The Sims Wiki:Protected page

Administrators on The Sims Wiki can protect and unprotect pages. Protection of a page or image means that a non-admin cannot modify it. Administrators can also semi-protect a page, which prevents unregistered users and new users from editing it, but allows longer-term users to edit it.

The majority of pages on The Sims Wiki are not protected. Pages may, however, be temporarily or permanently protected for various reasons.

Uses of full protection

 * Protecting the wiki's policy pages from vandalism.
 * Preventing vandalism to templates used on a significant number of pages.
 * Maintaining the integrity of the site's logo and favicon.
 * Maintaining the integrity of key copyright and license pages.

Uses of semi-protection

 * Protecting the main page and templates used on the main page.
 * Protecting complex or widely-used templates from edits by inexperienced users.
 * Protecting individual pages that have been repeatedly or severely vandalized by numerous unregistered users.

Cases when protection is not used
The application of page protection or semi-protection typically falls to the administrators. However, there are some instances where page protection should not be used. Page protection should not generally be used to:
 * Prevent edits to talk pages. Talk pages should remain open to all edits, especially if the parent article is locked.
 * Protect user pages, especially user pages of administrators.
 * Preserve a particular version of a page that an administrator prefers or feels is valid, over other possibly valid versions.
 * Protect pages that do not have a history of vandalism.

What to do if a page is protected?
Editors wishing to edit a protected page may suggest edits through that page's talk page. If an editor is unsure of why a particular article is protected, they may ask a member of the administrative team, preferably the person who issued the protection in the first place. If an editor cannot determine the reason why a page was protected or believes a page should be unprotected, they can propose page unprotection on the administrators' noticeboard.