User talk:LAAFan/Archive7

?

What? –Juliancolton ^{Tropical Cyclone} 00:22, 22 October 2008 (UTC)

Alright. If you need anything, let me know on my talk page. Cheers, –Juliancolton ^{Tropical Cyclone} 00:25, 22 October 2008 (UTC)

Yes, what's with all the retirement lately? I'm confused... —Ceran^(Sing) 00:26, 22 October 2008 (UTC)

Sad to see you go, buddy. All the best in real life :-) Sam ^Blab 00:31, 22 October 2008 (UTC)

You will be missed. Good luck with your future endeavours. All the best, PeterSymonds (talk) 00:31, 22 October 2008 (UTC)

Same here. Best of luck, although wiki-withdrawal can be hard.   jj137 (talk) 02:28, 22 October 2008 (UTC)

I wish you the best, pal...sorry to see you go. =( —Ed 17 for President _{Vote for Ed} 02:50, 22 October 2008 (UTC)

Best wishes from me, as well. Useight (talk) 03:18, 22 October 2008 (UTC)

I have no idea why this decision.. But I wish you good luck and hope to see you back around here - LAAFan's_Fan -- Tinu Cherian - 11:38, 22 October 2008 (UTC)

I didn't know you much, but whenever I needed help, you responded fully and in such a way I never had to ask the same question again. From what little contact I did have with you, I know realise what I fine editor Wikipedia has lost. Kudos. Blooded Edge (T•C•A) 20:46, 22 October 2008 (UTC)

Dude... you cant go. Great, Im gonna have to find a new adopter. u_u. Well.. good luck in life, nice knowing you. ^^ II MusLiM HyBRiD II ^{ZOMG BBQ} 21:39, 22 October 2008 (UTC)

Alas, our ways must part as eventually they all do. I am sad to say goodbye to you, for although I may not have known you well, Wikipedia has a lost a great editor today. Remember, it's not "Good Bye"; it's "I'll see you later." :-/ Food_Puma 22:16, 22 October 2008 (UTC)

Going for a new identity, eh?  :) Sometimes starting over is a good thing. Good luck. I look forward to meeting your new persona. Feel free to contact me anytime. The Transhumanist    23:53, 22 October 2008 (UTC)

I'm so sorry to see that you're retired. Best of luck to you! SchfiftyThree ^(talk!) 01:02, 23 October 2008 (UTC)

NO! Man why did you go?! Your dear friend, Vinson 01:06, 23 October 2008 (UTC)

I'm really sorry to see you leaving, LAAFan. You've been a great adopter, so here you are:

		The Adopt-a-User Barnstar
		This barnstar is awarded for being an excellent adopter. Your guidance and assistance helped me to improve greatly, and I have become a much better editor than what I was when we started my adoption process. Thanks a lot. Chamal talk 11:36, 24 October 2008 (UTC)

I was saving this until my adoption process was ended, but since you've decided to leave... I don't think I'll need another adopter, you have taught me almost everything. Hope you will return some time. Cheers and good luck in real life. Chamal ^talk 11:36, 24 October 2008 (UTC)

• Sorry to hear about you going. Did something happen? - Best regards, Mailer Diablo 18:22, 25 October 2008 (UTC)
  • WP:FRIENDS... :( —Ed 17 for President _{Vote for Ed} 03:45, 27 October 2008 (UTC)

• Sorry to see you go. Good luck and best wishes, ~AH1^(TCU) 16:49, 5 November 2008 (UTC)

• I never got a chance to work with you closely, and I only just noticed your retirement message at RyanCross's talk page, but I just wanted to say I respect all the work I saw you doing around Wikipedia before you left. —Politizer ^talk/_contribs 23:10, 5 November 2008 (UTC)

Don't Give Up

I didn't really get to know you all that well, but we'd had brush-bys. Anyway, I'd like to share this little gem with you just in case you ever do check this page.

Don't Give Up

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,

When the road you're trudging seems all uphill

When the funds are low and the debts are high,

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit --

Rest if you must, but don't quit.

Life is strange with its twists and turns,

As every one of us sometimes learns,

And many a fellow turns about

When he might have won had he stuck it out.

Don't give up though the pace seems slow --

You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than

It seems to a fair and faltering man,

Often the struggler has given up

When he might have captured the victor's cup,

And he learned too late when night came down,

How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out --

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,

And you never can tell how close you are,

It may be near when it seems afar,

So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit, --

It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit.When things go wrong as they sometimes will,

When the road you're trudging seems all uphill

When the funds are low and the debts are high,

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit --

Rest if you must, but don't quit.

Life is strange with its twists and turns,

As every one of us sometimes learns,

And many a fellow turns about

When he might have won had he stuck it out.

Don't give up though the pace seems slow --

You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than

It seems to a fair and faltering man,

Often the struggler has given up

When he might have captured the victor's cup,

And he learned too late when night came down,

How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out --

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,

And you never can tell how close you are,

It may be near when it seems afar,

So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit, --

It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit.

—Ceran^(Sing) 19:21, 24 October 2008 (UTC)

(cry)

(sniff sniff) very sad to see you leaving.--Spittlespat 21:13, 14 November 2008 (UTC)

Guestbook

		- Jameson L. Tai's Guestbook Barnstar
		For signing my guestbook - I, - Jameson L. Tai talk ♦ guestbook ♦ contribs, hereby present LAAFan with this award. Cheers! -- - Jameson L. Tai talk ♦ guestbook ♦ contribs 05:22, 18 November 2008 (UTC)

Signpost updated for November 17, 2008 and before.

Because the Signpost hasn't been sent in a while, to save space, I've condensed all seven issues that were not sent into this archive. Only the three issues from November are below.

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WHATTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Your going????? WikiNation is returning though! We need you! I need you! Everyone needs you and the person who wrote that poem needs you!! Don't give up!!!!!!!! Darkside2000 (talk) 15:47, 25 November 2008 (UTC)

Sign here if you want LAAFAN to return

1. Darkside2000 (talk) 15:47, 25 November 2008 (UTC)
2. RoyalMate1 22:11, 2 December 2008 (UTC)
3. ROGERCHOCODILES 16:59, 6 December 2008 (UTC)Rogerchocodiles
4. --Iamawesome800 03:37, 10 December 2008 (UTC)
5. --Isis32 (talk) 19:03, 11 December 2008 (UTC)
6. ·Add§hore· ^Talk/_Cont 19:33, 14 December 2008 (UTC)
7. --Mifter (talk) 22:40, 21 December 2008 (UTC)

Un-retired

To all who wanted me to return, you have convinced me. Two months off is enough, and seeing my continued support, I had to come back. --LAAFan^sign _review 02:42, 23 December 2008 (UTC)

Welcome back!

Welcome back LAAFan, you've been missed, as you can see above. There will also be a lot of people who are glad to see you back. I'll bet anything that there will be a lot of comments below mine to that effect :) Chamal ^talk 02:44, 23 December 2008 (UTC)

Welcome back from me also. Simply south not SS, sorry 16:41, 23 December 2008 (UTC)

Same from me (I know I did not put my name above but missed you anyway!) :) Andy (talk) 18:20, 23 December 2008 (UTC)

Welcome back! You were missed!--Iamawesome800 22:08, 26 December 2008 (UTC)

Re:Userpage Unprotection

Done. I restored all of your old userpage history, as well as a couple of the deleted subpages that were transcluded on your userpage. Hope that helps.   jj137 (talk) 03:11, 23 December 2008 (UTC)

No prob. Good to see you back BTW.   jj137 (talk) 03:13, 23 December 2008 (UTC)

Actually, I just went back and restored all of your subpages you originally requested to have deleted. Assuming you still want them, that is.   jj137 (talk) 03:20, 23 December 2008 (UTC)

Heh, thanks :) It was really no problem though- fairly easy to do.   jj137 (talk) 03:23, 23 December 2008 (UTC)

Merry Christmas from Promethean

O'Hai there LAAFan, Merry Christmas!

LAAFan,
I wish you and your family all the best this Christmas and that you also have a Happy and safe new year.
Thankyou for all your contributions to Wikipedia this year and I look forward to seeing many more from you in the future.
Your work around Wikipedia has not gone un-noticed, this notice is testimony to that
Please feel free to drop by my talkpage any time to say Hi, as I will probably say Hi back :)

All the Best.   «l| Ψrometheăn ™|l»  (talk)

Wikipedia:Featured list candidates/List of Texas Rangers managers

I've left some comments. And again, welcome back. :-) Merry Christmas and Happy New Years, RyanCross @ 06:28, 26 December 2008 (UTC)

... and I've decided to help out with this FAC. If you need help completing something, just leave me a note. I've already completed a few issues, by the way. RyanCross @ 22:54, 26 December 2008 (UTC)

Oh yeah...

...your back, you act now and you can get your spot back in the WikiCup, starts on January 1. Sign up again at User:Garden/WikiCup/Contestants. ayematthew 02:52, 27 December 2008 (UTC)

New Review

Just wanted to let you know I added a section on your editor review. Thanks. Xenocide^{Talk|Contributions} 00:12, 28 December 2008 (UTC)

WikiCup

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Signpost updated for November 24, 2008 through January 3, 2009

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WP:MOTD

Please see Wikipedia_talk:Motto_of_the_day/Nominations#Running_dry.

Well and you being the only one who did made you unique Simply south not SS, sorry 12:45, 6 January 2009 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Featured list candidates/List of Texas Rangers managers

Just an FYI, Wikipedia:Featured list candidates/List of Texas Rangers managers has been promoted. Sorry if I interfered with the nomination. I was going to let you do it by yourself, but when I looked at your contributions last week, you seemed to be ignoring it and doing edits in other places (maybe you were busy), and I didn't want the FLC to fail since you did all the hard to fix the problems in the previous nomination. So, I decided to help and complete the rest of the comments given to eventually promote it. Anyway, thank you for your contributions. I'm glad you are back. By the way, I'll be happy to look over any possible FL you are working on and possibly co-nominate so we can work on it together in the future. — RyanCross (talk) 04:08, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

A note from the GACC

Hi there LAAFan!
	The Good Article Collaboration Center has been restarted, and since you are a member, we are asking for your help in making the articles Seinfeld, Sarah Palin, and President of the United States good articles. We hope to see you there. Cheers. --LAAFansign review 19:06, 27 December 2008 (UTC)

• Notice delivery by xenobot 13:51, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

Thanks

Hi, thanks for the invitation. I don't mean to sound ungrateful but isn't there anything that is less centred on one country, especially one that already has so many good articles? Even more specifically, Sarah Palin and President of the United States aren't all that far removed from each other and, with all due respect to the people of Alaska and Washington, may not interest everyone outside these jurisdictions or at the very least beyond the U.S.... --➨♀♂Candlewicke _S^T _# :) 17:21, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

;( ... and having decided to help out at Sarah Palin I'm afraid I cannot access it. --➨♀♂Candlewicke _S^T _# :) 17:24, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

WikiCup Newsletter

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Wikipedia Signpost, January 10, 2009

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Delievered by SoxBot II (talk) at 23:49, 17 January 2009 (UTC)

Welcome Back

Welcome back LAAFan we missed you. WikiNation is dead and I am now constructing a new Dof Page.If you need anything just say. Good luck on the WikiCup.Darkside2000 (talk) 13:30, 21 January 2009 (UTC)

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17:31, 25 January 2009 (UTC)

._.

Just noticed you came back. So hows it going? M.H.^{True Romance iS Dead} 14:02, 28 January 2009 (UTC)

Wikipedia Signpost, January 31, 2009

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Delievered by SoxBot II (talk) at 21:40, 1 February 2009 (UTC)

Progress report: Country outlines

Development has been slow but continuous:

Penubag has done a fantastic job on the images for the awards we'll be using for our project's collaborations and contests. We now have 3 awards: a medal, a trophy, and a race ribbon. They all look tight. The trophy needs a small adjustment, but other than that, all 3 award images are complete and ready to use to create awards with.

Spartaz has warned us of (threatened to take) G4 (speedy delete) action if we run a competition that resembles the previously deleted Awards Center page. So whatever we do, any contests we run must differ substantially from the methods used there.

One type of competition I've been exploring is edit racing. I'm in the process of working the bugs out of this concept - the first race didn't work as expected - you see, because we only had an award for first place, the opponent didn't think it worthwhile to continue once it was clear who the winner would be. And since editors are in different time zones and usually need to start the race at different times, we need to base winning on personal start times - he who completes his assigned edits in the least time (rather than first), wins. And last but not least is quality control. What good is winning if your edits are ripe with errors? So I'll be exploring possibilities such as using a referee (whoever is overseeing a particular race), having participants watching each other for errors to knock them back, etc. I'm not sure yet.

Rich Farmbrough has been applying his bot expertise to filling in blanks in the country outlines (the population and area entries). I'm amazed at the number of edits he pumps out each day on a myriad of projects - ours makes up but a small time slice of his activity, and yet he has saved us many hours of manual work. Perhaps we should look into how he gets so much done.  :)

Zlerman has chosen to work on one outline at a time, and is taking on Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. He also has been keen on noticing and reporting design issues pertaining to the whole set of country outlines. Keep up the good work!

Highfields has been filling in the names of capitals, and is our first race winner. Check out the award on his user pages.

As you probably know, this project has expanded to include working on any and all sets of pages that are linked to from the country outlines. Once the set of country outlines go live (in article space), traffic will likely increase for all the links included on them. The quality and usefulness of those pages will reflect heavily on the country outlines (the outlines, which are essentially lists of links, are only as good as the links they present), and therefore we've branched out to solve the biggest problems with those as well. So far, we've taken on:

• The creation of disambiguation pages for country adjectivals ("German", "French", "Taiwanese", etc. About half done.)
• The clean-up of the CIA World Factbook statistics on the "demographics of" country pages. We've been renaming those sections to provide a key string that AWB can use for targetting (for skipping and filtering). Once that's done, we'll be able to break the clean-up down into simple AWB search/replace tasks, because we'll be able to target just those pages that include the CIA stuff.
• Renaming the "Cuisine of" articles to their adjectival forms ("Chinese cuisine", "Italian cuisine", etc.)

Blackadam2 and Thehelpfulone have been helping out with the "demographics of" pages mentioned above.

And we have a couple speed addicts (addicted to wiki-velocity, not drugs)...

Both Robert Skyhawk and Thehelpfulone prefer (and excel at) simple AWB search/replaces. Robert hasn't actually joined our team yet, but he has been helping out quite a bit from the sidelines (via the WP:AWB/Tasks page. Unfortunately, there has recently been a non-AWB chore that has been holding things up on the AWB front - an edit to all the the headings which had to be reverted before too many new edits were made, because any new edits would make the reversion more difficult. The headings have been restored, so now the way is clear for AWB operations, and there are many search/replace tasks in the queue. AWB assignments have started again!

There's a similar bottleneck on the "Demographics of" pages (the "keying" mentioned above), but that's almost cleared too.  :)

With my internet access somewhat crippled, I've been finding it difficult to keep up with you guys. However, I expect to be accessing a Linky-capable workstation on a faster server (I'm on it right now, as you can probably tell from my contributions list for today), and so I should really pick up speed. Feels goooooood.  :)

Recruiting has been a bit slow (but steady), due in part to my crippled access, and because we've been waiting for the images for the awards to be completed. I expect the team to grow more rapidly as the bottlenecks are removed.

Well that's what's been happenin', and here's what's in the pipeline...

I'm about to begin work on a set of lists that corresponds to all the standard links on the country outlines, and these will be presented on the Topic outline of countries which will be organized exactly like the country outlines. Aside from being an extremely useful navigation aid, it will allow editors to easily see the state of country coverage on Wikipedia. I'll provide you with a link once I get up to speed on this.

In the meantime, keep up the good work!

Cheers,

The Transhumanist    05:40, 5 February 2009 (UTC)

WikiCup Newsletter

20:34, 8 February 2009 (UTC)

Delivered by J Milburn, on behalf of the judges. 20:34, 8 February 2009 (UTC)

Wikipedia Signpost, February 8, 2009

The Wikipedia Signpost Weekly Delivery

Volume 5, Issue 6	8 February 2009	About the Signpost

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Delivered by §hepBot (Disable) at 22:18, 9 February 2009 (UTC)

GAN for Trey Parker

I've reviewed the article and left notes on the talk page. I've put the nomination on hold for seven days to allow the issues to be addressed. Feel free to contact me on my talk page, here, or on the article talk page with any concerns, and let me know one of those places when the issues have been addressed. If I may suggest that you strike out, check mark, or otherwise mark the items I've detailed, that will make it possible for me to see what's been addressed, and you can keep track of what's been done and what still needs to be worked on. Ealdgyth - Talk 14:42, 15 February 2009 (UTC)

WikiCup Newsletter

23:16, 15 February 2009 (UTC)

Wikipedia Signpost — February 16, 2009

From the editor — A new leaf

Commons Picture of the Year
Picture of the Year 2008 begins voting

News and notes
Flagged Revisions, historical image discovery, and more

In the news
Political tiff, error repeated in press, predictions of doom

Dispatches
How busy was 2008?

WikiProject report
WikiProject Gaelic games

Discussion report
Discussion Reports And Miscellaneous Articulations

Features and admins
Approved this week

Technology report
Bugs, Repairs, and Internal Operational News

Arbitration report
The Report on Lengthy Litigation

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Delivered by §hepBot (Disable) at 07:00, 16 February 2009 (UTC)

Userbox for GA reviews

The userbox {{User Good Articles reviewed}} has been updated so that it can now link to a page in your user subspace where you keep track of all your GA reviews, if you have such a page. This can be done by adding a | and then the name of your user subpage (or subsection of your regular user page) wherever you have the template called. For example, on my user page I am using

{{User Good Articles reviewed|6|User:Rjanag/GA reviews}}

which displays as

This user has reviewed 6 Good Article nominations on Wikipedia.

There is more information on how to do this at Template:User Good Articles reviewed.

Note: If you are not interested in doing this, you don't have to do anything; the template will still work for you exactly as it does now.

Best, rʨanaɢ ^talk/_contribs 17:50, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

WikiNation

Remeber Wikination? well it now has it's own wikia!!!! Here it is if you want to join it http://wikitopia.wikia.com/wiki/WikiTopia Darkside2000 (talk) 12:59, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

WikiCup Newsletter

21:46, 22 February 2009 (UTC) The Helpful Bot 21:46, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

Wikipedia Signpost — February 23, 2009

This week, the Wikipedia Signpost published volume 5, issue 8, which includes these articles:

• Philosophers analyze Wikipedia as a knowledge source
• An automated article monitoring system for WikiProjects
• News and notes: Wikimania, usability, picture contest, milestones
• Wikipedia in the news: Lessons for Brits, patent citations
• Dispatches: Hundredth Featured sound approaches
• Wikiproject report: WikiProject Islam
• Discussion Reports And Miscellaneous Articulations
• Features and admins: Approved this week
• Technology report: Bugs, Repairs, and Internal Operational News
• Arbitration report: The Report on Lengthy Litigation

The kinks are still being worked out in a new design for these Signpost deliveries, and we apologize for the plain format for this week.

Delivered by §hepBot (Disable) at 02:01, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

WikiCup Newsletter

17:57, 1 March 2009 (UTC) The Helpful Bot 17:57, 1 March 2009 (UTC)

Wikipedia Signpost — 2 March 2009

This week, the Wikipedia Signpost published volume 5, issue 9, which includes these articles:

• Books extension enabled
• News and notes: Stewards, Wikimania bids, and more
• Wikipedia in the news: Wikipedia's role in journalism, Smarter Wikipedia, Skittles
• Dispatches: WikiProject Ships Featured topic and Good topics
• Wikiproject report: WikiProject Norse History and Culture
• Discussion report: Discussion Reports And Miscellaneous Articulations
• Features and admins: Approved this week
• Technology report: Bugs, Repairs, and Internal Operational News
• Arbitration report: The Report on Lengthy Litigation

Delievered by SoxBot II (talk) at 08:20, 2 March 2009 (UTC)

Country outlines project update - 2009/03/08

Things have been slowing down again, so it's time for a big push...

We've gone live

This project needed a shot in the arm. Also, its draft pages have been littering Wikipedia's categories for months. The time seemed right to move all the country outline drafts to article space.

WHAT???

Well, the drafts had been sitting in Wikipedia space for a year.

WHAT???

Development has been moving at a snail's pace and we could use the help of the Wikipedia community at large (who are more likely to find these if they are in article space).

WHAT???

Yes, we've gone live.  :)

This puts pressure on us to get the blatantly incomplete elements of these outlines done. The only glaring problem is the government branches sections. These need to be corrected ASAP.

I've mentioned THE GOVERNMENT BRANCHES SECTIONS many times to many people over the past year, but the problem just doesn't seem to have been taken seriously. So let me put it another way:

HELP!!! I need your help on this now. Almost all the countries have a government with an executive branch, a legislative branch, and a judicial branch. The links for these branches need to be completed for each country outline:

Here's a convenient list you can use WP:LINKY on to access and edit these quickly. Please copy the list's link to the top of your talk page so that you can access it easily.

If you spot any standardization in links, and ways we can automate parts of this process, or for groups of countries that have links in common, please let me know!

Administrative support for outlines

There has been growing pressure on me to write up the administrative pages for outlines - their instructions, guidelines, etc. Therefore, I'm now in the process of composing these. Fortunately, it is mostly a matter of gathering material from messages I've written to you guys over the past year. Still, this is taking up most of my time, and I will be buried in these for the foreseeable future.

Traffic control

The next big task after the government branches sections are cleaned up is link support for the outlines.

There's quite a list of links and notices that need to be put in place around Wikipedia, providing access to them to readers, and alerting editors to the need to develop and maintain these pages. This will keep our bot people very busy (and happy).

But the most important thing right now is to get the government branches sections completed. So please, put your bots aside, roll up your shirt sleeves, and start typing.

Thank you.

The Transhumanist    03:01, 9 March 2009 (UTC)

P.S.: Glad to see you are back. You are too young to retire.  :) - TT

Wikipedia Signpost — 9 March 2009

This week, the Wikipedia Signpost published volume 5, issue 10, which includes these articles:

• News and notes: Commons, conferences, and more
• Wikipedia in the news: Politics, more politics, and more
• Dispatches: 100 Featured sounds milestone
• Wikiproject report: WikiProject Christianity
• Discussion report: Discussion Reports And Miscellaneous Articulations
• Features and admins: Approved this week
• Technology report: Bugs, Repairs, and Internal Operational News
• Arbitration report: The Report on Lengthy Litigation

Delivered by §hepBot (Disable) at 23:59, 9 March 2009 (UTC)

Frequently used idea and approved areas

The Frequently used idea are needs updating seriously and now the future of the approved area is questioned. Please see the discussions at Wikipedia talk:Motto of the day/Nominations#Help with FUI and Approved area discussion. Simply south (talk) 20:44, 13 March 2009 (UTC)

WikiCup Newsletter

16:52, 15 March 2009 (UTC) The Helpful Bot 16:52, 15 March 2009 (UTC)

Geography WikiProject update - 03/15/2009

The award images are complete!

After months of toil and attention to detail, Penubag has completed the set of images for this WikiProject's awards!

There are five race ribbons:

There's an engraved medallion:

And by far the hardest to create, a golden trophy:

If you have any ideas about awards these images can be placed upon, and how to award them (to show appreciation and to attract participants), please let me know.

And be sure to pop by Penubag's talk page to let him know what you think of his graphics artistry.

The Transhumanist    21:57, 15 March 2009 (UTC)

Wikipedia Signpost — 16 March 2009

Unsubscribe · Single-page · Full edition »

  — 16 March 2009

• News and notes: License update, Commons cartoons, films milestone, and more
• Wikipedia in the news: Manufactured scandal, Wikipedia assignments, and more
• Dispatches: New FAC and FAR appointments
• Discussion report: Discussion Reports And Miscellaneous Articulations
• Features and admins: Approved this week
• Arbitration report: The Report on Lengthy Litigation

Delivered by §hepBot (Disable) at 23:08, 16 March 2009 (UTC)

Bluck

Boston (talk) has given you a fresh piece of fried chicken! Pieces of fried chicken promote WikiLove and hopefully this piece has made your day a little better. Spread the WikiLove by giving someone else a piping hot piece, whether it be someone you have had disagreements with in the past or a good friend. Bon appetit!

Spread the tastiness of fried chicken by adding {{subst:GiveChicken}} to their talk page with a friendly message.

--Boston (talk) 08:05, 18 March 2009 (UTC)

Wikipedia Signpost: 23 March 2009

• From the editor: Reviewing books for the Signpost
• Special report: Abuse Filter is enabled
• News and notes: Flaggedrevs, copyright project, fundraising reports, and more
• Wikipedia in the news: Alternatives, IWF threats, and more
• Features and admins: Approved this week
• Arbitration report: The Report on Lengthy Litigation

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Delievered by SoxBot II (talk) at 04:10, 24 March 2009 (UTC)

Wikipedia Signpost: 30 March 2009

• From the editor: Follow the Signpost with RSS and Twitter
• Special report: Community weighs license update
• News and notes: End of Encarta, flagged revisions poll, new image donation, and more
• Wikipedia in the news: Censorship, social media in schools, and more
• Discussion report: Discussion Reports And Miscellaneous Articulations
• Features and admins: Approved this week
• Technology report: Bugs, Repairs, and Internal Operational News
• Arbitration report: The Report on Lengthy Litigation

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Delievered by SoxBot II (talk) at 20:12, 31 March 2009 (UTC)

WikiCup Newsletter

20:40, 31 March 2009 (UTC)

Delivered for the WikiCup by  GARDEN  at 20:40, 31 March 2009 (UTC). Queries to my talk.

WikiCup Newsletter XI

Delivered for the WikiCup by  ROBOTIC GARDEN  at 21:32, 5 April 2009 (UTC). To report errors see the talk page.

Wikipedia Signpost: 6 April 2009

• Special report: Interactive OpenStreetMap features in development
• News and notes: Statistics, Wikipedia research and more
• Wikipedia in the news: Wikia Search abandoned, university plagiarism, and more
• Dispatches: New FAC and FAR nomination process
• WikiProject report: WikiProject China
• Features and admins: Approved this week
• Arbitration report: The Report on Lengthy Litigation

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Delievered by SoxBot II (talk) at 19:16, 6 April 2009 (UTC)

Outline of knowledge project summary, and future direction

In response to a friend on Wikipedia who was wondering about how I've been and what I've been up to, I got to spewing about our little endeavor, and well, I got so carried away I pretty much told him everything.  :) The message turned out to be a pretty good summary of what we've accomplished so far and the overall plan.

See User talk:The Rambling Man#What's up?

The Transhumanist    23:13, 11 April 2009 (UTC)

Wikipedia Signpost: 13 April 2009

• License update: Licensing vote begins
• News and notes: WMF petitions Obama, longer AFDs, UK meeting, and more
• Dispatches: Let's get serious about plagiarism
• WikiProject report: WikiProject Color
• Discussion report: Discussion Reports And Miscellaneous Articulations
• Features and admins: Approved this week
• Technology report: Bugs, Repairs, and Internal Operational News
• Arbitration report: The Report on Lengthy Litigation

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Delievered by SoxBot II (talk) at 16:29, 13 April 2009 (UTC)

WikiCup Newsletter XII

Delivered for the WikiCup by  ROBOTIC GARDEN  at 17:02, 13 April 2009 (UTC). To report errors see the talk page.

Do not read this one - The Hunt - Outline of knowledge WikiProject - 04/17/2009

Here's a trivia question for you...

While surveying libraries, their outline-related resources, and our coverage of them, I came across something funny...

What subclass is the Bible in the Library of Congress Classification?

Do you think they'd like this one at WP:DYK?

(Nope. They didn't.)     :)

Libraries

For months, I've been sitting at a terminal in one of the largest libraries in the country, and I haven't even looked around at the available resources.

Until a few days ago.

I'm overwhelmed.

When compared to libraries, Wikipedia is small. (See Digest of Education Statistics 2008, Chapter 7:Libraries and Educational Technology Libraries, and turn to page 617).

But is that a fair comparison?

Yes.

Why?

Because we have growth potential.  :)

And we cover everything, including libraries!

Guess what else I found?

Hunting for outlines

I began to study libraries and librarians, since they are experts in organizing knowledge. And of course I turned to Wikipedia to see what we had on the things I came across...

And while doing so I kept running into outlines on Wikipedia that are not (yet) part of the Outline of knowledge.

When I come across non-OOK outlines, generally I rename them, and reformat them to our standard outline format. But there is the occasional exception.

Here are some outlines I just added:

1. List of energy topics --> Outline of energy (it converted great)
2. List of Dewey Decimal classes --> Outline of Dewey Decimal classes (no conversion)
3. Library of Congress Classification --> ??? (no rename, no conversion)

The last 2 are outlines by their very nature, and so our standard outline subheadings didn't seem to fit. So I left them as is.

I renamed the first 2, but the last one is the name of the outline, that is, the topic itself is an outline, and that outline is presented as the article's content, so I left the name as is. For now. This needs more thought.

Of course, that's not all. Concerning those last 2 outlines above...

Alternate outlines of knowledge

...not only are they outlines, but they are outlines of knowledge! Well, the top few levels, at least.

Uh, so?

What happens if we linkify them?  :)

That is, what happens if we linkify their classifications to Wikipedia's outlines?  :)   :)   :)

They become alternate top ends to the OOK

Yep.

What can you find?

I challenge you to find some "hidden" outlines.

I dare you to take a look around Wikipedia for hidden outlines (that is, outlines not yet hooked into the OOK), and add your kills to WP:WPOOK#The hunt for hidden outlines.

My trophies are already there.

May the hunt begin!

The Transhumanist    20:38, 17 April 2009 (UTC)

WikiCup Newsletter XIII

Delivered for the WikiCup by  ROBOTIC GARDEN  at 09:35, 20 April 2009 (UTC). To report errors see the talk page.

Wikipedia Signpost: 20 April 2009

• Book reviews: Reviews of The Wikipedia Revolution
• Wikipedia by numbers: Wikipedia's coverage and conflicts quantified
• News and notes: New program officer, survey results, and more
• Dispatches: Valued pictures
• WikiProject report: WikiProject Film
• Features and admins: Approved this week
• Technology report: Bugs, Repairs, and Internal Operational News
• Arbitration report: The Report on Lengthy Litigation

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Delivered by SoxBot II (talk) at 18:46, 20 April 2009 (UTC)

WikiCup Newsletter XIV

Delivered for the WikiCup by  ROBOTIC GARDEN  at 14:29, 26 April 2009 (UTC). To report errors see the talk page.

Wikipedia Signpost: 27 April 2009

• Book reviews: Reviews of Lazy Virtues: Teaching Writing in the Age of Wikipedia
• News and notes: Usability study, Wiki Loves Art, and more
• Wikipedia in the news: Wikipedia Art dispute, and brief headlines
• WikiProject report: Interview on WikiProject Final Fantasy
• Features and admins: Approved this week
• Technology report: Bugs, Repairs, and Internal Operational News
• Arbitration report: The Report on Lengthy Litigation

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Delivered by SoxBot II (talk) at 04:25, 29 April 2009 (UTC)

WikiCup Newsletter XV

Delivered for the WikiCup by  ROBOTIC GARDEN  at 08:35, 4 May 2009 (UTC). To report errors see the talk page.

GA Sweeps invitation

Hello, I hope you are doing well. I am sending you this message since you are a member of the GA WikiProject. I would like to invite you to consider helping with the GA sweeps process. Sweeps helps to ensure that the oldest GAs still meet the criteria, and improve the quality of GAs overall. Unfortunately, last month only two articles were reviewed. This is definitely a low point after our peak at the beginning of the process when 163 articles were reviewed in September 2007. After nearly two years, the running total has just passed the 50% mark. In order to expediate the reviewing, several changes have been made to the process. A new worklist has been created, detailing which articles are left to review. All exempt and previously reviewed articles have already been removed from the list. Instead of reviewing by topic, you can consider picking and choosing whichever articles interest you.

We are always looking for new members to assist with the remaining articles, so if you are interested or know of anybody that can assist, please visit the GA sweeps page. In addition, for every member that reviews 100 articles or has a significant impact on the process, s/he will get an award when they reach that threshold. If only 14 editors achieve this feat starting now, we would be done with Sweeps! Of course, having more people reviewing less articles would be better for all involved, so please consider asking others to help out. Feel free to stop by and only review a few articles, something's better than nothing! Take a look at the list, and see what articles interest you. Let's work to complete Sweeps so that efforts can be fully focused on the backlog at GAN. If you have any questions about the process, reviewing, or need help with a particular article, please contact me or OhanaUnited and we'll be happy to help. --Happy editing! Nehrams2020 (talk • contrib) 08:26, 8 May 2009 (UTC)

Wikipedia Signpost: 11 May 2009

• News and notes: Wikimania 2010, usability project, link rot, and more
• Wikipedia in the news: Quote hoax replicated in traditional media, and more
• Dispatches: WikiProject Birds reaches an FA milestone
• WikiProject report: WikiProject Michael Jackson
• Features and admins: Approved this week
• Technology report: Bugs, Repairs, and Internal Operational News
• Arbitration report: The Report on Lengthy Litigation

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Delivered by SoxBot (talk) at 22:01, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

A couple questions for you...

What are the benefits of a tree structure?

The article doesn't say.

I'm interested, because I need to explain the benefits in the guideline on outlines I'm writing. (Outlines are a type of tree structure).

I've also asked the question at various reference desks, and these threads may help to jump start your brain on this question.  :)

• Wikipedia:Reference desk/Science#What are the benefits of a tree structure?
• Wikipedia:Reference desk/Mathematics#What are the benefits to humans of using a tree structure?
• Wikipedia:Reference desk/Humanities#In the humanities, what are the applications and benefits of a tree structure?
• Wikipedia:Reference desk/Language#What are the benefits of using tree structures in linguistic communications?
• Wikipedia:Reference desk/Miscellaneous#With respect to the fields covered by this refdesk, what are the applications and benefits of a tree structure?

What are the benefits of outlines, over and above regular articles?

What benefits have you noticed?

How are Wikipedia's outlines useful to you?

I look forward to your answers on my talk page.

The Transhumanist    04:42, 14 May 2009 (UTC)

WPOOK Update - 05/17/2009 - Blockbusting!

This project needs another shot in the arm.

So here it goes...

Countries WikiProject Collaboration - Contests!

I've contacted all 59 members of the Countries WikiProject to help in designing and conducting contests for the further development of the country outlines.

You are invited too.

Houston, we have a problem

The guidelines and outline article still aren't complete.

Which means you will be needed to help explain to the newcomers mentioned above what outlines are and how to develop them.

Please participate in the discussion at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Countries#Hosting country coverage contests.

The Transhumanist    22:27, 17 May 2009 (UTC)

WikiCup Newsletter XVI

Delivered for the WikiCup by  ROBOTIC GARDEN  at 09:12, 18 May 2009 (UTC). To report errors see the talk page.

Wikipedia Signpost: 18 May 2009

• From the editor: Writers needed
• Special report: WikiChemists and Chemical Abstracts announce collaboration
• Special report: Embassies sponsor article-writing contests in three languages
• News and notes: Wiki Loves Arts winners, Wikimania Conference Japan, and more
• Wikipedia in the news: Arbitrator blogs, French government edits, brief headlines
• WikiProject report: WikiProject Opera
• Features and admins: Approved this week
• Technology report: Bugs, Repairs, and Internal Operational News

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Delivered by SoxBot (talk) at 13:06, 19 May 2009 (UTC)

WikiCup Newsletter XVII

Delivered for the WikiCup by The Helpful Bot at 20:03, 23 May 2009 (UTC). To report errors leave at message here.

Has the shit hit the fan? - WPOOK update, 05/25/2009

Maybe...

We've started the next phase

I was experiencing mental block on the article draft for "outline" and on the outline guideline draft. And this was holding the whole project back. Without these (which are intended to explain the type of lists known as outlines in detail), the danger is higher that a controversy could go the wrong way.

I requested help on them, but there was none forthcoming.

So I went ahead and started us on the next phase of operations without those 2 pages...

Our AWB'ers and I have placed about 1600 notices all over Wikipedia. And the plan is to place several thousand more.

This generated only one complaint, but it was a very vocal one, and attracted a few other detractors who seemed unfamiliar with the concept of hierarchical outlines and their benefits. However, just as many or more editors came to the defense of the OOK, and there was no consensus formed. But, dab is still trying to rally opposition to outlines at the Village Pump. See below...

Administrator noticeboard incident and Village Pump policy discussion

It appears that the banner placed on the talk page of the Outline of Switzerland caught the attention of an editor named Dbachmann who posted a rather forceful message on my talk page, another on WT:WPOOK, another at WP:VPP, and still another at WP:AN!

He went well out of his way to use negative hype to cause a stir.

It appears that Mr. Bachmann doesn't understand the nature of hierarchical outlines and their applications. And though he implied that he has never seen an OOK outline before, he was involved with a discussion on these when they were called "lists of basic topics".

His primary argument is that outlines are content forks of articles, and violate WP:CFORK.

But "topic lists", of which outlines are a type, have been around for almost as long as Wikipedia, and fall under the WP:LISTS and WP:STAND guidelines. They aren't intended as forks, as they are lists, bringing the benefits of lists to the corresponding subjects, such as grouping and navigation.

Someone suggested an MfD, but lists are articles, and are within the jurisdiction of AfD. Only the portal page, which merely lists the outline articles, falls within the scope of the MfD department.

The administrator's noticeboard was considered the wrong venue for the discussion, and the discussion was closed.

But Dab's discussion at the Village Pump is still active. Hopefully level heads will prevail there too.

Now what?

Am I disheartened or deterred? Hell no. I say "full steam ahead!"

But we really need to finish the article draft and the guideline. Otherwise there will continue to be confusion.

Over the next week or two, we'll be posting another 1600 or so notices. It's a good thing we didn't send out 10,000 of them all at once.  :)

The Transhumanist    23:40, 24 May 2009 (UTC)

P.S.: Another related thread has popped up at WP:VPR#OoK's expediency. --TT   04:33, 25 May 2009 (UTC)

Hello

Are you still here or have you quietly left? Simply south (talk) 20:40, 25 May 2009 (UTC)

Wikipedia Signpost: 25 May 2009

• License update: Licensing vote results announced, resolution passed
• News and notes: New board member, flagged revisions, Eurovision interviews
• Wikipedia in the news: Wikipedia: threat or menace?
• WikiProject report: WikiProject LGBT studies
• Discussion report: Discussion Reports and Miscellaneous Articulations
• Features and admins: Approved this week
• Technology report: Bugs, Repairs, and Internal Operational News
• Arbitration report: The Report on Lengthy Litigation

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Delivered by SoxBot (talk) at 03:45, 26 May 2009 (UTC)

WikiCup newsletter XVII.V

This is just a quick reminder that the round ends this Friday, May 29, 2009. I wanted to let you guys know the current standings. If you are very close, but not close enough, work as hard as possible these next two days. Pool leaders are listed as usual, and under the 10 wildcards, are competitors that are still fighting for a spot. Also, if you currently have any un-reviewed GAN's up and you'd like them to be reviewed and counted for this round, you must place them on the appropriate thread of the WikiCup talk page.

Pool A

1. Shoemaker's Holiday (647)

Pool B

1. ThinkBlue (247)

Pool C

1. Theleftorium (455)

Pool D

1. Candlewicke (539)

Pool E

1. Durova (479)

Pool F

1. Sasata (961)

Current Wildcards

1. Useight (393)
2. Scorpion0422 (372)
3. Rlevse (329)
4. Wrestlinglover (307)
5. Paxse (285)
6. Ottava Rima (248)
7. Mitchazenia (226)
8. Juliancolton (181)
9. the_ed17 (179)
10. J Milburn (168)
11. Bedford (156)
12. Gary King (147)
13. 97198 (142)
14. Ceranthor (111)
15. Tinucherian (106)
16. Matthewedwards (98)

 GARDEN ,  iMatthew :  Chat  , and The Helpful One The Helpful Bot 00:49, 27 May 2009 (UTC)

WikiCup Newsletter XVIII

Delivered for the WikiCup by The Helpful Bot at 14:33, 31 May 2009 (UTC). To report errors leave at message here.

Wikipedia Signpost: 1 June 2009

• From the editor: Browsing the archives
• Book review: Review of The Future of the Internet
• Scientology: End of Scientology arbitration brings blocks, media coverage
• News and notes: Picture of the Year, Wikipedia's first logo, Board elections, and more
• Wikipedia in the news: Tamil Wikipedia, Internet Watch Foundation, and more
• Features and admins: Approved this week
• Technology report: Bugs, Repairs, and Internal Operational News
• Arbitration report: The Report on Lengthy Litigation

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Delivered by SoxBot (talk) at 22:36, 1 June 2009 (UTC)

WikiCup Newsletter XIX and XX

Delivered by The Helpful Bot at 21:58, 13 June 2009 (UTC) for the WikiCup. To report errors, please leave a message on the talk page.

Wikipedia Signpost: 15 June 2009

• Book review :Review of Cyberchiefs: Autonomy and Authority in Online Tribes
• News and notes: License update, Google Translate, GLAM conference, Paid editing
• Wikipedia in the news: In the Google News, London Review of Books, and more
• WikiProject report: WikiProject Chemistry
• Discussion report: Discussion Reports And Miscellaneous Articulations
• Features and admins: Approved this week
• Technology report: Bugs, Repairs, and Internal Operational News
• Arbitration report: The Report on Lengthy Litigation

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Delivered by SoxBot (talk) at 11:43, 16 June 2009 (UTC)