User blog:Dopp/Help Create Guidelines for Community Central

Community Central has been through a lot of changes this year. We've created Founder &amp; Admin Central, added chat, and introduced categories for community blogging, as well as other improvements.

As promised in our last update, we want to provide guidelines for how we interact with each other in this community. We want to keep these guidelines simple, positive, and more about intentions than hard rules -- the goal is to help people understand how they can best participate. Below, you'll find our current draft for these guidelines. Please take some time to read and consider them, and then provide feedback in the comments section.

Community Guidelines
Community Central allows you to virtually meet up with other Wikia community members to talk about your wiki, learn about what's happening at Wikia, and find help. Here are some general guidelines we ask our community members to follow on Community Central:

'''Jump right in! '''Don't be afraid to get started. Anyone is free to edit a wiki, so start commenting, creating new forum threads, and writing blog posts.

Practice open-mindedness and assume good faith. Since Community Central is open for anyone to contribute to, users of all skill levels and opinions are welcome to participate. We assume that most people who work on a wiki are trying to improve it, not hurt it. If this wasn't true, a wiki project would be doomed from the beginning. If you think there is a problem, it's best to ask the user involved about the issue first, then take additional steps if need be.

Be nice. Being friendly and nice goes a long way, no matter where you are. Say hello to others, welcome new users, provide help when you can, and ask others if you need assistance. Being nice can greatly impact the growth and success of this wiki community.

Spread the word! A community is only as strong as all of its members. The more it has, the stronger (and more successful) it will become. So invite your friends and other Wikians who may be interested in Community Central to start spending time here.

Ask for help. If you are confused or need help, just ask! There are a lot of useful pages here, including our help pages, forum, local admins, and staff. Live help may also be available on IRC or Wikia Chat. No question is too small!

Admin Guidelines
Admins are present on Community Central to help keep things running smoothly. They clean up spam and vandalism, they intervene in disruptive behavior, they encourage participation, and they keep things on track. Here are some general guidelines we ask that our admins to follow on Community Central:

Revert and block simple spam and vandalism. If it clearly doesn’t belong here, make it go away. Remember to erase auto-deletion summaries. If it looks like a user needs to be banned globally, report the situation to a member of the VSTF.

'''Be fair. '''Consider situations carefully before acting on them. If a user makes an honest mistake, give them the opportunity to learn and improve.

Encourage participation. Be friendly and welcoming to members, help them get to know Community Central, and support their interactions.

'''Keep things structured, but not too structured. '''Do your best to support and maintain the goals and organization of the wiki, but be flexible about growth and change.

Adhere to direction from Wikia Staff. Community Central is an official wiki that is managed directly by Wikia Staff. Talk to a staff member before making any major wiki changes, and before blocking any active, regular community members.

What do you think? Please give us some feedback about these guidelines. Remember that we're not trying to govern every possible situation in detail here -- we just want to set intentions and recommendations to help keep our community healthy. Comment below and tell us what you like about them and if you think anything is missing. We'll take your suggestions into consideration and post the final version when it's ready.