Template:Wikia.com / Fandom.com: Difference between revisions

|name            = <big>Wikia, Inc.,</big><br><small>''FANDOM powered by Wikia''</small>

|URL              = https://www.Wikia.com

|wikinode URL    = https://web.Archive.org/web/20080501073706/http://www.Wikia.com/wiki/WikiNode

|about URL        = https://www.Wikia.com/about

|farm topic      = Fans

[[File:-Wikicities, hosted by - mini-banner.png|left|frame|original [[Wikicities]], 'hosted by' banner|alt=]]

'''<big>Wikia</big>''', currently branded as '''<big>Fandom</big>''', and originally known as '''<big>Wikicities</big>''' (until 27 March 2006), is a {{tag|Wiki farm|collection}} of over 250,000<ref name=About>[https://about.Fandom.com/about Fandom {{!}} About Us]; ''about.Fandom.com''; Fandom, {{Cambridge-Dictionary|incorporated|Inc.}}; accessed 19 December 2022.</ref> [[wiki]] sites.  Known as a '[[wiki farm]]', it is owned by its parent company '''[[WikiaSite:Wikia, Inc.|Wikia, Inc.]]'''<ref name=Terms>[https://www.Fandom.com/terms-of-use Terms of Use | Fandom]; ''Community.Fandom.com'' (originally: ''Community.Wikia.com''); Fandom, {{Cambridge-Dictionary|incorporated|Inc.}} (originally: Wikia, {{Cambridge-Dictionary|incorporated|Inc.}}); dated 24 May 2022; accessed 19 December 2022.</ref>  [[Wikicities]] was founded 18 October {{tag|Founded in 2004|2004}} by [[:Category:American|American]] internet entrepreneur [[Jimmy Wales|Jimmy 'Jimbo' Wales]] (who had previously founded [[:Category:Wikipedia|Wikipedia]]), and his then [[:Category:British|British]] business partner [[Angela Beesley Starling]] (now known as Angela Starling).<ref name=About/>  Its original tagline was ''"Create. Collaborate. Be Original."''  In 2006, [[WikiaSite:User:Gil|Gil Penchina]] became the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and hoped to take Wikia to a new level as he did with [[:Category:eBay|eBay]].  In late 2011, [[Craig L. Palmer]] was appointed as new Wikia CEO.<ref>[[WikiaSite:Forum:Craig Palmer, new CEO of Wikia|Craig Palmer, new CEO of Wikia]]; ''Community.Fandom.com'' (originally: ''Community.Wikia.com''); Fandom, {{Cambridge-Dictionary|incorporated|Inc.}} (originally: Wikia, {{Cambridge-Dictionary|incorporated|Inc.}}); date 20 October 2011; accessed 19 December 2022.</ref>  In late 2016, the entire Wikia site was rebranded from 'Wikia' to 'Fandom',<ref>[[WikiaSite:User_blog:Craiglpalmer/Wikia_is_now_Fandom_powered_by_Wikia|User blog:Craiglpalmer / Wikia is now Fandom powered by Wikia]]; ''Community.Fandom.com'' (originally: ''Community.Wikia.com''); Fandom, {{Cambridge-Dictionary|incorporated|Inc.}} (originally: Wikia, {{Cambridge-Dictionary|incorporated|Inc.}}); dated 26 September 2016; accessed 19 December 2022.</ref> and also launched the non-profit sister site [https://Wikia.org Wikia.org].  As of October 2021, the current Fandom CEO is [[Perkins Miller]].<ref name=About/>

