GTA Wiki talk:Community Portal/Oasis Archive

Please read the situation explanation before commenting We are not closing down. We are suggesting moving away from wikia, to our own website.

Discussion

 * Please use this section to discuss the Oasis skin and the move away from Wikia

This was a discussion I had with Angela Beesley (Wikia Founder) in 2007 before Grand Theft Wiki moved to Wikia: This is just another proof of the breach of trust we have seen from Wikia. They are not keeping the ads away from the content at all, and they are very obtrusive - especially on the new thinner layout. Logged in users see more than one advert, and it does detract significantly from the experience of using the wiki. Gboyers talk 22:29, October 3, 2010 (UTC)
 * ME: As for Wikia adverts, I understand that this is central to your business and so I wouldn't prevent that. As on WoWWiki, the advertisements aren't brazenly plastered around every pixel of space. Although I never run adverts on my own sites (something about ethics...), so long as they don't detract from the experience of using the Wiki, then I have no qualms with their use.
 * ANGELA: Hopefully you won't find them obtrusive. The new skins were designed to keep the ads away from the content, especially for logged in users where there is just one small ad in the top corner.

Community Answers

 * Please place your answers below, in a similar format to this first post. 

Gboyers talk 22:15, October 3, 2010 (UTC)
 * 1) What do you think of the Oasis skin? - I think the skin is okay, but it does NOT suit a wiki, especially GTW. It will also cause a lot of problems, and ruin our identity.
 * 2) Do you think GTW should leave Wikia? - Yes, but only if the community are with us. Splitting the community in two, or only taking away the staff, would be disastrous for both forks.
 * 3) If we moved, would you move with us, rather than staying on gta.wikia.com? Yes - it is absolutely imperative that we all move together.

1: It's meh, not really my thing. I could see how it would work for other wikis, though.

2: I'm actually 50-50 split on this. There are some good reasons to go, but also some good reasons to stay. If I had to choose, I'd say leave Wikia.

3: I would move with you, wholeheartedly.

MAINEiac4434 22:44, October 3, 2010 (UTC)

A-Dust 23:06, October 3, 2010 (UTC)
 * 1) I think that the skin looks horrible, worse than the current Wikia preferred option (which I also do not use). The skin will take away the identity of GTW and create a layout that could be any other wiki.
 * 2) Yes and I suggested the possibility when they introduced the now outgoing skin a while back.
 * 3) Yes.

I didn't like some of the things i read about the new changes. When these changes take place i will be leaving. I will follow GTW if it moves and i hope that it does. Jaceysdad 23:20, October 3, 2010 (UTC)

1. Horrible

2. Some good reasons to stay, but maybe it's time for independence

3. Yes.

Kanzler31 23:32, October 3, 2010 (UTC)

Make your own domain grandtheftwiki.com like you said. I'd definitely move with you guys. Kyleneu 04:29, October 4, 2010 (UTC)

1. Terrible, put's advertising first and contend/creative design last.

2. I support the move. But I still think we should fight to keep the skin off us.

3. Definetly Chimpso (Talk) 04:37, October 4, 2010 (UTC)

I have been going around many Wikia wikis leaving my input on a move:
 * 1) I hate the new Wikia skin (it is no longer called Oasis, just Wikia, oh, how imaginative!) It is hard to use, slow to load and fixed width is just evil!
 * 2) There are many good wiki farms. I plan to move Wikisimpsons to ShoutWiki and an old Wikia helper, Jack Phoenix, is a staff member there. Moving will be for the best.
 * 3) I am not a major contributor here. Made one or two edits. If you move to ShoutWiki, I will use that one over this one though.

I have got a list of positives and negatives about ShoutWiki here. Please read that as it may help make a decision. ☆ The   Solar   Dragon  ☆ 06:25, October 4, 2010 (UTC)


 * 1) I hate it with a passion (I was in the first batch of beta testers), and I have made an array of essays and blog posts against it. Essentially though, I don't see how this wiki will be able to go on without a sidebar with more than 4 menus, without a sitenotice, without half its content space and without a banner.
 * 2) ShoutWiki is looking into snatching Monaco and implementing it on their wikifarm before it gets nuked, and this means widgets will be back there. I'd suggest setting up a donation fund to pay for a server and a domain if you're self-hosting, but admins and users will get more access to the database - and you can mould the wiki however you want it (user right names can be incredibly original).
 * 3) I will be quitting Wikia altogether. It's sad, but I can't do anything about it. Even though I have hardly edited here, I read this wiki a lot. I'll definitely become a full time editor when GTA V is announced and that will hopefully be when you guys have a new wiki. Just remember that you will have to make sure this old wiki does not change for the worse while everyone is gone.

