Main Accessory/Costume List - Proposal
I'm not very happy with the information about "styles" in the main accessory/costume lists. It's very silly/not very useful information - sure, people need to know there's variation - far more than just the sample image! But we can mention at the top of the table "many of these items come in several different colors and blahblah!" The "style" information is also very chunky, IMO. Anyway, this information is immediately apparent when you go to that item's page. "style" information gets pretty derpy for stuff like the Aura - I made adjustments for this in the past, but I don't like it! I'd like something more useful, say...description data.
Acessories don't have specific tooltip descriptions...they have the "this can be attached in BLAHBLAH slot at Bechamel and Blah Blah Blah." Most other items have lore-related (usually physical) descriptions.
I'd like to replace the content in "available styles" columns with descriptions. For costumes, we could use the official description of the item and/or make our own in a similar fashion to accessories:
for accessories - we would, as both users and editors, create a simple description that has the flavor of a tooltip- sticking to what the accessory looks like and how it behaves (if it animates), using plenty of synonyms. We should NOT speculate on/create lore-like text, just describe the accessory- lore is not something a wiki editor should generate. Of course, we would say "community description" in the column, not "description" since these details would not be official tooltip details (again, accessories don't have these).
I feel that this information will be far more useful than "styles" in helping users find what they're looking for, especially if they're familiar with the cntrl+f function. Example:
New/Returning User: I wonder if there's a tentacle accessory? *scrolls down after alphabetizing the table looking through T" hmm, no.
This user wouldn't find the Writhing Tendrils this way. Even if they were to cntrl+f and search tentacles, they wouldn't find them! As things are now, it's mostly up to luckily spotting things with one's eye.
But if we as editors add in a nice description like so:
~~~~Armor Back Slot - Writhing Tendrils - "Attaches two undulating, wiggling tentacle-like structures to the player's shoulder area" - sample image~~~~
If the game ever adds official descriptions (tooltip) to accessories, we can either replace the Community Description OR we could add the text in on top of the community description in italics. (Most official tooltip descriptions are in italics on the wiki).
So, yes, it would be unofficial text (and we should heavily emphasize this) but I feel that it would be very useful and, well, rather accurate in terms of getting players to understand the (aesthetic part of, haha) game.
Opinions? Want to do something similar for furniture, if this idea is liked? Remember, wikitables for different kinds of items are slightly different in structure - some have "group" columns and so on. Most accessories don't belong to a "group", unlike costumes and armor - they're just put into the game with different colorings under the same name, vs. furniture/costumes etc. are put in with slightly different names, like "obsidian hood of blahblah." Accessories just don't do this usually. Other things with more data like items with combat statistics wouldn't benefit from this as much, since the focus of those items is actual gameplay, not looks. I suppose it's still an option, but I'm not in favor of adding description data to gear tables at all.
Start listing potential "community descriptions" for your favorite accessories if you like this idea and want to help! Oh boy, lots of things to be picky about! Whip out your thesaurus and start churning your brain-gears: what would users search for? How can we be consistent? If it's a hair piece, mention hair! (Toupee, mustache, dapper combo...). Lots to talk about if people like it.
There's a few examples of this on the Unique Helmet Top page.
TL;DR: I want more useful information than "available styles" in the accessory/costume (and potentially others, really) tables - I propose "description" data.
I'll start looking into this now that the gremlin stuff on the wiki is mostly finished.
Phase 1) flesh out idea.
Phase 2) ask people if they like the idea on forums and in-game. Beginning in-game questionings starting around...today.
Phase 3) scrap it or do it, depending on phase 2's outcome.