User talk:Whiteghost.ink/2013 Archive

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Working out the details at Wikipedia:Today's article for improvement

The RFC for TAFI is nearing it's conclusion, and it's time to hammer out the details over at the project's talk page. There are several details of the project that would do well with wider input and participation, such as the article nomination and selection process, the amount and type of articles displayed, the implementation on the main page and other things. I would like to invite you to comment there if you continue to be interested in TAFI's development. --NickPenguin(contribs) 02:34, 8 January 2013 (UTC)

Thanks for alerting me to this. I didn't know this discussion was going on - still busy with Entertainment :) I posted a comment on Wikipedia_talk:Today's_article_for_improvement#Belated_comments Whiteghost.ink (talk) 03:23, 9 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.

Thanks

I see you've already gotten a barnstar for your work on entertainment. Good. I just wanted to thank you for that work. I saw compliments of your efforts at WT:TAFI. Best wishes. Biosthmors (talk) 23:50, 9 January 2013 (UTC)

Thanks! Much appreciated. Nice to meet you! Whiteghost.ink (talk) 00:07, 10 January 2013 (UTC)

This Month in GLAM: December 2012



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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.
  • 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.
  • 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.

The Signpost: 21 January 2013

  • News and notes: Requests for adminship reform moves forward
    The English Wikipedia's requests for adminship (RfA) process has entered another cycle of proposed reforms. Over the last three weeks, various proposals, ranging from as large as a transition to a representative democracy to as small as a required edit count and service length, have been debated on the RfA talk page. The total number of new administrators for 2012 was just 28, barely more than half of 2011's total and less than a quarter of 2009's total. The total number of unsuccessful RfAs has fallen as well. These declining numbers, which were described in what would now be considered a successful year (2010) as an emerging "wikigeneration gulf", have been coupled with a sharp decline in the number of active administrators since February 2008 (1,021), reaching a low of 653 in November 2012.
  • WikiProject report: Say What? — WikiProject Linguistics
    This week, we spent some time with WikiProject Linguistics. Started in January 2004, the project has grown to include 7 Featured Articles, 4 Featured Lists, 2 A-class Articles, and 15 Good Articles maintained by 43 members. The project's members keep an eye on several watchlists, maintain the linguistics category, and continue to build a collection of Did You Know? entries. The project is home to six task forces and works with WikiProject Languages and WikiProject Writing Systems.
  • Featured content: Wazzup, G? Delegates and featured topics in review
    This week, the Signpost's featured content section continues its recap of 2012 by looking at featured topics. We interviewed Grapple X and GamerPro64, who are delegates at the featured topic candidates.
  • Arbitration report: Doncram case continues
    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: Data centre switchover a tentative success
    On 22 January, WMF staff and contractors switched incoming, non-cached requests (including edits) to the Foundation's newer data centre in Ashburn, Virginia, making it responsible for handling almost all regular traffic. For the first time since 2004, virtually no traffic will be handled by the WMF's other facility in Tampa, Florida.

A barnstar for you!

The TAFI Barnstar
Once again, you're doing fabulous work on a TAFI. Editors like you are a big help in article improvement. Keep it up! AutomaticStrikeout (T • C) 06:00, 26 January 2013 (UTC)

I was wondering what plans you have for Entertainment. Are you going to nominate it to be a good article? AutomaticStrikeout (T • C) 06:00, 26 January 2013 (UTC)

I was dropping by to give you a barnstar myself, for your improvements on baking. You're like a machine, awesome job. --NickPenguin(contribs) 17:05, 26 January 2013 (UTC)
The TAFI Barnstar
For your continued work on TAFI articles, most recently your improvements to Baking. You are exceptionally good at this article improvement thing. --NickPenguin(contribs) 17:05, 26 January 2013 (UTC)

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A barnstar for you!

The Editor's Barnstar
For your fine editing work throughout, especially for articles at the TAFI! TheOriginalSoni (talk) 18:59, 29 January 2013 (UTC)

The Signpost: 28 January 2013

  • In the media: Hoaxes draw media attention
    On New Year's Day, the Daily Dot reported that a "massive Wikipedia hoax" had been exposed after more than five years. The article on the Bicholim conflict had been listed as a "Good Article" for the past half-decade, yet turned out to be an ingenious hoax. Created in July 2007 by User:A-b-a-a-a-a-a-a-b-a, the meticulously detailed piece was approved as a GA in October 2007. A subsequent submission for FA was unsuccessful, but failed to discover that the article's key sources were made up. While the User:A-b-a-a-a-a-a-a-b-a account then stopped editing, the hoax remained listed as a Good Article for five years, receiving in the region of 150 to 250 page views a month in 2012. It was finally nominated for deletion on 29 December 2012 by ShelfSkewed—who had discovered the hoax while doing work on Category:Articles with invalid ISBNs—and deleted the same day.
  • WikiProject report: Checkmate! — WikiProject Chess
    When we challenged the masters of WikiProject Chess to an interview, Sjakkalle answered our call. WikiProject Chess dates back to December 2003 and has grown to include 4 Featured Articles and 15 Good Articles maintained by over 100 members. The project typically operates independently of other WikiProjects, although the project would theoretically be a child of WikiProject Board and Table Games (interviewed in 2011). WikiProject Chess provides a collection of resources, seeks missing photographs of chess players, and helps determine ways that Wikipedia's coverage of chess can be expanded.
  • News and notes: Khan Academy's Smarthistory and Wikipedia collaborate
    To many Wikimedians, the Khan Academy would seem like a close cousin: the academy is a non-profit educational website and a development of the massive open online course concept that has delivered over 227 million lessons in 22 different languages. Its mission is to give "a free, world-class education to anyone, anywhere." This complements Wikipedia's stated goal to "imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge", then go and create that world. It should come as no surprise, then, that the highly successful GLAM-Wiki (galleries, libraries, archives, museums) initiative has partnered with the Khan Academy's Smarthistory project to further both its and Wikipedia's goals.
  • Featured content: Listing off progress from 2012
    This week, the Signpost featured content section continues its recap of 2012 by looking at featured lists. We interviewed FLC directors Giants2008 and The Rambling Man as well as active reviewer and writer PresN.
  • Arbitration report: Doncram continues
    The Doncram case has continued into its third week.
  • Technology report: Developers get ready for FOSDEM amid caching problems
    As reported in last week's "Technology Report", the WMF's data centre in Ashburn, Virginia took over responsibility for almost all of the remaining functions that had previously been handled by their old facility in Tampa, Florida on 22 January. The Signpost reported then that few problems had arisen since handover. Unfortunately that was not to remain the case, with reports of caching problems (which typically only affect anonymous users) starting to come in.

Revising the nominations process at Wikipedia:Today's article for improvement

I'm seeking wider input on a proposed redesign of the nomination process over at TAFI. The current method could benefit from some streamlining and usability tweaks. If you feel so inclined, I'd like to hear your opinion on the matter. --NickPenguin(contribs) 23:03, 31 January 2013 (UTC)

The Signpost: 04 February 2013

  • Special report: Examining the popularity of Wikipedia articles
    On February 12, 2012, news of Whitney Houston's death brought 425 hits per second to her Wikipedia article, the highest peak traffic on any article since at least January 2010. It is broadly known that Wikipedia is the sixth most popular website on the Internet, but the English Wikipedia now has over 4 million articles and 29 million total pages. Much less attention has been given to traffic patterns and trends in content viewed.
  • News and notes: Article Feedback Tool faces community resistance
    Article feedback, at least through talk pages, has been a part of Wikipedia since its inception in 2001. The use of these pages, though, has typically been limited to experienced editors who know how to use them.
  • WikiProject report: Land of the Midnight Sun
    This week, we took a trip to WikiProject Norway. Started in February 2005, WikiProject Norway has become the home for almost 34,000 articles about the world's best place to live, including 16 Featured Articles, 19 Featured Lists, and nearly 250 Good Articles. The project works on a to do list, maintains a categorization system, watches article alerts, and serves as a discussion forum.
  • Featured content: Portal people on potent potables and portable potholes
    This week, the Signpost's featured content section continues its recap of 2012 by looking at featured portals, a small yet active part of the project. We interviewed FPOC directors Cirt and OhanaUnited.
  • In the media: Star Trek Into Pedantry
    On 30 January 2013, Kevin Morris in the Daily Dot summarised the bitter debates in Wikipedia around capitalisation or non-capitalisation of the word "into" in the title of the upcoming Star Trek film, Star Trek Into Darkness.
  • Technology report: Wikidata team targets English Wikipedia deployment
    Following the deployment of the Wikidata client to the Hungarian Wikipedia last month, the client was also deployed to the Italian and Hebrew Wikipedias on Wednesday. The next target for the client, which automatically provides phase 1 functionality, is the English Wikipedia, with a deployment date of 11 February already set.

This Month in GLAM: January

Hello Whiteghost.ink, You have written before for the newsletter This Month in GLAM. I see Australia and New Zealand is missing regarding the edition about January 2013, do you perhaps have any idea what GLAM activities were done in Australia and/or New Zealand in January? Can you perhaps write about those? Or do you know who I can ask to write about it? Thanks! (Deadline of the January edition is Friday 8 February.) You can reach me the best at nl-wiki talk page. Greetings - Romaine (talk) 15:54, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

This Month in GLAM: January 2013



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Re: Sound file

Hi Whiteghost, there is File:Applause.ogg and File:Applause-2.ogg; they are the only sound files in Category:Applause on Commons. Graham87 08:28, 13 February 2013 (UTC)

The Signpost: 11 February 2013

  • Featured content: A lousy week
    Six articles, one list, and fourteen pictures were promoted to "featured" states this week on the English Wikipedia.
  • WikiProject report: Just the Facts
    This week, we got the details on WikiProject Infoboxes.
  • In the media: Wikipedia mirroring life in island ownership dispute
    Foreign Policy has published a report on editing of the Wikipedia articles on the Senkaku Islands and Senkaku Islands dispute. The uninhabited islands are under the control of Japan, but China and Taiwan are asserting rival territorial claims. Tensions have risen of late—and not just in the waters surrounding the actual islands.
  • Discussion report: WebCite proposal
    Current discussions on the English Wikipedia include...

The Signpost: 18 February 2013

  • WikiProject report: Thank you for flying WikiProject Airlines
    This week, we put our life in the hands of WikiProject Airlines. Starting in July 2005, the project has improved articles relating to airline companies, alliances, destination lists, and travel benefit programs. WikiProject Airlines has accumulated over 4,000 pages, including 4 Featured Articles and 26 Good Articles.
  • Technology report: Better templates and 3D buildings
    As of time of writing, twenty wikis (including the English, French and Hungarian Wikipedias) are in the process of getting access to the Lua scripting language, an optional substitute for the clunky template code that exists at present.
  • News and notes: Wikimedia Foundation declares 'victory' in Wikivoyage lawsuit
    On February 15, the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) declared 'victory' in its counter-lawsuit against Internet Brands (IB), the owner of Wikitravel and the operator of several online media, community, and e-commerce sites in vertical markets. The lawsuit clears the last remaining hurdles for the WMF's new travel guide project, Wikivoyage.
  • In the media: Sue Gardner interviewed by the Australian press
    Sue Gardner's visit to Australia sparked a number of interviews in the Australian press. An interview published in the Daily Telegraph on 12 February 2013, titled "Data plans 'unnerving': Wikipedia boss", saw Gardner comment on Australian plans to store personal internet and telephone data. The planned measure, intended to assist crime prevention, would involve internet service providers and mobile phone firms storing customer usage data for up to two years.
  • Featured content: Featured content gets schooled
    Two articles, nine lists, and thirteen pictures were promoted to 'featured' status on the English Wikipedia this week.

