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Hi, just to let anyone know I've currently started on Doctor Who Magazine related pages  which I hope will be comprehensive (I promise I'll catch up soon).I had to start somewhere but if anyone has suggestions or requests for details they would find useful / interesting or both, please let me know.Hope I can help! [[User:The Librarian|The Librarian]] 01:36, 23 July 2007 (UTC)
OK I had a bit of a clearout....[[User:The Librarian|The Librarian]] 01:36, January 21, 2010 (UTC)


{{Welcome|The Librarian|[[User:Tangerineduel|Tangerineduel]]}}
==REMEMBERS==
* '''Continuity:''' the story titles should be italicised. (The way to work out references from continuity is. References are in-universe and if there's a lot of them organised under category headings (see...''[[Alien Bodies]]'' for an example), continuity is out of universe.)
* Comic strips: check out [[Template:Infobox Comic]] [[Template:Infobox Other Comics]]
* Unknown names: Just put the character in [[:Category:Individuals with unknown names]] or [[:Category:Humans with unknown names]]. Also put the individual in whatever additional categories also suit them (not just the unknown name category I mean). Also check out the two categories for the general convention and what not. If there's more than one scientist then it would be 'Female Scientist (Brain Drain)' etc. --[[User:Tangerineduel|Tangerineduel]] 15:41, September 19, 2009 (UTC)
 
==JUST WANTED TO KEEP IT BITS==
==Lee Sullivan - really nice guy!==
:Hi there - just passing through and thought I'd say hello - a really nice page on BiT. Was very amused that some of the isolated images I couldn't remember drawing :) Speaking of which - back to the drawing board for issue 59! [[Lee Sullivan]] 20:45, 8 September 2008 (UTC)
 
:: I have spoken with Lee on a number of occassions and he has been very helpful in sourcing some of the work and approving use of his artwork. :) A thoroughly decent chap! Im adding more content (hopefully) soon. [[User:The Librarian|The Librarian]] 01:19, 17 August 2009 (UTC)
 
==Just loved the imagery!! Creepy!!==
:To paraphrase the Dalek movies; Every move you make I see, every sound you utter I hear...(sounds a lot less creepy in the 60s Dalek voices with the lights flashing not in sync with the voices). I'm always around here. --[[User:Tangerineduel|Tangerineduel]] 07:48, 17 September 2008 (UTC)
 
== Passion / Contempt?! :) ==
I saw your message on TangerineDuel's talk page... Speaking as "some people" - yes, I am. Our pace of growth is much better than the despised mendicants of the Guild Wars Wiki. Bwahahaha! [[User:Monkey with a Gun|Monkey with a Gun]] 01:50, September 16, 2009 (UTC)
 
==2010==
 
 
==Image and illustrator==
Added for both [[Template:Infobox Short Story]] and [[Template:Infobox Torchwood Short Story]]. Both fields are auto-collapsing so they can be added and they'll just collapse if they're not used, see both pages for a copyable template. Thanks. --[[User:Tangerineduel|Tangerineduel]] 13:03, September 1, 2010 (UTC)
:But you might also find the [[Template:Infobox Other Comics]] might be more useful if it's appeared in a Magazine, as with all infoboxes the fields collapse if they're not used. --[[User:Tangerineduel|Tangerineduel]] 13:51, September 1, 2010 (UTC)
 
==Templates and galleries==
You can find all the templates (or do you mean infoboxes?), the templates are in the [[:Category:Templates]] category, and you'll find all the infoboxes in [[:Category:Infoboxes]].
 
There is an infobox for music [[Template:Infobox Music]] which does have all the collapsing fields on it.
 
Also check out the [[Tardis:Layout guide]] which also has links out to the infoboxes and layout guides etc.
 
The galleries issue is one that's been going on for a while since a previous MediaWiki update. You can manipulate how the gallery images are laid out. Take a look at [[Doctor Who DVD covers/Region 2]], all the galleries begin with <nowiki><gallery hideaddbutton="true"  widths="120"></nowiki> currently it's 5 covers across in its current layout, change it to 180 and you'll get 4 across (just change it and preview, don't save and you can see the difference). Try it on some of the other pages you're seeing a difference and this should probably help.
 
As for the 'search this wiki' function and other things like that, yes this wiki and wikia are going through some transitional phrases. But the 'search this wiki' not deleting thing seems to come and go (may be a browser thing), short answer is I don't know for sure. Sorry I couldn't be more help on this front. Thanks. --[[User:Tangerineduel|Tangerineduel]] 14:22, October 8, 2010 (UTC)
 
 
== {{tl|title}} ==
 
Hey, since you mostly deal with articles that are about things that should be italicized, could you please remember to start new articles with the new title template?  Its usage is super easy.  Just type:
<pre>
{{title|''Insert title here''}}
or if only a portion of the title should be italicized
{{title|List of ''Doctor Who Adventures'' issues}}
</pre>
Most of the existing articles that should be italicized have already gotten this treatment, but new articles are a bit beyond my control.  Since you deal with this type of article so much, you might benefit of reading the documentation at {{tl|title}}, as well.  Thanks :) {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}
::Oh I ''wish'' that merely italicizing the title of an article meant that every use of that title would be magically correct throughout the wiki.  But, no, italicizing the page title is just that.  It has no impact on how the title is presented in in-line wiki links.  {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}
 
==Can you test something for me?==
Hey, by now you'll probably have noticed something different when you try to create a new page.  I've started adding in a whole fleet of enw preloadable formats.  Today, I've gotten around to something that particularly interests you:  formats for DWA and DWM issues.  Could ya kick the tires on the formats for me, and tell me if you'd like anything tweaked about them?  I've based both on the most recent issues of the mags.  I think the DWM one is pretty solid, cause I'm familiar with that mag, but it's been a while since I've seen an issue of DWA.  I think that you'll like that both formats automatically fill in most of the infobox, and even automatically add categories and the previous and next issues. I'm a little ''less'' sure that I've got the subheads right on the DWA thing.  Thanks for your help.  {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}
:Thanks for your comments.  I'm not sure I understand you very clearly, though.  When you say, 
::And the Option 2 bit ... cant make sence of why when I choose a red link it comes up as the page being created surely is the one headed at the top?
:what do you mean?  Option 2 would be the thing I'd have thought you'd have liked and understood the most.  All you do is just put in the name of a page you want to copy and, hey presto, you get it all copied over into your new page.  So let's say you want to create [[DWA issue 204]] really quickly.  Choose to create that page, then go to Option 2 and enter [[DWA Issue 203]].  It'll copy over the existing page and then you just have to edit in the differences. 
 
::As for the preloadables under Option 1 being confusing because of some of the code, '''I'd really prefer that you included all that when you're working in Word'''.  It'll make your life ''way'' easier.  You don't even have to think about it.  In a sense you don't ''have'' to understand it.  It just works.  Maybe if you chose that format, then hit "preview", you'd see what it did, and therefore got more comfortable with it.  The whole point of having a preloadable format is that it automatically take care of some of the things that are standard to every page.  The coding does this, by automatically numbering issues, making sure a '''standard''' lead is attached to each article, and automatically filing the page in the right category.  I'd urge you to ''try'' to do the next issue using the preload, preferably not in Word.  Do it "live" so that you can preview it and see what the format is doing.
 
::The question I really have for you is whether you think the sectional subheads in the format are good.  Do you need more or fewer?  Would you choose ''different'' sectional labels?
 
::If you haven't done so, you might want to read [[Help:preloadable formats]].  Maybe that'll make things clearer. 
 
::Oh, and the reason you can't extend infobox templates to include subheadings is that limits the utility of the infobox.  It means you'd have to create an infobox for ''every single'' series, magazine, and medium.  Which isn't desirable.  An infobox is a ''component'' of pages; it's not the page itself.  It should be possible to use the infobox for audios, for example, on Big Finish, BBC and Magic Bullet productions.  That wouldn't necessarily be possible if the infobox also had sectional headings on it.  {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}
 
==Preloadable format stuff==
Okay, I've taken on board your suggestion for rewording the message that comes up when you start a new article.  Take a look and tell me whether you think that wording is clearer.  (Also, did you ever go to [[help:preloadable formats]] to see if you understood the language there?) {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}}'''18:17:58 Sun&nbsp;'''27 Feb 2011&nbsp;</span>
===DWA preoloadable===
On the DWA issue preloadable, specifically, I've added in the A3/A4/A4 you requested.  The cover dates were never removed from the infobox; it's just that in the format the cover date variable isn't defined.  Any variables undefined don't appear when the article is published. In other words, if you were looking at [[:template:DWA issue/preload]], it would appear that the cover date wasn't there, because none is defined.  However, if you actually start a page, and pull down to "DWA issue", the text you see while editing will definitely include a line for "cover date".
 
I note that you're apparently not using this format as of the latest issue in our library.  Had you used the format, it would have automatically avoided the error you made with the second word in [[DWA Issue 205]].  It's '''impossible''' to get the issue number wrong using the new format.  Also, it starts leads in the format that's '''required''' by the [[tardis:manual of style|manual of style]].  Please remember that ll articles should begin with the name of the article '''in bold'''.
 
'''Please use the format to add new issues into the database from here on out.''' It really will make your life a touch easier.  Obviously, if you prefer to work offline until you're finished editing an article, you can easily continue to do so.  Just paste the contents of '''[[:template:DWA issue/preload]]''' into Word and work there.  To avoid what you described as "the ' is not word compatible", simply change the format of the word document to plain text.  Then you can type anything without Word trying to "read" certain special characters, like the apostrophe.
 
Remember that with this new format, the '''title of the article''' automatically provides the title of the lead, and the previous and next issues.  So you should never have to type in the words "DWA Issue XXX" anywhere in your word document (unless you're making a point about a specific back issue somewhere in the body of your article).
 
As for whether the bot will get involved in fixing back issues, the answer is a probable yes.  I want to get you using the format first and making sure you're comfortable with it.  Once got the kinks worked out, and we're sure that the format seems to cover the shape of most issues of the magazine, then we'll worry about imposing it on past issues.  One thing the bot may do sooner rather than later is to strip all the back issues of their current leads and replace it with the one in the format — that is, the one that follows the MOS.
 
If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask. {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}}'''18:37:23 Sun&nbsp;'''27 Feb 2011&nbsp;</span>
 
==New formats aren't just for DWA issues . . . ==
Hey again :)  Just noticed your latest creations in comic stories, and it appears you've not adopted the format given under the drop down menu.  Please do so, as it automatically places the appropriate templatess on the page, and it uses MOS-appropriate captilization for headers (it's '''External links''' not '''External Links''').  Really improtant that all new pages in your sphere of interest have {{tl|title}} and {{tl|TitleSort}} on them, even if they don't appear to need them.  Feel free, of course, to just copy and paste the new formats into word and to work as you normally do.  Just thought I'd give you a heads up that your current offline templates are now out of date.  {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}}'''10:03:49 Wed&nbsp;'''02 Mar 2011&nbsp;</span>
==Galleries==
Galleries actually aren't meant to be used quite as heavily as you're using them.  They're for a ''few'' pictures, not hundreds and hundreds on the same page, in a single gallery.  When you attempt to put dozens or hundreds of pictures into the same gallery, you're going to run into problems, unless they're all roughly the same dimensions. 
 
Because you didn't elect to specify a picture width for the gallery, the width defaulted to 200px.  Thus, it's going to take all the pictures in the gallery and reduce them to 200px max width.  It ''kind of'' tries to make the height reduce proportionally, but it's not very good at it.   
 
Having many, many pictures of highly varying widths confuses this very simple gallery code.  It tries to calculate a good overall dimension which satisfies the 200px width requirement without screwing up the height too much.  That works well enough if all the pictures in your gallery have similar dimensions.  If they have widely varying dimensions, though, it can cause problems.
 
One solution can now be seen at the [[Free gifts (Doctor Who Magazine)|DWM page]]. I've just broken up the page into multiple galleries.  This has worked to give proper dimensions to the postcard pages. 
 
Indeed, you'll note that the primary difference between [[Free gifts (Doctor Who Adventures)]] and [[Free gifts (Doctor Who Magazine)]] is that the DWA page had several galleries.  The DWA page also has far more pictures which are tall and skinny.  This helps eliminate the ''appearance'' of width distortion.  But these galleries ''always'' create some level of distortion. [[:file:DWAMFG031.jpg]], for instance, ''is'' distoted on the DWA page, but the distortion isn't quite as obvious at the postcards on the DWM page.  This is because the image has some quite skinny pictures around it, reducing the horizontal stretching. 
 
But the truth is galleries, actively ''suck'' at accurately representing the dimensions of pictures.  It's far better to build a table with pictures than to rely on <pre><gallery hideaddbutton="true" ></pre>.  For instance, the pictures of new products on our front page doesn't use galleries at all.  Neither does [[Character Options SJA action figures]].  You can use table code in a variety of ways to produce a gallery-like structure which behaves more reliably than gallery itself.
 
Of course, despite their shortcomings, galleries aren't forbidden.  It's just important to recognise what they can and can't do.  And the gallery command just wasn't ''meant'' to be doing what you're asking of it.  It's not supposed to hold dozens and dozens pictures.  Pages are supposed to be a '''mixture''' of text and photos.  If you put a bit more description on the actual page, and had no more than a dozen pictures in each gallery, you'd probably never run into problems. 
 
Finally, I'm very concerned over the sheer size of your pictures for the DWM stuff.  Each picture seems to be well over 100kb and is well more than 800px in at least one of its two dimensions.  Most of the pictures are needlessly in violation of [[tardis:image use policy]].  Remember that it will take someone with a slower connection or older machine longer to load each pic.  All told, there's probably tens of MB of pictures on the page — which is really quite daunting to some connections.  If you ''needed'' that size to adequately display the image, that'd be one thing.  But you really don't.  You could reduce the size of each of the pics by 50% and still adequately convey the image.  If you're using Photoshop, consider saving as a web image, and reducing the overall quality to something like 20%.  It'll make these pages load much more quickly for all users. {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}}03:04: Mon&nbsp;24 Oct 2011&nbsp;</span>
 
==End Game==
Any chance you could upload a picture of the title panel for [[End Game (DWBIT comic story)]] to [[talk:End Game (DWBIT comic story)]] and/or my talk page?  Thanks :)  {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}}01:29: Tue&nbsp;25 Oct 2011&nbsp;</span>
 
== Images by story categories ==
Please be aware that [[:category:images by televised story|images by televised story]] and [[:category:images by comic story|images by comic story]] are now completely filled out with subcategories for each and every story of that type.  So if you have an image from say, ''[[Thinktwice (comic story)|Thinktwice]]'', you'll want to make sure that you put it in [[:Category:Thinktwice comic story images]]. Or if you have something from ''[[The Mind of Evil (TV story)|The Mind of Evil]]'', please ensure it gets into [[:Category:The Mind of Evil TV story images]].
 
These [[:category:images by story|images by story]] categories are, of course, ''in addition'' to any other categories which may be appropriate, such as ones from  [[:category:Images by character|Images by character]], [[:category:Images by object|Images by object]], or [[:category:images by species|images by species]].
 
[[:category:Images by story|Images by story]] will continue to grow over the coming weeks to include other media, but comics and TV were deemed the highest priority, since the vast majority of images will come from these two visual media. 
 
Also, if you haven't noticed it for now, TV story pages now all have a little tab at the top left labelled "images".  Clicking it takes you to the relevant category, so that you can quickly view our repository of images from that particular story  All stories will eventually have this sort of link.  Longer term, individual charactes might also have such a link. {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}}02:40: Mon&nbsp;20 Feb 2012&nbsp;</span>
 
== Thanks! ==
 
Just a note of personal appreciation for doing the work of creating the DWA and DWM pages. [[User:Boblipton|Boblipton]] <sup>[[User talk:Boblipton|talk to me]]</sup> 00:33, February 23, 2012 (UTC)
 
== Table images query ==
Here's the thing.  A lot of changes have been made in the last three weeks.  I mean ''tens of thousands'' of changes having to do with images.  The biggest thing is that I've been trying to enforce  [[Forum:Thumbnail widths]].  In this endeavor, pics have been stripped of their XXXpx designation.  In well over 95% of cases, this has worked without a hitch. 
 
However, the one area of the wiki where there has been problematic are generally the pages you like to work on — real world pages about products.  The bot simply strips out the XXXpx bit.  It doesn't understand context. Very few tables actually have pictures in them, so very few pages have been affected.  But I'm willing to bet that you know which pages have been screwed up. It would be helpful if you could remember which pages you've created with tables of this kind.  Then, you could just go to them and undo the last edit by [[User:CzechBot]].  The page will instantly snap back into place.
 
It would further be helpful if you could supply me a list of the pages, cause there's not much of a way to detect pages with illustrated tables.  Eventually these tables need to be converted into ones that automatically size pics, but I've never really gone lookin for such pages.  I'm thinkin' you'd probably be the key to finding them.
 
Another thing that seems more prevalent in your editing pattern than others:  you sometimes don't use thumbnials.  You'll just do something like <nowiki>[[file:name.jpg|250px]]</nowiki>  It would be ''very'' helpful if you'd ''stop'' this.  Always use a thumbnail, and always caon free-standing pics (pics not in a table/infobox).  If they're thumbnails, our readers have more control over their size through [[Special:Preferences]].  If they're not thumbnails, then they're the size we say they are.  We want to give our readers the ability to set the pic size as they will, except when there's an actual need to control things, as with an infobox.
 
You'll likely find that several of the pages you've edited have oddly-sized free-standing pics, because the bot removed the XXXpx, which would have the effect of putting the pic on the page '''at full size'''.  We need to identify the pages where this has happened — and, again, you're in the best position to know where you've created your own thumbnails instead of relying on the <code>file:name.jpg|thumb|caption</code> syntax.
 
