User talk:Pinsplash

This is the user talk page of User:Pinsplash. To add a comment, use the Edit button near the headline of the appropriate section. To create a new section, you can use the Add topic button at the top of this page.
Comments on talk pages should be signed with "~~~~", which will be converted into your signature and a timestamp.

Thanks for being a good member of the community

You're really good at finding mistakes and correcting them, keep up the good work! --TobyTurbo64 (talk) 20:36, 8 Sep 2018

An unofficial Discord server for the Valve Developer Community Wiki

I think the community morale may be improved by having a discord server. It would actually do wonders for communication and coordination for things that would be best for multiple people to handle simultaneously. It'd also keep people coming back and contributing to the wiki if they're reminded of it more.

So I made one.

Come on by, we've got emojis and roles and help channels. --Pinsplash (talk) 10:04, 24 Jun 2018

About that removal

Deleting the entire thing was un-necessary. I apologize for that, as I didn't look elsewhere on the wiki when I made the edit. I reverted my change but I removed the first-person sentences as that user hasn't updated that page since 2012. --MissingNoGuy55 (talk) 03:13, 3 Jul 2018

Re: threat level?

We believe it is safe, yes. They were attempting various XSS because we were running an unsupported version of Mediawiki. We had manually patched a number of known issues, but took the opportunity to get everything upgraded to 1.27 LTS, just in case. If new issues are discovered affecting 1.27, they will need to be reported upstream. --Gvengel (talk) 06:31, 6 Jul 2018

About editing wiki page dump_entity_sizes

Hi. Seems you have edit this wiki page what I made some time ago. 2017

https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Dump_entity_sizes

I'm not good in english, but I try explain nicely as good I can.

All the games information what you have removed was for those who not have/own all HL2 source games. Especially AlliedModders community, who create plugins for server mod called SourceMod.

I had put my time and effort to create some how decent wiki page, but you just heavily edited that and comment: (rewrote entirely. also deleted the lists from every game. if you want to see the output for a particular game you can just use the command in that specific game. duh.)

I don't understand how this help others?

Please think this again and I request you fix wiki page back how was it before your edit. --Bacardi (talk) 05:04, 8 Jul 2018

Hi, I had no idea anyone was using that! I'll put it back. --Pinsplash (talk) 05:11, 8 Jul 2018

Thank you Pinsplash, I do not want to sound like asshole tough.
More information in that page is welcome ofcourse. --Bacardi (talk) 06:06, 8 Jul 2018

Regarding your changes to npc_metropolice

Hello. I noticed that you underwent some major changes to npc_metropolice.

I am not an administrator or any major figure in the community, but while I appreciate your effort and will to contribute to the VDC, I do not agree with your changes.

Unless there has been a disastrous accident, you appear to have heavily stripped npc_metropolice of content, presenting it as a cleanup. The information you removed--stitching, shoulder manhacks, pre-criminal behavior, the entire entity description--was important for many different reasons, including feature details, common issues, storytelling tips, and helpful design practice. I'm not just saying that because I wrote a good portion of the article myself, but there is a point in which simplification causes the loss of potentially necessary information.

I also don't think creating "Civil Protection" as an entirely different article is necessary, as npc_metropolice and the actual HL2 wiki should already suffice, but that is just a matter of opinion.

I was wondering if I could revert the changes on npc_metropolice back to before your cleanup. I could merge some of the information you've added as well. --Blixibon (talk) 21:30, 27 Jul 2018

Oh, my mistake! I didn't notice that you spread out the information across the page. It does look rather disjointed, but I'm sure that will be fixed with time. I apologize for accusing you of stripping information. I still don't agree with the new Civil Protection page, but my main concerns are gone now. --Blixibon (talk) 21:54, 27 Jul 2018

I'll paste my original reply (you got me as i was replying there :p), since it's still kind of relevant:

I honestly can't say I did not anticipate somebody bringing that up, so I'll explain.

• The info about stitching was already covered on the flag to enable it, I don't think it need to be repeated.
• The manhack deployment info got moved down to the Number of Manhacks keyvalue.
• The description of the pre-criminal behavior was pretty unnecessary. People reading the page probably remember what that behavior is like for the most part. If they don't, no shame in taking a stroll through the first hl2 chapter and observing.
• The remaining parts of the Entity Description are still there at the top of the page. Entity Article Template (which suggested the Entity Description headers) is currently being redone (see the talk page). Personally, I believe that most of the time, we should try to avoid having basic describing information about entities split by a T.O.C. and header because it breaks reading flow.
• I'm not entirely sure what "common issues and storytelling tips" you are referring to. I left all the bug notices in, and did rewrite some of the story-related parts but I personally think it achieved the same message.
• Pages under Category:Half-Life Continuity are best intended as another page I can't remember described it: "Making a Half-Life 2 mod and want to make sure it fits into the narrative? see Category:Half-Life Continuity". I certainly didn't intend for the Civil Protection page to replace npc_metropolice. Perhaps you are right though, we could link to combineoverwiki.net more often.

