UDWiki talk:Poll/Classifying Suburb Groups

Test of a good classifier

If we are going to adopt one of these nominations, it should be able to handle all of these groups. If it has difficulty or would be open to interpretation, then we're no better off with the changes than we were before them. Some of these are obvious, of course, but others of them are perhaps not quite so obvious, depending on how you try to draw the lines. Please keep this list in mind as you evaluate each classification system.

1. 404: Barhah not found - A ghost town reclamation group that specializes in repairing ruined suburbs.
2. Big Coffin Hunters - PKs the Dulston Alliance on the grounds that they are bad for survivors.
3. The Big Prick - Goes around mass-reviving zombies.
4. British Broadcasting Corporation - A news organization.
5. Cobra - A PKing group.
6. Escape - A group with no objectives other than to survive for a certain number of days, then commit suicide.
7. Dead Air - A zombie group that works to destroy the cell phone towers in the game.
8. Feral Undead - A group of loosely aligned zombie players.
9. Illuminati - A bounty hunter group.
10. Malton College of Medicine - Is known for their organized lectures and first aid runs.
11. Malton Telephone - Works to maintain the cell phone towers in the game.
12. Organization XIII - Fights for whichever side is in the minority.
13. Philosophe Knights - A group which tries to benefit and educate survivors by using PKing as a teaching instrument.
14. RDD - A death cult group that has career zombies and PKers in it as well.
15. The Ridleybank Resistance Front - The zombie group that defines zombie groups.
16. St. Ferreol's Hospital Noise Abatement Society - A territorial zombie group.
17. Soldiers of Crossman - A survivor group.
18. Urban Anonymous - A nonsensical zombie-human alliance group.
19. Z.A.L.P. - A life cult group.
20. Zerg Hunters Unlimited - A zerg hunting group.

Borrowed from Aichon.

Discussion

This is dumb. since when did we have to make workarounds to our base classifications just to benefit niche groups? -- ϑ^anceϑ^anceℜ^evolution 01:08, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

If we want to keep on truckin' with the current system, that's fine with me. It's no water off my back. That said, our base classifications back in the day was just Survivor and Zombie. Hostile was thrown in --really as a stop-gap measure--because no one knew better, and no one really cared. In my experience, I think Hostile today means different things to different people. Which can be a problem if you truly believe the Suburb pages should be a resource for neutral game information.

Yeah, maybe this is a waste of time and maybe at the end of the day, the community will want to keep the current system while whistling "Daisy Bell," but we can at least see where people stand. As far as doing this to benefit niche groups, well, I think the winds are blowing toward either something based entirely on the game classes (you are either dead, or you are not dead) or active / not active. But we should at least see. -MHSstaff 01:27, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

Yarp, I can see why this poll will be useful.~ 01:40, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

All we really really need is for people to stop being silly cunts about this thing and let it work out how it used to. 01:45, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

^^^^^^^^^^^-- ϑ^anceϑ^anceℜ^evolution 05:36, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

I'd like to point out that the template talk page has already shown that there is interest in at least evaluating the current system, and polling the community on how they feel things are working, and if there might be better alternatives. There may not be. The real point of a poll at this stage is to make sure we are actually asking the right questions to gauge those viewpoints. Yeah. We get it. Railing against the system and/or defending your favorite suburb group POV/status quo, while hot and sexy, is sorta down the road and stuff. Let's not put the cart before the horse on this. -MHSstaff 01:57, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

What I am trying to say is if this is actually not needed, well, it should come out anyways in the poll results. -MHSstaff 02:02, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

Dual Nature is not a "niche" style of play -- it's not only how the game was intended to be played, but it's now the #1 "group" in the stats. But the Dual Nature renaissaince is not reflected in the current group categorisations. Imnsho this is the most important failure to redress. Next, groups which openly PK but do so selectively and in the name of a pro-survivor cause are not a "niche" style, either. There are not only the Philosophe Knights, but many other groups who take this approach. Now, "ideologically" speaking, I think all PKers are pro-survivor just like all the other revive juicers who hide behind barricades... But realistically speaking, they are a distinct faction. Even if they all taste like chicken.... "Hostile" was created to be able to describe these PKers, GKers, overbarricaders, etc. etc. -- all of whom play mostly as survivors but prey on or disrupt other survivors. I don't like the term "Hostile," personally, but I can't think of anything better, can you? Anyway.... these are the categories I think need to be reflected in the listings. --WanYao 05:39, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

I never specified duel nature. Look above. I'm talking about most of those. We don't need a "educates people via PKing section" for PK do we. Add dual nature if you want to, we dont need to go on massive "ONE FOR ALL" democracy trips to have it done :| -- ϑ^anceϑ^anceℜ^evolution 05:42, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

Eh. Honestly, I see this as a dry-run of the Poll system more than anything. I expect most of the ones to die except for Survivor/Zombie/Dual Nature or Active / Historical. -MHSstaff 05:47, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

Some things don't change here, do they? DDR still sets up straw man arguments and in so doing pats himself on the back and thinks he's made Wan Yao look bad. Cute.

