Goosebumps Wiki
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Editor beware!

Follow the rules, or you're in for a scare!

Goosebumps Wiki rules

  1. Explain what you're doing. When editing articles, it is important to keep everyone in the loop.
    1. When saving your edit, try to write a summary of what you've changed.
    2. Before making a large or potentially controversial edit, discuss your decision with an admin, in the forums, or on the talk page for the article that you're editing.
    3. Repeatedly making controversial edits without explaining yourself can result in a ban.
  2. Watch your profanity! Since Goosebumps is a franchise generally designed for all ages, please don't swear on articles or their talk pages. In addition, do not swear at other users.
    1. If you're quoting something, profanity can be acceptable in some cases. Consider if the quote is necessary. If you use profanity, you will likely need to mark the article as mature.
  3. How do I become an admin or apply for another right? The mods tend to be selective, but you can view the Goosebumps Wiki:User right requirements page for specific details.
    1. Before applying, you must consistently make meaningful edits. The current admins can deny granting a user right if they believe that the user isn't fit.
  4. Don't make pages you don't intend to complete. If you want to create a page, please do! However, don't simply write a sentence and move on to another page. Add as much meaningful information as you can. For a detailed guide on making character pages, see this post.
    1. Some background characters or elements are simply too obscure to warrant pages.
    2. If a user creates a poorly written or formatted page, the admins may mark it for deletion or delete the page.
  5. How much should I write? Only add useful information to an article. Before publishing, ask yourself if you would want to read your own writing.
    1. The typical length for the summary of a Goosebumps book should be between 3,000 characters and 7,500 characters. Use a website such as WordCounter.net to make sure you didn't write too much!
  6. When should I cite information? You should cite sources if your claim can't be easily confirmed. It may be removed if it can't be verified.
    1. If the information you're adding comes from a Goosebumps story or episode, you probably won't need citations. If your information comes from The Art of Goosebumps or the Goosebumps Collector's Caps books, consider linking to those articles (and possibly citing the relevant page numbers). If your information comes from an interview or social media, linking is required.
    2. Independent research is often acceptable if it's being reported by a trusted member of the community or other reputable source.
  7. Avoid speculation and opinions. Only include information that can be confirmed. If you have a unique point of view about a book, feel free to discuss that on a talk page or in the forums.
    1. Don't make assumptions about the author or the fanbase. (For example: The author probably intended this to symbolize... All fans hate this book... Some fans theorize...)
    2. Note: Avoiding speculation doesn't mean ignoring logic. If a book mentions Hollywood, it's safe to assume they mean the one in California — not the one in Alabama. Situations like these can be tricky; if you need help, consult an admin or the forums.
  8. Try not to spoil books randomly! Don't spoil books if you don't need to. There are instances where spoilers are fine, but try to be mindful of all readers.
    1. Don't spoil a book at the beginning of a summary. Save spoilers for the end.
    2. If possible, avoid putting spoilers into the "Trivia" section.
  9. Check before categorizing. Before adding a page to a category, check the category description first. (If the category says that it is only for books and short stories, then don't add character pages.) Also, look at the pages that are already tagged in that category. (If there are only books in that category, then don't add a character page.)
    1. Don't tag list-pages with information regarding individual books featured on that list. There may be some exceptions to this rule, but try to avoid overusing tags or adding too many tags to one page.
    2. Don't tag blog posts with anything other than the "Blog Post" category.
  10. What people deserve articles on this Wiki? People who have worked on official pieces of Goosebumps media deserve articles. The only other reason someone would deserve an article is if they are exceptionally notable.
    1. For us, "notability" is when several important sources discuss the subject in a nontrivial way. "Important sources" might include people officially associated with the franchise, news/media articles, or even dedicated fanpages.
    2. As an example, Blogger Beware has a page because it was discussed by R.L. Stine, it spawned multiple fan-sites (example), and it has it's own TV Tropes page.
  11. Do not vandalize. Vandalizing articles or any other aspect of this Wiki is never acceptable. Depending on the severity of the vandalism, vandals may be dealt with in several ways.
    1. If a user's only edits are vandalism, they are likely to be banned without warning.
    2. If a vandal's edits are profane or malicious, the vandal will be banned without warning.
    3. Even unintentionally bad formatting can be considered vandalism, so double-check every edit you make. Sometimes, Fandom will mess up the spacing or formatting of an article after you've made an edit. If this happens, you are responsible for fixing that page. Accidents happen, but continuously breaking this rule may result in a ban.
  12. Quality standards: In order to keep the Wiki clean and pleasant, the admins have the right to remove anything that doesn't meet certain quality standards. This can include poorly formatted pages, poorly worded information, or low quality images.
    1. Admins have the final say in what belongs on the Wiki. If you disagree with one admin's revisions, try discussing your edits with them. Don't simply repeat your edits.
    2. Making bad edits causes more work for others. Users who consistently display poor grammar, formatting, or discretion on articles may be banned. They have the right to contact an admin and appeal this ban if they can prove they're capable of changing.
  13. Piracy isn't allowed. Encouraging other users to engage in digital piracy is not permitted on this wiki. Do not attempt to link to pirated material or give instructions on how to obtain pirated material.
    1. If a user makes an honest mistake, or if they don't fully comprehend how piracy works, they will be warned by the admins. If a user repeatedly encourages piracy after they've been warned, they may be banned.
  14. Don't mass-edit without permission. If you notice something that seems to be a problem with numerous pages or categories, ask the admins for help instead of making many edits in a row. Perhaps the problem isn't really even a problem. If it's actually a problem, the admins can often help solve it.
    1. Earning badges and making lots of edits can be fun, but don't do anything unscrupulous to boost your edit count. For example, don't edit pages one word at a time. Likewise, if you're going to reword something, make sure what you're saying is actually different than what was originally said.

