User talk:Pdcook/Archive 5
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| This is an archive of past discussions with User:Pdcook. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page. |
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from Brenda of accounting
Does that mean that if someone shamelessly promotes their company or creates an article about their company or returns periodically to write about their company, that they will be disciplined, particularly if they are upper level management or the founder of the business? As for me, I'll stay away from the Hyatt. It's actually a boring topic but today is a boring day at work.Brenda of accounting (talk) 21:00, 2 September 2010 (UTC)
- If someone's edits are found to be in violation of the policies or guidelines of verifiability, neutral point of view, conflict of interest, then those edits need to be scrutinized and reverted if necessary. Certainly if what they're writing is spammy, the edits need to go. People who make such edits are warned, and if they continue, they may be blocked. Regards, P. D. Cook Talk to me! 21:09, 2 September 2010 (UTC)
- What if it is an obscure company and they invent an article but use verifiable sources? I think that should not be allowed. Is that permitted? For example, if I started an article on a specific Hyatt hotel (which I won't, too boring) or if someone started an article about some dotcom company that they own and cite a source. Not allowed? Brenda of accounting (talk) 00:36, 4 September 2010 (UTC)
- It still violates the conflict of interest policy. That, however, is not immediate grounds for deletion of the article or blocking of the user. It certainly is conceivable that someone with a conflict of interest could write a neutral and appropriate article (although harder than one might think). If that is the case, the article should just be checked over by someone uninvolved. However, if the person created something that is not neutral or even spammy, those edits need to be reverted and/or cleaned up. If the user has persistent issues with this, they could be blocked for disruptive editing. As for the article itself, if the company meets the notability guidelines for companies and organizations, it ought not to be deleted, but just cleaned up. However, if the company simply isn't notable, as indicated by an absence of coverage in reliable sources, then the article should be deleted. I hope this helps. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 20:41, 8 September 2010 (UTC)
- What if it is an obscure company and they invent an article but use verifiable sources? I think that should not be allowed. Is that permitted? For example, if I started an article on a specific Hyatt hotel (which I won't, too boring) or if someone started an article about some dotcom company that they own and cite a source. Not allowed? Brenda of accounting (talk) 00:36, 4 September 2010 (UTC)
Sid Rawle
Thanks for the messages. I had thought about making a page about Sid when I was looking at the Stonehenge Free Festival's page, and the Windsor Free Festival, but decided against it, as Ubi Dwyer and Wally Hope (both deceased) already had one each, and Sid was living rather quietly in a bungalow near Symond's Yat. As you can see from the edit I reverted, he was controversial on many levels, and now he is dead, I thought it might be as well if he had a page up and running, to satisfy the curiosity of those who will inevitably be looking him up online now. There is no doubt that he was a notable figure, and knew just about everyone on the alternative scene, from Tony Benn to Jon Cainer and George Harrison. Allegations about him will doubtless surface, and may present difficulties to anyone interested in editing or watching his entry, but that's a risk which goes with the territory. g88keeper (talk) 17:19, 3 September 2010 (UTC)
- There seems to be decent coverage of this person in reliable sources, so I think I can take the notability tag down. The sourcing is a little bit iffy, and I've been working on that a little. It's important that all claims in the article are backed up by reliable sources. So as long as the article is sound and well-sourced, people can add as much controversial info as they want, it will just get reverted unless they can prove their claims and follow Wikipedia's neutral point of view policy. Best regards, P. D. Cook Talk to me! 13:47, 4 September 2010 (UTC)
I do agree that verification is most desirable, and have researched as widely as I can, to supplement my own knowledge of the subject-matter, and have restored the references to Sid's part in the film Winstanley http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winstanley_(film) - I once wanted to add a photo of Edwin Greenwood, my late mother's first husband, to Greenwood's page on the IMDB, and it was not easy! Also, I saw the film ages ago, and Sid is definitely in it. There is a blog by Philip Carr-Gomm, dealing with Sid's death. Philip is the Chosen Chief of OBOD, a worldwide Druid Order, and a man of impeccable veracity. I wish I could say the same of Michael McGrath, who posted comments on the blog as himself and as 'druideire', but McGrath was associated with Sid in London in the early 70s, and I don't doubt that he is factually correct when talking of matters in which he was actually involved. I hope you will forgive me for restoring the material you had removed, which I would not have done without the certainty that it will, eventually, be verified. I have a lot to learn about how to engage with the format of Wikipedia, and am very grateful to you for your help in the first days of this article. g88keeper (talk) 20:25, 8 September 2010 (UTC)
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Lebanese American University
I do have a client with an interest in the LAU. Most of my changes I made were to better organize the page. Of those changes that added new information, I did source the changes. Please let me know if there are particular edits that you take issue with, or feel free to edit them if you feel like they are not neutral. I'm not sure what your interest is in the LAU, but the article itself is poorly written and needs work, so anything you can do to improve it would be greatly appreciated! LebaneseAmerican (talk) 13:23, 9 September 2010 (UTC)
- I have responded here. Basically, some of your edits seems OK, but others aren't particularly neutral. If I get time I can go through the article and clean things up. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 14:56, 9 September 2010 (UTC)
WP:UAA
I'm so sorry for not following through with talking to the user. Other stuff came up and I've been out of the house since. Apologies, Mr. R00t Talk 00:03, 9 September 2010 (UTC)
- No worries. Thanks for the note. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 01:59, 9 September 2010 (UTC)
Ever consider....
Adminship? I was the one who gave an editor review. While I was still new at the time and didn't understand RFA that well, I've gained experience around RFA and other parts of Wikipedia. You've popped up on my watchlist a few times recently and after some rsearching, I believe you could be a good admin. Derild4921☼ 00:03, 3 September 2010 (UTC)
- I have considered it, and thanks for your support. It's an intensive process and I don't want to jump into it too quickly. I'll have to stew over it for a few days. I'll be out of town for Labor Day weekend, so I'll get back to you next week. Thanks, P. D. Cook Talk to me! 14:39, 3 September 2010 (UTC)
- No problem. Just think it over the weekend. I'll also be busy in the weekend so get back whenever you can. Thanks! Derild4921☼ 14:44, 3 September 2010 (UTC)
- Just badgering you for a reply :P. Derild4921☼ 00:29, 11 September 2010 (UTC)
- Gosh, here we are and it's Friday already. I think I'm going to have to kick this down the road a month or so. I've got a full plate next week and will be out of town for a portion of the week after. Maybe bug me about this again later! Thanks, though. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 00:33, 11 September 2010 (UTC)
- Just badgering you for a reply :P. Derild4921☼ 00:29, 11 September 2010 (UTC)
- No problem. Just think it over the weekend. I'll also be busy in the weekend so get back whenever you can. Thanks! Derild4921☼ 14:44, 3 September 2010 (UTC)
Reverted article
Thank you for the response to my question on help desk. I had explained why the article Baloch people needed massive corrections. Is it possible for you to have a look at my [Sandbox] for the article? I do not know what else to do after wasting so much of time and I also do not get time to fight online wars with long term editors who keep reverting my article. I believed I made considerable improvements in the article after first warnings, but then the page got reverted again by another editor. I fear this happening again and again as I think the article was being closely watched to prevent healthy contribution because what was already there had massive inaccuracies including signs of personal attack but went unnoticed. Thank you for your time. BalochMedia (talk) 20:17, 8 September 2010 (UTC)
- I am not by any means an expert on this topic and thus I shouldn't be the one to review your version. I think AtticusX's comments on your talk page are the way to go. Link to your sandbox article from the article's talk page and see what others think. You also might want to draw attention to the matter by mentioning it at the various WikiProjects listed the top of the article's talk page (WikiProject Ethnic groups, WikiProject Iran, etc.). You could also try Wikipedia:Requests for comment. Regards, P. D. Cook Talk to me! 20:23, 8 September 2010 (UTC)
- It seems this has been sorted out. Thanks for discussing this. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 19:43, 9 September 2010 (UTC)
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Hi Pdcook
Hi :) Dropped in here to say a quick thanks for your vote in my RfA. More than the vote, I loved your comments :) Went a long way. Thanks and best. Wifione ....... Leave a message 15:29, 22 September 2010 (UTC)
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Grand Valley State University
I have started a GA review and left a few thoughts. You have obviously worked hard to improve the article. It will take some time for me to check these sources and references, but the work has begun. Thanks, Racepacket (talk) 11:46, 15 September 2010 (UTC)
- Great! Thanks for your input. Regards, P. D. Cook Talk to me! 12:07, 15 September 2010 (UTC)
- I've been trying to fix some issues the best I can with the time I have. I might also have another editor interested in helping. Let me know if there is anything in particular you need help with. Demhem (talk) 05:05, 20 September 2010 (UTC)
- Thanks for your help! I would say concentrate on the points Racepacket made on the GA page. The second reviewer brings up some good points, but generally it's the first reviewer's decision whether the article passes or fails. We can address the other comments later. Unfortunately I have several documents I need to write for work, and my writing energy will be quite depleted for the next several days. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 14:10, 20 September 2010 (UTC)
- Any energy coming back? Racepacket (talk) 09:50, 30 September 2010 (UTC)
- I'm wrapping up this project for work today, and after that I'll be out for the weekend. I suspect next week I can get back to the GVSU article. Regards, P. D. Cook Talk to me! 13:54, 30 September 2010 (UTC)
- Any energy coming back? Racepacket (talk) 09:50, 30 September 2010 (UTC)
- Thanks for your help! I would say concentrate on the points Racepacket made on the GA page. The second reviewer brings up some good points, but generally it's the first reviewer's decision whether the article passes or fails. We can address the other comments later. Unfortunately I have several documents I need to write for work, and my writing energy will be quite depleted for the next several days. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 14:10, 20 September 2010 (UTC)
- I've been trying to fix some issues the best I can with the time I have. I might also have another editor interested in helping. Let me know if there is anything in particular you need help with. Demhem (talk) 05:05, 20 September 2010 (UTC)
Brenda Jean Patrick (Orphan Status)
Dear Pd,
Earlier in the year, my article on Brenda Jean Patrick was accepted for Wikipedia, but listed as an orphan because there were no internal Wikipedia links to it. I have discovered that one of her clients--Prosper Independent School District (Proper ISD)--has mentioned her in its listing. However, where her name is the typeface has not turned blue (indicating a hyperlink, I assume) as it did when articles referenced in her article created links automatically. Shouldn't a link have been created automatically in the Prosper ISD article? If not, how do I create a link?
Thank you. Captaincorgi (talk) 22:23, 1 October 2010 (UTC)
- To add a wikilink to an article, edit the page and add a double pair of brackets around the title of the article. For instance, to link to the Texas article, you would type [[Texas]]. Please review this page. Regards, P. D. Cook Talk to me! 03:14, 4 October 2010 (UTC)
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Bicycle sharing
On the Bicycle sharing system page, the list of systems has reached the point where it deserves its own page, I think. Please leave any comment at the talk page. I plan to implement that in a few days. Earthlyreason (talk) 11:00, 5 October 2010 (UTC)
- Commented there. Thanks, P. D. Cook Talk to me! 14:52, 6 October 2010 (UTC)
Bothering...
Bugging you as promised! Derild4921☼ 19:53, 5 October 2010 (UTC)
- Thanks again. I recently undertook the endeavor of making Grand Valley State University a good article. That is going to occupy much of my time. Perhaps after I get that squared away. Here I go again kicking this down the road... P. D. Cook Talk to me! 14:54, 6 October 2010 (UTC)
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Drug Strategies Article
Dear PD,
A couple of months ago, my article on Drug Strategies was deleted for lack of sufficient documentation of notability. I have found a few more web-based sources and am wondering if you can take a look and let me know if these satisfy wikipedia's requirements? The extra sources are about Drug Strategies' nation-wide awards, the Nancy Dickerson Whitehead Awards, that they presented to journalists reporting on drug issues for ten years. URL's are below and I've rewritten the article to include mention of the awards. Thanks so much and please let me know if I can provide any more information.
http://web.kitsapsun.com/redesign/2003-11-14/local/315884.shtml
http://www2.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/11-15-2001/0001616954&EDATE=
http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_product=RO&p_theme=ro&s_dispstring=(oxycontin)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=2002&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=("oxycontin")&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no
Sybilcarpenter (talk) 15:54, 12 October 2010 (UTC)
- I'll look into this a little more later, but in my opinion, those references aren't substantial enough to pass WP:CORP. Regards, P. D. Cook Talk to me! 14:56, 13 October 2010 (UTC)
RE: Kaplan False Claims Act Lawsuits / USDOJ Backs Fraud Lawsuits Against Kaplan
...No so-called "undue weight" whatsoever, ol' chap.
With regard to the sections *I* authored on Kaplan:
- THIS*** IS WHO THESE PEOPLE ARE!!!
- THIS*** IS THE RECORD **THEY CREATED** FOR **THEMSELVES**!!!
- BY THEIR DEEDS, YOU SHALL KNOW THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*****
Prospective students frequently tend to reference online sources in attempting to make an INFORMED decision in charting their higher education pathways in life.
THE TRUTH IS ***OWED*** to these prospective students with regard to the RECORD that this institution has EARNED FOR ITSELF in the courts with regard to these NUMEROUS FRAUD COMPLAINTS!!!
Once again,
- THIS*** IS WHO THESE PEOPLE ARE!!!
- THIS*** IS THE RECORD **THEY CREATED** FOR **THEMSELVES**!!!
If *I* were in the place of these prospective students, *I* would want to be informed of an institution's INFRACTIONS AGAINST THE LAW *PRIOR* to plunking down my hard earned cash!!!
Again, I repeat, THE TRUTH IS ***OWED*** to these prospective students!!!!!!!!!!!!
I HAVE MET THE *VERY* HIGHEST STANDARDS FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY.
FURTHERMORE, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, BY PERMITTING THIS INFORMATION TO BE PUBLISHED ON A MASS SCALE --
WIKIPEDIA *ITSELF* MEETS THE ***VERY HIGHEST*** STANDARDS FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY!!!!!!!
Accordingly, I apologize for precisely nothing.
Ever the gentleman, -V- HeywoodJabloeme (talk) 11:02, 13 October 2010 (UTC)
- Please review WP:UNDUE again. And please don't shout. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 14:55, 13 October 2010 (UTC)
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Puffin Lets talk! 13:11, 31 October 2010 (UTC)
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I believe I fixed what you suggested today.
