(Anthere anthere6@yahoo.com):
Btw, the en:Wikipedia:Administrators page absolutely do not indicate this mailing list as being the right place to ask for sysop rights. It mentions it *only* for developper status.
The page recommand to ask sysop status on the en.mailing list. Then I guess someone agrees for the new sysop, then by some magic, the user is named sysop.
Sorry, I assumed this was posted to wikipedia-l, not wikitech-l, since it's not a technical issue. Yes, wikipedia-l is the right place to ask.
And the magic is "update user set user_rights='sysop' where user_name='newsysopname';", which can be done from a MySQL prompt on the server, or with the SQL query page by any developer.
Clearly, international wikipedias cannot follow that pattern. No international user will come either to the english list, nor to the tech list for sysophood, but likely to the specific language list, or the admin page, or pump. Hence, the procedure given for english-speaking people cannot be identically followed on international wikipedia. It requires one more step, as not only other users have to agree, but someone has to ask and check until it is done.
Until a few more French and German an other foreign language-speaking developers step up to help manage things, you won't get quick response on lists the current developers don't read.