The Secret Society - Hidden Mystery Wiki
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Story Character 02 Christy

The following article is part of The Secret Society - Hidden Mystery Wiki's policy and guidelines.

Any registered editor is free to edit a page to improve its readability as long as the essence of the article remains unchanged.

If you would like to suggest content changes or propose a new policy or guideline, please use the wiki discussion forum.

See the policies and guidelines page for an overview of this wiki's policies and guidelines.

For any concerns regarding this article, please consult an Administrator


Introduction

The Secret Society - Hidden Mystery Wiki site ('SSHM', 'our site', 'our community', or 'the wiki') has two main sections, the Content pages with game information; and the Forum and member spaces. Fandom, our Host, has established User Roles that individual sites such as SSHM can use to help manage their own community. These roles are Administrators (Admins), several kinds of Moderators, and Bureaucrats. Members who have these User Roles have tools and rights which are not available to regular members. Fandom documentation lists these rights. Fandom documentation does not prescribe how communities select members for these roles. Fandom documentation does not describe all of the community management situations that may require action to be taken by members with these roles. Fandom encourages each community to establish their own policies and guidelines as they grow.

Together, the SSHM members with these User Roles (Admins, Moderators, and Bureaucrats) are called the 'Admin Team'.  The Admin Team is in place to serve the community and to guide the growth of the site and the content. 

This policy describes how members are selected, and to outline what they can do.

Our site has more members participating in the Forum and member spaces than it does in editing Content. Our site is welcoming to members and anonymous posters from all over the world. Sometimes there are disagreements in our community, and the Admin Team must take action.

The Admin Team shall strive to be Fair and to protect the wiki's content as well as the members and anonymous users who post or edit anywhere on the site. The Admin Team shall follow Fandom policies and all SSHM policies. The Admin Team and all members should remember that the site is a collaborative effort, built by input from many users in the past and it will continue into the future. The Admin Team and all members should Assume Good Faith of other contributors.

The next section, 'User Roles as described by Fandom,' contains User Role descriptions by Fandom. These are subject to change by Fandom and are presented here for explanation of the basic job functions and capabilities which have been developed the the primary purpose of maintenance of site content pages.

The section after that, 'SSHM User Roles,' adds additional explanation for our community.

The section after that, 'SSHM Admin Team Selection Process,' explains how active, registered members can become a member of the Admin Team.

User Roles as described by Fandom

These descriptions are copied from w:Help:User_rights. They are subject to change by Fandom. This information is included here to promote understanding of the positions as developed by Fandom, with the goal of allowing communities to manage their own Content.

Administrators

Administrators (also known as "admins" or "sysops") are trusted users who are generally chosen by the community and also have access to the following rights:

  • All privileges from the Discussions Moderator and Content Moderator groups.
  • Block users who are vandalizing the wiki from editing and other actions.
  • Grant and revoke both the Chat Moderator and Discussion Moderator rights.
  • Edit the community's skin and format.
  • Edit white-listed MediaWiki pages.

For more details, see the Help:Administrators' how-to guide.

Bureaucrats

Bureaucrats have the ability to manipulate user rights, as well as block and unblock users, so this right is generally used in addition to the administrator group.

  • They have the ability to promote and revoke rollback, Content Moderator, and administrator rights as well as appointing new bureaucrats.
  • While they cannot directly remove another user's bureaucrat status, they can remove their own.
  • Bureaucrats also have the ability to remove a user's bot status in case the bot is malfunctioning, but bot flag requests are handled by staff after being approved (by either a bureaucrat or the community).

Having this status causes the tag "BUREAUCRAT" to appear next to user's username on their profile.

  • The bureaucrat status can only be removed by FANDOM Staff or by the Bureaucrat themselves.

Content Moderators

Content Moderators are users who have additional tools available to moderate specific parts of the community. These tools are:

  • Deleting and moving protected pages
  • Deleting and moving files
  • Undeleting pages and files
  • Rollback
  • Re-upload files
  • Protecting and unprotecting pages
  • Patrol pages if the community has the RecentChanges patrol feature enabled

Having this status causes the tag "CONTENT MODERATOR" to appear next to user's username in their profile.

Discussions Moderators

Discussions Moderators are users who have additional tools available to manage conversations in various features across the community where users are having discussions. These tools are:

  • Removing and restoring threads and replies from any user
  • Closing and reopening threads
  • Manage Forum boards, and move threads from one board to another.
  • Moderating chat
  • Deleting blog comments
  • Editing and deleting article comments
  • Moderating the Discussions feature, if enabled.

Having this status causes the tag "DISCUSSIONS MODERATOR" to appear next to user's username in their profile.


