User blog comment:Brandon Rhea/Tips for being a great admin/@comment-5139498-20121025235029/@comment-5163932-20121026011424

I agree with a friendly approach but rules and guidelines are needed, I like to think being an admin is no different than being like any other type of member, the difference being is that you have more responsibilities which should be handled wisely and at times make hard choices. An admin should do their best to make sure the wiki they are an admin of functions smoothly and to make sure everyone is civil, Every admin obviously has a different approach, what I do is keep the rules of the wiki I am admin of pasted on my profile as to remind me of them and to act as guidelines. I am a bit strict when it comes to rules, as I firmly believe a good wiki needs to have everyone on the same page so to speak and not fighting each other but I think there should indeed be more interaction between admin and other members.

Best way to make someone not fear an admin is to assure them that they matter and if they have ideas on how to improve a wiki, then tell them all they have to do is say. Its best to make everyone feel like their are a part of the wiki, make blogs or use live chat because I reckon lack of communication between admin and other members creates a sort of distance and can make people think that admins don't bother with people unless its to warn or block them. I need to make more blogs as I feel there is not enough interaction between members and admins. Great tips though.