User talk:Tullis

Hi there!
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I'm really happy to have you here, and look forward to working with you!

Great work so far. Keep it up!


 * JoePlay (talk) 20:25, 8 December 2007 (UTC)

Question about spelling
Hello. I am fairly new to this wiki, although not to the Mass Effect series. I have a question for you: does this wiki have a standard concerning American English or British English ? Bear in mind that the latter is much more 'international' than its American cousin. Thanks. TheCzechDuck 18:18, February 2, 2010 (UTC)
 * I know, I am English. : )
 * The Mass Effect Wiki:Style Guide states that both are correct, so British English should not be corrected. --Tullis 18:32, February 2, 2010 (UTC)
 * What if within a paragraph there exist both British & American spellings ? TheCzechDuck 20:32, February 2, 2010 (UTC)
 * Within paragraphs or shorter articles, it's better to keep one or the other. It's awkward because the game uses US English, particularly for, say, Phoenix Armor, which means it can look strange if the spellings are different. But neither mode of spelling is "right" or "wrong". --Tullis 15:19, February 3, 2010 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the info. TheCzechDuck 22:40, February 3, 2010 (UTC)

Good job!
I applaud all the effort you've put into the wiki. Thanks. --avfanatic (talk) 16:21, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

You're very welcome. :) -Tullis


 * Ditto what avfanatic said. You are indeed an asset to this wiki. JoePlay (talk) 22:17, 10 December 2007 (UTC)


 * I must thank you too. It's not long time since i found this great game and every time i want to know something about ME, i go here... Big thanks to you (watching wiki and doing great job) and other contributors for their work. --J.i.gorkij 19:00, 13 May 2009 (UTC)


 * Thanks, on behalf of everyone. And welcome! --Tullis 19:39, 13 May 2009 (UTC)

Screenshot archive
In case you could make use of it, I created a zip file of every single screenshot from Mass Effect that I took--some 2,200, I believe. I used a program called IZArc to split the ZIP file into three parts so I could put it on RapidShare; I don't know if you'll need the same program to put it back into one archive. Here are the download links:

http://rapidshare.com/files/195821451/ME-Screenshot-Archive.z01 http://rapidshare.com/files/195846514/ME-Screenshot-Archive.z02 http://rapidshare.com/files/196175358/ME-Screenshot-Archive.zip

I apologize for all the gratuitous screenshots of my Shepards and my wife's Shepards. :) RobertM525 02:47, 10 February 2009 (UTC)


 * That is... a LOT of screenshots. I'll take a look through them, but if there's not something we can use out of 2,200 screenshots, I'd be utterly amazed. Thank you! --Tullis 02:53, 10 February 2009 (UTC)

If you're up to downloading all of it, simply putting all three files in the same place and attempting to open the last one may be sufficient to see them as one archive. On my system, it doesn't appear that they need to be "recombined" to work. FWIW. RobertM525 04:27, 11 February 2009 (UTC)


 * I've tried downloading all three and opening the last one, but still no dice. Must be a Mac thing... Boo. --Tullis 05:10, 12 February 2009 (UTC)

Armor Pages
Not trying to sound rude to silverstrike, but I had all of those armor pages formatted, and open for pictures. I undid a few of the pages, but then noticed all of them were changed with a new format. I don't want to undo all those pages, because it may just be viewed as spam/stupidity. Is a massive undo allowed? Or do you find the new format easier to understand? Lehvi Dession 01:23, September 25, 2009 (UTC)
 * The new format uses templates to essentially place armour and weapon stats in a database, and then allow them to be disseminated by category (armour weight, species type etc) wiki-wide. The idea is that we don't have, say, stats for Survivor Armour on one page that get updated by an editor, and stats reported elsewhere that don't. The template does in fact allow for pictures: however, this is a large overhaul that will take a while for all the pictures to be implemented. This has been under discussion for some time: see Template_talk:ItemsList. --Tullis 01:27, September 25, 2009 (UTC)


 * In addition to what Tullis noted, the armor pages could still be divided the same as before - just need to add the template filters for weight and race (although, I personally believe it is somewhat redundant. There is allot of repetition that way).
 * Regarding the images: I am planning on updating all the images at once. The problem I saw with the current images layout is that we have different images for each race, and in the current layout we display all of them together - also the current layout of the tables bunch up armors with the same stats together (if they are from the same manufacturer and apply to the same race restriction) and choosing a single image becomes more difficult.
 * To resolve this issue I had the following ideas::*Create one image from several others, that relate to the table.:*Let the author choose what image he wants to put. Something like: .:*Choose arbitrarily.
 * The current images are easy to find with the current naming and categories so I don't see a problem locating what we want/need. From the pages I altered so far, I noticed allot of inconsistencies that are now resolved through the "database". Again, I will appreciate any help and do this to enhance the wiki rather then to mess it up. --silverstrike 01:54, September 25, 2009 (UTC)


 * I have finished gathering the armor images for insertion into the template and most likely will start updating the template page tomorrow (if there are no objections). The images galleries could be found on the template talk page: Template_talk:ItemsList. --silverstrike 19:59, September 25, 2009 (UTC)

So what is the verdict regarding the armor pages? I'd like to finish what I started and there are still two unanswered questions about the images and the pages layout. --silverstrike 20:40, September 26, 2009 (UTC)