Rollbacks

Anyone can revert vandalism and bad-faith edits, but it takes a couple of clicks in the page history to get it done. The "rollback" permission allows a user to undo bad edits with one click: by using the rollback link on diff pages, the user's contributions page, or the list of recent changes. The edit summary for a rollback edit is (Reverted edits by X (talk) to last version by Y).

Content moderators and admins have this permission by default. It can also be granted to other users by adding them to the rollback group. See Special:ListUsers/rollback for a member list.

Fandom Staff

FANDOM staff members have full access to all of FANDOM. They will be shown in Special:Listusers/staff on any wiki. Please use Special:Contact to contact FANDOM staff.

In the absence of a site Bureaucrat, Fandom staff provides user rights management for the Admin, Content Moderator, and Bureaucrat User Roles.

SSHM User Roles

Administrators

Admins are elected by the SSHM community. Admins are generally known, experienced and trusted members of the community. Admins are responsible for: reviewing the content to ensure that it follows the accepted practices and guidelines for the content, resolving conflicts, and ensuring that the site complies with all of Fandom's Community policies and Terms of use. Therefore, Admins are the primary administrative roles for SSHM. In SSHM, the Admins will also oversee the role of any Bureacrat(s).

Admins may take many types of actions without consulting others. Examples are: Deleting posts, moving discussions, reverting edits, renaming files, providing guidance on many situations, and issuing warnings and short-term blocks in an urgent situation. In the interest of protection of site content and members and guests, the Admins may need to discuss some situations to determine a course of action. Because all Admins have different skills, interests, and schedules, each Admin Team may decide for themselves how they will handle situations. Each Admin shall always abide by current Fandom and SSHM Policies.

In the SSHM Admin Team structure, only the Admins are elected by the community. Only the Admins will have a vote in any matter which requires an Admin Team decision. 

Bureaucrats

Bureaucrats are not in charge of the Admins. The Admins may decide to have one or several Bureaucrats to provide user rights management. The SSHM Bureaucrat has the ability to apply blocks. The SSHM Bureaucrat shall not apply blocks of longer than one day. The SSHM Bureaucrat shall not have a vote in matters which require an Admin Team decision. Because the Bureaucrat User Role does have the capability of promoting and demoting Admins, it is important that the selected Bureaucrat(s) are highly trusted by the Admins themselves. 

Moderators

While the user rights associated with these administrative positions are valuable, it is not necessary to fill every role. All Moderator tools are available to all Admins. Moderators are optional and shall not have a vote in matters which require an Admin Team decision. There are several benefits to allowing the Admins to have the option of appointing Moderators. There may be members with specific interest in helping in either the Content or Discussions area. A member who is considering becoming an Admin may want to try a Moderator position first.  Admins can promote and demote Discussion Moderators and Chat Moderators. Admins cannot promote or demote Content Moderators, which is one reason to have a Bureaucrat.

SSHM Admin Team Selection Process

Qualifications

All Admin Team members should be active registered members for at least 6 months for consideration for any position. They should be familiar with the site and our community, and have demonstrated that they are likely to stay active and engaged.

In addition, the member should not have been blocked for longer than one day within the past year. There is to be a probationary period of one year after the expiration of a block longer than one day before the member can be considered for any of these positions.

This means that if a current Admin, Moderator, or Bureaucrat is blocked for more than one day, they will give up their user role.

Annual Nominations and Elections for Admins

Admins are to be elected by registered members of the community. There are to be five (5) Admins. They will serve one-year terms. An Admin may stand for election again when their term is complete. The nominations and election cycle should begin in February of each year, unless extraordinary circumstances dictate otherwise.

If there is an Admin who is not seeking re-election, that Admin may manage the nominations and voting processes. If all current Admins are seeking re-election, another trusted community member shall be asked to manage the process. 

The candidates shall all be on one ballot. Registered members (in good standing as of the start of the nomination process) may vote for up to five (5) candidates. The top 5 recipients of votes shall be declared elected. If the fifth and sixth place candidates are separated by no more than 3 votes, there shall be a run-off between them. In that case, if the fourth place candidate is within 1 vote of the fifth place candidate, that member shall also be on the run-off ballot. Any run-off election will take place as soon as possible after the first election results are counted. Election results will be announced promptly after the close of voting.

Some individuals have more than one Fandom account.  An individual may use only one account to vote.  If more than one account is used, all votes by that individual will be discarded, and the account(s) may be subject to warnings or blocks for mis-using multiple accounts.

When the election results are final, a Bureaucrat (or Fandom staff if there is no Bureaucrat) shall make the appropriate User Rights changes.

In the event that all five newly elected Admins are new Admins, they may ask one of the retiring Admins to continue for no more than two months, to aid in the transition.  If any any Admin Team decisions are required, the retiring Admin may participate in the discussion, but shall not have a vote in the decision.

