User talk:EVula

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is EVula's talk page, which shouldn't be a surprise if you clicked the link...

My general guidelines:
  • If I (EVula) left you a comment on your talk page, please just respond there, not here, so that conversations aren't spread out. Similarly, if you post something here, I will respond here.
  • Place new comments after existing ones (but within topic sections).
  • Separate topic sections with ==A descriptive header==, and put new topics at the bottom of the page.

Vanderbilt Edit-A-Thon

Hi EVula, I'd like you to meet Nikilada, who is our Dean's Fellow for Wikipedia this semester. She'll be helping us to host a new Edit-A-Thon this fall, probably focused on translation between Wikipedia language editions. We're hoping that we can draw on your expertise again. Plus free pizza! How is Nov. 1st in your calendar? Clifford Anderson (talk) 14:39, 4 September 2014 (UTC)

You had me at "free pizza"...
November 1st works for me. What time? I've got an event that night, but I won't need to be there until 6 or so. EVula // talk // ☯ // 15:41, 4 September 2014 (UTC)
Great! We're thinking that we'd run the edit-a-thon from 10:00 to 4:00 p.m. Nikilada is confirming the date with the Special Collections folk. We'll let you know when we have the details shored up. Look forward to seeing you again! Clifford Anderson (talk) 20:24, 5 September 2014 (UTC)
Hey! Someone really has it out for my Mary Helen Clark page. It's been marked for deletion as a COI and they called it "advertising". Is there anything more I need to be doing/can do to satisfy the people flagging it? Thanks! Nikilada (talk) 17:11, 6 November 2014 (UTC)
Yeah, I'd seen that guy bitching about the article's existence elsewhere. I've removed the prod (he also tried having it speedily deleted and that got shot down by someone else); if he wants the article deleted so badly, he'll have to take it to Articles for Deletion, which will get many more eyeballs on the article than prodding it (which may help address the notability concerns; I'm not entirely sure how to fix those, and I'm too busy to give it too much attention at the moment). EVula // talk // ☯ // 17:37, 6 November 2014 (UTC)

The Signpost: 03 September 2014

  • Arbitration report: Media viewer case is suspended
    "On 1 September, the Arbitrators voted to suspend the Media Viewer case for 60 days. After the suspension period is up, the case is to be closed unless the committee votes otherwise. The case suspension comes in response to several new initiatives and policies announced by the Wikimedia Foundation that may make the case moot. In the same motion, the committee declared that Eloquence's resignation of the administrator right was "under the cloud" and that he can only regain the right through another RfA."
  • Traffic report: Holding Pattern
    "This week we saw three of the top ten articles remain in place, with the Ice Bucket Challenge at #1, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis at #2, and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant at #5, all for a second straight week..."
  • WikiProject report: Gray's Anatomy (v. 2)
    "This week, the Signpost went out to meet WikiProject Anatomy, dedicated to improving the articles about all our bones, brains, bladders and biceps, and getting them to the high standard expected of a comprehensive encyclopaedia."

The Signpost: 10 September 2014

  • Op-ed: Media Viewer software is not ready
    Last month, I wrote an open letter to the Wikimedia Foundation, inviting others to join me in a simple but important request: roll back the recent actions—both technical and social—by which the Wikimedia Foundation has overruled legitimate decisions of several Wikimedia projects.
  • Traffic report: Refuge in celebrity
    Even though it's not quite 3/4 over, it's safe to say that 2014 will go down as a year of war, mass murder, plane crashes and terrible diseases. While certainly paying it some heed, it's not surprising that Wikipedia viewers tried this week to find any alternative to that litany of tragedy and pain, and their chosen method of escape was, as usual, celebrity.
  • Featured content: The louse and the fish's tongue
    The amazing and strange tongue-eating louse replacing a fish's tongue! Because isopods, the subject of a new featured article, are both awesome and really damn weird!
  • WikiProject report: Checking that everything's all right
    This week, the Signpost decided to have a look around with WikiProject Check Wikipedia a maintenance project not concerned so much with articles' content, but in all the tiny errors that are to be found scattered within them. Their front page gives a list of things they mainly focus on ...

The Signpost: 17 September 2014

  • WikiProject report: A trip up north to Scotland
    As Scotland is deciding its future this week, we thought it might be a good idea to get to know the editors of WikiProject Scotland and talk to them about the project.
  • Featured content: Which is not like the others?
    Four articles, two lists, and 51 pictures were promoted to "featured" status this week on the English Wikipedia.

