A note to editors: This page is several years out of date (as of January 2016). Look to the hyperlinks contained herein for more recent and accurate assistance.
The Star Wars Fanon FAQ page was created to answer potential questions new users may have in one place. If you're a new user, read on! It is a long page, but you don't have to read it all at once. Just search for topics that you are unsure about. Even experienced users can find some helpful tips here. An abridged version of this guide can be found here, and many questions link to further policies or help pages that explain topics in further detail.
If a popular question is not answered by this guide, feel free to add the question and an appropriate answer. This help page was created with the whole wiki in mind, and you can improve it! Remember: the more topics discussed here, the better guide it will be. Keep in mind that each topic is presented in question and answer (Q&A) format, and future edits should be formatted accordingly.
Star Wars Fanon[]
What is Star Wars Fanon?[]
- See also: Star Wars Fanon
The Star Wars Fanon wiki, frequently abbreviated to Star Wars Fanon, SW Fanon, or SWF, is a Wikia wiki founded by the user Neomessiah in 2005. Star Wars Fanon was created to serve as a fan fiction version of Wookieepedia, the Star Wars canon wiki.
It started as a small wiki, but Star Wars Fanon has grown—as a wiki and a community—since 2005. As of 2012, Star Wars Fanon has a total of eight administrators with one bureaucrat; twelve administrators and three bureaucrats have retired in the previous years. Since its founding, the wiki currently has 66,107 articles that are maintained by a consistent number of active users.
What is the purpose of Star Wars Fanon?[]
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:About
The purpose of Star Wars Fanon is best described on our main page: "Star Wars Fanon is a Star Wars fanon repository that anyone can edit." Star Wars Fanon is a place where fans of Star Wars can publish fanon articles or fan fiction works without having to worry about their content being deleted, as it would be on Wookieepedia. Users are free to create, edit, and maintain their works as they please, and they can even help other users through suggestions, comments, and good faith edits.
Can/will my work become canon?[]
Unfortunately, a handful of users on the wiki have, in the past, believed that their work will one day be published and become official Star Wars canon. The unfortunate reality for these people is that the odds of that ever happening are slim to none, and that is very likely an understatement.
Everything on the Star Wars Fanon wiki is precisely that: fanon. Although the use of the word is technically incorrect, "fanon" is defined on this wiki as fan fiction. Everything here is an unofficial creation of Star Wars fans with little to no chance of ever becoming an official work. Some users believe that they can send their fan fiction to Lucasfilm or even directly to George Lucas in order to have it published. However, this is not how the Star Wars publication process works.
The simple truth is that you cannot submit any of your work, or even any of your ideas for that matter, to Lucasfilm or Del Ray, the publisher, without them asking you to do so. Official Star Wars writing is by invitation only, meaning they will ask you to write a book if they want to. They will only ask you, however, if you are already a published author. In order to have any chance at ever being a contracted Star Wars writer, you need to write more than just Star Wars and you need to write it well enough so Lucasfilm and Del Ray take notice of you. Unless that happens, anything you write in the Star Wars universe will remain fan fiction.
Fan fiction writers who believe that their story will one day be published tend to be young and inexperienced with writing. A good deal of these people believe that they have written the best fan fiction story ever and that Lucasfilm and Del Ray would be foolish not to publish it. Again, you must first be an established writer, and they must contact you.
If someone is wondering whether or not their fan fiction will become official Star Wars canon, the best thing to tell them is to not get their hopes anywhere near up, because odds are it is never going to happen. That is certainly not to discourage fan fiction writing, though, as it really is a great amount of fun!
Community[]
What is there to do on Star Wars Fanon?[]
There is a lot to do on Star Wars Fanon and many ways to get involved with its community! Beyond creating your own articles, you can help other established users with their work, give advice to new users, contribute and vote in community discussions, edit your user page, set up a user blog, and help with maintenance around the site. Read on for some more ideas!
How can I improve Star Wars Fanon?[]
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:Things to do
- See also: Category:Star Wars Fanon maintenance
- See also: Category:Things to do
Like every wiki, Star Wars Fanon is always looking for users to make it better. After all, wikis are founded and run by the entire community, not only the administrators or users who have been around a long time.
No matter how many articles we have, there are always articles to be cleaned up. Cleaning them is very simple, and usually consists of fixing spelling, grammar, and stylistic errors. Once you're done, you may remove the appropriate templates from the page, or you can ask the user who put the template up to ensure that your work is satisfactory. Sometimes, there is still more work to be done.
Sometimes, users want input from other writers. Articles tagged as free-add, free-edit or free-use are available for you to edit! Free-edit and free-use articles are articles that the original author has no problem with you adding new information or details to, as long as you stay consistent with their previous ideas. Free-add articles are similar, but they are generally articles that contain lists that anyone can add to.
