Forum:How can we make this Forum better?

Hello! Both myself and Cheesedude are currently at Wikia HQ, and we're currently in discussions over how we can make this Wiki better. We've highlighted areas already that need improvement (Such as menu navigation on the Oasis Skin), and that will be fixed and expanded in the near future. One other feature that we had highlighted was the Forum, which is currently using the first iteration of the feature. We plan to upgrade this to 2.0, and at the same time, expand Forum Discussion sections that you, the community, would like to see. Current ideas include an Anime/Manga Forum, but if you have any additional ideas, please let us know!

Both of us will be at HQ until Wednesday, if there are any issues that you would like us to raise specifically, please let either myself of Cheesedude know by leaving a message on one or both of our talk pages.--TwoTailedFox (My Talk Page) 21:22, February 25, 2013 (UTC)

I hope you two are enjoying yourselves there! I'm looking forward to hearing some of the other results of the meeting, maybe you could drop some hints? ;)

There's a forum topic floating around here somewhere where we discussed and more-or-less settled on some ways to improve the forum, though mostly in terms of subforum names and maybe merging/adding a couple subforums, but the discussion IIRC never really resolved and I never followed through on any of it. I'll have to find the thread again and dust it off. 「ディノ奴千？！」^{? · ☎ Dinoguy1000} 23:18, February 25, 2013 (UTC)

I'm not sure having an Anime/Manga forum would be any good... There are other sites out there that are focused on them already, and I imagine it would be difficult to draw those audience memeber to the Wikia. In any case, it would be unnecessary, as we are not exactly flooded with stuff on the forums regarding anime/manga. I would support it only if we could stop people from posting their opinions on the Talk Pages for the episodes and attracting them to the forums instead.

The only thing I would like to see is an easier way for people who visit the Ruling Forums to see previously answered rulings, so that they don't have to ask questions that have already been answered before. --UltimateKuriboh (talk • contribs) 23:25, February 25, 2013 (UTC)

More than visiting the Rulings Forum, we need to make them search the forum for past answers to their questions. PSCT has helped fix many old issues, but we still have people who post things that have been answered before. --Dark Ace SP (Talk) 23:30, February 25, 2013 (UTC)

How about updating the Forum:90% of Answers Here - Most Common FAQ's and remember people to check it before asking the same question?. --Missign0 (talk • contribs) 02:17, February 26, 2013 (UTC)

That's a better idea, and I didn't know adding in "Ruling Query" helped do a specific forum search. --Dark Ace SP (Talk) 03:22, February 26, 2013 (UTC)

Hope you're having fun out there! Talk Page misuse is pretty much a daily occurrence, even with the warning notes and template telling people to use the forum. Could there be a "Discussion" option that leads to the forum next to the Talk Page option? Maybe then rename the latter to "Page Help". --Golden Key (talk • contribs) 15:57, February 26, 2013 (UTC)

That is brilliant. Cheesedude (talk • contribs) 18:29, February 26, 2013 (UTC)

Speaking to WIkia now, the idea of a triple-namespace link system isn't one they feel comfortable editing, as we start going into the real bowels of MediaWiki's code. However, renaming the actual link to the talk page "Page Help" seems perfectly do-able, and with that done, we might be able to highlight to users elsewhere that a Discussion namespace is open for use.--TwoTailedFox (My Talk Page) 17:29, February 27, 2013 (UTC)

That's too bad, but at least renaming the link is possible. Hopefully "Page Help" discourages confusion, though I'm sure there will still be misuse. --Golden Key (talk • contribs) 17:45, February 27, 2013 (UTC)

We have a solution to our predicament. The new Forums (henceforth known as Forums 2.0) shift the focus away from the Forum namespace (which would become read-only after the transition), and instead use a new namespace, Thread, which uses ascending sequences of numbers, and allows for thread names with identical subjects (which replicates the behavior of nearly every other piece of forum software). In addition, every article has the ability to have multiple topics associated with it (specifically for discussion), and topics can even be referenced cross-article (in cases where discussion centers around how two cards interact, for example). Essentially, it turns every article into a potential mini-forum.

