[Wikipedia-l] Re: Developers should mind their own business

Tue Mar 9 13:09:21 UTC 2004

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