User blog:Doctor98/How to be a good Editor, and not make pointless edits

Looking back on it, helping TheSitcomLover out of getting blocked, I've learned very many valuable editing tips and tricks to maintain your admin status, and not seem like the biggest nerd on wikia.

Tip 1: Linking
Okay, links are good (Very, Very Good). They help show off the wikia you are proud to edit. But don't sit there, go through the page, and go "Oh. Gee.. I want that to be a link. I'll do it."

THAT IS A REAL BIG NO NO

Links, as I said, are good, but just one or two to the same page are all that are really needed. For example:

My favorite page is Help:Color. I like Help:Color. Help:Color is cool. we should all read Help:Color. Better:

My favorite page is Help:Color I like that page. It's cool. we should all read Help:Color.

The first sentence looked very juvenile. The first thing that comes to mind is "Boy, this user just learned how to do links." Also, the page would look like a mess. All you see are 1,000 links to the same page! The second sentence looks neater because it starts with a link and ends with a link. So, if you missed the first link, the second link is there to show you the page you are talking about.

Tip 2: Capital Letters
this is a very annoying problem, and it makes me cringe to see grammar done so poorly. Please, just remember. If you 'Start a sentence, start with a capital letter. This ones gonna be the shortest tip of them all.

Tip 3: (Don't) Just Edit
Just because you are a Wikia user, or an Admin, it doesn't mean you need to edit everyday. Just stop by wikia. They'll know when you logged in, and logged out, so you'll be safe. And, to make yourself feel better, just look in the recent activity, and just check some of the recent edits. Check the message wall posts to make sure they aren't spam. But this doesn't mean "Stop editing completely (although I wish one user would), it means don't devote every single day, hour, minute, second to Wikia. Spend time outside of it learning. Who knows? You might find something new to add to your wikia that no one else knew about (Like the Super Mario 64 Beta page I made over at MarioWiki).

Tip 4: Messaging
Okay, now for alllllll the little things I can tell you about messaging. Be it message wall or talk page, when someone says "No", then they mean No. I was bothered by a user to email someone, for something he wanted done. Before I did a harsh block, I decided to say no. But, he asked again why. So, I gave out my answer. He asked for at least the sixth time. So I just said No! At least I don't have to hear about that anymore. It's nicer not to drag on and ask why? It bothers everyone, and makes them annoyed. Instead, change the subject, oorr just stop completely. Me and that user could have broken the world's record of Longest Message Wall post if he could have stopped when I asked him to (Okay, that seems wrong, about the World's Record, but, you get an idea). I don't mean, dening a user the right to know an answer, I mean on topics (like the one I pictured).

Tip 5: To Antagonize, or Protagonize?
Really, in some films, it's quite obvious. Files like Saving Primitive Ryan and The Lion King II: Simba's Pride is a good example of misleading titles. The title misleads you into thinking that Simba is the main character, when Kiara, his daughter, is. Before you go saying who plays what role, look around first. Don't just claim "Oh, So and So is the Main Character." Because then you'll be asked "Whyy?" All you can answer is "Because I said so." Whether you are a control freak or not, the users will think that you are controlling. Instead, if you are unsure, or even think you're right, just check. For the sake of the admins, just check. Wikipedia is a great place to look. If you can't see the page there, then just search with a search engine like Google or where ever works for you.

Tip 6: No Admins at ALL
This is one reason why I left MarioWiki for a short period of time. The Admins left it. That was kinda a mistake. There was so much spam that was being added, and some of it is still being removed. The only reason I brought that topic up is the "Spammers will make your stay there a living HELL!" For example, I came across the story of the TUGS Wiki. As it goes, spammers over took that wikia, and the few users who ran it are now it's rightful admins. But I read a few stories there like "The Parody of I'm Sexy"... "Bums and Gums"... "Brenuson the Anon. Tug" and more. If an admin does decide to leave a wikia, make a plan to promote someone new to the staff. But don't just pick someone because they're your friend. Because most of the time, that friend has like 1 edit.

Tip 7: Pictures
PNG...JPEG... I really could care less whether the pictures format was one of those. BUT, just because you didn't like the picture, or, the picture had a tiny bit of a blur in it, it didn't need to be replaced. Because that leads to the original uploader to thinking you are a jerk. If the picture was like the one on the left, then by all means! R.E.P.L.A.C.E.A.S.A.P! But if it's like the one on the right, then just leave it.

Examples


Don't put yourself through extra work and risk being yelled at just because you had a problem with an image.

Tip 8: Cyber Bullies and Spammers
I honest to the great kings HATE spammers. Cyber Bullies too. They'll just come to your wiki (Or your Tardis on Roblox), and take over and boss. But Cyber Bullies and Spammers are very different. Cyber Bullies will come out and just start, or just get scared and then start it up. Scared? Yeah, they could take a warning as a threat, or misunderstand a bunch of rolled back/undone edits. Mostly, that's how you can tell if the user is Underage. Spammers, on the other hand, have to types of personalities, from what I've seen. Spammers can either.. However, I do remember that Anon. editing is wrong, and all Anons. should be blocked, even the good ones.
 * A), Get really ticked off at one undoing or
 * A½), Just take over an inactive wikia and turn it into their own junkified Wikipedia (Like a Thomas Tank Engine wikia I saw with Bob the Builder pages).
 * B), Be really really really sweet, and woo their way into staying unblocked, and then start spamming (I literally saw that done before, no joke).
 * B½), Just be really nice, and not spam. I mean it, I saw a spammer running a Wikia on his/her own. Sure, his/her grammar was awful, but he did it.

Tip 9: Just a Few Quick Tips to help Your Editing
Okay, some last things to remember are:
 * It is safe to just stick to one page until you find more things to edit. Example: On MarioWiki, I'm gonna try and expand the page called "List of King Koopa's alter-egos" and "Fortune Street," and on the Lion King, I busy myself with their conversion of Images to .PNG. However, I found tons of stuff edit besides that.
 * Mini Moding gets really annoying, and ruins wikia for everyone.

I hope all this help you and your problems! --http://images.wikia.com/__cb20120808022658/lionking/images/thumb/2/24/Nala_%282%29.png/50px-Nala_%282%29.png Doctor98 Just Eat It!http://images.wikia.com/__cb20111023154821/mario/images/thumb/d/d3/BowserPinballSprite.png/40px-BowserPinballSprite.png 23:30, January 19, 2014 (UTC)