Forum:The Warning Template, or, HowTo:Cover Wikia's ass while having fun.

Forums: Index > Village Dump > The Warning Template, or, HowTo:Cover Wikia's ass while having fun.

Note: This topic has been unedited for 4145 days. It is considered archived - the discussion is over.

Please, can we do a remake of the warning page? It has so much potential. I'll give some ideas to start off a discussion. Maybe we can agree on a committee, or two or three people, to come up with a new one that meets approval.

That immature template, immature.

About five weeks ago I was on the phone with a friend, Mike, he was going to look at one of my articles. He came to the template and immediately said "They ought to have the entrance button on Oscar Wilde's forehead." It sounded perfect to me then, and still sounds perfect. It could be a large photo of Wilde, with most of his head exposed (up to his chin?), with the button to enter the site on his forehead. Maybe the "No, thanks" button could be close but not intrusive.

Some wording came to me when I was focused on this. Something like, in about the same print size as it is now:

Those are some of my ideas. That was fun. Aleister 17:35 our 8th birthday.

My main suggestion would be to keep it simple. I would say that an over fancy version will actually cause more people to walk away than it would if it were in the original format. The current pink version is pretty overwhelming, and so doesn't help people understand what it is, and how to quickly click through it. That's not to say there shouldn't be a custom version here, but perhaps something simple and direct would be best -- sannse<staff/> (talk) 21:12, January 8, 2013 (UTC)

The front page is a bit 'catty'...luring in a poor rodent with those eyes....--

RomArtus*Imperator ITRA (Orate) ® 21:24, January 8, 2013 (UTC)

I agree about the pink, it's not a common color for such a page. And the "immature" template just drage the eye over there. And too many words in the warning - and, importantly, it says we are trying to make the site more family friendly, which isn't true, you (Wikia) are. Why don't we cut out most of the language, enlarge the entrance button (I still say we should put it on a good size pic of Oscar Wilde, which will communicate more than words what we are about here), get rid of the template, change the color, and...and..... Aleister 21:47 8-1-'13

How about something like this? With the entrance button laid across his manly chest, or propped up on his right hand all the way across to his left sleeve, like he's holding it. Aleister 23:47 8-1-'13

CONTENT WARNING

"Like our sisters and brothers at wikipedia we strive to provide you with the world's finest satire. Do not enter herein if you get easily offended by things we'd rather not talk about. Once inside you'll be alone in the wild with some of the very best and very worse writing on the web. Be warned!"

Oscar Wilde was a satirist. He should be read more often. Now rub his chest to enter:

I like this one:

Content Warning

The wiki at uncyclopedia.wikia.com may contain objectionable content such as depictions of violence, sexual suggestion, dark humor parody, or other materials not intended for a general audience.

No, seriously, we mean it. This is a scary, scary place. It has depictions of violence that would make even a hardened Vietnam veteran turn away in disgust. The only way to safely watch some of the violence contained herein is on significant levels of anti-depressants, while blindfolded. Alternatively, it can be used effectively as part of the Ludovico Technique.

It not only gives suggestions of a sexual nature, it even has handy guides as to how to get laid, how often to get laid, and what you can actually have sex with, including quadrupeds, octopods, robots, extinct species, and macrobiotic organically grown produce.

And as for dark humor - oh boy does it have some dark humor. Some of the humor is so dark that it can only be illuminated by a 50 megaton nuclear explosion.

And there may even be some parody here. One of the unfortunate side-effects of parody is using a humorous base to illuminate serious social issues that affect us all, and may even cause the reader to stop and think for a moment about the world in general and their place in it. Due to this thought provoking nature we advise that the content within be avoided by right-wing puritans, left-wing tree hugging hippies, and especially by any member of any fundamentalist religious group.

As a result of all this, it is advised that the content of this wiki only be viewed by adult audiences.

Maturity levels are optional.

In general, Wikia does not review nor do we endorse the content of this or any wiki. For more information about our policies, please visit Wikia's Terms of Use.

In specific though, this is funny.

• Puppy's talk page • 12:42 09 Jan

It will not surprise you to hear me say we ought not crack wise with the navigation tools, and the Content Warning is a navigation tool. We have a simple story to tell: In using a wiki, the reader is risking contact with any of potentially 7,000 million other minds, whose contributions we imperfectly regulate (and never by way of prior restraint). The result is not Wikia's fault. You are either ready for this world, or you are not; click and enter if you are. Spıke Ѧ 04:34 9-Jan-13

I want to see titties and murder! --ChiefjusticeWii 07:45, January 9, 2013 (UTC)

It is a promising start but needs to be a bit shorter in my view. Enough to intrigue a passing visitor but not too wordy. A version of this could be elsewhere on the site. --

RomArtus*Imperator ITRA (Orate) ® 07:58, January 9, 2013 (UTC)

As a quick add, I don't think we need to give a back handed name check to ED either (remember what Modus would paste everytime someone mentioned their name?). --

RomArtus*Imperator ITRA (Orate) ® 09:58, January 9, 2013 (UTC)

I'm going to post this pic everytime I see ED mentioned in the forums. It's a nice pic of my Pa'. *sniff*, I miss Pa'. Went out for smokes and never came back, he did. Plus, since headers don't appear to be length-limited, I can just ramble on about whatever comes to mind. Which is nice. The rambling, I mean...