Currently, Star Wars Fanon has 25,337 files. Many of those files, for whatever reason, end up without a valid copyright tag or source. In accordance with Wikia's Terms of Use, all files uploaded to this wiki should attribute the creator of the medium, as applicable. Identifying any of these images with unknown source or copyright status would help keep those images on the wiki.
There are many other ways to improve this wiki besides the ways listed above. If you come across anything that doesn't work or needs improvement, be bold and try to fix it!
What forums should I use?[]
As you may have noticed while browsing the wiki, there are five potential forums for you to use. Each forum was created with specific topics and content in mind. For example:
- The Writing Center is a forum for all writers, whether fan fiction or articles, to improve their writing skills and receive feedback from other users. It is divided into several subforums, where you can receive constructive criticism and critique on your work, assistance on featured and good article writing, tips on better writing in general, and view all featured content that has been promoted using the Writing Center.
- The Consensus track is a forum dedicated to changing, discussing, or adopting site-wide policies and decisions. All proposals—from policy changes to template alterations—should go here before they are enacted so the community can decide whether they approve of the ideas or not.
- The Senate Hall is similar to the Consensus track, except that no actual decision-making occurs here. The Senate Hall is used for general discussion about matters that affect the wiki as a whole. Users with questions that do not refer to a specific article or general announcements could be placed here.
- The Fanon Cantina is used for casual discussion that does not belong in the other forums. This forum can be used for conversation about Star Wars, particular articles, requests for images or infobox help, and user-sponsored contests or events could go here.
- The Administrative requests forum can be used to contact the wiki's administration and is occasionally used to coordinate administrative issues or tasks. Any active administrator, or one with knowledge pertaining to your question or concern, will assist you as soon as they are able. Note that there are instances when you do not have to use this forum (i.e., high-scale vandalism) because active administrators will notice and take care of the issue.
Using this list as a general guideline, your questions or comments can reach the community in a timely and efficient manner. However, if you are still unsure where to put your forum post, be bold or ask someone who does know. There are plenty of users willing to help you make sure your information gets to the right place.
Do you have contests?[]
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:The Wiki Awards
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:Short Story Contest
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:Image Contest
The Star Wars Fanon community gets together three times a year to participate in wiki-wide contests. The Wiki Awards generally occur during the winter months, while the Short Story Contest takes place during the summer. The Image Contest does not yet have a general timeframe, but it initially occurred in the winter.
The Wiki Awards began in 2006. Since its inception, The Wiki Awards was run by a host; each year, the community chooses several users to set up the events leading up to The Wiki Awards, encourage community participation, and make sure the event itself runs smoothly. Users participate in The Wiki Awards by entering their articles in one or more categories. Each of these categories defines a broad range of articles (best Sith, best Imperial, best battle, etc.), promoting a wide selection of articles each year. These articles are then voted on by the community after a nomination process. All users are encouraged to contribute to The Wiki Awards, although they are encouraged to submit works done by other users instead of their own.
The Short Story Contest began in 2009. The Short Story Contest is also run by a host, with similar responsibilities to the host(s) of The Wiki Awards. However, unlike The Wiki Awards, the Short Story Contest is exclusive to fan fiction. During the course of the nomination process, users enter their written short stories in a variety of categories, including best drama, best action, and the like, before the community gets a chance to vote. Like The Wiki Awards, community-wide participation is encouraged, even if you don't nominate anything yourself.
The Image Contest was first held in 2010. Its format was similar to that of the Wiki Awards and Short Story Contest, but focused solely on user-generated artwork across the wiki. Images ranging from hand-drawn to digitally created, book covers to logos, and characters to vehicles were nominated and voted upon by the community. Unlike the other two contests, the image contest's entries were judged by a variety of criteria, including stylistic and artistic merit, as opposed to the subject matter.
Articles and fan fiction that are lauded in these contests may later be nominated for featured article or featured work status, respectively, if they have not received the honor already.
What are administrators/bureaucrats?[]
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:Administrators
Administrators are users who possess special editing tools unavailable to other users. For example, they can delete and restore articles, block users, and move a near unlimited number of pages. Despite having these special administrative editing tools, administrators are no different than any other user. They have no authority to assert over members, nor is their influence meant to be greater than anyone else's. Administrators are chosen by a community-based election process. Bureaucrats are users who are chosen in a similar manner and are essentially similar to administrators, but they have the ability to appoint administrators at the behest of the community.
Administrators and bureaucrats are trusted members of the community with experience working with users and the wiki itself. However, before turning to the administrators for help, you should try to contact the community to see if they can help you. Oftentimes, the community can be just as helpful as the administrators. That said, if you have a particular administrative issue that needs to be addressed or would like one-on-one assistance, feel free to contact one of our administrators. They don't bite and are always happy to help.
