Archived early: September Esperanza Newsletter

Program Feature: Barnstar Brigade
Here in Wikipedia there are hundreds of wikipedians whose work and efforts go unappreciated. One occasionally comes across editors who have thousands of good edits, but because they may not get around as much as others, their contributions and hard work often go unnoticed. As Esperanzians we can help to make people feel appreciated, be it by some kind words or the awarding of a Barnstar. This is where the Barnstar Brigade comes in. The object of this program is to seek out the people which deserve a Barnstar, and help them feel appreciated. With your help, we can recognize more dedicated editors!
What's New?
September elections are upon us! Anyone wishing to be a part of the Advisory Council may list themselves as a candidate from 18 September until 24 September, with the voting taking place from 25 September to 30 September. Those who wish to help with the election staff should also list themselves!
Appreciation Week, a program currently in development, now has its own subpage! Share your good ideas on how to make it awesome there!
The Esperanza front page has been redesigned! Many thanks to all who worked hard on it.
Many thanks to MiszaBot, courtesy of Misza13, for delivering the newsletter.

The last AC meeting (full log)
The proposals page has been updated, with some proposals being archived. Since the program in development Appretiaion week is getting lots of good ideas, it now has its own subpage. The September 2006 Council elections will open for nominations on 18 September 2006. The voting will run from 25 September 2006 until 30 September 2006. If you wish to be a candidate or a member of the elections staff, please list yourself! The new Esperanza front page design has but put up - many thanks to all who worked on it! TangoTango has written a script for a bot that will list new members of Esperanza, which will help those who welcome new Esperanzains greatly!
Signed...
Natalya, Banes, Celestianpower, EWS23, FireFox, Freakofnurture, and Titoxd 04:04, 18 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Although having the newsletter appear on everyone's userpage is desired, this may not be ideal for everyone. If, in the future, you wish to receive a link to the newsletter, rather than the newsletter itself, you may add yourself to Wikipedia:Esperanza/Newsletter/Opt Out List.

Your edits to Republic of Ireland

Hi there! In regards to your addition of the Gaelic language into the Republic of Ireland website, I believe that you are a bit confused. Gaelic is an anglicised form of Gaeilge, which means Irish. When those outside of Ireland and the UK refer to Gaelic, they usually mean Irish, and they are wrong. There is no "Gaelic language", but a multitude of Gaelic languages (if you know anything about languages, then gaelic is similar to semitic in that is is a word that classfies a group of similar languages in origin). hoopydink^{Conas tá tú?} 20:37, 16 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I don't understand… — $PЯINGεrαgђ 21:44, 16 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Hi again! I'll try to explain better. You and a bunch of anonymous IP's have recently tried to insert "Gaelic" as an official language of Ireland (your reversion is here). I'm telling you why your insertion of "Gaelic" as an official language is incorrect. There's no such thing as the "Gaelic language". You inserted a link to Goidelic languages, which if you actually read, might explain it better. I think I am correct in assuming that you think that Irish people speak Gaelic, when this is not the case, for Gaelic is not a language, as I mentioned. The reason you think that Irish people speak Gaelic is because the word for the Irish language in Irish is "Gaeilge". This word has become anglicised to Gaelic. Ergo, you associate the Irish language with the word Gaelic, which is wrong. The actual meaning of the word Gaelic in reference to language defines a language family, of which the Irish language is included. It's a common misconception, especially among those who have not been to the Gaeltacht, or even Ireland. Click on the blue links for more information, and I hope this cleared things up a bit. An dtuigeann tú? hoopydink^{Conas tá tú?} 22:42, 16 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I know know, thanks. However, when I said Irish people speak Gaelic, what I meant was they speak Irish [Gaelic]. Sorry for the confusion. — $PЯINGεrαgђ 23:56, 16 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I don't have the slightest idea...

