RuneScape:Yew Grove

The Yew Grove is a page where community members can discuss larger changes to the wiki, such as policy proposal. As this page is viewed by a diverse number of editors, you can expect a fair and centralized discussion. Broadly construed, if the community would be interested in your topic, start it here.

Other
 * For promoting or beginning a project, use RuneScape:WikiGuild
 * For discussion of RuneScape itself, use the forums.
 * To list an ongoing discussion, use the RuneScape:Requests for comment directory.
 * To make a special request or comment to the administrators of this wiki, add to the discussion on RuneScape:Administrator requests.

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Uploading RuneScape music
As some of you may know, the music that plays while playing RuneScape can usually be found in our computers in a cache folder in the form of MIDI files. These MIDI files can be uploaded into the wiki, and included/embedded in articles (quests, Music, etc.) The files can be set to play automatically, or on-demand.

I have 70-80% 65% of the MIDI files and the files are quite small in size (average 20-50kb per file). Embedding the MIDI files can be tricky, but I have found a way using a combination of templates and JS.

The thing that concerns me is: copyright. Can we upload these files...? We're already using content from the game (images/screen captures) and website under the conditions of "Fair use".. so why not upload the music too?

If anyone is interested in this, I'll work on it. Currently, I've tested the embedding script, and it works. All I need to do is to create a template (similar to the Listen template in Wikipedia) and we can start playing MIDI files in articles. 09:03, 14 January 2009 (UTC)


 * I totally agree with this, and providing demos for players in the music list and all, that would be great. I can't find the midi's though in my cache, any reason why? 09:09, 14 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Prior to November 2007, the MIDI files used to be located at "c:/windows/.files_store32" or something like that. If you've been playing RS before November 2007, you'll notice some MIDI files there, otherwise I'm afraid you wouldn't have the files.  The MIDI files I have are from the game before Jagex updated engine in 2007.  For music released after that, you have to record the music manually using audio-recording softwares.  06:03, 15 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Ah, I see. I have played Runescape prior to Nov. 2007, but not on this laptop, but on a public address, so I guess I don't have them. 06:00, 7 February 2009 (UTC)


 * If they're short, they can be used under fair use, I believe. Basically, we just can't upload the whole song; a 30 second clip or something should be fine though.--Richardtalk 16:24, 14 January 2009 (UTC)

Support if they're clips less than thirty seconds long. Anything longer than that would be unnecessary and reaching the limits that fair use can stretch to. 02:40, 15 January 2009 (UTC)
 * The tracks I have are full songs, some up to 4 mins long.. However, the playback time can be limited to 30 secs even if we upload full songs. If we cannot upload full songs, I'll have to cut the songs short, and this could be a time-consuming process. I'll see what I can do...
 * I also have other sound effects like "Quest completion", "Levelling up", "Magic carpet ride", etc. Some of these clips are less than 30 secs, and shouldn't be a "Fair use" problem.  06:03, 15 January 2009 (UTC)
 * The problem here is that courts have traditionally been much more harsh about their interpretation of fair use for musical compositions, as opposed to textual quotes and even images. In one really unusual case, a total of about 10 notes were copied and a successful copyright infringement suit resulted.  I kid you not here... it is that bad.  The tide seems to be turning the other way in terms of allowing slightly more latitude in fair-use, but what you are talking about here is really stretching the limits of fair-use.  I don't know where Jagex got this music, but I would have to assume they either got these midi files from some professional composers or from a music library company, and it is licensed by Jagex for use in their game alone.  In other words, I doubt that Jagex even owns this music for them to give permission for us to use it here... but I may be mistaken on this issue.  A sample of a couple of these songs might be acceptable, but a complete library of everything in the game may be (unfortunately) over the top and too much as well, from a strictly legal viewpoint.  For personal use (also covered under fair-use law), that is something different but we are talking publication and distribution when it comes to this wiki.  --Robert Horning 10:03, 15 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Just to inform you, Jagex does own all rights to these songs. They are written specifically for the games by, I believe, only two individuals hired by Jagex. 18:38, 21 January 2009 (UTC)


 * While I'm not questioning the truth of this statement, it would be nice to get a citation that could be used with this little tidbit. At least to put it into the Runescape article on Wikipedia if nothing more.  I would like to know who composed some of this music in the game. --Robert Horning 20:38, 23 January 2009 (UTC)


 * I was mistaken, it is three hired staff, as stated here: Music Team. 21:31, 24 January 2009 (UTC)

Yup, there are three Mods in the Music team: Mod Ian, Mod Dan and Mod Bond. Some of the earlier MIDIs are credited to Ian and Dan, with the copyright belonging to Jagex Ltd.

Anyways, I haven't had the time to create samples out of the MIDI files yet (I've been quite busy with other projects), but I'll try to do it soon. Anyone would like to request particular tracks...? I'm planning to upload maybe three or four 30-sec sample tracks (2 from the Music Player, and 1-2 sound clips from the game). How does that sound? 21:28, 26 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Perhaps some more popular tunes. I'm not sure of the titles for I am not online at the moment, but perhaps the ones heard in the Grand Exchange, Lumbridge, Varrock Square, and maybe some others. 23:07, 26 January 2009 (UTC)

Totally agree. Some music tracks are very nice, and I dont think we're breaking any copyright, as we're only playing a sample, like in iTunes store, for example. About getting the MIDI files, a quick google will do, I think 4ndrepd 12:06, 23 February 2009 (UTC)--

So I guess that we cannot do full versions, well then, I guess those 5 or so OGG's need to be deleted of the wiki... But I can do 30 second sound bites, but I would like to see it add MP3 support at OGG's take awhile to do without the proper software. 02:23, 25 February 2009 (UTC)
 * The OGG files do not have to be deleted... just upload the 30-second clipping under the same name ("Upload a new version of this file"). mp3s are currently not supported by Wikia, but I'll try asking the staff.  Mediawiki, however, have a beta-release extension called FlashMP3 which allows mp3s to be played.  See this example of the player in action.   09:24, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Strong Support - Great idea! Maybe articles for each track (or maybe not)? Also, this would enable me to listen to a bunch of members only tracks that I'd love to hear. :D 05:34, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Ok, I got all but the Zamorak_Zoo.ogg so far (as I need to figure out why all the songs I record now having Popping noises o_O). I also see how the current version (and I see why it is in Beta) for the FlashMP3 is not used here yet. Also, I do record the entire piece for my sake to find the best 30 Seconds of the piece without ripping it into 10 Second bits. Currently, it takes 30 Minutes to get the Audio Correct (Meaning I have to rerecord due to the odd noises now), saving to MP3, then Converting to OGG (To which I have to find another software as my WavePad Trial for things like OGG extensions expire soon), and cutting it to the best 30 Seconds (Which some people may debate soon - IDK when that may occur). I'll still be adding music periodically, but is it possible to do things like a Level_99_Fireworks.ogg for the Milestone to add some depth, or like a 1494_Total_level_Fireworks.ogg? (I will record them later when I get the chance | Hopefully before my own 99/1494 Woddcutting/Total level day!) =P 04:52, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

Upgrading MediaWiki parser
I put in a bug report on Wikia central about some unusual behavior I was encountering with a template I've been working on, and I got an interesting reply from User:Uberfuzzy

See:


 * w:Forum:Tag template "function" not working with wikia

The gist of this is that some of the behavior of the more complicated templates may be changing with a parser upgrade that is going to happen pretty soon (and should be happening even now). When the software upgrade happens to version 1.14 of MediaWiki, it is possible that some of the templates may be broken and require a bit of tweaking.

