User blog:Inept Wiki User/STOP Notes (30/08/2021)

Series Three Overhaul Project - Loose Notes (30/08/2021) These are some loose notes concerning the Series Three Overhaul Project (STOP) and other recent stuff on the wiki, as of August 30th 2021.

Due to circumstances at present, both on and off the wiki, these notes will not be particularly well sorted for now. See page bottom for accompanying and recent posts.

Recent Releases and Wiki Conditions
At the end of August and the beginning of September, the most recent Japanese releases for the Toaru series are, , a collaboration event between Toaru IF and DanMachi, and Index III's Blu-Ray Box. There are also certain hints and circumstances that might need to have an eye kept on them on the English side.

As of August 31st, useskin=oasis no longer functions - presumably the last stages of the decommissioning process for Oasis have been completed. Before this happened, a large number of temporary comparison images were taken for various stuff on the wiki, so that even with all the stuff we are busy with, even after Oasis was no longer an option, we'd be able to use those images for visual reference and check for any oversights/errors that have been missed in the work surrounding the transition between Oasis and FandomDesktop. As many areas as could be thought of were screenshotted and additional checks that parameters are still functional have been made - hopefully no areas have been overlooked.

Two recent additions on FD are the option to once again have full backgrounds and one for embedding videos. After a brief wait regarding the former (with a few minor hiccups being observed elsewhere), the Light/Dark backgrounds were once again made full early on the 31st (there is a minor issue with a cloud and the top-nav, but it isn't too much of a problem). As for the latter, although this will not be allowed on main articles (only uploaded videos will be allowed and even then sparringly), it is going to be utilized in several of the Shared Drafts for information gathering and analysis purposes.

Assorted Notes
''NOTE: A large number of the noted circumstances and tasks from recent previous STOP Notes and Odd Jobs posts are still ongoing/applicable. See page bottom for links to those posts.''


 * Assembly of the most recent batch of Odd Jobs has noted been completed, but SD230 has been assigned for checklists to keep track of recent odd job (mainly minor tweak/Source addition) progress in conjunction - it currently has TT19 cases (where full-stops/commas are after references rather than before, and similar remaining stuff), and two batches of images needing Source additions (one for Flags and the other for Alternative Cover Images (Ollerus handling this one)).
 * Article extracts from relevant sections of non-episode articles have been added to SD46 to aid in appropriately dealing with 'Articles requiring Citation' (marked with the Cite template)(going over the circumstances and determining the right references to use).
 * I might be doing a few ad-hoc edit sessions soon for certain sub-projects that have stalled, as an attempted jump-start in some cases.
 * This includes the image temporary renaming sub-project Prename, connected to SD155 and SD299.
 * Have been considering perhaps making a dedicated TrackTag for Nihongo-related additions (e.g. translations, kana, romaji, literal etc) - something like NeedNihongo or similar.
 * SD215's sweep aid lists might be expanded/updated in a little while.
 * Following another instance of convention disregard and existing circumstances/premonitions, it might be prudent to compile some contigencies and I might be working on them in due course.
 * Navbox fever has been another matter of note, both previously and recently, and will continue to be monitored/checked.
 * Tweaks to those arc navbox drafts are continuing in SD206. Assembly of drafts for other arcs nearing end. OH&S to address certain things regarding them.
 * Possibility of character group navbox for Kimi's Group in a similar non-article fashion to Ollerus's Group.
 * Videos have been gradually gathered in SD224/225/227/228 for analysis, but addition and sorting is not complete.

Non-Visible Element Sweeps
A number of days ago, while dealing with a minor spacing issue on Fiamma's page, I encounter a certain element on the page which was the apparent cause of the problem. One unusual thing about it is that it is invisible on the normal source editor, but its presence being felt during editing and cursory movement during editing. It becomes visible as a red dot‎ when Syntax highlighting is turned on.

Following this find, I found that this element, the cause of that previous spacing problem and not adding much else besides excess bytes, was present in quite a lot of places (including my logs, having been brought over via copies from RecentChanges). In order to locate all instances and deal with any problems caused by it, I carried out an all-page sweep to target and neutralize said element, taking a sample, recording it for future reference before putting it into MassEdit for an auto-sweep. The sweep picked up quite a lot of instances (and cut down the size of my log by quite a considerable amount).

A few days later, I encountered what appeared to be the element again, with the same red dot. However, the page on where it was found had been successfully swept before. So I conducted another set of sweeps with this sample. A short while after that I found it again, and using Find with the sample seemed not to jump to it - leading me to wonder if there was more than one type of this element.

I intend to look into the matter further, once the other ongoing tasks are out of the way, and run some more all-page sweeps with the new samples.