Please review and let me know if this is acceptable. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ranman13 (talk • contribs) 19:19, 2 November 2010 (UTC)
- There are still a few issues. The link provided in one of the references appears not to work. I have marked as a deadlink. There are also many statements about his personal life and experience that are not cited. Where did that information come from? If you are this person or you are closely associated with him, please be aware of Wikipedia's conflict of interest guideline. I have tagged the article as containing original research. Once you can show that all of the information in the article comes from reliable and verifiable sources, then the OR tag can be removed. Regards, P. D. Cook Talk to me! 13:57, 3 November 2010 (UTC)
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Back again :)
And here I am for the first, second, third, fourth time (I think) and hopefully last time to badger you on a RFA as it seems you have returned to a normal amount of editing. Derild4921☼ 00:42, 13 November 2010 (UTC)
- Oh, hi. Sorry I didn't see this posting. I can't say I'm back to a normal amount of editing. It's sill an on-off thing for me right now, as work is keeping me quite busy. When I do get back into things (which will probably be January), I want to spend some time dealing with the Grand Valley State University article. Even though they say being an admin is no big deal, the RfA process has become a huge deal. The tone of some of the comments there over the past few months astonishes me. If I go through with such a thing, I want to give it my full attention. Would anyone co-nom me? It would certainly make a stronger case. Just a thought. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 14:54, 23 November 2010 (UTC)
- No problem, just hit my talk page whenever you're ready. I'm not sure if anyone is willing to co-nom...has anyone offered a nomination before me? Derild4921☼ 20:26, 23 November 2010 (UTC)
- Someone offered a couple times before, but he's since retired. I'll let you know when I'm ready. Thanks and happy editing, P. D. Cook Talk to me! 20:54, 23 November 2010 (UTC)
- No problem, just hit my talk page whenever you're ready. I'm not sure if anyone is willing to co-nom...has anyone offered a nomination before me? Derild4921☼ 20:26, 23 November 2010 (UTC)
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Grand Valley State University
I hope that you have not given up your aspirations to elevate the article to GA. If you address the prior concerns, I would be happy to give it a prompt review upon renomination. Thanks, Racepacket (talk) 19:46, 23 November 2010 (UTC)
- I have not given up. I got a bit overwhelmed with the additional points GrapedApe brought up and needed a break. Now I'm quite busy and probably won't be able to do much with it until January. Thanks for all your help! P. D. Cook Talk to me! 21:27, 23 November 2010 (UTC)
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Thank you
Thank you for your support at my RfA last week. I'll do everything I can to live up to your expectations and if you ever need help from a janitor please feel free to drop me a line! PanydThe muffin is not subtle 22:30, 29 November 2010 (UTC)
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Papandreou Family
It is common knowledge amongst the Greek people that the Papandreou spouses were all Jewish. The fact that there are no reliable quotable sources should be obvious- the authorities in Greece, run by the Papandreou mafia, have suppressed the truth. Believe me they are technically Jews-after all in the Jewish religion if your mother is Jewish then you are Jewish. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.25.223.96 (talk) 14:45, 16 December 2010 (UTC)
- If you are going to claim that someone is a cryto-Jew, then per WP:V, you'll need to provide a source. Please review WP:BLP as well. Regards, P. D. Cook Talk to me! 14:48, 16 December 2010 (UTC)
Papandreou Family
You say I have to pr0vide a source. Why not classify me as a source?
- Please review WP:V. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 16:31, 16 December 2010 (UTC)
Nomination for deletion of Template:Expand
Template:Expand has been nominated for deletion. You are invited to comment on the discussion at the template's entry on the Templates for discussion page. Thank you. 134.253.26.6 (talk) 22:49, 16 December 2010 (UTC)
- I generally don't !vote in issues when someone seems to be canvassing me, so I'll sit this one out. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 04:01, 17 December 2010 (UTC)
Needed references, but actually not notable
User talk:Eddster created Porters Sideling, Pennsylvania and you said it needed references.
I agree, needed references, probably not notable, but Eddster continues to create a great many such articles in Adams County, Pennsylvania and York County, Pennsylvania, so I am looking for help in stopping this pattern of creating many basically useless articles. In a few cases, unincorporated places may be notable because of their history or nearby bridges or the like, and I created one myself, but if they are complete orphans, there is no point.
What would you suggest we do? Can you help? --DThomsen8 (talk) 15:10, 17 December 2010 (UTC)
- Sorry I didn't get back to you right away. I agree the notability is in question here, and I certainly wouldn't be making articles about such insignificant places myself. However, I think there are many who believe that physical places such as unincorporated communities are inherently notable, so you might get a little resistance at AfD. As long as WP:V is satisfied, I personally don't see much harm in the articles. I think there is less concern here than there would be for less notable people, businesses, bands, etc. If you want a wider opinion, you could drop a line at WP:N/N. Regards, P. D. Cook Talk to me! 18:58, 21 December 2010 (UTC)
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Registered username
Hello,
I have received this message from you:
"Hello, and welcome to Wikipedia. I noticed that your username (Infonomics Society) may not meet Wikipedia's username policy because it gives the impression that this account is registered to a group or organization. If you believe that your username does not violate our policy, please leave a note here explaining why. As an alternative, you may file for a change of username, or you may simply create a new account and use that for editing. Thank you. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 17:41, 31 December 2010 (UTC)"
First of all, thank you for the welcome and please be patient as I am new here and not familiarised with the rules.
I have created this account for the organisation named Infonomics Society. I am in charge with promoting the activities organised by Infonomics Society on the Internet. May I use this user name?
Thank you. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Infonomics Society (talk • contribs) 12:36, 2 January 2011 (UTC)
- Welcome again! You may not use that username. Please review the WP:USERNAME policy. Usernames must be registered to individuals, not organizations. I recommend changing your name or simply registering a new one. Also please review WP:NOT, as Wikipedia is a reference source, not a place to promote an organization. Please ask if you have anymore questions. Regards, P. D. Cook Talk to me! 15:49, 2 January 2011 (UTC)
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List of songs by Taylor Swift
Hello, I created the page List of songs by Taylor Swift without aware/known that the page List of Taylor Swift songs previously nominated for deletion.
The page created by mine has new layout and I really hope that it will be kept, as I will make further improvement to it. Have your say here, thank you. I will notice other users joined above AfD, too. Silvergoat (talk∙contrib) 08:40, 8 January 2011 (UTC)
- I'd still say delete, but thanks. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 20:26, 9 January 2011 (UTC)
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GVSU Notable Alumni
I have a list of GVSU Notable alumni that I would like to create pages for. I would also like to know if you think that they are notable within wiki standards.
- State Representative Thomas Hooker
- State Representative Bob Genetski
- State Representative Frank Foster
- Host of new Travel Channel series "The Wild Within" and author, Steven Rinella
- Author Paul Clemens who has several published books and recently was interviewed on the Daily Show with John Stewart
Let me know what you think. I personally believe they are worthy of a page as there are numerous publications about them on the internet and within printed publications. I would possibly like someone to collaborate with as I am not very experienced with biographies. Demhem (talk) 06:38, 21 January 2011 (UTC)
- Hi, I'm glad to see that you want to create more pages! The guideline of notability (and thus weather or not the article should be made) is expressed here. The general notability standard is that multiple, independent reliable sources give in depth coverage of the topic/person. So a quick minor mention of someone in the Grand Rapids Press would not make the person notable, but if a few articles about that person were published in newspapers, magazines, books, etc., the s/he probably satisfies the notability guidelines.
- There are also special notability guidelines. One of them is WP:POLITICIAN. This states that (I'm paraphrasing), among others, members of any federal/national or first sub-national level (state) legislatures are inherently notable. Therefore, the first three people are definitely notable and worthy of articles. Just be sure that WP:V and WP:RS are being followed. It's OK to use their government page as a reference, but be a little cautious about using their campaign page as the only source (it's probably OK to reference it for biographical detail). It's best to find sources in newspapers or publications from non-partisan groups.
- The other two folks you mention might also qualify under special guidelines as well, such as WP:ENT, WP:CREATIVE or WP:AUTHOR. If they've won a notable award, they are notable. But it will probably come down to coverage in reliable sources. If you want to create userspace drafts (User:Demhem/Steven Rinella and User:Demhem/Paul Clemens), I'd be happy to look over the references and give my opinion. Good luck! P. D. Cook Talk to me! 14:43, 21 January 2011 (UTC)
- Oh, and definitely familiarize yourself with WP:BLP, the policy regarding the biography of living people. If you just stick to the facts as presented in reliable sources, you're probably OK. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 15:14, 21 January 2011 (UTC)
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Thermo Fisher
I noted that Thermo Fisher had been removed as an employer. The site in Fitchburg employs over 400 employees, ranging from manufacturing and production to PhD level scientists and engineers. We actively recruit a diverse candidate base from around the US (and globe) and it is beneficial to have it listed as an employer. I am the corporate recruiter for the site and I respectfully ask that you leave it posted. It is in fact larger than some of the small biotech companies that remain.
Kind regards,
PMcMillerPMcMiller (talk) 22:37, 25 January 2011 (UTC)
- A couple of points. First, generally companies that are founded or headquartered in Madison are listed in that section. Other companies that maintain large branches are sometimes listed. Some folks say a company ought to have 500 employees to be listed there, but that might be a bit arbitrary. I do not own the Madison article, and if you want to add it back, you could mention it first on the article's talk page. But as you have indicated above, you are affiliated with the company and have a clear conflict of interest. Regards, P. D. Cook Talk to me! 22:43, 25 January 2011 (UTC)
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Covance Inc.
This is in response to Covance Inc., being removed from the 'Business' section on Madison's wiki page. While Covance Inc. might not be the biggest employer in Madison, they have atleast a 1000 employees here (and they have a major presence in the area). Also, it is one of the top Contrat Research Organizations in the country (and is very well known atleast in the pharmaceutical world).
By CNN Money (in 2009): "In addition to the university, the Wisconsin state government is the area's other biggest employer. But recently, the economy has moved away from government-centered jobs as more biotech health services companies, including Covance, Epic Systems and Meriter Health Services, moved in to support " http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/moneymag/0912/gallery.Best__places_employment.moneymag/7.html
By the Wisconsin State Journal (in 2006): "It's a call for arms from Covance, one of the world's largest drug-testing companies and one of Madison's biggest employers. " Reference: http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/478731/at_covance_people_volunteer_for_cash_causes/
Also, Covance had a major expansion project in the area a few years ago (in 2004): http://www.covance.com/investors/financial-info/press-releases/press-release.php?reqtype=releasetxt&reqid=784770
I request that Covance be added back to the wiki page.
Uma Manian (talk) 19:32, 9 February 2011 (UTC)
- It appears that an IP editor already added it back, and you subsequently removed it. So I'm not sure what the issue is here. If you want to add it back that's fine, but it would be best if you cited sources that demonstrate the company is major employer. Regards, P. D. Cook Talk to me! 20:15, 9 February 2011 (UTC)
Ya that IP address was me..(I added it back as I did not know why it was deleted..and then I saw your comment in the 'View History' section..so deleted it!). I am pretty new to editting and stuff. I'll add it to Madison's talk page. Thanks for your suggestion :) Uma Manian (talk) 20:24, 9 February 2011 (UTC)
- My guess is that Covance is a big enough company to be listed there. Including an independent source with the entry will help ensure it stays. Regards, P. D. Cook Talk to me! 20:26, 9 February 2011 (UTC)
ok. I'll add it in along with an independent source then. Thanks! Uma Manian (talk) 20:28, 9 February 2011 (UTC)
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Grand Valley State
Please consider finishing the clean up and resubmitting the article for a GA review. Thanks, Racepacket (talk) 23:57, 28 February 2011 (UTC)
- Probably in the next couple weeks I can tackle that project. Off-wiki activities have consumed much of my writing energies as of late. Keep pestering me if I don't get on it soon! Thanks, P. D. Cook Talk to me! 00:45, 1 March 2011 (UTC)
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Hi Mr Cook-re Nobility in Sicily
Thanks so much for you assistance. I am relatively new to Wikipedia however I felt that my research might be of use to your community. Im not teaching tomorrow so apart from grading a few papers i will have time to dedicate to the article. I see there's quite a bit of info on the site so i will get moving quickly. I will be sure to write if i have further questions. thanks again and wish me luck! Sven — Preceding unsigned comment added by Italian-royalty (talk • contribs) 23:43, 1 March 2011 (UTC)
McGill Lead re Public/Private Character
We who oppose the duplication of the lead and info box do not wish to engage in an edit war. That is precisely why we are trying to establish or propose a consensus: put it either in lead or info box but not both, and let the author Elkevo choose. But she keeps editing it. Jenilyn834 (talk) 06:20, 2 March 2011 (UTC)
- The fact is that you are edit warring. You have violated Wikipedia policy and you could be blocked right now. Your opinion appears not to be based on policy or tradition, but rather some personal desire. The next step is dispute resolution, so I hope you'll just let this one go and realize that it is perfectly appropriate to include public in both the infobox and lead. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 06:20, 2 March 2011 (UTC)
My page was deleted
Hi Mr. pdcook, I was very pleased when i saw how youd linked my page to other relevant pages however i noticed another moderator erased it soon after. I was warned by colleagues of mine who dont use the service how this happens more often than not. I am not sure exactly why i was unable to finish the page. Much of the information is new and from my personal research of source materials in Sicily, Argentina and Switzerland. Do you have any ideas how i can get this information out there? What i can do, within reason, to the information to have it up on wikipedia? I am slightly disappointed as so much of wat i had written is new. The fact that there was a different page on sicilian nobility simply listing individual families from the 14th century (theres been 700 year history since then ;-) seeems to be the reason why it was deleted. Any ideas would help. Thanks very much for your time. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Italian-royalty (talk • contribs) 10:33, 2 March 2011 (UTC)
- I'm not really sure that I understand what the issue is here. Did you have another page besides User:Italian-royalty/Nobility in sicily? P. D. Cook Talk to me! 14:35, 2 March 2011 (UTC)
McGill RfC
Thanks for starting an RfC! That was to be my next step, too, but you beat me to it. ElKevbo (talk) 20:07, 2 March 2011 (UTC)
- You're welcome! P. D. Cook Talk to me! 22:27, 2 March 2011 (UTC)
Hi Mr Cook-re Nobility in Sicily
Sorry for bothering you but it appears that the page has been deleted again. I dont really understand why as the majority of the text is unique, its all verifiable and it seems to be set up correctly. Can you assist? it seems that theres someone who ive not spoken with about the article, possibly another moderator that is deleting it. I worked really hard on it, feel that so much of the information is worthwhile to people studying this part of Italian history that its a true loss. Can u assist and tell me whats happening?
Thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by Italian-royalty (talk • contribs) 23:24, 2 March 2011 (UTC)
Not sure if my page was deleted-maybe its st
Hi,I just sent you a message informing you that my page had been deleted. it appears that it has not been deleted and i was reading an earlier message. I am entirely new to wikipedia and i feel quite foolish. sorry
I have finished the article however and feel that its ready to be posted. there still might be some errors with my refereces/bibliography-im not entirely sure.
I was also unable to link some to other wiki pages for some odd reason nor post the photos i wanted to upload. neither have any bearing on the article however. Still any assistance would be helpful. If you see any issues with my article please let me know so i can make the necessary adjustments. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Italian-royalty (talk • contribs) 23:35, 2 March 2011 (UTC)
- It can take quite some time to learn how Wikipedia works. What is important is that you are willing to communicate with other editors - that is critical.