The Signpost: 24 September 2014

  • Featured content: Oil paintings galore
    Six articles, four lists, one topic, and 17 pictures were promoted to "featured" status this week on the English Wikipedia.
  • In the media: Indian political editing, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Congressional chelonii
    The Hindustan Times speculates (September 18) that politicians and their supporters are "sanitizing" their articles in advance of the 2014 Maharashtra State Assembly election. The Times notes the absence of significant controversies in the articles of particular politicians and the presence of heavily promotional language.
  • Traffic report: Wikipedia watches the referendum in Scotland
    This could be the beginning of a new era for this list. Until now, decisions to remove suspicious content have been largely educated guesswork. This week though, we have a new collaborator who can shine a light on the origins and patterns, sorting once and for all the webwheat from the cyberchaff.
  • WikiProject report: GAN reviewers take note: competition time
    A year and a week later, we're with some of the members of WikiProject Good Articles, who wanted to share the news of their upcoming contest within the project, the GA Cup. The aim of this friendly competition, which is held in the same light friendly manner of the WikiCup and the Core Contest, is to reduce the backlog of unreviewed articles at Good article nominations which has been a constant problem for quite a few years for those running the GA process.
  • Arbitration report: Banning Policy, Gender Gap, and Waldorf education
    Banning Policy finishes the workshop phase on 23 September. Parties have proposed findings of fact on the topics of the 3RR, the role of Jimbo Wales, and proxying for banned users. A request for arbitration was posted on 20 September about Landmark Worldwide.

The Signpost: 01 October 2014

  • Dispatches: Let's get serious about plagiarism
    This article was first published in the Signpost in 2009. Written by several long-standing editors, including the late Adrianne Wadewitz, the article was subjected to extensive commentary and ultimately influenced the English Wikipedia's plagiarism guideline. With recent debates about close paraphrasing vis-à-vis plagiarism, we feel that this dispatch retains its relevance and deserves a second airing.
  • WikiProject report: Animals, farms, forests, USDA? It must be WikiProject Agriculture
    This week, the Signpost went down to the farm to have a look at the work of WikiProject Agriculture, which has been in existence since 2007 and has a scope covering crop production, livestock management, aquaculture, dairy farming and forest management.
  • Traffic report: Shanah Tovah
    Jews wished each other Shanah Tovah ("Good year") this week as Rosh Hashanah was our most popular article. It was also a week not dominated by heavy news and tragedies, so aside from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (#2, sixth week in the Top 10), our popular article list runs the gamut of current events including new television series Gotham (#3), the 2014 Asian Games (#4), and Reddit-fueled popularity for German director Uwe Boll (#7).
  • Featured content: Brothers at War
    As the hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the American Civil War draws to a close, the race to improve content continues. The Battle of Franklin, fought on November 30, 1864, will, quite appropriately, be Picture of the Day for November 30, 2014, its 150th anniversary. If you want to help commemorate the American Civil War, why not help out at the Military History WikiProject's Operation Brothers at War. Or help out with the World War I centennial, just starting up, Operation Great War Centennial.

The Signpost: 08 October 2014

  • Traffic report: Panic and denial
    The first case of the Ebola virus on US shores sent people into a tizzy, rushing to their keyboards to try and learn what they could.

The Signpost: 15 October 2014

  • Arbitration report: One case closed and two opened
    The Banning Policy case was closed on 12 October. Arbcom affirmed that users have "considerable leeway" in terms of how their talk pages are managed.
  • Traffic report: Now introducing ... mobile data
    We are pleased to report that the WP:5000 has now been updated to include mobile views, including a column reflecting the percentage of views coming from mobile devices.
  • WikiProject report: Signpost reaches the Midwest
    Today, it's the turn of WikiProject Ohio to give us an interview probing deep into of how they manage to run a project covering one fiftieth of the United States, and the workings of how they manufacture their successes and other articles.

