Jump to content

Commons:Administrators

This page is protected against editing.
From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository
Translate this page

Shortcuts: COM:A • COM:ADMIN • COM:SYSOP

This page is considered an official guideline on Wikimedia Commons.

It illustrates standards or behaviors which most editors agree with in principle and generally follow. Feel free to update the page as needed, but please use the discussion page to propose major changes.

Other languages:
This page in a nutshell: Administrators on Wikimedia Commons are users with additional technical abilities to manage the site. They can delete and restore files and pages, protect pages, block users, rename files, and perform other administrative tasks. There are currently 177 administrators on Commons. To become an administrator, users can apply and go through a voting process.

This page explains the role of administrators (sometimes called admins or sysops) on Wikimedia Commons. Note that details of the role, and the way in which administrators are appointed, may differ from other sites.

If you want to request administrator help, please post at Administrators' noticeboard.

There are currently 177 administrators on Commons.

What is an administrator?

Administrators as of August 2025
Listing by: Language • Date • Activity [+/−]

Number of Admins: 177

  1. 1234qwer1234qwer4, ru, de-4, en-3 (steward)
  2. 1Veertje, nl, en-4, de-1, fr-1
  3. 32X, de, en-2, hsb-1, ru-1
  4. 99of9, en (bureaucrat)
  5. A.Savin, ru, de-4, en-2
  6. Aafi, ks, ur-5, en-3, hi-2, ar-1
  7. Abzeronow, en, fr-1
  8. Achim55, de, en-3, nds-3, la-2
  9. AFBorchert, de, en-3
  10. Ahonc, uk, ru-4, en-2, de-1
  11. Aka, de, en-3
  12. Alno, fr, en-3, es-2, pt-1
  13. Андрей Романенко, ru, en-3, uk-3, be-2, fr-2, lv-2
  14. Ankry, pl, en-2, ru-1
  15. AnRo0002, de, en-2, fr-2, es-1
  16. Anthere, fr, en-3
  17. AntiCompositeNumber, en, fr-2 (steward)
  18. Aude, en, ar-2, de-2, es-3
  19. Auntof6, en, es-2, fr-1
  20. Bastique, en, fr-3, es-2, la-2, fi-1, pl-1
  21. Bedivere, es, en-4, pt-1
  22. Billinghurst, en
  23. Blackcat, it, en-3, fr
  24. BrightRaven, fr, en-3, nl-2, es-2, zh-1
  25. Butko, ru, uk-2, en-1
  26. Captain-tucker, en
  27. ChemSim, de, en-3
  28. Christian Ferrer, fr, en-2, es-2
  29. Ciell, nl, en-2, de-1
  30. Common Good, en
  31. CptViraj, gu, hi-4, en-3 (bureaucrat)
  32. Cromium, en, de-1, fr-1
  33. Cybularny, pl, en-2, es-1, de-1
  34. DaB., de, en-1
  35. DarwIn, pt, en-3, es-2, fr-2, gl-2, ca-1, it-1, oc-1
  36. Davepape, en
  37. DerHexer, de, en-3, grc-3, la-3, es-1 (steward)
  38. Dharmadhyaksha, mr, en-3, hi-3
  39. DMacks, en
  40. Didym, de, en-2, fr-2
  41. Dyolf77, ar, fr-5, en-2, it-1, es-1
  42. D-Kuru, de, en-2, it-1
  43. Ebrahim, en-3
  44. Elcobbola en, de (checkuser)
  45. Ellywa, nl, en-2, de-1, fr-1
  46. Emha, de, bar, en-3, fr-1
  47. Érico, pt, en-2, es-1
  48. EugeneZelenko, ru, be, en-2, bg-1, pl-1 (bureaucrat)
  49. Explicit, en, es, ko-2
  50. Ezarate, es-3, en-1
  51. Fitindia, en-3, hi-2, mr-2
  52. FunkMonk, da, en-4, no-3, fo-2, sv-2, de-1, es-1
  53. Gbawden, en-3, af-1
  54. Geagea, he, ka-3, en-3, ru-1
  55. Geni, en
  56. George Chernilevsky, ru, uk-3, de-2, en-2, bg-1, la-1, be-1, fr-1
  57. Gestumblindi, als, de, en-3
  58. Gnangarra, en, nys-1
  59. Gnom, de, en-3, fr-2, it-2, es-1
  60. GPSLeo, de, en-2
  61. GreenMeansGo, en
  62. Grin, hu, en-3, de-1
  63. Hekerui, de, en-4
  64. Herbythyme, en, fr-2, es-1, it-1
  65. Holly Cheng, en, ja-2
  66. Huntster, en
  67. Indeedous, de, en-3, fr-2
  68. Infrogmation, en, es-1
  69. IronGargoyle, en, de-1
  70. Jameslwoodward, en, fr-1 (bureaucrat, checkuser)
  71. Jaqen, it, en-2
  72. Jarekt, pl, en
  73. Jcornelius, de, lt-2, la-2, en-2, pt-2, fr-1
