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The Signpost: 30 April 2012

• Paid editing: Does Wikipedia Pay? The Consultant: Pete Forsyth
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• News and notes: Showdown as featured article writer openly solicits commercial opportunities
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• Recent research: Barnstars work; Wiktionary assessed; cleanup tags counted; finding expert admins; discussion peaks; Wikipedia citations in academic publications; and more
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• Discussion report: 'ReferenceTooltips' by default
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• WikiProject report: The Cartographers of WikiProject Maps
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• Featured content: Featured content spreads its wings
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• Arbitration report: R&I Review remains in voting, two open cases
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• Technology report: What Git means for end users, design controversies and pertinent poll results
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• EdwardsBot (talk) 04:00, 1 May 2012 (UTC)

This Month in GLAM: April 2012

This Month in GLAM – Volume II, Issue IV, April 2012 Headlines USA report: Wikimedia presence at American Association of Museums; Oregon Historical County Records mass upload; brief news UK report: MonmouthpediA project; first QRpedia railway station Spain report: Augmented Reality; emerging artists internship; workshop for museum professionals France report: Release of content and outreach Netherlands report: Edit-a-thon at Teylers Museum Germany report: Long Nights; Wikipedia Academy; Wikipedia meets Museums, GLAM coordinator; Wikipedian in residence vacancy; Open GLAM workshop Australia and New Zealand report: Australian and New Zealand GLAM efforts Israel report: GLAM:NLI Edit-a-thon; Two Wikipedian-in-Residence positions Sweden report: Wikipedian in Residence at the Swedish National Heritage Board Bulgaria report: State Archive, Zoo and Natural History Museum Open Access report: Journal meets Wikipedia; presentations at OA and Wikimedia conferences Calendar: May's GLAM events Read this edition in full • Single-page To assist with preparing the newsletter, please visit the newsroom. Past editions may be viewed here.

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The Signpost: 07 May 2012

• Paid editing: Does Wikipedia Pay? The Communicator: Phil Gomes
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• News and notes: Hong Kong to host Wikimania 2013
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• In the news: What does Wikipedia call an expert; and untruths in biographies ... again.
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• WikiProject report: Say What?: WikiProject Languages
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• Featured content: This week at featured content: How much wood would a Wood Duck chuck if a Wood Duck could chuck wood?
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• Arbitration report: Proposed decision in Rich Farmbrough, two open cases
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• Technology report: Search gets faster, GSoC gets more detail and 1.20wmf2 gets deployed
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• EdwardsBot (talk) 23:55, 7 May 2012 (UTC)

Great American Wiknic for Portland in June

June 2012

I would like to invite you and fellow Portlanders to join the Great American Wiknic 2012 this June (Wikipedia:Meetup/Portland/Wiknic ?) :) Also, please add any preliminary details to Wikipedia:Wiknic#2012 Wiknic.--Pharos (talk) 17:58, 10 May 2012 (UTC)

The Signpost: 14 May 2012

• Special report: Wikimedia and the "seismic shift" towards open-access research publication
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• News and notes: Finance debate drags on as editor survey finds Wikipedia too bureaucratic
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• WikiProject report: Welcome to Wikipedia with a cup of tea and all your questions answered - at the Teahouse
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• Featured content: Featured content is red hot this week
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• Arbitration report: R&I Review closed, Rich Farmbrough near closure
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• Technology report: Cross-wiki watchlist controversy; and is "go file a bug" really a useful response?
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• EdwardsBot (talk) 22:11, 14 May 2012 (UTC)

Nomination for deletion of Template:A Fine Frenzy

Template:A Fine Frenzy has been nominated for deletion. You are invited to comment on the discussion at the template's entry on the Templates for discussion page. —Justin (koavf)❤T☮C☺M☯ 03:03, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

 Done. --Another Believer _(Talk) 15:04, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of David Hattner

The article David Hattner you nominated as a good article has passed ; see Talk:David Hattner for comments about the article. Well done! There is a backlog of articles waiting for review, why not help out and review a nominated article yourself? GoP_T^C_N 15:03, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

Thanks! Much appreciated! --Another Believer _(Talk) 15:04, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

License tagging for File:Sia, Best Of album cover.jpg

Thanks for uploading File:Sia, Best Of album cover.jpg. You don't seem to have indicated the license status of the image. Wikipedia uses a set of image copyright tags to indicate this information.

To add a tag to the image, select the appropriate tag from this list, click on this link, then click "Edit this page" and add the tag to the image's description. If there doesn't seem to be a suitable tag, the image is probably not appropriate for use on Wikipedia. For help in choosing the correct tag, or for any other questions, leave a message on Wikipedia:Media copyright questions. Thank you for your cooperation. --ImageTaggingBot (talk) 07:05, 21 May 2012 (UTC)

 Done. --Another Believer _(Talk) 21:55, 21 May 2012 (UTC)

The Signpost: 21 May 2012

• From the editor: New editor-in-chief
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• News and notes: Two new Wikimedia fellows to boost strategies for tackling major issues
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• WikiProject report: Trouble in a Galaxy Far, Far Away....
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• Featured content: Lemurbaby moves it with Madagascar: Featured content for the week
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• Arbitration report: No open arbitration cases pending
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• Technology report: On the indestructibility of Wikimedia content
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• EdwardsBot (talk) 02:12, 22 May 2012 (UTC)

The Signpost: 28 May 2012

• News and notes: Wikimedia Foundation endorses open-access petition to the White House; pending changes RfC ends
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• Recent research: Supporting interlanguage collaboration; detecting reverts; Wikipedia's discourse, semantic and leadership networks, and Google's Knowledge Graph
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• WikiProject report: Experts and enthusiasts at WikiProject Geology
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• Featured content: Featured content cuts the cheese
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• Arbitration report: Fæ and GoodDay requests for arbitration, changes to evidence word limits
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• Technology report: Developer divide wrangles; plus Wikimedia Zero, MediaWiki 1.20wmf4, and IPv6
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• EdwardsBot (talk) 07:32, 30 May 2012 (UTC)

WikiCup 2012 May newsletter

We're halfway through round 3 (or the quarter finals, if you prefer) and things are running smoothly. We're seeing very high scoring; as of the time of writing, the top 16 all have over 90 points. This has already proved to be more competative than this time last year- in 2011, 76 points secured a place, while in 2010, a massive 250 was the lowest qualifying score. People have also upped their game slightly from last round, which is to be expected as we approach the end of the competition. Leading Pool A is Cwmhiraeth (submissions), whose points have mostly come from a large number of did you knows on marine biology. Pool B's leader, Grapple X (submissions), is for the first time not our highest scorer at the time of newsletter publication, but his good articles on The X-Files and Millenium keep him in second place overall. Miyagawa (submissions) leads Pool C, our quietest pool, with content in a variety of areas on a variety of topics. Pool D is led by Casliber (submissions), our current overall leader. Nearly half of Casliber's points come from his triple-scored Western Jackdaw, which is now a featured article.

This round has seen an unusually high number of featured lists, with nearly one in five remaining participants claiming one, and one user, Muboshgu (submissions), claiming two. Miyagawa's featured list, 1936 Summer Olympics medal table, was even awarded double points. By comparison, good article reviews seem to be playing a smaller part, and featured topics portals remain two content-types still unutilised in this competition. Other than that, there isn't much to say! Things are coming along smoothly. As ever, if you are concerned that your nomination—whether it is at good article candidates, a featured process, or anywhere else—will not receive the necessary reviews, please list it on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews. Questions are welcome on Wikipedia talk:WikiCup, and the judges are reachable on their talk pages or by email. Good luck! If you wish to start or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn (talk • email) and The ed17 (talk • email) 23:22, 31 May 2012 (UTC)

This Month in GLAM: May 2012

This Month in GLAM – Volume II, Issue V, May 2012 Headlines USA report: OCLC announces Wikipedian in Residence; 2 edit-a-thons; US cultural partnerships report; brief news UK report: Monmouthpedia launches; British Library Wikipedian in Residence Spain report: Wikipedian in Residence at National Art Museum; Wikimedia representation at MuseumNext France report: Cultural lobbying; current and future projects Italy report: Wiki Loves Monuments and Case Studies Germany report: GLAM work in cities across Germany Sweden report: GLAM handbook released; Europeana Awareness project launched Mexico report: Collaborating with local artisans through Museo de Arte Popular Africa report: Lagos Black Heritage Festival and Case Studies Australia and New Zealand report: Wikimedia representation at Intelligent Info conference; editing workshops Open Access report: Open Access developments: politics and software Calendar: June's GLAM events Read this edition in full • Single-page To assist with preparing the newsletter, please visit the newsroom. Past editions may be viewed here.

Unsubscribe · Global message delivery 21:26, 2 June 2012 (UTC)

The Signpost: 04 June 2012

• Special report: WikiWomenCamp: From women, for women
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• News and notes: Editors want most funding for technical areas, while widespread ignorance of WMF board elections and chapters persists; voting still live on Commons best picture
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• Discussion report: Watching Wikipedia change
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• WikiProject report: Views of WikiProject Visual Arts
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• Featured content: On the lochs
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• Arbitration report: Two motions for procedural reform, three open cases, Rich Farmbrough risks block and ban
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• Technology report: Report from the Berlin Hackathon
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• EdwardsBot (talk) 08:26, 5 June 2012 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Kvinneakt

The article Kvinneakt you nominated as a good article has passed ; see Talk:Kvinneakt for comments about the article. Well done! There is a backlog of articles waiting for review, why not help out and review a nominated article yourself? GoP_T^C_N 18:34, 8 June 2012 (UTC)

Thanks so much! --Another Believer _(Talk) 18:44, 8 June 2012 (UTC)

Horse rings

Hi A.B. I had an eye surgery last Wednesday, and my vision will be impaired to some degree through at least mid-July. I can see fine with the other eye, so it's possible for me to read things and write short things like this note. On the other hand, it's not much fun to edit with one eye focused while the other is unfocused. I'm going to continue to be relatively inactive on Wikipedia until at least the middle of next month. Congrats on the two GAs, and good luck with the horse rings. I'll take a close look at the horse rings article several weeks hence, if you like. Finetooth (talk) 16:51, 11 June 2012 (UTC)

The Signpost: 11 June 2012

• Special report: Springer's misappropriation of Wikimedia content "the tip of the iceberg"
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• News and notes: Foundation finance reformers wrestle with CoI
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• WikiProject report: Counter-Vandalism Unit
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• Featured content: The cake is a pi
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• Arbitration report: Procedural reform enacted, Rich Farmbrough blocked, three open cases
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• Technology report: To support or not to support IPv6, and why knowing when this report was last updated might be getting easier
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• EdwardsBot (talk) 21:11, 12 June 2012 (UTC)

Orphaned non-free media (File:John Patitucci Another World cover.jpg)

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

If you have uploaded other unlicensed media, please check whether they're used in any articles or not. You can find a list of 'file' pages you have edited by clicking on the "my contributions" link (it is located at the very top of any Wikipedia page when you are logged in), and then selecting "File" from the dropdown box. Note that all non-free media not used in any articles will be deleted after seven days, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. Thank you. Hazard-Bot (talk) 06:52, 15 June 2012 (UTC)

 Done. --Another Believer _(Talk) 19:10, 15 June 2012 (UTC)

Talk:Best Of... (Sia album)/GA1

I have reviewed Best Of... (Sia album), an article that you have nominated for GA. Statυs (talk) 17:39, 15 June 2012 (UTC)

 Done. Much appreciated! --Another Believer _(Talk) 19:10, 15 June 2012 (UTC)

The Signpost: 18 June 2012

• Investigative report: Is the requests for adminship process 'broken'?
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• News and notes: Ground shifts while chapters dither over new Association
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• Discussion report: Discussion Reports And Miscellaneous Articulations
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• WikiProject report: The Punks of Wikipedia
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• Featured content: Taken with a pinch of "salt"
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• Arbitration report: Three open cases, GoodDay case closed
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• Technology report: Bugs, Repairs, and Internal Operational News
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• EdwardsBot (talk) 01:47, 20 June 2012 (UTC)

Talk:Oh Blue Christmas/GA1

We meet again. I have reviewed the article Oh Blue Christmas and have put it on hold. Best, Statυs (talk) 02:04, 21 June 2012 (UTC)

 Done. Thanks! --Another Believer _(Talk) 18:44, 21 June 2012 (UTC)

Talk:Horse rings in Portland/GA1

I have also reviewed the above article and placed it on hold. Cheers, Statυs (talk) 06:39, 21 June 2012 (UTC)

I don't know the protocol for making edits to an article during an active GA review, when said edits don't concern any of the review comments, so I'm leaving this message on your talk page instead, to be safe. It appears that the article only mentions the rings being on (or attached to) "sidewalks", but some mention of curbs should also be made. This caught my attention when I read that 1978 Eugene Register-Guard article, which mentioned curb repair. (The wording in the article at present sounds a bit like it was the rings that were being repaired or replaced.) Your own photos show some rings attached to curbs where no sidewalk is present. Nice work on the article, by the way! SJ Morg (talk) 18:38, 21 June 2012 (UTC)

Thanks! I went ahead and inserted the word (and link) into the article. Please feel free to improve/edit the article in ways you see fit during or after the GAN process. The more eyes we have on the article, the better! --Another Believer _(Talk) 18:45, 21 June 2012 (UTC)

 Done. --Another Believer _(Talk) 20:02, 21 June 2012 (UTC)

Congrats

		The Good Article Barnstar
		I don't know if this is the third or fourth time I've given you this barnstar, but you've earned it again for your recent GAs. Keep it up! Jsayre64 (talk) 15:44, 22 June 2012 (UTC)

Thanks so much, Jsayre64! --Another Believer _(Talk) 17:16, 22 June 2012 (UTC)

You're welcome. By the way, in case you didn't notice, I nominated Roses in Portland for GA. I had last worked on the article in November, putting off more work on it since then, but last week I realized that there weren't any additional improvements that I could think of. So now I'm getting excited: WikiProject Oregon is almost at 100 Good Articles! Jsayre64 (talk) 22:07, 27 June 2012 (UTC)

See the discussion on my talk page here. Jsayre64 (talk) 01:17, 6 July 2012 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Meetup/Portland/Wiknic Saturday June 23

Be there, or be unwikified!--Pharos (talk) 17:27, 22 June 2012 (UTC)

The Signpost: 25 June 2012

• Op-ed: A call for editorial input in developing new Creative Commons licensing
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• News and notes: "Mystical" Picture of the Year; run-up to Wikimania DC; RfA reform 2012
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• In the news: Wales enters extradition battle; Wikipedia's political bias
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• Recent research: Edit war patterns, deleters vs. the 1%, never used cleanup tags, authorship inequality, higher quality from central users, and mapping the wikimediasphere
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• WikiProject report: Summer Sports Series: WikiProject Athletics
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• Featured content: A good week for the Williams
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• Arbitration report: Three open cases
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• Technology report: Second Visual Editor prototype launches
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• EdwardsBot (talk) 05:47, 26 June 2012 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

	The Surreal Barnstar
	Congrats on your article about Satan's Testicles, because Wikipedia was lacking in the balls department. tedder (talk) 23:00, 26 June 2012 (UTC)

Wow, I feel so honored! Much appreciated. :) --Another Believer _(Talk) 23:06, 26 June 2012 (UTC)

A cup of coffee for you!

