Questions

Last edited by MarkRusselStanley
Sun, 05 Aug 2007 14:40 PDT

Have a question? Post it here (that way I'm guaranteed to see it as soon as possible.) Do me a favor and put your question at the top of the page (under this explainer stuff, obviously *g*), with a line and header (if needed) to set it off from other questions. Please sign your questions so I know who to check back with once I've answered the question(s).

I will do my best to answer them here as quickly as possible and add those that are frequently asked to the FAQ page. :)

I'm adding some pages related to the Garak/Bashir pairing in Star Trek DS9, and since I'm quite new at this, I was wondering... there are "New Blah" categories for some types of things, but not for others. Specifically, I'm adding a new LJ community page, Doctor Tailor LJ, and I'm about to add a Garak Bashir List page. If I want them looked at under the same system as other new pages, should I put an entry for new LJ community, etc., or should I list them as Category New Archive or something? (Or, alternatively, do only things with "new blah" categories really need checking?)

And on a completely seperate note, I would like to restrict editing on Mark Russel Stanley. What I've done for the moment is put my own username and Aithine on separate lines of the write box. Is that necessary? If allowing some permission for admin editing is necessary, is that the correct one?

-- Mark

Yep, just the ones with "new whatever" need checked to make sure they're following the guidelines, 'cuz that's the only way the site organization will work correctly.

RE: restricting editing; thanks for pointing out that I hadn't included that info. Please put "Admins" instead of just my username in the write acl box. I've updated How To Edit Page Permissions to reflect this information. :) -- Aithine

Thanks! I've made the change to the write acl box. -- Mark

Any guidelines or thoughts on the use of the last-edited box? I like having it visible, but I don't like the look of it at the top of the page; it makes a page look cluttered to me, especially if there's an image on the page as well. However, I can't seem to make it appear at the bottom of the text; when I try, it appears in the red framing area, which is even more icky than at the top of the page. (Unrelated: There's a broken link for the forum on the front page.) -- Bagheera

I've ended up adding a number of extra hard returns after other things (like pictures, but it would certainly work for the last edited box, too), so that the white content box will extend far enough. -- Aithine

Oh, and I've swapped out the forum for a GJ comm. Thanks for the reminder. :) -- Aithine

Just a quick note to say the wanted pages list seems to have broken with the move to the new server -- EspressoAddict

Thanks for the heads up! I think I know what's causing it, but can't work on it until tonight after work. -- Aithine

Thanks! -- EA

Should the glossary template have a Glossary New link, as the other templates do? -- zvi

Yep, I'll fix that right now. -- Aithine

On the Local Groups page, it says "Delete the country name after you've created the page.", but the page is write-protected. Besides deletion, I noticed a couple of errors (e.g. Suriname is in South America, not Asia). --Mlle Manon

Whoops! Removed the write protection. (You're a busy bee today. Thanks! *g*) --Aithine

XD Thanks. (You know Manon is really bored when...) --Mlle Manon

Might it be useful to create a character template, now there is a category for characters? --Temaris Raven

Absolutely. I'll take a look at the character pages that have been done so far and create one this evening. :) --Aithine

There, made the Character Template—anything else that needs to be on it that folks are adding regularly to character pages? --Aithine

I've been ganking Tan Ac Awyr's idea for the Kennedy page and putting in little notes about fanon characterization, and also noting common pairings where applicable, like so. --Mlle Manon

Another issue (and the reason I started thinking of the character pages, actually) is that some characters have been portrayed and written more than once. A page for Morgan Le Fay, The Lone Ranger, and Horatio Hornblower would best include notes about more than one portrayal, links to all books and movies where they appear. And there are the real life people who are also portrayed in fictional stories ... thinking of Pellew here. -- Tan Ac Awyr

Gotcha. Good points. --Aithine

*nodnod* ezackly-- practically everyone in Les Miz has at least two "canonical" versions. ;) Actually I have a pretty good working template for them, which Aithine can have to look at if she wants... --MM

Sure, send it on over and I'll take a look. --Aithine

Can we get Twenty Thousand renamed to Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea, or is that too long for a wikiname? *headscratch* --Mlle Manon

Danke! --MM

Bitte. :) (Thanks for bringing that up -- I need to make a page about what makes a good page name.) --A

Is there a specific category for actor fansites, or should we just hardlink them in the actor's individual pages? -- Tan Ac Awyr

