Forum:Breaking up History sections (II)

__NOWYSIWYG__ I think we should consider breaking up history sections (at least for the main characters) into separate pages, like, well, most wikis do. Right now, pages like Aqualad, Nightwing, etc are huge, and actually take a while to save each time, not to mention how it takes forever to scroll down. They're basically endless walls of text. We could write a super abridged recap for each month and provide a link to "Aqualad in July 2010" or the like, which would contain the detailed summaries we can see now. ―  T hailog  16:57, July 27, 2012 (UTC)


 * Even reverting things takes ages. I'm okay with splitting off, but what? Everything in one page, or different pages for different years? And where do we draw the line? --Tupka 217''' 17:12, July 27, 2012 (UTC)


 * I'd say one page per "Month Year" (July 2010, August 2010, etc.). ―  T hailog  17:16, July 27, 2012 (UTC)


 * And what of Early life and 2011-2015? --Tupka 217''' 17:22, July 27, 2012 (UTC)


 * That could stay. Only long walls of text benefit from being separate, IMO. ―  T hailog  17:28, July 27, 2012 (UTC)


 * Unless...? --Tupka 217''' 17:32, July 27, 2012 (UTC)


 * Page like those don't need it. I'm really just referring to the main cast (the Team, mostly). In other words, pages with well expanded by month synopses. ―  T hailog  17:36, July 27, 2012 (UTC)


 * How about adding a default "hide" button to the month/year headings...kind of like the one that is on the character infoboxes. -- the JLU ninja  07:43, July 28, 2012 (UTC)


 * Think that's a good idea in theory but hide template wouldnt actually help the problem since in source mode there would still just be a massive wall of text, now with extra code... my only sugggestion is keep it as the parent page, similar to how quotes, images and appearances typically work on other wikias. Regulus22 08:17, July 28, 2012 (UTC)


 * People don't necessarily have to edit the whole article. They could just click the edit button that is next to every month/year. -- the JLU ninja  19:13, July 28, 2012 (UTC)


 * That's not the only problem with long articles, or the only argument I raised. Please read the entire discussion carefully. ―  T hailog  19:25, July 28, 2012 (UTC)


 * I think the "hide" feature and clicking on the section edit link instead of the article edit link generally solves all the problems. -- the JLU ninja  19:47, July 28, 2012 (UTC)


 * Neither do. ―  T hailog  19:50, July 28, 2012 (UTC)


 * I don't get it. -- the JLU ninja   Talk to me  20:42, July 28, 2012 (UTC)

"Hiding" the content won't ease the the page's loading time, as the content will still be there, and editing only on individual sections takes away editing flexibility, not to mention that it's impractical. We can't instruct people not to edit the entire page but only on each month section. As I said, neither solve any of the raised problems. ―  T hailog  20:57, July 28, 2012 (UTC)


 * Yeah, the hide function doesn't solve the fact that the page's load time is longer than it should be. The content in the hidden area still has to be loaded. But back to the discussion, I've really been dreading this, because although it's one that was inevitable, it's one which solution I really despise. It's one of the things that I actually hate about the articles on Avatar Wiki, in that the history sections are on separate pages, but I don't think there's any way around it. So I think I'll just have to grin and bear it. Begrudgingly, I'm for it. I like long articles, but articles like the ones at Wookiepeedia are too long. Also, as a side note, I think this could benefit from having a notice at the top of the affected pages temporarily, saying that the history has been split, and then link it to a blog which explains it in more detail. An addition to the infobox with links should be made too. 01:04, July 29, 2012 (UTC)


 * That sounds fine by me. I actually split the history sections of the main characters of Scooby-Doo on Scoobypedia, but only because there's 40+ years worth of material to cover. If I may I'd like to suggest using the four seasons again although I'm sure that wouldn't work out. Another suggestion for the main characters is if they get separate history pages then it could be broken up into character arc sub sections below each year. -- Anythingspossibleforapossible (talk) 02:27, July 29, 2012 (UTC)


 * Not sure seasons would work, seeing as the series is set in locations around the world, meaning the seasons differ. 03:34, July 29, 2012 (UTC)


 * When you think about it, it's only six moths a Season. So even disregarding the hemispheric differences, seasons would only split the large amount of text to two extra long pages each season. I'd say months would be best since it's then 1/6th roughly speaking. Regulus22  07:34, July 29, 2012 (UTC)


 * How about moving them to separate pages, and then linking them back to the main article, like a template. -- 08:40, July 29, 2012 (UTC)


 * But then that only solves the issue of it being hard to edit. The content in the template won't appear by magic, it still has to be loaded. 08:55, July 29, 2012 (UTC)