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Discussion: The Guide is a Mess
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XCVG |
The Guide is a Mess
Jul 10 2010, 7:33 PM EDT
| Post edited: Jul 10 2010, 7:49 PM EDT
First off, despite the jarring title, I'm not actually trying to flame, offend or step on anyone's toes here. I would just like to point out one of my observations about the site. If this turns into a flame war, don't feel bad when you lock it. I'm not trying to badmouth the site, I actually like it a lot. Now, onwards.The site, specifically the survival guide part, is a mess. To keep this post from going the same way, I've divided it up into a few points. 1. Confusing, borderline redundant sections Bugging In, Digging In, and Living seem redundant. I do see the difference in the topics, but many members don't seem to, and the distribution of articles reflects this. I understand that bugging in is fortifying your current location, digging in is longer-term fortifying, and living is simply going on after the apocalypse. I'm not 100% on this- and that's the problem. The categories, especially Bugging In and Digging In, overlap to a significant degree and the differences are unclear. There are some articles that overlap, and some that just don't belong. This leads me to the second point. 2. Redundant articles Sometimes what happens is that two or more articles pop up that cover the same topic or almost the same topic. This alone is pretty bad. Often the articles are uninformative and short, because the editing is divided over many articles. This is a wiki, anyone can edit it. You should have one article, and divide it into sub-articles if necessary. 3. Bad organization I find the guide somewhat difficult to browse. Most of this is because of points A and B. However, to some degree it stems from having only six categories and underutilization of subcategories. Merging and deleting redundant articles, grouping articles into sub-topics (the equipment pages are like this), and putting things in alphabetical order would go a long way towards fixing this. Do you find this valuable?
Keyword tags:
mess
organization
survival guide
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XCVG |
1. The Guide is a Mess, pt 2
Jul 10 2010, 7:47 PM EDT
*continued*4. Survival plans in the guide Where is the line drawn? I've seen some stuff that's pretty much a personal survival plan in the guide. However, if it's just rephrased a little, it can be a guide. The bug-out bags section is a good example of this. So maybe it's just my interpretation here. A good example of all of this would be the various pages on food. "Food Storage" and "Food in an Infected world" are both excellent articles, but overlap a lot. There are other articles on food, of course. My thought is to put these under a subcategory of "Food". Also, should they really be in "Bugging In"? Yes and no, at the same time. Argh, it's overlapping, see point 1. An example of point four would be the page "How to organize a base". It's more a plan than a guide. On closer inspection, however, there isn't that much difference between a guide and a plan- just the wording. So maybe I'm just overreacting here. There are a lot of short, redundant, or overly specific articles that should be merged or at least categorized, such as "Solar Battery Charger", "Concrete Walls", "Vehicles" and "Preparing your car for an outbreak". My idea for a solution sounds incredibly backwards. More categories. Food and water could be one, transportation or vehicles another, weapons, fortification- I'll leave this to someone else. Yes, I realize I'm another whiney noob. But I used full sentences, that's worth something, right? In all seriousness, I would be happy to volunteer to help organize. That may not be such a good idea, though, since I'm new here. I do realize you admins and mods are busy with all sorts of things I can barely begin to comprehend. Comments, discussion, you'll probably flame me for this or at least laugh at me. Do you find this valuable? |
Carnack |
2. RE: The Guide is a Mess, pt 2
Jul 10 2010, 8:04 PM EDT
| Post edited: Jul 10 2010, 8:05 PM EDT
1: Redundancy matters. Sure people don't like being told things more than once...but then humans learn through repitition.2: If two users have two different takes on one article and it gets altered someone's gonna be pissed. Multiple POVs + B!tch Fits = a need for different articles at times. 3: Getting handled. 4: Some are specific. Call them examples if you will. Your main problem seems to stem from redundancy and that is needed. Few humans can read something onced and grasp it in a sitting. There are also links between different concepts that in order to see the line must be reiterated. 1 out of 1 found this valuable. Do you? |
DevilNuts |
3. RE: The Guide is a Mess, pt 2
Jul 10 2010, 9:02 PM EDT
First off, welcome to the ZSDW and thanks for your input. We do realize that there are organizational discrepancies within the wiki, and we are constantly striving to improve the layout of the site in order to improve the user experience. One thing you must keep in mind is that this site is a collaboration of the users, which means that it is not one "guide;" Instead, it is a compilation of the collective works of every member of the site who chooses to contribute. Therefore it is not uncommon to find a page entitled "Rifles," and then a separate page called "NinjaMan123's guide to Rifles." It is difficult to balance the need for organization and structure with the concurrent need to allow the free exchange of ideas. There are Moderators and Admins who work more or less full-time at re categorizing and keeping the wiki as organized as it possibly can be. It is a work in progress though, and not all of the material can be arranged at once. If you have specific suggestions, feel free to PM a Moderator. Also, feel free to add a profile pic. Do you find this valuable? |
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XCVG |
4. RE: The Guide is a Mess, pt 2
Jul 10 2010, 11:48 PM EDT
"Also, feel free to add a profile pic. "It took me a while to find the button DX Anyway, I sorta see your point there. If there's one page for something, you could end up with a flame/edit war which would end up with someone getting pissed off and leaving. I do see that side of the argument, but my opinion stays the same, not that it matters. I'm not trying to be snarky or a smartass; the internet sucks for conveying tone. Do you find this valuable? |
AlexHigginbotham |
5. RE: The Guide is a Mess, pt 2
Jul 16 2010, 3:41 AM EDT
I agree to most of your points. I really haven't read pages that I didnt see linked in the forums. The navigation with WP is a nightmare.
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PedroAsani |
6. RE: The Guide is a Mess, pt 2
Jul 16 2010, 7:17 AM EDT
I would love to just wave my hands and have The Survival Guide become organised as you suggest. That IS the eventual end-plan. However, we have volunteers doing the work, and trying to get it organised is a long, slow process.The reason for dividing it into the four main sections, is because each activity is localised. Bugging In refers to your home. Bugging Out is about travelling. Digging In contains the information for preparing a BOL, and Living will have guides for what to expect your life to be like, post-Z. Below the top level, things are a mess. But we are working on it. Do you find this valuable? |
