Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-61022-20150125185409

PLEASE READ THIS ENTIRE POST AND POST AN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT IN THE COMMENTS FIELD TO SIGNIFY YOU HAVE READ AND UNDERSTOOD THIS NEW POLICY

'''ALSO THIS IS NOT A THREAD TO DISCUSS THE NEW EVENT. PLEASE DO SO ELSEWHERE. THIS IS JUST TO SEND OUT AN EDITORIAL DECISION. COMMENTS SHOULD ONLY SIGNIFY THAT YOU HAVE READ AND UNDERSTAND THIS MESSAGE.'''

Hello Marvel Wiki contributors!

First of all, on behalf of all the admins, I would like to thank each and every one of you on your contributions to this Wiki. I have been a contributor since 2005 (Almost 10 years!) and I have seen it grow from a little known corner of the internet full of blank pages and fractured information to a growing and recognized source of information on all things Marvel.

We could not have done that without your contributions, so take a moment to pat yourself on the back for a job well done. Without the open source nature of this site, we could not have become the what we are today.

However, the very fact that we are a source that is open to user contributions at any time, sometimes we have to stop and take a more moderate position on what to edit, and in spite of all the great work everyone here does, we have to sometimes take a moment to step back and wait before making edits.

Case in point: with the announcements surrounding the Secret Wars event due to unfold this May and the many questions that are swirling around what may or may not happen during this event have been discussed by the majority of admins on this Wiki and we have come to agreement on an editorial policy regarding this event.

For those of you that are aware, the current Secret Wars event is intended to shake up the entire Marvel Universe. It has been speculated that this event may be a reboot of sorts for the Marvel Universe. While this is a possibility, the admins of this Wiki have all agreed that from an editorial standpoint here on the Wiki, we will be taking a "wait and see" approach on how to move forward. With that said we ask that all contributors adhere to the following set of guidelines:

NO EDITS ON CHARACTERS/TEAMS/ITEMS INVOLVED IN THE EVENT UNTIL *AFTER* IT IS OVER:

First and foremost, we are putting a moratorium on any edits on character pages of characters who are going to be involved in the Secret War event until AFTER the event is over.

What this means is that we will not be allowing any edits on characters/teams/locations/items who/that are involved in Secret Wars. This is specifically pertaining to edits that involve THAT event.

We will allow people to write issue summaries for comics involving the Secret Wars event as well as people updating a Secret Wars event page. However all edits on other pages (Such as characters, teams, items etc.) involved will not be allowed until after there is a definitive conclusion to the event.

Why?

Mainly because we DON'T know what's going to happen at the end of this event. There is just far too much speculation. Is there going to be a full on reboot? Will it be a soft reboot ala DC Comic's New 52? Will there be a new universe created or will the old designations continue? Nobody knows right now, and we are not going to know until after Secret Wars is over.

The admins on this Wikia have all agreed that it is simpler to wait and see what happens and then edit things AFTER the event is over so that we have all the correct information. It is less of a headache to add information each week and then have to correct it after the event was complete and it turned out that half of the information was wrong. It's happened far too many times on this Wikia and we would like to curb this compulsion in our users in updating character profiles whenever an issue comes out and a story arc is not complete.

Examples:

Spider-Verse: Was a complete nightmare, because users were NOT DOING THE PROPER RESEARCH and adding information before a story arc could be completed. This resulted in duplicate character pages being created, incorrect universe designations, and all sorts of other editorial nightmares that could have been EASILY avoided had people decided not to go in and add information whenever a new comic was published and an active storyline was still in progress.

All-New X-Men: People were editing profiles of the early histories of the childhood era original X-Men thinking that the original X-Men appearing in All-New X-Men were from Earth-616. If this is a fact or not is presently unknown, but all things are leaning toward the likelihood that they are from a divergent reality now.

DC WIKIA: NEW 52: The best example we can provide is what happened over at our sister site the DC Comics Wiki following the events of Flashpoint and the beginning of the New 52 "soft-reboot". Initially all edits on that site for major characters (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman etc...) were done as though they were just a continuation of the incarnation of the Post-Crisis on Infinite Earth characters were still in circulation. It soon became obvious that changes being made to characters origins and on going stories that it was becoming too difficult and cumbersome to continue this way. Since then they have broken things up and the New 52 characters are now considered NEW INCARNATIONS of the characters and all edits are being separated from the Post-Crisis characters who have been in circulation since 1985. This created a massive editorial nightmare over there because they did not start doing this until about a year or two AFTER New 52 came into effect. At the Marvel Wiki we would like to avoid this SAME scenario if a soft or full reboot is the end result of Secret War.

FAQ

What Happens if I Edit a Profile for a Character Involved in Secret Wars?

I'm going to have to play the bad cop here and say that we are going to be very strict on this: Anyone caught editing anything Secret Wars related other than issue summaries or to the event page will:

(1) Have their edits will be rolled back or removed. (2) The page they edited will then be locked so no other users can edit the page for the REMAINDER of the event. Your name will be cited as the reason for the page being locked. (3) This is a one shot deal. If you break the rule, you will be barred from editing pages until the end of the event. This advisement is serving as a warning, you will receive none if you are caught.

When Can I Start Adding Secret Wars Related Stuff?

Provisionally -- meaning this may be subject to change -- this moratorium will be lifted when the event is over. However, all users must act as though it is still in effect until after we issue another global message advising users that the moratorium has been lifted.

''Well Now There is Nothing to Edit! What Can I Do?''

If you are of the mind that there is nothing to add to the Wiki with this editorial mandate, you are absolutely wrong. Marvel Comics (and its predecessors) have been in circulation for over 75 years, on top of that, this Wikia is still missing a lot of information. There are issue summaries missing, characters have empty profile summaries while others are "bottom heavy" (meaning people are only adding new information that has recently been published while older stories have been omitted).

There is plenty of other information that can be added to this Wiki that does not involve Secret Wars that needs to be added to this Wiki. We suggest that over the course of the next year look up some older comics and take the time to immerse yourself in the vast and richly detailed history of the Marvel Universe. In order to best understand change, sometimes it's best to experience what came before.

We live in a digital age, long gone are the days of hunting through dusty long boxes, or spending ridiculous amounts of money on back issues. Older stories are readily available, affordable, and easy to find either digitally or in Trade paperback.

The only things holding you back are interest and motivation.

Last and Most Importantly:

HAVE FUN.

Seriously, often a lot when a new event like this happens a lot of fans become highly negative. Instead of reading speculation and being negative about it, take the time to enjoy the stories for what they are. Comics are supposed to be fun! So don't take things too seriously, because after all they are only stories. 