Thread:ReadingMinds/@comment-27491757-20161029231015

holycrapthere'ssomuch

So, let's face it, AJCW has slowly been spiraling for a while now. Sure, the staff are doing what they can to help, and they've been doing a great job so far, but there are still problems that haven't been fully addressed yet or stubborn users have decided to completely ignore them. Because of this, I've decided to create this thread that addresses ALL problems in AJCW and solutions for these problems, that AJCWikians themselves will have to help with (I know, so surprising). I ask whoever is reading this right now to take a moment to read this thread fully and take something from this because I didn't just make this thread for no reason. Hopefully this opens the eyes of AJCW, or else, well, AJCW might just completely join the dark side, honestly.

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Disclaimer: Anything and everything said below are my own opinions and experiences, and I'm merely putting them out there for the Wiki to see. These opinions may be offensive to certain users, so I caution you against reading onward if you're easily offended/triggered. Also, if I ever use the USERNAME template below, that does not mean I directed this thread towards you in any shape or form. It was merely used to individualize and specify certain details below.

Harassment
Problem: I know it, you know it, let's say it all together: AJCW has an abundance of harassment! Every day, multiple users accuse each other of silly things and argue consistently, and it really disrupts the flow of the Wiki. Let's be honest: The users of AJCW are so easily offended it's almost irritating to see the arguments they get into. Now, I'm not saying all users are like that, it's just so surprising how much grinds their gears. Because of this, harassment (and drama, but that's below) is so common it's absolutely overwhelming.

Solution: Take a moment and breathe. Everything is alright. If something is messed up, don't stress and rant and attack someone for messing it up. Wait to contact them when you've calmed down, and speak to them in a calm rational manner. If someone upsets you, don't upset them; instead, politely ask them to stop, and if they don't, ask a staff member for help. If someone asks you to do so something respectfully, don't retaliate harshly. Just do as they say calmly, or see if the two of you can reach a compromise. Trust me, everything will be much better if we all keep calm and contribute peacefully on.

Now, this doesn't mean every little thing is harassment. Keep in mind, harassment is when you say offensive and hurtful things to others purposefully, and if someone is asking you to leave their page because you're bothering them or if someone warns you that you're breaking a rule, remember, that isn't harassment. If you're unsure on what's harassment and what isn't, then head to your local staff member and ask them about it; I'm sure they won't bite!

Drama Within AJCW
Problem: There will always been users who disagree with each other, there will always be debates and disputes, but what AJCW user's need to understand is that sometimes you need to agree to disagree. Drama is just like harassment. It disrupts the flow of the wiki and in the end, is it necessary? No, it isn't. However, drama can be easily avoided if you follow these simple steps.

Solution: First off, we have something called the "debate forum", where civilized disputes and arguments take place. If you want to discuss an issue with someone, then please, do it there. If you want to kick and scream and curse, however, and simply wish to overreact and be dramatic, then feel free to do so in someone's Private Messaging in the Live! Chat (as long as the other user is OK with it). Such drama does NOT belong in: The Live! Chat, on someone's message wall, in the comment sections of articles, or anywhere else not listed above. As stated in the "harassment" section, sit down, and take a deep breath. There is no need to get so worked up over something little. It's OK.

Drama Outside of AJCW
Problem: If drama does not relate to AJCW, it shouldn't be on AJCW. AJCW isn't the place to yell about how your girlfriend cheated on you. AJCW especially isn't the place to discuss Animal Jam drama. Though that may seem harsh because AJCW is Animal Jam orientated, AJCW is an informative data-base where you may record information about your Animal Jam group; not where you can organize your next roleplay war while also bringing it completely out of context (i.e starting out of roleplay drama). Of course, Warrior Cats roleplay needs drama and spice to it, but yet again, bringing it out of context isn't needed.

Solution: Start drama on Animal Jam instead, or on another site (like a free chatting site, such as Chatlands, or even Skype.) Or, of course, you could always try to avoid drama as a whole. There's no need to make a huge deal about every little thing; that gets in the way of more important things. Be calm and collective about it, be mature about it. Take a deep, loooong breath and take a break from AJCW if need be. Work it out like civilized people, not monkeys who just throw trash at each other all day and expect the situation to fix itself.

