Do you use the Encyclopedia and is it useful?

[Simguinus]

As an attempt to get an idea of how much usage our members get out of the Encyclopedia, please take the time to answer the poll. It's helpful, cos this way we know if people actually make use of it. It may also generate a demand for specific topics top be updated - so if you answer with either of the 'more stuff' options, please suggest what this stuff should be in this thread - or go and define it yourself

[IBBoard]

I won't bother voting, as it'll throw the poll slightly, but I don't actually use it Well, I kinda do because I look at whatever you've submitted and occasionally go "ahhhh, didn't know that", but I know most of my fluff-knowledge needs

At some point I'll get round to re-skimming the Eisenhorn novels and locating the missing details on the definitions I'd jotted down...

[Simguinus]

Here's hoping someone bothers themselves to vote - not much point me voting, neither

[Simguinus]

God....this is depressing. Not a single vote. Really makes me question all the hard work qw've put into that....

[IBBoard]

The forums are always really quiet anyway (I'm about to delete 90 of our members for not visiting in the past two months, and another 20+ of the remaining members are probably only there because they've registered in the past two months!). I can give you some stats on actual Encyclopedia usage if you want.

Are you on any other forums? Because I can whip up a quick "HWT Chief Historitor" user bar for you to spread the word a bit more if you want

I've actually got some more Eisenhorn definitions that I was going to add (finally got round to digging the additional details and dates out of the book, because I wrote them from memory on a train journey to work a while ago). Once I've got a few more screenshots added to Skins@HWT I'll get them added to the database

[Simguinus]

Yeah, I can do things like stick the userbar in my lj and Pardus profiles. So, please, go ahead....

[IBBoard]

Okay, we've now got a Chief Historitor bar for you Just save it and host it somewhere like ImageShack, then link it to either the main site or the Encyclopedia and we'll hopefully get a few more people through.

[img]http://www.hiveworldterra.co.uk/images/UserBars/HWTHiveHistoritor.png[/img]

[Simguinus]

Ha HA! After about 10 attempts, I finally amanged to fiddle the code to getting a link from my Pardus profile....I am the l33t haxxor!

[MadMaffMan]

Where do i find this Encyclopedia, i had a look on the main page and links page and didn't see a link to it anywhere. Mind you i can't see the wood for the trees some times.

I did try that link in your sig but that just kept timing out.

[IBBoard]

The Encyclopedia's on the main HWT site - http://www.hiveworldterra.co.uk/Encyclopedia/ - its original design was as a full encyclopedia of Games Workshop stuff, but I've since been seeing it more as an encyclopedia of fluff and fanfiction reference. It's only a minor change, but I try to focus more on the story of characters and descriptions of locations so that people can look them up when they read about them, or when they want to write about them, instead of just giving boring descriptions of weapons and things.

Simguinus' sig link is an online store that I checked once. Does seem to be dead at the moment, though.

[MadMaffMan]

Just checked the Encyclopedia, very nice work guys. It must be a nightmare keeping up with the GW cannon facts, they seem to alter things every so often, it must play merry hell updating things.

Keep up the good work.

[IBBoard]

I think getting up to date with everything in the first place would be a bigger task ~270 definitions (including a few duplicates so people can find people under things like "Jaq Draco", "Draco, Inquisitor Jaq", and "Inquisitor Draco") is just a tiny drop in the ocean!

But that reminds me, I've got to update the novel list with the additional new releases!

Feel free to contribute

[MadMaffMan]

Contribute how? What sort of things are you looking for?

[IBBoard]

Just contribute definitions for new words - descriptions of locations/language/events/characters taken from the books We've got a suggestion form that you can submit to and either myself or Simguinus can approve it to make it public, or if you want to be more prolific then I could make you an Assistant Historitor or something.

All I normally do is read a novel, jot down some main points about the character or location and then re-write it as a coherent definition. As long as it's researched information and not direct copying from a GW source (e.g. copying the GW description of Tzeentch if you added a definition for the Chaos gods) then it's an encyclopedic definition.

The other idea I had recently was an extension of the Encyclopedia into articles. I've not put a definition in for Glossia yet, but when I do it might be interesting to extend things like that into an article about creating Glossia code and leave the definition as a definition with a couple of examples.

Unfortunately, as per usual, I need more helpers and I don't know enough people who I trust who have the free time to spare