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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.

Plagiarism

Sorry to bother you with this pretty small thing.

I found a plagiarized map published through Wikipedia marked self-made. I had asked the user to correct it and present it in a manner appropriate. He is not not co-operating. So I need to file a formal complaint.

  • Can you help me with what complaint form I need to fill in internally?

Appreciate it very much, Kurmaa (talk) 10:56, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

The discussion took place here. All relevant queries regarding content and sources have been answered. User:Kurmaa's primarily objects to showing Kamrup as a part of the Ahom kingdom, which has no historical basis. Chaipau (talk) 12:27, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

RFA Nomination request

Hello HJ I was wondering if I might ask you for a RFA Nomination. I don't have a ton of edits but I still believe I'd make a good Admin. Please respond on my talk. Thanks TucsonDavidU.S.A. 04:56, 12 August 2012 (UTC)

I will have to decline, for tow reason I'm afraid. Firstly, although I don't hold myself to arbitrary statistics, edit count is a factor, and I wouldn't generally support a candidate with less than 5,000 edits. Second, I'm not particularly active on enwiki at the moment, even less so in meta areas, and I don't foresee myself nominating anyone for a while. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 05:01, 12 August 2012 (UTC)
No problem Thanks HJ, I can understand edit count. If you happen to have any suggestions/advice on what you would look for. I would greatly appreciate the advice. TucsonDavidU.S.A. 15:09, 12 August 2012 (UTC)

Help on User Behaviour

A user (say User-1) cited meru shikhara lai in a Wikipedia talk page on 3 August 2012.

Same day I asked User-1 to write entire hymn in his native language script as because I found lai can have at least 3 different words in his native language. In addition, I asked User-1 to write 2 other words both in her/his native script as well as Devanagari script.

A 2nd user (say User-2) jumped over and started responding for User-1. The User-2 indicated that s(he) is not disingenuous - s(he) as well as User-1 would not respond.

It is 10-day past since I asked for this information.

Any feedback/suggestion so that I get the information from User-1 and or User-2?

Appreciate it very much, thanks!

Kurmaa (talk) 13:01, 13 August 2012 (UTC)

Question

Hi HJ, please see this when you get a chance. Thanks! Instaurare (talk) 00:06, 14 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.
  • 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.

This yours?

Amazing what shows up at Userspace NPP, just wanna make sure HJ Mitchell (default II) (talk · contribs) is yours. -- DQ (ʞlɐʇ) 04:37, 15 August 2012 (UTC)

Yes, it's mine, I was using at an event yesterday. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 08:49, 15 August 2012 (UTC)

Instaurare

Is Instaurare (talk · contribs) banned from LGBT articles? thanks! KillerChihuahua?!? 20:35, 15 August 2012 (UTC)

Never mind, he just confirmed he is... on an LGBT related article. Sigh. I've advised him to revert his addition. KillerChihuahua?!? 20:40, 15 August 2012 (UTC)
And he is not now edit warring[1] to keep his addition in the article, which is listed as under LGBT Wikiproject. KillerChihuahua?!? 20:58, 15 August 2012 (UTC)
Would that that was so, Puppy. I believe you meant to say he is now edit warring. A bit of an unlucky typo. :-) Bishonen | talk 21:02, 15 August 2012 (UTC).
Yes, thank you Bish, I have been typo central today. KillerChihuahua?!? 21:10, 15 August 2012 (UTC)
I've blocked him for a few days; he's quite clearly in breach of his topic bans. Just for the record, you're quite welcome to enforce the conditions under which he was unblocked yourself if you were so inclined in future. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 00:04, 16 August 2012 (UTC)
If I had not been involved in editing that article at the time, I would have. But I objected to the content he added prior to noticing his ban, so that would have been completely inappropriate of me. KillerChihuahua?!? 00:39, 16 August 2012 (UTC)
Fair enough. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 03:24, 17 August 2012 (UTC)

A kitten for you!

Thanks for the barnstar and the comment, for clearing out RFPP and your talk page edit notice - I love the cat (hence <--) :)

Callanecc (talk • contribs • logs) 07:44, 16 August 2012 (UTC)

Darwinbish's kitten education project is watching you

A friend has taught your Virtual Wikikitten to bite you shrewdly on the ass. Hopefully that has made your day better. Kittens are cute and have very sharp teeth! Spread the goodness of kittens by giving someone else a bitey kitten, whether it be someone you have had disagreements with in the past or a good friend.

"Jaws" Darwinbish (talk) 13:25, 16 August 2012 (UTC).

