Shame on Wikia

Did you know that there’s an awesome wiki full of all kinds of information about Golarion, the Pathfinder campaign setting? It’s called the Pathfinder Wiki. It’s at

But if you search for it, you are instead likely to find pages from, the “Golariopedia.”  What’s up with that?  Just two different projects run by different folks?  Nope.

The Pathfinder Wiki crew started off on Wikia, the free wiki hosting service.  Then after a bunch of technology and policy changes they wanted to move off, and did.  So all the people who know what’s up are contributing content on the Pathfinder Wiki.

So they tried to close down their Wikia wiki.  Nope, Wikia won’t allow it. They tried to post on their wiki’s front page saying the project has moved.  Wikia deletes those messages without fail.  Basically so that they get the page views, I guess, Wikia is censoring what is supposed to be an open wiki to keep the content and unaware visitors on their site.

Go look at the recent changes on “Golariopedia” – just spam and crap.Of course, every once in a blue moon their deceive some new person to create an ID and submit some content, since they leverage Wikia’s reach to have better SEO than the real wiki.

So shame on you, Wikia.  If you don’t want projects to leave you, be better.  But holding onto the content and censoring mention of projects leaving you?  That’s evil.  Stop it. It’s deceptive and there’s more than enough of that on the Web without someone who used to be respectable contributing to it.

For the reader – use, and link to, the real Pathfinder Wiki.  Maybe we can reclaim the search engine rank for the real deal.

10 responses to “Shame on Wikia

  1. Can I second your derision of wikia? It’s a terrible platform, cluttered with ads* and some of the most stringent policies. I wince every time I find that the only reliable wiki for a game/series/whatever is on wikia.

    *I get that ads are necessary for their service, and that’s fine. However, their ads are highly intrusive and resource intensive; two or three flash videos on each page is not cool, bro.

  2. brandingopportunity

    Thanks for your blog post. As one of the admins for PathfinderWiki, it’s been a hard but healthy transition to the new servers, but we’re glad to be away from wikia. Now we don’t have to worry about unexpected and unwelcome format changes, intrusive and obnoxious ads, and meddlesome wikia staff. Sure, we have to pay for the server traffic ourselves, but it’s worth it. Now we just have to figure out how to get rid of all the stupid spammers!

    Speaking of which, if any “Geek Related” readers who use PathfinderWiki would like to help us out, there is a “donate” button on our home page. I can promise that any donation goes toward our server bills. Sorry for the hard sell.

  3. I wish people would stop using the word “censorship” so loosely and as a blanket/catch-all term. The only people that can engage in censorship is the government. Private parties cannot engage in censorship. I will illustate this.

    Say a bookstore has made a decision not to sell RPG books or adult magazines. This decision is a company decision. This decision could either have been made by the company on their own accord, or it could be in response to negative press/attention convincing them that it was in their best interests not to sell RPG books and adult magazines.

    If the government (either local, state, or federal) has decided that RPG books and adult magazines are now contraband (contraband meaning illegal to possess) because the government has determined that RPG books lead to more Satanic behavior and that adult magazines lead to rape and violence against women (or any other far fetched reason), then that IS CENSORSHIP. The bookstore is not making the decision on their own, as a business matter, they are not selling the books because the government has told them not to sell them with a penalty for non-compliance.

    Yes, I use a crazy extreme example but that is what real censorship is. Now as far as wikia goes you’re absolutely right. Shame on them for their unethical and deceptive and misleading practices. Definitely boycott them and educate people on the reality of the situation and by all means look for alternatives.

  4. OH a wise ass making a point. Fine it’s textbook censoring
    Then go ahead, contact the people that run wiki and whine with all the nerd rage about how it’s censorship and that it’s bullshit. Watch how little they care.

    In fact, I bet anything the people that run Wikia will respond by you the ultra fine legalese print buried in a ToS or EULA or whatever they want to call it that conveyed to you exactly how things work on their end and that if you used their service, you accepted the terms.

    While I do not agree with what Wikia is doing on a personal level, Wikia has NOT violated anybody’s civil rights. They have not CENSORED anybody in a legal matter than they can be charged with. Instead of whining censorship, do what everybody else does when business does something crappy…and that is shut up and take your business elsewhere.

    This is why I’d like to see things like SOPA pass. So that people can see what REAL censorship is. So that people can see what the difference is between REAL gov’t mandated CENSORSHIP and a private business determining what they find acceptable and not. Pay more attention to reading legal books and following cases that actually do things like set precedent rather than looking in dictionaries to make yourselves sound witty and smart. People are also terribly confused what “fair use” is, and what constitutes “ownership”, but that’s another argument.

    While I do not agree with what Wikia is doing on a personal level, Wikia has NOT violated anybody’s civil rights. They have not CENSORED anybody in a legal matter that they can be charged with. Instead of whining censorship, do what everybody else does when business does something crappy…and that is shut up and take your business elsewhere. I’m sure Wikia does not care.

  5. typical now on the internet… nobody needs to actually learn anything to consider anybody’s opinion…just use insults like troll and little snarky one liner bullshit like butthurt.

    But ignore the point I make. Ignore it because you don’t like it. Speaking of butthurt I think the people on here like yourself need to take their butthurt fueled nerd rage to Wikia. Go protest Wikia. Go tell them how you’ll whine and share your butthurt with others about how you’ll never use Wikia and all that. Go threaten as only internet tards can threaten, how you’ll start all these Wikia alternatives that won’t mean a damn thing.

    Or why don’t you go ask Wikia for a copy of their ToS/EULA. I’m sure that it’s plain as day if you nerds understood legalese. I’m sure it’s well understood that you simply using Wikia meant you agreed to their terms and conditions.

    And unless you can prove those terms and conditions really violated your civil liberties and constitutional rights.. you don’t have a single leg to stand on.

    Instead of being a bunch of butthurt nerds, why don’t you guys actually DO something substantive about what Wikia is doing? Oh that’s right you can’t and you won’t. You can’t do anything because you don’t have a legal leg to stand on, and you won’t because to do anything substantive like boycott and really protest you’d have to actually get off your asses and mobilize and organize. It’s far easier to sit and just sound witty with snarky ass comments.

    And while I do not agree with the decisions they are making, I do however find it very funny. I think it’s about time that businesses start showing complacent sheeple (like you people) exactly how little you mean and where you stand. But don’t worry.. just focus on witty and snarky remarks and ignore the real solution..that will always make the issue go away right? Idiots.

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