Once Upon a Time Wiki:Policies

Rules are not the purpose of the community. Although some rules may be enforced, the written rules themselves do not set accepted practice. Rather, they document already existing community consensus regarding what should be accepted and what should be rejected.

This page is, essentially, a set of rules that are set and expected to be followed as long as you participate in the growth of the Once Upon a Time wiki. These guidelines apply to adding images, making pages, editing the wiki and everything in between. These policies may change at any time, and do not represent all community guidelines.

I. Respect for Others

All users, regardless of status, are required to show the utmost respect to others at all times. No slander, harassment or insults will be tolerated at any time.
No minimodding. Minimodding occurs when a user oversteps the boundaries of their authority. (Such as warning another user about a policy violation or removing forum posts.)

A. We encourage users to make others aware of our policies, but actual warnings and removals are the responsibility of the Wiki staff. (The sole exception to this is any content that insults or slanders a user personally)

B. If you see any policy violations, please bring it up to a member of the Wiki staff.

II. User Behavior

Vandalism will not be tolerated. Vandalism is deleting a large portion of the page without proper reason. If someone becomes a vandal, the administrators have the right to block the person for an indefinite amount of time, depending on the severity of the act.
Comments on pages are expected to be appropriate. This means that there should be no inappropriate language, the comment should not be irrelevant, and should not be inflammatory. All comments are expected to use decent spelling, grammar and punctuation. Any comments insulting or harassing any users will deleted; such comments will also result in blocks.
In the case of an edit war, the two opposing people are expected to solve their problem for themselves. Get a neutral party to give an opinion. If they cannot do that, an administrator will step in.
We do ask that major format changes (such as adding or deleting sections on articles) be run by the community first, to get a consensus. Ask any administrator for details.
Insulting/slandering other users is not permitted. It is the right of any user to remove, or request the removal of, any comment, blog, forum, or message wall post that is insulting or slanderous to them personally. Harassing users in this way will result in lengthy blocks.

III. If You Are Blocked/Banned

If you are blocked or banned and want to appeal it, please use your message wall on THIS wiki, or contact an administrator on their wall on the Community Central Wiki.
If you are blocked/banned on this Wiki, it is NOT appropriate to follow any Admin to another Wiki they work on to protest. This will result in your block being extended here, and likely get you a block on the other wiki.
If you are blocked/banned by one of our Admins on another Wiki, do not follow the Admin here to complain. This will result in a block here and possibly an extension on the Wiki in question.

IV. Site Purpose

This is a wiki for the ABC television series Once Upon a Time. We are not affiliated with any other English Once Upon a Time wikis. As such, our content should not be posted on these kinds of sites. Neither should their content be posted on ours. Please be respectful of other people's hard work.
We have a featured article nomination here, a featured image nomination here, and a featured quote nomination here. All features will be reviewed by the administrators and, if decided to be meeting the standards, they will put it on the queue. There will be new features every month. If you have any questions, go to Gigi.
You can add questions to the weekly poll here. The Poll Team consists of Applegirl, Prince of Hearts and Killian Jones. There will be a new poll every week. If you have any questions, you may speak to any one of them, or leave a comment on the Poll Submissions page.

V. Canonicity of Media

What is canonicity? Something is canon if it is considered valid in the Once Upon a Time universe. For example, an event occurring in a dream sequence is not canon to an overall timeline: the event didn't really occur.
Where it applies, the Once Upon a Time Wikia treats events and statements made in other show-related media (such as books) as canon. This includes Once Upon a Time in Wonderland.

A. The order of canonicity is show -> writer/producer -> cast member -> other sources. This means, when a statement/event from another source contradicts something occurring/said in-show, or a statement from a writer/creator/producer, the show event or crew member statement will be what is considered canon.

VI. Profile Tags

Certain users with administration approved privileges have custom profile tags on their profile header.

Editing Policy

VII. Page Creation

Some kinds of pages that should not be created on the wiki are:

Family tree pages
Individual fan-based "shipping" pairing pages - Such as Rumbelle, CaptainSwan, SwanQueen, SleepingWarrior, Swanfire, etc.
Pages for character relationships - such as "Emma and Henry", "Rumplestiltskin and Cora", etc.
Pages for very minor characters or items - Such as a character who only appeared in one scene with no or very few lines would not be considered someone needing his or her own page. However, if you want to contest towards page creation for a specific character or item, please start a discussion thread on this forum board. For an existing list of characters, including noted minor characters, please see the List of Characters page. For an existing list of items, including noted minor items, please see the List of Items page.