Image rules

  1. What images should I use? All of the images that you add to articles should come from an official Goosebumps product. In addition, all images should be of reasonable quality (if possible).
    1. Acceptable sources: Book covers, TV show screenshots, movie screenshots, video game screenshots, and official Goosebumps merchandise.
    2. Unacceptable sources: Fanart, miscellaneous images, and profane images.
    3. Exceptions: Under some circumstances, you may retrieve pictures of real people from sources outside of the Goosebumps franchise.
  2. Don't upload duplicates. If an image is already on the Wiki, don't upload it a second time. Instead, link to the original image.
    1. Mistakenly re-uploading an image on the Wiki is excusable, but uploading many duplicate files may result in a ban.
  3. Properly name files. File names should never be abbreviations or random strings of text. Choose a meaningful file name related to the image.

Formatting & grammar rules

(The rules in this section are strongly held guidelines and not unusually bannable offenses.)

  1. Italics! The names of series, books, video games, and movies must always be italicized.
    1. When italicizing a link in the source editor, try to do it like this: ''[[Night of the Living Dummy]]'', and not like this: [[Night of the Living Dummy|''Night of the Living Dummy'']]
    2. TV episode titles and short story titles belong in "quotations marks" and not italics.
  2. Arranging articles: Look at how other pages are arranged and try to arrange new pages in a similar style.
    1. Sections like "Physical appearance" and "Personality" on character pages should always be sub-sections under the "General information" section.
    2. For more information on creating character pages, please see Editing 101: Creating Character Pages.
    3. The month the book released generally does not need to be mentioned in the article introduction, just the year is fine.
    4. Before adding information to the trivia section, make sure it isn't info that can fit elsewhere on the article. It is a section mostly intended for trivial tidbits, so avoid adding basic or important information to it.
  3. Capitalization: Page titles and sections should be capitalized a certain way.
    1. The only things that need every word capitalize are names. Anything else should be presented in lowercase (aside from the first word). Example: "International Releases" should be stylized as "International releases".
  4. Linking to Wikipedia: Linking to Wikipedia on articles is encouraged, but keep this in mind:
    1. Use discretion. If a page mentions a tree, you don't need to link to Wikipedia to define that.
    2. Try not to link like this: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree tree]
    3. Try to link like this: [[wikipedia:tree|tree]]
  5. Should I use American or British grammar? Since Goosebumps is an American franchise, American grammar and spelling are preferred on articles.
    1. Exception #1: In American English, writers are discouraged from placing periods or commas after quotation marks in all cases. In Britain, writers are encouraged to choose whether the punctuation goes inside or outside based on situational logic. The latter of these methods is preferred.
  6. Use the present tense. There can be small exceptions to this, but all long pieces of writing should be primarily in the present tense.

General rules

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, is the largest and most successful wiki. This section lists some of the overarching guidelines that have helped make Wikipedia a success.

  1. Be civil to other users at all times.
  2. Assume good faith; in other words, try to consider that the person on the other end of the discussion is a thinking, rational being who is trying to positively contribute to the project — unless, and only unless, you have firm, solid, and objective proof to the contrary. Merely disagreeing with you is no such proof.
  3. Particularly, don't revert good faith edits. Reverting is too powerful sometimes. Don't succumb to the temptation, unless you're reverting very obvious vandalism (like "LALALALAL*&*@#@THIS_SUX0RZ", or someone changing "1+2=3" to "1+2=17"). If you really can't stand something, revert once, with an edit summary something like "(rv) I disagree strongly, I'll explain why in talk." and immediately take it to talk.
  4. No personal attacks. Don't write that user such and so is an idiot, or insult them (even if they are an idiot). Instead, explain what they did wrong, why it is wrong, and how to fix it. If possible, fix it yourself.
  5. Be graceful: Be liberal in what you accept, be conservative in what you do. Try to accommodate other people's quirks the best you can, but try to be as polite, solid, and straightforward as possible yourself.
  6. Sign your posts on talk pages using ~~~~, which gets replaced by your username and timestamp when you hit Save. But don't sign on mainspace articles.
  7. Use the preview button; it helps prevents edit conflicts and mistakes.

It's important to have fun... but try to make sure those around you have fun too!

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