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    The State of the Wiki

    FexDS
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    Post by FexDS Thu Sep 05, 2013 1:56 am

    Hello Everyone

    It has been a long time since I decided I would translate and refocus the JP wiki into our own community-fueled Dark Souls resource for our Playstation Boards. Two and a half years have passed since I created the wiki, and started adding previews, images and articles, with Emergence and Ublug, and the other PSboards members quickly jumping in to contribute.

    At that time, before game launch, we found more help from random fans looking for content, and people from other countries wanting to have their own language version. We all teamed up and did our best to create a good framework, and we thought we’d made something we were proud of as fans.



    We were certainly not expecting the attention and exponentially increasing traffic that followed the launch. . From one day to the next, our Chatango counter had 2000 people on, creating a mini-meme about speed reading on the wiki chat. Pages were updated so fast people were getting locked out. Threads and comments were so numerous, there was no way to keep everything aligned. It became a second full-time job for the organizing team to keep all of this not only afloat, but also improving.



    As months passed and activity settled, more dedicated individuals came through to propose improved templates and further contribute with icons, maps, images, videos, commentary.. The site was alive, and no-one demanded acknowledgement. They were doingthis for the community, just as we were doing. To this day, the wiki gets dozens of daily applications and edits, on multiple languages, by people who simply want to make it a better resource.

    Over time, we then migrated forums here to give you all a better place to find and give specific help, comment on builds, role-play, or simply socialize. We spent time creating graphic themes and even jokes for certain occasions, thought out and implemented special ranks with their own graphics, interviewed and promoted moderators to keep everything civil, mediated personal disputes, implemented and monitored a second chatroom to give variety to forum interaction, and organized and streamed events with amazing participation.

    I am very proud of what has been achieved, but have been giving thought to sustainability. Part of this is due to the Dark Souls 2 launch coming up in a few months, and we already have some idea how this is going to expand the Wiki scope and needs to maintain the site. There is also ongoing in-forum discussions of how our community continues to extend beyond the scope of a single game wiki. We have 17,000 registered members and 6000 forum users (and according to analytics, more than half a million observers) to consider in that dual context.



    Perhaps many of you are not aware this wiki is supported financially by 3 people: Ublug, Emergence and myself, who also shoulder the majority burden of administration which we undertake on our own time. Frankly, my thoughts have also been given some negative reinforcement of late, due to those who wish to voice opinions unchallenged, and declare that those who run the site should not have a voice because this is ‘abuse of power.’ Why such people think I am obligated to pay for and maintain a playground for them which I am not allowed to enter, I am not sure. I would rather focus on our growth, but I must be honest this does impact myself and others who have paid for this site financially, mentally, and emotionally.




    In light of these multiple factors, I have decided that in order for the community to grow and prosper, we must change the way we support the expense of the wikis and forums. The final objective will be to integrate everything into a self-supported site that pays for itself and is not tied to the whims of wikispaces or forumotion as our current sites are, with independent code that we have control of so we can fulfill the requests of the userbase.

    How will we achieve this? Well, as is widely know by anyone who talked with me on the subject, I do not like the idea of donations. A few generous people supporting the whole is neither dependable, nor fair.



    So our solution is twofold:

    1. Amazon affiliation and Advertisement: We will integrate an Amazon store on the site. Purchases are still handled by Amazon, but the wiki/forums receive a commission. The amount is tiny, but costs us (and the buyer) nothing and puts a few cents towards site upkeep.. Need to pre-order a ps4? Do it through our links, pay the same price, and support the wiki . Advertisement will be unobtrusive and we'll block anything that we deem inappropriate.

    2. A new website: For a little while now we have been working to prepare our own blog/mag. The wiki/forums will be "sponsored" by this website. We hope that, plus buzz from you guys will generate traffic which in turn will generate some advertising revenue to further offset the costs of the wikis. The blog will have membership features and allow for submission of articles, reviews or posts by any of you, pending approval from the admin staff.


    This site remains a fansite and community-powered. We aren't doing this to get rich, obviously, or we would have intrusive advertisements, PayPal “Donate!” logos everywhere, or simply stolen the community’s work and sold it as a book like others have done. The time we use to prepare these ideas and frameworks does not remotely equate the possible revenue we'll get from some amazon links/ads. We spend entire workweeks for free fixing and filtering content, and we will continue to donate that time to the community.



    My objective is to have the site not depend on my or anyone's pocket, and I trust the Dark Souls community is committed enough to understand why I want to keep these websites going for many years. I also sincerely hope the new site meets the objectives of providing a place for this community to discuss the very broad range of interests we all clearly have.

