Robot Wars Wiki talk:Community Portal/Archive 9

Debuts/Final appearances/making it past a certain round for the first time
There appears to lack a guide or format to which robots are deemed notable for trivia in episode articles. I've just gone on a romp through Series 4-7 and removed chunks of information I deem unworthy of trivia status. There are three main trivia categories that we have issue with:


 * Debuts - what robots are significant enough to have their debut noted?


 * Final appearances - what robots should be noted as having their final appearances? What is a final appearance (considering Roaming Robots)


 * X made it past the Y round for the first time in Z attempts - when should this be noted, if ever?

My personal believe is that debuts should be reserved for the following:
 * Semi-Finalists of any UK Championship, if they entered more than two series in total.
 * Consistently high profile robots such as Diotoir, S.M.I.D.S.Y. or The Steel Avenger.
 * Robots that would go on to enormous success in Roaming Robots (Big Nipper, Iron Awe, Kronic the Wedgehog)
 * Not acceptable - debut of Velocirippa.

On Final appearances, I believe only the following should be noted:
 * Significant UK finalists
 * Consistently high profile robots like Diotoir, S.M.I.D.S.Y. or The Steel Avenger.
 * Not acceptable - final appearance of Team Monad and Team Death.

An on making it past the certain round, I would like to reserve that only for robots like Razer.
 * That being said, should we also have a consensus on noting when robots failed to make a certain stage for the first time? Firestorm, Chaos 2 and Hypno-Disc all have these but I think these are easier and more notable.
 * Not acceptable - Reptirron made it past the first round for the first time.

What do you all think? I'm aware that my post may contradict my actions but I'd like to set out a format for this from now, then make any corrections later.  Toon Ganondorf    (t    c)  23:19, January 6, 2013 (UTC)


 * I understand the need to mention the "greats" and exclude the robots that were....for a lack of a better word, rubbish, but you've not really done much to cover those that fit inbetween. You removed Tiberius and Disc-O-Inferno, for example, who whilst they don't fall into the Greats don't fall into the Rubbish pile either. I don't neccessarily think the main event should be the only factor. Don't get me wrong here, this does clear up a lot of clutter, but it doesn't cover all the bases, in my opinion. CrashBash (talk) 23:38, January 6, 2013 (UTC)


 * I actually asked quite specifically not to undo anything until we had come to a consensus. Therefore I have reverted your edits. If discussion goes in a direction, we will reinsert information. But only after, not before.  Toon Ganondorf    (t    c)  00:46, January 7, 2013 (UTC)


 * No, Toon Ganondorf. I refuse to play that game anymore. This happens every single time, and we all know how it ends. I don't want to be a part of that. I've reverted it back, and this time I must insist we keep it that way until an agreement has been come to, not the other way around. CrashBash (talk) 17:40, January 7, 2013 (UTC)

As for Tiberius and Disco, I removed Tiberius because all of its success came in Extreme 2 and Series 7, so it would be saying that this is the final appearance of a no-name robot whose significance in the UK Championship came in that final appearance. Disc-O was borderline rubbish in nearly every single UK Championship appearance, and I don't think that a single side competition should be considered to make up for that. I am in favour of a very strict approach to final appearances, robots who were high profile in every appearances. Disc-O-Inferno was far less profiled than Plunderbird, Panic Attack and Pussycat, who I believe do warrant notes.  Toon Ganondorf    (t    c)  00:50, January 7, 2013 (UTC)


 * So, why do Iron Awe and Kronic get a mention but not Tiberius? Why do Sir Chromalot and Adam Clark's robots get a mention but not Disc-O-Inferno? You're being too inconsistent with what robots get a mention and what don't. Take Iron Awe, for example. Its battle history mirrors Tiberius exactly (second round in S4/5, first round in S6, heat final in S7) and Kronic's is exactly the same, albeit in a different order, so you have no reason for removing one but not the other, especially since Tiberius actually won a competition unlike the other two.


 * As for Disc-O-Inferno, I will agree that its main series performance was less than stellar, so why did you remove it, but leave the likes of Sir Chromalot up there? At least Disc-O-Inferno reached a heat final and won an event. Adam Clark's robots were borderline rubbish in ALL their UK championships, but you didn't do anything about that. Why?


 * If you're going to come up with some rules, fair enough, but is it too much to ask to be consistent with your own rules? Or, indeed, to ask people what they think before making such edits? I would have thought you would have learnt from the incident on the Judges page. Just saying. CrashBash (talk) 17:40, January 7, 2013 (UTC)

Just weighing in, I don't think that anything you've said is unreasonable TG. Matt Talk to me  17:49, January 7, 2013 (UTC)


 * I don't think that Roaming Robots success makes a robot important enough for this; it's too deictic, and if we factor in outside events, it's very possible that their proper debut was outside Robot Wars; look at Dantomkia for instance whose proper "debut" was somewhere in 2000. However, I do agree that Chromalot is worthy; the biggest showmen.  Adam Clark  is notable too, for the greatest number of robots from a single team, plus he appeared in some capacity for 6 Series and one Extreme.


 * On another note I agree with Crash that you jumped the gun; in the future it would be best to leave things as they are and discuss first. HOWEVER, for the sake of peacekeeping I would like to declare a CEASEFIRE on the affected pages; that is to say, no one changes the debut notes from their current state until we resolve this issue. What state they're in now is irrelevant, the pages are not unreadable, it will not hurt anyone to keep them in libmo for a little while. R A 2 ; aka Resetti's Replicas. ( My Talk ) 18:09, January 7, 2013 (UTC)


 * Whilst I don't believe that Disc-O is notable, if the consensus goes that way I'm happy for it to go back in. What we need is a proper list of those who are noteworthy for debuts and final appearances. I might just start below.


