User talk:SQL/Archive 3

This is an archive of past discussions about User:SQL. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page.

Archive 1

Archive 2

Archive 3

Archive 4

Archive 5

Archive 6

ANI thread

Hi SQL. For info, I've posted this at ANI, as you have posted on the talkpage of the user in question. Thanks. Lugnuts ^{Fire Walk with Me} 15:52, 12 November 2019 (UTC)

Broken query at User:SQL/AIVStale

Hi SQL, the query linked at User:SQL/AIVStale seems to have broken during the database structure changes. ~ ToBeFree (talk) 20:16, 30 November 2019 (UTC)

ToBeFree, I've updated the example query so it works now. That isn't why the bot isn't posting, however. I need to make some backend updates to the framework I use with regards to login tokens. SQL ^{Query me!} 22:22, 30 November 2019 (UTC)

Oh, okay, thank you very much

~ ToBeFree (talk) 22:23, 30 November 2019 (UTC)

ToBeFree, I ended up having to rewrite a lot of it, but it's fixed now. SQL ^{Query me!} 16:25, 1 December 2019 (UTC)

~ ToBeFree (talk) 17:16, 1 December 2019 (UTC)

I have a feeling Special:Diff/928831040 is unintentional. :) While not problematic, you may like to investigate this. ~ ToBeFree (talk) 23:03, 1 December 2019 (UTC)

ToBeFree, Yep, sure is. I'll take a look at it in a bit. SQL ^{Query me!} 23:09, 1 December 2019 (UTC)

New tool: Multicompare

Multicompare

Allows the user to generate a changes feed for many users, as well as shows overlap of those users.

At the moment, it only works on the recentchanges table (~30 days), and the colors are somewhat terrible (I'd love suggestions + hex codes for 20 colors that look good!). Allows a much larger number of editors to be compared than any of the current editor comparison tools do for performance reasons. I came across the need for a tool like this a few times recently when looking at large sock farms.

I'm working on a mechanism to do longer contribs searches in the revision table via chunking, which should be coming soon. SQL ^{Query me!} 17:20, 5 December 2019 (UTC)

Now allows you to search contribs overall. Cumulative query time is limited at the moment, so on people with large amounts of edits, it won't get all of them. SQL ^{Query me!} 20:53, 5 December 2019 (UTC)

There's a bug at the moment when using non-recentchanges contribs, where it isn't displaying data. SQL ^{Query me!} 23:22, 5 December 2019 (UTC)

Fixed! SQL ^{Query me!} 04:29, 7 December 2019 (UTC)

Thanks!

	Thanks!
	Thanks for the help with my account creation issue :) All hail Armok (talk) 05:19, 10 December 2019 (UTC)

New tool: CatCompare

CatCompare

CatCompare compares two users by what categories they have edited, Example from a recent SPI. SQL ^{Query me!} 20:59, 11 December 2019 (UTC)

A Joyous Yuletide to you!

Merry Christmas and a Prosperous 2020!

Hello SQL, may you be surrounded by peace, success and happiness on this seasonal occasion. Spread the WikiLove by wishing another user a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, whether it be someone you have had disagreements with in the past, a good friend, or just some random person. Sending you heartfelt and warm greetings for Christmas and New Year 2020.
Happy editing,
JACKINTHEBOX • ^TALK 08:19, 23 December 2019 (UTC)

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

Happy Holidays


	Happy Holidays! May your winter holidays be filled with joy, laughter and good health. Wishing you all the best in 2020 and beyond.

--Cameron₁₁₅₉₈ ^(Talk) 21:17, 23 December 2019 (UTC)

Merry Christmas!!

Hello SQL: Enjoy the holiday season, and thanks for your work to maintain, improve and expand Wikipedia. Cheers, TheSandDoctor ^Talk 07:30, 25 December 2019 (UTC)

Spread the WikiLove; use {{subst:Season's Greetings1}} to send this message

Season's Greetings

Merry Christmas and a Prosperous 2020!

Hello SQL, may you be surrounded by peace, success and happiness on this seasonal occasion. Spread the WikiLove by wishing another user a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, whether it be someone you have had disagreements with in the past, a good friend, or just some random person. Sending you heartfelt and warm greetings for Christmas and New Year 2020.
Happy editing,
Donner60 (talk) 08:27, 25 December 2019 (UTC)

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

Joyous Season

I wish that you may have a very Happy Holiday! Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Hogmanay, Festivus or your hemisphere's Solstice, this is a special time of year for almost everyone! May the New Year provide you joy and fulfillment! Thanks for everything you do here. — Coffee // have a ☕️ // beans // 10:36, 25 December 2019 (UTC)

Spread the holiday cheer by adding {{subst:User:Coffee/Holidays}} to your fellow editors' talk pages.

Happy New Year!

		Happy New Year!
		🏈May your new year go better than the 31 teams who passed up on this guy🏈 Love, Action Jackson

Praxidicae (talk) 16:53, 30 December 2019 (UTC)

Bot adds instead

Not sure what happened here. --Lofty abyss 04:39, 1 January 2020 (UTC)

Lofty abyss, I think that was an edit conflict. HBC bot and mine picked the page up at the same time from the looks of it. SQL ^{Query me!} 04:15, 4 January 2020 (UT

ipcheck

Hi SQL, all the best and a prosperous 2020! Today I checked https://tools.wmflabs.org/ipcheck/index.php?ip=46.152.56.197 (not cached) and the IPQualityScore section said Proxy/Recent abuse/Bot/Score 100. Checking against https://www.ipqualityscore.com/free-ip-lookup-proxy-vpn-test/lookup/46.152.56.197 where is said No proxy/No spam/Score 28. Any ideas? --Achim (talk) 12:50, 9 January 2020 (UTC)

Achim55, The paid lookups that ipcheck uses differ from the free lookups. From the website (may require login):

How Do Free Lookups Compare to Paid Plan Lookups?

You're likely missing fraud and high risk IP addresses! All of IPQS paid plans have access to better blacklists that significantly expand behavior patterns and detection rates for high risk IPs. Many of the worst IP addresses that facilitate abusive users online are via residential proxies. Our paid plans have access to premium blacklists with millions of active residential IP addresses & compromised devices collected by proprietary honeypots and botnet infiltration. Free account plans are limited to checking only a small portion of that data, leaving large gaps in coverage. SQL ^{Query me!} 15:09, 9 January 2020 (UTC)

I see, thank you very much. So we can trust ipcheck's info ;) Cheers, --Achim (talk) 15:12, 9 January 2020 (UTC)

Oops

Sorry about the fat finger mobile rollback. (I will remove rollback from my mobile skin.) Levivich 22:04, 29 January 2020 (UTC)

Levivich, No problem. SQL ^{Query me!} 22:08, 29 January 2020 (UTC)

IRC help

I need help can you link me the address for the ENwikipedia helper channel? I've tried multiple times to try to connect to it. I just came back from a 2 year WP: RETIRE so I don't know if they discontinued that channel or something. Thanks in advance. Bobherry Talk Edits 10:56, 4 February 2020 (UTC)

Bobherry, #wikipedia-en-help ^connect SQL ^{Query me!} 17:01, 4 February 2020 (UTC)

I mean the helper channel not the help. I could connect to help but not helper Bobherry Talk Edits 22:12, 4 February 2020 (UTC)

Bobherry, #wikipedia-en-helpers ^connect SQL ^{Query me!} 22:28, 4 February 2020 (UTC)

Thanks. Bobherry Talk Edits 22:54, 4 February 2020 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Case/Kudpung/Workshop edits

I made 2 edits not realizing you'd closed the case. One was a clarification I felt was necessary and the other an apology for editing after close. If you feel these edits should be removed, please do so (link provided to make it easier for you). Buffs (talk) 17:01, 6 February 2020 (UTC)

Buffs, Not a big deal at this point. I hadn't seen this until just now (work and all). SQL ^{Query me!} 04:23, 7 February 2020 (UTC)

Bot problem: stale?

Hi there, please review this, immediately following this. Thanks - DVdm (talk) 09:38, 14 February 2020 (UTC)

DVdm, I think I know what's causing that, you saved the edit after the bot had already loaded the page. But, the bot didn't actually have any entries to remove! It shouldn't have attempted to save the page. Should be an easy fix, I'll get to it after work tonight. SQL ^{Query me!} 12:22, 14 February 2020 (UTC)

Ok, thanks! - DVdm (talk) 12:51, 14 February 2020 (UTC)

DVdm, Praxidicae (happened to prax the other day too) - This should be fixed now. It'll still be possible to edit conflict with the bot, but it no longer will attempt to save the page on every run (every 30 mins) unless it has a report to remove, which should address 99.9% of the issue. I'm not sure I can eliminate conflicting with the bot altogether. I can have it check before it saves the page, if the page has changed, before saving, but there's still a possibility that someone else changed the page after that. SQL ^{Query me!} 22:03, 14 February 2020 (UTC)

Asynchronicity has always been a tough one. Keep up the good work! :-) - DVdm (talk) 22:58, 14 February 2020 (UTC)

Happy First Edit Day!

Happy First Edit Day, SQL, from the Wikipedia Birthday Committee! Have a great day! Bobherry Talk Edits 05:00, 22 February 2020 (UTC)

Happy First Edit Day, SQL, from the Wikipedia Birthday Committee! Have a great day! CAPTAIN RAJU^(T) 06:01, 22 February 2020 (UTC)

@CAPTAIN RAJU and Bobherry: Thank you both very much! SQL ^{Query me!} 04:16, 23 February 2020 (UTC)

Help

Hi. Can you remove tpa from 194.0.67.5 Minorax (talk) 12:48, 4 March 2020 (UTC)

Block

Is it possible to block a user with a block set to the following: Expires March 9999 1:00 PM Cannot edit own talk page, Is that even possible (just wondering) --Thegooduser Life Begins With a Smile :) 🍁 23:35, 7 March 2020 (UTC)

Thegooduser, Yes. SQL ^{Query me!} 00:49, 8 March 2020 (UTC)

Oh wow! I didn't know that was possible to have that long of a block! --Thegooduser Life Begins With a Smile :) 🍁 00:52, 8 March 2020 (UTC)

Can you unprotect the Toy Story page?

