Template talk:DidYouKnow/current

Now that we have almost 53 of these, do you want to set up a rotation like we have for the featured article and featured source? I was thinking of taking the day of the year and dividing by 7 to get the week (rounding down, you get a number from 0 to 52). We could either change the current week's trivia file as we add new ones, or we could start numbering them from 0 to 365 and have the trivia change daily, defaulting to the last one in the current week, as we slowly fill them in. (At the current rate, this will take more than 6 years to fill out the calendar.) This way, the trivia will update automatically even when we're not here to attend to it. What do you think, sirs? &mdash;Moviesign (talk) 15:07, January 5, 2014 (UTC)


 * It's possible. I think there's already a Wikimedia widget to choose the number of the week, making picking a number simpler. However, that would need 52 or 365/366 DYK pages (i.e., Template:DidYouKnow/1, Template:DidYouKnow/2, ...) which would be quite tedious to construct in quantity.
 * However, the philosophy I've been using, borrowed from Wookieepedia and others, is to use DYK to showcase recent new articles. A half-dozen articles of different types (character, place, organisation, spell, item, year, etc.) from each of our users. A backed-up supply of DYKs would lose that personal touch. I like the idea, and keeping in touch checking new articles on a Sunday night around family dinner usually isn't so hard. But if it could be made easier, that would be welcome. :)
 * Any ideas on how we should handle DYK in the next year? — BadCatMan (talk) 01:19, January 6, 2014 (UTC)


 * I was thinking a bot could make the pages and all you'd have to do is cut and paste the bullet points into it from the archive page, hit save, rinse, repeat. Does that work? I like showcasing new articles too, but I also don't want the work you've done on past trivia to collect dust in the archives. (Granted, anyone who wants to look at it can find it, so I'm aware my point is mostly moot. I'm geeking out on this a bit.) So how about this idea: we set up the rotating feature, but present it below the current week's trivia. The first half dozen points are current and stay constant for a week and the next half dozen are selected from the archives, either in a rotation or at random, weekly or even daily. Every week we get a new archive file that goes into the rotation queue. In six years we'll have new trivia for every day of the year :)
 * As for how we handle DYK, what would suit you? I'll volunteer to help out more often if you'd like. I just don't want to step on your toes, since it was your idea. (I also selfishly don't want to give you incentive to do less wiki work, hehe.) If it's okay with you, you could call for volunteers with the understanding that you get editorial review privileges. What's your pleasure? &mdash;Moviesign (talk) 03:30, January 6, 2014 (UTC)


 * Sorry, I forgot to get back on this. Unfortunately, bots can't make pages, or at least, there's no way to do so in the program I use. You generate a list of existing pages from a category, then set rules to search through them and make changes. If a human creates the pages, then the bot could be used to fill them out afterwards.
 * I wonder if its possible to write code that selects a random entry from a list? That would save on the need to create lots of pages.
 * I like the new/old rotation of DYKs, and it does create more content for the main page.
 * I don't mind continuing doing DYKs, as it keeps my hand in the wiki, in contact with new articles and users, and applying my editing skills to something more interesting. :) Sometimes there's not the time or energy, and I tackle it the next day. Fortunately, you've filled in several times, thanks. And I don't mind anyone else having a go either. If you're watching, feel free to volunteer. :)