User blog:LostInRiverview/What are administrators?

"I just wanted to say that becoming a sysop is *not a big deal*... I don't like that there's the apparent feeling here that being granted sysop status is a really special thing." - Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia and co-founder of Wikia

The Sims Wiki has a group of users known as Administrators (this group collectively includes administrators/sysops and bureaucrats). These users are given access to special tools that normal users are not, such as the ability to lock and unlock pages, or block users. These administrators also often assume a leadership position in community discussions, helping to determine community consensus and resolve disputes.

The fundamental principle of wiki editing, however, is that community consensus is the preferred manner of reaching community decisions. Administrators, as experienced members of the community, often contribute to this consensus, but the support of administrators is not required in order to reach a decision or to make changes to the wiki. Authority over the governance of the wiki rests in the hands of the community, and all community decisions are binding, even if an administrator disagrees with it.

Furthermore, another principle of wiki editing is the concept of acting boldly to solve problems and improve things. It's important to know that all wiki editors are empowered with the ability to make changes to the wiki in the spirit of improving it, even if these changes were not given explicit permission by administrators - in fact, often these changes don't even need to be discussed with the community, though they should be talked about if there is a disagreement. Making a change to a page or template or category does not need to be approved by an administrator, and administrators will trust that a user is acting in good faith in making these changes.

Administrators are not above community consent. If the community decides that something should be done in a certain way, the administrators are bound to carry out that decision, regardless of any personal disagreements. In fact, if an administrator takes an action that a member of the community disagrees with, the administrator cannot use their position to override a community discussion on the matter, or to override the opinions of non-administrators.

If administrators aren't "in charge" of the wiki, and aren't in a position of authority, then what are administrators? Simply put, administrators are normal wiki editors that are experienced enough to be given access to extra technical tools, in order to allow them to help the wiki in different ways.
 * Answering the question

If a wiki editor feels that a particular edit or action is beneficial to the wiki, they should perform the action, unless they believe that the action should be discussed by the greater community first or is likely to be controversial. Editors will not be punished by administrators for acting boldly in good faith. In the case of a community discussion, administrators will not treat the opinions of an administrator as being superior to the opinions of a non-administrator or the entire community. In cases where an administrative tool or power is necessary in order to perform an action, the administrator should act in accordance with wiki community consensus and not based on personal preferences.
 * Moving forward

Administrators and bureacurats are exactly the same for all practical purposes, unless there is a specific reason to treat them differently. That means the opinion of a bureaucrat does not override the opinion of an administrator, and the opinion of a bureaucrat also does not override that of a wiki editor, or that of the community at large.
 * A quick aside - administrators vs bureaucrats