Talk: Community Portal

Actors playing a part

Since many actors in the original DS played multiple characters (sometimes simultaneously) when making a page for that character, should we list the actor's name and what episodes (s)he played that character? or all the episodes the actor was in. For instance, Jerry Lack played Tony Petterson in Episodes 357-776, Rev. Trask (including ghost of Rev. Trask) in 385-735, Gregory Trask in 725-884, Lamar Trask in 1114-1198, and someone only credited as "Trask" in IMDB in 751-1049. On the Rev. Trask page I have listed him as 385-735, but it appears that the convention might be to list the actor's entire run (357-1198). I haven't watched all the episodes yet, but was wondering. I noticed on the Tom Jennings page it looks like someone had him listed as 554-658 as he may return? I am only up to 635/636 and figured 631 would be his final episode. See ya after sunset! NightBear 20:01, 7 April 2008 (UTC)

No, it makes no sense to put the actor's credits. The actor's appearances appear on the actor's page and the character's appearances appear on the character's page (this includes stand-ins). Whomever did it the other way is wrong and these need to be changed. --Proudhug 01:32, 8 April 2008 (UTC)

I see now that Tom makes a reappearance in a dream, so I guess the number is correct ... but I am almost positive I have seen it that way on some other pages. At least now I know my reality check hasn't bounced! See ya after sunset! NightBear 06:04, 8 April 2008 (UTC)

Citation

Before I mess anything else up, I have a fair amount of information about some of the actors and writers. Can you advise about citing? I can provide external links for some of it, but other things come from print sources.--Luciaphil

Citations are only required for in-universe articles. Information about real life people and things don't need to be cited if you don't like. Just as long as it's not plagiarism... or incorrect information, of course. --Proudhug 00:38, 12 March 2006 (UTC)

(FYI, if you'd like to automatically include your name, date and time in your comments, simply put four tildes at the end (~~~~).)

Categories

You're missing some people off your category page. A couple of characters, writers, and directors. Is there a way for us to add them or do we go through you?--Luciaphil

No, please feel free to add them yourself. Articles are added to categories by typing [Category:Happy People] at the bottom of the page, with "Happy People" being substituted for the name of the category. For most characters, it's traditional to include their last name first in the alphabetical listing. To achieve this, type it as follows: [Category:Happy People|Last, First]. This will list the character under L, rather than F. --Proudhug 19:44, 10 March 2006 (UTC)

Timeline

um.. forgive my lack of wikiknowledge. I have too many projects to contribute (though I've been trying to convince my friend "encyclopedia of DS plotlines" she has yet to even get here).

I do have a question. Why are the days on the first eps, in the timeline section, referred to as taking place in 1967. I'm figuring you have a reason, but I can't think what it could be

Pam (person who hasn't created an account. and apologies for that one edit of the year on I don't know which ep. stupid girl, look at recent changes. it was ep 10)

Hey Pam. Thanks for your interest in the site. About the timeline thing. You're not the first person to ask this question and I do plan to explain this in detail once I get around to beginning the timeline section of the site. It's been a huge work in progress for years and I can't wait for the payoff. ;) I responded to this question a few months ago in my user talk page where I tried my best to give a detailed explanation. I'm now moving the discussion here. Feel free to give your opinion. I hope to see you around! --Proudhug 20:25, 21 Dec 2005 (UTC)

(First, I hope I've put this message in the right place. Eek!) Hi, I came across your post on DSBoards.com and I have started contributing things to the wiki in regards to crew and DVDs. I would like to start doing some episodes (from the period right before the 1795 arc), but I have a question about the timeline. Why are the 1966 episodes listed as happening in 1967? Would that mean the 1967 episodes took place in 1968?

Thanks, mysticpen

Haha, sorry about that confusion. When I get around to filling in the timeline information I have for each year, I plan to put a note about it. A couple years ago, I began creating a very detailed timeline of events of the show... a massive headache at times, as you can imagine (though the early episodes actually do hold up pretty well). I've only gotten up to about episode 180 so far, but it's pretty evident that the timeline in the show (and most soap operas) doesn't sync up with the rate at which time progressed in real life. For example, the first seventy episodes of the show take place merely over one week in the lives of the Collinsport residents! That's an average of two weeks our time per one day in Collinsport. Naturally over time, things don't quite line up. The first time the year is actually mentioned on the show is during a 1967 episode. Back dating, you will learn that Victoria and Burke's train arrived in Collinsport in 1967! Fortunately, this is consistent with David's age being given as nine in both '66 and '67, as well as Liz's time on the hill being eighteen years.