    So, without further ado, I am very happy and excited to announce



    Fextralife

    and our

    Dark Souls Wiki Shop



    Bookmarks, "likes", tweets, word of mouth could help both of them achieve their objectives, so I would like to encourage everyone to help promote them if you like the content or want to support the wiki. Please also contact me if you have an interest in contributing to Fextralife as an author, and be aware it remains a 100% volunteer site so there is no professional work available.

    Fex
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    Post by Emergence Thu Sep 05, 2013 1:56 am

    The new site is serendipitous for everyone since it has already been in the planning for months. We believe in this community and the countless unsung heroes, the ones who give and ask for nothing in return, for those whom participation in the community is the reward and not the spotlight or recognition. For those souls we wish to persist this place as a meeting of kindred spirits and like minds. This new alignment will ensure that this community can thrive and grow and be more self reliant for years and years and can now expand to include other games and topics of interest. This is a vision that Fex and I had since we first realized how successful the wiki was. A new paradigm in video game sites that attracted real gamers and was a community driven resource made by all, for all. The notion that anyone could make a contribution and the spirit of goodwill in knowing that that contribution's value was in its use to another person.
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    Post by WhatDoesThePendantDo? Thu Sep 05, 2013 2:14 am

    I'm a little taken aback, not that any of this bad but just taken aback, is all. As for the shop, it looks like you're buying from Amazon but you guys would get a finder's fee of sorts? You should have told me a little earlier before I committed to buying my PS4 from Best Buy, as far as Fextralife goes I'm not sure I understand it. I read the "About" and from what I gathered it appears to be a general gaming review/meet-up site. Won't that diverge activity from here? If I learn more about it and like it, I'd happily contribute for free (of course) to it.

    For what it's worth, I followed @Fextralife on Twitter and I'll promote it whenever it is opportune to do so.
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    Post by FexDS Thu Sep 05, 2013 2:19 am

    I realize it is a lot to take in. It's just what needs to happen to ensure the sites continue and can prosper. The language wikis want toys too, people want better code, the forums want different editors, etc.

    The Amazon link works as you said, simply gives us a referral fee. Fextralife is a gaming blog, I doubt it will divert traffic from here, but it will give people a chance to converge on things that we don't talk about here such as MMOs.

    Thank you for the follows. I hope this works and we can continue to support the sites for many years to come.
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    Post by Zeta Prime Thu Sep 05, 2013 2:26 am

    This is good news indeed. It isn't fair for you guys to have to pay your money just so some people like me whom you didn't even know could come in and enjoy everything you and this wiki has had the grace to offer, this alone speaks to the selflessness of your actions.. I'm sure you guys know that everyone else here would agree that this has been a fantastic place big grin 

    so... if I'm getting.. this right.. Fextralife is kinda like an online magazine, in which we (as in anyone who signs up) can contribute to? How does that help to sponsor the souls wiki? Will this wiki have advertisement's and it's own section on that website? yeah I kinda don't know anything about the working of websites xD

    also... I kinda have a question for you guys.. is it possible that one of you could help me to change my forum name?
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    Post by FexDS Thu Sep 05, 2013 3:00 am

    We will add ads to Fextralife, money from which will be used to cover costs. We expect a different kind of traffic than the wiki, and we think that ads placed there are less obtrusive and better for the community.
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    Post by Serious_Much Thu Sep 05, 2013 6:13 am

    I'm pretty surprised at this... This is one hell of a little project you were developing here fex. I don't really get the whole business side of it but the fact you've been able to set this up- for the community to be self sufficient with deals like this just shows how incredibly popular and prominent the wiki and the forum have become.

    I'm hoping this announcement becomes just the beginning of the future of the wiki(s) and forum for a long time to come.

    By the way, the link to the amazon was to the American one.. Don't suppose you have similar amazon deals with UK and other countries outside of America?
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    Post by FexDS Thu Sep 05, 2013 6:40 am

    Mhm good point. I'll need to set them up. Will figure out how (apparently I have to register with each Amazon individually - will take a bit) and update with more links asap happy

    If anyone else has ideas on how to improve all this please let us know happy
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    Post by Emergence Thu Sep 05, 2013 9:39 am

    Yep, long story short, this is our way of future proofing the operation, allowing us to expand and grow comfortably and it gives us all another creative outlet to invest in. It is clear by a quick glance into off topic that we all enjoy a multitude of things outside of Dark Souls, and that we feel comfortable with another discussing those interests. The blog format of the site gives us an opportunity to do just that in a more conducive setting. The forums and the site will then feed off each other, and the new site will give us the opportunity to tinker with our more ambitious ideas which up to now have been hampered by the present model.
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    Post by twigsterxd Thu Sep 05, 2013 10:00 am

    I think this is awesome. I'm actually proud to be a part of this forum even more now then ever. Reason is, I've never heard of any forum going to great lengths to do what you both have done. Usually it's just a forum, post here and forget type thing. But you guys are surprising me, (us), all the time.
    Great job Fex and E.