Small Game Informer... Pic?
In the latest Game Informer they talk about creating stories and have an interview with BioWare and on page 44, there is a small pic of the Wiki front page in a side bar about the wikis. Just thought I'd let ya know if you hadn't heard!--Xaero Dumort 23:04, October 23, 2009 (UTC)
 * Wow! No, I haven't. I'll have to scrounge a copy and take a look-see. :D Can you tell when the shot was taken? Please tell me it shows our awesome front page buttons... --Tullis 12:18, October 24, 2009 (UTC)
 * Yes it does show those amazing buttons, but the pic is too small and of poor quality to allow me to see the date. But there is an ad visible for Halo:ODST and there is a line of text above the ME2 editing notice, at least a month or so ago?--Xaero Dumort 08:18, October 26, 2009 (UTC)
 * Still pretty awesome that we got in there. :D --Tullis 14:09, October 26, 2009 (UTC)

Quick Question
I'm back... after finally leaving Fallout 3 As done as Done can be. I noticed that the 90% "Other Morality Quest" had been removed from my Totals needed Section in the Morality Guide, I was wondering if I might ask why? --Sonevar 16:13, November 24, 2009 (UTC)
 * I'm sorry, I've probably made a few hundred edits since that was removed, if I was the one who removed it. I think it was because discussing the "other morality quest" confused people that you could get both in one playthrough, but I don't remember clearly. Can you be more specific? --Tullis 16:17, November 24, 2009 (UTC)
 * The phrasing I used was a bit confusing, so I can see why it was removed if that was the case. The situation itself is difficult to clearly describe in a single sentence, tag, label, etc. I was simply concerned that it had been removed due to some error in the information which I would then strive to set straight.
 * To restate the "unlocking trigger"; It is well established that if someone achieves 80% morality, say Renegade for example that they unlock the corresponding quest UNC: The Negotiation upon their next use of the Normandy's Star Map. What I have found however is that after unlocking UNC: The Negotiation, if I then gain 90% Paragon in the same playthrough, it triggers the quest UNC: Besieged Base and I have been able to complete both within the same playthrough. I do not know if it is relevant but I should mention that after recieving the UNC: The Negotiation quest, I did not enter the Hades Gamma sector until after I recieved the UNC: Besieged Base quest as well. Being that the phrase "Second Morality Quest unlocks" seemed to unclear in trying to express this I opted for "Other Morality Quest unlocks" instead, but this too seems to have not been clear enough. --Sonevar 18:35, November 24, 2009 (UTC)
 * Right, then it needs to be clear that it refers to getting both relevant morality scores in the same playthrough. Some people, after reading that, thought you could get both morality missions by just getting one 80% morality score. --Tullis 19:01, November 24, 2009 (UTC)

Excellent! Thanks so much!

Armor Lists - images
I've noticed the discussion on Template_talk:ItemsList but I don't know if it's still active and I hope you don't mind posting here.

Is adding images to armor lists still being worked on? I have pics of all armors as .psd layers and I could easily upload missing ones in required size/file format if needed. Thv-1 11:59, February 7, 2010 (UTC)


 * It is still being worked on, and I'd like to see what you have. We're hurting for pictures there right now. To work with the templates they all need to be the same aspect ratio, though, is that an issue? It might also be worth getting Silverstrike in on this. --Tullis 15:25, February 8, 2010 (UTC)

New Templates Suggestions
I've been working on two separate templates: I would appreciate if you could take a look and comment on them. --silverstrike 17:10, February 13, 2010 (UTC)
 * 1) Multi-page navigation - Mass Effect Wiki talk:Manual of Style/General
 * 2) Mission Summary float-box - Mass Effect Wiki talk:Manual of Style/Missions


 * I like the multi-page article template. There's more than a few original ME assignments that have multiple sections as well.
 * The mission summary float box might work, but you'd need to be careful of spoilers (though that doesn't seem to be a problem in your example, so it's probably not an issue). I personally don't like rendering a complex mission down to what loot, credits and Paragon / Renegade points you get, but I can see how people would find it useful, especially since resource-gathering is so much tougher in ME2. The colour scheme might need a tweak to fit it in with the rest of the wiki, but apart from that, we can certainly give it a try. --Tullis 14:32, February 14, 2010 (UTC)


 * I still have a few tweaks to implement in the multi-page navigation template. I'll work on that and leave a comment when I'm done - do you see anything that needs changing in the layout or colors of that template?
 * Regarding the Mission Summary box: most assignment/mission articles have a section that list the same information - I just styled it and put it in a floating box. I am not so good in picking the colors, so any help will be gladly appreciated. I can also check the possibility of making the entire box collapsible (like the TOC) to hide the information. --silverstrike 14:46, February 14, 2010 (UTC)


 * 1. No, it looks okay to me.
 * 2. I'd compare it with the frames we use for characters now. If possible, the Renegade section should probably be yellow or orange rather than green. And making it collapsible is a good idea. Nice work. --Tullis 14:53, February 14, 2010 (UTC)


 * Thanks :). I continued the discussion about the Multi-page navigation with DRY and added some styling and issues I encountered.
 * I'll try and make the entire box collapsible, and change the colors to the scheme of the Character (maybe I'll leave both versions for comparison). --silverstrike 15:40, February 14, 2010 (UTC)