Thanks for signing the list at Wikimedia Cascadia. Are you coming to Wikimania? If so, we are having a chapters meetup where we are going to propose this chapter. We should stay in touch. Blue Rasberry (talk) 14:28, 28 June 2012 (UTC)

I will be at Wikimania--looking forward to catching up then! --Another Believer _(Talk) 14:48, 28 June 2012 (UTC)

WikiCup 2012 June newsletter

Apologies for the lateness of this letter; our usual bot wasn't working. We are now entering round 4, our semi-finals, and have our final 16. A score of 243 was required to reach this round; significantly more than 2011's 76 points, and only a little behind 2010's 250 points. By comparison, last year, 150 points in round 4 secured a place in the final; in 2010, 430 were needed. Commiserations to Pool A's igordebraga (submissions), who scored 242 points, missing out on a place in the round by a whisker. However, congratulations to Pool B's Grapple X (submissions), whose television articles have brought him another round victory. Pool A's Cwmhiraeth (submissions) came second overall, with an impressive list of biological did you knows, good articles and featured articles. Third overall was Pool D's Muboshgu (submissions), with a long list of contibutions, mostly relating to baseball. Of course, with the points resetting every round, the playing field has been levelled. The most successful Pool was Pool D, which saw seven into the final round. Pool B saw four, C saw three and Pool A saw only the two round leaders.

A quick note about other competitions taking place on Wikipedia which may be of interest. There are 13 days remaining in the June-July GAN backlog elimination drive, but it is not too late to take part. August will also see the return of The Core Contest- a one month long competition first run in 2007. While the WikiCup awards points for audited content on any subject, The Core Contest about is raw article improvement, focussing heavily on the most important articles on Wikipedia. As ever, if you are concerned that your nomination—whether it is at good article candidates, a featured process, or anywhere else—will not receive the necessary reviews, please list it on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews. Questions are welcome on Wikipedia talk:WikiCup, and the judges are reachable on their talk pages or by email. Good luck! If you wish to start or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn (talk • email) and The ed17 (talk • email) 10:42, 2 July 2012 (UTC)

The Signpost: 02 July 2012

• Analysis: Uncovering scientific plagiarism
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• Op-ed: Representing knowledge – metadata, data and linked data
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• News and notes: RfC on joining lobby group; JSTOR accounts for Wikipedians and the article feedback tool
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• In the news: Public relations on Wikipedia: friend or foe?
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• Discussion report: Discussion reports and miscellaneous articulations
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• WikiProject report: Summer sports series: Burning rubber with WikiProject Motorsport
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• Featured content: Heads up
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• Arbitration report: Three open cases, motion for the removal of Carnildo's administrative tools
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• Technology report: Initialisms abound: QA and HTML5
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• EdwardsBot (talk) 10:43, 3 July 2012 (UTC)

This Month in GLAM: June 2012

This Month in GLAM – Volume II, Issue VI, June 2012 Headlines From the team: We want your feedback! USA report: Walters Museum upload, GLAM Consortium, QRpedia in Congressional Cemetery UK report: National Archives digitisation grant; WWI edit-a-thon; brief news Italy report: New case studies and featured contents from Italian GLAMs Germany report: Long nights; New Wikimedians in Residence; Wikipedia Academy & Zedler Prize Sweden report: Council of Central Museums co-operation Austria report: WikiCon 2012; Zedler Prize Finland report: Open Knowledge Festival Africa report: WikiAfrica Content Partnerships and Knowledge Projects Australia and New Zealand report: Workshops in Queensland; Creative Commons activity Open Access report: Obama petition; SpringerImages; World Open Educational Resources Congress; Wikipedia Academy; Wikipedia Cite-o-meter Calendar: July's GLAM events Read this edition in full • Single-page To assist with preparing the newsletter, please visit the newsroom. Past editions may be viewed here.

Unsubscribe · Global message delivery 12:45, 7 July 2012 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Just Chillin'

The article Just Chillin' you nominated as a good article has been placed on hold . The article is close to meeting the good article criteria, but there are some minor changes or clarifications needed to be addressed. If these are fixed within seven days, the article will pass, otherwise it will fail. See Talk:Just Chillin' for things which need to be addressed. Jonayo! ^{Selena 4 ever} 18:54, 7 July 2012 (UTC)

 Done. --Another Believer _(Talk) 02:19, 22 July 2012 (UTC)

The Signpost: 09 July 2012

• Special report: Reforming the education programs: lessons from Cairo
  Wikipedia has a long history of collaborating with educational institutions. The Schools and universities program — international and in many languages, but dominated by US institutions — started in 2003 and evolved case by case with little system. However, that changed in 2009 as Wikimedia embarked on its formal strategic process, and outreach in higher education came to be seen in terms of achieving explicit goals — especially that of increasing editor participation.

• News and notes: Russian Wikipedia blackout; WMF tools; Wikitravel proposal revisited
  The Russian Wikipedia has been blacked out for 24 hours, ending 20:00 UTC Tuesday, as a protest against Russian State Duma Bill 89417-6, a bill currently before the Duma (the Russian parliament). Visitors to the Russian Wikipedia are confronted by the sign above in protest at a draconian internet censorship bill before the Duma. The Russian word for Wikipedia is crossed out in this banner, and the text says: "Imagine a world without free knowledge. The State Duma is currently conducting the second reading of a bill to amend the "Law on Information", which has the potential to lead to the creation of extra-judicial censorship of the Internet in Russia, including the closure of access to the Russian Wikipedia. Today, the Wikipedia community protests against censorship as a threat to free knowledge that is open to all mankind. We ask that you oppose this bill."

• WikiProject report: Summer sports series: WikiProject Football
  This week, we spent some time with WikiProject Football, which focuses on the sport also known as association football or soccer. WikiProject Football is by far the largest sport project and one of the most active projects on Wikipedia in terms of the number of articles covered, edits to articles, and talk page watchers.

• Featured content: Keeps on chuggin'
  Eight featured articles were promoted this week: ... Aries (constellation) by Keilana. Aries the Ram (symbol ♈) is one of the constellations of the Zodiac and one of 88 currently recognised constellations. Its area is 441 square degrees (1.1% of the celestial sphere). Although fairly dim, with only three bright stars, it is home to several deep-sky objects.

• Arbitration report: Three requests for arbitration
  No cases were closed or opened, leaving the number of open cases at three. ... The case concerns alleged misconduct with regards to aggressive responses and harassment by Fæ toward users who question his actions.

• Technology report: Optimism over LastModified and MoodBar, but change in clock time causes downtime
  The results from last month's trial of the LastModified extension were published this week on the Wikimedia blog. The first analyses have indicated a significant positive impact, suggesting that the extension – which makes the time since a page's last edit much more prominent in the interface – could eventually find its way onto Wikimedia wikis.

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• EdwardsBot (talk) 10:16, 10 July 2012 (UTC)

The Signpost: 16 July 2012

• Special report: Chapters Association mired in controversy over new chair
  User:Fæ was elected as the inaugural chair of the new Wikimedia Chapters Association, despite the controversies that have surrounded Fæ on the English Wikipedia and Commons, most recently aired in a live case before the Arbitration Committee. This is in marked contrast with unexciting movement, during the Wikimania meeting, on the most important issues facing the establishment of the association.

• News and notes: WMF enacts reforms at Wikimania; main page redesign; 4 millionth article milestone
  During Wikimania (July 12-15), the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) board finalized and enacted long-discussed reforms of the movement's financial structures, and considered procedures for creating new ways for Wikimedians to organize themselves into offline communities. The board moved on the controversial image filter issue, approved the 2012–13 annual plan, and issued a statement on the wikitravel proposal. It also appointed the two new chapter-selected trustees and elected the four office-bearers.

• WikiProject report: Summer sports series: French WikiProject Cycling
  With the Tour de France in its final week, we traveled to the French Wikipedia for a chat with Projet Cyclisme (WikiProject Cycling). The French Wikipedia places a greater emphasis on portals than the English Wikipedia, which explains why WikiProject Cycling and its discussion page are actually extensions of the Cycling Portal. The project is home to two Article de Qualité (equivalent to Featured Articles) and eight Bon Article (Good Articles), primarily biographies of cyclists.

• Discussion report: Discussion reports and miscellaneous articulations
  A brief overview of the current discussions on the English Wikipedia, including one regarding the purpose of the Community Portal. Started by Maryana, a Wikimedia Foundation employee, is this page for new users to be educated about the community, or is it for experienced users to find updates about the community?

• Wikimania: Young chapter shows experience beyond its years
  Nearly 1400 Wikimedians and others from 87 countries descended on the capital of the United States, Washington, D.C., for Wikimania 2012. Even with an unprecedented number (1400) of conference attendees — the previous two Wikimanias, held in Gdańsk (Poland) and Haifa (Israel), were attended by fewer than 1100 people combined – Wikimania 2012 was a complete success, with attendees' reaction to the conference coming out as ecstatic and laudatory.

• Featured content: Taking flight
  Eight featured articles were promoted this week, including Paul McCartney by GabeMc. McCartney (born 1942) is an English musician, singer, songwriter and composer. He gained worldwide fame as a member of the Beatles, and his collaboration with John Lennon is highly celebrated. After the band's break-up he pursued a solo career and formed the band Wings. McCartney has been described by Guinness World Records as the "most successful composer and recording artist of all time", and his song "Yesterday" has been covered more than any other song in history.

• Technology report: Tech talks at Wikimania amid news of a mixed June
  As Wikimania, the annual conference targeted at Wikimedians and often well attended by those with a technical slant, draws to a close, comments have already begun to come in from attendees regarding the many tech-related features of the conference.

• Arbitration report: Fæ faces site-ban, proposed decisions posted
  No cases were closed or opened, leaving the number of open cases at three. A new remedy in the Fæ case calls for him to be indefinitely banned from the site after his attempts to solicit intervention from the Foundation, claiming that publicly listing all his accounts would be too onerous due to "ongoing security risks." He was further criticised for attempting to dodge good-faith concerns; the committee believes that if Fæ's claims are valid then he must be removed from the community.

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• EdwardsBot (talk) 10:41, 17 July 2012 (UTC)

Image for Pod (sculpture)?

Hi Another Believer, and sorry to bother you, but I have a question. You created and GA nominated Pod, but it has no picture. I think having a picture of a sculpture is very important, and I've found three CC-BY-SA images on Flickr.

• http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencf0618/3832971157/
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencf0618/3832080055/
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmchuff/2311331716/

Which, if any, are good enough to be uploaded and added into the article? David1217 ^{What I've done} 01:12, 22 July 2012 (UTC)

Replied on article's talk page. --Another Believer _(Talk) 02:12, 22 July 2012 (UTC)

 Done. Thanks! --Another Believer _(Talk) 22:16, 26 July 2012 (UTC)

The Signpost: 23 July 2012

• Paid editing: Does Wikipedia pay? The skeptic: Orange Mike
  Does Wikipedia pay? is an ongoing Signpost series seeking to illuminate paid editing, paid advocacy, for-profit Wikipedia consultants, editing public relations professionals, conflict of interest guidelines in practice, and the Wikipedians who work on these issues... by speaking openly with the people involved.

• From the editor: Signpost developments
  The Signpost's goal is to provide readers with essential information about the Wikimedia movement and the English Wikipedia – both of which have become large and extremely complex institutions that require timely, balanced and in-depth coverage.

• News and notes: Chapter head speaks about the aftermath of Russian Wikipedia shutdown
  Two weeks ago the Signpost reported that the Russian Wikipedia had just begun a 24-hour blackout in protest at a bill that was before the Russian parliament that proposed mechanisms to block IP addresses and DNS records. The protest, implemented after on-wiki consensus was reached during the preceding days, concerned the potential of the amendment to the information law to allow extra-judicial censorship of the internet in Russia, including the closure of access to the Russian Wikipedia. Among the questions now are how effective the blackout was and where we go from here in terms of internet freedom in one of the world's biggest and most influential countries.

• WikiProject report: Summer sports series: WikiProject Olympics
  With the 2012 Summer Olympic Games beginning this weekend in London, we decided to catch up with the chaps at WikiProject Olympics. The last time we interviewed WikiProject Olympics was in February 2010 when the project was gearing up for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. We wanted to know how the project has grown since then and whether preparing for a Summer Olympics was more grueling.

• Arbitration report: Fæ and Michaeldsuarez banned; Kwamikagami desysopped; Falun Gong closes with mandated external reviews and topic bans
  For the second time this year (and the third in the history of the committee), there are no open cases, as all three active cases were closed last week.

• Op-ed: The future of PR on Wikipedia
  There has never been a better time to improve the behavior of marketing professionals on Wikipedia. For the first time we're seeing self-imposed statements of ethics. Professional PR bodies around the globe have supported the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) guidance for ethical Wikipedia engagement. Although their tone is different, CREWE and the PRSA have brought more attention to the issues. Awareness among PR professionals is rising. So are the number of paid editing operations sprouting up and the opportunity for dialogue.

• Featured content: When is an island not an island?
  One featured article was promoted this week, Melville Island. A small peninsula in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, it was discovered by Europeans in the 1600s and initially used for storehouses. The land was purchased by the British and used to hold prisoners of war, then to receive escaped slaves from the United States. After being used as a place of quarantine and later a recruitment centre, the land was granted to Canada in 1907 and used to house prisoners of war. It is now home to the clubhouse and marina of the Armdale Yacht Club.

• Technology report: Translating SVGs and making history bugs history
  In the first of a series looking at this year's eight ongoing Google Summer of Code projects, the Signpost caught up with developer Harry Burt.

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• EdwardsBot (talk) 10:52, 24 July 2012 (UTC)

Image deletion

Note that some images you created are up for deletion on commons. See Commons:Deletion requests/Files in Category:Kvinneakt. Ryan Vesey Review me! 04:55, 26 July 2012 (UTC)

I guess we never got artist approval. Aw. tedder (talk) 05:03, 26 July 2012 (UTC)

I suggested keeping it. To the extent of my knowledge so far, the images qualify for {{PD-US-no notice}} since it was created before 1977. Unless someone has a reason to believe that the artist did in fact copyright the statue they are PD. Also note that an image should certainly be uploaded locally if they are deleted. Ryan Vesey Review me! 05:16, 26 July 2012 (UTC)

I started the deletion request to clear up whether they were non-free or not, but I would love to keep them. US copyright law is a pain. David1217 ^{What I've done} 22:24, 26 July 2012 (UTC)

No worries! I uploaded the images, then (following a discussion on the WikiProject Oregon talk page) nominated one for deletion myself in order to start the debate as to whether or not the images could live at Commons. Fingers crossed the images can stay! I wish I understood copyright rules better than I do. Confusion on the matter means I pretty much only upload images of buildings, parks and landscapes I have photographed myself. --Another Believer _(Talk) 22:33, 26 July 2012 (UTC)

The Signpost: 30 July 2012

• Recent research: Conflict dynamics, collaboration and emotions; digitization vs. copyright; WikiProject field notes; quality of medical articles; role of readers; Best Wiki Paper Award
  From the modeling of social dynamics in a collaborative environment to why the number of Wikipedia readers rises while the number of editors doesn't.

