Any chance of you taking a look at the history onTalk:Kumar Vishwas? The article has been semi'd due to repeated insertion/reinstatement of fan-like unencyclopedic content, so now the dynamic IP keeps posting the old version as a malformed edit request on the talk page. Obviously, we do not usually semi both an article and its talk page. Is the solution to collapse the pseudo-request and "answer" it? -Sitush (talk)15:47, 12 September 2012 (UTC)
- It's not a request so I removed it. If the IP does it again, semi-protection of the talk page may be necessary (no point blocking the IP since it isn't static). Let me know.--regentspark(comment)16:08, 12 September 2012 (UTC)
- Thanks very much. I think that there is still a procedure for requesting edits even if both article and TP are semi'd, so all would not be lost. -Sitush (talk)16:49, 12 September 2012 (UTC)
- There is. Of course, the IP could merely start posting the entire text atWP:RFED - where will that leave us! --regentspark(comment)16:51, 12 September 2012 (UTC)
- Ahem. Persistent or what? -Sitush (talk)07:38, 13 September 2012 (UTC)
- Semi-ed for one month. Hopefully that'll do the trick. --regentspark(comment)12:48, 13 September 2012 (UTC)
Hi RegentsPark, I have some concerns about your close of therequested move ofConcordia University. I think the idea that the Quebecois university is the primary topic was under discussion—by page counts, at least, it does not meet the standard of "more likely than all the other topics combined." Thus, your closing statement reads more like an argument than an assessment of consensus from discussion. In fact, the small number of participants in the discussion makes me think a relisting would have been more appropriate. Yes, there have been previous RMs on the topic, but the most recent was over two years ago, andconsensus can change. I wanted to try to settle the matter with you before initiating a move review. --BDD (talk)16:38, 14 September 2012 (UTC)
- JmaJeremy's description of the other Concordia Universities was compelling (the last paragraph in the discussion) and that, along with the stats (that the Montreal entity gets more hits than any other single entity) is fairly conclusive as a primary topic in my mind. Also, do note that there have been no comments for a while, relisting is usually a better move when there are either no reasonable opinions to consider or when the discussion is still ongoing. --regentspark(comment)16:46, 14 September 2012 (UTC)
- Perhaps we have philosophical differences on when a discussion should be relisted, but I thinkWP:RM supports my interpretation: "If there is a clear consensus after this time, the request will be closed and acted upon. If not, the closer may choose to re-list the request to allow time for consensus to develop, or close it as 'no consensus'." Either of these outcomes seem like a better way to treat that discussion. The main reason that I'm unhappy with your decision is that I provided, I thought, a good chunk of objective information on this article's relative popularity compared to those of similarly titled articles, whereas editors opposed to the move made little to no substantive arguments. I see discussions of enrollment figures (irrelevant), Google Scholar citations (potentially of interest, but no numbers cited), and bare assertions of prominence. JmaJeremy's arguments about moving pages such asBoston,Montreal, andVancouver into "DAM [sic] pages" suggest a poor grasp of the primary topic concept. I would suggest relisting for another week to allow consensus to develop. --BDD (talk)17:40, 14 September 2012 (UTC)
- I think we're on the same page as to when a discussion should be relisted (though, perhaps, our differences are on whether this discussion should be relisted!). When there are reasonable opinions to consider, it is possible to determine consensus and that's what I saw. jmajeremy has provided compelling reasons and more than two weeks have passed without anyone providing evidence that his reasoning is based on incorrect assumptions. That's plenty of time in my opinion. --regentspark(comment)17:48, 14 September 2012 (UTC)
- Very well. I suppose I didn't really make any responses to JmaJeremy myself, and I shouldn't fault you for that. I hope you'll consider changing the ruling to no consensus, however, which would better leave the door open for a fuller discussion. --BDD (talk)20:14, 14 September 2012 (UTC)
- Done. --regentspark(comment)20:44, 14 September 2012 (UTC)
- Thanks! Glad we were able to come to an agreement. --BDD (talk)21:12, 14 September 2012 (UTC)
...for moving "mixed breed dog" to "mongrel"!Chrisrus (talk)23:02, 14 September 2012 (UTC)
This has come back up at ANI.Chris Cunningham (user:thumperward) (talk)14:08, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
- Responded. Was watching anyway but wasn't not sure (still not) whether I can make substantive comments on this issue, one which appears to be heading towards a tragic end. --regentspark(comment)15:34, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
- Gratuitous, I know, but couldn't resist the temptation :) --regentspark(comment)09:54, 18 September 2012 (UTC)
- I enjoyed it. It lightened the mood.Fowler&fowler«Talk»10:44, 18 September 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 17 September 2012
- From the editor:Signpost expands to Facebook
We now have a Facebook page at facebook.com/wikisignpost. We invite you to "like" the page and join the discussion there.
- WikiProject report:Action! — The Indian Cinema Task Force
This week, we shine the spotlight on the Indian Cinema Task Force, a subproject that seeks to improve the quality and quantity of articles about Indian cinema. As a child of WikiProject Film and WikiProject India, the Indian Cinema Task Force shares a variety of templates, resources, and members with its parent projects. The task force works on a to-do list, maintains the Bollywood Portal, and ensures articles follow the film style guidelines. With Indian cinema celebrating its 100th year of existence in 2013, we asked Karthik Nadar (Karthikndr), Secret of success, Ankit Bhatt, Dwaipayan, and AnimeshKulkarni what is in store for the Indian Cinema Task Force.
- Featured content:Go into the light
Eight featured articles, six featured lists, ten featured pictures, and one featured topic were promoted this week.
- News and notes:Tens of thousands of monuments loved; members of new funding body announced
The world's largest photo competition, Wiki Loves Monuments, is entering its final two weeks. The month-long event, of Dutch origin, is being held globally for the first time after the success of its European-level predecessor last year. During September 2011 more than 5000 volunteers from 18 countries took part and uploaded 168,208 free images. This year, volunteers and chapters from 35 countries around the world have organised the event. The best photographs will be determined by juries at the national and finally the global level.
- Technology report:Future-proofing: HTML5 and IPv6
1.20wmf12, the 12th release to Wikimedia wikis from the 1.20 branch, was deployed to its first wikis on September 17; if things go well, it will be deployed to all wikis by September 26. Its 200 or so changes – 111 to WMF-deployed extensions plus 98 to core MediaWiki code – include support for links with mixed-case protocols (e.g.Http://example.com) and the removal of the "No higher resolution available" message on the file description pages of SVG images.
Wikipedia is not a forum, you should know this better than me, admin RegentsPark. I see you. Your mockery onWikipedia:Requests for comment/City population templates are notat all helpful and pertinent to the serious discussion. It might not have been your wish but I feel mildly slighted by yourjokes. I, for one, am trying my best to get a clearer sense of community consensus on the value of those templates. You went even further, when I collapsed those irrelevant comments saying "this is not a forum", youreverted me claiming that it's useful. WOW!
Keep it upadministrator. You're so admirably executing your responsibilities.Mr T(Talk?)(New thread?)11:54, 18 September 2012 (UTC)
- No offense meant and apologies if any taken. You have to admit that your refusal to see the writing on the wall does leave you open to some (gentle) ribbing! --regentspark(comment)15:24, 18 September 2012 (UTC)
- Of course, I would have got rid of it if you'd asked! (I've collapsed the digression). --regentspark(comment)15:28, 18 September 2012 (UTC)
- Thank you for your generosity. And, I would have made the collapse boxes shorter ifyou had asked me too! My beef is not with you, RP and I think you're fairly neutral (there is not sarcasm in there) and reasonable to an acceptable level. Cheers,Mr T(Talk?)(New thread?)18:07, 18 September 2012 (UTC)
- No worries. I really shouldn't have made that joke. --regentspark(comment)20:42, 18 September 2012 (UTC)
- No offense taken.Really, I don't mind frivolous or ribald ripostes or getting ribbed every now and then, provided that it is done on the correct page and doesn't disrupt other processes. You don't need harangues from mehahaha
... and that's not why I came on this page.
