User talk:Joe Beaudoin Jr./Archive

For discussions prior to September 2, 2005, click here.

For discussions prior to October 17, 2005, click here.

For discussions prior to December 18, 2005, click here.

Image Floats

When using the extended image markup to float an image left or right without a thumbnail, a red background gets left behind in my browser. At the moment I'm using <div style="float:right;"></div> tags to surround the image, which doesn't give me the problem, but the use of HTML is undesirable for various reasons. Do you know why this is happening, and whether or not it's fixable? --Peter Farago 21:38, 20 September 2005 (EDT)

I'll check that issue out and get back to you. Thanks! -- Joe Beaudoin 22:15, 20 September 2005 (EDT)

I fixed the error. Sorry it took so long. -- Joe Beaudoin 10:52, 18 December 2005 (EST)

Logo

I found a font that looks like the BSG font and I thought, Joe, if you'd like, I'd redo the logo so that Wiki is in exactly the right font. I'f want to do it off of whatever original was used for the one that's up, if it's still around. That way I wouldn't have to redo some already-done work and futz with matching the gold under the letters. I also thought it might be nice to have a favicon pic. I'm not sure how, exactly, those work, but I understand they're 16x16px, and I thought a W in the BSG font would be nice, to kind of mirror the Wikipedia W, but, you know, with a Battlestar twist. Whatcha think? --Day 22:58, 17 October 2005 (EDT)

Feel free to make a logo and favicon. I've been meaning to make one, but I'm not artistically inclined. -- Joe Beaudoin 14:18, 22 October 2005 (EDT)

Do you have the original image that you could share with me? I'm not sure how well I'd be able to get rid of the old text. If not, no worries, I'll give it a try anyway. Just lemme know. --Day 18:08, 22 October 2005 (EDT)

Actually, it's just a screencap of the logo that was used at the end of the opening credits in season one. Essentially, I erased the "BSG 75" at the bottom and added "Wiki". However, the screencap came from an inferior non-DVD copy of an episode, so you may want to just go ahead and screencap that same logo, if you have a DVD version of any first season episodes. -- Joe Beaudoin 19:01, 22 October 2005 (EDT)

Oh this project is just too cool! I can't wait. Good luck, Day. --Watcher 21:33, 22 October 2005 (EDT)

Thanks, Watcher. I'll go for a DVD screen cap, if I can. The player I use for it (because it doesn't have copy-protection or whatever it is in the normal player that makes all my caps turn to just blak) is somewhat inaccurate with the pausing, so I will probably spend more time listening, over and over, to the final ten seconds or so of the credits than working on the thing in GIMP. Heh. --Day 06:05, 23 October 2005 (EDT)

File:Logo.jpg

Dig it. Whatcha think? I dunno how to make Favicons, so I'll do some research. I think this thing turned out decently, though. Comments on changes are welcome. I make no promises, but I'll see what I can do about them. Also... why's there red sticking out around my image. As you can see (if you clikc) that's not part of the original. --Day 20:05, 23 October 2005 (EDT)

Excellent Centurian (I'm watching "Rome" right now). Proceed with the gods' blessings. --Watcher 21:45, 23 October 2005 (EDT)

I kind of like Mason's. --Peter Farago 00:54, 24 October 2005 (EDT)

True, MASON's version is very nicely realized. It is clean in execution while simultaneously addressing the concern Day originally raised. I preferred it, initially (due in no small part to its appearing first). However, there is a grittiness and rough hewn realism to the series that I feel is more appropraitely reflected in Day's version.

This is, without a doubt, an artistic conceit and it can surely be argued that this site strives to bring greater clarity to the show (as it could be said MASON's version depicts), but I feel Day's version would be more evocative of the experience that brings people (non-wikipedians) to this site in the first place.

