Sure. :) Did you want us to use your wordmark as a link? If you want to do the same with ours, be sure to use this version of the wordmark rather than the current one.
I see you recently added histats to the Common.js file. I also removed a similar stat service a last month. These services collect information from all visitors and sell that information to advertisers. This is not something Wikia can allow.
I am removing this stat script from this wiki too. Please, if you wish to add another statistic gathering script, read their Privacy Policy. If they state that they collect information from your visitors, it will not be allowed. You can read histats Privacy Policy here.
I'm a little upset, but thanks for at least letting me know about it. I'm familiar with Wikia's terms (and, for the most part, why those terms exist), but I really do appreciate being made aware of exactly why something like this wouldn't be allowed. And I do apologize - I thought I had read their policy thoroughly, but I guess I didn't catch that part.
The reason I was interested in it in the first place is because it gives thorough data on the wiki's articles (like which ones are popular, which ones are pulling in the most views on which days/hours, etc). I also noticed the Runescape Wiki uses it (which is where I had originally found out about it), and I admit I thought that made it okay to use here as well.
If you actually wouldn't mind helping me out some, I do have a few questions:
If I understand this correctly, all of this trouble over various stat sites (like Flag Counter, AddThis and Histats) is concerning those sites selling information to advertisers? Or is it also a privacy issue? If either of these are the case, then I understand and I won't try to argue otherwise; if not, then what is the concern?
Would you happen to know of any stat tools that would be permitted? Like I mentioned before, I'm particularly interested in getting a little more data on the wiki's articles, and unfortunately Wikia Statistics doesn't provide that information.
From talking to Yuzura a little while ago, I understand there have been a few other scripts/codes that violate Wikia's ToU. Using the Runescape Wiki as a small example: I love all the different custom scripts/features they use because I think they're very useful to a wiki. I use a few of their scripts on here, and I know quite a few other wikis that do the same. So I'm wondering:
If there are so many wikis using these features that apparently break ToU, then why hasn't there been any mass announcement of some kind addressing it? I've looked around as much as I could, but I still can't find a solid discussion/list of sorts explaining this issue.
If there hasn't been any mass announcement, then I'd like to know: Are there any other scripts in use on this wiki that break policy? I'd like to remove and/or try to adjust it if it can.
Sorry again for the trouble. It's a little embarrassing, but I'd rather get it out of the way than continue violating more of Wikia's policies. :)
Yes, this is exactly why it's a concern. For both reasons you listed.
We are currently investigating ways to offer admins these types of tools. For now, we allow admins to request Quantcast access while other tools are in development. Most wikis either request Quantcast access or set up their own Google Analytics account to track through Google.
It's taxing to look through all 250,000+ wikis to look for ToU violations. When a violation is found, it is typically removed. However, we simply don't have the time to research and/or look for other wikis that also have the same code. As a bottom line, if the code breaks our Customization policy, then it's against the Terms of Use and will be removed. That small list, however, is not all-encompassing. When we see an issue that looks like a customization policy breach, we discuss it as a team to decide. If it is decided that it is, we then act on that. This is not, in turn, written down anywhere for future notice. It just ends up being an unwritten rule from that moment on.
Personally, when I address/remove code from a wiki, I also search for other violations that may be on the wiki at that time. I saw no other violating code here.
You are free to ask, at any time, about any code via Special:Contact. We can review the code there and give an answer.
All right, understood. I was just making sure those were the only main concerns.
I've actually never heard of Quantcast, but I think I did tried Google Analytics once. I don't remember why it ended up not working out here, but I guess I'll give it another try. And I might also look into requesting Quantcast sometime.
Yes, I can see how that's a taxing task. Not to criticize how you all handle customization issues, but I think it would be useful to keep a list of some kind (written or whatever else), especially because this is (or could potentially be) an existing problem across multiple wikis.
Thanks for your help, and sorry again for the trouble. :)
No trouble. If a bit of code breaks the Customization policy, it is considered a Terms of Use violation and is removed. Other than that, there's not much more that we "police" unless the code itself is malicious in nature.
Sorry I wasn't able to bring this up to you sooner.
According to Terms of Use, the "Visitors Around the World" is not permitted. A similar situation was brought upon Xiaolinpedia. As you can see here, Rappy (Wikia Staff) removes the violationg from their home page. I suggest it be removed to prevent the violation from continuing.
Also, sorry I have been unable to edit much recently. I have been so busy elsewhere on Wikia. I apologize and I wish to get back to editing and reverting soon.
I'm concerned about this on a number of levels. Yeah, I know, surprising. :P But before I get into my rants on the specifics of this "violation," I want to say something else first:
I want you to know that I don't (or no longer, sort of) personally blame you for this. I did assume at first that your removal of the module from here was just in good faith, but after seeing that it's happened on another wiki recently, I understand now that this was most definitely the case. But I still couldn't help think for a while that the reason you did it (and here's what my dark mind concocted while I was waiting for your message:) is because you somehow, for some reason, had the Terms of Use completely memorized; had visited here often without making any edits; and had purposefully sought for something to remove from here - all because for some reason you disliked us. :P
Lol, I know, I'm a bit of a corrupt individual; I think we all are, in a way. But I'm glad to see that it was just a twisted worst-case scenario that I thought up and not the actual truth. So thanks for looking out for us. :)
Okay, now setting that aside, here are my rants on the actual subject matter. Let's see if I can condense it...
