Template:Feature - Transition over from semantic search to pages with the embedded query

[Aemony 7]

I was participating in an online discussion where I noticed that a random user linked to other online sources for a list of HDR enabled games, and not PCGW, which made me think about why; the result being this thread.

 

 

Right now, linking to the "list of games with HDR support" page resulted in a massive "wall-of-link:"

http://pcgamingwiki.com/w/index.php?title=Special:Ask&x=-3Cq-3E-5B-5BCategory%3AGames-5D-5D-20-5B-5BHigh-20dynamic-20range%3A%3Atrue-5D-5D-20OR-20-20-3Cq-3E-5B-5BHigh-20dynamic-20range%3A%3Ahackable-5D-5D-3C-2Fq-3E-20-3C-2Fq-3E%2F-3FDeveloped-20by%2F-3FPublished-20by%2F-3FRelease-20date%2F-3FAvailable-20on%2F-3FHigh-20dynamic-20range&format=template&limit=100&template=Feature%2Frow&introtemplate=Feature%2Fintro&outrotemplate=Feature%2Foutro&offset=&mainlabel=

Instead of using this, could we transition the whole template (and all searchable features) over to using defined "list of games with XXXX support" pages instead? So each time a new feature is added, an appropriate "list of XXXX" page gets created as well with the semantic search query embedded, and the feature template hooked to link to that page?

 

It would have these positive consequences:

- easier-to-read links

- encourages sharing (the current "wall-of-a-link" is not really shareable)

- allow search engine robots to traverse them and make them findable on Google etc (more visitors, more ad clicks, more $$$$$, lol)

- allow us to add basic information on top of the list, sorta like this test page of mine: https://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/User:Aemony/List_of_games_with_HDR_support

- in case of a very small list, the list could instead be listed in a section of another article, which then the feature template linked to.

 

 

I do not know the full scope of the challenge nor how many pages it would affect, but I imagine it's quite a lot. But would it be worth pursuing? "The Lists of PCGW" as I'd like to call them are one of the largest resources PCGW have, and they're sadly currently being heavily underutilized due to various limitations and missed opportunities. This change would bring us a bit on the way to a "list-full" future where PCGW's lists are the links to share, and not outdated PC Gamer links or a similar list on Wikipedia.

[Andytizer 109]

I totally agree with these sentiments - our lists are a very powerful resource that are being underutilised. This seems silly as lists can be some of our most visited resources - e.g. the list of local multiplayer games is always in the top3 visited pages every day.

 

 If we template them correctly they can also be cached better too.

 

I think we need to do a few things:

- Make the template easier to read - is it possible to improve the table for readibility?

- Is it possible to have filters within the list - e.g. once the page is loaded can we filter or sort between say, Mac/Windows?

 

Make a list of lists - what kind of lists do we need?

- Do we make 1 list per setting? Or do we have 2 lists (1 for Positive/Hackable, 1 for False)?

- Do we make lists that will make changes to our template - for example we could make a list of Denuvo DRM games (this would involve editing our template)

- We can also link them directly from the settings page e.g. in the Invert Y setting we could make a list there

 

Food for thought!

[Garrett 175]

The Semantic Result Formats extension should be installed. This would enable use of the DataTables display format (example). The search box applies a full or partial match for the keyword(s) to all result data for that query, even data that is currently off the page--note how the "Show # entries" and "Previous/Next" controls directly update the display instead of loading a different page.

 

As an example with this wiki's data, you could put the operating system name in the search box (on its own or together with other keywords) to show only games for that system, etc.

 

(For reference, the Cargo extension also supports the DataTables display format, so this sort of searching would still be available if the wiki switched to that extension).