Battlestar Wiki:News/Site Current News/Archive1

8 February 2005[edit]

I have fixed the bugs that have proliferated IE, paricularly the tabs generated by the stylesheet.

This is what you get when you deal with antiquated technology: fictious CSS1 support when CSS3 (yes, three) support is on the horizon, and your fellow rival browsers support the CSS2 standard.

The only issue I have remaining is the "disappearing" of the left-hand logo when the mouse hovers over it; this is an exclusive IE issue.

I still haven't figured out why Konqueror renders the tabs in the incorrect place. All I know now is that this is not a Battlestar Wiki-exclusive issue, it's happening on other Wikis using the Monobook stylesheet (which is what we are using, obviously).

Odd that.

Suggestions, comments and concerns should be aimed and fired at Joe, or left on the Current Events' discussion page.

3 February 2005[edit]

I've identified a problem within the Konqueror (Linux browser for the KDE desktop) with the top-most tabs. They seem to not align properly, shifting to the left. I'm adding that to my list of known bugs...

Still renders fine in IE and Firefox.

31 January 2005[edit]

Update Done: I've finished updating what needed to be updated. Everything went, thus far, without a hitch.

I know it's not Sunday night; I had to get some sleep. So shoot me.

--Joe Beaudoin 01:52, 31 Jan 2005 (EST)

29 January 2005[edit]

Update Notice: I will be updating the MediaWiki software that runs this site. Everything is in the process of being backed-up and archived. However, despite the precaution, I expect a smooth transition as the underlying software needs to be updated. The entries themselves are on a separate database (archived as well on a weekly basis) and will not be affected.

The update should happen sometime within the next two days (hopefully by Sunday night ET), depending on my DSL connection.

(Yes, I am still working on the irksome IE bugs that I've come across... Sadly, had Microsoft elected to better support their web-browser and the W3C standards, this wold not be an issue... The site works fine in Opera and Firefox/Mozilla/Camino browsers, AFAIK.)

--Joe Beaudoin 21:52, 29 Jan 2005 (EST)

Fixed: CSS rendering issue in IE. Problem was that the search box (see the left margin) would be white, while the buttons beneath would be black without text.

I'm working on dealing with the semi-disappearing bar beneath the top toolbar, which is an issue that's been identified.

--Joe Beaudoin 18:26, 29 Jan 2005 (EST)

Added a few items to the main page, in particular a browse by category feature and a rotating feature of the day. Hopefully it creates interest and facilitates the use of the Wiki.

Also, all "broken" links (i.e. those with no actual pages, yet), now have a hyperlinked question mark (?) next to it. This allows for easier spotting of anything that needs to be done by Wikipedians and contributors.

--Joe Beaudoin 06:26, 29 Jan 2005 (EST)

6 January 2005[edit]

As of 06 January 2005, a CSS stylesheet formatting problem with how image thumbnails were handled was rectified.

Should there be any additonal problems, contact the webmaster.

21 August 2005[edit]

Due to the increase in zombie spamming activity, I have decided to block edits from all IP addresses. My fellow contributors and I simply do not have time for this garbage of reverting edits on a daily basis. IP range bans were somewhat effective, however with the increase in hijacked computers (whose users are doubtless unaware of this activity on their systems), this is the only viable and effective option.

Users can still access the content of the Wiki without logging in. Should you wish to contribute, you do need to create an account.

I apologize for the inconvenience. Concerns should be directed at the Wikipedian Quorum. -- Joe Beaudoin 20:49, 21 Aug 2005 (EDT)

14 July 2005[edit]

Someone with the IP address of 222.65.202.53 has been vandalizing some articles -- seemingly at random -- and including spam-links in them. I, and other users, have reverted these edits and that IP address has been blocked for a period of 60 days. If it happens again, I'll block that IP address (or that range) for longer periods of time. -- Joe Beaudoin 09:30, 14 Jul 2005 (EDT)

30 June 2005[edit]

I've been meaning to implement this for a while, but here's the "official" announcement.

We are no longer having articles in the lastname, firstname format. Articles will mirror Wikipedia/encyclopedic format, with first middle last.

The reason why we were using the lastname-first format was because we were actually new to the MediaWiki software and didn't know how else to alphabetize articles by last name -- would you believe it?

To alphabetize them in a category listing, follow the category name with a pipe, then type in the persons last name.

Example: [[Category: A to Z|Valerii, Sharon]]

Note that you can also type the letter you want to alphabetize by. For the Sharon Valerii example, you can type the following:

[[Category: A to Z|V]]

This also amounts to the same thing, in that it alphabetizes it under "V" instead of "S" (for Sharon). -- Joe Beaudoin 20:53, 30 Jun 2005 (EDT)

30 May 2005[edit]

I've blocked out the entire 69.50.180.0 through 69.50.189.0 ranges, seeing as all the vandals (or just one with a changing IP address) that have hit the "Quote of the Day" entries lately share this IP range.

