User blog:ThatAnnoyingDemigirl/Guide to the wiki

Hi there! This blog post is designed to tell you about important things you will often see on the wiki.

Note: in this blog post, the term "moderators" is being used to refer to all wiki staff, including bureaucrats, sysops, thread moderators and content moderators.

''Note #2: this blog post is not the official guidelines page for the wiki. It's simply an informal guide about common things on the wiki, to help avoid confusion among new users.''

Note #3: if you have any suggestions about things to include in this blog post, you can put them in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

Note #4: before you read this, make sure to read the rules, the community, style and editing guidelines, and the FAQ.

DNIs
DNI stands for "Do Not Interact". It's a way of setting boundaries with who you do and do not want to interact with.

When And How Can You DNI Someone?
If a user makes you feel uncomfortable in any way, send them a message on their message wall notifying them of this. Do not make a post on the discussions page about this. You can specify if there are situations where you are okay with interaction - such as upvoting posts and voting on polls.

Situations When You Cannot DNI Someone
If the reason you don't want to interact with a user is because they are part of a certain group (e.g. endogenic systems), then you cannot send them a DNI request. Only ask for someone not to interact with you if it is them that makes you uncomfortable, and not one of their identities etc. Additionally, you cannot say "moderators DNI", because moderators need to interact with users to give them warnings and block notices.

DNI Lists
You can include a DNI list in your profile page to remind yourself and others who you can and can't interact with. There are three main formats of DNI list that you may see on this wiki.

"DNI if..." Lists
With these types of lists, users will list groups of individuals they don't want to interact with them. These groups are not identities (for example, things like "DNI if you identify with xenogenders" are not allowed). An acceptable "DNI if..." list could be "DNI if you're exclusionist, homophobic, transphobic or enbyphobic". If you fall into one of the groups listed in one of these, you should respect the user's boundaries and not interact with that user.

"Put your username here..." Lists
These type of DNI lists, often worded something like "put your username here if you don't want me to interact with you", are for other users on the wiki to edit to notify the user that they don't want to interact with them. You could also put a message on the user's message wall, but the user will still see it if you add your username to one of these lists on their profile page.

"DNI specifically..." Lists
These type of lists are for the user to add those who they don't want to interact with to their own profile page. If you find yourself listed on one of these lists, do not interact with the user, and don't remove your username from the list.

Breaking DNIs
If a user has requested for you to not interact with them, you should respect that. If you are found to be breaking a user's DNI, you will be warned by a moderator. If you continue to break DNIs, you will be blocked for a week.

Trigger Warnings
Many posts you will see on the wiki will include trigger warnings or content warnings.

What Are Triggers?
Triggers are things that cause negative emotions in someone. They can cause feelings of panic, flashbacks, feeling extremely upset or angry, etc. To avoid users experiencing these feelings, since many users on this wiki have triggers, trigger warnings are necessary.

Misconceptions About Triggers
Triggers are commonly misunderstood by many individuals, and it is very common to see 'triggered' used to mean 'ticked off'. This is not what the word means, and can be very invalidating and hurtful to those with triggers.

What Are Trigger Warnings?
Trigger warnings, often abbreviated to TWs, are notices at the start of posts that tell the readers if there is any content in the post that could potentially be triggering. There are many things that are expected to be TW'd on this wiki. Some of them may seem like everyday things that aren't triggering, but the reason they are commonly TW'd is because many users are triggered by them. Trigger warnings could be included in the title of a post and written something like, for example, (TW: parents).

Commonly TW'd Things
Common TW's include but are not limited to:


 * Family
 * School
 * Self-harm and suicide
 * Death
 * Animals
 * Injuries and illnesses
 * Pain
 * Doctors, therapists, and hospitals
 * Swearing and slurs
 * Queerphobia (homophobia, transphobia etc.)
 * Other forms of discrimination and bigotry (racism, ableism etc.)
 * Sexual harassment, abuse, and assault
 * Talk of genitals, sex and NSFW/NSFL (not safe for work; not safe for life) content
 * Paraphillic disorders and acting on that attraction
 * Bullying
 * Violence
 * Blood and gore
 * Trauma
 * Mentions of being triggered
 * Eating disorders
 * Food
 * Talk of mental health
 * Self-hate and self-deprecation
 * Misgendering, deadnames, and deadnaming
 * Dysphoria and dysmorphia
 * Dissociation, including derealisation and depersonalisation
 * Problematic wiki users (e.g. the trickster)
 * Abuse of any kind
 * Weapons
 * Police
 * Drugs and alcohol
 * Caps lock
 * Bold text
 * Italic text

Things That Should Not Be TW'd
There are some things that we do not allow to be TW'd on the wiki, which are listed below.


