Developers

MediaWiki developers are people who write MediaWiki software and maintain the servers (at least on the software side). Some developers have shell access, which means that they can change the live copy of MediaWiki, change article histories, read server logs, etc. Developers formerly had an important role in the Wikipedia power structure, since they were the only ones able to create sysops or ban users.

Jimbo Wales legally controls the servers, so he is ultimately responsible for determining who has developer access. On a day-to-day basis, Brion Vibber manages the server accounts.

There is a rough hierarchy among developers. Initially, people contribute patches on the wikitech-l mailing list or participate in discussion. People who are considered trustworthy and wish to contribute code on a regular basis are given CVS access. A few developers have the ability to grant CVS access. Developers who are particularly well trusted or have a special need may be granted shell access to the server cluster. And several people who are judged to have the appropriate level of skill and trustworthiness are given root access on the servers. There is also a remote power switch which only a few people have access to.

Some developers had shell access to the old servers, but due to inactivity, weren't given shell access on the new servers. Magnus Manske, Nick Reinking, Lee Daniel Crocker, Axel Boldt, Matthias Jordan, Neil Harris and Ed Poor are in this category. Note that Ed Poor was not involved with software development, but instead carried out what are now bureaucratic or sysop tasks, such as promoting sysops and locking accounts.

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