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. 1358 ^(Talk) 11:40, January 22, 2012 (UTC)

Hey everyone,

I've been tossing around ideas in my head for something like this for a while. I figure it's better to post those ideas here and see if anybody else is on board.

A couple of really cool things happened at Wookieepedia last year --- Grand Admiral Week and Gotal Week (more on them below if you're unfamiliar with them). Neither were any sort of official project, but they were fun endeavors that brought members of the community together and resulted in a number of status articles each. A lot of their charm, I think, came from their impromptu nature, but nevertheless, I'd like to duplicate them and make them into some sort of semi-official and regular thing.

The working, if utterly terrible, title is "The Tetra-monthly barn-burner." I'd like members of the Wookieepedia community to get together every four months and choose a theme that we can all write some articles on and nominate for FA, GA, or CA status. The theme could be anything, from Trandoshans to Rogue Squadron pilots to Spectacles-wearers --- we could make it as serious or as ridiculous as we wanted, as long as there was a common theme linking all of the articles we intended to write. The only limitation I'd suggest would be to make it so that it isn't something already covered by an official Wookieeproject, such as "KOTOR characters." Rather than making this an official Project, I think we could keep it fun yet still organized by limiting it to the Senate Hall. Every three months we could make a thread where we propose and choose ideas, and then keep it as our headquarters where people can sign up for articles, request sources and pre-noms, and generally help each other out.

I think that four months is a good stretch of time --- anyone interested in participating could do their own thing in terms of writing and nomming articles for four months straight, and then take a fun breather by doing something different and participating in the project here. I think that this would have many benefits --- it would bring the community together, allow us to work together and share tips on article-writing and editing, would produce a number of status articles, and would allow us to do more themed weeks on the main page if we get enough FA's out of any one barn-burner. Basically, it would be a way for us to pool our efforts and work as a united community toward a fun and positive goal.

Anyone interested? Anyone have any ideas on how to improve it? I'd love to be able get the first barn-burner going for May. As some examples of themes we could do: I propose that the first one be Wookiees, in order to give Wookieepedia some more eponymous status articles. :D We could do Tarfful, Vargi, the three dudes in the Welcome message image, and tons more. Another neat one would be "less famous members of famous families" --- I think that pooling our efforts to do Ryoo Naberrie, Pooja Naberrie, Sola Naberrie, Cliegg Lars, Gredda Lars, Lef Lars, Jonash Solo, etc, would be wonderful.

And... that's basically it. What do you guys think? Menkooroo 14:55, April 15, 2011 (UTC)

Wait, what were Grand Admiral and Gotal week?Edit

About a year ago, various users wrote and FAN'd a buncha Grand Admirals; I think it was based on a random idea in IRC or something. All of the completed FA's were later showcased on Wookieepedia's main page back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-more backs in what was dubbed "Grand Admiral week." While they were being showcased, a bunch of us users, for no reason at all, started writing CANs and GANs on Gotals. A number of people jumped on the bandwagon, and Nayayen even wrote a FAN. Most of the Gotals seen here were fruit from that project's tree. Menkooroo 14:55, April 15, 2011 (UTC)

Let's talk about this idea!Edit

Yeah, let's do it! Menkooroo 14:55, April 15, 2011 (UTC)