- It appears that your User:Italian-royalty/Nobility in sicily article cites sources, but it could use inline citations. You can use Reftools or this wizards to generate the full reference tag. This helps the article meet the requirements of verifiability. As I am not remotely an expert in the areas of Sicily or nobility, I would recommend getting input from other editors who are. You can drop a note at WikiProject Sicily, Wikiproject Italy and/or WikiProject Royalty and Nobility. If I find a few minor fixes I can make to your article, I'll go ahead and do it. I hope this helps. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 14:08, 3 March 2011 (UTC)
- I cleaned up a few minor Manual of Style things and added a (poor) lead section. Feel free to rewrite the lead, but every article needs to have one. Another thing that is important is to provide wikilinks to the people mentioned in the article. Regards, P. D. Cook Talk to me! 14:22, 3 March 2011 (UTC)
Thanks I appreciate it. The lead paragraph looks fine-i might adjust it a tad however thanks for the info and assisting me with it.
continuation-
Some of the people i mentioned in the article are already in the Wiki database with specific pages dedicated to them (G. Tomasi the Prince of Lampedusa) however most are not. Are you saying that i need to create links myself or that i need to link the names to an existing articles? I was going to write a second article on the Catalog of Barons as i noticed that theres not one in English. two of the names i mentioned are in the Catalog, and i thought would really work.Thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by Italian-royalty (talk • contribs) 18:29, 3 March 2011 (UTC)
- If there are existing articles for people you mention in the article you are writing, link to them. Best, P. D. Cook Talk to me! 18:33, 3 March 2011 (UTC)
Hi, I think the article is ready to go. Whats the next step? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Italian-royalty (talk • contribs) 19:39, 9 March 2011 (UTC)
Some of the people i mentioned in the article are already in the Wiki database with specific pages dedicated to them (G. Tomasi the Prince of Lampedusa) however most are not. Are you saying that i need to create links myself or that i need to link the names to an existing articles? I was going to write a second article on the Catalog of Barons as i noticed that theres not one in English. two of the names i mentioned are in the Catalog, and i thought would really work.Thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by Italian-royalty (talk • contribs) 19:49, 9 March 2011 (UTC)
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didnt mean to duplicate what id already written-sorry. Im still learning....I meant to add I have a paper i wrote on the catalog of the Barons that i will link to this and other pages dealing with this period. Seems as though theres a page in Italian but nothing in English so it might prove useful. i will submit that shortly. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Italian-royalty (talk • contribs) 19:53, 9 March 2011 (UTC)
had a hard time editng that last talk page
I figured I would start a new talk page. I am still pretty pathetic with the technical side of wikipedia and it appears i have duplicated something id writte earlier, instead of addressing the issues i wanted to. i really have n idea why....
I wanted to say that I have finished the article following the advice youd given. I was going to link my page on nobility in Sicily with a wikipage on the catalog of Barons however i noticed that it was only in italian and the Italian wiki site. i have a paper on the subject and will post that once this article is up and running. Can you tell what I need to do next?
Thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by Italian-royalty (talk • contribs) 22:17, 9 March 2011 (UTC)
- No worries. It can take a while to learn the ins and outs of Wikipedia. I left a note at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Royalty and Nobility and Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Sicily for folks who know something about this topic to take a look at your article. It still would be best if you used inline citations. This is the best way to meet Wikipedia's verifiability policy, and it helps to ensure that the work contains no original research and does not violate any copyrights. Hopefully some folks from the Wikiprojects will take an interest. Regards, P. D. Cook Talk to me! 22:51, 9 March 2011 (UTC)
thanks. i noted that you communicated with a few other people interested in this area. i think thats a good idea-if they can assist getting this onto the main page. I dont know what their qualifications are in this area-hopefully they are lecturers on the subject as well so they can add something useful to my article.
but Can you tell me exactly what you need me to cite? When i wrote a paper for a university project a few yrs back,most of the text i am using is based on the paper, i merely gave my sources, neve cited actual paragraphs etc. If you can tell me exactly what i need to cite/confirm i will do that. I have checked a few other articles and will try and make the necessary adjustments however i really on understand what needs to be done. I just want to get this page up and running so i can add the catalog of barons article.
I also noted that the other person you wrote to dealing with this subject is looking for someone to assist with sicily as he doesnt have time. I will write to him and see if i can be of assistance> Ive written for journals, local papers as well as lectured on southern italy in my native sweden as well as abroad. all of the text in the article is that of my own- the info itself comes from verifiable sources, some from personal research ive performed etc, all of which ive cited in the reference section. As i dont usually cite individual paragraphs and page numbers in my articles i really dont know how best to do so.
i am actually from sweden and my interest in the Normans has taken me to the mezzogiorno a few times. I just want to get some of what ive learned out there.
Lastly, if we dont get a response from other editors, what do i need to do to get this up and running? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Italian-royalty (talk • contribs) 18:23, 10 March 2011 (UTC)
- I went ahead and formatted most of the references. I also put the Telegraph article inline as an example. So if you could do the same for the other references, I think the article would be ready for the mainspace. Just copy the <ref name="X">...</ref> tags at the bottom of the article to the end of whichever statement or paragraph they need to go. If you wish to reference a work multiple times, you can simply type <ref name="X"/> and it will add citation X again. Let me know if you have anymore questions. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 15:13, 17 March 2011 (UTC)
Hi,
I think Ive fathomed it out. I inserted the refs and it looks like, with the exception of a few symbols that appear in front of the sources I linked, that the paragraphs are linked to their respected sources. Do you think you can take a look and see what i did wrong so i know for next time... im considering posting an article on the Catalog and if I get assigned a different editor who isnt has helpful, this will give me a leg up-not sure exactly how your org works.... Either way ill just be happy to see this article in the "mainspace". its been hard as i have very little knowledge on programming. The hardest part has certainly been the setup and format preparation. Thanks for all of your help. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Italian-royalty (talk • contribs) 14:51, 18 March 2011 (UTC)
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Nomination of James Lighthill House for deletion
A discussion is taking place as to whether the article James Lighthill House is suitable for inclusion in Wikipedia according to Wikipedia's policies and guidelines or whether it should be deleted.
The article will be discussed at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/James Lighthill House until a consensus is reached, and anyone is welcome to contribute to the discussion. The nomination will explain the policies and guidelines which are of concern. The discussion focuses on good quality evidence, and our policies and guidelines.
Users may edit the article during the discussion, including to improve the article to address concerns raised in the discussion. However, do not remove the article-for-deletion template from the top of the article. Mtking (talk) 23:45, 17 March 2011 (UTC)
- Commented there; thanks. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 14:22, 18 March 2011 (UTC)
Italian royalty
I think Ive fathomed it out. I inserted the -refs and it looks like, with the exception of a few symbols that appear in front of the sources I linked, that the paragraphs are linked to their respected sources. Do you think you can take a look and see what i did wrong so i know for next time... im considering posting an article on the Catalog and if I get assigned a different editor who isnt has helpful, this will give me a leg up-not sure exactly how your org works.... Either way ill just be happy to see this article in the "mainspace". its been hard as i have very little knowledge on programming. The hardest part has certainly been the setup and format preparation. Thanks for all of your help. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Italian-royalty (talk • contribs) 14:54, 18 March 2011 (UTC)
- The referencing looks decent enough now for the mainspace, so I moved it there and changed the name to Sicilian nobility for consistency with other similar articles. You might consider mentioning some of the people listed in Category:Sicilian_noble_families.
- Oh, and you're not "assigned" and editor - I just happened to come across your work and I am happy to keep helping you. I would still recommend creating a userspace draft of a new article first. Kind regards and let me know if you need anymore help. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 17:24, 18 March 2011 (UTC)
Thanks so much for your help. I doubt i would have been able to produce anything worthy of being in the database without it. Getting an article ready for the mainspace has been more technical that i anticipated. I am a novice when it comes to computers-tasks as simple as "linking" terms/names etc to other pages were entirely new to me. I should have been better prepared and had a finished piece ready before uploading it last month. i will be more prepared next time.
Thats a great idea regarding the individual families. I am carrying on with my research on a daily basis and might have enough information on several families to start individual pages by late Spring. I will be taking a trip to Palermo and meeting with several local historians and journalists. Hopefully i can compile enough information to write individual articles. In the meantime I will work on the catalog af the Barons. I am surprised theres nothing in the Wiki database on it other than what i found in Italian as it is such an important document. I will work on what i have already written up.
Certainly its a good idea to create a user draft first and i will defintiely do that. When i get to that point i will let you know via your talk page. i am sure i will have formatting issues so...thanks for you offer of assistance. Thanks again for all of your help . It has been greatly appreciated. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Italian-royalty (talk • contribs) 13:03, 19 March 2011 (UTC)
- Happy to help. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 22:25, 19 March 2011 (UTC)
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GVSU
The GA Review that we did together has become the subject of a Request for Comment. I would appreciate you sharing your views at: Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Racepacket 2. Thanks, Racepacket (talk) 01:29, 5 April 2011 (UTC)
- Commented there. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 16:46, 5 April 2011 (UTC)
Repost of Template:Kansas cities and mayors of 100,000 population
A tag has been placed on Template:Kansas cities and mayors of 100,000 population requesting that it be speedily deleted from Wikipedia, because it appears to be a repost of material that was previously deleted following a deletion process. If you can indicate how it is different from the previously posted material, place the template {{hang on}} underneath the other template on the article and put a note on the page's discussion page saying why this article should stay. Administrators will look at your reasoning before deciding what to do with the page. If you believe the original discussion was unjustified, please contact the administrator who deleted the page or use deletion review instead of continuing to recreate the page. Thank you. Mateinsixtynine (talk) 21:47, 5 April 2011 (UTC)
Differences between templates
Besides the names of the templates (which appeared at the tops of each template, like "State of Kansas" does at the top of {{Kansas}}), the only differences are stylistic: for example, the old template had a colwidth of 20%, and the new one of 25%. The entire text of the old one was as follows:
1. Carl Brewer 2. Carl R. Gerlach 3. Joe Reardon 4. Bill Bunten 5. Michael Copeland (Wichita) (Overland Park) (Kansas City) (Topeka) (Olathe)
and the only differences between that and the new one was the presence on the new one of "D" and "R" to indicate party affiliation. I suspect that the "two links" bit referred to redlinks: we don't have any articles on Reardon or Copeland, and Gerlach was created after the TFD. Did I address all your concerns, or did I miss something? Nyttend (talk) 11:58, 6 April 2011 (UTC)
- I understand that the content of the template is basically the same. I figured that the addition of the Gerlach article made the previous deletion reason no longer strictly true, as the nominator pointed out that "currently only two mayors even have links to an article." Now there are three. It seems to me that TFD is a better route here, but I'm not going to get all worked up over a minor template. Thanks, P. D. Cook Talk to me! 13:46, 6 April 2011 (UTC)
- No, sorry: the only thing that matters is the content of the template itself. If you'd like to expand the template in some way, just let me know and I'll restore it in your userspace for you to work on it. Nyttend (talk) 13:59, 6 April 2011 (UTC)
- Can you provide for me the proper interpretation of "this excludes pages that are not substantially identical to the deleted version, pages to which the reason for the deletion no longer applies..." (emphasis mine) under G4 at WP:CSD? Perhaps I am not understanding it correctly. Thanks, P. D. Cook Talk to me! 14:34, 6 April 2011 (UTC)
- The point of the bit that you italicised is that we don't delete pages that are not substantially identical because the reason for the deletion generally doesn't apply. Nyttend (talk) 14:52, 6 April 2011 (UTC)
- OK. I learn something new every day. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 14:57, 6 April 2011 (UTC)
- The point of the bit that you italicised is that we don't delete pages that are not substantially identical because the reason for the deletion generally doesn't apply. Nyttend (talk) 14:52, 6 April 2011 (UTC)
- Can you provide for me the proper interpretation of "this excludes pages that are not substantially identical to the deleted version, pages to which the reason for the deletion no longer applies..." (emphasis mine) under G4 at WP:CSD? Perhaps I am not understanding it correctly. Thanks, P. D. Cook Talk to me! 14:34, 6 April 2011 (UTC)
- No, sorry: the only thing that matters is the content of the template itself. If you'd like to expand the template in some way, just let me know and I'll restore it in your userspace for you to work on it. Nyttend (talk) 13:59, 6 April 2011 (UTC)
CharmColor01
Hi, its me CharmColor01 my thing is that i am a very big fan of Eddsworld but I got everything right on the page i got the infobox and everything but it did not come up.... Talk to me! — Preceding unsigned comment added by CharmColor01 (talk • contribs)
- You removed an Articles for Deletion notice, on which it clearly states not to remove the notice. You are certainly free to re-add the infobox, but be sure you fix the errors. There were redlinks and other problems that need to be cleaned up. Regards, P. D. Cook Talk to me! 14:39, 8 April 2011 (UTC)
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Mayfield Middle School
You should not have redirected the page because I was still editing it with more information.— Preceding unsigned comment added by ClickmeHARDER (talk • contribs)
- You are more than welcome to continue working on it. Perhaps it would be better to work on a userspace draft. I made one here for you: User:ClickmeHARDER/Mayfield Middle School, Ryde. Feel free to edit that and if it meets WP:V and WP:N, it can go back out into the article space. Let me know if you need help. Regards, P. D. Cook Talk to me! 13:08, 15 April 2011 (UTC)
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Janus kinase
Don't censor me brah, people just go with the "just another kinase" thing cuz it's PC...look up the real history...you are educated stupid...japanese anus kinase is real name —Preceding unsigned comment added by 142.1.255.119 (talk) 21:56, 21 April 2011 (UTC)
- I checked the references given in the article and I can't find "Japanes anus kinase" in them. Furthermore a Google search of "Japanes anus kinase" turns up nothing. Nice try. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 22:00, 21 April 2011 (UTC)
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help with wikification
Hello. In this edit of yours from 4 February 2010 you placed a {{wikify}} tag on the Antonino Isordia article. I became aware of the article only recently when it was put up for AFD. I suspected that the subject was notable enough to keep the article and that seems to be the consensus reached in the discussion. In trying to improve the article I have added an infobox, added several categories, added a separate section for "Works" and for "References", and I have added several internal wikilinks to the article. In the latter task I now find myself refraining from adding more links and removing some (such as the one to Spain) so as to avoid the practices discouraged at WP:OVERLINK. I was wondering if you might be able to help spot any further wikification that the article now needs. If so could you please post some hints at Talk:Antonino Isordia, and if not would you be willing to remove the tag? Thanks very much for your help in improving that article. 69.126.127.193 (talk) 02:56, 27 April 2011 (UTC)
- I think it looks fine now and have removed the wikify and orphan tags. Good job! Let me know if I can be of further assistance. Regards, P. D. Cook Talk to me! 13:57, 27 April 2011 (UTC)
- Thank you very much for the removal of the tags and the stub template as well as the promotion from stub to start class. I hope to find sources to fill out more biographical detail in the article, but that may take some time. I do appreciate your efforts and assistance. 69.126.127.193 (talk) 22:45, 27 April 2011 (UTC)
- Happy to help. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 23:51, 27 April 2011 (UTC)
- Thank you very much for the removal of the tags and the stub template as well as the promotion from stub to start class. I hope to find sources to fill out more biographical detail in the article, but that may take some time. I do appreciate your efforts and assistance. 69.126.127.193 (talk) 22:45, 27 April 2011 (UTC)
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The way Things work tv
Hi, I got all my information from IMDb, Millimages.com, various sites with epsidoe information, watching episodes, and the back of the DVD box Rutabagafacefool (talk) 19:15, 5 May 2011 (UTC)
- OK. Well, it might be worth your while reviewing WP:V and WP:RS. All content on Wikipedia needs to be verifiable. IMDb and Millages.com are probably OK as reliable sources, but watching episodes might be considered original research, which is not verifiable and thus not appropriate for Wikipedia. The DVD box certainly is a reliable source and should be included in the references section. What other "various sites with episode information" did you find? Those should be cited as well. Thanks for creating this article and let me know if you need any help! Regards, P. D. Cook Talk to me! 20:42, 5 May 2011 (UTC)
OK, here are the links to the "various sites" you asked for:
http://www.abc.net.au/abckids/shows/prog324.htm
http://tv.msn.com/tv/episode/the-way-things-work/take-it-to-the-bridge/ (just click an episode, this is where I got my airing information.)