==Wikia.com==

[[Wikia|Wikia.com]] uses a unique and heavily modified customized creation of the {{tag|MediaWiki}} {{tag|Wiki engine|wiki engine}} software.  It is visually different from conventional MediaWiki sites (such as [[:Category:Wikipedia|Wikipedia]]), in that it has its own exclusive {{tag|custom skin}}, and most notably, is embedded with a range and variety of graphic and dynamic {{tag|Advertising|advertisements}}.  The fundamental business model of Wikia / Fandom is the offering of {{tag|Free MediaWiki wiki farm|free hosting}} for an individual or community to build a free content [[WhatIsWiki|wiki]]-based website, on virtually any [[:Category:Wiki Topic|subject]].  New wikis can be created instantly at https://www.Wikia.com/Special:CreateNewWiki.  Hosting of wiki, and 24&nbsp;hour customer support is free, in return for advertising placed on the pages; but [[editor]]s and [[user]]s have little say over the advertisements (both content and placement) their wiki site displays.  Support, on both the technical and community aspects of running a wiki community, is provided at [[Wikia Community Central]], now known as Fandom Community Central (or one of its related [[Template:Wikia Community Central|other]] [[:Category:Wiki language|language]] Community wikis).

From its creation in {{tag|Founded in 2004|2004}}, all wiki sites hosted on Wikia had unrestricted editing privileges for all [[editor]]s, known as '[[:Category:OpenEdit|open edit]]'.  This meant, that whilst Wikia welcomed [[user]]s to register for an account and create their own [[username]], anonymous folks were equally welcome and able to [[edit]] without the need to create an account and / or log-in.  As was the norm throughout the developing [[wikisphere]], individuals from this latter group became known as an [[IP editor]], due to them being identified by their [[IP address]] from the [[edit history]] of any wiki page they had edited.  This 'open edit' ethos continued as a fundamental basis until July 2013; when it was deemed that 'open edit' was not compliant with the 'Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998', commonly known as [http://COPPA.org COPPA], which became effective 21 April 2000, and is overseen by the [https://www.FTC.gov Federal Trade Commission] (FTC).  As a result, in order to comply with COPPA, all new Wikia wikis were required to implement all users to register for an account before being able to edit, known as '[[:Category:LoginToEdit|log-in to edit]]'.  Those existing Wikia sites created before July 2013 are also required to convert to 'log-in to edit', thus effectively ending one of the founding wiki fundamentals of being 'open to all'.

The overwhelming vast majority of Wikia wiki sites are currently released under one primary [[:Category:Wiki license|wiki license]]: the {{tag|Wiki Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike|Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 3.0 Unported license}} (CC-BY-SA 3.0), as explained [[WikiaSite:Licensing|here]].  However, other licenses are available on Wikia; these include the [[:Category:Wiki Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial|Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial]] (CC-BY-NC), as used by [[Memory Alpha]], and the [[:Category:Wiki Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives|Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivative Works 3.0 unported]] (CC-BY-NC-ND 3.0) licenses.<ref name=Licensing>[http://www.Wikia.com/Licensing Licensing {{!}} Fandom powered by Wikia]; ''Wikia.com''; Wikia, {{Cambridge-Dictionary|incorporated|Inc.}}; accessed 25 September 2018.</ref>

Historically, when Wikia was founded, it used the {{tag|Wiki GNU Free Documentation License|GNU Free Documentation License}} (GNU FDL or GFDL), just like [[:Category:Wikipedia|Wikipedia]] did.

The entire Wikia project consisting of all Wikia wiki sites used to be available as a globally combined backup file [https://WikiStats.Wikia.com/w/wi/wikiaglobal/pages_full.xml.gz here].{{PermanentDeadEL}}  Individual Wikia wiki sites ''may'' also backed up, and their backup files will be available near the bottom of their relevant <tt>/Special:Statistics</tt> page, as explained on their [[WikiaSite:Help:Database download|database download help page]].  However, whilst <u>all</u> Wikia wiki sites have a Statistics page, complete with the 'Database dumps' section containing appropriate placement for their backup file links, those Wikia wiki sites which show 'unknown' for where the actual URLs are expected definitely have <u>not</u> been backed up!  Local administrators do have the option to request a new, or updated dump.  The reality is that a vast proportion of Wikia sites do not have individual dumps available, and for those sites that do have live URLs to their backup files, they are invariably outdated, typically by many months, though some are outdated by many years (mid-2017 is frequently found to be the last time any backup was created, as of December 2022).  Originally managed internally by Wikia, and found at <tt>[[Archive.org:20120514120806/http://WikiStats.Wikia.com/|WikiStats.Wikia.com]]</tt> ''or'' <tt>[[Archive.org:20130429155454/http://Dumps.Wikia.net/|Dumps.Wikia.net]]</tt>, as of 2018, Wikia backups are provided by [https://AWS.Amazon.com/s3/ Amazon S3] from [https://AWS.Amazon.com Amazon Web Services, Inc.] (AWS).

