Forum:Famine goes to Wikia

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As some of you know, I recently took a trip to Menlo Park, California to speak at Wikia on a number of topics, including our beloved Uncyclopedia. Since at least some of you are wondering about how it went, I figured I'd take the time to cough up a little writeup.

Entry to the Sacred Halls

To start, the corporate headquarters of Wikia are far less impressive than one might imagine. The place is basically a couple of offices and a few conference rooms bolted onto a server farm. Really. Check the pic out - the brown part is the offices - the white thing in the back is a massive building which houses the servers.

I got a tour of the server farm - if you're a computer whore, and like quantity over quality, this place is for you! The number of machines in there is truly staggering. By far the biggest farm I've ever been in. And nary a cow to be seen!

Inside the office-part of Wikia, I was not so impressed. It's small, cramped, and not at all impressive. As an example of how unimpressive it is, here's a picture of the hallway leading to the Speaker's Lounge, where I got to hang out before my big presentation.

The Speaker's Lounge is.....also not very impressive. I guess it counts as a "lounge", as it had comfortable chairs and some light refreshments, but it didn't count as "lounge" in the "cigar smoke, liquor, and poker" items that I usually associate with a lounge. Still, it was decent. I mean, the water and soda was free at least. And it had a couch.

The Presentation

Basically, I was asked to give the people-who-be a quick rundown on where we are as a wiki, our needs, and some of the challenges we face. It was a fairly quick presentation - I honestly spent about 2 hours on business for a 3 day trip. I mean, it was all business, and no money was wasted flying me to CA and setting me up in a decent hotel, taking me to dinner, etc. I swear.

While they had some questions, there was nothing really technical - as our hosting company, they pretty much know where we are in terms of usage and hardware. About the only thing they don't really see is what it looks like from an outside perspective. Which was where I came in. For the most part, the people I talked to were a bunch of nameless suits. (Sorry guys.) I did get a chance to briefly talk to Gil, who while seemingly a good candidate for a CEO, is not all that skilled in using a wiki. Different skill sets, I hope. But he does have a link to us on his userpage! He can't be all bad, I guess.

There was one rather awkward moment, when one of the semi-important guys there started asking me about a specific ban I had handed out....turns out I had banned some corporate exec from Wikia about a week before I flew down! Luckily I'm pretty good at smoothing things over, and explained that my primary job is to safeguard existing content. Told them that due to the nature of this wiki, someone unfamiliar with how we do business and what our goals are might quickly find themselves working against our stated purpose. I got a laugh when I finished it with "and some of the users we have the biggest problem with are ones who think they know what they are doing, and disregard instructions because their business card ends with "something something O"".

Anyway, other than that it was pretty mundane. They know what we need, and are trying to make it happen. While they are still trying to really grasp what Uncyclopedia is, and what we're doing, they know wikis, and from that technical standpoint they are pretty good.

Heading Out

While heading out I figured that I should take at least one souvenir from Wikia. Since they didn't have a gift shop, I helped myself...

I had another day to bomb around CA, so I took in some sight-seeing. Nothing too exciting - Menlo Park is actually a really small place - I think the population is like 30,000 or something. But a lot of tech business are headquartered near there. I did refresh my dork-tank by visiting the Stanford Particle Accelerator while I was out there. Nothing like a bigass piece of scientific equipment to make me smile. I need to get one of those....

Home

Got in Thursday night, and played the jet-lag game today. Pretty much good to go now, and the pretty souvenir looks great next to my computer. Here's to hoping that they fly me out there again sometime soon.

Sir Famine, Gun ♣ Petition » 01:53, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

Questions, Comments?

