Coming July 15th to the Awards Center: The Around the World Competition. Three types of awards will be presented, including a World Champion Trophy! Hone your advanced tools skills, 'cuz you'll need them! If you'd like to be kept up to date on this and other happenings at the AWC, sign up to receive the AWC Newsletter here.
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Getting close. It needs to be under the bar, and it needs to be adjusted in shape (perspective) so that it looks like it is laying on the surface the globe stand is resting on. The Transhumanist18:10, 19 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I was going to lay the passport down but if I change the perspective any more, you will not be able to distinguish the letters and the golden wikiglobe on the passport. Would you be okay with this? -- penubag (talk) 02:56, 21 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Would you mind numbering your questions in the future? I was addressing one in one of my !votes (the question certainly helped me evaluate the candidate) but it was hard to address the exact question, due to no numbering. Thanks. Gwynand | Talk•Contribs03:18, 21 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I have a few questions about Lists of basic topics. How are they different from lists of topics? How exactly do you use Linky + AWB to help you create, edit them? I know what they are, but how exactly do they help with these lists? Thanks! Voyaging(talk)11:56, 23 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
They differ in scope (mostly in potential scope). "Basic" in the title is intended to keep them from becoming comprehensive and unabridged. In addition to this, lists of "topics" are less well defined in format - some are topically arranged, while others are alphabetical. (Basic topics lists have a common format). I've been renaming the alphabetical topics lists to lists of "articles" as I come across them (following the precedent set by the Mathematics WikiProject folks).
Linky allows you to open many different pages in tabs (subwindows of a Firefox window). While AWB is a page autoloader, Linky is a page preloader (it loads all the pages you want to work on from the start). You just highlight the links you want to load the pages of, and right-click (and then choose Linky from the drop down menu) - this allows you to select pages for editing on the fly. It can handle 99 pages at a time. Once they are loaded, switching between pages is rapid (almost instantaneous - press Ctrl-tab). Closing tabs is also rapid (just press Ctrl-W, and the page disappears, instantly going to the next page). Linky and tabs are very useful for (fast) visual inspection of pages, and for when you want to change the same thing in each page, or edit a particular batch of pages, or when you are looking for pages that need editing. Linky + tabs works better than AWB when you need to do interactive editing on the pages (edit, preview what you've done, edit some more), and for when you need to switch back and forth between pages or windows a lot.
AWB is an autoloader, which automatically closes a page when you save it and loads the next page in the list. It has extensive search/replace and page skipping filter features. It searches through a list of pages looking for changes you want to make, and skips those that don't need the changes. AWB is awkward for viewing pages - it's fastest when you don't need to see the results, that is, when you can rely on looking at just the source text. It is most powerful for searching and replacing.
For many tasks, AWB and Linky are interchangeable. But Linky is faster for selecting links from parts of pages, while AWB processes an entire page to make a link list (list of pages to process). So on-the-fly editing of groups is faster to load with Linky - in AWB, you have to cut and paste those links to another page, then specify that page for AWB to scan with its make list feature. AWB is more useful for large groups of pages - numbering in the hundreds or thousands (you can only load 99 at a time with Linky). Both AWB and Linky are useful for creating pages from redlinks.
Currently, I'm focused on the lists of basic country topics, so I'll explain how I used/use the programs on them. I used AWB to create the 200+ basic country topics lists, from a page of redlinks where each redlink was the name of a country list I wanted to create - now they're all listed on the basic topics WikiProject page, and at the WP:AWC. As AWB opened each page, I inserted a template for substitution ("{{subst:template name}}) and then saved. The template was designed to provide a starting point for all the lists, including all the standard topics I could find. I used it because it could be programmed to automatically insert the country name into each page name (link) displayed on each list - a great many pages for countries follow standard naming formats - like "Politics of country name", "Culture of country name", etc. The country name was also automatically inserted in headings and in the lead. There is no sense in constructing each list from scratch by hand - a lot of it would be repetitive.
Unfortunately, not all page names are standardized, and therefor not all link names can be standardized. Countries differ in their forms of government, and so "Parliament of country name" does not apply to all countries (some countries have Congresses instead, or Assemblies, etc). Those have to be changed manually. Also, not all the info included are page names. Some of the items need to be filled in with information pertaining to each country (like location, form of government, head of state, etc. Therefore, once created, each list needs to be customized. Also, when an improvement is thought of for the standard design, that improvement has to be made on all the lists. AWB and Linky+Tabs to the rescue...
Sometimes a heading needs to be changed. I use AWB to change it in all the lists. But to add the location information to the location entry in each country list, I use Linky (because just including a standard location for each country, like "Earth", wouldn't be very useful). :) I also use Linky when I want to work on the same section in each list. For example, the regions section, or the government section. The regions types differ from country to country, as does the structure of their governments, so Linky is much more useful for these sections because there's a lot of interactive editing (switching windows to copy/paste info, checking other articles for info, etc. So when working on locations, I whip out the location for one country, and when I'm done I delete the tab (CTRL-W) and instantly the next country list is displayed for me to process its location.
Sometimes I come across a standard item that needs to be added to all the lists. For example Energy policy of country name. That's not a search/replace operation, so instead of using AWB, I use Linky for this. Once the pages are all in tabs, I edit each one, pasting the new line in, like this:
Another use for Linky is in bluelinking. For many items, the countries don't use a standard name, even when they could/should - editors use different page names for the same topic, unless a standard emerges and becomes obvious (but sometimes editors don't check first and just use whatever page title comes to mind). For those, I use a standard name, but it of course comes up redlinked in many country lists. So I load up a bunch of countries in Linky, and then click on the redlink, which creates a new page. In another window, I track down the name of the page containing the relevant information, and then insert a redirect into the new page leading to that information. This causes the link on the country list to turn blue. I backtrack to check the bluelink to see if the redirect works as expected, and if it does, I then {Ctrl-W) and work on the same redlink in the next list, etc. (Creating redirects is better than typing in the various page names, because a set of standard redirects comes in very handy for future uses. Another approach is to standardize the page names themselves by moving them, but whether that is the best approach must be determined on a topic-by-topic basis, and I generally reserve judgment until I'm sure what the standard name should be. There's a lot of trial and error involved, and changing links is a lot faster than renaming pages, so it's better to wait than have to rename a set of pages several times as you come up with a better standard name).
I hope the above explanation helps.
By the way, the set of country lists (the set of drafts) isn't ready for others to whip through them with these tools yet - the template which they were created with is under further development, and the lists need to be refreshed with the final template before they start getting customized (otherwise refreshing them will wipe out all customization). Those that have already been moved to article space (to Lists of basic topics) are fine to work on, because refreshing those is not an option (they've already been heavily customized). I use linky a lot on those. The standard format emerging from those will be used on all the rest of the countries.
Don't worry about the drafts of the basic non-country lists. Those are ready and waiting for you to work on to your heart's content.
Thanks so much for the quick and extremely thorough response! It explained everything perfectly, I really appreciate the time you took to answer my question! Voyaging(talk)16:57, 24 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Bah! I can't believe I forgot again.... it is now sent out monthly (switched from fortnightly). I'll send it out by the end of the day. This is the page for the newsletter, with links to who it goes out to. I use Newsletter bot by Milk's Favorite Cookie to distribute the newsletter. I just take the template (or just take a previous issue), edit it, save it as a new edition in the archive, and submit it to Newsletter bot. --SharkfaceT/C21:36, 23 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
If you are familiar with or like using photoshop or the GIMP, your help is needed to create some special awards for an important upcoming AWC project. Please contact The Transhumanist
You click on "my preferences" at the top of the page. In the middle of the screen that comes up, you'll see "Signature:" with an input box next to it and a check box under that. Checkmark the check box, and add your signature code to the input box. Then the sig code will be replaced by your custom signature.
I hope that was understandable. Good luck with your signature, and have fun!
Sorry about the newsletter change; I should have sent you a quick memo.If you want the newsletter to be released fortnightly, why don't you release the newsletter? Either you can do it on the off weeks while I do it on the monthly, or you could just do the whole thing. Fortnightly delivery is fine, as long as somebody is available to do it. My real life duties, unfortunately, prevent me from being able to devote the time needed for a fortnightly release. In fact, I think it would be great if you did the next issue (2 weeks from now, assuming we switch back to the fortnightly system), as it would be great for announcing your project.