Thank you both! Now I'm guaranteed not to stop sneezing for a week! ;) HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 03:25, 17 August 2012 (UTC)

Reading Meetup

Harry, the first Reading meetup has been scheduled for Sunday 23rd September. Could you do a geo-notice for me please. I know they don't work very well but it's better than nothing. Thanks. Philafrenzy (talk) 13:13, 16 August 2012 (UTC)

Looks like Redrose beat me to it. They actually work quite well in my experience. See you there if I can make it! HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 03:28, 17 August 2012 (UTC)

Vandalism

Hi there AJ, AL from Portugal here,

thanks for protecting Javi Martínez's page. Could you please provide the same for his teammate Fernando Llorente (it has already been so, to no avail)? I peaked this article several times in the last hour, he "has had" three different clubs by now, some never learn i fear...

Attentively, thank you very much in advance - --AL (talk) 16:29, 16 August 2012 (UTC)

Done. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 03:46, 17 August 2012 (UTC)

WP:NLT

User:Kurmaa has been hounding me for information which has no relevance on Wikipedia, and it looks to me like a WP:NLT issue.

  • Here he is quoting the US Information act. ([2]).
  • Here he has given me a notice till August 23 to reply. ([3]).
  • Here he is trying to make me remove a map which he disagrees with. ([4]).

I have replied to all reasonable questions, and given him all references that is needed. ([5]), ([6]) and ([7])
I feel threatened by these demands and the nature of these demands which are not required by Wikipedia. What should I do? Or how may I remove these threats? User:Kurmaa has posted here before about some of these issues, so you may be aware of them. Thanks.
Chaipau (talk) 18:04, 17 August 2012 (UTC)

I'd just ignore it—looks like bluster to me. He obviously trying to use legalese to make himself sound more important. But even assuming you are a US citizen, you (as a private citizen) and Wikipedia (as a privately owned website) are not subject to the American Freedom of Information Act (which only applies to the US government). If he actually threatens you with anything, then take it to WP:ANI, but if he wants to make a fool of himself by citing irrelevant legislation and imposing arbitrary deadlines, let him. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 18:21, 17 August 2012 (UTC)
Thank you Chaipau (talk) 18:55, 17 August 2012 (UTC)

Paul Ryan article

I'm still endorsing that the page should be at semi-protected level. The user Still wanted full protection which wasn't necessary for his reasoning especialy Eustress is an admin which Eustress would have made changes themselves even at full-protection. However right now it's a hot political season and Paul Ryan being Mitt Romney's vice presidential running-mate candidate for the Republican ticket, it's a big target to vandalize. Whatever happens tomorrow, the next day, during the convention up to the election will be getting IP vandalism. ViriiK (talk) 07:48, 18 August 2012 (UTC)

And I stand by my decline, I'm afraid. We don't protect articles because of vandalism they're likely to suffer in the future and the vandalism it has suffered recently doesn't suggest that protection is necessary at the moment. You can always make another request if the level of vandalism increases—I've certainly reversed my decision in the past when circumstances have changed. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 08:40, 18 August 2012 (UTC)

Hello!

Celebration
To celebrate The Bill being kept as a GA! 5 albert square (talk) 13:01, 19 August 2012 (UTC)

pp dispute on teh celtic suporters page

i noticed the pp dipsute says it will be protected until 30th ocotober 2012 but logs say 3 daysAndrewcrawford (talk - contrib) 18:01, 19 August 2012 (UTC)

That'7's odd. Thanks for letting me know, I've fixed it. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 18:22, 19 August 2012 (UTC)

Passwordbank

Hi, you blocked Passwordbank (talk · contribs) for violating the username policy whilst they were in the middle of requesting a new username, even if they did file the request wrongly, would it not have been better to wait? Noom talk stalk 14:49, 20 August 2012 (UTC)

I honestly didn't know—I was just clearing a UAA backlog. However, having looked at the CHU request, their proposed username still doesn't comply with policy. It's a {{softerblock}}, so they can always create a new account or request unblocking and a change of username. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 15:00, 20 August 2012 (UTC)

Ki Sung-Yueng

Cheers for stopping the transfer speculation. If only you could stop the actual transfer :( Adam4267 (talk) 00:05, 21 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.

Semi protection for 2012 assam voilence

Hello , please check with the recent edits as most of the websites and facebook pages are banned there has been constant edits by unregistered ip's it will be helpfull if protection is granted for a week or so so that situation cools down in India. Shrikanthv (talk) 12:32, 21 August 2012 (UTC)

OTRS

You're an OTRS member, so I thought I'd ask you. If I'm interested in very occasionally helping out there, as my schedule allows, would I be of any use? Or does one need to be fairly active to do any good? I think I'm clueful enough to be careful not to bite off more than I can chew (i.e. I won't promise to help someone and then not do it), but I'm not sure if that would be worth anyone's time. --Floquenbeam (talk) 20:55, 22 August 2012 (UTC)

You would be of use, definitely. In my experience, it's not so much that you need to devote a certain number of hours a day, it's that you need to be able to see things through. For example, one of my tickets is about an issue that has been ongoing for over a year. I only get emails sporadically, but when they come in, I need to figure out what the problem is, and either do something about it or explain why I can't do anything. That's the only ticket I've had that has gone on for anything like that amount of time, but it gives you an idea of what I mean.

