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Archived at 2014-07-31T23:59Z

The Signpost: 07 May 2014

  • News and notes: New system of discretionary sanctions; Buchenwald; is Pirelli 'Cracking Wikipedia'?
    The English Wikipedia's Arbitration Committee (ArbCom) introduced the first form of what are known as the "discretionary sanction" (DS) in 2009. A new DS regime, called Discretionary sanctions (2014), is the result of an elaborate review process involving both the community, since last September, and the committee, for more than a year.
  • Traffic report: TMZedia
    For all the claims of Wikipedia bringing the world's knowledge to all who want it, it seems the human race most wants is a tabloid newspaper; a quick source for TV listings, pop culture facts, celebrity gossip and, above all, scandal—with some nice juicy racism thrown in too.
  • In focus: Foundation announces long-awaited new executive director
    In a live video stream on 1 May, the Wikimedia Foundation announced that Lila Tretikov will be replacing Sue Gardner, its executive director. Gardner, who has been in the position since 2007, declared her intention to leave more than a year ago.
  • In the media: Google and the flu; Adrianne
    Boston Children's Hospital postdoctoral fellow David McIver and a team have determined that using page view statistics from Wikipedia, they can track flu progression better than the Center for Disease Control can using Google searches.
  • WikiProject report: Singing with Eurovision
    Formed in 2003, the Eurovision WikiProject boasts four featured articles and 22 good articles. The Eurovision Song Contest 2014 is currently taking place in Copenhagen, Denmark, so we went to the stage to talk with one of the project's members.
  • Featured content: Wikipedia at the Rijksmuseum
    Four articles, two lists, and five pictures were promoted to "featured" status on the English Wikipedia last week.

LA edit-a-thons on May 23 and 31

More information LA meetups: Adrianne Wadewitz memorial edit-a-thons on May 23 and May 31 ...
LA meetups: Adrianne Wadewitz memorial edit-a-thons on May 23 and May 31

Dear fellow Wikipedian,

There are two LA edit-a-thons in memory of Adrianne Wadewitz, a prolific Wikipedia editor, in the coming weeks. Please join us May 23 at Occidental College and May 31 at the Institute of Cultural Inquiry to combat systemic bias and help further Adrianne's legacy. No experience needed! Please RSVP at the relevant page(s) if you plan to attend.

I hope to see you there! Calliopejen1 (talk) - via MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 18:28, 14 May 2014 (UTC)

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The Signpost: 14 May 2014

  • WikiProject report: Relaxing in Puerto Rico
    This week, the Signpost jumped over the ocean to chat with the Puerto Rico WikiProject.
  • News and notes: 'Ask a librarian'—connecting Wikimedians with the National Library of Australia
    Editors of Australian-related topics on the English Wikipedia may have noticed an odd addition if they viewed the article's talk pages. For example, on Talk:Darwin, Northern Territory, they might be drawn in by the question mark, nested within what is often a sea of WikiProject templates: "Need help improving this article? Ask a librarian at the National Library of Australia, or the Northern Territory Library." Just what is this?
  • Featured content: On the rocks
    Six articles, seven lists, and four pictures were promoted to 'featured' status on the English Wikipedia this week.

The Signpost: 21 May 2014

  • News and notes: "Crisis" over Wikimedia Germany's palace revolution
    Last Sunday the board of Wikimedia Germany passed 9–1 a vote of no confidence in the chapter's executive director, Pavel Richter, who has held the position since 2009. With more than 50 employees, an annual budget approaching $10 million, and the right to conduct its own fundraising through the Wikimedia Foundation's (WMF) site banners, Wikimedia Germany is the second-largest organisation in the movement after the WMF itself. The decision was announced on the Wikimedia mailing list by the chapter chair, Nikolas Becker.
  • Traffic report: Doodles' dawn
    It's a relief to see Google Doodles having an impact again; their wide coverage means that they inspire curiosity on many subjects which, for reasons of nationality, ethnicity or gender, might not be known in the English-speaking world. It's a shame then, that Wikipedia so often fails to keep up; articles on Google Doodles are almost invariably C-class, and seldom do justice to their subjects. Still, interest in Google Doodles has been waning in recent months—Audrey Hepburn last week was the first to top the list since December—so any rise in popularity is worth celebrating.

