User talk:SpartHawg948

I hate the way images look when added to talk pages. They mess with the flow of the page, and generally look just plain unsightly. As such, I ask that editors please not post images on my talk page. If you have an image that supports your point, feel free to provide a link to that image, but please don't add the image itself. From this point on, any such posts will be summarily removed as soon as they are noticed, with no warning or explanation.

Auto-refresh
By any change, do you know why some wikis have an auto-refresh feature on special activity page and some don't? I'm asking this because I would love to enable it on Mass Effect Answers site which unfortunately lacks it. If you have an idea how to do it, or where to look for this information, please tell me. Mitranim 10:03, July 11, 2011 (UTC)
 * If I'm not mistaken, it requires a custom Javascript implementation, hence it depends whether the wiki want to have the feature or not. You could ask Lancer as he was the one who implemented it. — Teugene (Talk) 10:37, July 11, 2011 (UTC)
 * Thanks. I'll wait for Lancer's answer, then. Mitranim 10:49, July 11, 2011 (UTC)
 * If you are awaiting Lancer's answer, please ask him your question on his talk page first. I try to keep conversations that take place on my talk page that don't involve me to a bare minimum. Thanks, SpartHawg948 15:39, July 11, 2011 (UTC)
 * Yeah, I will. Mitranim 16:38, July 11, 2011 (UTC)

Quick Request
As I was just looking around today, I noticed several pages in the Mass Effect Category. One of these pages is User talk:Skypopper with a spoiler template on his talk page. However, the template was left by you in your comment, so could you just remove it to solve the problem? Thanks. I probably will end up doing this for a while to make sure we didn't miss anything. One category a week, that way I can keep track of it. Lancer1289 17:01, July 11, 2011 (UTC)

Opinion needed
Hey there! I wonder if you could head over to the Clusters table redesign project and drop an opinion or two there? Thanks! — Teugene (Talk) 18:07, July 14, 2011 (UTC)

Archiving
Maybe you ought to archive the page now that it's over 100 sub-headings... heh. Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem 22:16, July 14, 2011 (UTC)

Anon vandal
Check out this pages history, there are two different anons vandalising this users page. Sort 'em out. :)  N7  &#91; T &#124; C &#93; 08:56, July 24, 2011 (UTC)


 * It's a vandal from the Answers site who have become obsessed with me. I suggest locking my profile and talk page on this site to prevent the hassle of undoing vandal edits. The user has a dynamic IP (or uses a proxy), so blocking him/her by IP is unfortunately not going to work. Mitranim 09:01, July 24, 2011 (UTC)
 * Both IPs blocked. Sorry for the delay... SpartHawg948 09:16, July 24, 2011 (UTC)
 * Thanks.  N7  &#91; T &#124; C &#93; 09:17, July 24, 2011 (UTC)
 * You bet. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. I'd have noticed eventually, but leaving me a message about it ensured they got blocked faster. Good looking out! :D SpartHawg948 09:18, July 24, 2011 (UTC)
 * No problem bro. Oh and he's back...  N7  &#91; T &#124; C &#93; 09:40, July 24, 2011 (UTC)
 * Ah another one of these people. I had a similar thing a few months ago, and the fallout was pretty bad at times, so hopefully this person won't be a dedicated, and you can find what happened above on this page somewhere, and in my archives. Lancer1289 15:39, July 24, 2011 (UTC)

No, this one is pretty much nothing like the one you're referring to. There's pretty much nothing in common between the two of them. SpartHawg948 18:24, July 24, 2011 (UTC)

Pausing the Language Policy vote
As I jumped the gun a bit on the voting, effectively skipping the Discussion phase, would you mind pausing the vote on my Language Policy proposal, so that the changes could be discussed?
 * I was going to wait till everyone else had answered and then say "No, I don't want to stop it", but... since you're asking so nicely, sure. I woulda figured that overwhelming community support for the policy in not one but two votes would be enough to preclude any further efforts, but I guess not... :P SpartHawg948 21:26, July 26, 2011 (UTC)

Mass Effect Wiki scavenger hunt
Hi! I'd like to let you know that Wikia would like to put a (new and improved) scavenger hunt game up on Mass Effect wiki. To see what it's all about, you can check out this presentation of one done for Avengers. We'd also like to hear your feedback on the feature once it's up and running. The game looks fun, so I hope you're up for it too. :) Ausir(talk) 22:01, July 28, 2011 (UTC)
 * Sounds great! Yeah, it does look like a lot of fun, and it should be great fun for the community. If there's anything you need from me for this, just let me know! Thanks for taking the time to leave me this message, and thanks to you and everyone at Wikia for considering us for this! :D SpartHawg948 23:18, July 28, 2011 (UTC)

Inbox
Spart, if you wouldn't mind checking your email as I've got two questions for you, and one of them has been bugging me for a while. Lancer1289 19:38, August 8, 2011 (UTC)
 * I'm assuming you mean the email I just got done responding to. SpartHawg948 19:40, August 8, 2011 (UTC)

Updating rights to remove unnecessary blog post comments
Hey Spart,

I have an idea that I'm pondering whether or not to put into a forum, but since you're the bureaucrat here, I'd like to ask your input on it first.

I notice that on this wiki, only Admins and B-crats (and I think the blog post creator) have the ability to delete unnecessary or irrelevant comments in blog posts, and no one else. Conversely, on Avatar Wiki, Rollback Users (myself included) have the ability and are in fact mandated to scour the comments sections of each article (and blog) and delete comments which are either unnecessary, irrelevant, inappropriate, and/or inflammatory to the page/blog at hand. Granted, there are many more RUs there than here (obviously, myself included), but I believe that the Senior Editors like myself and Teugene, etc.. should be extended the privileges to remove these types of comments from the above-mentioned blog pages. This is in light of a few recent blogs which strayed very heavily off-course, such as with the blog on James Vega's supposed class which we both contributed to that unnecessary tangent.

I'd like to hear your opinion on the matter, and if acceptable, how I should proceed to write the forum. Thanks in advance. Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem 21:30, August 8, 2011 (UTC)
 * To be quite honest, I'm not entirely cool with the idea, for the sole reason that I don't like the criteria given. I can't speak for the individual admins, but personally, I only delete blogs and blog comments in two cases: If they are pure vandalism, or if the author of the blog requests it. Other than that, I don't mess with them. If the Senior Editors are cool operating within those constraints, I'm fine with it. If it's to be expanded to include subjective labels such as "unnecessary, irrelevant," and "inflammatory", I'm not fine with it. Generally, I'm an opponent of deleting any content from areas that exist to give editors an outlet to speak. After all, whose definition of unnecessary trumps whose here? SpartHawg948 07:00, August 9, 2011 (UTC)
 * Since you can't speak for me, I'll speak for myself then. I also only delete blog comments in those two cases, or mine if I don't like it. I would also have to concur that the criteria given is vague and even if it was laid out, I know I still won't support it. Even if there are long discussions completely off topic, what you can do is just recommend a better place for it. Sometimes it doesn't work, but that is still the best way to go about it. Also Spart makes one, great, excellent point, who's definition of those words do we use? Right now, I have to say that the system currently in place works and if something gets off topic, the blog's author can tell people where the appropriate place for that discussion is, and if it continues, then their posts will be deleted. If it continues, then the author can request the comments be deleted, Commdor did this not too long ago on one of his blogs. That I think is a system that works, and I won't be in favor of expanding it as someone could delete a comment that they may think has nothing to do with the blog, but in reality, might be quite relevant. Lancer1289 17:08, August 9, 2011 (UTC)

Interesting Discovery
Hey Spart, I know when LotSB came out you got all the UD for the Broker and his various reactions to squadmates. Well I discovered something and I'm not willing to declare it an isolated case. I decided to do LotSB before completing Kasumi's Loyalty Mission and the Broker's dialogue changed. Again, I'm sure if this is an isolated case, but I doubt it, and I may test it with others, but I figured I should tell you of this as I found it interesting, and since you did a lot of the work on this end, I figured you would as well. Lancer1289 03:10, August 13, 2011 (UTC)

"Affiliated Wikis"
Hey, Spart -- how you've been, mate? ^^ We are currently going in a revamp on ACWiki's main page and portal system, and the opportunity arose for us to dedicate a section of the main portal to "affiliated wikis" -- kinda a partnership between wikis. Right now the only useful thing so far is that you may increase your reader and editors visits since both our wikis have a lot of movement and some fans of AC may like ME and viceversa, but at least nothing wrong can come of it XD The way its done is pretty simple (example pic here) : We list the logos of partner wikis on a section of our main page, with the intent of increasing flow between wikis and try to bring a overall closer... bond. We already have Prototype and Infamous Wiki on it, and I'm talking with a friend at DAWiki about it too -- you guys want to join? =] -- D. Cello 13:31, August 14, 2011 (UTC)
 * Glad to hear it! =D I also would like to inform you that Dragon Age Wiki is on board with the affiliation thing too (just waiting for their community approval), and somethign came up while talking to them -- since we are all gaming wikis about giant universe games with lots of story in a sci-fi setting, and given the fact that ME and DA are both made by Bioware, we may benefitiate of a partnership between the three wikis. As I said before, altough joint projects or opportunites may appear in the future, the first goal is simply to increase readership between wikis, and given the fact that each of wikis have around 200k readers every month or more, we can heavily increase the traffic and popularity of each site. People who like story usually are interested in RPGs, and AC, DA and ME have a deeper reach and are 3 of the biggest franchises in existence right now =] If a three way (or a group partnership isntead of one-wiki-on-one-wiki) interests you guys, besides contacting me, you can also talk to User:Tierrie on DAWiki if you want to feel them or get now them better or anything -- I've know Tierrie for over a year, and he is the creator of the portal coding in ACWiki, and a very nice person. This involves little effort and can have great gains for all of us. Let's make this happen! ;D -- D. Cello 01:34, August 17, 2011 (UTC)
 * Hahaahaha XD I'm honored ^^ It's already on my user page XD -- D. Cello 03:14, August 17, 2011 (UTC)
 * Nice! SpartHawg948 03:24, August 17, 2011 (UTC)
 * Yo Spart! Since the affiliation grew more than expected, we made some changes to the plan and decided to add it to the main page directly instead of the fourth portal -- that way the idea of promoting the wikis is more efficient. I asked one of our engineers (the same designer in charge of the new portal) to make a render, and altough its just a prototype in size and position (I want bigger logos), it gives a idea of how it will look. Check this, beneath the news section ;D. -- D. Cello 13:55, August 20, 2011 (UTC)

That's about where we're thinking of putting ours too. Right under the Wiki News section on the main page. Very nice! SpartHawg948 19:40, August 20, 2011 (UTC)
 * Hey there! Change of plans XD I was doing a essay about Vesuvio's eruption for colelge and got bored as hell -- as result I went into a revamp rampage of the main page and ended up making a affiliation section prototype go live XD Check it here, center of the page, and tell me what you think, would you kindly? ^^ -- D. Cello 03:39, August 24, 2011 (UTC)
 * Indeed =/ I was plannign on doing dual columns, but that means that both logos would be half the size x.x So what I did is put the logos in order I got answers -- DA answered the request with a more definite yes first, so they came first and stuff -- yours were right after then, so you're second, followed by Uncharted and etc XD It's like a race grid, I think it's fair =P -- D. Cello 03:54, August 24, 2011 (UTC)

You look like you know what your doing.
Hey, I'm new to this site and I think it's a great source of not only helpful tips but some fun info too. I was reading your bio and I live in Los Gatos, close to you. Anyway enough with the meaningless info. I love Mass Effect, played both of them through about 4-5 times. I've finally done everything you can and now I'm focused on making this site as good as possible. Any advice?
 * Thanks! It's always nice to hear people saying good things about the wiki. And yup, we do live pretty close to each other. I actually go to Los Gatos when I need to do anything at the DMV. Your DMV is a lot better than the one in Santa Clara. As for advice... hmmm... well, right now we're in a bit of a quiet spell. The only big things happening in the ME world are new tidbits about ME3. So... the big things are to watch out for vandalism, and undo it whenever you see it, and if you see any errors in articles (factual or spelling or whatever), don't hesitate to fix them. And if there are any tidbits of information that are left out of articles, but that you think would benefit them, feel free to add them. Of course, there will be times when things are touch-and-go, and times when your edits will be undone, and when admins may leave you messages about this or that, but don't get discouraged. It happens to everybody from time to time. Oh, and feel free to contribute in discussions in forums, blogs, talk pages, etc. It can be a good way to get to know the community. We have some pretty awesome "regulars" at this wiki. And that's about it... those are my quick tips to success. SpartHawg948 09:29, August 15, 2011 (UTC)

About the N7Academy...
I don't want you to think that I don't have faith in your negotiating skills or that you won't keep the interests of the wiki foremost. I believe given the opportunity you will strike a good bargain for this partnership, in fact, that is my main fear. It seems like keeping up with rumors, "trivia", and vandalism is hard already at times, but it's a good idea to try and drive more traffic to the site. However, if you drive traffic from a FAN site and that site has an "official partner" label, the referrals from the site will naturally expect to see content that supports the site that referred them. They won't find that information here, of course, but this is a wiki. They can just create the content they want to see. This content can be a catalog of fanfics, top bloggers on N7Academy, gallery tips...etc. Soon, ME3 will be released, and the content in existing articles plus new article will probably double by next June, anyway. Do you really want the extra hassle of weeding, deleting, and arguing that could come out of the situation I described PLUS dealing with all the new stuff from ME3? I think adding this kind of partner in that kind of situation is just more trouble than it's worth. That's my only point.--Captainhu 08:43, August 16, 2011 (UTC)
 * It's definitely a good point. It's got merit, I don't dispute that, and I expect that you're right, I just don't think it would manifest itself on quite the scale you're concerned about. That said, I will certainly keep your concern in mind, and rest assured, if the majority of respondents from the community agree with you, I'll let the folks at N7Academy know the deal is off. It doesn't matter how much I support an idea, I won't go against the will of the community. I hope also that my comments and responses don't seem like I'm brushing you off or anything. I'm pretty tired at the moment, and my comments can sometimes come off sounding a good deal different than they sound in my head. I take your concerns seriously, and will keep them in mind whatever the outcome of the current discussion. Thanks again for taking the time to express your concerns. Community involvement is key to the success of any wiki, and awesome community members like you make this wiki what it is! :D SpartHawg948 09:23, August 16, 2011 (UTC)
 * Hey, SpartHawg948. I know nothing said here is formal yet, but I'd like to attempt to reassure Captainhu that we're well aware of his or her concerns as well, and would ask that you give us an opportunity to present our ideas before worrying about things like vandalism or damaging the integrity of your content (things we are not in the habit of allowing on our own site).  Much of what we have in mind will require minimal moderation on MEWiki admins' part, at most, and won't infringe on the Wiki itself.  When you and your team are ready to negotiate, I'd like to welcome you to register on N7A where I've set up a place for us to discuss.  Let me know then and I'll set your access to the specific area asap.  Thanks for your time. N7 Spectre 01:12, August 20, 2011 (UTC)
 * Thanks! I'm actually about to start up the voting to authorize negotiations. Yeah, you're more than welcome to make statements to the community about the proposal and all that. There's a section reserved solely for you on the forum page, or you can leave them in the general discussion section. Once voting starts, there will be a 7-day period for it and then, pending a successful outcome, we can begin negotiations in earnest. Once a tentative agreement is reached, we'll need to put that up for a vote too, which will take another week. I know it's kind of a long time, but that's our process. The community gets final say and all that good stuff! :D SpartHawg948 07:54, August 20, 2011 (UTC)
 * Hey Spart. I'm excited we now have the opportunity to negotiate and look forward to discussing this with you and whoever else will join in.  Again, if you don't mind registering at N7A, I've set up a place where we can discuss.N7 Spectre 03:52, August 29, 2011 (UTC)
 * If the discussion in question is us working out the details of a partnership, I'd actually prefer to do it in private, via email. No nefarious intent or anything, I just prefer doing things that way. Keeps things more focused and all that. Because I know that, personally, I get distracted pretty easily. If for some reason this doesn't work for you though, just lemme know and we'll figure something out. Thanks! SpartHawg948 07:28, August 29, 2011 (UTC)
 * The forum in question is indeed private and allows you to get a feel for what is available there, but if email is how you'd like to proceed then I am fine with that. My email is admin at N7A dot com. N7 Spectre 16:14, August 29, 2011 (UTC)
 * Ok... I'll take a look then and see what the forum is like. I'm kinda busy today, nut will be free the next three days, so we should hopefully be able to figure something out then. SpartHawg948 19:16, August 29, 2011 (UTC)
 * Hey, SpartHawg948. I've yet to hear from you on this. I know you've been busy (as have I), so I thought it best to give you your time.  I don't want to give the impression that I'm no longer interested in negotiating, however... so consider this a heads-up.  You have my email address. --N7 Spectre 21:24, September 7, 2011 (UTC)

I'm really sorry, man. I've been a total slacker on this one. There's been some added issues I've been dealing with which have been eating up my time. I have the day off tomorrow, aside from one appointment earlier in the day, so you'll definitely be hearing from me tomorrow. I'm really sorry it's taken this long to get back to you. SpartHawg948 06:09, September 8, 2011 (UTC) My turn to apologize now... haven't been here in a bit and just not noticed this message. I haven't received your email yet, but it might be that the address I gave you wasn't clear enough: admin at n7academy dot com. If you register, you can always just send me a PM as well and I'll get in touch with you quickly. Hopefully we can get past this game of tag and start discussing things. :p --N7 Spectre 20:32, September 12, 2011 (UTC)
 * I swear, I totally emailed you yesterday as promised. I must have messed something up in the address though because it got returned, which I didn't notice till I was getting ready to go to sleep. I'm about to head out to an appointment, but it shouldn't take long, and I'll resend the email when I get back. SpartHawg948 16:45, September 9, 2011 (UTC)
 * Fortunately, it appears we have to communications issue worked out now! Sending emails from phones may be darned inconvenient, but sometimes, every now and then, it makes life simpler! :P SpartHawg948 06:58, September 13, 2011 (UTC)

Something You Might Want to Read
User blog:Ser Pouce-a-lot/Too many spoilers for ME3. There is a comment line that you might want to read in that blog. The thread starts with a comment by JediSpectre117 saying "Please go to the Dragon age wiki and see what they do there." Lancer1289 18:05, August 16, 2011 (UTC)
 * Yup. I've been perusing it. I've seen some really out-there notions, and misinformation (intentional or otherwise) from several sources. As for the Dragon Age Wiki spoiler idea, I'm still tentatively in favor of it, just as I was last time it came up. Though your comment seems to claim otherwise... :P SpartHawg948 22:57, August 16, 2011 (UTC)

Affiliate program
Hey there SpartHawg948! I don't think we've talked before but I am a huge fan of this Wiki. I use it to do all my lookups during my Mass Effect playthroughs. I've worked closely with User:D. Cello and I respect what he has done for Assassin's Creed. I've asked my peers and the community what they think and we've gotten some positive feedback for some cross wiki linking.

