Wikipedia:Age and adminship

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There have been numerous discussions about adminship and age^[1] over time. Some Wikipedians believe that certain users are being inappropriately discriminated against because of their age, while others believe it acceptable to take age into consideration when deciding to support or oppose a user who is under the age of 18. Candidates under the age of 15 have been especially controversial – sometimes, their age is the only reason for an oppose vote, and bureaucrats do not discount these votes.^[2] To some, this constitutes ageism – discrimination based on age. Others believe this is a legitimate practice, raising issues of immaturity, trustworthiness, and accountability. In response to this incident, a group of editors formed a "cabal" with the intention of speaking out against ageism on Wikipedia. The cabal was quickly deleted by Acalamari and all related discussions were closed.

Jimmy Wales commented his discussion on the topic saying:

"I have no very strong opinion about it. There are people who behave in petulant, ill-mannered, and immature ways. They should not be admins. Whether there is a strong correlation between bad behavior of that kind, and age, I don't know. I do think that, in general, most of our admins should be college students or graduates. Some gifted and profoundly gifted young people would be equally qualified.--Jimbo Wales (talk)"