What do you guys think of Wikia?

[caffeine]

Today I got an email from a Wikia person:Hello Nicholas. I'm one of the founders of Wikia and I'm interested in
the wiki you've created at tetrisconcept.com/wiki

At Wikia, we're increasing our focus on gaming wikis and I would like
to invite you to join us.

Wikia hosts many of the world's largest gaming communities, such as
WoWWiki.com and Gamewikis.org, and we'd love for your community to
become part of Wikia's Gaming Network. More of our gaming wikis can be
seen at http://www.wikia.com/wiki/Gaming

We can offer you completely free hosting as well as new features that
we are developing including
- polling and article rating
- automated displays of the most visited pages, recently changed
pages, and top users
- easier page creation and image upload
- lots of anti-spam tools
- tools to promote your wiki and improve your Google Page Rank
- free hosting of blogs, forums, and mailing lists if you need these
for your wiki
- integration with Facebook, Flickr, and YouTube
- collaborative video editing

We're also in contact with various gaming companies and are working
with them to find new ways of integrating wiki content directly into
some games. For example, via PlayXpert, gamers can now view content
from our World of Warcraft wiki without stepping out of the game.

We've got lots more optional features planned and we'd love to share
those with your wiki if you'd consider being hosted at Wikia.

Let me know what you think. Hope to hear from you soon.There's good things and bad things about this. Wouldn't have to pay hosting anymore. =] Although, I absolutely have zero problems with this for the record, but still it would, in a way, make the content more permanent. On the other hand, TC would lose some of its identity and culture, and there would be ads. My initial feeling is "no," but I wanted to run it by you guys and keep you informed.

[kiwibonga]

How about Geocities? I heard that was cool! [/s]

[muf]

Ads?

NO.

[kotetsu213]

Ads?

[lee n]

I've never even heard of Wikia until now.. but I must say that I think I'd prefer if TC stays independent.

[PetitPrince]

I know Wikia from their most excellent Wookiepedia (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page), but I also prefer an independant tetriswiki.

[cdsboy]

i'm gonna have to vote no. When you include them you loose some of your freedom with the forum.

[Rosti LFC]

No.


We're our own community here. I prefer that. I mean, I'm sure that quite a few people here would be willing to pay a share of the money for the server anyway.

[PacoDG]

I say no, I like knowing there is one "Tetris site" out there on the net that really is just for a fan/lover of the game in general.

[mat]

if the wiki were a "section" of a larger wiki about gaming, i feel it would be overlooked or under appreciated by just about everyone who came upon it. as it stands now, i think someone stumbling upon the wiki or the forum would immediately realize that it is the definitive source of information: consider that we don't have a "non-tetris" forum discussion category here--pretty nifty to stay that focused.


and ads would kind of suck.

[Pineapple]

/vote no


I like our independence, even at the cost of some downtime at times...

[Poochy]

How should I put it?

"No" would be insufficient. "NO!" would be insufficient. "NO!" would be insufficient.

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There.


It's not even about the ads. I can easily block 'em so my browser won't even load them at all. But the community and culture here is far too good to lose.

[jujube]

no (http://www.chienworks.com/~aramisangel/sw/sounds/3vadernooo.wav)


We're our own community here. I prefer that. I mean, I'm sure that quite a few people here would be willing to pay a share of the money for the server anyway.

sure, why not.

[kiwibonga]

Actually, let's buy out wikia.

[muf]

Actually, let's buy out wikia.

http://www.tetrisconcept.net/forum/images/smilies/icon_lol.gif

[caffeine]

yeah, that sounds like a great idea. let me just put up some ads here and there to build up funding... wait.

[Angela]

Hi all!


It's good to see a discussion of Wikia happening here. I understand your decision, but I hope you will also allow me to address a few of the comments above.


I want to reassure you that if you do ever want to move to Wikia that the community will retain its independence. Wikia does not claim any copyright over the content - that always belongs to the original authors. We also don't interfere with the way you run your wiki. We're here to help out if you need us, and we'll make sure the wiki isn't killed by spammers, but it's the community who manages the content and policies of the wiki. Tetris wiki will always be for and by the fans, regardless of whether it's hosted on Wikia or not.


The wiki would still be a separate wiki - it wouldn't need to become part of a larger gaming wiki. However, we could link to it from those larger gaming wikis, to help with promoting it. The forum can stay as it is - a dedicated Tetris-only forum. If you wanted Wikia to host the forum as well as the wiki, we are happy to do that. We have some features that allow a tie-in to the wiki user database, so you're automatically logged in to both, and the ability to use wiki markup in the forums if you want to.


In terms of ads, logged in users very rarely see ads on the wiki. See inside.wikia.com (http://inside.wikia.com/?useskin=quartz) for an example. The only ads on that page are internal ones (Wikia Spotlights) where different wikis cross-promote each other. Even for unregistered users, there is just one advert in the top right corner, out of the way of the content, which hopefully isn't too intrusive.


I notice you have a lot of spam bot testing going on. This sort of edit (http://www.tetrisconcept.net/forum/../wiki/index.php?title=User_3A72.150.18.172&diff=prev&oldid=10017) is usually a signal that spammers are about to hit your wiki. They place these characters on a page to check whether their scripts can edit the wiki, and to see how long before those edits are reverted. Later on, they come back and hit the same pages very heavily with their spam links. We can help you to deal with this and ensure you can focus on creating content rather than wasting time dealing with the mess that the spammers will leave.


I saw another forum thread here on the wiki's low google page rank. A new feature we have just added is Webtools (http://24.wikia.com/wiki/Special_3AWebtools). This shows what people are searching for in google that leads them to your wiki. This, combined with Wikia's high page rank, can really help the community to improve the ranking in google for relevant keywords, driving more readers and potential contributors to your site.


So, in summary - no spam, free hosting, one ad for unregistered users, lots of promotion, more traffic, cool new features! I hope this might change your mind. http://www.tetrisconcept.net/forum/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif

I'm happy to answer any questions or concerns you might have about Wikia.


--Angela (http://www.wikia.com/wiki/User_3AAngela)

[jujube]

i like her more than the ingamedex people.

[cdsboy]

i like her more than the ingamedex people.


i'm with jujube.

[DIGITAL]

I have to admit, you do have a very compelling argument Angela. My major worries have been resolved. Perhaps the other members can reconsider after reading your response.

[colour_thief]

At least for me, the difference between no ads and any ads at all is a quite substancial one. There are definitely advantages to joining Wikia, but I think we're doing just fine on our own for now.

[cdsboy]

At least for me, the difference between no ads and any ads at all is a quite substancial one. There are definitely advantages to joining Wikia, but I think we're doing just fine on our own for now.


You know, i hate to look like i'm just piggybacking off of other peoples ideas but... I'm with ya 100% CT