We will put up some subtle links and we will cross promote any big giveaways or promotions you are having for the big drives. I like what User:D. Cello has done as far as putting the affiliate program on his front page (albeit buried deep down). I'm going to see the final product looks like before we implement one ourselves. I'll keep you posted. Cheers! -- 20:06, August 18, 2011 (UTC)

Can you please remind me?
I keep forgetting about this place. :P But yeah, I think my infobox idea failed, due to a lack of interest. So I'll have a shot at implementing newer navboxes, if anyone's interested. If not, then I'll patrol around the wiki to see what pages I can work on. The man thing is, can you pop a message on my talk page some time and remind me?--Technobliterator 23:04, August 26, 2011 (UTC)

My Talk Page
Hi SpartHawg,

Thanks for taking the time to explain your take on the situation. I posted a succinct apology to Lancer's talk page after I deleted the content from my own, because I'm trying to put the conversation to bed. I will be removing all future messages from my talk page related to this. Thanks. Brianbreed 19:38, August 28, 2011 (UTC)
 * Fair enough. I can respect your desire to put this behind you. I'm also totally willing to chalk this up to a great big misunderstanding, and move on. Water under the bridge and all that. I do sincerely hope that this initial brouhaha hasn't turned you off from editing at this fine wiki, but at the end of the day, that decision is yours and yours alone, and whatever you decide, I'll respect it. Thanks for taking the time to leave me this message and keep me informed of the goings-on. I appreciate it. Thanks again, SpartHawg948 07:24, August 29, 2011 (UTC)

Interwiki vote
The vote on the interwiki partnership proposal is due to close in about an hour and a half. Since the vote is 7-0 in favor, I've already uploaded the DA and AC Wiki wordmarks and set up the "Affiliated Wikis" section on the main page. All I have to do is hit the save button. I had intended to wait out the vote until the full seven days had finally expired, do this by the book and all, but I'm bushed. Seeing as it would take eight editors to oppose the proposal within the next 90 minutes for it fail, and that such an occurrence is unlikely at best, would you mind terribly if I close the vote early and implement it? -- Commdor (Talk) 06:41, September 4, 2011 (UTC)
 * No, go right ahead. It's only 90 minutes or so, and this vote is nowhere near close. So yeah, feel free. SpartHawg948 06:45, September 4, 2011 (UTC)


 * Hooray! FYI, I followed the example of AC Wiki's current main page for the layout. Since we've only agreed to AC Wiki and DA Wiki as affiliates for now, the section should be fine where it is. I'll have to shuffle it around if we take on any more, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. -- Commdor (Talk) 06:53, September 4, 2011 (UTC)
 * Fantastic! I'm so glad we made it happen, it's a honor to be aside such awesome wikis and game series as a partner ^^ May great fortunes come our way, kids. If you need me or ACWiki for anything, just ask ^^ -- D. Cello 03:07, September 5, 2011 (UTC)

MoS
Under the manual of style for adversaries, it mentions that it is for Mass Effect 2. Can this format be used to standardize Mass effect adversaries as well? The Advocate 08:18, September 6, 2011 (UTC)
 * Yeah, it can be. By and large, they're laid out in accordance with those guidelines, though none of the ME adversaries articles (at least none of the ones I just perused) featured a capabilities section. But yeah, as long as it's consistent with the MoS, it should be kosher. If any other changes are desired, there'd need to be some community discussion first. We do like to debate new things here! :P SpartHawg948 08:22, September 6, 2011 (UTC)
 * Yeah that needs to be updated with ME related info, along with a few other MoS article with the standard that has fallen in place. I'll see about that later. Lancer1289 12:22, September 6, 2011 (UTC)

Another Award
There's also the Galactic Unit Citation, mentioned in the CDN report for Jan. 31, 2010. And you might be confusing the Palladium Cross for the Palladium Star, which is in the same report. -- Commdor (Talk) 21:28, September 6, 2011 (UTC)
 * Probably. I was going off of memory. SpartHawg948 21:39, September 6, 2011 (UTC)

Also, if we're going for all awards, not just military decorations, there's the Hitara Prize (CDN March 14, 2010). I'll keep digging around. -- Commdor (Talk) 23:29, September 6, 2011 (UTC)
 * Yeah, I don't see why we should limit it to just military awards. SpartHawg948 23:35, September 6, 2011 (UTC)
 * I'd have to agree with that. There are plenty of civilian awards that are highly prestigious. Lancer1289 23:44, September 6, 2011 (UTC)

ACWiki Giveaway
Hey there, Spart! The ACWiki is hosting a giveaway of the 3 main games and some microsoft points, and unlike most contests, the game delivery is worldwide! Since we're now parters, I am officialy extending the red carpet to you and your wiki members -- this is a good opportunity for some of you to get to know the series better. And in other matters, I trust all is cool on your end? ^^ Cheers! -- D. Cello 02:21, September 7, 2011 (UTC)
 * Official announcement of main page, partnership, podcast and giveaway
 * Giveaway
 * Oh I'm very interested. I guess I will enter all three, and I'll just have to hope for the lottery since I'm not good with quotes or art. I question whether my art or my handwriting is better, and often it's neither. Lancer1289 12:24, September 7, 2011 (UTC)

Some random stuff
Hey Spart, what's up bud? I just wanted to bring up a few random things. First, I recently found a music from the Bring Down the Sky DLC: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdSU-0IhJLk. I don't remember hearing this in-game, and it isn't a remix, since it was uploaded by Sam Hulik himself. I just wanted to show you. Second, have you, by any chance, signed up at the N7 Academy site? Just wondering. I hate the new wiki format. And I'm just going to throw this in, hehe, I hope to be an admin sometime in the future. Obviously not now, but sometime in the future, once I improve my track record. See ya on Xbox LIVE tomorrow! LordDeathRay 05:47, September 8, 2011 (UTC)

Awards Page
Spart, on your user page, you said you'll sandbox a prelim version of the Awards page, and then I saw your last edit on your talk page, and I was wondering if you are going to get around to that today? I'm not saying you won't, but I've found I have more free time on Thursdays recently and I could work up something if you are getting overwhelmed. I know you did the Entertainment page before it was published, and I know you will do good with this one, but I figured I should at least make the offer and throw it out there in case you can't.

PS, I also hate this new edit page, it's a...what's higher on the disaster scale than catastrophe? Lancer1289 12:36, September 8, 2011 (UTC)
 * It works well for other sites I go on (though we're having glitch problems on Avatar Wiki, where the categories option isn't working properly), however this can be turned off at any time by Spart I believe. I think this editor doesn't work efficiently for this site. Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem 13:49, September 8, 2011 (UTC)
 * Really? Please find out how because this isn't a good idea. Lancer1289 14:28, September 8, 2011 (UTC)

in regards to the editor, why is wikia fixing stuff that is not broken? --Paladin cross 14:58, September 8, 2011 (UTC)


 * Not sure how exactly.. but only B-crats can switch it off... I think through the admin dashboard or through wikia central. Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem 17:47, September 8, 2011 (UTC)

I'll take a look and see if I can sort it out, get this nonsense turned off. As for the page, yeah, I was planning on sandboxing it later. I'm far from overwhelmed at the moment. SpartHawg948 21:34, September 8, 2011 (UTC)
 * UPDATE - from what I'm seeing after a cursory look, there is no way to switch it off. Not even for me. It's apparently mandatory, like the new skins and such. Looks like we're stuck with it unless Wikia removes it in response to the overwhelming negative response. And we know how that played out last time... SpartHawg948 21:38, September 8, 2011 (UTC)
 * Ok I thought I should at least offer. As to the edit screen, maybe someone could contact Wikia and ask if this is mandatory, or can we go back to the old edit screen. This new one looks like a new updated version of the Rich Text Editor, and we all know how we felt about that piece of (insert favorite word here). Lancer1289 22:01, September 8, 2011 (UTC)

Well I got an email back from Wikia about the new editor, and it's mandatory. We cannot go back to the old edit screen. If you have feedback on it, then send it to them at a blog about it on Community Central, or via email. Translation: We take a good system and completely turn it upside down. [Sigh] I guess Wikia did it again. Lancer1289 02:49, September 11, 2011 (UTC)


 * In response to your question way above, Lancer, I believe a higher word than catastrophe is... cataclysm? Or... Armageddon? LordDeathRay 12:52, September 13, 2011 (UTC)

Another compliment from a BioWare dev
Manveer Heir, a senior designer working on the ME franchise, thinks we rock. -- Commdor (Talk) 19:35, September 8, 2011 (UTC)


 * Woohoo! We're officially awesome! LordDeathRay 23:34, September 8, 2011 (UTC)

How's America doing?
Hey, not sure if you remember, but you helped me diffuse the Ralok situation on Dead Space Wiki around February or March. Anyway, since the 10th anniversary of 2001/9/11 is coming up, I wanted to know what you thought about the chance of another atrocity occurring to commemorate the day. There's been a lot of unsettling talk about it here, and disturbingly a lot of it has been in support of an attack, as there is a sizable African Muslim traditionalist population here in South Africa. If I recall you are very well versed in world affairs, so I figure you have a very good grip on the situation.

I attended university in Jacksonville, Florida last year and the political situation seemed to be very tense regarding national security. That there would be any hesitation given an opportunity to make the country safer is very foreign to me, as here we are surrounded by violent factions that would love to bring South African civilisation to par with less developed nations in the region, so we protect ourselves accordingly. In some ways this is stronger than the defense standard of America.

So my point is, what do you think of the safety and future of America?

Thanks for your time.

--L B C C C P 16:31, September 9, 2011 (UTC)
 * Wow. First let me apologize for taking so long to get back to you. Things have been kid of hectic lately. I saw your comment the day you left it, but didn't have time to respond right then, and kept meaning to get back to you. Sorry it took so long.


 * First, yes, I totally remember you. You're the admin at the Dead Space Wiki, right? I do recall you being quite considerate and helpful, and having a nice discussion with you. Now, I am speaking with hindsight here (since it's 11:44pm on September 11 out here in California right now), but I honestly didn't think there'd be any trouble today, and there wasn't. Not that I'm aware of, anyways. People always talk about it, but in the end, our security apparatus has improved quite a bit since that terrible day, and honestly, I do feel quite a bit safer.


 * The tension you refer to is not uncommon, especially out here near San Francisco. There's always a lot of debate between people who want increased security, and people concerned about civil liberties. It's a constant give-and-take. We're also a bit more complacent, as America typically is, because our neighbors are either completely peaceful and friendly (Canada), or just generally harmless (Mexico). The biggest problems in our neighborhood are Cuba and Venezuela, and neither of them poses any sort of significant threat.


 * Unfortunately, your fine nation doesn't have friendly neighbors and oceans surrounding it. In all honesty, no flattery or anything intended, I'm a big fan of South Africa. I know there's some troubled history there and all, but you guys are still light years ahead of the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, which would naturally lead to some resentment from your neighbors. In my book though, South Africa is A-OK. I know relations between our two countries are good, but I do wish they were a bit closer. I'd like to see America working more closely with other democracies around the world. (For example, our being friendly with Pakistan at the expense of our relations with India always vexes me!)


 * To conclude, I think that, as far as external threats are concerned, America is pretty safe for the foreseeable future, barring a war with China. As far as our future... that one is a trickier issue, and depends on who you talk to, and who wins the next election in 2012. We'll just have to wait and see! SpartHawg948 06:55, September 12, 2011 (UTC)

Senior Editor
Hey SpartHawg948, I was wondering if I wanted to become a senior editor, what steps would I have to take to do so? I await your response,Legionwrex.--Legionwrex 22:53, September 11, 2011 (UTC)
 * Well, we don't really have an established procedure or anything. Basically, the way we've been doing it is that, in order to be considered, an editor has to be nominated for it by an admin. Then all the admins vote on it. SpartHawg948 06:41, September 12, 2011 (UTC)
 * Thank you for the information, and good luck with your medical problems.--Legionwrex 07:01, September 12, 2011 (UTC)
 * Thanks! The doctor says I'm getting better, and if anyone would know, it'd be him. That's why he gets paid the big bucks, after all... :) SpartHawg948 08:16, September 12, 2011 (UTC)

Contribution Offer
Hello and thanks for the welcome, I am planing to play through a full arc of ME 1&2 including all DLC for both (hopefully before the release of ME3) please let me know if there are any specific areas of the wiki that could benefit from more information so I can keep an eye out and update if I find anything useful :) 67.2.174.222 14:57, September 14, 2011 (UTC)RoseLegion


 * Addtional: Oh, one quick thing I forgot to metion. I am unable to edit pages within the Deus Ex wiki via firefox(I've been using IE for my edits). I checked via the Dragon Age wiki on wikia and I can edit there via firefox, I was wondering if you could point me in the right direction to get this resolved. Thanks again :) --RoseLegion 16:19, September 14, 2011 (UTC)
 * The answer to your first question is really just read the MoS and CG, linked on your talk page, and just look around. There are always things that need cleaning up and whatnot. As to your second question, I'd ask the admins a the Deus Ex wiki, and if they don't have the answer, then ask the Wikia Staff at Community Central. Lancer1289 16:40, September 14, 2011 (UTC)
 * Erg, this is what I get for doing more than one thing at once :p the above should say "within the Mass Effect wiki".  I have been hopping between the three wikis this morning and both Dues Ex and Mass Effect aren't letting me do edits within firefox while Dragon Age I still have no troubles at all.  Thanks for the direction regarding contributions I'll keep those pages in mind during the play through. RoseLegion 17:13, September 14, 2011 (UTC)RoseLegion
 * Then I'd suggest that you either switch browsers, or contact the Wikia Staff. Lancer1289 17:15, September 14, 2011 (UTC)
 * Thanks :) I'll get ahold of the Wikia Saff RoseLegion 18:28, September 14, 2011 (UTC)RoseLegion

my apologies for the incorrect post, i was trying to post somewhere to get help.... thanks for deleting, i realized i posted in the wrong spot after i had posted it.....
 * No problem. Nobody's perfect and all that. It was an honest mistake. Anywho, I know you already got the auto-hello message, but allow me to also take this opportunity to welcome you to the wiki! Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to contribute! :D SpartHawg948 10:40, September 25, 2011 (UTC)

Dragon Age giveaway
Hey there SpartHawg948! BioWare's putting out a new DLC for Dragon Age II in two weeks and we have a giveaway to commemorate that event. We're giving away 5 copies of the DLC and anyone can enter. I posted the full details at Dragon Age Wiki:Orlesian Murder Mystery. I'm sure some of your readers will be get an opportunity to win some free stuff. Cheers! -- 20:47, September 26, 2011 (UTC)
 * More contests? Great, maybe I can get lucky. Lancer1289 21:04, September 26, 2011 (UTC)

Picture Format
I just updated the pic for Phoenix but as it is my first ever picture edit I was wondering if you could give it a once over and let me know if I've done it correctly (and if there are any tips I should keep in mind for future edits of this type). Thanks :) RoseLegion 20:48, October 2, 2011 (UTC)
 * I've already done that, uploaded a new image, and put the .jpg file up for deletion. .png files are prefered when possible. Lancer1289 20:55, October 2, 2011 (UTC)
 * I'll keep that in mind, also any other tips would be welcome (I am reading the format pages of course but I'm a more kinesthetic learner so I expect there are aspects I still need to absorb). I plan to be a more active contributor to the wiki but I'm trying to avoid as many mistakes as I can while I get my bearings, all useful feedback is appreciated. In that vein I have a question, should I have just uploaded the new image via the link on the page of the old image?  In addition was the file name too long?  I was attempting to follow the naming conventions described in the templates (i.e. be as specific as possible) but I didn't know if I'd been excessive.  Thanks again for the feedback RoseLegion 21:48, October 2, 2011 (UTC)

Thanks
Thanks for defending me against that off-target ineffective attack on my character. I expected a response to my vote and comment, but somehow I figured a person who ran a website would respond professionally or try to protect the investment in time he'd made toward this deal. To tell the truth, I was mostly amused at first as I consider all internet attacks on my person to be automatically trite and invalid. I'm glad my comment, which I didn't think was insulting, afforded the N7Academy leadership the opportunity to show it's true stripe before we went further. Extrication after the fact often proves messy.--Captainhu 04:10, October 11, 2011 (UTC)
 * Don't mention it. It was a no-brainer for me for several reasons. First and foremost, there's the principle of it. As the Bureaucrat of this site, I'm effectively the patriarch of our little clan. And you don't come onto this wiki and insult my friends and family, which is what you guys are in this context. Second, I respect you. A lot. That makes it super easy to stick up for you. We don't always agree (such as on the Ban Review Panel), but you reach your decisions logically, make your reasons known clearly, and as such, it's incredibly easy to disagree without being disagreeable. And lastly, his behavior was incredibly boorish.


 * Like you, I had suspected that N7 Spectre would respond to any criticisms in a professional manner commensurate with his position. We were both proved wrong. At least there's a silver lining, as you point out. SpartHawg948 06:44, October 11, 2011 (UTC)

HEY, this is really important!

OKAY, I really love Mass Effect and really wanted to make a mass effect wiki but it was already taken ):

SO my question was will you let me be a major apart of this wiki? The reason I can't do it myself by doing a bunch of stuff is I'm just not good at this stuff. So will you help me out and give me some pointers to editing?
 * I can handle this Spart. First thing, please make a headline for your message, ok now onto pointers. 1. Don't add information into an article if it is already there. 2. Don't get into edit wars, if you are having a problem with another user please contact an administrator. 3. Don't go around insulting other users or using vulgar language. 4. If you are not sure about adding something to a article leave a message on its talk page. 5. Talk pages are not forums. I hope I helped!--Legionwrex 01:48, October 14, 2011 (UTC)

Ban Review Panel, and a few other things
Spart, since the results of Forum:Ban Review Panel are now up, and it passed, I took the liberty of setting up a page for it, Mass Effect Wiki:Ban Review Panel, and make a brief outline of how cases should be organized, Mass Effect Wiki:Ban Review Panel/Example. Since this was your idea, and you are the b'crat, if you don't like anything, then please feel free to change it as I tried to do a good job on how things should be organized based on the emails that were initally sent around and my gut. Which may have been flawed. I created the separate page as to not distract from the purpose of the page, and it was getting long. When I set up the names, I did so by seniority and recent activity. Which is why DRY and Tullis are the last on the Admin list, and you are the first on the B'crat list. Change if you feel necessary.

Again I really just went with my gut on how I thought you'd want things to be set up, but I think I did a good job. Fingers crossed. If I created a catastrophe and was so far off target that my arrow landed in Australia, hopefully Jake can find it, then please tell me that as well.

Now to the other things. Since we generally archive things, I think we should archive any Admin requests on Mass Effect Wiki:Requests for Adminship. I know that LDR deleted his own, but I think we should just move it to an archive page and just post a result of what happened. Which is that one or more admins didn't feel he was up for the position. What do you think?

Third item. I know that Wikia has had some things coming out lately, chat, expanded wiki navigation, and other things that are in Special:WikiFeatures, I was thinking that if we want to enable, or disable any of those features, it should be a community vote and should go into the policy forum. Currently Wikia is testing the new Wikia navigation on several wikis, and I was hoping that we could be one of them. I know it was a pain to reduce our menu to a handful of links, and now that we have a chance to expand it, I think we should throw Wikia a bone, and volunteer to test this out and give feedback. Again, what do you think?

Sorry for all the stuff being thrown at you, but I figured I should attempt to do my best and get some questions that have been on my mind for some time now answered. Lancer1289 00:45, October 15, 2011 (UTC)
 * I promise I'll respond soon (Monday at the latest... I'm calling in from work due to a doctor's appointment so I'll have most of the day off), but as you say, it's a lot of stuff and I'm sleepy and have (unfortunately) to do some math homework... boo! I'll take a gander at everything. I saw a few minor tweaks that need made to the review panel thing, but nothing major. All in all, it looks pretty good. The request for admin thing sounds good too. You've got my stamp of approval to proceed. As for the Wikia stuff, that I will get to later, since I seem to have answered everything else in my "I'll reply later" reply! :P SpartHawg948 07:09, October 15, 2011 (UTC)
 * I just took care of the admin thing, and as for the rest, take your time. I know what it's like to be overwhelmed. Do the homework first, as you will probably regret not doing it. Lancer1289 15:09, October 15, 2011 (UTC)

Spart, I know you said you'd get back to me on Monday, but it's not Thursday afternoon and I've heard nothing yet. I'm just dropping this in case you forgot about this. Lancer1289 20:23, October 20, 2011 (UTC)


 * I don't really see a reason to volunteer for something like this. If it doesn't pan out, then what have we got? A bunch of extra work for no reason. Regardless, this doesn't seem like a decision for one or two people. This seems like something the community should have a say in. SpartHawg948 22:26, October 20, 2011 (UTC)

YouTube Channel
SpartHawg,

I run a channel on YouTube for gaming content (http://www.youtube.com/sergeantmerrell) and I've found this entire wiki both entertaining and helpful as I prepare to bring Mass Effect content in front of my audience. I wanted to approach someone here and open up a dialogue on how we might mutually benefit and work together.

I'm looking to bring the Mass Effect demographic toward my channel, and, in turn, I can deliver exclusive video content that would further the appeal of the wiki -- as well as bring a significant amount of traffic. In either case, I thought it would be good to talk, one veteran to another, as I'd love to get involved in the wiki either way. You can reach me over Skype (SergeantMerrell) or however else is convenient.

Respectfully, Sgt. Merrell

SergeantMerrell 00:58, October 15, 2011 (UTC)

Lots o' stuff
Yep, been waiting on The Walking Dead all year. It's going to be awesome on the HD TV I bought back in April! I'm even planning to order some wings. And thanks for wishing me a happy 21st birthday on Facebook, I saw your message but never got around to responding. I can do anything now! But I'll probably just read my new Nook. :P Also, I see you're getting psyched for Skyrim, I jumped on that boat a few weeks back and pre-ordered it. I never really got into Oblivion, but Skyrim looks too good to pass up. There are dragons! And all that other cool stuff, too, I guess. The detailed open-world environment... But Dragons!! -- Commdor (Talk) 17:56, October 16, 2011 (UTC)
 * Wings, eh? Not sure what I'll be doing. But that does give me some ideas. As for the b-day message, we both know responding to things in a timely manner isn't really something I'm famous for, so no worries. Being a Kindle man, however, your choice of e-reader does have me a bit skeptical. :P (I kid, I kid. As long as it gets the job done. I LOVE the convenience of my Kindle, I assume a Nook is about the same.)
 * And yeah, I'm super psyched about Skyrim! I pre-ordered it the first day it was available, changed the pre-order to the special edition a while back, and I have the Skyrim release countdown app on my phone, which I consult (usually several times) daily. So yeah, a bit excited. I love the open-endedness of TES games, being able to go (nearly) anywhere you can see, and the souped-up Radiant AI system has me really excited. And yes, DRAGONS!!! :D SpartHawg948 18:28, October 16, 2011 (UTC)
 * I would have gone with the Kindle too, but the Simple Touch Nook has (or had, since Amazon announced their new, cheaper Kindle Touch a couple weeks ago) the advantage of a touch screen. It's also got super-long battery life (officially two months if used 1-2 hours a day with wifi turned off; after a week of reading it 3-4 hours a day, I have 81% of the charge left, so the official blurb may not be that far off the mark), and I can use it to borrow books from libraries. All in all, I'm satisfied with it. I thought I wouldn't like reading a screen instead of actual paper, but now I can't imagine how I lived without it. So you're getting the special edition of Skyrim, with the dragon statue and all? Too rich for my blood. I don't have the deep pockets that I used to, I'm forgoing Modern Warfare 3 and Halo: CE Anniversary to pay for Skyrim. Between that and ME3's N7 CE, my game budget is zeroed out. Skyrim will more than pay for itself if I can get the alleged 300 hours out of it that Bethesda's Todd Howard says I can. -- Commdor (Talk) 19:15, October 16, 2011 (UTC)

Yeah, the Kindle (even a slightly older one like I have now) is pretty nice too. The battery life, as you mention, is pretty good. A charge gets me a week or two of use, and I tend to leave mine on for 12-14 hours a day or so, just putting it into sleep mode when I'm not reading. And yeah, I shelled out for the primo Skyrim. It's the only one I have on my agenda for the rest of the year. And the only game I have on the agenda thus far next year is ME3. But yeah, I can't wait for Skyrim. All I know is that I got all sorts of play time out of Oblivion, so I'm anticipating great things of Skyrim. SpartHawg948 06:34, October 17, 2011 (UTC) not to creep on ur guys convo but the end of the 2 episode sucked so bad i was like o nooooooo to my tv but any way sorry i creeped on ur convo but i just love Walking Dead-armykidbran
 * OMG! This is killing me! I'm 8 minutes into season 2 now, after finishing season one again, and I'm dying to know (no pun intended), what did Dr. Jenner tell Rick??? So frustrating! SpartHawg948 07:56, October 17, 2011 (UTC)

Featured on CC staff blog ; info about scav hunt.
Hi,

Mass Effect wiki has been selected by staffmember Xean to be featured on his blog post and specifically the Scavenger hunt. I am very interested in how you created that hunt and hope you can shed some light on creating such a thing.

Thanks in advance!

WikiPim (available for talk on CC, S&P or WikiXP)
 * I didn't actually create it. It was done at the Wikia level. I was informed after Wikia selected the Mass Effect Wiki for a scavenger hunt. (reference User Talk:SpartHawg948 for more info) As such, I'd recommend talking to the folks at Wikia. Ausir may be a good starting point. SpartHawg948 21:23, October 19, 2011 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the heads up, will follow up with Ausir!
 * WikiPim
 * No probalo! SpartHawg948 09:06, October 20, 2011 (UTC)

One week to go!
Skyrim is almost here! I've caved in and been watching a 3-hour video of leaked footage. Not something to be proud of, I know, but I think it balances out. The people who have playing the game early (or pirated it) aren't very good... Now I just need to decide if should brave the muggers that have infested campus recently to go to the midnight release, or wait until Friday morning. :P -- Commdor (Talk) 22:20, November 4, 2011 (UTC)
 * Indeed! Super psyched! Don't feel bad. Probably the only reason I haven't watched leaked footage is because I've been too busy. Work and school and The Walking Dead and playing Oblivion to get ready is a demanding schedule! Fortunately, I just so happen, for completely unrelated reasons I assure you, to have November 11-13 off from work. Looks like I'll be vacationing in Skyrim! :P
 * As for your dilemma, I'd go to the midnight release. If muggers show up, it'll give you an opportunity to test out your dragon shouts. Midnight releases are always fun. I've only done a few, personally, and the last one I went to was ME2. Personally, since I'm: A) Lazy; B) attending a concert the night before; and C) like to sleep in, I'm getting mine via Amazon.com and their release-day delivery. SpartHawg948 05:53, November 5, 2011 (UTC)


 * Well I hope you get it when you're supposed to get it. I've sworn off online orders (for now). Best Buy recently fouled up my Gears of War 3 order and delivered it three days after release even though I paid extra for release-day delivery. Yes, they gave me a $10 coupon for future online purchases and refunded the shipping fee, but that doesn't make up for the lost days when I could have been curb-stomping Locust. And now I'm a little aggravated. That 3-hour Skyrim video I found was taken down before I could see the last 90 minutes. I was finally getting some insight into why the Stormcloaks were rebelling (provided I wasn't getting a totally one-sided view, choosing between the Stormcloaks and the Imperials may not be so cut and dry as I had thought). -- Commdor (Talk) 16:20, November 5, 2011 (UTC)
 * Sorry to jump in here, but Commdor's story is why I don't do online preorders anymore. I've had way too many bad experiences with online ordering from Amazon, Best Buy, Circuit City before it went under, and a few other places not related to games. Issues range from wrong item to a week late on delivery. Now I will only pick up from the store, unless I can't, because I have the time to do so, I know that you two might not, and because of my past experiences with online ordering. While I won't be getting Skyrim until Christmas, I just don't have the funds to do so, I will be picking up SR3 and AC:R on the 15th. Lancer1289 16:29, November 5, 2011 (UTC)

Fair enough. I've never had a bad experience with Amazon getting me stuff on time, so they keep getting my business. I've gotten several games from them on release day, most recently Fallout: New Vegas and Fable 3. Anywho, we'll know within a couple days. As long as I get my email a few days prior saying "it's been sent!", I'll be happy. :D SpartHawg948 19:19, November 5, 2011 (UTC)

Mass Effect Wiki in 2011
Hey there! Wikia is trying out something new this year where we are trying to make a "yearbook" for the biggest wikis, and we want to know what big things happened this year at Runescape Wiki! Can you check out this | blog post and either give some details in the comments, or just write on my wall if it is easier. We're looking for fairly detailed information, such as what the community's favorite character/item/location is or if there was new content that people got excited about, things like that. If you have any questions, shoot me a message! Thanks so much! Soldierscuzzy 02:12, November 8, 2011 (UTC)
 * Woops, sorry! I meant the Mass Effect Wiki. And the correct link is right here.

2nd opinion for article
Hi Will, I would have prefered to send you a private message, but dont see a way to do so. As a senior admin, would you mind please taking a look at http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Talk:Morality_Guide_(Mass_Effect_2)#Horizon:_post_mission_talk_with_Kelly

I think lancer is hurting the wiki with his attitude of "if I dont see it, it gets stripped from the wiki". I've verified the issue, but he ignores everything I say. Philip Brown 22:29, December 10, 2011 (UTC)


 * Mentioning bugs in articles here generally requires that those bugs have been verified by at least two different users. This practice cuts down on reports of bugs that are false or too rare or difficult to produce for them to be relevant to the average player. Lancer is fully within his bounds to revert your addition to the article on these grounds and seek discussion. The fact that another user has recently posted that he could not replicate your bug speaks to the necessity of such precautions. Your bug might still be verified, but it's also possible that it's exclusive to your game only. We can't accept one player's experience at face value because no two players experience their games exactly alike. -- Commdor (Talk) 00:20, December 11, 2011 (UTC)
 * Err.. you read it wrong. User:JediSpectre117 CONFIRMED what I said. "For me selecting fine adds no extra dialogue so no chance of Morality points."
 * Additionally, as a general principle, I think that attitude is rather lacking. If a person has demonstrated themselves to be diligent (ie: goes back and verifies themselves), then they should be trusted. The attitude of "no one else has reported it so it cant be true" is a bogus objection: if you were really sticking to that, then NO further edits should ever be allowed without two-person verification :P  I recently did an edit to point out that the person you talk to, changes in a dialog. "Well, but no-one else has reported that... so that must be a bug in your version! we'd better take that out, until someone 'verifies' that".    Uhh, yeahright. Come on now.


 * (Edit conflict) Ah, you're right. Then there's your secondary verification, you should be able to add it into the article now. Please keep the verification requirement in mind when you want to add bugs to other articles in the future. -- Commdor (Talk) 01:06, December 11, 2011 (UTC)
 * Thing is, I wouldnt call this a "bug". Just "something that the original author didnt check out fully". So I added the missing information. and then lancer did his usual "jump all over my edits". Could I make a formal request that only "admins other than lancer" edit my stuff from now on please? His main goal in life lately seems to be undoing my edits. If stuff belongs elsewhere, I dont mind moving it, etc. But he just undoes half of everything I do. If HE moved it, I wouldnt mind either. But he doesnt. he just deletes.
 * Another example: http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/User_talk:Lancer1289#Recent_Morality_edit  Okay, i missed the reference in another section, so removing my original thing was understandable. But I point out that there is a major lack in the page; there needs to be some kind of reference at minimum. But he blows it off with "So none of your options work ".  What, a *reference to another subsection* doesnt work?? Funny, it's used elsewhere on the wiki...
 * and, where is this "bug policy" written? I dont see it on the community guidelines. ANd how do you determine what is a 'bug', vs not? Anything "new" is fine without corroboration, but any edits to existing stuff is deemed a "bug"? So, people could just make up stuff, but if anyone wants to correct it, it takes two people to "verify" first?  I'm not understanding how this can be consistently applied. It seems rather arbitrary, depending on the attitude of the admin. Hence, my request above. Philip Brown 03:42, December 11, 2011 (UTC)

No. No you cannot make a formal request that admins other than Lancer edit your stuff. Well, technically you can make the request, it just isn't going to happen. We don't have lists of people each admin can and can't correct. That is pretty much the antithesis of what Wikia is all about. Lancer's main goal in life, surprisingly enough, isn't to undo your edits. It's to keep this wiki running smoothly.

As for bug policies, nothing of the sort would be found in the Community Guidelines. That's not what the CG is for. It'd be in the Style Guide. I'm not seeing anything based on a cursory review, but we can probably whip something up if it's going to be an issue. Everything Commdor has been saying is spot on, as far as I'm concerned. SpartHawg948 10:05, December 11, 2011 (UTC)

Xmas and stuff
Hey Spart! Long time no see, man ^^ ACR came out and was terrible, I can't wait for ME3 to make me happy and all emotional again =P So, how you've been? First of all, you guys could add some sort of staff link on your community dropdown menu on top of pages, it will make much easier to see who is taking care of this wiki and finding you (took me a couple of minutes to find your page without having to type your username) XD Second, it's about the IRC debate that's been going on. While I do agree that N7 shouldn't have created it without first consulting someone, it is just a test and in no way permanent -- it can be undone at the blink of an eye. I personally like the Wikia Chat, but if we have to compare it, the chat would be a A6M Zero and the IRC a F-35 -- the former by no way bad, but the latter so, SO much better =P I created ACW's IRC channel nearly 2 years ago, and I changed servers thrice -- and the current one is the best and where we've been longer. And like with you and Tierrie, I developed a friendship with the server's owner, and that always makes matters easier both for me and for ACW partners (in this case, you ^^) =P If you are interested I can tell you more here, or if you want to try it out, you can log in at our channel to get a feel and I'll show you around =] If not, all cool. Ah, and AC Wiki now has a christimas decoration, complete with a santa hat and snow =D Check it out! -- D. Cello 16:31, December 21, 2011 (UTC)
 * Hey! Things have been pretty good! Sorry to hear about ACR. But yeah, ME3 is right around the corner! It was 70 days away last I checked, which was a day or two ago. So we're getting there!
 * I'll also look into the dropdown menu item, and look into the IRC debate also. I've been a bit hands-off of late, being busy with work and school, but I still try to keep an eye on things, obviously, since I'm responding to your message already! And yeah, I heard about the Christmas decorations on your Facebook profile (the one for the AC Wiki), but I haven't seen them yet. Sounds exciting though! SpartHawg948 22:25, December 21, 2011 (UTC)

Trivia policy debate
I am recruiting a few of the more active editors for input regarding the MoS and what qualifies as valid trivia. If you have time, please head over to the Captain Wasea talk page. Thanks. 108.206.86.35 06:58, December 29, 2011 (UTC)

Over-waited demo?
First of all, Merry belated Christmas and New Year. Now, did they ever tell the release date of the ME3 demo? They were supposed to say something in November, and people who pre-ordered BF3 were supposed to get it early... What happened? LordDeathRay 02:22, January 13, 2012 (UTC)


 * They haven't announced the date yet, but the latest news from BSN is that we'll hear more about the demo by the end of the month. At this point I wouldn't expect it to be released until February. -- Commdor (Talk) 02:30, January 13, 2012 (UTC)
 * At this point, I'm expecting to have beaten the game several times before they release a demo. Lancer1289 03:08, January 13, 2012 (UTC)
 * Hah! Well said, Lancer. :D SpartHawg948 03:21, January 13, 2012 (UTC)

Links to Mass Effect Answers
Hello again. It's been a long time, I'm glad you're doing well. I've noticed a few months ago that a box with "recent questions", that was pointing to MEAnswers, has disappeared from this site. I'm interested, was there any specific reason for that, and won't you be willing to restore it? Awaiting the answer! Thanks! Mitranim 08:36, January 21, 2012 (UTC)
 * That, as far as I know, wasn't anything we here at the Wiki did. It would have been something done at Wikia. We don't have control over some of what appears on our pages, such as advertisements and some external links. SpartHawg948 08:52, January 21, 2012 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the answer. This is kind of unfortunate. Any idea who of Wikia staff could I talk to about it? Mitranim 08:54, January 21, 2012 (UTC)
 * Your best bet would be one of their Community Support people. Brandon Rhea is the one I'm most familiar with. SpartHawg948 12:24, January 21, 2012 (UTC)
 * Thanks. Mitranim 13:06, January 21, 2012 (UTC)

Recent Questions still appears to be in place, but only if I'm not signed in. On articles, the box is in the right column under the search box, article count, Recent Wiki Activity, and the image box. -- Commdor (Talk) 20:38, January 21, 2012 (UTC)
 * Truly. Got to say, I never expected this. Another case of Wikia's faulty programming. This explains a lot, and perhaps it was always like this. Come to think of it, it's very likely that I stopped seeing this widget when, and because, I started using the site as a registered user. Thanks for the clarification. Mitranim 21:00, January 21, 2012 (UTC)

One question about Joker
Hi, Thank you for the welcome. I have one a question. Can I add the Joker to the Allies in Mass Effect 3 ? Jeff150 21.1.2012 12:54 (Evropan Time)
 * If there's a valid source for the info, sure. However, if he hasn't already been added, it's most likely because there currently isn't such a source. SpartHawg948 12:26, January 21, 2012 (UTC)
 * Ok, I understand, but I have one more question, Why did you cancel the file with the Joker? Jeff150 21.1.2012 16:26 (Evropan Time)
 * I did that. This is because the image has a few issues with it, and the section on the page is way too small to support an image at the present time. Issues with the image are listed on the page itself, and it is currently up for deletion because of those issues. Please do not keep readding it because of said issues. Lancer1289 16:07, January 21, 2012 (UTC)

Protecting the Deception article
Well, this happened. I don't plan on blocking the user, but his edit raises an issue. The Deception article is likely going to be the recipient of more of this kind of flak in the immediate future. What do you think about semi-protecting the page for a week or so? -- Commdor (Talk) 20:38, January 31, 2012 (UTC)
 * I normally don't like protecting pages, but in this case, yeah, it makes sense. This thing is such a piece of... you know what, that it's probably for the best. SpartHawg948 21:10, January 31, 2012 (UTC)
 * I would have to concur with that statement. It will just get out of control fast and we should probably lock it to admins only. Lancer1289 21:13, January 31, 2012 (UTC)

Great Letter!
Hey, I'd like to say that you, H-Man, Jake, and the other admins made an amazing letter! I hope that BioWare reads it. Best regards! LordDeathRay 23:17, January 31, 2012 (UTC)
 * Thanks LDR. Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem 23:27, January 31, 2012 (UTC)
 * I just want to point out that most of the thanks go to JakePT. He did the lion's share of the work here. Next would probably be H-Man for an extensive spell-check and some grammar fixes which picked up what my cursory review missed, which was a lot. Then me and Lancer, for adding bits and pieces here and there. But it was a group effort, done in the wee hours when I'm sure Jake and I would have rather been sleeping, and then again in the morning when H-Man and Lancer saw the letter. So your kind words are really appreciated. The key thing to remember though is why this letter came about. The fans. Mass Effect fans don't like the book, and the outcry we were seeing is the reason this letter came to be. Let's hope it does some good. SpartHawg948 01:26, February 1, 2012 (UTC)
 * Thanks again, as always, Spart. Hopefully that goal can be realized. Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem 01:29, February 1, 2012 (UTC)

Open letter banner on main page
Hi SpartHawg. I just read the open letter about Deception. I'm a big fan of the games (ME3 on pre-order and currently replaying through ME1 and ME2 for at least the third time), but I haven't read any of the books/novels. Regardless, the open letter is very well written and will surely be appreciated by BioWare, even if nothing comes of it.

Anyway, the reason for this message is to inform you that the banner for the open letter that's on the main page is currently not displaying correctly due to it being "outside" the mainpage column tag. With Chrome the banner causes everything to be pushed down below the right column ad (screenshot). With Firefox, the banner appears "behind" the ad, causing it to be partially covered (screenshot).

To fix this, all that needs to be done is for the table containing the banner to be moved below. This will ensure that the banner displays at the top of the left column without the ad interfering. This may cause the text of the banner to display on two lines, but you can easily get it back to one line by tweaking the font size and/or padding.

Just wanted to give you a heads up. Keep up the great work! I'm using the wiki right now during my ME1 & 2 re-re-replay, and I'll surely be using it in about 5 weeks when I begin ME3. :) JoePlay http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb33036/wikia/images/e/e9/WikiaStaff.png (talk)  01:51, February 1, 2012 (UTC)
 * Thanks! I'll take a look and see if I can't get it sorted out! SpartHawg948 02:08, February 1, 2012 (UTC)


 * I took care of it Spart. You may want to make further adjustments as JoePlay suggested if you still want the text on one line. -- Commdor (Talk) 02:10, February 1, 2012 (UTC)
 * You edit conflicted me on fixing the banner AND on my talk page when I tried to say you edit conflicted me! :P SpartHawg948 02:12, February 1, 2012 (UTC)


 * Does that mean I win something? :D But yeah, sorry about that. -- Commdor (Talk) 02:14, February 1, 2012 (UTC)

It just happened on the Storyline III article as well. I took the liberty of locking that as well. Same level consider it will probably happen there as well. Lancer1289 03:09, February 1, 2012 (UTC)

Errors in Mass Effect: Deception
I wasn't able to modify the "Errors in Mass Effect: Deception" document, so I thought this would be a good place to share some info.

In point 2 under the Characters category: Quarian Names, it states that it's odd to call a quarian by his clan name. If I'm not mistaken, Drew Karpyshyn does it in chapter 20 and 21 of his book Mass Effect: Ascension, making the narrator and some characters adress captain Ysin'Mal vas Idenna as "Captain Mal". (http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Ysin'Mal_vas_Idenna#Trivia)

I hope this helps and perhaps you'll be able to get this information to the google doc. Thanks in advance.
 * No, thank you! I would have missed this one! I've actually been trying to add a few things myself, but that document has been Busy with a capital B lately. Wonder why... But yeah, if I get through and can edit, I'll definitely add it. Thanks again! SpartHawg948 06:58, February 2, 2012 (UTC)

That other Mass Effect "wiki"
I happened to look at that other Mass Effect wiki...yeah you weren't joking that it's no threat to this one...dang, haha, I've seen some bad wikis in my day but that took the award for worst all time I think. --Burkenation 17:46, February 5, 2012 (UTC)
 * It is in all honesty, a few kids who are in way over their heads. The grammar, spelling, ignoring of canon items, among other things, doesn’t even put it into the same level, let alone the same league as us. Since Spart likes hockey, I'll use this. We are like the teams in the NHL, while they are some kids on the local pond who don't know what they are doing as they have only seen one hockey game in their lives. I check there from time to time to see if they start stealing content. If they do, we'll just contact the staff about it. Again. Lancer1289 17:51, February 5, 2012 (UTC)
 * Ha! So they're the UFL and we are the NFL. makes sense. Your original analogy puzzled me. Not to nitpick but the NFL is football and playing football on a frozen pond would be...disastrous. Hilarious...but disastrous. --Burkenation 17:55, February 5, 2012 (UTC)
 * I meant to say NHL but I've apparently been watching too many Super Bowl commercials. I want this day over with. Lancer1289 18:04, February 5, 2012 (UTC)
 * I want it over with as well but I also want the Patriots to win. But let's not hijack Spart's Talk page (sorry spart!) for our personal discussion. --Burkenation 18:08, February 5, 2012 (UTC)
 * This wouldn't happen to be the same wiki that contacted BlueGear over a month ago. Also what do you mean "again?" JediSpectre117 18:50, Febuary 5,2012 (UTC)
 * First question, Yes. Second question, it was a wiki started by someone who basically copied all of our articles, then had the wiki closed for not making an effort to make them different from ours. He also had other issues with properly citing the information, which is required under law. It was just an annoying experience. You can find Spart's comment about when it was shut down on his page here. Lancer1289 19:18, February 5, 2012 (UTC)
 * No need to apologize, Burkenation. I rather enjoyed reading all this, especially the hockey analogy. :D SpartHawg948 08:16, February 6, 2012 (UTC)

Email Part...Oh I don't even know anymore
Spart, please check your email ASAP. Lancer1289 23:21, February 6, 2012 (UTC)
 * Wow. I came home and totally brain-farted. Sorry... :( SpartHawg948 09:22, February 7, 2012 (UTC)

Top 10 Lists
Hi SpartHawg! I'm Mark, from Wikia's Community Development Team. I was wondering, what's the wiki's stance on Top 10 Lists? Our team would love to do a Top 10 on Mass Effect 3, but naturally we'll have to enable the feature for that, which we can't do that without the community's permission of course.

