User talk:Joe Beaudoin Jr.

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Archive from March 6, 2006

Archive from April 20, 2006

Design Improvements

Just a few minor design improvements.

• 1. On the image pages the mime/type text is white font on white background. The text of this or background box colour should be changed in the css to be black. http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/4151/bsgdesignimprovements11xv.png
  • Done. -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 12:49, 20 April 2006 (CDT)
• 2. The tiny little logon man perhaps changed to something more relevant, bgs logo or viper insignia http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/2377/bsgdesignimprovements27up.png
• 3. Redirect image should be inverted, this is how it look right now http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/1546/bsgdesignimprovements30lv.png
  • Done. -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 12:49, 20 April 2006 (CDT)
• Mercifull 08:13, 29 March 2006 (CST)

When considering design changes, please keep in mind that not everyone reads the site using the default theme. I, for one, find the black background with bright text extraordinarily hard -- downright painful -- on the eyes, particularly in contrast with just about every other program and web site I use. I'm using the straight Monobook theme in my preferences. As a result, there are already some boxes that are all but unreadable unless I highlight the text in them.

(Ironically, I used to feel just the opposite, but the predominance of white-background websites and GUIs has shifted my preferences. It's easier to go with the flow than to find ways to change every single GUI system I use). --Uncle Mikey 10:20, 29 March 2006 (CST)

Would it help on the boxes if we specified the white foreground? Granted, this would go against the rest of the text on the page, but I'd think that it'd make it look closer to how it is intended. However, you still have the blue links (unless that can be specified as well). --Steelviper 16:12, 29 March 2006 (CST)

Might help. It seems to me that there ought to be some way to make sure that template boxes &c integrate with the theme (using style-sheet names for things, &c), but I haven't messed enough with Mediawiki themes to know exactly how you'd do it portably.--Uncle Mikey 16:16, 29 March 2006 (CST)

You're absolutely right. That would be the correct way to do it. I too, however, lack that [[1]], and so I end up reaching for the quick/easy/ugly hack. Day has mentioned looking into such things in the past. --Steelviper 16:25, 29 March 2006 (CST)

I'm pretty good with CSS. I'll look into this, but I don't want to commit to a project I won't have time to see through properly. --Peter Farago 20:52, 29 March 2006 (CST)

I would feel comfortable commiting to this project, time-wise. I feel confident enough in my CSS skills that I either know or know how to find out anything that would be needed to be done... I just need to remember to email Joe about which files do what and that kind of thing. Then... Do we put the CSS labels in spans and divs in the Wikicode, then? Or somehow mesh it into the XHTML generated by MediaWiki? --Day ^(talk) 01:34, 30 March 2006 (CST)

I'm not too pro in the likes of CSS but perhaps in the meantime something like the redirect image could be made as a red arrow with a transparent png background then it would ok on both a white and a black background? --Mercifull 03:38, 30 March 2006 (CST)

Sysop Privs on Battlewiki-Deutsch

I think that I currently lack sysop privs over at the German-language version of the site. I was pondering helping in the import/export effort to get completed pages moved over there. --Steelviper 08:02, 17 April 2006 (CDT)

You're now an admin over at Battlestar Wiki-Deutsch. -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 22:04, 18 April 2006 (CDT)

System Clock

The clock appears to be over an hour slow. --Grafix 03:23, 18 April 2006 (CDT)

It's a minor issue that I cannot change at server level (I've already tried a month or so ago). I was going to contact the host and note this, but never got around to it. It's minor, so it's not priority right now (but it's on my to-do list nonetheless). -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 22:06, 18 April 2006 (CDT)

All Projects Link

Could that be ponited to Battlestar Wiki:Project List? --Shane ^{(T - C - E)} 12:37, 20 April 2006 (CDT)

Done. Great idea Shane! -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 12:42, 20 April 2006 (CDT)

Weird. It works point to that page when I view your User page, but when I goto the main page and hover over the link, it goes stright back to catgoery listing. --Shane ^{(T - C - E)} 12:49, 20 April 2006 (CDT)

Did you try a hard-refresh? -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 12:52, 20 April 2006 (CDT)

I just purged the server-files. It works now :-) --Shane ^{(T - C - E)} 12:53, 20 April 2006 (CDT)

Email validation

It has come to my attention that my email address is "not yet authenticated". I have clicked the "Confirm your e-mail address" button but i dont get anyhitng sent to me. I have checked my emails and spam box but nothing from BSWiki? --Mercifull 12:17, 23 April 2006 (CDT)

Have you checked to ensure that the e-mail address you provided in your preferences is the correct one? Even if it looks right, try re-entering it again from scracth, then apply the changes. If not, I'll confirm it from my end (which means going into the DB itself). -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 12:26, 23 April 2006 (CDT)

Just checked email address and its all correct. Tried submitting again but wont be able to know if its worked until i get home from work tonight. --Mercifull 04:21, 24 April 2006 (CDT)

Nope, still no activation link. :( --Mercifull 12:24, 24 April 2006 (CDT)

