PathfinderWiki:FAQ

From PathfinderWiki

Welcome to PathfinderWiki! Whether you're here as a reader or editor, the community values you and your input. Below are some of the most frequently asked questions regarding the wiki. If you have additional questions not covered in this FAQ, drop by the Discord chat to pose the question, or drop a message to one of the community's administrators.

What is the mission of PathfinderWiki?

See also: PathfinderWiki:Scope of the project

PathfinderWiki's goal is to compile an easily navigable resource for canon of the Pathfinder campaign setting. With over sixty official Pathfinder products released each year, it can be hard to know where to look for desired information, whether you're a player, a GM, or just someone interested in fantasy settings. This wiki aims to be a comprehensive resource document of official Pathfinder material.

Do you have permission from Paizo to use their intellectual property?

See also: Project:Community Use Policy

Paizo Inc., the owners of the copyright to the Pathfinder campaign setting and related products, has been extremely helpful and open since the wiki's inception in March 2008. In February 2009, they officially released their Community Use Policy, which grants registered websites and publishers permission to use Paizo's intellectual property for free resources that abide by the guidelines of the policy itself. You can find more information about Paizo's Community Use Policy at their website.

What's with the "Donate" button on the left?

While we are forbidden by the aforementioned Community Use Policy from charging money to access the content of the wiki, we are not denied the ability to recoup expenses of maintaining the project. We can't set out to make a profit, but Paizo is generous enough to allow us to provide a means for the community to help us cover hosting costs, advertisements, and entry fees into such competitions as the annual ENnie Awards.

Why should I register?

Due to a slew of automated spammers and vandals, only registered users are allowed to edit PathfinderWiki. As such, if you wish to contribute to the project—and we want and encourage you to do so—you'll need to request an account and be logged in before you can edit any content herein. An added benefit of being a registered member is that your edits and additions to the site can be attributed to you, and other members can contact you through your user talk page.

Why isn't there more information on "x"?

PathfinderWiki is a community-driven operation. We have articles and information only on subjects that others have taken the time to compile and write. If whatever you're looking for isn't here, either no one has had the time or motivation to write that specific article, or Paizo has not released official canon relating to that topic. But you're more than welcome and encouraged to start a new article or add to an existing one with whatever information you have on the topic. Someone else might just come along and fill in the missing bits you were looking for in the first place.

Can I add my own homebrew/fan-fiction material to the site?

PathfinderWiki is a resource for canon Pathfinder campaign setting content only. If you cannot cite an official Pathfinder source for any information you post on the wiki, it doesn't belong here. There are many places on the internet where one can post this type of information, but PathfinderWiki is not one of them.

I created a page about spell/feat/trait/etc. but somebody deleted it! I thought you guys wanted people to contribute?

We most certainly want you to contribute, but PathfinderWiki has a No Crunch Policy. Please feel free to rewrite the article from an in-universe point of view, and repost it.

I don't know how to edit a wiki but I want to help.

We hear this one a lot. Wikis use a relatively simple formatting language and basic editing doesn't require knowledge of the more intricate elements. We have a great set of help pages, a tutorial, and a Discord chat to answer specific technical and stylistic questions.

But if that's even too complicated or confusing for you, register with an account (to allow others to leave you messages) and then post plain text in an article. Put citations in parentheses or denote them another way. Contribute the best you can, and someone with more experience will be by to clean it up and add formatting. Check back to the site to see what changes were made and how they changed the look of the page, then try to replicate that style when making your next edit. It's not as steep a learning curve as it might appear from the onset, so stick with it. We'd rather you make edits that need to be tidied up than not contribute at all.