Forum:SH:Mainpage Poll

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This page is an archive of a community-wide discussion. This page is no longer live. Further comments or questions on this topic should be made in a new Senate Hall page rather than here so that this page is preserved as a historic record. Toprawa and Ralltiir 07:50, February 25, 2012 (UTC)

Hi all,

I'm Mark, from Wikia's Content Team. With the upcoming release of Star Wars: The Old Republic, Wikia would like to add a simple, plain-text poll (using <poll>) to the mainpage to draw more attention to the game, and the game's article. Naturally we won't do this without the permission of the community, so I am hereby asking for permission to add it. You can check out the current design and code below, and if you would like to see any changes made to the poll, please say so and I'll gladly change it. The poll will be added to the left rail (adding it to the right rail is possible too) inside a seperate box, below the "Did you know" box.

If you guys like the idea, we could also add a poll which changes weekly/monthly, like the RuneScape Wiki. These sorts of polls have proven to be very succesful, so I think it would be a great addition to the mainpage. Mark (talk) 15:29, November 21, 2011 (UTC)

Here's the code: 

|-
<!---------------------------------
 Poll
----------------------------------->
! class="nounderlinelink plainlinks" style="background-color: #D8E9FC; font-size: 1.1em; text-align: left; padding: 0px" | {{Rt|#D8E9FC|#ffffff}}<span style="padding-left: 7px">[[File:Wp-dyk.png]] '''Poll'''</span>{{Rb|#D8E9FC|#ffffff}}
|-
| style="font-size: 0.9em" |
<poll>Are you going to be playing Star Wars: The Old Republic?
Yes
No
</poll>
|}

Examples, click to enlarge:

