Team Covenant talk:Community Portal

I copied the text from the current front page over to this page since I think it's a better place for this spiel. The front page should have ease of navigation as its priority, while the Community Portal should be designed to help new editors and codify Article Standards (such as how to call out Monsters on an Ability page). Gearbox 16:04, 16 July 2010 (UTC)
 * I'm with you. I'm watching closely and standing by waiting to assist!  ---Galactus--- 16:06, 16 July 2010 (UTC)
 * On second thought, the Community Portal should be where we outline how-to's and codify article standards. The Help:Editing page should help new editors.  This discussion page is the perfect place to hash out our standards and practices. Gearbox 01:05, 4 August 2010 (CDT)

Spelling
Do we want to enforce American English spelling? Gearbox 22:26, 9 October 2010 (CDT)

Proposed Article Standards
I propose we organize our lists in the following manner:


 * 1) By Block: So that all items from a single block are listed before the next block.
 * 2) By Agenda: The default organization on all official products begins with Protectors and then moves clockwise around the agenda wheel.
 * 3) By Series: Figures are listed First come, First named.
 * 4) Alphabetically: Since there are pieces that are of the same agenda and series.

Also, when referring to pieces with the same name on the ability page, we refer to abilities shared by all versions of the piece (Alpha, Ultra, Mega, Quantum or Grunt, Elite, Shadow, Glass) by the pieces standard name, and specific instances of that piece by the specific name.

Example List:
 * Ultra Defender X
 * Sky Sentinel
 * Mega Nova ESR
 * Pteradax
 * Ultra Vorgax
 * Mega Vorgax
 * Ares Mothership
 * Incinerus
 * Hurricanus
 * Mega Hammerklak
 * Dynastavus
 * Mechathugrosh


 * I like your proposal. I would add that perhaps we give the Alpha figures that share a common ability across all forms some kind of a unique symbol to further illustrate that point and make it obvious at a glance that that figure is carrying the banner for the others too.  A cross, asterisk, etc. are all good options.
 * I'd also say that for how we list the figures we perhaps would do well to omit the "By Agenda" sort. I think going by Block, Series, Alphabetical is plenty orderly, saves editors a bit of work, and detracts minimally from the overall organization.  How's that for you?  ---Galactus--- 02:48, 18 July 2010 (UTC)
 * Well, since we're calling out each form, why not just have it say "Every MonsterX"? That way all the monster call outs are 2 words (Alpha, Ultra, Mega, Quantum or Every and then MonsterName). Gearbox 04:20, 18 July 2010 (UTC)
 * I like having the pieces from the same FAC next to each other, rather than scattered all over the list. I understand that it's probably an unnecessary complication...but I like how it orders things.  I'm not married to having to break things down by AGN, and will call it off if one other person agrees with you. Gearbox 04:20, 18 July 2010 (UTC)


 * I like the proposal overall. I think we need to keep sorting by Agenda but if we're going to sort by Agenda, I think it should be Agenda->Block->Series->Alphabetical.  I also think the idea of adding a symbol (asterisk or cross) to denote that all monster forms have the ability in question would be appropriate and leave "Alpha" off in general.  I'd like to limit Monster's to a single line, even if only 2/3 forms have it.  i.e. rather than say:
 * X
 * Mega X
 * Have something more like
 * X (Alpha/Mega)
 * with each name appropriate linked. Using the example above for Vorgax:
 * Vorgax (Ultra/Mega)
 * Is that too complicated a convention to use and understand for users? If so, I'm fine with keeping specific forms on their own line, but anything we can do to streamline these lists is good.

&lt; Philip Rowland&gt; 15:15, 29 July 2010 (UTC)
 * Alright, so why not just make the list format X(forms) and list the forms? [ex:Sky Sentinel (Alpha)] We also should probably figure out how to reference Shadow and Glass units the same way.
 * I also think the AGN>Block>Series>Alphabetical can work. I laid out my list order because we only need to add stuff to the bottom of the list, but since we tend to group by AGN anyways I'm fine with your suggestion. Gearbox 00:58, 4 August 2010 (CDT)
 * A template with the Monster names removed: *X(Alpha, Ultra, Mega) . Just copy and paste the monster name over the X, and delete the forms that don't apply. Gearbox 14:49, 15 August 2010 (CDT)