 * Any neurodivergence (paraphillic disorders and eating disorders are an exception to this rule, and should be TW'd)
 * Otherkins and alterhumans
 * Furries
 * Age regression, species regression, and pet regression
 * Systemhood, endogenic systems
 * Religion

Content Warnings
Content warnings, often abbreviated to CWs, are similar to TWs but for things that may not be triggering, but still may be uncomfortable for the reader. Common CWs include but are not limited to:


 * Fonts other than the default fonts for the wiki
 * Eyestrain (e.g. bright colours in pictures)
 * Bold or italicized text (you do not have to CW for a single word)

What Happens if You Don't Add a Trigger Warning?
A moderator may edit your post to include the trigger warning. Do not edit your post to remove the trigger warning if a moderator has added it. Users may comment on your post to ask you to add a trigger warning for something. If someone asks you to add a TW, you should add it.

Uncommon Triggers
You are not expected to add TWs for everything that could possibly be triggering. However, if someone is triggered by something in your post, and they ask you to add a TW, you should respect that trigger and add the TW. Likewise, if something in a post triggers you, feel free to ask for a TW to be added even if it's an uncommon trigger.

Consequences For Not Respecting Triggers
Do not mock or make fun of triggers, however absurd they may seem. All triggers are valid. If you mock triggers, or refuse to add TWs, you will be warned by a moderator. If you continue to do so after the warning, you will be blocked for a week.

Censoring Trigger Warnings
Most trigger warnings should not be censored, to make them more readable. For some TWs, such as suicide, minimal censoring should be put in place (e.g. TW: s*icide (u)). The letters which have been censored should be provided in brackets after the word. If your TWs are too heavily censored, a moderator will edit it to uncensor it.

Tone Indicators
Tone indicators, also known as tone tags, are ways to show tone through text. This is useful for many neurodivergent users, as they can struggle to read tone through text. Because of the amount of neurodivergent users on this wiki, tone indicators are necessary. A list of tone indicators can be found on the neurodivergent page. If you don't use tone indicators, or refuse to, you will be warned by a moderator. If you continue to not use them, you will be blocked for a week.

What Are Typing Quirks?
Typing quirks are any way of typing that deviates from the norm - for example, using "0" instead of "o" (E.g. hell0 every0ne). Users may use typing quirks because it makes them feel comfortable, simply because it's fun, or for other reasons.

Translations
All typing quirks require translations. This is because of dyslexic or other neurodivergent individuals on the wiki that struggle to read typing quirks. If you do not provide a translation, a moderator will edit your post to add a translation.

Wiki Drama/Discourse
There have been many instances of drama or arguments on this wiki - for example, the lesbian page drama, and the trickster drama. It's best to avoid making posts about drama, as this causes more opportunity for arguments, and may bring up old drama. Conversations about drama may be restricted to one thread. If drama or arguments get heated, posts may be locked.

Problematic Users
As this is a public site, there are going to be users that are rude, homophobic, etc.

Reporting
If you find a post that breaks guidelines, click on the three dots and select "report". Moderators can then be alerted to that post's existence and delete it, and block or warn the user if necessary. If you find a problematic user, do not call them out on the discussions page, as this may spark drama/arguments. You can also contact moderators privately on their message walls to inform them of problematic users.

Trolls/Cross-Wiki Raids
Sometimes, we get a troll on a different wiki pinging users from this wiki on a seemingly innocent-titled post on the different wiki. These posts are usually NSFW or gore spam posts. Do not click on notifications from a user you don't recognise on a wiki you're not on. Often, these cross-wiki raids are targeted at users from this wiki. Avoid making posts about the troll, and do not ping them, as this may bring them to this wiki. Moderators may make posts about these to tell users not to click on the notifications, but posts made about it by most users on this wiki will be locked and/or deleted. If you do click on the notifications, report the posts and if you can, report the troll to FANDOM staff.

Ban Evasion
If you have been blocked, for whatever reason, you should not create another account to continue being on this wiki. If you are found to be a previously blocked user, you will be indefinitely blocked on your new account. If you think a user may be a ban evader, you should contact moderators on their message walls about it. Do not make a post calling the user out.

