4.2.5. Administrators
In Figure 9, we can see data visualizations implementing the indicators related to administrators. On the larger subgraph on the left, we see the admins’ flags granted by year, and the colors represent the generation they belong to. On the right, two smaller subgraphs show the current picture as of August 2021: the number of admins by generation (middle subgraph), and the number of active administrators, with their proportion with respect to the overall number of active editors (right subgraph). This percentage is indicative in some way of the “load” each admin is carrying, given that their task is to patrol the production and act when necessary. The lower the percentage, the higher the load they take.
In the English Wikipedia, most administrators were nominated before 2011, and indeed more than half of the current administrators (as of August 2021) belong to the very first generation of editors, and if we consider also the second generation, we find that over 90% of the administrators registered before 2011. This points out a concentration of power [20,22] in the hands of older generations of editors, that are quite closed towards newer generations.
In the other language editions, we see different patterns, with a larger share of administrator flags being assigned in more recent years. However, if we look at consolidated communities like German, Italian, and Polish, we see that three out of four administrators are from the generations of editors registered before 2011, while in Catalan the percentage is even higher, with one only administrator from the 2011–2015 generation.
With respect to RQ5 [Administrators], we observe in general a strong predominance of older generations for this fundamental role, even more, marked than for special functions; in some cases, we also observe that administrator rights were mostly assigned in past years, and only to very few, or to no users, in recent years.
[T10] New admins by year: we believe that to guarantee openness to positions of responsibility and privilege, there should be new admins every year (e.g., at least 5% of the total number of admins). This may imply setting an expiry date for the role or a voluntary request to lower-activity admins to renounce the role.
[T11] Admins’ generation balance: the overall group of admins should be balanced in terms of the different generations in which they started editing; we suggest that the last generation occupies at least 10% at the end of a lustrum.
[T12] Admins over active editors: The proportion of admins among active editors should be from 1% to 5% to guarantee that admins do not carry an excessive workload, since, in the end, they revise other editors’ edits.
[T13] Number of admins: Any community should have a minimum of three admins, regardless of their size in active editors.