• News and notes: Wikimedians and London 2012; WMF budget – staffing, engineering, editor retention effort, and the global South; Telegraph's cheap shot at WP
  Wikimedia Foundation published its Annual Plan, focusing on technical improvements, editor retention, and structural reforms over the coming year. The movement's total revenue, including almost all chapter funding, is slated to rise by 35%, from $34.2 million to $46.1 million, and global spending to more than $42.1 million. The foundation's own core spending will grow by 15% to $30.2 million in 2012–13.

• WikiProject report: Summer sports series: WikiProject Horse Racing
  We continue our Summer Sports Series this week with WikiProject Horse Racing. Started in November 2005, the project has grown to include nearly 8,000 articles maintained by 34 active members. There are 10 Featured Articles and 19 Good Articles included in the project's scope. In addition to preparing articles for GA and FA status, the project attempts to create requested articles and locate requested images. We interviewed Redrose64, Montanabw, Tigerboy1966, Ealdgyth, and Cuddy Wifter.

• Featured content: One of a kind
  Eight new featured articles, five new featured lists, and eight new featured pictures. The highlights include a new featured picture of Frank Sinatra, created by William P. Gottlieb and nominated by Tomer T. Sinatra (1915–98) was a highly successful American singer and film actor whose career spanned 60 years. This image dates from around 1947.

• Technology report: Talking performance with CT Woo and Green Semantic MediaWiki with Nischay Nahata
  In the light of recent questions over the long-term reliability of Wikimedia wikis, the Signpost caught up with CT Woo, the Wikimedia Foundation's director of technical operations.

• Arbitration report: No pending or open arbitration cases
  Arbitrator Kirill Lokshin proposed a motion requiring the alteration of any instances of an editor's previous username in arbitration decisions to reflect their name changes. The Devil's Advocate has initiated an amendment request for the controversial Race and intelligence case.

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• EdwardsBot (talk) 11:16, 31 July 2012 (UTC)

WikiCup 2012 July newsletter

We're approaching the beginning of 2012's final round. Pool A sees Cwmhiraeth (submissions) as the leader, with 300 points being awarded for the featured article Bivalvia, and Pool B sees Grapple X (submissions) in the lead, with 10 good articles, and over 35 articles eligible for good topic points. Pool A sees Muboshgu (submissions) in second place with a number of articles relating to baseball, while Pool B's Ruby2010 (submissions) follows Grapple X, with a variety of contributions including the high-scoring, high-importance featured article on the 2010 film Pride & Prejudice. Ruby2010, like Grapple X, also claimed a number of good topic points; despite this, not a single point has been claimed for featured topics in the contest so far. The same is true for featured portals.

Currently, the eighth-place competitor (and so the lowest scorer who would reach the final round right now) has scored 332, more than double the 150 needed to reach the final round last year. In 2010, however, 430 was the lowest qualifying score. In this competition, we have generally seen scores closer to those in 2010 than those in 2011. Let's see what kind of benchmark we can set for future competitions! As ever, if you are concerned that your nomination—whether it is at good article candidates, a featured process, or anywhere else—will not receive the necessary reviews, please list it on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews. Questions are welcome on Wikipedia talk:WikiCup, and the judges are reachable on their talk pages or by email. Good luck! If you wish to start or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn (talk • email) and The ed17 (talk • email) 22:16, 31 July 2012 (UTC)

This Month in GLAM: July 2012

This Month in GLAM – Volume II, Issue VII, July 2012 Headlines USA report: World Digital Library Wikipedian in Residence UK report: British Library update; UK representation at Wikimania 2012; brief news Spain report: Wikipedian in Residence for a whole town; Backstage Pass at National Art Museum of Catalonia Germany report: Wikipedian in Residence updates; WikiCon 2012; Hamburgmuseum workshop Italy report: July's case studies shed new light on African GLAMs Mexico report: Second editathon with Wikipedia Student Clubs; participation in Mexico City's Creative Commons Film Festival; private art gallery donates 650+ images Africa report: A month in Africa's GLAMs Wikimania report: Wikimania gets GLAMorous Open Access report: Open Access at Wikimania; Year 2 of Wikimedian in Residence on Open Science; Open Access Media Importer tested; WikiProject Medicine goes publishing Calendar: August's GLAM events Read this edition in full • Single-page To assist with preparing the newsletter, please visit the newsroom. Past editions may be viewed here.

Unsubscribe · Global message delivery 17:20, 3 August 2012 (UTC)

File:Milwaukee at Last DVD cover.jpg listed for deletion

A file that you uploaded or altered, File:Milwaukee at Last DVD cover.jpg, has been listed at Wikipedia:Files for deletion. Please see the discussion to see why this is (you may have to search for the title of the image to find its entry), if you are interested in it not being deleted. Thank you. —Justin (koavf)❤T☮C☺M☯ 08:54, 4 August 2012 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Roses in Portland

Hello, I just wanted to introduce myself and let you know I am glad to be reviewing the article Roses in Portland 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. Viriditas (talk) 11:42, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

Thanks so much for taking the time to offer a review of the article! --Another Believer _(Talk) 14:48, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

Category ordering

Hey Another Believer, about time I saw another FLC from you!! In other news, I saw this edit and wondered where you had found guidance or instruction to make categories list in alphabetical order? I've seen it before but never seen any kind of guideline that points us to do that? Hope all is well with you. Cheers. The Rambling Man (talk) 19:55, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

Replied on talk page. --Another Believer _(Talk) 20:11, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

The Signpost: 06 August 2012

• Op-ed: The Athena Project: being bold
  At this year's Wikimania, I [Brandon Harris] gave a talk entitled The Athena Project: Wikipedia in 2015. The talk broadly outlined several ideas the foundation is exploring for planned features, user interface changes, and workflow improvements. We expect that many of these changes will be welcomed, while others will be controversial. During the question-and-answer period, I was asked whether people should think of Athena as a skin, a project, or something else. I responded, "You should think of Athena as a kick in the head" – because that's exactly what it's supposed to be: a radical and bold re-examination of some of our sacred cows when it comes to the interface.

• News and notes: FDC portal launched
  On August 1, the Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC) portal was launched on Meta. The FDC will implement the Wikimedia movement's new grant-orientated finance structure in accordance with the WMF board's recent resolutions. As a volunteer committee, the FDC will make recommendations to the WMF board on a $11.4 million budget for 2012–13.

• Arbitration report: No pending or open arbitration cases
  Arbitrator Kirill Lokshin proposed a motion for a procedure on the alteration of an editor's previous username(s) in arbitration decisions to reflect their name change(s). ... The Devil's Advocate initiated an amendment request for the controversial Race and intelligence case.

• Featured content: Casliber's words take root
  This week the Signpost interviews Casliber, an editor who has written or contributed significantly to a startling 69 featured articles. We learn what makes him tick, why he edits, and why he can write on everything from vampires to dinosaurs, birds to plants. He also gives some advice to budding featured article writers.

• Technology report: Wikidata nears first deployment but wikis go down in fibre cut calamity
  The Wikimedia Foundation's engineering report for July 2012 was published this week on the Wikimedia Techblog and on the MediaWiki wiki, giving an overview of all Foundation-sponsored technical operations in that month (as well as brief coverage of progress on Wikimedia Deutschland's Wikidata project). ... At least one fibre-optic cable was damaged at the WMF's Tampa site on August 6, leading to a sharp downwards spike in traffic lasting over an hour and almost three hours of disruption for readers around the globe.

• WikiProject report: Summer sports series: WikiProject Martial Arts
  This week, we spent some time with WikiProject Martial Arts. Since April 2004, the project has been the hub for discussion and improvement of martial arts articles, including all disciplines and national origins. The project maintains a variety of conventions for handling the names and descriptions of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Indian, Sikh, Filipino, Okinawan, and hybrid martial arts. WikiProject Martial Arts has spawned or absorbed several subprojects focusing on boxing, kickboxing, sumo, and mixed martial arts.

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• EdwardsBot (talk) 08:56, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

Awake task force

Hi. If you'd like, free free to join the Awake task force, as you have worked on some articles. Don't have to. Just inviting you to. TBrandley 05:28, 10 August 2012 (UTC)

I appreciate the invitation. I am feeling a bit spread thin at the moment, but I will keep an eye on the articles nonetheless. Keep up the fantastic work--I am confident all Awake-related articles will be promoted to quality status based on your dedication. --Another Believer _(Talk) 15:55, 10 August 2012 (UTC)

Thanks! TBrandley 16:04, 10 August 2012 (UTC)

Wikipedia Takes Portland photo event

Sign up here: Wikipedia:Wikipedia Takes America/Portland :)--Pharos (talk) 12:22, 10 August 2012 (UTC)

Thanks for the link! Pleasure meeting you at Wikimania. --Another Believer _(Talk) 15:54, 10 August 2012 (UTC)

The Signpost: 13 August 2012

• Op-ed: Small Wikipedias' burden
  In a certain way, writing Wikipedia is the same everywhere, in every language or culture. You have to stick to the facts, aiming for the most objective way of describing them, including everything relevant and leaving out all the everyday trivia that is not really necessary to understand the context. You have to use critical thinking, trying to be independent of your own preferences and biases. To some effect, that's all there is to it. Naturally, Wikipedians have their biases, some of which can never be cured. Most Wikipedians tend to like encyclopedias; but millions of people in the world don't share that bias, and we represent them rather poorly. I'm also quite sure that an overwhelming majority of Wikipedia co-authors are literate. Again, that's not true for everyone in this world. Yet we have other, less noticeable but barely less fundamental biases.

• News and notes: Bangla-language survey suggests the challenges for small Wikipedias
  The Bangla language, also known as Bengali, is spoken by some 200 million people in Bangladesh and India. The Bangla Wikipedia has a very small active community of about ten to fifteen very active editors, with another 35–40 as less active editors. The project faces particular challenges in being a small Wikipedia, and Dhaka-based WMF community fellow User:Tanvir Rahman is working to understand these challenges and to develop strategies that can improve small wikis that have strong potential to expand their editing communities.

• Arbitration report: You really can request for arbitration
  A request for arbitration was filed late last week, ending the three-week long absence of pending cases.

• Featured content: On the road again
  Six featured articles were promoted this week, including Business US Highway 41, which was a state trunkline highway that served as a business loop in Marquette in the US state of Michigan.

• Technology report: "Phabricating" a serious alternative to Gerrit
  Three weeks into a month-long evaluation of code review tool Gerrit, a serious alternative has finally gained traction in the review process: Facebook-developed but now independently operated Phabricator and its sister command-line tool Arcanist.

• WikiProject report: Dispute Resolution
  This week, we interviewed the lively bunch at WikiProject Dispute Resolution. Started in November 2011 to study and discuss improvements to Wikipedia's resources for resolving disputes between editors, the young project has supplemented dispute resolution efforts currently handled at the Dispute Resolution Noticeboard, Mediation Committee, and other venues. Over 40 editors have signed up to provide feedback, a variety of ideas have been proposed, and a manual for dispute resolution has been created.

• Discussion report: Image placeholders, machine translations, Mediation Committee, de-adminship
  Current proposals and requests for comments include a competition to redesign the main page ...

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• EdwardsBot (talk) 10:06, 14 August 2012 (UTC)

Getting Wikimedians to the Olympic Games

Hi. I am part of an effort to get Wikimedians access to the 2016 Summer Olympics as accredited reporters and photographers. Part of this effort includes covering the 2012 Summer Paralympics. Two Wikimedians have credentials to attend these games as reporters through Wikimedia Australia. As English Wikipedia does not allow original reporting, this is largely through Wikinews with a project page found at Wikinews:Paralympic Games. If you are interested in helping to get Wikimedians to the next Summer Olympics, I'd encourage you to assist with Wikinews efforts, and also to work on all language 2012 Summer Paralympic Wikipedia articles before, during and after the Games to demonstrate a track record of success. Thank you. --LauraHale (talk) 05:02, 17 August 2012 (UTC)

Thanks for the information. Hope you are doing well, LauraHale! --Another Believer _(Talk) 15:26, 17 August 2012 (UTC)

The Signpost: 20 August 2012

• Op-ed: Wikimedians are rightfully wary
  The Wikimedia Foundation sometimes proposes new features that receive substantive criticism from Wikimedians, yet those criticisms may be dismissed on the basis that people are resistant to change—there's an unjustified view that the wikis have been overrun by vested contributors who hate all change. That view misses a lot of key details and insight because there are good reasons that Wikimedians are suspicious of features development, given past and present development of bad software, growing ties with the problematic Wikia, and a growing belief that it is acceptable to experiment on users.

• News and notes: Core content competition in full swing; Wikinews fork taken offline
  The Core Contest is a month-long competition among editors to improve Wikipedia's most important "core" articles—especially those that are in a relatively poor state. Core articles, such as Music, Computer, and Philosophy, tend to lie in the trunk of the tree of knowledge; by analogy, featured-and good-article processes generally attract more specialist topics out on the branches.

• In the news: American judges on citing Wikipedia
  In the Utah Court of Appeals this week, the majority opinion in Fire Insurance Exchange v. Robert Allen Oltmanns and Brady Blackner relied on Wikipedia for the basic premise of their legal opinion, and included a concurring opinion devoted solely to the issue of citing Wikipedia in a legal opinion.

• Featured content: Enough for a week – but I'm damned if I see how the helican.
  Thirteen featured articles were promoted this week, including pelicans, which are a genus of large water birds comprising the family Pelecanidae, characterised by a long beak and large throat-pouch. They have a fossil record dating back at least 30 million years and are most closely related to the Shoebill and Hammerkop. These fish-feeders have a patchy relationship with humans: the birds are sometimes persecuted and sometimes feature in mythology.

• Technology report: Lua onto test2wiki and news of a convention-al extension
  New embeddable scripting ("template replacement") language Lua received considerable scrutiny this week when it began its long road to widespread deployment, landing on the test2wiki test site on Wednesday (wikitech-l mailing list). ... the fourth in our series profiling participants in this year's Google Summer of Code (GSoC) programme.

