5 replies to this topic

[VincentASM]

A wiki has been installed onto SF recently, which I'm aiming to use as a possible medium for future content, especially those that requires the aid of multiple contributors.

Now, I'm not sure what people are going to think, but I'd like to mention firstly that the wiki is not designed to supercede the main site, but will act as an extension. Conversely, I'm hoping that the wiki will also not be severely overshadowed by the main site either, and that the two bodies will be able to co-exist with similar activity.

My main motivation for adding this wiki is because of two inter-linked reasons. One, I'm terrible at handling submitted content (especially when it comes to formatting) because I'm incredibly lazy, so the introduction of a wiki will allow contributors to upload their work on SF in a more efficient manner. Two, I don't really have as much time as I used to and I'm lazy.

Before my post becomes too involved, I'll quickly mention the key details.

Everybody is welcome to register on the wiki and begin editing content. Note that, at this moment in time, only registered users can make edits, but registering is easy. This is mainly for crediting and management purposes. Another note: since the wiki is still in its very early stages, you should be wary when submitting significant content, since policies may change and I may perform technical changes, which may temporarily crash the wiki.

I'm also looking for staff to help manage the wiki. If you're interested, please PM me.

Finally, general comments, questions or constructive criticisms related to the wiki can be posted here.

EDIT

If you're interested in being staff, please include in your PM whether you have any experience in editing wikis or any other administrative/moderating experiences.

Edited by VincentASM, 15 March 2011 - 10:20 AM.

[Gyarados]

You DO realize there's already a wiki for Fire Emblem, and that there's already a lot of content in it? http://fireemblem.wi...re_Emblem_Wikia

[VincentASM]

You DO realize there's already a wiki for Fire Emblem, and that there's already a lot of content in it? http://fireemblem.wi...re_Emblem_Wikia

I probably didn't make myself clear, but...

Now, I'm not sure what people are going to think, but I'd like to mention firstly that the wiki is not designed to supercede the main site, but will act as an extension. Conversely, I'm hoping that the wiki will also not be severely overshadowed by the main site either, and that the two bodies will be able to co-exist with similar activity.

...kind of implies that this wiki will be a different beast to other FE wikis.

If not, I wrote a brief statement about this here

Edited by VincentASM, 12 March 2011 - 03:06 PM.

[VincentASM]

Hmm, I thought I'd at least get a few more comments, but I guess I may have went the wrong way with things. That or people are really busy these days : P

In any case, technical progress on the wiki is moving ahead as planned and the wiki will soon be announced to the general public. So I think it's about time I explained in slightly more detail what I'm hoping for this wiki.

As I briefly mentioned earlier, the wiki will be the location where all future user-submitted content will go.

Contributors will have the benefit of publishing their content in a matter of seconds, so they can immediately find out what it looks like online and also fix any mistakes at a touch of a button. If contributors feel like taking their time, they can also post their content in parts and continuously add to it as time passes, while being able to receive comments from other users. Any obscure mistakes that need fixing or information that needs to be added, can be done by other users in a similarly swift manner.

Depending on the nature of the content and if necessary, this content can also be moved to the main site with a few adjustments.

Content that I'm hoping to include in the wiki is already briefly outlined in the wiki itself; this includes:

Game Guides

This covers guides for any aspect of the games' gameplay, including things such as walkthroughs, character guides, enemy stats, etc. This also includes anything that you'd expect to find on the main site in the individual games' sections.

Naturally, you don't need to submit anything that's already on the main site and it's probably pointless to move stuff from the main site to the wiki, when you can just link from there. Related to this, I'd greatly appreciate it if contributors could contact me in advance about the content they're intending to submit, in case I'm already working on it. In general, you don't have to contact me about starting walkthroughs or character ratings, since I never do those. Still, it might be useful to state somewhere that you're intending to start such a guide, in case you get comments or help from others.

Game Scripts

This covers storyline dialogue and other important text from the games. Like Game Guides, you don't need to submit anything that's already on the main site. As mentioned on the wiki, the Path of Radiance Game Script is temporarily on hold, while I check some details, so please don't submit anything there (editing existing wiki pages is OK though).

General Articles

Typically anything that doesn't really fit into any of the other wiki categories, or content that covers multiple games. This includes stuff like merchandise, mythological references, unofficial Fire Emblem spin-offs, etc. Basically anything that you'd find in the General section of the main site. Like Game Guides, because this content is also found the main site, I'd like contributors to contact me in advance before starting a page, in case of a clash of interests.

Story Articles

This is where information on the stories and characters of FE go. As the name suggests, it is the same as the old story articles project. The rules for this are more or less exactly the same as before (aka almost none). This time, instead of contacting me, you can just start a near-empty page informing other users that you've starting working on a page. If you're confident, you can just post a complete page straight away, but it might scare some people me.

I'll just mention briefly here, but if you submitted a story article in the past, it would be great if you could re-post it to the wiki. Just the main body of the text will suffice, stuff like images or the profile box can be added by me or other users.

ROM Hacking

Anything that touches editing the game code, but doesn't include cheat codes (there's a separate section for that ATM). Includes stuff like translation patches, mods, hacking documentation, tutorials, etc. Links to patches or hacking tools are welcome, just make sure they're safe to use and obviously don't link to illegal content.

Cheat Codes

This solely includes codes designed for use with an external cheating device, eg. Action Replay.

Again, as I mentioned before, any questions/comments can be posted here or PM'd to me. I've tried to be as detailed as possible, but I have purposely withheld some information for now (due to numerous factors, such as I haven't decided yet) and I'm not completely sure if I'm clear on various points.

Also, staff positions are pretty much closed now, thanks to everybody who volunteered. There might still be a few members I've yet to pursue, so don't be surprised if one or two staff members are added soon after this.

Edited by VincentASM, 15 March 2011 - 10:20 AM.

[Knife]

Just wanna say this: If you're serious about making this wiki of yours a respectable and fleshed out project, you need to approach this differently. The current userbase most likely won't contribute to the wiki so what you need to do is draw in editors from other sources. To be blunt: Your situation will not get better unless you do something different.

I want to assume that you were joking when you said that one of your motivations for creating this wiki was because you are lazy. If that's truly the case, then you should delete your wiki immediately and disregard the rest of this post. Wikis take a lot of effort to maintain and administrate, moreso than the site itself. You will be in an eternal battle between what you want from editors and what editors want from the site.

How should you improve your wiki? Well, like Excellen Browning said, there are more developed Fire Emblem Wikis in existence. I understand that you want to make this wiki different from the other wikis, but the fact is: why would editors want to contribute to this wiki when they could go to another more developed Fire Emblem wiki? The only thing keeping them from doing that is simple loyalty and commitment to this site which apparently does not exist based on the activity levels. At this point, you may believe that I am simply dissuading you from keeping this wiki.

What makes me qualified to say all this? Well, I am on the NIWA staff and I am an administrator over at Super Mario Wiki (which is possibly the most active independent wiki site based on video games). If you would like to hear some of my suggestions/solutions, shoot me a PM.

[VincentASM]

Thanks for the advice, you made some really good points. I can say right now that I did start this project a bit unprepared and not knowing of what would happen. The worst part was perhaps that I didn't really have the time and/or interest to follow this up fully.

The part about me being lazy was partly a joke. However, in any case, I am definitely rethinking what to do with the wiki right now. As much as I'd dislike to, I may end up scrapping the idea of having it as a "third pillar" of the site. Right now, I don't think I have the knowledge and time to manage the wiki sufficiently and I am rather worried that any potential activity will still be limited.