Battlestar Wiki:Administrators' noticeboard/Archive4

How do you sign up to be a mirror?[edit]

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[edit]

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? --April Arcus 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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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)

There's gotta be a way to make a distinction at-a-glance between an TOS article and RDM article. If icons cannot work, could the badge type Mercifull was playing with (the Real world one) be adapted for its use? One good example where universe confusion happened to me was Adama's quarters. I'm beginning to hate disambiguations. --Spencerian 07:49, 26 January 2007 (CST)

Amazon Affiliate[edit]

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)

The "Undelete" Pool[edit]

The Undelete pool is getting very large. I think we should go ahead and clear this list before the new season starts. Bascily, we won't be able to retrieve these old revisions. Thoughts? Shane ^{(T - C - E)} 03:19, 11 January 2007 (CST)

Can we pick and choose things to delete? I don't think the list should be completely cleared but there are dozens of old templates and other language pages which can be removed with no question. --Mercifull ^{(Talk/Contribs)} 05:36, 11 January 2007 (CST)

Haven't looked into this yet, but I would be interested in clearing this list, but keeping some things in the event we may need to restore something... -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 08:14, 11 January 2007 (CST)

iTunes Affiliate Scheme[edit]

Would it be worth it perhaps to sign up to the iTunes affiliate scheme so that if people purchase the itunes videos via this site we get some funds? Link: http://www.apple.com/itunes/affiliates/ --Mercifull ^{(Talk/Contribs)} 11:25, 12 January 2007 (CST)

It'd be pretty powerful to have a "purchase this episode at iTunes" in the episode data section of the episode guides... --Steelviper 11:28, 12 January 2007 (CST)

On it, Rouge Leader. -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 11:35, 12 January 2007 (CST)

Ok, I signed up. It'll probably take about 3 business days to get a confirmation from Apple, as outlined in their FAQ. -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 13:15, 12 January 2007 (CST)

Every little bit helps, I know there are people on this site who buy the iTunes episodes, might as well get some money to pay for hosting from it. --Mercifull ^{(Talk/Contribs)} 13:31, 12 January 2007 (CST)

I've added the iTunes store link... I just need to add links to every episode now... -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 21:14, 18 January 2007 (CST)

Maybe a interwiki link? Shane ^{(T - C - E)} 21:27, 18 January 2007 (CST)

Not so much an interwiki link, but rather a template, perhaps. -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 09:11, 19 January 2007 (CST)

Firefox search engine[edit]

Not sure if anyone else uses these things, but they are pretty useful. It seems you can add any site even if a specific addon doesn't exist, but a BSWiki plugin with a small icon would be cool. Or maybe it's too gimmicky and useless?
They also don't appear to be too difficult to make. --Serenity 15:22, 13 January 2007 (CST)

I actually made one for my personal use, ill upload it so other people can benefit tomorrow. (Bit busy tonight, A Town Called Eureka and Pub) --Mercifull ^{(Talk/Contribs)} 10:27, 18 January 2007 (CST)

Ah cool :) You could make it public on a somewhat prominent place here if you want. --Serenity 10:56, 18 January 2007 (CST)

I'd really appreciate that, a Wikipedia search plugin comes standard with Firefox, which simply opens /wiki/Special:Search?search=Keyword&go=Article. Can you (Mercifull) investigate if it's possible to implement search suggestions? Also a prominent link on the Main Page could be a good idea.--Catrope 11:26, 18 January 2007 (CST)

IT WORKS :P When I click the icon to the left of the Search bar while visiting a BSWiki page, I get the option "Add Battlestar Wiki (English)". I added it and it works, yay :P --Catrope 12:12, 18 January 2007 (CST)

Yeah, that's what I'm using now, but a full plugin would make it possible to have small BSG phoenix icon for example. I don't think that's possible with the "workaround" --Serenity 12:15, 18 January 2007 (CST)

What do you mean it's not possible? I have the phoenix icon on the far left side of the search bar, if that's what you mean. --Catrope 10:04, 24 January 2007 (CST)