Disambiguation link notification for February 27

Hi. Thank you for your recent edits. Wikipedia appreciates your help. We noticed though that when you edited Entertainment, you added a link pointing to the disambiguation page Magician (check to confirm | fix with Dab solver). Such links are almost always unintended, since a disambiguation page is merely a list of "Did you mean..." article titles. Read the FAQ • Join us at the DPL WikiProject.

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Re: Question

Congratulations! However, when I went to the article's talk page, I didn't notice that problem, but you may have received an old version of the page from a laggy server. I've just purged the entertainment talk page, so all of Wikipedia's servers contain the latest version with the correct GA templates. If that hasn't fixed the problem, try bypassing your browser's cache. Graham87 02:07, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

You can do it yourself in this uncontroversial case: replace the text at Slave Castle of Cape Coast with #redirect [[Cape Coast Castle]] {{r from merge}}, copy any text over if needed, and remove the WikiProject tags from Talk:Slave Castle of Cape Coast. If you describe what you're doing clearly in your edit summaries, you should have no problems. Also see Wikipedia:Merging. Graham87 02:34, 28 February 2013 (UTC)
No worries. Sounds good here! Graham87 03:21, 6 March 2013 (UTC)

The Signpost: 25 February 2013

  • In the media: Ex-WMF trustee creates "Wikipedia Corporate Index" for PR agency
    On 13 February 2013, PR Report, the German sister publication of PR Week, published an article announcing that PR agency Fleishman-Hillard was offering a new analysis tool enabling companies to assess their articles in the German-language Wikipedia: the Wikipedia Corporate Index (WCI).
  • Recent research: Wikipedia not so novel after all, except to UK university lecturers
    "Wikipedia and Encyclopedic Production" by Jeff Loveland (a historian of encyclopedias) and Joseph Reagle situates Wikipedia within the context of encyclopedic production historically, arguing that the features that many claim to be unique about Wikipedia actually have roots in encyclopedias of the past.
  • News and notes: "Very lucky" Picture of the Year
    The Wikimedia Commons 2012 Picture of the Year contest has ended, with the winner being Pair of Merops apiaster feeding, taken by Pierre Dalous. The picture shows a pair of European Bee-eaters in a mating ritual—the male bird (right) has tossed the wasp into the air, and he will eventually offer it to the female (left).
  • Featured content: Blue birds be bouncin'
    Six articles, three lists, and twelve images were promoted to "featured" status on the English Wikipedia this month.
  • WikiProject report: How to measure a WikiProject's workload
    How can we measure the challenges facing a project or determine a WikiProject's productivity? Several prominent projects have been doing it for years: WikiWork.

Wikimania 2014 London Bid Questions

Just dropping you a note to let you know I answered your questions about our bid: http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimania_2014_bids/London#Questions_for_the_bid_team

Thanks very much for your positive feedback! We're very excited about working on this event. EdSaperia (talk) 02:33, 4 March 2013 (UTC)

Thanks for letting me know. I'll check it out :) Whiteghost.ink (talk) 09:31, 4 March 2013 (UTC)
Great - do let us know if you need any clarification on anything. There are inevitably still lots of unknowns at this stage, but we figure better to be upfront about them than pretend we know the answers! I am always very suspicious of bids that budget their costs down to the penny a year in advance. EdSaperia (talk) 14:06, 4 March 2013 (UTC)

Disambiguation link notification for March 6

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This Month in GLAM: February in Australia and New Zealand

Hello Whiteghost.ink, You have written before for the newsletter This Month in GLAM. I see Australia and New Zealand are missing regarding the edition about February 2013, do you perhaps have any idea what GLAM activities were done in Australia and New Zealand in February? Can you perhaps write about those? Or do you know who I can ask to write about it? Thanks! (Deadline of the February edition is Friday 8 March.) You can start writing via the page outreach:GLAM/Newsletter/Newsroom. If you wish to be informed by e-mail next time, please write me at this page. You can reach me the best at nl-wiki talk page. Greetings - Romaine (talk) 00:13, 7 March 2013 (UTC)

The Signpost: 04 March 2013

  • Op-ed: We must do more to turn readers into editors
    Recently I was having a casual conversation with a friend, and he mentioned that he spent too many hours a day playing video games. I responded with a comment that I, too, spent way too much time on an activity of my own – Wikipedia. In an attempt to reply with a relevant remark, he offered something along the lines of: "So have you ever written anything?" After a second, I quickly answered yes, but I was still in shock over his question. It seemed to be rooted in a belief on his part that using Wikipedia meant just reading the articles, and that editing was something that someone, hypothetically, might do, but not really more likely than randomly counting to 7,744.
  • News and notes: Outing of editor causes firestorm
    "WP:OUTING", the normally little-noticed policy corner of the English Wikipedia that governs the release of editors' personal information, has suddenly been brought to wider attention after long-term contributor and featured article writer Cla68 was indefinitely blocked last week. This snowballed into several other blocks, a desysopping by ArbCom, and a request for arbitration.
  • Featured content: Slow week for featured content
    Three articles, six lists, and three pictures were promoted to "featured" status on the English Wikipedia this week, including the article on "Laura Secord", who was a Canadian heroine of the War of 1812 best known for warning the British of an impending American attack.
  • WikiProject report: WikiProject Television Stations
    This week, we tuned to WikiProject Television Stations, a project that dates back to March 2004. WikiProject Television Stations primarily focuses on local stations, national networks, television markets, and other topics related to television channels in North America, the Caribbean, and some Pacific countries. The project has a fair bit of work ahead of them with over 4,000 unassessed articles and only one Good Article out of 626 assessed articles, giving the project a relative WikiWork rating of 5.262.

This Month in GLAM: February 2013



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The Signpost: 11 March 2013

  • From the editor: Signpost–Wikizine merger
    I am pleased to announce that the Signpost and Wikizine have reached an in-principle agreement that will see Wikizine published as a special Signpost section at the beginning of each month.
  • News and notes: Finance committee updates
    During March, three of the Wikimedia Foundation's grantmaking schemes on Meta will reach important crossroads, which will shape how both the editing communities and Wikimedia institutions handle the distribution of donors' money across the movement.
  • Featured content: Batman, three birds and a Mercedes
    Twelve articles, five lists, and eight pictures were promoted to "featured" status on the English Wikipedia this week, including an image of the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, a front-engine, 2-seat luxury grand tourer automobile developed by Mercedes-AMG.
  • WikiProject report: Setting a precedent
    This week, we spent some time with WikiProject U.S. Supreme Court Cases.
  • Technology report: Article Feedback reversal
    The WMF has aborted a plan to deploy version 5 of the Article Feedback tool (AFTv5) rolled out to all English Wikipedia articles.

Discussion at Wikipedia talk:Today's articles for improvement

Hello, Whiteghost.ink. You have new messages at Wikipedia talk:Today's articles for improvement#Main Page deployment, or not?.
Message added by Northamerica1000(talk) 09:43, 16 March 2013 (UTC). You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{Talkback}} or {{Tb}} template.

The Signpost: 18 March 2013

  • News and notes: Resigning arbitrator slams Committee
    Just two months into his second term as an arbitrator on the English Wikipedia, Coren resigned from the Committee with a blistering attack on his fellow arbitrators. At the heart of a strongly worded statement, posted both on his talk page and the arbitration notice board, was the claim that ArbCom has become politicised to the extent that "it can no longer do the job it was ostensibly elected for".
  • WikiProject report: Making music
    This week, we composed a tribute to WikiProject Composers. The project was created during the final hours of 2004 and finalized in early January 2005. It has grown to encompass over 8,000 pages, including 26 Featured Articles and 23 Good Articles. WikiProject Composers faces a difficult workload, with a relative WikiWork rating of 5.45.
  • Interview: Meeting in the middle: Wikipedia and libraries
    Ask librarians what they think about Wikipedia and you might get some interesting answers. Some will throw up their hands about the laziness of the Google generation and their overdependence on Wikipedia. Some see it as the "competition". And some will tell you it's the greatest thing since sliced bread.
  • Featured content: Wikipedia stays warm
    Nine articles, seven lists, eleven images, and one topic were promoted to "featured status" this week on the English Wikipedia.
  • Arbitration report: Richard case closes
    On Thursday, arbitrator Coren resigned, following closely on the heels of Hersfold's resignation on Wednesday. There are two open cases. A final decision has been given in the Richard case.
  • Technology report: Visual Editor "on schedule"
    The WMF's engineering report for January was published this week, giving an overview of all Foundation-sponsored technical operations in that month.

The Signpost: 25 March 2013

  • Featured content: One and a half soursops
    Seven articles, one list, six pictures, and one topic were promoted to "featured" status on the English Wikipedia this week.
  • Arbitration report: Two open cases
    This case, brought by Mark Arsten, was opened over a dispute over transgenderism topics that began off-wiki. The evidence phase was scheduled to close March 7, 2013, with a proposed decision due to be posted by March 29.
  • News and notes: Sue Gardner to leave WMF; German Wikipedians spearhead another effort to close Wikinews
    Sue Gardner, executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation since December 2007, has announced her plans to leave the position when a successor is recruited. Ranked as one of the most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine, Sue Gardner is widely associated with the rise of the Wikimedia movement as a major custodian of human knowledge and cultural products.
  • Technology report: The Visual Editor: Where are we now, and where are we headed?
    Since its inception in May 2011, the Foundation's Visual Editor project has grown to become one of its main focuses. As the project nears its two-year birthday, the Signpost caught up with Visual Editor project manager James Forrester to discuss the progress on the project.

Tomorrow's Symposium

Just a quick reminder to everyone who has indicated their interest on-wiki. The Wikimedia in Higher Education symposium at The University of Sydney is on tomorrow. We have a full day of speakers and workshops, and about 45-50 participants. See you there. --99of9 (talk) 02:39, 4 April 2013 (UTC)

The Signpost: 01 April 2013

  • Special report: Who reads which Wikipedia?
    The Wikimedia Foundation has released its latest report card for the movement's hundreds of sites. The WMF has published statistics about the sites since 2009, but only recently have these been expanded in scope and depth to provide a rich source of data for investigating the movement and the world it serves. Dutch-born Erik Zachte is the driver of the WMF's statistical output, and he writes that the report card and accompanying traffic statistics comprise "enough tables, bar charts and plots to keep you busy for a while".
  • WikiProject report: Special: FAQs
    This week's Report is dedicated to answering our readers' questions about WikiProjects. The following Frequently Asked Questions came from feedback at the WikiProject Report's talk page, the WikiProject Council's talk page, and from previous lists of FAQs.
  • Featured content: What the ?
    The Signpost interviewed prolific featured content creator and former Signpost "featured content" report writer Crisco 1492 about ? and Indonesian cinema. ? was the "Today's featured article" for 1 April 2013. 1 April is popularly known as April Fools' Day in many countries.
  • Arbitration report: Three open cases
    A case brought by Lecen involves several articles about former Argentinian president Juan Manuel de Rosas (1793–1877).

This Month in GLAM: March 2013



Headlines
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Unsubscribe · Global message delivery 12:07, 9 April 2013 (UTC)

The Signpost: 08 April 2013

  • Wikizine: WMF scales back feature after outcry
    Numerous Wikimedia Commons editors have chimed in on the Wikimedia Foundation's deployment of a new feature to its mobile website. Allowing anonymous users to register and upload pictures for use in an article, the feature was placed prominently at the top of Wikipedia articles in multiple languages.
  • WikiProject report: Earthshattering WikiProject Earthquakes
    This week, we felt the world tremble in the presence of WikiProject Earthquakes. The project was started in May 2008 to deal with articles about earthquakes, aftershocks, seismology, seismologists, plate tectonics, and related articles. While the project has seen success building 14 Featured Articles, one A-class Article, and 21 Good Articles, a fairly heavy workload remains, with a relative WikiWork rating of 4.94. WikiProject Earthquakes maintains a portal, a list of open tasks, a popular pages listing, and an article alerts watchlist.
  • News and notes: French intelligence agents threaten Wikimedia volunteer
    Last Friday, the Wikimedia movement awoke to news that one of their number—Rémi Mathis, a French volunteer editor—had been summoned to the offices of the interior intelligence service DCRI and threatened with criminal charges and fines if he did not delete an article on the French Wikipedia about a radio station used by the French military.
  • Arbitration report: Subject experts needed for Argentine History
    The arbitration committee is looking for expertise in Argentina and the Spanish language for a case involving former Argentinean president Juan Manuel de Rosas (1793–1877).
  • Featured content: Wikipedia loves poetry
    Four articles and two pictures were promoted to "featured" status on the English Wikipedia this week.
  • Technology report: Testing week
    The deployment of phase 2 of Wikidata to the English Wikipedia, originally scheduled for 8 April but delayed due to technical problems, may be rescheduled again as the result of community resistance.

