South Park Archives:Policy

Welcome to your new home for all things South Park, South Park Archives. Before you get started please review our policies. Our policies cover Social Interaction and Expectations, General Rules, and The Wiki Expectations and Guidelines. In addition to our social policies, Discord and Discussions are governed by their own additional rules. You can find links to those in their appropriate sections. If you have any questions about our guidelines, please message an administrator. Enjoy your stay!

## Social Interaction and Expectations

South Park Archives has guidelines and policies for social interaction. We also have expectations on how we expect members of the community to act. These rules are in place to ensure the community remains healthy and a fun place for all involved users.

In this section, we will go over the rules and expectations in detail.

### Userpage and Information Sharing

Here are the rules and expectations for use of your and other users' user pages and message walls:

* Messages from admins (especially warnings) should not be deleted without permission from an administrator.
* Users are expected to be polite when discussing topics with other users. Remember we are here to document and share our love and knowledge for South Park.
* You should never flame users. If you have an editing dispute with them or any other problem, send them a polite message on their wall or on Discord to work out the issue. If you can not, please let an administrator know before a conflict arises.
* Users should not edit other users' user pages and sandboxes. They are considered the property of the user. Admins will be able to edit user pages and sandboxes if there is inappropriate content or as part of file cleanup or other special circumstances. If there is something concerning on another users' user page (like the user insulting you or inappropriate content) please contact an administrator

## Community-Social Expectations

There are a variety of ways to socially discuss South Park and talk with fans on South Park Archives. Including Discord, Discussions, and blogs. Below is the expected general conduct for these methods. Discord and Discussions have their own rulesets.

### For Discussions:

**Discussions have their own set of rules and guidelines as well as the warning and banning enforcement sequence on their own page located HERE.** Here are some general reminders:

* Keep posts on topic
* Shipping and conversations about OCs are not allowed
* Do not create the same polls or posts repeatedly
* It is ok to disagree but please do not fight with other users
* Remember the drama policy when using Discussions

### For Discord:

Discord is a live chatting application used by wiki admins, editors, readers and South Park fans. **The Discord has an extensive set of rules which can be viewed on the Discord Overview page located HERE.** Here are some general reminders:

* Maintain yourself professionally
* No self-advertising
* Be aware of the drama policy
* No NSFW

## The Drama Policy

As of April 1, 2021 all members of the community using social platforms/social channels (Discord, Blogs, Discussions, Userpages / Message Walls, and Slack) will need to abide by the drama policy. Not following this policy can range from a 3-month ban, a 6-month ban, and a year or longer ban. By following this policy you can help keep South Park Archives a vibrant community.
Under the drama policy, the following may count as drama:

* Somebody (User, Editor, Mod or Admin) left the community because they didn’t like somebody or the wiki/discord. Don’t bring up their reasons for leaving. You shouldn’t ask why they left more than once. If you choose to contact the user, don’t mention or show their reply on the wikis social platforms.
* A user posted something you don’t like. While it’s okay to disagree don’t harass them over it and then proceed to attack the person or what they don’t like on wiki social channels. If you do this with other people privately, it should never be brought up publicly on social channels.
* **Harassment** (**NOT** disagreement) of users and admins on these social channels and even outside ones like Twitter and Facebook could be considered slander and may result in consequences.
* Discretion may be used with this policy. The best thing users can do is just simply help keep the community clean and drama-free.

## General Rules

These are general rules all members of the community are expected to follow:

* We do not allow the advertising of a business anywhere on the wiki. The only exception is the link section in your global Fandom masthead.
* We do not allow self-advertising of other Discord servers in the SPA Discord or Discussions
* All parts of the wiki and social channels follow the Fandom Terms of Use. Viewable HERE
* Users should follow the Wiki Expectations, for how things should be organized.
* Please read carefully and follow our policy on Canon and Fanon.
* Do not start edit wars. Be ready to discuss your changes with others. If you disagree with another editor, discuss the issue on either the user's wall or the article's comments. Repeatedly reverting each other's changes, known as "edit warring", is bound to aggravate the conflict instead of solving it. If you cannot reach a consensus, ask an Administrator to mediate.
* Do not vandalize any page. Do not remove all the content from a page. It is considered vandalism to remove all the content from a page or to add irrelevant information to the page.

## Secondary Account Usage & Bans

It's forbidden to have two or more accounts on South Park Archives. There are very few circumstances where having multiple accounts is acceptable on the wiki.

* Users wishing to use programs like Auto Wiki Browser, MassEdit, or other bot programs **MUST** get Bureaucrat approval before running those programs on their main or secondary accounts on South Park Archives.
* If you forgot your password/ are somehow locked out of your account and plan to return with a secondary account. You **MUST** get approval from a Bureaucrat first.
* The use of sockpuppets (Banned users creating a new account) is STRICTLY FORBIDDEN and will result in both of your accounts being banned. Your main account may face a permanent ban.
* Admins **DO NOT** want to block users. Remember to follow the rules to decrease your chances of being blocked.
* Admins will always attempt to warn users and help them understand what they did wrong at least 3-4 times before issuing a ban following the warning and ban sequence.
* If you have banned and you believe it is a mistake, too harsh, or want to explain your side of the story. Do not hesitate to contact the blocking admin on their Message Wall, Community Central Wall, or Discord DM. We are always willing to listen and look at the next steps and options together.
* We do not accept appeals for users who are blatantly vandalizing, sockpuppeting, or who have egregiously violated multiple rules. Do not contact us for appeals.

## Wiki Expectations

Are you planning to edit? Please read the Template:Main page for our detailed policies for editing wiki pages and a guide on how we expect things to look.

## Administrators

Administrators (also known as SysOps) are here to guide and serve the community. Users who are interested in becoming an admin must meet strict standards and requirements put in place below.

### You Must Have:

* Been a regular and active contributor for at least the past 3 months on the wiki.
* The "Content Mod" right for at least two months.
* Never been blocked on the wiki, on the SPA Discord, and on other FANDOM communities.
* Been in the South Park Archives Discord for at least 3 months, actively participating in the editor channels. (If you can not join Discord please contact us for other arrangements)
* Have at least 1,000 edits in the wiki main namespace. (Case by case exceptions may apply)
* Access to Slack.
* To be able to put the community first in everything you do.

### If you meet all of the above requirements:

You may apply for admin by creating a Discussions post titled:  "Adminship request - [your username]" and put it in the Admin Noticeboard section. Use this opportunity to pitch yourself to the community on why you'd be a good admin. Think of your skills and strengths and let us know them. Editors and Admins will reply with their questions and if they support you becoming admin or not. **AT LEAST TWO WIKI BUREAUCRATS MUST SUPPORT YOUR REQUEST.**

### Be Aware That:

* You may have an extended waiting period while we let users respond to the admin request post.
* Potential Admins will go through an investigation by the current Bureaucrats. Some of your SPA Discord messages, Discussions posts, edits, and history across Fandom will be checked. This could take up to 10 days.
* Hitting over 1,000 edits is not a guarantee of becoming an administrator. Admins are appointed as needed. No editor should edit with the ONLY objective being to become an administrator.

### Admin Rules:

Admins are expected to all work together as a team for the community. The Admin Guidebook should be referenced for more information on what's expected of you if you are an admin.