In conclusion I just think that that page was rather lengthy and some parts a tad redundant.

I see why you say it's kind of disjointed. What do you say we make a simple list of all the npc abilities and features for the top section, then let the main info be where they're most relevant. --Pinsplash (talk) 22:18, 27 Jul 2018

That won't be necessary. I think I find it disjointed because I'm used to the previous layout. I could revise it a bit and answer some of your to-do's.
However, I'm afraid I don't understand your logic regarding their pre-criminal behavior. In spite of the rare circumstances that would lead to its usage, the behavior is complicated and much of the playerbase never took the time to observe it. I understand that the section did have its problems, but perhaps it could be re-added from scratch or even have its own sub-page.
I also didn't mean to suggest we should link to the Combine Overwiki more often. I just meant that npc_metropolice is Civil Protection, so another article isn't needed. I said that before I was aware of your canon conditioning project, so feel free to ignore that. Just keep in mind pages like "Civil Protection" are bound to get plenty of traffic, especially if it's going to stay on the npc_metropolice page. Make sure it has content and fits in with the rest of the wiki. --Blixibon (talk) 23:24, 27 Jul 2018

Personally I've taken time to observe it. I'd be fine with putting that section back on the page, if it won't take up like half my screen space. --Pinsplash (talk) 23:32, 27 Jul 2018

A Lesson on VTF Versions

VTF 7.0, 7.1, and 7.2 are the "original" versions. There's not much of a difference between them. These are the versions used for textures in older games, like Half-Life. If you're mapping for pre-Orange Box games, then VTF 7.2 is what you want. 7.0 and 7.1 are really just obsolete versions of 7.2, so there's no reason you would ever use them.

VTF 7.3 is just a beta version of VTF 7.4, which was released with the Orange Box in 2007. Again, there's no difference between them. If you make Portal 2 mods, then use VTF 7.4 for your textures, as you're working with Source 2007.

7.5, the newest version that was released in 2010, is used for textures in newer games, such as CS:GO.

It's important to note that using older versions of VTF on newer games, will result in the $surfaceprop effect renders of the material in game, to be distorted and discolored. Likewise, using newer versions of VTF on older games, will result in the texture not showing up at all. You'll either see the infamous "missing texture" texture, or they will all simply show up white.

Also VTFEdit is not used in my tutorial, so I don't know where you've got that from... I use Nem's Paint.NET VTF plugin. --DJFluXion (talk) 07:48, 10 Aug 2018

The 7.5 thing in Portal 2 was what I've observed when testing. I must have been doing something wrong... That info would be good to put on The VTF version history since that section is a little small. But Portal 2 isn't Source 2007, it came from an early build of Dota 2 (according to User:Practical Problems)(back when Dota 2 was on Source 1), which came from Alien Swarm, inheriting some things from the Left 4 Dead series in turn. Portal 2 does have content and code from the Half-Life 2 games as well however (including things like combine turrets apparently). A full diagram of all the major Source games and what they branch from is something I've been meaning to make. --Pinsplash (talk) 09:58, 10 Aug 2018

I did some research on Portal 2, and it just so happens that it was actually released in 2011, not 2008. For some reason, I've always heard that it was released in 2008. Weird. I haven't played Portal 2 very much, so I don't really know too much about it. I've played the original Portal, but not Portal 2 to the same extent. However, because of this, VTF 7.5 should be used. Hope this clears up any confusion. --DJFluXion (talk) 18:31, 10 Aug 2018

Making case sensitive redirects

Could you please explain why you're creating a bunch of redirect pages that differ only in case sensitivity? This doesn't seem like the kind of change that's needed, and if it is it should be discussed before making the changes. --Solokiller (talk) 16:21, 20 Aug 2018

Was just clearing up red links that existed, according to Special:MostLinkedCategories. Categories are case sensitive like all other pages, so when a category-tag-thing gets added to a page, if the capitalization isn't correct, it will add that page to a separate category. It also seems that when category names have capitalization, another category is created (automatically) alongside it with every letter lowercase (except the C in Category and the first letter of the page's name which is always uppercase). --Pinsplash (talk) 16:42, 20 Aug 2018

good job

good job, you are doing lots of work. --Genericdeveloper (talk) 23:03, 2 Oct 2018

Unnecessary Restructuring of Pages

Hello, you've been editing a ton of entity pages and while doing so you've been restructuring them and moving the "Flags" sections above the "KeyValues" sections. This change doesn't seem to serve any purpose and it's extremely disorienting to users who've been used to the original layout for years. There was nothing wrong with the original layout and shifting the page around serves no practical purpose. Why? --JillCrungus (talk) 17:10, 3 Oct 2018

I'll leave the flag sections in the original spots from now on. --Pinsplash (talk) 19:45, 3 Oct 2018

Stop rewriting the entire wiki

I've been observing your actions on this wiki for a few months now. Every day, seemingly without fail, you change dozens of pages. Typically the summary says only "updates" and nothing else. The pages are restructured, the contents rewritten to another perspective.

