{{Hatnote|"Zelda Wiki" redirects here. For other Zelda wikis, see [[Zelda Wiki (Disambiguation)]].}}
{{Infobox Website
{{Infobox Website
|image= [[File:Zwlogo2dlarge.png|200px]][[File:Zeldapedia (2022).png|300px|Screenshot of the Zelda Wiki Main Page]]
|image= [[File:ZW Main Page Latest.png|300px]]
|url= https://zeldapedia.wiki
|caption= Zelda Wiki's homepage
|url= https://zeldawiki.wiki
{{Infofield Collapsible
|Previous domains
|<small>
{{List|
https://zeldapedia.wiki (2022-2023),
https://zelda.fandom.com (2021-2022),
https://zelda.gamepedia.com (2017–2021),
https://zeldawiki.org (2006–2017),
http://zelda.thejasoneffect.net (2006),
http://www.wiki.zeldauniverse.net (2005–2006),
}}
</small>
}}
|language= English
|language= English
|owner=
|owner= [[Project:Staff|{{SITENAME}} staff]] <small>(current)</small><!-- While it would be nice to say that the community owns it (or no one does), the reality is that the domain is registered to [[User:PhantomCaleb]] and Prod answers to no one but [[User:TriforceTony]] -->
|webmaster= [[strategywiki:User:Prod|Prod]], [[Zelda Wiki:Staff|Zelda Wiki Staff]]
|release= April 24, 2005<ref>{{Cite Web|url=https://zeldapedia.wiki/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page&diff=938&oldid=931|title=Zelda Wiki's inaugural edit}}</ref>
|release= April 24, 2005<ref>{{Cite Web|url=https://zeldawiki.wiki/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page&diff=938&oldid=931|title={{SITENAME}}'s inaugural edit}}</ref>
|status= Active
|status= Active
}}
}}
'''Zeldapedia''' is an English encyclopedia dedicated to {{TLoZ|Series}}. Originally started by users of [[Community:Zelda Universe|Zelda Universe]], the wiki (then known as '''Zelda Wiki.org''' and then '''Zelda Wiki''') eventually became a collaborative project between numerous Zelda sites dedicated to create the definitive wiki-based ''Zelda'' source. In 2013, this system was dropped, and Zelda Wiki became wholly owned and operated by the community. The site endured multiple hosts throughout the years. In 2017, the wiki transferred to {{wp|Curse LLC}} and their Gamepedia network, which itself had been acquired by Twitch months ago. Years later, Gamepedia was sold to {{wp|Fandom (website)|Fandom}} by Twitch's owner {{wp|Amazon (company)|Amazon}}, leaving uncertainty in regards to Zelda Wiki's independence status. Four years later, it was announced that Zelda Wiki would be leaving Fandom, in pursue of independence. A fork was initialized, and is currently run by [[strategywiki:User:Prod|Prod]], a longtime collaborator from {{sw|Main Page|StrategyWiki}}.
'''{{SITENAME}}''' is an independent English-language wiki dedicated to {{TLoZ|Series}}. The site is a founding member of the [[Community:Nintendo Independent Wiki Alliance|Nintendo Independent Wiki Alliance]] (NIWA) and the oldest active wiki for the Zelda franchise.
The wiki was founded by members of [[Community:Zelda Universe|Zelda Universe]]. In 2017, Zelda Universe's parent company Linkorporated sold {{SITENAME}} to {{Wp|Curse LLC|Curse}}, whose media assets were in turn acquired by {{wp|Fandom (website)|Fandom}} the following year. On October 19, 2022, {{SITENAME}} [[Zelda Wiki:Fork Announcement|forked away]] from Fandom to reclaim independence.<ref name="Reclaim Independence"/> The site's current domain is owned by members of the [[Zelda Wiki:Staff|{{SITENAME}} staff]]. The wiki's servers are operated by the owner of {{sw|Main Page|StrategyWiki}}, a longtime affiliate and fellow NIWA member.
{{TOC|limit= 3}}
==History==
===2005–2006: Zelda Universe Wiki===
The original '''Zelda Universe Wiki''' ('''ZU Wiki''') was created as an "act of boredom" in April 2005.<ref>[[Special:Diff/1185|Revision ID 1185]] of [[Zelda Wiki:About]]</ref> [[User:Yami|Yami]] and [[User:GoldenChaos|Jess]] suggested the idea in the [[Community:Zelda Universe|ZU]] chat room, where it was created and assembled. The wiki was publicly announced on June 20, 2005.<ref>{{Cite Web |author=GoldenChaos |title=Welcome to the Wiki |url=http://www.zeldauniverse.net/content/view/440/2/ |archive=https://web.archive.org/web/20051113081142/http://www.zeldauniverse.net/content/view/440/2/ |published=June 20, 2005 |retrieved=November 23, 2023 |site=Zelda Universe}}</ref> The Zelda Universe Wiki was quickly filled with information, not only about ''The Legend of Zelda'' series, but also about Zelda Universe and its community. As Zelda Universe Wiki, the site was located at [https://web.archive.org/web/20060603165523/http://wiki.zeldauniverse.net/index.php?title=Category:Zelda&Itemid=434 wiki.zeldauniverse.net].<!--This Wayback Machine URL is the only non-redirect, non-error page from that domain archived in the Wayback Machine.-->
One stated goal of Zelda Universe Wiki was to host Zelda Universe's [https://web.archive.org/web/20050505145601/http://www.zeldauniverse.net:80/main.php?page=encyclopedia Zelda Encyclopedia].<ref>[[Special:Diff/2696|Revision ID 2696]] of [[Zelda Wiki:About]]</ref> The Zelda Encyclopedia was a list of terms from ''The Legend of Zelda'' with short descriptions (1-3 sentences) of what they are, sorted alphabetically. Despite hosting the encyclopedia being one of the stated goals of Zelda Universe Wiki, little (if any) content directly from the encyclopedia appears to have been used to populate the wiki; instead, the wiki appears to have fully superseded the encyclopedia without inheriting any of its content.<!--There is no way to source this, but checking specific entries on the ZU Encyclopedia and corresponding wiki page histories, there don't appear to be any entries that were used to build the wiki pages.-->
===2006–2011: Zelda Wiki.org===
[[File:Zelda Wiki logo 2006.png|thumb|Zelda Wiki.org logo (2006-2011)]]
In September 2006, the wiki was moved to another new server, with a new philosophy and under a new name. The wiki had been experiencing significant downtime, with it being restored on September 9, 2006 at zelda.thejasoneffect.net.<ref name="Update Those Bookmarks">{{Cite Web |author=James |title=Update Those Bookmarks |url=http://www.zeldauniverse.net/content/view/603/1/ |archive=https://web.archive.org/web/20080518151221/http://www.zeldauniverse.net:80/content/view/603/1/ |published=9 September 2006 |retrieved=November 23, 2023 |site=Zelda Universe}}</ref><ref>[[Zelda Wiki:News 2006#Welcome to the new-old wiki|Zelda Wiki News: Welcome to the new-old wiki]] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20080719221427/http://zeldawiki.org/Welcome_to_the_new-old_Wiki%21 archive])</ref> The wiki, now hosted by GoldenChaos's website [https://web.archive.org/web/20070212095134/http://www.thejasoneffect.net/index.php thejasoneffect.net],<ref name="Update Those Bookmarks"/> was initially renamed '''The Zelda Effect''' ('''TZE''') and located at zelda.thejasoneffect.net.<ref name="Making the Dream">[[Zelda Wiki:News 2006#Making the Dream|Zelda Wiki News: Making the Dream]] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20070609183105/http://www.zeldawiki.org/Making_the_Dream archive])</ref><ref name="Two Years">[[Zelda_Wiki:News 2007#Two Years|Zelda Wiki News: Two Years]] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20080719230446/http://zeldawiki.org/Two_Years archive])</ref>
At the time, many ''The Legend of Zelda'' fansites had created their own wikis. The ambition for this new iteration of the wiki was that it would become the definitive wiki for ''The Legend of Zelda'', unifying various fansites by allowing them to adopt it as their own.<ref name="Making the Dream"/><ref>[[Special:Diff/17296|Revision ID 18679]] of [[Zelda Wiki:About]]</ref> Fansites who adopted the wiki as their own wiki were linked on the Main Page, and their webmaster was granted sysop userrights on the wiki.<ref name="Making the Dream"/> The first site other than Zelda Universe to join was [[Community:Zelda Central|Zelda Central]], joining on September 10, the same day the program was announced.<ref name="Rev. 17463">[[Special:Diff/17463|Revision ID 17463]] of [[Main Page]]</ref> This affiliation program later came to be called the "Masterminds" program.