Did you edit the xml file for that? That's the only way I know. Still pretty simple though --Serenity 11:29, 24 January 2007 (CST)

I didn't do anything, just installed the plugin the site offers. Maybe it's got something to do with the favicon for the site. --Catrope 14:14, 24 January 2007 (CST)

That might be it, since I disabled favicons. Never mind. Not really a big problem --Serenity 14:46, 24 January 2007 (CST)

The problem appears to be in an early version of the plugin, which I installed on another computer. Removing the old plugin and installing the new one fixed it. You can remove the old plugin by clicking "Manage Search Plugins" in the plugin list. --Catrope 06:45, 25 January 2007 (CST)

User:Galactica.com[edit]

Suggesting a user name change. Pure advertisement. Shane ^{(T - C - E)} 15:28, 14 January 2007 (CST)

I dont see a reason why they should be forced to change though. Its a real site which has on-topic information. The url has not been spammed on the site and been placed only in the community section. --Mercifull ^{(Talk/Contribs)} 16:05, 14 January 2007 (CST)

Agreed. Unless he spams, why not let him/her keep it? I doubt we'll see much of him/her anyways --Serenity 16:06, 14 January 2007 (CST)

I rolled back the forum link but have kept the link to the main site of galactica.com I dont think there is a need to have both links. --Mercifull ^{(Talk/Contribs)} 16:10, 14 January 2007 (CST)

I concurred with Mercifull when I noted the user signing in. After checking his contributions, I didn't see anything irregular. However, this brings up a valid point as somebody will eventually get "cute" about this. There should be some general consensus on acceptable names as periodically we do get names that aren't appropriate (vulgar or references a porn site, for instance) or may confuse articles with characters (User:Boomer vs Boomer). I may make up a Think Tank item on it very soon. --Spencerian 11:40, 18 January 2007 (CST)

"Soon" has occurred. See Battlestar Wiki:Think Tank/Username policy. --Spencerian 12:46, 18 January 2007 (CST)

Upcoming 2,000th article[edit]

That's a nice milestone. Any thoughts on how to celebrate it? --Spencerian 12:09, 19 January 2007 (CST)

Special logo for the week? How about Joe buying us a new mop... or at the very least a fresh head for it, getting a bit grimey. Got 1980 to celebreate first tho ^_^ --Mercifull ^{(Talk/Contribs)} 12:15, 19 January 2007 (CST)

Special logo! :-) Shane ^{(T - C - E)} 12:47, 19 January 2007 (CST)

The mops are on the way; got some spy gadgets on them too to kill any vermin with extreme prejudice (it's good to have b'crat powers, procurement's a breeze!). Perhaps our main logo can have "2,000!" in glaring green over it for a week or something. --Spencerian 13:19, 19 January 2007 (CST)

What about updating the number of articles on the main page, too? --Spike 18:57, 1 February 2007 (CST)

Not a very high priority. Right now... Every 100, then 150, and then every 500 it gets updated. :-) 02:33, 2 February 2007 (CST)~

Hangarbay Changes[edit]

As some of you may be aware I spend some times last night working on the Hangarbay. I have implemented the following changes which may look minor but belive me they took hours of work lol.

~~Favicon - The new one is smoother and clearer than the current one~~ - Done already.. Shane ^{(T - C - E)} 08:33, 20 January 2007 (CST)
User icon - I have changed it from the pixely white sillohette to a smooth Captain rank pip
Redirect image - The current one looks invisible on black but the new one works on both. See here and here.
Background - Added a picture of the computers from CIC and overlayed a slighty red cloud effect likes is use on some promotional material
Removed "Main Page" text - this uses a custom js script so will only work is javascript is disabled. I spend a long time last night trying to work out how to do it a better way. I will continue to look into this until its smoother and cleaner.
Battlestar Wiki title - This took me a stupidly long time to make, I wanted it to look as close as possible to the title shown on the TV shows but it was very hard work. This is attempt #1. If people like it then I will spend a few more hours on it getting it perfect.
Language logo - I put a flag next to the title because i thought this showed clearly which language edition you were on. Its probably more useful to define the difference been the english and media wikis but i guess it might be ok for all the others. Both the bswiki title and flag icon only show on the main page. They do not show on any other paged leaving maximum space on the screen for actual content.
Social bookmarks - They seem to be all the rage right now so I have added some of the more popular ones. This also took me an insanely long time to work out how to make it pick up the url that you were on but got it sorted in the end.

