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Encyclopedia SpongeBobia
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(merged with promotion policy (ESB:Discussions/Promotion policy (3)/voting))
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*C. Unspecified sources
 
*C. Unspecified sources
 
:*1. Any source not mentioned in this guideline should be discussed by the community to determine if it is acceptable or not.
 
:*1. Any source not mentioned in this guideline should be discussed by the community to determine if it is acceptable or not.
 
===V. Administration===
 
*A. Adminship Requirements {{Policy-revised|Remove administrator requirements|October 13, 2014}}
 
:*1. There are no requirements prior to making a request to be an administrator.
 
 
*B. Bureaucrat Requirements {{Policy-revised|Administrator policies (August 2014)|August 10, 2014}}
 
:In order for a contributor to qualify for bureaucrat, they must meet the following.
 
:*1. User must be a current member of the administration who has been an administrator for at least two (2) years.
 
:*2. User must have at least 2,000 edits, of which at least 1,000 are main namespace edits.
 
:*3. User must demonstrate that all their edits are positive, and further the goal of improving the wiki.
 
:*4. User must demonstrate use of proper spelling and grammar.
 
:*5. User must demonstrate good reasons for any questionable edits.
 
:*6. User must have full support of all other active bureaucrats.
 
:*7. User must have support from a majority of active administrators.
 
:*8. Any administrator requesting promotion to bureaucrat that does not meet the criteria outlined in clause 1, above, may be waived if the request is supported by all other active bureaucrats and the requester has been an active administrator for at least one (1) year.
 
 
*C. Administrator Duties {{Policy-revised|Promotion policies/2|October 26, 2015}}
 
:*1. When a user is promoted to the administration, they have more privileges than the average user. They are expected to use these powers with good judgment and follow all the rules.
 
   
 
===VI. Promotion policy===
 
===VI. Promotion policy===

Revision as of 19:40, 7 March 2016

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There are very few policies which apply across all Wikia. These can be found on the Central Wikia at Wikia:Category:Policy.

The policies specific to Encyclopedia SpongeBobia are found below. These rules must be obeyed.

Index

The following is an index to the policies of Encyclopedia SpongeBobia. These are broken into different categories:

  • I. Policies - the rules of the wiki and how different aspects function.
  • II. Guidelines - the Manual of Style for the wiki in regards to content formatting, templates, etc.
  • III. Glossary - a guide to the meaning of certain terms.

Key

The following is a key to the format of ESB policy.

  • Article - each policy is broken down into articles, which categorize a particular policy category and are designated by Roman numerals (I, II, III, etc.)
  • Section - each article is broken down into sections for organizational purposes. These are designated by capital letters (A, B, C, etc.)
  • Clause - a section may be divided into a clauses for further organizational purposes. These are designated by numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.)
  • Subclauses - clauses may be divided further (a, b, c, etc. and i, ii, iii, etc.)

The Rules

I. Definitions

  • A. Introduction
  • 1. The definitions in this section apply to the entire policy page.
  • B. Definitions
  • 1. Administrator - any user of the wiki with sysop privileges.
  • 2. Article - a piece of writing included with others in a newspaper, magazine, or other publication. (revised May 11, 2015)
  • 3. Ban - a permanent removal of a user's ability to contribute to the wiki.
  • 4. Block - a temporary suspension of a user's ability to contribute to the wiki.
  • 5. Bureaucrat - any administrator of the wiki with bureaucratic privileges.
  • 6. Compilation - a thing, especially a book, record, or broadcast program, that is put together by assembling previously separate items. (revised May 11, 2015)
  • 7. Consensus – when 70% or more of the participants of a discussion are in favor of the proposal after seven (7) days or more of discussion. (revised April 28, 2015)
  • 8. Content dispute - any disagreement in regards to content on the wiki.
  • 9. Edit war - a dispute in which two or more editors revert changes to an article back and forth between opposing revisions.
  • 10. Fanon - any SpongeBob SquarePants in-universe or merchandise-related content not officially released by Viacom via a press conference or the Nickelodeon TV channel, and information that can be derived from that.
  • 11. List - a number of connected items or names written or printed consecutively, typically one below the other. (revised May 11, 2015)
  • 12. Page header - individual headers within the article are designated by equals signs (i.e. ===Header===)
  • 13. Page title - the title of the article that appears at the top of the page and the URL
  • 14. Partial revert - reversing only part of a prior edit, while retaining other parts of it.
  • 15. Resign - the voluntary act of giving up a promoted position. (revised November 18, 2015)
  • 16. Retire - the voluntary act of giving up a promoted position and ceasing activity on the wiki. (revised November 18, 2015)
  • 17. Revert - reversing a prior edit, which typically results in the article being restored to a version that existed sometime previously.
  • 18. Sandbox - a page for testing.
  • 19. SpongeBob SquarePants fansite - any website that contains SpongeBob SquarePants-related information.
  • 20. Suspension - the temporary removal of a promoted user's privileges. (revised November 18, 2015)
  • 21. Termination - the forced removal of a promoted user from a particular position. (revised November 18, 2015)
  • 22. User - any member of the wiki's community including contributors, administrators, and bureaucrats.
  • 23. Vandalism - any change in content that is intended to be negative.
  • 1. Active User - any user in which one or more of the following applies:
  • a. Any user that has made over one hundred (100) contributions within one (1) month preceding the present date.
  • b. Any user that is actively involved in any of the ESB official discussions as well as any of the ESB official chatrooms, including ESB Chat and Skype (SpongeBobia Chatroom, ESB Administrators, ESB Bureaucrats, etc.). By actively involved, meaning participating in conversations on a regular basis.
  • 2. Semi-Active User - any user in which both of the following applies:
  • a. Any user that has made between one (1) and ninety-nine (99) contributions within one (1) month preceding the present date.
  • b. Any user that is occasionally involved in ESB official discussions as well as any of the ESB official chatrooms, including ESB Chat and Skype (SpongeBobia Chatroom, ESB Administrators, ESB Bureaucrats, etc.). By occasionally involved, meaning participating in conversations on a not-so-much regular basis.
  • 3. Inactive User - any user in which both of the following applies:
  • a. Any user that has made less than (99) contributions within one (1) month preceding the present date.
  • b. Any user that is rarely involved in ESB official discussions as well as any of the ESB official chatrooms, including ESB Chat and Skype (SpongeBobia Chatroom, ESB Administrators, ESB Bureaucrats, etc.). By rarely involved, meaning participating in conversations every once in a while.