Also, if you'd like to add any additional information to the article regarding the actual series, you're more than welcome to do so. Here's a link so you can see the episodes and decide for yourself if it needs anything edited. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QIShi2ERwY&playnext=1&list=PLF35403B475D10E86 (they're on a playlist) Thanks again for all your support on this article, you're being a great help! Many thanks and kind regards, Rutabagafacefool (talk) 07:49, 7 May 2011 (UTC)
- OK, I'll take a look through these. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 17:24, 9 May 2011 (UTC)
Want to change the username
Hi,thanks for helping. Need another help. I want to change my user name to "D!p.wikistudy". I have send a request to Wikipedia:Changing username/Simple but it doesn't change. Will it take long time? please help.Dip.wikistudy (talk) 07:34, 7 May 2011 (UTC)
- Sorry for the delayed response, but it appears this issue has been sorted out. Regards, P. D. Cook Talk to me! 17:23, 9 May 2011 (UTC)
The Signpost: 9 May 2011
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Just a few points
Thanx for your guidance, its well recieved and appreciated .I am new to wiki, so it may be a while I understand all stuff .I do not add the {{stub}} only template everywhere.Its only when I don't understand which exact stub category to put it in. So I think ,making it stub ,is important ,so other exp. editors know it and can change category.
As far as that Hinrich Braren article was concerned ,Sorry. I wanted to put that inline reason i.e. nofootnotes ,but probably forgot. Sorry for that again. Sau6402 (talk) 03:02, 12 May 2011 (UTC)
- No problem. Let me know if you have any questions or need help. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 11:43, 12 May 2011 (UTC)
Queen Mary Labour Society
Hi there!
You are indeed correct, I need to find some better sources... I'm afraid I have some exams coming up, but I will hunt through some of the University archives to find some independent and reliable sources. Also, with regards to its notability, it is a prominent society at that University and has helped shape the careers of various politicians, as well as the dynamics of the Mile End area of London. I'm relatively new to Wikipedia and am still getting used to it. Thanks for helping! ChaucerGeoffrey (talk) 16:10, 12 May 2011 (UTC)
- Quite often clubs such as this fail to meet Wikipedia's notability guideline, but I thought this one might be notable due to its age and influence. The best way to demonstrate this is to find independent sources that not just mention the club, but are actually about the club. Let me know if you need help. Regards, P. D. Cook Talk to me! 18:18, 12 May 2011 (UTC)
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DYK for Booker T. Washington High School (Memphis, Tennessee)
| On 24 May 2011, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Booker T. Washington High School (Memphis, Tennessee), which you created or substantially expanded. The fact was ... that U.S. President Barack Obama delivered the 2011 commencement speech at Booker T. Washington High School in Memphis, Tennessee? You are welcome to check how many hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, quick check) and add it to DYKSTATS if it got over 5,000. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page. |
The DYK project (nominate) 00:03, 24 May 2011 (UTC)
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Tunisia's Ben Ali
Hi
a few years back you used to revert amy changes I made to the Zine Abidine Ben Ali page suggesting he was a dictator. Why? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.181.94.190 (talk) 14:52, 5 June 2011 (UTC)
- I assume you're referring to this edit. I reverted your changes because they appeared to violate Wikipedia's policies of keeping a neutral point of view and verifiability. Given the events in Tunisia in the past year, I'm sure the article has since been extensively edited by multiple authors, so I bet the article is in fine shape now. In the future, if you're going to make such extensive changes, it might be best to discuss them on an article's talk page first. Regards, P. D. Cook Talk to me! 01:47, 7 June 2011 (UTC)
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Proposed Image Deletion
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A cup of coffee for you!
| To a former laker working hard to make GVSU a good article MOLEY (talk) 22:21, 3 July 2011 (UTC) |
- Thanks! I only wish I had more time to work on the article. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 14:42, 5 July 2011 (UTC)
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Twinkle
Are you having trouble with twinkle too? Puffin Let's talk! 15:22, 6 July 2011 (UTC)
- Yes, there must be a server problem. I've been doing things manually. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 15:23, 6 July 2011 (UTC)
- It seems that everything has cleared up. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 15:37, 6 July 2011 (UTC)
The Signpost: 11 July 2011
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Help!
Can you tell me how to add to a businesses page without having it appear to be promotional? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Boston20112 (talk • contribs) 17:08, 3 August 2011 (UTC)
- It's tricky. You should first review WP:COI and WP:NPOV. Those pages will help you identify any conflict of interest you have and how to avoid sounding biased and promotional. If you are affiliated with the company you are writing about, you're on shaky ground. I would also suggest you read WP:FIRST for advice on how to write a new page. Feel free to start a user space draft; I'd be happy to review it for you. Let me know if you have specific questions. Regards, P. D. Cook Talk to me! 17:30, 3 August 2011 (UTC)
Colitose
Thanks for fixing the error on this page; it's amazing how long it persisted there unnoticed! Regards, P. D. Cook Talk to me! 00:05, 6 August 2011 (UTC)
- You're welcome. I very much appreciate your having taken time to extend the courtesy of thanking me. Drphilharmonic (talk) 20:44, 6 August 2011 (UTC)
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Lawrence F. Dahl
Hello Pdcook!
You have marked this scientist as US-citizen. Writing the german-language article on him I couldn't find any hints on his nationality (except tons of Wikipedia mirrors and clones). Do you remember where you've found his US-citizenship?
Kindest regards, --Drahreg01 (talk) 04:39, 11 August 2011 (UTC)
- Hello. He's been a scholar in the US for 60 years, so I think it's safe to assume he's a US citizen. His lab webpage shows him as an emeritus professor at UW-Madison, and it also shows the years he earned his degrees. I hope you find that sufficient. Regards, P. D. Cook Talk to me! 12:24, 11 August 2011 (UTC)
I am sorry Mr Cook but i do not know how to contact you. My colleague Sven at the university in Palermo, who is on sabbatical until December, set up the Sicily nobility page in English several months ago.I accessed this morning for my lesson in Sundsvall, Sweden and see that some of the information, which sven and I painstakingly researched ourselves for our thesis has been erased by a nameless person.Can you please tell me what happened? I dont understand how to use wikipedia. I have changed it to the manner it was before but am fearful that the same person will simply come in here without any credentials and erase the hard work we put in. My colleage tells me he worked with you for weeks on this page and doesnt understand. He has asked me to speak with you so we can sort it out without his help. Sincerely, Fabrizio — Preceding unsigned comment added by FabrizioParisi (talk • contribs) 08:32, 5 September 2011 (UTC)
Sicilian Nobility
I am quite dismayed. I start teaching a class on sicilian aristocracy on the 11th, taking over for my colleague Sven. I noticed his wikipedia page has been edited in a heavy handed manner. Someone erased three paragraphs as well as his citations. Sven and I spent more than 14 months in Sicily meeting with & interviewing private families for a thesis we ahve written at the university of Catania and university of Solleftea. I dont know how to use wikipedia but would like you to make sure the paragraphs on Baron serramarrocco and the Vallon Ventimiglia family, which have been on the page since June, remain as they were.Is there a way i can be otified if this gentleman erases them again? I was able to add the text but have no idea how to link them to the citations. Can you please assist me?
Thanks for your time. Best regards, Fabrizio Parisi
Professore di Storia e Filosofia Catania e Univ di Solleftea — Preceding unsigned comment added by FabrizioParisi (talk • contribs) 09:24, 5 September 2011 (UTC)
Sicilian Nobility
I was told to write to you. I am forwarding a letter i left for Cinda muse.
This is the first time I have used Wikipedia so please excuse my efforts. Can you please explain why three paragraphs from my colleagues wikipedia page on Sicilian Nobility, along with pertinent citations have been deleted? The paragraphs on "Barone Serramarrocco" and the Famiglia Ventimiglia Vallon were deleted entirely. The user that deleted them may not see their importance however for those of us in southern Italy that monitor and write about the lives and habits of contemporary aristocracy this act is criminal. Our island has been stripped of its tradition since the second world war. Academics at the University of Catania are trying to restore the respect our island warrants. Contemporary aristocracy is of the utmost importance to our island and sense of self. To delete all traces of what remains of our fragmented aristocracy, as this user who I am certain is NOT A SICLILIAN, has done so insensitively, reeks of censorship. It is a blatant attack on our culture and deliberate revision of our history. Not only were citations specific to the deleted paragraphs erased by this user but sources used in the writing of paragraphs he decided to leave were as well. I tried to restore the references but believe i did so incorrectly and you reversed them.This user also added some information to the text without citing his source material. I have no issues leaving some of the information he added re Infante Carlos as this is not our area of expertise and any additional information is helpful, but to erase information drawn from months of painstaking research and primary source material my students and i have spent so much time digging through is criminal. I am sorry if i am overreacting however this is my passion and to see our work destroyed and my culture trampled on through cultural imperialism pains me. Please let me know what we can do to block this individual from deleting portions of our work. Either way we want to share our research on the the contemporary aristocracy with the wikipedia community. If not I would like to file a formal complaint. Sincerely,
Fabrizio Parisi
Professore di Storia e Filosofia
I wanted to add that this FactStraight appears to be menacing many other contributors as well. He has been blocked on countless occasions and has all but ruined our article. please can you assist? As i stated earlier I dont know how to use wikipedia and am getting quite frustrated. I will ask Sven if he can write to you as well. he tells me that you and he worked o the article together 3 months ago. Any assistance with this FactStraight will help. — Preceding unsigned comment added by FabrizioParisi (talk • contribs) 14:08, 5 September 2011 (UTC)
- I suppose now you've learned that you do not own the article that contains your contributions. Wikipedia is a collaborative effort, and others are able to change what is written. It is best if folks discuss such changes on the talk page of the respect article. Hopefully in the past week or so you've learned a little more about how Wikipedia functions. Let me know if you need additional help. Regards, P. D. Cook Talk to me! 11:20, 11 September 2011 (UTC)
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New Page Patrol survey
New page patrol – Survey Invitation Hello Pdcook! The WMF is currently developing new tools to make new page patrolling much easier. Whether you have patrolled many pages or only a few, we now need to know about your experience. The survey takes only 6 minutes, and the information you provide will not be shared with third parties other than to assist us in analyzing the results of the survey; the WMF will not use the information to identify you.
Please click HERE to take part. You are receiving this invitation because you have patrolled new pages. For more information, please see NPP Survey. Global message delivery 12:44, 26 October 2011 (UTC) |
- Done. Golly I hope I made a difference. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 23:24, 26 October 2011 (UTC)
Happy Halloween
| Puffin has given you some caramel and a candy apple! Caramel and candy-coated apples are fun Halloween treats, and promote WikiLove on Halloween. Hopefully these have made your Halloween (and the proceeding days) much sweeter. Happy Halloween! |
Puffin Let's talk! 18:28, 31 October 2011 (UTC)
- Thanks P. D. Cook Talk to me! 23:06, 31 October 2011 (UTC)
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A cookie for you!
| Hello Pdcook! I hope you enjoy this cookie as an amicable greeting from a fellow Wikipedian, SwisterTwister talk 00:14, 2 November 2011 (UTC) |
- Thanks. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 00:23, 2 November 2011 (UTC)
The Signpost: 7 November2011
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Vandalism on WBBB page
I've noticed your edits on WBBB, and just want to inform you that there has been more vandalism on the page since your edit was made. Keep an eye out for these guys. Thanks! --Radiokid1010 (talk) 02:51, 29 November 2011 (UTC)
- Noted. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 16:17, 30 November 2011 (UTC)
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- In the news: The closed, unfriendly world of Wikipedia, fundraiser fun and games, and chemists vs pornstars
- Recent research: Quantifying quality collaboration patterns, systemic bias, POV pushing, the impact of news events, and editors' reputation
- WikiProject report: The Signpost scoops The Bugle
- Featured content: The best of the week
- Arbitration report: Voting underway in the elections, finally a final decision on Abortion, scant movement on requests
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 07:17, 29 November 2011 (UTC)
Question
Why did you revert my changes on Yoram Bauman?
Thanks
StandupComedyCenter (talk) 21:05, 29 November 2011 (UTC)
- Because it appears you have a conflict of interest. You added a link to a blog with which you are associated. Let me know if you have anymore questions. Regards, P. D. Cook Talk to me! 16:17, 30 November 2011 (UTC)
The Signpost: 05 December 2011
- News and notes: Amsterdam gets the GLAM treatment, fundraising marches on, and a flourish of new admins
- In the news: A Wikistream of real time edits, a call for COI reform, and cracks in the ivory tower of knowledge
- Discussion report: Trial proposed for tool apprenticeship
- WikiProject report: This article is about WikiProject Disambiguation. For other uses...
- Featured content: This week's Signpost is for the birds!
