The Wiki Operations Squadron (Wiki Ops for short) is responsible for is a squadron of members that help organize efforts to keep the wiki updated (such as on the Face List, crew history pages, various duty post sections, etc.) and harness the enthusiasm of frequent wiki contributors. Today we meet with the Chief of Wiki Ops Commodore Roshanara Rahman and Vice Chief of Wiki Ops Commander Sky Blake so we can learn more about this important part of our community!
Thank you for joining us. Can you please start by giving us a short overview of Wiki Ops and how it supports our StarBase 118 community?
The StarBase 118 Wiki (often just called “the wiki” or the “118 Wiki”) is one of our most important resources. It serves as the library for our lore and more recently is now also the home to our training tutorials and important out-of-character reference information for players such as our Leadership Roster, Member Resources section, and our organization’s Constitution and Bylaws. Maintaining and expanding such a vast resource takes great effort and time, and so Wiki Ops members are those members of our community who have a passion for the wiki and answer the call to action when we need help with various fleetwide wiki projects.
What is your favorite thing about working on this squadron?
Seeing the creativity of various members as they design their character pages and expand other sections of the database is certainly one of the highlights! Perhaps most inspiring though is seeing how quickly a seemingly daunting task can be quickly achieved once a call to action has been made. Everyone is enthusiastic about keeping the wiki one of our fleet’s best assets, and they tackle the job with a work ethic worthy of the Starfleet Corps of Engineers.
Who can join this squadron?
Wiki Ops originally was a team when it was founded but has now become a “squadron” in terms of the different kinds of task forces we offer in the fleet. As such, anyone can join. You can find more information on our wiki page by clicking on the “Wiki Ops” link in the top left links section on the wiki or by visiting the wiki page here.
How would a new member join Wiki Ops?
Unlike a team, a squadron has no specific facilitator and is overall a much more loosely organized group of members with similar interests. As Chief of Wiki Ops and Vice Chief respectively, we do serve as the “head librarians” role for the fleet but in more of an advisory role to other members and the fleet’s councils rather than a strictly administrative role. To become part of the squadron, you just need to ping either of us in the wiki Discord channel or send us an email, and we’ll add you to the wiki ops squad member list on Discord so you’ll receive any pings that the rest of the squad gets.
Note, becoming a member of Wiki Ops is separate from applying to become a Wiki Administrator (which does have its own joining requirements). Commander Blake is the facilitator for the Wiki Administrators Team, which is more focused on moderation and other administrative tasks for the wiki. The Wiki Ops Squadron is more focused on content creation and organization of the various wiki pages rather than moderation duties.
For those members who are interested in editing certain protected pages, you can ask to become a wiki power user. To be listed as a power user, you must have an all-time wiki contribution score of 500 or greater as listed on the contribution scores page. Once you have met this criteria, contact one of us by leaving a message on our talk pages on the wiki.
What is the most fun thing about working on the squadron?
Seeing the wiki continue to grow as we document the history of our ships and the adventures of their crews. As StarBase 118 PBEM RPG continues towards its thirtieth anniversary, there’s so much lore that’s been created by all of our players. Making sure not just the “important bits” but even little details that people have done to world build are not forgotten is where the wiki can really shine as future players throw in references to past ships’ missions or revisit locations again in later stories.
Thank you so much for your insights on the Wiki Ops!
You can read more about Wiki Ops Squadron on the wiki and be sure to check out the wiki channel on the StarBase 118 Discord server!
