It's time for another exciting installment of our Featured Wikian interviews! This time, we're talking with Cloudskye, a member of the Warriors Cats Wiki.
Wikia: Tell us a little bit about yourself...just some general information about you.
- Cloudskye: Well, I'm fresh out of high school, and starting my first year in college. I'm an avid gamer, and love to read. I could sit and read books like Harry Potter or Inheritance all day, or play video games like Final Fantasy and Pokemon (yes, I'm a fan. =P). Although I try not to spend all my time screwing around, I do anyways. Well, that's when my time's not being taken up by college, where I plan on pursuing an earth science major.
Wikia: How did you first discover Wikia?
- Cloudskye: I found Wikia back in 2009, when I first became a fan of Warriors, a book series by Erin Hunter. I'd wanted to see if they had some information about a favorite character of mine, since I hadn't gotten a chance to get all of the books yet. I'd heard of Wikia before, but I'd just assumed it to be a Wikipedia spinoff, and ignored it. Although, I found myself coming back again and again, and eventually decided to join the community.
Wikia: Which wikis do you spend the most time on -- and which is your main wiki?
- Cloudskye: I spend most of my time on Warriors Wiki or Warriors Share Wiki. Both are for the Warriors series, hence the name. Although I'm an admin at WSW, I spend most, if not all, of my time on Warriors Wiki, where I take great pride in having the highest edit count out of all the users. I do occasionally visit (although don't contribute to) the Final Fantasy Wiki for information, as well as stop by CC to check up on the technical updates, but I usually stay within the realms of WW, where I'm most welcome.
Wikia: What do you think is great about Wikia?
- Cloudskye: Wikia is a place where anyone can fit in, even me. I like it because each editor is different, and although we come from different parts of the world, we can have conversations over something we love. The chat, although it has it's moments, is a good form of that, and it's something I've grown quite fond of, since it allows us to talk with tons of different people. But, the chat isn't everything. Everything from the user pages to the sheer fact each wiki looks completely different from one another is quite impressive.
Wikia: How has Wikia inspired you or supported your passion?
- Cloudskye: Well, thanks to Wikia, I have a passion to improve my writing and grammar. With each edit, I try more and more to improve not only myself, but Wikia as a whole.
Wikia: What would your top 5 tips for new folks on a wiki be?
- Cloudskye:
- Read the rules, and don't expect admin rights on the first day - there's nothing more important then reading the rules. Especially if you're brand new to Wikia, or even just another wiki. Each one has it's own set, and they vary drastically from the rest. Also, if you come on a wiki expecting admin rights the first day, you'll be sadly mistaken. Admin rights are given to those users who've proven themselves countless times.
- Use the preview button! - it's there for a reason. Plus, it won't make you look silly if you make such a simple typo. It's better to be clean with your edits, that way they don't get undone!
- Chatting isn't everything - yes, I know I sound like I'm talking to myself, who spends so much time in the Warriors Wiki chat...but if you spend a little bit of time each day editing a wiki or two, it'll make your experience here that much better
- Get to know the members of the wiki you've joined - having friends is important, no matter where you are. The more you have, the better off you'll be.
- (last, but certainly not least): be yourself - I shouldn't need to explain this one. There's no reason to be something you're not, and if you find the right people, they won't judge you for who you are, or where you've come from.
Wikia: What would you like to see that isn't on Wikia already?
- Cloudskye: There isn't much that's not on Wikia that I'd like to see. Perhaps a few additional features to the chat room, like the ability to link to rules and such, but that's about it. I'm perfectly content with Wikia how it is.
Wikia: I see on Warrior Cats you have something on your user page that floats in the top right, and says what your edit goal is. Is that total or for the week? What made you want to have an edit goal for yourself?
- Cloudskye: Well, the floating thing you see is just a little something I like to have to keep me motivated to edit. Considering I have around 17,000 on Warriors Wiki alone, I always try to raise that even higher. Not just for bragging rights (which I DO brag, but that's how I am. ;)), but because it makes me feel like I've accomplished something. It's not a total edit count, but it's just another step on the ladder. Once I reach 20k, I'm going for 30k. If I manage to get that far, I will be very impressed with myself. As I said, it just gives me a feeling of satisfaction, knowing I've contributed that much to one wiki, and even more to Wikia as a whole.
Wikia: Warriors Wiki has a lot of different reporting centers, can you explain what those are and what they're used for?
- Cloudskye: Ah, the reporting centers of WW. (little bit of trivia: I was the very first user to use WW's reporting center) Those are fairly new, and very useful. Being a rollback, there's only so much that I personally can do, but I do happen to know what each of them is for. The first one is our Vandalism section, which is where we report IPs and users that get the idea they can vandalize our wiki, that so many users have worked hard on. Since I'm only a rollback, that's where I usually keep an eye on, since the rollback tool is very handy.
Our second area is for User Issues. These usually include those select few members who violate COPPA (which our wiki is very strict about), or those that don't comply with our rules. We've also had the occasional edit warring user, but those are few and far between nowadays.
Our Blocks and Protections area is where we can suggest pages to be locked for certain reasons, like around the release of a new book. Actually, one is being released in the beginning of April, and that article, called The Last Hope, is protected to prevent the rumor mongering that usually happens. We can also ask to protect character articles, user pages and templates as well, which can prove to be very useful in the case of a serious attack.
The last section is just for the other issues that don't fit into the other three sections. Say you have a suggestion for the admins, like adding a new section to a menu, or something along those lines...that's where you would place that request, and a staff member would get to it when they have the free time. It's also an area to ask for images to be deleted, in the cases of major copyright violations.
Thank you to Cloudskye for taking the time to answer our questions! If you or someone you know would make a great Featured Wikian, please let us know by leaving a comment here with their username and a sentence on why they should be featured.
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