Forum:Wiki Thoughts - Please Read

Forums: Index > The World that Never was > Wiki Thoughts - Please Read

Alright. No Daisy here. These are some serious thoughts and observations I've been seeing going on over the last few months.

1. We have had a lot of conflict. Admins, IRC, formatting, you name it.
2. I am getting e-mails, talk page messages, IRC PMs, and so on at least once a week, usually much more, about the crumbling infrastructure of the wiki, usually about how one group of people is totally ruining everything, and then proceeding to get an e-mail from the opposite faction about how they're ruining everything.
3. We have a LOT of new people. But I see them contributing very little, other than talk page chat. And I really wonder why.

So, I want all of you...veterans, admins, mods, editors, newbies, bureaucrats...EVERYONE, to stop and read the following sentence below.

This is only a wiki.

Read it again, if you have to. Read it as many times as you need to until it sinks in.

We are fussing, fighting, wasting time and energy in our real, everyday lives on a wiki. About a video game. With talking ducks and guys who hit people with giant keys.

So, here's the deal.

We need to back off. We need to start taking this thing way less seriously. I'm not saying let the trolls run rampant and we have a second Kingdom Hearts fanon wiki. But I am saying that the nitpicking, the rules slamming, and the lack of flexibility needs to stop. That good faith thing? That's one of the most important rules in existence. Real life as well. Occasionally, it gets you burned, but it makes things better for most everyone in the long run.

We have come a long way from the scraps of info two years ago. We laid down the law because we had no rules or enforcement. We now almost have an excess of both.

A wiki is supposed to be fun. Some people gain that fun from writing entries on their favorite characters. Some do by making and editing graphics to go in those articles. Some people enjoy organizing things or gnoming. Some people like working with other people on a big goal or project. Some people just like being around other people who enjoy the same things as they do.

So, I say to the following groups:

1. Staff and admins, myself included. We need to lighten up. We are seriously making this a miserable place to be. We are editors, same as everyone else, and we need to remember it more than anyone else. We need to remember that fun from that video game we all played and enjoyed that put us here in the first place.
2. Editors, edit. Write articles. Add pictures. Just talk about the series in the forums. Enjoy yourselves. That Mirage Arena idea? That was awesome, and would fit in well with the wiki. We'll find a way to make it work.
3. New editors. Welcome. Thank you for wanting to be part of our community. Help us out. Ask questions if you're not sure. Discuss the games you enjoy. Even if you just go around fixing little things, that's one less thing that needs to be fixed, one little addition that makes the wiki that much better.

As you go around editing and posting, think upon these things. Think of how you can be the best person you can be here.

In short:

This is only a wiki.

Thank you. Now, back to getting excited over Birth by Sleep.

Discussion

BebopKate - This one is Zazzles...because he's Zazzy! TALK - Here's your cat...and here's your $20...18:27, July 31, 2010 (UTC) Alright, Daisy is back. ^_^ I don't want arguing or accusations below. I want good stuff. I want you to write about why you came here, why you enjoy being here, and/or why you like the games. Consider this a little essay assignment from a grizzled ex-teacher. Me, I love to write; I'd love to write a book someday. And I really like wiki editing; it keeps me in practice. So when I saw that the wiki about my favorite video game series needed a lot of work, I decided to jump in. I've always loved the designs and style differences of the worlds, so I decided to help fix those up first. And I stayed. Because of the games, but also because of all the awesome and interesting new people I met. I'll have you people know I talk about you and all the interesting facts and stories you tell me in my everyday life. Seriously. Well, except the private stuff. ^_- Anyway, I still love the series. For me, it's the nostalgia of the games and movies I loved that pulled me in, the mythology and symbolism that intrigued me, and the characters and story that keep me hooked. When I saw the trailer for Birth by Sleep (Aqua's voice not withstanding ^_^) I was excited all over again. I can't wait to play it, to learn how it fits into the existing universe, to get to know new characters and see old friends. Kingdom Hearts is just fun, and I hope it will continue to be for as long as it was made.

