User:Arav the Underisth/My personal things

This is my personal experiment page.

This page is a list of my IRC chats about certain topics for CUSWFN.

Drewton: Dont reply to my comment on your talk oage at SWF.



Chat 1: SWFanon (In general)
By Arav the Undersith and Darth tom. (Not including times. took a lot of time deleting the time stamps!)

 Hey all

 Hello.

mode/#swfanon [+v Arav] by Darth_tom

 Well, I have got 10mins

 Ok, what topic would you like to discuss?

 SWfanon (In general)

 Ok?

 Yeah.

 Lets begin

 Why the hell isn't Wally here?

 You going, or not?

 Question 1: Tom, what is you opinion on the current Administration of the site?

 We r teh pwnz3rs. Oppose us + die HEHEHEHEHEHEH

 That's the opinion of you last night on the IRC

 Huh?

 Remember you kicked me?

<Darth_tom> Yep.

<Arav> (Don’t remind)

<Darth_tom> I remember it clearly.

LateBot [n=wallybot@79-77-61-224.dynamic.dsl.as9105.com] has joined #swfanon

LateBot is now known as WallyBot

mode/#swfanon [+v WallyBot] by Darth_tom

<Arav> So, what is your serious opinion of SWFanon?

<Darth_tom> I don't do serious.

<Darth_tom> But I'll do it just for now.

<Darth_tom> My opinion of the admins, or of SWF?

<Arav> SWFanons administration.

<Darth_tom> Overall, very good. Some of the admins do need to do a bit more work, and I'm none too proud of those who aren't active, but it's a generally good team.

<Arav> (Get ready viewers. There will soon be a large paragraph of words. I hope. )

<Arav> So, how do you feel on the deletion side of administration jobs?

<Arav> I see you and Drewton have done some deleting of things

<Arav> So, do you think the articles for deletion are getting deleted fast enough?

<WallyBot> BRB

<Darth_tom> Back.

<Arav> Ok, answer for the question

<Darth_tom> We did a hell of a lot, clearing the articles and images for deletion. MDS, Drewton and I cleared many a few nights ago.

<Arav> I have seen that

<Darth_tom> Considering the amount of articles and images there were, we cleared them quickly enough.

<Darth_tom> Heh.

<Arav> What was with the sort of "ban war" with you and Drewton?

<Arav> About Spartan-50's new account

<Darth_tom> There was no war. I interpreted the policy one way, he another. When he had it explained to him that he couldn't unban spartan until the forum discussion had ended, he did back down.

Kathkira [n=chatzill@adsl-75-51-79-180.dsl.lsan03.sbcglobal.net] has quit [Read error: 110 (Connection timed out)]

<Arav> I believe the same.

<Darth_tom> I'm sorry?

<Arav> Ok. Do you think the community is involving themselves enough in the forum?

<Darth_tom> Yes; the amount of votes we get on policies and the likes is testament to that.

<Arav> I believe the same, don’t unban him, there was a forum still discussing the matter

<Darth_tom> Ah.

<Arav> Do you think users are spending enough time helping out these new influx of users the past 4 months?

<Darth_tom> I think they're being welcomed and assisted with the policies, and there's nothing more anyone really can do unless they're asked for help.

<Arav> I see many users not welcome new users. I see a new user and another capable user could have welcomed them.

<Arav> I have welcomed users 20 minutes after they have edited

<Darth_tom> That's really a choice up to the user in question.

<Arav> True

<Darth_tom> Next question, please.#

<Arav> What as your opinion on the new Joke policy?

<Darth_tom> I think it's a better, more improved policy, and will help us to keep down any ridiculous articles that pop up on our site. We do strive for quality, and this new policy helps us with that.

<Arav> I agree

<Arav> How do you think QotW is comming?

<Darth_tom> I think QotW is coming on pretty well; some of the quotes we have on the main page are nice. I do think, however, that some limits as to how many QotW's can be nominated at one time should come up.

<Arav> Quote of the Week (for you who don’t know)

<Arav> Do you think QotW should be QotM?

<Arav> Quote of the Month?

<Darth_tom> Not particularly. We have a massive amount of quotes to pick from, and it would be a very slow and painful process if it was only monthly.

<Arav> True

<Arav> Well, the quote nominations have been going slow anyway, People are striking there opposes and supporting just so we don’t stop with the quotes.

<Darth_tom> Indeed.

<Arav> To the IRC.

<Arav> Have you seen any trolls or have you had to block anyone or kick anyone

<Arav> ?

<Arav> (Not counting me)

<Arav>

<Darth_tom> Yep.

<Darth_tom> Loads of trolls come here, and require a good kickban/mute.

