Portal talk:Main/Archive 2005

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Loose replies and comments

We need a category for Starships, probably even a shiplist? Harry Doddema 11:40, 23 Nov 2003 (PST)

You may want to feature the Ships link a little better. I couldn't find it at first. Also the sections Episodes and Movies and writing articles are a bit close at a resolution of 1024x768 pixels (I haven't tested other resolutions). That's not to pleasant on the eye's. -- Redge 20:09, 17 Jan 2004 (PST)

Possible Layout Changes

Working from your idea, Dan, I've also tried my hand at another example page. The layout is a bit different from the conventional. Some comments are also available on this talk page. -- Thunderbyte 00:27, 24 May 2004 (CEST)

Hmm.... I think I know what you're saying about the information being "buried," but I'm not sure I like the alternative -- IMO the content looks too crammed in by having the third column turned into the community content. Besides, with all of that text being variable, it might not always match up for the heights. Nevertheless, I've tried a slightly modified version that turns the content into bullet list format -- that would be better for the vertical orientation of the material.

However, I'm not sure that I like how the color scheme looks with the panels for the Temp2 example... IMO the partial-width red boxes don't look very good there.

I've thought of a possible compromise to address Thunderbyte's concern of the content... what if we removed the "Featured Articles" table and put that on a separate page? That would allow us to expand on the content more and bring the Encyclopedia table up a bit. Would that be more acceptable? -- Dan Carlson 00:55, 24 May 2004 (CEST)

I'm assuming that would include the "This month in trek history" cells as well? If that is the case, I think that could work. -- Thunderbyte 01:11, 24 May 2004 (CEST)

Well, wouldn't that kind of remove the need for making any changes in the first place? The whole point of proposing any changes was to ADD the Article of the Week feature! ;-) -- Dan Carlson 01:16, 24 May 2004 (CEST)

Good point :), though IMO, the large block of text at the start of things in the "Featured Article" table is a bit distracting. I didn't mind the "Useful Links" table, though having only one of them does look better.

Another thought, though I don't know as Wikipedia could do this... if there was a way for a user to select which options they saw on the main page (i.e. the featured article table, the "useful links" table, etc.) perhaps this could be done in version 1.3 with the user-styles using visibility properities? -- Just a thought -- Thunderbyte 01:20, 24 May 2004 (CEST)

I think Thunderbyte's design proposal for the main page is great. i'm supporting him.--BlueMars 01:29, May 24, 2004 (CEST)

I am missing the "Popular Topics", "Wanted Topics", etc.. links. Is it possible to make a sepparte tool-page, or should we just use them through Recent Changes? -- Redge 15:57, 5 Jun 2004 (CEST)

See you´ve already cleared that up... -- Redge 20:16, 9 Jun 2004 (CEST)

Seperate link for starbases/outposts/deep space stations

A seperate link to the space stations should be created. It's inefficient to keep that one under the topic "Starships".

Purpose of "This month in Trek history"

We hardly know any exact dates at all, and stardate converters only give vague interpretations of dates at best. I would rather suggest to relocate the link lists to the top, eventually they are the heart of the mainpage. --BlueMars 18:01, Jun 8, 2004 (CEST)

I added that section when originally setting up the front page because I thought it would be interesting for readers, despite the uncertainties. If several people really have a problem with it, we can find something else to put in that area. I hope you have some suggestions! :-P -- Dan Carlson 18:25, 8 Jun 2004 (CEST)

Perhaps something like "Did You Know?" from wikipedia or a short list of the most wanted unwritten topics(perhaps only the crucial ones here, like Klingon High Council or Cardassian Central Command) or a brief lists of stubs concerning crucial pages... --BlueMars 19:34, Jun 8, 2004 (CEST)

I like that idea. I miss seeing those four lines on the main page -- but I like the "Featured Article" section :) Thunderbyte 03:42, 9 Jun 2004 (CEST)

By all means, keep the "featured article", but do something about this silly "this month in trek history"... ;-) --BlueMars 11:45, Jun 9, 2004 (CEST)

Other notes and comments

Main page notes, May 2005

• The st-minutiae website directory link under "The fans" is broken.
• I'd like to add collectibles link to the main page, whether under "other sources" or "the fans"
  • I'd like to change "other sources" to "other media", both to a) make "collectibles" fit better under it as a heading and b) to deaccentuate the fact that these non-canon works are "media" and not "sources" ie sources that might be used here for article material.

-- Captain Mike K. Bartel^talk 17:32, 10 May 2005 (UTC)

Barring any objections I've made the changes, and also added a link to our Categories, which I feel belongs under Other Features. If anyone objects or has an additional sorting suggestion I welcome it for discussion -- Captain Mike K. Bartel^talk 20:41, 11 May 2005 (UTC)

Death notices/Hurricane relief?

With all due respect to both Brock Peters and James Doohan, I think it would be appropriate to remove death notices after one week's time. Also, I would like to suggest placing a link to the Red Cross in this space for a short period of time and encouraging donations to the relief effort, as some Memory Alpha editors and users have no doubt been affected by this tragedy.

And lest someone accuse me of America-centricism, I would certainly support having temporary links to appropriate charities in the face of major disasters anywhere in the world. -- SmokeDetector47^{| TALK} 02:53, 2 Sep 2005 (UTC)

• No offense to anyone affected by this, but I oppose the Red Cross link thing and anything about all that. You can go anywhere and donate, and people don't need another place to be reminded of the tragedy. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this a Star Trek website? The only reason we put Doohan's and Peter's death notices here are because of their importance to Trek. We haven't added information to the articles about this, because it just is not important to Trek, and to Memory Alpha. If you want to donate to the causes, read about the situation, or anything, then do it somewhere else.
  However, removing the regular death notices after about a week is a good idea. We don't need to be eternally reminded of their deaths. -Platypus Man | Talk 03:24, 2 Sep 2005 (UTC)
  • Well, even if we avoid the pitfalls of choosing to post a charity -- i still think that our community's thoughts are going out to the victims, and we could definitely alter the note to reflect that -- with links to any Star Trek related locations affected -- New Orleans, Louisiana, etc -- Captain Mike K. Bartel^talk
    • Altering the death notice isn't a bad idea. It can show the feelings of people here, but I want that to be it. You can go anywhere to donate; we don't need another. -Platypus Man | Talk 20:21, 2 Sep 2005 (UTC)

Hm... There's no stringent argument against such a notice, and I also agree to the limitation for the death notice, but it shall be two weeks. --Porthos 20:46, 2 Sep 2005 (UTC)

• • I've added a simple note with relevant links to the Trek-related areas affected. I linked to North America instead of United States of America to avoid nationalism (as we encourage a future, "United Earth" perspective here).

• • Contrary to what Platypus Man said, i think this is Trek related as we have articles about New Orleans and Mississippi -- and interest in current events translates into interest in those areas, so its a shortcut to people visiting the Main Page who want to read about those Trek universe places. -- Captain Mike K. Bartel^talk 21:12, 2 Sep 2005 (UTC)