Salutations, Newbie.
If you have stumbled onto our site, we thank you for stopping by. We are the Wayward Society Wiki. If it isn’t already clear, this wiki’s premise and the content contained within is fictional.
1. If you want to contribute and make the jump from reader to creator, make a Wikidot account.
2. Submit an application to the site staff containing a grammatically correct sentence at the Join Page so they may approve your application and verify you are not a bot. This sentence must also be accompanied by a passcode found by reading the rest of this guide. Don’t worry, there isn’t much (other than the writing guide).
- If you wish to talk to us or speak with other community members, we currently have an official Discord: https://discord.gg/KjC3cvZ.
Core Principles
Core Principles are what this site is about. Articles written should be in support of these principles, not against.
The Hunt
This site is established for horror-centric aberrations that men and women may encounter out in the wilds. Warders are volunteers first and foremost, meaning the information presented in an article should be in support of one's pursuit of dealing with the paranormal. If you ever find yourself wondering if your article fits on this site, ask yourself the following: "How does my article relate to a group of normal people dealing with strange things in the wilds?" If you cannot answer this question, your article might not belong here. An article is not required to be horrifying. It can be unsettling or even strange at times. But remember that Core Principle of "The Hunt."
The Balance of Powers
In a wiki about regular people being pitted against the supernatural, it is imperative that the fight be (almost) fair, with the scales being tipped towards the aberrant for obvious reasons. However, there is a line not to cross. In no circumstance can human volunteers with heavy-duty shotguns and rifles be able to take on an entire alien fleet or an eldritch abomination. Does this mean that there is no fear or intrigue to be found in a story without these things? No. Can there still be very lethal and dangerous aberrants without going into that territory? Yes. Remember that this is a world more inclined towards magic and the unexplained than cold scientific research. However, both have a place on this site as long as the author can utilize both effectively. Be as creative as you want, but there are more ways to be a threat to society than just being big and scary. Keep the level of danger to Warders relevant and provoking.
The Herculean Effort
Warders are meant to be outmatched. They are normal people fighting against extraordinary circumstances. While Warders can enhance themselves with various Artifacts or be bestowed powers by other entities, they will always still be human. Even when they have the upper hand in a fight, they are not invulnerable super-people. They will feel fear, anxiety, and worry. They will hurt and they will bleed. To be beyond human means they can no longer be human.
The Overlap of Reality
If you absolutely must use living people or current events in your story, try to make generic references instead of direct ones. We are mostly trying to use fictional characters for our writing community, but we understand that it might be hard considering our premise. Historical figures or historical events are fair game, however. Use your best judgment to determine what's acceptable or not.
Expectations
We want to limit our community as little as possible, and leave room for creativity. We expect that our users will abide by these rules and expectations. But remember, even the mod team are human so allow for flexibility of the rules for moderation.
Forum and Page Discussion
- Be respectful to everyone and conduct yourself accordingly.
- Write some creative work that comes from you, but that doesn't mean you can't be inspired by other sources.
- Know that other people are entitled to their opinions just like you are yours. Even if they don't act respectful, respond in kindness.
- Do not be afraid to voice your opinion. Seek to do it in a respectful manner. This is a society after all. Contact staff if anyone harasses you or your work.
- You should not try to influence the way someone votes on an article. Recommending pages is fine, but begging for positive ratings or encouraging people to raid an article you dislike is poor form.
- Leave helpful feedback, and seek to add to ongoing conversations in a meaningful way.
- Listen to staff. They're trying to help facilitate the community.
Writing Guidelines
- Create an original idea. Blatant ripoffs from other sites are not acceptable, but that doesn’t mean they have full reign on a common/general idea. You aren’t expected to trudge through the thousands of articles of other communities to see if they have something remotely similar to your idea. P@ssc0de: I promise to follow the expectations of the Society.
- Understand the Core Principle (see Core Principle above) of this site. This site is meant for things related to cataloging unsettling or horrible abominations that someone would not want to meet out in the wild or mess with alone. That said, if your article supports that principle, then it belongs on this site. Think about how your article fits to that goal.
- If you wish to correct some minor grammatical mistakes in an article you may, but do not go overboard and change the meaning of any of the sentences as a result. If the misspelling is intentional leave it alone. If in doubt, always message the author.
- Wikidot provides individual sites with a limited amount of storage space. Because of this, we ask that all users who host images directly on our site do not upload image files larger than 1.5 MB. The smaller, the better. If your page requires more than 4 images, consider hosting them on a separate, secure platform.
- Video and audio files will be subject to different scrutiny, but it's best to ask before uploading anything that could impact site storage.
- Read the writing guide. It will teach you article formatting and how to properly submit a post. It can be found here:
- Ask for feedback on ideas and drafts before posting. An unreviewed article is more likely to fail.
- Keep trying if your article doesn’t get through the first time.
- Keep trying to improve your writing skills.
Other Behavioral Guidelines
- The Wayward Wiki itself has no official age requirement for membership, but all members are expected to behave with a certain level of maturity. Do not use your age as a defense if you break the rules or receive negative critique on your writing. It will not get you anywhere. (Do note that our Discord server has an age requirement of 13 in compliance with Discord's Terms of Service.)
- Backseat moderation is discouraged on the Wayward Wiki. Although you may politely disagree with the actions of another user, wiki members who are not staff should not claim to have any position of authority. This behavior includes attempts to edit official pages (for example: the Tag Guide), establishing a timer for unsourced images, attempts to begin the deletion process on a low-rated article, and any claims to be able to give warnings for rule-breaking behavior. When in doubt, consult people who are staff.
- Sexual harassment or coercion of minors on the Wayward Wiki will not be tolerated.