This page documents an official Avatar Wiki policy.
It is a widely accepted standard that should normally be followed by all editors.
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Content
Categorization • Continuity • Copyrights
Deletion policy • Images • Layout guide
Manual of Style • Spoilers
Template namespace • Verifiability
What Avatar Wiki is not
Interaction
Assume good faith • Blocking policy
Discord chat • Discussion policy
Ignore all rules • Protection policy
Revert policy • Signature policy
User blog policy • User page policy
Voting
General rules[]
Naming[]
Files should have an easily accessible and descriptive name based on what the image is depicting. If there is already a file on the wiki with the same name as the one you wish to use, the file's name should describe the scene it conveys in a condense manner rather than adding a number to the name.
Correct (first upload): Aang.png Incorrect (first upload): Screenshot 20200209-000200.png Correct (name already taken): Korra and Asami kiss.png Incorrect (name already taken): Korra and Asami 2.png Incorrect (name already taken): Korra and Asami kiss after Asami got hurt during the battle for the Republic City Spirit Portal.png.
File extensions[]
There are several file extensions that can be uploaded to Avatar Wiki, with the most common being .JPG and .PNG. Due to its lossless data compression, .PNG files are generally preferable.
Animated .GIFs are disallowed due to their lack of purpose and distractive quality. If a still image is insufficient to illustrate the text it accompanies, then one should consider rewriting the text to better convey the intended message.
Copyrights[]
Every non-free image is used on Avatar Wiki under the auspices of the fair use doctrine of the United States Fair use law. This means that they are used for informational/educational purposes, meant to identify the subject of an article and to illustrate something directly relevant to the text in its immediate vicinity.
Usage[]
Given the nature of copyrighted images, Avatar Wiki tries to use them sparingly, and whenever possible on more than one single article, instead of using different pictures to illustrate the same subject.
The use of too many images on the same article should also be avoided. Apart from the general consensus that it causes aesthetic problems, this practice also directly challenges the policy that we use images sparingly.
Users may use up to three copyrighted images on their user pages as long as those are being used on canon and/or fanon articles. Users may not upload said images for use only on their user space, threads, or for blog purposes. Certain exceptions apply, such as using features similar to sandboxes for the purpose of improving articles.
Alt text[]
All images used on canon articles need to have alt text (alternative text) added to their code. Alt text describes what is depicted by the image. It is the text that will be read aloud by screen readers, displayed in place of an image if it fails to load, and is indexed by search engine bots to better understand the content of the page. It is added by placing |alt=<insert image description>
within the image's coding on the article.
- e.g. [[File:Young Korra waterbending.png|thumb|left|200px|alt=Four-year-old Korra bends a stream of water inside a house. There's a hole in the wall behind her.|Four-year-old Korra proved herself as the [[Avatar]] by demonstrating three [[bending arts]].]]
Galleries[]
Galleries are not to be used on articles, unless they are indispensable to convey the information correctly and completely. Once a proper alternative has been found for the gallery, it is to be deleted. In any case, the number of images in the gallery is not to exceed six. Changing a gallery image must be done through the profile image change page, and the image will only be altered after a successful request. Any premature changes without community consensus will be undone.
Sourcing[]
All images must have clear source info as to where the image is from. For this, they need to have an {{imagebox}} filled out. If an image isn't sorted correctly, {{Unknown}} will be added to the page and the uploader will be warned that the image may be deleted if it isn't sourced properly within a given amount of time.
To source an image correctly, the uploader needs to go to the page of the image itself, not the page where the image is uploaded, click to edit the page and add the {{Imagebox}} template. To information to fill out the given parameters correctly, can be found here.
Types of images[]
- Images, with few exceptions (voice actors, production crew), should come from the Avatar franchise.
- Fan art is exclusive to fanon articles.
Formats and cropping[]
- Non-free images must remain unaltered. Changing colors, adding watermarks, text, or making montages that corrupt the copyright owners' original work is considered to be an infringement, thus the image will be deleted. The only exceptions to this happens when
- in the lack of appropriate screenshots, we must resort to concept art images to depict a character in its respective infobox. In such case, altering the image to remove or alter its background is acceptable for aesthetic reasons.
- the change is done to replace a deadname from a bookcover, credit screenshot, etc.
- Enhancing the color levels, shading, brightness, contrast, and/or alpha of non-free images should only be done so as to improve their overall quality.
- Screenshots should preferably be submitted in their original ratio (4:3 or 16:9), unless they could benefit from cropping.
- If an image contains empty space or elements other than the subject being depicted, the image should be cropped to isolate the subject with respect given to the guidelines concerning closeups.
- If removal of these elements decreases the pixel ratio from standard when cropping an already uploaded image, re-sizing to adhere to said ratio will reduce overall fidelity. In order to conform to Avatar Wiki quality standards, removal of such features must be performed with an equivalent unedited high-quality image and subsequently revised to fit our image ratio requirements.
Quality[]
- The image should be of the highest quality available. Screen-captures from digital episodes, Blu-ray, and DVDs are preferred, with television recordings and other formats being secondary. In the case of duplicate images, the highest quality image is kept.
- The infobox image should depict the character's most typical and recognizable likeness, unless consensus dictates otherwise.
- Changing an infobox image must be done through the profile image change page. This, however, does not apply when replacing a file with a higher quality version. (See below)
- Extreme facial closeups should be avoided.
Replacement[]
Replacing (overwriting an image) can take place when the original file is of low resolution/quality. In this case, the original picture must be replaced by exactly the same version with better quality.
Images on fanon[]
Content
Fanon • Fanon standards • Images • Categories • Templates
Guides and advice
Creating a fanon • Fanonbenders
- Every image uploaded solely for fanon must comply with the aforementioned image policy in regards of usage, sourcing, formats and cropping, etc.
- Images solely used for fanon must have a "fanon" license in the imagebox; when used for both fanon and canon, a "canon/fanon" license should be applied, and when licensing a self-made image, the "fanon-self" license.
- You may apply your own "Category:Username art (fanon)" to an image you create and upload. See the fanon categorization guide for more details.
- Fanon authors should try to find an image to their liking among the images already uploaded on Avatar Wiki, the collection of which can be found here. When an image already on the wiki does not serve the meaning the writer wishes to convey, users may upload up to three images for a specific fanon article that are not currently in use on any canon page.
- There are no exemptions on the use of images that were already uploaded for canon articles. However, cluttering a page with images is not recommended and those excess images will likely be deleted.
- To use an image from the category "Art (fanon)", you must have the permission of the artist who has created the image.
- The usages of galleries on fanons is not condoned, as the purpose of a fanon lies in the words, not the images accompanying them.
- Another option to display images on fanon articles is to use the {{Hotlink}} template. Instructions can be found on the page itself.