Wikiversity:Probationary custodians

Probationary custodians

When probationary custodians have a mentor, they will be listed on this page, starting their one month probationary period. If the mentor is satisfied with the performance of the probationary custodian, members of the community will be able to participate in a comment period at the end of the month-long probation period.

How does one become a probationary custodian?

If you are still interested in custodianship, here is the process it takes:

I	Request You must request or be nominated for probationary custodianship at Candidates for Custodianship. State your reasons for seeking this position and in what areas you are or would like to be active. You may also refer to your contributions at other projects and indicate whether you have a similar status on a sister project. The community will be given a period of five days to discuss your background, ask questions, and determine if there are any serious issues that would prohibit you from being trusted to use Custodianship tools. If there are no serious objections and consensus to oppose a probationary custodianship, you will be allowed to find a mentor that will serve as instructor in how to be a custodian.
II	Mentorship If the mentor (see: Wikiversity:List of custodian mentors) you request agrees to be your mentor then you will be approved for probationary custodianship under the mentorship of an experienced custodian. During your mentorship period of four weeks, you will have all the technical privileges described on the custodianship page. You will be expected to use your privileges in accordance with established policy and community consensus. If you have questions, your mentor will be your first person to contact.
III	Evaluation At the end of your mentorship period, you will be evaluated based on how well you used your privileges and how you conducted yourself within Wikiversity. If your mentor evaluates you fit for permanent custodianship, a request for comments will be submitted at Candidates for Custodianship for a period of seven days. During that period, other community members can comment on the request and express their support. If your mentor evaluates you as unfit for permanent custodianship at any time during your probationary period, your mentor can terminate your probationary custodianship. Your mentor may request removal of your custodianship without any further notice or discussion by the community. You may however reapply at a later date if you can find a new mentor.
IV	Custodianship Five days after the request has been listed, a bureaucrat will make the final decision based on the arguments provided in the discussion. If you are approved, you will be a permanent custodian. If you are not approved, you are free to request another mentorship or withdraw your request.

What is a mentor?

A mentor is someone who is verified by the community to be trusted to use custodian privileges. Their duty as a mentor is to watch over their probationary custodian. By being a mentor, their admin rights are symbolically shared with their mentored probationary custodian, and all actions of the probationary custodian are considered as part of the actions of the mentor. The mentor is responsible for each of the admin actions and can reverse them at will without discussion as if they were their own.

Terminating probationary custodianship

A probationary custodianship comes from the idea of probation. As such, probationary custodians are not given free reign to do whatever they want. If a probationary custodian is seen to be in gross violation of community standards, then they may be terminated at any time by their mentor or after a 5 day discussion held by the community on if the probationary custodian has consensus to continue on probation.

Like custodianship, probationary custodianship is a duty and not a right. They serve only as long as the community has trust in their abilities to use the privileges appropriately. Since they have not been elected, they are cautioned to not make any decision that may be deemed controversial or disruptive. They are given the administrative privileges so that they can learn how to use them, not to use them freely and whenever they want.

Reading list

New custodians should become familiar with Category:Wikiversity policy and Category:Wikiversity administration. They should also consider participating in How to be a Wikimedia sysop, although this is optional.

See also

• Wikiversity: Candidates for Custodianship
• List of custodian mentors
• Wikiversity: Custodian Mentorship