Here on Community Central, chat is a great place get help with starting a wiki or have any questions answered on wiki editing.
If you need immediate support from a Wikia staff member, please contact Wikia Community Support or email community@wikia.com directly.
Chat Guidelines
We want to make Chat a welcoming and helpful place for new and returning visitors alike. In order to best provide an environment in which we can give help and support to users who need it, please keep in mind the following guidelines when using Chat.
- Be polite - Everyone else on Chat is a Wikia user just like you! Speak to them like you would want to be spoken to yourself. Real people use these sites, so treat them as you would someone in person. Avoid personal attacks and offensive slurs, as this can easily offend other users. Be excellent to each other.
- Be welcoming - New users join Wikia every day! Remember when you were a newbie? Everyone is welcome at Community Central, regardless of what wiki they're from or what language they speak.
- Be patient - You may ask a question when no one is around to answer it. If no one appears to be active, stick around for a while or try coming back later. When in doubt, feel free to send questions or concerns to Special:Contact.
- Be a catalyst - If nobody's talking, try bringing up something you want to discuss. Need help on your wiki? Seen any good movies? Have an awesome day at school or work? These are all are good starting points for conversation.
- Try not to flood or disrupt the chatroom - Doing so makes it difficult for users to communicate and answer questions, as messages quickly disappear. This includes (but is not limited to) typing random letters, typing each word of a sentence on a different line, creating ASCII art, or lines in ALL CAPS. PLEASE DON'T SHOUT! (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻
- Don't try to replace the moderators - If someone does something outside of the guidelines, please leave it to the chatmods and admins to tell them so. It's especially important not to have several people say the same thing, so let the chatmods do their job. If there are no chatmods or admins in the chat at the time, you can explain the rule or ask the user (but not tell them) to stop. But be sure it doesn't seem as though you are trying to take the role of a moderator
- Feel free to tell people about your wiki - While Chat is an awesome place to try and find new editors, please keep in mind that not everyone may be interested your wiki's subject. Feel free to add it to this list, or create a blog post to let everyone know about it!
- Keep it fun! - Chat should be fun for all participants. Chat is a great tool for meeting great people and building community, so relax, enjoy yourself, and help others have a good time, too! :)
At all times, please comply with chatmod and Staff requests. Failure to do so may result in a warning which then may lead to you being kicked or banned from Chat.
Chatmod Guidelines
- Be a Facilitator - As a Wikia chatmod, your primary focus is on encouraging conversation, supporting users and, in general, making sure Community Central chat is a welcome environment for all. The ideal chatmod is encouraging, and helps people feel supported and empowered. Chatmods are not police, they are guides and try to move the channel gently towards being a better place for all.
- Be Friendly - The most important role of a chat moderator is in setting the tone of the channel. If you are friendly and welcoming, others will follow your lead. If others in the channel are rude or confrontational, always react calmly and politely. Avoid responding in kind, even if provoked.
- Assume Good Faith - Since Community Central is open for anyone to contribute to, users of all skill levels and opinions are welcome to participate. There may be users who join Community Central chat who are unfamiliar with what being in a joint chatroom is like - assume that these users want to be a part of the discussion and that any mistake they make is just that - a mistake. Be kind in your correction and offer education to them.
- Be a Leader - The best leaders lead by example - in communications, in supporting new users, in offering assistance to all, and in facilitating conversation within Community Central chat. Chat moderators are not "in charge" of the channel, but represent the community and Wikia as leaders.
- Kickban with great care - Kickbanning should never be your first option when facing a challenging person in Community Central chat. Kickbans should be used only in extreme circumstances; kickbanning is NOT a tool to "handle" someone you find annoying. Everyone is welcome in Community Central chat.
- Keep it fun - Chat should be fun for all participants - including chatmods! If you find yourself getting stressed, it's always OK to take a break. Chat is a great tool for meeting great people and building community, so relax, enjoy yourself, and help others have a good time, too!