Did you greet Gil with a nose pinching? He seems to like that. -- Imrealized ...hmm? 07:10, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

lol -- mowgli 09:16, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

I totally forgot about that. Will do so next time. Although I'd better bring the picture just in case. Sir Famine, Gun ♣ Petition » 14:07, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

You should have handed out a few bannings while you were there. In fact you should have gone in full 4 Horsemen regalia and cracked some skulls. Then they would have realised what you're we're all about. 10:49, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

I was limited to one carry-on bag, no animals. Sir Famine, Gun ♣ Petition » 14:02, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

That's an awesome story: adventure, excitement, Famine fortune... who could ask for anything more? (Does anyone else feel sorry for Wikia having their one and only corporate sign telling people what company they're working for being taken by Famine?)--<<>> 14:44, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

They had other signs - they were just firmly affixed to the walls or far too large to slide into a backpack. I was depressed that they didn't have mugs with their logo on it - that would have been my first choice. I'd have dumped out all the hotel shampoos to make room for as many of those as I could have gotten away with. As it was, they just had styrofoam and paper cups kicking around. Depressing, really. Sir Famine, Gun ♣ Petition » 14:48, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

Ponies! --Roger The Bum Full sig!

<a href="http://rdoger6424.jaywebdesigns.com/recipient.php">psychotomimetic</a>

CLICK HERE!!!!!!!! 02:38, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

Strange, I always thought the Wikia building was some sort of magnificent golden palace where the gods dwell. What a shame. --General Insineratehymn 17:17, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

Stole their sign... you badass, you.   t o m p k i n s  blah. ﺞوﻦ וףה ՃՄ ண்ஸ ފއހ วอฏม +տ trade websites 19:33, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

Good job bad ass Famine! --The Zombiebaron 20:07, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

That looks like it was a great trip. We talked with the Wikia crew about 4000 miles from there (Chron, Keitei, and I) a little over a month ago. » Brig Sir Dawg | t | v | c » 21:55, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

Interesting to note that lemon tea is your drink of choice as you let loose with the banstick. Who would have known? Unless that's a Coke in there, I suppose. Hmmm. 00:00, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

Lemon tea....haliarous! Those are somewhat old limes seen in bad lighting through a thick mug against a brown table and black keyboard. Note the splash of green visible at the bottom of the mug. The Bombay Gin, ice, and tonic are all gone. Only the limes remain. That, my friend, is the elixer of life. I can drink them all day and all night. If you see me issuing harsh bans, that's usually an indication that I switched over to scotch. Sir Famine, Gun ♣ Petition » 02:51, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

Wow, you use KDE, just like me! What distribution is it? - Sikon 15:36, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

See my edits to Gentoo for answers. Sir Famine, Gun ♣ Petition » 22:45, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

Linux rawks. KDE is indeed "kool", though I like fluxbox too. ~ T. (talk) 19:54, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

Truthiness, At Last!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA (this is clearly the MOST inside joke EVER. famine, you owe them an explaination :P ) --Chronarion 15:20, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

I owe them nothing but contempt.

Ok, so maybe I owe them a little more. I guess 4 days of fun is enough for me. Back to work.

Speaking of "inside" jokes, here is a picture of my living room, leading into the hall:

Here is a picture of the main hallway in my Apt, leading into my office:

And here is the un-cropped picture of my desk.

Wondering why I have a half a Wikipedia sign, even though I've never been anywhere near Wikia or Wikipedia? See this post for information. Sir Famine, Gun ♣ Petition » 22:45, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

Even he doesn't know, Chron! It's like an onion, with layers of in-jokes... » Brig Sir Dawg | t | v | c » 22:51, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

I suspected SOMETHING when all the pictures were of the same sign...--<<>> 22:56, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

Damn you, Famine! Why must you tease our curiosity like this!? I thought I would see the great, gilded hallways and corridors inside the palace of Wikia! :( --General Insineratehymn 23:32, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

I have only inklings of where the sign originally came from. It seems to have a rather....shady past. I'm told that only Dawg and Chronarion know the real truth. Harass them if you really want to know. I honestly do not know the full history.

Early on, I told Chron that I was fine with no prize, since I'd be coming back here prize or not. Told him to let the n00b have the whole thing, and I'd just make up some sort of fake prize and make a big post about it. Chron insisted that he send me half, with the primary reason being, "because I really want to cut it in half". I will never be able to argue with such logic.

