Administrators are able to protect a page to restrict editing or moving of that page, and remove such protection. Protection can be indefinite, or expire after a specified time.
- Full protection prevents editing by everyone except administrators. Fully protected media files cannot be overwritten by new uploads.
- Semi-protection prevents editing by unregistered contributions and contributors with accounts which are not autoconfirmed.
- Move protection protects the page solely from moves.
Why a page should be Protected
Permanent Protection
Some areas of Modern Wikia are permanently protected by the MediaWiki software. The MediaWiki namespace, which defines parts of the site interface, is fully protected; administrators cannot remove this protection. In addition, user CSS and JavaScript pages, such as User:Example/monobook.css and User:Example/cologneblue.js, are automatically fully protected. Only accounts that are associated with these pages or administrators are able to edit them. This protection applies to any user subpage with a ".css" or ".js" extension, whether an equivalent MediaWiki skin exists or not. Administrators may modify these pages, for example, to remove a user script that has been used in an inappropriate way.
In addition to the hard-coded protection, the following are usually permanently protected:
- Pages that are very visible, such as the Main Page or File:Wiki.png.
- Pages that should not be modified for copyright or legal reasons, such as the general disclaimer or the local copy of the site copyright license.
- Prevent Vandalism under law by penal code