The Signpost: 22 October 2014

The Signpost: 29 October 2014

  • Featured content: Go West, young man
    By the way, there is a monster at the end of this article
  • Maps tagathon: Find 10,000 digitised maps this weekend
    Rather than the usual WikiProject Report, this week our guest author Jheald is telling us about a campaign to identify thousands of old maps which have been digitised, to make them available for georeferencing and upload
  • Traffic report: Ebola, Ultron, and Creepy Articles
    Ebola virus disease leads the Report for the fourth straight week. The rest of the list is primarily a mix of pop culture topics, including movie Avengers: Age of Ultron (#4) whose trailer was leaked early, and the death of Oscar de la Renta (#7). A BuzzFeed article on creepy Wikipedia articles, no doubt well-timed with Halloween (#9) around the corner, was responsible for three articles in the Top 25, including June and Jennifer Gibbons (#10), Taman Shud Case (#17), Joyce Vincent (#25). And the internet-run-amok controversy of Gamergate cracked the Top 25 for the first time at #19.
  • Recent research: Informed consent and privacy; newsmaking on Wikipedia; Wikipedia and organizational theories
    In new research conducted in light of proposed changes to data protection legislation in the European Union (EU), authors Bart Custers, Simone van der Hof, and Bart Schermer conducted a comparative analysis of social media and user-generated content websites’ privacy policies along with a user survey (N=8,621 in 26 countries) and interviews in 13 different EU countries on awareness, values, and attitudes toward privacy online.

autochecked

Hi EVula, just a note that the autochecked usergroup does not include the skipcaptcha access. I moved the recent users you had given this to to confirmed which does. — xaosflux Talk 13:01, 3 November 2014 (UTC)

Awesome, thanks. I was on my iPad and it was a pain in the ass to try to find what flag granted that; it's been a loooooooooong time since I've used Special:UserRights for anything other than the sysop bit. EVula // talk // ☯ // 14:22, 3 November 2014 (UTC)
Hi EVula, sorry for joining in, but I was reading this and thought why not. You can find the rights listed at Special:ListGroupRights, or for easy remembering Special:UserGroupRights. All the best, Taketa (talk) 16:08, 5 November 2014 (UTC)
Awesome, thanks! I knew there was a page, and I'm sure I could have looked for it pretty quickly had I been on my regular computer, but trying to find it very quickly while on my iPad just wasn't going to happen. (and no need to apologize for joining the conversation; I'm always happy to have something on this page that is more than just Signpost notices.) EVula // talk // ☯ // 16:52, 5 November 2014 (UTC)

The Signpost: 05 November 2014

  • In the media: Predicting the flu, MH17 conspiracy theories
    "Rachel Feltman, in The Washington Post (November 4), examined research in which a team, mostly from Los Alamos National Laboratory, headed by Kyle Hickman developed a model that enabled them "to successfully predict the 2013-2014 flu season in real time" by employing "an algorithm to link flu-related Wikipedia searches with CDC data from the same time." Apparently when individuals search for information about the flu and its symptoms in Wikipedia when they feel ill, this generates data useful in forecasting the the flu season."
  • Traffic report: Sweet dreams on Halloween
    "It is, perhaps, ironic that humanity chose the week of Halloween to finally put its fears to bed. Let's face it: 2014 has been a year of tragedies, conflicts, plagues and pain, and eventually something had to break... Whether we at last came to terms with our limited ability to affect events, shoved those events under the carpet, or just decided to let go and move on, we turned our eye to more positive things, such as sports heroes, hotly anticipated movies, and lifelong learning; two Google doodles appeared in the top 25 for the first time since the beginning of August."

Mary Helen Clark

Hi there. I'm not sure on what grounds you removed this proposed deletion? Your edit summary said "assume a bit of good faith here", but I'm confused as to what policy your removal of this proposed deletion falls under. Thanks. Magnolia677 (talk) 05:10, 8 November 2014 (UTC)

The "assume good faith" bit is trying to delete it as a G11. That's ridiculous; the article came out of an edit-a-thon at a university. We should be happy about having universities working with Wikipedia to get their materials onto our servers. (that the person is potentially non-notable is reasonable, though I still think trying to delete it as soon as it was created was jumping the gun quite a bit) EVula // talk // ☯ // 20:45, 12 November 2014 (UTC)

