Tardis:Why create an account?
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Logging in → Changing your username → Username policy → Reclaiming your account → User pages → Privacy policy → Why create an account? |
You don't have to log in to read the Tardis Wiki. You don't even have to log in to edit articles on Tardis Wiki... anyone can edit almost any article, even without logging in. Nevertheless, creating an account is quick, free and non-intrusive, and it's a good idea to do so, for many reasons.
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Username policy → Signature policy → On using multiple accounts → User rename policy → Why create an account? |
User name[[edit source]]
If you create an account, you can pick a username. (Always keeping in mind our username policy.) Edits you will make while being logged in will be assigned to that name.
That means you get full credit for your contributions in the page history (when not logged in, the edits are just assigned to your (potentially random) IP address). You can also view all your contributions by clicking the "My contributions" link, which is only visible when you are logged in.
You will have your own user page where you can write a bit about yourself. While Tardis Wiki is not a homepage provider, you can use this to display a three images, write about your hobbies, etc. Members may use their user page to maintain a list of the articles they are most proud of, or to collect other valuable information from the wiki.
You will also have a permanent user talk page you can use to communicate with other users. You will be notified whenever someone writes a message on your talk page.
(Once you add your e-mail address, if you choose to enable this option, other users will also be able to contact you by e-mail indirectly. This feature is anonymous; the user who emails you will not know your e-mail address.)
Identity implications[[edit source]]
If you are not logged in, all your edits are publicly associated with your IP address at the time of that edit. If you log in, all your edits are publicly associated with your account name, and are internally associated with your IP address.
The privacy implications of this vary, depending on the nature of your Internet Service Provider, local laws and regulations, and nature and quantity of your edits to the Tardis Wiki. Be aware that Tardis Wiki technologies and policies may fluctuate.
Opinions differ on the desirability of perfect anonymity. Some people believe that anonymity is synonymous with a lack of accountability, or may facilitate unproductive behaviour, or that contributing without a fixed identity is disempowering and unpleasant. Such people consider that creating an account and logging in may resolve such feelings.
New editing options[[edit source]]
There are many features of the MediaWiki software (which powers Tardis Wiki, as well as Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects) that are only available to registered users.
For example, registered users can mark edits as "minor". Minor edits can be filtered from the list of recent changes. We do not give the privilege to mark edits as minor to anonymous users because we do not know who is behind a given IP address at any time, so we cannot build a basis of trust. (Marking edits as minor if they are not is considered to be underhanded.)
Minor edits are small edits, such as fixing punctuation or spacing issues; any significant additions of content is not considered a minor edit.
One very important feature which active contributors will likely use a lot are Followed pages. You will now be able to "follow" any page you view, and have the option to automatically follow every page you've worked on.
Some important pages are locked, so that only registered users can touch them. Additionally, only registered users are allowed to move (which is to say, rename) pages. You also need to be logged in order to upload images.
For these reasons, and so many others, we strongly encourage you to make an account. Come join us at Special:CreateAccount!
