BRGS Wiki:Community portal

This is the BRGSWiki Community Portal. On this page you can find out what is happening with the Wiki, suggest new things, and lots more!!

New & Noteworthy

• The Infobox has been created, click here for more information.

Offensive quotes

At the risk of sounding like a prude, do we really need quotes on pages that are full of sexual references and (mild) swearing? It is meant to be a site for everyone to enjoy, and a few questionable edits have slipped through. I've updated the vandalism page to draw attention to it. Chris ^{talk - mod} 22:21, 30 September 2010 (BST)

I think the quotes should be deleted, I'll try and sort things out when I can. Any other help? Let me know! Thanks BRGSMan ^{talk - contribs} 20:32, 17 October 2010 (BST)

Administrators of Dangerousx and/or Camponhoyle

They both want to be administrators, both of them have different advantages and disadvantages, I think we should promote at least one but I wanted to gather opinion not just from bureaucrats, although we will have the final decision I think it's fair that the other admins have their view. Discuss. Any other help? Let me know! Thanks BRGSMan ^{talk - contribs} 20:31, 17 October 2010 (BST)

Also I think that we should decide whether they will become admins or not based off their own edits rather than in competition against each other. If you think that they should be against each other then okay but thats what I think. Any other help? Let me know! Thanks BRGSMan ^{talk - contribs} 20:42, 17 October 2010 (BST)

It now seems that 1885 also wants to become an admin, which doesn't make much difference, except there is another to consider. Any other help? Let me know! Thanks BRGSMan ^{talk - contribs} 21:34, 17 October 2010 (BST)

While on the topic of admins, me and Chris gave a two week trial to Woozle44 a while back and didn't particularly edit much in that period or since. Personally I think it would be a good idea to 'de-adminise' (the account hasn't edited since June and there isn't a very large edit count) allowing a bit more 'space' for another of these high editing users to replace him. Any other help? Let me know! Thanks BRGSMan ^{talk - contribs} 21:15, 18 October 2010 (BST)

Yeah, de-admin that account. As for the others, do we really need more admins? More people with power generally leads to more abuse of power. Chris ^{talk - mod} 22:10, 18 October 2010 (BST)

Chris has a point. Personally I think that we need to give it a bit longer has they both have areas in which they need to improve on:

• User:camponhoyle Spelling and punctuation

• User:dangerousx Adding a considerable amount of content to pages rather than small edits such as spelling

Thanks Magical Trevor 18:58, 19 October 2010 (BST)

I'd say those two areas would cancel out perfectly :)

There is some stuff on the wiki on Administrator Policy. In my opinion, there also needs to be some gap to fill in the admin team:

• Will the candidate provide additional necessary coverage for moderating different year/friendship groups?
• Does the candidate need admin access to provide that coverage? Perhaps, if only for move page and delete. I find the admin tools are rarely very useful for general editing/improvements. The number of instances that need "the full arsenal" of tools are small enough to cope with.
• Or, does the candidate need access for a project involving admin-editable-only pages, e.g. homepage?

Rewards would be nice, but we can't give admin access to everyone who does lots of good edits. On that basis, we would end up with more admins than users -- who would admin the admins? I think 3 new admins is too many when compared to the volume of admin:user edits currently (though subjective I get the impression there is general agreement on this here). I know this idea breaks down if taken to a ridiculous extreme: an admin who makes an infinite amount of excellent edits => they shouldn't be an admin! There is some truth in the extreme case :)

Maybe there is a finer-grained hierarchy of positions in an addon: it would be useful to acknowledge the amount of work people put in (similar to UserScore, but advertised). E.g. rookie, experienced, guru etc. I'd be quite interested in having a look at this idea -- I don't want to be too stingy!

If we are undecided we can wait, or when I get time at the weekend I will consider carefully the requests (number of edits is not something I consider important), and suggest how to proceed (not excluding waiting longer). I haven't had time to look properly, but I wanted to acknowledge all three requests.

Thanks everyone,

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(if you want to discuss this directly)

Clizard 00:29, 21 October 2010 (BST) zZzz

Hi Again, Sorry these responses seem to be getting longer...