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The Signpost: 28 May 2014

  • News and notes: The English Wikipedia's second featured-article centurion; wiki inventor interviewed on video
    With the promotion to featured article of Grus (constellation) on 17 May, Casliber became Wikipedia's second featured-article centurion, following Wehwalt's groundbreaking achievement last December. Cas's first FA, Banksia integrifolia, a group effort, was promoted on 16 November 2006. His first solo project, Diplodocus, followed in January 2007; he has rarely been off the FAC since. In a second story, Ward Cunningham, an American computer programmer who invented the wiki, was interviewed by the WMF.
  • Featured content: Zombie fight in the saloon
    Wikipedia editor Sven Manguard's work is quite underappreciated a lot of the time, most likely because people haven't heard of it yet: He's developed good relationships with game companies, and is thus able to get full-resolution screenshots released under a Creative Commons license for use on Wikipedia and elsewhere. This week's trove of new featured items on the English Wikipedia comprises seven articles, three lists, and four pictures.
  • Traffic report: Get fitted for flipflops and floppy hats
    In the US, Memorial Day marks the unofficial beginning of summer, and summer is definitely on people's minds this week, with summer films Godzilla and X-Men: Days of Future Past, the apparently designated summer song "Fancy" by Iggy Azalea, and summer TV show, Game of Thrones.
  • Recent research: Predicting which article you will edit next
    Wikipedia in the eyes of its beholders; "Chinese-language time zones" favor Asian pop and IT topics on Wikipedia; and bipartite editing prediction in Wikipedia.

The Signpost: 04 June 2014

  • Special report: IEG funding for women's stories: a new approach to the gender gap
    Individual engagement grants (IEGs) are announced twice yearly by a volunteer WMF committee, the most recent of which we covered last December. The scheme, launched at the start of last year, awards funds to individuals or teams of up to four to produce high-impact outcomes for the WMF's online projects. It favours innovative approaches to solving critical issues in the movement.
  • News and notes: Two new affiliate-selected trustees
    New trustee Frieda Briosch from Italy: we face "a couple of headaches", she says: "how to boost editors, which includes the development of the next strategic plan, and how to keep our project always 'glamorous'."
  • Op-ed: "Hospitality, jerks, and what I learned"—the amazing keynote at WikiConference USA
    I never feel quite adequate trying to paraphrase Sumana's words: she is so articulate. I highly encourage every person who reads this article to directly watch her keynote—it directly speaks to a lot of Wikimedia's most significant issues, made with great eloquence. We have a serious issue with retaining editors, and parts of her speech could serve as a pretty good partial blueprint towards how we could begin to fix that problem.
  • Featured content: Ye stately homes of England
    David Iliff, or Diliff, as he is known on here outside of the file pages for his many, many, excellent photographs, is one of Wikipedia's longest-standing professional-standard photographers. This week, the Signpost salutes him.
  • Traffic report: Autumn in summer
    The northern summer is a time when one is meant to celebrate the exuberance of life; instead, commemoration of the dead was a significant theme this week.

Orphaned non-free image File:John R. Phillips (Washington, D.C. attorney).jpg

⚠

Thanks for uploading File:John R. Phillips (Washington, D.C. attorney).jpg. The image description page currently specifies that the image is non-free and may only be used on Wikipedia under a claim of fair use. However, the image is currently not used in any articles on Wikipedia. If the image was previously in an article, please go to the article and see why it was removed. You may add it back if you think that that will be useful. However, please note that images for which a replacement could be created are not acceptable for use on Wikipedia (see our policy for non-free media).

Note that any non-free images not used in any articles will be deleted after seven days, as described in the criteria for speedy deletion. Thank you. Stefan2 (talk) 17:51, 10 June 2014 (UTC)

Agree@Stefan2: Thanks. OK to delete it. It was replaced by an official US government photo in the three articles named in the fair use rationales. [AlanM1(talk)] 21:19, 10 June 2014 (UTC)

L.A. events on June 21 and July 6

More information Upcoming L.A. events: Unforgetting L.A. edit-a-thon (Saturday, June 21, 12-5pm) and Wiknic (Sunday, July 6, ~9:30am-4pm) ...

Upcoming L.A. events: Unforgetting L.A. edit-a-thon (Saturday, June 21, 12-5pm) and Wiknic (Sunday, July 6, ~9:30am-4pm)

File:356 S Mission.jpg
Gallery at 356 S. Mission Rd.
Get hungry for the Wiknic!

Dear fellow Wikipedian,

The L.A. Wikipedia community has two exciting events coming up in the next few weeks: an edit-a-thon sponsored by the online magazine East of Borneo, and the fourth annual Los Angeles Wiknic!

The East of Borneo event is an edit-a-thon that aims to build a better history of art in Southern California. This next chapter of their Unforgetting L.A. series will take place on Saturday, June 21, 2014 from 12pm to 5pm at 356 S. Mission Rd. (map). Beginners welcome! Please RSVP here if you plan to attend. For more info, see eastofborneo.org/unforgetting.

The Wiknic is a part of the nationwide Great American Wiknic. We'll be grilling, getting to know each other better, and building the L.A. Wikipedia community! The event is tentatively planned for Pan-Pacific Park (map) and will be held on Sunday, July 6, 2014 from 9:30am to 4pm or so. Please RSVP and volunteer to bring food or drinks if possible!

I hope to see you there! Calliopejen1 (talk) - via MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 22:59, 11 June 2014 (UTC)

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The Signpost: 11 June 2014

  • News and notes: PR agencies commit to ethical interactions with Wikipedia
    Eleven public relations agencies have declared their intention to follow "ethical engagement practices" in Wikipedia editing. The results were published last Tuesday: a joint statement from the participating PR agencies—representing five of the top ten global agencies and all but one of the top ten in the United States—clarifying their views and practices with regards to the Wikimedia projects.
  • Traffic report: The week the wired went weird
    It seems that, more than commemorating the great moments in our history, more than even anticipating great sporting events, what our audience wants is the weird.
  • Paid editing: Does Wikipedia Pay? The Moderator: William Beutler
    William Beutler (WWB), author of the blog The Wikipedian, is a long-time editor and community-watcher. He is also a paid editor (WWB Too). Well—not anymore—because he gave up direct editing of articles in 2011. Instead, for the past three years he has followed Jimmy Wales' Bright Line rule in acting as a researcher and consultant for companies and clients that want to suggest changes to Wikipedia articles and engage on the Talk page.
  • Special report: Questions raised over secret voting for WMF trustees
    Last week we reported the announcement of two new affiliate-selected WMF trustees. The board of trustees is the most powerful and influential body in the movement, and chapters have been permitted to select two of the 10 seats since 2008, for two-year terms that start in even-numbered years.
  • Featured content: Politics, ships, art, and cyclones
    Five articles, one list, twelve pictures, and one topic were promoted to 'featured' status last week on the English Wikipedia.

The Signpost: 18 June 2014

  • Featured content: Worming our way to featured picture
    Five articles, five lists, 22 pictures, and one portal were promoted to 'featured' status on the English Wikipedia last week.
  • Special report: Wikimedia Bangladesh: a chapter's five-year journey
    The Bangladesh chapter of the Wikimedia movement was formed in 2009. They received official local registration from the national authorities on 10 June 2014. The long road in between was subject to much persistence, patience, and luck—along with a good deal of worry.
  • Traffic report: You can't dethrone Thrones
    To the surprise of absolutely no one, the 2014 FIFA World Cup was the main draw this week, taking four slots. People appeared desperate to bone up on their trivia; checking not only this year's World Cup, but the last one. Even so, they still couldn't push Game of Thrones from the top ten. It will be interesting to see what happens come next week's season finale.
  • WikiProject report: Visiting the city
    This week, the Signpost came in from the hinterland to interview members of the Cities WikiProject.

Left a note

Hi. I left a note on the Casey Kassem talk page in the ongoing discussion. Randy Kryn 11:27, 26 June 2014 (UTC)

Removal of incomplete message

Hi AlanM1,

There is a incomplete message in the section of the article which says "This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it". The list or table has been completed. Since i am only a auto-confirmed user, so i would request you to remove this message not only from the section, but also from the "Category:Incomplete lists from April 2014".

Thanking you for your co-operation. Work2win (talk) 20:22, 27 June 2014 (UTC)

@Work2win: There was more to it than that. One of the sources was just partial (and apparently preliminary anyway). I compared the official source with the data, corrected a few discrepancies, and removed the duplicative language and bad source. Note that the article is not protected – you should be able to edit it. [AlanM1(talk)] 10:53, 28 June 2014 (UTC)


Hi AlanM1,

Thanks a lot for your timely help. Work2win (talk)

Everly Brothers

Number one, the "born" and "died" fields are only for solo artists, according to Template:Infobox musical artist. Number two, show me a duo that does not put the members names in the present_members or past_members fields. Those fields are supposed to be used for acts consisting of more than one person. Compare Simon & Garfunkel, Hall & Oates, Brooks & Dunn — all acts that have only ever had two people in them, yet do use the "members" fields. Ten Pound Hammer(What did I screw up now?) 22:43, 27 June 2014 (UTC)

I believe you've misunderstood our objection, which is to listing Phil as a past member because he's deceased. Would you mind re-posting your comments in a new section at Talk:Everly Brothers so we can keep it centralized? [AlanM1(talk)] 00:02, 28 June 2014 (UTC)
@TenPoundHammer and Tvoz: Actually, scratch that. After looking at some other articles, reading the doc for the template and some archived previous discussions at the talk page, it seems that the policy is, indeed, to move people from |current_members= to |past_members= when they die or leave the group, even if everyone leaves the group (i.e. it disbands).
So, the article is almost correct as it stands now; however, why did you (TenPoundHammer) revert my edit to |years_active=? The last time they were active as "The Everly Brothers" was 2005 according to the article.
Lastly, any ideas why they are categorized as Category:American Christian musical groups? There's no statement at the category page about the criteria for inclusion, but it doesn't seem correct. I've asked at the talk page and noted it at WT:WikiProject Musicians/Categorization [AlanM1(talk)] 11:30, 28 June 2014 (UTC)

