View source for The Elder Scrolls Wiki:Discussions

{{Policy}}
[[File:Discussions Feeds April 2019.png|thumb|right|250px|Discussions/Feeds as of April 2nd, 2019.]]
[[File:Discussions March 2019.png|thumb|right|250px|Discussions as of March 31st, 2019.]]
{{Shortcut|TES:D}}
{{TOCright}}
The '''TESWiki Discussions''', also called '''/d''' due to its original URL '''elderscrolls.wikia.com/d''', is part of The Elder Scrolls Wiki app, which is the mobile extension of the main TESWiki. Created to be a more simple and inviting way to communicate with other fans about the series, it was [[TES:Moot/2015 December 12|voted]] into existence in December 2015. While many updates are coming that will provide additional features to the app, it is critical that all users know the set rules for this application.

As this is an application under the service of Wikia, you are also subjected to Wikia's [http://www.wikia.com/Terms_of_Use Terms of Use]. At all times, please go along with with [[TES:Staff|staff]] requests. If you ignore them, you risk being blocked from the wiki.

==Who are the moderators?==
A [[TES:MOD|<span style="color:#FF9900">discussions moderator</span>]] is someone that has been appointed to moderate and enforce rules on the discussions. While they are the enforcers, all discussions moderators are subject to the policy as well. Discussions moderators are capable of closing and locking threads and removing comments if need be. They can be recognized by a grey icon with a white talking cloud in it, in the upper-left corner of their avatar.
{{StaffList/mod}}
===Administrators===
[[TES:A|<span style="color:#00FF00">Administrators</span>]] are a step above discussions moderators, but share many of the same tools. Administrators are chosen leaders and enforcers of policy on The Elder Scrolls Wiki, and as a sub-site of that wiki, their powers also affect the app. [[TES:BCRAT|<span style="color:#00FF00">Bureaucrats</span>]] are administrators who also have the ability to promote other users to that position. Both administrators and bureaucrats can be recognized by the gold icon with a white star in it, in the upper-left corner of their avatar.
{{StaffList/admin}}
If you want to become a moderator yourself, you are free to write and post an application for the position at any time, though you are required to have met all of the [[TES:MOD|prerequisites]] in advance. Your application will then be voted upon by the staff and community. In order to get a sense of how prepared you are for the role, you should speak to a bureaucrat about your interest ''before'' applying. Unsolicited applications are allowed, but may fail in the voting stage or be vetoed by a bureaucrat.

===Bots===
The staff operates an automated system called an "[[Special:DiscussionsAbuseFilter|abuse filter]]" that prevents users from performing certain rule-breaking actions. You may occasionally see other [[TES:Bots|<span style="color:#990099">bots</span>]] posting on Discussions for testing purposes, such as [[User:KINMUNE|KINMUNE]] or [[User:AkulakhanBot|AkulakhanBot]]. They're harmless; you may ignore them.

==Rules==
Staff will [[TES:BLOCK|punish]] users from breaking the rules by blocking them and/or locking and deleting their posts. Staff consider context and interpret ambiguous rules as needed. Blocks may be temporary or permanent, and repeated rule violations will result in [[TES:Blocking policy#Block_length_guidelines|longer blocks]]. Ignorance of the policy is not an excuse from the policy; we expect all users to be familiar with the rules. However, if you lead another user into unknowingly breaking policy, '''you''' will be held accountable.

'''Summary:''' Be nice; don't spam, troll, advertise, roleplay, date, circumvent blocks, or impersonate anyone; keep the discussion age-appropriate, high-quality, and on-topic; use English only; and report any rule-breaking behavior to the staff instead of dealing with it yourself. '''Remember the human.'''

===Personal attacks and incivility===
In general, being particularly nasty counts as a personal attack. Even if someone else bothers you, you're expected to be civil. These rules also apply to staff members.

Do not make personal attacks against another user or a group they belong to, even indirectly. This includes the targeting of someone and speaking to or of them in a derogatory manner due to their nationality, ethnicity, race, gender/gender identity, sexual orientation, religion or spiritual beliefs, interests, sociological factors (spelling, grammar, intellect, etc.), psychological state (mental illnesses), or physical appearance. This also includes goading other users (including staff) with comments that you know will provoke a hostile reaction.

