The Sims Wiki:Policy/General Policies

These policies apply to all users. They cover general user conduct and basic Wiki rules. Also be sure to read over the wiki's list of community guidelines.

Changes to these policies should be proposed and discussed on the talk page.

General Rules
These are the general rules of the Sims Wiki. If these rules are broken, warnings and/or bans will be given out, as specified.

Vandalism of any kind is prohibited.

Inappropriate words, such as cuss words and other profanity, are strictly forbidden on articles, userpages, usernames, discussion pages, and in the Forums. This wiki caters to a general audience.

If a page is created on a topic already covered with different spelling it is up for immediate deletion or a #REDIRECT. Also if a page is created with Vandalism it is also up for immediate deletion.

Blocks will escalate in severity if multiple offenses are committed. General Admins like Wikia admins, vstf, and helpers may use discretion when blocking a user, as that user may or may not be doing cross-wiki vandalism.

Sock puppetry is prohibited:
 * The general rule is one editor, one account; bots are an exception, but bot ownership must be clearly stated on the bot userpage.
 * Do not use multiple accounts to mislead, deceive, or disrupt; to create the illusion of greater support for a position; to stir up controversy; or to circumvent a block.
 * Do not ask friends or family to create accounts to support you.
 * Exemptions to this rule may be granted so long as only one registered account is used to access and edit the wiki at any one time, and as long as it is clearly stated on the account userpages that the accounts are linked. Please contact an administrator for further conditions regarding this rule.
 * Violation of this policy will result in a block (possibly permanent) against the "main" account, and permanent blocks for all inappropriate socks.

 is prohibited. An edit war occurs when two or more users within a short window of time make multiple edits or reverts to a page, with the result of those edits being that the same or similar information is repeatedly removed and re-added. The following are exemptions to this policy:
 * Reverting one's own actions (self-reverting)
 * Reverting edits to pages in one's own user space, as long as they respect policy (see TSW:UPP) and the material is appropriate
 * Reverting edits to one's own fanon (note that if all warring parties are listed as authors on the fanon page, normal edit warring rules should apply, as all authors on a fanon are expected to be able to collaborate and work out issues with discussion, not reverts)
 * Reverting edits that are clearly vandalism or spam. See Wikipedia:Vandalism and Help:Spam.
 * Reverting edits that contain material that is illegal under US Law, such as child pornography and pirated software, or content that is prohibited under Wikia's Terms of Use.

 ''This Rules Policy has taken effect as of 28 March 2008. Sock Puppetry rule has taken effect as of 30 January 2011. Edit warring rule has taken effect as of 19 March 2016.''

IRC Channel
The Sims Wiki has a dedicated IRC (Internet Relay Chat) Channel that is open to all editors on the Wiki and allows live communication between multiple editors in real-time. By using the channel (Freenode/#wikia-sims), you agree to be bound by these policies as well as any applicable IRC or freenode rules or terms of use, and acknowledge that violation of policies can result in being kicked or banned from the channel. Note that the freenode IRC channel is not affiliated with Wikia.

The following rules govern use of the IRC Channel:


 * There is no official topic of the channel; it may be used to discuss the Wiki, discuss The Sims, or simply to build community. However, discussions on the channel must remain appropriate for a general audience.
 * Excessive spamming of the channel, either through inclusion of nonsense or in linking to other websites multiple times even after receiving an operator's warning, will not be tolerated and may result in a kick or a ban, depending on the amount and type of spam and if severe enough, a sanction on-wiki may be given.
 * Harassment, exploitation of other users, attacks against other users, trolling or flaming, may be addressed by an operator on the channel, either through a kick from the channel, or a permanent ban from the channel and in a severe enough case, may result in an on-wiki sanction.
 * Feeding the troll/counter-trolling doesn't make you any better than the actual troll. If you encounter a troll, please inform a chanop who will deal with it - do not retroactively attack said troll otherwise you may also be dealt with in the same manner as a troll.
 * Bots are welcome on the channel as long as consent is given by an operator. Any bots found to be overly disruptive, such as spambots, will receive a permanent ban at an operator's discretion.

Channel operators
Operators are trusted users that have been granted the ability to kick or ban users who do not follow the policies set above. A kick is a temporary removal from the channel and serves as a warning. A ban can have a limited duration or be indefinite, depending on the severity of the case and any past action taken against the user. The duration of a ban will correspond roughly to the existing policies on blocking users from the Wiki.

