Muppet Wiki:FAQ

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

Anyone visiting Muppet Wiki can read any one of the 44,519 articles. But adding information to the wiki requires that you register a username. This helps you (and everybody) keep track of your contributions, and it makes it possible to communicate with other contributors.

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.

How do I start?

Before editing on Muppet Wiki, it's a good idea to get a feel for the place. Browsing articles will help give you a sense of how we cover various topics. If you're unsure where to begin, making minor edits is a good way to start: fixing spelling and grammar, rewriting a short phrase to help make its meaning more clear, adding minor details, etc. You can also use the Sandbox to test your editing skills. When you feel comfortable enough to start digging in a bit deeper, we recommend editing in wiki code. It's a very simple code (the same used by Wikipedia) and can be set by choosing Source editor in your Preferences. Muppet Wiki was built several years before either the Rich Text Editor or Visual Editor were developed, neither of which are guaranteed to save your edits properly.

Neutral Point of View

Articles on Muppet Wiki should be written from a neutral point of view (NPOV), representing all views fairly and without bias. 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.

Weasel words may also include terms of an ambiguous nature. You should avoid words like "recently" and "upcoming" as they're not likely to be updated with the passage of time. Instead, be specific in regards to when a particular event occurred.

For more on this topic, 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 "Sources" heading at the bottom of the page. It's especially important to source behind the scenes information; we don't want to spread unfounded rumors.

In the event questionable information appears in a particular article, place the {{cite}} tag after the appropriate text in such a way that the notation's inclusion is clear as to what needs to be cited. This will automatically place the article in the Citations needed category.

History

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" item on the Edit button's drop-down menu at the top of any page. This space may also be used to read notes about why the edit was made.

Why was my edit removed?

Muppet Wiki is managed by a team of administrators, many of whom have been working together on this project for over a decade. We've seen a lot of patterns and trends over the years, and we have a pretty good method for assessing which edits made by new contributors are made in good faith, and which aren't. When possible, we'll try to leave an edit summary which you can see in the article's History (see History section). Please don't take an edit reversion personally; none of the admins here work on Muppet Wiki as our primary, full-time job. So sometimes it's necessary to quickly revert a change and move on to other duties. If you have a question about such a change, don't get into an edit war on the article; feel free to ask on the Special:Forum or the editor's Message Wall.

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

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

Further information

• For a more in-depth look at our Policies and Guidelines, see Muppet Wiki:Policies and Guidelines.
• For details about what Muppet Wiki does and does not cover, see Muppet Wiki:Coverage.
• For general wiki help, see Wikia's globally managed Help pages at Help:Contents.