Help:FAQ

This page briefly answers various common questions about wikis and Zelda Dungeon Wiki specifically. The goal here is to cover the most basic issues to help people get started with editing the wiki. If you have a problem, please check here first before asking anyone, as you'll just be directed back here if your question is already answered here. If your question is not covered here, feel free to ask one of our active administrators for assistance.

Why do I need to register to edit?

Accounts help track contributions, and they're a layer of protection against vandals and spambots.

Why do I need to give a valid email address?

A few reasons. Most important is that, without this requirement, we would get overwhelmed by spambots, and we have before we implemented this. It also allows other users to email you if you choose to leave this option enabled (it can be disabled at any time in my preferences). And it also gives you a way to recover your account in the event that you lose your password. Just about any standard email service can be used, however, temporary email account services cannot be used. They are blocked due to how frequently they are utilized by spambots.

Can I delete my account?

This gets asked quite frequently. The short answer is no. It cannot be deleted. Wiki software doesn't allow this. Even if it did, it would cause damage to the database as every edit made by every user is tracked in page histories. There is no telling what damage it'd do if there suddenly wasn't any account tied to edits. If you have personal information on the wiki you need removed, contact an administrator for support. Short of that there is nothing we can do about unwanted accounts.

Can I have two or more accounts?

Generally no. This is almost always not permitted, and if another account is used to bypass a ban or cause other trouble, your IP will be blocked for three months. Only staff can create more than one account, and in that case, the other accounts must be bot accounts and they must be labeled as such. Unauthorized alternate accounts are usually permanently banned. We currently do not have the ability to merge accounts.

Can someone else in my family have an account too?

Yes, people in the same household can, and should, have their own account. However, each user is personally responsible for securing their account against malicious use by other people in their homes. Failing to do so can result in your entire household receiving ban times.

Can I change my username?

User's account names can be changed upon request. Ask an administrator for a name change, if the request is reasonable it'll usually be granted. Obviously, there are some usernames that are inappropriate. If you register under an inappropriate username, you may be asked to change it. Failure to comply may result in your account being banned, and you will be able to register under a different username.

Generally, any reasonable request to change a name will be granted. You may request a name change more than once. However, we ask that you wait a period of time, perhaps a few months at least, before requesting another name change. Repeated requests for name changes may result in your request being denied. We ask you choose a name you're happy with that you can stick with for an extended time.

What kind of username can I have?

Basically anything within reason. Usernames with special, non-mapped characters like hearts or diamonds are strongly discouraged. Longer usernames are also discouraged. Usernames should not contain profanity, cannot contain any hate speech, and cannot direct a personal attack against any existing user. If there is a problem with your username, you will be asked to choose a new one. Usernames that are made to look the same as another user's by using something such as a special character that looks similar to a standard Latin letter, like using the lowercase Greek letter alpha α in place of the lowercase latin letter a, are discouraged but not forbidden.

Can I use my real name as my username?

You may use your real first name (or middle name) as your username if you so desire. If you choose to do so, you use it at your own risk. Zelda Dungeon Wiki is not responsible for this. Placing your both your real first and last name in your username is strongly discouraged.

There are some features I am not allowed to access, why?

There are certain features that have been subject to misuse in the past, or that are too powerful for new users to have access to. Things such as moving pages and editing semi-protected pages, as well as some gadgets. To have access to these, you just need to have 50 total edits (your current total is listed on the first tab of my preferences), and have been registered for at least two weeks. This layer of protection prevents vandals from doing damage to key pages.

I tried to move a page, but it won't let me, what do I do?

Propose the move on the page's talk page, or ask an administrator to move it for you. DO NOT, under any circumstances, try to move the page by copy and pasting it to the new page. This disrupts page histories and loses the record of the move.

What are signatures and why do I need to use one?

When taking part in discussions on talk pages, it is required to sign your username after your post. This helps keep track of who is talking. To use your signature, type ~~~~ after your post on the same line. You DO NOT need to type your name after it. Every account is provided a default signature that links to your user page. Some users have custom signatures. Details on how to make one, and rules regarding their use, can be found here.

What are user pages?

User pages are each user's personal page. You can put pretty much whatever you want on yours, within reason. There shouldn't be any personal attacks and nothing profane or obscene. We do try to keep a family-friendly environment.

Can I add personal information to my user page?

You may add your own information to your page if you wish. You do so at your own risk. Zelda Dungeon Wiki accepts no responsibility for personal content users willingly put on their own pages. Posting personal information about other users without their consent is not permitted.

What do I do if I added personal information that I no longer want people to see?

Remove the content from your page. If you wish to have it removed from your page's history as well, contact an administrator and ask to have the revisions with the personal information hidden.

What are the pink and blue symbols next to the names I see on some userpages?

These are gender symbols. ♂ for male and ♀ for female. They appear on any user's page that has specified their gender in their preferences or at signup. If you do not want to see these symbols, they can be disabled in the Gadgets section of your preferences.

Do I have to reveal my gender?

No. This is completely optional. If you wish, you can leave your gender undisclosed in your preferences.

What is a sandbox?

A sandbox is a place to test out editing skills, or work on projects. There is a public sandbox listed on the sidebar to the left. You can also create a personal sandbox as a subpage of your userpage here: [[User:{{#username:}}/Sandbox]].

How do I upload an image?

Go to upload file, listed on the sidebar to the left, and follow the instructions on that page. It also describes how to use the image after you have uploaded it.

