Forum:Changes to the Create Wiki process

Hi everyone,

Today we are making a change to our wiki creation process and I want to take a moment to let you know what to expect.

Wikia has always been a place for people to document the topics which they are passionate about. Until now, the wiki request process has involved Wikia staff members evaluating each wiki request and accepting those which they believed would attract and sustain a healthy community. The new wiki creation system puts the power back in your hands and allows almost all requested wikis to be created.

Starting later today, all requested wikis will be automatically created and ready to edit within minutes. Users will be given a link to begin work on the new wiki before leaving the wiki request page. Wikis which might have been turned down in the past because they were of a personal nature, about a small group, or about a topic which we believed might not have enough of a broad appeal to warrant a full wiki, will now be given an opportunity to shine.

Does this mean that Wikia will allow more than one wiki for a given topic?

Yes, Wikia will no longer restrict wiki creation to one wiki per topic. While we strongly encourage everyone to improve existing wikis rather than creating new ones on the same topic, we will allow wikis on any topic (subject to our Terms of Use). If a user would prefer to document a topic differently than an existing wiki, then we encourage that approach. Each wiki will have an equal chance to create compelling content and succeed in its own way. Links between related wikis are encouraged so visitors can make their own choice about which communities to join.

What if someone copies content from my wiki to another wiki on the same topic?

Text added to Wikia is typically available under a free license which means anyone is welcome to reuse that content as long as they provide attribution back to the original creators and as long as both wikis use the same license. While it's fine to seed a new wiki with existing free content, Wikia does not encourage copying of large quantities of text or creating mirrors of existing Wikia sites.

What should I do if I see a wiki on a topic which violates Wikia's Terms of Use?

The first step is to talk to the wiki's admins about your concerns. It's likely they will change their behavior once they understand Wikia's guidelines. Serious violations should be reported to Wikia staff using Special:Contact.

Thanks! -- KyleH (talk) 15:51, 25 March 2009 (UTC)

Discussion
Nooooo (with tears)! Wouldn't this make wikis more competitive than collaboritive? --Michaeldsuarez (Talk) (Deeds) 15:54, 25 March 2009 (UTC)
 * Ugh. Allow me to express the grimace that's currently on my face as I read this. Yes, people should be allowed to make wikis on topics that they love and appreciate, populating the internet with content on the subject of their choice. However, that does not mean that Wikia needs dozens of duplicate wikis running around. I plainly don't understand the reasoning for this change&mdash;unless Wikia's staff is that overtaxed that they can't look at a wiki request and apply a common sense judgment to it, or they're trying to get (more) revenue by making (more) wikis that they can place (more) ads on. If this is a shameless ploy for more money, at least come out and state that's the reason. On Wookieepedia (one of Wikia's largest wikis, as staff is no doubt aware), we the administration have fended off hundreds of people who want to change our wiki away from the somewhat-encyclopediac standards we have set for it. Now, what Wikia is allowing people to do is take Wookieepedia's content and clusterscrew it to suit their own twisted aims. Because that's what already happened. There's a barely-existent inactive spinoff Star Wars wiki focusing on one subfaction from that universe and a majority of its paltry sum of content pages are direct ports from Wookieepedia. I went into Wikia's IRC channel to ask what can be done so Wookieepedia is at least credited for the work we put into that content, and they told me to fix it myself. Why is it the job of the original authors of content to stop other wikis from using content without crediting? I would think that's more of a Wikia issue, but I digress. The point is that this is the latest in another series of steps by Wikia to allow hundreds of crap wikis to populate their site. Now, they are taking away the common sense judgments that keep wikis organized coherently and cohesively by topic. Should I go to the Wookieepedia where I can conclusively say Palpatine was evil incarnate, or do I go to the Wookieepedia that lets me describe "Super Star Destroyers" as 8 km long, or do I go to Wookiepedia, where the inevitable mispelling is not only allowed but encouraged? This can and will be shameless exploited and will negatively impact the coherency of Wikia's wikis in general by giving incentives to users to create wikis that they like "in their own image." Yes, we know that our content is GFDL and can/is/will be used across the internet. But the idea of allowing other wikia wikis to be spun off just so they can jack and screw with our content is . . . both infuriating and mind-boggling at the same time. I cannot fully express my indignation with Wikia's decision, at least not without completely violating the WALLOFTEXT rule, but suffice to say, I'm quite displeased. Atarumaster88   ( Talk page ) 16:22, 25 March 2009 (UTC)
 * I agree with Ataru 100%.--Michaeldsuarez (Talk) (Deeds) 16:32, 25 March 2009 (UTC)
 * Small wikis about a niche topic that few people are interested in a perfectly fine imho, but duplicate wikis are not. The only people - aside from the money people at Wikia - who gain from them are the creators, who are unable to work within the established rules at the original wiki or have been banned, etc., so decide to make their own wiki. I can only speak of the few spinoff Star Wars wikis that I've seen, but the majority of these duplicate wikis are utter tripe, misleading, or offer nothing that's not on the original wiki, only better. They don't make Wikia look particularly good. In the interest of the reader, I think that before duplicate wikis are created, the original wiki's admins should be consulted for their approval, though I don't expect that to happen. AdmirableAckbar 16:54, 25 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Desperation + No Money = Bad Ideas. And man, is it disturbingly transparent how desperate Wikia has become. I didn't think it possible you guys could come up with a better way of slapping in the face the wikis who actually keep you guys afloat following that ad nonsense, but you've taken the cake this time. This is unprofessional and embarrassing. I am embarrassed for you guys that you have no better ideas up your sleeve than this. You've opened the door for cheap imitators to steal the content that actually drives the individual wikis that keep Wikipedia in existence to begin with. What's the point of having three wikis all covering the same topic with identical content? Anyone can already steal content on any wiki, so why are you promoting it? You claim to foster a sense of collaboration but then you actively seek to splinter the biggest collaborative efforts that exist. At the very least you should be offering some kind of protection for your powerhouses: Wookieepedia, Memory Alpha. Maybe before you guys finally capsize you'll figure out Golden Rule of Business No. 1: There can't be two yous. Reward those who benefit you and make you what you are, don't punish them. Toprawa and Ralltiir 18:01, 25 March 2009 (UTC)