    Also, glad you're back. You both were missed and needed quite a bit.
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    Post by GrinTwist Thu Sep 05, 2013 10:46 am

    Nice job Fex, with everything.

    However I had a question about the shop, mostly pertaining to submitting recommendations on what is featured there. How do I go about this exactly?

    Also I followed Fextralife on twitter, I'll try to spread the word.
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    Post by skarekrow13 Thu Sep 05, 2013 12:27 pm

    Rock rock on!  Sounds like a good plan you two crazy admins

    EDIT: I could see myself as a Fextralife contributor here and there
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    Post by Emergence Thu Sep 05, 2013 2:00 pm

    Yes Skare, please see yourself as a contributor. This is for us by us.
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    Post by skarekrow13 Thu Sep 05, 2013 2:51 pm

    If we're tapping new audiences the Demon's Souls playthrough could be serialized.  I've been trying to work through my PS+ backlog and could have a several part "Skare's 10 Minute Game Review" for many of them.  Sooooo many possibilities

    Edit: So uhhh, what's the process on doing that?
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    Post by Emergence Thu Sep 05, 2013 2:56 pm

    Serializing the Demon's playthrough is a great idea and it's something you could have up in no time with the already existing content.
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    Post by bunnywink Thu Sep 05, 2013 4:25 pm

    Great job! I can't wait for more content on the site. I also followed @Fextralife. This is really cool. cheers
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    Post by Wilkinson3424 Thu Sep 05, 2013 6:35 pm

    This is very cool, Fex!

    Of course i'm already registered on your site lol!

    Can't wait to see where this takes us! I have this really great feeling inside that this forum will last as long as the souls franchise will and possibly even longer for a different FromSoft game!

    I have not been here from the start but I have been here for a long time, and I have stood back and watched in amazement at how this forum really developed with the community, resources, knowledge, and overall friendly environment. We are very lucky to have you and the staff here keeping this place somewhere I can call my home away from home (even though i'm at home when I'm here).

    I don't think ive thanked you guys enough.

    Keep up the good work! I'll be looking forward to how we handle the rush of new players in Dark Souls 2!

    - Wilks thumbs up 
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    Post by reim0027 Thu Sep 05, 2013 10:17 pm

    I see there is a beer section there that is in dire need of recipes. I'm a home-brewer and can supply some recipes I've brewed or share other recipes (like clones of popular commercial beers) and review them. It will be a small contribution, but it is something. Who knows, maybe people who Google "beer recipes" will stumble across this site?
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    Post by FexDS Fri Sep 06, 2013 10:06 am

    That sounds like a lot of fun Reim. I expect pictures of the brewing process and it better look like a shady underground lab.

    Also: make an account there or I can't add you as contributor xD
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    Post by Emergence Fri Sep 06, 2013 11:21 am

    For sure Reim.  As you see, I am doing beer reviews and will start homebrewing myself.  Want to see what you come up with, def picture document your process.  The beauty of the site as we envision it is that gamers are inevitable hobbyists, and a gaming/lifestyle blog that focuses on creative expression rather than news breaking is the perfect outlet for following that muse.
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    Post by reim0027 Fri Sep 06, 2013 9:51 pm

    Ok.  I'm making a test batch (trying to calibrate my equipment - doing all grain) tomorrow.  I'll take some pics.  I have 2 batches in kegs that I can post recipes.  And, reviews, once I drink them.

    EDIT: just registered and uploaded my usual avatar.
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    Post by Emergence Fri Sep 06, 2013 9:57 pm

    Nice. Maybe we can do a drunken podcast down the road.
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    Post by reim0027 Fri Sep 06, 2013 9:59 pm

    First rule of homebrewing: RDWHAHB (relax, don't worry, have a homebrew). I'm almost always having one as I'm brewing. So, a drunken podcast will fit in nicely.
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    Post by FexDS Fri Sep 06, 2013 11:00 pm

    Added you Reim! I'm really looking forward to the post!

    We just got some great additions by Skare big grin

    This is a lot of fun guys, thank you for jumping in!
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    Post by reim0027 Fri Sep 06, 2013 11:09 pm

    Fex - could you add a Beer Recipe Section to the Recipe tab?

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