MarioWiki:Proposals

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r149/Deadringerforlove/dessert1.jpg A proposal section works like a discussion page: comments are brought up and replied to using indents (colons, such as : or ::::) and all edits are signed using the code.

This page observes the No-Signature Policy.

How To
 * 1) Actions that users feel are appropriate to have community approval first can be added by anyone, but they must have a strong argument.
 * 2) Users then vote and discuss on the issue during that week. The "deadline" for the proposal is one week from posting at:
 * 3) *Monday to Thursday: 17:00 (5pm)
 * 4) *Friday and Saturday: 20:00 (8pm)
 * 5) *Sunday: 15:00 (3pm)
 * 6) Every vote should have a reason accompanying it.
 * 7) At any time a vote may be rejected if at least three active users believe the vote truly has no merit or was cast in bad faith. However, there must be strong reasons supporting the invalidation.
 * 8) " # " should be added under the last vote of each support/oppose section to show another blank line.
 * 9) All proposals that end up in a tie will be extended for another week.
 * 10) If a proposal has more than ten votes, it can only pass or fail by a margin of three votes. If a proposal reaches the deadline and the total number of votes for each option differ by two or less votes, the deadline will be extended for another week.
 * 11) Any proposal that has three votes or less at deadline will automatically be listed as "NO QUORUM." The original proposer then has the option to relist said proposal to generate more discussion.
 * 12) No proposal can overturn the decision of a previous proposal that is less than 4 weeks (28 days) old.
 * 13) Proposals can only be rewritten or deleted by their proposer within the first three days of their creation. However, the proposer can request that their proposal be deleted by a Sysop at any time, provided they have a valid reason for it.
 * 14) All proposals are archived. The original proposer must take action accordingly if the outcome of the proposal dictates it. If it requires the help of a Sysop, the proposer can ask for that help.
 * 15) There shouldn't be proposals about creating articles on a underrepresented or completely absent subject, unless there is major disagreement about whether the content should be included. To organize efforts about completing articles on missing subjects, try creating a PipeProject.
 * 16) Proposals can not be made about System Operator promotions and demotions. Sysops can only be promoted and demoted by the will of Bureaucrats.
 * 17) If the Sysops deem a proposal unnecessary or potentially detrimental to the upkeep of the Super Mario Wiki, they have the right to remove it at any time.
 * 18) No joke proposals. Proposals are serious wiki matters, and should be handled professionally. Joke proposals will be deleted on sight.

The times are in EDT (UTC -4:00), and are set so that the user is more likely to be online at those times (after work/school, weekend nights). If a proposal is added on Saturday night at 11:59 PM EDT, the deadline is the next Saturday night at 8:00 PM. If it is a minute later, the deadline is a day plus 15 hours (Sunday), as opposed to a day minus 4 hours.

CURRENTLY: , 27 2024 (EDT)

Make a to- do list on the main page
Over on Bulbapedia, they have a specific box on their main page that tells users what needs to be done, what are some featured stubs, and articles that need to be created. I think we should have something like this that everyone can use. I am proposing this because I am noticing lots of articles that have big pieces of information missing or needed, and some of their talk pages haven't been used for so long, it would be silly to put something there when nobody checks them regularly. The to-do list would tell everyone that visits the main page what we need and I think it would be a big help finding everyone something to do.

Proposer: FunkyK38 Deadline: August 24, 2009, 17:00

Support

 * 1) I think its a good idea because its will more accessible to poeple. Some people doesn't know about pipe plaza, so the wiki will be better, faster.
 * 2) I agree with Itachi, putting a to do list or at least a more visible link to the pipe plaza will make it more accessible to people.
 * 3) I've told you my reasons above.
 * 4) Per all.

Oppose

 * 1) - So, you want us to make this article? Maybe instead you should propose to link to the Pipe Plaza better. I'm going to update the to-do list soon I hope. I just don't think we need two to-do lists!
 * 2) But Marioguy1 does have a point, we have the Pipe Plaza for all announcements, to list collaborations, to do lists, and give help as well as list resources. So, yes, you initially want to recreate a part of the Pipe Plaza, which would be quite redundant.
 * 3) Sorry FunkyK38, but I have to agree that we already have the Pipe Plaza. Also, we don't need unnecessary things cluttering the main page more.
 * 4) - Per all.
 * 5) - Per all.

