User blog:TheGoldenPatrik1/Vandalism and Spam, Part 1

FANDOM is all about building quality content through teamwork. However, there are two primary things that get in the way of this—Vandalism and Spam. This blog attempts to explain what Vandalism and Spam are, who currently combats them, and how you can get involved. Let's jump in, shall we?

What They Are
Vandalism and Spam are two very different things, so it's best if we consider them separately.

Vandalism

 * Additional information can be found here.

Vandalism is the act of removing content from pages or inserting junk into pages. Both actions result in articles of much worse quality—after all, what good is a wiki with a bunch of blank pages?

Spam

 * Additional information can be found here.

Spam happens when a user advertises on FANDOM by posting links and information to third-party sites, typically with the intention of getting you to buy something. Spam is not gibberish—that falls under the category of Vandalism.

Who Combats Them
The fight against vandals and spammers is continuous. At present, it is led by the Volunteer Spam Task Force, which is often abbreviated as VSTF. It is a group of volunteers selected by FANDOM Staff, who have additional User Rights for the purpose of removing Vandalism and Spam.

How to Help
Want to help remove Vandalism and Spam? The best way to help is to start reporting on the VSTF Wiki. There are several different pages here for different types of reports (Vandalism, Spam, Spam Profiles, and Spam Wikis). Each page has an easy to use module to quickly add reports. So if you see some Vandalism or Spam, just fill out the form. Typically VSTF Members will get to your report within about 24 hours, maybe less.

Conclusion
I've covered a lot in this blog—what exactly Vandalism and Spam are, who cleans them up, and how you can help out. However, there's a lot more that be said on this topic—there are dozens of powerful tools for finding, reverting, and reporting Vandalism/Spam that I'd love to share with you. Unfortunately, they'll have to wait for another blog. I'll be posting it soon, so keep an eye out for it!