[WikiEN-l] Admin burnout (deputy admins)

[William Pietri]

Having read with great interest much of the discussion, I'd like to 
offer another proposal for reforming the way we get admins. This isn't 
really something I'm championing; I'm just throwing it out in hopes of 
advancing the discussion. Many of the elements are borrowed, and if this 
goes anywhere, I'll gladly go back and cite them.

The spirit of this is that there is a lot of relatively uncontroversial 
admin work that needs to be done, so that we should let a wider set 
responsible people do some of the basic mop-and-bucket stuff. For 
controversial stuff, that would effectively stay in the hands of current 
admins. It's more "I guess it's my turn to clean the bathroom" than "I 
run this place."


The basics:

    * We introduce the status of "deputy admin" (other possible names:
      provisional, temporary, transient, acting, probationary).
    * Deputies have all the powers of a regular admin.
    * If stepping into something controversial or difficult, they are
      expected to get help from a permanent admin.
    * The term is limited to, say, 3 months.
    * Application is similar, but the bar is lower:
          o they should have a modest history as a useful contributor;
          o they should have demonstrated reasonable knowledge of how
            Wikipedia works;
          o they shouldn't be obviously dangerous;
          o no serious objections means they pass.
    * They can be more easily be de-admined. Possible mechanisms:
          o their request stays open, and a serious objection means they
            lose the bit;
          o any N (1? 2? 3?) admins can agree to de-admin them with
            cause; or
          o any serious, validated complaint of admin power abuse ends
            their term.
    * After their term is up, there is a mandatory break of say, 6
      weeks, during which they are just another editor.
    * After the break, they can:
          o carry on editing, without prejudice or pressure,
          o apply for another term as a deputy, or
          o apply for administrator-for-life status through the RfA process.


So that's the basic notion. Like a lot of what goes on here, I think 
there will be a lot of useful social convention that grows up around the 
core mechanism.

Why do it? Here's my thinking:

Pros:

    * Many hands make light work.
    * Experienced admins can focus on the hard stuff.
    * Gives deputies a track record for future full RfA.
    * Helps de-emphasizes adminship as status item.
    * Limited scope and term will make it less appealing to those
      seeking admin-hood for the power.
    * Helps identify responsible people.
    * Wider distribution of power means less us-vs-them divide.
    * Requires no code changes.


Cons:

    * More admins to keep track of.
    * The process of deciding who gets in and who doesn't is more work,
      and possibly more drama than the current setup.
    * More work blessing and de-blessing deputy admins.



Naturally, I don't think this would solve all of the problems that have 
come up, but do folks think it would be a step forward?


Thanks,

William