Umbrella pages

[meg_r]

The discussion about Tropes has raised the problem of how to deal with the multiple pages about consent issues/sexual assault: we've got Rapefic, Noncon and Dub-con, all with somewhat different content. Noncon in particular is defined entirely in relation to rapefic and dubcon, and all the history of the trope is on the rapefic page. I feel that none of the pages can be comprehensive when the content is spread out this way.

My preference would be to merge the pages into one [[Sexual Assault (Trope)]] or [[Consent Issues in Fanworks]] page or the like and redirect, but I suspect that will prove an Unpopular Fannish Opinion. Alternatively, how about an umbrella page with the main content, so that the terms can be usefully compared, leaving the three pages as brief glossary terms that link to the umbrella page?

Other suggestions?

Comments

[meg_r]

I disagree with this *so hard*. I *hate* redundancy, it makes me all hulksmash, so forgive my vehemence. But I don't think it is even possible to contextualise the different phrases when the context itself is spread over five different pages. No-one is ever going to bother to update them all. Or even *look* at them all. I think that kind of fragmentation is really offputting and discouraging; if there's five different places you theoretically could add something, how are you supposed to know where to put it? Or if you want to reference something that's mostly on one page, but the rest of the information is on a second page - well, I just do not believe most people go: yay, I will pointlessly duplicate the information!, I think they go: maybe I just won't bother.

[cesperanza]

Yeah, I totally see what you mean, but I have the opposite fear: the more "finished"-seeming a page, the less likely I am to add to it. I feel like I'm always trying to pry things open to make space--I mean, a lot of things we're going to want to write about haven't even happened yet! Whump could take on a whole new vibrancy two fandoms from now, frinstance.

I also thought that contextualizing COULD happen on a single page: my idea was to add (I'm always about adding!) additional, "top level" pages like the Trope pages that were suggested pulling related themes/ideas together. That way you have chocolate AND peanut butter.

Vis a vis "if there's five different places you theoretically could add something, how are you supposed to know where to put it?" I myself usually pick one and then add a link to the others. I mean, the idea of a web means that you need a load of different data points, no?

Anyway, I'll personally work with whatever system happens--though in a way, I'm sort of anti-system and anti-barriers to entry. I'm trying to figure out how to increase participation, and the problem of course is that you've got different personality types: some won't play if the rules aren't clear, some won't play if the rules are too complicated, some won't bother to learn rules, some won't...

[meg_r]

You are so right about different personality types! case in point: I do sometimes find very finished looking pages a bit offputting, but I tend to find pages that need a lot of work or are really disorganised even more discouraging. I was looking at the X-Men page today - my first fandom! And I have so much to say about the X-Men! and the page is so big and awful and I clicked away without adding a single sentence. But maybe I am just too easily discouraged. Anyway, I will add the trope page I think, and move the interrelated content over but try and leave a bit of 'openness' for people to add any more specific content to the glossary pages. I think.

imo the main thing that would increase participation would be if we had *more people* - more viewpoints, more content, more teamwork. It's hard to convince people it's fun when no-one else is doing it. I suppose what you really want is people you can blackmail.

X-Men

[anenko]

I was looking at the X-Men page today - my first fandom! And I have so much to say about the X-Men!

That was pretty much my reaction. I did add a little bit of info; most of the "fannish activity" and all of "themes and trends" is mine. I feel horrible suggesting this since at few people obviously put a lot of work into the page, but more than half of it should go. I'd say most of the sections after 1.13 could be cut, due to the focus on *canon* rather than *fandom.*