 * Made the color changes to the Summary template (the orange background for the renegade path still need some work), but before I invest further work on the template I would like to know that it passed the initial Admin approval (I am referring to DRY comments here and here). --silverstrike 16:16, February 14, 2010 (UTC)
 * Actually, DRY is making some good points. Do you want to leave it for the time being and get SpartHawg's view on it? --Tullis 16:19, February 14, 2010 (UTC)


 * Personally, I would like to finish it so it can be added to the relevant assignment/mission articles - but I don't want to create something that is against the Admin wishes. Regardless, I'll research the possibility of making the box collapsible (it could benefit other templates). --silverstrike 16:27, February 14, 2010 (UTC)


 * The only way to make the table collapsible is to play around with the site-wide javascript code. It's not a big or complex change, but that's the only option. wikipedia (and mediawiki in extension) uses a template called NavBox that do the same thing - but wikia did not include that feature. I'll continue to look around for another option, but I doubt I'll find any. --silverstrike 17:09, February 14, 2010 (UTC)

I was wondering if you could take a look on some projects I've been working on recently (summary located on DRY talk page) and give me an input when you find the time. Thanks --silverstrike 14:25, February 28, 2010 (UTC)
 * I'm not quite sure what you want me to comment on. From the page you linked it looks like the meat of this conversation has been settled. : ) --Tullis 14:27, February 28, 2010 (UTC)


 * I must have gave you the wrong link :p. There are some ongoing discussions:
 * Summary infobox - it's a long discussion (I linked to the latest relevant part of it).


 * Still not fond of the idea of having a mission summary infobox in the first place.


 * Color scheme - some ideas about standardizing the wiki's color scheme


 * I'm not sure I'm following what the urgent issue is with fixing the colour scheme. I agree the white backgrounds on certain templates should be fixed, and the planet templates may need updating, but why all the others? I think I've missed most of this discussion and I'm not following what the problem is.


 * Tags - I have some ideas about expanding the delete and merge tags to allow specifying date (we have tags older then six months), link to discussion, and more links.


 * Adding dates might be helpful, but I don't think we need more than that.


 * Collapsible feature - do we want it? It could enhance usability on infoboxes and spoiler tags.


 * I guess it could be nice but we don't have infoboxes long enough to use them, except the planet ones and most of those are the entire substance of the article. Leave it for now.


 * Multi-Page template - I made a version and DRY made one, but it still unimplemented


 * I don't like the large purple box all over this. We could probably go for something simpler and more elegant.


 * I think that's it. I believe that we should work mainly on standardizing articles, templates, and the color (mentioned above) to prevent allot of work later on. Any input you might have will help me proceed. --silverstrike 14:46, February 28, 2010 (UTC)
 * That's all the input I have at the moment. I'm still not back in any serious capacity--to be honest, I kind of want to focus on just enjoying my game. : ) We do need to look into this, but I'd say most of it is non-urgent: nobody will die if the wiki isn't completely colour coordinated and I'm not sure why it will create a lot of work later on; things like delete and merge dates are nice-to-haves, not urgent fixes. : ) --Tullis 15:11, February 28, 2010 (UTC)


 * Didn't meant to imply it was urgent - just that it could be useful. I just focus on those aspects of the wiki rather then editing (which is a good thing considering my issues with proper grammar, style, etc). I'll wait patiently for your reply :) --silverstrike 15:28, February 28, 2010 (UTC)
 * Yeah, that came across as kind of harsh; sorry. The input I've given seems to all I can intelligently add to this: a lot of templating and such is way over my head. I can just give you what I think based on what seems to come out of discussions with you and DRY.
 * Incidentally, something that is kind of important and template-related: I'm trying to fix up the sidebar so it's more useful and I could use a hand. Any chance you're sidebar-savvy too? --Tullis 16:17, February 28, 2010 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the comments :) I'll continue to do minor fixes and adjustments on the templates until we reach a final decision regarding them - it's hard for me to be really objective when it comes to them, seeing the amount of time I usually spend on them - so I usually wait for an outside prospective and not rely on my ability to be partial.
 * I think that setting "rules" for the wiki colors could help a great deal in the long run, but I agree that it's not any kind of urgent. Another idea I mentioned in the MoS:Colors talk page is the option of adding/altering the stylesheet classes to allow setting a single class when styling an element - this will allow for global style changes to go allot more smoothly and will also simplify the styling process. Again, I agree that this is a minor issue, but one that could be worthwhile addressing.
 * I Don't know if I'm "sidebar-savvy" but I know how to work on it. What needs to be done? --silverstrike 16:43, February 28, 2010 (UTC)

Sidebar again

 * I just want to expand it so we have, essentially, three sections. The first would be stuff that covers the universe itself, like alien races, the timeline, screenshots, planets, characters etc. The second should be stuff specific to Mass Effect: missions, the ME guide, maybe armour and weapons. The third would be similar but for ME2. We should also have two tabs at the top for the Mass Effect series, similar to the Dragon Age Wiki's current setup, one for the games, one for the novels and comics. Does that make sense? --Tullis 16:53, February 28, 2010 (UTC)


 * We can do something like this:
 * Mass Effect Universe
 * Timeline
 * Storyline
 * Races
 * Etc.
 * Mass Effect Series
 * Mass Effect
 * Guide/walkthrough
 * Missions
 * Assignments
 * Equipment
 * Etc.
 * Mass Effect 2
 * Mass Effect Novels (general) OR Mass Effect: Redumption (specific)
 * Etc.
 * It will create a very short menu, but effective. I think I'll check on some other game wiki's to see what other admins thought of for inspiration, but one thing that I think that must also be in the menu is Community Guidelines with all the links to creating and editing, tips, template usage, and the MoS articles. This is something that needs to be handy at all time (I visit them constantly). --silverstrike 17:40, February 28, 2010 (UTC)


 * After a quick visit to some wikis, I can add the following:
 * News tab - Cerberus Daily News, Community news
 * New content (can be part of News tab) - new images, articles, etc. Maybe even promote certain pages that need focus
 * Downloadable Content - this is more of a future addition - we don't have an organized article.
 * Categories - only the major/special ones
 * The list still needs some finetuning, but it serve to get the ball rolling. I think that the menu need to serve two purposes: the first, to help visitors and editors quickly navigate and find what they are after, and the second, to promote content that the wiki community want visitors and editors to see. --silverstrike 18:09, February 28, 2010 (UTC)


 * That would work. I'm not too happy with using the word "universe" but that's for later; the basic structure looks sound; I'd skip New Content as that's on My Home, I think, and I'd promote the DLC tab a bit (we do have a DLC category). Adding Cerberus Daily News might be fun too. People have said the sidebar is a bit outdated; it could do with some changes. --Tullis 18:54, February 28, 2010 (UTC)


 * I made a version of the sidebar on my user space - The problem I see from my experiment is not knowing what pages/sections to include in the sidebar. We need to decide what pages we want to include in the sidebar, the order of them, and how they are grouped together. What I've done here is a start but it still need some work - the MoS articles, guidelines, etc. are still missing, and putting a promote section/article to help visitors/contributors find what we're missing could be helpful (but that's a topic for another discussion). --silverstrike 13:01, March 1, 2010 (UTC)
 * Manual of style is currently linked in people's autowelcome messages--it may be worth sticking somewhere in the sidebar discreetly though. The front page has pages like stubs and wanted articles. Do you mind if I edit your sidebar to show suggested changes (might be quicker than explaining it all)? --Tullis 15:09, March 1, 2010 (UTC)


 * I did not notice the MoS and other guidelines until DRY directed my attention to them - the fault is with me, but the question is how many like me will fail to notice? Putting the link on the sidebar, among the "Community" or perhaps "Contribution" items could direct visitors attention to them.
 * From your changes, I see that you just moved the DLC item down and changed news to Cerberus Daily News - are those all the changes? I believe we still need to work on the "Mass Effect Series" item and sub-items, I wasn't sure what article need to be under that menu. --silverstrike 15:34, March 1, 2010 (UTC)
 * I'd put all the games under there. ME, ME2, ME Galaxy. I might keep the books and comic separate, but maybe DLC belongs under there too? --Tullis 17:17, March 1, 2010 (UTC)
 * I made a few changes since yours:
 * Added Milky Way Item with sub-items for Clusters, Systems, Planets, Moons, Asteroids, and Starships
 * The novels fell under the DLC item, so I moved it back to the its rightful place
 * Added a Link to Mass Effect Wiki:Templates
 * On a side note, I think that we should create a page for community collaboration - somewhere where we can put what needs to be done and a place to get opinions from the rest of the community - the current links to the stubs, wanted articles, etc. are nice, but they are too general (it was mentioned recently that we need to write a DLC article that summarize all the ME2 DLCs - currently there is no way for a contributor to see that we are after this article). --silverstrike 17:35, March 1, 2010 (UTC)

More Feedback
This is the role of Wanted Pages, though. And we have a category covering all DLC; it might be worth splitting it into ME2 and ME DLC, but I don't think an article is worthwhile given they have their own individual articles that cover them in detail. This is a role much better filled by a category. --Tullis 19:34, March 1, 2010 (UTC)
 * I still think that a collaboration article could be helpful, but I defer to your judgment.
 * After looking through the menu again, I find nothing missing or misplaced. Is there something more to add/change in the menu layout, from your prospective? --silverstrike 20:58, March 1, 2010 (UTC)
 * One note: you have Mass Effect Galaxy in with Books, Novels and comics. Other than that it looks ready for a test drive. --Tullis 21:06, March 1, 2010 (UTC)
 * I noticed that too, but didn't want to move it until now. I can see the menu in action and it looks good to me, the only thing that we can change is whether to show the full name, or only the shorted one (Overview instead of Mass Effect Overview, Series instead of Mass Effect Series) although thinking about it again, it can complicate rather then simplify.
 * Another thing that can be changed (I know I said one before, but regardless) splitting and moving the Downloadable Content to Mass Effect Series > Mass Effect > Downloadable content and to Mass Effect Series > Mass Effect 2 > Downloadable Content. --silverstrike 21:21, March 1, 2010 (UTC)
 * That might work. Splitting it by ME and ME2 might work well. --Tullis 13:58, March 8, 2010 (UTC)
 * I actually made some more changes to the sidebar, and I have to say that I find it allot more useful then the current one (User:Silverstrike/Monaco-sidebar). I added the guides to the series menu item - the question is if the DLC/Guides should be inside the series item, or on their own? --silverstrike 14:51, March 8, 2010 (UTC)


