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#1 Oct 08 2015 at 9:05 PM Rating: Excellent
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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:

Quote:

The original post was just updated to reflect the last 6 years of comments more or less.

With the "Keys, Key quests and Flags up to PoP" thread now listed here there is a good chance (at some point) it becomes unstickied.

From my perspective there are some links listed here that don't rate "useful thread" status because they were originally put here for being the then-current endgame... example: Depths of Darkhollow progression. BUT... I want site user input please.

What do we want listed here (or taken out that currently is)? Feel free to post a link to a thread that you think should be here. If someone posts a good link please rate them up so we know the community agrees.

How do we want the information grouped (already getting a bit wall of textish with just "useful threads" and "site info" as the sorting rule)?

Lastly, at the end of this process shall I repost this as a "New 2015 version" so that there isn't dozens of replies spanning years?




I will let this sit for a few weeks and see what you all have to say. Thanks.


Edited, Oct 8th 2015 11:07pm by snailish
#2 Oct 08 2015 at 10:12 PM Rating: Excellent
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I love this site because it's the easiest way to find useful, organized info about stuff from years ago. I'm one of the casuals that gets to content WAY after it's current. I'd prefer to keep the info all there. Once the thread is loaded, a control-F search finds what you want quickly enough, anyway :)

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#3 Oct 09 2015 at 12:17 PM Rating: Excellent
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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
#4 Oct 09 2015 at 9:48 PM Rating: Excellent
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Here's a draft of what I am thinking based on input so far:

This thread has been compiled in 2015 and is based on the work of Railus and others with community input.

Useful Threads:

- The Zam EQ Wiki

General Game Information
- All About Mercenaries
- Monster Missions
- Tribute Information, Tribute Items, and More about Personal Tribute
- class specific sites (as of 2010)



Levelling Related Threads
- Hotzone wiki page
- Max Stats by Level and More About Stat Caps by Level
- Best Focus Effects up to level 75

Progression (era-specific threads)
- Focus Effects in the Classic World
- Keys, Key Quests, and Flags up to Planes of Power
- Progression Through Each EQ Expansion



Site Links:

- Registration Page
- Premium Info and Registration
- EverQuest 2 Forums
- Feedback Forum (site and forum feedback; bad thread reports; etc.)
- Out of Topic Forum
- The Asylum
- Forum Index Listing (a listing of all forums on the site)


About those ratings - to quote Allakhazam in the original Forum FAQ post:

Quote:
One thing I want to emphasize is the Karma system. If people start to use it, it should solve many of the complaints I see about anon posting. If you have received Scholar status of higher, you in effect become a limited forum admin. Please take advantage of this.

As you read through a thread, rate the best posts up and the worst posts down. Then when you get to the end, hit the rate posts button to enter your ratings. It only takes a couple people rating through a thread like that to move the dumb posts below the default viewing threshold and move the better posts up, which will eventually make those making the good posts able to rate as well.

Now just make sure you have your filter settings at "default" and not at "Never Filter". The default filter means that when you are on the main thread page, any thread where the lead is below 1.5 isn't even listed, and within a thread any post below that rating also disappears. If you choose to set your filter to "Never Filter", then I have to assume you want to see those types of posts.

We do moderate the forum as well, but only to get rid of the most outrageous posts. If people want to carry on a below the threshold flame war, then we won't interfere until it becomes indecent.



Edited, Oct 11th 2015 9:04pm by snailish
#5 Oct 10 2015 at 11:04 AM Rating: Excellent
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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
#6 Oct 10 2015 at 11:19 AM Rating: Excellent
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I to am a casual player who takes their time going through content. I like having old info available for me to read.
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#7 Oct 10 2015 at 9:30 PM Rating: Excellent
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Thanks for the input Trappin, I'm going to bounce some thoughts in response:

Trappin wrote:
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....


Revised in the "proposed version" post.

Trappin wrote:


...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


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

Trappin wrote:
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 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.

Trappin wrote:
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



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
#8 Oct 10 2015 at 9:56 PM Rating: Excellent
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tatankaseventh wrote:
I love this site because it's the easiest way to find useful, organized info about stuff from years ago. I'm one of the casuals that gets to content WAY after it's current. I'd prefer to keep the info all there. Once the thread is loaded, a control-F search finds what you want quickly enough, anyway :)

Tat


Geroblue wrote:
I to am a casual player who takes their time going through content. I like having old info available for me to read.


I specifically mentioned the "Depths of Darkhollow" link as it was an orphan --only expansion to have its progression in the sticky. My thought is if it (Darkhollow) stays in the sticky then all the other expacs should be there too. What may change (thanks to all the input so far) is the doorway to access that information via the sticky. As Trappin suggested a "Content progression" link may be a better way than a list of every expac ever. Thinking on that.

As far as the other useful threads go, unless something is supplanted by a superior version (which is quite possible if some people go on some wiki writing or forum based "guide" posting binges) all the links will be kept. A good example of this is the hotzone wiki page that took a ton of content from the post bbot started back in the day. If that wiki page didn't exist bbot's post would be the thing linked.

Is there anything else people think needs added --within the scope of a "useful threads & forum information FAQ" context?


#9 Oct 11 2015 at 2:19 PM Rating: Excellent
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Quote:
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].


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
#10 Oct 11 2015 at 3:32 PM Rating: Excellent
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Okay, all the Armor Sets (EQ) links should be placed at this preexisting page? The wiki link and the HTML link point to different locations. I've no idea why.

https://everquest.allakhazam.com/wiki/Category:Armor_Sets_(EQ)

I believe this is proper wiki structure with a main category page which includes a place for "Articles in category "Armor Sets (EQ)" Maybe?

Now all we need are category pages for all the other topics deemed worthy of main page sticky status. But eh.



Edited, Oct 11th 2015 2:37pm by Trappin
#11 Oct 11 2015 at 6:34 PM Rating: Excellent
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Trappin wrote:
Okay, all the Armor Sets (EQ) links should be placed at this preexisting page? The wiki link and the HTML link point to different locations. I've no idea why.

https://everquest.allakhazam.com/wiki/Category:Armor_Sets_(EQ)

I believe this is proper wiki structure with a main category page which includes a place for "Articles in category "Armor Sets (EQ)" Maybe?

Now all we need are category pages for all the other topics deemed worthy of main page sticky status. But eh.




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
#12 Oct 13 2015 at 2:02 PM Rating: Excellent
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Quote:
. I don't know how much the wiki is being worked on


The wiki sandbox page used to test formatting hasn't been touched since I used it in early 2013
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