ADMINISTRATORS

Administrators, commonly known as admins and also called sysops (system operators), are editors who have been entrusted access to restricted technical features ("tools") which help with maintenance. For example, administrators can protect and delete pages, block other editors, and undo these actions as well. Administrators undertake additional responsibilities on a voluntary basis, and are not employees of the Foundation.

In the very early days of all users functioned as administrators, and in principle they still should. From early on, it has been pointed out that administrators should never develop into a special subgroup of the community but should be a part of the community like anyone else. Generally, the maintenance and administration of can be conducted by anyone, without the specific technical functions granted to administrators.

Because administrators are expected to be experienced members of the community, those seeking help will often turn to an administrator for advice and information. When the communal feeling may be unclear, administrators may help provide a thoughtful voice in some kinds of consensus.

Administrative actions should never be reversed without good cause. When another administrator has reversed an administrative action, then there is very rarely a valid reason for the original or any other administrator to reinstate the same or similar action again without clear discussion leading to a consensus decision. Administrators who do so risk desysopping for abuse of their access.