 * Addendum: I thought about the Guides menu-item some more and realized that it is more suited to be presented on the first menu tab rather then on the series sub-item. In this way we could group guides by topic, for example,  , etc. The ME guides list is pretty long and as thing progress, were going to have allot more ME2 guides then we have for ME. --silverstrike 15:03, March 8, 2010 (UTC)
 * We actually have too many guides for ME2. Several of them are not guides, merely comparison tables or information that should be merged into the main Mass Effect 2 guide. Keep guides as a link to the category for now. We can always edit it later as needed.
 * Aside from that: let me have the code when you're ready to go and we can give it a tryout. --Tullis 15:09, March 8, 2010 (UTC)
 * I think it's ready. I can remove the 'Guides' sub-menu or let you do the cleanup (perhaps there's more you'd like to tweak before replacing the current menu). --silverstrike 15:13, March 8, 2010 (UTC)
 * Shuffled things around a bit. Feel free to remove the Guides submenu / switch it to a category link; I don't want to futz things up. --Tullis 15:18, March 8, 2010 (UTC)
 * I removed the guides listing. The category is already on Popular Categories (which might need a little editing). --silverstrike 15:24, March 8, 2010 (UTC)
 * So it's ready? : ) --Tullis 15:28, March 8, 2010 (UTC)
 * Me think so. In any case, we can always tweak it further... --silverstrike 15:31, March 8, 2010 (UTC)

Ok I know this discussion has been dead for over two months now, but there is something new. After talking with some users, we started to get some input on a new sidebar, however DRY steered me in this direction and I found a new sidebar, already done, just never implemented. Tullis, I know you are absent but we started a new discussion on Silverstrike's talk page to see about getting it implemented, and as you two did all the work, we would like your input. Thanks in advance. Lancer1289 19:16, May 22, 2010 (UTC)

Quick question
Do we still need protection on the ME3 page? Your comment on the protection itself was that it was protected till ME2 released. A user noticed some issues but was unable to edit it, so DRY proposed taking down the protection, but wanted to check with you first. I'm also in favor of un-protecting the page. SpartHawg948 21:28, March 1, 2010 (UTC)
 * Sure, go ahead. Though given the giant, terrifying behemoth that the ME2 page turned into pre-release, I think we need SOME checks on it. --Tullis 23:54, March 1, 2010 (UTC)
 * Agreed, although hopefully we're still a little ways out from the type of information releases that would result in any such thing. SpartHawg948 00:36, March 2, 2010 (UTC)
 * True. But making it registered-users only would cut out a lot of the problems (especially vandalism) we had with the ME2 page. Anyway. Thoughts for another time. --Tullis 15:19, March 2, 2010 (UTC)

Images and categorization
I'll take advantage of you being here and ask you three quick questions:
 * Images categorization: I started going through the uncategorized files listing and categorize as I see fit (no guidelines are currently present). The problem is that we have many suitable categories for every image, and sometimes it looks like an image is overly-categorized - for example: an image of a mercenary on Illium will be categorized as "Mass Effect 2, Illium, assignment/mission locations, missions/assignments, loyalty missions (when applicable), human (or the relevant race), character (I'm still not clear on this category), tech/biotic, and combat". Too me it sometimes seem to many, but on the other hand it may greatly help locating the image - do we need to form some guidelines, or should I stick with over-categorization?
 * Tech / biotic / combat are going too far. I go by what actually appears in the image. If it's an asari merc on Illium using biotics, those categories are fine; any more is going overboard..
 * What about the location? We have missions/assignments, mission/assignment locations, locations, loyalty missions (when applicable), and the name of the location when applicable (like Illium) - should I use all of them?
 * No. Use what's most appropriate to the image. Out of preference, use less categories rather than more. Just use the planet. If it's obviously a location from a loyalty mission, use that category.


 * Categories: If we continue with over categorization, I think we might need to expand the amount of categories to include more specific ones, that will be more applicable to images then to articles (like the Upgrades category I started to populate). Should I continue creating those categories, or should I wait until there's a guideline in place.
 * I think we have enough categories to handle what's here. Go for less categories rather than more.
 * I agree that less is more. I just wasn't sure until you answered my previous question. I'll remove the upgrade categorization.


