I am guessing this is the right place to make suggestions about the wikia, my apologies if it isn't. I feel the character pages would benefit from, in addition to the personality, career and romantic life sections, a character history which details the characters life chronologically without special emphasis (although I am in no way suggesting we remove the other sections.)
Most other wikias seem to use this technique, for example Lostpedia, Scrubs Wiki and Smallville Wiki.
This is just a suggestion and I'd apprichiate the feedback. --Jamie-0408 17:56, 29 April 2009 (UTC)
Yes, you've found the right place! I personally feel it would be too long and also, like copying wikipedia. Lots of wikis do this but just expand on the info. However, I do think it would be good to have subheadings under the sections (I'll put an example in the Sandbox). -2Anthony4 (Page me!)18:12, 29 April 2009 (UTC)
- I was going to suggest we used tab view headings (see the Scrubs Wiki link in the previous post) so it wouldn't make the pages too long so people could get to the information they wanted easily and the character history itself would only be seen if the reader wanted it to be. I think it would be a good idea to expand on wikipedia's enries which are, in essence, very vague. This wikia could go into alot more detail, especially with the personality and career sections to go alongside it. --Jamie-0408 18:30, 29 April 2009 (UTC)
- Looking at the Scrubs Wiki (which always impresses me), it looks pretty good. I'm in two minds about it, as Scrubs can justify it because they don't have extended character descriptions in their pages normally (a brief about section and relationships only covers a small amount of the character history). In regards to this wiki, the character descriptions are larger, longer and more in-depth, but admittedly spread out and a little difficult to follow if you're looking for what happens specifically in one season (you're flicking up and down, back and forth over the page to follow one season's events, eg Izzie's cancer, you flick up between career when she's teaching the interns, personal when she admits to Cristina, romantic when she harvests eggs and "makes a baby" with Alex, back to personal for her surgeries etc. Even with subheadings, it's still takes a while to work out the chronology). However, putting that in will largely repeat a lot of the content that is already on the page (rephrasing or otherwise, it's still the same content really) which feels a little unnecessary. Like I said, I'm in two minds about it.
PROS:
- The character history is easier to follow and is more fluid and general (to that season)
CONS:
- Repeating large amounts already on the page
- Page length (? necessarily a bad thing?)
--Wiggl 19:51, 29 April 2009 (UTC)
- If we were to use tabbed sections (which I strongly recommend) page lenght wouldn't be a problem. Also, I'd be willing to do the work on the pages if we chose to go ahead with this. -- --Jamie-0408 20:03, 29 April 2009 (UTC)
- Quite confused at the moment so sorry if either of you suggested this, but what about... keeping the article themselves as they are and then having completely new articles called Izzie Stevens in Season 1 and Izzie Stevens in Season 2 dealing with everything for that particular season (along with that season promo)? Or the tab view which I'm very impressed by!-2Anthony4 (Page me!)20:17, 29 April 2009 (UTC)
- That's slightly the point of the tabbed view. The actual pages would be, for instance 'Izzie Stevens' and it would have sub-pages for example 'Izzie Stevens/Season One' etc. which would be coded in editing to appear through a tabbed view. I agree keeping the other sections, just having this feature as well. --Jamie-0408 14:38, 30 April 2009 (UTC)
- Well then lets get started, but one last thing, I presume short pages like Susan Grey or Katie Bryce won't have the season tabs and will stay the same?-2Anthony4 (Page me!)20:09, 30 April 2009 (UTC)
- Agreed. I think shorter pages are fine as they are. I shall start working on the main character pages ASAP and anyone can feel free to contribute as well. Thanks for the discussion and I'm glad we reached a decision so quickly. --86.164.142.134 22:07, 30 April 2009 (UTC)
- Another thing, is it going three or four lines on each episode they appeared in during that seasons or a six or seven lined paragraph outlining the main events for them, personally I like the each individual episode idea better but I 'don't mind.-2Anthony4 (Page me!)15:54, 1 May 2009 (UTC)
- I'm thinking per episode as we want it to be pretty indepth. --Jamie-0408 16:48, 1 May 2009 (UTC)
- Great! I'd better undo my edit's on Addisons (I see you wanted to do them, P.S If you want to keep a page just or you there a template called Template:Inuse) and Izzie's.-2Anthony4 (Page me!)16:52, 1 May 2009 (UTC)
- On another note, I am having some difficulty with the lives of the characters before the pilot shows. Should these get a section to themselves on the tabbed browsing or be intergrated with the childhood section. Also, would you suggest the childhood bit itself becomes part of the tabbed browsing or left where it is? Either way works fine for me. --Jamie-0408 18:25, 1 May 2009 (UTC)
- I'd probably have put Character History as the first section of the page (then everything else, childhood, personal, romantic and career) below it, but that's just me. I'm not sure what you mean about lives of the characters before the pilot? You mean like information about them growing up, like the "secrets" George and his father told each other before he died? I reckon they should stay within that Season's tab, the childhood and growing up section already covers life pre-show for them anyway. But it all gets a thumbs up from me. --Wiggl 18:56, 1 May 2009 (UTC)
- A prime example of what I mean is the details of the Addison/Derek/Mark affair thing. While we did see these events in season three (Time Has Come Today) they can't really be included in the season three section. So would the details of the affair go with Addison's "childhood" section or on a seperate tab within the tabbed browsing before the season one events? Sorry if this isn't making much sense, I've tried rephrasing several times. --86.164.142.134 21:01, 1 May 2009 (UTC)
- I would put the flashbacks for addison in Time Has Come Today just under the romantic section and then again in the brief summary under the season tab. With pre-show info then I'd suggest it would go under childhood. Also Jamie-OFO8, are you the IP 86.164.142.134? -2Anthony4 (Page me!)21:17, 1 May 2009 (UTC)
- I am, I have a tendency to forget to sign in because it does it automaticaly some times and not others. So are we having a tab for before season one or just placing it elsewhere? Again, it would only be a small tab but important nonetheless.
- I would vote for it to go on the sections we have already. Also, I think it would make more sense to have the tabs above the childhood section and under the introductory paragraph instead of under childhood where it is now.-2Anthony4 (Page me!)21:36, 1 May 2009 (UTC)
- Right. I shall try now, but I attempted that before and for some reason the tabs weren't working. So am I right in assuming the flashback events etc. would go in season three. I still think we'd be better making a 'before the show' (or something shorter in name) tab because what happened before the show (i.e. the affair, Meredith's travels with Sadie etc.) are as important to understanding the characters as anything after the pilot. But still, it's your choice.
- Well that would all go under the romantic section and the personal section although I don't have a problem with a pre-show tab either. We could test one out.-2Anthony4 (Page me!)21:50, 1 May 2009 (UTC)
- I've finished the first one, Derek Shepherd/GA Season 1.-2Anthony4 (Page me!)14:15, 3 May 2009 (UTC)
- I'd still go with pre-show information being put in it's relevant season, as it were revealed. Major points like Derek and Addison would ruin the surprise for people catching up on Season 1 for example. I personally would prefer to read things as they are revealed, it generally helps with the storytelling and personality of the character (things not revealed indicate closed parts of their life, traumatic memories which don't want to be revealed, plus you get that moment of "That's why they're like that!" once in a while) . --Wiggl 13:06, 4 May 2009 (UTC)