Forum:Content Team help

Hi guys (and gals of course),

I'm Mark, from Wikia's Content Team. With the recent popularity of the new Battlefield Play4Free game, and because of the upcoming release of the highly anticipated Battlefield 3 I thought I'd lend a hand here :). Before I begin I'd like to compliment you all on the great work the community has already done on the wiki, it's great to see a community thrive like this!

Now on to what I'm here for. I have 2 proposals for you guys:

1) First of all, I'd like to make some changes to the mainpage. The lay-out will stay the same, with the white boxes that fit really well, but the content of the mainpage could do with some changes. The mainpage might be accessible for highly experienced contributers like you all, but all those 72900 monthly visitors have a harder time finding their way around. For example, there's currently a "Media" section right below the slider. I think it's best if that section would be replaced with content links/images, so that people will be able to find the some of the important stuff they're looking for. Naturally the Media section doesn't have to be deleted completely; we can just move it down. Another thing I'd like to change is the current position of the slider. I think it'll look far better on the top of the page. I'll draft a new version of the mainpage tomorrow for you guys so you guys can voice your opinion on it and make any changes you'd like.

2) A possible merge with the Battlefield Play4Free wiki. I don't know what you all think about this, but I always prefer wikis to be in one place so the information is most accessible. I know this wiki has some content about Play4Free, but the Play4Free has even more info than we do right now (though it could do with some better formatting). I haven't proposed this at the Play4Free wiki yet as I first wanted to check with you guys.

I'm also here to do some things you'd like me to do! Do you have some long overdue maintenance (like image categorizing), or anything else on the wiki that needs fixing (like infoboxes)? Just leave a comment on this page and I'll try to get it done as well :). Mark  ( talk ) 18:10, July 1, 2011 (UTC)

Discussion
I think we'd rather stay separate with the P4F wiki... mostly because we also stayed separate from the BFH wiki as well. Instead, we can just do cross-wiki links as we did with the BFH wiki. Йура 19:56, July 1, 2011 (UTC)


 * I agree. It might be best to bring it up with them and see if they want to stay separate or not by letting them vote on it. Forcing a merge upon them would be a little rude, but I can see why you are suggesting that, Mark. It does make sense to have this be the one-stop shop for everything Battlefield, but as Yuri said, BF Heroes Wiki already wanted to stay separate.
 * As for the changes to the main page, I take it you want to add a section similar to The Vault, Mass Effect Wiki, and MoH Wiki, where we have the main categories of maps, weapons, vehicles, games, etc.? I could see that, but Featured Media shouldn't be replaced but rather moved below it or maybe to the sidebar instead. Its something we would want to keep on the main page for all to see. 20:12, July 1, 2011 (UTC)
 * Actually, i guess I shouldn't say The Vault since they list their main games up top, but you get the idea. 20:14, July 1, 2011 (UTC)
 * We're not forcibly going to merge anything of course. Both this communityand the P4F community have to agree with the move. About the media section: Yeah, I was planning on moving it down a bit instead of removing it. A video on the mainpage only makes it nicer. Mark  ( talk ) 20:48, July 1, 2011 (UTC)

I wouldn't be against a merger with P4F Wiki, or just an informal co-operation like with BFH Wiki. I suppose it's largely down to whoever edits there as to whether they want to work with us or not. As for the mainpage, sounds like you have some constructive ideas, which is always good. I'll look forward to seeing your prototype. - 20:41, July 1, 2011 (UTC)


 * ps. Not so much about this, but a general message. I'm off now for about 2 months, so I'll be working to get all of the images licensed or deleted, all unused images used or deleted and all poor quality images tagged for replacement or deleted. - 20:44, July 1, 2011 (UTC)

I am very much in agreement with adding a contents section to the main page. It's makes the main page more user-friendly to viewers, who can then quickly jump to the respective category of articles they are looking for.