The Signpost: 25 June 2014

  • News and notes: US National Archives enshrines Wikipedia in Open Government Plan
    The US National Archives and Record Administration (NARA) have committed to engaging with Wikimedia projects in their newest Open Government Plan. The biannual effort is a roadmap for how the agency will accomplish its goals in the digital age.
  • Traffic report: Fake war, or real sport?
    Despite the interest generated by its season finale, Game of Thrones still couldn't top the World Cup, which still dominated interest, as evidenced by the fact that this top 10 is virtually identical to last week's, just with a different dead celebrity.
  • Featured content: Showing our Wörth
    Ten articles and eleven pictures were promoted to "featured" status on the English Wikipedia this week.
  • WikiProject report: The world where dreams come true
    This week, the Signpost visited the land of Disney, blockbusters, explosions, dream sequences, and cultural masterpieces: film.
  • Recent research: Power users and diversity in WikiProjects
    In a recent paper, Jacob Solomon and Rick Wash investigate the question of sustainability in online communities by analysing trends in the growth of WikiProjects.

June 2014

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The Signpost: 02 July 2014

  • In the media: Wiki Education; medical content; PR firms
    The Los Angeles Times highlighted a recent Wiki Education Foundation (WEF) course at Pomona College in their article "Wikipedia pops up in bibliographies, and even college curricula". We interviewed Char Booth, the campus ambassador for the course, for additional details.
  • Traffic report: The Cup runneth over... and over.
    With Game of Thrones over for another year, the World Cup dominated yet again. And that is pretty much that. This list isn't likely to be particularly eventful until the Cup is won.
  • News and notes: Wikimedia Israel receives Roaring Lion award
    Wikimedia Israel (WMIL) has won a Roaring Lion in the category of Internet and cellular for its public outreach during the tenth anniversary of the Hebrew Wikipedia in July 2013.
  • Featured content: Ship-shape
    Six articles, five lists, seventeen pictures, and one topic were promoted to "featured" status on the English Wikipedia this week.
  • Technology report: In memoriam: the Toolserver (2005–14)
    In the early hours of Tuesday morning, Wikimedia Deutschland's Toolserver project was switched off, marking the end of one of the Wikimedia movement's longest running Chapter-led projects. The Toolserver, which was in fact a collection of servers, first came online in 2005, hosting hundreds of webpages and scripts ("tools") made available for use by Wikimedia readers, editors and administrators.

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Hindu temple
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List of human stampedes in Hindu temples
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Sabur Khan

Thanks for your edits here. We have an editor with a coi at this article and Daffodil International University. I've given him a COI notice. I'm pretty sure that editing these articles is part of his job (as opposed to him being a paid PR editor or something like that). Dougweller (talk) 15:39, 10 July 2014 (UTC)

@Dougweller: Yeah, I've been here before and it's kind of a tough spot. There are so many that attempt to advertise their non-notable accomplishments and widget companies, particularly in south/central Asia, it's hard not to paint them all with the same brush. This case, though, seems like a guy and company that might be genuinely notable in a developing economy, but they are going about it in the wrong way and the articles look just like the others. Daffodil Group (the holding company) was even deleted (and I was probably involved in doing so) because it was so bad and clearly being edited only by SPAs. Those other related users included Alam5131, Wikiwebsbd, Iqbalbhuyan, and now the latest one, Siddikweb. It seems to me that it all belongs under that one article (Daffodil Group), perhaps with DIU having enough to have its own article if it's reasonable to list all the departments, etc. (there seems to be some precedent in other school articles). [AlanM1(talk)] 09:06, 11 July 2014 (UTC)
Our guidelines at Wikipedia:College and university article guidelines don't cover department lists, maybe they should. I just amended them to include something about no mission statements - I know you added something about objectives but I see that's gone now - they are basically just promotional in most cases. Lists of every department certainly don't seem encyclopedic and take up a disproportionate amount of the article. There doesn't seem much independent coverage in English at least. Dougweller (talk) 11:29, 11 July 2014 (UTC)

Informal note

Hey, I notice that you have HighBeam access and you seem to have a few topicons. That being said, if you are interested, I've created {{Wikipedia:HighBeam/Topicon}}. No reply to this message is necessary (and I won't see it unless you ping me), just wanted to let you know it was available. Happy editing! — {{U|Technical 13}} (etc) 00:15, 12 July 2014 (UTC)