"Hola, me llamo ED. Oí que usted me buscaba."

Besides, Google bots actually cruise the content warning and put the keywords in the content warning in their search results, so we should be careful what we put there. -- Simsilikesims(♀GUN) Talk here. 14:03, January 9, 2013 (UTC)

Yo! /jumping up and down Over here, over here. How about the one I made? I'll put it in again so you all can wonder at it (although the "entrance" bar has to be photoshopped onto Oscar, holding it against himself with his right hand). Aleister 14:12 9-1-'13:

CONTENT WARNING

"Like our sisters and brothers at wikipedia we strive to provide you with the world's finest satire. Do not enter herein if you get easily offended by things we'd rather not talk about. Once inside you'll be alone in the wild with some of the very best and very worse writing on the web. Be warned!"

Oscar Wilde was a satirist. He should be read more often. Now rub his chest to enter:

I like the Argh_isle version (sorry Aleister), it's more direct and tells people quickly what the warning is and how to get through it. Maybe, to emphasize that, it should have the first line in a large font... and then the more detailed bit in the equivalent of small print? (And, as Romartus says, a bit shorter). And, yeah, no need to mention ED. -- sannse<staff/> (talk) 19:05, January 9, 2013 (UTC)

One thing to watch... is the text of this disclaimer being fed into search engines for every Uncyclopedia page? Carlb (talk) 20:14, January 9, 2013 (UTC)

Has been for a while. Hence words like “funny”, “parody” and “satire” on every page is advantageous. And minor chop and reformat. Highlights the “official” shtuff, and trims out the reference to a dead website. • Puppy's talk page • 08:43 09 Jan

What a stupid thing to be a part of, but since people seem to like the long-winded KEEP AWAY sign, I edited and shortened it. Whatcha think? (I still like mine, blather blather) Aleister 21:19 9-1-'13:

Content Warning

Amongst its many virtues, this website may contain objectionable content, such as depictions of sex, violence, dark humor parody, speaking truth to power, or other materials not intended for a general audience.

No, seriously, we mean it. This is a scary, scary place. It has depictions of violence that makes even hardened Vietnam vets turn away in disgust. As for sex? It not only gives suggestions of a sexual nature, it even has handy guides as to how to get laid, how often to get laid, and what you can actually have sex with, including quadrupeds, octopods, robots, extinct species, and organically grown produce.

And as for dark humor - oh boy does it have some dark humor (humour for you UnAmericans). Some of the humor is so dark that it can only be illuminated by a 50 megaton nuclear explosion.

But there is some great parody and satire here. One of the unfortunate side-effects of parody is using a humorous base to illuminate serious social issues which may even cause the reader to stop and think for a moment about the world in general and their place in it. Due to this thought provoking nature we advise that the content within be avoided by right-wing puritans and members of fundamentalist religious groups.

As a result of all this, it is advised that the content of this wiki only be viewed by adult audiences.

In general, Wikia chickens out and does not review nor endorse the content of this or any other wiki. For more information about our policies, visit Wikia's Terms of Use.

In specific though, this site is really funny.

The link to on-site content won't work. The Wikia T&Cs probably should have a link attached. And I'd change adult audiences to nominally adult audiences. And we should get rid of those fucking cats. All in all, however, I think it's a relevant disclaimer while being Uncyclopedian in style. I like it. Voting time? • Puppy's talk page • 03:28 14 Jan

It could do for now. --

RomArtus*Imperator ITRA (Orate) ® 20:06, January 14, 2013 (UTC)

In case you don't know, the pages to change are MediaWiki:Content-warning-body, MediaWiki:Content-warning-footnote and the CSS at the bottom of MediaWiki:Common.css (I may have missed something, but that's where to start). Let me know if you need any help -- sannse<staff/> (talk) 20:19, January 15, 2013 (UTC)

Thanks. Now all we need is an admin who can change this. • Puppy's talk page • 10:03 15 Jan

Note: To remove the pink kitties you'll need to edit MediaWiki:Common.css so that:

.ShowContentWarning #content {
	background: #d7a0b4 url(http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/uncyclopedia/images/0/06/Pinks.jpg) 600px -500px repeat-x;
	box-shadow: #bbb 0 3px 5px;

