User talk:Regis87/Archive/2018

Use of the Appearances Section
Hey, thanks for all the great work that you are doing on this wiki!

I wanted to point out something about the Appearances section of the appendices of articles. You are adding a lot, but are misusing them in some cases. It is meant to be used for an appearance in a story or adventure, as opposed to a place where more can be learned about this person, place, or thing. That latter case should be listed in a Further Reading section.

Also, when listing an appearance in a magazine, it is important not just to link to the magazine but to indicate the story or adventure.

When listing further reading, provide the page number, just as you would a source.

For example, an article about the Foo monster might end like this:

Appearances

 * "The Forgotten Realms Is Foobar"

Standardized Sections
I just wanted to point out that we have a set of standard section headings and section order guidelines that were generally agreed upon a few years back. See Standardized Sections on most infobox template documentation pages. For example, a Gallery comes after the Appearances section. Note that those Further Reading sections you've been adding are the equivalent of the External Links section and should go just above the References section (which is always last). Thanks for all your contributions! &mdash;Moviesign (talk) 14:22, January 13, 2018 (UTC)

Dragon 214
Hello! Thanks for creating the Spellfire: Master the Magic page, I was looking forward to that since I have seen the AD&D Trading Cards. But I wanted to contact you about something else: You have removed that "First Quest" entry about Harold Johnson from Dragon magazine 214. Johnson and the article were to an important part concerned about Dragonlance, but he also did a little work for the Realms in his engagement into RPGA, namely contributing to Gateway to Ravens Bluff, the Living City and co-products. In this light, would it be ok for you if I put the mention of that "First Quest" article back in? Daranios (talk) 18:10, January 17, 2018 (UTC)
 * My bad! I was unaware of his connections to FR. Go for it! --Regis87 (talk) 18:26, January 17, 2018 (UTC)

Dragon Magazine by Year Pages
Much of what you are putting on pages like Dragon Magazine 1977 is already available in the citations and/or articles for those issues. Hold off on creating any more of those until I do a little testing this weekend. I might be able to save you a lot of work. &mdash;Moviesign (talk) 15:22, January 26, 2018 (UTC)
 * ok sweet, thanks. I wanted to do a navbar for the magazines, but having a 430 issue navbar was just too much, so figured to sort it by year. I'll stand by! --Regis87 (talk) 15:51, January 26, 2018 (UTC)
 * What sort of format do you like for these? I see you started with a table and then changed to section headings. Any preferences? &mdash;Moviesign (talk) 16:23, January 26, 2018 (UTC)
 * The table didn't look good, so went with the headings then the cover image gallery at the bottom, looks cleaner and easier to read. --Regis87 (talk) 16:30, January 26, 2018 (UTC)
 * What if we kept the text in a table format and kept the images in a gallery? There's a lot of wasted space with the vertical heading layout, but I agree that the cover thumbnails made it look bad. &mdash;Moviesign (talk) 16:40, January 26, 2018 (UTC)
 * That's a good idea, easier to format as well, since we can pull it from the existing table on the Dragon page. Let's do it. --Regis87 (talk) 16:45, January 26, 2018 (UTC)

Chiming in here: I really like the idea of having such pages, but the page titles are confusing to me. First off, for most of its run, the magazine's name is Dragon, not Dragon Magazine. It is incorrect to capitalize the word "Magazine". 2, I think that "Dragon Magazine 1977" looks like our pages for each issue&mdash;in other words, I thought it was about Dragon issue #1977, (which I know doesn't really exist, but still.)

How about Dragon issues from 1977 or List of Dragon issues from 1977? Or, do this by volume instead of year, such as Dragon volume I.

Another issue that I have had for years is the sloppiness with the naming of the magazine in the articles (not your fault, again, it's been years). Technically, Dragon magazine 5 is not that at all; it should be The Dragon issue 5 as a wiki page and The Dragon #5 in article text. It was not called Dragon yet. I've intended for a long time to go and change all the lead sentences too. There's also the issue with the fact that magazine titles need everywhere to be italicized.