On September 13, 2006, after the announcement of The Zelda Effect and its philosophy, [[User:Lars3@legacy41957169|Lars]] suggested in the comments of the announcement that it would make more sense to call the wiki simply "Zelda Wiki" and purchase the domain zeldawiki.org.<ref>[[Zelda Wiki talk:News 2006#Whoa|Zelda Wiki News Talk: Making the Dream]] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20081007070858/http://zeldawiki.org/Talk:Making_the_Dream archive])</ref><ref name="Two Years"/> On September 16, 2006, the domain zeldawiki.org was registered;<ref>https://www.whois.com/whois/zeldawiki.org</ref> the wiki was moved to zeldawiki.org and renamed '''Zelda Wiki.org''' shortly afterwards.<ref>[[Special:Diff/17296|Revision ID 17296]] of [[Zelda Wiki:About]]</ref><ref name="Wiki gets bigger">{{Cite Web |author=Scott |title=Wiki gets bigger |url=http://www.zeldauniverse.net/content/view/608/1/ |archive=https://web.archive.org/web/20080518151238/http://www.zeldauniverse.net:80/content/view/608/1/ |published=September 17, 2006 |retrieved=November 23, 2023 |site=Zelda Universe}}</ref><ref>[[Zelda Wiki:News 2006#Continuing the Dream|Zelda Wiki News: Continuing the Dream]] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20080719222630/http://zeldawiki.org/Continuing_the_Dream archive])</ref><ref>{{Cite Web |author=GoldenChaos |title=A New Server |url=http://thejasoneffect.net/2006/09/16/a-new-server/ |archive=https://web.archive.org/web/20070304075016/http://thejasoneffect.net/2006/09/16/a-new-server/ |published=September 16, 2006 |retrieved=November 23, 2023 |site=The Jason Effect}}</ref>
Zeldapedia aims to act as a hub for information on {{TLoZ|Series}} — created by users for users, using the anyone-can-edit {{Wp|wiki}} software. The goal is to provide a free, open, in-depth information about ''The Legend of Zelda'' series.
As part of this migration, the site began a rebranding process, to move to a more general ''Zelda'' theme rather than Zelda Universe-specific branding.<ref name="Making the Dream"/> On October 22, 2006, the site was updated with a new design (called "Old Blue") and logo, with the old design retroactively referred to as "ZW.org White".<ref name="The New ZW.org">[[Zelda Wiki:News 2006#The New ZW.org|Zelda Wiki News: The New ZW.org]] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20081008044542/http://zeldawiki.org/The_New_ZW.org archive])</ref> The site now had two logos: a site logo (visible in the top corner of every page) and a main page logo (only used on the main page),<ref name="The New ZW.org"/> both having the appearance of a Triforce design on a glass disc. The main page logo was a flat design created by GoldenChaos with assistance from thoosje,<ref name="Some Logo Development">{{Cite Web |author=GoldenChaos |title=Some Logo Development |url=http://thejasoneffect.net/2006/09/30/some-logo-development/ |archive=https://web.archive.org/web/20070302223137/http://thejasoneffect.net/2006/09/30/some-logo-development/ |published=September 30, 2006 |retrieved=November 23, 2023 |site=The Jason Effect}}</ref> while the site log was an angled rendering with the site's name below it. The glassy design was inspired by the [[wikipedia:Windows Vista|Windows Vista]] user interface.<ref name="Some Logo Development"/>
== History==
In June 2007, Angela Beesley from [[wikipedia:Wikia|Wikia]] approached {{SITENAME}} about potentially merging with their ''The Legend of Zelda'' wiki. After discussion among {{SITENAME}}'s "owners" (the webmasters of the partner fansites), it was unanimously agreed to reject the offer. The two main reasons cited were a loss of independence and the sheer amount of work required to conduct such a merge.<ref>[[Zelda Wiki:News 2007#We're Back!|Zelda Wiki News: We're Back!]] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20070702083501/http://www.zeldawiki.org/We%27re_back%21 archive])</ref>
The original '''Zelda Universe Wiki''' ('''ZUW''') was created as an "act of boredom" in April 2005. [[User:Yami|Yami]] and [[User:GoldenChaos|Jess]] suggested the idea in the [[Community:Zelda Universe|ZU]] chat room, where it was created and assembled. The ZUW was quickly filled with information, not only about ''The Legend of Zelda'' series, but also about Zelda Universe and its community. It was also to be used to host Zelda Universe's '''Zelda Encyclopedia'''. On an older version of ZU, the encyclopedia existed as a list of words from ''The Legend of Zelda'' series with short definitions; with the help of the ZUW, the Zelda Encyclopedia expanded and became much more detailed as well. The Zelda Universe Wiki served Zelda Universe for over a year, before it crashed during a server move.
In September 2006 the Wiki was moved to another new server, with a new philosophy and under a new name. The name initially chosen was '''The Zelda Effect''' ('''TZE'''),<ref><span class="plainlinks">[https://zeldapedia.wiki/wiki/index.php?title=Zelda_Wiki.org:About&diff=prev&oldid=17296 Revision 17296]</span> of [[Zelda Wiki:About]]</ref> however this was quickly changed to '''Zelda Wiki.org''' ('''ZW.org''').<ref><span class="plainlinks">[https://zeldapedia.wiki/wiki/index.php?title=Zelda_Wiki.org%3AAbout&diff=18121&oldid=17468 Revision 17468]</span> of [[Zelda Wiki:About]]</ref> The site was run at the time by the wiki's admin team, as well as the masterminds, a group of webmasters from each accepted fansite.
