Forum:Featured User and Did you know?

So I decided to take more interest in this site and all. So I decided to come up with a few things I wanted to say for a long time.

Firstly, The featured user interview. Really, it's nothing but long-long text that majority of people wont care about, only for active editors here being merely 20 users. It fills up the entire homepage as if the homepage is just their for that big interview relating nothing with Sonic himself. This is an encyclopedia after all. What I'm saying that we don't need that interview to fill the entire page since it's just some everyday question asked about some person that could even be found on his/her page. If it were an interview from some SEGA guy with us, then sure, keep it for months but this is just a user. I strongly suggest we merge the interview to a different subpage and add a message above the poll ; This months features user was ______, click here to see his/her interview

I believe a ton of more useful things could be added instead, like the recently discussed News wall and a Did you know section. I believe this wiki has a ton of info that is worthy of a Did you know. It's representable and ofcourse, appealing to newcomers. They'll know this wiki is top notch

Thats all for now. --Quack 15:26, June 25, 2013 (UTC)

Hmmm.... I might want to agree with this. Some people MIGHT care. Let's put my opinion in a nutshell: Put the Featured User thing on a subpage; Put a Did You Know section, and implement the News Wall. 17:03, June 25, 2013 (UTC)


 * Perfect nutshell. And by some people you mean.. very little. Like only user's who frequently come here for the community. --Quack 17:08, June 25, 2013 (UTC)

I like the idea of having a subpage for interviews, but not a "Did you know?" section. I think it would be unnecessary. 25 June 2013 17:50 (UTC)

I could probably help with the "Did you know?" section. We have something similar on the Matrix Wiki, except we use quotes instead of facts. Each time the page is visited, the quote changes on its own so that the visitor doesn't always see the same quote. I could try bringing that here, but using facts instead of quotes. 20:55, June 25, 2013 (UTC)
 * You'd have to spend a lot of time putting all the facts in. I mean, there's so many, which is great because we need many to make it work, but... PhysAnimation.gif]] PhysTheEchidna  ( talk ) [[File:PhysTheEchidnaSprite.png 21:09, June 25, 2013 (UTC)

I love dark future's idea of the Quote on the main page. 21:13, June 25, 2013 (UTC)

Part of me wants to keep the Featured User interview. Before I joined the wiki as a user, I always found it interesting to read. The interview also encouraged me to join in hopes of potentially being interviewed one day. I wouldn't mind seeing the News Wall and DYK implemented, however. -- 22:29, June 25, 2013 (UTC)

I disagree with you, Disco, as I want the Featured User interview to remain on the homepage. I do agree that it should be strictly about Sonic and their wiki lives. As for the Did You Know section... Ummmm, I would say it shouldn't be an administrator-only editing thing, if that makes sense. It should be editable by users with user rights. I don't really have to say much about that, but it's my opinion. 22:34, June 25, 2013 (UTC)
 * There is no protection setting that only allows users with rollback or chat moderator permissions to edit. Just leave it open to all autoconfirmed users unless the page is a target for vandalism. -- 22:46, June 25, 2013 (UTC)

To summarize my thoughts on the home page:


 * Keep Featured User and the interview
 * Increase featured user candidates to eight
 * Add did you know section so long as people will be working on it
 * Add news wall so long as people will be working on it
 * Update headers to Disco's version as seen on Forum:News Wall?, as they will look better with the background.

-- 22:49, June 25, 2013 (UTC)

Per Bullet.--- 22:59, June 25, 2013 (UTC)

Well, I'll take all of Bullet's ideas. But I still insist we atleast shorten the interview. --Quack 06:48, June 26, 2013 (UTC)

I like DF's idea. A different fact every time? That would be so cool. -- Shadowunleashed13 (talk) 18:55, June 26, 2013 (UTC)
 * It's actually possible to create a list of facts (five or six, maybe) and make them different every time as well. -- 11:07, June 27, 2013 (UTC)

I think the Features User should have a subpage instead. On the homepage it can look something like this -

DarkFuture Read more about this user

It doesn't need to look like this. But I think a subpage is a better idea, since, instead of the Featured User, we can have our own News Feed taking its place on out page. Thoughts?--SlugDrones • (Contact) 11:45, June 27, 2013 (UTC)
 * The news feed (using Morff's idea) would look better on the right column, as demonstrated here and here. The interview can stay on the main page as long as both columns are balanced. Perhaps we could move Featured Article to the left and add the News Feed and "Did you know" to the right? -- 11:50, June 27, 2013 (UTC)


 * I think that might work. But what we really need is to have a featured user actually updated on time. There were times on SNN when we would have the FU updated on the dot every month. Nowadays...well... -- Murphyshane -  熱! Don't click here   11:52, June 27, 2013 (UTC)


 * Another reason why I think we make a subpage so that our frontpage doesn't have an outdated wall of text.--SlugDrones • (Contact) 12:06, June 27, 2013 (UTC)
 * By the way, what if we have the buttons across the page?Acrossthepage.png
 * No thanks. I prefer our current arrangement. A sub-page isn't necessary. The Featured User Interview evens out the columns anyways. If we moved something over to the left column, and added the News Wall and DYK secion to the right column, it should be fairly balanced. -- 12:14, June 27, 2013 (UTC)
 * The FU takes the most space of our frontpage. Something I've never been pleased with since we can put so much more.--SlugDrones • (Contact) 12:20, June 27, 2013 (UTC)
 * I'd rather keep it. It's not preventing you from adding "more", you just have to even out the columns. If you can find a way to make it smaller and even out the columns so they look good, then I'll reconsider my opinion. -- 12:29, June 27, 2013 (UTC)

Dornes, you should share that on the New Look Forum. I also do not like it. 12:15, June 27, 2013 (UTC)

Um, guys? We already had a previous discussion about Featured User and possible changes to it. We concluded that we would increase it to six people, but otherwise leave it be. It's rather annoying that one forum ends about the subject matter, then a short while later another one pops up (Featured User, profanity, etc).

Anyways, ever since I took up the mantle of Featured User Interviewer, I've always stuck to the unofficial formula of having at least three Sonic/Wiki-related questions, then the rest can be about... just about anything. It's a way for Users to learn more about some of the most active and well-known members of the wiki.

As for the late updates... it's not really something I could help due to circumstances at the time. End of my high school year, preparation for graduation, graduation ceremony, and then Sacor needing to go on a break for a month. Sure I could interview the runner-up, but that wouldn't be a fair shake to Sacor. I mean hell, when Sonicrox14 once won Featured User she and the wiki had to wait... what, six months? Waiting until July isn't a big deal, is it?--Kagi mizu -Seeya 'round 10:05, June 28, 2013 (UTC)
 * Not at all. Just don't say anywhere on the main page that it is going to be updated monthly. It can really be updated whenever, monthly is just preferable. We should keep Featured User as is, but I still wouldn't mind opening the door a bit more to a couple more people. -- 12:10, June 28, 2013 (UTC)