Hiya! I found myself bored, so I thought I'd branch out a bit and develop a "standard" advisory for when users are bloating plot summaries. You can view the template at Template:Uw-plotsum1 and it should be implemented as "{{subst:Uw-plotsum1|Article}} ~~~~". If/when I get particularly ambitious I may even add documentation. I'd love to hear what you think...but this is my first time doing something like this, so please be kind. :) Doniago (talk) 17:08, 3 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
- I see you used some of the one I was developing, cool. (Deftonesderrick 17:33, 3 May 2010 (UTC))[reply]
- It was easier than writing one up from scratch. :) But seriously, thanks for giving me a very good starting point! Doniago (talk) 18:28, 3 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
- No problem! You actually inspired me to finish mine and get them on template pages. You can find them here. (Deftonesderrick 18:35, 3 May 2010 (UTC))[reply]
- Awesome! You, sir, are teh poo, as the kids say. I actually saved the long thing I wrote on Timmy's page to put up as an essay in my user space for a similar purpose. Template will be great for the most part but I figure when folks seriously ask that "why not all the details" question I can point them to that. I'm going to draft it into something a little less directed at one specific editor. I'm wondering, since plots of all varieties are so heavily edited, even though not even close to all wiki articles even have plots, do you think the twinkle or friendly peeps would be amenable to adding this? Millahnna (mouse)talk 18:51, 3 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
- Deft-Cool. We should probably try to adopt a standard...it seems like you were working on these before I ever got involved, so I'd be happy to defer to you. I was thinking about a level 2 warning as well. Anything beyond that can probably be covered by general vandalism (if not outright edit warring).
- Millahanna-It can't hurt to ask. :) I'd love to have it as a Rollback option myself.Doniago (talk) 18:57, 3 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
- Groovy. I think what I'll do is give it a little while of us using it to make sure there aren't any changes y'all want to make and then go bug em. Remind me to do something with this conversation so I don't lose the format when it gets archived. I can't keep all of these templates in my skull. Millahnna (mouse)talk 10:01, 4 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
- (laughs) That's what Notepad is for. Okay I'm kidding, but I do keep my most-used templates there for easy reference. Also, I must say that Timmy's talk page is becoming a source of endless amusement for me. Doniago (talk) 15:05, 4 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
- " Also, I must say that Timmy's talk page is becoming a source of endless amusement for me." QFT. I still can't decide if he's serious, 9 years old, or both. Millahnna (mouse)talk 17:03, 4 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I've added a level 2 version of the template (yep, got bored). I would think anything beyond this can be considered general vandalism if not edit warring. Unindenting for specific commentary on this version. Doniago (talk) 16:25, 4 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
- I left a message about the toy for newer editor who seems to be a plot god. He's been reverting the same types of plot additions and been attempting to explain in his revert edit summaries so I'm guessing he'll find it useful. Have you poked your head in at WP Films, TV and Books (Novels I think) to let them know about it? Video Games might find it useful on occasion too although I see fewer plot edit problems on the few game pages I watch than the others. Millahnna (mouse)talk 17:03, 4 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
- I was looking for more "localized" feedback before opening them up to the general public, but if you and Deft think my tp's are ready for primtetime, I could post something on WP Films. As far as the other media goes, I think the links need to be reviewed/more globalized for that...I believe the current ones are somewhat film-specific. Doniago (talk) 18:03, 4 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
- Ah that makes sense. I think it's fine but perhaps you're right that about holding off for a bit first. You're right they are film specific but TV and Film cross over a lot so that wouldn't be too tricky (I've seen TV plot people refer people to their own MOS as well as the film one on occasion). Novels and games though; yeah you're totally right. I'm a doofus. =) As for the other editor I mentioned, Jack is new but he's catching on quickly to the ways o the force so he should be a good tester as well. He's also branched out beyond plots more than I have so he may think of something I haven't Millahnna (mouse)talk 19:33, 4 May 2010 (UTC).[reply]
- (ec)Hi. Millahnna gave me the heads up about this discussion, and I thought I'd toss my two euros in. I think the warning - which i think should be used only when the person seriously does not choose to "get the point" and lapses into disruptive editing - is pretty well-constructed.
- That said, I think there is a tendency to shorthand a lot of the editorial comments and sometimes, templating someone who doesn't know the rules is as unhelpful as templating the regulars. I realize that it can get pedantic, explaining the same thing to successive individuals, but how else are they going to learn? Sure, a road sign indicating stop sometimes works, but its far more instructive to explain how they might get t-boned at an intersection if they don't stop. All of us have been in the position of being new folk in the wiki at one point or another; we can all remember one unhelpful jerk or another telling us that we were wrong without telling us why we were wrong. I think that taking the time to explain builds a better editor.
- (stepping off soapbox) I think the wording of the template is a bit off. " your recent edits to the plot summary do not appear to be constructive" is of particlar note, as - by definition - creating material is constructive, and that comment is going to confuse anyone who thought they were adding to the article. Maybe something like, " your recent edits to the plot summary appear to be excessive and not in keeping with an encyclopedic entry" would be a better wording.
- Thoughts? - Jack Sebastian (talk) 19:42, 4 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
- Hi Jack, Thanks for your feedback.
- The first plot summary message is intended to be more of an advisory and a "Welcome to Wikipedia, we're glad to have you...but you should know this...", which the second message is definitely more of a "Hey, we're glad you're trying to help, but you're not helping, so knock it off..." Both messages do provide multiple links to the pertinent guidelines, so I think they're definitely encouraging people to actually read the rules rather than just saying they broke them. Additionally a level 1 (and possibly level 2 depending on your perspective) warning shouldn't be taken -too- seriously...for most editing issues there's 4 levels, and that's assuming you commit the violations in a fairly short time-span. If a user persists in bloating the same article more than twice, than they're not only, IMO, probably a vandal (and not taking the hint) but possibly edit warring as well...they definitely don't have the guidelines on their side at that point. At any rate, at that point we might as well revert to the standard vandalism warnings that specifically mention the possibility of a block for bad behavior.
- "do not appear to be constructive" is taken directly from the level-one (or two?) vandalism warnings. I think it's diplomatic to indicate that the warning issuer acknowledges that others may disagree. Creating material isn't constructive if it lowers the quality of the article....which is essentially what plot-bloat does. As I said, the warning messages (I prefer to use the term "advisory", FWIW) do link to the various guidelines, so people shouldn't, IMO, be wondering why they're being told off...they can look it up. Or ask, if they're still confused.
- Hope this all makes sense, and thanks again! Doniago (talk) 20:16, 4 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
- It does make sense, and I appreciate you responding so quickly, Doniago (clever play on words for the handle. btw). My main concern is that some of the ways we tend to treat each other as editors - including newbies - tend to push away those uninitiated to wiki-en shorthand. When I was editing as an anon, I found that - with few notable (and wonderful) exceptions - I wasn't given the assumption of good faith by most other editors simply because I was seen as a newbie (which I certainly am not). I think that user templates fail to accomplish their goal, and tend to create more problems than they resolve. The sole exception to this, imho, are the vandalism and edit-waring templates. Those remind the recipient that they are treading on very thin ice where our policies are concerned. they very use of the template serves to reinforce the weight of what's a-coming if they don't cease and desist. A user who adds content isn't trying to be a dick; they are innocently trying to expand an article, and are unaware of what's allowed. Instead of indirectly assuming bad faith that the person cannot be educated (or simply that you haven't the time to educate them - which is pretty sloppy and uncivil in my book) and throwing a template at them, I think the encyclopedia is better off helping the person to understand what an encyclopedia is. Point out the specific definition of a plot summary is and contrast it to what they are doing. Most new or inexperienced editors are going to become defensive about being templated, esp. when it wasn't prefaced by specific talk as to what they were doing wrong.
- With respect to your second point, "Creating material isn't constructive if it lowers the quality of the article....which is essentially what plot-bloat does", you and I both know that one editor's bloat is another's "better explanation". I despise bloat as well (pretty much on the same plane as cruft). Again, we - as more experienced editors - are supposed to help the new folk along in the wiki learning curve. Assuming that they are there to screw up the article on purpose is quintessential bad faith. If the person adding bloat refuses to get the point, they are being disruptive, and calling them onto the AN/I carpet allows wiki learning to take place with several teachers. Usually, just helping the person learn creates a better editor. - Jack Sebastian (talk) 20:49, 4 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
- I don't know if this helps but a couple of the warning templates that twinkle pulls from recently had their wording changed to reflect a more AGF mentality (specifically the level one and two of editing tests, if I recall correctly). I'd have to check the twinkle talk page to remember the specifics of the changes but the concept was along the lines of what you're saying here and apparently this issue has been cropping up all over the place (overly zealous speedy deletion templates has been contentious of late). Basically they went with a softer wording to allow for the fact that some silliness or unencyclopedic content from an anon or new editor might be an honest attempt at an improvement. That said, Doniago does link to some plot summary guidelines in there and I, personally, am a fan of including a personal message on templates when they aren't obvious vandalism or sock puppetry (like the TimmyPolo situation which is likely what brought this on). Perhaps this is a matter of just changing the wording a bit? I can't help it, I love the idea of having something basic to to draw on like this, though I do see your point about how it could be abused.
