Manual:Administrators
- Manual:Administrators
This article provides a comprehensive guide for aspiring and current administrators on a MediaWiki 1.40 installation. It outlines the responsibilities, tools, and best practices for maintaining a healthy and thriving wiki. This guide assumes a basic understanding of wiki editing. If you're new to editing, please refer to the Manual:Editing page first.
What is an Administrator?
Administrators are users entrusted with elevated privileges on a MediaWiki site. These privileges allow them to perform actions beyond those available to standard users, primarily relating to site maintenance, user management, and protection of content. The role comes with significant responsibility, as actions taken by administrators directly impact the overall quality and stability of the wiki. Becoming an administrator is typically a process involving nomination, community discussion, and confirmation through a voting system (defined by the wiki's specific policies – see Manual:Configuration for details on configuring voting systems).
Core Responsibilities
Administrators shoulder several key responsibilities. These can be broadly categorized as follows:
- User Rights Management: Granting and revoking user rights, including administrator access itself. This includes managing roles like Manual:User groups such as bureaucrat (who can manage administrators), and other custom groups your wiki may have.
- Page Protection: Protecting pages from editing to prevent vandalism, edit wars, or to safeguard critical templates or project pages. Different levels of protection are available (see section below).
- Blocking Users: Blocking users who engage in disruptive behavior, such as vandalism, spamming, or personal attacks. Blocking can be temporary or permanent.
- Deleting Pages: Deleting pages that are inappropriate, copyright violations, or no longer relevant. Deletion history is retained, but the pages are removed from public view.
- Revision Deletion: Removing specific revisions of pages, often to address libelous content, copyright issues, or personal information. This differs from page deletion as it preserves the page's history, but hides the problematic revision.
- Managing Templates: Protecting and managing important templates that are used throughout the wiki. Malicious or incorrect templates can cause widespread issues.
- Handling Vandalism: Responding to and repairing vandalism quickly and efficiently.
- Resolving Disputes: Mediating disputes between users and enforcing the wiki's policies.
- Technical Maintenance: While often handled by sysadmins, administrators may be involved in tasks like running maintenance scripts, updating extensions, and troubleshooting technical issues.
- Enforcing Policies: Ensuring all users adhere to the wiki's established Manual:Policies and guidelines.
Accessing Administrator Tools
Administrators gain access to a suite of tools through the Special Pages namespace. These pages are accessible via the sidebar (typically labeled "Special Pages") or by directly entering the URL in your browser (e.g., `https://yourwiki.com/wiki/Special:BlockIP`). Key tools include:
- Special:ListUsers: A searchable list of all users on the wiki. Useful for managing user accounts and rights.
- Special:UserRights: Allows you to modify user rights, granting or revoking access to different user groups.
- Special:BlockIP: Used to block users by IP address or username. You can specify a reason for the block and its duration.
- Special:Protect: Used to protect pages from editing.
- Special:Delete: Used to delete pages. Requires a valid reason for deletion.
- Special:RevisionDelete: Used to delete specific revisions of pages.
- Special:Log: Provides access to various logs, including block logs, delete logs, protect logs, and user rights change logs. Crucial for auditing administrator actions.
- Special:AbuseLog: Displays a log of potentially abusive edits, helping identify and address vandalism.
- Special:Watchlist: While all users have a watchlist, administrators often monitor key pages and logs through their watchlist.
- Special:Statistics: Provides a statistical overview of the wiki.
Page Protection: Levels and Best Practices
MediaWiki offers several levels of page protection:
- Fully Protected: Only administrators can edit the page. This is reserved for highly sensitive pages like the main page, project policy pages, and critical templates. Use sparingly.
- Semi-Protected: Only autoconfirmed users can edit the page. This is a good choice for pages frequently targeted by vandalism but still requiring community contributions. Requires users to have made a certain number of edits and be registered for a certain period (configurable in Manual:Configuration).
