Forum:Changes to rules and policies for 2013

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So, 2012 is a good year. Halo 4 came out. The end of the world is postponed yet again ("aww!"). And we will soon step into 2013 (as of this writing).

With that said, I think it's a good time for another roundup of changes to the wiki's rules and policies, as well as introducing new ones if anyone thinks we lack something that would improve the wiki. Before we put our thinking hats on, I think it would be best to revisit the changes we've implemented so far.

Changes in 2012

The wiki's Manual of Style received a significant update from its previous significant update in 2010. We've introduced standards identifying the preferred writing styles and best of practice for editing. Clarity and consistency becomes two major focus for these changes and it's nice to see these being implemented in articles.

The Canon policy also received a significant update. Not only it has incorporated all the canon interpretation issues Halopedians have discussed on talk pages, it is clearer than its 2010 revision. Best of all, it educates readers on how to interpret canon. Fun stuff, education is.

FAQ is new to the wiki... well, not really. That's a lie. FAQs have been thrown around the wiki since its inception. The project page simply consolidates all of these into one page, making it easier for everyday users to check on the common questions. It's not complete yet, since we're still missing our official User Manual to assist users new to wiki-editing. On top of that, we also introduced Ask Us Anything?!! to assist Halo fans with general questions regarding the Halo franchise.

Sure, enforcement of these changes has been rocky but they will be knocked into your brain sooner or later. Last thing we need is the Cabal to enforce it and, mind you, we don't want that now, do we? :)

Changes for 2013

2013 marks a new year for Halopedia. The wiki is approaching into its ninth year of operation, all thanks to Halopedians and the rest of the Halo community. With every new year, I think it is fitting to make a few changes here and there to improve the wiki in preparation of 2014 (while sticking true to "if it's not broken, don't fix it" and "always one step ahead" principles).

So, this is the list of changes that should be made to the wiki's rules and policies. Table works best to illustrate the changes.

Title	Changes/Comments
Policies on images and image usage: Project:Image policy Halopedia:Copyrights Help:Images	Proposal: Stricter copyright enforcement: There is a growing concern (in my opinion, that is) that the site lacks copyright control over the images uploaded to the wiki. "Nuu, copyright sux!" one might say. Legal stuff is srs biz, I'm afraid. To start with, I would propose making use of Information template in every file. In addition to this, I would suggest updating the policies (listed on the left column) to reflect this requirement. There are two tools that you can use to search for images. The first is through Special:Newfiles, which lists files recently uploaded to the wiki. The other one is Special:Filelist, which lists files according to users. Not a repository of images: We seem to have more and more files now. I noticed this activity increasing even more since I updated the Linkbox template (great template, btw. Please use it). In addition to the above bullet-point, I would suggest that users/editors should only upload the images only when it is necessary to do so. Sure, having an image readily available in an article would be nice but one should keep in mind that just because we could do so (doing so, as in uploading said file) doesn't mean we should.
Introducing the "Ultimate, yet amazingly simple guide to editing" Otherwise known as "Dummies guide to wiki editing" and "User manual"
Layout standards: Project:Layout guide Project:Manual of Style	Proposal: Separation between in-universe and out-universe info: It is a good practice to separate gameplay information from canon information. It is a better practice to drill this practice into every user's brain/head/memory/subconscious (kidding, or am I?). For example, it has been repeated shown that the MA5B has good accuracy in the novels but not so much in actual gameplay. Another example is specifying effective ranges for weapons using "short to medium" or "long" range(s). What constitutes "short to medium" in the canon universe? Let it be drilled into user's brain/head/memory/subconscious (I kid... or am I?) that 343i is not known for consistency and that they love treating gameplay info as canon info (best example, Halo Encyclopaedia). Color-specific: working on it! Referencing MoS: The MoS must be referred back whenever one uses the Layout guide for reference on editing articles. The best way to ensure new editors to remember this is to provide clear and simple text.
Will be updated soon

What changes do you think should be added/removed? — subtank 10:21, 20 December 2012 (EST)

Comments

Don't have any suggestions of my own to make, but I will say I'm in favor of the above proposed changes.--Spartacus ^{Talk • Contribs} 12:21, 20 December 2012 (EST)

Sound like these changes would be headed to the right places, though more detail would be good. And for some of us, the 21st hasn't come yet... Tuckerscreator^(stalk) 13:15, 20 December 2012 (EST)

Probably a little late, but isn't there a way of altering the MediaWiki coding to force a template to appear, should nobody select any copyright status? Figured I might as well comment for once.-- Forerunner 22:35, 1 January 2013 (EST)

I think there is. I saw several wikis requiring users to fill up a copyright form (in the sense that what type of copyright category would it fall in, source of the file, etc) before uploading the file. — subtank 03:03, 7 January 2013 (EST)

I'll be adding a survey up at the end of the month, which would probably run till the end of February. :) — subtank 05:15, 19 January 2013 (EST)