Becomes:

.ShowContentWarning #content {
	box-shadow: #bbb 0 3px 5px;

• Puppy's talk page • 03:00 17 Jan

The tweaked, tweaked, tweaked version

User:PuppyOnTheRadio/new content • Puppy's talk page • 03:00 17 Jan

User:SPIKE/Content Warning is how I'd do it. Regarding the version Puppy has tweaked, the Content Warning is our First Contact with new viewers, and we ought to be able to do it without (1) so much self-congratulatory humor that the message is lost and (2) a slam at right-wingers (or even left-wingers). Spıke Ѧ 03:16 17-Jan-13

Adjustment re the right-wingers comment. Beyond that the best content warnings I've ever seen are the ones that actually make me chortle, which is why I like the Argh Isle version to begin with. • Puppy's talk page • 05:04 17 Jan

Edited it down for size but kept the core. Other notes and an inspired idea on Puppy's talk page, Aleister 6:29 17-'1'-13

Bump I've done a touch more tweaking. I'm unsure about the text colour against that background, or if anyone is likely to have issues with that image. I was thinking a dark red, but the contrast against the background limits readability. The 8% grey currently used adds readbility, but not as "scary". If the image takes waaaaay too long to load I can cut down the size, but at the sacrifice of quality. (The code is pretty crappy still. I've got more that I'd do with it but just wanted to get the basic concept right first, and then tweak the details.) • Puppy's talk page • 07:16 26 Jan

More code

It seems the "click Oscar" idea might be difficult. The guy I asked about the code needed said that the click detecting is based on the button as it is. If you changed it to an image, the clicking wouldn't do anything, unless there were backend changes. But it is possible to style the buttons, and to change the button text.

The CSS for styling the link and button is:

ContentWarning #ContentWarningApprove { button styling here } // I understand button
ContentWarning a.wikia-button { link styling here } // Go elsewhere button

And the JS for changing the text is:

$(function() {

 $('#ContentWarningApprove').html(' new button text '); // change button text

});

I don't understand any of the above, but if you need more help, I can get someone here who does -- sannse<staff/> (talk) 19:33, January 17, 2013 (UTC)

Puppy is doing some things now, maybe wait to see what he has. As for the code, Puppy could juggle the cats with one hand and out-code your guys with the other. Puppy! Aleister today

Er… that was in response to me asking for help with the coding. But the above makes perfect sense. And saved me having to find things the slow way. • Puppy's talk page • 10:19 17 Jan

Vote

Voting has closed

Replace content with Sturm und drang variant

Score: 4

For. • Puppy's talk page • 10:07 07 Feb
For. Until someone else can come up with a rival template, this is the best we have come up with so far. --RomArtus*Imperator ITRA (Orate) ® 22:32, February 7, 2013 (UTC)
For. At least it's funny (I just laughed when the light show flashed). It's scary enough to chase away the children and attract women. Thumb up (my ass hahahahahahaha). Aleister 23:07 7-2-'13
For. -- Simsilikesims(♀GUN) Talk here. 06:38, February 8, 2013 (UTC)

Play it straight

Score: 2

For Why, I do; thank you for asking! 23:25 7-Feb-13 (Section was formerly titled "Anyone like Spike's approach, to ~~mostly~~ play it straight?"--strikethrough added later--and I added it at the end as an afterthought. Edited now to take my name off the section head, VFS having finished.) Spıke Ѧ 13:03 10-Feb-13
Spiritual If we included preferential votes, my second would be here. • Puppy's talk page • 12:05 08 Feb
Still too long, and breaks the fourth wall as any other warning page does. Saying this is a humor site removes the humor of being a wikipedia parody. I still long for the day that everyone here stands as one and asks wikia, as Ronald Reagan would do if he were still editing here, to "Put up that wall!" Aleister 10:33 10-2-'13
I have minced more words to address Aleister and now it totally plays it straight, although Aleister never supports anything that plays anything straight. The complaint that it breaks the fourth wall applies to any content warning. Again, the plea that we not disclose that visitors are visiting a humor wiki is tantamount to trying to keep theatergoers from realizing that they are going to the theater. Aleister would surely like his jokes to pop up on the user's browser before the user navigates to Uncyclopedia; but we are constrained to engage in straight talk with our readers before they jump in, so let us talk straight. Spıke Ѧ 12:11 10-Feb-13
For. per my dislike of cracking wise with the navigation tools. --Mn-z 11:23, February 10, 2013 (UTC)
Hmmmmm. How about a compromise. We remove the second paragraph of this one to make it shorter (it's just blah anyway), put it on the sky and lightning gif that Puppy made, and keep the Oscar Wilde picture and caption. The best of all possible words without a direct formal request "Mr. Wales, Put up that wall!" which I still hope we all can agree to. And it's not a navigation tool, its a warning page. Aleister minutes later
The second paragraph is key; that we do not pre-screen edits is the reason the reader is subject to unbounded offense. Spıke Ѧ 12:43 10-Feb-13