To legitimate users using this range, I apologize for the inconvenience... however the alternative is something I am not comfortable in doing. That is to say, restricting submissions to registered users only. This wiki is meant to be open, and I do not feel that it would be in this wiki's best interest to force people to sign up.

Please contact me with any questions, comments or concerns, should you harbor any.

-- Joe Beaudoin 21:05, 30 May 2005 (EDT)

14 April 2005[edit]

When you file your taxes early, you get to do -- how shall I say it -- other things. Such as housecleaning. Or furnishing...

Despite the fact that I also have a touch of "the cold", albeit I live in Florida which is not "cold" like the Great White North, I have created a variety of templates.

Just do a search on "Template:" and you should get a list of what's available.

As I am now fatigued, I haven't created the Help:Template page which will list all the templates. So if someone would be kind enough to create one, even as a skeltal article, feel free. Kudos in advance. -- Joe Beaudoin

21 March 2005[edit]

I've successfully upgraded the Wiki's software to 1.4, which was released yesterday (20th).

I would have given advance short notice, however I was unsure of when I would be able to have the opportunity to upgrade it in the future. So I did it today.

I ran everything through its paces and all should work as before. I did, as usual, add some new features.

The "Go" Button[edit]

In the old days, the "Go" button would lead you to an edit page, should the article name not exist as typed. Now, the Go button will still go to a valid, already pre-existing article, such as Galactica.

However, the Go button will now direct you to a search page, with the option on top to create (or request!) the article. The request page is simply a page where a user would "edit" it and say "Please create an article for such-and-such."

Try typing in "James Kirk" and pressing "Go" in the search box to your left for an example...

Elimination of the Question Mark for Links to Non-Existent Articles[edit]

Globally, I had an option implemented where a question mark would sit next to an article link that did not exist.

Now all links that lead to non-existent articles are dark red. Links that are a lighter red/rose color are still considered "visited" links, as they lead to pages that do exist.

For instance, the article Gaeta exists, and therefore is not red, unlike the link to the alleged article for Galactica Expendible. (Galactica Expendible does not exist, obviously.)

Note: For some reason, some people (such as myself) continue to see the question marks... I'll look into it later, as it isn't a pressing concern.

Concerns and Questions[edit]

As usual, submit your questions, comments, or concerns to Joe Beaudoin (or my talk page).

17 March 2005[edit]

I am planning on updating the MediaWiki software to the 1.4 series as soon as it comes out of the "release candidate' stage.

Currently, MediaWiki 1.4 is at RC1 and sports many cool features that you can already see in action, if you've ever utilized the English Language Wikipedia.

Just so you, whoever "you" are and happen to be, know...

26 February 2006[edit]

I recently received an interesting e-mail, which reads:

Dear Joe Beaudoin Jr.,

We would like to inform you that your account is using excessive server resources. 
The resources your account requires is not suitable for our shared hosting. Your account
is the top cpu user for the entire server.

As much as we appreciate your business we cannot continue to host your account on our 
shared hosting server. It's affecting the performance of the server and other customers 
on the server. Due to the severity of the situation we need you to either upgrade your 
account to a virtual dedicated server/dedicated server or find a new host within 7 days. 
Please be advised that we would never inconvenience a customer unless the situation is severe.

Please contact us if you have any questions regarding this.

Best Regards,

Ace Web Hosting

http://acewebhosting.com

Date: 02/25/2006

So apparently we are vicitms of our own success; I can't post all the web statistics data now, but we've seen an increase in traffic of up to 40% from January to February (and the month isn't over yet). Consequently, we've seen an increase in bandwidth used this month: January we saw a total of 9 GB; this month, thus far, 22 GB. Due to the above, I have been communicating with the Ace Web Hosting's sales representatives to see what is the best hosting option for us. So far, it appears to be a virtual server option, which would give us our own server instead of being a shared one. (This would cost roughly $50/month.)

I would like to still host with them, as they have proven very reliable thus far.

In any event, I am seeking out other web hosts as well as backups, just to have all my bases covered. I don't think this'll be a large issue in that this won't adversely affect the future of this wiki. (The worse that can happen is that we might be down for a few days pending a move.) However, due to the fact that costs are going up, I'll probably start getting a donation process going. The donation process will likely be through Paypal and I'll probably keep a record of hosting costs on the Wiki as well.

I'll keep everyone updated on this issue. -- Joe Beaudoin 08:36, 26 February 2006 (EST)

6 April 2006[edit]

We've moved into the new servers. Should there be any outstanding technical issues, contact me at my talk page. -- Joe Beaudoin 22:17, 2 March 2006 (CST)

Hi, can you tell me in email rachelfth at aol dot com what the detials are about the move and hosting. I have exceptional bandwidth on my hosting accounts and pay a few thousand dollars a year for them and may have room and would consider hosting this for less than whatever it is costing now. Who pays for it now and what else should I know. Like for starters... how is it best to even ask this stuff do we have a forum? LOL--RachaelFaith

I don't know about that kind of thing. Our (not used too much yet) forum would be found at Battlestar Wiki:Wikipedian Quorum. --The Merovingian ^{(C - E)} 22:49, 6 April 2006 (CDT)

19 March 2006[edit]

Just a note that the Wiki has been updated to 1.5.7. If there are any questions regarding this, please let me know. -- Joe Beaudoin 16:57, 19 March 2006 (CST)

30 March 2006[edit]

In order to remove cruft from the database, I plan on going through and removing any accounts that haven't made any edits. Basically, if the account is more than one month old and hasn't been used at all, it will be deleted.

