A recently-passed proposal mandates the ban(*) of the term beta in articles and a change to the name of the Beta Elements. Existing "beta" pages are to be moved to the name List of [Game] pre-release and unused content
The cliffs notes is that "beta" as it is used right now is inaccurate and encourage bad, vague writing. Banning "beta" and encouraging more specific vocabulary is one of many ways to improve the quality of the wiki and Mariowiki's reputation as a credible source.
This project has two goals:
1: Move all "beta" pages/rename sections to the "List of [Game] pre-release and unused content" naming pattern
As categories can't be moved, Category:Beta Elements (and I guess Category:Beta Images too, but jesus christ) will need to be removed and replaced with Category:Pre-release and unused content too. However, this is only to be done after the page is moved and scrubbed of all instances of "beta". Don't forget the sections on the game's page, too!
If you're going to contribute to this project, please post to say which pages you are calling dibs on if you're not doing them immediatly, to prevent editing conflicts. They will be added to the list below.
2: Scrub all instances of the generic "beta" in mainspace articles
http://www.mariowiki.com/index.php?title=Special%3ASearch&search=beta&fulltext=Search
As said above, "beta" encourages vague writing (as well as referring to a singular "beta version", which is just all kind of fail for people who know how gaem development actually works). However, when you come across the dirty "beta", don't just robotically replace it with "pre-release and unused content": make it more specific ("King Blooper is coloured blue in pre-release screenshots of Super Mario Sunshine..." "Luigi is sighted in a magazine preview of Super Mario RPG [preferably with the magazine naem and issue number]... etc). If looking at the beta page for the game doesn't clear up where the claims come from, but there is supporting evidence (images, etc), the generic "early" or "pre-release" is acceptable.
(*This ban doesn't apply to "real" Betas before anyone ask, but really, that's an irrelevant distinction to make: For one, developers don't really label build as $HOT BETA PROTOZ$ internally, and for two, the beta testing period happen usually after the really interesting stuff is cut from a game. Literally none of the builds detailled on the wiki are specifically identified as Betas).
Bonus: Keep things tidy!
If you've got the inclination, try to format pages to follow the rules and recommendations of MarioWiki:Beta Elements. A lot of pages are still not in great shape.
The cliffs notes is that "beta" as it is used right now is inaccurate and encourage bad, vague writing. Banning "beta" and encouraging more specific vocabulary is one of many ways to improve the quality of the wiki and Mariowiki's reputation as a credible source.
This project has two goals:
1: Move all "beta" pages/rename sections to the "List of [Game] pre-release and unused content" naming pattern
As categories can't be moved, Category:Beta Elements (and I guess Category:Beta Images too, but jesus christ) will need to be removed and replaced with Category:Pre-release and unused content too. However, this is only to be done after the page is moved and scrubbed of all instances of "beta". Don't forget the sections on the game's page, too!
If you're going to contribute to this project, please post to say which pages you are calling dibs on if you're not doing them immediatly, to prevent editing conflicts. They will be added to the list below.
2: Scrub all instances of the generic "beta" in mainspace articles
http://www.mariowiki.com/index.php?title=Special%3ASearch&search=beta&fulltext=Search
As said above, "beta" encourages vague writing (as well as referring to a singular "beta version", which is just all kind of fail for people who know how gaem development actually works). However, when you come across the dirty "beta", don't just robotically replace it with "pre-release and unused content": make it more specific ("King Blooper is coloured blue in pre-release screenshots of Super Mario Sunshine..." "Luigi is sighted in a magazine preview of Super Mario RPG [preferably with the magazine naem and issue number]... etc). If looking at the beta page for the game doesn't clear up where the claims come from, but there is supporting evidence (images, etc), the generic "early" or "pre-release" is acceptable.
(*This ban doesn't apply to "real" Betas before anyone ask, but really, that's an irrelevant distinction to make: For one, developers don't really label build as $HOT BETA PROTOZ$ internally, and for two, the beta testing period happen usually after the really interesting stuff is cut from a game. Literally none of the builds detailled on the wiki are specifically identified as Betas).
Bonus: Keep things tidy!
If you've got the inclination, try to format pages to follow the rules and recommendations of MarioWiki:Beta Elements. A lot of pages are still not in great shape.
