Help:User rights

Different users have access to different functions of the site.

Wiki founders are given administrator and bureaucrat access. They can make any other user on their wiki an administrator, bureaucrat, or give the rollback ability.

What can all users do on a wiki?
Anyone can read the wiki as well as create new pages and edit unprotected pages, including users without a user account. Any non-banned user is free to create a user account.

What can logged-in users do on a wiki?
Users who have created an account and logged in (this is free and only requires a username, password, and birth date) can:


 * customize the appearance and features of the wiki by setting their preferences.
 * maintain an article watchlist.
 * mark their own contributions as minor edits.
 * upload an image or other file to the wiki.
 * mark a page on recent changes as "patrolled" (where this feature is enabled)

Logged in users who have accounts four days old are given the 'autoconfirmed' user right.

Autoconfirmed users can move/rename pages and edit semi-protected pages.

A user with a confirmed email address can enable email messages from other users, and can request lost passwords. Some future social networking oriented extensions at Wikia may also require a confirmed email.

What is the rollback permission?
Anyone can revert vandalism and bad-faith edits, but it takes a couple of clicks in the page history to get it done. Users with the "rollback" permission are able to undo bad edits with one click, by using the rollback link on diff pages and user contributions list. They are just like logged-in users, only with one extra button.

It's important to note that sysops already have the rollback ability, so it doesn't need to be granted separately. Rollback is designed for helpful users who are not sysops but could use the tool to combat bad-faith edits.

Bureaucrats can give or revoke users' rollback rights by using Special:UserRights.

What can bots do on a wiki?
A "bot" is any automated process, program, or script that make it easier for a user to make tedious or repetitive edits on a wiki. When a bot makes many edits in quick succession, the recent changes log can sometimes be overtaken by quick and repetitive edits, making it harder to spot more substantial edits by. Giving an account a "bot flag" will hide these edits from the RecentChanges list (although any editor can still choose to see them by clicking "show bots").

On Wikia, a user who wishes to use a bot should set up a separate account for it, then talk with other users on the wiki (using discussion pages or forums) about whether the types of edits the bot makes should be hidden. This depends on the bot's purpose, and how well the bot user is trusted by the community.

If the community agrees that the bot account should be flagged, contact the Wikia Community Team with a link to the discussion and the bot flag will be added.

For more information on using and making bots, see AutoWikiBrowser or Pywikipediabot.

What can administrators do on a wiki?
Administrators can:


 * delete pages and page histories. They can also undelete a previously deleted page, or undelete specific revisions of it.
 * delete and undelete uploaded images and other files.
 * lock (protect) a page so it cannot be edited or renamed by users without admin rights.
 * block an IP address or user name from editing.
 * revert bad edits more easily using a "rollback" link which appears on diff pages and user contributions lists.
 * edit the MediaWiki namespace to make changes to the interface.

On Wikipedia, an admin is defined as a "trusted user". You should be aware that this might not be the case on Wikia. The requester of a wiki will be given admin access to that wiki on the Principle of First Trust. If a user later turns out to be irresponsible with the admin access, it may be removed by staff at any time.

For details, see the Help:Administrators' how-to guide.

What can bureaucrats do on a wiki?
A bureaucrat can make other users into bureaucrats or administrators, and grant and revoke users' rollback rights on their wiki. They are not currently able to remove admin access from any user. Please contact a member of the Community Team if you need admin access removed from a user. And, unlike Wikipedia's bureaucrats, Wikia bureaucrats cannot grant and revoke "bot" status or rename user accounts.

How do I grant rollback or admin rights?


A bureaucrat can grant or revoke rollback rights for non-administrators through Special:UserRights. Bureaucrats can also turn other users into admins or bureaucrats using Special:UserRights. However, only staff can remove those rights. There is a link to UserRights on the list of special pages, which is always available in the toolbox in the sidebar menu. Sysops have the rollback ability by default, so adding rollback to administrators grants no additional rights.

First enter the user's name (capitalization matters!) and click "Edit User Groups". The form shown at the right will be made available. Select the appropriate right(s) under "Groups you can change", fill in "Reason for change", and click "Save User Groups". Make sure you're giving rights to the right person by checking the links to the user page and the contributions! Once you save the form, a confirmation message will display which groups the user is now in, and the change in rights will be recorded at Special:Log/rights.

The user gains administrator access immediately. There is a link to the user's talk page on the form -- after receiving the confirmation, you may wish to use this to notify and congratulate the user, and perhaps provide links to Help:Administrators' how-to guide and any local policies for administrators on your wiki.

Who are users in the "helper" group?
Helpers consist of contractors and volunteer interns who are working for Wikia. They have administrator access to all Wikia.

See Wikia Helper Group for more info, or Special:Listusers/helper for a list.

What are the users in "staff" group?
User in staff group are Wikia employees and they have full access to all Wikia wikis. They will be shown in Special:Listusers/staff on any wiki. Please see Help:Contacting Wikia for details on how to contact Wikia staff.