I'm very excited that you are on this project, because it was at one time on my back log of projects, (proof,) before I decided that it wasn't worth the effort to me. :)

~ Lhynard (talk) 17:38, January 26, 2018 (UTC)
 * Very good point! I like the idea of doing it by "Dragon issues from year X", it looks like they stopped using volume #'s when they went digital near the end. And yes, their name switches has had me thinking the same thing you are. It was one of the things I was going to look at when I'm done adding issues, and go through to clean and add missing info. Dragon is my favourite magazine! I have a box full of them, every printed issue. So when I noticed all the missing issues, I figured it would be a good way for me to get into the "groove" of adding content to the wiki. --Regis87 (talk) 17:47, January 26, 2018 (UTC)

Bot Warning
I'm adding the volume and edition parameters to all the dragon magazine infoboxes, so you might want to not edit those until you hear from me here. &mdash;Moviesign (talk) 01:44, January 27, 2018 (UTC)
 * Ok gotcha --Regis87 (talk) 01:55, January 27, 2018 (UTC)
 * I'm done with that task. You will still have to fill in the volume parameter on those pages that don't have it, but the edition is taken care of for the pages that exist as of right now. &mdash;Moviesign (talk) 02:34, January 27, 2018 (UTC)

Infobox fields
Thanks for adding some 2e info and pics to the infoboxes, but please be sure to read what the intent is for each field. The size fields are for a game mechanics term, such as Small or Medium. The actual measurement ranges go in the physical description section. This is especially important, because the fields are intelligent and auto-create proper categories if used properly. Thanks and keep up the good work! ~ Lhynard (talk) 05:35, February 1, 2018 (UTC)

Congrats!
* claps* (at your finishing the Dragon articles) ~ Lhynard (talk) 20:09, February 2, 2018 (UTC)


 * Regis, just wanted to tell you thanks for all the wonderful and diligent hardwork you have done on the Wiki so far :) - Darkwynters (talk) 16:34, February 4, 2018 (UTC)


 * Thank you! I want to thank you and the other admins for being helpful with new editors, this wiki has proven to be quite welcoming for new users, unlike some others. I appreciate all the editing tips! --Regis87 (talk) 16:38, February 4, 2018 (UTC)

Proper Categorizing of Images
I see that you are moving on to adding a lot of images. That's great!

However, please be sure to fully categorize the images. I took a ton of time in the past to categorize, for example, all of the dragon images on the wiki, but now you have added a ton more that are not properly categorized. Here is what each of the new images that you uploaded need for categories:
 * Images of &lt;gender&gt;
 * Images of &lt;specific type of dragon&gt;
 * Images of &lt;family of dragon: gem, chromatic, metallic, etc.&gt;
 * Images of true dragons
 * Images of dragons
 * Images of creatures
 * Illustrations

Does that make sense? Start that the most specific, and then work up to the most general.

For classed dragons, throw in a
 * Images of &lt;class&gt;

The same goes for every other image that you add.

I did a few of your dragons; could you please go back through and add the cats. to the others? Thanks!

~ Lhynard (talk) 20:46, February 2, 2018 (UTC)
 * ahh, thanks for the heads up! I'll fix the others asap. --Regis87 (talk) 20:56, February 2, 2018 (UTC)


 * Thanks! ~ Lhynard (talk) 00:03, February 3, 2018 (UTC)

Just adding another plea to try to be thorough in categorizing images that you add, cover images included. The "On the Cover" section usually describes the image enough to properly categorize it. For example, for File:Dungeon magazine 121.jpg, the image is of Graz'zt and Iggwilv. So you need to categorize it as Category:Images of Graz'zt, Category:Images of demon lords, Category:Images of fiends, etc. Category:Images of males and Category:Images of demons are not enough. ~ Lhynard (talk) 22:56, February 20, 2018 (UTC)

Dungeon 50
Hello there! Are you going through all the Realms-relevant Dungeon issues, like you did for the Dragons? (Great work there!) If so, I wanted to point to Dungeon magazine 50: I found a claim that "The Object of Desire" from #50 is an Al-Qadim adventure (though I can't verify that myself), and would then be relevant, too. Daranios (talk) 20:29, February 11, 2018 (UTC)
 * I double checked, its a general AD&D module, quote, "written in the tradition of Arabian Nights", the locations arent in the FR. Thanks tho! Im 90% sure I got them all, I have a spreadsheet with all the FR, AQ and Kara-Tur modules and what issue they are in, but I may have missed a few. --Regis87 (talk) 22:41, February 11, 2018 (UTC)
 * Ah, good to know, thanks. Just out of curiosity, can you tell me what kind of creature a kada from Dungeon magazine 57 is and if it is detailed in the magazine? Daranios (talk) 15:32, February 12, 2018 (UTC)
 * In the module, page 35, there is an infobox about the Kada. It has the info like in the Monster Manuals! --Regis87 (talk) 17:10, February 12, 2018 (UTC)


 * A kada is essentially a residual fragment of a soul that has had an emotional death. It's not a ghost, because the soul has actually reached the Fugue Plane. See here: Kada ~ Lhynard (talk) 17:36, February 12, 2018 (UTC)


