GuildWiki talk:Wikia Migration

/Archive/ - Stuff fixed or no longer needs discussing.

A new thing to worry about
Hey guys, watch this. http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u289/karloth666/rickroll1.gif Neat, huh. Posting an image's URL direct-links the image now; vandals can image-spam without having to go through the trouble of creating an account and uploading images. Also, this probably breaks countless talk pages with links to screenshots and the like on them. Sweet. 08:18, 3 April 2008 (UTC)


 * External image hotlinking is *supposed* to be disabled I think... with photobucket being on a whitelist >_<"  -User:PanSola (talk to the [[Image:follower of Lyssa.png]]) 08:26, 3 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Well, as you can see from this image http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/9832/badgerdj1.jpg taken from User talk:Lann, that's not the case. Hotlinking will be bad for load times, and would be very easy to exploit- post a thousand links to that rickroll gif on one page to see what I mean. [[Image:Felix_Omni_Signature.png]] 08:29, 3 April 2008 (UTC)
 * It's better now. :D [[Image:Felix_Omni_Signature.png]] 08:31, 3 April 2008 (UTC)
 * No it's not RT | Talk  15:52, 3 April 2008 (UTC)
 * If there is concensus to do so, we can remove the ability to use any external images. By default, as PanSola said, most external images are blocked; however, a few sites like ImageShack are whitelisted.  You can view the full whitelist here. --KyleH (talk) 17:56, 3 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Because hotlinking removes the need for licensing details, one of the things we take rather seriously here, I would vote to remove the capability altogether. [[Image:Felix_Omni_Signature.png]] 18:11, 3 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Remove imo --Macros 18:12, 3 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Remove imo. --Shadowcrest  18:53, 3 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Remove. I'll be personally removing any such images that I find regardless of what is officially decided, since it contravenes GW:IMAGE. [[Image:Entropy Sig.jpg]] (T/C) 03:31, 4 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Remove. [[Image:Thoughtful-new-sig.jpg]] Thoughtful 00:58, 8 April 2008 (UTC)

(resetting indent) It seems that the verdict is unamious. I have requested that the tech team disable the the embedding of external images. This change should be implemented some time in the next few days. --KyleH (talk) 04:47, 8 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Still working on this ... --KyleH (talk) 04:37, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

