Heroes Wiki talk:Community Portal/Archive4

WARNING: Heroes Wiki talk:Community Portal/Archive4 is an archive of past messages. New messages should be added to Heroes Wiki talk:Community Portal.

Best fansites

Entertainment Weekly just printed their year-end issue, including a list of the 25 top fansites on the web. Lostpedia was listed as number three. (Incidentally, Memory Alpha was number eleven and the Heroes site listed was heroescast, coming in at number thirteen.) Anyway, Lostpedia received accolades for their fanfic writing contest which is "a nifty, geeky way to pass the time and build community." Though I'm personally not into fan fiction, I think it'd be nice for us to brainstorm some ideas of ways we can build community at Heroes Wiki. Our logo contests in the past have been successful. Any ideas from the community? -- RyanGibsonStewart (talk) 00:27, 23 December 2007 (EST)

• On a similar vein we could have a t-shirt design contest where at a minimum the winner would get a free t-shirt with the design on it. Depending on how things go with it, maybe all interested parties would get the free t-shirt. (Admin 19:19, 21 January 2008 (EST))

So awesome.

I was in NYC all day today, and at the end of the day I stopped by the NBC store and bought three things. The Symbol necklace, which I'm going to wear all the time, a shirt with the line Are you on the list?, which is pretty cool, and a mug with the comic of Hiro in Times Square. =]--Riddler 03:08, 29 December 2007 (EST)

• That's awesome. Those sound like nice purchases! -- RyanGibsonStewart (talk) 04:04, 29 December 2007 (EST)
  • Ahh! The comic on my mug is different than the real thing! In the show, they say "No one ever got laid by stopping the second hand of a clock." - On my mug, it says "No one ever got a girl by stopping the second hand of a clock." - DAMN CENSORS!--Riddler 22:57, 30 December 2007 (EST)

Comic-Con 2008

Comic-Con 2008 is Thu, July 24 to Sun, July 27 at the San Diego Convention Center. (Registration here).

• Since the Comic-Con 2007 registration filled up early I took the precaution of registering early for Comic-Con 2008 so I should be there this year. If anyone else is interested in going I recommend registering early because they have a tendency to fill up quickly. Plus apparently hotels in the area fill up quickly and it was already difficult to find one nearby without having to pay both arms and both legs (it already costs an arm and a leg). As the conference gets closer I'd like to get a better idea who looks like they'll be going and I'd be happy to bring extra t-shirts for people who will be there. (Admin 00:48, 29 October 2007 (EDT))

Google

• Here's an interesting fact. Heroes Wiki is currently the 4th result on Google when you search for "waffles". (Admin 00:15, 9 January 2008 (EST))
  • Actually I don't know what google your searching but I couldn't find it in the first 5 pages. >_> --  Seclusion  talk / contribs 00:21, 9 January 2008 (EST)
    • I found it, I also found out we are fifth when searching "Yatta!".--MiamiVolts (talk) 00:25, 9 January 2008 (EST)
    • I suppose others can verify it for me, but I don't have personalized results turned on. I just checked it from a different location and it ended up being #7. It may depend on where you are, Google's rankings vary a bit from place to place. (Admin 00:26, 9 January 2008 (EST))
      • It has to be 'waffles' (plural), but I don't have personalized results turned on either and I found it #4.--MiamiVolts (talk) 00:28, 9 January 2008 (EST)
        • Could be that google.com redirects to google.com.au in Australia, so I suppose thats probably it. --  Seclusion  talk / contribs 00:31, 9 January 2008 (EST)
• HW is fourth with waffles and fifth with yatta for me, without personalized search results. --Hero!^(talk)_(contribs) 00:34, 9 January 2008 (EST)

• And now when I search for "waffles" we're the #3 result. Hah. (Admin 12:29, 2 February 2008 (EST))
  • Maybe we should have some information about waffles rather than just their appearances/mentions. Hmm, WaffleWiki.com is available;). -Lөvөl 16:22, 4 February 2008 (EST)

All episodes currently on NBC.com for free

• I don't know how long they've been there, but NBC's offering all of the episodes online again for the time being. I think they've changed their player, though, and I'm not sure if we have a way to link directly to a particular episode from each Episode article anymore. (Admin 17:59, 9 January 2008 (EST))
• But as per usual, only for americans. --  Seclusion  talk / contribs 18:17, 9 January 2008 (EST)

Message from Michael Green.

