Minecraft Wiki:Wiki host comparison

This page is a rough overview of the discussion between different host options (wiki.gg, Bulbagarden, and ABXY, as well as remaining on Fandom) and various considerations to take into mind.

Ads
All platforms will be monetized by ads in some form. For the semi-independent hosts (Bulba and ABXY), the number and type of ads will depend on negotiations between said host and ad networks.
 * Fandom: Many ads, including in the header, right sidebar, below the article, as a floating video, and in-article ads not always recognizable as such
 * wiki.gg: Ads above and below the article, as well as right sidebar for content pages other than the main page. Only shown to anonymous users and restricted to games published by its parent company, Freedom Games, and associated companies (those with wikis on the platform)
 * Bulba: Sidebars (left and right); floating video; floating ad banner (bottom); in-article ads (recognizable as such, unlike some of Fandom's)
 * ABXY: Ads above and below the article, one medium rectangle (MREC) ad inside the content frame (at the top), one "sticky" ad which scrolls down the page as the user scrolls

You may visit wikis hosted by the three host options to get a better sense of how ads function under each respective host:
 * Terraria Wiki - Wiki.gg
 * Bulbapedia - Bulba
 * StrategyWiki - ABXY

Logged-in editors do not get ads on wiki.gg and Bulba, or on Fandom if they have PRO active (PRO is no longer obtainable through usual means, meaning only a small portion of individuals will ever be able to get it). They do get ads with ABXY, however.

Cookie notice

 * Fandom: Does not have a button to decline all cookies, and instead requires you to open detailed cookie settings
 * wiki.gg: Small banner
 * Bulba: Screen blocking, with a button to decline all cookies and dismiss the popup with a single click
 * ABXY: Some ABXY wikis do not have any cookie notice, and those that do do not provide the option to decline cookies, which is a legal requirement in some countries due to the use of non-essential cookies in relation to the displayed ads

Server stability
For all four host options the server stability will be of good quality considering the size of the Minecraft Wiki's traffic.

CDN around the globe
The wiki has readers from across the globe, so global CDN is necessary to ensure reasonable response times.
 * Fandom: Pages have a global CDN. Images are hosted from US and Germany.
 * wiki.gg: Yes
 * Bulba: Yes
 * ABXY: Images have a global CDN. Pages are hosted from US.

SEO impact
All alternative hosts other than Fandom will lead to decreased SEO (rankings in Google search results). All pages will need re-structuring to show up in Google, as Fandom won't remove the existing wiki and Google removes results with duplicated content. It's not clear how the SEO of different hosts compare with each other.

Editorial control

 * Fandom: Has overridden community content on occasions; see w:c:mcdonalds:Special:Diff/29634 and https://twitter.com/humanstein/status/1670125120822681600
 * All other platforms grant full editorial control

Policy control (legal)
Fandom and wiki.gg do not allow control of legal policies on the wiki, whereas Bulba and ABXY allow partial control.

Legal responsibility
For Fandom, wiki.gg, and ABXY all legal responsibility would be placed on the host. For Bulba, who the legal responsibility is placed on will depend on the specific legal issue. If, for example, the issue is pertaining to the enforcement of the wiki's policies then legal responsibility would be placed on the staff of the wiki. If, for example, the issue is pertaining to advertisements then legal responsibility would be placed on the host, Bulba.

Skin control
Amount of control wiki community members have over the skin (appearance of the wiki).
 * Fandom: Limited to FandomDesktop with restrictions (e.g. no customization of basic site elements or ads)
 * wiki.gg: Limited to Vector 2010; see also wiki.gg's customization policy. Less restrictions than Fandom.
 * Bulba/ABXY: Full control over the skin

Mobile support

 * wiki.gg: There is no official mobile skin; wikis are capable of making their content responsive on their own terms. An official responsive skin is on the to-do list but with no ETA.
 * All other platforms have a mobile skin, or allow one to be created.

Wiki staff/community support

 * Fandom and wiki.gg have staff able to assist with technical issues, as well as members of the communities of the respective wiki farms.
 * With semi-independent hosts (Bulba and ABXY), staff will be available to assist with backend issues. The wiki community may be able to draw on the community of independent wikis for assistance with frontend issues such as skin customization and templates.

Custom domain

 * Fandom and wiki.gg do not allow custom domains (i.e. the wiki will be at minecraft.fandom.com or minecraft.wiki.gg).
 * For Bulba and ABXY, the wiki will have its own custom URL.

Allows language wikis
All platforms can support language wikis, as well as shared file repositories (so that files uploaded on a common wiki such as EN can be accessed by other language wikis).

International support
Having people in place to act as international tech support is important for helping language wikis with technical issues or enquires.
 * Fandom: Tech support available in several other languages but not all
 * wiki.gg: Tech support available in several other languages but not all
 * Bulba: Tech support not available for other languages
 * ABXY: Tech support available for French

Anonymous editing
Allowing logged-out users to edit lowers the barrier to entry and can encourage more people to contribute, but also increases the amount of vandalism.
 * Fandom: Disabled as ad networks require to strictly follow COPPA
 * wiki.gg: Can be enabled upon request
 * Bulba: Will be disabled, due to same COPPA factor
 * ABXY: Can be enabled

Extension control

 * Fandom allows only a specific set of extensions, with periodic review of new extensions based on community requests.
 * wiki.gg generally allows wikis to request extensions given they are currently maintained, have no security vulnerabilities, do not conflict with existing default extensions, and do not require a completely separate software stack to support (the BlueSpice extensions are a notable example)
 * Additionally, extensions which would need to be enabled across the platform generally require more review/work to implement.
 * Notably, notifications in any form are completely unavailable on wiki.gg. Adding Echo is on the to-do list.
 * Bulba and ABXY will allow almost any extension unless it creates major issues like server instability or privacy concerns.
 * Widgets will not be available on ABXY

Access analytics
Analytics are a helpful tool for the community and provides interesting insight into the wiki.
 * Fandom: Only accessible by admins under a non-binding non-disclosure policy, includes internal search terms and most visited pages, but not external search terms
 * wiki.gg: Full access to analytics for wiki staff only (usually given to admins, who has access is up to MCW - but it can't be everybody)
 * Bulba: Full access to analytics for wiki staff only (potentially only bureaucrats)
 * ABXY: Full access to analytics for wiki staff only (potentially only bureaucrats)

Change config
Fandom will only rarely allow MediaWiki config variables to be edited (through requests to staff); wiki.gg will generally allow config variables to be edited (through requests to staff); ABXY and Bulba will always allow them to be edited.

View file pages
Fandom prevents logged-out users from accessing file pages due to SEO reasons, preventing them from accessing image revision history. All other platforms allow logged-out users to access file pages.

Miser mode
Miser mode disables certain database-intensive features to reduce server load. This results in certain effects like special page reports being updated slower or never.

This is enabled on Fandom; wiki.gg and ABXY will have it disabled; and the status on Bulba is unknown (depending on server resources).

Extensions
The table below shows the availability of various MediaWiki extensions used or considered for use by the wiki. Not all of them are of equal importance. Some of the extensions of note include:


 * Widgets – used for spritesheets as well as a few other places. Most usages could potentially be replaced by other extensions such as TemplateStyles.
 * CirrusSearch – advanced search functionality allowing e.g. searching within specific categories or using regular expressions. Particularly useful for searching archived wiki discussions located in subpages of certain talk pages