I've had a look at the user permissions system and it is in need of a bit of an update. Contrary to what I said last time, I think my original aim was to make the permissions as open as possible. I therefore plan to move the move facility to be available to all users. Note: There are now autoconfirmed accounts available.

edituserjs will be removed completely from all admins and bureaucrats.

I wanted to expand delete privileges to all users too, but this logically requires undelete, which would be unacceptable to people who had requested their pages be removed permanently. Therefore these will remain admin tools until a separate admin(permanent) and user delete become available.

Protected pages: the admin options on these have changed a lot since we last discussed them. There are 92 fully protected pages. This is too high. I will go and update policy on protection, then unprotect the ones I propose be unprotected on the understanding that if anyone disagrees then they can undo and ununprotect pages and edit the policy :) The pages that require permanent protection are: the main page and things displayed on it, administrative (contact info, announcements, admin policy, meta) and, in rare cases, commonly used templates. Temporary admin protection may from time to time still be necessary to stop flame wars etc.

File uploads: 12MB is way too much. I propose this be 150kb and all files that are significantly over this be resized/optimised. 150kb is enough to communicate well most images. File uploads have been temporarily been moved to autoconfirmed while I wait to implement this.

There is also a need that is not provided by the current structure: to have people be able to edit protected pages! I'm therefore looking into setting up a developer usergroup who will be able to edit the user interface and access protected pages (such as the homepage) for the purpose of developing the wiki. They will also be able to delete and undelete pages. Therefore there is still a lot of trust being placed to use these abilities responsibly, else we end up with mario on our front page.

Ideally this would be a free for all, but realistically we need to maintain a state of peace on the wiki, avoid spam, and these permissions are hopefully natural and logical.

The bit you want to read

I think Dangerousx and Camponhoyle should become admins, and 1885 should become a developer. All three have been great contributors (and have fixed some especially important things). Though we're not being swept away by garbage just yet, there are times when me and some of the other current admins (well, I speak for my self) don't have time to forensically examine all the edits. Dangerousx is on the wiki probably the most and tends to catch spam first (and has reported it) which suggests that there would be an immediate benefit to the wiki with him becoming an admin. I think 1885's interests are probably more closely aligned with the development side of things (provided I can get it to work, it is a new system!). This is just a proposal though.

I haven't forgot about redecorating. I've been trying to play around with the logo -- but my artistic skills were particularly bad last night.

Perhaps we should also have a clean up of admins who aren't around any more too. Clizard 20:12, 26 October 2010 (BST)

I agree that the user access levels should change to give more power to autoconfirmed users, and less to brand new users. I don't know what edituserjs even is so it probably would not affect me taking it away.

Delete Privileges: I think that standard users (and autoconfirmed users) shouldn't be given the power to delete purely because i feel that some may use this to delete lots of useful pages and cause a lot of work to clean up. About permanently deleting pages, I have noticed that (as an admin), you can delete a page and then protect the deleted page so that nobody else can recreate it, which in a way is the same as permanently deleting it (as long as the admins don't recreate it!).

Protection of Pages: The semi protection doesn't really work at the moment because the semi protection is to stop editors with no accounts from editing, but they cannot edit anyway. This needs to be changed so that only autoconfirmed users and higher ranks can edit and therefore can be used to protect highly vandalised pages. I do think however that all pages regarding policies should be fully protected. I think the admins should create the policies and discuss them, but then if a standard user wants part of it changing then they can suggest their idea to us in a place like suggestions. Regarding templates, the most used templates (e.g. the welcome template) should be fully protected and the rest semi-protected.

File Uploads: I totally agree with what you have said about the file uploading, though I do think that the uploading should be for autoconfirmed users and above forever (we don't want vandals uploading 'naughty' images).

Developer User: I think the idea of having a developer is a great idea, it allows users like 1885 and Alan (perhaps move him from admin to developer?) to work on templates and improve the wiki with all their coding knowledge (which I do not have!). Allowing them to delete and protect (as well as the opposites) will provide them with the only abilities they really need, and allow us admins to do the banning. The developer user could potentially be used as the first step to becoming an admin, by giving them some admin powers but not the really important ones.

