Homestar Runner Wiki Forum

So, what exactly is going to happen when we move to MediaWiki? I read some of the article that was linked on the main page, but I didn't understand it all. Will the entire wiki format change?

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I'm not sure, but I hope the format won't change. I just got used to the format here!

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Well whatever it is, I have a feeling that its going to be good, or at least it should be.

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The message on the Wiki says "Please prepare by reading the user's guide." That's the best resource for you right now.

The short story is yes, the way we do some things are going to change, and it's going to take some adjusting. But this will be a change for the better (way better). History has tought us that no matter how much it improves our lives, some people are resistant to change. But we hope most of you will stick around.

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cool,somehow that makes me feel better

I have a new question,will the site be taken down for a couple of days or are you going to do it slowly so it can stay up?

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RIP Nathan "Buz" Buzdor

We're not sure on a few of the details right now. We're trying to migrate all of our documents using an automated script, but it remains to be seen whether that will work or not.

If we can move the whole thing using a script, the new wiki will replace the old wiki, and the site may be down for an hour at the most (probably closer to fifteen minutes). Even after migrating it all automatically, there will be a lot of work to do moving things around and reformatting.

If using a script turns out to be impossible, then we'll need to migrate the whole thing by hand, which will require both wikis to be up simultaneously. Having them up at the same time is not a problem, but we'd like to avoid this scenario at all costs simply because of the man-hours it would take to migrate everything.

It'll look like Wikipedia (note that Wikipedia has several different "skins").

- Kef

Fifteen minutes!!!! Nooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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wah. Cry-panties.
Just kidding. I'm sure the forum will at least be up...right?
*tears well up in eyes*

*Note to self: incorporate term "cry-panties" into at least one conversation this week.*

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Assuming nothing bad happens, yes. (Bad would imply really really bad, the switch shouldn't touch the forum).

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When is the move expected?

my cousin who is not on the forum and an avid wiki-er wanted to know.

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its friday night and im home all night (all night)
and saturday night doesnt look much better (oooahhoo)
and nobody likes me coz im a loser (hey! you're a loser)
and everything is going to go my way someday, someday
everything is gonna go my way someday

Actually, I have a general question out of curiosity....if the wiki is slowed down, why isn't the forum? Aren't they related?

Just wonderin!....oh....and just cause Josh made up the cool phrase, I'd like to say "Cry-Panties"....Josh, you are kinda preoccupied with bodily functions, yes?

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While they are both running on the same machine (and even running similar processes), they are two very different programs.

I don't really care to dig through the code for both the forums and the wiki, but I am sure you would see lots of similarities as well as lots many differences. So even though they are both using php and mysql, the way the wiki uses it is different enough (from the forum) that one runs a lot slower.

That is why moving to wikipedia is hopefully going to help out a lot. If you look at webpages like the wikipedia, they have thousands of more pages then us, but still manage to function (it's also worth noting that they are running on several, more powerful, servers...)

hopefully, that helps clear up some confusion

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While the Wiki and the forum are on the same server, they use different databases. The real problem is the strain that 'Tavi puts on its database.

Joey talked about it here, but what's basically happening is this: the way the software is written, it has to check the entire database everytime someone loads a page. As you can imagine, with thousands of people trying to access the Wiki it can get overloaded.

The software that the forum runs on doesn't have this problem. Neither does MediaWiki. In fact, MediaWiki was designed to support Wikipedia, which currently has 821623 total pages in its database and had 9805162 visitors last month, compared to our 3461 pages on 'Tavi and 80569 visits last month.

Yowzers.

[Edit: Well, it looks like collecting facts takes a while and Stu has beaten me to the punch. Good thing our answers match.]

Ah yes...thank you for your patience with someone who is not totally wiki/forum/internet savvy! You both answered my question to my full satisfaction!

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Another aspect of this question is that the forum only gets about a fourth of the traffic the wiki does. Our forum is utilized mostly by those who frequent the wiki, and it isn't listed very high on search engines. The wiki itself gets a lot of unique visitors who pop in from a Google search, find what they are looking for, and leave.

It's kinda crazy to think that our wiki cummunity (those who edit and contribute to the site) only accounts for a fourth of the traffic on the wiki, but it's true. This is one reason why the forum seems to run fine even while the wiki has the hiccups.

Just a quick question, and I don't know how to make this sound unimpatient, but I assure you I have infinite patience... How is the move coming along? Run into any of those "problems" you were concerned with, or is it coming along pretty well?

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If you can't fix it with a hammer, you have an electrical problem.

It's coming along. We're having no problems, except that the process is by its very nature slow and laborious, and most of us have day jobs to contend with. Believe me, the admins are just as impatient about this as anybody -- we'd like to get back to using the Wiki (and letting everybody contribute again) as soon as possible.

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Awesome. If I knew how to do anything related to what you're doin, I would volunteer, as I only work 4 days a week (10 hour days for salary are a blessing and a curse.)
I think I speak for all of us on the forum when I thank you (the mods) for the work you put into the wiki and the forum.
You all rock!

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If you can't fix it with a hammer, you have an electrical problem.

I volunteer to cheer on the project! Wee hoo! I'm really excited to see how it's all going to look in the end!

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Yeah, I'm thinking it'd be cool if the admins could email TBC and let them have the first look when it's all done.

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If you can't fix it with a hammer, you have an electrical problem.

That would be a nice tribute...someone should send an email (that someone being an mod...so they don't get 50 emails about the same thing!) to them and let them know...who knows? Maybe they'll stop in!

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Though the forum is the number one result for a Google search for 'homestar runner forum'. Yowzers.

It's 8/21/04...what's the ETA of the new and improved wiki?

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RIP Nathan "Buz" Buzdor

And by my estimation, the four admins have a total of nine regular day/night jobs to contend with.

Personally, I think the move is for the best.

While the site is down, we are moved down the Google list.

And honestly, who types in "homestar runner forum" into google?!?!

Mike

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Time to finish you off!
I mean this off!
Or do I?
*Shifty eyes*

The move seems to be taking quite a while.

I had no problem with hrwiki.org except for the fact that, after a time, RecentChanges took forever to load. I miss the wiki. I was on it almost every day. But, I'm not gonna ask "the question". Everyone's probably sick of it now.

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