User talk:SteveBaker/archive4

Singer Computers

On the Singer Talk page, you said you used a Singer mainframe computer at the University of Kent. Various Singer divisions marketed specialized computers. Can you remember if it was a Singer/Friden or Singer/Librascope or something else? Regards Oldfarm 18:30, 1 May 2007 (UTC)

I truly don't recall - we just called it 'The Singer' - I don't know when they bought it - but it was retired in 1977 after a large capacitor exploded somewhere in the power supply - splattering nearby circuit boards with black tarry stuff! I was mainly concerned that the article on the Singer company didn't mention computers anywhere. The section marked 'Diversification' has gone some way towards fixing that. SteveBaker 21:41, 1 May 2007 (UTC)

Adoption

Thanks for your message, sorry i didn't reply sooner, was away. It'd be great to be adopted by you, you seem to know what you're doing around Wikipedia. As for me, i don't really have interests or knowledge that could update most of the articles. I'd probably be best at doing manual labour (if there is such a thing, this is a website) like checking things, y'know, being a gnome. That kind of thing. And userboxes! I want to find out more about how to use userboxes. I don't quite get the article on them... Anyway, thanks and i'll talk to you another time. Smiley200 21:16, 2 May 2007 (UTC)

Hmmm. That might be a good project to start. Cataloguing and organising all of the userboxes, unless there are a ridiculously large amount anyway... Interesting work on the antikythera mechanism page, you and the other people seem to have done a huge amount of work on it. Thanks again Smiley200 07:16, 3 May 2007 (UTC)

I have cleaned up an image and intend to upload it so others can check it. This is the original: [Image:Foxfurneb.jpg] I've cut off the useless border and wordart text and need to know what exactly I do with it. After reading through the information I am still confused about whether my image counts as free or fair use (i think it's free) Thanks! Smiley200 16:19, 3 May 2007 (UTC)

Thanks. A few things: Firstly, there is a project for userboxes which I never noticed... Secondly, Ooo, there's another area 51 game coming out. Fun! Thirdly, What should I do with the image currently uploaded. Should I nominate it for deletion? I can't seem to find any uncopyrighted images taken by NASA, either their search engine is down or they have no pictures. I'll look again another timeSmiley200 06:05, 4 May 2007 (UTC)

Yes - I think it's a candidate for WP:AfD, it's certainly mis-labelled and it's a horrible picture. As to finding a replacement - I surfed around a bit - and you're right - even the photos on the NASA site are copyrighted to someone else. I did find this page - the top two photos are of the Christmas Tree cluster "taken by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope" - Fox Fur is a part of the Christmas Tree cluster - so it ought to be possible to take the high resolution versions of those top two photos and crop out the Fox Fur part...if you can figure out where it is (I'm not sure that those photos are all the same way up!)...argh! SteveBaker 17:02, 4 May 2007 (UTC)

Our friend Acom strikes again, it seems. This was flagged: [Image:Snowflakecluster.jpg] It really is rubbish but there again seems to be no better picture. Smiley200 20:55, 5 May 2007 (UTC)

Aha, this could be right [[1]] But we'd need a professional astronomer to tell us whether this is the snowflake cluster or just the christmas tree nebula... Smiley200 21:13, 5 May 2007 (UTC)

Just wondering, what constitutes "an edit". I would guess it's an edit on an encyclopaedic page. Correct me if i'm wrong Smiley200 18:34, 7 May 2007 (UTC)

Actually, any edit is counted - but there are many edit counters out there that can give you more detail than that. People here go to a lot of pains to explain that "edit counts don't matter" - whilst simultaneously writing tools to count them and designing joke awards to hand out when you reach various milestones! But three hours of cleaning up of a major article can count for exactly the same number of edits as fixing an apostrophe that you yourself put into some irrelevent talk page(!) so it's very clear that raw edit count numbers don't mean much...none of which has prevented my ego from nudging aside good taste and sticking a couple of edit count awards onto my User page!

