Wikipedia:Don't edit for power: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 13:52, 27 September 2010

Latest revision as of 18:36, 8 August 2025

(37 intermediate revisions by 23 users not shown)

Line 1:

{{Essay|WP:POWER}}

{{nutshell|Don't edit wikipediaWikipedia just for power and to become an admin. Edit Wikipedia to build an encyclopedia!}}

{{Shortcut|WP:POWER}}

{{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 [[WPWikipedia:BLOCKBlocking policy|block users]], [[WPWikipedia:PROTECT Protection policy|protect pages]], and [[WPWikipedia:DELETEDeletion policy|delete things]], — but totoo 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 anywayany 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 ==

Let's say these power -hunting users go up for [[WP:RFARfA|RFARfA]] and succeed,. theyThey gain the supposed power that they have only edited wikipediaWikipedia for. These users will possibly now just scrap writing articles and improving them, also scrapping any other kind of encyclopedia -based work,. and obviously theyThey will use the tools and only the tools!

::Eventually, they will get bored of even being on wikipediaWikipedia, bearing in mind they weren't bored when they were busy writing articles and improving everything to get the admin job,. and mostMany of these kinds of users will just [[WP:Former administrators|abandon their admin account.]] Just— just for some [[WP:VAND|vandal]]hacker to compromise it 2 years5 months later and wreck[[WP:VAND|wreak havoc with these admin tools]]. Which is one reason you shouldn't just edit to look for power. However, under somemost cases thisthat doesn't happen, and this situation is a rare one.

==What happens when they don't get power...==

Let's say an average user who is hunting for power on Wikipedia goes up for [[WP:RFARfA|RFARfA]] and fails the process. Problems can then arise;. theseThese power-hunting users may get angry that they have failed the RFARfA process, (even though they may not at all be fit to be an admin). They may think Wikipedia has something against them. and theyThey may [[WP:COOL|Staystay cool]] –— or worse, they may explode on the users who have opposed them in the RFARfA. 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?==

No, not all admins on wikipediaWikipedia are power hunters, because you willcan see that many of them are dedicated contributors who stillcontinue to write and improve articles, and— they may have chosenchose to go for adminship to help''build'' Wikipedia more 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.

==See also==

* [[Wikipedia:Misuse of administrator tools]]

* [[Wikipedia:Disruptive sanctions]]

* [[Wikipedia:WikiBullying]]

* [[Wikipedia:Hat collecting]]

[[Category:Wikipedia essays explaining processes]]

[[Category:Wikipedia essays about adminship]]