Gap on the right hand side
Since today I've a gap on the right hand side of the wide of the nav-menu on the left hand side. That annoys me since I've to scroll more down. I like stuff wide without wasting space. Will that be changed? --Birchwooda Treehug 15:11, 2 April 2008 (UTC)
 * That "gap" is caused by the placement of two other wikia wikis and four ads that you're probably blocking; it looks awful, and I hate it. [[Image:Felix_Omni_Signature.png]] 17:41, 2 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Agreed. The ads go on the right with our menu. Or on the bottom. This is insanely disruptive. They also appeared to have added a ton of extra junk on a page about remembering to sign. And as usual, they posted a message at the top of the page and didnt remove it when it was complete.&mdash;♥ Jedi ♥ Rogue ♥ 17:48, 2 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Which is why I'm disliking wikia currently. &mdash;[[Image:MaySig.png]] Warw/Wick 17:52, 2 April 2008 (UTC)
 * It looks like copying User:AT/monobook.css will make the gap go away; the side-scroll bar is annoying, but tolerable. [[Image:Felix_Omni_Signature.png]] 18:10, 2 April 2008 (UTC)
 * And the side-scroll bar apparently only shows up in IE, so all you FF junkies can be happy. [[Image:Felix_Omni_Signature.png]] 18:16, 2 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Just copy+paste mine, it fits better. &mdash;[[Image:MaySig.png]] Warw/Wick 18:19, 2 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Yeah, anyone using this may need to tweak the size to fit their resolution. YMMV. -- AT (talk | contribs) 18:24, 2 April 2008 (UTC)
 * I changed it to 85% and its now the perfect width on my 19 inch screen at 1280*1024. I don't suppose theres any chance similar coding alchemy could deal with the new layout of the editing page "This is a talk page. Please remember to sign your posts using four tildes ( ~ )." :@ --Cobalt | Talk  18:44, 2 April 2008 (UTC)
 * I'll look into it. I'm currently trying to remove the crap with the Starting new page. &mdash;[[Image:MaySig.png]] Warw/Wick 18:46, 2 April 2008 (UTC)
 * I'm on #wikia asking them about it right now RT </B>| <font color="Black">Talk</B>  19:01, 2 April 2008 (UTC)
 * @Cobalt: I had a look to see if I could remove that message, but the div it's contained in doesn't use have any id or class (bad form imo) so it's not easily hideable. But I agree, it's irritating. Try User:Poke or User:Galil, they're probably more experienced at this than me. -- AT (talk | contribs) 19:10, 2 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Found it here. -- AT (talk | contribs) 20:57, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Ads
I don't know where else to put this, but this is ridiculous, the entire lay out of my userpage is fucked up from the new ads on the right. I am DAMN SURE that Wikia said they'd lower the ads to One Per Page, which it clearly is not. I bet there are tons of pages also fucked up from this. Someone with authority go harass them plz =(--<font color ="Black">D <font color = "#900000">N <font color ="Black">A 21:04, 2 April 2008 (UTC)
 * This is a seperate issue from the move, go to Wikia Migration.[[Image:Entrea Sumatae.png|Entrea Sumatae]]<font color="#4682b4">Entrea Sumatae  <font color="#4682b4">[Talk]  21:06, 2 April 2008 (UTC)
 * I wouldn't consider Wikia spotlights as "ads", so I only see one ad per page on Monobook (well it's one ad "unit" often containing 4 sub-ads in it), and one ad per page on Monaco. Zero ads on Quartz (logged-in).  We probably have a problem of definitions here )-:  On the other hand, the problem of the layout of your user page is completely tied to you being counting on everyone visiting your userpage to use the same resolution to get the same pagewidth, so that design in and of itself has issues )-:   -User:PanSola (talk to the [[Image:follower of Lyssa.png]]) 21:09, 2 April 2008 (UTC)
 * True, they technicly only have one Google Multiad, the others are "Wikia Spotlights" so they don't legally count.[[Image:Entrea Sumatae.png|Entrea Sumatae]]<font color="#4682b4">Entrea Sumatae  <font color="#4682b4">[Talk]  21:10, 2 April 2008 (UTC)
 * DNA, take a look at User:AT/monobook.css, He/She "fixed" it :)--[[Image:AlariSig.jpg]] 21:13, 2 April 2008 (UTC)
 * If you use an Adblocker, you can get rid of the extra load times, too. AT only has them hidden. --- [[Image:VipermagiSig.JPG]]-- (s)talkpage 21:17, 2 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Block out http://ads.wikia.nocookie.net/ 870 block hits :)--[[Image:AlariSig.jpg]] 21:19, 2 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Can we not discuss methods of "how to let Wikia make less money" on the wiki? -User:PanSola (talk to the [[Image:follower of Lyssa.png]]) 21:24, 2 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Nah, that would be repressing us then. Anyway, now that we've moved over there, I've noticed that the load times have tripled, and I spent a good hour or so trying to figure out how to get the damned background back in at the top --Gimmethegepgun 22:12, 2 April 2008 (UTC)


