About → Policies and guidelines → Administrators

	This page documents one of Memory Alpha's policies.
	It describes a widely accepted standard that all editors should normally follow. Substantive edits to this page should reflect consensus.

Administrators, commonly known as admins, are Memory Alpha users who the community has granted access to certain tools that are restricted from the general public, such as the ability to block users and delete pages.^{[note 1]} Administrative tools should be used to uphold Memory Alpha's policies and guidelines, protect the wiki from vandalism, and perform maintenance tasks. They should never be used to gain an unfair advantage in a dispute.

Becoming an administrator

For a wiki, the more administrators that participate in the system, the better. If you believe that a fellow archivist would make a good administrator, you can add their name to the list of nominations for administratorship. You cannot nominate yourself for adminship.

Aside from being an autoconfirmed user, there are no strict standards candidates must meet. However, a candidate is most likely to gain support if they have actively participated in the development of the encyclopedia for some time and are a recognized member of the community. It's also best for candidates to exhibit a good understanding of Memory Alpha's policies and guidelines and to have a high quality and quantity of contributions.

Once a nomination is filed, any autoconfirmed user^{[note 2]} may vote on it and participate in the discussion. A rationale must be provided with each vote. Any votes with no clear connection to the candidate's performance on Memory Alpha during the last two years are considered invalid.^{[note 3]}

Voting must remain open for at least seven days. Nominations are considered successful if (1) support is unanimous among valid votes, (2) there are at least four valid support votes, and (3) the candidate cast a valid support vote. All other nominations are considered unsuccessful.

Members may be re-nominated after a one-month waiting period following the date of the rejection of the previous nomination. There is no limit to the number of times a member may be nominated. Nominations for members who are obviously new and/or unqualified may be rejected before the voting cycle is completed.

Removal of tools

There are two ways in which users may loose their administrative tools.

Voluntary removal

Users are free to relinquish their own administrative tools at any time. This can be done via Special:UserRights.

Removal due to inactivity

Bureaucrats (or admins, in some cases)^{[note 4]} may remove administrative tools from users who have been inactive for five years or more. In the case of inactive admins, the first step in this process is to make a post on Memory Alpha:Nominations for administratorship, explaining the pending tools removal. A similar message should be left on the inactive user's talk page. The inactive user is then eligible to be de-admined starting two weeks after these posts are made. Users who later resume editing on MA may request their old tools be returned.

Restoration of tools

Former administrators wishing to regain their administrative tools must go through the usual nomination process like everyone else, unless they were removed due to inactivity, in which case the procedure is slightly different:

1. The former admin may nominate themself.
2. If the second criterion for a successful nomination has not been met after seven days, but all other criteria have been, the nomination shall remain open for another seven days. If, by that time, the nomination still fulfills the first and third criteria, it shall be considered successful, even if it still doesn't fulfill the second criterion.

List

This table includes all users who currently hold administrative tools on Memory Alpha, listed by language edition.

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See also

• Administrators' how-to guide
• Best practices for administrators

Notes