Talk:Main Page

This is the place for discussions about the wiki in general instead of the game or specific pages. If your topic isn't already present, click here.

Admin power?

Hey Mintyogi i sent you a message on theblockheads forums. im ready to make the skin for you, i just need admin power so i can start editing the css.

@rampage I set you up. See the pm on the forum for details.--Admin (talk) 08:45, 31 January 2013 (MST)

Hey, I was wondering since I seem to be doing a lot of the edits and adding content, if I can also get Admin rights. It would really help in certain places. Cdrras (talk) 18:00, 6 February 2013 (MST)

Done and thanks!--MintYogi (Admin) (talk) 23:00, 7 February 2013 (MST)

Thanks! It sure helps out a lot! Cdrras (talk) 06:59, 8 February 2013 (MST)

Templates

Are there plans for adding page templates? (e.g. Items: intro, description, found where, uses, see also)

I haven't planned any specific templates. Feel free to add them where they make sense. --Admin (talk) 08:44, 31 January 2013 (MST)

I was going to ask the same thing the other day and just ran out of time. It would be very useful to have them and would make things a lot easier. I definitely think a template for an Infobox is a high priority. I think it would be beneficial to have infoboxes for things like blocks, tools, materials/items, etc. Cdrras (talk) 10:04, 31 January 2013 (MST)

Ok, I went ahead and got a Template started for the Blocks. See Template:Block Infobox. Feel free to expand on it if needed since I wasn't sure what information may be useful on them. It will at least get us started. Anyways I will get some others started in the next few days and hopefully start populating the pages. Cdrras (talk) 13:18, 31 January 2013 (MST)

Looks great and I'm happy to help get them populated. What's your technique for capturing the images? I don't want to add any unless they're consistent with your great looking images. --MintYogi (Admin) (talk) 09:58, 1 February 2013 (MST)

I'm capturing the images by taking screenshots and then just transferring them over. Once transferred over, I use Pixlr or Photoshop (depending where I am at) to crop them to size. For the icons (items/materials/tools/etc. as they appear in your inventory) I have been making them 75x75 and then in the infoboxes they get resized to 40px. The blocks as they appear in the actual world, I have been making 160x160. For the Achievements, I took the screenshot of the GameCenter. I think I made the achievements 92x92 and then it is resized on the page to 40px. Not sure what size I will make stuff like Fruit,Animals,or other stuff. I am sure I will have to play around with it to see what size is the best for the wiki. I have a bunch of images I need to upload, I just haven't gotten around to it yet. I was trying to get a few of the templates started. Anyways, here are the step by step directions if anybody wants to grab images. I added a section below on the exact step by step directions. - Cdrras (talk) 10:39, 1 February 2013 (MST)

Taking Screenshot Images

1. Take screenshot of image you want to capture (zoom in if needed)
2. Open up Pixlr or Photoshop or your favorite image editor (I don't recommend Paint...although Paint.Net may be fine)
3. Start a new project and set the workspace to either 75x75, 160x160, or whatever the desired final size should be
4. Open the screenshot
5. Crop the desired item. It doesn't have to be close.
6. Copy and Paste the cropped item over into your new project workspace you created
7. Use the "Move Tool" to pan the image and align it into place.
8. Save Image.
9. Upload
10. Rinse and Repeat

New Front Page Layout

I think we needed to spruce up the Main Page to make it easier to navigate for people and for them to find what they are looking for quickly so I created a new Main Page that I think is a step up from the previous one. If you don't like it or don't want it, just revert make. I think eventually you will want to make the Main Page "protected", where only Admins can make changes. This will prevent vandalism. Anyways, the new Main Page isn't completely populated, but you can see it is in progress and things are currently being added. I have added everything that the previous version had so nothing got left out (except for the external Guides). The Environment Section will have Article Links such as Trees, Animals, Ores, Ignots/Gemstones, Crops, or something along that route. News/Updates Section will have a Log of recent updates of the game, confirmed future additions to the game, and any official Blockheads related news. I also think it would be great to have a custom The Blockheads Wiki Logo/Banner. Cdrras (talk) 11:56, 5 February 2013 (MST)

Love it! I had the main page protected then opened it up a bit so you and McClaw could also have at it. Let's lock it down when we feel it's solid.--MintYogi (Admin) (talk) 23:04, 7 February 2013 (MST)