Users will be immediately blocked for sexual harassment, death threats, revealing personal information (doxxing), or attempting to have another user punished for something they didn't do. (This policy covers all users inciting drama, even if they were not ringleaders.)

Do not troll threads. Trolling is defined as purposefully irritating or annoying others with the intention of hampering the intellectual discourse that exists on this wiki. This includes the use of [[TES:FAITH|bad faith]] arguments, such as a "[[Wikipedia:Straw man|straw man]]" or [[Wikipedia:Red herring|red herring]] to misleadingly illustrate a point, or [[Wikipedia:Poisoning the well|poisoning the well]] to misleadingly discredit another person or group.

Do not purposely disrupt conversations by "threadcrapping," which includes making irrelevant comments on a thread solely in order to express your displeasure with its topic and making excessive unnecessary grammatical corrections. If a post breaks the rules, report it to the moderators instead.

===Spam===
Do not spam a large number of new threads. If you see multiple threads with the same topic posted close together, it is best to refrain from posting a thread of the same topic. Additionally, do not add spam ''to'' threads. Excessive capital letters, ASCII art, "l33t" speak, emojis, nonsense posts, and alternating capitals will also be counted as spam. Double posting is allowed, but is discouraged for smaller comments.

When you make a post, you must include both a title ''and'' a body (text).

===Soliciting upvotes===
Do not intentionally solicit upvotes for your posts; this messes with the "Trending" page and is a great annoyance. Here are some examples of posts that are allowed, versus ones that are not:

{|class="skqtable" style="width: 100%;"
!width="50%"|{{Rednote|Disallowed}}
!width="50%"|Allowed
|-
|{{Rednote|''"I really hate that the original Skyrim doesn't have automatic 144hz or ultrawide support. It's very troublesome for PC users; upvote if you agree!"''}}
|''"I really hate that the original Skyrim doesn't have automatic 144hz or ultrawide support. It's very troublesome for PC users."''
|-
|{{Rednote|''"If this post gets 50 upvotes I'll start a new character in ESO."''}}
|''"I'm considering starting a new character in ESO. Should I or shouldn't I?"''
|-
|{{Rednote|''"I think the upvote button is broken for me, upvote this post to test it."''}}
|''"I think the upvote button is broken for me. How do I contact Fandom to report this bug?"''
|}

You are not permitted to make a thread purely to say that you are leaving the Discussions. Any sort of other clearly attention-seeking posts, such as fake suicide threats, will be deleted upon sight.

===Advertising===
Advertising your own product, website, organization, or service (for financial gain or otherwise) is also expressly disallowed on the Discussions. Sharing a cool thing you made is permitted as long as it's meant to be appreciated by the community and not a means of personal benefit. Contact a staff member if you have questions.

===NSFW content===
The exchange of pornography, gore, or otherwise NSFW material is absolutely prohibited. We are attempting to build a welcoming community, and such posts are very counter-productive to that cause. Cursing is allowed, but in moderation.

===Roleplaying===
Please refrain from posting roleplaying threads; share them on the [[w:c:tes-sandbox|TES Sandbox Wiki]] (active) or the [[w:c:tes-rp|TES Roleplaying Wiki]] (inactive) instead. "Build" posts for player characters are still permitted, as long as no active roleplaying takes place on these.

===Off-topic posts===
Avoid derailing threads from their original topic. If you want to change the subject, create a new thread.

In general, do not create posts unrelated to ''The Elder Scrolls'' here. We realize that what counts as "off-topic" is subjective, so we have the following ''exceptions'':

#Comparing something in ''The Elder Scrolls'' to another game or other form of media, pointing out an Easter Egg or real-world correlation in a game, or any other similar topic. The important part is that it relates closely and primarily to ''The Elder Scrolls''.
#Technical issues directly related to ''The Elder Scrolls'' or a machine used to play ''TES''. However, we are not a tech support site, so these questions should be posted sparingly.
#"Hi, I'm new" posts." If you're new to the app, feel free to say hello. Please ''refrain'' from making more than one of these, even if you have been absent from the Discussions for a long time ("Hi, I'm back").
#Questions for the staff about moderation and editing. Please add such posts to the "Staff/Wiki questions" category, and the moderators will reply as soon as possible.
#Modification-related threads. Keep in mind that we are not primarily a modding community, so don't expect someone to create a whole mod for you.