- Arbitration report: Elections due to finish this week, little activity on Betacommand 3, Abortion case amended
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 19:12, 6 December 2011 (UTC)
Summit Series Conference / Summit Series (conference)
Hi there, Pdcook. Way back in 2009 you left a comment on the Talk page for Summit Series Conference suggesting the article be moved. I agree, and have in fact proposed a much-improved new draft. However, because I've engaged the article at Summit Series' request, I'm wary of making non-trivial edits without clear consensus. Would you be interested in looking at my suggested replacement version and, if you agree it's appropriate to move into place, saying so on that discussion page? Alternatively, if you have any questions or suggestions for improvement, I'm open to that as well. Cheers, WWB Too (talk) 21:45, 7 December 2011 (UTC)
The Signpost: 12 December 2011
- Opinion essay: Wikipedia in Academe – and vice versa
- News and notes: Research project banner ads run afoul of community
- In the news: Bell Pottinger investigation, Gardner on gender gap, and another plagiarist caught red-handed
- WikiProject report: Spanning Nine Time Zones with WikiProject Russia
- Featured content: Wehwalt gives his fifty cents; spies, ambushes, sieges, and Entombment
- Arbitration report: Betacommand 3 workshop revived, two cases set for acceptance and the ArbCom elections finish on a whimper
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 18:22, 13 December 2011 (UTC)
The Signpost: 19 December 2011
- News and notes: Anti-piracy act has Wikimedians on the defensive, WMF annual report released, and Indic language dynamics
- In the news: To save the wiki: strike first, then makeover?
- Discussion report: Polls, templates, and other December discussions
- WikiProject report: A dalliance with the dismal scientists of WikiProject Economics
- Featured content: Panoramas with Farwestern and a good week for featured content
- Arbitration report: The community elects eight arbitrators
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 04:29, 21 December 2011 (UTC)
The Signpost: 26 December 2011
- Recent research: Psychiatrists: Wikipedia better than Britannica; spell-checking Wikipedia; Wikipedians smart but fun; structured biological data
- News and notes: Fundraiser passes 2010 watermark, brief news
- WikiProject report: The Tree of Life
- Arbitration report: Three open cases, one set for acceptance, arbitrators formally appointed by Jimmy Wales
- Technology report: Wikimedia in Go Daddy boycott, and why you should 'Join the Swarm'
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 03:58, 28 December 2011 (UTC)
The Signpost: 02 January 2012
- Interview: The Gardner interview
- News and notes: Things bubbling along as Wikimedians enjoy their holidays
- WikiProject report: Where are they now? Part III
- Featured content: Ghosts of featured content past, present, and future
- Arbitration report: New case accepted, four open cases, terms begin for new arbitrators
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 16:04, 2 January 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 09 January 2012
- Technological roadmap: 2011's technological achievements in review, and what 2012 may hold
- News and notes: Fundraiser 2011 ends with a bang
- WikiProject report: From Traditional to Experimental: WikiProject Jazz
- Featured content: Contentious FAC debate: a week in review
- Arbitration report: Four open cases, proposed decision in Betacommand 3
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 04:43, 10 January 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 16 January 2012
- Special report: English Wikipedia to go dark on January 18
- Sister projects: What are our sisters up to now?
- News and notes: WMF on the looming SOPA blackout, Wikipedia turns 11, and Commons passes 12 million files
- WikiProject report: WikiProject Beer
- Featured content: Lecen on systemic bias in featured content
- Arbitration report: Four open cases, Betacommand case deadlocked, Muhammad images close near
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 06:34, 17 January 2012 (UTC)
City mayors by state templates
I see you have created several of these (CT, IA, MN, OK, OR, UT, WI). The first deletion discussion is occurring at Wikipedia:Templates_for_discussion/Log/2012_January_24#Template:New_York_cities_and_mayors_of_100.2C000_population.--TonyTheTiger (T/C/BIO/WP:CHICAGO/WP:FOUR) 06:46, 26 January 2012 (UTC)
- Thanks for the notification! P. D. Cook Talk to me! 13:40, 26 January 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 23 January 2012
- News and notes: SOPA blackout, Orange partnership
- WikiProject report: The Golden Horseshoe: WikiProject Toronto
- Featured content: Interview with Muhammad Mahdi Karim and the best of the week
- Arbitration report: Four open cases, proposed decision in Muhammad images, AUSC call for applications
- Technology report: Looking ahead to MediaWiki 1.19 and related issues
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 18:47, 26 January 2012 (UTC)
Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Fæ
A request for comments has been opened on administrator User:Fæ. You are being notified due to your prior participation in ANI, RfA, or RfC discussions regarding this user. Thank you, MadmanBot (talk) 19:54, 28 January 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 30 January 2012
- In the news: Zambian wiki-assassins, Foundation über alles, editor engagement and the innovation plateau
- Recent research: Language analyses examine power structure and political slant; Wikipedia compared to commercial databases
- WikiProject report: Digging Up WikiProject Palaeontology
- Featured content: Featured content soaring this week
- Arbitration report: Five open cases, voting on proposed decisions in two cases
- Technology report: Why "Lua" is on everybody's lips, and when to expect MediaWiki 1.19
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 03:50, 31 January 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 06 February 2012
- News and notes: The Foundation visits Tunisia, analyzes donors
- In the news: Leading scholar hails Wikipedia, historians urged to contribute while PR pros remain shunned
- Discussion report: Discussion swarms around Templates for deletion and returning editors of colourful pasts
- WikiProject report: The Eye of the Storm: WikiProject Tropical Cyclones
- Featured content: Talking architecture with MrPanyGoff
- Arbitration report: Four open cases, final decision in Muhammad images, Betacommand 3 near closure
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 00:10, 8 February 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 13 February 2012
- Special report: Fundraising proposals spark a furore among the chapters
- News and notes: Foundation launches Legal and Community Advocacy department
- WikiProject report: WikiProject Stub Sorting
- Featured content: The best of the week
- Arbitration report: Betacommand 3 closed, proposed decision in Civility enforcement, AUSC candidates announced
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 03:47, 15 February 2012 (UTC)
Proposed deletion of Moulshree Sachdeva

The article Moulshree Sachdeva has been proposed for deletion because, under Wikipedia policy, all newly created biographies of living persons must have at least one reference to a reliable source that directly supports material in the article.
If you created the article, please don't be offended. Instead, consider improving the article. For help on inserting references, see Referencing for beginners, or ask at the help desk. Once you have provided at least one reliable source, you may remove the {{prod blp}} tag. Please do not remove the tag unless the article is sourced. If you cannot provide such a source within ten days, the article may be deleted, but you can request that it be undeleted when you are ready to add one. ukexpat (talk) 16:12, 15 February 2012 (UTC)
- Thanks for the notification. I added an external link, but it's weak. My heart won't be broken if the article is deleted. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 00:32, 16 February 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 20 February 2012
- Special report: The plight of the new page patrollers
- News and notes: Fundraiser row continues, new director of engineering
- Discussion report: Discussion on copyrighted files from non-US relation states
- WikiProject report: WikiProject Poland
- Featured content: The best of the week
- Arbitration report: Civility enforcement closed, proposed decision in TimidGuy, two cases remain open
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 23:33, 20 February 2012 (UTC)
DRV notice
You participated in the discussion at Wikipedia:Templates for discussion/Log/2012 January 24#Template:New York cities and mayors of 100.2C000 population. Be advised that I have opened Wikipedia:Deletion review/Log/2012 February 27#User:TonyTheTiger/New York cities and mayors of 100,000 population.--TonyTheTiger (T/C/BIO/WP:CHICAGO/WP:FOUR) 05:21, 27 February 2012 (UTC)
- Thanks for the notification. I would comment, but it's already been overturned. Thanks. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 13:34, 27 February 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 27 February 2012
- News and notes: Finance meeting fallout, Gardner recommendations forthcoming
- Recent research: Gender gap and conflict aversion; collaboration on breaking news; effects of leadership on participation; legacy of Public Policy Initiative
- Discussion report: Focus on admin conduct and editor retention
- WikiProject report: Just don't call it "sci-fi": WikiProject Science Fiction
- Arbitration report: Final decision in TimidGuy ban appeal, one case remains open
- Technology report: 1.19 deployment stress, Meta debates whether to enforce SUL
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 01:54, 28 February 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 05 March 2012
- News and notes: Chapter-selected Board seats, an invite to the Teahouse, patrol becomes triage, and this week in history
- In the news: Heights reached in search rankings, privacy and mental health info; clouds remain over content policing
- Discussion report: COI and NOTCENSORED: policies under discussion
- WikiProject report: We don't bite: WikiProject Amphibians and Reptiles
- Featured content: Best of the week
- Arbitration report: AUSC appointments announced, one case remains open
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 16:38, 6 March 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 12 March 2012
- Interview: Liaising with the Education Program
- Women and Wikipedia: Women's history, what we're missing, and why it matters
- Arbitration analysis: A look at new arbitrators
- Discussion report: Nothing changes as long discussions continue
- WikiProject report: WikiProject Women's History
- Featured content: Extinct humans, birds, and Birdman
- Arbitration report: Proposed decision in 'Article titles', only one open case
- Education report: Diverse approaches to Wikipedia in Education
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 12:19, 15 March 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 19 March 2012
- News and notes: Chapters Council proposals take form as research applications invited for Wikipedia Academy and HighBeam accounts
- Discussion report: Article Rescue Squadron in need of rescue yet again
- WikiProject report: Lessons from another Wikipedia: Czech WikiProject Protected Areas
- Featured content: Featured content on the upswing!
- Arbitration report: Race and intelligence 'review' opened, Article titles at voting
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 14:13, 20 March 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 26 March 2012
- News and notes: Controversial content saga continues, while the Foundation tries to engage editors with merchandising and restructuring
- WikiProject report: WikiProject Rock Music
- Featured content: Malfunctioning sharks, toothcombs and a famous mother: featured content for the week
- Arbitration report: Race and intelligence review at evidence, article titles closed
- Recent research: Predicting admin elections; studying flagged revision debates; classifying editor interactions; and collecting the Wikipedia literature
- Education report: Universities unite for GLAM; and High Schools get their due.
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 00:43, 27 March 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 02 April 2012
- Interview: An introduction to movement roles
- Arbitration analysis: Case review: TimidGuy ban appeal
- News and notes: Berlin reforms to movement structures, Wikidata launches with fanfare, and Wikipedia's day of mischief
- WikiProject report: The Signpost scoops The Signpost
- Featured content: Snakes, misnamed chapels, and emptiness: featured content this week
- Arbitration report: Race and intelligence review in third week, one open case
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 07:26, 3 April 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 09 April 2012
- News and notes: Projects launched in Brazil and the Middle East as advisors sought for funds committee
- WikiProject report: The Land of Steady Habits: WikiProject Connecticut
- Featured content: Assassination, genocide, internment, murder, and crucifixion: the bloodiest of the week
- Arbitration report: Arbitration evidence-limit motions, two open cases
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 00:47, 10 April 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 16 April 2012
- Arbitration analysis: Inside the Arbitration Committee Mailing List
- Paid editing: Does Wikipedia Pay? The Facilitator: Silver seren
- Discussion report: The future of pending changes
- WikiProject report: The Butterflies and Moths of WikiProject Lepidoptera
- Featured content: A few good sports: association football, rugby league, and the Olympics vie for medals
- Arbitration report: Evidence submissions begin in Rich Farmbrough case, proposed decision in R&I Review
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 22:57, 16 April 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 23 April 2012
- Investigative report: Spin doctors spin Jimmy's "bright line"
- WikiProject report: Skeptics and Believers: WikiProject The X-Files
- Featured content: A mirror (or seventeen) on this week's featured content
- Arbitration report: Evidence submissions close in Rich Farmbrough case, vote on proposed decision in R&I Review
- Technology report: Wikimedia Labs: soon to be at the cutting edge of MediaWiki development?
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 11:53, 24 April 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 30 April 2012
- Paid editing: Does Wikipedia Pay? The Consultant: Pete Forsyth
- Discussion report: 'ReferenceTooltips' by default
- WikiProject report: The Cartographers of WikiProject Maps
- Featured content: Featured content spreads its wings
- Arbitration report: R&I Review remains in voting, two open cases
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 05:07, 1 May 2012 (UTC)
My RFA
Hi, I just wanted to leave a note saying thank you for partcipating in my RFA, and your comments will be taken on board and acted upon. Hopfully, I will be of a level you can support in a future RFA. MrLittleIrish (talk) © 13:12, 2 May 2012 (UTC)
- Best of luck to you in all your future endeavors. P. D. Cook Talk to me! 15:45, 2 May 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 07 May 2012
- Paid editing: Does Wikipedia Pay? The Communicator: Phil Gomes
- News and notes: Hong Kong to host Wikimania 2013
- WikiProject report: Say What?: WikiProject Languages
- Featured content: This week at featured content: How much wood would a Wood Duck chuck if a Wood Duck could chuck wood?
- Arbitration report: Proposed decision in Rich Farmbrough, two open cases
- Technology report: Search gets faster, GSoC gets more detail and 1.20wmf2 gets deployed
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 01:15, 8 May 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 14 May 2012
- WikiProject report: Welcome to Wikipedia with a cup of tea and all your questions answered - at the Teahouse
- Featured content: Featured content is red hot this week
- Arbitration report: R&I Review closed, Rich Farmbrough near closure
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 23:24, 14 May 2012 (UTC)
A barnstar for you!
| The Special Barnstar | |
| Thanks for your contributions, Pdcook. SwisterTwister talk 00:29, 20 May 2012 (UTC) |
- Thanks! P. D. Cook Talk to me! 01:40, 20 May 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 21 May 2012
- From the editor: New editor-in-chief
- WikiProject report: Trouble in a Galaxy Far, Far Away....
- Featured content: Lemurbaby moves it with Madagascar: Featured content for the week
- Arbitration report: No open arbitration cases pending
- Technology report: On the indestructibility of Wikimedia content
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 03:30, 22 May 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 28 May 2012
- News and notes: Wikimedia Foundation endorses open-access petition to the White House; pending changes RfC ends
- Recent research: Supporting interlanguage collaboration; detecting reverts; Wikipedia's discourse, semantic and leadership networks, and Google's Knowledge Graph
- WikiProject report: Experts and enthusiasts at WikiProject Geology
- Featured content: Featured content cuts the cheese
- Arbitration report: Fæ and GoodDay requests for arbitration, changes to evidence word limits
- Technology report: Developer divide wrangles; plus Wikimedia Zero, MediaWiki 1.20wmf4, and IPv6
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 08:53, 30 May 2012 (UTC)
Thanks for !voting
| at my successful RFA | |
| Thank you, Pdcook, for !voting at my successful RFA; I am humbled that you put your trust in me. I grant you this flower, which, if tended to properly, will grow to be the fruit of Wikipedia's labours. — Crisco 1492 (talk) 11:33, 3 June 2012 (UTC) |
The Signpost: 04 June 2012
- Special report: WikiWomenCamp: From women, for women
- Discussion report: Watching Wikipedia change
- WikiProject report: Views of WikiProject Visual Arts
- Featured content: On the lochs
- Arbitration report: Two motions for procedural reform, three open cases, Rich Farmbrough risks block and ban
- Technology report: Report from the Berlin Hackathon
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 09:48, 5 June 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 11 June 2012
- News and notes: Foundation finance reformers wrestle with CoI
- WikiProject report: Counter-Vandalism Unit
- Featured content: The cake is a pi
- Arbitration report: Procedural reform enacted, Rich Farmbrough blocked, three open cases
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 22:30, 12 June 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 18 June 2012
- Investigative report: Is the requests for adminship process 'broken'?
