What needs to be done, part 1. (3/27/08)

chaos

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An introduction to the "What needs to be done" series

A while back, I made this thread in the hopes that it would help people be more proactive in contributing to the site. I don't think it's working - I still get people asking me every now and then "how they can help." Judging from the relative amount of inactivity on the articles project, I'm not sure those who are active contributors really know what to do either.

It's time for some changes.
  • Instead of having a stickied topic, I am going to start making occasional "What's going on in C&C" posts. These will include descriptions of the active C&C projects, who's working on them (and thus, who to contact to help on the project), and how you, personally, can help with the project. This topic will also serve as the first one of these; more on that later.
  • "Projects" will gain temporary subforums to more effectively manage what is going on. Project leaders will be given temporary moderator status to effectively manage their projects. Some projects last forever - for example, the Analysis Workshop. Once we clear the backlog of articles, the Article Workshop will become perm too. HTML Workshop is tentative - it will most likely be perm.
I'm hoping these changes will help organize C&C a little better. I thought of this when searching for old C&C articles (earliest was from 2005... that's sort of pathetic) to nominate for HTMLization. Bumping all of the topics cluttered C&C - we really just need to siphon these out to different, temporary subforums so we can make sure they get the attention they deserve.

What needs to be done (3/27/08)

The main project of C&C right now is getting together our articles section. I've been searching around the Internet to see what people have to say about Smogon - and to my surprise, they had a lot of positive things to say! However, one comment bothered me: they referred to Smogon as a "forum site." "That's not true at all!" I exclaimed to myself loudly, startling hybrid from his dream of giving Steelicks a full-body massage. I wondered to myself what on earth could possibly give people that impression, and it became quite clear: every one of our guides linked to contained "showthread.php" in the URL (the breeding guide is a favorite, heh heh).

That's not right. We need to finish proofing all of the old articles on the site and get them up as soon as we can! The molasses-esque rate we are getting stuff done, as far as the articles project goes, has been bugging me as of late. Not to say that you all are a lazy bunch, in fact, nothing could be further from the truth. I don't think I acknowledge people for their good deeds enough these days (I blame it on stress :cloud:). What's going on is a product of a) the lack of suitable leader to coordinate contributions and b), horrible organization. Let's solve both of these in this topic.

Project description

The articles on the old site were written when we didn't really have any standards of quality to go by. Some are in better shape than others. The scope of this project is to identify the weaker articles, correct them, and eventually place them on the site where they belong.

Max is project leader.

What has been done?

Great Sage and some others have rewritten a few articles.

What needs to be done?

First of all, the rewritten articles need to be quality checked, re-HTMLized, put on the site, and locked. There are about 6 topics in the forum currently - a few are rewritten, and there are about 16+ more that haven't even been looked at yet.

My suggested process

The project leader is free to do what he/she wishes (within reason of course) but I have suggestions on how to organize this.

First, a forum shall be created: "Old Article Project." The project leader, and whoever else the project leader designates will be given temporary moderatorship of this subforum.

Inside the forum will be the articles to work on, except there isn't a quota of 5-6. The amount of articles imported will be dependent on the number of volunteers for the project. Each volunteer will be given a thread to claim as their own - they will be responsible for merging suggested changes/section rewrites into the main article. When the volunteer feels the article is up to par, it will be marked as ready for HTMLization.

After HTMLization and placement on the site, the original topic is locked and a new thread is made in the Article Workshop for "last minute edits" that didn't make it in the reworking timeframe.

Articles that are not deemed ready by the volunteer (or project leader) that have not been touched for X amount of days will be assigned a different volunteer to rework the article if there are no other articles in active consideration at the moment. The project leader will be responsible for delegating new volunteers and making sure article threads are either in an active editing stage or being HTMLized.

Questions, comments, project leader volunteers, article volunteers?

Feel free to post. :)
 
I am not that good at putting down my knowledge on things like this, so I am not sure how great of a job I can do helping with articles, but I can always help proofread things.
 