To contact an administrator, you may post a forum thread here or request their help on one of their talk pages.
Can I become an administrator?[]
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:Requests for user rights
Of course! Administrators on this wiki are elected by the community. Typical candidates for adminship should be active, have earned the trust of the community through their edits and interactions, be eligible to vote in accordance to the voting policy, and understand the responsibility they will take on as an administrator. If you feel that these qualities apply to you, and you believe that the community could use another administrator, feel free to put in a request for adminship!
To begin the nomination process, you may be nominated by another user or nominate yourself. However, you cannot vote for yourself in either case. A request for adminship is considered successful when you have the majority of user votes—the status of other nominees does not affect your own candidacy— and support votes from the majority of existing administrators when the voting period ends.
When can I vote?[]
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:Voting policy
Although any user can contribute to site-wide discussion, the community has decided that only users with more than one hundred (100) mainspace edits may vote in consensus tracks, contests, and regular events like featured article and user of the month nominations. Under no circumstances are anonymous votes allowed, and users cannot vote for themselves in all nominations. This also prohbits vote-stacking, such as voting with a different account or sockpuppet.
Policies[]
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:Simplified ruleset
- See also: Category:Policies on Star Wars Fanon
Keep in mind that these explanations are merely summaries of existing policies. The goal of this section is to ease new users into learning as much information as they need to edit their own articles and become a responsible member of the community. With that in mind, it should be noted that users are required to know all of the policies and their content; ignorance is no excuse. This section will highlight important and confusing policies so as to answer questions that may arise while trying to read policies in their entirety.
Community behavior[]
How should I act toward other users?[]
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:Civility
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:No personal attacks
On Star Wars Fanon, users ought to promote courtesy and respect in their interaction with other users. Users should strive to get along with others even if another user acts, thinks, or contributes differently than you. This includes being courteous, calm, and patient with other users, even when they do not treat you kindly. Civility encourages a friendly and welcoming atmosphere where contributors do not have to worry about others users degrading them or their work.
As part of an online community, users ought to be tolerant and understanding. Personal attacks against another user, whether racial, sexual, homophobic, ageist, religious, ethnic, or obscene in general, will not be tolerated. Likewise, harassment and threats are unacceptable. This includes insulting another's work, vandalism, and making inflammatory comments meant to elicit a reaction from another user.
When in doubt, treat others the way you would want to be treated on the internet.
Can I post information about myself here?[]
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:Privacy policy
You are not required to post any personal information about yourself on this wiki, but you are free to provide all the information you want on your userpage, provided that it does not violate other policies. However, you should know that if you are under thirteen (13) years of age, it is illegal for you to divulge your age in accordance with United States federal law. If you admit to being under thirteen while editing Star Wars Fanon, you will be subjected to a block until you are old enough to legally contribute to the wiki.
What does 'all users are equal' actually mean?[]
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:Equality policy
Star Wars Fanon has a diverse community. That said, all users—from regular contributors to administrators—are considered equal when policies have to be carried out. Physical or mental conditions, age, writing skill, status, and time spent on the wiki do not exempt users from following the rules.
What is considered disruption?[]
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:Impersonation
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:Sockpuppet policy
On Star Wars Fanon, the community strives to create policies through consensus and solve disputes through discussion. It is inevitable that some users may feel that they have been treated unfairly, either by an administrator or another user, or disagree with a specific policy enacted by the wiki. In the past, these users have taken out their frustration or discontent by doing all they can to oppose whoever or whatever they disagree with. Whether they are gaming the system or exploiting loopholes in an attempt to get their way, these actions are frowned upon and uncalled for. If you have a grievance with a particular aspect of the wiki, take it up with the community or administrators, depending on the issue.
The acts of impersonation and sockpuppeting are considered forms of disruption. Users impersonate another when they create an account that is very similar to another user in an effort to defame them or act in their name for whatever reason (for example, if a user created an account called "Anakin Sky-walker" when "Anakin Skywalker" was already a user on the wiki). Sockpuppetry on this wiki is described as a secondary account created by a user. Many users create these accounts with good intentions; for example, in the case of a lost password or when a user wants to start over, due to bad decisions in the past. However, due to potential for abuse, sockpuppets are not allowed on Star Wars Fanon. If it comes to the attention of an administrator that you are using more than one account, one will have to be blocked on Star Wars Fanon.
There are two exceptions to this sockpuppet rule. One deals with bot accounts. Bots are accounts that have been created for automated or semi-automated maintenance purposes and are clearly marked as such. Therefore, cannot vote in community decisions and are not allowed to contribute toward consensus. The other exception is in the case of a lost password. The administration understands that sometimes circumstances lead users to be cut off from their account. After contacting an administrator and informing them of your situation, users may create a new account to replace their old one. Their old one will be subject to a block at the administration's discretion. Keep in mind, there are several methods of recovering your old account, including using the "Forgot Password" feature provided by Wikia.
