Discussions is a "conversation" feature that is available for use in both web and mobile browsers. Participants in Discussions can create new posts, reply to posts, and "upvote" posts or replies, similarly to article comments. It can be found by adding /d
directly after the domain name. This policy page is further expanded from the Discussions Guidelines.
As this is a feature under the service of Fandom, users are subjected to both Fandom's Terms of Use and the policies here on the Vampire Diaries community.
The Vampire Diaries community can also be found on the Fandom app. In short, you can access this communities topics and content, such as wiki articles and Discussions, as well as breaking news, stories, videos, and more from the entertainment world. However, please note that the Community apps are depreciated and will no longer function properly; make sure you are using the Fandom app. Updates can be found on Community Central. Additional helpful resources can be found on the help pages, such as Help:Discussions and Help:Polls in Discussions, to name a few.
Consequences
Users first entering Discussions are prompted with the following message: Before posting, be sure to check out the Guidelines. All users are expected to have prior knowledge of and be familiar with all rules prior to their first post or reply. Ignorance of such policies is not an excuse. Additionally, if you lead another user into breaking policy, you will be held accountable. Admins and Moderators are free to deal with any of the below mentioned unacceptable behaviors at their own discretion and in deciding how to enforce a rule. Breaking any of them can result in punishment of the user at fault, or the closing of the post or complete removal as a whole. Repeated abuse or violation of policies will result in a block at the discretion of an administrator.
Rules
When you post a discussion topic or reply, you are expected to have prior knowledge of all these rules. Ignorance of these rules is not an excuse as they cover common courtesies of other users and the community itself. Posts that fall from these guidelines may be removed without notice. Warning(s) may be given on the violating thread or user message walls (Message Walls), and/or the user may be blocked; see the Blocking Policy for more information. The Discussions Help page is another resource for information. If your post was deleted, refrain from publishing it again or creating another post about your now-deleted post. It was removed for a reason and the answer can likely be found as an example further down this page. If you have additional questions, please feel free to consult with a moderator for review on their wall. The moderation team is here to help the community, but we can't do that without rules, so please be respectful.
- Be nice and treat people with respect. Keep discussions civil and be open-minded about differing opinions. Hateful, vulgar, bashing/venting, name calling, senseless arguing, and general ill will against someone or some topic can and will be removed by admins and moderators. Please note that swearing is not allowed.
- Posts that solicit upvotes or to "follow" or "join" other forms of media (i.e. Instagram, YouTube, other Discords, etc.) will be deleted.
- Off-topic conversations of any kind will be deleted. This is not the place for them. Please keep conversations here strictly about The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, and Legacies and their related materials. Please do not derail threads unrelated to the posted topic; such posts may be removed or the thread may be further locked from discussion.
- Impersonation of other users or famous people will not be tolerated. If you have been banned and return on a new account, your posts will be deleted and your new account(s) will be banned.
- Spamming, trolling, personal attacks, or vandalizing of any kind will be deleted and will lead to your account being banned. If you see it, please report it; administrators or moderators will work quickly to delete and clean up the said post!
- Do not duplicate posts. When repeated, links to original or other duplicated posts may be given or subsequent posts will be locked (and/or removed entirely) - this is inclusive of polls. Please see our FAQs (duplicated here outside of a Discussions post) for additional details and examples of such posts while also using the thread categories and article tags to find other similar posts.
- Please be wary of categories and how you are using them. Also, please tag all new posts appropriately using article tags. Examples of the categories and articles tags and how to use them can be found further down this page.
- Breaking of Fandom's Terms of Use is strictly forbidden. Any users caught breaking the ToU will be blocked and reported to Fandom Staff immediately. This is inclusive of links to pirated content. This is NOT allowed and is illegal. Users will be blocked for this.
- Do not report someone's post without a valid reason. The report feature should only be used to report offensive, spam, or other harmful replies. Do not report your own posts or that of a moderator's warning(s). If you would like your comment deleted, please contact a moderator for deletion either on their message wall or with the @ mentions.