Perhaps Day's logo could somehow be used in the articles intended for public consumption and MASON's on the pages folks like us peruse. (I have no idea whether this is even possible, Joe.) --Watcher 03:28, 24 October 2005 (EDT)

File:BSG-WIKI.png

~~I, ah, "MASON's"? I didn't mean to start a competition, really. Where is it? Or did he make the one that's used now? I'm so confused.~~ --Day 08:48, 24 October 2005 (EDT)

I also made an .ico, but it won't let me upload it to the Wiki, here. How is your preferred method of transfer, Joe? Email? Also, I tested it out in FF and Opera, but I couldn't make it work in IE. This maybe be because I am not running a web server and, thus, can't put it in the right place. Lemme know what you like, Joe. --Day 10:13, 24 October 2005 (EDT)

Peter linked me Mason's logo and I added it here for reference, to the left... Also with an inexplicable red thingie. --Day 11:25, 24 October 2005 (EDT)

Hi, Day, I didn't want to stir up controversy or start a competition, just offer my two cents and an option. Try switching your skin to monobook in your user preferences and you'll see the added benefit you get from removing the background and saving the image as a png (gifs leave that nasty ragged edge). It works better as an icon for the wiki no matter what skin you apply in your preferences. We could do the same with the screencap logo but I happened to have already made an icon of this image for my own personal use and liked it enough to mod it and post it here. :D --MASON 13:06:02, 2005-10-24 (EDT)

Ahha. I see. Mine's a jpg, for the record. I hadn't considered transparency. One problem, though: IE6, which is the most common browser used on the internet (though maybe not fot this site), doesn't support png transparency. This issue is supposed to be fixed for IE7, but even after that IE6 will be fairly common for a good while. There are ways of scripting around it, but I don't have any clue how they would interact with MediaWiki because 1) I have no idea how MediaWiki works and 2) these fake png-transparency things all looked too complex for me to delve into.

So. With that in mind, I'd rather your logo with a square background or my logo: flip a coin. However, I don't think relying on png transparency is advisable with IE as prevelant and buggy as it is. We might be able to fake transparency, by having the image change with the layout settings, but I don't know if that's possible. I also don't think we can resolve anything further until we hear from Joe and he's probably not gonna be around for a few days. Anyway... there's that. Cheers. --Day 01:37, 25 October 2005 (EDT)

Very well, I can't say I know anyone who still uses IE6, but I'll leave my version as is, it will still render properly in other browsers (firefox, camino, safari, mozilla, netscape) will likely work fine in IE7 (if that's even what they'll call it), and doestn't look too shabby with its vestigial black background in IE6. As most people won't be changing the background of the site, the transparency is really more of a power user feature, for those who will likely be sporting the leanest and most feature rich browser they can find. The transparency also acts as a bonus for fans who want to create their own personal fan art, as most of the editing work is done for them. --Mason 07:28:13, 2005-10-25 (EDT)

There is an effective hack to enable PNG transparency in IE 6 that Joe an implement on this site if he's interested. --Peter Farago 15:41, 25 October 2005 (EDT)

Galactica videogame materials

Hi; I was the scriptwriter for the Galactica videogame in 2003, and I noticed you have some material on the wiki about the game. If you're interested, I'd be happy to supply you with the full character bios and backstory elements that were written for the game design process. Email me. --James Swallow 11:47, 29 November 2005 (GMT)

It would be wonderful to have additional information on the video game. I'd be particularly interested to know which elements were sourced from which series, and which were original. One potential problem I see is that Wikipedia's open nature makes it an unreliable host for original source material (a criticism frequently leveled against wikisource), but Joe could probably create locked pages on the wiki to host whatever original material you make available. Thanks for contacting us! --Peter Farago 23:12, 30 November 2005 (EST)

"Email me," he says. Yet, maybe I've missed something, but--he didn't give one to us to email him, did he? Or maybe he emailed Joe. Let's hope for that. --Day 13:12, 3 December 2005 (EST)

I found his e-mail address on his website and sent off an e-mail to him. Mr. Swallow has yet to reply. -- Joe Beaudoin 09:51, 18 December 2005 (EST)

3D Modeling area

Joe,

Are you interested in including articles on publicly available 3D models for BSG ships? I'm a member over at http://www.scifi-meshes.com, where BSG models are frequently under construction, many of which will become publicly available for fans to use to make 3D pictures of BSG ship scenes. It's something of intense interest to a few people - fans who know how to use 3D modeling programs to make scenes - but their pix are enjoyed by many, and public models are hard to track down. Having articles that point people to these models would be of great informational help.

Just wondering. I have no idea where these kinds of articles would go, or how they should be formatted.