I think for the most part, it is fairly solid. So we can probably go ahead and protect it. The stuff on the V1.1 update has already been added, including the News Update. I don't think there is anything else needed on the Main Page that doesn't fall into one of the existing links or categories. There may be minor changes, but that can easily be done. Once everything is completed, the only thing that would need constant adding to is the News/Update section and then if there is any additional updates with new content that we feel needs to be on the Main Page. I think most of the work just needs to be done on the rest of the pages. Cdrras (talk) 06:58, 8 February 2013 (MST)

Changed protection back to admins only--MintYogi (Admin) (talk) 21:24, 8 February 2013 (MST)

More Users

We need to get more active users and get more people involved in populating the Wiki. If not, it will take forever. I finally got my account for the forums activated. We need to market the Wiki a little more so people know about it. I know there are a few other Wikis being developed and progress is slow, but I really feel this one will provide the best and most information. Hopefully it will become the Official Wiki. Cdrras (talk) 18:18, 6 February 2013 (MST)

Agreed. We're delayed a bit by [the poll on the forum]. It closes in two weeks and we've got the most support right now. How else can we get involvement?--MintYogi (Admin) (talk) 23:08, 7 February 2013 (MST)

I went ahead and voted for this wiki on the poll. I guess the hardest thing is to wait, but in the meantime, if someone else asks about a wiki on the forums or elsewhere, we should direct them here. One of the good things we have going for us too is that the site is at the top of Google's search results and other all the other wikis.Cdrras (talk) 06:59, 8 February 2013 (MST)

Spoilers

What information are the <spoiler></spoiler> tags being used? Personally, I don't care for them and never have used them on any other wikis I have contributed to and don't think they are needed. I always viewed spoiler tags as hiding/showing information that may reveal future related content or content that may change the player's overall playing experience by revealing information that is not currently available to them in game or needed to the player at that time. This is a community project, so I am trying to get input. Because the BH is an open ended game, I really don't feel like spoilers are needed on the Wiki. Any thoughts? Cdrras (talk) 07:15, 8 February 2013 (MST)

My only concern is for the rewards that aren't immediately apparent. It's probably not a big deal. I think we ought to take our cues from the community. So the question is whether to leave them in or take them out and only add them if they are asked for.--MintYogi (Admin) (talk) 21:22, 8 February 2013 (MST)

Another option (if they're used) would be to request any strategy tips to be placed inside spoiler tags, the alternative being requiring such information to be placed on separate pages or banned from the wiki. --McClaw (talk) 08:36, 9 February 2013 (MST)

Stubs

I created a Stub Template. See Template:Stub. With a lot of pages being added, we needed an extra measure to help organize the pages that are for the most part "done" and which ones have been populated but are still needing expansion. There are a lot of pages that are in need of some graphics, and I am trying to do both graphics and populate pages, so it will take a little time to get everything added. If something just needs a graphic or two or a few lines, a stub isn't needed. Originally, I was starting at the top of one section of the Main page and working my way down and then going to the sub-pages. To help organize things, I created the Stub template. If you see an article that is missing substantial information or is incomplete (only has a few lines of text), PLEASE put a Stub on it so it can get categorized!!! On the main page, I added a link down in the Wiki Community for a list of articles that need expansion. Placing a stub on an article, will add the article here. This is a good place to look to if you want to contribute. Once the article is complete, remove the stub tags so it will be removed from the category. With all that said, I started adding stubs to some of the articles, but have not gotten around to tagging all the pages. If you see one that needs a stub, add it. Thanks. Cdrras (talk) 14:01, 19 February 2013 (MST)

Cleanup

I created a Cleanup Template. See Template:Cleanup. If you see an article that has been written that needs cleanup, please add the Cleanup tag to the article so it can be listed for cleanup. This is different than the Stub template. Stub templates are for articles that do not have much content. The cleanup template is for articles that do. Putting the template tag on pages that need small minor cleanup or revisions is not necessary. Just make those revisions. Please put it on articles that need major or a decent amount of revision, especially if an article does not quite conform to the Blockheads Wiki quality of standards (ie. a huge long article is written and consists of a large number of fragments or no article flow). I added a link down in the Wiki Community on the main page that lists all articles that need to be cleaned up. Once a page is cleaned up, please remove the template tags, so it will be removed from being categorized. If there is any questions on what needs to be revised, please direct questions to the article's talk page. Cdrras (talk) 21:30, 22 February 2013 (MST)