Best question we've gotten in a while -- ready?: "How does this strike affect my fandom?" Which was explained to me as a roundabout (and genius) way of asking, "So what does this mean for Season 3 of Heroes? Are we gonna get one or what?"

Here's where there's some good news finally. Every single person associated with Heroes -- from the writers to the crew... even to the studio we're striking -- is chomping at the bit to get more episodes the second we're able. We all want to make 'em as badly as you want to watch 'em. So whenever this thing resolves itself (here's hoping soon) you can bet the team will hit the ground running. No -- more than that -- what's faster than a run? A sprint? Gallop? Whichever, we're gonna do that.

Other good news: Even the worst projections for the length of the strike have it ending at some point this season. Eventually the people who make decisions for the people who are negotiating for the studios are going to have to tell them to make the deals and compromises that everyone knows they need to and should make. So the question isn't "Will there be a Season 3?", more one of "How many episodes will Season 3 have?"

The answer to that one depends on when we can get back to work. Traditionally writing staffs assemble in late May/early June to get cracking in time to write a full season. So if the strike ends soon, our best guess is that we'd get jamming right away, starting on Season 3 that much earlier... maybe even ending up with a super-sized Season 3. If it's later, Season 3 could come in a few episodes shy of the traditional 22.

Happy New Year to the BEST FANS EVER!

Michael Green Writer, HEROES

Calling it season not volume 3 now? In any case, a super-sized volume/season is a-ok with me. --  Seclusion  talk / contribs 02:28, 11 January 2008 (EST)

• Where was this from? I guess they've pretty much ended Season Two with Volume Two.--Bob (talk) 02:43, 11 January 2008 (EST)
• 9th Wonders. --  Seclusion  talk / contribs 03:09, 11 January 2008 (EST)

Believe it or not

On a recent trip, I think I had a Saving Charlie moment (experience?). I had breakfast at a breakfast and lunch diner as the motel I stayed at was giving out coupons for continental breakfast there. So I went in and they had several young ladies as waitresses. The one that served me was pretty, but didn't look like Charlie, Charlie wasn't her name and the diner wasn't called Burnt Toast Diner. However, there were some other things similar to the story: 1) she asked me where we were from, and then said she had never been there but would like to go there one day, 2) a companion mentioned many people speak Spanish there, and she said she didn't know it well, but had studied it some in school... I replied that she might practice it on the internet, 3) she mentioned she had a boyfriend who was a policeman who knew Spanish a little better than her... fortunately for me, I knew better than to pursue things any further, although I almost asked if his name was Lloyd. ;)--MiamiVolts (talk) 17:54, 13 January 2008 (EST)

• 大ピンチ! -- RyanGibsonStewart (talk) 18:12, 13 January 2008 (EST)
  • No, no fue un sueño. Sujetador grande. Heh. :)--MiamiVolts (talk) 19:05, 13 January 2008 (EST)

Hide spoilers in recent changes?

Im a fan that's trying to be spoiler free, limiting my spoiler consumption to answers to questions like "Will Caitlin be revisited, yes or no?" and "Who is drawing the next GN?" A few times when taking the pulse of the Wiki with the recent changes feature, I find spoilers. Through this I already know of Harrison Wilcox, Metal mimicry, and some guy named Knox coming down the pipe, much to my chagrin. Might there be a button of sorts, like the one to show and hide bot edits, to hide changes to spoilers in the Recent changes page? I don't want to find out about those kinds of things before they are aired. --SacValleyDweller (talk) 22:11, 17 January 2008 (EST)

• (How is Harrison Wilcox a spoiler?) If the concern is just the name of the articles, then there's not really much that can be done as far as I know (but really, how much is spoiled by just an article title?)--Hardvice (talk) 22:31, 17 January 2008 (EST)
• One thing you can do that might help is click on the dropdown box next to Namespace. Then select Spoiler. Next to the "Go" button, there should be a box for "Invert selection"--check it. Now, when you hit "Go", it should show recent changes in all namespaces except Spoiler. That won't solve all your problems, but it will certainly help a bit. As an aside, I try to keep spoiler-spoilers out of my edit summaries, but I don't mind putting an upcoming actor's name or character's in the summary field, so long as I'm not telling things about that person. -- RyanGibsonStewart (talk) 22:52, 17 January 2008 (EST)

Strike update (III)

The Directors' guild managers have reached a tentative deal with the producers. As detailed in this New York times article, this could be good news! First, the Director's guild needs to officially vote and approve it, but I think that's likely to happen. The writer's guild will be reviewing the contract too, and will hopefully be receiving a similar proposal from the producers.

