The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the miscellany page below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the page's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result of the debate was Delete There is a strong consensus to see this page go - apart from those who have a direct stake in these pages, there is little support for the retainment of these pages. Even including those who are direct users of the service, there is a strong consensus to remove the content. Furthermore, among the members of the Esperanza AC who had a say, there was a consensus to delete as well ....(well 2-1 anyway). Hence, deleted Blnguyen (bananabucket) 05:07, 10 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia:Esperanza/Coffee Lounge/Games[edit]

I understand that it's important to have a sense of community, and to be able to interact with fellow editors in other ways than the 'norm. I think the Esperanza Coffee Lounge area and concept are in a bit of a gray area for the whole "not a social networking site", but these pages created to play games are too much. Wikipedains are free to talk to each other and can set up such games externally. There are many free and more efficient services where they can play. To actually play these games on Wikipedia is needless and a clear violation of WP:NOT. -- Ned Scott 07:17, 5 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The following pages are also bundled into this MfD:

  • Wikipedia:Esperanza/Coffee Lounge/Hangman (shortcuts: Wikipedia:Esperanza/CL/H, WP:ESP/CL/H)
    • Wikipedia:Esperanza/Coffee lounge/Archives/Hangman, Wikipedia:Esperanza/Coffee lounge/Archives/Hangman/1,Wikipedia:Esperanza/Coffee lounge/Archives/Hangman/2,Wikipedia:Esperanza/Coffee lounge/Archives/Hangman/3
  • Wikipedia:Esperanza/Coffee Lounge/Chess (shortcuts: Wikipedia:Esperanza/CL/C, WP:ESP/CL/C)
    • Wikipedia:Esperanza/Coffee lounge/Archives/Chess, Wikipedia:Esperanza/Coffee lounge/Archives/Chess/1, Wikipedia:Esperanza/Coffee lounge/Archives/Chess/2
  • Wikipedia:Esperanza/Coffee Lounge/Go (shortcuts: Wikipedia:Esperanza/CL/G, WP:ESP/CL/G)
    • Wikipedia:Esperanza/Coffee lounge/Archives/Go, Wikipedia:Esperanza/Coffee lounge/Archives/Go/1
  • Wikipedia:Esperanza/Coffee Lounge/Noughts and Crosses (shortcuts: Wikipedia:Esperanza/CL/N, WP:ESP/CL/N)
    • Wikipedia:Esperanza/Coffee lounge/Archives/Noughts and Crosses, Wikipedia:Esperanza/Coffee lounge/Archives/Noughts and Crosses/1, Wikipedia:Esperanza/Coffee lounge/Archives/Noughts and Crosses/2
  • Wikipedia:Esperanza/Coffee Lounge/Checkers (shortcuts: Wikipedia:Esperanza/CL/CHECK, WP:ESP/CL/CHECK)
    • Wikipedia:Esperanza/Coffee lounge/Archives/Checkers, Wikipedia:Esperanza/Coffee lounge/Archives/Checkers/1

Waste of server space? Maybe. But that is not our concern here. See Wikipedia:Don't worry about performance. Carcharoth 02:48, 7 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Saying that is not our concern is terribly misquoting the article you linked. The first sentence of WP:PERF says "When making some improvement to Wikipedia's content, such as editing a page, reorganising a category, or modifying a template...." This doesn't qualify at all. -- Renesis (talk) 21:12, 8 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
You've misunderstood me. I am saying that "it overloads the server" is a strawman argument for deletion. There are valid reasons for deletion (primarily irrelevance) that I agree with, but it is annoying to see people using incorrect arguments to support deletion, particularly when there are perfectly valid arguments available. See my "train passengers" analogy further down the page. Carcharoth 11:08, 9 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I'm the one who nominated this MfD, and I can tell you that server performance was not a factor in that. Carcharoth is completely right. You say "doesn't qualify at all", it's giving examples, saying, when you do stuff on Wikipedia. "such as" being the key part of that statement. Stop with the pointless little arguments that don't have anything to do with this MfD. If you use weak rationale then you make an easy target for someone to debunk. Don't use weak rationale, we don't need it, it hurts the argument. -- Ned Scott 11:51, 9 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I never said that this was a "waste of server space"—I am not the one whose delete vote Carcharoth was replying to. I only said that Wikipedia:Don't worry about performance is not a valid reason to keep this page (or oppose a rationale for deleting it, if "keep" is a strong word). Also, I think you need to re-read the intro to WP:PERF. The problem with applying WP:PERF is not that this type of game is not listed as "valid". The first phrase is "When making some improvement to Wikipedia's content". Coffee lounge games certainly do not qualify as "making improvements to Wikipedia's content". I don't see how you can argue that at all. -- Renesis (talk) 22:08, 9 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Actually, see Wikipedia:Don't worry about performance. Carcharoth 02:48, 7 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
