Community Central talk:Terms of use

Old section
This page should be protected, IMHO. --Ellmist 17:45, 13 Dec 2004 (PST)
 * Done. Angela 06:57, 22 Dec 2004 (PST)

-

Somewhere between signing up with a new account and making an edit, a user should be prompted to accept the Terms of use. An anonymous editer should be shown a link and a checkbox demanding that "you agree with the Terms of Use" before allowing an edit.


 * Added to feature requests. Angela 06:57, 22 Dec 2004 (PST)

''Wikia is a hosting provider, and takes no responsibility for the content uploaded by third parties. Wikia will act to remove copyright violations in a timely manner following the receipt of a DMCA takedown request. '' - should include a link to relevent copyright agent info


 * Done. Angela 06:57, 22 Dec 2004 (PST)

''All Wikia shall remain publicly viewable and editable unless Wikia chooses to remove a Wikicity. Wikicity pages should only be protected for administrative reasons or in cases of extreme vandalism or edit warring.'' This seems to be placing limitations on our own conduct, which is probably undesirable in a Terms of Use contract. Strictures should limit what we are required to do not what we are allowed to do.


 * Moved to protection since it is more of a guideline than a term of use. Angela 06:57, 22 Dec 2004 (PST)

In cases where it is legal to do so, the content will be made available as a database dump for download for a period after the wiki is closed. - similarly, this imposes an obligation on us. We are willing to do this, but we should not use legal sounding language to state we shall do it.


 * Ok. I removed that part. Angela 06:57, 22 Dec 2004 (PST)


 * Following the comment below, I think this should go back in. Users need reasurance their work won't be lost. Angela 18:21, 23 Dec 2004 (PST)

In the advertising section, there is no need to mention Google specifically.


 * Removed specifics about advertising. Angela 06:57, 22 Dec 2004 (PST)

TimShell 15:53, 20 Dec 2004 (PST)

Termination clause ?
I'm willing to invest in the Luxembourg and Suisse wikicities, but would need to have some assurance that if things go bad for any reason, I would be able to copy the wiki to another wiki provider (via a database dump; the "Special:Export file" mechanism does not keep the page layout information, and is thus unusable as it is today). I would require this clause from any hosting provider (even if free).

Also, at this point, I have no information on how advertising will be done, and I'm afraid that it could become intrusive. It is nowhere said that wikicity members will have a say in the design. So, I see this as a big risk, and a sufficient reason to stop my effort. Any information would be welcome.Pcarbonnelle 12:54, 23 Dec 2004 (PST)


 * I originally put in the terms of use that database dumps would be made available in the event of closure. I can understand users need reassurance, but at the same time, it's difficult to make promises such as this. I'd rather it were put back in, though I'll wait to see if anyone else comments. The advertising will certainly not be intrusive. The aim is to build communities, and off-putting advertising would severely hamper us meeting that goal. I expect the design will be to have the ads in the sidebar, as shown at advertising. I wonder if I'd be being too bold to state that we will never have pop up adverts ? I really can't imagine that would ever be the case. Initially, we intend to use Google ads, and their guidelines prohibit these. Angela 18:19, 23 Dec 2004 (PST)


 * Thank you for the link on advertising: I had not seen it before. This design would indeed be acceptable.  It would be good to also state that you'll never have pop up adverts.


 * I emailed Jimmy Wales about this, the president of Wikia, Inc., the company that now owns Wikia, and he stated we will never have pop-up ads on the site. Angela 12:43, 24 Dec 2004 (PST)


 * Three cheers (for no pop-up ads)! - RJ 21:15, 24 Dec 2004 (PST)


 * Concerning database dumps, previous versions of the terms of use indeed say that they would be available, but only in the case where Wikia chooses to close the wikicity. What about the case where the founder of a particular Wikicity chooses to close it ?


