Wikis vs. Blogs

In most of the witchcraft or pagan aminos, a wiki is basically a folder on a particular subject matter that is really expected to be substantiated on some level. This is what some people consider to be “VPGs”, or “verified personal gnosis”. Basically this just means it can be backed up with historical and reputable sources.

Blogs, on the other hand, are more general and can be informational, as with wikis, but can also be personal opinions or beliefs, questions – really anything, as long as it remains “on topic” and within the guidelines.  

The Wiki section is a collection of approved wiki entries created by our about relevant topics to our community that are informative, complete and backed by appropriate sources. This is a great place to find information about different deities, practices, tips and other topics. This is basically like our online Book of Shadows for the community, so please don’t be afraid to add to it, but please know that, much like Wikipedia, it will be reviewed for accuracy and validated.

Image Posts(If Available)

Image posts are just that. Strictly images, so if you want to say something about the image, choose the Blog option.

Link Posts(If Available)

Link posts feature a link from another site. So if you've found an article that you think would be interesting or beneficial for the community, do a Link post. You will have a place to say a little something about the post and why you think it's worth sharing. Link posts will automatically also populate a snippet of the article.

Quizzes

Due to the fact we have newer practitioners in this community, please be sure that any educational quizzes that are created are based on reputable sources. As with wikis, content will be reviewed to ensure our are getting correct information.

For any other type of post not mentioned that you may have questions on, please feel free to ask one of the of the leadership team.

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Citing Sources

First, from a general perspective as an online community of the Amino app platform, we need

to be compliant with copyright laws. So, from the most basic of expectations, we do ask that

anything used in a post that is not yours - image, information or otherwise - properly credits the author, artist or source of the information.

Second, and more specific to our community, we deal with subject matters that have the potential for causing harm and leading practitioners astray - in particular, to those new to their magickal practice or pagan path.

The pagan and magickal communities deal with what often is referred to as Verified Personal Gnosis (VPG), Unverified Personal Gnosis (UPG), and Shared Unverified Personal Gnosis (SPG).

In a nutshell, VPG is essentially something that can be backed up with reputable and historical sources. UPG is information based on personal experiences, feelings or beliefs that are different form historical literature and teaching. SPG is similar to UPG except we're now talking about a group of people with a similar viewpoint, yet still not backed by historical sources.

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Now, please note, all of this is OK!

However, this is where citing sources becomes crucial. We want to give everyone the courtesy and respect to let them be clear as to where the information is coming from so that they can make their own informed choices as to whether or not to embrace or use that information.

With that said, we are not looking for college-level writing, referencing and sourcing, but we do, however, ask for the following:

Images

Images can be cited either directly onto the image via the Image Caption option, or stated within the post.

1. If the image is yours (e.g, you took the photo, you drew the picture) please say so in the post or on the Image Caption. With the increase in technical advances, it is not always readily

obvious that it is yours.

2. If you know the artist, please cite him/her and the site it was retrieved from. If you don't know the artist, the link to the site will suffice.

3. Gifs from Giphy can be cited simply as 'from 'from Giphy'. FYI, gifs provided directly through Amino come from Giphy.

4. All other sources should provide the website or title of hard copy it's from.

Informational Posts (e.g. Blogs, wikis, quizzes) :

1. Your own views - when imparting information that is UPG or SPG, please say so. Please be respectful of the reader in making it clear this is your opinion and not source-based fact.

2. Hard copy sources - name of the book and author is fine.

3. Internet sources - please provide links.

4. Copying and pasting directly from a source -

We prefer you not directly copy and paste from a site. Rather, if you want to share the information, you can just do a Link post and link the article, story, etc; however, should you decide it's absolutely needed to copy and paste something, then you must:

    1) Be clear in your post that this is not your work and you are taking it from another author

    2) Cite the source including the link.

Thank you, everyone and please let us know if you have any questions!

Images from Giphy. Cover image made in Canva.