Comments from people would be really appreciated. Thanks --Mercifull ^{(Talk/Contribs)} 08:09, 20 January 2007 (CST)

Also some technicla changes...

All ext links on talk pages only, get the nofollow link.
the tabs start directly in flush from the left of the content box
If logged out, your IP address will not show in the corner along with the associated IP user talk page
The content box on the design, is moved down a bit for the possibility for the "Battlestar Wiki" logo to be placed on the top..Idea but the current image being used.
NEW ITEM: Flags are next to the associated language in the "In other languages" area. The square is removed because of this.
This look is for BsgBook skin only. BsgMonoBook is still the same minus the "User Icon". (see merc item #2)

Shane ^{(T - C - E)} 08:41, 20 January 2007 (CST)

I like the customization. The seal prevents easy lifting of our version. The stylized logo is great; that font alone tells people where they are. (Can it be centered to the page?) I think the flag is a good idea that can work in the localized versions. Nice work. --Spencerian 15:31, 20 January 2007 (CST)

Notice: The hangarbay is now at version we would upload to "LIVE" including both BsgBook and BsgMonoBook. It is suggested that you create an account and try it out. There are differences in "look" but very minor. Shane ^{(T - C - E)} 18:46, 20 January 2007 (CST)

I like the chevron user logo. It doesn't seem quite as sharp as the person, but that may be the lines being so close. I love hiding "Main page". It's kind of obvious/redundant. The image backdrop behnind the wiki logo seems a bit off (there's some duplication off past the left). It's neat looking, but I can't discern immediately what it is. I love the "other languages" flags. Goes with the main page flags well. I like the social networking links, and it's an easy way to help "spread the word". The "Battlestar Wiki" on top is kinda neat... but only for the main page. I prefer having the tabs on the top of most pages. Oh... and it needs more cowbell. :P Anyway, glad to see you creative types hard at work with changes. We can always change it back if we don't like it, but it can always spark new ideas. --Steelviper 21:53, 20 January 2007 (CST)

The title only showing on the main page was actually in the original design I did and described above. Shane thought we should try it in the background tho so that's the version that you saw. I dont mind either way which is why im asking for peoples feedback. Note to shane: its not ready to go live yet, there are things relating to the header that i am not finished with. I also have not created a version of the header for bsgmonobook. --Mercifull ^{(Talk/Contribs)} 07:32, 21 January 2007 (CST)

I have added option #2 to the hb too so you can see both at the same time. --Mercifull ^{(Talk/Contribs)} 08:29, 21 January 2007 (CST)

I personally prefer it with the Title and flag only showing on the main page and not in the header of all pages. It also keep the tabs at the very top of the screen in the same place they are on Wikipedia and most other wikis. The logo is already in the corner I don't feel the need to have the words Battlestar Wiki at the top too. I do however like Shanes idea of having it say "English Wiki" on the left just under the logo on all pages. This is especially useful for differentiating between the English and Media wikis. --Mercifull ^{(Talk/Contribs)} 05:18, 22 January 2007 (CST)

I'd like to propose a feature for the HB here (maybe I should make a separate header for that? Ah well...): some method of dating on the CF News Service and Merchandise sections on the main page. Right now, it's nigh impossible to tell how recent a piece of news is. Especially the Merchandise section is filled with old stuff. Something like a time signature at the end of every news message (optionally in a small font) or the bullet displaying a tooltip stating the date on mouseover (should also be doable) would help a lot. --Catrope 16:33, 3 February 2007 (CST)

