User talk:Gboyers/archive5

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 * Also, Use four tildes ( ~ ) to sign your name with the date, like this - Xenon 18:52, 29 July 2006 (BST)

For previous discussion, see: /archive, /archive2, /archive3, /archive4

So who created the wiki?
Just wondered who created this wiki. Please tell me ASAP


 * Technically me, but there is a longer answer if you want. Two separate wikis were created. One was created on Wikia by User:Thai420, and I separately created Grand Theft Wiki. A couple of years ago, GTW moved to Wikia, and the content from the old one was moved into this one. So technically I created this wiki, although Thai420 created a different GTA wiki before that (which no longer exists on its own). Gboyers talk 14:01, 31 May 2009 (UTC)

How to become staff
Why did you promote GuildKnight as high as you and how can I be a moderator? I was thinking that if GuildKnight started as an ordinary person and rose through the ranks maybe I can. I want to hear his story and here how I can be like him.


 * First of all, GuildKnight is female. If you aren't paying enough attention to know that, then you don't know the wiki well enough to be a senior staff member. And you didn't even sign your name after your talk page comment, which shows you don't know how wikis work. It's not looking good. All staff are normal wiki editors first and foremost - if you aren't the best at writing content, then you simply can't be allowed to moderate other people's content. And best doesn't mean most. The promotion procedure is shown at Project:Promotion. I promoted GK to be a Manager because she is sensible enough not to abuse her position - she rarely uses her manager position - but I know that if I needed her to do anything, she could. Gboyers talk 12:42, 2 June 2009 (UTC)

Sorry about that. Kinda new. I just don't see many girls play GTA. How come she got a speedy promotion? Just Wondering


 * Remember to sign your comments (using ~ ). Speedy promotions usually occur when we have fewer staff than we currently need; or when the wiki isn't active enough to bother going through the lengthy promotion discussion process (eg with an upcoming game release when we're about to get busy). She had experience on other wikis, and proved her editing abilities very quickly. After she became Administrator, I knew I could trust her enough to hold Management status without being headstrong and trying to change things just because she could. Although there are lots of people who would be able to do the job, probably very well, there's nobody else that I would trust to not use the position unless needed (if that makes sense). Gboyers talk 19:39, 2 June 2009 (UTC)

What do you think of children playing GTA?
I'm sorry. Its kind of random, but Jack Thompson just made me ask it. So whats your opinion? - Peter13


 * That's more of a question for the Forum than me personally. I moderate on The GTA Place Forums, and I see a lot of children on there. Whilst 15 upwards I don't have a problem, when it is 12 and 13 year olds it is wrong. Speaking from countless hours of dealing with them, I know they don't have the maturity to hold a real discussion. I've seen them burst into tears because of a warning, and explode when someone says something remotely against them. So no, I don't think they should play violent games either. Gboyers talk 20:01, 2 June 2009 (UTC)

How about a 14 year old? Just wondering. Also, I find that it depends on the child not the age. I have seen very mature 10 year olds and immature 16 year olds. I partly agree on your answer but there is still gray area.


 * I'm not suggesting that overnight on their 15th birthday they suddenly become able to cope with stuff, that's why I left that grey area. To be safe, I personally would not allow 14 year olds to purchase or play the games, but I would allow 15 year olds to. In the UK it's an 18 age limit, which is a bit restrictive. But some of the prostitution, crime and dark storylines are not what 14 year olds should be exposed to, not matter how mature they think they are. Gboyers talk 21:32, 2 June 2009 (UTC)

I agree, but there is the very slim chance 0.01% that a 8 year old could handle the game. Everyone has there own perspective. Also in Canada it is 17 that you can buy the game. But one year does not make much of a difference.