I do not really want to edit the page, but the person who vandalized the page has been indefinitely blocked for it. Can you bring it back to its original protection? OcelotCreeper (talk) 01:55, 17 March 2020 (UTC)

OcelotCreeper, unfortunately the abuse occurring there has come from multiple accounts and IP's - some of them gaming Auto Confirmed in order to edit past semiprotection. I believe that temporary full protection is needed at this time. I'd be open to protecting it for less than the current two weeks, but it wouldn't be by much. It appears that this person has been vandalizing the article for a few months now. SQL ^{Query me!} 01:59, 17 March 2020 (UTC)

Given the persistent vandalism from multiple accounts on the same page, perhaps a WP:SPI would be a wise move? Hb1290 (talk) 02:11, 17 March 2020 (UTC)

Hb1290, I'm a checkuser. SQL ^{Query me!} 02:11, 17 March 2020 (UTC)

What accounts or IPs did they abuse already? OcelotCreeper (talk) 02:19, 17 March 2020 (UTC)

OcelotCreeper, I cannot publicly connect accounts with IP's, sorry. I figured someone that appears to be so knowledgeable about our internal policies and processes would know that. SQL ^{Query me!} 02:23, 17 March 2020 (UTC)

One more question before I leave? Of all of the suspected accounts or IPs they abused (I am saying suspected this time), is there a specific article other than Toy Story that the accounts normally edit? Because if there is one, then you could put that article on your watchlist, see if a similar edit was made, then check what contributions they are making. Remember, I read multiple Wikipedia policies before I started my account, but I still do not know or fully understand everything. OcelotCreeper (talk) 02:32, 17 March 2020 (UTC)

OcelotCreeper, I'll meet you in the middle, and reduce the protection to extendedconfirmed for a while. That's the best I can do at this time. SQL ^{Query me!} 02:49, 17 March 2020 (UTC)

Ok sure, especially since the user was not an extended confirmed user. But if this type of vandalism happens again, particularly from an extended confirmed user, use full protection. OcelotCreeper (talk) 02:52, 17 March 2020 (UTC)

COVID-19 related shortages

Thank you for the copy edit. I've been requesting help on this article for days but there are too many articles to work on. Any way, article is kind of mature so i am indeed slowing down. Yug (talk) 08:10, 28 March 2020 (UTC)

Request to RD3 content

This just came up into my mind but can you RevDel the edits on Toy Story from RadiationPlayers for WP:RD3? OcelotCreeper (talk) 19:00, 30 March 2020 (UTC)

Esmu Igors block by IP range

Hello!

You have recently declined my application for the unblocking, stating that the IP address is "clearly a webhost" and suggested that I am probably using a proxy or VPN. I was neither using a proxy nor VPN, and my PC is also not a webhost. BUT I have some idea about where the problem might lie: my internet provider assigns even static IP addresses dynamically (via DHCP server), based on the connected device's MAC address. Can this be the reason?

I am able to write this because now I am using a VPN of my University. So no problem for me, but maybe this type of block can affect others. This is why I am posting this note. Sorry if this is not the right place for it, because I do not know how to "leave a note" otherwise.--Esmu Igors (talk) 14:23, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

Esmu Igors, This (the title of the page being: "nano.lv -- Leading hosting provider in Latvia -- nano.lv") is the owner of that IP. Ownership is verifiable here, here, and here.

Looking at other hosts in the same small range, it looks like a webhosting range. I can see mailservers (starting with mail.), nameservers (starting with ns.), webservers (starting with webcore.) and other servers (starting with srv.).

This probably isn't an issue with DHCP, as a residential provider wouldn't be able to assign you an address in a range that they don't own.

The only things I can think of are:

Running an anonymizing app or VPN that you aren't aware of, or have forgotten
- On a very rare occasion this can be a symptom of malware or other infection, especially if you're seeing odd behavior such as ads on pages that shouldn't have ads
A poorly configured/managed ISP that for some reason routes traffic over a webhost
- This is pretty uncommon, but it does happen - generally with free/public wifi

I hope this at least helps to explain how I came to the conclusion that the IP mentioned is clearly a webhost. SQL ^{Query me!} 15:40, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

Respected SQL, this does explain Your motivation well. And the physical address mentioned here is indeed the address in my contract with my internet service provider. But the company NANO special is not my ISP.

The problem is that the information on that page was last updated in 2016. My ISP, in turn, only recently (in the end of 2019) has been reorganized, and also changed its physical location to a completely different address (the one visible over the link above). And simultaneously they changed the IP address range. Also, they went through a rush of changing the company name (2 years ago they were called I-NET, then Netvision (as their homepage is still titled) and now the official company name is Dnet ITrisinājumi). I understand this does not describe my ISP as a rock-reliable company, but things are just as they are. But I also understand this probably means they haven't updated some universally available information somewhere or so. Maybe I should query them as well about this situation... --Esmu Igors (talk) 18:55, 3 April 2020 (UTC)

Blocked user

You blocked this IP address User:45.56.153.110 and it's in a range block but we have an OTRS ticket Ticket:2020033110005992 saying they are unable to edit while logged into their account. Can you assist with this or do I need to involve stewards? I can provide the username privately. ww2censor (talk) 12:58, 6 April 2020 (UTC)

Ww2censor, That IP is blocked as a webhost (per our local policies on open proxies), and is globally blocked (per our global policy on open proxies). That is why they cannot edit while logged in.

The editor will either have to turn off their VPN in order to edit, or request IPBE both locally and globally (Local procedure can be found at WP:IPECPROXY, global procedure at: meta:Steward_requests/Global_permissions#Requests_for_global_IP_block_exemption). Our local procedure involves emailing the checkuser queue, and being able to articulate a need to edit via open proxies.

I can't see that OTRS ticket. I only have access to the checkuser queue. SQL ^{Query me!} 14:34, 6 April 2020 (UTC)

Thanks for the info, much of which I am not well versed in, hence the question. I'll reply with some of the details you've given so they can decide as they are in China. Indeed I did not see you on the OTRS agent list. ww2censor (talk) 16:45, 6 April 2020 (UTC)

New message from TheSandDoctor

Hello, SQL. You have new messages at Wikipedia talk:Bots/Requests for approval/TheSandBot 6.
Message added 01:25, 4 April 2020 (UTC). You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{Talkback}} or {{Tb}} template.

TheSandDoctor ^Talk 01:25, 4 April 2020 (UTC)

Adding shortcut to case name

Hey SQL,

I've created WP:APL to serve as a shortcut to Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Case/Antisemitism in Poland (similar to other oft-referred-to cases). Could you add a shortcut to case page? There's usually one in the case template at the top of the page.

François Robere (talk) 13:13, 8 April 2020 (UTC)

François Robere, [1]

Done SQL ^{Query me!} 22:25, 8 April 2020 (UTC)

Did you read my earlier question a week and a half ago?

I asked you if the edits made by User:RadiationPlayers on Toy Story could be deleted per WP:RD3. I didn't notice a response and the edits haven't been deleted so I don't know if you read the request. OcelotCreeper (talk) 02:56, 10 April 2020 (UTC)

@SQL: Hello? I'm sorry if I am disrupting you, but I have been waiting for a response to my question. OcelotCreeper (talk) 20:23, 10 April 2020 (UTC)
OcelotCreeper, I'm a volunteer, and with the current crisis, my time available to volunteer is very limited. I'm most comfortable with unblocks, granting IPBE, and technical checkuser requests on the admin side, so that's where I tend to spend most of my time.

My interpretation of RD3 may be stricter than others, but I do not believe that the material in those diffs fits: This includes allegations, harassment, grossly inappropriate threats or attacks, browser-crashing or malicious HTML or CSS, shock pages, phishing pages, known virus proliferating pages, and links to web pages that disparage or threaten some person or entity and serve no other valid purpose, links to any of these, but not mere spam links.. SQL ^{Query me!} 21:00, 10 April 2020 (UTC)

IP talk page

Hello SQL, could you revoke talk page access to IP 2601:647:4D80:3190:2C04:2F6E:C06:339A per this Thank you. Jerm (talk) 20:58, 12 April 2020 (UTC).

Never-mind, someone else did it. Thnx anyways. Jerm (talk) 21:04, 12 April 2020 (UTC)

Jerm, Sorry! Working on Easter dinner right now. Glad someone else got it, I went ahead and revoked TPA from the /64 as well. SQL ^{Query me!} 21:55, 12 April 2020 (UTC)

No worries. Happy Easter btw. Jerm (talk) 22:13, 12 April 2020 (UTC)

POWWOWWOWWOW

Thanks for confirming what I thought about POWWOWWOWWOW. I'm guessing they're back as 188.28.232.45. --Kinu ^t/_c 21:02, 12 April 2020 (UTC)

Kinu, ST47 changed it to a CU block a bit ago: [2] SQL ^{Query me!} 21:53, 12 April 2020 (UTC)

Oh, duh... I saw you declined the request and for some reason I thought it was your name in the log also since you're both CUs. Thanks for pinging ST47 here. --Kinu ^t/_c 21:59, 12 April 2020 (UTC)

Ipcheck API

Hello, is API for IPCheck disallowed now? I am forwarded to the main page when I try to get API result, if that is the problem on my side, please advise. Thank you. -- Hamish Welcome 19:12, 18 April 2020 (UTC)

Hamish, There was recently a change @ toolforge, and the URL has changed. Unfortunately, I am not able to control the redirect. The new URL base is https://ipcheck.toolforge.org. SQL ^{Query me!} 22:50, 18 April 2020 (UTC)

No problem and many thanks for your great tool. -- Hamish Welcome 01:47, 19 April 2020 (UTC)

Btw, you may update this here when you are free for others' convenience I consider? -- Hamish Welcome 01:49, 19 April 2020 (UTC)

Hamish,

Done, thanks for the suggestion! SQL ^{Query me!} 02:28, 19 April 2020 (UTC)

Hamish, Just an FYI, the bug @ toolforge that caused this in the first place (phab:T250625) has been resolved now, so it should be possible to use either URL. SQL ^{Query me!} 04:03, 21 April 2020 (UTC)

Appreciated. I think both URLs are reliable now so I would not change it until further problems ( hope it will not happen). -- Hamish Welcome 09:49, 21 April 2020 (UTC)