My favorite edit counting tool is this one: Tool1 - just go to that site and type in your Wikipedia username and all will be revealed. But there are a lot more of them to choose between here. At this point it would be remiss of me not to warn of the dangers of Editcountitis! In case you care - according to Tool1 - you are currently up to 44 edits - 11 of which are in actual encyclopedia articles ("Main Space")...only another 156 edits to go until you qualify for the first of these treasured family heirlooms! ;-) SteveBaker 19:38, 7 May 2007 (UTC)

Hey

Hey, I finished reading your reply to my question on colorblindness, do you remember (I've been blocked, long story, but if you would still like to hear it, let me know)? Well, I just want to say that your son should not be sad, disappointed, or whatever, because he is colorblind. For one thing he's not colorblind, you said he can't see the color yellow that WELL. Also, in your reply, or where I read somewhere, that colorblindness can be advantagous. The most important thing is that I believe you should tell your son not to feel so worthyless because of his unique ability. He is your son; and you should treat him like your treasure. He feels like thus, it will put him on a road of failure. This is called poor socialization, and that is the most terrible, painful, and hearthurting thing anyone can see in humanity.199.126.28.71 22:10, 6 May 2007 (UTC)

Sure - we don't have a problem - honestly. SteveBaker 22:15, 6 May 2007 (UTC)

That's great to hear, I just thought from your response: '...it might cheer him up considerably...' that you he is sad. Also, you said: 'But now I really feel bad about this - there is no possible cure. I honestly think he'd have been better off not knowing.' which would prove that you think colorblindness is a pathology, but I can be useful in some cases as I stated above. And you '...honsety...' believe it's bad. There's something else. Hey, I'm sure you're a loving father. It's just how I literaly read your reply. Thanks for the insight, by the way, for sure. Also, you wouldn't happen to be an admin would you?199.126.28.71 01:21, 7 May 2007 (UTC)

I wouldn't say "sad" exactly - more a mixture of feeling a mild loss and some measure of frustration. Colorblindness is a loss - I well understand the physics and biology of the matter - there is definitely a smaller range of colour perception - which I am able (because I'm a computer graphics guy) to understand and even simulate. It is remotely possible that there is some small compensating gain - but I sense that my kid would rather not pursue the matter for the moment. I can only emphasise to him that he has only the very mildest form of the problem and it's truly not a big deal. The fact that he's been an enthusiastic computer graphics enthusiast in his own right proves that he's not measurably limited by having this condition.

Oh - and no, I'm not an admin. I was rejected on my first application - and when someone recently offered to nominate me, I was too busy with a major career change to be able to take advantage of a repeat application. Maybe in a few months time. SteveBaker 04:12, 7 May 2007 (UTC)

WP:ADOPT input

Hello, SteveBaker. The Adopt-a-User program is looking for new ideas and input on the program. If you are still interested please stop by the talk page and read some of the ideas being floated and give a comment. If you want to update or change your information on the adopter's list page, now would be a great time! Thanks! V60 ^{干什么？ · VDemolitions} 03:50, 7 May 2007 (UTC)

Adoption

OK, i think it would be a good idea if I dealt with it with help from you with regards to User:Acom Contact me on what to do. Thanks for asking :) Smiley200 10:51, 7 May 2007 (UTC)

OK - so I think the best advice is as follows:

1. For the pictures we think are not copyright free - it's important to take action to avoid legal complications - so go to the Image: page and add a {{PUIdisputed}} to the top of the page. Then when you've done a 'Save page', follow the instructions in the text box you'll have added.
2. For the generally poor diagrams, I think it would be advisable to do two things:
   1. Write a note on User:Acom's talk page explaining why the images are so terrible (cheesey fonts - unclear text - poor image compositing techniques...sheesh...what isn't wrong with them?!). I'm a professional graphics person - I can come up with a L-O-N-G list of the things that are wrong with those diagrams if it's not already obvious!
   2. Remove them from the articles they are attached to with an editing comment something like "Image removed - not of acceptable quality". Perhaps check the Talk page for each article - if there are a bunch of people there other than Acom - explain why you think that the images are not appropriate.

This is going to be painful - User:Acom is clearly enthusiastic - but could use some mentoring. Being tactful and diplomatic would be a wise move here. Maybe we could pursuade her/him to be adopted! I could really help out there. In fact, that might be a smart way to open up lines of communication to getting this properly fixed. The trouble is that this could easily be an 8 year old kid with an enthusiasm for Space - and we wouldn't want to trample that enthusiasm into the ground. SteveBaker 16:22, 7 May 2007 (UTC)

I doubt it's an eight year old. The more I look at his images the more I think that he might be an actual astronomer who knows about the subject but with a very poor knowledge of wikiquette... Smiley200 20:03, 7 May 2007 (UTC)

If that's true then the images that are tagged as 'self created' might very well be OK - but I doubt it. I don't think an astronomer would have adulterated the FoxFur image with wavey blue lettering! The 'zoomed in' middles of the image are also not the kind of thing a true astronomer would have done...I don't think. But it's hard to tell and dangerous to make assumptions. SteveBaker 20:06, 7 May 2007 (UTC)