 * I'm not talking about not being able to handle it, as in cry and go crazy. I'm talking about what they should be exposed to at their age. Whilst most of GTA is fun there are themes there that should be adult-only. The sex, prositution, drug abuse, the really dark storylines, and the life-and-death choices that you can make. Whilst most kids could handle this without breaking up, they should still not be exposed to this. It's like parents having a divorce (but not as bad) - whilst it probably won't destroy the kid, it will scar and play on their mind, and they should be able to go through their childhood without those issues. Maturity isn't some random scale that you go up, or a test that you eventually pass - nor is it something you can be taught or learn yourself - it's a complex issue that you can't understand until long afterwards. Any kids that think they are mature definitely aren't. It takes a lot of maturity to admit that you aren't mature yet. Gboyers talk 02:43, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

I agree. But it is a bit of a paradox. I mean the people who think they are mature are not, and the people who think their not mature enough are. Its a bit strange. On a bit of an unrelated note, I have made the unofficial quiz of Grand Theft Wiki. If you want to be in it, or feature it, it at the below link: Unofficial Grand Theft Wiki Quiz


 * It's not a paradox. It takes SOME maturity to know that you aren't completely mature. You are never completely mature, but to be mature enough to be considered an adult you need to be mature enough to know your own weaknesses. If a 13 or 14 year old kid thought they knew enough, and thought they were mature, that is (yet more) proof that they are not. Most kids that age probably do think they understand everything they need to, but none of them do. Gboyers talk 03:47, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

Sorry for the downpour of questions. I just want to get fully immersed in this wiki. If your only 19 years old and you started playing GTA games in the 90's, does that mean you started plating when you were around 10 years old?


 * This wiki isn't just me, it's the entire community. But I certainly wasn't playing GTA in the 90s. Don't forget that GTA 1 was only released in 1997. I think I first played GTA 1 when I was around 14. Those games were suitable for those ages, because it was just driving and shooting, and the storyline was almost invisible. From GTA III onwards it becomes unsuitable. Vice City I got at 15 I think - given that drugs are quite prevalent in the storyline I wouldn't go much younger. But GTASA and GTA IV are definitely 15+ at least in my opinion. Gboyers talk 12:02, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

Gboyers, How did you?
I've looked all around your wiki short of sifting through and checking the history, how did you get that wonderful banner image across you site? I'm working on one for the Jurassic Park wiki and would love the info on how to make it work. If you could at least point me in the right direction, that would be appreciated.--My Name Is Tom 06:58, 4 June 2009 (UTC)

I left this for you in the forums, but i decided to leave it here just in case you missed it. BTW, we share a love for GTA games i have 6 of them, and it looks like you have plenty of help, so you don't need mine, but could i get yours?--My Name Is Tom 21:45, 4 June 2009 (UTC)


 * If you're good with CSS, then it's fairly straightforward. All my CSS is at MediaWiki:Monaco.css, so if you copy the relevant bits into your monaco.css, then that would be a good start (obviously you'd need to change the images etc). However, if you're struggling, if you make the images I'd be happy to set up the CSS for you. Gboyers talk 21:52, 4 June 2009 (UTC)


 * Thanks, you're awesome. I'm glad you moved your site over to wikia, but did you think it would cause you to have to deal with less intelegent people like me? Again thanks for the help, i think i should be able to figure it out from here. I'll send you the link when i'm done to see what you think. Luv the site.--My Name Is Tom 22:08, 4 June 2009 (UTC)


 * Haha - there are much worse people than you around, trust me. It's all good fun though. But good luck - let me know how it goes. Gboyers talk 22:11, 4 June 2009 (UTC)

Speaking of discussions not ending.... I was able to create a to the same specs as yours, but i was only able to view the source of the .css, i'm not sure if i missed anything or put all the right info in. I also updated the wiki.png and created the MediaWiki:Monaco.css. In that, the only things i changed from yours was removed the admin info with colors, and changed the banner link. I've refreshed and purged the Main page, but to no avail. I'd like to change the colors as well to a black BG but keep the Jade Wikia & More logos, but i don't know how to find the links to those files. Thanks again for the help.--My Name Is Tom (Talk / Edits) 06:27, 10 June 2009 (UTC)


 * If you can't edit the MediaWiki namespace, you need to be a Bureaucrat. If you are a bureaucrat and still can't access it, speak to Wikia staff about it and they can set the permissions for your wiki. Basic styling (colours) is all listed at w:c:help:Help:Customizing_Monaco. Gboyers talk 09:30, 10 June 2009 (UTC)


 * It's done. Check it out. I was able to access the MediaWiki as an admin. The problem was I couldnt switch it to Custom monaco, the Bureaucrat there had to. I didnt realize i had to do that untill you sent me the second link. Now if anyone asks again you can reference this exchange, or send them my way, i'll gladly pay it forward. Thanks again for all the help.--My Name Is Tom (Talk / Edits) 22:53, 10 June 2009 (UTC)