Please note that this will not affect any accounts who have made edits in the past, but are presently inactive. This is only for accounts that have never been used.

Any concerns should be directed at me. Thank you. -- Joe Beaudoin 08:55, 30 March 2006 (CST)

7 April 2006[edit]

I will be setting up the German wiki on Tuesday or Wednesday. Users who have an account on the English wiki will also have an account on the German one as well.

If there are any questions, please let me know. Thanks! -- Joe Beaudoin 00:23, 4 April 2006 (CDT)

Correction: Make that Monday or Wednesday of next week... -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 22:53, 7 April 2006 (CDT)

10 April 2006 - ?[edit]

As stated in the header, the complete upgrade to 1.6 has been completed. Please report any technical issues to Joe. Additionally, due to this, the portal system will now be finalized and implemented. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

15 April 2006[edit]

The German Wiki is online and articles will be moved starting, well, now. The Spanish wiki has been fixed and now runs 1.6.3.

As of right now, every Battlestar Wiki runs 1.6.3.

On a side note, I am attempting to get the Cite.php extension running... It does not run, for some reason. However, given that we have citation templates in place, this is not a high priority for me at this time. (I'll figure it out eventually, but I must have my priorities after all, or else Mr. Morden will get mad.)

Thanks for understanding. -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 22:43, 15 April 2006 (CDT)

I will inform Germany immediately. --The Merovingian ^{(C - E)} 22:47, 15 April 2006 (CDT)

Wonderful. It was beginning to get too quiet on the Western front anyway... -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 22:53, 15 April 2006 (CDT)

I wasn't being sarcastic or anything. --The Merovingian ^{(C - E)} 22:56, 15 April 2006 (CDT)

Neither was I. :-) Just a joke. Borne of fatigue. -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 23:05, 15 April 2006 (CDT)

I hereby confirm that The_Merovingian (yes, he sent me, for what's worth...) has now finally (a.k.a. "immediately") informed Germany, by breaking the "BS Wiki DE" news in the forum of our humble site Caprica-City.de. Once I've digested the current "Caprica" craziness, I'll post a real news on our portal, too. --Pedda (06-04-27; argh, how do I insert these fancy edit time thingies?)

Welcome Pedda! Well I'm glad I could help out a bit on Caprica-City, but now we really need your help translating all of our 1,000+ BSG articles! I guess you should start with the character pages, then go through the episode guide, and then branch out after that. Yay! I'm happy to see you here. Now, with the combined power of our UK and German allies, which can move our combined forces on Japan. :) --The Merovingian ^{(C - E)} 22:38, 26 April 2006 (CDT)

29 May 2006[edit]

The update on the english version of Battlestar Wiki has been completed. The wiki is now fully up to date to the newest version of the MediaWiki software and the tweaks done to the database have been completed.

As a result, we have expunged roughly 480 inactive users from the database: these inactive users made zero edits to the wiki. Those who intermittently contribute were not affected by this.

If there are any concerns or questions, please direct them to me. Thank you. -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 13:45, 29 May 2006 (CDT)

24 July 2006[edit]

I have completed the update to MediaWiki 1.7, as well as the other updates.

I still haven't addressed the issue with the e-mail system yet. I still need to figure out why this is happening. It is a priority.

Also, our page move policy is now being implemented. Should any concerns arise, please visit BW:MOVE and comment on the discussion page. Thank you. -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 02:33, 24 July 2006 (CDT)

21 August 2006[edit]

Myself and Joe have completed the "wiki" farm. That is having one installation of MediaWiki with different lang databases supporting each lang. You might want to check out Battlestar Wiki:Interwiki page for details on how to link to the other wikis that are now in this farm system.

Thanks for all your coorperation as we were doing this. At sometimes we would frezze up the server moving and deleting tons of files. --Shane ^{(T - C - E)} 17:01, 21 August 2006 (CDT)

2 September 2006[edit]

2,000,000 page views to the Battlestar Wiki (English) on this date. Thanks to all for making this happen! --Shane ^{(T - C - E)} 23:20, 2 September 2006 (CDT)

29 September 2006[edit]

There is a new IRC channel at freenode, read more here. MatthewFenton 08:06, 29 September 2006 (CDT)

Note: This is not official. An official channel is in the process of being vetted through our Think Tank process here. -- Joe Beaudoin ^{So say we all - Donate} 17:04, 29 September 2006 (CDT)

6 October 2006[edit]

And when we think we just entered and passed the 2 million mark, we now how over 3 million page view today. Great way to start to a new season! --Shane ^{(T - C - E)} 12:50, 6 October 2006 (CDT)