@Technical 13: Where do you see I have HighBeam access? The account expired over a year ago and I didn't renew it. I don't see it anywhere in my user page. [AlanM1(talk)] 07:23, 12 July 2014 (UTC)
  • This edit takes you out of Category:Wikipedians who have access to HighBeam, and you can just revert that change if you ever reapply for HighBeam access. Sorry about the confusion. — {{U|Technical 13}} (etc) 13:11, 12 July 2014 (UTC)
@Technical 13: That's apparently a copy of the HighBeam userbox that I made when I originally got access, probably to change something I didn't like about the main one. However, it's not linked to or transcluded anywhere, having been removed from my userpage at , so it shouldn't matter what its nocat parameter was set to. The template page itself (correctly) is not in the category. Or did you just see the template in my userspace and assume it was being transcluded somewhere? [AlanM1(talk)] 19:06, 12 July 2014 (UTC)
  • Before I added the nocat the userbox itself was in the category. Since it qas in your userspqce, I assumed since you had made a userbox and it was still in the category tgat you had access. Me adding the nocat took the userbox out of the category so the nexr person won't cone across it and thibk the same thing. No harm done and its fixef up. Sorry about my poor spelling and punxt, I'm on Mobil and in a hurry. — {{U|Technical 13}} (etc) 19:58, 12 July 2014 (UTC)
@Technical 13: I just figured you decided to use your cat as a spell-checker . As far as the issue at hand, the key is the part I highlighted above, which is incorrect. As you may have seen, I've questioned it's purpose/wisdom at Template talk:Userbox#Should usercategory values be applied to templates?. Despite your original section name, I try not to miss an opportunity to learn something. If nothing else, I can document the behavior. [AlanM1(talk)] 06:50, 13 July 2014 (UTC)

The Signpost: 09 July 2014

  • Special report: Wikimania 2014—what will it cost?
    Last May, James Forrester announced to the world that London had been awarded the 2014 Wikimania conference. Functioning as the Wikimedia movement's annual conference, it is separate from the chapter-focused Wikimedia Conference. The first, located in Frankfurt, took place in 2005 and had 380 attendees. London, the tenth, is now expected to attract 1500. With Wikimania ambition, attention, and attendance rising significantly over the last nine years, how have this year's monetary costs come to be?
  • Wikimedia in education: Exploring the United States and Canada with LiAnna Davis
    The Wikimedia Education Program currently spans 60 programs around the world; students and instructors participate at almost every level of education. The Education program Signpost series presents a snapshot of the Wikimedia Global Education Program as it exists in 2014.
  • Traffic report: World Cup, Tim Howard rule the week
    Unsurprisingly, the World Cup continued to dominate the English Wikipedia's viewing statistics. In particular, the record-breaking performance of US goalkeeper Tim Howard and the tournament-ending injury to Brazil's Neymar drove large amount of views to their articles.

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The Signpost: 16 July 2014

  • Special report: $10 million lawsuit against Wikipedia editors withdrawn, but plaintiff intends to refile
    On the same day the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) announced it would offer assistance to English Wikipedia editors embroiled in a legal dispute with Yank Barry, the lawsuit has been withdrawn without prejudice at the request of Barry's legal team—but this action is being described as "strategic" so that they can refile the lawsuit with a "new, more comprehensive complaint."
  • Featured content: The Island with the Golden Gun
    Eight articles, three lists, and 28 pictures were promoted to "featured" status on the English Wikipedia last week.
  • News and notes: Bot-created Wikipedia articles covered in the Wall Street Journal, push Cebuano over one million articles
    The Swedish Wikipedia's prolific Lsjbot, which has created a significant proportion of the site's 1.7 million articles and has nearly single-handedly pushed it to being the fourth-largest Wikipedia, was covered in the Wall Street Journal this week. The newspaper reported that the bot has created 2.7 million articles, which is apparently a reference to the Waray-Waray and Cebuano Wikipedias, where Lsjbot is also active, and that "on a good day", it creates 10,000 articles.

RFA

Hold up, while I look over your work; it's been long enough since I interacted with you that I don't remember much of anything. I wish I could do a nomination statement of "he's been here for six years, never blocked, and never banned, so he should be an admin per WP:DEAL", but that kind of thing would be rejected quickly, as most people don't seem to agree with such an idea. Nyttend (talk) 02:08, 22 July 2014 (UTC)

OK. No problem. [AlanM1(talk)] 02:13, 22 July 2014 (UTC)
Okay, created. I hope the concluding statement sounds right! I'm not accusing you of being disruptive; it's basically meant to say "anyone who's been around this long ought to be trusted". Let me know if you'd like me to revise that statement before I transclude the nomination to the main RFA page. Nyttend (talk) 02:33, 22 July 2014 (UTC)
@Nyttend: I'm not sure "he probably won't go nuts and wreck the joint" is how I'd prefer to be though of, but if that's what you see, so be it. You're probably right [he whispers "probably right" to his shoulder, leaving one to wonder which side is the angel and which, the demon].
What would you suggest as its replacement? Just chop everything after "before now"? I want to say something along those lines, simply to bolster my argument of why we should trust you, but of course I'll be happy to shorten it and move it to a different spot. Nyttend (talk) 03:00, 22 July 2014 (UTC)
@Nyttend: I don't think I should put words in your mouth. Seriously, whatever you decide is fine. From the looks of some of the RfAs I skimmed through, people are going to be looking at my history in detail, and hopefully make a decision based on the totality. [AlanM1(talk)] 03:30, 22 July 2014 (UTC)
Okay, I reduced it a bit and moved it to a different place. I hope you can get through; it seems as if people are always picking on the tiniest little bits as a reason to oppose, so I hope yours goes differently. Nyttend (talk) 04:15, 22 July 2014 (UTC)
@Nyttend: Yeah, it seems some attract a lot of attention and some, very little. I haven't been in too many beefs, and try to color between the lines, so hopefully that's enough. Thanks for your efforts. [AlanM1(talk)] 07:22, 22 July 2014 (UTC)
You're welcome. Are you ready to go now? If so, you should start answering the standard questions first, since we don't want to transclude it onto the RFA page until they're answered. Nyttend (talk) 13:04, 22 July 2014 (UTC)
@Nyttend:  Done

