User:Mackensen/Admin criteria
I've resisted crafting administrator criteria for a long time; but I've found that my opposes are extremely subjective. Therefore, I'm setting down these simple guidelines, which I base on my own candidacy for adminship.
Criteria
- User's first dozen edits must have been a year prior to the request for adminship.
- User must have a thousand edits in the main article space.
- User must have some practical experience in unofficial dispute resolution: engagement on article talk pages, for example.
Reasoning
The one year requirement may raise some eyebrows; I have my reasons. What it boils down to is that every user, in my opinion, needs a long period of engagement with Wikipedia as an editor and article contributor before becoming a part of the bureaucracy. To become an administrator can fundamentally change the way one interacts with Wikipedia. The counter-example is Lord Emsworth, who as far as I know has never blocked anybody, closed any AfDs, or participated in the bureaucratic side of things. That's good; he's far more useful creating featured articles. Still, I maintain that any user seeking the admin tools needs to have spent a year (more or less) in the trenches doing article work. By then their commitment to the project (one hopes) is deep and sincere, and they're ready to assume the burdens of the bureaucracy.