Help:Blocking FAQ

Can I be blocked for whatever reason on a wiki?
No. An admin has many additional user rights on the wiki platform, but not the right to bully other community members with their local authority or even exclude them entirely for no good reason. Blocks may only be issued for violations of your stated rules or Fandom’s Terms of Use. If you found yourself unfairly blocked, you can appeal.

How do I block a user across Fandom?
If you suspect that a registered or anonymous user is vandalizing not just your local wiki but others as well, the situation may require a Fandom-wide block. In this case, please contact the SOAP for spam or vandalism and for other situations.

Global blocks are issued only when necessary. Problems in one community don't necessarily mean that a user should be blocked across all of Fandom. In general, a user is only globally blocked for:
 * advertisement spam,
 * large scale and/or persistent vandalism across several sites,
 * impersonating other users,
 * severe Terms of Use violations.

If a problem is happening locally, you should always contact local admins of that community first. If no admins are present, then contact SOAP for assistance in case it is about spam and/or vandalism or Fandom Staff in every other case. When the wiki has a Wiki Representative assigned, which will be indicated on Special:Community, you should reach out to them first before sending in a support ticket.

What do I do if I am caught in a global block?
If you are accidentally caught in a global block, please use Special:Contact to contact Fandom staff. In order to identify which global block affects you and investigate the matter, include all of the information displayed to you while you're blocked (seen when you try to edit a page), especially the block ID.

Sometimes, you can get caught in a global block if you're using a VPN or proxy used by another user who got global blocked. To get unblocked, disable your VPN or Proxy.

If you are caught in a content block that is blocking addition or modification of content on a page, please use this form and include as much information as possible, such as the information you were adding or other changes you were making.

What do we do about vandalbots?
A vandalbot is a script which automatically performs some kind of malicious edit or similar operation to a wiki at high rate. Since a vandalbot may be attacking other communities too, it should be blocked as soon as possible.

If you see one, report the bot via Report:Vandalism, or contact a SOAP member in the  channel on Fandom/Gamepedia Discord server, or staff via Special:Contact or the assigned Wiki Representative, whom you can find via Special:Community.

See Vandalbot on Meta-Wiki for more details.

Should we block open proxies?
Anonymous or open proxies should be blocked upon identification in most cases.

However, avoid blocking Internet Service Provider proxies and avoid permanent IP blocks. Most proxies use dynamic IPs, and a proxy block might end up affecting a legitimate user.

Should we block ranges?
Range blocks should be avoided, except for extreme circumstances, such as severe and prolonged vandalism from a particular range of IP addresses.

In these cases, ensure that you understand the risks associated with blocking IP ranges, how to make them, and that you do not set an infinite duration. When in doubt, contact SOAP.

Can I customize the text that a blocked user sees?
You may customize the block message by editing MediaWiki:Blockedtext on your wiki. Remember that the reason will be public, so keep it clear, informative, and polite.

How can I block a user indefinitely?
On the block user screen, in the "Expiration:" section, click "Other time:" to have a dropdown open and select "indefinite" from the options. Alternatively, you just type "infinite" or "indefinite" in the box provided after "other time:". Then, click "Block this user" at the bottom of the form.

Can I block everyone from the wiki so only one person can edit?
Blocking users to limit editing to a narrow group of users is not permitted, even for wiki founders. Fandom is built around the wiki idea, a network communities that can be freely edited by anyone. Wikis ultimately belong to their communities, not any one admin, bureaucrat, or even the founder.

If you notice attempts to abuse the Block feature in this manner, contact Fandom Staff through Special:Contact or the Wiki Representative, if one is assigned (you can check on Special:Community), to get it resolved.

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