Archive talk:Main Page/5

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This is an archive page for the discussion page of Main Page. It covers topics from November 18, 2007 – October 26, 2008.

And I'm guessing we can't bump these, can we? –SonicMaster 01:14, 18 November 2007 (PST)

Geez, just copy it out of the archives and put the entire conversation back here! --Digiku talk 08:55, 18 November 2007 (PST)

That was a stupid question to ask. I was even thinking it was stupid when I wrote it.  :( –SonicMaster 19:27, 18 November 2007 (PST)

Hey; I would've done the same. :P --Digiku talk 15:14, 19 November 2007 (PST)


The Wiki might need a FAQ

Take a look at this: http://ssntails.sepwich.com/mb/viewtopic.php?t=10877

Even though it's highlighted pretty prominently, newcomers might wonder how to add character WADs. They won't know to go to the Character WADs page, or what terms to search for regarding any other topic, such as making maps and stuff. Furthermore, they may never bother to visit the forums. But everybody knows what a FAQ is, though! I'm thinking of writing a FAQ divided into these sections:

  • Gameplay (How do I find this? How do I add a character WAD?)
  • Editing (What's a thok barrier? Why doesn't mine work? What WAD editors are good to use?)

Don't worry; I'll write it up (maybe.) I just need input: first, is this worthwhile? Secondly, and more importantly, what questions are good for a first-stop, possibly one-stop FAQ? --Digiku talk 04:34, 2 December 2007 (PST)

Well, I think it is worthwhile, and as for questions...

  • How do I add a WAD or a SOC?
  • I was just GFZ1, and then an echidna just came out of a house I was jumping on, and told me to go to hell. What just happened?
  • Where can I find a tutorial to make a level/character/mod?

~Kaysakado  • Talk 05:47, 2 December 2007 (PST)

Why did RedXVI even say that? That's so stupid. They should change that for Version 1.1, it's really dumb. –SonicMaster 15:24, 4 December 2007 (PST)
It's not really that stupid, considering that you do, in fact, go to Hell. =P ~DarkWarrior Talk • Contribs 09:17, 7 December 2007 (PST)
I understand where you're coming from, the volcano's environment being akin to Dante's version of hell, but Red Volcano Zone isn't...hell... It's a level...that's going to be a regular one, so leaving RedXVI's dialog for v1.1 will not be able to be supported by your argument... :P:PSonicMaster 12:18, 7 December 2007 (PST)
Of course it wouldn't. It's just in there as a little easter egg, really. It's a nice one, at that. There's no point in having Red there doing that when 1.1 is out, as you'll be able to reach it by normal means. :) ~DarkWarrior Talk • Contribs 06:34, 9 December 2007 (PST)
Maybe he should say/do something else, more like what he does in CEZ2. Kitsune 17:06, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

Sounds good. Maybe then we'll be able to link to a article that tells where everything is, and we won't have to link to individual articles. Also, the reason people post topics like that might be because the FAQ on the forum really isn't any help at all. Look at it. It doesn't have anything about editing SRB2, in fact, it doesn't even tell you about the SRB2 Wiki, it just links to a few articles on the SRB2 Wiki. ---Cheese the Food 13:08, 2 December 2007 (PST)

Good sentiments. :) --Digiku talk 02:21, 7 December 2007 (PST)

I also want to make articles that redirect to the real articles that have simple titles. Such as, people may look for "floating" or "Platform". Not FOF. This comes after lines though... Yes, a FAQ would be nice, I think. Personally, though, I'm more for finishing what's still remaining before making it easier access. Easier access is great, but only if content is comprehensible. ~DarkWarrior Talk • Contribs 09:17, 7 December 2007 (PST)

Need help with my new monobook.css

I'm trying to make the Main Page have that picture at the top right, but to no avail. You can see my attempt here. This previously unsigned comment was made by ~Kaysakado  • Talk on 01:46, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Your syntax is right; it's just that the image link is outdated. It changed from the styles you have on your monobook.css; it's "bgPage_about.png" now. So replace your bottom CSS sections with this:

body.page-Main_Page div#content {
	background: #FFF url("/skins/monobook/srb2wiki/bgPage_about.png") top right no-repeat;
}

body.page-Main_Page table {
	background-color: transparent;
}

Btw, you should remove all the other rules on your monobook.css. Those are outdated, and can be found on the main CSS used for the site now. --Digiku talk 17:50, 9 December 2007 (PST)

