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Do we need a new database?
Donkbaca:
I think the search function could use some help, I find it easier to find results using google than the forums search option. That being said, I think the wiki is an underused resource that could use more attention. A lot of the same questions get asked over and over in the forums. However, I myself don't use the wiki much because it seems pretty out of date. A revamped wiki would be great
opt2not:
--- Quote from: CheffoJeffo on January 25, 2011, 03:13:42 pm ---I avoided posting in this thread earlier because I don't want to dissuade those with energy from doing good things.
--- End quote ---
I too don't want to dissuade the enthusiast, and I'm sure it'll be great when all's said and done.
Bah, maybe I should be less grumpy. Just got out of a meeting with a client, so I'm at a short-fused level atm. What I should have said is, "I currently don't have a problem finding information here, and most of it has been relevant to what I need at the time. That being said, more efficiency the better, so if this is something that makes it even easier then it sounds like a good idea. It's just going to be a lot of work".
But if you can get a strike-force together to take the brunt of the work, I'll help with as much support as my schedule can muster.
CheffoJeffo:
--- Quote from: Donkbaca on January 25, 2011, 03:27:51 pm ---However, I myself don't use the wiki much because it seems pretty out of date. A revamped wiki would be great
--- End quote ---
So we can expect your contribution ?
>:D
Hoopz:
WTF is the wiki?
:laugh2:
ids:
--- Quote from: CheffoJeffo on January 25, 2011, 03:38:48 pm ---
--- Quote from: Donkbaca on January 25, 2011, 03:27:51 pm ---However, I myself don't use the wiki much because it seems pretty out of date. A revamped wiki would be great
--- End quote ---
So we can expect your contribution ?
>:D
--- End quote ---
:laugh2:
By no means do I see a "new database" as competition for byoac, the forums, or wiki. My vision, which may be wrong, as there hasn't been much discussion about what it entails (beyond the post which inspired this poll) is really just a nice web-based view on things, not too unlike KLOV, but with the requested improvements. I don't see getting into the some of the finer details you find in MAWS, but I do like the schematics, etc. I would really need all you fine folk to tell me what is missing, what is frustrating, what you'd like that you can't (easily) get elsewhere. If a concensus builds over what a new take on things could provide, I'd love to help make it a reality.
One concern, however, is that while I can pound out a solid web-app in no time, it's useless without good data. If there are no good sources to populate this thing, it's DOA. If the real effort is getting data in, and maintaining it, then my enthusiasm is at risk; we may be in a catch-22 situation. Without a solid database to start, we'll never get the support to build it out. I'm not sure atm if data is a serious issue. Again, I need advice, direction, opinions, etc.
Please feel free to post what you'd like to see in such a thing, if it were to exist. I'll quote the inspiration to get us started:
--- Quote from: SavannahLion on January 24, 2011, 03:54:45 am ---
--- Quote from: Xiaou2 on January 24, 2011, 03:05:52 am --- In the future, we really could use some sort of custom database program, where inputting information and possibly pictures, is a breeze.
--- End quote ---
Not specifically a database, I've always felt that a modified-Wiki would serve this purpose extremely well. Even if the Wiki required registration or some sort of restriction on who, specifically, is allowed to add or edit the content.
The reason for this is that while I feel that KLOV is a great great resource, KLOV is seriously lagging in keeping itself up to date. I often find links that are out of date. Pictures that are obviously wrong. New(er) arcade cabinets never seem to be listed. Strange categorizations. Inaccurate game descriptions. So on and so forth.
If a customized Wiki is assembled using custom(for a Wiki, standard for arcades) tags to describe and categorize the games then a true database can easily be extracted from that information. The advantage of a Wiki is it would allow a much larger number of people (who all likely own the game in question) to maintain and update the information accordingly. Being a Wki, you could really expand on the type of information available. Full blown schematics. Repair manuals. Part substitution lists. etc.
To avoid spammers and ---That which is odiferous and causeth plants to grow--- information, you could restrict editors to someone who say.... actually lists the arcade as being owned. I dunno. I say it would be a far more viable long term option than what KLOV is now.
Note: Any database, Wiki, whatever, needs to have an ultra-flexible search routine. The one at KLOV sucks ass... It's way too precise in the search parameters. If I'm looking specifically for an Atari cabinet, why is Atari listed no less than FIVE times?! I get that Atari has gone under different names and/or partnerships but Atari is Atari. Let me look for manufacturer as a substring. Sheez. Controls are the same way. I get a joystick can have a button or two. But why can't I do a straight search for ALL 4-way joystick games regardless of whatever buttons they may have? And a stick with a trigger and LED is in a whole separate search category? Really? Wiki tags would allow a virtually unlimited level of sub-categories and search algorithms.
--- End quote ---
thx
ps dont worry about pissing on my enthusiasm, i can take it, the feedback is always helpful
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