@Nyttend: Actually, I would note that the "Hamirpur district" move you noted was one of just three – not exactly a "pile". [AlanM1(talk)] 16:51, 22 July 2014 (UTC)

Template editor user right

Per BrownHairedGirl's question; I've looked over your contributions and I'd be OK giving you the user right if you wanted it. Your work on the protected Template:Time was implemented, so you know what you are doing on templates. SilkTork ✔Tea time 00:22, 24 July 2014 (UTC)

@SilkTork: Thanks. It would save a step occasionally. I would tend to get input anyway for changes to widely-used templates, but at least I could do the work myself afterwards. After the grilling I'm getting, I appreciate the confidence. Now, I'm off to blank {{Convert}}... [AlanM1(talk)] 00:41, 24 July 2014 (UTC)
It's done. Enjoy. SilkTork ✔Tea time 00:53, 24 July 2014 (UTC)

Suggestion regarding the RfA

An RfA can be quite stressful, especially when it goes off the rails. It happened to me on my first RfA, and it has happened to many other admins (it's quite often that admins don't pass their first RfA). Rather than subject yourself to more of the same, and also to show to the community that you are able to assess which way consensus is going, and are able to make judgements which save the community time, I suggest you withdraw now. Those opposing are saying they would be willing to support you in 6 months time. There are no concerns in your editing or behaviour, though you are (understandable, given the circumstances) starting to sound tetchy and defensive, which unfortunately doesn't look good. I suspect that a period of working in areas that are typical of admins, such as AfD (even if it's not something you will continue to do, it will demonstrate to the community your judgement in admin areas, and that is useful), you will be able to try again and should pass. I'd be quite happy to look over your contributions in six months time, and all being well nominate you then. There are several ways you can withdraw. You can mention it here, and either myself or someone else will close for you. You can say on the RfA page that you withdraw. Or you can do it yourself by following the instructions on the page (seen when you click on Edit) - if unsure, look at past RfAs to see how they are closed. You may wish to leave a statement, such as "Withdrawn. I can see the community are concerned by my lack of experience at AfD - I will spend the next six months gaining experience in that area, and try again then. Thanks to everyone for their helpful comments." Or whatever you wish to say. Regards SilkTork ✔Tea time 09:11, 25 July 2014 (UTC)

