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Suggestion by Another Believer (2020-10-25)

McNeil Jr., Donald G. (October 22, 2020). "Wikipedia and W.H.O. Join to Combat Covid-19 Misinformation". The New York Times. ---Another Believer (Talk) 18:04, 25 October 2020 (UTC)

AB, it is listed already in our In the Media draft. ☆ Bri (talk) 21:41, 25 October 2020 (UTC)
Bri, 👍 Like Thanks! ---Another Believer (Talk) 23:31, 25 October 2020 (UTC)

Signpost Archives

Hello, Signpost staffers,

Back in 2015, I undertook categorizing the Signpost archives from 2005 to 2015 according to subject (see Category:Wikipedia Signpost archives 2014 as an example).

Before playing catch-up on years 2015-2020, I thought I'd ask if you all had any objections to refining the current archiving categories a bit. It can be useful to have all of the, say, News & Notes, April Fools articles or Paid editing articles in categories that are easy to find. But before diving in again, I thought I'd run the idea past you first. Since the subjects of concern have changed over the years, if you had any ideas for additional subject categories that would be helpful, I'd love to hear what they are. Thanks. Liz Read! Talk! 16:48, 28 October 2020 (UTC)

Thanks @Liz:. Let me just speak personally - my preferences may be quite different from others'. Current other editors, and future other editors. I love our archives - use them all the time, others should also! Anything you want to do to improve the archives is great. OTOH I'm one of those people who almost never use categories on enwiki. On Commons, yes, on enwiki, no. In short go for it. Smallbones(smalltalk) 04:23, 30 October 2020 (UTC)
Yes, I'm biased about categories, I use them every day on the project. Thanks for your blessing. ;-) Liz Read! Talk! 05:20, 30 October 2020 (UTC)

Suggestion by Davidwr (2020-11-07)

The Signpost should write about one or more of the many related topics covered in A vicious culture war is tearing through Wikipedia: Edit-warring was already common as India descended into political polarisation. Then along came Covid-19 (Wired Magazine web site, 5 November 2020, by Omer Benjakob). davidwr/(talk)/(contribs) 20:33, 7 November 2020 (UTC)

Suggestion by TapefaceYT (2020-11-10)

The Signpost should write about edit wars and ways to prevent them.@theREALtapefaceyt (talk) 01:25, 10 November 2020 (UTC)

Suggestion by ssr (2020-11-13)

The Signpost should write about user:Dalorleon's study of Wikipedian Inclusionism for Harvard University. You can simply examine his contributions to find out details. --ssr (talk) 12:14, 13 November 2020 (UTC)

Hello, ssr! Yes, I was notified! If the Signpost wanted to write about my study, that would be awesome, although I would say that it's still in a relatively early stage. My thesis will likely be more coherent by a few months from now. But I do appreciate the suggestion! --Dalorleon (talk) 17:08, 14 November 2020 (UTC)

Suggestion by Another Believer (2020-11-20) -- more COVID-19 coverage in the media

---Another Believer (Talk) 15:45, 20 November 2020 (UTC)

@Another Believer: We've got the Guardian article in "In the media" already, and I can get Metro pretty easily. I've avoided the Daily Mail and other tabloids. But can you get the Telegraph and write a sentence about it and put it in "ITM". I know it's cheap, but I've got way too many $3 per month newspaper subscriptions already!

the text so far reads

Lockdown 1.0 - Following Wikipedia?

BBC Two reportedly had an excellent hour-long documentary Lockdown 1.0 - Following the Science? airing on November 19 about the UK government's handling of the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately those of us outside the UK cannot view the online version due to licensing restrictions.

The Guardian provided a detailed review of the documentary, giving it 4 stars, and surveying the many facts presented, including one about Wikipedia:

"The public may be surprised to hear we were using data from Wikipedia very early on – but it really was the only data publicly available." — Dr. