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Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum:Administrator

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Administrators (sometimes shortened to Admins, occassionally also called System operators or Sysops for short) are Lexicanum editors who have been entrusted with access to certain wiki tools that "normal" Editors do not have access to in order to deal with certain problems or perform specific tasks relating to the maintenance of the Lexicanum.

Mission

Administrators are tasked with maintaining the Lexicanum and intervening when there are problems with or between other editors. These problems include but are not limited to vandalism, non-compliance with Lexicanum rules, guidelines or standards, unacceptable behaviour, disputes necessitating mediation or a ruling etc. But they also have the means to perform specific actions on Lexicanum pages that are not open to normal Editors.

Administrators are also the go-to persons for normal Editors in case of problems like reporting vandalism, unacceptable behaviour by other editors, ask for advice or help. Administrators are experienced editors who in most cases will be able to help out immediately - or, if need be, to consult with other Administrators or Bureaucrats.

Where to find and how to contact an Administrator?

You can consult the List of Administrators here. Pay attention to the fact that Administrators like all other volunteers here have a private life and no obligation whatsoever to be available 24/7. So sometimes (e.g. you have waited a reasonable amount of time for a reaction) you should try to contact another Administrator if your first choice does not respond. This does however not mean that you should "carpet bomb" all Administrators at once on your first contact attempt, that just creates confusion, thank you.

Do also note that the List tool also displays the Bureaucrats as every Bureaucrat (who are basically "Super-Administrators") automatically also is an Administrator. Also be aware that Administrators listed here whose names appear in red (indicating that their User Pages are empty) should not be contacted as they are currently listed as inactive and will therefore not be available.

In general you have the choice of contacting an Administrator via the Administrator's User Talk Page or go to the Lexicanum's Discord server which has a dedicated Helpdesk channel.

Examples of Administrator tools, tasks and rights

  • watch over and ruthlessly enforce the Lexicanum rules
  • watch over recent changes with a special emphasis on new articles or changes by new or inexperienced Editors or by editors whose contributions have proven to be problematic in the past
  • randomly check if the citations provided by users are genuine and up to the required citation standards
  • edit any visible page on the wiki (regardless of protection), in any namespace
  • semi-protect or full-protect pages
  • delete and undelete pages and files (e.g. "fan-created" or copyright-infringing content)
  • rollback edits
  • block users
  • document structural problems and make suggestions for improving the Lexicanum that are then discussed with the other Administrators and Bureaucrats.

How does one become an Administrator?

The position of an Administrator is - as any other regular position within the Lexicanum - a purely voluntary and honorary one. Administrators are chosen and appointed by Bureaucrats on the basis of support requirements, character and technical expertise. There is no application process. Or in other words: Don't contact us - we will contact you.

What to do in case of problems with an Administrator?

While it is quite rare that an Administrator "goes bad", i.e. abuses his powers and behaves in an unacceptable way, this is not completely unheard of. In such cases a Bureaucrat should immediately be called in to mediate or to intervene.

It should go without saying that if an Editor or other Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum:Administrators|Administrator]] calls in a Bureaucrat and it turns out that his/her accusations against an Administrator are unfounded or even phoney that this can have consequences for the reporting individual. This should not discourage editors from reporting problems with Administrators but they should make quite sure that their case is serious, well-documented and generally logical. And editors should also be aware that Administrators - like everybody else - are entitled to personal opinions, so you should distinguish between official and personal statements by Administrators.

On the other hand any Administrator misbehaving should be quite aware that they are expected to lead by example. And that due to their more exposed position they are prone to attract their fair share of scrutiny from both below and above. Bureaucrats will try to quietly moderate and resolve any issues between normal Editors and Administrators that might arise in an even-handed and transparent way. But there will be no hesitation whatsoever to demote or - in extremis - even ban a Administrator depending on the severity of the problems.

See also

For further information on the role and abilities of Administrators see here. You should however be acutely aware that the hierarchies and decision processes in the Lexicanum can deviate considerably from those encountered in Wikipedia.