II. General policies

  • 1. Do not attack other users personally.
  • a. Do not make threats toward the wiki or any user.
  • b. Do not call any user any name directly or in reference to said user that are deemed derogatory. This includes, but is not limited to: idiot, jerk, stupid, retard, etc.
  • c. Accusing or assuming a user have a certain condition, especially in a discriminatory way.
  • 2. Do not discriminate other users based on their religion, political affiliation, sexual preference, or anything else. It is strongly recommended that users do not mention their religion, political affiliation, sexual preference or anything else that could cause tension. A minor biography is all that is necessary, however the administration will never stop you from adding more to your user page, unless any problem arises from comments made.
  • 3. Do not use profanity. You can say "damn" as it was used in the first movie, possibly "hell" if in the context. This also means no use of the words such as "f***", even when used as an expletive.
  • a. Any use of profanity in general will result in consequences.
  • b. Any use of profanity directly toward other users will result in a more severe consequence.
  • 4. Do not add or link to content that is inappropriate for younger readers/contributors (someone that is under 8 years old.)
  • 5. Do not correct other people's use of grammar on discussion pages, message walls, or the forums unless it is in regards to grammar use in an article.
  • 6. Any issue that anyone may have with a user may be reported to the report user page.
  • 1. Do not vandalize anything on the wiki.
  • a. Spam
  • b. Nonsense edits
  • c. Removal of good quality content
  • d. Blanking of pages
  • 2. Any user who continues to revert or change articles to a previously lower quality version will be blocked per the blocking policy.
  • 1. When using the forums make sure that the topic presented has something relevant to the topic of the Wiki and SpongeBob SquarePants. Any off topic discussion may result in the closing or removal of the thread, along with any necessary warnings or blockings.
  • 1. You do not own your userspace, it is given to you to help people know you better. The administration reserves the right to remove any content they feel is inappropriate.
  • 2. Do not forbid anyone from leaving you a message on your message wall.
  • 1. Do not directly ask for the sysop, bureaucrat, rollbacker, or any other similar tool directly. Use the request form here and make sure you qualify.
  • 2. Do not pose as an administrator if you are not. Administrators are the only ones allowed to inform a user that they have been blocked or banned.
  • 1. Each user is only allowed one account, unless you have a good reason that can be approved by the administration. In that event, all users must identify themselves as the owner of the accounts on the user pages.
  • 2. Only administrators may have a bot account. This account must be flagged after a discussion.
  • 1. If an administrator requests a response from a user regarding an issue, that user must acknowledge and respond to them. If the user makes more than twenty edits after the time of the administrator's message, this will be considered ignoring and consequences will follow.
  • 2. Extended conversations regarding topics unrelated to this wiki or SpongeBob SquarePants in general are not allowed on this wiki. Such conversations will be removed.
  • 3. Do not discuss another wiki's issues on this wiki, it is not the right place for them.
  • 1. For your own safety, you are not obliged to reveal your personal information.
  • 1. Content from Wikipedia is allowed to be copied to Encyclopedia SpongeBobia. See Licensing at Community Central.
  • 2. Copying of any content from another website without the permission of its authors is prohibited.
  • 3. Any attempts by any user or administrator to return (including reverting) content that contain copied material from another website is prohibited.
  • 4. Any violation of this section will be dealt with in accordance with the blocking policy.
  • 5. If required, all copied content must be tagged.
  • 1. Do not reply to forums threads, messages on other user's walls, or blog posts that haven't been replied to in three months or more without an administrator's permission.

