Why do some Wikipedia editors so crave the attention and adoration of the cult leader Jimbo Wales?

Let's say I'm a moron, that no reputable encyclopedia would ever thinking of asking me to write for them in a million years.

Then comes along this newfangled Wikipedia thing, I make a few dull, repetitive edits, vote in RfAs supporting some other morons, and next thing you know I'm an admin on Wikipedia.

Furthermore, I see lots of children and even some young adults going to Wikipedia and treating everything they read there as if it were the gospel truth. Even better, they think Wikipedia is more reliable and accurate than the reputable encyclopedias that won't have me write for them.

Naturally, I would be very grateful to the man who has allowed all this to happen in the first place. In fact, I might even idolize him. I would want his autograph. But not on paper, I'm not a dinosaur. I would want it on the Web.

So that's my answer. There is nothing wrong with those people you mention in your question, other than that they are morons.

There's no definitive answer to why people behave illogically or foolishly, but hero worship is sometimes a sign of stunted emotional development in adults. Meanwhile, it's considered to be fairly normal in younger children. The disturbing thing here is that the object of this outburst is Mr. Wales, rather than a genuine "hero," such as someone who was once involved in running an actual charity. This could suggest a high degree of gullibility, or perhaps even anti-social tendencies.

Then again, this sort of thing could also occur if the individuals felt there was something of real value to be gained by currying Wales' favor, which would mean they were badly misguided, or perhaps delusional. This seems unlikely to me, though - it might have been more plausible in the 2006-2007 timeframe, but these days most people know better.

It could also be a practical joke, but I would tend to discount that possibility as well, since the users involved are fairly well-established on Wikipedia (and related projects), and most Wikipedians have no appreciable sense of humor. (Of course, the fact that this "joke" isn't actually funny might not have occurred to them either, but that only adds to the potential confusion.)