Rules

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Revision as of 21:07, 28 March 2008 by WikiSysop (Talk | contribs) (Addition to rule #1: Trying to cool down "competitive" articles, and reduce the usage of strong emotional language.)

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Rule #1: Neutral Point of View

This isn't a message board. This is an encyclopedia - a reference document - as such, personal opinion should be avoided wherever possible. Any opinions stated should represent what is considered true by the majority.

Addition (28th March, 2008): While negative (or positive!) opinions of certain community groups may be held by the majority of your own, please do not make direct comparisons with these other community groups. Let the facts speak for themselves. It is bad form to say, for example: "artwork X is better than artwork Y because 1, 2 and 3", or something like: "forum X is different to forum Y because (insert praise for forum X here)". If you must insert self-praise, please just state facts, e.g. "We have a large community of X members".

Strong emotional language is frowned-upon. Things like "Site X is the heart & soul of the community". Strong emotional language is not indicative of neutral point of view. Be proud, but keep cool. Again - the facts should speak for themselves.

Rule #2: Get Permission

Permission should always be sought for the reproduction of fan-created works.

This is a simple courtesy to the artists involved, not a copyright issue, given that the works are produced in themselves without permission for the purpose of personal entertainment.

Rule #3: Keep It Clean

External links may not be made to material which would bear an R rating.

Do NOT reproduce (quote) excerpts of works which (in themselves) would earn a rating higher than 'All Ages'

Please refer to the Ratings Guide for a description of the different ratings used here.


Reference material which must cover contentious topics (which cause distress for many people) should be kept mature, brief, clean, and should be presented with neutrality. Such topics include drug use, sexual content (especially homosexuality), violence, coarse language, horror, nudity and so on.

This site should be kept suitable for all ages. Examination of "mature" subject matter that may not be suitable for all ages is acceptable, as long as the examination in of itself is kept clean, and doesn't become an "illustrated" depiction. This also means that curse words will not be used. If you even think about using one, then it is suggested that your current mode of writing is perhaps unsuitable for inclusion on this site in any case.

Rule #4: Don't Vandalise

Vandalism, in terms of this wiki, means changing something for reasons beyond the pursuit of accurate, informative, and complete content. Be mature, play nice. If you're uncertain if a change should be made or not, use the discussion page. However, do not use the discussion pages as off-topic chat rooms, or a place to flame. Keep things clean and polite, or your actions may be considered vandalism.

Think about what you're doing. You should be able to judge for yourself the difference between a valid change and vandalism.

Vandalism will be acted upon quite harshly, so be warned - you'll be unlikely to get a second warning (depending upon the severity of the case in question).

Rule #5: Spelling and Grammar

This is not a chat room.

Contributors should always strive for concise, well constructed English when submitting material to this site.

Only accepted written English contractions and shorthand should be used, if any.

You will include proper punctuation, and double-check it.

You will proofread your submissions before submitting.

Misspellings and so on can of course still occur, but I cannot stress the importance of proofreading quite enough. The #1 tip for effective proofreading is to read it out loud.

Contributors who submit changes/articles containing internet shorthand, little or no punctuation, consistent spelling errors, and/or unintelligible garbage will likely receive a couple of warnings, with consequent recurrences resulting in a ban (from contributing, not viewing).

Rule #6: Keep Images Small

  • Don't abuse the file upload functionality. This is not a replacement for other RR image archive sites.
  • A full size image must be under around 50kb (and generally should not be larger than 800x600 pixels - preferably smaller, depending on the case).
  • If you are uploading an image for use as an icon, please resize the image appropriately before uploading.
  • GIF or JPG formats should be used, rather than PNG.
  • Images should be used sparingly.
  • If larger images are needed, then feel free to link to a (suitable) external page using an external URL.

Rule #7: Don't Store Fan Creations

This isn't a storage facility. Suitable fan-fiction, fan art, and other fan creations may be linked to externally, but not stored here. Extending Rule #6... An extremely important piece of fan art may be stored in lower resolution form (800x600 or less), but it would be the only exception to this rule. Under other circumstances, links to external sites should be made.