Wiki 24:The Situation Room/May 2007 Archives

From Wiki 24

This is the Archives of The Situation Room discussions from May 2007. See also the Archives Directory. The last thread started in May is listed here at the top, with the others reverse chronologically following.

Contents 1 New Forum! 2 Identical character naming procedures 3 Unnamed character sidebars? 4 Debrief 5 24 Day Zero 6 Quote of the Day 7 Jack and Chloe on The Simpsons 8 Site changes 9 Front Page Revision 10 The Rookie: CTU 11 Death Toll 12 Wikia Blogs 13 Missed the credits (2:00am-3:00am) 14 Adding external links 15 Proposed template alteration 16 The Game 17 POPUPS 18 Presidential succession

[edit] New Forum!

Well, I've created a new forum for you all to check out and use: Forum:The Situation Room. I know nothing about creating this stuff, so it was basically cut 'n' pasted from several other Wikia forums. I don't know how well it'll work or if it'll work, but it's a start at least. My first post doesn't seem to be showing up, so we may already have problems. :( Anyone with advanced wiki knowledge, feel free to tinker with it. Heck even those without advanced wiki knowledge, feel free! --Proudhug 19:23, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Identical character naming procedures

Sort of thing a geek like me has nightmares about came true: I recently noticed that there were two Agents Davis in season 5. One was listed as Davis (Day 5) already, so I put the other Davis under the entry Davis (Day 5) II, the roman numeral being the point of differentiation. Has this sort of thing been dealt with already? If not, does this idea of roman numeralizing them by order of appearance sound like a sound solution to everybody? I know t'aint a big deal, but figured I'd bring it up here for some opinions. (I also updated the Davis disambig page.) – Blue Rook 03:02, 30 May 2007 (UTC)_talkcontribs

It's been done, although I can't remember with whom. --Deege515 03:16, 30 May 2007 (UTC)

I think its happened before, but I dont remember where. ---CWY2190^talkcontribs 03:33, 30 May 2007 (UTC)

The Manual of Style deals with this issue. The only recorded time it's happened so far is with Mike (Secret Service) and Mike (CTU), both during Day 1 (see Talk:Mike). "(Day X)" is only the default disambiguation tag, but others are suggested for more specificity. --Proudhug 03:53, 30 May 2007 (UTC)

In this Davis case, one is a Secret Service agent and one is a CTU field agent. So one should be "Davis (Day 5 secret service agent)" and the other should be "Davis (Day 5 CTU field agent)" --24 Administration 23:04, 30 May 2007 (UTC)

I've moved them to Davis (CTU) and Davis (Secret Service Day 5). I don't like the idea of using two disambiguation tags for one character, but I can't think of anything else to distinguish the second guy. Feel free to suggest something else. Also, feel free to change all of the linking pages. :) --Proudhug 23:18, 30 May 2007 (UTC)

Looks like our problem is solved. Blue Rook just uploaded a pic of the Secret Service roster from Day 5. On the list is "David, D." Davis (Secret Service Day 5) can now be moved to D. Davis, and Davis (CTU) can go back to Davis (Day 5). --Proudhug 05:06, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Lol I wish I had found that pic earlier. But hey, I learned something along the way. (Found that pic and the Davis initial by accident while looking for a pic of Steve Thompson.) I did that page move, and will start looking around for some other appropriate changes. Thanks a lot, gents! – Blue Rook 05:24, 31 May 2007 (UTC)_talkcontribs

[edit] Unnamed character sidebars?

I'm not sure unnamed character pages should have sidebars along the side, but I'm not liking the look of the current location of actor names and episode appearances. Especially once memorable quotes are added in. Any ideas what might look best? --Proudhug 00:16, 25 April 2007 (UTC)

I thought it looked rather spartan and insufficient, too. But would sidebars as the alternative really be a bad idea? It would be more consistent with the rest of the website. Two 'unnamed character'-related questions:

1. are you comfortable with linking to specific characters on that page? I think it's a great idea, otherwise people might never see that page. For example, in the second paragraph of Anton Beresch under Day 5, I included in a list of his henchmen a link to his right-hand man, who is an unnamed lieutenant in the unnamed terrorists page.