OK, so that fixes the image thing, but now I'm trying to chan ge hte text, which isn't working so well. Why doesn't the main page turn to gibberish, dammit? ~Kaysakado  • Talk 01:55, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

For most uses, CSS can't actually change the page text. It only affects style information, not content. If you want to change the Main Page content, then w:Javascript's what you want to use. You'd put the Javascript rules in User:Kaysakado/monobook.js, except I haven't enabled user Javascript, so that's not really possible... --Digiku talk 18:09, 9 December 2007 (PST)

Color Contrast

Sweet background. Keep it. Please. And REMOVE THE WHITENESS! IT IS EVIL! –SonicMaster 01:00, 11 December 2007 (PST)

Actually, I think we decided against this background when we voted on them. :P Or, actually, I don't remember. I think DW decided against this one because of the white? Er, I forget...

Anyways, it's my style, see. :P But if you guys like it, I can work with you. Tell me what to try. --Digiku talk 01:03, 11 December 2007 (PST)

Uh, how do you change the background of the colors? I want white replaced with dark brown. But since that makes the text hard to see, I want my text to look white in the articles. How do you do that? –SonicMaster 01:05, 11 December 2007 (PST)

To Kaysakado: Check User:Digiku/monobook.css to see the background SonicMaster's talking about. It's on the top. :) Note to self: Explain to SonicMaster how to change the background color tomorrow. --Digiku talk 04:14, 11 December 2007 (PST)

Note to Digi: I'm ready for answering. And don't stay up so late!

Yeah, I didn't like the white...I'm weird, and I don't like white very much. At least not an overly prominent white. Our tables are white as it stands. More white would be really ugly, I think... :E ~DarkWarrior Talk • Contribs 10:04, 11 December 2007 (PST)

I'm now starting to get used to it. But I still want the white to be changed. Yep, I want the cool background with non-white toolbar/article background. –SonicMaster 10:49, 11 December 2007 (PST)

Check out the new colors: User:Digiku/monobook.css. There are some unfixed visual quirks at this time, but I'm doing a test run on this thing and I really like it!

SonicMaster: If you see the stylesheet, I made it easier to edit. Look at the comments (in CSS, comments are wrapped in /* */s, so they're ignored in page rendering.) All you have to do is replace the color code that the comment says to replace with the one you want. You can find color codes here: http://www.colorpicker.com/

--Digiku talk 04:39, 12 December 2007 (PST)

This looks great! Seriously, best skin setting I've seen to date. I think we'd need to get community approval, but I like it a lot. I do think that the background shouldn't be still, though... ~DarkWarrior Talk • Contribs 09:44, 12 December 2007 (PST)

Thanks! :) I put it scrolling for performance reasons. In Firefox (and even IE in some cases), it really is quite slow when still, imo. :P But it's a tough choice. What should be done? --Digiku talk 09:45, 12 December 2007 (PST)

And here we go! User:Digiku/monobook.css. I covered pretty much everything, except the category background images, which need to fade out to blue. But I'm really digging this color scheme in my test run. If you see any color issues, do tell me. Otherwise, thoughts? --Digiku talk 23:47, 12 December 2007 (PST)

So, how does one look at a custom skin? JEV3 10:10, 13 December 2007 (PST)

Edit your user stylesheet. For you, it's User:JEV3/monobook.css . Copy all the content from my stylesheet here, and then save the changes. After you do, you'll have to refresh and clear your cache. There are instructions on how to do so on your stylesheet. --Digiku talk 10:18, 13 December 2007 (PST)

Ah... I like this, however the text at the top looks somewhat awkward, and I'm not entirely sure about the blue, however I guess I could try changing that in my stylesheet. The background looks neat though, but is it possible to upload and other custom backgrounds? JEV3 10:36, 13 December 2007 (PST)