Hmmm. Yeah, I think there should be a category for that; the question is, should it be actor-specific or should it be broader, so that tribute/info pages about creators (e.g. Joss Whedon), shows or authors, etc., can be included? Or do we need separate categories for those, too? Let me think about it. :) --A

Maybe Category Fan Site? -- Tan Ac Awyr

I was actually wondering before whether there was a Category Site, and if not why not. Might be a good thing to have, since we have a category for everything else. :) --Mlle Manon

Heh, very true, there is a category for everything else. Let's go with Category Fan Site for the sites that are about other people/shows/etc., and Category Personal Site for, well, personal sites. *g* (I think if it's shortened to just Cat Site that people will put it on every page and not pay attention to what it's supposed to organize.) --A

I'm sorry to annoy you about this ... :-P Would you put an actor's official site under this category as well? -- Tan Ac Awyr

Not annoying at all. :) I wouldn't - we've already got a category for the official pages essentially, since they should be on the actor page (rather than as another separate page), which is the only one that should be in Category Actor. --A

*dies* Sorry about the OC thing. Sometimes I'm too helpful for anybody's good. --Mlle Manon

LOL No problem - I had just started to rename the one I did (soooo tired) only to find you were way ahead of me. *vbg* --A

I'm working on some character pages, but I've got a bit of a quandary. There are several related characters who are quite minor in canon, but who have a significant following in fandom. Should I make a character page for each of them, make one page for the group with subsections on each, or ... ? --Mlle Manon

I would go ahead and make a page for each, rather than sticking them all together. We saw how unwieldy the glossary page was going to get with 'em all on one page. :) --Aithine

*giggle* True... but in this case there's a limited quantity (seven). Thanks! :) --Mlle Manon

I saw the new virtual season category, so would you use a fandom template for that or an archive template (and yes, it all comes back to M7 because I am anal and obsessive compulsive ;)) because there are two virtual season archives...and right now they are direct links, but they should be archive links? head explodes --Maygra

snicker No exploding heads allowed! You ladies are doing such an awesome job getting information up. *bg* Ok, hmm, I would use something closer to the archive template than the fandom template. But I can make a VS template if that'd make life easier. :) (Compulsive is good, because then stuff is consistent and easy to use. *g*) --Aithine

I made comments on the Mag7 LB page but I'm echoing them here. Another comment on the Two Blood page said the link to Blackraptor for LB fic was confusing. So I made an LB page with a direct link to the LB subdirectory on Blackraptor. and now it's been suggested that we make the link back to Blackraptor. Now I'm very confused. Also, should there be separate archives for archives that aren't open? Assignations isn't an open archive. It's a multi author website that just happen to house the Mag 7 power exchange archive because it's my website and my list. But it's not a *fandom* archive. It's more like a multi author hosting site. Help. --Maygra De Rhema

Yeah, Blackraptor's definitely in a category of its own. Hmmm. I think that what I would suggest doing is to change the external link on the Blackraptor page so it's an internal link to the LB page (rather than the other way around), because that AU explanation page can be the main "archive" information page (like the single-fandom archive pages) and then it will be consistent with the rest of the site. The biggest problem I see, in looking at the pages right now, is that you've got the link for the LB AU in several different pages, rather than having the external link in one location which is then used as the internal link everywhere else.

I need to think on the Power Exchange situation.

Does that help straighten things out a bit? I can go through and make the changes I'd suggest to show you all if that'd make it clearer. -- Aithine

It does make it clearer but here's my logic issue: The Main Mag 7 page has all the links and brief explanations of the AUs...so, someone (anyone familiar or unfamiliar with the fandom) hits the LB link, which takes them to the Blackraptor page but then they hit that link and it takes them to *another* page that already has the explanation they already read. so they have to go through three pages to get to an archive. (Which seriously, may not be an issue for you at all -- to me, it would annoying. Overcomable but annoying.) I half feel like maybe we should take this off wiki if only because Mag 7 is such a bizarrely arranged fandom that it seems to be more difficult to make it conform to the actual logic of the Directorium I see elsewhere. Then again, backlinking may be the best compromise. I get that you don't want the actual functioning *link* to the LB archive itself to be duplicated. So, I've no real objections to it.

as for Assignations, I don't mind having it listed as an archive -- but I don't want to confuse people becasue it's not open to *everyone* to park their stories there (I don't have the space or time), however it is open for anyone to read. --MaygraDeRhema