I'm giving this a bit of heads-up for those wanting to help out with maintaining some of the more complicated aspects of this wiki. To the best of my knowledge, this isn't going to impact the GEMW pages or any of the Calculators, but it may impact some of the more complicated formatting and navigation templates. If there are any templates or parts of this wiki that might be impacted, please indicated below, or certainly leave a note on RuneScape:Administrator requests if you see something that is broken. --Robert Horning 13:33, 19 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Hopefully this will fix the #ifexist/template bug... 14:24, 19 January 2009 (UTC)


 * If you're talking about the issue I think you're talking about (the tnavbar problem), it wasn't a bug. It was just coded incorrectly, and I've already fixed it.  21:35, 22 January 2009 (UTC)


 * From what I am seeing neither of the last two attempts to correct this issue have worked. 07:37, 24 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Kytti is right. I'm afraid your change (super) only made it change the wanted pages link from 'Template talk' to 'Talk', which was wrong anyway. My effort, whilst it fixed a problem, did not fix this problem. I'm not sure the new parser is on yet, so we will see what effect that has... 09:32, 24 January 2009 (UTC)

I have found something that will tell us if the parser is on. Which parser is in use? . So we are still on the old parser. Using new pp would be nice, although I do wonder if there are any pages that will need fixing. - 02:42, 5 February 2009 (UTC)


 * I am fixing all of the pages that may/will have problems with the parser changes. The parser changes require a much stricter following of (x)html and wikitext. So no more un-terminated tags that need an end tag. I think we may need to bring up changing signature policies to make them (x)html compliant and standardized where possible. - 20:48, 7 February 2009 (UTC)
 * By the way, we are switching over on March 3rd, we are in the last group to switch. - 20:50, 7 February 2009 (UTC)

Archiving the Yew Grove
I've noticed that a lot of the time, discussions on the Yew Grove are archived just because they haven't been edited in two weeks or more. But a lot of the time those discussions weren't over yet. Just because there hasn't been any comments on it in a while, doesn't mean that it should be archived. I think we should make it a Yew Grove policy to archive discussions only when they are over. If a discussion hasn't been edited in a long time, then end the discussion and make it a policy before archiving it. 13:41, 31 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Agreed. -- 14:58, 31 January 2009 (UTC)

Support - I was wondering why some of those discussions were archived. o_O 15:24, 31 January 2009 (UTC) Support - I agree with you 100%. Jediadam4 (Talk)   22:41, 31 January 2009 (UTC)

Comment: You're probably referring to me recently archiving the page. The reason I did that is because it was colossal. It was big enough to cause serious laggage to my whole computer when I loaded the Yew Grove. As I stated in one of my summaries, I targeted the discussions that hadn't been posted in for a couple weeks. The implication with those discussions is that there is no longer anything worth discussing, and as such, they can be archived. If those discussions are still ongoing, and don't need archiving, then fine. But we can't have a 175-KB Yew Grove page. Maybe it needs to be broken up into subforums or something to keep that from happening. -- 06:24, 1 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Well, I'm also referring to other archives of the Yew Grove. But I just mean that before you archive something, make sure you put the consensus into effect. For example, the Wiki world is still on the sitenotice, and still marked as proposed. And we didn't put any .OGG files on the wiki. The Adventurers' Tales discussion did not reach consensus. And a lot of more recent discussions ended, but you deleted the old ones instead of the ones that were actaully finished. 15:05, 1 February 2009 (UTC)

Trivia? More like "triviugh".
In all sorts of different talk pages, people have been saying that trivia should be banned from being listed in articles. From what I have seen, people have been passing just normal facts for trivia quite often. It gets annoying.

Time for a bit of a pop quiz. Of the following, which one(s) is trivia?


 * Trivia


 * 1) The Dragon chainbody is the strongest chainbody in the game.
 * 2) Mod Peter Pants said that it was his favorite item.
 * 3) In Betrayal at Falador, it was the only item released at the time of the book's release that was not mentioned anywhere in the book.
 * 4) The price has gone from 15M to 10M, then to 8M, down to 4.8M, and is currently at 5M.
 * 5) At the time of release, Dragon chainbodies were the most wanted item in RuneScape at the time.
 * 6) The first player ever to get one was I_Lyk_Pi_3point14159_L0L_I_Pkd_U.

And now, class, the answers:


 * 1) Not trivia. It should be listed in the either first or second sentence of the article.
 * 2) Not trivia. Heck, not even notable.
 * 3) Trivia. It wouldn't make much sense to list that in the main article, but it would probably be worth saying.
 * 4) Not trivia. If there is enough data for its own area, it would be included in a "Price history" subsection of the article.
 * 5) Not trivia. Most items are the most wanted item in RuneScape when they're released. Dragon claws, Dragon platebodies, Dark bows, and so on.
 * 6) Trivia. If this can even be proven, this would be trivia. It doesn't have a reasonable place anywhere else in the article.

In short, trivia is information that would not be reasonable to be put anywhere else in the article, yet is worthy of being mentioned. Now, of course, trivia would be an uncommon thing to find in articles. It's just that in most articles that have a trivia subsection it's clogged with non-trivia.

For this reason, a policy about trivia subsections should be put in place. Wikipedia's policy on trivia is that [if I remember correctly] if it can be used elsewhere in the article, place it there instead. 01:22, 2 February 2009 (UTC)

Neutral - Trivia I guess is just based on what is trivial to you. Where some might find something trivial, another may not. I don't think it's possible to limit it so drastically that rules need to be placed on what is trivia and what is not. If you find conflict with trivia, simply remove it or place it in an article where it can be useful and remove it from the list of trivia. 05:47, 2 February 2009 (UTC)

Support - I believe we should define what's trivia and what isn't and then change the articles. If anyone suggests totally removing trivia from the Wikia, don't. There is no reason to totally abolish it from the Wikia. I personally love reading trivia, even though some of it isn't really... trivia. Jediadam4 (Talk)   08:01, 2 February 2009 (UTC)

Neutral per Bonzii. 02:59, 3 February 2009 (UTC)

Weak Support - I came from Wikipedia, so I'm partially more inclined to the Wikipedia standards; after all, this is also an online encyclopedia that anyone can edit. However, we may find it hard to incorporate trivia into the main contents since, well, it's about a MMORPG game, and there may be facts that cannot be put into the main contents without having its own section. So banning the entire trivia section per Wikipedia standards may not be the best idea. I'm not sure if I make any sense there, but that's just what I felt. Red X 226 08:00, 4 February 2009 (UTC)

New Article Spot on Mainpage
In light of recent discussion about the User of the Month, it has been brought forth to create a new mainpage spot which would advertise articles needing cleaned up, or worked on/enhanced. With this said, I move for the creation of a new mainpage template that would allow this to occur. Please offer all ideas on what this template would be about. A community will decide the overall theme of this new feature. 07:16, 2 February 2009 (UTC)
 * There are a lot of pretty or well detailed areas in Runescape. How about Image of the Month? -- 12:38, 2 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Support - Perhaps we could create a template that displays three stubs and three articles needing cleanup? 19:42, 2 February 2009 (UTC)

Support - I would prefer Image of the month or something similar. With the recent graphics update, Runescape has some truly beautiful high resolution scenery. I think it would also help Runescape's long standing image as a "crappy low res browser game". TEbuddy 00:52, 3 February 2009 (UTC)
 * I've brought up the idea of an IotM (Image of the Month) multiple times already. Everyone hates it when I mention it. :S 01:52, 3 February 2009 (UTC)

Support as I wanted this in the first place. -- 02:11, 3 February 2009 (UTC)

