Forum:N7 Academy Partnership Proposal

OK gang, here's the deal: the fine folks at N7Academy.com have proposed a partnership between our wiki and their site. Basically, from what I'm seeing here, the site, which is primarily a community-oriented and fan-based site, would like to partner with us to provide their audience with a ready resource for factual information about the ME universe. They, in turn, would provide more in the way of an outlet for the community, particularly for the most creative aspects of the community, since Wikia's community-oriented side is a bit minimalist. They would also be willing to highlight aspects of our site, featuring our articles periodically, giving us our own forum, etc. They also highlight the potential for increased web traffic to both sites. Due to the nature of this proposal, it's not something that the admins should decide for the site behind closed doors. So I bring it before the community to discuss and decide upon. Since I'm probably doing only a half-decent job summing this up, I've asked the representative if he'd be willing to address this directly, and will reserve a place for him to do so.

Due to this, and to the ongoing nature of this discussion, I'll hold off on opening voting for now.

N7Academy Proposal
Hello folks. My name is Jason, but I go by Koyote, most everywhere. I want to point out first, that you all have done such a fantastic job maintaining the wiki, I use it quite often. We at N7A have a clear goal in mind, and our goal is to be a "one stop shop" for all things Mass Effect. And to that end, we would like to work with you to achieve that goal.

Since you do have a very dedicated staff to the wiki, one of the things we could offer you is, acknowledgment of those efforts by spotlighting a particular article, or even a particular contributor on the front page. Setting up forums wouldn't be an issue either. If you have a particular person or persons wanting to moderate those forums (if its even necessary) we can set that up as well. A partnership will likely increase traffic to both the wiki and our site due to the influx of newer members coming every day. If you feel you have things to contribute to our end of things, be it art, web page design, or even presentation, then please by all means come forward and let us know.

If there are any questions, please feel free to ask. Koyote N7 (Talk)

Discussion
So, in case people haven't gathered as much yet, I'm supportive of the proposed partnership. I think it would be a good way to go, and a good way to expand our audience and increase web traffic and all that. Lately I've been looking into ways to do this, with the latest expression of this being the new ME Wiki Facebook page. I don't really any downside here, provided that we make sure to clearly delineate between the Wiki and N7Academy, to prevent an influx of fanon and fan material into the wiki proper. However, I think the chances of this becoming a problem are fairly slim. This partnership can increase traffic, bring greater attention to the Wiki, enhance our community support, and really set us apart from competitors, so I'm for it. SpartHawg948 23:20, August 11, 2011 (UTC)
 * I'm leaning towards accepting this supposed proposal. It will give us more coverage without merging the two pages together. Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem 23:29, August 11, 2011 (UTC)
 * I'm open to the idea of a partnership, but I'd like to see the proposal in Koyote N7's own words. Partnering with a fan site would be a big step for the wiki, and we should make sure we know what we're getting into. -- Commdor (Talk) 00:19, August 12, 2011 (UTC)
 * Commdor I forwarded the email I got to you and you should have received it several hours ago. As for the proposal, I really do need to think about it a bit more before giving my opinion. Lancer1289 00:22, August 12, 2011 (UTC)
 * Ah, I don't check my email often enough. Thanks, Lancer. -- Commdor (Talk) 00:33, August 12, 2011 (UTC)

Tullis, via email correspondence with me, had a few questions as well, and some alternatives, should they prove necessary. The questions are more general ones for us to consider while discussing this than anything she wants answered herself. - The partnership will go as little or as complicated as you all would like. We can offer you our resources if interested, or just a simple link at the end of the day. I want to make things as painless as possible for people. -Koyote N7 (Talk)- As for alternatives, she offers the following (quoted directly): I think she makes some excellent points, and have been pondering this myself. I don't think we need to worry about a huge influx of sites seeking partnerships, and we can consider any that do on a case-by-case basis, using this discussion as a baseline. As for where, probably somewhere on the main page seems best, perhaps a new "Affiliated Sites" section. Anywho, I figured I'd post them here, since Tullis did opine on this. SpartHawg948 01:09, August 12, 2011 (UTC)
 * 1) What form will this "partnership" take? Links to their site (and links to the Wiki on their site)? If so, where will these links go?
 * 1) Will this lead to more sites (potentially many more sites) seeking partnerships with us?
 * 2) If so, how will we deal with this?
 * 3) Do we want to be seen as endorsing other sites?
 * Admins agreeing to display a link on their user page
 * Starting a "fan site spotlight" weekly feature and looking for other good sites to feature in it. Not sure where that would go though; maybe on the front page under featured article or something. Again, we'd somehow have to determine what sites make the cut, and we'd probably get a lot of flak for it if we choose not to feature someone's site.
 * Doing a nice big blog post about their site and say how awesome it is (it does look pretty good). That could double as the fan site spotlight if you want to keep it going; that would be my personal preference.
 * If only she came back for real to the wiki to really establish an input. At least she still corresponds by email. Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem 01:56, August 12, 2011 (UTC)

Greetings, all. I'm the administrator over at N7 Academy (aka "Infinite") and wanted to thank you all for taking the time to consider this partnership. I believe Koyote is in contact with you by email, so I'll leave it to him to discuss the details, but suffice to say I think this could work to both our advantages. I like a lot of the ideas I've seen in this discussion, particularly the idea of having a sub-forum dedicated to the wiki. I think this, along with more common methods like linking, banners, etc., is a good place to start. There would be no problem on my side granting moderator privileges to your staff in such a scenario.

