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Wiki Discussion

Reducing the side bar - Page 1

Reducing the side bar

Posted by: ISSOtm
Date: 2019-02-03 05:49:40
Let's be real: the site's sidebar is way, WAY too long.

Here's what there is on the forums:
Main menu
- Main page (redundant with the `Home` button)
- Forums (we're already on them)
- Recent changes
- Random page
- Help

Databases
List of "dexes" (shouldn't they all be grouped under a single "Databases" link instead?)

Major glitches
A list of the glitches (shouldn't they also all be grouped into one page? This one already exists, even - Category:Major glitches)

Other glitch categories
I guess those are fine, just Major glitches should be one of those

References
- GS codes
- GG codes (should be one link for those two)
- Disasm projects
- The Big HEX list
- GB programming
- Curiosities (how is this a reference? Same with what's below)
- Debugging features
- Error traps
- Non-glitch exploits
- Pokémon glitch terminology (this one is fine)
- Unused content and prerelease information (how is the a reference?)
- More

Useful tools
- 8F Helper
- GBz80 to items
- Old man trick name generator
- PATH
- Save file editors
- Special stat / Pokémon converter
Trainer Escape Trainer Pokémon finder

Affiliates
List of affiliates. I believe those should be left as-is.

Technical
Site source code (shouldn't be in its own category, imo)

Search wiki
Search forums <– That one is redundant with the search box at the top-left of the page.


IIRC the list is different when on the wiki, but let's focus on one at a time, shall we?

Re: Reducing the side bar

Posted by: Sherkel
Date: 2019-02-03 08:23:04
I agree. I was talking with Photon about this a few months ago and it would be good to get input from other users as well. I have to leave soon, but here are some quick thoughts:

Main menu: ADD "New pages", leave the rest as is (while "Main Page" is redundant it just looks too proper to remove, partially as the top menu is what I consider the forum one)

Databases: Remove some of the dexes (not sure exactly which yet); add direct links to GlitchDexJP, GlitchDexFR, etc. in the "More" page. That, or make the entire thing a single "Databases" link under the Main Menu.

Major glitches: I like having those particular few there, personally. The MediaWiki category, on the other hand, could use some narrowing down, if we're going to keep it at all. I think certain exploits are simply too important to be grouped with the rest, but maybe the "Major glitches" category could become just those, and made a single list item under the Main Menu or Glitch Categories. On the other hand, many will come here just to click "Arbitrary code execution" within a few seconds as that's what they were looking for.

Other glitch categories: Yep, I agree.

References: It's a bit vague what this means. I agree with merging the GameShark and Game Genie list items (the pages can still remain separate). "Curiosities" should be prominently linked somewhere, as most of the categories are, but it doesn't belong with what's above and below it. Same for "Unused content and prerelease information".

Useful tools, Affiliates, Search wiki: All good here, I'd say. Not sure if maybe the site source code should be in the footer or remain there.

Removing the forum search might be confusing even though there's one at the top, for the same reasons as with the "Main Page" link.

Re: Reducing the side bar

Posted by: ISSOtm
Date: 2019-02-03 11:53:38
A problem is that you're suggesting way too little removal. We need to ax everything but five categories, full stop.
The side bar is way too tall - I have a fairly large screen for a laptop (17") and the top three categories are enough to fill it. The sidebar shouldn't be taller than a screen, and I hold my current one as an acceptable average.

I think all the dexes should be grouped under one link ("Databases");
Major Glitches should be reduced to at most five (this is arbitrary but intently restrictive);
References should be drastically cut down - only the Hex List, terminology, and maybe three others;
Useful Tools should become only one link;
and Forums Search should be axed for redundancy.

I've mocked it up in the attachment below. Note that I also somewhat scrolled down.
This is I believe as tall as the side bar should be - if it's not visible at first glance, it's not worth being there.
The choice for Glitches was roughly "one per generation, plus ACE and cloning because that's what people are gonna come here for"

By the way, isn't "New pages" part of "Recent changes"?

Re: Reducing the side bar

Posted by: Sherkel
Date: 2019-02-03 12:18:11
^ This is basically what I was suggesting.

As for Special:NewPages, I don't see it under "Recent changes". Also, the "Home" button brings you to the front page of the forums, not the wiki, so both of those are good to have in the Main Menu.

Looking at this again, it's basically perfect as far as I'm concerned. Guess one of us just has to go back on Discord to get an okay (or not) on it now.

Re: Reducing the side bar

Posted by: Torchickens
Date: 2019-02-07 06:58:38
ISSOtm, I've now changed the sidebar based on your mockup image. :)

Re: Reducing the side bar

Posted by: ISSOtm
Date: 2019-02-07 07:07:01
Great work! Thanks

Re: Reducing the side bar

Posted by: Sherkel
Date: 2019-02-07 11:01:53
Much better, but one thing I would keep is "Glitches by generation".

…I thought that was a page…guess I'll make a quick one for now.

Ah, wait, it's this. I'm putting it there unless there are any objections, as it can easily allow for browsing and discovering most of the wiki's content.

Also…we removed links to the disassemblies? I'm not entirely sure about that myself. Nor were you two!

Re: Reducing the side bar

Posted by: Parzival
Date: 2019-02-07 20:27:24
IIRC, I have some old categories I somehow made for stuff being worked on currently, and stuff that shouldn't be shown to anyone not a member. They probably should be deleted…

Re: Reducing the side bar

Posted by: Sherkel
Date: 2019-02-07 20:31:25

IIRC, I have some old categories I somehow made for stuff being worked on currently, and stuff that shouldn't be shown to anyone not a member. They probably should be deleted…
If they showed up, that would mean they were approved. Do you remember what they were called?

Was this one of them? :P [img]https://i.imgur.com/KeFtbCv.png[/img]

Re: Reducing the side bar

Posted by: Parzival
Date: 2019-02-07 21:55:11
Nope, that's not one. I put a desc on them asking for mods to hide them from non-logged users.

Re: Reducing the side bar

Posted by: bbbbbbbbba
Date: 2019-03-01 23:55:05
Actually, the sidebar is still too tall for my screen. May I suggest moving the "search wiki" function up a bit? Every other wiki I use have the search on the top right corner, but if you insist that we are primarily a forum rather than a wiki, then at least putting the "search wiki" somewhere with more visibility.

To be honest, I feel that "search forum" is actually unnecessary. If something is search-worthy, it probably belongs in the wiki.

Re: Reducing the side bar

Posted by: Sherkel
Date: 2019-03-03 22:16:40
Oddly, the "Search Forum" part of the sidebar only appears when browsing the forums, not the wiki. Taking it out would probably require changing the site source code (while more clearly designating the one in the header as a forum search.)

Fitting the whole thing on a single screen could maybe be done changing the text size. That or more of it could be moved to the front page. I never thought much about it personally.

if you insist that we are primarily a forum rather than a wiki
Quite the contrary. As good as a community as we have (or don't), we're always a Pokémon glitch site first. I could see how it might seem that way because of the header, though, since the two are now merged.

If something is search-worthy, it probably belongs in the wiki.
It does, but a lot of it still isn't there. (The rest of that PosterDex is going to be tedious…)

Re: Reducing the side bar

Posted by: ISSOtm
Date: 2019-03-04 08:17:53
Reducing the font size would greatly hinder readability, I'm strongly against it.
The sidebar doesn't fit on my screen either, but it requires very little scrolling - even really small laptops can probably fit half of it, which is where I'm placing the "reasonable" line. I believe the sidebar is fine as-is.

I was for removing `Search Forums` from the sidebar due to already being present at the top-right of the page.