I'd like to know precisely where in the Terms of Use it forbids use of the Flag Counter module. My guess is maybe privacy issues (although it definitely shouldn't be because the module isn't collecting any personal data on any specific user), but then why not link to the Privacy Policy instead? Or maybe it's "unauthorized" (again, it shouldn't be because it's a free, public web widget), which in that case there should be a list of "authorized" stuff somewhere. Anything else from what's described in ToU doesn't seem to apply to the module. So if you know why this is breaking ToU, Yuzura, please kindly point it out to me. :)
It seems like Rappy never even contacted the admins of that wiki before (or after) removing the module. I suppose he didn't have to (from ToU: "You understand and agree that the others may, but are not obligated to, edit, delete or remove [without notice] any content from the Service, for any reason or no reason"), but Terms violation or not, it's good manners. I'm very appreciative when Wikia staff (or anyone else, for that matter) lets me know when they're about to make a major change on the wiki. So I was similarly concerned when you did the same thing, Yuzura, and that's where all my "dark, corrupted thoughts" came from. :P But again, there isn't any personal blame anymore.
I also noticed that Rappy removed a couple other "homepage: Terms of Use violation[s]" as well, like the clock in the header that multiple wikis use and have been using for months, if not years (like us and the Runescape Wiki, which is where I originally got it). If Wikia is concerned about this, why hasn't there been a global notification of some kind? Or at least a forum topic discussing it? I haven't found one yet, but if there isn't one, perhaps I'll make one...
Eh, that's all my rants for now. Sorry to put you through that. :P This does concern me heavily, though. I think I'll contact Wikia sometime about it, but until then, I'd like to keep the module there (and anything else that might be so-called "violating"). Because again, I don't think it's breaking any rules or regulations.
Spottedstar, i have a question-I saw the episode KFP LoA Quillin Change in Schwitzerland and i want to ask you, if i or you can post the plot or it is better,when the episode aird here in USA and than to post the plot?
Thank you for your support and have a nice day! :)
Do you mean Qilin Time? Sure, you can post a plot summary if you want. But because I can tell English is not your first language, I'll probably need to label it with a revise tag so others know to look over it later. And because it hasn't aired in the U.S. yet, I'll also need to mark it as a spoiler.
What kind of videos do you mean? I only add videos onto here if it can be used on an article, and I can only add as much as I'm able to (legally) find off of the Internet...
As stated in one of our policies, this wiki is not meant for publishing fan-fiction or anything else related to fanon. We create articles based on canon subjects like characters and locations.
If you're looking for somewhere to publish your story, I'd highly suggest FanFiction.net. It's a site meant specifically for publishing fan-fiction and has quite a large community of readers/writers. I'm sure you could find a good number of people there to read your story.
I just realized there was some trouble on my contribution/member page that went under my radar because for some reason, the Wikia notices have been filtered directly to my spam filter by gmail. There is a person who has been harassing me across multiple websites with what is pretty obviously slander, and I apologize he's dragging the Kung Fu Panda Wiki into it. I would actually appreciate it if my page could be deleted, or some measure like that could be taken, as I do not contribute much at all and it would spare everyone a lot of trouble. I don't intend on erasing my existence, but I don't want this person's fits to be a burden on anyone else and none of us needs to have to be babysitting an inactive page.
It's no trouble at all. This kind of stuff happens and it's pretty easy to deal with. :)
I've just deleted your profile page; if it's recreated with more vandalism, then I'll consider placing an extended protection on it. But for now it should be fine.
By the way, are you the same Perxio from this Tumblr blog? Not to sound creepy, but I do check it periodically. I really like your level-headed opinions on Kung Fu Panda, as well as the other interesting stuff you blog/reblog. I'd love to see you around here once in a while! :)
I am so sorry for taking so long to respond! First off, I appreciate that you are taking this so well. That's makes me feel much better. My brain was so haywired at the moment (this vandalism has been occurring across multiple websites by the same individual for a few months now, it runs one ragged) while I was trying to reason out why I wasn't getting notifications from the Wiki about all these changes to my profile, and it was only after I responded that I noticed that the spam box I was looking at was that of an account I was no longer using; I had momentarily logged into it in order to try to find something. While I was last logged into the Wiki, I thought I'd changed to my current e-mail address, but I must have done something wrong, or maybe it doesn't notify for responses… Anywho, for the record, this vandalism is why I changed my Wikia username (stupid of me for many reasons because I wasn't thinking clearly, and I see now the page says where the username was changed; I'm not familiar with Wikias...) and I'm regretting the choice of name… again, not the best under pressure.
And yes, I'm the same Perxio from Tumblr, and thank you so much for the compliment! You have no idea how much I wish I could say that more - I've had a few people compliment me on Tumblr but I am afraid to say thank you. This person who harasses me tracks down people who compliment me and targets them in turn. He watches my Tumblr, DeviantArt, and other accounts like a hawk. So I'm afraid of acknowledging peoples' kind words in case it would encourage him to go harass them. Plus, what you said means a lot to me - it goes against everything that I'd have thought people would think of me.
Bleh, I also apologize for this delayed reply. I've been consumed by college finals for a while and have hardly had time to check my messages on here. I'm still recovering from the physical and mental torture I've had to endure for the past 3 weeks... x_x
Anyways, I'm sorry to hear that you have an ambitious Internet stalker. But like I said, it's really not a problem, especially on here. There aren't too many things you can do on a wiki without everyone else knowing about it; it's one of the many beauties of a wiki. :) And if there are ever any problems with a particular user or page, then I have the power to block/protect to whatever means necessary.
