Forum:Abolishing the Polls, Quizzes and Picture Games

Hello everyone,

The Polls, Quizzes and Picture Games have taken a great part within the history of our wikia and for many users who joined our glorious site, in which it made them a more "social game" environment along with their editing.

That said, it is unfortunate to say that especially these days, it has become a high-abuse feature, as well as a lot of difficulty to police. This is why I am proposing that these features are disbanded as soon as possible. Wikia Staff have confirmed to me that it is possible for them to remove these features, on the conditions of a supportive community vote.

Repeating myself, the reason I propose for this to take place is because of their abuse; many who go through them will likely see that. For me personally, about 8 out of 10 polls, quizzes or pic games I go through have vulgarity, poor grammar, or just plain nonsense/gibberish, which in either way is in violation of their policy. In addition for the Picture Games, that has been often abused with inappropriate images.

Additionally, removing these features will further highlight a fact: Halopedia is not a social network, game site, or anything similar. We're a wiki, an encyclopedia of information relevant to our topic, the Halo Universe. Editing is our main goal, in which we should focus on.

If this gathers enough support, I will show it to wikia staff, who will proceed with disabling the features.

Regards,

-  Nìcmávr  ( Tálk  ) 20:27, January 7, 2010 (UTC)

Voting

 * Please indicate your opinions and comments below. Please try to keep it as tidy as possible. Thank You!

