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| ''This guide was written in October of 2010. Policies may have changed since it was written, and it only expresses the views of one individual, so take everything it says with a grain of salt.''
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| =So, you want to be a sysop?= | | | name00=Halse Crescent Police Department | cade00=VSB | type00=PD |
| Honestly, chances are that you're simply mistaken and that no, you don't want to be one. What you ''actually'' want is a status badge so that other people recognize you. Or maybe you want a podium from which you can enact changes in policies. Perhaps you think you need to be a sysop do anything around here.
| | | name10=the Brodribb Building | cade10=EHB | type10=Generic |
| | | name20=Burdock Walk |
| | | name30=Howel Bank | cade30=EHB | type30=Generic | text30=Dark |
| | | name40=Factory 24,20 | alt40=a factory | cade40=EHB | type40=Factory |
| | | name50=Crossman Grove Police Department | cade50=EHB | type50=PD |
| | | name60=Williames Bank | cade60=EHB | type60=Generic | text60=Dark |
| | | name70=Dustan Towers | cade70=EHB | type70=Generic |
| | | name80=the Goodson Motel | cade80=VSB | type80=Generic |
| | | name90=Taylor Bank | cade90=EHB | type90=Generic | text90=Dark |
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| Most people seem to do and think things along those lines. That's fine. It's perfectly human of you. We don't hold it against anyone. In fact, we basically expect it. That doesn't make any of them good reasons to be a sysop, however. In fact, all of those are lousy reasons.
| | | name01=Altham Row |
| | | name11=Yorke Grove |
| | | name21=Postlethwaite Crescent Fire Station | cade21=VSB | type21=Generic |
| | | name31=the Cranfield Museum | cade31=EHB | type31=Generic |
| | | name41=Dandison Auto Repair | cade41=VSB | type41=ARS |
| | | name51=Nurten Avenue | text51=RP |
| | | name61=Freeman Towers | cade61=VSB | type61=Generic |
| | | name71=the Stothert Building | cade71=EHB | type71=Generic |
| | | name81=The Scaife Building (Darvall Heights) | alt81=the Scaife Building | cade81=EHB | type81=Generic |
| | | name91=Shehan Way Fire Station | cade91=VSB | type91=Generic |
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| ==Review time== | | | name02=Bussell Way (Darvall Heights) | alt02=Bussell Way |
| Before we talk some more about how you might become a sysop, let's first review a few important things. If you don't ''get'' these ideas, your chances or being a sysop are slim at best.
| | | name12=Wenmouth Park |
| | | name22=Lilly Square |
| | | name32=Piers Park |
| | | name42=the Rugvie Monument |
| | | name52=Lascelles Library | cade52=EHB | type52=Generic |
| | | name62=Doon Avenue |
| | | name72=Teek Road (Darvall Heights) | alt72=Teek Road |
| | | name82=Cottingham Plaza |
| | | name92=the Smithfield Building | cade92=EHB | type92=Generic |
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| ===What is a sysop=== | | | name03=Junkyard 20,23 | alt03=a junkyard | cade03=VSB | type03=Generic |
| If you've never read it before, the first thing you should read is the [[UDWiki:Administration/Guidelines#What_are_System_Operators_on_this_Wiki.3F|Administrative Guidelines]] regarding sysops. It explains, in brief, what they are, what powers they have, and how they are supposed to use those powers in practice. Read the entire thing. Mull over it. Understand it and why it says what it does. It's important, and you can be guaranteed that if you want to be a sysop, you'll be expected to be an expert on that page.