Good job with WP:CBB. Assuming I find the time (which I most likely won't), I'll advertise for the newsletter.
Again, apologies for the (temporary) change in format. My current life is busy and, sadly, I haven't been able to devote enough time to the project.
Are the above lists complete? They should each provide general coverage to their subject and include links to articles essential for acquiring a basic understanding of the subject.
I think comics deserves a spot. Just a short article on a few sentences describing the main features that constitute the medium. 惑乱 分からん15:17, 5 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Yeah: TV, Radio, film, music, and radio: all art forms. However, shoddier art can become so heavily commercialized that it becomes as much a business venture as anything else. Vranak23:26, 5 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Well ... It sounds like someone would have to weigh the evidence and make their own judgement call on that ... perhaps even providing some clear and cogent rationale to back it up -- maybe in some reasonable form like an essay or paper? Pastordavid02:33, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Note that we don't do homework here, and that this a call for opinions, not a reference question. Here's a hint to get you going on this for yourself: think of three important things that happened in the US during the 20th century. Do anybody's names come to mind when thinking of those things? --TotoBaggins03:20, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Here's another hint: Person of the Year. Here's another hint: greatness (depending on how you define it) does not always coincide with recognition ... since (apparently) small actions can have far-reaching consequences; such as the action of giving free homework answers anonymously over the internet to people who later go on to become world leaders because of their shrewd and wholly-subsidized opportunism. dr.ef.tymac03:46, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Here are three hints: think about the greatest discoveries in science (such as in nuclear physics), in engineering (such as in manufacturing and aeronautics), and in electronic technology (such as in telecommunications). Human rights would be another good place to start. Okay, that's 4 hints. I lied. :-) The Transhumanist05:11, 22 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Hi. What celestal objects (eg. planets, deep-sky objects, comets, etc) can I see with a 114 mm reflector, and when? I'm not asking you to list all of them, just some good objects to look at during different times of year. The thing it, I can calculate limiting magnitude, and I can calculate surface brightness, but I can't calculate if the two correspond in a way so I can see the object well, or what bagnification I should use. Ok, I will list the magnifications and approximate FOVs here, FOVs in arcmins:
36x, 100
60x, 50
72x, 50
90x, 30
120x, 25
144x, 25
180x, 15
240x, 12
360x, 7
So, which objects should I look for, and at which magnifications? Yes, i know that aperture is more important, but I already set the aperture by buying the telescope, although it can be closed down to 57 mm if required, and I doubt that would be nessecary. Thanks. ~AH1(TCU)01:00, 20 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Hi. Is it important to avoid scratching or touching the lenses/eyepieces' coating? Is the coating so important that the eyepiece/lens would be effectively useless/very poor quality without it? How does lens paper work, how does it prevent you from touching the lenses while using it to clean them, and about how much do they usually cost? Would washing or wiping lenses with a household tissue damage the coating? In an average eyepiece, approximately what percentage of its value belongs to the plastic components, the rubber components, the glass of the lens, the optical coating, and the metal components? Is the coating's job to allow more light to pass through, to supress false colour, to allow clearer images, etc? When an eyepiece says it has three-, four-, five-, etc element design, does that refer to the glass or the coatings? Are eyepieces perfectly symmetrical in terms of the shape of the glass parts, in all lines of potential symmetry, viewed from above, or do the optical element design cause it to be slightly not symmetrical? Oh, and as an aside, when my telescope is polar-alighned, on my telescope's RA slow-motion controls, when I rotate the knob clockwise, the RA number that it is pointed to goes down, and when I turn it counter-clockwise, the RA number goes up. Which way do I turn it to follow the Earth's rotation? Also, both on the left and right of the 90 mark for decilnation, the numbers go down from 90, go down to 0 on both sides, then go back up to 90 on the other side. I think one of the 90s is north pole, and the other one is south pole. I think i know which one it is, but when I point to an object with a specific declination, in which direction should I turn so that the declination lines up, or should I experiment with both and use the one that makes sense? Thanks. ~AH1(TCU)01:19, 20 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
It would depend on the state; each state has separate rules for qualification for ballot access. As stated above, he could also run as a write-in, but even write-ins have to register as candidates by one date or another. Of course, you also have the question as to when is the last feasible date at which he could enter. I think that date has past, considering that Super Duper Tuesday is next week. Al Gore is solidly in the Democratic camp and wouldn't run against Hillary Clinton or Barak Obama. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 03:24, 30 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
/* Don't display some stuff on the
user page */
body.page-Main_Page #lastmod,
body.page-Main_Page #siteSub,
body.page-Main_Page #contentSub,
body.page-Main_Page h1.firstHeading {
display: none !important;
}
What is the syntax for specifying the selector for a particular page, in the various namespaces?
And more importantly, where is this documented?
Also, I can't find any documentation on the body.page selector, nor any of the selectors of the set that it belongs to. Please point me to them if you know.
In my monobook.css, the above syntax works for pages in the main namespace, but doesn't work on my user page, for instance. (I swapped out "Main_Page" with "User_The_Transhumanist_(AWB)", but nothing happened. And yes, I cleared the cache). I also tried a colon after "User". Nuthin'. The Transhumanist (AWB)04:48, 9 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Check the page's generated HTML; the class MediaWiki generates for that page is page-User_The_Transhumanist_AWB. --cesarb17:10, 9 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I've just created the article geographic feature, but I'm not sure I've defined the class entirely correctly. I took some of the material from other Wikipedia articles, and I don't know if they were correct.
For example, are countries and other administrative divisions geographic features? What about imaginary lines like borders, the Equator, etc.
I said they weren't (except for settlements), but I'm not 100% sure.
Wikipedia isn't consistent on geographic features, landforms, etc., and it isn't clear what is or is not a geographic feature. The article landform implies that landforms are not geographic features.
I couldn't find a definitive treatment of what is or is not one, so that leaves a bunch of things up in the air:
What about national parks?
Nature reserves?
What about orchards?
And then there's the sea floor, and its features, like trenches, submerged reefs, etc.
Political boundaries and the like are not geographical features. That's why they are not invariably found on geographic (=physical) maps; they are found on political maps. - Nunh-huh07:41, 10 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
In the field of GIS, as well as cartography to some degree, a geographic feature is anything spatial you are representing on a map or in a geodatabase. The usual term is just "feature", but it's not uncommon to hear "geographic feature". I would argue that political boundaries and the like are geographic features. The field of geography includes political geography, not just physical geography. Pfly (talk) 07:59, 10 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I agree. It seems bizarre to me to say that political boundaries are not geographical features; maybe this is not as well-defined a concept as you seem to think. And while this is not the place to debate it, I don't see what the point is of having an article about geographical features in the first place. If they're things shown on maps, why shouldn't that article say whatever is to be said about them? --Anonymous, 08:30 UTC, edited 10:27, May 10, 2008.
Here is a great method of finding out what is a geographical feature and what isn't. Position yourself in a landscape, and point at anything that you know is there. Is it visible? If so, you've located a geographical feature. If it is a resident house, it is a very minor geographical feature, and a man-made one at that. If it is a tall mountain, it can be considered a major geographical feature. If it is a river, it is also a geographical feature, notable if it is big, not notable if not so big. What does the geography feature? It may feature a border station with customs, barracks and wire. The border control station is a feature - the political border is not. The wall of wire is a feature (major if big, minor if not), but is entirely disjoint from what is defined to be the end of a geographically defined administrative region. Hereupon lies the source of confusion with regards to wether or not a border is a geographical feature. Political boundaries are not geographical features. The wall the Israelis built just recently is, however, a geographical feature that signifies a political boundary.