Wikia is also keen for us to use Message Wall, as it goes well with the new forum system (and this topic system would also be used for user talk pages, with existing talk pages archived). If there are no explicit objects, I would like both Message Wall and Forums 2.0 to be enabled.--TwoTailedFox (My Talk Page) 18:42, February 27, 2013 (UTC)

As an addendum, articles in the main namespace now display "Page Help" on the Oasis skin, I plan to roll this out to most of the other namespaces.--TwoTailedFox (My Talk Page) 18:46, February 27, 2013 (UTC)

I heartily disapprove of the new Message Wall system. It takes up too much space. This comes from my visits at the yugiohzexal.wikia. The current User Talk pages are much more fluid and easier on the eyes in my opinion. I would feel awkward using it; it seems less professional... Sigh. But if we must... --UltimateKuriboh (talk • contribs) 18:49, February 27, 2013 (UTC)

If there is a large section of the userbase that dislikes the message wall, then we don't have to enable it. It taking up too much space is a valid concern. However, the Forums system is something I'm quite keen on implementing, as it would solve a number of issues with users using talk pages for discussion, as well as provide a more powerful and extensible forum for people to use.--TwoTailedFox (My Talk Page) 19:04, February 27, 2013 (UTC)

I recall having some hesitation on transitioning to Forums 2.0 and the Message Wall, but I'd have to look at both of them for a bit to really remember. I'm sure that the Message Wall at least was discussed here back when it was still The New Thing, though. 「ディノ奴千？！」^{? · ☎ Dinoguy1000} 19:49, February 27, 2013 (UTC)

I've spoken with Danny, who is currently developing both Forums and Message Wall, and we think we're able to come to a compromise for users who use Monobook; we've floated the idea of importing the Topics idea from Forums to the Message Wall. The reason why Wikia (and to a certain degree myself) are keen on Message Wall is because it lowers the barrier to entry for people who want to either leave a message, or ask for help, etc. Message Walls have a tendency to lead to more user participation on the Wiki (always a good thing). However, if we can import the concept of Topics, we can essentially make an improved talk page system, with indexable support for individual topics for the attention of the user, in addition to a more visually-appealing conversation system. I'm sure Danny will be able to supply us with a proof-of-concept image when it's ready :)--TwoTailedFox (My Talk Page) 19:57, February 27, 2013 (UTC)

Oh, that sounds good, actually. =) Will he also be able to add functionality for sticky threads (even if it's just the type of thing where we have to do it ourselves, as is the case with these forums), or is that perhaps already possible? 「ディノ奴千？！」^{? · ☎ Dinoguy1000} 20:07, February 27, 2013 (UTC)

That's being revamped in their current update. They're looking to implement stickies differently, in that the top section parts of forums are customisable. In effect, we'd be writing wiki articles containing rules, and essentially linking them within that top section. The current "Forums 2.0" system is still a work in progress, and, if things don't work the way Wikia want them to, Sticky Threads is a fallback option. They want to try new things first, but if they don't work (or don't improve the functionality of what users need), then there are options.--TwoTailedFox (My Talk Page) 22:53, March 1, 2013 (UTC)

I personally am not a fan of the message wall as I have experienced a fair few glitches with it in the past. I also feel it doesn't quite have the same capabilities of the talk page, ie I feel the talk page is easier to demonstrate certain types of coding etc. I am however, interested in the new Forums as, as TTF pointed out, they do encourage new users to ask questions. You also get a notification of new messages on the new Forums which I also find extremely helpful. If the glitches can be ironed out of the message wall, then I might fall for it. =D --Spongebob456 ^Talk 21:04, February 27, 2013 (UTC)

I am not a fan of message wall either, but would certainly be willing to try it. The new forum system is also something I'd like to try. If the community tests it and comes to the conclusion that they don't want them, we can always turn them back off. Cheesedude (talk • contribs) 19:41, February 28, 2013 (UTC)