Wowpedia

We have moved to Warcraft Wiki. Click here for information and the new URL.

READ MORE

Wowpedia
Register
Advertisement
The printable version is no longer supported and may have rendering errors. Please update your browser bookmarks and please use the default browser print function instead.


Wikisquatting is making a wiki article that is solely for your own use, or the use of a group you associate with. It is similar to Cybersquatting. A wikisquatter is not out to further the wiki, rather, they are looking for a free place to 'host' a wiki of their own. While unintentional, it is considered impolite. If someone has claimed that your article is wikisquatting, you might consider setting up your own wiki for that content - #Wikifarms, below.

Why is wikisquatting bad?

This wiki doesn't provide a technology: it's a community using a technology. If you're not here to participate in the community, you're only using up the limited resources provided by this wiki's developers. If you want to start your own wiki community, please obtain your own wiki.

A non-wiki example

You rent a seminar room in your town's community building so that your gaming club can meet once a week. Things have gone really well; Your group has tripled in size, and with that, more games are available for the group to play. The atmosphere is welcoming, and everyone seems to be having a lot of fun.

One of your group's members is also a comic lover, and has a group of people he meets to discuss them. One day, he starts bringing his comic group to your seminar room. They aren't playing any games, and they sit off in a corner, ignoring the rest of the people in the room. They are, however, using the resources you have provided for your group. They're eating your snacks, persuading your members to sit with them, and clogging up the space in the room.

You know that if you let them stay, they will only get larger, soon bringing so many more people that the town will complain you are violating fire codes. And they're not even there for the reason you rented the room!

Consequences

If a user or administrator determines that an article is wikisquatting, the article should be tagged with {{Speedydelete|<[[Wikisquatting]]>}}, according to the Do Not Post policy. An explanation for why the article is considered wikisquatting should be also added to the talk page.

If the user repeatedly violates the policy, the user may be banned for vandalism.

Alternatives

Don't take this in offense. Take this as an opportunity. We can help get you set up with a board all your own. We can give you advice on how to encourage activity, how to develop your board. We can even help you carry your pages to the new site. You, and anyone from your board, will always be welcome to share an insight with us; who knows, somebody might share some on your board as well. Leave a page letting us know how things are going. May they go well.

Wikifarms

A Wikifarm is a place that hosts wikis (usually for free). If you are here to start a wiki, then one of these resources would be much better suited to your purposes. These use a variety of wiki software, and some have ads while others don't. We recommend that you fiddle with a couple of them and see what you think before you settle down with any one.

See also

Advertisement