Battlestar Wiki:Chiefs' noticeboard

This page is one of Battlestar Wiki's many projects. This page serves to coordinate discussion on a particular aspect of this Wiki. The formal recommendations of a project may be treated as policies.

This noticeboard is a location to discuss and coordinate administrative tasks for the Battlestar Wiki.

It is my hope that this place can serve as a location for administrators to coordinate their efforts on the maintenance tasks of the Wiki (it's not ALL fun and games), as well as a spot for our contributors to be able to bring things to the attention of the admins if something needs to be done. Need a protected page edited? An article or picture deleted? Admins will watchlist this page so that your request won't get lost in the shuffle.

These are the archives:

• Archive 1:

General, David Larson Screen Capture, Home, Part II, Toaster revision, Billy, Spam Alert, SPAMER ALERT, Constant Vigilance, Amazon referral links, Spoiler policy, Another spammer, IRC Channel Open, Jon Doe

• Archive 2:

Battle Template, Inadvertent Deletions, Unlock the BW:SC Archives, Request that User "Shane" be given a warning ban, Vandel, Report on Vandalism by User:Mickey McGizzle, Shane's RFC and the Think Tank, Problem with mail validation, VandalBot Feature, July 8 Vandalism, Adminoticeboard, Possible Vandalism, Vandel, Search

• Archive 3:

Where to file feature request on MediaWiki, Help for Wiki Review Article, Mark as Read, Login Problems, The Merovignian Ban, Vandal, Battlestar T-shirts, Forced Skin Update, Think Tank Voting in Progress, Dogtags, Wiki PHP Errors, Way to Go!, Bad Link on Search Results Page, temp, The "Answers to Questions" policy regarding episode articles,

Ask a new question or begin a new discussion by clicking here.

Current Administrators

Bureaucrats

Bureaucrats are administrators who have the ability to make other users into administrators. Currently Bureaucrats are:

• Joe Beaudoin Currently only Joe has Bureaucrat status.

Sysops

Sysops are administrators who have access to move, delete and restore pages as well as blocking malicious users. The current administrators are:

• CalculatinAvatar
• Day
• Gougef
• Joe Beaudoin Jr.
• Mercifull
• Peter Farago
• Serenity
• Shane
• Spencerian
• Steelviper
• Talos

See list of all admins on Battlestar Wiki

How do you sign up to be a mirror?

Hey all, I'm the webmaster of bsgtns.com and one of the owners of MediaBlvd. We think this is a pretty cool thing that you have here, and would like to offer up some server space for a mirror. MB has 6 high end servers, and good deals on bandwidth. I might be missing how to go about that, as I'm fairly new to this space. I did want to say that I really like the concept though, and I spent several hours going thru the Wiki yesterday, and liked what I saw enough to want to be involved-- NetRanger

talk to joe. I think usually the mirror deals with running the software of mediawiki and one site having access to the other and vice-versa. Joe is currently sick. --Shane ^{(T - C - E)} 19:12, 31 July 2006 (CDT)

BW:MIR is the basic requirements. --Shane ^{(T - C - E)} 19:18, 31 July 2006 (CDT)

AFAIK basicly a Mirror has the exact same content except when you go to edit, it takes you to the real BSWiki site? --Mercifull ^{(Talk/Contribs)} 04:24, 1 August 2006 (CDT)

Yep. --Shane ^{(T - C - E)} 09:41, 1 August 2006 (CDT)

external.png

Despite changing the theme considerably, you still seem to be using the default MediaWiki external.png. I thought that this one might be nicer, so links look like this instead of this. Well, it would line up, but hey. — cBuckley (Talk • Contribs) 18:50, 29 October 2006 (CST)

Thanks... will discuss it. Looks good. --Shane ^{(T - C - E)} 20:09, 29 October 2006 (CST)

I'm fine with it. -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 21:47, 29 October 2006 (CST)

I don't know, there's something kind of forbidding about the dark interior. Could we try it with a white interior and a yellow border that matched the link color? --Peter Farago 00:08, 30 October 2006 (CST)

With the external link colour, there's not enough contrast, it just looks like a yellow blob: http://images.scholesmafia.co.uk/white.bsg.external.png And the internal link text's not much better: http://images.scholesmafia.co.uk/white.link.bsg.external.png — cBuckley (Talk • Contribs) 06:03, 30 October 2006 (CST)

