The Elder Scrolls Wiki:Blog policy

Blogs are personal articles written by the users of TESWiki. Many are written for entertainment purposes, others for reporting the latest News on the wiki and the greater Elder Scrolls community at large. Because the blogs on the wiki are so popular and widely used, even by those who do not edit main space articles, rules of etiquette are required to tame the wild appendages it has grown.

Interpersonal relations and blog commenting
Our standard community guidelines dictate that inter-user communication must be civil, despite disagreements, dislikes, and the vast array of opinions that color our community. This goes without saying. The golden-rule, axiom of axioms, "Be kind to your neighbor" applies here. Despite the almost ritualistic circulation of this phrase when bullying arises, it needs to be mentioned again here. Several instances of negative user interactions have caused multiple blocks and unwanted headaches. Simply put, if bloggers cannot treat others with respect, they need not comment. Opinions on The Elder Scrolls Wiki are encouraged, but focus those opinions on the comments, rather than the commenter. For example, saying someone is "stupid" for liking the Thalmor is unacceptable, but the notion may be refuted and rebuttal given, on the assertion that liking the Thalmor is unwise.

No user should feel estranged by the wiki or even threatened by its users. We strive to offer a safe and fun environment where fans of The Elder Scrolls series can share their opinions and views. To keep this environment sterile and free of intimidation and harassment.

Before reporting users for abuse of the blogs or blog comments

Offenses and blocks
Administrators have the ability to administer a block, within the parameters of the blocking policy for users who:


 * 1) Insight flame wars for the sake of starting flame wars
 * 2) Belittling other users, instead of the content of their comment
 * 3) Intimidating other users
 * 4) Harassing other users
 * 5) Creating, participating in the creation of, or distributing to others, "burn" blogs.
 * 6) Promotion of hate and/or prejudice of real-life of a person or peoples' ethnic groups, race, gender, religious affiliations, economical status, and sexual orientation.
 * 7) Spam
 * 8) Intentional disinformation of upcoming games, patches, or wiki policies.
 * 9) Impersonation of an administrator, police officer, or other authoritative figure

These offenses govern blogs, blog comments, and IRC and talk page discussions about blogs and blog comments.

The final two points must be used with extreme discretion. Users who feel threatened by another user should report the offense to an administrator immediately on their talk page. If the user does not feel comfortable about communicating openly on a talk page, they my implore the administrator for a personal email address to report the infraction. A private message on the wiki's chat room can be established as an alternative measure.

If an administrator is unsure about block length or whether the situation warrants a block, a moot must convene to gauge the severity of the issue. At least three other administrators (or patrollers, if administrators are not available at the time of the infraction) must be present and vote on the necessity of a block and the length. Block lenghts for repeated offenders follow the same stream as the block policy. Blocks longer than otherwise dictated by this policy or others are left up the discretion of the blocking admin.

"Useless" comments can be deleted outright, but with extreme reservation. Comments that contribute nothing to the discussion whatsoever are construed as "disruption" of the natural wiki process, and because of this, may justify a light ban if behavior persists despite one or more talk page warnings.

"Hate blogs" or "burn blogs" are absolutely prohibited. Blogs written for the sole purpose of presenting libelous or slanderous content towards real life persons, living or dead, violates our community guidelines. Wikia's Terms of Use overrules this policy if stricter. Blogs found to contain hate towards specific individual should be immediately deleted and users banned for one month, with a detailed description on their talk page as to the severity of the issue. Second offenses warrant a permanent block from the site.

Warnings and templates
Block should begin at three days for the first offense, if made by an anonymous user. Logged-in users should be given a verbal warning, either longhandedly or with the Warning template. Negative comments should be deleted if they are stand alone, or if they instigated arguments. If the comments beneath the parent comment contain legitimate discussions that are off-topic or do not violate this policy any other way, the parent comment should be replaced with the Comment template. In other words, add comment in favor of deleting blog comments if "insightful" discussions are in the "replies" section of that comment. The template renders this:



Formatting
Blogs should follow the basic rules of style and formatting. Blog articles are added to the User blog: namespace by default, when they are created through the "add blog" widget on a person's blog roll. There may be times when a person aims to create a blog, but accidentally adds the text through the add new page button or link.

Writing style
Unlike mainspace articles, blogs can be written in first person and second person points of view. Blogs can be written about nearly any appropriate subject, related to the Elder Scrolls or not.

Blogs that are to be posted on the main page, should be written in a professional and interesting tone of voice and be virtually devoid of spelling and grammatical errors. Although main space articles need to be written in American English, news blogs can be written in formal, Oxford English. All news-related posts must be written in English, though. Annotations, notes, and direct quotes can be written in foreign languages, but must be translated in-line. Click here for more information.

Naming and spoilers
Blog titles should never be in all caps. Not only does this violate our policy on unnecessary emphasis, it is the equivalent of yelling in-text, and is, therefore rude and unpleasant to read.

Although the content of blogs can be intended for mature audiences (within reason), curse words and profanity should not be included on the title. If a blog is intended for mature audiences, denote as much in the title or at the very top of the article. Plots spoilers can be annotated as a form of common courtesy, but such action is not required. Our general policy asserts that the wiki may contain unflagged spoilers. Upon entering and using the site, readers agree to possibly encountering plot spoilers.

If a blog-like article is created in the main space, move the page the User blog: name space, and suppress the redirect. After successfully retitling the page, notify the original blogger as to the new page's name, so they do not re-create the original blog, assuming it was inexplicably deleted. When moving an article to the blog namespace, follow this basic naming template:

User blog:USERNAME/Blog title

Categorization
Do not add categories to blog articles. The only category that should be on a blog is Category:Blog posts, which is added by default when the blog is created.

Category:News and Category:Community News are reserved for TESWiki staff members. Blogs added to these categories are added to the blog rolls on the main page to help broadcast important community news and game-related updates on things such as upcoming titles and patches. Blogs should only be posted on the main page if they are of high quality verbiage, virtually devoid of spelling and grammatical errors, and have been approved by an admin and proofread by someone renowned for above-average editing and writing ability.

Copyright
As with all articles, talk pages, and user pages on the wiki, blogs must adhere to our copyright policy which mirrors copyright laws in the United States or America. In cases of media from other countries, the policy of that country and the United States should be considered; the stricter law should be followed. Thus, blogs should not employ any copyrighted content. This may include text, images, audio, and video. Any image currently on the wiki can be used in a blog, freely, so long as the image is properly licensed. Images uploaded exclusively for blogs, should be appropriately licensed

News blogs
Members of TESWiki staff utilize the blog tool to broadcast the latest policy and style changes on the wiki. Contests, sweepstakes, and other, fun user-related projects are also included in the "news" category; updates on patches and upcoming the Elder Scrolls titles too. Because these are sensitive subjects, only members of the News Team, admins, and other trusted users are permitted to categorize their blogs as news.

Category:News and Category:Community News are reserved for staff blogs. Blogs added to these categories are applied to the blog rolls on the main page to help spread important community information quickly. Blogs should only be posted on the main page if they are of superior writing and are clear of obvious spelling and grammar problems. If a non-admin seeks to add a News blog to the main, an admin must first approve of the blog itself (writing, formatting, grammar) as well as the topic, to ensure it is suitable for the inevitably wide audience the blog would reach, being on the main page.

TESWikian can post leads for news stories on the talk page of any staff member, in the forums, or on the chat.

Content
Blogs can be rewritten about virtually any topic, related to the Elder Scrolls universe or not. It is advised that all blogs try to relate to the series somehow, as blogs that are too far offtopic, may be considered spam.

Prohibitions

 * Never create blogs to advertise external websites, youtube channels where walkthroughs, "let's plays", or other video content, unless specific permission is given by an admin. For example, HaLo2FrEeEk posted a blog on the main page, linking to a youtube channel where a playthrough was posted. This was authorized by the wiki's staff because it served as a scholarly aid for editors eager to update the wiki's Dawnguard pages who could not play the original title upon release for a myriad of reasons.
 * Never post links to personal websites or blogs, especially if they are not TES related. Blog comments should also revolve around this.
 * Fan fiction should not be posted. Transfer creative writing pieces to The Elder Scrolls Fanon Wiki or delete them. Bans should not be administered unless content is re-sposted despite warnings.
 * Pornographic content, visual or textual. While the Elder Scrolls games are rated "M" for "Mature" and only persons 18 can legally purchase the games, editors of the wiki may not be of that age. Blogs containing adult comments or lewd references are permissible within reason, but must be flagged at the very top of the blog. Erotic fiction follows the same rules as fan fiction and must be transferred to The Elder Scrolls Fanon Wiki, if the content does not violate their terms of use.
 * "Hate blogs" or "burn blogs" are absolutely prohibited. Blogs written for the sole purpose of presenting libelous or slanderous content towards real life persons, living or dead, violates our community guidelines. Wikia's Terms of Use overrules this policy if stricter. Blogs found to contain hate towards specific individual should be immediately deleted and users banned for one month, with a detailed description on their talk page as to the severity of the issue. Second offenses warrant a permanent block from the site.
 * Blogs that defame a person's or peoples' race, ethnicity, gender, creed, economic status, and/or sexual orientation.

How to create a blog?

 * Special:CreateBlogPage
 * Special:CreateBlogListingPage