When can I edit another user's article? When can they edit mine?[]
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:Editing policy
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:Assume good faith
You may edit another user's article if you are fixing spelling or grammatical errors, categorizing the article, reverting vandalism, creating a disambiguation page, posting a maintenance template, altering the article's format to adhere to the wiki's guidelines, or altering prose to read more smoothly. Keep in mind that while changes to things like spelling and grammar are objectively beneficial edits, there are some—like stylistic or prose adjustments—that could be seen as subjective. If the author of the article disagrees with your edits, they are free to revert them even though they are considered permissible edits.
Impermissible edits include adding, deleting, or altering the storyline, plot, or necessary content of an article without explicit permission from the author. Vandalism in general is unacceptable. Please keep in mind that when you add a template to another user's article, you should follow all instructions provided with the template, including explaining your reasoning behind posting said template on their page. Not doing so is frowned upon even though placing the template is a permissible reason to edit the article. If you deem an article to be low-quality, you should also do your best to improve it, or at least help the author improve it.
In the majority of cases, the author should assume good faith before accusing a user of making impermissible edits on their article(s). Most users are only trying to help; if they did make an impermissible edit, then the action can be reverted and the user informed of their mistake—politely. If the edit was not made in good faith, either the author or another user can revert the content in question and then contact an administrator to deal with the issue.
Another user vandalized my article! What should I do?[]
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:Reverting vandalism
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:Vandalism is not a game
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:Don't feed the trolls
To revert vandalism, in the vast majority of cases, all you have to do is go into the article's "History". From there, you can either "undo" the vandal's actions, or you can find the last non-vandal edit and save it (effectively overwriting the vandal's edits). In either case, the vandal's work is removed and the author's edits are restored. In some cases, it is necessary to contact an administrator to suppress the vandal's edit or repair an image so it won't show up in the page history. If the vandalism continues excessively and the vandal has not been banned, consider contacting an administrator for assistance.
If a vandal has edited your article, do not panic. It is not necessary for users to make a game out of or call attention to reverting vandalism. Fixing vandalism is just as effective when done without recognition and quietly, and it is less likely to incite more malicious edits. Wikia makes reverting the majority of vandalism quite simple, so removing and fixing vandalism should be the duty of every user.
Just as vandals shouldn't be incited by users reverting their work, trolls should not be fed. A troll is a user who joins the community to receive a specific (often negative) response through his actions. For example, if a troll makes a demeaning remark about an ethnic group, he expects members of the community to criticize and insult him—in practice, they become trolls themselves—before he is eventually banned and expelled from the wiki. Do not encourage their behavior. If a troll tries to incite you into a debate or a 'flame war', ignore him or her and report the issue to an administrator.
Content[]
What kind of content can I post here?[]
- See also: Star Wars Fanon: Content policy
- See also: Star Wars Fanon: No joke articles policy
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:Crossover policy
Star Wars Fanon is a host for all kinds of non-canon work, from fanon articles on various content to fan fiction stories. However, Star Wars itself is a story for all ages, and editors should be mindful of younger members of the community in their work.
With that in mind, the wiki has a few checks to ensure that articles and other works of fiction remain suitable for all audiences. Severe profanity is not allowed, but profanity in general can be used in works according to the author's discretion. Since Star Wars is a tale about conflict, some violence is to be expected; however, excessive violence for the sake of violence or shock value is frowned upon. Likewise, content or images of erotic nature for sexuality's sake is not allowed. Authors should use such content or images sparingly and in good taste. Pornography is prohibited under all circumstances. Racism toward real world races is not allowed, although in-universe racism (e.g., Kuati Humanocentrism) is permitted. In any of the above situations, pertinent templates for tagging excessive elements can be found here.
If editors keep the above rules in mind, they are free to write about anything they wish, with two noteworthy exceptions. Joke articles and crossover content are not permitted on this wiki. If the community decides that a particular article was deliberately created for only humor or as a joke, then the article will be deleted and the author advised to move their content to Darthipedia, one of our official partners. However, Darthipedia also maintains standards for its content, so articles that are also junk should not be directed there.
Crossovers are articles or stories that take elements from the Star Wars universe and combine them with elements of another fictional universe (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Spider-Man, Transformers, etc.). These are not allowed on Star Wars Fanon, whether in the form of out-of-universe or in-universe content. Note that using similar names, the same names, common themes, or images from other franchises or series are not considered crossovers and neither are homages or allusions. Like joke articles, potential crossover articles can be nominated for deletion or alteration by the community.
What is the Manual of Style and the Layout Guide?[]
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:Manual of Style
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:Layout Guide
The manual of style and layout guide are two policies that outline how fanon articles should look when posted on the wiki. With the goal of quality and uniformity, all articles—whether dealing with out-of-universe or in-universe content— should follow both policies as much as possible. Although this section cannot cover the entirety of both policies, it will include a brief summary of them, for the sake of a new user.