 * HOWEVER, another issue arises for teams. Take Team Cold Fusion for example, do we note their debut and Pussycat's? Or do we leave the robot's success to people's own investigations/knowledge? I think that in certain circumstances, where a team has had at least one extremely different looking robot prior to the successful robot, the team and robot can be noted.  Toon Ganondorf    (t    c)  22:27, January 7, 2013 (UTC)


 * Well, with no other discussion forthcoming, I presume that this matter has been settled and I'll now implement the decisions we've made. Thanks everyone.  Toon Ganondorf    (t    c)  00:11, January 11, 2013 (UTC)

Debut-worthy

 * Bodmin Community College
 * Panic Attack
 * Chaos 2
 * Razer
 * Tornado


 * Team Cold Fusion (& Pussycat)
 * Team Firestorm (& Firestorm)
 * Hypno-Disc
 * Big/Bigger Brother
 * Adams Family (& Wild Thing)
 * Dominator 2
 * Team Sting (& S3)
 * Dantomkia
 * Team Mace ( & Gemini - Gemini's debubt always has a note being the first clusterbot)
 * Team Scutterbots (& Spawn Again)
 * Team Big Cheese (& Wheely Big Cheese)
 * X-Terminator
 * Thermador/Thermidor 2
 * Rex Garrod

Here's where the Finalists get a bit tricky. I don't think that every single UK finalist deserves a note on their debut. Have a look at the page and you'll see some of the ones I skipped. Bulldog Breed, Atomic, Team Knightmare, Team Ivanhoe and Team 13 Black are all debuts I think could possibly make the cut, whilst St. Agro, Evil Weevil, The Grim Reaper and Gravedigger should not. Here's the remaining semi-finalists who I believe should have their debut noted.


 * Stinger - third place, high profile robot
 * Killertron - fourth place, high profile robot
 * Team Steg-A-Saw-Us - fourth place
 * Team Hurtz (& Terrorhurtz) - fourth place, high profile team
 * Team 101 - high profile team
 * King Buxton - high profile team
 * Dartford Girls Grammar - high profile team
 * Mortis - very high profile robot
 * Plunderbird - high profile robot
 * Behemoth - high profile robot.

And beyond the UK Finalists, here's a few more that I'd like to see added for high profiles.
 * Team Nemesis (& Diotoir) - do I even need to say it?
 * Sir Chromalot - high profile team
 * Ming - high profile team
 * S.M.I.D.S.Y. - high profile robot
 * The Steel Avenger - high profile team and robot

There are a number of others I'd like to consider, but only if others agree. They include Iron Awe, Robochicken, Suicidal Tendencies, The Steel Avenger, and Crushtacean.  Toon Ganondorf    (t    c)  22:27, January 7, 2013 (UTC)

Discussion area - please discuss here before removing or adding any
What do others think? If any of my choices are unpopular, I will strike them through if a consensus is reached against them, rather than deleting it entirely.  Toon Ganondorf    (t    c) 
 * Steely and Iron Awe are two that seem important to me, otherwise I think you've hit all bases. Matt Robot Wars.jpg Talk to me  22:33, January 7, 2013 (UTC)
 * I'm sorry, but I'm still struggling to see how Iron Awe and Robochicken are any more notable than Tiberius is. Like I said before, I don't have a problem with your claims, with the exception that you are not being consistent with them. If you're going to include Iron Awe or Robochicken, then you should really include Tiberius, and if you are going to discount Tiberius, you should really discount Iron Awe or Robochicken....OK? CrashBash (talk) 23:04, January 7, 2013 (UTC)


 * That's fair, but we'll see what others think before deciding which way to go (all, or none)  Toon Ganondorf    (t    c)  23:06, January 7, 2013 (UTC)


 * My decisions are based on a threshold of quality (recognizability for success or stand-out team) and quantity (length of time on Robot Wars); here are the few that I'm voting "nay"
 * Killertron: One-hit-wonder.  Plus it was the very fist episode so it had to be its debut.  Bodmin Community is notable enough to get a pass though
 * Ming: Stretching it. They had only 4 appearances and never passed Round 2, they don' meet my quality or quantity threshold.
 * Gemini: Yes to Team Mace, but Gemini is only notable for being a clusterbot, it's not a notable robot on its own merit like Razer.
 * All of the "others" except Steel Avenger. We can argue till we're blue in the face about who's more notable than whom, but I don't think any of of Tiberius, Robo, and IA pass the threshold, having reached only one heat final each, and winning one-off competitions, one of which a good chunk of the TV audience never saw, the other of which was won by riding its partner's coattails.  Steely has two heat finals, and recognizable costumes.
 * Team Sting and S3: S3's time was the shortest of any Series 5 or 6 semifinalist (except Dantomkia, who's tied with it) We decided not to give Team Sting a page, ergo the are not notable enough either.

'''R A 2 ; aka Resetti's Replicas. ( My Talk )''' 00:49, January 8, 2013 (UTC)


 * I agree with you on all points besides Killertron. I think that one heat final to the Grand Champion, one Grand Final in its own right, a top four seed (as unimpressive as that is in reality) plus being a huge name in the first two wars should merit its retirement being mentioned at the very least.  Toon Ganondorf    (t    c)  05:56, January 8, 2013 (UTC)

Final appearances
These would be exactly the same robots as listed above. However, the team issue would alter the list in that notable robots who were retired whilst the team continued would be noted. For example;


 * 101's final appearance
 * Killerhurtz's final appearance
 * Wild Thing's final appearances as its wedge

Others may follow. But I believe that the robots/teams whose debut is noted should also be the ones whose retirement is noted.  Toon Ganondorf    (t    c)  22:31, January 7, 2013 (UTC)

Discussion area - please discuss here before removing or adding any
What do others think? If any of my choices are unpopular, I will strike them through if a consensus is reached against them, rather than deleting it entirely.  Toon Ganondorf    (t    c) 

I don't believe it's notable to mention Wild Thing's last apprearance as a wedge. 101 came back as Anarchy, Killerhurtz came back as Terrorhurtz. Wild Thing came back as... Wild Thing 2. If one said 'Wild Thing' it should define all Wild Things, including the Series 6 version. No need to mention its last appearance in a certain shape. Toast Ultimatum  23:03, January 7, 2013 (UTC)


