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Getting informed about Wiki events needs to be easier

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Westrim deep in though- ow! from The land of hoodoos Since: Jan, 2001
deep in though- ow!
#1: Apr 14th 2012 at 4:26:38 PM

At this time, the only ways I know of to learn that something has changed in wiki policy are to:

1. Check the forum and find the thread,

2. See the results on your watchlist as a page you watch is affected,

3. Linking to the page and seeing that it is changed or blank.

There needs to be a place where moderators can note changes to policy. The changes should be listed by date, say what pages or indexes are affected, and provide a link to an appropriate thread to respond. I can think of several ways it could be presented; as a page added to the site that can be linked to or add watchlists, an applet only visible on watchlists and other user pages, maintenance pages, or maybe something else. I don't think being sitewide would be useful, as it would distract more casual users.

There are several ways that this would be beneficial:

  • Announcing new policies would help prevent errors, as among the inevitable complaining there will be a few people noting overlooked flaws. The contemporary purge of a certain subject matter, for example, has caught a few pages that should not have been involved, and left behind ones that by its criteria should have been cut. In addition, it appears that the process of their deletion did not bump them on watchlists, so the ripple effects as people react to pages they cared enough to watch being deleted may last for months.

  • It would also reduce the potential for feelings of antagonization and smooth the transition, as everyone appreciates a heads up and people inclined to object would have a chance to think it over rather than only learning of the change when they run into it.

I don't think whatever announcement system is created should be used for things under debate, only notification of what is already decided. However the notice should happen before the change is put into effect, perhaps by a couple days or a week, so that flaws can be found beforehand (the shift a few months back in how subpages were presented comes to mind) and so that people have time to learn of the coming change and unruffle their feathers before actually dealing with it.

edited 18th Apr '12 9:11:19 AM by Westrim

I rarely visit the forums to avoid the cynicism ooze.
condottiera from Chicago Since: Oct, 2011
#2: Apr 16th 2012 at 1:55:25 AM

I think we should have a way of letting people who don't use the forums know when something important is going on. Newsletter style updates on coming changes and stuff would be good, and we could have avoided all the Recent Unpleasantness. I didn't know what was going on or where to find out.

More pluck than an Alabama banjo festival
Catbert Since: Jan, 2012
#3: Apr 16th 2012 at 9:18:17 AM

It is absolutly vital that tropers know what the policies of this website are and when the policies change. You should not have to read every page of every thread in TRS and Wiki Talk and moniter every adminsitrative page just to know to stop using certain trope names, or stop creating pages with certain types of content in it.

The first step to fixing a problem is letting people know that is considered a problem to begin with.

VmKid Since: Sep, 2009
#4: Apr 16th 2012 at 3:32:07 PM

We've already got a "News" box. A more appropriate request would be to use it more often to announce policy changes.

Bookyangel2438 from New York City Since: Jul, 2011
condottiera from Chicago Since: Oct, 2011
#6: Apr 16th 2012 at 4:34:47 PM

There's gotta be a way to let people know when something big is going down. Finding out by accident, having no information readily available, caused panic and spread rumors.

More pluck than an Alabama banjo festival
TParadox Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: The captain of her heart
#7: Apr 16th 2012 at 7:31:23 PM

Just a few months ago we had to ask for the newsbox to be used more. Then last week we only heard about the Adsense shenanigans through the rumor mill.

Who has access to the newsbox? It gets stuffed full of Echo Chamber and other social stuff, so I assume the Intern Desk has the keys, but then policy and other major things slip by without any warning, which suggests only one forgetful person has access. This should be a thing that all the moderators can post to under consensus.

Fresh-eyed movie blog
shimaspawn from Here and Now Since: May, 2010 Relationship Status: In your bunk
#8: Apr 16th 2012 at 7:41:10 PM

The moderators have come to the consensus that using the announcement box to announce wiki back end stuff doesn't work. It just results in confused people asking the same questions in circles, trolls shit posting, personal attacks, and nothing getting done.

Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick
condottiera from Chicago Since: Oct, 2011
#9: Apr 16th 2012 at 9:57:35 PM

If you don't want the people to be misinformed, then why don't you give them the information?

More pluck than an Alabama banjo festival
feotakahari Fuzzy Orange Doomsayer from Looking out at the city Since: Sep, 2009
Fuzzy Orange Doomsayer
#10: Apr 16th 2012 at 10:05:39 PM

To expand on ^, everything in ^^ has been happening anyways. It's been a delayed reaction, but it's been even more confused due to the lack of proper explanation, and it's only going to get worse.

That's Feo . . . He's a disgusting, mysoginistic, paedophilic asshat who moonlights as a shitty writer—Something Awful
condottiera from Chicago Since: Oct, 2011
#11: Apr 16th 2012 at 10:09:11 PM

I think a good place to start is adjusting the blocked banner image and replacing the text with an explanation. It could be as short as you want, but at least it wouldn't be insulting.

More pluck than an Alabama banjo festival
JHM Apparition in the Woods from Niemandswasser Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: Hounds of love are hunting
Apparition in the Woods
#12: Apr 16th 2012 at 10:39:17 PM

Some sort of bulletin would be nice. I didn't even know that there was a big clean-up happening until weeks later, and being someone who felt very strongly about the subject—even if I weren't so vocal about it—I felt a bit shocked that I didn't hear about it when it happened.