On Star Wars Fanon, articles can be written in two perspectives: out-of-universe (OOU) or in-universe (IU). The former generally refers to articles on authors, fan fiction series, video games, music, and the like. In-universe articles detail such things as characters, vehicles, battles, events, or objects that exist in the Star Wars universe itself. When writing in-universe, authors should refer to topics and information by in-universe descriptions or titles. For example, what is known as "English" would actually be called "Galactic Basic Standard".
All fiction is written in tenses that include past, present, and future. Out-of-universe articles can be written in any of the three, depending on what they are about and what they pertain to. On the other hand, in-universe articles should always be written in the past tense because the events of Star Wars—from the creation of its universe to millions of years after the movies—happened a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.
In an effort to maintain an encyclopedic style, all articles ought to be written in what is considered a neutral point of view (NPOV). This means that the writing style/narrator does not obviously favor one side over the other. For example, talking about Darth Vader as "the cruelest and most genocidal Sith in the galaxy" in an article is not encyclopedic. It is impossible to write without any form of point of view, but articles should be written in such a way that both angles of an issue are explored or one side is not necessarily posited as the only correct one.
Beyond the prose of the article, the manual of style and layout guide detail spelling, grammar, and formatting conventions. These can be seen in later sections or in the policies themselves.
Please note that fan fiction segments are exempt from the stylistic demands of the manual of style and layout guide.
What are the rules on naming articles?[]
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:Naming conventions
When creating article titles, they should be written in a singular form, as opposed to plural. For example, an article about droids would be titled Droid, not "Droids". When writing an article on an event, group, and other topics, leave out "the" in the title (Sith instead of "The Sith").
The first word of an article's title is usually capitalized, even if it is not a proper noun, like Lightsaber. However, all other words in the title that are not proper nouns should be lower case, including topics from systems and sectors (Nerezza system) to droid models (OTI-87 disco droid). Likewise, the first letters of a character's name and surname are generally capitalized because they are proper nouns. Full names, in general, are preferred to partial names or nicknames. When at all possible, avoid using nicknames, ranks, titles, and forms of address in the article's title. In this case, the article Revan should not be titled "Mysterious Stranger", "General Revan", "Lord Revan", or "Mr. Revan". The only exception to this is the Darth title, which is generally considered a name instead of simply a title in-universe; ergo, an article can be titled Darth Vader instead of simply "Vader".
What kind of files can I upload to Star Wars Fanon?[]
Images are, by far, the most prolific type of files uploaded to the wiki. Image types accepted include .jpg, .gif, .png, and .svg, among others. Animated .gifs are not allowed in articles under any circumstances, but they can be used in user pages. A complete list of files that can be uploaded can be found at Special:Upload. Video cannot be embedded or placed into articles and it is generally frowned upon using them elsewhere.
Further information on uploaded files and images can be found in the "Contributions" section.
What about copyright? Who owns this content?[]
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:Copyrights
Text written on Star Wars Fanon is licensed under the Creative Commons – Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 license. This includes all pages on the wiki, whether they are out-of-universe or in-universe. Please note that the editing policy has little to do with copyright and has more to do with community interaction and editing. For a full explanation of the rights granted to the author and readers of articles on Star Wars Fanon, please see the policy page or the Creative Commons link posted there.
All images are copyrighted to their initial copyright holders. In case there is a dispute on copyright status or the legality of displaying a particular image on Star Wars Fanon, the administration will take whatever steps are necessary to see the issue resolved.
What is the three-revert rule?[]
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:Three-revert rule
The three-revert rule was adopted as a means to protect against virulent arguments and repeated edit conflicts that result from constantly trying to revert article content. This rule states that a user may revert an edit done to an article back to an old version of the page no more than three times during a 24-hour period. Although this sort of edit conflict is not as prevalent on this wiki as others, this rule can serve as a deterrent from reverting article content repeatedly without first discussing the issue with all parties involved.
This rule does not extend to circumstances like dealing with vandalism, when reversion is always considered a good faith and permissible edit.
Administrative action[]
Someone deleted my article/file! What do I do?[]
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:Deletion policy
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:Deletion page
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:Mass deletion FAQ
If your article or file was deleted, there is a very good possibility that it violated one or many Star Wars Fanon policies. When an article is deleted by an administrator without consulting the community, it is known as "speedy deletion". Articles deleted in this manner are articles that an author no longer wants or needs, articles containing harsh jokes or personal attacks, articles that are gratuitously sexual or violent in nature, or articles that fail to abide by the manual of style. In the latter case, the administrator will generally clean up the article in question and alert the author to write future articles according to the manual of style before any deletion occurs. Beyond these examples, articles that are directly copied from Wookieepedia or some other wiki will be deleted immediately.