I don't wish to take to the refdesk what should otherwise be on the article's talkpage, but you aired a question here, and as such it deserves my best answer. Scaller (talk) 12:19, 10 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Note that some non-geographic features are often included on geographic maps simply to help us locate the geographic features. State, provincial, and national boundaries and large cites might be included, for example. In the case of a map of California fault lines, it would be useful to know where Los Angeles and San Francisco are located. StuRat (talk) 20:58, 10 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I think what Anonymous said about the terms being only loosely defined is right. I know the word "geographic" is often used for physical things only, which would leave political boundaries out. But this usage is not the only one, nor necessary "correct". I just went and picked up a book I have called "Modeling our World: The ESRI Guide to Geodatabase Design". Here's a quote from page 25: "Geographic features are located at or near the surface of the earth. They can occur naturally (rivers, vegetation, and peaks), can be constructions (roads, pipelines, and buildings), and can be subdivisions of land (counties, land parcels, and political divisions)." Pfly (talk) 21:21, 10 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Another example is the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Although they mostly use just the word "feature", as in "feature name", "feature class", etc, they do use the term "geographic feature" on their FAQ page: "GNIS public Web site: Directly queries the database for official geographic feature names, their locative attributes, variant names, and other data..." The geographic features in the GNIS database all kinds of non-physical things, like counties, states, etc. Pfly (talk) 21:49, 10 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
We have no evidence that it does and no reason to expect that it would. The systems you mention, from planets to galaxies, are all examples of systems that have coallesced under the force of gravity. Gravitational contraction preserves any initial angular momentum a system may have had at random, and as a result amplifies a system's rate of rotation. However, by contrast, the universe as a whole is not a gravitationally collapsed system, and hence the same dynamics will not apply. Dragons flight (talk) 20:04, 12 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Apparently there are a lot of bored theorists, cause it isn't that hard to google papers on rotating universe versions of cosmology. This quotes a limit of 2×10−13 radians/year, or one revolution every 30 trillion years. Dragons flight (talk) 22:17, 12 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Isn't "spinning" defined in relation to surrounding space? But what if there is no surrounding space? How could you tell the Universe is spinning if you have nothing outside the Universe to compare its changing position to? Just curious. :) The Transhumanist21:28, 12 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Excellent question, and not an easy one to answer. I'm not sure if there even is a generally accepted answer. Consider this: You have two masses connected by a string, you set them spinning around their common centre of gravity and the string will go taut. What happens if you do it in an otherwise completely empty universe? They're not spinning with respect to anything else, since there isn't anything else, so does the string go taut? --Tango (talk) 21:39, 12 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Yes the string would go taut, the physics to calculate this does not involve any other entity. spin is not relative. It is a bit too abstract for me to talk about an entirely empty universe, instead consider a very empty space, very large space, you know the string would be taut in this case. If you want some more interesting physics, Black holes preserve angular momentum as one of the few properties that exists beyond the event horizon. GameKeeper (talk) 22:35, 12 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
The short answer is "no" - you can tell if something's spinning due to the appearence of interial forces, namely the "centrifugal force". I don't believe this has ever been measured for the universe, which'd give some low upper limit, but I don't know what it is. WilyD21:57, 12 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I'll back up this 'no'. Spin is not relative, it's not measured in relation to the surrounding space but can be absolutely determined due to the accelerations it involves. The maximum spin of one revolution every 30 trillion years (as mentioned above), would mean the universe would have to be 2000 time older than current best estimates before it did one rotation. Something rotating at a maximum of such a rate most definitely would not be described as spinning. GameKeeper (talk) 22:27, 12 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
You can construct theoretical models of a rotating universe. There's no axis of rotation (much like there's no center to the expansion), but there is a direction (of the angular momentum vector), so these models violate the cosmological principle. This would be visible as an anisotropy in the cosmic microwave background. There was actually a claim a few years ago that such an anisotropy does exist (astro-ph/0502237). I don't know what the current status of this is, but the evidence for it is weak at best. -- BenRG (talk) 23:35, 12 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Yes of course, that's why I left this thread alone. Basically (if I understand it right), the only way you know for sure you're spinning is because of the presence of distant "fixed" stars. It is the presence of those incredibly distant stars that establishes your own local inertial frame. Put another way, if the whole universe was spinning, how would you know? There would be nothing to measure it against, and you could equally say that the whole non-universe was spinning and the universe was standing still. It would make no difference. Franamax (talk) 03:12, 13 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Newton? That hack couldn't even dodge a falling apple! Reading through that article, beyond the fact that there is an external observer of the bucket, I see "true motion can be understood only in reference to absolute space" - but the notion of absolute space has been pretty throughly destroyed, along with absolute time. We're only left with relativity, and Mach used the relation to fixed/distant stars. The central axis of the bucket is pointing to one particular star, the rotating reference frame of the water is defined by the fact that other distant stars "revolve around the bucket". The point here though is that if there is nothing outside the bucket-universe, "spinning" loses all meaning, you can't define spinning if there's nothing outside to look at. That article could probably use an update to elaborate how the view of absolute measurement has since fallen apart. Franamax (talk) 07:25, 13 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Without doing the same experiment in an empty universe, you cannot establish Mach's Principle - there's no result anywhere, either theoretical or observational, to invalidate the bucket experiment - it does, in fact, demonstrate that linear motion is relative, but accelerations are absolute - this is the result of GR - all Mach's Principle suggested is that mass is normalised by the mass of the universe. I would argue GR is suggestive of Bucket, not Mach, but it's really neither here nor there until we get a second universe to test in. WilyD13:09, 13 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
It's a curious observation that many people seem naturally predisposed to think of motion as absolute and rotation as relative, when the laws of physics, as deduced over time from detailed observation of how things actually work, say it's exactly the other way around. I suspect it's because, in the everyday world we live in here on Earth, there exists an obvious absolute reference for motion (the Earth itself), but no such reference for heading, the Earth's surface being, to a first order approximation, anisotropic. We then, somehow, are prone to generalize this lack of an absolute reference from heading to rotation; even though centrifugal and Coriolis effects should be familiar to anyone who has ever ridden a carousel, somehow our conviction of the relativity of rotation is so strong that many, if they puzzle over the seeming contradiction at all, end up concluding that these effects must result from some unseen influence of the surrounding, "counterrotating" world.
Perhaps it's because humans tend to be visually oriented creatures, whereas the direct effects of absolute rotation upon our own bodies are only observable through the non-visual (kinesthetic and balance) senses. If you're sitting in a rotating chair in a windowless room, to your eyes it makes no difference if it's the chair or the room that rotates, even though, if the speed is more than a few rpm, the difference would be easy enough to feel. We don't trust our muscles and inner ear as much as we trust our eyes, and if we notice the discrepancy, it's easy enough to suspect that our non-visual senses are somehow detecting the orientation of the Earth through the walls; after all, we sense the Earth's gravity too, don't we? And the same argument can be used to explain away any other means of directly detecting the rotation of our hypothetical room, such as by holding a pendulum and seeing if it precesses or by watching the surface of water in a bucket: maybe the Earth "counterrotation" is also affecting the motion of the pendulum and the water, just as it, so the explanation goes, affects our inner ear.
Of course, counterexamples to these simple theories of "relative rotation" are easy to find, but the catch is that the theory can always be extended, for example by assuming that the rotation we feel isn't actually relative to the Earth, or to any other nearby mass, but to the entire mass of the Universe. And since we can't actually give the entire Universe a spin and see what happens, the theory then becomes unfalsifiable. Of course, at that point Occam's razor should suggest that there are easier explanations, but this does not make a particularly convincing argument if one's intuition says otherwise, particularly if one is not sufficiently familiar with physics to see that the theory without these "Machian" effects really is simpler. —Ilmari Karonen (talk) 18:53, 13 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Is it correct? Only if you assume evolution of this sort is both linear (non-branching) and teleological (driven towards a specific end). Neither of which are reasonable assumptions (or supported by evidence) in either biological or sociocultural evolution. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 00:41, 13 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
The thing which might make World government inevitable is the failure of so many to have achieved the first tier and fewer the next and so on. -- Taxa (talk) 01:41, 13 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
You missed out religion, which has always played a major role in social development (kings often relied on a priest-class to confirm their divine origins). That influence has varied through time and directed sociocultural evolution into several divergent paths. (Note, you can always play Civ3 to check your theory out:) Franamax (talk) 03:01, 13 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
That seems more or less a correct hierarchy of least to most complex societies. Keep in mind that societies, as 98.217.8.46 implied, may move "backwards" so to speak. The collapse of the Roman Empire was a step back from the nation-state to the city state for parts of Europe. They may also skip steps. The Native American tribes have pretty much been absorbed into the American nation-state.