Disambiguation link notification for April 17

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The Signpost: 15 April 2013

  • Op-ed: How do we fix RfA inactivity?
    The RfA process is widely discussed here on the English Wikipedia and it has been well documented that less and less new Requests for adminship are being filed. There are an abundance of bytes devoted to the discussion and analysis of this situation and plenty of hands have been wrung over the matter. Various RfCs have attempted to find a way to fix the problem. Many proposals have been made offering solutions, some more potentially drastic than others, with the goal of making the changes necessary to kick–start RfA back into regular action. However, Wikipedia operates based on consensus and, to this point, there are have simply been too many disagreeing views for us to reach a consensus on how to increase RfA activity.
  • WikiProject report: Unity in Diversity: South Africa
    This week, we ventured to WikiProject South Africa. The project was started in February 2005 and is home to thirteen pieces of featured material, two A-class articles, and twenty-one good articles.
  • News and notes: Another admin reform attempt flops
    The most recent move to reform the requests for adminship process on the English Wikipedia has failed, after a complex and drawn-out three-step procedure for community input was subject to decreasing participation as time wore on and came up with no clear consensus.

Removing Speakeasy

Hello,

Was there any specific reason why you replaced Speakeasy by Aborigine sacred site in the schedule for TAFI?

TheOriginalSoni (talk) 09:16, 18 April 2013 (UTC)

Since it was in the schedule I had spent some time trying to set up an Editathon around it with some new editors and experts in the field. It's a difficult and important topic. Having it disappear like the last article I began work on meant I had wasted my time. Perhaps it might turn out to be better for these people later in the schedule whenever it was going to reappear but it's impossible to plan things when the schedule just comes and goes the way it is doing. And it confuses new editors who were just beginning to think it was something to which they could contribute. Whiteghost.ink (talk) 09:56, 18 April 2013 (UTC)
I believe we are talking about Aborigine sacred site, right?
Got it. That's perfectly fine for me, since I do not favour either article over the other. Good luck with your edit-a-thon. I hope it's a success :)
TheOriginalSoni (talk) 10:05, 18 April 2013 (UTC)

The Signpost: 22 April 2013

  • WikiProject report: WikiProject Editor Retention
    This week, we spent some time with a project that develops tools and methods for improving the user experience in the hope that new users will continue editing the encyclopedia. The project was started in July 2012 and has grown to include 124 members. The project's members partner with the Teahouse and the Welcoming Committee to spread WikiLove, welcome new users, encourage civility, and other related activities.
  • News and notes: Milan conference a mixed bag
    The Wikimedia Conference is an annual meeting of the chapters to discuss their status and the organisational development of the Wikimedia movement. For the first time it included groups that wish to be considered for WMF affiliation as thematic organisations and one of the three groups that was recently affiliated as a user group. The conference was also attended by members of the Wikimedia Foundation's (WMF) Board of Trustees, the Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC), the WMF Affiliations Committee, and a representative of the Wikivoyage Association.
  • Featured content: Batfish in the Red Sea
    Nine articles, four lists, eight pictures, and one topic were promoted to "featured" status this week on the English Wikipedia.
  • Technology report: A flurry of deployments
    On Monday, the English Wikipedia became the 12th wiki to be able to pull data from the central Wikidata.org repository, with other wikis scheduled to receive the update on Wednesday.

The Signpost: 29 April 2013

  • News and notes: Chapter furore over FDC knockbacks; First DC GLAM boot-camp
    The Funds Dissemination Committee released its recommendations to the WMF board last Sunday. The news that the Hong Kong chapter's application for US$212K had failed was followed by a strongly worded resignation announcement by Deryck Chan on the public Wikimedia-l mailing-list.
  • In the media: Wikipedia's sexism; Yuri Gadyukin hoax
    On 24 April 2013, novelist Amanda Filipacchi published what turned out to be an influential op-ed in the New York Times; illuminating the unusual background of the Yuri Gadyukin hoax.
  • Featured content: Wiki loves video games
    Nine articles, three lists, three pictures, and one topic were promoted to "featured" this week.
  • WikiProject report: Japanese WikiProject Baseball
    This week, we traveled to the Japanese Wikipedia's WikiProject Baseball for perspectives from a version of Wikipedia that treats WikiProjects as their own unique namespace (プロジェクト:) independent of "Wikipedia:".

This Month in GLAM: April in Australia and New Zealand

Hello Whiteghost.ink, You have written before for the newsletter This Month in GLAM. I see Australia and New Zealand are missing regarding the edition about April 2013, do you perhaps have any idea what GLAM activities were done in Australia and New Zealand in April? Can you perhaps write about those? Or do you know who I can ask to write about it? Thanks! (Deadline of the April edition is 8 May.) You can start writing at the page outreach:GLAM/Newsletter/Newsroom. If you wish to be informed by e-mail next time, please write me at this page. You can reach me the best at nl-wiki talk page. Greetings - Romaine (talk) 08:16, 6 May 2013 (UTC)

The Signpost: 06 May 2013

  • News and notes: Candidates nominating for Foundation elections; Looking ahead to Wikimania 2014
    Although not yet in great numbers, candidates are coming forward for Wikimedia Foundation elections, which will be held from 1 to 15 June. The elections will fill vacancies in three categories, the most prominent of which will be the three community-elected seats on the ten-member Board of Trustees (or the first Board meeting after the election results are announced, if sooner). The current two-year terms for these trustee positions ends on 1 September.
  • Technology report: Foundation successful in bid for larger Google subsidy
    The Wikimedia Foundation will be receiving more than $100,000 worth of free developer time courtesy of internet giant Google, it was announced this week. The funds, allocated as part of Google's Summer of Code programme, will support up to 21 student developers through three months of coding time.
  • Featured content: WikiCup update: full speed ahead!
    May sees the beginning of Round 3 of the 2013 WikiCup, with 33 of the original 127 competitors remaining. ... six articles, ten pictures, and two portals were promoted to "featured" status on the English Wikipedia this week.
  • In the media: New Wikipedia for Schools edition; Anders Behring Breivik's Wikipedia contributions
    The SOS Children's Villages news service advised on 3 May 2013 that Wikipedia for Schools 2013 is nearly ready for release. ... On 26 April 2013, the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation published an article reviewing Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik's edits to the English Wikipedia, where it revealed the name of Breivik's English Wikipedia account.
  • WikiProject report: Earn $100 in cash... and a button!
    This week's English Wikipedia project, WikiProject Biophysics, is home to several experts in their fields and a collaboration with the Biophysical Society. The project is hosting a contest through July 15 with six contributors winning $100 in cash and given the opportunity to attend the 2014 meeting of the Biophysical Society in San Francisco. Other strong entries will be awarded barnstars online and everyone who contributes can receive a physical button mailed out to them.

The Signpost: 13 May 2013

  • News and notes: WMF–community ruckus on Wikimedia mailing list
    The removal of administrator rights from all volunteers on the Wikimedia Foundation's official website sparked a highly emotional reaction on the Wikimedia-l mailing list—one of the largest off-wiki methods of communication for the Wikimedia movement.
  • WikiProject report: Knock Out: WikiProject Mixed Martial Arts
    This week, we spent some time watching WikiProject Mixed Martial Arts, which was started in August 2005 and has grown to include 12 Good Articles and a Featured List.

May 2013

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Disambiguation link notification for May 20

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Proposal at TAFI talk

A discussion that may interest you is occurring at Wikiproject TAFI's talk page at: Proposal: use Theo's Little Bot to automate the schedule and queue. Northamerica1000(talk) 12:14, 20 May 2013 (UTC)

The Signpost: 20 May 2013

  • WikiProject report: Classical Greece and Rome
    This week, we traveled to WikiProject Classical Greece and Rome. The project was started in May 2006 and has 37 featured articles.
  • In the media: Qworty incident continues
    Salon.com published another article detailing the ongoing incidents with Wikipedia user Qworty, who has identified himself as Robert Clark Young. It documents Qworty's role in the controversy involving Amanda Filipacchi's op-ed, which kindled a debate on Wikipedia sexism as it relates to categories, where Qworty was responsible for a series of revenge edits against Filipacchi in the days after she released her op-ed.
  • Featured content: Up in the air
    Nine articles, six lists, and eight pictures were promoted to "featured" status on the English Wikipedia this week.

The Signpost: 27 May 2013

  • News and notes: First-ever community election for FDC positions
    Alongside the Signpost's interviews with the Wikimedia Foundation's (WMF) Board of Trustees candidates, the Signpost asked the candidates for the Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC) and its Ombudsperson position a series of questions relating to the positions they may be taking on. For the FDC candidates, this will include specific recommendations to the WMF on how to disburse over US$11 million in donors' funds to affiliate organizations, something which appears to have garnered little attention from the editing community at large so far.
  • In the media: Pagans complain about Qworty's anti-Pagan editing
    In the continuing saga of User:Qworty's outing as author Robert Clark Young, several blogs and websites covered the now-banned user's anti-Pagan editing. In an article published on 22 May 2013, TechEye described Qworty's edits as a "reign of terror" and were pleased to find that he had not succeeded in removing several prominent Pagan biographies from the encyclopedia.
  • WikiProject report: WikiProject Geographical Coordinates
    This week, we plotted out the demarcations of WikiProject Geographical Coordinates, which aims to create a single standard of handling coordinates in Wikipedia articles.
  • Featured content: Life of 2π
    Twelve articles, four lists, and twelve pictures were promoted to "featured" status on the English Wikipedia this week.
  • Technology report: Amsterdam hackathon: continuity, change, and stroopwafels
    Second only to the technical track of Wikimania in terms of numbers, the Berlin Hackathon (2009–2012) provided those with an interest in the software that underpins Wikimedia wikis and supports its editors a place to gather, exchange ideas and learn new skills.

Request

I finished that picture of Alex Byrne you asked me to edit. Sorry this took as long as it did. Braden 15:36, 1 June 2013 (UTC)

The Signpost: 05 June 2013

  • From the editor: Signpost developments
    I am excited to announce that a Portuguese-language journal, Correio da Wikipédia has been launched by Vitorvicentevalente. It has just published its third edition, and I encourage readers who speak the language to read and contribute to its already-expansive coverage of the Portuguese Wikipedia and the Wikimedia movement.
  • Featured content: A week of portraits
    Five articles, four lists, and thirteen images were promoted to "featured" status this week on the English Wikipedia.
  • Discussion report: Return of the Discussion report
    This is mostly a list of requests for comment believed to be active on 4 June 2013 linked from subpages of Wikipedia:RfC or watchlist notices.
  • In the media: China blocks secure version of Wikipedia
    An article on TheNextWeb.com says that the Chinese Government has effectively blocked Wikipedia by cutting off access to the HTTP Secure (https) "workaround", almost completely cutting off access to those in China.
  • WikiProject report: Operation Normandy
    This week, we reflect on the anniversary of D-Day by storming the shores of Operation Normandy, a special initiative of WikiProject Military History.