  74. Jdforrester, en
  75. Jianhui67, en, zh-4, ja-2, ms-2
  76. Jmabel, en, es-3, ro-2, de-1, ca-1, it-1, pt-1, fr-1
  77. Joergens.mi, de, en-3
  78. Jon Kolbert, en, fr-4, de-2 (steward)
  79. Josve05a, sv, en-3
  80. Jusjih, zh, en-3, fr-2, ko-1
  81. Kadı, tr, en-5, fr-2, az-2
  82. Kaganer, ru, en-1
  83. Kallerna, fi, en-3, sv-2, de-1
  84. King of Hearts, en, zh-3, es-2, ja-1
  85. Klemen Kocjancic, sl, en-3, de-2, hr-1, bs-1
  86. Krd, de, en-3 (bureaucrat, checkuser)
  87. Krinkle, nl, en-3, de-2
  88. Kritzolina, de, en-3, fr-2, it-1
  89. Léna, fr, en-3, es-1
  90. Leyo, gsw, de, en-3, fr-3, es-1, la-1
  91. Lofty abyss, en, mt, it-2
  92. Lymantria, nl, en-3, de-2, fy-2, fr-1, zea-1 (checkuser)
  93. Magog the Ogre, en, es-2
  94. Mahagaja, en, de-4, fr-2, ga-2, la-2, cy-1
  95. Maire, pl, en-4, es-2, fr-2, de-2, ru-1
  96. Marcus Cyron, de, en-2
  97. Masur, pl, en-3, de-1
  98. Materialscientist, en-4, ru-4, nl-3, fr-1, es-1
  99. Matrix, en, ta-2
  100. MB-one, de, en-3, fr-1, pt-1
  101. Mdaniels5757, en, es-1
  102. MGA73, da, en-3, de-2, no-1, sv-1
  103. Mhhossein, fa, en-3, ar-1
  104. Micheletb, fr, en-3, it-1, es-1
  105. Mike Peel, en, pt-2, fr-1
  106. Minorax, en, zh (oversighter)
  107. Missvain, en
  108. Mitchazenia, en, es-2
  109. Miya, ja, en-2
  110. Moheen, bn, as-1, bpy-1, en-3, hi-1, hif-1
  111. Morgankevinj, en
  112. MPF, en, da-2, de-1, fr-1
  113. Multichill, nl, en-3, de-1, fr-1
  114. Mys 721tx, zh, en-3
  115. Nagy, de, en-3, fr-2, es-1, sv-1
  116. NahidSultan, bn, en-3, bpy-1
  117. Natuur12, nl, en-3, de-1
  118. notafish, fr, en-4, de-3, es-2, it-2
  119. odder, pl, en-4, de-2 (bureaucrat, oversighter)
  120. P199, en, nl, fr-2, tl-2, de-1
  121. Pi.1415926535, en, es-2
  122. Platonides, es, en-2, fr-1
  123. Poco a poco, es, de-4, en-3, fr-2, it-2, pl-2, pt-1
  124. Podzemnik, cs, en-2
  125. Polarlys, de, en-2, fr-1, no-1
  126. Pyb, fr, en-2
  127. Pymouss, fr, en-3, de-2, it-2, he-1
  128. Racconish, fr, en-4
  129. Ragesoss, en, de-1, fr-1
  130. Ra'ike, de, en-2
  131. Rastrojo, es, en-3, fr-2, eo-1
  132. Ratekreel, ks, en-3, ur-3
  133. Raymond, de, en-3, nl-1 (oversighter)
  134. Red-tailed hawk, en, es-4, pt-2, ug-1
  135. Regasterios, hu, en-1
  136. Rehman, en, si-1
  137. Reinhard Kraasch, de, en-3
  138. Revi C., ko, en-3
  139. Rimshot, de, en-4, fr-2, it-1
  140. Romaine, nl, en-3, de-2, af-1, fr-1
  141. Rosenzweig, de, en-3, fr-1, la-1
  142. Royalbroil, en, es-1
  143. RP88, en, de-1
  144. Rudolphous, nl, en-3, de-2
  145. Ruthven, it, fr, en-4, es-4, nap-4, ca-2, de-1
  146. Sadads, en, es-3
  147. Sanandros, als, de, en-3, fr-1
  148. Satdeep Gill, pa, en-5, hi-5, es-3, fr-2, fa-1
  149. Shizhao, zh, en-1, ru-1
  150. Sreejithk2000, ml, en-3, hi-3, ta-1, kn-1
  151. Steinsplitter, bar, de-4, it-3, en-1
  152. Stifle, en, ga, fr-2, de-1
  153. Strakhov, es, en-2
  154. TadejM, sl, en-3, de-2, fr-2
  155. Taivo, et, en-3, ru-3, de-1
  156. Teles, pt, en-3, es-2
  157. Themightyquill, en, fr-2, de-1, hu-1
  158. The Squirrel Conspiracy, en (checkuser)
  159. Thibaut120094, fr, en-2, ja-1
  160. Thuresson, sv, en-3, no-2
  161. Triplec85, de, en-3, fr-1, hr-1, la-1
  162. Túrelio, de, en-3, es-1
  163. VIGNERON, fr, de-2, en-2, zh-1
  164. Wdwd, de, en-2
  165. Well-Informed Optimist, ru, uk-4, en-3
  166. Wikitanvir, bn, en-3, de-2, as-2, bpy-1
  167. Wutsje, fy, nl, en-3, de-2, fr-1
  168. Yann, fr, en-4, hi-2, gu-1
  169. Yasu, ja, en-2, de-1
  170. Ymblanter, ru, en-3, de-2, fr-2, nl-2, it-1, es-1
  171. Yuval CT, he, en-3
  172. Ziv, gsw, de, en-2, it-2, he-2
  173. Zzyzx11, en, es-1, fr-1
  174. علاء, ar, en-4, he-1, es-1 (steward)
  175. Abuse filter, (automated account)
  176. CommonsDelinker, (bot) see request
  177. KrinkleBot, (bot) see request

If 177 is not the last number on this list, there may be an error or there are some users assigned temporarily.

Technical

Administrators are users with the technical ability on Wikimedia Commons to:

  • delete and undelete images and other uploaded files, and to view and restore deleted versions
  • delete and undelete pages, and to view and restore deleted revisions
  • protect and unprotect pages, and to edit admin-protected pages
  • block and unblock users, individual IP addresses and IP address ranges
  • edit less-restricted interface messages (see also Commons:Interface administrators)
  • rename files
  • add and remove user groups
  • configure Upload Wizard campaigns
  • delete and undelete specific log entries and revisions of pages
  • import pages from other wikis
  • merge the history of pages
  • modify abuse filters
  • not create redirects from source pages when moving pages
  • override the spoofing checks and title or username blacklist
  • send a message to multiple users at once (massmessage)
  • use higher limits in API queries

These are collectively known as the admin tools.

Community role

Administrators are experienced and trusted members of the Commons community who have taken on additional maintenance work and have been entrusted with the admin tools by public consensus/vote. Different admins have different areas of interest and expertise, but typical admin tasks include determining and closing deletion requests, deleting copyright violations, undeleting files where necessary, protecting Commons against vandalism, and working on templates and other protected pages. Of course, some of these tasks can be done by non-admins as well.

Administrators are expected to understand the goals of this project, and be prepared to work constructively with others towards those ends. Administrators should also understand and follow Commons' policies, and where appropriate, respect community consensus.