• I like it! Makes editing more fun. MasterFred^(Whatever) 16:22, April 15, 2011 (UTC)
  • I say we FA Chewbacca for WookieeWeek! Make it a community wide endeavor. Users sign up for different sections of the article, and we knock it out in no time! Just a thought. MasterFred^(Whatever) 17:04, April 15, 2011 (UTC)
• I honestly really like this idea, for two main reasons: First, it promotes status article writing, which in itself is awesome. And second, if it fails, then all that happens is that no one uses it; it won't actually hurt the site in any way. I am kinda doubtful that mass attempts by several users to nominate larger articles like Chewbacca will be successful, but I don't have anything against people giving it a try. So here's where you throw in the "why not?" principle. Let's do it! Jonjedigrandmaster ^(Talk) 18:16, April 15, 2011 (UTC)
  • Meh, the reason I picked Chewbacca is because, besides the recent Clone Wars episode, nothing new is really being released on him, as for as I know. MasterFred^(Whatever) 18:29, April 15, 2011 (UTC)
    • I was referring to mass-multi-user efforts on all large articles in general. IIRC, the site tried something like that in the past, and it died out. That's why I'm skeptical that that would work. However, I think the idea of encouraging everybody to write by promoting a certain subject can work—and like I said, I don't see how either idea would hurt the site. Jonjedigrandmaster ^(Talk) 18:33, April 15, 2011 (UTC)
      • You must be referring to the Improvement Drive. MasterFred^(Whatever) 18:38, April 15, 2011 (UTC)
        • Wasn't a reason for the eventual withdrawal of the ID that edit conflicts would arise from people editing one article? Menkooroo's suggestion (which is epic) is more about improving a specific topic, which would be several articles and not just one thus reducing edit conflicts. You could still have collaborations on one of those articles but people can choose different articles in the topic (like "Gotal Week"). NAYAYEN^{—it appears to be a frammistat} 19:27, April 15, 2011 (UTC)
          • Wow, seems like every single post of mine so far has been misinterpreted in one way or another. :P Allow me to clarify: I completely and wholeheartedly support this whole idea. I specifically stated that the only aspect I wasn't sure would work is the mass-multi-user attempts to write single articles—something that was explicitly suggested above by both Menk and Master Fred. However, I also said that I wouldn't be against it anyway, because it can't do any actual harm. Furthermore, I'm perfectly aware that this is more about everyone improving articles related to a specific topic—I acknowledged that quite clearly in both of my earlier posts and supported it quite explicitly both times. So, hopefully we're all on the same page now. :P Jonjedigrandmaster ^(Talk) 04:39, April 16, 2011 (UTC)
• I honestly love this idea. It's fresh and simple and fun. And all-inclusive. Anyone can suggest a topic, or participate in writing. Darth Trayus^{(Trayus Academy)} 20:26, April 15, 2011 (UTC)
• Sure, why not. 1358 ^(Talk) 20:29, April 15, 2011 (UTC)
• I also say, "Why not?" My one beef with the plan here is that it kind of removes the randomness and unpredictability of the "X Week" idea. If you look at both Grand Admiral Week and Gotal Week, they were both just sort of declared with no great forethought beforehand. If we set up some sort of nomination page, we'll get dozens of ideas posted simultaneously, lots of voting up and voting down, and lots of, well, regularization. So, why not leave "X Week" up to randomness? Perhaps whoever happens to be on IRC on the day before the announcement can hash out ideas there. Maybe the theme can be chosen by the three Wookieepedians of the Month from the previous quarter (in private, like email or something) and then announced. Maybe we can all put ideas into a virtual hat somewhere and then have one chosen at random on the day of. In other words, great idea; let's not make it another process like "Quote of the day" and cetera... ~Savage 00:33, April 16, 2011 (UTC)
• Sounds like a fun idea. I'm on board. IFYLOFD ^{(Floyd's crib)} 00:37, April 16, 2011 (UTC)
  • My only problem with all that (from SB, sorry edit conflict) is that it creates a certain level of exclusivity for something so casual. I'm of the "make a SH thread where people can post and talk about fun topics to work on" persuasion. But I'm good with whatever floats everybody's boat. Darth Trayus^{(Trayus Academy)} 00:40, April 16, 2011 (UTC)
    • No, I agree: having something casual is what I was hoping for. I just don't want to see another page that looks like QotD or what have you. Unless there was some element of randomization, maybe? ~Savage 00:48, April 16, 2011 (UTC)
      • I'm all for random. Perhaps a SH page for discussion then the week before we put the most popular discussion items into a randomization thingy or virtual hat like you said? Darth Trayus^{(Trayus Academy)} 00:56, April 16, 2011 (UTC)

