Commons:Administrators
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This page explains the role of administrators (sometimes called admins or sysops) on Wikimedia Commons. Note that details of the role, and the way in which administrators are appointed, may differ from other sites.
If you want to request administrator help, please post at Administrators' noticeboard.
There are currently 186 administrators on Commons.
What is an administrator?
Administrators as of February 2024 Listing by: Language • Date • Activity [+/−] |
Number of Admins: 186
If 186 is not the last number on this list, there may be an error or there are some users assigned temporarily. |
Technical
Administrators are users with the technical ability on Wikimedia Commons to:
- delete and undelete images and other uploaded files, and to view and restore deleted versions
- delete and undelete pages, and to view and restore deleted revisions
- protect and unprotect pages, and to edit admin-protected pages
- block and unblock users, individual IP addresses and IP address ranges
- edit less-restricted interface messages (see also Commons:Interface administrators)
- rename files
- add and remove user groups
- configure Upload Wizard campaigns
- delete and undelete specific log entries and revisions of pages
- import pages from other wikis
- merge the history of pages
- modify abuse filters
- not create redirects from source pages when moving pages
- override the spoofing checks and title or username blacklist
- send a message to multiple users at once (massmessage)
- use higher limits in API queries
These are collectively known as the admin tools.
Community role
Administrators are experienced and trusted members of the Commons community who have taken on additional maintenance work and have been entrusted with the admin tools by public consensus/vote. Different admins have different areas of interest and expertise, but typical admin tasks include determining and closing deletion requests, deleting copyright violations, undeleting files where necessary, protecting Commons against vandalism, and working on templates and other protected pages. Of course, some of these tasks can be done by non-admins as well.
Administrators are expected to understand the goals of this project, and be prepared to work constructively with others towards those ends. Administrators should also understand and follow Commons' policies, and where appropriate, respect community consensus.
Apart from roles which require use of the admin tools, administrators have no special editorial authority by virtue of their position, and in discussions and public votes their contributions are treated in the same way as any ordinary editor. Some admins may become more influential, not due to their position as such, but from the personal trust they may have gained from the community.
Suggestions for administrators
Please read Commons:Guide to adminship.
Removal of administrator rights
Under the de-admin policy, administrator rights may be revoked due to inactivity or misuse of sysop tools. In a de-admin request, normal standards for determining consensus in an RfA do not apply. Instead, "majority consensus" should be used, whereby any consensus to demote of higher than 50% is sufficient to remove the admin.
Apply to become an administrator
All intending administrators must go through this process and submit themselves to RFA, including all ex-administrators who are seeking to return to their previous role.
First, go to Commons:Administrators/Howto and read the information there. Then come back here and make your request in the section below.
- After clicking the appropriate button and creating the subpage, copy the link to the subpage, e.g. "Commons:Administrators/Requests/Username", edit Commons:Administrators/Requests and paste it in at the top of the section, then put it in double curly brackets (e.g. {{Commons:Administrators/Requests/Username}}) to transclude it. Request a watchlist notice at MediaWiki talk:WatchlistNotice, or edit MediaWiki:WatchlistNotice to put up one if you are an administrator.
- If someone else nominated you, please accept the nomination by stating "I accept" or something similar, and signing below the nomination itself. The subpage will still need to be transcluded by you or your nominator.
Use the box below, replacing Username with your username: |
Voting
Any registered user may vote here although those who have few or no previous edits may not be fully counted. It is preferable you give reasons for both Support and Oppose votes as this will help the closing bureaucrat in their decision. Greater weight is given to an argument, with supporting evidence if needed, than to a simple vote.
Promotion normally requires at least 75% in favour, with a minimum of 8 support votes. Votes from unregistered users are not counted. However, the closing bureaucrat has discretion in judging community consensus, and the decision will not necessarily be based on the raw numbers. Bureaucrats may, at their discretion, extend the period of an RfA if they feel that it will be helpful in better determining community consensus.