In most other cases, articles will be put up for deletion discussion. In this case, whether the offending article is not explicitly violating any policies or the author of an article would like to oppose a speedy deletion, the community may vote to determine whether the article should be deleted. After a set period of time, based on the support or opposition to the deletion, administrators will see to it that the article is deleted or kept, respectively. Violation of the community consensus (i.e., recreating the article in question) is grounds for a block.
Files can be deleted if a duplicate exists elsewhere on the wiki, or if the file is considered copyrighted and is not allowed to be used at all.
Articles and files are never deleted based on the perceived merit or worthiness of the story, content, or media in question. If you are still unsure why your article or file was deleted, or you want to contest something that was deleted, please contact an administrator.
Can an administrator protect my pages?[]
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:Protected page
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:Requests for protection
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:Talk page protection
Page protection is used to lock certain pages from community editing. When a page is protected, only users with certain privileges—including administrators and staff members—may edit them. Some pages are protected permanently, such as MediaWiki pages and the main page, due to the fact that if a vandal or disruptive user edited these pages, any malicious edits would be visible to all users and hamper site activity. Other pages are temporarily protected, mostly due to persistent vandalism or as a safeguard while testing for possible bugs. Some pages are not fully protected; instead, they are protected from anonymous (or IP) users, allowing only users who have registered to edit them.
Therefore, page protection is done on a case-by-case basis, and administrators do not generally protect pages simply because an author wants their pages "secured". If, however, there has been a reoccurring issue of vandalism or unwanted edits against your articles, consider contacting an administrator.
Why was I blocked?[]
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:Blocking policy
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:Vandalism
Users are blocked or banned for two primary reasons: vandalism or a breach in policy.
A vandal is a user who makes a conscious and deliberate effort to lower the quality of the site. This includes removing all content from a page for no reason, moving page titles so they contain inappropriate or unrelated names, and spamming, among other things. Although administrators always assume good faith before they block a user, there are times when actions are repeated in bad faith; it is then that the perpetrator is blocked from Star Wars Fanon for their actions.
Any user caught using another author's fanon without permission, creating a sockpuppet or evading a ban in general, launching personal attacks, or violating copyright can also be banned. In general, if a user does not follow community guidelines or policies, they will be warned and then blocked if their actions are not changed, in accordance to our policy.
Administrators make a point to warn productive editors several times before they are blocked. If this was not the case, or you still do not know why you have been blocked, please contact the administrator who blocked you via chat or IRC.
Miscellaneous Rules[]
What can I put on my user page?[]
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:User page policy
In general, users may post whatever they please on their user pages, so long as it does not violate any of Star Wars Fanon's other policies, including the content policy. Your user page, along with all appropriate subpages and talk pages, are considered yours in the degree that you will be the primary editor of them; however, other users may occasionally edit these pages in good faith to update coding, remove vandalism, and place fitting templates, among other things. Despite the fact that a user page can be used as a "home page" and can be used for a multitude of purposes, it should not be your primary contribution to this wiki.
Like user pages, you have privileges when editing your user subpages. These subpages may be about just about anything and do not have to refer to any manual of style or layout guide, as long as the content is pertinent to Star Wars or this wiki. Examples of valid uses of a subpage include posting information about the number of featured articles you have written or posting rough drafts of future articles.
What is the signature policy?[]
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:Signature policy
Across Star Wars Fanon, from talk pages to forums, comments from users should be signed with three or four tildes, like so: ~~~ or ~~~~. The former displays your personal signature without a date, the latter has a timestamp to show when the message was written. Either way, users are expected to sign all posts appropriately.
Signatures are customizable, just like user pages; however, there are a few rules concerning the content of your signature. Signatures may not contain animated .gifs, must contain your actual user name (or a common name), may only contain relevant links, and may not be excessive in length.
I want to create a blog. What should I know about them?[]
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:Blog policy
- See also: Help:Blog articles
If you've been online, chances are you've seen a blog before. On Wikia, blogs are pseudo-articles written and maintained by a single author that are set up in the wiki's blog namespace where they can be commented on, voted on, and organized into a searchable list. Bloggers should be civil at all times, and content should be related to Star Wars, Star Wars Fanon, or behind the scenes content relevant to the site. Blogs are not soapboxes for debate or discussion, and they are not encouraged for social messaging. Otherwise, an author is given free-reign over their blog. Bloggers may publish behind the scenes information on fan-created works—including articles, fan fiction, etc.—or describe the progress of the aforementioned works. Further, bloggers may write reviews on canon Star Wars products, offer suggestions or constructive criticism for other authors, and may occasionally post humorous content.