Support (47/6 sysop)
20:29, February 7, 2010 (UTC)
 * 1) - As per my proposal above. - Major.png  Nìcmávr  ( Tálk  ) 20:27, January 7, 2010 (UTC)
 * 2) - I have deleted who knows HOW many of these polls/quizzes due to violations. Those of you who report them to me know that I still have a huge pile of them to delete, because when one violation is found, that user often has multiple (I've found up to 30 on one user!). There is a reason they are still there and I haven't gotten around to them; it's extremely time-consuming, and I (nor any of the other administrators, for that matter) do not have the time to go through looking for all of them.  Smoke Sound off! 20:33, January 7, 2010 (UTC)
 * 3) - Users can always have fun by visiting the IRC and joke around with Youtube videos or role play over at Halo Fan Fiction Wiki.-  5 əb'7 aŋk (7alk ) 20:47, January 7, 2010 (UTC)
 * 4)  Second Lieutenant   Keith Johnson  [[Image:7thHelljumpers.jpg|20px]] com link 20:49, January 7, 2010 (UTC)
 * 5) - they're a good idea, but only in theory. In practice, they've just become a new outlet for vandalism and spam, which we have to delete. I opposed the last proposal, but only because it included the blogs - with no such impediment, I lend the full weight of my support! --  Administrator   Specops306  -   Qur'a 'Morhek   20:59, January 7, 2010 (UTC)
 * 6) - You know what? I'm being hypocritical here, I rarely use the Quiz myself. I'm in full support. - Black Mesa.jpg  Halo-343   ( Talk )   ( Contribs )   ( Edits )  21:06, January 7, 2010 (UTC)
 * 7) - I find that many of these polls and quizzes are poorly written and most of the time utterly irrelevant. They're also next to impossible to get to, but that might just be me.--The All-knowing Sith&#39;ari 21:21, January 7, 2010 (UTC)
 * 8) - I totally agree with the proposal. it only makes sense, and they really dont have any useful function. I'd personally like the polls to stay because i think they're useful to individuals looking for a popularity vote. But as stated, it's been abused so...it has to go as well.Ace99 21:31, January 7, 2010 (UTC)
 * 9) - This proposal is long overdue -  ShadowBroker44  Family crest.jpg (TALK)   (CONTRIBS) 21:36, January 7, 2010 (UTC)
 * 10) - About time. Sith-venator Wavingstrider  ODST Crest.png ( Commlink ) 22:09, January 7, 2010 (UTC)
 * 11) - I hate seeing crap like "OMG, do u thing chuck Norris can beat the Cheif?" --Colonel Grade One.png   General5 7    talk    contribs    email   22:44, January 7, 2010 (UTC)
 * 12) - As per everyone else.
 * 13) - Dear god, just get rid of it already! Its just a Spam magnet, not to mention a Vandal attrator too. UNSC Las Vegas  [[Image:Mac.jpg|50px]]  Orders/Parking tickets/The letters from the Admiral, regarding regarding the Admiral's Daughter Maintenance Records/Insurance details
 * 14) - per everyone.  Field   Master   Spartansniper  4  50  01:35, January 8, 2010 (UTC)
 * 15) - I agree, their are alot of polls and quizs that have nothing to do with Halo.--CR8ZY-ArAB   01:59, January 8, 2010 (UTC)
 * 16) - As per .外国 人 (7alk ) 04:12, January 8, 2010 (UTC)
 * 17) - I support with full dignity that blah blah blah, lets get to the point.
 * 18) - Yeah, they're totally useless. The focus should be on improving the wiki. --Jugus  (Talk  | <font color="Gray">Contribs ) 07:22, January 8, 2010 (UTC)
 * 19) - Completely unnecessary for wikis, If people wanted to know more about the Halo storyline, they should read the articles, not take the quizzes.  <font color="RoyalBlue">Lovemuffin  [[Image:Dancing_master_chief.gif|30px]] ••• <font color="DimGray"> Talk undefined <font color="Navy"> Edit Count undefined Contributions undefined 22:52, January 8, 2010 (UTC)
 * 20) - Wow, about damn time this has been proposed. 2 years already man. Finally I get to kick these features out. These are the bad kids' fun in Halopedia, and Wikis don't support bad kids who just make dumb and retarded edits and play with the site only...... SUPPORT! - Dark Neptune 03:07, January 9, 2010 (UTC)
 * 21)  - Totally agree wih you, this needs to be more focused on information. --<font color="MidnightBlue">Cazador75  13:45, January 8, 2010 (GMT+1)
 * 22)  - They were good at first, like a little trivia stuff, but it's been going down hill for a while.--Cookie Dude 19:08, January 8, 2010 (UTC)
 * 23) Less than 50 edits. - Major.png Nìcmávr  ( Tálk  ) 19:11, January 8, 2010 (UTC)
 * 24) - "This is for the record. History is written by the victor. History is filled with liars. If he lives and we die... his truth becomes written and ours is lost. He will be a hero. 'Cause all you need to change the world is one good lie and a river of blood. He's about to complete the greatest trick a liar ever played on history. His truth will be the truth. But only if he lives... and we die." Commander Silver Leaf.PNG  Kougermasters   ( Talk )   ( Contribs )   ( Edits )  08:21, January 9, 2010 (UTC)
 * 25) - They were fun for a while, but by now, they have been over used and worn out. Heretic Havana 12:51, January 9, 2010 (UTC) Heretic Havana
 * 26) - These games are a waste of space. <font color="#C0C0C0">Mat <font color="#C0C0C0">oro <font color="#1E90FF">3311  | Matoro3311 - Robotic.PNG 17:41, January 9, 2010 (UTC)
 * 27) - Srs?
 * 28) - The only good one might be quizzes, but even then they are plauged with idiotic questions and answers. A totally useless feature for a wiki such as ours. 112 21:51, January 9, 2010 (UTC)
 * 29) - Death to Capitalists social features! Ajax 013 00:02, January 10, 2010 (UTC)
 * 30) - As much as I love Quizes becease they're an amusing way to test your knowledge, and the polls and picture games becease they're just fun, I'm afraid to say...that I support abolishing them. (Everyone gasps). The reason? Simply becease I just can't stand the nonsense that the users are spreading. For example: "Du u like ricon armer?". So yeah, I support getting rid of them before the users might ruin and consume them in the future. -- (_)LTR/-\ FRCE  17:51, January 24, 2010 (UTC)