Neutral comments are not counted in the vote totals for the purposes of calculating pass/fail percentages. However, such comments are part of the discussion, may persuade others, and contribute to the closing bureaucrat's understanding of community consensus.
Purge the cache Use the edit link below to edit the transcluded page.
Requests for adminship
When complete, pages listed here should be archived to Commons:Administrators/Archive.
- Please read Commons:Administrators before voting here. Any logged in user may vote although those who have few or no previous edits may not be fully counted.
Bedivere
Bedivere (talk · contributions · deleted user contributions · recent activity · logs · block log · global contribs · CentralAuth) (Activity: Talk Commons DR)
- Scheduled to end: 22:34, 28 February 2024 (UTC)
Hello again! It's been a year since my last request for adminship. I took those comments and votes at heart and have tried my best, with the limited time I have, to contribute more and more to this project. I have been an active participant in Commons for nearly four years, and have contributed especially in regards to copyright issues, participating for example tagging copyvios, in discussions for deletion, and general maintenance tasks. I believe my dedication and commitment to the platform's core principles are unwavering. I have created a more comprehensive local user page (in response to one of the older RFA comments), reflecting my sincere dedication to contributing meaningfully to this community. I am committed to continually educating myself on copyright matters, as I am currently a law student. If entrusted with adminship, I pledge to utilize my skills and experience to address the backlog of deletion requests, combat copyright violations, and provide assistance to fellow users. Additionally, my proficiency in Spanish positions me to better support speakers of that language. I humbly request your support and vote of confidence in this endeavor. I am steadfast in my commitment to learning and growing alongside our community. I appreciate all comments and questions, and I am looking forward to respond to each one! Thanks in advance. Bedivere (talk) 22:34, 21 February 2024 (UTC)
Votes
- Support Killarnee (talk) 02:17, 22 February 2024 (UTC)
- Support Can be trusted with the tool. Thank you for volunteering.FitIndia Semi-retired 05:49, 22 February 2024 (UTC)
- Support, familiarity with the law and a great asset since being a law student. JWilz12345 (Talk|Contrib's.) 08:01, 22 February 2024 (UTC)
- Support I haven't dealt with Bedivere much myself, but they seem to be knowledgeable and well behaved. Plus them being from South America would clearly be an asset to the project if they were an administrator. So I see no reason not to support them. --Adamant1 (talk) 08:57, 22 February 2024 (UTC)
- Support Sure! Yann (talk) 10:03, 22 February 2024 (UTC)
- Support. Taivo (talk) 10:21, 22 February 2024 (UTC)
- Oppose.--RZuo (talk) 11:13, 22 February 2024 (UTC)
- @RZuo: Could you please elaborate why you oppose this candidature? Yann (talk) 12:24, 22 February 2024 (UTC)
- Support Why not? --SHB2000 (talk) 11:22, 22 February 2024 (UTC)
- Support --Ameisenigel (talk) 15:55, 22 February 2024 (UTC)
- Support Bedivere would be a good sysop, and is very knowledgeable about Chile. Abzeronow (talk) 18:11, 22 February 2024 (UTC)
- Support Althair Talk 18:51, 22 February 2024 (UTC)
- Support. -- Geagea (talk) 21:41, 22 February 2024 (UTC)
Comments
Matrix
Matrix (talk · contributions · deleted user contributions · recent activity · logs · block log · global contribs · CentralAuth) (Activity: Talk Commons DR)
- Scheduled to end: 17:20, 26 February 2024 (UTC)
Hello, I'm Matrix. I would like to request administrator tools to handle copyright violations, deletion requests and to generally tackle the admin backlog. I've been an active member of Commons, having done ~7K edits whilst attaining licence reviewer and filemover and helping with various backlogs such as Category:All media needing categories as of 2017, Category:Media requiring renaming, etc. Feel free to ask questions below. Cheers, —Matrix(!) {user - talk? - contributions} 17:20, 19 February 2024 (UTC)
