User blog comment:Jenburton/Coming Soon: Message Wall in Labs/@comment-1788742-20111024213044

I'm glad to see that you're putting this in Labs...could you please leave it there, though? There's a reason people are saying this needs to be an option, you know. But at least now all communities will have a chance to try it out:

My quick prediction: some wikis will like it. Maybe quite a few will. Some won't and will never consider it as an optional form of communication in any way, as it's simply another social move from Wikia. And they have just reasons as well. "Overall, our goal with Message Wall is to create a product that works so well and is so compelling that communities will want to use it over Talk Pages."

I'm sorry, but that just won't happen. The feature, while compelling for chats and stuff, looks like it's designed for short, chatty messages, and is not in any way an improvement over talk pages.

Wookieepedia, for example, will never accept this forced on them. Bleach wiki probably won't either. My home wiki has been ranting against Message Wall since it was first announced, and still dislikes it even after trying it. Here's why.


 * Message Wall does not look professional. Believe it or not, some wikis don't want all of these add-ons and "updates". By this, I don't mean we're against newer technology, I mean that users don't want to use this unprofessional wall that has the look and feel of article comments or a Facebook wall.


 * Individual threads each have their own page. This presents a host of problems, the least of which is the possibility of server downing. Have you thought of what will happen when a user who has thousands upon thousands of Message Wall messages changes his name? It will flood RC and WikiActivity for ages to come.
 * It doesn't belong on the standard definition of a wiki. Which, again, is what some wikis want to be. They just want to be wikis, and Wikia staff seems intent on changing that. Taking away a core, tried and true feature of MediaWiki and replacing it with a Wall is horrid. If you can honestly find an improvement for talk pages, do it. Add automatic signatures, like it said on a staff blog at one point. But don't replace the system with this new feature, which I honestly consider an insult to the definition of a wiki.
 * But some wikis won't want that. They'll want the Wall. There's a very simple solution to that problem: Make it optional.
 * It's not good for long, official, professional messages. The use of avatars and speech bubbles makes it look like it's not made for that. It doesn't encourage communication in any respect. Sorry.
 * Likewise, it needs a preview button. And a rich text editor. New users will not find wikitext easier to work with, and they'll simply use the Walls for short, chatty message, exactly the opposite of what some wikis want. I thought this wall was supposed to encourage communication, not hinder it?
 * And even if you do all of the above, it still won't be perfect. Because some wikis will not accept having to use this unprofessional layout.
 * It doesn't belong on a wiki because- never mind. I've explained this so many times I'm done trying.


 * As a final gripe, why does it say "Wall, Contribs" instead of "Talk, Contribs" in the page history section? That seems to be worse for communication, not better. At least, worse for official conversation, and professional conversation, which is what some most wikis want.

Wikia staff, without talk pages, and with blogs, comments, and Chat extensions, wikia will lose one more form of communication, not gain another. So, while I support this blog post, I do not support this wall at all. Because, while you might think wikis will change their mind after using this feature and give up trying to save talk pages, you're wrong. Some wikis will never accept this unprofessional feature in any way on their site. Some will like it, some won't. So leave it in Wikia Labs with article comments, where it belongs.