- Yes, it's better to leave this out ofTalk:Caste. A discussion on Hindu theology is beyond the scope of proposals there. Besides, when we talk about caste we are dealing with Hindu society not Hindu religion/theology/thought/philosophy, there is a difference. Indian thought sinceVasubandhu was characterized by an increasing dissonance between the material and the spiritual. What sages, ascetics, philosophers said in the middle ages had little influence on the Indian society, which had lost its will to oppose both the invaders and the emergence of the modern day system of jatis. Moreover, the texts quoted in your first reference are dated to centuries BCE. These texts deal only with varna and can't be of much use to our discussion on caste anyway.Correct Knowledge«৳alk»09:48, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
I agree CK. I said keep it out oftalk:caste because, if taken totalk:caste, it is more than likely to cause another time-killing, pointless and spiral imbroglio. It will, more importantly, be seen as an excuse to drone and obfuscate the issue further. Having said that, only mentioning the failures of a society/culture and nothing about the present day scenario or the achievements is not how we should work here.Mr T(Talk?)(New thread?)12:17, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
- I'm a little busy today so apologies in advance for the short response. I'm not really sure what you're trying to say above. That caste is an integral part of Hinduism as it is practiced is not really an issue. I'm not sure what theology has to do with that. The problem with the article now is that it tries to underplay the Hindu nature of caste and that creates all sorts of problems. It makes it harder, for example, to discuss the recent gains in reducing caste-based discrimination in India. It also makes it harder to talk about caste based politics, the demands for quotas, all that sort of thing. Caste based discrimination in India is no longer as simple and straightforward as it was in Mulk Raj Anand's days (though that sort of discrimination is still rampant) because everyone in India, whatever their background, has become savvy about advocacy for their group. The article should be about caste in Hinduism, the competing theories of its origins, the reality of its existence in everyday life, the discrimination that it results in, the progress made in reducing that discrimination since 1947, and the rise of advocacy amongst the "lower" castes. Then, an additional section that deals with parallels that have been drawn between the Hindu caste system and other social divisions amongst other peoples is warranted. --regentspark(comment)14:04, 20 September 2012 (UTC)
- "It makes it harder, for example, to discuss the recent gains in reducing caste-based discrimination in India. It also makes it harder to talk about caste based politics, the demands for quotas, all that sort of thing." —— I don't necessarily disagree with the statement. You do have a point. I think, that is my point also to some extent, if not wholly. Yes, I admit, the nature of discrimination has changed drastically. The real caste system is reduced to a psychological discernment with not much practical impact or significance today. We should not forget that there is a sort ofreverse discrimination against the so-called "higher caste" today (references:
- Devanesan Nesiah. Discrimination With Reason? The Policy of Reservations in the United States, India and Malaysia. 1997. Oxford University Press.
- Excess reservation will cause reverse discrimination, cautions Supreme Court and more)
- We, if neutral about this, should notneglect to mention the following things:
- All sorts of initiatives (e.g.reservation et al) that Indian Government have taken up to abolish the discrimination based on caste. And theabuses of those laws.
- The initiatives Hindu Leaders/Activists have taken toreform the system.
- The progress (e.g.modern status) so far in bringing equality.
- The last but not the least,reverse discrimination in present-dayIndia juxtaposed withPolitics behind it.
- I hope I am clear now. Thank you.Mr T(Talk?)(New thread?)08:32, 21 September 2012 (UTC)
- Better to discuss this onTalk:Caste. I can see that you're worried about the way the discussion will go but 'at topic' discussions are always better. We can decide things here but none of that will fly if there isn't consensus on the article talk page. Bear in mind that all editors approach these discussions in good faith, even when their views are not the same as yours, and consensus has to come out of these different views (properly grounded in reliable sources and appropriately weighted of course!). --regentspark(comment)12:58, 21 September 2012 (UTC)
Since someone has reversed my closing at ANI without providing a basis in policy, could you take a look? I'm not going to revert back myself, as that would be improper, but not sure to which venue I should appeal this to.DennisBrown -2¢©Join WER19:47, 21 September 2012 (UTC)
- Closed again. I see no percentage in arbcom or more drama but let's see. --regentspark(comment)20:08, 21 September 2012 (UTC)
- Thanks. I'm pretty confident the close was the right thing to do. I asked an Arb for guidance if it continues, simply because I've never had someone reverse a close like this to even know how to appeal it. I expected controversy and I really do respect that others will disagree or comment and I am quite tolerant of it, but it won't deter me from doing what I think is the right thing in a situation that is less one sided than it was presented. If someone wants to appeal to ArbCom or Jimmy or whatever, I have no problem standing behind the decision I made.DennisBrown -2¢©Join WER21:05, 21 September 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 24 September 2012
- In the media:Editor's response to Roth draws internet attention
Oliver Keyes' (User:Ironholds) defense of Wikipedia against the recent Philip Roth controversy has drawn a significant amount of attention over the last week. The problems between Roth, a widely known and acclaimed American author, and Wikipedia arose from an open letter he penned for the American magazine New Yorker, and were covered by the Signpost two weeks ago. Keyes—who wrote the piece as a prominent Wikipedian but is also a contractor for the Wikimedia Foundation—wrote a blog post on the topic, lamenting the factual errors in Roth's letter and criticizing the media for not investigating his claims: "[they took] Roth’s explanation as the truth and launched into a lengthy discussion of how we [Wikipedia] handle primary sourcing."
- Recent research:"Rise and decline" of Wikipedia participation, new literature overviews, a look back at WikiSym 2012
A paper to appear in a special issue ofAmerican Behavioral Scientist (summarized in the research index) sheds new light on the English Wikipedia's declining editor growth and retention trends. The paper describes how "several changes that the Wikipedia community made to manage quality and consistency in the face of a massive growth in participation have lead to a more restrictive environment for newcomers". The number of active Wikipedia editors has been declining since 2007 and research examining data up to September 2009 has shown that the root of the problem has been the declining retention of new editors. The authors show this decline is mainly due to a decline among desirable, good-faith newcomers, and point to three factors contributing to the increasingly "restrictive environment" they face.
- WikiProject report:01010010 01101111 01100010 01101111 01110100 01101001 01100011 01110011
This week, we tinkered with WikiProject Robotics. From the project's inception in December 2007, it has served as Wikipedia's hub for building and improving articles about robots and robotics, accumulating two Featured Articles and seven Good Articles along the way. The project covers both fictitious and real-life robots, the technology that powers them, and many of the brains behind the robotics field
- News and notes:UK chapter rocked by Gibraltar scandal
In the second controversy to engulf Wikimedia UK in two months, its immediate past chair Roger Bamkin has resigned from the board of the chapter. The resignation last Wednesday followed a growing furore over the conflict of interest between two of Roger's roles outside the chapter and his close involvement in the UK board's decision-making process, including the access to private mailing lists that board members in all chapters need. But the irony surrounding Roger's resignation is its connection with efforts by Wikimedians and collaborators to strengthen the reach of Wikimedia projects through technical innovation.
- Technology report:Signpost investigation: code review times
Late last month, the "Technology report" included a story using code review backlog figures – the only code review figures then available – to construct a rough narrative about the average experience of code contributors. This week, we hope to go one better, by looking directly at code review wait times, and, in particular, median code review times
- Featured content:Dead as...
Fourteen featured articles were promoted this week, including Dodo, along with six featured lists and five featured pictures.
