A New Wiki

[TheOriginalCj]

Hello SFD, not only is this my first time really using the nifty announcement feature, but it's also the first time in what really feels like ages since I've said or done anything about the wiki.

It's not really because I'm too busy but it is for a few reasons:

• The biggest reason is I'm considering a new wiki-host. Wikia is really a garbage wikifarm to host the wiki on. Chances are if you aren't running a premium adblocking extension/plugin, you're gonna be bombared with ads. Even without an adblocker, the focus of the articles is taken away from by the spotlight panel directing users away from other wikis. I created a poll asking users if it's really nessecary to do so. If the user response is high, I have an exact plan of where to move it to, but that requires additional help.
• Due to lack of having actively contributing users and browsing there's little motivation to moderate or contribute myself. As stated in the main topic, it takes a village to raise a child, and the child in this case is our wiki. I can't really do things by myself and nor can anyone else, which is why the topic is stickyed to the top of this forum.
• This inactivity has occurred since 1.6.0 and on and off contributions are not consistent. Because of the plethora of updates since then, it's really hard to add onto old articles when they haven't been updated.
• I haven't really set any guidelines to how to organize the wiki, which is mainly my fault. A lack of organization also deters people from writing, I'd like to think. So in the future I will try to set standards and help making writing articles much easier.

After 14 days of user exposure this announcement will most likely become a normal topic and I'll make an executive decision based upon both the results of the poll and the feedback as presented here.

[Lunatic]

If I'm not mistaken, I went through and fixed up the wiki extensively a few months back, fixing values that were randomly incorrect and adding in values that were previously unknown. I remember not wanting to do it because the ads were fucking everywhere and lagged out my browser something fierce. Navigating the wiki was slow and clunky, and editing it was the same. Overall dissatisfied with it, and I'm willing to bet that's why it's unpopular or unused.

I'm willing to help throw together a new wiki with you as needed. I have most of the data so I can fill in all the values. I'd actually be happy to do it as I can finally help dispel some of the common misconceptions that surround the game, as there are plenty of numbers and mechanics made up by the community that simply are not true.

[gwendalaze]

Yes, SFD deserve an ad-free wiki. Also, there should be no clan pages on the wiki, it is useless and space-taking.

[KliPeH]

I voted move to a new wiki too, same reasons as the rest.

The problem I see with SFD and it having a wikipedia page is that SFD isn't very complex in terms of game mechanics, and doesn't offer a massive variety of items you'd need to look up as opposed to, say, Terraria or Binding of Isaac. I imagine the main use of the wiki would be to find and compare exact weapon stats, and tactical guides for people who don't know how to play very well. The former requires extensive knowledge of those exact weapon values, ones that can only be found within the code itself, which not many people have access to at all. As I see it, only Lunatic (or somebody who tried decompiling the game) could write those, as their info would be the only you could rely on. What you're left with it strategy guides, which require you to not only play well but also write well and be able to express yourself freely. I don't know how many people could contribute to that within the SFD community. Do you see where I'm going with this? I think that's the biggest problem the wiki would have - there's just not a lot to write about. I've written guides and tips-n-tricks to playing various games in the past, and don't mind doing so again, but there's just not a lot to work with here.

You can write ~35 entries for each weapon in the game, then another one for hosting and dedicated server running, then another one for texture creation, then another one for the use of the map editor. A page with all server commands. There can also be a guide to melee, a guide to throwing, a tactical run-n-gun guide, and... that's it? That's about 40 pages, 90% of them short entries with weapon DPS/firerate values and a few lines describing what the weapon is capable of, info most of the community doesn't even have access to. That's quite limiting if I do say so myself. Not to mention most of the things you need can already be found on the forum with fair ease.

[Esper]

Never quite understood the need of a wiki when you can just solve all your problems with the forums. Yes, there are some good games that have both forums and wikia, but that woudn't change it that much..

Some subjects could be straight extracted from the wikia and uploaded to the forums as some kind of specific knowledge of the game mechanics.

[TheOriginalCj]

Really the point of the wiki is to be a database of sorts, where players can learn about how items and certain mechanics can be used, how they function to near specifics and basically describe how the game has progressed. While the game is still young, the devs have pretty big plans for the game and the including of several new mechanics (on top of the newer throwing mechanic, which btw is not currently explained on the wiki) that will expand how the game works.

So really I decided to establish the wiki rather early as a means to keep track of how game mechanics and other items have changed over the several updates, not just a place you can extract information.

I do plan on making several changes to how I manage the wiki (other than getting a newer hosting site), including starting a Discord server exclusively for people interested in working on the wiki, in addition to reorganizing how users are to contribute to the wiki.

[Esper]

What will be the new wiki host?

[Juansero29]

I've done some contributions to the Wiki myself, but I think it's time to change the platform...

[TheOriginalCj]

What will be the new wiki host?

I think the best possible host (one that is both free and much more stable) is Gamepedia. However, Gamepedia doesn't let just about anyone create a wiki, and this will definitely require more input from the devs, which is why I'm reaching out to the whole community about this.

[Scarface]

Voted for yes, mainly for 2 reasons:
1. Ads. They really make navigating the wiki slow, and it's annoying.
2. Lack of guidelines and useless pages like clans.

I agree with KliPeH about wiki having not many pages, but I think that it's still worth to contribute because of how wiki would be useful to newbies.

[Sol]

Why not just post a thread(s) with all the information here? A middleman doesn't seem necessary imo

[Lunatic]

As stated by Sol, I mean, this kind of information could be documented here. I have posted a good amount of information, and I do want to continue my work on the subject. My problem is that this content takes a good amount of time to produce but doesn't feel very rewarding. Having a team to put this all together sounds great, but then I'd be mad if I looked over their numbers and saw any inaccuracies.

Would a middleman be more organized, or could we put something together here? The first thread I made on weapon values was enormous due to what it was, and my more recent one put everything in data tables - which also happen to be fucked on mobile and other page zooms. I think a middleman would be better organized and more easily navigated, but a forum post would be more easily accessed and more widely referred to. Hard to pick in this case.

[Esper]

God damn, then if we're about to go to another solution, then you should redefine the poll subjects and make it a little bit more specific about what procedure we'll take, just saying