Far too confusing for me. I had a really crappy sig a while back. It was more of guessing than proper programming. George fixed it up for me and made a sig page, which I simply substitute: 69.145.123.171 ^Hello! Sunday, September 17, 2006, 03:53 (UTC) How it works is beyond me. The best I can do is Meteshjj's, which I just finished working on: Meteshjj _{We come from the land} ^{of the ice and snow} I'm actually rather proud of it. :) I may change mine a tad now that I've had some practice. 69.145.123.171 ^Hello! Sunday, September 17, 2006, 03:53 (UTC)

Ha

I changed my sig around. What do you think? Mind you, it's hard to see on your page. :) 69.145.123.171 _{Yes, I'm really an IP address} Sunday, September 17, 2006, 04:12 (UTC)

My Contact

Hi! Yes, that's my "real" IP--I.E., my broadband IP for now, until my ISP gives me a different address through DHCP. It could change in a few days, weeks, months...really don't know. 206.124.31.24 11:36, 17 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

So after that happens, should I still contact you at User talk:206.124.31.24? (By the way, if you plan on not registering, and if you like, I can help you make a signature, for example like at User:69.145.123.171/sig.) — $PЯINGεrαgђ 15:18, 17 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

new signature, CA, deleted comment

Hi there, your new signature is cleaner and less "messy" (sorry). As for California, I must apparently like it a lot, considering that I live there. I'm not going to give any more details, because a bad experience with an abusive ex-boyfriend has left me rather leery of saying exactly who and where I am. I'd really rather not say anymore on this subject.

As for my talk page, I think it was wrong of you to delete your offensive comment, rather than apologise for it. Were you in an RfA right now, I would vote "Oppose" based on that, because it can be seen as trying to hide evidence. I like you as a person, but I won't sacrifice personal principles based upon that. I know it must hurt for you to read this, but I really am sorry. --Kyok o 22:33, 17 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I'm sorry. I didn't realise it could be read that way, although now that I think of it, it probably wasn't a good idea. Should it still be <s></s>ed out though or something? — $PЯINGεrαgђ 03:08, 18 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Not on my user page, anyway. I think the best thing you can do is add a comment below the offending message (on your own talk page, not on mine), in which you apologise for the remark, along with a current timestamp.

As someone who appears to want to be an admin, you should know that it is extremely bad form to edit someone else's talk page in order to seemingly cover up something that you had said, even if that wasn't what you had in mind. Please don't attempt to alter my user/talk page again without my explicit permission. --Kyok o 03:22, 18 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

please come back soon

Hi there. Despite the notice on your user page, I feel personally responsible for the stress you're going through, and I am so very sorry. I hope you can return soon. --Kyok o 18:56, 18 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Although I see your reason, please don't. Mainly it's because of a blow-up in real life, and most of the wiki-related reasons are minor ones. Thank you, however. :) — $PЯINGεrαgђ 00:22, 19 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Poland, Polish and stuff

Hi and thanks for the message! You are obviously quite fond of violet, aren't you? Anyway, how nice to hear you are interested in our country and language :D Given that Polish is my mother tongue, I never needed any special learning aids, so I don't know too much on that topic... I know a good online Serbian course, though :D Perhaps you could ask User:Rarelibra, AFAIK he is a native English speaker who learned quite good Polish.

I have to warn you that most of the people I know who were learning Polish as a foreign language complained that the books or other aids they were recommended weren't quite the best things ever, and I must say an actual course (I mean with a teacher, in a classroom etc.) is what I would recommend. I even actually once tried to teach some Germans a bit of Polish that way and we achieved quite a bit of progress given my puny skills and the little time we had :D

German might actually be a good bridge between English and Polish, as some concepts that you would have to get acquainted with exist in German in a simplified form. Also, despite not being related per se, Polish shares some similarities with German with regards to vocabulary and such. Good luck and excuse me for not being overly helpful. Bravada, talk - 16:58, 20 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

PS. Do also try the Polish Wikipedians Notice Board, perhaps guys there know of something I don't.