Edit (01/09/2021): Along similar lines though not particularly problematic, I've come across a space element that appears the same as a regular space, also in my log, which has caused the usual "2 space to 1 space" FindAndReplace sweeps to miss several cases.

Categorization and Documentation
Following the compilation of the most recent AllTemplate sweep aid list in SD215 and the sub-list considerations, along with certain recent actions and developments, I've been thinking about possible sub-projects involving template categorization and documentation.

One of the supplementary sweep aid lists was for Template Documentation, with a method of extracting it from an AllPage ("Template:") list found (using an external sorter, mirroring the list so all the letters on each line are reversed, sorting alphabetically, then mirroring back, so that all entries ending "/doc" are in one place). Coupled with recent observations of documentation on-page, sufficient or not, lead me to wonder about the possibility of bringing more documentation out onto "/doc" subpages and comparing them all.

Another considered possibility was to check and revise the template sub-category structure, arising from thoughts while attempting to sort template list extracts into more specialized sub-lists, similar to the one above.

Spacing Problems
One of the problems which was observed during the transition from Oasis (now fully retired) to FandomDesktop is that a number of templates developed spacing problems on the latter. At the time, it wasn't known how many of the templates in total had developed the problem and whether certain fixes would backfire if a change to the site's system perhaps intended to fix such problems occurred.

One of the templates which had the problem and perhaps the first to be seen was the more often seen Expand template:



The below fix was applied to temporarily sort out the problem until it could be done properly:

to

Various details have yet to be followed up, and a catalogue/list of all the templates affected has yet to be composed - Expand was definitely not the only one. At the very least, some of the image licensing tags, such as below, have the problem:

 This file is in the public domain

 This file is in the public domain

The location and mending of this problem has been considered as a potential odd job.

Toaru IF, Character Release Tables
Over the past few weeks, I've been working on the long-planned-for combined character tables for the individual character release variants in Toaru Majutsu no Index: Imaginary Fest.

There are quite a lot of plans on the table regarding Toaru IF and many of the specifics are not decided upon - the course that things will take depends on those unfinalized specifics and might greatly differ depending on what is decided. However, even if they won't be final, it will be necessary to have a few things that can act as placeholders until the proper course of action can be determined. One of these is for the many different character releases, information for which we've long been compiling on SD4, but not yet put on much of the main articles.

The plan I've devised for this particular case is to put tables in the Characters section on the main Toaru IF article as placeholders. Given the circumstances involved, the side-divided character list will be retained in a scroll box, with two separate tables in sub-sections below for specific releases. After considering circumstances, included the different factors and types of information involved, and the potential layouts of the tables, I've decided to have one table for the 3-star releases by themselves (which have more information) and one for the 2/1-star releases together (which have less information).

The largest table (and the one which would require the most thought put into it due to the factors involved) would be the 3-star one, and this is the one which I've been working on the most. After combining the tables that we had using to gather basic info on character releases, and altering the initial layout via a few specific auto-sweeps, I've ended up moving the draft to for convenience and the needs of the work. Saving multiple versions of it in the data log along the way so they can be accessed if required, the draft's framework has been developed to the point where the main information assembly process can be started.

Rough Structure 1
This is the rough structure that the table has/will have:

which displays as the following:

Structural Notes 1

 * The Nihongo line-break and HR division have been placed for experiments and are not final.
 * The table layout has been designed with consideration of both the column spacing and the information one can sort through.
 * Although unstated, having the Notes column are sortable allows for one additional sorting option while not affecting the table spacing. As the number sort effectively carries out the function of sorting by release date, that was not considered for the Notes sorting factor. Instead, the release type (i.e. what the specific release was released in - the start of the game, the gacha, with an event etc) was chosen.
 * Common wording patterns will be necessary in order to facilitate sorting and updating of the table's information. Numerous specifics are not finalized yet, though the rough idea has been formed.
 * Column width settings not final, but sorting/collapsing options for the table are essential.
 * The images are going to be non-thumbnail, 150px.
 * The two [TYPE]s in this case are Battle and Assist.
 * The Notes section will start with relevant text regarding the release type, together with the date afterwards. Then there will be information (also standardized) on the variant types etc before a new line is started.
 * On the next line will be any brief sentences needed regarding the character/scene in question (including inspirations etc) - stuff not involving gameplay.
 * The majority of the gameplay data (e.g. Attributes, Attack Type, Raw Stats etc) is going to be omitted for this table, with just brief information for the character's moves (i.e. which move, what it might be called, what the character does) for the next bit.
 * With this in mind, bullet-point lists were added to the table.