The Signpost: 12 November 2014

  • In the media: Amazon Echo; EU freedom of panorama; Bluebeard's Castle
    "Technology media outlets are abuzz after the November 6 unveiling of the Amazon Echo, an Internet-connected voice command device"; "The EUobserver talks (November 4) with Dimitar Dimitrov (User:Dimi z) about the lack of freedom of panorama in some European Union countries and its implications for Wikimedia projects"; "Scott Cantrell, classical music critic for the Dallas Morning News, recounts efforts to verify an uncited claim in the Wikipedia article for the Béla Bartók opera Bluebeard's Castle."
  • Traffic report: Holidays, anyone?
    This was very much a week dominated by holidays and pop culture over current events, with new film Interstellar taking the top spot followed by holidays Day of the Dead (#2), Guy Fawkes and his Night (#4 and #5), and Halloween (#8, and its third week on the list). And a foursome of television shows, all return visitors, appear to setting up residence on the greater Top 25: The Walking Dead (#11), American Horror Story: Freak Show (#14), Gotham (#16), and The Flash (#18).
  • WikiProject report: Talking hospitals
    We return to our interview format this week, speaking with the participants of WikiProject Hospitals. This project, formed in 2010, has no Featured content and only three Good articles, yet aided by around 30 hard-working Wikipedians covers a topic that is essential to life.

The Signpost: 26 November 2014

  • In the media: A Russian alternative Wikipedia; Who's your grandfather?; ArtAndFeminism
    Numerous media outlets are reporting on a November 14 statement on the website of the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Library announcing the formation of a Russian "alternative" to Wikipedia, a "regional electronic encyclopedia" dedicated to "Russian regions and the life of the country".
  • WikiProject report: Back with the military historians
    It's time for this year's edition of the Report looking at possibly our largest wikiproject: Military history. Since our last interview in June 2013, the project has had no break in its huge quest to document everything in their scope, that is, militaries and conflicts of the past. As usual, its participants were eager to answer the questions posed by The Signpost and update us on how they are doing.
  • Traffic report: Big in Japan
    Often times in popular culture, a subject will be quite popular among a distinct niche of people or region of the world, but little-known elsewhere -- like a musical artist that is boasted to be "big in Japan". The Traffic Report provides a bevy of examples this week.

The Signpost: 03 December 2014

The Signpost: 10 December 2014

The Signpost: 17 December 2014

The Signpost: 24 December 2014

The Signpost: 31 December 2014

  • News and notes: The next big step for Wikidata—forming a hub for researchers
    Wikidata, Wikimedia's free linked database that supplies Wikipedia and its sister projects, is gearing up to submit a grant application to the EU that would expand Wikidata's scope by developing it as a science hub. The proposal, supported by more than 25 volunteers and half a dozen European institutions as project partners, aims to create a virtual research environment (VRE) that will enhance the project's capacity for freely sharing scientific data.
  • In the media: Study tour controversy; class tackles the gender gap
    A "study tour" by the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation for the purpose of researching development projects has been the subject of much controversy and criticism in the Indian press... The Indian Express described a government report about the trip as having copied extensively from the Wikipedia articles for Port Blair and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation.
  • Traffic report: Surfin' the Yuletide
    Unlike last year, Wikipedia viewers seem to have embraced the Christmas spirit, with three topics in the top 10 (and eight in the top 25) focused on the holiday season.
  • Op-ed: My issues with the Wiki Education Foundation
    Chris Troutman has been a campus ambassador for six classes in the Los Angeles area over the past four consecutive semesters. He is currently a Wikipedia Visiting Scholar at University of California, Riverside.
  • Featured content: A bit fruity
    Three articles, three lists, fifteen pictures, and one topic were promoted.

The Signpost: 07 January 2015

  • In the media: ISIL propaganda video; AirAsia complaints
    ISIL hostage quotes Wikipedia in propaganda video; AirAsia articles draw complaints regarding Flight 8501; Article errors reveal US political approaches to Wikipedia editing; Rhode Island Governor numbering debate
  • Featured content: Kock up
    Two lists and twelve pictures were promoted.
  • Traffic report: Auld Lang Syne
    We end 2014 and and start 2015 with the normal array of year-end activities, including movie watching with Bollywood film PK (#1) topping the list, followed by The Interview (#2), 2014 in film (#10), and five other films in the rest of the Top 25, plus a number of articles about the subjects of these films. We celebrated the New Year by singing "Auld Lang Syne" (#11), or perhaps watching Adam Lambert (#9) perform with Queen. But we could not avoid a final tragedy with the crash of Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 (#4) on December 28.