Since you've been gong for so long, please do take the time to read [[MediaWiki:Community-corner]], [[:category:tech notes]] and other forum threads.
 
Just to highlight what you'll find there:
 
*be aware that we're now categorising comic images both by the characters, species, objects and stories they depict.  Check out [[:category:Images]] for a look at the new categories. 
*infoboxes now automatically size and display pics.  You just enter <code>image=Name.jpg</code> ''not'' <code>image=<nowiki>[[file:Name.jpg|250px]]</nowiki></code>.  This means that pics are ''always'' at 250px widths.  This ''also'' means that some of the really skinny pics from DWBIT and DWA that you've put up in the past are out. You've really got to try to get widescreen images only for infoboxes, except in the cases of covers.  See [[T:ICC]] and [[User talk:OttselSpy25]] for a li'l tutorial. I know this is hard with comic stuff, and there ''are'' going to be times where widescreen is literally impossible.  But in those cases, you ''must'' get the length:width ratio no longer than a standard magazine ''cover''.  The infobox cannot stretch to three and four times the height of the article, which it would do if you took at image at 1:4 (1 units of width to 4 units of height) and set it at 250px. 
*Because infobox pics are automatically set now, you can't add captions in the image variable.  The image variable displays 1 image at 250px only.  I ''might'' be adapting the infobox to allow for an image2 variable for magazines and books, so I've retained those cases where you've added a second cover.  But they don't currently display.
*Your practice of having 400-600px-wide pics in the middle of comic story articles has been abandoned.  I've deleted all those.  In the first place, there's no way it was fair use to reprint several sequential images in a row.  In the second, it was ''destroying'' the text flow on those pages.  Basically those "comic strips" of yours were too fat to squeeze between the infobox and the left margin, meaning that the article didn't really start until ''after'' the huge picture.  It probably looked fine in Monobook, but Wikia just wouldn't wear it.  Please don't put these images, or anything like them, back.  Remember, all images outside of the infobox must be '''thumbnails without specified widths''' only. 
 
Hmm, that last bit sounds like I'm being a bit critical of your work.  And I'm not.  I'm sure a lot of that probably never occurred to you.  The BIT stuff is sufficiently old that you probably ''did'' edit in Monobook, but then never really came back to look a it in Wikia.  As Wikia develops the software, we simply have to move to accommodate their changes.  Unfortunately this can mean that previous work we've done gets invalidated overnight. Obviously, we appreciate your work around here!  If you have any further questions, you know where I am.  {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}}02:55: Wed&nbsp;07 Mar 2012&nbsp;</span>
 
== Your technical editing issues ==
Leaving all the specifics of editing images to one side for the moment, I'm most concerned about the report that you were actually prevented from editing/frustrated the point of stopping by some technical issues.  I'm also surprised to har that you're not getting the "new messages" alert.
 
Since your problems, as described, are well beyond ''anything'' I've ever heard before, I do wanna ask a coupla questions:
*What browser do you use (including version number)
*What OS do you use (including version number)
*What skin do you edit in (Monobook or Wikia — that is, do you currently see Bernice Summerfield's head peeking out from behind the page?)
 
I do want to try to sort your ''basic'' technical problems as quickly as possible before moving to anything else. {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}}19:46: Wed&nbsp;07 Mar 2012&nbsp;</span>
 
==DWMS covers==
Got a li'l project for you, if you're up for it.  For some reason, almost all the DWMS covers are <250px.  They need to be a minimum of 250px to fit properly in the infobox.  Any chance you might be able to easily replace the covers for us?  Thanks.  Also, if you know any other covers you've uploaded with <250px width dimensions, could you switch those out, too?  {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}}21:36: Tue&nbsp;13 Mar 2012&nbsp;</span>
 
== Comic infobox ==
 
To answer your question briefly:
*You're encouraged to read {{tl|Infobox Story}} to get a better grasp of how the new infoboxes work.  Although the documentation is still being written up, there is considerable coverage for the comic story version of the infobox.  Also, there are lively discussions going on in the forums about the new infoboxes, which are centralised at [[Forum:New infoboxes and you|New infoboxes and you]]. 
*The reason that the infobox at [[Picture Imperfect (comic story)]] doesn't work is because [[The Star Serpent (comic story)]] does not exist.  You created [[The Star Serpent]]] without the [[disambiguation term]] of (comic story). Please remember from this point forward to create '''all''' comic stories with the form [[Title (comic story)]]. If you now simply move [[The Star Serpent]] to [[The Star Serpent (comic story)]], the infobox at [[Picture Imperfect (comic story)|Picture Imperfect]] will "magically" work.  (There's a list of these now-mandatory dab terms at, um, [[dab term]].)
*Also, please take a look at [[Tardis:Guide to images]].  I've tried to create a lot of examples there of good and bad screenshots so that we're all working to a common standard.  You'll see a number of your own screenshots there.  They're mostly used as negative examples, but this wasn't to pick on you.  I simply went through recently-added images in reverse order and a few of yours popped up.  Still, I hope the guide will help the wiki achieve a more harmonious use of imagery.
*You should indeed get a message to pop up, like the [[Game of Rassilon]] points notifications when I publish this message.  If you don't, you should probably contact Wikia Staff at [[Special:Contact/bug]].  If you're not getting message notifications, that's definitely something affecting you personally, not the whole wiki.  (I want to say that at one time it was an option under [[Special:Preferences]], but that the option is no longer there.  Thus if you turned it off, you can't now turn it back on.  Talk to staff, though, to get all your options.  I would say that you could probably instantly fix it by just restoring defaults, but this may eliminate other options that you like, so I'd talk to staff first.)
{{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}}01:29: Fri&nbsp;30 Mar 2012&nbsp;</span>
 
== Sorry, I just don't understand ==
I honestly don't understand anything you're asking under [[User:CzechOut#More queries]].  Please take as many screenshots as are necessary to illustrate your prolbem and ask again. 
 
The only thing I can tell you right now is that there are no known bugs with removing categories.  You might find it helpful to go into [[Special:Preferences]] and disable the category module.  The check box is in the "Under the hood" tab, IIRC. You don't need an admin's help to remove a category.
 
If your category module is turned on (which is the default), then you'll find the category module on the right column. All you do to remove the category is just highlight it and click delete — just as if it were text in the larger editing area on the left. You cannot edit both the main edit box on the left and the category module on the right at the same time.  When you edit the categories, the edit area naturally disengages.  THIS should be relatively clear because the box being edited  turns a light shade of blue when you're actively editing it. {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}}03:58: Fri&nbsp;30 Mar 2012&nbsp;</span>
 
===New Notes (2012)===
I'm aware some of the above still need addressing - I'm working on it! [[User:The Librarian|The Librarian]] <sup>[[User talk:The Librarian#top|talk to me]]</sup> 21:27, April 2, 2012 (UTC)
 
== Display queries ==
Thanks for the pictures.  That cleared up the problems a lot.  Yes, there is an issue on novelisation pages, which I will be correcting today.  Basically, I just have to strip out the old way of doing the italicised titles and replace it with the new way.  It's not a hard fix — but it is indeed a genuine error.  So thanks for pointing it out!
 
The other thing you're seeing is not ''exactly'' an error — in that it's perfectly expected behavior, given the code — but it shows me why you can't seem to find categories.  You're editing '''widescreen''', which means that you're going to get that "funkiness" with the preload stuff.  It also means you're not going to see categories, if you have the category module enabled in [[Special:Preferences]] (which is the default condition).  If your edit screen ''always'' looks like this, this is why you were reporting earlier problems in deleting categories.  You couldn't see them in order to delete them.  The easy fix for this is to just '''don't edit in widescreen'''.  Click on the thin, grey, border which frames your edit area '''on the right'''.  There's a tiny, left-pointing arrow there on the right border, but it can be hard to see.  You just have to click ''somewhere'' on that right border – doesn't have to be the arrow itself.
 
You might wonder to yourself, though, why not change the code with the preloads so that the "scrunchy" effect doesn't happen?  The reason is because neither I nor the smartest codemonkeys on Wikia seem to know how — yet.  And the truth is that it's a low priority.  Since you can so easily collapse the edit box back to its normal shape, it's not that big a worry.
 
As for [[dab term]]s like (comic story), it is probably a good idea to get in the habit of adding the dab term.  The move was made for the benefit of new users. Annually, we get the question, why is it sometimes [[Castrovalva (TV story)]] and other times [[The Reign of Terror]]?  For the benefit of attracting and retaining new editors it was decided to make naming standard.  Thus it is ''always'' correct to link to [[Hotel Historia (comic story)]].  As we go forward, and '''initially''' create stories with the dab term, you may not be able to rely on having an un-dab-ed title around.  That is, there may '''only''' be '''Future Adventure (comic story)''', but not '''Future Adventure'''.  So you might as well get in the habit of using the dab term. (Remember, it's easier to link to a story with a dab term by [[pipe switch]]ing.  You don't have to type <code><nowiki>[[Future Adventure (comic story)|Future Adventure]] only [[Future Adventure (comic story)|]]</nowiki></code>.)  That said, do I personally still type <code><nowiki>[[The Reign of Terror]]</nowiki></code>?  Yes, I do.  I know by heart which television stories ''require'' dab terms and which don't.  So I'm more inclined to drop the parenthetical.  But when it comes to audios, comics, novels, whatever, I'm much ''less'' inclined to chance it.
 
As for covers, or pictures generally, remember there are two kinds of size.  One way of measuring size is the dimension — the literal width X height. Here it's mandatory that covers be at the very least 250px (but try for 300px).  There's not really an upper number, per se, but the highter the dimensions, the higher the bigger the file gets.  In this sense, I'm talking about true ''file size''.  That is, it's size in terms of kilobytes.  Here, there is absolutely no need for a cover to be greater than 100kb.  But there's no precise relationship between the file size and the dimensions.  It's possible to have an 1000px wide picture be under 100kb. And it's equally possible to have a 300px file be 1.2mb.  It all comes down to the settings you use on your graphics program.  If you find you're having difficulty hitting the mark, let me know what kind of graphics program you use, and I can probably come up with some suggested settings.
 
By the way,  {{tl|DWA cover}} has been reworded to reflect the change in publisher.  I don't think the change affects the copyright status much, though — the images are stil effectively controlled by BBCW.  Also, I wasn't terribly clear what you meant when you said that image categories had been reduced.  We've recently '''exploded''' the number of image categories.  There are easily 1000 more image categories than there were a month or so ago.  But categories for covers have always meant to be just for covers.  Covers for interior art should bear {{tl|comic copyright}}, but they should also bear the category associated with the story from whence they came, as well as any major characters in the image.  So, if you have something from ''Hotel Historia'' featuring the Tenth Doctor and Majenta, it should be in [[:Category:Hotel Historia comic story images]], [[:category:Tenth Doctor images]] and [[:category:Majenta Pryce images]].  {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}}18:19: Tue&nbsp;03 Apr 2012&nbsp;</span>
 
:Let me stress: there's no real error here.  '''You ''are'' editing in widescreen'''.  You need to stop that.
 
:Your pictures indicate that you didn't try to the simple instructions given in paragraph 2, above.  If I was long-winded, it was only because I was trying to teach you how you could actually work around the limitation of widescreen, because widescreen editing is largely cool.  But I'm guessing you just want it all to work without issue.  So you'll need to '''turn widescreen off entirely'''. Follow these instructions '''precisely''':
:#[[Special:Preferences|Right click on this link]] and open it in a new window (just so you can keep reading these instructions)
:#Go to the tab that says "Editing".  It's third from the left.
:#Go to the section that says "Editing experience".
:#Uncheck "Widen the Source mode edit box to fill the entire screen"
:#Click on the button that says "Save" at the bottom of the page.
:#Your problems are over.
:{{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}}02:05: Tue&nbsp;10 Apr 2012&nbsp;</span>
 
::By the way, I'm not asking you to learn truly ''complex'' coding, but it worries me that you seem to have just ignored what I typed, above.  I put a lot of time into making all that simple and straightforward.  Given the fact you're such a prolific editor, you really do need to understand basic concepts like file size, file width, [[pipe switch]]ing, and how to use the edit window.  That requires a ''moderate'' amount of technical jargon.
 
::I honestly don't think my language is ''that'' impenetrable.  I don't mind answering questions that you have.  I ''want'' to answer them.  That's what I'm here for.  But the fact that my instructions weren't good enough to tell you how to click the right-hand margin of your edit window troubles me. If you can't figure out '''within a day''' something I'm trying to explain to you, ''please'' write back more quickly so I can try again.  There's absolutely no reason why you should be puzzled '''for a week''' about how to perform one simple mouse click.  {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}}02:22: Tue&nbsp;10 Apr 2012&nbsp;</span>
 
== punch and judy trap ==
 
The word "Punchellian"/"Punchellion" is spelled inconsistently across the article and the sub-article on "Punchellian".  As I cannot figure which is correct....[[User:Boblipton|Boblipton]] <sup>[[User talk:Boblipton|talk to me]]</sup> 01:32, April 11, 2012 (UTC)
 
== Test Message. ==
 
For testing.
 
== Magazine covers ==
Thanks so much for trying to correct the too-thin images of DWM covers.  However, you've corrected one problem, but caused another.  As spelled out in [[T:IUP]], [[T:ICC]] and several other places, pics have to be '''at least''' 250px wide, but '''no more than''' 100kb big.  A lot of your new covers are well over 500kb.
 
If you're used to only looking at the site with your relatively new computer wired into your relatively high-speed ISP, you'll never notice the difference between a 100kb pic and a 1000kb pic.  Both will hit your desktop at so close to the same time you'll not be able to distinguish them.
 
But if you're on an iPhone or an Android — like 20% of wikia's guests are — you'll ''totally'' feel the difference, particularly if you're having to rely on ''cellular'' internet. 
 
So we ''do'' need to watch our file sizes, as well as widths, to ensure that all of our guests have the fastest possible experience.  Your typical DWM cover really could be saved at 20kb with no easily appreciable loss of quality. {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}}04:16: Thu&nbsp;26 Apr 2012&nbsp;</span>
 
== Message notifications ==
Only Staff will be able to help you with your alleged message notification failures.  I've never heard of anyone else having this problem, so I'm not thinking it's anything to do with local coding.  Well, I'm not ''thinking'' it; I '''know''' that local coding has nothing to do with your problem. 
 
That said, I can give you a few general things you need to check out.
 
#Ensure that it's happening elsewhere on Wikia.  Go to another wiki with an active chat channel — somewhere like [[w:c:community]].  Ask one of the people in chat to leave a message for you and then report back in chat when they've left the message.  Then go around to two or three other random wikis — '''avoiding your talk page/message wall''' — and see if you get a message notification.  If you don't get a message notification anywhere, you know it's something to do with your account. (Well, we pretty much know that now, but this would just be a confirmation.)
#If you're using Internet Explorer, '''stop'''.  We really don't support it, and Wikia itself nominally supports only IE 9+.  Both active bureaucrats are Mac users and have no ability to regularly see the site in IE, so tardis can't guarantee anything about the site's operability in IE.  Still, I've never heard of any IE user failing to get a message notification from our site. 
#Check whether you've got some personal css/js installed.  If you do, then it's possible ''that'' code is interfering with the site's attempts to communicate with you.  However, code to disrupt the messaging system is unlikely, particularly given your professed lack of familiarity with basic wiki coding. You would most likely have to have installed something on someone else's recommendation without understanding what that thing did.  '''Nothing that this site recommends for you to install in any way interferes with the Wikia messaging system.'''
#If you've ever changed your user name, it's possible that this is interfering with the delivery of messages.  If you've always been [[user:The Librarian|The Librarian]], though, this wouldn't apply.  {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}}19:27: Mon&nbsp;07 May 2012&nbsp;</span>
 
== Pic sizes ==
 
[[:File:DWMI 26.jpg]] is still too big.  You want it to be below 100KB, and it's currently at 166KB.  So you can either keep the resolution the same, but drop the width down to, say, 500px — or you can just pull the resolution down a touch.  It's totally possible to get 600px width covers down to 30KB, though. {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}}23:30: Thu&nbsp;24 May 2012&nbsp;</span>
==Graphic novel infobox ==
Although you will still see the words {{tlx|Infobox Graphic Novel}}, in fact it, like most every other kind of infobox used on a story page, is really {{tlx|Infobox Story}}.  Go to that page and then click on "comic story" to find a cut-n-paste version of template appropriate to comics. 
 
Oh and you should now find that navigation is (mostly) working as expected for graphic novels.  Thanks for pointing out that it had fallen through the cracks.  {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}}02:35: Fri&nbsp;25 May 2012&nbsp;</span>
:Please '''read''' {{tlx|Infobox Story}}.  It gives answers to most of the questions you've asked.  If you see an article about something which is the first or last of a series, you'll have to manually add <tt>| prev = none</tt> or <tt>| last = none</tt>, as appropriate. 
 
:Likewise {{tlx|Infobox Magazine}} answers your questions about why navigation is different with magazines than with other infoboxes that have a navigation element.  Essentially, the navigation for magazines — and ''only'' magazines — is on complete autopilot.
 
:As for your specific redirection requests, I'm not quite sure what you're asking with one of them, because you put a redlink on my page.  If you mean, however, should [[Doctor Who Magazine graphic novels]] be '''Doctor Who Magazine (graphic novels)''', the answer is an unequivocal and emphatic no.
 