Mughal Lohar sock problems
I've left a note atUser_talk:Utcursch#Mughal Lohar regarding problems relating to an old sockpuppet. Utcursch is not particularly active at the moment, although they are making a few edits every few days. If you have any thoughts regarding my query then perhaps you or another admin who sees this might weigh in? -Sitush (talk)16:54, 29 September 2012 (UTC)
- Although you are not mentioned by name, please note that the thread above has now been mentioned atWikipedia:Reliable_sources/Noticeboard#Primary_source_at_Aurangzeb. -Sitush (talk)11:24, 1 October 2012 (UTC)
- Thanks. Commented there. --regentspark(comment)12:57, 1 October 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 01 October 2012
- Paid editing:Does Wikipedia Pay? The Founder: Jimmy Wales
Does Wikipedia Pay? is aSignpost series seeking to illuminate paid editing, paid advocacy, for-profit Wikipedia consultants, editing public relations professionals, conflict of interest guidelines in practice, and the Wikipedians who work on these issues by speaking openly with the people involved. This week, a scandal centering around Roger Bamkin's work with Wikimedia UK and Gibraltarpedia erupted ... In light of these events, opinions on how to avoid future controversy are as important as ever. ...The Signpost spoke with Jimmy Wales to better understand how he views the paid editing environment and what he thinks is needed to improve it.
- News and notes:Independent review of UK chapter governance; editor files motion against Wikitravel owners
Following considerable online and media reportage on the Gibraltar controversy and aSignpost report last week, the Wikimedia UK chapter and the foundation published a joint statement on September 28: "To better understand the facts and details of these allegations and to ensure that governance arrangements commensurate with the standing of the Wikimedia Foundation, Wikimedia UK and the worldwide Wikimedia movement, Wikimedia UK's trustees and the Wikimedia Foundation will jointly appoint an independent expert advisor to objectively review both Wikimedia UK's governance arrangements and its handling of the conflict of interest."
- Featured content:Mooned
Five articles, three lists, and nine images were promoted to "featured" this week.
- Technology report:WMF and the German chapter face up to Toolserver uncertainty
The Toolserver is an external service hosting the hundreds of webpages and scripts (collectively known as "tools") that assist Wikimedia communities in dozens of mostly menial tasks. Few people think that it has been operating well recently; the problems, which include high database replication lag and periods of total downtime, have caused considerable disruption to the Toolserver's usual functions. Those functions are highly valued by many Wikimedia communities ... In 2011, the Foundation announced the creation of Wikimedia Labs, a much better funded project that among other things aimed to mimic the Toolserver's functionality by mid-2013. At the same time, Erik Möller, the WMF's director of engineering, announced that the Foundation would no longer be supporting the Toolserver financially, but would continue to provide the same in-kind support as it had done previously.
- WikiProject report:The Name's Bond... WikiProject James Bond
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the James Bond film series, we spent some time bonding with WikiProject James Bond. The project is in the unique position of having already pushed all of its primary content to Good and Featured status, including all of Ian Fleming's novels, short stories, and every film that has been released. Work has begun in earnest on the article Skyfall for the release of the new Bond film later this month. The project could still use help improving articles about Bond actors, characters, gadgets, music, video games, and related topics
Short (finance) suggestions
Hi RegentsPark, thanks for your edits onShort (finance), the lead looks better now. I've also replied on the Talk page there, but wanted to drop you a note here to ask if you have any thoughts aboutthe change I suggested for theConcept section. Cheers,WWB Too (Talk ·COI)22:22, 2 October 2012 (UTC)
Hi RegentsPark. I'm not sure whether posting this on Sigma's RFA would be a better idea, but I just thought I'd give you a quick message to let you know that those edits are done automatically byTwinkle when you tag a page for deletion.
It's quite a clever little feature of Twinkle that certainly didn't exist back when I was a non-admin, but I came across it a few months ago and thought it was quite good. You can see more about it in the Twinkle preferences,Wikipedia:Twinkle/Preferences#twinkle-config-section-6, specifically the description statesSince non-admins do not have access to their deleted contributions, the userspace log offers a good way to keep track of all pages you nominate for CSD using Twinkle. Files tagged using DI are also added to this log. I'll leave Sigma to answer the rest of the question you posed, but I hope this clears this up, I would certainly be puzzled if someone was manually spending time maintaining that log!Thehelpfulone01:04, 5 October 2012 (UTC)
- Thanks. I guess I don't know a great deal about automated edits! It was puzzling me and that does clear it up. --regentspark(comment)02:54, 5 October 2012 (UTC)
IsPooja Welling really a GA, as the article topicon says? It looks to me like a hoax. -Sitush (talk)12:38, 7 October 2012 (UTC)
- Forget the above. I suddenly realised what had happened and am fixing. -Sitush (talk)12:40, 7 October 2012 (UTC)
- OK. If it hasn't already been prod-ed, it should be. --regentspark(comment)12:43, 7 October 2012 (UTC)
I genuinely appreciate the mild-mannered and effective way in which you put forward you concerns. I wasn't looking for a prolonged fight any more than I was seeking a way out and I would not have given in to further bullying, but that's my stubborn nature, I suppose. Anyway, I appreciate your involvement.LeakyCaldron15:55, 7 October 2012 (UTC)
- No worries. I can see where you're coming from but these things have a nasty way of getting out of control! --regentspark(comment)16:50, 7 October 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 08 October 2012
- News and notes:Education Program faces community resistance
Wikipedia in education is far from a new idea: years of news stories, op-eds, and editorials have focused on the topic; and on Wikipedia itself, the Schools and universities projects page has existed in various forms since 2003. Over the next six years, the page was rarely developed, and when it did advance there was no clear goal in mind.
- WikiProject report:Ten years and one million articles: WikiProject Biography
On this day five years ago, the WikiProject Report debuted as a newSignpost column with an overview of WikiProject Biography. Today, we're celebrating two milestone: five years of the WikiProject Report and the tenth birthday of our first featured project. WikiProject Biography is by far the largest WikiProject on Wikipedia, with over one million articles under the project's scope. As a comparison, WikiProject Biography is three times larger than Wikipedia's second largest project, and if WikiProject Biography were split into its 14 subprojects and work groups, it would still make the list of the 20 largest WikiProjects... four times.
- Featured content:A dash of Arsenikk
This week theSignpost interviews Arsenikk, an editor of six years who has brought sixteen lists through our featured list process, mostly regarding transportation in Norway but also about the 1952 Winter Olympics and World Heritage Sites in Africa. Arsenikk tells us about why he joined the project, what moves him, and how editors can join the sometimes daunting world of featured lists.
- Technology report:The ups and downs of September and October, plus extension code review analysis
The Wikimedia Foundation's engineering report for September 2012 was published this week on the Wikimedia Techblog and on the MediaWiki wiki, giving an overview of all Foundation-sponsored technical operations in that month (as well as brief coverage of progress on Wikimedia Deutschland's Wikidata project, phase 1 of which is edging its way towards its first deployment). Three of the seven headline items in the report have already been covered in theSignpost: problems with the corruption of several Gerrit (code) repositories, the introduction of widespread translation memory across Wikimedia wikis, and the launch of the "Page Curation" tool on the English Wikipedia, with development work on that project now winding down. The report also drew attention to the end of Google Summer of Code 2012, the deployment to the English Wikipedia of a new ePUB (electronic book) export feature, and improvements to the WLM app aimed at more serious photographers.
