Forum:Wikia's "new look"

So in case you haven't heard, Wikia is throwing public opinion to the wind and forcing every wiki to switch over to their "new look."


 * The new look
 * Transition guide
 * Transition timeline and ToU change
 * Red Dead Wiki in beta mode

I personally can't stand the look, and to top it off, the Terms of Use have been changed to keep us from making the modifications that pretty much every user will want to make - things like removing user attribution on every image or changing the sidebar width. Short of moving to another wiki farm, we're going to have to learn to live with it. Some things that will need to happen before the switch date:


 * A new logo, with dimensions 250 x 65
 * Resizing any tables or images that exceed 660px, which is the new fixed article width.
 * Some kind of discussion on a background image or color, since now everyone will have to see it

There's more, but I'll list them later.

Something else: while the terms of service prohibit making sitewide changes like the ones I discussed, it's still allowed on personal stylesheets. I would suggest making a Wiki 24 special page describing how to modify one's css pages so that the wiki doesn't look as much like the social blog hell Wikia wants to turn all their sites into. There's some css floating around that makes the new look more tolerable; once I find it I'll paste it here, and then users who are so inclined can put it into their personal style sheets. It won't affect anons, but at least the major editors here will be able to benefit. --Pyramidhead 20:49, September 28, 2010 (UTC)
 * Here it is:

.picture-attribution { display:none !important; } .GlobalNavigation { display:none !important; } .WikiaHeader nav { height: 40px !important; } .WikiaHeader li { margin-top: 13px !important; } .WikiHeader { padding-top: 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px !important; top: -10px !important; } .AccountNavigation { line-height: 0px !important; top: -25px !important; } .WikiaHeader { border-top: 0 !important; top: 0px !important; } .WikiaPage { padding-top: 20px !important; } .WikiaHeader .wikia-button { top: -6px !important; } .wikia-ad { display: none; } .WikiaPageHeader.separator { padding-bottom: 3px !important; } .WikiHeader .shadow-mask { display:none !important;}
 * Pasting that into User: /oasis.css on any of the beta wikis does slightly improve the overall experience. --Pyramidhead 21:23, September 28, 2010 (UTC)


 * I heard about this some time ago, was seriously disillusioned after looking into the details, and then pretty much shut it out of my mind. But I'm glad you're bringing it up. In a word, the changes in my opinion are scatological. Your descriptor of "social blog hell" is also on the money. We're going to have to live with it however. Since Monaco is going to be completely deleted, we need to make every effort to get this place looking as close as possible to its current look. Some Staff members helped us with the transition from Monobook to Monaco, and I intend to pester them again for help in this. Ultimately, however, the content will be less readable and visually more disruptive and I suspect this is the beginning of the end for Wikia communities as we know them. However, once the transition is all done I'll still be here.
 * Pyramidhead thanks for taking the initiative in introducing this. Regarding some of the points you brought up, I believe we should keep the same color scheme. Artistically I'm useless but Simon is a beast, maybe he can get a cool idea for the background image. Let me know if there is anything I can do. 21:33, September 28, 2010 (UTC)
 * This code makes the current pages the same width as they'll be in the new skin; use it to fix anything that currently exceeds the width (i.e., every single table). --Pyramidhead 21:11, September 30, 2010 (UTC)

/* Fixed width */ .monaco_shrinkwrap { margin-left: auto !important; margin-right: auto !important; width: 912px !important; }

Another possibility is that we pack up shop and move to a different wiki host, like a lot of Wikia sites (WoWWiki among them) are now preparing to do. All the articles, images, and histories would be preserved, although every user would have to re-register - but we barely get any traffic outside the same four or five people, so that's hardly an issue. ShoutWiki seems to be a popular option. --Pyramidhead 21:35, September 30, 2010 (UTC)


 * Moving isn't the answer, as I see it at this point. If we were to move, we would permanently lose community members who (for varying reasons) won't make the transition, and there will be 3 wikis for 24 on the internet if you count that absurd Neoseeker thing. Wikia will almost certainly maintain this one in our absence—they won't let us redirect the articles to wherever we moved to. Also, recall what happened to StBacchus's wiki when she struck out on her own: it became a permanently lawless wasteland for spam-bots and vandals before it collapsed. 23:17, September 30, 2010 (UTC)


 * Also, wouldn't moving erase all article history and user contribution? If not, I still think it could be a viable option from what Pyramidhead's telling us. -- SignorSimon (talk/contribs/email) 11:26, October 2, 2010 (UTC)


 * No, he's right when he mentioned they would be preserved. It's very easy to export articles with the full edit history. 17:58, October 2, 2010 (UTC)


 * Will the changes in look be so drastic as to warrant a move to another site? I mean, I do get Pyramidhead's point on the one-sided nature of the change, but the core of the wiki is the information and not the background or the overall look of it. Will it be something that we won't get used to? Thief12 03:56, October 3, 2010 (UTC)

I made a mockup of what the wiki might look like after the switch. The logo and background, of course, are certainly subject to change. Keep in mind this is a photoshop job on a WoWWiki page, so the button/header color and the photos aren't exactly the same as what we'd see. --Pyramidhead 00:05, October 6, 2010 (UTC)




 * Very cool. I wouldn't have a problem if that was the final look. ... However, there really isn't any way to get rid of all that shit that has appeared to the right of the content? 01:14, October 6, 2010 (UTC)
 * If you mean the sidebar: Not sitewide, no, but I'm sure it could be done on your personal style sheet. What's really stupid is that, after the spotlight section, the entire sidebar is just blank space for the rest of the page, while the actual content stays restricted to that 660px area. Basically, any article longer than a stub will have a mile long strip of wasted real estate. --Pyramidhead 01:32, October 6, 2010 (UTC)
 * But, this can't be serious. Certainly this is some kind of oversight. 02:01, October 6, 2010 (UTC)
 * If only it were... --Pyramidhead 02:15, October 6, 2010 (UTC)
 * Well, it looks like it's begun. :( I can't edit either Wikia.css or the new "Theme Designer," so one of you will have to do it. --Pyramidhead 19:40, October 6, 2010 (UTC)
 * Jesus Christ, I knew it wouldn't be great, but this is shaping up to be intolerable. My name is plastered across every single episode guide I've written! --Pyramidhead 19:47, October 6, 2010 (UTC)