Help:Sysops and permissions
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The way permissions are set-up on different wikis can vary, but the default MediaWiki installation has several different permissions available; most notably the sysop and bureaucrat permissions.
Sysops
By default, MediaWiki provides extra functionality to a group of trusted users called 'sysops', or more commonly, 'administrators'. Most of the time, these few restrictions on the actions of normal users should go largely unnoticed by a wiki community. Everyone can get involved in editing pages, and even undertaking drastic reorganization of the wiki. The extra powers of a sysop user are intended for use in settling disputes and preventing repeated vandalism.
Who are the sysops?
You can find out who the sysops are at Special:ListUsers/sysop.
What can a sysop do?
There are a number of extra features available to sysops. The key ones are as follows:
- Protecting and unprotecting pages, and editing protected pages
- 'Protecting' a page prevents normal users from editing the page at all. There are several reasons why a particular page might be protected. For more information see Help:Protected pages.
- Deleting pages, and undeleting.
- A page can be deleted semi-permanently, such that it is no longer available (even in the page histories) for normal users. Normal users do not have this power. For sysop information see Help:Deletion and undeletion
- Blocking a user or IP address, and unblocking them.
- Users can be blocked from the wiki. This is a useful way of keeping out persistent vandals. Users are identified by their registered user name, or by IP address, and can be blocked permanently, or just short length of time to give them a "cooling off" period. A blocked user will still be able to read the wiki but will no longer be able to edit or make other changes. See Help:Blocking users.
- Patrolling, and seeing patrolled edits.
- This is a way of coordinating with other sysops, to ensure that every edit of the wiki has been checked over by a trusted user. See Help:Patrolled edits.
Interface administrators
| MediaWiki version: | ≥ 1.32 |
Interface administrators have the ability to edit the CSS and JavaScript pages that are loaded in the background by every page on a wiki to determine their appearance and general behavior. Because the contents of these pages are executed as code in the web browser of every visitor, the ability to change them is managed separately from other permissions, and should only be granted to users who possess the high levels of both technical understanding and community trust that are required to use it safely.
Bureaucrats
Another level of permissions within a default MediaWiki set-up, is the 'bureaucrat' group. By default bureaucrats can modify all users' user groups.
The main thing a bureaucrat can do, which 'sysop' cannot, is promote users to be sysops (and demote sysops to normal users). See Help:User rights and groups.