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Administrators' newsletter – August 2017

News and updates for administrators from the past month (July 2017).

Administrator changes

added Anarchyte • GeneralizationsAreBad • Cullen328 (first RfA to reach WP:300)
removed Cprompt • Rockpocket • Rambo's Revenge • Animum • TexasAndroid • Chuck SMITH • MikeLynch • Crazytales • Ad Orientem

Guideline and policy news

Technical news

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 00:12, 1 August 2017 (UTC)

Semi-protect

Can you semi-protect I Want to Know What Love Is to persistent block evasion by User:Elmodivot and Wikipedia:Long-term abuse/Hanoi vandal 183.171.181.75 (talk) 02:06, 8 August 2017 (UTC)

Sorry but I am not familiar with that particular LTA situation but please take it to WP:RFPP or WP:SPI as needed. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 02:23, 8 August 2017 (UTC)

RE: Talk:Green Party of Canada

So you couldn't just move the template instead of removing it altogether? Me-123567-Me (talk) 16:09, 18 August 2017 (UTC)

@Me-123567-Me: Oh, certainly! I was thinking of re-adding such a template once the discussion here was resolved. Apologies for not saying so. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 18:39, 18 August 2017 (UTC)
Thanks for the clairification! :-) Me-123567-Me (talk) 02:46, 19 August 2017 (UTC)

SMILE!! 18 August 2017

Hello Paul Erik, Me-123567-Me has smiled at you! Smiles promote WikiLove and hopefully this one has made your day better. Spread the WikiLove by smiling at someone else, whether it be someone you have had disagreements with in the past or a good friend. Go on, smile! Cheers, and happy editing! Me-123567-Me (talk) 02:47, 19 August 2017 (UTC)
Smile at others by adding {{subst:Smile}} to their talk page with a friendly message.

Jeremy Crawford

Hi Paul, I hope you are doing well! I haven't had anything to bug you about for a while. :) Do you see any good sources that can be added to Jeremy Crawford? Thanks! BOZ (talk) 16:37, 24 August 2017 (UTC)

Hi BOZ. I couldn't find much, but added a couple of citations. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 03:09, 25 August 2017 (UTC)
It's a start! Better than a completely unsourced BLP, at least. I appreciate it, as always. BOZ (talk) 05:55, 25 August 2017 (UTC)

Orphaned non-free image File:TwoHoursTrafficAprilStorm.jpg

⚠
⚠

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

Note that any non-free images not used in any articles will be deleted after seven days, as described in section F5 of the criteria for speedy deletion. Thank you. --B-bot (talk) 17:51, 24 August 2017 (UTC)

Source query

Hi there! I was pointed in your direction by BOZ, who's been helping me find sources for the article Robert E. Lee: Civil War General. In his news archives, he saw that the game had been covered in the Dallas Morning News (10/11/1996), the Fort Worth Star (11/2/1996), the San Diego Union (11/19/1996), Commercial Appeal (1/3/1997) and The Plain Dealer (1/13/1997). However, he was unable to access text versions of those articles. If at all possible, I'd really appreciate it if you could poke around and see if they're in your archives! That said, I'll only need the texts themselves if they aren't just reviews—thanks to BOZ, I have plenty of reviews for the article now. If any of them are features or interviews about the game, though, they would seriously come in handy. Either way, thanks for your time! JimmyBlackwing (talk) 02:26, 31 August 2017 (UTC)

Hi JimmyBlackwing. I'm afraid this won't be much help to you: I see each of them, but don't have full-text access to the any of them in my library's database. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 01:51, 1 September 2017 (UTC)
Ah, darn. Oh well. Really appreciate your checking! JimmyBlackwing (talk) 04:07, 1 September 2017 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – September 2017

News and updates for administrators from the past month (August 2017).

Administrator changes

added Nakon • Scott
removed Sverdrup • Thespian • Elockid • James086 • Ffirehorse • Celestianpower • Boing! said Zebedee

Guideline and policy news

Technical news

  • You will now get a notification when someone tries to log in to your account and fails. If they try from a device that has logged into your account before, you will be notified after five failed attempts. You can also set in your preferences to get an email when someone logs in to your account from a new device or IP address, which may be encouraged for admins and accounts with sensitive permissions.
  • Syntax highlighting is now available as a beta feature (more info). This may assist administrators and template editors when dealing with intricate syntax of high-risk templates and system messages.
  • In your notification preferences, you can now block specific users from pinging you. This functionality will soon be available for Special:EmailUser as well.

Arbitration

  • Applications for CheckUser and Oversight are being accepted by the Arbitration Committee until September 12. Community discussion of the candidates will begin on September 18.
Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 17:35, 1 September 2017 (UTC)

Anne Stokes

Hi Paul, would you be able to check to see if you have any sources to add to Anne Stokes? Thanks! BOZ (talk) 22:36, 7 September 2017 (UTC)

Fantastic, thanks! That's a big step in the right direction. :) BOZ (talk) 05:39, 8 September 2017 (UTC)
You're welcome! Sorry to report that I could not find more than the one source. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 22:48, 8 September 2017 (UTC)
No worries, at least it was a good one! BOZ (talk) 03:00, 9 September 2017 (UTC)

Invitation to Admin confidence survey

Hello,

Beginning in September 2017, the Wikimedia Foundation Anti-harassment tool team will be conducting a survey to gauge how well tools, training, and information exists to assist English Wikipedia administrators in recognizing and mitigating things like sockpuppetry, vandalism, and harassment.

The survey should only take 5 minutes, and your individual response will not be made public. This survey will be integral for our team to determine how to better support administrators.

To take the survey sign up here and we will send you a link to the form.

We really appreciate your input!

Please let us know if you wish to opt-out of all massmessage mailings from the Anti-harassment tools team.

For the Anti-harassment tools team, SPoore (WMF), Community Advocate, Community health initiative (talk) 20:56, 14 September 2017 (UTC)

Responded

I responded to your message on my talk page. Mr. C.C.Hey yo!I didn't do it! 02:23, 18 September 2017 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – October 2017

News and updates for administrators from the past month (September 2017).

Administrator changes

added Boing! said Zebedee • Ansh666 • Ad Orientem
removed Tonywalton • AmiDaniel • Silence • BanyanTree • Magioladitis • Vanamonde93 • Mr.Z-man • Jdavidb • Jakec • Ram-Man • Yelyos • Kurt Shaped Box

Guideline and policy news

Technical news

Arbitration

  • Community consultation on the 2017 candidates for CheckUser and Oversight has concluded. The Arbitration Committee will appoint successful candidates by October 11.
  • A request for comment is open regarding the structure, rules, and procedures of the December 2017 Arbitration Committee election, and how to resolve any issues not covered by existing rules.
Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 17:23, 2 October 2017 (UTC)

Introduce Yerself

Thanks for the props. I've been weeping like a child all day, just like everyone else, and probably would have let it wait another week or two if somebody hadn't goofed by adding "and final" to Secret Path. Bearcat (talk) 02:58, 19 October 2017 (UTC)

@Bearcat: Yes, I've been teary all evening watching and reading the tributes. I had read the New York Times article about the last album earlier today, and was very glad to see your work on it. Thanks as always. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 03:10, 19 October 2017 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – November 2017

News and updates for administrators from the past month (October 2017).

Administrator changes

added Longhair • Megalibrarygirl • TonyBallioni • Vanamonde93
removed Allen3 • Eluchil404 • Arthur Rubin • Bencherlite

Technical news

Arbitration

Obituaries

  • The Wikipedia community has recently learned that Allen3 (William Allen Peckham) passed away on December 30, 2016, the same day as JohnCD. Allen began editing in 2005 and became an administrator that same year.
Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 00:50, 2 November 2017 (UTC)

Lido Pimienta

Hi, Paul Erik, just seeking an extra opinion.
I wonder if the content re the alleged 'racism' here is notable enough to be included, also it seems to be creating some 'friction' (in which I am involved) on the talk page.
Regards, 220 of Borg 01:24, 7 November 2017 (UTC)

Hi 220 of Borg. The incident at the Halifax Pop Explosion received quite significant coverage, well beyond local, including in such places as Billboard magazine so I think a paragraph about it in the Pimienta article is warranted. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 03:04, 7 November 2017 (UTC)
Thank you Paul Erik!
Is there a source (video?) for exactly what was actually said by Pimienta? I first heard it reported about by a YouTube 'news' channel, here, I think, in which it was portrayed in such a way to make her sound (to me) racist ie. "whites to the back" or similar. Most news reports are rather vague, and all seem to be only sourced to the expos organisers' statement, like here. Regards, 220 of Borg 06:58, 7 November 2017 (UTC)
@220 of Borg: I haven't seen a video or a transcript of what she said. (Wikipedia mustn't be engaging in original research anyway, which is what we would be doing if we add commentary to the article based on viewing a video of the incident.)

Taking a step back: You appear to be positing a notion that "reverse racism" is on par with racism. While I am very far from an expert on definitions of racism, I think that most academics in the area would not put the two on the same level. I see there are a few references in Wikipedia's article Reverse racism, if you are curious. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 02:10, 8 November 2017 (UTC)

Oh, no I wasn't suggesting OR. Just want the 'facts' as far as I can find them. I'm not an expert either, but I don't believe in 'reverse racism'. Racism is racism. 220 of Borg 09:01, 8 November 2017 (UTC)

CA Suleiman

Hi Paul, do you have any sources that might help with CA Suleiman? He usually goes by his initials, which might make it hard to find something, but I think his first name might be Colin if that helps. BOZ (talk) 15:00, 10 November 2017 (UTC)

Hi BOZ. Yes, there is one article about him in The Washington Post. You can find it here. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 22:14, 10 November 2017 (UTC)
Cool, thanks! BOZ (talk) 23:34, 10 November 2017 (UTC)

Your signature

Please be aware that your signature uses deprecated <font> tags, which are causing Obsolete HTML tags lint errors. Your signature is also causing Tidy bug affecting font tags wrapping links.

