# NetHackWiki:Protected page
NetHackWiki is a free community where anyone should be able to participate. Thus, almost without exception, every page features an "edit" tab allowing anyone to make changes or leave a comment. However, sometimes you will encounter a protected page which you cannot edit. In such cases, the administrators of NetHackWiki have decided to lock the page.
If you cannot edit the page, then what can you do?

Leave a comment. Use the "discussion" tab to reach the "talk page", then edit and leave a comment. For example, you could ask another user to edit the protected page. Or discuss the situation in the Community Portal.
Login. Some pages are only protected against unregistered users, usually to counter vandalism. Users with registered accounts can still edit. So create a user account and login. (If you already have a Wikia or Memory Alpha account, then it works here.) Note that new users may need to a wait a few days before they can edit these pages.
Some pages are only semi-protected, which means your account needs to be a few days old before you can edit them.
If you later become an administrator, then you will be able to edit protected pages (in addition to protecting and unprotecting them). However, only registered users can become administrators.
Edit a different page. The vast majority of NetHackWiki articles are not protected.
Links
Wikia:Protection explains why administrators sometimes lock a page.
Special:Log/protect records all protection and unprotection events.