2. do you think Spotter is what the character did? As in, "he was the spotter for Nathanson". Or do you believe it was his name, like James Spotter? The person who wrote his piece for the article on Day 5 8:00am-9:00am treated him like "a spotter", so I added him in the unnamed terrorist area, but the more I think about it, the more I think his name is Spotter (sort of like Cooper and Stipes). He isn't doing anything a military spotter would do. – Blue Rook 20:59, 26 May 2007 (UTC)_talkcontribs

I've now grown to like the current appearance. I think sidebars would take up too much room, considering there'd be nothing in it but a photo and actor name. To answer your first question, yes that's precisely what I had in mind when I started the unnamed characters project. The characters are directly linked to on their respective episode pages, so it'd be cool if people started doing it on other pages, as you have. As for the Spotter thing, I have no idea. I haven't watched the episode in a long time, so I really can't remember. --Proudhug 23:51, 26 May 2007 (UTC)

Very cool, I'll link away whenever I can. As for the Spotter deal, I'm not going with my gut (it's his name) and instead playing it safe: since he wasn't called "Spotter" (or "Miller" or anything else for that matter), I won't assume it was a name and will leave it as a functional title, like "Lookout" or "Guard". – Blue Rook 22:24, 28 May 2007 (UTC)_talkcontribs

[edit] Debrief

So the first episode of Day 6 Debrief aired yesterday. I suggest we treat it as a prequel, except following the season instead of preceding it. Already updated the template for season 6. Anyone have any other ideas? --Pyramidhead 21:50, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

Yup, that's exactly how I'd handle it. --Proudhug 22:26, 23 May 2007 (UTC)

any thoughts about doing the same for Day Zero? or should it just be considered a different entity since it doesn't exactly tie into Day 1? --JoeyBags79 01:17, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

Day Zero doesn't tie into any season, like Debrief does, so it doesn't really belong on a template. --Proudhug 01:36, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] 24 Day Zero

Forgive me if this has been brought up, but should we create a page for 24 Day Zero, the flash series being put out by Degree Men? We have one for CTU: The Rookie and without knowing the specifics, I assume it's authorized by the creators. Kiefer provides the voice for Jack, even though Nina isn't voiced by Sarah Clarke. Website: http://www.degreemen.com/men/dayzero/ -- Azure Syaoran 21:54, 21 May 2007 (UTC)

There already is. Day Zero. --Proudhug 22:02, 21 May 2007 (UTC)

Can we put a link to it in the bottom section of the Main Page under Episodes? --JoeyBags79 03:02, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

Hmm... it seems the "Episodes" section on the main page is getting crowded. How about putting a "Spin-offs" link that encompasses the short IU episode series Conspiracy, The Rookie, Day Zero and Debriefed? These shows don't have individual episode pages anyway, so it makes no sense to include them there as if they do. --Proudhug 22:26, 23 May 2007 (UTC)

Makes sense. That way it follows the same templates in place for the novels and comics. --JoeyBags79 02:08, 25 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Quote of the Day

I was looking through some pages today and realised how many quotes we have here and I thought we could exploit this. Some wiki's have a picture of the day but I propose we have a Quote of the Day feature for some of 24's more memorable quotes.

It could go just underneath the two large boxes on the main page which house the news, FA etc.

I'd be willing to prepare the quotes and put them into templates. Thoughts anyone? --24 Administration 17:35, 21 May 2007 (UTC)

Good idea. I'm for it. ---CWY2190^talkcontribs 18:05, 21 May 2007 (UTC)

Definitely. let's do it. --JoeyBags79 02:42, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

For sure, if you're willing to undertake this task, I say go for it. --Proudhug 03:21, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

This is one of my favorite quotes. When you make the next template, can you pop it in?

Richards: There's a nuke somewhere in this city, and if you don't give me something useful in the next hour, I'll take you back to CTU and chain you to the roof so that you have a front row seat when the damn thing goes off.

From Day 2 6:00pm-7:00pm ---CWY2190^talkcontribs 18:09, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Jack and Chloe on The Simpsons

I haven't seen the episode yet (it's on in a few minutes), but just wanted to throw it out there whether or not Jack and Chloe's appearance on The Simpsons would be considered canonical or not (I'm going to watch it and see what comes of it...) --JoeyBags79 23:54, 20 May 2007 (UTC)

No. It could be on Kiefer Sutherland and Mary Lynn Rajskub's pages that they reprised their roles in The Simpsons but that info should be strictly OOU. --24 Administration 16:43, 21 May 2007 (UTC)

I haven't watched the episode yet, but I can't imagine we'd consider this canon. Additionally, it would be silly to drag all of the Simpsons characters into the Wiki 24 database. --Proudhug 00:48, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

Yeah, watched the episode and it's definitely not canon. I put a brief description of the episode in the parody section of Jack Bauer. Figure that's good enough... --JoeyBags79 02:38, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Site changes

What I usually do when I create new pages is type the intended title into the search engine, expect that page to not exist as of yet, and finally click on the "create this page" red link in the search results. Now this feature seems to have disappeared, and I am forced to resort to purposely creating a red link on a pre-existing page in order to create that said page (hope that made sense). I mean, unless an easier method of creating new pages exists that I'm overlooking, go ahead and call me a noob.