 * Sounds fair actually.  Toon Ganondorf    (t    c)  23:06, January 7, 2013 (UTC)
 * Can we set the cutoff point to the heats of Series 7? Because I think don't think it's noteworthy that a robot had its last appearance only a few episodes before the show ended. R A 2 ; aka Resetti's Replicas.  ( My Talk ) 00:56, January 8, 2013 (UTC)
 * I'd agree with this. It's kind of pointless to point out a machine's final appearance when it's likely to be obvious that this would be the case. It should be reserved for teams that actually retired before the end of the show.  ManU Crazy   (talk)  02:47, January 8, 2013 (UTC)


 * I also agree with this, the Series 7 All-Stars was the final appearance of so many (Firestorm, Bigger Brother, Panic Attack, Behemoth, King Buxton and Pussycat) that it would clutter the article.  Toon Ganondorf    (t    c)  05:57, January 8, 2013 (UTC)


 * "As the penultimate Robot Wars episode broadcasted, the All-Stars was the final televised appearance of all eight competitors in Robot Wars, however, Behemoth did take part in the House Robot Rebellion, which was actually held afterwards in real-life" doesn't exactly come across as "cluttered" to me. Just saying. It'd be less "cluttered" if the bit with Behemoth was removed, I'll grant you that... CrashBash (talk) 00:14, January 11, 2013 (UTC)
 * It's clutter because it's stating the obvious. Sure mention that the Rebellion was the very last event filmed, but anyone who can't figure out the rest themselves, well, they probably can't figure out how to turn on their computer, so nothing lost.  R A 2 ; aka Resetti's Replicas.  ( My Talk ) 02:01, January 11, 2013 (UTC)


 * Agreed.  Toon Ganondorf    (t    c)  02:29, January 11, 2013 (UTC)


 * Then shouldn't the reverse be true as well? CrashBash (talk) 08:32, January 11, 2013 (UTC)


 * Not necessarily, it seems strange to note the debuts of robots from Heats B-F but not Heat A, that was just luck of the draw. Roadblock and Nemesis' debuts were noteworthy events because they chose to enter the show. Firestorm and Panic Attack retired because the show ended. There's a marked difference there as well.  Toon Ganondorf    (t    c)  10:29, January 11, 2013 (UTC)

Robot Wars Club
Does anyone else here think it's worthwhile to create a page on the Robot Wars Club? There seems to be a fair bit of info on it strewn across the Wiki so maybe it would be a good idea to have it all on one place or something?  Stalwart UK  06:48, January 25, 2013 (UTC)
 * Be my guest if you want to try, I wouldn't know where to begin for that. Datovidny (talk) 07:42, January 25, 2013 (UTC)
 * If you think we have enough info, then feel free to make a start on it. Christophee (talk) 13:08, January 25, 2013 (UTC)

Extreme Destruction images
As people are getting round to creating pages for the robots from Extreme Destruction (PC/Xbox), somebody needs to upload images for them. Also, some of the current images need to be replaced with better quality versions. I'd do it myself, but I don't have the games installed. Christophee (talk) 16:40, January 30, 2013 (UTC)
 * I'd volunteer, but I'm guessing you're referring to mine when you say some need redoing, and I can't really get much better projection. Datovidny (talk) 17:00, January 30, 2013 (UTC)
 * Yours are some of the ones I mean, but it's because of the backgrounds. I think the images of robots in the arena look better, plus it's good if they all look similar. Christophee (talk) 19:22, January 30, 2013 (UTC)

Outside Robot Wars
I'd like to reintroduce an idea I think was raised a few years ago. Many robot introductory paragraphs are stretching far too long and far off topic when we talk about Techno Games or stuff like that. The Morgue is a prime example, three whole paragraphs of stuff worth noting but utterly irrelevant to the Morgue. I propose that we move such information from the introduction into a passage at the bottom of the article (above Trivia) for information about robots like Scallywag, Snowstorm, Storm Chaser, etc. What do you think?  Toon Ganondorf    (t    c)  23:42, February 1, 2013 (UTC)
 * I agree with this idea, and I'll be happy to help with its implementation if we decide to go ahead with it. Christophee (talk) 11:54, February 2, 2013 (UTC)
 * I support the idea too. It's getting silly how much info irrelevant to Robot Wars is cluttering the intro of so many articles.  ManU Crazy   (talk)  13:58, February 2, 2013 (UTC)
 * What do you propose as a general heading? Datovidny (talk) 16:24, February 2, 2013 (UTC)
 * How about Performances Outside of Robot Wars? Sam (BAZINGA) 21:54, February 2, 2013 (UTC)
 * Either that, Outside Robot Wars or History Outside Robot Wars.  ManU Crazy   (talk)  22:50, February 2, 2013 (UTC)


 * I like just Outside Robot Wars.  Toon Ganondorf    (t    c)  03:19, February 3, 2013 (UTC)


 * Would this also extend to post-Robot Wars performances, or purely non-championship related material? snowdog  140  10:16, February 3, 2013 (UTC)


 * I like Outside Robot Wars. Matt Robot Wars.jpg Talk to me  10:34, February 3, 2013 (UTC)


 * I'd say all non-Robot Wars competitions, past or present, i.e, Roaming Robots, Technogames, Battlebots, Robotica, plus any information on new owners or other recent machines from members of that team.  ManU Crazy   (talk)  11:25, February 3, 2013 (UTC)

This is what I've done as a test, using Revolution as the guinea pig, is this the sort of thing you were after? Datovidny (talk) 11:38, February 3, 2013 (UTC)
 * I agree with Outside Robot Wars, or Outside of Robot Wars. As for the placement, above Trivia works for me. Toast  Ultimatum  12:36, February 3, 2013 (UTC)
 * I think if we're placing it just above 'Trivia', then maybe we should move some of the other headings to the same part of the page, such as 'Recent Televised Appearance' and 'Appearances in Merchandise'. I don't think either of those belong above the 'Robot History' section. There are others that work near the top though, such as 'Armament' and 'The Team'. I'm not sure of the best place for the 'Rivalry' section though. Christophee (talk) 15:31, February 3, 2013 (UTC)

I think we should definitely go ahead with this, and I've done another test on the Mortis page. I've also moved the 'Appearances in Merchandise' just below the new section as I don't think it belongs at the top. If people don't like that, we can move it back to the top. Does everything think we should start rolling this out? Christophee (talk) 12:28, March 5, 2013 (UTC)

Happy Birthday and other news
In the first place, Happy 5th Birthday Robot Wars Wiki! Ragnabot will start later on today, with the first 10 qualifiers.