:Of the two [[disambiguation term]]s, (comic story) essentially "outranks" (graphic novel).  So if something is both a single story ''and'' a graphic novel, it takes (comic story).  Thus, both ''[[The Only Good Dalek]]'' and ''[[The Age of Chaos]]'' are (comic story).  Another way of looking at it is that we're using the ''primary'' British meaning of "graphic novel" — which is to say "a collection of previously-published stories".  Americans would say that we're using (graphic novel) to mean (trade paperback).  {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}}15:16: Fri&nbsp;25 May 2012&nbsp;</span>
 
== DWA 270-272 ==
 
All of these issues show the same date: 30 May 2012.[[User:Boblipton|Boblipton]] <sup>[[User talk:Boblipton|talk to me]]</sup> 12:34, June 5, 2012 (UTC)
 
Dear Librarian,
 
the article [[Doctor Who Magazine/2012]] indicates that the issues rrange from #442 through 428 -- clearly a typo.  Like the last time I wrote you, I would change it myself, but I don't know what the right numbers are. [[User:Boblipton|Boblipton]] <sup>[[User talk:Boblipton|talk to me]]</sup> 23:29, June 6, 2012 (UTC)
 
Sorry if you feel like I'm stalking, but it's something I do with all new articles. Given my work habits, I find it best to start fixing the articles when they're new and small rather than waiting until they're immense and hard to get a handle on.
 
Are we going to see articles on DWM 442-447 soon?[[User:Boblipton|Boblipton]] <sup>[[User talk:Boblipton|talk to me]]</sup> 23:56, June 6, 2012 (UTC)
 
== Series variable ==
Hey :)  Please note that there can only be '''one''' series variable per each group of navigation points.  So if you've got a {{{prev}}} and a {{{next}}}, you can only use {{{series}}}.  Don't use {{{series2}}} and {{{series3}}} to put in additional, confusing lines.
 
For DWA comic strips, the {{{series}}} variable should be set to [[DWA comic stories]].  That's it.  Not Doctor Who comic stories.  Not Eleventh Doctor comic stories.  The series is ''only'' [[DWA comic stories]].  Similarly in DWM, the {{{series}}} is ''only'' [[DWM comic stories]]. 
 
Thanks.  {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}}00:57: Mon&nbsp;09 Jul 2012&nbsp;</span> 00:57, July 9, 2012 (UTC)
 
== Please follow image guidelines ==
I remind you to read and understand [[T:ICC]] and [[T:GTI]].  It's very important that all images be:
*'''more than''' 250px wide
*'''less than''' 100kb in total size
*cropped so that word balloons are not "chopped off" — unless the artist drew an irregularly-shaped balloon. They should either be entirely present or entirely absent; nothing in between.
 
It's especially important as we prepare to receive a new crop of editors once series 7 begins that all our editors are contributing according to the established guidelines.  New editors will be looking at what old hands like yourself are doing.  Thus, it's really important that you pay attention to [[Tardis:Guide to images#Comics]] and produce '''only''' work that falls within those guidelines.  {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}}20:22: Sat&nbsp;04 Aug 2012&nbsp;</span>
 
== Linking to dates ==
Please don't link to dates the way you seem to be doing.  Proper linkage is<pre>[[23 August]] [[2012]]</pre>
not
<pre>[[23rd August |23]] [[August]] [[2012]]</pre>
There is absolutely no reason to have specific linkage to the month. Nor is there good cause for the linkage to the redirect of [[23rd August]] versus the page title of [[23 August]]. Most magazines have cover dates with the simpler date form, so you're not, I don't think, reflecting what's on the magazine itself. (And even if you are, there's a premium on space in the infobox.  You should go with as few characters as possible.)
 
Additionally, please don't introduce extra spaces before a pipe when performing a [[pipe trick]].  Yes, it'll ''work'' to type<pre>[[24 December    |Christmas Eve]]</pre>but please don't do it.  The bot in no way expects that kinda space to exist there, so it makes wiki maintenance needlessly more difficult. While we're on the subject of spaces, please do not introduce any unnecessary vertical spaces.  One of your articles had 6 carriage returns at the top of the article.  Please review [[T:SPACING]].  Thanks — and thanks for your continuing hard work. :)  {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}} 01:57: Tue 04 Sep 2012</span>
 
== Test Message ==
 
Hi, I've received a report that you haven't been getting talk page notifications, so this is just a test message to verify if there's a bug with your account view. --[[User:Dopp|Dopp]] http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb32675/wikia/images/e/e9/WikiaStaff.png <small>([[w:c:community:Forum:Community_Central_Forum|help forum]] | [[w:c:community:Blog:Wikia_Staff_Blog |blog]])</small>  22:19, September 6, 2012 (UTC)
 
: Looks like the "You have a hypercube" message bubble in the lower-right corner of the screen is displaying successfully. --[[User:Dopp|Dopp]] http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb32675/wikia/images/e/e9/WikiaStaff.png <small>([[w:c:community:Forum:Community_Central_Forum|help forum]] | [[w:c:community:Blog:Wikia_Staff_Blog |blog]])</small>  22:26, September 6, 2012 (UTC)
 
== Message alerts ==
As you can see, I've pulled Staff in on the difficulties you seem to be having with message alerts.  Because they've now confirmed that you ''are'' getting them, I'm thinking you just might not ''recognise'' them.  So let me take this opportunity to show you what you should be looking for. 
<gallery position=center captionalign=center>
MessageAlertNormal.png|This is where the alert is located in the normal, default zoom of a page.  It's ''always'' in the bottom right.
MessageAlertZoom.png|Note that it still stays in the bottom right, no matter how much you zoom the page. 
</gallery>
 
In other words, it's kinda impossible to lose the thing.  Maybe it popped up one day a coupla years ago and you were simply never curious about it.  Thus, you kept getting messages and the alert just stayed on your screen. When you went to this page — that is, User talk:The Librarian — the system naturally reset.  But because you weren't that interested in the bubble, you didn't particularly understand what made it disappear.
 
Or maybe you've thought this was a pop-up ad of some kind, so you clicked the X in the top right corner without understanding it was meant to be leading you to your talk page (or to the Community-corner messages). 
 
The way it's ''supposed'' to work is that you see this message pop up, you click on it, and you're taken to whatever wiki is sending you a message.  If it's ''this'' wiki, you'll just end up on ''this'' page.  After you've visited this page, the blue "bubble" goes away, and it won't return until you get new messages. 
 
Think of it like a kind of [[w:c:dcau:Bat-signal|Bat-signal]].  It's trying to get your attention without making a sound.  So if you're not lookin' up in the sky, you'll never know that [[w:c:dcau:James Gordon|Commissioner Gordon]] wants you.  Now that we know that your account does indeed display the bubbles, it seems likely that you just weren't lookin' up in the sky.
 
I hope this has helped.  If you're still not getting it, '''''please let me know'''''.  I'm determined to help you understand this system.  Or if you don't want my help, please send a message via [[Special:Contact]], and mention case ID #50578. {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}} 23:03: Thu 06 Sep 2012</span>
 
:Well, it's not really workable, because we need to know that when we place a message on your page that you're getting the signal that you've got new messages.  Are you ''positive'' that you're not getting those messages?  A staff member has logged into your account, sent a message, and seen that it's there.  And am I understanding you correctly?  Are you saying that you're getting the Achievements/Game of Rassilon notifications but ''not'' the message alerts? 
 
:I'm going to make a tiny change to community-corner file.  This will automatically send you a message alert.  That alert will still be displayed even when you're reading this page.  As soon as you read this page, I want you to take a snapshot of the whole page and upload it to my user talk page.  If you're using a Windows machine — and you must be, because you once mentioned Internet Explorer — you can do that with {{key|PrntScrn}}.  {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}} 22:45: Sat 08 Sep 2012</span>
::Yanno, I've re-read what you've said, and I need to confirm it, piece by piece.
Here are the kinds of message alerts you ''should'' receive.  I'm going to number them, and I want you to tell me which numbers you're seeing.
::#A dark blue alert with a picture in the top left corner announcing that you've earned some points in the Game of Rassilon
::#A dark blue alert saying, "You have a hypercube on the <insert wiki name here>"
::#A dark blue alert saying, "You have a hypercube."
::#A dark blue alert saying, "Time is in flux! The wiki is changing"
::#Two intersecting speech balloons on the top right of your screen — next to the clock. When you mouseover/click, you get a list of message threads seeking your attention.  {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}} 22:57: Sat 08 Sep 2012</span>thanks
:::Since you say you've been getting #2 and #3, I don't really understand why you've been claiming that you haven't been getting notified of new messages on your talk page.  Options #2 and #3 '''''are''''' message alerts.  (Option #5 is the way message alerts are handled on wikis that have Message Wall enabled.  We don't use Message Wall, so you'll '''never be notified to a new message on this wiki with #5'''.  You'll only get a message alert there, while on Tardis, if someone on a MW-enabled wiki — like [[w:c:muppet]] — leaves you a message '''on ''that'' wiki'''.) But if you're seeing a dark blue, white-bordered message that says, "You have a hypercube", you're successfully receiving message alerts.  Click on the bat-signal, and you'll go to your talk page to view the message. 
 
:::A word about #2.  This alerts you to messages you've received on other wikis that don't use Message Wall.  Sometimes you'll get more than one.  Maybe it'll say, "You have a hypercube on the Doctor Who Collector's Wiki, Memory Alpha, Wookieepedia".  You'll need to click on the specific wiki name to go there — not just any old area on the "bat-signal". 
 
:::Because you've said that you are receiving #3 and #4, I'm going to assume that you ''are'' getting messages on your message wall in a timely fashion, and that this issue is resolved.  If this is ''not'' the case, please let me know ASAP.  {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}} 23:57: Sun 09 Sep 2012</span>
 
== Please keep up with changes and be consistent ==
It would be extremely helpful if you could just use the standard preload for comic stories.  When policy changes are made, or new templates are added, I make an effort to change the preload so that it becomes the standard for the writing of articles.
 
However, I know you will probably ignore this request because you have this, in my view, ''odd'' need to do things offline, despite the fact that using the standard preload is much easier.
 
Therefore I present you with this standard format that you can copy and paste.  Please don't deviate from it — unless of course you avail yourself of the standard preload.  Take a good, hard look at the way this differs from whatever you're using now in Word.  (But please strongly consider working online, using the standard preloads.)
 
<pre>
{{title dab away}}
{{real world}}
{{Infobox Story
|name              = {{StoryTitle}}
|image            = DWA CS 282 24 HOUR NEWS INVASION.jpg
|doctor            = [[Eleventh Doctor]]
|companions        = [[Amy Pond|Amy]], [[Rory Williams|Rory]]
|enemy            = [[Blehurg]]
|year              = [[Vorala]]
|writer            = [[Glenn Dakin]]
|editor            = [[Natalie Barnes]]
|artist            = [[John Ross]]
|colourist        = [[Alan Craddock]]
|letterer          =
|publication      = [[DWA 282]]
|release date      = [[15 August]] [[2012]]
|publisher        = [[Immediate Media Company London Limited]]
|format            = Comic - 1 parts (4 pages)
|series            = [[DWA comic stories]]
|prev              = The Intergalactic Trials (comic story)
|next              = The Panic Room (comic story)
|series2          =
|prev2            =
|next2            =
|series3          =
|prev3            =
|next3            =
}}
'''''{{StoryTitle}}''''' was a ''[[Doctor Who Adventures]]'' comic strip published in [[2012]].
{{TitleSort}}
{{ImageLinkComics}}
[[Category:DWA comic stories]]
[[Category:Eleventh Doctor comic stories]]
</pre>
I  haven't filled in the body of the article, because its your infobox usage and category usage that's killin' me.  However, '''please stop creating empty or outdated external links'''.  With new DWA stories there are ''no'' appropriate external links to make, so please omit the section altogether. {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}} 00:20: Wed 19 Sep 2012</span>
:Also, please remember when you create a new story page that you should also create the matching image category.  So if you create [[The Panic Room (comic story)]], you must also create [[:Category:The Panic Room comic story images]], and make sure that The Panic Room comic story images goes inside [[:Category:DWA comic story images]].  Thanks :) {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}} 00:25: Wed 19 Sep 2012</span>
::Also, we voted some time ago to get rid of the whole timeline section on all articles.  Please see [[Forum:Timeline sections on pages]].  And please drop by [[Forum:Panopticon]] a bit more often.  We have a lot of discussions there, and it's up to you to make sure that you're keeping abreast of decisions.  {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}} 00:39: Wed 19 Sep 2012</span>
 
== Preloads ==
Please make sure you are using the latest version of the [[T:PRE|preload]] for magazine issue.  I notice that you are ''not'' doing so for DWA issues, because you're oddly adding the category "Doctor Who Adventures", instead of the appropriate "DWA issues".  If we need to make changes in the preload, please let me know.  Otherwise, please consistently use the template.  {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}} 13:36: Thu 01 Nov 2012</span>
== Please don't give up ==
I'm so confused right now.  You're again claiming that you're not seeing instant notifications, but I thought we'd resolved that earlier.  You told me back in September that you were getting #3 and #4 under [[#Message alerts]], above, which means you're getting a little blue message that says "You have a hypercube".  That's what a message notification is.  When you see it, click on it, and it will take you to your talk page, where you can see the new message.
 
Wikia staff members have independently confirmed that your account is getting these notifications.  I don't understand why you're now reverting to saying that you ''aren't'' getting this message alert. 
 
We ''absolutely'' need the content you can provide.  Please let's work together to resolve whatever lingering problem you're having with the message alert system. 
 
As for the preloads, it really shouldn't be so hard that you're giving up.  All you have to do is pull down the dropdown menu under "Standard preloads" to "DWA issue", and fill it in.  The preload system makes your life a ''lot'' easier.  Since it prefills a lot of the information, it frees you up to concentrate on the unique content in each issue.
 
Nobody here wants you to stop giving us content. We're just trying to help you find a quicker and more efficient way of working.  I've personally invested a lot of time tailoring the preload system to ''your'' specific needs. Please don't throw away all that work by walking away from the project. 
 
If you'd just work directly in the edit window of the wiki — and ''not'' in an offline word processor — all this would, I think, make total sense.  Seriously, your life would be ''much'' easier than trying to copy and paste huge blocks of text into and out of Word or whatever.  Just:
 
#Make sure you're in the Wikia skin
#Click on the redlinked issue number
#Pull down the standard preload to "DWA issue"
#Fill in the form that pops up. 
 
That's all you have to do.  It really is easy, and will allow you to do exactly what you want to: focus on the addition of content. {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}} 00:47: Fri 02 Nov 2012</span>
 
== Image organisation ==
The central category for all images is [[:category:images by content|images by content]].  Let's pop it open and look inside. 
 
{{#categorytree:Images by content
|mode=all
|depth=5}}
 
You're worried about images related to a '''story'''.  So you go to [[:category:images by story|images by story]] and you find:
 
{{#categorytree:Images by story
|mode=all
}}
 
Easy enough.  Clearly you want comic stories, so you go to [[:category:images by comic story|images by comic story]]
 
{{#categorytree:Images by comic story}}
 
And from here you want [[:Category:DWA comic story images|DWA comic story images]].
 
{{#categorytree:DWA comic story images}}
 
If you don't see your story here, that means you have to create a new category, with the name '''Category:<name of story> comic story images'''.  So if the name of the story were ''The Doctor's Prescription'', the name of the image category would be '''The Doctor's Prescription comic story images'''.  It's '''very''' important that the name follow that exact nomenclature, because other code is depending on it. 
 
Cut and paste the following into the newly created category page:
<pre>
{{TitleSort}}
{{ImageLinkComics}}
[[Category:DWA comic story images]]
</pre>
 
Then, '''save the category page'''.  Once the new category page is created, make sure your comic story page also contains {{tlx|ImageLinkComics}}, so that the category page and the story page have mutual links.  (If you use the standard preload, {{tlx|ImageLinkComics}} is already, ''automatically'' there.)
 
That's it!  Lemme know if you have further questions.  {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}} 01:01: Sun 11 Nov 2012</span>
 
== Image licenses automatically add categories ==
I'm cleaning up [[Special:WantedCategories]] and I can't help but notice a common theme.  You seem to have added a number of categories manually which incorrectly duplicate the work of the license template itself. I'm confused by that, since you and I have worked together in the past to create some of these licenses, so I would have thought you'd have known that they auto-add categories relevant to their license.  {{tlx|DWM cover}}, {{tlx|DWA cover}}, {{tlx|DWI cover}} and the like automatically put the pic in [[:category:DWM covers]], [[:category:DWA covers]] and [[:category:DWI covers]].  Yet, for some reason, you've added non-existent categories like '''Doctor Who Magazine cover images''' in addition to the license.  Please don't do this. {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}} 15:12: Thu 21 Feb 2013</span>
 
== Please don't use HTML ==
Please note that [[T:NO HTML]] forbids the use of HTML directly in articles.  I'm finding an awful lot of <pre><br /></pre> in your magazine work, all of which has to be painstakingly removed, because it's forcing unusual line breaks which often then violate [[T:SPACING]].  Please just use {{key|Enter}} to insert a line break. where necessary.  If you have situations where you're not getting the kind of line-spacing you need, please give me a specific example of the problem and I'll give further advice on how to format things.  But please immediately suspend the use of HTML line breaks in your work.  Thanks :)  {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}} 20:54: Sat 18 May 2013</span>
==Doctor Who Adventures comic stories==
Hey Librarian! I just need to tell you something! We're a bit far behind on the DWA comic stories, I only have some and I've made those pages, so I was wondering if you can get people to make them (somehow post the comics online) or make them yourself? -[[User:StevieGLiverpool]]
 
Hi Librarian. Wait... Librarian who? Anyway, I was just wondering if you could make pages for the missing DWA comics, as there are loads missing, or if you could somehow upload it, and I'll make the pages for you.
 