 * Handling duplicates: We currently have allot of duplicates (as expected after initial release). I propose creating a "Duplicate" template tag to handle those images. After initial tagging of images, someone more qualified then me could go through the list to decide what shots should stay, and delete the rest (I also went ahead a couple of days ago and created the Move template, mainly for files who are misnamed, but the template is also good for proper articles). --silverstrike 14:40, March 14, 2010 (UTC)
 * There is already a system for handling actual duplicates (it tells you at the bottom of the image). If you're referring to files that are similar or having x number of copies of pictures of Thane, for example, to be honest duplicates don't hurt anyone. The best images come out over time. If you want to create a duplicate tag, I guess I can't see a reason not to, but I don't think it's necessary. --Tullis 14:50, March 14, 2010 (UTC)
 * I don't have an issue with many images for the same subject, but we have about five images of Harbinger that looks identical. When a contributor write an article and want to use an existing image, which one will he use when there are exact duplicates of the same image? The wiki's duplicate mechanism does not identify them as duplicates. --silverstrike 15:05, March 14, 2010 (UTC)
 * If they really are that similar, pick the best quality one and tag the others for deletion. --Tullis 15:12, March 14, 2010 (UTC)
 * That clarified the matter for me (I also read your addendum on the style guides). Final question, should I continue to use the series categorization (Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, Mass Effect Galaxy, etc.)? --silverstrike 15:19, March 14, 2010 (UTC)
 * I'm actually rather baffled by a Mass Effect category showing up. Why has that suddenly appeared? I guess we would be safe to remove them. --Tullis 15:26, March 14, 2010 (UTC)
 * It is due to the change DRY made to the spoiler templates, the template now auto-categorize based on the spoiler tag used. I think that it can help distinguish between location, character, etc. who feature in ME, ME2, ME3 (when it comes out), and the written content. I am also working on a category filter system that will help locating pages and images by checking multiple categories - but that's a side project that don't need to influence whether we keep them or not. --silverstrike 18:29, March 14, 2010 (UTC)
 * FWIW, it wasn't actually a conscious decision on my part: I just banged up the half a dozen templates and nailed a category onto each of them without really thinking about it. We can ditch Category:Mass Effect if desired. FWIW, I also still think it would be simpler all around to have parallel categories for each episode (e.g. Category:Locations (Mass Effect), Category:Locations (Mass Effect 2), and so on). It beats the heck out of specialized DPL – which only a handful of contributors will understand well enough to edit and augment. I think the KISS principle should be applied, even if that means a greater absolute number of categories. --DRY 18:46, March 14, 2010 (UTC)
 * I'm not disagreeing with you on that point. I was thinking of more elaborate filtering like: "Category:Planetes + Category:Mass Effect 2 + Category: Missions" will result with a list of planets that have ME2 missions on them, or "Category:Asari + Category:Adversary + Category:Characters" that will result with a list of asari adversaries that are also characters who you can interact with. That is something you can't manage through simple categorization (whether or not we want or need them, is a different matter - I for one think that they could be immensely useful). --silverstrike 18:55, March 14, 2010 (UTC)

Mention of Eden Prime War
The Eden Prime War is actually mentioned in the Primary Codex of ME2 under Aliens: Non-Council Races, at the start of the third paragraph of the entry of Sovereign. Since the name "Eden Prime War" implies the conflict began with Saren's attack on Eden Prime, the beginning of Mass Effect, I thought that was appropriate for the section about ME on the timeline given that other major conflicts are also named and highlighted. -- Commdor (Talk) 16:20, March 14, 2010 (UTC)
 * I'd still rather leave it out. Fair enough that it's in the Codex, but it's still a bit misleading because though it started there, the war didn't take place on Eden Prime. That section also covers all of the Mass Effect series, which is more than the war. (If you can call it a war, when it was mostly won by one person. : ) ) --Tullis 18:00, March 14, 2010 (UTC)


 * Well I take the "war" part of it to mean the whole conflict between humans and geth, which was initiated by Eden Prime (cut and dry, an unprovoked attack by geth on a major human colony) and extends beyond just Shepard's actions. I think even Anderson mentions that the war against the geth was still ongoing by ME2, but had wound down to the occasional raid on a geth base. Other races got involved after the Battle of the Citadel, but humanity (and Shepard, certainly) led the charge. It all adds up to this being a wider conflict than the events in ME that focused on Shepard's actions. -- Commdor (Talk) 18:14, March 14, 2010 (UTC)


 * I still think something like "Human-Geth Conflict" would work better, but whatever works. --Tullis 20:34, March 14, 2010 (UTC)

Dialogue Subpage links
Just wanted to let you know why I was going around partially undoing some of your edits to squad member trivia sections. A little while back it was decided to implement "dialogue subpages" for the squad members, as opposed to putting the dialogue in the forums. (You can find the discussion buried somewhere withing Talk:Legion... I was outvoted by 4-1, I think it was) So anyways, we've been adding links to these subpages in the trivia sections in hopes people will see them when they go to add dialogue to the trivia sections and will follow the links instead. And that's the long and the short of it! SpartHawg948 19:53, March 14, 2010 (UTC)
 * The fact they have extra dialogue isn't trivia, so it shouldn't be in the trivia section. Might be better with a small box like the 'quotes' stuff on Wookieepedia, but I don't know. I still think keeping articles of nothing but dialogue lines is silly. But it's not up to me. --Tullis 20:32, March 14, 2010 (UTC)
 * I said the same thing, but I was clearly in the minority on that one. As for why it's in the trivia section, it has helped cut down on people adding dialogue as trivia. Many of the comments are one-off things that don't really have a place anywhere else in the articles, so it seems fine for the trivia section, at least in my opinion. SpartHawg948 20:34, March 14, 2010 (UTC)
 * Almost sounds like we need an embed message in trivia sections. But if this works too, sure; I'm getting tired of having these same arguments over and over anyway. : ) We should indent or bold it or something to make it clear it's not actually trivia, though. Over-long trivia sections are also becoming a problem. --Tullis 20:55, March 14, 2010 (UTC)
 * No arguments there! SpartHawg948 21:00, March 14, 2010 (UTC)

MediaWiki:Description
Hi Tullis. I noticed that the wiki didn't have a customized MediaWiki:Description, which provides metadata information, so I just edited it. Feel free to tweak it as you see fit. JoePlay ( talk ) 16:29, March 19, 2010 (UTC)
 * Is there any word on the sidebar? I left a message on your talk page but didn't see a reply (may have missed it). We updated it, but nothing doing. Any ideas? --Tullis 17:02, March 19, 2010 (UTC)

