Forum:Forum Migration

Forums: Index > Wiki Administration > Forum Migration

Participation in the Muppet Wiki Forums requires a full understanding of the Rules and Etiquette.

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Hey gang,

As you may have seen over the past few months, our web host Fandom has been preparing a major software update. The short version is that they merged with Gamepedia and took on an effort to align their old wikis with their new acquisitions. It's a good move in that it means our back end will be technically more in line with the MediaWiki engine (which also runs Wikipedia), but it also means we're losing some features that WikiCities/Wikia/Fandom developed over the years, like Special:Forum. They're replacing it with something they've dubbed Discussions, the development of which Danny and I have pushed back on for some time because it's not a wiki product. Without getting into those details, we decided that the wiki functionality shouldn't suffer as a result of an insufficient product, so we're going back to Talk-style discussion pages.

Before there was Special:Forum, we used a central spot to confer amongst ourselves to determine how to maintain content on the wiki. We called it Current Events, the archives of which can be found here. In preparation for this latest migration, we dusted off a MediaWiki-native feature called Forum:Index. This is what we will be using for a forum moving forward. We discussed a lot of important things in Special:Forum over the years, and that content will still be available for reference after the migration, but any conversations we need to have about the wiki will take place on Forum:Index very shortly. Typing "forum" into the search bar redirects you to Forum:Index, and we'll make sure the wiki's navigation makes it easy to get to.

Please be sure to read the Rules and Etiquette on Forum:Index. For folks who have been around a while, you'll remember some of these practices, but there will be a small learning curve for those who haven't used this format before. For example, it's necessary that you sign your posts manually, and that your responses are indented to make conversations easy to read. You'll also have to remember to follow or watch a thread which will add it to your Special:Watchlist and send you notifications when there are changes, just like a regular article. More details on all of this are on Forum:Index; please let me know if anything isn't clear, and we'll make the appropriate changes if necessary.

Thanks for your patience in this. We didn't have any choice in the matter, but we've been taking steps to make sure that the community here can thrive moving forward, and still use the tools we need to keep providing the best source available about the Muppets anywhere. After thoroughly reading Forum:Index, please respond here if there are any questions or problems that need to be addressed. Be aware that admins may remove responses that don't conform to the rules.

EDITED TO ADD: A change will also soon be coming to our Message Walls. I'll start a thread about that when the migration is closer to happening.

I hope everyone is staying safe and sane out there. Muppet Wiki has survived a great deal of change since we launched in 2005, and we'll adapt to this, too. —Scott (talk) 14:18, August 22, 2020 (UTC)

I think I can get used to the old format again, but I do have a couple of questions. I know that the old messages will still be available, but can we respond to those? Several are ongoing. Also, is the "What Links Here" feature removed? If not, I'd like to learn how to use it to track down images. I've read that it was on the chopping block for a while. -- MuppetDude (talk) 15:10, August 22, 2020 (UTC)

Once the threads on Special:Forum are moved (sometime in the next couple of weeks I'm told), any continuing conversation will happen on one of the sub-forums accessible at Forum:Index (there's now a link to this under HELP / FORUM in the wiki's header). So if there's something you want to keep an eye on, save the link on your user page so you can reference it in a new thread later.

Special:WhatLinksHere is a core element to the MediaWiki engine and is not going away. In fact, it's one of the most valuable wiki tools we have and I encourage everyone to add it to their customized links on the navigation bar that floats on the bottom of the page (click the ⚙️ Customize link). Fandom's non-wiki Discussions product does not work with WhatLinksHere, however, and is one of the major reasons why we decided not to use it. —Scott (talk) 15:19, August 22, 2020 (UTC)

Ah, I see. Thanks for the help! I guess it's only available if I'm logged in, right? How about individual images from the Sesame episode guides? I click on the picture, and all I get is a bigger image with no other links. -- MuppetDude (talk) 15:55, August 22, 2020 (UTC)

I don't know what you're talking about. Can you start a new thread, please? —Scott (talk) 15:57, August 22, 2020 (UTC)

Also, just FYI, if folks keep seeing the notification pop up as if you haven't read this before, that's by design. If you don't close out the bubble, it goes away after two days. So I've been activating it again every couple of days to make sure folks who have been away get a chance to see the announcement. Eventually everyone will hopefully be familiar with the new forum and the link that can be found in the wiki's header. Sorry if the pop-up is annoying and thanks for your patience —Scott (talk) 12:18, August 29, 2020 (UTC)