I don't know exactly the extent to which you imagine this partnership can go, but I can see N7 Academy becoming an "official" partner to this site. This is the direction I'm aiming for, rather than just being an "affiliate" or a "featured site". I understand, though, that this kind of relationship would take some time to develop... so I leave it to you to consider how best to proceed. I invite you all to register at N7 Academy if you'd like to get a better idea of the site's features and what we have planned for the future. If you have any questions, you can always contact Koyote or myself. Cheers. N7 Spectre 03:19, August 12, 2011 (UTC)


 * This sounds like something that in the end could be extremely beneficial. It would work as to streamline the wiki for one, as all of the fan necessities are covered by N7 Academy, and we give the fans known access to complete information for the ME series. I haven't really seen any other wiki take this kind of step and I feel that this is a good move for the communities. By having a joint working in some way shape or form, we are ensuring that the wiki is filled with support and having a wider berth. This would also help the wiki stay a factual resource as all fan work could easily be directed to N7. This is something that will really help all of us as fans. I don't think this should be seen as any sort of endorsement, just a conscious effort to maintain two separate autonomous communities that benefit from referring to each other. To answer the question about other sites seeking partnership, that's something that should only be judged as it comes as the community also feels about the worth of doing that, just as they are here.--Xaero Dumort 06:40, August 12, 2011 (UTC)

@Xearo, This is exactly what I was trying to say but couldn't find the words for some reason. ;p As I said previously, our goal is to be a "one stop shop" for all things Mass Effect. One could look at our site for news, fan art, discussions, ect. related to Mass Effect while those looking for factual information could look to the wiki and vice versa. Koyote N7 (Talk)

Voting Parameters
Ok, so it's been a few days without comment, so let's talk voting! Here's what I'm thinking, and feel free to opine, whether for or against. Now, this is still pretty nebulous, with nothing concrete on the table yet. As such, any vote can't really be to approve or reject the partnership per se. Sooo... what I think we should vote on is whether or not to move to the next stage here, formal negotiations with N7Academy.com to come up with specifics. Now, to the specifics of this proposal: I think that, while group discussions and committees work great in real life or for strictly inter-wiki discussion, for something like this, it's impractical. So, I'd prefer for one person to head up the negotiations for our side. And, given that I'm ultimately the one responsible, since I'm the Bureaucrat and all, I think I'd be best suited for it. No ego here, just thinking that, as the one on the chopping block, the one who started the discussion, and the one everyone will ultimately be chasing with pitchforks and torches if this doesn't end well, I do have a vested interest in this! :P

If the community accepts this idea, I'd carry out the negotiations to the best of my ability (obviously), and would consult with several individuals, both folks on the wiki and some people knowledgeable in other relevant fields, during the process, and I would ultimately agree to nothing binding. Any agreement reached between myself and the people from N7Academy.com would be contingent on the community agreeing, via another vote. So, in summation: I propose we open voting to begin negotiations, as opposed as a straight up-and-down vote on the partnership. Any other opinions or ideas for how to go about it would be greatly appreciated, as would support or opposition to my proposal. Consider it a pre-vote vote! :P SpartHawg948 08:38, August 15, 2011 (UTC)


 * Support--Xaero Dumort 20:09, August 15, 2011 (UTC)

I love going to this wiki and I love Mass Effect, but I went to that fan site and I thought it looked kinda stupid. I get that we're trying to make some sort of archive for all things Mass Effect, but I just don't think this is the way to go. I've never really been a fan of fan art, most of the stuff I saw on the site we already have on the wiki or could easily get. I think the only thing that I saw that would really make an impact was the story about how the guy made a real-life version of the Mass Effect rifle, and the date of the Mass Effect convention. So I'm gonna have to say the I'm against it. OPPOSED RiftJargon 20:56, August 15, 2011 (UTC)

I'd like to raise a concern regarding this vote. I understand the way wikis work and support your decision to make it a public one. I ask only that you consider the possibility that some votes against this might have ulterior motives. I don't want to get into details, but this possibility has already reared its head. So, to any wiki member reading this, I ask that you make up your own minds concerning advantages this partnership might bring, rather than rely on flippant, uninformed remarks regarding the site in question. I have history here, albeit short-lived. I still use the wiki as a primary resource and find it helpful in many ways. I'm as dedicated a person as you will find when it comes to Mass Effect and will put in the kind of work that is required to make this partnership a success, along with those in my staff that are motivated to. N7 Spectre 23:34, August 15, 2011 (UTC)