Hi Alan
I hope you will excuse me for jumping in to second SilkTork's suggestion. Your RFA is unusual in that even the opposes are dominated by praise for you, and I hope that in the cacophony of "not now"s, you take heart from that.
You are under no obligation to withdraw, and I hope you feel no pressure to do so ... but for what it's worth I do believe that Silktork's suggestion is wise, for all the stated reasons.
Best wishes. --BrownHairedGirl (talk) • (contribs) 17:19, 25 July 2014 (UTC)
Thank you both for your support and wisdom. As you might expect, though, from what I've written, I don't agree with some of it, and I won't be withdrawing. More to follow... [AlanM1(talk)] 22:19, 25 July 2014 (UTC)
Apparently, I'm not even entitled to choose not to withdraw without criticism, despite the fact that I still have a significant block (a majority) of support votes (assuming the counter is correct, despite there being 6 people who have committed a heinous syntax error similar to that which has earned me loads of abuse). And now we've got a personal attack in the mix too. Apparently, I'm not entitled to defend myself, so I've barred myself from further rebuttals, despite continuing mis-statements being made, since all they seem to do is attract more fire. [AlanM1(talk)] 07:47, 26 July 2014 (UTC)
Your RFA has served its purpose. All you're doing at this point is showing you're pugnacious. That will not be to your benefit should you choose to run again. This is non-sugar-coated advice that I assume you'll ignore, but don't blame a guy for trying. Townlake (talk) 03:11, 27 July 2014 (UTC)
  • You are always entitled to withdraw, even against your own words. Having come to realization it is best isn't a sign of weakness or of dishonesty. I agree with SilkTork, and with the feedback that BrownHairedGirl has given you here and on her talk page. The problem isn't what you do, it is what you haven't yet done. By the nature of the toolkit, admin must have general experience and familiarity in most things. The UAA report that BHG pointed to at the RFA is a good example. Innocent enough, but it does show that you are going to run into things that need attention and you have need to have a general idea where to go or what to do. There are so many places for reports, I can easily overlook this one mistake, but the larger issues of deletion policy and dealing with disruption have to be addressed. As for taking a bludgeoning at your own RFA, yes, I know something about that. (Yes, BHG opposed me, but it hasn't stopped us from getting along. You can't take that stuff personal.) If you are serious about adminship, a program can be designed to get you the experience you need via a little mentoring. Either way, don't take RFA comments too seriously. When you put yourself on public display, some are going to throw rocks. Most, however, have been very kind in just pointing out the reasons you aren't ready. It might be heartbreaking, but it isn't a dramafest nor hatefilled. Dennis Brown |  | WER 17:00, 26 July 2014 (UTC)
    • I had forgotten that I had opposed Dennis Brown's RFA, and I am glad that he brought it up, because I think it's relevant here. Here's my oppose of Dennis.
      I have huge regard for the way that Dennis conducts himself as an admin; in fact I would say that he is one of the best I have ever seen. Seriously: Dennis knows his policies and guidelines; he is calm, reflective, open to criticism, rarely acts hastily, and seeks amicable resolutions, but is firm when needed. That's not just flattery; I wrote much the same in an email earlier today.
      So I went back to review my vote, expecting to conclude that it was something I would revise. To my surprise I find that I wouldn't change my vote. I think that I was right about all the good qualities I saw in Dennis, as time on the job has only enhanced my respect for all that I praised at his RFA. But given the problems I saw with CSD tagging, I would have preferred him to come back again having addressed that.
      The community decided overwhelmingly to give Dennis the mop regardless of those issues, and their choice has worked out brilliantly; Dennis has taken on board the concerns about CSD, so it hasn't been an issue again. But given the job-for-life nature of adminship, if I had my vote again I would still prefer a second RFA.
      At this point, there are many more gaps in Alan's CV than there were in Dennis's ... but if Alan wants to use the RFA as a guide to where to build skills, they are all fixable. The only thing which would really be seen to count against Alan would be a perception that he did not welcome critical feedback. --BrownHairedGirl (talk) • (contribs) 18:25, 26 July 2014 (UTC)
      • Thank you, that is kind of you to say, and I completely understand and respect the hesitancy. I will also point Alan to this: User talk:Dennis Brown/CSD. I passed because of a singular hole in my experience. At that time, I had over 1400 AFDs behind me and 18k edits, with an exceptional record of being with consensus. My weakness was just CSD policy, I was around 90-92% right, which isn't bad but was deemed insufficient for an admin. I did 3 months of mentoring without using my tools in that area, after becoming an admin because it was clear that is what the community wanted. I wasn't obligated, but if I were to keep the respect of the community, I knew I had to do this willingly and completely. The same could be said about StringTheory11, who just became an admin but I'm AFD mentoring at User:StringTheory11/AfD. Again, because of a singular hole in experience. He and I are the only ones that have agreed to mentoring during RFA. As BHG points out, there is more than a single hole in experience, but it can be overcome nonetheless. If you decide to get mentoring and take a "crash course" in those areas, you could be ready in 6 months, as then you would have a place you could point to that shows you addressed those issues, and how you progressed in those efforts. Dennis Brown |  | WER 18:38, 26 July 2014 (UTC)
AlanM1 it seems that your RfA might fail. But, never mind failures, they are quite natual, they are the beauty of life, these failures. What would life be without them? I never heard a cow tell a lie, but it is only a cow- never a man. So, never mind these failures, these little backslidings; hold the ideal a thousand times, make the attempt once more. The ideal of man is to see the success. Jim Carter (from public cyber) 13:13, 28 July 2014 (UTC)

The Signpost: 23 July 2014

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RFA closed

Hi, AlanM1, I'm afraid that I've just closed your RfA as unsuccessful. Sorry that it didn't work out, and I know that it sucks, but of course one doesn't need to pass RfA to be a valuable editor, so don't let it get to you too much. :) Thanks, and happy editing! Writ Keeper  18:59, 29 July 2014 (UTC)

Stop stalking me

More information Sk8erPrince's message ...
Close

I have collapsed the message. It looks to me a WP:Personal attack rather than a message. Feel free to revert my changes. Cheers, Jim Carter (from public cyber) 14:17, 30 July 2014 (UTC)