Really? I didn't think that, just remembering glimpses of Polish I've seen compared to German. Thank you though! (By the way, I had some barczsz last night [maybe barszcz? and it was sooo good!) — $PЯINGεrαgђ 17:24, 20 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It's barszcz, if that's what you really had - I didn't think there actually were real beetroots in the US! Congrats to chef then! Now, German might not seem similar to Polish in writing, or in fact even when you listen to both, but once you start learning both you will notice the parallels. They have helped me a lot learning German, so I hope this will work the other way for you :D Regards, Bravada, talk - 18:12, 20 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

thank you for the flowers

Hello, and thank you for the flowers. I need to deal with things in my real life, which will force me to be away from Wikipedia. I'll miss you and everyone else, and I hope that I have improved Wikipedia in some small way. Please take care. --Kyok o 23:43, 20 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

2000! WooT!!!!!!

Many, many congrats on reraching that milestone Spring! And here's to many more to come ;) Th ε Halo ^Θ 19:53, 21 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I won't even think about accepting a nomination until after 2500 though. — $PЯINGεrαgђ 15:08, 22 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The Halo's RfA

Springeragh...
Thank you very much for your support in my request for adminship. Ultimately, no consensus was reached, and I failed to be promoted, but I am very grateful for your support.
Spring, thank you so very much for your wonderful co-nom. Your support has meant so much to me. Thank you my friend.
Yours, Th ε Halo ^Θ

Hey Spring, thanks for the message. And, as for your RfA, above 2500 sounds right, but I'm sure we'll talk more about that when the time comes, right ;) Th ε Halo ^Θ 20:00, 23 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I might know what you're thinking, although if I'm not, never mind. ;) Although a few more (main) edits would probably be well-recieved. — $PЯINGεrαgђ 02:23, 24 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Editor review

Hey Springeragh! Thanks so much for the review, it was lovely and encouraging. I laugh shamelessly at most of my reversions, which can only mean that I haven't turned into a mean, crusty vandal fighter. Hopefully the road to that will be long... and filled with 'John is teh gay LOL' and negative opinions about Charles Dickens' work... — riana_dzasta _{wreak havoc|damage report} 04:09, 25 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

By the way, what do you mean by "your edits are quite evenly balanced (not in numbers of course... "? Do you mean I should edit more in the project space? Cheers, — riana_dzasta _{wreak havoc|damage report} 04:11, 25 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry for the relatively late reply. Actually, by "not in numbers" I meant that (I, at least, have noticed that) when a user's edits are "balanced", the numbers seem to be different, for example

(main):3000

Talk:750

User:500

User talk:250

etc., etc. The numbers aren't "balanced" per se, but when you consider the edit count of most other Wikipedians (and not a metapedian like me), it has more edits in the actual encyclopædia part of the site than the project and user namespaces, and it looks normal to me.

That having been said, and I nearly having forgotten what I replied to say, you're welcome. And also last thanks for your comment(s) in my review.

Good day—and pardon if I didn't make any sense with that edit comment. :) — $PЯINGεrαgђ 18:57, 26 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Right-o! All makes sense now. Ta very much! — riana_dzasta _{wreak havoc|damage report} 02:41, 27 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Red hearts

You asked me where I got ♥ Actually, it's simple.

Instructions:

Type in the code for hearts.
Change the color to red.
Save page.
On the normal view, just highlight the heart and right-click.
Copy.
Try it out.

