Powers & Abilities Formatting [Staff Only]

[Antvasima]

I find the suggested new format incredibly stylistically ugly/distasteful and unprofessional, and also don't want our formatting to be all over the place in terms of consistency. I have a responsibility to make judgement calls when something seems very destructive for the wiki as a whole.

Also, I am very tired and stressed out, so I am not remotely in a patient mood at the moment.

 

[M3X_2.0]

The TL;DR of the main topic is there is a codified list of guidelines for the Power & Abilities sections which can be found here.

Hm, I agree with everything you said there. I think we should stop being strict and leave people use their criativity and the vast amount of codes to improve the profiles in any way. The different types of writing a P&A section should be completely optional (given the options we give, like paragraph, bullet format, bolding, etc). We already do this with the Notable Techniques section.

I've tried so many times to increase the quality of the profiles with some minor stuff like bolding range, stamina, ability types, but people are always against it because of bullshitty reasons so I just started doing what I think it's best for the profiles I work. If you don't like it then don't just do it with the stuff you're working. Unless a strict rule is given about not using said stuff I'm honestly not stopping from using it.

 

[Antvasima]

We are opening up for the powers and abilities sections to slowly be converted to a more professional looking format, not to let our members experiment freely to turn them all into a completely incoherent, unprofessional looking mess. We have our standard format instructions for very good reasons. My apologies.

 

[Damage3245]

Hm, I agree with everything you said there. I think we should stop being strict and leave people use their criativity and the vast amount of codes to improve the profiles in any way. The different types of writing a P&A section should be completely optional (given the options we give, like paragraph, bullet format, bolding, etc). We already do this with the Notable Techniques section.

I've tried so many times to increase the quality of the profiles with some minor stuff like bolding range, stamina, ability types, but people are always against it because of bullshitty reasons so I just started doing what I think it's best for the profiles I work. If you don't like it then don't just do it with the stuff you're working. Unless a strict rule is given about not using said stuff I'm honestly not stopping from using it.

Thank you for the input.

In general though, we're just limiting ourselves to just those six guidelines which we're already using on many of the profiles. We can't be too unrestricted at this time.

 

[M3X_2.0]

All of our profiles are in some way incoherent with each other. Almost every single Notable Technique section are different, some Attack potency sections have the calculation result in it, some characters image are on the center and not on the right, sometimes we explain too much some sections that we need scrollboxes, some don't. Stop thinking about what you like and start thinking on what's actually better, what's good.

This section here is a complete mess and it would be way better with the bullet format, I can barely distinguish what's a scan linked and what's the actual power because they are the same thing: Blue word.

 

[Damage3245]

All of our profiles are in some way incoherent with each other. Almost every single Notable Technique section are different, some Attack potency sections have the calculation result in it, some characters image are on the center and not on the right, sometimes we explain too much some sections that we need scrollboxes, some don't. Stop thinking about what you like and start thinking on what's actually better, what's good.

This section here is a complete mess and it would be way better with the bullet format, I can barely distinguish what's a scan linked and what's the actual power because they are the same thing: Blue word.

Improving the Naruto profiles with the new format is something I've discussed with UchihaSlayer. We've just got to get around experimenting with it.

You're right that there are going to be variations between profiles. Not all profiles are exactly alike, and they shouldn't be, but we also need to keep things organized. These guidelines are a way of doing that; so that people are working from the same page.

 

[Antvasima]

I am always thinking of what is good for the wiki as a whole. It would turn it far too unprofessional-looking and hard to manage if we give our members free reign to experiment without rather strict standard instructions. Our current system of giving a little bit of leeway is not the same as allowing absolute chaos in terms of lack of organisation. I am not budging regarding this either. Wikipedia is the standard of coherent wiki professionalism that we should strive towards.

 

[Abstractions]

All of us are thinking for what is good for the wiki, I don't think that's up for question. We just end up having different definitions on the matter.

 

[M3X_2.0]

A strict standard is not what we need. We need options. Options to use if something isn't good. The profile I just linked has a really messed up P&A section, so what options do we have to improve it? Or we just leave it being as awful as it is because we have a strict guide?