Let's talk topics!Edit

• I'm good for whatever voting procedure everybody thinks is best. On that note, let's get some suggestions for the first barn-burner! I already threw Wookiees into the pot, but let's see some other contenders! Anything is fair game. We can work out how we're going to select after a bunch of suggestions are made, but I don't anticipate it'll be any sort of serious issue. If you like somebody else's idea, definitely voice your support of it, and that way we can get an idea of which ideas are widely liked --- hopefully, we could even just be like "So, everybody seems to like this idea... are we cool doing it this time?" Menkooroo 15:16, April 16, 2011
  • Aliases, in memory of that no concensus CT we had to remove them forever. How about politicians? Everyone loves them. Holocron ^(Complain) 18:48, April 16, 2011 (UTC)
    • Wookiees would be cool; there are plenty to choose from. Another idea might be astromechs. ~Savage 19:25, April 16, 2011 (UTC)
      • What Holocron said: politians. Ergo, Senators, perfect for us. NAYAYEN^{—it appears to be a frammistat} 19:46, April 16, 2011 (UTC)
• I'm naturally inclined to support the politicians idea, but I think Wookiees would be a great way to start this off. Menk's right: we do have far too few Wookiee status articles. Darth Trayus^{(Trayus Academy)} 22:05, April 16, 2011 (UTC)
• Great idea, Menk. This is the kind of thing that I hoped might be achieved by a Featured topic acknowledgement, but we got bogged down in whether a topic needed to be complete. I would be keen to see a topic be members of the New Jedi Order. Especially with LOTJ, there are a bunch of minor NJO Jedi that are perfect material for CA and GA length. You will see that I started to track some of them on the same page as the Gotals: see Here. You, Menk, wrote Cheklev, QuiGonJinn wrote Nichos Marr, and I've whipped together three nameless CANs. There is still a huge number out there though. --Eyrezer 02:42, April 17, 2011 (UTC)
  • I like politicians, Astromechs, and NJO members. My next project is actually Markre Medjev, so concerning the latter, I'd be all set. :P Is everybody who wants to participate familiar enough with the post-ROTJ/NJO era that they'd be OK with it? Menkooroo 04:14, April 17, 2011 (UTC)
    • NJO Jedi could be fun too. There's a certain Ewok and Squib I have my eye on. ~Savage 05:43, April 17, 2011 (UTC)
      • I like NJO Jedi because it encompasses a number of eras and media --- it stretches from the New Republic era to the New Jedi Order era to Legacy of the Force to Fate of the Jedi to the Legacy comics. Aaaand maybe some Living Force campaigns, too? There are even nameless background characters from comics that are ripe for the CAN page. Community: Thoughts? Menkooroo 06:48, April 17, 2011 (UTC)
        • I'm not too familiar with the era because I have to read Accelerated Reader books durng school, and most Star Wars books aren't AR, but this could be a good time to learn. Maybe by the end of May I'll have enough AR point to suffice for the rest of the year and can read a couple NJO books. MasterFred^(Whatever) 13:55, April 17, 2011 (UTC)
          • Well, keep in mind that, like Menk said, NJO-era encompasses the Legacy series of comics too, so that might be somewhere to draw from if the novels are out of the question. :) ~Savage 16:42, April 17, 2011 (UTC)
            • Yeah, I'm not big on comics, though. :P Also, though it doesn't bother me, keep in mind that Menk suggested we not do subjects already covered by WookieeProjects, and we just recently added WP:NJO to the list, so... I personally don't mind doing topics already covered by projects. Just a thought. MasterFred^(Whatever) 17:29, April 17, 2011 (UTC)
              • Technically, NJO Jedi aren't completely covered by WP:NJO; the purpose of WP:NJO is to cover the OOU New Jedi Order publishing era, which is the NJO books, Dark Nest trilogy, and Invasion comics. "NJO Jedi", though, refers not the OOU publishing era, but to the in-universe New Jedi Order, which spans across the Legacy era as well (LOTF, FOTJ, and the Legacy comics). So yes, there is some overlap, but it doesn't completely fall under a single WookieeProject. Master Jonathan — ^{Jedi Council Chambers} _{Sunday, April 17, 2011, 18:40 UTC}