• WikiProject report: Land of Calm and Contrast: Korea
  This week, we spent some time with WikiProject Korea. Started in September 2006, WikiProject Korea covers the history and culture of the Korean people, including both countries that currently occupy the Korean peninsula. This task has proven difficult with North Koreans notably absent from the Wikipedia community due to tight control over access to external media. The project is home to over 16,000 pages, including 15 pieces of Featured material and 66 Good and A-class Articles.

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• EdwardsBot (talk) 08:10, 21 August 2012 (UTC)

An Awake episode for you!

An Awake episode for you!

Thanks for your help to Awake-related articles. To show my appreciation, I have awarded you a free Awake episode! TBrandley 15:23, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

Thanks, TBrandley! Keep up the great work. I am hoping to see an Awake featured topic one day! --Another Believer _(Talk) 15:26, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

Thanks! That makes two of us. I am going to nominate "Nightswimming" for FA next week, and the main Awake article, also, since that's a co-nomination, for the second time. Thanks again! TBrandley 15:32, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

The Signpost: 27 August 2012

• News and notes: Tough journey for new travel guide
  Wikimedia editors have been debating a community proposal for the adoption of a new project to host free travel-guide content. The debate reached a new stage when a three-month request for comment on Meta came to an end, with a decision to set up the first new type of Wikimedia project in half a decade. The original proposal for the travel guide unfolded during April on Meta and the Wikimedia-l mailing lists, centring around the wish of volunteer contributors to the WikiTravel project to work in a non-commercial environment.

• Recent research: New influence graph visualizations; NPOV and history; 'low-hanging fruit'
  A monthly overview of recent academic research about Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects, edited jointly with the Wikimedia Research Committee and republished as the Wikimedia Research Newsletter.

• Technology report: Just how bad is the code review backlog?
  Developers were left one step closer to an understanding of the code review outlook this week after the creation of a graph plotting "number changesets awaiting review" over time. The chart, which also shows the number of new changesets created on a daily basis, reveals a peak in the number of unreviewed changesets in mid-July, followed by a short drop. The current figure stands at approximately 219 unreviewed changesets.

• Featured content: Wikipedia rivals The New Yorker: Mark Arsten
  This week the Signpost interviews Mark Arsten, who has written or contributed significantly to ten featured articles; most have related to new religious movements, and some have touched on other controversial or quirky topics. Mark gives us a rundown on how he keeps neutral and what drives him to write featured content; he also gives some hints for aspiring writers.

• WikiProject report: From sonic screwdrivers to jelly babies: Doctor Who
  This week, we hopped in a little blue box with a batch of companions from WikiProject Doctor Who. Started in April 2005, the project has grown to include about 4,000 pages about the world's longest-running science fiction television show, its spinoffs, and various related material. The project is the parent of the Torchwood Taskforce and a child of WikiProject British TV and WikiProject Science Fiction. With new Doctor Who episodes airing this week and a 50th anniversary celebration around the corner, we thought now would be a good time to inquire about the famed Time Lord.

• Discussion report: Sidebar and main page alterations; Recent Deaths; Education Program extension
  Current discussions on the English Wikipedia.

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• EdwardsBot (talk) 05:11, 29 August 2012 (UTC)

WikiCup 2012 August newsletter

The final is upon us! We are down to our final 8. A massive 573 was our lowest qualifying score; this is higher than the 150 points needed last year and the 430 needed in 2010. Even in 2009, when points were acquired for mainspace edit count in addition to audited content, 417 points secured a place. That leaves this year's WikiCup, by one measure at least, our most competitive ever. Our finalists, ordered by round 4 score, are:

1. Grapple X (submissions) once again finishes the round in first place, leading Pool B. Grapple X writes articles about television, and especially The X-Files and Millenium, with good articles making up the bulk of the score.
2. Miyagawa (submissions) led Pool A this round. Fourth-place finalist last year, Miyagawa writes on a variety of topics, and has reached the final primarily off the back of his massive number of did you knows.
3. Ruby2010 (submissions) was second in Pool B. Ruby2010 writes primarily on television and film, and scores primarily from good articles.
4. Casliber (submissions) finished third in Pool B. Casliber is something of a WikiCup veteran, having finished sixth in 2011 and fourth in 2010. Casliber writes on the natural sciences, including ornithology, botany and astronomy. Over half of Casliber's points this round were bonus points from the high-importance articles he has worked on.
5. Cwmhiraeth (submissions) came second in Pool A. Also writing on biology, especially marine biology, Cwmhiraeth received 390 points for one featured article (Bivalvia) and one good article (pelican), topping up with a large number of did you knows.
6. Muboshgu (submissions) was third in Pool A. Muboshgu writes primarily on baseball, and this round saw Muboshgu's first featured article, Derek Jeter, promoted on its fourth attempt at FAC.
7. Dana Boomer (submissions) was fourth in Pool A. She writes on a variety of topics, including horses, but this round also saw the high-importance lettuce reach featured article status.
8. Sasata (submissions) is another WikiCup veteran, having been a finalist in 2009 and 2010. He writes mostly on mycology.

However, we must also say goodbye to the eight who did not make the final, having fallen at the last hurdle: GreatOrangePumpkin (submissions), Ealdgyth (submissions), Calvin999 (submissions), Piotrus (submissions), Toa Nidhiki05 (submissions), 12george1 (submissions), The Bushranger (submissions) and 1111tomica (submissions). We hope to see you all next year.

On the subject of next year, a discussion has been opened here. Come and have your say about the competition, and how you'd like it to run in the future. This brainstorming will go on for some time before more focused discussions/polls are opened. As ever, if you are concerned that your nomination—whether it is at good article candidates, a featured process, or anywhere else—will not receive the necessary reviews, please list it on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews. Questions are welcome on Wikipedia talk:WikiCup, and the judges are reachable on their talk pages or by email. Good luck! If you wish to start or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn (talk • email) and The ed17 (talk • email) 00:06, 1 September 2012 (UTC)

The Signpost: 03 September 2012

• News and notes: World's largest photo competition kicks off; WMF legal fees proposal
  Some of Wikimedia's most valuable photographs have been shot and uploaded under free licenses as a direct result of the annual Wiki Loves Monuments (WLM) event each September. Last year, the project was conducted on a European level, resulting in the submission of an extraordinary 168,208 free images of cultural heritage sites ("monuments") from 18 countries, making it the world's largest photographic competition. Organising the 2012 event—which has just opened and will run for the full month of September—has required input from chapters and volunteers in 35 countries.

• Technology report: Time for a MediaWiki Foundation?
  Developers are currently discussing the possibility of a MediaWiki Foundation to oversee those aspects of MediaWiki development that relate to non-Wikimedia wikis. The proposal was generated after a discussion on the wikitech-l mailing list about generalising Wikimedia's CentralAuth system.

• Featured content: Wikipedia's Seven Days of Terror
  Five featured pictures were promoted this week, including a video explaining the recent landing of the Curiosity rover on Mars. NASA called the final minutes of the complicated landing procedure "the seven minutes of terror".

• Op-ed: Dispute resolution – where we're at, what we're doing well, and what needs fixing
  Since May 2012 I've been a Wikimedia Foundation community fellow with the task of researching and improving dispute resolution on English Wikipedia. Surveying members of the community has revealed much about their thoughts on and experiences with dispute resolution. I've analysed processes to determine their use and effectiveness, and have presented ideas that I hope will improve the future of dispute resolution.

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• EdwardsBot (talk) 10:45, 4 September 2012 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Maybe This Christmas

The article Maybe This Christmas you nominated as a good article has been placed on hold . The article is close to meeting the good article criteria, but there are some minor changes or clarifications needed to be addressed. If these are fixed within 7 days, the article will pass, otherwise it will fail. See Talk:Maybe This Christmas for things which need to be addressed. Kürbis (✔) 11:18, 10 September 2012 (UTC)

 Done. --Another Believer _(Talk) 15:08, 12 September 2012 (UTC)

The Signpost: 10 September 2012

• From the editor: Signpost adapts as news consumption changes
  Thanks to the initiative of Yuvi Panda and Notnarayan, the Signpost now has an Android app, free for download on Google Play. ... but would readers be interested in an iOS app for Apple devices?

• Op-ed: Fixing Wikipedia's help pages one key to editor retention
  Much like article content, the English Wikipedia's help pages have grown organically over the years. Although this has produced a great deal of useful documentation, with time many of the pages have become poorly maintained or have grown overwhelmingly complicated.

• In the media: Author criticizes Wikipedia article; Wales attacks UK government proposal
  Philip Roth, a widely known and acclaimed American author, wrote an open letter in the New Yorker addressed to Wikipedia this week, alleging severe inaccuracies in the article on his The Human Stain (2000).

• Featured content: Not a "Gangsta's Paradise", but still rappin'
  Three hip hop discographies were promoted this week, alongside seven other lists.

• WikiProject report: WikiProject Fungi
  After a week's hiatus, the WikiProject Report returns with an interview featuring WikiProject Fungi. Started in March 2006, the project has grown to include over 9,000 pages, including 47 Featured Articles and 176 Good Articles. The project maintains a list of high priority missing articles and stubs that need expansion.

• Special report: Two Wikipedians set to face jury trial
  In dramatic events that came to light last week, two English Wikipedia volunteers—Doc James (James Heilman) and Wrh2 (Ryan Holliday)—are being sued in the Los Angeles County Superior Court by Internet Brands, the owner of Wikitravel.com. Both Wikipedians have also been volunteer Wikitravel editors (and in Holliday's case, a volunteer administrator). IB's complaints focus on both editors' encouragement of their fellow Wikitravel volunteers to migrate to a proposed non-commercial travel guidance site that would be under the umbrella of the WMF.

• News and notes: Researchers find that Simple English Wikipedia has "lost its focus"
  In its September issue, the peer-reviewed journal First Monday published The readability of Wikipedia, reporting research which shows that the English Wikipedia is struggling to meet Flesch reading ease test criteria, while the Simple English Wikipedia has "lost its focus".

• Technology report: Mmmm, milkshake...
  The Wikimedia Foundation's engineering report for August 2012 was published this week on the Wikimedia Techblog and on the MediaWiki wiki, giving an overview of all Foundation-sponsored technical operations in that month (as well as brief coverage of progress on Wikimedia Deutschland's Wikidata project, phase 1 of which is edging its way towards its first deployment).

• Discussion report: Closing Wikiquette; Image Filter; Education Program and Momento extensions
  Current discussions on the English Wikipedia.

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• EdwardsBot (talk) 04:30, 11 September 2012 (UTC)

Portland libraries

There are times when no articles at all are better than one-sentence permastubs. The Portland library articles are such a case. You just copy-pasted the same thing over again. You didn't even look up the geocoords...I had to spend an hour ripping them from the Multnomah County Library website. You hadn't even put in the geocoords on the Woodstock Library (and not having them would surely cost you GA). In conclusion, thanks for making a lot of work for me! pbp 01:56, 12 September 2012 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Maybe This Christmas

The article Maybe This Christmas you nominated as a good article has passed ; see Talk:Maybe This Christmas for comments about the article. Well done! Kürbis (✔) 13:19, 12 September 2012 (UTC)

 Done. Thanks so much! --Another Believer _(Talk) 15:09, 12 September 2012 (UTC)

This Month in GLAM: August 2012

This Month in GLAM – Volume II, Issue VIII, August 2012 Headlines From the team: Results of the This Month in GLAM survey (part 1) USA report: GLAM US Mid-Year Report, Philadelphia Museum of Art updates, Society of American Archivists UK report: QRpedia in a pub; British Library music manuscripts; UK GLAM abroad Spain report: Engaging librarians in Catalonia Italy report: Italian institution case studies Germany report: Wikipedia editing in museums Sweden report: Collaborations taking off Serbia report: GLAM Cooperation with Aeronautical Museum - Belgrade; WLM first time in Serbia Mexico report: Image donation; 2 new GLAM projects Africa report: A month in Africa's GLAMs Australia and New Zealand report: Freopedia Open Access report: Open Access Media Importer ready for code review; Featured content Wiki Loves Monuments report: Wiki Loves Monuments worldwide: started! Calendar: September's GLAM events Read this edition in full • Single-page To assist with preparing the newsletter, please visit the newsroom. Past editions may be viewed here.

Unsubscribe · Global message delivery 17:00, 12 September 2012 (UTC)

Cley Marshes

Hi, I noticed that in the course of tidying this article you moved a couple of images to the left. Personally, I prefer the neatness of all right-aligned, but in itself that's not a big deal. The reason I'm mentioning it is that the article will eventually be part of a Featured Topic, and a degree of uniformity is expected, in terms of eg section headings, layout etc. It's a long way off yet, three FAs down, three to go, so it will be months yet, but when I get that far it's likely that I'll right-align again, at least while the FTC is in progress, hope you won't see that as edit warring Jimfbleak - talk to me? 14:28, 16 September 2012 (UTC)

 Done. Responded on user's talk page. --Another Believer _(Talk) 18:30, 17 September 2012 (UTC)

Thanks for reply, FWIW, the previous insistence at FAC of alternating images has gone now, so there at least all-right is OK. Jimfbleak - talk to me? 18:32, 17 September 2012 (UTC)

Cool. --Another Believer _(Talk) 18:34, 17 September 2012 (UTC)

The Signpost: 17 September 2012

• From the editor: Signpost expands to Facebook
  We now have a Facebook page at facebook.com/wikisignpost. We invite you to "like" the page and join the discussion there.

• WikiProject report: Action! — The Indian Cinema Task Force
  This week, we shine the spotlight on the Indian Cinema Task Force, a subproject that seeks to improve the quality and quantity of articles about Indian cinema. As a child of WikiProject Film and WikiProject India, the Indian Cinema Task Force shares a variety of templates, resources, and members with its parent projects. The task force works on a to-do list, maintains the Bollywood Portal, and ensures articles follow the film style guidelines. With Indian cinema celebrating its 100th year of existence in 2013, we asked Karthik Nadar (Karthikndr), Secret of success, Ankit Bhatt, Dwaipayan, and AnimeshKulkarni what is in store for the Indian Cinema Task Force.

• Featured content: Go into the light
  Eight featured articles, six featured lists, ten featured pictures, and one featured topic were promoted this week.

• News and notes: Tens of thousands of monuments loved; members of new funding body announced
  The world's largest photo competition, Wiki Loves Monuments, is entering its final two weeks. The month-long event, of Dutch origin, is being held globally for the first time after the success of its European-level predecessor last year. During September 2011 more than 5000 volunteers from 18 countries took part and uploaded 168,208 free images. This year, volunteers and chapters from 35 countries around the world have organised the event. The best photographs will be determined by juries at the national and finally the global level.

• Technology report: Future-proofing: HTML5 and IPv6
  1.20wmf12, the 12th release to Wikimedia wikis from the 1.20 branch, was deployed to its first wikis on September 17; if things go well, it will be deployed to all wikis by September 26. Its 200 or so changes – 111 to WMF-deployed extensions plus 98 to core MediaWiki code – include support for links with mixed-case protocols (e.g. Http://example.com) and the removal of the "No higher resolution available" message on the file description pages of SVG images.