Comments
No, I'm not proposing we make the pipe plaza, I'm just saying we should make a place where users can look quickly to see what needs to be done. Check it out on Bulbapedia- they've gotten a lot of work done with this system. --FunkyK38 16:21, 17 August 2009 (EDT)
 * Yeah, that idea sounds good, a mini featured stub/wanted article template on the main page should do.
 * So basically you want us to copy this? I don't think Bulbapedia will like that.
 * True but we could tweak it here and there, make it more orginal, add stuff like images not found on pages and a link to the maintenance page.
 * We already have a To do list. We don't need to copy another one off of another website when we already have one of our own. Also, under the announcements section, there is a list of articles that need to be rewritten, under collaborations is a list of Featured Article nominations and articles nominated to be unfeatured (which means we can work on those articles, helping them earn/keep FA status). Our to do list covers another major portion of what needs to be done, so I don't think we need another to do list when we have one.
 * Also, Timmy Tim, why should we put a to do list on the Main Page? We are supposed to show some of our best features on the main page, not the articles and such that needs help. Let's just stick with the Pipe Plaza.
 * To answer you question, SMB, if we are supposed to be putting things on the main page that look nice and attract people to our wiki, what is the proposals box doing up there? Also, a visible box for what we need could help attract members with the information that we need to make our wiki better.
 * Ok, we do have a visible box. It is a template in the Pipe Plaza. And your arguement is very flawed about the proposals box (it shows what is going on in the wiki and possible changes that might occur), and I'm sorry to say that I don't think that moving a to-do list to the Main Page would improve the quality of the wiki or the Main Page itself. We have too many boxes on the Main Page as it is, and it would look unattractive if any more boxes were added. Do you even have a sample of what the Main Page would look like? I think you should show us an example so that we know what the Main Page would look like after this possible change.
 * FunkyK38. I would like to see a version of your main page. I need to see how it would look if we did that! Who knows, the main page may not be able to fit it. If you provide a satisfactory example, I will change my vote.
 * I'm just adding that I will probably not change my vote. The Main Page is too cluttered as it is, and adding more unnecessary information is not the best thing to do. We need to get rid of some of the Main Page content.
 * Okay, SMB, I can respect that you aren't going to change your vote, but maybe you could come up with some ideas for a less cluttered main page? And Marioguy1, here's your link: User:FunkyK38/Proposal. Take a look, and tell me if you think something needs to be changed.
 * I have tried, (I proposed to remove the Featured Images and move them to the 'Shroom, but that didn't work). I will also propose to have that tournaments box removed pretty soon, as we can easily list tournaments in the Pipe Plaza and it has its own section in the 'Shroom.
 * Hey, I'm fine with being flexible. Like HTN64DD and Itachi said, we could make it a clear, visible link to the pipe plaza.
 * Hey, here is one way that we could make the Main Page less cluttered.

Remove Some Templates From the Main Page
Ok, I finally thought this through. I think we should remove the tourney template and the poll template. The tourney thing is more of something we should find in the Pipe Plaza, and we already have a poll section in the Fake News of The 'Shroom managed by, *gasp* Stooben Rooben, the same person who is supposed to update the polls on the Main Page! The only thing is that the polls would come out once a month, but I don't see that as much of a difference as the weekly polls aren't really even updated once a week, and usually sit for a long time. So, what I'm initially saying is: Move the tourneys to the Pipe Plaza (NOT in template form), and get rid of the Main Page polls because we have polls on the 'Shroom. This proposal will work in conjunction with FunkyK38's proposal above (he now only wants to add a link on the Main Page that leads to the Pipe Plaza), and an example of how it would look after all of the changes can be found here. Proposer: (with ideas from ) Deadline: Thursday, August 27th, 2009, 17:00

Support

 * 1) This will make the Main Page less cluttered, something a lot of users have wanted for a while.
 * 2) Just great. Porplemontage's Main Page is really good. Also per SMB.