- Do not post low-effort/quality posts and polls. This can also be construed as asking for an answer for you that you can easily find yourself. This also includes poor observations and factual/obvious statements that just repeat the content of the wiki article(s). Some amount of thought should go into making your posts interesting, open-ended, insightful, or otherwise desirable. This is elaborated further down on this page.
- Please ensure that posts in Discussions (and also on Messgae Walls) are properly titled with a subject line. Ensure that posts are not ambiguous. People should be able to gauge the general topic of a post without opening it.
- We now have an official wiki Discord server. Join here!
Definitions
- Personal attacks, harassment, sexual harassment, insults, bullying, slander, homophobia, religious prejudice, racial bigotry, sexually degrading language, or any other hate speech against another user will not be tolerated; we have a zero-tolerance policy! "Personal attacks", or cyberbullying in terms of an online community, is defined as the targeting of someone and speaking to them in a derogatory or intimidating or threatening nature manner due to their nationality, gender, sexuality, religion, personal interests, sociological factors, psychological state, or physical appearance.
- Spamming should be obvious. Examples include, but not limited to, multiple threads with the same topic posted close together, or numerous replies to a thread to garner and increase discussions post numbers, or topics unrelated to The Vampire Diaries. Additionally, excessive usage of all caps is frowned upon and can be viewed as obnoxious and/or yelling. Making irrelevant or off-topic comments on a thread solely to express one's displeasure with its topic is an annoyance and considered spamming; failure to stop can result in a ban. Attention-seeking posts or threats will be deleted upon sight. Advertising your product, website, organization, or service (financial gain or otherwise) is also expressly disallowed on Discussions. Contact a moderator member if you are unsure whether sharing a link of yours will break this rule.
- Trolling, invasion, or general irritation and/or disruption of other users is not permitted. This often includes, but is not limited to; excessive usage of capital letters, punctuation marks, deliberate distortions of the English language, or excessive usage of languages other than English or revealing personal information (doxxing).
- Upvoting a post or reply, by clicking/tapping the Upvote-icon on the left side of the text, is not considered a disservice. Upvoting is merely used to express that you agree or like the comment or post, such as "Like" on other platforms. With that mentioned, posts that intentionally solicit upvotes will be taken down; they not only mess with the "Trending" page but are a great annoyance.
- Inappropriate Content, such as the exchange of pornography, gore, or otherwise NSFW material is prohibited. We are attempting to build a welcoming community, and such posts are very counter-productive to that cause. Cursing is not allowed.
- Off-Topic Posts are not allowed. Discussions is not the place for them. Please keep conversations strictly TVD, TO, and LGC and their related content or about the wiki itself. Please do not derail threads unrelated to the posted topic. If you wish to speak of a different topic than the one being conversed, create a new thread. Please note that promotional release may cover more than one topic, though conversations should be related to currently airing promotional content.
Low-Effort Posts
"Low-effort" or low-quality post may seem trivial, however, such content should be avoided. Please put at least some amount of thought into making your posts interesting, open-ended, insightful, or otherwise desirable. As the feature is appropriately named, "Discussions" posts should be defined as such, "a detailed treatment of a particular topic".
A low-effort post is defined as the following. Asking for help, is of course, excluded.
- An observation/statement or question that does not spawn any sort of meaningful discussion or a post that requires little to no thought on the submitter's part. These can usually be easily or quickly answered by first reviewing articles on the topic. Such posts may be locked once answered.
- An extremely short post, such as one sentence posts. These may not be deleted if you're trying to start a more detailed conversation, though you should make sure the premise is well-thought-out before posting.
- A post consisting exclusively of a link or image or poorly utilized or spam-like poll and no background information whatsoever.
- An overly spam-like, immature, or otherwise unappealing post.
- Any other sort of post that does not keep aloft the quality of content that is currently present among posts on the Discussions. Polls are generally low effort and typically no discussion is created from them.
- Lack of a coherent title or discussion topic.
- Lack of any aforementioned guidelines, i.e. article tags, etc.
Uploads
Although images, videos, links may be uploaded to Discussions through the dedicated upload feature, they will be removed if they do not meet community requirements. Specifically, they should be used to enhance the topic at hand.
- All images must be on-topic.
- Images must not reveal any personal information.
- Images must not contain NSFW or offensive content.