 * Founders don't have the right to close a Wikicity. Once it is part of Wikia, the entire community "owns" the content, with the copyright being held by whoever uploaded it. A founder has no more control over their Wikicity than any other user since it is a community built project.


 * Also, would you be ready to offer an ad-fre wiki hosting. If the founder pays a monthly fee, advertising would be removed.  What would be this monthly fee ? Would it be possible to have a different domain name than wikicities.com ? (This would make the free wikicities the entry point to a full wiki hosting service).  Pcarbonnelle 03:42, 24 Dec 2004 (PST)


 * Not at the present time. We are aiming to build communities, not provide a wiki hosting service. There are other hosting providers which you could transfer the database to, such as myoo.de, but this does not mean the content would be removed from Wikia. Angela 03:57, 24 Dec 2004 (PST)

Relevant link to purchase games allowed?
I'm a sysop at the recently-opened Creatures Wiki. In entries for some of the games, links have been added to the main store for these games at the developer, Gameware Europe and to the developers for the Linux port of the Creatures 3 game. No money is being made off of these links, but having read the terms of service, I believe these may be in contravention of the "no non-Wikia advertising" clause, depending on interpretation. I don't really want to remove them, though, as I believe them to be of use to users wishing to purchase these games (users themselves suggested the need for them!). They are not big flashing ads saying "BUY CREATURES NOW", just external links at the bottom of pages, like the ones for Creatures Internet Edition. My question is, are these types of link permitted, or should I remove them? GreenReaper 23:21, 6 Jan 2005 (PST)


 * I think this is something for the individual wiki communities to decide. As long as it's presented as information, rather than as an advert, it seems ok within the terms of use. Angela 03:57, 7 Jan 2005 (PST)


 * OK, thanks for the clarification! GreenReaper 11:18, 7 Jan 2005 (PST)

Rephrase suggestion
> The collection of cookies is needed to log in to Wikia.

should probably read

Your browser must permit cookies to be set (by *.wikicities.com) in order for you to log in to Wikia.

"Collection" sounds too much like the server is collecting something, which it a) incorrect and b) precisely what scares people about cookies. --Baylink 19:32, 17 Apr 2005 (UTC)


 * Maybe we should just change it to this? :-)


 * "Cookies are a delicious delicacy consumed by the MediaWiki imps. Your browser should be set to dole them out to, otherwise the imps may get grumpy and 'forget' that you have logged in."


 * *grins* -- 22:38, 17 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Page Protection
The article reads "you agree to be bound by any changes to this page." A new user may be unsettled by this, as a wiki page is usually editable by anyone. We should make it apparant that this page is protected and may not be changed by people without administrative previleges. I suggest that we make a "Protected pages" category for protectd pages.

Collection of personal information
second paragraph: "You may change this email after your request in your user preferences". Can someone explain what this means? &mdash; Danielwang 16:01, 13 Jul 2005 (UTC)


 * It just means you can go to Special:Preferences and type a new email address. The original one you put in won't be stored. Angela (talk)

Wikia content
Should Uncyclopedia be added to Memory Alpha as a wiki that isn't liscenced under the GFDL? --212.50.162.251 15:33, 2 Sep 2005 (UTC)

Public domain site
Are public domain wikis allowed? -- Beland 20:30, 3 June 2006 (UTC)


 * You're welcome to Multi-license your own edits public domain. Angela (talk) 22:47, 3 June 2006 (UTC)

User account info
In the event that a wiki is closed, will login information be preserved in the final database dump? When adopting an existing wiki, is it feasible to retain existing usernames and passwords? -- Beland 20:30, 3 June 2006 (UTC)


 * Wikia uses a shared user database for all wikis, so user accounts still exist when a wiki is closed, but the login information is not publically available. Angela (talk) 22:47, 3 June 2006 (UTC)

Anonymity and Advertising Revenue
If I choose to remain anonymous (by using a fictitious user name and a fictitious but valid email address, can I still collect advertising revenue?