You can always request access and decide for yourself if you think you have time, but any help from experienced, sensible editors (such as yourself) is good help. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 21:51, 22 August 2012 (UTC)

Thanks, Harry. I'll probably do that. --Floquenbeam (talk) 21:58, 22 August 2012 (UTC)
You're welcome. And if you need help getting to grips with anything on OTRS, feel free to drop me a line. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 22:18, 22 August 2012 (UTC)
OTRS throws people out if they feel they aren't doing enough. Kudpung กุดผึ้ง (talk) 22:46, 22 August 2012 (UTC)
Your account gets deactivated if you don't log into it for six months, but there's no prejudice against requesting it be reactivated. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 22:52, 22 August 2012 (UTC)

Hi HJ!

Hey HJ!

Seems a long time since we last spoke properly, just thought I'd drop by and see how you're doing.

How's things with you?--5 albert square (talk) 23:27, 22 August 2012 (UTC)

Protection?

Hi HJ. Yesterday you agreed to put temporary protection on Olympic symbols for a month, but it doesn't in fact appear to be protected. COuld you check this out, please. Ta. Hogyn Lleol ★ (chat) 07:59, 23 August 2012 (UTC)

That's strange. I could have sworn I protected it; anyway, it's done now. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 13:05, 23 August 2012 (UTC)

Protection for Nimbula and Reza_Malekzadeh_(entrepreneur)

Hi HJ and thanks for your quick action. I understand that you do not yet see enough evidence for the Nimbula page, so I'll leave it at that but point out that the same user (under 2 aliases) hit the Reza_Malekzadeh_(entrepreneur) page; his second aliase (which did hit Nimbula was quickly blocked. I'll see if he resurfaces under another ID, in which case we will be asking for more firm action, but for now, thanks again. Sleep tight in Blighty!

Regards Kuyper Kuyper (talk) 00:13, 24 August 2012 (UTC)

Sleep? What's that?

I protected the latter because there have been quite a few unconstructive edits to it lately, and because the threshold is generally lower for BLPs (as a general rule, if edits so unpleasant they have to be RevDel'd are made by more than one account in one day, I'll protect the article without a second thought). The former doesn't seem to have seen much activity, even going several months back into the history, which is why I declined it. That said, if the vandalism picks up, file another request. It wouldn't be the first time I'd protected something I declined a day or two earlier when the circumstances are different. Best, HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 00:22, 24 August 2012 (UTC)

File:RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 cover.jpg

You deleted the above file citing abuse of a user's uploading permissions. I'd like to have it undeleted, if it is actually the cover image and if it is of a sufficiently low resolution. --Izno (talk) 18:45, 25 August 2012 (UTC)

Soapboxing

So are you going to be consistent in your unilateral blocks? So then here is soapboxing...or is it okey to fit one world view?Lihaas (talk) 04:31, 26 August 2012 (UTC) ]

I'm not sure what you expect of me. Do you honestly think that I watch every page looking for people using it as a soapbox? I don't. In fact, that page isn't even on my watchlist, so it's not as if I've made a conscious decision to let them get away with something you disapprove of. If you think they've done something worthy of admin action, take it to a noticeboard. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 12:47, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

WM UK

Hello, it seems like you receive some monies from WM UK to reimburse for costs that you incur. I also incur costs in my support of Wikimedia. How may I receive reimbursement? I am a resident of UK. 141.156.236.63 (talk) 23:58, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

It depends what kind of activities you're undertaking. You might like to have a look at wmuk:Finance_Policy_2012#Reimbursement_of_Expenses or wmuk:Microgrants for some more information, or you can email WMUK's chief executive, Jon, at jon.davies@wikimedia.org, and he can advise you on what you can request reimbursement for and the procedure for making a claim. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 00:09, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

Wikipedia talk:Manual of Style#RFC: shall changes in beginning of sentence case be allowed in quotations?