 * Me too, i thought it was my internet at first, but other sites load normal. "Technically" 1 ad or not, it's in a terrible place, it compresses the pages, and i'm aware that my pages be screwed over by this is, largely, my fault, but there's got to be other pages that are now crooked because the main area is now compressed.--<font color ="Black">D <font color = "#900000">N <font color ="Black">A 22:20, 2 April 2008 (UTC)
 * I haven't noticed any lag. I just wish they would move the ads somewhere else, they're annoying as crap on the right. Think of how ticked people got at pan's april fools' joke, it's like that all the time >.> --<font face="vivaldi" size="3" color="Steelblue">Shadowcrest  22:22, 2 April 2008 (UTC)
 * I'm mostly frustrated by the way half the html on the wiki suddenly stopped working. My character templates look like stupid, and Ruricu and I can't figure out how to fix them. [[Image:Felix_Omni_Signature.png]] 22:25, 2 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Don't worry DNA, my page is also screwed up with this newly created right column, even with the ads blocked by ABP. And with the numerous coding issues with the migration, I am one very frustrated user right now.  I don't quite have to time to over-haul my whole damn userpage to fix all the broken code now.  And I'm hoping on Ruricu to fix our Show/Hide issue. -- [[Image:Isk8.png]] <font face="comic sans ms" color="maroon">Sk8  (T / C)  22:27, 2 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Well Shadocrest, it'd be different. The mirror joke would've put the ads on the RIGHT SIDE!!! Mwahahahahahahaha -User:PanSola (talk to the [[Image:follower of Lyssa.png]]) 22:30, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

(RI, or something similar) Hey guys, look. Two ads. There's no way you can say it's one ad, it's two seperate boxes. Sure, from the same company, technically, but two ads nonetheless. I'm glad they moved it back to the bottom, but there are two ads now.--<font color ="Black">D <font color = "#900000">N <font color ="Black">A 01:51, 10 April 2008 (UTC)
 * There are two ads now (instead of one ad and two spotlight images) because we reverted back to the old GuildWiki skin which had the side ad in addition to the bottom ad. --KyleH (talk) 02:22, 10 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Doesn't matter, you guys said you'd bring it down to one ad, regardless of how many we had prior to the "migration".--<font color ="Black">D <font color = "#900000">N <font color ="Black">A 14:41, 10 April 2008 (UTC)
 * "The conditions have changed." Pull out while you're ahead tbh. [[Image:Entropy Sig.jpg]] (T/C) 04:27, 12 April 2008 (UTC)
 * I'm not allowed to point out their mistakes? This is starting to feel like a dictatorship.--<font color ="Black">D <font color = "#900000">N <font color ="Black">A 19:59, 13 April 2008 (UTC)
 * That's because it is <font color="Blue">RT </B>| <font color="Black">Talk</B>  20:02, 13 April 2008 (UTC)
 * So we're all supposed to just bend over and let Wikia do whatever? I don't so much care about the number of ads as i do about the idea of it. They said they'd do something and they didn't, thus breaking their credibility, and losing my(And likely others's) trust--<font color ="Black">D <font color = "#900000">N <font color ="Black">A 00:35, 14 April 2008 (UTC)


 * Um, well, a lot of people complained about the single ad on the side, so they brought back the old skin. Right now, you are the only person who has complained about having one mini-ad on the left and one at the bottom (totaling 2), which may or may not be the reason Wikia feels not needing to respond to your complaint.  If they promised one thing, lots of people complained, so they changed what they promised so that the number of ppl complaining reduced to 1, then in general it is easy for them to believe they made the right choice.  Maybe it's possible to get them to put in two types of Monobooks: Gravewit's Monobook that you currently see (con: 2 ads), versus Wikia's Monobook that only has one ad (con: narrower content width).  That way they technically fulfill their promise by offering a one-ad version which you can use, while keeping the majority of people concerned about the width happy. -User:PanSola (talk to the [[Image:follower of Lyssa.png]]) 05:14, 14 April 2008 (UTC)


 * Because of the way things are set up, it seems unlikely that we could have two separate monobook themes, and it is clear that the old one was preferred. If you want to see fewer ads, you may want to check out the Monaco skin, which has a single ad, or the Quartz skin, which displays no ads at all if you are logged in (although Quartz is no longer officially supported, so some of the system messages at the bottom do not display properly).  Both of these skins do, however, have spotlight images, but on Monaco the main spotlight image is in a widget, so you can change where on the page it is displayed.  It sometimes takes a while to adjust to Monaco, but after giving it a chance, going back to Monobook makes me cringe ;) (and if you have any suggestions about how to improve Monaco, please contribute). --KyleH (talk) 06:27, 14 April 2008 (UTC)
 * I've just applied this Monaco skin, i like it. However it could use some improvements, i saw the improvement page, and i'll think about what i'd like from the Monaco and sum it up when i get the chance.--<font color ="Black">D <font color = "#900000">N <font color ="Black">A 01:02, 16 April 2008 (UTC)