98.217.8.46 is right. There's also the fact that you're projecting into the future so there's no way you can be right or wrong on World Government. Also wrong is that you merge technological developments with changes in settlement size and changes in complexity of society which are all things which don't necessarily happen at the same time as one another. A more specific comment is that chiefdoms usually came only after agriculture but rarely they didn't, as in Pacific Northwest native Americans. Munci (talk) 14:58, 31 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Reading through my recent unsuccessful RfA in order to try and make use of some of the feedback I was given, I realise that my answers to your questions might come off at best quite forceful and at worst rude and condesending. I apologise if any offense was taken it was certatainly not intended; at the time I was operating on around two hours of sleep (not a state I would normally be editing in) and did not choose the best language or phrasing. In no way does it reflect my opinion or respect for you as an editor. Apologies, Guest9999 (talk) 14:25, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I'm also pretty good with GIMP if your interested. I am also pretty good using Inkscape if you want any vector graphics done. Thanks and All the Best,--Mifter (talk) 16:54, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Right then. You'd probably be best sending an email. I don't think Wikipedia's email service handles attachments, so the address is unclemontezumahotmail.co.uk (don't copy-paste that, the at sign is an image). I'll try to help as best I can, but if I can't, apologies in advance ;) weburiedoursecretsinthegarden08:19, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
As a teacher you probably are able to write HTML. I´m highly interested in learning it, but I don´t know good links to learn it, so please give me some links for learning it.
Do you know why I love to teach? Because it is the best learning method there is. My best advice - my very best advice - is that you create and develop the List of basic HTML topics. Create the page, and place {{subst:BLT|HTML|HTML}} in it, and save. Then flesh out the skeleton. As you fill it in, replace the "basic concepts" section with an actual outline of the subject. See Lists of basic topics for some examples. (List of basic music topics, List of basic geography topics, and List of basic history topics are especially good. As you build, develop, and improve the page, it will become an invaluable resource, to you and for everyone else in the entire world who are trying to learn HTML. Start your journey at HTML - there are some excellent tutorials in its external links section. Good luck, and have fun. The Transhumanist15:23, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I know I am disobeying your no RFA thank you message edict, but hopefully you won't mind a personal message on a related subject! Your vote on my RFA gave me the biggest and most prolonged laugh of the whole week and I know I wasn't the only one. Thanks a lot! --Slp1 (talk) 13:12, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
You're welcome. And you are right, I don't mind. Congratulations on your RfA. Perfect score! I'm thoroughly impressed. But you didn't answer my question! The Transhumanist14:49, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I have just gone and created the first version of the Award Centers New Award, and before I added the full ribbon, removed the background, and changed the layout of the medal so it on an angle and looks like it’s a thick gold medal. I thought I would show it to you first :). Also I have started on a ribbon alternative for the award, because some Editors chose to show ribbons to display there awards and barnstars instead of showing the actual award :). So without Further Ado here's the first version of the award NOTE: This is only the first draft, I still have to do a lot of editing on it before its ready to use :)
The Upper Left White Image is going to be the ribbon alternative while the big one with the medal will be the actual award.
You are definitely the right person for this - you have the skills I have been looking for. The medal I have in mind is more like an Olympic Gold Medal, and the ribbon I was talking about is the kind you wear around your neck. Here's an example of a medal with a neck ribbon:
Sure, be glad to work on graphics stuff. I use Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Inkscape, and Paint (surprisingly good) for my graphics work. GIMP is roughly based off of Photoshop so I think we'll understand each other. :) -- penubag (talk) 23:35, 26 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Hey, thanks for the thoughtful message to Guest9999. Dealing with fiction, I had once again grown used to Wikipedia being an environment where "It should be deleted because it should be deleted" has firmly entrenched itself with the base state of debate that often prevails and is actively being implemented. --Kizor22:05, 28 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Hello, The Transhumanist. You have new messages at RyRy5's talk page. You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{Talkback}} or {{Tb}} template.
I noticed at RyRy5's talk page that you're kind of in an image quandry. If you're still looking for some help with images, may I direct your attention to WP:HAU. There's a whole bunch of editors there with experience in images, perhaps one of them can help you. Useight (talk) 23:55, 1 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I was under the impression the Images section meant Fair Use and menial image deletion stuff, not image editing. My suggestion is for you to head to WP:FPC and find someone who looks especially active. Chances are they'll be experienced with GIMP or Photoshop. I don't use it, though, I have no experience with image editing. bibliomaniac1502:59, 2 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I'm back. Okay, so, I have some experience in graphics editing; I use Photoshop CS2, so I'm accustomed to layered editing. I'd be happy to help out. I guess I'll sign up for the newsletter now... Master of PuppetsCall me MoP! :)23:43, 2 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Sounds a little too heavy on the graphical work, my expertiese is image touch-ups rather than creating/drawing items and I'm currently too busy to create items from scratch.
Hi. Well, I've never used GIMP or Inkscape before, and I'm not used to downloading files onto my computer unless I need them. However, I may be able to help if you need help with Microsoft Paint, as I often use the program. What kind of awards are you planning? I've already uploaded one barnstar (Template:MOTD Barnstar) using paint, and I just learned how to change the file format, but I'm not sure if it can do .xcd . I also have image stacking software if that might help (RegiStax), but I'm also new at that and it takes an hour just to stack one image! So, will paint be any help with your process? Also, if they are due by July, I think I should be able to have enough time to help if you need it. Thanks. ~AH1(TCU)17:15, 2 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I would love to help, but I'm not a good graphic designer. I haven't used the programs either. I like Astrohurrican can use Paint, thugh the graphic won't be as good. I can be of any other assistence if you need me. Juthani1tcs19:36, 2 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Hi. I can't download anything at the moment, although I may be able to do so later. Anyway, I can't click the edit tabs for the sections on your talkpage, maybe it's my browser, but part of the right region of each section is cut off. Also, my computer is relatively slow at times, will GIMP work on my computer (Windows) at a reasonable speed? Also, I thought the Wikipedia logos were all copyrighted, how is it possible that we would be allowed to use them? Also, do files pasted onto GIMP have to be in xcd, or can you copy and paste ordinary images onto GIMP? Also, I'm used to uploading all my images as public domain, if I upload any GIMP images, what license should I upload them under? How much disk space does it take up, and how much is required, and how much do the images take up? Thanks. ~AH1(TCU)22:28, 2 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I use Windows, and GIMP works fine for me. You'll just have to try it and see.
The Wikipedia logos are copyrighted. And we're Wikipedians using the logos for Wikipedia purposes, on Wikipedia user pages. For example, here's are some popular versions users have come up with:
You are getting very sleepy...
I don't know why my user page is going off the right of your screen, but you can probably use the horizontal scroll bar to see it.
The license to use is GNU.
Yes, you can paste almost any kind of image into GIMP. GIMP is the same kind of program as MS PAINT, and I'm pretty sure it can do everything PAINT can do. GIMP supports many file formats, and you can work on different images in different windows at the same time. You can also load or copy and paste entire images into separate layers in the same image. You can also save images to whatever format you like, such as PNG. Before uploading them to Wikipedia, they have to be saved in PNG format (or one of the other formats that Wikipedia supports). The xcf format retains all layer information, and so we'll be using that as the working format.
The image currently is about 700K in size. In memory, GIMP takes up about 24 Megs. By comparison, Firefox takes 354 Megs.
Unfortunately, graphics design (in terms of images) is not very good, and I can scrape by doing very simply things. I probably will not be of too much assistance. Thanks for you offer, though. --FastLizard4 (Talk•Index•Sign) 02:47, 3 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Hello, The Transhumanist. You have new messages at Penubag's talk page. You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{Talkback}} or {{Tb}} template.
I also noted your questions which I thought were succinct and well framed Transhumanist. Always nice to see genuine interest such as what you displayed. Cheers--VStalk12:09, 3 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I just randomly chanced upon your user page, and was really impressed by the simplicity (no, I don't know anything about HTML or any of the computer languages) of design, and the effect it produced. Congratulations!