In other important news, Madlooney spotted this earlier. In short Roaming Robots are merging with the old Robot Wars LLC. So where does this leave us? In my opinion, the first live event that occurs under the Robot Wars rebrand, we need to start updating the Wiki, as it is now of our concern. Opinions? Matt Talk to me  09:47, February 18, 2013 (UTC)
 * Sorry, bumping this, as it appears it may have got lost underneath all the Ragnabot stuff. Matt Robot Wars.jpg Talk to me  12:21, February 18, 2013 (UTC)
 * I can't read it as I'm not on Facebook. Christophee (talk) 12:28, February 18, 2013 (UTC)
 * Can you this? Sam (BAZINGA) 13:06, February 18, 2013 (UTC)
 * Yeah, that's great. Thanks. Having read the article, I agree with Matt that the new Robot Wars should be treated as the same brand, so therefore this wiki should deal with it. Very exciting times. Christophee (talk) 13:14, February 18, 2013 (UTC)

I read it earlier today, and found it quite interesting. First of all, how do we plan to "update" the wiki for this? Secondly, with any hope, I'll try and get Peril Penguin 2 ready for an upcoming Robot Wars event, and fight representing the wiki! Datovidny (talk) 14:37, February 18, 2013 (UTC)
 * I think we should wait until it's all been confirmed and we have more details before we decide what changes we're going to make. We don't know what format the new competitions will take, or whether we should treat it as a direct continuation of the series, or a completely different competition under the same name. Christophee (talk) 15:04, February 18, 2013 (UTC)
 * Agreed with Christophee. A wiki robot would be amazing, I'd turn up in support for sure. Matt Robot Wars.jpg Talk to me  16:14, February 18, 2013 (UTC)
 * Of course, we don't have to update in accordance with this; we don't provide information on the American TV show 'Robot Wars', which uses the Robot Wars logo. Indeed, we'll wait and see what happens with Robot Wars 2013. Toast  Ultimatum  17:12, February 18, 2013 (UTC)

Today is also Robot Arena 2's 10th birthday, funny how that happens. About this new development, let's only include the televised competitions if/when they happen. '''R A 2 ; aka Resetti's Replicas. ( My Talk )''' 18:06, February 18, 2013 (UTC)

I'm sorry I haven't been able to contribute much. Connection problems have really been an issue lately. I assure you, I will have my special Robot Wars wikia 5th birthday list up as soon as I can. As for the news, I am cautiously interested. CrashBash (talk) 20:50, February 18, 2013 (UTC)


 * This is a very exciting development! It's fantastic to think that the Wiki will stop being a retrospective story and cater to a new audience!


 * I also agree with RA2 about what to cover. But imagine if they were making a new series - who would be seeded ooooooh.  Toon Ganondorf    (t    c)  23:51, February 18, 2013 (UTC)

Right, John Findlay has announced that the Robot Wars rebrand is effective as of the next event, so it's decision time - do we cover the live events, or shall we only cover the revived Robot Wars in the event that it is broadcast? Matt Talk to me  16:34, February 27, 2013 (UTC)
 * I'm sticking to my guns, in-between series of the original RW, they had officially sponsored live events but we don't cover those. From a subjective practicality standpoint, here are the reasons I'm against it:


 * It's recent enough that spoilers will be an issue. They sell DVD's of the events, so it seems undermining, disrespectful, and cutting straight into their profit margin, to do so.
 * The format is confusing, I think it's round robin or points based, something unstructured is my point.
 * Copyrighted pictures, the owners are more likely to have an issue with us taking them because they're so recent, and it's simply impossible on a free encyclopedia to prevent every naif from uploading them.
 * If it's on TV that'll be a different issue since it's customary that people all over the internet will be discussing it the day after, but till then it's going to be a case of biting off more than we can chew. R A 2 ; aka Resetti's Replicas. ( My Talk ) 17:24, February 27, 2013 (UTC)

I'm in partial agreement with RA2, if you look at the Roaming Robots Wiki, everything is a little all-over-the-place, and having so much potentail info and so few users has made things difficult to contain. I don't think they use the point system anymore, merely one battle-heats. Mind you, with the FRA forum and Youtube links, we can always try to keep up with what's going on with Robot Wars, we have plenty of users that can keep tracking the roboteers' youtube channels for new clips, and keep checking the FRA forum for upcoming events and event results (well, I'm already doing that). So, we could do it, but we'd need more users than just me willing to help with this. Datovidny (talk) 17:45, February 27, 2013 (UTC)

MicroGravity100 is a youtube user that uploads event videos and I'm subscribed to him. I can put the videos of the new robot wars in a new playlist just for the new robot wars. Sam (BAZINGA) 18:14, February 27, 2013 (UTC)

I'm going to agree with RA2 on this. The wiki has always dealt specifically with the TV series. If we extend to the newest live events, then I think we'll also have to go back and include all other live events that have used the Robot Wars name, particularly the original US competition. Christophee (talk) 18:38, February 27, 2013 (UTC)
 * Of course your word is the final one, but I feel that we continue to note the robots' performances in Robot Wars events in a new section. Also, the main page is going to need slight rewording, and I feel we should note on the Robot Wars page that the brand is now still going. Datovidny (talk) 19:53, February 27, 2013 (UTC)
 * I agree that this should be mentioned on the main Robot Wars page. Maybe we can have a page about the live shows, detailing how the Robot Wars brand has returned and in what capacity, and possibly a list of winners, but not in the same detail that we have for the TV series. Christophee (talk) 20:41, February 27, 2013 (UTC)
 * I agree with this. Matt Robot Wars.jpg Talk to me  21:11, February 27, 2013 (UTC)