- News and notes: Ground shifts while chapters dither over new Association
- Discussion report: Discussion Reports And Miscellaneous Articulations
- WikiProject report: The Punks of Wikipedia
- Featured content: Taken with a pinch of "salt"
- Arbitration report: Three open cases, GoodDay case closed
- Technology report: Bugs, Repairs, and Internal Operational News
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 03:08, 20 June 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 25 June 2012
- WikiProject report: Summer Sports Series: WikiProject Athletics
- Featured content: A good week for the Williams
- Arbitration report: Three open cases
- Technology report: Second Visual Editor prototype launches
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 07:03, 26 June 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 02 July 2012
- Analysis: Uncovering scientific plagiarism
- News and notes: RfC on joining lobby group; JSTOR accounts for Wikipedians and the article feedback tool
- In the news: Public relations on Wikipedia: friend or foe?
- Discussion report: Discussion reports and miscellaneous articulations
- WikiProject report: Summer sports series: Burning rubber with WikiProject Motorsport
- Featured content: Heads up
- Arbitration report: Three open cases, motion for the removal of Carnildo's administrative tools
- Technology report: Initialisms abound: QA and HTML5
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 12:31, 3 July 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 09 July 2012
- Special report: Reforming the education programs: lessons from Cairo
Wikipedia has a long history of collaborating with educational institutions. The Schools and universities program — international and in many languages, but dominated by US institutions — started in 2003 and evolved case by case with little system. However, that changed in 2009 as Wikimedia embarked on its formal strategic process, and outreach in higher education came to be seen in terms of achieving explicit goals — especially that of increasing editor participation.
- News and notes: Russian Wikipedia blackout; WMF tools; Wikitravel proposal revisited
The Russian Wikipedia has been blacked out for 24 hours, ending 20:00 UTC Tuesday, as a protest against Russian State Duma Bill 89417-6, a bill currently before the Duma (the Russian parliament). Visitors to the Russian Wikipedia are confronted by the sign above in protest at a draconian internet censorship bill before the Duma. The Russian word for Wikipedia is crossed out in this banner, and the text says: "Imagine a world without free knowledge. The State Duma is currently conducting the second reading of a bill to amend the "Law on Information", which has the potential to lead to the creation of extra-judicial censorship of the Internet in Russia, including the closure of access to the Russian Wikipedia. Today, the Wikipedia community protests against censorship as a threat to free knowledge that is open to all mankind. We ask that you oppose this bill."
- WikiProject report: Summer sports series: WikiProject Football
This week, we spent some time with WikiProject Football, which focuses on the sport also known as association football or soccer. WikiProject Football is by far the largest sport project and one of the most active projects on Wikipedia in terms of the number of articles covered, edits to articles, and talk page watchers.
- Featured content: Keeps on chuggin'
Eight featured articles were promoted this week: ... Aries (constellation) by Keilana. Aries the Ram (symbol ♈) is one of the constellations of the Zodiac and one of 88 currently recognised constellations. Its area is 441 square degrees (1.1% of the celestial sphere). Although fairly dim, with only three bright stars, it is home to several deep-sky objects.
- Arbitration report: Three requests for arbitration
No cases were closed or opened, leaving the number of open cases at three. ... The case concerns alleged misconduct with regards to aggressive responses and harassment by Fæ toward users who question his actions.
- Technology report: Optimism over LastModified and MoodBar, but change in clock time causes downtime
The results from last month's trial of the LastModified extension were published this week on the Wikimedia blog. The first analyses have indicated a significant positive impact, suggesting that the extension – which makes the time since a page's last edit much more prominent in the interface – could eventually find its way onto Wikimedia wikis.
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 11:40, 10 July 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 16 July 2012
- Special report: Chapters Association mired in controversy over new chair
User:Fæ was elected as the inaugural chair of the new Wikimedia Chapters Association, despite the controversies that have surrounded Fæ on the English Wikipedia and Commons, most recently aired in a live case before the Arbitration Committee. This is in marked contrast with unexciting movement, during the Wikimania meeting, on the most important issues facing the establishment of the association.
- News and notes: WMF enacts reforms at Wikimania; main page redesign; 4 millionth article milestone
During Wikimania (July 12-15), the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) board finalized and enacted long-discussed reforms of the movement's financial structures, and considered procedures for creating new ways for Wikimedians to organize themselves into offline communities. The board moved on the controversial image filter issue, approved the 2012–13 annual plan, and issued a statement on the wikitravel proposal. It also appointed the two new chapter-selected trustees and elected the four office-bearers.
- WikiProject report: Summer sports series: French WikiProject Cycling
With the Tour de France in its final week, we traveled to the French Wikipedia for a chat with Projet Cyclisme (WikiProject Cycling). The French Wikipedia places a greater emphasis on portals than the English Wikipedia, which explains why WikiProject Cycling and its discussion page are actually extensions of the Cycling Portal. The project is home to two Article de Qualité (equivalent to Featured Articles) and eight Bon Article (Good Articles), primarily biographies of cyclists.
- Discussion report: Discussion reports and miscellaneous articulations
A brief overview of the current discussions on the English Wikipedia, including one regarding the purpose of the Community Portal. Started by Maryana, a Wikimedia Foundation employee, is this page for new users to be educated about the community, or is it for experienced users to find updates about the community?
- Wikimania: Young chapter shows experience beyond its years
Nearly 1400 Wikimedians and others from 87 countries descended on the capital of the United States, Washington, D.C., for Wikimania 2012. Even with an unprecedented number (1400) of conference attendees — the previous two Wikimanias, held in Gdańsk (Poland) and Haifa (Israel), were attended by fewer than 1100 people combined – Wikimania 2012 was a complete success, with attendees' reaction to the conference coming out as ecstatic and laudatory.
- Featured content: Taking flight
Eight featured articles were promoted this week, including Paul McCartney by GabeMc. McCartney (born 1942) is an English musician, singer, songwriter and composer. He gained worldwide fame as a member of the Beatles, and his collaboration with John Lennon is highly celebrated. After the band's break-up he pursued a solo career and formed the band Wings. McCartney has been described by Guinness World Records as the "most successful composer and recording artist of all time", and his song "Yesterday" has been covered more than any other song in history.
- Technology report: Tech talks at Wikimania amid news of a mixed June
As Wikimania, the annual conference targeted at Wikimedians and often well attended by those with a technical slant, draws to a close, comments have already begun to come in from attendees regarding the many tech-related features of the conference.
- Arbitration report: Fæ faces site-ban, proposed decisions posted
No cases were closed or opened, leaving the number of open cases at three. A new remedy in the Fæ case calls for him to be indefinitely banned from the site after his attempts to solicit intervention from the Foundation, claiming that publicly listing all his accounts would be too onerous due to "ongoing security risks." He was further criticised for attempting to dodge good-faith concerns; the committee believes that if Fæ's claims are valid then he must be removed from the community.
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 12:06, 17 July 2012 (UTC)
messaging
I got a message saying that an edit of mine had been been refused - I don't know who edited what but it wasn't me. I have never submitted an edit at all. Gjthomas (talk) 13:48, 18 July 2012 (UTC)
- I'll need some context here. I checked your contributions, and there's nothing there. Did you create a page and it was later deleted? Did you edit using a different account? P. D. Cook Talk to me! 13:51, 18 July 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 23 July 2012
- Paid editing: Does Wikipedia pay? The skeptic: Orange Mike
Does Wikipedia pay? is an ongoing Signpost 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.
- From the editor: Signpost developments
The Signpost's goal is to provide readers with essential information about the Wikimedia movement and the English Wikipedia – both of which have become large and extremely complex institutions that require timely, balanced and in-depth coverage.
- News and notes: Chapter head speaks about the aftermath of Russian Wikipedia shutdown
Two weeks ago the Signpost reported that the Russian Wikipedia had just begun a 24-hour blackout in protest at a bill that was before the Russian parliament that proposed mechanisms to block IP addresses and DNS records. The protest, implemented after on-wiki consensus was reached during the preceding days, concerned the potential of the amendment to the information law to allow extra-judicial censorship of the internet in Russia, including the closure of access to the Russian Wikipedia. Among the questions now are how effective the blackout was and where we go from here in terms of internet freedom in one of the world's biggest and most influential countries.
- WikiProject report: Summer sports series: WikiProject Olympics
With the 2012 Summer Olympic Games beginning this weekend in London, we decided to catch up with the chaps at WikiProject Olympics. The last time we interviewed WikiProject Olympics was in February 2010 when the project was gearing up for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. We wanted to know how the project has grown since then and whether preparing for a Summer Olympics was more grueling.
- Arbitration report: Fæ and Michaeldsuarez banned; Kwamikagami desysopped; Falun Gong closes with mandated external reviews and topic bans
For the second time this year (and the third in the history of the committee), there are no open cases, as all three active cases were closed last week.
- Op-ed: The future of PR on Wikipedia
There has never been a better time to improve the behavior of marketing professionals on Wikipedia. For the first time we're seeing self-imposed statements of ethics. Professional PR bodies around the globe have supported the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) guidance for ethical Wikipedia engagement. Although their tone is different, CREWE and the PRSA have brought more attention to the issues. Awareness among PR professionals is rising. So are the number of paid editing operations sprouting up and the opportunity for dialogue.
- Featured content: When is an island not an island?
One featured article was promoted this week, Melville Island. A small peninsula in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, it was discovered by Europeans in the 1600s and initially used for storehouses. The land was purchased by the British and used to hold prisoners of war, then to receive escaped slaves from the United States. After being used as a place of quarantine and later a recruitment centre, the land was granted to Canada in 1907 and used to house prisoners of war. It is now home to the clubhouse and marina of the Armdale Yacht Club.
- Technology report: Translating SVGs and making history bugs history
In the first of a series looking at this year's eight ongoing Google Summer of Code projects, the Signpost caught up with developer Harry Burt.
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 12:12, 24 July 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 30 July 2012
- Recent research: Conflict dynamics, collaboration and emotions; digitization vs. copyright; WikiProject field notes; quality of medical articles; role of readers; Best Wiki Paper Award
From the modeling of social dynamics in a collaborative environment to why the number of Wikipedia readers rises while the number of editors doesn't.
- News and notes: Wikimedians and London 2012; WMF budget – staffing, engineering, editor retention effort, and the global South; Telegraph's cheap shot at WP
Wikimedia Foundation published its Annual Plan, focusing on technical improvements, editor retention, and structural reforms over the coming year. The movement's total revenue, including almost all chapter funding, is slated to rise by 35%, from $34.2 million to $46.1 million, and global spending to more than $42.1 million. The foundation's own core spending will grow by 15% to $30.2 million in 2012–13.
- WikiProject report: Summer sports series: WikiProject Horse Racing
We continue our Summer Sports Series this week with WikiProject Horse Racing. Started in November 2005, the project has grown to include nearly 8,000 articles maintained by 34 active members. There are 10 Featured Articles and 19 Good Articles included in the project's scope. In addition to preparing articles for GA and FA status, the project attempts to create requested articles and locate requested images. We interviewed Redrose64, Montanabw, Tigerboy1966, Ealdgyth, and Cuddy Wifter.
- Featured content: One of a kind
Eight new featured articles, five new featured lists, and eight new featured pictures. The highlights include a new featured picture of Frank Sinatra, created by William P. Gottlieb and nominated by Tomer T. Sinatra (1915–98) was a highly successful American singer and film actor whose career spanned 60 years. This image dates from around 1947.
- Technology report: Talking performance with CT Woo and Green Semantic MediaWiki with Nischay Nahata
In the light of recent questions over the long-term reliability of Wikimedia wikis, the Signpost caught up with CT Woo, the Wikimedia Foundation's director of technical operations.
- Arbitration report: No pending or open arbitration cases
Arbitrator Kirill Lokshin proposed a motion requiring the alteration of any instances of an editor's previous username in arbitration decisions to reflect their name changes. The Devil's Advocate has initiated an amendment request for the controversial Race and intelligence case.
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 12:32, 31 July 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 06 August 2012
- Op-ed: The Athena Project: being bold
At this year's Wikimania, I [Brandon Harris] gave a talk entitled The Athena Project: Wikipedia in 2015. The talk broadly outlined several ideas the foundation is exploring for planned features, user interface changes, and workflow improvements. We expect that many of these changes will be welcomed, while others will be controversial. During the question-and-answer period, I was asked whether people should think of Athena as a skin, a project, or something else. I responded, "You should think of Athena as a kick in the head" – because that's exactly what it's supposed to be: a radical and bold re-examination of some of our sacred cows when it comes to the interface.
- News and notes: FDC portal launched
On August 1, the Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC) portal was launched on Meta. The FDC will implement the Wikimedia movement's new grant-orientated finance structure in accordance with the WMF board's recent resolutions. As a volunteer committee, the FDC will make recommendations to the WMF board on a $11.4 million budget for 2012–13.
- Arbitration report: No pending or open arbitration cases
Arbitrator Kirill Lokshin proposed a motion for a procedure on the alteration of an editor's previous username(s) in arbitration decisions to reflect their name change(s). ... The Devil's Advocate initiated an amendment request for the controversial Race and intelligence case.
- Featured content: Casliber's words take root
This week the Signpost interviews Casliber, an editor who has written or contributed significantly to a startling 69 featured articles. We learn what makes him tick, why he edits, and why he can write on everything from vampires to dinosaurs, birds to plants. He also gives some advice to budding featured article writers.
- Technology report: Wikidata nears first deployment but wikis go down in fibre cut calamity
The Wikimedia Foundation's engineering report for July 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). ... At least one fibre-optic cable was damaged at the WMF's Tampa site on August 6, leading to a sharp downwards spike in traffic lasting over an hour and almost three hours of disruption for readers around the globe.
- WikiProject report: Summer sports series: WikiProject Martial Arts
This week, we spent some time with WikiProject Martial Arts. Since April 2004, the project has been the hub for discussion and improvement of martial arts articles, including all disciplines and national origins. The project maintains a variety of conventions for handling the names and descriptions of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Indian, Sikh, Filipino, Okinawan, and hybrid martial arts. WikiProject Martial Arts has spawned or absorbed several subprojects focusing on boxing, kickboxing, sumo, and mixed martial arts.
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 10:14, 7 August 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 13 August 2012
- Op-ed: Small Wikipedias' burden
In a certain way, writing Wikipedia is the same everywhere, in every language or culture. You have to stick to the facts, aiming for the most objective way of describing them, including everything relevant and leaving out all the everyday trivia that is not really necessary to understand the context. You have to use critical thinking, trying to be independent of your own preferences and biases. To some effect, that's all there is to it. Naturally, Wikipedians have their biases, some of which can never be cured. Most Wikipedians tend to like encyclopedias; but millions of people in the world don't share that bias, and we represent them rather poorly. I'm also quite sure that an overwhelming majority of Wikipedia co-authors are literate. Again, that's not true for everyone in this world. Yet we have other, less noticeable but barely less fundamental biases.