Editathon at Nashville Public Library

Hi EVula, we're contemplating holding another editathon at the Nashville Public Library on the civil rights movement in Nashville/Tennessee. Pharos thinks we may be able to hold the event in conjunction with the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture at NYPL. Tentatively, the date is scheduled for Saturday, February 7th. Any chance you might be able to take part? Amwilliams15 is helping to coordinate events at the Nashville Public Library. Let us know. Thanks!! Clifford Anderson (talk) 20:27, 13 January 2015 (UTC)

Ooh, I'd definitely be interested in getting involved, and I've got nothing scheduled that day until that evening. Elonka recently moved to town as well, I wonder if she'd be interested. (which reminds me that I really need to check my Facebook messages more readily than my talk page messages...) EVula // talk // ☯ // 20:36, 13 January 2015 (UTC)
Great! By all means, let's include anyone who's interested. I'll keep you posted as plans develop. Clifford Anderson (talk) 21:50, 13 January 2015 (UTC)
Wonderful!! This will be our first editathon at NPL so we would love as many experienced editors as possible! So glad you are interested in participating! Amwilliams15 (talk) 14:31, 14 January 2015 (UTC)
We are confirmed for February 7th from 11-4. Check out the meetup page for more information. Would you be willing to help with the training for new users? Amwilliams15 (talk) 17:40, 22 January 2015 (UTC)
Thanks so much for helping out this weekend! It was great to meet you and be a part of such a fun event!! I look forward to more in the future. I'm on to you and checked my user page first thing when I got in this morning :)Amwilliams15 (talk) 13:53, 9 February 2015 (UTC)
Haha, I have no clue what you're talking about... *whistles nonchalantly*
Saturday was an absolute blast. I'm definitely looking forward to more Wikipedia events at the library. EVula // talk // ☯ // 17:43, 9 February 2015 (UTC)

We're gearing up for a superheroes themed editathon at NPL in June as part of our summer reading initiative. We're thinking June 13th. We would love it if you were there. Or lets talk dates. Librarian Bryan (talk) 15:59, 9 March 2015 (UTC)

I'm definitely interested! I might be super-groggy that morning since I'll have a show the night before, but I'm still game to help out. :) EVula // talk // ☯ // 07:39, 11 March 2015 (UTC)
Great! And thank you! I've created a meetup page for the event: Superheroes Edit-a-thon. The plan is to follow the same format as one Amwilliams15 hosted. It will be a tie-in with Summer Challenge, aka summer reading, at the library. Librarian Bryan (talk) 17:31, 24 March 2015 (UTC)

It's that time of year again!!! We are getting ready for another editathon at NPL in February. Check out the meetup page for more info. I would love to have you there! Hope you are having a wonderful holiday season and a Happy New Year! Amwilliams15 (talk) 19:24, 31 December 2015 (UTC)

The Signpost: 14 January 2015

  • Op-ed: Articles for creation needs you
    Ever since the Wikipedia Seigenthaler biography incident in 2005 triggered the restriction against un-registered editors creating new pages, WikiProject Articles for creation (AfC) has stood in the breach. The WikiProject's purpose is to review draft submissions from IPs (and frequently new registered editors) to sort the wheat from the chaff.
  • WikiProject report: Articles for creation: the inside story
    This anniversary issue, the WikiProject report is returning to WikiProject Articles for creation for one of our largest interviews ever. Last looked at in 2011, AfC is the method used by unregistered or new users to create articles, and provides an effective filtering system to remove all unsuitable or unsourced submissions to save them needing to be found and deleted later.
  • News and notes: Erasmus Prize recognizes the global Wikipedia community
    On the fourteenth anniversary of the founding of the English Wikipedia, the Praemium Erasmianum Foundation has announced that its prestigious annual Erasmus Prize will be awarded to the worldwide community that has built Wikipedia.
  • Featured content: Citations are needed
    Six featured articles, five featured lists, and sixteen featured pictures were promoted this week.
  • Traffic report: Wikipédia sommes Charlie
    It's a grim certainty what topic most interested Wikipedia viewers this week. The horrific attacks on the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine have drawn anger and resolve from around the world, and also the attention of an English-speaking world that had previously never heard of it.