 * 31) It seems that this mess is a growing problem that will continue unless something is done, so I am in favor of taking away the activities, I might consider though keeping the poll so we and other users may partake in  the poll so we can test our knowledge, that is my only concern with the poll. All other activities in the matter gone would be fine by me. --SpartanTeamAlpha 1:46, January 10, 2010 (UTC)
 * 32) Most definitely. --<font color="#4D56B1">Dragon<font color="#F28500">c laws (<font color="#4D56B1">talk ) 21:53, January 10, 2010 (UTC)
 * 33)  They really need to go.  -- Spamhammer   "I reject your reality and substitute my own."  22:50, January 10, 2010 (UTC)
 * 34) Not the least reason of which is that it seems impossible to delete ones that you've created (unless you have administration rights) and I want the dang things to stop showing up on my page!!!  Vadamee  (Contibutions  Profile ) 02:16, January 11, 2010 (UTC)
 * 35) Get rid of them, all they did was cause point whoring and confusion, among more than half of them being just plain stuipied. User:Grunt minion22 6:16am January 11, 2010
 * 36) Strong - The Polls, games and quizzes are worthless. I don't know why they were on this site in the first place. They are the biggest waste of space on this site (Other than the Ackerson article :P) and they should have been abolished a long time ago. -- T   3   2  8 Bouncy Wiki Logo.gif 14:01, January 11, 2010 (UTC)
 * 37) - You raise a good point Nicmavr, you have my support. -
 * 38) - Entertaining, but as part of a Halo canon wiki? No. Screw 'em all.  GySgt. Gonzalez  [[Image:Campaign Complete Heroic achievement.png|30px]]  -Comm Open-   -Body Count-  00:25, January 12, 2010 (UTC)
 * 39) - They are worthless, whoever thought of them thought this was a game site, no offense.--Lekgolo 01:40, January 12, 2010 (UTC)
 * 40) <font face="century gothic"><font color="#738678">SNOR { 3 } 23:33, January 12, 2010 (UTC)
 * 41) - I agree with this proposal. At first it was fun but then, as you said, people started abusing it and started adding things totally unrelated to Halo or the wikia--ASEC 02:06, January 13, 2010 (UTC)
 * 42) - It's a cesspool for semi-alphabetized trolls. I would, however, support a future attempt at creating a more controllable and qualitative Halo knowledge quiz system. -- UNSC Trooper [[Image:unsctrooper_small.jpg|14px]] TalkMy Work 18:14, January 13, 2010 (UTC)
 * 43) I remember when I was a young editor. I made a few with, how do they call it? Text grammar. For the word "you", I put "u". My spelling was horrible because of how bad I could type then, and my quizzes were just plain out horrible. I've made a few know that make total sense, and not a pile of jibberish, but let's face it, most users think this is a social gaming site. And even RP using the message feature. I myself was once like that, but people changed. And if we get rid of these "social" things, maybe they'll change too.
 * 44) S-058 is fully behind the removal of the annoying games/quizzes.
 * 45) Never use them. The never-ending quiz feature has potential, but only if it is completely redone (searchable, taggable, and given "flow" -- having one question lead into a related one if correctly answered, or into a different one if failed) and only if it is severely limited (to avoid "WUT ARMUR DOSE TEH MASSTUR CHEEFF WARE IN HAYLOW TREE?" and similar bastardizations of the English language). In its current state, the quiz feature is too flawed and broken to be useful. Polls and Picture Games are completely and utterly useless, and lack any kind of potential. <span style="background:#ADA;display:inline-block;height:16px;padding-right:4px;line-height:1em;position:relative;top:-3px;-moz-border-radius:0 50% 50%">[[Image:DavidJCobb_Emblem.svg|16px]]  DavidJCobb  02:37, January 20, 2010 (UTC)
 * 46) There is no need for them.VanFlyhight 18:56, January 20, 2010 (UTC)
 * 47) I have been in full support in the disbanding of these features every since they were introduced last year. I grow tired having to stress my opinions one too many times repeatedly without much action being done, since there are still those users who appreciate the features, and I'm glad that this is finally official. For those of you against this abolition, please note that I too, believe, in Nicmavr's words, "...that the disadvantages outweigh the advantages", meaning the cons of these features do not even match up (but in fact, are worse) than the pros. Yes, it is fun. Yes, it is an attention-grabber for new users on our site. And yes, I have to admit I was addicted to the poll feature for only a short time, but it's not worth the administration or veteran users to consistantly police them. They have done a terrific job of keeping the articles clean and constructive, users in check, and peace within the community, and I believe that they would have more important matters to attend to than polls or quizzes. --
 * 48) Although they are fun, it is true that they are completely inundated with foolish nonsense. It's a pity it had to come to this. UNSC_MIC.jpg Captain  MIC  05:30, January 30, 2010 (UTC)
 * 49)  I agree with this proposal.--Tigerkill4511 15:23, January 30, 2010 (UTC)
 * 50) I maintain the core package of social tools and have been working on cleaning up the other social features (QuizGame, PictureGame etc.) and I like them, but as others have pointed out, they just aren't appropriate for a wiki like Halopedia. --Jack Phoenix (Contact) 23:17, January 30, 2010 (UTC)
 * 51) I've been against all this "social" wikia junk since it started. We're a wikia for goodness sakes! Get on MySpace or Facebook if you want socialization! --<font color=#FF0000><<LOMI, <font color=#CC0000>The Lord of Fanon . <font color=#770000>Praise My Name , <font color=#440000>And Behold All My Holy Deeds>>