Ah, I see the confusion. I'll go through and rearrange the pages this evening and we'll see if this doesn't make more sense. :) --Aithine

I've just finished created either complete or skeletal pages for several characters from the Hornblower telemovies, and when I didn't find a Category By Character, I started looking to see what other people had done for their character pages. That's when I found out that there are no other character pages that I can find. Is there a reason for this? Are pages for individual characters verboten? If not, how would you recomend that they be categorized? -- Tan Ac Awyr

Not verboten, just nobody had thought of doing character pages, I suppose. *g* But for characters that have a multitude of incarnations in various media, I suppose it makes sense to make pages for them. Go ahead and use Category By Character (I'll create it in a moment). -- Aithine

This isn't so much a question as a statement, but I thought you might find this helpful to know. It's not necessary to create a new livejournal feed when an rss location is moved, you just have to contact the right staff member. But since it's been done already, you can contact those same staff members and ask them to merge the accounts, which will neatly merge the readers too. Check out this syn_promo∞ post for more information. --AbbyLee

That is wonderful information to know! Thank you, I'll email them right now. You know, we probably need a section on the Live Journal page that's full of tips like this, because, quite frankly, the documention/FAQ for LJ suck rocks and it's impossible to search and find the answer to the problem or question you're looking for. --Aithine.

In creating an Actor page, is it necessary to fill in manually the section "Pages that link here"? The links seem to turn up automatically for the actor on the Fandom page, but not the other way around. At least not that I've been able to see so far. I created Martin Shaw, as an example. Thanks. --NellHowell

Okay, I see the backlink tag has been added to the Shaw page. And now having learnt that's what a "backlinks" is :g:, I could have answered this question from the response to the question directly below this one. Argh. Sorry about that! --NellHowell

No worries. *g* I really need to write up a really basic "Making a page 101" with that sort of information, but there just hasn't been time. :( --Aithine

You disabled backlinks on the BlackRaptor archive page. Is there some protocol for when to use backlinks and when to not? --Zv I

The only pages that have to have backlinks are the fandom pages, because that's how people can browse and find other sites/writers with similar interests. It doesn't make sense to me to put backlinks on the archive or people (actor, director, what have you) pages because there should already be a link in information to the pages that would link to them, so there's no sense in cluttering up the pages saying the main Mag7 page links back to this archive, when it's already got a link that says this archive is for Mag7. OTOH, it is a useful tool sometimes to see if there are any fandoms not mentioned that link back to the page. That just made the issue as clear as mud, didn't it? *g* Ok, how's this: required on fandom pages, discouraged on single-fandom archives, definitely not needed but optional on multi-fandom archives and people (actor, director, etc.) pages. --Aithine

Er, not to keep questioning constantly, but - do we need categories for both "yaoi" and "shounen ai"? There's merit to having yaoi separate from slash because of the differences between Western and anime fandoms, but the line between yaoi and shounen ai is not clear-cut; in Japan neither term would be used for most current series, and English-speaking fandoms can't agree on the definitions (I'd generally call Gravitation yaoi, but some would say shounen ai because it's not very graphic, but then much of the fic is, so...) Would simplify things to pick one term or the other and combine the categories (ditto for shoujo ai/yuri). --Ex Parrot

Makes sense to me. :) Let's use the shorter terms (yaoi, yuri) and leave the other two just as glossary definitions. --Aithine

Should you disable comments on the question page? The page is most useful when everyone sees the questions and answers. --Zv I

Done. --Aithine

ZvI posting ShiraSade's question: "I was wondering whether it would make sense to add a category for site directories? Because I just added The Fannish Directory and then discovered that the Category Directories (without space) went to an empty page... " --Shira Sade

Hmm. Well, the point of this site is because most of the other directories out there are out-of-date or rarely updated, and therefore relatively useless for finding what one is looking for, IMO, which negates any reason to keep track of them. *g* But sure, I'll create a directory category. For now, use Category Directory (without the space). --Aithine

ZvI Posting DrkCherry's question and my answer

Can you explain the purpose or what the 'new' category means? For example, there is CategoryNewActor, which means what?
-- Drk Cherry

Drk Cherry, the new categories allow admins to check on the list of newly added pages and make sure they fit the template. --Zv I

A good place to see how a category is used is the Meta Categories page, which shows how categories are grouped by how they're used. Does that help you at all? :) --Aithine

Is there a way to do an internal hyperlink? specifically, on the Glossary page, is there a quick way to link to other glossary entries? the standard Glossary:whatever link works, but it marks it as an external link and reloads the whole page. (addendum - should the Inter Wiki link be http://dir.aithine.org/Glossary# instead of Glossary/# ? or does that make a difference to the html?)