Top 10 Lists have their own seperate namespace, and do not show up in the search results of the wiki, similar to userpages. They'd do no harm or be in anybody's way, but of course the community's opinion might differ on that. Could you leave me a message with your response? Thanks, Mark  ( talk ) 01:12, February 12, 2012 (UTC)
 * Ah, quite a lot of wikis use Top 10 Lists. Some larger wikis include Wikia Gaming, The Hunger Games and Halo. Mark  ( talk ) 19:10, February 12, 2012 (UTC)
 * Yeah me no likely. I never saw the use for that, but it isn't my decision. This needs a Community Vote. Lancer1289 19:57, February 12, 2012 (UTC)
 * Per Lancer. LordDeathRay 19:59, February 12, 2012 (UTC)
 * By the way, they're quite similar to blogs, except that they don't spam the Recent Changes ;). Mark  ( talk ) 21:08, February 12, 2012 (UTC)
 * Fair enough. Not entirely sure how I feel about them, but I'll get something up and running discussion-wise, try to see where the community is leaning. SpartHawg948 05:48, February 13, 2012 (UTC)
 * Hi SpartHawg! Have you gotten around to starting that Community Vote? Cheers, Mark  ( talk ) 14:06, February 17, 2012 (UTC)
 * The ME3 demo came out on Tuesday and ever since, it's been somewhat chaotic, and this probably got lost in the shuffle. I'll work on something in about an hour. Lancer1289 14:25, February 17, 2012 (UTC)
 * Forum opened. Now the week voting process begins. Forum:Enable Use of Top Ten List. Lancer1289 14:47, February 17, 2012 (UTC)

Just to update here, the forum was supposed to close on Friday, but I just closed it and it was rejected with a vote of 0-1-8. The community was quite against it. Lancer1289 15:19, February 26, 2012 (UTC)
 * Ah, that's a shame. Well, thanks for starting the topic and taking the time to vote anyway :). Mark  ( talk ) 16:52, February 28, 2012 (UTC)
 * Well you win some, you lose some. The community here is usually against social options, but that could change. Lancer1289 16:54, February 28, 2012 (UTC)

Affiliation
Hello SpartHawg948. I'm not sure if you are the right person to ask, and if you are not, I hope you can direct me to the right person. I'm the bureaucrat of Hitman wiki, which has recently undergone a massive revamp (well, it's still going on, to be completely honest...) I'm currently working on getting affiliates, and since you have already affiliated with a few other wikis, I was hoping you would be willing to affiliate with us too. Please let me know! Nesty Contact me! 15:05, February 21, 2012 (UTC)
 * Becoming an affiliate wiki requires a community vote and some discussion between community leaders. Spart is the resident bureaucrat so he will probably be the one you would be talking to. Lancer1289 17:10, February 21, 2012 (UTC)
 * Yeah, we'll just need to do a community vote. After that, if it passes, we'll just need to put up links on our main pages and all that. SpartHawg948 21:44, February 21, 2012 (UTC)

ME3 Pre-order
I want to pre-order mass effect 3 at amazon.de or game.co.uk, does this include the N7 Warfare Gear DLC? (Exclusive at certain retailers) Also, I'm playing with a dutch account. Will this cause any problems for multiplayer and DLC's?

--80.56.96.96 19:08, February 23, 2012 (UTC)

Marboo79@live.nl

ME3 Related Email
Spart, if you wouldn’t mind checking your email at the earliest possible opportunity. Thanks. Lancer1289 19:22, March 1, 2012 (UTC)

Ralok and Ban Review Panel.
If I remember you told ralok that if the ban review panel passed you would bring his case up, well i passed and it has been a while now and I have seen no mention of this, anyways the point of this post is I thought you might have forgoten, best regards,--Legionwrex 03:27, March 4, 2012 (UTC)
 * No, I haven't forgotten. I just haven't got around to it yet. There's two people I want to bring up for review, and ralok is one of them. I'll try to get the ball rolling this week. SpartHawg948 11:14, March 5, 2012 (UTC)

Vandalism
I realize I might have overstepped my bounds when i edited your user page but I was undoing vandalism by an anon IP. Apologies. same with this talk page. both pages were replaced with a random string of numbers. --Go Bruins! 07:10, March 5, 2012 (UTC)
 * I'm on it. Just need an admin to ban the user. — Teugene (Talk) 07:16, March 5, 2012 (UTC)
 * Nice to see that, even though I've scaled back on the editing lately, people still take the time to vandalize my user page. Makes me feel all warm and tingly! :P


 * P.S. I totally agree, Burkenation. The Bruins are A-OK in my book. I will admit though that for fantasy hockey purposes, I'm glad the Rangers won on Sunday! :P SpartHawg948 11:13, March 5, 2012 (UTC)

Page profile images
Mass Effect 3 is out and the grapich changes are for the better isn't it an ide keeping the wikia updated and have an profile image of example Anderson from ME3 insted of ME1?

As for the Shepard that is defintivly of, the fans made the offical promotinal femshep here is an image you could use insted: 

--Regor4k 16:21, March 12, 2012 (UTC)
 * Quite simply, no. Throughout the wiki the pictures at the top have always been of the ME1 appearances if possible. It's in the Manual of Style, I believe. --Go Bruins! 16:33, March 12, 2012 (UTC)

---

I suppose but that is sad rules can change can't they?

--Regor4k 16:46, March 12, 2012 (UTC)
 * In this case, no. It would violate site policy concerning spoilers and such. Newer images of Anderson are welcome in the appropriate areas of the article, though. SpartHawg948 20:18, March 12, 2012 (UTC)

Something to bring to your attention
At your earliest continence, please read this and respond via either email or talk page comment ASAP. Lancer1289 01:06, March 14, 2012 (UTC)
 * I'm well aware of it. I don't see what there is to respond about. It happens from time to time, as Tullis and DRY have shown us. Commdor says his "absence" (since he says he'll still be editing, just not quite as much) won't be for that long. Let's not make a mountain of a molehill here. SpartHawg948 02:44, March 14, 2012 (UTC)
 * So are you going to on more or are you still on blackout? Lancer1289 03:00, March 14, 2012 (UTC)
 * Well, I've been making some edits the past day or so, taking part in discussions, so... SpartHawg948 03:36, March 14, 2012 (UTC)

Marauder Shields
Just protect it against creation. There's a forum thread on BSN urging users to vandalize the wiki: - Sikon 08:39, March 16, 2012 (UTC)
 * Thanks for bringing this to my attention. Much obliged! :) SpartHawg948 08:48, March 16, 2012 (UTC)
 * Through some work on BSN, we may have gotten them to come around and be a little more reasonable about how they want to celebrate this thing. That doesn't mean the ordeal is over of course, but it shouldn't be as bad as it could have been.--Xaero Dumort 09:37, March 16, 2012 (UTC)
 * I've been keeping an eye on it, though for some reason it won't let me comment. Thanks for being the voice of reason over there. SpartHawg948 09:39, March 16, 2012 (UTC)
 * Ain't no thing but a chicken wing. You know me.--Xaero Dumort 09:51, March 16, 2012 (UTC)

It seems like this should be in here as it is a growing meme in the community but it should be documented as a meme kali
 * And this is no place for fan made material. It isn't permitted in articles, and one becoming an article is complete, 100% out fo the question. BioWare Social Network is the place for that, not here. Lancer1289 18:21, March 16, 2012 (UTC)

Double Orbit
In the Vernio system there is 5 planets with only 4 orbits because 2 planets are sharing the second orbit. How should their orbit numbers be shown? Im editing the fifth planet Polissa, It's the fifth planet orbiting the star but its on the fourth orbit ring. What should I do? KcBrN 08:51, March 16, 2012 (UTC)
 * Just state as their respective orbits shows. — Teugene (Talk) 08:54, March 16, 2012 (UTC)
 * Ok thanks. I figured, just double checking. KcBrN 09:01, March 16, 2012 (UTC)

Marauder Shields crybaby
Why the hell would you delete the Marauder Shields page? Fucking tool.

--98.217.41.192 03:53, March 19, 2012 (UTC)
 * While I appreciate you looking out for my talk page, Lancer, messages like this one give me the giggles, so I put it back. I like to know it's here if I need a good laugh.


 * And to you, unregistered user, I made my reasoning quite clear. If you'd like to discuss this calmly and rationally, using mature big-boy words instead of insults, I'll be more than welcome to hear you out, and to explain my reasoning. SpartHawg948 05:34, March 19, 2012 (UTC)
 * Gotta say, I love that subtitle you put up Spart. — Teugene (Talk) 07:05, March 19, 2012 (UTC)
 * Why thank you! :) SpartHawg948 08:20, March 19, 2012 (UTC)
 * Very well. I wasn't sure so I'll remember that in the future. Lancer1289 14:40, March 19, 2012 (UTC)
 * Yeah, I mean, you totally did the right thing. I just found this to be insanely funny, especially in conjunction with the "SpartHawg948" page that was created a few days ago! :P SpartHawg948 19:40, March 19, 2012 (UTC)

Memory Shard
I'm confused as to why you removed the memory shard from prothean technology. The correct term is "echo shard," I messed that up, why was it removed? It's a technology the Protheans had that no other civilization has. KcBrN 09:48, March 21, 2012 (UTC)
 * Is it stated that it's actually a piece of technology though? Given the fact that the Protheans possess a form of psychometry, i.e. an ability to "see" memories left imprinted on inanimate objects (evidenced, among other examples, by Javik's knowledge of Grunt and his circumstances, derived merely from being in the same room as him), it cannot be taken as fact that memory shards are technological devices unless it is explicitly stated, and I can't recall any statement to that effect being made, though I concede I may be overlooking it. In addition, there were some other issues of spelling and grammar (putting "past" when you should have used "passed") that, while they could have been easily corrected, were trumped by the seeming inaccuracy of the comment as a whole. SpartHawg948 19:36, March 21, 2012 (UTC)


 * I admit I was really tired posting it. In my conversations with Javik. He refers to the prothean device as an "echo shard" which is passed down generation to generation, prothean to prothean. I wish I had the exact quote but I don't. I only remember bits and pieces of it. I assumed it was a technology because he called it an echo shard. If they can "see" memories left in inanimate objects, and call it an echo shard, could it be apart of their culture? I believe it needs to be somewhere. KcBrN 22:50, March 21, 2012 (UTC)
 * Assumptions are not facts though. And assumptions work both ways. For example, when I hear the word "shard" (as in "echo shard"), I think of something natural, or of an otherwise distinctly non-technological nature. A shard of glass, for example. And the fact that they can see memories in inanimate objects is mentioned. It's in the second paragraph of the biology section. SpartHawg948 07:10, March 22, 2012 (UTC)

Proposed Partnership
Hi SpartHawg948,

I am here on behalf of the Cheevo Archive Wiki in order to make a request of the ME Wiki. I am unsure whether or not you are the person I should be talking so if there is someone else on this wiki who it would be more appropriate to contact, please let me know.

Firstly, I guess I should give you a rundown on exactly what Cheevo Archive Wiki is. Well basically it is a wiki that was made in order to provide easily accessible guides and to Video Game (such as Mass Effect) achievements/trophies. The wiki was formed on February 28th 2012 and so far is going pretty well. We were approved of Wiki Spotlight on the 22nd of March and are now working on getting some partnerships going with other affiliated Video Gaming wiki's such as this one.

So now the big question, would the ME Wiki be interested in forming some kind of affiliation/partnership, we would add a link to the ME wiki on our main page and add the ME Wiki to our list of Affiliated Wikis (not created yet). We believe the partnership could be mutually beneficial.

I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on this request.

Thanks

.50CalAssassin - Talk To Me Fellow Editors! 02:53, March 27, 2012 (UTC)


 * Howdy! Your offer is intriguing, and I'll be more than willing to look into it. There certainly does seem to be some commonality between our wikis. Just to bring you up to speed on our process though, any proposed partnership will have to be voted on by the community. Basically, someone proposes it, and then there is a 7-day period in which people can vote for, against, or neutral on the issue, which in this case would be an affiliation between our wikis. And the outcome of the vote is binding. So yeah, that's what'll have to happen. Right now I'm kinda pressed for time, but I could probably see about getting things going tomorrow or Thursday. SpartHawg948 07:52, March 27, 2012 (UTC)


 * So what did the community decide?

.50CalAssassin 02:53, April 23, 2012 (UTC)


 * Ok Thanks for the reply, can you please give me a link to the poll once you upload it. Thanks Again.

.50CalAssassin - Talk To Me Fellow Editors! 00:35, April 4, 2012 (UTC)

Morality Guide question
Hello. I managed to convert my old spreadsheet into a morality guide (How to get both Paragon and Renegade bars full in ME without cheating, hacking or exploiting). I'm in the process of converting this xls spreadsheet to fit the wiki format. I will get it eventually, but I need advice on where to post it. I could also send it over to you so you can make a new page wherever you want to and add this. Thanks.
 * Hmmm... that sounds like something that could probably work in the Morality Guide page. That'd be my first impulse, anyways. SpartHawg948 07:52, March 27, 2012 (UTC)
 * Probably something that would like to be seen first as it might replace the whole article. Lancer1289 12:32, March 27, 2012 (UTC)
 * I've posted the guide here How to get both Paragon and Renegade bars full in ME without cheating, hacking or exploiting and added a link on the Morality Guide page. I honestly hate the way this table turned out though, so any advice on how to make it more readable is welcome. --Perj 13:25, March 27, 2012 (UTC)

Galaxy Regions
Now that we have the regions of the galaxy, can we update the planet template to include this information? For example, edit it so that Earth's header says "Milky Way / Earth Systems Alliance Space / Local Cluster / Sol System / Third Planet." TheUnknown285 13:30, March 27, 2012 (UTC)
 * This is something that beyond a doubt would require discussion as there will be planets that can't conform to this. Lancer1289 18:30, March 27, 2012 (UTC)


 * I wouldn't want to change the location headers because the new regions only apply to locations in ME3 and incorporating them would require a new set of templates, not to mention the regions aren't used to navigate the galaxy map at all. At most, I think we should add headings to the ME3 sections of the Clusters, Systems, and Planets articles, or create a separate article ("Galactic Regions") or articles (we already have articles for Attican Traverse and Terminus Systems, so the other three might warrant their own) noting these regions, their descriptions, and listing which clusters they contain. -- Commdor (Talk) 18:41, March 27, 2012 (UTC)

Mass Effect Wiki Twitter
Hello SpartHawg948! At Wikia, we are trying to establish twitter feeds for some of our more popular and awesome wikis with some examples such as The Hunger Games Wiki and Avatar Wiki. I have already created the Mass Effect Wiki Twitter account, and was wondering if you or any other admins would be interested in contributing to it. Also, I was wondering if we could advertise it on the main page, possibly putting a live feed on the main page. Let me know what your thoughts are! Thanks! Bob (profile)•(talk)•(email) 23:46, March 27, 2012 (UTC)
 * Sure. I don't know how much I'd contribute, but I'd be willing to. As to the other admins, you'd need to broach that subject with them directly. (Lancer1289, Commdor and JakePT). As for the main page, yeah, that works for me. Just as long as it's not too obtrusive. Preferably somewhere off to the side, maybe with the news sections. SpartHawg948 03:18, March 28, 2012 (UTC)

Project enemy character clean-up
Hey Spart. May I direct you to this forum thread and give some feedback on this? Will appreciate it very much and thanks! — Teugene (Talk) 03:22, March 28, 2012 (UTC)

Retirement
Hey there Spart ^^ Hope everything is well =] Just to let you know that I am retiring from wiki duties. My life has reached a new level, and feel it´s time I follow this new journey. I have build the wiki to last with or without me, and now is time to put that to the test XD Take care, man, and let´s wait for the latest EA scheme to steal our money after they purposely removed ME3 true ending =P -- D. Cello 16:48, April 1, 2012 (UTC)
 * Wow. Talk about the end of an era. You take it easy. Know that you're always welcome here, and I'm sure they feel the same over at the AC Wiki. If anyone has earned a break, it's you! :) SpartHawg948 18:42, April 1, 2012 (UTC)

Hello you will notice i edited the stub page on the priority mission horizon, under mass effect 3's missions. If you have time please review the bug i have added and help me fix it.

--Commanderinsheppard 14:10, April 2, 2012 (UTC)

Hey
Just thought you might like to know that in one fell swoop TheEliteBrit has not only violated language policy but they did so to a sever degree while they edited -S- User page as well as are editing warring over that stupid Marauder Shields thing.--Xaero Dumort 17:08, April 12, 2012 (UTC)
 * Indeed. Commdor seems to have beaten me to the punch on this one. Too bad... I haven't banned anyone in a little while. :P SpartHawg948 23:59, April 12, 2012 (UTC)

User: Costin Razvan
User:Costin_Razvan has been trying to push his personal belief that the Mass Relays survived the control ending onto multiple pages on the wiki. We had an edit war over it until he finally decided he wanted to talk whereupon I pointed out that you can see the Charon Relay flying apart in piece if you go a few frames at a time (which he refused to do because he had already seen it 20 time and kept claiming that he only saw little pieces coming off), the Catalyst said that the Mass Relays would be destroyed no matter your choice, and to refute his claim that the Catalyst must have been wrong (or that its statement didn't apply to the control ending, he wasn't too clear on this point) because the Citadel survived, I pointed out that the Catalyst specifically said it would survive, when it said that "You will die, you will control us but you will lose everything you have" (and he was fully willing to admit that the Catalyst said the Citadel was part of it). After a marathon argument (on my talk page), he began to get desperate (calling the statement "vague" and accusing me of speculating about it)/repeat points I had already refuted until he gave up and just started going back to reverting after he called me a troll. He has since stopped reverting for the moment but I don't think he's going to stop permanently. Could you do something about this? Bastian964 12:16, April 16, 2012 (UTC)
 * For convenience here's the link to the argument. The pages are Mass Relay, Crucible, Reaper, Citadel, and Priority: Earth. Bastian964 12:24, April 16, 2012 (UTC)

Despite the fact at no point the Catalyst stated it would survive and it's own contradictory statement where it points out that releasing the energy will destroy the Relays, which includes the Citadel since it is a relay you continue to push forward the argument that the Catalyst made an exception of itself through the line "You will control us" and the Citadel when it talked about the Relays getting destroyed when it clearly did not besides some speculation based on an interpretation of one line of dialogue. The statements the entire Mass Relay network is destroyed and the Citadel survives are contradictory to each other and how exactly does the Citadel survive perfectly intact with no damage whatsoever if all the other Relays are completely destroyed? I see no way to make sense of it otherwise --Costin Razvan 12:28, April 16, 2012 (UTC)

I'll be looking into the issue. Lancer1289 14:28, April 16, 2012 (UTC)
 * Sorry for the delayed response. As of last week, Monday and Wednesday are jam-packed for me, sun-up to past sun-down. I barely have time to eat, much less edit. :(
 * Anywho, self-pity aside, Bastian964 seems to have the right of it. Costin Razvan, there is nothing contradictory about saying that the entire Mass Relay network is destroyed while the Citadel remains, no more than it would be to say, working off the hypothetical that every single interstate in the US besides I-75 was destroyed, that the entire interstate network was destroyed. It would be a contradiction to say that every Mass Relay was destroyed if the Citadel remained, since the Citadel is itself a Mass Relay, of sorts. But one Mass Relay does not a Mass Relay network make. You can have a mass relay without having a mass relay network, but you cannot have a mass relay network without having mass relays (plural). It makes perfect sense. As for how the Citadel survives perfectly intact, well, as luck would have it, you don't have to make sense of it. The wonderful thing about this is that, since it's sci-fi, suspension of disbelief applies. SpartHawg948 01:15, April 18, 2012 (UTC)

Possible Vandalism?
Hey, This anon recently inserted some nonsensical trivia into the Marauder Shields page (You can take a poke at what it was about) that may or may not be construed as vandalism. I don't know if this merits a warning or not, if not sorry to bother you.

--The Milkman | I always deliver. 01:20, May 2, 2012 (UTC)
 * Oh goody... more Marauder Shields. I'll take a look. And no need to apologize. It's no bother at all, even if it's nothing serious. This is why I'm here, after all. I'm just glad to be of assistance. :) SpartHawg948 01:21, May 2, 2012 (UTC)

God I love the Marauder Shields Meme to death, but people inserting it here is just bugging the Beelzebub out of me. --The Milkman | I always deliver. 01:29, May 2, 2012 (UTC)
 * Indeed. Memes are fun and all (my favorite is the "I'm Commander Shepard and this is my favorite store on the Citadel" one), but yeah, they have no place in articles like that. SpartHawg948 01:30, May 2, 2012 (UTC)

Talk Page Blanked
Hey, BrewCrew4Life21 recently blanked his talk page. I don't know if this is allowed here, but I wanted to bring it to your attention because I know other wikis have a policy in place that prohibit deleting one's own talk page content (so as to keep on hand a readily available record of administrator warnings and such).

--The Milkman | I always deliver. 05:06, May 3, 2012 (UTC)
 * While admins like Spart, Commdor, Jake, and myself, along with a number of other users archive their talk pages, and that is the preferred method, a user is perfectly within their rights to blank their personal user talk page at any time. Users are free to remove comments from their personal talk page at any time, but they are still not permitted to modify them as that still violates site policy. Lancer1289 05:24, May 3, 2012 (UTC)
 * Yeah, if he wants to throw a temper tantrum, he's welcome to. It can't be fun to be proved wrong on the language policy and on the ludicrous claim that Lancer1289 had somehow violated his First Amendment rights, which is impossible, since Lancer1289 is not the federal or state government. If we need to, we can always just view the history of his talk page to see what was there before he blanked it. Thanks for bringing this to my attention! :) SpartHawg948 22:43, May 3, 2012 (UTC)
 * Wow so this is what goes on? Admins talking crap about other users? Ya I was proven wrong but that doesn't give you the right to ridicule me. And I never threw a tantrum.  I was just annoyed that Lancer wouldn't understand the situation from my perspective, regardless of how many times I tried to explain it to him.--BrewCrew4Life21 23:26, May 11, 2012 (UTC)
 * Wow. Calm down. I wasn't "talking crap", nor was a ridiculing you. And, for the record, if I did want to ridicule you, I do have the right to, regardless of your actions. Lancer wouldn't understand the situation from your perspective, huh? BIG DEAL. Your perspective was WRONG. It was based on faulty information. Admins are under no obligation whatsoever to see things from the perspectives of others when those other perspectives are incorrect and contrary to site policy.


 * As for throwing a tantrum, you first accused Lancer of "effectively taking away [your] First Amendment rights", a nonsensical claim which was thoroughly debunked. Then you argued with not one, but two admins about site policy, claiming that it was the admins, both of whom have been with the wiki for years, who were unaware of site policy, not you. And when you had been proven wrong on both counts, you blanked your talk page. Any time anyone blanks their talk page under similar circumstances, I describe it as throwing a temper tantrum. Don't like it? Don't read my talk page. I was characterizing the action, not commenting on you personally. SpartHawg948 08:06, May 12, 2012 (UTC)

Editing
188.98.4.49 04:55, May 9, 2012 (UTC) Hi, I just recognized, that I can edit everything in the wiki, even your profile (no I did not) I am not logged in iam no admin i am no hacker, thought you should know this. (sorry for my bad english)

188.98.4.49 04:55, May 9, 2012 (UTC)
 * Yeah, that's the long and short of it. Unless a page is protected or you are blocked, you can edit most anything. No need to apologize for your English either. It's actually pretty good. SpartHawg948 05:20, May 9, 2012 (UTC)

Sounds like an invitation to change your profile ... how about a Dating-Page design? ;-) Caldyrvan 05:29, May 9, 2012 (UTC)
 * Just so long as you include the facts that I'm a ginger, my sign is Virgo, and I like long walks on the beach, I'm game! (Not really! Also, I don't like the beach. Too much sand...) SpartHawg948 05:33, May 9, 2012 (UTC)

Updating the MoS
I've started working on an updated version to the Manual of Style page(s) and I'd like your input on it. I created a pseudo proposal (not in the projects forum as it relates only to the admins) with links to the relevant sandbox pages.

Thanks for your time. --silverstrike 11:12, May 13, 2012 (UTC)

Kunimitz
You may need to look at the pages Kunimitz is making Alertfiend 07:51, June 18, 2012 (UTC)

Agreed. He's made 4 pages of pure vandalism. I've alerted Lancer on his page.

--The Milkman | I always deliver. 07:54, June 18, 2012 (UTC)

EDIT: Just wanted to let you know he tried deleting these messages.

--The Milkman | I always deliver. 07:57, June 18, 2012 (UTC)

I don't suppose it is possible to stop the user posting porn images and subjects to this site is it?
 * The only to stop is a site wide lockdown. However the issue has been deal with and I have some comments on my talk page for people involved. Lancer1289 13:58, June 18, 2012 (UTC)

partnership
Hi there, i am currently an Admin on the Metro 2033 Wikia, we see that you have a list of affiliated wikias and i am wondering if you would consider become affiliated with our wikia? I Know that the two games are compeltly different but partnership and community is an advantage to both wikias involved

-- Smish34 22:26, June 19, 2012 (UTC)
 * Something like this would require a full community vote and the argument must be made to support the partnership. To start, a page in the Policy Forum must be opened where voting could take place, and where opinions could be taken and answered. We don't just hand out affiliates. Lancer1289 22:43, June 19, 2012 (UTC)

Sure i understand, so would i just start a new topic just saying we would like an affiliation.-- Smish34 23:11, June 19, 2012 (UTC)
 * Sure, but keep in mind what I said above. Lancer1289 23:17, June 19, 2012 (UTC)

Ok ive made the topic has been made. If i may ask, what is the typical time on matters like these and have you had an other affiliate wikias apply -- Smish34 23:19, June 19, 2012 (UTC)
 * Seven days. But I'd highly recommend checking the forum often as people here like to debate and voice opinions. Although, that may take some time to start. Lancer1289 23:28, June 19, 2012 (UTC)

Ok thanks, i usually browse the site often so i will keep tabs on the topic. Thanks for the formatting help by the way-- Smish34 23:31, June 19, 2012 (UTC)

Admin abuse
Hello, I am contacting you due to issues with the administrator Lancer1289. You see, I was fixing some issues regarding commas and periods (a rather small thing) on the geth page; Lancer undid it, saying it only applies for the end of sentences. I added it back, saying my edits were at the ends of sentences. He once again reverted it, replying, "Not in that context." I asked how it wasn't; my answer was another revert and an "edit warring" notification from him. I then contacted him on his talk page, explaining that as far as I know and have learned, commas and periods always come before the second quotation mark pair, as well as wondering why he got off scot-free for doing the same thing I did. He told me to read my talk page, where he said:

''Note that you are now edit warring over the geth page, and over something that is basic grammar at that. Unless the quoted material comes from the end of a sentence, which we have no way of verifying considering the generality of the quote, then the period cannot go inside the quote. If it is from quoted material that is at the end of a sentence, then and only then, can the period to inside the quotes.

I have also noticed that you have had this problem in the past over Garrus' article, and should have recieved an edit warring notification then. Lancer1289 22:09, July 2, 2012 (UTC)''

I responded:

Read, and I did not know I'd be considered "edit warring" when I was doing exactly what you were doing. Much appreciated if you received a notification as well. On a side-note, those were the ends of sentences, and thus were deserving of the commas and periods. But whatever, I'm not going to get in another debate over something; I guess here, the newer user is always wrong, whether someone wants to admit it or not; I believe my edit was correct, and my view on that will not change. Nice chatting.-- 22:12, July 2, 2012 (UTC) ''

I guess a bit immature as a response, but eh...

As a result, he deleted my message from my talk page. I felt this was done because he didn't wwant to admit I made a point, so I added my message back and restored my edits to the geth page. He once again reverted my edits, and banned me for 2 weeks, which is rather lengthy for such a small offense. I left a complaint on my talk page, stating that the ban was too lengthy and that I would contact other admins and Wikia staff if the ban was not removed or shortened.

Lancer proceeded to call me "arrogant," then started talking down on me as if I was causing the whole thing while acting like the victim, a rather immature way for an admin to handle this kind of issue.

Therefore, I am requesting that this ban be removed or shortened to a maximum of 5-3 days, as the ban was unjust and done as a response to such a small issue. Thank you, and I hope you take the time to read my message.

Hopefully this issue will be resolved.

--User:Parax. (on my dad's computer)

Vandal Alert
User:Dinolord53 and this anon (same person?) are making vandalism articles. Thanks in advance. Mr. Mittens 06:37, July 5, 2012 (UTC)
 * Blocked. Thanks for the heads-up! :) SpartHawg948 07:37, July 5, 2012 (UTC)
 * Ah, was about to block but my browser began acting up. Oh well, end result is what matters. :) 07:42, July 5, 2012 (UTC)
 * Indeed! SpartHawg948 07:47, July 5, 2012 (UTC)

Comic-Con
Greetings! Wikia will have a physical presence at the 'Con once again this year, and we've created this badge:

to remind users of this, and provide them with a link to Comic-Con Wiki. There, we will be updating live for the duration of the event with images, info, and exclusives for those users who are unable to be there in person. Would you be willing to allow this badge on the main page here (hopefully at the top of the right column) until the conclusion of the event? Please hit me up on my TALK PAGE and let me know either way so I can add it, or make a note that you've declined affiliation. You're welcome to add it yourself using the code above, but please drop me a note as well so I can track which wikis are participating. Thank you for your time! :)
 * http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/xraydeltaone/images/b/b2/Siggy4.png @ (profile)•(talk)•(email) 05:51, July 6, 2012 (UTC)

Featured Articles
Hey Spart, the Featured Article has not been updated in an exceptionally long time. What happened? Did we run out of nominated articles? If so, should we nominate more? I noticed all of this when I saw a sandbox page of mine in the Featured Articles category, and I figured I should ask you about it, as you are, after all the one who always updates that section. Arbington 02:24, July 7, 2012 (UTC)
 * Yeah... I kinda fell off the wagon. Every month I either tell myself I'm going to write a new one... only I don't, or I simply forget. A while back I tried to kickstart things (and rectify my "burned-out-itis") by holding a contest where editors could do their own FAs, submit them for the community to vote on, and then the winning submissions(s) would be put on the main page as Featured Articles. I still think it was a great idea. No one entered. If you know of anyone who is willing to volunteer to write them... *hint*hint*... I'm more than willing to pass the torch and give some pointers. SpartHawg948 08:32, July 7, 2012 (UTC)
 * Well, I guess I could take over for the Featured Article section. It is, after all, only updated twice a month, which I could handle even in the midst of one of my most strenuous attacks of Real Life. I'm up for it. Arbington 18:45, July 7, 2012 (UTC)

Ancients/Protheans- No real correlation noted. The ancients are described as arrogant, warlike, and expansionist. This description doesn't fit the Protheans at all. The Ancients are also mentioned as not being more than a few decades ahead (technologically speaking) of the current poweres in FreeSpace, which again does not correlate to the Protheans.

Only to say that after dlc Protheans=Ancients
 * Errr... ummm... do what now? Not sure who these ancients are, not really sure what FreeSpace is, but I will say that from what we know, the Protheans were pretty arrogant, fairly warlike, and were definitely expansionist. SpartHawg948 (talk) 08:27, July 17, 2012 (UTC)

http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Talk:Reaper/Archive1 Here, FreeSpace Correlations to Mass Effect. You ware saying that Protheans are nothing like they turn up in From Ashes DLC, that is Ancients, and Reapers are nothung like Shivans. iilija64
 * Ok. Still not sure what the point is. At the time, what I said was correct, per what we knew then. So yeah... what's the point of these seemingly random comments which were appended onto a conversation they have nothing to do with? SpartHawg948 (talk) 05:36, July 18, 2012 (UTC)
 * By the way, I'm ready for those pointers at any time. Arbington (talk) 05:42, July 18, 2012 (UTC)

Geez... so demanding! (Kidding...) Ok... basically, the biggest tip is to use a previous template when drafting an article. I always did, as a reference. Make it descriptive, but whenever possible avoid making it too much like the actual article. Definitely try to avoid verbatim copying. Also try, whenever possible, to avoid spoilers. It can get kinda tough, but try to keep the info beginning of the game level, like the intro paragraphs of the articles. Whenever possible I try for articles with multiple images, but at least one is a must. We've never reused featured articles, but that may be a necessity at some point. Probably won't be anytime soon though. That's about all I can think of right now. The biggest thing is - reference some of the more recent FA templates for examples as to format and length. If I think of anything else, I'll let you know, but if you have any questions in the interim, you have but to ask. :) SpartHawg948 (talk) 08:39, July 18, 2012 (UTC)

Hello SpartHawg this is GethHaveFeelings2 and I have an idea for our wiki. Here is the link to my watercooler post where I discuss it []. I hope you spare a few minutes to check it out and give me your thoughts. Thank you for reading this --GethHaveFeelings2 (talk) 08:04, July 22, 2012 (UTC).
 * Nice! I like it! :) SpartHawg948 (talk) 09:36, July 23, 2012 (UTC)

Sorry I missed your message. Right now I'm at a debate camp in Austin, which will last for about a week. This means that I probably won't have the time to write an FA until after Sunday. I'll get started then. Arbington (talk) 12:42, July 23, 2012 (UTC)
 * I've posted my first Featured Article. What do you think? I can't post it yet, as I don't have permission to edit the Main Page. Arbington (talk) 05:42, July 27, 2012 (UTC)


 * If you have Spart's permission to write FA's, I can add it to the main page. -- Commdor (Talk) 05:48, July 27, 2012 (UTC)
 * Alright, though I think this is a good opportunity to evaluate quality before it goes up, seeing as it is the first one I've ever written, and on top of that it's about one AM here in Texas. What do you think, Commdor? Arbington (talk) 05:52, July 27, 2012 (UTC)
 * It's 2am in Ohio. :) But it looks good enough to me. I'll go ahead and post it. -- Commdor (Talk) 05:56, July 27, 2012 (UTC)

Quick Question.
Hey Spart, I was just wondering, on pages such as this, you will see that there are images with broken file links causing them not to show up, so, I was wondering if just for now until we can get a working picture if I could delete them, as they make the article look pretty ugly.--Legionwrex (talk) 22:12, July 24, 2012 (UTC)

Suggestions for your main page
lock it so guys like me can't edit it and make sure every editor needs to be registered

MoS Email
Spart, did you get my email from last night? There is an addition to the MoS that I think you might consider. Thanks. Lancer1289 (talk) 20:45, August 7, 2012 (UTC)
 * I think we both know the answer to that question. :P SpartHawg948 (talk) 07:20, August 9, 2012 (UTC)

Questions
Hi there, I know you're very busy but I was wondering if I could send an email or talk to you somewhere privately? I have a question or two that I believe only you can answer. Thanks for your time. Xelestial (talk) 23:53, August 14, 2012 (UTC)
 * Sorry for the delayed response. Sure thing! You can reach me via email right here! I sincerely hope I can answer your questions... or die trying! (Sorry... Futurama reference!) SpartHawg948 (talk) 05:23, August 17, 2012 (UTC)

Requesting Your Attention
I sent an email earlier that I think you might want to read ASAP. It deals with a potential problem and a concern that I have, especially in the recent days. Thanks. Lancer1289 (talk) 23:42, August 17, 2012 (UTC)

Question.
Would you mind checking out, and maybe voting(hopefully with a support vote) on this policy I am trying to implement, Forum:Flamewar Bans Policy 2.0.

The reason I ask you is because I know you're the type of person who reads things carefully and completely, and your opinion carries quite a bit of weight.

Also, it is nice to see you on the wiki again, there was a long period of time where I was wondering "Where is Sparthawg", I even messaged Lancer about it.--Legionwrex (talk) 19:03, August 20, 2012 (UTC)
 * Sure, I'll take a look here in a bit. I'm kinda trying to work something else out right now, but I'll take a look today. SpartHawg948 (talk) 23:31, August 20, 2012 (UTC)
 * Thank you.--Legionwrex (talk) 23:42, August 20, 2012 (UTC)
 * I don't want to be pushy, know you are probably busy, but did you happen to take a look at my policy? If you did, any thoughts?--Legionwrex (talk) 20:54, August 21, 2012 (UTC)
 * Silly! I told you I'd look at it today, and I'll look at it today! (All kidding aside, my bad... I did mean to look at it yesterday, but then I got caught up in that other nonsense...) SpartHawg948 (talk) 22:03, August 21, 2012 (UTC)

(Looks at forum, sees you voted against, squints eyes) So thats how it gonna be, very well, then I will have to destroy you!!!

All joking aside, I respect you decision, perhaps my policy is not as good as I though it was, however I was only trying to help the wiki (I'm just so sick of these d*mn flamewars).

Thank you for taking a look.--Legionwrex (talk) 23:11, August 21, 2012 (UTC)
 * Yeah, I said I'd take a look. I didn't say you'd like my vote! :P


 * I totally get your frustration, I just happen to agree with some of the admins and senior editors who feel current policies are sufficient. Flame-wars are definitely frustrating, but I don't really think the new rules are needed.


 * As for destroying me, BRING IT! I've been working on my beard. It's rather Norris-esque right now! :P SpartHawg948 (talk) 03:54, August 22, 2012 (UTC)
 * Well, you know what they say, Chuck Norrisiness is next to Godliness :)--Legionwrex (talk) 04:07, August 22, 2012 (UTC)
 * Well played sir, well played. :) SpartHawg948 (talk) 08:19, August 23, 2012 (UTC)

A Very Serious Matter
Spart. I need you to check your email at the earliest possible time because of the nature of this incident and who brought it to my attention.
 * Yeah, I saw the emails pretty soon after you sent them, but I was out and about. I'm mulling it over right now. I'll admit, this one has me a bit flabbergasted. I've never encountered anything like this in 5 years as an admin/b-crat. SpartHawg948 (talk) 23:32, August 20, 2012 (UTC)
 * Well, I hadn't experienced anything of this scale before and I thought you might have at least some experience. Either way, I figured you need to know about the situation as soon as I was alerted to it. Either way, you can contact me via email for more if you need to. Lancer1289 (talk) 23:50, August 20, 2012 (UTC)
 * I think I have all the info I need, I'm just trying to decide what to do. The two editors in particular have both expressed remorse, so I'm very tempted to be lenient, possibly excessively so, I'm just a little nervous that I may be being too lenient. It seems like a stupid mistake, one that needs a stern warning and some moderate punishment, but then again... SpartHawg948 (talk) 23:54, August 20, 2012 (UTC)
 * There where more than two involved, User:-S- also participated, not to throw him under the bus or anything, just pointing it out.--Legionwrex (talk) 00:01, August 21, 2012 (UTC)
 * Yeah, but that one doesn't seem, to me at least, to be an actual death threat. Unless, of course, HK-47, Thane Krios and Ezio Auditore are real. After all, he said he'd called in favors with three obviously fictional assassins. I'm still keeping an eye on that one waiting for a response from the editor before I make up my mind, but I take the other two more seriously. SpartHawg948 (talk) 00:05, August 21, 2012 (UTC)

Email
Spart, another email I sent and I'd like some opinion on. Lancer1289 (talk) 19:24, August 24, 2012 (UTC)

Spart, I know this is just the second email I sent, but this one you really need to see. Lancer1289 (talk) 17:40, August 27, 2012 (UTC)

Vandalism
Vandal.-- 03:22, August 28, 2012 (UTC)

Vandal/Troll
There is a vandal and/or troll in need of immediate banning. The user in question's name is []. Arbington (talk) 03:37, August 30, 2012 (UTC)
 * Actually, it turns out this was just some sort of strange test between the two of them. There may still be a few language violations, though, which you may want to look into. Arbington (talk) 04:04, August 30, 2012 (UTC)

Leviathan DLC.
Just dropping by to ask, what did you think of Leviathan? I thought it was pretty good, it certainly re-wrote history.--Legionwrex (talk) 21:48, September 2, 2012 (UTC)
 * I liked it. Well, mostly. The constant trips back to the lab got on my nerves. Three times? Three? But yeah, there were a lot of good things about it. I liked the ultralight materials mod for the pistol, and I loved how the DLC answered a lot of the unanswered questions about the Reapers. All in all, I was pretty pleased with it. SpartHawg948 (talk) 06:00, September 3, 2012 (UTC)
 * Indeed, the trips back to he lab where rather annoying, although I thought the banter between Shepard and EDI was funny.--Legionwrex (talk) 16:00, September 3, 2012 (UTC)
 * Yeah, the dialogue was pretty good. I'm definitely happy with the DLC. If only the original ending was this good... :P SpartHawg948 (talk) 01:30, September 5, 2012 (UTC)

Another blog problem
Things appear to be going seriously downhill on this blog all of a sudden. I don't know if I'd quite characterize it as a "flamewar" yet, but I think it needs some looking into.--Zxjkl (talk) 23:18, September 3, 2012 (UTC)

Rollback powers.
This is kind of a noobish question to ask, but on the off chance that one day I became a senior editor, I figured it would be better to know this before rather than after. What exactly are rollback powers, as in what do they do?--Legionwrex (talk) 03:12, September 5, 2012 (UTC)
 * Basically, in a nutshell - say a vandal edits a page, oh, let's say 23 times. Each time they add something else to mess up the page. The problem here is that, since it isn't just one edit, you can't really just hit "undo". (At least, you used to not be able to. They may have changed that. Can't recall for sure.) What rollback allows you to do is to, with one click (as opposed to undoing, where you have to click undo, then approve the undo), revert the page to the last edit made by someone else prior to the last editor. So say in that example that I had made an edit, then later, the vandal made 23 edits. A rollback user could click "rollback", and it would revert the page to the way it was after I edited it but before the vandal did. SpartHawg948 (talk) 03:18, September 5, 2012 (UTC)
 * Thanks for explaining.--Legionwrex (talk) 03:29, September 5, 2012 (UTC)

Would You Also Kindly
Check your email as well. I guess I closed my browser too quickly and apparently the message wasn't left. Also drifting off didn't help. Apologies. Lancer1289 (talk) 03:43, September 7, 2012 (UTC)
 * Crazy kids... :P SpartHawg948 (talk) 07:06, September 9, 2012 (UTC)

Important Email
Spart. I just sent you and Commdor an email that I need feedback on ASAP. Lancer1289 (talk) 18:45, September 11, 2012 (UTC)
 * I have since sent the update email. Feedback and response is requested. Lancer1289 (talk) 21:51, September 13, 2012 (UTC)

An odd question.
I asked Lancer this, but he didn't really know and pointed me to you, so here is the question; is it possible for a user who was banned to become a senior editor, or even an administrator?--Legionwrex (talk) 23:53, September 11, 2012 (UTC)
 * Theoretically, yes. It's never happened before, but I see no reason it couldn't. It would all depend on the user. SpartHawg948 (talk) 02:15, September 12, 2012 (UTC)
 * I pointed Legion in this direction because I didn't know if it had come up before or if there was something I wasn't aware of. Now that I know, I will also keep this in mind. Lancer1289 (talk) 02:51, September 12, 2012 (UTC)

Chat
I was talking to Gavin Hossel on another wiki, and he actually suggested that a solution to deal with the recent influx of spam would be to add a Live! Chat to the Mass Effect Wiki. That way, people can ask simple questions or engage in general discussion without it backing up the recent activity. I agree with him on this, which is why I'm bringing the idea to you. Has this kind of proposal ever happened before? I certainly think we have enough of a following for it. --Mr. Mittens (talk) 03:29, September 12, 2012 (UTC)
 * Its been proposed at least 3 times now officially, and probably twice if not three times that unofficially. If you want to create a proposal, then I won't have an objection since that is your right, but what you need to do is justify it because that has been a consistent problem in the past. Lancer1289 (talk) 03:31, September 12, 2012 (UTC)
 * I think I've already made some good points right here and I'll be sure to keep that in mind when I make the proposal. --Mr. Mittens (talk) 03:38, September 12, 2012 (UTC)

Important Email
Spart, can you please check your email as soon as you are able. Lancer1289 (talk) 20:35, September 16, 2012 (UTC)
 * I know. I see all the emails well before I ever see these messages. The emails go straight to my smart-phone. SpartHawg948 (talk) 06:59, September 17, 2012 (UTC)

Issues
Lancer1289 has said that Nothing i have uploaded has been acceptable another member called Kainzorus prime replied back saying "Yeah, no. His images are of decent res, are in .png, good lighting and angles. As I see it is what you guys seem to fight over, and I have to say MSV's is clearly superior. Filesize really doesn't matter jack squat as long as the quality is better, which clearly is the case with the new image. Also, the old one is of smaller res, has film grain option and bad lighting in it. A side note, we're using lots of MSV's enemy images in other ME pages, because he did provide superior versions of what we had."

alot of my pics have been added to pages but then Lancer started replacing them with low quality, grainy pics

I someone to handle this because i have had it --MSV Estevanico (talk) 10:31, September 17, 2012 (UTC)
 * Ok... so why didn't you ask for someone else to look into it before violating site policy two times? If it's a simple issue of images, you should be able to resolve it without almost getting yourself banned. SpartHawg948 (talk) 10:33, September 17, 2012 (UTC)

Twitch TV Embed Interest?
Hey there SpartHawg

My name is Jorge and I'm on Wikia's Community Development Program. I actually want to reach out to gauge your wiki's potential interest in embedding some Twitch TV content.