III. Content

  • 1. This is an encyclopedia and providing complete, accurate, and quality information is of utmost importance.
  • 2. Do not speculate anything unless it is an implication. If this is the case, then add {{Citation Needed}}
  • 3. All guidelines must be follow in regards to article formatting, content, and layout. (See here)
  • 4. Do not use the words "We, I, you, etc." This creates confusion between users and the articles. Refer to everything in the third person.
  • 1. Do not create articles that have nothing to do with SpongeBob SquarePants.
  • 2. Do not create articles that are not relevant to SpongeBob SquarePants. This is not Wikipedia.
  • a. A person, place, or thing is relevant to SpongeBob SquarePants if it has appeared in episodes, shorts, films, games, merchandise, and the like.
  • b. People, places, or things that are relevant but not sufficiently relevant enough for their own articles may be included in a list or some other related article.
  • c. Linking to non-existent articles about people, places, or things that aren't relevant will be treated the same way.
  • 3. Definitive content includes all content that is defined as having relevance to merit their own articles. This includes, but is not limited to:
  • a. All episodes and their respective transcripts, galleries, and credit lists.
  • b. All films and their respective transcripts, galleries, and credit lists.
  • c. All shorts and their respective transcripts, galleries, and credit lists (if the information is available).
  • d. All games, including console video games, PC games, and online games.
  • e. All books that are considered merchandise.
  • f. All members of the cast and crew that have worked on the show and/or have provided their voice to portray character(s).
  • g. All seven main characters and their respective galleries and appearance lists
  • i. Those designated as main characters are SpongeBob, Squidward, Patrick, Mr. Krabs, Sandy, Gary, and Plankton
  • h. All major and minor characters that contain a sufficient amount of information.
  • i. All home video releases, including VHS, DVD, Blu-Ray.
  • j. Common objects with a sufficient amount of information (i.e. Krabby Patty)
  • 4. Definitive content which is not relevant to have their own articles includes but is not limited to:
  • a. Some very minor characters/characters with little information, such as only a single line or two.
  • b. Certain objects, especially those with little information, such as only a single line or two.
  • c. Insignificant products that do not have a sufficient amount of information.
  • d. Any implied content that does not have a sufficient amount of information. That can be included here: List of implied content.
  • 1. SpongeBob SquarePants often crossovers with other entities, especially other Nicktoons shows. For this, it is necessary to include policies to the regard.
  • 2. All crossover characters that are not native to the SpongeBob SquarePants universe do not merit their own articles. Instead, they belong on a list.
  • D. Fanon
  • 1. Fanon is not allowed at Encyclopedia SpongeBobia, unless it is discussed in chat, forum, or blog. Do not create articles on fan-made content.
  • 2. All fan-made content is to be placed at the Fanonia SpongeBobia, which was specifically created for such content.
  • E. False/unsourced information
  • 1. Do not insert false information. Continuing to do so after being told to stop is considered vandalism.
  • 2. Do not intentionally insert false dates and/or ages on any article without a source.
  • 3. Any user who violates clause 2, above, after an administrator requests a source be provided will result in a block.

IV. Sources

  • A. Acceptable sources
  • 1. Nickelodeon: Any source that is an official Nickelodeon Source. Including interviews and blogs made by or performed on Nickelodeon staff, its Twitter, Facebook, Vine, and Tumblr.
  • 2. SpongeBob: Any source from a staff member of SpongeBob SquarePants or Its Facebook page, including any Twitter account of a staff member of SpongeBob and the Facebook page.
  • 3. TV Guide: It is a schedule that is limited to a TVs range of dates.
  • 4. The social media accounts for the people who are making video games, comics, DVDs/Blu-ray Discs, rides, and books and organizing events.
  • 5. Trusted news sources that are acceptable by a vote of the Encyclopedia SpongeBobia community.
  • B. Unacceptable sources - every other source that is not the ones listed above. They include, but are not limited to:
  • 1. Any TV guide that is not the TV Guide or Nick.com's TV guide, including but not limited to Metacritic, IMDb, TV.com, etc.
  • 2. Any blog or social media that is purely speculation or fanon.
  • 3. Wikipedia due to the nature of it's content creation; instead, seek out the sources referenced by Wikipedia and ensure it falls under an acceptable source.
  • 4. Any website that contains sources from the places that are allowed, but speculate on any information about dates or names.
  • C. Unspecified sources
  • 1. Any source not mentioned in this guideline should be discussed by the community to determine if it is acceptable or not.