As for the mergers, I do believe that Battlefield information should be centralized. The Battlefield Heroes Wiki, the Battlefield Play4Free Wiki, and our own wiki, are all online databases dedicated to Battlefield - we only differ in that the former are devoted to a specific Battlefield game. Merging with the other two wikis would benefit our wiki, but it's more of the decision of the communities of the Battlefield Heroes Wiki and the Battlefield Play4Free Wiki than our own.

Content wise, we're lacking a little bit in terms of information on the Refractor 2 engine games.

Thanks for helping us out, Mark. - Bovell Talk 22:46, July 1, 2011 (UTC)

I think a contents section on the mainpage would work nicely, but I'm quite marginal about how it would affect the page's layout. A draft idea would be nice. The merger with the P4F wiki would be rather annoying, considering that one would assume that admins there would want to become admins here, and so on. I think that'd make our userbase even more sysop-cluttered. Also, much of the content that is on that wiki would need to be altered to meet our policies, namely "Impersonal You" (BF:MOS). I think cross-linking, like with the Battlefield Heroes wiki, would be the best move we could make right now. - 15:14, July 3, 2011 (UTC)
 * There's really no such thing as "too many admins." We're not limited in the amount of users who can possess sysop-related tools, and if we see they can help with administration, then by all means, they should. - Bovell Talk 15:26, July 3, 2011 (UTC)

Could I also suggest a news thing on the main page, similar to on the Call of Duty wiki? I think it would really help newcomers read news easier and it gives the wiki a more professional feel. N7 Talk 16:48, July 3, 2011 (UTC)


 * N7, to the right side of the main page. A thing called "Latest News" exists there. - 16:51, July 3, 2011 (UTC)


 * Derp, I didn't notice that :/ --N7 Talk 17:33, July 3, 2011 (UTC)

I've just completed the draft of the new mainpage. As you can see, the changes aren't that major (all sections are kept, but the less important ones are pushed down), and I moved the slider to the top of the page. We can also replace the content images with content links like the Red Faction Wiki if you think that looks better. Feel free to make any changes you think are necessary, or leave a comment here and I'll make the changes. As soon as we've reached consensus on the new mainpage I'll put it online. In the meantime, I'll contact the P4F wiki to see what they think of merging (or a "partnership"). Mark ( talk ) 17:28, July 3, 2011 (UTC)


 * Looks awesome. --N7 Talk 17:33, July 3, 2011 (UTC)


 * I like what I'm seeing so far. But would it be possible to combine the video and image to be Featured Media? This month was an exception since a lot of content was released and we decided to have an image and a video. Normally we would only have either one video or one image. Then again, we might be changing that as of this month. 17:43, July 3, 2011 (UTC)
 * Sure, we can always just hide the video/image section. Mark  ( talk ) 18:03, July 3, 2011 (UTC)
 * I would also contact the Battlefield Heroes Wiki if you can for similar reasons. - Bovell Talk 22:00, July 3, 2011 (UTC)

I hope you don't mind Mark, I've taken your design and made a few changes of my own at Usergroup:New mainpage/BP. It's essentially the same though. - 21:22, July 3, 2011 (UTC)

Hmm, I think I likes it. I think a combination of the two would be the best, having the large content icons of Mark's version with the Featured Media underneath, as in BP's version. But IMO the "Welcome to the Battlefield wiki" section should be at the top of the page. It's just, well, more suitable there, welcoming people to the wiki instead of launching themselves into the MP slider and the contents. But both look nice. - 21:57, July 3, 2011 (UTC)


 * Very nice Bond! I'm not sure which I like the best (other than Mark's not having featured media combined but that, I believe, is a simple fix). The only qualm I have is the image for the campaign level category link. I don't feel an image of a Black Hawk on Port Valdez in multiplayer shows off the campaign missions well! :P Perhaps we can do something similar with this image? 23:45, July 3, 2011 (UTC)
 * Mmm yeah, good point. I'll change it ASAP. And Bond, that mainpage looks great :). Mark  ( talk ) 00:30, July 4, 2011 (UTC)