Example - Here are a few example images that show off a few nicer looking areas that we could use for IOTM. I think it would be an excellent feature. TEbuddy 07:31, 3 February 2009 (UTC)

Instead of showing off images, linking to stubs and things that need help would be of more benefit to the wiki. --Degenret01 07:50, 3 February 2009 (UTC)


 * We should keep the front page aesthetically pleasing and useful to a public guest. Take a look at Guild wiki, Wowwiki, and Wikipedia for examples. They all have useful information, features, pictures, and not lists of articles/items needing attention. Stubs have their own category, and thats where they should stay.[[Image:Gnomegoggleswithcap.png|25px]]TEbuddy 08:12, 3 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Amazing, your examples are all pics you took....what a coincidence...and that's another reason I don't like this idea, there would be arguing over how to select the pic...and a pic is just what one, or very rarely, two people worked on.--Degenret01 08:30, 3 February 2009 (UTC)


 * As far as I know, no high resolution pictures of any areas exist on this wiki. What other way could I upload them without manually taking them or requesting a friend to take them for me? Also, the process you describe as being violent and unnecessary could be as simple as a vote or a discussion on where an appropriate area would be. Similar to how UOTM and AOTM are chosen. Not to mention, the images I did indeed take were very easy to capture. I would say I have spent more time replying to your post than I did taking, editing, and uploading them. [[Image:Gnomegoggleswithcap.png|25px]]TEbuddy 09:01, 3 February 2009 (UTC)

Upon further consideration I still think we do need the Article that Needs Work, but the idea of pic of the month has some merit. How about if we have Gallery of the Month? We can decide on say 4 or 6 or 8 images that really do justice to this project. And having a good number would alleviate arguing. For the process of selecting them, just as Tebuddy said, a nice easy vote. And everyone gets up to the same number of votes as we decide there will be pics in the gallery. --Degenret01 10:30, 3 February 2009 (UTC)

Splitting up the Yew Grove
I don't know about you guys, but when I go to load the Yew Grove page nowadays, it lags my computer very badly. Even typing this right now is causing massive lag in RS because it has to add to 127 kb of data whenever I type something. I think the Yew Grove should be split up into subpages to combat lag. According to what I've been told recently, most discussions on this page are not usually ready to be archived. (This is ridiculous. Typing that sentence actually lagged me out.) Okay, no more typing for now lest my comp crash. -- 22:08, 3 February 2009 (UTC)


 * 130kb of data, especially text, should not be a problem even on a standard dialup connection. If your computer is slow in the first place, the last thing you should be trying to do is multitask. Splitting up the yew grove would be a pain in the rear end. [[Image:Gnomegoggleswithcap.png|25px]]TEbuddy 22:14, 3 February 2009 (UTC)


 * How so? It'd be easy to create "RuneScape:Yew Grove/Policy discussion" and "RuneScape:Yew Grove/Site discussion" or something like that. (Those are just names I pulled from nowhere.) It would also be easy to put a template at the top of the Yew Grove page informing people about the different categories and where their posts should go. I don't see the change being a huge problem, and I know I'm not the only one with lag issues. (read:Karlis) -- 22:20, 3 February 2009 (UTC)


 * My computer at work lags REALLY BAD in the Yew Grove. I think subpages for discussions would be a viable option. 22:16, 3 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Agreed. My isn't as bad, but still lags a lot when I try to get on... -- 22:28, 3 February 2009 (UTC)


 * I guess it would not be too bad, my only concern is discussions getting lost or being moved around for not being in the right place. If we did split it, we should just cut it into half or thirds, and not worry about putting each one into a category. [[Image:Gnomegoggleswithcap.png|25px]]TEbuddy 00:26, 4 February 2009 (UTC)

I am neutral. I agree with Tebuddy; if you wanted to see every part of the Grove, you would have to load every page. 00:32, 4 February 2009 (UTC)

So how about like we did with Treasure Trails? Full version or Lag reduced version optional for each user. If this isn't feasible for some techie reason don't slam me, I don't know techie stuff.--Degenret01 04:06, 4 February 2009 (UTC)

Support - As stated by Degenret01 08:15, 4 February 2009 (UTC)

Support - I see no side effects, only good effects! =)  Jediadam4  (Talk)   09:07, 4 February 2009 (UTC)

Support Degenret's idea. 12:21, 4 February 2009 (UTC)

Have you considered a wiki forum? A lot of wikis find that a good way of keeping track of conversations once they grow too big for one page. See the Central forums for an example -- sannse (talk) 19:08, 4 February 2009 (UTC)
 * I edit from work, and am unable to view forums at work. This is actually one of the very few wiki's I can view at work. I'd hate to lose access to our community discussion. =( 19:10, 4 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Wiki forums are just wiki pages, like this one. The only difference is in the way they are organised. So if you can view and edit this page, you would be fine with wiki forums :) -- sannse (talk) 19:19, 4 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Oh that's neat! I agree with sannse, wiki forum! =D 19:22, 4 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Before we get a general consensus, I think we should see an example of a wiki forum so we can know if we really like it or not. [[Image:Gnomegoggleswithcap.png|25px]]TEbuddy 02:42, 5 February 2009 (UTC)
 * It would require a lot of work. I think if we did this, we would have to move the archives to this forum as well as we would no longer be making them. Would take a lot of work and hours to set up, but I am willing to help if this is the census. I have a neutral opinion on the forum idea. 04:21, 5 February 2009 (UTC)
 * TEbuddy: here's some random examples: the Central Forums - quite a basic set up which shows how you might start.  Wookieepedia - which shows more customisation.  the Community Test wiki which has a starter set of forums, which you are welcome to play around with (CT is a test wiki for the whole Wikia community).
 * Bonziiznob: I would recommend not trying to move the archives, those can stay in place and just be linked to from the main forum page. Future topics would not need archiving (unless a thread got very long) you just allow them to fall off the bottom of the listing, and remain in the forum categories - although some wikis do have fancy ways of archiving topics.  The set up doesn't take long, although you would probably want to customise it over time.  I've done the basic set up many times, so could do that for you if you want.  Or there are instructions at Help:Wiki-style forum set up.
 * -- sannse (talk) 12:36, 5 February 2009 (UTC)
 * I see, well, then I support. 17:20, 5 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Support using the wiki-style forums. The wiki-style forums are more compatible, cleaner looking, and simpler to deal this. Although I wonder how we would setup having forum admins for them, I am sure that is easily possible. It is definitely ironic about how we are wanting back to the wiki style. Maybe now Wikia can hide them from Recent Changes. I would say that is the main requirement for us to switch back. :) - 20:44, 7 February 2009 (UTC)

We actually used to use wiki forums here, until about June 2007. There was a community consensus to move the forums to a phpBB style site. The reason was because they were clogging up the recent changes, among other things. I actually find it a little funny how these wiki-based forums are so new and fantastic to you guys, but they're so old-sk00l to me. I still support if the use of wiki forums is limited to discussion about the wiki. 22:22, 5 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Hah this is kind of funny, yeah I remember when we used to have wiki-style forums and the community decided to get rid of them, now seems like the community wants them back. Kind of funny that the community changed so quickly in such a (fairly) short time. Anyway I personally like wiki-style forums a lot better than PHP forums like the RSW has now.--Richardtalk 21:06, 6 February 2009 (UTC)

Strong Support Sannse's idea. We should bring back the Forum: namespace, and make it the new Yew Grove. It would be used only for wiki discussion. We would keep the Beta forums for everything else. Having a wiki discussion forum would be a lot better than the long, complicated lagging Yew Grove we have now. This way, discussions wouldn't get lost on the whole page. 02:17, 13 February 2009 (UTC)