According the NY Times article, the Directors guild's deal roughly doubles the residuals rate that was paid for decades when films and television programs were resold on cassettes or DVDs, and requires Hollywood studios and production companies, for the first time, to pay a reuse/residual fee when advertising-supported programs are streamed free over the Internet.

The residual starts after a 17-day period to promote the program, and is pegged at about $600 an episode of a one-hour network prime-time drama, for 26 weeks. (In the first year of a new series, the promotional period is 24 days.) That is a rate considerably higher than was last offered to writers when their negotiations with companies fell apart in early December.

Hopefully, a deal can come soon enough to enable some shows to return by March.--MiamiVolts (talk) 17:14, 18 January 2008 (EST)

• Lets hope so! --SacValleyDweller (talk) 19:09, 21 January 2008 (EST)

Theories

greetings. I was looking through the pages and i couldnt find a page about discredited theories. i was wondering if you had a page with that kind of information. like theories that heroes producers and writers and production have officially discredited or laid to rest. I know the Lost/Heroes connection has been a huge discredited theory. Does anyone have anymore...thanks...i would appreciate the help.--Chrisisinchrist2 18:44, 21 January 2008 (EST)

• I don't think discredited theories are archived anywhere, however if you go through a particular Theory page's history you may be able to find ones that have been removed after being disproven. It's not too elegant and probably not too helpful for you, but it's a option at least. :) I'm also not a theories expert; I don't visit the theories pages much myself so someone who works with them more might have some more insight. (Admin 18:48, 21 January 2008 (EST))
  • We don't archive proven theories either. Once a theory is proven or disproved, it is removed. However, it remains in the page history so it can be searched for if you want to.--MiamiVolts (talk) 19:01, 21 January 2008 (EST)
    • We used to move theories that were no longer viable to a page called "disproven theories", but we found that it was difficult and quite pointless to archive disproven theories. Since they're fan theories and not canonical entities, there's no point in archiving them. We deleted the page back in March of last year. As for theories that the writers and production staff have shot down, I do think it would be a good idea to start a page for "common misconceptions". This would be a good place for things like Sylar's "boom voice" and the fact that Peter has not mimicked every power he's come in contact with. I believe there's a short discussion on the idea here. I know we've discussed it other places, too, but I'm not sure where. -- RyanGibsonStewart (talk) 19:07, 21 January 2008 (EST)
      • I brought up the idea of a "frequent misconceptions" page sometime last year, though I guess we never did anything about it. One of the goals was to be able to point people there in the case of certain edits that would go back and forth over time because of a common misconception. (Admin 19:12, 21 January 2008 (EST))
        • I still think it's a good idea. I like the idea that we would have one page where we could place such misconceptions, and that we would be able to gently point people to that page in edit summaries and on talk pages when necessary. -- RyanGibsonStewart (talk) 19:26, 21 January 2008 (EST)
          • Maybe you could put it as a help page, like "Help:Misconceptions", and list them all from there. --DocM 19:29, 21 January 2008 (EST)

More Strike Development.

[1]. A ripple becomes a flood perhaps? --  Seclusion  talk / contribs 10:51, 1 February 2008 (EST)

• maybe, looking good at Reuters and The Los Angeles Times--SacValleyDweller (talk) 23:48, 2 February 2008 (EST)

