View source for Hetalia Wiki:Guidelines

Welcome to the Hetapedia '''Guidelines''' page! This page contains a series of rules and policies created to keep users safe, to help Hetapedia remain a welcoming and fun place, and, of course, to regulate editing. 

If a user violates any of these policies, that person will in most cases receive a simple warning first. However, if the problem continues, they will likely be blocked, which entails being barred from editing the wiki. However, blocked users ''can'' still browse the site. The length of a block can range from anywhere from a day to infinite, and will depend on the severity of the action and the policy that was broken. The consequences for violating policies are included below.

If you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please leave a message on either this page's [[Hetalia_Wiki_talk:Guidelines|talk page]], the [[Special:Forum|discussion forum]], or contact one of the [[Hetalia Wiki:Administrators|administrators]] directly on their message wall. Additionally, if you feel you have been unfairly blocked, please reach out to an administrator and appeal. Thank you for your cooperation.

==Global Policies==
Global Policies are major rules that the company [https://www.fandom.com/ Fandom] has created that apply to every wiki and every user, including those who do not have an account. These are extremely important and every single Fandom user ''must'' follow them. Violating these policies in minor cases will result first in warnings, then in greater consequences if it escalates further. Severe violations may result in your account being blocked from the entire Fandom.com site by Fandom staff. 

Please make sure thoroughly read the following: 
*[[Homepage:Terms of Use|Terms of Use]]
*[[Homepage:Community Creation Policy|Community Creation policy]]
*[[Homepage:Licensing|Licensing policy]]
*[[Homepage:Privacy Policy|Privacy policy]]
*[https://community.fandom.com/wiki/Fandom_Community_Guidelines Community Guidelines]
*[https://community.fandom.com/wiki/Copyright Copyright]
*[https://community.fandom.com/wiki/External_Platform_Guidelines External Platform Guidelines]
*[https://community.fandom.com/wiki/Gender_Identity_Guidelines Gender Identity Guidelines]
*[https://community.fandom.com/wiki/Offensive_Terms_Policy Offensive Terms Policies]
*[https://community.fandom.com/wiki/What_Fandom_is_not What Fandom is Not]

Some global policy pages have not been included on this page due to not being entirely relevant to the average user; see the [https://community.fandom.com/wiki/Fandom_Policies full list] to read every global policy page. 

==General User Guidelines==
The following guidelines apply to <u>user conduct</u> on Hetapedia, including in article comment sections, [[Special:Forum|discussion forum]], user pages, and article talk pages. Violating these will result in a warning or a mild block the first time, and then greater consequences for further violations.
*'''Be kind and respectful to all other users.''' We are all fans of ''Hetalia'', and it is important we work together as a team to edit this wiki and make it the best it can be. Leave rude attitudes and discourse at the door. Users who violate this policy will first receive a stern warning, then may be blocked from editing if it is continued.
*'''Do not start, encourage, or participate in bullying or harassment of any kind towards any users.''' Bullying and harassment will result in being blocked.
*'''Do not start, encourage, or participate in ship wars, character bashing, or any type of hate or negativity.''' General critiquing is allowed but must remain positive, not hateful. This wiki is an encyclopedia about the franchise and it's production, so if there is something in ''Hetalia'' that you hate passionately, this is not the place to comment about it. Any egregious bashing/hate towards characters, ships, people involved in the making of official ''Hetalia'' media, or other fans will be removed.
*'''Debating in the [[Special:Forum|discussion forum]] is allowed, but keep discussions civil and do not encourage arguments.''' Be open-minded about differing opinions and do not try to force others to engage with ideas they disagree with/find uncomfortable.
*'''Do not post links to pirating anime sites.'''
*'''If you get blocked, do NOT make a new account to continue editing.''' You will be blocked again. If you believe you were wrongly blocked, please reach out to an administrator for clarification or to make an appeal.

===Content-Related===
*'''Do not vandalize or troll pages or files.''' This includes adding comments, jokes, and clearly false and inaccurate information to pages. 
**Comments and jokes can be shared in the [[Special:Forum|forum]] or the article's comment section.
**Inserting blatantly false/inaccurate information or spam/troll content to pages will result in either a warning or a short block for first time offenses, depending on the severity of the vandalism. Repeated vandalism will result in a longer or even infinite block.
*'''Do not start edit wars.''' If you think something on a page is incorrect, please feel free to fix it, but do not repeatedly edit something back and forth with other users. Please talk to an [[Hetalia Wiki:Administrators|administrator]] if another user attempts to start an editing war with you.
*'''Do not remove true information from pages.''' A first offense will result in a warn, then you will be blocked if it continues.
*'''Do not use generative AI in any way to contribute to the wiki or in discussion posts. '''If it is discovered you are using AI to write or create any content you upload here, you will first be very sternly warned, then blocked if it continues.
*'''Do not write about speculation as if it is a definitive fact. '''There are many things in ''Hetalia'' that are more implied than directly said, such as some character's ages and sexualities or an entity they previously represented. These MUST be specified to be an implication, and significant valid evidence to support it must be cited. 
*'''Do not create pointless articles''', such as for a nation Himaruya mentioned only once, a voice actor who only provided additional voices in one episode, or anything of that nature.
*'''Do not advertise for other sites.''' The only exception for this is if you are promoting your own social media on your user page or in the forum.
*'''Articles about fanon content are strictly prohibited.''' Please remove fanon if you see it. Including but not limited to:
**'''Original Characters.''' You may discuss OCs in the forum and/or create pages about them on our affiliate wiki, [https://octalia.fandom.com/wiki/OCtalia_-_A_Fan_Characters_Wiki OCtalia].
**'''Fanart, including fan colorings of any of Himaruya's art'''. Your fanart is only permitted in the [[Special:Forum|discussion forum]].
***See [[Hetalia Wiki:Guidelines#File Guidelines|File Guidelines]] below for more detailed information on the rules for files.
**'''Other fanworks such as fanfictions, doujinshi, games, videos, songs, or episodes.'''
**'''Unproven rumors or speculations.''' Do not mention these in articles unless it is to explain them specifically as rumors/speculations. It is permitted to mention theories (with a disclaimer that it is a theory) as long as they are backed up with sufficient evidence and explanation.
**'''Non-canon/non-semi-canon ships.''' At the end of January 2025, it was decided these pages would be removed because this site is meant to be an encyclopedia about ''Hetalia'' and its production, and most ''Hetalia'' ships are not canon. You are more than welcome to add ship pages to the Fandom.com [https://shipping.fandom.com/wiki/Shipping_Wiki Shipping Wiki], and the administrators will be happy to send any deleted page content to anyone who asks. 

