User blog:Zmario/Share Your Knowledge

Hey everyone, Zmario here. I wanted to create this blog post so any user would be able to share their knowledge when it comes to being a member of Wikia! Feel free to post in the comment section any information you think other Wikians could use to their benefit. Try not to post duplicate tips!! I will be recording the information below. Remember, have fun! Something you think is basic Wikia knowledge could be something someone didn't even know, so don't be afraid to post!! There is no limit on how many things a user could post, so put everything you know out there!!

The Wiki Wealth Database so far (I've already provided one tip):
 * Zmario - MediaWiki:Createpage-with-video is the default page layout when creating a new page. You can edit this to include templates or categories beforehand.


 * Zmario - Special:EditCount will show you a breakdown of the edits on whatever wiki you are on, as well as an overall view of activity on all Wikis.


 * Underscorre - If you need to make lots of basic edits quickly, using tools like AutoWikiBrowser can be very effective.


 * Underscorre - To work out how to customise text elements of your wiki, you can add "?uselang=qqx" (without the quotes) to the end of the URL, which shows the system messages.
 * Underscorre - (This doesn't really apply until JS is re-enabled, but it's still useful). Using custom JavaScript can greatly speed up and improve your editing, as well as improving the experience for your users, if you're an admin. There are a wealth of JavaScript tools available at Dev Wiki.


 * Underscorre - If you ask staff to enable the Special:AbuseFilter on your wiki, you can create conditions all edits will be checked against, which can be useful for preventing spam and vandalism.


 * Underscorre - Even though JavaScript is currently disabled, you can still import scripts for one time use via your browser's JavaScript console. Say, for example, you need to perform a mass null edit, you could import the script via the console, then use the script.


 * Rider ranger47 - MediaWiki:Titleblacklist is helpful for preventing vandalism and is enabled by default. It can stop account creations and page creations by matching regex.


 * M67PattonZippo - If you aren't very good at spelling or grammar, copy/pasting your edit into a blank Word document can allow you to use Spellcheck and proofread your edit before publishing it.


 * M67PattonZippo - Also, don't get too upset when someone over-writes your edit. That doesn't help anyone.


 * KCCreations - If you're going to be making an edit that you don't want to do all in one sitting (such as mass copy-editing), it helps to copypaste the source code of the entire page being edited into a blank Notepad document so that you have it later. Remember to save the file as something you'll be able to recognize.


 * ChaoticShadow - Monitor Special:RecentChanges rather than Special:WikiActivity, it's much better when it comes to patrolling (/spying on the editors) the changes for any mistakes or even vandalism.


 * ChaoticShadow - Preview button is always your friend when editing (source ftw), you may have forgotten a square bracket when ending a link (oh no!) or a curly brace for templates/tables, helps alot if you made a mistake and you accidentally break something!


 * ChaoticShadow - When making any CSS modifications to multiple elements, like say you wanted to make a certain special formatted table thing on the front page and you'd have to add the same inline CSS again and again and again and again, you shouldn't, just pop that css into MediaWiki:Wikia.css, MediaWiki:Monobook.css, or MediaWiki:Common.css, make a new class, and set all your elements to have that class, problem solved! No more eyesores over editing lotsa messy CSS, no more hassle to update them all one-by-one.


 * Iwantacallisto - The MultipleUpload tool can be used to upload up to 10 images at once for regular users, and 20 for admins. The "What links here" feature found under "My Tools" in the toolbar is also useful as it allows you to see what pages links to articles/redirects/files etc. can be found on. This is especially useful for admins when deleting pages etc. for cleanup purposes. Also remember to add your favourite and most used tools to the toolbar using the "Customize" button.


 * Iwantacallisto - If you ever want to replace a file with an improved version, rather than uploading a completely separate image and deleting the old one, use the "replace" option from the dropdown menu on its file page. Note that the replacement image must have the same file format as the image its replacing. i.e. you can't replace a .jpg with a .png for example.


 * Thezombiemelon - You can change between skins by adding "?useskin=Example" (without the quotes) to the url. You can use Wikia, Wikiamobile, Monobook, Cologneblue, Vector, Modern, and Chick skins.


 * Dimentio99 - Chat dos and donts do is it your first time in the chat? Then here are some tips to avoid getting kicked or even banned. do: talk softly and avoid using caps to much dont:USE CAPS EVERY SENTENCE. See it looks like I'm screaming at you, if face to face people dont like getting yelled at they probably dont want to get yelled at in the chat and its rude.


 * do: use kind words and resist to swear, don't put people down and respect peoples opinions. dont: put people down because of their beliefs, opinions, where they come from, their username, or their friends. REMEMBER: treat others like you would want them to treat you; follow rules in general.


 * do: respect mods and their decisions dont:get all upset because a mod banned u or your friend, they banned you for a good reason, because u constantly kept disobeying wikias rules which they must enforce.so just deal with it until your ban is over, you can join the lots of other chats on other wikis to. But remember that their chat rules may be different so read them.


 * do:not ask for peoples private info unless they agree to. dont: accuse them of being mean for saying no, remember its their private info and you have no right to have it unless they say its ok for you to have their info.


 * do:not spam letters, numbers, emoticons, links and so on. dont: link stuff to Youtube videos and sites that are inappropriate, a little language is ok.


 * tips:How do I pm someone? a:click on their avatar at the side of the screen and select private message. how do I block some one? a:under the word private e message click their avatar and select block user, to unblock user click their avatar and click unblock messages. Remember to have fun, follow the rules and keep it cool.


 * Pingirl234 - and are HTML codes which you can use to create various and wonderful colored texts or backgrounds. Or even make text bold type! A sample fomat is here: Text turns into Text
 * Josephyr - Use Monobook. It's excellent for getting that "encyclopedic look" on Wikia, and for me personally, I adore using it. While not as customizable as Oasis, for personal use, it is pretty handy. You definitely won't have to worry about Staff messing up anything with it, seeing as they leave the skin alone. ;)


 * Josephyr - Be friendly, but choose your friends wisely.


 * Josephyr - Report *all* spam, even if it's removed, to the VSTF.


 * Josephyr - Don't overact to trolls, vandalizers, or spammers. Just block them, report them if needed, and move on...


 * MichiRecRoom - It doesn't always take editing to help out a community. I barely edit and yet my knowledge of the MediaWiki platform and of programming languages (at least in Ruby and VB.NET) are usually pretty useful even to a project that doesn't particularly need it every waking moment of their lives.


 * MichiRecRoom - Oh yeah, don't just assume that Wikia Staff and VSTF are all the business types. A fair bit of them (at least) can take a joke here or there, whether it's on April Fools Day or not.


 * MichiRecRoom - And also, any good VSTF or Wikia Staff will set their priorities from most important to least important - You're more likely to see them help an underage user through depression first than to see them kick those users out of chat first. Or at least, that's what I've witnessed.


 * MrBreada - If there's a dead wiki, you should contribute as much as you can before trying to adopt it. It seems well-known, but it's not. At least 100 is perfect. Also, another member who edits alongside you can probably be better fit to adopt the wiki, so ask them about it.