The Sims Wiki:Newsletter/19 February 2011

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Story Time at The Sims Wiki Fanon Namespace makes its debut.

The Sims Wiki is now home to The Sims Wiki Fanon Portal and the Fanon Namespace. Administrators are working hard to get all the necessary work done before opening up the space, but it should be ready within days!

The IRC channel has been abuzz between administrators over the function of the Fanon Namespace and the look of the soon-to-be-created Fanon Portal, the so-called "main page" of the Fanon Namespace which will serve as the center for Fan Fiction content. The Community Portal has also been busy, deciding what the new policies for Fanon should be. There, members of the community, old administrators and new Fanon Administrators collaborated to get the Fanon Policies in place before the opening of the Fanon Namespace.

These changes especially affect three users: Lost Labyrinth, Auror Andrachome and DarthCookie, who were selected to serve as the new Fanon Administrators. These new Fanon Admins now sit ready and waiting for the debut of the Fanon Namespace, where they will be the leading administrators. Meanwhile, their promotion is already causing changes, as each of the users comfortably slips into their role as an Administrator.

The Fanon Namespace is just one change which has or is occurring on The Sims Wiki. The wiki is also home to a second new namespace, the Tutorial Namespace (accessible through the Tutorial Portal). This space is for game guides, tutorials, how-tos and technical tutorials about how to perform certain game functions or fix glitches. More information is needed to fill the namespace, so be sure to contribute any knowledge you have about the games!

A merging of The Sims Medieval Wiki is also occurring. Pages are being moved into this wiki, along with templates and categories, and the whole process should be done by the end of the month.

All in all, February is a month of major growth for The Sims Wiki!

Positions Open
The Bureaucrats of The Sims Wiki have recently opened up the Fanon Administrator and Bureaucrat Positions for users.

The Requests for fanon administratorship page has already received multiple applications, and as a result three new Fanon Administrators have been added. Lost Labyrinth, one of the new Fanon Administrators, said this about his goals for the new position: "I hope to be a helpful asset as a fanon administrator and I would like to ensure that the fanon namespace is a good place to create and read fanon and I would also like to help other users with any fanon related queries." In the meantime, however, the Fanon Administrators have very little to oversee, as the Fanon Namespace is still not up and running. Instead, the Fanon Administrators are working with other administrators and the community at-large to set fanon policies.

Also open is the Bureaucrat nomination page, and an administrator has been nominated to serve as a Bureaucrat. After that nomination has been handled, the page will either remain open to more requests, or be closed; keep an eye on that page to see.

Merge with the Fanon Wiki
What began as the central purpose of the eventual Fanon Namespace creation, the idea of merging with The Sims Fanon Wiki was dropped out of the proposal sometime after its introduction. But now, the idea has been given new life, and multiple users have pushed to begin a discussion between the two wikis about finally merging them. This merge would likely be made easier by the existence of the Fanon Namespace, as the articles from that wiki would have a place to be sorted into.

A merge with the Fanon Wiki is different from the creation of the Fanon Namespace. By creating the space, no articles were moved from the Fanon Wiki, and the Fanon Wiki remains open to fanon and editing. Merging would move all pre-existing fanon onto The Sims Wiki, and would close the Fanon Wiki.

Some users favor this idea, thinking that the creation of the Fanon Namespace on The Sims Wiki only jeopardizes the long-term survival of The Sims Fanon Wiki. No strong opposition has been demonstrated yet, though a crucial piece of the puzzle - The Sims Fanon Wiki community contribution and discussion - has not yet occurred. Until discussions can be held there, the process will likely stall.

Creating Fanon
While the Fanon Namespace is still closed to contributions, we'd like to take the opportunity to remind you all that fanon, when it is allowed on The Sims Wiki, must be included on the Fanon Namespace. This is as simple as making sure all fanon has the prefix Fanon: before the page name. This is very important, because if Fanon is placed in the main namespace, a reader may confuse it as real. Worse yet, it may take days or weeks before anyone realizes that the content there is indeed fanon.

Do us and our encyclopedia a favor, and keep track of your fanon!

User Opinions
Question: What do you hope to see as the next The Sims 3 expansion pack?

BobNewbie said: ''I'd like to see EA make something which could reflect the entire feeling of Strangetown. This being said, bring back Strangetown, Aliens (with powers), some magic maybe, the whole enchilada.''

Random Ranaun said: I'd like the next expansion pack to be a combination of Pets and Seasons, creating a "Nature" theme.

LostInRiverview said: ''I want to see a game that focuses on expanding business. Open For Business was my favorite expansion for TS2, so I want to see what EA would make of it for TS3.''

Positions Open For Requests
The Sims Wiki is currently looking for people to take on special positions. We encourage you to, if you have the time, skill and fill the requirements, to apply for one of these positions.

New Newsletter Icon
Our current Newsletter header and icon look quite dated, and we'd like to get a new one. If you're interested in creating a new header for future Newsletters, post your header designs here and they may be used in future Newsletters, or featured in a newsletter logo and header contest!

Positions open:

 * Obudsman
 * Forum Moderator
 * Community Director

If you are interested in filling any of these roles, please leave a request on this page.



This newsletter doesn't write itself! Anyone who is willing to contribute ideas or articles should do so; you will be given credit for your contributions, and they stand a good chance of being included on the news Newsletter.

If there's something you think we missed, tell us about it and we'll do our best to include it.

- Happy Simming!


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