Also concerning the Glossary page, if internal links can be mastered, would be useful to make hotlinks to all the letters on the top of the page for easy reference. --Ex Parrot

Sadly, no, there isn't (at least not yet), because of the way the system creates the various links automatically. So, we'll return to the tried-and-true way of making it easy to link to and do a separate page for all the glossary terms. Sorry. :( --Aithine

Should we then add something about the new glossary structure to the FAQ? --Zv I

Just a brief link saying the glossary is here and here's the glossary template should do it. Anything else will just confuse future users. --Aithine

Should there be a link to Category Template from the FAQ? --Zv I

Added it to Add APage. --Aithine

So, I lied about my previous question being today's last question. New question. Since we seem to be defining things in the glossary rather than creating stubs∞ or empty wiki pages, shouldn't we probably give each entry an ID, so a link can be to that specific entry, rather than the glossary as a whole.

Proposed convention (id is always entirely lower case)
" -<span id="bnf">BNF<span>: big name fan"

Since it's my idea, I'd be happy to update what's in there now. And maybe the glossary page could be added to the InterWiki as Glossary http://dir.aithine.org/Glossary/#∞.

--Zv I

That would be wonderful. (I've added it to the Inter Wiki list.) And yes, I would rather they be defined on the glossary page (unless it's such an amazingly long definition that it definitely needs its own page) than on separate pages. --Aithine

Are there, or will there be, other templates -- for archives, sites, etc. -- as well as the fandom template? Or is that the only big one? *g* --MlleManon

Yes, there will. Give me a little bit and I'll have those up for you. :) -- Aithine

There are a bunch up in Category Template (without the space) now. Let me know if something isn't clear. --Aithine

Awesome! Thanks! --MlleManon

Lame question. I accidentally made the page ATearInTheSpace-TimeContinuum. How do I delete it so it doesn't show up on the Pages list? (The proper page is ATearintheSpaceTimeContinuum.) So sorry! Thanks, MorganS

No problem. It's fixed. -- Aithine

Thank you! MorganS

You're welcome. :) -- Aithine

Last question today, I promise. Would it be a good idea to add a category for Conventions, or should that just be a regular wiki page? --Zv I

Ask as many questions as you want. *g* I've made the category for Category Convention (without the space). (Don't know how I missed that one before. *g*) -- Aithine

Question re: ownership. I accidentally grabbed the Sand Box. (I thought clicking on the ownership link would explain what Own APage means.) How can I give it away?

eta I've figured this out myself. When you own a page, there's a link that says Edit ACLs. On that page, there's a dropdown list for Set Page Owner. From the list, choose (Nobody - Set Free) and the page will set be free. --Zv I

Yep. The key being that you have to own it. :) ACL = access control levels, which is how I've set some pages not to be edited by anybody but me or by admins. -- Aithine

Another question about user names. I originally signed up as WitchQueenBKAzvi and then decided that was too dumb, and that TorcH had the best idea for one word user names. Is there anyway to get rid of WitchQueenBKAzvi as an editor besides you going in and handdeleting? --Zv I

Unfortunately, they don't have that worked out yet in the software, but it's easy for me to go in and delete a user that isn't attached to any pages. (Done, btw. *g*) -- Aithine

Am thinking that there should be a page in Category Resources devoted to finding/buying Japanese manga (and maybe doujinshi?), so all manga series pages can link to it, as it's such a common question in any manga fandom. I'd be happy to do it, er, would BuyingJapaneseManga work or are there better suggestions? [went with Where To Buy Japanese Manga]

ooh, CategoryRecs! that's a good one! Have I mentioned lately how awesome (if hopelessly distracting) this site is? ^_^ --Ex Parrot

That would be a wonderful resource! Best way would be to make the main page you suggested and then link to separate pages for the individual companies (which would allow people to comment about their experience ordering from that company), probably grouped by geography. So under U.S. there should be links to pages for Kinokunyia, Sasuga, etc., and then under Japan: Mandarake, CD Japan, etc. Doujinshi artists should have their own pages, too... (Gah! I have to go to work! I don't have time to help with this right now! *snicker* You're right, it is hopelessly distracting. And you're welcome. *vbg*) --Aithine

Would you mind adding something to the FAQ describing your policy/goals/feelings about this being a directory versus an all-purpose fandom encyclopedia? There already is at least one all-purpose fandom wiki (FandeWiki∞), but it appears to be abandoned and empty, and I can easily see this one running wild if it's not kept firmly leashed. (But it's so hard not to put little brackets around everything that isn't a preposition!) Do you want it to be leashed?