Sorry but I simply can't accept that and I will always argue for more freedom while creating profiles.

 

[Damage3245]

A strict standard is not what we need. We need options. Options to use if something isn't good. The profile I just linked has a really messed up P&A section, so what options do we have to improve it? Or we just leave it being as awful as it is because we have a strict guide?

Sorry but I simply can't accept that and I will always argue for more freedom while creating profiles.

We do have multiple options. That's what the proposed guidelines are about.

That doesn't mean limitless options though. I'm a big believer in freedom for the profiles too, but the pages aren't just sandboxes for us to decide on whatever format we want individually.

 

[M3X_2.0]

Yes Damage, I'm agreeing with you and your thread. But I'm talking not only about the P&A section.

 

[Damage3245]

Yes Damage, I'm agreeing with you and your thread. But I'm talking not only about the P&A section.

Ah, fair enough.

Honestly, I'd be down for some more discussion on how to improve other aspects of the pages but that'd be off-topic for this thread for now, and better to be looked into once this has been wrapped up.

 

[M3X_2.0]

Yeah, that'd be derailing and this discussion is honestly very annoying.

Anyway, I agree with the thread and the proposal, it's great. Options are always welcome if they improve our profiles.

 

[Antvasima]

We are definitely not going to introduce absolute chaos in all of our profile creation instruction standards, and it is not your place to decide a drastic destructive overhaul for almost 30,000 pages. Also, that is not the topic of this thread.

 

[M3X_2.0]

You managed to not understand everything of what I said.

 

[Antvasima]

The point of this thread, much like the new rule about adding references a while back, is to gradually switch towards a much-needed greater structural professionalism for the wiki as a whole, not act as an antithesis to that.

 

[Damage3245]

@Antvasima; once again, with respect Antvasima, if you're extremely tired and stressed, then you're not in the clearest headspace for this discussion. Your posts are lacking in a bit of tact, as M3X is not just suggesting "absolute chaos" or a "drastic destructive overhaul" of all the pages.

I'm just saying, get some rest. This thread is pretty much done, so you don't need to be responding now and taking up more of your time here.

 

[Antvasima]

Okay. I have to constantly jump back and forth between here and other tasks, so I am very distracted as well.

Anyway, I think that we should focus on purely constructive wiki revisions, such as switching to using consistent proper punctuation, not on overall ill-formatted incoherence.

 

[M3X_2.0]

Yes, I'm very aware of that. I myself have created threads to improve our format. The tabbers and its various forms (such as tabbers within tabbers, etc) are there in the format because I created a thread to implement this as something necessary. Don't you think it looks way more "professional", as you wish it to be? Way more organized, etc. I fail to understand why you think I want the worst for the wiki.

I'm not suggesting chaos or anything. I'm suggesting we have options for stuff that can be bad or simply go wrong, as I showed.

 

[Antvasima]

Okay. My apologies if I misunderstood. The option for more structured tabbers was obviously a good idea as I see it.

 

[M3X_2.0]

Yes, this option is really good, since it makes profiles with multiple versions of a character more organized. So we have a solution for something really bad: Use tabbers if the profile has multiple renders for the character

Now, what's the solution for a very messed up P&A section? Sometimes I can distinguish abilities from linked words, since they look the same (a blue word).

 

[Damage3245]

Yes, this option is really good, since it makes profiles with multiple versions of a character more organized. So we have a solution for something really bad: Use tabbers if the profile has multiple renders for the character

Now, what's the solution for a very messed up P&A section? Sometimes I can distinguish abilities from linked words, since they look the same (a blue word).

The list/bolded abilities format is the solution to that. Like Gas' profile for example.

 

[Antvasima]

The list/bolded abilities format is the solution to that. Like Gas' profile for example.

That is correct, yes.

 

[M3X_2.0]

Great, we're on the same boat then.

 

[Antvasima]

It seems so, yes. I want to strive for improved structures, professionalism, and nice-looking easily overviewed aesthetics.

 

[Antvasima]

I want to apologise to other staff members for my behaviour earlier in this thread.