So, to answer your question, no that doesn't mean that the 1967 episodes necessarily take place in 1968. Sorry about the long-windedness, I hope I've made at least some sense. Let me know if you're still confused. Also, that's fine that you wrote this here, but it could also have gone in the discussion for the Community Portal if you wanted more people to have read it.

By the way, awesome work so far on what you've done! I'm really looking forward to seeing more.

Proudhug 20:05, 25 Sep 2005 (UTC)

ah. thanks. perhaps you need a propietary date suffix, such as AVA (after Victoria's Arrival) (5 days AVA) In any case, since my only question (okay my only *other* question was "how long have we been here".. I should actually start watching slower or you are never going to catch up to me :\ ) --Pam

Something like "AVA" might actually be a good idea. Definitely worth considering. Currently, I've opted for "Day 1", "Day 2", "Day 23", etc. which seems to be simple enough and useful enough.

I'm not sure what you're talking about with your second question, though. Are you saying you're trying to follow along with CollinWiki as you watch the show? If so, I apologize that I'm not completing work on the episode templates at a fast enough rate for someone to do that. It is for this reason that we need more editors, haha! Brian Kurtz seems to be working at a much faster rate than myself recently, in addition to creating articles for comics, movies and novels! --Proudhug 21:25, 21 Dec 2005 (UTC)

General

I like this.

(I hope I didn't just erase something... please correct if I did. I meant to say I like this site.)

Nope, you didn't erase anything. I'm glad you like the site. Will you be contributing?

Proudhug 16:04, 27 Sep 2005 (UTC)

Concerning spoilers

Hi. I'm new to this site. I recently added a full entry for ep. 210 (1st appearance of Barnabas). I actually set up my account after the fact though.

Anywho...concerning spoilers. In my contribution, I made allusions to material which could be construed as spoilers. Such as, stating that the man whose hand comes out of the coffin is Barnabas Collins (It's inferred, but never stated explicitly in the episode). I also noted discrepencies concerning the dates on the mausoleum plagues - information that won't be revealed in the series for a long time.

Would this be considered bad form to include this info?

No, the site aims to be as complete as possible, so referring to things that are revealed in later episodes is perfectly fine. There's yet to be a specific page written that lays out the spoiler policy, but it's briefly mentioned on the front page. There will be no spoiler warnings on the site apart from the front page and the yet-to-be-written Spoiler page. The assumption here is that the reader has seen every episode of the show, read every book, comic, etc. or doesn't care if things are spoiled. The site is to be used as a complete resource for information on Dark Shadows, not a guide or companion to read along with as you watch the episodes. Proudhug 17:03, 9 Nov 2005 (UTC)

Contributions

I hope you don't mind, Brian. I moved your list of upcoming contributions to the main Community Portal page under "Current Projects" with the others. Proudhug 02:34, 11 Nov 2005 (UTC)

Should there be an Animals category?

I was wondering if a category should be created for Animals. In researching the movies and revival series, I've discovered several pets including, Harry, Carolyn, Brutus, Tar, Ulysses, Dubloon, so on and so forth. --Brian 18:45, 29 Dec 2005 (UTC)

Sure, sounds cool to me. Feel free to go ahead and start one. --Proudhug 20:26, 29 Dec 2005 (UTC)

I added a link to the "Objects" category on the main page ... hope you don't mind! I plan on adding some links for David's crystal ball and some other realia that show up. See ya after sunset! NightBear 18:41, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Problems with Editing

So I'm having a problem and I'm hoping that someone can help me correct it as soon as possible, as I'm a newbie and I'm excited to contribute.

My primary problem is editing pages that don't exist yet. For instance, I was interested in adding details for episode 735. However, when I click the link to take me to that page (which is red), it brings up this dialouge asking if I want to save or open the page. I just want to be taken to the place where I can begin work on it!

However, I have the same issue whenever I go to a page that has already been created. The same thing happens when I click the "edit" tab at the top of the page. However, when I attempt to edit an individual section, it works fine.

Any help would be appriciated. Thanks! --TheNunOwnedGoat 18:23, 12 June 2006 (UTC)

EDIT: I've just discovered that this problem doesn't occur when I am logged out. As long as I am not logged in, I can edit fine. But when I login, I have problems.

Doing okay?

Alright. So that editing problem still hasn't been fixed, but I've found a workaround (for now) that I've been able to use. I'd still like to resolve the problem, though, as it would make it easier. So any advice would be appriciated.

Anyways. I did a page for episode 701. I was hoping someone could look at it and let me know if I did okay? If there's something that needs changed, I'd like to know it now before I make the same mistakes on several pages, which would take longer to correct.