To give some background, Wikia is interested in working with Twitch to get some native embeds for interested wikis. Twitch provides live-streaming of games, from simple lets-plays to massive tournaments and competitive events. Embedding could allows users to easily find streaming content or get together to chat about particular events. If the wiki is interested, you could also have you very own wiki channel/group to stream content to users, make your own show, etc. It might fit well with streaming playthroughs of new DLC or multiplayer games.

Do you think this is something the Mass Effect wiki community might be interested in? If so, how would you like to use it (home-page embed, its standalone page with just links or an actual embed? something else? Producing your own show? Etc.) Either way, let me know your thoughts by leaving a message on my talk page. Also, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Best, Jorge (profile)•(talk) 18:47, September 24, 2012 (UTC)

Language Policy Revision.
The language policy, as it reads now is this:

"Offensive language, either toward other editors or in articles, is not tolerated. When deciding how to respond to an editor’s comments, consider how you would speak to a stranger face-to-face in public, as that is effectively what you are doing. If you find offensive language in an article, please correct or report it. Repeat offenders will be warned, then banned (see below)"

As I'm sure you know, this policy often confuses users, mainly because it gives the impression that offensive language is aloud as long as it is not directed towards users or in articles (which doesn't make sense as articles often have offensive language in them).

I believe we should revision the policy to something along the lines of:

"Offensive language is not tolerated, except for when quoting a character in an article. When deciding how to respond to an editor’s comments, consider how you would speak to a stranger face-to-face in public, as that is effectively what you are doing. If you find offensive language, please correct or report it. Repeat offenders will be warned, then banned (see below)"

I await you response, and I understand if my idea is horrible an you reject it.--Legionwrex (talk) 15:52, October 5, 2012 (UTC)
 * I would like to support this. I dont believe that trash talking should be allowed, but jack's pottymouth(lack of a better term) can confuse those new here. BeoW0lfe (talk) 15:55, October 5, 2012 (UTC)
 * I believe Commdor is actually working on something along those very same lines currently. SpartHawg948 (talk) 08:14, October 6, 2012 (UTC)

Operation Concentrated Effort
Well, we have started and I have included you in the Redoubt Project. You can read the project control center and update it, which I know it will need. I hope this will work out well and fingers crossed it will be hectic, but that good kind of hectic.

Project Redoubt Control Center

Lancer1289 (talk) 20:51, October 5, 2012 (UTC)
 * I demand to be un-included! (Kidding...) :P SpartHawg948 (talk) 08:15, October 6, 2012 (UTC)
 * Just took a gander... looks good. I'll have some free time Monday and Tuesday to peruse site admin stuff at my leisure. I may do some of it Monday in my Criminal Law class... just don't tell the Judge! :P SpartHawg948 (talk) 08:18, October 6, 2012 (UTC)
 * Tell who I'm sorry what were you talking about? Lancer1289 (talk) 17:34, October 6, 2012 (UTC)
 * Indeed! The instructor of my Criminal Law class is a judge in the Superior Court of California, so probably best to not let him know I'm working on wiki stuff while he's lecturing... :P SpartHawg948 (talk) 06:34, October 7, 2012 (UTC)

Hi, thank you for your quick reponse, and for your warm welcome :) I hope I didn't do anything wrong in my first talk page edit?

I will take a look at the guides you offered and let you know if I have any queries. Thanks again -- Asari Princess (talk) 13:50, October 7, 2012 (UTC)

Your opinion.
Hey, I was wondering if I could get your opinion on this. I await your response.--Legionwrex (talk) 14:48, October 9, 2012 (UTC)

Moderators
Spart. You will find a full list of the Chat Moderators in your email. 3 current Senior Editors and 2 editors. Lancer1289 (talk) 06:31, October 11, 2012 (UTC)

Unique enemy abilities belonging on character templates?
Lancer and I have recently come into a disagreement regarding whether or not unique actions that enemies can preform (executing downed opponents, Phantom's instant kill power) should be put under the "abilities" sections of their templates. H claims that the wiki has always been under the rule that if Shepard cannot preform the ability, it's not worth mentioning. My opinion is that if Shepard cannot preform the ability, it makes it even more important to document. In addition, I have never been made aware of this policy, and I don't believe that the rest of the community is either. We've been adding special enemy powers since the release of the game. In fact, it wasn't until today that I've seen anyone remove this information. There have been enemy-specific abilities listed on enemy templates as far back as Mass Effect 2.

My question to you is, does this "no unique enemy abilities" policy exist, and if so, why has it not been enforced for over seven months? If having enemy powers listed has become the norm, doesn't that mean the wiki has come to some kind of consensus regarding keeping them? Thanks in advance, I'd like a fresh pair of eyes on this. --Mr. Mittens (talk) 22:39, October 15, 2012 (UTC)
 * Please see my comment on Commdor's talk page because this comment has quite a few issues with the truth, it is misrepresenting me, misquoting me, and in some cases, blatant lies about what I said. Lancer1289 (talk) 22:49, October 15, 2012 (UTC)
 * Yeah, the way I see it, if anyone can do it, it's not really an ability, per se. Pretty much every foe you come across is capable of executing downed opponents (in multi-player at least), the only difference being the exact manner. Since it's something every enemy can do, it's not a unique ability. Something like that belongs in the capabilities section.
 * And for the record, it would be appreciated (more so than you can probably imagine) if the two of you could avoid antagonizing each other or getting into long back-and-forth matches on other peoples talk pages while awaiting a response. It didn't happen on my talk page, for which fact I am greatly relieved, but it shouldn't be happening anywhere. SpartHawg948 (talk) 01:50, October 16, 2012 (UTC)
 * Actually, not every enemy can do an execution maneuver. There's a lot that cannot, which is why I thought it was worth documenting. I most certainly agree with you that things this trivial shouldn't be spiraling the way they are. I haven't made a conscious attempt to send things in the directions they seem to be turning out lately. Anyways, we've covered this info with Commdor. We may be putting it to a community vote in the near future. --Mr. Mittens (talk) 02:00, October 16, 2012 (UTC)
 * I'm not aware of any enemies that can't execute in multiplayer, though I may be forgetting something. And regardless, it's certainly a fairly common action taken by a multitude of enemies. And yes, obviously I know you went over this with Commdor. I am reiterating and adding my opinion because, unlike Commdor, I am not constrained by needing to wait for all parties to respond before taking or approving action. I'd figured you would appreciate that fact. Guess I was wrong. And while you may not have made a conscious attempt to send things in those directions, it takes two to tango, does it not? Just saying... SpartHawg948 (talk) 02:17, October 16, 2012 (UTC)
 * I didn't mean to say that your opinion wasn't needed. I was just trying to keep you in the loop. And yes, I realize I'm not entirely innocent in this, but I'd like to think I avoided escalation by avoiding the accusations that are irrelevant to my question. Anyways, the fact that multiple users of varying ranks are in disagreement regarding this, and the fact that no clear ability policy has been provided at my request means that I recommend take this to a vote of some kind. --Mr. Mittens (talk) 02:35, October 16, 2012 (UTC)
 * I'd like to point out that most enemies cannot execute downed players. The only ones that can are Geth Troopers, Collector Troopers, Assault Troopers, and Atlas Mechs. Plus, we list abilities that are way more common in the ability template, like Frag Grenade (used by Assault Troopers, Cannibals, Centurions, and Collector Troopers), Impale (used by Praetorians, Phantoms, and Banshees), Warp (used on at least a dozen Mass Effect 2 enemy pages), and Post-Mortem Explosion (used by Atlas Mechs, Geth Primes, LOKI Mechs, FENRIS Mechs, and YMIR Mechs). Why is Execution suddenly the sole exception to this?--RandomGuy96 (talk) 02:27, October 16, 2012 (UTC)

Because those are all demonstrably abilities per the in-game usage of the term. Executing a downed opponent isn't, no more so than shooting at an opponent prior to downing them. Should we then also list "shooting" as an ability? Where do we draw the line? To me, it seems obvious. Frag grenades, warp, etc are abilities (many of which are no-brainers since they're abilities accessible to the player) taken independent of the basic attacks aimed to take the player out. Execution isn't. The only difference between execution and basic attack is the condition of the player. To borrow from Commdor's answer to why he feels the same way, the abilities you cited (sans Execution) are akin to actual powers. Execution isn't. You have yet to make a convincing argument as to why execution is an ability, rather than just asking "why isn't it?", even after that question has already been answered. And no, as far as I can tell, this isn't "suddenly" the case. It's only "suddenly" become an issue. SpartHawg948 (talk) 02:47, October 16, 2012 (UTC)

Execution should be an ability because it is not a basic attack. It does nothing that a basic attack does, which is to deplte the player's health. It is an execution, where a downed player is taken out. There's no other ability like that. Since it is unique, distinct from shooting, and has a special condition, effect, and animation, it qualifies due to being "independent of the basic attacks aimed to take the player out" And once again: is blowing up after you die considered an ability then? Because it's listed as such on many pages, and it is not "akin to an actual power".--RandomGuy96 (talk) 02:50, October 16, 2012 (UTC)
 * Execution is the depletion of the players health. If it were not, you wouldn't die. You make my case most eloquently. As for the second question, I see no need to answer it twice. SpartHawg948 (talk) 02:52, October 16, 2012 (UTC)
 * You haven't answered once why "Post Mortem Explosion" is an ability while Execution isn't. Also, it does not simply "deplete the player's health". The player's health is already depleted while down. Execution has the unique effect of preventing the player from getting back up or being revived. It is distinct from normal shooting and melee attacks and only a few enemies have it.--RandomGuy96 (talk) 02:55, October 16, 2012 (UTC)
 * Yes, I did. Ahem - "Frag grenades, warp, etc are abilities (many of which are no-brainers since they're abilities accessible to the player) taken independent of the basic attacks aimed to take the player out." And yes, execution is depleting health. When down and awaiting revival or use of a medpac, the player does have health left. If they didn't, they would be dead. The enemy comes up, executes you, and in the process, depletes health. It is as distinct from shooting and melee attacks as shooting attacks are from melee attacks. Again, your comment serves to illustrate my point. SpartHawg948 (talk) 03:02, October 16, 2012 (UTC)

Welcome back.
Seeing as how you had gone under the radar for awhile, I would like to be the first to welcome you back. I would also like to apologize if I was being aggressive, it's just that arguing asari gender to me is like the geth cruiser debate to you.--Legionwrex (talk) 20:45, October 29, 2012 (UTC)
 * No worries. The argument is a bit frustrating, it's true. And yeah, I've been back off and on for a while, but this is the most editing I've done at once in a little bit. Most of what's been going on lately has been sort of "housekeeping" or reorganizing/sprucing up and whatnot, and I get a little restless with that sometimes. I'll be trying to be more active here now though. It was my bad on missing the vote though. The first few times I checked the forum, there wasn't anything really to comment on, and no discussion to take part in. I guess all that sprung up after I last looked. And I've kinda come to expect that, if someone asks for my opinion and I haven't given it, they'll remind me, but I really shouldn't have come to depend on that. My bad... sad face... :( SpartHawg948 (talk) 20:49, October 29, 2012 (UTC)
 * Ah, don't feel bad, there really wasn't much to comment on the forum anyways besides the asari gender debate and a flamewar between me and Temporaryeditor78.--Legionwrex (talk) 20:55, October 29, 2012 (UTC)
 * Those are always fun! :P SpartHawg948 (talk) 20:56, October 29, 2012 (UTC)

Hi, do you have any idea if there is some page that lists all the "support one or the other" interactions of ME 3? Perj (talk) 14:56, November 26, 2012 (UTC)
 * individual War Assets sections where applicable. like War_Assets/Alien . no single repository since that'll be redundant and pardon the intrusion. T̴̴͕̲̞̳̖̼̱͒͛̎͒ͫ̃ͧeͩ̈̽̈҉͓̝̰̼̦̫̤̀͠m̫̪̪̯̻͎̫̅̇̓̇͌̚p̸̙̝̓̓͌ͨ͆ͣͥ̂̕o͒̽͐̽͏̞̬̻͕͔͕͚̰͍͠͞ṙ̢̞͚͈̹̰ͨ̓ͭ̈́̌ạ̢̧̪̹̺̺̣̹̲͂͆̏ͪͨ͒ͭř̹͈͜͠y̷͍̻̜̹̼̾̽̈́e̵̹̼̟̦͚͐̈́͌͘d͉̲̣̻͉̱͗̅ḭ̷̻̆͋̆̓̔͝t̨͍̦̫̗͂̅̍̋̆ͩ͝ộ̫̟̬̳̝̲̾ͫ̒̿ͮ̑̚rͯ̎ͨͭ̄̿̽͛҉̠̫̱̠̘̘̲́ͅ7̩̻ͤͩͨ͝͡8̜̣̙͇̻ͨ͛͛̆͒̆̽̒͐͜͡ ͥ̍̉̃̇ͥ̓ͨ͏̕҉̥̹͓̗̤̠̖̤ (talk) 15:28, November 26, 2012 (UTC)
 * Not a problem, that's just what I wanted to know. Thanks. Perj (talk) 09:41, November 27, 2012 (UTC)

Private Conversation.
Next time you are on and have the time to have a private Conversation, please inform me. I would preferably do it in Chat because my email is rather annoying to use.--Legionwrex (talk) 22:17, December 11, 2012 (UTC)
 * Ok, just lemme know. I kinda hate chat, but whatever. SpartHawg948 (talk) 01:06, December 12, 2012 (UTC)
 * I'm ready now. I'll see you there.--Legionwrex (talk) 01:07, December 12, 2012 (UTC)

Possible Vandalism
This user inserted nonesense in to the Migrant Fleet page.

--The Milkman | I always deliver. 10:52, December 15, 2012 (UTC)

I'm Back
Spart, I don't know if Commdor contacted you or not, but I've been out since Monday with illness. I just wanted to pop in and tell you that I'm well enough to come back. Lancer1289 (talk) 20:17, December 15, 2012 (UTC)
 * Howdy! Welcome back! Hey, I was gonna talk to you and Commdor about this anyways. I have to go to stupid work later. If, in the meantime, the blog I made last night (the "Seriously???" one) devolves into a mindless argument about gun control/politics/etc despite my best efforts to keep that from happening, please delete it. Use your best judgement on the matter. If you think it's out of hand, pull the trigger. Thanks! SpartHawg948 (talk) 20:31, December 15, 2012 (UTC)
 * I'll keep an eye on it, and if gets of out hand, I will delete it. I would prefer to lock it, but then it is your blog after all. I'll inform Commdor when it gets back on. Lancer1289 (talk) 20:34, December 15, 2012 (UTC)
 * Spart. I wanted your permission to post this into the blog. It is a link for Penn and Teller about video game violence. It isn't the best, but it does make a point. It if 30 minutes long, so if you can't get to it now, I understand. Penn and Teller - Videogames. Lancer1289 (talk) 20:40, December 15, 2012 (UTC)
 * Don't need to get to it now. I've seen it already. That show is one of my all-time favorites. I actually posted a quote by Penn Jillette on my Facebook page last night. Yeah, go ahead. It may cause the discussion to go a little political, but if so, use your best judgement. If you think locking is preferable given the situation, do so and I'll take a look later. Thanks! SpartHawg948 (talk) 20:42, December 15, 2012 (UTC)
 * Well I didn't know if you saw it. I think it will show several things that people need to see. I will post the link, and tell people to pick their comments carefully. I will be sure to remind them what you want in the blog. Lancer1289 (talk) 20:46, December 15, 2012 (UTC)
 * Yeah, that show (which I cannot name since it would violate site language policy...) is one of my all-time favorites. I don't agree with them on everything, but I agree with them on a lot of things, and they've even managed to change my opinion on some stuff. SpartHawg948 (talk) 20:49, December 15, 2012 (UTC)
 * I don't agree with them on everything either, but it is a great show where they present real facts, but do so in a humorous way. They also show things that you might now know about or have seen before. They have changed my opinion on a few things as well, and strengthen them on others. Lancer1289 (talk) 20:56, December 15, 2012 (UTC)
 * Indeed! (Sorry for the belated response. I was, as usual, running late for work and had to beat feet.) Yeah, I totally agree. It's a great show, even the episodes I don't really agree with, and I was saddened to hear it was ended/cancelled/whatever. SpartHawg948 (talk) 08:15, December 16, 2012 (UTC)

Hey! I'm new here and I just wanted to get to know the "important" people. I've been active for three days now, and already have 8 or 9 edits to my profile. So I would appreciate it if you took some time to read my profile. TaTa for now. --The.Gooey.Prophecy (talk) 13:15, December 16, 2012 (UTC)The.Gooey.Prophecy--The.Gooey.Prophecy (talk) 13:15, December 16, 2012 (UTC)

Question about a certain user......
I have been in contact with User:Ralok recently, and he genuinely seems to have changed. He is admitting that his ban was just and that he deserved it. I think he is ready to be introduced back into the community through the ban review panel, and he says he would mainly focus on editing and avoid blogs and whatnot, another good sign.

