Wookieepedia:April Fools' Day 2014/Statement

A statement from a Wookieepedia administrator.

Wookieepedia has not ignored the voiced displeasure by many in regards to our recent April Fools joke. Our lack of a response up to this point does not reflect a lack of concern for the issue, despite many claims to the contrary. Wookieepedia is not a single entity but rather a community of contributors who work together toward the common goal of documenting Star Wars continuity in the most comprehensive manner possible. We are all volunteers who contribute to Wookieepedia as a hobby in our spare time, and real-life circumstances do not always allow us to respond to every issue in a timely manner.

As a community of individuals, not everyone at Wookieepedia agrees with every action taken by the community as a whole or by other individual Wookieepedians. While Wookieepedia is moderated by a group of elected administrators, Wookieepedia is nonetheless "the Star Wars wiki that anyone can edit." Due to the size of Wookieepedia, it's the unfortunate nature of our project that not every addition made to our wiki is controlled in a perfectly efficient manner. The actions of one or a few individuals do not necessarily reflect the entire community, though Wookieepedia nonetheless assumes responsibility for all of its content.

Wookieepedia has a long tradition of April Fools' Day jokes. We usually decide on one main theme for the joke, but often there are several side jokes implemented as well. This year our main April Fools joke was the introduction of Wookieepedia Pro, a pay-to-read subscription service. In addition to this, a decision was made to highlight a modified "joke" version of our "Breast" article on the Main Page. Without attempting to mince words here, the article was crass, offensive, and ill-considered. It was not part of our community-approved main joke, which centered around our wiki becoming a subscription service. Although I cannot and do not presume to speak for the entire community, I can say with authority that I and many of my fellow Wookieepedians deeply regret this decision, and we offer our sincerest apologies to those whom we have offended.

As the ultimate Star Wars resource, Wookieepedia strives to document all significant subject matter in the Galaxy Far, Far Away. The "Breast" article that was featured on the Main Page on April 1 is not the real article. Our current "Breast" article documents breasts and their "in-universe" uniqueness in a mature and encyclopedic tone and is nothing like the version that was featured on the Main Page. The existence of the article itself has proven to be one of our most hot-topic issues over the years. By overwhelming consensus, the Wookieepedia community has previously decided to objectively document this subject for its unique canon nature, and an executive judgment by Wikia, our site host, has agreed with this community decision.

The "Breast" article's main image depicts a partially nude character with an exposed breast. This image comes from the book Star Wars Art: Visions, a fully-licensed Lucasfilm product that was published in 2010. Wookieepedia objectively documents its subject matter for its canon nature despite its sensitive material and therefore treats it with the utmost seriousness. This is not a joke to us nor do we intend it to be offensive, although we acknowledge the latter is an inevitability for some of our readers.

In light of this, we have recently added a notice to our Main Page warning our readers that not all of our subject matter is appropriate for all ages. We recognize our significance in the Star Wars online fan community, and that we have a responsibility to act in a duly responsible manner. I again apologize for the offense Wookieepedia has caused. I know that wounds heal slowly, but I give my personal assurance as an administrator of this community that we will place a premium on making sure something stupid like this never happens again.