 * Interesting, thanks both of you. So one more Al-Qadim monster around. 20:36, February 12, 2018 (UTC)

Comics!
Hey Regis! Thanks for doing the comics pages. You're saving me so much effort for my comics project. :D

For images, I'd been using clearer covers and images from a digital copy of the IDW reprints. It looks like you're using scans of the original DC comics? — BadCatMan (talk) 01:14, March 4, 2018 (UTC)


 * Yea, im using scans. I don't have any digital copies, just physical of the old ones (why im doing them, I own all the old FR comics). Should I make the articles then you add the covers? or are they online somewhere? --Regis87 (talk) 01:19, March 4, 2018 (UTC)


 * Some can be found online, but in differing formats and levels of quality, or with images pasted over them. The IDW covers remove the "DC" from the logo and other copyright information, while still being completely obvious, but are otherwise clean. But, starting from your Selune Rising cover, a character from South Park is popping up in its place over some of your covers. Would you like me to replace them? — BadCatMan (talk) 11:23, March 6, 2018 (UTC)


 * ah jeez I didnt even notice that! Yea we should replace them, delete the ones with the South Park guy instead of the DC logo. Do you have them all? I replaced two already, low-res tho. --Regis87 (talk) 12:59, March 6, 2018 (UTC)


 * I uploaded new versions of the following covers, they are the ones with the altered DC logo. Lunatics, Scavengers, Predators, Death and the Dragon's Eye, Dead of Night, Selune Rising and Dark of the Moon --Regis87 (talk) 14:28, March 6, 2018 (UTC)

Images by Wizards RPG Team
Hey, Regis. What's your rationale for Category:Images by Wizards RPG Team? I can't find Wizards RPG Team credited for any of these covers. --Ir&#39;revrykal (talk) 20:07, March 17, 2018 (UTC)
 * Hi! When I was doing the credits, I noticed the cover artist in some of the articles was credited to them, so I left it and added the cover artist in the sourcebook credits (when they where credited). I assumed it was a design team. --Regis87 (talk) 21:29, March 17, 2018 (UTC)
 * Alright, no worries. It seems the term has been used as a placeholder for situations where the cover artist wasn't known at the time. I'll go through the titles I own and confirm. Keep up the good work, by the way. --Ir&#39;revrykal (talk) 21:44, March 17, 2018 (UTC)

Dragon Mag
Thank you for working so hard on the Dragon (magazine) articles and their regularly featured columns. I'm really enjoying the lore I'm discovering in them! Ruf (talk) 18:48, May 12, 2018 (UTC)
 * ❤️ Thank you! Dragon is such an amazing resource (not just for FR) and I myself am learning a ton reading articles and such. Our wiki is usually in the top 10 results on search engines now for Dragon mag searches, so I want to make the pages look great, and also to help others use Dragon to add content to the wiki. I've been reading the articles you've been creating from that BotB article, I love it, great work! --Regis87 (talk) 21:02, May 12, 2018 (UTC)

Cover Image Collages
Hey, Regis,

I really like your use of cover art collages. However, collages are themselves artwork that must be attributed separately. I left you a question about this on File talk:Exile-comic-covers.jpg, but I guess that you did not see it. Tim Seeley is the artist for each of the covers separately, but I doubt that he is the artist who composed the collage. We need to know who did that, and then we need to have permission to use the collage. It's easier if you make the collage yourself&mdash;or I can do it for you&mdash;or maybe this is your collage. In any case, the Information listed is currently incorrect.

~ Lhynard (talk) 21:59, May 14, 2018 (UTC)


 * I did make it. I got the idea from a Russian comic site while searching for comic covers and used befunky.com image collage maker to replicate it. How should it be attributed? And yes, I missed the Talk page creation for the file. --Regis87 (talk) 11:17, May 15, 2018 (UTC)


 * I have a bunch more I made, I'll hold off uploading until you respond! --Regis87 (talk) 13:30, May 15, 2018 (UTC)


 * I made a new copyright notice for you: Collage/Comiccover, and I'll go make more for other "collage-able" things now. See File:Exile-comic-covers.jpg for how to use it, and congrats&mdash;you now have your own artist's gallery! ~ Lhynard (talk) 16:19, May 15, 2018 (UTC)


 * 😊 😊 Thank you! Ha that's awesome. I'll start adding my cover collages. Most of them are the 'Cover A' of comics, and the various computer game covers (Amiga, SNES, etc). --Regis87 (talk) 17:20, May 15, 2018 (UTC)