Re: Classic 100 Countdown

Hi Whiteghost, To be honest I wasn't that interested in the movies countdown since I can count the number of films I've heard on one – maybe two – hands. I generally prefer non-fiction to fiction, anyway. But I've updated the table anyway, and will check in from time to time. In case you don't know about it, you'll probably find the pipe trick exceedingly useful when updating the list – you can use it to type [[Pride and Prejudice (2005 film)|]] instead of [[Pride and Prejudice (2005 film)|Pride and Prejudice]]. Graham87 01:26, 7 June 2013 (UTC)

This Month in GLAM: May 2013



Headlines
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Unsubscribe · Global message delivery 22:54, 8 June 2013 (UTC)

The Signpost: 12 June 2013

  • News and notes: How Wikimedia affiliates are spending $8.4 million; PRISM scandal
    Late last year, the Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC) awarded $8.4 million in donors' money to 11 Wikimedia entities, including the Wikimedia Foundation and 10 nationally defined chapters. Under this arrangement, these organisations are required to issue quarterly reports on how far they have progressed towards their declared programmatic and financial goals. The FDC has now announced that all 11 completed and submitted their reports by the 1 April deadline, and have responded to each.
  • Featured content: Mixing Bowl Interchange
    Seven articles, two lists, five pictures, and one topic were promoted to "featured" status on the English Wikipedia this week.
  • In the media: VisualEditor will "change world history"
    In an article published by the Huffington Post's United Kingdom edition, writer Thomas Church asserts that the new VisualEditor will change history, literally. It says that Wikipedia's mark-up language has been to its advantage, as most people didn't bother trying to learn it
  • Op-ed: The tragedy of Wikipedia's commons
    I've long thought that we should get rid of the Wikimedia Commons as we know it. Commons has evolved into a project with interests that compete with the needs of the primary users of Commons and the reason it was created. It's also understaffed, which results in poor curation, large administrative backlogs, and poor policy development.
  • Traffic report: Who holds the throne?
    Last week's most popular article list on the English Wikipedia was dominated by the massively popular TV series Game of Thrones, which claimed six slots in the top 25, including the top three. Its popularity was likely stoked by the most recent episode, The Rains of Castamere. Bollywood continued to increase its share of views as well, aided by the tragic suicide of star Nafisa Khan.
  • WikiProject report: Processing WikiProject Computing
    This week, we spent some time with WikiProject Computing. Started in October 2003, the project has grown to include 17 featured articles, 11 featured lists, 3 pieces of featured media, and 80 good articles.

Sydney punchbowl title

Hi Thanks for the message. Will start punchbowl entry soon. My Manager is keen for me to do this which is great. Do you mind if I ask you questions when I start work on this? I think that the title of article should also show the date or period as there couls be other Sydney punchbowls inc. the suburb punchbowl. Will keep in touch. Dyddi (talk) 06:25, 18 June 2013 (UTC)

The Signpost: 19 June 2013

  • Op-ed: Two responses to the 'Tragedy of Wikipedia's Commons'
    Following last week's op-ed by Gigs ("The Tragedy of Wikipedia's Commons"), the Signpost is carrying two contrary opinions from MichaelMaggs, a bureaucrat on Wikimedia Commons, and Mattbuck, a British Commons administrator.
  • Traffic report: Most popular Wikipedia articles of the last week
    The season finale of Game of Thrones ensured that the epic high fantasy series would dominate the top 10 again last week; however, it was joined by Maurice Sendak and Man of Steel.
  • News and notes: Swedish Wikipedia's millionth article leads to protests; WMF elections—where are all the voters?
    With erysichton elaborata, the Swedish Wikipedia passed the one million article Rubicon this week. While this is a mostly symbolic achievement, serving as a convenient benchmark with which to gain publicity and attention in an increasingly statistical world, the particular method by which the Swedish site has passed the mark has garnered significant attention—and controversy.
  • Featured content: Cheaper by the dozen
    Eleven articles, twelve lists, and eleven pictures were promoted to 'featured' status on the English Wikipedia this week.
  • Technology report: May engineering report published
    The WMF's engineering report for May was published recently on the Wikimedia blog and on the MediaWiki wiki ("friendly" summary version), giving an overview of all Foundation-sponsored technical operations in that month.
  • Arbitration report: The Farmbrough amendment request—automation and arbitration enforcement
    Richard Farmbrough was set to have his day in court, but as events transpired, this was not to be so. On 25 March 2013, an accusation was made against Farmbrough at Arbitration Enforcement (AE), claiming that he violated the terms of an automated edit restriction. Within hours, Farmbrough had filed his own request with the arbitration committee, citing the newly filed AE request and claiming that the motion was being used "in an absurd way" in the filing of enforcement requests: "I have not made any edits that a sane person would consider automation."

The Signpost: 26 June 2013

  • Traffic report: Most-viewed articles of the week
    With most TV shows on hiatus for the summer, attention has turned to movies, celebrity and sports. The dramatic events at the 2013 Confederations Cup drew massive attention, as did summer blockbusters like Man of Steel and World War Z. But the most searched event of the week was the tragic and unexpected death of popular actor James Gandolfini on June 19.
  • News and notes: Election results released
    Less than three days after the close of voting, the volunteer election committee posted the results on Meta. The worldwide Wikimedia movement has elected three WMF trustees for two-year terms on the 10-seat Board: Samuel Klein (supported by 43.5% of voters), Phoebe Ayers (38.3%), and María Sefidari (35.6%). The new trustees will take their seats at a critical time for the movement: one of the first tasks in their terms will be to help the Board to find and approve the new executive director to take up the top job when Sue Gardner departs.
  • Featured content: Wikipedia in black + Adam Cuerden
    This week, the Signpost interviews Adam Cuerden, a Wikimedian who has been for years gathering featured pictures, and who constantly participates in what could be his favourite part of the project. Cuerden dedicates most of his time to scanning and restoring old, valuable illustrative works. He explains to us how the featured process works, its relation with other parts of the encyclopedia, and how pictures evolve before reaching featured status.
  • WikiProject report: WikiProject Fashion
    This week, we walked the runway with WikiProject Fashion. Started in March 2007, the project is home to 4 Featured Articles and 41 Good Articles. The project has a lengthy list of how you can help and a list of Article Alerts.

The Signpost: 03 July 2013

  • In the media: Jimmy Wales is not an Internet billionaire; a mass shooter's alleged Wikipedia editing
    Amy Chozick's profile of Jimmy Wales in the New York Times sparked significant controversy in international news outlets this week. Chozick's profile covered Wales's personal life, including his 12-year-old daughter, ex-wife, and current wife Kate Garvey, describing Wales himself as "a well-groomed version of a person who has been slumped over a computer drinking Yoo-hoo for hours." Chozick described his current role in Wikipedia as "Benevolent Dictator for Life", a statement which garnered conflict from all corners of the web, including from Wales, who responded to the piece as a whole with a lengthy talk page statement.
  • Featured content: Queen of France
    Four articles, four lists, and fifteen pictures were promoted to "featured" status on the English Wikipedia last week.
  • WikiProject report: Puppies!
    This week, the Signpost went to the kennel and interviewed WikiProject Dogs. The project has several featured and good articles, along with a large number of "Did you know" entries. We asked three project members about the challenges of creating, curating, and maintaining canine content in an increasingly dog-obsessed world.
  • News and notes: Wikipedia's medical collaborations gathering pace
    The key annual event in the Wikimedia calendar, Wikimania 2013, will be held in Hong Kong in just five weeks' time. Among the events will be a presentation by two people who are working to promote the development of medical content on Wikimedia projects. One is James Heilman of Wiki Project Med, a non-profit dedicated to making "clear, reliable, comprehensive, up-to-date educational resources and information in the biomedical and related social sciences freely available to all people in the language of their choice". The other is Lori Thicke, president of Translators Without Borders (TWB), the Connecticut-based organisation set up in 2010 to provide pro-bono translation services for humanitarian non-profits
  • Technology report: VisualEditor in midst of game-changing deployment series
    The VisualEditor extension has gone live by default to registered users on the English Wikipedia, marking a huge milestone in a project that has taken the best part of a decade to reach fruition. The extension was previously described as "the biggest and most important change to our user experience we’ve ever undertaken" by the WMF team behind it.
  • Traffic report: Yahoo! crushes the competition ... in Wikipedia views
    The real world made a strong showing in the top 10 last week, as news stories such as Yahoo!'s purchase of Tumblr, the murder of Odin Lloyd, the continuing drama over NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and the ill-health of Nelson Mandela crowded out the usual roster of TV shows, movies, websites and video games. Not that they were entirely excluded, of course.
  • Arbitration report: Tea Party movement reopened, new AUSC appointments
    Following a one-month period of moderated discussion, Tea Party movement has been reopened by the Committee. The proposed decisions are currently being voted upon. Race and politics remains suspended pending the return of User:Apostle12.

The Signpost: 10 July 2013

  • News and notes: Wikimedia Foundation Board appoints world expert in women's issues, global south
    In apparent acknowledgment of the urgency of two issues facing the Wikimedia movement—the need to engage both women and the global south—the WMF Board has appointed Ana Toni as one of its four expert members. Toni will bring rare expertise to the movement, and the Signpost understands that her skills in advocacy and her key roles in international NGOs are likely to be a natural match with the WMF as the hub of disseminating free knowledge around the world.
  • Dispatches: Infoboxes: time for a fresh look?
    The fundamental idea of an infobox is clear: keep it simple and limited to essentials. At some point, however, these basic principles seem to have been abandoned, in favour of an approach akin to "the more the merrier".
  • Featured content: The week of the birds
    Five articles, six lists, and ten pictures were promoted to "featured" status on the English Wikipedia this week.

St James

I've tweaked one of your pics and I think the angle is OK but I'm having difficulty uploading right now.

Re colours, I realised that the glaring white is often hidden behind a seasonal curtain. Much better!

I'm working one two things simultaneously here.... Gothic architecture really needs an overhaul and I have been stalling! However, St paul's Cathedral was another really big job, and now that is done, apart from a few references, I'm happy!.

I agree with Johnbo that the St James article is good and just about ready to go. Take a look at the way that I did the pics at Wells Cathedral. In some instances, it was very hard to get good shots, but when they are cropped and paired well, they look quite impressive. Even those two very grey and gloomy ones from the north side are OK together, but would show up badly by contrast to a bright shot. They validate each other. Amandajm (talk) 11:02, 14 July 2013 (UTC)

BTW, did you go to the Sydney Uni thing? I really wanted to but I had something important on. I'd like to know how it went. Amandajm (talk) 11:04, 14 July 2013 (UTC)
Yes, Wells is wonderful. It was worth the effort. All the cathedrals are interesting and have treasures, but the architecture at Wells is something else!
Sometimes it can be amazingly hard to get people who live near a famous building to actually take in the building itself. They tend to see the easy things, like a memorial window or a particular carving, and don't see that the nave is overwhelmingly splendid. They will take a telephoto lens and record the ceiling bosses without looking at the ribbed vaulting. I suspect that familiarity breeds contempt. If you go to St Mary Redcliffe all your life, then you come to believe that it looks the way all parish churches ought to look. (Well, I'm rather glad they don't! I like rainbows, but clouds are good as well.)
Anyway, Rodw did a great job of the photos at Wells, and my bro-in-law took a whole lot of stunning pics at Chester. I have photographed Lincoln and Peterborough, but I kept getting distracted and wandering around vaguely. Amandajm (talk) 12:18, 14 July 2013 (UTC)

The Signpost: 17 July 2013

  • WikiProject report: WikiProject Square Enix
    This week, we explored the fantasy worlds of video game developer Square Enix by interviewing WikiProject Square Enix. The project began in September 2006 as a spin-off of WikiProject Final Fantasy, but today covers that, Kingdom Hearts, Dragon Quest, Chrono Trigger, and a variety of other game series, with exceptions explained in the interview below. The project is home to 32 pieces of Featured material and 104 Good and A-class articles.
  • News and notes: Wikimedia Foundation's new plans announced
    Last week the Wikimedia Foundation released its annual plan for July 2013 to June 2014. It provides a surprisingly frank view—of past achievements and failures, and future goals and risks—that could be afforded only by a non-profit that is confident and beholden to no commercial or political interests.
  • Featured content: Documents and sports
    Four articles, five lists, and sixteen pictures were promoted to "featured" status on the English Wikipedia this week.