Would you assess the consensus at Wikipedia talk:Manual of Style#RFC: shall changes in beginning of sentence case be allowed in quotations? (you previously reviewed this at Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard/Requests for closure)? If you don't have the time or inclination, then no worries. Cunard (talk) 23:59, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

Of course. I intend to close it, but I'm in the middle of writing an article on a fascinating pile of rubble at the moment! ;) HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 00:04, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

Question

Shoot, I did it again, sorry to bother you. In this edit I made minor wording changes, and changed one word in the paragraph about the subject's views on homosexual marriage per WP:CLAIM. Is that cutting it too close? Instaurare (talk) 20:16, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

I'd say so. I won't insist yo self-revert, because the edit looks uncontentious, but do try to find something to edit that isn't affected by your restrictions. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 20:26, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

Adminship

Hello. If you have the time, would you mind considering me for a nomination for adminship? Cloudbound (talk) 23:51, 25 August 2012 (UTC)

I'd love to. Email me your answers to the first three RfA questions and we'll talk. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 12:49, 26 August 2012 (UTC)
Hello, HJ Mitchell. Please check your email; you've got mail!
It may take a few minutes from the time the email is sent for it to show up in your inbox. You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{You've got mail}} or {{ygm}} template.

Cloudbound (talk) 00:30, 29 August 2012 (UTC)

Request

Hey, how are you doing? Could you move User:JuneGloom07/Aidan to Aidan Foster for me, please? - JuneGloom Talk 00:47, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

Done. I'm not too bad, all things considered; yourself? HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 00:50, 27 August 2012 (UTC)
Thank you! It's times like these that I become tempted to run for adminship. I'm doing okay, just trying to complete the many article drafts I have in my userspace. Although it seems like I've started more than I've actually finished. - JuneGloom Talk 01:14, 27 August 2012 (UTC)
You should run—you'd have no problems passing an RfA, and you have the experience and judgement to make a damn good admin, even if you didn't put the tools to use that often. Get Courcelles to nominate you (nominators don't come much more respected than him), and I'll co-nom. With two experienced nominators and a good nomination statement, plus your experience, level-headedness, and content work, you'd sail through.

I know the feeling of endless tasks—I put together User:HJ/Grade I listed buildings in Coventry, hoping that that it would be a nice quick FL while I wait for some books for my next FA project, only to find that most of these amazing buildings didn't have articles or only had two-line stubs. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 01:39, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

You're sweet to say all of that, but I really doubt I'd sail through. Especially because I haven't been all that level-headed lately. Two examples: User talk:Bwilkins/Archive 9#Help? and User talk:Eaststreetlover#Re: Changes to my edits. Your list is looking great, I love that image of the Cathedral Church of St Michael at the top. While you're here, could you provide me with a copy of the Shauna Bradley article? I'd like a go at rewriting and restoring it. - JuneGloom Talk 23:42, 27 August 2012 (UTC)
We all have our moments, and those are hardly catastrophic meltdowns. But ask Courcelles—see what he thinks. I'd bet you a fiver he'll agree with me. ;) I love that photo too, so I made a point of sticking it right at the top (y'know, I'm running a photo contest in Coventry on Saturday—you're welcome to come along if you can make it. And I've emailed you both versions of that article. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 23:58, 27 August 2012 (UTC)
I don't have a fiver to spare! But I might drop him an email and see what he thinks. The photo contest sounds great, but Coventry might be a little too far for me to travel to. Thank you for the email, there were a few details in there that came in handy. - JuneGloom Talk 23:45, 28 August 2012 (UTC)
I think I've significantly improved the Shauna Bradley article and it's not similar to the previous versions. Do you think you could merge User:JuneGloom07/Shauna with it? - JuneGloom Talk 23:53, 29 August 2012 (UTC)
Done. :) HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 20:03, 31 August 2012 (UTC)
Thank you! :) - JuneGloom Talk 21:34, 31 August 2012 (UTC)

Scott Taylor

Hi there. I just noticed that you protected, then un-protected, Scott Taylor (political activist), opting instead to leave a Talk note for user Wonder-pedia. Trouble is, that's the wrong user. The guy causing the problem is actually 216.81.94.72, and I would encourage you to look at this [8] (he is an IP-hopper) before deciding what to do next. If he will respond to polite appeals and sound reasoning, that would be great, but I am not hopeful. Belchfire-TALK 16:52, 28 August 2012 (UTC)

It was another admin who protected and the unprotected the article. If there are ongoing issues, RfPP would be the best place to raise them. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 20:04, 31 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.
  • 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.

page protection advice...

Hey Harry,

I'm having some problems with edit-warring on The_Kluger_Agency between one very pro IP and one very anti IP - could you do me a favour, have a quick look, and give me your take on if page protection is necessary/would help? It's getting old fast :( Fayedizard (talk) 08:52, 29 August 2012 (UTC)

Scratch that - someone protected the page when I wasn't looking *blush* Fayedizard (talk) 09:02, 29 August 2012 (UTC)

Society of Biology workshop

--Nesbitr (talk) 14:44, 29 August 2012 (UTC)

--Gin Buck (talk) 14:45, 29 August 2012 (UTC)

--Lvharps (talk) 14:46, 29 August 2012 (UTC)

--LauraUdakis (talk) 14:46, 29 August 2012 (UTC)

--Scientistchic (talk) 14:47, 29 August 2012 (UTC)

--Geneticcuckoo (talk) 14:48, 29 August 2012 (UTC)

--Mimitanimoto (talk) 14:49, 29 August 2012 (UTC)

--Sara Ellis (talk) 14:49, 29 August 2012 (UTC)

DYK nomination of Caludon Castle

Hello! Your submission of Caludon Castle at the Did You Know nominations page has been reviewed, and there still are some issues that may need to be clarified. Please review the comment(s) underneath your nomination's entry and respond there as soon as possible. Thank you for contributing to Did You Know! Constantine ✍ 18:51, 29 August 2012 (UTC)

What happens next at Village Pump (proposals)?

Hi HJ Mitchell-- I have a proposal up at the village pump (see here) that is looking fairly unanimous in terms of support. However, I'm not familiar with the proposal process and what happens if a proposal is accepted. I suppose this depends on the nature of the proposal. In brief, I suggested adding a color scheme to syntax in the text editor to help editors differentiate between different kinds of syntax. Does this then go to bugzilla? Is it something else entirely? (You can reply here, I'll be watching your page.) I, Jethrobot drop me a line (note: not a bot!) 06:50, 30 August 2012 (UTC)

(talk page stalker). It's an excellent idea and I've supported it. In my opinion however, the actual technical implementation should preferably be part of an entirely different discussion if and when the VP discussion reaches a clear consensus for the idea. I'm not particularly concerned how it would be technically deployed, but if it requires a major tweak to MediaWiki, I'm not confident that the Foundation would allocate developer time and funds for it if it goes through Bugzilla. The counter argument from the community who needs such a tool however, would be that not only the en.Wiki, but but all Wiki projects would benefit from it. It remains to be seen - I like pleasant surprises. Kudpung กุดผึ้ง (talk) 08:16, 30 August 2012 (UTC)
I agree with Kudpung—you need to have some idea of how this would be implemented before you can request it be done at Bugzilla. MediaWiki talk:Common.css moght be a good place to seek input. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 20:09, 31 August 2012 (UTC)

Fernando Llorente

Hi there HJ, AL here,

sick vandalism continues, one more day until the summer transfer window closes, maybe then the kids will leave us be. Do you think page protection is warranted in the light of the info i just gave you?

Thanks in advance (great cat picture above, imposing!), cheers - --AL (talk) 17:17, 30 August 2012 (UTC)

Coventry

Hiya HJ,

On more than one occasion, I've seen "Coventry" events advertised in edit space. The advert always seem to disappear before the date of the event. I can understand this where numbers are limited, but is not a pub meeting a "more the merrier" event. I think the coummunity is missing a trick exluding us "spur of the moment" types. Tommy Pinball (talk) 14:20, 31 August 2012 (UTC)
Hi! A lot of events are advertised via the geonotice, which is the grey text at the very top of your watchlist. The most recent event advertised was wmuk:Wikipedia Takes Coventry (which is tomorrow). I took the geonotice down because we're getting close to capacity, but you'd be welcome if you wanted to come. We also have the occasional meetup in a pub (usually the Litten Tree in the southern end of the city centre). They're usually advertised up until the day before the event via the geonotice. There's also WMUK's events page and m:Meetup/Coventry if you want to keep track of things. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 20:15, 31 August 2012 (UTC)

Xiaojiawan coal mine explosion

Hi, HJ Mitchell. In 2009, you contributed actively to the Heilongjiang mine explosion article. I wonder if you may be interested also to contribute to the Xiaojiawan coal mine explosion article? Thank you. Beagel (talk) 17:24, 31 August 2012 (UTC)

The Bugle: Issue LXXVII, August 2012

Full front page of The Bugle
Your Military History Newsletter

The Bugle is published by the Military history WikiProject. To receive it on your talk page, please join the project or sign up here.
If you are a project member who does not want delivery, please remove your name from this page. Your editors, Ian Rose (talk) and Ed [talk] [majestic titan] 00:52, 1 September 2012 (UTC)

You've got mail!

Hello, HJ Mitchell. Please check your email; you've got mail!
Message added 14:32, 1 September 2012 (UTC). It may take a few minutes from the time the email is sent for it to show up in your inbox. You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{You've got mail}} or {{ygm}} template.