Here are some examples of posts that are allowed, versus ones that are not, corresponding to the above points:

{|class="skqtable" style="width: 100%;"
!width="3%"|#
!width="48.5%"|{{Rednote|Disallowed}}
!width="48.5%"|Allowed
|-
|1
|{{Rednote|''"I think The Witcher 3 has the best combat."''}}
|''"I think the combat in Skyrim is better than The Witcher 3, because of Shouts. Thoughts?"''
|-
|2
|{{Rednote|''"How fast does my PC have to be to run Pong at 4k 60fps?"''}}
|''"How well do you guys think this PC could run Skyrim Special Edition? If it's fast, I think I might get it."''
|-
|3
|{{Rednote|''"Hi, I took a break from the Discussions last week, has anything changed?"''}}
|''"Hi, I'm new to this community and wanted to greet everyone. I play Skyrim more than any other game, what about everyone else?"''
|-
|4
|{{Rednote|''"XxX420AlduinBlazeIt420XxX, how have you been? We haven't talked in a while, how's life?"''}}
|''"Moderators, are there any new rules that have been added to the Discussions recently?"''
|-
|5
|{{Rednote|''"Pls make me a mod that adds fun new quests!!1!!!1!"''}}
|''"I'm looking for a mod that adds new quests to the game. Could anyone tell me of some fun ones?"''
|}

A greater range of off-topic discussions are permitted in the <code>#offtopic</code> channel of the wiki's [https://discord.gg/R3DGnN4 Discord server]. Please be sure to read the [[TES:Chat|Chat guidelines]] before entering the server.

All posts on the "Fan creation" board ("fanfictions") must recognizably be part of or connect to the ''TES'' universe.

===Social relationships===
The app is not a place to host a relationship. It is not a dating service, and should not be used as one. Likewise, you should try to avoid treating Discussions as a "TES-themed Facebook," and instead consider it a normal TES forum; while there is nothing wrong with having friends on the app, it is not a social media platform, and never will be.

===Foreign languages===
Generally, the only real-world language you should be speaking in is English. If you speak a language that does not have a Discussions feature, contact the administrators of that wiki and ask them to send a request to [[Special:Contact/general]] asking Fandom to enable Discussions.

===Mini-moderating===
Please do not mini-mod. Mini-moderating is when you correct a user's behavior as if you have the ability to punish them, when you truly do not. Instead, '''report them to the staff and move on.'''

Users should not publicly "investigate" others for potential rule infractions, such as sockpuppetry. Doing so may lead to user-led "witch-hunts," which are not constructive and highly prone to error. Please report any worthwhile findings directly to a moderator or administrator for review, on their talk page or off-site.

Users may ''inform'' others of the rules in an '''explicitly non-hostile tone''', as long as it is made clear that they are not moderators, and are simply providing information—not telling anyone what to do. Here are some examples of mini-modding vs. appropriate behavior:

{|class="skqtable" style="width: 100%;"
!width="50%"|{{Rednote|Disallowed}}
!width="50%"|Allowed
|-
|{{Rednote|''"YOU CAN'T POST MEMES ON THE WIKI!!!!1!!1!}}
|''"lol xd funny meme, I am sharing this with my friends on Facebook.com. Even though I enjoyed this meme very much, I wanted to inform you that according to the official TESWiki Discussions guidelines, users are not allowed to post memes anywhere here. I am not a moderator, so I am not enforcing this rule, simply informing you of its existence. Most likely, the moderators will delete your post soon. I think that you are a great member of the community and hope that you will continue to post good content on the wiki, except for anything that breaks the rules."''
|-
|{{Rednote|''"Stop insulting other users or you're going to be banned!"''}}
|''"I am not a moderator and have no authority, but I wanted to request that you please stop insulting other users when you disagree with them about the Civil War in Skyrim. This hurts their feelings, and the wiki is more fun when everyone is nice to each other (it is also against the guidelines). As a heads up, if you don't stop, the moderators are going to ban you from posting."''
|-
|{{Rednote|''"omg stop spamming all those naughty pictures and saying curse words everywhere!! Your being so mean stoppp! Mods help omg help why aren't you stopping this Evil Bad Spammer! AHH this spammer vandal is so awful and horrible please God help! The wiki is being destroyed oh no help omg what are we gonna do?????!?!"''}}
|<Do not respond to people who are intentionally being disruptive. They are looking for attention. Report them and move on.>
|}