This week's articles for improvement - 22 July 2013 to 28 July 2013

posted by Northamerica1000(talk) 11:04, 23 July 2013 (UTC)

I've added an opt-in section for those interested in receiving TAFI notifications on the project's main page, located here. Those that don't opt-in won't receive this message again. Also, a revised notification template has been created, located at Template:TAFI weekly selections notice. Northamerica1000(talk) 05:15, 24 July 2013 (UTC)

The Signpost: 24 July 2013

  • In the media: Wikipedia flamewars
    The Washington Post reported Tuesday on the most controversial articles on various language Wikipedias as determined by a cross-continental research group.
  • WikiProject report: WikiProject Religion
    This week, the Signpost delved into the vast and complex areas of beliefs, cultural systems, and world views that make up religion. WikiProject Religion has been around since 2005 and has a complex scope, in that it only takes articles that deal with religion in a non-sectarian sense, along with any articles that do not have a dedicated daughter project.
  • News and notes: Wikivoyage turns ten, but where to now?; Wikipedia Zero expands into India
    Contributors to Wikivoyage, the sister project adopted by the Wikimedia Foundation last year, are celebrating their 10th anniversary this week. ... The Wikimedia Foundation has announced via press release that it has partnered with Aircel to provide free mobile access to Wikipedia.
  • Traffic report: Gleeless
    Death hangs over the top 10 this week, as tragic deaths both past and present continued to cast their pall over an already troubled world. The death of Corey Monteith led to a spike in interest in the man himself, his girlfriend and co-star Lea Michele, and the show that made them both famous, Glee.
  • Featured content: Engineering and the arts
    Twelve articles, seven lists, and eight pictures were promoted to "featured" status on the English Wikipedia this week.
  • Arbitration report: Infoboxes case opens
    The case Infoboxes was opened. The evidence phase continues in Kiefer.Wolfowitz and Ironholds. Voting on the proposed decision continues in the Tea Party movement case.

The Signpost: 31 July 2013

  • Op-ed: The VisualEditor Beta and the path to change
    One of the narratives I've heard a lot is that Wikipedia is unable to change, that it's too stagnant, too poorly resourced, too inherently resistant to change. I don't believe that at all.
  • Traffic report: Bouncing Baby Brouhaha
    Somewhat predictably, the birth of a new heir to the House of Windsor on 22 July led the English-speaking world to suddenly embrace Monarchism. In honour of this occasion, the Traffic report will be assiduously employing British spelling and dating conventions. Cheers.
  • WikiProject report: Babel Series: Politics on the Turkish Wikipedia
    This week, we visited the Turkish Wikipedia for an interview with VikiProje Siyaset (WikiProject Politics). The project began in April 2010 and has sustained a small but enthusiastic group of editors focusing on both the domestic politics of Turkey and international politics. The basics for article quality and importance ratings have been determined, but tracking this data has not yet become widespread on the Turkish Wikipedia. The project maintains a portal, a variety of resources, and a rotating selection of images to spruce up the project's page.
  • News and notes: Gearing up for Wikimania 2013
    The ninth annual Wikimania conference will open in just over a week at the Jockey Club Auditorium, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Wikimania is for people worldwide who have an interest in Wikimedia Foundation projects. It features presentations and discussions on those projects, on free knowledge and content, and on related social and technical issues.

This Month in GLAM: July 2013



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The Signpost: 07 August 2013

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The Signpost: 14 August 2013

  • News and notes: "Beautifully smooth" Wikimania with few hitches
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St James'

I am still working on it. Please don't cause edit conflicts. Unfortunately, when I was ready to save, I had a phone call from the UK and had to talk to four different people..... Amandajm (talk) 10:03, 24 August 2013 (UTC)

Didn't mean to create a conflict - was just updating with new information a section that I was pretty sure you weren't working on. Great work you are doing! Whiteghost.ink (talk) 11:11, 24 August 2013 (UTC)
Thanks for the barn star! I'm glad you've taken on Richard Hill!. I don't know if you noticed but I just wrote a stub on Percy Bacon Brothers so that one red link has disappeared. What it needs now is for people from churches with Bacon windows to create a little list, as it is a list of one at the present minute. I have attempted to format St James' much like other major church/cathedral articles. They all vary a little because the emphasis or the available information differs. What it needs now is the refs tidying up. I wish I wasn't quite so reliant upon Ken Cable for the history. Amandajm (talk) 00:22, 26 August 2013 (UTC)
Just found the Smily! Amandajm (talk) 00:24, 26 August 2013 (UTC)
Yes, I had noticed the Bacon Brothers article! What should we do to tidy up the refs? Is there anything else needed in the article? I have used Annable's book as a reference in addition to Cable's and more is available in the Church Archives as well as via Trove. Whiteghost.ink (talk) 00:29, 26 August 2013 (UTC)

The Signpost: 21 August 2013

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Message

...on the St James talk page. Amandajm (talk) 07:33, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

Thanks for the invitation. It sounds tempting!
I have just used your information, in two bits, and quoted Symonds directly, since his opinions are essentially opinions, and so he needs to be cited.
I think the article is about ready to go up for a Peer Review. (much easier process that FA, which is a nightmare.) Anglicanus would be a good person, but I think has made too many contributions. Pity!
Amandajm (talk) 09:33, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

Some baklava for you!

Indulge! Amandajm (talk) 09:34, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

The Signpost: 28 August 2013

  • Recent research: WikiSym 2013 retrospective
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  • Traffic report: Reddit creep
    The debt that Wikipedia owes sites like Reddit or Google often goes unacknowledged around here. If the purpose of Wikipedia is to bring knowledge to the world, then it is sites like these that are actually doing it.
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    The 2013 WikiCup competition is entering its final round. Eleven articles and nine pictures were promoted to "featured" status on the English Wikipedia this week.
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    Wiki Loves Monuments (WLM), Wikimedia's annual volunteer-driven and the world largest photo contest, is gearing up to be conducted throughout September 2013. The event, originally developed in the Netherlands in 2010, has gone global with 34 countries taking part last and 49 this year.
  • Technology report: Gallery improvements launch on Wikipedia
    Wikipedia's traditional image gallery format, produced by the markup, has remained largely unchanged for years. The resulting layout, seen below, does not adapt well to variations in image size, and has been characterized by some critics as aesthetically unappealing.

Richard Hill

Well done! Three things:

  • Include the early lithograph of St James.
  • Don't box the Broughton quote. It needs to follow directly on from the details of his burial and people's attitudes towards him, rather than under the details of the dispersion of his possessions.
  • He wasn't buried at Camperdown. Camperdown Cemetery wasn't opened until 1847. A number of bodies were reinterred there. I don't believe that Hill was one, as he had no association with Camperdown. Tombstones and some remains were later placed there from the Town Hall and Devonshire Street Cemeteries. It would have been at that time that we got the Hill tombstone, I presume. Amandajm (talk) 06:25, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

Done. Thanks! And found an error in the attribution of that lithograph. Whiteghost.ink (talk) 07:44, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

The Signpost: 04 September 2013

  • In the media: Manning "put back in the closet"; State involvement in Azerbaijani Wikipedia
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    As mentioned in "In the news" on Wikipedia's main page, the Library of Birmingham in the United Kingdom has opened. This interior photo was taken a week before opening. The article reports that the library "has been described as the largest public library in the United Kingdom, the largest public cultural space in Europe, and the largest regional library in Europe."
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DYK for Richard Hill (clergyman)

The DYK project (nominate) 00:03, 8 September 2013 (UTC)

This Month in GLAM: August 2013



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Adding images

Whiteghost, do you edit on your ipad with the screen turned vertically? The last pic, added to the other picture of the spire, and put into that section, don't fit, and stuff up the layout on horizontal format, particularly on a wides screen or laptop. They don't fit under the two above. They look bad because they are wider, and they break through the Main Heading bar that is below them. More pictures is not better, if the result is messy. When adding pics, always check the widest shallowest format that you have available, because this is the hardest to fit. Amandajm (talk) 05:41, 11 September 2013 (UTC)

No I don't use an iPad. I fight with a desktop. I spend ages trying to make the pictures fit at all and am still learning how to make the page behave and do what it is told. Sigh. Widest and shallowest? Che? I am pleased someone knows how to beat them into shape. Whiteghost.ink (talk) 06:47, 11 September 2013 (UTC)

The Signpost: 11 September 2013

  • Featured content: Tintin goes featured
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  • Traffic report: Syria, celebrities, and association football: oh my!
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  • Arbitration report: Workshop phase opens in Manning naming dispute ; Infoboxes case closes
    Discussion over the Manning title dispute was off to a running start as evidence and workshop phases continued in the Bradley/Chelsea Manning naming dispute. The Infoboxes case closed with topic bans for two users, and a recommendation for community discussion of infoboxes.

NSW State Library 23 Nov & Editathon

Mate, thanks for the headsup on this, count me in ! regards, Rod in Sydney Rcbutcher (talk) 12:30, 13 September 2013 (UTC)


St James'

It doesn't need any more picture of the building. The last rearrangement, seriously, made a total mess of an article that was looking good. Layout does matter. Please look at what I've done.

With regards to content:

  • The lead showed a series of pics all from an easterly direction, and all with the church at approx the same size within the image space. That meant the pictures worked as a series. The pictures that occupy the lead space need to be either one excellent representative view, or a group which together convey and important idea. In this case the series showed St James remaining as a constant in a changing cityscape. They told a story, without the story actually being spelled out.
  • Three pictures of St James' between 1842-1844 is overkill. I have put in the King Street picture, as being fantastic historic image of what is now the inner city.
  • I also included the distant view which give a picture of the size of Sydney Town and the significance of St James', as you said. I find the view of sheep grazing in what is now still the open space of Hyde Park to be of less significance, and, since there is only room for two, that's the one that goes. But swap them, if you feel inclined.
  • The Hardy Wilson picture adds nothing. It's an imaginary view of an earlier time with the women all in crinolines and poke bonnets. It isn't a true historic view of the same calibre as the other three.
  • The long arial view of the church roof doesn't convey a great deal. Since it was necessary to move Greenway upwards, it had to go. The third image in the text conveys the information about location, as you have already noted.
  • Portraits: don't face them out of the picture if it can possibly be avoided.
  • The two interiors. They are absolutely essential to the content of the article. They don't fit in the architecture section which is too full of images of details to contain them. They sit OK in the section dealing with late 19th century ministry and the alterations to the interior. By the time that we get to them, we (viewers) have already seen several pictures of the exterior, so that only the details remain to be conveyed.
  • If you find a decent photo of one of one of the significant early clergy, then it can go beside Greenway. It would be a good addition.

Can I suggest that rather than finding more images, you expand the 20th century, which really needs work.