In November 2007, {{SITENAME}} formed a partnership with [[Community:StrategyWiki|StrategyWiki]], where Strategy Wiki would link to {{SITENAME}} for ''Zelda'' content.<ref>[[strategywiki:Special:Diff/213010|Revision ID 213010]] on [[strategywiki:StrategyWiki:Guide/Partnerships|StrategyWiki:Guide/Partnerships]] at [[Community:StrategyWiki|StrategyWiki]]</ref>
Quality standards at Zelda Wiki are maintained through the Admin team, who ensure that every edit is checked (or "patrolled"). Patrolling began July 8, 2007 when <span class="plainlinks">[https://zeldapedia.wiki/wiki/index.php?title=Building_Your_Timeline&oldid=42608&diff=prev revision 42608]</span> was marked as patrolled.<ref>[https://zeldapedia.wiki/wiki/index.php?title=Special%3ALog&type=patrol&user=&page=Building+Your+Timeline&year=&month=-1&hide_patrol_log=1 Patrol log of the "Building Your Timeline" article]</ref> The practice of patrolling has continued ever since then.
On January 20, 2008, {{SITENAME}} disabled anonymous editing, requiring all users to have an account in order to edit.<ref>[[Zelda Wiki:News 2008#Introducing Four New Community Projects|Zelda Wiki News: Introducing Four New Community Projects]] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20080705173046/http://zeldawiki.org/Introducing_Four_New_Community_Projects archive])</ref>
On January 17, 2011, members of the wiki [[Zelda_Wiki:The Heart Container/Archive 3#Name_Change:_Keep_.22Zelda_Wiki.org.22_or_Become_Simply_.22Zelda_Wiki.22|voted on a name change]] where it was decided that '''Zelda Wiki.org''' ('''ZW.org''') would simply become '''Zelda Wiki''' ('''ZW''').
On August 31, 2008, {{SITENAME}} integrated [[wikipedia:OpenID|OpenID]], allowing users to log into the wiki using their OpenID account instead of creating a separate account on Zelda Wiki.<ref>[[Zelda Wiki:News 2008#Now Supporting OpenID|Zelda Wiki News: Now Supporting OpenID]] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20080913062323/http://www.zeldawiki.org:80/Main_Page archive])</ref> Plans to integrate OpenID on {{SITENAME}} were first announced in April 2007.<ref name="Two Years"/>
Zelda Wiki was soon transferred to {{wp|Curse Inc.}}'s Gamepedia service on March 8, 2017, changing its domain to zelda.gamepedia.com and with many users having to migrate to Gamepedia accounts.<ref>{{Cite Web|url=https://help.fandom.com/wiki/Zelda_Wiki_is_joining_Gamepedia|title=Zelda Wiki is joining Gamepedia|site=Gamepedia Help Wiki}}</ref> On December 12, 2018, Gamepedia was acquired by Fandom, Inc. and went under common ownership with [[Community:Zeldapedia|Zeldapedia]]. The latter merged with Zelda Wiki on June 15, 2019; two years later the wiki migrated its domain once again to zelda.fandom.com; that same year also saw the wiki switch to FandomDesktop as a skin.<ref>{{Cite Web|url=https://zelda-archive.fandom.com/wiki/Forum:Announcement_to_all_Editors?t=20190612103623|title=Announcement to all Editors|site=Zeldapedia}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Web|url=https://zelda-archive.fandom.com/f/p/3150258947228040639|title=Official Crossover Voting Thread|site=Zeldapedia}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Web|url=https://community.fandom.com/wiki/User_blog:MisterWoodhouse/The_Future_of_Gamepedia|title=The Future of Gamepedia|site=Community Central}}</ref>
In November 2008, {{Wp|Open Court Publishing Company}} published ''The Legend of Zelda and Philosophy: I Link Therefore I Am''. In its front matter, the book referred readers to {{SITENAME}}.<ref>{{Cite Book|quote= Want to know anything about the Zelda franchise, anything at all? Just look it up on zeldawiki.org - an online Zelda encyclopedia.|book= ''The Legend of Zelda and Philosophy: I Link Therefore I Am''|publisher= Open Court Publishing Company|page= xiii}}</ref>
On October 19, 2022, Zelda Wiki officially announced their departure from Fandom. Its staff created a fork to be hosted by ABXY, LLC. under the name Zeldapedia.<ref>{{Cite Web|url=https://twitter.com/ZeldaWiki/status/1582831405142528000|title=Our time has come to reclaim independence.|site=Twitter}}</ref>
On November 14, 2008, the site's affiliation program was renamed the "Masterminds" program.<ref>[[Special:Diff/107136|Revision ID 107136]] of [[Zelda Wiki:Becoming a Part of Zelda Wiki]]</ref>
==Philosophy==
On August 14 2009, {{SITENAME}} received [[Community:LegendOfZelda.com|LegendOfZelda.com]]'s Pinnacle award, given to the overall best site for the last year.<ref>{{Cite Web|url= http://www.legendofzelda.com/the-pinnacle/#more-1147|title= The Pinnacle|site= LegendOfZelda.com}}</ref> LegendOfZelda.com had become one of {{SITENAME}}'s Masterminds earlier that year.
Zelda Wiki's mission is to serve as the ultimate source of ''Zelda'' information available online, aiding not only Zelda Universe, but all [[:Category:Zelda Sites|''Zelda'' fan sites]] across the internet, connecting the ''Zelda'' community as a whole through one amazing encyclopedia. As the Wiki gathers affiliations and users, and makes its mark across the internet, it hopes to achieve the type of standards set forth by larger Wiki-based sites such as <span class="plainlinks">[http://www.wikipedia.org Wikipedia]</span>.
Zelda Wiki is a project that requires an open mind to connect to: Whose site it truly currently belongs to is ambiguous, because everyone who wishes to use this Wiki as "their" ''Zelda'' encyclopedia has the right to. So in a sense, it is everyone's wiki: a truly collaborative project that is made up of the communities of every collaborating ''Zelda'' fan site.