VI. Promotion policy

  • 1. General
  • a. Promotions at ESB fall into two categories: minor roles and major roles.
  • i. Major roles are bureaucrat, administrator, and assistant.
  • ii. Minor roles are all other positions, including but not limited to: rollback, chat moderator, and thread moderator.
  • b. When a user is promoted, they have more privileges than the average user. They are expected to use these powers with good judgment and follow all the rules.
  • 2. Anyone seeking to be an administrator, bureaucrat, or chat moderator must make the request by filling out a form so the community can discuss the request.
  • 3. Application process
  • 1. Anyone making any request for chat moderator, assistant, administrator, or bureaucrat, must follow these procedures.
  • 2. They must create a request page using the form, ensuring they fill out the reason and follow the proper requirements.
  • 3. Applicants shall not use any images to advertise "support" for them, so as to discourage unqualified users who seek the support of others who do not consider their qualifications.
  • 4. Applicants shall not force other users to support them. Applicants are allowed to notify other users of such discussion, without imposing an agenda (such as using images to advertise for support, as in clause 3, above).
  • 4. Voting
  • a. All users are welcome to participate in promotion discussions.
  • b. Any user who participates in such a discussion and is subsequently blocked, their vote will not count if they are still blocked at the point in which the request is closed.
  • 5. Length of request
  • a. Chat moderator, assistant, administrator, and bureaucrat, requests are to last no shorter than seven (7) days from the time the applicant makes the request.
  • b. Early closing
  • i. If an applicant has the support of at least 90% of participating administrators, they may be promoted after three (3) days.
  • ii. If more than half (50%) of active administrators do not support the user's application, the request is unsuccessful and may be closed.
  • 6. Closing requests
  • a. Any applicant that has 70% support of all votes shall be promoted after the seven (7) days.
  • b. Only bureaucrats can close administrator requests, as they have the ability to promote those that are successful in their application.
  • c. If a user makes a chat moderator, assistant, administrator, or bureaucrat request but fails to be promoted, they must wait at least seven (7) days before making another request, unless their request is endorsed by all active administrators bureaucrats.
  • 7. Non-request roles
  • a. In addition to administrators and bureaucrats, there are other non-administrative positions at Encyclopedia SpongeBobia.
  • b. Assistants, Rollbacks and thread moderators do not require a formal request. Instead, they must contact an administrator or bureaucrat directly.
  • c. Assistants are appointed when a majority of bureaucrats (50% or more) support the promotion of a user to this position.
  • d. Rollbacks and thread moderators are appointed at the discretion of the administration.
  • 8. Invalid requests
  • a. Anyone who makes an administrator, bureaucrat, or chat moderator request in which they leave the "reason" for applying blank, must fill in the reason within twenty-four (24) two (2) hours of the creation of their request or else the request will automatically be closed as unsuccessful invalid.
  • b. Anyone who makes a request for chat moderator, assistant, administrator, or bureaucrat and does not meet the listed requirements, the request must be closed as invalid unless otherwise stated.
  • 1. General requirements
  • a. General requirements apply to assistant, administrator, and bureaucrat requests and those involved in the decision process determine whether or not the user meets the requirements per the success or failure of the request.
  • b. User must demonstrate that all their edits are positive, and further the goal of improving the wiki.
  • c. User must demonstrate use of proper spelling and grammar.
  • d. Any exceptions to these requirements may be waived by a unanimous vote of all bureaucrats.
  • 2. Assistant requirements
  • a. User must have at least fifty (50) edits.
  • 3. Administrator requirements
  • There are no requirements prior to making a request to be an administrator.
  • a. User must be a current assistant for at least two (2) months.
  • b. User must have a clean block record for at least three (3) months, not counting invalid blocks.
  • c. User must have support from a majority of all administrators.
  • 4. Bureaucrat requirements
  • a. User must be a current administrator for at least two (2) years.
  • b. User must have at least 2,000 edits, of which at least 1,000 are main namespace edits.
  • c. User must demonstrate good reasons for any questionable edits.
  • d. User must have full support of all other active bureaucrats.
  • e. User must have support from a majority of active all administrators.
  • f. Any administrator requesting promotion to bureaucrat that does not meet the criteria outlined in clause a, above, may be waived if the request is supported by all other active bureaucrats and the requestor has been an active administrator for at least one (1) year.