Point two: Just for aesthetic purposes, the red/green color scheme on the latest intel page seems repetitive (of the fact that bytes either go up or down) and just plain unsightly (especially since it's on gray). I don't know if doing anything about this is within your power, Proudhug, but perhaps you could find the time to pass this input in to whoever the heck handles wikia's layout. Thanks. --Deege515 10:25, 18 May 2007 (UTC)

Try adding

.mw-plusminus-pos {color: black;}
.mw-plusminus-neg {color: black;}
.mw-plusminus-null {color: black;}

to your monobook.css page. Remeber to reload cashe.---CWY2190^talkcontribs 12:08, 18 May 2007 (UTC)

As for creating new pages, it still takes you to a link to create a new page. I'll add the link in the navbar to make it easier, though. Also, you could manually input a URL and it'll let you create the page. But I'll add the link. --Proudhug 13:05, 18 May 2007 (UTC)

I put the link in the navbar, but I see the color of the background needs to be changed, since it's black on black. Anyone know how to do this? I like the popular categories idea at the bottom. --Proudhug 17:57, 18 May 2007 (UTC)

From the search engine, the link to creating a new page should go to an edit page with the intended article's name already formatted in (as in any broken link you find in a regular article), not just a generic blank new page. --Deege515 18:39, 18 May 2007 (UTC)

Ok Deege. I tested it and it works. To change the red/green numbers in the RC page, add the following in Special:Mypage/monobook.css

.mw-plusminus-pos {color: black;} .mw-plusminus-neg {color: black;} .mw-plusminus-null {color: black;}

and to completly get rid of the numbers, add this.

.mw-plusminus-pos {display: none;} .mw-plusminus-neg {display: none;} .mw-plusminus-null {display: none;}

After you save it, make sure you reload the cache by pressing Ctrl+F5. ---CWY2190^talkcontribs 20:05, 18 May 2007 (UTC)

I'd like to motion that the project to fix the black font-on-black background new article page needs to get initiated again. --Deege515 21:38, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Front Page Revision

Being a frequent visitor to the Lost Wiki as well, I was wondering if the 24 wiki would be interested in adapating the front page style of that site. Reason being, I've seen requests for a News section here and I think the Lost site does a pretty good introductory page. Anyways, just throwing it out there. --JoeyBags79 02:04, 18 May 2007 (UTC)

Whether it gets reformatted as the Lost template or not, something needs to happen that'll make the Main Page more appealing. Since half the "On This Days" are blank, the "24 News" section rarely changes, and that the Featured Article changes only once a month, I don't find it necessary to visit it all that often. As a matter of fact, the Latest intel page is on my bookmarks, rather than the Main Page. I probably average more hits per day on the Jenny Gago article than I do on Main. Something daily needs to happen.

From my understanding, 24 Administration is working on a "Quote of the Day." I like the idea, and it's a good start. --Deege515 19:00, 21 May 2007 (UTC)

I agree, especially now that Day 6 is over and people might not be visiting the wiki as often. I would also like to throw out there the possiblity of links to the various news articles listed. I didn't know the show was renewed for 2 more seasons until I had to search for it. A link to outside sources would be great. --JoeyBags79 03:02, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

I apologize for slacking off on the OTD feature, as I've been entrenched in some local community projects for the past couple weeks. This is still one of my work-in-progress thingies, which I hope to get up to speed as soon as possible. Also, I've been trying to keep up with the News section. The two-season renewal went up immediately after it was announced.

As for the generic news section, I'm really opposed to putting that kind of stuff on the main page. I'm all for putting a prominent main page link to a page with news about 24 alumni, but unless it's directly related to the show, I don't think it belongs on the main page. If someone wants to create such a news page and try to maintain it, though, I think that'd be awesome. It'd definitely be interesting to hear what other projects Kiefer Sutherland, James Badge Dale or Joel Surnow might be involved with. Just not plastered on the main page. :) --Proudhug 03:33, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] The Rookie: CTU

Just out of curiosity, is The Rookie: CTU a project licensed by Fox or the guys at 24? I was just wondering because so far we have not included any non-licensed material. Or was this rule changed and I missed it? --24 Administration 17:30, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

Have you actually been to the site? It's clearly an officially licensed web show, just read the notice at the bottom of the page. It's directed by 24's DP Rodney Charters and is filmed on the actual CTU set. --Proudhug 18:29, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

Thanks. :D The web page doesn't work for me for some reason so I can't see it or read about it. I thought it was either licensed or we'd changed the rule so thanks for clearing that up :D --24 Administration 16:41, 18 May 2007 (UTC)