I have had a very hard time keeping up with my workload here and IRL lately, and also been very stressed out due to several reasons, including being overinformed regarding geopolitical developments.

 

[Damage3245]

Real-world news sucks, and it is good to take a break from it every now and then. Can't let yourself get overwhelmed by it.

Thank you for apologizing.

 

[Antvasima]

No problem.

 

[Antvasima]

So should you apply what has been accepted here now, or do we need more input first?

 

[Damage3245]

So should you apply what has been accepted here now, or do we need more input first?

I'm fine to apply it. My suggest format for the guidelines has been up there for nearly a month without any major reasons not to add it in.

 

[Antvasima]

Okay. I think that it should be fine to add then. I have made some structural modifications to it though:

When listing Powers & Abilities, some formatting options are necessary and some are optional but may be recommended in order to present the information to users of the wiki in a clear way. Use your best judgement and look at existing profiles for inspiration. Some important things to keep in mind:

1) Links (Mandatory: When listing Abilities which have pages on the wiki already, it is important to link directly to them so that users can see explanations and examples of other users of these abilities. Surround the ability with links using square brackets: [[Example]].)

2) Justifications (Optional but strongly recommended: Typically some Abilities should have a short justifications after them with necessary links as evidence, unless the ability is extremely self-evident and requires no explanation such as Superhuman Physical Characteristics. Longer and more detailed explanations should be listed in the "Notable Attacks/Techniques" section.)

3) Paragraph Format (Default: Abilities are typically listed in a paragraph style, with the abilities (and their justifications) separated from each other by commas. This format may be preferable for profiles that have few abilities such as here, or an extremely long list of abilities such as here. Power sections that have few justifications may also be better presented in this condensed paragraph format such as here.)

4) Bullet Points and Bolding Format (Optional: Abilities can be listed in paragraph format as above, but for more than just a small number of abilities, it may be clearer if the abilities are displayed in a list which displays the abilities in an organized fashion. See examples of pages that have incorporated bullet points successfully here and here. Abilities in this format should be bolded to help distinguish them from the rest of the text. Do not bold abilities if they are not displayed in a bullet point format.)

5) Tabbers (Optional: If an Ability list becomes too extensive, the abilities can be separated into different tabs. It is recommended that this be done in a way that makes sense with the rest of the page, such as modelling the tabs off of character's keys or for different forms and transformations. Although you can put tabbers inside of other tabbers to break down the information more such as separating Abilities from Resistances, you should not overdo it. Do not go more than three tabs deep.)

6) Scrollboxes (Optional: If an Abilities section is so long that it takes up a huge portion of a page, then it should be fitted into scrollboxes so the user can more easily overview the rest of the page. Do not use scrollboxes for short to medium lists of abilities as the box will be unnecessary.)

 

[Antvasima]

Also, should the words "Powers" and "Abilities" have their respective first letters capitalised or not?

 

[Damage3245]

Also, should the words "Powers" and "Abilities" have their respective first letters capitalised or not?

Might as well.

The above text looks fine to me.

 

[KLOL506]

Hmmmmmmm, what about References?

 

[Damage3245]

Hmmmmmmm, what about References?

References are kind of a seperate topic altogether, since they can go in P&A but also in justifications for ratings, Notable Attacks, other sections, etc.

There should be an explanation to add References to pages elsewhere on the wiki.

 

[Antvasima]

Yes, see here:

References

References is a section in character profiles where the source references can be shown. They should be used whenever and wherever possible to increase the reliability of the information presented in the pages and to improve the overall quality of this wiki. To use them, switch to the source...

vsbattles.fandom.com

Anyway, I think that you can add the new instructions now, Damage.

 

[Damage3245]

Okay. Added it in here under the "Additional information" section.

 

[KLOL506]

Yes, see here:

References

References is a section in character profiles where the source references can be shown. They should be used whenever and wherever possible to increase the reliability of the information presented in the pages and to improve the overall quality of this wiki. To use them, switch to the source...

vsbattles.fandom.com

Anyway, I think that you can add the new instructions now, Damage.

K.

 

[Antvasima]

It seems good to me. Thank you for helping out.

Is there anything left to do here?