User talk:The Transhumanist/Archive 1

List of basic trigonometry topics

Do you really think we need a Portal:Trigonometry? Kusma (討論) 13:47, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Any subject that has a class dedicated to it in the primary school system is probably broad enough to warrant a portal. And since Wikipedia caters to students as much as to anyone else, having a portal on each academic subject could really help. The link is there in case anyone feels the need to create the portal. Also, if there was a portal on Trig, I'd visit it. The Transhumanist 14:18, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Mathematics in the professional world is too interconnected to create separate portals and lists in my opinion. --gatoatigrado 02:56, 9 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Then what you need are portals and lists that are equally interconnected. Almost anything can be represented in the wiki format. Mathematics is no exception. Chaos in the real world is managed through organization. Well organized reference tools are essential in this regard. The Transhumanist 18:47, 22 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Welcome message

I have used the softened color scheme you changed for User:Kukini/Welcome in my slightly altered (perhaps to be more altered) User:Centrx/Welcome which is, if not used only by me, present in User:Voice of All's popular script. —Centrx→talk • 17:13, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Hey...how do we access your old talk pages now that you have changed identity? Do you have archives somewhere? Kukini 22:02, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Another redirect for the hatnote

I noticed that User:The Tipster redirects here. Just thought I'd let you know so you can add them to the redirect hatnotes if you want. Good to see you around again, though the number of user accounts is a bit confusing! :-) I like the concept of transhumanism as well. Read about it a few years ago and the idea caught my imagination. Carcharoth 02:28, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Re Categories page

...I've extended your changes to the rest of the pages in the ref bar, and have implemented them in the Template:Reference page header to make it easier to adjust all of the pages at the same time. The Transhumanist 03:46, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks! I'm glad you're happy with my amendment and I think the template is a good idea for the sake of consistency. Best wishes, David Kernow 10:50, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Page move problem

There's some kind of page-move problem with Lists of basic topics, it appears to have lost its history, and I can't figure out where the original ended up.

If you go to WP:CORE#Similar lists, and click "The original version was Larry..." you end up in the wrong place. Perhaps you can figure out what's going wrong, and get an admin to fix it? Thanks :) --Quiddity·(talk) 10:37, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

That link you provided above leads to the original page, with the original history...

Gatoatigrado moved it, then changed his mind and cut and pasted it back to the original name (he had already edited there and couldn't undo the move). I then moved the original so I wouldn't lose track of it. It's current location is: Lists of basic topics/Original list. The Transhumanist 10:56, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It was more confusing at 4am!

Though, if you click "The original version", and then click "history", it's got a confusing 1 line entry, but if you go to the current page itself (/Original list), the history is all there! It was probably something like that, confusing me. Anyway, see below for more on page moves. --Quiddity·(talk) 01:34, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Re Uhg

I forgot to put the icons in when I installed the templates...

Sorry not to've been around to see your message sooner and help. It looks like you've sorted out the relevant pages here, so hopefully that means all is now up-to-date. Yours, David Kernow 11:31, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

No worries. There's plenty more to do. See the Lists of basic topics, for instance. The Transhumanist 14:17, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

sidebar and basic topics

hi nexus, sorry I've been gone. I moved to Berkeley, CA for college and things are still getting settled. I'll try to help with things when I can. --gatoatigrado 15:39, 24 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

External feedback

I think perhaps, it's time to get some external feedback. You've been doing a huge amount of resorting and creating, of top level pages, and whilst what I've noticed all seems to be really good organizational work, there are some potential problems that ought to be thought about:

history-merges -- there are at least 3 pages that need their histories merged, and I don't know whether waiting longer is going to make it more complicated for the admin that has to do it: Portal:Browse with Wikipedia:List of portals, Wikipedia:Browse with Wikipedia:Categorical index, and Lists of basic topics/Original list with Lists of basic topics.
isolated, new, toplevel pages -- if "list of basic topics" gets linked from the sidebar, all those new lists you've created will be 2 clicks away from vandalism. But you're the only editor that knows about the pages, or has them watchlisted.
- I think you should announce each of them at a relevant overview/portal talkpage, so that editors in each area know of them, can check them over, and can oversee them.

So what I suggest, is that you contact some admin that you respect, and get them to give feedback on those 2 things. Sound good? (I'll have a try at tweaking the ref-page design soon) --Quiddity·(talk) 01:34, 25 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I don't know what the policy is on merging histories from forked pages. Can you point it out to me so I can read it? I'll handle the history issue on basic. I want to spend more time actually reading the encyclopedia, but will continue cleaning up the basic lists for now (very time-consuming). I look forward to seeing your improvements to the ref pages' design. The Transhumanist 19:33, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia:How to fix cut and paste moves and/or Wikipedia:Proposed mergers :) --Quiddity 19:44, 26 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Any thoughts on that 2nd point, of bringing these new basic topic pages to the attention of a wider audience? Just to clarify, I mean drop a brief note at Portal talk:Architecture about the existence of List of basic architecture topics. And so on. "Many hands make light work", etc. :) --Quiddity

As a prevention for vandalism? I'm not as concerned about a vandalism problem that hasn't occurred yet as you are. If vandalism becomes a problem, then a call to arms should be made at that time, with increased resources brought in to deal with the problem. But to commit those resources in advance? I don't know. But feel free to set that up yourself if you'd like. I have no objections. The Transhumanist 04:49, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

My original suggestion came out in a very poorly worded attempt at gentle guidance, that i overthought and rewrote too many times. :-(
Anyway, to re-explain, with example:
It's more that I consider them to be very a high visibility and high prominence set of links, by pure reason of association with the top level reference page "lists of basic topics", and hence I want them to become as excellent and representative of Wikipedia as possible. This is what I propose that I/you could post at the relevant subject's wikiproject/portal talkpages:

Hi, just a note to let you know that List of basic --- topics has been created, and is linked to from the Lists of basic topics reference page. You might like to add it to your Wikiproject's development pool, and help bring it up to a full featured list quality. Thanks! -~~

I was hoping you would both write and post it, because you're the creator, and hence would probably be more eloquent and empassioned than I! (I tend towards brevity, and often leave too many things unsaid). As an example of a specific page, List of basic archaeology topics was created back in November, but it still only has 2 incoming (non-redirect) links, and isnt mentioned anywhere in the pages or talkpages of Portal:Archaeology and Wikipedia:WikiProject Archaeology. I was figuring that many hands make light work, plus (imo) it's a pleasure to watch smart people buzz and hum around a rapidly growing good article.

So, whatcha think? :) --Quiddity 09:09, 2 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I see, a recruiting drive. A good idea, and the corresponding lists on the Lists of topics should also be included in that drive (because they too fall under the domain of the same projects). However, before recruting, it's usually a good idea to lay some groundwork. Toward that end, I've created a standard structure for basic lists and a task list on the talk page. That's all I can do for now - I have very little free time anymore. The topic lists needs some preparation before a recruiting drive takes place. Some thought needs to be put into standard formats for those pages, and instructions on gathering topics and which are the best tools to use in creating the lists, so that those who help don't waste time on trying to build them entirely by hand. You wouldn't happen to know of an easy way to sort lists, would you? A free utility or text editor with this capability is what I'm looking for. I've been using the Sort command in Window's command shell, but it's buggy. The Transhumanist 05:06, 10 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I'm also very busy right now, and in no hurry to take on yet another major project! Your notes look great, and recruiting drive is exactly the description i was looking for. I'm in no rush, so postpone till whenever you have time to finish preliminaries :)

I did however put the 2 easy page-merges at Cut and paste move repair holding pen. I've mentioned Wikipedia:List of portals at Portal talk:Browse, but have been hesitating on listing it for merge, as it's likely to generate a little discussion, which you should be around for... ;) You might want to keep an eye on those pages in case discussion erupts.

None of my text editors have a sort function, though I coulda sworn one did. hmmm. A quick google give this one though, looks good: http://jsimlo.sk/notepad/notepad.php

And Good luck, if you're starting a new semester/job. :) --Quiddity 06:15, 10 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Ref pages formatting

Sorry I didnt take a stab at it, though what you're trying looks really interesting :)

I was wondering if you might try reducing the icon sizes ever so slightly, as you're already going through them? maybe down to 35px? (if only they were square, so that could be changed as part of the template..). --Quiddity 02:30, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I'm already more than half done. But you could give it a shot. I'm basically using find/replace in wordpad, though most any external text editor would do. Watch out for the philosophy icon, it's a different size than all the rest. The Transhumanist 02:38, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Done. Used 30px (and 22px for philosophy). I reduced the section template's height, for a thinner overall look, and removed some of the codewrap, which fixed the gap under the headers. (voodoo!).

I don't know how to fix those "edit section" links though (eg Lists of topics). Quiddity 03:18, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Wow, I didn't even see that. I've turned them off on that page, and am looking at the other pages now. The Transhumanist 03:21, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It can't handle the H2 header code being transcluded. We're going to have to break apart those section header templates somehow.

Also, the section template shouldnt begin with the 2 closing divs, as they're possibly inadvertantly closing page divs from before the bits we can edit (global page wrapper styles, etc)? --Quiddity 05:49, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Good observations. On closer analysis, it's not the closing divs or the html code which are causing the problem, but the fact that the heading (and hence its section) resides on the template page. Therefore the edit button opens the section inside the template to edit, regardless of whether it is html code or wiki-code. I've used this as a trick before, so I can't believe I didn't remember it here. Some philosophy list pages uses embedded headings to templatize see also sections. But in those, the see also sections' content resides on the template pages. The Transhumanist 07:53, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

That's what I meant by -- can't handle the headers being transcluded... ;)

So you can fix it? --Quiddity 08:03, 27 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Hi guys. Sorry for not getting back to you sooner - have a couple of off-wiki projects which are eating up most of my time right now. Took me a minute to figure out the issue since you've 'patched' it for now and it isn't actually showing up when I view the pages. Basically, it sounds like the 'edit' links are leading to an 'edit this template' page rather than 'edit this section' for the article they are placed on. Correct? If so, my first question would be... do they need to be 'headers' per se? The 'header' designation sets a number of features which can be duplicated in other ways... such as text size, bolding, anchor point, et cetera. The only thing unique to headers is that they set the 'page layout grid' which is used to build the table of contents, automatic section edit links, and the like. I'm guessing you want these to be headers to populate the table of contents, but maybe you could build a manual table of contents. Obviously that is far from ideal too. Unfortunately, I don't know of any way to have a transcluded header give an edit link to the page transcluded onto rather than the page transcluded from. The separate issue with having 'div' closing tags at the front of the template possibly messing up any other divs set on the page could be resolved by passing in the list of contents as a parameter of the template itself. The only drawback to that would be the limits on what template parameters can include... which wouldn't be a problem for simple lists, but would be for tables and other more complicated markup. Your best bet may be multiple templates;

{{section|background-color|line-color}}<h2>Header as text</h2>{{close|colorbox}}
List of items
{{close|linebox}}

Putting the header as just normal text on the page would solve the edit links problems and multiple templates would prevent interfering with other div sections. Obviously not as clean as having a single template, but still fairly compact. --CBD 14:07, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Notice

Please take a look at my comments here. Any suggestions would be most welcomed. --S iva1979^{Talk to me} 03:30, 1 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Smile

Quiddity 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!

Allegations of sock puppetry on the Ben Best page

As someone who has edited the Ben Best page recently, you may have been aware of the allegations of sock puppetry. As this has continued for six weeks now, I have started the appropriate Wikipedia handling process. If you wish to make a contribution, please go to Wikipedia:Suspected sock puppets/CRANdieter and add your views to the Comments section. Nunquam Dormio 13:52, 7 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It was closed by the time I got there. I do hope that guy stops bugging Mr. Best, though. The Transhumanist 21:31, 13 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

lists

sorry I was busy for a while starting college, see what you think.

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_basic_geometry_topics&diff=74588396&oldid=71070819

sorry the sidebar didn't turn out how you wanted it to. it should be easy to add Lists of Basic Topics when it is deemed "ready" by other members. --gatoatigrado 20:43, 8 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

the new sidebar is a lot better than the current one, so I'm happy. The Transhumanist 05:16, 10 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

good work on the geometry article. When I get time, I'll read through those pages. I need to bone up on my geometry. The Transhumanist 05:21, 10 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Yohimbine

I was looking at your Nootropics discussion. From yours and everyone else's descriptions, it sounds like Yohimbine is a longer lasting ephedrine substitute. Question is, does it have the same side effects of rapidly building up tolerance and dependence? I know there's more appropriate forums for questions like this, but you're the only person I've seen talking about using it for Nootropic purposes.

I haven't read anywhere of Yohimbine being similar. I haven't noticed any tolerance build-up, but that may be due to resupplying dopamine levels with phenylalanine. Dopamine boosters tend to deplete dopamine (though I don't know whether yohimbine actually depletes anything), while dopamine precursors (phenylalanine, tyrosine) replenish the brain's supplies of dopamine. Also, whenever I increase the dosage of yohimbine, I can't get to sleep. It doesn't seem to be getting any weaker. The Transhumanist 19:37, 13 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Cool, that's precisely what I was postulating about neurotransmitter replacement (currently using tyrosine). I'm gonna see how it jibes with Olmifon when it gets here next week.

I don't know why one would choose adrafinil over modafinil. The latter is more effective. The Transhumanist 21:29, 13 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Modafinil requires a prescription and is schedule IV and is expensive. Adrafinil on the other hand falls into that slim category of drugs that you can import in "personal quantities." In other words, if you don't have in insurance in the states, Adrafinil is the way to go. My liver *likes* living on the edge. ;)

Sidebar redesign final draft vote

at Final draft vote. :) --Quiddity 08:27, 15 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Philanthrop (y/ist)

Sorry about that merger suggestion. I must have forgotten to put my reasoning on the discussion page. When I put that up, Philanthropist was a much smaller article, and really didn't seem like it needed to be there with the medium sized Philanthropy page. Sorry about the mix up. Vint 22:02, 21 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

There's a problem with the "size" rationale. The key consideration is whether or not each term or topic merits its own entry, which pertains to the topic's notability. If the answer to the question "will many users be searching for this particular topic?" is "yes", and the term isn't synonymous with a more prominent version of the term with its own article, then it probably should stand-alone. A philanthropist is distinct from the activity of philanthropy and merits its own article, even if it is just a stub. Most articles start out as stubs, just as every tree starts out as a mere seed. The Transhumanist 22:29, 21 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Agreed. Again, it was short sided on my part not to understand why the two pages were not one. Vint 05:49, 24 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

List of basic robotics topics

Sure, I'm always happy for positive contributions to Wikipedia. -- Casmith 789 14:06, 23 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Anon edits?

Can I assume you make a fair amount of anon edits on the "reference" & similar pages, e.g., Portal:Browse? [1] Rfrisbie^talk 02:06, 27 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
p.s. nice layout ;-)

One problem with Wikipedia is that it kicks you off after a certain amount of time, but your user ID is still at the top of the page so you think you're still on. It's a real pain in the ass. But my anon account isn't anon, because I'm prominently identified in the user contributions. So when it does happen, I don't worry about it. The Transhumanist 14:08, 27 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Interesting. That's one problem I haven't had. I almost never have to log back in, and usually it's because I logged out to test something. :-) Rfrisbie^talk 14:43, 27 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

List of articles (an overview)

Hi again Transhumanist,

(Update title)

Suggest you may wish to reconsider/revert this move as bracketed phrases in titles seem to be reserved on Wikipedia for disambiguation... Regards, David Kernow (talk) 23:16, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Okay, I'll think of something. Thanks for the heads-up. The Transhumanist 23:23, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

...also, I'm afraid, I believe colons are something of a no-no as the results may sometimes suggest (or even clash with) namespace identifiers. (To date, however, I've only seen this once.) I guess, though, you could leave the current name until (1) you think of yet another; and/or (2) someone more versed than I quotes some policy or guideline. ("Don't ~~step on~~ rename the grass!") Chuckle, David (talk) 23:40, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Maybe just a little too WP:BOLD, it would be WP:CIVIL to discuss changes like these and Geometry on the talk pages first. --Salix alba (talk) 23:55, 2 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I had written an explanation of the move, but Wikipedia was slow so I saved and walked away from the computer to get something to eat. I guess the save didn't stick, making the talk page look a bit bleak. I'll see if I can track it down. Though I was pretty sure there would be editors eager to jump in on such a project. By the looks of how fast the page is developing, it looks like my guess was correct. The Transhumanist 00:12, 3 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Username references

When referring to me on Wikipedia, please use my username. Thanks. Rfrisbie^talk 21:22, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Okay Rfrisbie, will do. The Transhumanist 21:27, 5 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Cycles

I was wondering if you'd (like to) glance at List of cycles; I just organized the assorted groups under 4 subheadings (see previous), but you might have some alternative suggestions? (I've been trimming out some of the non-directly-cycle related links too, as it really is a deserving topic to have in the footer bar. It was just in a bit of a disarray :) --Quiddity 07:01, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Nice. The only thing I could spot was that both organic and physical cycles are natural, which made me wonder what the entries under the natural subheading had in common... They all have to do with planets (time is based on astronomical cycles, for example). Climate and weather are caused by axial tilt and the Moon, (with a lot of help from the Sun and the Earth's rotation). Maybe "Planetary cycles" or "Planet-related cycles" for the first section? The Transhumanist 07:27, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Aha@! Thanks :) --Quiddity 08:41, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Time cycles, that's a good one too. Excellent job. I like it. (This is fun). The Transhumanist 08:44, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Overview page

Hi there. Thanks for the messasge. I had a quick look, and it looks very nice. Fundamentally though, I think categories are more useful than a portal-type list that needs to be kept up-to-date. I have plans to do something similar in a small area of Wikipedia, and I've been organising things based around the categories, before using the categories to update the portal interface. But I would always provide: (a) a link to the categories (as you do in the browse bar); and (b) explain that this is a subjective list (not an objective and comprehensive index), and explain how it was created and what has been included and what might have been excluded (the title implies some of this, but I think a short explanation at the top is needed). In other words, my concern is that people coming to the page may think that everything they need is there (as the title, and especially the browse bar link 'overview' suggest). In fact, some things (maybe lots of things) may be missing from this list, and the explanation should also make clear that other browse options may be more helpful in some cases. I think moving this to a portal page might make this clearer. Does Portal:Overview exist? I don't really have a lot more to add than that, other than to congratulate you and the other editors on what is a very impressive job. Carcharoth 09:06, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for your comments. I've been studying the list/category issue for quite awhile, and I find lists a lot easier to work with (there are many more tools available and useful tricks for working on lists). I've noticed five main things about categories: The first two are that the name structure is odd, and 2) once an odd naming structure is in place (in the cat system) it can be very difficult to extricate it. The third is that the category system is subject to editing errosion far more than lists (and such errosion is far more difficult to repair on categories than on lists because it is not trackable due to a lack of category redlinks and edit histories). Fourth, categories require even more maintenance than lists because they have decentralized data-entry points. And finally, I run into just as many gaps in category coverage as I do in the list system, but not the same gaps, which makes the two systems complementary. By the way, the portal and reference page editors won't go for a list of overview articles as a portal, because it isn't a list of portals and may easily become confused with the list of portals (the entries in both lists look the same, because in the portal list they drop the portal prefix from the entries in their list). Your suggestion to provide a lead section explaining the list's coverage is a damn good idea - I'll implement it as soon as possible. If you should happen to notice any gaps in coverage, please let me know. The design concepts behind the Overview page are that it provides a top end to Wikipedia's internal link and see also link structure - theoretically you should be able to get to any article from this page - and it serves as a maintenance tool for tracking recent changes to the top tier of subjects. The pages in the reference page header navigation bar are designed to work together: if you can't find what you are looking for on one page, you may very well find it on another. Each page should explain this. Thanks for the idea! And I appreciate your feedback. The Transhumanist 09:44, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Sounds great. While you've been listifying things, do you have any tips for how I could expand List_of_time_periods (see also the discussion at Talk:List_of_time_periods). Thanks. Carcharoth 10:10, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Another list builder, cool. Yes, I have run across some pages that you might find useful...

Sociocultural evolution - describes the progression of societies, and each stage of progression is generally a period, and researchers love to name periods. This article leads to others which list such periods, such as Rostovian take-off model.
I worked up a progression of the development of society for the List of articles, an overview, and it has some "Revolutions" which your article's list of historical periods is missing. Here it is (I've italicized your missing links): Hunter-gatherer bands → Social rank → tribes → Social stratification → chiefdoms → Neolithic Revolution → Civilization: Agrarian society (Pre-industrial society): Agrarian villages → Towns → Cities → City-states → Nation-states → Industrial Revolution → (Modern) Industrial society → (Postmodern) Post-industrial society → Informational Revolution → Information society → Digital Revolution → Globalization → ?
Don't forget Agricultural revolution, especially the British Agricultural Revolution (which preceded the Industrial Revolution, which also started in Britain, by the way).
Modernity lists some periods not on your list.
Your article lists 4 Astrological Ages, but there are 7 listed on Astrological age.
Why isn't the Chinese zodiac listed in the Mythological and astrological time periods section?
Centuries are an obvious time period, and each century is highly characterized by the historical events and progress which took place in it. See List of centuries.
And so are decades, like the the Gay Nineties, the Roaring Twenties, the Thirties, Forties, Fifties, Sixties, Seventies, Eighties, Nineties, etc. See List of decades.
Another type of period is the Era. See Chinese era name, Japanese era name, and Korean era name.
Periodization explains the naming of periods, and is sprinkled with period names.
Movements are often used as period names, especially Cultural movements.
Periods are often named for Epochs.
Wikipedia's timelines are sprinkled throughout with epochs. See List of timelines, especially the technology section.
If you want to go regional, then you'll find a lot more periods in regions' local history. See History of present-day nations and states.
There are some Ages listed in Wikipedia's All Pages, like the Age of sail. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3AAllpages&from=age&namespace=0
The reigns of kings and Presidential Administrations are also often used to specify periods. Such as "during the Reagan Administration".

Well, I hope that helps. The Transhumanist 12:38, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Wow. Thanks. That helps a lot. I hope you don't mind, but I've copied your suggestions to the talk page over there, so anyone who passes by can work on it. BTW, it's not really 'my' list. I just found it recently, and got interested in it. Carcharoth 13:48, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, I know (the first thing I do when inspecting an article is check the history). "Your ___", is a figure of speech for "the ____ you are interested in." Have fun with "your" list. ;-) The Transhumanist 15:12, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia:WikiProject Health

This is to inform you that the project page you created above is currently being considered for deletion. Please feel free to follow the links on the page to participate in the discussion. Thank you. Badbilltucker 14:52, 6 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Response from CBDunkerson (eom)

Duplication

I was wondering if you had any replies to this thread Wikipedia talk:Contents#Duplication (in case you don't scroll up that far on this rapidly growing page...) Thanks. --Quiddity 02:01, 10 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Hi there

Is User:Nav console another sock puppet of yours? Do you have any others not listed on your current user name? It would be a courtesty to identify all of your sock puppets here and on their respective pages and link them to this account. Rfrisbie^talk 16:09, 10 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

We should start with a list of your sock puppets. (I'm kidding.) I'm just glad I finally found you. How the hell have you been?!!! It's good to see you haven't slowed down on Wikipedia. You should activate your email. When you get yours set up, drop me an email, there's something I've been wanting to talk to you about for a long time. The Transhumanist 10:12, 11 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I don't have any sock puppets and my e-mail is set up. By the way, as you frequently do, you didn't answer the questions. Are you going to cross link all of your sock puppets? Rfrisbie^talk 12:04, 11 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I never said anything about having sockpuppets one way or the other. That was uncool of you to accuse me. I was happy to have found you, looking forward to catch up on old times (you left a lot of loose threads when you disappeared), and all you want is a confrontation. Okay, if that's the way you want it. But when you're done, it'll be my turn. That's fair play, don't you agree? The Transhumanist 16:27, 11 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Your refusal to answer the question is unfortunate. What I want is other users to not have to guess if one person is using multiple user accounts without disclosing them. Again, it's a matter of courtesy on your part. Rfrisbie^talk 16:54, 11 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The six usernames listed at the top of this page are former sock-puppets or principle accounts. User:Ooga Booga and User:Nav console are your current sockpuppets. You do have other names not listed, and it would be courteous to disclose them all amicably, and highly preferable to cease using them entirely. See Wikipedia:Sock puppetry, the term is not being mis-applied. --Quiddity 18:56, 11 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Those two are sandbox accounts, for the most part. They're listed at the top of on my user page, as per your request. The Transhumanist 23:40, 12 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks, I appreciate it. Rfrisbie^talk 00:32, 13 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

(and true genius and categorically speaking and alpha beta and pythagoras one and good vibrations(!). and making the go for it! talk archives more accessible. please and thank you :)

Nice history write-up :) I'll comment later on. Just generally, you may want to read all of Wikipedia:Guide to requests for adminship and Wikipedia:Administrators' reading list if you haven't already. --Quiddity 06:29, 19 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for the comments. The accounts you mentioned that weren't already there, I've added to the hatnote on my user page. I'll add links to the talk archives above. I've started reading those pages you cited, but will certainly finish them. Thanks. The Transhumanist 09:24, 19 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I don't know how it works, but I saw this a few weeks ago, might interest you. Wikipedia:Esperanza/Programs/Admin coaching --Quiddity 22:35, 19 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

You wrote "Popups drives me crazy, but is useful when browsing - I haven't found it particulary useful while editing, but haven't experimented with it much. I don't have it installed (on this account)." Just in case, I'll repeat it: multiple accounts are not good. --Quiddity 19:04, 4 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I was just checking to see if you were still in my audience.

I'm sure popops is on one of my dead accounts. I haven't used it in awhile (referring to popups not the account, though I haven't used the account recently either - I think it's one of the ones I killed), but will again (use popups, not the account) when I'll eventually go back to the tip of the day project - that always gets me in the mood to experiment. The Transhumanist 21:36, 4 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I wasn't for the last few weeks, and now look what you've gotten yourself into! I think perhaps you'd be better off waiting until after you've successfully become an admin, before giving advice on how to be one (if you're gonna mix threads, I will too! ;) --Quiddity 22:12, 4 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Hey, I got a new barnstar out of it. So someone appreciates me. Concerning waiting, that's a perpetual proposition, and has been since the Main Page redesign. (WP:SNOWBALL)) Besides it's too late now. Starting to wait now wouldn't be fair to my coachees. And the coaching isn't so much about how to be an admin, it's more about advanced Wikipedia skills. Teaching others gives me added incentive to learn, to make sure I know what I'm talking about. The Transhumanist 22:56, 4 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Signature

Please, please, Ixnay on the super-colourful signature. It takes up 6 lines of wikicode in the source (making talkpages longer and harder to skim in edit mode), plus is kind of attention-grabbing/distracting when trying to read. Thanks :) --Quiddity 19:19, 19 October 2006 (UTC) (hah! and a lovely ironic first-usage, [indented as] a reply to my sentence "The icons and colour scheme are far too bold." ;P ) -Quiddity 21:31, 19 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I've cut the code down and dimmed it a little. How's this? The Transhumanist 01:31, 20 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Not just me ;) see also: [2].

Personally I prefer plain sigs. Colorful sigs are distracting from the talkpage threads themselves, and I tend to assume the editors using them are young and over-confident (based on confirmed experience here and elsewhere online). Though some might argue that they're a good warning signal to other, more mature editors (I've seen this argument used for letting people keep immature/inflammatory userboxes)!

If you're attached to the idea of color, then I'd suggest going shorter than what you have above (3.5 lines of code); Radiant!'s sig is 2.5 lines, Starblind's sig is 1.2 lines. And maybe pick a single hue. Hope that helps. (edit confl: yeah, the dimmer helps too) --Quiddity 01:34, 20 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

You seem to be reading more into this than what actually applies. :) I can think of many reasons which support a distinct signature. Okay, I've reduced it again. The Transhumanist 04:54, 20 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Well obviously there are benefits to you in using a bold signature, but (in my, and some others opinions) it comes at a cost to everyone else (it's distracting in discussion threads, and makes it appear that one name overwhelms a conversation (which itself carries subtle implications/connotations of "look at me! pay attention to me!" for many people. Which, as I said, can be a useful warning signal to everyone else.)). Which is what I was explaining above.

I've explained the same thing to others who had images in their signatures (which have since been officially banned). See the lines from WP:SIG: "Your signature should not ... be annoying to other editors" and "images in signatures give undue prominence to a given user's contribution". You're within the letter of the law, but (imo) are violating the spirit. --Quiddity 19:00, 20 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

You are entitled to your opinion, and I respect that, which is why I've gone out of my way to find a compromise by reducing the wikicode as much as I can. The precedent for colorful sigs has been set by other users having similar signatures, without complaint. I therefore find it a bit annoying that you would take offense specifically with my sig. I feel singled out. I also feel like you are trying to force everyone around you into conformity. While I like you, I don't want to be like you. While I would agree that a signature displayed on the image of a Disney-style glowing purple castle standing 30 lines tall with spinning green and orange whirlygigs all over it and red, yellow, and blue fireworks going off all around it would be uncalled for in a signature. But simply changing the font and color of the letters (without changing the size of the sig) should be seen as self-expression, nothing more. And perhaps the reason that more people do not have creative sigs is because they are not that easy to set up. It would be shame to punish or condemn those who try to do something special. You never know when the skills they pick up during creative explorations like this will be applicable. I learned a fair amount about wiki encoding in the process, for instance. I hope that I have addresse your concerns to your satisfaction. Sincerely, The Transhumanist 03:30, 27 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

If you just want to be able to find your own comments in a talk page more easily (so you can find replies, etc), then I'd suggest using the highlightsig user script instead. But it's completely up to you, and how you wish to influence how you are perceived :)--Quiddity 19:00, 20 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

How I'm perceived? Hadn't thought about that. Hmmmm, "trans" and the rainbow both in the same sig. I don't know, it may be interpretted as symbolic. Hope not. I still think it looks cool. I'm keeping it for the time being. By the way, thanks for the coaching link, I'll look into it. The Transhumanist 02:27, 20 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Got your message about this sig issue and was just going to stop by to suggest... what you did. Your six line version was basically the same as what User:Radiant! uses... except 'The Transhumanist' is longer than '>Radiant<'. Switching to letter groups is more consistent with what User:Starblind does. You could also consider dropping 'The' in the signature and could maybe save a few characters by using 'font color=red' instead of the numeric codes. Finally, it isn't considered 'kosher' HTML, but as you are setting a new font color with each section you could really lose all of the '/font' tags except the last one... each new 'font' setting will supercede the previous and at the end you will only have the one to close. --CBD 10:52, 20 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks. I didn't know one "/font" tag at the end was all that was needed to close, as User:Radiant uses five of them in his sig. Thanks for the pointer! That'll save some space! ...okay, I tried it, and it works in direct markup, but it doesn't work in the signature field in preferences and returns an "invalid raw signature" error. But, since I have a rather sturdy macro program, I've set up a key to insert the sig at the cursor. It's worth it to keep the wikicode tight. Thanks. Here's the tigher version: The Transhumanist 11:21, 20 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I saw you wanted to become an administrator, maybe the sig is something you need to sacrifice to make other users like you. At the norwegian WP, where I'm an admin, nobody uses rainbows as sig's, and we don't have a problem with it. Please, it looks nice, but if someone don't like it, I suggest you remove it. Good look in being an administrator! Norwegian Marcu s 09:00, 21 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for the advice. But I'm not going to sacrifice self-expression to become an admin. The Transhumanist 20:56, 4 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Color

Brief note, in case you're in mid-edit of more content page color changes. We're using the color palette listed under "HSV Two-level and One-level header palettes (Lighter)" atUser:Rfrisbie/Palettes. I'll fix Lists of lists. --Quiddity 21:22, 14 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Just added a couple colors (yellowish at Tables, and orangish at Lists). To give it a little more variety. Lists may be a little too saturated still. The Transhumanist 21:28, 14 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Please use the palette provided. I don't know how you're generating the colours you're using, but they don't match. --Quiddity 21:52, 14 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The problem is, you are going by some formula, rather than by your artistic eye. There's an element in the formula that's missing. Flip back and forth between the pages, and you'll see what I mean. The Transhumanist 21:56, 14 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I have checked and flipped. It matches. I don't understand what you think is wrong. Anyway, please see Wikipedia talk:Contents#Page colouring. --Quiddity 22:23, 14 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Well, for one thing, there's no variation from multiple shades of the same color. Take this talk page we're on right now for instance. The background color in the message area isn't a shade of the header or border, yet they go together quite well. The Transhumanist 11:31, 20 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

That's because this page uses the "palette style" shown at Wikipedia talk:Colours. The background is from a different hue, but it uses the same saturation and value (brightness) shown for main backgrounds. It complements the S&V settings for borders and headers. They work well together by design. Rfrisbie^talk 15:37, 20 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Re Image:LocationArctic

Hi Transhumanist,

In one of your edits, [this image link] is added to the List of articles, an overview, and is somehow replacing the picture of the arctic map... in case you aren't seeing what I'm seeing, I'm seeing a Techspot ad!

When I saw your message, the image appeared as I exepcted, i.e. blank world in grey apart from Arctic in green – if I link it again below, how does it look to you now...? :

This should show the world
in grey apart from the Arctic

...I've just visited List of articles, an overview again and it's appearing correctly there for me. The image is from the Commons ([3]) and all appears in order there too, including the history. So... I don't know... I just hope that by the time you read this you find it as it should be...

Incidentally, seeing the title "List of articles, an overview" again makes me realise it's a comma splice, i.e. in lieu of using a colon or slash, perhaps it ought to be "List of articles; an overview". However, I think I'd far prefer "List of overview articles" or even simply "Overview articles"... but if there's a rationale not to do so that I've forgotten or overlooked, please point me toward it. Otherwise, what do you think...?

The page and its siblings do look great and, most importantly, inviting – my visit just now reminded me that I have to stop them drawing me into browsing when I'm meaning to edit! As pages meant to invite people into the encyclopedia, though, that's perfect. Thanks for your contributions to them.

Best wishes, David Kernow (talk) 01:31, 15 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I fixed the image on the Overview page. So the next step is to track down the TechSpot ad. Here's what you need to do in order to see it: Find a large image on wikipedia, and then make a link for it either on your talk page or mine, but in the link shrink it down with link parameters to a size too small for Wikipedia to show it. That's when the TechSpot ad appears. The Transhumanist 02:13, 15 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I definitely see it in Firefox, but I just opened an IE window, and I'm seeing the map. Maybe it's here on my machine. I'm in the process of tracking it down. As for the filename change you suggested above, I think the current pagename is fine. The page has been renamed enough this month. :-) The Transhumanist 02:18, 15 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I right clicked on it, and clicked on properties, and this is the URL displayed:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c2/LocationArctic.png/120px-LocationArctic.png

The Transhumanist 02:21, 15 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

That's strange - the above link appears normal in IE. I'm not sure what to make of this. The Transhumanist 02:24, 15 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It does sound bizarre. Perhaps this is something some more knowledgeable folk can solve; have you tried the Village Pump or maybe the Administrators' noticeboard...? Sorry not to be of any assistance, David (talk) 03:45, 15 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I believe the Overview pagename should be changed too, it's an awkward construction at the moment; but not until we sort out how the group as a whole avoids duplication and redundancy.

You may want to check for spyware, as i said at wikipedia talk:Contents, as I can't see anything on the pages or in the histories either. --Quiddity 03:47, 15 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Ever find the source of the problem with this one? Something affecting firefox but not IE is very odd. -Quiddity 05:50, 19 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The problem went away, seemingly by itself. Which is even more disconcerting. The Transhumanist 08:52, 19 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Well, let's hope it remains "Problem? What problem?". Best wishes, David (talk) 06:38, 20 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Adminship aspirations

I would like to become an admin eventually, and I'm ready and willing to do whatever is needed to prepare myself for that role, including overcoming any and all objections anyone may have, by taking their input and feedback to heart (which I have been doing, and will continue to do). What do I need to learn or change or do before you would be comfortable handing me the mop? The Transhumanist 22:08, 18 October 2006 (UTC) (aka Go for it!).[reply]

I have a question, why so many usernames? Isn't that messy? (This is a question, not critic) :) Norwegian Marcu s 09:02, 21 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The main reason was experimentation: I'm trying to learn everything there is to know about Wikipedia, so I try a great many things (see my contribs) and make a lot of discoveries because of it: seeWikipedia:Tip of the day, which I have been a major contributor to. Another is I was looking for a better username. How do you like it? Another was messing with Quiddity's head. Just kidding, but everyone needs peace and quiet every once in a while. Having an alternate account can provide that. The conclusion I've come to is that you only need a seperate account if you use AWB (an editor, which can drown out your other edits in the contrib history), one for each bot you run, and one for when you get really stressed out. -- That was a good question, thanks for asking. The Transhumanist 01:45, 22 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia:Editor review appears to be helpful for some people who asking the same question. For my part, I can imagine that the multiple accounts may be an issue, just because it requires RFA reviewers to look through six or so accounts to see if there are any issues worth bringing up. - Banyan Tree 13:34, 26 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I have them all listed in one place. The Transhumanist 20:58, 4 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

List of regional bird lists

Please see discussion there... --Glen Fergus 23:57, 20 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I appreciate the heads up. Thanks. My response is on that page. The Transhumanist 02:22, 22 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Dab

Just fyi, on dab pages, only the dab'd articles should be linked, nothing else. See Wikipedia:Manual of Style (disambiguation pages): "Each bulleted entry should in most cases have exactly one navigable (blue) link. ..." :) --Quiddity 03:03, 21 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

right, otherwise it's ambiguous, which doesn't suit a disambiguity page. Makes sense. The Transhumanist 01:46, 22 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Sig Shortening

I saw your request on an admin's page. You could save it as a transparent PNG, have it hosted off-site, and link to it. Seicer (talk) (contribs) 14:34, 25 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not sure I understand. How is that done, and how does that work? Wouldn't the click template and the url make it just as long if not longer? Dazed and confused,

The Transhumanist 21:06, 25 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Ugh, I don't recommend doing that. Offsite linking is discouraged ({{click}} is a hack) and you're right that it would still be long and distracting. Not to mention that use of images in your signature is discouraged in any case... -- nae'blis 18:33, 3 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Use of images in sigs is dicouraged primarily because of server load. That's why offsite hosting was suggested. Still a hack, though. Rich Farmbrough, 10:26 7 November 2006 (GMT).

Hello

Long time no see. Thanks for grammar correction, I am horrible with all those a and the... Glad you are still around and involved in some many different things. Renata 03:02, 26 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Arg, excuse edit summary for previous edit. It was upposed to be hi File:Blush.png Renata 03:03, 26 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Try commons:Category:Smilies :) Renata 11:10, 26 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Cool. You've doubled the size of my collection! Thanks! Take a look... The Transhumanist 00:32, 27 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I beg you to remove the animated ones. They shouldnt be encouraged at all. Thanks. --Quiddity 01:35, 27 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

But they're my favorites! And they're file sizes are very small, smaller than most of the rest. Besides, animated emoticons are all the rage across the internet (such as on Yahoo Messenger), and there is precedent already set in the use of animated icons on Wikipedia. Like this one:

. I have addressed the rest of your points of content in a reply to your previous post above. The Transhumanist 01:46, 27 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia is not Yahoo Messenger, and the 'smilies' are purely distracting. The animated ones particularly so.

But you seem to be ignoring advice that comes from me, so go ahead and continue to shoot yourself in the foot. --Quiddity 19:30, 4 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Yep, you're a woman alright. Nice to finally meet you. And no, Quiddity, I never ignore your advice, even when I disagree with it. And "shooting myself in the foot" is a moot issue, as SNOWBALL is the catchword of the day.

The Transhumanist 21:05, 4 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

File:SoleteRayosÑajo.gif

Merging accounts

Hi. What you want to do sounds like a variation of Wikipedia:Changing username. That is generally used for transferring edits to a new account, but it may be possible to do so to an existing account as well. I don't know. You'd presumably have to somehow prove that the other accounts are yours and even then it requires a bureaucrat to make the changes. Anyway, that's the page you want. Someone there should be able to tell you what the possibilities are. --CBD 11:09, 27 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks. The Transhumanist 11:11, 27 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Philosophy portal

Howdy, just fyi, Portal:Philosophy has 2 empty/broken sections (selected philosopher and article). The thinking portal could use an update too, but that's less urgent, as it isn't in the browsebar. (and, Great work with the reference tables/topics pages :) --Quiddity 18:49, 30 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Got sidetracked by the whole coaching thing, but I've got most of the next year prescheduled for both of those links. I'll finish up the rest when I get a chance. My big hiatus from Wikipedia is looming, as I've put off returning to the real world for far too long. The Transhumanist 21:17, 4 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Admin coaching

Hey, thanks for your suggestions about using some of the vandal tools. I've tried using Lupin's tool in the past and it ends up continually crashing Safari out, which is a pity, and most other tools are PC-only. I've added my name to the VandalProof list for approval, I should be able to use this from my PC at work (!)...

As for non-admins closing AfD's, I'll certainly take a look at that too. Thanks again for taking the time to look into what might be useful for me, and for the encouragement. Cheers! Budgiekiller 14:07, 1 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Sure thing. If you have any more questions, just fire away. I'll be checking the coach page for further questions. The Transhumanist 18:20, 1 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I've left a comment for you at Wikipedia talk:Esperanza/Admin coaching. Cheers, H ig hway ^{Grammar Enforcer!} 16:49, 1 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Barnstar

Message received

Thanks for letting me know. Unfortunately, I don't really have time to reply properly at the moment (modern history exam in three hours), so I'll get back to you later today. Cheerio, --Daveydw ee b (^chat/_patch) 19:48, 1 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I have mail :)

Hiya The Transhumanist, thanks the note. After going through RfA again (currently), I can definetly understand what you mean. I've had several people tell me if I get my article edits up and do this or that they would nominate me myself.. So if i focus on building this encyclopedia.. I may have quite a few co-nominations xD — D e on555 ^talk_Review 22:17, 1 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Advice given on Admin Coaching page

I'll keep this brief as no doubt you'll get a ton of thank yous. I've taken on board what you've said and I've copied it to my user page. Thanks very much, Mallanox 22:52, 1 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Mac Davis

Well, I'd like to thank you for replying to me, and replying to everybody. I don't suppose you gave out all those thank you's manually did you? Yeah, I'm on Wikibreak and pretty much only edit my talk page and the Reference Desks for now. X [Mac Davis] (SUPERDESK|Help me improve) 05:43, 2 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I used a macro instead of keying in all the "you got mail" notices. I could have used a bot, but macros can be pretty quick, too. The Transhumanist 07:42, 3 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Randomized featured portals

Check this out. :-) Rfrisbie^talk 16:39, 2 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Admin coaching

Thanks for your suggestion on the admin coaching page. I'll try to be a bit more constructive/positive without supporting things I think would be bad for Wikipedia (whether it's an RFA, deletion or whatever). Cynical 20:54, 2 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Coach offer

I know you're jumping with replies, but I need to make you read this. I would like you to be an admin coach, I know you're not an admin, but you've more than proved your ability on the coach page. I've cleared all the archived requests, so the next coaches that enter will be taking coaches from the top of the list. What are you thoughts? (Please! :) H ig hway ^{Grammar Enforcer!} 20:59, 2 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

*hides in corner* This job is harder than it looks! I'll give you a student, and go back to my medication. H ig hway ^{Grammar Enforcer!} 21:08, 2 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I'll take ten, or however many you have left over. Please have them meet me at the Wikipedia:Admin school. Their first assignment will be to help me get things started there. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to help. If you need help with anything else, just let me know. The Transhumanist 23:00, 2 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

How about we start with two? ;) I need for people to reply to me, and I'll send the first to you. Cheers, H ig hway ^{Grammar Enforcer!} 23:03, 2 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I'll take as many as I can get, or as many as you need me to take. The Transhumanist 23:06, 2 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I have two replied, so I'll that up by tomorrowing afternoon latest. Now - sleep, H ig hway ^{Grammar Enforcer!} 00:10, 3 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Wow, you must be tired. I'm not sure that was English you just wrote.

. The Transhumanist 00:16, 3 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It is if you squint just right... ;) Daveydw ee b (^chat/_patch) 09:58, 3 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Admin coaching

Hi, Transhumanist! How very thoughtful of you :) I know, I know, I should get my WP:space edits up... but mainspace and RC patrol are just soooo tempting. I'll try my best :) Glen S said he would help me out with admin coaching a few weeks ago, but he's pretty busy, so I don't think that's going to work out. So thanks very much for your help :) I have to get to uni now, but I'll try to get back to you afterwards. riana_dzast a 22:26, 2 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Damn, there were a lot of :)s in that message. riana_dzast a 22:28, 2 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Re: Admin Coaching

Hey, sorry it took so long to get back to you on the matter of my speedy deletion worries. I've replied here since this seems more like a direct conversation with you, but I'm happy to take this elsewhere if you would prefer.

My main concern was that my previous RfA had failed because I'd erred in speedy tagging, but things have changed significantly since then - not just in my attitude toward deletion. I'm not longer specifically concerned with those articles anymore, since I was lucky enough to have the mistakes explained to me in some detail, and so the problem now concerns my current newpage patrolling activities.

Unfortunately, since I don't have the time to do any NPP until about the 8th of November, it doesn't strike me as particularly useful to discuss the issue at the admin coaching page. Instead, when it becomes an issue again, Admin School seems like a very useful resource that wasn't available previously, as well as my coaches when they're selected.

Thank you very much for your message, by the way, I was touched that you took an interest in the problem. :) Daveydw ee b (^chat/_patch) 09:55, 3 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

By the way, your "do not edit" thing is nicely subverted by the "add section" button at the top of the page. I'm aware that there are ways to deal with this, but I don't know precisely how it would be done. Sorry! Daveydw ee b (^chat/_patch) 09:57, 3 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Oh, sorry, I've always thought of it as the "add section" button. I don't know what the fix is precisely, but I suppose there must be one. If you like I could help with it when I have the time, or else Daniel.Bryant is a good person to ask... :) Daveydw ee b (^chat/_patch) 10:21, 3 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Footer problem

Sorry, that's a "design feature" of this type of layout. It happens to me too. I don't know of any way to "fix" it. Rfrisbie^talk 12:28, 3 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Or...if you really don't like moving the footer all the time, you can do something like at User talk:MiraLuka. Then, just remove the footer and the "problem" is solved. Rfrisbie^talk 13:39, 3 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I've moved it to the top, but used CSS tricks to make is show at the bottom. -- Rick Block (talk) 14:07, 3 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks! I'll let Rfrisbie know, so he can do the same. Again, thank you! The Transhumanist 14:11, 3 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Hmmm... What I see is a "thicker" footer band with no smileys to be found anywhere. I use IE6, which often seems to have different results than other browsers. Oh well. Rfrisbie^talk 15:39, 3 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Okay, now that I've saved my message, it showed up! Go figure. I've had my smiley's in the "footer bar" before, but I like it better in the body. I don't mind moving it because I don't get all that many messages. Congrats on the fix! Rfrisbie^talk 15:47, 3 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Well, I hired a thousand monkeys, and they seem to have stumbled across a way to move the footer code to the top of the page and keep the look I like! Thanks again.

Rfrisbie^talk 17:37, 3 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

test message

This is to see if the text here clashes at all with the footer below. ;alskjf;lsdaj safdlkjlfdj aslfkjlfsk aslkfjlksfj jdfkkdjk reuieriur klwj ,v,,vdnvn jfkjlfk eiouroeur qoiqweuoi oiweu oiqw oiwqewqui kljsdklj ncm,nzcxm,nzm, sajdlksdajl kjoiwe wqueo oiqweu oi qweoiu o uqweoiu oiuqwe oi oie lkj wqlkjkqwejlk qwjelkjklwq. ;alskjf;lsdaj safdlkjlfdj aslfkjlfsk aslkfjlksfj jdfkkdjk reuieriur klwj ,v,,vdnvn jfkjlfk eiouroeur qoiqweuoi oiweu oiqw wqueo oiqweu oi qweoiu o uqweoiu oiuqwe oi oie lkj wqlkjkqwejlk qwjelkjklwq. That should do it... --The Transhumanist 14:20, 3 November 2006 (UTC)

Re: Could use some help

Sure, I'll be glad to keep an eye on it. Were you hoping it to be a place where people can ask questions and get advice? -- Nataly a 16:45, 3 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, both. It's an "open coaching forum". That way, everyone gets the benefit of everyone else's coaching. And students can also shift their role to coaches for those questions they know the answers to. And thanks for your support. The Transhumanist 16:50, 3 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

If the links were removed in an effort to sway the voting, that would surely be inappropriate, but it seems that they were probably just removed in good faith, relating to the officialness of the program. As for what to do about it, you should bring up what your wrote at the end, about officiality not being an issue, at the discussion, and see what people think. -- Nataly a 05:04, 4 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for the feedback. The Transhumanist 05:06, 4 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Why did you add this link to the RfA page?

Was this an accidental edit on your part? It seems a negative way to advertise your services, particularly as they are up for MfD at the moment. (aeropagitica) 20:56, 3 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I just put the projects out there. It's up to the community to decide whether they want to keep them or not. My goal was to attract admins who would ideally have been answering the bulk of the questions there. So I placed links in all the relevant places, and I posted notices on all the relevant notice boards, etc. I'll just move on to another project, or go back to the one I was taking a break from. The Transhumanist 09:33, 4 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Admin coaching - November 3 - New recruits

Your students are Budgiekiller (talk · contribs) and AMK152 (talk · contribs). Once coaching becomes active, please more your notes to the Active section. H ig hway ^{Grammar Enforcer!} 21:12, 3 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Morning! I received notification that you are to become my admin coach. As suggested, I've created a page for our discussions here. Let me know when you're ready to kick things off! Cheers! Budgiekiller 09:01, 4 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Re: You've got mail

You said I got a message in Wikipedia:Esperanza/admin coaching. But I couldn't find my message. May I ask where it is? --¿¡Exir Kamalabadi!? 23:46, 3 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The thread got removed due to an administrative glitch. I've restored the thread. If it disappears again, see the project coordinator. The Transhumanist 07:32, 5 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

For your perusal

You may wish to read WP:CHILL. It may help you gain a little perspective - it has helped me more than once. KillerChihuahua^?!? 01:25, 4 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I think you are reading more into this than is actually there. I am quite calm. I merely presented strong arguments in a strong way. I do not believe I gave them any more weight than they deserve. I have not flown off the handle, nor have I engaged in any personal attacks or subversive behavior. Other users have the opportunity to scrutinize the arguments presented, point by point. And I hope they do so. Sincerely, The Transhumanist 01:33, 4 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

There were a lot of caps for a completely calm person. If you are indeed calm, please be aware that caps are shouting in text, and shouting generally denotes a less-than-completely calm person. KillerChihuahua^?!? 01:50, 4 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I thought that was just a way to emphasize the text. Thanks for pointing this out to me. I did not intend to "shout", and therefore that was a typo, which I will correct. Thank you for your observation. The Transhumanist 01:54, 4 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Not at all! Glad we got this puzzled out. KillerChihuahua^?!? 01:58, 4 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Very good advice. Thanks. The Transhumanist 02:07, 4 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

A little more advice, don't engage admins in edit wars. ;)

Also, every successful RfA i've read recently, has contained the wisdom of always walking away from conflict, even if it's for as little as just a few hours. Just a gentle reminder, if it's pertinent to whatever the situation is :) --Quiddity 07:03, 4 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Are you a guy, or a girl? The Transhumanist 08:41, 4 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

How is that relevant? :) --Quiddity 10:27, 4 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

How are SNOWBALLs relevant? The Transhumanist 10:53, 4 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I don't understand what you're trying to hint at. You don't have a snowball's chance in hell at ignoring conflict? --Quiddity 18:57, 4 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I wasn't hinting at anything, as my statement was on-topic. I was referring to what you were talking about: RfAs. The Transhumanist 20:45, 4 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I'll ask again, how is my gender relevant? --Quiddity 18:57, 4 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

You come up in conversation around here (in the real world) from time to time, though not as much lately as you used to. Have you tried talking about a gender-neutral entity? It is damn awkward. "He-or-she", "him-or-her", "his or her", "his or hers", "it and its", "that person, that person's". The English language just isn't set up for it. "Quiddity" gets repeated a lot, in place of "or" phrases, which is ironic, for we clearly do not know "the essence of the thing" known as "Quiddity". So I'm asking you, "What is the 'essence of the thing' known as 'Quiddity'?" The Transhumanist 20:45, 4 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I'm male. (I'd thought transhumanists might be advocating stepping beyond stereotypes of gender? (that's a rhetorical, teasing question. because you guessed wrong)). I'm guessing you are too, and possibly an early 20's university/college student. I get discussed?! Go'on then, what's your character dissection of me? And who is "we"? :P --Quiddity 21:53, 4 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I mentioned my gender in a thread you were in back during the Main Page redesign project (male). "Stepping beyond" would require adjusting language to accomodate the leap. And gender-neutral grammar is something the experts have not been able to agree on. The "we" are a circle of friends, usually in one-on-one conversations, using technology to stay in touch. In discussions about you, we haven't dissected your character, except for the occasional expletive

, it's been mostly about events and your involvement in them. You know, in answer to questions like "what have you been up to?" But like I mentioned, not much lately. So, you're in college, right? The Transhumanist 22:41, 4 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Was, 8 years ago. You? --Quiddity 22:54, 4 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Ah, a workin' man. Me in college? Nope. Glad that's over with. The Transhumanist 23:13, 4 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Re:You've got mail

Hi, I've read your message on the page. You reccomended that I start editing the Help pages...could you be more specific what you mean by that? Most of the Help pages seem fair game to me — at least, from what I read with the policies and guidelines, the sections I consider most important of all the Help pages. I could keep a watch of the pages and revert vandalism, but I'm not sure how major of a contribution I could make to the Help pages. (Nice userpage by the way.) —Mir l e n 04:07, 4 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I'm sorry that I wasn't more specific. You've got the "help menus", and then you have the "help pages" they lead to. Both can be improved upon. The help menus for instance are missing links. Wikipedia is constantly growing and the people who make new pages in the Wikipedia namespace don't always put links to those pages in all the appropriate places. So the help menus are in constant need of updating. Then there are the help pages themselves. Those too are in constant need of updating, because Wikipedia is in a constant state of change, and the help pages don't always reflect the current state of affairs on Wikipedia. Plus, just like articles, most help pages need help. And therein lies the opportunity: it is much more meaningful to read a page with the intent to edit than it is to merely read it. By getting in there and working on the content itself, you will become much more familiar with Wikipedia and its operations. The Transhumanist 04:50, 4 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Hey, coach!

Hi there! I've been notified that you're my admin coach! I've made a page here for any discussions we may have. Let me know when you're ready to get going! Cheers! Budgiekiller 11:00, 4 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Nice to meet you. I've been assigned 2 coachees, and so it would be best if we all met and worked together on the same page. I've set up a page at User:The Transhumanist/Admin coaching, please meet me there. The Transhumanist 11:43, 4 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Yearless Tip of the day

I like what you did to simplify rotating section entries on the Philosophy Portal. I’d like to do the same type of thing with the Tip of the day. If you’re amenable to that, I'll start creating the yearless year of tips. Rfrisbie^talk 00:47, 5 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for keeping me in the loop, I appreciate that. The yearless year sounds good to me. Go for it. Let me know if you need help. The Transhumanist 00:59, 5 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Okay, I'll try some things out to make sure they work then basically copy over 2006-7 dates and fill in the blanks. I'll put a test box on the tips page and we can make the changeover whenever it's ready. Rfrisbie^talk 03:17, 5 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Do you plan to create the yearless year by copying, or by moving 2006's pages? Keep in mind how any changes may affect the other templates, like the random template, and the tomorrow template, etc. The Transhumanist 06:39, 5 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not going to destroy any existing pages. I'll create new pages and copy content over to them. I'll also create test templates and such to make sure everything works before I edit any existing templates to use the yearless pages. Rfrisbie^talk 07:24, 5 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Sounds like a very smooth transition. If you need any help, just let me know. The Transhumanist 07:28, 5 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Okay, thanks. For sure, I'll let you know when I have it stable enough for some testing.

Rfrisbie^talk 13:15, 5 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Take a look at Wikipedia talk:Tip of the day/Yearless and please add your comments to the bottom of the page. Thanks. Rfrisbie^talk 23:17, 6 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Re:You have mail

No offence, thank you for your system, but that'st just the way Admin coaching works. I remove the requests after they've been used to cut down space and the person at the top of the list is next. I can move the comments you left for people on their talk pages, I'd prefer if you did that for all of them, but I will remove the applications after they've been used, due to the intesity of numbers. H ig hway ^{Ringo Starr!} 10:45, 5 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Admin School

Hey there... why not just move the stuff to a user subpage? You can build support from admins and start from there. You're just at the beginning of your project anyway, so you're not losing anything. I'd really like to see this resource grow, as I found it very useful. And I agree with you on the subject of an open forum where everyone learns from the discussion. Don't let them delete your hard work without you having a copy to work on elsewhere! --Wolf530 (talk) 16:06, 5 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for the encouragement. No worries. I'm also a coach in the Esperanza Admin coaching program. I've been assigned two students, and inorder to avoid having to post everything twice, I've set up a subpage modelled after the Admin school in which all three of us participate. The page is an open forum, and includes invites to any who happen to come across it to join in. I posted an open invitation on the Esperanza Admin coaching page, and also plan to send out invites to those who expressed interest in the project to join in. The main reason I'm doing this is to learn (I learn much faster when I teach - it provides momentum to explore - and I was hoping from the start to attract other experienced users to share their expertise), and I think this is the point most people opposing the project missed. They've labelled me as opinionated, misguided/misguiding, whatever, but I'll come out of this endeavor a lot more developed than I went into it, primarily because of everyone's input. That it so far has been mostly hostile input and negatively framed feedback simply means I was misunderstood. I wear a raincoat, so I never get wet.

Currently, on the subpage, we've just gotten started and we are comparing the resources and user interfaces we use, both external and Wikipedia-internal. You are invited to join in. The more the merrier, and the richer the archive of ideas shared will be. It can also serve as a centralized place to gather resources and try new things. Hope to see you there. The Transhumanist 17:02, 5 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Good stuff. Glad to see it will continue. As far as the discussion goes, I think any time there is an opposing viewpoint on here, you're going to see an argument break out. Unfortunately that's the nature of wiki discussions. --Wolf530 (talk) 17:12, 5 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

"Disclaimer" added

Based on some of the comments in the MfD I added a fairly clear and concise statement to the top of the page clarifying that the page is not policy nor pretends to be so. Hope it helps :) People? You mean, "Sheeple" 07:32, 6 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Grr - ^^ that ^^ is my alternate account that I use to test my non admin vandalism scripts (use Firefox and have that account in Opera). Like a doofus I edited with Mr Sheeple lol. The disclaimer was written by me mate :) Glen 07:34, 6 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

You on IRC at all? Im aware we havent really met but I think a quick chat may be helpful - wouldnt mind boucing some ideas on/off ya Glen 09:55, 6 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Your user page

Don't know what else to say but: dayum. Very nice. Is this all your work? =D Luna Santin 08:49, 6 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Are you referring to the page design, or the list of contributions on my user page? Actually it doesn't matter, because the answer is the same for both: no, it isn't all my work. Each project listed on my user page had other people involved, before, during, and after, or a variation on that theme. The user page design is a slight modification of Rfrisbie's user page, who in turn modified another user page, and so on. I changed the colors, dropped some menu options, changed the picture, and doubled the selection of the smiley footer. Fixing the footer to the bottom of the page uses a CSS trick generously provided by User:Rick Block. My previous account's user page, which I still use for navigation purposes was modified from Cyberjunkie's user page, who was inspired by a couple other pages, etc.

Various bits

Actually, I was the one who came up with the bottom-of-talk-page bit. [4] :) I stopped using it, because it's too verbose, it's ever so slightly buggy, and because tfoot is a stupendously better solution, if the devs would ever implement it. And tfoot isn't just a nicety... sometimes when people go on an extended wikibreak, there really needs to be a talk footer shown, so other people don't have to constantly remind passersby that the user isn't responding anymore. (eg. this happened on Radiant!'s page anyway)

Re: the internal/external thing... *shrug* I'm not sure what criteria you use to define external/internal... I guess my section is sort of internal-ish from an end-user perspective (eg. what actually happens, not how it's done), so you can move it to the internal section if you want. Don't really care. --Interiot 04:08, 7 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Very interesting. It figures you designed it.

. I'll keep a lookout for any footer misbehavior. Thanks for the heads up. As for external/internal, I thought there was a cut and dried difference between tools used outside and inside the mediawiki environment. You've certainly blurred that line, and have improved my awareness. Thanks. I'll add a see note so others know that you've covered both in one post. The Transhumanist 04:16, 7 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Interface

I've stuck something in, broadly covering what I use. Rich Farmbrough, 11:41 7 November 2006 (GMT).

Stuff

Macro eh? How do I get/make one of those for this kind of application? You sure impress me again with the virtual classroom. You're a leader! X [Mac Davis] (SUPERDESK|Help me improve) 17:47, 7 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

To make macros, you need a macro program. I use Macro Express. You can download it from most major download websites, and use it for 30 days free. I swear by it. It's pretty inexpensive.
Alternately, you could learn how to write java or perl scripts.

The Transhumanist 22:46, 7 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

(By the way, I use a macro for my sig, because it uses less code than the shortest sig that works in my preferences.) The Transhumanist 22:46, 7 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

re: Esperanza's admin coaching program

I only use JS popups and the regular interface. I have roboform to sign in quickly. sorry it's not that interesting. If I can be of any more help please tell me.

In case you were wondering, I finished programming the sidebar a long long time ago but Wikipedia's programmers are going to integrate it (perhaps after revising) into the MediaWiki code first then Wikipedia, so it will probably take even more time. Oh well. --gatoatigrado 11:14, 8 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

On another note, I have a proposal but I'm a bit busy right now. It would consist of a verification system for the edit histories, to make vandalism fighting easier. Perhaps this is already integrated into the vandal proof program - I don't use it so I don't know and I can't tell from its page. Anyway, it would be nice if known good faith editors would verify a particular version of the history of an article, so any unknown edits could be effectively compared. e.g.

# (cur) (last)  2006-11-08T03:10:31 AnonUser (Talk | contribs) m (re: Esperanza's coaching program) 
# (cur) (last)  2006-11-08T01:06:15 AnonUser (Talk | contribs) m (re: Esperanza's coaching program) 
# (cur) (last)  2006-11-07T23:57:00 AnonUser (Talk | contribs) m (re: Esperanza's coaching program) verified by The Transhumanist
# (cur) (last)  2006-11-07T23:50:40 AnonUser (Talk | contribs) m (re: Esperanza's coaching program) 
# (cur) (last)  2006-11-07T22:49:42 The Transhumanist (Talk | contribs) m (added {{fact}})
# (cur) (last) 2006-11-07T17:47:22 Mac Davis (Talk | contribs) (stuff)

someone checking the article could compare the last changes with the version verified by you, and you would be a "trusted user" either of the article, of Wikipedia entirely (made a large number of good faith contributions), or of whoever choses to display the "verified" text, I'm not sure. Anyway if you think this would flop and not be worth the programming effort, I won't be offended - please be honest. --gatoatigrado 11:14, 8 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It might be useful for small wikis to display the last good edit, while allowing the wiki to be unlocked and later, possibly vandalized versions accessible with a navigation link. --gatoatigrado 11:18, 8 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

What exactly does it verify? And what does it look for? That is, what exactly does it do, step by step please, so that even a simpleton like me can understand.

The Transhumanist 07:18, 9 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

admin coaching stuff

Hi Transhumanist. I'm rather confused by all this. Perhaps this MfD is a symptom of larger controversy involving what people consider an over-emphasis on getting admin tools. Le sigh. Sorry if I caused you any grief. --Fang Aili ^talk 23:59, 8 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

As far as I can make out, it happened like this: I saw the backlog and long line at Admin coaching. So I jumped in and answered everyones' questions right there on the page. I received many thankyous and even a barnstar. So I created a forum called "Admin school" to accomodate that type of discussion better. I copied the discussions from the Admin coaching page to the school and then placed links to it in every relevant place, including the Administrator's Notice Board, in order to attract admins to teach there. That channelled a flood of opposition to the page, some of whom objected because I was the main poster on the page. I was accused of ownership. I wasn't expecting these reactions, as they made no sense. One MfD and 5 days later, the page was gone. While the deletion discussion was still going on, I received two coaching assignments from the Admin coaching program. So I created a page in which all three of us could communicate. Meanwhile I got a message from someone wondering where my response to their post on the Admin coaching page was. It turned out that the coordinator there was erasing everyone's entry as he assigned coaches to them. Seeing that the admin coaching program wasn't a good location for a forum because of this, I thought it would be a good idea to make my coaching page available to everyone, and so I took all the suggestions and objections from the MfD, and designed the page to conform to the consensus that had been reached there. I also proposed that the admin coaching program's name be changed, because in the MfD several people stated that they didn't like the admin coaching concept at all, and I halfway expected them to go after that page next. I was trying to remove objections to the page to prevent such objections being made formally in another MfD. By doing so, I pissed somebody else off, and they viewed the proprosal and the virtual classroom as a coordinated effort to get rid of (or "supplant") the Admin coaching program, and nominiated my subpage for deletion. The problem is that the current body of admins can't keep up with the present workload. We shouldn't be slowing them down and discouraging them, we should help them to prepare for adminship as fast as we can! But there are those in the community who definitely do not want this to happen. So I've shifted from promoting that to promoting discussion about advanced editing skills in general, as it leads to the same thing: better admins. --The Transhumanist 06:41, 9 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Meanwhile, the larger controversy rages on. See Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/Standards/A-D --The Transhumanist 07:11, 9 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Survey Q

Have you ever been to the southern hemisphere? respond here Deadline is December 15th. AstroBoy 02:08, 11 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Virtual classroom...

Yes, I read it. Unfortunately I can't get middle-click to work for me at the moment, it's right click <T> for me. Rich Farmbrough, 10:23 11 November 2006 (GMT).

Admin coaching

I think it's admirable that you want to increase exposure for the admin program. However I think it's best that we keep it mostly internalized to Esperanza. Esperanza itself is fairly controversial, and the whole concept of an admin coaching program is also controversial to a certain degree. The coaching program already gets a certain amount of exposure when it gets mentioned on RfAs. So.. that's my 2 cents. --Fang Aili ^talk 17:53, 11 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Portal:Philosophy?

What the...? Any explanation as to what you did to Portal:Philosophy/Featured article, and why you didn't even finish? There was no need to change the links around, so why did you? Nishkid 64 16:13, 12 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

2006's archive is fully intact, and is now displayed on the page. What you had been looking at was 2007's schedule. Sorry for the confusion, and thanks for reminding me to redisplay 2006's entries.

Sincerely, The Transhumanist 20:39, 12 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Okay, thanks for clearing that up. Nishkid 64 03:34, 13 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Template prods

Just fyi, as creator, I'm {{prod}}ding these templates which are no longer in use. Template:Philosophy see also lists, Template:Philosophy see also, Template:Philo see also columns lists 1st, Template:Philo see also columns, Template:Phil see also list collumns, Template:Phil see also list combo, Template:Top list toc with ref, and Template:Top list toc without ref. (Ignorable, unless you disagree) -Quiddity 21:37, 12 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Those are redundant with the philosophy navigational template. Deleting them is fine by me. Thanks for letting me know. The Transhumanist 22:12, 12 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

MfD Result Notice

Hi,

I have closed the MfD on your "Virtual Classroom" userpage as a "keep." Best wishes, Xoloz 18:44, 13 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Firefox extension

I've got a workable extension here. If you just want to try it out, you just point it at my server-side files (here). It should be well-behaved, or at the very least be easily uninstallable. --Interiot 08:48, 14 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Hey

Man you are tireless. I'm impressed with your Userpage design. Most my time these days is spent working abouts WP:DALLAS.. I have quite the systematic bias ;). You do a whole lotta cool crap. Is that 16,000 edit count just with your new account or everything combined? Cause if its just this most recent account (what you have like twenty?) then that's ridiculous. Whew! I thought I was somewhere and I'm just now slipping past 7,000. (oo! just checked! 7778. I'm beginning to feel like a wikignome though ;) a lot of its in the talk and wiki name space)

Anyway, I hope I added my external interface correctly? I originally mentioned using popups but I pulled it when I noticed that it would probably be more fitting down in the internal interface thing. And.. I don't know if my internal interface (monobook, popups) is even interesting enough to mention.

So what else have you been up to? you're very friendly, did you know? cheers! drumguy8800 C T 12:32, 14 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

My edit count tallies everything. Might have missed a few minor ex-accounts. I don't use other accounts for much anymore, though I have just set one up to keep my AWB edits seperate. By the way, I spotted you on Wikipedia:List of Wikipedians by number of edits. What else have I been up to? You mean on Wikipedia? Well, I just created a tools subpage for my user page. I'm on a break from working on the pages listed on Template:Contents pages (header bar). And I just went through 2 MfDs - lost one, survived one. All the major projects I've completed are listed on my user page. How about you? Would you be interested in contributing to a Bot section in the Virtual classroom? I don't have a clue how to configure up a bot. The Transhumanist 12:53, 14 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Virtual classroom UB

Hey, I noticed you added a link to your virtual classroom userbox in my list of userboxes, at User:Dvandersluis/Userboxes/WikiProjects. Unfortunately, this list is actually just for my own userbox creations; perhaps a better place to put it would be Wikipedia:Userboxes/WikiProjects or a new page in your userspace. If you create a page in your own userspace, then you should add it to the Userbox archives by topic in userspace nav box. Thanks! –Dvandersluis 13:54, 14 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry about that. Your page was listed somewhere as the place for Wikiproject UBs. If I come across it again, I'll let you know. The Transhumanist 03:19, 15 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks! :) –Dvandersluis 13:19, 15 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Virtual classroom

It looks and sounds like a great idea. Unfortunately my time is a little stretched at the moment, but I will see what I can come up with for it when I have some more free time (next week, with any luck). Perhaps a crash course on stubs - why we have them, why they're marked, etc, since that's what I spend much of my time on. BTW, I really like the look of this talk page... how did you get everyhting to appear in cursive? Grutness...wha? 02:03, 15 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

A course on stubs would be cool. The code for setting the font to "Trebuchet" is in my page header which is transcluded at the top of each of my user pages (like a template). The Transhumanist 03:19, 15 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I got enthused :) I've written something but it's pretty long, so I put it on a subpage of my user page (at User:Grutness/Stubbing how-to. If you want to use it, feel free to transfer it across to the virtual classroom. If not, I'll find some way of tying it in to WP:STUB, since it explains the whys and wherefores of stub sorting a bit more that that page does. Grutness...wha? 11:12, 16 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Very cool. I've transferred it over as a subpage of the VC, and have transcluded it to the classroom itself as well, as a focus of discussion. Once we've discussed it a bit (we might improve it, who knows), you should by all means integrate it into Wikipedia's stubbing project pages. The Transhumanist 11:30, 16 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks very much for the barnstar! :) Grutness...wha? 21:49, 16 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Umar

Thank you for your help and comments. No, i have no copy, since i was not aware that the article was in risk. As you yourself pointed out, the article can very easily be turned into a strong and obvious keep. peace.

Trigonometric Delights

Can you elaborate on the resons for this edit [[5]]. I don't claim to having read the book in its enterity but I think it's the best one (that I've found) so far in teaching about trigonometry from a historical perspective. If you thought it was spam because of the way it was referenced feel free to change it to wathever you feel is right... I was trying to give credit where credit is due. Thanks

Your new lists

I know we've had some interaction before. I know you're an editor in good faith, but it is my view that articles should be created with information in them. Happy expanding! -- Casmith 789 16:06, 17 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I'm going to be filling them as fast as I can. In the meantime, others can join in and add what they know. I only have a few more skeletons left. Thanks for the comment. The Transhumanist 16:13, 17 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Virtual Classroom

I've had a look at it, and the Virtual Classroom looks great! Just a few more sections and it will be more useful to some people than help(!) Good luck with your projects -- you really are doing a lot, aren't you? -- Casmith 789 16:52, 17 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Great stuff!

I just read this. I really liked the way you put that: "You've locked-on to "passing RfA" as a goal, and that's the wrong approach. Wikipedia needs admins who are experienced and trustworthy editors. Gaining the trust of the community takes time: time for other Wikipedians to become familar with you. Experience also takes time: time for you to become familiar with Wikipedia." - particularly the contrast with this edit, where you talk about adminship as a goal. I'm impressed at the change in attitude. Sure, adminship will still be a goal, but it has to be for the right reasons. Carcharoth 01:40, 18 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I agree... The more I study what admins do, the less I envy them. They're Wikipedia's last line of defense against utter chaos. The amount of crap they deal with on a daily basis is staggering. The tools can't be handed over to just anybody. Candidates must be ready for the responsibility. We need to be reasonably sure that they will reduce chaos rather than increase it. Therefore, adminship should not be granted lightly. While competence in administering Wikipedia's procedures is valuable, it's understanding and acceptance of Wikipedia's policies and guiding principles which are of foremost importance, as they provide the kind of competence we are looking for. Simply reading them isn't enough. Once they've become part of a person, only then is he ready for the responsibilities of adminship. Training might help, but it's a Wikipedian's contributions over time which tell if he is ready or not. Therefore training can't be taken lightly either. Simply being trained in Wikipedia's procedures isn't enough. Most of what we are looking for has to come from the candidate himself. Realizing this, it's no wonder that many hold admin training in dubious regard. It's not skills, but how one applies them which counts. The Transhumanist 20:37, 18 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Merger templates

1. The format has been discussed at great length, and consensus dictates that it be kept at one line at compatible resolutions/text sizes.
2. People frequently tag articles that are obvious merger candidates without explicitly stating the reason, and this is entirely appropriate. Other users certainly can choose to remove unexplained merger tags if they disagree with the suggestion, but your blanket advice to do so automatically is invalid. —David Levy 03:05, 19 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

User pages

Sure! Sorry about the unformattedness...

HighwayCello - 150/200
Buchanan-Hermit - 181.5/200
Misza13 - 167
Celestianpower - 155.5
Froggydarb - 167
Nichalp -- 104/200
Samuel Blanning -- 116/200
Master of Puppets -- 113/200
Kylu -- 133/200
Ian13 -- 104/200
Shreshth91 - 125.5
Fir0002 - 153
Fang Aili - 149.5
Run! - 138
FireFox - 144
Shreshth91 - 150
HighwayCello - 139
Lbmixpro - 164
Buchanan-Hermit - 163
Smurrayinchester - 155
Alkivar 151/200
Sango123 143/200
Haza-w 137/200
ElAmericano 160/200
Jimbo Wales 139/200
Phaedriel – 143
Catapult – 120
Nightstallion – 118.5
Wiki alf – 112
ViolinGirl – 111
User:Mailer diablo – 160/200
User:Journalist – 150.5/200
User:Wiki alf – 147/200
User:Celestianpower – 129/200
User:JoanneB – 127/200
User:Essjay – 171.5 out of 200 points
User:ElAmericano – 164.5
User:ViolinGirl – 160
User:Sango123 – 143
User:Sceptre – 137.5
Halibutt: 30.6
Riana_dzasta: 29.8
Redvers: 31.4
MacGyverMagic: 32.8
Primate: 27.8
--Shreshth91 - 168
--Digitalme - 172
--Aeon1006 - 182
--RandyWang - 170
--Miza13 - 187

Hope that helps! —Cel es tianpower ^háblame 23:06, 19 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

These are all the finalists of the UPA. —Cel es tianpower ^háblame 22:26, 23 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

DDC

Hi there Trans! I think this covers it. The deletion of the project to Dewey-ize WP is appropriate (alas), but I think using the larger tables for demonstration purposes is legit. Just IMHO. Cheers, Her Pegship 19:36, 20 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Wrong experience

I question I would be much help. All my recent (past 15 years) experience has been with client side applications. I know very little about web programming and little to nothing about COM, OLE, ActiveX, and more. My .NET experience is strictly non-professional and limited to client-side apps. Will (Talk - contribs) 08:26, 22 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

My User page

Thanks a lot for changing the colors of the userbox tables for me! They really stand out in the orange! Although next time, please discuss with me first, I almost mistook you for a vandal when I saw you on my watch list. Thank you again! ¡Adios! K yo cat^meow! 04:18, 23 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Err, disregard up there. I'm pretty slow to understand things. Heh heh...--K yo cat^meow! 05:16, 23 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

No prob. Hope you like it. The Transhumanist 19:57, 23 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Left some suggestions for more work on my talk page. Whenever you can, please. And look below for a Thanksgiving surprise!K yo cat^meow! 23:28, 23 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Consensus on Main Page links

I forgot all about this thread. I concur with the proposal to remove the searching link and add the contents link.

Talk:Main Page/Archive 82#Proposal: add one or more of these links to the main page

I guess all that's left is for the change to be made. Will you do that please? The Transhumanist 03:45, 23 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Done. :-) —David Levy 04:32, 23 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Happy Thanksgiving!

User:Kyo cat/Thanksgiving template Did you like this? leave any comments at my talk page! It's the meow on my signature! K yo cat^meow! 23:28, 23 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Award

		The Random Acts of Kindness Barnstar
		Your kindess was not random, because you were kind enough to listen to my requests to fix my userpage. Your major kindness will not be ignored, as this BarnStar is my token of appreciation! File:SoleteRayosÑajo.gif K yo cat^meow! 01:59, 24 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for teaching me how to use smilies! I'll be using these more often! K yo cat^meow! 01:59, 24 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you so much! My userpage is beautiful! Thank you for listening to my requests, I'm very happy!Again, thank you so much! K yo cat^{¿Qué tal?♥meow!} 23:51, 27 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

E@L

I found this [6] while fishing through her talk page edit history. There was nothing to worry about.--Ed ^{¿Cómo estás?} 04:00, 26 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Anytime such an item is on someone's task list warrants concern. But I believe she'll pull through. I have faith in her. The Transhumanist 04:11, 26 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Lessons and stub sorting

Hi! I've just come back from a sunny fortnight in South Africa to find your next lesson, that of stub sorting. I replied on my talk page but just wanted to confirm with you that I've restubbed several hundred pages, it was one of my favourite things before vandal hunting! I even got a barnstar for my efforts. Is there a sneaky peak at lesson three available?! Cheers! Budgiekiller 16:23, 26 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

You know all about stub sorting, cool. The next lesson is almost ready, which should give you enough time to proofread/edit Grutness' guide to stubbing.

Be sure to add any expertise you have on it as well. The Transhumanist 22:27, 26 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

!!!

<O.o --The Prophet Wizard of the Cray on Cake 01:45, 27 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

You're welcome. The Transhumanist 01:55, 27 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

?!?!

What happened to smilies 0, 26, 30, 32, 33, and 35? B e a rly 541 05:09, 27 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

LOL, nevermind. Bad computer! B e a rly 541 05:09, 27 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Admin coaching

Hey there, would you happen to know if the admin coaching program is still active? Thanks! --Brad Beattie (talk) 08:01, 30 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, it is. However, the waiting list is long, and the waiting time is measured in months. Are you looking to be a coachee or a coach? You may find the Virtual classroom of interest. Hope to see you there. The Transhumanist 08:25, 30 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Question 5 on your RfA

I'm not making any decision tonight, but thought I'd let you know that your answer to my question didn't answer "why so many user names", which is relevant to my evaluation. Just giving you an opportunity to expand on your answer first. —Doug Bell ^talk 09:16, 30 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks. I'll take a look. The Transhumanist 09:18, 30 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Request for Adminship

It is my regretful task to inform you that I have closed your request for adminship early as unlikely to achieve consensus. Please do not be discouraged; a number of users have had their first RfA end without consensus, but have been promoted overwhelmingly in a later request. Please continue to make outstanding contributions to Wikipedia, and consider requesting adminship again in the future. You may find Wikipedia:Guide to requests for adminship helpful in deciding when to consider running again. If I can be of any help to you, please do not hesitate to ask. Essjay (Talk) 01:38, 1 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I never got to answer your question, so sorry! Yes, Wikipedia should be a way to improve but for adminship you need to know what you want the tools for. -- Casmith 789 08:29, 1 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

10 chars shorter

Hi, saw the earier message about your sig, here is a way to reduce it 10 chars :-) ▪◦▪≡Ѕirex98≡ 11:29, 1 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

203 Chars(with spaces), Origanal

The Transhumanist

193 Chars(with spaces),≅ same as original, by changing color depth from 16.7M colors to 4,096.

The Transhumanist

Or;

~~The Transhumanist~~

The Transhumanist <--- works in IE perfectly :)

~~168?~~ Okay, 175? Still a good 30 characters shorter? Glen 12:24, 1 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

rats, just checked it on IE6 doesn't display right reduced, works on firefox, sorry ▪◦▪≡Ѕirex98≡ 13:12, 1 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Category vs List

Your defense of lists and categories was very eloquent. --Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ) 05:33, 6 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Battle lists under assault

There's a whole slew of AfDs going on right now over military history lists:

I've merged list of military routs into rout, because the former was just a collection of 4 examples which integrates into the subject matter of the latter perfectly. The Transhumanist 02:20, 8 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Philanthropist

I've added the "{{prod}}" template to the article Philanthropist, suggesting that it be deleted according to the proposed deletion process. All contributions are appreciated, but I don't believe it satisfies Wikipedia's criteria for inclusion, and I've explained why in the deletion notice (see also "What Wikipedia is not" and Wikipedia's deletion policy). Please either work to improve the article if the topic is worthy of inclusion in Wikipedia, or, if you disagree with the notice, discuss the issues at Talk:Philanthropist. You may remove the deletion notice, and the article will not be deleted, but note that it may still be sent to Articles for Deletion, where it may be deleted if consensus to delete is reached, or if it matches any of the speedy deletion criteria. — Sebastian (talk) 03:59, 8 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Concerns regarding deletion, and your virtual classroom as a tool.

I'm preparing to go on a 48 hour wikibreak, so you have some time to consider what I'm about to say.

As a deletionist, I hold the deletion of things that are not encyclopedic (factual, verifiable, limited in scope) as improving the encyclopedia. At the same time, a proper deletionist should also hold the opinion that deletion should be employed with the care of a surgeon's knife in open heart surgery. Without the knife, the patient will die. But overuse is just as lethal.

I have been distressed with several mass AfD / CfD / MfD decisions recently. I know we clashed over at Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/Wikipedia:Esperanza, but I think you will agree that EA is now a stronger organization for the process, and that any other attempt to clear out the unproductive elements would have been doomed to failure. However, some things such as the spate of deletions on military history, the huge AfD on Gundam articles, the enormous blasts being conducted at lists, and the continuing histronics over schools worries me. Many of these deletions are done in haste, without any research of the topic at hand, or any attempt to find sourcing or look at the viability of stubbing.

I worry for two reasons. One is that while deletionism should be embraced, it should be embraced properly. You are, I believe, an incrementalist, who holds that nothing can remain static, and I agree. I think people are using deletionism -- increasingly -- as a sword, or, more horrifically, as an expired way of looking at handling disputes. This is not right.

I worry for another reason -- that it will backlash, that deletion criteria will be weakened, and Wikipedia's credibility will suffer. I have no problem with the most crufty articles, since cruft is not and never WILL be a deletion criteria -- as long as it's properly sourced, and factual, and verifiable. If you can properly source and verify and make encyclopedic an article, it should be immune from deletion.

Your virtual classroom is a good effort. I think there needs to be a discussion on deletion there. I think it should be done sooner rather than later, and by someone who understands how the people who most often participates in XfD's think. A lot of my thinking is seen as extreme, but looking over my votes reveals I've only nominated a very few articles for deletion, and that while I vote heavily, my vote is not always delete. I would like to write such an article for the Virtual Classroom, but it's your project. (Yes, I know we don't own anything, but still). However, I would like to hear what you think about such an idea. The idea would be to present a correct outline of WHY articles are deleted, to cover the resources at Articles for Creation to make articles that won't be speedied, to show the proper use of the Speed Deletion tags, the prod tag, and what should and should NOT EVER be nominated to XfD, and how to compile a !vote at XfD, and the difference between that and DRV. Maybe a section to admins on how mass AfD's are probably difficult to properly judge how to close.

I'll be back Monday. If you think this idea is laughable, just let me know and I'll drop it. --Elar a girl^Talk|Count 03:40, 9 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Please, feel welcome to write about anything you believe will help Wikipedians become better editors. On a related note, the only reason the Virtual Classroom is in the user namespace is to protect it from deletion!

As announced at the top of the page, it is an open forum in which anything goes. All participants are welcome. I look forward to reading your article on deletion and deletionism, and I've found the points you've made so far very articulate and stimulating. It will make for a very interesting discussion. The Transhumanist 05:35, 9 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]