You are encouraged to change

<font face="Comic sans MS">[[User:Paul Erik|Paul Erik]]</font> <small><sup><font color="Blue">[[User_talk:Paul Erik|(talk)]]</font><font color="Green">[[Special:Contributions/Paul Erik|(contribs)]]</font></sup></small> → Paul Erik (talk)(contribs)

to

[[User:Paul Erik|<span style="font-family: Comic sans MS;">Paul Erik</span>]] <small><sup>[[User_talk:Paul Erik|<span style="color: Blue">(talk)</span>]][[Special:Contributions/Paul Erik|<span style="color: Green;">(contribs)</span>]]</sup></small> → Paul Erik (talk)(contribs)

Respectfully, Anomalocaris (talk) 02:29, 19 November 2017 (UTC)

Thank you! I have made the change. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 18:32, 19 November 2017 (UTC)
Thanks! —Anomalocaris (talk) 14:16, 21 November 2017 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – December 2017

News and updates for administrators from the past month (November 2017).

Administrator changes

added Joe Roe
readded JzG
removed Ericorbit • Perceval • Thingg • Tristanb • Violetriga

Guideline and policy news

  • Following a request for comment, a new section has been added to the username policy which disallows usernames containing emoji, emoticons or otherwise "decorative" usernames, and usernames that use any non-language symbols. Administrators should discuss issues related to these types of usernames before blocking.

Technical news

Arbitration

Miscellaneous

  • Over the last few months, several users have reported backlogs that require administrator attention at WP:ANI, with the most common backlogs showing up on WP:SPI, WP:AIV and WP:RFPP. It is requested that all administrators take some time during this month to help clear backlogs wherever possible. It should be noted that AIV reports are not always valid; however, they still need to be cleared, which may include needing to remind users on what qualifies as vandalism.
  • The Wikimedia Foundation Community health initiative is conducting a survey for English Wikipedia contributors on their experience and satisfaction level with Administrator’s Noticeboard/Incidents. This survey will be integral to gathering information about how this noticeboard works (i.e. which problems it deals with well and which problems it struggles with). If you would like to take this survey, please sign up on this page, and a link for the survey will be emailed to you via Special:EmailUser.
Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 20:58, 2 December 2017 (UTC)

Adam Tinworth

Hi Paul, any chance that there might be some sources out there for Adam Tinworth? BOZ (talk) 16:56, 16 December 2017 (UTC)

This article mentions him. One more, briefly. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 03:04, 19 December 2017 (UTC)
Thanks! :) BOZ (talk) 04:43, 19 December 2017 (UTC)

Merry Christmas!

BOZ (talk) is wishing you a Merry Christmas! This greeting (and season) promotes WikiLove and hopefully this note has made your day a little better. Spread the WikiLove by wishing another user a Merry Christmas, whether it be someone you have had disagreements with in the past, a good friend, or just some random person. Don't eat yellow snow!

Spread the holiday cheer by adding {{subst:User:Flaming/MC2008}} to their talk page with a friendly message.

I'm wishing you a Merry Christmas, because that is what I celebrate. If you don't like Christmas or just don't celebrate it in any of its forms, then please accept a generic "Happy Holidays". If you celebrate no holidays at this time of year, then hopefully you will be satisfied with an even more generic "Season's Greetings".  :) BOZ (talk) 01:03, 23 December 2017 (UTC)

Merry Christmas, BOZ! Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 01:08, 23 December 2017 (UTC)

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Paul Erik!!


Hi Paul Erik, I wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year,
Thanks for all your help and contributions on the 'pedia! ,
   –Davey2010 Merry Xmas / Happy New Year 13:48, 23 December 2017 (UTC)

All the best to you too, Davey2010! Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 19:27, 23 December 2017 (UTC)

Seasons' Greetings

...to you and yours, from the Great White North! FWiW Bzuk (talk) 04:47, 24 December 2017 (UTC)

And to you, Bzuk ! Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 15:41, 24 December 2017 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – January 2018

News and updates for administrators from the past month (December 2017).

Administrator changes

added Muboshgu
readded Anetode • Laser brain • Worm That Turned
removed None

Bureaucrat changes

readded Worm That Turned

Guideline and policy news

  • A request for comment is in progress to determine whether the administrator policy should be amended to require disclosure of paid editing activity at WP:RFA and to prohibit the use of administrative tools as part of paid editing activity, with certain exceptions.

Technical news

Arbitration

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 02:37, 3 January 2018 (UTC)

Canada Day

This was not incorrect information, Canada Day is on July 2nd in 2018. Please reference the Federal Holidays Act, or go to Ontario's list of Statutory Holidays, for example, to see that July 1st, when not a Sunday, is Canada. Should July 1st fall on a Sunday, July 2nd is Canada Day. CanadaDayShouldBeOnJuly1st (talk) 03:54, 18 January 2018 (UTC)

I had no idea! Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 04:04, 18 January 2018 (UTC)

Dean Shomshak

Hi Paul, do you see any new sources for Dean Shomshak? BOZ (talk) 04:53, 29 January 2018 (UTC)

Hi BOZ. No, sorry, I could not find any. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 18:40, 29 January 2018 (UTC)
Thanks for checking. BOZ (talk) 12:23, 30 January 2018 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – February 2018

News and updates for administrators from the past month (January 2018).

Administrator changes

added None
removed Blurpeace • Dana boomer • Deltabeignet • Denelson83 • Grandiose • Salvidrim! • Ymblanter

Guideline and policy news

  • An RfC has closed with a consensus that candidates at WP:RFA must disclose whether they have ever edited for pay and that administrators may never use administrative tools as part of any paid editing activity, except when they are acting as a Wikipedian-in-Residence or when the payment is made by the Wikimedia Foundation or an affiliate of the WMF.
  • Editors responding to threats of harm can now contact the Wikimedia Foundation's emergency address by using Special:EmailUser/Emergency. If you don't have email enabled on Wikipedia, directly contacting the emergency address using your own email client remains an option.

Technical news

  • A tag will now be automatically applied to edits that blank a page, turn a page into a redirect, remove/replace almost all content in a page, undo an edit, or rollback an edit. These edits were previously denoted solely by automatic edit summaries.

Arbitration

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 00:52, 4 February 2018 (UTC)

Monica Valentinelli

Hi Paul, another one. Do you see any usable sources for Monica Valentinelli? BOZ (talk) 19:40, 5 February 2018 (UTC)

There is this in Publishers Weekly. She is also mentioned in this article at WaPo. That's all I can find. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 22:15, 5 February 2018 (UTC)
It's something! I may be able to work with that. Thanks. BOZ (talk) 12:36, 6 February 2018 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – March 2018

News and updates for administrators from the past month (February 2018).

Administrator changes

added Lourdes†
removed AngelOfSadness • Bhadani • Chris 73 • Coren • Friday • Midom • Mike V
† Lourdes has requested that her admin rights be temporarily removed, pending her return from travel.

Guideline and policy news

  • The autoconfirmed article creation trial (ACTRIAL) is scheduled to end on 14 March 2018. The results of the research collected can be read on Meta Wiki.
  • Community ban discussions must now stay open for at least 24 hours prior to being closed.
  • A change to the administrator inactivity policy has been proposed. Under the proposal, if an administrator has not used their admin tools for a period of five years and is subsequently desysopped for inactivity, the administrator would have to file a new RfA in order to regain the tools.
  • A change to the banning policy has been proposed which would specify conditions under which a repeat sockmaster may be considered de facto banned, reducing the need to start a community ban discussion for these users.

Technical news

  • CheckUsers are now able to view private data such as IP addresses from the edit filter log, e.g. when the filter prevents a user from creating an account. Previously, this information was unavailable to CheckUsers because access to it could not be logged.
  • The edit filter has a new feature contains_all that edit filter managers may use to check if one or more strings are all contained in another given string.

Miscellaneous

Obituaries

  • Bhadani (Gangadhar Bhadani) passed away on 8 February 2018. Bhadani joined Wikipedia in March 2005 and became an administrator in September 2005. While he was active, Bhadani was regarded as one of the most prolific Wikipedians from India.
Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 03:00, 2 March 2018 (UTC)

Awards pages

Hi there,

My name is Sonia, and I write for The Washington Post. I'm interested in pursuing a story about Wikipedia users who update/edit pages detailing specific histories of the Academy Awards (e.g. "List of black Academy Award winners and nominees," "90th Academy Awards"). I believe you might have edited a similar page recently, perhaps during the ceremony. People who are simply curious often end up on these informative pages, and I believe our readers might find it interesting to hear the story behind the quick edits — are there some Wikipedia users who wait for the awards to be announced and then update the pages immediately? How do you keep track of all the history? And so on.

If you'd be interested in chatting with me, please let me know as soon as possible. I can be reached at sonia.rao@washpost.com.