Blue Kirby

Never back down.
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I'm happy to volunteer for rewriting old articles and HTMLizing them as well.

I'd be happy to help lead the project since I'm capable of helping out in all areas, too.
 

IggyBot

!battle
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I would love to help in any way I can. Most likely article rewrites, I'm not really good when it comes to HTML or coding.
 

Tangerine

Where the Lights Are
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I'm pretty sure my writing ability has deteriorated quite significantly but I'll try to help out in many ways as possible (proofread, edit, rearranging ideas, etc)

Also if there's any writing you need done for Wifi, I'd like to be involved in it.
 

Shiv

mostly harmless
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I can't really help with bringing the articles up to date if they are pokemon articles, but if there are any which are more general i'd be more than willing to help. Also, I can help with HTMLization of articles.
 

Aldaron

geriatric
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I volunteer for article rewrites, though for the previous generations, it will simply be fixing the prose, not necessarily fixing the content.

I also volunteer for looking over all competitive DP articles, both prose-wise and content-wise.

I can't really help with html or any coding.
 

StrangerDanger

RETURN TO COMPETITIVE POKEMON ISLAND
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I'm up for any gruntwork. I'm a pretty good writer (or at least i think), and i can nitpick with the best of them. If taught how, i'll do any of the tedious caching/locking in of articles, or really anything at all. I just want to help.
 

Jackal

I'm not retarded I'm Canadian it's different
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id like to co-manage/help with the old rby articles and get that all up on the site. I will make that a specialty focus I guess, i bet GP would help me. I mean there are only 3 major ones, and I wrote one anyways so its just natural. I learned how to html-ize it last time and I can do it again
 

Havak

I'm the Best. You're a Towel.
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I really want to help and be as much a part of things as I can. Whether it be proof reading or rewriting, I'm pretty sure I can manage either. I'll be able to help with any generation as well, as I'm familiar with them all. (Though I'd prefer to stay away from GSC).

I wouldn't mind being a project leader, but I think there are better people for this role. Max and Jackal who have volunteered already, for example.
 

makiri

My vast and supreme will shall be done!
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Helping is my middle name, whether as a project leader or just a lackey, I will help out for sure since I haven't done jack in ages for this badge.
 

Altmer

rid this world of human waste
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I lost my staff badge for a reason, but I'll help with the oldschool (RBY/GSC) shit considering that's what I like and do best.
 

evan

I did my best -- I have no regrets
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Everyone agrees that they want to help. I am with them. Only I can only work on the proofreading side as I do not have near the experience the rest of you all do in competitive Pokemon. :) I feel my writing speaks for itself in the other analyses I have rewritten and I would be glad to take the lead in proofreading and editing for legibility of any article deemed unfit.
 

Jumpman16

np: Michael Jackson - "Mon in the Mirror" (DW mix)
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for some reason i feel the need to drag myself out from under the bus chaos nudged me under—i've been too busy with my life to give this project the attention it deserves. a topic like this would have helped me and us at the beginning of the month with direction, but i'm glad it's here now so we can be on the same page. i hope whoever is designated the new leader of this project can devote the time necessary to get these articles rewritten/proofread, HTMLized, and put onto the site in a timely fashion!
 

X-Act

np: Biffy Clyro - Shock Shock
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I think I've already done a bit of work on this stuff, but I'd be glad to help if I get a bit of time.
 

chaos

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I'm surprised at the amount of replies! I'll be on later tonight to get this up and running. Thanks for volunteering as leader Max, and thanks for everyone who volunteered to take an article under their wing. I'm sure we can knock these out pretty quickly :)
 

chaos

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I had some free time this morning (class cancelled) so I went ahead and created the project subforum. In addition, I also created a subforum for old articles posted in C&C. Help in either subforum would be greatly appreciated! Go out and claim articles. Max, you're in charge.
 

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