What is the IRC/chat policy?[]
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:IRC policy
Star Wars Fanon's IRC channel, #swfanon, is a tool that can be used by the community for a large number of events and collaborations. Wikia has recently released a chat feature that serves a similar purposes, which can be found at Special:Chat. Because the IRC and chat are still a part of Star Wars Fanon, many of the same rules apply to ensure communication continues smoothly across the wiki.
Civility and assuming good faith are required on #swfanon and chat as much as they are while you contribute to the wiki itself. There is no excuse for being a pain or making hostile remarks against others while chatting. Ops are restricted to administrators—and sometimes bots—due to frequent abuse of operator status, although exceptions can be made based on community consensus. Op privileges should be used sparingly, and bans should only be issued as a last resort. If you attempt to override another op's ban or kickban, be sure to contact the op who initially carried out the action to discover why the user was blocked from the channel in the first place.
If there is a topic, do not try to change or disrupt it; let the current conversation or discussion run its course, even if you find it dull or uninteresting. Do not spam or disrupt the chat for any reason—it is an annoyance to everyone in the channel. In addition, impersonation is often frowned upon, and common nicknames are recommended when using #swfanon or chat. This allows everyone to know who everyone is, creating a much more amicable atmosphere for everyone.
What are droids/bots?[]
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:Droids
Droids, or bots, are automated accounts that are run by a user to perform repetitive tasks. They are not actually users, and they cannot respond to talk page messages. Due to the nature of a droid, community approval is necessary to receive the bot flag that hides edits from the recent changes.
Contributions[]
Basic editing and maintenance[]
How do I create an article or start writing fan fiction?[]
- See also: Help:Editing
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:Sandbox
There are several ways to create your content. The easiest way to create an article is to type the name of the article you want to create into the creation box on Star Wars Fanon's main page. From there, you will be brought to the editing menu; you can proceed to add content to the article from there. Another option would be to type the name of the article you want to create into the wiki's Google search bar and click on the name of your article (which will be a redlink) at the top of the next page. Then you will be brought to the editing window.
An older way that some users still employ to create articles is to edit an existing article (preferably your own, as long as you do not save the article) to show a link to the future article. From there, click the "Preview" button to show the redlink, and then start writing at the new editing window.
After you have finished entering the necessary content in the editing window, you can preview your changes by using the "Preview" button below the editing window to view how the article is going to look once it is created. If you simply want to view the changes you have made to the article since its last edit, you can use the "Changes" button, located near the "Preview" button. If you are not pleased with your changes or not finished editing, simply keep writing until you are finished. If you are finished, however, use the "Save Page" button to confirm your edits and publish them so other users can see.
How do I change the title of an article?[]
- See also: Help:Moving pages
You can change the title of an article by using the "Move" tab at the top of the article. From there, enter the new name of the article in the space provided, and then select whether or not you want to move the corresponding talk page—it is generally a good idea to do so. You should also update any redirects to link to your new page by marking the appropriate box. Once you are finished, select the "Move page" button and your action will be carried out.
Keep in mind that regular users are restricted to the number of times they can change the title of articles per day; this is done as a precaution to prevent page-move vandalism.
How do I categorize an article?[]
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:Categorization
To categorize an article, go to either the very top or very bottom of your article and type the following: [[Category:name of category]]. You do not need to limit your article to a single category; on the contrary, you should try to categorize your article so that it is placed in all relevant and necessary categories.
Categorization is an easy way to keep track of articles and organize them in neat, alphabetic lists. Try to categorize all your articles. A complete list of all categories can be found at Special:Categories.
How do I delete an article?[]
- See also: Help:Deletion
Articles can only be deleted by Star Wars Fanon administrators or bureaucrats. Do not leave a message on an administrator's or bureacrat's talk page asking them to delete pages; instead, place the deletion template, {{Delete}}, at the top of the page. You may include a reason for the deletion by adding a piped link, like so: {{Delete|Reason for deletion}} The article will be deleted when an administrator looks through the Category:Articles for deletion page.
Article formatting[]
- See also: Help:Formatting
An extensive description of wiki formatting and when to use it can be found in our Coding Tutorial.
Images[]
How do I upload an image?[]
How do you place an image in an article?[]
How can I modify my image?[]
All three of these questions can be answered in our tutorial on to the image policy.
Templates[]
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:Templates
How do I use an infobox?[]
Infoboxes are templates that can be used to give a general outline of an article. Category:Infobox templates contains a list of all the infoboxes that are currently used by the Star Wars Fanon community. Simply find the infobox that bests fits your character and then copy and paste the relevant code from the infobox page into your article. If you think an infobox is not present that should be, leave a message on an administrator or burueacrat's talk page, and they shall try to assist you in creating a new infobox to fit your needs.
Once the infobox is in your article, you can fill out all the necessary fields; you do not have to fill out every available field. If you do choose to skip over a section, be sure to leave it blank. Do not delete it.