===User Pages and Message Walls===
*'''Harmful, offensive, or inappropriate content posted in your user page or message wall will be removed.''' If you continue to put it back, you will be blocked.
*'''Only edit other people's user pages to correct grammar and spelling, to revert vandalism or spam, or to remove deleted files/templates.'''
*'''Do not harass other users in their message wall.''' If you have a grievance with someone, you can post on an [[Hetalia Wiki:Administrators|administrator]]'s wall.

===Comment Sections===
*'''Harmful and/or offensive comments will be removed.''' If you continue to comment similar things, you will be blocked.
*'''Inappropriate or sexually explicit comments on articles will be removed.''' If you continue to comment similar things, you will be blocked.
*'''Do not spam comments.''' This will result in being blocked.
*'''Keep comments relevant to the article.''' 

===Talk Pages===
*'''Use article talk pages only for discussing improvements to said article.''' A talk page is not a place for stating things like "That was an awesome episode!" or "X is my fav character!". Those can be posted as a comment on the article, in the forum, or on your user page.
**Users wishing to retract something they had said in a talk page should strike the text by placing it between <nowiki><s></nowiki> and <nowiki></s></nowiki> tags, which will display the comment <s>like this</s>.
*'''Don't forget to sign your posts!''' That way everyone knows who said what. Type <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> in the source editor to sign a post.
*'''Do not edit other people's talk page comments''', except to correct something like grammar or formatting.
*'''Do not delete other people's talk page comments.'''

===Discussion Forum===
See the [[Special:Forum|forum]] itself to read these guidelines.

==Article Guidelines==
Below are guidelines for various types of pages on Hetapedia.
*'''All articles must be related to Hetalia.'''
*'''Articles must be written in English and should contain proper grammar and spelling.''' American English is preferred but not mandatory.
**Blogs, talk pages, and forum posts can be written in any form of English (ex. Canadian, British, etc.). We cannot moderate any other languages.
**'''Do not hesitate to ask other users for help with grammar or spelling.''' Spelling and grammar mistakes can easily be corrected by other users.
**'''Please fix mistakes when you see them.'''
*'''Use of categories on articles is encouraged'''. However, do not create new categories without discussing with other editors. Put articles under existing categories that they apply to.
*'''See [[Hetalia Wiki:Guidelines#Content-Related|above]] for other general content guidelines.'''
*'''Information added to pages MUST be appropriately cited, otherwise it may be removed and/or you will be asked to provide a source.''' See the [[Hetalia Wiki:Guidelines#Reference Guidelines|reference guidelines]] below for more on our guidelines for citations/references/sourcing.
**'''The anime dub is NOT an appropriate source.''' Do not use it except to note differences between the sub and the dub.
*'''It is permitted to mention speculation/theories in an article (with a disclaimer that it is a theory) as long as they are backed up with sufficient evidence and explanation.'''
*'''See [[Hetalia Wiki:Guidelines#Content-Related|above]] for a list of things not permitted to be be the focus of or included in articles.'''

==Character Pages==
*'''Do not create pages for minor characters who do not have substantive appearances or information revealed about them.''' These are unnecessary and would be very short pages. 
**This includes for personification characters and human characters(both historical and non-historical). 
**For most minor characters, they can be added to the [[List of Minor Hetalia Characters]]. For minor human characters, please add them to [[List of Human Characters]].
**Don't hesitate to ask for clarification on whether a character warrants a page being made about them! Additionally, a random background character 

==Reference Guidelines==


==File Guidelines==
Below are guidelines for uploading files to Hetapedia and how to use them.
*DO NOT upload any fanart. This includes fan colorations of any of Himaruya's art. The only place where fanart is permitted is sharing your own art in the [[Special:Forum|discussion forum]].
*Do not upload any offensive, pornographic, racist, etc. images. Doing this will result in a block.
*When uploading any comics taken from Hetalia Archives (including from the hetascanlations and heta-vols Tumblr blogs, as well as the Hetarchive.net site), Hetalia Archives must be credited and the original post must be linked back to in the file's page, as per their rules for reposting their translations to other sites.
**Editing out the translated text or using the original Japanese images will nullify this. However, the source for the image must still be linked to in the file's page.
*Try not to upload poor quality images. Most images can be copied directly from places like Himaruya's blog or Hetalia Archives' translations, there is no need to post a low resolution version of an image when a higher quality version exists.
*
*Wip- make licensing things for " this is an image from hetalia" 
*Non-Hetalia images, such as images of cast and crew members, must be ..

[[Category:Community]]
[[Category:Guidelines and Help]]