How?


 * You're thinking of OpenServing, not Wikia.com. For OpenServing, your name isn't needed by us - we just need your Google code. I think you will need to give your real details to Google to get one of those, but see for more details. Angela talk 17:07, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

Google Ad Code
In regards to the OpenServing Registration, what are you defining as the google ad code?

Google defines "ad code" as the code that is actually generated to paste into one's source document.

Google does display "property info" under "my account" on google adsense. Is this what open serving registration means by "ad code"?

Thanks kindly, Al Toman


 * It's whatever you would paste into your blog to make the ads appear. Angela talk 15:31, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

Privacy policy - none?
Looking to link the NZ Wikia "Privacy policy" page to Central, I followed the standard "Privacy policy" link on pages here, only to see this redirect:
 * Terms of use
 * (Redirected from Wikia:Privacy policy)

That's OK, I guess, in principle, but:
 * 1) the word "privacy" cannot be found on the page;
 * 2) the page would be better if it did not have the standard "Privacy policy" link, which in this case just comes straight back and may confuse some users.

Is there a privacy policy?

Robin Patterson 23:37, 16 January 2007 (UTC)
 * Yeah, I think section Collection of personal information is about privacy policy. Szoferka 23:46, 16 January 2007 (UTC)
 * At least I hope it's that, 'couse I've already translated it and copied to several dozen of Polish wikis. :) Szoferka 00:00, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

I don't get it, is this contradiction?
It says:
 * Pornography and hate sites shall not be created as Wikia. However, please be aware that wikis may still contain content of an adult nature, or content that you find offensive.

Doesn't the two paragraphs contradict each other, saying that you're not allowed to post offensive things yet wikis are still allowed to have them. Or is only the cabal allowed to post them? :)
 * Users of this service shall not act in a way on Wikia which would be harmful to minors.

Wow, this is good to hear. But Wikipedia's been going against this for a while, even having a UBX saying that "Wikipedia is not censored for minors", and the naked woman picture clearly shows intent in offending minors.
 * Wikia does not control the content, and does not approve the content before it is published. Although they are not obliged to do so, Wikia, Inc.,or its designees, have the right to remove any content for any reason, including violation of these terms of use.

It says Wikia.com is not responsible for any of this happening, but they're also saying that they won't allow Terms of Use violations like this to happen. So what's gonna happen?

I'm not trying to start a flamewar here. It's just that I've already spend so many hours being a wiki editor, and reading this comes as a BIG suprise for me.--JDitto 03:06, 19 January 2007 (UTC)


 * Different people find different things offensive. Some people find religious content offensive, but there are several wikis on Wikia that are based on religion.  As far as differences from Wikipedia is concerned, that should come as no surprise, since Wikimedia seems to me to be saying that Wikia isn't run by Wikimedia (the people who run Wikipedia).  I think part of the point they're making is that, since the sites are wikis, it's impossible for Wikia staff to review every edit before it is made, and if offensive stuff (like pornographic vandalism, etc.) appears on a page, it's not Wikia's fault.  And Wikia and Wikipedia don't have the same standards because they aren't part of the same organizations.  Scott ch 04:01, 19 January 2007 (UTC)
 * Oh. So they're Wikia and Wikimedia are not the same. Lol. Thanks.--JDitto 05:19, 20 January 2007 (UTC)

Legal stuff
I'm thinking of making a site on wikia, but reading this terms of use stuff makes me worried and makes questions appear.

I'm mostly worried for the legal stuff. Say i start a site, than at one moment some criminal comes along and hacks through my site this whole organisation. Will i be held responsable for this? I mean, i'm just learning. SO i would like specific answers and would like to know:

-If someone does something bad will i be held responsible and dragged to court?

-If say, i am fed up with running the site, can i just give the controll back to wikia and stop?

-Can i let the site run autonomne?

