Forum:Visual Mode/Rich Text Editor Problems/Solutions

So what is the Rich Text Editor (also called the visual editor, WYSIWYG editor, or RTE) and what is it that it does? Most regular editors certainly know but if you are new in the wiki or haven't used it before the answer lies here. The RTE is useful for beginner editors because it can help them start editing an article immediately without having any knowledge of wikitext language (wiki markup) and with only a few clicks the RTE writes the code for him. Unfortunately, though, it comes with its own problems that are usually visible only to someone who is editing the 'source code' of the page and can see what is actually written and the traces the editor has left behind.

Those traces can range from multiple spaces between paragraphs or templates, to "& apos;" (without space) in place of the apostrophes among others. While the Wikia staff may fix some of the editor's problems occasionally, these leftovers will remain in the pages unless removed manually. Plus, it is important to note that while some issues with the editor will probably get resolved in the future the slight persistence of the infamous "image glitch" shows us that we can't really rely on the Wikia to sort this out.

There are various solutions to get around this issue. Registered users can go to Special:Preferences, select the "Editing" tab and Untick the option to "Enable Rich Text Editing" to disable it for their account. Another way to disable it would be to add the "magic word"  in the articles we want the Rich Text Editor disabled. A more permanent solution would be to contact the Wikia have it removed, like many other wikis have done so in the past. I propose we hold a vote to see if we really need the Rich Text Editor or have it removed completely from the One Piece Wiki. MasterDeva (talk) 17:49, November 5, 2012 (UTC)

Discussion
Though I agree completely with what you said, I'm pretty sure that "forcing without a real reason" the use of source mode (by placing the magic word on all pages) it's a ToU violation. The source mode is already "forced" by default on long pages and we use the magic word for complex pages like the main page. I think the best idea is making the users more aware of source mode and encourage them to use it. We can add this to our welcome message for example.

My problem with it is that lately, it's been taking any page/section and changing it for everything on the page/section, not just what the user has added. Check out this edit for proof. PX clearly didn't go through the page changing all the apostrophes himself, the wiki just did it for him simply because he used the visual editor. It's really added a lot of troublesome codes to the pages, and we do need to remove all the code somehow. But removing the code won't matter if it's just added by an IP who happens to edit the page 2 minutes later. I don't think some friendly words on the main page will stop this, simply because new users won't be able to know/understand how it works, or even know that they've done anything wrong.

'''Also, please note that in your preferences, for users of English language, there is not any mention of "Rich Text Editor", it's simply called "Visual Mode". ''' I didn't even know that the RTE and Visual Mode were the same thing until I read this forum, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. 18:48, November 5, 2012 (UTC)


 * It is written in English as, which is very funny as they didn't bother to change the old translation used for my language, hence the mention of "Enable Rich Text Editing" above... Sorry for the confusion guys. MasterDeva (talk) 08:26, November 6, 2012 (UTC)


 * Oh, what is your language? But yeah, does anyone have any ideas for a solution to this? 14:20, November 6, 2012 (UTC)


 * The best thing, in my opinion, is to start a voting to decide if we want the Rich Text Editor removed. If the result is positive we'll contact Wikia and have it removed from One Piece Wiki. That is the best solution that I can see to get rid of these problems once and for all. MasterDeva (talk) 17:48, November 6, 2012 (UTC)


 * As I said before, I fear that even if we decide to globally remove the RTE, a staff member will simply ask us (= tell us) to don't do that. So before anything, MasterDeva, since you are still an administrator you should contact Wikia and explain the situation to know which options we have.


 * I think you misunderstood something Leviathan_89. As I have written above, other wikis have done it without a problem. They voted for it and afterwards contacted the Wikia staff and asked them to remove it. It is a legit process. Could you provide a source that states otherwise? MasterDeva (talk) 22:21, November 6, 2012 (UTC)


 * I already informally asked the staff and I was told they don't offer that option anymore : ) So instead of voting and then contact the staff, you should first check with them if it's still possible, then we will decide accordingly. If it's still possible I'll gladly vote for removing it.


 * I don't there is a reason to be so "smiley" about this, Leviathan_89. It appears that you are right in regards to Wikia's position on this however I would like to ask if what you were referring above is the following:

Not to intentionally block, remove, or otherwise obstruct the proper functioning and view of advertisements, and/or user interface and functionality by other users, including but not limited to changing or adding javascript or CSS changes to the Service that would prevent the proper display or function of advertisements and/or user interface and functionality;


 * which was taken from the Terms of Use of Wikia. Depending on how it can be interpreted we could remove, or not, Visual Mode from the wiki. MasterDeva (talk) 18:23, November 8, 2012 (UTC)

Well, my view on that is that while removing visual mode would "prevent the proper display or function of advertisements and/or user interface and functionality" for those who use visual mode. However, using visual mode "prevents the proper display or function of advertisements and/or user interface and functionality" for those of us who use Source Mode. And because the majority of editors use source mode (or monobook), I think we should work on correcting the problems of those who use source mode. 05:28, November 9, 2012 (UTC)


 * I don't think that's how it works. Advertisements should be displayed regardless of what a person uses to edit an article, be it Visual Mode or Source Mode. Anyway I suggest we go on with the voting process and once we get a result, we'll see how we deal with this. MasterDeva (talk) 13:37, November 9, 2012 (UTC)


 * If we are going to vote that's ok to me, I'd like to remove the visual editor too, but my point was that it's a waste of time to vote if we are going to find out that we cannot remove it... that's why I suggested to check before even voting. The reason because I said it probably cannot be removed is because I once already asked that to a staff member and I was told that's not possible anymore. I'll check again to be sure.
 * @JustSomeDude: that's not our case.
 * @MasterDeva: I wasn't referring to the ToU. I don't know why I put a smile there... -_-' I probably changed my sentence and left it there.