Villains Wiki:Rules

As a community we at Villains Wiki value our contributors and have managed to build a sizable following, however as with all communities there are a small minority of contributors who either do not wish to play nice or are having difficulty understanding what this Wiki is all about.

These rules will serve to try and help contributors who are confused or needing a little help while also discouraging contributions that are not in the spirit of this Wiki:

General Rules

 * 1) Chain Of Command : Although we are a friendly community we have a "chain of command" with the admins making rules, enforcing rules and keeping order: users contribute and have fun but need to remember admins are not democratic, neither are they tyrants - Admins should be approachable and not completely insane with power but at the same time users must treat admins with the respect you give any authority or expect punishment. It's much like the real-world, you can not walk up to an authority figure and force them to do as you say, empty threats and outright stupidity will only serve to alienate you from the community as a whole - This system may not suit everyone but much like any community we need to acknowledge the fact that contributing is a privilege, not a right and like all privileges it can (and should) be removed if abused.
 * 2) Plagiarism : Whenever possible only post original content - copying directly from other wikis or online sources is plagiarism and is frowned upon by the community as it gives a bad name not only to yourself but to us and can cause copyright dilemmas. Just because something is on the Internet doesn't mean its right (or even legal) to claim it as your own - Articles that are obviously taken from other wikis will be deleted as a matter of principle.
 * 3) Language : Contributors should be aware that this wiki is PG-13 at best, we do not allow excessive profanity or offensive language - We are a community of mixed age groups and some profanity/offensive terms will crop up but users should not make a habit of using them. It is never acceptable to use extremely offensive language however and users who do so will face punishment. As a general rule the same applies to articles, do not litter articles with offensive language - even articles listed as mature. This may be hard when dealing with extremely controversial media (such as exploitation films or some of the Japan-exclusive manga/anime) but with such things common-sense needs to come into play: Do not go into detail about the gruesome aspects of the character and don't quote their most offensive lines. Try to make the article as "clean" as possible - that way it doesn't come across as being what is known as a "shocker".
 * 4) Grammar : In the same way, remember that articles are meant to be read by people so try making them clear, concise and readable. Few people will frown upon one typing error or two but having hardly readable messes instead of articles is not very enjoyable for anyone.

Behavior

 * 1) Trolls : We have a zero-tolerance when it comes to trolls, whether it be for humor or for harassment - there are plenty of troll sites for that sort of behavior - this is a wiki about villains, not a chan site.
 * 2) Vandalism : Vandals will be banned on sight - much like trolls, we don't really need to explain why. Vandalism is just that.
 * 3) Harassment/Cyberbullying : Any user who harasses or bullies another will be liable to punishment by admins as they see fit - If your foolish enough to pick a fight with an admin you'll likely be banned.. we are a good-natured wiki but nobody likes a bully.. we are no exception.
 * 4)  Editwar : Any users who engage in editwars will receive a warn and possible ban, and the article will be locked. Any user can call an admin if another user is undoing his edits for no reason.
 * 5)  Category Spam : Adding categories for the sake of it is counter-productive and considered a charge. When adding categories, users must add them all in one edit. Users who add one category per edit can get in trouble, especially when they do nothing else to contribute to the wiki and add many categories one by one.
 * 6) No Categories on Userpages : Categories are meant to classify articles, they're not tags that you put on your social profiles.

Content

 * 1) Only add official information : Any media have more than enough information that you may need for creating an article. Do not make stuff up and especially do not add things that have nothing to do with the character in question. Fan-theories and mass guessing can go into a separate trivia section.
 * 2) No "One-line" articles : There is just no excuse for laziness. Articles with little to no content (only a single paragraph or just a picture without any text) will be deleted on sight. If a user only makes articles like this he will be called out of it.
 * 3) No Fan-Creations : This wiki is for legitimate villains from every existing media, however for sake of variety we will accept villains from original web content THAT GOES VIRAL ONLINE. Characters like Weegee and Pinkie Pie will be allowed to slide because they have enough infamy. In order to count, the character in question must be well-known across the Internet. (for example: found on http://knowyourmeme.com/) We will not accept a page about Goku simply because he tried to kill the Mario Bros. in one youtube video, to give an example. Not everything on youtube, and nothing on fanfiction.net will be accepted. If you have questions about a particular character, CONTACT AN ADMINISTRATOR.
 * 4) Real-Life Villains : Our wiki now exclusively focuses on fictional villains. For any criminal that lived or still lives, go to "Real-Life Villains Wiki". Articles found about real-life villains are likely to get deleted on sight.
 * 5) Check Categories Beforehand  : We have many categories on this wiki and as stated above, creating new categories is now forbidden. Categories are meant for dozens, if not hundreds, of pages, twenty at the very least. Also, DO NOT add a page to a category that does not correspond or has been deleted. Finally DO NOT add categories that are already on the list. Do check the category page and then the article's list before doing anything. Users who disregard this rule are likely to be banned on sight.
 * 6) Do Not Recreate Deleted Articles / Categories : As a general rule when an admin deletes an article or category it cannot be recreated without admin approval. However if you can provide a valid reason to do so you may proceed - users who recreate deleted articles/categories without a valid reason however risk punishment.
 * 7) Links, Pictures & Misc. Items : We allow users to post links, funny pictures and "fun" items but within reason - Do not provide links to pornographic sites (rule 34 counts, just so you know) and do not upload pictures that are overly offensive. "Fun" items should only be posted into userpages or talkpages - Do not add them to main articles unless you have a good reason to do so.
 * 8) Do not add too many pictures : Not only this isn't a photo-sharing site, most users who visit here don't have super fast connections. Twenty or so pictures is more than enough for any article, there is no need to put hundreds of pictures.
 * 9) No Fan-art allowed : Only add official art on articles (screenshots, concept art, promotional art, etc). This wiki isn't DeviantART, and posting fan-art made by others is copyright infringement. Special cases can be taken into consideration (a render of an organization's symbol, or if you just cannot find a decent official picture by any means).

Villain-specific rules

 * 1) "Jerk" Versus "Villain" : Please be mindful not to add a character to this wiki unless he or she is established as an antagonist in their setting - although standards vary greatly we do not desire articles concerning minor bullies or rivals unless they show exceptionally cruel and/or immoral traits. Name-calling and just being "nasty" is not enough to make a character valid and such articles risk deletion once found. If you are confused over this topic you may find the Villainous Jerk concept helpful in deciding whether or not a character is valid for this wiki.
 * 2) Flawed Hero =/= Villain : The number of articles about anti-heroic characters is no longer acceptable - this is a VILLAINS Wiki and we need to keep it that way. Being a simple "jerk" will no longer be valid. A character should have either malicious intent or be actually dangerous to count. From now on "grumpy", "not nice" or "mean" as reasons for a character being here will be ignored and the content erased - start showing us actual deeds that are malicious (and NO, name-calling and minor "bullying" will not count anymore). This is similar to the above rule but will sum up to "just because something offends you does not make it evil / immoral" - from now on PROVE to us the character is criminal, immoral or dangerous, otherwise we will erase it.
 * 3) Possessed/Brainwashed : We do not allow articles about heroes who have become "villains" due to brainwashing, possession or other scenario that makes them lose control of their actions (with the only exception being criminal insanity) - characters under a "spell" or hypnotism are victims, they have no control over what they are doing and thus they fail the basic criteria for antagonism (that is, deliberate attempts to cause suffering). The category Possessed/Brainwashed is ONLY meant for villains like Darth Vader or Golbez, who USED to be benevolent characters but whose personality changed for the worse due to corruption. So much that they are almost only remembered as the villain they became.