User talk:TonyV/Archive

Welcome!
Hello, and welcome to the Tabula Rasa Wiki! Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Feel free to fill out your personal user page so we can get to know you. Please sign your name on talk pages using four tildes (~&#126;); this will automatically produce your name and the date.

Please remember that as part of the Tabula Rasa Non-Disclosure Agreement, sharing access to this wiki with anyone else at this time is strictly prohibited. If you know of another beta testing member that wishes to have access, please have them send a private message (PM) to TonyV on the official Tabula Rasa forums.

Again, welcome!

Hi
Hi Tony, just a quick note to let you know I've checked in. We should keep the talking on the forums for now. I won't be checking back here frequently until NCsoft have approved the beta wiki. --Tetris L 09:35, 21 June 2007 (EDT)

Contact pages - Layout and terminology
As you may have noticed, I modifed the pages of the NPCs (Contacts, as you call them). I applied a template and moved the mission information to separate articles. I hope you don't mind. I think a separate article for each mission is definetly warranted.

I was wondering about the term "contact". You use it a lot. I guess it's CoH/CoV terminology? I use "NPC" instead, which is the standard term in most RPGs I know. Unfortunatly there is no "official" term in TR yet. So, which term are we going to use? --Tetris L 10:14, 25 June 2007 (EDT)


 * I use "Contact" because "NPC" can refer to friends, enemies, neutral parties, whatever. By "contact," I'm referring specifically to someone who gives missions.  It's a CoH term, but I do think it fits better than "NPC."  (And is a little easier to type than "Mission-giver."  :-) --TonyV 09:50, 27 June 2007 (EDT)

Image filetype

 * The following section has been moved to TaRapedia talk:Formatting/Images

Removing of templates
I see you removed the MissionItem template from Detonator Charge and Collector's Head. Could you explain why? Was it only because of the PNG icon? In that case, you may use the Image and ImageType parameters to specify a different image and image filetype other than the default. --Tetris L 09:04, 26 June 2007 (EDT)
 * To show you what I'm talking about I've rolled back your change in Collector's Head and added the ImageType parameter so that your png image is used. Is that okay? --Tetris L 09:07, 26 June 2007 (EDT)

It's me again. Topic this time: ParserFunctions
Hey, could you please install the ParserFunctions extension for MediaWiki? It is of great help when writing advanced templates. Thanks! :) --Tetris L 12:33, 26 June 2007 (EDT)

NavFrame
I'd like to install NavFrame on TaRapedia, which requires modification of MediaWiki:Common.css and MediaWiki:Common.js. Do you want to do it, or should I do it? You're the tech expert, so I'd feel safer if you'd do it. I tend to mess up code/script things. I'm a mechanical engineer, you know. Not even working in IT. ;)

On a side note, is $wgAllowUserJs set to "true" on TaRapedia? I'm asking because my personal User:Tetris L/monobook.js seem to be not working. (I was trying to fix the PNG background transparency on my pc at work which uses IE6.) --Tetris L 04:49, 28 June 2007 (EDT)


 * Sure, go for it! (Both of 'em!)  If the IE6 fix thing works, we should consider rolling it out for everyone.  I'll be out of pocket for the next few days because I've got a perfect storm of five pretty big projects at work all coming together at once (I was at work until after 10:00pm last night).  I'll still be checking my talk page, e-mail, creating accounts, and working on images, but don't freak out if I don't add many articles for the next couple of weeks or so. --TonyV 09:23, 28 June 2007 (EDT)


 * P.S. The good news is that when they're all past, I'll have a few comp days coming!  :-)


 * Hmm ... I'll do the common.css/js modification. That's easy, and can be done right through the wiki. But could you please do the LocalSettings.php modification?! I don't have the necessary tools for remote php access at hand.
 * As for the other stuff: It's no problem at all that you can't work on articles, but it would be really nice if you could take care of the icon image upload. See TaRapedia talk:Formatting/Images. --Tetris L 10:13, 28 June 2007 (EDT)


 * Okay, I've added the IE5.5 PNG fix code to common.js. It works fine on my office PC, which is running IE6. If anybody reports any problems, we can remove the code. It's only about 1kB of additional data per pageload, which should be acceptable.
 * I've also added the code for NavFrame. Testing, Testing ...


