MarioWiki:Proposals

Make an exception for the Super Smash Bros. series in our coverage policy
This proposal stems largely from a discussion thread started by Blocky, and it's recommended to read that first.

If we wanted to change our current coverage of the Super Smash Bros. series, our current coverage policy offers two logical options: the series is either a guest appearance or a crossover. Calling it a guest appearance is not that good: there are a notable amount of characters, locations, items, and other elements pulled directly from the Mario franchise, and it figures heavily into the Smash series' promotion, so it doesn't seem particularly right to say that the Mario content is on the same level as Captain Rainbow or SSX on Tour. At the same time, however, calling it a crossover (which is the option that the wiki currently uses) isn't satisfying either: as much as the Mario content factors into the series, it doesn't take up a majority in the slightest, so it's disingenuous to treat it as if its content is equal in stature to Mario & Sonic or Fortune Street. Keep in mind that, as a crossover, every single subject within the series should get an individual page, and there's a certain point where covering every single special move and Smash Run enemy feels like it oversteps a boundary (which is to say nothing of smashwiki:the SmashWiki that already covers these subjects better than we ever could). The wiki already has made judgements about what content shouldn't be given individual pages, mainly with various stage elements, but that completely contradicts our existing policy.

If neither option available to us is acceptable, then what should we do? Simple: make a third option.

This proposal aims to add an exception to our coverage policy, essentially saying that the Smash series is neither a crossover nor a guest appearance, but something unique unto itself. If it is excluded from the other sections, then it would be entirely possible to come up with systematic changes that wouldn't involve broadly changing how every series is covered. Note that this proposal doesn't say what will change; it merely leaves the door open for changes in the first place. Discussions and proposals about the particulars can take place afterwards.

A draft of the proposed section can be found at this link.

Proposer: (with input from ) Deadline: March 9, 2018, 23:59 GMT

Support

 * 1) Per proposal.
 * 2) Per proposal.
 * 3) Per proposal.
 * 4) Per proposal.  I was actually more than ready to tag these pages for deletion anyway.
 * 5) Per proposal.
 * 6) Per proposal.
 * 7) Sounds good. If someone wants to find out more information about anything in the SSB series, they go to either the Smash Wiki or another Wiki which deals with the character they are looking for. Per proposal.

Comments
Per what I said in the thread. I see no issue with how we are presently doing things, but I'm also open to a change. Due to that, I can neither support nor oppose, but I'll agree with whatever option goes through  I kinda have to anyway   :)  19:43, 23 February 2018 (EST)
 * I find we cover a lot of non-Mario things than Mario things when covering the Super Smash Bros. series, since Time Turner says that Mario content doesn't even come close to the majority of Smash's total content. I am neutral, just like Alex95, but because I don't know what this proposal will imply in the future. My hope is less non-Mario content gets covered on as SmashWiki offers the best coverage and is the most cited source. We should just merely link to SmashWiki for non-Mario things but use  for Mario game fighters/items/stages/etc., but I realize a lot of people are not on-board with that idea so easily. Don't think of my thoughts as negative. We should take pride in our ability to specialize in the Mario franchise instead of overreaching into other series that those articles end up mostly getting neglected for longer periods of time. -- 00:01, 24 February 2018 (EST)


 * I do agree that our coverage of Smash is probably more comprehensive that necessary, but I don't think that there is really anything wrong with it. Nevertheless, I do see what Time Turner is saying. I would support this, but choose not to until I have some idea of exactly what we are changing. It's not enough for me to decide whether or not to make a change; I need to agree with whatever change is specifically proposed.
 * 14:09, 25 February 2018 (EST)
 * To be clear, no specific change is being proposed at the moment. This proposal's goal is to allow those future changes, whatever they may be, to occur in the first place. 14:10, 25 February 2018 (EST)

Sort of a nebulous proposal. Can't pass this and then make major changes because there's no detail of changes to be made here (other than make Smash its own thing, but we don't know what that really means yet). So then you'd need a new proposal of the changes you'd like to make, but you could have just made that proposal without this one. Anyway, it's a start! -- 14:33, 25 February 2018 (EST)
 * I definitely intend this to be a start. I have thoughts on what should and shouldn't stay, but so does everyone else, and charging forward with "a, b, and d should all be deleted, but not c and e" would be more trouble than its worth (and that'd contradict our coverage policy in the first place, hence this proposal). 14:46, 25 February 2018 (EST)

New features
None at the moment.