== DWBIT 25 ==
Any chance that you've got a copy of [[DWBIT 25]] laying around, and that you could take a scan of the title panel to the [[End Game (DWBIT comic story)|End Game]] comic story?  I'd really like to see how exactly the lettering is done on the title.  Thanks :) {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}} 01:40: Thu 27 Jun 2013</span>
 
== Ze DWA Comics ==
Sorry... I didn't really know much about this HYPERCUBE, so I just got your message... so... yeah. Anyway, are you going to make the pages... I mean, can you? Or just... send them to me somehow? By scanning them? Anyway thanks! -[[User:StevieGLiverpool|StevieGLiverpool]]
 
== Magazine images ==
Various warnings around the site have been made more specific in light of your clarification request.  Magazine covers which reveal things about future episodes are indeed forbidden.  We'll have to wait on the inevitable RT and DWM celebratory covers until after December 25. {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}} 18:44: Tue 06 Aug 2013</span>
 
=={{tlx|ImageLinkComics}}==
Fixed.  Thanks for catching this error. {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}} 11:39: Sat 10 Aug 2013</span>
:Please provide me with specific links to the problems you're having.  Your message was a little vague.  Where ''exactly'' is this problem?  (To link to pictures be sure to add a prepending colon, as in {{tt|<nowiki>[[:file:filename.jpg]]</nowiki>}}.) {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}} 23:30: Tue 13 Aug 2013</span>
::Okay, let's leave the "LEFT" thing to one, um, side. :) It's really not important, and is a known bug that has hitherto only affected the mobile skin. It has no bearing whatsoever upon proper categorisation, and is entirely a cosmetic error.  I haven't yet styled that aspect of the wiki, and when I do, I doubt it'll be much of a problem.
 
::As for the [[:File:CS DWA 293 METERORITE MEETING.jpg]] not appearing in [[:Category:Meteorite Meeting comic story images]], well, that makes perfect sense.  The pic has ''never'' been in that category.  You've consistently misspelled the word "meteorite" as "meterorite", both in the file and category title.  If you were to add that file to [[:Category:Meteorite Meeting comic story images]], it would indeed show up. 
 
::[However, I should point out that the picture violates several points of [[T:GTI]] and may well be deleted unless you re-crop it. It should be widescreen oriented — when it is clear that it doesn't have to be —  and it shouldn't contain the tails of speech balloons. ''Please'' cast a careful eye over [[T:GTI]], particularly those sections dealing with comic images.]
 
::[[:File:CS DWA 294 TOWER OF POWER.jpg]] is likewise not in a category.  For it to show up in [[:Category:Tower of Power comic story images]], it's gotta ''actually'' be put in that category.
 
::[Note that while this picture has the same, portrait orientation of the previous picture, it's fine. It's very hard to capture a vertically-oriented thing like Eiffel Tower in a widescreen crop.  And you've kept the speech balloons entirely intact.]
 
::So, to review, if you want to make a picture appear in a [[:Category:DWA comic story images]] category, you've got to:
::#Start Category:<story name> comic story images with <pre>{{ImageLinkComics}}{{TitleSort}}[[Category:DWA comic story images]]</pre>
::#Add {{tlx|ImageLinkComics}} to the comic story page itself.  As long as you're using the standard [[Tardis:preloadable formats|preloadable formats]] to create your new pages, this addition is a standard part of the format, and you don't have to ''remember'' to put it in.
::#Upload your image and make sure you manually add the correct — and '''correctly spelled''' — category.  So if the story name were ''Tower of Power'', you'd have to make sure it was in [[:Category:Tower of Power comic story images]].  Note that it has to be ''exactly'' that; '''Category:TOwer Of Power comic story images''' won't work. 
 
::Lemme know if you have further questions. {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}} 23:51: Wed 14 Aug 2013</span>
:::Oh, also, please ''immediately'' stop using ALL CAPS in your pic names.  Your nomenclature's gonna trip our new anti-shouting filter every time someone publishes a page with one of your pic titles in the infobox.  Have you been using all caps a lot in your uploads?  {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}} 23:56: Wed 14 Aug 2013</span>
 
== Reminder ==
 
Hi! I just wanted to remind you that any magazine covers showing pictures that could be spoilers will be removed per the [[Tardis:Spoiler policy|spoiler policy]]. Therefore one of the images you added at [[Doctor Who Magazine/2013]] has been removed for now. Thanks! [[User:Shambala108|Shambala108]] [[User talk:Shambala108|<span title="Talk to me">☎</span>]] 00:28, August 21, 2013 (UTC)
:Ok, sorry about that. I can't quite figure out who did put it there. If you have any idea, can you let me know? Thanks for all your work on the magazine pages! [[User:Shambala108|Shambala108]] [[User talk:Shambala108|<span title="Talk to me">☎</span>]] 14:33, August 21, 2013 (UTC)
 
== DWM 462 image ==
 
Hi! I just wanted to let you know that I had to delete the image you uploaded for DWM 462 because it does have a spoiler in the lower right section. I am aware that the info is occasionally posted elsewhere on the wiki, but technically it is a spoiler, and a pretty visible one, so that's why I deleted it for now. You can re-upload it when the event in question actually occurs. Thanks for your understanding! [[User:Shambala108|Shambala108]] [[User talk:Shambala108|<span title="Talk to me">☎</span>]] 14:17, September 4, 2013 (UTC)
:Me again, and I apologize again. Just so you won't think I'm crazy, I'll explain what happened this time. Someone requested that image be deleted, so when I checked it, it had your name on it. I didn't bother to look at the history.
:Incidentally, I had no intention of blocking you; I was actually apologizing for deleting (what I thought was) your hard work.
:I promise I have learned my lesson, and it won't happen again :) [[User:Shambala108|Shambala108]] [[User talk:Shambala108|<span title="Talk to me">☎</span>]] 03:15, September 5, 2013 (UTC)
 
== Doctor Who figurines ==
Sorry, I don't actually know what you're talking about.  Can you give me some more info about the product?  Sounds like it'd just be {{tlx|merchandise}} though. {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}} 22:09: Fri 06 Sep 2013</span>
:Yeah, I've looked over what [[User:SmallerOnTheOutside]] did with [[:file:DWFC 1 FIG.jpg]] and I'd say the use of {{tlx|merchandise}} was a good call. Did you have any specific reason why you didn't like that choice? {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}} 23:41: Fri 06 Sep 2013</span>
::I can see why we'll need a new license for the magazine image itself, but could you please explain why {{tlx|merchandise}} is insufficient for the figurine images? {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}} 01:22: Sat 07 Sep 2013</span>
 
== Tunnel Terrors(!) ==
 
Hello again, sorry to bother you. I was looking through the DWA comic story pages you've created, and I noticed that there are (seemingly) two entries for the [[DWA 319]] comic: [[Tunnel Terrors (comic story)|''Tunnel Terrors'' (comic story)]] and [[Tunnel Terrors! (comic story)|''Tunnel Terrors'''!''''' (comic story)]].
 
First of all, am I missing something, and these are actually separate stories?
 
I doubt it, so that brings me to my second question: which is the correct spelling? If the question mark's clearly visible, then we'll go with [[Tunnel Terrors! (comic story)]]. And I suppose have [[Tunnel Terrors (comic story)]] redirect to it; there's no point doing a proper merge when there's only one edit for either page. What do you think, as creator of both pages?<br>--[[user:SmallerOnTheOutside|SOTO]] [[User talk:SmallerOnTheOutside|☎]] 23:03, October 1, 2013 (UTC)
:No worries. :) I {{tlx|speedy rename}}d (that looks weird in text) ''[[Teacher's Pet (comic story)|Teacher's Pet]]'' for you, and put {{tlx|merge}} on ''[[Tunnel Terrors (comic story)|Tunnel Terrors]]''. Just to confirm, ''Tunnel'' {{u|definitely}} has an exclamation mark?<br>--[[user:SmallerOnTheOutside|SOTO]] [[User talk:SmallerOnTheOutside|☎]] 03:47, October 2, 2013 (UTC)
 
== ''Nova'' ==
 
Argh, Librarian!! Hi, me again. In the future, just put {{tlx|speedy rename}} or {{tlx|rename}} on a page you want renamed — '''do not''' create a duplicate of said page at the correct name. Don't worry, an admin (or the bot) will change the links and rename it eventually. Having two ''Nova''s is not very helpful, and quite simply means that — not only does [[Nova (comic story)]] need to be deleted — but we just lost a day's worth of edit history for the page proper. In other words, it creates a bit of a mess for nothing.
 
So put {{tlx|speedy rename}} if it's a spelling mistake or something irrefutable, and {{tlx|rename}} if it requires discussion. Thank you.<br>--[[user:SmallerOnTheOutside|SOTO]] [[User talk:SmallerOnTheOutside|☎]] 00:24, October 3, 2013 (UTC)
 
== DWM 465 ==
 
Hey! I've got a quick question for you. An IP user has asked me if the image for DWM 465 can be uploaded since it's spoiler-free. Do you have it, and if so, can you verify this for me? Thanks! [[User:Shambala108|Shambala108]] [[User talk:Shambala108|<span title="Talk to me">☎</span>]] 19:44, October 24, 2013 (UTC)
 
== DWBIT End Game ==
Hey, I was wondering if I could remind you of a request I made a couple of years ago that requires your particular experience:
 
:Any chance you could upload a picture of the title panel for [[End Game (DWBIT comic story)]] to [[talk:End Game (DWBIT comic story)]] and/or my talk page?  Thanks :)  {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}}01:29: Tue&nbsp;25 Oct 2011&nbsp;</span>
 
Thanks! {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}} 01:13: Sun 27 Oct 2013</span>
{{Christmas greetings}}
 
== DWFC ==
 
Hey. I ''was'' planning on leaving a message here on that new template, {{tlx|DWFC table}}, but I see you've caught on anyways. Here, lemme update it to incorporate special and rare Dalek editions. No separate templates needed.
:''On a sidenote, please try to use images as widescreen as possible for {{{char image}}}.''
Great work! :)<br>--[[user:SmallerOnTheOutside|<span title="SmallerOnTheOutside">SOTO</span>]] ([[User talk:SmallerOnTheOutside|<span title="Give me a shout">☎</span>]]/[[Special:Contributions/SmallerOnTheOutside|<span title="My contribs">★</span>]]\[[Special:Contributions/SV7|<span title="What my bot's been up to" style="font-size:80%">'''♆'''</span>]]) 22:46, February 7, 2014 (UTC)
::Actually, it's completely coincidental that we ended up editing it at the same time. I was actually quite surprised when I hit save and was told that someone else has been editing it. Great ideas for categorisation; I'll return to that point and give it more thought at  later date.
 
::Okay, so I guess an explanation of {{tlx|DWFC table}} as it currently stands is due. First of all, I'm more than willing to take suggestions if you think it's too complicated to use. If you want the year variable to be free-flow (not auto-linking; you can put anything in), I can certainly do that. You yourself said a while back that it's always the same for every release, so I feel a template should actually make things easier, not to mention a bit better-looking.
 
::On the topic of separate pages for each issue, one reason why they're needed is so that we can source them. If we want to use [[DWFC 2]] as a source for some production info from 1964, then we need to be able to link to the specific issue. Also unique to separate pages is the release date (incidentally, release date pages will also link to the specific issues). We generally try to split topics up into more pages over combining them all together, so the way I see it, the table at [[Doctor Who: Figurine Collection]] should be a summary (just one or two words on each section, as it is now), and the specific issues will have more information.
 
::Okay, on to the technical bits, the way I've made it to distinguish between the three series is through the use of the variables "n", "rd n" and "special n". n's for the "main range" so to speak, rd n is for the rare Dalek collection and special n is for the special releases. As long as you employ those variables at the beginning, everything is customised to that range. Too complicated? I can always think of something simpler; that template is not yet finalised.
 
::There's also different variables for the two other ranges. You use {{{story}}} instead of {{{mit}}} (correct me if it's still called Moment in Time in these editions), and {{{feature1}}}, {{{feature2}}}, {{{feature3}}}, etc are only really useful in these. I'm really basing this off the stuff you put in there yourself, so feel free to suggest any modifications.
 
::If you're confused or can't seem to manage to do something, don't be hard on yourself. It's probably my fault, not yours. Just drop me a message, and I'll fix the problem/explain it to you. And if there's something you don't understand, that probably means the template should be simplified. So, please, feel free to bombard me with as many questions as you have. ;)<br>--[[user:SmallerOnTheOutside|<span title="SmallerOnTheOutside">SOTO</span>]] ([[User talk:SmallerOnTheOutside|<span title="Give me a shout">☎</span>]]/[[Special:Contributions/SmallerOnTheOutside|<span title="My contribs">★</span>]]\[[Special:Contributions/SV7|<span title="What my bot's been up to" style="font-size:80%">'''♆'''</span>]]) 00:52, February 8, 2014 (UTC)
Btw, I'd be interested to know what you think of the individual pages. You think they don't offer any more information than the table does, so how do you think they could be improved? Take [[DWFC 4]] as a random example. I guess I ''might'' be willing to delete 'em all and move everything to ''Doctor Who: Figurine Collection'' if you give me a compelling argument, but it's like you said — it's growing, it's changing and soon we'll ''need'' separate articles a lot more than we do now. What do you think?<br>--[[user:SmallerOnTheOutside|<span title="SmallerOnTheOutside">SOTO</span>]] ([[User talk:SmallerOnTheOutside|<span title="Give me a shout">☎</span>]]/[[Special:Contributions/SmallerOnTheOutside|<span title="My contribs">★</span>]]\[[Special:Contributions/SV7|<span title="What my bot's been up to" style="font-size:80%">'''♆'''</span>]]) 00:56, February 8, 2014 (UTC)
 
== DWDVDF issues ==
Hey, just two tiny things you forgot in [[DWDVDF 130]] and [[DWDVDF 131]]: {{tl|real world}} and [[:Category:DWDVDF issues]], not [[:Category:Doctor Who: Figurine Collection]]. I did had a reply to your message on DWFC that I was working on; I'll get back to that when I regain access to the computer I was writing it on. :/<br>--[[user:SmallerOnTheOutside|<span title="SmallerOnTheOutside">SOTO</span>]] ([[User talk:SmallerOnTheOutside|<span title="Give me a shout">☎</span>]]/[[Special:Contributions/SmallerOnTheOutside|<span title="My contribs">✍</span>]]\[[Special:Contributions/SV7|<span title="What my bot's been up to" style="font-size:80%">'''♆'''</span>]]) 02:07, February 13, 2014 (UTC)
 
== Archiving ==
When you use the archive tool, you don't have to archive the ''entire'' page.  You can select only a part of it. Just pull down the "edit" button to "archive". This will slightly change the way your talk page looks, converting it into an editable  "pane".  Then, click on the paragraphs you want to archive. Selected paragraphs will then turn blue. Once you've selected all the bits you want to archive, click on the "save archive" button, and you're done.
 
One thing, though.  To comply with the spirit of our [[Tardis:archiving policy|archiving policy]] please don't archive only ''part'' of a particular conversation.  Choose the entire section, or none of it. That way, people later looking back on your conversation can understood it better. {{user:CzechOut/Sig}}{{User:CzechOut/TimeFormat}} 14:20: Sun 23 Feb 2014</span>
 
== Rename tag ==
 
Hey, I had to remove your speedy rename tag from [[Blipp it]] because it wasn't formatted properly. There are some fields you have to fill out for it to work properly. It should look like this '''speedy rename|new=new name|links=yes or no|user=your user name''' with the links saying yes if you've moved them or no if you haven't (and you don't have to, it will be done by an admin or a bot). Hope this helps! [[User:Shambala108|Shambala108]] [[User talk:Shambala108|<span title="Talk to me">☎</span>]] 15:07, February 23, 2014 (UTC)
 
== Doctor Who Annual ==
Hey, I was just wondering if you had any of the last 3 annuals ([[The Official Doctor Who Annual 2013]], [[Doctor Who The Official 50th Anniversary Annual (2014)]] and/or [[Doctor Who The Official Annual 2015]]), because you can put pictures on the made articles. Thank you! :) -[[User:StevieGLiverpool|StevieGLiverpool]]
 
== Miss You Bro ==
That's all. [[User:StevieGLiverpool|StevieGLiverpool]] [[User talk:StevieGLiverpool|<span title="Talk to me">☎</span>]] 14:20, March 5, 2020 (UTC)

Latest revision as of 14:20, 5 March 2020

OK I had a bit of a clearout....The Librarian 01:36, January 21, 2010 (UTC)

REMEMBERS[[edit source]]

  • Continuity: the story titles should be italicised. (The way to work out references from continuity is. References are in-universe and if there's a lot of them organised under category headings (see...Alien Bodies for an example), continuity is out of universe.)
  • Comic strips: check out Template:Infobox Comic Template:Infobox Other Comics
  • Unknown names: Just put the character in Category:Individuals with unknown names or Category:Humans with unknown names. Also put the individual in whatever additional categories also suit them (not just the unknown name category I mean). Also check out the two categories for the general convention and what not. If there's more than one scientist then it would be 'Female Scientist (Brain Drain)' etc. --Tangerineduel 15:41, September 19, 2009 (UTC)

JUST WANTED TO KEEP IT BITS[[edit source]]

Lee Sullivan - really nice guy![[edit source]]

Hi there - just passing through and thought I'd say hello - a really nice page on BiT. Was very amused that some of the isolated images I couldn't remember drawing :) Speaking of which - back to the drawing board for issue 59! Lee Sullivan 20:45, 8 September 2008 (UTC)
I have spoken with Lee on a number of occassions and he has been very helpful in sourcing some of the work and approving use of his artwork. :) A thoroughly decent chap! Im adding more content (hopefully) soon. The Librarian 01:19, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Just loved the imagery!! Creepy!![[edit source]]

To paraphrase the Dalek movies; Every move you make I see, every sound you utter I hear...(sounds a lot less creepy in the 60s Dalek voices with the lights flashing not in sync with the voices). I'm always around here. --Tangerineduel 07:48, 17 September 2008 (UTC)

Passion / Contempt?! :)[[edit source]]

I saw your message on TangerineDuel's talk page... Speaking as "some people" - yes, I am. Our pace of growth is much better than the despised mendicants of the Guild Wars Wiki. Bwahahaha! Monkey with a Gun 01:50, September 16, 2009 (UTC)

2010[[edit source]]

Image and illustrator[[edit source]]

Added for both Template:Infobox Short Story and Template:Infobox Torchwood Short Story. Both fields are auto-collapsing so they can be added and they'll just collapse if they're not used, see both pages for a copyable template. Thanks. --Tangerineduel 13:03, September 1, 2010 (UTC)

But you might also find the Template:Infobox Other Comics might be more useful if it's appeared in a Magazine, as with all infoboxes the fields collapse if they're not used. --Tangerineduel 13:51, September 1, 2010 (UTC)

Templates and galleries[[edit source]]

You can find all the templates (or do you mean infoboxes?), the templates are in the Category:Templates category, and you'll find all the infoboxes in Category:Infoboxes.