What Do You Think of the New Version 2 Medal :)? I apologize for it taking so long with it :(, anyways; I wanted to show you the medal before I added the Ribbon to it, although I am having a bit of a hard time tilting the medal on its side to show how thick it is (I am not sure exactly how to render it on its side like you wanted). But anyways I would love to hear your opinion about Version 2.0 of the Award :). Thanks and All the Best, --Mifter (talk) 18:57, 3 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Nope, it's not what I'm looking for. It shouldn't include any element of the globe award in there. The awards are not supposed to match. What I need is an engraved gold medal. I provided the Jimbo medal as an example only. The medal I'm hoping for is a gold medal with a world map engraved in it. The only words on the new medal should be "Wikipedia World Developer", engraved, wrapped, and centered along the inner bottom edge of the medal. Is all that something you can do? The Transhumanist19:55, 3 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Hmm that's a shame! Anyway font used was Gill Sans and I was using small caps to make the capitals larger than normal text. I have exams from 9th to 18th of June so won't be able to make any meaning suggestions till at least the 19th (in fact I probably won't make any further replies till then either). But just a quick thought - what about a suitcase + passport? --Fir000200:45, 4 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Mine is a bit more work, I think, but I was thinking of a silhouette of a figure walking on the silhouette of a mountain. Or perhaps a silhouette of a plane... I like the above idea too. Master of PuppetsCall me MoP! :)01:02, 4 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Sure, I can fix the type to what you want it to be. The map I used for the medallion is in the image summary. I used Adobe Photoshop CS3. What do you mean by "diagonal stripes"? If you view the image at 100%, all the stripes should be gone if I think I know what you are referring to. -- penubag (talk) 01:41, 4 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Cool. You did wonders with that map. Nice. There's a yellow stripe in the middle, with an orange stripe above and below it. Were you able to send the psd file? The Transhumanist01:47, 4 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Well, if you want to know how I did it...
I first created a plain white circle and then did some style effects.
The style effects were Color overlay (that gave me the gold), bevel and emboss +some major tweaks (for depth), and Gradient overlay, for the goldish look.
Now having the coin done, I imported the map image and did some style effects to it. After that, I warped it to fit the coin.
Same goes for the text.
Finally, I did a stamp visual to have a composite on top for some fine-tune editing.
I notice that the {{BLT country}} templape adds the Wikipedia:WikiProject Lists of basic topics/Draft/List of basic Foo topics to categories in article space. Not sure if this a good thing. We should keep article space and Wikipedia space separate (in general). -- Alan Liefting (talk) - 06:41, 4 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
That's the first place I looked, but you prompted me to look again... Maybe a globe stand could be created from scratch. Or maybe this one could be extracted and coverted to gold. Thanks for the heads up. The Transhumanist18:50, 4 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Hi there. I use X-Chat Aqua on Mac OS X running 10.5.3. I put the script in ~/.xchat2, quit and restarted X-Chat, but no love. Might anyone be able to assist? I also tried loading it as a plug in and got syntax error messages. Thanks. P.s. Might you be able to reply on my talk page? Bstone (talk) 17:46, 4 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Very sorry about what happened, I tried notching down the protection for a few hours, with me sitting here constantly refreshing the watchlist to catch vandalism, but the noise from other admins screaming about me opening the interface to vandalism was so loud, that I had to re-protect. That page has been a mega gripe to me since I started at wiki, and sadly I'm too technically dumb to fix it. MBisanztalk20:01, 5 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Been a while since I checked Wikipedia so, sorry for the slow reply.
I should be able to help also, this week may be a little hard because I need to finish off an animation by next week but I will probably be able to fit it in even, but I would be happy to help out and I have Photoshop CS2 that I use for most of my photo manipulation at home and GIMP on my laptop for when I am on the go.
I think it could be best if you send me details via. email though because I'm not going to be checking wikipedia frequent. (Contactable at thaigreencurry@gmail.com) and from there if you could send me more details of what you need done that would be great. (-insert random emote here-)
Yea I'll be glad to help you! If you dropped by my Hebrew account (w:he:משתמש:הגמל התימני then you probably had seen my wiki-design there and some of my graphics work. (The current version of my user page there shows a wiki-vacation template, I know. If you can, just have a look at the version history). YemeniteCamel (talk) 09:12, 5 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
FYI (not sure if you have me watchlisted) I've posted a long-ish reply to you here; I'm deliberately not posting it on your talkpage as it includes an awesomely bandwidth hungry graphic and I don't want to fry the connections of the visitors to your page. — iridescent15:56, 5 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
(replying to message on my talk page) - I simply haven't felt motivation to go through the effort and make the requested changes to Wikipedia:Upload. I have made several improvements to the page over the past few months, such as fixing the "own work" license selector to give simple and understandable descriptions of the various licenses.
I do not claim to be the maintainer of the upload forms. Just like in other areas of Wikipedia, I contribute when I have time and motivation. In the past couple of days I've tried to open up the interface to enable non-administrators to contribute too. I've also rethought my position and I think it would be fine to also open up Wikipedia:Upload to autoconfirmed editing for the time being. —Remember the dot(talk)00:56, 6 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
While I haven't really thought too hard or read the thread too closely, I had a random idea: I can add a link to an editable version on the protected one, and if it's publicized and monitored as needed, eventually we can use {{editprotected}}s to apply the improvements that people come up with. Maybe not the greatest idea, but it occurred to me that it might be helpful. Cheers, Nihiltres{t.l}03:03, 7 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I rely on the Wikipedia's alert feature to tell me I've got a message. I've lost track of countless threads with people who reply only on their own talk page. ;) I almost never check back, because I simply forget what I've posted where. Thank you for the heads up. The Transhumanist18:47, 6 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Hi! I heard a rumour somewhere that you were looking for some sort of trophy/passport/medal images (or possibly all three, I'm unclear on the details). As it happens, I've been looking for some sort of excuse for getting back into 3D work after a long break, and trying to recreate the Puzzle Globe sounds like a fun challenge! I can render a few other things too if you want; here's what I could make out that you wanted, from reading comments, let me know if I'm on the right track here:
Gold medal embossed with worldmap, tilted, on ribbon (colours?)
Earth-in-puzzle-globe, gold sculpture, either on stand or in cage?
Earth-in-puzzle-globe as logo embossed on "Passport to the World" passport, tilted (colours?)
I prefer to keep everything in one place; I keep tabs on the talk page so it's not an issue. I hadn't replied to your message yet because I haven't been on Wikipedia for more than a few minutes at a time since then, so I haven't had time to formulate a response. I will try to make something like what you were talking about and you can see what you think of it. --tiny plastic Grey Knight⊖12:47, 9 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
The logo has been reused in many different ways, and I haven't seen anything anywhere on Wikipedia that indicated that there was a problem with it. It's been animated, modified in style, color, size, integrated into other pics, etc. If it becomes a problem, it will be a simple matter to pull the puzzle out of the pic in which it is featured (as each pic is being developed as a composite of layers). I'm not too worried about it. The Transhumanist23:16, 9 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
The globe-in-cage one I can do by building a model just like that cage, thus getting the same appearance without the copyright issue. Did you mean that you wanted the puzzle-globe outlines superimposed like in that example, or the puzzle-pieces "built around" a solid core which is the earth? Or perhaps (a concretisation of the former) a puzzle-globe where the puzzle-pieces are segments of the earth? Actually, I'm guessing it's not "built around" since you want the sphere completed and hence you wouldn't be able to see inside.
The medal; this should be relatively easy. I'll try building it first of all, and then if there's time I'll try building a neck to pose it on (that's hard to do, so no promises!).
"Atlas Edited"; the hardest one to do by 3D modelling. As implied just above, modelling humans convincingly is quite difficult. If you wanted a stylised person of some sort it would be easier, or if we were looking down from above the globe so that the detail on Atlas doesn't matter (faces are particularly hard). I can produce a completed puzzle-globe at high resolution from various angles if needed for this, but the final composition should probably investigate other approaches; I probably wouldn't be able to do this one within the time constraints.
So, in summary, I can try for two out of three, and provide a little help for the third if needed. :-) I'm getting some elevation data at the minute to sculpt out the map on the medal, will post some images later on.