Support The current yew grove lags horribly, and it is hard to navigate. Switching to using wiki-style forums would be a huge improvement. --Template:Signatures/ma44040 03:35, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

Support the idea of splitting up the Yew Grove into sub-pages. I'm opposed to Sannse's idea of bringing back the "forums" like on Wikia Central for a basic reason: It breaks up the communication about what was going on with the wiki. One of the reasons why the Yew Grove is being used at all is due to the fact that major decision making about the wiki was not happening on the forums, and that the forum community is somehow split from the wiki development community. I don't know entirely why this is the case but it is happening. I'd like to suggest that by bringing back the "wiki-style" forums would only create a third community and further fracture the community. That the Yew Grove is filling up too fast may be true, but we need to keep the wiki development community together here and not shove new toys at everybody. --Robert Horning 14:29, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Uploading images/videos
I'm not sure if the current 'personal image' policy covers this, but I think we oughta reword it to include videos. We might even consider putting it in the Site Notice for a while. WWTDD? 19:04, 4 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Agreed‎[[Image:Cooked_chicken.PNG‎]]Atlandy 19:06, 4 February 2009 (UTC)
 * I second that. 19:08, 4 February 2009 (UTC)
 * This needs to get a consensus soon, as people uploading silly videos is going to get out of hand, fast. 00:26, 5 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Tertiary adjunct that. Update the policy already 00:45, 5 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Support - Faster the better and sooner the lag monster will be stopped and defeated before it is too late. - 03:00, 5 February 2009 (UTC)

Absolutely stop any furter uploading of these things. After all, isn't a video (movie) a series of consecutive images (pictures)? So this is technically covered already.--Degenret01 03:06, 5 February 2009 (UTC)
 * I don't even like the idea of uploading videos. If people want to display videos they can upload it to Youtube and link to it... 04:12, 5 February 2009 (UTC)
 * You can embed Youtube videos right into the middle of an article anyway.... if it is appropriate. While I think the deletion of "personal images" has gone overboard on this wiki, I fail to see what real benefit is gained by uploading most videos onto this wiki that isn't already covered with animated GIF images.... many of which are overdone as well.


 * The main point of the "personal images" prohibition is mainly to keep this website from becoming a repository like Flicker and YouTube for other fan websites. In that spirit, I support a general prohibition against videos not used explicitly for content development or that is mostly a duplication of existing content.  This is in spite of my desire to permit a limited number of snapshots related to your character that may appear on the user page for active participants of this website.  --Robert Horning 09:15, 5 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Support - I can see that a few people have been trying it out already, mostly with personal content. What makes it worse is that I can't see the videos on this computer, and the 'What links here' function doesn't seem to work for them. 10:18, 5 February 2009 (UTC)

A solution to Clan Chat problems.
Hi. This is coming from my thread in the forums, here.

There has been problems in the R S Wikia clan chats, and kicking has been needed. Often, no one is high enough ranked to kick. So this the proposed solution.


 * Give all trusted Clan Chat members kicking power to all unranked players, as defined by C Teng. if we can trust C Teng with the R S Wikia account, we can here. I'm pretty sure R S Wikia's Friend's list can handle this. This would be no more then 25, currently. This way we can get rid of trouble causing players, not fill up R S Wikia's friends list. If "trusted users" set out of bounds on their judgment, they can easily be kicked out themselves by higher-ups, or acted upon here, on the Wikia.


 * Once we have reached a consensus, I would like to put this into effect ASAP.

Thanks. This is a plausible solution to a serious problem. Jediadam4 (Talk)   05:57, 5 February 2009 (UTC)

Comment - If all sysops have kicking rights and crats and some users, we are already at 50+ with these kicking rights... 07:59, 5 February 2009 (UTC)

Comment - I am talking all sysops, crats, and trusted users. This is well under 100 and manageable. I know we can't have a kicker on the CC all the time, but we can try to have one on most of the time. Why, just earlier I was on with 10+ people, none with kicking rights. Jediadam4 <font color="Green">(Talk)   08:10, 5 February 2009 (UTC)

Comment - Hasn't this already been suggested here? 22:32, 5 February 2009 (UTC)

Comment - Maybe we can come up with a team of trusted "moderators". They wouldn't have to do much, other than just sit in the channel while they're browsing the wiki, checking in every few minutes or so. Even if they aren't in the channel, we could have a chat CVU page where active channel users can report problems. I am in support of doing something, and I think we're definitely on the right track. However, I'd like to see a bit more detail in the specifications before we come to a consensus. I'll be eagerly watching this idea develop. 02:35, 6 February 2009 (UTC)

Support - Sounds good, Jedi. :) By the way, you spelled "solution" incorrectly in your title, so I fixed it.   13:17, 6 February 2009 (UTC)

Support - I support the proposal, there are plenty of times I have seen nobody with kicking powers on. 00:04, 7 February 2009 (UTC)

Support per above. 03:34, 7 February 2009 (UTC)

Comment - We have agreed to make the new ranking, but how will we decide to give it to people? Should we make "RfLs" (Requests for Lieutenantship), similar to RfAs? Or should players request the ranking online? 03:34, 7 February 2009 (UTC)

This is Jediadam4. I was playing and got this image: [IMG]http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/uu128/Jediadam4/Proof.jpg[/IMG] Please see this page in the forums for more details.

Let's get this issue fixed,  <font color="Blue">Jediadam4  <font color="Green">(Talk)   04:55, 7 February 2009 (UTC)

Support - I would just like to note that current persons with fest mod ranks, (God of War, and myself) should be allowed to keep these as we are actively planning the wikifest and are moderating the chat. Also, if we will be doing elections, I personally nominate Jediadam4. There are active on the chat often have a neutral point of view. Thanks! 05:04, 7 February 2009 (UTC)
 * I would also much appreciate it if I could have these rights back...how do I do this...thanks! 05:18, 7 February 2009 (UTC)

I don't think this needs to be complicated. How about any user that has been around for a while and uses the CC just ask C Teng on his talk page for kicking powers. Any one abuses and they get the boot. --Degenret01 05:28, 7 February 2009 (UTC)


 * I think it does. This is a major issue and privileged. Plus, it shouldn't just be up to one person entirely. Also, if we grant it to a lot of people, people will start abusing it for certain, to an extent. This would cast havoc upon the Wikia and it's community, we don't want that.


 * [[Image:Prayer.gif]] <font color="Blue">Jediadam4  <font color="Green">(Talk)  [[Image:Bandosgodsword.gif|Bandosgodsword.gif]] 05:44, 7 February 2009 (UTC)

Hmm, how about a "Request for Fest Mod(RFM)". Require the user to be active two months, have a history of fairness and good edits. History of reporting vandalism and handling vandalism well. Or something to that degree, since if a fest mod can kick then it is like being an admin on the wiki. It should be similar to how we now have forum admins. - 06:43, 7 February 2009 (UTC)


 * After speaking with some users in game, I Support this idea. I hope we can limit the amount of run time to perhaps 5 days, rather then the traditional 2 weeks though ;) 19:54, 7 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Support since I came up with it and having it less than 2 weeks works for me. - 20:36, 7 February 2009 (UTC)

Support - But i think that 5 days is too short, make it 1 week. 20:39, 7 February 2009 (UTC)

