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Technology report

A new video player for Wikimedia wikis

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By EpicPupper

Video.js deployment done

The software to play video and audio files on pages has now changed on all Wikimedia wikis. The old player has been removed and replaced with Video.js. Some audio players will become wider after this change. The new player has been a beta feature for over four years, and uses best practices. For more information, see Tech News.

Community configuration for Growth features

A screenshot of the 2022 Growth Features configuration.

Over the past four years, the Growth team at the Wikimedia Foundation has developed Growth features, a set of tools that make contributing easier for newcomers. As contributors start editing Wikipedia, they need to learn how the wikis and the community work. These features nudge them to spend time on tasks important to their community. They also make connections through mentorship systems that allow for direct, 1-on-1 contact with an experienced community member. On 26 April 2022, the team also announced a new configuration system, allowing communities to alter the settings of their Growth Features installation.

Gadget and user script policy being drafted

A policy for MediaWiki gadgets and user scripts is being drafted. Previously, these tools were ill-defined, leading to misunderstandings between engineers and wiki-based code developers when wiki-based code breaks. This also leads to code rot, where developers do not feel empowered to make changes as it's unclear how their changes will impact wiki-based code developers. On top of this, when wiki-based code breaks it's not clear who can and will fix it. Together, a policy is being drafted that has the goal of working for Wikimedia staff, volunteer contributors (on Gerrit and Github), and wiki-based code developers, to lead to a better experience for all parties and try to restore trust and good faith between them. Community input is welcome on the talk page.

2022 Wikimedia Hackathon completed

The logo of the Hackathon.

The 2022 Wikimedia Hackathon was held as a hybrid event from May 20-22. An online, game-style space was utilized, and 11 local meetups were conducted with the help of community grants. 117 participants signed up, participating in sessions on a variety of topics including infrastructure, localization, Python, Wikibase, and community-building. The next Wikimedia technical event is the Wikimania Hackathon, scheduled for August 11-14, 2022.

Real Time Preview for Wikitext project deployed on some wikis

A version of the Real Time Preview project has been launched on the Polish Wikipedia by the Community Tech team at the Wikimedia Foundation. The team is working on soliciting community feedback in order to improve the issue. They have decided to roll it out as a Beta Feature before they release the feature to everyone, due to the high-impact environment. This will allow them to collect feedback and make improvements before they release it to everyone. Feedback is welcome on the project's talk page.

Some old browsers no longer supported

Due to the use of nonoptimal workarounds, some very old browsers and operating systems are no longer supported (see Tech News). Some things on the wikis might look weird or not work in very old browsers, like Internet Explorer 9 or 10, Android 4, or Firefox 38 or older. This change follows the MediaWiki compatibility guidelines.

In brief

New user scripts to customise your Wikipedia experience

For further news and updates associated with user scripts, see the Scripts++ Newsletter

Bot tasks

Recently approved tasks

Bots that have been approved for operations after a successful BRFA will be listed here for informational purposes. No other approval action is required for these bots. Recently approved requests can be found here (edit), while old requests can be found in the archives.


Current requests for approval
Bot Name Status Created Last editor Date/Time Last BAG editor Date/Time
ScannerBot (T|C|B|F) Open: BAG assistance requested! 2022-05-05, 01:48:28 0xDeadbeef 2022-05-28, 07:43:47 Headbomb 2022-05-17, 10:24:23
ButlerBlogBot (T|C|B|F) On hold 2022-03-07, 14:03:04 Primefac 2022-03-10, 10:29:19 Primefac 2022-03-10, 10:29:19
ZabesBot (T|C|B|F) On hold 2022-01-15, 22:43:07 Zabe 2022-05-14, 11:56:56 Primefac 2022-02-16, 12:39:30
DoggoBot 7 (T|C|B|F) In trial 2022-04-03, 22:49:12 EpicPupper 2022-05-18, 15:24:21 Primefac 2022-05-07, 14:53:51
GalliumBot (T|C|B|F) In trial 2022-04-29, 04:02:58 Theleekycauldron 2022-05-18, 19:16:10 Primefac 2022-05-07, 14:51:13
BareRefBot (T|C|B|F) Extended trial 2022-01-20, 21:37:46 Rlink2 2022-05-04, 12:29:37 Primefac 2022-03-28, 18:32:02
AssumptionBot (T|C|B|F) In trial 2022-02-16, 11:35:09 AssumeGoodWraith 2022-04-10, 03:23:38 Primefac 2022-03-27, 12:37:16
Qwerfjkl (bot) 12 (T|C|B|F) Trial complete 2022-05-14, 09:13:42 Qwerfjkl 2022-05-26, 14:53:36 Primefac 2022-05-26, 14:31:27
BattyBot 67 (T|C|B|F) Trial complete 2022-05-24, 04:14:48 GoingBatty 2022-05-24, 19:33:32 Primefac 2022-05-24, 08:22:29

