Talk:Main Page/Pre Launch Debate

Tiki Content

Are we done with Tiki? Poor Weird keeps posting over there and I have e-mailed him letting him know that this is the new place. He may not be getting my e-mails. Anyway, I'd like to shit-can the Tiki site if we're done with it.

Arch 05:05, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

Arch 00:48, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

At a guess, I'd say yes. I'd copied over the remaining Running Gags-entries that had been filled out a number of days ago. So I'm thinking it's served its purpose, and can be sent to that great deleted-site-heaven in the sky.

GlitterRock 13:58, 26 May 2006 (UTC)

Tiki gone. So long, Tiki.

Arch 03:12, 30 May 2006 (UTC)

Categories

I've reclassified Meet The Cappers, Capping Venues and Running Gags to Categories.

Arch 21:29, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

Fuck it. I don't know what I'm doing with categories yet. :)

WikiSysop 21:40, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

Capper Fests

What do you guys think of a Capper Fest section?

Arch 15:07, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

It's a wiki. Build it and they'll either come and edit it or let it die on the vine. That said, I think it's a pretty good idea.

--GersonK 15:15, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

Jurassic Pork

Anyone catch JPs note on the eGroup? I'm wondering if this is some sort of subtle hint that he knows about the Capper Wiki?

My questions to you all are thus:

Do we have enough of a foundation to inform everyone? I personally think we need a bit more before we set the community at large loose. Plus, Gerson keeps talking about how we need to set standards and I, for one, agree with him.

Where do we need to be before we inform?

Which one of you jokers told JP? (COUGH! Gen!?! COUGH!) Just kidding . . .

I'm probably just being paranoid. But if I'm not . . . ;)

I'll try and step up what I can add this week. Someone mentioned to me an essay that Generik wrote about capping? I vaguely remember reading a piece he wrote some years back. Perhaps a new section? Essays on capping?

OK . . . that's all for now.

BTW, JP is more than welcome to help lay brick if he wants.

Keep it secret. Keep it safe. ;)

Arch 04:02, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

I just checked out the message. I don't know. It could easily be an innocent comment; I remember LongLiveRock making a similiar one after finding a capping-entry on wiki.

I agree that we need to set some parameters inasfar as contributions go as to what's permitted and so forth. You don't want someone posting a picture for an entry that's 900x1500 pixels for example. Likewise, I don't think there's much of a point, for example, in posting a category for a Capper Crush talking about how dreamy he/she is.

So far I think we're doing a good job in setting the framework for the site, getting Cappers listed, venues and terms explained and so forth. I say that when we feel comfortable with how it appears, that's when we "debut" it. Doing it before we're ready just opens us up for cans of worms that don't need to be opened ... which could lead to a 'this is more trouble than its worth' mentality ... which leads to any time we've all spent working on it being for nothing. When we're ready, we'll be ready :)

GlitterRock 04:13, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

My impression is that JP's post was just a coincidence. I suppose he might have spotted the link in the referrer logs at his site if anybody linked him and somebody else followed the link.

As for standards, I'm begining to think that's an uphill battle. Heck, even getting enough content in to lead by example might not work. That said, the sort of bare minimum I'd suggest (feel free to ignore all or any of this) before throwing the doors open is:

(1) Some sort of guide page saying what's acceptable and appropriate and just what the purpose if this site is. People are gonna upload big images and write novels about (name deleted) their crushes, and insert political screeds on the main page. 9 times out of 10, the next editor to come along is going to want to move, remove, or otherwise fix that. We just got to give them some rules so the person they're editing can't complain.

(2) Make sure all of the editing help pages are in place.

(3) Figure out what the difference between user profiles and meet the capper pages should be.

(4) Maybe finish bringing over the Tiki content.

--GersonK 15:13, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

I think you're definitely on the right track, Mr. Gerson.

(1) We'll need to confer on this together, possibly in real time. And when I say we, I guess I mean anyone who is in on the ground floor spending their time and talent building the wiki. Your points here in #1 are all sensible. I gotta believe something else related to what you refer to here will pop up, so we'll need to plan for all contingencies. That's why I think a real time conference is in order. I can set up a chat on this domain or anywhere else that would be private.

(2) That shouldn't be a problem. Where the hell are they? ;)

(3) I think it makes no sense to have a user profile page and an article page for the same person. When we decide on the exact user profile template, we insist on them using it or a reasonable facsimile thereof. After that, they can put anything else in there they want, including political screeds. However . . . no one will use common areas as a soapbox. Gotta draw the line somewhere.

(4) Don't think there's much left but a few links.

Arch 01:54, 16 May 2006 (UTC)

Here's a chatroom we can use if we decide to have a conference:

http://capperwiki.com/mychat/chat/

Arch 02:07, 16 May 2006 (UTC)

Capper template

I've begun experimenting with a template for capper profiles. So far, I've only applied it to my page. I'm not sure that it's really an improvment. I think I have more to learn about templates, especially how to make em easy for people to use. Thoughts?