Official Wiki Status

Awhile back, I had emailed David Frampton, creator and developer of The Blockheads regarding his endorsement to make this wiki the "official" Blockheads Wiki. I was not expecting a response and if so, not a positive one. He finally got back to me with this message below:

Hi Christian
 I'm very sorry I haven't got back to you earlier. I've been extremely busy trying to get the 1.2 update submitted, and have been very behind in my emails.
 The wiki looks fantastic, you're all doing a great job. I don't think at the moment that I want to endorse an official wiki, as it's still early days really. But it's a definite possibility for the future,
 and I haven't seen a wiki as well maintained or popular as yours. I'll keep an eye on the wiki and let you know.
 Cheers,
 David

So with that said, we haven't received his personal endorsement YET, but it is a great sign that we are on our way. We need to continue to populate pages, make edits where necessary, and continue to add users and contributors. Hopefully here in the near future, this wiki will be the OFFICIAL Blockheads Wiki! Cdrras (talk) 09:54, 8 March 2013 (MST)

Thanks for taking this on!--MintYogi (Admin) (talk) 21:01, 12 March 2013 (MDT)

No problem. This wiki is the best and most comprehensive available for the game, and I hope that all the hard work will eventually pay off. Cdrras (talk) 09:33, 13 March 2013 (MDT)

Glitches/Bugs

My world seems to have unloaded itself and along with it, all my structures and functional blocks. There is also a strange rainbow lighting glitch, ghost item glitch, and all ores seem to have respawned. Any advice with this? 2539 Woo (talk) 13:56, 12 April 2013 (MDT)

Try searching the forum for this, and if its not there create a new thread. The rainbow lighting glitch is world corruption and cannot be fixed. Ghost items, hmmmm, try picking them up and placing them again. I suggest you start a new world, most of these will probably be fixed in future updates. --Craig.Davison (talk) 01:35, 8 September 2013 (MDT)

Random concerns

Should files be in .png format, or at least anything except the lossy .jpg? No offense to who originally uploaded the pictures. Also, should files be categorized? I'd be happy to do so. --Abcboy (talk) 15:38, 12 April 2013 (MDT)

Also, does each achievement really need it's own page. I'm sure it would have been fine as a table with redirects for each achievment. --Abcboy (talk) 15:54, 12 April 2013 (MDT)

One other thing I don't understand about this wiki is the fact that Category:Item is called "Item", while the page Items is called "Items". On other wikis (and in my mind), it's the other way around! --Abcboy (talk) 22:08, 12 April 2013 (MDT)

What color is this portal's hair?

I laughed when I saw this. --Abcboy (talk) 13:40, 29 April 2013 (MDT)

Can we either change the picture from a portal back to a blockhead or change the question to what colour is this portal. Otherwise it gets very confusing and actually quite funny as well.--Craig.Davison (talk) 04:53, 14 July 2013 (MDT)

Main Page Updates

Hey! I just thought I would get on here and let everyone know that even though I may not have contributed a lot lately (due to other life's commitments), I am still active on keeping up with all the updates on the wiki. With that said, I want to say that everything is looking great! Seeing how I'm the only Admin that seems to actually check the Wiki on a very regular basis, I was hoping MintYogi would have promoted some people who are main contributors with Sysop status. Since that hasn't happened yet, and I still don't have Bureaucrat status, in the meantime, if there is any information that needs to go on the Main Page, please let me know. Just use my Talk Page and give me a list of what needs to go on it and where and I will make sure I make the edits. Cdrras (talk) 18:08, 25 June 2013 (MDT)

Add bow & arrows to tools. --Corey b (talk) 08:26, 13 October 2013‎ (MDT)

Thanks, it's been fixed. Also, please remember to sign your talk page comments with ~~~~. --Abcboy (talk) 08:55, 13 October 2013 (MDT)

Visual Editor

I came across this new type of editor called Visual Editor that you could use on wikis. I was wondering if it would be useful on this wiki. I think it will make editing much easier. Lots of wikis now use it using wikipedia. There is information here and here. If this wiki does not need this then thats fine it was just a thought --Craig.Davison (talk) 04:46, 28 July 2013 (MDT)

Things to try?