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You've Invited! Wikipedia Takes Portland 2012

<font=3> You're invited to participate in Wikipedia Takes Portland 2012, an annual event which occurs each September in Portland, Oregon as part of Wikipedia Takes America and Wiki Loves Monuments in the United States. Photographing sites in Portland listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the main focus of Wikipedia Takes Portland. This year the event will kick off at Saturday, September 22nd at noon at Pioneer Courthouse Square. Currently, there are no formal plans--this is simply an opportunity to meet fellow Wikipedians before trekking around PDX to photograph sites on the Register. Not interested in coming downtown? You can still upload your images as part of the international photo competition. Be sure to RSVP and share the results of your work HERE (number of images uploaded, links to galleries, successes, feedback, etc. Click here for more information about meetups in Portland! --Another Believer (Talk) 15:07, 20 September 2012 (UTC)

Thanks for the invite; sorry I missed you, but I did get some photos of NRHP sites and others. Visitor7 (talk) 01:03, 23 September 2012 (UTC)

The Signpost: 24 September 2012

• In the media: Editor's response to Roth draws internet attention
  Oliver Keyes' (User:Ironholds) defense of Wikipedia against the recent Philip Roth controversy has drawn a significant amount of attention over the last week. The problems between Roth, a widely known and acclaimed American author, and Wikipedia arose from an open letter he penned for the American magazine New Yorker, and were covered by the Signpost two weeks ago. Keyes—who wrote the piece as a prominent Wikipedian but is also a contractor for the Wikimedia Foundation—wrote a blog post on the topic, lamenting the factual errors in Roth's letter and criticizing the media for not investigating his claims: "[they took] Roth’s explanation as the truth and launched into a lengthy discussion of how we [Wikipedia] handle primary sourcing."

• Recent research: "Rise and decline" of Wikipedia participation, new literature overviews, a look back at WikiSym 2012
  A paper to appear in a special issue of American Behavioral Scientist (summarized in the research index) sheds new light on the English Wikipedia's declining editor growth and retention trends. The paper describes how "several changes that the Wikipedia community made to manage quality and consistency in the face of a massive growth in participation have lead to a more restrictive environment for newcomers". The number of active Wikipedia editors has been declining since 2007 and research examining data up to September 2009 has shown that the root of the problem has been the declining retention of new editors. The authors show this decline is mainly due to a decline among desirable, good-faith newcomers, and point to three factors contributing to the increasingly "restrictive environment" they face.

• WikiProject report: 01010010 01101111 01100010 01101111 01110100 01101001 01100011 01110011
  This week, we tinkered with WikiProject Robotics. From the project's inception in December 2007, it has served as Wikipedia's hub for building and improving articles about robots and robotics, accumulating two Featured Articles and seven Good Articles along the way. The project covers both fictitious and real-life robots, the technology that powers them, and many of the brains behind the robotics field

• News and notes: UK chapter rocked by Gibraltar scandal
  In the second controversy to engulf Wikimedia UK in two months, its immediate past chair Roger Bamkin has resigned from the board of the chapter. The resignation last Wednesday followed a growing furore over the conflict of interest between two of Roger's roles outside the chapter and his close involvement in the UK board's decision-making process, including the access to private mailing lists that board members in all chapters need. But the irony surrounding Roger's resignation is its connection with efforts by Wikimedians and collaborators to strengthen the reach of Wikimedia projects through technical innovation.

• Technology report: Signpost investigation: code review times
  Late last month, the "Technology report" included a story using code review backlog figures – the only code review figures then available – to construct a rough narrative about the average experience of code contributors. This week, we hope to go one better, by looking directly at code review wait times, and, in particular, median code review times

• Featured content: Dead as...
  Fourteen featured articles were promoted this week, including Dodo, along with six featured lists and five featured pictures.

• Discussion report: Image filter; HotCat; Syntax highlighting; and more
  Current discussions on the English Wikipedia include...

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• EdwardsBot (talk) 16:51, 26 September 2012 (UTC)

GA review of Woodstock Library

If it were down to me I'd now be closing this review and listing the article as a GA, but of course it isn't, that's Maclean25's responsibility. In any event I think it's now something you can show to the library with some pride in your achievement. Because you're planning on using it as a model I've been a little tougher on the article than I would normally be at GAN, sort of a halfway house to FA really, but I hope you agree it's paid off. The only other thing I'd suggest would be to convert the inline citations to list defined references, to reduce the clutter in the article text, make it easier for editors, and also to act as a model of best practice. If you're uncertain what that would look like, then with your permission I'll convert the article, and if you don't like it you can simply revert me. Either way it won't affect the outcome of the GA review of course, which I'll continue to watch in case Maclean25 spots something I've missed. Malleus Fatuorum 00:13, 27 September 2012 (UTC)

WP:TFL reboot

Hello Another Believer. I just wanted to thank you for selecting a submission for TFL. As you are aware, recently, at WT:TFL, there's been a lot of concern that the system has become stuck, that new nominations are being discouraged by the lengthy queues in place, and that my selections for TFL haven't been diverse enough. To that end, I've rebooted the system. In short, we will no longer have a submissions and prep page, just a submissions page. We'll limit the number of submissions to ten. The community can comment on, support, oppose etc the inclusion of any of the submissions. Directors will have final say on what goes on main page when. I've deleted all selections made from mid-October to Christmas to give others the opportunity to get involved. I'm sorry that efforts now have been, well, delayed I guess, and hope that you'll continue to support our process, as we try to improve and ultimately get more main page exposure. Feel free to ping me about any of this. Thanks again. The Rambling Man (talk) 07:28, 27 September 2012 (UTC)

WikiCup 2012 September newsletter

We're over half way through the final, and so it is less than a month until we know for certain our 2012 WikiCup champion. Grapple X (submissions) currently leads, followed by Sasata (submissions), Cwmhiraeth (submissions) and Casliber (submissions). However, we have no one resembling a breakaway leader, and so the competition is a long way from over. Next month's newsletter will feature a list of our winners (who are not necessarily only the finalists) and keep your eyes open for an article on the WikiCup in a future edition of The Signpost. The leaders are already on a par with last year's winners, but a long way from the huge scores seen in 2010. That said, a repeat of the competition from 2010 seems unlikely.

It is good to see that three-quarters of our finalists have already scored bonus points this round. This shows that, contrary to criticism that the WikiCup has received in the past, the competition does not merely incentivise the writing of trivial articles; instead, our top competitors are still spending their time contributing to high-importance articles, and bringing them to a high standard. This does a great service to the encyclopedia and its readers. Thank you, and good work!

The planning for next year's WikiCup is ongoing. Some straw polls have been opened concerning the scoring, and you can now sign up for next year's competition. As ever, if you are concerned that your nomination—whether it is at good article candidates, a featured process, or anywhere else—will not receive the necessary reviews, please list it on Wikipedia:WikiCup/Reviews. Questions are welcome on Wikipedia talk:WikiCup, and the judges are reachable on their talk pages or by email. Good luck! If you wish to start or stop receiving this newsletter, please feel free to add or remove yourself from Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send. J Milburn (talk • email) and The ed17 (talk • email) J Milburn (talk) 19:46, 2 October 2012 (UTC)

The Signpost: 01 October 2012

• Paid editing: Does Wikipedia Pay? The Founder: Jimmy Wales
  Does Wikipedia Pay? is a Signpost series seeking to illuminate paid editing, paid advocacy, for-profit Wikipedia consultants, editing public relations professionals, conflict of interest guidelines in practice, and the Wikipedians who work on these issues by speaking openly with the people involved. This week, a scandal centering around Roger Bamkin's work with Wikimedia UK and Gibraltarpedia erupted ... In light of these events, opinions on how to avoid future controversy are as important as ever. ... The Signpost spoke with Jimmy Wales to better understand how he views the paid editing environment and what he thinks is needed to improve it.

• News and notes: Independent review of UK chapter governance; editor files motion against Wikitravel owners
  Following considerable online and media reportage on the Gibraltar controversy and a Signpost report last week, the Wikimedia UK chapter and the foundation published a joint statement on September 28: "To better understand the facts and details of these allegations and to ensure that governance arrangements commensurate with the standing of the Wikimedia Foundation, Wikimedia UK and the worldwide Wikimedia movement, Wikimedia UK's trustees and the Wikimedia Foundation will jointly appoint an independent expert advisor to objectively review both Wikimedia UK's governance arrangements and its handling of the conflict of interest."

• Featured content: Mooned
  Five articles, three lists, and nine images were promoted to "featured" this week.

• Technology report: WMF and the German chapter face up to Toolserver uncertainty
  The Toolserver is an external service hosting the hundreds of webpages and scripts (collectively known as "tools") that assist Wikimedia communities in dozens of mostly menial tasks. Few people think that it has been operating well recently; the problems, which include high database replication lag and periods of total downtime, have caused considerable disruption to the Toolserver's usual functions. Those functions are highly valued by many Wikimedia communities ... In 2011, the Foundation announced the creation of Wikimedia Labs, a much better funded project that among other things aimed to mimic the Toolserver's functionality by mid-2013. At the same time, Erik Möller, the WMF's director of engineering, announced that the Foundation would no longer be supporting the Toolserver financially, but would continue to provide the same in-kind support as it had done previously.

• WikiProject report: The Name's Bond... WikiProject James Bond
  In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the James Bond film series, we spent some time bonding with WikiProject James Bond. The project is in the unique position of having already pushed all of its primary content to Good and Featured status, including all of Ian Fleming's novels, short stories, and every film that has been released. Work has begun in earnest on the article Skyfall for the release of the new Bond film later this month. The project could still use help improving articles about Bond actors, characters, gadgets, music, video games, and related topics

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• EdwardsBot (talk) 20:06, 2 October 2012 (UTC)

You're Invited to Wikipedia Loves Libraries 2012 (Portland, Oregon)!

WIKIPEDIA LOVES LIBRARIES: MULTNOMAH COUNTY EDIT-ATHON! You're invited to participate in Wikipedia Loves Libraries 2012, an edit-athon hosted by Multnomah County Library for the purpose of improving stubs relating to Multnomah County. The event will take place on Saturday, October 27, 2012 from 2:00-4:00pm at the Central Library in downtown Portland. You can view details about this Wiki Loves Libraries event here. Be sure to RSVP and share the results of your work HERE. Click here for more information about meetups in Portland! --Another Believer (Talk) 21:19, 3 October 2012 (UTC)

For the record... --Another Believer _(Talk) 21:19, 3 October 2012 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Woodstock Library

The article Woodstock Library you nominated as a good article has passed ; see Talk:Woodstock Library for comments about the article. Well done! Kürbis (✔) 09:44, 8 October 2012 (UTC)

Great, thanks so much! --Another Believer _(Talk) 15:12, 8 October 2012 (UTC)

This Month in GLAM: September 2012

• From the team: Results of the This Month in GLAM survey (part 2)
• UK report: GLAMcamp London; brief news
• Spain report: Edit-a-thons in Spain
• Italy report: Smithsonian Institution, Brooklyn Museum and WikiAfrica
• Germany report: WikiCon; GLAMcamp London; Science 2.0
• Sweden report: Sweden report
• Switzerland report: Botanical Garden Lausanne;CERN
• India report: Wiki Loves Monuments 2012 in India
• Mexico report: Edit-a-thon at the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana
• Africa report: A month in Africa's GLAMs
• Open Access report: Open Access per default; Open Access Media Importer tests finished; Preparations for Open Access Week
• Calendar: October's GLAM events

Unsubscribe · Global message delivery 18:43, 9 October 2012 (UTC)

The Signpost: 08 October 2012

• News and notes: Education Program faces community resistance
  Wikipedia in education is far from a new idea: years of news stories, op-eds, and editorials have focused on the topic; and on Wikipedia itself, the Schools and universities projects page has existed in various forms since 2003. Over the next six years, the page was rarely developed, and when it did advance there was no clear goal in mind.

• WikiProject report: Ten years and one million articles: WikiProject Biography
  On this day five years ago, the WikiProject Report debuted as a new Signpost column with an overview of WikiProject Biography. Today, we're celebrating two milestone: five years of the WikiProject Report and the tenth birthday of our first featured project. WikiProject Biography is by far the largest WikiProject on Wikipedia, with over one million articles under the project's scope. As a comparison, WikiProject Biography is three times larger than Wikipedia's second largest project, and if WikiProject Biography were split into its 14 subprojects and work groups, it would still make the list of the 20 largest WikiProjects... four times.

• Featured content: A dash of Arsenikk
  This week the Signpost interviews Arsenikk, an editor of six years who has brought sixteen lists through our featured list process, mostly regarding transportation in Norway but also about the 1952 Winter Olympics and World Heritage Sites in Africa. Arsenikk tells us about why he joined the project, what moves him, and how editors can join the sometimes daunting world of featured lists.

• Technology report: The ups and downs of September and October, plus extension code review analysis
  The Wikimedia Foundation's engineering report for September 2012 was published this week on the Wikimedia Techblog and on the MediaWiki wiki, giving an overview of all Foundation-sponsored technical operations in that month (as well as brief coverage of progress on Wikimedia Deutschland's Wikidata project, phase 1 of which is edging its way towards its first deployment). Three of the seven headline items in the report have already been covered in the Signpost: problems with the corruption of several Gerrit (code) repositories, the introduction of widespread translation memory across Wikimedia wikis, and the launch of the "Page Curation" tool on the English Wikipedia, with development work on that project now winding down. The report also drew attention to the end of Google Summer of Code 2012, the deployment to the English Wikipedia of a new ePUB (electronic book) export feature, and improvements to the WLM app aimed at more serious photographers.

• Discussion report: Closing RfAs: Stewards or Bureaucrats?; Redesign of Help:Contents
  Current discussions on the English Wikipedia include ...

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• EdwardsBot (talk) 19:46, 9 October 2012 (UTC)

The Signpost: 15 October 2012

• Op-ed: AdminCom: A proposal for changing the way we select admins
  There is wide agreement among English Wikipedians that the administrator system is in some ways broken—but no consensus on how to fix it. Most suggestions have been relatively small in scope, and could at best produce small improvements. I would like to make a proposal to fundamentally restructure the administrator system, in a way that I believe would make it more effective and responsive. The proposal is to create an elected Administration Committee ("AdminCom") which would select, oversee, and deselect administrators.

• In the media: Wikipedia's language nerds hit the front page
  This week saw a front-page story in the Wall Street Journal on editorial debates in Wikipedia. The story focused on the title-naming dispute surrounding the Beatles article, and specifically the RfC on whether the 'the' in the band's name should be capitalized or not.

