Behind every great wiki is a great community, and RuneScape already has an amazing one with a wealth of game knowledge and experience. Here are some simple, common sense policies that we ask you to bear in mind while using the wiki, to make it the essential, easy-to-use pool of RuneScape information that it should be.
The 5 General Policies
Go Forth & Edit
Is a page missing, incomplete, or just not quite right? What're you waiting for? Go forth and edit! Even the smallest, 5-second edit can make the world of difference. If you've never edited a wiki before, it's really easy to do. To learn more check out our editing guides. JWP:GFE
Follow The Site Rules
The Rules of RuneScape and Terms and Conditions of Jagex apply while using Jagex wikis. Remember these at all times, as breaching them could result in a loss of editing privileges.. JWP:FTSR
Observe The 3rd Edit Rule
If you edit an entry made by another user and they edit it back to the original, do not make a '3rd edit' to switch it back to your version. Use the 'Article Discussion' page to come to an agreement. JWP:O3ER
Stick to The Facts
The wiki is aimed to be reference guide about the RuneScape game and as such any information added to the wiki should be factual and based upon a reliable and verifiable source such as:
- The RuneScape website
- The RuneScape game itself.
- Official communication from Jagex, such as news posts or forum posts.
The exception to this is if you wish to make a page that relates to player run activities or groups, is a non-canon creative work, is a statement of opinion on the game or is in any other way related to RuneScape and its community but is not directly verifiable or intended to be part of the reference guide to the game. If you wish to make such a page you are more than welcome to as long as you clearly identify it as a Community Page.
Content which is not relevant to the reference guide or the community will be considered 'spam' and should not be added. JWP:STTF
Presume Good Intentions
Everyone makes mistakes. Unless a rule has clearly been broken, assume that an edit was made with the best of intentions, even if you don't agree with it. Remember that the overall meaning of a passage is more important than the fine details of language (which can be easily fixed by anyone). JWP:PGI
Content Specific Guidelines
Content Policy
- Check for existing content
- When adding a new page or expanding on existing content, make sure to have a search to make sure the content does not already exist. This will cut down on duplicated information and also help players who are trying to find the right information quickly. This will also make sure your hard work doesn't go and get deleted.
- Clearly mark spoilers
- If your page is going to contain spoilers, we don't want people to have the game told out for them before they have even started! Spoilers should be clearly labelled using {{Spoiler}} or hiding them with {{ToggleHide}}. All rewards, where possible, should be hidden in this fashion. This will make sure people know if they want to read ahead that they are going to find out about something they haven't experienced.
- If a location is dangerous then say so
- Most players don't like dying. If you're a new player and you come onto the Runescape Wiki you are not going to know if a place contains monsters that will kill you. Please clearly label dangerous locations (You can do this by adding {{Dangerous}} to the top of the page.) On the flip side, if a location/activity is safe it's usually good practice to put {{Safe}} at the top so players know it's safe and not just a missed dangerous location.
- Do not copy
- Please do not copy information from any other website as it may be copyrighted. Use only official sources of information such as the RuneScape website, newsposts and the game itself.
Style Policy
- Use good grammar and spelling
- The use of good English and grammar makes the wiki easier for users to read and for other editors to improve. No player wants to spend a good 10 minutes trying to find out that the information they were looking for was right at the top of the page! Using clear English and grammar will make life much easier on the Runescape Wiki.
- Use UK floor numberings
- For consistency use UK floor numberings such as ground floor, first floor, second floor, etc.
- If you are using a sub-subheading then think about splitting the section up
- Level 3 headings can be used but if you have gone that far down it could be worth splitting the section to make things easier to read. If you are thinking of a level 4 heading then a rewrite of the section should be heavily considered. More on this topic in the Titles section.
- Use Templates
- Templates make it easier to achieve a consistent style when there are multiple editors or a lot of similar pages. Use substitution sparingly as the usual purpose of a template is to make it easy to update and maintain info across many pages.
Images Policy
The general policy when it comes to images is listed below:
- Check for existing content
- Check for already existing images before uploading new ones.
- Overwrite existing content
- Overwrite old images by using the same file name - for example, you can do this for .jpg files even if your new image is a gif, just use the filename box.
- Do not copy
- Refrain from adding images from external sites - even if you have took them yourself. This is because, even though all images are copyright to Jagex (See T&Cs quote 1 below), it is not within spirit of the community to use images taken from other sites.
- Should there be *no other alternative* image, a fansite image may be uploaded if said image was taken by yourself. If this is the case, please use the {{FansiteContent}} template to apply proper attribution.
All images and content added to the wiki is covered by the Terms and Conditions, specifically T&Cs quote 2 below.
Notes
Quote (said by: T&Cs quote 1)
"
Materials (including without limit all information, software, data, text, photographs, graphics, sound and video) placed on any Jagex Product by us or on our behalf are protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights of ourselves or our business partners / suppliers / advertisers. You may not use these materials or any Jagex Product except in accordance with these terms and conditions and for personal (i.e. non-commercial) use only.
Quote (said by: T&Cs quote 2)
"
You agree that by submitting any material of any kind to us for any purpose connected with any Jagex Product (non-exhaustive examples are suggestions and ideas for any game or contributions to any Gallery page), you are giving us a non-exclusive, perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free licence to use and/or modify the submitted materials as we see fit. You agree to waive any moral rights to the extent permitted by law and that you will not withdraw the submission or attempt to make a charge for its use. Furthermore you guarantee that you are the exclusive copyright holder in relation to the submission and that the submission in no way breaches the rights of any other person or entity.
Following the above policies is vital, as it will make the contributing to the wiki a pleasant and easy way to contribute to the community. To help make the wiki work better and be a more easily used resource for your fellow player you we have a collection of Editing Guidelines. These contain loads of advice for making tidy and informative amendments to the wiki so it is very useful to read these and use them where possible.