On February 14, 2010, the [[Community:Nintendo Independent Wiki Alliance|Nintendo Independent Wiki Alliance]] was co-founded by Zelda Wiki, [[Community:Bulbapedia|Bulbapedia]], and [[Community:Super Mario Wiki|Super Mario Wiki]]. The three wikis shared "a mutual disdain for the recent corporatization of wikis" and stated its mission "to aid independent Nintendo wikis, to nurture them and help them grow so that never will they have to sell out."<ref name="NIWA Launch">{{Cite Web|quote= |author= |title= NIWA - About|url= https://www.niwanetwork.org/about/|archive= https://web.archive.org/web/20100520065342/http://www.niwanetwork.org:80/about.html|published= |retrieved= April 15, 2023|site= |type= }}</ref>{{Note|NIWA's initial About page claimed Zelda Wiki administrator [[User:Melchizedek1866@legacy41958488|Melchizedek]] (Dathen) initiated the alliance talks in January 2010. Former {{SITENAME}} administrator [[User:Emma|Emma]] has since claimed that she first pitched the inter-wiki alliance in September 2009 in a private {{SITENAME}} staff chat on Skype but never received due credit for the idea.<ref>[[Community talk:Zelda Wiki#Original NIWA Pitch|Community talk:Zelda Wiki § Original NIWA Pitch]] ([[Special:Diff/1045031/1048563|revision]])</ref> In December 2023, the {{SITENAME}} staff issued a formal apology to Emma for the "abuse that [she] suffered at the hands of former staff members" during and after her tenure.<ref>[[Special:Diff/1112376]]</ref>}}
==Achievements==
In the March 2010 issue of the British [[Official Nintendo Magazine]], a feature article on the [[Zelda Timeline]] referred readers to {{SITENAME}} for further reading, alongside Masterminds Zelda Universe and Zelda Informer.<ref>{{Cite Book|quote= If we've piqued your interest in further ''Zelda'' timeline discussion, there are loads of fansites out there expanding on some of the theories we've discussed here. Here are a few good starting points:<br/>'''www.zeldauniverse.net, www.zeldawiki.org, www.zeldainformer.com'''|book= ''Official Nintendo Magazine'' (UK)|issue= 53|publisher= Future|page= 99}} ([[Media:UK Nintendo Mag ZeldaWiki.png|Image]])</ref> The Australia and New Zealand Official Nintendo Magazine (which largely reuses content from its British counterpart) included this article (with the mention of Zelda Wiki) in its April 2010 issue.<ref>{{Cite Book|quote= |book= ''Official Nintendo Magazine'' (Australia & New Zealand)|issue= 16|publisher= Future|page= 51}} ([[Media:AUS&NZ ONM ZeldaWiki.jpg|Image]])</ref>
*Currently Zeldapedia contains {{NUMBEROFARTICLES}} articles. To date, {{NUMBEROFACTIVEUSERS}} active users have contributed on Zeldapedia. (''See also: ''[[Special:Statistics]])
*The Legend of Zelda and Philosophy: I Link Therefore I Am, published by 'Open Court' in November 2008, mentions Zelda Wiki and recommends it a visit.
===2011-2016: Zelda Wiki===
{{quote|Want to know anything about the Zelda franchise, anything at all? Just look it up on zeldawiki.org - an online Zelda encyclopedia.|pg. xiii}}
In January 2011, a vote was held to decide whether to change the name of the site from "Zelda Wiki.org" to simply "Zelda Wiki".<ref>[[Zelda Wiki:The Heart Container/Archive 3#Name Change: Keep "Zelda Wiki.org" or Become Simply "Zelda Wiki"|The Heart Container: Name Change: Keep "Zelda Wiki.org" or Become Simply "Zelda Wiki"]]</ref> On January 17, 2011, the site's name was officially changed to '''Zelda Wiki'''.<ref>[[Zelda Wiki:News 2011]]</ref> At the time, the site logo still included "Zelda Wiki.org"; some time between the name change and April 2011, a rule was added to the site's CSS to visually crop out ".org" from the site's logo, without requiring a new image be uploaded.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110423183345/http://www.zeldawiki.org/skins/monobook/main.css?195 Oldest Wayback Machine archive of the CSS stylesheet that included this change]</ref>
*On August 14 2009, Zelda Wiki received [[Community:LegendOfZelda.com|LegendOfZelda.com's]] Pinnacle award, given to the overall best site for the last year.<ref>{{Cite Web|url= http://www.legendofzelda.com/the-pinnacle/#more-1147|title= The Pinnacle|site= LegendOfZelda.com}}</ref>
[[File:Zelda Wiki logo 2011.png|thumb|Zelda Wiki logo (2011-2015)]]
On May 22, 2011, the site changed its default skin from Monobook to Vector.<ref>{{Cite Web |author=Zelda Wiki |title=Zelda Wiki is pleased to announce, that after months of testing and development, our new vector skin is now our default layout and will be used in place of our old monobook style!! |url=https://www.facebook.com/zeldawiki/posts/10150251015477594 |published=May 22, 2011 |retrieved=November 23, 2023 |site=Facebook}}</ref> The Vector skin included a different logo, with this new logo becoming the site logo going forward.
{{quote|... it is impossible to deny the quality of writing and maintenance that Zelda Wiki maintains ... Not all articles are perfect, but that is the nature of all wikis – the imperfect is perfected, the scrawny are bolstered, and the quest is never ending ... It is a testament to the robustness of this community, this Zelda Online Community, that a project like the Zelda Wiki, which started as Zelda Universe’s own wiki, has evolved into a website that is truly worthy of this award.|[[User:Xizor|Xizor]] of [[Community:LegendOfZelda.com|LegendOfZelda.com]]}}
At the start of June 2011, support for [[wikipedia:OpenID|OpenID]] was silently dropped.<ref>Compare the login options on [https://web.archive.org/web/20110530162317/http://zeldawiki.org/Main_Page May 30, 2011] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20110603164112/http://zeldawiki.org/Main_Page June 3, 2011]</ref> Zelda Wiki staff argued that OpenID integration did "harm than good", complaining that it "makes renaming buggy, it conflicts with user creation logs, it breaks bot account scripts, it causes database errors, etc."<ref>{{Cite Web |title=NIWA improvement Idea (PLEASE READ) |url=https://www.niwanetwork.org/forums/index.php?topic=708.msg13894#msg13894 |published=December 26, 2010 |retrieved=November 24, 2023 |site=NIWA Network Forums}}</ref>
*In issue 53 of the Official Nintendo Magazine UK and issue 16 of the Official Nintendo Magazine Australia and New Zealand, Zelda Wiki and two of its mastermind sites—[[Community:Zelda Universe|Zelda Universe]] and [[Community:ZeldaInformer|ZeldaInformer]]—were referred to readers.
In 2013, the Mastermind system was retired, with control of the wiki fully in the hands of the editor community rather than the affiliated fansites.<ref>[[Special:Diff/367153|Revision ID 367153]] of [[Zelda Wiki:About]]</ref>
{{quote|If we've piqued your interest in further ''Zelda'' timeline discussion, there are loads of fansites out there expanding on some of the theories we've discussed here. Here are a few good starting points:<br/>'''www.zeldauniverse.net, www.zeldawiki.org, www.zeldainformer.com'''|Official Nintendo Magazine UK (page 099)}}
<gallery>
[[File:Site-logo.png|thumb|Zelda Wiki logo (2015-2022)]]
File:UK Nintendo Mag.png|Pages 098 and 099 of ONM UK
On April 24, 2015, to celebrate the site's 10th anniversary, the site's logo was changed and the Main Page was redesigned.<ref>{{Cite Web|quote=Today marks the day of Zelda Wiki's 10th anniversary! In celebration we've released the new logo and Main Page we've been working on. |author=Hylian King |title=Zelda Wiki's 10th Anniversary, New Main Page and Logo! |url=https://zeldauniverse.net/forums/index.php?thread/177434-zelda-wiki-s-10th-anniversary-new-main-page-and-logo/ |published=April 24, 2015 |retrieved= November 23, 2023 |site=Zelda Universe}}</ref> The logo was changed to a [[Media:Site-logo.png|flat monochrome (white) circled Triforce]].
