This page is a summary of information about bureaucrats, policies and guidelines regarding the use of bureaucrat tools on the English Wikipedia, and details on how to perform certain actions. Changes made to it should reflect consensus.
Remove the following user groups from a user account: administrator, interface administrator, account creator, bot, copyright violation bot, IP block exempt, confirmed user, and pending changes reviewer.
Some of the above abilities overlap with administrators who are able to add and remove the IP block exempt, confirmed user, and pending changes user groups (in addition to certain other user groups).
Bureaucrats are bound by policy and consensus to only grant administrator or bureaucrat access when doing so reflects the wishes of the community, usually after a successful request at Wikipedia:Requests for adminship. In the same fashion, they are expected to exercise judgement in granting or removing bot flags with the advice of the Bot Approvals Group. They are expected to be capable judges of consensus, and are expected to explain the reasoning for their actions on request and in a civil manner. Actions by bureaucrats are also bound by the policy on use of administrative rights.
Bureaucrats have been authorized by the community to remove administrator permissions in certain situations outlined below. Bureaucrats do not have the technical ability to remove bureaucrat rights from users or to grant or remove certain levels of access such as oversight or checkuser rights. These actions are performed by stewards, a multilingual group of individuals who serve all Wikimedia projects and are elected and reconfirmed annually by their users. Changes in user rights by stewards are recorded at meta:Special:Log/rights; for more information, see m:Steward requests/Permissions.
Timeline showing all users who have served as bureaucrats
Procedures
These are instructions and procedures concerning bureaucratic actions and processes.
Promotions and RfX closures
Note: Similar to non-administrators closing deletion discussions, Requests for adminship can be closed by non-bureaucrats in certain cases; for example if the user has withdrawn the request or the outcome is very unlikely to be positive (see WP:NOTNOW). Non-bureaucrats should be very careful in the latter case and only close RfAs when they are not in doubt. In such cases the requesting user should always be asked to consider withdrawal first.
Replace the automatic {{rfah}}, "Voice your opinion" and {{rfatally}} template with {{subst:finaltally}}, filling in the template as appropriate (example)
If there is a consensus, promote to admin or bureaucrat using Special:Userrights. If present, remove userrights made redundant by the sysop flag. Refer to Special:ListGroupRights for details on which other rights are included with the new user rights level. Please reference the RfA (or RfB) when making the promotion
Add a summary of the outcome to successfulorunsuccessful Bot Approvals Group candidacies
Inform the user of the result, whether it is successful or unsuccessful (perhaps using one of the optional templates)
Removal of permissions
In some situations, a bureaucrat may remove an account's sysop (administrator) rights, and/or request that a steward remove an account's bureaucrat rights:
Bureaucrats should include a permanent link to the request or relevant policy when removing permissions. If necessary, the affected user should be immediately notified and given a reason for the removal along with advice on seeking the reinstatement of the permissions.
Should the extended confirmed group have been removed from the account since becoming an administrator, it should be restored when removing administrator permissions.
The interface administrator policy requires removal of the interface administrator permission upon removal of the administrator permission.
The use of these procedures is not intended to constrain the authority of the Wikimedia Stewards to undertake emergency removal of permissions on their own discretion, or removal following a request from the Arbitration Committee, pursuant to the relevant policies governing Steward actions.
If an editor is verified as having died, all advanced permissions on the account should be removed. Unless the account is suspected of being compromised, it should not be blocked. For Checkuser, Oversight and Bureaucrat rights, which cannot be removed locally, a request to remove those should be posted on meta:Steward requests/Permissions § Removal of access.
Inactive bureaucrat accounts
There are two separate activity requirements applicable to bureaucrat accounts:
Bureaucrat accounts that do not meet the level of editing activity expected of administrators may have their bureaucrat permissions removed. The bureaucrat must be contacted on their user talk page in line with the procedures for administrators before the request is made. Should the bureaucrat remain inactive, another bureaucrat may request the procedural removal of permissions. This is not to be considered a reflection on the user's use of, or rights to, the tools. If an inactive bureaucrat returns to Wikipedia, they may request restoration of the permissions at the bureaucrats' noticeboard provided they have not been inactive from bureaucrat activity for three consecutive years.
