Help:Blocking

Administrators can block users and individual IP addresses. Blocked users will still be able to read the wiki, but will not be able to edit or upload files.

Users can be blocked for many reasons. Each Wikia may have slightly different blocking policies, but in general, blocks are given for:
 * repeated vandalism
 * breaking policies
 * adding pages that are copyright violations.

Admins are advised to give a warning to people before banning them. It is also advisable to have a working email address in your preferences so you can be contacted by a user affected by a block if necessary. Most blocks should be for 24 hours.

If you feel you have been unfairly blocked, please contact the person who blocked you. Tell them what IP you are using. This information is shown on the page that tells you that you are blocked. A list of admins on each Wikia can be found by going to the Special:Listadmins page on that wiki.



What do we do about vandalbots?
Since a vandalbot may be attacking other Wikia too, it should be blocked as soon as possible. If you see one, try to c[ontact a staff member or janitor in the Wikia IRC channel or on the [Wikia:Talk:Spam_Blacklist|spam blacklist talk page]].

See vandalbot for more details.



Should we block open proxies?
Anonymous or open proxies should usually be blocked, when identified. You can set the timestamp for "indefinite".

Try not to block ISP proxies since this would affect a wide number of users.



Should we block ranges?
Range blocks are not recommended unless you need to deal with severe and prolonged vandalism from a particular range, and you are very sure what these mean and how to use them. It is advised that you report these problems and the use, or intended use, of range blocking on the community portal.



Can I customize the text that a blocked user sees?
You may customize the block message by editing MediaWiki:Blockedtext on your wiki.

For more on how to use the block page, see Help:Special:Blockip