File:UK Nintendo Mag ZeldaWiki.png|Close up of the referral in ONM UK
File:AUS&NZ ONM ZeldaWiki.jpg|Page 51 of ONM AUS&NZ
===2017–2018: Gamepedia===
</gallery>
On March 8, 2017, {{SITENAME}} was migrated to [[wikipedia:Gamepedia|Gamepedia]], a wiki farm, as a result of {{Wp|Curse LLC|Curse}}'s purchase of the site from [[Linkorporated]]. The site's URL was changed to zelda.gamepedia.com. Despite this move, the site's design was mostly unchanged, other than the addition of the Gamepedia footer.
User accounts were not included in the transfer; to link their past edits to their Gamepedia account, users had to submit a form to Gamepedia staff with the name of their old Zelda Wiki account and the name of their Gamepedia account to request their accounts be merged. Unmerged accounts became "legacy" accounts, which could not be logged into.<ref name="Gamepedia">{{Cite Web|url=https://help.fandom.com/wiki/Zelda_Wiki_is_joining_Gamepedia|title=Zelda Wiki is joining Gamepedia|site=Gamepedia Help Wiki}}</ref>
===2018–2022: Fandom===
On December 12, 2018, Gamepedia was acquired by [[wikipedia:Fandom (site)|Fandom]] (the wiki farm originally known as Wikia). Combining the two platforms was a difficult task, so Gamepedia continued to operate independently for a substantial period of time.
Fandom already had a long-running ''The Legend of Zelda'' wiki on its platform, [[Community:Zeldapedia|Zeldapedia]]. After discussions with Fandom staff and {{SITENAME}}, in May 2019, Zeldapedia admin [[User:Ceiling Master|Ceiling Master]] announced a proposal to archive Zeldapedia and have its remaining editors "cross over" to {{SITENAME}}.<ref>{{Cite Web|url=https://zelda-archive.fandom.com/wiki/Forum:Announcement_to_all_Editors?t=20190612103623|title=Announcement to all Editors|site=Zeldapedia}}</ref> The Zeldapedia community voted overwhelmingly in favour of this proposal, with voting closing at the end of May.<ref>{{Cite Web|url=https://zelda-archive.fandom.com/f/p/3150258947228040639|title=Official Crossover Voting Thread|site=Zeldapedia}}</ref> The cross-over officially took place on June 15, 2019.
In July 2020, the account systems of Gamepedia and Fandom were merged. Fandom attempted to merge accounts when they were able to establish that the Fandom and Gamepedia accounts of the same name belonged to the same user (e.g. due to sharing an email address or Twitch ID). In cases in which the accounts could not be merged, Fandom applied a set of rules to determine which account got to keep the account name; losing Fandom accounts were renamed to have the suffix "-fduser", while losing Gamepedia accounts were renamed to have the suffix "-gpuser". Legacy accounts on Gamepedia that were leftover from migrations to Gamepedia (such as the migration from zeldawiki.org) were renamed to have a "@legacy" suffix.<ref>{{Cite Web |author=MisterWoodhouse |title=Uniting the Fandom and Gamepedia login systems |url=https://community.fandom.com/wiki/User_blog:MisterWoodhouse/Uniting_the_Fandom_and_Gamepedia_login_systems |published=20 July 2020 |retrieved=November 23, 2023|site=Fandom}}</ref>
On March 24, 2021, Zelda Wiki's URL was changed to zelda.fandom.com.<ref>{{Cite Web|quote=@everyone Zelda Wiki's URL has now been changed to zelda.fandom.com. The old URL, zelda.gamepedia.com, will now be a redirect to Zelda Wiki. Zeldapedia's URL is now zelda-archive.fandom.com. |author=ModdedInkling |title=Zelda Wiki Discord announcements |url=https://discord.com/channels/471372235957993474/471378143811338240/823963547762950154 |published=March 24, 2021 |retrieved=November 23, 2023 |site=Discord}}</ref> Fandom had announced in November 2020 that all Gamepedia wikis would be migrating to fandom.com URLs instead of gamepedia.com URLs for SEO reasons.<ref>{{Cite Web|url=https://community.fandom.com/wiki/User_blog:MisterWoodhouse/The_Future_of_Gamepedia|title=The Future of Gamepedia|site=Community Central}}</ref>
On August 4, 2021, Zelda Wiki's skin was changed to the new FandomDesktop skin.<ref>{{Cite Web|quote=Hey @everyone ! Some of you might've noticed that the wiki has had a massive overhaul of its appearance, and we've put up a background pattern that references Breath of the Wild for now. |author=MannedTooth |title=Zelda Wiki Discord announcements |url=https://discord.com/channels/471372235957993474/471378143811338240/872132137678143629 |published=August 4, 2021 |retrieved=November 23, 2023 |site=Discord}}</ref> When Fandom announced the upcoming FandomDesktop skin in March 2021, Zelda Wiki was used for all of the example screenshots.<ref>{{Cite Web |author=MisterWoodhouse |title=Introducing FandomDesktop, the new look and feel for desktop users |url=https://community.fandom.com/wiki/User_blog:MisterWoodhouse/Introducing_FandomDesktop,_the_new_look_and_feel_for_desktop_users |published=25 March 2021 |retrieved=November 23, 2023 |site=Fandom}}</ref>
==Partnerships==
===2022–Present: Independence===
*Zelda Wiki currently has a collaborative link with '''[[Community:Zeldapendium|Zeldapendium]]''', a German-language ''Legend of Zelda'' wiki. The partnership allows Zelda Wiki to provide relevant interwiki language links in the sidebar, using the '''<nowiki>{{</nowiki>[[Template:De|De]]}}''' and '''<nowiki>{{</nowiki>[[Template:Zp|Zp]]}}''' template.
[[File:Site-icon.svg|thumb|Zelda Wiki logo (2023 onward)]]
On October 19, 2022, {{SITENAME}} officially announced its departure from Fandom.<ref name="Reclaim Independence">{{Cite Web|url=https://twitter.com/ZeldaWiki/status/1582831405142528000|title=Our time has come to reclaim independence.|site=Twitter}}</ref> Its staff created a fork to be hosted by the owner of [[Community:StrategyWiki|StrategyWiki]]. The move was covered by several gaming news sites including Kotaku and GamesRadar+.<ref>{{Cite Web |author=Levi Winslow |title=Massive Zelda Wiki Reclaims Independence Six Months Before ''Tears of the Kingdom'' |url=https://kotaku.com/zelda-wiki-fandom-tears-of-kingdom-botw-2-nintendo-1849688629 |published=October 21, 2022 |retrieved=January 18, 2023 |site=Kotaku}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Web |author=Dustin Bailey |title= The biggest Zelda wiki goes independent to fight "corporate consolidation," urging others to follow suit|url=https://www.gamesradar.com/the-biggest-zelda-wiki-goes-independent-to-fight-corporate-consolidation-urging-others-to-follow-suit/ |published= October 21, 2022|retrieved= January 18, 2023|site=GamesRadar+}}</ref> The fork was initially named Zeldapedia and located at zeldapedia.wiki.
