Guidelines:Code of Conduct

Megami Tensei Wiki's Code of Conduct outlines our site rules, ethics, and guiding principles on the usage of and contribution to the wiki. All contributors on Megami Tensei Wiki are expected to follow and uphold these rules and principles to ensure the safety and support of the wiki community and to maintain positive productivity. Additionally, these rules should also be followed when participating in the wiki's Discord server.

If at any time you are unsure about the rules or wiki guidelines, do not be afraid to ask a member of the wiki staff. We are always happy to help clarify the wiki's rules and point in the right direction.

Code of Conduct

Civility and respect

Be civil and respectful to one another, both on the wiki as well in our Discord server. Treat your fellow users and contributors with kindness; do not resort to making personal attacks, assuming bad faith, engaging in harassment, or other forms of hostility.

Hostility also includes "edit warring", in which two or more editors revert or change each others' edits back-to-back over disputed opinions over the framing or worthiness of content. Unresolved disagreements will result in the affected page(s) being temporarily locked by a member of staff and warnings issued to involved users. If you have a disagreement with the coverage or presentation of a page, edit, or file, voice it in a respectful and constructive manner in a related talk page and collaborate on a solution.

Hateful conduct is explicitly disallowed, which includes hate speech or the use of offensive language that target groups based on their race, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ability, and/or other protected groups.

Follow the wiki guidelines

Megami Tensei Wiki has several guideline documents that outline our approach to content coverage, writing style, uploaded files, and method of organizing. All contributors must follow these guidelines when contributing to the wiki and we highly encourage that you familiarize yourself with these first before contributing. It is okay if a mistake is sometimes made, but repeated errors or deliberately ignoring our guidelines may result in a formal warning issued by a member of staff.

Do not plagiarize

Do not plagiarize from other sources, including other wikis, websites, books, and so forth. Plagiarism is the act of taking another source's work and passing it off as your own, which can include directly copying content verbatim from a source, as well as paraphrasing content that stays too close to the original source's phrasing.

A common occurrence of plagiarism on wikis is copy-pasting written content from one wiki to another. This is a problem not just because another person's work is being taken, but can also infringe on the wikis' licensing if they are incompatible with each other. Megami Tensei Wiki's license is CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, whereas other wikis on the web may have different licenses that may be incompatible or conflict with ours. However, even if another wiki or source shares the same licensing, content nonetheless should not be copied from it. Simply put, do not copy content from another wiki or source to add to ours. Likewise, content from our wiki should not be copied onto other wikis either. Instead, take care that all content you add is written in your own words. Any plagiarized content on the wiki will either be removed or rewritten completely, and a warning issued to the user who added it.

Deliberately continuing to plagiarize in spite of our rules may result in harsher penalties, including banning.

When uploading a file onto the wiki, such as an image file, its source credit (the website or person it was originally from) and copyright license must also be properly attributed to it as well. Neglecting to do so may constitute a form of plagiarism. These details must be inputted into the FileSummary template included in the file's summary before uploading the file.

At times however, it is permissible for a file's source to be credited to the user who uploaded it. This may be done if a file's original source cannot be found, within reason; or if it came from a source hosting pirated content (e.g. a website hosting book scans), which should not be linked to as it would encourage piracy. In these cases, the uploader should instead be credited as the file's retriever; the source would simply be rendered as the uploader's wiki username.

Do not share or discuss piracy

Out of respect to copyright holders, do not share or discuss methods of piracy anywhere on the wiki or in our Discord server. This includes adding links to websites hosting pirated content or discussing where to find such content. Pirated content includes game roms or isos; unofficial hosting or streaming of music, series, or movies; and book scans, including "scanlations". This rule applies to both Megami Tensei media and non-Megami Tensei media.

Audio samples may be uploaded onto the wiki for demonstrative purposes only. These must not exceed 30 seconds in length and can only be uploaded if they are to be actively used in the mainspace (i.e. a content page). Audio files that do not have any use on the wiki will be deleted.

While we otherwise advise that all file uploads have their source be properly credited, if a file was taken from a source hosting pirated content (e.g. a website or drive hosting book scans), then the file should not be attributed to the original source but instead be credited to the uploader by their wiki username.

Do not engage in advertising or self-promotion

The wiki is not intended to be used as a platform for advertising products or promoting oneself or others. Any links to external pages should only be those that give additional information or further reading relevant to the topic (such as official websites, news citations, etc.), the source of an uploaded file, or an affiliate member of this wiki.