 * {| width=100%

TEST TEST, a "Show/Hide" link should appear to the right -> Test test, collapse me!
 * }


 * Not working. I'm getting a js script error on the page. I'll rollback for now and try to fix it later. --Tetris L 11:46, 28 June 2007 (EDT)


 * Oh crap, the IE6 fix breaks the edit toolbar. I'm removing it too. :( --Tetris L 12:05, 28 June 2007 (EDT)

Logos revert
Hi! Could you explain why you reverted the redirect of Logos? It's redundant with Logo. Is there a disagreement about whether article names should be in singular or plural? --Tetris L 07:50, 29 June 2007 (EDT)


 * It's not plural, it's a singular proper name. I just updated the talk page on it with references. --TonyV

Icon image upload
I asked here, but you seem to have missed it, or you were too busy to comment. I noticed that you uploaded some of the icon images manually. Can't you upload them as a batch? Are they named properly or do we have to do some renaming? Is there any way I can help you with this? How many icons are there, and what's the total file size? If you're too busy and don't have the time to upload them in the near time, can I help you with it? Could you either mail them to me or put them on a server somewhere where I can access them? That'd be great. I'd really love to be able to use them. A few icons here and there make the wiki look so much more pleasing to the eye than boring plain text. --Tetris L 14:43, 30 June 2007 (EDT)
 * There's no batch upload ability for MediaWiki. I could probably script something or dig into the code to figure out how it figures out where to store them and update the database, but honestly, although converting the DDS files and uploading them is a pain, it's probably quicker and easier than any alternatives.


 * As far as I can tell, the images aren't given names within the files, they're simply stored consecutively. I'm sure the game has some sort of reference or offset to where they are, but I'm not sure this will help in the naming.  Also complicating things a bit is the fact that multiple items use the same image.  For example, the Collector's Head and Dissector's Head are the same image, as are a lot of the weapons and armor.  I don't think that naming them something like "Collector's Head" is feasable, because that means that either 1) we'll have to upload multiple identical images for items, or 2) icons will be named things that don't make sense, such as a "Collector's Head" icon being placed in an article about the Dissector's Head.  (That example is not so bad since they're related, but it won't take long to get to items having images named something completely irrelevant to what they are.)


 * The only thing I can think of right now is to simply name them something according to convention, such as "Item0001.png," "Item0002.png," etc. It's probably not the best solution, but I can't think of anything else that makes sense, and at least we'll have the "What links here" link to let us know what's being used for what.


 * I'm still in the process of converting them over, and I'm uploading them as I can. I screwed up earlier and accidentally deleted a directory of around 50 converted images, so that kind of slowed me down a little.  I'll have the next 100 a little later; there are around 500 to 600 in all of the icons.


 * --TonyV 15:08, 30 June 2007 (EDT)


 * As far as I found out by googling a bit there should be ways to do a batch upload. First of all, check the wiki folder ../maintenance/importImages.php for a "maintenance script to import one or more images from the local file system into the wiki without using the web-based interface". There are also some perl scripts available on the web. I have not tested or used any of them myself though.


 * As for image names, I'm strongly against names such as "Item0001.png", "Item0002.png", etc. With several hundreds or even thousands of them it'll be hell trying to find a specific one. The image name should give at least a rough idea what's shown in it. In case of unique images the image name should be exactly the same as the name of the article of the object that's shown, in order to allow for easy linking with the use of templates and . In case of an image being used by more than one item we should pick a generic, yet self-explanatory name. For example, in case of Collector's Head and Dissector's Head the image could be called "Thrax head.png", or something. I'd rather let one item use an images named after an other item or upload multiple copies of the same image with different names than to use cryptic names such as "Item0001.png".