*Zelda Wiki has a long-standing affiliation with '''<span class="plainlinks">[http://strategywiki.org/wiki/StrategyWiki:Guide/Partnerships StrategyWiki.org]</span>''', a site offering strategy guide information in a wiki format. All of our [[:category:games|game articles]] carry a link to the relevant guides at StrategyWiki.org, and individual strategy links within articles are facilitated using the StrategyWiki [[Template:StrategyWiki|template]].
On January 17, 2023, the site changed its name back to Zelda Wiki and moved to zeldawiki.wiki.<ref>[[Special:Diff/990086|Revision ID 990086]] of [[Community:Zelda Wiki]]</ref> The site's logo was also updated to a coat of arms design.
*In early 2010, Zelda Wiki formed a partnership with Bulbapedia and Super Mario Wiki, starting the [[Community:Nintendo Independent Wiki Alliance|Nintendo Independent Wiki Alliance]].
==Partnerships==
===Fansites===
{{SITENAME}} retains a partnership with its founder [[Community:Zelda Universe|Zelda Universe]]. {{SITENAME}}'s [[:Category:Games|game articles]] refer readers to Zelda Universe guides. A link to {{SITENAME}} is featured prominently in Zelda Universe's global site navigation. Zelda Universe staff members are largely responsible for the current design of the wiki's [[Main Page]].
==Staff==
====Masterminds====
{{Zelda Wiki:Staff List}}
From 2006 to 2013, {{SITENAME}} was collectively governed by a federation of ''The Legend of Zelda'' fansites named Masterminds. Key staff members of Mastermind sites were granted [[Project:bureaucrat|bureaucrat]] privileges on the wiki.
==Former Masterminds==
{{Collapsible
From 2006 to its removal in 2013, the following were at one point Masterminds for Zelda Wiki.
|frame= true
{|class="wikitable sortable" style="float:left"
|header= List of Masterminds
|+ Masterminds of Zelda Wiki
|content=
|-
{{Data Table
! Mastermind
|columns= Mastermind, Dates, Webmaster(s)
! Dates
|sortable=false
! Webmaster(s)
|-
|-
| [[Community:Zelda Universe|Zelda Universe]]
| [[Community:Zelda Universe|Zelda Universe]]
Line 74:
Line 124:
|-
|-
| [[Community:HTLOZ II|HTLOZ]]
| [[Community:HTLOZ II|HTLOZ]]
| September 26, 2006 – January 18, 2009
| September 12, 2006<ref name="Rev. 17615">[[Special:Diff/17615|Revision ID 17615]] of [[Main Page]]</ref> – January 18, 2009
| Fury Three, Tempest, and Captain Cornflake
| Fury Three, Tempest, and Captain Cornflake
|-
|-
| [[Community:Hylian Help Desk|Hylian Help Desk]]
| [[Community:Hylian Help Desk|Hylian Help Desk]]
| September 26, 2006 – January 15, 2008
| September 13, 2006<ref name="Rev. 17777">[[Special:Diff/17777|Revision ID 17777]] of [[Main Page]]</ref> – January 15, 2008
| Dave
| Dave
|-
|-
| Just Zelda
| Just Zelda
| September 26, 2006 – April 9, 2008
| September 17, 2006<ref name="Rev. 18135">[[Special:Diff/18135|Revision ID 18135]] of [[Main Page]]</ref> – April 9, 2008
|
|
|-
|-
| The Forbidden One
| The Forbidden One
| September 26, 2006 – March 24, 2007
| September 15, 2006<ref name="Rev. 17855">[[Special:Diff/17855|Revision ID 17855]] of [[Main Page]]</ref> – March 24, 2007
|
|
|-
|-
| The Temple Ruins
| The Temple Ruins
| September 26, 2006 – January 18, 2009
| September 24, 2006<ref name="Rev. 18500">[[Special:Diff/18500|Revision ID 18500]] of [[Main Page]]</ref> – January 18, 2009
|
|
|-
|-
| The Zelda Chronicles
| The Zelda Chronicles
| September 26, 2006 – March 24, 2007
| September 17, 2006<ref name="Rev. 18159">[[Special:Diff/18159|Revision ID 18159]] of [[Main Page]]</ref> – March 24, 2007
|
|
|-
|-
| [[Community:Zelda Central|Zelda Central]]
| [[Community:Zelda Central|Zelda Central]]
| September 26, 2006 – January 15, 2008
| September 10, 2006<ref name="Rev. 17463"/> – January 15, 2008
| Victor Williams
| Victor Williams
|-
|-
| [[Community:Zelda Dungeon|Zelda Dungeon]]
| [[Community:Zelda Dungeon|Zelda Dungeon]]
| September 26, 2006 – December 14, 2007<br>April 20, 2008 – March 30, 2009<br>April 1, 2009 – October 31, 2011
| September 19, 2006<ref name="Rev. 18299">[[Special:Diff/18299|Revision ID 18299]] of [[Main Page]]</ref> – December 14, 2007<br>April 20, 2008 – March 30, 2009<br>April 1, 2009 – October 31, 2011
| Mases Hagopian
| Mases Hagopian
|-
|-
| Zelda Insider
| Zelda Insider
| September 26, 2006 – January 15, 2008
| September 24, 2006<ref name="Rev. 18519">[[Special:Diff/18519|Revision ID 18519]] of [[Main Page]]</ref> – January 15, 2008
|
|
|-
|-
| Zelda Oracles
| Zelda Oracles
| September 26, 2006 – January 15, 2008<br>January 18, 2008 – January 21, 2009
| September 24, 2006<ref name="Rev. 18526">[[Special:Diff/18526|Revision ID 18519]] of [[Main Page]]</ref> – January 15, 2008<br>January 18, 2008 – January 21, 2009
| Henhouse and The Burning Link
| Henhouse and The Burning Link
|-
|-
| [[Community:Zelda World|Zelda World]]
| [[Community:Zelda World|Zelda World]]
| September 26, 2006 – January 10, 2007
| September 12, 2006<ref name="Rev. 17698">[[Special:Diff/17698|Revision ID 17698]] of [[Main Page]]</ref> – January 10, 2007
| Skermefaten and AppHunter
| Skermefaten and AppHunter
|-
|-
Line 181:
Line 231:
| Mike and Skermefaten
| Mike and Skermefaten
|-
|-
}}
}}
===Wikis===
{{SITENAME}} is a member of the [[Community:Nintendo Independent Wiki Alliance|Nintendo Independent Wiki Alliance]] (NIWA), a network which it co-founded with [[Community:Bulbapedia|Bulbapedia]] and [[Community:Super Mario Wiki|Super Mario Wiki]]. As such, {{SITENAME}} has a {{MediaWiki|Manual:Interwiki|interwiki link}} affiliation with all NIWA member wikis.
{{SITENAME}} has a special affiliation with fellow NIWA member [[Community:StrategyWiki|StrategyWiki]]. The two wikis link to each other in their articles pertaining to ''The Legend of Zelda'' [[:Category:Games|games]], [[:Category:Bosses|bosses]], and [[:Category:Dungeons|dungeons]]. Since October 22, {{SITENAME}} is hosted on ABXY, StrategyWiki's own hosting platform.