- Memes or image macros are not permitted.
- Images must not break any other policies either in the Discussions/Discord guidelines or Terms of Use.
Examples
Most of the below cited examples have been deleted from Discussions for one reason or another and should be viewed as examples of what not to do and to caution new and frequent users. Generally, explanations are not given unless inquired about. Inquires should be made on an Administrator or moderator's wall and they can help direct to the moderator that performed the action (since this is not public) or give a likely reasoning as to why the post was locked and removed. Administrators and moderators can lock or remove threads and polls at their discretion. Familiarizing oneself with the Discussion Guidelines and Policy beforehand can alleviate many questions and concerns before issues arise.
Unacceptable Example | Reasoning |
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"[Insert Character name] is the love of my life." / "[Insert character name] is super hot." | This is not a discussion prompt and classified as low-effort. Such posts do not spawn further discussion and will be deleted. |
"Stefan v. Damon" / "Stelena v. Delena" / etc. | Either as a poll or a post, there either little to no context (i.e. what is being compared or contrasted, etc.) or it is highly duplicated. Such posts are repeated (and deleted) regularly and are linked on the FAQs, which typically reference other similar posts. |
Species Versus / Power Levels | Most notably among specific witches and the three types of Original vampires, these posts are discussed ad nauseam. Such posts have been discussed at length, typically by the same users with the same material repeatedly with no change in the subject matter. In regards to power levels, these topics quickly and usually dissolve into pointless competition or dispute over trivial instances. Some of these posts quickly become off-topic and loop back to this [insert species/character etc] did [this example], etc., and no longer speak towards what the intended post was supposed to be. Again, such examples are linked in the FAQs. Similarly, many of the same topics can be found within the comment sections of their respective articles. Rrepeating such topics should be avoided. |
"New update so I learned that when Hope does activate her vampire side she can't be killed with a stake they would have to rip her heart out or cut off her head." / "Julie Plec/Michael Narducci/etc., states ... [insert claim]" | Please be wary about making egregious claims with no proof to substantiate it. It is always a good idea to provide a reliable source - an interview, a panel video, a tweet, etc, to support your post. Additionally, please be careful when making claims by journalists of spoiler, commentary, etc. sites - are they directly quoting Julie (or someone else) or are they making their own claims. If it is your opinion, a theory, speculation, etc., make it known. Stating something is what it is not, is spreading false information and does nothing to help the community. This is inclusive of rumors about the cast and crew. Spreading rumors and gossip, however small or malicious, does nothing but perpetuate untrue information - this should be avoided. If something is found on an article page that seems suspicious or untrue, ask a moderator or another user. Look for or help another user out to validate it. If such content cannot be found true, it will be removed. |
"Where can I watch [series]... / for free?" | Asking for illegal content is forbidden and against Fandom's Terms of Use. The only ever acceptable answer is either directly through The CW's official website or through any legal, paid subscription service, i.e. Netflix, HBO, etc. Users found breaking this will be blocked and/or reported to Fandom. |
Uncategorized and not tagged with articles. / What is each category used for? | Categories, in the large sense, are used to group like content to make searching within Discussions easier. Is your post solely (or mostly) about a [character, event, object, etc.] from the Vampire Diaries? If yes, then use The Vampire Diaries categories. Likewise with the others (The Originals, or Legacies). The 'General' category is typically used for posts that can span the mythology from all three shows, though with exceptions. For example, Expression magic and the Enhanced Original vampire are solely a reference from the Vampire Diaries where as Ancestral magic and the Upgraded Original vampire are specifically from The Originals; new supernatural creatures are solely from Legacies. If questions are in the general sense and expand to all three shows, then the General category can be used. Wiki Administration is typically used by the community administration to relay pertinent information about the wiki or Fandom as a whole. With the conclusions of all three series, the Spoiler category is depreciated, though was used for posts about BTS information, news releases, or episodes right after they've aired. Of course, a wiki by its nature contains "spoiler" content for individuals that are new to the shows. The Help Desk category is a depreciated category that has been repurposed - if you have questions about the wiki, its content, editing, etc., please use this category for assistance.
