This page provides resources for experienced administrators who either:
Administrators have the opportunity to participate more fully in psychologically demanding areas of the project that can lead to burnout. It is important to recognize that feelings of frustration and burnout are common. Widely reported frustrations include:
Recognizing that these feelings are common and shared is the first step towards contextualizing them. Most administrators who have been active over the course of several years or more hold some of these feelings but believe that the goals of the project and the rewards of participation outweigh them.
Here is a summary of the major policy shifts that have occurred since policy was formalized in about 2006. Administrators returning to the project should consider re-reading these policies because they cover the few areas where administrative rights have been revoked for first-time non-compliance:
In addition, there have been some other shifts in policy and culture that returning administrators should be aware of:
There have been ongoing problems with administrator accounts being compromised for the purpose of vandalism or misuse. It is recommended that you use a password unique to Wikipedia, and consider enrolling in the two-factor authentication system. See WP:PASSWORD for details.
There are multiple anti-abuse technologies that have had a pervasive effect on casual editors. Administrators are whitelisted in nearly all cases. It is instructive to observe a newcomer to the project, or to create a new account from which to make simple, good-faith edits (in careful compliance with WP:SOCK), to see how these mechanisms appear to others.
Here are some suggestions for administrators rejoining the community.
Though not policy related, be prepared for these changes in sentiment:
At present, admins may lose their administrative privileges after one year of inactivity (no edits or logged actions), or if they have made fewer than 100 edits over a 5 year period. In general, administrative privileges are returned on request for anyone who has performed an administrative action in the five years preceding the request and has not been inactive for at least two years. Detailed policy is at WP:INACTIVE. There are periodic proposals to tighten the inactivity policy, particularly for cases where administrators make edits or take actions that are perceived as being solely for the purposes of avoiding the appearance of inactivity. Rather than making a token edit or deletion, consider making a good-faith effort to re-engage with the project, even if time constraints make your participation occasional.
This page provides resources for experienced administrators who either:
Administrators have the opportunity to participate more fully in psychologically demanding areas of the project that can lead to burnout. It is important to recognize that feelings of frustration and burnout are common. Widely reported frustrations include:
Recognizing that these feelings are common and shared is the first step towards contextualizing them. Most administrators who have been active over the course of several years or more hold some of these feelings but believe that the goals of the project and the rewards of participation outweigh them.
Here is a summary of the major policy shifts that have occurred since policy was formalized in about 2006. Administrators returning to the project should consider re-reading these policies because they cover the few areas where administrative rights have been revoked for first-time non-compliance:
In addition, there have been some other shifts in policy and culture that returning administrators should be aware of:
There have been ongoing problems with administrator accounts being compromised for the purpose of vandalism or misuse. It is recommended that you use a password unique to Wikipedia, and consider enrolling in the two-factor authentication system. See WP:PASSWORD for details.
There are multiple anti-abuse technologies that have had a pervasive effect on casual editors. Administrators are whitelisted in nearly all cases. It is instructive to observe a newcomer to the project, or to create a new account from which to make simple, good-faith edits (in careful compliance with WP:SOCK), to see how these mechanisms appear to others.
Here are some suggestions for administrators rejoining the community.
Though not policy related, be prepared for these changes in sentiment:
At present, admins may lose their administrative privileges after one year of inactivity (no edits or logged actions), or if they have made fewer than 100 edits over a 5 year period. In general, administrative privileges are returned on request for anyone who has performed an administrative action in the five years preceding the request and has not been inactive for at least two years. Detailed policy is at WP:INACTIVE. There are periodic proposals to tighten the inactivity policy, particularly for cases where administrators make edits or take actions that are perceived as being solely for the purposes of avoiding the appearance of inactivity. Rather than making a token edit or deletion, consider making a good-faith effort to re-engage with the project, even if time constraints make your participation occasional.