User talk:Damnthisisabadname

Guide:Class setups

Hello, I reverted your recent addition to the Guide:Class setups page.

When you initially added this link to the Google Document, I moved it to an "External links" section with the explanation:

I don't think there's a rule against non-forums links like this, but it could set a precedent where it becomes hard to draw the line at what to allow and what not. So, still undecided, moved it to a standard External links section at the bottom for now. In general, please just incorporate the linked information into the wiki; that makes it easier for everyone and avoids the awkwardness of dubious offsite links.

You re-added it at the top of the page with the edit summary:

This link has been used on the official terraria discord and is maintained by the staff, it is pinned in one of the channels. It is a copy of the previous link I put here.

I reverted that edit with the reasoning:

Still, it is neither a link to another wiki page, the forums, nor a Re-Logic posting, so it should be in an "External links" section where I put it. My other point also still stands: just incorporate the information into this article. Before reverting this, please post on the talk page first.

Now you added a sentence which points to the "External links" section, which is essentially a revert, yet you still didn't provide an explanation. I'd like to expand on my edit summaries and outline why I disagree with your edits from three different perspectives:

• From a "philosophical" point of view: There are tons of educational content about Terraria outside of the wiki – on the forums, on YouTube, on blogs, you name it. Some of it is most certainly of higher quality than what's available here on the wiki, and that's totally fine. However, that doesn't mean that the wiki needs to link to all of these resources; that's not what it's for. Think of it like this: if a player visits the Guide:Class setups page, they expect to find information about class setups there. Instead, they are immediately presented a note saying, "no need to read this; visit this other source of knowledge". This begs the question: what even is the point of the wiki then? Isn't it supposed to be a source of knowledge?
• From a logistical/administrative point of view: Guide:Class setups is one of the most popular guides, so if there are off-site links featured prominently on it, they're seen by a lot of people. Consequently, some might feel encouraged to add more links to off-site resources to the page and to other pages, being led to believe that this is apparently accepted and standard practice. At this point, it becomes hard for other editors and admins to decide whether these links are truly worthwhile additions to the wiki, and whether they will continue to be in the future. This means extending the maintenance work needed to uphold the integrity of the wiki to off-site resources, which really quickly becomes infeasible as the number of these links grows.
• From the point of view of wiki etiquette: The bold–revert–discuss cycle is an essential process for collaborating effectively on a wiki. You went ahead and boldly added the link in question at the top of the page (which in and of itself is a good thing! the wiki would never improve if not for bold editors). I reverted it, explained why, and invited you to the talk page to discuss the matter. You didn't do that, though, and didn't give any further explanation in your most recent edit. This leaves us reverting one another's edits again and again, which constitutes an incredibly disruptive edit war.

My main point is this: The only reasoning for your edit that you provided is that the Google Document has been used on the Terraria Discord and is maintained by "the staff" (which staff from where?). To my mind, that's not a valid reason. Surely a lot of Google Documents and YouTube links and whatnot have been used on the Terraria Discord; how does this qualify them for being linked on the wiki? And again, I struggle to understand why you don't just incorporate the information from the Google Document into the existing information on the wiki, if, like you state, you believe it is better (which, again, I'm not calling into question).

--Rye Greenwood (talk) 22:25, 20 June 2023 (UTC)

ok

Damnthisisabadname (talk) 07:29, 19 August 2023 (UTC)