Disrespect Towards Other Normal Users
Problem: This ties in with harassment and drama. The disrespect shown to other users of AJCW is downright unacceptable. Have you guys ever heard of "treat others the way you'd like to be treated" before? I'd guess not, considering how much disrespect is tossed around the Wiki. It's like you guys think you're playing hot potato with a glob of rude comments and brash comebacks. Come on, guys, we don't need this in AJCW. We're trying to just have fun on this game and it's definitely not fun when someone just can't seem to respect others in any shape or form. Just, please do the things I ask you to directly below.

Solution: Treat others the way you'd like to be treated. Is it reall that hard to act respectful to another person? Do you think it'll hurt you in any shape or form to act nice for once? I mean, guys, it's the least you can do with all of the other issues AJCW has. And it's not like other users aren't below you, because they aren't. We're all just a bunch of teenagers looking to enjoy a child's game and instead, well... we have AJCW. And AJCW is definitely not enjoyable right now, with all of the disrespect being thrown around. The staff are trying to help, but well, look below and you'll see the problem with disrespect shown to them.

Disrespect Towards Staff Members
Problem: Now this is when we really get spicy. The amount of disrespect and absolute disregard that they're actual human beings to is so high that's it's a shock AJCW is still running. It's like everyone thinks they're robots. Well, they're not. Staff members are just like you and I, with some privileges and responsibilities on the Wiki. They clean up your messes and put up with all of your ridiculous crap, and what do they get? Unappreciative kids who yell at them because they deleted a page with no content on it. Talk about being self-centered.

Solution: Treat the staff members with some goddamn respect. They're not robots, they're not heartless, they're people too, with actual feelings. They do so much more than they get credit for and it's time they got the appreciation they really deserve. AJCWikians don't seem to know how to respect authority at all, and it's almost sad how rude they are to staff members. It's not like staff members do things without a reason. I mean, they were voted by the community itself to become a staff member, so they'd be qualified to manage their rights and such. I mean, c'mon guys, they're stuff for a reason! They're not meant to be your personal chew toys!

Cursing
Problem: Though some may disagree with our cursing restrictions, it doesn't give you the right to ignore the rule. Just because you don't like it doesn't mean you get to go around and pretend to rule the world. People are constanting still swearing on the wiki (not only cursing, but censoring and using abbreviated swears, which aren't allowed except in the Live! Chat).

Solution: Follow the rule. Simple as that. If you disagree with the rule, feel free to make a thread about it on the "debate" forum, or even the "general discussions" forum. If you don't like the restrictions, instead of ignoring them, try to fix them by bringing it to the staff's attention.

Under-aged Users
Problem: Animal Jam is a kid's game, and therefore of course underaged users will be on an Animal Jam wiki, but the age limit is the law, and it's not ok to break it. Not only is it an AJCW rule, it's the law, if I didn't make that clear enough. Using Wikia if you are under the age of 13 is illegal.

Solution: If you're underaged, just wait till your 13. Just. Wait. It's not worth breaking the law for, is it? If you're underaged and you're reading this, then I strongly encourage you to turn yourself in to the staff. No, you won't go to jail or anything, you'll just be blocked until you turn 13, no biggie. It's just not worth it.

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''Other rules will be addressed at request. The 4-Border Limit is already addressed below.''

More detailed points on this rule section can be found here.

Excessive Coding
Problem: People seem to believe that coding = creativity. Well, it doesn't. Excessive coding is pointless and gets in the way of an article's actual content. While the viewer's eyes are trying to get used to that neon green you have all over the page, they can't read the content because their eyes just hurt too much. Do you really want to force possible group members away just because they couldn't look at the page? Even with comments, excessive coding is still bad. What is the point in coding a comment? Yet again, it just gets in the way of the actual comment, and might not be pleasurable for others to look at. Even if it is "fancy" and "advanced" coding, it needs to stop. I mean, it's like ever since AJ got rid of advanced anatomy and all that on there, you guys decided to use "advanced coding" to make up for it. You don't need "advanced" period.

Solution: Focus more on the content than the coding. Even if your page has 2883478392922 borders and a bunch of colored text, it won't make the actual page better if it doesn't have good content. Good content is important in a Wiki page; I mean, the entire point of a Wiki page is to have informative content. When you do code excessively, only do it on your profile, in user pages, and in blogs. Articles don't need to be excessively coded, comments don't need to be excessively coded, and responses to threads and such definitely don't need to be coded.