Anyways, I am just bringing this up because I know you have been considering it for awhile now, and I really think that Ralok would have a positive affect and that he has changed. Non the less, I will respect whatever your decision will be on the matter. I know I have brought this up before, but it has been almost a year since then.--Legionwrex (talk) 19:50, December 21, 2012 (UTC)
 * Yeah, as you say, I've been considering it for a while now. I just need to get the ball rolling on that. There's a couple permanent bans I'd like to put up for review, and some housekeeping things I need to do at another wiki, and a few things around here too. This week is weird for me in terms of schedule, so I'll see if I can't get things rolling on at least some of those over the holidays. SpartHawg948 (talk) 12:34, December 22, 2012 (UTC)

Chat Policies
Spart, I have finally seen enough. I am writing up new policies for chat and please check your email because there is an issue. Lancer1289 (talk) 23:13, December 28, 2012 (UTC)
 * Email responded to, my good admin! :) SpartHawg948 (talk) 11:17, December 29, 2012 (UTC)
 * Email out with what is going to go on. Please read entire email as there are other things in it as well. Lancer1289 (talk) 22:34, December 29, 2012 (UTC)
 * Indeed! SpartHawg948 (talk) 09:18, December 30, 2012 (UTC)
 * Another one. Hopefully the last before I send out a final report of what will be proposed for final verification. Lancer1289 (talk) 01:24, January 1, 2013 (UTC)

Hopefully the final email is in your email box. Everything is listed along with an additional item. Lancer1289 (talk) 05:37, January 4, 2013 (UTC)

Request to Mention
Hi I'm an Admin of Followers Wiki the Critic of other Wiki, I am asking permission to mention you by name in our Review of the Mass Effect Wiki please respond a.s.a.p. KnightmareS-C075 (talk) 01:01, January 3, 2013 (UTC)
 * Sure! I'm hoping it'll be a good mention, but even if it isn't, go for it! Thanks for the heads-up! SpartHawg948 (talk) 09:54, January 3, 2013 (UTC)

That Other Thing
I sent an email to you about the other thing in the email. No objections to any of them and I can't do it myself or I would. Lancer1289 (talk) 03:24, January 6, 2013 (UTC)

Very High Priority Email
Spart, please check your email ASAP as there is a very important matter that needs immediate attention involving the behavior of a certain user and their actions. One which we have precedent behind. Lancer1289 (talk) 07:23, January 6, 2013 (UTC)
 * Nothing doing. Canvassing for votes on other wikis is skeevy and, IMO, in bad taste, as the people being canvassed clearly aren't around enough to notice the vote on their own, but it isn't breaking any policies. It's just shady. SpartHawg948 (talk) 07:31, January 6, 2013 (UTC)
 * Actually we do have a little bit of precedent here. I sent a reply. Lancer1289 (talk) 07:34, January 6, 2013 (UTC)
 * Interesting... as usual, you and Commdor are picking up my slack and remembering the details I'm forgetting. Please see my reply shortly. SpartHawg948 (talk) 07:43, January 6, 2013 (UTC)

One final email that I sent out before anything is done. Please read and reply. Lancer1289 (talk) 23:21, January 6, 2013 (UTC)
 * Just one quick question about something you said. I modified that sentence as both of you said it was overkill. I also added a truthful paragraph. Lancer1289 (talk) 23:47, January 6, 2013 (UTC)
 * Spart, you did get the email right? I waited before leaving this since I saw you leaving replies to several things. As soon as you can reply and clarify that statement, I can begin posting. Lancer1289 (talk) 07:45, January 7, 2013 (UTC)
 * Maybe... I haven't checked my email recently. Lemme take a look... SpartHawg948 (talk) 07:50, January 7, 2013 (UTC)
 * Looks like the last one I have from you is from about 8 hours ago. Commdor and I both replied, and said pretty much the same thing, concerning the "overkill" sentence. SpartHawg948 (talk) 07:56, January 7, 2013 (UTC)
 * Actually I wanted clarification on which example you were referring to. The email was sent at 17:34 CST. Lancer1289 (talk) 07:58, January 7, 2013 (UTC)
 * Oh... my bad. I was referring to the previous incident involving voter irregularities, the one where Commdor intervened and set the precedent we're working off of. Whenever precedent is involve, I like it to be cited so people can see where we're coming from. Stare decisis and all that... SpartHawg948 (talk) 08:03, January 7, 2013 (UTC)
 * And that would be the user talk page correct? Lancer1289 (talk) 08:07, January 7, 2013 (UTC)
 * Yes, and the forum discussion/vote involving GethHaveFeelings2, the one you sent me in the email of January 5 @ 11:32 pm my time, so a few hours later (and the next day) your time. SpartHawg948 (talk) 08:15, January 7, 2013 (UTC)

I have modified the comment, so with your permission, I would like to begin making those edits I outlined in the First email. All comments are updated and modified, so as soon as you give the word, I will proceed to make the edits. I have them all queued up so I will just have to hit enter 5 times to make all of the changes. So say the word, and I will do so.

In addition, there is something I think you should see here. Lancer1289 (talk) 08:20, January 7, 2013 (UTC)
 * Okey-doke. If possible, I have one more last-minute suggestion. Sorry... I'll email it shortly. SpartHawg948 (talk) 08:41, January 7, 2013 (UTC)
 * Very well. I will axe that part. Please confirm that you saw this message and I will begin. Lancer1289 (talk) 08:49, January 7, 2013 (UTC)
 * I can neither confirm nor deny that... :P SpartHawg948 (talk) 08:51, January 7, 2013 (UTC)
 * Process beginning. Lancer1289 (talk) 08:53, January 7, 2013 (UTC)
 * Well then. I suppose that's that. Now we'll see how this pans out. SpartHawg948 (talk) 08:56, January 7, 2013 (UTC)
 * Indeed. I will protect the page given everything that has happened. With approval. Lancer1289 (talk) 08:57, January 7, 2013 (UTC)
 * Fine by me. I did make one minor addition, for reference use. SpartHawg948 (talk) 09:01, January 7, 2013 (UTC)

Well, can't say I didn't see this coming. Perhaps it would be a good idea to include the links to DA talk pages I provided in your addendum to make it clearer what happened? 4Ferelden (talk) 09:05, January 7, 2013 (UTC)
 * I may add them tomorrow. For now I'm going to try and enjoy the rest of my evening playing Fallout: New Vegas (which Legionwrex mentioned below) We actually have quite a few other links in addition to the DA ones. I'll give it some thought. Not sure if we should post all the links or not. We'll see. SpartHawg948 (talk) 09:14, January 7, 2013 (UTC)
 * And I'm going to bed. I'm tried and I need some sleep. I can honestly say that my dreams tonight will not be good ones. Lancer1289 (talk) 09:16, January 7, 2013 (UTC)
 * Sweet dreams then. It's so good that this one matter is at least partially over. 4Ferelden (talk) 09:20, January 7, 2013 (UTC)

I did notice
I did stop when I saw that they had been changed back. I apologize for any trouble I may have caused. In my defense though, it does appear to be a massive grammatical error SpeciesNeedACapital (talk) 12:08, January 6, 2013 (UTC)
 * No worries. It was an honest mistake. That's why we have it posted on the main page. It's very easy for someone new to that particular rule to miss is. No harm, no foul. Welcome to the Wiki! SpartHawg948 (talk) 12:11, January 6, 2013 (UTC)

2013
Hey, SpartHawg, check the date on the main page 'news' section, where you made a senior editor announcement. I believe you've made a slight error.
 * Of course I did... totally a professional. I swear I know what I'm doing... mostly. SpartHawg948 (talk) 12:12, January 6, 2013 (UTC)

change
I'm taking this here, so as not to detract further from the forum and to elaborate on what I posted there in haste (I hope that didn't seem very incoherent but I was to leave home in a matter of minutes at that time). This is not what I originally intended, as I spent the better part of yesterday's composing a letter to you which today's debate made entirely obsolete, but as I see it now, it's no use beating around the bush an longer and better set this straight.

The whole chat issue, as well as the one discussed here, [], are merely facets of a single underlying issue: two clashing approaches to what a wiki is supposed to be for and how it should be managed. The one thing that we will all, hopefully, agree on is that the current state is unsatisfactory and has to be adressed. I would much like to see a consensus, a compromise convenient for as many as possible, but that requires both parties to concede in something. The question is, would you be willing to? Embrace a change, work it out? My offer stands, I'm ready to throw in my limited resources to help implement the change. While I am a poor editor, my social skills could still be to the benefit of the wiki.

Please, take your time to consider what I have said. If there is something you would like to discuss in private, feel free to contact me at my email, or in any other way you deem fit. --Ygrain (talk) 20:17, January 6, 2013 (UTC)
 * Frankly, a lot of what I'm seeing is that, while there certainly are two clashing approaches, there is also a tendency for one side to caricature the other. I'm seeing plenty of claims from the "opposed" side that the "support the proposal" side holds new editors in contempt, disdain, etc., or that we're merely making policies because we want there to be problems. This is not at all conducive to a proper discussion. It's one of the main reasons I, for one, am getting so frustrated. There really can't be a meaningful compromise or consensus when one group (the "opposed" side) demands that the other (folks like me, Lancer, Legionwrex, etc.) assume good faith in new editors that the "opposed" crowd won't assume with us. This isn't just one individual, either. I've seen several editors assuming bad faith on the part of people like myself who are pushing for a policy change. This would obviously need to change before any compromise could be reached. I'm willing, of course, but what about the people accusing us of supporting draconian rules just so we can ban people, and accusing us of holding new editors in contempt? There can't be compromise when one side views the other in that manner.


 * Again I must reiterate that I have yet to see any meaningful proposal from the people pushing against the proposed policy. Arguing for the status quo gets us nowhere. I think I've made my case for at the very least requiring mainspace participation before giving chat privileges, and have yet to see any substantive rebuttal. Your offer is appreciated but is somewhat perplexing given that I'm unsure in what capacity you'd be operating. I'll still need to see something, anything, substantive in that department. SpartHawg948 (talk) 07:21, January 7, 2013 (UTC)

Chat process.
Hi, SpartHawg, I strongly sympathise with you and Lancer on the chat policy issue. However, we are still in the relative minority on that issue so far and there have already been 23 votes on the matter. So far it seems that unless we can sway the four neutral votes, the policy is going to be rejected again, as it's more or less clear that the against people aren't going to back down ever.

From scrolling through the massive amount of posts, it seems that the main issue for the neutrals is the "an edit every other day for two weeks" part of the policy: it has been singled out by Trandra, Lksdjf and MidnightPiranha (the latter is currently against, but this was the only issue for him, so his vote is doubly important). Trandra has alsomade this post at the beginning, but it was unfortunately ignored as everyone went into unproductive arguments with the against crowd:

■"The other stipulation is that if a user attempts to readd trivia that has been repeatedly added and removed in the past for a valid reason, it will count towards that limit."

The last clause in this sentence was confusing for me--did you mean "reset the counter" rather than "it will count towards that limit"? If you meant that it counts towards the 75% of edits undone, then it is redundant with "undone with a valid reason." ■"...however it is encouraged that users make an attempt to clean up an article while doing so and not just make a bunch of small correction type edits." I would remove the part I struck out because it's better to emphasize the encouragement without the extra stuff clogging the issue.

Finally, Arbington's reason for voting neutral was that the chat was only implemented to funnel undesirables away from the blogs, and the new rules would essentially defeat the chat's original purpose. What do you think would be the best way to address it? 4Ferelden (talk) 07:57, January 7, 2013 (UTC)

P.S Do you have any idea why Temporaryeditor is strongly in our support, yet hasn't actually voted? (Also, that was me the first time, forgot to log in.) 4Ferelden (talk) 07:57, January 7, 2013 (UTC)


 * Not sure about Temp. He's something of an enigma, probably purposely so. As for the other items, I get what you're saying, but the proposal is already on the table. We'll just have to deal with it. If implemented, we can maybe tweak it a bit, seeking approval if needs be. As for the voting, I'm not discounting anything at present. There's some serious discussion going on among the admins right now regarding established precedent and voting irregularities. There is precedent established by an admin known for impartiality that may come into play here, based on one of my favorite legal concepts, stare decisis. SpartHawg948 (talk) 08:01, January 7, 2013 (UTC)

Well, but Lancer has already changed one part of the policy proposal (where it used to be "will be kicked without warning or explanation" it is now "the situation will be explained both in chat and on their talk page" or something similar to that. This is a far more crucial thing to be changed and I actually sympathise somewhat with people for having reservations about it. My own editing record has been quite irregular, yet I don't think many people will deny that I have made a considerable number of relatively important contributions. 4Ferelden (talk) 08:07, January 7, 2013 (UTC)

I can't help but throw this in; I am getting a serious "Elder McNarma (Fallout:New Vegas) situation" vibe from this serious discussion that is going on between the admins.--Legionwrex (talk) 08:13, January 7, 2013 (UTC)
 * Fair enough. I'll look into amending the proposal if implemented. That looks to be the best course of action currently. And yeah, there's some serious discussion going on. We're dusting off the history books and looking at precedent here. Serious business is afoot. SpartHawg948 (talk) 08:37, January 7, 2013 (UTC)

hay guise wat did i miss
eh, first off, = apologies for the very late inputs, had very serious hardware problems and between trying to find out which of the components are at fault (a newly-bought harddrive or a motherboard acting up at having two of them online) it's thoroughly distracting trying to keep up with the walls of text, the back & forth in the RC page and my own diagnostics and RL tinkering. those problems are still ongoing, so i doubt i can offer more concise opinions on the proposal (not that i would since the proposal is now apparently ok'd) secondly, = thanks for the promotion. never saw that coming. honest. /elcorspeak thirdly, = now that the dust is beginning to settle on the matter and after *quick* scans of the forum page after i last edited it i've come to some conclusions regarding our voting process that may be of serious consideration to you higher-ups.
 * gaming the votes. i thought about making sockpuppet accounts IP-untraceable to me to vote for the proposal after seeing all those previously uninvolved users suddenly adding their worthless two cents on the matter.


 * i jest but that just underscores how flawed our system is. we have DAwiki social mainstays apparently pointed here to make their opinions known, e.g. "chat = exclusives club" and all that prattle irrelevant to what the policy aims to achieve, so perhaps it's high time we tweak and adopt the wookieepedia standard when it comes to policy voting. vote canvassing can be done not just on talkpages where there is public proof but also virtually anywhere the same groups of people hang out and where proof is much harder to obtain (not giving out ideas :p). people who can vote should be restricted to people who actually care. which was the reason for below.


 * my "vote" was initially abstain. not even neutral. mainly since the only times i used chat is to get people to confirm some ingame data on their games and post their findings on the relevant talkpages - a way of expediting matters on disputed/conflicting information. the policy while well-intentioned would certainly restrict my user pool to those who hang regularly on chat with substantial edits on the wiki. excluding the regular joes who socialize who may or may not be willing to do as i ask.


 * on the other hand, apparently regular joes can't be a****d to learn simple english requests/instructions most of the time if they aren't interested in them. which was why the proposal was drafted in the first place. so i was willing to side with the proposal on the reasoning that whatever doesn't work out today can (and must) be ironed out further along the line. that, and the mostly irrelevant arguments of the against camp - as i see it, just criticisms and no alternate suggestions that are actually workable.


 * then there's the tiny matter of you bribing turning me into a senior ed. which compels me to take a stand on wiki things whether i like it or not. kidding, again. :3

T̴̴͕̲̞̳̖̼̱͒͛̎͒ͫ̃ͧeͩ̈̽̈҉͓̝̰̼̦̫̤̀͠m̫̪̪̯̻͎̫̅̇̓̇͌̚p̸̙̝̓̓͌ͨ͆ͣͥ̂̕o͒̽͐̽͏̞̬̻͕͔͕͚̰͍͠͞ṙ̢̞͚͈̹̰ͨ̓ͭ̈́̌ạ̢̧̪̹̺̺̣̹̲͂͆̏ͪͨ͒ͭř̹͈͜͠y̷͍̻̜̹̼̾̽̈́e̵̹̼̟̦͚͐̈́͌͘d͉̲̣̻͉̱͗̅ḭ̷̻̆͋̆̓̔͝t̨͍̦̫̗͂̅̍̋̆ͩ͝ộ̫̟̬̳̝̲̾ͫ̒̿ͮ̑̚rͯ̎ͨͭ̄̿̽͛҉̠̫̱̠̘̘̲́ͅ7̩̻ͤͩͨ͝͡8̜̣̙͇̻ͨ͛͛̆͒̆̽̒͐͜͡ ͥ̍̉̃̇ͥ̓ͨ͏̕҉̥̹͓̗̤̠̖̤ (talk) 10:37, January 7, 2013 (UTC)

Apparently they're offline right now, but for me at least, it's nice to see your reaction. I guess that there would have to be a similar 20-50 edit for voting (or alternatively, a requirement to stay on the wiki for at least a week in order to avoid canvassing/sockpuppeteering). The chat restrictions do seem to make the bug confirmations a bit harder to get, so I humbly suggest forming a blog/forum for the stuff we still need confirmed and redirect new people to there. That, and it seems that I should now take a more proactive attitude towards the newer members to guide them along, since the against camp loved to complain about it but hated to actually do anything. 4Ferelden (talk) 10:52, January 7, 2013 (UTC)
 * if i remember correctly there's apparently a couple of bug forums floating around the wiki right now, you can either revive them or use their contents and start a more active and centralized one - idea is sound but i haven't thought about consequences yet. T̴̴͕̲̞̳̖̼̱͒͛̎͒ͫ̃ͧeͩ̈̽̈҉͓̝̰̼̦̫̤̀͠m̫̪̪̯̻͎̫̅̇̓̇͌̚p̸̙̝̓̓͌ͨ͆ͣͥ̂̕o͒̽͐̽͏̞̬̻͕͔͕͚̰͍͠͞ṙ̢̞͚͈̹̰ͨ̓ͭ̈́̌ạ̢̧̪̹̺̺̣̹̲͂͆̏ͪͨ͒ͭř̹͈͜͠y̷͍̻̜̹̼̾̽̈́e̵̹̼̟̦͚͐̈́͌͘d͉̲̣̻͉̱͗̅ḭ̷̻̆͋̆̓̔͝t̨͍̦̫̗͂̅̍̋̆ͩ͝ộ̫̟̬̳̝̲̾ͫ̒̿ͮ̑̚rͯ̎ͨͭ̄̿̽͛҉̠̫̱̠̘̘̲́ͅ7̩̻ͤͩͨ͝͡8̜̣̙͇̻ͨ͛͛̆͒̆̽̒͐͜͡ ͥ̍̉̃̇ͥ̓ͨ͏̕҉̥̹͓̗̤̠̖̤ (talk) 10:58, January 7, 2013 (UTC)

I guess I will try to do just that in a couple of days, thanks. Probably shouldn't do it tomorrow as people probably won't notice it over the chat resolution. 4Ferelden (talk) 11:17, January 7, 2013 (UTC)
 * Just to point out that bug confirmations require three users to confirm it in a place that can be referenced. That rules out chat for obvious reasons. If you want to create a central forum, then there is no issue with that. We just need the evidence to back it up. Lancer1289 (talk) 19:19, January 7, 2013 (UTC)

Important
I believe a serious issue needs to be brought to your attention. Admin seems to ignore his duties and abuses his power. For the full information, please refer to this page. I fear that if Lancer1289 does not feel like answering based protests against his decision, the very questions of this discussion are now addressed to you.

Best regards. -Algol- (talk) 21:06, January 7, 2013 (UTC)
 * The only serious issue I see here is an editor, User:-Algol-, who appears to be acting in a willfully belligerent manner, trying to create conflict. I'm not buying it. Lancer has not been ignoring any of his duties, and hasn't abused his power. Unless, of course, you are also accusing Commdor and myself of abusing our power? We signed off on all of Lancer's actions re:Ygrain and the forum vote. SpartHawg948 (talk) 01:07, January 8, 2013 (UTC)

leaving
I retract my previous offer and I am leaving the wiki for good. I could go into a long-winded rant why I lost the faith in you and the wiki processes but I will refrain from the petty satisfaction of doing so, as it essentially boils down to something that | you have already been told (and that I hadn’t been aware before) – quoting the relevant part for your convenience:


 * “Admins exist to serve the community, not to impose our will. Our job is coordination, organisation, negotiation and such. The wiki is not anyone's personal domain. If an admin finds it hard to compromise and be patient with editors, if they feel the need to come down hard on what is, to be honest, not that important of an issue, that's a bigger concern than whether we have a dedicated page for shops in ME2 or not.
 * Equally, editors and users have to accept that admins, out of necessity and for the good of the wiki, often need to make calls about what information is here and how to handle it. But if people don't feel free to express their dissatisfaction, either with elements on the wiki or the conduct of others, and if admins aren't willing to take reasonable concerns seriously and address them, what does that say about the admins, and the wiki as a collaborative project?”

This was two years ago. Recently, you expressed | concern that admins aren’t shown respect or assumption of goodwill by their opponents – the above, sadly, is an answer why it may be so.

If you are offended by what I wrote, please, feel free to go ahead and block me. --Ygrain (talk) 11:38, January 21, 2013 (UTC)
 * I'm not offended, just bemused. When have I not taken reasonable concerns seriously? When have I not addressed reasonable concerns? When have I treated the Wiki as some sort of private fief, or not been patient with editors? Basically, what you're attempting to do here is tar the admins collectively with the above quote. But there isn't anything to it. There seems to be no valid basis for your claims. You acted improperly (in the judgement of three admins, not any single individual), were temporarily blocked, and now seem to be throwing an ignorant and ill-informed tantrum. I see no need to block you though. You've done nothing wrong since your temporary ban expired. I get that you don't respect the admins here, but the suggestion that I (or any other admin) would block you just because I was "offended" by what you wrote is ludicrous. SpartHawg948 (talk) 01:28, January 23, 2013 (UTC)
 * This wiki is becoming a soap opera of drama......--Legionwrex (talk) 01:35, January 23, 2013 (UTC)
 * Indeed. Essentially, the original comment here was "I could go into a long-winded rant why I lost the faith in you and the wiki processes but I will refrain from the petty satisfaction of doing so, and will instead issue a blanket smear and denunciation of the admins by quoting an inactive admin who was talking about something completely different. Oh, and it's your fault that people like me don't assume good faith on your part while demanding you assume good faith on ours." But hey, whatever. SpartHawg948 (talk) 01:45, January 23, 2013 (UTC)

you may want to deal with this newbie
in whatever manner you wish. user's apparently confusing the wiki space with his own personal space and is starting to muck up the place.

can't really do nothin to the guy other than give him a warning so i figured you'd be able to do more if the user persists.T̴̴͕̲̞̳̖̼̱͒͛̎͒ͫ̃ͧeͩ̈̽̈҉͓̝̰̼̦̫̤̀͠m̫̪̪̯̻͎̫̅̇̓̇͌̚p̸̙̝̓̓͌ͨ͆ͣͥ̂̕o͒̽͐̽͏̞̬̻͕͔͕͚̰͍͠͞ṙ̢̞͚͈̹̰ͨ̓ͭ̈́̌ạ̢̧̪̹̺̺̣̹̲͂͆̏ͪͨ͒ͭř̹͈͜͠y̷͍̻̜̹̼̾̽̈́e̵̹̼̟̦͚͐̈́͌͘d͉̲̣̻͉̱͗̅ḭ̷̻̆͋̆̓̔͝t̨͍̦̫̗͂̅̍̋̆ͩ͝ộ̫̟̬̳̝̲̾ͫ̒̿ͮ̑̚rͯ̎ͨͭ̄̿̽͛҉̠̫̱̠̘̘̲́ͅ7̩̻ͤͩͨ͝͡8̜̣̙͇̻ͨ͛͛̆͒̆̽̒͐͜͡ ͥ̍̉̃̇ͥ̓ͨ͏̕҉̥̹͓̗̤̠̖̤ (talk) 07:27, January 24, 2013 (UTC)


 * Indeed. I'll take a looksee... SpartHawg948 (talk) 07:47, January 24, 2013 (UTC)

I'm really getting tired of this nonsense...
The title says it all. I am so sick of all these people treating me and us all like I am some Nazi general and all the Admins are the combined personality of Hitler, if not worse. It is worse than dealing with a biased group of college "know-it-alls" who just finished their first semester and now act as if they are all knowing and have the wisdom of generations, when in reality they are just somewhat brainwashed by their probably already biased "Professor" and believe whatever nonsense they are told without investigating for themselves. That's the perfect analogy for how I feel dealing with them.