A thought for talk pages.
I've just thought of a way to save people some time reading through talk pages. Once a decision is reached, create a summary of the discussion and when it took place. Any necessary evidence should be stated as well. For example: an argument as to which neighbourhood a street was in. It was answered by a member of R* that it was in North Holland not Northwood. After this argument was concluded, the main text was deleted and a summary was written such as:

''On the date MM/DD/YY the argument as to which neighbourhood such and such street was in. R* concluded this argument by stating that it was in fact within the neighbourhood of North Holland.''

So, what do you think, is this a good idea or did I just waste my time typing all this out in aid to save time? --LuisFernandoLopez 20:05, 9 June 2009 (UTC)


 * It's a nice idea, but I'm not sure it is as simple as that. Firstly, most discussions never really end. Some things are discussed, and some things are explained, but there's no 'conclusion' as such. Even if there is a conclusion, it may continue being discussed (rather than being cut-off by what you propose). Secondly, there may be dispute as to what the conclusion was - what if people still disagree after the discussion? The example you give has a very definite answer (where Rockstar give the answer), but that almost never happens (there is nobody on this wiki officially representing Rockstar, although we know they do visit). Also, a short question-answer discussion doesn't need a summary (that would double the length of the discussion), so there would need to be guidelines for the use of something like that.
 * What might be a good idea is having long discussions collapse (like Template:GTA does when it is included onto a page, like GTA IV), replacing itself with a box like "this section refers to XYZ, click here to show the full discussion". If there is a definite answer (where someone asks a question, rather than disputes something) then that could be added into that box. That way, even if the conclusion is something like: "No consensus was reached, so both possible neighbourhoods have been listed". Gboyers talk 20:53, 9 June 2009 (UTC)


 * I see your point about the discussions not really ending, and agree with your thoughts about the collapsing. --LuisFernandoLopez 20:56, 9 June 2009 (UTC)

Small Question
Hi, sorry for disturbing, but I was wondering, if your the right person to ask, how did you manage to change the colors of different usergroups, e.g Managers being burgundy? I've been trying to find out how to do that for years but I couldn't come across anything. --AinzX 21:30, 14 June 2009 (UTC)


 * Just some clever CSS. As you can see at the end of MediaWiki:Monaco.css, theres some css that says if a link goes to a certain page (manager's userpage or talk page), make it red, and add the rank image to the side. Should be fairly simple to import into another wiki, but I can help if you like. Gboyers talk 22:21, 14 June 2009 (UTC)


 * Just checking, So if you were to import it into another wiki not hosted by Wikia, would you add it to the Monobook.css? --AinzX 22:28, 14 June 2009 (UTC)


 * That would work, yes. You probably should put it into Mediawiki:Common.css so that it shows up on every skin, but some skins might not work with those colours (eg dark red on a black background), so thats why I put it in the CSS for a specific skin. If monobook is your only skin, then you can just put it in there. Gboyers talk 22:33, 14 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Ah! OK, thanks! --AinzX 22:55, 14 June 2009 (UTC)

Orphaned pages
Hi. How should the disambiguation pages be dealt with? Those pages will become orphaned eventually and will show up on the list of orphaned pages.--Spaceeinstein 23:54, 14 June 2009 (UTC)


 * That's a really good question, well spotted. Most disambiguation pages (eg Liberty City) are useful, allowing them to be linked to without having to specify a game/era (as in ). Others (eg Vehicles in GTA London) will become orphaned, but they should still exist in case anyone types that in (like a multiple redirect). You could prevent these from showing up in orphanedpages by linking them to themselves (that might work), or creating a random page somewhere with the sole purpose of linking to orphaned disambiguation pages. I'll let you test those methods yourself, and pick which one to use. You can see all disambigs at Special:WhatLinksHere/Template:Disambig. Gboyers talk 00:14, 15 June 2009 (UTC)

Cleanup Project & User 'Rename'
I replied here because I knew you wouldn't be checking my talk page for a reply because that was just a message you left for every staff member (not a direct discussion). I have been inactive recently for a number of reasons. I have briefly read through the project page, and I'll start on something later this week (I would rather do that than reserve something for myself and not do anything on it, there's alot there and I doubt that every job will be taken within a week). I was getting ready to put a notice on my userpage that I was inactive, but then I realised the date and that I will be back in a couple of weeks anyway (and I am still on here every day, just not editing as much). It's good to know that you know I'm still around though! As for the last cleanup project, I got the uncategorised pages down to a list of uncategorisable pages, and pages that were categorised but the cache didn't notice for some reason. I just wasn't able to maintain it like that with been inactive.