Mail about hotels etc. Sorry for leaving a template here, but it's got your booking details in it! The Cavalry (Message me) 14:32, 1 September 2012 (UTC)

Thanks Richard! HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 09:53, 2 September 2012 (UTC)

Lily cole

Hi HJM, I have done a bit of a clean up at Lily Cole. I think it was yourself that got it to GA. It seems that quite a bit of the article was no longer meeting GA requirements so I have done my best to bring it closer. I have responded to the point raised on her talk page. I was hesitant to mess with the page too much but it seemed a bit urgent. Maybe you could have a look over it and do some dusting, if you have a mind to. Your thoughts on the talk page might be useful. I hope my tweaks have been of use. Best wishes Span (talk) 21:31, 1 September 2012 (UTC)

Hi. Yes, I got it to GA originally. That was a couple of years ago. It was probably only just up to GA standard then, and I haven't paid it much attention recently so it's fallen into disrepair. I'll see if I can make any improvements, but my Internet access for the next couple of weeks is likely to be sporadic. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 09:58, 2 September 2012 (UTC)

Move request for Lower Assam

Hi,

There was a move request for Lower Assam to "Western Assam", but before the discussion could be completed and the issue resolved, User:Bhaskarbhagawati has moved the page [9], despite a request to desist till the issue is resolved [10]. It seems Bhaskarbhagawati is not interested in coming to an agreement on the issue. What should I do? Thanks. Chaipau (talk) 02:45, 1 September 2012 (UTC)

Discussion was updated with more evidence diff, and a request was made to let a neutral user adjudicate on the issue diff. Both were ignored by User:Bhaskarbhagawati. Thanks. Chaipau (talk) 16:08, 3 September 2012 (UTC)

Geonotice

Hi HJ.

If you get a chance, would you be able to take a look at Wikipedia:Geonotice#British Library and British Museum events and see if it can be put up? (They're coming up in a week or so)

I've been holding off poking someone about this because of the WL Coventry notice, but I've just noticed you pulled that a couple of days ago :-)

Hope all is well... Andrew Gray (talk) 21:45, 2 September 2012 (UTC)

Thanks! Hope you can make it down for one or both :-) Andrew Gray (talk) 20:21, 3 September 2012 (UTC)
Harry, Neither of the links on the notice work - don't know why. Johnbod (talk) 21:23, 3 September 2012 (UTC)

DYK for Caludon Castle

 — Crisco 1492 (talk) 16:03, 3 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.

The Olive Branch: A Dispute Resolution Newsletter (Issue #1)

Welcome to the first edition of The Olive Branch. This will be a place to semi-regularly update editors active in dispute resolution (DR) about some of the most important issues, advances, and challenges in the area. You were delivered this update because you are active in DR, but if you would prefer not to receive any future mailing, just add your name to this page.

Steven Zhang's Fellowship Slideshow

In this issue:

  • Background: A brief overview of the DR ecosystem.
  • Research: The most recent DR data
  • Survey results: Highlights from Steven Zhang's April 2012 survey
  • Activity analysis: Where DR happened, broken down by the top DR forums
  • DR Noticeboard comparison: How the newest DR forum has progressed between May and August
  • Discussion update: Checking up on the Wikiquette Assistance close debate
  • Proposal: It's time to close the Geopolitical, ethnic, and religious conflicts noticeboard. Agree or disagree?
Read the entire first edition of The Olive Branch -->

--The Olive Branch 19:05, 4 September 2012 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Editor review/TheGeneralUser (2) Your review is required and will be greatly appreciated :)

Hi HJ Mitchell ! I have started my second editor review at Wikipedia:Editor review/TheGeneralUser (2). I will be greatly delighted, thankful and valued to have your review for me regarding my editing and possible candidate for Adminship. I see you also evaluate possible candidates for Adminship as you had chosen to do so on Wikipedia:Request an RfA nomination, so do evaluate me too! As you are a experienced and long term Wikipedian so i have asked for your kind review. Take your time to review my editing and give the best review that you can :). Feel free to ask me any questions you would like to on the review page itself. It will be a great honor to have you review me for which I will truly feel appreciated and helpful! I always work to improve Wikipedia and make it a more better place to be for Everyone :). Regards and Happy Editing! TheGeneralUser (talk) 19:17, 4 September 2012 (UTC)

In honor of your service as a Milhist coordinator

The WikiProject Barnstar
In honor of your service as coordinator for the Military History Project from September 2011 to September 2012, I hereby award you this WikiProject Barnstar. - Dank (push to talk) 02:38, 7 September 2012 (UTC)
Thanks Dan! HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 13:33, 9 September 2012 (UTC)

Mass protection request

Could you fire up your automated protection script again? Due to page moves or something else, I've found some unprotected components of {{convert}} and protected them, but I'm guessing that there are some more that I've not yet seen. Due to the massive number of components (a few thousand, if I understand rightly), your script would be much better than human activity, and because all of these components are supposed to be protected anyway, nobody except vandals will complain. Nyttend (talk) 17:54, 7 September 2012 (UTC)

