MarioWiki:Proposals

List of talk page proposals

 * Split Expresso from (discuss) Deadline: December 17, 2016, 23:59 GMT
 * Merge Giant Stu with Stackin' Stu (discuss) Deadline: December 21, 2016, 23:59 GMT
 * Split Category:Super Mario 64 into Category:Super Mario 64 and (discuss) Deadline: December 21, 2016 23:59 GMT

Writing guidelines
None at the moment.

New features
None at the moment.

Removals
None at the moment.

GIF vs. PNG Sprites: What to Keep/Delete
A redesign of bestiaries passed and an unforeseen consequence of that is some GIFs that were in use got placed in Special:UnusedFiles (might see them elsewhere because this page is using them). Further concerns were added once approved the deletions. There are some of those kinds of files pending deletion right now (some images that are currently there don't count for this proposal because they are either replacements or duplicate images). I was just cleaning up files leftover from the change and had some concerns with my  tagging. I find it redundant to have both a static PNG and animated GIF of the same enemy uploaded for the bestiary enemies. You can see my arguments here. Let's settle this by choosing what should be done about these for future uploads. My votes below explain how each option works.

Proposer: Deadline: December 18, 2016, 23:59 GMT

Prefer PNG and Delete GIF Versions

 * 1) My preferred choice. Not every static sprite had an animation counterpart (as far as I could tell).
 * 2) Per Wildgoosespeeder, though I wouldn't mind the animated GIFs being placed elsewhere, like in galleries of the respective game or character.

Prefer GIF and Delete PNG Versions

 * 1) If we must use GIF, get rid of the PNGs because it's just redundant to have it when the GIF animation contains the static PNG frame. If no GIF animation exists, keep using PNG until a GIF version is uploaded. Currently deleted GIFs will be restored and have their PNG versions deleted.

Keep Both

 * 1) - I want to use the static PNGs on the bestiary, and the dynamic gifs in the enemyboxes, via transclusion. Other than that I don't think we should favor one over the other here.
 * 2) Since at least Paper Mario: Sticker Star sprites that involve more than 256 unique colors have started to appear, and Paper Mario: Color Splash even has sprites with 8-bit Alpha Channel, causing artifacts if palettization is forced on them, thus PNG is needed for the appropriate display of the newer sprites; since APNG support is being completed in Chromium in these days, it is not yet possible to use PNG both for static and animated images, thus requiring also the use of GIF for the second purpose as a necessary compromise. In my opinion, by default, both should be kept, and is up to the uploader to use them properly; if they can't, one of them will become unused and then deleted anyway.
 * 3) There might still be use for both types of images.

No Preference

 * 1) This option is to keep it for a case by case basis, which is what we currently have.

Comments
Do any confusions exist? -- 02:11, 11 December 2016 (EST)

@Eldritchdraaks That might make editing the enemy pages more confusing keeping both where the PNG is for bestiary only and GIF for enemy pages only. -- 02:27, 11 December 2016 (EST)
 * That can be easily remedied by using  on the bestiary pages. You can place the bestiary image in there and choose a different image while editing the page with the enemy box.-- 02:40, 11 December 2016 (EST)
 * Outsiders might not know to edit a bestiary page instead of the enemy page to change the sprite(s) for said enemy page. -- 02:44, 11 December 2016 (EST)
 * They wouldn't have to. By default, the enemy box would display the image on the bestiary, but you could chose to instead edit the enemy page to use a different image.-- 03:06, 11 December 2016 (EST)
 * Are there any reasons to provide an override when the default image is satisfactory? -- 04:08, 11 December 2016 (EST)
 * See Megasparkle Goomba. The page currently uses promotional artwork for the Megasparkle Goomba, rather than the in-game sprite used in the bestiary. For this character and the use of the enemy box, this works.-- 14:49, 11 December 2016 (EST)
 * Because GIF is better. Just too much of it is distracting. -- 18:33, 11 December 2016 (EST)

IMO, this proposal isn't worded very well. At a glance, it seems to be a general preference, but this proposal actually deals with a preference for .GIFs and .PNGs in the bestiaries. For future reference, I think we should change the title a bit. 19:43, 11 December 2016 (EST)
 * I chose the wording I did because I have seen this trend in non-RPGs, such as Category:Super Mario World Images. -- 20:22, 11 December 2016 (EST)

@Mister Wu

Is it worth animating in the first place? Aside from animations that demonstrate something, are animations for looks all that useful to the wiki or is it extra work with little payoff and has some drawbacks? Also keep in mind that it is possible to break the 256 color limit. I think the SM64DS animation I linked to is demonstrative of this. Still not a 24-bit color animation like APNG, but it is a noticeable improvement over the previous version of the image and the GIF artifacts are barely noticeable. -- 01:47, 12 December 2016 (EST)
 * It provides visitors with an extra flair, showing how an enemy moves in the case of the bestiary/enemybox. It's not up to anyone but ourselves to decide if making these gifs are worth it. I've been slowly making the enemy gifs for Color Splash, and while I have neglected to upload pngs at the moment, the gifs bring these enemies to life.-- 02:46, 12 December 2016 (EST)

Miscellaneous
None at the moment.