NSFW content

The Megami Tensei franchise is known for depicting content that is sexually explicit, involves nudity or exposed genitalia, displays scenes of gratuitous or graphic violence, and other content that may be potentially sensitive or upsetting. Such content can be considered in many contexts to be "Not Safe For Work" (NSFW). While these depictions may be sensitive, content of this nature that originates from the Megami Tensei franchise may still be documented on the wiki in an effort to preserve information. (E.g. Demons or characters with explicit designs, screenshots depicting extreme violence, etc.). For this reason, we strongly advise reader discretion while using the wiki.

When such imagery is displayed on the wiki, such as in galleries, the NSFW notice template must be added prior to warn readers in advance.

NSFW content that is not at all relevant to the franchise is explicitly disallowed. Uploading imagery or making comments of such nature—whether on the wiki or in our Discord server—will result in a permanent ban.

Editing Etiquette

With the obvious exception of vandalism or spam, it should be assumed that all contributions made—whether they be big or minor—come out of good will and for the wiki's benefit. While mistakes and misconceptions can and do happen, these should still be assumed to be out of simple misunderstanding and not out of deliberate deception. The Megami Tensei franchise is vast with the majority of its media and sources left untranslated and, as a result, its information not always easily accessible to most people. As such, instances of mistaken misinformation may occasionally arise. Even still, these should not be responded to with blaming or assuming bad faith, which would be hostile and unproductive. Instead it is more productive to kindly correct a fellow contributor for any mistakes made with the confidence they will learn and grow as a contributor.

All that said, it is still important to ensure that any contribution made is factual and aligns with the wiki's guidelines. Making the effort to fact-check information before adding it, especially if it is obscure or dubious, is highly recommended and appreciated. Citing statements with references can especially go a long way towards ensuring factual integrity and preventing confusion. If you do not have the means to fact-check something, consider not adding it to the wiki until it can be verified.

As is the nature with wikis, all pages (except those protected by members of staff) can be edited and past contributions revised overtime. This should always be done in the spirit of collaborative expansion and respectful correction toward the constant growth and improvement of the wiki. Instead of outright removing an editor's mistaken or awkward contribution, consider rephrasing the edit to be more factual or align with the wiki's style. Adding an accompanying citation can also help to strengthen a past contribution. If a past statement seems dubious or confusing but you do not have the means to fact-check it yourself, mark it with the Citation Needed template or add another appropriate maintenance template. Another contributor may be able to verify this statement.

Appeals

Violations of the Code of Conduct, either on the website or in the wiki's Discord server, may result in disciplinary action issued to the offending user by a member of staff. Depending on the severity of the offense, breaking the wiki's rules may consequently result in the user issued a formal warning on their talk page, have certain contributor rights be restricted or revoked, or be banned from contributing to the wiki. Violating the wiki's Discord server rules may result in a formal warning, a kick from or limited access to the server, or a complete ban from the server. Repeat offenses despite multiple warnings may incur harsher penalties.

Careful judgment is made by the staff team when issuing disciplinary action, with respect to the offense's severity and the user's history of conduct. If, however, a user feels they were mistakenly or unfairly penalized, they may submit a formal appeal to explain why they should have restrictions lifted or be unbanned. This process differs for wiki-related and server-related matters.

Unless a user has been restricted from editing their talk page, it is advised that all wiki-related appeals be made on their own talk page. Do not submit appeals on a staff member's or community talk page. However, if the user's talk page rights were revoked, they should instead email their appeal to [email protected].

Discord server-related appeals should also be sent to the above email address.

There are certain expectations that must be followed when submitting an appeal, either in a talk page or through email:

• Users must be civil and respectful when making their appeal. Responding aggressively, making personal attacks, or engaging in other forms of hostility, will likely result in the appeal's rejection.
• Users must provide a clear and reasoned explanation for why restrictions should be lifted / be unbanned. Failure to provide adequate or any explanation will likely result in the appeal's rejection.
• Users must submit their own appeals. Another user cannot submit an appeal on another's behalf, even if they personally feel a penalty was unwarranted.

While all users are entitled to an appeal, the submission of one does not guarantee the infraction will be appealed and restrictions lifted, especially depending on the severity of the offense and the user's conduct history. An appeal may be rejected on the grounds of:

• The user's conduct undermined the safety of the wiki or server community, which can include but is not limited to: harassment or stalking; use of hate speech or other offensive language that target protected groups; uploading of sexually explicit or graphically violent imagery unrelated to the Megami Tensei franchise.
• The user has willfully made repeat offenses multiple times despite formal warnings, and is suspected to continue to re-offend.

When an appeal is received, the staff team will review the user's infraction, the events leading up to it, and their conduct history. After a thorough team evaluation has been made, the user will receive a formal response regarding their appeal through the same contact method used. It may take up to a week to receive a response.

Unless otherwise specified in the response, all appeal decisions are final.