Unlike other {{tag|wiki farm}}s, Wikia will generally <u>not</u> [[:Category:Dead|close]] a wiki site if requested by the wikis' creator / [[founder]], and / or community of [[editor]]s.  Wikia prefer to maintain inactive and [[:Category:Goal abandoned|abandoned]] wiki sites in a [[:Category:Dormant|dormant]] state, and actively seek other [[Wikian]]s to '[[WikiaSite:Adoption:Requests|adopt]]' said wiki sites.  This will happen even when the original [[owner]](s) of a Wikia-hosted wiki site copy or '[[fork]]' their entire wiki and [[:Category:Ex-Wikia|re-host]] it; either independently, on another provider, or another [[wiki farm]].  Wikia wiki sites are only usually [[:Category:Dead|closed]] in exceptional circumstances, typically if the content or 'intent' of the wiki site breaches Wikias' [[WikiaSite:Closed Wikis Policy|terms of service]].<ref name=Community>[http://www.Wikia.com/Community_Creation_Policy Community Creation Policy | Fandom powered by Wikia]; ''www.Wikia.com''; Wikia, {{Cambridge-Dictionary|incorporated|Inc.}}; accessed 25 September 2018.</ref><ref name=ElectricSky97>[https://Community.Fandom.com/wiki/User_blog:ElectricSky97/Most_Common_Reasons_Why_Your_Wiki_Gets_Closed User blog:ElectricSky97 | most common reasons why your wiki gets closed]; ''Community.Fandom.com''; Fandom, {{Cambridge-Dictionary|incorporated|Inc.}}; dated 27 March 2020; accessed 19 December 2022.</ref>

Wikia offers {{tag|Free MediaWiki wiki farm|free hosting}} for a community to build a wiki website powered by a unique and heavily modified version of {{tag|MediaWiki}}, in return for the display of {{tag|Advertising|advertisements}}.  Some registered [[user]]s complain that they have little say over the placement, or the content of advertisements their wiki site displays.

<ref>[http://www.WebsiteOutlook.com/www.liberapedia.wikia.com][http://www.WebsiteOutlook.com/www.fiction.wikia.com][http://www.WebsiteOutlook.com/www.atheism.wikia.com]</ref>

When Wikia was originally founded in 2004 (as Wikicities), it used '{{tag|Monobook}}' as its default [[:Category:Skins|skin]]; identical to the [[:Category:MediaWiki skin|MediaWiki skin]] that [[:Category:Wikipedia|Wikipedia]] (and all other [[:Category:Wikimedia Foundation|Wikimedia Foundation]] wiki sites) then used at that time.  Subsequently, Wikia developed their own unique [[:Category:Custom skin|customised skins]], with an emphasis on accommodating their plethora of various in-wiki on-screen [[:Category:Advertising|adverts]].

The second default skin for Wikia wiki sites was called '{{tag|Monaco}}'; more colorful and customizable than their original default '{{tag|Monobook}}' skin.  While registered [[user]]s could previously view Wikia sites using the Monobook skin (by choosing it in their preferences), Wikia did not allow it to be chosen as a default skin for all wiki visitors, including [[IP editor]]s, which was frustrating for some long-standing Wikia communities.  [[:Category:Wikia staff|Wikia staff]] stated statistics showed that Monaco encouraged new registered users: by making [[edit]]ing easier; however, many existing [[Wikian|Wikia members]] disagreed, and [[:Category:Ex-Wikia|left Wikia]] nonetheless.

