Wikipedia:What adminship is not
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[edit] What adminship is not
[edit] Adminship is not a trophy
Editors who regard being an administrator as an affirmation of their contributions as an editor or an award for good editing or other good service will generally be disappointed. Administrator status does not place you in an elevated status within Wikipedia. It is not the user-equivalent of a good article or featured article. Every good-faith editor, from the newest editor to the most experienced bureaucrat, has the same status within Wikipedia. You will not gain respect simply by being an administrator. It may help to consider the other meaning of the word administrator, that is one who organises and facilitates, rather than one who controls.
Becoming an administrator is really just about being given access to a set of maintenance-related tools that admittedly have the potential for abuse. Therefore, gaining adminship is simply a statement that the individual is a normal user who the community views as being likely to use the extra tools responsibly and productively. An admin is just a normal user with a mop and a bucket.
And it certainly does not give you any Sergeant-like authority.
[edit] Adminship is not an entitlement
High edit counts and a dedication to Wikipedia often demonstrate reliability and aptitude for adminship. However, contributions alone do not entitle one to adminship. Candidates with high edit counts sometimes fail to pass an RfA, for various reasons. Such a failure should not be taken personally; it does not mean that the community fails to appreciate your contributions. Sometimes good contributors simply do not have the proper temperament to be admins; but they are still valuable. No number of edits or length of time on Wikipedia entitles one to adminship.
[edit] Adminship is not diplomatic immunity
Every administrator must keep in mind that admins are servants of Wikipedia as a whole. This means that all policies apply to admins just as they do to any user. Admins can be blocked, stripped of admin powers, or banned. Admins must follow all Wikipedia policies, such as the three-revert rule, and uphold consensus and a neutral point of view.
[edit] Adminship is not compulsory
Administrators have access to useful tools not available to other users, and are able to use these to serve Wikipedia in additional ways. However, some Wikipedians do not wish to become administrators, despite having the expected levels of experience and community support. Users are always welcome to reject the opportunity to stand for adminship.
[edit] Adminship is not a game
Putting yourself up for an RFA is not a game and is very serious. When you are an administrator you don't just block and unblock who you want, you don't delete and undelete what you want, you just don't go around editing protected pages when you want, and you can't just go protecting and unprotecting what you want.
[edit] Adminship is not something to help your life (Wiki and real)
Adminship will never be given to help your Wiki-life become better. It will not be given to help make your real life better, either. Adminship will only be given to help Wikipedia become better.