  • I noticed, when looking through old discussions on this topic, that Wikipedia-related games (eg. Wikipedia:Wikistory and Wikipedia:Wikirace) are considered OK, but non-Wikipedia ones are not (eg. chess). So some of the ones in Category:Wikipedia games will be OK, and some won't. Also, Wikipedia:Mornington Crescent Championship is (unsurprisingly) marked as inactive, which reminds me that tagging as "rejected", "inactive" or "historical" could be a compromise solution. Carcharoth 01:39, 7 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
  • Excuse me? Unless you have 4 megs of ram I don't think "going to another site" would ever, EVER, be an issue. Right now I'm in two IRC chat rooms on two different IRC networks, on AIM, watching anime, and while looking for a free gaming site to suggest I played a game of checkers. In this time I've checked my watch list, made some minor edits, and contributed to some discussions on Wikipedia. Holy smokes, what a freakin' concept.
And do not, I repeat, do not make this "Esperanza vs the world". We clearly have Esperanza users who also feel this should be deleted. This is NOT an "us" vs "them" situation, and no one here is trying to delete Esperanza itself or any of the good that it really has done. I have no beef with Esperanza, and it would not matter at all where these pages were; Esperanza, a user page, a WikiProject subpage, doesn't matter, they should still be deleted. This is not about Esperanza, this is about playing games on Wikipedia. -- Ned Scott 04:58, 7 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
What's so bad about having to go to another website to do a separate function on the internet? It's normal for people to visit many different web sites, and it won't cause them to "not come back". For example, I just checked a website to see if an application had been updated, and look, I "came back". I mean, come on, lets be rational here. -- Ned Scott 05:36, 7 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
  • Well actually the nom did mention that the coffee lounge etc were grey areas. I never mentioned Esperanza vs the world, nor us vs them. Also, I never intended it to seem about the going to another site thing, I was merely stating that Wikipedia's goal should be to have as many users stay on Wikipedia for as long as possible, hopefully not going to other sites. Deleting the games may indeed cause this to happen due to stressed out users not having a calm place here & that people would be forced to go to other games sites. Just my opinion Neddy boy, no need for "Holy smokes, what a freakin' concept..." -- Spawn Man 05:22, 7 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
  • We're not in competition with games sites, because we're not a games site. Whether Wikipedia users also frequent other sites is of no particular relevance. Sorry, I can't muster much sympathy for the poor stressed-out users who are overburdened by the need for opening another tab/window and visiting another site to do their game-playing and socializing. Opabinia regalis 05:33, 7 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
  • You hurt my feelings. *Cry* ;) Spawn Man 07:00, 7 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Just save a copy to your hard disk, and encourage other people to do the same. MER-C 11:22, 7 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
If you (the Transhumanist) can incorporate these into your virtual classroom, and teach me how to wikicode a table, I'll give you tons of chocolate and barnstars! :-) Carcharoth 17:42, 7 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Delete or userfy. Not really so conducive, even to the Esperanza spirit. ~crazytales56297 O rly? 13:18, 7 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Maybe. But it's more than arguable that these games damage Wikipedia as they distract editors from helping the encyclopedia, no? One cancels out the other, IAR doesn't apply and all we're left with is what it says, pretty explicitly, in WP:NOT. Moreschi 16:27, 7 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
By the way voting now will probably cause the "Pokémon test" be used in either 'keep' or 'delete' for every other similar page. That itself violates WP:NOT because "Wikipedia is not a Democracy" and deletions not based on clear policy, encourage democracy. - Tutmosis 16:25, 7 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Moreschi, my main concern is the current unclear policy on games and the effect the result of this afd will have on the community. 'Social networking' to me is interaction with others on a personal level, games are like an boat, they probably less than half way sunk into that category. So deleting something based on interpretation (like I said above) encourages democracy but we don't want democracy, wikipedia needs rules under which people can improve it, not when a certain group of people feel like deleting something or keeping it. - Tutmosis 16:40, 7 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Maybe more like the Titanic, IMO. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia not a games website, or anything other than an encyclopedia. That much is clear. I fail to see a problem. You want to play chess et al, you head off to Yahoo, surely? Moreschi 16:44, 7 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
See Category:Chess_websites for chess. Similar places exist for other games. They should all come with a wiki-warning, as those even mildly interested in board games will be lost to Wikipedia for long periods of time!! Carcharoth 17:47, 7 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Oh, and take a look at RFA. No set policy there: people vote on individual standards - far worse than this, no? Moreschi 16:48, 7 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Well that is a completely different process, to me at least. I really don't know how to reply to that. - Tutmosis 17:02, 7 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
regarding your other comment above, there is no point arguing here. A proper discussion should take place with a policy coming out of it. That's all I'm trying to get across. - Tutmosis 17:06, 7 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Carcharoth, you are DELIBERATELY taking the diskspace is not a concern out of context. It says that disk space is not a concern when it comes to DOING THINGS THAT THE ENCLYCLOPEDIA NEEDS. Disk space isn't a concern if you're trying to make Wikipedia easier to navigate or expand a template. This serves absolutely no encyclopedic purpose. --Shrieking Harpy Talk|Count 21:19, 7 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I believe you may be SHRIEKING. :-) The (off-topic) point I am making here is to refute a fairly common myth about "server load". I am not arguing for keeping the pages. What I am saying is that the argument for deletion is that the pages are irrelevant to the encyclopedia, hence an argument talking about "server load" is irrelevant to the deletion argument. It's like saying "this passenger hasn't bought a ticket and should be told to get off the train", and then adding the extra, incorrect and irrelevant argument: "too many people without tickets on the train will cause the train to physically collapse". Hopefully that analogy makes things a bit clearer. Carcharoth 01:56, 8 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Mmm...there *is* a reason they call me Shrieking Harpy. I understand what you are saying, but I'm worried less about it's application here than how someone else will use that same justification for some cruft-laden page about fur patterns in Furtopia or something. I prefer to see the whole "diskspace is not a concern" thing as only being relevant in , say, talks about templates. That being said, I'll conceed your point -- the games do not take up that much diskspace. *mutters darkly, goes off to prod an article* --Shrieking Harpy Talk|Count 04:05, 8 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
If someone tries to use the "don't worry about performance" argument to keep a cruft-laden page, then they should fail, as they are using a strawman argument. On the other hand, if people aren't made aware of the "don't worry about performance" argument, they will continue, in Rob Church's words, to "run about screaming "the servers, the servers!!!" as an excuse to not do stuff", so I try to correct people where-ever I see this misunderstanding. Carcharoth 11:35, 8 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Comment - one instance here where you are definitely NOT wrong. Moreschi 21:37, 7 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
LMMBW, some of the pages in Category:Wikipedia games are acceptable, as they involve reading and using Wikipedia (and probably some side editing as well). eg. Wikipedia:Wikistory and Wikipedia:Wikirace. Those games involving Wikipedia should stay. Carcharoth 01:43, 8 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Um. I play chess. This kind of interface is not the way to learn how to play chess. You need to learn over the board in real life, or on a proper interface where you can actually move the pieces in real time, and against stronger players, not people who are at the same level as you. Carcharoth 01:13, 8 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
You are trying to tell us that people cannot play games in another website and edit at the same time? Joelito (talk) 01:32, 8 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Well have you tried playing a LIVE MMORPG video-game, talking on the phone with your friends who are playing the same game, and edit Wikipedia at the same time?--Ed ¿Cómo estás? 01:38, 8 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Personally, when I want to take a break, I get up and walk around. Get a drink. Get some fresh air. All those things are better than staying in front of the computer and playing games instead of editing/reading Wikipedia. Carcharoth 01:39, 8 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Actually, I prefer going outside and playing tennis for a break. But you have to consider those people who just like to sit in front of the computer all day and do nothing else.--Ed ¿Cómo estás? 01:45, 8 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
