Foundry talk:Portal

First draft
This is a quick and dirty effort at creating a central page for foundry mission articles. The Federation and Klingon will currently automatically select a list of the 20 most recently created pages in the respective categories: Category:Starfleet foundry missions and Category:Klingon foundry missions. I'm sure there are other things that can be done with the page that I haven't thought of yet, so please add your suggestions or comments below. &mdash; Eyes   11:59, 13 September 2011 (UTC)
 * Great work, I love it. --RachelGarrett 15:00, 14 September 2011 (UTC)
 * So, do we announce foundry authors are good to go here? &mdash;  Eyes  [[Image:User-Eyes-Sig.png|link=User talk:Eyes]] 18:42, 15 September 2011 (UTC)
 * That or we wait for the BoilerRoom to go live. I'm good with either, what do you think? In any case, thanks a lot for the work you've put into this.


 * When we open it up, I'd like to ask two or three UGC authors to test our setup and give feedback, before we do an announcement on the forums and staraseugc, so we have a chance of catching any show stoppers. Regards, --RachelGarrett 23:47, 15 September 2011 (UTC)
 * That's a good idea. I didn't really want to have to create test articles, figuring I'd just watch the first articles closely and fix any problems then.  As for waiting for BoilerRoom, I could go either way on that.  It would definitely be nice to have, but I don't think it's essential either.  &mdash;  Eyes  [[Image:User-Eyes-Sig.png|link=User talk:Eyes]] 06:15, 16 September 2011 (UTC)
 * Ok, then I suggest we do both: I can ask Kirkfat to pick two or three authors use our current setup, while we wait for Curse to install BoilerRoom. --RachelGarrett 09:18, 16 September 2011 (UTC)
 * I've tried to set up a page for my Foundry mission The Syndicate Extraction as a test of the setup. What do you think? --Galactrix 04:16, 24 September 2011 (UTC)
 * Looks pretty good to me. There are a few minor things to iron out.
 * *I don't suppose foundry missions get any kind of accolades, so I should probably remove that from the formatting guide.
 * *Need a UGC version of the npcinfo template, but that's my problem, not yours. Expect a minor maintenance edit shortly.
 * *I need to modify the walkthru template to use a different category for foundry missions with missing walkthroughs, but that's also easy to fix.
 * Aside from that, do you have any feedback on the setup yourself? &mdash;  Eyes  [[Image:User-Eyes-Sig.png|link=User talk:Eyes]] 12:17, 24 September 2011 (UTC)
 * Should image uploads use the normal naming guidelines? When I uploaded the images to go with the mission page, I tried to add "Foundry:..." but it wouldn't accept the colon in the file name so I just went with the normal guidelines. --Galactrix 15:12, 24 September 2011 (UTC)
 * Yeah, the colon is an illegal filename character. That's something we failed to consider.  If Rachel wants, I might suggest "Foundry-" as a prefix, and if she agrees, I'll take care of the images already uploaded (since MediaWiki's default settings don't allow regular users to move images).  I'd also have to look at the templates again and see what they're expecting as a default filename and adjust accordingly.  &mdash;  Eyes  [[Image:User-Eyes-Sig.png|link=User talk:Eyes]] 15:20, 24 September 2011 (UTC)
 * Hey, thanks Galactrix for testing our setup. I completely agree with everything stated before. The image thingy needs some tinkering. I think "Foundry-[...]" is a good compromise. Regards, --RachelGarrett 15:49, 24 September 2011 (UTC)
 * One minor thing for improvement: You can add outgoing links. E.g., Earth Spacedock, Orion, and Ford. It does not matter, if the article does not exist yet.--RachelGarrett 15:58, 24 September 2011 (UTC)
 * I added some outgoing links as you suggested. Also tried putting some in for my NPC characters to see how that looked - I remembered to set them all as subpage links of the article. --Galactrix 16:51, 24 September 2011 (UTC)
 * Some more pages have been added and we've come across another template issue - in Foundry:To Helna and Back (ST-HGTEIDK7L) this is the first mission that has a sequel and I've noticed in the ugcinfo box the fields for preceding and following mission names will create links that start in the "Mission:" namespace instead of "Foundry:" if the pages don't exist yet. --Galactrix 01:31, 25 September 2011 (UTC)
 * &rarr; moved to 
 * First thank you for the work you've put in to create the templates and such though I do have a question. I know of at least 2 species that have been created in the Foundry, the Sauremen and the Gameptis. While each individual NPC would have a subpage in the mission they're in what is the guideline/policy for creating pages for non-STO canon races? Bazag 00:12, 28 September 2011 (UTC)
 * Also I have another suggestion add a Last Updated to the mission's info box. Bazag 00:16, 28 September 2011 (UTC)
 * I assume non-canon races would appear as a subpage of the foundry mission they originally appear in. --Galactrix 00:26, 28 September 2011 (UTC)

(Reset indent) Indeed, that works fine. I'm also thinking of proposing "series" pages be added to Project:User generated content to allow you guys to make a central page for missions with sequel/prequels and such. Elements like non-canon races that are used across them could then be made subpages of that page as well. &mdash; Eyes   10:28, 28 September 2011 (UTC)

Template:Ugc
I know working within any namespace other than main can make linking a pain, but thankfully, it's not hard to create a template that simplify things. ugc is now available; feel free to take a look at its documentation, but in short, when used on a page like :
 * is a shortcut for
 * is a shortcut for
 * is a shortcut for
 * is a shortcut for

It figures out what mission to use by looking at the current page title, so it only works for linking between articles about the same mission. For linking to other UGC mission pages, you'll still have to use the traditional link format for now. &mdash; Eyes   18:59, 24 September 2011 (UTC)


 * Excellent! That will make it much easier to links on the page to related subpages. --Galactrix 19:26, 24 September 2011 (UTC)

Sidebar?
So, do we want to wait for the formal announcement to put this page in the sidebar? (Or for BoilerRoom to be installed so I can finally make the small mission creation form?) Or are we good to go for sidebar now? &mdash; Eyes   06:56, 25 September 2011 (UTC)

UGC icons

 * &larr; moved from 

Hi, I have a question regarding UGC content that is no mission or character. We have an icon set for mission posters, banners, trailers etc. I think it would make sense to have them here in the wiki instead of my private photobucket album. Here's a link to the StarbaseUGC blog post. Is it possible to upload them here? If yes, what do I need to keep in mind? Thanks in advance. --Tiuz 16:32, 25 September 2011 (UTC)
 * It is possible, but as this gets into article formatting, it seems like an issue the community should discuss first. I don't think we've considered anything like mission posters yet, and I'm not all at sure what the community consensus is likely to be on that kind of thing.  After all, we're a little more of a traditional game wiki setup that handles things in a more encyclopedic way, but the foundry presents a unique scenario for us to consider.  (That's why I'm moving this out where it'll be easier to discuss.)  Also, I have not formed an opinion as yet on the issue, so I'm open to persuasion (but it's the community you need to convince, not just me).  &mdash;  Eyes  [[Image:User-Eyes-Sig.png|link=User talk:Eyes]] 16:51, 25 September 2011 (UTC)
 * Most of the Foundry authors are already using the icons for their forum signatures or banners on sites like starbaseugc.com. I just wanted to store them here so an author can access them when they are needed, independently from my photobucket album. I know you guys have much to do with the other Foundry stuff on the wiki, so I haven't thought much about using them on the wiki itself (other than store them) yet. But you are right, it should be discussed by the community. --Tiuz 17:35, 25 September 2011 (UTC)
 * Uploading them is fine with me. I'd just follow the guideline we've established of beginning the filename with "Foundry-" and other than that, just the usual matter of trying to pick an appropriate unique and descriptive name.  &mdash;  Eyes  [[Image:User-Eyes-Sig.png|link=User talk:Eyes]] 17:41, 25 September 2011 (UTC)
 * Also, on quick refulection, everything you mentioned should be fine for userspace anyway. Posters, banners, and such would potentially be a problem in the Foundry namespace where they would shift the focus of the wiki from documentation toward marketing, but I doubt anyone would object to their use in userspace, within reason.  So, yeah, go ahead.  &mdash;  Eyes  [[Image:User-Eyes-Sig.png|link=User talk:Eyes]] 17:46, 25 September 2011 (UTC)
 * Okay, thanks! --Tiuz 19:31, 25 September 2011 (UTC)

Userspace templates
I whipped up a couple templates for foundry authors to use on their userpages. myugclist will find the foundry missions you've added that are correctly using the ugcinfo template and list the mission titles (as a link) in a simple bullet list format. (It figures it out by looking at what you provided to the  parameter of the ugcinfo and comparing that to your username.)  myugctable does the same thing, but it formats the results like the table in Foundry:List of missions, but sans designer column. They don't have to be used on your main userpage; the way they're designed, they will also work on any subpage. &mdash; Eyes   08:47, 27 September 2011 (UTC)

Two more linking templates
ugcmission is like our mission template for creating links to missions with the quotes attached and taking the "Mission:" part out of the link text, only this takes out the "Foundry:" part and the ID. It is capable of looking up the ID if you don't supply it, but the second template is better if you know the mission you're linking to is already on the wiki and don't want to look up the ID.

ugcmissiongetid will automatically construct a call to, but needs to be called like this:  The Syndicate Extraction. After you save the page, it will be changed to. This is less overhead for the wiki since it only has to look up the ID when saving the page that time, not every time the page changes. &mdash; Eyes   09:59, 27 September 2011 (UTC)

Should we let loose the dogs of war?
User:Kirkfat asked me, when we would feel comfortable with leaving our "Beta" phase. Are there any show-stoppers left, or can we invite Foundry authors officially to add their missions? --RachelGarrett 21:00, 6 October 2011 (UTC)
 * It's possible there may be more things to expand, but it's activity that will bring that to light. I'm all for getting this party started.  &mdash;  Eyes  [[Image:User-Eyes-Sig.png|link=User talk:Eyes]] 06:02, 7 October 2011 (UTC)
 * I could post on StarbaseUGC.com inviting some more people to come and put up their missions with a few links to the guidlines and the template. How does that sound? --Galactrix 16:52, 10 October 2011 (UTC)
 * That sounds like a great idea to me. I think Rachel's been rather busy... I kinda thought she'd kick this off on Project:Announcements too; maybe I should go ahead and take the initiative on that given the lack of objections.  &mdash;  Eyes  [[Image:User-Eyes-Sig.png|link=User talk:Eyes]] 17:30, 10 October 2011 (UTC)