Help:Create an account

Go to Special:Userlogin to login to an existing account or to create a new one.

Account registration is not required for reading or editing any of the Wikia sites, although some wikis have local policies encouraging you to register before editing. To learn about the differences in features available to anonymous and registered users, see Why create an account?

Your account is used on every Wikia, so you only need to create it once and you will be able to log into every Wikia community.



How do I create an account?
On the account creation page, only a username and password are required. Your email address and real name are completely optional.



What should I consider when choosing a user name?
Your user name will be shown in page histories and on recent changes. Please choose a user name that will not cause offence. Do not use a website address or email address in your name.

Real names are encouraged, but are by no means compulsory.

See Wikipedia's policy on names for further guidance.



What is my user page?
A blank user page is created for all registered accounts. Your username in page histories, recent changes, and signatures will be linked to this page, so people may click on these to find out more about you. You can introduce as much or as little about yourself as you like (keeping privacy concerns in mind), or to keep a collection of useful links to pages on the wiki. Your user page is editable by others, just like any other page on the wiki.

Your user page will be at User: Your Name on any Wikia you are working on. You can choose to have a separate user page per Wikia, or to redirect them all to your main user page on the central Wikia site.



What is my user talk page?
You will also have a talk page at User talk:Your Name on each wiki. This is a place for other users to leave you messages. When a new edit is made to any of your talk pages, you will see a you have new messages banner when you visit any page on any Wikia. You can always reach your talk page by choosing "My talk" from the userbar at the top of the page.



What are user subpages?
You can also create a limited number of user subpages. For example, you might want to keep a list of the links you find useful at User:Your Name/Links. Although this is in your namespace, this is not a private area, and is editable and viewable by any user. The wiki is not a private homepage provider, and content should be relevant to the Wikia at which you create the page. Misuse of the user namespace may lead to the deletion of your pages.



How do I choose a secure password?
Please choose a secure password. You can choose to have the site remember this password so you do not need to login every time you edit.

Do not use words from any dictionary in your password. These are open to dictionary attacks where hackers will be able to steal your password. Do not use easy to guess personal information in your password, such as a date of birth or child's name. It is best to use a mixture of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and special characters. Do not share your password with anyone, do not write it down, and change it frequently. Your password will be stored in a hash, so is not accessible to anyone else.



Do I have to enter an email address?
Entering an email address is optional, but recommended. If you forget your password, clicking the mail me a new password button is the only way to retrieve it; staff cannot retrieve or reset lost passwords, and you will no longer be able to use that account.

An email address also allows other users to contact you privately. The Special:Emailuser page lets other logged-in users email you via a form on the wiki; they will not see your email address.

Your email will not be used for any other purposes, and will not be sold or passed on to third parties.



Why do you ask for real names?
The MediaWiki software was developed for the building of reference works, where contributors often want to be credited under their real names instead of an internet alias, and this form was built to support that.

The real name field on the login form is optional. It may in future be displayed as part of the meta data of a page, but is currently not used anywhere on the Wikia system.



Is editing with an account less private than editing without?
No. You can edit the wikis without an account. If you do this, your IP address will be visible, and will remain permanently in page histories. For privacy reasons, it is therefore recommended that you log in.

Although you can edit without an account on the wikis, you will not be able to move pages, add pages to your watchlist, upload files, or change your preferences.

See Why create an account? for more about the benefits of logging in.



What is "my watchlist"?
Logged in users have the option of adding wiki pages to their watchlist. Each page has a "watch" link. Your can go to Special:Watchlist by clicking "my watchlist" in the userbar. There you can view all recent changes to pages that you have chosen to watch.

You will have a different watchlist for every Wikia. It is not possible at this time to combine them.



What is "my preferences"?
Preferences allows logged in users to change the appearance of the wiki by choosing different skins. Other options include setting your default language and timezone, changing the number of items in recent changes, and various options to allow you to edit in different ways.

Your preferences apply to all Wikia. It is not possible to have different preferences on different wikis.



Can my account be deleted if I stop using it?
It is not possible for accounts on Wikia to be deleted. If you want to use a different username, you can create a new account at Special:Userlogin and begin using the new one instead. If there is a risk you will be suspected of "sockpuppetry" (using two accounts for malicious purposes such as double voting), then you should add a note to the userpage of both accounts to make it clear you have changed your username. You can also redirect your old userpage and talk page to the new account name. Edits made under the old account will not be assigned to the new one.



What if I am having trouble staying logged in?
If you find your login is not remembered between browser session and you are browsing through Tor and Privoxy, try disabling Privoxy since this can demote cookies into session cookies. See config.privoxy.org. For other issues, see Help:Logging in at Meta.

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