| | | name13=the Farris Building | cade13=EHB | type13=Generic |
| | | name23=Butt Road Railway Station | cade23=VSB | type23=Generic |
| | | name33=Caplen Way |
| | | name43=the Hallett Building | cade43=EHB | type43=Generic |
| | | name53=St. Eutychian's Hospital (Darvall Heights) | alt53=St. Eutychian's Hospital | cade53=VSB | type53=Hospital |
| | | name63=Wheelhouse Auto Repair | cade63=EHB | type63=ARS |
| | | name73=Sherriff Place |
| | | name83=the Waddington Building | cade83=VSB | type83=Generic |
| | | name93=Tayler Lane Police Department | cade93=VSB | type93=PD |
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| To summarize, sysops are just regular wiki users. They have access to a few more buttons at the top of their pages than normal users do, which allows them to do stuff like move pages, delete pages, protect pages from editing, and other things of that sort. They also have some special authority on administrative pages such as [[A/MR|Move Requests]], [[A/PT|Protections]], [[A/SD|Speedy Deletions]], [[A/D|Deletions]], and [[A/VB|Vandal Banning]], to name a few, which allows them to rule on cases or act on requests made by users. Aside from the authority they have on those pages, and their special buttons that they can press, sysops are simply regular users.
| | | name04=Wasteland 20,24 | alt04=wasteland |
| | | name14=the Papps Building | cade14=EHB | type14=Generic |
| | | name24=Hallinan Towers | cade24=EHB | type24=Generic |
| | | name34=Junkyard 23,24 | alt34=a junkyard | cade34=VSB | type34=Generic |
| | | name44=Clissold Road |
| | | name54=Pirrie Park |
| | | name64=St. Pius's Hospital | cade64=EHB | type64=Hospital |
| | | name74=Edbrooke Street |
| | | name84=Lance Towers | cade84=EHB | type84=Generic |
| | | name94=the Bathe Building | cade94=EHB | type94=Generic |
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| To be fair, however, sysops are typically expected to be model users of the wiki, so you'll see them doing a lot of janitorial or maintenance work around the wiki, but the truth of the matter is that with 99% of that work, anyone can do it (''*hint hint*'').
| | | name05=Lorgh Walk (Darvall Heights) | alt05=Lorgh Walk |
| | | name15=Hibbert Walk |
| | | name25=Pilcher Avenue (Darvall Heights) | alt25=Pilcher Avenue |
| | | name35=the Chubb Building | cade35=EHB | type35=Generic |
| | | name45=Silley Park |
| | | name55=the Nurcombe Building | cade55=VSB | type55=Generic |
| | | name65=Carpark 26,25 | alt65=a carpark |
| | | name75=St. Matheos's Hospital (Darvall Heights) | alt75=St. Matheos's Hospital | cade75=EHB | type75=Hospital |
| | | name85=the Rippon Building | cade85=VSB | type85=Generic |
| | | name95=the Henslow Arms | cade95=EHB | type95=Generic |
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| Some of the sysops also attain the rank of Bureaucrat. We generally have two Bureaucrats at any given time, and their only additional power and responsibility is to handle promoting and demoting sysops. That's it. Nothing else.
| | | name06=Warehouse 20,26 | alt06=a warehouse | cade06=VSB | type06=Generic |
| | | name16=Coker Avenue |
| | | name26=Stocker Lane |
| | | name36=Tompson Walk |
| | | name46=the Herman Building | cade46=EHB | type46=NT | text46=MPM |
| | | name56=Priddy Bank | cade56=EHB | type56=Generic | text56=Dark |
| | | name66=Stockham Towers | cade66=EHB | type66=Generic |
| | | name76=Hebdidgh Road |
| | | name86=Scallon Crescent |
| | | name96=the Davidge Building | cade96=EHB | type96=Generic |
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| ===What a sysop isn't=== | | | name07=Caiger Mall | cade07=EHB | type07=Mall |
| There seem to be a lot of misconceptions about what sysops are around here, so let's clarify a few.
| | | name17=Holloms Auto Repair | cade17=EHB | type17=ARS |
| #Sysops can't use their buttons to do whatever they want. There are specific guidelines that explain when they can and can't use their abilities, and how they must use them. Failure to do so properly gets them sent to [[A/M|Misconduct]]. For a sysop to misuse their powers is a serious matter, and past sysops have been banned for extended periods of time due to abuse of the buttons.
| | | name27=The Wagner Building (Darvall Heights) | alt27=the Wagner Building | cade27=EHB | type27=Generic |
| #A sysop's word is not law. Unless they are acting in an official capacity (which they almost always make very clear), whenever a sysop chimes in with their opinion in places like [[Developing Suggestions]], [[:Category:Historical Groups|Historical Groups]], or elsewhere, their word carries no more weight than that of any other user.