Removals
None at the moment.

Move "proposals" from "community" to "navigation" on the sidebar
I was browsing the wiki for the first time for a while and I sawdust  Proposals is currently llisted under community alongside the 'Shroom, the chat and Mario Boards. The thing is though those other three things all fall under the social part of this site and less so the wiki part of the site Whilst proposals is less so part of the social aspect and more related into improving the wiki. The Navigation area the other hand has links that is all related to the wiki it's self and many of the links inside it are related to helping improve the wiki. I just think it would make far more sense Proposals was under navigation rather than community.

Proposer: Deadline: March 4, 2018, 23:59 GMT

Support

 * 1) Per my proposal.

Oppose

 * 1) - The main proposals page is under "community" because it involves the community. Users come here to propose new changes and to vote on said changes. It's as much of a community project as The 'Shroom or the forums.
 * 2) Per Alex95.
 * 3) Per Alex95.

Comments
Do have any idea how visually unappealing that would look? Yikes! -- 14:33, 25 February 2018 (EST)

Change the link in the Category bar
In the category bar at the bottom of most pages whenever a category is included on the page is a link that leads to Special:Categories. This helps absolutely no one. Special:Categories is simply an alphabetical list of every category used on the wiki, but gives no information on how editors, both present and future, should set them up. Categories on the other hand gives a comprehensive explanation on how categories should be used, from category trees to the order and specifics of the categories. This proposal is simply meant to see who agrees with changing the link in MediaWiki:Pagecategorieslink from Special:Categories to MarioWiki:Categories.

Here's an example of how this can be helpful. A reader who wants to get into editing is looking over a page as an example, say Goomba's. There's an infobox, article structure, images, etc. At the bottom is a bar with a list of categories. Wanting to know more about how these categories are structured, they may expect the "Categories" link to lead somewhere useful. It doesn't, and now this reader has to search through pages or ask for help on where to go. Even long-time editors, such as myself, would like an quick and easy way to get to the page they're looking for. Rather than go through those steps, the category link should just lead to the page with an explanation. Special:Categories gives a list of what categories are in use, but MarioWiki:Categories actually tells you how to use them.

Proposer: Deadline: March 4, 2018, 23:59 GMT

Support

 * 1) - We strive to be helpful!
 * 2) Per proposal.
 * 3) Per Alex95.
 * 4) Per proposal.

Comments
I do support the proposal, but your options are rather... biased. 13:08, 25 February 2018 (EST)
 * How so? 13:11, 25 February 2018 (EST)
 * "Keep things unnecessarily complex" is your opinion, and it immediately paints anyone voting for that option in a negative light. "Support/oppose" works fine. 13:20, 25 February 2018 (EST)
 * Ah. I like trying to put a humorous spin on things, but I see what you mean. Corrected. 13:22, 25 February 2018 (EST)

The link is really there for the reader (99% of wiki visitors), not the editors. Your scenario imagines a reader who wants to get into editing, but that is a very low percentage case. The vast majority of our traffic only reads. If they want to get into editing, they will be introduced to our help pages and at some point and see the categories link. The target audience of Categories is the editor and isn't as useful as Special:Categories if your only goal is exploring the site. A reader can use the search box on Special:Categories to check out different categories we have, for example. The info on MarioWiki:Categories about our category structure and where to put categories probably isn't the reading that visitors came to the site for (deep Mario lore). Editors and would-be editors seeking category help will find MarioWiki:Categories through our help pages, where as visitors are not going to know that Special:Categories exists without the link since they're not roaming through Special:SpecialPages. That Categories link appears across the wiki, on every namespace, and it takes you to a page that let's you explore all the wiki's categories (makes sense). Not sure it should take you to a policy page instead! -- 14:33, 25 February 2018 (EST)
 * Would it be beneficial to add a quick explanation of categories at the top of Categories? 15:11, 25 February 2018 (EST)
 * A link to an overall comprehensive list both does and doesn't seem all that useful to me. It really depends on the situation. Is it a reader looking through the categories, or is it an editor trying to figure out how the categories should be placed? If anything, they should lead to each other.
 * ...That might be a better idea, actually. 15:24, 25 February 2018 (EST)

Miscellaneous
None at the moment.