Prose

• I'm curious of what people think of a project to expand the base information for each character. Currently for each character we give a summary of their current status plus a per-episode summary which is great, but I was wondering what people thought of adding more summary information about each character to the first section. I think in addition to the per-episode info we provide we could add relevant info to the first section for those looking for concise info about the character. It would be a little redundant considering the per-episode info, but would enhance the overall description of a character and provide people with the most important plot info for a character. (Admin 01:31, 3 February 2008 (EST))
  • Back in the day, Hardvice did that for a few characters. (See Noah#About, Claire#About, Peter#About.) I think the idea was to do that for all major characters, but for some reason it kind of disintegrated. (Personally, I didn't trust myself to do it, since Hardvice did such a terrific job.) I think it's an awesome idea. My only concern is that we don't get caught up in mundane details, we watch our perspective, and we don't have any speculation, of course. -- RyanGibsonStewart (talk) 01:37, 3 February 2008 (EST)
    • I agree entirely. The info for a particular character should be the most relevent information per volume I'd say. Basically the idea would be that if we consolidated the summary information for each character into one article that it would convey the jist of the story being told by the show. However, this may be even more redundant in the cases where we have season summaries of characters (which are essentially the same thing as I'm suggesting), so it's always possible we don't need to include this info in the first section at all. (Admin 01:47, 3 February 2008 (EST))
      • I still think it has merit. When I'm browsing Wikipedia, I often just read the first introductory paragraph which gives a really good overview. It also has general information that might not be easily gleaned from a season summary. That said, even the examples above might need to be updated a bit...-- RyanGibsonStewart (talk) 01:51, 3 February 2008 (EST)
        • Indeed, I really like the idea. But if we did, I'd venture to say we'd need to update them every pod, or atleast every season. I think they would make the articles better, and overall, more practical. -- Lulu (talk) 01:57, 3 February 2008 (EST)
    • Right, Ryan. Sounds good to me, Admin. I wouldn't be able to pitch in though, as my writing abilities when it comes to those kinds of things aren't all that great, and are best suited toward improvements to existing articles.--SacValleyDweller (talk) 01:45, 3 February 2008 (EST)
      • Your writing is better than you think. -- RyanGibsonStewart (talk) 01:51, 3 February 2008 (EST)

The Flood Gains Speed...

[2] Slowly and steadily... --  Seclusion  talk / contribs 07:46, 3 February 2008 (EST)

Collaborative Video

• Something to keep an eye on. It's a neat idea and I think it could be very interesting for Wikipedia, but since a lot of audio/video for our project is copyrighted it might not really be of value to us (and perhaps even be a liability). In any event, it's something to be aware of. (Admin 15:06, 4 February 2008 (EST))
  • It looks rather cool, but my first impression is it has to be processor hungry. Are you considering adding the Kaltura image/video editing extension?--MiamiVolts (talk) 15:11, 4 February 2008 (EST)
    • I'm not planning on adding any of it, really. :) I just wanted to mention it for people to see what was being worked on to see what people thought in general. Like I said, I think if not for copyright it would be a great addition, but since most of what audio/video we'd include is copyrighted it's not very useful for us. (Admin 15:13, 4 February 2008 (EST))
      • Probably true, and though there are a lot of fan-videos on You Tube about Heroes, it's probably best to leave them there due to both the bandwidth and processor requirements, imho.--MiamiVolts (talk) 15:16, 4 February 2008 (EST)

Deal made to end Strike.

[3] A deal has been struck between the major media companies and the Writers Guild of America to end the writers' strike, former Walt Disney chief executive Michael Eisner revealed on CNBC.

"It's over," Eisner said. "They made the deal, they shook hands on the deal. It's going on Saturday to the writers in general."

Eisner, speaking live on CNBC's "Fast Money," seemed to hesitate initially about whether it was possible that the writers could still reject the agreement, but finally suggested the deal's acceptance was inevitable.

"A deal has been made, and they'll be back to work very soon," Eisner said, adding, "I know a deal's been made. I know it's over."

I see Ausiello is in the news, but this tells the tales on quite a few more shows. --  Seclusion  talk / contribs 00:23, 8 February 2008 (EST)

• This would be excellent news. I feel like Isaac on withdraw from heroin... only I've yet to have any precognitive visions. (Admin 00:26, 8 February 2008 (EST))
  • Voice of reason for temperament: We don't count chickens before they hatch. The strike ain't over till it's over. And it ain't over until that contract is ratified by the guild--SacValleyDweller (talk) 00:42, 8 February 2008 (EST)

Strike Officially Potentially Almost Over.

[4] Too long to post here. It contains a Letter from both WGA presidents and the official agreement. Rejoice! (Yes, it is a tentative agreement if any devils advocates want to play that card) --  Seclusion  talk / contribs 19:26, 9 February 2008 (EST)