Upvoting Vent Posts
Many users are uncomfortable with other users upvoting their vent posts. Often, if a user is uncomfortable with this, they may add "no upvoting" or "only upvote if you comment" at the top of the post. You should respect those boundaries and not upvote a post if the user doesn't want you to. If you're unsure whether upvoting is allowed because it doesn't say in the post, you can comment to ask. Reasons why users may be uncomfortable with their vents being upvoted include feeling that the upvoter is saying something like "I'm happy that you're suffering", or that upvoting is just reading it and moving on instead of commenting. If you are found to be upvoting users' vent posts when being told not to, you will be warned by a moderator. If you continue this, you will be blocked for a week.

"Vote See" Buttons On Polls
There isn't currently a way for users to see the results of a poll without voting themselves, so this means the user who posted the poll has to vote to see the results. Often, they will create an option just for them, with something like "my vote, don't click" or "my vote see". You shouldn't vote on those buttons unless the user has said it's okay for other users to vote on that option. If you vote on a user's vote see button when it says not to, you will be warned by a moderator. If you continue this after the warning, you will be blocked for a week.

Verification
After you create an account and join this wiki, you won't be able to post on the discussions page for roughly four days. This isn't a glitch or a problem, it happens to all new users. Don't spam moderators' message walls with confused messages about this. You will still be able to comment on pages and post on message walls, but you won't be able to post on the discussions page until the end of the four days. Even if you have verified your email, you will still have to wait four days.

Genders
This wiki is a diverse place, with many individuals of many different genders.

Assuming Genders and Pronouns
Never assume someone's gender or pronouns, especially not on this wiki. If you don't know someone's gender, refer to them using gender-neutral terms (such as "individual" instead of "girl"/"boy"). Don't assume someone's gender based on their pronouns, as pronouns do not equal gender. If you don't know someone's pronouns, refer to them using they/them pronouns. If the user says they don't want to be referred to using they/them, but doesn't say what pronouns they do use, you should refer to them using their name or username. Don't assume someone's pronouns based on their gender.

Misgendering
You should never intentionally misgender another individual. Use the pronouns and terms they have told you to use, and if you are unsure about anything (e.g. you don't know how to use a certain neopronoun set), ask them. If a user uses neopronouns, you should use those neopronouns for them. If a user uses more than one pronoun set, you should use more than one pronoun set for them. If a user is nullpronominal (doesn't use pronouns), you shouldn't use pronouns for them. Intentionally misgendering is transphobia, and if you do it, you will be warned by a moderator. If you continue to do so after the warning, you will be indefinitely blocked.

Types Of Staff
Here is an up-to-date list of all staff members on this wiki.

Bureaucrat
The bureaucrat is the "owner" of the wiki. They can do everything a sysop can do, with the addition of being able to make users moderators, and promote/demote moderators.

Sysop
Sysops, also more informally known as admins, can do everything thread moderators and content moderators can do, with the addition of being able to block/unblock users and change block settings/permissions.

Thread Moderator
Thread moderators, often shortened to thread mods, can delete, edit and lock posts, messages and comments. They can also view deleted posts, messages and comments, and change the categories of posts. They can view reported posts, and then take action on those posts.

Content Moderator
Content moderators, often shortened to content mods, can delete/blank pages, and have extra permissions when editing etc. pages.

Systems
There is more information on the system page. Systems are more than one individual sharing a body. This can be because of childhood trauma (traumagenic) or for many other reasons (endogenic). The individuals sharing a body are known as headmates, alters or system members. Systems often refer to themselves using we/us pronouns instead of I/me.

Alterhumans
There is more information on the alterhuman page. Alterhumans are anyone who is in a human body, but fully or partially does not identify as a human. This includes otherkin, therians, non-human headmates etc.

Individual/Individuals vs Person/People
Many alterhumans, since not identifying as human, are uncomfortable with words such as person. The term "individual" is often used instead as a more inclusive term. On pages, "individual" should be used instead of "person".

Age Regression
There is more information on the regression page. Age regression, often shortened to agere, is when someone enters the headspace of a younger individual. This can be voluntary or involuntary. It can be because of stress, to help cope with trauma, just for fun, or for other reasons too. Regressed users may type in "little speak" and act like a child in general.