Certainly. Just upload a background image at another webspace; then replace the background link at the very top of the stylesheet with the link of your new image. --Digiku talk 10:44, 13 December 2007 (PST)

The Great Revamp

I really have to say: There's no question that the Wiki's way better off than it was a year ago. It's a lot when I say it, especially when I'm usually the skeptic here. [1]

Largely, I think it's because there's a whole lot of stuff done in the past few days. From 12/2/07 - 12/11/07, chronologically:

  • Tweaked SRB2 Wiki:Requests to be more organized and work better.
  • Organized and standardized templates completely to Category:Templates.
  • Completely revamped the category system so the entire site is easier to browse. (Most significant)
  • Created Category:SRB2 Wiki so our internal stuff is organized and easily accessed; makes it easier for editors.
  • Did a minor graphic rehaul (aka "user experience"), including category bg images, a new logo, and other minute changes.
  • Rewrote and tweaked the rules to make the new Manual of Style.
  • Fleshed out Help:Contents to be useful.

The third bullet point alone is worth an update on the Main Page imo (especially since it makes everything easier for both them and us,) but it goes to show that a lot of this stuff is significant and could be mentioned. With the Manual of Style finished, I would've almost said "I did pretty much *every* maintenance task imaginable right now." Except this was brought up.

The matter of mod inclusion still has to be worked on, and now BW added the twist of an alleged Community section. I could've written an update now describing the list above, but I want to know if we're going to tackle this, since this is really important. See Talk:Mod for ongoing discussion, and continue discussion there.

After this, I want to finish Graphics. ;) --Digiku talk 03:38, 11 December 2007 (PST)

...And I had no part in this. Shows how useful I am around here! :D ~DarkWarrior Talk • Contribs 10:17, 11 December 2007 (PST)

Uh, oh. Bad boy. :P –SonicMaster 10:47, 11 December 2007 (PST)

Don't worry about it. I have a lot of time to burn on here right now. :P --Digiku talk 04:48, 12 December 2007 (PST)

What was the page of the "Universal" monobook.css?

I remember you modified it once to set the pictures on those category pages, but that has been wiped off of the face of the Recent Changes database. (Even when I choose to show the past 500, and it doesn't remember anymore after that) ~Kaysakado  •  Talk  •  01:07, 15 December 2007 (UTC)

MediaWiki:Common.css. Great for viewing, but it's protected from edits. ;P --Digiku talk 19:23, 14 December 2007 (PST)

I think I want to add your changes to the main thing, run it by some people in #SRB2Fun, see how they like it...If I can figure this out. >_< ~DarkWarrior Talk • Contribs 21:34, 14 December 2007 (PST)

MOAR SIG PROBLEMS!

In the Recent Changes, you may have noticed the renovations I'm doing to my sig, most of which I undid due to reasons I'll go into detail in at anyone's request, but the one I left bugs up the thing for making the timestamp blue. Here's the code for my custom sig:

{{SUBST:User:Kaysakado/SigTest}} <span style="background:#4040FF;color:#000000">''{{SUBST:CURRENTTIME}}, {{SUBST:CURRENTDAY}} {{SUBST:CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{SUBST:CURRENTYEAR}} (UTC)''</span>

From this, you should be able to find the code for everything else, and tell me why my LOLZ ADVERTISING bugs up my Timestamp. ~Kaysakado  •  Talk  •  18:37, 24 December 2007 (UTC)

Never mind. My sig is now in a state of complete win. I don't know what caused the problem, but it was fixed by remaking the sig. ~Kaysakado  •  Talk  •  20:11, 25 December 2007 (UTC)

The left eye is longer than the right one, and it looks all messed up =P. Plushie? =P

That's the way it's supposed to be. Go look at SRB2's icon. ---Cheese the Food 11:36, 16 February 2008 (PST)

IE8 brokiness! D=

I installed the ie8beta1 and the wiki is now broken unless i use "Emulate 7".

Fix?

