Sadly, unlike Mario Wiki, Bulbapedia and Super Smash Bros Wiki, the main Zelda Wiki hasn’t been hosted independently for a long time. Indeed, while it’s still part of the Nintendo Independent Wiki Alliance, the site has been on wiki farms like Gamepedia and Fandom for the last 5 or so years, causing a lot of confusion among die hard fans in the process.
However, that’s all about to change. Why? Because as mentioned on Twitter, Zelda Wiki is now leaving Fandom once more, and becoming the independently hosted site it used to be. Here’s their post about it on social media:
Our time has come to reclaim independence. pic.twitter.com/lFgXl7GTTe
— Zelda Wiki (@ZeldaWiki) October 19, 2022
As well as the same one in text form, for those who prefer not to read text from images:
For over a decade, from its creation in 2005 to its transfer to Gamepedia in 2017, the Zelda Wiki was a fully independent site. Even after the transfer, and Gamepedia’s subsequent acquisition by Fandom, Inc., the site sought to continue its mission of curating an editorially independent, high quality wiki operated by fans.
However, we have come to believe that these ideals are incompatible with Fandom.
So, after many months of preparation,
The Zelda Wiki team is officially announcing our independence from Fandom, Inc.Following Fandom’s recent buyouts and questionable staffing decisions, we feel we have no choice but to do our part to keep the internet free from corporate consolidation.
We strongly urge our fellow wiki communities hosted under Fandom to make the same decision, and to help build independent wiki alliances such as NIWA ar SEIWA, free from corporate monopolisation and control. For those who are currently employed by Fandom, we urge you to unionise while you still can.
We can keep the internet free from hegemonic control together, but it must start with us.
“The princess can onnly thrive out here in the wild”
In addition to a link to the new Zeldapedia website:
Zeldapedia (the self hosted version)
It’s a bold statement to say the least, and one which is sure to ruffle a few feathers over at Fandom Inc.
But it’s also one we agree with 100% here on Gaming Reinvented. Wikis should not be corporate endeavours. They shouldn’t be hosted and run by faceless corporations only interested in your ad clicks and personal information.
No, they should be run by the fans. They should be neutral, communuity focused sites aimed at providing the best information they can to the most people, without dubious monetisation tactics and corporate meddling.
Because at the end of the day, it’s the community that makes these sites great, and its the diehard fans that deserve to profit from that. Not company CEOs and board members wanting to pay off their 10th yacht.
So we’re glad to see Zelda Wiki taking a stand, and the orignal NIWA ‘trinity’ (Mario Wiki, Zelda Wiki and Bulbapedia) becoming self hosted once more.
And we’re gonna support that as much as possible here on Gaming Reinvented. All future links to wikis will go to the independent ones, unless otherwise necessary. All references to the Fandom hosted Zelda wiki in past articles will be edited to link to the new Zeldapedia.wikia equivalents.
Plus all contributions by us going forward will be to the new wiki too. We’ve already got our account sorted there, and we’re ready to support them as much as possible.
So we hope you guys do the same. That now Zelda Wiki has regained its independence, that you too contribute to the new site rather than the old one, and bury the Fandom equivalent once and for.
Let’s see if we can help another great site escape corporate control!
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