What? Get them to stop sitting in front of the computer all day? (And yes, I have sat in front of a computer all day, myself). :-) Carcharoth 01:58, 8 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Another statement: The main reason people stay on the internet all day is simply to be entertained. People would prefer social networking sites, online games, and some other sites which I would rather not name here... Anyway, having games on Wikipedia can actually attract more users, and keep users on Wikipedia because of the fun and welcoming environment provided by these games.--Ed ¿Cómo estás? 02:08, 8 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I understand this statement, but it's not rational. Personally, I like games, but these games are stupid. Policy or not, it's dumb to play these games with this method. I do think it's somewhat interesting to try to play them in a Wiki environment, but that's just novelty value. I could post naked pictures of women on my user page for the sole purpose of attracting (or retaining) more editors, but I doubt that would be acceptable (but it would likely be more effective in that goal than these games). -- Ned Scott 02:34, 8 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
If you find any public domain images, I would encourage this. ;) - Tutmosis 02:36, 8 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I completely agree with you. Esperanza is currently encouraging editing in the article namespace as well as participating in Esperanza programs. You must ask yourself "How do these games impose a negative effect on Wikipedia?"--Ed ¿Cómo estás? 02:53, 8 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
They're not "evil" and in all reality no one is being hurt. However, what we show as acceptable behavior in one place can effect other things. This isn't about what's "killing" Wikipedia, this is about keeping things in check, before they get out of hand. There are paths that we shouldn't follow, and being a game site is one of them.
Also, I really don't think it helps the keep argument to emphasize on Esperanza's connection with these games. It shouldn't matter if these are sub-pages of Esperanza or not, the idea is the same. -- Ned Scott 03:17, 8 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Only less than 1% of all pages on Wikipedia deal with games! What makes you think Wikipedia will become a game site?--Ed ¿Cómo estás? 03:22, 8 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Sorry, instead of game site I should say "myspace" or something like that. Obviously we won't become a major game site (because it's not really fun or efficient to play games on Wikipedia in the first place). -- Ned Scott 03:26, 8 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
To reply to Ed's top level comment "That is not desirable", I must say that it's not an issue. Just in that these games aren't "evil", they're also not "helpful" in keeping editors or relieving stress. In other words, they are not significantly helpful, or even noticeably. Maybe other efforts of Esperanza are noticeable and significant, but these games are not. They're about as helpful as me saying "keep editing and I'll mail you a cookie". "The ends don't justify the means." -- Ned Scott 03:26, 8 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
What about the fact that playing these games gives users more experience in making tables and dealing with wiki-mark-up?--Ed ¿Cómo estás? 03:31, 8 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It could help, but only in very basic fundamentals of Wiki-tables, and no more than what anyone could see in a static example, looking at tables in-use on articles, or just screwing around in their sandbox for 2 whole minutes. Static examples, such as ones that are used at Template talk:Chess position, are far more helpful than these games. -- Ned Scott 03:51, 8 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Again, there needs to be some sanity here. Removing these games won't hurt Esperanza, it won't hurt Wikipedia, and it won't drive anyone away. On the other hand, some could see these games as "stupid" or "a waste of time" or... "stupid", and that would do more hurt than help, even if neither are significant. To say that people outside of Esperanza (some Esperanza members have "voted" delete) or who haven't played the game shouldn't have a say suggest ownership issues. Again, the problem with arguments like these is that the games are not effective in their goal; they don't help on any noticeable level other than being a novelty item. Esperanza shouldn't be seen on the same level as these games, it's insulting to Esperanza. -- Ned Scott 03:47, 8 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Ned, I've seen a few times in this discussion where you have said that certain keep arguements are insulting to Esperanza. As a member of Esperanza, I don't believe this to be true. While I personally have voted to delete the games, I think that it's best to keep an open mind during this debate, and not feel insulted or embarressed by any opinion. Just one Esperanza member's POV :) Warm regards, Thε Halo Θ 14:22, 8 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the page's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.