Hi!Riley Huntley (talk ·contribs),Thine Antique Pen (talk ·contribs), and myself are in a content dispute as to whetherLong Beach Police Department (New York) meetsthe B-class standards. You've listed yourself as a Wikipedian available to provide a third opinion, so can you please advise us if it meets the B-class standards or not? Thank you. --v/rElectric Catfish (talk)23:23, 10 October 2012 (UTC)
- Thanks for the note on my talk page. Technically, you have already received a third opinion but if you want another opinion, I am fine with that.-- Cheers,RileyHuntley23:27, 10 October 2012 (UTC)
- You should really post this onWP:3O or, better still, onWP:DRN since there are three editors involved. I don't have the time to look at it today but, generally, if an editor removes a B class tag from the article it is in incumbent on that editor to explain why. Not sure if that's been done here. --regentspark(comment)23:58, 10 October 2012 (UTC)
- I took a quick look and, cursorily, I'd say it likely isn't yet a B. Though the bar is fairly low for a B-class article, the content in this article is fairly sketchy and needs to be further fleshed out (for example, with a 101 year history we'd expect something interesting must have happened sometime(!), and there are a few references missing. Perhaps that is the way it is with this police department but that's my, admittedly cursory, impression. --regentspark(comment)00:11, 11 October 2012 (UTC)
Thanks for the review. It's a fairly small department and there's not much about it online. I've always wanted to take an article to GA, but I guess this won't make it, so I'll work with another article (either a larger law enforcement agency,Electric catfish, orDefibrillator.) Anyways, I'll fix up some issues to make it decent, and then I'll get started on another one. I didn't want to take it to DRN because I'm an active volunteer there and the bot will mark the thread as if I was the editor mediating it. Thank you very much. --v/rElectric Catfish (talk)00:38, 11 October 2012 (UTC)
- Don't give up. I searched "Long Beach Police" on The New York Times site and found plenty of good stuff including a rum plot (during prohibition I guess). You just have to look for references in the right places. --regentspark(comment)01:17, 11 October 2012 (UTC)
- I'm surprised ECF hasn't linked the discussion/s yet. RegentsPark; you can find a discussionhere andhere. In my mind, this isn't a content dispute, just neglect to fix the problems he volunteered to have assessed. No, EFC, is not required to do anything to this article, but work needs to be done on it if he would like it to get to a higher level. EFC, since this is now a "content dispute" it might not be best for you to be reverting an edit when there is this open discussion without discussing (if we don't discuss, this is going to go nowhere). I ask that you addressthis problem that you say is covered. If the sentence is supported by a source, thensupport it with a reference, don't just leave it to look unsourced! :D-- Cheers,RileyHuntley01:50, 11 October 2012 (UTC)
- I think you have received more than a third/four opinion on this.-- Cheers,RileyHuntley03:40, 11 October 2012 (UTC)
- Thank you guys for all of your help. I'm a bit stressed out from this dispute, so I'll be taking a Wikibreak. By the way, it's separate from the California LBPD (article), which is larger and has more information on it. Thank you. --v/rElectric Catfish (talk)23:51, 11 October 2012 (UTC)
"Like I say above, I don't see any need for action against Kauffner. Rather, it is the other editor who needs to be reminded about BRD and about proposing page moves individually. If you believe that IIO needs to be sanctioned somehow then that's a different matter and, since I don't follow the diacritic battles, I can't really comment on that without further evidence. regentspark (comment) 22:33, 9 October 2012 (UTC) "
- Hi, I post this here because I can see you are clearly acting/speaking in good faith. I admit when you supported Kauffner counter majority in the 3-1 on theTalk:Bun cha RM I was scratching my head about how an admin would uphold a move which had been accomplished by disruption of BRD, i.e. by edit-locking the redirect, BOLD-LOCK-. Now I see that you were unaware that BRD had been deliberately circumvented, which explains better your close. Perhaps you might wish to check the archives and refer to previous ANI (or was it Arbcom?) ruling on the Dolovis case of disruption of BRD and perhaps compare the 100s of Dolovis redirect edits with the 100s of Kauffner redirect edits and then adjust your statement related to BRD. (also FYI group page RMs have been specificallyrequested by several admins in this area). Best regards.In ictu oculi (talk)23:56, 9 October 2012 (UTC)
- Hmm. I have a hazy memory of that one. Looking at the RM discussion, I can see that my close was based on usage in English language sources which was based on the evidence given by Kauffner (and not refuted on the move request). Still seems reasonable to me. I'm personally not hidebound either way on diacritics, they should be used when English language sources use them, not used when English language sources don't use them, and we should defer to local usage when English language sources are not in agreement. But, I'm not really aware of the history between you and Kauffner so let's see what the ANI report brings out.regentspark(comment)01:48, 10 October 2012 (UTC)
- Hi, that's okay, closing admins will sometimes go against the supports on the RM, I accept that. Though I'm not quite sure what you mean that evidence was "not refuted" since AjaxSmack posted physical scans of Amazon LOOK from an English language cookbook showing that cookbooks enabled to use Vietnamese fontsdo spell this with Vietnamese. Kauffner only provided evidence that sources which aren't enabled don't - but on that logic even François Mitterand would have his name anglicised, seeTalk:François_Mitterrand#Requested_move. Normally citing a majority of diacritic-disabled sources is not how these RMs are decided, so AjaxSmack's refutation was well within the frame of normal RM activity in this area. That's just FYI, it's irrelevant now, and I'm not making an issue of the RM close; the issue isthe BRD lock.
- Do you mind if I ask, have you ever encountered a BRD lock of this sort before? Cheers.In ictu oculi (talk)03:12, 10 October 2012 (UTC)
- I can see that that is a disingenuous way of preventing non-admins from reversing a move. If there is a pattern of doing this then we do have a problem.regentspark(comment)13:36, 10 October 2012 (UTC)
- I believe it is not that common, which is probably why none of us spotted it. The only precedent I'm aware of is Dolovis. However typically locking a redirect to prevent WP:BRD generates an edit summary "(added Category:Redirects from titles with diacritics using HotCat)" so a pattern of 100s of undiscussed moves and locks is verifiable. Even then I wasn't aware of thoseDuke of Narbonne,etc,[5],[6],[7],[8],[9],[10] locks which User Jack Bufalo Head listed. Anyway.In ictu oculi (talk)02:05, 11 October 2012 (UTC)
- then we should ban both per PBS, but I don't really like that option. Banning Kauffner alone is a terrible idea. --regentspark (comment) 1
- Regentspark.
- I think on the basis of the above I am entitled to ask you the same question I asked PBS: Have you ever reverted an undiscussed move counter an RM result?
- Please do me the courtesy as one editor to another to address this.In ictu oculi (talk)16:41, 11 October 2012 (UTC)
- If you mean have I ever reverted an undiscussed move when someone else has objected, then the answer is I don't know. But, if anyone asks I'll be happy to do just that, other things being equal of course. --regentspark(comment)17:06, 11 October 2012 (UTC)
- No, sorry, I mean have you ever reverted an undiscussed move countrary to an RM result. Sorry, lets pick an example. the multiple move atDaśāvatāra - which I note you closed. Let's say that 2 weeks after the RM close, someone did an undiscussed move contrary to the close and in this case moved Bhattikavya → Bhaṭṭikāvya counter RM result, would you restore it back to consistency with the RM result? That's the question.In ictu oculi (talk)17:24, 11 October 2012 (UTC)
- If you're asking whether I'd move an article from title X to title Y after an RM discussion has decided that article Y is the consensus title and two weeks later someone moved it to X anyway, the answer is an almost certain yes. I believe I've reverted such RM moves in the past. Not sure why you're asking this question, if you're leading up to something then perhaps it is a better idea to get to the point directly.--regentspark(comment)17:54, 11 October 2012 (UTC)
- I misread that at first - excuse if it caused an edit conflict - okay, that's good, then you would have made exactly the same reverts as I did. No problem. But you wouldn't ban yourself for it I guess :)In ictu oculi (talk)18:19, 11 October 2012 (UTC)
- There's a difference between a disinterested admin action and, for want of a better descriptor, an agenda driven action, Let's just say that if I were selectively reverting only one type of move, to take a - purely pulled out of a hat - random example, if I only reverted back from article titles with diacritics to articles without diacritics, then I would consider banning myself :) --regentspark(comment)18:43, 11 October 2012 (UTC)
- Ahah, you think? We're none of us disinterested and all have views. From your comments it seems you have one interpretation of diacritics, while the majority of wp editors (judging by where articles actually are) have another - if you didn't realise that, then find a Lithuanian/Latvian/Finnish/Estonian/Polish/Czech/Turkish/Maltese/Serbian.... even French/German article that is where majority of English sources have it. English sources only barely support even Charlotte Brontë. But that's another issue for another day. But the bottom line is that reverting a move counter a RM is reverting a move counter a RM, you've done it, I've done it.In ictu oculi (talk)18:55, 11 October 2012 (UTC)
I don't see it that way but you're welcome to your interpretation. Regardless, as I say on ANI, I don't believe either of you should be banned. The diacritic/non-diacritic is an interesting one because editors on both sides have a strong case - banning is not the way to sort our way through the issue. --regentspark(comment)18:59, 11 October 2012 (UTC)
- Hey again. Well, where article titles are (i.e. at diacritics flying in the face of majority sources) is not really interpretation is it, not unless you can find one modern European bio (apart from the 9 anglicized tennis players obviously) that doesn't contradict the guidelines - if you can I'd be interested to see it. As far as banning, since I said 2 weeks ago I won't be restoring any more of the 800x moves counter RM (and even if I wanted to they are locked). As for Kauffner, well he'll either stop or he won't, someone should ask him.