 * And last but not least, once again my question: Is there anything I can help with? Image conversion, renaming or upload? If there's anything, just gimme a call, I'll be glad to assist. --Tetris L 16:17, 30 June 2007 (EDT)

Heads up
In this thread I'll just put links to other talk pages where I seek your feedback, just in case you missed them.
 * Re:Stubs --Tetris L 03:03, 3 July 2007 (EDT) Done
 * Re:Main Page access --Tetris L 03:11, 3 July 2007 (EDT) Done
 * Re:Mission formatting guide --Tetris L 03:15, 3 July 2007 (EDT)
 * Re: Image upload --Tetris L 05:22, 3 July 2007 (EDT)
 * Re: Icon file names --Tetris L 05:20, 5 July 2007 (EDT)
 * Re: Main Page redesign -- T ETRIS L 10:47, 5 July 2007 (EDT)
 * Re: TaRapedia name and look -- T ETRIS L 14:57, 9 July 2007 (EDT)
 * Re:TOC position -- T ETRIS L 03:51, 10 July 2007 (EDT)

Just FYI
Just a quick note to let you know that I'm about to leave for a 3 day business trip. Don't be alarmed when you don't see any activity or talk replies from me. I'll be back Thursday evening. --Tetris L 05:21, 3 July 2007 (EDT)

Tony, a forum thread for ya
FYI a thread you should check out: http://boards.playtr.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=26828&Main=26762#Post26828 --Clatra 20:13, 4 July 2007 (EDT)

Image upload errors
Hi Tony, recently I've been getting a lot of errors like this when trying to upload an image:
 * ''Could not copy file "\tmp\php4UAGbg" to "\home\twadmin\public_html\wiki\images\4\46\NCSoft_logo.gif".

Any idea what the problem may be, and how to fix it? -- T ETRIS L 02:51, 6 July 2007 (EDT)
 * Also, in the file path above I had to replace all / with \, otherwise I get the following error when I try to add the error report to your talk page:
 * Forbidden
 * You don't have permission to access /wiki/index.php on this server.
 * Additionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.
 * Apache/1.3.37 Server at tabulawiki.com Port 80
 * Weird. -- T ETRIS L 02:54, 6 July 2007 (EDT)
 * Hmm, somehow the permissions got munged on the image directory. I've corrected them to work correctly now, and images are uploadable.  As for the slash thing, I'll check on it later. --TonyV 09:52, 6 July 2007 (EDT)
 * Thanks for fixing the image upload! The slash thing is not really a problem, so don't bother, don't waste any time. I guess it's a security thing of MediaWiki. -- T ETRIS L 10:40, 6 July 2007 (EDT)

TRwiki.org
I just saw on the forums that you offered them a cooperation. I didn't know about that. Frankly, I was pretty pissed off about the site when I found out about it just a few days ago, because they ripped all my stuff from Wikia without any notes. And now they even have the nerves to offer poeple real cash for contributing. I know the plagiarism is legal because of the GNU license, but it's still not a very nice thing to do. I couldn't resist posting a note to Dubayou, who runs the site. Hehe, only bad for them that the Wikia stuff is full of errors because I wrote most of it before I became a beta tester. ;p

Oh, and they have confidential beta information on the site, without any read access restriction, so I dropped CuppaJo a note about it. Call me a squealer, but clause 3 of the NDA told me clearly that I had to do so. ;)

All in all, I'd rather not cooperate with them. If neither netiquette nor NDAs mean anything to them, they are probably not the type of people I like to work with. -- T ETRIS L 15:21, 9 July 2007 (EDT)


 * Honestly, I don't think Dubayou is very serious about maintaining a wiki, in spite of his offer to pay people to contribute articles to it. Other than the articles he copied over from the Wikia site, he's hardly touched the site.  I'm not really sure why he's offering to pay people to write articles for a wiki that it looks like he doesn't really want to work on himself.  I haven't heard from him in a week, and I kind of doubt I will.  If I had to guess, I'm thinking that TRWiki.org is pretty much filed under "Good Idea at the Time."  If he wants to contribute, I'm not averse to it, but you're right, what he's doing now isn't very cool.


 * I don't blame you for being upset about him bulk copying the articles over, but on the other hand, I guess it's good in that it shows they're worth copying. ;-)  I promise not to call you a squealer.


 * My main worry is that right now, it looks like there's confusion from folks over which wiki is which. I've seen comments on the forums that boil down to, "Hey, it's not secured!" or "There's stuff posted there publicly that violates the NDA," and I have a strong suspicion that folks saying that are going to the wrong wiki.  (In fact, I think that even CuppaJo had this problem, because she and I exchanged several PMs a while back because she said that the wiki couldn't find her username and password, and when I gave her the URL, she was good to go.)


