How to Become a wikiHow Admin

originated by:Jack Herrick, Nathan Wong, Tom Viren, Krystle C. (see all)

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Administrators are wikiHow community members who willingly take on extra responsibility to make wikiHow the best how-to manual possible. While every wikiHow user is an editor, administrators have three extra powers and responsibilities which allow them to ensure that wikiHow continues to blossom into a useful free resource: Renaming, Deleting, and Blocking. Other than these general housekeeping duties, they participate in the same creative and collaborative activities as any other editor or contributor.

Administrator elections begin on the following dates: January 15th, May 13th, and September 15th!

Steps

  1. 1
    Pursue any of the following activities to help you become ready for adminship. These are the sorts of activities that make one a productive and valued member of the community, regardless of whether one seeks or achieves admin status. You don't need to do all of the things listed below, but doing some segment will help you in the process and show others that you are admin material:



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  2. 2
    Decide that you really want to become an administrator. Adminship requires an extra set of responsibilities that other editors don't have. It provides no extra reward other than the pleasure of a job well done. Several well-respected wikiHow contributors have turned down nominations for adminship to focus instead on article creation, editing, and other tasks they enjoy more than the work that admins need to do.
  3. 3
    Apply during the "call for admin nominations". They will begin every January 15th, May 15th, and September 15th and will be announced at the Village Pump at the Forums. Ask an existing wikiHow Administrator to nominate you for the position. If the administrator thinks you would be a good candidate for adminship, he or she will nominate you during the nomination cycle. Alternatively, you could nominate yourself by following the instructions posted at the Forums during the call for nominations.
  4. 4
    Recognize that new admins will be selected by a consensus-seeking process, conducted in confidence among existing admins. Typically, admin candidates need support of 70-80% of the existing admins. Generally, this process can last from a few days to a few weeks, as it can take time for admins to reach a consensus on who should be an admin. When complete, the results will be published on the Village Pump at the Forums.
  5. 5
    Understand the selection criteria that existing admins will be looking for in each candidate:

    • Trust - This is the most important criterion. Do the existing admins trust you to exercise control responsibly on one of the most popular sites on the Internet? Trust is earned over time by continually displaying good, level-headed, mature judgment.
    • Empathy and kindness - Admins exist to serve the broader community of editors and readers. A demonstrated history of treating others with kindness and mutual respect is a necessity.
    • Mission focus - Demonstrated ability to put wikiHow's mission before competing concerns.
    • Civility - Can you remain civil when criticized for the decisions you make as an admin? Can you wield admin powers while still being kind, polite and welcoming?
    • Track record - While there are no hard and fast rules, generally a contributor should have at least four months of experience and 500 - 1000 article namespace edits on wikiHow before being considered as a possible administrator candidate. Existing admins have a hard time evaluating candidates they have yet to observe and interact with personally.
  6. 6
    Don't be discouraged if you don't make it through on your first couple election cycles. About half of the people nominated will not pass on their first few attempts, but are instead encouraged to try on a second, third, or fourth attempt. If you were nominated but not appointed, reach out to an existing admin to ask for coaching to help you apply in the future. Similarly, if you are never selected for adminship, you can still be a valued member of the community. Many great wikiHow editors have never become admins.
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Tips

  • Spending some time patrolling will teach you much of what you will need to know to be a valuable administrator.
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  • Administrators are responsible for:
    • Renaming articles that have been tagged for a suggested title change.
    • Blocking vandals and spam bots.
    • Managing and deleting articles and requests that have been nominated for deletion, or deemed inappropriate.
  • You must know how to act as an admin.

Warnings

  • While being an administrator is a very fun and rewarding role, it is a time commitment that your family members might not understand!
  • Adminship is neither a trophy, nor a promotion[1]. Admins have no status in wikiHow above those of other regular contributors. Admins merely gain a few extra tools to perform the extra responsibilities the job entails.
  • Using administrator powers to push around productive wikiHow contributors is never acceptable.
  • For a variety of reasons, not all those who apply for adminship will be selected. Being declined adminship does not mean that you are not a valued or appreciated member of the wikiHow community, so don't let this discourage you from continuing to participate at wikiHow.

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Related wikiHows

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.wikihow.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1285

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Article Info

Last edited:
July 7, 2010 by Lillian May

Categories:
Being an Admin | Help

Recent edits by: Jordan, Snoopdog, MA (see all)

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