  • Dear AlanM1 and Sk8erPrince: I happened to see this when I came to Alan's talk page about another matter, and I hope that you don't mind if I comment about it. It seems to me that both of you are valuable editors who have managed to irritate each other because of personality differences. AlanM1 is a detail man who prides himself on creating content that follows the manual of style. Sk8erPrince is a bold editor who improves articles by making the information more accurate. Perhaps you can meet in the middle? AlanM1, you may get a better response to your talk page messages if you WP:Assume good faith and ask for an explanation of controversial edits in a friendlier way. Sk8erPrince, leaving out edit summaries is disrespectful, especially when making non-trivial changes such as content removal, since the few seconds spent writing them could save many minutes of another editor's time figuring out what you left unsaid. I hope that you both have many happy collaborative editing experiences in the future. Anne Delong (talk) 15:09, 30 July 2014 (UTC)
Hi Anne, good to see you again after quite sometime. AlanM1, Sk8erPrince has came to my talk page and said what happened between you both. I have also tried to explain Sk8erPrince the same way Anne deed here. Alan you're a quite experienced editor and Sk8erPrince is still new and have many things to learn. Always stay civil and AGF when talking with new bies. If they ask something don't be rude and answer them in a polite way. Anne already said what I was thinking. You both are good and we hope that you both will have good collaborative editing experiences in future. Regards, Jim Carter (from public cyber) 16:28, 30 July 2014 (UTC)
@Anne Delong and Jim Carter - Public: Please see the history of User talk:Sk8erPrince? He has been repeatedly warned, with slowly escalating levels, per policy AFAICT. He then removes the warning and keeps right on going, ignoring it. In the latest (level 4) warning, even the boilerplate language in the template was harsher than my addition to it, and was not littered with personal attacks, as was his comment above. To wit:
"You've been repeatedly asked to stop making these controversial edits without explanation, yet you still insist on leaving edit summaries blank. Please be more careful in what you do, and explain it in the edit summary, or you will be blocked from editing."
Also note that Sk8erPrince accused another of harassing him simply because the user clicked the "thank" link on all four edits he made to a page (one of which was a WP:SURNAME violation again, BTW).

Further evidence of his attitude is when, in response to several DPLBot messages about incorrect links, instead of fixing the links, he opted out of any further bot messages.

In the edit that provoked this last note from me, he again removed the hatnote that I replaced after he removed it, apparently still not believing it should be there, instead of bothering to follow the link and see, right there in the first paragraph, that the book is also named "Case Closed".

I believe that his intent might be to edit in good faith, but, just like the other warnings I left, this was not "a false accusation", and his refusal to accept facts based on policy is a problem that shows bad faith. It is not harassment to leave a talk page message giving more detail about a reversion – on the contrary, it takes more time, and shows that the reverter cares about getting the editor to see the reversion and the reason. I have no desire to "hound" him, cleaning up his edits, despite what he may think. When I see a pattern of behavior, though, and a refusal to learn to stop it, what else am I to do?

Next stop, WP:ANI, though I wish someone else would do so, as I want it to be clear that it is not personal. BTW, though he's "been here for two years", he made a total of 8 edits prior to July 2014 – there's no long history of constructive contribution that I can see.

(BTW, anyone have a clue why the collapsebox is appearing at the end of the section?) [AlanM1(talk)] 21:19, 30 July 2014 (UTC)
Alan, I can understand and I said, he is new. Per WP:OWNTALK he can remove warnings, though archive is prefered. Now, see it was a small issue and it's still a small issue. It's not expected from an experienced user like you to complain "he did this, he did that". I have adviced him on my talk page not to use inflammatory words towards other and to provide edit summary. And I suppose he might have understood. I repeat, he is new and it takes sometime to understand how Wikipedia works. I will keep a watch on his contributions and also ask Anne to do so. Now close this matter. I hate WP:AIN (Although I have never been dragged there), for me AIN is just a necessary evil and I always advice others not to go there, it is always better to solve the problem without a community drama. Now let's close this case, continuation may worsen the situation. Happy editing! Jim Carter (from public cyber) 22:03, 30 July 2014 (UTC)
P.S. I don't know why the collapse box is at the bottom. You're a technical expert, you might know this. Jim Carter (from public cyber) 22:05, 30 July 2014 (UTC)
@Jim Carter - Public: Removing warnings is fine ignoring them is not. Their language and appearance is (primarily) not mine – it is from templates that reflect what the community has decided is appropriate. It is not a single small issue, but several, repeated issues (please do see the diffs I provided and the content to which they refer). I am doing nothing more than replying to what the three of you brought to my talk page. I do believe that the next edit showing ignorance of the repeated warnings, and now discussion by multiple editors, should be dealt with more strongly, per policy. His attitude has shown very little indication that he would accept mentoring, but it is good of you to attempt it. I wish you luck. [AlanM1(talk)] 22:27, 30 July 2014 (UTC)
@Jim Carter - Public: The problem was that the ending template is supposed to be {{Colbot}}, not {{Colend}}. [AlanM1(talk)] 06:08, 31 July 2014 (UTC)

Thanks, I will keep a watch on his contributions. If he continues, I will ask another non-involved admin to intervene (I don't prefer AIN). I asked him to get adopted, if he ignores it is absolutely ok. Every person is different and attitude vary from person to person. So, I just assumed that he understood, but if he continues, I will ask another non-involved admin. So, don't worry. And using warning templates is perfectly okay, It was not your fault. Cheers, Jim Carter (from public cyber) 06:38, 31 July 2014 (UTC)

P.S. I totally forgot about {{Colbot}}. Sorry, Jim Carter (from public cyber) 06:38, 31 July 2014 (UTC)
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