VIII. Page Format

To see what a sample character page format looks like, click here.
To see what a sample episode transcript page format looks like, click here. For further inquiries about transcripts, please see the leader of the Transcript Team, Utter solitude.

IX. General Page Edits

All information edited into a character/item/location/episode page must be written in the user's own words. Do not copy and paste in information taken from other sites--including pasting in character history summaries, whole episode recaps, and/or trivia information. Even if hypothetically you wrote something on another site, and paste it onto one of the pages on this wikia, this would not be acceptable because the information will have the appearance of having been copied from another website domain. Do not take summaries or information from another site and try to switch or reword paragraphs to make it look like your own work.
Do NOT add categories that are inappropriate for the page.
Do NOT create new categories without a previous discussion or administrator's permission. For discussing your own suggestion of a new category, please post a discussion thread on this forum board.

X. Character Edits

Each character page follows what the character's name is given as in either the casting call or official ABC press release with the inclusion of a surname if present. Note that only the press release name should be bolded on the introduction sentence of "___ is a character on ABC's Once Upon a Time". If a surname exists, but is not included on the press release name, it remains in the introduction sentence but is *not* bolded. A new character page may be named as per the name in the casting call, but can be changed in the future if the character appears in a newer episode and is shown to have a different name. Examples: Mulan was given the codename "Magnolia" in her casting call. Her page name was changed to Mulan when there was sufficient enough factual sources to confirm her character name was actually Mulan, which is also the name she is noted as on official ABC episodic press releases.

A. Also note that promos and sneak peek videos are not considered reliable sources of information for adding in facts about a character unless the upcoming episode with that information has already aired. Therefore, any new information learned in promos or sneak peeks will not be added onto the pages until the episode actually airs.

B. Be aware that despite a character being called one name in the promo, the structure of this wiki is to *always* follow the name given for the character on the episodic press release, and no secondary names are added until the new episode has aired. This means even if the character is named in a promo or sneak peek under a different name, that name will not affect the character's actual page name, and may only be added in as a listed secondary name after the episode finishes airing. Example: the Thief from "The Outsider" is Robin Hood. His name was used in the promo for that episode. However, the ABC press release for the episode listed him as "Thief", so that was the title the Wiki used. This helps relieve confusion when we use one consistent source.

For appearances listing on episode pages, the names of the characters confirmed to appear in an episode are written in as per what the official ABC press release says. Example: Greg Mendell was named in the press release for "In the Name of the Brother" as "Stranger" even though it was already known his actual name is Greg Mendell. So, for the episode appearances section for "In the Name of the Brother", he is credited as "Stranger" and not "Greg Mendell".

. An episode credits slide, like the ones used to credit co-stars at the end of every episode, is the sole exception to this. An in-show credits slide will supersede a press release.

For writing character history summaries, nicknames of the characters, or shortened versions of the character name are not used; such as Rumplestiltskin becoming "Rumple", or Mr. Gold being referred to as "Gold". Counterpart pages are separate. Example: If you are writing on Mary Margaret's page, you do not write her in as Snow White for history edits.
Characters that are from the Enchanted Forest that have crossed over to Storybrooke after the Dark Curse and were not affected by the curse do not have Storybrooke counterparts, so therefore they do not have Storybrooke counterpart pages. Example: Hook is still Hook even though he came over to Storybrooke. He does not have a Storybrooke counterpart.
Characters who assumed alternate identities in the Land Without Magic outside of the Dark Curse also have counterpart pages.

XI. Trivia Edits

For episode page trivia, it should include information pertinent to the page and is listed under three subheadings "Production Notes", "Event Chronology" and "Episode Connections". For a proper example of what a complete trivia section looks like, please see here.
Production Notes includes sentences in relation to interesting episodic facts or behind the scenes workings involved in writing/filming the episode itself.
Event Chronology includes two set of sentences with both explaining the occurrence of events before and after the episode. They vary in the aspect one describes the timeline of events for the Enchanted Forest events set in the episode, and the other for Storybrooke events.
Episode Connections includes any in-episode references that relate to events which either already occurred in a previous or future episode.

Information that should NOT be listed under either episode or character/location/item page trivia:

A. Speculation - Trivia that is not a true fact. If it is a fact, the information must be verifiable either in-episode or from use of a proper article reference (excluding fansites, tumblr, gossip columns like PerezHilton and WetPaint). Tweets may be used as references if it is a verified response from an actor or writer of the show. Information that does not have a reference, or has no source to show where it came from will be immediately removed.

