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→I need help with email confirmation: new section
: Thank you very much. It is appreciated. --[[User:Leziad|Leziad]] ([[User talk:Leziad|talk]]) 22:07, 25 November 2019 (UTC)
:: You bet! Sorry for the moments of panic. I'm to break Lexicanum, so if you see something broken here, be sure to alert Bigred. [[User:Realgenius|Realgenius]] ([[User talk:Realgenius|talk]])
:::Thanks for the speedy rollback and the comms. I'll help as I can to perform the later updates after Turkey day. [[User:Surgo|Surgo]] ([[User talk:Surgo|talk]]) 22:40, 25 November 2019 (UTC)
== REQUEST: Frontpage Dynamic Content ==
After consultation with Google, we have determined that having the site's frontpage have regularly updated NEW content will greatly help the site's search appearance and growth.
I would request that we work out the details on adding a section somewhere that displays a filtered list of appropriate new pages that have been added to the wiki. You're welcome to figure out how on how to create that, but having new articles on the frontpage daily greatly enhances the reach of the site and who Google will serve it to in search.
I think a new section titled "Latest Articles" either directly above or below the "Featured Articles" section that shows a link list of say the latest 5 should do it.
[[User:Bigred|Bigred]] ([[User talk:Bigred|talk]]) 20:18, 2 January 2020 (UTC)
I think this wikimedia extension will do it: https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:DynamicPageList_(Wikimedia) [[User:Bigred|Bigred]] ([[User talk:Bigred|talk]]) 18:08, 3 January 2020 (UTC)
:How this is achievable isn't as important as much as defining what we actually want to achieve. So specifically how do we want to handle this? Latest 5 articles of any sort? Latest 5 reviewed/rated articles? Something else? [[User:Surgo|Surgo]] ([[User talk:Surgo|talk]]) 03:43, 4 January 2020 (UTC)
::What I would like to achieve is to have a small section of the frontpage (which google treats specially in determining if the website has commonly updated content), display an continuallly updated list (say updated daily) of the 5 most recent articles that are "presentable". So for example, not user pages, or things like that, but instead actual pages with real content.
::Many of the plugins let you filter by fairly complex combinations of categories, so perhaps that is best approach. If a website's frontpage displays regularly updated new content, googlebot is much like likely to begin to distribute the site more widely and on mobile devices as well, compared to as site that is considered to be fairly static. [[User:Bigred|Bigred]] ([[User talk:Bigred|talk]]) 06:18, 6 January 2020 (UTC)
:::[[User:Surgo/Sandbox]] should do what you want, or is at least a reasonable approximation (there's no human interaction so "presentable" can't really be judged). You'll need to update the DynamicPageList extension to [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:DynamicPageList3 this] though, and remove the old versions. [[User:Surgo|Surgo]] ([[User talk:Surgo|talk]]) 00:21, 14 January 2020 (UTC)
Thank you Surgo! We'll get that integrated into the front-page soon. [[User:Bigred|Bigred]] ([[User talk:Bigred|talk]]) 17:33, 14 January 2020 (UTC)
== 2020 Update Goals ==
In the next month we will be doing a set of updates and modernizations to the site.
Here's some basics so everyone understands what is going on.
The site has been growing strongly. It is now 5 times the size is was in 2017, with 250k readers, and nearing a million pageviews a month.
Around the new year we moved to all new modern google hosting, and are now protected under the quantcast security umbrella.
We will be adding a set of updates in the short term:
: - Mobile template added.
: - Mainpage recent stories added. (based on Surgo's template - thank you!)
: - Ads reorganized to fit with responsive/mobile templates (the current ones won't work with dual desktop/mobile templates)
: - All of these updates will be tested and rolled out slowly to avoid any issues like we saw with the server move.
Later this year we will add new pages to the Publication Section to add in Dragon and Dungeon Magazine issues. Slowly we are growing and expanding the canon section alongside the steady homebrew / SRD updates to expand the site's value as a repository/archive of all manner of D&D information that is currently spread all over the web.
We are working on getting affiliate status with Drive-thru RPG and DM's Guild and will experiment with those programs on the site to see if it's worth the time. Other D&D/RPG site owners have indicated positive results.
We are currently studying user behavior with a focus on increasing time users spend on the site. Initial improvements are designed to make it easier for people to browse around, and see all the content we offer, as well as what's new, so they will have a reason to visit more regularly, and eventually join the community.
Big picture this is all good news and about managing growth of the site.
[[User:Bigred|Bigred]] ([[User talk:Bigred|talk]]) 18:53, 6 February 2020 (UTC)
'''Update Status:'''
: - We have widened the desktop sidebar to accomodate 300px ad units (reused on mobile), and increased the font size to use the space better and make navigation easier.
