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A wiki god-king is the owner or administrator-in-chief. The god-king has ultimate authority to hire and fire administrators and other power users, to decide the configuration of the site, to make policy decisions, etc. Wikipedia doesn't have a god-king anymore, and probably never will again. But, here are some characteristics useful in a wiki god-king:
- Passion for the project, which may take the form of hyper-addiction to working on it and hence gaining an intimate familiarity with what it is like to be a contributor on a day-to-day basis;
- Creativity, manifested in coming up with new ideas; but more importantly,
- Entrepreneurial tendencies, i.e. a predilection for taking the initiative to seek out and implement valuable new ideas;
- Perfectionism, manifested in a desire, almost a compulsion, to move closer and closer to the ideal of what the wiki should be, rather than resting on one's laurels once it is "good enough";
- Good judgment, looking before one leaps to avoid all-advised actions that will cause a big mess and consume a lot of time, emotions and energy;
- Understanding of what motivates users to contribute; and a healthy
- Respect for the importance of satisfying those motivations in order to sustain and increase the level of collaboration;
- Vision of the larger picture and how the wiki fits into it; and
- Tact in dealing with others both on and off the wiki.