B. Major history plot points - Sentences that detail major plot points in an episode is unnecessary. Examples of major plot points would be, "Snow White biting the apple is what happens in the Disney movie" or "Rumplestiltskin makes a deal with Cinderella". However, obscure or not well known information is acceptable to write in as trivia. An obscure or not well known point would be something not everyone would know from watching the episode. For example, "Graham's last name is Humbert" or "The Star Wars theme is the ringtone of the Outsider" could be considered obscure enough to write in as trivia.

C. "Mirroring" references - Sentences that describe how one scene mirrors the other.

D. Disney and Lost references - This wiki already has List of Disney References and List of Lost References pages to use for listing references from Disney or Lost, so do not add them under episode or character page trivia. There are some exceptions. A Disney owned franchise, which is not a Disney made franchise, such as Star Wars or Marvel, may be written in as trivia. The wiki is not using Disney princess references, so don't add trivia like "Belle is the third Disney princess to appear" and so on.

E. Familial relations - Adding relatives or blood relations the character has to other people under trivia. The infobox template on each character page already has a section for editing in relatives.

F. DVD Trivia - All trivia that is shown or remarked upon from the Season One's DVD should be put under the "Notable Trivia" section of the Once Upon a Time: Season 1 page. Do not put the trivia under an episode/character/item/location trivia page. Likewise, the same should be done for Once Upon a Time: The Complete Second Season.

XII. Appearances Edits

For the appearances template on a character/item/location page, only add "appearing" if the character/item/location is a physical manifestation within the episode. For example: Granny's Diner appearing in the background of an episode scene, or Mary Margaret's ring is seen on her hand. For "mentioned", only add it if the character/item/location is referred to by a character when speaking.
Photos, pictures or drawings of a character/item/location absolutely do not count as "appearing" or "mentions", and should not be altered as such on the appearances templates. Instead, a bullet list should be made under the appearances template to show it.

A. A character's name reference should not be added under appearances including when the name appears in the newspaper, cellphone or on a personal possession (such as Mary Margaret's credit card, Emma's blanket, Henry's gravestone, Michael's uniform shirt, David's telephone records, Rumplestiltskin's dagger). In some cases, the name reference can be added if the item is of obscure origin such as the squid ink scroll with Emma's name on it, or the list Tamara had with the townspeople's Storybrooke and fairytale counterpart names.

B. The same can be said for name referencing items or locations. Just because an item or location has its name on something does not mean it needs to be listed under appearances. Example: The "Storybrooke" name being on the town welcome sign.

C. Photo/poster/drawing mentions on the bullet list should not be listed IF the character physically made an appearance in the episode itself. When the character is absent from an episode yet a photo/poster/drawing is seen of the character, then the photo mention can be added in. Photographic images in the newspaper are included in this category.

D. Storybook picture mentions are added no matter if the character physically appeared in the episode of not.

XIII. Quotes Edits

For listing quotes under an episode page, make sure to put it under the "Quotes" heading. There is a maximum limit of only ten quotes per episode. Any quote added in after the tenth quote will be deleted. If you still wish to add a quote for a particular character, please see the List of Monologues.
For adding in a quote on character/item/location pages using the quote template, there needs to be a consensus in the comments concerning this. Put the quote in a comment, and ask other users if they find the quote favorable for the page, or if anyone has a better quote that can be suggested. A consensus of at least five affirmative votes is necessary for the character quote to be changed.

XIV. Fluff Edits

Fluff editing will not be tolerated. Fluff editing includes, but is not limited to, changing of the codework in source mode when the change will not alter the actual appearance of the page. Such a change may be tolerable if there is another change in the edit as well. Basically, if your edit does not make a VISIBLE change on the page, it is fluff.

XV. Edit Warring

An edit war is the repeated undoing of edits (or readding information) by different editors. This is unproductive and detrimental to the Wikia.
If someone undoes an edit of yours, it is not appropriate to undo their edit. Please, start a discussion in the article's comment section or on the forums to reach a consensus. You can make your case for your opinion there and get unbiased opinions on the subject.
The Once Upon a Time Wiki defines an "edit war" as occurring when one editor reverts (either via undo, or by adding/removing information manually) an edit three times in a short period (usually 48 hours).
Once an edit war is noted as occurring, the article in question will be temporarily locked so a consensus can be reached.
Any editors engaged in edit warring will be warned, and possibly blocked, depending on the situation.

XVI. Spoiler Policy

Spoilers need to come from a reliable source, and should be referenced in articles.
It is our policy to lock an episode's page while it is airing. On the day a new episode is aired, the page will be locked from 7 PM Eastern time until 12 AM Eastern time. Comments will be turned off during this time. Do not comment while new episodes air in the US.
The forums will be turned off during this time. Do not post in the forums while new episodes air in the US.

