The TF Wiki

[GoktimusPrime]

What about locking TFwiki so that only registered users can edit? I know wikipedia does that with heavily vandalised pages. It's not ideal, but you could do it as a temporary measure to give you guys time to undo the damage and then consider unlocking afterwards. *shrug*

[Paulbot]

Kind of like transforming Autobot City, but hopefully locking the Wiki doesn't require two people running around pushing buttons, levers and knobs

(Reminds me of that fanfic I did when the Ozformers board was attacked by Spam.)

[FFN]

What about locking TFwiki so that only registered users can edit? I know wikipedia does that with heavily vandalised pages. It's not ideal, but you could do it as a temporary measure to give you guys time to undo the damage and then consider unlocking afterwards. *shrug*

If the attacks continue and/or get worse that may be considered, but I fear that would turn off readers who may simply wish to fix our spelling mistakes and minor issues (like forgetting a square bracket in a wikilink.)

Hopefully new security measures will be installed so we don't need to do this.

[GoktimusPrime]

It might be needed just as a temporary measure - you could put a notice up on the locked pages or on the main page to let people know why it's in place.

[FFN]

Some of the locked pages already have this message when you attempt to edit it.

[TheHandsomeCrab]

The key difference between the TFWiki and an Encyclopaedia is an Encyclopaedia is written for the benefit of others, and the TFWiki is written for the amusement of the children that write it.

Typical example: http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Rartorata - "Basically, the only differences between Rappakaffalatta and Injector are that Throatwarbler Mangrove has a lighter, charcoal gray plastic instead of Injector's black."

The whole article is much the same, replacing Rartorata's name with something even more nonsensical. Even though it's very lowbrow humour, completely unnecessary and downright confusing to the uninitiated, one of the admins thinks it's funny so it stays.

I've made a few contributions here and there, which seem to have stuck, but I really don't have the patience to deal with the juvaniles running the show.

[FFN]

I'll take what he says as a compliment, because we're all pretty childish to be buying children's toys at our age.

One of our admins actually hates the gag in Bartfarger's page.

[GoktimusPrime]

I agree with TheHandsomeCrab's sentiments there.

I'll take what he says as a compliment, because we're all pretty childish to be buying children's toys at our age.

I disagree. I don't necessarily think that collecting toys is necessarily childish. I play with my toys too... maybe that's kinda childish, but not at the same level of juvenile behaviour that THC is talking about - and I don't think that the way I usually play with my toys is necessarily child-like. A lot of it depends on one's "nature of fandom."

Albert Einstein is well known for having said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge." and it's well known that children who enjoy playing and exhibit good imagination and creative skills tend to be quite intelligent. One way we try to identify gifted and talented students is through their creativity - which is why Einstein said that it's more important than knowledge because imagination is the mother of invention... we only invent and create things that we dream of, such as Leonardo Da Vinci's dreams of aircrafts some 500 years before the Wright brothers took their maiden flight. And just because you grow older, doesn't mean that you suddenly have to stop being creative and imaginative... I think most of us don't do that sort of thing as much as we used to as kids primarily because we just don't have the time (not necessarily because we don't want to). Just yesterday evening I was playing with my Classics/Universe figures in a short campaign (I usually only have time to run short stories - unlike my younger days when I would run epic sagas for days, weeks or even months). And most of us are avid fans of TF fiction - be it cartoons, comics, movies, fan fics, fan essays etc.

The Merriem-Webster Dictionary defines "childish" as a "lack of poise" and "lacking complexity." To me, TFwiki fits that definition, but I wouldn't necessarily say that Transfandom necessarily fits that description. It might for some fans, but not for all.

Beginning from this term we have commenced a new syllabus in NSW for HSC 3 Unit Japanese Extension called "Animé Technique and Themes in Spirited Away" using Miyazaki Hayao's animé movie "Spirited Away" as the primary text; but in teaching this course I have already made several references to Transformers (as well as other animé, manga and sci-fi/fantasy titles) when breaking down and analysing the issues that students are currently studying for this course.

So I definitely don't agree with the notion that collecting toys and being a fan of animation and comic books necessarily makes one childish.