Demotion policy

  • 1. All promoted users may keep their position as long as they want, with the exceptions outlined in this section.
  • 1. Any user who wishes to no longer hold a promoted position and thus retires or resigns can demote themselves. They may notify a bureaucrat to have their powers removed as well.
  • 2. If a bureaucrat resigns or retires and fails to remove their powers, a discussion is required for Wikia Staff to demote them.
  • 3. If a user retires or resigns from any position, they cannot receive their rights back immediately. They must make the appropriate request for whatever position to return to that position.
  • 4. All promoted users who say they are going to resign or retire must have their rights removed immediately (or pending reasoning/discussion). They must reapply for the rights if they want to resume their position once/if they return.
  • 1. General
  • a. A promoted user may be terminated from their position due to inactivity.
  • 2. Process for bureaucrats and administrators
  • a. If a bureaucrat or administrator reaches "inactive user" status per the definition (see definitions), they must be notified of their status and asked whether or not they wish to continue on in their position and be given a chance to resign. They shall be given one (1) week to respond.
  • b. If there is a dispute regarding whether or not the bureaucrat or administrator has reached "inactive user" status, a majority of bureaucrats must decide whether or not inactive status has been achieved. If the user in question is a bureaucrat, they are not counted in the vote for a majority.
  • c. If the bureaucrat or administrator refuses to resign from their position, they are then given a chance to write up a statement or defense while the other administrators discuss the situation and whether or not to hold a demotion discussion.
  • d. If the bureaucrat or administrator does not resign but multiple users find it problematic that they are holding the position, the matter must be brought to any bureaucrat.
  • e. If a bureaucrat agrees that the bureaucrat or administrator's refusal to resign is problematic, they may bring the matter to a demotion discussion between the entire administration. If the promoted user in question wrote up a statement or defense, it must be posted when the demotion discussion is initiated. If the promoted user fails to write up a statement or defense before that, they may still do so after the demotion discussion has begun.
  • f. In order to terminate a bureaucrat or administrator, a majority of bureaucrats and more than 70% of administrators must support the termination in order for it to be valid. The discussion must last no less than seven (7) days. The promoted user in question does not have a vote or is counted in the percentage for the decision but may make comments.
  • g. If the termination is successful, the terminated user cannot be repromoted unless they go through a successful request process.
  • h. If the termination is unsuccessful, another demotion discussion cannot take place until one (1) month after the close of the preceding demotion discussion.
  • 3. Process for assistants
  • a. If an assistant becomes an inactive user, they may be terminated from their position by a majority vote of all bureaucrats.
  • 4. Process for rollbacks, chat moderators, and thread moderators
  • a. Termination of promoted users in these positions may be done so at the discretion of the administration, as long as they have achieved inactive status.
  • 5. If an active user goes on an extended vacation or leave of absence with intentions of returning, they obtain "wikibreak" status that is valid for three (3) months in which they can hold their position.
  • 1. In the event that a promoted user is not following the rules and/or are abusing their powers, a bureaucrat must inform them of their wrongdoing, in case of any misinterpretations.
  • 2. If after an above, the promoted user does not stand down or admit to wrongdoing and thus the bureaucrat fails to resolve the issue, they may demote the promoted user for a suspension of one (1) week.
  • 3. After the suspension (clause b, above), the said bureaucrat must then create a discussion for the community to discuss the situation, and decide whether or not the promoted user should be demoted permanently, temporarily, or reinstated.
  • 4. Any administrator who is demoted after their adminship is terminated, obtains "former administrator" status.
  • 1. General
  • a. All other proposed or discussed demotions fall under the policies in this subsection (G5).
  • b. Creating a demotion discussion by any non-administrator to have another user demoted from any position is prohibited and will result in the deletion of that discussion.
  • c. Non-administrators who feel that a promoted user should be demoted for any reason can user the report user form and/or notify a bureaucrat, who can bring it up with other bureaucrats for a less public discussion.
  • 2. Process
  • a. If a user feels that an administrator should be demoted for any reason, whether it is lack of activity, violation of policies, or behavior, they must contact a bureaucrat to make a request.
  • b. The bureaucrats will discuss whether or not the administrator in question should have a demotion discussion to let the community decide if that user should be demoted.
  • c. A majority of bureaucrats (more than 50%) must support a demotion discussion in order for it to be created in the first place. If it is determined that a majority of bureaucrats do not support such a discussion taking place, the request is dropped.
  • d. Once a majority of bureaucrats (more than 50%) support the creation of a demotion discussion, they must notify the administrator in question to give them the following choices:
  • i. Resign from the position. The bureaucrats can then decide if that user should remain as an assistant or not if the user in question chooses to resign.
  • ii. Write up a paragraph defending their keeping the position so that it can be presented before the demotion discussion begins.
  • iii. Do nothing. If the user does nothing, the demotion discussion will still be posted seven (7) days after the user in question responds. If they do not respond, the demotion discussion will be posted ten (10) days after a majority of bureaucrats have decided to have a demotion discussion.
  • e. Once the demotion discussion is posted, it will be in the following format.
  • i. The bureaucrat will list all the bureaucrats who supported the creation of the discussion to show validation of the discussion.
  • ii. Each user will have the opportunity to voice their opinion on the matter, summing up on what should be done, whether it is a complete demotion, demotion to another position, suspension, block, and/or combination.
  • iii. After seven (7) days of discussion, the first stage will close. All listed options will be put up for a vote.
  • f. In order to terminate a bureaucrat or administrator, a majority of bureaucrats (50% or more) and more than 70% of administrators must support the termination in order for it to be valid. Only suspensions and blocks require 70% of all participants. The discussion must last no less than seven (7) days. The promoted user in question does not have a vote or is counted in the percentage for the decision but may make comments.
  • g. If the termination is successful, the terminated user cannot be repromoted unless they go through a successful request process.
  • h. If the termination is unsuccessful, another demotion discussion cannot take place until one (1) month after the close of the preceding demotion discussion.