<Arav> Has it been serious?

<Arav> personal attacks?

<Darth_tom> Not particularly. If many join all at once, I just chan mute and voice everyone bar them. If there's just one or two, I mute/kickban them.

<Arav> Cool.

<Arav> To the future of SWFanon

<Arav> Do you think the website will still be running like it is today?

<Darth_tom> At what time in the future?

<Arav> In about 2 years time?

<Arav> Sorry

<Arav> 2010- 5 years since SWFanon started!

<Darth_tom> I think it will, hopefully, be totally different than it is today, with a different layout and appearance, better policies and ideas, a better standard, quality and number of articles, and a new generation of users.

<Arav> Would you still be here?

<Arav> I will

<Darth_tom> I have no idea. That's for the future to decide.

<Arav> Cool.

<Arav> What is to come of vandals? Do you think there will be more or less in 2 years. (Just your guess)

<Darth_tom> It doesn't really matter how many there are, it matters how capable the administrators are who're to deal with them.

<Arav> True

<Arav> What about the article side? Do you think there will be more fantastic articles and novels like the Bendu Order, Narod Antrell, Force Exile Series and he Decreton Empire?

<Arav> In 2 years?

<Darth_tom> I most definitely do. Hopefully, by then, we'll have a new generation of authors writing articles equally as good or, hopefully, even better, and in varying styles that everyone can enjoy.

<Arav> Absolutely.

<Arav> Finally, do you think SWFanon will reach 60,000 articles in 2 years? Beating Wookieepedia?

<Darth_tom> Well, in that time Wookieepedia will be expanding as well, with the release of new Star Wars material to the canonical world, so it depends on how many authors we have, and how hard working they are. Besides, it's not about the number of articles we have, but the quality of those articles.

<Arav> Well, that’s it for today folks. Read next weeks issue of CUSWFN for another discussion. This time with JM76, about early times of SWFanon.

This took me 1hr to do. I have IE and crappy internet speed :p. Aimed to Tom and Drewton: What do you think?

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Chat 2- Early SWFanon
By Arav the Undersith and Jedi Master 76

<Arav> JM76: Ready?

<JM76> Sure.

<Arav> Lets begin. The topic is Early Star Wars Fanon

<JM76> Alright.

<Arav> JM, when you first start to lurk around SWFanon?

<JM76> I started to "lurk" around Star Wars Fanon when I first created an account back in July of 2006.

<JM76> I didn't really lurk as an IP before then. I just found this site and started editing.

<Arav> What did you do as a new user at that time?

<JM76> I created a few articles, namely Reven and Regalak Empire related stuff. I didn't really get involved in the community until later.

<Arav> Were there problems with discussing things with users?

<Arav> I mean the community

<JM76> Not really.

<JM76> The community was very cheery and inviting, in a sense it was a very small community.

<Arav> Was the forum around then?

<Arav> Like the Senate Hall, Fanon Cantina?

<JM76> And there were two forums when I joined: The Senate Hall and the Consensus Track.

<Arav> Ok

<JM76> The Fanon Cantina was not created for several months.

<Arav> That’s along time!

<Arav> What were the main issues at that time?

<JM76> Main issues?

<Arav> Yes

<JM76> Mainly vandalism due to a lack of administrators.

<Arav> How bad was the vandalism at that time?

<JM76> Pretty bad.

<Arav> Explain.

<JM76> There were several sockpuppeting users, vandals seemed to come on a regular basis, and there was a general lack of 'user-based revision' of vandalism.

<JM76> Instead, users insisted on utilizing the "Vandal Fighters", which we may discuss later if you want.

<Arav> Yes, we will get to that

<Arav> How bad was page blanking?

<JM76> Hmm.

<JM76> Well, page blanking was essentially vandalism. I don't remember specifics, but we got every type of vandalism. Page moves, Page-blanking, p0rn additions; replace/adding words, etc.

<Arav> How long did it take to fix all this?

<JM76> Depends on the vandalism. The little stuff took only several minutes, while more difficult vandals - like Crumb9 vandals and Darth Vacatour vandals - generally took longer due to the persistence of the vandal in question.

<Arav> It must have been hard on the new users trying to make an article, expand on it, then the page is blanked. The new users must have had no idea how to fix and must have waited for anyone with the knowledge to help them.

<Arav> When was the first administrator elected?

<JM76> Well, the first Admins elected were not voted on by the community.

<JM76> Though the community did hold their own votes, Wikia staff did not think they were ready for adminship due to the community's general immaturity, with vandal wars and such.

<Arav> How did they get to be admins? And who was the first?