Claiming Coding
Problem: Everyone knows it: Some users will be yelled at or told to "take down" their border or other simple piece of coding due to someone "claiming" it as their own. They'll say that they created the coding and spent hours of effort in molding it to make the perfect page, and they don't want their page to be stolen. The entire situation escalates, until it becomes a full-on argument with harassment, drama, and the likes. Stop. Before you post that one, single, seemingly harmless comment on how that coding is "yours" and not that person's, think about this simple solution.

Solution: Take a second and step back. Breathe. Why are you telling someone to remove something that doesn't belong to you? Why are you bothering so much? Unless you 100% made this coding, which nobody on this Wiki has, it's technically not yours, and you likely copied and pasted it yourself to fit your own desires. There's no need to get so heated over some pixels, and quite frankly, very insensible of you to do so. Realize that coding cannot belong to anyone unless you owned Wikia in itself or, as said above, you made the coding yourself. If you are still bothered by it, instead of accusing them of stealing, ask them to remove or change the coding politely. It'll go a longer way than starting an argument over it.

(More detailed points on this can be found here.)

The 4-Border Limit
Problem: Similarly to the excessive coding problem, people seem to believe that having 100+ borders on their page is creative. Sure, some designs can be cool, but it's not in any way creative. You're creating a pattern using prepared coding that can be manipulated to suit anyone's purpose. Quite frankly, it's ignorant to go on and complain about border limits when you could focus on other things, like improving your page's content or the community. Content matters just as much as borders may, you know. It'd be a lot better to have a disorganized page with great content, rather than an organized, pretty page with terrible content.

Solution: Like I've said for the excessive coding issue, focus more on the page's content itself instead of how many borders you have. Borders don't matter, but content does. If you still believe "borders lives matter", fine, let them live on in the shape of 4 borders as a limit. They're just smaller and more limited, but it's not like AJCW can't come up with something with those 4 borders. I mean, you guys can do some pretty neat things at certain times, but don't let those "certain times" stay occasional. Instead, do as much as you can with the 4 borders. Who ever said limited objects equaled limited creativity?

(More detailed points on this can be found here.)

Excessive Signatures
Problem: Honestly if you aren't a staff member, you have no need for a signature, not to mention a super big and fancy one. Even if you're a staff member on another Wiki (or a partnering Wiki), you still shouldn't really need a sig, and if you do have a sig, it shouldn't be 74357847587485 backgrounds and borders.

Solution: Make smaller signatures. Or even better, don't use signatures. Make your signature simple, don't over think it (if you over think it, it looks really bad and generic anyway), keep it short, basic, and straight to the point. All you really need to do is link your message wall and your profile, and that's all. You don't wanna overdo it.

(More detailed points on this can be found here.)

Plagiarism
Problem: Similar to art theft but not as drastic, from what I've seen, plagiarism is a somewhat common issue that really shouldn't be common at all. It's completely copying others work because you couldn't do it yourself, and it's just wrong to do. Basing something after a sentence or two is one thing; when you completely copy and paste someone's page and edit it to match yours, that's just plain stealing. It's as bad as art theft, because, let me make this clear, stealing is stealing. It isn't any different from stealing an expensive pair of shoes from a store because you thought they looked nice. You took them against the owner's will and that's definitely not good to do at all.

Solution: Guys, just come up with and write your own descriptions. It isn't too difficult, I'd think. Even if you have busy lives, how long does it take to write one or two sentences? It isn't worth it to steal someone else's work. Excuses aren't enough to justify it; it's thievery no matter what. Besides, how would you like it if you wrote a descriptive, wonderful story you were very proud of, and someday someone just came along, said "ooh that's nice!", and plagiarized the entire thing? I'd be mad, if I was in that situation. Like stated before, treat others the way you'd like to be treated, and just take the couple of minutes you'd need to write a description about one thing or the other.

Art Theft
Problem: This has been addressed multiple times before, and I'll say it again: Art theft is common, common, common on AJCW, and even thought it's being slowly stopped, there are still cases of users who add stolen, edited artwork onto AJCW. Stealing, if you haven't realized it by now, is stealing, and is illegal in the US, breaks the entirety of Wikia's rules, and breaks AJCW's rules. Crediting =/= permission to use art, either. Some artists don't like their art being used by others, period, and you're going against them by using their art. It's rude, disrespectful, inconsiderate of the artist, and against the law. Why do it at all?