ADS GO ON THE BOTTOM!
I expect a comment from Wikia as to why the ads are no longer on the bottom and left side and are on the right side. This is EXTREMELY disruptive and throws off alot of the pages on a smaller resolution monitor. Many templates overflow into these ads and its horrible. I'm tempted to leave this wiki in favor the shittier but at least more pleasant to look at official one if this isn't rectified. &mdash;130.245.209.133 07:38, 3 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Make a account and "hack it", wikia is a monster that doesn't negotiate.--[[Image:AlariSig.jpg]] 07:41, 3 April 2008 (UTC)


 * Agreed, adds on the right side are ugly ugly and ugly... did I mention ugly ?Big Bow 05:39, 7 April 2008 (UTC)

Another problem
That I have with this is the god-damn side ads. You guys are actually more than likely LOSING more money by making these ads more... obnoxious, because it makes it even MORE tempting for a user to get fed up with them and use coding to hide them. I for one never used to hide the advertisements when they were placed at the bottom of the screen (a less obtrusive area for them), but thanks to this not-too-well-thought-through idea, I am blocking all of those ads on the side. This, in turn, creates an empty area, essentially a waste of space. It also, as I believe is mentioned somewhere above, breaks multiple pages for users using a lower resolution. Templates will regularly cross into the advertisements, which makes it harder to see both the template and the advertisement. I HIGHLY SUGGEST that you change the advertisement location. These ads are both disruptive and extremely annoying. -- (Talk) (Contr.) 19:12, 3 April 2008 (UTC)


 * And have no purpose --Gimmethegepgun 19:13, 3 April 2008 (UTC)
 * They're actually much less obtrusive in Monaco, which is good because there seems to be no way to hide them. [[Image:Felix_Omni_Signature.png]] 19:15, 3 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Actually, its pretty easy to hide them: User:Warwick/monobook.css. &mdash;[[Image:MaySig.png]] Warw/Wick 19:17, 3 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Hiding them creates empty space and wasted width. And it also makes Wikia lose more money, which is another issue I addressed above.--[[Image:Marcopolo47 signature new.jpg]] (Talk) (Contr.) 19:18, 3 April 2008 (UTC)
 * The ones on on the right? cos they look really bad, especially the wikia spotlight one :( is there an way to get rid o them? <font color="#FF1493">Cloud <font color="Blue">dyl 19:24, 3 April 2008 (UTC)