{{SITENAME}} has {{MediaWiki|Interlanguage links|interlanguage link}} agreements with the following wikis:
{| class="wikitable"
! Site
! Language
|-
| [https://www.zeldapendium.de Zeldapendium]
| {{Flag|de}} German
|}
|}
==Contributor Banners==
==Statistics==
As a way to increase activity, some of the Mastermind sites offer 'Zelda Wiki Contributor' banners to members dedicated to both the forum and Zelda Wiki. The banner is not permanent, as users can be stripped of it if they are suspected of having edited Zelda Wiki articles for the sole purpose of obtaining a banner.
The wiki was founded by members of Zelda Universe. In 2017, Zelda Universe's parent company Linkorporated sold Zelda Wiki to Curse, whose media assets were in turn acquired by Fandom the following year. On October 19, 2022, Zelda Wiki forked away from Fandom to reclaim independence.[2] The site's current domain is owned by members of the Zelda Wiki staff. The wiki's servers are operated by the owner of StrategyWiki, a longtime affiliate and fellow NIWA member.
The original Zelda Universe Wiki (ZU Wiki) was created as an "act of boredom" in April 2005.[3]Yami and Jess suggested the idea in the ZU chat room, where it was created and assembled. The wiki was publicly announced on June 20, 2005.[4] The Zelda Universe Wiki was quickly filled with information, not only about The Legend of Zelda series, but also about Zelda Universe and its community. As Zelda Universe Wiki, the site was located at wiki.zeldauniverse.net.
One stated goal of Zelda Universe Wiki was to host Zelda Universe's Zelda Encyclopedia.[5] The Zelda Encyclopedia was a list of terms from The Legend of Zelda with short descriptions (1-3 sentences) of what they are, sorted alphabetically. Despite hosting the encyclopedia being one of the stated goals of Zelda Universe Wiki, little (if any) content directly from the encyclopedia appears to have been used to populate the wiki; instead, the wiki appears to have fully superseded the encyclopedia without inheriting any of its content.
2006–2011: Zelda Wiki.org
Zelda Wiki.org logo (2006-2011)
In September 2006, the wiki was moved to another new server, with a new philosophy and under a new name. The wiki had been experiencing significant downtime, with it being restored on September 9, 2006 at zelda.thejasoneffect.net.[6][7] The wiki, now hosted by GoldenChaos's website thejasoneffect.net,[6] was initially renamed The Zelda Effect (TZE) and located at zelda.thejasoneffect.net.[8][9]
At the time, many The Legend of Zelda fansites had created their own wikis. The ambition for this new iteration of the wiki was that it would become the definitive wiki for The Legend of Zelda, unifying various fansites by allowing them to adopt it as their own.[8][10] Fansites who adopted the wiki as their own wiki were linked on the Main Page, and their webmaster was granted sysop userrights on the wiki.[8] The first site other than Zelda Universe to join was Zelda Central, joining on September 10, the same day the program was announced.[11] This affiliation program later came to be called the "Masterminds" program.
On September 13, 2006, after the announcement of The Zelda Effect and its philosophy, Lars suggested in the comments of the announcement that it would make more sense to call the wiki simply "Zelda Wiki" and purchase the domain zeldawiki.org.[12][9] On September 16, 2006, the domain zeldawiki.org was registered;[13] the wiki was moved to zeldawiki.org and renamed Zelda Wiki.org shortly afterwards.[14][15][16][17]
As part of this migration, the site began a rebranding process, to move to a more general Zelda theme rather than Zelda Universe-specific branding.[8] On October 22, 2006, the site was updated with a new design (called "Old Blue") and logo, with the old design retroactively referred to as "ZW.org White".[18] The site now had two logos: a site logo (visible in the top corner of every page) and a main page logo (only used on the main page),[18] both having the appearance of a Triforce design on a glass disc. The main page logo was a flat design created by GoldenChaos with assistance from thoosje,[19] while the site log was an angled rendering with the site's name below it. The glassy design was inspired by the Windows Vista user interface.[19]
In June 2007, Angela Beesley from Wikia approached Zelda Wiki about potentially merging with their The Legend of Zelda wiki. After discussion among Zelda Wiki's "owners" (the webmasters of the partner fansites), it was unanimously agreed to reject the offer. The two main reasons cited were a loss of independence and the sheer amount of work required to conduct such a merge.[20]
In November 2007, Zelda Wiki formed a partnership with StrategyWiki, where Strategy Wiki would link to Zelda Wiki for Zelda content.[21]
On January 20, 2008, Zelda Wiki disabled anonymous editing, requiring all users to have an account in order to edit.[22]
On August 31, 2008, Zelda Wiki integrated OpenID, allowing users to log into the wiki using their OpenID account instead of creating a separate account on Zelda Wiki.[23] Plans to integrate OpenID on Zelda Wiki were first announced in April 2007.[9]
In November 2008, Open Court Publishing Company published The Legend of Zelda and Philosophy: I Link Therefore I Am. In its front matter, the book referred readers to Zelda Wiki.[24]
On November 14, 2008, the site's affiliation program was renamed the "Masterminds" program.[25]
On August 14 2009, Zelda Wiki received LegendOfZelda.com's Pinnacle award, given to the overall best site for the last year.[26] LegendOfZelda.com had become one of Zelda Wiki's Masterminds earlier that year.
On February 14, 2010, the Nintendo Independent Wiki Alliance was co-founded by Zelda Wiki, Bulbapedia, and Super Mario Wiki. The three wikis shared "a mutual disdain for the recent corporatization of wikis" and stated its mission "to aid independent Nintendo wikis, to nurture them and help them grow so that never will they have to sell out."[27][note 1]
In the March 2010 issue of the British Official Nintendo Magazine, a feature article on the Zelda Timeline referred readers to Zelda Wiki for further reading, alongside Masterminds Zelda Universe and Zelda Informer.[30] The Australia and New Zealand Official Nintendo Magazine (which largely reuses content from its British counterpart) included this article (with the mention of Zelda Wiki) in its April 2010 issue.[31]
2011-2016: Zelda Wiki
In January 2011, a vote was held to decide whether to change the name of the site from "Zelda Wiki.org" to simply "Zelda Wiki".[32] On January 17, 2011, the site's name was officially changed to Zelda Wiki.[33] At the time, the site logo still included "Zelda Wiki.org"; some time between the name change and April 2011, a rule was added to the site's CSS to visually crop out ".org" from the site's logo, without requiring a new image be uploaded.[34]
Zelda Wiki logo (2011-2015)
On May 22, 2011, the site changed its default skin from Monobook to Vector.[35] The Vector skin included a different logo, with this new logo becoming the site logo going forward.
At the start of June 2011, support for OpenID was silently dropped.[36] Zelda Wiki staff argued that OpenID integration did "harm than good", complaining that it "makes renaming buggy, it conflicts with user creation logs, it breaks bot account scripts, it causes database errors, etc."[37]
In 2013, the Mastermind system was retired, with control of the wiki fully in the hands of the editor community rather than the affiliated fansites.[38]
Zelda Wiki logo (2015-2022)
On April 24, 2015, to celebrate the site's 10th anniversary, the site's logo was changed and the Main Page was redesigned.[39] The logo was changed to a flat monochrome (white) circled Triforce.
