Community Central
Community Central

Greetings.

With about one staff member per 11.8m users, that means we can't know everything that happens on your sites. The local admins will always have a much stronger idea of any context surrounding a blocking than we could ever hope to have. They know you. You're part of their community, a community they want to keep happy and healthy. That means deferring to their judgment is almost always the best idea.

Local admins also know their community much better than we do. Actions or behaviors that are verboten on some wikis would be celebrated on others. Admins know who’s had a history of stirring up trouble in chat, whose edits can be trolly, and who has a history of temporary blocks. That context is important! Staff can try, but we’ll never have the breadth and depth of knowledge that your local admins do.

And on a more philosophical note: your wiki is yours. Staff have a couple sitewide terms of use that we uphold (no cross-wiki harassment!) but we’re much happier to live and let live, as a rule. Admins know better than we do what kind of environment and culture you want your wikia to have; staff unblocking users who have been blocked by local admins wouldn’t be very respectful of that.

We want everyone to have a good time on Fandom. If you feel like you were unfairly blocked, the first thing you should do is read this lovely blog by Sannse. Usually, the best idea is to leave a message for the blocking admin on their Community Central wall. This is a neutral spot for you to talk it out. Depending on the situation staff can even help moderate these discussions.

I hope that was clear! Leave questions in the comments.

Want to stay up to date on the latest feature releases and news from Fandom?
Click here to follow the Fandom staff blog.

Click here to sign up for the From the Desk of Community email newsletter.

Want to get real-time access to fellow editors and staff?
Join our Official Discord server for registered editors!