Infoboxes are not required by any means, but they give your article a professional look, and it gives the reader more information from the start, allowing them to know what to expect. Some infoboxes, especially battle and war infoboxes, are important because they give an overview of a broad topic, in this case numbers pertaining to troop counts and casualties. Keep these things in mind as you write your article.
How do I create an infobox?[]
Infoboxes are somewhat complicated to create. It is generally better to find one that has already been created and use that one; however, if none of the infobox templates available suit your needs, consider asking an administrator or particularly tech-savvy user to help you. If all else fails, you can copy and paste the code from another template and change the color and text values.
What is a userbox and how do I create one?[]
- See also: Help:Userboxes
Userboxes are small templates that Star Wars Fanon users can place on their userpage. They can be used to display a user's opinions on Star Wars, interests, or hobbies. To create a userbox, use the following code: {{userbox|color of left box|color of right box|insert heading or image here|Insert a message}}. To demonstrate how it works, we will use that exact code to create a small userbox with the wiki's logo in it at 75 pixels that will be white and gray in the left and right boxes, respectively.
|
This is a userbox. |
How do I organize my userboxes?[]
Layout schemes for userboxes can be found in our userbox tutorial.
Accolades[]
What is a good article?[]
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:Good articles
Good articles on Star Wars Fanon are articles that have been deemed higher quality than the majority of articles on the wiki. As such, they are worthy of recognition by our Council of Seers and the community at large. Although good articles are not as "prestigious" as featured articles (see the next section), but they are often the first step an article will take toward featured status. Articles of good article status are well written, comprehensive, and detailed, are nearly or completely finished by the time of the nomination, and follow all site policies and article guidelines impeccably. Each type of article (character, vehicle, battle, etc.) has its own requirements that ought to be considered prior to the nomination process. Good articles tend to be, but are not always, shorter than featured articles.
What is a featured article?[]
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:Featured articles
Featured articles are considered the best Star Wars Fanon has to offer. They are more regarded than good articles and are showcased on the main page for recognition by the community. These articles have all the qualities of a good article, including being detailed and lengthy enough to describe the topic thoroughly. Featured articles are considered models for users seeking to understand or emulate the manual of style and layout guides. As with good articles, each type of article nominated has its own specific requirements, and featured articles have far more requirements than good articles to adhere to a stricter standard of quality. All featured articles are subjected to a thorough review by the Council of Seers before they are granted featured article status.
How do I write a good or featured article?[]
The Star Wars Fanon Wiki has a tutorial for writing featured articles, which will put you ahead of the game while writing good articles.
What is a quote of the week? Can I make one?[]
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:Quote of the Week
Quotes of the Week are quotes, taken from article quotations or excerpts from fan fiction, that are voted upon by users and showcased on the main page for a week. These quotes are chosen based on originality, insight, wit, humor, and other qualities that define the work it was from. Quotes should be able to "stand alone"; they should not require extensive context or reading the original source to understand the impactfulness of the quote.
Any user can nominate a quote for this particular accolade, and the quote can be from any article or work, as long as it is sourced properly.
Who is the User of the Month?[]
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:User of the Month
The User of the Month is a user who has been a committed user throughout the wiki who encompasses the community spirit that the wiki describes and truly strives to improve the wiki, its content, and its through his or her actions. Helping new users get used to the wiki and its polices and assisting experienced users with projects and contributing to votes and consensus are several exceptional qualities that users look at when picking a User of the Month. Users nominated for this award are meant to be the best examples of what Star Wars Fanon has to offer.
What is a featured work?[]
- See also: Star Wars Fanon:Featured works
Like featured articles, featured works are the best fan fiction that Star Wars Fanon offers its community. These fan fiction works do not have to adhere to the manual of style or other article writing policies, but they do have to be well written, engaging, and be complete upon nomination. Covers are encouraged, but they are not necessary. Aside from the aforementioned policies, most other Star Wars Fanon content polices apply. Featured works are reviewed by the Archivists, who determine whether the work in question is of featured quality through painstaking reviews.
Miscellaneous links[]
Getting started[]
[]
Editing and improvement[]
- Sandbox
- Star Wars Fanon guide and help pages
- Writing Center
- Improvement drive
- Picture drive
- Categoryless articles
Content Requests[]
Community[]
- Current events
- Forums
- FanonProject
- IRC channel & Wiki chat
- Official blog
- Completely Unofficial Star Wars Fanon Newsletter (since discontinued)
Managing users rights[]
Administrative links[]
- Find an administrator
- Administrative requests forum
- Administrative templates
- Articles for deletion
- Categories for clearing and deletion
- Protected titles
Useful links[]
- Policies on Star Wars Fanon
- Advisory templates
- Copyright templates
- Infobox templates
- Userbox templates
- Utility templates