Forum:Wikia Sponsored User Contest

Hi Guys, This is Angie from Wikia's marketing Team. Would you guys be interested in running a contest right after the launch of Halo 3 to try to attract lots of new contributors to help quickly fill the wiki with Halo 3 content, and get some more Press for Halopedia?

Basic idea is a Contribution contest. Users who contribute a certain level of meaningful edits in a set period (2-4 weeks) after the game launches will be entered into a drawing for prize. If you want to do this, here are the thing you need to decide on.

When? - when does the game launch? Should it be 2, 3, or 4 weeks long. When should it start/end?

What edits count? what would be most valuable to the wiki? Any edits to Halo 3 content, edits to a certain categories?

How many edits? You want to pick a number that is doable so as to attract a lot of new contributors. Also want to make sure someone can't game it by doing some crazy number of edits. Perhaps, 1 entry for every 10 edits, with a maximum of 5 entries?

Prizes? Here are a few of my ideas.. Airfare to a big Bungie/Halo Event? Are there any coming up? $250 gift cards to Best Buy+ 1 yr subscription to Xbox Live

Let me know your thoughts angies (talk) 04:49, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

Comments
Umm... I'm fine with the contest idea. I think it should launch the moment Halo 3 comes out. I say it should last for two weeks. We should count all non-minor edits* pertaining to Halo 3, but if you just go around fixing spelling and just not marking it as a minor edit, you should be disqualified, UNLESS my below solution is used. Regardless of which edits are counted, several edits in a row to one page should in most cases only count as one edit, as intermittent saves are usually considered works-in-progress. You should have to sign up in advance, so we don't end up tallying the edits for someone who doesn't even want to win. I say one entry for every 25 edits, max of five entries. 50 edits is way too easy--you could get 50 edits in one day--heck, you could get 125 edits in one day, but at least it's more of a challenge.

* If feasible, rather than counting all non-minor edits, I propose a board of non-Halopedia editors (Wikia staff, maybe?) to go through the edits of the contestants to decide which are large enough to be counted, so someone doesn't go around fixing spelling and not marking it as a minor edit. If this is done, then I revert to Angie's idea of one entry per ten edits, since largely contributive edits are hard to come by these days.

Just mah two cents concerning how it should be run... but two cents says I'll end up organizing the whole thing anyway, so I could just make a rules page right now and everyone would forget aboot it until it started... lol. Not that I'm not fine with that. -- GPT ( talk )(eating) 05:15, 9 July 2007 (UTC)


 * Well, you know I'd join, but two things. My e-mail/address/however you'll send the prize is private, and doesn't it seem like a bad idea to hold right after it comes out? This is Halo 3, guys! People will want to Man Cannon on Valhalla, torture screaming Grunts, and finish the fight! Just my two cents. Respect them Grunts, M  o  u  s  e  07:53, 9 July 2007 (UTC)


 * Well, Wikia isn't going to distribute your address to any third party, so you don't have to worry aboot that, and everyone's going to just rush through the game, finish the fight, then go back and take the scenic route, so it's just fine to have it right after it comes oot. -- GPT ( talk )(eating) 08:02, 9 July 2007 (UTC)


 * Awesome idea. I'm in. It should probly be from September 25th to Halloween(Oct.31st). It's a little over 4 weeks, but it sets a date everyone knows as both the start and finish. (I mean who on Halopedia doesn't know what the 25th of September is?) but that's just my thoughts. But I agree with GPT people shuld sign up. Also, if there's someway that only edits of a certain size, like they would have to fix/add a certain number of things or add a certain number of bytes. I didnt really explain it well but i hope you get what i mean.Echelon3 16:40, 9 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Immediately after the launch of Halo 3 might be rather difficult...but besides that, it doesn't sound bad, although I'm already thinking of ways other untrustworthy contributors could try to circumvent the system. =S Cheers, Relen tless Recu sant 'o the Halopedia Team http://images.wikia.com/halofanon/images/a/ac/Fleet_Admiral.jpg TALK • SPEAK 18:50, 9 July 2007 (UTC)


 * OK, so far we have:

Dates; Sept 25- Oct 31st What edits counts: Unfortunately wikia staff would not be able to go through and check all the edits.. So you guys will either have to figure out a way to patrol them yourselves, or just count all non-minor edits and trust people. Any creative solutions? angies (talk) 00:18, 10 July 2007 (UTC)

Will Wikia handle the cost of the prizes? Is it counting Halopedia publicity as Wikia publicity? -- Dragonc laws ( talk ) 07:44, 10 July 2007 (UTC)


 * Lol, look at the title... Wikia Sponsored User Contest. /me goes off to find a creative solution... -- GPT ( talk )(eating) 07:47, 10 July 2007 (UTC)


 * So I'm an idiot. So sue me. -- Dragonc laws ( talk ) 07:49, 10 July 2007 (UTC)


 * You aren't an idiot... everyone makes mistakes like that. Anyway, creative solutions for the edit count problem... uh, we could...


 * 1) Up the number of edits required and just count them all, or
 * 2) Just count them all, but try not to discourage newbies, 'cause it's always like "OMF I'll nevar have 50 edits!" when you first join.
 * I personally think the latter is the bettar way to go... if you can only have five entries, let's just abandon the idea of making it for Halo 3 related content. Because so many people will be getting Halo 3, there will just be so much content to be added that it's the only thing almost ANYONE will contribute to anyway... -- GPT ( talk )(eating) 07:54, 10 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Not necessarily. Many users may not get the game immediately; I remember when Halo: Ghosts of Onyx came out, only I and a few other users got the book on the day it came out, and 150+ articles of new content were written almost exclusively by IPs and me over a course of two weeks. And the book was ten bucks, not fifty, like Halo will be. -- ED ( talk )(gaming) 05:50, 12 July 2007 (UTC)
 * But Halo 3 is a lot bigger than Ghosts of Onyx. GoO is only for those nerds who actually care aboot the story--Halo 3 is for every single gamer who doesn't despise Halo. Plus, the contest runs for a whole two weeks, and hardly anyone won't have Halo 3 two weeks after it comes out. -- GPT ( talk )(eating) 07:24, 12 July 2007 (UTC)

So basically we edit like crazy for some chance to get a prize like that? And in the mean time what happens to our personal lifes?--Spartan 1138
 * You don't really have to kick your editing up a notch--the most edits you can have that count are 125, and two weeks is ample time for 125 edits. -- GPT ( talk )(eating) 05:17, 12 July 2007 (UTC)


 * Last time I checked, 9/25-10/31 isn't 2 weeks. And also, as a creative solution, maybe someone could create a simple bot that would check each edit with it's previous state and if a certain amount was added or modified, it automatically marks another tally on that users Edit Count. Also, there could be another part in our profiles where we can check our current Edit Count. Echelon3 16:00, 12 July 2007 (UTC)


 * Yeah, we know that Halo 3 release to Halloween isn't two weeks... also, I could do a bot like that, but sometimes just adding a lot isn't always the best edit. Sometimes I've added like 10 letters on a page, but done more to help the article than some 100, even 1000 letter edits. I still say we should just count them all and up the edit count a bit. -- GPT ( talk )(eating) 20:11, 12 July 2007 (UTC)