I much prefer the first one. Or, perhaps, something in red? -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 06:34, 30 October 2006 (CST)

I would think that red carries with it all the connotations of a redlink, and as such wouldn't be suitable. — cBuckley (Talk • Contribs) 07:09, 30 October 2006 (CST)

You may also want to consider the multiple skins in the design. With the white background some of these can be difficult to see. (I mostly use the bsgmonobook skin, in part just to help catch/troubleshoot situations where something isn't working for "the other" skin.) --Steelviper 07:13, 30 October 2006 (CST)

I believe there's a way to use call different images depending on the skin via css. So this shouldn't be so much a problem; we could use the yellow external pic for the bsgbook skin and the standard blue external pic for the monobook skin. -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 07:16, 30 October 2006 (CST)

I prefer the yellow with black interior, and I concur with the thought that the red is too easy to misinterpret. --CalculatinAvatar^(C-T) 17:21, 30 October 2006 (CST)

What does it look like in red instead of yellow? --Mercifull ^{(Talk/Contribs)} 17:43, 30 October 2006 (CST)

Humph, I've already written this once, the reply seems to have been lost with the recent problems...

Here's what it looks like in red: http://images.scholesmafia.co.uk/red.external.png and with a link: this http://images.scholesmafia.co.uk/red.external.png — I really think the the colours should match up.

And Joe is right, the external image is set as a background-image to an external <a> tag, and can be unique per style sheet. — cBuckley (Talk • Contribs) 04:53, 10 November 2006 (CST)

The easiest way around this for now is to add the following text to your bsgbook.css page (remember to bypass your cache afterwards):

#bodyContent a.external, #bodyContent a[href^="gopher://"] {
    background-image: url(http://media.battlestarwiki.org/images/4/44/External.png);
}

pre {
    background-color: #1f0b0b;
    border: 1px dashed #eaf15f;
    color: white;
    padding-top: 1em;
    padding-bottom: 1em;
    line-height: 1.1em;
}

— cBuckley (Talk • Contribs) 20:00, 26 December 2006 (CST)

Redirect to Arcaderockstar.com

Just wondering if anyone else keeps getting redirect to the above website. It pretty much happens every time I open a different page. --FrankieG 09:10, 16 November 2006 (CST)

I thought it was spyware, but I went to a linux computer using Firefox and it did the same thining. The reason it didn't do it on the second computer I tried was that Flash player wasn't install. To sum it up, it did it on an XP with IE and flash, and a Linux with Firefox and flash. --FrankieG 09:28, 16 November 2006 (CST)

Yes, who else has this problem? Because I do not. -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 09:44, 16 November 2006 (CST)

I don't either, but everything I search on Arcaderockstar points to it being pretty shady into the spyware/adware market. I'm doubting that the wiki is the root cause. --Steelviper 09:48, 16 November 2006 (CST)

Yeah, I briefly checked into it and found much the same thing as you're finding. Freaky thing is that it's on a *nix machine... -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 09:59, 16 November 2006 (CST)

Probably is spyware, but doing it on a Linux machine is kinda freaky. Also, Charter Cable uses proxy servers on there networks. It might be that doing it at that point. --FrankieG 09:56, 16 November 2006 (CST)

I think that I have tracked to one particular ad that comes up at the bottom of the page. It is the one for Gamefly Video game rentals. Just a theory. --FrankieG 10:46, 16 November 2006 (CST)

It's this particular ad that is doing it. --FrankieG 11:46, 16 November 2006 (CST)

Wow. It took a few refreshes, but I was able to reproduce a redirect to the stupid rockstar site. That's pretty uncool of them. Any way to ban that particular ad? --Steelviper 12:00, 16 November 2006 (CST)

Pfft naughty ad companies. I emailed AdBrite earlier and they explained to me how to only show text adverts and not image or flash banner ads. I suggest that Joe do the same :) --Mercifull ^{(Talk/Contribs)} 15:57, 16 November 2006 (CST)

Editing freezes

Just want to get some feedback from the admins on this, but how do we feel about continuing the short-term editing freezes on episode articles during airing? Are they helping us or are we just doing ourselves a disservice? Thoughts? -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 21:48, 4 December 2006 (CST)

It seems like that'd be peak time for people to contribute... unfortunately, it is. I've got no magic bullet ideas. One idea is subpages for different sections that get transcluded onto the main page. But that'd only divide the problem by 4 or 5 and there'd still be contention on those 4 or 5 subpages. Is there any way to lock it to normal editing (to avoid contention) but still allow input-box style contributions (like the Reference desk "ask a question")? That way we could still get the additions people are dying to add, but people wouldn't be locking over each other. I'm not sure if that'd save any performance, though, or whether it's possible to lock out normal editing but still allow the input. Maybe the episode of the week should get its OWN dedicated server for that day... ;) --Steelviper 22:21, 4 December 2006 (CST)

The talk page is open for comments and additions tho right? People can post there the things they feel could be added? --Mercifull ^{(Talk/Contribs)} 03:23, 5 December 2006 (CST)

Per Mercifull, using the talk page to work out differences before allowing edits to the article has to be somewhat helpful. Maybe have a "talk" page for each section. This would help eliminate the "forum behavior" that the Analysis Section has been affected by lately. These talk page could be combined into one. Also, an easier idea it to just set up the talk pages with sections like the episode article and then archive as needed. --FrankieG 09:18, 5 December 2006 (CST)

My only concern is that the talk page of the article would be just as subject to locking/contention/edit conflict as the main article is (which is the main reason for the freeze, I think). --Steelviper 09:20, 5 December 2006 (CST)

This is a tough nut to crack. Doesn't seem to be any adequate answer. --FrankieG 09:39, 5 December 2006 (CST)

Personally, I think it should continue. I noticed once the episode guide was locked, people editing other articles spreadings out the load that needed to be updated because of the episode elements. It really helped in preformece and allowed a much cleaner episode guide in the end. Shane ^{(T - C - E)} 11:05, 5 December 2006 (CST)

Those are some good points. Editing the episode airing shouldn't come at the cost of killing the server for people wanting to read/edit other articles, and I like the idea of keeping all the character articles, etc. up to date sooner. Perhaps an "Episode in Progress" template should be developed (if one doesn't already exist) to explain to users what's going on, why, and what they can do in the meantime (edit other pages, add stuff to user pages, etc. to be pasted later, or whatever).--Steelviper 11:09, 5 December 2006 (CST)

I'm still suffering inconsistent page load times, but it has improved a bit. I think editing locks with a template, per above, is a good idea and the best way to keep from the overloads. --Spencerian 16:25, 5 December 2006 (CST)

Concur. Whenever an admin locks the page, the locking admin should slap on a template to avoid confusion from those not "in the know". -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 17:16, 5 December 2006 (CST)

{{air}} is created. edit as needed. Merc - TV with a lock in the middle. Shane ^{(T - C - E)} 21:47, 5 December 2006 (CST)

Done --Mercifull ^{(Talk/Contribs)} 06:09, 6 December 2006 (CST)

You two are da bomb. Nice work. Did we suggest a time to lock the article (two hours prior and after? One? After the 2nd showing?) --Spencerian 12:52, 6 December 2006 (CST)

Awesome work on that, guys. I think two hours before and after works. --Talos 14:22, 6 December 2006 (CST)

Two hours before the first airing and two hours after the second airing works. -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 10:22, 7 December 2006 (CST)

I agree that the locking should continue. A wild suggestion (probably not feasible) is that if someone wants to get a head start is to create a user page like User:Gougef/Unfinished Business. This would allow people to get a headstart on formatting their entries and may lend itself to having discussions to iron out differences before actual editing occurs. I know just a wild-a** idea. --FrankieG 15:45, 6 December 2006 (CST)

Actually, I think it's a pretty good idea. (In fact, I think some chump above mentioned that among suggestions of things that the users can do in the meantime on the lock template.) My only concern is that it may be more complex and abstract than most users will want to deal with. Creating a new page (even if it's just in your own namespace) is a scary process for most. Maybe if there was some way that the template could have a link that would autocreate a nicely named article (username/episode name) and some sort of a mini-template that people could use (if they wanted) to create the standard sections (summary, questions, analysis, etc.). It still sounds complicated, though, especially to people used to being able to edit anything and have the instant gratification of seeing your changes reflected in the article. I guess I'd be in favor of the practice (and the creation of a mini-template), but I'm unsure of the likelihood general adoption. --Steelviper 15:54, 6 December 2006 (CST)

I like the idea of a subpage... however, I don't think it would be generally adopted by non-diehard wiki users, but it wouldn't hurt to try it. I would also like to mention that I rather like the idea of locking down the page during air, as I think it helps in removing conflicts and allowing a rest period for people to digest the episode and approach working on the entry with a more thoughtful approach. -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 22:54, 6 December 2006 (CST)

I tried adding a username/episode name link to the Air template, but it looks like for various technical reasons no USERNAME variable exists or is planned to exist (since apparently it would play havoc with some caching systems like squid. Shane's on TDY, but when he gets back I may ask him to look at it. --Steelviper 07:48, 7 December 2006 (CST)

Uploading images

When I go to upload an image, it says I need to be logged in. I go to log in, but it says no user with my name exists. And then whenever I go to another page, I'm still logged in. What am I doing wrong? Motherfraker 12:59, 20 December 2006 (CST)

There are separate user databases for each of the different "sub-wikis", English, Spanish, German, Chinese, Hangarbay, and Media. You have to create an account at the media wiki to upload the images, but the advantage of the system is that once it is uploaded to the media wiki it is accessible by all the other wikis (so we don't have redundant images). --Steelviper 13:05, 20 December 2006 (CST)

TOS and RDM icon tags

One thing that we don't have available is an identification tag (an icon should do, say, in the upper right hand corner of an article) that tells a reader at a glance that the article is a TOS or RDM article. Separate continuity and other articles would not have an icon; only the in-universe encyclopedia would have the icons. Perhaps the OS multi-diamond icon for TOS, and the Colonial seal (the bird only) for RDM. Thoughts? --Spencerian 20:33, 1 January 2007 (CST)

With the increasing amount of articles on the wiki, this sounds like a good idea. -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 20:39, 1 January 2007 (CST)

Problem with that, it interfere with the BW:FP and BW:FA icons. Not to mention, the BW:QA, BW:SOUND, and so on. Shane ^{(T - C - E)} 22:58, 1 January 2007 (CST)

I think its a great idea, however our system of FA/QA/Sound icons would also need to have a re-think if this were implemented --Mercifull ^{(Talk/Contribs)}

Perhaps we can integrate it to the same locale as the FA and FP icons so that they appear side-by-side? --Spencerian 10:52, 4 January 2007 (CST)

Yeah, just put them all in the same area, line them up like in the Colonial One article. --Talos 11:12, 4 January 2007 (CST)

I created a mockup Template:TOS. You just add the {{TOS}} tag to an article to test it. It appears the locations are hardcoded. So would we shift the FA and QA icons over a slot for the RDM/TOS logo? What about articles (like Cubit) that are claimed by both series? Maybe make a an icon that is half RDM and half TOS (split diagonally) with its own template? --Steelviper 11:26, 4 January 2007 (CST)

I think the split-half version would be too small for most to see clearly. Would things get overly complicated when an article has multiple icons (RDM, TOS, FC, and FA?) --Spencerian 11:40, 4 January 2007 (CST)

I like how its done on MemAlpha with the little box saying its from the Real World pov. Example --Mercifull ^{(Talk/Contribs)} 11:55, 4 January 2007 (CST)

I tried a half and half with the Battlewiki logo vs. the Original series logo, and I agree it was confusing. It would help if there was a starker contrast in color. Red/blue, etc. Also, we should consider a tag for 1980, as well as keep in mind that Caprica (the series) may end up entering the discussion as well (if it ends up considered separate from RDM). --Steelviper 12:23, 4 January 2007 (CST)

My official stance on this is Oppose. Having to do this creates an unnecessary item to process for the entire wiki. However, I am Support to the idea of doing this to non-universe articles, because then people can tell that right away. Shane ^{(T - C - E)} 07:39, 5 January 2007 (CST)

Amazon Affiliate

Now we have the Amazon store running nicely wouldnt it be cool to have the MediaWiki ISBN feature use the affiliate? Would be a simple modification to the "/languages/language.php" file. What do people think? --Mercifull ^{(Talk/Contribs)} 04:52, 10 January 2007 (CST)

Yeah... ok. Sounds good. I don't know how much use that really gets, but I guess you might as well use every advantage. --Steelviper 07:04, 10 January 2007 (CST)