Also, is there any reason that you would disagree with using monaco.css to create the illusion that I got my account renamed? For the reason, you can read through my userpage, which I recently rewrote from scratch. I went to a forum and asked how I would do it, and apparently you would need to hide the content of the link (via display:none), and then use the :after psuedo-element along with the content: property to display the new text. I wanted to test it all out in my MediaWiki setup in my localhost, which I use for a number of purposes, but mostly for my own education of the wiki software (I don't know if I've ever mentioned that to you?). But it showed that my biggest weakness with computers is programming languages. So anyway, would you have a problem with that? (I don't want to just change my signature because that wouldn't work for history pages/recent changes). You could also use it for GTA4PC (who doesn't seem to want to just make a new account, and either do I for a number of reasons). I already own the account that I would use as my name (so that I can't be seen as trying to be an impostor of someone). Thanks! Biggest GTA Fan EverTalk 09:03, 15 June 2009 (UTC)


 * Hey, thanks for the message. There's a difference between "inactive" (like Eganio) and "not here" (like you and BloodyGTA). In the latter, you still intend to return at some point. A lot of people are busy at this time of year with exams etc, which is not a problem. You do what you need to do, then do what you can do. As for renaming accounts, let me know you want to merge it with, and I'll chase this up with staff. Faking a username would make it harder for you to be found/tracked/contacted, considering (for example) people would type in your fake name into various special pages and it wouldn't work. I'll do what I can to get it actually changed. Gboyers talk 15:39, 15 June 2009 (UTC)


 * That's a good point (about the special pages). Well anything more personal would do (I don't care to that extent, I just want to get rid of the gimmick), but the account that I own (I linked to it before, that I was going to use in the css) is User:JFletcher (it's a red link because I created it from the central Wikia, so it didn't create my social profile here, but the link still works, and it shows the message that I left in the real name option). It is connected to the same email address as my real account and all that kind of stuff. But considering that that account has never made an edit on ANY wiki, there might not be any excuse for a merge. Thanks for the help though! Biggest GTA Fan EverTalk 06:27, 16 June 2009 (UTC)

Profiles
I've been on here a few times but now I'm a member. I was womdering if I'm supposed to put my real information on my profile or if I'm supposed to put my fictional GTA characters information. Probably a silly question but just wondering. --James &quot;Playboy Rex&quot; Black 04:35, 18 June 2009 (UTC)Mr. James


 * Well firstly welcome, glad you've decided to sign up. The information there doesn't have to be real, but remember that people will look at it and think it applies to you (eg they will probably call you by that name). But it's your profile, you do what you want with it. You can even turn it into a wiki page (like mine) instead of a social-networking-style profile by hitting the orange button, and then you can just write whatever you want. Gboyers talk 04:46, 18 June 2009 (UTC)

Thanks for the quick response. --James &quot;Playboy Rex&quot; Black 04:49, 18 June 2009 (UTC)Playboy Rex

Wep
Wep stands for "weapons" :O. Darkman 4


 * Hehe, I understand that, I was being facetious. It isn't obvious to people what "GTAVCSwep" means, so "gtavcs weapons" is better. And (as a personal preference) I prefer to use lower-case names for templates, like, just to make it easier to type in (since it isnt a "title" like it is in real articles). Good work on the tables anyway, they look pretty useful. Gboyers talk 03:32, 21 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Feel free to use them for other things, such as missions. It's pretty much a copy and paste of the tables I made for the weapon pages on the Call of Duty Wiki. Darkman 4 03:34, 21 June 2009 (UTC)
 * I'm quite impressed - you're keeping up with all the changes I'm making as you're going along. Keep up the good work - Gboyers talk 04:11, 21 June 2009 (UTC)