Wikia

Monobook

Discussion

  • Per what was seen here, I'm going to be against it. I appreciate your ideas that you've brought to us, and asking the community's thoughts on it. But for my two cents, I'd say no. In the past, we have always strayed away from polls and the like since we're an encyclopedia and the biggest and most valid source of Star Wars information on the web. We're not Facebook, to put it bluntly. I would rather suggest that the proposition be given to The Old Republic Wiki instead, if it hasn't already been done. Or, perhaps we can add it to WP:TOR, if Dark Lord Trayus agrees. That way, it wouldn't be on our main page, and it would still be an area where people could vote. Well, for what it's worth, that's my thoughts on it.--Cal JediInfinite Empire (Personal Comm Channel) 15:47, November 21, 2011 (UTC)
    • Btw, it can be seen in Monobook at User:Xd1358/test. 1358 (Talk) 15:55, November 21, 2011 (UTC)
      • Fwiw, I'm not totally against it. However, Cal raises some good points. 1358 (Talk) 16:02, November 21, 2011 (UTC)
        • One of the most important purposes of the poll would be to also reach the actual visitors of the site, in stead of just the experienced editors who participate in WikiProjects. Also, in my opinion polls serve a better purpose than a user of the month or a random quote, and allows for far more engagement with the visitors of the wiki, that generally probably don't even read the UotM. Mark (talk) 21:22, November 21, 2011 (UTC)
          • I'm going to be completely honest, so if I step on somebody's toes, please don't take offense. I don't mind the general idea of polls on the main page. It might be kind of fun for the readers of Wookieepedia. What I fear most, is what it might lead to. Call me over-cautious, or whatever you want, but I fear that it will lead to more ideas that will soon turn Wookieepedia into a Facebook type Wiki. We've seen it happen on Wikis before. They've become more of a fan club for whatever subject than an actual serious database of information. Wookieepedians have worked very hard over the years to reach the level of reliability and comprehensiveness that we have gained. This Wiki is not perfect, no Wiki is. That's why we have editors. My point, is that we may "OK" the polls now, but then later "OK" something else that will degenerate Wookieepedia. I'm not trying to be a pessimist, but the fact is (as I said before), is that Wookieepedia is an encyclopedia. We've had many people (especially EU authors such as Timothy Zahn, Jason Fry, etc.) say that they rely to Wookieepedia to keep their stories canon. While trying not to sound melodramatic, we have a bigger impact on Star Wars fiction than I think we realize. I'm getting way off topic now, but my bottom line is that I, along with I'm sure many other users, are very wary of changes like this. Not to sound rude to Wikia, many of us are wary of any new changes like this, as can be seen here. I'm sorry for droning on and getting off topic a bit. But I wanted to share my view on this. Thank you.--Cal JediInfinite Empire (Personal Comm Channel) 22:19, November 21, 2011 (UTC)
  • As a quick comment: I'm moderately positive on the suggestion, and I don't believe it would be unprofessional. Hey, if it brings new faces and otherwise increased attention to the quality and comprehensive records of information from the game, it would be great. (: – Tm_T@Wookieepedia:~$ 17:05, November 21, 2011 (UTC)
  • In what sense does the phrase "proven to be successful" mean? How are you gauging that? I'm not being skeptical, I am honestly wondering if there is some specific metric that your referring to. If it's a worthwhile one, that could be a selling point. DD97Which bear is best? 18:19, November 21, 2011 (UTC)
    • Each of their polls gets thousands of votes each month, even though it's just at the bottom right of their mainpage. As anonymous editors generally don't read the forums, using a poll on the mainpage could therefore be a great way to ask visitors about an opinion, instead of just the experienced editors. Mark (talk) 21:17, November 21, 2011 (UTC)
      • I read wookieepedia most days but very rarely edit and as long as its doesn't interfere with other features i would like to see a poll. Like it's been said its something to encourage new visitors. 95.144.98.38 21:32, November 21, 2011 (UTC)
  • I don't like it for purely aesthetic reasons. It doesn't look great in the monobook test that Xd did. Beyond that, I don't see it as degrading, but I don't think it's necessary. We have a facebook page that is designed to perform this kind of community outreach. Regardless, we can't make the decision here. If anyone would like to make a serious proposal, it needs to be approved via a CT vote. Darth Trayus(Trayus Academy) 22:54, November 21, 2011 (UTC)
    • It can be styled if we wanted, so aesthetics isn't a problem. (: – Tm_T@Wookieepedia:~$ 06:49, November 22, 2011 (UTC)
      • Trayus: I suggested MarkvA come here first to gather some general response and ideas for styling before going to TC. Seems like it could be ironed out here better.
        Tm: I'm not sure how far <poll> can be formatted. The tag itself seems to not respond to any sort of styling, but maybe you could do something outside it. 1358 (Talk) 13:18, November 22, 2011 (UTC)
  • I don't see why it'd be a problem. I agree, we need to be engaging with more users, drawing in new blood. Polls are good for that potentially, functioning much the same way as our yearly Mr. and Mrs. Star Wars contests, for example. ~SavageBOB sig 00:32, November 22, 2011 (UTC)
  • Although I expressed a strong opinion to the contrary last month, several comments here have convinced me that this could be a good way to draw in new users. Given the limited width, though, I think it would fit better in the right column. Master Jonathan — Jedi Council Chambers Tuesday, November 22, 2011, 01:19 UTC
  • I'm not totally against it. I do agree with Jonathan. It would look much better in the right column. I also feel that the fact that we are an encyclopedia does not mean we can't be a little interactive. Having a poll doesn't make us less professional or encyclopedic. MasterFredCommerce Guild(Whatever) 05:30, November 22, 2011 (UTC)
    • Yeah, I suggested the left column originally since it seems shorter on my laptop. Of course, that's just me. I have no personal preference, though. 1358 (Talk) 13:18, November 22, 2011 (UTC)
  • As co-founder, I think I can say that while this seems beneficial, it does not on the Main Page. (Plus from what I viewed on the subpage, it's a horrid waste of pagespace.) Again, beyond where we stand as a successful wiki already, what does it give back to us, besides additional attention? Some smaller wikis could sure use the attention, and I hardly think we need to wave our arms back and forth for that. I know we have our jokes and whatnot throughout our history, but overall the wiki is an encyclopedic reference that both fans and creators of the material that exists here access. Because of this, we do retain some standard by banning YouTube videos, most GIF animations (unless they happen to illustrate an article), and polls. Additionally we've determined what skin and browser the site is best viewed in for the purposes of keeping things simple and hassle-free. If you want us to ask questions and poll the audience, it only takes me five seconds to go to the Wookieepedia fan page on Facebook to do so in a post, without altering the form of the Main Page dramatically. I'm sure of the 7,000 or so fans there, we're likely to get some response. -- Riffsyphon1024 08:17, November 22, 2011 (UTC)
  • Personally, I'm neutral on the idea. I don't really care for most polls on Wikis in general, and rarely participate myself, but I've seen a significant number of others get involved. I wouldn't mind it if we did decide to include a poll on the main page, but I don't feel as though we'd suffer without one. As several people have noted, Wookieepedia's Facebook page already offers the same option to the more casual fans who are primarily readers, less active in editing, and more likely to be interested in participating in polls in the first place. Bella'Mia 08:39, November 22, 2011 (UTC)
    • And a response to the question I just posted some 15 minutes ago. 11 responses, 10 likes, about 3 said no or iffy with the rest ecstatic. I think you have a fair grasp of the interest just right there. -- Riffsyphon1024 08:47, November 22, 2011 (UTC)
      • Ah, forgot facebook as I try to avoid it. Does facebook poll require signing up or is it free for "anonymous" too? (: – Tm_T@Wookieepedia:~$ 08:51, November 22, 2011 (UTC)
        • There's no need for an actual poll. I just asked the audience and they responded. However since it's still Facebook, it requires an account with a name. But why hide? -- Riffsyphon1024 09:58, November 22, 2011 (UTC)
          • Heh, I wasn't asking of anonymous voting because of hiding, but the fact that it would lower the step to participate (not to say, I don't allow facebook cookies and thus login on any of my main browsers). Indeed, I don't either think we _need_ a poll. (: – Tm_T@Wookieepedia:~$ 12:28, November 22, 2011 (UTC)
            • Yeah, and to clarify, at this point, there are still so many people on Facebook, that a majority of the people who comment would be those that might just view the wiki without editing, or edit anonymously. To that, I don't feel that we are excluding that much of the viewership. -- Riffsyphon1024 02:14, November 23, 2011 (UTC)
We might have a Facebook page with 7000 fans, yea. But that's not a fraction of the users that actually view the mainpage. Wookieepedia gets 69000 unique visitors each day, and most of them actually check out the mainpage. And even if we have 7000 fans, most fans will never even vote on the poll, and the poll will disappear from their feed after a day or so, whereas the poll will be on the mainpage a week or longer. Mark (talk) 15:19, November 26, 2011 (UTC)
If we have 69,000 unique visitors each day, we don't need a poll. You said that the point of the poll was to bring new users in and get them to look around. If we already have 69,000 visitors, it doesn't seem necessary to add this poll. I see no advantage to it.--Cal JediInfinite Empire (Personal Comm Channel) 22:26, November 26, 2011 (UTC)
I don't want to sound like I'm pressing the point further than it already has been, but like Cal and Riff, I can't see any benefits to having a poll on the main page. I haven't been convinced by any above arguments that this is an appropriate, useful, or necessary form to draw in new users, nor do I believe that it's worth the effort. CC7567 (talk) 22:30, November 26, 2011 (UTC)