The Great Machine:Zocalo archive

From The Great Machine

[edit] New Style Template and Images

Got this updated today. Thanks to Sanfam's help in getting me the access needed to do it. Anyone of green, know that the colors I used for the nebula are BLUE, not purple, and pulled directly from The Great Machine graphic that uses the same colors as from the show. Stars are mostly white, but you will see a few colored ones here and there. Please note that some pages might have style problems so if you see that tell me (include the page) and I will figure out where the bug is in the sheets. --RC

I think finally I have finished the site CSS template and other goodies. Note that the padding on div for the MediaWiki icon is required to keep other footer data centered. I also threw in the "fair use" notice at the bottom (this was not strait forward thanks to Wiki refusing to allow the MediaWiki:Copyright page to display on the footer unless there is actually some content in the copyright section of the LocalPrefs file). I also changed the "user" symbol to the Angry Vorlon forum icon. :) --RC

Just letting you know that if you click on the "diff" link in "Recent Changes" the text that has been changed is near unreadable due to the color scheme. -- MikhailM

Oh - ug. I'll see what I can do to fix this. --Randomchaos 17:34, 9 Mar 2005 (CST)

This is now fixed. Should work without a problem.

[edit] Why a separate wiki?

Why do we need a separate B5 wiki? Is there some problem with Wikipedia not accepting enough B5 stuff.

Perhaps because we can be more expansive, with episode guides and longer articles on different species, events, technology, etc.

Or perhaps the wiki should be made "in the world" I.E. that this wiki is existing in the Babylon 5 universe, perhaps with neutrality disputes about the civil war, sketchy information about the Vorlons etc. Might be funny, but perhaps too confusing and too much work? (129.241.129.56)

There is no problem with Wikipedia. It was very nice to see the decently large B5 reference in there. However B5, while certainly worthwhile to contain said referencein Wikipedia, is simply to varied to fit comfortably into its content in a way that is fan friendly. Second, it would serve to muddy things up with unnecessary other material, such as mentioned above (fan stuff, incredibly show-specific details, reviews, material which I just can't think of a good descriptive word for... ;) ). It's just seems reasonable to make this a distinct entitiy, as the potential exists for it to become exceedingly large. -- Sanfam

Exactly. It comes down to scope. Wikipedia is a very large site and I was actually going to make a post on firstones last night about redoing the wikipedia entries. However to track every single babylon 5 entry on the wikipedia would be a daunting task. Here everything is local. I see no problems linking to wikipedia pages if they are relivant, but its so easy for me to get off on a tangent in the wikipedia. When one does research one tries to get sources as specific to the topic as possible. I may look at an encyclopedia for a general idea but if I want the details I'm going to a university library to find a specilized book and peer reviewed journals on the subject. Same thing with the wikipedia. Great place for an overview and some detailed information, but if I really want full details on a topic i will look for elsewhere. The Great Machine is a specilized wiki on babylon 5 and topics very closely related.

--croxis 19:12, 26 Jan 2005 (CST)

I encourage linking to Wikipedia and Wikinfo whenever possible. If either of those wikis have an article on something, we should refer to them. Exception: A Babylon 5 view on something. For example a Babylon 5 view on the media, personal responsobility, religion, etc. (129.241.129.56 07:47, 27 Jan 2005 (CST))

Just a thought...I am hoping to make this a complete compilation of all possible resources out there, such that if a resource has to close its doors or otherwise ceases to exist down the road, this site would serve to preserve its contents. Wikipedia may last, but nothing is assured. Hell, even Lurker's Guide could one day fall off the face of the planet and we'd be stranded until someone else set up a new location for it. It's mostly a thought, and perhaps unfeasable, but I think it's a noble enough reason to try and contain all sources. It may require getting permission from a good number of people, but that's all part of the work :D --Sanfam 06:25 AM, 02-05-2005

Speaking of that - anyone have Lurkers Guide saved to their HD just incase it vanishes one day? --RC

And on a sad related note, it seems like TPTB.de has bitten the dust. I think this is a call to the fanbase to archive this information in some permanent format so that it does not get lost forever, as is the tendency for defunct websites. Once it's gone, this stuff is gone. --Sanfam

Seems that TPDB is fully gone - after almost a month it still isn't back, so the owner probably gave it up. Anyone have an archive of it or know the owner's e-mail so we can get the content? --RC