- On another totally unrelated note. I see you started theKalaymyo article. Ever been there?In ictu oculi (talk)19:15, 11 October 2012 (UTC)
- Unfortunately no. Got as far as Monywa but couldn't get to go beyond. This was a long time ago when travel in Burma was not, um, easy. --regentspark(comment)19:23, 11 October 2012 (UTC)
- I'm not sure it is even now? I was there in early-mid 90s, wonderful unspoilt place (then) but morning mist landing at military landing strip was one of the scariest experiences ever had in the air. I'm not sure all our en.wp content regarding Mizo/Zomi language is accurate.In ictu oculi (talk)01:01, 13 October 2012 (UTC)
Endorsing Nathan's decision or Kwami's?
Hi there. You endorsed a closure of the RfC regarding internal consistency on the MoS. However, the top text[11] refers to closer kwami, but your own words refer to closer Nathan. These two people came to opposite decisions regarding whether there was consensus for action. Which closure were you endorsing?This may seem picayune to you, but on WT:MoS people can and do fight down to the last comma.Darkfrog24 (talk)02:37, 14 October 2012 (UTC)
- Aaaand now we're doing just that. I hope this doesn't put you off touching the manual of style, but your input would be appreciated on WT:MoS.Darkfrog24 (talk)04:21, 14 October 2012 (UTC)
- I had endorsed Nathan Johnson's closure. Noetica reverted it back to kwami's. Oh, the irony! Let me take a look and see if there is anything for me to do here. --regentspark(comment)15:02, 14 October 2012 (UTC)
- Thank you for braving the fires of the MoS page.Darkfrog24 (talk)15:42, 14 October 2012 (UTC)
Clarifying I never reverted your (RegentsPark's) closure; a statement to that effect was a misunderstanding since cleared. That is one of the few things everybody agrees on in that thread, but in the tangled discussion might be hard to spot. I think I will stay out of the fire; want to get back to real editing instead of meta talk.Churn and change (talk)16:52, 14 October 2012 (UTC)
- Hi RegentsPark, I also want to thank you for taking the time to re-close the RfC.Noetica reverted Darkfrog's attempt to implement the conclusion of the RfC. Beeblebrox thenprotected the page on Noetica's version, so I haveasked Beeblebrox to unprotect so that the RfC conclusion can be implemented, or to make the edit himself if he feels page protection is needed. Just letting you know as a matter of courtesy. Many thanks again for your help.SlimVirgin(talk)17:12, 14 October 2012 (UTC)
Shouldn't we be starting the voting process? --Anbu121 (talk me)20:25, 15 October 2012 (UTC)
- Yes, we should. Are we ready (categorization etc.)? I dropped a note on fowler's page (was hoping you were watching it).--regentspark(comment)20:29, 15 October 2012 (UTC)
- Yes, I just now finished the categorization for the remaining 4 images. --Anbu121 (talk me)20:44, 15 October 2012 (UTC)
- I have made a table for voting. Is that fine? --Anbu121 (talk me)21:04, 15 October 2012 (UTC)
- Let me take a look at what we've done in the past. --regentspark(comment)21:16, 15 October 2012 (UTC)
- I think it's fine. The only issue is the length of the table (it wraps around on my browser) but that's not too bad. --regentspark(comment)21:22, 15 October 2012 (UTC)
- Should we invite the major contributors of the article? --Anbu121 (talk me)04:51, 16 October 2012 (UTC)
- Good idea. We should invite the people who commented or added images as well as drop a note atWT:IN. I'll do the latter, could you do the personal invites? Also, I'll extend the voting period to November 15. No need to hurry!--regentspark(comment)13:04, 16 October 2012 (UTC)
- Sure. --Anbu121 (talk me)13:07, 16 October 2012 (UTC)
- Actually, why don't you also post a note on theWT:IN page. It's probably better if you take the lead on this. Are you ok with that? --regentspark(comment)13:10, 16 October 2012 (UTC)
- Fine --Anbu121 (talk me)13:29, 16 October 2012 (UTC)
Another article on a user page?
I recently moved a blatant case of article-on-a-userpage, related to thePooja Welling palaver. I've found a completely different instance and have been discussing it atUser_talk:OrangesRyellow#Article_drafts_on_user_pages. While not quite a blatant, it still seems to be inappropriate and the proffered explanation isexactly what sandboxes are for. However, I don't want to act like an admin when I am not & subsequent to me raising the point, the user got involved with me atWT:INB on a seemingly unrelated issue. Thoughts? -Sitush (talk)13:22, 16 October 2012 (UTC)
- moved. --regentspark(comment)13:29, 16 October 2012 (UTC)
- Hi - OrangesRyellow has taken this toWikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard/Incidents#Pakistani POV eds deleting my userpage.GiantSnowman14:30, 16 October 2012 (UTC)
follow on to our discussion on Fowler's tp —SpacemanSpiff15:29, 16 October 2012 (UTC)
Could I ask you to revert yourself on the MOS? There is clearly no consensus there, and there are irregularities with the RfC that include at least the appearance of dishonesty on the part of the proposer, such as claiming she was unfamiliar with the MOS, when this was her own wording which had been deleted a year ago, being reverted on a BOLD edit and then expecting consensus to override her edit rather than to support her, etc – consensus is required to make changes to policy and guidelines, not to revert them. —kwami (talk)19:04, 16 October 2012 (UTC)
- I can't do that kwami. Sorry. It is better to let consensus from an RfC stand. If you believe that the original RfC was flawed, then there are ways to deal with it. In this case, it seems to me you'll need to take it to arbitration and that may actually be the fastest way to resolve it given the polarization on WT:MOS. Arbs are better suited to decide on things like the timeline of changes and which version more accurately reflects whatever the current consensus is. I actually think it is a good idea to take this to the arbs because it is better settled definitely one way or the other. Actions taken by me or by other admins are unlikely to end this discussion. --regentspark(comment)20:11, 16 October 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 15 October 2012
- Op-ed:AdminCom: A proposal for changing the way we select admins
There is wide agreement among English Wikipedians that the administrator system is in some ways broken—but no consensus on how to fix it. Most suggestions have been relatively small in scope, and could at best produce small improvements. I would like to make a proposal to fundamentally restructure the administrator system, in a way that I believe would make it more effective and responsive. The proposal is to create an elected Administration Committee ("AdminCom") which would select, oversee, and deselect administrators.
