These are the rules of the Criminal Minds Wiki.

General Rules

1. Be respectful of your fellow editors
2. Keep profanity at TV-level severity (ex., Do not drop the "F" bomb)
3. Do not whine if your edits are changed
4. Post all general wiki talk on the community talk page
5. If you have rollback privileges, use them to fight vandalism. Rollback and notify the admin and do not speak to the vandal(s)
6. If English is not your strong point, expect your grammar and spelling to be corrected

Text Editing Rules

1. The rich text editor does not work correctly with templates, Do not use it on them.
2. Episode pages must remain spoiler free!!!!!. Only a brief summary is allowed. Do not add any information that would give away the episode's plot or any subplots.
3. All articles directly pertaining to the show (characters, etc.) must be written in-universe style.
4. Real-world articles should always contain a section entitled Criminal Minds that explains how the subject of the article is related to the show
5. Do not make pointless edits, such as changing a word to an idiot-friendly synonym. For example, do not change "abducted" to "kidnapped". Adults are not kidnapped, they are abducted.
6. Opinions are to placed on an article's talk page, not the article itself
7. Major edits to portals (including moving a character to a different section) must be discussed first
8. Do not remove content from pages just because it is not cited
9. Do not remove content from any page because you find it offensive. If you don't like it, don't read it
10. NEVER edit another user's page. Place any messages to them on their talk page
11. When creating a page, adhere to the same style as similar pages. Look at other pages in the same category to see how they're done
12. Any page moves must be discussed, unless you created a page and screwed up the title
13. All character, actor, real people, etc. articles that are entitled with a person's name must have the {{DEFAULTSORT:Lastname, Firstname}} tag
14. Do not remove any code from a page just because you don't understand what it is. This includes unused lines in a template or infobox
15. If you mess up a page, undo your changes and try again
16. Photos placed on the right side of an article should be 248px if possible to match the rest of the wiki and the content on the page
17. Preview your changes before you save
18. Do not make pointless edits. For example, do not change [[Aaron Hotchner]] to [[Aaron Hotchner|Aaron Hotchner]]
19. Use American English and spelling. The word is color, not colour
20. Original research is OK to a certain extent, as long as it is logical.
21. Citations are not necessary for common knowledge, but please cite anything ambiguous by using the <ref>ref text here</ref> tag and create a References section at the bottom with the <references/> tag underneath it

Image Uploading/Editing Rules

1. If it's a person/character image, the archive MUST BE NAMED after said person/character. If not, the name MUST RELATE to the image shown. Our archive is reaching the 3,000 images mark, it's impossible to search it manually if you need to look up any one of them.
2. If it's a person/character image, common sense says that you have to be able to see that person/character face, so NO DARK images and NO FARAWAY shoots!
3. Unless it's impossible, all of them MUST BE over 248px wide.
4. If they go inside a Template, they MUST BE higher than wide; exceptions are made for serial pairs, as often a composite has to be done so both show up at the same time.
5. The heavier the archive, the better quality the image will have; specially with screencaps, this is no-negotiable as is way too easy to get them in HD.
6. Network logos MUST BE erased from the images.
7. Uploading the fist pic that Google offers of any given person/character without looking further, is a bad idea; the really good ones rarely, if ever, show up first!
8. Galleries: images in portal galleries MUST BE in alphabetical order (surname of the person/character unless they lack one). Once a gallery has been established, the rich text editor is useless; switch to SOURCE mode and insert the new additions manually in their right place.

Newbies and Unregistered Users

1. You must create an account soon after your first few edits
2. Always sign your talk page posts, even if you're still unregistered
3. Respect the veterans and the administrator. Failure to do so will result in you being banned from this wiki
4. Put whatever you want on your user page. This is an American wiki about an American TV show, so you have the freedom of speech on your own page. Keep the "F" word off of it, though
5. If you are unregistered, you may see ads within the articles. Do not alter the format of the page to make it look right. Create an account and be a grownup. Then the page will display correctly
6. If you see an error on a page, correct it. Do not use the Report a problem link, just change it