I am tired of getting treated like some evil despicable being who is constantly trying to pull off some evil scheme or creating and enforcing policies for no other purpose than to bring misery to others. It's so far from the truth that it's not even funny, but they don't care about the truth, they just want to keeping playing freaking Shepard and CO. uniting the galaxy against the evil threat of the Reapers. Another perfect analogy. It's just ridiculous.--Legionwrex (talk) 00:07, January 25, 2013 (UTC)


 * If it becomes exhausting to be here and you feel you're fighting an unnecessary battle every day, then you leave. --Mr. Mittens (talk) 02:52, January 25, 2013 (UTC)
 * I wasn't saying that it's a battle everyday or exhausting, it's just really, REALLY annoying. So no, I don't intend to leave--Legionwrex (talk) 03:16, January 25, 2013 (UTC)
 * Indeed. It does get a bit old. I for one am a little tired of being compared to an ancient Athenian tyrant. I'm fairly certain I've never permanently banned anyone for a minor infraction, which is what would be happening if we had a "draconian" system of rules.
 * And Mr. Mittens, it's not that we're feeling like we're fighting an unnecessary battle. Just a thankless one. As a veteran, I know full well what it feels like the be striving to protect people who are themselves sitting back safe and sound, saying all sorts of nasty and vile stuff about the folks out there trying to make things better for everyone. And that's what this feels like. Obviously not quite to the same degree (being called a baby-killer by people you're protecting being a 10, being called an uncaring tyrant by people you're trying to help and facilitate being a 2 at most), but definitely the same feeling, just scaled back a bit. It gets incredibly frustrating, especially when I (and other admins and senior editors) am demonstrably assuming good faith, only to be told I need to assume good faith...
 * So yeah, Legionwrex, I'm right there with you. There are people who seem to think we're some shadowy cabal who sit around plotting how best to oppress the hoi polloi, when nothing could be farther from the truth. As I've seen plenty of times though (and as we're seeing now), it's just a minority (albeit a very vocal minority) that holds that nonsensical opinion. Just look at how many editors have actually left. I can think of one, off the top of my head. Even Mr. Mittens is still at least semi-active. SpartHawg948 (talk) 07:24, January 25, 2013 (UTC)

OK, I really doubt that anything good can come from the continuation of this topic, so can all of us just calm down and let this rest in (relative) peace? Best regards. 4Ferelden (talk) 07:42, January 25, 2013 (UTC)
 * No worries... I was perfectly calm. Just responding to a couple of comments on my talk page. SpartHawg948 (talk) 08:07, January 25, 2013 (UTC)

Just for reference..
I don't want to get too involved in all of this, but I really doubt that August 2012 is actually 16 months prior to January 2013, rather than four months prior. Doesn't make much difference in that case, but still...

And in response to your thought of the day (random time period perhaps? :P), David Gaider is the lead writer for Dragon Age, another Bioware game franchise, and we recently had a blog regarding him as did DAwiki here. I hope that this will shed some light. Have a nice day. 4Ferelden (talk) 08:42, January 29, 2013 (UTC)
 * Wow... epic math fail, I guess. Well, just goes to show that, as I always say, math isn't my strong suit. Thanks also for the Gaider info. I've probably heard the name, just not enough to be familiar with it. Didn't he write one (maybe all?) of the DA books? Still not sure why I was said to be taking lessons from him though... I've only communicated with a handful of BioWare writers, and he's not one of them. SpartHawg948 (talk) 08:57, January 29, 2013 (UTC)

He did write all of them, as well as all the three recent comic series. The "taking lessons" part was actually a stealth insult: Gaider is not well-liked by fanbase to say the least, mostly because he reverted one of the original decisions from the first game in the sequel and then more-or-less denied it as such (can be seen here), and so this was an attempt to draw parallel between that and your eventual decision on chat policy.

Also, maybe it would be for the best to edit the math error out of your original comment before the others can take advantage of it? EDIT: I see you've already done that, sorry. 4Ferelden (talk) 09:13, January 29, 2013 (UTC)
 * Nahhhh, that's not the parallel I meant. Nowhere near, actually. You could have just asked me, as 4Ferelden isn't that good at relaying information:) -Algol- (talk) 00:47, February 1, 2013 (UTC)
 * Look, I don't care if you insult me. I'll just shrug it off as usual with a "I've had worse from better". (Within reason, of course... site language policies still stand.) But please be respectful of other editors. Your comment about 4Ferelden hardly seems appropriate. It's not, after all, his fault that he interpreted your vague reference incorrectly. SpartHawg948 (talk) 04:28, February 1, 2013 (UTC)

Important Email
Spart, I know you are busy, but can you check your email when you can? Thanks. Lancer1289 (talk) 16:38, January 31, 2013 (UTC)
 * My bad... I've read it, I'm just mulling things over myself. Call it getting contemplative in my old age... :P SpartHawg948 (talk) 07:51, February 2, 2013 (UTC)

could you delete this please?
Hey, could you be so kind as to delete this for me? It's a really stupid blog I made: http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:TW6464/EA:_worst_company_in_america

I would greatly appreciate it!--TW6464 (talk) 20:31, February 1, 2013 (UTC)
 * Done. Lancer1289 (talk) 23:00, February 1, 2013 (UTC)
 * thanks, lancer--TW6464 (talk) 23:19, February 1, 2013 (UTC)
 * Dang it! I had that blog open in another tab, I just hadn't read it yet. And now it's gone... Boo! :P
 * Anywho, hooray for teamwork! (And I need to really archive again, don't I?) SpartHawg948 (talk) 07:52, February 2, 2013 (UTC)

Some ideas..
Well, it seems like the aftermath of the Chat issue isn't going away anytime soon with the status quo unchanged. Some compromise seems to be necessary and unfortunately the other side doesn't seem to be willing to do so. That, and the current chat rules don't have the desired effect of making chat more orderly and leading to an influx of new edits.

Right now, 20 edits over the two-week period rule seems to put off chat-motivated members, for whom accessing the chat isn't worth making the required number of edits and the two-week wait. As such, I would envision changing the policy so that five mainspace edits of sufficient quality will unlock the chat... for a week. After that, the user will be required bring their number of mainspace edits up to 20 in order to freely use the chat. If they have done so already, they can continue to use the chat normally. In this way, there are no arbitrary editing limits (which were the primary objection from the more moderate opponents of the current policy and those who voted neutral on it.) and the new members get to use the chat much sooner and get acquainted with the other people on it, making it more valuable and thus encouraging them to fulfill the remainder of the quota. Also, "5 now, 15 a week later" seem intristically easier to most people than just 20, due to the way human brain handles numbers.

However, I don't think that we should stop at that, or that these relaxations on the chat rules (or any action regarding the chat rules, for that matter) will be enough to deal with the current divide in our community. I believe that now is the time to look at other wikis to see how they're dealing with their community and how it reflects on the quality of their content. Personally, I would suggest to adopt certain features from Nukapedia, as it has a vivid user base without dropping the article quality by much (while content-wise it has far worse adversary and tactics pages, the sound files are a huge plus and quest pages seem better laid out.)

The New User Network seems to be a great way to introduce the new users into the community in a polite and helpful manner, introducing them to the site's policies, pointing themtowards the problem pages and cutting down on the number of bad edits. I would volunteer as one of the mentor users if it were implemented on our wiki and others would probably be interested as well.

Then, their project pages are very similar to our own Concentrated Effort, but with one significant difference - each project gets their template to be put onto problem pages, thus simultaneously making the readers more aware of the problems and pointing them towards the exact guidelines on the matter and what is missing. It looks like this, and I believe that this would greatly assist with the efficiency of our projects and the number of edits, and we lose nothing either way. 4Ferelden (talk) 11:35, February 2, 2013 (UTC)

P.S. The Community Guidelines and/or Manual of Style also seem to be need of updating to conform with recent events. this section should by all rights include the votes' canvassing, and same applies to the end of this section (I would do that myself, but I'm unsure if only admins are allowed to make major changes to these pages.) All in all, thank you for taking your time to read this and have a great day! 4Ferelden (talk) 11:35, February 2, 2013 (UTC)

OK... so no reply of any kind? I know people can be busy and this probably was too long for a single post, but still, it has been nearly a week... 4Ferelden (talk) 07:53, February 8, 2013 (UTC)
 * No reply of any kind indeed. Funny how often someone fails to reply to something they've forgotten about. It has been a bit of an eventful week on the wiki. Sometimes things slip below the radar. Personally, as I don't think the chat policy that was implemented was unreasonable, I have no strong feelings toward the proposals you've made here. I'd recommend proposing it in the policy forum. I'd probably vote in favor of it.
 * As for Concerted Effort, that was always Lancer's project. My involvement has been negligible, at best. I'd recommend talking to Lancer and Commdor about it. I think it's a good idea, but again, I've never been that involved in the project.
 * And I'll look into editing the Community Guidelines. I'll need to talk to the admins about it. But yeah, if I don't respond, it's generally because it's totally slipped my mind. A quick reminder is appreciated, preferably one not worded like your last message. After all, it's not like I intentionally forgot about it... SpartHawg948 (talk) 08:28, February 9, 2013 (UTC)

while we're on the subject of editing the community guidelines, spart may i pester you into looking into this page and throwing your opinion on the matter (scroll up plz, i linked to the second section since the relevant comments are closer there).

specifically, it's about codifying some guidelines for sourcing. despite being superstringent on sources we sure have nothing on it on the written rules so i've taken the liberty of drafting something on that page (a very rough draft, mind, but i think it captures the essence of what we've been doing).

i've taken the time to put some things on the MOS and guidelines recently (with zero admin comments or opposition) but i'm unsure on this particular situation so i'm asking for bcrat feedback: can i put them on asap (properly formatted of course), ask for community approval, or anything else that may strike you. those things are merely the stuff i've seen being enforced on the wiki but have never been put into writing, and more than one user has noted the lack of wording on them (seems people who can read don't entirely ignore the guidelines and MOS after all). T̴̴͕̲̞̳̖̼̱͒͛̎͒ͫ̃ͧeͩ̈̽̈҉͓̝̰̼̦̫̤̀͠m̫̪̪̯̻͎̫̅̇̓̇͌̚p̸̙̝̓̓͌ͨ͆ͣͥ̂̕o͒̽͐̽͏̞̬̻͕͔͕͚̰͍͠͞ṙ̢̞͚͈̹̰ͨ̓ͭ̈́̌ạ̢̧̪̹̺̺̣̹̲͂͆̏ͪͨ͒ͭř̹͈͜͠y̷͍̻̜̹̼̾̽̈́e̵̹̼̟̦͚͐̈́͌͘d͉̲̣̻͉̱͗̅ḭ̷̻̆͋̆̓̔͝t̨͍̦̫̗͂̅̍̋̆ͩ͝ộ̫̟̬̳̝̲̾ͫ̒̿ͮ̑̚rͯ̎ͨͭ̄̿̽͛҉̠̫̱̠̘̘̲́ͅ7̩̻ͤͩͨ͝͡8̜̣̙͇̻ͨ͛͛̆͒̆̽̒͐͜͡ ͥ̍̉̃̇ͥ̓ͨ͏̕҉̥̹͓̗̤̠̖̤ (talk) 09:07, February 9, 2013 (UTC)


 * Looks good to me. It's pretty straightforward, you cover most, if not all, of the major points, and I don't really have a third thing to say but I'm using a touch screen and don't want to go back and take out the commas. It does need polished up for inclusion in the MoS, but that's verbiage. The underlying info is great as is. Personally, since this is just codification of established practice, I don't think we need to put it up for community approval. But if you want to go that route, be my guest. I'll give it my full support. If not, whip up a finished version and let me know. Thanks! SpartHawg948 (talk) 10:59, February 9, 2013 (UTC)

Can you close the voting section on this please
I have already left a message on lancer's talk page which seems to have gone unnoticed. The period for voting on this [] page has expired so would you be so kind as to help close up the voting section and move it on to the next stage (the vote has ended as 6 for, 1 neutral and 1 against so that sounds like a 75% majority vote in favour). Many thanks Midnightpiranha (talk) 20:56, February 2, 2013 (UTC) For the record, if this looks like canvassing, it is not since it is past time for any extra votes to be added.
 * No, looks like Lancer noticed it and took care of it. As for canvassing, no worries. It doesn't at all resemble canvassing. You're just asking the admins to get off their behinds and take care of admin stuff... (Besides, it's not like we go out looking for canvassing. Usually it's brought to our attention by third parties. Just saying...) :) SpartHawg948 (talk) 08:28, February 3, 2013 (UTC)

Sneeze that shook the wiki.
I wanted to ask if this situation can be resolved as it seems to be going back and forth with Lancer not accepting any criticisms or reasoning. I don't want to be too hard on the guy as it sounds like he is having issues IRL, but I'm not sure it will be resolved without intervention.

The page is here: http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Virmire:_Assisting_Kirrahe%27s_Team?diff=384171&oldid=384169 Talk page discussion here: http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Talk:Virmire:_Assisting_Kirrahe%27s_Team#.22Hefty_Sneeze.22

More information here: http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/User_talk:Lancer1289?diff=384170&oldid=384161

Reviewing the edits should provide you with all relevant information. ThanksGarhdo (talk) 03:48, February 6, 2013 (UTC)
 * Looking into it right now. From what I'm seeing, it looks like a brand new editor who was being abrasive and insulting over a trivial matter. I mean, it looks like Lancer and LilyHeartsLiara are both telling the new editor that there's no issue here. If those two, who tend to be on opposite sides of most everything, are in agreement, that says a lot about the situation. SpartHawg948 (talk) 03:56, February 6, 2013 (UTC)


 * As I explained to Lancer on my Talk page there is no need for the joke, especially if it is causing contention. And yes there was a new user who was very abrasive on Lancer's own page but as you can see on the Talk Page for the article several established editors are also taking issue.Garhdo (talk) 04:00, February 6, 2013 (UTC)
 * And several who take no such issue. I for one see no real harm in it. Would I have added it? No. But, as both Lancer and LilyheartsLiara have stated, this is not an uncommon occurrence on the wiki, and it harms nothing. SpartHawg948 (talk) 04:06, February 6, 2013 (UTC)
 * Are there other examples? And if there are, does precedence mean that this is correct? Garhdo (talk) 04:14, February 6, 2013 (UTC)
 * I'm fairly certain there are other examples. I can't recall specifics off the top of my head, since the walkthroughs were never really my bailiwick. And... well, what would make them "incorrect"? I've seen no arguments against other than personal preference. SpartHawg948 (talk) 04:22, February 6, 2013 (UTC)
 * One I did manage to remember specifically is the Arrival walkthrough. SpartHawg948 (talk) 04:27, February 6, 2013 (UTC)

If you are referring to this line: "Doesn’t that rainy, fresh air feel good?" - then its a similar case and one I would treat exactly the same. My argument is that these examples go against the style guidelines by being superfluous to the article and distracting from otherwise very clear and concise walkthroughs.
 * There's a case to be made for that, though not a strong one, IMO. I can't see an argument being made that less than a full line of text makes the walkthrough less clear and concise. I'd leave off about the last half of that sentence, and end at it being superfluous to the article. SpartHawg948 (talk) 04:48, February 6, 2013 (UTC)

Taken under advisement
It's like this, there was no way there was any discussion going to take place. I don't care if they have more edits than me, that's not the point. The point is, there should have been talking, not Lancer just shutting everything down without a word.

On the article mentioned, there is this:

"On top of the second station, just past the Geth Rocket Drones, is a satellite dish. One shot, Throw or Singularity (or pretty much a hefty sneeze) will knock the dish off the roof and destroy it." The hefty sneeze bit should not be there, under the manual, it clearly says "The rule of thumb is “speak plainly and accurately”" When has sneezing been a skill in Mass Effect. Stuff like this brings the sight down! It's rubbish and nonsense, what does it have to do with anything?

As for insulting the site, I did not, I only mentioned what I was told before I came here last year. And that was the fact that this site has a bad rep. And I'm not surprised.

Also, Lancer removed a comment that I made:

"I don't even know you, I didn't even know you were an admin till I mentioned it. I saw an anon edit on an old article and went through its history and couldn't, and still can't, see why the sneeze was there. It wasn't a bash at you, till you started saying, in so many words, "this is my yard, I'll treat it as I see fit". Your attitude stinks, we have never spoke before today, we haven't even crossed paths before today. I will defend a position that would make this site a better resource for players/readers. I saw the talk page of the article and you basically just told the person to go away and sit in the corner with no debate, no discussion, and basically told me the same thing when I brought it up here, yet you want people to talk things out first. That is unacceptable. Get your head in your position here, and act like an actual admin. There is no need for the rubbish on the articles, just because two people think it's OK to do so. And with a rant like that, get your head on right, or you should take a break from this till you can cope with. −
 * Has I said before, I'm done here, this wiki will never be up to scratch, not with the amount of work that needs doing. Lee VEGETA  talk 02:51, February 6, 2013 (UTC)"

Do as you see fit, I'm not having someone on the verge of a breakdown telling me that this is the right way to go about things.

I mentioned I will not be editing here again as what I thought was vandalism turned into this mess Lee VEGETA  talk 04:52, February 6, 2013 (UTC)
 * You did say that the Mass Effect Wiki was "not up to scratch". You stated this as your opinion, not something you'd heard. You also said that it makes sense that this wiki has a "bad rep". Both seem fairly insulting to the site. Regardless, the main issue is your insulting comments toward Lancer.
 * I'm well aware of what the article said. Notice I say "what the article said", since the comment in question was removed before you left me this message. And yes, I'm well aware of the comment Lancer removed. He is free to do so. It's his talk page, and based on how you talk to him in that comment, I can't blame him. I wouldn't want to be repeatedly told to "get [my] head on right" by someone who had just insulted me a few minutes before either.
 * I'm not going to do anything further provided you refrain from further insults toward other editors here. SpartHawg948 (talk) 05:03, February 6, 2013 (UTC)

Anon Problems
Hey Spart, just thought I'd let you know there's an anon on the verge of starting an edit war. http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Special:Contributions/177.105.115.41 ---- Isolationistmagi   05:03, February 6, 2013 (UTC)
 * Indeed. I saw that one. Apparently I shouldn't have given in to the petty squabbling of the rabble... :P SpartHawg948 (talk) 05:06, February 6, 2013 (UTC)

New chat solution.
So heres the deal, we need a new solution to the chat problem. I have been thinking and I have been in contact with Ygrain, so this is what I am thinking and I would like to here your thoughts on this:

In the auto message that every new user gets, we add the complete chat policy. They would have no excuse for not seeing it. Then, when they come on chat, they are expected to abide by all policies with no excuse for breaking them, if they do, they will be kicked, and if they return, a 2 week ban from chat. Yes, it may seem a bit harsh, but something I learned is that if you give some people and inch they'll take a mile, and they'll take advantage of any slack or warning you give them, so the only way to get them to understand that they can't do whatever they want is to just be strict with them. This policy would also remove the mainspace edit requirement (though you would still need 1 edit to get the message, but it doesn't have to be mainspace).

Thoughts?--Legionwrex (talk) 20:09, February 6, 2013 (UTC)

That sounds like a good solution but you need to give them at least ONE warning. Banning them on the spot seems a bit harsh. Aleksandr the Great (talk) 21:08, February 6, 2013 (UTC)

Well, the problem is that the auto message is only sent after a new user has made at least one edit, so it would perhaps be prudent to require every chat user to make at least 1 edit to some part of the wiki, if only to guarantee that the message is sent to them. ---- Isolationistmagi   21:23, February 6, 2013 (UTC)
 * Thanks for reminding me of that.--Legionwrex (talk) 22:09, February 6, 2013 (UTC)
 * Yeah, I like it. It's definitely something to work off of. Agreed with Aleksander the Great as well. We should preface any ban with a warning. It's not perfect, since it does require the editor to have made an edit first (though if they haven't made an edit, they aren't really an editor, are they?), but it's something. SpartHawg948 (talk) 07:55, February 7, 2013 (UTC)

Thanks for your message it take me quiet a long time to write this.

Maybe there is some mistakes in my english, I'm french and I'm not always very good.

My Table is not very attractive as the other but I will change that this evening, I wanna be lvl60 before (I am lvl59 now ^^").

Slane

P.S: i'll create a account right now ^^
 * And the page is up for deletion because it is entirely redundant. It serves no propose whatsoever. Lancer1289 (talk) 17:44, February 9, 2013 (UTC)