Thanks! Sonia — Preceding unsigned comment added by Soniarao23 (talk • contribs) 16:30, 5 March 2018 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – April 2018

News and updates for administrators from the past month (March 2018).

Administrator changes

added 331dot • Cordless Larry • ClueBot NG
removed Gogo Dodo • Pb30 • Sebastiankessel • Seicer • SoLando

Guideline and policy news

  • Administrators who have been desysopped due to inactivity are now required to have performed at least one (logged) administrative action in the past 5 years in order to qualify for a resysop without going through a new RfA.
  • Editors who have been found to have engaged in sockpuppetry on at least two occasions after an initial indefinite block, for whatever reason, are now automatically considered banned by the community without the need to start a ban discussion.
  • The notability guideline for organizations and companies has been substantially rewritten following the closure of this request for comment. Among the changes, the guideline more clearly defines the sourcing requirements needed for organizations and companies to be considered notable.
  • The six-month autoconfirmed article creation trial (ACTRIAL) ended on 14 March 2018. The post-trial research report has been published. A request for comment is now underway to determine whether the restrictions from ACTRIAL should be implemented permanently.

Technical news

Arbitration

  • The Arbitration Committee is considering a change to the discretionary sanctions procedures which would require an editor to appeal a sanction to the community at WP:AE or WP:AN prior to appealing directly to the Arbitration Committee at WP:ARCA.

Miscellaneous

  • A discussion has closed which concluded that administrators are not required to enable email, though many editors suggested doing so as a matter of best practice.
  • The Foundations' Anti-Harassment Tools team has released the Interaction Timeline. This shows a chronologic history for two users on pages where they have both made edits, which may be helpful in identifying sockpuppetry and investigating editing disputes.
Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 01:23, 2 April 2018 (UTC)

Talk page abuse

Can you please revoke the talk page access for that LTA sock you just blocked? He is abusing his talk page right now for personal attacks. (The account is a sock of an LTA who has been active on this site for a very long time.) Thanks. LightandDark2000 (talk) 01:51, 7 April 2018 (UTC)

Done. Thanks Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 01:58, 7 April 2018 (UTC)

Chris Sims

Hi Paul, it might be tough to search for, but do you have any sources to help Chris S. Sims (game designer)? BOZ (talk) 11:31, 12 April 2018 (UTC)

The only thing I could find was the Connecticut Post mention, which is already cited. Sorry, BOZ. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 01:07, 13 April 2018 (UTC)
OK, thanks for checking. BOZ (talk) 12:41, 15 April 2018 (UTC)

Block evasion

Hi, you blocked this account [1]. The account belonged to VJ-Yugo, a blocked editor. For more see [2]. Ktrimi991 (talk) 20:35, 17 April 2018 (UTC)

Thanks for letting me know, Ktrimi991. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 21:26, 17 April 2018 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – May 2018

News and updates for administrators from the past month (April 2018).

Administrator changes

added None
removed Chochopk • Coffee • Gryffindor • Jimp • Knowledge Seeker • Lankiveil • Peridon • Rjd0060

Guideline and policy news

  • The ability to create articles directly in mainspace is now indefinitely restricted to autoconfirmed users.
  • A proposal is being discussed which would create a new "event coordinator" right that would allow users to temporarily add the "confirmed" flag to new user accounts and to create many new user accounts without being hindered by a rate limit.

Technical news

  • AbuseFilter has received numerous improvements, including an OOUI overhaul, syntax highlighting, ability to search existing filters, and a few new functions. In particular, the search feature can be used to ensure there aren't existing filters for what you need, and the new equals_to_any function can be used when checking multiple namespaces. One major upcoming change is the ability to see which filters are the slowest. This information is currently only available to those with access to Logstash.
  • When blocking anonymous users, a cookie will be applied that reloads the block if the user changes their IP. This means in most cases, you may no longer need to do /64 range blocks on residential IPv6 addresses in order to effectively block the end user. It will also help combat abuse from IP hoppers in general. This currently only occurs when hard-blocking accounts.
  • The block notice shown on mobile will soon be more informative and point users to a help page on how to request an unblock, just as it currently does on desktop.
  • There will soon be a calendar widget at Special:Block, making it easier to set expiries for a specific date and time.

Arbitration

Obituaries

  • Lankiveil (Craig Franklin) passed away in mid-April. Lankiveil joined Wikipedia on 12 August 2004 and became an administrator on 31 August 2008. During his time with the Wikimedia community, Lankiveil served as an oversighter for the English Wikipedia and as president of Wikimedia Australia.
Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 07:05, 2 May 2018 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – June 2018

News and updates for administrators from the past month (May 2018).

Administrator changes

added None
removed Al Ameer son • AliveFreeHappy • Cenarium • Lupo • MichaelBillington

Guideline and policy news

Technical news

  • IP-based cookie blocks should be deployed to English Wikipedia in June. This will cause the block of a logged-out user to be reloaded if they change IPs. This means in most cases, you may no longer need to do /64 range blocks on residential IPv6 addresses in order to effectively block the end user. It will also help combat abuse from IP hoppers in general. For the time being, it only affects users of the desktop interface.
  • The Wikimedia Foundation's Anti-Harassment Tools team will build granular types of blocks in 2018 (e.g. a block from uploading or editing specific pages, categories, or namespaces, as opposed to a full-site block). Feedback on the concept may be left at the talk page.
  • There is now a checkbox on Special:ListUsers to let you see only users in temporary user groups.
  • It is now easier for blocked mobile users to see why they were blocked.

Arbitration

  • A recent technical issue with the Arbitration Committee's spam filter inadvertently caused all messages sent to the committee through Wikipedia (i.e. Special:EmailUser/Arbitration Committee) to be discarded. If you attempted to send an email to the Arbitration Committee via Wikipedia between May 16 and May 31, your message was not received and you are encouraged to resend it. Messages sent outside of these dates or directly to the Arbitration Committee email address were not affected by this issue.

Miscellaneous

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 21:00, 1 June 2018 (UTC)

User talk:8008ieman

You may wish to revoke talk page access.--Cahk (talk) 08:58, 3 June 2018 (UTC)

Yes; thanks. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 14:06, 3 June 2018 (UTC)

AIV Priority Request

Paul Erik, I see you're going through the backlog at AIV right now. Thanks! Just wanted to ask if you could put 86.100.128.182 (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · filter log · WHOIS · RDNS · RBLs · http · block user · block log) at the top of your list, as they keep defacing my talk page. I don't mean to be selfish or circumvent process, but I'd appreciate it! MarginalCost (talk) 03:33, 5 June 2018 (UTC)

Happy to help. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 03:39, 5 June 2018 (UTC)
Thanks! Would you mind also catching the counterpart IP, 73.202.177.42 (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · filter log · WHOIS · RDNS · RBLs · http · block user · block log), that was vandalizing the same pages and seems by all quacking to be the same person? When you blocked the first one, it looks like my whole report was removed from AIV. I guess I should put those as separate entries at AIV to prevent that. MarginalCost (talk) 03:44, 5 June 2018 (UTC)
Sure. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 03:46, 5 June 2018 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – July 2018

News and updates for administrators from the past month (June 2018).

Administrator changes

added Pbsouthwood • TheSandDoctor
readded Gogo Dodo
removed Andrevan • Doug • EVula • KaisaL • Tony Fox • WilyD

Bureaucrat changes

removed Andrevan • EVula

Guideline and policy news

  • An RfC about the deletion of drafts closed with a consensus to change the wording of WP:NMFD. Specifically, a draft that has been repeatedly resubmitted and declined at AfC without any substantial improvement may be deleted at MfD if consensus determines that it is unlikely to ever meet the requirements for mainspace and it otherwise meets one of the reasons for deletion outlined in the deletion policy.
  • A request for comment closed with a consensus that the {{promising draft}} template cannot be used to indefinitely prevent a WP:G13 speedy deletion nomination.

Technical news

  • Starting on July 9, the WMF Security team, Trust & Safety, and the broader technical community will be seeking input on an upcoming change that will restrict editing of site-wide JavaScript and CSS to a new technical administrators user group. Bureaucrats and stewards will be able to grant this right per a community-defined process. The intention is to reduce the number of accounts who can edit frontend code to those who actually need to, which in turn lessens the risk of malicious code being added that compromises the security and privacy of everyone who accesses Wikipedia. For more information, please review the FAQ.
  • Syntax highlighting has been graduated from a Beta feature on the English Wikipedia. To enable this feature, click the highlighter icon () in your editing toolbar (or under the hamburger menu in the 2017 wikitext editor). This feature can help prevent you from making mistakes when editing complex templates.
  • IP-based cookie blocks should be deployed to English Wikipedia in July (previously scheduled for June). This will cause the block of a logged-out user to be reloaded if they change IPs. This means in most cases, you may no longer need to do /64 range blocks on residential IPv6 addresses in order to effectively block the end user. It will also help combat abuse from IP hoppers in general. For the time being, it only affects users of the desktop interface.

