommendation on an editor's application, meaningful contributions to ] are usually considered a prerequisite. However, after gaining use of these tools some administrators find that their contributions to articles decrease, and in a few cases stop altogether. We all have limitations on time, and there is a significant backlog of "janitorial" tasks, in addition to ] articles.
⚫ ] regular ] who have access to maintenance tools The most commonly used of them are ], ], ]. Promoted following a ] and in general only editors who have made active contributions to wikipedia are succesfully promoted.


While the creation and refinement of articles is the principal aim of Misplaced Pages, the support work that administrators perform is also a useful contribution. In this context, administrators should remember the principal purpose is to write an encyclopedia. Similarly, other editors should acknowledge that there are some responsibilities for administrators which don't directly involve the article namespace.
⚫ Although there are various ] that are applied when making a recomendation on an editor's promotion, contributions to ] is usually a prerequisite. However, once promoted many administrators find that their contributions to articles decreases, and in some cases stops. There are limitations on time, and many "janitorial" tasks are heavily backlogged.

While the creation and refinement of articles is the stated aim of Misplaced Pages, the sometimes invisible support work that adminstrators perform is also important.

==Administrators are not only here to build the encyclopedia==

Administrators exist in order to maintain the integrity of the encyclopedia as well as act as editors, but their administrator privileges are used mainly for areas outside of the article namespace.


==The tools==
{{main|WP:Administrator tools}}
===Deletion=== ===Deletion===
Deletion is the fundamental opposite of building the encyclopedia. Instead, deletion is a process to improve the quality of the encyclopedia by removing articles that are not suitable for inclusion in an encyclopedia. It also removes unnecessary pages, such as unused categories. Deletion is a process to improve the quality of the encyclopedia by removing articles that are not suitable for inclusion in an encyclopedia. It also removes unnecessary pages, such as unused categories. In general, content to be deleted is identified by the community.


===Protection=== ===Protection===
⚫ Protection is a tool to assist pages that are undergoing tendentious editing, disputes, or excessive acts of vandalism. Protection does not move an article forward – it effectively puts it at a standstill. It is used to maintain the integrity of an article.

⚫ Protection is a tool to assist pages that are undergoing tendentious editing, disputes, or excessive acts of vandalism. Protection does not move an article forward - it effectively puts it at a standstill. It is used to maintain the integrity of an article, though administrators must always protect the ].


===Blocking=== ===Blocking===
Blocking can stop users who are a) not contributing to the encyclopedia, b) blatantly damaging the encyclopedia, c) damaging the community. Once again, blocking is not a tool to add to articles, but it maintains their integrity (or maintains the integrity of the community). Blocking can stop users who are damaging the encyclopedia or its surrounding community. Once again, blocking is not a tool to add to articles, but it maintains their integrity (or maintains the integrity of the community).


==Ignore all rules== ==Common-sense interpretation of rules==
Rules provide a starting point. Ignore all rules provides corollaries that can follow from the rules. There are stated rules and then there are implied rules that are acted upon based on IAR. Rules provide a starting point. A sensible ] of the rules is often more beneficial than a literal one. For example:


===3rr=== ===Three-revert rule===
The ] is a prime example of an opportunity to use ]. If an editor reverts an article three times every 24 hours, but never 4 times in 24 hours, they cannot be blocked per the three revert rule policy. They can do this for months and nothing can be done. Instead, the 3RR is ignored to maintain the integrity of the encyclopedia and the user is blocked. If an editor reverts an article three times every 24 hours, but never 4 times in 24 hours, they are clearly gaming the ] rather than helping achieve a compromise. Edit warring to the letter of the 3RR is objectionable, and in many cases may be blockable as a violation of principles which the 3RR was written to address.


Rules such as blocking for 3rr should be ignored if one's edits are clearly tendentious compared to the other. However, this is a very risky matter that is often not followed as such, which is where some controversy of IAR lies. It is far less controversial to not block someone based on IAR than it is to block someone. Rules such as blocking for 3RR are usually ignored if the edits being reverted are deemed to be vandalism, libel, or otherwise of significant detriment to the ''quality of the encyclopedia''. However these evaluations are often subjective, and may be disputed. If in doubt, consider not blocking. If the user is acting in good faith, they will learn from the situation, and hopefully the situation will not arise again.

===Disruption===
Disruption has an amorphous definition that can be construed to fit the need of a blocking administrator. While this of course has been and can be abused, it is also necessary for blocking users who are damaging to the community. IAR spawned the ability to block for disruption, as we cannot define a certain action as 'disruption', but it can only be interpreted as such.


== Then what do administrators do? == == Then what do administrators do? ==
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=== Article namespace === === Article namespace ===


Administrators, like all users, are editors. They still retain the ability to edit articles. The tools that directly concern the article namespace are deletion and protection. Deletion is a tool to remove unwanted articles (or other pages) and can also be used to assist in page moves. Protection is used in the event of an edit war or excess vandalism.
Administrators are editors with simply more buttons, and being an administrator is really no big deal. But their extra buttons are not often used for creating and adding to articles. Upon gaining adminship, administrators have a high tendency to focus more on the wikipedia and template, category namespaces, etc. Asking administrators to solely work on the article namespace would be like simply taking away their tools.

This is not to say administrators are more important than editors without the tools, however. Administrators simply have the ability to work in the other namespaces that regular editors cannot deal with, which will naturally cause people to believe there is a divide between administrators and regular users (which there is, of course - it can't be helped).