I'll hide your name inside a word and paint your eyes with false perception.
condottiera from Chicago Since: Oct, 2011
#13: Apr 16th 2012 at 10:45:38 PM

There would only need to be a notice that everybody can stop panicing and focus, or else they will keep panicing until everything's already figured out, and then they'll complain.

More pluck than an Alabama banjo festival
Westrim deep in though- ow! from The land of hoodoos Since: Jan, 2001
deep in though- ow!
#14: Apr 18th 2012 at 9:11:33 AM

I wish I could change the name of the discussion to something more general and/or catchy. Maybe 'Getting informed about Wiki events needs to be easier'. Oh well (though if a mod could change it, that would be great). I'm editing my first comment to be less dry and more readable- I blame typing quickly and tiredness.

'News box' was a bad term to use. It's already loaded with preconceptions and doesn't really describe what I was thinking, and people are associating it with the box that used to be in the left side row of links. But that's not what I'm thinking of, not least because it never communicated anything but advertisements for stuff related to the wiki, like the video series.

Other than that, nothing to add at the moment, carry on.

edited 18th Apr '12 9:13:40 AM by Westrim

I rarely visit the forums to avoid the cynicism ooze.
Willbyr Hi (Y2K) Relationship Status: With my statistically significant other
Hi
#15: Apr 18th 2012 at 9:33:49 AM

[up] I changed the title to exactly what you suggested.

edited 18th Apr '12 9:34:40 AM by Willbyr

ThatHuman someone from someplace Since: Jun, 2010
someone
#16: Apr 18th 2012 at 9:43:20 AM

What about the General Announcements thread?

something
KingZeal Since: Oct, 2009
#17: Apr 18th 2012 at 9:46:09 AM

I agree with this thread and Feo in general.

Shima, while I appreciate your median stance on most things, I've noticed a disturbing lack of faith in the wiki populace while at the same time demanding that everyone have complete faith in the inverse. Even if being more informed won't "stop" the rumors, speculation, and panic, it's a Perfect Solution Fallacy not to do anything at all. Even people who have normally backed up the policy changes by the administration are taking exception to the way recent events have gone down.

FinalStarman from Clinton, Massachusetts Since: Nov, 2011
#18: Apr 18th 2012 at 9:51:07 AM

There's a GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS thread, but it hasn't been touched in over a year. If reviving that to announce huge changes like the split of Web Original or the porn policy snafu we're currently experiencing would just catalyze the same problems as the news box, then maybe it wouldn't be such a great idea. I'd definitely watchlist it if it is, but of course not everyone would read the thread.

EDIT: That Human ninja'd me with the mentioning.

edited 18th Apr '12 9:52:01 AM by FinalStarman

I'm not crazy, I just don't give a darn!
Westrim deep in though- ow! from The land of hoodoos Since: Jan, 2001
deep in though- ow!
#19: Apr 18th 2012 at 10:07:40 AM

@ Willbyr, Thanks.

The primary problem with the General Announcements thread is that it's a thread. Most of even the dedicated tropers don't go on the forums, or do so sparingly *raises hand.*

I rarely visit the forums to avoid the cynicism ooze.
ThatHuman someone from someplace Since: Jun, 2010
someone
#20: Apr 18th 2012 at 10:09:11 AM

Well, General Announcements is locked, so if it's used again, i imagine it will only be the announcement posts, not any responses that the staff announcements get lost in.

something
condottiera from Chicago Since: Oct, 2011
#21: Apr 18th 2012 at 12:29:12 PM

The other problem with the announcements thread is not everybody knows about it. If something big is going to happen that will effect everyone, then everyone should know, not just the people who read the fora.

More pluck than an Alabama banjo festival
Telcontar In uffish thought from England Since: Feb, 2012
In uffish thought
#22: Apr 18th 2012 at 12:34:40 PM

I think one useful thing for individual threads, specifically fast-moving and long ones, would be for the mods to have the ability to "pin" a post at the top. This post would contain a brief summary of changes and topics discussed thus far, as well as answering recurring questions and maybe providing relevant links. It would be visible at the top of every page in the thread, and hopefully stop people A) making the same points a thousand times, and B) being put off a thread by length and speed. Naturally, there would be people who might ignore it, but that will happen no matter what is done. It could help someone see what may happen and if they want to participate in that thread.

This wouldn't help in getting people to find the actual thread, of course.

That was the amazing part. Things just keep going.
Akagikiba Surfing the forums from Midwest Since: Feb, 2012
Surfing the forums
#23: Apr 18th 2012 at 1:21:38 PM

There should be a news page with a link from the home page.

condottiera from Chicago Since: Oct, 2011
#24: Apr 18th 2012 at 2:32:05 PM

[up] More people would be able to access it that way.

[up][up] I think that's a great idea. A lot of people come into a long thread and have to ask other people to catch up on what's been happening, and that only wastes time.

edited 18th Apr '12 2:33:38 PM by condottiera

More pluck than an Alabama banjo festival
KingZeal Since: Oct, 2009
#25: Apr 18th 2012 at 2:50:18 PM

For most sites that have a rolling updates thread, they just reserve the top post for editting later.

For example, in most competitive games, there will be a general strategy and techniques thread, pinned to the top to add new information as people discover it.


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