Administrators on the Nintendo Wiki can protect pages, which will restrict certain users from editing certain pages. There are two tiers of protection:
- Full protection: Disables anyone from editing except administrators and content moderators. Includes pages such as certain help pages, any pages marked with {{historical}}, and so forth.
- Semi-protection: Makes it to where people who aren't users can not edit. Includes the main page, popular pages, and most pages that are linked from the main page.
Why do articles become protected?[]
The main reason is spammers, namely people who advertise. They advertise on Nintendo Wiki in hopes that people will click the link, which each time gives them money from the website they are advertising for. If you find a page with these ads on them (you'll know when (and if) you do), please notify an active administrator, so that they will not only delete the ads, but also possible protect the page if they feel that it needs to be protected from future attacks.
It should also be noted that some people create new pages and start adding ads. If you come across a page such as this, then, again, notify active admins and tell them.
You can tell if the pages are protected by looking at padlock icons on the Head template, which is located at the top of the page.