PvXwiki:Evaluating Administrators

One of the roles of the Bureaucrat is to ensure that the Wiki is running optimally at all times. This responsibility manifests itself partly in the evaluation of the Administrative team.

Reviewing New Sysops
While some administrative candidates may at first glance appear to be well-suited to Adminship, it is difficult to accurately gauge their suitability until that user has actually begun to perform in the role of an Admin. Thus, all persons promoted to the role of Sysop will undergo a Sysop Review about one month after promotion in order to gauge their performance in that capacity.

Two important considerations are as follows. First, the period of 1-month need not be taken to mean a static date exactly 1 month after promotion. Second, while a discussion of how a new Administrator is functioning should and will take place, such an evaluation is in no way meant to interfere with or undermine that Administrator's authority, nor should it be viewed as undermining the validity of that Administrator's promotion.

Reviewing Old Sysops
While Bureaucrats are constantly monitoring the performance of the Administrative staff in order to ensure that things are running smoothly, periodically, at the discretion of the Bureaucratic staff, a more formal discussion of the Administrative staff may take place after the 1-month mark.

Sysop Reviews
When a Sysop review takes place, the aim in mind is not to demote Sysops, it is merely to evaluate their performance. Indeed, with the exception of the 1-month Review, if a Bureaucrat deems it prudent to undertake a Sysop Review of the current Administrative team, it means that the entire team is being evaluated. But, again, this does not mean that the entire team is being considered for demotion. If, at the end of the review, it is determined that everything is running smoothly, then so much the better. However, if at the conclusion of such a Review is that an Administrator is not functioning in a satisfactory manner, a secondary evaluation may be undertaken to consider the question of demotion.

The reviews themselves will be conducted by the Bureaucratic staff with the Sysops acting in an advisory capacity. Furthermore, any member of the general user-base may contact a Bureaucrat with their input as well.

What We Look For
As stated above, we are primarily interested in making sure that the administrative staff is operating smoothly. As such, we are primarily interested in how the Administrators are contributing in their capacity as an Administrator: Are they policing the Wiki? Are they taking their own initiative and helping to develop the Wiki? Are they helping to shape site policy?

If the answers to these and similar questions are yes, then an Administrator has nothing to worry about. For the most part, users are only considered for a secondary evaluation (i.e. one assessing the possibility of demotion) if they are actively detracting from the Wiki by their actions or their attitude. For example, if an Administrator is felt to have been abusing his authority/Administrative powers, they would likely be considered for a secondary evaluation. If however it is deemed that an Administrator is detracting from the Wiki and has, as a result, irrevocably lost the trust of the Administrative staff, then that Administrator may be demoted.

However, while it is usually only the detrimental Administrators who are considered for demotion, it is also important to note that simply doing nothing at all isn't acceptable either. This means that Administrators who are either absent for extremely prolonged periods or who might as well be (i.e. Administrators who never act in their capacity as an Administrator and as such are deemed not to warrant the continued responsibility of being a Sysop) may also be considered for demotion. However, this does not mean that Administrators should feel obliged to do specific tasks, nor does it imply that anything like a quota system is being employed.

Secondary Reviews
The "Secondary Reviews" (those that pertain to the question of demotion) are no different in substance from the primary evaluations. If an Administrator is considered for a Secondary Review, the questions remain the same, and the Bureaucratic staff looks for the same qualities, it merely becomes a question of whether actual action need be taken.

A Final Note
While the final decision will always ultimately rest with the Bureaucratic staff, since the entire Administrative team will be affected by any actual action that is taken, it is generally accepted that the entire Administrative staff (with the possible exception of inactive Administrators) should be consulted in an advisory capacity before a final decision is rendered in order to prevent division within the Administrative team.