<JM76> And the first admin - besides Neomessiah, of course - was StarNeptune, who was brought in from Wookieepedia by Wikia staff in August 2006 to help us with vandalism.

<Arav> Ok

<JM76> Our first community admins were also chosen by Wikia staff. The three new admins were Bub C3PO the Dragon Slayer, and myself; we were chosen in October 2006.

<Arav> What did Neomessiah do to help?

<Arav> ok

<JM76> I have to say, that I don't recall ever meeting Neomessiah before he returned to the community in 2007.

<JM76> I don't recall him being active when I arrived, either.

<Arav> Yes

<JM76> So, I can't really say what he did to assist the community with activities and vandalism.

<Arav> Who were the main vandals at early SWFanon? 2006.

<JM76> I would definitely say that there were many vandals that caused us grief. However, the few that I remember include Darth Vacatour and his sockpuppets, Jherem Boodle and his sockpuppets, ISV and Roman Empire vandals.

<JM76> Crumb vandals - which were definitely the most notorious - vandalized several months before my arrival.

<Arav> Do you know how the community before you dealt with the Crumb vandals?

<JM76> I do not. Though I know that Wikia staff played a big part in the revision and clean-up in the aftermath.

<Arav> Why do you think our wiki had the most vandals at the time?

<JM76> Probably because the way the community responded to vandals.

<JM76> We continued to goad them into vandalizing our site, so they continued to do so.

<Arav> Explain on "goad them".

<Arav> Eg, feeding the troll?

<Arav> *trolls

<JM76> Well, we [the community] treated the vandals like military opponents. A war, if you will.

<Arav> Ah

<JM76> Yes, we were essentially feeding the trolls.

<JM76> So we created battle strategies and silly edit this' while organizing a group of vandal 'fighters' - essentially a cabal- to revert vandalism should it arise.

<Arav> That brings me to my next question. The Vandal Fighters.

<Arav> How did the Vandal Fighters come about?

<JM76> The Vandal Fighters were created by MaulYoda - with good intentions - to help the community combat vandalism.

<JM76> Before then, the community did not have the knowledge or willingness to revert vandalism on a regular basis. Though the group was initially created to assist vandalism reversion, it quickly degraded.

<Arav> I have noticed that the Vandal Poachers are Vandal Fighters too?

<JM76> Oh, now that I remember it, Vandal Poachers is the official name. (It does not really matter though).

<Arav> Who was MaulYoda?

<JM76> MaulYoda was one of the veteran users on Star Wars Fanon, who was around before me. He created the first Featured Article and was awarded "Best Planet Article" in the First Wiki Awards.

<Arav> Who were in the Vandal Fighters?

<JM76> A large number of the early community. I don't want to point out anyone who does not want to be pointed out, and I don't want to mistakenly add/subtract users, so I will refrain from mentioning specific names. I will mention, however, that I was in the Vandal Fighters. Not one of my proudest moments.

<Arav> Ok

<JM76> Note, however, that there were a good deal of users who were not in the Vandal Fighters.

<Arav> Did you help out a lot? Did this "clan" stop you from writing articles for awhile?

<JM76> Not at all. It was really a side issue. Should vandalism arise, we would revert it. There was a lot of immaturity and "war"-based tomfoolery involved, but it didn't hindered my editing.

<Arav> You joined to help. Nothing more, I guess

<JM76> I actually think I was more active then than I am now.

<JM76> In terms of article-contributions, anyway.

<Arav> Ok

<Arav> A bit off topic, Do you know why MaulYoda left?

<JM76> I do not. I assumed it had to do with real-life commitments.

<Arav> It says on the first Wiki Awards that Darth Vacuator "struck armies against him and he left".

<JM76> Hmm. I seem to recall some problems between DV and MaulYoda, though I believe DV remedied it during the First Wiki Awards.

<Arav> Yes. He did a half time thing for him

<Arav> Moving along. When did the Vandalism on SWFanon start to die down?

<Arav> After Vacuator and Crumb left

<JM76> Well, once we got a sufficient number of admins - probably after the appointment of Squishy Vic and Jack Phoenix - the vandalism died down considerably. Especially once DV was perma-banned and not allowed back on SWF. The dissolution of the Vandal Fighters and Vandal Wars pages also assisted in this process.

<Arav> So Squishy Vic and Jack Phoenix are to be thanked for their large contributions in banning vandals?

<JM76> Well, their appointment as admins were definitely a blessing on the community. Though I think it was the unified actions of the Admins as a whole that reduced the amount of vandalism we were experiencing.

<Arav> Here here

<Arav> What were the main articles at the time you joined? Like 5 months after you joined?