Update 24th Jan[edit]

I have spend another few hours today working on the HB making changes and adding or removing feature that have been trialled out by either me or Shane. Follows is a list of changes made (items in italics are are already implemented onto en wiki, struck out items are features removed)

Smooth edged favicon - Already implemented
Removed "Main Page" text - Already implemented
User icon - I have changed it from the pixely white silhouette to a smooth Captain rank pip
User Text highlight - The 'username', 'my talk', 'my preferences' links etc now highlight a slightly reddish colour on rollover. Before nothing happened so I took the idea from the English wiki that has a white highlight in thie area.
~~Language Wiki information box - Removed information box above the 'Search' box and replaced with new flag (see below)~~
Miniature language flag - In the top right corner of the screen after the login/logout link is a small flag icon. This represents the language of the wiki you are currently looking at and changes automatically in the skin via a simple php script.
Redirect image - The current one looks invisible on black but the new one works on both. See here and here.
Red edit icons - self explanatory http://hb.battlestarwiki.org/w/skins/common/images/button_extlink.png http://en.battlestarwiki.org/w/skins/common/images/button_extlink.png
Background - Added a picture of the computers from CIC and over-layed a slightly red cloud effect like a nebula kinda thing.
"Battlestar Wiki" title in header - This has been removed as many people commented that it was only unnecessary on the main page and would possibly annoy people that the tabs weren't in the familiar mediawiki location (see also below)
Tabs flush to the edge - This has been put back to how it was before again for the same reason as above about tab locations being slightly different. This is my personal preference and would appreciate comments on this.
Tabs roll-over colour - Simple addition to the tabs. On roll-over they go a slightly different colour.
Battlestar Wiki title - I have spent quite some time trying to make it look good and would spend equally more on it trying to get it perfect if other people like this idea. This title image shows only on the Main Page and next to the title is the flag of the country whos wiki you are on. This idea of showing the flag was taken from the Turkish wiki. It has been suggest by others that an image similar to the one on the German Star Wars Wiki could go in its place. Comments welcomed.
Social bookmarks - They seem to be all the rage right now so I have added some of the more popular ones. This also took me an insanely long time to work out how to make it pick up the url that you were on but got it sorted in the end.
If logged out, your IP address will not show in the corner along with the associated IP user talk page
"In other languages" flags - The other languages section on the main page includes flags of each language where before it had simple bullets.

I think that's it for the moment. Changes have only been made to BsgBook for the time being to get the design right. BsgMonobook will however be virtually the same just in the blue/white colour scheme. I would really appreciate comments, suggestions and insults please. Thanks --Mercifull ^{(Talk/Contribs)} 16:47, 24 January 2007 (CST)

New feature (comments wanted)

Made it so the background of non main space pages are a very dark red compared to the black. This is similar to that of wikipedia where the mainspace pages are white and the talk etc pages are light blue. --Mercifull ^{(Talk/Contribs)} 11:21, 26 January 2007 (CST)

Reminder to all that I'd really like some comments and criticisms please on this. Nothin is going to happen until some feedback from other people is obtained. --Mercifull ^{(Talk/Contribs)} 09:34, 29 January 2007 (CST)

All in all, it looks good, but I have a comment about the link colors. It seems you have switched them. Internal links are now some light red or rose color (that's used for the interwiki links atm) and external links are yellow. Right now all links are yellow. It's probably just a matter of getting used to it, but it looks a bit odd.

