User blog:Dyetpeppre/All this static about admins

It's funny listening to all this talk about who is admin and who isn't, what admin is doing what, and which admins rock and which ones suck. I felt I should throw my $.02 ($.02 CDN) in.

Good administrators/moderators don't become good just because they receive an admin title/rights. Good admins come from good users. They know how to use the system, and they understand the functions and operations of that system.

But what makes a great admin? The one who understands the community and can foster the collabrative nature of the wiki exceeds as an admin.

Having said that, what makes a lousy admin (Disclaimer: my humble opinion follows)? So, in my world, that is the kind of person I look for in an admin/moderator. The admins on this board may/may not share my views, and that's ok... it's their board. I am grateful that they run it, as it is a fantastic tool that enhances my gaming experience. So thank you, admins, for your work. Sorry about the crap you take...
 * One who scares away new users. New users fulfill the need for a diverse userbase. Without it, collabrative environments stagnate and the community as a whole suffers. This means sometimes having to put up with a little immaturity or being very patient in leading newcomers through the world of wiki.
 * One who seeks the title for the title's sake. If one contributes just to raise their numbers in the hopes of getting the title, expect to see that die off once they get the title.
 * One who just wants to smack down abusers. Admins are leaders, not cops.
 * One who "acts" like an admin (or rather, how THEY think an admin should act). That is, one who constantly points out what others are doing wrong without either encouraging what is being done right or contributing themselves to the wiki. Admins are not tattlers.
 * One who belittles others' contributions. Every small bit helps. Not everyone is capable of writing a fully-functional article. Some prefer to just "polish" rather than create. That's good too (as long as they stay within the standards set by the wiki).
 * One who would delete other's comments/posts for personal reasons.

-DP

Oh, a follow-up note on some of MY history:
 * I've run guilds in other games, and been a member of guilds. I've been a peon, staff, moderator, admin and founder. I've run forums and websites. I've seen and heard about it all. My opinions above come from my experiences.
 * My first wife ran away with our WoW guild leader, leaving me to raise 3 kids on my own. I know how real an online community can be.
 * I've seen games tear families and friends apart. In short, this crap aint worth losing sleep over. So everybody, RELAX!