If any of you have read my user page, you know eventually I want to become an administrator on wikiHow. I feel like now is a good time to start working towards potentially becoming an admin. Does anyone have any advice? I have read the article, though I want to know if anyone (maybe another admin?) has any advice for me.
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Hey,
That’s quite a goal for the long run, but there isn’t really a hard and fast rule about becoming an admin. From my own experience, I’ve learned it’s good to work not for reward or recognition but for the sake of helping others.
I can recall when becoming an admin was a goal of mine as well, particularly when I was younger and in my first couple years of editing. It can be very motivating to aspire for such an honorable responsibility. That being said, as I grew older and found my true self as a contributor (and even as an individual), adminship fell off my list of goals. I realized that I didn’t need an extra set of tools to be content with my wiki work; I had already done so much to help our readers across the globe in many other ways. Any and every user can make an impact, whether they’re an anon, newbie, booster, admin, or somewhere in between.
I ended up adapting a mindset of “if it’s meant to be, it’ll come,” and I think that’s ultimately what helped me grow most as an editor. While I offer my full support to anyone aspiring for adminship, there’s no guarantee of who will and will not become an admin someday (and deep down, I think you recognize this, since you did use the word “potentially” in your comment). At the end of the day, we’ve all helped more people than we can count just by contributing however we do now. Once I came to that conclusion, I finally felt as though I belonged as a member of our wiki community. The dream of defending the wiki by blocking trolls and deleting spam articles was replaced with the ongoing love of defending the wiki by reverting external link additions and assuming good faith, among other activities.
You’ve already done so much for the world around you, and I hope you’re proud of that! I and others are certainly proud of you.
All that aside, going back to your question, I suppose the answer is to just be yourself, and despite any adversity that may come your way, stick with your passion. You, and everyone online and off, have so much untapped potential. Find your niche on the site, and contribute however you prefer. Just keep in mind that every
form of contributing helps just as much as any other
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