• Featured content: Second star to the left
  On the English Wikipedia, five featured articles, ten featured lists, and four featured pictures were promoted, including USS Lexington, a ship built for the United States Navy that, although ordered in 1916 as a battlecruiser, was converted to an aircraft carrier. It was sunk in the Battle of the Coral Sea during the Second World War.

• News and notes: Chapters ask for big bucks
  The volunteer-led Wikimedia Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC) and interested community members are looking at Wikimedia organization applications worth about US$10.4 million out of the committee's first full year's operation, in just the inaugural round one of two that have been planned for the year with a planned budget of US$11.4M.

• Technology report: Wikidata is a go: well, almost
  A trial of the first phase of Wikimedia Deutschland's "Wikidata" project–implementing the first ever interwiki repository—may soon get underway following the successful passage of much of its code through MediaWiki's review processes this week.

• WikiProject report: WikiProject Chemicals
  This week, we experimented with WikiProject Chemicals. Started in August 2004, WikiProject Chemicals has grown to include over 10,000 articles about chemical compounds. The project has a unique assessment system that omits C-class, Good, and Featured Articles. As a result, the project's 11 GAs and 9 FAs are treated as A-class articles. WikiProject Chemicals is a child of WikiProject Chemistry (interviewed in 2009) and a parent of WikiProject Polymers.

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• EdwardsBot (talk) 20:26, 16 October 2012 (UTC)

The Signpost: 22 October 2012

• Special report: Examining adminship from the German perspective
  Unlike the long-running disputes that have characterised attempts to reform the RfA process on the English Wikipedia, the German Wikipedia's tradition of making decisions not by consensus but knife-edged 50% + 1 votes has led to a fundamentally different outcome. In 2009, the project managed to largely settle the RfA mode issue in 2009 indirectly.

• Arbitration report: Malleus Fatuorum accused of circumventing topic ban; motion to change "net four votes" rule
  One clarification request concerns the civility enforcement case – specifically, Malleus Fatuorum's perceived circumvention of his topic ban. It has resulted in thousands of bytes spent in vitriolic discussions, multiple blocks, and "no confidence" motions against the Arbitration Committee and one arbitrator, among other ramifications.

• Technology report: Wikivoyage migration: technical strategy announced
  Planning for Wikivoyage's migration into the WMF fold built up steam this week following a statement by WMF Deputy Director Erik Möller about what the technical side of the migration will involve. Wikivoyage, which split from sister site Wikitravel in 2006, is hoping to migrate its own not-inconsiderable user base to Wikimedia, as well as much of its content, presenting novel challenges for Wikimedia developers

• Discussion report: Good articles on the main page?; reforming dispute resolution
  Current discussions on the English Wikipedia include...

• News and notes: Wikimedians get serious about women in science
  It is well known that women are underrepresented in the sciences, and that high-achieving female scientists have often been excluded from authorship lists and passed over for awards and honours solely on the basis of gender. Also significant has been the underplaying in the academic literature, news reporting, and online, of women's current and historical contributions to science.

• WikiProject report: Where in the world is Wikipedia?
  The WikiProject Report normally brings tidings from Wikipedia's most active, inventive, and unique WikiProjects. This week, we're trying something new by focusing on Wikipedia's dark side: the various regional and national WikiProjects that are dead or dying. How can some tiny municipalities and exclaves generate highly active, cross-language, multimedia platforms be successful while the projects representing many sovereign countries and entire continents wallow in obscurity? Today, we'll search for answers among geographic projects large and small, highly active and barely functioning, enthusiastic about the future and mired in past conflicts.

• Featured content: Is RfA Kafkaesque?
  Eleven articles, including one on Franz Kafka, three lists, one image, and one portal were promoted to 'featured' status this week.

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• EdwardsBot (talk) 09:55, 24 October 2012 (UTC)

Meetup greets

Thanks for coming to the editathon. If you want to meet Wikipedians in Seattle or NYC then let me know. Also let me know if you meet anyone doing any particular kind of Wikipedia project - I can probably connect you.

I regret that we never met while I lived in Seattle but am glad that I could meet you yesterday. Blue Rasberry 16:25, 28 October 2012 (UTC)

Ditto--thanks for coming to the edit-athon! Come back again! --Another Believer (Talk) 18:18, 28 October 2012 (UTC)

Great to meet you too ! Wikipedia:Meetup/Portland/Wiki Loves Libraries/2012. Here is one of the graphs I was talking about with editor information, though even this is now two years old editor trends study 2010. Hope to see you around on wikipedia and across the globe :). ∴ here…♠ 22:23, 28 October 2012 (UTC)

Thanks again! --Another Believer _(Talk) 02:59, 30 October 2012 (UTC)

Finally some followup: April 2012 meetup

Hey AB, some time ago you asked me to post some outcomes from our April 2012 meetup. Here you go, finally! Wikipedia:Meetup/Portland/April 2012#Outcomes Sorry for the delay. Feel free to add anything I missed -- I'm sure there's plenty, I'm just going off memory! -Pete (talk) 05:21, 30 October 2012 (UTC)

Thanks so much, Pete! --Another Believer _(Talk) 15:15, 30 October 2012 (UTC)

Whoops -- thanks for cleaning up my formatting messes on the Meetup page! -Pete (talk) 21:06, 31 October 2012 (UTC)

The Signpost: 29 October 2012

• News and notes: First chickens come home to roost for FDC funding applicants; WMF board discusses governance issues and scope of programs
  The first round of the Wikimedia Foundation's new financial arrangements has proceeded as planned, with the publication of scores and feedback by Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC) staff on applications for funding by 11 entities—10 chapters, independent membership organisations supporting the WMF's mission in different countries, and the foundation itself. The results are preliminary assessments that will soon be put to the FDC's seven voting members and two non-voting board representatives. The FDC in turn will send its recommendations to the board of trustees on 15 November, which will announce its decision by 15 December. Funding applications have been on-wiki since 1 October, and the talk pages of applications were open for community comment and discussion from 2 to 22 October, though apart from queries by FDC staff, there was little activity.

• WikiProject report: In recognition of... WikiProject Military History
  This week, we're checking out ways to motivate editors and recognize valuable contributions by focusing on the awards and rewards of WikiProject Military History. Anyone unfamiliar with WikiProject Military History is encouraged to start at the report's first article about the project and make your way forward. While many WikiProjects provide a barnstar that can be awarded to helpful contributors, WikiProject Military History has gone a step further by creating a variety of awards with different criteria ranging from the all-purpose WikiChevrons to rewards for participating in drives and improving special topics to medals for improving articles up to A-class status to the coveted "Military Historian of the Year" award.

• Technology report: Improved video support imminent and Wikidata.org live
  The TimedMediaHandler extension (TMH), which brings dramatic improvements to MediaWiki's video handling capabilities, will go live to the English Wikipedia this week following a long and turbulent development, WMF Director of Platform Engineering Rob Lanphier announced on Monday ... Wikidata.org, a new repository designed to host interwiki links, launched this week and will begin accepting links shortly. The site, which is one half of the forthcoming Wikidata trial (the other half being the Wikidata client, which will be deployed to the Hungarian Wikipedia shortly) will also act as a testing area for phase 2 of Wikidata (centralised data storage). The longer term plan is for Wikidata.org to become a "Wikimedia Commons for data" as phases 2 and 3 (dynamic lists) are developed, project managers say.

• Featured content: On the road again
  Thirteen articles, ten lists, nine images, one topic, and one portal were promoted to featured after peer reviews.

• Recent research: WP governance informal; community as social network; efficiency of recruitment and content production; Rorschach news
  A paper in the Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, coming from the social control perspective and employing the repertory grid technique, has contributed interesting observations about the governance of Wikipedia.

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• EdwardsBot (talk) 07:10, 31 October 2012 (UTC)

WikiCup 2012 October newsletter

The 2012 WikiCup has come to a close; congratulations to Cwmhiraeth (submissions), our 2012 champion! Cwmhiraeth joins our exclusive club of previous winners: Dreamafter (2007), jj137 (2008), Durova (2009), Sturmvogel 66 (2010) and Hurricanehink (2011). Our final standings were as follows:

1. Cwmhiraeth (submissions)
2. Sasata (submissions)
3. Grapple X (submissions)
4. Casliber (submissions)
5. Muboshgu (submissions)
6. Miyagawa (submissions)
7. Ruby2010 (submissions)
8. Dana Boomer (submissions)

Prizes for first, second, third and fourth will be awarded, as will prizes for all those who reached the final eight. Every participant who scored in the competition will receive a ribbon of participation. In addition to the prizes based on placement, the following special prizes will be awarded based on high performance in particular areas of content creation. So that the finalists do not have an undue advantage, the prize is awarded to the competitor who scored the highest in any particular field in a single round.

• The featured article award goes to Grapple X (submissions), for four featured articles in the final round.
• The good article award also goes to Grapple X (submissions), for 19 good articles in the second round.
• The list award goes to Muboshgu (submissions), for three featured lists in the final round.
• The topic award goes to Grapple X (submissions), for three good topics (with around 40 articles) in round 4.
• The did you know award goes to Cwmhiraeth (submissions), for well over 100 DYKs in the final round.
• The news award goes to ThaddeusB (submissions), for 10 in the news items in round 3.
• The picture award goes to Grandiose (submissions), for two featured pictures in round 2.
• The reviewer award goes to both Ruby2010 (submissions) (14 reviews in round 1) and Grandiose (submissions) (14 reviews in round 3).
• Finally, for achieving an incredible bonus point total in the final round, and for bringing the top-importance article frog to featured status, a biostar has been awarded to Cwmhiraeth (submissions).

Awards will be handed out in the coming days; please bear with us! This year's competition also saw fantastic contributions in all rounds, from newer Wikipedians contributing their first good or featured articles, right up to highly experienced Wikipedians chasing high scores and contributing to topics outside of their usual comfort zones. It would be impossible to name all of the participants who have achieved things to be proud of, but well done to all of you, and thanks! Wikipedia has certainly benefited from the work of this year's WikiCup participants.

Next year's WikiCup will begin in January. Currently, discussions and polls are open, and all contributions are welcome. You can also sign up for next year's competition. There will be no further newsletters this year, although brief notes may be sent out in December to remind everyone about the upcoming competition. It's been a pleasure to work with you all, and we hope to see you all in January! J Milburn (talk • email) and The ed17 (talk • email) 00:12, 1 November 2012 (UTC)

Nomination of Albina Library for deletion

A discussion is taking place as to whether the article Albina Library is suitable for inclusion in Wikipedia according to Wikipedia's policies and guidelines or whether it should be deleted.

The article will be discussed at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Albina Library until a consensus is reached, and anyone is welcome to contribute to the discussion. The nomination will explain the policies and guidelines which are of concern. The discussion focuses on high-quality evidence and our policies and guidelines.

Users may edit the article during the discussion, including to improve the article to address concerns raised in the discussion. However, do not remove the article-for-deletion template from the top of the article. pbp 19:04, 1 November 2012 (UTC)

November 2012

Hello. It appears that you have been canvassing—leaving messages on biased users' talk pages to notify them of an ongoing community decision, debate, or vote—in order to influence Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Albina Library. While friendly notices are allowed, they should be limited and nonpartisan in distribution and should reflect a neutral point of view. Please do not post notices which are indiscriminately cross-posted, which espouse a certain point of view or side of a debate, or which are selectively sent only to those who are believed to hold the same opinion as you. Remember to respect Wikipedia's principle of consensus-building by allowing decisions to reflect the prevailing opinion among the community at large. Sorry, but just saying "it isn't canvassing" doesn't mean that it isn't canvassing pbp 20:05, 1 November 2012 (UTC)

According to the canvassing page, I can request comments in the following ways:

• The talk page of one or more WikiProjects (or other Wikipedia collaborations) directly related to the topic under discussion.  Done
• A central location (such as the Village pump or other relevant noticeboards) for discussions that have a wider impact such as policy or guideline discussions.
• On the talk pages of a user mentioned in the discussion (particularly if the discussion concerns complaints about user behavior).
• On the talk pages of concerned editors. Examples include editors who have participated in previous discussions on the same topic (or closely related topics), who are known for expertise in the field, or who have asked to be kept informed. The audience must not be selected on the basis of their opinions—for example, if notices are sent to editors who previously supported deleting an article, then identical notices should be sent to those who supported keeping it. Do not send notices to too many users, and do not send messages to users who have asked not to receive them.  Done

I posted a notification on the talk page for WikiProject Oregon as well as the two contributors who participated in the discussion previously. Both are appropriate, as outlined above. I did not ask for their support. --Another Believer _(Talk) 20:10, 1 November 2012 (UTC)

Library branches

Thanks. This looks do-able. I have many off-wiki promises to keep later today, but I got a bit done this morning. My plan is to return to these articles every day for a while and to help you and Pete (and anyone else) spiff them up. Finetooth (talk) 17:34, 3 November 2012 (UTC)

Fantastic--thanks so much! --Another Believer _(Talk) 17:35, 3 November 2012 (UTC)

Just doing exterior shots, time and weather permitting. I like your interior shots in Woodstock Library. Finetooth (talk) 17:58, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

I like the Woodstock exterior shot as well. Finetooth (talk) 17:59, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

Since the Albina discussion resulted in "keep", does that apply to the others as well? Do you know if it's now OK to remove the tags from the tops of the article(s)? Finetooth (talk) 00:33, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

FYI, that close may not hold. It shouldn't have been an NAC close and he should have given a better rationale (and obviously, he should have removed ALL notices, which is the sole responsibility of the closer) pbp 01:46, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

Actually, I am not sure, FT. I thought about removing the deletion tags myself but thought I would leave the task to someone less involved in the discussion than myself. --Another Believer _(Talk) 17:23, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

I think that's wise. I'd rather write than fight, and camera work is fun too. At least a couple of the branch libraries, North Portland for one, sound like they have fascinating interiors. The big boxes like Gresham might not, but I don't know because I haven't been inside. Your interior photos of the Central Library are impressive. My only lens has a range from 18 to 105 mm, which is fine for outdoor shots but not wide enough inside sometimes. I see that many of your library photos are around 5 mm. Makes me think about acquiring a wide-angle lens. With admiration, Finetooth (talk) 18:21, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

Thanks for your kind words. I enjoy photographing all sorts of subjects. Just need the time to upload images to Commons (I have hundreds on my computer needing attention!)... These library articles are turning into a fine collection--I'd love to see some of them reach Good status, and I am also particularly interested in the former branches. I have yet to determine which ones deserve articles of their own. The list of former branches is incomplete, but hopefully not for long. --Another Believer _(Talk) 18:27, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

The MCL history of the North Portland branch mentions the Vanport Library, destroyed by the 1948 flood on the Columbia. I added Vanport to the template. Finetooth (talk) 19:52, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

Great add! I mentioned a few others on the MCL article talk page, but more research is needed. Ideally the years of service would be available for all former branches. --Another Believer _(Talk) 22:09, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

The Signpost: 05 November 2012

• Op-ed: 2012 WikiCup comes to an end
  J Milburn is a British editor who has been on the site since 2006. He is one of two judges of the WikiCup. Here, he uses an op-ed to explain the way the WikiCup works and to review this year's competition, which ended recently.