My main reason for voting 'no coverage' is that all the battles won't necessarily be uploaded by YouTube, and there's no way we can be expected to attend all the shows that don't get filmed, so there'd be lots of times where we're clueless what happened in a battle. Toast Ultimatum  20:19, February 27, 2013 (UTC)
 * We could ask John Findley or other roboters to film the events for us. Sam (BAZINGA) 22:09, February 27, 2013 (UTC)
 * I don't think that that is necessary, as everything is already filmed. Given time, I think it may be worth talking to John Findlay, to try and form a rapport though. Matt Robot Wars.jpg Talk to me  22:22, February 27, 2013 (UTC)
 * I think getting the whole Outside of Robot Wars idea rolled out is the best bet, because then we effectively have unlimited space to talk about these new competitions. I think we should stick to the policy we have at the moment, insofar as we focus on the live show, but happily mention live show performances and/or events in passing. That said though, I'm going to start a new debate here. We already cover so many points of the fandom that maybe making reports of live events that occurred during the show's run may not be such a bad idea. They feature robots that competed on tv, and those that didn't make it that far, so there's not really any new robots to research, plus a lot of the information is readily available on archived websites. If making individual pages for each event isn't ideal (and personally I don't think it is), then maybe a Non-televised history tab could work on roboteer pages too. snowdog  140  04:29, February 28, 2013 (UTC)

My attempt at creating a new heading for stuff outside Robot Wars is still on the Revolution page, this is something that can be used for stuff like Roaming Robots attendances, Techno Games, etc. etc. but we could also have another new heading on articles for robots competing in the new Robot Wars, briefly mentioning how they've done in particular events and championships, to the same level of detail that we've been using for the Roaming Robots stuff. As for the title of this new section, Snowdog140's Non-televised history isn't bad, or something like New Robot Wars (Post 2013). What does everybody think about this? Datovidny (talk) 17:14, February 28, 2013 (UTC)


 * Worth a try.--Nononsensecapeesh (talk) 16:51, March 3, 2013 (UTC)
 * I say we should go ahead with the 'Outside Robot Wars' sections across the wiki, and I'd also be happy to support a 'Non-televised history' section to cover non-televised Robot Wars events, including the new ones. If we can find enough info, then maybe we could have a 'Live events' article too, with basic details of all the live Robot Wars events across the years. Christophee (talk) 13:10, March 4, 2013 (UTC)
 * The thing on Mortis looks ace, Christohee, it'll look good on other pages. Sam (BAZINGA) 18:39, March 5, 2013 (UTC)

Robot Wars Live Events
I think we should have a page covering the Robot Wars Live Events, including any live events held while the show was running, and the new ones that started this year. We don't need to go into any great detail, but it would be good to have some information about them. Does anybody know anything about any of the old live events? I only really know of their existence because of passing comments made by people on the wiki. Christophee (talk) 21:24, March 22, 2013 (UTC)
 * Is this of any use? It has all the fights of Robot Wars 2013 Portsmouth event. Sam (BAZINGA) 21:37, March 22, 2013 (UTC)
 * The competitors are useful as we can add the new category I created to the relevant pages. I don't think we should publish all the results though. Christophee (talk) 21:45, March 22, 2013 (UTC)
 * I have a book with some info on an official "Robot Wars Live Event" from 2001. Googling around reveals some interesting stuff too.  Stalwart UK  23:26, March 22, 2013 (UTC)
 * I tried Google but I wasn't able to find anything. What did you type in? Christophee (talk) 13:39, March 23, 2013 (UTC)
 * "Robot Wars Live Event" (with the speech marks).  Stalwart UK  13:57, March 23, 2013 (UTC)
 * Just found this. Sam (BAZINGA) 14:21, March 23, 2013 (UTC)
 * According to his old user page, Nononsensecapeesh once attended a live event in Birmingham during the filming of Series 5/Extreme 1. Hopefully he can give us some insight. Christophee (talk) 14:30, March 23, 2013 (UTC)
 * I've also found this article, which tells us when the live tour started, and I've noticed official programmes from the live events listed on ebay. Christophee (talk) 14:42, March 23, 2013 (UTC)

US Robot Wars robots category
Shouldn't we have a category for robots that also competed in the original 1994-7 Robot Wars in the US? Robots off the top of my head that would fit include WYSIWYG, frenZy and The Mauler.  Stalwart UK  17:39, March 27, 2013 (UTC)
 * I see no reason to disagree. I'm not sure what the exact title should be though. Christophee (talk) 20:08, March 27, 2013 (UTC)
 * 1994-1997 US Robot Wars competitors? I can't think of anything that works better than that.  Stalwart UK  15:48, March 30, 2013 (UTC)
 * I can't think of anything better either. I think that will do fine. Christophee (talk) 16:15, March 30, 2013 (UTC)

Mythological names
I've noticed that several robots were named after figures from mythology, such as Zeus, Hydra, Thor etc. I was thinking that we could create a category for these robots, but I wasn't sure whether it would really be noteworthy enough. What do people think? Christophee (talk) 15:05, March 28, 2013 (UTC)
 * There's enough robots with mythical names to warrant a category in my opinion. Sam (BAZINGA) 15:38, March 28, 2013 (UTC)
 * I think it's certainly worth a shot. More so than any other possible category, except maybe animal themed. CrashBash (talk) 15:41, March 28, 2013 (UTC)
 * I'm in favour of that. Toast  Ultimatum  16:59, March 28, 2013 (UTC)
 * Absolutely, surprised we don't have this already. Matt Robot Wars.jpg Talk to me  18:25, March 28, 2013 (UTC)
 * As long as it's worded nicely, I'm in favour. Datovidny (talk) 18:53, March 28, 2013 (UTC)

