Blocking is an action an administrator can take to prevent a registered user or IP address from editing. Blocks are preventive measures used to prevent damage by users who commit policy violations. Block duration may vary, depending on the severity of the violation. Users should be given a warning prior to receiving a block, and the blocking administrator must also state the reason for the block when performing the action. Any user who feels they have been blocked unfairly can contact the administrator to make an appeal.
Grounds for blocking
The following violations will result in an infinite ban:
- Personal attacks, bullying and discrimination – Attacking others personally or using derogatory language in regards to one’s nationality, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, etc. will not be tolerated.
- Mature content – The posting of mature content (ie: pornography, gore, or any other 18+ content) whether in images and/or in written form, will not be tolerated.
- Posting personal information – The posting of personal information of other people (ie: their home address, phone number, etc.) will not be tolerated.
- Sockpuppetry – This is the act of creating multiple accounts for the purpose of multiple vanity userpages, to influence votes, or to evade blocks.
- Under-age users – Per Fandom's terms of use, the minimum age to open an account is 13, or 16 in the European Economic Area (EEA) and California.
The following violations may result in ban length ranging from 3 days to infinite depending on severity:
- Abuse of file upload function – Any user who uploads image or video files to the wiki with no intention of using them in an article, blog, or their profile page is abusing the upload function. The first offense, provided the number of unused files is 5 or under, will not result in a block, though the user will receive a warning. Those who upload an excessive amount of files, or repeatedly upload images with no intended use will receive a block.
- Badge hunting – The act of making pointless, absurd, or unnecessary edits for the sole purpose of gaining achievements.
- Blanking pages – The act of removing all or most of the information in articles.
- Copyright violations – Users who continually post copyrighted material despite being warned should be blocked so as to prevent further violations.
- Disruption – Users who disrupt the wiki (be it via changing other people's comments, making misleading edits, harassing other users, or otherwise undermining the guidelines, staff, or the integrity of the community) may also be blocked. Users who actively show support for but do not fully partake in rule-breaking activity of this nature may also be subject to punishment; drama incitement in any form is strictly disallowed.
- Inappropriate account naming – Creating an inappropriate account name—be it in terms of user impersonation insult, general rudeness and obscenity, is grounds for an infinite block. Deeming a username inappropriate falls on the discretion of the blocking admin. The editor can appeal to Fandom to have their username changed.
- Page move vandalism – The act moving an article to a nonsensical or inappropriate title.
- Spam – Posting spam in Discussions, posting irrelevant spam links in articles, or creating articles which are entirely spam.
- Vandalism – Any bad-faith edit made with the intent to lower the quality of the wiki or disrupt the functioning of the community.
Probationary blocks
Registered users who engage in disruptive editing or editing warring may be given a probationary block of 1 to 2 hours. The blocking admin shall leave a message on the user's talk page, explaining the violation and link to the relevant policy and guideline pages. Repeated instances of what caused the initial block may result in a block of at least 3 days.
Anonymous users
If any violation comes from an anonymous user, which shows up as an IP address, a permanent block is not recommended due to the fluctuation of dynamic IPs. Users who attempt to edit a page may end up on a blocked IP when they have done nothing wrong.
Mass vandalism and spam
There are instances when administrators cannot keep up with vandals. This may because a program or bot is systemically causing destruction. During situations like these, contact Fandom's Spam Obliteration and Prevention.