Why?:Register on Uncyclopedia

Why?  This article is part of Uncyclopedia's Why? series. See more Why's?

So you decided to visit this site for the first time. Maybe you even made a minor edit here or there, or your first attempt at creating an article (wiki page in the mainspace). You probably don't even know what Mainspace is yet, nor the difference between "mainspace" and "userspace". Has anybody directed you to the Beginner's Guide for Uncyclopedians yet? No? That is probably because you have not "registered" on this site, and are still just a lowly IP.

What do you mean by IP?

Your contributions, as an unregistered user, are recorded in the page history by your IP (internet protocol) address number. This is a series of 4 numbers, each of the numbers ranging from 0 to 255. As an unregistered user, we know nothing about you, except by your contributions and their quality (or lack thereof). IPs are the next to lowest rank on the proverbial Uncyclopedia totem pole. (Vandals, spambots and blankers are the lowest rank, and are subject to ban on sight). You are effectively anonymous, although a whois lookup can give more insight into you, should anyone on the internet wish to know, and if your boss uses static IP for their workplace computers, you are busted since your boss knows the IP of those work computers. Unless you can find someone else to blame at work, of course. But that, too is useless unless you have wiped your browser history and cache, since the browser history will clearly show what time of day you used their business computers for your entertainment, you naughty employee you. IP addresses can be shared by multiple persons, such as library patrons and students, and in rare cases, even by an entire country. As a result, it is useless for us to leave any messages for unregistered users, except to encourage them to register. As a result, the first warning on various offenses here may be a one-day ban rather than a talk page message. If this applies to you, please don't take it personally, just come back tomorrow and register.

What are talk pages?

Every page of this wiki has a discussion page, and every page corresponding to a username has a talk page. Even our forum, the Village Dump, has talk pages, but those are not used and content on them will be automatically deleted. Even IP user pages have talk pages. However, information on IP user talk pages is erased on sight, except for messages encouraging IPs to register. We use user talk pages, page history summaries (shown at the bottom of every page that you edit is a box where you can type a summary of your edit), and the Village Dump to communicate with each other. Communication is essential to getting along with the admins and fellow Uncyclopedians, and essential to receiving any assistance with your writing and editing. If you do not register, it is possible someone may assume you are uninterested in communication, and do not wish to improve, so if you make repeated low quality edits, you are likely to find yourself the subject of a temporary ban. Ban explanations are also typically not given on IP talk pages, unlike Wikipedia. Instead, as an IP, you should read the summary of the ban to find out the reason for your temporary ban. Unlike Wikipedia, we do not give cryptic ban summaries citing the letter and number of the policy. (So if you see us citing letters and numbers, we are as likely as not to be playing Bingo.)

What is the difference between "mainspace" and "userspace" and why should I care?

Mainspace refers to pages in the main part of Uncyclopedia. When you search for pages, you can choose what area of Uncyclopedia to search in. The default is Main. Users who have registered with Uncyclopedia have their own personal sandbox called "Userspace". This allows registered users to save pages they are working on for an indefinite amount of time. If you have not registered, content in IP userspace is automatically removed, because typically unregistered users do not return to finish their work. IP works in progress may be placed in the mainspace with a {{construction}} tag, provided at least one paragraph has been completed. If however, as is the case 90% of the time, nobody returns to complete the article page, the article will be deleted 7 days after work stops on them. Should a construction or WIP or ICU tag be removed before the page is complete, the page may be deleted. Registered users may also petition admins to have work restored to their userspace for further work. Unregistered users do not have the privilege of userspace, so will not have their work restored until they register.

Will I get spammed if I register?

When you register, you have the option to either leave the box checked for email notifications, or uncheck the box. Wikia Fandom may send registered users updates on pages they have edited across Fandom if they opt in by checking the box, or may send password reset information to the email address you provide. If you do not provide an email address, no reset password link can be sent. Please read Wikia Fandom's Privacy policy at the bottom of any page for updated details, including details about Fandom website advertising. The Uncyclopedia admins will never send you unsolicited email. We dislike advertisements as much as you do, unless you are an advertiser (in which case, please contact Fandom with your payment offer: unsolicited unpaid advertisements and SEO keyword spamming will be deleted upon sight or mutated into a page making fun of your product/service and your account banned for spam). If you have any questions on privacy on any of Fandom's wikis, please contact Wikia Fandom at Special:Contact.

What if I pick the wrong username when I register?

If your username does not comply with the Terms of Use, or appears to match vandal/spambot patterns, it will be rejected and permabanned by the admins, but you may choose another username and re-register with the new username. (Vandals and spambots will simply be banned again by tireless admins and Fandom staff until they go away.) Uncyclopedia's username database has been merged with the username database across Fandom, so if you have already registered on another Wikia Fandom wiki, you can log in to Uncyclopedia with that username and password. If you wish to change the username you have registered with on Uncyclopedia or Fandom, please contact Wikia Fandom. To prevent mischief from rogue admins, Uncyclopedia admins are unable to make this change for you, as much as we may occasionally wish to.

What if I forget my password after I register?

If you provided your email address when you registered, Wikia Fandom can help you reset your password. If not....you will need to re-register with a new username and stop using the old username. Please let the admins know if this is the case so that we do not mistake you for a sockpuppet.