--GersonK 03:22, 14 May 2006 (UTC)

I like it. Between yours and Gray's, I need to start thinking of mine now, LOL.

GlitterRock 03:46, 14 May 2006 (UTC)

Agree with the Glittery one. On both counts. ;)

Arch 04:12, 14 May 2006 (UTC)

I copied CyberBeast....

The Gray Zombie 13:14, 14 May 2006 (UTC)

I made the Handle fonts in the template larger ala Cyber's example. I have also created a page for every capper on the Meet the Cappers page using it. Glitter is sending me a full list of capper from the CPB, so I'll have to enter those when I get them.

Arch 23:31, 16 May 2006 (UTC)

Three thoughts: (1) Take a look at the edit tab on GersonK, see how I've applied the template by calling it with {{capper}}? instead of cutting and pasting the contents into each capper? Apart from having to know to do that and know the parameters, much easier, I think. And more importantly, if somebody edits the template then the changes carry over to all the pages using it. (2) If arch missed that, I suspect most everybody will. Which makes me think it's either back to the drawing board with this whole template thing or there's some simple trick for automatically attaching a template to a page. (3) Take a look at most any capper page - the name appears twice - once where wiki inserted it, once where we did. Sometimes the page name has the case or punctuation wrong, but I think it'd be better to concentrate on figuring out how to get the page names right than doing what amounts to double entry.

Furthermore, if we can somehow straighten out all the issues above (and I'm not hopeful at the moment), than all we'd really need to do is figure out how to drop a name into the capper category and the 'blank page' would be done.

--GersonK 04:25, 17 May 2006 (UTC)

Frak. That sucks. I wasn't sure how that worked. Definitely not the way I did it. I'll have to fix it. One thing, though. It doesn't matter how you case or punctuate the link. When you go to the new edit=namespace, it 'conveniently' capitalizes the word and takes out underscores. Surely it takes out the underscores because that's how it creates the link.

Don't lose hope. I know myself and I am prone to making a few mistakes in learning new software. I spent most of today doing what I didn't need to so . . . I'm not happy about having all that work done for nothing but . . . I did learn valuable information in doing so. Sorry, I'm just not a read-the-directions kind of guy. Looks like I need to start doing more than skimming them over.

Arch 04:47, 17 May 2006 (UTC)

Well, I don't know why I'm getting so bothered, I'm not the one who just cut and pasted into 500 some odd articles. Anyway, since I'm not entirely willing to spend the time figuring out the "right way" to do everything here when it's less than obvious, I should probably be a little less concerned about it. Anyway, I added a new field/parameter/variable/whatever to the template, called "Handle" that'll either display a handle as specified on the page, or just display the page name if none is specified.

--GersonK 06:10, 17 May 2006 (UTC)

You're probably bugged because you went and did the research and wrote the template. Then I went and did something that using the template was supposed to prevent. It shows that you are really wanting to do this right is all. And just incidentally, for someone who didn't feel like he could help with this project full-time, thus far you have put in more than full-time work in my estimation. For that, I am truly grateful. Your input and work has been truly invaluable. Please do not keep your opinions to yourself. I chose who I chose to help me with this project because I felt they would be forthcoming with those opinions, not to mention very helpful with the nuts and bolts. So when you do what I expected you to do in the first place, it just reaffirms my feelings that I've got the right people working on this with me.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled ass kissing. ;)

Arch 14:13, 17 May 2006 (UTC)

Gerson, how do you populate the template with your unique info? I looked at yours in edit mode and I'm confused. I've looked at the help pages at META and can't find the right docs. Do you just place the {{capper}} statement in the body and then put information underneath or something?

Arch

I've documented it at Talk:Meet_the_Cappers#Using_the_template

--GersonK 17:14, 17 May 2006 (UTC)

A logo?

Any thouhgts on a logo? Text only doesn't seem to capture the whole capping experience, but picking a single image as the logo may be tough. Perhaps Cappy the Chimp from Hamburger University? Though I don't suppose the connection is obvious, since the writing onthe car's a little hard to read.

--GersonK 22:05, 12 May 2006 (UTC)

Isn't subtlety a capper trademark? ;) I like Cappy the Chimp but perhaps we should take a vote? And maybe AFTER we open for the community. I think they all shoud have a say as to what our visual branding might be.

Arch 23:09, 12 May 2006 (UTC)

Some may want something MST3K related. I think something with the Caption This red curtains would be fitting. After all, the good majority of us started there.

My opinion, of course.

--TheGrayZombie

I like the idea of varying the Caption This curtains into something. If we had a name, it could be "(Fill in the blank) Presents Capper Wikipedia."

--GlitterRock

I'm sure sfc won't care! Here's the images from the site: and the html to get the border round the image is over here --GersonK 04:21, 13 May 2006 (UTC)

Here's a real rough mockup of a possible candidate - a real version would need a lot of work in terms of the legibility and the fonts and the curtains, not to mention going from the original's 2:1 perspective to a 1:1 perspective that's expected here.