Votes
- Support I think @Matrix can be trusted by the community.--Junior Jumper (formerly Tæ) 09:42, 20 February 2024 (UTC)
- Oppose Rq comes too fast. Should gain expericence and speed up a little. Should formulate his attitude, goals and motivation in his nom. What are his skills, what's special etc. --Mateus2019 (talk) 18:51, 20 February 2024 (UTC)
- Neutral Here for less than 1.5 years is not enough for a support Killarnee (talk) 00:52, 21 February 2024 (UTC)
- Support They are clueful and competent and their answers to questions show that. I have had good experiences with them on the English Wikipedia as well. I trust them with a mop. Seawolf35 (talk) 14:48, 21 February 2024 (UTC)
- Support Nominee seems to have a good grasp on basic deletion policies and hopefully will be smart enough to avoid the more complicated cases at until they get more experience. —holly {chat} 17:10, 21 February 2024 (UTC)
- Support Matrix seems to be competent. No issue with this user so far. Yann (talk) 17:17, 21 February 2024 (UTC)
- Support The project is desperate for more admins, and every time I've seen Matrix in the wild they've seemed to have a good head on their shoulders. A year's experience is perfectly fine. The Squirrel Conspiracy (talk) 17:26, 21 February 2024 (UTC)
- Support Matrix appears to have a positive impact on the project, and I see no red flags. — Huntster (t @ c) 17:37, 21 February 2024 (UTC)
- Support I'd trust Matrix with the mop. Language skills would also come in handy, and we definitely need more admins. Abzeronow (talk) 18:49, 21 February 2024 (UTC)
- Support Thank you for volunteering and good luck. FitIndia Semi-retired 19:08, 21 February 2024 (UTC)
- Support Edits are good, answers are good. Thank you for volunteering.Paradise Chronicle (talk) 19:31, 21 February 2024 (UTC)
- Support good candidate, considering their answers to the test questions that Holly Cheng and I gave. JWilz12345 (Talk|Contrib's.) 21:04, 21 February 2024 (UTC)
- Support --Bedivere (talk) 22:15, 21 February 2024 (UTC)
- Support. — 🇺🇦Jeff G. ツ please ping or talk to me🇺🇦 00:21, 22 February 2024 (UTC)
- Support Everything doesn't come handy and I believe Matrix has a sense of learning and they will learn with time. Wishing them the best. ─ Aafī (talk) 03:56, 22 February 2024 (UTC)
- Weak support Concerns on experiences, but the answer was good enough to give a weak support. --A1Cafel (talk) 05:41, 22 February 2024 (UTC)
- Weak support Per A1Cafel. The lack of experience isn't great, but that will improve once they obtain the tools and there doesn't seem to be any other issues. So I don't see a reason not to support them becoming an admin. Although I'm on the weak side because of the lack of experience. --Adamant1 (talk) 08:54, 22 February 2024 (UTC)
- Oppose.--RZuo (talk) 11:14, 22 February 2024 (UTC)
- @RZuo: Could you please elaborate why you oppose this candidature? Yann (talk) 12:19, 22 February 2024 (UTC)
- Support Yeah, they're a little new, but anecdotally I became an admin on the English Wikivoyage only 6 months after my account was created; I don't think account age in this specific case matters that much. --SHB2000 (talk) 11:22, 22 February 2024 (UTC)
- Oppose - Per Matteus2019 - Richardkiwi (talk) (talk) 15:27, 22 February 2024 (UTC)
- Support A bit early, but no real concerns --Ameisenigel (talk) 15:54, 22 February 2024 (UTC)
- Support. -- Geagea (talk) 21:30, 22 February 2024 (UTC)
Comments
- Question You are a license reviewer since April 2023 but you only have 236 patrols logged. And you made some problematic overwrites in the past. What do you say on this? GPSLeo (talk) 18:18, 19 February 2024 (UTC)
- @GPSLeo: Generally, I've been focused on other maintenance tasks, such as some I've pointed out above (categorisation, importing files to Commons, etc.). When it comes to actually patrolling, I like to focus on quality and not quantity (i.e. making sure that the content is free and not a copyvio, checking scope, etc.) rather than being particularly fast. This explains the large number of redlinks on my patrol log (copyvios).
