Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-37720251-20181205231919/@comment-3218221-20181206005517

I strongly recommend reading Wikia's Terms of Use; if you feel that the administrator has violated one of these terms, FANDOM specifically says to contact Staff in such a scenario--which you can do with Applemasterexpert's link above. I'd specify which term(s) you believe the user/administrator is violating, as vagueness helps no one.

Keep in mind that administrators are considered the "local experts" in the community for their topic of choice (c.f. Wikia's own language in the last link) -- while your question is clearly concerned with the administrator's conduct, you may want to engage with other members of the wiki in search of some sort of community consensus.

(FANDOM loves intercommunity dialogue, and while potential T.O.U. violations are clearly a Staff matter, factual accuracy is a local community matter. Admins by virtue of their position are generally expected to be more  knowledgeable than the average fan, but that's not to say they can't be wrong. A majority consensus in a wiki community holds weight, because wikis are built by communities. (Well, the more popular ones are...)

One general suggestion I have concerning...delicate matters of canon, interpretation, and wiki accuracy - or, honestly, broad wiki matters as well - is to observe how other wikis handle similar situations. You won't necessarily find a clearcut solution, since no two wikis are really alike (in content, sysops, policies...) but it's often illuminating to wiki-watch.

As is the case here. Fate is hardly the only JP series to have a character whose gender is inevitably debated, right? Ergo, there are likely other wikis for Japanese series out there which have also faced similar intercommunity debates - so seek those wikis and those discussions out.

For instance, regardless of whether or not one's watched it, Grell Sutcliff from the Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler) series is one of the more...well-known examples where [western] fans have contested gender. If you visit the wiki, you'll find the gender question brought up in Grell's talk page, the subject of this lengthy, information-dense thread, and also this thread two years later.

As you can see, the admins decided to use neutral they/them pronouns in the wiki and leave the reader to make up their mind for themselves. Is it a solution that works for every wiki? No, and it's not quite foolproof even within its own wiki, but it's a compromise that steps on as few toes as it can.

(You will have also noticed the Word of the Author being brought up quite a bit, which is something some fans will live or die by. In your case, it seems like your authorial quotes weren't enough on their own to convince the admin that the author's statements were as sincere - or, perhaps, as explicit or clear on the matter - as you presented them to be. The "wonderful character" quote is rather vague on its own (and of ocurse you didn't present it on its own, I know) and could be taken more than one way.

(...The admin might be more willing to listen if you could find a more concrete statement from the writer on this, or more direct evidence that the wirter is truly informed/aware of the Japanese queer culture you cited and/or LGBTQ issues. Since they keep referring to that trope, they presumably don't see how your argument is proof that Alstolfo isn't 'simply' into crossdressing or isn't an okama.

(I haven't read/seen/played any Fate so I cannot/will not attempt to voice an opinion - not that this is really the place.... Ah, and I emphasized 'wiki' community consensus because, while you can look at relevant discussions elsewhere - like the ones that already exist on Reddit - and cite them, its the communtiy of editors and users whose says especially matter.)

You could, perhaps, cite official English translations (I think I've heard that the English release of FGO uses they/them) - but then, sometimes official English translations differ (and sometimes they can be wrong), so your mileage may vary per fandom.

My main fandom (Baccano!, a Japanese light novel series) has two characters with whom gender can potentially be a delicate subject, and as the sole sysop of the Baccano! Wiki - well, let's just say I see both sides of the coin *when it comes to wiki content and interpretation. I'm an active part of the fandom and thus am familiar with the various headcanons/interpretations/analytical perspectives people share; at the same time, I'm still an administrator who at the end of the day needs to look at canon/the original text for what it is and make a judgment call.

Sorry to bang on like that. In any case, I hope the debate/contention over at the wiki can be resolved peacefully and sensibly.