WikiFur:What WikiFur is

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This page is an official policy on WikiFur. This policy serves as a place to record previous consensus actions, and should be followed except when consensus dictates otherwise. Significant changes to this policy should first be proposed on the discussion page.

Wondering what WikiFur is all about? Here's where you can find out! Be aware that this list may not be complete, and it is sometimes easier to understand what WikiFur is not. You could also read our other policies and guidelines.

WikiFur is many things to different people, though we share a collaborative vision[edit]

WikiFur is many things to many people, though we share a collaborative vision. WikiFur is first and foremost a furry encyclopedia, but it is also a place for other collaboration on furry topics. Those who contribute to WikiFur do so because they believe that people working together can achieve great things. It seems to be working so far!

As a result, don't be too hasty to say "this doesn't belong" - there is always more room, after all, and adding more articles has virtually no effect on the site's performance. Even if a particular article is unsuitable for WikiFur, a few days of discussion about it won't matter.

WikiFur is by furries[edit]

WikiFur is by furries. It is not made by some nameless editors in an ivory tower, or even by the curators. It is made and owned by you, the people who make up the furry fandom. You can make changes to almost every page, and the direction of this project is shaped by your collective actions. You are a contributor and editor, both creating and improving articles and defining and enforcing policy.

Of course, also we welcome contributions by those who are not currently members of the fandom. In particular, if you were once a member of the fandom but have decided to leave, we would greatly appreciate your perspective on the history of the activities that you were involved in. If you're thinking of joining the fandom, we hope you find our articles useful!

WikiFur is for furries and the furry fandom[edit]

WikiFur is for furries and the furry fandom. It is a resource intended to educate, inform and generally be useful to its visitors and contributors, most of whom are expected to be furry fans. To promote this cause, it provides factual, interesting and informative articles about topics relating to the fandom.

Note that this does not mean that we are "for" furries in terms of "being on the furry side" in the case of disputes, although most contributors have a positive view of topics that they contribute to. Instead, we strive for a neutral point of view, which characterises disputes rather than continuing them. Ideally, even self-proclaimed anti-furries will be able to agree with WikiFur's articles.

WikiFur is about furries and the furry fandom[edit]

WikiFur is about furries and the furry fandom. WikiFur is a public resource where people - both furries and non-furries - are able to come to and learn about both the fandom and those in it. This means that we do have articles on people in the fandom, even if they are not regarded as particularly significant.

We also acknowledge the fact that WikiFur is a public site and that articles will be viewed by those who do not have any idea of what "furry" is. You should therefore write them to be accessible to everyone, including relevant links to appropriate topics and describing as much background as is required to understand the content of the article.

. . . so tell us about yourself . . .[edit]

Vanity articles, that is, articles about a person or project which are written by the article subject or someone involved with a project, are acceptable on WikiFur, unlike Wikipedia. In order for WikiFur to remain a useful resource for information, though, these articles need to be factual and concise. Articles which are written for humor value or are lacking in reliable, documentable sources are likely to be edited for accuracy, or if the information is not documentable, deleted altogether.

If you have humorous or non-factual information you would like to provide, provide a forum for commentary about yourself or your project, or wish to provide other non-encyclopedic information (within existing WikiFur policies and the boundaries of good taste), you are welcome to create a WikiFur account and post that in the User: namespace pages.

. . . and try to make a good first impression![edit]

Although WikiFur is not censored for the protection of minors, it is probably not a good idea to give exaggerated accounts of your exploits on Tapestries, or to fill pages about innocuous topics with spooge (even if it is your own). On the other hand, these things are a part of the fandom, and this fact should be acknowledged on relevant articles, not denied or hidden away. Use common sense!

WikiFur is here to stay[edit]

WikiFur is here to stay. We intend for WikiFur to be an archive for the furry fandom for the foreseeable future. You should not hesitate to contribute out of concern over the continued existence of WikiFur. In the unlikely case that our current host does go down, several parties have pledged to provide an alternate home for WikiFur.

We are also confident that we can preserve the integrity of WikiFur by handling any cases of vandalism that crop up. Many people monitor recent changes, and are quick to pick up on simple cases - the average time to reversion of such edits is around five to ten minutes. Potentially valid but dubious edits are debated on the talk pages until consensus is reached. It is possible that incorrect information could be placed on WikiFur; this has happened in the past and will probably happen again. However, as the site grows, the number of people watching grows with it, and so the chance of such changes slipping through the net decreases.

Of course, if you feel that you'd prefer to take your own backups for peace of mind, or wish to have a copy for your own purposes, you can download the current pages or every edit. Submissions to WikiFur are under CC-BY-SA and (usually) the GFDL, so if you wish to use them elsewhere you must follow one of these licenses.