- News and notes: Bangla-language survey suggests the challenges for small Wikipedias
The Bangla language, also known as Bengali, is spoken by some 200 million people in Bangladesh and India. The Bangla Wikipedia has a very small active community of about ten to fifteen very active editors, with another 35–40 as less active editors. The project faces particular challenges in being a small Wikipedia, and Dhaka-based WMF community fellow User:Tanvir Rahman is working to understand these challenges and to develop strategies that can improve small wikis that have strong potential to expand their editing communities.
- Arbitration report: You really can request for arbitration
A request for arbitration was filed late last week, ending the three-week long absence of pending cases.
- Featured content: On the road again
Six featured articles were promoted this week, including Business US Highway 41, which was a state trunkline highway that served as a business loop in Marquette in the US state of Michigan.
- Technology report: "Phabricating" a serious alternative to Gerrit
Three weeks into a month-long evaluation of code review tool Gerrit, a serious alternative has finally gained traction in the review process: Facebook-developed but now independently operated Phabricator and its sister command-line tool Arcanist.
- WikiProject report: Dispute Resolution
This week, we interviewed the lively bunch at WikiProject Dispute Resolution. Started in November 2011 to study and discuss improvements to Wikipedia's resources for resolving disputes between editors, the young project has supplemented dispute resolution efforts currently handled at the Dispute Resolution Noticeboard, Mediation Committee, and other venues. Over 40 editors have signed up to provide feedback, a variety of ideas have been proposed, and a manual for dispute resolution has been created.
- Discussion report: Image placeholders, machine translations, Mediation Committee, de-adminship
Current proposals and requests for comments include a competition to redesign the main page ...
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 11:21, 14 August 2012 (UTC)
Nomination of Nang Jang for deletion
A discussion is taking place as to whether the article Nang Jang is suitable for inclusion in Wikipedia according to Wikipedia's policies and guidelines or whether it should be deleted.
The article will be discussed at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Nang Jang until a consensus is reached, and anyone is welcome to contribute to the discussion. The nomination will explain the policies and guidelines which are of concern. The discussion focuses on high-quality evidence and our policies and guidelines.
Users may edit the article during the discussion, including to improve the article to address concerns raised in the discussion. However, do not remove the article-for-deletion template from the top of the article.
Notifying you as a past editor as a courtesy. --KGF0 ( T | C ) 02:12, 16 August 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 20 August 2012
- Op-ed: Wikimedians are rightfully wary
The Wikimedia Foundation sometimes proposes new features that receive substantive criticism from Wikimedians, yet those criticisms may be dismissed on the basis that people are resistant to change—there's an unjustified view that the wikis have been overrun by vested contributors who hate all change. That view misses a lot of key details and insight because there are good reasons that Wikimedians are suspicious of features development, given past and present development of bad software, growing ties with the problematic Wikia, and a growing belief that it is acceptable to experiment on users.
- News and notes: Core content competition in full swing; Wikinews fork taken offline
The Core Contest is a month-long competition among editors to improve Wikipedia's most important "core" articles—especially those that are in a relatively poor state. Core articles, such as Music, Computer, and Philosophy, tend to lie in the trunk of the tree of knowledge; by analogy, featured-and good-article processes generally attract more specialist topics out on the branches.
- In the news: American judges on citing Wikipedia
In the Utah Court of Appeals this week, the majority opinion in Fire Insurance Exchange v. Robert Allen Oltmanns and Brady Blackner relied on Wikipedia for the basic premise of their legal opinion, and included a concurring opinion devoted solely to the issue of citing Wikipedia in a legal opinion.
- Featured content: Enough for a week – but I'm damned if I see how the helican.
Thirteen featured articles were promoted this week, including pelicans, which are a genus of large water birds comprising the family Pelecanidae, characterised by a long beak and large throat-pouch. They have a fossil record dating back at least 30 million years and are most closely related to the Shoebill and Hammerkop. These fish-feeders have a patchy relationship with humans: the birds are sometimes persecuted and sometimes feature in mythology.
- Technology report: Lua onto test2wiki and news of a convention-al extension
New embeddable scripting ("template replacement") language Lua received considerable scrutiny this week when it began its long road to widespread deployment, landing on the test2wiki test site on Wednesday (wikitech-l mailing list). ... the fourth in our series profiling participants in this year's Google Summer of Code (GSoC) programme.
- WikiProject report: Land of Calm and Contrast: Korea
This week, we spent some time with WikiProject Korea. Started in September 2006, WikiProject Korea covers the history and culture of the Korean people, including both countries that currently occupy the Korean peninsula. This task has proven difficult with North Koreans notably absent from the Wikipedia community due to tight control over access to external media. The project is home to over 16,000 pages, including 15 pieces of Featured material and 66 Good and A-class Articles.
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 09:21, 21 August 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 27 August 2012
- News and notes: Tough journey for new travel guide
Wikimedia editors have been debating a community proposal for the adoption of a new project to host free travel-guide content. The debate reached a new stage when a three-month request for comment on Meta came to an end, with a decision to set up the first new type of Wikimedia project in half a decade. The original proposal for the travel guide unfolded during April on Meta and the Wikimedia-l mailing lists, centring around the wish of volunteer contributors to the WikiTravel project to work in a non-commercial environment.
- Recent research: New influence graph visualizations; NPOV and history; 'low-hanging fruit'
A monthly overview of recent academic research about Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects, edited jointly with the Wikimedia Research Committee and republished as the Wikimedia Research Newsletter.
- Technology report: Just how bad is the code review backlog?
Developers were left one step closer to an understanding of the code review outlook this week after the creation of a graph plotting "number changesets awaiting review" over time. The chart, which also shows the number of new changesets created on a daily basis, reveals a peak in the number of unreviewed changesets in mid-July, followed by a short drop. The current figure stands at approximately 219 unreviewed changesets.
- Featured content: Wikipedia rivals The New Yorker: Mark Arsten
This week the Signpost interviews Mark Arsten, who has written or contributed significantly to ten featured articles; most have related to new religious movements, and some have touched on other controversial or quirky topics. Mark gives us a rundown on how he keeps neutral and what drives him to write featured content; he also gives some hints for aspiring writers.
- WikiProject report: From sonic screwdrivers to jelly babies: Doctor Who
This week, we hopped in a little blue box with a batch of companions from WikiProject Doctor Who. Started in April 2005, the project has grown to include about 4,000 pages about the world's longest-running science fiction television show, its spinoffs, and various related material. The project is the parent of the Torchwood Taskforce and a child of WikiProject British TV and WikiProject Science Fiction. With new Doctor Who episodes airing this week and a 50th anniversary celebration around the corner, we thought now would be a good time to inquire about the famed Time Lord.
- Discussion report: Sidebar and main page alterations; Recent Deaths; Education Program extension
Current discussions on the English Wikipedia.
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 06:20, 29 August 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 03 September 2012
- News and notes: World's largest photo competition kicks off; WMF legal fees proposal
Some of Wikimedia's most valuable photographs have been shot and uploaded under free licenses as a direct result of the annual Wiki Loves Monuments (WLM) event each September. Last year, the project was conducted on a European level, resulting in the submission of an extraordinary 168,208 free images of cultural heritage sites ("monuments") from 18 countries, making it the world's largest photographic competition. Organising the 2012 event—which has just opened and will run for the full month of September—has required input from chapters and volunteers in 35 countries.
- Technology report: Time for a MediaWiki Foundation?
Developers are currently discussing the possibility of a MediaWiki Foundation to oversee those aspects of MediaWiki development that relate to non-Wikimedia wikis. The proposal was generated after a discussion on the wikitech-l mailing list about generalising Wikimedia's CentralAuth system.
- Featured content: Wikipedia's Seven Days of Terror
Five featured pictures were promoted this week, including a video explaining the recent landing of the Curiosity rover on Mars. NASA called the final minutes of the complicated landing procedure "the seven minutes of terror".
- Op-ed: Dispute resolution – where we're at, what we're doing well, and what needs fixing
Since May 2012 I've been a Wikimedia Foundation community fellow with the task of researching and improving dispute resolution on English Wikipedia. Surveying members of the community has revealed much about their thoughts on and experiences with dispute resolution. I've analysed processes to determine their use and effectiveness, and have presented ideas that I hope will improve the future of dispute resolution.
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 11:55, 4 September 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 10 September 2012
- From the editor: Signpost adapts as news consumption changes
Thanks to the initiative of Yuvi Panda and Notnarayan, the Signpost now has an Android app, free for download on Google Play. ... but would readers be interested in an iOS app for Apple devices?
- Op-ed: Fixing Wikipedia's help pages one key to editor retention
Much like article content, the English Wikipedia's help pages have grown organically over the years. Although this has produced a great deal of useful documentation, with time many of the pages have become poorly maintained or have grown overwhelmingly complicated.
- In the media: Author criticizes Wikipedia article; Wales attacks UK government proposal
Philip Roth, a widely known and acclaimed American author, wrote an open letter in the New Yorker addressed to Wikipedia this week, alleging severe inaccuracies in the article on his The Human Stain (2000).
- Featured content: Not a "Gangsta's Paradise", but still rappin'
Three hip hop discographies were promoted this week, alongside seven other lists.
- WikiProject report: WikiProject Fungi
After a week's hiatus, the WikiProject Report returns with an interview featuring WikiProject Fungi. Started in March 2006, the project has grown to include over 9,000 pages, including 47 Featured Articles and 176 Good Articles. The project maintains a list of high priority missing articles and stubs that need expansion.
- Special report: Two Wikipedians set to face jury trial
In dramatic events that came to light last week, two English Wikipedia volunteers—Doc James (James Heilman) and Wrh2 (Ryan Holliday)—are being sued in the Los Angeles County Superior Court by Internet Brands, the owner of Wikitravel.com. Both Wikipedians have also been volunteer Wikitravel editors (and in Holliday's case, a volunteer administrator). IB's complaints focus on both editors' encouragement of their fellow Wikitravel volunteers to migrate to a proposed non-commercial travel guidance site that would be under the umbrella of the WMF.
- News and notes: Researchers find that Simple English Wikipedia has "lost its focus"
In its September issue, the peer-reviewed journal First Monday published The readability of Wikipedia, reporting research which shows that the English Wikipedia is struggling to meet Flesch reading ease test criteria, while the Simple English Wikipedia has "lost its focus".
- Technology report: Mmmm, milkshake...
The Wikimedia Foundation's engineering report for August 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).
- Discussion report: Closing Wikiquette; Image Filter; Education Program and Momento extensions
Current discussions on the English Wikipedia.
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 05:39, 11 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.
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 17:01, 18 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 of American 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.
- Discussion report: Image filter; HotCat; Syntax highlighting; and more
Current discussions on the English Wikipedia include...
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 18:02, 26 September 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 01 October 2012
- Paid editing: Does Wikipedia Pay? The Founder: Jimmy Wales
Does Wikipedia Pay? is a Signpost 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 a Signpost 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
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 21:18, 2 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 new Signpost 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 the Signpost 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 the Signpost: 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.
- Discussion report: Closing RfAs: Stewards or Bureaucrats?; Redesign of Help:Contents
Current discussions on the English Wikipedia include ...
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 21:01, 9 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 the Wall 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 USS Lexington, 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.
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 21:40, 16 October 2012 (UTC)
The article Bhojpur, Bihar needs improvement
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.
- Arbitration report: Malleus Fatuorum accused of circumventing topic ban; motion to change "net four votes" rule
One clarification request concerns the civility enforcement case – specifically, Malleus Fatuorum's perceived circumvention of his topic ban. It has resulted in thousands of bytes spent in vitriolic discussions, multiple blocks, and "no confidence" motions against the Arbitration Committee and one arbitrator, among other ramifications.
- 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
- Discussion report: Good articles on the main page?; reforming dispute resolution
Current discussions on the English Wikipedia include...
- 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.
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 11:50, 24 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.
- Recent research: WP governance informal; community as social network; efficiency of recruitment and content production; Rorschach news
A paper in the Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, coming from the social control perspective and employing the repertory grid technique, has contributed interesting observations about the governance of Wikipedia.
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 09:03, 31 October 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?
- Discussion report: Protected Page Editor right; Gibraltar hooks
The Signpost's weekly roundup of topics for discussion on the English Wikipedia.
- Featured content: Jack-O'-Lanterns and Toads
This week, the Signpost 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.
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 00:48, 7 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, the Technology 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), the Signpost 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.
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 13:25, 14 November 2012 (UTC)
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.
- Discussion report: GOOG, MSFT, WMT: the ticker symbol placement question
Current discussions on the English Wikipedia include the question of ticker symbol placement and the notability of various types of creative performer.
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 02:10, 21 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.
- Featured content: Panoramic views, history, and a celestial constellation
Six articles, one list, and six images were promoted to 'featured' status this week.
- 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.
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 11:08, 28 November 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 03 December 2012
- News and notes: Wiki Loves Monuments announces 2012 winner
The global jury of Wiki Loves Monuments (WLM), the world’s largest photo contest, announced its results on 3 December.
- Featured content: The play's the thing
Three articles, two lists, and four images were promoted to 'featured' status this week.
- Discussion report: Concise Wikipedia; standardize version history tables
Current discussions on the English Wikipedia include...
- Technology report: MediaWiki problems but good news for Toolserver stability
Deployments of MediaWiki 1.21wmf5 cause widespread problems for users across wikis when HTML and CSS updates came temporarily out of sync. On the first wikis targeted for deployment, this was caused by the different cache invalidation rates for HTML (typically one month) and CSS (typically five minutes). The retrospective on the problem highlighted the fact that that the test wiki – the WMF's answer to a production environment that individual developers can no longer practically emulate themselves – actually demonstrated the exact problem that would later manifest itself on production wikis. It went unnoticed.
- WikiProject report: The White Rose: WikiProject Yorkshire
This week, we went searching for white roses in the lands of WikiProject Yorkshire. The project began in May 2007 as a way to improve articles about the historic English county of Yorkshire and its modern-day administrative divisions and cities. Since then, the project has accumulated 31 Featured Articles, 14 Featured Lists, 91 Good Articles, and a monstrous list of Did You Know entries. Despite all of the effort improving Yorkshire articles, the project has experienced waning participation in the last few years. The project still publishes a newsletter each month, monitors the popularity of and recent changes to its articles, maintains a portal, and collects resources for contributors to use.