Amandajm (talk) 02:30, 14 September 2013 (UTC)

Thanks for the gong! Lovely and appreciated. This is not an easy article and it certainly helps to have another perspective and feedback on various experiments. I have added some more images to show some more comparisons. See what you think. I knew I had messed up the layout before but I had to start somewhere with the additions and there was not enough time in the day to go further. Glad you checked it over. I have uploaded a good image of Micklem that might serve for mid-20th century clergy but it needs cropping - File:Rev. Philip Micklem by Sam Hood.jpg He is an important contributor and his article also needs a lot of work! Yes, the twentieth century needs developing. I will keep plodding along. Whiteghost.ink (talk) 11:53, 14 September 2013 (UTC)
Whiteghost! Stop adding more and more pictures! it's overkill! The picture of the church surrounded by highrise is enough. The historic pictures of the building in its location now number five, including the most recent. If you want that blurry faded photo in, then one of the others has to go. The recent arial view is the least comfortable picture to find a space for, and doesn't serve much purpose except to show St Mary's, so it is dispensable. The article has reached saturation point, as far as images are concerned.
If Miklem gets added, then there must be a statement of his importance within the article. As there is only room for one' portrait, it needs to be one of the earliest significant people. Amandajm (talk) 04:45, 15 September 2013 (UTC)
I have added a portrait of Richard Hill. Amandajm (talk) 06:03, 15 September 2013 (UTC)
Getting that portrait of Richard Hill is excellent! I looked for it when I was doing his article and found a reference in the State Library catalogue but don't think it has been digitised. I have added it to the Hill article and added the categories to it on Commons. I take it then, that you don't want me to add an image of the early circular railing? :) Okay, I will work more on the text, especially the 20th century (in which, Micklem was important, by the way). When his portrait is cropped (I can't do it) I will add it to his article. You might be happy to know that the church, including the apse, is being re-painted. Whiteghost.ink (talk) 07:45, 15 September 2013 (UTC)
I just cropped the interior. Looks better. Your computer must have something you can crop with. Take the library tags off, before uploading.
Let's have coffee sometime, or go on a photographing spree of Macquarie Street. In at the 'Gong, as you might have guessed. Amandajm (talk) 16:37, 15 September 2013 (UTC)
Okay. Bring a camera to Macquarie Street! Send email to organise. Whiteghost.ink (talk) 00:20, 16 September 2013 (UTC)

For contribution to articles about churches

The St Michael's and All Angel's 'Gong
Thanks for your continued effort, and for putting up with me, with good humour! Amandajm (talk) 02:46, 14 September 2013 (UTC)

Disambiguation link notification for September 15

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Upgraded to a B

Jolly good! If you actually have a picture of the interior showing the altar rails, as they were, then upload and we'll find somewhere to put it. I can see a solution. Amandajm (talk) 10:02, 16 September 2013 (UTC)

I do have one. A drawing. In fact I have two drawings from a rare source. One showing a close up and a less clear view from the west gallery. (That would be the west end that in consequence of being a muddle-headed wombat, I earlier called the east end.) Uploading it will require some more problem-solving on my part. However, I do like pictures (surprise!) so I will work on it. Whiteghost.ink (talk) 10:55, 16 September 2013 (UTC)
Terrific image! Now we can really give a good idea of how it looked in the Colonial Period. Fantastic! Amandajm (talk) 09:41, 17 September 2013 (UTC)
What shall we do about the layout? Whiteghost.ink (talk) 10:07, 17 September 2013 (UTC)
That sheepish picture and the delicate little pic of the interior really go well side by side! Amandajm (talk) 10:16, 17 September 2013 (UTC)
I am so glad that you found those two interiors. It's all very well to describe the fact that the interior changed radically over the years, but the present combination of the three pics in the history section just demonstrate it really well. Amandajm (talk) 10:20, 17 September 2013 (UTC)
Yes, I searched a long time for them and the exteriors were a real find! I love the King Street one and the sheep. They give you a real sense of what we were and where we are. And as usual, you have arranged them beautifully. It's coming along, isn't it? More to do though - 20th century, for instance. I also have good images now of Carr Smith and Wentworth Shields. Whiteghost.ink (talk) 10:43, 17 September 2013 (UTC)
Don't know where we are going to put them!
I just found a nice place for your angel! I adjusted the tone at the top of the file, rather badly! It is OK at low resolution, but if anyone looks at the large file, they will see exactly where I masked it. I'll fiddle with it again, but not right now as all I have eaten is a couple of wheaty biscuits and cheese. I feel like something disgusting that I don't have to cook. I'd even settle for Kentucky Fried Chicken. Amandajm (talk) 11:00, 17 September 2013 (UTC)
Don't worry about them. They go in their own articles. I have already added Micklem to his and I'll add Allwood soon to his already existing article. Carr Smith is interesting and needs to be created. I will make a stub for him some time. Now that the pictures are settled for the time being I will get onto the text again. Have found that there was a week's celebration of the 100th anniversary of laying the foundation stone and extensive press coverage. The celebrations culminated in a luncheon at which the Governor was chief guest. I read that "the communion service was presented to St James by William IV 1835". I wonder if that is true. Whiteghost.ink (talk) 11:56, 17 September 2013 (UTC)
If you're happy to do Carr Smith, I'll do the architects. Thank you for the yummies! Amandajm (talk) 16:20, 17 September 2013 (UTC)
That would be wonderful! I can't get to them. I look forward to reading. Whiteghost.ink (talk) 22:10, 17 September 2013 (UTC)
Hi! I've been in hospital for a few days. Nice rest! Boring food, but lovely staff. I asked my sister to drop you a message, and she tried, but it doesn't seem to have worked! Amandajm (talk) 10:15, 20 September 2013 (UTC)

Sydney September 2013 edit-a-thon invite

Hi there! You are cordially invited to an edit-a-thon this Saturday (21 September) in Sydney at the State Library of New South Wales (SLNSW), where you can collaborate with other Wikipedians throughout the day. Andy Carr, a senior librarian at SLNSW will also be helping out. The theme of the edit-a-thon is paralympics sports, but you are free to come along to meet other wiki contributors, and edit other topics.

If you are unable to attend in person, we will also be collaborating online. Details and an attendee list are at Wikipedia:Meetup/Sydney/September 2013. Hope you can make it! John Vandenberg 09:56, 19 September 2013 (UTC)

(this automated message was delivered using replace.py to all users in Wikipedians in Sydney)

The Signpost: 18 September 2013

  • News and notes: Third time's the charm: the FDC's newest round of funding requests
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DYK for Sydney punchbowls

Gatoclass (talk) 05:47, 26 September 2013 (UTC)


  • Congratulations for your contribution to the punchbowls, and their DYK!
  • Check out what has happened to Richard Hill (clergyman)'s memorial plaque. Amandajm (talk) 09:27, 27 September 2013 (UTC)

The Signpost: 25 September 2013

  • Op-ed: Q&A on Public Relations and Wikipedia
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  • Traffic report: Look on Walter's works
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  • News and notes: Last call for Wiki Loves Monuments; Community–WMF tension over VisualEditor
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John H. Buckeridge

I have just done this. He's the architect that did the interior. Amandajm (talk) 13:27, 27 September 2013 (UTC)

The Signpost: 02 October 2013

  • Op-ed: Commons medical diagnostic images under threat from unresolved ownership
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This Month in GLAM: September 2013



Headlines
  • Belgium report: Europeana Fashion Fashion edit-a-thon; Wiki Loves Monuments
  • France report: Aerial pictures of Versailles; In Brief
  • Germany report: Reaching out for new partners
  • India report: Wiki Loves Monuments in India
  • Italy report: Italian Wikipedia takes libraries
  • Mexico report: Wiki Loves Monuments 2013; edit-a-thon in La Merced historical neighborhood
  • Netherlands report: Wiki Loves Monuments; ECNC photo competition; Europeana Fashion Edit-a-thon Antwerp; Fourth Dutch Wikipedian in Residence; Wiki loves libraries workshop; 10 years of CC licenses
  • Spain report: Amical projects: Catalan Culture; Wiki Loves Monuments
  • Sweden report: Sign language and case studies
  • Switzerland report: New cooperation with Botanical Garden; History of Alps update; OpenGLAM workshop at OKCon
  • UK report: The Morning After the Month Before
  • USA report: Wikipedia at the Metropolitan New York Library Council in New York
  • Wiki Loves Monuments report: The world's largest photography contest has struck again, but missed many countries
  • Open Access report: Thanks, OKCon, featured content, stats and a final
  • Calendar: October's GLAM events
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The Signpost: 09 October 2013

  • Traffic report: Shutdown shenanigans
    If you're living in the United States, what did you do during the government shutdown? Well, it seems most people watched the final episode of Breaking Bad.
  • WikiProject report: Australian Roads
    This week, we moved to the esoteric world of Australian roads.
  • Featured content: Under the sea
    Seven articles, six lists, and twelve pictures were promoted to "featured" status on the English Wikipedia last week.
  • News and notes: Extensive network of clandestine paid advocacy exposed
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  • In the media: College credit for editing Wikipedia
    The University of California, San Francisco attracted substantial media attention over its new course offering that will give credit to fourth year medical students for editing Wikipedia articles about medicine.

St James

Sorry, I didn't realise you were still working on it. I'll get out of your way then. Amandajm (talk) 03:23, 11 October 2013 (UTC)

Yes, been trying to get back to it. Been held up with life/work/stuff. Your opinion/help welcome, though. Have more to add about 20th century etc. Still aiming for a great article! Whiteghost.ink (talk) 03:54, 11 October 2013 (UTC)
Tweaked the expression. When I say, you were still working, I meant at that minute. I didn't want to cause you an edit jam.
It's a good article. But Ho-hum, we still have two nasty people glaring at us in the red. I looked up Burchamp Clamp, but needed a little break and went off and did Michelangelo instead.... Amandajm (talk) 07:47, 11 October 2013 (UTC)
Michelangelo! Hardly anything to say about him, eh? :) A passeggiàta on the parco, surely? I noticed your message just as I was leaving and hadn't seen your recent changes when I replied. I like the paired stained glass! Will do Carr Smith when I have some added some points I have about 20th century. Whiteghost.ink (talk) 08:06, 11 October 2013 (UTC)
Whiteghost.ink, please don't give out information about valuable chattels! Amandajm (talk) 10:36, 11 October 2013 (UTC)
Hi. I fixed the pics, and straightened the one of the crypt a little, which had the effect of removing the bit of chair or whatever that intruded on the left. It's an excellent inclusion, as crypts are very rare in Australia.
I removed a superfluous heading that was lost. I also removed a line which I consider, knowing what I know, to be a very unwise inclusion.
I also move the bit about the assistant rector down into a section renamed "staff" which has the list of rectors.
Can I suggest that you start the section on Ministry with a restatement of the fact that the church has three services on Sundays, naming which are choral, and midweek services, recitals etc. That should all go next to the pic of crypt and chapel.
The section on Staff needs to start with the name of the current rector, then move the bit about his assistant up next to it.
My mother used to tell a rude joke about the cat that crept into the crypt.
Amandajm (talk) 11:03, 12 October 2013 (UTC)
Thanks! I thought that an image of the crypt would give context to the text, the building and the Children's Chapel. Looking at the edit screen, I think my problem was the capitalisation of "JPG". Evidently, it matters. I have been of two minds about the other line for a while. Whiteghost.ink (talk) 11:28, 12 October 2013 (UTC)
Gone are the days when you could leave a church open and unattended.
had a lovely phone conversation with my 6 yr old granddaughter who was about to go on an excursion to the Houses of parliament. She was reminding me of the day that I took her to Westminster Abbey, and what a lovely time she had, because she was allowed to go behind the red cords and lift some seats to look at the misericords. Three hundred years ago, a choir boy with the same name as her father, carved his name into one of the stalls in large scratchy letters. Her father was a choirboy in his turn, but at St Andrew's, Sydney, not the Abbey. Amandajm (talk) 14:07, 12 October 2013 (UTC)
I am still trying to find my source for the combined choirs services. I have a program somewhere. As you can imagine, parents at St Andrew's complained, about the Anglican boys singing at St mary's, so after a few years it was abandoned, with the excuse that the choristers got too tired. I don't know whether St James and Christ Church sill do it. Maybe they do! Can't find it online. Amandajm (talk) 06:06, 16 October 2013 (UTC)
Yes, I looked too but cannot find it. The choirs that I have been referring to are adult professional ones, so perhaps your reference is to something quite different? When we get a reference, I think it is ready to nominate for GA (I am aiming higher but need to get on the first rung.) What do you think? I am starting on Carr Smith. Whiteghost.ink (talk) 06:41, 16 October 2013 (UTC)

The Signpost: 16 October 2013

  • News and notes: Vice on Wiki-PR's paid advocacy; Featured list elections begin
    Media coverage on Wiki-PR, the multi-million-dollar US-based company that has broken several policies and guidelines on the English Wikipedia in its quest to create and maintain thousands of articles for paying clients, continued this week with a feature story by Martin Robbins in the British edition of Vice magazine.
  • Traffic report: Peaceful potpourri
    A slow week, with low overall views and the Top 10 dominated by longstanding pages. Gravity, Alfonso Cuaron's outer space-set action art film, not only held its position at the top of the US box office but climbed to the top of the Wikipedia chart as well, showing that it has become a major talking point.
  • WikiProject report: Heraldry and Vexillology
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  • Featured content: That's a lot of pictures
    Six articles, two lists, and thirty-three pictures were promoted to 'featured' status on the English Wikipedia last week.
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    The Manning naming dispute case has closed, with a strong and unanimous statement by the Committee against disparaging references to transgendered persons. Sanctions were enacted against six editors.

