Erik Moeller:
Tim-
There is no sense in giving developers administrative power.
I tend to agree, although I think it's not a matter of ability (I do not share the "programmers are good at this, not at that" belief; programmers are human beings like anyone else) but a matter of scalability. We can't make everyone a developer for security reasons. Encapsulating community functions like desysopping in the "bureaucrat" flag seems like the most reasonable way forward to me.
That of course does not address the question what these bureaucrats are *allowed* to do.
I tried to make the bureaucrat access work across wikis but Brion was livid. I tested the water on giving bureaucrats the power to desysop on #wikipedia, and the answer I got was firmly negative. What I'm proposing is a minimal change, by replacing developer power with the power of a small set of users who are selected by an appropriate process. Currently, any software engineer can get shell access by putting in a few hours of work, or by bringing a unique skill to the group. It's hardly a good way to select the management of an organisation.
-- Tim Starling