As people seem to be in favour, I'm going to go ahead with it. There are two things I want to clear up first though. Christophee (talk) 19:23, March 28, 2013 (UTC)
 * Firstly, the name. I'm thinking something like 'Robots with mythological names' because I can't think of a better way to put it. If anyone has any other ideas, please suggest them here.
 * Also, some of the fictional robots from the video games have mythological names, so should we include them in the category too?
 * Subcategory perhaps? Split them up from the real robots for sure. Robots with mythological names with subcategory Fictional Robots with mythological names. Matt Robot Wars.jpg Talk to me  19:41, March 28, 2013 (UTC)
 * Sounds good to me. I'll do it exactly like that tomorrow, assuming I get no objections. Christophee (talk) 20:47, March 28, 2013 (UTC)
 * Useful Christophee? Sam (BAZINGA) 21:09, March 28, 2013 (UTC)
 * Yes indeed. Thank you for that. For some reason I thought there were more than three fictional robots that fit the bill, but if those really are the only three, then I'm not sure a category for the fictional ones is particularly worthwhile. Christophee (talk) 23:30, March 28, 2013 (UTC)

Craig Charles episode sign-offs
I've noticed that some of the episode pages have the Craig Charles sign-offs at the bottom, which I think is quite a good idea, and could potentially be extended to every episode page. What does everyone else think? Christophee (talk) 19:10, May 8, 2013 (UTC)
 * I'm all in favour. Toast  Ultimatum  19:17, May 8, 2013 (UTC)
 * The more the merrier.  Stalwart UK  21:46, May 8, 2013 (UTC)
 * I'll add the Series 7 ones as I go through adding images and quotes. I guess we should add this as a project on the Job List. Christophee (talk) 22:05, May 8, 2013 (UTC)
 * I have done Series 2,3,4,5,6,7 and Extreme 2 plus any special episodes. However I have not done Extreme 1 for two reasons. I am not sure where to put them as specific episodes only have category pages, and I have struggled to find the videos on youtube anyway. J  im laa  d4   3 (talk) 19:34, August 26, 2013 (UTC)
 * Good work, Jimlaad. The Extreme episodes are on the BBCRobotWarsUK channel with the rest of the episodes. I'm not sure there's much you can do with the sign-offs though as all we currently have is the Episode Guide. I guess we could add a section to that for the sign-offs, but I'm not sure. Christophee (talk) 22:25, August 26, 2013 (UTC)

I accidentally made some edits while not signed in.
I made 49 edits while adding some categories before noticing I was not signed in. This is the page showing them http://robotwars.wikia.com/wiki/Special:Contributions/2.97.119.182 I am trying to get my edits up by using useful contributions to get Arena privileges. Is there anyway to move these edits to my account or am I going to have to live with my mistake. Much appreciated. Jimlaad43 (talk) 10:05, July 12, 2013 (UTC)
 * I hate to break this to you, but I don't think what you're doing, even if the ones you made whilst not signed in are counted, count as "mainstream contributions", which is what you really need to do to get in. Sorry. CrashBash (talk) 10:12, July 12, 2013 (UTC)
 * No need to be sorry, if what I'm doing is the wrong idea, then I can change my editing habits. Point still stands, if I or anyone makes unsigned edits, how can they be counted?Jimlaad43 (talk) 10:24, July 12, 2013 (UTC)
 * If you're keeping track of your path to 500 edits, you can always point these edits out to a bureaucrat. I'm not sure why CrashBash told you that, adding a category to a mainspace article counts as an edit. Toast  Ultimatum  11:22, July 12, 2013 (UTC)
 * The problem is that as the wiki continues, it keeps getting filled up and harder to make edits, apart from a few small grammatical changes. Stuff I own, like most of the magazines, some games, all the pullbacks and a few minibots have strong articles, so it is tough to make lots of significant edits. Jimlaad43 (talk) 11:47, July 12, 2013 (UTC)
 * Adding a category to an article does count as a main space edit, and we have included users' IP contributions in the past, so I think we can do that again this time. My concern with your contributions is the notability of these categories you have been creating. Some of them are a bit iffy, and in future I would definitely prefer you to discuss your ideas for new categories with the community before creating them. Christophee (talk) 12:38, July 12, 2013 (UTC)
 * Also, small edits like, judge's decision to judges' decision, and for the dutch series, judges'/judge's decision to jurys' decision are simple fixes. If you want something more meaningful, which could gain you entry to the arena on a 'wildcard' would be to change all the stats in episode pages from wikitables to stats templates. RelicRaider (talk) 14:57, July 12, 2013 (UTC)
 * OK, I shall discuss any new categories first. Also, I might try to add some of Craig Charles' sign offs. Jimlaad43 (talk) 14:59, July 12, 2013 (UTC)
 * Also, while there isn't quite as much to do as say, 3-4 years ago, there are still 71 stubs, 34 pages that need images , and six Special:Wantedpages , of which I'd say the Robot Wars Club and Malfunction are the ones with the most likely for users to be able to start on. Also, several weapon pages are incomplete, as many robots in that weapon's category aren't on the list.  ManU Crazy   (talk)  15:13, July 12, 2013 (UTC)

Extreme Destruction Robot Pages
I've noticed a bit of a problem recently. The pages are perfectly fine when I click on a link that leads to them. But when I type in the name on the search bar, and click on the drop down menu, e.g. 101/Robot Wars Extreme Destruction(PC/Xbox) then the page turns huge, and is right at the bottom with the template, differences from real life section where you can't scroll upwards. It's weird because this only ever happens when I use the searchbar, and only happens to robot pages from that game. I'm just wondering if anyone else has this problem, and if theres anyway we can fix it. Just try typing in 101 and selecting that from the drop down menu and see what happens. RelicRaider (talk) 10:23, July 14, 2013 (UTC)
 * The page loads fine for me. Either there's something wrong on your end, or it's been fixed now. Christophee (talk) 12:04, July 14, 2013 (UTC)
 * I took a screenshot.