The Signpost: 21 January 2015

  • Interview: WWII veteran honors shipmates through Wikipedia editing
    Over seventy years ago, the US destroyer Mahan was patrolling off Ponson Island in the Philippines when eleven Japanese kamikaze aircraft appeared over the horizon and attacked. George Pendergast, who edits Wikipedia with the username Pendright, was eighteen years old when he joined Mahan '​s crew in April 1944.
  • Op-ed: Let's make WikiProjects better
    Our contributor opines that WikiProjects are failing to live up to their potential. WikiProject X is a new project funded by a Wikimedia Foundation Individual Engagement Grant that focuses on figuring out what makes some WikiProjects work and not others.
  • In the media: Johann Hari; bandishes and delicate flowers
    Quotes from Jimbo on Wikipedia in education; net neutrality; preserving musical heritage; Wikipedia in audio; a cheerful vandal credits high school with papal visitations.

The Signpost: 28 January 2015

  • Traffic report: A sea of faces
    It is pretty clear what the theme is this week: people.

The Signpost: 04 February 2015

  • Op-ed: Is Wikipedia for sale?
    Hundreds of posted jobs offer money to edit Wikipedia. These jobs appear to be thriving, with tens of thousands of dollars changing hands each month.
  • Traffic report: The American Heartland
    The American heartland appears to dominate the Report this week, with Chris Kyle leading the Report.
  • Featured content: It's raining men!
    Three featured articles, five featured lists, and thirty-nine featured images were promoted this week.
  • Arbitration report: Slamming shut the GamerGate
    One case has been closed, two cases remain open, a third is undergoing a review, and three clarification or amendment requests remain open.
  • WikiProject report: Dicing with death – on Wikipedia?
    A small band of dedicated editors seek to improve articles relating to a less lively topic. If you haven't yet guessed, this week's focus is WikiProject Death.

The Signpost: 11 February 2015

  • In the media: Is Wikipedia eating itself?
    Edina edit war illustrates disconnect between new and experienced editors; Wikipedia is "astroturf's dream come true"; Canadian government investigating even more Wikipedia editing; academics on Gamergate as "clash of civilizations"?
  • Traffic report: Bowled over
    Wikipedia presents itself as a repository for the world, and while that is a noble sentiment, it is still true that, Conservapedian complaints notwithstanding, the English language Wikipedia is very often the American Wikipedia, and never has that been more apparent than this week.
  • WikiProject report: Brand new WikiProjects profiled
    This week, we bring three of the most recently created WikiProjects to come into being on the English Wikipedia. While many long-established projects are becoming inactive, (as we have covered before), that doesn't stop new ones forming every now and then to cover a topic that a group of editors feel should be better cared for.
  • Gallery: Feel the love
    This week, we feature subjects that are about love of all kinds.

The Signpost: 18 February 2015

  • In the media: Students' use and perception of Wikipedia
    The Australian ("Wikipedia not destroying life as we know it", February 11) and Times Higher Education ("Wikipedia should be 'better integrated' into teaching", February 10) reported on a recent study performed at Monash University, titled "Students’ use of Wikipedia as an academic resource – patterns of use and perceptions of usefulness".
  • Special report: Revision scoring as a service
    The authors of this report inform us that the "goal in the Revision Scoring project is to do the hard work of constructing and maintaining powerful AI so that tool developers don't have to. This cross-lingual, machine learning classifier service for edits will support new wiki tools that require edit quality measures."
  • Gallery: Darwin Day
    Darwin Day is observed annually on February 12 to commemorate the life and work of scientist Charles Darwin. Here is a selection of images of life on the Galápagos Islands, where Darwin made key observations leading to his scientific theory of evolution by natural selection.
  • Traffic report: February is for lovers
    This week saw the 57th Annual Grammy Awards (#13 on the Top 25) held on 8 February dominating the traffic chart, as music lovers checked out Sam Smith (#3) picking up four awards, Beck taking album of the year, and performances including Sia (#9), Madonna (#11), and Annie Lennox (#16). But Valentine's Day (#1) proved the perfect time for the release of Fifty Shades of Grey, with the movie coming in at #5, the book of the same name at #2, and the primary actors at #14 and #15.