Comments
This does not violate the 1-month rule, as the rule really states 28 days (it has been 29 days since the tourney proposal passed).

You need something else on the right because I balance the two columns.
 * The main page example that you are creating looks good, to tell you the truth.
 * Yes, this is my solution. The Pipe Plaza section could contain any snippet from the Pipe Plaza; I just copied in some text from News and Maintenance as an example.
 * That's a good solution, indeed. I would have to say yes, this would be good for our Main Page.

I like the polls, but I don't even know what the tourneys are so I'd say remove tourneys and keep polls. But if there's a poll section on the 'Shroom, I don't know what to say, because I never go to the 'Shroom.

Merge all the game and watch games
I was looking at the game and watch articles, when I realized something, they SUCK. Seriously. They are all undescriptive stubs that don't even deserve their own articles. I propose we merge them all. Proposer: Deadline: September 14 2009, 17:00

Support

 * 1) - Read above proposal.

Oppose

 * Oh, come on! Then is nothing good anymore! Just look at it! Most of the template is all Game & Watch games. And then to think about it that the list hasn't even every game! Plus, Most articles about Game & Watch games are long enough to get an article.

Comments
When you learn how to organize a proposal, you may get supporters.

Merge Keys Articles
Yeah, I was just looking at the articles linked to this template, and most of them are stubs. That is why I am suggesting that the community allows me to go ahead and merge them, as well as turn the original articles into redirects and changing the links so that they lead to the merged article. An example can be found here, and the discussion page will be a replica at first, but it will be so that users can change it as opposed to suggesting changes to me (such as moving images, sections, fixing links, etc.). So, to reiterate, if you want to suggest a change to my example, do the change on the talk page. If you have other comments, put them below on this page. NO COMMENTS GO ON THE TALK PAGE! ''Note: A change in the proposed article has been made. See my large comment below.'' Proposer: Deadline: Saturday, 22 August 2009, 20:00

Support

 * 1) I think this will improve the articles. Per Time Q's, Walkazo's, and Twentytwofiftyseven's concerns below (I hope they were addressed).
 * 2) - I like your article. It's long and combines a bunch of stubs. To Time Q below, the need would be that there are currently too many stubs. but I saw a problem. There is only supposed to be one image requested tag at the top if you have multiple sections because at the top it says "It has been requested that image(s) be added to this article/section" See what I mean (it says images).
 * 3) Per SMB.
 * 4) Yeah, what's with all the keys anyway? The articles are terrible!
 * 5) - Per my comments below. Supplementing the nameless key list in Key with "List of Keys in the Paper Mario series" and  "List of Keys in Super Mario 64 DS" pages in place of numerous stubs seems a more organized way of doing things. Use (and  in the sections for the few keys who merit full articles) to make the lists presentable.

Oppose

 * I see no need for doing this change. Those keys are unrelated to each other, they all deserve their own articles (or at least some of them, which means we can't merge them all together). If they're stubs, we should expand them rather than cramming them all together in a rather unattractive list.
 * Per Time Q. Additionally, as you have it set up, all the categories and navboxes are applied to the article as a whole, which is rather imprecise. To someone who's unfamiliar with what's going on, it may seem that (e.g.) Category:Animate Objects applies to all of the items on that list. In fact, it applies to just two. And having some items under the subheader "key" when the article itself is also called "key" is redundant.
 * Per All!
 * 1) - Per all.
 * 2) - Per all
 * 3) Per all.
 * 4) per all.

Comments
Marioguy1, I fixed the problem. Does it look good now?
 * Yup, I was there when you fixed it. I'll strike that point in my article.

I think the Key article itself should stay (and the introduction should be expanded a bit to explain more about the essense of Mario keys), with the rest of the keys going into a "List of Keys" page. Yakkey should keep his seperate page, since he's a character, not just an item. Skeleton Key also has enough appearances and information (plus, its animate) to merit its own article as well. The list entries for Key, Skeleton Key and Yakkey would all use to link to the separate articles. -

I think Marioguy1's vote is invalid. The only reason he states is "I like your article", which is not enough. Why would it be a change for the better? Please expand your vote, otherwise I vote for its removal.