I completly agree with you BK. Also... thanks for supporting the MA! The staff people and some editors need to be more cool headed toward the wiki. As you said, it's just a wiki. And not a life or death issue that will decide the fate of the world So this is you first important forum as a Bureocrat... ^_^ You are doing a great job. Keep it up. Demonic Saint Yeah, we gotta go help our friends out first. — 18:46, July 31, 2010 (UTC)

The Inexistent - Pitiful users, mindlessly collecting information. The rage of an edit releases this knowledge, and they all come together, to form: The Wiki!!! TALK - And on the Wiki these words appear: "My name is The_Inexistent, user of users: Look upon my edits, ye Mighty, and despair!" Long before I joined wikia, I had stalked this wiki, learning every little fact that was on a page. I never realized until I joined how much politics happened behind the scenes. What I saw was a cold world, the perfect home for me. Now that I have joined, I do fell that change is necessary, that wiki evolution must take place at lightspeed in order to save us.

maggosh Nothing can destroy the Doctor! — "The Doctor doesn't pay, and he doesn't worry." "If you want trouble - *breaks windshield* - then you just keep coming on!" I'd say it's high time a post like this was made. As for why I'm here, why I have fun...it's the nostalgic value of the series. But unfortunately, it wasn't always like that. Let me paint a picture for you; it's 2006, I'm in my last year in junior high and I'm making an effort at maturity. I'm standing in front of my toaster, and I'm looking into the living room with the TV on, as a commercial for KHII comes on, and I see the CG Sora with Donald and Goofy. I thought, "Who the hell would want to fight with a giant key with Donald and Goofy? Why is that such a good idea?" Three years later I watch the intro for KHII on YouTube and I ultimately regret thinking that. When I bought II and played it, it was the biggest hit of nostalgia I had ever gotten.

Bluer says at 20:37, July 31, 2010 (UTC) About time this post got made, kupo. I knew I made the right decision

DoorToNothing — I dreamed last night... I got on the boat to Heaven! And by some chance, I had brought my dice along! — 21:35, July 31, 2010 (UTC) Alright, February 2009, what a month that was. Basically, school was slowing down for me a bit, and the rush of band/music-related events had ceased for a period of time. I had a lot of time on my hands, and somehow ended up at the Kingdom Hearts Wiki during a session of Internet-browsing. It actually might have been to look up information on Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days after seeing in a magazine, my memory is telling me that may have been the case. Anyway, what pulled me in ininitially was that information was available on this site, but I also noticed that there was so much missing. So, having been in a bit of a "slummy" mood at the time, I registered the account "DoorToNothing", and wasted no time getting right to work on gnoming and writing/completely rewriting articles for all of the Gummi pieces from Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II. I worked for a while, and then made a silent little departure, since it never became too serious for me. Less than a month later, I found myself drawn back by the work, the community, the subject, virtually everything. It was at this time that I started to get serious about wiki-editing. That summer, I spent a ridiculously copious number of hours contributing to the wiki daily. After that, I was hooked. As for why I stay editing and writing here, I can actually relate to BebopKate. I love to write and edit works, essay-writing has always been a very strong point of mine academically. Wiki-editing became a way for me to write, edit, and debate (by the way, I absolutely love debating over nearly any topic) in a place that allowed for me to do those things unoriginally and often, without worrying about a mark or credit. Equally importantly, the wiki became a place for me to practice formal and/or organized composition-writing and revising while not in a hall or classroom, which I something that I came to quite enjoy. Also, of course, the wiki was about Kingdom Hearts, and I had been starting to get in to Final Fantasy III and Final Fantasy IV, as well as replaying Kingdom Hearts II at the time. Also, I cannot stress enough "THIS IS ONLY A WIKI." I myself am completely devoting myself to marching band, my studies, and other aspects of my life. You all have surely noticed my recent, relative lack of activity this summer, and that is due to a combination of IRC babysitting/real-life activities. Trust me, guys, take it from me: in the end, when all of my daily gnoming/wiki-foruming is done, I have found myself at times wishing that I had instead made plans with friends, seen a movie, read a book, practiced music more, cleaned, or just relaxed rather than spending a significant portion of my day editing on a wiki.