An idea, what do you all (esp. the mods) think?

In a discussion over how "practically limitless" Magneto's powers are, the Creator suggested that a character's feats be listed within their bios.

All the feats they have performed that display the range and scale of their abilities.

ref to the title and number of the comic and then a short description of the feat (2 - 3 lines). It's a huge amount of work but then things that are worthwhile are rarely easy. As for the length of the character entries, not every feat needs to be listed. Only the top end feats that show consistency and the fullest scope of the power would need to be listed as many feats are repeated i.e. Magneto raising a magnetic force field (against most normal attacks or ones encountered regularly).

Now, it's nice idea, certainly handy for those coming along after us, but for decades old characters like Wonder Woman, Superman, Magneto, or Storm. That is a hell of a lot of work that is going to make the bio pages huge.

So I am putting it before the community: What do you think?

In the Suggestions thread I said it would be good to have a way to cite things. If that's implemented you could describe a feat in the powers section then cite the issue it's from. I don't think that would be a problem unless you're trying to list every feat someone has performed. For example, to measure Superman's strength, you don't have to list every big thing he's listed and cite it, you could take a couple examples of the biggest things or where his strength level is stated, or something like that. If you're worried about the size of pages (I actually don't think having too much info is a bad thing) the descriptions could be on a References tab or something.

I've tried to cite things my own way (See the "Gravel" page) but I think a site-wide tool would be good. Wikipedia has a good way to reference individual feats (when it's used) with the number in the sentence and a footnote. Comicvine could have something similar or just link directly to the comic. I think I've said it before, but it would add credibility to the site if there are references for the information we add.

See from my point of view, with Magneto, even if you are listing "one of every category", that is still a hell of a lot of feats given the range of applications of his powers that we have seen on panel. Two or three solid workdays of research and writing, at least.

If the community is going to go in this direction I will do it (hell, it's rack up my points a humongous amount).

But damn that is a lot of work.

Well you know where I stand on the issue.

Even if it takes a year to get the backlog done and then to only keep the system of references updated I don't see this as time wasted.

It would provide more accurate clear examples of character power levels, that could be used in discussions/battles to illurstrate why person X could accomplish said feat.

Pania says:

"See from my point of view, with Magneto, even if you are listing "one of every category", that is still a hell of a lot of feats given the range of applications of his powers that we have seen on panel. Two or three solid workdays of research and writing, at least.If the community is going to go in this direction I will do it (hell, it's rack up my points a humongous amount).But damn that is a lot of work. "

The_Creator says:

"Well you know where I stand on the issue.Even if it takes a year to get the backlog done and then to only keep the system of references updated I don't see this as time wasted.It would provide more accurate clear examples of character power levels, that could be used in discussions/battles to illurstrate why person X could accomplish said feat."

Agree on that. Like Buckshot said, I'm not concerned with how much information one page has because the more there is, the better. If it's good, I'll read it (plus it gives me something to do anyway).

And yes, it would provide good references if people need to use it in battles.
Post Edited:2008-03-11 03:05:49
Post Edited:2008-03-11 03:06:36

maybe it would be worthwhile having a separate gallery section labeled "Feats" where people could put images of the character performing these amazing feats...

that way we actually have image references for the feats being mentioned

M

Methos says:

"maybe it would be worthwhile having a separate gallery section labeled "Feats" where people could put images of the character performing these amazing feats... that way we actually have image references for the feats being mentioned M"

I always preferred this option 9the actual images) but I was worried on the content size and hence suggested the description option instead.

yeah, but with the new image dedicated server thats being brought in for the site update it shouldn't really be a problem...

i always preferred images over text for something like this, that way we actually have proof of a feat rather than what someone 'says' about a character

M

Methos says:

"maybe it would be worthwhile having a separate gallery section labeled "Feats" where people could put images of the character performing these amazing feats... that way we actually have image references for the feats being mentioned M"

Only problem with that is the issue of how much of a comic we can have in the encyclopedia. Full page scans are already prohibited and that's motsly what would be used as sources for these feats. There are pages here and there in galleries right now, but it would quickly add up if pages of feats started to get added. You could possibly link to sites that aren't CV (I linked to photobucket on the page I tried it on) but I don't actually know how the staff feels about that.

good point about the full page scans...

it would be alright for single frame scans, dunno about the legalities of full page or more though...

M

I don't know if listing every single feat would be necessary. Some examples could be mentioned in the powers section. I think some pages are already getting a little big. We should focus on quality over quantity. Also look at it from the point of view of someone new to the character. Will they be interested or read a bunch of text on the page? If it's something truly amazing it deserves mentioning. But if it's something like "Magneto can open a can of soup with his powers," I don't think that'd be too important. People should take pride in their points but shouldn't get so hung up on them at the expense of a good readable page.

G-Man says:

"I don't know if listing every single feat would be necessary. Some examples could be mentioned in the powers section. I think some pages are already getting a little big. We should focus on quality over quantity. Also look at it from the point of view of someone new to the character. Will they be interested or read a bunch of text on the page? If it's something truly amazing it deserves mentioning. But if it's something like "Magneto can open a can of soup with his powers," I don't think that'd be too important. People should take pride in their points but shouldn't get so hung up on them at the expense of a good readable page."

I like the idea of a seperate tab (as Buckshot mentioned). Info is then available for reference purposes without detracting from the general page.

I agree that not every feat need be listed but surely we want to be able to define a characters scope of power.

Using Magneto for example: You could list out an instance of his manipulating other EM energies other than Magnetism (1 for each), show the extent of what his force field may deflect (a couple of examples for both physical and other energies), the range that he can manipulate objects at, the weight of objects he can lift and then maybe 1 example of any other powers he may have displayed. So for Magneto I would think no more than 30 entries.

For others like Colossus, you would have significantly less entries like a couple for each of the following: durability, strength, fighting skills.