<Arav> Screw it, in 2006

<JM76> Heh. Alright. Well, I would say Reven, Dustin Fayne, and Zack Fayne were my largest contributions in 2006. I am actually surprised at the sheer amount of edits I performed in 2006, in retrospect.

<Arav> I have seen Zack Fayne, never read it though, way to long!

<JM76> Heh, well, its size was significantly reduced as of late. Its barely 40 kb now; compared to the 100 kb it was before, I'd say its a significant improvement.

<Arav> Yes.

<Arav> To sum it up, how hard was life in SWFanon back in 2006?

<JM76> Not too bad. Aside from the vandalism, it was really fun. The users were kind, the community was growing, and the articles were good - despite their status as Mary-Sues. A time of turbulence and trials, but a rewarding venture in the end.

<Arav> Yes. Back then, everybody was nice and wanted to make friends

<JM76> Indeed.

<Arav> Do you think now is more or less fun compared to 2006?

<Arav> Take your time

<JM76> I believe its better now. The peacefulness from the infrequent vandal attacks is a nice change, and the users - while slightly more reclusive and unwilling to take community involvement seriously - are an accomplished group of people that I don't regret meeting or contributing with. While both 2006 and 2008 have their problems, I am sure that we as a site can overcome them. But to answer the...

<JM76> ...question directly, 2008 Star Wars Fanon is much more 'fun'.

<Arav> Well there you have it folks. I would like to thank you Jedi Master 76 for this enlightening discussion on the early history of Star Wars Fanon.

<JM76> No problem. Anytime.

<Arav> I hope it brought back memories. Did it?

<JM76> It did.

<Arav> That’s great.

<JM76> Heh.

<JM76> Make me feel like a youngun' again, why don't ya? =P

<Arav> Thanks for listening folks. Goodbye.

<JM76> Bye.

Aimed to Tom and Drewton: What do you think?

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Chat 3 -Avain Hunt
<Arav> Hey all

<Arav> Ready?

<C3POtheD> Sure.

<C3POtheD> Ironic, I'm listening to Avian Hunt music right now.

<Arav> Lets begin. Today, I will be talking to C3PO the Dragon Slayer about his newly released game,

<C3POtheD> Well, not yet released, but it's getting there.

<C3POtheD> I expect a beta by December.

<Arav> Cool

<Arav> Has anything been released yet?

<C3POtheD> I'll post a link to the first demo: hold on <C3POtheD> http://www.yoyogames.com/games/show/37808

<C3POtheD> Oh, yes, it's really just a flight engine where you pilot a Jedi Interceptor over a few Star Wars landscapes

<Arav> So a demo has been released

<Arav> When did you start thinking about making games?

<C3POtheD> Of course, as any right-brained video gamer might, I started thinking about making games as soon as I started playing them.

<C3POtheD> My favourite games when growing up were those that allowed users to create: My all-time favourite game is Roller Coaster Tycoon II

<Arav> When did you first have an idea to make Avian Hunt?

<C3POtheD> I only was able to realize my fantasies when we started the Mandalorians: Path to Glory project on Star Wars Fanon, when 1UpD introduced Game Maker to me

<Arav> When was this?

<C3POtheD> Around last year

<C3POtheD> Actually, late winter 2006

<Kathkira> I liked Galactic battlegrounds so I could build SW cities

<Arav> Did you participate in the project of 1UpDs?

<C3POtheD> Actually, it was me and Darth tader who were mostly behind Mandalorians: Path to Glory, though much of the Star Wars Fanon community helped

<C3POtheD> The project started when I started a forum suggesting Star Wars Fanon band together to create an article for their dream Star Wars video game

<Arav> What did you do in the project?

<C3POtheD> We held a large IRC meet, and narrowed it to an RPG featuring Mandalorians.

<C3POtheD> I wrote what eventually became accepted as the storyline

<Arav> Did the game ever get to a demo?

<C3POtheD> I believe 1UpD did post an example of what Game Maker could do, using Mandalorian sprites, but I don't think I'll be able to find the link anytime soon

<Arav> ok.

<C3POtheD> He really just changed the sprites to a Game Maker platform game tutorial.

<Arav> So the Mandalorians: Path to Glory ultimately leads to you developing Avain Hunt?

<C3POtheD> It led me to learning to use Game Maker, which led to me deciding to create Avian Hunt

<Arav> So, what were your initial ideas of your game?

<C3POtheD> Avian Hunt's concept design was partially inspired by Star Fox Command, which did a good job of combining turn-based strategy gameplay into a flight shooter.

<Arav> Interesting.