Leashed or not, thank you so much for doing this! It's badly needed and will be very much appreciated.

--Bagheera

Absolutely! *g* I do not want it leashed. I would love for this to be a fannish encyclopedia as well as a directory—to me it makes perfect sense to have both pieces in one place, where traffic for each reason will bring very willing participants (thank you!) to keep both sides up to date because the site's obviously being visited. :) (I know what you mean about having a hard time only making pages for a few things! *vbg*) And you're welcome! I must admit that the reason for the site is "enlightened self-interest" (as Veronica tells me quite often *bg*), because there's nothing more I hate than wanting to read a specific pairing and finding out that all of my bookmarks are dead! *bg* -- Aithine

Does a single-fandom archive need its own page,since it likely wouldn't be linked from any page except that of the fandom to which it belongs? (this probably wouldn't matter much if the category listings get tweaked as mentioned below, but right now the archives might clutter up categories...)
--Ex Parrot

Yes, please make a separate page for all archives, whether they're single- or multi-fandom. Those pages should be the only ones in the CategoryArchive category, and not the main fandom pages. That way people can go to the archive category and find only those sites that are archives.

It also keeps the need to find and update links for sites to a minimum. For example, say you've got three people who maintain an archive plus the main fandom page, and all four pages have external links to the archive. Now the archive changes its URL (they got a new dedicated domain name). Each of those pages would then need to be updated with the new link. (Not a problem with only a few pages, but any more than that and it becomes really time consuming.) If instead all four of those pages linked to the archive's internal page, which was the only place that the actual URL was posted, only one page needs to be updated, saving much time and frustration at link rot. :) Does that help clarify it? --Aithine

The new user registration is a bit confusing for those of us who (properly) have one-word fandom names. It implies that you can only sign up with multiple-words names, which obviously isn't true (Aithine, for instance, is only one word), but for some reason it wouldn't take the same one-word name I use at other wiki sites.
-- Bagheera Bedawyn (2005-01-18 07:43:51)

You can only sign up with two word names, unlike some other wiki versions, because that's how this software is set up (which is annoying, I admit). I've asked on the support site that they change that, but I doubt it'll happen any time soon, simply because of the shear amount of work it would entail to change something that intrinsic to the fabric of the software. Those of us on here that do have a one word name are mostly folks helping me out as admins; I had to edit the database by hand to make them one word, but it's causing more issues than not with the coding, so I'm most likely going to have to change 'em back. -- Aithine

er? not sure it makes sense to have Saiyuki in this catagory∞ ('cause 'Saiyuki' is not a 'mangaka'...)...is there a better way to organize this so that the Catagories are not mixed up with webpage references and such?
-- PerMetaForm (2005-01-18 01:13:38)

Yeah, I know -- I've requested that that be a fix (the ability to link to a category page without actually categorizing the page) from the developers of this flavor of wiki. You could change the link to an external one like you've got in this question until I find out what the hack (or upgrade) is to fix it. -- Aithine

Ok, here's the preferred work-around for now. Link a word to the fannish glossary page and define it there. --Aithine

Can I make State pages? ie, in LocalGroups make all of the states into their own pages so that people can link to it in their profile if they so choose?--PerMetaForm

::glomps:: saw the changes, YOU ROCK! --PerMetaForm

LOL I was just going to post that I'd switched them, excellent idea. :) If you could set up the individual state/province pages like I've started with Colorado and California, I'd greatly appreciate it! :) I'll post the names back on the Local Groups page so you can grab 'em there (and then delete them) as you get pages made. Thanks! --Aithine

Will do! :salutes:: --PerMetaForm

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Are you insane? --Aithine

Obviously. *vbg* --Aithine

The Directorium : Questions

Questions

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