Yeah, that's what happened when I clicked on the drop down menu option for the extreme destruction version of 101. It happens for every tv series robot, but I'm not sure about the fictional ones. RelicRaider (talk) 14:18, July 14, 2013 (UTC)
 * Do you have that white Wikia all the time? I have it at college, but not at home. Toast  Ultimatum  15:57, July 14, 2013 (UTC)
 * Well I don't have it like that if that's what you mean, but if we're talking about the actual skin all of the time, then yeah, I have it in default white. With the adds or two thick black lines around the outside. RelicRaider (talk) 17:05, July 14, 2013 (UTC)

Hypno-Disc or Hypno Disc
Do people on this wiki prefer Hypno-Disc to be spelt with a Hyphen or not? I decided to ask people before changing all I found because the page has 'Hypno Disc' as an alternative spelling. Jimlaad43 (talk) 05:54, July 20, 2013 (UTC)
 * Hypno-Disc is the official spelling though it may have occasionaly been shown as the other one. I've also seen it rendered sometimes as just "Hypnodisc". See this screenshot from Arenas of Destruction for an example.  Stalwart UK  06:37, July 20, 2013 (UTC)
 * So should I go through the Wiki and change it in battle descriptions and trivia etc? I'm happy to do it. Jimlaad43 (talk) 08:49, July 20, 2013 (UTC)
 * If you could make all mentions of the robot across the wiki consistent, then that would be great. Christophee (talk) 12:19, July 20, 2013 (UTC)
 * OK, shall do. Jimlaad43 (talk) 12:21, July 20, 2013 (UTC)

Robots with TV or Film names
As a new category (with a better name than that), it does contain quite a few robots. Robots like Vader, IG-88, Scutter's Revenge, Arnold A. Terminegger etc would fit into it. It could include sub categories like 'Red Dwarf references' in line with Craig Charles as a presenter. Jimlaad43 (talk) 05:54, July 20, 2013 (UTC)
 * I quite like the idea, although I agree that it needs a better name. I can't think of a good one right now though. Christophee (talk) 12:21, July 20, 2013 (UTC)
 * Robots named after elements of TV or film? I have created a big (and hopefully comprehensive) list of all robots to fall in this category for when we decide on a decent name. Jimlaad43 (talk) 14:05, July 20, 2013 (UTC)
 * How about something like 'Robots with names based on films or television'? Christophee (talk) 17:34, July 20, 2013 (UTC)
 * 'Robots with names based on film and television' sounds a little better in my opinion. Toast  Ultimatum  18:00, July 20, 2013 (UTC)
 * 'Robots with names based on film and television', OK done. Just a quick question, do you think Shear Khan should go in this category or not? Jimlaad43 (talk) 18:11, July 20, 2013 (UTC)
 * Are you counting names which were in books first, then film? If so, then include Shear Khan. Christophee (talk) 22:36, July 20, 2013 (UTC)

Can anybody tell me whose in these
On the bottom of some pages, there is trivia stating that 7 robots have smashed the arena wall and 4 have come back to life while being counted out. Can we compile a little list of all members of these categories please. Jimlaad43 (talk) 05:54, July 20, 2013 (UTC)

7 robots to smash the arena wall 4 robots to come back to life while being counted out
 * Typhoon 2 (One of two full bodied spinners)
 * Warhog (the other full body spinner)
 * Matilda (only House Robot to manage it)
 * Topbot
 * 13 Black
 * S3
 * Hydra, c/o Gravity
 * Supernova
 * Armadrillo
 * Maximus (though it only moved its weapon)
 * Alienator

Added the ones I've been able to find/think of. I haven't been able to find the seventh robot to smash the arena wall.  Stalwart UK  06:34, July 20, 2013 (UTC)
 * Hydra. Matt Robot Wars.jpg Talk to me  07:56, July 20, 2013 (UTC)

Multi-User Userboxes
Would it be a good idea to post completed userboxes on a page which many users could use? This way, if many people are, for example, Formula 1 fans, then they could all use the same colour scheme and photos for consistency. For example, I have made this one for my profile:

If you think it is a good idea, please write underneath. J im laa  d4   3 (talk) 12:47, July 30, 2013 (UTC)
 * I don't really use userboxes myself, but I have no objection to this idea. Christophee (talk) 19:39, July 30, 2013 (UTC)
 * Same, I'm indifferent with userboxes, but I think it's part of the fun creating a userboxes with a personal or different image. Either way, I think that if other users don't know how to make them or would just like to use that one or don't want to go through the hassle of making another one, then it can be useful. So it's a thumbs up from me. RelicRaider (talk) 19:53, July 30, 2013 (UTC)
 * Well, for me, I got the Red Dwarf fan box fro someones page (can't remember who). So, here is a page for generic userboxes. I will start with some of mine and others can add it. Userboxes. J  im laa  d4   3 (talk) 19:58, July 30, 2013 (UTC)

UK Annihilator champions
I know Razer & Spikasaurus and Pussycat & Disc-O-Inferno were Annihilator champions in the same series, but when they are written in the Honours as champs, they are put in pairs as if there was a tie. the Northern Annihilator happened before the Southern one, so Spikasaurus should be written as the first, Razer the second, Pussyat third, Disc-O-Inferno fourth and Kan-Opener fifth. Either this should be done, or the pages on the tied champs should mention the other on the honours list ie: on the Disc-O-Inferno page, it should mention in the honours box that Pussycat won the other Extreme 1 annihilator. J im laa  d4   3 (talk) 19:56, July 30, 2013 (UTC)
 * How about changing it to 'Spikasaurus (Northern) & Razer (Southern)' in all the relevant honours boxes? Christophee (talk) 13:58, July 31, 2013 (UTC)
 * And 'Pussycat (Annihilator 1) & Disc-O-Inferno (Annihilator 2)'. I still think they should be separated though. J  im laa  d4   3 (talk) 14:03, July 31, 2013 (UTC)