SVG Images

Could we support SVG images? The timeline image I am working on has SVG capabilities and it is a growing file format. --Shane ^{(T - C - E)} 13:23, 23 April 2006 (CDT)

Its still not supported by many browsers. I say stick with PNG for now. --Mercifull 04:19, 24 April 2006 (CDT)

Mediawiki will fall back to PNG rendering if SVG isn't supported on the browser. I don't see a problem. --Peter Farago 10:08, 24 April 2006 (CDT)

I learned something today :) --Mercifull 10:25, 24 April 2006 (CDT)

'"In browsers such as Internet Explorer and Safari, a plugin is needed to view SVG content. ...Internet Explorer users must separately download it." -Wikipedia:SVG As fun as using new, better things is, it's not practical to exclude large portions of your user base. Content negotiation is at best a bad solution, at worst not a solution. --CalculatinAvatar 13:39, 29 March 2006 (CST)' -Image talk:ColonialColors9.png

Given Wikipedia:Common criticisms_of_Internet_Explorer#HTTP_and_MIME, I still don't see content negotiation as a strong solution, barring Mediawiki behaving in a disturbing manner by giving IE the image as PNG regardless of what it requests. --CalculatinAvatar 22:04, 24 April 2006 (CDT)

SVG should be enabled now. -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 12:19, 25 April 2006 (CDT)

New Extension

Mind if ya give it a testing? http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Calendar_extension It would be cool if you could setup like a private wiki so I do some code work on it. You know I'm worth it! :-) --Shane ^{(T - C - E)} 14:09, 24 April 2006 (CDT)

I set up the Hangar Bay for testing. Did you need FTP access as well? -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 12:19, 25 April 2006 (CDT)

Yeah. You can find me on Gtalk. Need to be able to edit that Localsetting.php file. --Shane ^{(T - C - E)} 12:22, 25 April 2006 (CDT)

Pointer

Just in case you missed it, something new appeared here. --CalculatinAvatar 21:37, 24 April 2006 (CDT)

Thanks for the keen eye! -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 12:20, 25 April 2006 (CDT)

Main Page Redesign (part 2) and other

I think we are ready to submit the current design at Battlestar Wiki:Main page for depolyment on the front page. IF you think it's a go, we just have to create the backend pages on the same "Battlestar Wiki:Main page" (subpages that would be sysop locked) so we can use those as for the places to edit the information and that is controled.) The only thing that we would have to work on as a community is the Featured Picture and Article process as of the data used right now is jsut a mockup.

The "News" front, even for site news has a new home at Battlestar Wiki:News so the "Current Events" link would need to be changed.

We wouls still be workong on Battlestar Wiki:Main page to make the design use CSS so people can switch skinjs between the default and the monobook skins. That is the next step, but since most people use this skin, right now the hardcoded values are fine. (we do this at the Hanger Bay site, which is werid. jsut tried looking at the preferences, and it fails. (I'll work on this.)).

With that in mind, I pretty much got he Calender ext. working and possiable could get cite.php to work on the Hanger bay so we know the setup. That's about it. --Shane ^{(T - C - E)} 12:57, 29 April 2006 (CDT)

Calendar extension enabled. I'll begin implementing the new main page at present. -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 10:54, 1 May 2006 (CDT)

Cite.php

I just noticed something when working on the Hangerbay...u need...

require_once( "extensions/Cite.php" );
require_once( "includes/DefaultSettings.php" );

in the LocalSettings.php file. --Shane ^{(T - C - E)} 12:11, 30 April 2006 (CDT)

That's odd, seeing as this is included by default... I'll try it anyway. --Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 09:36, 1 May 2006 (CDT)

I just included it (and made a note on http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Cite/Cite.php) the alternative method. So Cite now works. -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 10:53, 1 May 2006 (CDT)

Friend status?

Discussion moved to the Battlestar Wiki:Wikipedian Quorum. -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 22:44, 7 May 2006 (CDT)

Extension which would be really useful

Would it be possible to add the Show/Hide extension here? It will be useful to have an 'edit' control panel on the main page and also for showing and hiding possible spoilers? --Mercifull 08:45, 9 May 2006 (CDT)

One problem with this ext. Javascript. To find all "normal" users with javascript enabled would be like a good thing. It also creates my favorite issue of not fullfilling it's "job" as if something like that is placed at the bottom of the page, you would still have to scroll down to read more text. --Shane ^{(T - C - E)} 10:57, 9 May 2006 (CDT)

Surely javascript is _already_ in use here to work the current show/hide used for the contents box --Mercifull 11:35, 10 May 2006 (CDT)

It is, AFAIK. -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 12:46, 10 May 2006 (CDT)

So this extension wouldnt make any difference to anyone than it already does. --Mercifull 12:54, 10 May 2006 (CDT)

That seems to be about right, from what I know anyway. Maybe Shane knows something I don't... -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 12:57, 10 May 2006 (CDT)

Safri is one broswer, and I.E. at certain secruity settings disables the show hide code. But as I said before, you would still have to scroll down if a large show/hide box was created because it's "inline". --Shane ^{(T - C - E)} 16:25, 10 May 2006 (CDT)