Support with conditions- I support as long as the new rank for trusted members does not interfere with the Fest mod, crat and admin ranks. I would like it as well if Doucher and Jediadam got these kicking powers as well. They have been around for a while and i think extreme kick action needs to be taken as not everyone can be on it at the time of a vandal attack. Also i would like to quickly add that my rank has disappeared maybe it was intentional maybe it wasnt so we should add a clan chat help page when it comes to problems. Also maybe we could give chat bans? Make a page here on the wiki and add any known vandal who fails to comply by our rules multiple times not to be allowed in the chat again or maybe just for a period of time. Im sorta typing quick so let me know if im hard to understand. God Of War 00:55, 10 February 2009 (UTC) Edit: Bonziiznob and I and the rest of the Fest Mods should still retain our rank. I see no reason why the Fest Mod rank was done away with. Not all rollbackers are prominent well known wiki users. It is much harder to organize and schedule a wikifest in some cases than gain the roll back feature. I think we need to put back all the ranks and add a few more. Take away the Judges and Contestants and lower the ability to kick. God Of War 02:46, 10 February 2009 (UTC)
 * I Agree - 06:09, 10 February 2009 (UTC)
 * God of War, Lieutenants will become the new Fest Mod rank. Instead of just ranks for Wikifest workers, we'll have it for all trusted users. It's the same thing. And we've decided to not use rollbackers, but instead trusted users. We are definitely getting rid of the judge and contestant ranks (see my comments above). Kicking powers will be given to Sysops, and the Lieutenants. We just have to figure out how we will give these ranks (perhaps by using RfA-like voting). And also, you never were a Fest Mod, actually. 22:58, 16 February 2009 (UTC)

I think im trusted enough. I have had my fair share of arguments just like any user but in game there have been no arguments or complaints. I used to have the Lieutenant Ranking and the Orange Star which at the time was the Fest Mod Ranking. I did apply to it when the original rankings were made. So far in the last fest i included the Clan Wars section and dramatically increased the time spend on f2p servers during the wikifest. While i was unable to attend the fest i did contribute to it. This fest Bonzi and I have been working on it a lot as well. I was the user who proposed specific rules be set for the new clan chat and even without my rank i warn users whenever they are on the breaking point of flaming or talking about topics that arent for the clan chat... drugs sex adult content etc. If i have to get elected im ok with that. God Of War 03:14, 18 February 2009 (UTC)


 * As desperately needed, and as this was moved to the archive with no changes, I have implemented discussed rules at with a consensus has been made. In light of recent events at which is has become heated, hard to handle and discuss, I took liberty to implement these immediately. Thanks. They can be found here 04:52, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Anti-vandal bot O_o
The vandal bot is back, this time under the name "Anti-vandal bot". I protected the site for a half hour so we could clear up the vandalism. Just posting this as required by the policy so the community can make sure I wasn't abusing the tool. 04:02, 6 February 2009 (UTC)
 * "Anti-vandal" bot my ass. Good call on the new protect site policy, Soldier. -- 04:04, 6 February 2009 (UTC)

He keeps coming back and claims that his accounts are autoconfirmed. If this is the case than semi-protections will not help. 04:51, 6 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Chia and Karlis reprotected so we're safe for the next 8 hours. 04:59, 6 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Late for the game again. Sorry folks, looks like you took care of it pretty well so far. I was bouncing around talk pages to try and figure out what happened. Question: What happens when the Protect expires? Does he have more accounts? Is there a way to know? And can we keep all discussion on whats happening on one page? --Degenret01 06:06, 6 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Ugh...vandals. What is their purpose anyway? Do they just like frustrating us? 13:20, 6 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Little kids will never grow up...Sigh.. Vandalism is forever, unfortunately. 13:35, 6 February 2009 (UTC)

Protection of spam pages – Add Extension:Title Blacklist
I was noticing that we have been protecting the spam pages that have been created by the recent vandal bot. I would like to point out that these pages are very unlikely to be recreated under the same name, so protecting the pages is not serving its purpose, only wasting valuable administrator time. Instead, I suggest that we have Extension:Title Blacklist installed on the RuneScape Wiki. This extension, which is used on Wikipedia, prevents the creation of pages that match up with regular expressions. This extension could really cut down on the number of spam pages that are created by this bot and other vandals. 06:02, 6 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Wikia does have this extension, but currently, its not setup for each wiki to have its own list. We maintain a global list here (http://www.wikia.com/wiki/MediaWiki:Blacklist_title_list). We are working on modifying it to allow each wiki keep their own list in addition and RuneScape will be one of the first wikis we notify when this is available. --Uberfuzzy 06:21, 6 February 2009 (UTC)

Wanteds
Looking over the wanted pages, there seems to be only two categories:Images and articles about conflicts (Runescape lore). Didn't we have a bot that gathered images? It would be nice to have the wanteds back down to a reasonable size‎Atlandy 15:19, 8 February 2009 (UTC)
 * It was a bot run by Pointy, but the images are not being updated, and new one not being created. We either need to get it running regularly, or change the template so it doesn't link to the GEMH chart images any more. 15:27, 8 February 2009 (UTC)
 * A dummy image can be uploaded for GEMH images that appear in the Wanted list. [[Image:GEMH not available.png|right|The dummy GEMH image.]] This would be a temporary solution until we have a bot to update the prices.  12:43, 10 February 2009 (UTC)
 * As all of the current images are way out of date, and therefore misleading, how about we just change the template to point to this image for the time being? 12:47, 10 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Okay. Done. 06:17, 11 February 2009 (UTC)

More Wanteds?
The wanteds have recently filled with exchange pages for non-tradeable items? Was something added to a template? ‎Atlandy 12:18, 23 February 2009 (UTC)
 * You're right, for some reason these are appearing and worse they don't even specify what is allegedly linking to them, i did a quick scan for #ifexist's since those are known to cause issues and none were found. This is near ridiculous, the wanted articles feature needs help obviously. On wikipedia it has been ignored for years and smaller wiki's like us use this feature that is seemingly becoming more dysfunctional. 21:29, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Mailing list
Hi. I just discovered that the email address used to administrator the RuneScape Wiki mailing list was bouncing. Is there someone else who would like to look after the list? It isn't used very often, but it's there as a tool if you need it. If the settings are correct, the list admin shouldn't need to deal with spam, but only with held posts from registered users (held because they are too large, for example). There's a help page about this at Help:Mailing lists. Alternatively, the list could be closed if there are no current plans to use it. It can easily be reopened later by contacting staff. Angela (talk) 02:27, 9 February 2009 (UTC)
 * I do not think we need the list, but if we decide to keep it, I will look after it. But, we have talk pages, IRC, the forums, and the Yew Grove so I think we are covered. Besides, I think most people do not know about the list(although I did). - 01:04, 13 February 2009 (UTC)

is anyone else having troubles with image uploads
uploads over existing files that is? I uploaded an HD of Morris Image:Morris.PNG and it still has yet to show up nearly 13 hours later. 22:18, 9 February 2009 (UTC)


 * yep, I uploaded this image yesterday, still no change =( Edit: Found this=> User_talk:Sannse -- 22:22, 9 February 2009 (UTC)


 * well Morris finally updated, wikia is being a little weird. 01:37, 10 February 2009 (UTC)


 * so did mine, everything seems to be in order now... -- 00:37, 13 February 2009 (UTC)

Switching to the new parser
Hi,

We are currently making preparations for the next wiki software upgrade. While we expect this to have little or no effect on most wikis, it may cause some pages on this wiki to render poorly. To help reduce or eliminate these issues, please see the Central Forums for more details.