- In the media:Wikipedia's language nerds hit the front page
This week saw a front-page story in theWall Street Journal on editorial debates in Wikipedia. The story focused on the title-naming dispute surrounding the Beatles article, and specifically the RfC on whether the 'the' in the band's name should be capitalized or not.
- Featured content:Second star to the left
On the English Wikipedia, five featured articles, ten featured lists, and four featured pictures were promoted, including USSLexington, a ship built for the United States Navy that, although ordered in 1916 as a battlecruiser, was converted to an aircraft carrier. It was sunk in the Battle of the Coral Sea during the Second World War.
- News and notes:Chapters ask for big bucks
The volunteer-led Wikimedia Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC) and interested community members are looking at Wikimedia organization applications worth about US$10.4 million out of the committee's first full year's operation, in just the inaugural round one of two that have been planned for the year with a planned budget of US$11.4M.
- Technology report:Wikidata is a go: well, almost
A trial of the first phase of Wikimedia Deutschland's "Wikidata" project–implementing the first ever interwiki repository—may soon get underway following the successful passage of much of its code through MediaWiki's review processes this week.
- WikiProject report:WikiProject Chemicals
This week, we experimented with WikiProject Chemicals. Started in August 2004, WikiProject Chemicals has grown to include over 10,000 articles about chemical compounds. The project has a unique assessment system that omits C-class, Good, and Featured Articles. As a result, the project's 11 GAs and 9 FAs are treated as A-class articles. WikiProject Chemicals is a child of WikiProject Chemistry (interviewed in 2009) and a parent of WikiProject Polymers.
Thank you for taking the time to participate in my RfA. I hope that I will be able to improve based on the feedback I received and become a better editor.AutomaticStrikeout22:23, 16 October 2012 (UTC)
Hi there, regentspark. After your involvement on theShort (finance) article in September, I'vemade another suggestion for the article, specifically a partial re-organization of some sections. I first posted it onTalk:Short (finance) last week, but so far have had no takers. Would you be willing to take a look at it?WWB Too (Talk ·COI)16:20, 16 October 2012 (UTC)
- Thanks for taking a look; I made an edit to my draft based on your point re: the ban just being in selected securities, andreplied there. Did you have any comments on my proposedRegulations section?WWB Too (Talk ·COI)16:06, 19 October 2012 (UTC)
Hatting a valid complaint?
Are you and other administrators unwilling to enforce our policies?--MONGO21:41, 21 October 2012 (UTC)
- MONGO, there is more than enough drama as it is. Let the Malleus imbroglio shake itself out, no sense in adding to it. --regentspark(comment)21:43, 21 October 2012 (UTC)
- Okay..I know, but this really wasn't about Malleus it was about John, though John was defending him based on his belief that I had spread some falsehoods...I provided diffs to back up my claims and John continued to insult me.--MONGO22:11, 21 October 2012 (UTC)
- Looks like Errant has warned John. That's probably the best place to leave it. --regentspark(comment)22:16, 21 October 2012 (UTC)
I haveremoved your proposed motion, as only arbitrators may propose motions. If you wish to suggest a way forward to the arbitrators, I suggest you add to your statement instead. --Alexandr Dmitri (talk)14:02, 22 October 2012 (UTC)
- I think it fairly obvious that I already knew that. But, whatever. --regentspark(comment)15:22, 22 October 2012 (UTC)
- Although I no longer consider myself a Wikipedian, I want you to know think your motion more sensible than Arbcom's recent output. pablo14:50, 22 October 2012 (UTC)
In reply to your latest edit..
I'd invite you to show that the people there speak for the "community", (90% of the people who don't give a damn about AN/ANI/RFC/ArbCom, but just want to improve the encyclopedia). Not to mention the fact the ongoing RFC on CE states by more then a 3-1 basis currently that YES, Civility does matter and should be enforced. We've given Malleus numerous attempts to walk back his statement, that he'd be a coward if he didn't call people "dishonest twats". I don't care what kind of environment he comes from where this is normal and expected (as some have stated), we're working with people all over the world. I even said to him "If you promise to try to do things better, we'll understand occasional slippages". He refused that. He's not going to change his behavior for anything, and would rather retire or be banned then change. I'm sorry folks disagree, but being an Arb is not a popularity contest. We are elected to enforce Wikipedia's norms and policies. Chief of which are the [[WP:5}P|Five Pillars]].SirFozzie (talk)23:17, 19 October 2012 (UTC)
- I'm sorry SirFozzie but you're getting way ahead of yourself. You're not the Supreme Court of the United States of America. You're just a bunch of guys elected to deal with situations when the community can't figure out what to do. In this case, one look at the arbcom page tells me that the community knows exactly what not to do. Apologies, but that's the way I see it. --regentspark(comment)23:50, 19 October 2012 (UTC)
- Where does that claim about five pillars being "chief" among Wikipedia's norms and policies come from? Is this something the community decided, or an edict of Wales or Sanger or does it come from the Wikimedia Foundation or is it a decree of Arbcom? The page itself doesn't seem clear on what it's supposed to be - essay, guideline or policy. The FAQ on the talk page describes it as "a non-binding description of some of the fundamental principles, begun by User:Neutrality in 2005 as a simple introduction for new users" (but I don't know how much support the FAQ has any more than I do the main page). When and how did it achieve chiefdom among norms and policies?46.31.204.63 (talk)14:57, 23 October 2012 (UTC)
You should leave it there, just for the record - to illustrate the obviously simple solution that appears to be beyond the understanding of the arbs. --Boing! said Zebedee (talk)16:25, 23 October 2012 (UTC)
- I agree. My bet, especially given the current levels of competence, is that it has just been missed among the noise. I wonder if there is some way of ensuring that at least one arb has seen it, without being accused of canvassing etc. -Sitush (talk)16:32, 23 October 2012 (UTC)
- Well, someone could always reinsert it as a motion :) --regentspark(comment)16:47, 23 October 2012 (UTC)
- I have pung a clerk, the one who removed it in the first place. Perhaps they can all e-mail and IRC each other about it a bit now if they haven't already. pablo19:54, 23 October 2012 (UTC)
- and lo! and befuckinghold. pablo20:32, 23 October 2012 (UTC)
You're absolutely wrong in the edit summary herehere. Lots of peopledo care. They care a lot. In fact is, ironically and sadly, that caring is much of the source of the frustration which leads to anger which leads to the so called drama. Simply put, we, as a community, have never come to a consensus on what "respect other editors" means.Nobody Ent19:48, 23 October 2012 (UTC)
- Echo that. pablo20:09, 23 October 2012 (UTC)
- What I meant was the arbs don't care. They don't like Malleus (not very hard that!) and would be happy to see him go and probably figure that most of the editors on forced wikibreak won't stay away very long (if, at all, that matters). Even Brad is hiding behind an entirely unnecessary recuse when he could easily come in with a more sensible motion. --regentspark(comment)20:17, 23 October 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 22 October 2012
- Special report:Examining adminship from the German perspective
Unlike the long-running disputes that have characterised attempts to reform the RfA process on the English Wikipedia, the German Wikipedia's tradition of making decisions not by consensus but knife-edged 50% + 1 votes has led to a fundamentally different outcome. In 2009, the project managed to largely settle the RfA mode issue in 2009 indirectly.
- Technology report:Wikivoyage migration: technical strategy announced
Planning for Wikivoyage's migration into the WMF fold built up steam this week following a statement by WMF Deputy Director Erik Möller about what the technical side of the migration will involve. Wikivoyage, which split from sister site Wikitravel in 2006, is hoping to migrate its own not-inconsiderable user base to Wikimedia, as well as much of its content, presenting novel challenges for Wikimedia developers
- News and notes:Wikimedians get serious about women in science
It is well known that women are underrepresented in the sciences, and that high-achieving female scientists have often been excluded from authorship lists and passed over for awards and honours solely on the basis of gender. Also significant has been the underplaying in the academic literature, news reporting, and online, of women's current and historical contributions to science.