Bureaucrats

The new Admin Team may decide which member(s) shall be the new Bureaucrat(s).  Bureaucrats can also be Admins.

Moderators

The Admin Team may consider members for Moderator positions throughout the year. Moderators do not have a set term and will continue in their positions during an election for the admins.

Admin Vacancies

Because Admins are voted on by the community, if a vacancy occurs during the regular term, the Admins should initiate a nomination and election process to fill the vacancy. There will not be an election for a replacement if the vacancy occurs between December and February, because nominations for the full team will start in February.

A replacement Admin's term shall expire at the same time as the current Admins, so that all five positions will be up for election at the same time.

If one replacement Admin is being elected, the winning candidate shall have been named on at least 50% of the ballots. If not, there shall be a run-off vote after removal of all but the top two finishers. If there were at least four candidates on the first ballot, and the third-place candidate is within 3 votes of the second-place candidate, that candidate shall also be on the second ballot. 

If two replacement Admins are being elected, and if there more than two candidates on the ballot, each ballot may vote for one or two candidates. The winning candidates shall each have been named on at least 50% of the ballots. If not, a fair run-off shall be structured. 

It is not possible to anticipate every possible election situation and outcome; fairness is the goal.

Moderator and Bureaucrat Vacancies

Because all Moderator and Bureaucrat positions are optional and are selected by Admins, any vacancies will be handled on a case-by-case basis by the Admin Team.

When should I contact an Administrator or Moderator?

The Administrators and Moderators are here to help you get the most out of your wiki experience. Administrators and Moderators are also responsible for conflict resolution.  Please feel free to contact the appropriate team member with any concerns or suggestions.  

General questions about The Secret Society - Hidden Mystery game itself are best addressed on our forum boards. These boards (subject to change) are: Questions About the SSHM Wiki, News and Announcements, General Discussion and Questions, Troubleshooting, Current Major Glitches, Friend Code Exchange, Editing Corner, SSHM Game Videos, Eureka Moments, Mindless Chatter, Superstar Spectacular, Special Times and Events, and The Tardis.

We are always here to help and if you are unsure, please contact any Administrator or Moderator.

Administrator and Moderator Code of Conduct

No one is above the rules. Administrators and Moderators are bound by the same User Conduct Guidelines as all other users and will take a non-interfering or low-interfering neutral approach whenever possible.

What can Administrators and Moderators do?

Administrators and Moderators are responsible for maintaining the wiki. Administrators and Moderators can use warnings to address issues with editors, and Administrators can block editors and unregistered contributors from editing the wiki if they violate policy. Administrators are able to make some changes to the wiki's appearance and interface for users, through the editing of MediaWiki pages and the wiki's .css and javascript. Administrators and Moderators participate in community discussions and help determine consensus in those discussions. In addition to these (and some other) jobs, Administrators and Moderators make contributions to the wiki, just like any other user!

  • Administrators and Moderators will enforce the The Secret Society - Hidden Mystery Wiki's Policies and Guidelines and Fandom's Terms of Use.
  • Administrators and Moderators will Assume good faith of all contributors, and help those that are in need of guidance.
  • Administrators and Moderators will not tolerate spamming, trolling, flaming, or harassment.
  • Administrators and Moderators will use available tools for those requesting help.
  • Administrators and Moderators will help maintain a calm, civil environment.
  • Administrators and Moderators will use their tools to keep the wiki in a consistent organization.

What can Administrators and Moderators not do?

If an Administrator or Moderator is directly involved in a dispute, they shall not use their additional tools or status to solve it. Rather, they will ask another Administrator or Moderator to mediate. If a user feels that an Administrator or Moderator is too involved in a situation to make an impartial decision, then they can ask another Administrator or Moderator to review the situation and mediate if necessary.

  • Administrators and Moderators shall not use their additional tools to settle editing disputes; for example, to lock a page on a version he or she prefers in an editing dispute that isn't vandalism.
  • Administrator and Moderator tools should not be used for simple disagreements between users acting in good faith.

Current SSHM Admins, Moderators, and Bureaucrats

To see all users with particular User Roles, see Special:Listusers/sysop. Use the check boxes in the Groups section and then click "Show".

Below are the Administrators, Moderators, and Bureaucrats on The Secret Society Hidden Mystery Wiki, as of April 2020.

Administrators

Administrators
MDbugs avie
MDbugs
Only8wolf
Only8
PhilliesP
Podaci
Bixby the corgi
CorgiMom
contact - contribs - logs contact - contribs - logs contact - contribs - logs contact - contribs - logs

Bureaucrats

MDbugs

Only8

Podaci

Moderators

Snowdog67 - Discussions Moderator

JettStarr - Content Moderator

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