Recently on Blockheads I've been extremely bored, the only thing I've been doing is meditating, are there any things I should try? I don't mind time consuming things. -Boph

That's the thing about "sandbox" games like The Blockheads or Minecraft, other than the included achievements we're on our own for what we want to do. Have you tried painting a picture using block-sized "pixels"? --McClaw (talk) 19:03, 28 July 2013 (MDT)

No, thanks for the suggestion, I'll give it a try. Sounds fun! -Boph

You could also do a little detail work for the wiki -- the Tool Durability Charts are rather sparse of results. --McClaw (talk) 08:14, 15 August 2013 (MDT)

Even More Users

I was thinking, considering the massive 1.4 update which is rumoured to have lots new benches and items. We probably need more users to help. I think I might, when the update comes out, post a thread on the forums saying that we need help on the blockheads wiki. New users would be great! We hardly have any and we need people to make the stub category smaller and I'm guessing a lot more in-detail pages will have to be created. Is this a good idea?--Craig.Davison (talk) 02:45, 7 September 2013 (MDT)

More pages! Good right? My problem is quality, not quantity. If we just get a bunch of people who create pages that luk liek dis, the wiki's quality will go down. Also, vandalism. (Wiki griefers) Our only admin is here once every month, and our person who has the authority to get more admins is never on. So vandals can just destroy everything, with our only defence being to revert it. --Abcboy (talk) 14:35, 7 September 2013 (MDT)

Hmmm I didn't realise the lack of admins --Craig.Davison (talk) 01:31, 8 September 2013 (MDT)

What access is needed and by whom?--MintYogi (Admin) (talk) 13:27, 30 September 2013 (MDT)

Administrative access, I guess. Active, useful contributors should be allowed to have it. --Abcboy (talk) 15:13, 30 September 2013 (MDT)

Done; anyone else?--MintYogi (Admin) (talk) 15:26, 30 September 2013 (MDT)

Nope, I think this should be good for now. If anyone else comes on and does an impressive job, I'll tell you. --Abcboy (talk) 15:29, 30 September 2013 (MDT)

Does it lag?

Currently, too many data such as too many blocks or entities seem to cause a lag. Of course, when water touches my campfire and cools it down, the game lag. --Brandon (talk) 07:24, 28 September 2013 (MDT)

New pages

While making quality increase, we should why not just add in more guides for beginners? I just added the page—Hunger management! --Brandon (talk) 07:28, 28 September 2013 (MDT)

All of those "guides" would work better as a section on the main article. --Abcboy (talk) 08:56, 28 September 2013 (MDT)

Paying the Bills

I've added a Google Adsense slot in the right sidebar. I'm hoping this will defray the hosting costs without being obnoxious like ads on wikia and such.--MintYogi (Admin) (talk) 11:15, 1 October 2013 (MDT)

Delete revisions

http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/RevisionDelete

Can this be turned on so vandalism can be hidden? --Abcboy (talk) 09:02, 6 October 2013 (MDT)

Now turned on for administrators. --MintYogi (Admin) (talk) 11:15, 6 October 2013 (MDT)

Recent vandal

I don't particularly care, since it was fixed so quickly, but they have the same name as this user on the blockheads forums.

They were last on the forums 12 minutes before the attack. Coincidence? I think not. --Abcboy (talk) 09:10, 6 October 2013 (MDT)

Not being a member of the forum, what were they posting there? --McClaw (talk) 21:12, 6 October 2013 (MDT)

That's just their page. They were last on the forums at 7:10 AM (EDT). Their wiki account was created at 7:32 AM (again, EDT). Most people would be online and do stuff around the same time. But, even then, we don't have conclusive proof it's him. Could just be an impersonator. --Abcboy (talk) 21:25, 6 October 2013 (MDT)

Multiple upload

http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:MultiUpload

Can this be installed for mass image uploads? --Abcboy (talk) 20:06, 10 October 2013 (MDT)

This extension is unmaintained so I'm leery.--MintYogi (talk) 07:06, 11 October 2013 (MDT)

http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Upload#Mass_uploading Any of these? --Abcboy (talk) 13:29, 11 October 2013 (MDT)

I just installed and tested the UploadWizard extension (the most promising of the options in the list you linked) and it's not working so I removed it. Let's revisit it later to see if it's fixed.--MintYogi (Admin) (talk) 08:54, 15 October 2013 (MDT)

Becoming Mobile Friendly

Being a wiki about a game for mobile devices it's unsurprising that half our visits are from people using iPhones and iPods. Unfortunately the Vector theme isn't mobile responsive so we're not making it easy on half the visitors. I propose using the MobileFrontend MediaWiki extension to correct this.