: - Minerva Mobile template has been installed (not turned on by default for mobile devices), you can access it via the "mobile view" button in the footer. We will turn this on for mobile traffic once it is fully tested.
: - Mobile friendly ad units added to mobile template (reused from desktop).
'''Next on the list:'''
: - Update plugin and add script to display recent content on front page, lower left column (using jscript by surgo in Bigred's talk page)
: - Tweak Frontpage as needed to display nicely on mobile. (Frontpage is 2 column layout which does not play well with mobile theme)
: - Test altering the background color of the minerva mobile theme to the cream used on desktop. (might make all the tables and such look better.)
We anticipate another week to complete it all. Then the site will be fully responsive with dynamic content on the frontpage. The site is currently getting almost exactly 50/50 mobile/desktop traffic, so the mobile users will get a friendlier site and we hope to see google reward dnd-wiki in mobile search results.
[[User:Bigred|Bigred]] ([[User talk:Bigred|talk]]) 04:03, 28 February 2020 (UTC)
: Why a 300px square ad? You could easily implement a banner ad without compromising the website aesthetic, no? Besides, a banner at the top already does this without compromising the design much at all, is a second ad really worth the site looking extremely unprofessional? --[[User:Locke|Locke]] ([[User talk:Locke|talk]]) 06:19, 29 February 2020 (UTC)
: <blockquote>We are working on getting affiliate status with Drive-thru RPG and DM's Guild and will experiment with those programs on the site to see if it's worth the time. Other D&D/RPG site owners have indicated positive results.</blockquote>
: If successful, what exactly does this mean in practical terms? --[[User:Ghostwheel|Ghostwheel]] ([[User talk:Ghostwheel|talk]]) 11:01, 28 February 2020 (UTC)
'''Update Status:'''
: - Updated plugin and added Surgo's script to display recent content on front page, upper right column. (this appears to be working, but Surgo can provide the details of exactly how it is filtering/selecting content for the list as well as how often it updates.)
: - Frontpage recoded to display nicely on variable width desktop and mobile. It now looks much better and auto-collapses to 1 column at narrower desktop widths.
: - Minerva mobile template background color changed to the cream to match desktop.
'''Next on the list:'''
: - Tweaking table styles on Minerva to match desktop appearance.
: - Turn on Minerva as the default view for mobile users.
[[User:Bigred|Bigred]] ([[User talk:Bigred|talk]]) 19:41, 1 March 2020 (UTC)
:: I feel like you ignored my last message, what exactly does getting affiliate status mean? --[[User:Ghostwheel|Ghostwheel]] ([[User talk:Ghostwheel|talk]]) 13:09, 2 March 2020 (UTC)
== Mobile Styling Help Request ==
OK, just a couple more visual styling issues on Minerva (mobile) and it's good to go:
HOMEBREW PAGES: Can we do something to help the mobile homebrew pages to look better (perhaps center justify the top section, or widen it to take up the full width) Sample Page: https://dnd-wiki.org/wiki/A.D.A.M._Unit_(5e_Race)
TOPIC PAGES: Can we style those mobile header/top-footer tables so we can see the grid for better visual appearance?
Sample Page: https://dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Publication:Avengers_in_Lankhmar
Homebrew pages and topics are the two most popular categories on the wiki, so making them look better on mobile should help with the rollout of Minerva. The wiki is fairly light on images, so making all the grids and tables look fancy is about as good as we can get. Jim (programmer) says that it looks like these are based on a semanticwiki template. So it may be easier for the original creator to take a look and see if you can add tweaks for improved appearance on Minerva. Jim can try to mess around with the Semanticwiki templates himself, but fears breaking other items accidentally due to the weirdness of Semantic wiki.
Please take a look at the sample pages under the Minerva template and let me know which way we should go to make them look better for mobile users.
[[User:Bigred|Bigred]] ([[User talk:Bigred|talk]]) 21:08, 1 March 2020 (UTC)
:Not sure if Jim realizes that he can make Minerva-only CSS edits that will apply to the same tables. Just apply them to d20 in the Minerva skin only... [[MediaWiki:Minerva.css]] [[User:Surgo|Surgo]] ([[User talk:Surgo|talk]]) 23:01, 1 March 2020 (UTC)
::OK thanks Surgo. I'll pass that onto Jim. The current thinking for mobile tweaks is:
: - Top "Info Box" on homebrew and canon pages will display their grid/table layout and be center justified.
: - Lower "Facts About" boxes will display their grid table and be center justified.
: - I will make a more horizontal low key site logo to display in the frontpage so there is a logo visible on Minerva. (as the navbar is hidden on mobile).
== Enormous sidebar ==
The sidebar is suddenly enormous, and now a lot of text is too, what's going on? [[User:Surgo|Surgo]] ([[User talk:Surgo|talk]]) 05:56, 27 February 2020 (UTC)
: See 2020 Update Goals (above) [[User:Bigred|Bigred]] ([[User talk:Bigred|talk]]) 03:51, 28 February 2020 (UTC)
:: I read it, but that's not really a reason for making the sidebar such a monster. [[User:Surgo|Surgo]] ([[User talk:Surgo|talk]]) 03:57, 28 February 2020 (UTC)
== Ads on the site ==
The addition of annoying advertisements on the site is a huge problem. In the past, we moved to a different site because our host added ads. The way the addition of ads intrudes on the user experience is extremely annoying and unneeded. If paying for the server is a problem, we can find a different method of doing so. But having ads will only be a detriment to the site as a whole and will piss off many of the users that contribute to the site as is.
I realize that you're the administrator now, but for the good of the wiki as a whole, please don't have ads on it. --[[User:Ghostwheel|Ghostwheel]] ([[User talk:Ghostwheel|talk]]) 21:43, 28 February 2020 (UTC)
== Regarding 2020 updates / ads/ etc. ==
Right now the site has a 50/50 split of mobile/desktop users and mobile will only increase over time. We should expect it to be 70/30 mobile/desktop by year's end. While content creation will be the domain of the desktop theme, you should begin to think of the site's mobile appearance as it's default state, while the desktop theme will be used by creators and an ever shrinking percentage of casual users. This is how google certainly views sites at this time.
The mobile template has a small number of ad units that are google approved and non-intrusive types. We will monitor the situation to see if they have any effect on readership. We can easily move or adjust them around if needed. There is no sign of any negative effects so far. The site is being updated and being brought into line with the other popular RPG wikis out there which use many more and much more intrusive ads. (FANDOM, etc...)
The positive benefits of moving the site to a responsive desktop/mobile theme combined with adding dynamic new content on the frontpage are large positives in google's eyes and should increase traffic over time. The site is now doing just under a million pageviews a month and it's readership has increased 4-500% in the last 6 months. All is looking well for the site and it has never been more popular.
[[User:Bigred|Bigred]] ([[User talk:Bigred|talk]]) 19:41, 1 March 2020 (UTC)
:Yeah, but have you actually looked at the site on your phone? It looks awful. Things are misaligned, the ads are the biggest thing on the page, I can almost guarantee you that there are better ways to do this. The ad on the very top is not nearly as intrusive as the ones on the side-- the style you sacrifice for the two on the side makes the site look very unprofessional. --[[User:Locke|Locke]] ([[User talk:Locke|talk]]) 21:53, 1 March 2020 (UTC)
:: ''FANDOM, etc...''
:: Fandom is literally what we split from 10 years ago after they shoved a terrible skin chock full of ads down everyone's throat. Something to keep in mind.
:: ''There is no sign of any negative effects so far.''
::Various users here are literally telling you otherwise right now. I'd suggest listening to them. Log out and look at the front page of the site and a few random articles on both the desktop and mobile. It looks like trash. The thing about A/B testing is that by the time the data you get reflects that you've lost users from it, it's already too late to get them back. [[User:Surgo|Surgo]] ([[User talk:Surgo|talk]]) 22:58, 1 March 2020 (UTC)
:::The bottom bar ad is really annoying and intrusive. The sidebar size increase is terrible and intrusive. Having ads on the wiki doesn't bother me the way it does some other people, so long as they aren't too intrusive, but right now they are and if changes aren't made, the wiki will lose usership.
:::Additionally, I am also concerned about your mentions of the attempts to gain affiliate status with DTRPG and DM's Guild. What does that entail? --[[User:Undead Knave|Undead_Knave]] ([[User talk:Undead Knave|talk]]) 19:34, 2 March 2020 (UTC)
:::: The mobile template isn't complete, which is why it has not been enabled as the default view for mobile users yet. There is a list of updates above that are still coming. I am monitoring traffic currently for a period of several days to see if there are any effects. I will post results in a few days. So far after 4 days, no effect. We can easily move the location of ads to various sections of the page on mobile. These are just default locations. Lowering the second unit one additional section down on mobile is being looked at, so the ads units are more spaced out on average across various pages. The number of units on a page matters less to average users than the spacing between them.
:::: Regarding DTRPG - You fill out a form... and they say yes or no. That's it. [[User:Bigred|Bigred]] ([[User talk:Bigred|talk]]) 18:54, 3 March 2020 (UTC)
::::: IMHO I understand the point of ad revenue and am not as bothered as some of the others by the concept of there being ads on the site, I get that. I'm not the least bit bothered or distracted by the banner ad at the top of the page, and I also dont find the side bar "intrusive" as others have put it. The side bar ad '''is''' mildly distracting because of how the ad over sizes the side bar space, but I could get used to that.