Slack
Greetings! I have been empowered to invite you to the Forgotten Realms Wiki Slack community, an informal chat group of FRW admins and regular editors. If you are interested, please fill out https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfoVCqUNSPCKTp77IxhwMDyIQ4UGVoB1AP0MM15agNUZsU94Q/viewform and leave your email address so that High Imperceptor Admin Fw190a8 can send you an invite. Your email address will not be shared with anyone except Slack. There are no fabulous benefits for joining, and certainly no penalties for declining, we just talk now and then. Hope to see you soon! :) &mdash;Moviesign (talk) 14:36, July 6, 2018 (UTC)

Magic items project
Hi Regis, with your upcoming project dealing with magical items specifically from video games, I wanted to get your opinion on how I wrote some articles from BGII:SoA and NWN. I used the flavor text from certain items to create articles for unique named weapons, as a subtype of the more general name. For example, Even though the weapon Flame tongue is the in-game item, the flavor text calls it Burning Earth in BGII. In BGII:ToB, Angurvadal is the in-game name of the item, but the flavor text lists it as Stream of Anguish and NWN states that Angurvadal was a series of swords, which were all themselves flame tongues.

This is definitely a favorite type of article of mine and I'd be more than happy to contribute in this part of the project! Ruf (talk) 22:54, November 26, 2018 (UTC)
 * Chiming in here as this is something I have experience with. Baldur's Gate and other similar titles have many items with names specified in the flavor text that differs from the general item name (for example, as you mentioned, Flame Tongue versus The Burning Earth). The intention, as I understand it, is that the name in the flavor text is the actual, in-universe name of that specific item, with the more general name referring to the weapon's general type or category. For example, the specific pair of boots of speed in the BG games is The Paws of the Cheetah. It's also important to note that the Enhanced Edition "fixes" many items to use the more specific name. This is something I've tried to reflect in the indexes I've created for these and other games. --Ir&#39;revrykal (talk) 11:09, November 27, 2018 (UTC)
 * Ruf the way you've done these articles is perfect imo. I will adopt the same process for when I get to magical items from video games. --Regis87 (talk) 21:51, November 27, 2018 (UTC)

Southern Magic
Hello Regis! Having been part of the Lhynard's Spell Invention Project I like your Missing Magic project! (Even though I am usually to tied up to get into new projects. :-) Today, however, I would be interested in your reasoning for including spells like dispel fog into Category:Southern magic spells. Having looked at it again, I think that we already made a mistake earlier, when including Halruaan spells into that category. - The section in The Shining South (1993) (p. 14) is somewhat unclear, mentioning Halruaan and Old Empires spells in one breath, but I think it is meant like the Wizard Spell Compendiums treats it, and only includes those spells from Old Empires (sourcebook). Thanks for letting me know! Daranios (talk) 20:48, November 29, 2018 (UTC)
 * Hi Daranios¬ I may be in error, i was unaware this was an issue before. I assume Southern Magic spells cat was for spells used Halruaan and Old Empire wizards, is it spells that need a Read southern magic spell to be read? --Regis87 (talk) 21:13, November 29, 2018 (UTC)
 * Probably it was only a distinction in my mind so far, but yes, I thought of it as the latter. I will try clarify here and would be happy to hear your opinion. Daranios (talk) 18:57, November 30, 2018 (UTC)

Bot Job?
There are over 60 of those Elminster Speaks templates. Would you like me to update them with the bot instead? &mdash;Moviesign (talk) 14:23, December 2, 2018 (UTC)


 * Oh the bot can do that?
 * If it can check the web.archive link for each one, then heck yes. The archive date is the same for all of them (2016-11-01), and I was also adding the url to
 * work          = Elminster Speaks
 * page so its Elminster Speaks in the citations. I want to format that page like we do the magazine article pages, a nice table with citation links --Regis87 (talk) 14:27, December 2, 2018 (UTC)
 * page so its Elminster Speaks in the citations. I want to format that page like we do the magazine article pages, a nice table with citation links --Regis87 (talk) 14:27, December 2, 2018 (UTC)
 * page so its Elminster Speaks in the citations. I want to format that page like we do the magazine article pages, a nice table with citation links --Regis87 (talk) 14:27, December 2, 2018 (UTC)


 * No, it cannot check the link for each page, but I can just link the .zip file on each page. It can definitely add the link and the date. &mdash;Moviesign (talk) 14:31, December 2, 2018 (UTC)
 * Ah good idea on the zip! Thanks! I know the source url is still live for them all... but as we all know, WotC is notorious for just suddenly removing content from its site, so this is a precaution in case that happens. --Regis87 (talk) 14:35, December 2, 2018 (UTC)
 * It is done (Parts 9 through 66). Let me know if you see any problems. &mdash;Moviesign (talk) 15:14, December 2, 2018 (UTC)