One significant change this would require is modification of the main page. The grid looks great on big screens, but doesn't translate to the small screens. We can either present two different sets of content depending on device or change to a single column layout that works for desktop, tablet, and smart phone.

Comments? Volunteers?--MintYogi (talk) 07:25, 11 October 2013 (MDT)

I believe two sets could work fine. I could make it, but it'll take some time. --Abcboy (talk) 13:28, 11 October 2013 (MDT)

Here are the Mobile Gateway/Mobile homepage formatting instructions.--MintYogi (Admin) (talk) 13:52, 11 October 2013 (MDT)

What's our mobile website address?--Abcboy (talk) 14:23, 11 October 2013 (MDT)

Once the MobileFrontend extension is installed the mobile URL will be http://en.m.theblockheadswiki.com --MintYogi (talk) 07:48, 15 October 2013 (MDT)

It's done. All that needs to be done now is the extension needs to be installed and the mobile code unhidden. --Abcboy (talk) 16:43, 16 October 2013 (MDT)

Is the extension installed? I need to test the main page and see what needs adjusting. --Abcboy (talk) 20:00, 16 October 2013 (MDT)

I re-enabled the extension for your testing. It looks like the problem is due to the "Wiki community" box being displayed to the left of the "Links" box instead of under it.--MintYogi (Admin) (talk) 09:29, 17 October 2013 (MDT)

It's amazing to me how behind MediaWiki is with respect to responsive web skins. I put MobileFrontend on hold as it appears to not be ready yet. There's a MediaWiki Bootstrap[1] skin I'll try next. I'll set up a dev server for that so as not to disrupt this production server.

Feedback namespace

All of the update logs start with Feedback:, even though there isn't actually a feedback name space. Can that be made? --Abcboy (talk) 17:47, 16 October 2013 (MDT)

I've been wondering why we're using the Feedback namespace for updates. Why do we need a different namespace? If there's a good reason, what's an appropriate one?--MintYogi (talk) 19:31, 16 October 2013 (MDT)

Cddras created them all there, so they've just been following along. --Abcboy (talk) 19:34, 16 October 2013 (MDT)

I moved all the update pages to the mainspace and updated all the links.--MintYogi (Admin) (talk) 10:45, 17 October 2013 (MDT)

MOBIE APP

I was just thinking wants you fix the minor tweaks on this website we could create a app.

What exactly are you trying to say? --Abcboy (talk) 17:32, 31 October 2013 (MDT)

i think a mobile app would be a great a idea --Junny-sankii (talk) 05:32, 1 November 2013 (MDT)

If you're talking about the game, it already is a mobile app. If you're talking about the wiki, adjustments for mobile browser compatibility is being worked on. (And it helps if you "sign" your talk additions -- second formatting button from the right.) --McClaw (talk) 07:46, 1 November 2013 (MDT)

yeah, im talking about the wiki and i dont know what you are on about. --Junny-sankii (talk)

oh i know what you mean now --Junny-sankii (talk)

Please sign your posts with ~~~~. Thanks. --Abcboy (talk) 16:00, 1 November 2013 (MDT)

ok so whats happening with the app --Junny-sankii (talk)

Please sign your posts with ~~~~. Thanks. There's not going to be an app, just a mobile view, like Wikipedia. It's still in the works. Just be patient. --Abcboy (talk) 07:51, 3 November 2013 (MST)

Servers

I'm considering creating a page of reviews, so that servers can be ranked or something. No idea how it would work yet, but it sounds like a good idea. --Abcboy (talk) 18:05, 13 November 2013 (MST)

Sounds like a good idea to me too.--MintYogi (talk) 07:34, 16 November 2013 (MST)

I'm currently planning it, and it would seem that it would need a Server: namespace so people can post their own reviews but not edit other parts, such as a moderator/admin list. --Abcboy (talk) 12:27, 16 November 2013 (MST)

So? --Abcboy (talk) 13:30, 25 November 2013 (MST)