Thanks - sannse (talk) 14:03, 11 February 2009 (UTC)


 * I have been working on getting these pages fixed, but I am waiting for the update of the list of pages with problems, and you replied on the Central Wiki Forums that you put in a request already. - 01:08, 13 February 2009 (UTC)

Great news, we are now on the new parser, I checked all of the pages that had problems and fixed them. I then put in a request for it to be turned on and it appears to be turned on now. Please report any problems you may notice here or to me. The main changes are the fact that exchange pages no longer have an edit section(which never worked anyway). Many pages that include templates which include sections will edit the template instead, for example documentation on templates now edits the documentation instead of the template. Signatures that are not properly closed will now bleed on pages, I have fixed ones that have caused problems, but people change signatures, new people create signatures, someone may have made a signature but never used it, or they use "raw" signatures which can not be changed by someone else. - 17:35, 22 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Talking of exchange pages, have you seen the wanted pages list today? I can't see that anything else has changed (template wise), so I was wondering if the new parser was at fault 13:38, 23 February 2009 (UTC)


 * I bet it is, I am on my iPhone so I can't fix it yet but I will be able to in 45 minutes. I think I know the problem. - 20:17, 23 February 2009 (UTC)


 * From what code I read we shouldn't have a problem, but some of the code is voodoo wiki magic, so I am going to ask for help on this, to the central wiki forums!. - 21:49, 23 February 2009 (UTC)


 * I got a response w:c:Wikia:Forum:Switching_to_the_new_parser, it is the same annoying bug with #ifexist not the new parser. Maybe we can find some way around it and please help make the mediawiki folks fix this. - 02:36, 24 February 2009 (UTC)


 * So it is. It took quite a while for them to appear on the wanted pages from the time of the edit, which is odd. I've made a change to Template:Infobox Item to try and stop this happening. 13:52, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

The way i see this #ifexist issue is you can either use it or you can use Special:Wantedpages but not both on the same wiki, rather not so great imo. 22:16, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Recent template additions

 * Template:Vchart - vertical bar chart
 * Template:Listen - embedding audio files (Ogg, midi, mp3, etc.)
 * Template:Achieve* - displaying a player's achievements in RuneScape

Adminship guidelines
While I am completely understand that the RS wiki is not wikipedia, it is clear that they have evolved many good policies and guidelines over time, for the benefit their wiki. I think it be be very beneficial if we included some of those ideals in to what we expect of our admins so no one gets the wrong idea of what it is. If I missed any good ones, feel free to add to this list.


 * [] Advice for new admins
 * [] What adminship is not
 * I especially love the part about it not being a trophy


 * [] A how to guide

When one of us passes an RFA we get that nice message telling us what we can now do. It would be even better if we included these links to help guide us, and prevent anyone from thinking they are now special or above the law or whatever. Please note, I am not accusing anyone here of actually doing that. I want to focus on the future, not the past. And implementing this would be very helpful in that respect.--Degenret01 07:05, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

I think this is a good idea. I also would really like the whole adminship thing looked at. In opinion, I feel that the meaning of adminship is slowly getting lost. Users are offering support for the purpose of rewarding users, or popular users....It's not about the amount of contribs, etc. but it's about the reason behind the user and the purpose adminship would serve to them. Are they presently active in community discussions, do they revert, are they mature and active and will they use these rights responsibly. I know many users will say that they already consider this, but in general, I feel that the whole thing still needs to be thought about. I'm having trouble actually stating what I want to say, as I am having trouble actually knowing what I want, but I hope that sums it up... and please don't scruntanize me for my RfA's....my first was really mature, my second was a nomination to early, and my third I closed after a day...I personally know what my intentions are, and seeing what is becoming of this wikia and how important it is to me, I am glad I did not get these at those times. 08:43, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Support - The adminship process in this wiki needs to be updated, and these pages will be an excellent addition. 09:05, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Protocol changes, rewards, and authourity
Beiefly being back, I have observed many things on wikipedia and other wikis (including the sub-wikis) of which I think will help the wiki greatly.

1. The Barnstar reward system, Users will be greatly motivated by rewards like this, I have seen it work very well on WikiPedia, so why can't we try it here?

2. Request for rollback, I believe that if one of out sub-wikis have this, why not the main wiki?

3. We should have a more flexible Promotion/Demotion RFA system, I believe that we need people with roles greater than those of breaucrats, like Janitors, Helpers... etc.

4. A User rights role either between admin-rollbacks, this has more active roles and is a good basis to make way towards adminship.

5. A more media-active wiki, this wiki should extend it's reach towards many other websites, like bebo, myspace, etc, we have a youtube channel but it's more like colo's own channel due to a lack of media input/links and the lack of euthiasm, it's also hard to locate many wiki members. I have set up a youtube group for the wiki before, but no one has joined, which shows a lack of communication between those of us who has accounts.

6. articles should me put into wikiprojects, like on wikipedia, which helps to organise and find things very rapidly, since many articles are not in the category they belong.

Please discuss politely, in the few days I'm on the wiki before retreating back to the wikibreak I would like to see if these ideas can work out or not 16:13, 24 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Okay, great suff.
 * 1. We sort of have our own Barnstar system in the works, which is called the stardust awards. Currently 4 users have the userbox on their userpage. Though, I have yet to see an actual reward yet.
 * 2. What, like an RfA? If a user wants rollback, the way to get it now is to just ask a bureaucrat to give it to them. An RfR could work, but might be a bit over-the-top for something insignificant like that.
 * 3. It can't really change much, its up to wikia central to sort out those kinds of things. Plus, the janitor group has been discontinued temporarily.
 * 4. Again, its not up to us - wikia central controls the various user rights roles. Take it up there if you want it changed.
 * 5. That's a great idea. It needs to be organised properly, so to do it a page could be created called RuneScape:External sites or RuneScape:Other sites etc. It could work very well. An 'official' YouTube channel would work very well, with videos of wikifests and other wiki-organised events. I'd be willing to help out if this goes forward anywhere.  16:36, 24 February 2009 (UTC)


 * I will only comment on #5. We are not a social network in the sense that facebook/myspace are.  We are a runescape encyclopedia designed to give information about runescape.  Users have the option for a user page and countless other personal pages.  I know this has been discussed before that we are not a social networking site.‎[[Image:Cooked_chicken.PNG‎]]Atlandy 18:54, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Stardusts
Stardusts (or Barnstars) can be used to eventually replace the controversial "User of the Month" feature that we have. The Stardusts will be awarded based on specific contribution to the wiki, such as:
 * Editor's Stardust - general editing
 * Working Man's Stardust - labourious and repetitive tasks
 * Tireless Contributor Stardust - large contribution of work
 * Photographer's Stardust - images
 * Defender of the Wiki Stardust - vandalism
 * ..and so on.
 * See Barnstars for a full list of Barnstars on Wikipedia. If necessary, we can change the names of the Barnstars to more RuneScape-y names.

Instead of picking an "User of the Month" just for the sake of it, anyone can award a stardust award to anyone, so long as they deserve it. No more voting, just give them a Stardust.

Consider this: We could really replace UoTM with this system. Users can be acknowledged for the work they've done, and we can avoid popularity contests. Nobody loses to another user just because they didn't get enough votes. We would be encouraging development of the wiki, without resorting to unnecessary conflicts.

Wikipedia knew the UoTM system was flawed, we should too. 10:03, 25 February 2009 (UTC)
 * I'm afraid people will go crazy just giving them out to friends. Then it won't really mean anything at all, tbh. =P Christine 20:29, 25 February 2009 (UTC)
 * So they'd be like ninjastars or cookies on Uncyclopedia. Interesting. Why not use both these little awards and UotM, reserving UotM for big things? -- 20:32, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

@Christine: We can set certain rules/conditions for each award. However, anyone (other than themselves) can give out these award, without going through the nomination/voting/consensus process.