 * My .css has some code to span the page over the white space. --- [[Image:VipermagiSig.JPG]]-- (s)talkpage 19:26, 3 April 2008 (UTC)
 * The problem is that monobook.css is a custom skin, which Wikia didn't design, so naturally their ads would be misplaced on it. They're fine in Monaco, although I wouldn't argue that you should all switch skins, cuz Monaco is a bit annoying. [[Image:Felix_Omni_Signature.png]] 19:27, 3 April 2008 (UTC)
 * I have coding for both, and so can use both. &mdash;[[Image:MaySig.png]] Warw/Wick 19:30, 3 April 2008 (UTC)
 * The problem with your .css, Viper, is that it doesn't really get rid of the extra space, only pushes it over to the side, which makes my page wider than it can show, and that's more of a hindrince to me. Regardless, you shouldn't have to use coding or change your screen just so you don't have extremely vexing advertisements appearing on the right side of the screen.--[[Image:Marcopolo47 signature new.jpg]] (Talk) (Contr.) 19:33, 3 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Hiding them still causes them to load on the page. If they are being paid for each time it loads on a page, hiding makes no difference. But leaving it there and therefore encouraging people to hide it probably violates some terms of use with the google ads. The simple solution is to put these junk on the bottom (I have no issue with this.) Most of us understand that you want to have your ads on a page. But placement is a major issue with us because we are also competing with the official wiki. I like this one better because its more complete and has alot less bureaucracy to wade through, imo. But if the other one is easier to look at, thats going to be the winner. 130.245.23.139 19:33, 3 April 2008 (UTC)
 * And here we have another advantage of AOL over FF! It doesnt do that for me. ^^. &mdash;[[Image:MaySig.png]] Warw/Wick 19:34, 3 April 2008 (UTC)
 * No one cares, frankly. [[Image:Felix_Omni_Signature.png]] 19:35, 3 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Mr IP, they get some money for showing them, and more for someone actually clicking on them. With more and more people hiding them, they are losing money. Place them back at the bottom, where they originally were, and all of these problems are fixed.--[[Image:Marcopolo47 signature new.jpg]] (Talk) (Contr.) 19:36, 3 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Monaco skin definitely fixes this right side issue with the ads. I at least recommend that people that find it visually disruptive test out the monaco skins to see the difference.  ABP at least eliminates the lag associated with the advertisements (Loaded a few pages w/o ABP active, MY GOD did it take FOREVER!) -- [[Image:Isk8.png]] <font face="comic sans ms" color="maroon">Sk8  (T / C)  19:38, 3 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Well i certainly never used to hide adds and even looked at some of them for more than 0.25 seconds on the old layout. Now their hidden with the page layout changed so there is no gap, and im considering switching to firefox as my main browser so i can just use adblock. Imo adverts make less money for wikia this way--<font color="Blue">Cobalt </B>| <font color="Green">Talk</B>  19:43, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

(resetting indent) Hey all. I just wanted to drop by and reiterate what Angie said above. We hear your dissatisfaction with the ad placement, and we are seeing what we can do to help. I don't have any solid answers on this yet, but I think we can come up with something you'll like. We'll let you know as soon as we have more information. --KyleH (talk) 19:46, 3 April 2008 (UTC)
 * On the left hand side, under the useful stuff. Put it there. --Macros 19:48, 3 April 2008 (UTC)
 * OR just back on the bottom where they were before. I think I've said that multiple times now :/ --[[Image:Marcopolo47 signature new.jpg]] (Talk) (Contr.) 19:50, 3 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Yes, but they were on the side when GWiki had only 1 ad. When Gravewit added another, he put it on the bottom. Tbh, less people are going to see it when it's on the bottom, so that's fine with me too. --Macros 19:53, 3 April 2008 (UTC)


 * Ah sorry i didn't see the comment by Angie before, just looking at the bottom section as usual. I suppose atleast we are receiving some feedback from you wiki staff people, which is more than i would have expected :)--<font color="Blue">Cobalt </B>| <font color="Green">Talk</B>  19:52, 3 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Better than Gravewit >.>--[[Image:Marcopolo47 signature new.jpg]] (Talk) (Contr.) 19:54, 3 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Whats wrong with gravewit?<font color="#FF1493">Cloud <font color="Blue">dyl 21:35, 3 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Special:Contributions/Gravewit. --[[image:GEO-logo.png]]<font color="#237d00"> Jïörüjï Ðērākō.> <font color="#237d00">.cнаt^  16:14, 5 April 2008 (UTC)