XVII. Reliable Sources

Sources that are usually reliable will always link back to the article they got the information from; some tumblr blogs and wikis do this. IMDB is not always correct, and due to any registered user having access to edit information on there, IMDB is not trusted as a true source. Please do not use fan sites of Once Upon a Time as source or reference links.

A. When adding character appearances in future episodes, it must be from a reliable source such as a professional media organization or from the actor him or herself. An image that is not directly stated to have been taken during filming of a given episode is not an acceptable source.

XVIII. Speculation Edits

We do not create pages for a character, item, or location that does not exist in the Once Upon a Time universe, or has not been confirmed to appear by a reliable source, such as a press release. Such created pages will be deleted and removed from the wiki upon inspection.
We do not add information to already existing articles that is unreasonably presumed to be fact, has not appeared on the show, or has not been confirmed by a reliable source. It is the practice of this wiki to consider information learned from promotional material and sneak peeks of upcoming episodes to be speculation, and such information should not be added until the episode itself concludes airing.

XIX. Image Policy

ALL images must directly relate to the show; this includes episode stills, promotional photos released by ABC, and actor photos. No other types of images should be uploaded to the wiki. This means no fan art or fan-made Once Upon a Time materal.
Do not upload any images that violate any copyright. Acceptable internet sources for episodes stills are: Netflix, Hulu, ABC.com, iTunes, and Amazon. These websites have licensing agreements with ABC to carry the show. No other websites are acceptable. If you own seasons of the show on DVD or Blu-ray, this is also an acceptable source.
Do not upload cropped images.
Our use of official ABC promotional photos is allowed by ABC; however, ABC reserves the right to ask us to remove any or all pictures from this wiki.
Do not upload images just to place on a user page. This is a waste of server space. Any such images will be deleted. If you would like to use images not appearing on the wiki, you can upload them to a whitelisted site, such as Flickr or Photobucket, and use the direct image url to have them on your userpage.
When uploading images, please use the following naming style: "xyyzzz" where "x" is the season number (1, 2 or 3), yy is the episode number, and zzz is a short description. An example would be "101Book1.jpg". This identifies that the image is from Season 1, episode 01, ("Pilot") and describes what is in the photo. Users who do not comply with this rule will be notified, and if the user continues to ignore the proper photo naming format, he or she will be blocked as necessary.
The proper naming format for Promotional and Behind the Scenes images is XXXPromo#, XX being the episode number, # being the number (example: 102Promo4.jpg). The same format should be followed for Behind the Scenes images, replacing Promo with BTS.
The proper naming format for Infobox photos is "InfoboxXX" or "InfoboxXXXX", where the XX is the initials (in the case of actors and crew) or name (in the case of stories or other media) of the subject.
For images from Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, follow the above naming policy with the addition of a 'W' placed at the beginning of the image's name.
The Once Upon a Time Wiki does not use photos watermarked by other sites; any such images will be immediately deleted. Additionally, please do not take watermarked photos and crop out said watermark; photos doctored this way will be deleted as well.
Do not upload images with an ABC or CTV logo.
Do not upload images from Tumblrs or Seriable.
Do not upload images from Fanpop.
Do not upload images with letterboxing ("bars" around the image).
Do not upload images that already exist on the wiki - Please check the galleries you intend to put the image in, and see if the photo already exists on the site. Duplicate photos added to a gallery will be deleted from the wiki.
If you upload an image, place it in all applicable galleries, and place it in its proper chronological place.
If you upload an image, you must license it properly. This is done by using the dropdown on the upload prompts, or by visiting the file page and adding the proper template. Images not licensed are subject to deletion. As such, self screencapped images uploaded to the wiki are always listed under "fairuse".
If you have any questions regarding our naming policies or what images are or are not acceptable, please ask any administrator.

XX. Galleries

Galleries are to contain images only. This means no GIF images.
When taking screenshots to save as photos and upload onto any gallery, please utilize the entire screen. Do not upload irregular shaped photos that only capture part of the screen as those are not acceptable, and will be subject to deletion.
The Galleries pictures should be either pictures of the character or of the episode from the show and not of other profiles of that character. Please, if you are cropping a photo to make it smaller to possibly use as a character's profile template picture, do not sort the photo into a gallery. As stated above, we do not put irregularly shaped photos into galleries.
If creating a Gallery page, please make sure to formulate it so that it looks like the other pages, with a Gallery Header and the pictures below.
Character galleries should include headers for episodes the character appeared in, in chronological order, and photos should be arranged chronologically in each episode section.

