Talk:Main Page

blue hyperlinks
Hi guys, while i've been on zeldawiki.org I've noticed that with names such as Legend of Zelda or Nintendo DS are hylighted blue and have stars underneath and when i put the mouse near them a bubble pops up, what is that? Calibure 12:45, 5 January 2009 (UTC)Calibure


 * Those are ads placed within the pages, to hopefully lower the amount of money needed to spend on the servers. 14:18, 5 January 2009 (UTC)
 * They're actually special types of ads, Related Links. They're the kind of ads that are actually useful, because they link to interwiki content instead of external sources. So they help you get around the wiki, and every time you use 'em we get a little cash to spend on the server bill, which is always expensive. --GoldenChaos 14:47, 5 January 2009 (UTC)


 * You do like to dream Jason. The ads you just described do not exist. All there is is ads to sell people stuff. And they do not go to wikis. 16:47, January 5, 2009 (UTC)


 * Gonna have to agree here, Jason. I've seen ads for products, but nothing linking to anywhere in the Wiki. 17:22, 5 January 2009 (UTC)

Alright thanks for that guys, didn't think anyone would reply so fast (now thats great service). anyway just thought maybe somone was vadilising or something.,and if that happens (cracks knuckles) we send in the Vandalism.Against.Any.Text.INcorporated (yes i made it up) vaati for short (why Vati you find a zelda-related word wth a V). Anyway thanks for the help bbut another question shouldi touch them? Calibure 17:39, 5 January 2009 (UTC)Calibure


 * Haha, well, if you want to. It's not like your computer's going to melt or anything if you do. Shouldn't harm you at all if you do. 17:59, 5 January 2009 (UTC)

okay, that made me feel like i was five, and you never know its around 40degrees outsite so my computer might just melt. Calibure 12:59, 6 January 2009 (UTC)

Just thought I'd point out that Jason is, in fact, absolutely right (and let's face it, he should know, it's his server after all!) I just saw one of these links for the first time, and they are noticeably different from the standard green ad-links that Matt and Ando are referring to below. As shown in the image, they're blue and have a dotted underline (not stars); in this case, "final destination" offered links to the articles Ganon and Gerudo Desert, which both contain that same phrase. They seem to be quite infrequent though (also, if you're wondering why I don't have the ads disabled, my cookie manager/blocker can't properly manage exceptions for the cookie required to switch them off!) 20:08, 15 January 2009 (UTC)


 * That picture proves nothing. This is a brand new PC. And I searched on many pages. Including the ones in the image. These links do not exist. Even after clearing cookies. I've checked a few PCs. Ones with Vista and ones with XP, even a few Macs. No such links are to be found anywhere. Meaning that the system is not perfect and has a lot of errors. So they are not worth using at all. The chances of it not showing up on all of those computers being only a coincidence is basically zero. So I don't want this to be written off a some oddity like the other problems I have reported were. If you remember, I was right in those cases. 21:39, January 15, 2009 (UTC)


 * Matt, I know we don't always see eye to eye, but that's no reason to call me a liar! I mean seriously, saying "That picture proves nothing" makes no sense; it proves that either the links exist, or that it's some elaborate hoax concocted by me and Jason... Sorry for the outburst, I just sometimes have trouble comprehending how your mind works :P
 * Anywho, having not seen them myself before today, I was pretty skeptical. That's what prompted me to post the image in the first place; stunned amazement! I wasn't trying to make some big issue, or prove anyone wrong... 22:04, 15 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Strange, I never noticed them. I'm going to have to agree with Matt, I am even looking for them....Still nothing. 22:26, 15 January 2009

Should the wiki have ads?

 * The first sentence makes no sense, because it is an accidental leftover of a previous version of that post. But still, this rarity proves that it cannot possibly be making enough money for it to be worth keeping. 23:13, January 15, 2009 (UTC)


 * Yeah, I actually just saw them for the first time recently. The frequency with which they appear seems to be fluctuating (sometimes I'll see one in a day, sometimes ten), but they're definitely there. Also, Matt, you say that they can't be worth keeping, but... what harm could possibly come from it? I mean, removing them would remove another source of money; no matter how small that source may be, every little bit helps. I see no reason to remove them, personally. Not sure why you're so set on getting them removed. 17:10, 16 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Thanks Ando, you made the point that I forgot to mention due to being irked. I don't see any benefit in actively seeking to reduce the revenue of the wiki. These links cause no know problems and can be easily disabled by any user who chooses to. 19:01, 16 January 2009 (UTC)

I'm against it for several reasons. Above all, I'm totally against compromising our morals just to make a quick buck. 19:19, January 16, 2009 (UTC)
 * 1) The ads were only supposed to be temporary when they were installed.
 * 2) Every ad on the wiki is one step closer to being Wikia.
 * 3) The ad service we're using has been rated as malicious and untrustworthy.
 * 4) It is an embarrassment having them in the first place.
 * 5) They are annoying to everyone. Meaning that it is not a good source of money.
 * 6) They do to cause problems. Mostly on Internet Explorer. Like it or not, that is what a majority of our viewers use.