- Furthermore, I often patrol the File talk namespace, so I usually ensure any comments on the talk page of the file don't go unnoticed by replying, which takes time.
- As for file overwrites, it would be helpful if you pointed out specific overwrites so I can discuss in more detail. Generally I follow Commons:Overwriting_existing_files, and I usually have done acceptable overwrites such as cropping on the subject of an image, adding higher resolution versions or removing watermarks. —Matrix(!) {user - talk? - contributions} 18:42, 19 February 2024 (UTC)
- On example is your change at File:Peter Rainier by Thomas Hickey.jpg. GPSLeo (talk) 18:47, 19 February 2024 (UTC)
- @GPSLeo: Looking at Commons:Overwriting existing files#DO overwrite, my rationale at the time was that this would fall under minor and uncontroversial color correction, since it was a higher-res image that was more vibrant. I also doubt whether this would fall under "digital restoration". Looking back, this change would probably fall under the grey area, since it's unclear whether the change in vibrancy was minor or uncontroversial. It is also important to note that I overwrote this image at enwiki, and then imported it to Commons, and enwiki doesn't really have an actual policy on this.
- However, these days I would now err on the side of caution and upload a new file and tag with {{Superseded}}. —Matrix(!) {user - talk? - contributions} 18:59, 19 February 2024 (UTC)
- IMO this case is fine. It is the same painting, but in higher solution. I don't see the point of creating separate files here, as the first version would not be useful once the new version is uploaded. Now, if the painting were edited in any way, that would be different. Yann (talk) 20:01, 19 February 2024 (UTC)
- I agree with that. This should not be a problem. Mosbatho (talk) 22:46, 20 February 2024 (UTC)
- IMO this case is fine. It is the same painting, but in higher solution. I don't see the point of creating separate files here, as the first version would not be useful once the new version is uploaded. Now, if the painting were edited in any way, that would be different. Yann (talk) 20:01, 19 February 2024 (UTC)
Two other examples are File:Institute of Medical Sciences, Japan.jpg and File:Caboose from Monongahela Railroad no.67 at Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania 115440.jpg where you overwrote with Crop Tool using precise mode. There appear to be more examples of overwrites using precise mode that I could have chosen. Are you aware of the limitations of precise mode?From Hill To Shore (talk) 10:49, 20 February 2024 (UTC)- I feel like this is extremely nitpicky. I've been an admin since 2005 and I don't even know what you're referring to. If precise mode is so problematic, then why is it the default choice? COM:CropTool doesn't even elaborate beyond "Note that in many cases an inexact (Lossless mode) is completely sufficient and recommended." —holly {chat} 18:09, 20 February 2024 (UTC)
- I have withdrawn the question on the basis that the guidance page you linked says, "As of September 2020, all cropping is done using lossy mode, even if lossless mode is selected and the tool says that a lossless crop was performed." Precise mode used to be discouraged as it often caused problems with file quality/compression if you left the image with an indivisible number of pixels in a particular direction. However, if both choices are producing the same result, the question is redundant. I don't think "nitpicky" is a fair description of the question though as that implies I was deliberately taking a negative attitude to the candidate. From Hill To Shore (talk) 18:34, 20 February 2024 (UTC)
- My apologies. I should have said "obscure" instead. —holly {chat} 18:50, 20 February 2024 (UTC)
- I have withdrawn the question on the basis that the guidance page you linked says, "As of September 2020, all cropping is done using lossy mode, even if lossless mode is selected and the tool says that a lossless crop was performed." Precise mode used to be discouraged as it often caused problems with file quality/compression if you left the image with an indivisible number of pixels in a particular direction. However, if both choices are producing the same result, the question is redundant. I don't think "nitpicky" is a fair description of the question though as that implies I was deliberately taking a negative attitude to the candidate. From Hill To Shore (talk) 18:34, 20 February 2024 (UTC)
