Below is a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the Old School RuneScape Wiki or wikis in general. Not all questions can be included here, so feel free to ask any questions on this article's talk page by clicking here.
General FAQs[]
What is a wiki?[]
A wiki is a website that anyone can edit. To let yourself and others enjoy this site to the fullest, please research the facts before posting anything on one. Most wikis are open to the general public without the need to register any user account, as is the case for this wiki. For more information on wikis, check out Wikipedia's wiki article.
A wiki? For OSRS?[]
Yes. Everything on this site (or wiki) is entirely Old School RuneScape-related. We've got skill guides, quest walkthroughs, general guides, and much more. And the best thing about this wiki is that anyone can edit, including you! You do not have to be registered to edit, but you are encouraged to.
Can't I just go on Wikipedia?[]
While Wikipedia has an article on RuneScape, it is very limited as to what they can add. Here, basically anything goes. Wikipedia's RuneScape article is also designed so any reader can learn about the game, whereas this wiki is more for players (OSRS players, concretely). The level of detail permissible and encouraged here would be rapidly deleted fancruft, which is not allowed on Wikipedia. Think of this as a OSRS fansite in a wiki.
Can I make articles about players?[]
Articles about players are not allowed. Sorry, but these articles are often targets for vandalism (e.g. "This player sucks!"). Also, players might not know there is an article about them on a site that anyone can edit, causing them to be concerned about what people are writing about them. It is also very difficult to verify any information except for the raw skill statistics about any given player, so it is best to not make articles about players.
I found an article about a player. What now?[]
Either contact an administrator and ask them to delete the page, or redirect the page to an article that it would be best suited to be redirected to, or, most easily, add {{d|No player articles.}} at the top of the page, so it can be easily seen as a target for deletion without having to tell anybody.
How do I edit?[]
Help:Editing is a good place to start. If you still need help, ask an administrator or other experienced user or post on user help.
What is Wikia?[]
Wikia are wiki communities creating free content with MediaWiki software. These wikis are hosted for free by Wikia, Inc., the company which runs the project. Anyone is free to start a new Wikia wiki in accordance with the creation policy and terms of use.
Wikia was founded by Angela Beesley and Jimmy Wales, originally under the name "Wikicities", in October 2004. It celebrated its first birthday on 2 November, 2005. Wikicities relaunched as "Wikia" in March 2006.
What's with the different coloured links?[]
There are four different coloured links.
- Blue links (or brown links in Wikia, the current default skin) are internal links. They link to other pages on the wiki.
- Purple links are visited links(only in Monobook). If an internal link has been visited before, then it will become purple.
- Red links are pages that have not been created.
- Light blue links are external links (Only in Monobook. In Wikia, the current default skin, external links are still brown). They link to pages on sites outside the wiki.
What do the numbers mean in the recent changes?[]
Some numbers can be seen in the recent changes after the time an edit was made. This number indicates how many characters were added or removed from the article. If the number is red, then characters were removed. If the number is green, then characters were added. If the number is in bold, it means that a lot of characters were either removed or added, indicating a major revision to the article. The coloured numbers, and the bold formatting, help indicate if users are vandalising articles or helping to contribute to them.
For example:
01:23 RuneScape Wiki:Frequently asked questions (diff; hist) . . (+1,000) . . User (Talk | contribs)
would indicate 1,000 characters were added to this article by a user named User, whereas:
01:23 RuneScape Wiki:Frequently asked questions (diff; hist) . . (-1,000) . . User (Talk | contribs)
would indicate 1,000 characters were removed from this article by a user named User.
Why do users have different colours?[]
In the recent changes, there are certain users with their usernames highlighted. The colours show the technical tools and abilities these users have. For a list of different access types, see RuneScape:Administrators For a list of all users with highlighted usernames, see MediaWiki:Wikia.css/hilite.
- Bot accounts are used for automated edits and to perform various maintenance tasks. They can also be administrators.
- AutoWikiBrowser accounts are accounts that use the AutoWikiBrowser to perform semi-automated edits and to perform various maintenance tasks. They can also be administrators.
- Registered users can edit pages, move pages and upload files. Registered editors older than 4 days can also edit semi-protected pages. Registered users might also be a part of the custodian usergroup or have access to the rollback tool.
- Red links indicate any of the above users who have not created a user page.
- Blue IP addresses indicate an unregistered contributor. They can edit pages, but cannot upload images or edit semi-protected pages.
Note: Not all browsers (i.e. Internet Explorer 6) may show the different coloured names. In such a case, all names will appear blue.
How do I make an animation?[]
Different than just taking a still-shot, a specific type of software is used to make an animation. Camtasia Film Studios is such a program.
Can I upload pictures of my character onto the Wiki?[]
No. Any pictures of a user's OSRS character may not be uploaded onto the wiki unless it will be used in an article. If an image is uploaded just to be used on a userpage, it will be deleted. If you'd like to have pictures of your character on your userpage, feel free to use ImageShack or Photobucket.
Who owns this site? Who is the site leader?[]
Officially, Wikia owns the servers that runs this site, but they essentially let us be independent as a community and do as we please. For a full list of individuals who have helped to write any given page, click on the "history" button at the top of each page.
But as for this site having a leader (elected or not), we have none (per the policy All editors have equal status). There are users who have different access powers (as mentioned above), and we have a founder, Joeytje50. The Old School RuneScape Wiki is not run by a leader, webmaster, president, or anything of the sort.
Is there a way to download a version of this site for offline use?[]
All wikis are made available for download. These downloads are called database dumps, and Wikia generates these dumps on a weekly basis. To download individual and multiple pages, use Special:Export. To dump the entire wiki, see Special:Statistics under the "Database dumps" section. For more information about database dumps, see Help:Database download.