Sound familiar?.....

[ericbarbour]

https://arstechnica.com/information-tec ... bbs-sysop/

Whereas the Internet is a huge connected web of systems with billions of users, most BBSes were small hobbyist fiefdoms with a single phone line, and only one person could call in and use it at a time. Although BBS-to-BBS message networks were common, each system still felt like its own island culture with a tin-pot dictator (the system operator—or "sysop" for short) who lorded over anyone who visited.

Tin-pot computer dictators existed long before the Internet was publicly accessible. Wikipedia admins are just following a "grand and ancient history" of powertripping.

And frankly, there are 1980s stories about the pre-public Arpanet/Internet itself, that most computer nerds really don't like to bring up. Usenet was a freakshow right from its beginnings in 1981.

[wexter]

The "tin pot" dictator I was dialing into had about eight connections; some great gaming doors, and lots of sharable software. His hobby was costing him a fortune. I was able to call him up and arrange a visit since he was about eight blocks away. He was much more accountable than the anonymous zit-heads "who are batteries for the matrix" that is Wikipedia.