VII. Blocking policy

  • 1. Administrators are privileged with the power to block other users and are expected to have good judgment when it comes to using this tool.
  • 1. Administrators that find a user violating any of the policies must revert any changes and must politely notify the user of their wrongdoing by giving one (1) warning on their message wall.
  • 2. If a user breaks two (2) different rules, that counts as one (1) warning for each rule. A user must break the same rule two (2) times before being blocked.
  • 3. If a warned user continues to break the same rule within twenty-four (24) hours without acknowledging the warning, the administrator should try to contact that user again.
  • 4. If the warned user continues to break the same rule for twenty-four (24) hours after the administrator have tried to contact them again, the user will be blocked for a maximum of fourteen (14) days.
  • 5. Any user who continues to violate the rule for which they were blocked within seven (7) days after their initial block ends will receive further penalties, depending on the rule(s) violated and the severity of the offense.
  • 6. The preceding clauses (1 through 5, above) are the blocking policy and must be followed, except for the clauses outlined in section C, "Exceptions," below.
  • 1. Any user who makes any contributions that are very serious to the point in which they harm the wiki or threaten a user, they may be blocked immediately for any given amount of time at the discretion of the blocking administrator.
  • 2. Any user who spams, vandalizes, harasses, or threatens as their first edit may automatically be blocked without warning. If they continue to spam and/or vandalize after their block, they shall be given an infinite block. They reserve the right to appeal a block, per the "appealing a block" section below.
  • 3. This clause outlines items that are not block-worthy, and such are deemed "unfair."
  • a. Anyone who misspells a word or misuses grammar shall not be blocked.
  • b. Anyone who begins a page without proper formatting shall not be blocked.
  • c. Anyone who makes an accidental edit shall not be blocked.
  • 1. When an administrator blocks a user, they must use the {{Blocked}} template on their message wall to notify that they have been blocked. This gives the blocked user a chance to find out they have been blocked and they can be easily linked to the policies as well as read the instructions to appeal a block.
  • 2. Administrators must leave the user's message wall open in order for the blocked user to make an appeal case.
  • 3. If a blocked user abuses their wall privileges by spamming, threatening, or harassing other users, before making an appeal case, they have forfeited their chance to make an appeal and can have their wall privileges removed until the end of their block.
  • 4. If a user makes an appeal case, it must be posted to ESB:Block reviews and discussed there.
  • 1. Any user who is blocked or banned may appeal to have the block or ban removed if they deem it unfair. If any bureaucrat deems it unfair, they may unblock the user.
  • 2. The appeal will be in the form of a discussion that will follow the discussion policies and last seven (7) days, except for the following:
  • a. Users will only support or oppose the original block; neutral votes will not count.
  • b. A block review requires 70% opposing the block to overturn the block.
  • c. For blocks less than seven (7) days, the appeal discussion will last half the amount of time of the block.
  • 3. The appeal discussion will be posted to ESB:Block reviews.
  • 4. If the appeal fails, the block will not be reverted.
  • 5. If a banned user fails an appeal, they must wait six (6) months before creating another appeal.
  • 1. A block dispute occurs when any other user not including the blocked user oppose the administrator's actions in blocking a user.
  • 2. All blocking disputes should be handled between the conflicting parties. If the conflicting parties resolve the dispute, the dispute is over.
  • 3. If neither party agrees to a compromise, the user opposing the block must post to the ESB:Block reviews and follow the procedures.
  • 4. A block must be overturned or changed if it receives 70% support.
  • 5. Any blocking dispute involving an administrator may be considered an abuse of power and should be dealt with in the following manner.
  • a. If the blocking administrator is in the wrong following a block review, a majority (more than 50%) of all uninvolved bureaucrats must decide how to deal with the administrator.
  • b. If it is decided by the bureaucrats that the administrator needs a suspension from their adminship, the suspension shall last no longer than seven (7) days.
  • c. If the administrator receives a second suspension for misuse of the the blocking tool within six (6) months, a discussion shall be created to decided if they should keep their status as an administrator.
  • 1. Blocking another administrator is strictly prohibited, as administrators are expected to follow all the rules.
  • 2. All administrators are supposed to resolve disputes with each other through discussion and not blocking.
  • 3. Any administrator who blocks another administrator will be suspended from all roles (administrator, assistant, rollback, chat moderator, thread moderator) for thirty (30) days without warning.
  • 4. After the thirty (30) day suspension, a majority of bureaucrats must support whether or not that administrator can continue as administrator or demoted to assistant.
  • 5. Any exception to the rules, including an appeal from the suspended administrator, will be implemented by a vote of a majority of bureaucrats.

