I found an interesting web comic, but I am not sure of the process to add it to the wiki

http://interactive.aljazeera.com/aje/2016/cash-cows-girls-sold-brides/index.html#1

I am not even sure if it should be added to the wiki. Some advice please?

@blueecho From the look of it, I'd so it would be allowed to the site, but barely I think. The Photo Cover concept should be used based on the fact that it's a photo cover.

@pikahyper Any thoughts?

@cloudguy: @blueecho: webcomics are generally not allowed, we've allowed a few exceptions for known publishers like Marvel and DC and for smaller publishers that use known creators like Madefire or Thrillbent, other then those we don't usually allow them as they can be hard to index or lead to abuse.

@pikahyper That makes sense, I guess that's why I've rarely seen any web-comics on the site.

@cloudguy: ya, by extension it is also to keep out strip style webcomics of which there are tons of in the US and Asia, to weed out most of that stuff though we just go with "it needs to have a cover", that covers just about everything.

@pikahyper Well, the above webcomic has a cover and shows the creators, but based on your example I'm guessing it still wouldn't be allowed on the site.

@cloudguy: nope, they are not known creators.

@cloudguy: an exception could be made but there would need to be a good argument for it.

@pikahyper There are several points I could put across but, seeing as it wouldn't be my submission I don't see the point of giving them at this moment in time. I'll wait to see what @blueecho has to say, seeing as it's their idea.

@pikahyper: Well the only argument that I can think of is that it is printed digitally by Al-Jazeera which is a bona fide media source.

@cloudguy: Interested to hear your opinion, as this doesn't necessarily only apply to this webcomic but to the wiki as a whole

@blueecho@pikahyper

For:

1. One of the points I can make is that it's the length of an actual comic book, whether it's physical or digital. And also seeing as there are also digital comics with lower than average pages, web comics that meet a 20 page mark could be added, as long as they have a cover.


2. The second point is that the creators are easy to find and have been listed as to what they did. The only problem I have with this is the publisher, which is a news website. I think that if the creators have been listed along with what they did it could be added.


3. The third point is that it has named characters that appear in more than one page. If it was a continuing web-comic it would have more characters that are named and recurring throughout the "series". While this point may not entirely apply to the comic in question it would apply to others.


4. My final point fixes the problem with the publisher issue I said before. Seeing as the site has the publisher of "self published" (Without capitalisation for some reason?) comics have been added without known known companies. This would apply to web-comics in a way as they would count as self-published comics, which have been allowed on the site in the past, just released through sites like Comixology.

Against:

1. This could be abused so easily, people could just add hundreds of issue's that either don't have covers or are just short stories in comic form that only last 2-3 pages.


2. Fan-Fiction would be a massive no-no. While web-comics kind of count as fan-fic, some people like to create their own stories with known characters from star-wars, Marvel or DC, these would not be allowed to be added since the creator does not actually own them. Those kind of comics would be seen as being a sign that they could be added.


3. Creators must be named. This would probably be one of the biggest points, seeing as many web-comics don't actually show the creator(s) names, they either use their initials or a signature of a sorts. If multiple people worked on one "issue" they don't clarify what they did, such as writer or artist, which would be a problem as it would make it hard to index, which is what Pika stated in an earlier post.

While what Pika said still stands, as it could be abused very easily, I'm on the sidelines as to whether or not web-comics should be added, as it could in a way expand the content on the site, but it could just end up being overly used and we end up with hundreds of blank pages or comic-strip pages on the site as some people won't pay attention to the rules. i think at the end of the day, while it may be a good idea as it would expand the content on the site, it would take way to much time to correctly implement or find creators. The site could also end up being over-saturated with web-comics as people would just mass add them without properly paying attention to side-effects.

@cloudguy: When I said exceptions and argument I meant on a case by case basis, we won't change the rule but if a valid argument is made for a specific webcomic it may be allowed. All your points are too broad/general, I want to know why this specific comic deserves to be here, is there something about it that sets it apart from all the other "self-published" comics out there, does it serve a purpose beyond getting hits for a media outlet, etc.

@pikahyper I knew you were referring to a case-by-case basis, I was just throwing out some points. I am personally leaning towards not adding them to the site.

@cloudguy: I'm against that specific comic but mainly because it is produced by a media outlet, I'm not sure how to word it but I don't want it to look like CV is "endorsing" them or "affiliated" with them, not sure how to explain it I just woke up but like I don't think it would be good to be associated with another media outlet in like search results or archives.

@pikahyper That makes sense in a strange way.

@pikahyper: I get it, but the way you word it kind of makes it sound like you specifically don't trust Al-Jazeera, which I don't think was your meaning.

@blueecho: ya like I said I had just woken up, my brain doesn't work very well for the first hour, you're right though it wasn't specific to Al-Jazeera, I meant media outlets in general, more-so though if they are political or perceived as political in any way, with us being owned by CBS the big picture is important.

@pikahyper: It does raise some interesting questions, as this field of media is evolving and much of it to being online, but just like youtube is not really television, so too I guess are these not really comics, at least not yet.

Who knows where the future will go.

@blueecho: it really is a grey area as things evolve, it wasn't too long ago when comic wiki's didn't allow digital comics at all, we were the first to allow them when DC started with their digital first/exclusive comics and from there digital comics have exploded so I'm sure eventually we'll be ever more inclusive once the wiki has evolved to handle more expansion, hopefully with more page types to handle things.