When it comes to editing on Comicvine, it can be a bit overwhelming at first. Where do you start? What are you allowed to do? Will I do it wrong? However, while it may seem like there is a lot to take in and rules and regulations to follow, they are incredibly easy to pick up. For those interested in the general wiki editing rules, check out this page by RazzaTazz.
Even though Comicvine is a community wiki in which anyone can edit anything. The last thing we want to do is upset each other or add more work for other editors, so here is a list of do’s and don’t for the wiki.
The Dos and Don'ts
Do:
- Ask for permission to work on someone’s project
While you may want to show your general knowledge on a specific character, but someone else is already working on that page, make sure to ask if they’re okay with you adding information to it. It may be something they are already working on and will make their efforts worthless.
Give users time to reply to your PMs about their projects as they may not be on the site as often as you may be or they haven’t had time to reply to the message. If someone hasn’t replied in over a week, consider it up for editing. On top of that, if a page hasn’t been touched by another editor in over a month, consider the project abandoned and it’s up for grabs. Unless, of course, it’s been stated by the user in a blog that they’re on hiatus.
- Finish up any projects that you have started
Working on a big project can be scary, whether it’s a TV series or a story arc, make sure you finish it to the best of your ability. If you don’t know when or if you’ll be able to finish it, make sure to put a note on your wall or blog about the hiatus and when you may be back to finish it. If you can’t let people know it's not done, they can edit it without any judgment.
- Keep it in-house
Even if you’re a big-name wiki editor on another wiki website such as Fandom, make sure not to link to outside sources from within a wiki page itself. While you may have written a lengthy article on a character or show elsewhere, we’re looking to keep the wiki interconnected.
- Research and double-check
Always make sure that you check Comicvine for the content you plan on adding. Even though the wiki is well maintained, there are probably thousands of undetected duplicates of smaller characters or pages that are created every couple of months that slip through the cracks. Check before you create!
If you have created a duplicate character, don’t let it slip through the cracks! Report it for deletion here!
- Add useful images
While it may be exciting writing up thousands of words on your favourite character, adding images helps add to the overall quality of the page. However, only add images that help showcase your character’s powers or a highlight of their career. We don’t need a panel-by-panel showcase of a character or story. For example, see Storm.
Don’t:
- Take over someone’s project
There have been many occasions where people have been halfway through a wiki project (myself included) and another wiki editor has jumped into a project and finished it up for you, not only taking away any wiki points that you would have earned, but wasted your time researching or writing up the article. Do not do this. While it may seem that you are helping the wiki out, it takes a lot of time and effort for some users to put projects together.
- Upload pirated content to the wiki
While this may only apply to images, it’s still a big deal to make sure we keep the wiki free of pirated content as the site may get into legal trouble for sharing illegal content or indirectly linking to pirated content. As an editor, you may also get into trouble for doing this.
If you want to upload a comic cover for a missing issue but it was a watermark to a pirate site, do not upload it to the wiki! It would be better to have a missing issue than pirated content. Even if it’s a TV channel’s logo in the corner, we still don’t want it as it detracts from the overall quality of the page.
- Make editing disputes a forum problem
If an editor is causing you hassle or “ruining” your project and won’t stop when you ask them, bring a moderator into the discussion. They’re more likely to help you if they understand the entire situation and can help work out a middle ground if possible. Don’t name and shame a user just because they’re working on your project.
Or if someone has made a mistake don’t call them out publicly as it may want them to stop editing or make problems worse.
- Add content you do not plan on editing
Over the years, thousands of blank pages have been added to Comicvine, whether it’s a character page or volume, do not leave it blank with no information added to it at all. These pages are considered Stub Pages and add very little value to the website. However, stub pages are a fantastic starting point for editing as long as the page follows the guidelines for the type of page that it is.
Even adding publishers or a small bit of information about the page, can go a long way and help future editors have a starting point for making it better. When adding pages that you don’t plan on editing completely, consider adding an image or even a short description of the page in the short deck at the top of the page.
At the end of the day, we’re a community-run wiki and we want to make it enjoyable and easy for people to edit content here.
- Plagiarize!!
This one should be obvious but even if you’re copying content that you created on another site and transferring it to Comicvine, we want our own original version of that content that is distinguishable from each other. The last thing anyone wants is accusations of stolen content. Doing this can get you banned.
- Overdo it with Themes
Themes are a rather new addition to the website, having only been introduced a year or so ago but are still a bit buggy. However, because you can gain points by adding themes to a volume or series page, it can be abused to some extent. Only add themes that are consistently brought up in the volumes/series. Don’t go adding themes like horror to Avengers Assemble because it had one Halloween/”scary” episode.
- Add every single panel a character appears into the image gallery
Having a wide variety of images to choose from when editing a page is wonderful as it can help add to the overall quality of the page. However, adding thousands of pages or individual comic panels that a character appears in can not only bloat the image gallery to the point that it's overdone, it can also get Comicvine in trouble for potentially hosting pirated content. Add what's needed and not everything and anything.
Wiki Terminology
- Associations: Pages that are connected to a wiki page.
- Alias: A name a character is also known by.
- Default: The default state of a page or image.
- Dupe: Duplicate page that is on its way to deletion.
- HC: Hardcover (A hardcover printed collection of issues)
- Indicia: Official publishing information located on the first few pages or the back of an issue.
- Person: A human who has worked in a comic-related role. Note: Actors can be included but their page must have information regarding what comic related work they have done. See Johnny Yong Bosch for an example.
- Publisher: A publishing company. Also used to associate characters to their owner.
- Series: A tv show or anime.
- Short Deck: Mini editing deck located at the top of the page used to summarise the page.
- Solicits: Official text used to describe what happens in a comic issue or volume.
- Stub Page: A stub page is a page with very little or no info on it.
- Synopsis: Official text used to describe what happens in a series episode or series overview.
- Themes: A genre/idea that the volume or series frequently delves into.
- TPB: Trade Paperback (A printed collection of issues)
- Things: An object used within comics/manga.
- Volume: A collection of individual comics.
Log in to comment