VIII. Advertising and affiliation

  • 1. Advertising other wikis at Wikia is okay, as long as the following policies are followed:
  • a. Do not send messages to specific individuals through their message wall to visit a certain wiki.
  • b. The forums are the only place one can advertise another wiki at Wikia.
  • c. Do not create more than one forum topic in advertising a website, unless any previous forum topics have been deleted.
  • 2. Advertising other websites that are not on Wikia requires administrative approval.
  • a. If you want to advertise a non-Wikia website, you must first send a request to an administrator and such request will be discussed at the next meeting.
  • 3. Any violation of these policies will result in a deletion of anything relating to that website and a warning.
  • 1. An affiliation page will be set up to list our affiliates. If you want to affiliate with us, send a message to an administrator and such will be discussed at the next meeting.
  • 2. If you affiliate with any site in the SpongeBobia network, you must link to us from your website, otherwise you will be removed from our affiliates page.

IX. Signatures

I love you patrick star by thunderbulletmlp-d6cclg7

This is what 30 pixels looks like.

  • 1. All signatures must contain a person's username or something that lets people know who the user is.
  • 2. All signatures linking to their message wall and/or contributions must indicate what the page is.
  • 3. All signatures must not exceed the height of a line of text, unless they are an image that follows #4, below.
  • 4. All signatures must not disturb the layout or text of the page in any way.
  • 5. Administrators reserve the right to adjust signatures according to the guidelines.
  • 1. Users are permitted to have images in their signatures, or as their signature, so long as the height does not exceed 30 pixels. This includes animated signatures, but some may stop animating below a certain pixel size. Images over 30 pixels cause the spacing between two lines of text to be disproportionate, and animated signatures can result in longer load times for discussion pages. As a general guideline, however, please do not use images or font sizes that will interfere with the lines of text.
  • 1. As said in the section above, signatures may not be more than 30 pixels high. This includes big font sizes, but also the length of a signature. A signature may not be so long that when viewed in the Wikia skin with the toolbar aside it, it is wider than one line. Also, signatures may not take up more than one line (any enters in the signature's code should be removed, as when it is used in an indented list (replies to others) it will break up the signature when there are enters in the code). The <noinclude> tag may be put around enters to make the code look cleaner, or <!-- and --> may be put around codes to prevent them from having such effects.
  • 1. Names used in signatures must be consistent with the Wikia username. In order to prevent confusion, users should not use alternate names when signing edits. Names should at least be recognizable (e.g. User:RandomUser305 signing off as "RU305"), but not differ too greatly as to mistake the signature for a different user.
  • 1. Any links on a signature that do not operate in the way they appear are forbidden as they can cause confusion among users. This includes links that log users out.
  • 2. A user's signature that has the text colored in any way that will cause confusion among users is not allowed.
  • 1. Any user involved in discussions that may have an elaborate signature which involves a lot of code is required to have a signature template to make it cleaner and also prevent problems with code change.
  • 2. If a user is signing with such a signature, they should be notified and anyone can help them create their own signature template.

X. Chat

  • 1. All ESB policies apply in the chat room.
  • 2. No spamming. This includes blank messages and typing gibberish.
  • 3. No trolling. Such violation results in an immediate ban.
  • 4. No profanity (except for the words "damn" and "hell," which are allowed if they are used in context and not against another user)
  • 5. Be respectful toward all users, their views, and their opinions. Do not discriminate or harass anyone.
  • 6. Do not pose as a chat moderator or administrator if you are not.
  • 7. Do not post anything inappropriate or links to inappropriate sites. This includes links content not suitable for children under the age of 13. The chatroom is to remain clean.
  • 8. Do not ask users for personal information. (age, phone numbers, addresses, ASL (age/sex/location), etc.)
  • 9. If you are going to exchange social networking information, do it in a private message (such as Skype, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.).
  • 10. Do not argue or get into a heated debate. Friendly, civil debates are allowed.
  • 1. It is against Wikia policy for a person under the age of 13 to use Wikia. It is against ESB policy for persons under the age of 13 to reveal their age.
  • 2. Any user who is underage or claims to be underage will not be blocked or banned.
  • 3. All underage users will be dealt with by Wikia Staff, not by ESB staff.
  • 1. All administrators and bureaucrats are chat moderators. A selected few chatters are granted chat moderator status because they are active in chat and trusted to keep the peace.
  • 2. Do not kick or ban users for no reason.
  • 3. Any abuse of chat moderator powers will result in immediate demotion. Any continued abuse may result in a block.
  • 4. Chat moderators have no jurisdiction over what happens in a private message. If someone bothers you, ignore them. There is no definite way to prove what is in a private message.
  • 5. There is a hierarchy in the chatroom. Chat Moderators are outranked by Administrators, and Administrators are outranked by Bureaucrats. Therefore, if a user is breaking a rule in chat, the users highest in command will deal with them. If they are unresponsive, the responsibility goes down the chain of hierarchy.
  • 1. If you see anything in the chatroom that is a violation of any policies, please report it.
  • 2. You can report it to the following places:
  • a. Chat report - list your report here.
  • b. Private message an administrator or bureaucrat. You can find a list here: ESB:Administration.

