STOWiki:Policy/Admin selection

Administrators are selected on STOWiki through a process that provides an opportunity for the community to give input on any admin candidate before they are promoted, and also which allows members of the community to nominate candidates. But to prevent potential abuses of the voting system possible with low-participation votes, the existing administrators discuss and make the final decision. Administrators are strongly encouraged to act according to the vote when it does appear to adequately reflect the wishes of the community at large.

The process for administrator selection is as follows:

Nomination of a registered user
Any registered user may nominate any other registered user who:
 * Is not a subject of a denied request for adminship with the last year.
 * Has not declined a nomination within the last year.
 * Excepting if the user has indicated privately or publicly that he or she would now accept a nomination.

Private nomination stage
If possible, the potential nominee must be contacted privately first and given five days to respond. If the potential nominee declines privately, this is to be respected, and the process ends here.

Public nomination stage
The public nomination stage can begin if any of the following are true:
 * The nominating user could not find a reasonable way to contact the potential nominee privately.
 * The potential nominee did not respond to a private nomination within five days.
 * The potential nominee agreed to a public nomination.

The nominating user starts by creating a request for adminship page according to the linked instructions. The nominee should also be advised of the nomination on his or her talk page, and may accept the nomination, beginning the voting and discussion period, or decline, ending the process here.

If the nominee does not accept or decline a nomination within seven days, an administrator has the option of declining on behalf of the nominee. This is treated for policy purposes as if the nominee declined on his or her own, and the nomination may not be made again without the potential nominee's consent.

Voting and discussion period
Votes are made by the community on the request for adminship page, with discussion encouraged on the associated discussion page. Administrators are allowed to set a closing date for the vote provided the chosen date leaves the vote open for a minimum total of two weeks. Closing the vote before the administrators accept or deny the request is optional.

Administrator decision
The administrators then review the request, vote, and discussion and make a decision amongst themselves whether to accept or deny the request for adminship. If the request is accepted, the candidate is to be promoted at the earliest convenience of a bureaucrat. Either way, the vote is closed and the request is archived.