The Sims Wiki:Custom content policy

Draft

This page is still a draft. The policy is being discussed at Forum:Merging with the Customized Sims Wiki.

The Custom content namespace on The Sims Wiki is used to document notable pieces of custom content created by The Sims community, such as lots, houses, Sims, neighborhoods, worlds, and mods. All pages on custom content must follow this policy.

NB: The Sims Wiki is not a file sharing or file hosting platform, and does not host any custom content. It only seeks to document and provide information on existing pieces of custom content.

What goes in the custom content namespace

The custom content namespace is defined by any page that begins with the prefix Custom content: (note the colon). Pages that start with this prefix are automatically located in the custom content namespace. Content that goes in this namespace include player-created:

• Objects
• Mods and hacks
• Neighborhoods and worlds
• Sims
• Lots and houses

The "main" or "article" namespace is defined by any page that does not begin with any prefix. For example, Sunset Valley and Alexander Goth are in the main namespace as they do not begin with any prefix. These are considered to be "ordinary" articles and form the bulk of the wiki's content, documenting canonical subjects such as pre-made Sims and neighborhoods. There are some topics that may understandably be thought of as belonging in the custom content namespace that should go in the main namespace:

• Third-party programs and tools (e.g. SimPE)
• Custom content creators (if they are notable enough)
• Custom content hosting websites

Notability

See also: The Sims Wiki:Notability Policy

There are hundreds of thousands of custom content available for The Sims series, ranging from simple clothes and furniture to houses and community lots, or even game changing mods and entire ready-to-play neighborhoods. Although The Sims Wiki contains a lot of information, it is not an indiscriminate collection of information, meaning that not everything goes. Custom content listed on the wiki needs to have attained a certain level of notability for inclusion.

Notability is usually decided on a case by case basis through community discussion and consensus building. There are a few basic guidelines as to what constitutes as a notable piece of custom content:

• It must be substantial. This can be hard to describe, but a general rule is that it needs to be more than something that can be thrown together in a few minutes. A few suggested guidelines for different pieces of custom content are listed below:
  • Objects: Simple recolors of existing objects are not notable for inclusion. Similarly, most pieces of furniture also do not make the cut, since there is very little to write about even in terms of a well-made bed or dresser. Objects that include new interactions are almost always notable. We may also include extremely bizarre or radical objects too, such as J. M. Pescado's OMGWTFBBQ.
  • Lots and houses: Lots need to contain a substantial amount of development or be themed after a notable place in real life. For example, a recreation of the Winchester Mystery House may be considered notable, while a recreation of the apartment you lived in when you were twenty-five may not.
  • Mods and hacks: Mods and hacks that change one small aspect about the game, such as a non-notable typo or a very simple behavior change, are not considered notable enough for the wiki, unless such mods are very widely used and have significant implications. Mods and hacks that introduce significant new features are usually notable enough for inclusion.
  • Neighborhoods and worlds: Neighborhoods and worlds need to be in some sense "complete"; that is, they must have enough lots for the neighborhood/world to be playable and enjoyable, and preferably they should already have some custom Sims living in there. The custom content namespace is specially tailored towards these custom neighborhoods and worlds, as they tend to require the most amount of work to produce. Neighborhoods and worlds that do not contain any lots or Sims are not notable. A neighborhood or world that contains lots but no Sims can still be considered notable if the neighborhood/world is otherwise complete.
• It needs to be publicly accessible. Notability is determined when it is notable in the public sphere. A piece of custom content that is notable within a private circle is not considered notable enough for The Sims Wiki. Additionally, custom content that is only shared via private or unlisted download links is not considered notable unless significantly documented elsewhere. In short, it should be evident that the custom content exists by doing an Internet search outside of The Sims Wiki.
• It should have been talked about or referenced somewhere else. This is not a strict requirement, but custom content that has been mentioned by a website other than the creator's own can be considered more notable than content that has not been mentioned anywhere else. Note that this guideline is fairly weak compared to the first two; simply being mentioned elsewhere does not automatically guarantee notability, nor does the lack of mention mean the content is not notable.

Verifiability

Verifiability means that other users can look up the information provided on the wiki on other sources, such as another website. In the main article namespace where regular wiki articles reside, this is possible through people owning copies of The Sims and being able to verify that the information on the wiki matches what is found in-game. For custom content, this is possible through people downloading copies of the custom content to verify the information on the wiki is accurate.

