Wikiporno:FAQ
Here are some Frequentely Asked Questions we have heard since our launch. If you don't see your question answered here, ask it at the Lounge, and someone will answer it as soon as possible (probably).
General questions
What is WikiPorno?
WikiPorno is a project to create a free, complete, up-to-date and reliable world-wide pornography guide. It is built in collaboration with contributors from around the globe. You can read more about WikiPorno on the About page.
(One down!)
Who are you people?
We're people from all over the world who are dedicated to making WikiPorno the best darn pornography guide around. Most of us are people who stumbled across the site, just like you, and decided to share our knowledge.
Who edits and organizes all this, though?
We do. We create articles and then edit them, and we organize the articles into hierarchies and make links between them and have navigational pages, and things like that.
So, anyone can just drift in off the Internet and start writing travel articles?
That's the idea, yes. We use a technique called Wiki that lets any reader edit any page, instantly.
Well, that's never going to work.
Bzzzt. Not a question.
How is that supposed to ever work?
Doesn't seem like it ever could, does it? With anyone able to edit any page, things should just descend into terrible chaos, shouldn't they? Madness, mayhem, and a horrible bog of unusable drivel.
Strangely enough, it doesn't. People who care about having well-written articles on this site are the majority. People who just want to vandalize or delete things eventually get bored with it -- and, you have to admit, it's not that much of a challenge -- and the rest of us come in and clean up.
It's strange, and it doesn't make a lot of sense, but it just happens. It's really cool.
I still don't believe it.
Bzzt.
Do you have any proof that this works?
Well, we have the existence proof of other projects that create references collaboratively. Probably the most famous one is Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Most of our policies and guidelines are borrowed from that project.
OK, so, there's all this hippy-dippy love stuff about working together, but who's really in charge?
You are. Any WikiPornoler can change articles, rewrite navigation areas, even overwrite information about the site itself. We try to make decisions about policy and guidelines collaboratively, but if you have a good idea for how we should work, let us know.
That all said, there are certain experts who've been working on the site for a while, and they can become Administrators. Administrators generally get some higher access -- like really deleting pages instead of blanking them -- but not much. It's more of a burden than a privilege.
In really extreme situations, the operators of the site, will set down some rules and precepts. But mostly we just decide for ourselves, and it kind of works out.
What is this nifty software you're running?
We use MediaWiki, the software developed by Wikipedia, with some totally tiny changes for WikiPorno. You can get it from http://www.mediawiki.org/ .
How do I pronounce "WikiPorno"?
People vary on the "Wiki" part. It's either "WEE-kee-POOR-no" or "WIH-kee-POOR-noh."
Where's the contact information?
There isn't any. If you have a question about an article in particular, post it on the talk page for that article. If you have a question about WikiPorno in general, try posting in the Lounge.
Questions about content
This article is all wrong! You have to fix it!
This is Wiki -- you can fix it yourself! Click the edit this page link, and change the parts that bug you. That's the whole idea.
I am trying to find Topic X, and there's no article about it!
We're still a new project, and there are huge parts of the globe we haven't even thought about writing about yet. Feel free to plunge forward and start the outline of an article. Maybe other users will add to it.
You can also add a request for an article on that topic.
I am trying to find Topic X, and all that's on the page is one sentence!
Like we said, we're still a new project, and there are huge parts of the globe we've only begun to work on. Some topics only have stubs covering them. If you don't think there's enough information on a topic, feel free to plunge forward and add more.
I am trying to find Topic X, and all that's there is "asdfkjadflkjfd EAT MY BUTT"!
This is typical vandalism. Feel free to plunge forward and delete the vandal's garbage and replace it with a full article, or at least a stub.
Make sure to check the article's history (there will be a "history" link at the top of the page) and look at the second or third revision listed to make sure there wasn't content that was blanked. You can edit, add to, and save that version to preserve the original content.
I have an idea for an article, but I don't know exactly how to get started.
Check out how to start a new page.
We have some article templates that tell how we like articles laid out. If you have info you want to share, we have a page that tells you where you can stick it.
Questions about editing
This all looks like gobbledygook! How do I edit these pages?
Pages on WikiPorno are formatted using Wiki markup. It looks funny at first, but after a while it seems like second nature. You should read about how to edit a page.
How do I upload an image to use in an article?
You should follow the instructions on how to upload files.
How do I put an image I uploaded into an article?
You should follow the instructions on WikiPorno:how to add an image.
Hey! I wrote this long nice article on Topic X, and it got changed! What gives?
Any user can edit any page. When you submit an article, it's subject to ruthless editing for style, subject matter, spelling, factual information, and just generally fitting into the WikiPorno scheme of things. If you don't like that, you shouldn't work on WikiPorno.
Hey! I changed my nice long article on Topic X back to the way it was before, and it got changed again! What gives?
You're in an edit war. You need to go to the talk page for the topic you're writing about and work out your differences with the other article editors.
How do I delete a whole page?
You can't delete a page directly. The procedure is somewhat more complicated: Go to WikiPorno:Votes for deletion and add a link to the page together with a reason for deletion. After fourteen days of discussion the page will be deleted unless there is a consensus to keep it.
How do I sign a posting?
When posting a message on a talk page it is customary to sign the posting with your user name and the posting date so that everyone knows who you are (for example: "User 15:35, 6 May 2005 (EDT)"). To get that text to appear automatically, simply type four tildes ("~~~~"), and they will be replaced with your user name and the current date when the edit is submitted.
Language Questions
Can I put articles in my own language in WikiPorno?
Yes, if there is a separate WikiPorno version for your language. See WikiPorno:Language versions of WikiPorno for the current list.
If WikiPorno in your language does not exist yet, you can start your own language version! To find out more, see our language version policy.
But my English sounds terrible. I'm embarrassed.
Don't worry too much about the level of your English. Your spelling errors will be corrected by other people. We really want you to share your knowledge!
Should I use American English spelling, or Commonwealth English spelling?
We prefer American English spelling, please. See WikiPorno:Spelling for details.