Latest tech news

Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community: 2022 #21, #20, & #19. Please tell other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations are available on Meta.

Meetings

Installation code

Further information: Wikipedia:User scripts § How do you install user scripts?
  1. ^ Copy the following code, edit your user JavaScript, then paste:
    {{subst:lusc|1=User:Terasail/ArticleInfo.js}}
  2. ^ Copy the following code, edit your user JavaScript, then paste:
    {{subst:lusc|1=User:NguoiDungKhongDinhDanh/AjaxLoader.js}}
  3. ^ Copy the following code, edit your user JavaScript, then paste:
    {{subst:lusc|1=User:Anerisys/contribution_shortcuts.js}}
  4. ^ Copy the following code, edit your user JavaScript, then paste:
    {{subst:lusc|1=User:Diegodlh/Web2Cit/script.js}}
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The new video player is no small thing. It makes embedding Wikimedia-hosted media outside our wiki-centric ecosystem so much more reliable and, as noted on the project page, it now works on mobile devices. Over a decade since rectangular slates of glass have become the most popular way folks access the internet. That's huge! Ckoerner (talk) 18:45, 1 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]

  • It does not seem to support TimedText subtitles, though, like the old player did. Clicking the CC button allows you to go to the captions page to edit them, but I cannot see how you are supposed to just be able to view them. Daniel Case (talk) 03:24, 4 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]
    • @Daniel Case: for me they work on both desktop and mobile: there's a "CC" button in the bottom bar that you can hover over and change to the desired language. In the case of audio without video, though, I'd like captions to come up automatically—to a language that can be specified in wikicode but defaults to the language of the wiki. — Bilorv (talk) 15:28, 4 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]
      All I see when I hover over it is "create captions". I click that and it takes me to Commons where I can choose from the caption files. (As for defaulting to the language of the wiki, that assumes that subtitles are available in that language) Daniel Case (talk) 17:28, 4 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]
      What file are you looking at? The one I picked as an example, the audio file at The 1975 (2019 song), is hosted on en.wiki (NFCC) so maybe there's a difference in display. (As for my default suggestion, if there's no captions in that language then you'd obviously have to choose different behaviour, be it showing the first language in which captions were created, or hiding captions.) — Bilorv (talk) 19:03, 4 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]
      @Bilorv: Timedtext captions don't work for me either. I tried File:The 1975 (2019 song).ogg (local file) and File:Bezoek Britse oorlogsbodem-518039.ogv (Commons file). Both have english captions, but the player shows only "create captions" option. Monobook skin, Firefox 101. MKFI (talk) 09:52, 9 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]
      @MKFI: very curious. Something has changed for me between 4 June and today, because I'm now seeing the same thing you are, with no captions. Moreover, it was working for me on both desktop (Firefox) and mobile (Safari), and now works on neither! Did the video player change happen simultaneously on all user accounts? Perhaps it's my beta/preference settings or A/B testing? — Bilorv (talk) 18:25, 9 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]
      @Bilorv, Daniel Case, and MKFI: The captions were temporarily broken, but they should be working again now. —TheDJ (talk • contribs) 07:53, 22 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]
      Yes, it's now working for me again. — Bilorv (talk) 15:37, 22 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]
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