@Andorin: We could. But we still need to pick a UOTM every month, and that's not really good. The "month" part doesn't mean anything; it's not like "Employee of the Month" where the award is given based on contributions for that month. Here, we're just giving it randomly to anyone who has contributed to the wiki. Clearly, the nomination and voting is not decided based on the particular month. The UoTM has lost its meaning, literally.

If we want to reserve UoTM for big things, we should call it something else, and not have it every month. Currently, we're just cycling through the active users who haven't been an UoTM, and awarding them. Sooner or later, we'll run out of users... 10:45, 26 February 2009 (UTC)


 * I'm not keen to see the UOTM going away, i prefer having barnstardusts and uoTms seperate. 11:03, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

to ADK and C309:

i think that we should dig in more into wikipedia's barnstar system before falling into conclusions, we should learn more about how wikipedia's barnstar system is kept from systematic and adminstrative corruption. and also, i was thinking of a minor award called "wikitokens" as a smaller reward which can be accumulated for prizes...(hopefully it's not regarded as a case of RWT)  11:07, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

GEMH in item infobox creating wanted pages
As seen here, the wanted pages are clogged with GEMH pages for untradable items. Whats going on? Is this some sort of problem with #ifexist, and if so, what is the solution? -- 21:11, 24 February 2009 (UTC)
 * my guess is this has to do with something changing in the wiki software, if i recall correctly 3 March is the official go live date for some change over, but i saw a brief glimpse of it in the past 36 hours, which might've been a brief pre-test (i've not seen it again as of yet). This might've caused the #ifexist statement in the Infobox_Item template to have generated the batch of GEMW wanted Exchange: articles that you see, hopefully when the wanted list is updated next that will all be gone, since Hurston took the time to rid us of the potential #ifexist problem from said template. 21:36, 24 February 2009 (UTC)
 * It looks like the change I made sorted it out, but there are a few stragglers left. I'll get them sorted. 09:29, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Inactive admins.
I will make this short as my computer here at work begins to smoke when I think about entering the Yew Grove. As many know, we currently have quite a few inactive 'crats and sysops. I think that, as they are inactive, and our expectations and policies have changed since they've been nominated, that they should have their status revoked to a normal user. This is for many reasons. Should somebody get ahold of one of their accounts, we have several inactive crats who have the power to desysop, protectsite, etc. While something like this has never happened, we are continually seing more vandalism, and I feel it is a good preventative measure to take. We also do not need to have users who are no longer regularly contributing to have these responsibilites, as they would be better suited for those who are on and would present a purpose to have them. I don't feel like crashing my computer, but out of memory, I want to say we have somewhere around 6-8 inactive crats and up to 15 or so inactive sysops. As they have left the community on a positive note, I see no reason why they should not be returned should they choose to return. You are more than welcome to read my inital discussion here and here. Sorry it's lacking a lot of detail, but like I said, I lag bad here. 19:28, 25 February 2009 (UTC)
 * I can't say I disagree with you here. While the chance of a sysop's account being h4xed are decidedly slim, if we know that they're gone from the wiki, there's not much point to keeping them as sysop. Freeing up names from the rosters may also make people think "Hrm, we need more sysops/crats" and then we can look to those who are actively contributing to replace the retired sysops and crats, thereby increasing admin presence and everyone wins. -- 19:47, 25 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Well said. =D 19:52, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Damn, you beat me to it. This proposal juts makes sense in every way. I would like to add that in an inactive came back, there should be no problem in them getting their status back. After a couple weeks of activity to ensure they aren't a hacked account.--Degenret01 21:16, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Strong support- I really like this idea. How about sysops and crats who have not made any edits in eight months automatically get de-sysopped but may automatically regain their status after being active for two weeks?--Diberville 21:21, 25 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Sounds reasonable, and perhaps the ones that are barely active should be questioned on their talk page as to whether they are going to return, or if they mind their rights being revoked? There are a few who have made edits this year, but it's usually just a talk page or user page edit. 21:24, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Genious however we'll need new b'crats. 21:36, 25 February 2009 (UTC)


 * We have more than enough active 'crats at the moment. 11:15, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Support - Although this would clear up a number of sysops, I also do not see the need to flood the nomination system with RfA's. They have been in-active, therefore little change at the present time will be noticed so immediately requesting a RfA after the desysoping is clearly pointless based on this alone. But I do, strongly support. It would clear up room for future more active sysop, just don't use this clearing as an accuse to get easy sysopping. 03:30, 26 February 2009 (UTC)
 * So what if we created a "Quick Requests for Adminship" (QRfA) section that could only be used by previous sysops who had left the wiki (in good standing), returned, and wanted their status back? Basically all it would be is a quick review of that user's contributions as an admin, as well as a chance to catch them up on new policies and such. -- 04:49, 26 February 2009 (UTC)
 * That could work for them, but specifically, I was talking about our active users now. Just because we might be clearing up the sysop list, means we need to see all our users in a RfA. 11:56, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Support - great idea. As long as they are allowed to be resysopped/b'cratted if they left on a positive note then I support. 03:39, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Comment - How do we define inactivity? We do have WikiOgres and WikiOgresses in our wiki.

Support - For sysops/crats who have mentioned clearly that they have left. For others, it would be polite to at least email them first. Leaving a message in their talk page may not work, if they don't check it. 10:56, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Support - As long we give them plenty of notice that it is going to happen. 11:15, 26 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Comment - I fully expect that they each are given fair warning, and the right to have them back should they return. Also, a comment to your comment from above..


 * We currently have 11 bureaucrats, 8 of which are inactive. (I am including Whiplash in this, as his activity is minimal.)
 * We currently have 39 sysops, 17 of which are inactive. (Gangsterls and Ilyas are minimally active, so I will exclude them from this.)
 * This gives us a total of 50 administrators, 28 of which are inactive.
 * This means we have 22 administrators.


 * Just to put things in perspective.
 * 12:38, 26 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Between azaz, dragon and Dtm, I make that 3 active 'crats, or am I missing something? 12:46, 26 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Ahem, I was wondering where my math went wrong. =( 12:49, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Oppose - I have been in active opposition to this idea on other wikis when this concept comes up, and I fail to see the real damage that could come from this. I will admit that English Wikipedia (note the number of contributors, active admins, and level of activity for that wiki) has had a couple of admin accounts go rogue and do some real damage, although I should note that their level of activity had little to do with the potential for this to happen. The point of making somebody an administrator is to acknowledge that a particular user has a bit of maturity and isn't likely to be a vandal messing things up. That hasn't changed if an administrator has become inactive.

Knowing that proposals like this seem to have momentum of their own and inactive admins (by definition) won't be involved in these sort of discussions, in almost every situation where a proposal like this is made it become policy. Perhaps I'm the lone voice of opposition here, but I really don't see the need for this policy, and it can be counter productive to encouraging potential contributors who can only work in occasional spurts of activity and take longer "wiki-breaks" between contributions. Not all users are the same in their editing habits, and policies should not be designed to work with only one type of contributor. If formerly active accounts were to be a source of vandalism and problems, I might be more convinced to support a policy of this nature.

