User blog:RRabbit42/Coding updates

I have been working on a project that has kept me away from the wiki for a bit. I still check the wiki each day, but this other project is something that takes priority right now. I hope to get it done in the next two weeks so I can resume work here.

Wikia is in the process of updating the MediaWiki software that runs all of their wikis. Part of the updates include adding in more HTML5 support. Since HTML evolves over time, it means that some of the old commands get updated to add new capabilities or replaced by different commands.

Some examples of commands that have been replaced are:
 * align=left  for table alignment (left/right/center)
 *    for centering
 * width=x  for how wide a table or column in a table should be

It will take Wikia a while to get everything updated because they are also testing their customizations with the new version. They are estimating to be done sometime in the next month or two, and then will begin migrating those updates to the different wikis, going from biggest to smallest.

A majority of what we use to edit with here is what's called "wikitext" so it would get converted automatically in the background by the system. But anything that would use an HTML command has to be checked. For this wiki, most of this will be in the tables and templates.

After I have had time to look into this further, I will try to put together a guide to show what commands have to be updated and what their replacements look like. Some of the updates can be done with our bot, but others will have to be done by hand. Any help with the changes will be appreciated.

Wikia doesn't have a firm date on when everything will change, so let's plan on getting everything updated by the end of August. That way, we ensure our pages still look good and meet the new HTML5 standard.