AnQHW 20:19, 22 March 2008 (PDT)

Use Firefox or your Avant Browser. That should help. –SonicMaster 20:25, 22 March 2008 (PDT)

But... now Avant renders it like ie8... and failfox fails

;_____________; AnQHW 08:28, 24 March 2008 (PDT)

*caugh*Safari*caugh* ---Cheese the Food 08:59, 24 March 2008 (PDT)

Those guys who "can't read"

I've been thinking, if we have people who read the wiki and say "it didn't help", then maybe instead of telling them off we should overlook the article they didn't understand and see if we can simplify it? I dunno if this idea will be accepted very well, though. -- I'll Begin 17:26, 4 April 2008 (PDT)

You're probably right. I've seen the exact same Character WAD mistake made twice. I added it to the Wiki. I'll elaborate even more on that right now. –SonicMaster 17:52, 4 April 2008 (PDT)

It took someone this long to make this topic? I've had this on my mind for months. If a third of the wiki's userbase (ten years and under) can't understand the wiki, that's still a third of the userbase. It really annoys me when people stubbornly suggest that the wiki articles are as clear as a crystal when I've heard several complaints from newbies that they can't understand what the wiki is saying. I've personally wanted to talk to some of the "noobs" to see what parts of which articles need to be cleared up so that we get less "i dont understand :(" comments on the forums. Sadly, I've had little time on the communities as a whole recently, so it doesn't look like I'll be getting to that soon.

But if you can clean up an article, then by all means, do it. The sooner this wiki becomes newbie-friendly, the better. ~ Blue Warrior talk contrib 00:09, 5 April 2008 (PDT)

Probably what we need here is some kind of introduction page, clearly linked to from the front page with a message like "Don't know where to start? Click here!". On that page, we'd outline the various types of editing people would like to do, and give the users a basic pointer on where to find the information that they need. It should also link to a glossary of terms explaining what all these weird terms that come up in Doom editing actually mean (for beginners).

Honestly, there isn't any way around the fact that editing SRB2 has an initial learning curve, and it can and will feel overwhelming to new users. That being said, some of the articles, especially on character creation, are a lot less clear and specific than they could be and could be cleaned up quite a bit. -Mystic 01:17, 5 April 2008 (PDT)

I know where to start: a Troubleshooting page. It would go on MediaWiki:Sidebar because of its importance. I've got an idea on how to make this. I'll start creating it on User:SonicMaster/Troubleshooting. PLEASE criticize if something is wrong. PLEASE. This is going to be more important than the SRB2 Doom Builder tutorial. –SonicMaster 11:36, 5 April 2008 (PDT)

Here I am, once again

Hey guys; it's been a while!

I was contacting a few people 'round here recently, and I originally intended to avoid the community entirely during that. But, in exchange of something I couldn't fulfill, I opted I'd make an appearance here, instead. Let it be made clear that I effectively left. Sorry about that. :) Of my own accord, I renounce my leadership duties here on the Wiki.

I've got a surprise in store, though, so until it's done, I'll fulfill my appearance here. Say hi; ask me some questions; or do whatever. :) Actually, I have two questions for you guys:

  • What happened here since I left in mid-December? The place is looking real spiffy! Honestly, I'm proud!
  • Can anyone make a sample WAD of the SOC action A_LinedefExecute? I can't get it to work. I just want, say, a Crawla, to activate a sky change linedef executor only once. That's just something I made up, but I can work off that example.

Thanks!
-Digi


OCRAP IT'S YOU! =DDDDD But as for you renouncing leadership, DDDDD=. Anyways, I'll make the A_LinedefExecute WAD thing for you. Should be done in a minute. ~Kaysakado  •  Talk  •  00:54, 9 April 2008 (UTC)

Strange, didn't work for me either. ~Kaysakado  •  Talk  •  01:09, 9 April 2008 (UTC)

In answer to your first question, SonicMaster did quite a bit of work here. He's done an absolutely amazing job here. I honestly think he's the best thing to happen to this place in a very long time. I've managed to get MOST of the sectors done, and I also have a few linedef page themes I have here that I want to test after I finish the sectors, and then I want to go ahead and make it user-friendly (such as pages of "Water", "Chemical", etc) that explain just what certain things are and how to do them.
...And I know nothing about SOCs to help with #2, sorry. :( ~DarkWarrior Talk • Contribs 18:29, 8 April 2008 (PDT)