Burcham Clamp

Not an earth-shattering article, but a beginning, at least!

Amandajm (talk) 12:30, 20 October 2013 (UTC)

Great! Whiteghost.ink (talk) 12:52, 20 October 2013 (UTC)
aaaand William Carr Smith.... No more red links! Amandajm (talk) 14:43, 20 October 2013 (UTC)
I have added some of the refs and images I have for Carr Smith. You are faster than I! Yes, no more red links. Should we remove the content that attracts "citation needed"? Whiteghost.ink (talk) 01:43, 21 October 2013 (UTC)
In answer to your last, yes, unfortunately. Until I find that program. My son sang a solo.
I reckon that Wm Carr Smith ought to go for a DYK.
DYK: that the Christian Socialist rector of St James' Church, Sydney, William Carr Smith challenged the Diocese by introducing Anglo-Catholic practices.
Let's go for it! Amandajm (talk) 02:23, 21 October 2013 (UTC)
Okey doke, if you think it's up to it. That means I ought to add the other material that exists. I will review another DYK and nominate Carr Smith. ... but it might have to be tomorrow ... the computer keeps freezing in some incomprehensible way. As I said before, I have ongoing fights with this machine. Whiteghost.ink (talk) 02:36, 21 October 2013 (UTC)
I don't mind doing it. I have done several reviews lately, in preparation for putting up a DYK, when we had something interesting. Amandajm (talk) 05:02, 21 October 2013 (UTC)
I have started on Prince of Wales (ship). Have a look at my initial comments and see if I am on the right track. Whiteghost.ink (talk) 06:05, 21 October 2013 (UTC)
I have put up WCS, so you can use your review for the next thing, having reviewed Banded Quail and several other things a few weeks ago. I'll take a look. We are about to have our favourite pizza for dinner, as my son is working on an assignment and is exhausted. Amandajm (talk) 06:10, 21 October 2013 (UTC)
Yeah, your review is to the point. Don't like some of the long sentences tacked together. I'll have a little go at that. It's a jolly good article. Amandajm (talk) 06:22, 21 October 2013 (UTC)
Wrong date? Sheer stupidity! I spose I have to fix it. Or have you done that already while I've been eating pizza? Amandajm (talk) 10:34, 21 October 2013 (UTC)

The Signpost: 23 October 2013

  • News and notes: Grantmaking season—rumblings in the German-language community
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  • WikiProject report: Elements of the world
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Your GA nomination of St James' Church, Sydney

Hi there, I'm pleased to inform you that I've begun reviewing the article St James' Church, Sydney you nominated for GA-status according to the criteria. This process may take up to 7 days. Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you might have during this period. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of StAnselm -- StAnselm (talk) 11:10, 2 November 2013 (UTC)

The Signpost: 30 October 2013

  • Traffic report: 200 miles in 200 years
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  • In the media: Rand Paul plagiarizes Wikipedia?
    While giving a speech on behalf of a gubernatorial candidate, Paul advocated his pro-life position, and compared allowing unrestricted abortions to the film Gattaca. He went on to use strikingly similar language and phraseology in his speech to what the Wikipedia page reads. The Washington Post's article conceded that Wikipedia is a widely used source for trivial information, but mocked the fact that a politician would view it as a reliable source.
  • News and notes: Sex and drug tourism—Wikivoyage's soft underbelly?
    In January we raised several potentially troublesome issues for the Wikimedia movement in taking on Wikivoyage, including the apparent inadequacy of the English Wikivoyage sex-tourism policy, hurriedly strengthened against mention of child sex after our inquiries. However, both sex-tourism and illegal-activities policies remain equivocal about how the site should treat entries about sex tourism more generally, and drugs that are classed as illicit in almost every country. Yet the Signpost has found it remarkably easy to locate material in Wikivoyage that violates both the spirit and the letter of the policies.
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  • WikiProject report: Special: Lessons from the dead and dying
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Invitation

There is a backstage pass coming up to be followed by an editathon in the State Library of New South Wales on 23 November. This is the first time that an Australian cultural institution has opened its doors to us in this way and will be a special opportunity because the Library is providing: one of its best rooms; its expert curators (along with their expertise and their white gloves); a newly launched website (containing new resources); and of course, items from its collection (including rare and usually unavailable material) which we can look at, learn from, and use, to improve WP articles. For example, on the chosen topic (Australia and WWI), the Library holds many diaries and manuscripts from the period.

As you can see from the Library's project page, they have connected this editathon with their own work. They have already set out a wide range of resources to make things easier for us. Please sign up on the editathon project page if you can participate either online or in person with other Wikipedians. Hope to see you there! Lankiveil (speak to me) 06:10, 3 November 2013 (UTC)

This message has been delivered using AutoWikiBrowser to all users in Category:Wikipedians in Sydney.

WikiCup 2014

Hi, if you haven't already, you should consider signing up for WikiCup 2014. Cheers, --Sp33dyphil ©hatontributions 01:21, 4 November 2013 (UTC)

Theology

  • Your quotation marks need sorting out.
  • If you are going to make those direct quotes that are essentially someone's opinion, then it necessary to state who you are quoting, in the text, not just reference them.

I think you are probably going a bit too far in an encyclopedic article in trying to define the theology of St James'. It begins to read like a paper, or an editorial. Enough has been said to indicate that it is very different from much of the diocese. You can't entirely generalise, because priests come and go. They haven't all been the same. Amandajm (talk) 12:18, 7 November 2013 (UTC)

The other problem is that you need to stop working on the article in order that it can be in a stable state. If it isn't stable, it won't get an FA. Amandajm (talk) 12:20, 7 November 2013 (UTC)

Ah. Okay. Have simplified the section and will leave it. I thought I was supposed to answer/respond to reviewer's concerns. That is what I was trying to do. But yes, stability is important. Whiteghost.ink (talk) 12:43, 7 November 2013 (UTC)

The Signpost: 06 November 2013

  • News and notes: Alleged "outing" of editor's personal information leads to Wikipedia ban
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  • Traffic report: Danse Macabre
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  • Featured content: Five years of work leads to 63-article featured topic
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  • WikiProject report: WikiProject Accessibility
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  • Arbitration report: Ebionites 3 case closed
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DYK for William Carr Smith

The DYK project (nominate) 00:04, 13 November 2013 (UTC)


St James'

What lovely people we have on Wikipedia! Afernand74 has already been around and fixed some of my messes!

I have padded out the details, (dates etc) of the foundation, first service and so on, since the info was available.

I also think that the most significant scandal needs to be in there along with the most significant weddings and funerals. So I'll add it. It is a remarkable event in the history of the church.

Afernand say we need a better picture of the church. it's true, but difficult. He also advises that an infobox would be a good idea. Reluctantly, (very reluctantly) I have to agree, because it will help with FA.

Amandajm (talk) 02:24, 16 November 2013 (UTC)

Yes, I thanked Afernand. What a speedy and helpful editor! Does s/he want a better interior or exterior? And your alt captions are similarly speedy and helpful. Whiteghost.ink (talk) 02:30, 16 November 2013 (UTC)
Just take this pic and add water
I notice that you sent a thank you.
The GregOBeirne that takes those excellent picture is located in New Zealand.
Well, I could do it myself. I'll get my video camera out and have a practice. I haven't used it for a while. Or maybe Gibson (my younger son) would like to do it.
Tea would be a very good bride. He has at least fifteen varieties of the stuff. I'll ask.
I just remembered that the dog had been locked in the laundry all night because of the thunderstorm. Even so, he was really stubborn about going out. I have never seen such a resentful face as when I pushed him out the door and into the rain. He stood there with his tail drooping and water running off his very greasy coat. He has such a great way of making you feel guilty!
Amandajm (talk) 02:49, 16 November 2013 (UTC)
Well, we now have an infobox! It meant rearranging pics, but that's alright. If we do't have an infobox then one of those people that love them will shove it in, displacing everything underneath it into sections where they don't belong. That is what happens. Infobox users are a bit like smokers: they rarely consider the results. I also discovered the Chaplaincy to city workers, which I think must go in. It's very much in the line of what you have been saying - a continuing response to current issues and concerns.
I have tried to re-colour that bloody box, and make it a nice Sydneyish sort of blue, but I cannot override the purple that someone has selected to represent Anglicanism. As soon as you write "Anglican" you are committed to purple. And, as you well know, we in Sydney are not the purple sort of people. Amandajm (talk) 07:35, 16 November 2013 (UTC)
Wow. Impressive infobox. Well done. Sorry to see the Russell print moved down but I see the point and the pictures are all still there. Good work on the re-arrangement. I like the purple. Whiteghost.ink (talk) 10:23, 16 November 2013 (UTC)
OK, we go with purple then! However, it may change suddenly because I just asked our friend Afernand if he knows how to change it.
Now please don't get upset, but this needs fixing
As an Anglican church, St James' is one of a number whose "unique or essential identity" has been described by Peter Carnley, a former primate of the Anglican Church of Australia, as "not so much a body of theological teaching, as a style of theological reflection". A style that goes back to the Elizabethan theologian Richard Hooker, it "sorts out the fundamentals of belief and behaviour by appealing to the threefold authority of scripture, authority and reason."
The noun in the first sentence is "identity" so that is what we are talking about.
It is then described in terms of a body of teaching and a style of reflection. Neither of those equals "identity" (grammatically speaking).
It then continues using "style" as the noun.
Can you sort it out?
Do you want to laugh? Watch this: The Kelly Family
Amandajm (talk) 10:39, 16 November 2013 (UTC)
Sorry, was hurrying. I fixed an earlier error and then made another. Should be better now. Just thought that Hooker was a useful link. Whiteghost.ink (talk) 11:06, 16 November 2013 (UTC)

The Signpost: 13 November 2013

  • Traffic report: Google Doodlebugs bust the block
    The numbers this week are beyond anything that has been seen since this report began. The top view count beats the average by an order of magnitude. Usually the appearance of numbers this big on the list is due to spamming, but in this case it seems they are due to honest interest; more specifically, Google Doodles, which for the first time claimed all five top slots. This column has raised numerous times the power of a Google Doodle to shine light on Wikipedia, but the wattage has never been as high as this.
  • Special report: FDC staff raise the benchmarks for activities, impact, planning, and governance
    The supporting staff of the Wikimedia Foundation’s powerful volunteer Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC) have released their assessments for the third half-yearly round of funding applications. The applications for the newly named annual plan grants were submitted by affiliated entities on 1 October, and comprise a total of more than US$5M in bids.

