Galaxiki FAQ

A.1 What is Galaxiki?
A.2 How can I participate?
A.3 How much does it cost?
A.4 How can I get my own star?
A.5 Can I dedicate a star to someone?
A.6 How and how much do I have to pay to get my own star?
A.7 Is there a gateway to use Galaxiki features on my own website?
A.8 Can I use Galaxiki on my modile phone or PDA?

B.1 Which objects can be edited?
B.2 How do I edit a star, a planet or a moon?
B.3 Is it possible to test the editor?
B.4 Can I add content in other languages?

C.1 Can I write whatever I want?
C.2 Where can I find the Galaxiki rules?
C.3 Where can I find the license agreement, terms of use, ...?
C.4 How secure is the service?

[[-html:h2:A.1 What is Galaxiki?

Galaxiki is a web-based virtual and purely fictional galaxy project using wiki technology. The Galaxiki Community consists of volunteers filling the virtual galaxy with content - e.g. naming stars, planets and moons, describing them, and describing their eventual life forms and their related history. The history of the galaxy is defined by the community, following some rules defined by the galactical board. More information can be found in the About Galaxiki article.

[[-html:h2:A.2 How can I participate?

Simply signup to get your Galaxiki account and start working! You can browse the galaxy, name existing stars, planets, moons and other objects, you can edit planetary information and write your own science fiction stories for example. You can also take part in the discussions in our forums and communicate with other users. Click here to create an account if didn't have one yet.

[[-html:h2:A.3 How much does it cost?

Becoming part of the Galaxiki Community is completely free, and so is editing open stars and their orbital objects as well as participating in the community area (forums, mailing lists, ...). You only have to pay if you wish to buy a personal solar system for yourself, or if you buy something in our shop.

[[-html:h2:A.4 How can I get my own star?

If you wish to get your own star that cannot be edited or modified by anybody else, you will have to pay a small fee to get it. As soon as we received your payment the star is linked with your name and you can decide what you'll do with it - keep it for your own, give it to someone else of offer it to the community for example. Click here to get your own solar system.

[[-html:h2:A.5 Can I dedicate a star to someone?

Yes, you can buy a star and then you may opt to offer it to someone, and you may write a dedication too. So it's possible to use Galaxiki stars as a gift for birthdays, valentine day or weddings for example. As dedications are located on a separated page they do not interfere with the science fiction content of the galaxy.

[[-html:h2:A.6 How and how much do I have to pay to get my own star?

First you have to find a solar system you wish to own - simply browsing the galaxy or randomly select a star and click onto the "get" link. You will be taken to the payment page where you can pay via PayPal using USD, Euro, CAD, AUD, GBP or Yen as currency.

A solar system costs around 10 Euro or 12 USD, but you may also opt for a smaller or a larger amount. Prices are always identical and do not depend on the size of the star or on the number of planets for example.

[[-html:h2:A.7 Is there an API allowing to use Galaxiki features on my own website?

Take a look at the Galaxiki API and gateway page.

[[-html:h2:A.8 Can I use Galaxiki on my modile phone or PDA?

To use the mobile version of the Galaxiki website on your phone or PDA, simply enter http://www.galaxiki.org/m (note the '/m' behind the domain name) in your mobile web browser. The mobile version is, of course, more limited than the fully featured website, but it's small and fast an that's what you'll need when using small devices. You may also preview the mobile display here.

[[-html:h2:B.1 Which objects can be edited?

"Open" solar systems are owned the entire community and can instantly be edited by all users, as they don't belong to anyone personally. This also means that the entire community is responsible for their wiki content and that this content may be a consensus of different ideas and opinions.

"Closed" solar systems belong to a specific user, this is the case if this user has bought the solar system and didn't opt to free it for the community. The owner of the solar system may still decide who's allowed to edit its wiki content - some owners keep their stars for their own, others allow specific users, groups or even the entire community at edit their stars, planets and moons.

[[-html:h2:B.2 How do I edit a star, a planet or a moon?

You need to be logged in to edit Galaxiki objects - so signup if you don't have an account yet, or login if you're not logged in yet. Then you may select a star by browsing the galaxy or by using the random selection for example.

Make sure to select an "open" solar system that can be edited by anyone, or buy the solar system so that it will belong to yourself.

If you're allowed to edit the solar system you've navigated to, simply click onto an "edit" link or tab to change the content directly in your web browser. We're using wiki technology to edit the galactical objects, which means that you don't need any specific software to edit objects and all changes will be instantly visible.

[[-html:h2:B.3 Is it possible to test the editor?

Unfortunately we don't have a test area yet, but this is a planned feature for the near future.

[[-html:h2:B.4 Can I add content in other languages?

For the moment the Galaxiki world is only available in english, but a german version is already planned. Other languages may follow afterwards. Note that there will be only one single galaxy, while objects will be editable in various languages.

[[-html:h2:C.1 Can I write whatever I want?

Yes, you can write whatever you want as long as you respect to Galaxiki rules. These rules define how the galaxy works as a whole, what kind of physics has to be applied (don't panic, is VERY easy to understand!), how things have to interact and how users should behave. Taking a look at the Galaxiki rules (they're short and simple) is always a good idea before starting to write anything...

On the dedication pages you can, of course, really write whatever you want, but we will not tolerate any obscene, pornographic, rascist, sexist, violent or any other objectionable or offensive material.

[[-html:h2:C.2 Where can I find the Galaxiki rules?

Click here to read the Galaxiki rules. Links to the rules can be found in many places on this site.

[[-html:h2:C.3 Where can I find the license agreement, terms of use, ...?

Here they are:

• Legal stuff: disclaimer - legal, content and more...
• Legal stuff: terms of use
• Legal stuff: privacy policy
• Legal stuff: copyrights and trademarks

[[-html:h2:C.4 How secure is the service?

We care a lot about security and privacy. Our servers are running the Linux operating system and the Apache webserver, the Galaxiki system is powered by the CorneliOS virtual web OS and all system components are patched and updated on a regular basis. Passwords are encrypted using a one-way algorithm, and only the encrypted hash is kept on the server (that's why you'll automatically get a new password if you've lost it, as it's very hard to rebuild the clear text password from the hash).