Forum:2010 main page redesign

Ready for the new series, I have designed a new home page here, what do you think? --Rbfskywalker 12:32, January 2, 2010 (UTC)
 * seems good, though i think we should have a big debate about what should change, what shouldn't etc Excalibur-117 13:16, January 2, 2010 (UTC)
 * I agree, but can I make a suggestion regarding the image placeholder thingys, instead of having the caption to the side of the image, what about having it in the middle, and a colour code for Doctor Who, Torchwood and Sarah Jane Adventures, just for the heading boxes. All in all looks good. Good Work. --Bigshowbower 13:33, January 2, 2010 (UTC)
 * Colour codes seem like a great idea, how about blue for Who, purple for Sarha Jane and then maybe red for Torchwood? I am not 100% sure how to move the names on the boxes, I borrowed them from another wiki. --Rbfskywalker 14:13, January 2, 2010 (UTC)

I like it, the only thing i have a problem with is the placement of the news, but i could get used to it Geffe71 14:55, January 2, 2010 (UTC)
 * I put the news on the right as there is currently a lot of white space to the right of it in ti's current location.--Rbfskywalker 16:09, January 2, 2010 (UTC)

Seems good so far, only problem i've got is that the character pics seem sorta unaligned and messy but otherwise good job. Oh, and don't we need one for the k-9 as well?.Excalibur-117 18:02, January 2, 2010 (UTC)
 * I'm not even sure if K-9 is in the Doctor Who universe. Haven't even seen it, actually. --Yowuza yadderhouse | meh 18:22, January 2, 2010 (UTC)

Don't think anyone has, in all honesty, but if the admin say it's in then it's in.And if we have to we can just cry Alternate/Pararell Universe. Actually, other than the TV shows themselves, noting else in the entire DW universe is set down as canon, all opinion based. Excalibur-117 18:25, January 2, 2010 (UTC)
 * It's just that it doesn't look very Doctor Who-ish to me. --Yowuza yadderhouse | meh 18:41, January 2, 2010 (UTC)

That's crappy American TV for ya. Excalibur-117 18:42, January 2, 2010 (UTC)

It's not really intended to be. They made a kids show on Jetix and wanted K9 for their styoline. What makes it different is that the other three shows (Doctor Who, Torchwood, and The Sarah Jane Advetnures) all under the BBC and that follow where the classic Who left off, and they're all specially-linked shows that all fit into the main Whotinuity.

I do think there should be a different section for things such as K9, which can be consiodered parallels to the main continuity. We know it will never reference Doctor Who and vice versa. There should be the main continuity for certain things, and then the parallel continuity for others things that have little to do with the TV series, or make little connection/big contraditction.

I love your design of the homepage, too. Delton Menace 20:24, January 2, 2010 (UTC)


 * Why have the "Other adventures" been relegated to the bottom of the page, the novels, comics, audio dramas are produced throughout the year and they are given equal coverage on this wiki as the TV series, they are also valid per our canon policy as the TV series, and yet they've been shoved down the bottom of the page into "Other adventures"?
 * I know that many new users may view these as somehow less than the TV series, but equally new users to this wiki may have a preference for the audios, novels or comics. So I'm just a little concerned we are playing favourites over one medium.
 * The placement of the news seems to suggest it has more emphasis than other parts of this wiki, the same seems to go for the feature article and quote of the week, both which are designed to lead people off to other parts of the wiki have been pushed down below the news section.
 * The design is interesting and different, though as I've said I'm concerned about how much of the page has been given over one particular section of Doctor Who production. --Tangerineduel 02:46, January 3, 2010 (UTC)


 * Let's see:
 * The Doctor Who, Torchwood and Sarah Jane Adventure sections seem to take up a lot of space. As Tangerineduel says, they may be favoured by some users, but they're not the only Doctor Who related topics.
 * On a related issue, the Other Issues is being shoved down to the bottom.
 * The pictures of the characters don't seem to add the episode descriptions, and either you're going to have to put all the characters or add the characters based on personal opinion of importance.
 * Other than that the layout doesn't bother me. Azes13 04:46, January 3, 2010 (UTC)

Overall it looks good, but I have some thoughts and concerns:
 * I'm going to part company with Tangerineduel regarding the concern over one media being given preference. Although as noted all media are created equal in this wiki (well, at least BBC- or creator-licensed, at any rate), the fact remains that the 4 TV series are dominant and will be what the vast majority of users will want to look for first -- as it is, the K-9 series needs to be taken out of the "Other Adventures" section and treated equally to the others. If we give the same treatment to the other media, we end up with an unacceptably long and cluttered home page. As it is, having 4 sections for the TV series is pushing things a little.
 * That said, Tangerineduel's concern about the other media being treated dismissively is a very valid one. I think the "Other Adventures" section should be given a rethink, as the other media shouldn't just be dismissed as gallery items. There must be some way to give them some added prominence.
 * I like the idea of having the news headlines on the right side. Not everyone is aware of the News Page (I'm sure some folks think it died when OG was discontinued last summer), and I think having the headlines up top works. I might suggest, however, maybe only listing the 10 most recent headlines.
 * I don't think we need the "Popular Categories" section. I really am not convinced anyone cares or pays attention to such trivia, so if something needs to be trimmed, text-wise, I'd say that could go. (I'm not a big fan of the Quote either, but I know lots of people like those types of things.)
 * We don't need to have the headshots of the lead characters in the TV sections. I have some fair use concerns, plus it just makes things clunky and SJA in particular looks top-heavy because of its large cast. If there's one thing I would like to see removed above all else, it's these images. We don't need them.
 * I just noticed the comments regarding the K-9 TV series. First, the pilot episode has been broadcast in Europe, so it's now a going concern. Second, our place is not to judge whether a certain production is "in the Doctor Who universe" or whether it's any good or not. It's licensed by the creators and that therefore makes it as valid as any of the Big Finish, BBV, Reeltime and, frankly, BBC productions we feature on this wiki. 23skidoo 14:45, January 4, 2010 (UTC)

I think the design gains a lot from being re-arranged a bit and from dropping the character boxes, like I did here. --Cartoonmoney 12:56, January 11, 2010 (UTC)
 * Whop, also included a box to link to the other language Doctor Who wikias. (see this discussion) --Cartoonmoney 13:02, January 11, 2010 (UTC)


 * Removing the character boxes improves the page somewhat, though it doesn't solve the larger issue of the 'Other adventures' (as I've noted above). --Tangerineduel 13:12, January 11, 2010 (UTC)


 * Hm. I've made some more tweaks and will have a go at something that solves that problem. --Cartoonmoney 13:20, January 11, 2010 (UTC)
 * Here we go. --Cartoonmoney 13:52, January 11, 2010 (UTC)

The third version above is my favourite. You can't deny how clean and more organized that it looks. It would be nice to see something like that as the main page, the new is easier to find, and you don't have to scroll halfway down the page to find "Recent Advetnures..." Delton Menace 03:03, January 12, 2010 (UTC)