- I feel like this is extremely nitpicky. I've been an admin since 2005 and I don't even know what you're referring to. If precise mode is so problematic, then why is it the default choice? COM:CropTool doesn't even elaborate beyond "Note that in many cases an inexact (Lossless mode) is completely sufficient and recommended." —holly {chat} 18:09, 20 February 2024 (UTC)
- On example is your change at File:Peter Rainier by Thomas Hickey.jpg. GPSLeo (talk) 18:47, 19 February 2024 (UTC)
- Question Assume a monument from Ukraine, a country that introduced a restricted form of Freedom of Panorama (non-commercial only) in December 2022, that fell in public domain this January 2024 as its sculptor died in 1953. But, it was made and unveiled in a Ukrainian city in 1951. It was undeleted because the DR attached to the image file was categorized at Category:Undelete in 2024. What will be your response to this recently-undeleted image of a public monument of Ukraine that became PD this year but still under U.S. copyright (courtesy of Uruguay Round Agreements Act)? JWilz12345 (Talk|Contrib's.) 10:55, 20 February 2024 (UTC)
- @JWilz12345: Commons:URAA-restored copyrights states that there cannot be a mere allegation that the URAA applies to a file, but significant doubt about the freedom of a file under U.S. or local law, which Wikilegal agrees with. In this case, we know that there's no simultaneous publication in the US, and this isn't covered by wartime "alien property". There is simply no way this statue could be public domain in the US due to URAA and the US's restrictive laws on 3D Freedom of panorama. Therefore I would open a deletion request with the rationale showcased above and then tag it with Category:Undelete in 2047, since the URAA-related copyright would expire 95 years after publication (at the end of the year). —Matrix(!) {user - talk? - contributions} 17:18, 20 February 2024 (UTC)
- Question Here are some common deletion request scenarios. What would be your initial decision (and reasoning) for each one? (Obviously, the final decision might change depending on whatever information is uncovered during the discussion, but let's just stick with your first thought.) Feel free to answer inline. —holly {chat} 18:33, 20 February 2024 (UTC)
- Nomination is for a PNG version of a coat of arms file with the rationale "superior SVG version exists now" and all usages of the PNG have been replaced by the SVG. The SVG version cites the PNG version as its source.
- Looking at the superseded image policy, I would firstly assess whether there are any specific significant stylistic differences between the PNG and SVG. If so, I would keep the PNG or defer to the graphics lab to create a faithful reproduction of the SVG. If there is own work involved, I wouldn't delete as it would break the "attribution path" for licences such as GFDL. Otherwise, I would copy the history over using a tool such as fileinfo and then !vote delete. —Matrix(!) {user - talk? - contributions} 20:30, 20 February 2024 (UTC)
- Nominator asks for a courtesy deletion of their own photo because they feel like the quality is not very good. It is currently unused, but it was uploaded 10 years ago, and when you look in the category, there are no other photos that show the same subject.
- Assuming there are no privacy issues with topics such as GDPR, I would reject this argument due to the sheer time of the image being online and lack of other options at the time for the same subject. If appropriate I would prompt the uploader to upload a better quality image. —Matrix(!) {user - talk? - contributions} 20:30, 20 February 2024 (UTC)
- Nomination is for a photo uploaded by the person depicted in the photo and it does not appear to be a selfie or a case where the person used a timer, but is claimed as "own work". When questioned, uploader reveals that his friend took the photo and gave it to him, whereupon he uploaded it.
