Thomas the Tank Engine Wiki:Rules

Welcome to the Thomas the Tank Engine Wiki. Here, you will find the rules and regulations by which we, the staff, and the rest of the wiki are expected to follow to ensure that the site is kept in order. If you are a new user, or if you think you might be doing something wrong, then please make sure to read the rules before contributing to the wiki.

As the staff of this wiki, we promise to try and treat all issues fairly and to treat our users the same way, and we ask that you do so too. We hope you enjoy your time here, and become a really useful editor!

~TTTE Wiki Staff

## General rules

1. Per FANDOM's guidelines and the law of COPPA, all users are required to be 13 or older before making an account. Anyone who is found to be under the age limit will be banned until they are of age.
2. No fowl or obscene language of any kind is allowed, even if it has been abbreviated.
3. Please always be kind and respectful towards everyone, whether they are a user or not. Disrespect towards anyone (including yourself) will result in a warning by a member of staff.
4. Do not edit just to increase your own edit count or to get more points or badges.
5. Do not make counterproductive edits or remove major changes being done on articles by the staff.
6. You are only allowed to edit your own user page. You may only edit someone else's user page if you have their written permission.
7. Please refrain from mini-modding. If you see a user breaking the rules, do not give them a warning. Instead, message a member of the staff and they will take care of it.
8. Removing a warning given to you by staff will result in another warning or ban.
9. Multiple accounts and shadow accounts are not allowed. If you make a second account after being banned and you are found out, your other account will be banned with no warning. Making another account in case you lose access to your original one, however, is permitted.
10. Please do not harass or aggravate spammers and vandals, as this will only encourage them to cause more damage.
11. If you are thinking of conducting an external interview on behalf of these website, please seek advice and permission from a member of staff before contacting the interviewee.
12. Do not contact people from the production crew for information on upcoming content.
13. Do not put any LinkedIn links for anyone from the production crew (both former and current) on their pages, as this could lead to fans possibly harassing them.
14. Before making any edits or uploading anything, stop and think if this will help the wiki or if it could serve as a hindrance to others. Also, think about if what you are doing could potentially break the rules. If you are unsure about something, please speak to a member of staff and we will try to answer any questions.

## Image rules

1. Do not upload images from other websites without receiving written permission first. This rule mainly applies to behind the scenes images from crew members' portfolio websites.
2. All images must be related to *Thomas* in some form. (This includes relevant images from shows like *Tugs* or Children in Need music videos)
3. Make sure that when you name images, you do so correctly (e.g. TrustThomas32.png or SurprisePacket.png). If you upload an image that has been misnamed, please consult an admin or image controller and they will rename it.
4. Additionally, when naming images for episodes, please use the UK title over the US one. This rule does not apply to title card images.
5. Do not create gallery subpages for pages that have only twenty or less images in their gallery.
6. Extremely small and/or blurry images should not be uploaded to the wiki. The only exceptions to this rule are deleted scenes and promotional material that currently do not have higher quality images.
7. Do not replace infobox images without receiving written permission by an admin or image controller.
8. When uploading images from magazines or books, please make sure to crop out or remove any text so as to not spoil the story for anyone else.
9. When uploading more than one image to a page, please try to do so all at once. This helps keep the history of the page tidy and easy to navigate.
10. Please make sure that when you upload an image, it is not already on the wiki under a different filename. This helps prevent duplicate images. If you believe your image is higher quality, please let an admin or image controller know before posting and they will decide which one will stay and which one will be deleted.
11. Do not upload fan-made and/or edited images without permission by a member of staff.
12. Do not upload images that have been watermarked, unless you receive written permission by both the original owner of the image and a member of staff (however, such features by HiT Entertainment, Mattel, etc. are allowed).
13. Additionally, do not watermark images that you do not own (e.g. images from books, even if you were the one who took or scanned it). The only exception to this rule are behind the scenes photographs from the production crew that have been sent to and watermarked by somebody else. Watermarks should also be kept at a respectable size and should not be too intrusive.
14. Do not upload screenshots from YouTube or similar video sharing websites, unless they are of a high quality. The standard of the quality is determined by the admins and image controllers, and any images are subject to their view and may be deleted at their discretion.
15. While not necessarily a rule, we recommend that you use Blu-ray or digital HD releases for episode and film screenshots over DVDs, as they are much higher quality.

## Video rules

1. Do not upload videos of full episodes or films, as it is against FANDOM's community guidelines.
2. Trailers, teasers, promotional videos and anything from the official *Thomas & Friends* YouTube channels are allowed and must be named correctly.
3. When uploading more than one music video of a specific song, make sure the video is named correctly (for example: Really Useful Engine - Music Video, Really Useful Engine - Thomas and the Magic Railroad Music Video or Really Useful Engine - The Adventure Begins Music Video).
4. Please make sure that when you upload a video, it is not already on the wiki. Do not upload duplicates.
5. Avoid uploading videos featuring watermarks or other similar features.
6. Do not upload any fan-made videos. The only exception to this rule is the "Video of the Week" featured on the homepage, which can only be changed by the staff.

