Have We Ever Considered Creating a Wiki/Knowledge Base

[nielsenrc]

I'm grateful for the (frankly heroic) efforts of @DPI Wizard, @Drimzi, @Skidushe and others to help educate us on mouse sensitivity conversions. I'm just starting to get to a point where I feel like I can talk somewhat intelligently about it.

It seems to me that this community is in much the same place as Hydrogen Audio, where there is a lot of persistent misunderstanding and duplication of threads on similar topics where the actual math/science/technology is beyond the reach (and/or interest) of most users. 

Has there been any thought given to starting a wiki or knowledge base on common topics (e.g. FOV, Monitor Distance, 360 distance, relationship between DPI/sensitivity) etc? I'd be willing to lend a hand technologically or content wise, though I'd have to lean on you guys for fact checking/precision. I'm a web developer professionally. 

Just curious if you guys think it would be helpful.

 

[Skidushe]

3 hours ago, nielsenrc said:

I'm grateful for the (frankly heroic) efforts of @DPI Wizard, @Drimzi, @Skidushe and others to help educate us on mouse sensitivity conversions. I'm just starting to get to a point where I feel like I can talk somewhat intelligently about it.

It seems to me that this community is in much the same place as Hydrogen Audio, where there is a lot of persistent misunderstanding and duplication of threads on similar topics where the actual math/science/technology is beyond the reach (and/or interest) of most users. 

Has there been any thought given to starting a wiki or knowledge base on common topics (e.g. FOV, Monitor Distance, 360 distance, relationship between DPI/sensitivity) etc? I'd be willing to lend a hand technologically or content wise, though I'd have to lean on you guys for fact checking/precision. I'm a web developer professionally. 

Just curious if you guys think it would be helpful.

 

It's what I tried to get across in my guide, but it ended up being a bit sprawled. I think an index may help, but I don't think I can link to a point inside the article. In retrospect, I should've made each section a reply as you can link those, but too late. I've tried to hide technical explanations under those lovely hidden things but I'm not sure how much of what's there at the minute people care about. I'm happy to add more to the keywords section at the top but from where it is now I think it just gets overly technical for what I'm trying to get across.

I think the idea of a wiki or something of the sort is a good idea but I don't think it should be a separate entity from the community website as it can only really exist in isolation as all the terms are already defined in some other normal wiki page, they're just hard to find.

[nielsenrc]

Your post is actually what inspired the thought. It's great, I'm wondering if there's a space for creating a formal, article style format for these things. Or even expanding the FAQ to include these topics. 

[DPI Wizard]

Getting a wiki section on the site is definitely needed and something I'm looking into. It needs to be completely integrated to be as seamless as possible (for both search and user login), I have a few options I will examine closer!

[potato psoas]

Yeah, this information but more clearly presented.

[nielsenrc]

8 hours ago, potato psoas said:

Yeah, this information but more clearly presented.

What I do like about that article is how it make the technical details optional - but my main thought is that whatever is built is sufficiently simple and clear and thorough enough to be a reference for what I imagine the average user of the site to be like (myself included): anally retentive, wanting to make sure they've understood and implemented the right settings, but not feeling like success using the calculator is conditioned on them really understanding the underlying theory behind MDH, FOV, 3D space, etc.

I can imagine the above might improve the quality of life/free up the time of the generous members here who take the time to answer the 1000th question about whether or not a given user's settings are right for BO4, etc. Simple, effective articles on topics (and even individual games) that help address commonly asked questions/concerns when using the calculator.

[potato psoas]

12 hours ago, nielsenrc said:

wanting to make sure they've understood and implemented the right settings, but not feeling like success using the calculator is conditioned on them really understanding the underlying theory behind MDH, FOV, 3D space, etc.

Yeah this is hard. I think some visual examples are the easiest way to show what the theory does. Like DPIWizard's monitor distance video and 0% monitor match demo.

12 hours ago, nielsenrc said:

I can imagine the above might improve the quality of life/free up the time of the generous members here who take the time to answer the 1000th question about whether or not a given user's settings are right for BO4, etc. Simple, effective articles on topics (and even individual games) that help address commonly asked questions/concerns when using the calculator.

It's taken a while to even get to a point where we all agree on one method and how exactly to explain it, that was the problem. But now that we all want to give the same answer we can get on with removing the clutter and directing people to the "wiki". And I know in many subreddits mods delete your posts if it is a repost of a previous question or a question with an answer found in the sidebar, a google search result, etc.

[nielsenrc]

11 hours ago, potato psoas said:

Yeah this is hard. I think some visual examples are the easiest way to show what the theory does. Like DPIWizard's monitor distance video and 0% monitor match demo.

It's taken a while to even get to a point where we all agree on one method and how exactly to explain it, that was the problem. But now that we all want to give the same answer we can get on with removing the clutter and directing people to the "wiki". And I know in many subreddits mods delete your posts if it is a repost of a previous question or a question with an answer found in the sidebar, a google search result, etc.

You're absolutely right about the posting moderation. I was a mod for a music forum and this is exactly how we did it. I think the forum would eventually need to get there, but I think (if possible) the mod team here would need to agree on what the answers are and then consolidate those answers into an easily digestible format. For example, could 0% MDH be agreed upon as an imperfect but 'best' conversion method, etc, and then stick to that when addressing questions or writing resources.

Again, as an initiate who knows enough to be dangerous, I'd be happy to read/review/produce any content needed and help provide the perspective of someone who just wants to get in and get out, so to speak. I find this stuff very interesting and it's been very helpful making my performance consistent across competitive FPS titles. I'm a believer.