Jazz also made an in-depth match strategy guide... I guess its not really finished yet, but Jazz is still taking a break until he's through with school. And I believe the final boss in Acid Missile uses A_LinedefExecute... maybe it doesn't work with the normal enemies thinker. Glad to see you back though, I hate to see people disappear... JEV3 14:03, 9 April 2008 (PDT)

I did pitch in a few contributions, but honestly, I'm on a bit of a hiatus myself. I've gotten a little more active than I was a month or two ago, but still due to my inactivity, this is no longer my job. =P

Once I find the time for this again, though, I'll be sure to execute plenty of things I have in mind for the wiki. ~ Blue Warrior talk contrib 20:11, 9 April 2008 (PDT)


Don't worry about it; I'm on a little more than a hiatus, myself. ;P And if you can perform all those things you have in mind, then more power to you!

But anyhow, that's really awesome, guys! I love seeing that this place has gone really well! Yeah, DW, it looks like the Sector Types pages are more complete, per se. I can't see Jazz's Match guide anywhere; got a link? SonicMaster's looked to have done some awesome work -- among other things, I'm digging the NiGHTS stuff! I see a few NiGHTS entries were submitted to recent contests, too. Also, Recent Changes is looking active! :)

I'm slowly but surely getting that surprise done. If Acid Missile uses A_LinedefExecute, I should take a look at that. Actually, I am using it for a boss object. :P But that's all good. The tricky thing about it is, in the SOC Editor, it says "Object's location is used to set the calling sector. The tag used is var1, or, if that is zero, the mobj's state number (beginning from 0) + 1000." I don't know what that bolded part means; I mean, can an object other than a Gargoyle pushable object trigger a Linedef Executor sector? Anyways, that's interesting and all. I'll look into it. (Also, the Wiki doesn't say anything about calling sectors. Someone should add that! Not gonna' be me...) --Digiku talk 13:34, 11 April 2008 (PDT)

...-_- ...How...could you have missed the link? The strategy guide was linked to on that Main Page news post! I'm bewildered. How's it going with Gavinmacqueen? *shot* Just kidding. Anyway, I want you to check out my Wacky Track Zone. You're the great NiGHTS mapper here, so I really want your opinions! I feel like I did a great job on it. –SonicMaster 18:03, 11 April 2008 (PDT)


You did do a great job on it. I thought it was classy! :) I like the side scenery, especially. I wouldn't know how it plays in an actual race, but I noticed immediately that the track keeps you nimble on your feet, requiring you to keep alert for obstacles. I really liked that. The item arrangements were also quite creative; the multi-piece hoop arrangements were lovely. Wish I made something like those for BSZ. :)

The ramp at the end was also exhilarating. --Digiku talk 19:36, 18 April 2008 (PDT)

As for how well it plays? Check this out. –SonicMaster 13:11, 19 April 2008 (PDT)


Wow, that's super-fantastic, SM! :D

Anyways, the surprise I had in store was BSZ's final unlockable: It's finally complete (I know; long time, right? :) ) If you unlocked it in the game, you can access it provided the details given. By the way, if anyone goes on IRC, do tell them about it if it's deemed appropriate!

I don't know; I don't think I'll be back for any significant or major instance after this one. But anyways, this short visit has been a blast! I wish you all the best of luck! :) --Digiku talk 21:15, 25 April 2008 (PDT)

Yayz, the final unlockable is win. But no BSZv2 makes me sad. D= ~Kaysakado  •  Talk  •  18:13, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

Can I make a CTF Strategy Guide for the wiki?

I asked first to prevent total "ZOMG WTF FAGGOT ASH GTFO OUR WIKIS", which I predicted would happen if I just supplied the information without notice.

We would be just fine with a CTF Strategy Guide. –SonicMaster 13:46, 16 April 2008 (PDT)

Good idea with the troubleshooting btw

Ash~

19:40, 21 April 2008 (PDT)

Uploading files

OK, why will it not let me upload files? –SonicMaster 12:03, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

EDIT: These loading times are unacceptable and are comparable to the loading times of Sonic Shuffle. Forget what Cue says; let's move back to Sepwich. Must be something on my end; it's loading much faster now. –SonicMaster 12:53, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

So, uhh...