• News and notes: Wikimedian photographic talent on display in national submissions to Wiki Loves Monuments
  The results of most of the national heats for Wiki Loves Monuments (WLM) have been published on Commons. A maximum of 10 images have been submitted by all but eight of the 34 participating countries, and the international jury for what is the largest competition of its type in the world is set to announce the global winner in four weeks' time.

• In the media: Was climate change a factor in Hurricane Sandy?
  Hurricane Sandy was the largest Atlantic hurricane on record and has caused millions of dollars in damage. Naturally, Wikipedia covered it. But was Wikipedia's coverage unbiased?

• Discussion report: Protected Page Editor right; Gibraltar hooks
  The Signpost's weekly roundup of topics for discussion on the English Wikipedia.

• Featured content: Jack-O'-Lanterns and Toads
  This week, the Signpost interviewed two editors. The first, PumpkinSky, collaborated with Gerda Arendt in writing the recently featured article on Franz Kafka and won second prize in the Core contest last August. The second, Cwmhiraeth, collaborated with Thompsma in promoting the article Frog, which was featured last week. We asked them about the special challenges faced while writing Core content and things to watch out for.

• Technology report: Hue, Sqoop, Oozie, Zookeeper, Hive, Pig and Kafka
  The Wikimedia Foundation's engineering report for October 2012 was published this week on the Wikimedia Techblog and on the MediaWiki wiki, giving an overview of all Foundation-sponsored technical operations in that month. TimedMediaHandler also went live.

• WikiProject report: Listening to WikiProject Songs
  This week, The Signpost sings along with WikiProject Songs which focuses on articles about songs of every generation and genre. The project initially began as a rough outline in October 2002 and was reimagined in March 2004 using its parent WikiProject Albums as a template.

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This Month in GLAM: October 2012

This Month in GLAM – Volume II, Issue X, October 2012 Headlines From the team: New editorial team USA report: Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum UK report: Ada Lovelace edit-a-thon at the Royal Society; Dunhuang Project France report: Helping GLAMs' staff; Conferences; Lobbying at Ministry of Culture Italy report: Meeting African monuments, griots and Botswana administrative divisions Germany report: Shaping Access conference; Donation of scientific movies Sweden report: Local heritage and sami culture Africa report: A month in Africa's GLAMs Open Access report: Videos from Noble laureates; Open Access Week; Open Access Wikipedia Challenge; Open Access Media Importer approve Calendar: November's GLAM events Read this edition in full • Single-page To assist with preparing the newsletter, please visit the newsroom. Past editions may be viewed here.

Unsubscribe · Global message delivery 02:51, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

The Walking Dead

Yes sir. I'll probably be done with "Killer Within" by tomorrow or Thursday and I'll get started with another one before the week ends. :) —DAP388 (talk) 04:00, 14 November 2012 (UTC)

Fantastic! --Another Believer _(Talk) 15:48, 14 November 2012 (UTC)

The Signpost: 12 November 2012

• News and notes: Court ruling complicates the paid-editing debate
  Last week, media outlets reported a ruling by a German court on the problem of businesses using Wikipedia for marketing purposes. The issue goes beyond the direct management of marketing-related edits by Wikipedians; it involves cross-monitoring and interacting among market competitors themselves on Wikipedia. A company that sells dietary supplements made from frankincense had taken a competitor to court. The recently published judgment by the Higher Regional Court of Munich, in dealing with the German Wikipedia article on frankincense products, was handed down in May and is based on European competition law.

• Featured content: The table has turned
  Thirteen articles, six lists, and five images were promoted to 'featured' status last week.

• Technology report: MediaWiki 1.20 and the prospects for getting 1.21 code reviewed promptly
  In late September, the Technology report published its findings about (particularly median) code review times. To the 23,900 changesets analysed the first time (the data for which has been updated), the Signpost added data from the 9,000 or so changesets contributed between September 17 and November 9 to a total of 93,000 reviews across 45,000 patchsets. Bots and self-reviews were also discarded, but reviews made by a different user in the form of a superseding patch were retained. Finally, users were categorised by hand according to whether they would be best regarded as staff or volunteers. The new analyses were consistent with the predictions of the previous analysis.

• WikiProject report: Land of parrots, palm trees, and the Holy Cross: WikiProject Brazil
  As promised, we're expanding our horizons by featuring projects that cover underrepresented areas of the globe. This week, we headed to WikiProject Brazil which keeps track of articles about the world's largest Portuguese-speaking country. The project has shown spurts of activity and continues to serve as a hub for discussions, despite the project's collaborations, peer reviews, and outreach activities being largely inactive.

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The Signpost: 19 November 2012

• News and notes: FDC's financial muscle kicks in
  The WMF's Funds Dissemination Committee has published its recommendations for the inaugural round 1 of funding. Requests totalled US$10.4M, nearly all of the FDC's budget for both first and second rounds. The seven-member committee of community volunteers appointed in September advises the WMF board on the distribution of grant funds among applying Wikimedia organizations. The committee, which has a separate operating budget of $276k for salaries and expenses, considered 12 applications for funds, from 11 chapters and from the WMF itself for its non-core activities. The decision-making process included community and FDC staff input after October 1, the closing date for submissions. Taken together, the volunteers decided to endorse an average of 81% of the funding sought—a total of $8.43M, which went to 11 of the 12 applicants. This leaves $2.71M to be distributed in round 2, for which applications are due in little more than three months' time.

• WikiProject report: No teenagers, mutants, or ninjas: WikiProject Turtles
  This week, we spent some time with WikiProject Turtles. The young project started in January 2011 and has accumulated 5 Featured Articles, 3 Featured Lists, and 6 Featured Pictures. The project maintains a combined to-do list and hot articles meter, a popular pages ranking, and a collection of resources for turtle articles. We interviewed Faendalimas and NYMFan69-86.

• Technology report: Structural reorganisation "not a done deal"
  WMF Executive Director Sue Gardner was forced to clarify this week that proposed structural changes to the Foundation's Engineering and Product Development Department were not a "done deal" and that it was "important that you [particularly affected staff] realise that ... your input is wanted". The reorganisation, announced on November 5 and planned for the middle of next year, will see its two components split off into their own departments.

• Featured content: Wikipedia hit by the Streisand effect
  Seven featured articles, four featured lists and ten featured pictures – including the photograph that spawned the Streisand effect – were promoted this week.

• Discussion report: GOOG, MSFT, WMT: the ticker symbol placement question
  Current discussions on the English Wikipedia include the question of ticker symbol placement and the notability of various types of creative performer.

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Holiday greetings

Thanks for the Thanksgiving note -- hope you have a happy one too! Nice to hear from you, and always admiring your wiki work. -Pete (talk) 00:58, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

Same from these quarters. It's a pleasure to work with you. Finetooth (talk) 01:49, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

GA

Congrats on the GA for Country Bill's. Finetooth (talk) 05:17, 23 November 2012 (UTC)

Thanks so much! --Another Believer _(Talk) 05:22, 23 November 2012 (UTC)

The Signpost: 26 November 2012

• News and notes: Toolserver finance remains uncertain
  On November 24, a general assembly of Wikimedia Germany (WMDE) voted on the fate of the Wikimedia Toolserver, a central external piece of technical infrastructure supporting the editing communities with volunteer-developed scripts and webpages of various kinds that are assisting in performing mostly menial tasks.

• Recent research: Movie success predictions, readability, credentials and authority, geographical comparisons
  An open-access preprint presents the results from a study attempting to predict early box office revenues from Wikipedia traffic and activity data. The authors – a team of computational social scientists from Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Aalto University and the Central European University – submit that behavioral patterns on Wikipedia can be used for accurate forecasting, matching and in some cases outperforming the use of social media data for predictive modeling. The results, based on a corpus of 312 English Wikipedia articles on movies released in 2010, indicate that the joint editing activity and traffic measures on Wikipedia are strong predictors of box office revenue for highly successful movies.

• Featured content: Panoramic views, history, and a celestial constellation
  Six articles, one list, and six images were promoted to 'featured' status this week.

• Technology report: Wikidata reaches 100,000 entries
  Wikidata, the new "Wikimedia Commons for data" and the first new Wikimedia project since 2006, reached 100,000 entries this week. The project aims to be a single, human- and machine-readable database for common data, spanning across all Wikipedia projects, which will "lead to a higher consistency and quality within Wikipedia articles, as well as increased availability of information in the smaller language editions" while lowering the burden on Wikipedia's volunteer editors—whose numbers have stalled overall, and continue to dwindle on the English Wikipedia.

• WikiProject report: Directing Discussion: WikiProject Deletion Sorting
  This week, we uncovered WikiProject Deletion Sorting, Wikipedia's most active project by number of edits to all the project's pages. This special project seeks to increase participation in Articles for Deletion nominations by categorizing the AfD discussions by various topic areas that may draw the attention of editors. The project was started in August 2005 with manual processes that are continued today by a bevy of bots, categories, and transclusions. The project took inspiration from WikiProject Stub Sorting and some historical discussions on deletion reform. As the sheer number of AfDs continues to grow, the project is seeking better tools to manage the deletion sorting process and attract editors to comment on these deletion discussions.

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• EdwardsBot (talk) 11:59, 28 November 2012 (UTC)

Wikipedia Loves Libraries Seattle

December 8 - Wikipedia Loves Libraries Seattle - You're invited

Seattle Public Library

Date Saturday, December 8, 2012 Time 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Location Seattle Public Library Meeting Room 1 on Level 4, Central Library, 1000 4th Avenue, Seattle WA, 98104 Event An editathon on Seattle-related Wikipedia articles with Wikipedia tutorials and Librarian assistance on hand. Hashtag #wikiloveslib or #glamwiki. Registration http://wll-seattle.eventbrite.com or use on-wiki registration. Yours, Maximilianklein (talk) 03:14, 1 December 2012 (UTC)

D River

Thanks for the note. Yes, I'm familiar with this little dude. I'll see what I can do to improve the article (maybe something, maybe nothing, not sure). I'm not nominating anything for anything these days, but I'm happy when others nominate things I've worked on either a little or a lot. Finetooth (talk) 18:42, 3 December 2012 (UTC)

These three are close to GA: Oregon Caves National Monument, Fossil Creek, Jerome, Arizona. None has been reviewed at WP:GAN or WP:PR or informally. Oregon Caves is pretty close to FA quality, and that might be true of Fossil Creek as well. I need to write a decent lead for Jerome; the existing one is incomplete. Hope to do that this month, maybe this week. After that's done, the article might also succeed at FAC after first going through either GAN or PR or both. Finetooth (talk) 19:22, 3 December 2012 (UTC)

Jerome lead is now re-written and much better. I still must add a note about the short-line railroads connecting the mines to the smelters. Finetooth (talk) 03:59, 4 December 2012 (UTC)

Sure. Over the past five years, I've been a significant contributor (usually the main contributor, nominator, or co-nominator) to 17 articles promoted to FA or FL and nine others promoted to GA. I've also been involved in four or five that I've nominated or co-nominated at FAC that did not pass. I've lost count of how many I've submitted to PR, and I've done more than 800 reviews of other people's articles at PR. In 2011, I had a lot of trouble with an FLC that eventually was promoted and even more trouble with an FAC that did not get promoted. The unhappy feelings connected with these two events in 2011 led me to rethink what I was doing. I decided I needed a vacation from nominating anything. After I stopped nominating anything, I realized that I no longer had to do any tit-for-tat reviews. (No law ever said I had to do them, but I felt a moral obligation.) On the other hand, I didn't need a vacation from research, writing, and photography, which are my idea of fun and rarely involve arguments with other editors or bad feelings or serious stress. So, until I get bored with bliss, I probably won't nominate anything or do many reviews. Still, I like being part of a group working toward a set of common goals, and I enjoy helping with others' articles and projects. Finetooth (talk) 06:59, 4 December 2012 (UTC)

Update: Oregon Caves National Monument. Congrats, FT! --Another Believer _(Talk) 01:00, 25 December 2012 (UTC)

Comments at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject National Register of Historic Places/WLM-US 2013 discussion

Would definitely be appreciated. Smallbones_(smalltalk) 04:17, 4 December 2012 (UTC)

The Signpost: 03 December 2012

• News and notes: Wiki Loves Monuments announces 2012 winner
  The global jury of Wiki Loves Monuments (WLM), the world’s largest photo contest, announced its results on 3 December.

• Featured content: The play's the thing
  Three articles, two lists, and four images were promoted to 'featured' status this week.

• Discussion report: Concise Wikipedia; standardize version history tables
  Current discussions on the English Wikipedia include...

• Technology report: MediaWiki problems but good news for Toolserver stability
  Deployments of MediaWiki 1.21wmf5 cause widespread problems for users across wikis when HTML and CSS updates came temporarily out of sync. On the first wikis targeted for deployment, this was caused by the different cache invalidation rates for HTML (typically one month) and CSS (typically five minutes). The retrospective on the problem highlighted the fact that that the test wiki – the WMF's answer to a production environment that individual developers can no longer practically emulate themselves – actually demonstrated the exact problem that would later manifest itself on production wikis. It went unnoticed.

• WikiProject report: The White Rose: WikiProject Yorkshire
  This week, we went searching for white roses in the lands of WikiProject Yorkshire. The project began in May 2007 as a way to improve articles about the historic English county of Yorkshire and its modern-day administrative divisions and cities. Since then, the project has accumulated 31 Featured Articles, 14 Featured Lists, 91 Good Articles, and a monstrous list of Did You Know entries. Despite all of the effort improving Yorkshire articles, the project has experienced waning participation in the last few years. The project still publishes a newsletter each month, monitors the popularity of and recent changes to its articles, maintains a portal, and collects resources for contributors to use.

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This Month in GLAM: November 2012

This Month in GLAM – Volume II, Issue XI, November 2012 Headlines Africa report: Wiki Loves Monuments in Africa 2012, a roadway... to victory Australia and New Zealand report: State Library of New South Wales; Freopedia France report: Semanticpedia; Lobbying at Ministry of Culture Germany report: Roundtable of the cultural heritage of the Rhineland; QRpedia at the Hamburg Museum Italy report: Celebrating a milestone: WikiAfrica hits its goals Mexico report: Mexico/Spain editathon Netherlands report: Dutch GLAM activities in November 2012 Sweden report: Commons and endings UK report: Activities in Birmingham and Stafford; digitised books in London USA report: VIAFbot Edits; The Brooklyn Museum Wiki Loves Monuments report: Wiki Loves Monuments 2012 finished Open Access report: The Open Access Media Importer at full speed; Publishers deliver inconsistent XML to PubMed Central; Importing from other sources Calendar: December's GLAM events Read this edition in full • Single-page To assist with preparing the newsletter, please visit the newsroom. Past editions may be viewed here.

