People on Wikia want to help. It seems to be a characteristic of people around here, and is something really special about our community. Often that urge to help leads to questions like "please can I be a chatmod?" or "how can I join the VSTF?" So today let's look at that.
The most important thing to know is: you don't need to have rights or a profile badge to be helpful. Of course you need to be careful about not trying to take on a role you don't have - there is a difference between being helpful and trying to take over from those whose job it is to manage the wikia. But there is a lot you can do without the admin profile badge, and a lot of pride and satisfaction you can get out of doing it.
How can I be an admin on my favorite wikia?[]
The route to becoming an admin or getting other rights on a wikia will vary a lot from place to place. Some wikias have a voting page where you can be nominated by others or self-nominate. On some young wikias, just talking to the founder and offering to help out might be enough. But on other wikias, especially many of the larger and more established ones, you are expected to wait until you are nominated by someone else, and asking for rights is pretty much the worst way to get them!
That's because some wikias will almost automatically reject anyone who asks to be an admin. This is partly because the people who ask tend to be new to the wikia and less experienced (after all, they haven't been around enough to know that asking is a bad thing!) and partly because admins worry that someone who asks for rights wants the "shiny badge" of being an admin, rather than genuinely wanting to help the community as a whole
So instead of asking, it's often best to try start by proving that you would make a good admin. This means editing well, adding and correcting information on the wikia, looking out for vandalism and reverting that, and being welcoming and helpful to those new to the wikia. You might also take on cleaning tasks around the wikia, for example making sure all double redirects are fixed, or just regularly visit and answer questions on a forum or in chat.
You should also be sure to take part in the wikia’s community. Maybe they have regular votes about new content, or discussions on how to best categorize pages - being a part of these will help you get to know the people on the wikia and help them get to know you. On most wikias, becoming an admin takes time, patience, and good work.
How do I become an admin on Community Central?[]
On Community Central, admins and chatmods are chosen by staff. We don't have a voting process and don't accept self-nominations or requests. Instead we look around at the wikia and see who are the most sensible, helpful, trustworthy, and skillful people around. We also look for people who tend to promote calm behavior and have a positive outlook as they talk to others. And maybe most importantly, we love to find those who show a real desire to help others just for the fun of it.
Once we think we've found the right person, we make a few checks to see if they are blocked from other wikias, or there are other likely problems. Then we talk to other staff and the existing admins and chatmods to see what their opinion is. Hopefully, with this process, we find the right people for this wikia
How do I join the VSTF or other global groups?[]
Global groups are ones that give you rights or a profile badge on all wikias. Each group has their own process for finding new members, but the first step is always making sure you know what the group does! We sometimes have people asking to join a group without any idea what it is or why they want to be a part of it!
But if you know what a group does, and think that would be something you would be suited for, then:
- The VSTF wikia has a membership page that explains that, like Community Central admins and chatmods, the VSTF is by invitation only. It also gives some ideas of things you can do to increase your chances of being invited.
- Helpers are part of the International Team, so the first requirement is that you speak English and at least one other language fluently (Google Translate won't do!). As with Community Central admins and the VSTF, Helpers are invited and not added from applications. But if you want to introduce yourself, you can do so on the International talk page.
- Wikia Stars has an application process, and also accepts nominations. Remember, only a few are selected, so please don't be disappointed if you aren't. See the Stars FAQ for more.
- We aren't currently recruiting for the Community Council, but we hope to again soon. When we do, this is likely to be a combination of invites and an application process. Watch this space!
- The Volunteer Developers program is quite new, and not yet recruiting more people. But you can still get involved on the Wikia Developers Wiki
How are people given rights on your wikia? What do you think is the best and fairest way?
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