Assuming that this does become policy, I would encourage a very light touch even on the enforcement of the provisions of this policy. I see no clear definition of an inactive user in this proposal, and from personal experience I've had some hard experiences "getting back into the loop" when I've been inactive from collaborative projects in the past with similar kinds of restrictions.... to get through the bureaucratic hassles of getting my account reactivated after periods of inactivity. I certainly hope that the period of inactivity here is measured on the scale of years, not weeks, where the sysops that are under review to have their sysop status revoked were the early founders of this wiki and haven't been involved since. --Robert Horning 14:28, 26 February 2009 (UTC)


 * If you take the time to look at our list of administrators, you will see several with their last edits in 2006, 2007, and the first half of 2008. It is currently 2009. I don't think you can pass that off as their editing habits. We have proposed a time in which we could call someone "inactive" as well. (8 months was suggested, to save you the time of re-reading.) There is no point in having these old accounts sitting around, unused with these powers. We have also discussed contacting the users and discussing their return and potential removal of powers. Many of our policies have changed, dozens of new policies have come in effect, and some policies have been rewritten or removed since many of these admins have either last edited, or last done an administrative task. I am not saying that these former admins will come back and decide to pull a Shadow Dancer, but I would prefer if something like that didn't happen. Had these users had any intention of returning, they could have put the Wikibreak template on their page. Also, a few inactive crats clearly stated they have retired. I see in no way how this will be counter-productive, as if you are gone for more than half a year, you obviously have other things going on in life, and losing a few rights (temporarily) on the internet isn't going to be a big deal for you. I don't see why someone would RFA knowing they can only contribute once every few weeks, or why the community would vote such a person administrator knowing their editing habits. 14:45, 26 February 2009 (UTC)


 * "Had these users had any intention of returning, they could have put the Wikibreak template on their page". Okay, let's back up a bit there. Who said they had any intention of leaving in the first place? They can't think "I better put a template on my userpage saying that I will return" if their computer exploded, their house burnt down, or whatever could have happened. On Halo Fanon, I got something like 1,000 edits there. I eventually ended up getting bored of the idea, and went inactive. Months later, I came back and made, like, twenty more edits, and then went inactive again. I had no plan about going inactive in the first place. It just happened. And because of such, I could not have put a notice that I might have returned. 06:35, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

I would like to mention here that I am not concerned with the account creator going rogue, but with it getting hacked. Active people here are more aware of how determined some of these vandals are. With Crats now able to desysop, a hacked crat account could do incredible damage very quickly. And desysop those who could revert thier vandalism. As far as time goes, this community is ever evolving and changing and those with more tools should be aware of whats going on. I was thinking more along the lines of
 * 60 days no (zip, zero, zilch) activity, account is given message on talk page and emailed if possible.
 * On day 91, if still no activity from user, account reverts to user account.
 * If/when user comes back, they need to edit for 2 weeks (contibuting at least a bit here and there to show they are following whats going on). At that point, those who actually passed an RFA can be resyopped. Those who (in the early days) were pretty much just given adminship, will have to pass an abbreviated (1 week) RFA.--Degenret01 15:05, 26 February 2009 (UTC)


 * If some hacker came across a bureaucrat's account and gained control, they would have to:
 * Find out what site/wiki the account is registered for in the first place.
 * Find out what the Heck a bureaucrat is, if they even notice the account a bureaucrat.
 * Find out how to use the powers.
 * Then watch the sparks fly.
 * This is all very unlikely. Besides reading this hypothetical scenario and learning from me (How dare I! XD), they would have to know about either Special:Specialpages, Special:BlockIP or Special:UserRights. Unless they were an [ex-]Wikian, they would have no idea that any of that exists or how to get there.
 * Now, if an inactive bureaucrat came back from the metaphorical dead and did the unlikely and went on a destruction spree, that would be a whole nother unlikely story. 06:35, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

Oppose (see everything below) - I think that it is just assinine to desysop someone because they're inactive to "clean the roster". Having inactive names on "the roster" does no harm. Only a few times (Shadowdancer being one of the few) has a Wikia sysop gone on a destruction spree. Only a few times has anyone been hacked for a Wikia account. With a RuneScape account, you could sell it for real-world money. But, a Wikia account? They're just not worth hacking. Dread was the only time I've heard of anyone's account security being an issue. Lastly, they were made sysops because they were mature, trusted by the community, and their account was secure. So, if we are desysoping them because we don't trust them not to come back and hurt the site, are we not being hypocritical?

These are my stances with all the situations I can think of:
 * Someone who has declared that they are retired: Understandable that they get their powers removed. Though, in the rare case that they were to come back, they better get their powers back, whether it be immediately or by being active for a set ammount of time.
 * Someone who was given administrator powers before the RfAs were set in place (this only applies to a few sysops, such as X1011 and Merovingian): Again, understandable if they get their powers removed. They never had a community approval system to go through, and they were just sysopped if they looked like they could use it. No one knows hardly any of the people this would apply to (Oddly being the only exception I can think of), so no one can vouch for how worthy and trustworthy they are.
 * Someone who has simply gone inactive - If someone has shown that they either can't be trusted or aren't ready/worthy for adminship, that's one thing. But going inactive is another. In the words of Otter-Man, "They can come back at ANY TIME" (Well, the quote was something like that!) . There are multiple inactive sysops who currently play RuneScape, and can still be contacted, and as such, could return at any time.
 * Someone who has not so simply gone inactive, and has been inactive for a long time - This is different from just plain being inactive. If they can't be contacted in-game, haven't edited in over one year, can't be contacted on Wikia or possibly via their respective Wikipedia account, can't be contacted by email and are essentially the internet form of being MIA, then I would then see no problem with sysop removal, as long as they are reinstated with their powers as soon as they comeback, or prove that they are still trustworthy by being active for a relatively short period of time.

With all that said, think about some of this:
 * Would the sysop in question even be messaged in the first place? It's possible that they are active on another Wikia wiki, and would then receive the message.
 * Would the sysop in question be desysoped because we fear that the powers may be used by the forces of evil (<-- lol, such a cliche right there)? Were not we the ones who trusted them with the powers in the first place?
 * Why are they being desysoped? Because we want to "clean the roster"? Because we don't trust them anymore? Because we believe their account is insecure? Or because by the way things look they have no possibility of returning, and thus have no possibility of using the powers ever again?
 * Is this not taking one step forward to becoming a hierarchy?
 * What would happen if they return, and they find out their powers have been removed? Would that not seem like a case of backstabbing? Who's to say that that would not set them off and become an enemy of the site [(I don't mean like we suddenly hate them, but there's a big misunderstanding, a big fight, and then they get blocked for violation of RS:UTP or whatever may happen.)]?

What is the point of this in the first place? I mean, what are the odds that someone will hack the account [(or whatever may hapen)] and use it to go vandalling? Immensely low. 'If someone is desysopped but becomes active again, we'll resysop them'? Wouldn't it just be easier and much less of a hassle to not do it in the first place? And how many times has an inactive sysop come back without them having turned into a vandal? Every single time except once. And with that once, it wasn't that major.

One of the many redeeming qualities of this site over other fansites is that you won't be stripped of your rank for being inactive. We don't have a limit on our sysops, and we shouldn't limit them if they were chosen by the community to be the sysop in the first place. 06:35, 27 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Imagine if you took an eight month hiatus from your job without telling your boss or anyone in the office, would you come back expecting to still have a job? Would your co-workers expect you to have a job? We elect administrators and crats because they serve a purpose. The way I see it, getting bored one day and disappearing without saying anything is outright disrespectful after putting the everyone through your vote and agreeing to that oath. It has nothing to do with security risks or creating a bigger list, if you are imbued with power and responsibility by the community, you are not allowed to just leave. If they do come back and decide they liked their power, an RFA is simple enough to make. 19:04, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

GEMW Update Bot
I'd just like to bring this page to the attention of anyone who has experience with the MediaWiki API. It currently is working, except for the fact that the actual editing of pages doesn't work and returns an error stating the action "edit" doesn't exist. 00:24, 27 February 2009 (UTC)