There is an infobox for music Template:Infobox Music which does have all the collapsing fields on it.

Also check out the Tardis:Layout guide which also has links out to the infoboxes and layout guides etc.

The galleries issue is one that's been going on for a while since a previous MediaWiki update. You can manipulate how the gallery images are laid out. Take a look at Doctor Who DVD covers/Region 2, all the galleries begin with <gallery hideaddbutton="true" widths="120"> currently it's 5 covers across in its current layout, change it to 180 and you'll get 4 across (just change it and preview, don't save and you can see the difference). Try it on some of the other pages you're seeing a difference and this should probably help.

As for the 'search this wiki' function and other things like that, yes this wiki and wikia are going through some transitional phrases. But the 'search this wiki' not deleting thing seems to come and go (may be a browser thing), short answer is I don't know for sure. Sorry I couldn't be more help on this front. Thanks. --Tangerineduel 14:22, October 8, 2010 (UTC)


{{title}}[[edit source]]

Hey, since you mostly deal with articles that are about things that should be italicized, could you please remember to start new articles with the new title template? Its usage is super easy. Just type: 

{{title|''Insert title here''}}
or if only a portion of the title should be italicized
{{title|List of ''Doctor Who Adventures'' issues}}

Most of the existing articles that should be italicized have already gotten this treatment, but new articles are a bit beyond my control. Since you deal with this type of article so much, you might benefit of reading the documentation at {{title}}, as well. Thanks :)
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍ 

Oh I wish that merely italicizing the title of an article meant that every use of that title would be magically correct throughout the wiki. But, no, italicizing the page title is just that. It has no impact on how the title is presented in in-line wiki links.
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍ 

Can you test something for me?[[edit source]]

Hey, by now you'll probably have noticed something different when you try to create a new page. I've started adding in a whole fleet of enw preloadable formats. Today, I've gotten around to something that particularly interests you: formats for DWA and DWM issues. Could ya kick the tires on the formats for me, and tell me if you'd like anything tweaked about them? I've based both on the most recent issues of the mags. I think the DWM one is pretty solid, cause I'm familiar with that mag, but it's been a while since I've seen an issue of DWA. I think that you'll like that both formats automatically fill in most of the infobox, and even automatically add categories and the previous and next issues. I'm a little less sure that I've got the subheads right on the DWA thing. Thanks for your help.
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍ 

Thanks for your comments. I'm not sure I understand you very clearly, though. When you say,
And the Option 2 bit ... cant make sence of why when I choose a red link it comes up as the page being created surely is the one headed at the top?
what do you mean? Option 2 would be the thing I'd have thought you'd have liked and understood the most. All you do is just put in the name of a page you want to copy and, hey presto, you get it all copied over into your new page. So let's say you want to create DWA issue 204 really quickly. Choose to create that page, then go to Option 2 and enter DWA Issue 203. It'll copy over the existing page and then you just have to edit in the differences.
As for the preloadables under Option 1 being confusing because of some of the code, I'd really prefer that you included all that when you're working in Word. It'll make your life way easier. You don't even have to think about it. In a sense you don't have to understand it. It just works. Maybe if you chose that format, then hit "preview", you'd see what it did, and therefore got more comfortable with it. The whole point of having a preloadable format is that it automatically take care of some of the things that are standard to every page. The coding does this, by automatically numbering issues, making sure a standard lead is attached to each article, and automatically filing the page in the right category. I'd urge you to try to do the next issue using the preload, preferably not in Word. Do it "live" so that you can preview it and see what the format is doing.
The question I really have for you is whether you think the sectional subheads in the format are good. Do you need more or fewer? Would you choose different sectional labels?
If you haven't done so, you might want to read Help:preloadable formats. Maybe that'll make things clearer.
Oh, and the reason you can't extend infobox templates to include subheadings is that limits the utility of the infobox. It means you'd have to create an infobox for every single series, magazine, and medium. Which isn't desirable. An infobox is a component of pages; it's not the page itself. It should be possible to use the infobox for audios, for example, on Big Finish, BBC and Magic Bullet productions. That wouldn't necessarily be possible if the infobox also had sectional headings on it.
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍ 

Preloadable format stuff[[edit source]]

Okay, I've taken on board your suggestion for rewording the message that comes up when you start a new article. Take a look and tell me whether you think that wording is clearer. (Also, did you ever go to help:preloadable formats to see if you understood the language there?)
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍ 18:17:58 Sun 27 Feb 2011 

DWA preoloadable[[edit source]]

On the DWA issue preloadable, specifically, I've added in the A3/A4/A4 you requested. The cover dates were never removed from the infobox; it's just that in the format the cover date variable isn't defined. Any variables undefined don't appear when the article is published. In other words, if you were looking at template:DWA issue/preload, it would appear that the cover date wasn't there, because none is defined. However, if you actually start a page, and pull down to "DWA issue", the text you see while editing will definitely include a line for "cover date".

I note that you're apparently not using this format as of the latest issue in our library. Had you used the format, it would have automatically avoided the error you made with the second word in DWA Issue 205. It's impossible to get the issue number wrong using the new format. Also, it starts leads in the format that's required by the manual of style. Please remember that ll articles should begin with the name of the article in bold.

Please use the format to add new issues into the database from here on out. It really will make your life a touch easier. Obviously, if you prefer to work offline until you're finished editing an article, you can easily continue to do so. Just paste the contents of template:DWA issue/preload into Word and work there. To avoid what you described as "the ' is not word compatible", simply change the format of the word document to plain text. Then you can type anything without Word trying to "read" certain special characters, like the apostrophe.

Remember that with this new format, the title of the article automatically provides the title of the lead, and the previous and next issues. So you should never have to type in the words "DWA Issue XXX" anywhere in your word document (unless you're making a point about a specific back issue somewhere in the body of your article).

As for whether the bot will get involved in fixing back issues, the answer is a probable yes. I want to get you using the format first and making sure you're comfortable with it. Once got the kinks worked out, and we're sure that the format seems to cover the shape of most issues of the magazine, then we'll worry about imposing it on past issues. One thing the bot may do sooner rather than later is to strip all the back issues of their current leads and replace it with the one in the format — that is, the one that follows the MOS.

If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask.
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍ 18:37:23 Sun 27 Feb 2011 

New formats aren't just for DWA issues . . .[[edit source]]

Hey again :) Just noticed your latest creations in comic stories, and it appears you've not adopted the format given under the drop down menu. Please do so, as it automatically places the appropriate templatess on the page, and it uses MOS-appropriate captilization for headers (it's External links not External Links). Really improtant that all new pages in your sphere of interest have {{title}} and {{TitleSort}} on them, even if they don't appear to need them. Feel free, of course, to just copy and paste the new formats into word and to work as you normally do. Just thought I'd give you a heads up that your current offline templates are now out of date.
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍ 10:03:49 Wed 02 Mar 2011 

Galleries[[edit source]]

Galleries actually aren't meant to be used quite as heavily as you're using them. They're for a few pictures, not hundreds and hundreds on the same page, in a single gallery. When you attempt to put dozens or hundreds of pictures into the same gallery, you're going to run into problems, unless they're all roughly the same dimensions.

Because you didn't elect to specify a picture width for the gallery, the width defaulted to 200px. Thus, it's going to take all the pictures in the gallery and reduce them to 200px max width. It kind of tries to make the height reduce proportionally, but it's not very good at it.

Having many, many pictures of highly varying widths confuses this very simple gallery code. It tries to calculate a good overall dimension which satisfies the 200px width requirement without screwing up the height too much. That works well enough if all the pictures in your gallery have similar dimensions. If they have widely varying dimensions, though, it can cause problems.

One solution can now be seen at the DWM page. I've just broken up the page into multiple galleries. This has worked to give proper dimensions to the postcard pages.

Indeed, you'll note that the primary difference between Free gifts (Doctor Who Adventures) and Free gifts (Doctor Who Magazine) is that the DWA page had several galleries. The DWA page also has far more pictures which are tall and skinny. This helps eliminate the appearance of width distortion. But these galleries always create some level of distortion. file:DWAMFG031.jpg, for instance, is distoted on the DWA page, but the distortion isn't quite as obvious at the postcards on the DWM page. This is because the image has some quite skinny pictures around it, reducing the horizontal stretching.

But the truth is galleries, actively suck at accurately representing the dimensions of pictures. It's far better to build a table with pictures than to rely on 

<gallery hideaddbutton="true" >

. For instance, the pictures of new products on our front page doesn't use galleries at all. Neither does Character Options SJA action figures. You can use table code in a variety of ways to produce a gallery-like structure which behaves more reliably than gallery itself.

Of course, despite their shortcomings, galleries aren't forbidden. It's just important to recognise what they can and can't do. And the gallery command just wasn't meant to be doing what you're asking of it. It's not supposed to hold dozens and dozens pictures. Pages are supposed to be a mixture of text and photos. If you put a bit more description on the actual page, and had no more than a dozen pictures in each gallery, you'd probably never run into problems.

Finally, I'm very concerned over the sheer size of your pictures for the DWM stuff. Each picture seems to be well over 100kb and is well more than 800px in at least one of its two dimensions. Most of the pictures are needlessly in violation of tardis:image use policy. Remember that it will take someone with a slower connection or older machine longer to load each pic. All told, there's probably tens of MB of pictures on the page — which is really quite daunting to some connections. If you needed that size to adequately display the image, that'd be one thing. But you really don't. You could reduce the size of each of the pics by 50% and still adequately convey the image. If you're using Photoshop, consider saving as a web image, and reducing the overall quality to something like 20%. It'll make these pages load much more quickly for all users.
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍ 03:04: Mon 24 Oct 2011 

End Game[[edit source]]

Any chance you could upload a picture of the title panel for End Game (DWBIT comic story) to talk:End Game (DWBIT comic story) and/or my talk page? Thanks :)
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍ 01:29: Tue 25 Oct 2011 

Images by story categories[[edit source]]

Please be aware that images by televised story and images by comic story are now completely filled out with subcategories for each and every story of that type. So if you have an image from say, Thinktwice, you'll want to make sure that you put it in Category:Thinktwice comic story images. Or if you have something from The Mind of Evil, please ensure it gets into Category:The Mind of Evil TV story images.

These images by story categories are, of course, in addition to any other categories which may be appropriate, such as ones from Images by character, Images by object, or images by species.

Images by story will continue to grow over the coming weeks to include other media, but comics and TV were deemed the highest priority, since the vast majority of images will come from these two visual media.

Also, if you haven't noticed it for now, TV story pages now all have a little tab at the top left labelled "images". Clicking it takes you to the relevant category, so that you can quickly view our repository of images from that particular story All stories will eventually have this sort of link. Longer term, individual charactes might also have such a link.
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍ 02:40: Mon 20 Feb 2012 

Thanks![[edit source]]

Just a note of personal appreciation for doing the work of creating the DWA and DWM pages. Boblipton talk to me 00:33, February 23, 2012 (UTC)

Table images query[[edit source]]

Here's the thing. A lot of changes have been made in the last three weeks. I mean tens of thousands of changes having to do with images. The biggest thing is that I've been trying to enforce Forum:Thumbnail widths. In this endeavor, pics have been stripped of their XXXpx designation. In well over 95% of cases, this has worked without a hitch.

However, the one area of the wiki where there has been problematic are generally the pages you like to work on — real world pages about products. The bot simply strips out the XXXpx bit. It doesn't understand context. Very few tables actually have pictures in them, so very few pages have been affected. But I'm willing to bet that you know which pages have been screwed up. It would be helpful if you could remember which pages you've created with tables of this kind. Then, you could just go to them and undo the last edit by User:CzechBot. The page will instantly snap back into place.

It would further be helpful if you could supply me a list of the pages, cause there's not much of a way to detect pages with illustrated tables. Eventually these tables need to be converted into ones that automatically size pics, but I've never really gone lookin for such pages. I'm thinkin' you'd probably be the key to finding them.

Another thing that seems more prevalent in your editing pattern than others: you sometimes don't use thumbnials. You'll just do something like [[file:name.jpg|250px]] It would be very helpful if you'd stop this. Always use a thumbnail, and always caon free-standing pics (pics not in a table/infobox). If they're thumbnails, our readers have more control over their size through Special:Preferences. If they're not thumbnails, then they're the size we say they are. We want to give our readers the ability to set the pic size as they will, except when there's an actual need to control things, as with an infobox.

You'll likely find that several of the pages you've edited have oddly-sized free-standing pics, because the bot removed the XXXpx, which would have the effect of putting the pic on the page at full size. We need to identify the pages where this has happened — and, again, you're in the best position to know where you've created your own thumbnails instead of relying on the file:name.jpg|thumb|caption syntax.

Since you've been gong for so long, please do take the time to read MediaWiki:Community-corner, category:tech notes and other forum threads.

Just to highlight what you'll find there:

  • be aware that we're now categorising comic images both by the characters, species, objects and stories they depict. Check out category:Images for a look at the new categories.
  • infoboxes now automatically size and display pics. You just enter image=Name.jpg not image=[[file:Name.jpg|250px]]. This means that pics are always at 250px widths. This also means that some of the really skinny pics from DWBIT and DWA that you've put up in the past are out. You've really got to try to get widescreen images only for infoboxes, except in the cases of covers. See T:ICC and User talk:OttselSpy25 for a li'l tutorial. I know this is hard with comic stuff, and there are going to be times where widescreen is literally impossible. But in those cases, you must get the length:width ratio no longer than a standard magazine cover. The infobox cannot stretch to three and four times the height of the article, which it would do if you took at image at 1:4 (1 units of width to 4 units of height) and set it at 250px.
  • Because infobox pics are automatically set now, you can't add captions in the image variable. The image variable displays 1 image at 250px only. I might be adapting the infobox to allow for an image2 variable for magazines and books, so I've retained those cases where you've added a second cover. But they don't currently display.
  • Your practice of having 400-600px-wide pics in the middle of comic story articles has been abandoned. I've deleted all those. In the first place, there's no way it was fair use to reprint several sequential images in a row. In the second, it was destroying the text flow on those pages. Basically those "comic strips" of yours were too fat to squeeze between the infobox and the left margin, meaning that the article didn't really start until after the huge picture. It probably looked fine in Monobook, but Wikia just wouldn't wear it. Please don't put these images, or anything like them, back. Remember, all images outside of the infobox must be thumbnails without specified widths only.

Hmm, that last bit sounds like I'm being a bit critical of your work. And I'm not. I'm sure a lot of that probably never occurred to you. The BIT stuff is sufficiently old that you probably did edit in Monobook, but then never really came back to look a it in Wikia. As Wikia develops the software, we simply have to move to accommodate their changes. Unfortunately this can mean that previous work we've done gets invalidated overnight. Obviously, we appreciate your work around here! If you have any further questions, you know where I am.
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍ 02:55: Wed 07 Mar 2012 

Your technical editing issues[[edit source]]

Leaving all the specifics of editing images to one side for the moment, I'm most concerned about the report that you were actually prevented from editing/frustrated the point of stopping by some technical issues. I'm also surprised to har that you're not getting the "new messages" alert.

Since your problems, as described, are well beyond anything I've ever heard before, I do wanna ask a coupla questions:

  • What browser do you use (including version number)
  • What OS do you use (including version number)
  • What skin do you edit in (Monobook or Wikia — that is, do you currently see Bernice Summerfield's head peeking out from behind the page?)

I do want to try to sort your basic technical problems as quickly as possible before moving to anything else.
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍ 19:46: Wed 07 Mar 2012 

DWMS covers[[edit source]]

Got a li'l project for you, if you're up for it. For some reason, almost all the DWMS covers are <250px. They need to be a minimum of 250px to fit properly in the infobox. Any chance you might be able to easily replace the covers for us? Thanks. Also, if you know any other covers you've uploaded with <250px width dimensions, could you switch those out, too?
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍ 21:36: Tue 13 Mar 2012 

Comic infobox[[edit source]]

To answer your question briefly:

  • You're encouraged to read {{Infobox Story}} to get a better grasp of how the new infoboxes work. Although the documentation is still being written up, there is considerable coverage for the comic story version of the infobox. Also, there are lively discussions going on in the forums about the new infoboxes, which are centralised at New infoboxes and you.
  • The reason that the infobox at Picture Imperfect (comic story) doesn't work is because The Star Serpent (comic story) does not exist. You created The Star Serpent] without the disambiguation term of (comic story). Please remember from this point forward to create all comic stories with the form Title (comic story). If you now simply move The Star Serpent to The Star Serpent (comic story), the infobox at Picture Imperfect will "magically" work. (There's a list of these now-mandatory dab terms at, um, dab term.)
  • Also, please take a look at Tardis:Guide to images. I've tried to create a lot of examples there of good and bad screenshots so that we're all working to a common standard. You'll see a number of your own screenshots there. They're mostly used as negative examples, but this wasn't to pick on you. I simply went through recently-added images in reverse order and a few of yours popped up. Still, I hope the guide will help the wiki achieve a more harmonious use of imagery.
  • You should indeed get a message to pop up, like the Game of Rassilon points notifications when I publish this message. If you don't, you should probably contact Wikia Staff at Special:Contact/bug. If you're not getting message notifications, that's definitely something affecting you personally, not the whole wiki. (I want to say that at one time it was an option under Special:Preferences, but that the option is no longer there. Thus if you turned it off, you can't now turn it back on. Talk to staff, though, to get all your options. I would say that you could probably instantly fix it by just restoring defaults, but this may eliminate other options that you like, so I'd talk to staff first.)


czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍ 01:29: Fri 30 Mar 2012 

Sorry, I just don't understand[[edit source]]

I honestly don't understand anything you're asking under User:CzechOut#More queries. Please take as many screenshots as are necessary to illustrate your prolbem and ask again.