2017–2018: Gamepedia
On March 8, 2017, Zelda Wiki was migrated to Gamepedia, a wiki farm, as a result of Curse's purchase of the site from Linkorporated. The site's URL was changed to zelda.gamepedia.com. Despite this move, the site's design was mostly unchanged, other than the addition of the Gamepedia footer.
User accounts were not included in the transfer; to link their past edits to their Gamepedia account, users had to submit a form to Gamepedia staff with the name of their old Zelda Wiki account and the name of their Gamepedia account to request their accounts be merged. Unmerged accounts became "legacy" accounts, which could not be logged into.[40]
2018–2022: Fandom
On December 12, 2018, Gamepedia was acquired by Fandom (the wiki farm originally known as Wikia). Combining the two platforms was a difficult task, so Gamepedia continued to operate independently for a substantial period of time.
Fandom already had a long-running The Legend of Zelda wiki on its platform, Zeldapedia. After discussions with Fandom staff and Zelda Wiki, in May 2019, Zeldapedia admin Ceiling Master announced a proposal to archive Zeldapedia and have its remaining editors "cross over" to Zelda Wiki.[41] The Zeldapedia community voted overwhelmingly in favour of this proposal, with voting closing at the end of May.[42] The cross-over officially took place on June 15, 2019.
In July 2020, the account systems of Gamepedia and Fandom were merged. Fandom attempted to merge accounts when they were able to establish that the Fandom and Gamepedia accounts of the same name belonged to the same user (e.g. due to sharing an email address or Twitch ID). In cases in which the accounts could not be merged, Fandom applied a set of rules to determine which account got to keep the account name; losing Fandom accounts were renamed to have the suffix "-fduser", while losing Gamepedia accounts were renamed to have the suffix "-gpuser". Legacy accounts on Gamepedia that were leftover from migrations to Gamepedia (such as the migration from zeldawiki.org) were renamed to have a "@legacy" suffix.[43]
On March 24, 2021, Zelda Wiki's URL was changed to zelda.fandom.com.[44] Fandom had announced in November 2020 that all Gamepedia wikis would be migrating to fandom.com URLs instead of gamepedia.com URLs for SEO reasons.[45]
On August 4, 2021, Zelda Wiki's skin was changed to the new FandomDesktop skin.[46] When Fandom announced the upcoming FandomDesktop skin in March 2021, Zelda Wiki was used for all of the example screenshots.[47]
2022–Present: Independence
Zelda Wiki logo (2023 onward)
On October 19, 2022, Zelda Wiki officially announced its departure from Fandom.[2] Its staff created a fork to be hosted by the owner of StrategyWiki. The move was covered by several gaming news sites including Kotaku and GamesRadar+.[48][49] The fork was initially named Zeldapedia and located at zeldapedia.wiki.
On January 17, 2023, the site changed its name back to Zelda Wiki and moved to zeldawiki.wiki.[50] The site's logo was also updated to a coat of arms design.
Partnerships
Fansites
Zelda Wiki retains a partnership with its founder Zelda Universe. Zelda Wiki's game articles refer readers to Zelda Universe guides. A link to Zelda Wiki is featured prominently in Zelda Universe's global site navigation. Zelda Universe staff members are largely responsible for the current design of the wiki's Main Page.
Masterminds
From 2006 to 2013, Zelda Wiki was collectively governed by a federation of The Legend of Zelda fansites named Masterminds. Key staff members of Mastermind sites were granted bureaucrat privileges on the wiki.
Zelda Wiki has a special affiliation with fellow NIWA member StrategyWiki. The two wikis link to each other in their articles pertaining to The Legend of Zeldagames, bosses, and dungeons. Since October 22, Zelda Wiki is hosted on ABXY, StrategyWiki's own hosting platform.
↑NIWA's initial About page claimed Zelda Wiki administrator Melchizedek (Dathen) initiated the alliance talks in January 2010. Former Zelda Wiki administrator Emma has since claimed that she first pitched the inter-wiki alliance in September 2009 in a private Zelda Wiki staff chat on Skype but never received due credit for the idea.[28] In December 2023, the Zelda Wiki staff issued a formal apology to Emma for the "abuse that [she] suffered at the hands of former staff members" during and after her tenure.[29]
↑"Want to know anything about the Zelda franchise, anything at all? Just look it up on zeldawiki.org - an online Zelda encyclopedia." (The Legend of Zelda and Philosophy: I Link Therefore I Am, Open Court Publishing Company, pg. xiii)
↑"If we've piqued your interest in further Zelda timeline discussion, there are loads of fansites out there expanding on some of the theories we've discussed here. Here are a few good starting points: www.zeldauniverse.net, www.zeldawiki.org, www.zeldainformer.com" (Official Nintendo Magazine (UK) no. 53, Future, pg. 99) (Image)
↑Official Nintendo Magazine (Australia & New Zealand) no. 16, Future, pg. 51 (Image)
↑"Today marks the day of Zelda Wiki's 10th anniversary! In celebration we've released the new logo and Main Page we've been working on." — Hylian King, Zelda Wiki's 10th Anniversary, New Main Page and Logo! , Zelda Universe, published April 24, 2015, retrieved November 23, 2023.
↑"@everyone Zelda Wiki's URL has now been changed to zelda.fandom.com. The old URL, zelda.gamepedia.com, will now be a redirect to Zelda Wiki. Zeldapedia's URL is now zelda-archive.fandom.com." — ModdedInkling, Zelda Wiki Discord announcements , Discord, published March 24, 2021, retrieved November 23, 2023.
↑"Hey @everyone ! Some of you might've noticed that the wiki has had a massive overhaul of its appearance, and we've put up a background pattern that references Breath of the Wild for now." — MannedTooth, Zelda Wiki Discord announcements , Discord, published August 4, 2021, retrieved November 23, 2023.
ARMS Institute
Bulbapedia
Dragalia Lost Wiki
Drawn to Life Wapopedia
Fire Emblem Wiki
F-Zero Wiki
Golden Sun Universe
Hard Drop Tetris Wiki
Icaruspedia
Inkipedia
Kingdom Hearts Wiki
Kovopedia
Lylat Wiki
Metroid Wiki
Mystery Dungeon Wiki
NintendoWiki
Nookipedia
Pikipedia
Rhythm Heaven Wiki
SmashWiki
Starfy Wiki
StrategyWiki
Super Mario Wiki
Ukikipedia
Wars Wiki
WikiBound
WiKirby
Xeno Series Wiki
Zelda Wiki
German
ARMS Institute
Bulbapedia
Dragalia Lost Wiki
Drawn to Life Wapopedia
Fire Emblem Wiki
F-Zero Wiki
Golden Sun Universe
Hard Drop Tetris Wiki
Icaruspedia
Inkipedia
Kingdom Hearts Wiki
Kovopedia
Lylat Wiki
Metroid Wiki
Mystery Dungeon Wiki
NintendoWiki
Nookipedia
Pikipedia
Rhythm Heaven Wiki
SmashWiki
Starfy Wiki
StrategyWiki
Super Mario Wiki
Ukikipedia
Wars Wiki
WikiBound
WiKirby
Xeno Series Wiki
Zelda Wiki