Neutral (9/1 sysop)

 * - I support your proposal Nic, however I am against abolishing Quizzes. I know the Never Ending Quiz is also abused, but I find it a great way to test one's Halo knowledge and people who may have previously thought wrong, can learn their mistake. - Black Mesa.jpg Halo-343   ( Talk )   ( Contribs )   ( Edits )  20:42, January 7, 2010 (UTC)
 * Perhaps you could/should support this opposition (Quizzes) by submitting a poll to whether or not users actually use them.- <font face="Century Gothic"> <font color="#FF4F00">5 əb<font color="#FF4F00">'7 aŋk (<font color="#FF4F00">7alk ) 20:49, January 7, 2010 (UTC)


 * 1) I'm not too sure about this. I know just how much they can be abused and in part I agree with you, but it is some of these first-glipse social features that help to bring very productive users to the site. People seeking some fun at first may be able to provide so much more. In the same respect, it may also bring about more vandals and nonsense inserting users. I am slightly more inclined towards opposing, but I can not bring myself to do that wholeheartedly knowing how hard it is for the administrators to maintain and watch. <font color="#7F007F">B'L'A<font color="#000000">D <font color="#B0E0E6">E BANE <font color="#FFA500">Anti-Vandal 00:26, January 8, 2010 (UTC)Blade bane
 * 2) - Sorry, but I'm not too sure.
 * 3) - I'm all for the removal of Picture Games, but I'm not so sure about Polls and Quizzes, those have been really helpful for me at times. There should just be a limit for the number of quizzes/polls a user can submit, and possibly after the poll/quiz has been submitted, it is not put into the system until reviewed by an Admin. Colonel DA,  Halopedian Administrator  13:45, January 8, 2010 (UTC)
 * 4) -  JEA13  [ iTalk  ] 15:53, January 8, 2010 (UTC)
 * 5) - This is difficult for me because the Picture game, polls and the never ending quiz is what brought me to Halopedia in the first place. I admit they cause far too much vandilism, but I believe they still have the ability to atract potential users. I'm more on the oppose side but I don't think admns can handle the amount of vandilism they cause.--&lt;SCROTE&gt; 01:01, January 9, 2010 (UTC)
 * 6) - Why not make a button to report polls and questions as inappropriate? <BIG><font face="Jokewood"> 3vil D3m0n  </BIG> <font face="Comic Sans MS"> Don't worry, I'm not really evil... 11:46, January 9, 2010 (UTC)
 * We have one. It's called the "Flag" button.  Smoke Sound off! 14:38, January 9, 2010 (UTC)

I don't know. They are fun, but it is bad for them to be abusedAlexander dewd 04:04, January 10, 2010 (UTC)
 * 1) - I'd say we get rid of Picture Games and Polls, but keep the Quizzes. To me, the Quizzes are a means to test people on information, and they aren't TOTALLY social, so we could keep those. S-984 21:46, January 9, 2010 (UTC)
 * Less then 50 edits (6 as per my revision)- The User without his Sig on hand