As such, all custom content must be publicly accessible. A publicly accessible piece of custom content is one that is either:

• ...hosted on a proper custom content sharing site. These include The Exchange, Mod The Sims, The Sims Resource, among others. These websites list custom content in a user-friendly format, providing creators the ability to upload screenshots and write descriptions on the custom content, and will provide a download link that other users can use to obtain the custom content in question. Some websites may also offer additional social features such as the ability to message creators and leave comments.
• ...documented on the creator's website or blog. Creators that do this include J. M. Pescado, Cyjon, and AroundTheSims. The custom content can be hosted on a file hosting website such as Dropbox, Google Drive, or Sim File Share, and are linked to from the creator's website.
• ...has enough credible sources pointing to its existence. This is not a strict requirement, but a piece of custom content that has enough links pointing to it from third-party websites may be considered verifiable enough for inclusion. The custom content should still be publicly accessible and free to download.

The Sims Wiki is not a hosting service for custom content that has not been uploaded or documented anywhere else. It is not a platform for creators to share their works for the first time; rather, it serves as an encyclopedia to report on information that is already published somewhere else. If you are a creator and want your creation to be featured on The Sims Wiki, at the very least it needs to be listed somewhere else first, such as a custom content sharing site, a forum for custom content, or your own website or blog. Custom content that is not publicly available cannot be included on The Sims Wiki. Note that most file formats used by custom content creators may not be uploaded to the wiki.

Paid custom content

Custom content that is located behind a paywall or requires payment to access is not forbidden on The Sims Wiki. Although anti-paysite advocates have long argued that such content is against EA's EULA, The Sims Wiki should remain neutral on these matters. That being said, we do not consider sites like Paysites Must Be Destroyed, which host paysite content for free, to be illegal, and will not remove links from these websites. A piece of custom content that meets the notability and verifiability guidelines above can be considered for inclusion even if they are located on a paysite and require payment to access. If the custom content can be obtained from Paysites Must Be Destroyed, it will also be considered publicly accessible.

Custom content creators

A few custom content creators are notable enough to belong in the main namespace. Examples include J. M. Pescado, Mootilda, and NRaas Industries. Most custom content creators, however, are not notable enough for their own article in the main namespace and should not have an article there. For the purposes of organization, however, all custom content creators who have notable content in the custom content namespace may have a "list" article in the custom content namespace. The purpose of these articles is to provide a brief introduction on the author and to list any custom content they may have that is notable enough for the wiki. These lists are meant as a guide for readers, linking them to the relevant articles and to the creator's websites or social media accounts. For example, Custom content:Hood Building Group lists the names of the creators behind the group, along with a list of creations that they have released under the same banner.

Custom content websites

Custom content websites that are notable enough for mention on the wiki belong in the main namespace, not in the custom content namespace. The personal websites of creators are generally not considered notable enough for the wiki, and any such relevant content should be merged with their respective pages. For example, Cyjon's website itself is not notable enough for the wiki, although Cyjon the modder is.

Differences between the custom content and fanon namespaces

The fanon namespace houses all the "fan-fiction" content of The Sims Wiki. It is primarily intended for users to be able to showcase and document the Sims in their own game, either for leisure or for storytelling purposes. There are some important difference between the fanon and custom content namespaces:

Aspect	Fanon namespace	Custom content
Ownership	Pages in the fanon namespace are considered to be "owned" by one or more authors, who have the freedom to edit pages that they own however they like. Other editors are advised to refrain from editing these pages except for very minor changes, such as typo fixing.	Pages in the custom content namespace are owned by the community at large and can be created or edited by anyone.
Notability and verifiability	Content documented in the fanon namespace do not need to be "notable", nor do they have to be available for download publicly. They can be the author's own personal Sims in their game and do not need to be shared anywhere else. Fanon content can even be entirely fictional, such as a fictional mod or expansion pack. Fanon content itself does not require any demonstration of notability, although fanon pages must still contain some level of content in accordance with the fanon policy.	Content documented in the custom content namespace must be publicly available for download somewhere, and must be significant enough to warrant their own article. "Hoax" articles about non-existent or fictional custom content are not acceptable.
Style of writing and tone	Content in the fanon namespace does not need to be written in an encyclopedic tone. It can be written like a fan-fiction or as a story if the author so chooses.	Content in the custom content namespace needs to be written in an encyclopedic tone like other articles in the main namespace.
Organization	Content in the fanon namespace can be organized as the author sees fit.	Content in the custom content namespace should be organized in a similar fashion to regular wiki articles. For example, if two pages have conflicting titles, both should be renamed to different titles with parenthesis distinguishing the two from each other, and a disambiguation page should be created to list all conflicting titles.
Intent	The fanon namespace was created with the intent of allowing users to freely create pages on their own Sims, neighborhoods, lots, and stories. It is not intended for documenting custom content in an encyclopedic manner.	The custom content namespace was created with the intent of documenting custom content created by The Sims community. It is not intended for storytelling or other forms of fan-fiction.