Talk:Ravenloft Gazetteer Volume IV

What do people think in general about reproducing text that's available elsewhere on the site? I don't think anyone envisioned Mistipedia completely replacing the FoS site. From a technical standpoint, it could, of course. (copy the reviews in the Drawing Room onto the appropriate product page, copy the DoTM's in the Vault to the domain pages, etc.) And legally, of course, if we can put it on a webpage we host, we can put it in a wiki we host.

But I don't think we want that. For one thing, it's a bit of a waste of time that could be better spent fleshing out empty areas of the wiki. For another, the dread possibilities here could be edited by any passerby, while the copies in the Parlor can't, which keeps them exactly as the authors wrote them. What about simply putting a link to the source material instead? I'm open to counter-arguments.. looking for a discussion. -- Gonzoron 17:11, 3 February 2010 (UTC)

The original, untamperable files, should obviously be kept in existence. But creating an integrated as possible picture of a domain, where one does not have to have the insight that perhaps some of Mangrum's work got cut by editors to actually have access to the full extent of available material, has a lot of appeal to my eye. In different terms, lost material will largely remain lost if it isn't added. Cure 19:53, 3 February 2010 (UTC)

I agree with Cure. The end result of the Mistipedia, IMO, should allow one of us to look up, say, a domain that we are considering for our next adventure. Everything that's ever been published or speculated about that domain should be compiled into what you get here. It'll be condensed, sure, but it'll be here. The author notes are a big part of that. DeepShadow 05:36, 4 February 2010 (UTC)

I agree 100% with this last statement, but I don't think it's that onerous to click on a link to get some of the info that already exists on the web. I'm fine with the info from the author's notes being here, but I feel like it should be as condensed and summarized as the rest. We wouldn't copy the whole contents of the Sturben entry in the Gaz, so neither should we do so with Ilvin, just because it came from the author's notes and not the book itself. -- Gonzoron 00:10, 13 February 2010 (UTC)