The only thing I can tell you right now is that there are no known bugs with removing categories. You might find it helpful to go into Special:Preferences and disable the category module. The check box is in the "Under the hood" tab, IIRC. You don't need an admin's help to remove a category.

If your category module is turned on (which is the default), then you'll find the category module on the right column. All you do to remove the category is just highlight it and click delete — just as if it were text in the larger editing area on the left. You cannot edit both the main edit box on the left and the category module on the right at the same time. When you edit the categories, the edit area naturally disengages. THIS should be relatively clear because the box being edited turns a light shade of blue when you're actively editing it.
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍ 03:58: Fri 30 Mar 2012 

New Notes (2012)[[edit source]]

I'm aware some of the above still need addressing - I'm working on it! The Librarian talk to me 21:27, April 2, 2012 (UTC)

Display queries[[edit source]]

Thanks for the pictures. That cleared up the problems a lot. Yes, there is an issue on novelisation pages, which I will be correcting today. Basically, I just have to strip out the old way of doing the italicised titles and replace it with the new way. It's not a hard fix — but it is indeed a genuine error. So thanks for pointing it out!

The other thing you're seeing is not exactly an error — in that it's perfectly expected behavior, given the code — but it shows me why you can't seem to find categories. You're editing widescreen, which means that you're going to get that "funkiness" with the preload stuff. It also means you're not going to see categories, if you have the category module enabled in Special:Preferences (which is the default condition). If your edit screen always looks like this, this is why you were reporting earlier problems in deleting categories. You couldn't see them in order to delete them. The easy fix for this is to just don't edit in widescreen. Click on the thin, grey, border which frames your edit area on the right. There's a tiny, left-pointing arrow there on the right border, but it can be hard to see. You just have to click somewhere on that right border – doesn't have to be the arrow itself.

You might wonder to yourself, though, why not change the code with the preloads so that the "scrunchy" effect doesn't happen? The reason is because neither I nor the smartest codemonkeys on Wikia seem to know how — yet. And the truth is that it's a low priority. Since you can so easily collapse the edit box back to its normal shape, it's not that big a worry.

As for dab terms like (comic story), it is probably a good idea to get in the habit of adding the dab term. The move was made for the benefit of new users. Annually, we get the question, why is it sometimes Castrovalva (TV story) and other times The Reign of Terror? For the benefit of attracting and retaining new editors it was decided to make naming standard. Thus it is always correct to link to Hotel Historia (comic story). As we go forward, and initially create stories with the dab term, you may not be able to rely on having an un-dab-ed title around. That is, there may only be Future Adventure (comic story), but not Future Adventure. So you might as well get in the habit of using the dab term. (Remember, it's easier to link to a story with a dab term by pipe switching. You don't have to type [[Future Adventure (comic story)|Future Adventure]] only [[Future Adventure (comic story)|]].) That said, do I personally still type [[The Reign of Terror]]? Yes, I do. I know by heart which television stories require dab terms and which don't. So I'm more inclined to drop the parenthetical. But when it comes to audios, comics, novels, whatever, I'm much less inclined to chance it.

As for covers, or pictures generally, remember there are two kinds of size. One way of measuring size is the dimension — the literal width X height. Here it's mandatory that covers be at the very least 250px (but try for 300px). There's not really an upper number, per se, but the highter the dimensions, the higher the bigger the file gets. In this sense, I'm talking about true file size. That is, it's size in terms of kilobytes. Here, there is absolutely no need for a cover to be greater than 100kb. But there's no precise relationship between the file size and the dimensions. It's possible to have an 1000px wide picture be under 100kb. And it's equally possible to have a 300px file be 1.2mb. It all comes down to the settings you use on your graphics program. If you find you're having difficulty hitting the mark, let me know what kind of graphics program you use, and I can probably come up with some suggested settings.

By the way, {{DWA cover}} has been reworded to reflect the change in publisher. I don't think the change affects the copyright status much, though — the images are stil effectively controlled by BBCW. Also, I wasn't terribly clear what you meant when you said that image categories had been reduced. We've recently exploded the number of image categories. There are easily 1000 more image categories than there were a month or so ago. But categories for covers have always meant to be just for covers. Covers for interior art should bear {{comic copyright}}, but they should also bear the category associated with the story from whence they came, as well as any major characters in the image. So, if you have something from Hotel Historia featuring the Tenth Doctor and Majenta, it should be in Category:Hotel Historia comic story images, category:Tenth Doctor images and category:Majenta Pryce images.
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍ 18:19: Tue 03 Apr 2012 

Let me stress: there's no real error here. You are editing in widescreen. You need to stop that.
Your pictures indicate that you didn't try to the simple instructions given in paragraph 2, above. If I was long-winded, it was only because I was trying to teach you how you could actually work around the limitation of widescreen, because widescreen editing is largely cool. But I'm guessing you just want it all to work without issue. So you'll need to turn widescreen off entirely. Follow these instructions precisely:
  1. Right click on this link and open it in a new window (just so you can keep reading these instructions)
  2. Go to the tab that says "Editing". It's third from the left.
  3. Go to the section that says "Editing experience".
  4. Uncheck "Widen the Source mode edit box to fill the entire screen"
  5. Click on the button that says "Save" at the bottom of the page.
  6. Your problems are over.

czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍ 02:05: Tue 10 Apr 2012 
By the way, I'm not asking you to learn truly complex coding, but it worries me that you seem to have just ignored what I typed, above. I put a lot of time into making all that simple and straightforward. Given the fact you're such a prolific editor, you really do need to understand basic concepts like file size, file width, pipe switching, and how to use the edit window. That requires a moderate amount of technical jargon.
I honestly don't think my language is that impenetrable. I don't mind answering questions that you have. I want to answer them. That's what I'm here for. But the fact that my instructions weren't good enough to tell you how to click the right-hand margin of your edit window troubles me. If you can't figure out within a day something I'm trying to explain to you, please write back more quickly so I can try again. There's absolutely no reason why you should be puzzled for a week about how to perform one simple mouse click.
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍ 02:22: Tue 10 Apr 2012 

punch and judy trap[[edit source]]

The word "Punchellian"/"Punchellion" is spelled inconsistently across the article and the sub-article on "Punchellian". As I cannot figure which is correct....Boblipton talk to me 01:32, April 11, 2012 (UTC)

Test Message.[[edit source]]

For testing.

Magazine covers[[edit source]]

Thanks so much for trying to correct the too-thin images of DWM covers. However, you've corrected one problem, but caused another. As spelled out in T:IUP, T:ICC and several other places, pics have to be at least 250px wide, but no more than 100kb big. A lot of your new covers are well over 500kb.

If you're used to only looking at the site with your relatively new computer wired into your relatively high-speed ISP, you'll never notice the difference between a 100kb pic and a 1000kb pic. Both will hit your desktop at so close to the same time you'll not be able to distinguish them.

But if you're on an iPhone or an Android — like 20% of wikia's guests are — you'll totally feel the difference, particularly if you're having to rely on cellular internet.

So we do need to watch our file sizes, as well as widths, to ensure that all of our guests have the fastest possible experience. Your typical DWM cover really could be saved at 20kb with no easily appreciable loss of quality.
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍ 04:16: Thu 26 Apr 2012 

Message notifications[[edit source]]

Only Staff will be able to help you with your alleged message notification failures. I've never heard of anyone else having this problem, so I'm not thinking it's anything to do with local coding. Well, I'm not thinking it; I know that local coding has nothing to do with your problem.

That said, I can give you a few general things you need to check out.

  1. Ensure that it's happening elsewhere on Wikia. Go to another wiki with an active chat channel — somewhere like w:c:community. Ask one of the people in chat to leave a message for you and then report back in chat when they've left the message. Then go around to two or three other random wikis — avoiding your talk page/message wall — and see if you get a message notification. If you don't get a message notification anywhere, you know it's something to do with your account. (Well, we pretty much know that now, but this would just be a confirmation.)
  2. If you're using Internet Explorer, stop. We really don't support it, and Wikia itself nominally supports only IE 9+. Both active bureaucrats are Mac users and have no ability to regularly see the site in IE, so tardis can't guarantee anything about the site's operability in IE. Still, I've never heard of any IE user failing to get a message notification from our site.
  3. Check whether you've got some personal css/js installed. If you do, then it's possible that code is interfering with the site's attempts to communicate with you. However, code to disrupt the messaging system is unlikely, particularly given your professed lack of familiarity with basic wiki coding. You would most likely have to have installed something on someone else's recommendation without understanding what that thing did. Nothing that this site recommends for you to install in any way interferes with the Wikia messaging system.
  4. If you've ever changed your user name, it's possible that this is interfering with the delivery of messages. If you've always been The Librarian, though, this wouldn't apply.
    czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍ 19:27: Mon 07 May 2012 

Pic sizes[[edit source]]

File:DWMI 26.jpg is still too big. You want it to be below 100KB, and it's currently at 166KB. So you can either keep the resolution the same, but drop the width down to, say, 500px — or you can just pull the resolution down a touch. It's totally possible to get 600px width covers down to 30KB, though.
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍ 23:30: Thu 24 May 2012 

Graphic novel infobox[[edit source]]

Although you will still see the words {{Infobox Graphic Novel}}, in fact it, like most every other kind of infobox used on a story page, is really {{Infobox Story}}. Go to that page and then click on "comic story" to find a cut-n-paste version of template appropriate to comics.

Oh and you should now find that navigation is (mostly) working as expected for graphic novels. Thanks for pointing out that it had fallen through the cracks.
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍ 02:35: Fri 25 May 2012 

Please read {{Infobox Story}}. It gives answers to most of the questions you've asked. If you see an article about something which is the first or last of a series, you'll have to manually add | prev = none or | last = none, as appropriate.
Likewise {{Infobox Magazine}} answers your questions about why navigation is different with magazines than with other infoboxes that have a navigation element. Essentially, the navigation for magazines — and only magazines — is on complete autopilot.
As for your specific redirection requests, I'm not quite sure what you're asking with one of them, because you put a redlink on my page. If you mean, however, should Doctor Who Magazine graphic novels be Doctor Who Magazine (graphic novels), the answer is an unequivocal and emphatic no.
Of the two disambiguation terms, (comic story) essentially "outranks" (graphic novel). So if something is both a single story and a graphic novel, it takes (comic story). Thus, both The Only Good Dalek and The Age of Chaos are (comic story). Another way of looking at it is that we're using the primary British meaning of "graphic novel" — which is to say "a collection of previously-published stories". Americans would say that we're using (graphic novel) to mean (trade paperback).
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍ 15:16: Fri 25 May 2012 

DWA 270-272[[edit source]]

All of these issues show the same date: 30 May 2012.Boblipton talk to me 12:34, June 5, 2012 (UTC)

Dear Librarian,

the article Doctor Who Magazine/2012 indicates that the issues rrange from #442 through 428 -- clearly a typo. Like the last time I wrote you, I would change it myself, but I don't know what the right numbers are. Boblipton talk to me 23:29, June 6, 2012 (UTC)

Sorry if you feel like I'm stalking, but it's something I do with all new articles. Given my work habits, I find it best to start fixing the articles when they're new and small rather than waiting until they're immense and hard to get a handle on.

Are we going to see articles on DWM 442-447 soon?Boblipton talk to me 23:56, June 6, 2012 (UTC)

Series variable[[edit source]]

Hey :) Please note that there can only be one series variable per each group of navigation points. So if you've got a {{{prev}}} and a {{{next}}}, you can only use {{{series}}}. Don't use {{{series2}}} and {{{series3}}} to put in additional, confusing lines.

For DWA comic strips, the {{{series}}} variable should be set to DWA comic stories. That's it. Not Doctor Who comic stories. Not Eleventh Doctor comic stories. The series is only DWA comic stories. Similarly in DWM, the {{{series}}} is only DWM comic stories.

Thanks.
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍ 00:57: Mon 09 Jul 2012  00:57, July 9, 2012 (UTC)

Please follow image guidelines[[edit source]]

I remind you to read and understand T:ICC and T:GTI. It's very important that all images be:

  • more than 250px wide
  • less than 100kb in total size
  • cropped so that word balloons are not "chopped off" — unless the artist drew an irregularly-shaped balloon. They should either be entirely present or entirely absent; nothing in between.

It's especially important as we prepare to receive a new crop of editors once series 7 begins that all our editors are contributing according to the established guidelines. New editors will be looking at what old hands like yourself are doing. Thus, it's really important that you pay attention to Tardis:Guide to images#Comics and produce only work that falls within those guidelines.
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍ 20:22: Sat 04 Aug 2012 

Linking to dates[[edit source]]

Please don't link to dates the way you seem to be doing. Proper linkage is

[[23 August]] [[2012]]

not 

[[23rd August |23]] [[August]] [[2012]]

There is absolutely no reason to have specific linkage to the month. Nor is there good cause for the linkage to the redirect of 23rd August versus the page title of 23 August. Most magazines have cover dates with the simpler date form, so you're not, I don't think, reflecting what's on the magazine itself. (And even if you are, there's a premium on space in the infobox. You should go with as few characters as possible.)

Additionally, please don't introduce extra spaces before a pipe when performing a pipe trick. Yes, it'll work to type

[[24 December    |Christmas Eve]]

but please don't do it. The bot in no way expects that kinda space to exist there, so it makes wiki maintenance needlessly more difficult. While we're on the subject of spaces, please do not introduce any unnecessary vertical spaces. One of your articles had 6 carriage returns at the top of the article. Please review T:SPACING. Thanks — and thanks for your continuing hard work. :)
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍  01:57: Tue 04 Sep 2012

Test Message[[edit source]]

Hi, I've received a report that you haven't been getting talk page notifications, so this is just a test message to verify if there's a bug with your account view. --Dopp http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb32675/wikia/images/e/e9/WikiaStaff.png (help forum | blog) 22:19, September 6, 2012 (UTC)

Looks like the "You have a hypercube" message bubble in the lower-right corner of the screen is displaying successfully. --Dopp http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb32675/wikia/images/e/e9/WikiaStaff.png (help forum | blog) 22:26, September 6, 2012 (UTC)

Message alerts[[edit source]]

As you can see, I've pulled Staff in on the difficulties you seem to be having with message alerts. Because they've now confirmed that you are getting them, I'm thinking you just might not recognise them. So let me take this opportunity to show you what you should be looking for.

  • This is where the alert is located in the normal, default zoom of a page. It's always in the bottom right.

    This is where the alert is located in the normal, default zoom of a page. It's always in the bottom right.

  • Note that it still stays in the bottom right, no matter how much you zoom the page.

    Note that it still stays in the bottom right, no matter how much you zoom the page.

In other words, it's kinda impossible to lose the thing. Maybe it popped up one day a coupla years ago and you were simply never curious about it. Thus, you kept getting messages and the alert just stayed on your screen. When you went to this page — that is, User talk:The Librarian — the system naturally reset. But because you weren't that interested in the bubble, you didn't particularly understand what made it disappear.

Or maybe you've thought this was a pop-up ad of some kind, so you clicked the X in the top right corner without understanding it was meant to be leading you to your talk page (or to the Community-corner messages).

The way it's supposed to work is that you see this message pop up, you click on it, and you're taken to whatever wiki is sending you a message. If it's this wiki, you'll just end up on this page. After you've visited this page, the blue "bubble" goes away, and it won't return until you get new messages.

Think of it like a kind of Bat-signal. It's trying to get your attention without making a sound. So if you're not lookin' up in the sky, you'll never know that Commissioner Gordon wants you. Now that we know that your account does indeed display the bubbles, it seems likely that you just weren't lookin' up in the sky.

I hope this has helped. If you're still not getting it, please let me know. I'm determined to help you understand this system. Or if you don't want my help, please send a message via Special:Contact, and mention case ID #50578.
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍  23:03: Thu 06 Sep 2012

Well, it's not really workable, because we need to know that when we place a message on your page that you're getting the signal that you've got new messages. Are you positive that you're not getting those messages? A staff member has logged into your account, sent a message, and seen that it's there. And am I understanding you correctly? Are you saying that you're getting the Achievements/Game of Rassilon notifications but not the message alerts?
I'm going to make a tiny change to community-corner file. This will automatically send you a message alert. That alert will still be displayed even when you're reading this page. As soon as you read this page, I want you to take a snapshot of the whole page and upload it to my user talk page. If you're using a Windows machine — and you must be, because you once mentioned Internet Explorer — you can do that with PrntScrn.
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍  22:45: Sat 08 Sep 2012
Yanno, I've re-read what you've said, and I need to confirm it, piece by piece.

Here are the kinds of message alerts you should receive. I'm going to number them, and I want you to tell me which numbers you're seeing.

