News:Archive/19 July 2009/Remembering the Usergroups

Intro
The usergroups have been disbanded, and now, we take a look back at their history.

News
As you may have already known; Sunday, July 19th, 2009 at 4:00pm U.S. Pacific Time marks the date when the six Usergroups of Halopedia were disbanded by me and the Administration. This move was supported by an overwhelming majority of nearly 30 supporters against an opposition of only 4 members. And while the newer members who were in support, and didn't have any real connection to the groups didn't care; senior members, such as myself, reflect on some of the good times we had serving under the councilors and the group.

The first usergroup to come to fruition was the Covenant of Halopedia, established on February 23rd, 2007 by Donut THX 1138. As it's name implies, the CoH focused on editing and improving all Covenant-related articles, and featured a Sangheili-esque culture formed around their rank structure within the canon faction. Some of their best contributions include the improvement of the Truth and Reconciliation article, the CCS-class Battlecruiser made famous in Halo: Combat Evolved. Being the oldest groups, the CoH has a long tradition of great members, and activity (in terms of enrollment) shot up after the inclusion of the Social Features in late-February 2008.

After the success of the Covenant of Halopedia founding, more usergroup proposals were created. One such group was the UNSC of Halopedia. This new group was under the banner of the Covenant of Halopedia, for some reason I still don't even know of. Founded by Spartytime on March 8th, 2007, UoH members quickly began work on Human-related articles on Halopedia. With the Human-aspect of the universe already established, the members of this group had a long road ahead of them, with projects fixing up John-117, UNSC Marine Corps, UNSC Pillar of Autumn, and other great articles. This group undeniably has gone through some of the most major changes throughout it's short history. Namely, the introduction of two more councilors aiding the three Generals of the UoH in late 2007 which would help form their Council in making decisions for the group. While that was happening, the Halo 3 ranks were established within the group, making promotions easier on the Councilors and giving the members something to strive for. On a personal note, i'll cherish my time as a member on here the most, serving the group with distinction since Summer 2007, quickly rising through the ranks from Private to Master Sergeant, to the first Commanding Officer of the highly decorated Dingo Company as a Captain. Though most of all, I'll remember the four terms (second most behind Ryangreenday's five) I served as a General in the UNSC of Halopedia. Shame to see her go after the long history.

Formed from the long-defunct Forerunners of Halopedia and the Parasites of Halopedia, the Ancients of Halopedia was established on January 20th, 2008 by Subtank. Like the groups they were comprised from, it's main objective was to enhance the articles relating to the extinct Forerunner society and their relics, in addition to the evil Flood threat encountered by the Forerunners 100,000 years ago and the species of the 26th century. Unfortunately, not much activity was reported from this group a few months after its launch, with few joining in support.

Dedicated to the leveling-up (haha, see what I did there!) of Gameplay-related articles, the Gamers of Halopedia started "playing" on June 30th, 2007 and was founded by Guitarplayer001. While not much has been known about this group, it's had a troubled past, and only a year or so after it's establishment, was shut down for inactivity in the elections.

The two other groups on Halopedia, were less focused on a faction of the Halo universe, but rather the editing of all articles on the wiki. The Monitors of Halopedia was started in the Summer of 2007, dedicated to the nomination and fixing-up of Featured Articles. This group was comprised entirely of Administrators, save for one. While there were good articles that came from this group, such as the Type-25 Carbine, Flood, and Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, there were far more nominations than accepted articles, which led to a downturn in activity. Another group, the Standards Council of Halopedia, was established in the Fall of 2008 by Forgottenlord. Its objective was to set a "standard" for all articles across the wiki and organizing clean ups. While the concept led to good things down the line, such as the newly written Halopedia:Manual of Style, the group suffered the same fate as the Monitors.

Only a year after the two main groups the UNSC and Covenant of Halopedia were formed, the newly developed Social Features were implemented within all aspects of Halopedian life. While a dramatic increase of new users were joining, and activity rose to all-time highs, the usergroups began to show it's already old-age. Due to the new Rank system given to all Halopedians, collaborative work slowly ceased to exist. Users were more interested in their own welfare across the wiki and gaining points, rather than doing work for the collective good. Despite that, member enrollment still was increasing, but no work was getting done. Though there were numerous elections between the implementation of the social features and now, with candidates promising more activity, nothing really changed. By the end of Fall 2008, the main objectives of all of the groups effectively failed.

One year later, after the decrease in activity, we look towards the future of collaborative editing. Whether that is in the form of element-based usergroups focused on such things as characters, weapons, maps, etc. or weekly "article for improvement" for everybody is currently undecided. Though I can assure you that the Administration is looking forward to getting everybody's input on this matter. As I write this article, I'm already putting plans in place for a Monitors of Halopedia replacement. And instead of only letting in Administrators, the group will be open to a select few active members who have gone above and beyond while editing on here.

With that, I give a thanks to anybody who served the various usergroups with absolute distinction in their combined two-year history. Hopefully, this will usher in a new era of editing on Halopedia that is focused more on helping each other rather than selfish point whoring. Thank you for reading this, and stay tuned!

Below, in the comment box, i'd like you to share any and all memories you had with the groups.

You stay frosty Halopedia!

Comments
Please keep your comments civil, short (five-word minimum), to the point, and good. Thank you!