Bureaucrats are expected to exercise the duties granted by their role while remaining cognizant of relevant community standards concerning their tasks. If a bureaucrat does not participate in bureaucrat activity[6] for over three years, their bureaucrat permissions may be removed. The user must be notified on their talk page one month before the removal, and again a few days prior to the removal. If the user does not return to bureaucrat activity, another bureaucrat may request the removal of permissions at meta:Steward requests/Permissions. Permissions removed for not meeting bureaucrat activity requirements may be re-obtained through a new request for bureaucratship.
In the case that a former administrator or bureaucrat requests their permissions be restored via the bureaucrats' noticeboard:
Check that the user in question is indeed a former administrator or bureaucrat (in particular, a bureaucrat restoring permissions should satisfy themselves that the account has not been compromised since the permissions were relinquished).
Check that the prior access removal was voluntary, or due to inactivity.
To allow time for requests to be checked thoroughly, it is required that a minimum of 24 hours elapse before restoring permissions. This requirement provides a reasonable amount of time for bureaucrats, administrators, or other editors to comment on the request, if necessary. This threshold of time may be lengthened at a bureaucrat's discretion if new information arises during the 24 hour hold.
If a former administrator ("lengthy inactivity") or bureaucrat ("inactive bureaucrat accounts") has been inactive (defined by zero edits or logged actions) for a period of two years or longer after the removal of permissions (or for two years from the last edit or log action in the case of permissions removed due to inactivity), they must be successful in a new request for adminshiporbureaucratship to have the permission(s) restored.[8]
If a former administrator has been administratively inactive (defined by zero logged administrative actions) for a period of five years or longer, and the removal was for inactivity, they should be successful in a new request for adminship to have the permission(s) restored.
Before restoring the administrator flag, a bureaucrat should be reasonably convinced that the user has returned to activity or intends to return to activity as an editor. Should there be doubt concerning the suitability for restoration of admin permissions, the restoration shall be delayed until sufficient discussion has occurred and a consensus established through a bureaucrat chat.[9]
(On process page) Ensure that the request is compliant with relevant policies and guidelines and that a Bot Approvals Group member asked for the bot to be flagged.
Bot flags may also be granted or removed in other situations (such as requests to the bureaucrats' noticeboard or other noticeboard discussions).
Use Special:UserRights to set or remove the flag, with a link to the approved BRFA or permanent link to the relevant discussion as the rationale.
A bureaucrat mailing list was established in March 2009,[11] but was retired following a discussion in 2017.[12] It was intended as a convenient way to notify bureaucrats about urgent matters or, on rare occasions, to discuss private matters.
Any issue that is neither urgent nor necessarily private should instead be handled at the appropriate on-wiki venue, for instance at the bureaucrats' noticeboard. For sensitive matters you may contact an individual bureaucrat directly.
Special:Log/renameuser: log of local username changes (global username changes between 9 July 2014 and 19 March 2015 affecting local accounts were not logged locally);
Wikipedia:Bureaucrats' noticeboard: discussion of Bureaucrat-related matters (please note that questions relating to decisions by particular bureaucrats should be directed to their talkpage in the first instance);
{{Bureaucrat topicon}} – a top icon template to indicate you have the Bureaucrat user right – adds a category to page automatically
Notes
^From July 2005 until April 2015, bureaucrats were also responsible for carrying out username changes. As a result of the final implementation of global accounts, username changes must now be completed globally by a user with centralauth-rename rights on meta (Global renamers and Stewards). Due to their experience in this area, many bureaucrats also hold those rights and continue to perform username changes.
^Bureaucrat activity is widely construed and includes acting or commenting as a bureaucrat at any venue including WP:BN/RFA/RFB/RFBAG/BRFA and responding to requests in their capacity as a global renamer or signalling that they remain actively engaged and available for bureaucrat tasks.
^In particular, see Wikipedia:Requests for arbitration/Scientology#Return of access levels: an administrator who requests desysopping while an arbitration case or a request for arbitration is pending against him or her will be deemed to have left under circumstances of controversy, unless the Arbitration Committee decides otherwise, for purposes of applying this rule.
