This is an unofficial archive of PsychonautWiki as of 2025-08-11T15:14:44Z. Content on this page may be outdated, incomplete, or inaccurate. Please refer to the original page for the most up-to-date information.
This page specifies the community standards, rules and guidelines related to the organization, maintenance, and creation of PsychonautWiki content.
PsychonautWiki policies and guidelines are developed by the community to describe best practice, clarify principles, resolve conflicts, and otherwise further our goal of creating a free, reliable encyclopedia.
What should be on this wiki
This wiki contains unbiased information regarding psychonautics (the exploration of consciousness), including comprehensive documentation on the techniques and tools necessary for experiencing the variety of subjective effects found within this field alongside of the scientific explanations behind them.
For more information on the type of content we cover, please see our site map.
What should not be on this wiki
Pseudoscience
PsychonautWiki, as an encyclopedia, is written with a skeptical, reason-based mindset which does not tolerate unverifiable pseudoscience misinformation represented as factual content. This primarily means mysticism and metaphysical speculation when used in the context of explaining that which could otherwise be described through rational, evidence-based, naturalistic and scientific explanations.
Opinion
This wiki should be written from a neutral point of view. That means it should include facts and technical descriptions which are free from metaphor and are not personal or collective opinions. For example, please do not write statements such as "I personally think" or "some people think" on articles.
Links to vendors for psychoactive substances
This site prohibits linking to vendors and sources for purchasing illegal or legal psychoactives. We do not want to be seen as a resource for such things as it is questionable from a legal standpoint.
Codes of conduct
The codes of conduct for this wiki are simple:
Do not vandalise content.
Do not post personal information.
Follow our writing guidelines.
Be polite and reasonable.
Do not discuss online sources of illegal or psychoactive goods.
Use common sense.
Depending on its severity, any violation of these rules can result in a permanent ban based on the personal decision of a site administrator. If you wish to dispute a ban you may contact us via our IRC or email address ([email protected]).
Manual of style
Article titles
Article titles must be written in singular instead of plural. For example, one should use "Book" instead of "Books." Exceptions are only when the article is about a species or a list such as "List of books."
Capitalization of both article titles and section headers should include the first letter of the first word being a capital letter, but it should otherwise follow the normal English rules of capitalization. For example, a section title should be "External links" instead of "External Links."
Incomplete articles should be made on talk pages, which can be done by putting "Talk:" in front of the title. For example, Talk:Example would be used.
Please add the following text to the top of any new articles created so that it may be proofread by the administrators.
Always include at least a sentence about the subject when starting an article.
The first sentence should give a brief definition of the article's subject.
The definite article (the) and indefinite articles (a/an) should be avoided in article titles except when they are part of an official title.
Please write in third person: use "the person" instead of "you."
Please try to back up and strengthen the validity of any statement with as many citations to relevant studies and explanations based upon logical reasoning as possible.
Linking is usually limited to the first occurrence of the word or phrase in each article, not counting links inside info boxes. This is because spamming too many wiki links makes articles difficult to read. Adding multiple links for the same term might be acceptable in very long articles where linked instances of the term are very far apart.
Please use the "Move" function to move pages, instead of deleting the original page and recopying it manually into the new one, as to not lose all the edit history.
The top level header (=Title=) has almost never any reason to be used in practice, as it is the page's title. In other words, top sections should be Level 2 (==Section==). [1]
Please use "File:" instead of "Image:" when linking to an image when possible, since "Image:" is the legacy way. [2]
Warning panels within psychoactive substance articles should only be present if the danger could potentially result in an immediate short-term death or hospitalization.
Capital letters
Capitalization of article titles and section headers should include the first letter of the first word being a capital letter, but it should otherwise follow the normal English rules of capitalization. For example, a section title should be "External links" instead of "External Links."
Subjective effect breakdowns
The subjective effects index is used as a central reference point when producing subjective effect breakdowns for individual substances found within our substance index.
Alongside of this, the index is also used to document the subjective effects induced by specific or general categories of psychoactive compounds. For reference purposes, some examples of these breakdowns include:
psychedelics, dissociatives, deliriants, stimulants, depressants, opioids and nootropics.
The exact analytical process that PsychonautWiki contributors run through when documenting the subjective effects of any specific substance is listed below:
Study the individual effects listed above until a point of complete familiarity is reached.
Take the desired substance at a high dosage to experience the full range of effects.
List the effects which occur. If applicable, one should also note the level of intensity which the effect procured at and its specific variations in potential style.
Strictly follow the formatting style of previously made, admin-approved specific substance subjective effect breakdowns.
Scientific information
The general guidelines for writing in this section are as follows:
Many of the concepts in neuroscience are very difficult to understand; please only write and edit articles in this section if you have a full understanding of the topic and can write in a way that can explain it in simple terms.
Try to use simple and easy to understand language.
To the best of your abilities, please keep grammar and spelling at a reasonable standard. Please use our proofreading service.
Be sure to relate the article back to its relevant roles within the field of psychonautics.