Wikia subsequently introduced a third new '{{tag|Oasis}}' skin, which became widely unpopular with registered [[user]]s.  [[WikiaSite:community:User blog:MarioGalaxy2433g5/To the people complaining about the new look|To the people complaining about the new look]] documented user disdain.  This new Oasis skin became compulsory for all users.  Because of this change, many Wikia users [[:Category:Goal abandoned|have now left]], often [[:Category:Ex-Wikia|taking their wiki site]] and community members with them. Oasis would later become the only skin available to users of wikis on this platform. This caused heavy criticism, with some users criticising Fandom, then Wikia, for taking away their choices of skin. This skin would later be sunset and replaced with FandomDesktop.

Wikia also supports a {{tag|Wikis with a mobile-view site|mobile-view}} specific skin, designed to be used on [[:Category:Smartphone|smartphones]] and / or [[:Category:Tablet|tablet]] computers.  This version is automatically displayed when any Wikia wiki is opened on such devices; although there is the option to also view the conventional desktop version using the then [[#Oasis|Oasis]] skin via a link at the bottom-centre of every page (and vice-versa to view mobile layout from a desktop version).

In December 2014, Wikia introduced yet another skin called '{{tag|Venus|Venus}}', making it their fourth default, and causing even more controversy among [[user]]s.<ref>[http://Community.Wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:Rupert_Giles/Prototype_for_a_new_article_layout User blog:Rupert Giles / Prototype for a new article layout]; ''Community.Wikia.com''; Wikia, {{Cambridge-Dictionary|incorporated|Inc.}}; accessed 13 February 2019.</ref>

With the move to the now current [https://community.fandom.com/wiki/Help:Unified_Community_Platform Unified Community Platform] (UCP), a universal platform that combined legacy Wikia / Fandom together with the recently acquired [[:Category:Gamepedia.com|Gamepedia.com]] wiki farm, and also upgraded the core MediaWiki {{Mw|version}} of Fandom from their long-outdated and obsolete {{Mw|MediaWiki 1.19|v&nbsp;1.19}} to a more recent {{Mw|MediaWiki 1.33|v&nbsp;1.33}}; Fandom, {{Cambridge-Dictionary|incorporated|Inc.}} introduced a new skin which is actually based on their much older [[#Oasis|Oasis]] skin.  This UCP became the default and only skin available for Fandom wiki sites; it built upon the Oasis skin, introducing a fluid layout which allowed [[user]]s to expand the skin to take up the entire width of their screen.  FandomDesktop was introduced largely based on a number of complaints from users who did not like the wide margins either side of the Oasis skin, and also brought elements of the [[:Category:Vector|Vector]] / [[:Category:Hydra|HydraWiki]] skin to the entire Wikia / Fandom platform.

{{See also|:Category:Wikia.org}}

In late 2016, at the same time as the global rebrand from Wikia to Fandom, its parent company, Wikia, {{Cambridge-Dictionary|incorporated|Inc.}} also launched a non-profit sister site [https://Wikia.org Wikia.org].  '''Wikia.org''' also acts as a [[wiki farm]], and uses the identical custom-modified MediaWiki software as Wikia.com, but the most obvious difference is a lack of [[:Category:Advertising|advertising]].  Wiki sites hosted on Wikia.org continue to use the {{tag|Wiki Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike|Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 3.0 Unported license}} (CC-BY-SA 3.0), so whilst Wikia itself will not profit from hosting sites on Wikia.org, there is the potential to reuse content from Wikia.org on another external website (as is allowed under terms of the CC-BY-SA 3.0), and those external sites are able to monetise from said re-hosted Wikia.org content.

Retired November 2021.<ref>[https://community.fandom.com/wiki/Help:Wikia.org_domain_migration Help: Wikia.org domain migration]; ''community.fandom.com''; [[Wikia Community Central (en)]]; accessed 14 January 2023.</ref>

:''This section requires expansion with info on all of the Acquisitions made by Wikia, {{Cambridge-Dictionary|incorporated|Inc.}}; such as [[:Category:Gamepedia.com|Gamepedia.com]], D&D Beyond, Cortex RPG, Muthead, Futhead, Fanatical, and Fandomatic.