XI. Content dispute

  • 1. This article will outline the proper procedures in the event of an edit war and/or relating to content dispute.
  • B. Dispute
  • 1. General
  • a. Not everyone will agree on how things should be done on the wiki. However, in order to have consistency and organization within the wiki, it is important to establish policies and formatting guidelines for everyone to follow in which the community agrees upon.
  • b. As this is a collaborative environment, it is important to resolve disputes by using communication to address the problem instead of ignoring the problem.
  • C. Procedures
  • 1. Edit war
  • a. When an edit war occurs, all parties must stop editing the article and take the problem to an informal discussion on one of the editor's message walls or in a forum post and explain their reasons for their edits.
  • b. Once they have explained their reasons, they must follow the procedures below to resolve the dispute.
  • 2. Procedures
  • a. If an established policy and/or guideline can resolve the dispute, that policy and/or guideline must be followed.
  • b. If there is disagreement in regards to the policy and/or guideline, discussion is allowed, but the reverts must be halted so that the disputed content on the article is left alone until the dispute is resolved.
  • c. If the dispute is not resolved in clause 2b, above, an uninvolved administrator must step in to mediate the discussion.
  • d. If the dispute involves one (1) or more administrators, a bureaucrat uninvolved in the edit war must intervene.
  • e. If all bureaucrats are involved in the edit war, an official discussion is required.
  • f. In the event that no such policy and/or guideline exists to establish a resolution policy-wise, the dispute may require further discussion that will ultimately be decided in an official discussion to establish a policy and/or guideline.
  • 3. Conclusion
  • a. Once the dispute is resolved, the decision is final. Any edit made by the losing party in the dispute that blatantly ignores the decision is subject to a maximum three (3) day block.
  • b. If any user is in disagreement over the decision, they are free to make a petition to change the guidelines/policies/rules/etc.
  • D. 3 Revert Clause
  • 1. General
  • a. An editor must not perform more than three reverts on a single page—whether involving the same or different material—within a 24-hour period. An edit or a series of consecutive edits that undoes other editors' actions—whether in whole or in part—counts as a revert. Any appearance of gaming the system by reverting a fourth time just outside the 24-hour slot is likely to be treated as an edit-warring violation.
  • 2. Exceptions
  • a. Reverting your own actions ("self-reverting").
  • b. Reverting edits to pages in your own user space, so long as you are respecting the user page guidelines.
  • c. Reverting actions performed by banned users, and sockpuppets of banned and blocked users.
  • d. Reverting obvious vandalism—edits that any well-intentioned user would agree constitute vandalism, such as page blanking and adding offensive language.
  • e. Removal of clear copyright violations and any illegal content.
  • 3. After 3 reverts
  • a. During an edit war, when a page is reverted after three (3) times by the same user, the editing must stop and be reported to an administrator.
  • b. If an administrator is involved in the edit war, the following procedures must be followed:
  • i. The article must be protected by any administrator and no further reverts made in regards to the disputed content.
  • ii. An uninvolved bureaucrat must intervene to mediate the dispute.
  • iii. All succeeding procedures are outlined in the "dispute" section C2 of this article.
  • c. If the edit war continues after a user has made 3 reverts, the following must be followed:
  • i. Dispute between non-administrators
  • 1. At this point, the page should have been protected by an administrator and the edit war should have stopped.
  • ii. Dispute between non-administrators and administrators in which the administrators are in agreement.
  • 1. At this point, the page should have been protected by an administrator and the edit war should have stopped.
  • iii. Dispute between non-administrators and administrators in which the administrators are in disagreement.
  • 1. It is expected that the dispute between administrators be resolved by discussion and that the edit war does not continue.
  • 2. Any such violation of this requires an informal discussion to the matter or an official discussion if the matter is serious.
  • iv. Dispute between only administrators in which the administrators are in disagreement.
  • 1. It is expected that the dispute between administrators be resolved by discussion and that the edit war does not continue.
  • 2. Any such violation of this requires an informal discussion to the matter or an official discussion if the matter is serious.