Wikipedia User Access Levels and Groups (Wikipedia Basics)

Wikipedia has a hierarchy system for managing editors, editing permissions and page protection. Page protection limits editing to editor who are members of specific groups.

Editors are placed into one of six different groups, each with their own editing permissions and tools. You can advance based on your editing history and community engagement in talk pages. Advancement to the top user group is extremely rare.

The first group "new user" is how readers, IP users, and newly registered users are grouped. Only the most basic editing tools are available. Once a simple editing history has been established, then the user is automatically entered into the "autoconfirmed" user group. This allows access to most of the editing tools you need to edit. The next level, extended confirmed, only grants access to editing access to "extended confirmed" protected pages.

The final three levels, administrator, bureaucrat and steward require nomination, demonstration of editing and communication skills, and a Wikipedia community vote to be entered into one of these access groups.

In addition to the user groups, there are extra permissions that can be granted to a user by the community if the editor requests it or is nominated for the permission and then approved by the community.

Notes:
*Some of the art in this video is generated with AI technology.
**All member figure data is from December 2022 - January 2023. Some variability occurs in the administrator group. All figures are for the English Wikipedia unless specified otherwise.

Chapters
0:00 New Users
0:20 Autoconfirmed
1:00 Extended Confirmed
1:35 Additional Editing Permissions
2:20 Administrator
2:50 Bureaucrat
3:12 Steward

Second Channel
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