Terminology Template
I think it would be a good idea to have, at the bottom of the clusterbot and gentleman's aggrement pages for example, a template that lists the terminology pages already listed on the Category:Terminology page(sorry, the link doesn't seem to show up on this page), well at least the pages listed in the bottom category. I don't actually know how to make templates, so if we agree on adding them, then can someone else add them? RelicRaider (talk) 18:07, August 4, 2013 (UTC)
 * Making a template is no trouble for me. Could you post a list of what needs to go in it, then I can make it for you. Toast  Ultimatum  18:56, August 4, 2013 (UTC)
 * Ok, here's the list:


 * Axlebots
 * Clusterbots
 * Failsafe
 * Gentleman's Agreement
 * Hazard immobilisation
 * Invertible Robots
 * Loanerbots
 * Removable Links
 * Reserve Robots
 * Seeding
 * Self-inflicted immobilisation
 * Self-righting mechanism
 * Shortest Battles in UK Robot Wars
 * Stock Robots
 * Thrown Out of the Arena
 * Tracked Robots
 * Walkerbots
 * Wedges
 * Weight Classes

There's the full list, I didn't include weapon types as that already has its own template, and I also didn't include the Combat Robot Hall of Fame, but you can add that if you want. RelicRaider (talk) 12:05, August 5, 2013 (UTC)

Front page
Hey everyone, it's come to my attention that, once again, it's been a significant period of time since the front page was updated. It's a shame that the front of our wiki is stagnating, because it used to be so good. I feel that it's only fair to blame myself for this, as it was traditionally my job; however real life caught up with me a long time ago, and now keeping The Arena ticking over is all I really have time to contribute to the wiki. Would anyone (preferably an existing admin or 'crat) be willing to take control of this to make sure we have fresh content every month?

Actually, come to think of it, I think I could flesh out this role a little more. Our selected front page manager would select an article to be a featured article a month ahead of time, highlight that article's weaknesses and, in the month between selection and appearing on the front of the mainpage, special effort should be put into improving this article by all editors so that it is of the highest quality possible for its appearance on the front page. That way we can have clear targets for improvement to drive up standards of our most important pages.

Thanks for wading through this wall of text, and, if anyone's interested in such a role, could they let me know? Matt Talk to me  21:36, August 5, 2013 (UTC)
 * I know I'm not a beuraucrat or an admin, but I think I could take on the job if you give me a very little tutorial, as I know some good articles (the fourth wars heat J and B are ripe for the picking) and videos to use, also I could update the trivia and the polls. I figure I'm probably a last resort as I don't meet any of the main criteria, but I could be a reserve or a substitute if needed. RelicRaider (talk) 22:40, August 5, 2013 (UTC)


 * I might be able to edit the main page every month as I spend lots of time on my laptop. Sam (BAZINGA) 22:56, August 5, 2013 (UTC)
 * There's no reason why non-admins wouldn't be able to do the job, as there is no admin-only protection on the page at the moment. We just need somebody who is responsible, who knows how to edit the page, and who will be committed to keeping it updated. Christophee (talk) 16:09, August 6, 2013 (UTC)
 * I didn't realize that there wasn't a no admin-protection on the main page, Christophee. As long I keep court of the days since the last change, I should remember to change the things on the main page. Sam (BAZINGA) 17:26, August 6, 2013 (UTC)

Robots with messages written on the bottom
Should we add a category for this, Robots with messages written on their bases? Before we plough ahead on to this if enough people think it is applicable, I think, making a list of them and their message would be good. Any others, feel free to add them and their message. Even if we don't add the category, I would like to see the list. J im laa  d4   3 (talk) 19:29, August 26, 2013 (UTC) Robots I can think of and their messages. (Pitbull, P.T.O.) (Knightmare, Who needs a srimech) (Corkscrew, No Pants) (Panic Attack, Hello Mum) (The Steel Avenger, Who did that?) (ICU, I'll be back)
 * Thing 2 had a message on the bottom. I'm pretty sure there was a robot that confessed its love for Matilda on the bottom. Hassocks Hog 2 maybe? I don't think it counts with Killerkat, as that was invertible. If we included invertible robots, then we'd be forced to include robots like Storm II, which had "Storm II" on the bottom. Toast  Ultimatum  21:14, August 26, 2013 (UTC)
 * It was Hellbent actually (Matilda, will you marry me?) CrashBash (talk) 21:17, August 26, 2013 (UTC)
 * I don't know, seems like adding a category for the sake of adding a category to me, I don't think it'd be that useful in linking robots together. RelicRaider (talk) 21:38, August 26, 2013 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the suggestion Jim, but I am against the move, as I feel that it would be a pretty uninteresting and redundant thing to create a category about.  ManU Crazy   (talk)  01:46, August 27, 2013 (UTC)
 * Agreed. We don't need a category for every little detail. Christophee (talk) 12:19, August 27, 2013 (UTC)

Linking to another wiki
Seeing as Techno Games is Robot Wars sister show and before Roaming Robots was renamed Robot Wars by John Findley, could the pages of robots that competed in Techno Games and Roaming Robots have links to their page on those wikis? Links to the British robots pages on the BattleBots wiki would be good as well.

I'm asking because of the Ben Ten wiki has had Crossovers with Generator Rex and The Secret Saturdays and each character from the other two shows has a page on the main Ben Ten wiki but has a link at the bottom of the page leading to their page on their respective wiki. Sam (BAZINGA) 18:34, August 30, 2013 (UTC)
 * I think it's a good idea, particularly for robots which are better known for those shows. Christophee (talk) 17:12, August 31, 2013 (UTC)
 * I have no objections per se, with the condition that the pages being linked to are of decent quality, because Techno Games, Roaming Robots and BattleBots Wikis are hit and miss on quality. Matt Robot Wars.jpg Talk to me  18:03, August 31, 2013 (UTC)