-What are the exact legal restrictions that can give you real, consequences (LAW)...
 * Well, I am not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice, but in my experience that I doubt we'd hold you responsible for the actions of another party on our system. With regard to content, however, you should endeavor to monitor and remove objectionable content from your wiki within both what you feel is acceptable and the terms of service set forth by Wikia. If you no longer wish to run the site, simply contact us and we'll put it up for adoption later. I hope this answer has been acceptable and if not, just let me know and I'll try to explain myself better. -- JSharp (talk) 23:13, 11 June 2008 (UTC)

Wikia Farm?
I just noticed Toughpigs' removal of Wikia's promise that it would "never host" pop-up ads. I think it somehow fitting that the username of the user to do this is named after the animals who, in Animal Farm, altered the Animal Farm's rules on the sly to trick people into thinking everything was right with the world. Is Wikia planning to host pop-up advertisements in the foreseeable future? I certainly hope that we don't move yet another step closer to being Geocities with more hosting space, but what do I know? I don't make the money off of this stuff, I just provide it.-Ljlego 04:32, 15 June 2008 (UTC)


 * Surely that edit is some sort of mistake. I mean, Wikia can't sink that low, can they? -- Manticore   (talk)  04:41, 15 June 2008 (UTC)


 * As I said on the forum page for Wikia's New Style: I took out the line about never hosting pop-ups. We're starting to talk about the terms of service, and we noticed that that specific line made a promise that we weren't comfortable with. That line was written back in 2004, when the business was very different.


 * There are no plans to host pop-up ads, and as you can see, "tricking" people on a wiki doesn't happen. It's just that in a time of transition, it's not smart to use the word "never" in your terms of service. The only plan that we have is the one that you can see on Communitytest. -- Danny (talk ) 04:50, 15 June 2008 (UTC)
 * So the Wikia brass is uncomfortable with promising that they won't serve pop-up ads. That, of course, means that some time in the future there would be a reason to feel uncomfortable with that.  Presumably that would be because the money involved is just getting too thin.  I'm no economist, nor am I an accountant, but I think the answer to your money problems might lie in being a little bit more discriminatory in the wikis you host as opposed to advertising the life out of them.  Hey, that's just me.-Ljlego 15:09, 15 June 2008 (UTC)
 * There are no plans now; there were no plans in 2004. What's the difference between saying "never" in 2008 and "never" in 2004? A promise is a promise - you can't pretend it never happened. You're essentially breaking a prior promise by taking it out of the Terms of Service. Dr. Skullthumper 19:01, 15 June 2008 (UTC)
 * I'm pretty sure the ToS similarly says they can change it at any time and for any reason. I could care less about the change myself. --Sky 19:04, 15 June 2008 (UTC)
 * Well, I'd personally be pretty upset if I suddenly found myself having to navigate away from a popup every other time I loaded a page... -  TLB ( Tick Tock ) ( Contribs )
 * They can change it, certainly. Wikia cannot bind itself to future actions - or rather, it can, but it can choose to unbind itself later. Of course, it is still a promise to users that has now been broken. It makes it harder to trust the company, just as it would be hard for you to trust a person in the same situation. Those who took this specific assertion into account as part of their decision to use the site might also decide to review their decision.
 * On a personal basis, I'm rather disappointed, since I repeated this assertion myself while working to promote what was then known as Wikicities. How many others did the same when selling this company's services to their respective communities? --GreenReaper(talk) 01:55, 16 June 2008 (UTC)
 * Angela's comments here might be worth bearing in mind. The conversation she was referring to starts on page 13 of this Wookieepedia mofference transcript. --GreenReaper(talk) 02:27, 16 June 2008 (UTC)
 * I'm glad to see that this change has been reverted. I cannot really see any situation where it would be a good idea to have such ads, if only because Wikipedia might seriously reconsider its linking policy as a result. --GreenReaper(talk) 20:54, 17 June 2008 (UTC)