Ok, hopefully I fixed most of the problems. The minor Paper Mario keys would all be merged, as well as a few of the other Super Mario 64 DS keys (Mario Key, Luigi Key, Wario Key). The bigger Key article, as well as the Skeleton Key article and the Yakkey article would be left alone as seperate articles. This would allow to stay, and the Keys category to remain as well. Any more suggestions?


 * That still suggests that (eg) "Wario Key" falls under "Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Special Items," which is wrong. And the fact that there's really no simple way to get to Key, Skeleton Key, or Yakkey from that article is also inconvenient.
 * What? We have the to link to Key, Skeleton Key, and Yakkey. So, should we split the list into two lists (one for the Super Mario 64 DS keys and one for the Paper Mario keys)? We could still have the Paper Mario series keys on one article, even though they would share categories, I think it would be easy to tell due to the beginning of each paragraph having the game it appears in.
 * Actually, there's been talk that templates like should be scrapped, seeing as they're just categories in template form, and are often based on "common sense" as opposed to canon (i.e.  vs.  and ). But that's beside the point: as I said before, those other independent articles should be linked to via  in the list, though with the two lists idea, that'd only be needed for Yakkey, since Skeleton Key  has a series unto itself (barring the conspicuously pageless Bowser Keys). Considering how the three SM64DS Keys can almost be combined as-is, I think the two list idea is good. I'm always a fan of combining stubs and saving space; all that can be done to expand those key articles is writing their exact locations (Walkthrough fare, IMO) and maybe some more context - but after a point, it starts to look off-topic and/or reachy. Also, the "if it's named it gets an article" mantra seems to be an underlying part of this discussion; to be frank, I've always felt that ideal was misguided. The keys in Luigi's Mansion essentially play the same role as the Fortress Keys and Ruins Keys, except the named PM keys get stubs while the plain LM key merely gets a section of the Key article. If the "Key"s from LM, SMB2, SMW, SMW2:YI, SM64 and SSBB are shoved together, why not the "___ Key"s from the Paper Mario series? It's a double-standard born of the desire to not have dozens of "Key (game X)" pages, which is understandable, but also fixable if we weren't so bent on having dozens of "___ Key" pages instead. The list(s) just needs some fixing-up; with proper retooling, it won't look so bad. -

Create poll to determine North American vs. PAL names
It seems that people are regularly debating over if North American or PAL names should be used when discussing games. I think we should make a final, permanent decision by advertising a poll in the Main Page info bar and leave the poll up for a month. This way, we could find the demographics of the users and determine this annoying question.

Let's make a real decision

 * 1) - Per above.  We won't have to put up with this crap anymore.

Comments
With this, we'll never have to worry about it again! -

I have the demographics. If that's the only purpose of the poll, then there's no need.

Regularly Update News Page
Every time I log onto the wiki, one of the first things I do is check the News section of the Main Page, along with the rest of the page. As I write this, on the 14th of August, the top headline is Mario Clock and Mario Calculator were released for DSiWare in Europe and Australia on July 3 and in North America on June 15, 2009. Wow, that sure was helpful, forty days ago! On other wikis, even minor news such as tidbits of info about upcoming games/shows/movies etc. is placed in the News template, yet we're stuck with information about a DSi feature released in July. I propose that minor news, such as information relating to an event in Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games or another trailer for New Super Mario Bros. Wii being released, for example, be placed in the News template before it becomes a joke.

Proposer: Deadline: August 21, 2009, 20:00

Support

 * 1) per my reasons above.
 * 2) Per Timmy Tim.
 * 3) Makes a lot sense. Tired of it being all the same.
 * 4) Doesn't do us much good with yesterdays news.
 * 5) - I don't expect you know who will update this? Will it be you? Per above.
 * 6) Iv'e been waiting for that thing to change for 2 months
 * 7) Per all, although I do agree with Time Q. that this proposal is rather useless.
 * 8) - Par all.
 * 9) I get annoyed with it too. We must approve!
 * 10) Per all.
 * 11) Per all, though, who's going to oppose?
 * 12)  Yeah, we need more news than that. I agree.
 * 13) Per all. However, I agree with Marioguy, who do expect to update it?
 * 14) Summer is almost over and those came out during the beginning of the summer, and the info there should be updated right away!!!!
 * 15) Per all.
 * 16) Per all
 * 17) Per Timmy Tim
 * 18) Per all
 * 19) Per all, but I agree with SMB and Time Q.
 * 20) Per all. That news isn't helping anyone anymore. We need regular updates.
 * 21) Per all.
 * 22) Per all.
 * 23) Yes it was very helpful and notable when it became released, but that's pretty stale if the news keeps the same for about forty-five days or so. The title says "Mario & Nintendo News," there's plenty to add in my opinion, others can think otherwise. Per TimmyTim.

