On Feb 6, 2004, at 05:08, Tim Starling wrote:
In response to the burden placed on developers in
administering sysop
access
on the various wikis, and the dangerous nature of manual SQL queries,
a new
feature has been implemented, as proposed by Brion and implemented by
E23
(Snok). This feature creates a new level of access called "bureaucrat".
Bureacrats are able to create sysops on any wiki, even if they do not
have
an account at the target wiki.
Unfortunately this part of the feature has spawned more rules and
bureaucracy, which is what we were trying to avoid. ;)
The intent is for the users of each wiki -- particularly the newer,
smaller projects -- to more effectively manage their own affairs by
eliminating the requirement to beg an outsider to review and perform
every change. As such we're taking out the ability to make sysops on
other wikis; worry over this lead to the creation of rules and red tape
that made it impossible for the target audience to be allowed to deal
with their own affairs.
There's also been some talk of just merging sysop-making into the
regular powers of a sysop. (As always, sysops are expected to follow
the community consensus rules on using their powers, which never EVER
confer editorial authority. Sysop powers are technical conveniences
ONLY.)
-- brion vibber (brion @
pobox.com)