- Get rid of polls and picture games but keep quizzes they test our halo knowledge.--Disciple of the Covenant 18:24, January 10, 2010 (UTC)
 * 1) I like the idea, but hate the fact that they'll be gone forever. How about only keeping the quizzes and making each be verified by an admin or janitor? Basically, KEEP THE QUIZZES! - Scot 113 23:51, January 15, 2010 (UTC)
 * 2) - I find them to be a good waste of time and an attraction for newer users, although I do not agree that they should be a major focus for any of the wiki's users as far as content and quality control. Since they have degraded to a point where users just type grammatically incorrect questions that have been asked hundreds of times before, each time getting worse on the grammatical front. I still think that we should have them as a feature, but am unsure about how we'll erase all the inadequate questions and polls and then maintain the system afterwards. Kurt A. 22:10, 2010 (UTC)
 * 3) - I'm new, so I don't know about this stuff. Chris-015 01:31, January 22, 2010 (UTC)
 * 4) Less then 50 edits. --Colonel Grade One.png <span style="background-color:White; color:FireBrick; -moz-border-radius-topleft:10px; -moz-border-radius-bottomleft:10px"> General5 7  <span style="background-color:silver; color:white; -moz-border-radius-bottomleft:10px; -moz-border-radius-topleft:10px">  talk    contribs  <span style="background-color:silver; color:white; -moz-border-radius-bottomright:10px; -moz-border-radius-topright:10px">  email   01:38, January 22, 2010 (UTC)

Against (2/0 sysop)

 * - They are not a social activity, simply because you do not speak when playing them. You just have to answer questions, which could also be a good test for your Halo knowledge, after all. Additionally, they attract a lot of users, not all of them are going to be vandals, I signed up here only because I wanted to play the quiz game with points and I don't think I turned out to be a vandal. And as about the policy violations, I understand it when you said that there are a lot of poorly written and mistaken polls/quizes, but in fact there are not a lot. Also, the violation of a policy does not mean the policy along with the activity should be disbanded. Warnings or punishment to those who violate them and help to the recovery of the violated area is what needs to be done. That what admins are for btw.


 * "Halopedia is not a social network, game site, or anything similar" - You should have thought about that when you first implemented that whole social environment in my opinion. And sorry, but frankly, if there is a violation to the above policy, that's the social profiles, the message boards and the IRC, the way it is now (no conversation about the wiki at all, and you all know it). They just do not have to be under supervision by majors and don't need constant cleanups ;)


 * This was my opinion, clearly it is not going to be determinant because I'm the only one to oppose. - JEA13  [ iTalk  ] 14:18, January 8, 2010 (UTC)


 * "I understand it when you said that there are a lot of poorly written and mistaken polls/quizes, but in fact there are not a lot." Bullcrap. You obviously aren't around when we go through on deletion sprees.  Smoke Sound off! 15:28, January 8, 2010 (UTC)


 * That's not true. I have reported a million polls to you and I have repeatedly asked you if you wish me to go on reporting and you always replied yes. And it has happened with images as well. Check your talk page again. Also, I happen to admin another wiki which is in need of many deletions (not necessarily polls) and I know what it's like. - JEA13  [ iTalk  ] 15:39, January 8, 2010 (UTC)


 * JEA13: Then you know how I operate when I go through those reports. I do believe I told you before - in a word, where there is one violation, there are usually multiple. This is particularly the case with older polls, as it would appear that no one made any effort to watch them when the system was first implemented. Also, to your statement, "Warnings or punishment to those who violate them and help to the recovery of the violated area is what needs to be done. That what admins are for btw." have you noticed that only two of us (three at the most) actually bother with the polls and quizzes to begin with?  Smoke Sound off! 15:43, January 8, 2010 (UTC)


 * "it would appear that no one made any effort to watch them when the system was first implemented" - You are right, though this is something we can't do anything about right now. Also I have noticed that you and a couple others are the only ones to care about these, and I have given you and them my regards.- JEA13  [ iTalk  ] 15:53, January 8, 2010 (UTC)


 * 1)  - Though I understand how much trouble these game can be with all the spam and abuse, I think that they should stay. An easy way to fix the abusive games can possibly make a one click delete button for admins, so they don't have to go through the confirmation deletions. Maybe making the games not "Special Pages", and just something unique, like the message and gift system. Some people like the games and use them as a passing time, and they can also be "educational", as in learning more about Halo in the quizzes. Teh lolz! <span style="color: lime; font-family: Halo3,Papyrus; font-size: 12pt;">Bionicle+Lotr  23:48, January 8, 2010 (UTC)