What is an edit?

An edit is the process of making a change to a page on the wiki. An edit contains all the content of the page and each edit is saved on the wiki's database. The most recent edit is what is shown when people view the page directly and every previous edit can be viewed through the page's history.

What is the edit form?

The edit form is a page accessible by clicking the tab labeled edit on top of any wiki page. It is where changes are made to pages. The edit form has multiple functions meant to make editing easier. Including two toolboxes: one above the edit field which has very basic formatting shortcuts, and one below the edit field that has more advanced functions that are less frequently used.

What is a minor edit?

On the edit form, there is a check box to mark the edit you are making as a minor edit. This is typically done if the edit in question is small and changed relatively little, such as correcting grammar or a spelling error.

What is an edit summary?

An edit summary is a short description of what was changed in an edit and can be entered into the summary box on the edit form. Entering a summary is not required, but it can help describe what was done in an edit, especially larger edits.

What is an edit preview?

An edit preview is a temporary rendering of an edit, showing how the page would look so it can be proofread for errors before actually saving the page. It is utilized through the button that says show preview on the edit form. Use of edit previews is strongly encouraged as it cleans up page histories, reduces workload for patrollers and admins, and makes changes much easier to track. If you appear to not be using edit previews and are making multiple edits to the same page in a short period of time, you'll be asked to start using edit previews.

What is show changes?

Show changes, accessible by the button in the edit form that says show changes, is a function that brings up a list of everything you have changed so far in an unsaved edit. This is another way that is useful for checking if there are any mistakes as things like spelling and grammar errors would be much more visible.

What is a redirect?

A redirect is a short page that has an alternate title to another page. A short line of code is entered at the top that points to this page. When a link to a redirect is clicked, or it is arrived to through the search function, the user will be directed to the target page. Linking to redirect pages is strongly discouraged. Redirects mainly exist to benefit searches, not create shortcuts or alternates for linking.

What is patrolling?

Patrolling is the act of reviewing an edit for quality and making sure that everything in it is correct and has proper spelling, grammar, and formatting. Anyone can check edits for this. However, patrollers and administrators have the ability to mark edits as patrolled. This lets other staff know that someone on staff has already checked the edit for quality so they don't have to themselves. Users trusted to make very few mistakes and quickly correct ones they do make are sometimes given the autopatrol right which, as the name implies, automatically marks edits they make as patrolled. This right is usually given to all retired staff members.

What is a diff?

A diff is a special page accessible through a page's history, or through pages like Recent Changes, that isolate and highly precisely what was added or removed between any two edits, even if there are edits in between those edits. Diffs are usually not relevant to normal users but are extensively utilized by patrollers and admins to check edits for quality.

What is a rollback?

A rollback is a function available to patrollers and administrators that reverts a page to the state it was in the last time it was edited by someone other than the most recent person to edit that page, no matter how many edits were made by the latter. This is mainly intended to be used against vandalism but rarely could also be used to revert troublesome edits by an inexperienced user. By default patrollers and admins should have a gadget enabled that requires rollbacks to be confirmed before performing them.

What is a template?

A template is a complicated page containing code to be used to perform various functions. They are used on other pages to perform these functions. Without templates various tasks would be impractical or impossible. The most complicated templates tend to be very difficult to edit, and generally should be left to more experienced users. But most templates are simple to use.

What is a stub?

A stub is a short, incomplete page that functions more as a placeholder until an editor can add content to it.

What is a category?

A category is a special type of page that is used to organize similar pages into a group to make it easier to navigate between them. Anyone can add pages to categories but it is usually managed by staff, or even automated by certain templates typically used to do other things on page.

What is a disambiguation?

Main article: Disambiguation

A disambiguation, or disambig, page is a special type of page meant make finding a particular subject that is similarly named to other subjects easier while using the search function. Other articles should not link directly to a disambig page. If a situation arises where it makes sense for one to do so, then that disambiguation page should be expanded into a full article explaining the general subject or a primary topic should be made for it, which the disambig should be linked to and other pages link to instead for the general topic.

What is a gadget?

Main article: Gadgets

Gadgets are scripts and stylesheets that change how the wiki looks or functions. They are accessible in the gadgets tab under my preferences. Some gadgets are enabled by default for all users, and in some cases even including anonymous viewers. Any unwanted feature can be disabled on the preferences page. Some gadgets are restricted to higher ranked users and will not be available. Gadgets enabled by default for higher ranked users will be automatically enabled for lower ranked users when they increase in rank.

I see multiple colors on the Recent Changes page for certain users. What do they mean?

The various colors define the ranks of those individuals. If the username is the same color as most other links, or is dark red, it is a standard user with no rank (dark red is users who haven't created a userpage). Purple is the color for those with an administrator ranking. The Orange is the color of patrollers. Aqua is reserved for users with "bot" status, meaning that they are automated accounts used by the Wiki to do various processes that are too tedious to do manually, Navi is an example of one of our bots. Bots are given admin powers to do their work but they're not considered admins.

How can I become an Admin, a Patroller, or a Content Manager?

Currently, we are only looking for admins with an extensive knowledge in PHP, HTML, CSS and the MediaWiki software. If you feel that you can contribute in that way, please go to our Contact page and send our beloved leader an application. As for patrollers and content managers, we are constantly on the look out for members that are constantly making significant and useful edits to the Wiki. Please do not ask a current admin if you can be a patroller or content manager as we decide on these users on our own.