Clearly you think you know better. The problem is that you don't. Hundreds if not thousands of people put this together and you're single-handedly tearing it all down to replace it with your own version.

Stop rewriting the wiki. If you are sure you know better, you are free to create your own wiki that fits your view of it. But stop changing the entire wiki to fit your vision of it.

I know you'll argue that the wiki needs this, but it doesn't. You're making a mess out of it.

Let's take this for example: https://developer.valvesoftware.com/w/index.php?title=Env_soundscape_triggerable&action=history

You undid a 7 year old change to duplicate a page (and this isn't the first time either!) when the description even states that the entities are identical in every way other than how it's activated.

It will take us a long time to repair the damage you're doing. A bunch of entity descriptions now have inconsistent formatting compared to the pages you haven't gotten to yet. Tons of pages now have useless revisions and completely rewritten contents that don't match the style that the rest of the wiki follows.

You've also tried to remove pages because in your opinion they aren't needed. You've also argued that nobody replies to discussions that you start, and as i told you then nobody can keep up with the sheer volume of changes. I've talked to people about this and i've found that nobody wants these changes. They consider you to be a problem, and that's a pretty terrible thing.

Worst of all is that this has been a problem for months, it's been discussed before but you continue to do this. I'm sure you'll respond to this by claiming that you're doing the right thing and you'll keep right on going, bulldozing the rest of the wiki.

Please, just stop. If you have some compulsive need to change things, clone the wiki to your own wikia domain or something and change it there, but stop messing things up here. --Solokiller (talk) 10:34, 7 Oct 2018

It's for the better. Entity descriptions are obviously going to be inconsistent for the time being, there is *nothing* you can do about that if every entity page is being overhauled. It's for the better. The overhauling is removing the inconsistency, wrong info and grammar mistakes that all entity pages suffered before, and putting a final version of that is reliable. That's another issue that has come up in the past months/years on some Source servers, the VDC is horribly wrong with some entity info. With the overhauling, the info is much more trustworthy. People's work isn't sacred, it can be replaced if its for the better. "7 year old change" is just being hyperbolic --Ficool2 (talk) 10:58, 7 Oct 2018

I agree with Solokiller, looking at the complaints on this talk page and their unreliability, I would have said people's trust in the site is spiralling downwards with every change. Overhauling a wiki that has been consistently the same for the past 10+ years is pointless, if information is incorrect, then you should correct it, not rewrite entire pages and templates in a completely different style, making pages obtuse. Creating clones of existing pages for entities that are identical to each other in every way apart from name is also pointless, instead there should be a redirect to the correct entity, with a note of the old or obsolete name. This project is far too vast for an engine of this age, you can't just make heavy edits and say that they will be "inconsistent" for the time being, when there's a chance things may be worse off if everything doesn't go according to your plan. --Slartibarty (talk) 12:10, 7 Oct 2018

Perhaps I will, Solokiller; nobody seems to deserve me. You were the last person I expected would come against me, this late into the start of the game considering you called the same work good only a couple weeks ago. Speaking of time, you've had how much time to raise concerns? How many times have you checked RecentChanges at the crack of dawn, and seen me and Ficool working on those BaseAnimating and BaseEntity templates? Or, people talking about crap on Talk:Entity Article Template? Did you think we were doing all this just for fun? I don't need to say this.

All those people you speak of seem to be localized to the SMC discord. You haven't even mentioned me on TWHL apparently, save for one mention on the discord which nobody responded to. I'm not sure when you got in SMC, but you should do a little more searching maybe before considering THAT place as anything representative of the Source community. Search "Matias". Search "your time of need". Search "resign" and look at the first few messages. You are quite factually wrong. Many people have wanted the wiki to be improved, I've seen people (myself included) have misconceptions about a number of the things I'm changing, especially that stupid OnKilled output. I've seen engine licensees and populars your size even complain about pages having shitty info, they suggested some of the very things I've been carrying out.

If there's really some threshold at which we should be merging classnames' pages together, I DEMAND you define it. You think we should merge func_dustcloud with func_dustmotes while we're at it?