 * I have never seen the ads! I'm still looking, and I will let you know when I find one :P Though the green ones are very, very annoying however (in the midst of reading a page, you have a nice little pop-up that comes out of nowhere, asking you to buy something). I don't think we need them either. Think bout this: The majority of our members (except Adam) are under 21, and (hopefully!) don't have a credit card to buy something with. Also, despite that fact that we probably do have a few +21 readers, I'd have to say the lot of them are younger as well. So really, what purpose do these things have? 22:43, 16 January 2009


 * That is a good point. In addition, these ads cannot be making enough money to be worth it. With these ads, we are basically targeting minors with ad scams. Remember people, that ads turn people off. We'd get much more people without them. On a similar note, the ads on Zelda Universe are okay. Because most are hidden for registered members. And most viewers of Zelda Universe are registered members on the forums. Here, on Zelda Wiki.org, I cannot see a way to hide these ads for members. And that doesn't matter because most people here are just viewers. One of the basics of economics is supply and demand. So removing some of the more annoying ads on Zelda Universe will get more viewers and in turn might increase the revenue for the other ads. This is a simple concept, but most people fail to understand it. Wikia is a prime example of that. So optimizing the ads on Zelda Universe is a good thing to do. Regardless, the math behind the ads here clearly indicate that they don't make enough money to be worth keeping. Especially with the severe moral issues with it. 23:13, January 16, 2009 (UTC)

Also, do you have any source for your claims that we're merely making "a quick buck" or that there's no way we're making enough money with this to make it worth it? Jason's actually told me before that quite a bit of money comes from the ads. Not, like, enough to completely cover server costs or anything, but certainly quite a bit. So evidentally they do make a significantly larger amount than you're thinking. 01:13, 17 January 2009 (UTC)
 * 1) And I guess that the temporary period just hasn't ended yet.
 * 2) um what. Having ads = us being Wikia? Wikia also has a Zelda wiki and uses the MediaWiki software -- that's closer to us "being Wikia" than some ads are. Every site has ads, man! D:<
 * 3) Now THIS is actually a good point. I can agree with this point.
 * 4) An embarrassment? Who cares as long as it does what it's supposed to which is to make money??
 * 5) Annoying to everyone? As Adam mentioned, they can be disabled if the user so desires. And heck, apparently not everyone cares enough to do it. I haven't.
 * 6) They cause problems? I just pulled up Zelda Wiki on IE and noticed no issues whatsoever. Not sure what you mean here.

As far as them causing problems for IE users, I used IE for the longest time.....Never had an issue with it. But, they are annoying, and like I said about young users. I still don't believe they serve much purpose, but...maybe they bring in more money then what I was thinking >_> 02:05, 17 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Again Ando, you've echoed more or less what I was thinking. Also, on point 4, I seriously cannot find any substantiating evidence regarding this so I have no idea what you mean. But I highly doubt that a platform used by advertisers such as these is malicious or untrustworthy. Also, while Mandi's point on actual purchases is a good one, it's not really all that relevant. Vibrant Media receive revenue every time one of their ad is clicked and loads the ad itself (that's the point at which the advertiser pays them), so that's all they or we are interested in; that's our revenue. The only one actually interested in whether you buy anything is the company advertising the product! Heck, I may even go around clicking some ads just for the hell of it, and I suggest you all do too! Do your bit to ensure the wiki's continued financial viability! To be honest I'd much rather that we fund the wiki like this, rather than periodic "emergency-donation/begging drives", which just make me feel sad... 09:06, 17 January 2009 (UTC)


 * So, you click the ad...THAT'S IT!! Well then, I guess they're not as bad as I thought. What real harm could they do then? 10:34, 17 January 2009 (UTC) Yes, I totally changed my opinion. But after reading this, doesn't seem like they're that bad.

Possible new rules
Does anyone think that there should be rules on how much information users under 18 should be allowed to show? Maybe don't say your last name, what city\county you live in and your e-mail address (unless your an administrator)?--Link hero of light 02:18, 11 January 2009 (UTC)


 * In an ideal world. But there is no way to know someones age and if they are as old as they say they are. So we could never really enforce it. That would cut off most of our members. And they'd get upset about it. There are some things that cannot, and should not be policed. Basically, supply such info at your own risk. We won't stop you if you want to give it. But we recommend you don't. 04:41, January 11, 2009 (UTC)

Then maybe we should have a warning. Something like you said: Supply personal Information at your own risk.--Link hero of light 05:10, 11 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Hmm, good point. There's no age requirement for joining the wiki (and even if there were, there are thousands of kids who would lie about their age anyway), and while some are more careful with their information, there are people out there who would be fine with putting their credit card number on here. However, there's still the fact that we can't know for sure what a given person's age is -- for instance, I say I'm 17, but what real proof do you have that such is the case? None -- I could very easily be 14 and just saying I'm 17 to be, I dunno, cool or something? So while we couldn't enforce it, we can definitely include an "at your own risk" thing. I'll at least add it to the privacy policy. 18:53, 12 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Same thing with another site I'm a member of, "Must be 13 years or older to register, click here if over 13". As you can see, anyone under 13 can easily register. A warning would be a very good idea, it would perhaps give some younger users a "Any personal information submitted will be viewable to the public!" Reality check. This sounds like something that would be helpful. 22:26, 15 January 2009