• For me, it's not officially over until at least they say that the vote passed. Nowhere on that article did they discuss what happened at the meeting today or what the vote was. The article you linked only restates that there would be a meeting today to discuss the tentative contract. Though I doubt they will reject it, the writers still could. BTW, the tentative agreement was reached days ago (it's not new news).--MiamiVolts (talk) 19:35, 9 February 2008 (EST)
  • I second that sentiment! --SacValleyDweller (talk) 19:39, 9 February 2008 (EST)
    • I link what I find. Don't shoot the messenger! --  Seclusion  talk / contribs 19:43, 9 February 2008 (EST)
    • [5] More on the agreement. --  Seclusion  talk / contribs 19:46, 9 February 2008 (EST)
      • The best place to read the agreement is on the WGA website itself. I'm not shooting, just clarifying the message. :)--MiamiVolts (talk) 19:49, 9 February 2008 (EST)
        • Fair enough =). --  Seclusion  talk / contribs 19:52, 9 February 2008 (EST)~

Strike Update V

I have a new update about the strike. 1) The strike is still ON for at least Monday and Tuesday! 2) On Saturday, the guild presented a summary of the tentative deal to its members: they are getting the Streaming and Cellular revenues they wanted, but the DVD revenues were left off the table meaning they still get nothing/nada/zilch from DVD sales. 3) On Saturday, they decided to invoke the 48 hour vote to end the strike clause in the WGA constitution. That means there will be a vote on whether to end the strike on Tuesday. If the vote passes, the writers go back to work on Wednesday, 2/13/08 and not before. You can read the details of what went on at Saturday's meeting here and a detailed summary of the tentative contract in PDF format here.--MiamiVolts (talk) 18:24, 10 February 2008 (EST)

10th Wonder

The 10th Wonder really is finding out what people are interested in when they visit Heroes Wiki. I was actually thinking the other day how anemic our V3 spoilers are. Go figure that Graham would be drawn by that! -- RyanGibsonStewart (talk) 01:40, 12 February 2008 (EST)

WGA Members Vote to End Strike.

[6] The membership of the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) today voted overwhelmingly in favor of lifting the restraining order and ending their 100-day strike that began on Nov. 5. 3,775 writers turned out in Los Angeles and New York to cast ballots or fax in proxies, with 92.5% voting in favor of ending the work stoppage. “The strike is over. Our membership has voted, and writers can go back to work,” said Patric M. Verrone, president of the Writers Guild of America, West. Offical The strike is over. --  Seclusion  talk / contribs 00:53, 13 February 2008 (EST)

• Wow, you can't get 92.5% of a group that large to vote the same way on anything, except maybe that Hitler was evil or that pedophilia is bad. -- RyanGibsonStewart (talk) 01:04, 13 February 2008 (EST)
  • I agree! And 92.5% approval is great news! And now they can get a good night's rest and head back to work tomorrow! So NBC should at the very least be able to keep the graphic novels coming. :)--MiamiVolts (talk) 01:06, 13 February 2008 (EST)

Whom would you like to see interviewed?

• Just to gauge public opinion on what Heroes cast or crew member people were most interested in seeing an interview with, I started a poll on 9thwonders.com. Not binding at all, but I think it would be good to see whom people were interested in hearing about. I figure either Ryan or anyone else interested in interviewing will find the information useful. Ryan, hopefully some of the people on that list are of interest to you and if you ever have to decide whom you're interested in pursuing first that poll may help. :) In any event, feel free to drop by 9thwonders.com and vote. (Admin 00:24, 15 February 2008 (EST))
  • Thanks, Admin. Good idea. In a semi-related topic, I was thinking last night about sending out a couple of questions to a bunch of the guest stars, then compiling their responses and printing it under "Interview:Guest Stars" or something. I haven't decided what questions to ask (they'd have to be really general so they could apply to everybody), but I was wondering if there's any interest in something like that. -- RyanGibsonStewart (talk) 06:35, 15 February 2008 (EST)
    • I wish I could have selected more than 10 people for the poll itself... I would have had a poll with maybe 50 if the board allowed it! It's a good topic and getting a lot of great feedback from the board members. Once the topic has aged a bit and replies slow down I'll tally up all the votes throughout the topic so we have a consolidated set of statistics. (Admin 13:40, 15 February 2008 (EST))
    • While not #1, there seem to be a number of people who are interested in hearing from Cristine Rose. I know people here have mentioned an interest in interviewing her, too, so that could be an interesting option. Since the writers' strike is over there could be a bunch of cast and crew relatively idle (and now willing to talk about Heroes) for a little while until the writers get some new material cranked out. (Admin 16:49, 15 February 2008 (EST))
      • Awesome. You arrange the interview, I'll take care of the rest. :) -- RyanGibsonStewart (talk) 20:33, 15 February 2008 (EST)