<C3POtheD> However, the idea for the initial storyline, at least the idea for a pirate gang with the characteristics of the 1337 N00B5 (the protagonist faction in AH), goes all the way back to 2004

<Arav> Long time ago

<C3POtheD> My decision for their choice starfighters to be Eta-2 Jedi interceptors is a nod to the Revenge of the Sith DS game, actually.

<C3POtheD> My big stroke of inspiration came when I was thinking about Darth Vader and the Emperor, and how the many adventures of Anakin Skywalker might connect to their BBY relationship

<C3POtheD> I decided that Vader knew almost from the beginning that he was tricked to the Dark side, but he embraces it.

<Arav> What worlds would the game take place in?

<C3POtheD> There are a number of planets that the player goes to, including Coruscant, Kashyyyk, Corellia, Tralus, Bespin, and Zonama Sekot

<C3POtheD> Those are just a few.

<Arav> Why those?

<C3POtheD> Zonama Sekot plays a role because of Anakin Skywalker's experiences in Rogue Planet, and an unresolved plot point with Vergere

<Arav> Who is Vergere?

<C3POtheD> Vergere is the Avian the player Hunts.

<Arav> What characters are in the game?

<C3POtheD> An incomplete list can be found at

<C3POtheD> The three founders of the faction the player controls are Kaffman, Radar Spectros, and Ilmar Grmek

<C3POtheD> Male human, male human and female Mon Calamari respectively

<Arav> While we are here, who is the main character in the game and why?

<C3POtheD> When I devised the story, I cautioned from having a distinct main character. Though Kaffman takes the greatest leadership role, the story is about the 1337 N00B5.

<C3POtheD> The biggest evidence that Kaffman is the main character is that he makes a heroic sacrifice at the end.

<Arav> Shhh

<Arav> That’s a game spoiler

<C3POtheD> The story has a few canon characters. Anakin Skywalker and Mace Windu both appear in the first level.

<C3POtheD> Thracia Cho-Leem, Vergere's former apprentice and retired Jedi, eventually joins the 1337 N00B5 after Order 66

<Arav> Well folks, you getting many spoilers today.

<C3POtheD> The first level isn't a game spoiler because I have the whole script for that part on http://swfanon.wikia.com/wiki/Script_and_storyline_of_Avian_Hunt

<Arav> Ah.

<C3POtheD> It's the last level I reveal very little about.

<Arav> Good.

<Arav> So, when did you first create the demo of the game?

<C3POtheD> The demo was posted on May 29, 2008

<Arav> What does it feature?

<C3POtheD> It's really just a demo for the flight system. As I said, the player pilots an Eta-2 Actis- class interceptor in space over a few planets.

<C3POtheD> An unreleased addition I made includes a few more landscapes, including the Dune Sea, Coruscant cities, and unnamed skyscrapers above the clouds.

<Arav> Interesting.

<Arav> When do you think the game will be released?

<C3POtheD> I'm hoping I can get a beta by December, January at the latest. I don't know how long it will take to get the full version up and running.

<C3POtheD> The beta will at the very least have the Instant Dogfight mode, where the player can construct squadrons of different ships for two opposing sides and then start dogfighting.

<C3POtheD> For example, I could choose to play as an YT-1300 and have an Eta-2 join my side, and face a small squadron of Vulture droids.

<C3POtheD> Or I could play as a TIE fighter, and play alone against a single ARC-170

<Arav> Cool.

<C3POtheD> The final version is a strategy game.

<C3POtheD> The player has to manage his resources to build his forces, including his starfighter squarons, capital ships, and bases.

<C3POtheD> When two enemy squadrons collide, a dogfight is initiated, and the player takes control of one of his starfighters and enters combat alongside his comrades to fight the enemy.

<C3POtheD> The player can choose which ship to play as and which ships to send into battle.

<Arav> What music is featured in the demo?

<C3POtheD> I think I have something like 10 songs there. The first one that plays is the Avian Hunt main theme, followed by Revenge of the Sith (remix) and Battle of the Heroes.

<Arav> Cool.

<C3POtheD> Then there's Duel of the Fates, The Clash of Lightsabers, The Battle of Hoth, The Imperial March, and End Credits

<C3POtheD> If you sign up, you'll get a talk page message and an email (if you have one registered on Star Wars Fanon) when there is something new to see with Avian Hunt.

<C3POtheD> *to test

<Arav> Thankyou C3PO for this interesting conversation.

<C3POtheD> Your welcome.

<Arav> Well, that’s it folks. Read the next edition of CUSWFN in the IRC conversations section to read a conversation between Darth tom and myself about his new novel, The Lost Mantra.