Has anybody bothered to notice that references are broken? Go look at the 1.1 page and see for yourself. --Spazzo 23:52, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

Joyous times!

Hooray, I can finally upload files again, as shown by you doing so, Dark Warrior! :D –SonicMaster 17:09, 9 August 2008 (UTC)

Wow, you guys are amazing -- plus Getting more editors?

You guys are amazing. The Wiki's grown up a whole lot since SM, DW, Spazz, and users like Glaber, Jazz, BW, Ketc., took hold -- and, heck, it's pretty fun to read now! By "fun to read", I mean like Bulbagarden, the Pokemon Wiki with information so numerous (and I admit sometimes mundane) that I'd spend hours on it just reading through a subset of anime episodes, or Pokemon profiles. Yes, I'm saying we oughta' be like them! (I'm kidding. Still ;P) But yeah, the Wiki and you guys are amazing.

It might help if you guys got more user editors. Has there been a measurable interest in the community? I dunno: Maybe some people are interested, but they're scared away by the strict and numerous rules, ironfisted nazi management, having to register, etc. If an editor risks being slapped with a trout for something as mundane as "Cutscenes" vs. "Cutscene", they'd probably run. Yes, I know those are my rules, but perhaps that was a mistake on my part. The rules should be made less intimidating, so the editor has less to worry about. Even if we have to be relaxed about styles, etc.

Plus, required registration is just inconvenient. Yeah, I know we required registration for the spambots, but that too drives away editors. I know I avoid any ol' webapp requiring my registration. Take a look at this: PHPBB users integration. You get the same users as on the MB, so it's more convenient for editors, plus it still drives away spambots.

We might get more editors with bad grammar, but remember we're making it easy for them to edit. Remember these are gamers who, 1. could care less about English, and 2. are sensitive to criticism. They might edit the Wiki with B or C-grade/85-70% grammar, but we also get a more complete guide. Cleaning up grammar and style is what wikifairies are for, after all. Lastly, you're running a website. Doesn't a good website, despite making a lil more work for the staff, make things easier for visitors?

In short, 1. We should get more editors, 2. The rules and management policies should be edited so they're not intimidating, 3. Make it easier for users to edit, for example integrating the PHPBB users. I make this argument, given that there actually is interest in the community to edit. Is anyone interested? Is there any way you can measure that? Perhaps if you promoted the Wiki somehow? Regardless, if there's no interest in the community to begin with, then obviously nothing will help. But if there is, you should try to get more editors in. I really don't have time anymore, but this is my two cents -- thoughts?

--Digiku talk 15:45, 2 October 2008 (UTC)

OK, your whole "strict rules" arrangement really threw me off as a newbie administrator, and I ended up having three actions reverted by Dark Warrior because of it. Now I know whom to blame! ;P Anyway, I think relaxed things on formatting can help, as I am quite good with it, and I check the Wiki every day.

On a side note, that NiGHTS level I showed you before you left is now going to be an official SRB2Riders level. That's pretty cool, isn't it? –SonicMaster 16:00, 2 October 2008 (UTC)

Hey, Digi. Great to see some of your feedback again! I've been away from this wiki for a while, so I honestly can't take much credit. Still, I'm hangin' in there. :p

I didn't pay much attention to the wiki becoming user-only (actually, spam wasn't a problem since we put in the SONIC verification), but I fully agree on your stance that a flow of editors is worth the increased amount of maintaining needed. The small amount of users editing the wiki was also something I was concerned about, but I never really took a thorough look at the Manual of Style. If I find anything worth modifying on there, I'll be sure to suggest it.

As a last note, tying in the Wiki with the forum userbase sounds like a great idea. I'd ask "what can go wrong", but I don't want to jinx us. ;)

~ Blue Warrior talk contrib 22:59, 2 October 2008 (UTC)

Two problems with that Extension, Digiku, one, the SRB2MB is still running PHPBB2, not PHPBB3, and that the MB is not hosted on my server, so it can't get at the mySQL database. LoganA 00:03, 3 October 2008 (UTC)