We can talk about Classic specific fansites as a community. Right now assuming that Warpportal do not have the time or manpower to run their own database.
We have iROwiki, both DB and wiki. Community members can and do update it. I dropped off the database team a while back but it's easy enough for me to get access again. And I'm willing to help make sure the database is correct given the following:
- The staff provide item and item script data with each patch they are put in with.
- We have a thread on the official forums here for tracking and reporting needed database edits and updates
I'm not the only one to do this, themes has db access too iirc, but I'm sure that I'm not alone in feeling that the effort is wasted on a server that appears to be dying, where the players are doing as much (if not more) work as the staff to keep it alive and the community are well.... allowed to be terrible people to those who work hard to keep the game and data available for everyone.
Once upon a time I worked on ROclassic.net as a dedicated db for this server, but it's really hard to feel motivated when the whole server, including the staff now, it seems are only interested in punishing/driving your guild out for playing the game. Yes, guess what? I'm mad about the god items. Not so much MVPs, but WoE 1.0 God Items, in theory, should not be able to be duped and take extortionate amounts of effort to create.
I am aware there is a discrepancy in the distribution of god items. How could I not be? I created most of them and it was hell. A fun kind of rewarding hell, but not the kind of hell you forget. There are so many completed sets on this server and nothing is stopping people from making them other than ... not wanting to play. I am not trying to be rude here or anything, but from the view point of Valhalla, the god items and their creation were part of the game. The criteria to do it was laid out before us and we did it.
Now, I also get that sort of high end achievement is not the kind of gameplay everyone wants. The server (like all games) requires a variety of player types to feed eachother and motivate. Whilst I'm running around achieving the creation of god items, that motivates people with a pvp hard-on to come kill me and stop me. They motivate me to fight back. That creates desire to fight and reasons to KEEP fighting. Not everyone will or should fall into this achiever/killer category, but if you take away the purpose for achieving long term goals, then the server is going to become dependent on the killer players coming from their pservers at the same time and it's a vicious cycle.
So why did I bring that up? It's hard not to take it personally when the community is allowed to attack and criticize you for playing the game and reaching for the goals that are set out before you. Then seemingly on a whim with no warning, the staff agree and try to drive you and your group out. Maybe that's not the case, but that's how it FEELS.
With that in mind, why would I want to work on the wiki/db? Nevermind the ongoing harassment which has been a point of contention between myself and the staff for a long time.
If you guys want all this stuff, working dbs, stat calcs, events, etc, someone has to make / do them. And you may not like that person and they may not be on your side in WoE. But respect would be a fine thing - I'm not just talking about the community here, the staff has long treated it's volunteers and MVPS in a terrible way for far too long... there's a reason they all leave.
And as one of those people I'll tell you, it's more about the staff. It takes all types to make a community, everyone who works in running and engaging online communities know there are always people you won't get along with or agree with you, but it only takes one type of staff. A fair, consistent one.
I'm not asking for the staff to sing the praises of players who work hard for them, sure, vip time or a cool hat would be nice. A little appreciation rather than outright humiliation would make a huge difference. Also attempting to help us help you, it would go so far.
That's my rant about classic and how I think it could improve anyway and maybe why nobody wants to help it, take it or leave it - it's not intended as an attack on anyone, it's anger at a systematic problem - I have as much right to be salty or upset at the way things are as anyone else and to express those too.