Anyway.... I was very clear about what I think the groups list should reflect. And it was nothing like the weird shyte you just described. Go read my comment again. Slowly, carefully this time. --WanYao 05:49, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

What the fuck are you talking about? I was agreeing with you -- ϑ^anceϑ^anceℜ^evolution 05:50, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

To clarify, I didn't read your whole text wall of doom, because the first sentence was the bit that addressed me and it's the only thing I feel obliged to answer. -- ϑ^anceϑ^anceℜ^evolution 05:51, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

Yeah, I think DDR is really talking more about me and Vapor with the "one for all democracy." Sounds like all that 'crat power finally went to his head. -MHSstaff 05:52, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

Yeah, I've dealt with such 'criticism' before. All I've learned from it is that there are some people who like to voice their opinions. If they are a hobo no one listens. But if they are a crat they are mad with power!! -- ϑ^anceϑ^anceℜ^evolution 06:05, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

Well, I was going to apologise for the misunderstanding. But since you can't even take the time first to read the things you reply to, DDR... whatever... And fuck, 6 edit conflicts, sheeesh --WanYao 05:53, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

THE EDIT CONFLICTS ARE YOUR FAULT TOO DDR, AD HOMINEM AD HOMINEM. Look. Dual nature is fine, even though I personally don't really care about it so much. As for the NICHE gameplay types (read niche and actually envision one that IS niche, not one that isn't niche, claim it's niche in ddr's opinion and have a cry), fuck them up the bottom.

I'm worried about people lopping on too many categories for gameplay styles that belong to one group, and who most likely don't give a shit how they're lumped on a suburb listing... Adding the biggest one besides the big 3, is fine. I'm agreeing with you on that and saying that instead of doing this poll stuff, you should just add the listing. The best way to get stuff done on this wiki is do it yourself, not file it through ugly bureaucracy. That's my advice -- ϑ^anceϑ^anceℜ^evolution 06:01, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

Says the bureaucrat. Anyway I agree that polling isn't for evey issue but this particular issue has gone through policy discussion, arbitration, template talk and god knows what else. No consensus has been met. If it were as easy as someone just making the change and it sticking someone should have done it by now. Polling isn't a democratic vote. Majority doesn't matter. Nothing is binding we're just getting an idea of what people really really want to do here. The answer I feel is probably just leave it alone or make a minor change. Piss off if you're upset about the way in which a group is classied. ~ 06:13, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

I actually agree with you. Mostly. But I think type of groups I identified -- like PK or those anti-Dullston Alliance rebels, who are ostensibly pro-survivor but who do selectively PK -- should be allowed to identify as Survivor groups. However, in the interest of NPOV and clarification for newbies, maybe they should be asked to specificy that they do resort to PKing in the name of their "cause". --WanYao 06:08, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

And I think that having a good, open discussion about this is healthy. Let's not jump the gun and shut it down too soon, kay? --WanYao

Yeah that's fine and fair. -- ϑ^anceϑ^anceℜ^evolution 06:12, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

As much as the fact that WanYao is saying nice things about the PK gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside, I disagree. Seeing as we take a certain amount of pride in being entirely peaceful in Lamport Hills (unless it's retribution for attacks on us), while laying waste to other suburbs without mercy, there's no need for specification. We're just not hostile in some places, while being extremely hostile in others. Except to zombies, because zombies have no sense of class and need to learn that their place is at the back of the bus. --DT^PK 16:16, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

I think you and I are basically in agreement, DT. But, as you've said, PK is hostile to zombies in all cases. So, from a zombie persepctive, you're definately a pro-survivor group, period :) This is no mere rhetorical joke, however, because it underscores the fact that this is a zombie game and that there are only two states a character can be: alive or dead (and revivifying). And everything else is posturing, rhetoric... That's an extreme position, yes, but not an unjustified one. That being said, in the interest of helping players orient themselves, I think it's a simple matter to allow variation on a suburb-by-suburb basis. PK could be listed as "Hostile" (or whatever) on most pages and "Survivor" Lamport Hills. --WanYao 16:40, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

So it looks like we don't have a very obvious one, which is just adding Dual Nature to S/Z/H. One comes close (independent instead of hostile). This has been brought up before and so I wonder if it is worth making its own question on. Something like "Dual Nature has become blah blah blah. Would you like to see DN added to the current list? or something-MHSstaff 05:56, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

I think it's a no-brainer to accept DN as a legitimate, seperate category. Let's just do it. However, let's allow more discussion before going ahead... --WanYao 06:14, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

not that i really ever pay any attention to what the wiki says about a group since most of the time it's just bias and chest thumping.. but why not. survivor, zombie, PKer, duel nature. ta da!--

 

07:48, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

How about Nice People/Mean People/Dead People/Bi People? --WanYao 16:44, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

Or Barricade-positive/Anti-Barricade/Barricade-Neutral/Flexible (S/Z/PK/DN).

All seriousness aside... If a group feels like it needs a special category, and if they can reasonably argue their case, allow them to add a different category. I know this could open a big can of worms, though... Ah well, keeps Arbys busy... In all other cases, use logic and common sense while allowing the groups to self-identify within reason. --WanYao 16:59, 1 March 2011 (UTC)