Hi, the only automated protection script I have is part of Twinkle. It can protect every page linked from a given page, but the button only seems to appear in certain namespaces. If you create a page in userspace (yours or mine) that just contains a pile of links, you should see (if you have Twinkle enabled) a button labelled "p-batch". No idea where it would appear if you use Vector. Or you can ping me and I'll just set Twinkle on it. Best, HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 13:32, 9 September 2012 (UTC)

Military history coordinator election

The Military history WikiProject has started its 2012 project coordinator election process, where we will select a team of coordinators to organize the project over the coming year. If you would like to be considered as a candidate, please submit your nomination by 14 September. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact one of the current coordinators on their talk page. This message was delivered here because you are a member of the Military history WikiProject. – Military history coordinators (about the project • what coordinators do) 09:08, 10 September 2012 (UTC)

Rollbacker

Hi HJ, I noticed today that MONGO didn't have the rollback permission, but when I went to add it, I saw that you removed it a year ago. Do you mind if I restore it? SlimVirgin (talk) 21:02, 10 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.
  • 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).

Cough

Is there any hint of a prize of the excellent winners of Wikipedia Takes Coventry's most points category? WormTT(talk) 15:23, 12 September 2012 (UTC)

Goes to me for not being able to be there and having the longest unresolved application for membership of the UK chapter in history ;) Kudpung กุดผึ้ง (talk) 16:06, 12 September 2012 (UTC)

This Month in GLAM: August 2012



Headlines
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 17:01, 12 September 2012 (UTC)

Wikipedia talk:Requests for comment/Abortion article titles

FYI.... :-/ Black Kite (talk) 18:07, 12 September 2012 (UTC)

Wikipedia talk:Requests for comment/Abortion article titles

We need to figure out where to go next on this, so some input on where to go next would be good. Cheers, Casliber (talk · contribs) 02:28, 10 September 2012 (UTC)

A reply by the end of the week is appreciated. This is the applicable discussion thread. -- Eraserhead1 <talk> 07:48, 12 September 2012 (UTC)
No promises (see the note at the top), but I should be able to look at it over the weekend. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 15:13, 12 September 2012 (UTC)
If you need a bit more time then no problem, I'd much rather have a considered response rather than a quick one.
Sorry if I come across as overly aggressive on the talk page, Black Kite hasn't expressed himself well over the matter, and I felt that you guys were ignoring the problem - which clearly given your internet connection issues isn't fair of me.
I hope you get your internet issues sorted out properly soon - that can't be fun :(. -- Eraserhead1 <talk> 20:33, 12 September 2012 (UTC)
I appreciate your internet access problems but I would like to see some sort of reply to this as your next action on the project. Leaving things to dangle without resolution for three months in a state no-one likes is blatantly going to drive people away from the project. Given you spent several hours this morning voting for candidates for military history coordinator, and have made further edits over the day, you clearly have had enough time online to have looked at this over the weekend - and while I accept that replying to others comments on your own candidacy is more important than this, this is clearly more important than voting for other candidates.
If you don't do this I will have to take the case to Arbcom and ask for sanctions against both you and Black Kite. -- Eraserhead1 <talk> 20:15, 16 September 2012 (UTC)
And if this project paid me a salary, its members would be quite entitled to dictate how I spend my time on it. As it is, I'm a volunteer, and currently one without a job or a home, so my ability to do things that require more than a few minutes' typing is severely limited, and I have priorities beyond Wikipedia. You have my word that I will look at the abortion mess when I have time to give it the attention it needs; if that's not good enough for you, then by all means take me to ArbCom. The current committee might actually be stupid enough to sanction an editor for having a real life. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 10:14, 18 September 2012 (UTC)
Right, I've now looked at it, and I must confess, I can see no indication of what you want from me, except a scapegoat for the lack of a conclusive outcome. I made my recommendation three months ago, and I thought it was clear (or obvious) that I didn't think the closing admins should be the ones to implement that recommendation (cf. my comments on the RfC talk page). Since then, real life has intervened, and I have less time to contribute to this project at the moment than I did at the time of the RfC, which is why (assuming it was my responsibility to do so) I haven't been back to check what became of my recommendation. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 13:51, 18 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.

images

Hi Harry, can you look at this please. I still can't find where to tag non free images and this can't be the uploader's own work. Kudpung กุดผึ้ง (talk) 07:34, 22 September 2012 (UTC)

You might have warned me it was a pack of nappies before I clicked that link in the pub! Still, if it's fair use, you want one of these. Technically, it's a copyvio while it's being claimed as the uploader's own work, and could be deleted under CSD F9/G12, or it could be tagged {{subst:npd}} for eventual deletion under F11. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 16:15, 24 September 2012 (UTC)

DYK for Grade I listed buildings in Coventry

Casliber (talk · contribs) 16:03, 24 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.

Congratulations

Coordinator of the Military history Project, September 2012 – September 2013

In recognition of your election as a co-ordinator of the Military history project for the September 2012 to September 2013 period, please accept these co-ord stars. Thank you for standing again and I hope it will be a fruitful year. Regards, AustralianRupert (talk) 04:58, 29 September 2012 (UTC)

Thanks, Rupert. I hope so too. And congratulations on being joint lead coord! HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 12:39, 29 September 2012 (UTC)

Manchester meetup

Hi Harry. User:Sal73x has asked me when the next Manchester meetup is going to be, but there don't seem to be any north-west meetups scheduled for the near future. Any suggestions on when the next one should be, or shall I just pick a date? (Sorry I couldn't make the last Manchester one.) Cheers, Bazonka (talk) 06:54, 28 September 2012 (UTC)

...(interjecting) I'd like to attend the next one. I'm away from 25 October to 8 November, so it would be cool for me if the two weekends in between were avoided.  :) No problem if not, of course, just suggesting! Julia\talk 21:23, 28 September 2012 (UTC)
RexxS has suggested that I just pick a date. How does 20th October sound? Bazonka (talk) 22:09, 28 September 2012 (UTC)
Not ideal, because it's the day before Coventry, but it might have to do. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 12:36, 29 September 2012 (UTC)
Sorry about that. I tried to avoid clashes with other Wikimeets, but I must have missed that one. Bazonka (talk) 15:21, 29 September 2012 (UTC)
No apology needed, my friend. There aren't many people who attend both Coventry and Manchester, and you had to schedule it somewhere. Hopefully I'll see you there. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 16:36, 29 September 2012 (UTC)
Wait a minute... the Cambridge meetup is on the 28th October! I knew I hadn't clashed! Bazonka (talk) 22:02, 29 September 2012 (UTC)
I'm obviously losing my marbles - getting Cambridge and Coventry confused... Bazonka (talk) 19:18, 30 September 2012 (UTC)
That implies you had any left to lose! ;) Anyway, Coventry is the day after, so it's not a clash as such, just less than ideal (but the schedule of meetups is getting busy). HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 19:32, 30 September 2012 (UTC)

false positive

Special:AbuseFilter/history/189/diff/prev/7375 seems to be triggered by this edit with the offending text being <ref name="60mins">{{cite news|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/16/60minutes/main3516048.shtml |title=Omar Khadr: The Youngest Terrorist? |publisher=CBS News |date= |accessdate=2012-09-30}}</ref>, It does not like the word "terrorist", a term which appears endlessly in much of the propaganda emanating from the US post-2001. The page in question is about retired Sgt. Layne Morris, who was part of the US-backed occupation of Afghanistan during that country's war of terror so keeping "terrorist" from being mentioned by sources on this topic's pages is a little like trying to apply Godwin's Law to pages specifically describing World War II in Europe. 66.102.83.61 (talk) 15:02, 30 September 2012 (UTC)

It doesn't apply across the board—just to BLPs—and it should only be tagging edits. The tags are a way of identifying potentially problematic edits and shouldn't be taken as an accusation or an attempt to prevent anybody from using the word. Lots of potentially problematic words have perfectly legitimate uses, including many of those covered by that filter—even I have tripped filters. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 15:43, 30 September 2012 (UTC)

Voting proposal on Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Abortion advocacy movement coverage

Hey, HJ. Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Abortion advocacy movement coverage is now live, and there's a proposal for using voting mechanics as part of its closing. If you're still willing to help close (and if you aren't, please let me know ASAP), your feedback would be particularly germane to that proposal. Thanks! —chaos5023 (talk) 14:59, 1 October 2012 (UTC)

I think it's best I step away from this now and let somebody with a fresh pair of eyes look at it. I don't think my continued involvement is likely to be beneficial given that some seem to blame me for the lack of progress since the first RfC, and I think it would be better for the RfC to be closed by an admin or admins with no baggage. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 09:59, 2 October 2012 (UTC)
Okay, fair enough. Possibly you could give me pointers as to where I might turn up such people? Black Kite has also bowed out, and EyeSerene is possibly inactive, so we're kinda bleeding admins. —chaos5023 (talk) 13:04, 2 October 2012 (UTC)
Well, you could ask our esteemed overlords to appoint somebody else, or some of these admins might be willing. You could also try my co-closers from the Verifiability RfC—RegentsPark (talk · contribs) and Worm That Turned (talk · contribs); both are good admins. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 13:26, 2 October 2012 (UTC)
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