Miscellaneous

  • Currently around 20% of admins have enabled two-factor authentication, up from 17% a year ago. If you haven't already enabled it, please consider doing so. Regardless if you use 2FA, please practice appropriate account security by ensuring your password is secure and unique to Wikimedia.
Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 19:22, 3 July 2018 (UTC)

Darwin Bromley

Hi, Paul! Hope you are doing well. Do you see any sources for Darwin Bromley? BOZ (talk) 11:55, 12 July 2018 (UTC)

Hi BOZ. I see that he's mentioned in this Chicago Tribune article. That's all I can find. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 02:32, 13 July 2018 (UTC)
It's something, at least! Thanks. :) BOZ (talk) 04:33, 15 July 2018 (UTC)

Talk:John Sloan

Hello. I intend to create John Sloan, a businessman from Tennessee who died in 1991. I wonder if you think there should now be a disambiguation page for John Sloan, or if I should create John Sloan (businessman)?Zigzig20s (talk) 21:25, 26 July 2018 (UTC)

Hi Zigzig20s. Yes, I think the redirect should probably be turned back into a disambiguation page, and the new article could be with (businessman) as the disambiguator. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 22:01, 26 July 2018 (UTC)
OK, I am not an admin and I am not sure how to do this. Could you please help?Zigzig20s (talk) 22:11, 26 July 2018 (UTC)
I'll be glad to help. As a first step, I'd suggest that you write the article at John Sloan (businessman). After that, I will restore the disambiguation page at John Sloan and we can add the new article to it. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 02:30, 27 July 2018 (UTC)

John Sloan

There should be no links to disambiguation pages, so now that you made John Sloan a dab page, would you please follow up and fix all the incoming links? (Dabsolver is helpful.) Thanks. — Gorthian (talk) 02:21, 2 August 2018 (UTC)

Thanks, Gorthian; I appreciate that you alerted me to this. I will fix the incoming links over the next few days. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 02:52, 2 August 2018 (UTC)
I got a few of them, but User:Amorymeltzer had already done most of them. Thanks, Amorymeltzer! Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 20:18, 3 August 2018 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – August 2018

News and updates for administrators from the past month (July 2018).

Administrator changes

added Sro23
readded KaisaL • Ymblanter

Guideline and policy news

  • After a discussion at Meta, a new user group called "interface administrators" (formerly "technical administrator") has been created. Come the end of August, interface admins will be the only users able to edit site-wide JavaScript and CSS pages like MediaWiki:Common.js and MediaWiki:Common.css, or edit other user's personal JavaScript and CSS. The intention is to improve security and privacy by reducing the number of accounts which could be used to compromise the site or another user's account through malicious code. The new user group can be assigned and revoked by bureaucrats. Discussion is ongoing to establish details for implementing the group on the English Wikipedia.
  • Following a request for comment, the WP:SISTER style guideline now states that in the mainspace, interwiki links to Wikinews should only be made as per the external links guideline. This generally means that within the body of an article, you should not link to Wikinews about a particular event that is only a part of the larger topic. Wikinews links in "external links" sections can be used where helpful, but not automatically if an equivalent article from a reliable news outlet could be linked in the same manner.

Technical news

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 01:31, 5 August 2018 (UTC)

Thanks

In many instances recently when I am thinking of reverting edits or warning editors in the Sarah Jeong area, I see that you have already done what I was still thinking of doing. Thanks for making me feel so slow and useless. ;-) Abecedare (talk) 17:08, 6 August 2018 (UTC)

Ah, User:Abecedare. It is my pleasure to make you feel slow and useless. :) Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 17:11, 6 August 2018 (UTC)

Angus Abranson and Dominic McDowall-Thomas

Hi, Paul. Would you have any luck finding more sources for Angus Abranson and Dominic McDowall-Thomas? Thanks! BOZ (talk) 11:54, 13 August 2018 (UTC)

Sorry, BOZ, but I can't find anything new for either one. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 02:15, 14 August 2018 (UTC)
Thanks for checking. BOZ (talk) 11:38, 15 August 2018 (UTC)

Maxime Bernier

Hi Paul, I am just wondering if it would be possible to extend the full protection on his page by week to prevent Wikipedia:Recentism as the events associated with him are still developing. Or downgrade it to semi-protection to prevent recent edit wars. Thanks.

Ottawa11 (talk) 02:47, 22 August 2018 (UTC)

Looking at the edits since the full protection expired, I'm not seeing enough problems to justify protecting it so far today. But I will keep checking on it. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 18:23, 23 August 2018 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – September 2018

News and updates for administrators from the past month (August 2018).

Administrator changes

added None
removed Asterion • Crisco 1492 • KF • Kudpung • Liz • Randykitty • Spartaz
renamed Optimist on the run → Voice of Clam

Interface administrator changes

added Amorymeltzer • Mr. Stradivarius • MusikAnimal • MSGJ • TheDJ • Xaosflux

Guideline and policy news

  • Following a "stop-gap" discussion, six users have temporarily been made interface administrators while discussion is ongoing for a more permanent process for assigning the permission. Interface administrators are now the only editors allowed to edit sitewide CSS and JavaScript pages, as well as CSS/JS pages in another user's userspace. Previously, all administrators had this ability. The right can be granted and revoked by bureaucrats.

Technical news

  • Because of a data centre test you will be able to read but not edit the wikis for up to an hour on 12 September and 10 October. This will start at 14:00 (UTC). You might lose edits if you try to save during this time. The time when you can't edit might be shorter than an hour.
  • Some abuse filter variables have changed. They are now easier to understand for non-experts. The old variables will still work but filter editors are encouraged to replace them with the new ones. You can find the list of changed variables on mediawiki.org. They have a note which says Deprecated. Use ... instead. An example is article_text which is now page_title.
  • Abuse filters can now use how old a page is. The variable is page_age.

Arbitration

  • The Arbitration Committee has resolved to perform a round of Checkuser and Oversight appointments. The usernames of all applicants will be shared with the Functionaries team, and they will be requested to assist in the vetting process. The deadline to submit an application is 23:59 UTC, 12 September, and the candidates that move forward will be published on-wiki for community comments on 18 September.
Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 23:23, 2 September 2018 (UTC)

Наран Хулхачиев

Please revoke TPA. Regards —AE (talk • contributions) 12:48, 11 September 2018 (UTC)

Done. Thanks. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 12:53, 11 September 2018 (UTC)

Can you check on The Smart Mind

I have an issues with user The Smart Mind (talk), I feel like his edits do not follow Wikipedia guidelines and his edits are coming of as Disruptive editing. I feel like that he ignores my suggestion to come to the talk page and make his arguements and is acting in [[ Wikipedia:Assume bad faith|bad faith]]. Also, a spokeperson should not be in the Ottawa11 (talk) 19:09, 19 September 2018

The Smart Mind has been blocked for sock puppetry by a different admin. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 02:47, 20 September 2018 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – October 2018

News and updates for administrators from the past month (September 2018).

Administrator changes

added Justlettersandnumbers • L235
removed Bgwhite • HorsePunchKid • J Greb • KillerChihuahua • Rami R • Winhunter

Interface administrator changes

added Cyberpower678 • Deryck Chan • Oshwah • Pharos • Ragesoss • Ritchie333

Oversight changes

removed Guerillero • NativeForeigner • Snowolf • Xeno

Guideline and policy news

Technical news

  • Partial blocks should be available for testing in October on the Test Wikipedia and the Beta-Cluster. This new feature allows admins to block users from editing specific pages and in the near-future, namespaces and uploading files. You can expect more updates and an invitation to help with testing once it is available.
  • The Foundations' Anti-Harassment Tools team is currently looking for input on how to measure the effectiveness of blocks. This is in particular related to how they will measure the success of the aforementioned partial blocks.
  • Because of a data centre test, you will be able to read but not edit the Wikimedia projects for up to an hour on 10 October. This will start at 14:00 (UTC). You might lose edits if you try to save during this time.

Arbitration

  • The Arbitration Committee has, by motion, amended the procedure on functionary inactivity.
  • The community consultation for 2018 CheckUser and Oversight appointments has concluded. Appointments will be made by October 11.
  • Following a request for comment, the size of the Arbitration Committee will be decreased to 13 arbitrators, starting in 2019. Additionally, the minimum support percentage required to be appointed to a two-year term on ArbCom has been increased to 60%. ArbCom candidates who receive between 50% and 60% support will be appointed to one-year terms instead.
  • Nominations for the 2018 Arbitration Committee Electoral Commission are being accepted until 12 October. These are the editors who help run the ArbCom election smoothly. If you are interested in volunteering for this role, please consider nominating yourself.
Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 20:13, 5 October 2018 (UTC)

October 2018

Hello Paul, Could I please bring to your attention the ongoing changes made by Thomas Mulligan (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) who you warned on 21 August 2018 for multiple unnecessary WP:NOTBROKEN changes to film articles. He appears to be making a mass of changes and does not appear to read any warnings on his Talk page. Unless he is stopped, someone is going to have a massive job in undoing these unnecessary and inaccurate changes. Regards, David, David J Johnson (talk) 19:41, 11 October 2018 (UTC)

Thanks for letting me know. Blocked. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 23:02, 11 October 2018 (UTC)
Paul, Many thanks for all your help. Regards, David, David J Johnson (talk) 17:23, 12 October 2018 (UTC)

Begging

Begging
Please don't ban me for life from Wikipedia! Thomas Mulligan (talk) 19:45, 11 October 2018 (UTC)

William Jones

Hi Paul! Do you see any sources to improve William Jones (game designer)? He appears to have written things mostly relating to Cthulhu, including games and fiction writing. BOZ (talk) 03:12, 14 October 2018 (UTC)

There's a mention in Publishers Weekly; Vol. 254, Iss. 18, (Apr 30, 2007): page 66 seen here. That's all I can find. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 12:31, 16 October 2018 (UTC)
Better than nothing, thanks! :) BOZ (talk) 12:42, 16 October 2018 (UTC)

Change the name of: Ixquick by StartPage

Good morning. I think that you should change the name of: Ixquick by StartPage. Since the name of: Ixquick is out of date. The updated name is: StartPage. Thank you. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Notewiki2000 (talk • contribs) 05:40, 1 November 2018 (UTC)

Hello Notewiki2000. There is a discussion about this, occurring on Talk:Ixquick, which hasn't quite wrapped up yet, but likely will soon. Best wishes, Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 11:40, 1 November 2018 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – November 2018

News and updates for administrators from the past month (October 2018).