- WikiProject report:Where in the world is Wikipedia?
The WikiProject Report normally brings tidings from Wikipedia's most active, inventive, and unique WikiProjects. This week, we're trying something new by focusing on Wikipedia's dark side: the various regional and national WikiProjects that are dead or dying. How can some tiny municipalities and exclaves generate highly active, cross-language, multimedia platforms be successful while the projects representing many sovereign countries and entire continents wallow in obscurity? Today, we'll search for answers among geographic projects large and small, highly active and barely functioning, enthusiastic about the future and mired in past conflicts.
- Featured content:Is RfA Kafkaesque?
Eleven articles, including one on Franz Kafka, three lists, one image, and one portal were promoted to 'featured' status this week.
I am on the verge of 3RR. Can you give me handhere --Anbu121 (talk me)17:51, 26 October 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 29 October 2012
- News and notes:First chickens come home to roost for FDC funding applicants; WMF board discusses governance issues and scope of programs
The first round of the Wikimedia Foundation's new financial arrangements has proceeded as planned, with the publication of scores and feedback by Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC) staff on applications for funding by 11 entities—10 chapters, independent membership organisations supporting the WMF's mission in different countries, and the foundation itself. The results are preliminary assessments that will soon be put to the FDC's seven voting members and two non-voting board representatives. The FDC in turn will send its recommendations to the board of trustees on 15 November, which will announce its decision by 15 December. Funding applications have been on-wiki since 1 October, and the talk pages of applications were open for community comment and discussion from 2 to 22 October, though apart from queries by FDC staff, there was little activity.
- WikiProject report:In recognition of... WikiProject Military History
This week, we're checking out ways to motivate editors and recognize valuable contributions by focusing on the awards and rewards of WikiProject Military History. Anyone unfamiliar with WikiProject Military History is encouraged to start at the report's first article about the project and make your way forward. While many WikiProjects provide a barnstar that can be awarded to helpful contributors, WikiProject Military History has gone a step further by creating a variety of awards with different criteria ranging from the all-purpose WikiChevrons to rewards for participating in drives and improving special topics to medals for improving articles up to A-class status to the coveted "Military Historian of the Year" award.
- Technology report:Improved video support imminent and Wikidata.org live
The TimedMediaHandler extension (TMH), which brings dramatic improvements to MediaWiki's video handling capabilities, will go live to the English Wikipedia this week following a long and turbulent development, WMF Director of Platform Engineering Rob Lanphier announced on Monday ... Wikidata.org, a new repository designed to host interwiki links, launched this week and will begin accepting links shortly. The site, which is one half of the forthcoming Wikidata trial (the other half being the Wikidata client, which will be deployed to the Hungarian Wikipedia shortly) will also act as a testing area for phase 2 of Wikidata (centralised data storage). The longer term plan is for Wikidata.org to become a "Wikimedia Commons for data" as phases 2 and 3 (dynamic lists) are developed, project managers say.
- Featured content:On the road again
Thirteen articles, ten lists, nine images, one topic, and one portal were promoted to featured after peer reviews.
You joined theCategory:Wikipedians who are not a Wikipedian, which is being discussed atits entry at Categories nominated for deletion.
You may wish to join the categoryCategory:Wikipedians working towards even enforcement of civility.
Kiefer.Wolfowitz10:54, 1 November 2012 (UTC)
- Nah. Doesn't have the same panache. Too boring :) --regentspark(comment)15:25, 1 November 2012 (UTC)
- When in Rome....Kiefer.Wolfowitz16:14, 1 November 2012 (UTC)
- Then, blessing all, 'Go, children of my care!
- To practice now from theory repair. 580
- All my commands are easy, short, and full:
- My sons! be proud, be selfish, and be dull.
- Guard my prerogative, assert my throne:
- This nod confirms each privilege your own.
Can you have a look atWikipedia:Administrators'_noticeboard/Incidents#Copy_pasting_same.2Fsimilar_information_in_a_bunch_of_articles.21 ? --Tito Dutta (talk)05:39, 4 November 2012 (UTC)
- Hi. Things are a mess where I am so can't really do it myself but you this is definitely indiscriminate content. Revert, drop a note on the editor's talk page and escalate warnings if necessary. --regentspark(comment)20:49, 4 November 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 05 November 2012
- Op-ed:2012 WikiCup comes to an end
J Milburn is a British editor who has been on the site since 2006. He is one of two judges of the WikiCup. Here, he uses an op-ed to explain the way the WikiCup works and to review this year's competition, which ended recently.
- News and notes:Wikimedian photographic talent on display in national submissions to Wiki Loves Monuments
The results of most of the national heats for Wiki Loves Monuments (WLM) have been published on Commons. A maximum of 10 images have been submitted by all but eight of the 34 participating countries, and the international jury for what is the largest competition of its type in the world is set to announce the global winner in four weeks' time.
- In the media:Was climate change a factor in Hurricane Sandy?
Hurricane Sandy was the largest Atlantic hurricane on record and has caused millions of dollars in damage. Naturally, Wikipedia covered it. But was Wikipedia's coverage unbiased?
- Featured content:Jack-O'-Lanterns and Toads
This week, theSignpost interviewed two editors. The first, PumpkinSky, collaborated with Gerda Arendt in writing the recently featured article on Franz Kafka and won second prize in the Core contest last August. The second, Cwmhiraeth, collaborated with Thompsma in promoting the article Frog, which was featured last week. We asked them about the special challenges faced while writing Core content and things to watch out for.
- Technology report:Hue, Sqoop, Oozie, Zookeeper, Hive, Pig and Kafka
The Wikimedia Foundation's engineering report for October 2012 was published this week on the Wikimedia Techblog and on the MediaWiki wiki, giving an overview of all Foundation-sponsored technical operations in that month. TimedMediaHandler also went live.
- WikiProject report:Listening to WikiProject Songs
This week,The Signpost sings along with WikiProject Songs which focuses on articles about songs of every generation and genre. The project initially began as a rough outline in October 2002 and was reimagined in March 2004 using its parent WikiProject Albums as a template.
New Short (finance) question
Hi regentspark, if you happen to be around, I'd like to point you to something new on theShort (finance) page, where an unregistered IP editor in France has been deleting significant parts of the article, while adding in a long, thinly sourced, arguably unencyclopedic discussion of the pros and cons of restricting short-selling. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it is also heavily weighted toward the EU and France in particular. Another editor (L2blackbelt) had previously reverted similar changes this week, although that editor seems to contribute only occasionally. For your convenience, here'sL2blackbelt's rollback and here'sthe IP editor's latest. I've made a elsewhere, so if it's answered I'll follow up to say so. If that hasn't happened yet, would you be willing to roll this back again? Cheers,WWB Too (Talk ·COI)15:32, 8 November 2012 (UTC)
- Looks like SPECIFICO just got to it. Meanwhile, my Talk page request from last month (about a partial reorganization) is still open, if you're willing to look at it. I appreciated your feedback, although nothing further has happened sense.Here's the link again, in case you find the time to revisit. Cheers,WWB Too (Talk ·COI)15:46, 8 November 2012 (UTC)
- And now someone else has completed that request, sorry to bother!WWB Too (Talk ·COI)12:35, 9 November 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 12 November 2012
- News and notes:Court ruling complicates the paid-editing debate
Last week, media outlets reported a ruling by a German court on the problem of businesses using Wikipedia for marketing purposes. The issue goes beyond the direct management of marketing-related edits by Wikipedians; it involves cross-monitoring and interacting among market competitors themselves on Wikipedia. A company that sells dietary supplements made from frankincense had taken a competitor to court. The recently published judgment by the Higher Regional Court of Munich, in dealing with the German Wikipedia article on frankincense products, was handed down in May and is based on European competition law.