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 20:26, 5 December 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 10 December 2012
- News and notes: Wobbly start to ArbCom election, but turnout beats last year's
At the time of writing, this year's election has just closed after a two-week voting period. The eight seats were contested by 21 candidates. Of these, 15 have not been arbitrators (Beeblebrox, Count Iblis, Guerillero, Jc37, Keilana, Ks0stm, Kww, NuclearWarfare, Pgallert, RegentsPark, Richwales, Salvio giuliano, Timotheus Canens, Worm That Turned, and YOLO Swag); four candidates are sitting arbitrators (David Fuchs, Elen of the Roads, Jclemens, and Newyorkbrad); and two have previously served on the committee (Carcharoth and Coren). Four Wikimedia stewards from outside the English Wikipedia stepped forward as election scrutineers: Pundit, from the Polish Wikipedia; Teles, from the Portuguese Wikipedia; Quentinv57, from the French Wikipedia; and Mardetanha, from the Persian Wikipedia. The scrutineers' task is to ensure that the election is free of multiple votes from the same person, to tally the results, and to announce them. The full results are expected to be released within the next few days and will be reported in next week's edition of the Signpost.
- Featured content: Wikipedia goes to Hell
Eight articles, four images, six lists, and one topic were promoted to 'featured' status on the English Wikipedia this week.
- Technology report: The new Visual Editor gets a bit more visual
The Visual Editor project – an attempt to create the first WMF-deployable WYSIWYG editor – will go live on its first Wikipedias imminently following nearly six months of testing on MediaWiki.org. A full explanatory blog post accompanied the news, explaining the project and its setup. Once a user has opted-in, the editor can handle basic formatting, headings and lists, while safely ignoring elements it is yet to understand, including references, categories, templates, tables and images. At the last count, approximately 2% of pages would break in some way if a user tried the Visual Editor on them; it is unclear whether any specific protection will be put in place beyond relying on editors to spot problems.
- WikiProject report: WikiProject Human Rights
In celebration of Human Rights Day, we checked out WikiProject Human Rights. Started in February 2006, the project has grown to include over 3,000 articles, including 12 Featured Articles, 3 Featured Lists, 66 Good Articles, a large collection of Did You Know entries, and a few mentions "in the news". The project monitors listings of popular pages and cleanup tags. We interviewed Khazar2, Cirt, and Boud.
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 21:36, 11 December 2012 (UTC)
The Signpost: 17 December 2012
- News and notes: Arbitrator election: stewards release the results
Seven days after the close of voting, the results of the recent Arbitration Committee (ArbCom) elections have been announced by two of the four stewards overseeing the election, Mardetanha and Pundit. Of the 21 candidates, 13 managed to gain positive support-to-oppose ratios, and the top eight will be appointed to two-year terms on the committee by Jimbo Wales, exercising one of his traditional responsibilities.
- WikiProject report: WikiProjekt Computerspiel: Covering Computer Games in Germany
In the past year, we've tried to expand our horizons by looking at how WikiProjects work in other languages of Wikipedia. Following in the footsteps of our previously interviewed Czech and French projects, we visited the German Wikipedia to explore WikiProjekt Computerspiel (WikiProject Computer Games). The project dates back to November 2004 and has become the back-end of the Computer Games Portal, which covers all video games regardless of platform. Editors writing about computer games at the German Wikipedia deal with unique cultural and legal challenges, ranging from a lack of fair use precedents to the limited availability of games deemed harmful for youths to strong standards for the inclusion of material on the German Wikipedia.
- Discussion report: Concise Wikipedia; section headings for navboxes
Current discussions on the English Wikipedia include ...
- Op-ed: Finding truth in Sandy Hook
This week's big story on the English Wikipedia is obviously the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting (which, by the time you read this, may be renamed 2012 Connecticut school shooting). Quickly created and nominated for deletion not once but twice, and both times speedily kept, the article saw the expected flurry of edits (a look at the history suggests an average of at least one a minute over the first day and a half) and more than half a million page views on the first full day.
- Featured content: Wikipedia's cute ass
Four articles, three lists, and five images were promoted to 'featured' status on the English Wikipedia this week, including a picture of a three-week old donkey (also known as an 'ass').
- Technology report: MediaWiki groups and why you might want to start snuggling newbie editors
MediaWiki users (including Wikimedians) can now organise themselves into groups, receiving recognition and support-in-kind from the Wikimedia Foundation. The project, backed by new Wikimedia technical contributor coordinator Quim Gil, has seen five proposals lodged in its first week of operation. The idea of MediaWiki groups mimics that of Wikimedia User Groups.
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 23:54, 19 December 2012 (UTC)
Invitation to WikiProject Brands
You are invited to join WikiProject Brands, a WikiProject and resource dedicated to improving Wikipedia's coverage of brands and brand-related topics. |
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The Signpost: 24 December 2012
- News and notes: Debates on Meta sparking along—grants, new entities, and conflicts of interest
As part of its new focus on core responsibilities, the Wikimedia Foundation is reforming its grant schemes so that they are more accessible to individual volunteers. The community is invited to look at proposals for a new scheme—for now called Individual engagement grants (IEGs)—which is due to kick off on January 15. On Meta, the community is once again debating the two new offline participation models—user groups (open membership groups designed to be easy to form) and thematic organizations (incorporated non-profits representing the Wikimedia movement and supporting work on a specific theme within or across countries). In a consultation process on Meta that will last until January 15, the community will be discussing WMF proposals for a new guideline on conflicts of interests concerning Wikimedia resources. The draft covers COI issues for both volunteers and organizations across the movement.
- WikiProject report: A Song of Ice and Fire
This week, we spent some time with WikiProject A Song of Ice and Fire, which focuses on the eponymous series of high fantasy literature, the television series Game of Thrones, and related works by George R. R. Martin. The project was started in July 2006 and has grown to include 11 Good Articles maintained by a small yet enthusiastic band of editors.
- Featured content: Battlecruiser operational
Seven articles and two lists were promoted to 'featured' status this week, including List of battlecruisers. The article covers all of the battlecruisers—which were a type of warship similar in size to a battleship but with several defining characteristics—ever planned or constructed. The last British battlecruiser built, HMS Hood, is pictured at right.
- Technology report: Efforts to "normalise" Toolserver relations stepped up
Efforts were stepped up this week to sow a feeling of trust between the major parties with an interest in the future of the Toolserver. The tool- and bot-hosting server – more accurately servers – are currently operated by German chapter, Wikimedia Germany, with assistance from the Foundation and numerous volunteers, including long-time system administrator Daniel Baur (more commonly known by his pseudonym DaB). However, those parties have more recently failed to see eye-to-eye on the trajectory for the Toolserver, which is scheduled to be replaced by Wikimedia Labs in late 2013, with increasing concern about the tone of discussions.
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 07:02, 26 December 2012 (UTC)
Medical English class
Hi! I'm a Wikipedian and English teacher in Mexico. I'll be teaching a class in medical English using Wikipedia starting in January. If you'd like to help us out, that would be great!!!!!--Thelmadatter (talk) 23:10, 24 December 2012 (UTC)
- I'd love to, but I'm way too busy with my own classes!P. D. Cook Talk to me! 16:07, 3 January 2013 (UTC)
The Signpost: 31 December 2012
- From the editor: Wikipedia, our Colosseum
In the impersonal, detached Colosseum that is Wikipedia, people find it much easier to put their thumbs down. As such, many people active in the Wikimedia movement have witnessed a precipitous decline in civil discourse. This is far from a new trend, yet many people would agree that it all seemed somehow worse in 2012.
- In the media: Is the Wikimedia movement too 'cash rich'?
A recent, poorly researched and poorly written story in the Register highlighted the perceived "cash rich" status of the Wikimedia movement. ... The Telegraph and Daily Dot, among others, have alleged that there are multiple links between the WMF, Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales, and Kazakhstan's government, which is, for all intents and purposes, a one-party non-democratic state.
- News and notes: Wikimedia Foundation fundraiser a success; Czech parliament releases photographs to chapter
On 27 December the Wikimedia Foundation announced the conclusion of their ninth annual fundraiser, which attracted more than 1.2 million donors. The appeal reached its goal of US$25 million, even though fundraising banners ran for only nine days.
- Technology report: Looking back on a year of incremental changes
In the first of two features, the Signpost this week looks back on 2012, a year when developers finally made inroads into three issues that had been put off for far too long (the need for editors to learn wiki-markup, the lack of a proper template language and the centralisation of data) but left all three projects far from finished.
- Discussion report: Image policy and guidelines; resysopping policy
Current discussions on the English Wikipedia include ...
- Interview: Interview with Brion Vibber, the WMF's first employee
Brion Vibber has been a Wikipedia editor for nearly 11 years and was the first person officially hired to work for the Wikimedia Foundation. He was instrumental in early development of the MediaWiki software and is now the lead software architect for the foundation's mobile development team.
- Featured content: Whoa Nelly! Featured content in review
At the beginning of the year, we began a series of interviews with editors who have worked hard to combat systemic bias through the creation of featured content; although we haven't seen six installments yet, we've also had some delightful interviews with people who write articles on some of our most core topics. Now, as we close the year, I would like to present some of my own musings on the state of featured content—especially as it pertains to systemic bias and core topics.
- WikiProject report: New Year, New York
This week, we're celebrating the New Year from Times Square by interviewing WikiProject New York City. Since December 2004, WikiProject NYC has had the difficult task of maintaining articles about the largest city in the United States, many of which are also among the the most viewed articles on Wikipedia. The project is home to 22 Featured Articles, 7 Featured Lists, 32 pieces of Featured Media, and a lengthy list of Did You Know? entries.
- Recent research: Wikipedia and Sandy Hook; SOPA blackout reexamined
Northeastern University researcher Brian Keegan analyzed the gathering of hundreds of Wikipedians to cover the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy. ... A First Monday article reviews several aspects of the Wikipedia participation in the 18 January 2012, protests against SOPA and PIPA legislation in the USA. The paper focuses on the question of legitimacy, looking at how the Wikipedia community arrived at the decision to participate in those protests.
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 06:25, 2 January 2013 (UTC)
The Signpost: 07 January 2013
- Op-ed: Meta, where innovative ideas die
Meta is the wiki that has coordinated a wide range of cross-project Wikimedia activities, such as the activities of stewards, the archiving of chapter reports, and WMF trustee elections. The project has long been an out-of-the-way corner for technocratic working groups, unaccountable mandarins, and in-house bureaucratic proceedings. Largely ignored by the editing communities of projects such as Wikipedia and organizations that serve them, Meta has evolved into a huge and relatively disorganized repository, where the few archivists running it also happen to be the main authors of some of its key documents. While Meta is well-designed for supporting the librarians and mandarins who stride along its corridors, visitors tend to find the site impenetrable—or so many people have argued over the past decade. This impenetrability runs counter to Meta's increasingly central role in the Wikimedia movement.
- WikiProject report: Where Are They Now? Episode IV: A New Year
The dawning of a new year offers both a fresh slate and an opportunity to revisit our previous adventures. 2012 marked the fifth anniversary of the WikiProject Report and was the column's most productive year with 52 articles published. In addition to sharing the experiences of Wikipedia's many active projects, we expanded our scope to highlight unique projects from other languages of Wikipedia, and tracked down all of the former editors-in-chief of the Signpost for an introspective interview ... While last year's "Summer Sports Series" may have drawn yawns from some readers, a special report on "Neglected Geography" elicited more comments than any previous issue of the Report. Following in the footsteps of our past three recaps, we'll spend this week looking back at the trials and tribulations of the WikiProjects we encountered in 2012. Where are they now?
- News and notes: 2012—the big year
The past 12 months have seen a multitude of issues and events in the Wikimedia foundation, the movement at large, and the English Wikipedia. The movement, now in its second decade, is growing apace in its international reach, cultural and linguistic diversity, technical development, and financial complexity; and many factors have combined to produce what has in many ways been the biggest, most dynamic year in the movement's history. Looking back at 2012, we faced a difficult task in doing justice to all of the notable events in a single article; so the Signpost has selected just a few examples from outside the anglosphere, from the English Wikipedia, and from the Wikimedia Foundation, rather than attempting to cover every detail that happened.
- Featured content: Featured content in review
Over the past year, 963 pieces of featured content were promoted. The most active of the featured content programs was featured article candidates (FAC), which promoted an average of 31 articles a month. This was followed by featured picture candidates (FPC; 28 a month). Coming in third was featured list candidates (FLC; 20 a month). Featured topic and featured portal candidates remained sluggish, each promoting fewer than 20 items over the year.
- Technology report: Looking ahead to 2013
Following on from last week's reflections on 2012, this week the Technology report looks ahead to 2013, a year that will almost certainly be dominated by the juggernauts of Wikidata, Lua and the Visual Editor.
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 13:12, 9 January 2013 (UTC)
The Signpost: 14 January 2013
- Investigative report: Ship ahoy! New travel site finally afloat
After six years without creating a new class of content projects, the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) has finally expanded into a new area: travel. Wikivoyage was formally launched—though without a traditional ship's christening—on 15 January, having started as a beta trial on 10 November. Wikivoyage has been taken under the WMF's umbrella on the argument that information resources that help with travel are educational and therefore within the scope of the foundation's mission.g
- News and notes: Launch of annual picture competition, new grant scheme
On January 16, voting for the first round of the 2012 Wikimedia Commons Picture of the Year contest will begin. Wikimedia editors with 75 edits or one project are eligible to vote to select their favorite image featured in 2012. ... On January 15, the foundation launched its latest grant scheme, called Individual Engagement Grants (IEG).
- WikiProject report: Reach for the Stars: WikiProject Astronomy
This week, we set off for the final frontier with WikiProject Astronomy. The project was started in August 2006 using the now-defunct WikiProject Space as inspiration. WikiProject Astronomy is home to 101 pieces of Featured material and 148 Good Articles maintained by a band of 186 members. The project maintains a portal, works on an assortment of vital astronomy articles, and provides resources for editors adding or requesting astronomy images.
- Discussion report: Flag Manual of Style; accessibility and equality
Current discussions on the English Wikipedia include...
- Special report: Loss of an Internet genius
Comforting those grieving after the loss of a loved one is an impossible task. How then, can an entire community be comforted? The Internet struggled to answer that question this week after the suicide of Aaron Swartz, a celebrated free-culture activist, programmer, and Wikipedian at the age of 26.
- Featured content: Featured articles: Quality of reviews, quality of writing in 2012
Continuing our recap of the featured content promoted in 2012, this week the Signpost interviewed three editors, asking them about featured articles which stuck out in their minds. Two, Ian Rose and Graham Colm, are current featured article candidates (FAC) delegates, while Brian Boulton is an active featured article writer and reviewer.
- Arbitration report: First arbitration case in almost six months
The opening of the Doncram case marks the end of almost 6 months without any open cases, the longest in the history of the Committee.
- Technology report: Intermittent outages planned, first Wikidata client deployment
The Wikidata client extension was successfully deployed to the Hungarian Wikipedia on 14 January, its team reports. The interwiki language links can now come from wikidata.org, though "manual" interwiki links remain functional, overriding those from the central repository.
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 14:40, 16 January 2013 (UTC)