The Signpost: 25 February 2015

  • News and notes: Questions raised over WMF partnership with research firm
    A report from the external research firm Lafayette Practice has declared that the Wikimedia Foundation is the "largest known participatory grantmaking fund." Several concerns have been raised with the report, the phrase being used (participatory grantmaking), the now-former Wikipedia article on that phrase, and an alleged conflict of interest by WMF staff members.
  • In the media: WikiGnomes and Bigfoot
    Andrew McMillen's February 3 profile of and his quest to rid Wikipedia of the phrase "comprised of" has been one of the most widely circulated and commented upon media stories about the encyclopedia recently.
  • Gallery: Far from home
    The Gallery is an occasional Signpost feature highlighting quality images and articles from Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons based on a particular theme, as well as an article you could help improve. This week, we feature subjects that are "far from home".
  • Traffic report: Fifty Shades of... self-denial?
    An odd juxtaposition this week, as interest in Fifty Shades of Grey coincided with the observance of the Chinese New Year and the annual festival of penance, Ash Wednesday.
  • WikiProject report: Be prepared... Scouts in the spotlight
    This week's project is on a youth activity, one of the largest in the world; its project is commensurately large, containing around 136 active editors. It's WikiProject Scouting, a group of editors whose remit is everything relating to the Scouting movement, which has around 42 million members worldwide and celebrated the centenary of its founding only eight years ago.
  • Blog: Join the Wikimedia strategy consultation
    Editor's note: the Blog will be a recurring Signpost section that will highlight a recent post from the Wikimedia blog, run by the Wikimedia Foundation. This week's installment is written by Philippe Beaudette, the Foundation's Director of Community Advocacy, and focuses on planning for the future of the Wikimedia movement.

The Signpost: 25 February 2015

  • News and notes: Questions raised over WMF partnership with research firm
    A report from the external research firm Lafayette Practice has declared that the Wikimedia Foundation is the "largest known participatory grantmaking fund." Several concerns have been raised with the report, the phrase being used (participatory grantmaking), the now-former Wikipedia article on that phrase, and an alleged conflict of interest by WMF staff members.
  • In the media: WikiGnomes and Bigfoot
    Andrew McMillen's February 3 profile of and his quest to rid Wikipedia of the phrase "comprised of" has been one of the most widely circulated and commented upon media stories about the encyclopedia recently.
  • Gallery: Far from home
    The Gallery is an occasional Signpost feature highlighting quality images and articles from Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons based on a particular theme, as well as an article you could help improve. This week, we feature subjects that are "far from home".
  • Traffic report: Fifty Shades of... self-denial?
    An odd juxtaposition this week, as interest in Fifty Shades of Grey coincided with the observance of the Chinese New Year and the annual festival of penance, Ash Wednesday.
  • WikiProject report: Be prepared... Scouts in the spotlight
    This week's project is on a youth activity, one of the largest in the world; its project is commensurately large, containing around 136 active editors. It's WikiProject Scouting, a group of editors whose remit is everything relating to the Scouting movement, which has around 42 million members worldwide and celebrated the centenary of its founding only eight years ago.
  • Blog: Join the Wikimedia strategy consultation
    Editor's note: the Blog will be a recurring Signpost section that will highlight a recent post from the Wikimedia blog, run by the Wikimedia Foundation. This week's installment is written by Philippe Beaudette, the Foundation's Director of Community Advocacy, and focuses on planning for the future of the Wikimedia movement.

Quixotic plea

You are invited to join the discussion at Wikipedia talk:Wikipediholism test. Thanks. — {{U|Technical 13}} (e • t • c) 05:10, 23 May 2015 (UTC)

Workshopping bureaucrat activity requirements

(Message to all bureaucrats)

There is an ongoing discussion about implementing some kind of standards for administrative and bureaucrat activity levels; and activity requirements for bureaucrats have been explored several times in the past. I've prepared a draft addition to Wikipedia:Bureaucrats that would require at least one bureaucratic action every five years to retain the bureaucrat permission.

In the past, I've been hesitant of such proposals but I believe that if the bureaucrat group as a whole is seen to be actively engaged, the community may be more willing to grant additional tasks to the position.