Unsubscribe · Global message delivery 17:56, 9 December 2012 (UTC)

Oregon Caves nom

Thank you for nominating this. I'll help if I can and try to behave myself, if possible. Please let me know if you see problems or have questions. I've been meaning to go down to the cave to try to get some better photos of things like the lodge and the big tree, but the park is an out-of-the-way place that's relatively inaccessible in winter. Lack of more images shouldn't be a problem at GAN, though. By the way, I don't think that editors who don't do reviews are "bad". Forced reviewing would be a disaster. We all do what we can or what we want to, and all of it is a gift to the commons. You are an excellent editor and also a "good" one, IMHO. Finetooth (talk) 17:47, 10 December 2012 (UTC)

Oregon Caves National Monument was promoted today, Dec. 24, a nice Christmas present. Thank you again. I hope you are having a good holiday season. Finetooth (talk) 17:15, 24 December 2012 (UTC)

Thanks

Thanks, and keep spreading those seeds! J04n(talk page) 22:37, 10 December 2012 (UTC)

Always! --Another Believer _(Talk) 22:46, 10 December 2012 (UTC)

The Signpost: 10 December 2012

• News and notes: Wobbly start to ArbCom election, but turnout beats last year's
  At the time of writing, this year's election has just closed after a two-week voting period. The eight seats were contested by 21 candidates. Of these, 15 have not been arbitrators (Beeblebrox, Count Iblis, Guerillero, Jc37, Keilana, Ks0stm, Kww, NuclearWarfare, Pgallert, RegentsPark, Richwales, Salvio giuliano, Timotheus Canens, Worm That Turned, and YOLO Swag); four candidates are sitting arbitrators (David Fuchs, Elen of the Roads, Jclemens, and Newyorkbrad); and two have previously served on the committee (Carcharoth and Coren). Four Wikimedia stewards from outside the English Wikipedia stepped forward as election scrutineers: Pundit, from the Polish Wikipedia; Teles, from the Portuguese Wikipedia; Quentinv57, from the French Wikipedia; and Mardetanha, from the Persian Wikipedia. The scrutineers' task is to ensure that the election is free of multiple votes from the same person, to tally the results, and to announce them. The full results are expected to be released within the next few days and will be reported in next week's edition of the Signpost.

• Featured content: Wikipedia goes to Hell
  Eight articles, four images, six lists, and one topic were promoted to 'featured' status on the English Wikipedia this week.

• Technology report: The new Visual Editor gets a bit more visual
  The Visual Editor project – an attempt to create the first WMF-deployable WYSIWYG editor – will go live on its first Wikipedias imminently following nearly six months of testing on MediaWiki.org. A full explanatory blog post accompanied the news, explaining the project and its setup. Once a user has opted-in, the editor can handle basic formatting, headings and lists, while safely ignoring elements it is yet to understand, including references, categories, templates, tables and images. At the last count, approximately 2% of pages would break in some way if a user tried the Visual Editor on them; it is unclear whether any specific protection will be put in place beyond relying on editors to spot problems.

• WikiProject report: WikiProject Human Rights
  In celebration of Human Rights Day, we checked out WikiProject Human Rights. Started in February 2006, the project has grown to include over 3,000 articles, including 12 Featured Articles, 3 Featured Lists, 66 Good Articles, a large collection of Did You Know entries, and a few mentions "in the news". The project monitors listings of popular pages and cleanup tags. We interviewed Khazar2, Cirt, and Boud.

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• EdwardsBot (talk) 22:26, 11 December 2012 (UTC)

Hand-coding

Hey all :).

I'm dropping you a note because you've been involved in dealing with feedback from the Article Feedback Tool. To get a better handle on the overall quality of comments now that the tool has become a more established part of the reader experience, we're undertaking a round of hand coding - basically, taking a sample of feedback and marking each piece as inappropriate, helpful, so on - and would like anyone interested in improving the tool to participate :).

You can code as many or as few pieces of feedback as you want: this page should explain how to use the system, and there is a demo here. Once you're comfortable with the task, just drop me an email at okeyeswikimedia.org and I'll set you up with an account :).

If you'd like to chat with us about the research, or want live tutoring on the software, there will be an office hours session on Monday 17 December at 23:00 UTC in #wikimedia-office ^connect. Hope to see some of you there! Thanks, Okeyes (WMF) (talk) 22:55, 14 December 2012 (UTC)

One-sentence NRHP stubs

I feel like the Grinch leaving a message like this at this time of year, but I've procrastinated on it repeatedly and don't want to keep doing that. Although I really value your contributions to Wikipedia and don't want to do anything that might discourage you, I do urge you not to create any more one-sentence stubs on Oregon NRHP-listed properties – except when you intend to go back soon (within a few days or so) and add some actual content. From what I've observed, it appears that you almost never do that, and are just hoping someone else will do so (see next paragraph). Usually, your stubs don't even include an infobox. This was discussed at Wikipedia:WikiProject NRHP and on your talk page back in June 2011, and I have to say I agreed with Dudemanfellabra on the basic objection. At the very least, I feel any NRHP stubs you create should include infoboxes, and the Elkman tool (which requires no installation of any software), which was mentioned to you there, makes that task easy. In most cases, your NRHP stubs are in fact not articles at all, by any conventional definition. I'm saying, if you're not going to write an actual article (NRHP infobox, photo if already available, and at least a few sentences of prose), then please leave these NHRP listings as red links, as recommended at WP:REDDEAL.

In that 2011 discussion, you argued that you believed creating these stubs would encourage people to write a real article (I'm paraphrasing liberally). From my perspective, the opposite is true. Their creation permanently denies anyone else the chance to be recorded as the article's creator, while adding absolutely no info. that cannot already be found in the list-type articles for each Oregon county or smaller area. I can only speak for myself, but personally I am more willing to devote the time for research and writing to create a new article if it is currently a red link. If it is a one-sentence stub (i.e. virtually no content), the amount of time I have to spend is exactly the same and yet I don't get identified as the article's creator. Being listed as the article's creator is not a major factor in my choices of what new articles to research and compose, but it is a factor, and can be a significant motivator. I could name several specific examples of articles I was planning to write, and had researched and gathered info on (some being Astoria subjects), but for which your creation of one-sentence stubs then stole some of my motivation; but this post has become too long already. For me, even a small loss in motivation often means a planned project never gets done. Anyway, I'm just giving an additional reason that creation of stubs like these NRHP ones (when the creator has no intention of expanding them himself) are not only not beneficial, but actually detrimental to WP, as I see it. The reasons given during that earlier discussion were also sound. Naturally, you are free to reject my argument, but I hope you'll consider it. Sorry to be critical, because I still greatly appreciate all your other contributions; I'm only finding fault with one small facet of your editing. SJ Morg (talk) 13:28, 18 December 2012 (UTC)

I agree entirely with SJ Morg. I think the super-stubby stubs do more harm than good. Finetooth (talk) 17:42, 18 December 2012 (UTC)

Thank you, AB, for your thoughtful response, left on my talk page. I really was reluctant to criticize, but did so because I figured I might have identified a downside that hadn't occurred to you. So, thank you for acknowledging this and taking it to heart. Oh, and by the way, you're one of a handful of prolific and respected WP:ORE editors (Finetooth is another!) whose contributions I check (both here and at Commons) fairly often just to see what they are up to – it's especially interesting when I discover a new article that was just created an hour or two earlier by (e.g.) Aboutmovies, before TedderBot's daily check picks it up and it begins appearing in the Project's "recent changes" list! – so I have a pretty good idea how many good contributions you are always making to Oregon-related articles and discussions, even when (like me) you are also interested in editing non-Oregon-related articles. Regarding images, you've uploaded a lot of really nice images of local historic buildings, among other things, over the last several months. SJ Morg (talk) 08:11, 19 December 2012 (UTC)

I want to add to my brief comment of yesterday that I heartily concur with all the nice things SJ Morg has said. Finetooth (talk) 18:06, 19 December 2012 (UTC)

Thank you, both. --Another Believer _(Talk) 18:25, 19 December 2012 (UTC)

The Signpost: 17 December 2012

• News and notes: Arbitrator election: stewards release the results
  Seven days after the close of voting, the results of the recent Arbitration Committee (ArbCom) elections have been announced by two of the four stewards overseeing the election, Mardetanha and Pundit. Of the 21 candidates, 13 managed to gain positive support-to-oppose ratios, and the top eight will be appointed to two-year terms on the committee by Jimbo Wales, exercising one of his traditional responsibilities.

• WikiProject report: WikiProjekt Computerspiel: Covering Computer Games in Germany
  In the past year, we've tried to expand our horizons by looking at how WikiProjects work in other languages of Wikipedia. Following in the footsteps of our previously interviewed Czech and French projects, we visited the German Wikipedia to explore WikiProjekt Computerspiel (WikiProject Computer Games). The project dates back to November 2004 and has become the back-end of the Computer Games Portal, which covers all video games regardless of platform. Editors writing about computer games at the German Wikipedia deal with unique cultural and legal challenges, ranging from a lack of fair use precedents to the limited availability of games deemed harmful for youths to strong standards for the inclusion of material on the German Wikipedia.

• Discussion report: Concise Wikipedia; section headings for navboxes
  Current discussions on the English Wikipedia include ...

• Op-ed: Finding truth in Sandy Hook
  This week's big story on the English Wikipedia is obviously the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting (which, by the time you read this, may be renamed 2012 Connecticut school shooting). Quickly created and nominated for deletion not once but twice, and both times speedily kept, the article saw the expected flurry of edits (a look at the history suggests an average of at least one a minute over the first day and a half) and more than half a million page views on the first full day.

• Featured content: Wikipedia's cute ass
  Four articles, three lists, and five images were promoted to 'featured' status on the English Wikipedia this week, including a picture of a three-week old donkey (also known as an 'ass').

• Technology report: MediaWiki groups and why you might want to start snuggling newbie editors
  MediaWiki users (including Wikimedians) can now organise themselves into groups, receiving recognition and support-in-kind from the Wikimedia Foundation. The project, backed by new Wikimedia technical contributor coordinator Quim Gil, has seen five proposals lodged in its first week of operation. The idea of MediaWiki groups mimics that of Wikimedia User Groups.

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• EdwardsBot (talk) 00:45, 20 December 2012 (UTC)

The Signpost: 24 December 2012

• News and notes: Debates on Meta sparking along—grants, new entities, and conflicts of interest
  As part of its new focus on core responsibilities, the Wikimedia Foundation is reforming its grant schemes so that they are more accessible to individual volunteers. The community is invited to look at proposals for a new scheme—for now called Individual engagement grants (IEGs)—which is due to kick off on January 15. On Meta, the community is once again debating the two new offline participation models—user groups (open membership groups designed to be easy to form) and thematic organizations (incorporated non-profits representing the Wikimedia movement and supporting work on a specific theme within or across countries). In a consultation process on Meta that will last until January 15, the community will be discussing WMF proposals for a new guideline on conflicts of interests concerning Wikimedia resources. The draft covers COI issues for both volunteers and organizations across the movement.

• WikiProject report: A Song of Ice and Fire
  This week, we spent some time with WikiProject A Song of Ice and Fire, which focuses on the eponymous series of high fantasy literature, the television series Game of Thrones, and related works by George R. R. Martin. The project was started in July 2006 and has grown to include 11 Good Articles maintained by a small yet enthusiastic band of editors.

• Featured content: Battlecruiser operational
  Seven articles and two lists were promoted to 'featured' status this week, including List of battlecruisers. The article covers all of the battlecruisers—which were a type of warship similar in size to a battleship but with several defining characteristics—ever planned or constructed. The last British battlecruiser built, HMS Hood, is pictured at right.

• Technology report: Efforts to "normalise" Toolserver relations stepped up
  Efforts were stepped up this week to sow a feeling of trust between the major parties with an interest in the future of the Toolserver. The tool- and bot-hosting server – more accurately servers – are currently operated by German chapter, Wikimedia Germany, with assistance from the Foundation and numerous volunteers, including long-time system administrator Daniel Baur (more commonly known by his pseudonym DaB). However, those parties have more recently failed to see eye-to-eye on the trajectory for the Toolserver, which is scheduled to be replaced by Wikimedia Labs in late 2013, with increasing concern about the tone of discussions.

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• EdwardsBot (talk) 07:54, 26 December 2012 (UTC)

WikiCup 2013 starting soon

Hi there; you're receiving this message because you have previously shown interest in the WikiCup. This is just to remind you that the 2013 WikiCup will be starting on 1 January, and that signups will remain open throughout January. Old and new Wikipedians and WikiCup participants are warmly invited to take part in this year's competition. (Though, as a note to the more experienced participants, there have been a few small rules changes in the last few months.) If you have already signed up, let this be a reminder; you will receive a message with your submissions' page soon. Please direct any questions to the WikiCup talk page. Thanks! J Milburn 19:24, 30 December 2012 (UTC)

Sculptor?

Elek Imredy may be worthy of an article as well that is why I redlinked it. There is confusion on the Hungarian animation page about a cartoonist that came over within a year with the same name. They may have faulty info, the ref is power point that I can't read at this point.--Canoe1967 (talk) 21:40, 30 December 2012 (UTC)

I have not done any research about the sculptor but I have no problem with the redlink and would not be against creating an article if enough material exists to warrant an article. Thanks for the heads up! --Another Believer _(Talk) 03:46, 31 December 2012 (UTC)

The cite I put by his name has all the info I found so far. He has statues all over and few in here in Edmonton. I hope to get some pictures soon if my car will start.--Canoe1967 (talk) 03:53, 31 December 2012 (UTC)

Welcome to the 2013 WikiCup!

Hello Another Believer, and welcome to the 2013 WikiCup! Your submissions' page is here. The competition begins at midnight UTC. The first round will last until the end of February, at which point the top 64 scorers will advance to the second round. We will be in touch at the end of every month, and signups are going to remain open until the end of January; if you know of anyone else who may like to take part, please let them know! A few reminders: *The rules can be found here. There have been a few changes from last year, which are listed on that page. *Anything you submit must have been nominated and promoted in 2013, and you need to have completed significant work upon it in 2013. (The articles you review at good article reviews does not need to have been nominated in 2013, but you do need to have started the review in 2013.) We will be checking. *If you feel that another competitor is breaking the rules or abusing the competition in some way, please let a judge know. Please do not remove entries from the submissions' pages of others yourself. *Don't worry about calculating precisely how many points everything is worth. The bot will do that. The bot may occasionally get something wrong- let a judge know, or post on the WikiCup talk page if that happens. *Please try to be prompt in updating submissions' pages so that they can be double-checked. Overall, however, don't worry, and have fun. It doesn't matter if you make the odd mistake; these things happen. Questions can be asked on the WikiCup talk page. Good luck! J Milburn and The ed17 18:12, 31 December 2012 (UTC)

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