To reiterate, the staff would really prefer it if you left 100% of the moderation ''to the staff''. Please just use the "report" button if something is out of place.

Please avoid answering other users' threads in the "Staff/Wiki questions" category; if you're not a staff member, you probably don't have enough information to make ''accurate'' responses. The moderators try to be very careful about how they respond to feedback or concerns, so users should be patient and defer to statements from staff instead of making a guess at what the official response will be.

===Sockpuppetry===
Alternate accounts (sockpuppets) are not allowed. Administrators are allowed to use extra accounts for testing or for [[TES:BOT|bot]] use, but regular users are not. If you have an alternate account, it will be blocked indefinitely to prevent misuse. Purposely using an alternate account to evade an existing block on your main account will result in an even longer block from the wiki.

Also, do not impersonate anyone else—regardless of how far-fetched it may seem—and pretend that you are that individual. This includes (but is not limited to) other wiki users, staff members, Bethesda/ZeniMax employees, and celebrities.

===Low-effort posts===
"Low-effort"/low quality content is not permitted. Please put at least a small amount of thought into making your posts interesting, open-ended, insightful, or otherwise desirable. A low-effort post is defined as one or more of the following:
#An observation/statement or question that does not spawn any sort of meaningful discussion.
#An extremely short post (for example, a post that is just one sentence long).†
#A post that requires little to no thought on the part of the submitter.
#A post consisting exclusively of a link, and no background information whatsoever.
#An overly spam-like, immature, or otherwise unappealing post.
#Any other sort of post that does not keep aloft the quality of content that is currently present among posts on the Discussions.

Here are some examples of posts that are allowed, versus ones that are not:

{|class="skqtable" style="width: 100%;"
!width="3%"|#
!width="48.5%"|{{Rednote|Disallowed}}
!width="48.5%"|Allowed
|-
|1
|{{Rednote|''"I'm playing Morrowind"''}}
|''"Morrowind is one of my favorite games in the series. The story and characters are great and I love the gameplay. What about you?"''
|-
|2
|{{Rednote|''"spigot"''}}
|''"I've begun looking for spigots in Skyrim, but I can't find a single one for the life of me. Can anyone point me in the right direction?"''
|-
|3
|{{Rednote|''".....the empire cant beat the elves, its just true. i hate tullius lol"''}}
|''"Does the Imperial army really have the strength to fight against the Dominion? They're weakened by the Stormcloaks, and High Rock already seceded."''
|-
|4
|{{Rednote|''"<nowiki>https://www.google.com</nowiki>"''}}
|''"I found this new article published in Ars Technica about Skyrim. It talks about some of the mechanics in the game and the ways the Creation Engine is different from the engine used in previous games. Check it out!"''
|-
|5
|{{Rednote|''"Lol.. nazeem is such a dork, he doesn't even get to the Cloud District"''}}
|''"Through an intersectional and contextual approach to standpoint epistemology, I make the argument in the following post that Nazeem's elevated economic status as a successful landowner and his presumed political connections outweigh his positionality as a non-Nord in a majority-Nord province, ultimately signifying the complexity of socioeconomic dynamics in the pseudo-feudal province of Skyrim in 4E 201."''
|-
|6
|''"<p style="visibility: hidden;">Skyrim has had an incredibly meaningful impact on my life. The ability to be whoever I wanted to be brought me out of a deep depression and gave me enough confidence to get my GED and start a wood-milling company specializing in game pieces for high school chess clubs around the world.</p>"''
|<This post may be very thoughtful, but it is written in invisible ink, so we cannot see it.>
|}

† The exception here is when you're asking for help with something. For example, if you describe a bug in ''Skyrim'' in one sentence, your post isn't going to be deleted. But if you're trying to start a more detailed conversation, you should make sure the premise is well-thought-out before posting.

===Categories and tags===
You must assign your post an appropriate "Category" (also known as a "Board") when you create it. For example, posts about ''The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim'' typically belong in the "Skyrim" category. This helps users filter the Discussions for content that is relevant to them. Note that the "Announcements" category is restricted to posts by staff members only.

You're encouraged to add relevant "tags" to your post as well. You can add any wiki article as a tag. For example, if your post is about a bug in the quest "[[Discerning the Transmundane]]," you can add the name of that quest. This helps other users find your post in the future. Note that some categories and tags have similar names: try not to add a tag like "Skyrim" (the article about the province) unless your post is actually about that article subject.

Moderators may recategorize your posts and add or remove tags for cleanliness.

===Image uploads===
Although images may be uploaded to Discussions through the dedicated image upload feature, they will be removed if they do not meet certain requirements. Specifically:
*All images must be on-topic.
*Images must not reveal any personal information.
*Images must not contain NSFW or offensive content.
*Image threads must include a reasonably informative description.†
*Memes or image macros are not permitted.
*Images must not break any other rules in the Discussions guidelines.

† This applies mainly to images attached to new threads. In these situations, an informative description is critical to understanding the meaning of the photo. However, a lengthy description or caption for an image is not always required in the comment section of a thread if context has already been provided above.

===Polls===
Poll threads may be created in order to gauge the userbase's opinion on a given topic. However, as with image uploads, they will be removed if they do not meet certain requirements, as follows:
*Polls must adhere to all previously established behavioral guidelines on Discussions.
**Polls that use images must therefore adhere to the wiki's policies on image usage.
*Polls asking "Yes/No" questions are not permitted. This qualifies as low-effort.
*Polls must not simply ask "What should I do in the game?" or similar. This is better done in a text post.
*Poll prompts should explicitly ask for users' opinions in the comments, not just their answer in the poll itself.

==So, You've Been Blocked. Now What?==
If you have been [[TES:BLOCK|blocked]] from using the app, you are likely either questioning why you were blocked, or what you can do. This section will hopefully provide you the necessary guidance.

If you were blocked, a discussions moderator or administrator saw you breaking one of the rules above, or you were reported for doing so, resulting in you being punished. In order to participate in the Discussions, you will now have to wait for your block to be over. Do not feel discouraged. When your block ends (assuming your offense wasn't extreme enough to warrant an indefinite block), if you chose to follow the rules above, you are perfectly able to come to the app again. '''A single block does not mean you are no longer welcome'''.

Block lengths are determined by the severity of your offense, and any previous blocks that you may have. Use the time you are given by your punishment to think about what you did wrong, and return without that fault. We acknowledge that one particularly bad day does not equate a bad user.

If you believe you have been unfairly blocked, and would like to contest that block, please contact a staff member on [https://discord.gg/R3DGnN4 Discord]. Avoid creating new threads on Discussions asking why you were blocked, because this interferes with its day-to-day functionality.

==Tips to the Users of the App==
*If you take issue with any of the rules, or wish to bring up rules you believe are missing, it is recommended that you come to The Elder Scrolls Wiki via a computer during the [[TES:Moot|Moot]] (8 PM UTC on the first Saturday of every month on the [https://discord.gg/R3DGnN4 Discord server]) or create a [[Board:Consensus Track|Consensus Thread]] in the wiki's [[Special:Forum|forums]].
*If you have a suggestion related to the structure or features of the app itself, please send your feedback to Wikia at [[Special:Contact/feedback]]. If you think you have found a bug, go to [[Special:Contact/bug]] instead.
*We are trying to build a friendly environment on this app. Feel welcome, and please, have fun. The rules are not here to stand in your way, but rather, to provide well-needed authority to the Discussions.
*Coming updates will provide the still-shaping app with much more content in the future. Enjoy your stay and watch the app grow.
*A link to a desktop version of the app can be found here: [https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/f Discussions].

==See also==
*[[/Forum policy|Forum policy]] (2.0 Forums)

{{Site Policies}}