- Template Protected: Only administrators and users with the `templateeditor` right can edit the page. Used for important templates that are widely used throughout the wiki.
- Cascading Protection: When a page is protected, any templates it transcludes can also be protected automatically. This prevents users from bypassing the page protection by editing the template.
- Edit Protected: A rarely used protection level that prevents all but administrators from editing. Similar to Fully Protected.
- Best Practices for Page Protection:**
- Document the reason for protection: Always provide a clear reason for protecting a page in the edit summary and on the talk page.
- Use the least restrictive level of protection necessary: Avoid fully protecting pages unless absolutely essential.
- Regularly review protection: Periodically review protected pages to determine if the protection is still necessary.
- Discuss protection on the talk page: Before protecting a page, discuss it with the community on the talk page to ensure consensus. This promotes transparency and avoids unnecessary conflict.
User Blocking: Policies and Procedures
Blocking users is a serious action and should be taken only after careful consideration and adherence to the wiki's policies.
- Reasons for Blocking:**
- Vandalism: Repeatedly adding or restoring disruptive content.
- Spamming: Posting unsolicited advertisements or irrelevant links.
- Personal Attacks: Harassing or threatening other users.
- Sockpuppetry: Creating multiple accounts to circumvent policies or disrupt discussions.
- Disruptive Editing: Engaging in behavior that consistently hinders the collaborative editing process.
- Copyright Violations: Posting copyrighted material without permission.
- Blocking Procedures:**
- Warn the user first: Whenever possible, issue a warning to the user before blocking them. Explain the specific violation and ask them to cease the disruptive behavior.
- Document the reason for the block: Provide a clear and concise reason for the block in the block log.
- Choose an appropriate block duration: The duration of the block should be proportionate to the severity of the offense. Consider temporary blocks for first-time offenses and permanent blocks for egregious violations.
- Consider range blocks carefully: Blocking an IP address range can affect legitimate users. Use range blocks only when necessary and with caution.
- Escalate serious cases: If you are unsure whether to block a user, consult with other administrators or the community.
Deletion and Revision Deletion: Guidelines and Best Practices
Deleting pages and revisions is another powerful administrative tool that requires careful judgment.
- Reasons for Deletion:**
- Copyright Violations: Pages containing copyrighted material without permission.
- Attack Pages: Pages created solely to attack or defame individuals.
- Spam: Pages created for advertising or promotional purposes.
- Irrelevant Content: Pages that are completely unrelated to the wiki's topic.
- Duplicate Pages: Pages that contain the same information as existing pages.
- Revision Deletion (Supression):**
Used for:
- Personal Information: Removal of private data like addresses or phone numbers.
- Libelous Content: Removing defamatory statements.
- Legal Concerns: Responding to legal requests (e.g., takedown notices).
- Best Practices for Deletion and Revision Deletion:**
- Follow the wiki's deletion policy: Ensure the deletion complies with the wiki's established procedures.
- Discuss deletion on the talk page: Before deleting a page, discuss it with the community on the talk page to ensure consensus.
- Document the reason for deletion: Provide a clear and concise reason for deletion in the deletion log.
- Consider alternatives to deletion: In some cases, it may be possible to revise the page to address the issues instead of deleting it.
- Be mindful of deletion history: Deletion history is retained, but the pages are removed from public view.
Staying Informed and Seeking Help
The role of an administrator is constantly evolving. Staying informed about new features, security threats, and best practices is crucial.
- MediaWiki Documentation: The official MediaWiki documentation ([1](https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Administrators)) is an invaluable resource.
- Wiki Community: Engage with the wiki community on the talk pages and in forums.
- Extension Documentation: If your wiki uses extensions, familiarize yourself with their documentation.
- Security Alerts: Subscribe to security alerts from the MediaWiki project to stay informed about potential vulnerabilities.
- Other Administrators: Don't hesitate to ask other administrators for help or advice.