Technical Revisions
I spend the better part of the day thus far purging the wiki of uses of the word "structure" since on review it was only a "filler" term for "building". Now the Structure page is the only use and serves as a redirect. Categories and templates have all been adjusted. Are there any other types of words out there that are really just filler? I'd can't think of any but if you can lemmie know and I'll gladly correct them. ---Galactus--- 18:56, 18 July 2010 (UTC)
 * Boost Dice/B-die; Power Dice/P-Die; Action Dice/A-Die.Not sure what their pages are, thus I did not point out a specific term. I'm drawing a blank for anything to add to that.--AXl 02:43, 29 July 2010 (UTC)
 * We should at least be consistent and have all X-Dice be Caps on the abbreviation. I keep seeing a-Dice and it grates on me so hard.Gearbox 22:37, 12 August 2010 (CDT)

Featured Articles
We have over 500 articles on this wiki and almost 50 of them are stubs. But what about the articles we're really proud of? What about the pages we consider complete and awesome? Do we have enough material to make a monthly or weekly Featured Article? Gearbox 14:43, 15 August 2010 (CDT)

Ability Zones
How should we handle ability zones? Can we add a "Maps that feature this ability on a zone" section that only shows up when filled? Or should we just manually add the line? Gearbox 22:32, 27 July 2010 (UTC) (Example: Satellite Uplink on Ramming Speed)
 * What pages are you referring to? Ability zone pages specifically?  ---Galactus--- 14:37, 28 July 2010 (UTC)
 * Yep! The Chain Reaction, Explosion, Demolition, Deflector Shield and Sat uplink pages. Gearbox 02:15, 29 July 2010 (UTC)

Log Files
Since people have started to show interest in these, I'd like to start a discussion about what our criteria should be for putting Logfiles on the wiki. There are two ways I can think of to do this: If you guys have any other ideas, I'd love to hear them!--AXl 02:51, 29 July 2010 (UTC)
 * A: Post every Logfile that we can find on the corresponding Monster Page.
 * B: Post every decent Logfile we can find on the corresponding Monster Page. AKA, post up Logfiles that were at least close, ending in a health difference of 2-3 points or having one person lose due to a major missed roll.
 * I don't know if the Wiki is the best place to post logfiles. But if it is, I think we should make a logfile template and make each one its own page.  With links to players, monsters, maps, and most recent set when it was played. I don't think they should be posted on the pages of the monsters they feature, since that would start to clutter the hell out of the monster pages. Gearbox 03:17, 29 July 2010 (UTC)
 * Player Pages would sure be interesting. I could also see pages like Mogroth v Mechathugrosh as a possibility. I like the sound of this, Gearbox. I'll wait to see what Galactus thinks before I do anything drastic.
 * PS, I's be willing to make the template.--AXl 03:41, 29 July 2010 (UTC)
 * We already have player pages! Mine is here: Gearbox.  Thanks for the template volunteering and I look forward to Galactus' thoughts on this too. Gearbox 05:03, 29 July 2010 (UTC)
 * Imo, the best and really only suitable place for log files would be on an event page. I.e. we will be making a page for events like MNM, GenCon, MonCon, etc..  Of course this will really only apply to MNM events but this does a few things; let's us keep the files is an appropriate location within the wiki (as they will almost certainly be located elsewhere on the TC site), flesh out the coverage of those given events, and keep things relevant.  By that last point I mean that we don't need or want just any random game played any day of the week between whomever.  ---Galactus--- 13:44, 29 July 2010 (UTC)
 * I agree with Galactus. We don't want or need every single log file that every player generates.  If we can get a good sampling of play, maybe it would be appropriate, but this isn't a file-sharing site, it's a wiki where the data is all text and images.  For an event like MNM where we have logs of most (if not all) of the games, it would probably be fine to post them.  My primary concern is keeping the data clean, easy to read/maintain, and not clutter our server with unnecessary files.
 * As Galactus mentioned, we will, eventually, have a system setup for storing and archiving log files. The wiki isn't really meant to be used that way on a large scale or for personal games.  Once we get that other system setup, people should be able to upload and view logs to their heart's content. &lt;Philip Rowland begin_of_the_skype_highlighting     end_of_the_skype_highlighting&gt; 15:20, 29 July 2010 (UTC)
 * So the end result is that we don't really want Logfiles on the Wiki. We want Logfiles on the Logserver/site/thingamabob that will be up later.  For now, as a temporary measure, it's probably fine to make Event pages that have the interesting tournament logs.  That sum up our stance on the situation? Gearbox 01:03, 4 August 2010 (CDT)
 * I would concur with that assessment, yes. &lt;Philip Rowland&gt; 08:54, 4 August 2010 (CDT)
 * Made it so. ---Galactus--- 09:01, 4 August 2010 (CDT)
 * How'd you make it so, Galactus? I just added the result of our discussion on this topic to the Community Portal page.  :D Gearbox 21:57, 4 August 2010 (CDT)