Auto-approving " (WMF)" accounts at IPCheck

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

DBarratt (WMF), I hope this isn't a bother, as I noted in my reply @ phab, I'm open to discussing access to IPCheck. I really have no way that I'm aware of to verify that an account with that suffix is a WMF staff member. I see that there is a staff global group, but it seems a little thin. I'm 100% open to suggestions if you have any. I'm hoping to make a sprint in the coming weeks with relation to machine-learning, which I've started laying a foundation for this week. SQL ^{Query me!} 04:27, 21 April 2020 (UTC)

The (WMF) suffix is protected by meta:Title blacklist, which does raise the bar from "anyone with an unblocked IP address" to "someone who can SE an editor with the right permissions into creating the account". --AntiCompositeNumber (talk) 04:58, 21 April 2020 (UTC)

AntiCompositeNumber, One thought / possibility was to allow staff permissions to help train the machine, which I was going to limit to CU's and others that I explicitly trust. Also in the plan was a system similar to WP:OPP. I'm looking for something more substantial than 'was able to create an account', a flag, an indicator, or something else that only WMF can set / create. SQL ^{Query me!} 05:36, 21 April 2020 (UTC)

This has been raised at github, complete with a pull request that would 100% accomplish allowing accounts ending in " (WMF)" to bypass the ec check (super helpful actually, this'll make it very easy to go forward with once the concerns are resolved - thanks!!). I've raised the same concerns there that I did here. SQ1L ^{Query me!} 00:50, 29 April 2020 (UTC)

I've closed this issue, and all other outstanding IPCheck issues out - as well as archived the project @ github at this time. It's been made very clear to me that I should not be investing any further time or effort in IPCheck. SQL ^{Query me!} 04:15, 2 May 2020 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Request

Dear SQL, you gave me a message on my talk page a week ago, but I'm still in trouble. I will appreciate it if you give me IPBE permission. Thank you very very much! $\sideset {_{R}^{u}}{_{u}^{y}}\prod _{\clubsuit }^{i}$ ${}_{S}^{h}\!\Omega _{n}^{e}$ 04:20, 25 April 2020 (UTC)

RuiyuShen, I am so sorry that I haven't been able to get back to you. I'm just not in a position right now to help. Risker, L235, stwalkerster, TonyBallioni, is there any way one of you would be able to help with this request. There's a mail in the checkuser OTRS regarding this too. SQL ^{Query me!} 04:15, 2 May 2020 (UTC)

Noted, SQL. RuiyuShen, I've granted for 6 months as you're a pretty new user. You can ask for an extension at that point, if required. I'll leave a note on your own talk page as well. Risker (talk) 04:32, 2 May 2020 (UTC)

Thank you kindly.

\sideset {_{R}^{u}}{_{u}^{y}}\prod _{\clubsuit }^{i}

{}_{S}^{h}\!\Omega _{n}^{e}

04:55, 2 May 2020 (UTC)

Request to RD1 content

I'm requesting to see if this edit fits RD1. The edit that was made was a line for line script of the Minecraft parody of this song titled "Revenge". — Preceding unsigned comment added by OcelotCreeper (talk • contribs)

Primefac, Oshwah is there any way either of you could help OcelotCreeper out here please? SQL ^{Query me!} 04:16, 2 May 2020 (UTC)

It is very rare when the full song lyrics are not under copyright. I've removed it per RD1. Primefac (talk) 18:40, 2 May 2020 (UTC)

A beer for you!

SQL, I salute you and thank you for all your good work. Take care. Drmies (talk) 00:32, 9 May 2020 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

	The Original Barnstar
	I don't understand half of what you do, but I sure know that I wouldn't be able to do what I do if you didn't do it. All the best, ——Serial^# 11:55, 3 June 2020 (UTC)

The future of IPCheck

I've lost a lot of trust towards WMF, and a lot of interest in helping the project because of these events.

It's going to be a while to get back to the point that we were at before this.

Some time away has helped, work is far less stressful, let's put this to bed for now.

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

First and foremost, I would like to apologize to those that have come to depend on IPCheck in it’s current state.

I noticed T248525 in my phabricator feed some time ago. And other tickets like this one. I’ve been noticing them for some time now. Never mentioned in them, or pointed to them, but noticed for sure.

I asked directly tonight, if I should spend any further time on IPCheck, or if WMF are planning on replacing it. The short version is that I was told that it wouldn’t make sense for me to invest any more time or effort into IPCheck due to the coming IP Masking.

After working on this tool for years, this is devastating to me.

Effective immediately, I have frozen/archived the public codebase at commit ce9657c8eb39485114aace57594d39aee47b3bea.

I am presently considering moving IPCheck off of toolforge, to my own private machines. This will very likely mean removing Oauth, returning the remainder of my grant (which only ever went to paying for IPQS, I have never accepted any money for any code contributions), disabling IPQS, and moving the project to a closed source (with credits to the current contributors, or course). I will try to keep the service up, and free for as long as possible. I understand that this may break some MediaWiki: links, and I apologize for that. I don’t think that it’s appropriate to redirect from ipcheck.toolforge.org to our new home, but I may leave a link to it for as long as it’s allowed.

I’d like to thank MusikAnimal for the help making the tool look great, work great, answering my silly questions, and helping to clean up my terrible code - that was the big turning point. Tks4Fish for the support, and feedback, and especially TonyBallioni for encouragement, feedback and helping me publicize the tool that existed for years before it became mainstream!

I have good things in the works still for the tool, and major updates planned. I’ll try to keep everyone updated as the situation evolves.

As for me? Tomorrow’s my first day off work in weeks. I think my wife and I are going to take the dogs, and kids on a hike (if I can find somewhere that isn't packed!), no devices! I'm probably going to be away for a while. SQL ^{Query me!} 04:59, 2 May 2020 (UTC)

We don't say "thank you" often enough; we tend to just assume people know we appreciate them. Well, I appreciate how much effort you have put into this project, and I'm sorry that things aren't working out as you had hoped. Glad to hear that you're getting some time off; I hope the hike is enjoyable, and the woods aren't overrun by people who've had enough of self-isolation. Please take the time you need to enjoy your well-deserved break; we'll still be here when you are ready to return. Thank you. Risker (talk) 12:30, 2 May 2020 (UTC)
Thanks for letting me be a part of it! I want to make it clear your efforts haven't been futile, nor have they gone unnoticed. IPCheck is a complete game changer that revolutionized our day to day work. Having it for any amount of time, however brief, made the work worthwhile. I do not have any inside information or know anymore than you do, but it is my impression that IPCheck is a major source of inspiration for what WMF is planning on making. To your concerns about IP masking -- you're not alone. We are all concerned. The entire web is changing into this same privacy-conscious mindset. There's not much we can do about it. Overall I think it is a good thing, but it will pose a great challenge for communities like Wikipedia. You should ask the people who would know, but I really suspect it will be a "while" before IP masking goes live. I don't see any harm in keeping IPCheck on Toolforge until the very day it is obsolete, but this is your decision. I have maintainer access, so if you'd like, I can keep an eye on it until that day comes. At any rate, thank you immensely for all of the amazing tools you've built. Code quality and eye candy are secondary. You did the real work, and you alone had the talent, creativity and drive to make IPCheck a reality. I was just lucky to be a part of it. Please enjoy your time off, old friend! Take as long as your heart desires, but I do hope it isn't too long. We need you :) — MusikAnimal ^talk 21:02, 2 May 2020 (UTC)
I want to echo what Risker and MusikAnimal said above. Your work on IPCheck has been incredible. It is indeed a major source of inspiration for the work we're planning to do. I agree with MusikAnimal that it makes sense to keep IPCheck alive on Toolforge for as long as it is useful to our editing communities. Whatever we build may not come to parity with what IPCheck offers for a while. Lastly, I hope you enjoy your time off. It's been a joy to see and learn from your work. Thank you. -- NKohli (WMF) (talk) 22:05, 2 May 2020 (UTC)
NKohli (WMF), You have a lot of nerve showing up here. "source of inspriation" nothing, you're directly copying my work.You want me to keep IPCheck active until you can get your off-brand clone off the ground. Please stay off my talkpage. SQL ^{Query me!} 06:53, 13 June 2020 (UTC)

I have been using this tool as a part of my ACC work and it's been really helpful. Thank you and enjoy your time off. ‐‐1997kB (talk) 02:36, 3 May 2020 (UTC)

Damn, I have just started using it and its API seriously for proxy detection on dewiki. It would be sorely missed if it goes offline. In any case thank you for the time and energy you invested into this. And have a great time off work! --Count Count (talk) 15:24, 19 May 2020 (UTC)

I would like to thank you for what you did with IPCheck, it's really an useful tool and I'm glad I can use it. Enjoy your break, and looking forward to seeing you again. Best, --Martin Urbanec (talk) 10:27, 20 May 2020 (UTC)

I found this tool handy and have been using this tool almost on a daily basis. I really appreciate your work and hope you enjoy your wikibreak. All the best, WhitePhosphorus (talk) 08:10, 21 May 2020 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Welcome back

Glad to see you back! Hope your break was good to you. Looking to get the tools back soon? bibliomaniac 1 5 04:38, 28 July 2020 (UTC)

Bibliomaniac15, Thank you! We'll see. I know I wasn't gone for a super long time, but I want to make sure I haven't missed any important changes. I'll sit down sometime this week and review the admin newsletters. I'm not in any hurry. SQL ^{Query me!} 11:13, 28 July 2020 (UTC)

You can't run a site without SQL! Glad to see you back around. Seraphimblade ^{Talk to me} 16:07, 1 August 2020 (UTC)

I second this. Can't run it without SQL. I was wondering why my queries weren't recognized...I'm happy to say that this problem is solved

. --TheSandDoctor ^Talk 15:33, 2 August 2020 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

	The Technical Barnstar
	I am not sure why I never thought to give you this before (and this is probably the first I've given), but you definitely deserve this barnstar for everything you have done for the projects. ♥ TheSandDoctor ^Talk 15:36, 2 August 2020 (UTC)

AFC-Ores

User:SQL/AFC-Ores hasn't updated since early May. (I have an ORES-querying bot myself, but it has been running into 500 errors from the ORES endpoint over the past few days, so I came looking to see if yours is working.) Regards, – SD0001 (talk) 17:45, 27 September 2020 (UTC)

SD0001, I blocked SQLBot in early May when I left the project over some trust issues with WMF. I haven't logged into Toolforge since. Not sure what's going on with it, sorry. SQL ^{Query me!} 02:23, 28 September 2020 (UTC)