Tell me if these instructions don't work; I'll come and fix it for you. •S e an•gorter•^(Talk) 03:32, 26 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Actually that was a joke, since I noticed you did it on your game after I did it on mine. ;) (And by the way, I used the ASCII code: Alt+3.) — $PЯINGεrαgђ 03:40, 26 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Re: Birthday

Thanks for the lovely birthday wishes, dear Cliff. Next year, I'll need to grow another pair of hands if I want to count my age on my fingers again. ;) Cheers, Sango 123 20:38, 26 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

One other (unrelated) thing that I might blush a little to ask: Does your name have a long a, rhyming with MONGO, or the other one, rhyming with tango? — $PЯINGεrαgђ 23:53, 26 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

My username rhymes with the first one, but feel free to pronounce it however you like. :) Sango 123 22:22, 27 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Noughts and Crosses

Hello, would you please continue our game of noughts and crosses? --Friendly Porpoise 10:52, 27 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Good day, just another reminder. I don't blame you at all if you're busy with encyclopedic tasks. --Friendly Porpoise 19:57, 7 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I'm back

Hi Cliff, I'm back. It's a long story, so I won't explain it here. I've written a long essay about it here. It hurts if I try to type too quickly, so I would greatly appreciate it if you spread the word about my return to your (our) friends. I trust that you know, or can guess at, whom to contact. When I feel more physically able, I will contact them, along with the others who left messages on my talk page.

As well, I wanted to say that your "leaving" had nothing to do with what I did. I really am sorry if I caused you any stress. Thank you for thinking about me. --Kyok o 14:53, 27 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

One quick thing first: do you want me to include the link? — $PЯINGεrαgђ 15:31, 27 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Fortunately, I decided to log back in this morning. Yes, you might as well include the link. I've put quite a bit of thought into the essay (you did read it, right?), and it explains my odd behaviour better than I could do on individual talk pages.

I went to the Esperanza Alerts talk page, and saw that you had written something about me ("Stress perhaps" or something like that). I guess you were right.

Thanks for doing this for me. :) --Kyok o 15:44, 27 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

You're welcome. :) Just remember the four Hs: ~~head, heart, hands, and health~~ hang on, hang in, hang out, and hang loose! ;) — $PЯINGεrαgђ 18:11, 27 September 2006 (UTC) P.S. Yet another thing…what about Will?[reply]

You're welcome to tell him, though I'm not sure what he thinks of me right now after my failed attempt at mediation. --Kyok o 05:19, 28 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I forgot to add that on your "Friends" page, it still lists me as "Tachikoma". Would you mind switching it to Kyok o? You can leave it under "T" because the account is still Tachikoma, the same way Will is under S for Sceptre. Another thing, "Sango" is pronounced like "song go", and it's the name of a major character in the manga and anime InuYasha, a show that I like a lot. It's pronounced a little different in the original Japanese. I couldn't help but notice that message just above mine. OK, I think I'm done for now. --Kyok o 05:53, 28 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks

hey man - just wanted to say thanks for the star. Really brightened me up after dealing with the Wiki-darkside for a while :) --Mnem e son 21:47, 27 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

RE. Another test template question

When you said "except the blocked user template", did that also exclude {{test4}} (and {{test4a-n}} and {{test4-n}}, etc.)? — $PЯINGεrαgђ 21:43, 27 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

No those are fine to use. What I meant was that you shouldn't use the {{test5}}, {{test6}}, {{test7}}, {{vblock}} etc, etc. Also you should not deny a users request to be unblocked unless you are an admin. Hope that clears it up more! KOS | talk 21:49, 27 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Ballet

Yes, definitely. It needs a complete re-write, for the most part, and I have been busy with other stuff recently. However, it's been slowing down so I think I can find time to do it justice. As soon as I move the Ahmose article & discussion from my sandbox I'll get to work.

Thanks for suggesting it ;) — E ditor at Large ( talk) 01:31, 28 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Welcome! Now, if I could find the pages for getting started… — $PЯINGεrαgђ 23:31, 28 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Alright. I finally found some links. In user namespace we have: User:AndyZ/Suggestions and User:Tony1/How to satisfy Criterion 1a; in project namespace: Wikipedia:Featured article advice (no shortcut), WP:FA?, WP:FA, WP:FAC, and WP:FAR. Hope this helps. — $PЯINGεrαgђ 02:04, 30 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Great. I've been working on getting Ahmose I up to GA status (though all the work was done on my sandbox, meaning you can't see my contributions under the main article) so I'm familiar with some of the requirements. I changed the picture already because the original one was giving me nightmares. I'm going to enlist the help of my company and get some good shots if I can, though until early December all I can get will be studio shots...
— E ditor at Large ( talk) 17:56, 1 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

RE: hey mate dude...

Thought you were Jayant for a while...

I remember a way of doing it, which I've cunningly forgotten: I'll have a think about it and come back to you. *bangs head on desk*

EVOCATIVEINTRIGUE TALKTOME | EMAILME 13:17, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Aha, knew I'd seen it somewhere.

It might help, but if not I'll be back.

EVOCATIVEINTRIGUE TALKTOME | EMAILME 13:28, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks!

Thanks! Feel free to ask me about anything dealing with languages! Mar de Sin ^{Talk to me!} 19:23, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Your'e Welcome!

Thank you for the message on my talk page. It was a pleasure for me as well. Please feel free to contact me in the future if I can be of assistance to you. Thanks, Anupam^Talk 20:36, 4 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The Novels WikiProject Newsletter - Issue V - October 2006

The October 2006 issue of the Novels WikiProject newsletter has been published. You may read the newsletter, change the format in which future issues will be delivered to you, or unsubscribe from this notification by following the link. Thank you.

This is an automated delivery by grafikbot -- 20:17, 6 October 2006 (UTC) [reply]

Your Wikimood

Riana has smiled at you! Smiles promote WikiLove and hopefully this one has made your day better. Spread the WikiLove by smiling to someone else, whether it be someone you have had disagreements with in the past or a good friend. Smile to others by adding {{subst:smile}}, {{subst:smile2}} or {{subst:smile3}} to their talk page with a friendly message. Happy editing!

Hi there Springeragh! Noticed your Wikimood... bit worrying, that. I hope all is well with you, both in real life and on Wikipedia... and if it's not, I hope it resolves itself quickly. The coffee lounge will become a dark and dreary place if you aren't there to keep people's spirits up!

If you feel like a chat, you know where to find me.

Trans-Pacific hugs, — riana_dzasta _{wreak havoc-damage report} 10:09, 8 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I cannot tell you what this means to me, Riana…I am without words. After a good ten (!) hours of sleep, I feel a little better, but it's depressing for me to see Wikipedians leaving right and left. I also had a big blow-up in real life a few weeks ago, and although it's subsided, if Wikimood were Realmood, it would still be Pretty tense, but at least I've got my wife in real life and you and Phaedriel on the wiki. <sighs> — $PЯINGεrαgђ 15:37, 8 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

People leaving does suck. I guess all we can do is hope to make WP a better place, so that less people leave, and stay on... or even consider coming back. Some people, in their commitment to the 'pedia, might forget to separate real life from Wikilife, and problems become magnified.

As for your problems in real life... well, some things can't be reverted :) But usually, given time and patience, things will resolve themselves. Best to surround yourself with people you love, and who'll support you through the rough patches.

And remember, you have plenty of friends here, so you should never have to feel like you need to deal with it all by yourself. Sharing the load helps, and a real friend will always be there to listen.

Please keep in touch if you need to have a rant about anything, I understand perfectly :)

Best wishes, — riana_dzasta _{wreak havoc-damage report} 06:11, 9 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I saw your Wikimood, and thought I would leave a word. Riana has done such a good job saying everything though, so I guess I'll just add that you're in my thoughts. --Kyok o 06:57, 9 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

:(

Hey Springeragh. Sorry to here you're going through bad times right now; it's unfortunate that things are happening in real life and on wikipedia at the same time. But you're a good person, and I know you'll make it through! Take one thing at a time and stay away from unhelpful people, and I know you'll return to your cheerful, smiling self. Keep going, mate; you can work through this!
— E ditor at Large ^(speak) 15:05, 9 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]