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"I'm starting a role-play..." / "I'm starting a fan-fiction..." / "I'm starting a Discord server..." | We are not a role-play, fan-fiction, fanon, etc., community. The Vampire Diaries wiki make every effort to publish canonical information. Likewise, please do not advertise your content on discussions; this is not the place for it. |
"Would Hope Mikealson and Renesmee Cullen [or any other character] be best friends or enemies if their worlds combined?!" | Twilight or any other show, regardless of it having vampires, witches, werewolves, etc., does not have any impact on the content of The Vampire Diaries or its related material. This is a dedicated community for the Vampire Diaries. We ask that Discussion posts should solely be about TVD and its related content. If you want to discuss something unrelated to TVD, you are more than welcome to take it to your message walls. Any post that attempts to discuss other shows will be removed. |
"Could hellfire kill an original?" | While at face value, questions like this are generally acceptable, please first read through the relevant articles in question that could potentially answer your question beforehand. Further explanation or discussion is okay, though sometimes, such in this example, the answer can be found on the Trivia section of the Fire article. |
"What exactly IS a coven?" | An overtly simple question that can easily and quickly answered by first reviewing articles on the topic. As in the given example, the Coven article explains the question. |
"Why does / doesn't X, Y, Z happen..." | Anything could theoretically happen, of course; however, what does or doesn't happen in canon is deemed by the plot set forth by the EP/writers. Usually these types of posts do not have a valid canon answer, or very little to actually discuss. Please caution these types of posts as to prevent arguments. |
Reporting Moderator Actions / Abusing the Report Feature | Many times and typically with 'new' users, moderator actions are reported because said user has been warned. This is abusing the report feature. Warnings are meant to be used as advance notice of caution. For example, a thread was not correctly (or even missing) tagged with articles or the post was off-topic and that corrective measures should be taken to fix the issue. Reporting warnings (and then continuing to perform said issue or abuse the report feature) is not only immature, but unnecessary. Reporting content should only be used for offensive threads and replies that directly go against the aforementioned guidelines. Additionally, the report feature does not offer any kind of insight as to why such a post may have been reported (excluding the obvious, i.e. malicious attacks, etc.). Therefore users that report replies may be contacted, either on their message walls or via the @-mention feature for further clarification. |
Subverting the AbuseFilter | The Vampire Diaries wiki makes use of the Discussions AbuseFilter to help with moderation of Feeds based technology, i.e. Discussions, Message Walls, and Comments. We have several filters in place and trying to subvert these filters is prohibited. I.e. a filter can target a word or phase, and when attempted to be used in a posted content, the filter will target the post and prevent the action from being performed. A small popup window will appear when the filter has been triggered. Should questions arise about posts, please contact an administrator as we are able to examine hits and take action, if necessary. For example, this wiki restricts the use of polls from Discussions. They're defined above as low effort, and we have a specific filter that prevents users without additional rights (such as Staff or admins) from being able to post polls. |
Blocks
- Main article: The Vampire Diaries Wiki:Blocking Policy
If you have been blocked from using the Discussions feature you will be blocked in the main namespace and associated features.
If you were blocked, a moderator or administrator saw you breaking one of the rules above, or you were reported for doing so, resulting in you being punished. To participate in the Discussions, you will now have to wait for your block to be over. Do not feel discouraged. When your block ends (assuming your offense wasn't extreme enough to warrant an indefinite block), if you chose to follow the rules above, you are perfectly able to come and use the community feature again. A single block does not mean you are no longer welcome.
Block lengths are determined by the severity of your offense, and any previous blocks that you may have. Use the time you are given from your punishment to think about what you did wrong and return without that fault. We acknowledge that one particularly bad day does not equate a bad user. Warnings may be left on the violating thread or user's message wall.
If you believe you have been unfairly blocked and would like to contest that block, please contact an Administrator on their message wall.
See also
The Vampire Diaries Universe Wiki Help and Rules
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"I don't break Marcel's rules." Admins • Audio and Music • Badges • Blocking Policy • Canonicity Guide • Categories • Citing sources • Chat/Discord • Discussions FAQs • Discussions Policy • Editing FAQs • General FAQs • Manual of Style • Media • Spoilers • Spelling • Support • Userboxes |