:::::The one that I do however find intrusive is the bottom banner ad. It eats into the page that Im reading or editing causing me to have to manually close it on every single page that I read. Half the time the ad wont even show and there is a small gray box with an X in it floating around the page. If I dont close out of it when the ad disappears like that, then click into say an edit box, it open what the page for what the ad should have been even tho it didn't look like I was clicking on an ad. If we removed just the bottom banner ad I could adapt, but I am getting annoyed with bottom ad for sure. [[User:The-Marksman|The-Marksman]] ([[User talk:The-Marksman|talk]]) 11:24, 4 March 2020 (UTC)
:::::: Long time user/lurker here that's been with the wiki through several site migrations, and I just wanted to point out that several of my players have asked me to not send them links from the site due to the ads. I've even had to screenshot Foxwarrior's bending class for one of them. I'd agree with the above user that the bottom banner ad has been problematic, though honorable mention goes to the autoplay muted video that I can't close.
:: Thanks for the feedback. We are going to dial back the footer ad unit (where the video unit sometime renders) as it is too aggressive right now. [[User:Bigred|Bigred]] ([[User talk:Bigred|talk]]) 23:07, 23 June 2020 (UTC)
::: I don't know if the changes have already been made, but [https://imgur.com/a8Dk0Be this] is what it looks like on my end from a few minutes ago.
::: If I didn't have ads turned off, I wouldn't touch this site with a 10-foot pole. And if I was a new user who came to see it for the first time, I'd close the window as quickly as I could, never look back, and go to a more aesthetically-pleasing and less busy site to post or read homebrew. --[[User:Ghostwheel|Ghostwheel]] ([[User talk:Ghostwheel|talk]]) 22:50, 24 June 2020 (UTC)
== Dragon/Dungeon Magazine Index Pages Help Requested ==
Hi folks,
Next week I'm going to start filling out a full index of all the Dragon and Dungeon magazines in the Publications section, similar to when we added all the Modules last year.
I need some help making a table page for Dungeon and a sample page for a dungeon issue that will fill out as we add issues for both Dragon and Dungeon.
Here are some pages to look at:
Dragon 304 - (sample issue page) https://dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Publication:Dragon_(magazine)/Dragon_304
Dungeon Magazine - (probably where we should add the big Dungeon issue table) https://dnd-wiki.org/wiki/Publication:Dungeon_(magazine)
Dungeon - (sample issue page - opps don't have any, please make a single sample shell Dungeon issue page)
1e Module Table - (sample of we are trying to replicate) https://dnd-wiki.org/wiki/1e_Modules
If any of you can get the Dungeon table up and running, we will start in on adding the hundreds of issues. I've mucked with it, but can't get it to work. 1000 Thanks in advance.
[[User:Bigred|Bigred]] ([[User talk:Bigred|talk]]) 18:01, 29 May 2020 (UTC)
Data entry is bong done by accounts BOLS-Librarian3, BOLS-Librarian4
== Ads are way too much ==
[https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/182970351934898176/718109644467339435/Screenshot_2704.png?width=883&height=497 This is just stupid]. This has actively driven away many former productive members. Something needs to be done about this. [[User:Surgo|Surgo]] ([[User talk:Surgo|talk]]) 22:32, 4 June 2020 (UTC)
:: We have dialed back the appearance of the lower right video unit. It should now be appearing much less often, and can no longer appear in a long repetitive series that can disrupt regular users and content creators. We are ready to dial back the lower units more if needed. [[User:Bigred|Bigred]] ([[User talk:Bigred|talk]]) 16:46, 24 June 2020 (UTC)
::: [https://i.imgur.com/aJYFQKi.png I forgot to turn adblock back on.] I mean that still seems a bit excessive to me. [[User:Idkwhatmynameis|Idkwhatmynameis]] ([[User talk:Idkwhatmynameis|talk]]) 23:36, 24 June 2020 (UTC)
== I need help with email confirmation ==
Hi! I'm a fairly new user and I've met an issue: the email confirmation doesn't appear to work. It would not be a problem but I have forgot the password for my account (dumb of me) and I cannot enter in my account on other devices and I may lose access. Also I'd like to receive notifications of activities on my pages.
So, if it's not a big deal, is there anything that could be done?
Thanks for your help! ---[[User:The bluez in the dungeon|The bluez in the dungeon]] ([[User talk:The bluez in the dungeon|talk]]) 17:45, 17 January 2021 (UTC)