IRC channel operators may be administrators on the wiki, but they are not required to have said flag. IRC channel operators may be marked with an @ symbol, but may not wear the flag all the time. A list of operators can be found here.

Voice
To help protect the channel in the event of abuse, trusted regulars of the channel may be voiced. Voiced users are shown with a + symbol preceding their name, and are permitted to speak even when the channel has the 'moderated' channel mode set. The 'moderated' channel mode prevents all users that do not have channel operator or voice from speaking in the channel, and is used in the event of extreme or widespread abuse.

There are no special policies or rules surrounding the granting of voice; in general, users wanting to be voiced should be trusted not to flood or disrupt the channel, and should have a freenode account. They may then contact a SuperOp or higher and request voice.

Any channel operator may, at their discretion, temporarily grant voice to a user in the event that a) The channel has the 'moderated' mode set, b) The user has a need for voice at that very moment, and c) Does not have a freenode account. Voice granted in this manner will be lost when the user in question leaves the channel.

These IRC Channel Policies have taken effect as of 13 September 2010; these policies were amended on 21 August 2012, and again on 19 June 2016.

Chat
In addition to IRC, The Sims Wiki has a dedicated on-wiki Chat feature as part of the MediaWiki software which also allows real-time communication between users of the wiki. By using Chat, you agree to be bound by these policies and acknowledge that violation of policies can result in being kicked or banned from Chat.

The following rules govern use of Chat:
 * Like IRC, there is no official topic and any kind of discussion is allowed whether it be related to the wiki, The Sims as a series or anything off-topic. However discussions must be suitable for a general audience.
 * Spamming/flooding Chat will not be tolerated and may be given a kick and/or a ban from Chat and in severe enough cases, an on-wiki sanction may also be applied.
 * Harassment of other users, flaming or trolling is unacceptable and may be addressed by an administrator via a warning, kick or a ban from the Chat and if severe enough, may result in an on-wiki sanction.
 * Evading a ban using sockpuppets will result in a ban on-wiki too as part of our policies which forbid sockpuppetry.
 * Use of any language other than English may warrant a kick or ban, especially if it is used to insult or harass users without their knowledge.

Chat moderators
Chat moderators are marked with a star next to their name when viewed in Chat; Administrators are chat moderators by default. They are able to kick or ban users who do not follow the policies set above. A kick is a temporary removal from the Chat and serves as a warning. A ban can have a limited duration or be indefinite, depending on the severity of the case and any past action taken against the user. The duration of a ban will correspond roughly to the existing policies on blocking users from the Wiki. Bans from Chat can be viewed here.

These Chat Policies have taken effect as of 21 August 2012.

Forums
The Sims Wiki policy on Forums.


 * 1) Inappropriate words, such as cuss words and other profanity, are strictly forbidden.
 * 2) Advertisement to other sites and wikis is prohibited. Linking to other sites in regular conversation is acceptable.
 * 3) Links to any inappropriate site/webpage are completely forbidden. The wiki must remain appropriate for a general audience.
 * 4) Trolling, flaming, etc. is also prohibited. Doing so will result in a block time of 3 days. Repeated offenses will result in a longer or indefinite block.
 * 5) Spamming is not allowed. Doing so will result in a block time of 3 days, to an indefinite block, based on the severity of the spamming, or its persistence.
 * 6) General misuse of the Forums will result in a warning, block from the Forums, or a block from the wiki, depending on the severity of the situation.

This Forums Policy has taken effect as of 29 January 2011.

Userpage policies
The following policy applies to all user pages, as well as all pages in a user's personal user space.
 * 1) Edits to the userpages of other users are only allowed for maintenance purposes, or to revert vandalism. It shall be at the discretion of the userpage owner and the administrators to determine whether an edit made to a userpage is in good faith.
 * 2) Users can add or keep "Friends Lists" on their userpages. Only the page owner may edit the list.
 * 3) Administrators may edit userpages for the purposes of maintenance, vandalism cleanup, enforcement of policy, or posting of special awards received. Awards posted to a user's userpage should be accompanied by a notification on their talk page, and awards posted may be removed by the page owner.

This Userpage Policy has taken effect as of 8 May 2013.