 * Hmm, i would have expected this to be higher Special:Editcount/Gravewit

Ad Solution
I made a page layout that keeps the ads but moves them. It keeps both the wikia spotlights and I know that the google ads come in horizontal and vertical versions so this shouldn't be a big problem. I even added another wikia logo to the footer because it doesn't appear anywhere else clearly. &mdash;<font color=#ff44aa>♥ Jedi ♥ Rogue ♥ 20:17, 3 April 2008 (UTC)
 * On the bottom, where I suggested it (multiple times), and where it belongs. Although the ads are sideways.--[[Image:Marcopolo47 signature new.jpg]] (Talk) (Contr.) 20:21, 3 April 2008 (UTC)
 * You think? Oh wow... Lol. I'm not remaking the ads just to have them correctly oriented. You get the idea. &mdash;<font color=#ff44aa>♥ Jedi ♥ Rogue ♥ 20:25, 3 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Call it Equal Opportunities :-)--<font color="Blue">Cobalt </B>| <font color="Green">Talk</B>  20:27, 3 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Okay, so is Wikia still deciding what to do about the ads? Can we be told what's going on? &mdash;<font color=#ff44aa>♥ Jedi ♥ Rogue ♥ 02:03, 5 April 2008 (UTC)
 * We're still working on it. I'll let you know as soon as I hear any news. --KyleH (talk) 02:37, 5 April 2008 (UTC)

Resolution?
Hey all. I hope you don't mind, but I consolidated all the add discussion in to one section to make it easier to follow. As I mentioned before, we hear and understand your complaints regarding your ads, and I am happy to say that the old GuildWiki skin, with the ads on the bottom of the page, will be returning. I am sorry that it has taken this long to reach a resolution, but it took quite a bit of work from our tech team to make it happen, and I wanted to make sure that we were good to go before I made any promises. The new skin may be in place as early as Tuesday morning; however, it may take a little longer. While changing the skin should be rather painless, please report any problems that you experience here so that we can address them. Thanks! --KyleH (talk) 04:47, 8 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Thanks so much, Kyle. You guys' handling of this has done a lot to alleviate many of my concerns about Wikia and how we will be treated. Its great that you were able to resolve this before I got used to my new wide-screen monitor and forgot about how disruptive the ads were on smaller monitors lol. = D&mdash;<font color=#ff44aa>♥ Jedi ♥ Rogue ♥ 04:52, 8 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Nooo! I don't want the old skin, I want the version JediRogue drew above with text rotated on its side~! *hides* -User:PanSola (talk to the [[Image:follower of Lyssa.png]]) 05:04, 8 April 2008 (UTC)

Inter Wiki Links
Stopped working after the url change, left a message at wikia.com but no response, someone here know how to fix that?-- 04:29, 12 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Which interwiki links are you talking of? The Wikipedia: ones are still working fine for me. [[Image:Entropy Sig.jpg]] (T/C) 06:15, 12 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Sorry, I meant to guildwiki, comes up with a page not found screen.--[[Image:AlariSig.png]] 06:20, 12 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Ah. This has been brought up before and I was under the impression that despite the url change, Wikia had fixed the problem. I know that manually fixing the link works (duh) but other than that... [[Image:Entropy Sig.jpg]] (T/C) 06:23, 12 April 2008 (UTC)
 * If you want to inter-wiki link to this wiki, w:c:guildwars:Special:Randompage works. -User:PanSola (talk to the [[Image:follower of Lyssa.png]]) 09:11, 12 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Well I guess thats better then a external link. Any chance old blhablah would be fixed?--[[Image:AlariSig.png]] 13:11, 12 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Image use policy? Case sensitive. [[Image:Entropy Sig.jpg]] (T/C) 13:15, 12 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Comes up with a 404 error, does it work for you?--[[Image:AlariSig.png]] 13:17, 12 April 2008 (UTC)
 * It does. What's your browser? [[Image:Entropy Sig.jpg]] (T/C) 13:18, 12 April 2008 (UTC)
 * FF with latest upgrades, did you test it just here or on some wikia? It loads for me from here but that same code on a wikia wiki comes up with the old gamewikis url and page name getting a error.--[[Image:AlariSig.png]] 13:20, 12 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Huh, I thoght that it would have worked both ways cleanly, but you're right. Someone broke something. [[Image:Entropy Sig.jpg]] (T/C) 14:33, 12 April 2008 (UTC)
 * I updated the GuildWiki link in the interwiki map. It's updated once nightly, so it should be fixed by tomorrow (assuming I got the change in before the cutoff). --KyleH (talk) 04:37, 17 April 2008 (UTC)