Apart from roles which require use of the admin tools, administrators have no special editorial authority by virtue of their position, and in discussions and public votes their contributions are treated in the same way as any ordinary editor. Some admins may become more influential, not due to their position as such, but from the personal trust they may have gained from the community.

Suggestions for administrators

Please read Commons:Guide to adminship.

Removal of administrator rights

Under the de-admin policy, administrator rights may be revoked due to inactivity or misuse of sysop tools. In a de-admin request, normal standards for determining consensus in an RfA do not apply. Instead, "majority consensus" should be used, whereby any consensus to demote of higher than 50% is sufficient to remove the admin.

Apply to become an administrator

All intending administrators must go through this process and submit themselves to RFA, including all ex-administrators who are seeking to return to their previous role.

First, go to Commons:Administrators/Howto and read the information there. Then come back here and make your request in the section below.

  • If someone else nominated you, please accept the nomination by stating "I accept" or something similar, and signing below the nomination itself. The subpage will still need to be transcluded by you or your nominator.


Use the box below, replacing Username with your username:

Voting

Any registered user may vote here although those who have few or no previous edits may not be fully counted. It is preferable you give reasons for both Support and Oppose votes as this will help the closing bureaucrat in their decision. Greater weight is given to an argument, with supporting evidence if needed, than to a simple vote.

Promotion normally requires at least 75% in favour, with a minimum of 8 support votes. Votes from unregistered users are not counted. However, the closing bureaucrat has discretion in judging community consensus, and the decision will not necessarily be based on the raw numbers. Bureaucrats may, at their discretion, extend the period of an RfA if they feel that it will be helpful in better determining community consensus.

 Neutral comments are not counted in the vote totals for the purposes of calculating pass/fail percentages. However, such comments are part of the discussion, may persuade others, and contribute to the closing bureaucrat's understanding of community consensus.

Purge the cache Use the edit link below to edit the transcluded page.

Requests for adminship

watch

When complete, pages listed here should be archived to Commons:Administrators/Archive.

  • Please read Commons:Administrators before voting here. Any logged in user may vote although those who have few or no previous edits may not be fully counted.

Theklan

Related requests:

Vote

Theklan (talk · contributions (views) · deleted user contributions · deleted uploads · recent activity (talk · project · deletion requests) · logs · block log · global contribs · CentralAuth)

Scheduled to end: 09:20, 28 August 2025 (UTC)

I have been around for many years, and contributed with thousands of images, mine and from archives, and I have seen that admins have too much things to take care of. So I think that it's time to help with those tasks. I have good knowledge of copyright (as far as this is even possible), and experience working with GLAM institutions. My home wiki is Basque Wikipedia, where I'm also an admin and bureaucrat with more than a decade of experience. Thanks for your support! Theklan (talk) 09:20, 21 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Votes

Hardly 'riddled'. Most of them seem to be kept and some downright trollish DRs from an editor who was then indeffed for making them. Andy Dingley (talk) 13:37, 22 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Comments