Advanced Techniques & Considerations
- **API Usage:** Administrators can leverage the MediaWiki API for automated tasks like user management, page monitoring, and data analysis. ([2](https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/API:Main_page))
- **Database Access:** Direct database access (handled by sysadmins) allows for complex maintenance tasks and data recovery. Administrators should rarely require this access.
- **Regular Backups:** Ensure regular backups of the wiki’s database and files are performed. ([3](https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Backups))
- **Performance Monitoring:** Monitor wiki performance to identify and address bottlenecks. ([4](https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Performance_tuning))
- **Security Hardening:** Implement security measures to protect the wiki from attacks. ([5](https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Security_tips))
Understanding Technical Analysis & Market Trends (For Wiki Administrators Managing Finance/Trading Related Content)
While not directly related to wiki administration, if your wiki contains content related to financial trading, understanding basic concepts can help you moderate and assess the accuracy of contributed information.
- **Technical Analysis:** Studying past market data to predict future price movements. Strategies include: [6](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/technicalanalysis.asp)
- **Candlestick Patterns:** Visual representations of price movements. [7](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/candlestick.asp)
- **Moving Averages:** Smoothing price data to identify trends. [8](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/movingaverage.asp)
- **Relative Strength Index (RSI):** A momentum oscillator used to identify overbought or oversold conditions. [9](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/rsi.asp)
- **Fibonacci Retracements:** Identifying potential support and resistance levels. [10](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/fibonacciretracement.asp)
- **Bollinger Bands:** Volatility indicators. [11](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/bollingerbands.asp)
- **Market Sentiment:** The overall attitude of investors towards a particular security or market. [12](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/marketsentiment.asp)
- **Trend Following:** Strategies that capitalize on existing market trends. [13](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/trendfollowing.asp)
- **Support and Resistance Levels:** Price levels where a stock tends to find support or encounter resistance. [14](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/supportandresistance.asp)
- **Volume Analysis:** Analyzing trading volume to confirm price trends. [15](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/v/volume.asp)
- **Elliott Wave Theory:** A complex theory that attempts to predict market movements based on patterns of waves. [16](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/elliottwavetheory.asp)
- **MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence):** A trend-following momentum indicator. [17](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/macd.asp)
- **Stochastic Oscillator:** A momentum indicator comparing a security’s closing price to its price range over a given period. [18](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/stochasticoscillator.asp)
- **Ichimoku Cloud:** A comprehensive indicator that combines multiple moving averages and other technical components. [19](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/ichimoku-cloud.asp)
- **Head and Shoulders Pattern:** A bearish reversal pattern. [20](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/headandshoulders.asp)
- **Double Top/Bottom:** Reversal patterns indicating potential trend changes. [21](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/doubletop.asp)
- **Bearish/Bullish Flags:** Continuation patterns suggesting the trend will continue. [22](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/bullishflag.asp)
- **Divergence:** When price and an indicator move in opposite directions. [23](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/divergence.asp)
- **Gap Analysis:** Analyzing price gaps to identify potential trading opportunities. [24](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/gap.asp)
- **Point and Figure Charting:** A charting method that filters out minor price movements. [25](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/pointandfigure.asp)
- **Harmonic Patterns:** Advanced patterns that use Fibonacci ratios to predict price movements. [26](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/harmonicpattern.asp)
- **Algorithmic Trading:** Using computer programs to execute trades. [27](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/algorithmictrading.asp)
- **High-Frequency Trading (HFT):** A type of algorithmic trading characterized by high speed and high turnover. [28](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/hft.asp)
- **Quantitative Analysis:** Using mathematical and statistical methods to analyze financial markets. [29](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/q/quantitativeanalysis.asp)
Manual:Configuration
Manual:User groups
Manual:Editing
Manual:Policies and guidelines
Manual:Skinning
Manual:Extensions
Manual:Maintenance
Manual:FAQ
Manual:Command-line tools
Manual:Internationalization
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