Board Thread:Wiki discussion/@comment-4196050-20180524151449

Hi, everyone! As the school year is winding down and summer is quickly approaching, we wanted to remind you about some of our wiki policies and some issues that us admins and mods have been seeing over the past few months. We got some fun stuff planned for the wiki over the summer, and we would also love to hear your suggestions and feedback!

Mini-modding concerns
We’ve recently had some issues with people mini-modding, or editors taking it upon themselves to enforce the rules when other editors are breaking them. This includes things like posting “warnings” on other people’s message walls, posting as a reply “you broke the rules!”, or telling them to not do something because of it being against the rules. Often, this ends up creating more trouble for us administrators and moderators.

In order for the rules to be applied fairly to each editor, we often talk to each other about rulebreaking editors before we give out warnings and blocks so that all of us are on the same page. When people mini mod, they are taking their own interpretation of the rules, such as warning people for violating a guideline (which is the wrong thing to do, because guidelines aren’t necessarily rules but resources to fix editing disputes). Eventually, it just creates a lot of unnecessary drama that could have been prevented if it was reported directly to the administrators and moderators.

If someone is breaking a wiki policy, it is best to post a message on an administrator or moderator message wall. Don’t post on the rulebreaker’s message wall or forum post that you reported them or are going to report them. If you’re worried about the infringing user bothering or harassing you for reporting them, please ignore them, as we will manage it accordingly. When messaging the mods, it’s best to include a description of what is going on and a link to the specific contributions.

Necroposting
We’re once again bringing attention to our rules on necroposting. When you post on old and/or resolved threads just to get a random word in or to bump the thread unnecessarily, this is considered necroposting (aka necrobumping).

We do not allow necroposts, unless there is reason to bring the thread back up - which there rarely is. If there’s an old thread about a topic you are interested in discussing, it may be more appropriate to just make a new thread.

Remember - before you post on a thread, check the thread’s post dates and the dates of the replies! If it’s a few months old or more, don’t post on it. Additionally, if some moderation-related thread is clearly managed and resolved, do not post on it. Offer kudos or leave it alone, especially if it has no relevance to you.

Additionally, for clarification, repeated necroposting can result in a block. Our warnings for necroposting are often ignored as the user thinks that they aren’t going to get in any trouble if they keep doing it.

Edit warring
Edit warring is when two or more editors conflict over changes to a page, often undoing each other’s edits repeatedly with nothing being accomplished. In the last few months, we have seen a large amount of edit wars, often incited by the same users. We’d like to cover what you can do to edit or dispel edit wars in some easy steps:
 * 1) Assume good faith. Do not instantly out the opposing user as a vandal or other bad-faith editor. Assume that just like you, they think what they’re doing is right for the page.
 * 2) Don’t continue undoing the edits. Let it sit and move onto the next step instead of pressuring on the edit war.
 * 3) Post on the wall of the user that is edit warring with you, and invite them to talk about the edits. Explain your side and edits, and why you think your revision is correct. Do not attack the other user. It is best to call upon the Project:Manual of Style and other guidelines in this case to back up your edits.
 * 4) If nothing is being managed, or the other user is ignoring or arguing rather than discussing, contact a staff member for assistance. Sometimes the other editor just wants to argue and have their edit published without inputting any reason. That’s when you go ask an administrator or moderator for help to review and mediate the situation, if they haven’t already stepped in.

If you follow this general procedure, issues will be dispelled quickly instead of extending an edit war. It also possibly avoids additional moderation actions being taken upon yourself if you didn’t try to dispel the issue.

Additionally, here’s some tips for avoiding edit wars or other editing disputes:
 * Write a reason every time you undo. Don’t leave the field with the default text - at the end write why you undid the edit. Mass undoing without a reason may be questioned- make sure what you’re undoing is actually worth undoing.
 * Don’t assume it is vandalism unless it is clearly vandalism. Vandalism in itself is rather obvious, such as entirely unrelated commentary or deleting content off the page with no reason, or adding insults or rude language. Don’t call it vandalism unless it’s vandalism - and in which case after you undo the edit, you should inform an administrator!
 * Don’t attack the other user. Do not insult them for their opposing edits or opinion. Be open to their side of the edit war and do not throw back if they resort to attacking you (that’s when you call in a staff member).
 * Remember that editing disputes may not end how you wanted them to. Keep in mind sometimes the other side may have had the “correct” or more appropriate edit - and your changes or undoing may not be applicable. This is not necessarily a problem, so don’t hold it against them or anyone else.

Off-topic posting reminder
On many threads and article comments lately, especially our WWGTs, we have had to remove a large amount of spam and off-topic posts from them. Here’s a quick run-down of posts that should be avoided on forum threads, message walls, or comments:
 * Any post or response that has NOTHING to do with or does not contribute to the thread or topic!
 * Comments like “first”, “hi” (where not related), and other random words
 * On WWGTs, any post that is not playing the game or is meta (about the game/game’s management itself)
 * Posts on moderation notices and other similar messages that do not apply to you - this may be seen as interference or mini-modding
 * Thread derailing

Remember that repeated off-topic posts can result in moderation action! We consider these a form of spam if repeated, and may crack down on these as the wiki begins to experience increases of activity.

Prohibited thread topics
We have general guidelines on some things that should not be posted as forum threads or even blog posts. Since many people go here due to other major Roblox sites having rules against particular content, it should be noted that we also have rules against some of these topics.

Here are some topics that shouldn’t be posted:
 * Anything that already has a super-thread for it or plenty other active discussions about it - just go contribute on those (as long as it wouldn’t be necroposting).
 * New super threads and unofficial announcements - these should be handled by moderators or admins, if you think there should be one then please suggest them to make one.
 * Threads, posts, blogs, or comments solely about ban messages or about your ban or fake ban messages - these don’t contribute any discussion
 * Any false or misleading information or claims
 * Posts of personal attacks (PA) or “exposing” other editors, Roblox players/staff, YouTubers, etc.

About articles on leaks
Recently we’ve had a few issues with pages being created for items or events that are leaked. As a reminder - pages on leaks are not allowed! They fall under unofficial content, especially when things may be subject to change (which they often are).

Please wait for an event to be officially announced or an item to be officially released before making a page on it! If you want to create a page early, please do so under your userspace. 