Tell the people you're echoing verbatim at some points to get their asses on here. Making a wiki account is very easy. I will pause. For now. --Pinsplash (talk) 12:44, 7 Oct 2018

I told you you were doing good work to avoid coming off as unappreciative and insulting. I waited this long to raise concerns because i wanted to remain hands off, having had bad experiences in the past. Clearly i should've stepped in months ago when things first got ugly.

When people complain about the wiki's quality they are not talking about the formatting of pages or the perspective that they are written in, they are talking about a lack of -or incorrect information. Some pages are empty stubs, others don't cover information in enough detail. For example, there's barely any information about VPC. Instead of focusing on that you pointlessly rewrite page after page after page, declaring your intent to rewrite every single entity page, the state of which aren't an issue at all.

There is no such thing as a threshold about merging pages. Some entity classnames are aliases, and some are not. Regarding the dust entities: motes is identical to cloud except it keeps the particles the same size on screen. Since they are in every other way identical, the content of their pages should probably be merged. That does not mean that the actual pages should also be merged, the best solution here is one that does not confuse the user (e.g. you're looking for motes but the page for cloud tells you the particles don't change size, now you're confused. That should be avoided).

You would've known this had you actually bothered to check the source code, but you're insistent on changing things just so it's done your way.

Let's make this absolutely clear: you do not get to demand anything. You do not get to rewrite the entire wiki just because you're putting in effort and then expect nobody to complain or revert the changes. You are not right by virtue of being you.

Regarding mentions of you in different places: Why are you checking to see where i've mentioned you? What's next, are you going to use my actions in the past to attack me? That sort of stuff is in no way related to this situation.

As far as your claims about me echoing people goes: I brought up your behavior as a problem, and I have researched the situation. Do not try to make this look like you are being misrepresented, your behavior has been a problem for quite some time now.

Nobody should be forced to come here to complain about your behavior, just like we shouldn't have to accept the massive number of changes you're making. Seeing as you are discussing the wiki's changes on your own private Discord, there is no reason why any person who takes issue with your behavior should have to come here to voice their complaints. It's obvious that this is a problem, and enough people have addressed your actions already.

When you speak of not deserving you you're showing textbook narcissistic behavior. You make dozens of changes every day, day after day. I checked to see how long you're active in a 24 hour period. The past few days you spent more than half a day each day working on this wiki. That is clearly unhealthy behavior. Given that your profile says you're very tired, i can only surmise that you spend whole days going through the list of all pages, obsessively "correcting" everything you don't like.

You need to stop obsessing over this wiki and you need to talk to a doctor about this. If you're having trouble sleeping you may be suffering from insomnia. If you're not sleeping because you're working on this wiki then you definitely need to stop. You're hurting yourself in more than one way by doing this.

I don't want to see you spend another one of these full-time days working on the wiki. I would prefer you stop working on it altogether, but i doubt you'll listen. If you refuse to listen and continue making changes like this this will end in disaster. For you personally, and for your reputation in this community. --Solokiller (talk) 13:31, 7 Oct 2018

I concur that these updates need to stop. If you come across information that is factually inaccurate, feel free to change it within the context of what's already there. But reorganizing things for the sake of reorganizing them doesn't help anything. It seems clear, based on your accusatory, defensive response, that you are far too emotionally invested in this. The wiki belongs to all of us, not "whoever makes the most changes." If you cannot deal with this, I suggest you take your ego elsewhere. --Maki (talk) 15:24, 7 Oct 2018

Maki, and Solokiller have proven a point, best that you just stop before you crash your reputation with the community entirely. --Avanate (talk) 15:41, 7 Oct 2018

I couldn't agree more with Solokiller here, I also have expressed my displeasure routinely with Pinsplash before giving up as there was nothing I could actually do to stop this persistent, arrogant cancer's changes. I've known Pinsplash before I met him on the VDC and has little to no Source engine experience but thinks he is a god. Pinsplash, please sort out your superiority complex, it makes you look like a tit. I noticed you also mentioned you were leaving the wiki on your unofficial Discord which you think is official, one thing: GOOD. Please leave, and never come back! 🦀 Pinsplash IS GONE!! 🦀 --JoshuaAshton (talk) 20:42, 7 Oct 2018

Regardless of what Pinsplash has done, please show some respect Joshua. --Solokiller (talk) 20:55, 7 Oct 2018 Respect is earned, it is very hard to be respect someone who's committed actions like this you have seen both in and outside of the VDC. --JoshuaAshton (talk) 20:58, 7 Oct 2018 FYI Joshua, you are unbanned from the UVW discord as I'm the owner of it now, Pinsplash is gone from there. --Ficool2 (talk) 21:14, 7 Oct 2018 Thank you, however I don't really see a reason to return as all discussion can be had on talk pages and I believe that separating/segregating the community would be a bad idea. --JoshuaAshton (talk) 21:21, 7 Oct 2018