Hawking Eta
Do you have any suggestions, ideas, or preferences how to deal with Hawking Eta and its constituents? There are some (quite minor) differences between worlds existing in both ME and ME2, but the real difficulty is the navigation templates. From a curatorial perspective, should the ME "snapshot" of the state of the universe be preserved, or should we be integrating new material into the existing articles? If the latter, what mechanism should be used? --DRY 22:15, March 19, 2010 (UTC)
 * Preserve and merge where you can; consider ME2 to be more up-to-date information. Differences can be noted in Trivia sections. --Tullis 22:21, March 19, 2010 (UTC)
 * Yeah, I'd much prefer keeping it all in one article, rather than splitting it into Hawking Eta and Hawking Eta (Mass Effect 2). As you noted, any differences are minor, so it shouldn't really be too much of an issue. SpartHawg948 22:23, March 19, 2010 (UTC)
 * Fair enough, will do. What about the navigational elements (e.g. Cluster:Hawking Eta and, potentially, Cluster:Hawking Eta (ME2)). I assume that the second should now simply replace the first? --DRY 22:41, March 19, 2010 (UTC)
 * Yep. Think of it as getting more up-to-date nav data. :) But note somewhere that only Century is available in Mass Effect, either in the article or in the template somehow. --Tullis 22:46, March 19, 2010 (UTC)
 * Actually, the "somehow" is the bit I'm really asking about . --DRY 23:00, March 19, 2010 (UTC)
 * Put it in brackets at the end / to the right of Century, if possible, or note it in Hawking Eta's trivia. --Tullis 23:05, March 19, 2010 (UTC)
 * Hmm, another hitch: Cluster:List is currently generated using DPL based on categories&hellip; but there is no category for the original Mass Effect so it uses "not ME2 and not ME3". That will break if we put Cluster:Local Cluster, Cluster:Serpent Nebula, and Cluster:Hawking Eta into Category:Mass Effect 2. May have to switch back to explicit lists, which isn't the end of the world. I'll give it some thought. --DRY 23:22, March 19, 2010 (UTC)

Planet's missions
Hi there! May I bring to your attention to discuss about a cleanup I'm attempting to do here? Thanks! - Teugene 16:42, April 5, 2010 (UTC)
 * As a note: those are plot summaries, not walkthroughs. Because the planets in Mass Effect typically only have one plot, they are summarised there for convenience. The full walkthroughs are on the Walkthrough page. Obviously things are different in ME2. --Tullis 17:05, April 5, 2010 (UTC)
 * Those planets which I mentioned has excessively long "summaries". It looks as though it's part of the storyline article! Even though those events happen on the planet, but, wouldn't linking it to the main article be much more concise thus keeping those "summaries" as links instead? Anyway, if you don't mind continuing the discussion at the link? It would be easier for me to keep track of the discussion in one place! :) Teugene 17:25, April 5, 2010 (UTC)
 * Teugene does have a point. The six plot worlds in Mass Effect, Eden Prime, Therum, Noveria, Feros, Virmire, and Ilos do have a lot longer "summaries" than the plot worlds in ME2. However that is no reason for deleting all the plot information from plot worlds. Considering we have missions attached to those articles, visitors will probably like to know what happens in those missions. The plot summeries can be reduced to general information in those articles as for the summeries, we could plot information below missions and assignments. Lancer1289 17:39, April 5, 2010 (UTC)
 * The missions for those planets link directly to the walkthrough rather than having their own pages. It seemed to make more sense to put the summary for the planet on the planet's page, given that the storyline page gets excessively long. These articles were, obviously, written LONG before ME2 came out, and ME2 is a different ball game. The planets (and places like Omega) don't have one overarching storyline, they're hosts to several missions. Therefore it would not make sense to have one plot summary for somewhere like Omega. I think it's different strokes for different games. I'd be sad to see those summaries gone, though.
 * FYI, I am actually technically still absent from the wiki due to work commitments, so this discussion should probably involve DRY and SpartHawg. --Tullis 17:42, April 5, 2010 (UTC)
 * Hey, though you might be absent, just wanna inform you regarding the drafts of the planet missions I had worked on. If you happen to be around, you can see the drafts here and comment here. Thanks for your time :) Teugene 08:02, April 15, 2010 (UTC)
 * I know that you are absent, however I have finished walkthough articles for the major plot worlds of Mass Effect and like Teugene, I would like your feedback. You can see the full list on my Sandbox Index Page, and comment about them on the Sanbox Talk Page. Thanks in advance for your comments. Lancer1289 14:07, April 20, 2010 (UTC)

Hey do you know what would be awsome in ME3, if shepard dosent sell Legion to Cerburus in ME2 and he lets the rachni queen live in ME, then in ME3 you should be able to fight alongside with geth and rachni against the reapers! Would that be awsome or what! (Hanar own)19:37 (UTC)

Namespace alias
Just FYI, I had the good folks at Wikia add an alias for our project namespace, which means that you can use "MEW" instead of "Mass Effect Wiki" in links if you like. I've nailed in MEW:MOS as a first example, since I typed the long form so frequently. --DRY 21:02, April 6, 2010 (UTC)

Mass Effect Guide Rewrite
Hey Tullis, I know you are still absent but after I finished and will be posting, walkthoughs for the major plot worlds of Mass Effect, I figured I'd rewrite the guide a little. I managed to finish a rewrite of the Mass Effect Guide, which you can view here. I welcome your comments, however it is tedious reading just as a warning. You can comment about it here and any and all comments, that aren't vandalism are welcome. I would like the admins' permission before I replace the page because I looked at the page history and a lot of work when into there. Thanks in advance. Lancer1289 04:35, May 2, 2010 (UTC)

Translate
Hello

I want to make a Hungarian Mass Effect page, 'cause we don't have any good ME site. I read your wikia and I think it's very good.