No worries, I figured it's an ongoing known issue with the ORES servers. – SD0001 (talk) 13:07, 28 September 2020 (UTC)

Halfak (WMF) - Not sure if you're the right person to ask, but do you have any ideas on SD0001's problem? SQL ^{Query me!} 23:22, 6 October 2020 (UTC)

Hey folks! I'm Halfak (WMF), but I left the WMF in July so I'm editing via my volunteer account. SD0001, I think this is related to the stability issues ORES has been having recently. See https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T263910 for details. AFAICT, it looks to be more stable now. --EpochFail (talk • contribs) 23:35, 6 October 2020 (UTC)

Ah yes, I did figure that out (maybe I wasn't clear in the comment above). BTW Congrats on your new job EpochFail! – SD0001 (talk) 18:13, 7 October 2020 (UTC)

Precious anniversary

--Gerda Arendt (talk) 07:57, 9 October 2020 (UTC)

WikiProject on open proxies discussion

Hello, you are receiving this message because you have either contributed to Wikipedia:WikiProject on open proxies/Requests in the past six months or are an active editor listed on Wikipedia:WikiProject on open proxies/verified users. I have started a discussion regarding the project's current status at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject on open proxies#Reboot, you are invited to participate in the discussion. If you are not interested in the project, no action is required on your part; this is a one-time notification and you will not receive any further messages. MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 14:04, 12 October 2020 (UTC) (on behalf of User:GeneralNotability)

IP sockpuppetry

Is there an investigation on this "Loser" vandal? I saw a huge war over someone vandalizing the page with "Losers" — Preceding unsigned comment added by 4thfile4thrank (talk • contribs)

They look to be using open proxies, and compromised / zombie machines to make these edits. There are backend measures in place to track them for now. SQL ^{Query me!} 15:12, 14 October 2020 (UTC)

I opened an LTA. Can it be approved? 4thfile4thrank (talk) 15:21, 14 October 2020 (UTC)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Long-term_abuse/Loser_vandal

The user has revealed himself to be using "Ipsharkk", a proxy indeed. -GoatLordServant (Talk) 15:38, 14 October 2020 (UTC)

GoatLordServant, I was looking at this one last night. It appears that the joke may in fact be on them, because that application appeared to me to be malware. SQL ^{Query me!} 15:41, 14 October 2020 (UTC)

Being completely honest what the heck did you do to get a trojan showing up like that? Is that an ip you punched in up there or...? I'm lost. I'm lost... -GoatLordServant (Talk) 15:43, 14 October 2020 (UTC)

What does that website do and what is it and how did you get that number and what is it. -GoatLordServant (Talk) 15:46, 14 October 2020 (UTC)

It has a wikipedia article, thank goodness. So you punch in a hash for something somehow and it shows if there are malicious files within the file punched in with a hash somehow, so the program ipsharkk is a malicious website? -GoatLordServant (Talk) 15:52, 14 October 2020 (UTC)

GoatLordServant, No, the way VirusTotal works, is that you upload a file, and it uses many modern virus scanners to look at it. This isn't always foolproof, and can result in false positives.

My understanding of how the free tier of ipsharkk works (looking at the source code right now), these proxy nodes are other users running ipsharkk. So, if you use the program, you're also opening yourself up to be used as a proxy node. This is very similar to how Hola (VPN) works. I've found many other ways to identify users of that program as well.

I apologize for the delay in getting back to you. SQL ^{Query me!} 03:44, 15 October 2020 (UTC)

Just wanted to say thank you very much for protecting my user talk page. I know doing so is very often a last-resort but it's certainly for the best, for the time being! Hope you're keeping safe and well. Patient Zero^talk 05:16, 15 October 2020 (UTC)

Ipsharkk and vandalizing TFA? I'm having flashbacks to CGSFH here... GeneralNotability (talk) 19:37, 16 October 2020 (UTC)

GeneralNotability, and they confirmed it. See the history of my talk page, ANI and this talk page, as well as Connie Glynn. It's the same sockmaster Blue Barrette Bam. Java Hurricane 03:23, 19 October 2020 (UTC)

SQL, since you've looked at the source code: Are there any pointers you could give me about how to confirm that someone is running ipsharkk? With this LTA it doesn't really matter, but it might come in handy some day. — Blablubbs ^{(talk • contribs)} 12:05, 17 October 2020 (UTC)

Blablubbs, I don't have anything yet, outside of the usual behavioral clues. SQL ^{Query me!} 14:35, 17 October 2020 (UTC)

Pending Changes

Thanks for the note, your approach makes sense. I hadn't encountered that before but will definitely keep it in mind as a solution if I run into it again. Thanks, Mifter (talk) 05:31, 15 October 2020 (UTC)

ACE2020 Electoral Commission

Hello SQL. Thank you for volunteering to be an election commissioner for the 2020 Arbitration Committee Election. Following the community RfC, you have been appointed as an election commissioner! While you have certain responsibilities - you are not in this alone, along with the other appointed commissioners other community members have volunteers to assist as coordinators. Best of luck with the election this year. — xaosflux ^Talk 00:24, 17 October 2020 (UTC)

IPBE request

Hello, SQL. I am a Wikipedian who comes from mainland China. Because of my country's restriction, I have to use some proxies to visit and edit Wikipedia. But my proxies are blocked sometimes. I can't edit en-Wikipedia. I hope that you can grant me an IPBE flag. And I can promise I will not do vandalism.

As a Wikipedian, I have GIPBE and zh-wikipedia's local IPBE. I also have made more than 2,000 edits in zh-wikipedia. And I never do vandalism. I think I am enough to get this flag.

In the end, I hope you will accept my request. Thanks for your help, sir.--波斯波莉斯 (talk) 09:59, 26 October 2020 (UTC)

Legal Threats again.

That IP user who was blocked yesterday is still making legal threats on its talk page. It lost its chance for forgiveness. — FilmandTVFan28 (talk) 21:26, 9 November 2020 (UTC)

(talk page stalker) FilmandTVFan28, handled. GeneralNotability (talk) 22:40, 9 November 2020 (UTC)

ACE voting stats by day and year

I was bored. I'll try to keep it up to date. SQL ^{Query me!} 03:28, 25 November 2020 (UTC)

Yo Ho Ho

Donner60 (talk) is wishing a foaming mug of Seasons Greetings! Whether you celebrate your hemisphere's Solstice or Christmas, Diwali, Hogmanay, Hanukkah, Lenaia, Festivus or even the Saturnalia, this is a special time of year for almost everyone!

Spread the holiday cheer by adding {{subst:User:WereSpielChequers/Dec20}} to your friends' talk pages.

A Joyous Yuletide to You!

Merry Christmas and a Prosperous 2021!

Hello SQL, may you be surrounded by peace, success and happiness on this seasonal occasion. Spread the WikiLove by wishing another user a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, whether it be someone you have had disagreements with in the past, a good friend, or just some random person. Sending you heartfelt and warm greetings for Christmas and New Year 2021.
Happy editing,
JACKINTHEBOX • ^TALK 16:17, 24 December 2020 (UTC)

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

Merry Christmas, SQL!

Hello SQL: 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, TheSandDoctor ^Talk 16:26, 25 December 2020 (UTC)

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

You've got mail!

Hello, SQL. Please check your email; you've got mail!
Message added 16:54, 25 December 2020 (UTC). It may take a few minutes from the time the email is sent for it to show up in your inbox. You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{You've got mail}} or {{ygm}} template.

TheSandDoctor ^Talk 16:54, 25 December 2020 (UTC)

Collocation? MikroVPS?

Hi, SQL, hope your new year is looking good in every way. I've blocked 2a02:6080::/64 for a week for block evasion, obvious here. But I noticed in their block log that both you and Drmies have previously blocked them for two years (each), with mysterious log notations which I do not understand. Should I block them for a couple of years also, in your opinion? Bishonen | tålk 15:11, 1 January 2021 (UTC).

@Bishonen: Yep, looks like a hungarian webhosting provider, named "MikroVPS". Another couple years would probably do well - I've gone ahead and reblocked. SQL ^{Query me!} 16:18, 1 January 2021 (UTC)

Cool, thanks. Bishonen | tålk 17:15, 1 January 2021 (UTC).

knock knock and a q

Hey,

On 3 Dec you blocked this IP. I'm not arguing but inquiring why....? I'm curious only because I am/was involved in editing Black Monday (1987) under my former username User:Lingzhi2. That IP's last edit was a nontrivial change to Black Monday that sorta presented itself as a trivial change...... just curious. The edit looks... OK-ish if a bit lamely cited and a bit... too... pat. Is it a student edit or...? Thanks.OneOffUserName (talk) 14:19, 2 January 2021 (UTC)

@OneOffUserName: - That IP is blocked due to checkuser findings. SQL ^{Query me!} 15:58, 2 January 2021 (UTC)

Which means it's a sock?OneOffUserName (talk) 02:50, 3 January 2021 (UTC)

Maantietäjä compromised?

Hi SQL, we've got the classical "my brother" excuse at Special:Diff/1003275617. So I guess either the block is no longer needed, or it should be site-wide? ~ ToBeFree (talk) 06:36, 28 January 2021 (UTC)

I don’t have to be blocked: I swear I won’t receive any more emails. So that block can be removed just fine. --Maantietäjä (talk) 13:18, 28 January 2021 (UTC)

@ToBeFree: Thanks for the heads up. Apparently they tried AN as well with a different story.

Given the content of the emails - I severely doubt their brother was trying to get people to sign up at a wiki that's literally named after them.

Apparently, -revi locked them as compromised. SQL ^{Query me!} 15:19, 28 January 2021 (UTC)

Yeah, their emails and brother claims doesn't add up. — regards, Revi 15:26, 28 January 2021 (UTC)

Ah, thanks -revi! I wasn't sure if I was allowed to share the content. SQL ^{Query me!} 15:28, 28 January 2021 (UTC)

Anyhow, as far as the block goes - if any uninvolved administrator believes that the block is no longer preventative - they may remove it. I don't see any reason to site-wide block them, as they're locked.

Since the fact that the emails was sent isn't being argued, there really isn't any checkuser data at play any more, and I'm sure that if an unblock were to be made, Leaderboard would be able to confirm that these emails were pretty blatant spam. I've converted the block from a CU block to a regular block.

I'm not sure that they'll get unlocked however, as misusing the email function to send unsolicited mail is a direct violation of the Terms of Use. SQL ^{Query me!} 15:27, 28 January 2021 (UTC)

Jan 2021 checkuser stats

I'm messing with a script, and thought it might be interesting to give aggregate stats on my usage of the CU tool, by running a series of regular expressions over the checkuserlog.

Jan 2021, I used the CU tool 124 times.

In Jan 2021, I used the tool in these modes:

In 'ipedits' mode 76 times.
In 'userips' mode 36 times.
In 'investigate' mode 12 times.

These are the aggregate reasons for using it (Keep in mind that one investigation often involves more than one check):

Unblock-related, 110 times.
Second opinion, 7 times.
Impersonation-related, 4 times.
SPI-related, 1 time.
Account compromise related, 1 time.
Block evasion related, 1 time.

If a CU is interested in how they use the tool, leave me a message - and I'll email you.

I will not automate this script, release the source code, or release data for others usage of the tool for any reason other than a direct request - and even then, only by email, directly to the cu making the request.

I also can't promise that I can release my own data in part, or full, every month. SQL ^{Query me!} 22:24, 3 February 2021 (UTC)

Stay positive right?

Probably not what they meant - but I got my positive COVID test result today. So far, it feels like the beginnings of a cold. SQL ^{Query me!} 00:11, 4 February 2021 (UTC)

I just happened to come across your talk page. That's terrible - get well soon! Pahunkat (talk) 18:07, 6 February 2021 (UTC)

@Pahunkat: Thank you! SQL ^{Query me!} 18:11, 6 February 2021 (UTC)

oh crap! I just saw this. I am from India, and people in India are recovering quite easily. Although people who are above 60-70 are having some other issues after recovering from covid. Positive patients are being told to stay in a positive/non-stressed mood, and to eat healthy to be able to digest the strong medicines, and to maintain oxygen levels. I hope you get well soon. Kindly keep us updated here. I'll watchlist your talkpage. See you around. —usernamekiran (talk) 19:09, 6 February 2021 (UTC)
@Usernamekiran: That's about what I'm doing - relaxing around the house, keeping busy with some projects I've been meaning to get done - and haven't had the time to do. Thank you! SQL ^{Query me!} 19:38, 6 February 2021 (UTC)

Sorry to hear that, but glad you're doing alright for now. Hope you make a speedy recovery, good to know you're taking it easy. ~ Amory (u • t • c) 21:28, 6 February 2021 (UTC)

I hope you get well soon :). I have to go to school in person and it's basically scaring me as to when I'm going to catch COVID, because many people are not following protocols at school. --つがる Talk to つがる:) 🍁 02:34, 8 February 2021 (UTC)

Thank you つがる and Amorymeltzer! I tried to be as careful as possible, always wear a mask when not at home. I sanitized my desk, and pc every few hours as we're required to at work, and I don't really get visitors @ my office. I kept my distance from everyone, and I don't really go out anywhere. My wife and kids don't seem to have it yet, according to the tests. It's still mostly like a cold. I've had my good days, and bad days so far - with mornings typically being the worst. I'm coughing a little, sneezing a little, have had a couple headaches, and some sore joints. I've been keeping an eye on my SpO2 levels, all seems well so far. SQL ^{Query me!} 02:40, 8 February 2021 (UTC)

Shared IP Editing

Hey, on an unrealted note, Let's say I am going to be using the school's IP address/WiFi Network to edit Wikipedia and check my Gmail, etc. Is it safe to log in on a public Wifi network, if it's not, what are my options? --つがる Talk to つがる:) 🍁 02:50, 8 February 2021 (UTC)
- I think it would depend on your threat model (e.g. whom are you trying to protect against? A state-level actor, with the full resources of the state, or a skript kiddie at a coffee shop?). If you're in a repressive country like China, Turkey, or similar I would say probably not. That being said, I probably wouldn't risk being caught using a VPN either there, FWIW. It is trivial to see whom is using a VPN, or proxied connection.
- In the free world, the connection to Wikipedia, and Gmail are encrypted to begin with - so under normal circumstances, it's likely fine. The only lingering concern is that people on your wifi network may be able to see what sites you're visiting, depending on their capabilities. For me, this isn't a big deal - I don't use wikipedia or gmail on networks that it's not allowed, and I don't really care whom knows that I've visited either - or what pages I've visited. I hope some of this helps. SQL^{Query me!} 03:03, 8 February 2021 (UTC)
  - When using "free" VPNs, they likely track and log everything you do, correct? --つがる Talk to つがる:) 🍁 03:09, 8 February 2021 (UTC)
    - I cannot say for sure yes or no, but my suspicion is yes. There's a saying "If you aren't paying you are the product". SQL ^{Query me!} 03:10, 8 February 2021 (UTC)

I try telling people I know free VPNs are next to useless, but they don't seem to believe it. (Even with paid VPNs I have suspicions too). Also, could someone use my IP as a VPN IP? --つがる Talk to つがる:) 🍁 03:15, 8 February 2021 (UTC)

It depends. There are some third-party peer-to-peer "VPN" apps that I won't name here - that give you the appearance of a residential connection. The cost of that appearance, is that you're allowing others to share your connection - and often is misused to do awful things - leaving you responsible. I really wouldn't recommend these types of apps. SQL ^{Query me!} 03:22, 8 February 2021 (UTC)

Amazing how technology can be used for good or bad. So much has changed since the 2010s--つがる Talk to つがる:) 🍁 03:27, 8 February 2021 (UTC)

Happy First Edit Day!

Have a very happy first edit anniversary!

From the Birthday Committee, CAPTAIN RAJU^(T) 08:12, 22 February 2021 (UTC)

Arb case

Hallo, I don't spend much time looking at ArbCom cases, but a couple of mentions on user talk pages I watch led me to look at Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Case/RexxS. I'm a bit baffled as I can't see the original statement raising the case. From RexxS's statement it seems it was raised by ProcrastinatingReader, but the only statement by them I can see is under "statements by uninvolved editors". Looking at the page history I see you say "It's been a while, but I'm pretty sure I've got this right - Open Case", but I wonder if something is missing? Apologies if I'm missing something. Thanks for your work. PamD 08:29, 27 February 2021 (UTC)

@PamD: - Per arbcom, only RexxS is named a party. I followed the directions at Wikipedia:Arbitration_Committee/Clerks/Procedures#Opening_arbitration_cases:

Statements by parties: Copy statements by named parties from the case request to the "Preliminary statements" section of the new case page. Statements on both the request page and the new case page should have === Level 3 === headings. If any statement has an excessive amount of supplementary comments or replies to arbitrators, you may wish to surround some of that statement with {{Collapse top}} and {{Collapse bottom}}. If any statement has replies or supplementary statements in === Level 4 === or other sub-headings, you should remove these sub-headings, because they are unnecessary and will clutter the new case page.
Statements by other editors: When you have moved the statements by named parties from the case request to the case page, you will be left with the other statements by uninvolved editors. These statements will need to be preserved, but they should be collapsed. Copy all of these statements into the "Preliminary statements" section, underneath the statements by parties. Surround them with {{hat|Preliminary statements by uninvolved editors.}} and {{hab}}. Note: On older cases these preliminary statements by uninvolved parties were placed on the case talk page. SQL ^{Query me!} 04:31, 28 February 2021 (UTC)

Thanks for the explanation. It does seem very strange that the case has no "lead", and the opening words of the first statement make no sense out of context: "This is a vexatious filing". The reader/editor coming to that main case page then has to read on to find an editor named in the second sentence, and click to expand "statements by uninvolved editors" to see what the "vexatious filing" said. In an article that first sentence would be tagged with {{clarify|reason=What filing?}}. It would be helpful if ArbCom added a statement to the effect that "We have decided that the editor who filed a case for ArbCom to consider is not an involved party: their statement may be seen below". But then I suppose ArbCom case pages are only intended to be read by the cognoscenti who are familiar with all the prior discussion. Ah well. Back to my gnoming. PamD 09:02, 28 February 2021 (UTC)

Question

In the evidence phase of an ArbCom case, can we present diffs that represent the antithesis of the alleged behavior, or is that phase reserved for evidence that supports the allegations? Also, can we comment about the diffs provided by others? Atsme 💬 📧 14:32, 2 March 2021 (UTC)

My Checkuser Stats for Feb 2021

Like Last month, I'm posting some basic details on how I use the checkuser tool. This is based on running regular a series of regular expressions over the CU log, and might not be accurate. Some items are probably not optimally named.

I used the tool 253 times in Feb.

In Feb, I used the tool in the following modes:

In 'ipedits' mode 169 times.
In 'userips' mode 81 times.
In 'ipusers' mode 0 times.
In 'useredits' mode 0 times.
In 'investigate' mode 3 times.

These are the aggregate reasons for using it (Keep in mind that one investigation often involves more than one check):

Unblock-related: 164 times.
IPBE-related: 21 times.
SPI-related: 33 times.
Second Opionion: 11 times.
Comparison: 8 times.
Bot-related: 6 times.
LTA-related: 6 times.
Block Evasion: 2 times.
Testing: 1 time.
CUWiki-related: 1 time.

If a CU is interested in how they use the tool, leave me a message, or email me.

I will not automate this script, release the source code, or release data for others usage of the tool for any reason other than a direct request - and even then, only by email, directly to the cu making the request.

I also can't promise that I can release my own data in part, or full, every month. SQL ^{Query me!} 04:28, 3 March 2021 (UTC)

You've got mail!

Hello, SQL. Please check your email; you've got mail! The subject is IP block exemption request.
Message added 14:04, 17 March 2021 (UTC). It may take a few minutes from the time the email is sent for it to show up in your inbox. You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{You've got mail}} or {{ygm}} template.

LJF2019 ^talk 14:04, 17 March 2021 (UTC)

@LJF2019: - Read and Replied. SQL ^{Query me!} 22:39, 17 March 2021 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Administrators'_noticeboard#Unban_request_for_Bigshowandkane64

There is currently a discussion at Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard regarding an issue with which you may have been involved. Thank you. Yamla (talk) 13:13, 21 March 2021 (UTC)

Feedback request: Wikipedia policies and guidelines request for comment

Your feedback is requested at Wikipedia talk:No Nazis on a "Wikipedia policies and guidelines" request for comment. Thank you for helping out!
You were randomly selected to receive this invitation from the list of Feedback Request Service subscribers. If you'd like not to receive these messages any more, you can opt out at any time by removing your name.

Message delivered to you with love by Yapperbot :) | Is this wrong? Contact my bot operator. | Sent at 02:30, 23 March 2021 (UTC)

IP block exempt request still not handled?

Hi there -

About two weeks ago I put in a request for an IP block exemption to the queue and as of today I still haven’t gotten a response from the team. Does it usually take this long? If so, when can I expect a response? LJF2019 ^talk 10:03, 28 March 2021 (UTC)

@CatcherStorm and LJF2019: (confused on the signature, I got an email from LJF as well, so I'll ping you both?) I have not personally worked the queue in weeks, work has picked up, and I have not had the time. If your request isn't relatively strong, it could potentially take a while to find a CU that is comfortable enough to accept.

In any case, I have already explained to you via email the types of requests that I am comfortable handling - and I do not believe that your request falls into any of those categories. Continuing to contact me about your request is unlikely to be fruitful. SQL ^{Query me!} 02:03, 29 March 2021 (UTC)

In that case, do you know any other people I could contact to have this request looked at? LJF2019 ^talk 02:35, 29 March 2021 (UTC)

I do not. You have quite literally contacted the entire checkuser team in order to consider your request if I understand correctly. I do not know of others that you should ask to consider your request. In many cases, edge cases that policy perhaps technically supports in theory, but that make the checkuser team uncomfortable (and policy cannot compel/force us to grant or decline any request) may well sit for an extended period of time before being accepted or declined. As I mentioned above, and by email - I am not comfortable handling your request. SQL ^{Query me!} 03:54, 29 March 2021 (UTC)

My Checkuser Stats for March 2021

Like the last couple months, I'm posting some basic details on how I use the checkuser tool. This is based on running regular a series of regular expressions over the CU log, and might not be accurate. Some items are probably not optimally named.

I used the tool 71 times in March.

In March, I used the tool in the following modes:

In 'ipedits' mode 49 times.
In 'userips' mode 22 times.
In 'ipusers' mode 0 times.
In 'useredits' mode 0 times.
In 'investigate' mode 0 times.

These are the aggregate reasons for using it (Keep in mind that one investigation often involves more than one check):

Unblock-related: 34 times.
Second Opionion: 10 times.
SPI-related: 10 times.
Double check: 8 times.
Suspected Socking: 7 times
Comparison: 2 times.

If a CU is interested in how they use the tool, leave me a message, or email me.

I will not automate this script, or release the source code. I will not release data for others usage of the tool for any reason other than a direct request - and even then, only by email, directly to the cu making the request.

I also can't promise that I can release my own data in part, or full, every month. SQL ^{Query me!} 18:10, 8 April 2021 (UTC)

My Checkuser Stats for April 2021

Like the last couple months, I'm posting some basic details on how I use the checkuser tool. This is based on running regular a series of regular expressions over the CU log, and might not be accurate. Some items are probably not optimally named.

I used the tool 11 times in April.

In April, I used the tool in the following modes:

In 'ipedits' mode 8 times.
In 'userips' mode 3 times.
In 'ipusers' mode 0 times.
In 'useredits' mode 0 times.
In 'investigate' mode 0 times.

These are the aggregate reasons for using it (Keep in mind that one investigation often involves more than one check):

Unblock-related: 11 times.

If a CU is interested in how they use the tool, leave me a message, or email me.

I will not automate this script, or release the source code. I will not release data for others usage of the tool for any reason other than a direct request - and even then, only by email, directly to the cu making the request.

I also can't promise that I can release my own data in part, or full, every month. SQL ^{Query me!} 22:34, 2 May 2021 (UTC)

Learn something new every day

Well that is something I wish I'd known about before! --Floquenbeam (talk) 21:48, 11 May 2021 (UTC)

@Floquenbeam: - so, I just learned about it too (ignore that I was pinged about this specifically last year!), see: Category:Requests_for_unblock_awaiting_response_from_the_blocked_user. I got CAT:RFU down by almost 20 requests that were all waiting for a reply! Thanks, ToBeFree! SQL ^{Query me!} 22:43, 11 May 2021 (UTC)

I won't swear on anything, but I intend to try to hit one or two unblock requests every day that I log on, just to do my part to keep the list down to manageable size. Finding out about that is going to make it easier, I imagine quite a bit of backlog is requests that are waiting for a response that may never come. --Floquenbeam (talk) 22:46, 11 May 2021 (UTC)

Ha! i was just about to note that at AN. Smarter and faster than me. --Floquenbeam (talk) 22:53, 11 May 2021 (UTC)

@Floquenbeam:, except for that part where I forgot the nowiki :P SQL ^{Query me!} 23:02, 11 May 2021 (UTC)

@Floquenbeam: I appreciate the hell out of anyone that wants to help out at CAT:RFU, even non-admins. If there's anything I can do, questions I can answer, or any way that you think I might be able to help - please ping me! SQL ^{Query me!} 22:57, 11 May 2021 (UTC)

OK, we'll have this talk here then.

@Jmorrison230582: I saw your rude message to 331dot on my watchlist, and then went to go see if the article linked needed protection (per your request) to be applied. The first thing I saw was you calling other editors "IDIOTS". Between the message to 331dot, and the edit summary at the article, I decided to remind you about one of our core policies. I hadn't seen at the time that you were reverting messages from other editors about civility / personal attacks out-of-hand. That's why you got a warning from me, as well.

I'd be interested to see the evidence to back up your accusation of tag teaming as well. SQL ^{Query me!} 09:23, 17 May 2021 (UTC)

"I hadn't seen at the time that you were reverting messages from other editors about civility / personal attacks out-of-hand. That's why you got a warning from me, as well." I am entitled to remove messages from my talk page, as you should well know. Removing the message means I have read it and don't want to discuss it further. Stop spamming my page (and indirectly my email account) with the same message. Jmorrison230582 (talk) 09:37, 17 May 2021 (UTC)

Two messages is hardly spam, and they were not the same messages. I made an attempt on your talkpage which was removed without response to remind you of one of our core principles. I made an attempt here to explain WHY you got the warning from me, and a request for evidence to back up the accusation that you had made. Indeed - you have the ability to remove most messages. In turn, doing so may result in getting duplicates from other people, as it is hardly reasonable to expect others to look over your talkpage history before leaving a message. SQL ^{Query me!} 09:40, 17 May 2021 (UTC)

My Checkuser Stats for May 2021

Like the first half of this year, I'm posting some basic details on how I use the checkuser tool. This is based on running regular a series of regular expressions over the CU log, and might not be accurate. Some items are probably not optimally named.

I used the checkuser tool 216 times in May.

In May, I used the tool in the following modes:

In 'ipedits' mode 159 times.
In 'userips' mode 54 times.
In 'ipusers' mode 0 times.
In 'useredits' mode 3 times.
In 'investigate' mode 0 times.

These are the aggregate reasons for using it (Keep in mind that one investigation often involves more than one check):

Unblock-related: 182 times.
LTA related: 19 times.
Block evasion: 7 times.
SPI case: 3 times.
Second opinion: 3 times.
Cross-wiki abuse: 2 times.

If a CU is interested in how they use the tool, leave me a message, or email me.

I will not automate this script, or release the source code. I will not release data for others usage of the tool for any reason other than a direct request - and even then, only by email, directly to the cu making the request.

I also can't promise that I can release my own data in part, or full, every month. ^{!ɘM γɿɘυϘ}⅃ϘƧ 01:11, 1 June 2021 (UTC)

User:122.56.171.121

Unambigious Zoomer vandalism here.©Geni (talk) 17:06, 1 June 2021 (UTC)

@Geni: Oh, I'm an idiot - sorry, I missed that. ^{!ɘM γɿɘυϘ}⅃ϘƧ 21:54, 1 June 2021 (UTC)

Invitation for Functionary consultation 2021

Greetings,

I'm letting you know in advance about a meeting I'd like to invite you to regarding the Universal Code of Conduct and the community's ownership of its future enforcement. I'm still in the process of putting together the details, but I wanted to share the date with you: 27 June, 2021. I do not have a time on this date yet, but I will let you soon. We have created a meta page with basic information. Please take a look at the meta page and sign up your name under the appropriate section.

Thank you for your time.--BAnand (WMF) 15:06, 2 June 2021 (UTC)

Feedback request: Wikipedia policies and guidelines request for comment

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idletimestamp

Hello. I go through unblock requests a lot and I noticed that you use the idletimestamp parameter for the unblock template. I was wondering how that worked? HighInBC ^{Need help? Just ask.} 12:53, 18 June 2021 (UTC)

@HighInBC: See: Category:Requests for unblock awaiting response from the blocked user. ^{!ɘM γɿɘυϘ}⅃ϘƧ 12:55, 18 June 2021 (UTC)

Just so you are aware

I reverted a message to your talk page and responded to it[3]. HighInBC ^{Need help? Just ask.} 22:22, 25 June 2021 (UTC)

@HighInBC: Thanks! ^{!ɘM γɿɘυϘ}⅃ϘƧ 23:24, 25 June 2021 (UTC)

Thank you

I just wanted to thank you for the comments you made after and during the recent RFA from hell. They meant a lot to me even though that was not my RFA. Wikipedia needs more people like you. Scorpions13256 (talk) 06:21, 26 June 2021 (UTC)

@Scorpions13256: I really appreciate the note. For the most part, I try to avoid political topics here, no matter where as they can be extremely draining and toxic. ^{!ɘM γɿɘυϘ}⅃ϘƧ 06:50, 26 June 2021 (UTC)

Same. I tend to avoid that area and focus more on films, disasters, and zoology. To avoid getting angry at other editors, I tell myself that deep down we all just want what is best for the project. Scorpions13256 (talk) 21:34, 26 June 2021 (UTC)

UTRS/IPBE thing

Thanks. --Deepfriedokra (talk) 19:22, 27 June 2021 (UTC)

No problem! ^{!ɘM γɿɘυϘ}⅃ϘƧ 19:29, 27 June 2021 (UTC)

Question was answered

Hi, in this edit at User talk:Elan Morin Tedronai, your edit summary said "Remove from category until the question asked is responded to". I'm guessing you mean the question I asked Elan, and he actually did finally answer it (he just keeps adding more comments to his unblock request so it might not be obvious). After my two questions, he added (bold is mine): I have to cite the resource like (copied from [[<page name>]]), I believe, even if it's forms entire another article or was from that article, but it belongs in its place. I believe so. I have to cite the resources in the edit summary, I think. I admit I haven't paid attention. But: please don't block me for life. It's deep wound in my everyday life. Since losing my job in 2018, I concentrated on this, but my health in 2020, while suffering two or three prolonged illnesses from COVID-19 and coupled with an epileptic seizure after my birthday. I totally agree to the instructions of Wikipedia:Copying within Wikipedia. I should've put a (Copied content from [[<page name>]]; see that page's history for attribution)? Yes? That's all I can say. Block me for life you want, but that's written in the rules. Most of the unblock request is emotional pleading, but he does seem to realize how to avoid the problem in the future (finally). Your call (or another reviewing admin's). Cheers! Schazjmd (talk) 14:30, 3 July 2021 (UTC)

OK, thanks. I must have misread. ^{!ɘM γɿɘυϘ}⅃ϘƧ 20:29, 3 July 2021 (UTC)

My Checkuser Stats for June 2021

Like the first half of this year, I'm posting some basic details on how I use the checkuser tool. This is based on running regular a series of regular expressions over the CU log, and might not be accurate. Some items are probably not optimally named.

I used the checkuser tool 103 times in June.

In June, I used the tool in the following modes:

In 'ipedits' mode 63 times.
In 'userips' mode 39 times.
In 'ipusers' mode 0 times.
In 'useredits' mode 1 times.
In 'investigate' mode 0 times.

These are the aggregate reasons for using it (Keep in mind that one investigation often involves more than one check):

Unblock-related: 65 times.
SPI case: 13 times.
IPBE-Related: 11 times
Block evasion: 5 times.
LTA related: 5 times.
Potentially Compromised Account: 2 times.
Impersonation: 2 times.

If a CU is interested in how they use the tool, leave me a message, or email me.

I will not automate this script, or release the source code. I will not release data for others usage of the tool for any reason other than a direct request - and even then, only by email, directly to the cu making the request.

I also can't promise that I can release my own data in part, or full, every month. ^{!ɘM γɿɘυϘ}⅃ϘƧ 02:49, 5 July 2021 (UTC)

Articles for Creation July 2021 Backlog Elimination Drive

Hello SQL:

WikiProject Articles for creation is holding a month long Backlog Drive!
The goal of this drive is to eliminate the backlog of unreviewed articles. The drive is running until 31 July 2021.

Barnstars will be given out as awards at the end of the drive.
There is currently a backlog of over 1000 articles, so start reviewing articles. We're looking forward to your help!

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) on behalf of Wikipedia:WikiProject Articles for Creation at 21:54, 7 July 2021 (UTC). If you do not wish to recieve future notification, please remove your name from the mailing list.

Thank you for participating in my RFA

I appreciate your support in my recent run for admin. Please feel free to call on me if I can be helpful or if I make an error. Thanks again. BusterD (talk) 04:48, 17 July 2021 (UTC)

Feedback request: Wikipedia technical issues and templates request for comment

Your feedback is requested at Template talk:Infobox film on a "Wikipedia technical issues and templates" request for comment. Thank you for helping out!
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Edit war continuing

User:WalterWhite72 has continued the same edit warring and WP:PROMO editing for which you partially blocked him from Kevin Paffrath a few days ago. Let me know if this needs to go back to ANEW or if you can just deal with it. GorillaWarfare (she/her • talk) 13:09, 24 July 2021 (UTC)

You have got to be kidding me. All we did was add new sources — Look at the history. Not sure what your heat is for WalterWhite72 (talk) 18:37, 24 July 2021 (UTC)

@WalterWhite72: I have a couple questions for you.

You refer to yourself as "We". Why is that? How many people have access to your account?
Can you describe the nature of your relationship with the subject of that article?

Regarding "All we did was add new sources"... That's not true at all. Let's take a good look at the edits you made there since the release of your block.

Summary of edits

One of these edits was adding a new source. It's unwise to say "Look at the history", when I can, and the history does not support your version of what happened.

@GorrillaWarfare: It would probably be more fair to WalterWhite if another uninvolved admin took a look at this. ^{!ɘM γɿɘυϘ}⅃ϘƧ 23:17, 24 July 2021 (UTC)

I didn't ping correctly, @WalterWhite72: see my message above. ^{!ɘM γɿɘυϘ}⅃ϘƧ 23:18, 24 July 2021 (UTC)

I see the issue - a prior user added lawsuits to the lead and they had a ton of edits so thought that was okay to add to WalterWhite72 (talk) 18:40, 24 July 2021 (UTC)

No, that's not the issue. The issue is you continuing to edit war over disputed material for which you have not achieved consensus (example). GorillaWarfare (she/her • talk) 18:47, 24 July 2021 (UTC)

NPA

ENOUGH

That's what I get for trying to keep the peace at BRFA, I guess. ^{!ɘM γɿɘυϘ}⅃ϘƧ 23:38, 7 August 2021 (UTC)

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

So you are just going to let a personal attack slide, are you? - Aussie Article Writer (talk) 23:10, 7 August 2021 (UTC)

Don't worry about it. I expected nothing more, although collapsing a discussion immediately after commenting is unacceptable anywhere on Wikipedia. As SQL said, if these behavioural issues continue, they can be discussed elsewhere. This isn't the venue, nor is SQL the editor to blame for the mess. The Rambling Man (Keep wearing the mask...) 23:13, 7 August 2021 (UTC)

OK, apologies to SQL. I dislike it when I see good editors being bullied. I seem to recall I was flayed alive by her for a mass change, but she seems to get away with it, despite being told by numerous editors to stop. - Aussie Article Writer (talk) 23:16, 7 August 2021 (UTC)

I don't know a nice way to say this - but I have absolutely no time, or interest in getting into that level of drama at this time. ^{!ɘM γɿɘυϘ}⅃ϘƧ 23:25, 7 August 2021 (UTC)

Then, in all politeness, don't get involved. Leave it to someone who does have the time or interest to do so. But as noted, your passing edit was acceptable. The Rambling Man (Keep wearing the mask...) 23:28, 7 August 2021 (UTC)

And if you don't want to get involved, then I suggest you don't re-hat a comment that originally called the person who responds to defend themselves from a personal attack a "troll". TRM might not care, but I certainly do - the editor he responded to has already been desysopped for bullying, and with the greatest of respect, you seem to be tacitly allowing it to continue. - Aussie Article Writer (talk) 23:31, 7 August 2021 (UTC)

I'll remind you that I had asked you not to comment here any more last time you started attacking me. Thanks. ^{!ɘM γɿɘυϘ}⅃ϘƧ 23:35, 7 August 2021 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Editing the archive to add: I was incorrect above - I had not asked AAR to stay off my talkpage. I had confused them with another editor. ^{!ɘM γɿɘυϘ}⅃ϘƧ 23:42, 7 August 2021 (UTC)

My Checkuser Stats for July 2021

Like the first half of this year, I'm posting some basic details on how I use the checkuser tool. This is based on running regular a series of regular expressions over the CU log, and might not be accurate. Some items are probably not optimally named.

I used the checkuser tool 209 times in July.

In July, I used the tool in the following modes:

In 'ipedits' mode 158 times.
In 'userips' mode 50 times.
In 'ipusers' mode 0 times.
In 'useredits' mode 1 times.
In 'investigate' mode 0 times.

These are the aggregate reasons for using it (Keep in mind that one investigation often involves more than one check):

Unblock-related: 156 times.
SPI case: 29 times.
LTA related: 14 times.
Block evasion: 10 times.

If a CU is interested in how they use the tool, leave me a message, or email me.

I will not automate this script, or release the source code. I will not release data for others usage of the tool for any reason other than a direct request - and even then, only by email, directly to the cu making the request.

I also can't promise that I can release my own data in part, or full, every month. ^{!ɘM γɿɘυϘ}⅃ϘƧ 18:22, 2 August 2021 (UTC)

Barnstar

		The Admin's Barnstar
		For everything you do. For making Wikipedia a better place. And because I can't administer DHE over the internet. Best regards. --Deepfriedokra (talk) 08:48, 11 August 2021 (UTC)

		The Purple Barnstar
		~ ToBeFree (talk) 17:54, 14 August 2021 (UTC)

Thank you very much, ToBeFree and Deepfriedokra. ^{!ɘM γɿɘυϘ}⅃ϘƧ 21:46, 16 August 2021 (UTC)

essensys

(Replying to User talk:Wolverine1203 since it didn't seem like a conversation appropriate to a new users' talk page.)

Please look at the CU and contributions for the range. I went for the closest-sounding template so colocation may not be the best word for it, but it belongs to a company that provides a VPN for coworking offices. The result is multiple users from multiple locations in the US sharing the same pool of obscured IPs that geolocate to New York, which I believe violates both the spirit and letter of our proxy policy. With the exception of occasional use by (IIRC) one established editor, it has almost exclusively been used for spam, UPE and sockpuppetry. – Joe (talk) 13:57, 21 August 2021 (UTC)

@Joe Roe: Fair enough. At first glance it didn't look very webhost-ey. TY for the explanation. ^{!ɘM γɿɘυϘ}⅃ϘƧ 07:52, 22 August 2021 (UTC)

So I would argue that that's not really an "open proxy" - it obscures the user's location, sure, but is only available to a fairly restricted set of people. Not saying that there aren't problems on that range (obviously, I don't know which one, just going off of Joe's comment above) but I'm not sure that our proxy policy justifies preemptively blocking that. As a comparison, I'm pretty sure SubjectiveNotability's contribs (often made from my work computer) show up in a different state than where I'm actually editing from, since I think the company routes most traffic through one of the other offices. Doesn't mean anyone is trying to obfuscate anything. GeneralNotability (talk) 19:43, 22 August 2021 (UTC)

Your backwards signature...

...is quite cool, and I hadn't found it offputting at all, until I was just attempting to review a certain exceedingly long user talk page to find some comments you had made. CtrlF + sql didn't work for me - I'm guessing that it didn't like the backwards letters - so I had to search the history to find the diffs and work it out from there. I'm not demanding that you change it or anything, just letting you know that's a thing, in case you hadn't considered it. Cheers Girth Summit _(blether) 17:02, 26 August 2021 (UTC)

@Girth Summit: )'d forgotten about that! I meant to have it for a day or two. Thanks for the heads up, I'll change it back. ^{!ɘM γɿɘυϘ}⅃ϘƧ 22:02, 26 August 2021 (UTC)

UTRS 47301

Could you look at UTRS appeal #47301. It says, "Hello Wikipedia Support, I am contacting you from Netcrawler Network support. We are an ISP that is registered to operate in Canada. You have previously blocked 172.110.128.0/18. However, part of that range belongs to Netcrawler now. IP Range 172.110.176.0/22 was transferred to us by ARIN earlier this summer. You can validate this by verifying our ASN number which is AS399337. Can you please unblock our range as many of our home subscribers are unable to edit Wikipedia pages. Thanks" --Deepfriedokra (talk) 16:29, 2 September 2021 (UTC)

@Deepfriedokra: Looks legit, unblocked. SQL ^{Query Me!} 22:23, 2 September 2021 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

	The Technical Barnstar
	Thank you for your many years of service on WP:BAG! — xaosflux ^Talk 14:13, 3 September 2021 (UTC)

@Xaosflux: 13-ish great years. Facing facts, I haven't been helpful to BAG in a while. Thanks for the thanks. It's been an honor. SQL ^{Query Me!} 14:19, 3 September 2021 (UTC)

Was about to chip in, but xaosflux beat me to it. You're welcomed to join back whenever, but for now, onto Greener Pastures! Headbomb {t · c · p · b} 16:43, 3 September 2021 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – September 2021

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

Administrator changes

Jake Wartenberg

Emperor • Viridian Bovary

Ashleyyoursmile → Viridian Bovary

Guideline and policy news

Feedback is requested on the Universal Code of Conduct enforcement draft by the Universal Code of Conduct Phase 2 drafting committee.
A RfC is open on whether to allow administrators to use extended confirmed protection on high-risk templates.
A discussion is open to decide when, if ever, should discord logs be eligible for removal when posted onwiki (including whether to oversight them)
A RfC on the next steps after the trial of pending changes on TFAs has resulted in a 30 day trial of automatic semi protection for TFAs.

Technical news

The Score extension has been re-enabled on public wikis. It has been updated, but has been placed in safe mode to address unresolved security issues. Further information on the security issues can be found on the mediawiki page.

Arbitration

A request for comment is in progress to provide an opportunity to amend the structure, rules, and procedures of the Arbitration Committee election and resolve any issues not covered by existing rules. Comments and new proposals are welcome.

Miscellaneous

The 2021 RfA review is now open for comments.

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 20:46, 3 September 2021 (UTC)

Reply-link officially superseded by DiscussionTools

Hi! Reply-link has officially been superseded by mw:DiscussionTools, which you can install using the "Discussion tools" checkbox under Preferences → Beta features. DiscussionTools, developed by the WMF's Editing Team, is faster and has more features than reply-link, and it wouldn't make sense for me to keep developing reply-link. I think the Editing Team is doing amazing work, and look forward to what they can do in the future. Thank you for using reply-link over the years! Enterprisey (talk!) 06:11, 6 September 2021 (UTC)

Feedback request: Wikipedia proposals request for comment

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Habibilicious

I don't think your decline came out the way you intended.--Bbb23 (talk) 12:58, 9 September 2021 (UTC)

@Bbb23: Indeed, they made many errors with the {{unblock}} template. I'd be willing to bet that they have the experience needed to put together a coherent unblock request. SQL ^{Query Me!} 13:06, 9 September 2021 (UTC)

(edit conflict) It looks like they tried to add a table to the unblock request, and it was completely screwed up. The problem is that before your decline, it looked like a stupid unblock request, not a mangled one, but the decline looks mangled. Although the user is a troll and doesn't deserve all this attention, perhaps it would be best to revert to before the unblock request and tell the user they have to formulate a correct unblock request if they want it reviewed. The other option would be to try to fix their unblock request before declining it. I assumed before I looked at the edit history that you had declined it and the user had vandalized your decline. :-) --Bbb23 (talk) 13:16, 9 September 2021 (UTC)

@Bbb23: Fair, I'd gone to bed so I hadn't seen your latest message here. I fixed the request. SQL ^{Query Me!} 22:26, 9 September 2021 (UTC)

What makes you think you're allowed to sleep?.--Bbb23 (talk) 22:38, 9 September 2021 (UTC)

We're back in software mode

New tool: toolforge:blockaround

Purpose: This tool calculates the sequence of blocks required to block all of an IP range except a single IP. ^{Thanks, Enterprisey}

Example usage: https://blockaround.toolforge.org/?range=192.168.0.0%2F23&ba=192.168.0.238&reason=Reblocking%3A+Vandalism&wikitext=1&submit=

Source: Available on request. Private version control access is available upon request at my discretion.

Notes: Tool isn't done / is barely ready. See TODO's in the HTML comments. Currently limited to IPv4. Wikitext output isn't up and running yet. SQL ^{Query Me!} 08:07, 12 September 2021 (UTC)

Feedback request: Wikipedia policies and guidelines request for comment

Your feedback is requested at Wikipedia:Reliable sources/Noticeboard on a "Wikipedia policies and guidelines" request for comment. Thank you for helping out!
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Feedback request: Wikipedia proposals request for comment

Your feedback is requested at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Computer science/Manual of style on a "Wikipedia proposals" request for comment. Thank you for helping out!
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Administrators' newsletter – October 2021

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

Administrator changes

Blablubbs

Alvestrand • Black Falcon • Deathphoenix • Dppowell • Mark Arsten • JGHowes (deceased)

Oversighter changes

Callanecc

Mkdw

Interface administrator changes

Galobtter

Guideline and policy news

Following an RfC, extended confirmed protection may be used preemptively on certain high-risk templates.
Following a discussion at the Village Pump, there is consensus to treat discord logs the same as IRC logs. This means that discord logs will be oversighted if posted onwiki.

Technical news

DiscussionTools has superseded Enterprisey's reply-link script. Editors may switch using the "Discussion tools" checkbox under Preferences → Beta features.

Arbitration

A motion has standardised the 500/30 (extended confirmed) restrictions placed by the Arbitration Committee. The standardised restriction is now listed in the Arbitration Committee's procedures.
Following the closure of the Iranian politics case, standard discretionary sanctions are authorized for all edits about, and all pages related to, post-1978 Iranian politics, broadly construed.
The Arbitration Committee encourages uninvolved administrators to use the discretionary sanctions procedure in topic areas where it is authorised to facilitate consensus in RfCs. This includes, but is not limited to, enforcing sectioned comments, word/diff limits and moratoriums on a particular topic from being brought in an RfC for up to a year.

Miscellaneous

Editors have approved expanding the trial of Growth Features from 2% of new accounts to 25%, and the share of newcomers getting mentorship from 2% to 5%. Experienced editors are invited to add themselves to the mentor list.
The community consultation phase of the 2021 CheckUser and Oversight appointments process is open for editors to provide comments and ask questions to candidates.

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 17:05, 1 October 2021 (UTC)

Precious anniversary

--Gerda Arendt (talk) 08:12, 9 October 2021 (UTC)

@Gerda Arendt Thank you! SQL ^{Query Me!} 04:50, 10 October 2021 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – November 2021

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

Administrator changes

Clpo13

Brian0918 • JDoorjam • Karanacs • MrDarcy • Mindspillage

Interface administrator changes

Evad37

CheckUser changes

Dreamy Jazz • Ferret • GeneralNotability • Girth Summit • RoySmith

Oversight changes

Dreamy Jazz • LuK3

Guideline and policy news

Phase 2 of the 2021 RfA review has commenced which will discuss potential solutions to address the 8 issues found in Phase 1. Proposed solutions that achieve consensus will be implemented and you may propose solutions till 07 November 2021.

Technical news

Toolhub is a catalogue of tools which can be used on Wikimedia wikis. It is at https://toolhub.wikimedia.org/.

Arbitration

GeneralNotability, Mz7 and Cyberpower678 have been appointed to the Electoral Commission for the 2021 Arbitration Committee Elections. Ivanvector and John M Wolfson are reserve commissioners.
Eligible editors are invited to self-nominate themselves to stand in the 2021 Arbitration Committee elections from 07 November 2021 until 16 November 2021.

Miscellaneous

The 2021 CheckUser and Oversight appointments process has concluded with the appointment of five new CheckUsers and two new Oversighters.

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 16:44, 1 November 2021 (UTC)

Feedback request: Wikipedia technical issues and templates request for comment

Your feedback is requested at Template talk:Wikipedia policies and guidelines on a "Wikipedia technical issues and templates" request for comment. Thank you for helping out!
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ArbCom 2021 Elections voter message

Hello! Voting in the 2021 Arbitration Committee elections is now open until 23:59 (UTC) on Monday, 6 December 2021. All eligible users are allowed to vote. Users with alternate accounts may only vote once.

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

If you wish to participate in the 2021 election, please review the candidates and submit your choices on the voting page. If you no longer wish to receive these messages, you may add {{NoACEMM}} to your user talk page. MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 00:15, 23 November 2021 (UTC)

Feedback request: Wikipedia policies and guidelines request for comment

Your feedback is requested at Wikipedia talk:Notability (organizations and companies) on a "Wikipedia policies and guidelines" request for comment. Thank you for helping out!
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Message delivered to you with love by Yapperbot :) | Is this wrong? Contact my bot operator. | Sent at 03:30, 2 December 2021 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – December 2021

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

Administrator changes

A Train • Berean Hunter • Epbr123 • GermanJoe • Sanchom • Mysid

Technical news

Unregistered editors using the mobile website are now able to receive notices to indicate they have talk page messages. The notice looks similar to what is already present on desktop, and will be displayed on when viewing any page except mainspace and when editing any page. (T284642)
The limit on the number of emails a user can send per day has been made global instead of per-wiki to help prevent abuse. (T293866)

Arbitration

Voting in the 2021 Arbitration Committee Elections is open until 23:59, 06 December 2021 (UTC).
The already authorized standard discretionary sanctions for all pages relating to the Horn of Africa (defined as including Ethiopia, Somalia, Eritrea, Djibouti, and adjoining areas if involved in related disputes), broadly construed, have been made permanent.

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 17:25, 3 December 2021 (UTC)