Why should an encyclopedia show an AI generated image of a dragon while there are hundreds of paintings, scurlptures, etc that could be used instead? --Isderion (talk) 21:07, 24 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]
  • Hi, here are a few questions about common DRs (feel free to answer inline btw), answer with your first thoughts (of course this may change through the course of the deletion discussion).
    1. Someone nominates File:Random logo.png for deletion with the rationale "redundant to File:Random logo.svg". Assume File:Random logo.png is not INUSE.
      Redundancy is not itself a reason for deleting. It may be the case that the PNG file has extremely low quality, but even in that case, if the PNG was the original file and the SVG has been made based on the PNG, keeping the original one is a must, as we need it to be sure that the SVG reflects the PNG, and that the derivative has also a provenance. However, there may be reasons to do it, so it can be discussed. -Theklan (talk) 09:40, 23 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    2. Someone nominates a 1945 WW2 photo was published in 1945 in Germany. Assume the author is anonymous per Template:PD-anon-70-EU.
      I'm not an expert in German copyright laws (that's why we also have German admins), but I would assume that if the photo is anonymous, and no ne has claimed the authorship in the last 80 years (2025-1945), the photo is in the Public Domain as more than 70 years for an anonymous photo published in Germany are enough, even with the new law that requires two different countings. -Theklan (talk) 09:40, 23 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    3. Someone nominates a company logo for deletion with the rationale "copyright violation".
      Trademark and copyright are not the same thing. We can have a logo of a company if this is simple enough. Both {{PD-textlogo}} and {{Trademark}} may coexist, if the company logo is simple enough. -Theklan (talk) 09:40, 23 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    4. Someone nominates a photo that they made 5 years ago for deletion stating "I don't want it on the internet anymore". The photo's subject is quite obscure and we don't have many photos of that subject. Assume no GDPR or related issues.
      When a photo is uploaded you give permission to use in perpetuity, so "I don't want it on the Internet anymore" is not a valid reason for deleting. If the image is not in use, we can delete it as courtesy if there's community consensus, it has very low quality or there's something personal in the image that shouldn't be there; but given that the subject is quite obscure, it has been uploaded 5 years ago (not yesterday!), and it might be probable that the image is documenting some article in any of our projects, the most regular outcome would be keeping it. However, the uploader should know that even deleting it doesn't change the fact that it has been published for 5 years with a free license and someone somewhere (outside Wikimedia) may have used it and copied it with that license. -Theklan (talk) 09:40, 23 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    5. Someone nominates a photo for deletion stating the data is unreliable and out of date. They provide a link to the correct data but haven't uploaded a file yet with the correct data. The file is in use on multiple projects.
      Outdated images shouldn't be deleted based only on that. If we are talking about a map or a graph that should be updated, it should be marked with {{Current}}, but we shouldn't delete the old version, but overwrite it with a new one that reflects the latest data. Also, if the file is in use in various projects, keeping the original might be necessary, because it can be used to show exactly the outdated situation (old borders, for example). -Theklan (talk) 09:40, 23 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]
—Matrix(!) ping onewhen replying {user - talk? - uselesscontributions} 16:29, 22 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]
  • Four more questions about possible DRs:
    • Someone nominates the logo of a (notable, so in scope) company or institution because "there is a new logo, this one is old and not authorized for use anymore. It confuses our customers and is constantly used instead of the new, correct logo." There are no copyright problems with this logo, assume it's too simple to be copyrighted.
    • Someone nominates the cover drawing of a 1935 German magazine issue, apparently specifically created for that issue. The artwork is not credited in the magazine, but there is an artist's signature which so far cannot be identified.
    • Someone nominates the cover drawing of a 1935 German magazine issue, apparently specifically created for that issue. The artwork is not credited in the magazine, and there is no artist's signature in the drawing.
    • Someone nominates the cover photo of a 1935 German magazine issue, apparently specifically created for that issue. The photographer is not credited in the magazine, and there is also no photographer credit in the photo itself.
--Rosenzweig τ 10:22, 24 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Hello @Rosenzweig, sorry, I didn't see your comment till now.
  • The first one is quite simple: we even have the old Wikipedia logo, which creates trademark problems and it's used widely in press or even Wikimedia movement posters. The old logo should be kept, because we can use it to illustrate the history of the company, or other historical uses.
  • The second section of three questions is more tricky and, as I said, I'm not an expert on German copyright law. I have been looking at Commons:Copyright rules by territory/Germany, and I would say that the two first options (with and without signature) are not in the Public Domain because "Fine art" objects (not a photo, like case 3) are always "Life + 70 years" if done before 1995. However, I have doubts on the meaning of "known pseudonym", and I would say that not even having a signature would qualify for completely anonymous, making it free. However, as I said, I wouldn't take a decision on thi ssubject, as there are German admins who surely have a better understanding of the law there.
Theklan (talk) 07:39, 25 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Any opinion on the US copyright status of these three and how it affects deletion decisions? --Rosenzweig τ 07:42, 25 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]
According to my knowledge, in the case of the US this would be a work for hire (apparently created for that issue), so the main issue is publication date. For everything published before 1978, there should be a renewal of copyright after 28 yers, so we should look first to the copyright status of the magazine itself. As it was published in 1935, if the copyright was renewed in 1963, it wouldn't be in the Public Domain until 1935+95=2030. If it wasn't renewed, the work would be in the Public domain since 1963, and the cover would be also free, with a {{PD-US-not renewed}} tag. However, this is only for things published in the US. In Commons we need both. Theklan (talk) 08:55, 25 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]
But this was not published in the US, so all the rules about necessary registration, renewal etc. do not apply. Instead, the URAA applies, which gave a US copyright to foreign (foreign from a US perspective) works which were still protected in their source country in 1996 (or later in some countries). I suggest you take a look at that. --Rosenzweig τ 09:08, 25 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for the link. That's what I explained in the last two sentences. Theklan (talk) 09:57, 25 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]
  • What are your personal thoughts on the health of the community at the moment? Just want to pick your brain a bit. --Jonatan Svensson Glad (talk) 22:04, 25 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    I think that the best answer is to look on the questions we have above: all of them are related to copyright and deletion issues. I understand that this is the most time-consuming thing Commons admins have to face, and I understand that there's a large backlog. Precisely, that's why I'm applying, I want to help with that.
    But we should be doing other things (also), if we want to have a healthy and thriving community, devoted to multimedia and to the commons, and not only to barely illustrate a bunch of encyclopedias with images.
    • We can't say we are succesful on attacting talented photographers to Wikimedia Commons. You can see it in the process to choose Featured Images, very far from what good photographers should expect from a platform to share their valuable job. Other platforms had really good ways to gather great quality images, like Flickr, before they were enshitiffied. But, instead of trying to copy the good aspects, we have a complex system were quality photographers are discouraged to participate.
    • There are thousands of younger Internet users trying to upload great 3D models, photogrametry and other interactive visualizations. Some of the best platforms for that have failed, and institutions like museums could be uploading their models to Commons. But we don't do it, as we only allow plain stl files. We could have a good community there, but we don't give them any option.
    • There are great podcasters creating learning materials that could be used even within encyclopedic context, but our audio uploading and, especially, reusing experience is bad. I won't say that that's why they are no there, but that is a reason not to be here.
    • The same applies to video creation, video subtitling. Our platform is two decades behind, so we are losing the opportunity to have people contributing.
    These are some examples on why our community is centered not on having good multimedia for the commons, but mainly on copyright discussions, what, let's face it, is quite a niche topic to be interested on. I honestly think that improving our possibilities (better software, easier batch uploading and review tools, better visualization of non-images...) would make the community better. I know that it's not cheap, but that's what I think we need. Theklan (talk) 15:14, 26 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Requests for bureaucratship

