Muppet Wiki:FAQ

Here's some tips on how to use Muppet Wiki!

You're a part of the wiki
When you first see a wiki, it doesn't seem like it could possibly work. If anybody can come along and change things, then how can the information be trusted? Doesn't it just get vandalized, or fall into chaos?

Once you start participating, you see that that "weakness" is actually a wiki's greatest strength. Sure, anybody can add anything -- and then everybody else gets to proofread it, and fix mistakes. Information that looks suspicious can be verified. Vandalism is almost always fixed within minutes. It's possible for someone to post errors, or nonsense -- but over time, the best wins out.

If you're reading these words, then you're a Muppet Wiki editor. If you see a problem on one of the pages, don't roll your eyes and complain about it. Just fix it!

Create a user name
Log in and create a user name -- it'll help you (and everybody) keep track of your contributions. It's possible to post anonymously on Muppet Wiki, but be advised that anonymous posters are treated more skeptically. If we can see the pages you've added to, then we'll be more impressed with you, and more likely to trust.

You're also invited to post your name on your user page -- either your full name, or just a first name and an initial. It's not required, but it helps everyone get to know you and trust you. People who post their names get listed on the Community portal page.

Neutral Point of View
Articles on Muppet Wiki should be written from a neutral point of view (NPOV), representing all views fairly and without basis. Post facts, not opinions. If you write about an issue that fans disagree about, describe the debate without taking sides. Avoid "weasel words" like "Many fans think x," which is usually just a way of attributing your own opinions to other people. For more discussion, see Wikipedia's article on NPOV.

Show your sources
Other readers should be able to verify the information that you post. Cite episode numbers wherever possible, and give sources for quotes. If you find information in a book or on a website, tell us the title or the URL. If it's clumsy to put that information in the article, then add a "References" heading at the bottom of the page. Behind the scenes information is especially important to source; we don't want to spread unfounded rumors.

Active Talk Pages
When you post a question on an article's talk page, you can list it in Active Talk Pages by adding a talk box. Just add this template to the top of the article page: -- that'll automatically add a box pointing people to your question, and it'll list you on the Active Talk Pages. You can browse through that list to find other ongoing discussions.

History tab
Nothing is ever lost on a wiki! You can see all of the changes that have been made to a page -- and who made them -- by clicking on the "History" tab at the top of any page.

Signing talk posts
When you post on a talk page, put an asterisk (*) at the front of your post to make a bullet. Sign talk posts with four tildes -- ~ -- to automatically add your user name and a date stamp.

Link sanity
Only link a name the first time it's used on a page. Please don't link every single capitalized word -- it makes the page confusing and messy.

Uploading and formatting pictures
Click on "Upload file" on the left navigation bar to upload pictures. You can add your image to any page using this code:
 * [[Image: yourpicture.jpg |thumb|300px|Caption for your picture. ]]

Images should not exceed 300 pixels wide for article tidyness and copyright adherence.

Categories
You can put an article into a category by adding this code:. You can change the way the article is alphabetized within the category like this:.

Before you create a category, check the Category list to see if there's a similar category that already exists. If the category doesn't exist yet, then adding that code will create the category. Be sure to add some text to the new Category page, or the link from your new article won't work properly.

Setting your preferences
There's a lot of useful stuff on your Preferences page.

You can change your display so that links show up as blue or red words, without the underlining. You can also change your time zone, and the number of items you see on the Recent Changes page or the Category list.

Keyboard shortcuts
There's some helpful shortcuts to navigate around within a page.

Alt-T : Talk Alt-E : Edit Alt-H : History Alt-R : Recent Changes

Dealing with vandalism
Vandalism isn't much of a problem on a wiki, because everybody has the power to fix it when they see it. See the Vandalism help page for instructions on how to fix vandalized pages, and how to discourage the vandals.

Contact administrators
The administrators for Muppet Wiki are Danny (Toughpigs), Scott (Scarecroe) and Peter (Pantalones).

If you have questions or comments about the wiki, you can leave a message on an admin's talk page.

Check the Help pages for more information on contributing to Muppet Wiki!