Input from site users soughtFollow

This was posted at the end of the old Sticky "Forum Information and Useful Threads" by Railus, but isn't garnering attention so I figured a new thread would be worth a try:



Edited, Oct 8th 2015 11:07pm by snailish

We're at the stage of the game where everything needs to be archived and tagged, but not necessarily stickered on the front page. Not one scrap of information should be deleted or delinked.

There's lots of info on the wiki, but the advanced search function is locked behind a paywall. Please, for goodness sakes, unlock the search function so people like me can help restore some order. I've found information at archive.org that originated here, but seems unavailable to allak users now. That doesn't seem like a good thing, does it?

I made these wiki pages and filled all the content including custom made images, but it doesn't earn me anything - like special wiki search access - as far as the site administrators are concerned. Wiki-volunteer karma. I want some.

Everquest Mapping Standards

Maps and Cartography


Edited, Oct 9th 2015 11:33am by Trappin

I'm not looking to have mapping pages sticky'd as useful links, so remove that stuff, please. No one is interested in the finer points of cartography unless they mistakenly bork height filters and find it impossible to navigate using the in-game map window. I talked past your point and began listing things that I find annoying on the wiki. My bad. Locking a wiki search function behind a paywall defeats the purpose of what the term "wiki" has come to mean: open source user generated organized data.

The following front page sticky links

- Gates of Discord overview
- Omens of War overview
- Dragons of Norrath overview
- Depths of Darkhollow Progression
- Prophecy of Ro overview
- Serpent’s Spine overview
- The Buried Sea wiki entry
- Secrets of Faydwer wiki entry
- Seeds of Destruction Progression
- Underfoot Progression
- House of Thule Progression
- Veil of Alaris Progression
- Rain of Fear Progression
- Call of the Forsaken Progression
- The Darkened Sea Progression [/ul]

Should be changed to something like:

Progression
Overview

It all needs proper archiving tags/syntax and logical structure and a main category wiki page - whatever library science archival protocol dictates. I'm not an archivist so I don't know the best way to sort, link, tag, name,and then present data for casual end users. One link per category rules them all.

https://everquest.allakhazam.com/search.html?q=progression#Wiki
https://everquest.allakhazam.com/search.html?q=eq+progression

The following should be on a forum main page sticky:

Search term: armor sets = https://everquest.allakhazam.com/search.html?q=armor+sets

Results are a scary mess.

Search term: tradeskill = https://everquest.allakhazam.com/search.html?q=tradeskill#Wiki

Gosh.

Search term trophy: https://everquest.allakhazam.com/search.html?q=trophy#Wiki

Ugh



Edited, Oct 10th 2015 11:14am by Trappin

Thanks for the input Trappin, I'm going to bounce some thoughts in response:



Revised in the "proposed version" post.



I see the logic in your suggestion, but you identify the problem:



The problem being the current gaps in the wiki (just in reference to expac progression overviews). I totally agree that a single page (acting like a table of contents) of "Everquest Content Progression by Era" would be a much better single link in the sticky on the forum. I'm not a wiki guy... I can ghettoize a workaround perhaps, but if a wiki-person wanted to create this properly I would be happy to link that instead of the big list of expac names (that is incomplete...). I may just attempt the workaround anyways and just replace the link with a better wiki version/solution should it ever be made.



Is the suggestion that someone should write a wiki article (or articles) that encompasses the information those searches should top-rank, or are you asking for those searches to be included in the sticky? [asking as a clarification].


Edited, Oct 10th 2015 11:59pm by snailish

I'm suggestion there should be an Armor Sets by era link in the main page sticky which directs users to a page listing all known armor sets - lets say links on that new category page point to chest/robe pieces - sans all the rubbish results like "EQ mob Orcish Armorer" or sundry EQ item links.

Example:

Progression
Overview
Expansions
Armor Sets
Tradeskills
Spells
Class
Race
Advancement Achievements
Hotbar Macros
Clickies

I seriously doubt low level users can change some of the root naming conventions and how the server(s) handle wiki data - I don't know jargon for this stuff. I know one convention; admins prefer category labels something like Category:Armor Sets (EQ) so when results are displayed they don't show things for EQ2 or EQ Next. I simply don't understand programming and am a bit leery about creating a bunch of new wiki links lest they all be structurally improper.

This is two projects, one that would be as much for current users as it would be for lack of a better word - archival posterity - kinda putting EQ knowledge to bed in a way.


Check this:
https://everquest.allakhazam.com/search.html?q=Category%3A+Progression+%28EQ%29

https://everquest.allakhazam.com/wiki/Category:Bludwyng's_EQ_Templates


Note the "EQ Template Users Guide" link in the list? Yeah, there doesn't even seem to be a main page for Allakhazam wiki knowledge here. There's a few articles written by an admin, but where's the main page?



Edited, Oct 11th 2015 1:58pm by Trappin

Thanks Trappin, that is clearer to me.

I think you are correct in how the wiki could be more usefully organized to provide this information. I don't know how much the wiki is being worked on, but appearances are that contribution varies. I interpret your "But eh." comment as "but who is going to wrestle with all this wiki formatting and content creation"? Frankly, the fact that there are already gaps in things like progression overviews and a lack of information on topics including several of the iconic classic content expansions suggests to me that no one is going to do this. I'd love to be wrong about that.

In the meantime, the consolidation/updating of the useful threads & forum info FAQ sticky will have to stick with things that exist in some sort of existing as a draft state. Maybe identifying some of these needs will get some contributions flowing. I'd suggest that anyone creating a new article on the EQ wiki tell us with a forum update what they have put in --tell us to have a look.


edit: posted the "ghettoized" workaround to streamline the progression of each expansion section. Edited this in the proposed version earlier in the thread.

Edited, Oct 11th 2015 8:57pm by snailish