Hey everyone!
About a year after the introduction of the global "Wiki Rules and Blocking Policy", which was created to benefit to overall health of wiki communities, this policy is getting an update based on user feedback and request for more clarity and examples. The changes to the global policy will go into effect on April 4th, 2022. This is the perfect time to come together as a community and review whether or not your wiki is in compliance with the new requirements!
The new policy
- Rules for your wikis must be defined and easily accessible. This can include putting a link to the rules page on the wiki’s main page or in the top navigation.
- Rules must include guidelines regarding wiki formatting, how and when blocks happen, page protection, and how users may become admins or other roles.
- Rules must not violate Fandom’s Terms of Use nor supersede them.
- Rules also cannot be overly restrictive and prohibit good faith users from editing. Blocks may only be issued for violations of your community’s written rules.
- Community members must be treated with respect. Abusing admin status to harass other community members or overuse of blocking power will not be tolerated.
- Violations of this policy may be met with loss of local user rights and, in extreme cases, additional disciplinary action, as deemed necessary by Fandom staff.
What changed?
- Wikis now must have rules regulating the following:
- Have a guideline regarding wiki formatting
- Blocking policy
- Protection policy
- Define a "pathway to adminship" - this is a system your community can set up to allow for long-time users who care about the wiki and community to eventually become admins or obtain another wiki role. It will be up to the community to decide what works best for each wiki
- A section outlining what it means to be a good administrator was added.
- A new help page, "Help:Need ideas for rules?, was created to offer examples and suggestions for new rules to help communities draft/update their own
- Some changes for clarity
These new changes go into effect on April 4th.
Got questions?
TODAY, Friday March 25 at 8am PT / 11am ET / 3pm GMT (check your own timezone), there is an Ask Me Anything in the Fandom Discord server talking about Trust and Safety on the platform, and you get the opportunity to ask any and all questions about the new policy.
Also feel free to comment here or contact me directly on my wall or on Discord (Lostris#4280) about this, or post a comment on the staff blog itself.