Oh, I didn't realize you hadn't seen the site. It's a pretty neat little spin off. Starting Monday night, they're doing an animated prequel series about Jack before S1, called "Day Zero." --Proudhug 17:53, 18 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Death Toll

The death toll was removed from the Season 6 pages on Wikipedia; can they be put here? OneWeirdDude 17:10, 14 May 2007 (UTC)

Do you mean something like this or like this or something else? --Proudhug 18:19, 14 May 2007 (UTC)

The first one. That was taken away from Wikipedia's entries on Season 6. OneWeirdDude 22:42, 19 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Wikia Blogs

This wiki is included in our new Wikia Blogs feature. To get involved, just add snippets of this wiki's best articles to MediaWiki:Blog snippet each day and that content will appear on the Wikia TV Blog. Please see Wiki to blog for an introduction and Wikia Blogs for a list of wikis involved in this. Angela ^talk 00:55, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

This is a pretty cool idea. Is anyone interested in undertaking this endeavour? --Proudhug 02:40, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Missed the credits (2:00am-3:00am)

Was that Rick Yune playing one of those chinese terror henchmen? EVILjbf 01:15, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Adding external links

Hello, I'm curious where links to external sites should go. I've recently started a video site called SideReel which is a hybrid video search engine and wiki. Here's the 24 page. I don't intend for this to be spam, but am not sure how to contact the administrators. I've also added a link to the 24 wiki on SideReel the site. Please feel free to post in response or contact me. Thanks.

You are hosting streamed videos on a website without expressed written permission of FOX. The last time I checked, that was illegal. I apologize, but I would most likely assume that Proudhug and the Wiki 24 community would like to have no affiliation with your site. --Deege515 00:06, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Proposed template alteration

I never thought I'd want to mess with templates, but I think this one could use a few additions. I'd like some feedback on this Template_talk:Newpage_character proposed change.

These are the changes. I've added: (1) the bold character name prompt; (2) the 1 or 2 sentence introduction prompt; (3) the Day X level 2 headline; (4) the prompt for where the body belongs, and finally; (5) the Day X appearances table and headings

And I've subtracted the br clear="both". Let me know if these changes are un/needed, and if they need alteration themselves. – Blue Rook 00:55, 4 May 2007 (UTC)_talkcontribs

Makes sense to me. Forge ahead. --Proudhug 03:02, 4 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] The Game

One of the things on my long list of stuff to do is a major overhaul of the way 24: The Game is organized. Currently, it's divided into hours like the TV episodes are, but it really should be divided into missions. I'd planned to go ahead and fix this eventually, but have been busy with other 24-related projects in the meantime. However, Pyramidhead just created an appearances template for The Game and so before things get too difficult to "fix" I figured I'd bring up the topic.

Much like the TV show is neatly organized into episodes, The Game is neatly organized into missions with titles. Rather than try to split things up into hours, it makes more sense to have a page for each mission. Also, this way, each page can focus on that specific mission, rather than two or three different ones.

So, unless anyone completely disagree with this proposal, I'll try to get to work on that ASAP. --Proudhug 20:40, 2 May 2007 (UTC)

Sounds fine by me. --Pyramidhead 21:07, 2 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] POPUPS

As of late, I've been getting an MSN Money pop up on the site. The pop up moves when you scroll and there is no X to get rid of it. It makes it hard to read the site and makes it impossbile to click some links. Anybody else get this problem? EVILjbf 09:38, 2 May 2007 (UTC)

Not me. --Proudhug 13:51, 2 May 2007 (UTC)

I do. --Vinny2 18:22, 2 May 2007 (UTC)

Negative. Are you not using pop-up blockers and anti-spyware software? --Deege515 19:05, 2 May 2007 (UTC)

I just shelled out for a mac the thousandth time my dell crashed on account of too many of those things. Hasn't happened since. – Blue Rook 21:09, 2 May 2007 (UTC)_talkcontribs

[edit] Presidential succession

Currently, we've been only listing consecutive names on the succession boxes for the VP. Specifically, Gardner's successor is "Unknown" rather than "Noah Daniels." I notice Reagan's finally been added to the presidents list and he's listed as being succeeded by Harry Barnes. I'm wondering if we should change the rule (not that I ever remember a rule being made) so that we include the next known successor. I think it'd be a good idea. It would also deal with the headache of people constantly changing the Gardner and Daniels pages. Any one agree? Disagree? --Proudhug 03:42, 2 May 2007 (UTC)

I think it's a good idea, with maybe some sort of note that there may have been a president or vice-president in between that we don't know about (like the example that Barnes may have been president on Day 1). --JoeyBags79 15:12, 3 May 2007 (UTC)