User blog:Glflegolas/Myths about adminship

Ever since the founding of this wiki, there have been a lot of misconceptions about what it's like to be an admin, so I'm going to clear some of these up.

Admins have direct contact with Mevans
This is only partially true. While some of us (MG, Yorick) do have direct contact with Mevans, most of us, including myself, do not. The only people who have direct contact with Mevans are the Facebook moderators.

Admins get exclusive in-game items
No, we do not. While many of us do have a Loremaster's shield, it's not because we're admins. It's because we contribute a lot of useful information to this wiki. And, in case you're thinking that Grond is an Easter Egg in the mod only available to admins, that is simply not true. There is item called Grond in the mod.

Being an administrator is glamourous work
In a word...no. It requires a large time commitment, and the results are only occasionally glamourous. Most of the work we do involves keeping the wiki running smoothly and improving its user-friendliness, which involves making many small edits that you don't really see, but that are nonetheless very important and often fidgety and time-consuming (CSS editing, JavaScript, coding templates, intractable crafting grid, dealing with unruly users, the list goes on and on....). In short, we're the ones doing most of the "unsexy" things here. The only glamour we enjoy is our coloured backgrounds.

We enjoy banning users
I personally do not enjoy banning users, though other admins might beg to differ. In truth, every single ban on this involves a great deal of thought, for banning a user for too long risks driving them away from the wiki forever, and could result in the loss of a fine future contributor, doing far greater things than we ever imagined possible.

Admins can unban themselves, and don't need to follow the rules
This is not a myth. As long as we don't lose our privileges, we can't be banned. However, we do operate under the same rules as everyone else, and it is theoretically possible for an admin to be banned, either temporarily or permanently, by a bureaucrat, although this has never happened yet.

Asking an admin is a great way to get promoted
No, it is not. We promote users to all staff ranks based on merit and need. Asking a staff member for a promotion repeatedly is very annoying, and is downright against the rules of the wiki.

That's all I have to say. If any other staff members can add anything, please do so.