CrimsonLine 20:11, 29 November 2005 (EST)

It would be nice to link to fan models from articles on ship classes. --Peter Farago 23:13, 30 November 2005 (EST)

As long as the ship classes are part of the Battlestar canon, I don't see why we can't include pictures (and external links) to the applicable articles. Any other questions, comments or concerns? --Joe Beaudoin 10:31, 3 December 2005 (EST)

I'd rather not have pictures of fan models, if only because it would be difficult not to present them as canonical elevation renders (like the ones we have from Zoic). Links to fan-models would be a helpful resource, however. --Peter Farago 19:08, 3 December 2005 (EST)

I'd be very interested in this, and would suggest that any references to mesh downloads be in open formats. Specifically DXF, although not as powerful as some other proprietary formats, can be view by virtually anyone. If anyone has a better format in mind, please propose it. --Mason 00:46, 4 December 2005 (EST)

I don't think we should be hosting models, just providing references. As such, the format is not within our jurisdiction. --Peter Farago 03:54, 4 December 2005 (EST)

I concur, Peter. Let us provide links off-site, but let us not display pictures or model files. This is kind of like fanfiction, really. It may be very, very close to what shows up on the show, but it's not what's actually on the show, so we should link it and clearly label what it is we're linking to, but not host it. --Day 10:14, 4 December 2005 (EST)

Yes, I agree, just link to it -- but we shouldn't host it. -- Joe Beaudoin 02:39, 5 December 2005 (EST)

Okay, so how does this sound? A page on "3D CGI Models (Fan-Made)" that has categories on it for each ship in the BSG canon, each category having links to where particular models can be downloaded for use. That doesn't sound like a great title for the page, but I am open to suggestions. -- CrimsonLine 18:42, 17 December 2005 (EST)

Perhaps a general links directory pointing to notable fan-art sites and forums, with a section for meshes? --Peter Farago 20:49, 17 December 2005 (EST)

In fact, Peter, this sounds, to me, like a wonderful beginning for the Community box on the main page. I think a page dedicated to model links would not be over kill. I could be wrong though. My thinking, though, is that if we put it under Fan Art (or something) people may not know to look for it there or, if they simply see Fan Art in the Community Box, that it won't indicate that we have all these links to neat models. That make sense at all? --Day 02:26, 18 December 2005 (EST)

If you want, you can work on the Community Portal itself, which needs to be started. :-) -- Joe Beaudoin 09:57, 18 December 2005 (EST)

Policy Page

I was bouncing around the site and found at least a couple pages listed under the category of Policies. However, we do not have a page that lists our policies and I was unsure as how to create such a list. I wanted to post this here so someone more wiki-knowledable than I could arrange the list. I know of at least two articles listed as official Battlestarwiki policies they are:

I'll look for other policies and add them if I find them.

- Sorry, I forgot to put my timestamp on the last comment. I think I fixed the Policy list problem. A list of a few current policies can be found at: Category:Battlestar Wiki policies.--Zareck Rocks 15:29, 25 December 2005 (EST)
  - Hey Joe, I was just wondering if you cared whether or not I filled in the definition of Policies for Battlestarwiki or if you wanted to do it. I thougt that it isn't really my place to do it because of the fact that disobeying the policies was subject to punishment at the discretion of you. I have a definition for policies, which I don't know is truly neccesary but I found several links to for policies and so someone(s) must have felt it important enough for having its own place on this site. I thought that I would eliminate as much work for you as possible by defining it but would like to ask you to put on a list of punishments that you can enact, to make the article more complete and just to have no grey area but the rules completely in black and white. I'd appreciate your feedback on the subject.--Zareck Rocks 22:04, 29 December 2005 (EST)

Thanks for your initative! A few things, though: Policies should really be in the Battlestar Wiki namespace (e.g. Battlestar Wiki:Policies, since policies is not an article pertaining to BSG, but the Wiki itself. As for punishment, I think you should bring the issue up on the Battlestar Wiki talk:Policies page prior to comitting it on the main article. And, really, you should probably work with Peter on this, as he is -- in my very humble opinion -- excellent at this sort of thing. I would contact him. (Of course, I would love to left in the loop as well, but I want people to get their hands dirty and not hog all the glory and work myself.) :-) Cool? -- Joe Beaudoin 23:40, 29 December 2005 (EST)