Image:Example-WP-World-Dev-Medal.png is the result of my render so far. The image is a bit bright, I need to fiddle with that somewhat as you can't make some of it out (the edge of the medal blurs into the front face, and you can't see wrinkles in the ribbon). I picked Earth-like colours for the ribbon, easy to change if there was a specific colour scheme you wanted. --tiny plastic Grey Knight⊖12:17, 11 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Good first try. This is the level of quality and detail we are shooting for:
It's mostly in the lighting. See the most recent iteration; I need to adjust the lighting angles to get that nice specular highlight across the surface like on the Jimbo medal, and I'll try recolouring since it looks like my yellow is too bright still. I'll do a larger render next time so the details are more visible; there is some surface texture like on the Jimbo one that doesn't show up in this size (also I added milled edges in this update which are just barely visible if you squint and risk your eyesight!). --tiny plastic Grey Knight⊖07:43, 12 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I had trouble finding a map too; I think Hammer or Aitoff would look better than Mollweide (which "pinches" a bit at the poles). I'll change to the one you linked for now, and change the structure so we don't have the scalloped edges on the rim anymore (will probably go with a recessed circle like on the Jimbo medal).
For the medal text, I have actually carved it into the "physical" surface of the medal, it's not an image-map pasted on the surface. However, I can render an image of just the text oriented face-on to the camera in such a way as to create the kind of image you're talking about. I'll do that later today and give you it.
Circular-text demo uploaded:
(see page for full size)
As to the font, apparently it's Hoefler Text, which is on my computer at work. They seem to have it for free download here, although I'm unclear if that's legal since Hoefler & Frere-Jones are selling the font and its relatives for what could loosely be described as "pots of cash".
Can you modify Image:World map - hammer.png so that the background colour (what's "really" behind the transparent parts) is white rather than black? I haven't got image-editing software on this computer. My renderer only checks the colour when building heightmaps, transparency is ignored, and in colour terms that is a plain black rectangle. :-) Thanks! Don't worry about this, I used a render trick to superimpose it on a white background and used that. Will upload the latest render later on. --tiny plastic Grey Knight⊖11:20, 13 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
(outdent) Okay! Most recent version. I think it's looking a lot better, I finally got the lighting and texturing on the medal roughly right. I'll fix up those errors on the ribbon and text. I'm thinking about softening the map outlines too, what would you say? (PS: render time for the full version was 6h 27m 23s! Thank goodness for test resolutions.) --tiny plastic Grey Knight⊖22:24, 13 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, I'm back with 10 more. I believe I have learned since my first round. Here is my second round. Please tell me your opinion. Hope these are good...
Note- For the numbers in (), those are for the number of references per article.
I'm happy you found my feedback useful. At the moment I've got some errands to run, but I'll be logging on again later today, and will take a look at your references then. The Transhumanist19:02, 7 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
First, I'd like to mention that the encyclopedia desperately needs references in scholastic subjects. Wikipedia is criticized because it can't be trusted, and therefore isn't viewed seriously as a reference work in: Science. Business. Politics. Wikipedia needs references in these areas the most, in order for it to be trusted as a resource in the field of education (by teachers and students), as a research tool (by scientists and journalists), as a reference aid in industrial, financial and managerial matters (by business students, employees, employers, craftsmen, workers, managers, and entrepreneurs), and as a trusted source about governments (by politicians, watchdogs, and everyman). It's important to prioritize, and for Wikipedia to be taken seriously it needs references in its most serious subjects. I mention this as something for you to think about and keep in mind. Any reliable references you provide are a good thing. Keep up the good work.
List of transactions involving the Dallas Mavericks - I haven't been able to access these. The four references you provided here returned a "Server not found" error! Two days in a row. Not good. We can wait a few days to see if these come back online. If they don't, they'll need to be replaced.
Sorry. There was a problem with the code I had. I fixed it. Can you please go over those again? Sorry.....--LAAFan17:19, 8 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
News stories that cover sports-related events are preferred. The sports almanac you referenced may be the same level of source as Wikipedia ("fourth party"). :) They probably re-report the material, just like we do. (But who reported it in the first place? I couldn't tell where they got their data). If they simply re-report it from the initial 3rd-party sources, then referencing them is similar to Wikipedia citing the Encyclopedia Britannica. Do you see how that's a problem? Wikipedia needs to provide its own references, not cite other reference works like us - though I couldn't find anything in our policies about this - it's just common sense. It makes Wikipedia look bad, like we're cheating. But there is no reason to doubt the statistics there, so they'll do. Please dig deeper in the future. For example, if the New York Times reported that the Chicago Tribune reported about a fire, and the Chicago Tribune in its report said they saw it in the Boston Herald, we would want to go strait to the Boston Herald who reported it in the first place -- newspapers often publish stories that originally appeared in other newspapers. In those cases, it's best to acknowledge the original publisher. For more information see the discussion at Wikipedia talk:Citing sources/Archive 5#Citing other Encyclopedias. -TT
Craig Anderson (Australian pitcher) - - reliable reference, though they are a sports almanac, which means we might be re-reporting what they are re-reporting from some other publisher. It counts though.
Jim Bailey (baseball player) - - reliable reference, though they are a sports almanac, which means we might be re-reporting what they are re-reporting from some other publisher. It counts though.
Ed Bahr - reliable reference, though they are a sports almanac, which means we might be re-reporting what they are re-reporting from some other publisher. It counts though.
Larry Jennings - tripod.com is not generally considered a reliable resource - it's a website for anybody to create their own websites. Magicref doesn't appear to be a reliable source according to WP:SOURCE (I saw no indication that it has a "reputation for fact-checking and accuracy". Unacceptable reference.
I couldn't verify that the first source meets WP:SOURCE.
The second article referenced wasn't written or originally published by findarticles.com but by Grocer (a publication in the food retail industry). You need to include information in the reference as to where it actually came from (and will be a good reference once you do).
My recommendations? I'll stick with the list I provided you before. Those who I usually recommend for such tasks are not only the best but are also well rounded, usually willing to take up whatever task is thrown at them. Also, sorry for the delayed response. School has kept me occupied (and continues to do so). --SharkfaceT/C19:46, 7 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for your efforts to get this change made. In other circumstances I would be glad to help further with suggestions or edits, but recent events have taken priority right now. GreenReaper (talk) 20:27, 7 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
You're welcome, but be aware that the changes to these pages are also experimental. I actually didn't mean to move every single one of them, that happened because I left on the "move subpages" when I moved MediaWiki:Uploadtext thinking that there might be talk archives or something. So, if we have problems then it's back to full protection.
This project of yours sounds extremely interesting and I am proud to have been reccomended for coordinator. I cannot give you a binding answer, but right now I am fully willing and able to help. First, I have a question:
In essence, we would be creating a portal for each country, correct?
I would also like to say that this project should be completely seperate from the AWC. Maybe advertise there, but if this is as big as you say it will be, then it should definitely be seperate.
Hello transhumanist, I'd love to help you out but I'd just like to let you know that I am extremely busy for the next 3 days. I barely have any time to myself until then so I hope you don't need the images for at least another 3-4 days. Sorry for the inconvenience. Just one question, would you like the gold coin touched up first or the trophy? -- penubag (talk) 03:21, 11 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
This looks like a tempting, wonderful project and I'd love to contribute. The main problem is that it now seems certain that I will be travelling for at least two weeks in August: this has been on the cards for some time but only crystallised yesterday. Additionally, we have builders in at the house and things are not going to schedule so that's proving a time sink. I will try to help out some but it may not be for a week or so and there will be gaps. If that's any use to you, please let me know. I'm sorry to take so long to respond but things only really started sorting clarifying themselves out yesterday afternoon. in the meantime, all the best, --ROGER DAVIEStalk05:09, 12 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Major rename proposal of certain "lists" to "outlines"
Coming July 15th to the Awards Center: The Around the World Competition. Three types of awards will be presented, including a World Champion Trophy! Hone your advanced tools skills, 'cuz you'll need them! If you'd like to be kept up to date on this and other happenings at the AWC, sign up to receive the AWC Newsletter here.
A tip: If you find a good Hammer projection (which is ideal for the coin) but find that the image is too small to use, try http://vectormagic.com/ . Also remember that we can use images from an image search as long as we modify it enough to transfer the copyright (details)-- penubag (talk) 04:16, 13 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
That's not how it works, though the more an image is changed, the harder it is to tell where image it is based on image came from. But to remain honest, we need to start with a work that is in the public domain in the first place. The Transhumanist06:20, 13 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I know how cheap I am for doing this, but I saw that the only 3 good references I had that were good were baseball reference. So, I added 7 more references to 7 more articles. Below is all ten; the new 7 and the old 3.
Gus DornerY - some of these articles used "He would play" instead of "He played". I fixed them as I came across them. Keep an eye out for grammatical errors as you source articles. Using Google, I searched for "he would play", restricting the search to Wikipedia. There's a lot of articles with this mistake. A perfect job for someone with WP:AWB. You don't use that, do you? It's a blast.
Tim DrewY - it was placed wrong, so I moved it after the information it verifies. There was nothing in the reference about the Bluefish. Be careful that you place references directly after the information that they verify.
Craig Anderson (Australian pitcher)N - there's a problem with this one. The article doesn't appear to report the data correctly. According to your source, how many years has he been in the International League? Did you actually check what was reported in that sentence against the data in your source?
P.S. Could you please give me a response soon? I will be on a wikibreak and will not even be near a computer for about 5 days. I'm trying to get everything I need to done. :)--LAAFan01:16, 9 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I haven't looked at them yet, but I don't foresee a problem. Relax. Go on your wikibreak. There will probably be something waiting for you when you get back. :) The Transhumanist01:22, 9 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I checked your references, and 9 out of 10 pan out. I'm not very good at reading those charts, so you need to double check that one and fix the article if needed. I look forward to your follow-up and reply. The Transhumanist 07:59, 14 June 2008 (UTC)P.S. If this doesn't work, I believe I fixed the other four.--LAAFan18:39, 14 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Can you please check it over again soon? I know I've been bad about my personality about this, but I'm getting excited over the barnstar. --LAAFan13:43, 15 June 2008 (UTC) P.S. Once you're done reviewing and rewarding me, there will be something waiting for you, as a thank you for taking the time to go through four rounds of references.[reply]
Ah, man. I knew I should have done more than 10, just in case. Keeping the other 9 in mind, here is my tenth.Pat Clements. As for the other one, I won't count it as one of my ten, but I can personally insure you I will fix the article sometime soon. --LAAFan15:02, 14 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Hi, I have signed up for "The Reference Challenge" you and User:Sharkface217 offered, and I have added references to ten articles so far this afternoon. The references added were mainly in the areas of honours and awards the person in question has received, such as the Order of Australia. The articles are:
Slim DustyY - keep in mind that a reference to a newspaper or magazine article covering the event (back in 1970) would be better.
Hi Transhumanist, I just wanted to remind you that I have completed the first stage of adding additional references to ten articles. The list of articles is posted above, but because I have had no reply I thought I would post this comment to remind you. Thanks mate, Abraham, B.S. (talk) 01:59, 14 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I have completed the first task of placing a flag and coat of arms picture on every needing article. The only problem is that the Coat of Arms for thesetwo countries is missing. I'm not sure how to proceed because I think you need permission to use the COA of a country. What do we do? Malinaccier (talk)20:55, 14 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
There were a few coats of arms that were missing or suffered from some glitch. I've fixed the ones I could. I couldn't find one for:
Fair use applies - the articles are about those countries, their governments, their symbols, etc. Note that the coat of arms identifies a country (in the same way a logo identifies a company; e.g., see IBM), and can be used when covering that country. We need to find what workaround allows the main articles and templates for those countries to display the coat of arms without the bot coming along and removing them, and use the same workaround.
Can you please check it over again soon? I know I've been bad about my personality about this, but I'm getting excited over the barnstar. --LAAFan13:43, 15 June 2008 (UTC) P.S. Once you're done reviewing and rewarding me, there will be something waiting for you, as a thank you for taking the time to go through four rounds of references.[reply]
Yes. It demonstrates an online/offline status indicator, in conjunction with the WP:UPDC. Also, there are some example menus that access that page to show how to integrate a status indicator into a menu. Please don't delete it, or a bunch of redlinks will show up on the pages it is utilized. Thank you. The Transhumanist04:03, 16 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
We all had it for a while, but then a page-move vandal started using the heck out of it, so it got made admin-only last week (iirc). -- Quiddity (talk) 18:58, 16 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I don't consider this as a competition - I care about working at my own pace to improve the project. I sent you a couple of emails - did you get them? JaakobouChalk Talk20:36, 16 June 2008 (UTC) clarify 20:37, 16 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I respond to requests in the order received and there are several others ahead of you. Each edit must be checked for quality and I provide feedback on them. It takes time. Also, the AWC has been nominated for deletion, and that is taking time away from answering requests. Please be patient. I'll get to it as time allows. Thank you. ;) The Transhumanist07:46, 21 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, I noticed the deletion suggestion today, while making some XfD routes. Also noticed that 2 of my own XfD comments were noted as "non-criteria", so I'm hoping that in general I did a good job there. Anyways, I've decided to post my contributions here for now.
I believe I passed 25 at around the 9th of June, but take your time. It's really about contributing to the project for me and not the accolades.
Cheers, JaakobouChalk Talk09:28, 21 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I've added diffs for 50 of the references I've added to articles since June 1 to the challenge page (which is what it said to do although I now see people have posted them to your talk page). If I keep digging there are more, of course, but I think this batch will keep you entertained for a while. - Dravecky (talk) 21:54, 16 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Hi Transhumanist, I'm afraid my bot can't do this. I believe the PyWikibot framework includes functionality like this though, so I'm sure one of the other bots would be able to help you with your renames. Cheers, CmdrObot (talk) 22:35, 16 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Sure, my bot can do this. What are the details of the renaming you need done? (By the way, in the future you could use the bot request page which would save you the trouble of leaving notes on dozens of bot talk pages individually.)--Dycedargж22:43, 16 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Sorry about the delay, I've been kind of busy lately. I'll be running this some time this afternoon, barring anything cropping up.--Dycedargж11:58, 18 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I award this barnstar to The Transhumanist, for being patient and taking four rounds of references from me, until they were all valid. LAAFan01:21, 17 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
The Random Acts of Kindness Barnstar
I award this barnstar to The Transhumanist, for putting funny stuff on his discussion page which led me to copy them and put some of those funny stuff on my website. Thanks. Emir3401:21, 17 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
P.S. I'm in the lead! Cool! I wasn't planning to go for a second round, but if i'm in the lead, sure! I'm going for the second round soon. I will not add anymore cheap shots. I will get my references for other, non sports related, articles. I've started to work on what I think will establish me as an editor. I joined WikiProject The Simpsons, and my current goal is to get all season 1 episodes to GA. About six articles are left for the season, and the big issue with those six are they lack references. I hope to stay in the lead for references.--LAAFan01:21, 17 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Questions. 1. Do I need to add 25 more citations, or add 15 on top of my already ten? 2. I found that some pages have online references, but lack citations for the entire article. Can I add the needed citations, or do I need to find my own references. The changing of Reference to Citation makes me ask. --LAAFan02:39, 17 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Add 15 for 25 total. In-line citations are really what I'm looking for, whether the references are already on the page or not. So, if the references are there, but aren't keyed into the text, keying them into the text counts.[1] I'm looking specifically for in-line citations enclosed within <ref> tags. The Transhumanist03:25, 17 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
My bot uses AWB, so it would be rather difficult to adapt for mass-renaming. Your best bet would be to ask at bot requests, hope this helps! RichardΩ612Ɣɸ 05:44, June 17, 2008 (UTC)
Hi, I have signed up for "The Reference Challenge" you and User:Sharkface217 offered, and I have added references to ten articles so far this afternoon. The references added were mainly in the areas of honours and awards the person in question has received, such as the Order of Australia. The articles are:
John DuckerIt's an Honour - N violates WP:VER - note that our verifiability policy specifies "third-party" sources. The fact being verified is the awarding of the Order of Australia, by the government of Australia, to John Ducker. Both John Tucker and the government are first parties involved in that event, and are not acceptable according to WP:VER.