I don't care for all the country flags, but I block them anyways because I don't use the international wikis and blocking the flags means less clutter. But others might find them useful. --Serenity 10:22, 29 January 2007 (CST)

Ignore the link colours lol. I havnt changed those and they are rose because they link to the English wiki the same as interwiki links currently work :P --Mercifull ^{(Talk/Contribs)} 10:37, 29 January 2007 (CST)

Looks good. I was thinking of a small search bar on top, right after the links. If that's possible. -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 12:05, 29 January 2007 (CST)

Also, we should probably work on the printable version stylesheet as well... May I suggest we pattern it after Colonial letterhead? -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 16:28, 30 January 2007 (CST)

I already tried putting a search bar in the header and it looked a bit odd. I also found myself forgetting it was there and continuing to use the side search as I am used to on this wiki, wikipedia and others. As for the printable CSS, yes that's definitely something that could be done, though I've not ever played with that before. In fact the hangar bay is the first time I've even edited a Mediawiki skin in my life lol --Mercifull ^{(Talk/Contribs)} 16:37, 30 January 2007 (CST)

You're probably right. We should keep the search box on the sidebar, as that's pretty much de facto across MediaWiki-run websites. So scratch that. :-) -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 16:45, 30 January 2007 (CST)

Update 31st Jan[edit]

Very minor changes, but worth mentioning. On the Special:Recentchanges page I have added slight colouration's to make it easier to see whats changed similar to the modifications on the Wikipedia recent changes:

N - The 'N' to signify a new page is in white font to make it stand out slightly more
m - The lowercase 'm' which shows a minor page is in a darker grey font
! - The unpatrolled character is the same
b - The bot character is the same
(0) - When a page edit summary has had the same number of characters added as removed it shows in a darker grey font, the same as the 'm'
(+104) - When a page edit summary has had characters added it shows as green
(-45) - When a page edit summary has had characters removed it shows as dark red

--Mercifull ^{(Talk/Contribs)} 03:30, 1 February 2007 (CST)

Shane has expressed a dislike for one of the features I put in on the last update. At the top header on the HB (My talk My preferences...) when you roll over there is a very faint dark red highlight. This was added to be similar to how wikipedia does it but with a white back. I am flexible on this feature but I do quite like it so don.t really wanna take stuff away unless other people feel the same? Some feedback on this and the above changes I did last night would be good please. Thanks --Mercifull ^{(Talk/Contribs)} 03:34, 1 February 2007 (CST)

The color coded character counts are distracting. --April Arcus 11:35, 1 February 2007 (CST)

The colours I used or the idea in general? --Mercifull ^{(Talk/Contribs)} 12:18, 1 February 2007 (CST)

Probably referring to the green/red coding depending on whether characters were added or removed... Wikipedia does the same thing, and it isn't annoying to me, but maybe it's because of the background colors. -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 18:02, 1 February 2007 (CST)

A big "Thank You!" for your work[edit]

This is just a "Thank You!" from Germany to you folks out there. There would be a lot of things we wouldn't understand properly if there weren't you and your tremendous work. The analysis' help alot! Thanks!

BSG didn't make it for even season two over here, it was cut really bad plus the german voices were horrible. So, we have to download (haha..!) the originals.

Keep on doing what you do!

M! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Madbride (talk • contribs).

You're very welcome, Madbride. We have hundreds of active contributors that have spent a lot of time to form what we believe is the most accurate encyclopedia on everything in the official Battlestar Galactica universe. I sympathize with you; the airing of the first season of the new series was delayed in the US for 6 months. As well, we have had to suffer delays in watching the revitalized (and awesome) new Doctor Who series here, too. --Spencerian 08:32, 30 January 2007 (CST)

Pfff, 6 months. You know nothing. The standard delay for TV shows here is 1-2 years, if they're shown at all. And then we have to put up with atrocious translations that can change whole characters or certain aspects of shows (some of the BSG translations I heard and read about make me want to bash my head against the wall). It's a bit better with PayTV, where they're showing everything with both language tracks and in widescreen, but they have relatively few new series, and delays too, albeit shorter ones than Free TV. I don't even watch TV anymore, since the only way to really enjoy the shows is in English --Serenity 08:47, 30 January 2007 (CST)

Not a problem. Thank you for all that you guys do on the German wiki! :-D -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 16:50, 30 January 2007 (CST)

Bad InterBot![edit]

Is it really necessary to change the canonical (although unpreferred by consensus) Cylon agent term to Humanoid Cylon throughout the wiki with the bot? Aside from the fact that "Humanoid" should not be capitalized in most instances, it seems unnecessary; either term should be acceptable, especially the canonical one. The Battle of the Resurrection Ship article looks weird now. --Spencerian 09:00, 2 February 2007 (CST)

It might be canonical, but the way it was used on the Wiki wasn't entirely correct. The issue wasn't just about preference. The show didn't really use to refer to all Cylons. It's correct in some cases, but in others it just looks silly IMO (when the bot is turned off I might change it back where I find it appropriate. Like with Gina).