Comments
Your proposal isn't really specific. I don't think the template is "a joke", or is becoming one. It has only the most important news - releases and announcements of games. If there's no news, we can't just make up some. I do agree, though, that we should also add the most important news on upcoming games. For example, when new characters in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games are confirmed, we should list that. But have any been confirmed lately? I don't know. Of course we could also add less important news to the template. The problem would be that the really important info would be gone from the template too early, at least in my opinion. So, to cut a long story short: Could you please specify what you mean by "minor news"? IMO, new trailers are too minor, but new characters are ok.
 * Well what about if a trailer was released for SMG2 which showed several new features and characters, would something like, A new trailer has revealed more information about the upcoming game Super Mario Galaxy 2? Or is that too minor in your opinion? We could also move the Tourney template to below the Proposal one, move the Poll Template and Did You Know Template down so they're next to the Tourney one and expand the News template.
 * I say after today, we should get rid of the tourney template, and any user can edit that te,plate, I believe, so you can update it yourself :)
 * That would violate the rules, as a proposal cannot be reversed until a month later (I would suggest a rule that if the administrators think a passed proposal is not good anymore, they could reverse it).
 * Well, there is a rule saying we can remove proposals "at any time", which doesn't have to mean any time during the voting week ;) I actually meant to suggest an extension to that rule that would legitimately (i.e. not using a loophole in the phraseology) allow us to retroactively veto proposals (i.e. if one passed and immediately started causing major problems we had not foreseen), but I didn't get around to it... Maybe another Tourney Template Proposal could be made anyway, seeing as the circumstances have changed a fair bit (and so it's not just flip-flopping on an issue, which is what the one month waiting time is meant to prevent). -

Guys, I think most of you have invalid reasons. "I want teh template to be updated!" isn't really valid. If there's no relevant news, we can't add some, it's as easy as that. And as far as I remember, there haven't been any important Mario news lately. So I vote for the removal of Baby Mario Bloops's, Egg Yoshi's, Platitudinous's, Noahp89's, and 4DJONG's votes. Timmy Tim, what would this proposal, if passed, change specifically? As for your question above, I think such trailers could be mentioned, but IMO it should be put as "X and Y are confirmed to appear in game Z" rather than "A new trailer for game Z was released". That's just my opinion, though.
 * Well, we have a number of new games on the way and information relating to their progress could be treated as news. If a new trailer for game Z is released revealing items X and Y, why not have an article in the news template stating Items X and Y have been revealed for game Z or A new trailer had revealed additional info about game Z? I suppose that would work for both you and I, as well as the supporters of this proposal who are sick of hearing about Mario Clock and Mario Calculator but wouldn't mind knowing if new content in NSMB Wii, for example is released.
 * Okay. Still, I don't think this proposal would really change anything. If there is relevant news, feel free to add it. I don't think anyone would revert that, even if it's "only" about new characters or items. Oh, and as for your example news "A new trailer had revealed additional info about game Z": We should definitely say what kind of info it is. You probably meant that though, I just wanted to clarify.
 * I support TimeQ, this proposal is pointless, we do not need proposals about this kind of stuff.
 * He's not really saying it's pointless really, just what it will accomplish if this is passed, or just clarifying some... things.

Here's a new idea, why not rename it News as opposed to Mario and Nintendo News and add in wiki-realted news such as UserX has been promoted to Patroller or The latest issue of The 'Shroom has been released? that could work. Also, there's finally some new news, after over a month of now useless info!
 * We have the announcement template for that. --
 * Yeah, but we never use that much anyway and we could kill two birds with one stone.