| | | name37=St. Isidore's Church (Darvall Heights) | alt37=St. Isidore's Church | cade37=VSB | type37=Generic |
| #Sysops are not the only ones allowed to do most of the work. Just because you'll usually see sysops doing janitorial work like cycling suggestions on [[Developing Suggestions]] or [[:Category:Current Suggestions]], or else updating [[FA|Featured Articles]] each week does not mean that sysops are the only ones allowed to do those things. They just happen to be good and active users that do it to help.
| | | name47=Cemetery 24,27 | alt47=a cemetery | text47=RP |
| #Sysops are not intermediaries in disputes. That's what [[A/A|Arbitration]] is for. A sysop might be able to help two users come to an agreement, but their word is no more binding than that of any other user, nor is their help to be demanded more than that of any other user.
| | | name57=the Gadd Motel | cade57=EHB | type57=Generic |
| | | name67=Warehouse 26,27 | alt67=a warehouse | cade67=VSB | type67=Generic |
| | | name77=Nettleton Way Railway Station | cade77=EHB | type77=Generic |
| | | name87=Cundham Library | cade87=EHB | type87=Generic |
| | | name97=the Jillard Museum | cade97=VSB | type97=Generic |
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| ===Who gets to be a sysop?=== | | | name08=Caiger Mall | cade08=EHB | type08=Mall |
| Anyone that "the community" thinks deserves to be one and that the Bureaucrats agrees would be a good fit. If you're curious what a "good fit" is, check the [[UDWiki:Administration/Promotions#Guidelines_for_System_Operator_Requests|Promotions]] page for information regarding what it takes to be a sysop. You'll notice a list of five key criteria, and while the page does say that, "If a user is highly exemplary in one criterion, a certain level of give may be extended to other criteria," in practice, if you're relying on this fact in order to get promoted, the truth of the matter is that you're probably not the exceptional type of candidate that is going to get promoted and that you should seriously look into improving in those other criteria before applying for the job.
| | | name18=the Latrobe Building | cade18=EHB | type18=NT |
| | | name28=Cockle Street |
| | | name38=Yeandill Towers | cade38=EHB | type38=Generic |
| | | name48=Perram Avenue School | cade48=VSB | type48=Generic |
| | | name58=Mudford Plaza |
| | | name68=Sherman Road |
| | | name78=Allan Square |
| | | name88=Keevil Walk |
| | | name98=Bonville Drive |
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| Look through the archives on that page and see why people succeeded and why people failed. Look at the sorts of complaints and criticisms that were directed at the candidates, and see both how others reacted to them and how they addressed the comments. It should help you see what sorts of things are important or not important. You'll probably notice that time and again, people seem to overestimate their own level of qualification. A lot of users think they fit the criterion better than they do, or else they never really consulted with others to see if others thought they would be a good candidate. Had they done so, they'd have gotten a nice dose of reality prior to their nomination, which might've helped make things go better for them.
| | | name09=Pagram Library | cade09=VSB | type09=Generic |
| | | name19=Salopia Row | text19=RP |
| | | name29=the Blackholler Arms | cade29=VSB | type29=Generic |
| | | name39=Selwood Crescent |
| | | name49=Snygge Boulevard |
| | | name59=Adney Auto Repair | cade59=EHB | type59=ARS |
| | | name69=Factory 26,29 | alt69=a factory | cade69=EHB | type69=Factory |
| | | name79=the Desmond Monument |
| | | name89=Club Colridge | cade89=EHB | type89=Generic | text89=Dark |
| | | name99=North Library | cade99=VSB | type99=Generic |
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| The current list of sysops is [[Special:Listusers/sysop|here]]. As you can see, there aren't many of them. In fact, generally speaking, we only have about a dozen or less at any given time. Of those, you can usually count on a few of them being inactive or infrequent contributors. Even so, for this size of community, we really only need about 3-5 active and contributing sysops in order to keep things running smoothly, though more are welcome, and we've worked with less in the past when life has happened and people have had to be inactive for a bit.
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| What I'm getting at is that this wiki really doesn't ''need'' that many sysops, so it's generally only exceptional candidates that are promoted.