There are still areas in the article namespace that requre administrator intervention, such as page move requests, however, so there are indeed areas here that require administrators. There is much more to administrators, however, which means that candidates for adminship should be judged based more on just their article contributions.


=== Misplaced Pages namespace === === Misplaced Pages namespace ===


Administrators who mainly deal in the Misplaced Pages namespace are the true janitors. They do the dirty work that others do not recognize, without whom the encyclopedia would become backlogged in more places than it is already. If an administrator can be trusted and has shown desire to assist in this area (by showing experience already, perhaps), they are a major help to the project. The administrators who deal with backlogs in the Misplaced Pages namespace are the true janitors. Their actions often go unnoticed, but administrators who show a desire to work in this area should not be denied that if they are trusted members of the community.


=== Community === === Community ===

Administrators can also deal with user issues and disputes. These administrators often have to make the choice of protection or blocking in content disputes, and whether blocking is the best option in user disputes. Administrators can also deal with user issues and disputes. These administrators often have to make the choice of protection or blocking in content disputes, and whether blocking is the best option in user disputes.


=== Does it matter? === === Does it matter? ===
All administrators make mistakes at one time or another. Nobody is perfect, but proficiency should generally increase with experience. If an administrator exhibits a pattern of mistakes in a certain area, but excels in another area, their adminship could still be a tangible benefit to the project, as long as they are able to recognize and willing to acknowledge such errors, and strive to avoid repeating them, rather than defending them out of some infallibility complex. Such steps may include avoiding controversial decisions in that area of administrative work, or focusing on different area altogether.

Administrators are expected to make mistakes - it is assumed they will show poor judgement early on with their user rights. If an administrator is a trusted enough user that they can learn from these, they can only do more good than harm to the encyclopedia. Some may help more than others, but what matters is that they assist in some way.


== See also == == See also ==
* ] * ]
* ] – or what admins shouldn't be doing
* ]

]

Latest revision as of 13:29, 18 September 2020

Essay on editing Misplaced Pages
This is an essay.
It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Misplaced Pages contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Misplaced Pages's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints.		Shortcut

Administrators are regular Wikipedians who have access to maintenance tools which give them the ability to protect pages, delete pages, and block users. Administrators are given these tools following a request for adminship.

Although there are various standards that are applied when making a recommendation on an editor's application, meaningful contributions to articles are usually considered a prerequisite. However, after gaining use of these tools some administrators find that their contributions to articles decrease, and in a few cases stop altogether. We all have limitations on time, and there is a significant backlog of "janitorial" tasks, in addition to missing articles.

While the creation and refinement of articles is the principal aim of Misplaced Pages, the support work that administrators perform is also a useful contribution. In this context, administrators should remember the principal purpose is to write an encyclopedia. Similarly, other editors should acknowledge that there are some responsibilities for administrators which don't directly involve the article namespace.

The tools

Main page: WP:Administrator tools

Deletion

Deletion is a process to improve the quality of the encyclopedia by removing articles that are not suitable for inclusion in an encyclopedia. It also removes unnecessary pages, such as unused categories. In general, content to be deleted is identified by the community.

Protection

Protection is a tool to assist pages that are undergoing tendentious editing, disputes, or excessive acts of vandalism. Protection does not move an article forward – it effectively puts it at a standstill. It is used to maintain the integrity of an article.

Blocking

Blocking can stop users who are damaging the encyclopedia or its surrounding community. Once again, blocking is not a tool to add to articles, but it maintains their integrity (or maintains the integrity of the community).

Common-sense interpretation of rules

Rules provide a starting point. A sensible interpretation of the rules is often more beneficial than a literal one. For example:

Three-revert rule

If an editor reverts an article three times every 24 hours, but never 4 times in 24 hours, they are clearly gaming the three-revert rule rather than helping achieve a compromise. Edit warring to the letter of the 3RR is objectionable, and in many cases may be blockable as a violation of principles which the 3RR was written to address.

Rules such as blocking for 3RR are usually ignored if the edits being reverted are deemed to be vandalism, libel, or otherwise of significant detriment to the quality of the encyclopedia. However these evaluations are often subjective, and may be disputed. If in doubt, consider not blocking. If the user is acting in good faith, they will learn from the situation, and hopefully the situation will not arise again.

Then what do administrators do?

Article namespace

Administrators, like all users, are editors. They still retain the ability to edit articles. The tools that directly concern the article namespace are deletion and protection. Deletion is a tool to remove unwanted articles (or other pages) and can also be used to assist in page moves. Protection is used in the event of an edit war or excess vandalism.

Misplaced Pages namespace

The administrators who deal with backlogs in the Misplaced Pages namespace are the true janitors. Their actions often go unnoticed, but administrators who show a desire to work in this area should not be denied that if they are trusted members of the community.

Community

Administrators can also deal with user issues and disputes. These administrators often have to make the choice of protection or blocking in content disputes, and whether blocking is the best option in user disputes.

Does it matter?

All administrators make mistakes at one time or another. Nobody is perfect, but proficiency should generally increase with experience. If an administrator exhibits a pattern of mistakes in a certain area, but excels in another area, their adminship could still be a tangible benefit to the project, as long as they are able to recognize and willing to acknowledge such errors, and strive to avoid repeating them, rather than defending them out of some infallibility complex. Such steps may include avoiding controversial decisions in that area of administrative work, or focusing on different area altogether.

See also

Categories: