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Administrators' newsletter – November 2020

News and updates for administrators from the past month (October 2020).

Guideline and policy news

  • Community sanctions now authorize administrators to place under indefinite semiprotection any article on a beauty pageant, or biography of a person known as a beauty pageant contestant, which has been edited by a sockpuppet account or logged-out sockpuppet, to be logged at WP:GS/PAGEANT.

Technical news

Arbitration

Miscellaneous


DYK nomination of Hidden Lake (Alaska)

Hello! Your submission of Hidden Lake (Alaska) at the Did You Know nominations page has been reviewed, and some issues with it may need to be clarified. Please review the comment(s) at your nomination's entry and respond there as soon as possible. Thank you for contributing to Did You Know! Yoninah (talk) 20:58, 5 November 2020 (UTC)

Please see new note on your DYK nomination. Yoninah (talk) 22:15, 8 November 2020 (UTC)

Request

Hey, could you remove my "autopatrolled" user right? Thanks. ~~ CAPTAIN MEDUSAtalk 18:45, 11 November 2020 (UTC)

Do you mind if I ask why? It's kind of an odd request. Beeblebrox (talk) 02:06, 12 November 2020 (UTC)
It's kind of hard to explain. I think it will benefit the articles that I create. ~~ CAPTAIN MEDUSAtalk 13:04, 12 November 2020 (UTC)
Well, if it's in the best interest of the project I can't see any reason not to do it,  Done. Beeblebrox (talk) 19:21, 12 November 2020 (UTC)

ACE Coordination

I saw your comment on coordination talk. This is why Arbcom and its elections are a mockery of a committee of super-fair arbitrators. Members who have no axe to grind and are truly equitable in the way they handle cases are generally mature academics, lawyers, or very skilled long-time users like yourself, are in the minority. With so few candidates just about anyone can secure a seat in an election where there are barely enough candidates for the seats to be filled. All they need to do is get is a score of 50% from a huge electorate many of whom possibly don't even have a clue what they are actually voting for. This leaves access to the committee open to people who aren't really suitable for the job, don't do sufficient research, and who on some cases allow themselves to be swayed by the voices of a non-involved peanut gallery.

I believe a call for candidates would not be the best thing to do. The drop-out rate due to practical reasons, RL necessities (health etc.), or disillusionment with the system is exceptionally high for such a small number of members, and over the years the committee hasn't exactly been free of ts own scandals. The quality of the individuals on the committee may have declined between then and now ... no sensible person would volunteer for it, which largely restricts its membership to the careerists and obsessives ... . Last year one person ran after I encouraged them to and they won a seat. Perhaps the solution is to privately canvass some genuinely appropriate committee material like I used to do for admins when I thought it was worth the trouble.

I'm understandably retired from actively doing anything to build or maintain this project, but as I frequently use the encyclopedia I am still concerned for its health and sanity and safety of its back room volunteers and admins - things that are not going to be improved by the newly acquired boldness of its arbitration committees. As long as the committee sees itself as judge, jury, and executioner, I fear greatly for the community if the the rules for election and composition of the committee do not change quite radically, or as several respected and influential users have suggested (some of them current arbs!), deprecate it and replace it with something else. Kudpung กุดผึ้ง (talk) 10:32, 15 November 2020 (UTC)

It's certainly not a perfect system. It isn't "arbitration" in the normally understood sense of the word, and no matter what the committee does there are always a certain percentage of people who will decry it for being corrupt or whatever. But for better or worse it is what we have right now, and I'm on it, so the idea that we have unfilled seats is troubling. We're up to three now, and actually after looking at some past elections for context this isn't all that unusual.
On a more personal level, I wouldn't second guess my fellow arbs, when I recuse from a case I mean it, I didn't even read the thing,(I was actually very busy working in remote villages at that time and had poor connectivity a lot of the time anyway) but I was not happy that it ended with you being desysopped. I can only imagine how discouraging that must be. The closest parallel I can think of is when I got demoted years ago at a chicken wing restaurant. They did a 100 point inspection of how you closed the place every single day, and anything less than 95% was considered abject failure. So I got a couple 90s and was suddenly no longer a shift manager, because doing something 90% right was apparently not enough to earn the extra 35 cents an hour I got as shift manager. I took my manager shirt off and walked out the door. (funny thing is, they hired me back a couple months later as a delivery driver and I was so much happier in that role). Beeblebrox (talk) 18:10, 15 November 2020 (UTC)
Thank you so much for your thoughts. My comment wasn't really about me at all but concerned the style of the election and the future of the way the Committee's business is conducted. Perhaps one idea for ACE reform would be to have individual, open elections like RfA for 1-year terms instead of regularly scheduled 'general elections'. That would certainly sort the wheat from the chaff and prevent a new team of 'carreerists and obsessives' from flexing its muscles. The burden of the Committee's work may well be less than it used to be and it's still (apparently) a time sink, but instead it has become a monumental bureaucratic mess, and I think even Iridescent might agree with that. Seven seats are up for grabs this time round. I'm more or less happy (bar one) with those who still have a year to go and I'm very glad you still have a seat, and I hope WTT will stay the course for the rest of his term, but there are some who I really would not like to see reelected if they run again. By the time the nominations are all in, there will again be hardly enough genuine candidates to fill the vacancies - there rarely are nowadays - it won't be rocket science to guess who of them will win, and it remains to be seen how good or how naïve the new members will be.
I think I understand your chicken wings anecdote. In 1974 I walked out of a 36,000ft executive job that was paying me nearly today's equivalent of the Wikipedia 36,000ft CEO's salary and joined the army. When I left that I went back to college for a few years and had a fascinating 25 year career in education. I never earned a salary like it again though. The admin tools were necessary for 90% of the work I was doing which was of a purely pragmatic nature and without them I have no need to stick around. I'm never going to volunteer another single edit to content or sniff out another UPE, or bring about another major change in policy again. Arbcom, as a body, must be living in oblivion if they think desyoped admins will ever get their tools back through RfA - they deliberately ensure (and encourage) that such desysopings are a character assassination and totally negate all the good an editor ever did.
If COVID-19 restrictions are relaxed and the planned Wikimania is able to take place in BKK next year, because I live here I'll probably wander in through the door, but only for the opportunity to meet some good Wikifriends again for the last time, and it won't cost me a bloody fortune of my own money for a four-day foreign trip. Maybe you'll be there, and perhaps Harry too - whatever he's doing these days - time for the three of us to have a couple of beers together again. Kudpung กุดผึ้ง (talk) 00:00, 16 November 2020 (UTC)
Harry's busy these days. Running a supermarket home delivery operation during Covid means 50, 60, sometimes 70 hours a week. The little wiki time I have, I prefer to spend in mainspace (featured article #26 was promoted earlier today, so I'll be spending this evening nominating #27!) and I try to stay out of the politics. I'd love to get to Bangkok but I can't guarantee anything. It depends heavily on dates (I'm already committed for most of the first half of August next year; we've booked the Isle of Wight for step-daughter's birthday) and covid. And work. And money (that's a long and expensive flight, not to mention finding somewhere to stay!). And ... everything else. It would be amazing to have a drink with you guys again, though; it will have been nine years since DC next year! HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 20:31, 16 November 2020 (UTC)
Thailand is for sure somewhere I'd love to visit as well, although I feel like it would be hard to force myself to focus on the event when there's a whole galaxy of food to explore. Way better than a Japanese steakhouse in a basement. Beeblebrox (talk) 20:44, 16 November 2020 (UTC)
Way, way better! Decent hotel rooms like the ones in Esino, with en suite from as little as 15 quid a night, Harry - way better than a 10-man dorm with bunk beds and a loo down the corridor... Kudpung กุดผึ้ง (talk) 23:30, 16 November 2020 (UTC)

ArbCom 2020 Elections voter message

Hello! Voting in the 2020 Arbitration Committee elections is now open until 23:59 (UTC) on Monday, 7 December 2020. All eligible users are allowed to vote. Users with alternate accounts may only vote once.

The Arbitration Committee is the panel of editors responsible for conducting the Wikipedia arbitration process. It has the authority to impose binding solutions to disputes between editors, primarily for serious conduct disputes the community has been unable to resolve. This includes the authority to impose site bans, topic bans, editing restrictions, and other measures needed to maintain our editing environment. The arbitration policy describes the Committee's roles and responsibilities in greater detail.

If you wish to participate in the 2020 election, please review the candidates and submit your choices on the voting page. If you no longer wish to receive these messages, you may add {{NoACEMM}} to your user talk page. MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 01:42, 24 November 2020 (UTC)

DYK for Hidden Lake (Alaska)

On 26 November 2020, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Hidden Lake (Alaska), which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that firefighters were able to save the campground at Alaska's Hidden Lake from the 2019 Swan Lake Fire by creating a back burn with driptorches? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Hidden Lake (Alaska). You are welcome to check how many page hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, Hidden Lake (Alaska)), and it may be added to the statistics page if the total is over 5,000. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

Best Wishes, Lee Vilenski (talkcontribs) 00:02, 26 November 2020 (UTC)

3,200 page views on Thanksgiving, I'll take that! Beeblebrox (talk) 22:48, 29 November 2020 (UTC)

A conversation you might be interested in

You might be interested in this conversation from my user talk where Epiphyllumlover gives some context about stuff. Best, Barkeep49 (talk) 00:43, 28 November 2020 (UTC)

Huh. That does show a bit more depth than is evident from those questions. Beeblebrox (talk) 01:51, 28 November 2020 (UTC)

Thank you

Thanks for the advice on the username for AA page. Springnuts (talk) 22:40, 29 November 2020 (UTC)

Anytime. I've been dealing with username issues for over a decade and I try to help educate reporting users about the various nuances of the policy whenever I can, since there are a lot of them. Don't be shy about reporting any future possible issues you may come across. Beeblebrox (talk) 22:46, 29 November 2020 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – December 2020

News and updates for administrators from the past month (November 2020).

Administrator changes

removed AndrwscAnetodeGoldenRingJzGLinguistAtLargeNehrams2020

Interface administrator changes

added Izno

Guideline and policy news

Technical news

Arbitration


SIA page not disambig - Mud Lake (Alaska)

Hi I noticed and reverted the redirect which blanked the SIA page Mud Lake (Alaska). I wanted to bring your attention to Wikipedia:WikiProject_Lakes#Set_Index_Page and Wikipedia:WikiProject_Lakes#Multiple_lakes_with_the_same_name which SIA is not a disambiguation page, but often looks similar and is a practice in WikiProject Lakes. SIA are a special list used in some Wikiprojects see Wikipedia:Set_index_articles for more on this. Wolfgang8741 says: If not you, then who? (talk) 17:44, 3 December 2020 (UTC)

I'm not at all sure that distinction negates the reason I redirected it, which was that it was duplicating information in the list article. Beeblebrox (talk) 21:16, 3 December 2020 (UTC)
Duplication is not necessarily a problem as the two list articles provide different functions for a reader and in practice the SIA page can take the place of listing hundreds of Mud Lakes (or other names) in another list to help shorten the primary list. In some cases there are literally hundreds of lakes by the same name that would appear in a top level list and overwhelm the list. The question is what is the threshold in which listing each individual lake in the top level list should be moved to a single SIA entry for that list and list the collection of lakes with the same name in the SIA only. I've been working on cleaning up the WikiProject Lakes and trying to identify a strategy for lists that scales well, but haven't written this up for discussion yet though this is a good prompt to finally get my thoughts in text for everyone. Can we let this SIA article stand for now and try to draft something together in WikiProject Lakes as I notice your comments about handing the afd of Dull Ax Lake and redirection/list scope issue. I think drafting a strategy for the WikiProject to handle this more broadly would help to setup a process that is clear, scalable, and help in resolving the various other cases this will come up given what I saw doing a EN Wiki wide audit of Lake articles. Also to note, I don't usually monitor other people's talk pages so please use a reply template to ping me or I will miss follow on to our conversation. It is just by chance I checked on this. Wolfgang8741 says: If not you, then who? (talk) 16:00, 4 December 2020 (UTC)
@Wolfgang8741: Sounds like you've put a lot of thought into this. I'm fine leaving the article as it is for now. Beeblebrox (talk) 20:05, 4 December 2020 (UTC)

I have been meaning to thank you for opening the conversation in the article talk page. I find most do not even use the talk page of articles, even when requested to do so. We may be at opposite ends of the spectrum on this particular topic but I appreciate when situations are handled properly. More could learn from your example. I can't tell you how many times I have poured days of research and making edits into an article only to have someone not agree and wipe it out with a few clicks of the button rather than bring up the edits in the talk page. It's not as if I edit information that can't be found or isn't true. I am meticulous about making sure it's accurate or I won't post it. Also, I always check the history of an article and it's talk page first. If I see the article hasn't had traffic for a long time I will usually post my intentions in the talk page and make the necessary edits. If I see the article does receive a lot of traffic then I will comment in the talk page without making any edits to gain consensus. Regardless, I will not add to or make large edits on articles where there is consensus gathering that could affect any edit I would add. It's about being respectful and courteous. I am not hard to reason with, a bit passionate, but that's just who I am. Anyway, I am rambling. Thank you, again, for opening the discussion. I love the participation. :-) --Tsistunagiska (talk) 14:52, 9 December 2020 (UTC)

That's very kind of you to say, thank you. I feel the same, we were having a good-faith disagreement about content, and we'd both made our positions clear, and I've seen it again and again that at that point discussions either turn nasty or just get bogged down in repeating the same points over and over, so looking for consensus is really the only way forward. Revert warring is easy, but not productive. Beeblebrox (talk) 22:22, 9 December 2020 (UTC)
Would you object to me continuing to fill in missing information on what is currently in the article? I'm still not convinced a true consensus was met over content inclusion or a clear path forward. --ARoseWolf (Talk) 14:27, 7 January 2021 (UTC)
I can't argue that, the RFC doesn't seem to have drawn enough participation to draw any firm conclusions from it, which is unfortunate, it would've been nice to have a clear answer in one direction or the other. That being the case I don't see how I really could object at this point. Beeblebrox (talk) 18:30, 7 January 2021 (UTC)
I am still not going to add any new lakes. I think we need to raise the question again and try to gain a consensus. Maybe give it a month or two. As far as you being able to object, I very much think you deserve that right. You have put in enough time on this project in particular to more than be afforded that opportunity and I would oblige your objection simply out of respect or try to clarify my intentions to see if that would alter your objection. If you believe simply filling in the blanks on whatever is already there would cause harm to the list I would abstain from doing so. --ARoseWolf (Talk) 18:51, 7 January 2021 (UTC)

Review move-protection on Lilith Sternin

I learned my lesson. I have long recognized the character Lilith Sternin's notability. Even when she appears nearly as part of the other character's life, the character also has potential. Furthermore, I no longer have interest in renaming this article, and I don't intend to re-challenge the title or the notability for now. I just... I don't know. Back then, I recognize her role in one earlier series more than the later one. Now I have recognized her potential. --George Ho (talk) 09:57, 15 December 2020 (UTC)

 Done. Beeblebrox (talk) 22:39, 15 December 2020 (UTC)

Message for edited page.

I received a message while reading that told me that my recent contributions were undone I haven't done any edits in wikipedia and I asked the only other person who is using the network and he also hasn't made any edits. I'm a little worried since I'm the only using my device and I'm not using a vpn when I received the message. I'm not much of a tech savy person and I apologize in advance if this inquiry isn't too serious. Leafcat19 (talk) 05:52, 19 December 2020 (UTC)

Merry Christmas!!!

I see your note to the trolls, but what about elves? Does it work to show up and compliment you? Thanks for all you do here, and in your help with all things Alaskan. Your opinions and contributions have always been helpful and valued. I hope the coming year will be a good one for you, or, at the very least, may it be better than this one was. Go figure, huh? First it's fire and smoke, then the very next year, just when you're ready to go out and enjoy the place again, this virus hits. I don't know about you, but I was coming down with a bad case of cabin fever. Anyhow, I wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Zaereth (talk) 00:22, 24 December 2020 (UTC)

Warmed up to a mere -30, so I took a walk this day. The big building in the middle is the village school, which was also my home for ten days.
Hey, thanks. I certainly had an interesting year, I started the year working in remote villages in the YK delta and then finally went above the Arctic Circle for the first time...and was up there for one day when we got turned around and sent home because of covid, and I haven't been off the Kenai since. We did go out and camp and saw the Desolation of Smaug up in KNWR a couple times though. Thanks again, always appreciate a personal message! Here's to next year being better...maybe... Beeblebrox (talk) 00:50, 24 December 2020 (UTC)
Cool. It's beautiful out there along the Yukon. I remember my first time above the Arctic circle. It was about this time of year. I was supposed to go to Kuparuk for 3 hours, fix a faulty piece of equipment in some new gas-expander building they were constructing, and fly right back home. So me, in my young, optimistic naivety, got on the plane with nothing but a leather jacket and my tennis shoes to keep me warm. It was -38 when we landed, which would've been ok, had things gone as planned, but when does that ever happen on the slope. There was a medical emergency and they had to e-vac this guy outta there, so I got bumped, and couldn't get a flight out for 5 days! There are 2 things to do in Kuparuk: work and sleep, and when you don't have any work, the days are long and boring. I mean, you can go out and play with the foxes for a few minutes, maybe grab a truck and drive from KCC over to APC, to KPC, and maybe down by AIC (because that's how they name everything there), but then what? But I'll say this, though, you've never seen the Northern Lights until you've seen them from Milne Point.
I've been there many times since, but never for longer than I need to. You gotta be tough to live up there, like the Inupiat, Superman, or Santa Claus. What I'll never forget are the plane rides. On the way there, it's always like a funeral. I mean, you've never seen such a solemn, sad looking bunch of people. To the contrary, the ride back is always a party! They throw the wildest rager you've ever seen on a 737. And it's like that every time. Anyhow, glad to hear you're doing well. Happy holidays. Zaereth (talk) 02:45, 24 December 2020 (UTC)

Yo Ho Ho

A Joyous Yuletide to You!

Merry Christmas and a Prosperous 2021!

Hello Beeblebrox, may you be surrounded by peace, success and happiness on this seasonal occasion. Spread the WikiLove by wishing another user a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, whether it be someone you have had disagreements with in the past, a good friend, or just some random person. Sending you heartfelt and warm greetings for Christmas and New Year 2021.
Happy editing,

JACKINTHEBOXTALK 16:44, 24 December 2020 (UTC)

Spread the love by adding {{subst:Seasonal Greetings}} to other user talk pages.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!
Hello Beeblebrox:


Did you know ... that back in 1885, Wikipedia editors wrote Good Articles with axes, hammers and chisels?

Thank you for your contributions to this encyclopedia using 21st century technology. I hope you don't get any unnecessary blisters.

CAPTAIN RAJU(T) 00:33, 31 December 2020 (UTC)

Spread the WikiLove; use {{subst:Happy New Year elves}} to send this message

December 2020

Hello,

Five years ago you discussed the Glacier Discovery article. Just to let you know I think I've made improvements in the specific area you commented upon: details of Grandview. Thank you, CapnZapp (talk) 08:01, 31 December 2020 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – January 2021

News and updates for administrators from the past month (December 2020).

Guideline and policy news

Technical news

Arbitration


the climate table vandal

Honestly at this point i think hes just toying with us ... look, he even reverts himself. i thought i had him all figured out earlier and that he'd found a new hobby but it seems like he's back stronger than ever. Is there anything stronger we can do, or do we all need to accept him as an unwelcome and unavoidable guest? Soap 20:27, 12 January 2021 (UTC)

I can't for the life of me see what satisfaction they get from doing this again and again and again, only to be reverted every single time. I imagine a psychological researcher could have a field day with people who do stuff like this. A lot of the time this one is on Shaw Communications IPs in the vicinity of Victoria, B.C., but Shaw is unlikely to take any direct action. I've asked admins who specialize in these things to do rangeblocks a couple times, but they seem to just wait them out. To me the key point in the fight with WP:LTA people is that there are more of us than there are of them, and eventually they tend to get bored and give up. Another thing that just occurred to me while typing this response is maybe we could get an edit filter for this. It can really take the wind out of their sails when they suddenly can't even make the edit to begin with. Beeblebrox (talk) 23:18, 13 January 2021 (UTC)
All right, thank you. The edit filter might be a good solution, .... I dont know what changes we've made to the extension since my time at the wheel, but I know as late as 2015, the edit filter ran on every single edit, so it might be declined as being not a big enough deal to warrant a filter. But we could ask.
I have suspected this person of operating a good-hand/bad-hand setup, using IP's alternating with registered accounts, but .... perhaps it's just not my business, and I will leave it up to those with the tools to decide if there needs to be an SPI or anything else. All the best, Soap 18:11, 17 January 2021 (UTC)

Arbitration appeal to improve article link

Hi. Is there a way to partially appeal Wikipedia:Requests for arbitration/MONGO? If there is an article, Encyclopedia Dramatica, there should be a link to the homepage, Encyclopediadramatica.wiki, in the infobox just like many controversial sites, like goatse(shock site) Scihub (pirate) and various other sites that are controversial. However, the blacklist prohibits it, and when I requested a homepage whitelist, it was declined as an Arbcom decision. Other sites that have attacks on users, like Wikipediocracy, have direct links. Is there a way to request an appeal? Is it likely to succeed? If there is a URL inside the infobox, adding a link is only a convenience factor, and only improves the article. Thanks, Steve M (talk) 16:51, 24 January 2021 (UTC)

You would need to go through WP:ARCA. Beeblebrox (talk) 17:00, 24 January 2021 (UTC)
Beeblebrox, would it be likely to succeed? Steve M (talk) 18:05, 24 January 2021 (UTC)
On the whole the committee is very different than it was 14 years ago, and is generally amenable to revisiting old decisions. I just looked over that case and it was jarring to see how little it resembles an arbitration case from more recent times. ED is just so thoroughly horrible, but WP:BADSITES is not policy, and I'm not personally aware of any other website subject to an arbcom-level ban from even being linked to, so I'd say on the whole it has a decent chance of succeeding. Beeblebrox (talk) 20:29, 24 January 2021 (UTC)
Beeblebrox, I am preparing my case for appeal in my sandbox. Anything more needed before I submit it? Steve M (talk) 03:21, 25 January 2021 (UTC)
I think that's probably enough to get the discussion going. Beeblebrox (talk) 20:26, 25 January 2021 (UTC)

Unblock

Hi, Please unblock User:MaiaXMT. Their account has been verified in OTRS (see ticket:2021012810000791). Thanks, Sam-2727 (talk) 16:36, 29 January 2021 (UTC)

While I am an OTRS agent, I am not subscribed to that queue and therefore cannot see that ticket. Perhaps @L235: could have a look and do the unblock? Beeblebrox (talk) 19:04, 29 January 2021 (UTC)
I've checked the queue and unblocked the user. Thanks both. Best, KevinL (aka L235 · t · c) 20:22, 29 January 2021 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – February 2021

News and updates for administrators from the past month (January 2021).

Arbitration

Miscellaneous


User:DJ JAYLON

85.5 FOR LA (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · nuke contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) appears to be the oldest of DJ JAYLON's accounts, as it was created 14 April 2019 (from the edits and the username it is clear they are the same), so DJ JAYLON (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · nuke contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) and JAYLON BRICE THE AMAZING (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · nuke contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) should be tagged as socks of 85.5 FOR LA. 85.5 STAFF (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · nuke contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) is another sock of their's and is still active on Wikimedia Commons.--Tdl1060 (talk) 05:41, 7 February 2021 (UTC)

So they've been playing this stupid game for some time. How sad. Tags deployed. Beeblebrox (talk) 19:54, 7 February 2021 (UTC)

Re poop guy

Don't blame you at all; I might have done the same. I only posted the notice since the user asked, FWIW. 331dot (talk) 01:23, 9 February 2021 (UTC)

I figured as much, it was more for any reviewing admin, and also to clarify to the blocked user that it's extremely rare fro someone with a poop username to be acting in good faith. Beeblebrox (talk) 21:46, 9 February 2021 (UTC)

"Vandal fighter", again

Hi! Hope you've been doing well. Would it be possible to take a look at Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Responder role? It's similar to the "vandal fighter" role from five years ago, but this time we have data (with still more to come) and a clear reason for it to exist. Thank you. Enterprisey (talk!) 00:08, 12 February 2021 (UTC)

I've gone over and looked at it twice but I keep getting distracted by other things before I write any comments... Beeblebrox (talk) 04:38, 13 February 2021 (UTC)

your block of user:CaseyHudson‎ and sock

Now active as user:CaseyPHudson with exactly the same interest (replacing instances of "transitioning" since does no tbelieve it is a word) Meters (talk) 02:51, 15 February 2021 (UTC)

Created 4 minutes after block... Meters (talk) 02:52, 15 February 2021 (UTC)
Well that's just sad. Blocked. They left a super nice message for me on their talk page as well. Beeblebrox (talk) 03:00, 15 February 2021 (UTC)
I saw. RBI time. Meters (talk) 03:04, 15 February 2021 (UTC)

workshops

Regarding this comment: I presume you meant "reined in"? "Reigned" gives a whole different meaning. isaacl (talk) 23:17, 16 February 2021 (UTC)

Oops. You are correct. I'll fix that now. Beeblebrox (talk) 23:45, 16 February 2021 (UTC)

TY

Just wanted to say a quick thank you for User:Beeblebrox/rough guide to username blocks - good page. — Ched (talk) 02:16, 23 February 2021 (UTC)

I appreciate that. Always nice to know someone noticed! Beeblebrox (talk) 02:48, 23 February 2021 (UTC)

Climate colour vandal?

I think Special:Contributions/192.65.213.200 may be them, currently continuously editing, but I don't know enough about any of that content to know for sure if those edits are vandalism or improvements? Courtesy ping Suffusion of Yellow. ProcrastinatingReader (talk) 14:31, 28 February 2021 (UTC)

Hmm. Not their usual targets, and the geolocation is way off from where they usually are. Could be a coincidence. Beeblebrox (talk) 20:42, 1 March 2021 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – March 2021

News and updates for administrators from the past month (February 2021).

Administrator changes

added TJMSmith
removed Boing! said ZebedeeHiberniantearsLear's FoolOnlyWGFinley

Interface administrator changes

added AmandaNP

Guideline and policy news

Technical news

  • When blocking an IPv6 address with Twinkle, there is now a checkbox with the option to just block the /64 range. When doing so, you can still leave a block template on the initial, single IP address' talkpage.
  • When protecting a page with Twinkle, you can now add a note if doing so was in response to a request at WP:RfPP, and even link to the specific revision.
  • There have been a number of reported issues with Pending Changes. Most problems setting protection appear to have been resolved (phab:T273317) but other issues with autoaccepting edits persist (phab:T275322).

Arbitration

Miscellaneous


Your name

I'm guessing your user name comes from Zaphod Beeblebrox of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy "trilogy." As I say on my user page, I had the privilege of being an editor on the original H2G2 which I edited "before Wikipedia ripped us off existed." This was back in the day when Douglas Adams was in charge, (may the Great Green Arkleseizure bless his soul).

It's rather bizarre how many things Adams worked on that I am a huge fan of. In addition to Hitchhiker's, they include one of my favorite comedy teams/TV shows Monty Python, one of my favorite science fiction series Doctor Who, one of my favorite musical groups Pink Floyd, etc. I've also worked for years in animal care and have been involved in conservation efforts. I noticed, though, that his Wikipedia article has scant reference to either of the latter two; I may look later into adding some sourced material.

Sorry for running on like that. At least I didn't get into the related club a friend and I started.... Alden Loveshade (talk) 23:29, 2 March 2021 (UTC)

I've been a huge fan since I was about 14 and first read the books. Somewhere I still have the original radio series on cassette. I can't say I was really aware of the two things you mention though. Interesting. I think I tried to register "Zaphod" first but that was taken, and actually so was this name, for my first year or so I was "Beeblbrox" until I usurped this name. Beeblebrox (talk) 23:36, 2 March 2021 (UTC)
I wasn't aware until now that Usurpations were even a possibility. It looks like it has to be an account with no edit. Interesting.
You can learn more about Adams' views on animal rights/conservation in Last Chance to See. Alden Loveshade (talk) 23:47, 2 March 2021 (UTC)

rollback

I found a user to whom you gave rollback and am a bit concerned. They may be a little hasty in reverting and WP:BITEY. You may want to review this conversation about vandalism. MB 02:17, 7 March 2021 (UTC)

You've got mail!

Hello, Beeblebrox. Please check your email; you've got mail!
Message added 16:34, 7 March 2021 (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.

Skingo12 (talk) 16:34, 7 March 2021 (UTC)

Temp rollback expired

Hello, Beeblebrox, hope you are safe and doing fine. The temporary rollback rights that you granted me has expired. Kindly have a look whether that Im eligible for getting that right permanently.If Im not eligible, please tell me the improvements that I need to make to get it back permanently. Regards. Stay Safe Kichu🐘 Discuss 04:45, 8 March 2021 (UTC)

I took a quick look, you sure are making a lot of edits, but I didn't see an awful lot of rollbacks on which to base a decision. Frankly, I'm pretty busy right now and don't have the time to sift through that many edits to evaluate use of rollback, you can just file a new request at WP:PERM as you did before. Beeblebrox (talk) 23:13, 8 March 2021 (UTC)

Sorry about how that help desk discussion I just had with you ended

Really, it was wrong of me.--Thylacine24 (talk) 00:56, 10 March 2021 (UTC)

You haven't done anything you owe me an apology over so far as I know, but I admit I did feel like I was somehow missing your point. Beeblebrox (talk) 01:27, 10 March 2021 (UTC)
@Beeblebrox: I felt like I was missing yours as well, but that's my own fault. It's just tough for me when I get divided answers over what to do when editing. I'll definitely take your advice about asking the people I've conversed with about this.--Thylacine24 (talk) 02:42, 10 March 2021 (UTC)
@Beeblebrox: Tried contacting the guy who disagreed with me over this. He still hasn't responded. Could you please tell me if you think I should just give up on this, re-ask the question, or pursue it some other way? Sorry to keep bothering you over this.--Thylacine24 (talk) 15:06, 11 March 2021 (UTC)

Arbcom cases

I'll post this here because there are possibly already people gunning for my blood for having the nerve to comment at all as a defrocked admin, but also because I have a great respect for your work: "...In any event Rexx is hardly the first person to just walk off when a case was opened, and historically I don't think that in and of itself has been seen as something to sanction over" - actually, according to an arbitrary conclusion by the Committee, it is, and it was one of the very so called FoF I was desysoped, tarred, and feathered for, rather than admonished (which was the remedy most of the community were expecting, even including Iridescent). Some people claim that participation is required per WP:ADMINACCT, but like me, RexxS has participated at the beginning, and like me, he is naÏvely expecting the Committee to do some real arbitrating and thoroughly examine the evidence and the behaviour and motives of some of the plaintiffs - and those who comment loudly but who are not directly involved. Kudpung กุดผึ้ง (talk) 02:53, 10 March 2021 (UTC)

I was thinking about admin conduct cases and realized that at the three I've actually been a party to, the admin in question did participate, ended up doing something that actually helped the case against them, and were removed anyway. I really don't blame anyone for not participating, it's just extra buttons on a website, not a court of law. Beeblebrox (talk) 22:21, 10 March 2021 (UTC)
Now the latest case is over and done with, you said previously above it's 'it's just extra buttons on a website, not a court of law', but a lot of people, perhaps most, who contribute to Wikipedia are mature, intelligent and educated (it's not supposed to a fan site for garage bands or matches with predetermined, scripted outcomes, and political election campaigns) and a lot of us - and you - take it very seriously, that's why we're here, and for such people its not so much the loss of those buttons, but the humiliation and character assassination that go with it are a real punishment and the committee must surely be aware of that, even if the clerks aren't bothered to do something about it. Kudpung กุดผึ้ง (talk) 23:17, 25 March 2021 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Give 'em enough rope, a page which you created or substantially contributed to, has been nominated for deletion. Your opinions on the matter are welcome; you may participate in the discussion by adding your comments at Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/Wikipedia:Give 'em enough rope (2nd nomination) and please be sure to sign your comments with four tildes (~~~~). You are free to edit the content of Wikipedia:Give 'em enough rope during the discussion but should not remove the miscellany for deletion template from the top of the page; such a removal will not end the deletion discussion. Thank you. Beland (talk) 05:29, 11 March 2021 (UTC)

Baird Jones

I wanted to write an article on Baird Jones. A user who you blocked had deleted the article. I was wondering if you could userfy it for me so that I may work on it. Thank you

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Baird_Jones&action=edit&redlink=1

BlackAmerican (talk) 09:06, 13 March 2021 (UTC)

Well, while I don't agree with the deletion, there's a not a lot there, no sources at all, just five sentences. But 2008 was a very different time around here. Anyway, I've userfied what was there at User:BlackAmerican/Baird Jones. Beeblebrox (talk) 21:31, 13 March 2021 (UTC)


Does this look like enough information to put into the main space? [1] BlackAmerican (talk) 11:48, 17 March 2021 (UTC)

Question

Can you please take a look at this? https://sigma.toolforge.org/editorinteract.py?users=Aaronw1109&users=TheGracefulSlick&users=&startdate=&enddate=&ns=&server=enwiki https://sigma.toolforge.org/editorinteract.py?users=bebfire&users=TheGracefulSlick&users=Aaronw1109&startdate=&enddate=&ns=&server=enwiki

As per https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Sockpuppet_investigations/TheGracefulSlick/Archive#13_September_2018 Thank you. BlackAmerican (talk) 13:13, 17 March 2021 (UTC)

If you think you've got something there I would suggest filing a new WP:SPI. Beeblebrox (talk) 18:05, 17 March 2021 (UTC)

UTRS 41528

Good morning. Hope today finds you well. MathKeduor7 (talk · contribs) Is requesting unblock at UTRS appeal #41528. I'd appreciate your feedback and any insights. The ticket contains content I could email to you if you do not UTRS. Thanks, --Deepfriedokra (talk) 10:13, 19 March 2021 (UTC)

I don't frequent UTRS as much as I used to (arbcom appeals being more than enough) but I'm having a look at it now and will comment there. Beeblebrox (talk) 17:26, 19 March 2021 (UTC)

RexxS admonishment

I was interested to see your oppose at the RexxS PD. I always interpreted an Arbcom admonishment to be more severe than a warning, not a softened version of one. Like, I feel like it's the most severe remedy that Arbcom implements short of hard sanctions, and serves as a final "checkpoint" prior to sanctions going forward. I'm curious as to whether there are any examples of an admonishment proving to have no teeth? ~Swarm~ {sting} 05:25, 23 March 2021 (UTC)

I just think phrasing like "final warning" is more clear in its intent. Beeblebrox (talk) 19:28, 23 March 2021 (UTC)
Fair point. ~Swarm~ {sting} 01:43, 25 March 2021 (UTC)

Notice of noticeboard discussion

Information icon There is currently a discussion at Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard regarding an issue with which you may have been involved. Thank you. It's just the Tenebrae thing, and I mentioned you. Boing! said Zebedee (talk) 11:14, 24 March 2021 (UTC)

User

Hello. The user CrazonF1T looks like similar to Stephen C Taylor who you blocked last February. The way he adds contents reminds me of the same person. I can be absolutely wrong obviously. Therefore, I'm texing you in order to check this new user and whether I'm right or not.--Island92 (talk) 21:34, 27 March 2021 (UTC)

Just ata glance it seems likely. I'll look a little deeper. Beeblebrox (talk) 21:52, 27 March 2021 (UTC)
Do not worry. You can verify it whenever you want. I wanted to contact you because of noticing you about the block reported on Stephen C Taylor talk page.--Island92 (talk) 22:11, 27 March 2021 (UTC)
Hello. Have you checked him deeply?--Island92 (talk) 15:48, 11 April 2021 (UTC)
Apparently I forgot all about this. Been a lot going on. Beeblebrox (talk) 18:07, 11 April 2021 (UTC)
It doesn't matter. I suppose I general check should be made.--Island92 (talk) 18:52, 11 April 2021 (UTC)

Re: RexxS Arbcom

I have to say, I think you are getting a lot of heat for what was a difficult but ultimately fair decision. Keep up the good work. Hemiauchenia (talk) 15:35, 28 March 2021 (UTC)

It's all part of the job. You can't do anything right when you're an arb, someone will always find fault. I knew that when I signed up for it. Beeblebrox (talk) 15:49, 28 March 2021 (UTC)

RFC for Entertainers section

I made an RFC here for the entertainers section of Notability (people) can you add your opinion? --Cs california (talk) 09:17, 29 March 2021 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – April 2021

News and updates for administrators from the past month (March 2021).

Administrator changes

removed AlexandriaHappyme22RexxS

Guideline and policy news

  • Following a request for comment, F7 (invalid fair-use claim) subcriterion a has been deprecated; it covered immediate deletion of non-free media with invalid fair-use tags.
  • Following a request for comment, page movers were granted the delete-redirect userright, which allows moving a page over a single-revision redirect, regardless of that redirect's target.

Technical news

  • When you move a page that many editors have on their watchlist the history can be split and it might also not be possible to move it again for a while. This is because of a job queue problem. (T278350)
  • Code to support some very old web browsers is being removed. This could cause issues in those browsers. (T277803)

Arbitration


Wikipedia_talk:Give_'em_enough_rope#Use_of_"Hangman"_graphic

Good morning Beeblebrox. In adding my last comment to the section I sorted a couple of very minor typos in your last comment. I know this is normally considered bad form but I hope that with a courtesy note here you will not mind. I will instantly self-revert if you wish. Springnuts (talk) 08:38, 2 April 2021 (UTC)

No problem. The space bar on my laptop has been sticking a little bit. It's driving me nuts. Beeblebrox (talk) 15:15, 2 April 2021 (UTC)

Can you indef my old account?

I have an old account, Another Wiki User the 1st, and I’m wondering wether you could indef it. It’s user page is fully protected. I have no interest in using it anymore. Another Wiki User the 2nd (talk) 21:52, 3 April 2021 (UTC)

I'm not at all sure why that would be necessary or helpful, but in any event it was already done by another admin nearly a month ago. Beeblebrox (talk) 22:00, 3 April 2021 (UTC)

Are you available for a revdelete request?

Are you available for a revdelete request? It involves copyrighted content on a user talk page. Scorpions13256 (talk) 20:10, 4 April 2021 (UTC)

Thanks. Sorry to bug you. Scorpions13256 (talk) 20:34, 4 April 2021 (UTC)
No trouble at all, this is why we have admins. Beeblebrox (talk) 20:35, 4 April 2021 (UTC)

Formatting of discussion thread comments

Regarding this edit: as unsolicited advice, please feel free to ignore the following, particularly if you are aware of it already. By adding a comment starting with :* in between two comments starting with *, you closed a bulleted list, opened a first-level unbulleted list, and nested a second-level bulleted list item within it containing your comment. Because the following comment now has a different first-level list type than the comment you added, the two lists you created were immediately closed and a first-level bulleted list was opened for the next comment. This amounts to four additional announcements made by screen readers for the extra starting and ending of lists. Could you consider following the guidance at Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Accessibility § Lists and Help:Talk pages § Indentation to help avoid extra announcements? (An essay I wrote, User:Isaacl/On wikitext list markup, also goes into a little bit more detail.) isaacl (talk) 00:35, 5 April 2021 (UTC)

I try to be cognizant of this sort of thing, but sometimes, as in this case, I can't actually tell why my comment isn't formatting the way I thought it would. My personal preference would be that all discussions that don't require numbering using # consistently used the same formatting, i.e. colons, which is a simpler system that is easily understood by all, screen reader or no. In the past people have been critical of me for not using the exact same formatting as the person before me, so I was trying to do that. I realize this situation is not of your making, but at a certain point it just feels like to many rules for something that should be simple and consistent. Beeblebrox (talk) 01:04, 5 April 2021 (UTC)
Well, as mentioned in both of those guidance pages and my essay, the nutshell advice if you're the first person to reply to a comment is to copy the prefix of the comment to which you are replying, and add the character of your choice, which for you would generally be :. If you're not the first person to reply, then copy the prefix used by the reply immediately before yours at the same nesting level. I too would prefer to reserve the use of bulleted and numbered lists only within each person's comment, so replies would only start with colons, but people like to keep doing what they're doing. Using list markup for threaded conversation isn't a great fit. Visually both in markup and displayed output it resembles the old-school visual ident style used on Usenet and text email, which is likely why it was adopted. isaacl (talk) 01:24, 5 April 2021 (UTC)

Possibly stale page restriction

Hi, I was recently doing a review of all the page restrictions I've placed or taken ownership of over the years using the American Politics AE template, and I noticed that a majority of the pages were no longer battlegrounds and didn't require restrictions anymore. I was looking backwards a couple of months on the article history and talk page looking for major disputes, and for the most part things were pretty quiet. I've removed the BRD restrictions from about 70% of the articles that I had put them on, and the 1RR restrictions from probably 90% of pages.

I figured while I was at it I might as well try to track down the other pages with active sanctions and see if the admins who placed them might also be interested in doing a similar review. Here's what I found for you: Template:Editnotices/Page/List of concentration and internment camps - Talk:List of concentration and internment camps ~Awilley (talk) 01:20, 9 April 2021 (UTC)

I've looked, and it probably can go, doesn't seem to have been invoked in a while. FYI in case you weren't aware there is a general review of DS as a whole going on right now at Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee/Discretionary sanctions/2021 review. Beeblebrox (talk) 18:57, 9 April 2021 (UTC)
Thank you, I've left a few posts there already. ~Awilley (talk) 21:50, 9 April 2021 (UTC)

Please help me!

This is exactly what I knew would happen!!! Notaharvardgrad (talk) 00:21, 11 April 2021 (UTC)

This is very vague, but I would suggest you log back in with your main account and stop using this poorly-conceived alternate for anything. 01:59, 11 April 2021 (UTC)
IT IS NOT SAFE TO DO THAT!!!!!
Then you should just go away. I'm about to make that real easy for you. Beeblebrox (talk) 02:24, 11 April 2021 (UTC)

Less annoying coverage

If you haven't seen it before, "Wiki-Validation" is a better read. Then again, one could see it as a story of off-WP canvassing. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 07:12, 26 April 2021 (UTC)

A block you commented on

[2] - I've CU blocked them as a Frog Tamer sock - see [3] which I'll update with this and another one. Doug Weller talk 16:03, 5 May 2021 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – May 2021

News and updates for administrators from the past month (April 2021).

Administrator changes

removed EnchanterCarlossuarez46

Interface administrator changes

removed Ragesoss

Guideline and policy news

Technical news

  • The user group oversight will be renamed to suppress. This is for technical reasons. You can comment at T112147 if you have objections.

Arbitration


That unmentionable site

  1. Regarding the Florida gentleman, payments have apparently finally started, but the only source I could find is blacklisted; see the talk page (then feel free to revdelete if you wish, but I'm hoping you or a talk page stalker will be able to find a more acceptable source).
  2. Regarding the Arbcom thread, can you get somebody there to correct the title to hoard? It makes me itch.

Cordially, Yngvadottir (talk) 01:46, 9 May 2021 (UTC)

Huh. You'd think somebody else would've reported on him finally getting some real compensation. Seems liek the Florida press would've picked up on it.
I'll ask abut the other thing, that is just wrong. Beeblebrox (talk) 04:42, 9 May 2021 (UTC)

WP:ANI

I'm wondering why you reinstated the user's ethnosectarian rants; is it Wikipedia policy to leave those up even when they have nothing to do with the ANI topic or Wikipedia? --Qahramani44 (talk) 01:27, 26 May 2021 (UTC)

Because we don't just remove other user's comments in an ongoing conversation unless they meet the criteria for WP:REVDEL. Beeblebrox (talk) 01:28, 26 May 2021 (UTC)
All right, fair enough then and apologies. I'll make sure not to do that for future ANN cases. --Qahramani44 (talk) 01:42, 26 May 2021 (UTC)