  1. A dark blue alert with a picture in the top left corner announcing that you've earned some points in the Game of Rassilon
  2. A dark blue alert saying, "You have a hypercube on the <insert wiki name here>"
  3. A dark blue alert saying, "You have a hypercube."
  4. A dark blue alert saying, "Time is in flux! The wiki is changing"
  5. Two intersecting speech balloons on the top right of your screen — next to the clock. When you mouseover/click, you get a list of message threads seeking your attention.
    czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍  22:57: Sat 08 Sep 2012thanks
Since you say you've been getting #2 and #3, I don't really understand why you've been claiming that you haven't been getting notified of new messages on your talk page. Options #2 and #3 are message alerts. (Option #5 is the way message alerts are handled on wikis that have Message Wall enabled. We don't use Message Wall, so you'll never be notified to a new message on this wiki with #5. You'll only get a message alert there, while on Tardis, if someone on a MW-enabled wiki — like w:c:muppet — leaves you a message on that wiki.) But if you're seeing a dark blue, white-bordered message that says, "You have a hypercube", you're successfully receiving message alerts. Click on the bat-signal, and you'll go to your talk page to view the message.
A word about #2. This alerts you to messages you've received on other wikis that don't use Message Wall. Sometimes you'll get more than one. Maybe it'll say, "You have a hypercube on the Doctor Who Collector's Wiki, Memory Alpha, Wookieepedia". You'll need to click on the specific wiki name to go there — not just any old area on the "bat-signal".
Because you've said that you are receiving #3 and #4, I'm going to assume that you are getting messages on your message wall in a timely fashion, and that this issue is resolved. If this is not the case, please let me know ASAP.
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍  23:57: Sun 09 Sep 2012

Please keep up with changes and be consistent[[edit source]]

It would be extremely helpful if you could just use the standard preload for comic stories. When policy changes are made, or new templates are added, I make an effort to change the preload so that it becomes the standard for the writing of articles.

However, I know you will probably ignore this request because you have this, in my view, odd need to do things offline, despite the fact that using the standard preload is much easier.

Therefore I present you with this standard format that you can copy and paste. Please don't deviate from it — unless of course you avail yourself of the standard preload. Take a good, hard look at the way this differs from whatever you're using now in Word. (But please strongly consider working online, using the standard preloads.) 

{{title dab away}}
{{real world}}
{{Infobox Story
|name              = {{StoryTitle}}
|image             = DWA CS 282 24 HOUR NEWS INVASION.jpg
|doctor            = [[Eleventh Doctor]]
|companions        = [[Amy Pond|Amy]], [[Rory Williams|Rory]]
|enemy             = [[Blehurg]]
|year              = [[Vorala]]
|writer            = [[Glenn Dakin]]
|editor            = [[Natalie Barnes]]
|artist            = [[John Ross]]
|colourist         = [[Alan Craddock]]
|letterer          = 
|publication       = [[DWA 282]]
|release date      = [[15 August]] [[2012]]
|publisher         = [[Immediate Media Company London Limited]]
|format            = Comic - 1 parts (4 pages)
|series            = [[DWA comic stories]]
|prev              = The Intergalactic Trials (comic story)
|next              = The Panic Room (comic story)
|series2           =
|prev2             =
|next2             =
|series3           = 
|prev3             =
|next3             = 
}}
'''''{{StoryTitle}}''''' was a ''[[Doctor Who Adventures]]'' comic strip published in [[2012]].
{{TitleSort}}
{{ImageLinkComics}}
[[Category:DWA comic stories]]
[[Category:Eleventh Doctor comic stories]]

I haven't filled in the body of the article, because its your infobox usage and category usage that's killin' me. However, please stop creating empty or outdated external links. With new DWA stories there are no appropriate external links to make, so please omit the section altogether.
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍  00:20: Wed 19 Sep 2012

Also, please remember when you create a new story page that you should also create the matching image category. So if you create The Panic Room (comic story), you must also create Category:The Panic Room comic story images, and make sure that The Panic Room comic story images goes inside Category:DWA comic story images. Thanks :)
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍  00:25: Wed 19 Sep 2012
Also, we voted some time ago to get rid of the whole timeline section on all articles. Please see Forum:Timeline sections on pages. And please drop by Forum:Panopticon a bit more often. We have a lot of discussions there, and it's up to you to make sure that you're keeping abreast of decisions.
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍  00:39: Wed 19 Sep 2012

Preloads[[edit source]]

Please make sure you are using the latest version of the preload for magazine issue. I notice that you are not doing so for DWA issues, because you're oddly adding the category "Doctor Who Adventures", instead of the appropriate "DWA issues". If we need to make changes in the preload, please let me know. Otherwise, please consistently use the template.
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍  13:36: Thu 01 Nov 2012

Please don't give up[[edit source]]

I'm so confused right now. You're again claiming that you're not seeing instant notifications, but I thought we'd resolved that earlier. You told me back in September that you were getting #3 and #4 under #Message alerts, above, which means you're getting a little blue message that says "You have a hypercube". That's what a message notification is. When you see it, click on it, and it will take you to your talk page, where you can see the new message.

Wikia staff members have independently confirmed that your account is getting these notifications. I don't understand why you're now reverting to saying that you aren't getting this message alert.

We absolutely need the content you can provide. Please let's work together to resolve whatever lingering problem you're having with the message alert system.

As for the preloads, it really shouldn't be so hard that you're giving up. All you have to do is pull down the dropdown menu under "Standard preloads" to "DWA issue", and fill it in. The preload system makes your life a lot easier. Since it prefills a lot of the information, it frees you up to concentrate on the unique content in each issue.

Nobody here wants you to stop giving us content. We're just trying to help you find a quicker and more efficient way of working. I've personally invested a lot of time tailoring the preload system to your specific needs. Please don't throw away all that work by walking away from the project.

If you'd just work directly in the edit window of the wiki — and not in an offline word processor — all this would, I think, make total sense. Seriously, your life would be much easier than trying to copy and paste huge blocks of text into and out of Word or whatever. Just:

  1. Make sure you're in the Wikia skin
  2. Click on the redlinked issue number
  3. Pull down the standard preload to "DWA issue"
  4. Fill in the form that pops up.

That's all you have to do. It really is easy, and will allow you to do exactly what you want to: focus on the addition of content.
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍  00:47: Fri 02 Nov 2012

Image organisation[[edit source]]

The central category for all images is images by content. Let's pop it open and look inside.

Images by content
Crossover element images
The Doctor is coming to Disney XD images
Doctor Who at the Proms images
Doctor Who Worlds of Wonder images
Documentary images
Faction Paradox images
Images by character
Images by location
Images by object
Images by species
Regeneration images
Science Fiction: Voyage to the Edge of Imagination exhibition images
Images by source
Title sequence images
Totally Doctor Who images
Whoniverse ident images
Help:Files

You're worried about images related to a story. So you go to images by story and you find:

Category Images by story not found

Easy enough. Clearly you want comic stories, so you go to images by comic story

Images by comic story
AAAGH! comic story images
Alarms and Excursions comic story images
Ambush comic story images
Anarchy in the UK comic story images
Arrivals comic story images
Autumnal cat drawings comic story images
Before the Storm comic story images
The Blue River Score comic story images
The Body in Question comic story images
Brunta Tukash comic story images
But They Never Really Die comic story images
Bêtes Noires & Dark Horses comic story images
Camelot Lost comic story images
A Cat Out of Hell comic story images
Catch a Falling Star comic story images
Clockwork World comic story images
Clone Drive comic story images
Cold War comic story images
Come One and All to the Ugly Bug-Eyed Monster Ball comic story images
Coming of the Cybermen comic story images
Convention Special comic story images
Crime Like Politics is Always Personal comic story images
Cyber Crisis comic story images
The Dalek Chronicles comic story images
Dalek Invasion of Ealing 1987 comic story images
The Dalek Project comic story images
Daleks, invasión a la Tierra año 2150 comic story images
DAN comic story images
The Death of Fifi comic story images
Death's Head Revisited comic story images
The Demons of Eden comic story images
Dennis meets Jonathan Ross comic story images
Dennis the Menace in Balloonatics comic story images
Devil's End comic story images
Doctor Who and the Last Stand comic story images
Doctor Who in "Colony in Space" comic story images
Doctor Who? Channel 33⅓ comic story images
Doctor Who? comic story images
Doctor Who? DWM 128 comic story images
Doctor Who? DWM 132 comic story images
Doctor Who? DWM 154 comic story images
Doctor Who? DWM 176 comic story images
Doctor Who? DWM 186 comic story images
Doctor Who? DWM 196 comic story images
Doctor Who? DWM 69 comic story images
Doctor Who? DWM 95 comic story images
Doctor Whoah! DWM 455 comic story images
Doctor Woah! comic story images
Don't Drink the Water comic story images
Double Game comic story images
Down These Mean Streets A Man Must Go comic story images
Dr What and His Time Clock comic story images
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde comic story images
Dr. Who & the Mechonoids comic story images
Dr. Who and the Daleks comic story images
Dr. Who in the Spider's Web comic story images
Dr. Who's Time Tales (DWM 31 comic story) comic story images
Dr. Who's Time Tales (DWM 33 comic story) comic story images
Dr. Who's Time Tales (DWM 34 comic story) comic story images
Dr. Who's Time Tales (DWM 35 comic story) comic story images
Dr. Who's Time Tales (DWM 36 comic story) comic story images
Dr. Who's Time Tales (DWM 37 comic story) comic story images
Dr. Who's Time Tales (DWM 39 comic story) comic story images
Dr. Who's Time Tales (DWM 40 comic story) comic story images
Dr. Who's Time Tales (DWM 41 comic story) comic story images
Dr. Who's Time Tales (DWM 42 comic story) comic story images
Dr. Who's Time Tales (DWM 43 comic story) comic story images
DWA comic story images
DWAN comic story images
DWBIT comic story images
DWM comic story images
DWS comic story images
DWY comic story images
Eltralla comic story images
Empire of the Daleks comic story images
Enlightenment comic story images
Epilogopolis comic story images
Even the Oppressed Own Their Lives... comic story images
Ever Wondered What Happened At.. The Auditions For The Seven Doctors? comic story images
Every Dog Has Its Day comic story images
Excerpts From the Best-Seller; '101 Things To Do With A TARDIS'. comic story images
Faustine comic story images
FF comic story images
Firelight comic story images
Foolsmate comic story images
The Forge comic story images
Freeze comic story images
GASPS comic story images
Ghost Train comic story images
Goodbye To All That comic story images
The Guns of Avalon comic story images
The Harrowing of Hell comic story images
Hell Comes to Birmingham comic story images
High Noon in Hollywood comic story images
The Horn of a Dilemma comic story images
Hydra's Gate comic story images
IDW comic story images
IHP comic story images
In the Stars comic story images
Interlude comic story images
Interplanetary Rescue comic story images
Into Control comic story images
Introduction comic story images
The Invasion of Bash Street comic story images
Invasion of the Daleks Dalek Empire comic story images
Jenny Says: Drink Gevity™! comic story images
Jewel of the Vile comic story images
Judgement Day comic story images
Killing Ground comic story images
Looking Back comic story images
Loose in the Lane comic story images
LP comic story images
Meet Death's Head comic story images
Meet the Fam! comic story images
Miranda comic story images
Mission: Improbable comic story images
Missy Loves Ghostie comic story images
Moments in Time comic story images
Moments in Time DWM 456 comic story images
Myth, Memory and Legend comic story images
Nature of the Beast! comic story images
New Year, New Who comic story images
Omega comic story images
Once in a Lifetime comic story images
The Only Good Dalek comic story images
Orcini comic story images
Paradise Towers comic story images
PHS comic story images
Planet of the Rain Gods comic story images
The Plastic Population comic story images
Pluto's Gate comic story images
Political Animals comic story images
Prey of the Zenith comic story images
Promposal comic story images
Pugwash Ahoy! comic story images
Queen Amy comic story images
Quick Change comic story images
A Rag, a Bone, a Hank of Hair... comic story images
Recruitment... comic story images
Rhyme or Reason comic story images
The Road to the Thirteenth Doctor images
Rough Justice comic story images
RT comic story images
Service with a Shhhh comic story images
Sewer Monster comic story images
Short Circuit comic story images
Shrouded comic story images
Sid's Story comic story images
Sil and the Devil Seeds of Arodor comic story images
The Sound and the Fury comic story images
A Stitch in Time CC comic story images
It's Behind You! comic story images
Super Gran comic story images
The Sword is Drawn comic story images
Synchronicity II comic story images
Tales of the Dark Times comic story images
Target Selected comic story images
Terra Alpha Nights comic story images
The Birthday Boy comic story images
The Bits We've Missed So Far comic story images
The Comic Assassins Number Eight comic story images
The Continuing Adventures of Doctor no. 14 comic story images
The Daft Dimension DWM 605 comic story images
The Daft Dimension DWM 608 comic story images
The Extrortioner comic story images
The Forest Bride comic story images
The Future Perfect comic story images
The Futurists comic story images
The Ghost Ship comic story images
The Golesterkol Collection comic story images
The Hans of Fear comic story images
The Heretic comic story images
The Invisible Man comic story images
The Living Storm comic story images
The Monster Makers comic story images
The Monsters of Coal Hill School comic story images
The Road to the Thirteenth Doctor comic story images
The Sleeze Brothers: Private Investigators comic story images
The Snag Finders comic story images
The Steampunk Conundrum comic story images
The Test of Time comic story images
The Trial of Lockheed comic story images
The Year Ahead comic story images
TIDH comic story images
Time Bomb comic story images
Titan comic story images
TM comic story images
To Save Me, Why Must I Kill Me? comic story images
The Totally Stonking, Surprisingly Educational And Utterly Mindboggling Comic Relief Comic comic story images
Trouble on the Orion Express comic story images
TV21 comic story images
TVA comic story images
TVC comic story images
Tying the Knot comic story images
The Undying comic story images
Untitled (Nuke Noodle) comic story images
Untitled (TVC 740) comic story images
Untitled 1 The Doctor Who Fun Book comic story images
Untitled 4 The Doctor Who Fun Book comic story images
Untitled Countdown for TV Action Annual 1973 comic story images

And from here you want DWA comic story images.

DWA comic story images
13 O'Clock comic story images
24-Hour News Invasion comic story images
The Abomination Game comic story images
About Face comic story images
The Adventures of Strax & the Time Shark comic story images
Agent 99 comic story images
Air Force Gone comic story images
Alien Babies! comic images
All Change! comic story images
The Aquarius Condition comic story images
Arctic Eclipse comic story images
The Atomon Invasion comic story images
Attack of the GateBots! comic story images
Attack of the Mange Mites! comic story images
Attack of the Space Leeches! comic story images
Bad Vibrations comic story images
Bad Wolfie comic story images
The Ball and Chain Gang comic story images
Ball-Pit Beast comic story images
Bat Attack! comic story images
Beauty Sleep comic story images
The Big Hush comic story images
Big in Japan comic story images
Bite of the Morphuse! comic story images
Bizarre Zero comic story images
The Black Hole Gang comic story images
Blood and Tears comic story images
Blue Skies Thinking comic story images
The Blue Star Bomb comic story images
Booked Up comic story images
Borrowed Time comic story images
Brain Train comic story images
Bumble of Destruction comic story images
Buy, Buy, Baby! comic story images
Buying Time comic story images
By Order of the Bonemenders comic story images
By the Book comic story images
Cell Shock comic story images
Chasing Rainbows comic story images
Chime Time comic story images
The Chromosome Connection comic story images
CitiZen's Arrest comic story images
City of Light comic story images
The Cleverest King comic story images
The Cliff Face comic story images
Code Freeze comic story images
Cold Comfort comic story images
A Cold Snap comic story images
The Collector DWA comic story images
Colossus of the Colosseum comic story images
The Continuity Cap comic story images
Copycat comic story images
Coral Maze comic story images
The Court of Birds comic story images
Crash Landing comic story images
Creature Feature comic story images
Creatures from the Deep comic story images
The Crystal Palace comic story images
The Curse of the Gibwyn comic story images
The Curse of Vladula comic story images
Cyclops comic story images
Danger Flight comic story images
A Date to Remember comic story images
Dawn of the Living Bread comic story images
Dawn of Time! comic story images
Dead-line comic story images
The Deadly Mutant comic story images
Decky the Halls comic story images
A Delicate Operation comic story images
The Demons of Repton Abbey comic story images
Dimension Warp comic story images
Dino World comic story images
Dinosaurs in New York! comic story images
Doctor in a Bottle comic story images
Doctor on the Menu comic story images
Dog of War! comic story images
Doomland comic story images
Doomsilk comic story images
Dragon Attack comic story images
Dummy Run comic story images
Dungeon of the Lost comic story images
Earworm comic story images
The Egg Hunt comic story images
Empire's Fall comic story images
The Evergreen Death comic story images
Extinction Event comic story images
Eye of the Storm comic story images
Eye Spy comic story images
Faceache comic story images
The Fairest of Them All comic story images
Fashion Victims comic story images
Faster Than Light comic story images
Fear Buds comic story images
Finders Keepers comic story images
First Foot First comic story images
Five a Day comic story images
Flight of the Giurgeax comic story images
Foot Soldiers comic story images
Foul Play comic story images
The Frankenstein Particle comic story images
Fried Death comic story images
From the Horse's Mouth comic story images
Frosty the Snowdemon comic story images
Funny Phone Call! comic story images
Gallery comic story images
Gangster's Paradise comic story images
Garbage Day! comic story images
The Garden Rebellion comic story images
The Genius Trap comic story images
The Germ War comic story images
The Ghost Factory comic story images
Ghost World comic story images
Ghosts of the Never-were comic story images
Ghosts of the Seas comic story images
The Giant's Ring comic story images
Gift Snatched! comic story images
Glum Culture comic story images
Gnome Guard comic story images
The Goats of Christmas Past comic story images
Golden Slumbers comic story images
Good Old Days comic story images
The Great Mordillo comic story images
The Great Rain Robbery comic story images
The Greatest Movie Never Made comic story images
The Greed of the Gavulav comic story images
The Greedy Gulper comic story images
Green Fingers comic story images
The Green, the Bad and the Ugly comic story images
Grow Your Own comic story images
The Guardian of Murcher comic story images
Gumfight comic story images
The Halls of Sacrifice comic story images
Harvest of Doom comic story images
The Hat Trick comic story images
Hear No Evil comic story images
The Highest Stake comic story images
Highway Robbery comic story images
Hitching Point comic story images
The Holly and the Ivy comic story images
The Home Store comic story images
Hook, Line and Sinker comic story images
Hot Metal comic story images
Hot Stuff! comic story images
Humans Aren't Just for Christmas comic story images
The Hunters comic story images
Hyperballad comic story images
I Scream comic story images
If You Go Down to the Woods Today comic story images
An Ill Wind comic story images
In the Can comic story images
The Intergalactic Trials comic story images
Invaders of the Vortex comic story images
The Invisibles comic story images
Island of the Cyclopes comic story images
Junk Food comic story images
The Kchrusivour Gambit comic story images
Killer App comic story images
The King and the Tripeberry comic story images
A Klytode Christmas comic story images
The Last Soldier comic story images
The Lavender Hill Blob comic story images
Le Tour de Death comic story images
The Light Catcher comic story images
Line of Battle comic story images
Love is in the Air comic story images
Lucky Heather comic story images
The Lunar Tyk comic story images
Madness on the M1! comic story images
Malthill Way comic story images
The Man in the Moon comic story images
The Memory Collective comic story images
A Merry Little Christmas comic story images
A Mess of Trouble comic story images
Meteorite Meeting comic story images
Mine, All Mine! comic story images
The Ministry of Time comic story images
Minus Seven Wonders comic story images
Mirror Image comic story images
The Mirror War comic story images
Missing in Action comic story images
Mistaken Identity comic story images
Money Troubles comic story images
Monster Idol comic story images
The Monster Upstairs comic story images
The Moon of Lost Hope comic story images
More Than Meets the Eye comic story images
Most Haunted comic story images
Mudshock comic story images
Museum Piece comic story images
The Mutant Turnip comic story images
The Mystery of the Mould comic story images
New and Improved comic story images
Night of the Burnt Toast comic story images
Night of the Worms comic story images
Nightmare on the Boulevard comic story images
Nowhere Man comic story images
The Old Kings of Skarab comic story images
On the Cards comic story images
Once Bitten comic story images
One Careful Owner comic story images

If you don't see your story here, that means you have to create a new category, with the name Category:<name of story> comic story images. So if the name of the story were The Doctor's Prescription, the name of the image category would be The Doctor's Prescription comic story images. It's very important that the name follow that exact nomenclature, because other code is depending on it.

Cut and paste the following into the newly created category page: 

{{TitleSort}}
{{ImageLinkComics}}
[[Category:DWA comic story images]]

Then, save the category page. Once the new category page is created, make sure your comic story page also contains {{ImageLinkComics}}, so that the category page and the story page have mutual links. (If you use the standard preload, {{ImageLinkComics}} is already, automatically there.)

That's it! Lemme know if you have further questions.
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍  01:01: Sun 11 Nov 2012

Image licenses automatically add categories[[edit source]]

I'm cleaning up Special:WantedCategories and I can't help but notice a common theme. You seem to have added a number of categories manually which incorrectly duplicate the work of the license template itself. I'm confused by that, since you and I have worked together in the past to create some of these licenses, so I would have thought you'd have known that they auto-add categories relevant to their license. {{DWM cover}}, {{DWA cover}}, {{DWI cover}} and the like automatically put the pic in category:DWM covers, category:DWA covers and category:DWI covers. Yet, for some reason, you've added non-existent categories like Doctor Who Magazine cover images in addition to the license. Please don't do this.
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍  15:12: Thu 21 Feb 2013

Please don't use HTML[[edit source]]

Please note that T:NO HTML forbids the use of HTML directly in articles. I'm finding an awful lot of 

<br />

in your magazine work, all of which has to be painstakingly removed, because it's forcing unusual line breaks which often then violate T:SPACING. Please just use Enter to insert a line break. where necessary. If you have situations where you're not getting the kind of line-spacing you need, please give me a specific example of the problem and I'll give further advice on how to format things. But please immediately suspend the use of HTML line breaks in your work. Thanks :)
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍  20:54: Sat 18 May 2013

Doctor Who Adventures comic stories[[edit source]]

Hey Librarian! I just need to tell you something! We're a bit far behind on the DWA comic stories, I only have some and I've made those pages, so I was wondering if you can get people to make them (somehow post the comics online) or make them yourself? -User:StevieGLiverpool

Hi Librarian. Wait... Librarian who? Anyway, I was just wondering if you could make pages for the missing DWA comics, as there are loads missing, or if you could somehow upload it, and I'll make the pages for you.

DWBIT 25[[edit source]]

Any chance that you've got a copy of DWBIT 25 laying around, and that you could take a scan of the title panel to the End Game comic story? I'd really like to see how exactly the lettering is done on the title. Thanks :)
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍  01:40: Thu 27 Jun 2013

Ze DWA Comics[[edit source]]

Sorry... I didn't really know much about this HYPERCUBE, so I just got your message... so... yeah. Anyway, are you going to make the pages... I mean, can you? Or just... send them to me somehow? By scanning them? Anyway thanks! -StevieGLiverpool

Magazine images[[edit source]]

Various warnings around the site have been made more specific in light of your clarification request. Magazine covers which reveal things about future episodes are indeed forbidden. We'll have to wait on the inevitable RT and DWM celebratory covers until after December 25.
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍  18:44: Tue 06 Aug 2013

{{ImageLinkComics}}[[edit source]]

Fixed. Thanks for catching this error.
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍  11:39: Sat 10 Aug 2013

Please provide me with specific links to the problems you're having. Your message was a little vague. Where exactly is this problem? (To link to pictures be sure to add a prepending colon, as in [[:file:filename.jpg]].)
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍  23:30: Tue 13 Aug 2013
Okay, let's leave the "LEFT" thing to one, um, side. :) It's really not important, and is a known bug that has hitherto only affected the mobile skin. It has no bearing whatsoever upon proper categorisation, and is entirely a cosmetic error. I haven't yet styled that aspect of the wiki, and when I do, I doubt it'll be much of a problem.
As for the File:CS DWA 293 METERORITE MEETING.jpg not appearing in Category:Meteorite Meeting comic story images, well, that makes perfect sense. The pic has never been in that category. You've consistently misspelled the word "meteorite" as "meterorite", both in the file and category title. If you were to add that file to Category:Meteorite Meeting comic story images, it would indeed show up.
[However, I should point out that the picture violates several points of T:GTI and may well be deleted unless you re-crop it. It should be widescreen oriented — when it is clear that it doesn't have to be —  and it shouldn't contain the tails of speech balloons. Please cast a careful eye over T:GTI, particularly those sections dealing with comic images.]
File:CS DWA 294 TOWER OF POWER.jpg is likewise not in a category. For it to show up in Category:Tower of Power comic story images, it's gotta actually be put in that category.
[Note that while this picture has the same, portrait orientation of the previous picture, it's fine. It's very hard to capture a vertically-oriented thing like Eiffel Tower in a widescreen crop. And you've kept the speech balloons entirely intact.]
So, to review, if you want to make a picture appear in a Category:DWA comic story images category, you've got to:
  1. Start Category:<story name> comic story images with 
    {{ImageLinkComics}}{{TitleSort}}[[Category:DWA comic story images]]
  2. Add {{ImageLinkComics}} to the comic story page itself. As long as you're using the standard preloadable formats to create your new pages, this addition is a standard part of the format, and you don't have to remember to put it in.
  3. Upload your image and make sure you manually add the correct — and correctly spelled — category. So if the story name were Tower of Power, you'd have to make sure it was in Category:Tower of Power comic story images. Note that it has to be exactly that; Category:TOwer Of Power comic story images won't work.
Lemme know if you have further questions.
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍  23:51: Wed 14 Aug 2013
Oh, also, please immediately stop using ALL CAPS in your pic names. Your nomenclature's gonna trip our new anti-shouting filter every time someone publishes a page with one of your pic titles in the infobox. Have you been using all caps a lot in your uploads?
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍  23:56: Wed 14 Aug 2013

Reminder[[edit source]]

Hi! I just wanted to remind you that any magazine covers showing pictures that could be spoilers will be removed per the spoiler policy. Therefore one of the images you added at Doctor Who Magazine/2013 has been removed for now. Thanks! Shambala108 ☎ 00:28, August 21, 2013 (UTC)

Ok, sorry about that. I can't quite figure out who did put it there. If you have any idea, can you let me know? Thanks for all your work on the magazine pages! Shambala108 ☎ 14:33, August 21, 2013 (UTC)

DWM 462 image[[edit source]]

Hi! I just wanted to let you know that I had to delete the image you uploaded for DWM 462 because it does have a spoiler in the lower right section. I am aware that the info is occasionally posted elsewhere on the wiki, but technically it is a spoiler, and a pretty visible one, so that's why I deleted it for now. You can re-upload it when the event in question actually occurs. Thanks for your understanding! Shambala108 ☎ 14:17, September 4, 2013 (UTC)

Me again, and I apologize again. Just so you won't think I'm crazy, I'll explain what happened this time. Someone requested that image be deleted, so when I checked it, it had your name on it. I didn't bother to look at the history.
Incidentally, I had no intention of blocking you; I was actually apologizing for deleting (what I thought was) your hard work.
I promise I have learned my lesson, and it won't happen again :) Shambala108 ☎ 03:15, September 5, 2013 (UTC)

Doctor Who figurines[[edit source]]

Sorry, I don't actually know what you're talking about. Can you give me some more info about the product? Sounds like it'd just be {{merchandise}} though.
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍  22:09: Fri 06 Sep 2013

Yeah, I've looked over what User:SmallerOnTheOutside did with file:DWFC 1 FIG.jpg and I'd say the use of {{merchandise}} was a good call. Did you have any specific reason why you didn't like that choice?
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍  23:41: Fri 06 Sep 2013
I can see why we'll need a new license for the magazine image itself, but could you please explain why {{merchandise}} is insufficient for the figurine images?
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍  01:22: Sat 07 Sep 2013

Tunnel Terrors(!)[[edit source]]

Hello again, sorry to bother you. I was looking through the DWA comic story pages you've created, and I noticed that there are (seemingly) two entries for the DWA 319 comic: Tunnel Terrors (comic story) and Tunnel Terrors! (comic story).

First of all, am I missing something, and these are actually separate stories?

I doubt it, so that brings me to my second question: which is the correct spelling? If the question mark's clearly visible, then we'll go with Tunnel Terrors! (comic story). And I suppose have Tunnel Terrors (comic story) redirect to it; there's no point doing a proper merge when there's only one edit for either page. What do you think, as creator of both pages?
--SOTO ☎ 23:03, October 1, 2013 (UTC)

No worries. :) I {{speedy rename}}d (that looks weird in text) Teacher's Pet for you, and put {{merge}} on Tunnel Terrors. Just to confirm, Tunnel definitely has an exclamation mark?
--SOTO ☎ 03:47, October 2, 2013 (UTC)

Nova[[edit source]]

Argh, Librarian!! Hi, me again. In the future, just put {{speedy rename}} or {{rename}} on a page you want renamed — do not create a duplicate of said page at the correct name. Don't worry, an admin (or the bot) will change the links and rename it eventually. Having two Novas is not very helpful, and quite simply means that — not only does Nova (comic story) need to be deleted — but we just lost a day's worth of edit history for the page proper. In other words, it creates a bit of a mess for nothing.

So put {{speedy rename}} if it's a spelling mistake or something irrefutable, and {{rename}} if it requires discussion. Thank you.
--SOTO ☎ 00:24, October 3, 2013 (UTC)

DWM 465[[edit source]]

Hey! I've got a quick question for you. An IP user has asked me if the image for DWM 465 can be uploaded since it's spoiler-free. Do you have it, and if so, can you verify this for me? Thanks! Shambala108 ☎ 19:44, October 24, 2013 (UTC)

DWBIT End Game[[edit source]]

Hey, I was wondering if I could remind you of a request I made a couple of years ago that requires your particular experience:

Any chance you could upload a picture of the title panel for End Game (DWBIT comic story) to talk:End Game (DWBIT comic story) and/or my talk page? Thanks :)
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍ 01:29: Tue 25 Oct 2011 

Thanks!
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍  01:13: Sun 27 Oct 2013

Christmas cheer[[edit source]]

Happy holidays!

As this fiftieth anniversary year comes to a close, we here at Tardis just want to thank you for being a part of our community — even if you haven't edited here in a while. If you have edited with us this year, then thanks for all your hard work.

This year has seen an impressive amount of growth. We've added about 11,000 pages this year, which is frankly incredible for a wiki this big. November was predictably one of the busiest months we've ever had: over 500 unique editors pitched in. It was the highest number of editors in wiki history for a year in which only one programme in the DWU was active. And our viewing stats have been through the roof. We've averaged well over 2 million page views each week for the last two months, with some weeks seeing over 4 million views!

We've received an unprecedented level of support from Wikia Staff, resulting in all sorts of new goodies and productive new relationships. And we've recently decided to lift almost every block we've ever made so as to allow most everyone a second chance to be part of our community.

2014 promises to build on this year's foundations, especially since we've got a full, unbroken series coming up — something that hasn't happened since 2011. We hope you'll stick with us — or return to the Tardis — so that you can be a part of the fun!

TardisDataCoreRoadway.png


DWFC[[edit source]]

Hey. I was planning on leaving a message here on that new template, {{DWFC table}}, but I see you've caught on anyways. Here, lemme update it to incorporate special and rare Dalek editions. No separate templates needed.

On a sidenote, please try to use images as widescreen as possible for {{{char image}}}.

Great work! :)
--SOTO (☎/★\♆) 22:46, February 7, 2014 (UTC)

Actually, it's completely coincidental that we ended up editing it at the same time. I was actually quite surprised when I hit save and was told that someone else has been editing it. Great ideas for categorisation; I'll return to that point and give it more thought at later date.
Okay, so I guess an explanation of {{DWFC table}} as it currently stands is due. First of all, I'm more than willing to take suggestions if you think it's too complicated to use. If you want the year variable to be free-flow (not auto-linking; you can put anything in), I can certainly do that. You yourself said a while back that it's always the same for every release, so I feel a template should actually make things easier, not to mention a bit better-looking.
On the topic of separate pages for each issue, one reason why they're needed is so that we can source them. If we want to use DWFC 2 as a source for some production info from 1964, then we need to be able to link to the specific issue. Also unique to separate pages is the release date (incidentally, release date pages will also link to the specific issues). We generally try to split topics up into more pages over combining them all together, so the way I see it, the table at Doctor Who: Figurine Collection should be a summary (just one or two words on each section, as it is now), and the specific issues will have more information.
Okay, on to the technical bits, the way I've made it to distinguish between the three series is through the use of the variables "n", "rd n" and "special n". n's for the "main range" so to speak, rd n is for the rare Dalek collection and special n is for the special releases. As long as you employ those variables at the beginning, everything is customised to that range. Too complicated? I can always think of something simpler; that template is not yet finalised.
There's also different variables for the two other ranges. You use {{{story}}} instead of {{{mit}}} (correct me if it's still called Moment in Time in these editions), and {{{feature1}}}, {{{feature2}}}, {{{feature3}}}, etc are only really useful in these. I'm really basing this off the stuff you put in there yourself, so feel free to suggest any modifications.
If you're confused or can't seem to manage to do something, don't be hard on yourself. It's probably my fault, not yours. Just drop me a message, and I'll fix the problem/explain it to you. And if there's something you don't understand, that probably means the template should be simplified. So, please, feel free to bombard me with as many questions as you have. ;)
--SOTO (☎/★\♆) 00:52, February 8, 2014 (UTC)

Btw, I'd be interested to know what you think of the individual pages. You think they don't offer any more information than the table does, so how do you think they could be improved? Take DWFC 4 as a random example. I guess I might be willing to delete 'em all and move everything to Doctor Who: Figurine Collection if you give me a compelling argument, but it's like you said — it's growing, it's changing and soon we'll need separate articles a lot more than we do now. What do you think?
--SOTO (☎/★\♆) 00:56, February 8, 2014 (UTC)

DWDVDF issues[[edit source]]

Hey, just two tiny things you forgot in DWDVDF 130 and DWDVDF 131: {{real world}} and Category:DWDVDF issues, not Category:Doctor Who: Figurine Collection. I did had a reply to your message on DWFC that I was working on; I'll get back to that when I regain access to the computer I was writing it on. :/
--SOTO (☎/✍\♆) 02:07, February 13, 2014 (UTC)

Archiving[[edit source]]

When you use the archive tool, you don't have to archive the entire page. You can select only a part of it. Just pull down the "edit" button to "archive". This will slightly change the way your talk page looks, converting it into an editable "pane". Then, click on the paragraphs you want to archive. Selected paragraphs will then turn blue. Once you've selected all the bits you want to archive, click on the "save archive" button, and you're done.

One thing, though. To comply with the spirit of our archiving policy please don't archive only part of a particular conversation. Choose the entire section, or none of it. That way, people later looking back on your conversation can understood it better.
czechout<staff /> ☎ ✍  14:20: Sun 23 Feb 2014

Rename tag[[edit source]]

Hey, I had to remove your speedy rename tag from Blipp it because it wasn't formatted properly. There are some fields you have to fill out for it to work properly. It should look like this speedy rename|new=new name|links=yes or no|user=your user name with the links saying yes if you've moved them or no if you haven't (and you don't have to, it will be done by an admin or a bot). Hope this helps! Shambala108 ☎ 15:07, February 23, 2014 (UTC)

Doctor Who Annual[[edit source]]

Hey, I was just wondering if you had any of the last 3 annuals (The Official Doctor Who Annual 2013, Doctor Who The Official 50th Anniversary Annual (2014) and/or Doctor Who The Official Annual 2015), because you can put pictures on the made articles. Thank you! :) -StevieGLiverpool

Miss You Bro[[edit source]]

That's all. StevieGLiverpool ☎ 14:20, March 5, 2020 (UTC)

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