St James'

Section on the congregation is good. Quote by Carr Smith is good. Can you get a really good extract from one of his sermons or something, that shows his character? Amandajm (talk) 09:39, 17 November 2013 (UTC)

Glad you like it - I thought it was a wonderful quote. I added another quote of his to his article. Together, I think they do give a sense of him. There is also a link to his published Christmas sermon, but being "to order" it is fairly straightforward and unexceptional. Whiteghost.ink (talk) 09:43, 17 November 2013 (UTC)
Oh, now someone, I suppose it was Afernand, has removed the purple, which you liked! I'm sorry!
Do you want it back? Amandajm (talk) 09:48, 18 November 2013 (UTC)
No worries. I'm quite happy with the new more subtle colour. Whiteghost.ink (talk) 11:03, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of St James' Church, Sydney

The article St James' Church, Sydney you nominated as a good article has passed ; see Talk:St James' Church, Sydney for comments about the article. Well done! Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of StAnselm -- StAnselm (talk) 03:23, 20 November 2013 (UTC)

No, I know nothing about FA approval. I have written two Good Articles, and I nominated one of them for FA. I was overwhelmed by the advice, criticism, suggestions, and procedural requirements. I have since steered well away from the FA scene. But GAs are fine, and it's been a pleasure working with you. StAnselm (talk) 04:00, 20 November 2013 (UTC)

The Signpost: 20 November 2013

  • From the editor: The Signpost needs your help
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  • Book review: Peter Burke's Social History of Knowledge—ambitious, fascinating, and exhaustive
    Peter Burke's A Social History of Knowledge: Volume II: From the Encyclopédie to Wikipedia is a broad and wide-ranging look at how knowledge has been created, acquired, organized, disseminated, and sometimes lost in the Western world over the last two and a half centuries, a sequel to his 2000 book covering the prior three centuries, A Social History of Knowledge: From Gutenberg to Diderot.
  • Featured content: Rockin' the featured pictures
    Four articles, five lists, and thirty-four pictures were promoted to 'featured status' this week, including an image of a small fraction of the 18,000 taxis that serve Hong Kong.
  • WikiProject report: Score! American football on Wikipedia
    This week, we headed over to WikiProject National Football League. With 10 Featured Articles, 61 Featured Lists, and 142 Good Articles (as of publication), this WikiProject has done a lot of work improving American football articles.
  • News and notes: Foundation to Wiki-PR: cease and desist; Arbitration Committee elections starting
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  • Traffic report: Ill Winds
    It's not hard to guess which event is leading interest in the top 25 this week. The sheer scale of Typhoon Haiyan is staggering; estimates place its maximum windspeed upon first landfall in the Philippines on November 6 at 315 km/h, which would make it the most powerful tropical cyclone ever to reach land. To date, the storm has killed nearly 4000 people and damaged or destroyed nearly 4 million homes.
  • Arbitration report: WMF opens the door for non-admin arbitrators
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St James

  • Change 1. The pics now look messy. The choir pic needs to be reduced to the same size as the one above it. The upright pic has little relevance, and looks out of place where it now is. Layout counts.
  • Change 2. The statement about St James significance as the oldest church in s Sydney, and its special role is first paragraph stuff. In that first paragraph we are trying to say all the most important things. "Special role in the community" summarise a lot, which are then explained in part in the following paragraphs.

Amandajm (talk) 04:38, 29 November 2013 (UTC)

Ok, so can we reduce the size of the stained glass window and/or increase the size of the choir pic? I think the choir pic should be near the choir section. Also, can we get back the purple in the info box so it is consistent with the other Anglican articles? Whiteghost.ink (talk) 04:58, 29 November 2013 (UTC)
I believe it was Afernand that fixed the purple Sorry about that.
Re the Lonely little angel, I now have the pic of the eagle against the organ pipes. It's not terrible good, but it will do. I'll pair it with the angel, so we'll have an angel and an iggle. Amandajm (talk) 05:18, 29 November 2013 (UTC)
The choir is much lovelier than Mr Field. Pity it can't be bigger. But he might become smaller if I can get a media file of the organ to pair him with and then the choir could be expanded a bit. However, don't have such a file yet. Whiteghost.ink (talk) 05:24, 29 November 2013 (UTC)
I think that the caption to the lectern could be expanded a bit. Can you write about the dedication?
I tried the pics larger and it was too much. 1.25 is a compromise. But if Mr field was teamed with something, the choir could go up to the 1.5. Sorry the quality of the image isn't better. I needed a tripod. Amandajm (talk) 08:46, 29 November 2013 (UTC)
Yes, we can team him with the current organist eventually. The organ/eagle go well with the window, don't they? I thought the organ and eagle would be a good combination for an image. Will put the caption and dedication on my "to do" list. Whiteghost.ink (talk) 08:56, 29 November 2013 (UTC)
Not the entire dedication as a caption. Too much. Have we mentioned the iggle in the text? We should, since we have a photo. Amandajm (talk) 08:24, 1 December 2013 (UTC)

November 2013

Hello, I'm BracketBot. I have automatically detected that your edit to Royal Hotel may have broken the syntax by modifying 2 "[]"s. If you have, don't worry: just edit the page again to fix it. If I misunderstood what happened, or if you have any questions, you can leave a message on my operator's talk page.

List of unpaired brackets remaining on the page:
  • [[File:Bungendore Hotel.jpg|thumb|The Royal Hotel [[Bungendore]] NSW ]]]]

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The Signpost: 04 December 2013

  • Traffic report: Kennedy shot Who
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  • News and notes: One decade of Wikisource; FDC recommendations raise serious questions
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  • WikiProject report: Electronic Apple Pie
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  • Featured content: F*&!
    Seventeen articles, four lists, and twenty-eight pictures were promoted to "featured" status in the last two weeks.

This Month in GLAM: November 2013



Headlines
  • Australia and New Zealand report: From East to West
  • Belgium report: Wiki Loves Monuments in Belgium and Luxembourg
  • France report: Mass uploads; Wiki Loves Monuments; Edit-a-thon; GLAM conference
  • Germany report: MS Wissenschaft; Science Gallery; Zugang gestalten; Science 2.0; OKFest 2014
  • Italy report: Libraries and librarians (but there are still shoes)
  • Mexico report: Wiki Loves Monuments 2013 award ceremony; Day of the Dead photo contest winners
  • Netherlands report: Edit-a-thon Amersfoort; Wikipedia seminar Oslo; Wikimedia Nederland Conference; Europeana Fashion
  • Spain report: Wiki Loves Monuments; Fundación Joaquín Díaz González; Wiki Party in Salamanca
  • Sweden report: Motorcycles, Norway and shoes
  • Switzerland report: Wiki Loves Monuments Awards Ceremony; Wikipedians in Residence; Image Donations
  • UK report: Open content at the BBC; edit-a-thons; photography
  • USA report: GLAM-Wiki Activities in Philadelphia and Vancouver, Washington
  • Open Access report: Open Access Button and Berlin 11 conference
  • Calendar: December's GLAM events


Read this edition in full • Single-page

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The Signpost: 11 December 2013

  • Traffic report: Deaths of Mandela, Walker top the list
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  • In the media: Edward Snowden a "hero"; German Wikipedia court ruling
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  • News and notes: Wiki Loves Monuments—winners announced
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  • WikiProject report: WikiProject Wine
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  • Interview: Wikipedia's first Featured Article centurion
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  • Featured content: Viewer discretion advised
    Three articles, one list, and eight pictures were promoted to "featured" status on the English Wikipedia last week.
  • Technology report: MediaWiki 1.22 released
    On 6 December, the latest version of the MediaWiki software was released. In development from March 2013 through October 2013, the release featured anti-spam and counter-vandalism improvements.

Nominated Writer for Good Article?

I'm surprised that with all the quality of work you've put into Writer that you haven't nominated it for a Good Article. I was just curious as to why you had not. --NickPenguin(contribs) 07:10, 15 December 2013 (UTC)

Mainly because there were some parts that I felt I had not finished yet - some quotes were not the best ones I could get. Also, I was following the schedule of TAFI nominations so that it could be listed among TAFI achievements as going from stub to "greatly improved" but in the middle of the work and after all the effort I had put in, the TAFI system/timetable/process suddenly changed, and it was no longer eligible, which was quite disheartening. The nominations schedule needs to be stable. However, if you think "Writer" should be nominated for GA, that is encouraging. If you'd like, please make the nomination and we can collaborate on getting it through the review together.
By the way, I think that reasonably experienced editors are needed to work on nominated articles, not newbies. That is why I do not think TAFI should be on the main page. I think the primary purpose of TAFI is to improve articles, not attract new editors (unless the nominated articles just need copy editing and spell checking or things that a newbie could get satisfaction from doing if specific problems were pointed out). Whiteghost.ink (talk) 08:17, 15 December 2013 (UTC)

FAC

Please don't be put off by the bear pit that is FAC. It's tough the first time when you are feeling your way through a morass of conventions and requirements. The point of not striking comments yourself is that they may not be as straightforward as you expect. One of my recent FACs had fourteen responses involving two reviewers other than me on the exact meaning of Mother Carey's chicken, and more on the translation of a single Russian word. Just to explain too why responses like  Done should not be used, it's because templates slow down the loading of the always very large FAC page (I know you haven't done that, it's just to show that it's not a completely mindless rule). Let me know if you need any help Jimfbleak - talk to me? 11:17, 16 December 2013 (UTC)

Thanks, Jimfbleak. I appreciate the advice about the conventions. I'm here to learn and contribute, as my user page says :) At the moment though, I am also here to get this article through to FA! So I hope it can make it up the hill ... Whiteghost.ink (talk) 11:48, 16 December 2013 (UTC)
Thank you for the tasteful plant, Merry Christmas to you too! Jimfbleak - talk to me? 07:06, 23 December 2013 (UTC)

The Signpost: 18 December 2013

  • Traffic report: Hopper to the top
    An animated Google Doodle for computer programmer and naval rear admiral Grace Hopper generated another record-breaking hit count for the year, though the count for the list overall was lower than for that of the previous holder.
  • News and notes: Nine new arbitrators announced
    A little more than six days after the close of voting, the results of the annual Arbitration Committee (ArbCom) elections have been announced. Of the 22 candidates, 13 managed to gain more supports than opposes, though only one gained the support of more than half of the voters. Eight were elected to two-year terms, and a ninth will serve for one year.
  • Technology report: Introducing the GLAMWikiToolset
    This week, the GLAMWikiToolset, or GWToolset, is being deployed to the Wikimedia Commons. It allows for GLAM organizations to batch upload content based on various metadata stored in an XML schema. In the past this has been done by various bots, but now it will be easier for GLAMs to do it directly.

This week's article for improvement

A typical Nepali meal
Hello, Whiteghost.ink.

The following is WikiProject Today's articles for improvement's weekly selection:

Meal

Previous selections: Recorded history • Micronesia

Get involved with the TAFI project! You can...
Posted by: Northamerica1000(talk) 22:40, 23 December 2013 (UTC)

Thanks for all your help in 2013!

Merry Christmas!
Wishing you and yours all the best for 2014! Kerry (talk) 06:55, 24 December 2013 (UTC)

The Signpost: 25 December 2013

  • WikiProject report: More Great WikiProject Logos
    We saved one last special report for 2013. After our well-received review of great WikiProject logos a couple years ago, it was only a matter of time before we collected a new batch of interesting iconography that showcases the creativity of the Wikipedia community. Hopefully, these logos will also inspire other projects to liven up their drab pages.
  • News and notes: IEG round 2 funding rewards diverse ambitions
    A significant move by the Wikimedia Foundation has been to broaden the types of activities it funds to develop several different programs for judging and allocating that funding, and to set up volunteer committees that initially assess applications for funding.
  • Technology report: OAuth: future of user designed tools
    Last month, the OAuth extension was deployed to all Wikimedia wikis. OAuth is a standard used for allowing users to authenticate third-party applications, also known as consumers, to take actions on their behalf.

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