- Featured content:The table has turned
Thirteen articles, six lists, and five images were promoted to 'featured' status last week.
- Technology report:MediaWiki 1.20 and the prospects for getting 1.21 code reviewed promptly
In late September, theTechnology report published its findings about (particularly median) code review times. To the 23,900 changesets analysed the first time (the data for which has been updated), theSignpost added data from the 9,000 or so changesets contributed between September 17 and November 9 to a total of 93,000 reviews across 45,000 patchsets. Bots and self-reviews were also discarded, but reviews made by a different user in the form of a superseding patch were retained. Finally, users were categorised by hand according to whether they would be best regarded as staff or volunteers. The new analyses were consistent with the predictions of the previous analysis.
- WikiProject report:Land of parrots, palm trees, and the Holy Cross: WikiProject Brazil
As promised, we're expanding our horizons by featuring projects that cover underrepresented areas of the globe. This week, we headed to WikiProject Brazil which keeps track of articles about the world's largest Portuguese-speaking country. The project has shown spurts of activity and continues to serve as a hub for discussions, despite the project's collaborations, peer reviews, and outreach activities being largely inactive.
The Signpost: 19 November 2012
- News and notes:FDC's financial muscle kicks in
The WMF's Funds Dissemination Committee has published its recommendations for the inaugural round 1 of funding. Requests totalled US$10.4M, nearly all of the FDC's budget for both first and second rounds. The seven-member committee of community volunteers appointed in September advises the WMF board on the distribution of grant funds among applying Wikimedia organizations. The committee, which has a separate operating budget of $276k for salaries and expenses, considered 12 applications for funds, from 11 chapters and from the WMF itself for its non-core activities. The decision-making process included community and FDC staff input after October 1, the closing date for submissions. Taken together, the volunteers decided to endorse an average of 81% of the funding sought—a total of $8.43M, which went to 11 of the 12 applicants. This leaves $2.71M to be distributed in round 2, for which applications are due in little more than three months' time.
- WikiProject report:No teenagers, mutants, or ninjas: WikiProject Turtles
This week, we spent some time with WikiProject Turtles. The young project started in January 2011 and has accumulated 5 Featured Articles, 3 Featured Lists, and 6 Featured Pictures. The project maintains a combined to-do list and hot articles meter, a popular pages ranking, and a collection of resources for turtle articles. We interviewed Faendalimas and NYMFan69-86.
- Technology report:Structural reorganisation "not a done deal"
WMF Executive Director Sue Gardner was forced to clarify this week that proposed structural changes to the Foundation's Engineering and Product Development Department were not a "done deal" and that it was "important that you [particularly affected staff] realise that ... your input is wanted". The reorganisation, announced on November 5 and planned for the middle of next year, will see its two components split off into their own departments.
- Featured content:Wikipedia hit by the Streisand effect
Seven featured articles, four featured lists and ten featured pictures – including the photograph that spawned the Streisand effect – were promoted this week.
Should we extend or close? --Anbu121 (talk me)03:58, 18 November 2012 (UTC)
- I'd say go ahead and close it. 15 November was the posted deadline and there are more than enough votes.--regentspark(comment)15:34, 18 November 2012 (UTC)
- Can you do it yourself. I am traveling for the past 1 week and I don't have proper internet access. (this edit from mobile) --Anbu121 (talk me)17:00, 18 November 2012 (UTC)
- I can't. Too much rl stuff till the end of next week. No worries if it stays open a bit longer though. --regentspark(comment)19:37, 18 November 2012 (UTC)
- We have got a tie in the agriculture category. --Anbu121 (talk me)20:03, 22 November 2012 (UTC)
- Two out of EE2, AE1 and CE12? --regentspark(comment)04:45, 23 November 2012 (UTC)
- Yes. --Anbu121 (talk me)
- All three are pretty good though EE2 may have the least resolution. Easiest is to just pick 2 and go with it. We can deal with it if someone objects down the road. As the person doing the work, you get some privileges! --regentspark(comment)23:02, 23 November 2012 (UTC)
- Thanks! --regentspark(comment)03:38, 26 November 2012 (UTC)
Very pleased to see you in the mix. -Sitush (talk)10:16, 21 November 2012 (UTC)
- Thanks. I don't see myself as fitting the 'electability' profile but I figured it's better than sitting around complaining :) --regentspark(comment)14:20, 21 November 2012 (UTC)
- Where do I go to vote for you?Darkness Shines (talk)16:54, 21 November 2012 (UTC)
- Thanks DS, appreciate the confidence. I believe you have to wait till Monday when a vote button should automatically appear when you pull up your watch list. --regentspark(comment)17:08, 21 November 2012 (UTC)
- Wtf, I came to look at your ACE guide and find you as part of the guides! You're a better man than I am if you're ready to commit to fixing instead of quitting, but I digress. Good luck though. cheers. —SpacemanSpiff05:10, 22 November 2012 (UTC)
- If you can't fight 'em ... :) --regentspark(comment)04:12, 23 November 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 26 November 2012
- News and notes:Toolserver finance remains uncertain
On November 24, a general assembly of Wikimedia Germany (WMDE) voted on the fate of the Wikimedia Toolserver, a central external piece of technical infrastructure supporting the editing communities with volunteer-developed scripts and webpages of various kinds that are assisting in performing mostly menial tasks.
- Recent research:Movie success predictions, readability, credentials and authority, geographical comparisons
An open-access preprint presents the results from a study attempting to predict early box office revenues from Wikipedia traffic and activity data. The authors – a team of computational social scientists from Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Aalto University and the Central European University – submit that behavioral patterns on Wikipedia can be used for accurate forecasting, matching and in some cases outperforming the use of social media data for predictive modeling. The results, based on a corpus of 312 English Wikipedia articles on movies released in 2010, indicate that the joint editing activity and traffic measures on Wikipedia are strong predictors of box office revenue for highly successful movies.
- Technology report:Wikidata reaches 100,000 entries
Wikidata, the new "Wikimedia Commons for data" and the first new Wikimedia project since 2006, reached 100,000 entries this week. The project aims to be a single, human- and machine-readable database for common data, spanning across all Wikipedia projects, which will "lead to a higher consistency and quality within Wikipedia articles, as well as increased availability of information in the smaller language editions" while lowering the burden on Wikipedia's volunteer editors—whose numbers have stalled overall, and continue to dwindle on the English Wikipedia.
- WikiProject report:Directing Discussion: WikiProject Deletion Sorting
This week, we uncovered WikiProject Deletion Sorting, Wikipedia's most active project by number of edits to all the project's pages. This special project seeks to increase participation in Articles for Deletion nominations by categorizing the AfD discussions by various topic areas that may draw the attention of editors. The project was started in August 2005 with manual processes that are continued today by a bevy of bots, categories, and transclusions. The project took inspiration from WikiProject Stub Sorting and some historical discussions on deletion reform. As the sheer number of AfDs continues to grow, the project is seeking better tools to manage the deletion sorting process and attract editors to comment on these deletion discussions.
I noticed your username commenting at an Arbcom discussion regarding civility. An effort is underway that would likely benifit if your views were included. I hope you will append regards at:Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Civility enforcement/Questionnaire Thank you for considering this request.My76Strat (talk)08:21, 29 November 2012 (UTC)
- I'll give it a shot. Thanks for letting me know. --regentspark(comment)13:52, 29 November 2012 (UTC)
- Responded. Also left a note on the questionnaire talk page. --regentspark(comment)14:40, 29 November 2012 (UTC)
- Thank you for that favorable response. I hope the effort produces good results, I'm sure it will benefit with more people involved. Again, thanks.My76Strat (talk)14:57, 29 November 2012 (UTC)