Forum:Administrative Extended Absence policy proposal

I realize this is a well talked about topic, and there have been other proposals of a similar nature, but please hear me out, as this is different, in the way it would be enacted. Star Wars Fanon has a number of Administrators, including such sysops as Brandon Rhea and Michaeldsuarez, the former being a Supreme Chancellor also. Both of these have been seen making administrative edits around the wiki, but there are also a number of inactive admins, such as Jack Phoenix, who aren't even contributing as a normal user. Now, please hear me out here, as this isn't a "ZOMG INACTIVE PERSON, DEMOTE TIME!!!" proposal, but should be taken in a manner in which you read on, to see what I'm actually proposing.

One of the most successful wiki's, and a wiki we actually do all know about, Wookieepedia, has an even larger number of Administrators, as they deal with a larger wiki. Although fanon and canon are different, the principle is the same. Every one of those admins is hard-working and diligent, and none of those administrators are inactive. We even have some who work on here as well, even one being a Decreton Lord. That shows that their community runs pretty seamlessly and effectively, like a well oiled piece of machinery. But the inactive administrators are like jutting shards of metal, jamming the machine.

A popular argument for this in Wing's last proposal about this, was that it's unnecessary, and so you should leave administrators who're inactive and just vote in new ones, but how many times have you seen a new election done apart from when an admin step down? In my time here, I haven't. Another thing was that 'Who cares if they're inactive, we have plenty of active admins'. Well, yes we do, but there is meant to be pride in an administrative position, meant to be a sense of honor that brings you back to edit and help, or to retire. When we have hard-working, diligent admins like Brandon, or responsible ones like Vic, who do step down when they realize they'll be less active, it puts these others in a different light. If I was Brandon, I'd be fuming at the inactivity of these administrators who do nothing. And so, my proposal is this. And it's not 'demote them', as has been suggested before.

My proposal is one that Wookieepedia actually utilises upon their administrators, and it is that, should an admin be foreseeing a prolonged absence on their part, they must give a reason for it, and then either the community or the administrators will decide whether or not it is a reason worthy. One such as 'One of my parents died' would, of course, be perfectly acceptable, but one such as 'I fancy a break, to take it easy' would not. And what happens after that, if they go inactive without reason? They're given six months. If six months pass without them making an edit, then they are demoted, and that's pretty hard to do. And that's why the second reason wouldn't be a good one, as no one needs over six months break. Six months is a perfectly reasonable amount of time, and you can give reasons as to why you'll be inactive. Although Wookieepedia utilises this idea over a period of a year, on a smaller wiki such as ours, I believe it should be less. After four months and they haven't edited, attempts to communicate will be made, and after five a warning will be issued by email. That way, they still have the chance to edit, and won't come back to find themselves demoted unless it's by their own fault.

So, in a nutshell, this proposal would mean that an administrator would have to give a reason if going on a prolonged absence, or face demotion after six months, after warnings had been made. -- (talk) (contributions) 06:54, 19 August 2008 (UTC)

Current Standings

 * Support (1)
 * Oppose (0)
 * Neutral (0)

Support

 * 1) As the proposer, yes. --[[Image:Darthtomsig.png|163px]] (talk) (contributions) 06:54, 19 August 2008 (UTC)

Questions/Comments

 * I'd welcome any questions or comments to my proposal here. --[[Image:Darthtomsig.png|163px]] (talk) (contributions) 06:54, 19 August 2008 (UTC)