Rainverse Wiki:Webcomics Independent Wiki List

Webcomic Wikis

The main page contains a table, reproduced above, linking to other webcomic-related wikis that are independent of Fandom and other evil hosts. The exact same list is currently also present on the main pages of Pandora's Tale Wiki and Widdershins Wiki, though it is possible the Rainverse Wiki version of the list might differ from those on other wikis in the future.

The purpose of this page is to document the current practices for inclusion on the list, and allow discussion to adjust the criteria to something the wiki community as a whole wants.

The current criteria for listing

To be listed in the table, a wiki must satisfy all of the following conditions. These criteria have been in effect since June 2024.

  1. The site must be a wiki.
  2. The wiki must be about one or more webcomics.
  3. The creature or organization managing the technical backend must be non-evil.
    1. In more detail, this means
      1. Editorial decisions should rest with the editing community, not the host.
      2. The editing community should have the ability to request technical changes to the site and expect help from the host, within the legal, technical, and financial limits of the host.
      3. The host must not insert LLM-generated nonsense into wiki articles.
      4. The host must not attempt to prevent the wiki community from migrating to a different host if the community so desires, either through technical or legal methods.
        1. Technical methods of preventing migration include Fandom's practice of keeping an old copy of departing wikis on their site, Reddit and Github's method of using an undocumented proprietary format for storing data to prevent it from being imported, or several services' practice of refusing to allow data exports at all.
        2. Legal methods of restricting migration include Fextralife's Terms of Service granting Fextralife ownership of all wiki text and prohibiting anyone from reposting it.
      5. The host must not be a bigot.
    2. Currently, examples of "evil" hosts that are disqualified from listing are Amazing Wikis, Fandom, Fextralife, Github, Neoseeker, and Reddit.
  4. The Rainverse Wiki community must agree to add a wiki to the list. This agreement can come in the form of an informal request (such as a Matrix message) or a formal Request for Comment. If a user disagrees with the result of an informal discussion, they may call a formal vote.
  5. One or more admins of the wiki to be listed must explicitly give the Rainverse Wiki permission to list their wiki. This list is "opt-in."

Non-requirements

The following criteria are not and have never been requirements for inclusion on the list, but one or more creature has mistakenly thought they were requirements.

  1. Reciprocity: Listed wikis are not required to link back to other listed wikis. The list was partially inspired by NIWA, and NIWA requires all member wikis to link to all other member wikis. However, we are not NIWA. Of the wikis on the list, only three currently link to other listed wikis.
  1. Use of MediaWiki: Though most listed wikis use MediaWiki, this is not a requirement. In particular, Pepper & Carrot Wiki does not use MediaWiki.

The former requirements for listing

These requirements were used prior to 16 June 2024. They are listed here as a historical reference.

  1. The site must be a wiki.
  2. The wiki must be about one or more webcomics.
  3. The creature or organization managing the technical backend must be non-evil.
    1. In more detail, this means
      1. Editorial decisions should rest with the editing community, not the host.
      2. The editing community should have the ability to request technical changes to the site and expect help from the host, within the legal, technical, and financial limits of the host.
      3. The host must not insert LLM-generated nonsense into wiki articles.
      4. The host must not attempt to prevent the wiki community from migrating to a different host if the community so desires, either through technical or legal methods.
        1. Technical methods of preventing migration include Fandom's practice of keeping an old copy of departing wikis on their site, using an undocumented proprietary format for storing data to prevent it from being imported, or refusing to allow data exports at all.
        2. Legal methods of restricting migration include Fextralife's Terms of Service granting Fextralife ownership of all wiki text and prohibiting anyone from reposting it.
      5. The host must not be a bigot.
    2. Currently, examples of "evil" hosts that are disqualified from listing are Amazing Wikis, Fandom, Fextralife, Github, Neoseeker, and Reddit.
  4. 183231bcb must think the wiki is of sufficiently high quality to recommend.
  5. One or more admins of the wiki must explicitly give 183231bcb permission to list them. This list is "opt-in."

Non-requirements

The following criteria have never been requirements for inclusion on the list, but one or more creature has mistakenly thought they were requirements.

  1. Reciprocity: Listed wikis are not required to link back to other listed wikis. The list was partially inspired by NIWA, and NIWA requires all member wikis to link to all other member wikis. However, we are not NIWA. Of the eight webcomic wikis on the list, only three currently link to other listed wikis.
  1. Use of MediaWiki: Though most listed wikis use MediaWiki, this is not a requirement. In particular, Pepper & Carrot Wiki does not use MediaWiki.

A brief history of the Webcomics Independent Wiki List

In November 2023, 183231bcb got the idea to compile a list of webcomic-related wikis that are either independently-hosted or on "good" hosts. She asked admins of several webcomic wikis she knew of if they would be okay with her listing their wikis, and she added the relevant table to the main page of Pandora's Tale Wiki.

The admins of Widdershins Wiki not only agreed to be listed, they gave 183231bcb permission to add a copy of the list to the main page of Widdershins Wiki. 183231bcb is not and has never been an admin of Widdershins Wiki, and she expected the admins might have their own opinions about criteria for listing wikis on their homepage. However, the Widdershins Wiki admins never expressed such a preference, and no one except 183231bcb made any edits to the list. Consequently, the version of the list on Widdershins Wiki remains exactly the same as that on Pandora's Tale Wiki.

Shortly after Rainverse Wiki forked from Fandom, 183231bcb asked AwesomeGamerX, the only bureaucrat at the time, for permission to copy the list onto the main page of Rainverse Wiki, and AwesomeGamerX agreed.

Since then, 183231bcb has continued to update the list with exactly the same information on all three wikis. Despite Rainverse Wiki gaining new editors, no one else edited the list or told 183231bcb to change it.

Starting in June 2024, following a discussion on Matrix, changes to the list must be approved by the wiki community, and 183231bcb no longer has any special role in deciding what wikis to list.

On 25 July 2024, the Webcomic Independent Wiki List got its own web page and gemini page hosted separately from any of the wikis. That version of the list is solely maintained by 183231bcb, and might differ from the version on Rainverse Wiki in the future.

Retrieved from "https://rainverse.wiki/wiki/Rainverse_Wiki:Webcomics_Independent_Wiki_List?oldid=35262"