RuneScape:Frequently asked questions

Below is a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) about 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.

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. 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 RuneScape?
Yes. Everything on this site (or wiki) is entirely 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 a 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. The level of detail permissible and encouraged here would be rapidly deleted fancruft is not allowed on Wikipedia. Think of this as a RuneScape 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 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 post on the Yew Grove about the article. Redirect the page to an article that it would be best suited to be redirected to, or, most easily, add  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 the forums.

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 are internal links. They link to other pages on the wiki.
 * Purple links are visited links. 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. 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:



would indicate 1,000 characters were added to this article by a user named User, whereas:



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:Common.css/hilite.
 * These users are Wikia staff members. They have administrative and bureaucratic powers across all of Wikia.
 * These users are Wikia helpers and VSTF members. They have administrative powers across all Wikia.
 * These users are bureaucrats. They can do anything administrators can do, plus make users administrators or give users the option to rollback edits.
 * These users are administrators or sysops. They can delete pages, revert edits, and block users.
 * These are bot accounts run by other users. These accounts are used for automated edits and to perform various maintenance tasks.
 * Blue users are either unregistered editors (also known as "IPs"), or registered normal users. Some have rollback abilities.

Note: Not all browsers (i.e. Internet Explorer 6) may show the different coloured names. In such a case, all names will appear blue.

What is the site name? RuneScape Wiki or RuneScape Wikia?
The official site name is the RuneScape Wiki, and it is incorrect to call it the RuneScape Wikia. Accepted abbreviations include RSW and RS WIKI.

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. For more information about Camtasia Studio, click here.

Can I upload pictures of my character onto the Wiki?
No. Any pictures of a user's RuneScape 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.

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. All of the content is owned or copyrighted by each of the individuals who have contributed to writing this content. 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 are equal). There are users who have different access powers (as mentioned above), and we have a founder, Merovingian, although, he is retired. The 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.