Rough Structure 2
This leads to something like this:

A few specifics regarding certain pieces of wording are not finalized, but the rough structure for the Notes entries is largely settled and being planned as follows (more sample data on the SD):

[Release Type (Initial Release (done earlier)/Gacha/Event), followed by Date]. [Variant Info]

[Brief Description if required. Scene Trivia (i.e. references, inspiration etc)]

[Attack/Skill/Special bullet-point list with names and brief visual description as appropriate] (the bullet-point lists for both Battle and Assist were implemented earlier via MassEdit multi-line edit sweeps)(raw stats, attack type and color attribute are being omitted for now)

Anchor System
The table draft currently in SD226 is not exactly like the tables shown above, as it has a system of anchors in place which are intended to expedidite precision and bulk editing and tracking using FindAndReplace and MassEdit. These anchors will be removed when the draft is eventually transferred to the main page, but while it is being drafted, they must remain in place, otherwise operations will be disrupted:

Notes:
 * Anchors are in form [ALL CAPS].
 * YEAR in the anchors is 2019, 2020 or 2021, as appropriate.
 * The purpose of the anchors is to aid in precision and bulk operations using FindAndReplace and MassEdit, with regards to editing and tracking.
 * If one is adding information to the table draft, they can use the anchors to guide them (e.g. FindAndReplace's next to jump to them and keep track of the numbers of things, MassAndEdit using them to place bits precisely in bulk or remotely).
 * Removing them prematurely would hamper operations.
 * The anchors can be easily removed with MassEdit/FindAndReplace but will only be done so once the table is ready for deployment, immediately before transfer. This timing is necessary due to the multi-step work approach (both with logging and editing), where a placeholder at a set stage is put in place while the draft is then developed further (e.g. one with just the names and release details, then one with those and the scene trivia, then one with those and attack/skill/special details etc) - with the anchors being returned to the draft after the transfer to support further development.

Current Objectives and Plans
While this table is itself a placeholder, a multi-stage approach with sub-placeholders will probably be needed given the circumstances. Once the table has been developed to a set level, a version of it can be transferred and act as placeholder while the draft is developed to the next level.

One thing to note early on is that some of the Titles still need sorting out - either they lack Nihongo parts (translation, kana or romaji) or tagging (e.g. kanji-only (whether they have the kanji-only of a kanji-with-katakana term) (Note: This particular thing is in anchor form at the moment but will be converted to hidden note form rather than being removed). However, the Titles column lacks most of the anchor structure that the Notes column does, and should probably be tackled sooner rather than later to minimize problems with the Titles column later on while the Notes column cells are being dealt with.

For the multi-step development of notes, it'd probably be best to get the top row (Release Type/Variant Info) done first at the basic level for the first implemented version. Then the next one will have those developed further, along with the next row (with a brief description and scene trivia if needed). After another implementation, any expansion for the first couple and the next rows for gameplay stuff (note that this will just be the Attack/Skill/Special name and visual description, with stats omitted for now).

Non-Standard Headers
One of the planned sub-projects involves locating and recording all of the articles that currently have non-standard headers - in order to accurately compile a list of articles where non-standard headers are appropriately used and necessary (e.g. the Merchandise list pages, Home Video Releases, External References etc), and to locate any straggler articles (not part of the previous group, but should be part of the other group) that have been missed during past general structure updates.

Identifying non-standard Level 2 headers will be necessary for this task. TrackTag(s) will also be necessary. While a specific sequence of standard non-regex MassEdit FindAndReplace auto-sweeps could be used to find the items in question, this would be lengthy, time consuming and might cause some disruption, so it would likely be better to identify a regex formula that can be used to find Level 2 headers that are not one of a given group.

Once all cases have been found, they can be looked at and separated into the cases where non-standard headers are appropriate and the others. One possibility considered for articles where non-standard headers are necessary, once they've been located by the above task, was categorizing them with a hidden category (similar to Pages requiring cleanup and similar maintenance categories)( __HIDDENCAT__ and all that).

Other

 * User blog:Inept Wiki User/Raw Data Log (30/08/2021)
 * User blog:Inept Wiki User/Odd Jobs (30/08/2021)

Previous Links

 * Desktop Transition Work (04/07/2021)
 * STOP Notes (10/07/2021)
 * Raw Data Log (15/07/2021)
 * STOP Notes (22/07/2021)
 * Odd Jobs (22/07/2021)
 * Raw Data Log (31/07/2021)
 * Raw Data Log (03/08/2021)
 * Raw Data Log 2 (03/08/2021)
 * STOP Notes (20/08/2021)
 * Raw Data Log (24/08/2021)