 * I posted a message that I hope kind of clears things up a little bit. I mentioned TRWiki.org, along with my NDA concerns.  In fact, when I talked about the site at Wikia, I specifically mentioned that most of the articles were copied from your contributions to that site.  I'm also making sure to put a link in every PM I send to folks asking for accounts on the forums to this site so they have the right one right there in their mailbox.  Hopefully that will help.


 * -- T ONY V 20:39, 9 July 2007 (EDT) (in a copying kind of mood myself right now)  :-D


 * I saw that message. It was the reason why I posted this note on your talk page. I guess you're right, TRwiki probably won't be a "problem". They lack everything that is necessary to run a successful wiki.


 * I, too, see the problem about people confusing the different wikis. Heh, it even happened to me when tabularasa.wikia.com and tabulawiki.com still shared the same look and name. That's why I cleaned up the wikia the other day and reset the look and name to default. -- T ETRIS L 03:49, 10 July 2007 (EDT) (in a cyan mood right now)  :-D

Wikia
FYI:. I've also received an email from angies. She asked me to introduce her to you, so that she could talk to you and convince you to move the TR wiki to Wikia. I guess they don't remember your name, and the fact that they've already had the same discussion with you before, for Paragon wiki.

On a side note, I wanted to let you know that I'll leave for a 2 week vacation on Sunday. The wiki is all yours. Don't make a mess while I'm away. ;) -- T ETRIS L 18:09, 13 July 2007 (EDT)

Frontpage Pointer
Tony, any way you could put something up that would point some new users over to the Community Portal? We are trying to get some more people editing, but a lot of people don't really check that right off =p.-- CV 11:36, 29 July 2007 (EDT)

Advance warning: Possible inacitvity
Hi Tony, I just wanted to give you an advance warning, at the risk of it being premature.

Lately I realized something that I didn't expect to happen, at least not so quickly: I'm losing interest in Tabula Rasa. Over the last few weeks I've gradually enjoyed working on the wiki more than playing the game, which is odd, and not a good basis for long time. Interest and dedication for the wiki subject should be the reason for wiki contribution, not the other way round.

My expectations for the game were really pumped up because of the things that Richard Garriott claimed in his promotion interviews. I started the TR wiki on Wikia before I was even invited into beta. Now that I've played the game for a few weeks I feel that it doesn't live up to my expectations. Yes, the game is innovative, but it's not nearly as revolutionary as Garriott claims. I feel that it suffers from some basic design flaws, and it repeats some basic mistakes of most traditional MMORPGs. I'm especially disapointed by the lack of team formation and coordination tools. The game is pretty much a singleplayer game right now, and I don't see any substantial improvements in this department until the game goes live. But I am a teamplayer through and through. That's why I play multiplayer games. You might say "But hey, it's only early beta". Okay, I'm willing to give TR another chance when it approaches open beta, to see the big improvements. But if there are none, I'm not willing to pay 15 Euro fee per month for a subscription.

Last week I downloaded the Battlefield 2 and Battlefield 2142 demos, and I have to say that I enjoy playing them more than playing TR. I consider to buy the full game. If that happens, I'll probably not play much TR in the near time, if at all. And consequently I won't work on the wiki much.

Long story short: If the situation doesn't change, it may very well happen that I bail from this wiki quite soon, or at least take an extended break. I'll keep you updated. I'm very sorry for any inconvenience. -- T ETRIS L 02:15, 1 August 2007 (EDT)


 * Don't apologize; you shouldn't feel guilty for what you are or aren't interested in. :-)  Whatever you decide to do, your contributions here have been invaluable.  If you decide to stick around, I know I know you'll continue to be a valuable member of the wiki.  If not, I totally understand, and I really appreciate what you've done and this couldn't have been half as good as it is without you.  --TonyV 06:32, 1 August 2007 (EDT)

RE: Editorial Control
I'm flattered, but unfortunately, I can't make the commitment =p. Work is so sketchy right now that there could be times when I won't be able to work on this at all =\. I'll continue to contribute when I can, but maybe someone with more Wiki knowledge and whatnot (User:Asdef comes to mind) would be better suited. Also can't say that I will be positively picking up TR when it is released. -- CV 20:21, 5 August 2007 (EDT)