Thursday 16 October 2008

Illogicopedia is changing. Don't panic!

Don't worry! We aren't deleting everything!

In the last week, we have lost yet another of our more prominent users to the world of real life. At this time of global economic turbulence hecticness, I urge the users of Illogicopedia not to panic and go mental (though I can appreciate this is a way of life for many, including me).

It's a natural part of a wiki's progression that old users leave and the new guard takes over. Yes, BenedictBlade, Flameviper, Zerotrousers, Asema, Nerd, Quagsire... all names of Illogicopedia's past that have their place in its history. It would seem that growth discourages the once-strong sense of community but do not be down! It is not yet the time for drastic measures... that will come when Recent Changes all but dries up and every user is gone.

In fact, I would argue that the forum has seen an upsurge in activity of recent times. I have no graphs to back this up but I would suggest the forum is still going strong, perhaps more so than ever. In addition, the Illogiblog is most certainly more popular than it has ever been, with so many new active contributors over the last month. To those people, I say thank you very much and keep it up! The blog is healthier than ever and all the better for it.

So is the community in Persil peril? Well, no. But you can never have enough camaraderie. The solution is not to start again, but to instill an even greater sense of community amongst users so that they do not feel the need to leave.

This sense of community at the old Proboards forum (yes, one day I may stop talking about that place) was seen as more important than the wiki itself. If somebody could find a way of bringing this back without deleting everything, I will personally offer them five toenail clippings and a jar of air.

So above all, do not panic! Illogicopedia can still be the wiki you want it to be. You might not like how things are progressing but don't worry, you can be sure your trusty admins have a few things up their sleeves.

4 comments:

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  2. What exactly is it that is making you leave? What's different about how things are now compared to all those months ago?

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  4. Bladester, you have a really good point there. Suppose it took a retirement for me to notice that. You're right on all the issues you've raised - I have noticed some Uncyclopedia-ish "my articles rule, everyone else's drool!" attitude and it isn't cool. I have also seen quite a lot of flaming recently, all from newer users.

    The story thing is also cheesing me off, but I think it's just a phase we're going through: some day we'll stop caring about writing them and move onto something else.

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