Bionicle Wiki Discussion: Biosector01 Vs Bionicle Wikia

Minor note: Please read through the replies before posting a reply. A lot of discussion has happened since I posted this.

I know what you people are thinking: CHAOTICTEMPLEKNIGHT YOU SCRUB! Biosector01 is the best source for information. ONLY use that wiki.

Don’t deny it, you are thinking that or something similar. And yes, I searched for a topic like this and found nothing that comes close to what I have in mind.

Now I have been to both Wiki sites. I am going to be completely honest: I don’t like Biosector01. The only Wikipedia based wiki’s I’ve liked are Bulbapedia and Zeldapedia. I find Biosector01 a bit unorganized and hard to maneuver. Disorganization is up for debate, but I think everybody can agree that Wikipedia based Wiki’s in general are hard to maneuver. Wikia on the other hand is very easy to maneuver and is usually very organized (I’ve visited a lot of Wikia based wiki sites), but it is prone to people editing in stuff that shouldn’t be there.

The biggest point of this topic though is accuracy. Everybody says Biosector01 is very accurate and I won’t deny that. But Wikia can be accurate too. It also has notifications to let you know if there is an issue (or issues) with the article.

But in the end: I prefer to use Wikia , Alright, quick edit: for bionicle; I use BS01 now. I know, this might make some people mad (or it may not) and yes, I did let my Wikia Bias get the best of me in some parts of this discussion, but I digress. Anyways, I will always double check my information. I did that when I was researching Tren Krom for a previous topic. I checked Wikia and Biosector01.

Which Wiki do you guys prefer? You may disagree with my opinions…In fact you probably will disagree. Just keep in mind that my opinion is not god and these are just my personal preferences.

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Biosector is way too slow for me for some reason
So I kinda have to use wikia.

Although my computer has been handling Bs01 better as of late.

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Why does everyone prefer BS01? I used the Bionicle Wikia for years because I didn’t know about BS01. It had just as much info, and more in some ways. It always gets me mad how Mesonak acts like its a terrible website. Actually, if you look up “Other Masks”, BS01 has what they do, but the Wikia says why the contest winner chose the power for the mask (eg. Mask of Fusion was chosen because it had a Y shape). Everyone should stop hating on it.

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I believe a lot of the hate comes from how Wikia is known for having people come in and edit in stuff that shouldn’t be there. I’ve seen it happen on other wikia wiki’s.

Either way you should use more than one source in my opinion.

I agree. Bionicle Wiki for the win. #BonkleWikia

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Still, you should use more than one source when doing research.

The problem is

Wikia only hosts wikis to make money, and if users try to do something to make the wiki better that gets in the way of Wikia’s cash flow, they crack down on it. I had firsthand experience of a wiki trying to break off of Wikia, it got messy and scary.

Not that Wikia’s a bad site by any means, it works out well in its own right. It’s just that there’s not as much chance to make it much better, which sites like BioSector do. Thus BioSector is able to do without the Muaka dung that a lot of Wikia sites have (looking at you, VisualEditor) and no ads (which really turned me off when I first encountered Wikia.) That and it has a lot more information than BIONICLE Wikia, probably due to Wikia’s turning other people off.

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BS01 is my preference. It’s more organized than the wikia, and it doesn’t get flooded with useless pages made by random users most of the time.

I’m going to be honest: I haven’t ran into any pages I would consider useless.

The wikia is better when it comes to the information about a character or something under the picture. Bso1 is better when it comes to the paragraphs of stuff.

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One of the main reasons I prefer BS01. That and I don’t like how Bionicle Wikia looks aesthetically

Though I will say that it seems like Wikia has more pictures than BS01.

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Biosector01. I don’t like Wikias in general, and I really like Biosector’s style and reliability.

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I rather like BS01 a bit more than the wiki, it provides more information.

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I usually use the Bionicle Wiki (for the sake of trivia mostly) but, the site seems to be prone to crashes lately. I didn’t even know about Biosector01 until Eljay mentioned it.

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I prefer the Bionicle Wikia because it’s the first search result (besides images), not Biosector01 :stuck_out_tongue: .

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I like BS01. Really dependable.

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I use both, but I like BS01 more, and use it more.

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This is an interesting matter and something I feel strongly about, so I’ll elaborate upon my views here.

