Wikipedia:Don't edit for power
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 | This page in a nutshell: Don't edit Wikipedia just for power and to become an admin. Edit Wikipedia to build an encyclopedia! |
Wikipedia is an encyclopedia where we work together, and of course we need admins to block users, protect pages and delete things — but too many users tend to think that adminship seems like a job where you are powerful, the boss, and in control, whilst also you are allowed to act in any way you want, and everybody takes your opinion as right. Because of this, some users only edit Wikipedia in a nice manner just to become an admin, so they can supposedly gain the power they want, themselves forgetting what the encyclopedia itself is for.
What happens when they get power
[edit]Let's say these power hunting users go up for RFA and succeed. They gain the supposed power that they have only edited Wikipedia for. These users will possibly now just scrap writing articles and improving them, also scrapping any other kind of encyclopedia based work. They will use the tools and only the tools!
Eventually, they will get bored of even being on Wikipedia, bearing in mind they weren't bored when they were busy writing articles and improving everything to get the admin job. Many of these kinds of users will just abandon their admin account — just for some hacker to compromise it 5 months later and wreak havoc with these admin tools. Which is one reason you shouldn't just edit to look for power. However, under most cases that doesn't happen, and this situation is a rare one.
What happens when they don't get power...
[edit]Let's say an average user who is hunting for power on Wikipedia goes up for RFA and fails the process. Problems can then arise. These power-hunting users may get angry that they have failed the RFA process, even though they may not at all be fit to be an admin. They may think Wikipedia has something against them. They may stay cool – or they may explode on the users who have opposed them in the RFA. This can lead to months and months of trouble, resulting in them never becoming an admin anyway. This would be yet another reason why one shouldn't use Wikipedia to get power and attention.
Are all admins looking for power then?
[edit]No, not all admins on Wikipedia are power hunters, because you can see that many of them are dedicated contributors who continue to write and improve articles – they chose to go for adminship to build Wikipedia rather than to bask in their so-called power. After all, being an admin is more like being a cleaner than being an emperor. As a result, the symbol for admins is a mop and bucket, not a crown and scepter.