Thanks for your help and understanding. --TheNunOwnedGoat

Hi there! I'm new to this and I think your page 701 looks great! I have no idea where I could get images that aren't copyright protected to add to the pages I have made. My first two episode pages are 600 and 626 (I am NOT a linear thinker) and I used the template from Episode 1 for it, but I don't really like the "Act 1" format (I have to guess where the commercials are - cue the ominous music!) I may look at your template for some of my future episode pages.

See ya after sunset! NightBear 18:39, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Standardization of episode numbers

I've been going through some of the pages and making a small edit which (when done) will move all the original series pages to the correct category (basically removing the space in front of the episode number AND changing "Episode" to "episode". Very tedious, but it will give us one listing instead of 2 (or 3?). Currently the pages show up under their number and as "Episode ##" (57 or "Episode 57"). Often there is a redirect from the numeric-only page to the Episode-number page. I would prefer it to be the other way, but given that a number can stand for many things (and disambiguation pages are a PITA) I can understand why you would want it to be in the "Episode-number" format. What do others think? Please don't worry about my time or me having too much of it on my hands. I spend 2 hours a week in front of the computer in a help-desk type job and I usually spend only 5-65 min of that time helping people, but I can't leave the desk either. I need something I can quickly drop to work on while I am working for a living.

See ya after sunset! NightBear 18:35, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Dark Shadows fandom history

Hey, I was wondering if any of the people helping out on this wiki might be willing to help out in the Dark Shadows category on Fan History Wiki? We've got a link to your wiki on the Dark Shadows article but if you wanted to include more links if you could find a place or two to add links to Fan History on The Dark Shadows Wiki, that would be fantastic. :) --PurplePopple 19:36, 4 September 2008 (UTC)

Narrated By

I've noticed that on some episode pages the Narrator is listed as the character and on other episode pages the Narrator is listed as the actor. I think we should keep it consistent - either one way or the other. On other wikia I have contributed to things like this were put to a vote of all of the editors. I vote that we list the character as the Narrator unless it is unclear which character the actor is representing. Bill Hunsicker 02:33, August 11, 2010 (UTC)

I love reading this wiki. I learn something new every time I read a new page. On episode 275 it states that from that point on a random actor reads the narration out of character at the beginning of each episode. I therefore withdraw my suggestion because I understand why the actor's name is listed from that point on. Bill Hunsicker 10:52, August 11, 2010 (UTC)

Links

In my project of setting up every episode page I have noticed some pages with characters, places, etc., linked multiple times. This makes the text difficult to read. I think the characters that are listed under Dramatis Personae should be linked there and nowhere else. Other characters, places, etc., should be linked only once on that page the first time they are mentioned. Also, everything in the infobox should be linked even if it is linked again elsewhere. --Bill Hunsicker 23:26, August 12, 2010 (UTC)

I'll agree with that - but what about the quotes section? I've been adding links to the characters under "Memorable Quotes." Should we keep doing that or leave them blank? MissLizaMay 00:25, January 27, 2011 (UTC)

Why are you deleting a lot of my work?

I wish I knew why you are deleting a lot of the info I post, for example how long Chris transforms in 687. It takes a long time to put this info in and you just wipe it all out. You've done it a number of times and I'd like to know why.

• I think you need to re-read the "Reminders" section of this page:

"Be kind and understanding. The very nature of the Wiki format means that others may edit your work. What you write does not belong to you, it belongs to the community, so don't be offended if it's changed. Anyone editing other people's work is only doing so for the betterment of this project."

Everyone's stuff gets changed. It's not personal, so don't take it that way.

I've removed some of your edits that are clearly put in the wrong area. Julia having worked in psychiatry, for example, is clearly not an error, and doesn't belong in that section. For the most part I've tried to move those things to the Background Information & Notes section, unless they contain personal opinions, which are against the site's rules. MissLizaMay 23:29, January 21, 2011 (UTC)

Furniture

This is my first post, I did a search but came up empty so I apologize if I am reposting old information on the Wiki somewhere. It occured to me that since mid-Century furniture is becoming valuable in the retro/antique markets, it might be fun to identify some of the pieces in the sets.

Of particular interest to me right now, is the bar in the Drawing Room at Collinwood, during the alternate timeband in which Willi is an author and Quentin is husband to Angelique's dead twin sister. I believe it is around collection 20 on the DVDs.

At any rate there is a bar that is different from the bar in the drawing room original timeband, where it has a glass top that they grab onto two metal rings, and it opens up the top of the bar, and the bottles rise up from within it.

I've tried searching for hidden bar, folding bar, retractable bar, etc with no luck.

Would anyone know what this piece of furniture is called?