Autoconfirmed Users: These users should be the same as normal users except: They can move pages, upload images and edit semi-protected pages. I don't think they should be able to delete pages (for reasons mentioned above).

Who will become admins?: There are quite a few old admins on the wiki who haven't edited in years (for example: Heskey and Jonathan Parton), they seem to not be on here any more, perhaps they should be de-adminned and allow the new generation of users to become the admins. I agree with Dangerousx and Camponhoyle being admins and 1885 being a developer, but should we just make them all admins until this new 'breed' of user is available?

Sorry for rambling on for a while. Any other help? Let me know! Thanks BRGSMan ^{talk - contribs} 13:23, 27 October 2010 (BST)

Redecorating

Redecorating

Clizard 5.10.10

Seems like a good time to redecorate the wiki in the new Vector theme (to see the unBRGSified version go to my prefs > appearance and select Vector). This will at least relieve the irony of the BRGSMono theme (it's also a little dated). I'm planning to do this in the next few weeks. If anyone has any good ideas/suggestions or images that'd make a good header or 'sider' then please post them here. Also post if you'd like to reskin it all by yourself and do it before I can lay hand to keyboard, or anywhere inbetween those two options. I'll post a preview when work has got somewhere.

I'll have a stab at that if you want! I can create a Google Code private project so that we can collaborate on it together if you want. I think Alan will be interested in that as well - joint project between the three of us? 1885 ^{says hi!} 18:09, 5 October 2010 (BST)

I agree that the website needs a new theme but I'm not so sure what there should be down the side, I think it should be a photo of somewhere at BRGS with some kind of crest in the corner (not the real school crest but not the one thats there now), but all I want is that it doesn't look tacky to be honest. I also like the dark blue, matches with the uniform in my opinion. Just some ideas. Any other help? Let me know! Thanks BRGSMan ^{talk - contribs} 20:42, 5 October 2010 (BST)

I am kinda used to the blue now, so it would be odd when if it disappears. Perhaps we could have something in keeping with the school or school colours, but i don't really mind the Vector that much, because it is pretty streamlined. Something like Vector, but using stuff from BRGS, would probably be the best choice (albeit the hardest). Thanks, Sellers (WithAnN) 21:15, 5 October 2010 (BST)

That'll be good. I'll try to find the vector version of the current logo and spruce it up, twist it around a bit so it's less like the official one. This is the only vector version of the logo I've ever seen (painstakingly transcribed) so it is probably the best starting point. Thanks 1885, go ahead and create the google repository, the structure should be something like:

skins
|-brgsvector/
 |-default.css
 |-images.png/jpg
|-BRGSVector.deps.php
|-BRGSVector.php

mockups
|-images.png/jpg

resources
|-high_res_images.png and vector_work.svg etc.

I can provide the PHP. So it'll be possible to set up a separate test server, or use firebug on the brgswiki.org site to edit brgsvector/default.css (hopefully this will be able to reference local images if the security settings allow?). I'll create the vector prototype theme shortly and put it online so firebug edits in the right place. We should probably start with mockup images of ideas before diving into coding...

We might be able to invert the Vector theme and change the colours a bit to match a dark blue. Darker colours are generally a bit harder to get right for web pages, especially when Vector is so light. The current theme is reminiscent of the main BRGS site, but that also badly needs a redesign, so I have no particular attachment to that colour scheme. Clizard 22:07, 5 October 2010 (BST)

I can set up a test wiki if you want me to! Shall I set up the Google Code project or just leave it as-is? I like the dark blue idea by the way. I think the current logo looks good! ¹⁸⁸⁵

Yeah let's do that, it'll be easier to edit on a separate project. Clizard

Just realized that Assembla will not do what I need it to. Aagh! I've switched to google code project hosting for now - link ishere. Just sorting out the directory setup (as recommended by Clizard) - will update ¹⁸⁸⁵ }

I would love to help out, but my coding skills are non-existant, if you want to teach me I'll happily get involved but if not I'll just stay around here clearing up the place, and allow you two to concentrate on the theme. Any other help? Let me know! Thanks BRGSMan ^{talk - contribs} 18:39, 7 October 2010 (BST)

