Forum:Video Policy Discussion

This is a first draft of a video policy for this wiki. Please read it carefully, and add any suggestions, amendments, and additions in the comments below.

First, a note on my methods. I went through every comment in detail, picking out the key points of each. I also looked at who was commenting, taking all comments into account, but keeping in mind context of "regular user/some contribs/new editor/reader or bystander" and so on. I tried to get a balance of being inclusive, but also not over-weighting comments from people not directly involved here. Obviously, I discounted any off-topic or otherwise unhelpful comments. All of the past discussion has been moved to an archive to give us a clean page for the next stage.

Although a couple of people disliked videos in general, most people agree that they are a key part of this wiki. This is an area I personally have strong feelings about. I've been involved in wikis since 2002, and have seen a lot of changes in that time. When I first edited, wikis were much simpler. There were no templates, we didn't have tables, images were less used and could only be added size they were uploaded, we hadn't yet invented the word "infobox", we had to walk uphill in the snow to and home from work.... Video is one in a long line of improvements that I've watched being added to wikis, and I very much hope that they grow in use. I believe they can become one of the best and most valuable enhancements to informational wikis, and that this wiki can help show how to do that.

But moving back to the community discussion. Overall, there was strong agreement that videos should be allowed from multiple creators and via multiple channels, and that no one person should decide on what videos are added to the wiki.

Several people were worried about having a free-for-all in adding videos and wanted an approval process, but some argued for a more "wiki-like" process of review after addition (and revert if needed). The general preference (although this wasn't discussed explicitly) seems to be for each videos to be considered individually for suitability, rather than for there to be a list of approved creators.

On the types of video that should be allowed, the general view is that tutorial-type or other educational/illustrative videos are best for articles. There were also good ideas around incorporating other videos, either in their own section of articles, or in a separate area of the wiki.

Quality of videos was another theme. There was general agreement that high quality, up-to-date and accurate videos are important. Also in this area were a desire for minimal intros and outros, and a reasonable limit to self-promotion (for example, not too many requests to subscribe or give positive ratings)

Promotion was a hot topic, but the general view seems to be that outright promotional videos should not be welcome, but that mention of other resources should not automatically disqualify a video. The greater the promotional aspect is, the less suitable the video is seen to be – especially if that promotion is for a resource that is a similar type to Terarria Wiki.

There were some good suggestions of a submissions process, including a poll of viewers. And suggestions around allowing varied content in novel ways (a "featured youtuber" video, and blogs to enable "let's play" or other entertainment videos). These aren't all included in the policy, but are very good ideas that should be explored!

So, bringing this all together (with, of course, some compromises and some extrapolation on my part), here's a first draft of a policy. The idea of this draft is to give an outline that can be built on, and the last section contains three different versions to consider. This part in particular needs feedback - which version do you think will work?

Overall, it's not comprehensive, there are areas that still need defining, but hopefully it states some general principles that can be added to over time.

=Draft Video Policy=

Video use
Each article may be illustrated by one or more videos. The primary video on each page should illustrate the topic clearly. They should not be "let's play" or pure entertainment videos, but should focus on illustrating the topic and expanding on the text. Secondary videos can be included on longer articles, if those videos help to illustrate the article further.

A small gallery of additional videos may be appropriate for some articles, especially where there needs to be variations to explain the topic. This should be given it's own section, and should not overwhelm the article as a whole. If there is more than one video on an article, they should each add to the article, and not be effectively duplicates that repeat the same information.

Entertainment and other Terraria related videos (including "let's play" videos) can be included on blogs, userpages, or other non-article pages.

Criteria for inclusion.
Videos in articles should be:


 * High quality, both in content and in the sound and picture quality.
 * Well-researched, accurate and up-to-date.
 * Informative, not purely for entertainment (for example not “let's play” videos).
 * Focused on content, without excessive intros/outros or requests for follows and likes
 * Suitable for all audiences, without bad language or other abusive content.

Videos on other areas of the site should be:


 * Suitable for all audiences, without bad language or other abusive content.
 * Factually correct, with no misleading information (unless this is explained in the accompanying text)

Videos should not primarily geared to promoting any other sites. Mention of other sites is permitted, as are links or other pointers to alternative resources, but these should not overwhelm the informational aspects of the video. In each case, the value of the information in the video should be balanced against the promotion of other sites.

For example, a unique and hard to obtain video of a difficult aspect of the game, might be acceptable even with strong mentions of another site (even another wiki) because the informational value is high. However, alternatives should be found for a video with promotional links and more easily found footage. Videos that mention or give links to Terraria Wiki should be encouraged.

Within these criteria, videos by any creator are acceptable.

Addition of videos.
note from sannse: there is a lot of repetition in this section, but I think that it's needed to show the alternatives fully - please comment below on which version you prefer.

Version 1:

Videos can be added by any registered contributor. If an addition or a replacement of an existing video is reverted, then the new video must be proposed at Terarria Wiki:Proposed videos. A decision on whether the video is suitable, and whether it should replace a current video, should be made via a discussion on that page. The discussion should be reviewed by an admin, who will make a decision based on the opinions of the community. If the discussion doesn't show a clear consensus among those commenting, then at least two admins must agree whether to accept the video or not. If an admin is proposing a video, a different admin (or admins) should make the final decision on it's acceptability.

Version 2:

Videos can be proposed for inclusion at Terarria Wiki:Proposed videos. If there is no current video on the page, approval can be given by any admin, or by any two "yes" votes from active users. This is intended to be a quick and easy permission designed to only reject any clearly unsuitable videos.

If there is disagreement over the suitability of the video, it should be discussed more fully. The discussion should be reviewed by an admin, who will make a decision based on the opinions of the community. If the discussion doesn't show a clear consensus among those commenting, then at least two admins must agree whether to accept the video or not. If an admin is proposing a video, a different admin (or admins) should make the final decision on it's acceptability.

For pages with existing videos, the proposed video should either be shown to be a good replacement for a current video, or to improve on the page by adding new information. Approval for the addition or replacement should be made in the same was as above.

Version 3:

Videos can be proposed for inclusion at Terarria Wiki:Proposed videos. All proposed videos should be discussed fully by the community and then the discussion reviewed by an admin, who will make a decision based on the opinions of the community. If the discussion doesn't show a clear consensus among those commenting, then at least two admins must agree whether to accept the video or not. If an admin is proposing a video, a different admin (or admins) should make the final decision on it's acceptability.

Disputes
In all cases, disagreements over videos should be taken to the admins. As with other admin decisions, bureaucrats will act as "tie-breakers" if necessary.