Thanks a lot Joe. I'll contact Peter about this. --Zareck Rocks 00:42, 30 December 2005 (EST)

Spoiler Template Pickiness

The Template:spoiler page is (understandably) locked, and I just wanted to mention that, based on http://www.yourdictionary.com/ahd/a/a0120200.html and http://www.yourdictionary.com/ahd/e/e0048100.html, the spoiler template should probably read "effect" in lieu of "affect". --CalculatinAvatar 02:30, 28 December 2005 (EST)

Good catch! I changed it, thank you sir! -- Joe Beaudoin 23:41, 29 December 2005 (EST)

Frappr!

So I thought it might be neat to see where everyone lives. However, I thought I'd let you create the Frappr account if you want to... If you'd rather not mess with it, then I'll do it. It doesn't look like it takes much, just an email address. --Day 14:33, 7 January 2006 (EST)

Neat idea. Here it is: http://www.frappr.com/battlestarwikiholics -- Joe Beaudoin 22:49, 7 January 2006 (EST)

Interwiki

Would it be possible to set up an interwiki namespace with Memory Alpha, as we've done with Wikipedia and IMDB? --Peter Farago 19:09, 16 January 2006 (EST)

That would be awesome. There are enough Star Trek references in our articles (both about stuff hidden in the series and people who've worked on both, etc.) that a bunch of out-links seems, well, cluttery. --Day 19:24, 16 January 2006 (EST)

Sure. I'll get to it. -- Joe Beaudoin 19:38, 16 January 2006 (EST)

Done. Check out this page on this cool dude. -- Joe Beaudoin 19:54, 16 January 2006 (EST)

Thanks, Joe! --Peter Farago 21:49, 16 January 2006 (EST)

No problem! -- Joe Beaudoin 06:35, 17 January 2006 (EST)

Color scheme

Joe,

First of all, kudos on starting the wiki! This will be an excellent resource and community, and I'm ecstatic to see it catch on so quickly. The color scheme, while definitely striking, can be a little hard on the eyes for some people, myself included. Changing the skin under preferences helps with the white-on-black text, but all the boilerplate tables retain their FG and BG colors (I guess they're controlled by the individual templates, not by CSS). Is there any way around this problem? I don't know enough about Wiki protocol to determine whether templates can also be driven by CSS. If not, perhaps a discussion should be started about modifying the color palette altogether. I personally would love to see an option for a more Colonial-Fleet-themed palette, with shades of gunmetal gray.

Thanks! -- Mayosolo 17:43, 18 January 2006 (EST)

I bet they can be CSS-ified. Rather than giving them colors in the template directly, give them classes or ids and let the CSS file sort out what colors those mean. Now, I'm not certain that would work, since I've never worked with the MediaWIki software, but I get the impression that it's fairly robust with regard to things like this. --Day 18:02, 18 January 2006 (EST)

I can edit the templates to use CSS classes, and edit the stylesheet appropriately. If anyone can come up with alternate color schemes, please bring them to my attention and I'll see what I can whip up. -- Joe Beaudoin 22:55, 18 January 2006 (EST)

Awesome! Thanks, Joe. I can start developing the gray idea... as soon as I relearn CSS. Boy, it's been awhile. -- Mayosolo 00:57, 19 January 2006 (EST)

I may be wrong, but the way I read that, Joe wants colors (like #777777 for a grey, though a bland one) from us (though I like and use the black and red scheme). I think he can handle the CSSing. I could be misunderstanding him, though. If you want someone to do some grunt-work CSSing, Joe, lemme know. I know a thing or two about it. --Day 05:37, 19 January 2006 (EST)

Name Change

Joe, is it possible for you to change my username? Thanks --BMS 13:32, 28 January 2006 (EST)

Yes, it should be a relatively painless manner. What do you wish your user name changed to? -- Joe Beaudoin 21:39, 28 January 2006 (EST)

"Kraetos" would be great. Thanks! --BMS 23:24, 28 January 2006 (EST)

I would also like my name changed (as I mentioned on my talk page), to "The Merovingian" ("the" is required). If you can't have two words, use "The_Merovingian". --Ricimer 21:42, 28 January 2006 (EST)