A. Episode galleries should have episode stills, promo photos, deleted scenes and behind the scenes photos in separate sections. The episode stills section should be in chronological order. Do not sort promo photos into any character galleries.

XXI. Infobox Images

If you would like to change an infobox image on a character's page, we require that you post in the comments section of the page, and get a consensus, namely at least five affirmative votes from users, on what image should be used first. Note that in doing this, the image's whole URL link on the wiki itself can be added in the comment, but do not copy and paste in the bracketed "File:___.jpg" or "File:___png" as it will post the actual image in your comment. This helps prevent edit wars over images. A photo which is cropped out to use as a character's profile photo should not be placed in any gallery.

A. Any questions or concerns about suggesting a photo or getting a consensus can be directed towards an administrator.

Cropped images are discouraged from being used in infoboxes, and will only be accepted when absolutely necessary.
This wiki does not use promotional or behind the scenes photos as infobox template photos. In other words, those type of photos should not be used on character/item/location pages as profile images.
An administrator may step in and add a temporary image until a consensus can be reached to ensure that articles have infobox photos.
Additionally, pages lacking infobox photos will utilize a generic image ("NoImage.jpg"). This aids contributors in identifying articles that lack infobox images. (Click here for this generic image's file page. The pages the image is used on are those that lack infobox images.)
After an agreement has been reached and an article's image updated, the nomination thread will be deleted.
On a general basis, the consensus policy does not apply to cast and crew pages or story pages for the original image on the page. When uploading an image for a cast or crew page, it should be titled "InfoboxAB", "AB" being the cast or crew members initials. For a story page, it should be titled "Infobox___", with the space being the title of the story. However if an image is already in place at the time the page is created and a new image is suggested, then a consensus of five editors must be reached.

Chat Policies

XXII. Unacceptable Behaviors

Excessive use of caps
Excessive cursing
Harassment/slander of another user - this includes insults directed at the room, or users
Spam/trolling/"invading"
Excessive linking to another wiki/outside site
Entering chat just to advertise another wikia/chat/site/etc.
Entering chat just to complain/protest a ban/block on another wikia
Users engaging in the above behaviors will be warned by an administrator or chat moderator. If the behavior continues, they will be "kicked" from the chat. If the user returns and continues, they will be banned for a period of time. If the behaviors continue after blocking, longer blocks will result.

A. It is the discretion of the administrators or chat moderators to extend bans, and to ban without kicking, depending on the severity of the offending behaviors.

XXIII. Age

To comply with COPPA, all Wikia users must be 13 years old or over. This is enforced on OUaT wiki. If it becomes known in chat (or out) that a user is under 13, they will be blocked.

XXIV. "Sockpuppeting"

"Sockpuppeting", using another account to circumvent a ban or block, is not permitted on OUaT Wiki. If it becomes known that a user is sockpuppeting, their sockpuppet will be infinitely blocked, and the block/ban the original account will be extended.

Comment Policies

XXV. Purpose of Comments

Comments are to be utilized to discuss changes to the article. For example; changing an infobox image, giving a reference to a spoiler or update that applies to the page, suggesting the addition or removal of a section, etc. Please note that the five vote consensus applies only to infobox image and quote changes, not to major updates to an article's content.
Do not use comments to discuss theories or thoughts on the article's subject. Please use the forums for this.

XXVI. Forum Policies

We expect all users utilizing our forums to be respectful of each other. Slander, harassment, and insults will result in lengthy blocks without question, and the offending post will be removed.

A. Deleting any such comments does not make them disappear, even removed comments can be seen, including post revisions, and removed content is subject to these rules.

Do not post the same thread or reply more than once. Be aware that you can flag multiple topics in one thread. There is no need to post things repeatedly, and such actions will result in warnings and blocks.
Refrain from using excessive caps. There's no need to shout.
Do not start threads just to advertise or spam. Such threads will be deleted.
Keep the thread on topic as much as possible. Remember, you can always change to another topic and start a discussion there! Threads that go off topic excessively and for a long period of time will be considered spam, and may be closed because of it.
Threads that go inactive for more than six months, meaning there have been no new posts will be deleted with the exception of the Staff Board, the Help Desk and any other thread comtaining vital information at the admins' discretion. Subject to appeal.

XXVII. Video Policies

Videos must be relevant to the show; such as sneak peaks, promos, deleted scenes, or DVD extras. Any videos not directly relating to the show will be deleted.
Do not upload duplicate videos.
Do not upload videos just to use them on a user profile. This is a waste of server space.

XXVIII. Renaming Videos

Since videos can not be uniquely named on upload, please notify an administrator if you upload videos. Only admins have the ability to rename videos.