So, since I had promised to post a massive spread of "fake prize" before he forced the real prize on me, I decided to take Chron's prize and wrap it up as best I could. All it took was an hour or two, a digital camera, and two large drinks. Came out decently well. Hope you enjoyed the misinformation and lies, since that's what this place is all about. Sir Famine, Gun ♣ Petition » 23:48, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

He wanted to cut it in half from the beginning and not due to an ultimate two winners. And yes, the past is a bit shady. » Brig Sir Dawg | t | v | c » 01:52, 20 September 2006 (UTC)

Heh, I was a bit suspicious as to why you removed this part of Dawg's message. Good work! • Spang • ☃ • talk • 06:54, 20 September 2006 (UTC)

I would nominate this for VFH if I didn't know how much you loathe incessant voting, Famine. Freaking great show with a better twist ending than Sixth Sense, Fight Club, and Titanic combined. I'm still laughing. -- Imrealized ...hmm? 07:46, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

I'm apathetic about voting right up to the point where people start taking it seriously. Once they start getting all bitchy about it, and that spills into other bits of the site, I get irritatible. If you think this is that great, go ahead and list it. I'd vote for it - one picture has the remains of limes in a glass, and that always gets my vote. Anyway, I spend so much time doing crap work here that once in awhile I feel the need to do something worthwhile. What I love about this site is that I can legitimently call this worthwhile. Sir Famine, Gun ♣ Petition » 20:48, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

I'd make it an unbook and send the comments and the explanation to the disscusion. It might have a chance. The joke isn't funny couse it's to injoke, but the story is still really amusing. I would vote fot it.---Asteroid B612 (aka Rataube) - Ñ 11:07, 25 September 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, I really enjoyed reading it also. :) --Nerd42eMailTalkUnMetaWPediah2g2 20:10, 22 September 2006 (UTC)

I bought it - but I wondered why the pictures were so nondescript and especially why you only ever showed half of the sign... —rc (t) 20:48, 22 September 2006 (UTC)

I, also, am a sucker--Shandon 21:14, 22 September 2006 (UTC)

I, for one, will never trust anything I see on the interweb ever again. Hey! I just got an email for penis enhancing pills! W00t, sign me up!--Sir Modusoperandi ^Boinc! 21:55, 22 September 2006 (UTC)

While I fell for it (even with my suspicions), I will NEVER fall for any kind of enhancement (some of us are big enough already).--<<>> 23:48, 22 September 2006 (UTC)

Or, rather, you won't fall for it again (since the last pills ruptured a testicle).--Sir Modusoperandi ^Boinc! 00:33, 23 September 2006 (UTC)

Bah, tomayto... tomaato... honestly, what's the difference?--<<>> 00:46, 23 September 2006 (UTC)

Still, I'm surprised that they used that picture of you in the ER on the packaging...--Sir Modusoperandi ^Boinc! 01:13, 23 September 2006 (UTC)

Don't ask me, I don't understand those people at all.--<<>> 02:55, 23 September 2006 (UTC)

The part about our office sucking, and being cramped is definitely true, but you forgot to add that it's smelly  :-) Any uncyc users who come by are welcome to honk my nose. It's easy to find - sticks way out.
By the way, how did you get a picture of my blue volvo station wagon? Gil 01:53, 26 September 2006 (UTC)

Uh, by accident? I'm definitely not stalking you. Seriously. Sir Famine, Gun ♣ Petition » 02:35, 26 September 2006 (UTC)

Famine, you legend. What an awesome wind-up, and I'm delighted to say that I fell for it completely. Nice. -- Sir Codeine K·H·P·B·M·N·C·U·Bu. · (Harangue) 18:05, 26 September 2006 (UTC)

Enjoy! I won't be able to pull anything like this for a long time to come. In fact, I'm now tempted to work out a way to do something like this, take shitty-ass boring pictures, and write it up, just so that people don't believe that I actually did it. We'll see what I can come up with. Sir Famine, Gun ♣ Petition » 22:03, 26 September 2006 (UTC)