Abnormalia policy

From Abnormalia

Current revision as of 22:27, 19 September 2006

If you do not agree with this policy

Use the discussion tab to suggest changes, removal of policies or the adding of new ones. Chances are you've got a point and the policy will be changed.
The discussion tab is also the place to go with questions regarding these policies. For general editing help, visit the Help section in the navigation bar.

If you want an example of how a page looks when it is made according to the rules stated below, have a look at the Template Page

Page Creation Policy

• To create a new page, simply add the desired name at the end of the wiki URL. For example, if you want to create a page called The Lindist Religion, type the following line into your address bar: http://editthis.info/abnormalia/The_Lindist_Religion. Use underscores to seperate words. Be aware that this will be the actual title of the page you create and it is case sensitive. Underscores will appear as spaces on the page itself.

• Include the subsection you are creating a pge for in the name of the page. Using the above example, the ONLY correct URL for the page would be http://editthis.info/abnormalia/Culture/The_Lindist_Religion If you are absolutely certain your article doesn't fit any of the existing subsections, you are allowed to create one as long as you provide us with the correct links on the relevant pages.

• Be as specific as you can. If you want to add an article about a race of elves you've created, do not name the page 'elves' but rather use the name of the race. Chances are you're not the only one who came up with a new elven race.

• Before writing the main body of your article, clearly mention if your article is science fiction/fantasy/other in nature, contains adult or otherwise potentially offense material and if other users are allowed to use the content of that page to create their own articles. A short mention of this at the top of the article will suffice, although you may specify if you wish. If you do not follow this rule, we will assume you approve of others using your content and will mark the page as such. If you specify that you do not want others to use your page, you are expected to fill in the red links yourself as soon as possible.

• The subsections are there for a reason. If you have created a forest, the article about that forest would go in the Geography section. If there is a tribe of people living in that forest, make a seperate article in the Races section and link to it. If these people follow a certain religion, the details of it would be written down in an article in the Culture section and, again, be linked to. You get the idea.

• After creating a new article, be sure to create a link in the relevant section.

• If you wish to create a page based on the work of another author (for example, someone has created a biography for a starship captain and you want to write an article about his or her ship) remember that the original author has every right to edit your article or even remove it according to his or her vision.

• Before adding a new page it's a good idea to have a more or less complete version of your article ready. Create your article in any text editor, run it through a spell checker, then copy and paste it into the edit field. This helps keep Abnormalia clean.

Content Policy

• When an author has specified that you cannot use the material on a page, respect that. The 'MAY NOT use this article' banner means that you cannot write anything to do with the content of that specific page. You cannot create biographies for the characters mentioned, nor for the races or places, nor fill in the red links. In short, if it's on there, you cannot use it in any way, shape or form. You can edit it however. See Editing Policy below for deatails. If the author has specified that certain actions are okay (such as no filling in red links, but okay to write biographies) you are free to do so.

• Untill further notice, articles submitted to Abnormalia must be speculative fiction. In the context of Abnormalia, this includes science fiction, fantasy, horror fiction, supernatural fiction, and magic realism.

• You are not allowed to submit any articles that reference existing persons, places, history (actual or alternate), events or mythology, nor obvious parodies of these. Be creative. It's what this wiki is for.

• This is an English wiki. All articles and discussions must be written in English. The ONLY exception is when you have created a language or are using a language created by another author. If this is the case, provide translations.

• Do not submit copyrighted work without permission. I cannot stress this enough. No idea exists in a vacuum and all artists have their sources of inspiration, however blatant plagiarism can and will get you permanently banned if discovered. When referencing the work of another author, be sure to do this in the form of a citation.

• You are allowed to use adult material in your articles if, and only if, it is relevant to the subject of the article and fits the theme of Abnormalia. Adult content is here defined as text/images that are sexual or erotic in nature, contain violence/gore and can be concidered shocking in any form. We do ask you to use your common sense and, more importantly, good taste. For example, if you wich to describe the process of childbirth for a particular race of people, it is expected that this article and associated images will contain references to sexuality. There is however no need to post a picture of a vagina. This will be concidered vandalism and may very well get you permanently banned. The exception is profanity. Outside of fiction, there is no need whatsoever to use profanity in your articles (unless you created a page about various curse words of a particular people. In that case, use your common sense)

• Be conciderate, think twice. When adressing hot topics such as paedophelia, racism, substance abuse or any other illegal subject, ask yourself if this is necessary for your article.

• Articles must be submitted in the form of a quasi-scientific article. This means facts, even if they are made up. For flowery prose we have the Fiction section.

• When submitting follow-up articles (for example, a biography of a hero you mentioned in a previous article) always assume your readers are not familiar with your previous articles. Imagine that this is the first Abnormalia article your readers see. Be as clear and factual as you can and use links.

• Link, link, link. This is a wiki after all. There can never be too many relevant links, internal as well as external.

Editing Policy

• You are ALWAYS allowed to edit articles to correct grammar/spelling/assorted editorial disasters and/or tidy the layout of the page. You are even very much encouraged to do so.

• Authors are asked to specify whether the allow or forbid the use of their original content. YOU CANNOT CHANGE THIS. Doing so will result in permanent banning.

• When editing the actual content of an article, be prepared to provide a clear, thourough explanation of why you chose to do this (inconsistency, scientific impossibilities, etc.) and remember that the author ALWAYS has the final word. It's their fantasy after all.

• You are free to edit key pages like the Main Page and Current Events. So far, the only protected page on Abnormalia is this one, the rest can be edited at your discretion. However we do ask you think this through.

• As an author, you have every right to forbid editing of your articles. If this is your wish, contact an admin to discuss the possibility of protecting your article, banning all users (including yourself!) from editing. But remember that Abnormalia is a wiki and the possibility to edit pages is a key feature. In other words, if you want your page protected, you're going to have to make a pretty good case. If you change your mind and want your page unprotected, contact an admin. If enough users request the unprotection of your aticle, an admin will discuss this with you.

General Rule

THE ADMINS ARE ALWAYS RIGHT. They have the final word in disputes, can and will ban you if you behave in a disordely manner and generally have the right to do anything they damn well please.