Please let me know your thoughts. I'm not sure if this actually applies to any of us, but if you have not acted as a bureaucrat in over five years, you might consider requesting removal of the permission or otherwise signalling that you intend to return to bureaucrat activity. –xenotalk 14:22, 30 June 2015 (UTC)

I haven't made any bureaucratic edits in forever and a day, but that's partially because there's so little to do these days... (But hey, I still maintain the mailing list! I doubt that matters to anyone, though.)
The discussion looks like it has died down and so ultimately nothing is going to get done because, well, this is Wikipedia, of course it did. I almost feel like throwing my deadminship proposal back out there; that'd address the apparent concern over shitty-but-can't-take-to-ArbCom admins, plus give us bureaucrats something to do again. :) EVula // talk // ☯ // 15:16, 30 June 2015 (UTC)
That's an idea I've been rolling around in my head. If you read between the lines, something similar would be a follow-on after implementing the kind of check-and-balance for the team. I'll be sure to let you know when I get to workshopping that. –xenotalk 15:33, 30 June 2015 (UTC)
Is it okay if I edit your proposal page directly? You can revert when I'm done if you don't like it. If you'd rather I not, I can fork it. –xenotalk 19:58, 30 June 2015 (UTC)
What did you have in mind? (feel free to make changes, I'm just curious) EVula // talk // ☯ // 22:24, 30 June 2015 (UTC)
It's easier if I just show you. –xenotalk 16:49, 1 July 2015 (UTC)
Love it! Excellent changes all around. EVula // talk // ☯ // 19:38, 1 July 2015 (UTC)
Any thoughts on moving forward? –xenotalk 15:37, 2 July 2015 (UTC)
Not really, but that's partially because I've got too much on my plate off-wiki to really give this much thought at the moment. Maybe post about it at WT:RfA to get a feel for what people think of it? EVula // talk // ☯ // 01:22, 6 July 2015 (UTC)

Bureaucrat discussion notification

Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/Cyberpower678/Bureaucrat discussion

I would welcome input from other bureaucrats in relation to the outcome of this RfA.
Many thanks, MediaWiki message delivery (talk) for WJBscribe (talk) 11:10, 10 July 2015 (UTC)

I'm a bit busy at the moment to read the RfA in its entirety, but I'll try to respond by tonight if it is still open. EVula // talk // ☯ // 19:48, 10 July 2015 (UTC)

Community & Bureaucrat based desysoping proposal

A discussion is taking place regarding a proposal to create a community and bureaucrat based desysoping committee. The proposal would modify the position of bureaucrat. Your input is encouraged. Please see Wikipedia:Administrators/RfC for BARC - a community desysoping process. Thank you, --Hammersoft (talk) 19:55, 28 July 2015 (UTC)

Bureaucrat discussion notification (Liz)

Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/Liz/Bureaucrat discussion

I would welcome input from other bureaucrats in relation to the outcome of this RfA.
Many thanks, MediaWiki message delivery (talk) for WJBscribe (talk) 12:02, 4 August 2015 (UTC)

Implementation of Wikipedia:Bureaucrats#Bureaucrat activity requirements

Photo requests in the Nashville area and other parts of Tennessee

Vanderbilt Edit-A-Thons

ArbCom elections are now open!

A wiki you should work on.

Invitation to Attend a local editathon

Your administrator and bureaucrat status on Wikispecies

Extended confirmed protection

Two-Factor Authentication now available for admins

A new user right for New Page Patrollers

Wikipedia:Gorillas consuming gerbils listed at Redirects for discussion

ArbCom Elections 2016: Voting now open!

Bureaucrat chat

Administrators' newsletter - February 2017

Bureaucrat discussion - GoldenRing

Sense of Humor

Today's Wikipedian 10 years ago

Hello, and thanks

Signature and userpage?

Account Creator Status

ArbCom 2017 election voter message

Kevin

Notification of pending suspension of administrative permissions due to inactivity

Notification of imminent suspension of administrative permissions due to inactivity

Suspension of administrative permissions due to inactivity

Wikipedia:🙈🙉🙊 listed at Redirects for discussion

EV fandom

Today's Wikipedian 10 years ago

Proposed deletion of File:WPMK Note.png

Today's Wikipedian 10 years ago

Edit-a-thon at Vanderbilt for REAL Symposium

Happy First Edit Day!

Happy Birthday!

"Email blast" listed at Redirects for discussion

"Wikipedia:MK" listed at Redirects for discussion

Happy First Edit Day!

Happy Birthday!

Nomination for deletion of Template:User bureaucrat since/Exp

Happy Birthday!

Birthday Commitee Removal due to Inactivity

"Skynet (Terminator" listed at Redirects for discussion

Happy Birthday!

Nomination for deletion of Template:Editnotices/Page/Wikipedia talk:Sandbox

"Grey Jedi" listed at Redirects for discussion

Nomination for merger of Template:Talk page of disambiguation page

Related Articles

Wikiwand AI