However I agree that "humanoid Cylon" should not be treated as proper noun. "Humanoid" is a normal adjective. But teaching the bot to distinguish occurrences at the start of a sentence and in the middle of one might be difficult. --Serenity 09:07, 2 February 2007 (CST)

Perhaps this is somehting that could be done manually rather than getting a bot to make the mass changes? Or get the bot to change everyhitng and then manually change only some of it back to Cylon agent where needed? --Mercifull ^{(Talk/Contribs)} 09:15, 2 February 2007 (CST)

The change from "Humano-Cylon" to "Cylon agent" was done manually, but it was an easier global change. Here, it's context, and the use of the term in dialog (as done by Roslin in "Downloaded") should never be changed. I'd like to treat it as we do British contributors that write in the Queen's English ("theatre" vs "theater"). It doesn't need to be expressly changed but may be done for context or for consistency. I know I'm being a stick in the mud about it, but still, it's confusing. --Spencerian 09:33, 2 February 2007 (CST)

Alright, I didn't go through every changed article, but I probably changed the most obvious ones back to Cylon agent were applicable. For example Number Six when she seduced Baltar, Gina, or general references to undercover agents on the Colonies and with the Fleet. --Serenity 10:32, 2 February 2007 (CST)

Essentially, every one of the references is correct except for Sharon Agathon; she's the only "friendly" Cylon that's not mentioned-only, like the final five, which was the crux of my argument. From an alliance standpoint, she's not a Cylon anymore. --Spencerian 10:46, 2 February 2007 (CST)

I don't consider it correct to refer to Cylons who are fully integrated into Cylon society as "agents". In my opinion, Caprica-Six was an agent when she was together with Baltar before the occupation. All other Six models aren't agents. Only reporter Doral would be an agent, all others not. And some others feel that it's odd as well to call the Cylons on the baseship agents. --Serenity 10:57, 2 February 2007 (CST)

I'm aware that agent can also mean someone who acts on someone else's behalf, but in the context used on the show it means "spy". --Serenity 10:57, 2 February 2007 (CST)

User:Trade4Game[edit]

This morning the user Trade4Game registered, and his talk page is full of self-promotion. Obviously he's not here to actually contribute anything, and he doesn't even know how a wiki works (placing his stuff on his talk page rather than his user page). I marked his talk page for deletion, which is my way of requesting a block :P --Catrope 05:43, 25 February 2007 (CST)

Good call. User blocked. I don't want this to send a chill through the Wiki... this was an isolated case of obvious advertising. You're welcome to have what you want on your user page. However, if you want to advertise (exclusively), we'd appreciate you going through Adbrite. Thanks for the heads up, Catrope. --Steelviper 09:40, 25 February 2007 (CST)

Battlestar Wiki:News/Airdates[edit]

Why is Battlestar Wiki:News/Airdates locked? I ran into this when trying to put up the airdate for "The Son Also Rises". If it's locked because of fear it could mess up the main page, Battlestar Wiki:News/Colonial Fleet News Service is not locked. Weird. --Catrope 11:04, 6 March 2007 (CST)

SNAFU. That page was going to start to be auto-populated by Mercifull's calendar, which would in turn be updated by users (you'd update the particular day, and the airdates would show X number of days). That's not been implemented yet, so I unprotected it. --Steelviper 11:10, 6 March 2007 (CST)

OK --Catrope 11:17, 6 March 2007 (CST)