19:09, October 4, 2010 (UTC)

Leaving
because, do not leave this site at wikia.

So, this place will be completely dead?
Am I understanding this correctly? This place will beasically become a tomb with no updates due to this new skin?

Okay, that's fair enough and I will not begrudge you the right to such a course of action. Especially if the monkeys on this site, in their ivory towers, insist of forcing a new skin upon us.

But please clarify something, if we abandon this place. Will there be another GTA database we can all contribute to? With all the articles we've made here?

I simply cannot stomach the idea of leaving this place and yet having nowhere else to go. A lot of people have put in a lot of effort here. It would be a massive shame to just give up. So, any clarification will be much appreciated and hopefully sweeten the bitter pill.

Thanks!

IdesofMarch 13:16, October 4, 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for clarifying, friend. And it goes without saying that when the move comes, I'll go along too. There is no point sticking with a site that doesn't respect its users and claims to listen to them whilst flatly ignoring all of their concerns and fears. This community of ours is a great thing, all of us are drawn together by a common love of the greatest series of games ever created (In my mind at least) and it would be very regrettable if there was a deep, irrepairable schism simply because this site is ran by fools. IdesofMarch 13:42, October 4, 2010 (UTC)IdesofMarch
 * The idea is that we would move to a new site, taking a copy of all content with us. However, some people might stay here and continue to run this copy. This is why we want to make sure everyone comes over to the new site, rather than trying to run two wikis in competition with each other. Gboyers talk 13:33, October 4, 2010 (UTC)

Randomtomato 15:55, October 4, 2010 (UTC) Would like to see you move away from Wikia as that skin is just stupid, although i would like to see GTW in the Wikipedia-esque format because its easy to use. Randomtomato 15:56, October 4, 2010 (UTC)
 * Monobook, the skin formerly used by Wikipedia, and Vector (Wikipedia's new skin) will be both available to anyone self-hosting and using the latest MediaWiki software. 19:12, October 4, 2010 (UTC)

This sounds like a good idea to me.
I really haven't liked a lot of Wikia's recent changes and I hope we can find somewhere better or else just self host. I really don't think the Oasis skin is a good skin for wikis though. I wonder if we could get in withGTANet somehow?

I guess I really think we should leave Wikia behind. I'm sure we could do better elsewhere. It probably doesn't help that the subjects of this wiki are not as family friendly, so they don't even want us here.

I'll be sure to go wherever you go.

ZedoMann 20:30, October 4, 2010 (UTC)

UPDATE: 3 Wikis already left
Club Penguin Wiki, Apple Wiki and Casualty wiki have left. Soon, more wikis will either: Move to another Wiki farm, or create their own site. Any thoughts on the exodus ahead? Kanzler31 22:53, October 4, 2010 (UTC)


 * We are toying with the idea. I want to make sure we make the right decision for THIS wiki and its community, not just blindly follow others without thinking carefully about the consequences. There is still time for Wikia to make this right, and that would be the simplest option for everyone. Gboyers talk 00:07, October 5, 2010 (UTC)

Go for it!
We should leave Wikia. I have checked out the new skin and it dosen't look all great. I enjoy this current skin anyway. If you leave, I will go to the new site. Just make sure that you let everyone know when the exodus will take place.Klltr 00:39, October 5, 2010 (UTC)

Hard decision
1.This skin is like our identity, why should we get it taken by wikia.Of course wikia would like it they're all for tidyness and stuff like that.

2.This is where its hard if we stay all kinds of problems will arise, however if we go the 2nd fork will probably get more popularity than us.However I think we should move.

3.Hell yeah!

Please stay on Wikia
The information for everything on this site is very valuable for my videos. Also it's cool to read all of the trivia. But if you leave gta.wikia.com, I will go with you as well.

ZDUPH 10:09, October 5, 2010 (UTC)ZDUPH


 * You can still put videos on our new site (if that's what you meant), and all the trivia will be there as well. Chimpso (Talk) 10:16, October 5, 2010 (UTC)


 * Yes - we are not closing down, we would just be moving to our own website away from Wikia. Gboyers talk 11:43, October 5, 2010 (UTC)

Do it
More than anything else, we can't just let Wikia push us around. We need to be aggressive! Maybe then other wikis will follow our example. Sgt. S.S. 17:16, October 5, 2010 (UTC)