I absolutely believe BS01 is the superior source of reference. Here’s why.

Layout/Front Page

BS01: The front page here is incredibly consistent and immediately Bionicle. It’s very friendly and open, and has eye catching images to get you started. You can dive into the Bionicle lore almost immediately upon entering the website, and the look is clean enough so you don’t feel too over-crowed. Maybe it’s just me, though.

Everything is laid out very nicely, and it’s enjoyable to look at. Everything is very clean and uniform, and allows for easy navigation and page surfing. I really enjoy how this is spread out. The colors are also very relaxing, so I’m happy to roam around looking at the articles of story.

Wikia: The front page here is very standard for Wikia’s. Now, this isn’t really a bad thing, but this isn’t spectacular either. The colors are really unusual and to me, quite uninviting. Also, instead of providing me with a quick way to access story information, they immediately direct me to other wikis and affiliates of theirs. I see they are trying to spruce up the way the front page looks, but the colors just seem too far apart and too randomly placed for me to appreciate the effort. It instead comes off as being really poorly done.

When they do get around to Bionicle information, it’s oddly placed as well. The featured character/page, sure, but then it’s broken up by wiki related articles. It’s really unusual and not a very friendly layout, at least not to me.

Page Layout

BS01: For this, I’ll compare the two Wiki’s Gali pages. On BS01’s, the Gali page is laid out very clean and concise. You have a really great function on the right that allows you to sift through the bare-bones information on the character through out her three different forms - Mata, Nuva and Mistika. You see her Nuva Symbol as well, and it isn’t messy in the least. Everything is easy to read and the page is vibrant and interesting.

The page goes on to catalog the characters history, and does a fine job of it. All the articles, this included, are quite well written. You feel as though you’re simply reading a third-party synopsis, and that allows you to enjoy reading it as well as relay information to the reader better. A criticism I heard about these pages is that their aren’t enough pictures on them. Comparing the pages, BS01’s Gali page has 13 pictures not counting the three on the rotating info-table. Wikia has 6, with one repeated from their info-table.

Wikia: The wikia page for Gali also has it’s info-table, but only shows the most recently released version of Gen1 Gali. You can’t switch between the three forms, and the immediate impression I got was that this looked very boring. The information present below the image is unusually long winded, and you get a lot of unnecessary information thrown at you right off the bat. You have to either know of these things or ignore them for now if you’re just getting into the story. It’s also all in italics, which isn’t really bad, but not pleasant to read here either.

The written content on this (as well as others) article is unusual. Sometimes, it’s really detailed. Other times, it isn’t. It trades off and, compared to the BS01 page, leaves out a lot of information a lot of the time. If you can’t get ahold of books or comics, coming to the wikia will sell you short for information and details you may have wanted to know. The writing itself is also odd, feeling more like it was written by someone trying to tell you about Bionicle, as opposed to a third party chronicling it. A lot of the time, there is also what appears to be speculation or out of place information, especially in the trivia section.

Navigation

BS01: Navigating BS01 is very easy. On this character page alone, you can see images in the upper right where the character was seen and had a presence. This allows you to travel to the story page for that year. At the bottom, you have the navigation tools for the Toa team as well as the years that character was a set. And then below that, you have an over-all navigation for the rest of the pages.

Wikia: You get a fraction of what was written above. You do get the bottom navigators, but oddly specific ones such as Mistika and Phantoka (terms not used in the story) and over-all Toa of Water. The latter makes sense. The former does not. Finally, you are contained to that pages relevant content. No over-all navigator. You do have the category links, but those don’t take you to anything quickly.

Conclusion

BS01 is simply better in every way. It’s trustworthy, easy to use and navigate, and well-written and laid out. The only reason I can see people having for using the Wikia over BS01 is habit, or a connection to the site.

And those are my thoughts.

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The BIONICLE Wiki once had some misinformation stating that Vezon and Fennrak was the only BIONICLE set with a cape. My brother tried to change it, but they undid his edit and said he was wrong. Now they’ve fixed it, but ever since then, I’ve kinda been a bit sore of the BIONICLE wiki.

Not to mention it seems a bit sloppy for a wiki. Even the Custom BIONICLE wiki looks better.

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Wait… what other set has a cape?