- I would direct the uploader to COM:VRT, asking his friend to email VRT. If there is no response, or the response does not release a free licence, then I would !vote delete. —Matrix(!) {user - talk? - contributions} 20:30, 20 February 2024 (UTC)
- Nomination is for a photo of an old painting in a museum, clearly PD, but also includes the frame. The photo was downloaded from the museum's website, is properly credited to the museum, and is tagged {{PD-Art|PD-old-70-expired}}, but the source page does not indicate a free license.
- If the painting hasn't been scanned before, and the frame/museum itself is not the source of commentary, it would be easier to simply crop the frame and do some revdel. Policy only allows PD-Art to be used when the image is a faithful reproduction. If the painting has been scanned before I would !vote delete. —Matrix(!) {user - talk? - contributions} 20:30, 20 February 2024 (UTC)
- Nomination is for a company's logo and the file was downloaded from the company's site. The nominator's rationale is "copyright violation".
- This depends on whether the logo passes the threshold of originality in the US as well as the one in the country of origin. For example, the British threshold of originality is extremely low and many British logos have to be deleted due to this. —Matrix(!) {user - talk? - contributions} 20:30, 20 February 2024 (UTC)
- Nomination is for a chart that is used across multiple projects and was created by a Commons user who has since retired, and the data for the chart is cited to what appears to be a reliable source. Nominator claims that the source is obsolete and provides a citation to a source with updated data.
- I would !vote keep, since COM:INUSE overrides claims that the data is unreliable. The uploader can create a new chart with the updated source, and local projects can decide whether to use it or not. —Matrix(!) {user - talk? - contributions} 20:30, 20 February 2024 (UTC)
- Nomination is for a PNG version of a coat of arms file with the rationale "superior SVG version exists now" and all usages of the PNG have been replaced by the SVG. The SVG version cites the PNG version as its source.
- Question Your answers here compel me, but I know so little about you. I checked your talk page and while there is nothing really negative, much positive isn't there either. Did you run into some disagreements during your wikipedia career? Were you able to solve them to the satisfaction of the ones involved?Paradise Chronicle (talk) 11:08, 21 February 2024 (UTC)
- @Paradise Chronicle: My work on Commons has primarily consisted of categorisation, uncontroversial speedy deletion nominations and regular DRs, which means I don't frequently run into major disagreements. However, one example of me starting a discussion on Commons and helping stop an edit war at File:Air Force Ensign of India.svg was at this file talk page, where consensus emerged to not proceed with a file move, and deal with issues locally on the respective projects the file was in use from. As showcased by that example, I always look to starting discussions and building consensus on the talk page when reverts stack on a page. —Matrix(!) {user - talk? - contributions} 18:17, 21 February 2024 (UTC)
- Comment All due respect to @Mateus2019: , but I was not aware admins needed to be special. I guess I should consider resigning as someone who is quite bland and uninteresting. Beside that, I can't run very fast, I'm proper crap at karaoke, a terrible bowler, and while I do look like a painting in an art museum, it's only after some protester threw soup on it.My general impression was that admins needed to be a net positive, capable of helping out in a way that wont break the internet, and willing to admit when they were wrong. — Preceding unsigned comment added by GreenMeansGo (talk • contribs) 12:05 21 February 2024 (UTC)
Requests for bureaucratship
When complete, pages listed here should be archived to Commons:Bureaucrats/Archive.
- Please read Commons:Bureaucrats before posting or voting here. Any logged in user may vote although those who have few or no previous edits may not be fully counted.
No current requests.
Requests for CheckUser rights
When complete, pages listed here should be archived to Commons:Checkusers/Archive.
- Please read Commons:Checkusers before posting or voting here. Any logged in user may vote although those who have few or no previous edits may not be fully counted.
No current requests.
Requests for Oversight rights
When complete, pages listed here should be archived to Commons:Oversighters/Archive.
- Please read Commons:Oversighters before voting here. Any logged in user may vote, although those who have few or no previous edits may not be fully counted.
No current requests.