 * 1)  - I understand basicly what you are talking about but the mini games are very fun and a GREAT! way to to test HALO knowledge. (All my friend are allready borred of asking halo questions) Maybe someone should develop a way to "punish" the people who do obbviesly intentional spelling mistakes on thing like the games and wiki pages --&quot;Mike&quot; 02:45, January 9, 2010 (UTC)


 * 1)  Creating a a quizzes index and a new quizzes special page should be eno  ugh SkyChief 17:24, January 24, 2010 (UTC)
 * 1) I understand that there are many, many problems with spam abuse, but, we shouldn't try resolve the problem simply by deleting it completely. That is like saying if there is too much spam on halopedia then let's just delete the whole website. If we get everyone to help flag and delete all the nonsense and innapropriate ones then we could solve the problem Gubreez 02:40, January 28, 2010 (UTC)
 * Problem is that only Wikia can solve it. It is an internal technical issue, not solvable by administrators.<font color="#5D8AA8">外<font color="#9BDDFF">国 人 (<font color="#5D8AA8">7alk ) 02:41, January 28, 2010 (UTC)

Comments

 * @Bioniclepluslotr: A one-click button would be incredibly ideal, but I'm sad to say that not everyone lives in an ideal world. If that was true, every country would be communist. Anyway, the problem with the one-click button is that it takes longer than people think it takes to actually go and make a feature like that. It will take a lot of Wikia procedures (that even I don't know much about) to even begin the idea of it. This would also pertain to the changing of the games to special pages and the quizzes to, as you say, "educational" pages. However, I do praise this as a constructive idea. Perhaps, it's not the best idea, but it's a good idea to get us a step in the right direction. --
 * @Mike: We have a way to "punish" the people who make idiotic quizzes. It's called blocking.  Smoke Sound off! 07:52, January 9, 2010 (UTC)
 * I think that creating a quizzes and polls index and a new quizzes and polls special page should be enough SkyChief 20:18, January 24, 2010 (UTC)

To JEA13:


 * I understand and respect your opinion. However, there's a few things I need to clarify:


 * Also, the violation of a policy does not mean the policy along with the activity should be disbanded. Warnings or punishment to those who violate them and help to the recovery of the violated area is what needs to be done. That what admins are for btw.

- The problem is, the number of policy violations is simply too much too cope with. I did not make this proposal just because of the policy violations. While this contributed much to my decision, I also saw the purpose of games on a wiki unneeded. While it may be a magnet for newer users, many of those simply come, make a few polls (which may also be against the guidelines) and then leave. Obviously, there are exceptions (such as yourself ;))

Admins are indeed here to police these features, I can agree with that. The problem is, its easier said than done. If you see Smoke's blacklist, the pile of violators is only a small part of the whole database which contains these features. Additionally, giving warnings to violators simply isn't enough. Most of these users have long left the site after creating their stupidity. Whether or not we block them won't make a difference. The amount of time their polls have been lying there undeleted proves the difficulty in safekeeping them. Because there's so many.


 * "Halopedia is not a social network, game site, or anything similar" - You should have thought about that when you first implemented that whole social environment in my opinion. And sorry, but frankly, if there is a violation to the above policy, that's the social profiles, the message boards and the IRC

- These features have existed on Halopedia for a long time now. They were implemented by wikia months before I joined. The issue is, these features started out well and worked greatly for the wiki, but they ended up badly. The Polls and Quizzes started getting abused with spam, nonsense and stupidity. Picture Games were also abused with inappropriate pictures. Other features a s well, like the point system were also abused. The message boards have been abused as well, by some users whom used it for harassment. Abuse counts for blogs as well.

The difference between all these is that: Blogs, Point System and Message Boards are easy to check up and guard. Polls/Picture Games/Quizzes are not. The reason I don't support removing message boards is because they make communications between users easier and quicker then talk pages. Blogs are useful for sharing knowledge and opinions and the point system motivates users to edit. And so on. As for the IRC, that is a completely different issue and system. IRC is not part of the wiki. Its for the wiki and general discussion and socializing of Halopedians, but in no way is it directly related to the wiki other than that.