- With respect to how you were treated as an anon, I can give an example. When I first spotted you, you were doing a fantastic job of cleaning up the U.K. tv show Survivors. And your edits kept getting reverted one particular editor who probably just looked at the summary in recent changes and saw a big red negative number with an IP editor. I distinctly got the impression they didn't even look at WHAT you'd changed, though they seemed to mean well. Although I don't think that particular editor actually templated you, I still found it odd at the time. I do recent changes patrols sometimes and I have a very different method. Millahnna (mouse)talk 22:37, 4 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
- Hi Jack. I understand your concerns about AGF, but Level 1 advisories are intended to be AGF to begin with...hence the welcoming to WP and the "appear to be" lines. As long as the template is worded in a manner utilizing AGF, I think that should be sufficient. Giving someone a template warning isn't in and of itself failure to AGF...definition-wise, even a level 2 warning is technically a no-faith assumption. It's 3 and higher that are bad faith assumptions. For the templates I created I did try to use the level 1 and 2 language as much as possible, since hopefully the editors who put those together know what they're talking about (smile). Even so, if an editor is concerned that the template will come across poorly, there's no requirement for it to be used.
- As I indicated, I don't feel that L1 and L2 templates are "you're treading on thin ice". L1 to me is more a "Welcome and thanks for your help, but you shouldn't really do what you just did," while L2 is "We appreciate that you're trying to help, but you're not helping." L3 OTOH is definitely more "Knock it off or we'll block you." I guess we may need to agree to disagree on this, but it's always been my feeling that some editors take template usage (when it's used against them, anyway) far too seriously.
- Also, as has been said, both the L1 and L2 templates do point to the pertinent guidelines...I mean, while I'm obviously biased, if I got one of these templates thrown at me I'd go "Huh, I'd better follow those links and see what they're talking about," not, "WTH am I getting templates thrown at me for no reason?" I really do feel they are worded in a way that a normal editor would tend to think isn't particularly offensive, but I do welcome suggestions.
- Anyway, thanks again for your feedback. I hope I didn't sound overly-critical of your concerns, but I guess we may have somewhat different perspectives on this. I suspect the first time I ever heard about this issue was when I saw an article marked for having too lengthy a plot, at which time I read up on the guidelines, so I was never a "victim" of plot-bloat reversion myself. Doniago (talk) 16:12, 5 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
- Milahnna, you (and Erik) were one of the wonderful exceptions I alluded to. I didn't mean to suggest that Doniago thinks that most of the folk adding crufty content are vandals or fanboys. I just think that talking is better than templating in those cases not consisting of outright vandalism or disruptive behavior. - Jack Sebastian (talk) 03:47, 5 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
- Well, people certainly aren't required to use the templates. There are people (like myself) who are more comfortable with some sort of standard they can refer to...or who just find themselves always basically restating the same thing...and that's what templates are for. I think some users have a tendency to read too much into template usage, but obviously that's an opinion. Honestly, I don't think these templates will see a lot of use, but they seem to be "nice to have" as an option. Doniago (talk) 16:12, 5 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
- I think where they'll be ideal is with situations like TimmyPolo seemed to be at first (and before he started actually asking direct questions). In that case we tried with the edit summaries but faced persistence without acknowledgment or direct communication, at first . Eventually he did ask questions and that opened up a more personalized line of talking with him. And of course in that specific case the whole situation was moot as he was a sock. But if a well intended newer editor was doing the same thing it's something we could fall back on. I am still going to tweak my essay thingy, though, for additional backup. It's kicking around in my sandbox waiting for me to have time to come play. All I've been able to do lately are recent changes on my watchlist and a sentence tweak here and there. Job hunting kind of sucks the time right out of my day. Millahnna (mouse)talk 17:58, 5 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I did a bit of an overhaul of the templates, cleaning up grammar and standardizing them. Links for films, novels and non-fiction books are now included. For other genres I didn't see much in the way of guidelines specifically related to the plot other than the general references. If nobody has any objections I'll probably open these up for general consumption in a couple of days. Thanks for the feedback everyone! Doniago (talk) 18:29, 6 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]
- Looks good to me. In light of Jack's concerns, I will probably include some friendly personal message at the end if/when I use it. Hopefully when you're ready to open it up, other editors will have some good feedback as well. Millahnna (mouse)talk 22:00, 6 May 2010 (UTC)}}[reply]
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