Help:User access levels

All Memory Alpha archivists have access to read and contribute. In addition, Memory Alpha founders have administrator and bureaucrat access. They can make any other user on Memory Alpha an administrator, bureaucrat, or give the rollback ability. A number of special user roles also exist on Memory Alpha with advanced user rights, in order to help prevent spam and vandalism. Below is a description of these rights.

All users
Anyone can read Memory Alpha as well as create new pages and edit unprotected pages, including users without a user account. Any non-banned user is free to create a user account.

Logged-in users
Users who have created an account and logged in (this is free and requires a username, password, e-mail address and birth date) can:


 * customize the appearance and features of Memory Alpha by setting their preferences
 * maintain an article watchlist
 * mark their own contributions as minor edits
 * upload an image or other file to Memory Alpha

Logged in users who have accounts four days old are given the "autoconfirmed" user right.

Autoconfirmed users can move/rename pages and edit semi-protected pages.

A user with a confirmed e-mail address can enable e-mail messages from other users, and can request lost passwords.

Administrators
Administrators are trusted users who are generally chosen by the community and can:


 * delete pages and page histories. They can also undelete a previously deleted page, or undelete specific revisions of it.
 * delete and undelete uploaded images and other files.
 * rename pages in the File: namespace
 * lock (protect) a page so it cannot be edited or renamed by users without admin rights.
 * block an IP address or user name from editing.
 * revert bad edits more easily using a "rollback" link which appears on diff pages and user contributions lists.
 * edit the MediaWiki namespace to make changes to the interface.

For more details, see the Administrators' how-to guide at Wikia.

Bureaucrats
A bureaucrat can make other users into bureaucrats, and can grant and revoke administrator and rollback rights for users on their Memory Alpha. Unlike, Memory Alpha's bureaucrats cannot grant and revoke "bot" status or rename user accounts.

Please contact a member of the Wikia Community Team if the community decides bureaucrat access should be removed from a user.

Bots
A "bot" is any automated process, program, or script that make it easier for a user to make tedious or repetitive edits on a wiki. When a bot makes many edits in quick succession, the recent changes log can sometimes be overtaken by quick and repetitive edits, making it harder to spot more substantial edits by regular users. Giving an account a "bot flag" will hide these edits from the Recent Changes list (although any editor can still choose to see them by clicking "show bots").

On Memory Alpha, a user who wishes to use a bot should set up a separate account for it, then talk with other users (using discussion pages or forums) about whether the types of edits the bot makes should be hidden. This depends on the bot's purpose, and how well the bot user is trusted by the community.

If the community agrees that the bot account should be flagged, contact the Wikia Community Team with a link to the discussion and the bot flag will be added.

For more information on using and making bots, see or Pywikipediabot.

Rollback permission
Anyone can revert vandalism and bad-faith edits, but it takes a couple of clicks in the page history to get it done. Users with the "rollback" permission are able to undo bad edits with one click, by using the rollback link on diff pages, the user contributions list, or the list of recent changes. They are just like logged-in users, only with one extra button.

It's important to note that sysops already have the rollback ability, so it doesn't need to be granted separately. Rollback is designed for helpful users who are not sysops but could use the tool to combat bad-faith edits.

Bureaucrats can give or revoke users' rollback rights by using Special:UserRights.

How do I grant rollback or admin rights?
A bureaucrat can grant or revoke rollback rights for non-administrators through Special:UserRights. Bureaucrats can also turn other users into admins or bureaucrats using Special:UserRights. While bureaucrats can remove admins, only staff can remove bureaucrat rights. There is a link to UserRights on the list of special pages, which is always available in the toolbox in the sidebar menu. Sysops have the rollback ability by default, so adding rollback to administrators grants no additional rights.

First enter the user's name (capitalization matters!) and click "Edit User Groups". The form shown at the right will be made available. Select the appropriate right(s) under "Groups you can change", fill in "Reason for change", and click "Save User Groups". Make sure you're giving rights to the right person by checking the links to the user page and the contributions! Once you save the form, a confirmation message will display which groups the user is now in, and the change in rights will be recorded at Special:Log/rights.

The user gains administrator access immediately. There is a link to the user's talk page on the form &ndash after receiving the confirmation, you may wish to use this to notify and congratulate the user.

Helpers
Helpers consist of contractors and volunteer interns who are working for Wikia. They have administrator access to all Wikia wikis.

See Wikia Helper Group for more info, or Special:Listusers/helper for a list.

Staff
User in the staff group are Wikia employees and they have full access to all Wikia wikis, including Memory Alpha. They will be shown in Special:Listusers/staff on any Wikia wiki. Please see Contacting Wikia for details on how to contact Wikia staff.