Slim DustyN - first party source (Australian government reporting on itself), and therefore in violation of WP:VER.
Hi Transhumanist, I just wanted to remind you that I have completed the first stage of adding additional references to ten articles. The list of articles is posted above, but because I have had no reply I thought I would post this comment to remind you. Thanks mate, Abraham, B.S. (talk) 01:59, 14 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Hi Transhumanist, don't worry about checking the other eight references, they are mainly from the "It's an Honour" website, with a few exceptions. I'll go through and start again adding a more reliable source. Thanks for taking the time to check the others anyway. Abraham, B.S. (talk) 10:55, 18 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
The references were, like before, mainly on their honours & awards, but this time I have used the London Gazette, and the actual issues that documented their awards at the time. I have also placed a reference on Hassett's death. The numeral in the brackets are the number of references I added to that article.
As I'm sure you know, editing the talk page of an AWB bot stops it from running. Please don't edit it except for emergencies; direct task requests (unless otherwise noted) to the bot's operator.
Assuming it is a simple renaming, I can make a bot that can do it relatively quickly (around a couple hundred moves per minute). If you give me some more details, I can start working on it and file a BRFA. -- Cobi(t|c|b)14:11, 17 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I have completed the task of sponsoring 15 challenges for the AWC. You can see them there; I chose not to copy and paste all of it. Sharkface217 was the sponsor of the challenge I completed, but since he is less active, I came to you. In all fairness, I just wanted another barnstar.--LAAFan01:35, 18 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I am Emir34, a user in Wikipedia. In the assignments I finished the assignment 'Timeline'. And it is ready to be read now. I also signed up at the assignment. So could you check it, and if it's done, could you give me a barnstar, please? Thank you. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Emir34 (talk • contribs) 21:36, 19 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Emir34 (talk) 22:22, 19 June 2008 (UTC)Umm... It's me Emir34 again. Umm... if you will not give me a barnstar can you write it in my talk page at User:Emir34? Even if you will give me a barnstar, can you make me aware of it before you give me? Umm... That's it. Thanks. Umm... I may not made a great job, but I think I did a good job at it.Emir34 (talk) 22:22, 19 June 2008 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Emir34 (talk • contribs) 22:14, 19 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Hi. Thank you for taking up the challenge. Would you do me a favor and read the challenge again? It specified "5 major edits, clean up, and several good sources" as the requirements for the challenge. Come on, put your heart into it! Impress me. I'm really looking forward to seeing the best you can do. I customize every barnstar I award, in recognition of the effort the editor put into it. Make me proud, and I'll let the world know, right on your user page.
I'm adding Timeline to my watchlist, because I'm very interested in seeing how you improve that page. Good luck, and have fun. But take your time, and do a good job. If you need help understanding references, let me know, and I'll point you in the right direction. The Transhumanist07:59, 21 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Hi. I wonder if you could reply to concerns about bad English on the talk page - it's also been discussed at here. Thanks for your attention. --Kleinzach23:27, 19 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I'll send out the newsletter myself tonight. After all, AWC needs to exist for your Around the World thing to take place. If it falls, we can, of course, always rebuild. --SharkfaceT/C00:50, 21 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Quick question about the GA and FA thing: does that also mean toss the challenges that say "Get blah blah to GA status"? Just wondering. --SharkfaceT/C02:03, 21 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Hopefully the AWC will be up when I return tomorrow (say, 12 or so hours from now). I was not able to cut those sections, as I must catch some sleep (been up for 2 days studying for finals). Godspeed to us all, and maybe you might want to archive AWC just in case (although the Wiki-mirrors might have it). Ok, enough rambling from me. --SharkfaceT/C02:34, 21 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Forget that advice - it sucked. After looking those challenges over and after responding to one of your challengees, the solution isn't to get rid of the challenges, but to modify them. Specify changes to the articles, and remove all references to GA and FA. GA and FA are award systems in their own right - they award status to the articles (which also reflects on the editors). The AWC is another award system, and is clashing with those. So we should unclash them. Also, if you post too many challenges, we'll be overloaded in award requests. I can barely keep up with those requesting awards - so please NO NEW CHALLENGES for awhile. There's as many as we can handle on there right now. The Transhumanist08:12, 21 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
By the way, MfDs take seven days. So don't panic. It's just a problem solving approach. And if at first you don't succeed, Wikipedia lets you try again. We'll learn from our mistakes and do better the next time around. ;) The Transhumanist08:15, 21 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
The page is a subpage of the AWC, and is subject to deletion as well. Therefore, it is not canvassing. Also, the recipients of the newsletter have requested to be updated about events concerning the AWC, and this certainly applies. Restoring the tag. The Transhumanist14:35, 21 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Transhumanist, I'm very sorry for my recent inactivity. When I came back, I noticed the MfD. Would you still like me to complete the graphics request or can I wait until the closure of the MfD? My time is limited and I wouldn't want it to got to waste. Thanks, I am still intrested in helping you so don't take it the wrong way. -- penubag (talk) 22:27, 21 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Responding to the newsletter, I think team tasks would be good. How about a relay race? Example:
User 1 gets a DYN
User 2 gets a GA
User 3 gets an FA
This is only a rough concept, but I think that would be great. A tournament could begin for the fastest times. It would provide users to get into teams and learn from teammates.
I don't see why the current AWC has to be deleted, but that's the way of some users. So, there's my thoughts. I'll send this to Sharkface also--LAAFan02:09, 22 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
You currently appear to be engaged in an edit war according to the reverts you have made on List of important opera terminology. Note that the three-revert rule prohibits making more than three reversions on a single page within a 24 hour period. Additionally, users who perform a large number of reversions in content disputes may be blocked for edit warring, even if they do not technically violate the three-revert rule. If you continue, you may be blocked from editing. Please do not repeatedly revert edits, but use the talk page to work towards wording and content that gains a consensus among editors. If necessary, pursue dispute resolution. The guidelines for moving articles on wikipedia clearly state that controversial moves should be discussed and consensus built on the articles talk page before any such moves are made.Nrswanson (talk) 05:46, 22 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I saw your words on the MFD. I think your Around the World Competition idea shouldn't be wasted. I intend to be the person who comes up with a better idea. It's still under construction, but it is called the Challenge Center (I didn't put the link because I hate writing out my long username. The link is at the top of my userpage). Your idea would really help the page get off the ground. Please also consider joining my competition. If you want to wait and see what my page is all about, that's fine. Just let me know your response.--LAAFan21:39, 22 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
The Around the World Competition isn't wasted. It hasn't even been started yet. The MfD has nothing to do with it. It will be hosted somewhere else. ;) The Transhumanist21:42, 22 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Okay! Great to see the Around the World Competition is alive and well.--LAAFan 22:10, 22 June 2008 (UTC)P.S. Would you be willing to oversee the Challenge Center? One of the AWC concerns is the lack of regulating, so I am trying to get three regular overseers of the page. I would be one (Frankly, I've been really active at AWC lately), but I need two more users, so nothing will go astray. I'll also ask Sharkface217. If you don't want to oversee, do you have any suggestions of users I should ask?--LAAFan22:17, 22 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I'm sorry, but I'm not quite sure I understand the request you made on my talk page. If you are asking me to move pages that you can't move yourself, I'm afraid I can't do it, because I'm not an administrator. You can request help at WP:RM or use the {{db-move}} template at the title you want to move the page to. --Russ(talk)11:06, 23 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Hi. You left a message regarding mass renaming of pages. BotKung can do that as well. Let me know on my talk page if you still need the work to be done by the bot. Thanks. --Jutiphan | Talk - 18:30, 23 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Hey, Transhumanist, thank you for adding those links to this list I started. I grabbed the ball and added a few more.
Separate, unrelated question: Is there anywhere on Wikipedia I can learn how to decorate my talk page the way you have yours? I don't mean exactly the same, but all the graphics you've added, how do you do that?
Kathy (talk) 03:37, 24 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]
As I'm now free of my Award Center responsibilities, I'm more than willing to help with your Around the World thingy when it's up and running. If you need help with anything, drop me a line sometime. --SharkfaceT/C
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