What Spike said above. The warning page is to warn, not confuse the reader. A silly warning page just makes the wiki look stupid, and not ha-ha stupid. I personally like wikis that look like they are ran by adults. People use navigation tools to navigate. --Mn-z 12:28, February 10, 2013 (UTC)
I don't agree. A content warning is - at the moment - a requirement. A bland content warning doesn't reflect the style or the content of what the reader can expect. I've pointed out the content warning on South Park in the past as an example of a humorous content warning done well. Yeah - the version I did cracks wise, but it still acts as a content warning. Removing it would be my ideal. Making it more in style with our content is a compromise. Going back to a completely straight man is less attractive. • Puppy's talk page • 12:38 10 Feb
No, my text doesn't mesh with our senses of humor. Neither does the task bar at the bottom of your screen. Both do their job. Spıke Ѧ 12:46 10-Feb-13
Which is why the version above meshes with the humour and does the job. And if we have to have an intro page, I'd rather it actually be funny. Besides - it's not a navigation tool. It's a content warning. (If people tried to mess with the nav tools I'd completely agree with you.) • Puppy's talk page • 12:50 10 Feb
Generally, cracking-wise navigation tools send out an "illogicopedia" vibe. AKA, the site is about inside jokes in the forums and random silliness everywhere rather putting the humor in the articles. --Mn-z 14:16, February 10, 2013 (UTC)
I just looked at Puppy's again and it's really good. He got the Oscar pic to get rid of its white outlines and white caption box, and it fits nicely. And it's not a navigation tool, but a warning label (and we can't use it, as we could a tool). It's actually a page that both first and long-time users will actually read and enjoy. Please look at it again with new eyes (here, borrow mine) Al 14:53 10-2-'13
The point is the same. We should not be advertising the fact that we don't like the content warning. It makes the site look immature and unprofessional. --Mn-z 18:49, February 10, 2013 (UTC)
I don't get that from Puppy's version. It's a nice scary warning, to chase away the children and the rigid character structures. It's very creative, coded extremely well, and is a fun read. The Oscar Wilde picture honors our mascot, a man who should be read more and honored more in society. And the warning gives all the information needed to educate people about the site without saying we don't like the warning. I wish we didn't have one here, as I've stated many times, it destroys the premise of the site (there have been lots of people moaning about the Unununium page because it's been mistaken for wikipedia because it lists high in search engines. And Bing James Bevel. Bevel is one of the top six or seven people in American history in terms of accomplishment, and because the media has'nt caught on to him yet, we are the number two listing after wikipedia (on Google it's not as high, but if we keep posting it places it could be). But back to point, Puppy's page, to me, fits fine for who we are, what we want to present to the public (look at that coding!!!! to do what it does), and on top of that is a fun ride. Al 20:08 10-2-'13
Vox Pop. Anyone know anyone who has no vested interest in this either one way or the other? I like Pup's but I see Spike/Mnz's point. Just looks a bit dry to me...would you click through to learn more or go elsewhere? --RomArtus*Imperator ITRA (Orate) ® 18:45, February 11, 2013 (UTC)
If you like Pup's, why not go for it? Liking something means lots of other readers will like it. Like our SOPA protest main page, our Warning Notice should be the most unique, interesting, and best one on the net. Puppy's might be just that. Al 20:10 Is the Pope catholic?

Another suggestion: put the default back until you make a decision. Those kittens... they are actually making me start to dislike cats. And that's like saying they are making me fed up of air, or water, or CHOCOLATE -- sannse<staff/> (talk) 20:01, February 11, 2013 (UTC)

Leave content warning as it is, but remove the kitties

Score: 0

Make no changes to the content warning

Score: 0

Whinge ineffectually about the content warning until you eventually rage quit and go elsewhere

Score: 1

Yep. I've ineffectually whinged about how Cracked of all places has co-opted our format (topics, I'm looking at you) and turned that into part of a business enterprise. Uncyclopedia has better content and we still have to put up with an invasive warning that must piss off every new user. I've heard the biggest concern to do with ads was invading articles. Well now we have the content warning, which was worse than anything I could imagine coming from ads. Bite the bullet, go commercial offer a better experience (ie. cash) for freelance writers and we might not be at 4 votes per article at VFH. Uncyclopedia never started sucking and we offer the freedom Cracked refuses, but traffic has been downhill since the move to wikia. --Nikau (talk) 04:54, February 14, 2013 (UTC)