My question is: If I make an other wikia (for example: masseffecthu.wikia.com... we don't have hungarian wikia, too) could I use your writings to translate it? I want a page like yours, in Hungarian. It could be a great help for me. Or do you know any other way to make the translation?

Please answer me

Richard Havalda(from Hungary:P)

Redirects
As the most active sysop here I figured I'd throw this your way to see what you think. On various other wiki's I have fixed redirects and other minor nuances. I fixed some links on a user page and a talk page (which I have done on several wikis, several times) and was promptly yelled at for it. So I figure before I make anymore edits in that manner, what are my limitations on what I can and cannot edit here. I can see if I were vandalising pages but I am performing maintenance. Thanks. --Kingclyde 05:27, May 3, 2010 (UTC)
 * I'm actually currently absent, so I'm not really the most active. : ) I can't speak for other wikis but the MEWiki rule is: user pages belong to and are edited only by that user. Period.
 * The only exception is extremely rare cases where we have removed redlinks to defunct pages, and that's only done after discussion, by very senior editors or admins, preferably with the user's permission (if we can contact them), in order to clear Wanted Pages. Maintenance of redirects on user pages and talk pages is unnecessary unless the link is red, and editing other users' pages or comments on talk pages, at all, is an absolute no-no. It's to ensure, definitively, that people can comment without fear of having their comments edited or vandalised.
 * Our Mass Effect Wiki:Community Guidelines and Style Guide explain this in detail. And please check with Spart if you have any more questions. : ) --Tullis 13:29, May 3, 2010 (UTC)

Unique Dialogue Style Guide
Hey Tullis, I know you are absent, but I would like your opinion on something I'm working on for the style guide. Becuase I am getting tired of policing the Unique Dialogue pages, I wrote a style guide page for them, I would like to see them brought into some kind of order and I would like your inputs and approval before inserting it into the style guide. Currently it is in my sandbox, Unique Dialogue Pages, and I would like your inputs on the page. While I know it is usually forbidden to modify another user's sanboxes, I really would like to get this up quickly so I hereby give you, DRY, and SpartHawg948 permission to modify the page to get it in line with current standards, so it can go up quickly. I'll be dropping SpartHawg948 and DRY a line as well. Thanks in advance. Lancer1289 04:51, May 11, 2010 (UTC)
 * Sorry just one more thing, if you need to contact me, then leave me a message on my talk page, or on the article's talk page. Thanks. Lancer1289 04:55, May 11, 2010 (UTC)

Tullis, I know you haven't been around and you are still absent, but I would like to get your input on this before I put it up. Thanks in advance. Lancer1289 03:06, May 17, 2010 (UTC)

Class Guides
Hey Tullis, after talking with Spart, the individual class guides, i.e. Engineer Guide, Vanguard Guide (Mass Effect 2), etc, have a massive problem with consistency. After some discussion, see Spart's talk page for more, but we agreed that the Vanguard Guide for ME2 was one of the best, if not the best. I wrote another section for our style guide for the Class Specific guides. Feel free to take a look and feel free to modify what you see as necessary. The Class Guide Style Guide Proposal. Thanks in advance. Lancer1289 17:44, May 25, 2010 (UTC)

Repairing Broken Links
It turns out alot of wanted pages are not wanted. That means that there are alot of broken links, and I'm taking it upon myself to fix them. That having been said, if you could please either remove the ' and brackets or place a tag around your usage of Canon, it would be greatly appreciated. You being an admin, I would also appreciate it if you could do it for Cannon and canon here, as while I realise its the child of an old forum joke, its still disruptive to the cause. Thanks, --FoxtrotZero 21:44, June 6, 2010 (UTC)

A Vague Manuel of Style
Hello, I'd like to make a mention of something I noticed when viewing this Wiki and our Manuel of Style. Obviously not everyone here is British, and not everyone is American, and there are different ways to spell certain words in both countries. (i.e. realization and realisation/ civilization and civilisation) Is there any specific form of the word that we must use? As a frequent write on my own school newspaper which has very strict rules, I must make note of the fact that this seemingly minor detail can really destroy our overall consistency with spelling. Identityis 15:46, July 1, 2010 (UTC)


 * We have no consistency. :)>Bastian964 16:21, July 1, 2010 (UTC)
 * Which is why we have the policy we do now in allowing both spellings. While I wans't here when that policy was made, I still enforce it becuase both spellings are acceptable. Personally I do like the policy as I get to see differnt things. Lancer1289 16:45, July 1, 2010 (UTC)
 * I don't want to sound rude, but honestly, without a consistent and strict style book, then we look unprofessional. Identityis 16:51, July 1, 2010 (UTC)
 * I don't want to sound rude, but honestly, without a consistent and strict style book, then we look unprofessional. Identityis 16:51, July 1, 2010 (UTC)