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| ==Looking forward==
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| Now, I can hear you squirming in your seat, wanting to say, "That's great, but I already know all of that stuff and am a great candidate. Get to the juicy part!" I'm glad you're eager, but slow down a bit. Make sure you ''really'' understand things. If you don't, you ''will'' get called on it and it ''will'' come back to bite you.
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| ===Who ''really'' gets to be a sysop?===
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| Okay, so while anyone ''could'' be a sysop, in practice it doesn't work that way, of course. Here's a list of unofficial criteria and additional traits that I'd say are important for any potential sysops out there.
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| #A model user. Pretty much all the rest of these points are just details for this one. The simple truth is that the best sysops are the best users. If someone knows their stuff, contributes well, and helps others, they're likely a good candidate for sysop.
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| #Maturity. Sysops are called on to rule in a variety of cases and routinely need to deal with drama. Being able to act as an adult when others are behaving as children is important.
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| #A demonstrated ability to deal with drama. In case you haven't noticed, this wiki has some [[Template:DramaLevel|drama]] on it. Sysops need to be able to wade in and set things straight without getting pulled into it.
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| #Technical expertise. Whether we like it or not, we get a LOT of questions about how to do X or Y on the wiki, and we have to fix things that break. As a model user, sysops should have a solid understanding of all of the major wikicode concepts, from headers and text formatting to tables and templates. You don't need to be an expert, but you should be a solid intermediate.
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| #Critical reasoning skills. While some cases have established precedent, it's not uncommon to see new cases around here that stretch and pull at the boundaries of what is or isn't acceptable. Any monkey can rule on a case, but a sysop should be able to form a cohesive idea in support of their side, taking into account past precedents and the differences in the case. Speaking of precedents...
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| #Understanding of past cases and history. You don't need to be a history expert on the case law of the wiki, but it's always best when a sysop comes in with a solid understanding of the major cases that have come up over the years.
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| #An established history of janitorial work. Seriously. Nothing convinces people faster that you're fit for the job than being good at contributing to the janitorial work.
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| ===Before nomination===
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| Before you go nominating yourself (or getting your friends to nominate you), there are definitely a few things you should do that you won't find written up in many places around here.
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| #Analyze your own motivations. Figure out if you're in it because you want the status or if you really do want to help. If you really do want to help, ask yourself why you need sysop powers to help in that way. There's very little that regular users are incapable of doing.
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| #Be active and a regular contributor to janitorial work. I'll cover this in more detail in the next section, since it's probably the most important thing.
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| #Stop making mistakes. If you're making mistakes such as posting in the wrong places (''especially'' on admin pages), doing maintenance tasks incorrectly, or suggesting ill-informed ideas in a serious manner, it tells everyone that you are not qualified.
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| #Look at your regular activities on the wiki, and determine exactly what would be different if you were a sysop. For most people, nothing at all would change if they were a sysop. If that's true for you, then maybe you shouldn't be one.
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| #Be patient. People that seem too eager for the position routinely get shot down. Especially so if they've been advised to work on one or more of the [[UDWiki:Administration/Promotions#Guidelines_for_System_Operator_Requests|Promotions page criteria]] and haven't waited long enough for real change to have occurred.
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| #Prepare to have the wiki ruined for you. Sysops, as with pretty much any other role of this sort, tend to get cynical in a hurry and lose the fun they had before. It doesn't happen to all of them, but it happens to enough that you'd be advised to consider whether or not it's worth it.
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| =Discussion Area=
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| If you're an RC stalker (or an Aichon Sandbox stalker...creepy), feel free to add comments here, since I have the talk page redirected. This page is a WIP and is nowhere near completion. I still plan to add a list of janitorial work they could be doing, some more points to the various things I already listed, and a checklist of things they should look at before nomination.
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| It will not be an official document, just something I'm putting together that I can link whenever someone says they want to be a sysop. I'd find it more valuable, however, if it reflected not just my own, possibly misguided, opinions, but also the opinions of others, that way others could point to or refer to it as well. So...yeah...feel free to add your thoughts. {{User:Aichon/Signature}} 23:33, 26 October 2010 (BST)
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