Uncyclopedia:Why create an account?

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You do not have to log in to read and laugh at Uncyclopedia and some of its counterparts, nor is a registered account required to edit many Uncyclopedia articles; almost anyone can edit almost any article at any given time, even without logging in. When not logged in to an account, by default a person edits by their IP address, assigned by their internet service provider (ISP). Nevertheless, creating an account is quick, free, and non-intrusive, and it is generally considered a neutral idea to do so for a variety of reasons.

Editing is easier[edit]

Uncyclopedia is open to every editor, registered or not. However, creating an account makes it simpler for you to edit and to enjoy editing (which doesn't happen very often if you don't have an account).

  • First of all, if an administrator deletes your article, you can ask for a copy back, and after it is improved upon you'll be to restore it in the mainspace[1]. However, if you are not a registered user, you won't have a userspace where the article can hide while it's not complete.
A picture which you could put in your user space.
  • When you have a userspace, you also have a possibility to start any article under a name such as User:<insert name here>/Some article and it normally won't be touched by anyone even if it remains unfinished for years (that happens). On the contrary, when you don't have a user space, this means that you don't have a username either, which usually happens when you are not a registered user.
  • "Watchlist comes with registering," - once said a wise man and since then nobody has managed to prove him wrong. A watchlist is a list of pages you are following (normally those to which you made an edit), that can help you track down any edits made to your article, as well as the editor who made them, and, believe me, this will make your vendetta a lot easier. If you are struggling to track down such changes, it is possible that you are not a registered user.
  • Some articles on this wiki have been protected from editing. In some cases it happened because of your edits, and in some - no. If you were not the cause of an article being protected,[2] if you register, you will probably be able to edit it. If not, you might not be a registered user.

Feedback and communication[edit]

Imagine you have written an article (don't worry, that's not fatal) and would like to get some comments on how funny it is. If have an account that goes with the article, then you'll also have a talk page reserved for you only, where other users will be able to leave their feedback and where you could ask for help with anything. As you've already guessed, if you haven't received any feedback as of yet, you are probably not a registered user.

Since the moment you make the first step towards being an Uncyclopedian till the second you retire, other users will be able to refer to you using your username and not your IP address (which may be the same for several users, while everyone's username is unique). But if you see that other refer to you by your IP address, the odds are good you are not a registered user.

Recognition[edit]

Unfortunately, anonymous users cannot get any awards. Normally, they are given to people who try to make Uncyclopedia better, make Uncyclopedia better, to good writers, to very good writers, etc., etc., etc. In case you haven't got any awards, honours or privileges, consider the possibility of you not being a registered user.

Finally, if you edit a page while logged in, the page history will record you and not your IP address. Like that, you'll be able to prove ownership of any article you create, but this might not work as well in case you are not a registered user.

Privacy[edit]

You are actually more anonymous logged in than you are as an "anonymous" editor, owing to the hiding of your IP address, even though it still could be traced by the administrators. The implications of your IP getting known will vary. In other words, if you suddenly find yourself in any strange place on the Earth or elsewhere, ask yourself: "Am I a registered user?"

Footnotes[edit]

  1. Every article which is located in the main encyclopaedia, for instance Dark Science, is a mainspace page; everything which has a certain prefix to its name, such as this page - Uncyclopedia:Why create an account? is not one
  2. Some pages are protected against everyone except for administrators just because they are so important (pages - that is, not the administrators)

See also[edit]