Solution: Stop. Adding. Stolen. Artwork. Simple as that. Instead of using random images from the Internet you thought were "cool", ask an artistic friend for some art or request something from a good artist on Wiki. There's plenty to choose from. Stealing art causes much more of a hassle than necessary, and besides, has AJCW really stooped so low to thievery just to get the "perfect" page? You don't even need art for a perfect page, you could use real pictures instead, and it'd make the entire thing more realistic, anyway. Just, guys, come on, you're better than this. Stealing art is not OK, and you should never, ever use art unless it was specifically made by you or for you.

(More detailed points on this can be found here.)

Spam/"WIP" Pages
Problem: Ok guys. Stop making your pages with nothing but "WIP". It's spam. Please, it just clogs up pages. Secondly, don't make pages and then leave them inactive/never finish them. If you're done using a page, please be sure to the "delete" template on it. Inactive pages get in the way. Also, before you make a brand new page for something, maybe try renaming an inactive and old page that is no longer in use instead of just adding more pages to the wiki

Solution: If you can't get to making the page right away, DON'T create it until you can. It's simple, really. This shouldn't even be much of a problem. Or, when you create a page, at least put some information on it instead of just leaving it with "WIP" or "DO NOT STUB/DELETE".

(More detailed points on this can be found here.)

Unrelated to AJCW
Problem: Well, it's honestly shocking that I have to address this, but recently some pages have popped up that are completely unrelated to AJCW itself. They're about other fandoms, roleplays in the forums, or have just been "OC" pages that actually are complete replicas of actual popular characters in stories or games. AJCW is, let me remind you, Animal Jam Clans Wiki. Not Wings of Fire Wiki. Not Five Nights At Freddy's Wiki. Heck, not even Animal Jam Fandom Wiki. It's Animal Jam Clans Wiki, and all things here are supposed to be related to animal jam and the Warriors fandom (Packs and Groups are included because they're, you know, animal-related).

Solution: Just don't post them on AJCW, or at least don't make them main articles. Have them be blogs or user pages instead. There's no point in making an unrelated page on AJCW

Invalid Categories
Problem: A multitude of invalid or "unofficial" categories are being made and used by AJCW. For example, "Oc page", "OC", "Clan Cats", "Wolfs" (yes, Wolfs was a category), group names, and more are being used for pages and blogs. They haven't been approved and only the simple ones (Clans, Packs, Cats, Dogs, Wolves, etc.) should really be used. Categories are meant for overall categorization and shouldn't be made for singular groups, characters, or things. They also shouldn't be acronyms or abbreviations or variations of current categories. Categories are supposed to be straightforward and to the point, and multiple users are ignorantly messing up the organization by adding these invalid categories.

Solution: I think AJCW should have some sort of "official list of categories" in the Editing Guidelines, to notify users of which categories are valid or invalid. Once that's added, however, every AJCW user should take the initiative to find out what valid categories there are and use them appropriately. Species categories should stick with OC pages, while group categories will stick with group pages. There's no need to use invalid categories at that point, because there'll be a list for it in the guidelines. Really, though, how hard is it to find out what the categories you should use are? If you need help with it, just ask a staff member or one of the contributors to this thread. We all know how to categorize and such.

Other
Problem: It's clear to see AJCWikians can lack the knowledge on how to use the basic functions of the Wiki. For example, they can't rename a page, see a page's history, add a thread to the forums, etc. It's almost sad how little some know. Yes, I realize the very newest to the Wiki won't know anything, but after a few days you should at least know how to click the arrow next to the "edit" button at the top of the page to see "History" and "Rename". However, that's not the point. The point is that these uneducated users are constantly going to staff for help, and though the staff do gladly help anyone in need, I just think they could be doing more important things for the good of the community if they had those few seconds used to help someone learn what history is.

Solution: Perhaps the Wiki could set up some sort of lesson thing to teach the users about AJCW, or just have some sort of guide to the basic functions of the Wiki. It's either that or the AJXWikians straightened up and took the initiative to learn these things that they'll probably need later on contributing to the Wiki.

Whoa, finally here? That look a while, didn't it? There's a reason for that: AJCW has a lot of problems. If you had fully read what I've written above, you'd know that we also really, really need to fix them! Please, please, please keep in mind all of these issues as you contribute to the Wiki, and try to avoid creating issues yourself. Perhaps you can pitch in with helping everything be organized and, who knows, maybe we can make AJCW great again! (yes I said that, I regret nothing.)

Keeping in mind what I've said above, please stay polite and respectful when responding to each other below! We wouldn't want this thread to turn into full-on harassment and disrespect, now would we?

A big thanks goes to Kracked and TheDarkestSpirit for helping me write this all out!  