My big issue with it is that it's kind of derivative. Once cool idea is to rig up a little script that changes the grab inside once a day or something like that.

GersonK 15:01, 13 May 2006 (UTC)

Looks groovy! I've thrown it up there just to have something other than the message telling us we can have our own logo. No shit! :) BTW, the logo will not show up if you decide to skin the Wiki with anything other than the default. I'll have to look into how to do that . . .

Nice job, Gerson!

Arch 17:29, 13 May 2006 (UTC)

IMHO, MrGrant's image at Capper National Laboratory is about the best possible style, if not content, a logo could have: Capper Lab logo

An animated GIF that alternates fairly quickly is in the capping mode, esp. if surreally unrelated stuff is included (the appearance of Godzilla among the other more staid images in the Capper Lab example is a telling effect.)

UpSky2 3:17, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

Hey, thanks for posting my logo thing on the Candidates page! I was having trouble getting it to display right. (Whoops!) BTW, GREAT work on this site, guys! You're awesome! :D --LadyBlackAdder 06:00, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

Because it just wouldn't be very interesting without graphics. (Sorry, had to do it.) What about something based roughly on an MST3K-esque design? --Indomitus 12:03, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

Capper Crush entry

Just a thought. All the photos on the Capper Crush entry make it look a little... cluttered. I think just the explanation of the term should be enough. Either that, or use fewer or smaller pictures. Thoughts?

--GlitterRock

See my note over on the capper crush discussion tab.

P.S. - use the squiggly button above the textarea to insert your sig & a timestamp. --GersonK 02:50, 13 May 2006 (UTC)

I, too, like the idea of the CT curtains incorporated with something.

BTW, four tildes ~~~~ writes your sig as well.

Arch 03:14, 13 May 2006 (UTC)

Oops... sorry. I hadn't seen there was a 'Capper Crush' discussion section, and didn't see a 'page 2' option to advance. I've just done a little flipping through this area, and only saw the logo discussion. Is there an index for any discussion areas we might have?

GlitterRock 03:42, 13 May 2006 (UTC)

Not sure if there's a way to just watch discussion - but if you look at the Special:RecentChanges page and look for Talk: that'll show you recently updated discussion. Also note you can use the edit link for any given thread on a page to keep comments grouped, or use the + link on top to add a new thread. GersonK 04:07, 13 May 2006 (UTC)

You can watch discussion pages. Yessirree Bob! But I use the recent changes link under Browse in the left pane, too.

Arch 04:14, 13 May 2006 (UTC)

The Migration

How are we doing on getting the Tiki content over? I think we've got all of the venues and running gags/threads done. I've got the content on the cappers starting with A done along with e-groups page. So, is there anything else to do but keep plowing through the cappers? GersonK 04:12, 13 May 2006 (UTC)

I'm going to redo my entry in the Meet The Cappers section, so the only other thing would be my photo.

--TheGrayZombie

I think the last of the Running Jokes pages from there were copied.... I did a few empty pages earlier tonight, and I think the rest done over there have been transferred.

GlitterRock 04:30, 13 May 2006 (UTC)

Are we ready?

What more needs to be done before we announce to the general public? Or should we stagger it in some viral way? (eg we each invite one or two people. Next week they all invite one or two people. Then all the people who don't get invited can feel leftout.) Should we try to get the people who were invited intiially but haven't done much to come back and give it a once over?

I suppose we should backup the darn thing first (unless Arch has already been doing that).

--GersonK 16:23, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

I think we're pretty darn close. We need to do the help links but as far as content is concerned, I think we have more than enough of a foundation. I have two more pieces of Generik's Poll to post and format. I'll need to fix the capper pages that aren't populated (properly or otherwise) by inserting the capper template. Let's see . . . I can't think of anything else at this time. I'd like to get those things done before we open for bidness.

As far as how to announce the thing . . . I was of the mind that we just announce it on the eGroup, make a post at Glitter's, have Generik send the announcement out via his list and you could make an announcement over at IS. Between those 4, we should reach just about everyone.

And yes, I'm backing up the wiki. :)

Arch 17:32, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

I've tinkered around with the ordering of the help links on the main page - I think it should make easier for people to find what they need. I've also added links to my template instructions on the Meet the Cappers page and the page (at some point should we just use the category page?) Not sure what else we can do in the help category.

I wish I knew how to build bots here, since that'd probably be the easiest way to template all the capper pages.

Should we remove the link to the old tiki wiki? --GersonK 19:12, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Everything is looking good, man. Thanks for your diligence in working with the templates. I just couldn't get around to understanding the more advanced functions of them. I'll get rid of the Tiki link. I'm going to bed but my project tomorrow is going to be finishing up templating the cappers. Then I've got another piece by Generik to post and format. Almost there! Arch 04:01, 26 May 2006 (UTC)