I don't really mind the appearance of this site. I find that it is the contents that matters. Dangerousx 22:21, 5 October 2010 (BST)

Contact

There are several ways to contact the moderators:

• Moderation Requests: Any problems you need help with just post here and we'll be happy to help.
• The Senior Moderator's talk pages: See here for Clizard, here for Chris and here for BRGSMan. Other moderators can be found here.
• Email: Just send an email to
  Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination
  or BRGSMan at googlemail dot com (specifically for BRGSMan) and we'll reply as soon as we can (this is probably the method with the slowest reply, use it as a last resort!).
• Facebook: Just post a message on the BRGSWiki facebook group: [1] or on BRGSMan's wall: [2] and we'll get back to you.

Suggestions

The main suggestions page is here

Red Links

• What is our policy on red linking? It's just that I notice that a lot more red linking has happened of late. Thanks, ¹⁸⁸⁵ (was Template:1885/Sig before BRGSMan noticed!)

Quite Ironic with the red link for the signature... Anyway, this has in fact been discussed before when Eve asked me about it here User talk:BRGSMan/archive, and all the replies and outcome were here: User talk:Eve. Feel free to add your opinion to the debate. Any other help? Let me know! Thanks BRGSMan ^{talk - contribs} 20:26, 6 October 2010 (BST)

Aagh!! I forgot to add User: in front of 1885. Will remember in future! Thanks - will have a look at those pages. ¹⁸⁸⁵

Just to let you know there is a way without having to type out the template everytime. Just use 4 tildes ~~~~ and it will come up with your signature automatically if you have it programmed in your preferences right. Test in the sandbox, if you want to try. If you get stuck just let me know! Any other help? Let me know! Thanks BRGSMan ^{talk - contribs} 20:33, 6 October 2010 (BST)

Up until recently I have been using the four tildes but it now displays a code box with my signature inside it since we upgraded to the latest version of MediaWiki. I haven't had chance to sort it out yet - I'll have a look at it now though. Thanks, ¹⁸⁸⁵

Mr Clark(e)

• Is Mr Clark (PE teacher) spelt Clark or Clarke? Currently he has a page called Mr Clark, within this page he is called Mr Clarke. A few people have been changing his name to Clarke. Does anyone know how it is actually Spelt? Dangerousx 21:03, 6 October 2010 (BST)

Just checked my timetable and it says 'Clarke' so I will change it now. Any other help? Let me know! Thanks BRGSMan ^{talk - contribs} 21:09, 6 October 2010 (BST)

• Happy Editing!

102,000+ views

I'd just like to say well done to all users on this wiki because (as of the 14th of October at 17:55) we have received over 102,000 views! Celebration Time!!! ¹⁸⁸⁵

MNotice Board Posts

Just got linked to the MNotice Board page by BRGSMan, and thought I might share a few points:

• Firstly, does it need to be admin only? I mean, a lot of people on the wiki have opinions, and I think that having people talking behind our backs isn't the best policy for a community based wiki.
• Secondly, a point from the page; Didn't you guys make Campon an admin before? If i can remember correctly, you put him on trial after he had been asking for ages, and then didn't do anything. I know it's only fair to give him a second chance 'n' all, but even in the post on the Notice Board, Clizard talked about DangerousX and 1885, but not about Campon. Is he really needed as an admin?

Sorry if I'm ranting a bit, and sorry if I'm offending Campon, but just needed to get that out. Thanks, Sellers (WithAnN) 14:46, 27 October 2010 (BST)

Hi SellersWithAnN,

I understand your concerns. The idea of the notice board is for admins to discuss admin topics (ie who becomes an admin). Clizard however has mentioned about moving it to the community portal and I expect that to happen in the near future. Any other help? Let me know! Thanks BRGSMan ^{talk - contribs} 15:04, 27 October 2010 (BST)

The MNotice board page is fairly well advertised so I wouldn't call it talking behind anyone's back, but I completely agree that it should be here, along with all the other disparate discussion pages linked in. I was just highlighting a couple of specific points, not an exhaustive list of the merits of each person. Clizard 17:57, 27 October 2010 (BST)