watch

When complete, pages listed here should be archived to Commons:Bureaucrats/Archive.

  • Please read Commons:Bureaucrats before posting or voting here. Any logged in user may vote although those who have few or no previous edits may not be fully counted.

No current requests.

Requests for CheckUser rights

watch

When complete, pages listed here should be archived to Commons:Checkusers/Archive.

  • Please read Commons:Checkusers before posting or voting here. Any logged in user may vote although those who have few or no previous edits may not be fully counted.

No current requests.

Requests for Oversight rights

watch

When complete, pages listed here should be archived to Commons:Oversighters/Archive.

  • Please read Commons:Oversighters before voting here. Any logged in user may vote, although those who have few or no previous edits may not be fully counted.

No current requests.

Tasks

purge Admin backlog

Copyright:

  • Copyright violations: ~102
  • Unfree Flickr files: ~0
  • Recent unfree Flickr images: ~0
  • No license since 18 August 2025: ~4
  • Media uploaded without a license as of 2025-08: ~169

Other:

  • Duplicates: ~193
  • Advertisements/spam: ~79
  • Personal photos/selfies: ~25
  • Other speedy deletions: ~298
  • Categories for discussion: 84 months
  • Media requiring a split up: ~0
  • Requests for unblock: ~1
  • Undeletion requests: ~9

Protected edit requests:

  • Full protection: ~13
  • Interface admin: ~12
  • Technical: ~0
  • Template protection: ~15
  • Protection level: ~0

See also: DR, HMS, …

See also

Retrieved from "https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Commons:Administrators&oldid=1015173055"