Wikipedia:Advice for RfA candidates

This is an essay on the Requests for adminship guideline, and the Requests for adminship process page. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints.

Shortcut WP:RFAADVICE

This page in a nutshell: Becoming and admin is complex and requires a high level of experience and community trust. Please ensure you are prepared by reading up on old RfAs and advice pages, and then usually seeking advice from experienced editors. If you meet the criteria, don't let any of it put you off – well prepared candidates who fulfill the general criteria and have no skeletons in the cupboard can sail through an RfA.

Reading time: about 15 - 20 minutes

The administrator role on Wikipedia is a special permission given only to senior-level editors who have demonstrated consistent proficiency and mastery with the necessary high level of knowledge, judgment, experience, temperament, and behaviour needed. Administrators also typically hold a high level of trust and respect by the community. It is not granted to new or inexperienced users, or even to average or proficient-level contributors.

The process of becoming an administrator is explained at Wikipedia:Requests for adminship. The tasks that administrators can perform are described at Wikipedia:Administrators. Successful candidates almost always have at least one year of consistent editing experience, with thousands of edits showing their expertise in maintenance, policies, and content creation. The RfA process assesses not only a candidate's editing skills, but also examines their maturity, fairness, interactions with others, civility and temperament, and overall judgment. Strong preparation, understanding of Wikipedia processes, and a senior-level of familiarity with Wikipedia's WP:policies and guidelines are absolutely essential for an RfA to be successful.

More essays (especially those on users' criteria) and advice pages are listed at the end of this page. The footnotes also contain links to important examples. Viewed separately, they are an integral part of this advice, so please be sure to review them. When you have read this guide and gone through the other advice pages, you may wish to start a request at the optional RfA candidate poll before making up your mind, or you can email an experienced user for advice.