Looking at earlier comments on Acom's talk page, it would appear he is no stranger to being "hounded" by the authorities on Wikipedia for at least three (count 'em) three spam articles... The plot thickens, slightly... Smiley200 06:53, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

Sadly, this is a familiar pattern. You might look back at the people who dealt with Acom the last time around - see if any of them are Wikipedia admins - if so, then it might be worth dropping them a note to explain continuing problems. Either they can offer some insight - or perhaps they may benefit from the additional 'ammunition'. Urgh - I wish we had a more positive thing for you to worry about - dealing with problematic users is one of the less fun things to do on Wikipedia. The worst thing about the Acom situation is that this is clearly a really enthusiastic editor - who could be a real asset to Wikipedia with a little guidance. SteveBaker 11:29, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

I think that if Acom is uncooperative it would be better to enlist the help of a different editor, for example User:Dr. Submillimeter. There are better people in my opinion if Acom still won't help, who are professional astronomers and could aid us better, perhaps giving us better images... Smiley200 06:28, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

Oh no, Acom's problems are accelerating as more people find out about those images. Loads of them are being listed for deletion. Not good for reforming him into a model wikicitizen... I think it would be a good idea to maybe delete all of his rubbish images and let him start over... Tell me what you think. Smiley200 16:08, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

Your Midway logo has been unfreed... just thought you'd like to know... and you have what looks like vandalism at the top, bank robbery names??? Smiley200 10:47, 19 May 2007 (UTC)

Well, actually, they are technically correct. The logo isn't copyright-free - it's a "fair use" image - meaning that Wikipedia can use it only if it's relevent to some discussion of Midway as a company or their products. We have a rule that 'fair use' doesn't apply to user pages - so you aren't supposed to put copyrighted images on your user page...so this is 'my bad'. Of course it's not a real problem because Midway aren't going to sue me for using the logo for it's intended use - but Wikipedia has quite strict rules about copyrights - so I guess I shouldn't have done it.

The list of links up top wasn't vandalism - I added it myself - I've been doing some research and needed someplace convenient to dump some notes temporarily. The user page is an OK place for that kind of thing. SteveBaker 14:17, 19 May 2007 (UTC)

Midway

Well, by what you said at the Help Desk, I am apparently hopelessly screwed.

Do you know of any game editors, that are full of features (and preferably free), and easy to use; as in, WYSIWYG easy? Mainly I've wanted to join Midway, because I have a strong connection with their Rush series, and also my family has started to get financially strained lately. Or you were willing to help me that might even be better. Please help. --TV-VCR watch 05:40, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

We do have internship programs - but I recently tried to get my son into one of those and was told that we cannot employ anyone under the age of 18 years. You said you were 15 - so you have a ways to go yet. As for game engines - the "Unreal Engine" is the one Midway uses for most of it's games. There is a book about the Unreal Engine ("Mastering Unreal Technology: The Art of Level Design") that you can get from Amazon that includes a copy of the engine on CD-ROM. But no reasonably useful game engines are entirely "WYSIWYG" - there is always an element of programming to deal with. But get real - you won't earn money doing this - trust me - there is just no way that an amateur game written using a scripting engine and written by one guy is going to make money. I'm sorry to hear about your family financial problems - but that just makes it more important than ever that you be stone-cold realistic about this. If you're going to write your own game (which is a GREAT way to get started by the way) - then realise that you are doing it for fun, for your own interest and as a way to learn. In a few years time - if you have something to show that runs and looks OK - and if you've been keeping up with your education (yes, games designers need a degree in something relevant) - then an internship would be the way to get started. It doesn't pay much - but it's a way to get noticed when you finally graduate from college. Necessary skills are either as a 3D artist or as a programmer (I'm the latter) - but qualifications in film or TV arts would possibly be relevant too. A lot of colleges and techs now offer game writing as a degree path now - that's also worth investigating. (Although don't believe those TERRIBLE TV adverts! Being a game designer is nothing like what they show - the hours are long and a lot of what we do is really, really tedious - a game might typically take three years to put together. Also, you don't always get to work on the high profile FPS - someone has to write 'Barbie goes to rainbow land' - just think about getting stuck with that one for three years of your life!)...Check out "Blacksite - Area 51" - it's coming out soon and it looks awesome...Good luck! SteveBaker 11:12, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

I am really good with Gmax. I've made a lot of content for Trainz, TS2 and SC4. Could that do anything...? --TV-VCR watch 17:09, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

If you are only 15 years old (as you indicated on the helpdesk), there is nothing you can do until you are 18, most games are rated "17+" and it's not reasonable to employ someone to write a game that they aren't old enough to play! However, don't take my word for it - you can always go to http://www.midway.com and click on the 'Careers' link. SteveBaker 11:26, 10 May 2007 (UTC)

Talk pages thingy

The link in the box at the top of this page ("How to keep a two-way conversation readable") doesn't seem to go to any particular place anymore! ;_; I wanted to read what it has to say... If you are unable to find where it has gone, I think WP:MULTI comes pretty close to what the link seems to describe. ^_^ V-Man - ^T/_C 23:19, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

Must have been fixed - it works OK now. Wikipedia:Talk page. SteveBaker 01:30, 10 May 2007 (UTC)

Couple Questions

Hi Steve,

Hope things are going well. KEeping busy it seems. :)

Two questions I keep having cause I think I get this stuff screwed up sometimes.

• Is there a preferred way to 'revert', 'undo', etc vandalism, and is there a clever way to make sure you populate the summary field as well? I am just doing things manually and have to go and copy paste an old example each time, which I occasionally forget.

• Also, I just submitted my first [request here] which I guess I did right because the block is already complete. In the case of someone else having reverted vandalism but not having warned the offending user, is it acceptable for a 3rd party to add the appropriate warning messages as well? I don't see why not.

Thanks and take it easy. -DjD- 12:55, 12 May 2007 (UTC)

The 'standard' way to revert vandalism (assuming you don't have admin status) - is:

1. Being up the history for the page.
2. Diff the last entry with the previous one to make sure that only the last edit was vandalism (sometimes it's more than one - and sometimes - annoyingly - someone else added good information after the vandal struck).
3. Assuming you have the 'diff' on your screen with the good article on the left and the bad one on the right, click on "Revision as of ....." at the top of the left column.
4. Theoretically, you are now looking at the last good version of the article with a pink banner at the top warning you that you are looking at an outdated version.
5. Hit "Edit this page" - notice another warning telling you that you are editing an old version and that the new version will be trashed as a result (this is good).
6. Now, without editing anything, fill in the Edit summary with "rv: Vandalism" or something - and hit "Save" in the usual way.
7. Finally, go to the vandals' Talk page and stick in a template {{subst:test2|MyPageName}}~~~~ (start with test1, then test2...test4 as the users vandalism gets more and more persistant. See WP:TT for a list of other tags you could leave for more subtle descriptions of whatever offended you.
8. If you are really enthusiastic - look at the vandals "User contributions" and see what other pages they edited recently - the odds are good that those are vandalised also, so you could go there and clean those up also.

Fortunately there are some automated tools in Wikipedia:Cleaning up vandalism that simplify this process somewhat - but the trouble is that they only work well in the simplest situation. When you have multiple vandals hitting the page consecutively - or someone adding 'real' information after the vandalisms without correcting the vandalism first - then you have to get in there and do it manually.

If you are having trouble remembering to add edit summaries, there is a tool that refuses to let you save a page without adding one - I use this to remind myself to do it. See: Wikipedia:WikiProject_User_scripts/Scripts/Force_edit_summary for instructions on how to install it.

Let me know if there is anything else I can do to help.

SteveBaker 14:17, 13 May 2007 (UTC)

Excellent Steve, thanks. I love the open nature of Wikipedia but it's also great to get some positive reinforcement that you're actually doing things 'right' or at least consistent with the standard practices. Thanks again, djd -DjD- 19:31, 13 May 2007 (UTC)

Sure thing. It's a pleasure to help - let me know if you have any other nagging questions. SteveBaker 22:05, 13 May 2007 (UTC)

Image:Midway logo.png

Hello, SteveBaker. An automated process has found and will an image or media file tagged as nonfree media, and thus is being used under fair use that is in your userspace. The image (Image:Midway logo.png) was found at the following location: User:SteveBaker. This image or media will be removed per criterion number 9 of our non-free content policy. The image or media will be replaced with Image:NonFreeImageRemoved.svg , so your formatting of your userpage should be fine. This does not necessarily mean that the image is being deleted, or that the image is being removed from other pages. It is only being removed from the page mentioned above. All mainspace instances of this image will not be affected Please find a free image or media to replace it with, and or remove the image from your userspace. User:Gnome (Bot)-talk 22:17, 16 May 2007 (UTC)