Forum:New Wikia layout discussion

Although the official change-over date has not been revealed yet, it's pretty safe to say that before long, a new article layout will be forced upon The Sims Wiki. As we have seen time after time, over and over again, Wikia is totally resistant to our feedback and hellbent on implementing their "improvements" heavy-handedly, despite our official objection to it. This is unlikely to change as Wikia once again implements a new feature despite heavy criticism. There is simply nothing we can do to stop this, if indeed this change is something that the community objects to.

What we can do is determine methods to counteract the damage - within the stifling and broadly-interpreted confines of the ToU, of course. A few ideas I've heard or have thought of:
 * Encouraging users to use the MonoBook version of The Sims Wiki, and ensuring that the MonoBook version is well-maintained and visually pleasing.
 * Implementing wiki-wide .css and .js changes where permissible, and creating .css code that users can add to their personal pages to disable the more offensive/obtrusive elements of Venus.
 * Attempting to fork from Wikia.

This discussion is premature if the community here actually supports Venus. I somehow doubt this is the case, but I'll accept the possibility that it is true. So, I think first we should discuss whether there is an opposition to this feature. I am of course foregoing all semblance of neutrality and stating clearly and unequivocally that I strongly oppose the new Wikia layout changes (aka Venus). All response I have seen so far on this wiki is negative, but of course everyone is free to hold their own opinions. Aside from determining our "official" opinion to these changes, I think we should start to formulate a plan to manage them, since they seem inevitable. --  LostInRiverview talk • blog  •  contribs 17:17, January 15, 2015 (UTC)

Discussion
Leaving Wikia and this sorry, broken mess behind would solve all problems with Crapnus Venus, VisualEditor, Crapbar Navbar, and Must Not Watch Videos. But there are other things to consider. For instance, managing and maintaining servers isn't free. Considering how much traffic TSW receives, and the size of our page histories, files, deleted revisions, etc., we'd have to spend quite a bit. Not to mention the problems with DDoS attacks, if and when they do happen. --I am  k6ka  Talk to me!   See what I have done  20:03, January 15, 2015 (UTC)
 * Forking from Wikia is something that I don't think I would ever do since despite all the useless features they provide decent hosting as well as traffic, both of which would be issues otherwise. As I've wrote in the comments of the blog posted here a few days ago I have been working on a bit of .css to get rid of some of the incredibly useless junk added. When this skin gets implemented, because we all know its coming, I'll contact wikia and ask them how much I can modify it. At the very least I'll be able to provide an option that removes garbage like the buttons on the side and the must watch videos.
 * The easiest and most effective option is switching to Monobook. Ѧüя◎ґ (talk) 03:01, January 16, 2015 (UTC)
 * I tend to agree with Auror's line of thinking. Other wikis on Wikia have encouraged use of Monobook (Wookieepedia comes to mind as one example), especially after the fiasco with the Oasis rollout a few years ago. Monobook is familiar for people used to browsing online wikis, and it's very similar to Wikipedia's style. Plus it seems that staff has made few if any attempts to force changes on to Monobook users, meaning that if we do implement a standard Monobook wiki theme, we can be assured that it won't be tampered with whenever Wikia gets it in their head to fix things that aren't broken.
 * On the subject of forking... I have to say that the actual practice of doing so would be impractical. Cost and hosting issues aside, the simple fact is that Wikia Staff will not support such an action and will actually take action to prevent this from happening. If the community here voted/consented to relocating, we would not be allowed to use the wikia version of TSW to promote an off-Wikia version, and we would not be allowed to close down TSW on Wikia outright. That means even if we found a way to host a new site, transferred over all the content from TSW, and managed to keep the editing community in-tact, we would have a very hard time attracting readers and new editors. Any new site that we start will have to compete directly against the Wikia TSW, which is already firmly established and has an online presence and reputation. I will say that I would support the idea of leaving Wikia otherwise, as this change is simply a bridge too far. But unfortunately, I see leaving Wikia as dooming TSW to certain death. --  LostInRiverview talk • blog  •  contribs 00:34, January 17, 2015 (UTC)