 * I signed up here only because I wanted to play the quiz game with points and I don't think I turned out to be a vandal. And as about the policy violations, I understand it when you said that there are a lot of poorly written and mistaken polls/quizes, but in fact there are not a lot.

- This may be a major advantage for the wiki, seeing that is attracts users. The problem with this is that also attracts vandalism, spamming and abuse. The majority of users that joined for this, as I said before, make their polls (seeing its what they joined for), perhaps make a few edits, and then leave.

A point to be addressed is that Polls\Quizzes\Picture Games are not the only way to attract users. Other features like the point system and social profiles are another major way. But in my opinion, I'd discount all social features and think of another way to attract users. Think about this: How did large wikis like Wookieepedia and Memory Alpha become how they are now, with all their articles? They have a large number of users. But they have no social features. Their users joined because they have interest in their topic. Now to address my point at its strongest, the majority of a wiki's good editors will be those who join because they want to improve it, because they are into the wiki's topic. Features like Polls, while they attract users, and indeed some great ones, the majority of those who fall to their magnet are users who edit with poor quality, bad spelling, etc. They joined because they wanted to play with the features. The majority of them edit with poor quality because, imo, they don't have the same interest as those who joined because they cared about the wiki's topic and really wanted to improve it.

Wookieepedia's editors for example joined because they like Star Wars. In a similar way, our users who care about the wiki are those who joined because they wanted to improve the wiki, because they are interested in our topic, the Halo Universe. While I must say that there are certainly some great quality users who joined because they were attracted by the polls (such as yourself ;)), the best way to have users, imo, is those who join for the topic. Because its they who will have the knowledge to add things like tactics to multiplayer maps, create new articles, add content to a game's plot, and so on. We also need to remember that is a wiki. We're here to share our knowledge and focus on editing, not on poll games and quizzes.

To sum all this up, I really believe that the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. This is why I support disabling the features. Because ultimately, it seems at least to me, that purging their content and disabling them is the best solution.

-  Nìcmávr  ( Tálk  ) 15:41, January 8, 2010 (UTC)
 * Had you written all these in the claims above, I would be the first to support. :) - JEA13  [ iTalk  ] 15:53, January 8, 2010 (UTC)


 * @ Nicmavr: You said that most people just join, violate the rules, then leave. Maybe if making polls, quizzes and picture games is made into a feature that can only be edited by people who have been a long time on halopedia and have made a certain number of edits or contributions then we could "weed out" those who only sign up to mess up the site. Gubreez 02:49, January 28, 2010 (UTC)
 * A lot of coding work would be needed to get that up and working. Also, there's not much point in doing so. Most of our veteran users aren't wasting their time with polls and quizzes. They're editing articles. - Major.png Nìcmávr  ( Tálk  ) 21:44, January 31, 2010 (UTC)

Comments
Let's see: How often do you use these so-called "Fun" features? Everyday Once a week/month Never Would you ever recommend other users to join in the "Fun"? Of course, it challenges your Halo knowledge! Maybe, depends on my mood. No, they're a waste of time. What do you do in Halopedia when you're bored editing/improving articles? The "Fun" features! I want to challenge my Halo knowledge. The IRC. It's fun talking to other Halopedians. Reading the articles (Random Pages Be honest and answer them!<font color="#5D8AA8">外<font color="#9BDDFF">国 人 (<font color="#5D8AA8">7alk ) 03:13, January 9, 2010 (UTC)

I say "never" to the first because I used to use them but have since grown tired and haven't touched them in a long time. --<font color="#4D56B1">Dragon<font color="#F28500">c laws (<font color="#4D56B1">talk ) 02:45, January 16, 2010 (UTC)

As you can see Points at the polls, these features are useless.<font color="#5D8AA8">外<font color="#9BDDFF">国 人 (<font color="#5D8AA8">7alk ) 02:42, January 28, 2010 (UTC)

Have these features been disabled, because they aren't working right. Teh lolz! <span style="color: lime; font-family: Halo3,Papyrus; font-size: 12pt;">Bionicle+Lotr 21:27, January 31, 2010 (UTC)