## Talk page/message wall rules

1. Message walls are for brief conversations only. Any long communication should be carried out elsewhere.
2. Leaving messages on your own wall is considered spam. Doing so is not "talking to everyone", as no-one gets a notification saying you have left a message.
3. Do not answer messages intended for other users, unless it is necessary in a situation like an emergency. However, staff members may reply to other messages on behalf of another member of staff.
4. Do not rewrite other users' messages.
5. Only vandalism, profanity and broken links should be removed from any user message wall. Off topic posts may be removed as well.
6. When leaving a message on a talk page, please remember to sign your message with four tildes (~~~~) in order to inform others who left a post.
7. While not mandatory, we ask that you do not change your signature to only words. Signatures are required on talk pages to identify messages, and if a user's signature does not link to their user page or user talk page, it can be difficult to tell who left which post.
8. Talk pages should be used for discussing changes to the article, not for having a discussion about the topic in question.
9. Please do not reply to talk pages or message wall threads that are over two weeks old. Chances are that the message that you are responding too has already had its issue resolved, therefore it is not necessary to reply to it.
10. As stated in the general rules, do not remove warnings or strikes by the staff.
11. Please keep messages you may have relevant to this site only. Do not bring outside matters from other sources onto the wiki, as it could lead to more trouble. The staff are here to deal with matters on this site only and not on others. If you need to contact somebody on another site, please do so privately and on a site other than the wiki.

## Fan art/video submission rules

1. Do not submit content featuring profanity, violence or other mature undertones, even if it has been censored.
2. Do not submit content depicting humanization of non-human characters, romantic shipping or crossovers with other franchises.
3. Do not submit screenshots of Trainz, Railworks or any other video game. These do not constitute as fan art and will not be featured if submitted. However, videos made using these programs are still allowed.
4. Staff members are not allowed to submit their own content to be featured on the homepage.
5. Please send your submissions to tttewikiafanart@gmail.com with your artwork/video, your name, the name of your piece and your social media account (should you happen to have one).
6. Failure to abide by these rules will result in your artwork not being featured on the homepage and may also result in you no longer being allowed to submit any future work.

## Staff rules

All staff *must* follow all other rules to set a good example to our members. In addition to the rules above, all staff must abide to these following rules. These rules only apply to the staff and nobody else on the wiki. As staff, we must set a good example both on and off the wiki, including the staff group chat.

1. So that order is kept on the wiki, there is a three strikes system. Staff members with image control or discussion rights have the power to give strikes in their areas of authority, while admins and bureaucrats have the ability to give strikes for any offense(s) and are the only ones who can issue a block.
2. All admins are required to contact "offending" members and warn them before issuing a block for however long the admin in charge of the case sees fit. This is done to give the member being warned time to explain their actions. **NOTE**: This rule does not apply to users who spam, vandalise or ones who are exceptionally rude.
3. Should a member of the staff be inactive on the wiki or the staff discussion chat for three months or more, then that person will be considered inactive and will be placed on rollback. If at a later date they wish to rejoin the staff, all they have to do is submit their name once again for consideration.
4. There is also a three strike warning system for members of staff (admins and below) that can be given only by a bureaucrat for breaking the rules or misconduct. After the third strike is issued and before the offending member is demoted, a written warning sent privately by them by the staff must be given a minimum of 24 hours beforehand.
5. Additionally, a member of staff can be dismissed immediately for gross misconduct and/or severe breach of the rules. Any person who is removed from the staff for breaking the rules will not be given rollback status, unlike staff members who resign or are considered inactive.
6. A vote of no confidence can be triggered against a bureaucrat if a minimum of one-third of the staff believe they are not fulfilling their duties. If a vote of no confidence is triggered, then ALL staff (except the bureaucrat in question) must take part in a vote. If more than two-thirds of the staff vote for the bureaucrat to step down, they must do so immediately.

## Staff application rules

1. A regular wiki user may submit themselves for consideration to become a staff member either if a member of staff leaves and a position becomes available, or if there is a public call out for new staff. Before applying, you must have an account on the wiki and have someone to stand as character witness on the staff already. Having a Twitter account, while not entirely necessarily, is also highly recommended.
2. If a new position becomes available on the staff, then a public notice will be put up that will expire in one week, or if a total of ten applications are submitted, whichever comes first.
3. Once an entry has been submitted, a vote must be held among the staff with a minimum of two-thirds of the staff partaking in it before a decision is made.

## See also

* Thomas the Tank Engine Wikia:Manual of Style