                • This is true. Like I said, I don't mind doing topics even if they are covered by projects. Also, I'm fine with any of the three topics suggested: Wookiees, Politicians, and NJO Jedi. If I had to pick one, I'd pick Politicians. Wookiees come in second. NJO Jedi: last. Also, just another suggestion, maybe we could do an OOU topic, like, say, Cast and Crew? MasterFred^(Whatever) 19:04, April 17, 2011 (UTC)
                  • Awesome idea. Personally, I'm not very familiar with NJO, LotF/FotJ stuff, but I do follow the Legacy comics, so I might write some Jedi from that series. As for suggestions regarding topics, I'd like to suggest writing "Major (And Not So Major) Character Clones, Impersonators and Other Doubles." Basically, stuff like Darth Vader (clone), Doppelgänger of Dooku, Xandel Carivus (clone), Grodin Tierce (clone), possibly a few others from Category:Human clones. I've been toying with this idea for a while, actually. Obviously, that would exclude clone troopers, 'cuz we've already got enough of those :P QuiGonJinn ^(Talk) 19:33, April 17, 2011 (UTC)
• Clones is actually a really cool idea. For May, though, it seems like NJO Jedi so far has support across the board, save for some misgivings on Master Fred's part. Is anybody damn opposed to it? Would anybody not participate if it were the topic? I think it's a really good idea, but if there's major hesitation, I'd be happy solidifying something like Wookiees, which also seemed to be well-received and would offer an incredibly broad variety of media to draw from. If there's general positivity, I say we go for it. Still plenty of time to offer ideas or to discuss ones that have already been floated. Menkooroo 15:38, April 18, 2011 (UTC)
  • I prefer Wooks over NJO members, out of my unfamiliarity with the latter. But, like QGJ, I could pull from a Legacy comic if need be. I'm not dead set against it. Darth Trayus^{(Trayus Academy)} 16:17, April 18, 2011 (UTC)
  • This is where we could debate and debate with no end in sight. I say someone (probably Menk, at least this time) just make a declaration: "We're doing [NJO/Wookiees/clones/whatever]!" Then we run with it. ~Savage 17:28, April 18, 2011 (UTC)
    • This is also the point where some randomization could be used to choose the topic. Maybe line 'em all up and roll a virtual die. :) And, incidentally, I don't think we should necessarily always go with the most popular idea anyway; I seriously doubt "Gotal Week" would have ever been chosen as a communal topic if it had been left to a popularity contest, and look how successful that was. Maybe a better approach would be for folks to throw out ideas, and barring any staunch opposition to them, throw them all in a hat and pick one. In short, I appreciate the consensus style we're going through at the moment, but I'm worried that in the future, less popular ideas will never see the light of day, and Gotal Week will have proven a one-off exception. ~Savage 17:34, April 18, 2011 (UTC)
      • That or people just randomly work on an article of similar genre to one they notice on the F/G/CAN and see how many people pick up on it. That would be more random. I have a hunch that the first group would be one of politicians/Wookiees/NJO Jedi/clones though :P NAYAYEN 17:49, April 18, 2011 (UTC)
        • There are already a few Wookiees on the GAN page, for sure. ~Savage 17:52, April 18, 2011 (UTC)
          • I have no opposition to any of the above suggestions. I just don't personally know much about the NJO yet. I agree with making the whole thing random and only excluding the topics that are clearly opposed to by multiple users. MasterFred^(Whatever) 19:08, April 18, 2011 (UTC)
            • Hokay, let's just do Wookiees. I agree with Bob that randomness will help increase the fun of future barn-burners, but for our first one let's go a little bit more... er, "mainstream," as it were, in order to provide a plentiful field to pick from and ensure that we start off with a bang.

I'll start the official thread for the first barn-burner within the next day, so that people can start thinking about who they want to write and can sign up for articles. Yeah, baby! Let's get this party started! Menkooroo 11:05, April 19, 2011 (UTC)