State of the Kanzenshuu: Wiki Status Update

[TheDevilsCorpse]

You've got an average of about 75% done here. Pretty close. Your chart has almost everything above 50%, but just like in school, those zeroes really hurt. =P

Anyway, it will really be great to have this up and running. It's getting exciting thinking about not having to use the DB Wiki for anything, ever.

[songohan619]

Quick question: Are you gonna have country-specific pages, like this?
http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/ ... _in_Norway

[Cold Skin]

^ I don't know if it would be safe.
One of Kanzenshuu's big strengths is that they always have valid information that can be verified, so that there is 0% of false information given.

But when it comes to other countries, it becomes hard for the staff to check it out, which is why when we give them news about France or Spain or any other foreign country, it's even more important than usual to have official websites as a proof to back up the news.

And then, if you add that it's past information that is hardly stated anywhere else than on Wikipedia nowadays, how can we trust it?
If you asked when Dragon Ball actually debuted in France, the answer would rely on people's untrustworthy memories, probably backup by untrustworthy Wikipedia statements.

Basically, it's hard enough to find an actual official proof of past informations, but if you were not even in the country and didn't get to live in it yourself, how can you trust what other people tell you?

I think the Wiki should keep it to the things that can actually be verified and stated as 100% true, therefore mostly Japan (lots of ressources) and America (you all lived it first hand, if there's a consensus, the info has to be right).

The only piece of information that other individual countries should be able to bring would be in the translated articles in the "official names for our country" section, as it is as simple to verify as to open the current edition of the manga or watch the current DVD/Blu-ray release.

Then much later, when the Wiki has launched properly and is already a decent, stable, quite complete work, other informations about countries may be added in their own localized articles (only with actual proofs from official sources, no "because I remember it" will do).

That's how I see it anyway, I think we should play it safe. Japan and US first, with additionnal info from other countries only limited to the current official names and only in their own localized article (which, aside from an added "Official names in our country" section, would be a strict translation of the original English article - including the use of Kanzenshuu names).

[Hujio]

Quick question: Are you gonna have country-specific pages, like this?
http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/ ... _in_Norway

To begin with, no. That isn't something we're planning on doing, at least not right away. It is definitely a possibility, just like anything else, further down the road. We're mostly going to be focusing on the original Japanese series information first, and then branching out from there over time. The majority of our reasoning is mostly outlined by Cold Skin above. Basically, the Japanese version is the basis for every other version of the series, so as such it will serve the same role on the wiki. It just logically makes the most sense to us. And like I said, things like what you mentioned just aren't a huge priority right away. To be quite frank about it, we haven't planned that far out.

[Hujio]

We are now accepting applications for beta wiki users!

[Cold Skin]

^ This is so exciting that it's getting to the point of beta-testing!

Unfortunately, this is definately not for me: my only possible contribution would be translating the wiki article to make them available in French as an option and make the best DB wiki accessible to all French fans.
And there's just no point in testing the possibility of having translated articles available as long as the original English articles haven't reached a stable, released version.

Note that right now, we're not even sure if a wiki can have a "language select" menu for each article like Wikipedia does (meaning the English and French pages can share a same name like "Son Goku"), or if there's no real language option and if independant articles have to be created (naming the English article "Son Goku" and the French article "Son Goku [FR]" or "Son Goku [French page]" or "Son Goku [France]" or something like that...).

Anyway, all of this to say it's way too early to think about that when all thoughts and energy must be put towards getting the original English articles defined and released.
THEN when we see what the result is like and what works, when it's been released and approved, translating will be possible and easy (copy-paste and replace the text with the translation, and replace the wiki-links with the equivalent wiki-links to the French articles).

I hope in the meantime, lots of volonteers are working on the wiki right now with the intent of keeping it as professionnal as Kanzenshuu is (no assumptions, only verified facts, no personal opinions/interpretations slipped-in as if they were pure facts, etc...).
I hope it looks impressive too, as it is very important for an ultimate database: if you come up on a page and see a picture that's just a random picture from a random shot of the TV show, I find it much less impressive that if you see an amazingly detailed official artwork by the original author (when possible) that makes you think "Wow!" as the page appears. But that's just me, in any case, I find it better to carefully select the best picture rather than having a seemingly-random shot taken from a random scene (which you often see on wikis).

Has it been decided what kind of pictures will be primarly used when possible across the whole article?
Will it be the Kanzenban original panels (the ultimate original source, looks extremely professionnal)? The color manga (unites original artworks by the author with colors that are perhaps much more appealing to the eye, more efficient than black and white, and it's also the latest official update)? The anime (probably the most known media for the franchise)? Or primarly chapters/promo artworks (from the author or the anime)? Or a mix of it all as you scroll down the article?

