Please read through the policy below to familiarize yourself with our common practices and rules.
If you have any questions, suggestions, or complaints, please post them on the talk page.
Over the years, Memory Alpha's host, Fandom, has introduced several features that serve to separate you from the wikitext that controls the output of pages. Archivists are responsible for the changes to the database that are made in their name, including any errors Fandom's features may introduce. To avoid having your edits reverted or being blocked for things outside of your control, Memory Alpha recommends you read this page and implement our recommended changes to your default preferences.
Logged in users can change their default editor in their editing preferences. Memory Alpha strongly encourages you to use the "source editor," so you can use our standard formatting templates and wikitext markup. The templates were made to standardize formatting, and Fandom's other editors make it harder for users to see the formatting already used on the page, and thus use it themselves. Use of the VisualEditor is strongly discouraged, as that editor adds unwanted wikitext into pages without the editor's knowledge. Edits made with the VisualEditor may be summarily reverted due to this.
Memory Alpha encourages you to check the box disabling the category module in your editing preferences. The category module makes it possible to add categories through a button on the bottom of a page instead of having to enter the editor. However, while using the category module, you can neither change the order of categories nor add or remove sort keys. For these reasons, it is strongly recommended that you disable the category module and take the few extra seconds to open the editor when adding categories to ensure they are added correctly.
Memory Alpha includes several CSS and JavaScript files called "gadgets" which can be enabled through your preferences. These gadgets have a variety of effects, adding various styles and elements while removing others. We recommend you look through them and choose what suits you. We particularly recommend that you enable the gadgets that simplify the page layout by removing elements such as the "add new page" link, the fan feed, the global footer, the "new images" rail, and the few ads shown to logged-in users.