Board Thread:Dark Assembly/@comment-653063-20150314162645

I had this thought quite some time ago, but I shelved it because I figured maybe I should just continue to be patient; Otherarrow is around often enough, and the primary thing that I can't do as a 'normal user' is paste upgrades into the site's CSS files. But then I made that massive tabber-thing about all the potential colors for DD2 and D5, and it took me at least twice as long as it should have because I was fighting the code in ways that I shouldn't have had to. So I figure, it's probably just time to present this and see what people think.

It is possible for an Admin (I believe it needs to be an Admin submitting this request) to contact Wikia Staff using this form http://community.wikia.com/wiki/Special:Contact/general and request that a new local-wiki usergroup be created, with customized permissions. I therefore propose a new level that I will initially call SuperUser.

The SuperUser user level can do all the normal things a User does, plus: 1: can rename images or files; 2: can edit Admin-only pages, such as the site-wide CSS files, or pages that are protected from editing by normal Users/IP-only users; 3: perhaps some other things that would make sense that I as a normal User don't yet know about; see below. ( Edit: see below. )

A SuperUser is simply a User that has proven to their local community that they know how to not make the wiki's code explode; they are well-versed in the style guides and are trusted to not make changes (ie something massive in the CSS) that would upset the community as a whole.

The function of the SuperUser is to have 'Admin-like abilities to change the site,' but also to not have 'Admin-abilities that affect another User directly.' SuperUsers should not have any site-permissions that 'do' things to other users, including but not limited to: blocking users; altering the rights or levels of other users; etc. SuperUsers also do not have the ability to delete files or images, or lock or unlock pages for editing. (If, for some reason, the Disgaea Wiki were to enable the setting where the average User has been disallowed from making new pages, SuperUsers would still be able to create new pages, categories, etc.)

Becoming a SuperUser would follow the same process as becoming an Admin would; the community would discuss it, and an Admin can grant the user-level to the User.

SuperUsers are still 'beneath' Admins on the 'totem pole', and SuperUsers are not considered to be 'superior' to average Users for cases of opinions, votes, anything like that. It's not about being "bigger than a User," it's about being able to edit the site in ways that would normally require waiting for an Admin to log in.

Why bother with having a SuperUser in the first place? Why have a level 'sort-of-between' normal User and Admin? It goes back to the 'dealing with other Users' part: if there is a User who is good with code, but perhaps the Admins are of the opinion that said User shouldn't be given authority over other Users, or if that User does not want the authority over other Users that comes with being an Admin, then the User still has someplace to 'go' in the site to utilize the good-with-code part, but also doesn't have to deal with / get to have the authority element.

So that's my pitch for having the new usergroup. I also happen to think the name 'SuperUser' is kind of dumb. I thought about suggesting calling it 'Etna', as that fits with the site's theme; but then I thought it may be confusing to new users and also a bit counter-to-purpose: Etna tends to deal with personnel (in the form of Prinnies), whereas SuperUsers specifically don't have extra personnel permissions.

So maybe Engineer is better. It sounds rather awesome, and fits with the idea of 'working with code, not with people', and... actually I can't think of a contra-point.

So, discussion time. Thoughts?

Edit, Mar 15 2015 - Well look at this schnazzy page I found. http://disgaea.wikia.com/wiki/Special:ListGroupRights The specific rights not available to Users that Engineer should have:
 * Change protection levels and edit protected pages (protect) - This wording makes me think that both of these functions are rolled up into the same permission, and since an Engineer may need to edit a protected page, I guess the level gets the 'change protection' also. Not what I originally assumed, but that's probably ok too. Anyone trusted to edit a protected page is probably also trusted to not gank with protection levels.
 * Edit semi-protected pages (autoconfirmed)
 * Have one's own edits automatically marked as patrolled (autopatrol)
 * Import pages from a file upload (importupload)
 * Import pages from other wikis (import)
 * Move files (movefile) - this is the 'rename images' one, yes?
 * Not be affected by rate limits (noratelimit)
 * Not create redirects from source pages when moving pages (suppressredirect)
 * Override the title blacklist (tboverride) - another "not sure"; is this the "can still make pages if Users are de-permitted from making pages" one?
 * Perform CAPTCHA-triggering actions without having to go through the CAPTCHA (skipcaptcha)
 * Quickly rollback the edits of the last user who edited a particular page (rollback)
 * Search deleted pages (browsearchive)
 * Upload files from a URL (upload_by_url)
 * Use higher limits in API queries (apihighlimits)
 * View a list of unwatched pages (unwatchedpages)
 * View deleted history entries, without their associated text (deletedhistory)
 * View deleted text and changes between deleted revisions (deletedtext)
 * admindashboard (admindashboard) - this sounds like a pretty major thing, but unless the 'edit protected pages' does it, this might be what lets an Engineer edit the sitewide CSS files. This line is only on this list because of the "does it allow access to the CSS files" part.
 * gameguidescontent (gameguidescontent) another "not sure"
 * gameguidespreview (gameguidespreview) another "not sure"
 * themedesigner (themedesigner)
 * wikianavlocal (wikianavlocal)
 * wikifeatures (wikifeatures)
 * edithub (edithub) - this is another "not 100% sure right now what it does but seems like it might, or might not, be in the scope".

So again, people more educated than I am on the nitty-gritties in the subject of permissions might know "ah, there's a thing on this list that isn't in the scope of Engineer" or "here's a thing she missed listing, but sounds like it belongs." But I'm glad I found that page and was able to at least make this list, to kind of flesh out better what it is I'm hoping to have happen here. "Moar-Better site editing; not more over-other-Users stuff." SannaSK (talk) 02:51, March 16, 2015 (UTC) 