[Luso Saiyan]

or if there's no real language option and if independant articles have to be created (naming the English article "Son Goku" and the French article "Son Goku [FR]" or "Son Goku [French page]" or "Son Goku [France]" or something like that...).

That's how Wikipedia (and most Wikis) works. There's no language selection menu.

[Hujio]

Has it been decided what kind of pictures will be primarly used when possible across the whole article?

I don't have enough time to answer all your questions at the moment, but I can tell you that we have established image preferences and guidelines. We actually posted it on the forum over a year ago. It was one of the first things I put together for the wiki.

[Cold Skin]

^ Ah, thanks. Looks like it completely skipped my memory, because I did reply about the pictures back then.
Glad that the manga prevails when possible, even though there's still a blur as to if we should use the original black and white panels or the updated colored panels.
I won't be the one handling that part anyway, so I'll just wait and see.

or if there's no real language option and if independant articles have to be created (naming the English article "Son Goku" and the French article "Son Goku [FR]" or "Son Goku [French page]" or "Son Goku [France]" or something like that...).

That's how Wikipedia (and most Wikis) works. There's no language selection menu.

There's constantly a language selection menu on the left side of any article or even as the main entrance menu when you go to Wikipedia, pointing to access Wikipedia in all possible languages.
Once "locked" onto a language, all articles will only take this language into account and no article from any other language will appear unless you willingly click on another language in the language selection menu. So there can be many pages just named "Son Goku", and it's the one that fits the language you selected before that will show up.

I don't know if wikis can be done the same way or not.
Well, we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

[Hujio]

Glad that the manga prevails when possible, even though there's still a blur as to if we should use the original black and white panels or the updated colored panels.

It's not blurred at all. We specifically called out the Kanzenban, which aren't a digitally colored released.

[Kaboom]

...Should site/forum staff have filed an application for beta editing, or are we automatically a part of it?

[Luso Saiyan]

There's constantly a language selection menu on the left side of any article or even as the main entrance menu when you go to Wikipedia, pointing to access Wikipedia in all possible languages.

There's one Wikipedia per language, not the same Wikipedia on multiple languages. While they are all owned by the same organization and their purpose is the same, each Wikipedia works independently from one another. That's why you won't find every subject's article available on every language and why the content is different for each Wikipedia's language.

[Cold Skin]

^ I see. Well, I guess it might complicate things, but it's okay, the possibility of making Kanzenshuu's wiki articles accessible to fans around the world could possibly matter only in a distant future anyway, so we might as well forget about it altogether right now. The English pages are the only thing to think about right now, you can't build anything without the fundations laid out, you can't branch out without the core.

We specifically called out the Kanzenban, which aren't a digitally colored released.

Ah, okay, my mistake. Nice choice, anyway. (I must admit that colored or not, I'd have been happy as long as it was Toriyama's drawings first - manga panels, chapter titles or promo artworks included).
Black and white will be much less pleasant to the eye compared to the amazingly-colored comics, but it will look much more professionnal and "mature" to use the very original source as originally published (or what is the closest to it).

[ShadowDude112]

Hey, Hujio, is there going to be a requirement of who can edit the wiki when it's released? That way if some Joe Shmoe joins to edit the wiki, he has to meet requirements like being on here for a certain amount of time?

[Insertclevername]

If I did my math correctly, you're at an 82% completion! If only I had known anything about wiki mark up code, I could have been eligible for the beta.

[Kamiccolo9]

So, how's this thing coming along? This thread's been dead for a while now.

And will there be any more applications for beta users to help out with articles and such?

[xmysticgohanx]

Do you guys have an eta?

[Hujio]

At the moment, no. Things have just been absolutely crazy, so we can't really commit to one at the moment. Obviously we're hoping it will be sooner than later, but it's very dependent on the users helping us make articles. The more we can make, the sooner we can open. So, if there's anyone with great writing skills that wants to help, hit me up with a PM.

[KND]

@Hujio I believe that you guys are doing the best possible work to get the wiki done and I don`t want to pressure you. But maybe you guys could update the first post of this topic so the community can know how the wiki is going.
I wish my English was good enough to help with the articles.
Anyway good job and good luck with the Wiki !! Ganbare (I think is the word) !

[Sandubadear]

Will the wiki be translated to other languages? I can help translating if this happens.