Guideline and policy news

Technical news

  • Partial blocks is now available for testing on the Test Wikipedia. The new functionality allows you to block users from editing specific pages. Bugs may exist and can be reported on the local talk page or on Meta. A discussion regarding deployment to English Wikipedia will be started by community liaisons sometime in the near future.
  • A user script is now available to quickly review unblock requests.
  • The 2019 Community Wishlist Survey is now accepting new proposals until November 11, 2018. The results of this survey will determine what software the Wikimedia Foundation's Community Tech team will work on next year. Voting on the proposals will take place from November 16 to November 30, 2018. Specifically, there is a proposal category for admins and stewards that may be of interest.

Arbitration

  • Eligible editors will be invited to nominate themselves as candidates in the 2018 Arbitration Committee Elections starting on November 4 until November 13. Voting will begin on November 19 and last until December 2.
  • The Arbitration Committee's email address has changed to arbcom-en@wikimedia.org. Other email lists, such as functionaries-en and clerks-l, remain unchanged.
Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 07:19, 3 November 2018 (UTC)

Weakerthans name origin (The Lover)

Hello. Regarding [edit] I'm unable to verify the assertion that the quote, "Go ahead, I'm weaker than you can possibly imagine," from the film The Lover is contained in the liner notes of the album Fallow. I have two CD imprints of that album (G-7 Welcoming Committee; Sub City) and I don't see that quote in the booklet. The ref that accompanies this origin story in the Wikipedia entry points to the band's AMG bio, but even that does not cite the liner notes. I do find an unattributed quote (likely from John K. Samson) at this band name site. It also is the most complete. But for the record, the quote from the film The Lover appears to be misremembered by Samson. The actual line (at about 1:11:48) is, "You have no idea how weak I am."M. David Hughes (talk) 23:28, 14 November 2018 (UTC)

Interesting! There is also this interview with Samson. Would you mind if we copied this discussion over to Talk:The Weakerthans? Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 23:44, 14 November 2018 (UTC)

Yes, that's fine. I'm a newbie when it comes to this stuff.M. David Hughes (talk) 00:45, 15 November 2018 (UTC)

I have done so here. M. David Hughes (talk) 04:33, 15 November 2018 (UTC)

Yes, good; that will allow other editors to weigh in. Thanks. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 04:40, 15 November 2018 (UTC)

remove ip from history?

Hey, I just responded to your comment on the weakerthans page without logging in. I notice you're an admin. Is there a way to remove that from the history so that my ip and my username are not obviously linked? Maybe not but I thought I'd ask. Thanks. - Themightyquill (talk) 08:59, 15 November 2018 (UTC)

Can do. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 12:51, 15 November 2018 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – December 2018

News and updates for administrators from the past month (November 2018).

Administrator changes

readded Al Ameer son • Randykitty • Spartaz
removed Boson • Daniel J. Leivick • Efe • Esanchez7587 • Fred Bauder • Garzo • Martijn Hoekstra • Orangemike

Interface administrator changes

removedDeryck Chan

Guideline and policy news

  • Following a request for comment, the Mediation Committee is now closed and will no longer be accepting case requests.
  • A request for comment is in progress to determine whether members of the Bot Approvals Group should satisfy activity requirements in order to remain in that role.
  • A request for comment is in progress regarding whether to change the administrator inactivity policy, such that administrators "who have made no logged administrative actions for at least 12 months may be desysopped". Currently, the policy states that administrators "who have made neither edits nor administrative actions for at least 12 months may be desysopped".
  • A proposal has been made to temporarily restrict editing of the Main Page to interface administrators in order to mitigate the impact of compromised accounts.

Technical news

Arbitration

Miscellaneous

  • In late November, an attacker compromised multiple accounts, including at least four administrator accounts, and used them to vandalize Wikipedia. If you have ever used your current password on any other website, you should change it immediately. Sharing the same password across multiple websites makes your account vulnerable, especially if your password was used on a website that suffered a data breach. As these incidents have shown, these concerns are not pure fantasies.
  • Wikipedia policy requires administrators to have strong passwords. To further reinforce security, administrators should also consider enabling two-factor authentication. A committed identity can be used to verify that you are the true account owner in the event that your account is compromised and/or you are unable to log in.

Obituaries

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 03:36, 3 December 2018 (UTC)

Neil deGrasse Tryson

Consensus on the talk page closed with the decision to include the recent accusations. I have an edit request pending on the talk page that I can't implement because of the protection level you added. Please implement the edit request per the RfC. 2600:8800:1300:4B4:0:0:0:1001 (talk) 19:22, 8 December 2018 (UTC)

Sorry, no can do. There isn't consensus on the talk page for any one of several additions which have been proposed. User:Objective3000 said in his close: "Let us concentrate on text that satisfies BLP in a new TP section before any additions." Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 01:24, 9 December 2018 (UTC)

Merry Christmas!

BOZ (talk) is wishing you a Merry Christmas! This greeting (and season) promotes WikiLove and hopefully this note has made your day a little better. Spread the WikiLove by wishing another user a Merry Christmas, whether it be someone you have had disagreements with in the past, a good friend, or just some random person. Don't eat yellow snow!

Spread the holiday cheer by adding {{subst:User:Flaming/MC2008}} to their talk page with a friendly message.

I'm wishing you a Merry Christmas, because that is what I celebrate. If you don't like Christmas or just don't celebrate it in any of its forms, then please accept a generic "Happy Holidays". If you celebrate no holidays at this time of year, then hopefully you will be satisfied with an even more generic "Season's Greetings".  :) BOZ (talk) 15:44, 22 December 2018 (UTC)

Thanks, BOZ. Merry Christmas to you as well! Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 16:12, 22 December 2018 (UTC)

Happy New Year, Paul Erik!

Happy New Year!

Paul Erik,
Have a prosperous, productive and enjoyable New Year, and thanks for your contributions to Wikipedia.
Donner60 (talk) 07:16, 31 December 2018 (UTC)

   Send New Year cheer by adding {{subst:Happy New Year fireworks}} to user talk pages.

Thanks, Donner60. And a very happy New Year to you! Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 14:06, 31 December 2018 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – January 2019

News and updates for administrators from the past month (December 2018).

Guideline and policy news

  1. G14 (new): Disambiguation pages that disambiguate only zero or one existing pages are now covered under the new G14 criterion (discussion). This is {{db-disambig}}; the text is unchanged and candidates may be found in Category:Candidates for speedy deletion as unnecessary disambiguation pages.
  2. R4 (new): Redirects in the file namespace (and no file links) that have the same name as a file or redirect at Commons are now covered under the new R4 criterion (discussion). This is {{db-redircom}}; the text is unchanged.
  3. G13 (expanded): Userspace drafts containing only the default Article Wizard text are now covered under G13 along with other drafts (discussion). Such blank drafts are now eligible after six months rather than one year, and taggers continue to use {{db-blankdraft}}.

Technical news

  • Starting on December 13, the Wikimedia Foundation security team implemented new password policy and requirements. Privileged accounts (administrators, bureaucrats, checkusers, oversighters, interface administrators, bots, edit filter managers/helpers, template editors, et al.) must have a password at least 10 characters in length. All accounts must have a password:
  1. At least 8 characters in length
  2. Not in the 100,000 most popular passwords (defined by the Password Blacklist library)
  3. Different from their username
User accounts not meeting these requirements will be prompted to update their password accordingly. More information is available on MediaWiki.org.
  • Blocked administrators may now block the administrator that blocked them. This was done to mitigate the possibility that a compromised administrator account would block all other active administrators, complementing the removal of the ability to unblock oneself outside of self-imposed blocks. A request for comment is currently in progress to determine whether the blocking policy should be updated regarding this change.
  • {{Copyvio-revdel}} now has a link to open the history with the RevDel checkboxes already filled in.

Arbitration

Miscellaneous

  • Accounts continue to be compromised on a regular basis. Evidence shows this is entirely due to the accounts having the same password that was used on another website that suffered a data breach. If you have ever used your current password on any other website, you should change it immediately.
  • Around 22% of admins have enabled two-factor authentication, up from 20% in June 2018. If you haven't already enabled it, please consider doing so. Regardless of whether you use 2FA, please practice appropriate account security by ensuring your password is secure and unique to Wikimedia.
Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 21:39, 1 January 2019 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

The Anti-Vandalism Barnstar
You remove vandalism! Thanks! 2600:1700:DFD1:1A40:907:504B:458B:7A1F (talk) 01:05, 2 January 2019 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – February 2019

News and updates for administrators from the past month (January 2019).

Administrator changes

added Enterprisey • JJMC89
readded BorgQueen
removed Harro5 • Jenks24 • Graft • R. Baley

Interface administrator changes

removedEnterprisey

Guideline and policy news

  • A request for comment is currently open to reevaluate the activity requirements for administrators.
  • Administrators who are blocked have the technical ability to block the administrator who blocked their own account. A recent request for comment has amended the blocking policy to clarify that this ability should only be used in exceptional circumstances, such as account compromises, where there is a clear and immediate need.
  • A request for comment closed with a consensus in favor of deprecating The Sun as a permissible reference, and creating an edit filter to warn users who attempt to cite it.

Technical news

  • A discussion regarding an overhaul of the format and appearance of Wikipedia:Requests for page protection is in progress (permalink). The proposed changes will make it easier to create requests for those who are not using Twinkle. The workflow for administrators at this venue will largely be unchanged. Additionally, there are plans to archive requests similar to how it is done at WP:PERM, where historical records are kept so that prior requests can more easily be searched for.

Miscellaneous

  • Voting in the 2019 Steward elections will begin on 08 February 2019, 14:00 (UTC) and end on 28 February 2019, 13:59 (UTC). The confirmation process of current stewards is being held in parallel. You can automatically check your eligibility to vote.
  • A new IRC bot is available that allows you to subscribe to notifications when specific filters are tripped. This requires that your IRC handle be identified.
Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 02:15, 4 February 2019 (UTC)

Glenn Close

Understood. Though I jumped the gun out of excitement, I will be back to re-edit ;-) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Carly Marshall (talk • contribs) 03:08, 25 February 2019 (UTC)

@Carly Marshall: Sorry your favourite did not win. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 04:27, 25 February 2019 (UTC)

February 2019 91th Academy Awards

I'm sorry for my mistake. This resulted in missreading the live blog from German newspaper magazine "Spiegel Online" and their coverage of the Academy Awards. Their anouncement of the category "Best Makeup and Hairstyling" was firstly written like it was the category "Best Actor". Two minutes later I then saw my mistake. As I said, I am sorry for that mistake and not fact cheking on a second source and that it looked like vandalism Histofreak (talk) 12:31, 25 February 2019 (UTC)

Okay; thanks for the explanation, Histofreak. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 12:49, 25 February 2019 (UTC)

I was wondering how to get a link to my website from Wikipedia even though I have written a respective article regarding oscars and I had added a citation to 91st academy awards, then I got a messagesthat my cite link has been removed. Can you explain me in one single sentence, how you would accept my link as a cite link to Wikipedia. I was really fed up with reading guidelines. Thank you Karunakar Patel — Preceding unsigned comment added by Karunakar Patel (talk • contribs) 04:02, 27 February 2019 (UTC)

User:Karunakar Patel. In one sentence: Do not use Wikipedia as a place to promote your personal website. Thank you. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 04:05, 27 February 2019 (UTC)

Then how the hell did Guardian.com website has been approved ? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Karunakar Patel (talk • contribs) 04:07, 27 February 2019 (UTC)

It is considered an authoritative source.
Quoting from Wikipedia:Five pillars: "All articles must strive for verifiable accuracy, citing reliable, authoritative sources". Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 04:18, 27 February 2019 (UTC)

Greetings!

Hope all is well with you. :) Do you see any useful sources for Sean Patrick Fannon, Jamie Chambers, or Jess Heinig? BOZ (talk) 16:07, 27 February 2019 (UTC)

I've searched for Fannon. There is a brief mention of "Raleigh author and game designer Sean Patrick Fannon", in Menconi, David. "'Phantom Menace' madness", News & Observer; Raleigh, N.C. 18 May 1999: E1. Unfortunately I do not have access to the full text. There is also a mention of him in This article in Triangle Business Journal. Offline citation is Tillett, L Scott. "Firm toying with new video games division", Triangle Business Journal; Raleigh Vol. 12, Iss. 5, (Oct 04, 1996): 4. So... that's not much. I'll look for the other two later on. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 19:58, 28 February 2019 (UTC)
OK, thanks! BOZ (talk) 22:34, 28 February 2019 (UTC)
All I could find for Chambers is a mention in this article. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 02:17, 1 March 2019 (UTC)
Nothing for Heinig. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 02:20, 1 March 2019 (UTC)
OK, thanks! BOZ (talk) 19:56, 1 March 2019 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – March 2019

News and updates for administrators from the past month (February 2019).

Guideline and policy news

Technical news

  • A new tool is available to help determine if a given IP is an open proxy/VPN/webhost/compromised host.

Arbitration

  • The Arbitration Committee announced two new OTRS queues. Both are meant solely for cases involving private information; other cases will continue to be handled at the appropriate venues (e.g., WP:COIN or WP:SPI).
    • paid-en-wp@wikipedia.org has been set up to receive private evidence related to abusive paid editing.
    • checkuser-en-wp@wikipedia.org has been set up to receive private requests for CheckUser. For instance, requests for IP block exemption for anonymous proxy editing should now be sent to this address instead of the functionaries-en list.

Miscellaneous

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 21:13, 4 March 2019 (UTC)

Author drafts

Hi Paul, I recently draftified three deleted articles on authors (of course, my interest is in their works on gaming novels), and I was wondering if you are able to see sources for any of these three?: Draft:Don Bassingthwaite, Draft:Ree Soesbee, and Draft:Charles Alexander Moffat. I'll kick myself if you find anything decent on that first one, since I forgot to ask you about him while the AFD was going on. BOZ (talk) 15:33, 6 March 2019 (UTC)

I searched for Bassingthwaite and could find just one article:
  • "Snapshot: Don Bassingthwaite", Quill & Quire; Toronto Vol. 69, Iss. 11, (Nov 2003): 8.
I don't have access to it. I suspect it is not especially long, as it does not extend beyond the one page, has no author attributed, and is titled "Snapshot". :) Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 03:32, 7 March 2019 (UTC)
Ah, gotcha. Maybe more will turn up for him in the future. How about the other two? BOZ (talk) 15:06, 8 March 2019 (UTC)
I can't find anything for Moffat. For Soesbee, there are a few book reviews. I'll take a closer look at what might be useable. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 17:56, 9 March 2019 (UTC)
I will take that as an improvement at least. :) BOZ (talk) 12:44, 10 March 2019 (UTC)
Sure. :) Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 17:05, 10 March 2019 (UTC)

Re: Brandon Gaboury

This is the person who keeps adding himself to Dallas Green’s Wikipedia entry

https://www.pressreader.com/canada/the-province/20150419/282973923568837

He originally added himself to the page on May 21st 2018 from an IP address associated with the Vancouver Public library.

Brandon is a con artist who pretends to be associated with famous musicians in order to scam people.

I’m not a huge wiki editor but I would like to prevent other people from being scammed, as it seems many places have copied the Wikipedia article and now Brandon’s name is associated with Dallas Green all over the internet.

On the bio page of the City & Color Website, the actual touring band which as been consistent since 2013 is listed by Dallas in his own bio here: https://www.cityandcolour.com/biography

Perhaps there is a way we could add this information to the page with a reference and lock it so Brandon can stop adding himself to the page. Thank you.

— Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.80.130.119 (talk) 11:32, 14 March 2019 (UTC)

We can keep an eye on the page, and remove information that cannot be verified through citation to a reliable source, as per verifiability policy. If unverifiable information is repeatedly added by anonymous editors, then an administrator might semi-protect the page. Thanks, Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 12:41, 14 March 2019 (UTC)

Help

What was that second song Corey Hart did between "Never Surrender" and "Sunglasses at Night"? I didn't recognize it, but trying to Google the lyrics isn't helping. Bearcat (talk) 02:21, 18 March 2019 (UTC)

I didn't catch it either, unfortunately. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 02:22, 18 March 2019 (UTC)
What were some of the lyrics, Bearcat? Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 02:24, 18 March 2019 (UTC)
"night is cold", "down on your knees", "looking for shelter, somebody to hear you", "calling all angels, praying for angels to receive you", "find your way back home" Bearcat (talk) 02:28, 18 March 2019 (UTC)
Yeah, I have no idea at all what that might be. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 02:30, 18 March 2019 (UTC)
Sigh. I've tried tweeting at the Juno social media people and Ben Rayner to ask if they know, but I don't have high hopes of them noticing anytime soon either. Bearcat (talk) 02:53, 18 March 2019 (UTC)
Good effort. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 02:55, 18 March 2019 (UTC)

Proposed deletion of Moist (jazz fusion band)

Notice

The article Moist (jazz fusion band) has been proposed for deletion because of the following concern:

Not notable

While all constructive contributions to Wikipedia are appreciated, pages may be deleted for any of several reasons.

You may prevent the proposed deletion by removing the {{proposed deletion/dated}} notice, but please explain why in your edit summary or on the article's talk page.

Please consider improving the page to address the issues raised. Removing {{proposed deletion/dated}} will stop the proposed deletion process, but other deletion processes exist. In particular, the speedy deletion process can result in deletion without discussion, and articles for deletion allows discussion to reach consensus for deletion. Vmavanti (talk) 03:27, 24 March 2019 (UTC)

Phil Yates

Hi Paul, do you see anything useful for Phil Yates? BOZ (talk) 14:01, 29 March 2019 (UTC)

Lots of hits for a snooker player of the same name. Nothing turns up for "Phil Yates" + "game designer" or "Battlefront" or "Flames of War". Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 23:44, 29 March 2019 (UTC)
Gotcha, thanks for checking. BOZ (talk) 01:06, 4 April 2019 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – April 2019

News and updates for administrators from the past month (March 2019).

Technical news

Arbitration

Miscellaneous

  • Two more administrator accounts were compromised. Evidence has shown that these attacks, like previous incidents, were due to reusing a password that was used on another website that suffered a data breach. If you have ever used your current password on any other website, you should change it immediately. All admins are strongly encouraged to enable two-factor authentication, please consider doing so. Please always practice appropriate account security by ensuring your password is secure and unique to Wikimedia.
  • As a reminder, according to WP:NOQUORUM, administrators looking to close or relist an AfD should evaluate a nomination that has received few or no comments as if it were a proposed deletion (PROD) prior to determining whether it should be relisted.
Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 21:57, 7 April 2019 (UTC)

ArbCom 2019 special circular

Icon of a white exclamation mark within a black triangle
 Administrators must secure their accounts

The Arbitration Committee may require a new RfA if your account is compromised.

View additional information

This message was sent to all administrators following a recent motion. Thank you for your attention. For the Arbitration Committee, Cameron11598 02:40, 4 May 2019 (UTC)

Administrator account security (Correction to Arbcom 2019 special circular)

ArbCom would like to apologise and correct our previous mass message in light of the response from the community.

Since November 2018, six administrator accounts have been compromised and temporarily desysopped. In an effort to help improve account security, our intention was to remind administrators of existing policies on account security — that they are required to "have strong passwords and follow appropriate personal security practices." We have updated our procedures to ensure that we enforce these policies more strictly in the future. The policies themselves have not changed. In particular, two-factor authentication remains an optional means of adding extra security to your account. The choice not to enable 2FA will not be considered when deciding to restore sysop privileges to administrator accounts that were compromised.

We are sorry for the wording of our previous message, which did not accurately convey this, and deeply regret the tone in which it was delivered.

For the Arbitration Committee, -Cameron11598 21:04, 4 May 2019 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – May 2019

News and updates for administrators from the past month (April 2019).

Guideline and policy news

Technical news

  • XTools Admin Stats, a tool to list admins by administrative actions, has been revamped to support more types of log entries such as AbuseFilter changes. Two additional tools have been integrated into it as well: Steward Stats and Patroller Stats.

Arbitration

  • In response to the continuing compromise of administrator accounts, the Arbitration Committee passed a motion amending the procedures for return of permissions (diff). In such cases, the committee will review all available information to determine whether the administrator followed "appropriate personal security practices" before restoring permissions; administrators found failing to have adequately done so will not be resysopped automatically. All current administrators have been notified of this change.
  • Following a formal ratification process, the arbitration policy has been amended (diff). Specifically, the two-thirds majority required to remove or suspend an arbitrator now excludes (1) the arbitrator facing suspension or removal, and (2) any inactive arbitrator who does not respond within 30 days to attempts to solicit their feedback on the resolution through all known methods of communication.

Miscellaneous

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 00:37, 5 May 2019 (UTC)

194.30.53.122

user:194.30.53.122 is abusing her talkpage. CLCStudent (talk) 13:40, 9 May 2019 (UTC)

Got it. Thanks. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 13:43, 9 May 2019 (UTC)

Lang Lang

Hello, recently I've saw that you have been reversed my changes made in the Wikipedia of 'Lang Lang', I would like to know the reason because the information that I entered is true and you can check it in the media of China and in his social networks same. Thank you. Kenjifujimori (talk) 21:42, 3 June 2019 (UTC)

Hello Kenjifujimori and thanks for your message. I had tried looking for any information about Lang Lang's marriage but could not find it. If it has been reported in reliable media, then the information can be re-added if the source is cited; see WP:V for our policy on verifiability. Best wishes, Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 00:21, 4 June 2019 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – June 2019

News and updates for administrators from the past month (May 2019).

Administrator changes

removed Andonic • Consumed Crustacean • Enigmaman • Euryalus • EWS23 • HereToHelp • Nv8200pa • Peripitus • StringTheory11 • Vejvančický

CheckUser changes

removed Ivanvector

Guideline and policy news

  • An RfC seeks to clarify whether WP:OUTING should include information on just the English Wikipedia or any Wikimedia project.
  • An RfC on WT:RfA concluded that Requests for adminship and bureaucratship are discussions seeking to build consensus.
  • An RfC proposal to make the templates for discussion (TfD) process more like the requested moves (RM) process, i.e. "as a clearinghouse of template discussions", was closed as successful.

Technical news

  • The CSD feature of Twinkle now allows admins to notify page creators of deletion if the page had not been tagged. The default behavior matches that of tagging notifications, and replaces the ability to open the user talk page upon deletion. You can customize which criteria receive notifications in your Twinkle preferences: look for Notify page creator when deleting under these criteria.
  • Twinkle's d-batch (batch delete) feature now supports deleting subpages (and related redirects and talk pages) of each page. The pages will be listed first but use with caution! The und-batch (batch undelete) option can now also restore talk pages.

Miscellaneous

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 09:48, 8 June 2019 (UTC)

Bella (Canadian band)

Hi Paul,

I noticed that I have been left out of the bio for the band that I helped start, and recorded most of the debut album for in my bedroom. My name is Matt Hutchings, from Saskatoon, SK. I am the guy pictured on the left of the photo in this article: http://exclaim.ca/music/article/bella-pretty_mess. My name is also referenced in this review: http://www.soulshine.ca/reviews/albumReview.php?arid=331. I recorded most of the bed tracks for the album except for drums on my computer which was mixed at the Hive. I left the band prior to them recording their second album "No One Will Know". I have many photos and videos of me playing with the band if you need more backup. Thanks! My personal music site is matthutchings.bandcamp.com, where you can compare my vocal style on my older recordings to the song, On the Mend, which I sing lead vocals on. Thank you for any edits you can make based on this info.

Sincerely,

216.174.137.234 (talk) 22:00, 10 June 2019 (UTC)Matt Hutchings

Thanks for bringing this to my attention, Matt. I have added the initial band lineup, using Soulshine as the source. Best wishes, Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 00:10, 15 June 2019 (UTC)

Andy Chambers

Hi Paul! I was wondering if you are able to find anything to improve Draft:Andy Chambers? BOZ (talk) 14:18, 24 June 2019 (UTC)

Hi BOZ. He is mentioned in Zones of Control: Perspectives on Wargaming by Pat Harrigan and Matthew G. Kirschenbaum, MIT Press, 2016. But I don't have access to the full text, so I can't offer any details. That's all I can find. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 02:25, 25 June 2019 (UTC)
Thanks, that might just prove to be useful down the road. :) BOZ (talk) 04:03, 26 June 2019 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – July 2019

News and updates for administrators from the past month (June 2019).

Administrator changes

removed 28bytes • Ad Orientem • Ansh666 • Beeblebrox • Boing! said Zebedee • BU Rob13 • Dennis Brown • Deor • DoRD • Floquenbeam1 • Flyguy649 • Fram2 • Gadfium • GB fan • Jonathunder • Kusma • Lectonar • Moink • MSGJ • Nick • Od Mishehu • Rama • Spartaz • Syrthiss • TheDJ • WJBscribe
1Floquenbeam's access was removed, then restored, then removed again.
2Fram's access was removed, then restored, then removed again.

Guideline and policy news

  • In a related matter, the account throttle has been restored to six creations per day as the mitigation activity completed.

Technical news

  • The Wikimedia Foundation's Community health initiative plans to design and build a new user reporting system to make it easier for people experiencing harassment and other forms of abuse to provide accurate information to the appropriate channel for action to be taken. Community feedback is invited.

Miscellaneous

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 21:20, 1 July 2019 (UTC)

A few more bios

Hi Paul, I hope you are doing well. Do you see anything that could be useful for P. Nathan Toomey or Trampas Whiteman? BOZ (talk) 12:29, 16 July 2019 (UTC)

And Louis Prosperi. BOZ (talk) 15:58, 16 July 2019 (UTC)
Sorry, BOZ; I don't see a source for any of the three. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 01:36, 17 July 2019 (UTC)
Gotcha, thanks for checking. BOZ (talk) 14:39, 17 July 2019 (UTC)

BB&T

Is the category only included once the merger is complete?— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 15:04, 1 August 2019 (UTC)

@Vchimpanzee: I don't take any stand about the correctness of that edit. I was simply mass-reverting an editor who was evading a block. If you think the category makes sense, please go ahead and restore it. Thanks! Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 15:42, 1 August 2019 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – August 2019

News and updates for administrators from the past month (July 2019).

Guideline and policy news

Arbitration

Miscellaneous

  • Following a research project on masking IP addresses, the Foundation is starting a new project to improve the privacy of IP editors. The result of this project may significantly change administrative and counter-vandalism workflows. The project is in the very early stages of discussions and there is no concrete plan yet. Admins and the broader community are encouraged to leave feedback on the talk page.
  • The new page reviewer right is bundled with the admin tool set. Many admins regularly help out at Special:NewPagesFeed, but they may not be aware of improvements, changes, and new tools for the Curation system. Stay up to date by subscribing here to the NPP newsletter that appears every two months, and/or putting the reviewers' talk page on your watchlist.

    Since the introduction of temporary user rights, it is becoming more usual to accord the New Page Reviewer right on a probationary period of 3 to 6 months in the first instance. This avoids rights removal for inactivity at a later stage and enables a review of their work before according the right on a permanent basis.

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 19:24, 3 August 2019 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – September 2019

News and updates for administrators from the past month (August 2019).

Administrator changes

added Bradv • Chetsford • Izno
readded Floquenbeam • Lectonar
removed DESiegel • Jake Wartenberg • Rjanag • Topbanana

CheckUser changes

removed Callanecc • LFaraone • There'sNoTime

Oversight changes

removed Callanecc • Fox • HJ Mitchell • LFaraone • There'sNoTime

Technical news

  • Editors using the mobile website on Wikipedia can opt-in to new advanced features via your settings page. This will give access to more interface links, special pages, and tools.
  • The advanced version of the edit review pages (recent changes, watchlist, and related changes) now includes two new filters. These filters are for "All contents" and "All discussions". They will filter the view to just those namespaces.

Arbitration

Miscellaneous

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 00:37, 7 September 2019 (UTC)

andreescu not romanian

Hello Bianca Andreescu on Wikipedia says she is Romanian, despite the name Andreescu being a non-European name. I am originally from Eritrea and am of Nubian descent myself, and lived a little bit in El Goled, Sudan and Aswan, Egypt before moving to London, and I now live in Canada. During my time living in Nubian communities the name Andreescu was seen commonly though it was pronounced slightly differently, but the name itself translitorates to andreescu or andareescu. You invalidly removed my section on the talkpage for Bianca Andreescu claiming I am foruming. Please learn what a forum is before you do that again, and read my post and see I am trying to figure out if this is an error that Wikipedia lists Bianca as Romanian. Andreescu is common in Nubian Sudan, not Arabic Sudan. 38.111.120.74 (talk) 00:40, 8 September 2019 (UTC)


Think of what I'm doing at Talk:Bianca Andreescu as a confused person of part Nubian descent seeing a woman with a Nubian surname listed on Wikipedia as of Romanian descent with no mention of Nubian, going there and asking, "Is there an error here with Wikipedia, is it an error with th esource or what's going on here?" I'm trying to figure out if there is an error because I am the person who would rathe rdiscuss thigns first before I make edits. I know I'm told to be bold on Wikipedia, but boldness has gotten me a lot of trouble in the past, just as the administrator Amakuru. So I thought I'd rather make sure that there was an error before I went and corrected the article. I'd rather make sure this way I don't get status-quo pushers crying their eyes off at me for not discussing on talkpages, this way if they revert me, there's already a discussion that i started and it will be on them to discuss too if they disagree. 38.111.120.74 (talk) 01:37, 8 September 2019 (UTC)

Hi. You do not appear to adhere to WP:V, a core policy of Wikipedia. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 01:57, 8 September 2019 (UTC)
User:Amakuru, User:Graham87, User:Drmies, you have all dealt with this editor before? Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 02:00, 8 September 2019 (UTC)
Well, "dealt with", yeah, I blocked them for a month for all kinds of disruptive BS. There's still some nonsense mentioning Alabama on their talk page. I'm already at my block limit for the day and I don't want to read their drivel--but then, this edit summary calls for rev/deletion and a block... But I have to go yell at some real kids. Drmies (talk) 02:11, 8 September 2019 (UTC)
@Drmies: I've done the honours. Graham87 03:58, 8 September 2019 (UTC)

It looks like the original culprit User:Dindin911 is still at it. As soon as the protection ended on Nov 13 they instantly started the same baloney at Bianca Andreescu, only as anon IPs 95.90.206.150 and 173.48.156.158. And probably more to come looking at the edit summaries. I'm guessing the IP range is too large to block so we need another autoconfirmed or confirmed access protection for a longer period. Fyunck(click) (talk) 01:08, 14 November 2019 (UTC)

Another admin has semi-protected the article. Regards, Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 13:56, 14 November 2019 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – October 2019

News and updates for administrators from the past month (September 2019).

Guideline and policy news

  • Following a discussion, a new criterion for speedy category renaming was added: C2F: One eponymous article, which applies if the category contains only an eponymous article or media file, provided that the category has not otherwise been emptied shortly before the nomination. The default outcome is an upmerge to the parent categories.

Technical news

  • As previously noted, tighter password requirements for Administrators were put in place last year. Wikipedia should now alert you if your password is less than 10 characters long and thus too short.

Arbitration

Miscellaneous

  • The Community Tech team has been working on a system for temporarily watching pages, and welcomes feedback.
Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 11:55, 2 October 2019 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – November 2019

News and updates for administrators from the past month (October 2019).

Guideline and policy news

  • A related RfC is seeking the community's sentiment for a binding desysop procedure.

Arbitration

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 21:15, 3 November 2019 (UTC)

ArbCom 2019 election voter message

Hello! Voting in the 2019 Arbitration Committee elections is now open until 23:59 on Monday, 2 December 2019. 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.

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John Mann

Thanks. Literally as shattering to me as Gord Downie, yet with so much less support because so many fewer people understand what I'm talking about if I try to explain why I'm sobbing like a baby. So grateful to you for fixing so much of what had to change in the article before I had to try to power through another version of the "Secret Path + final album" dipshittery. What irony, that two of the most special bands in the world to me ended in such eerily similar ways. Yes, I'm drunk right now. Bearcat (talk) 04:10, 21 November 2019 (UTC)

ITN recognition for John Mann (musician)

On 21 November 2019, In the news was updated with an item that involved the article John Mann (musician), which you nominated and updated. If you know of another recently created or updated article suitable for inclusion in ITN, please suggest it on the candidates page. Thryduulf (talk) 15:33, 21 November 2019 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – December 2019

News and updates for administrators from the past month (November 2019).

Administrator changes

added EvergreenFir • ToBeFree
removed Akhilleus • Athaenara • John Vandenberg • Melchoir • MichaelQSchmidt • NeilN • Youngamerican • 😂

CheckUser changes

readded Beeblebrox
removed Deskana

Interface administrator changes

readded Evad37

Guideline and policy news

Technical news

Arbitration

Miscellaneous

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 02:48, 2 December 2019 (UTC)

Merry Christmas!

BOZ (talk) is wishing you a Merry Christmas! This greeting (and season) promotes WikiLove and hopefully this note has made your day a little better. Spread the WikiLove by wishing another user a Merry Christmas, whether it be someone you have had disagreements with in the past, a good friend, or just some random person. Don't eat yellow snow!

Spread the holiday cheer by adding {{subst:User:Flaming/MC2008}} to their talk page with a friendly message.

I'm wishing you a Merry Christmas, because that is what I celebrate. If you don't like Christmas or just don't celebrate it in any of its forms, then please accept a generic "Happy Holidays". If you celebrate no holidays at this time of year, then hopefully you will be satisfied with an even more generic "Season's Greetings".  :) BOZ (talk) 21:49, 23 December 2019 (UTC)

Thanks, BOZ! And a merry Christmas to you too. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 21:56, 23 December 2019 (UTC)

Jimmy Kimmel

Hi, following up on your deletion to my Jimmy Kimmel edits. You said they were "joke edits"?? There was no joke. Check your research, Jimmy Kimmel is in fact the honorary Mayor of a town called Dildo. Please reinstate the article. THanks! Drbn (talk) 23:07, 23 December 2019 (UTC)

Hi. I just meant that it was a joke that Kimmel was doing. You didn't write "honorary mayor", you wrote "mayor", and placed it in the lead section where it does not belong. Kimmel was doing a gag in which he said he wanted to run for mayor of Dildo, Newfoundland. All the attention was pretty good for the community's tourism. Someone promised to make him "honorary mayor" if he visited the place (according to CBC News), which I don't believe he has done, though he did send Guillermo. Happy holidays! Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 17:15, 24 December 2019 (UTC)

Season's Greetings

Hello Paul Erik: Enjoy the holiday season and winter solstice if it's occurring in your area of the world, and thanks for your work to maintain, improve and expand Wikipedia. Cheers, Donner60 (talk) 08:25, 25 December 2019 (UTC)

Spread the WikiLove; use {{subst:Season's Greetings}} to send this message

Blair Reynolds

Hi Paul! I have not had one of these in a while. Do you see anything that can be added to Blair Reynolds? BOZ (talk) 19:47, 26 December 2019 (UTC)

Hi BOZ. I found some mentions of a few athletes, a trumpeter, and, oddly, multiple mentions of a bartender from Portland with that name, but no artist. Sorry. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 16:19, 27 December 2019 (UTC)
OK, thanks for checking! BOZ (talk) 17:50, 27 December 2019 (UTC)

LTA talk page

Three Transgender Koreans spinning around in circles on bikes (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · nuke contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log)

Hey Paul, hope all is well. You might need to revoke talk page access for this LTA account. They are notorious to vandalize their talk page after a block. -- LuK3 (Talk) 15:56, 28 December 2019 (UTC)

Okay, thanks, LuK3. Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 15:57, 28 December 2019 (UTC)

How does the same IP appear unaffected by block?

Hello. The same IP appears to be responsible, is there a way to block everything from the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. for the next hour or so? Ifnord (talk) 16:22, 28 December 2019 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Blocking IP addresses#Range blocks might be possible but I do not have the technical skill. Maybe ask another admin, or at a noticeboard? Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 16:24, 28 December 2019 (UTC)

Happy New Year, Paul Erik!

Happy New Year!

Paul Erik,
Have a prosperous, productive and enjoyable New Year, and thanks for your contributions to Wikipedia.
Happy New Year! ᗙ DBigXrayᗙ 21:31, 31 December 2019 (UTC)

   Send New Year cheer by adding {{subst:Happy New Year fireworks}} to user talk pages.

Administrators' newsletter – January 2020

News and updates for administrators from the past month (December 2019).

Guideline and policy news

Arbitration

Miscellaneous

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 20:06, 4 January 2020 (UTC)
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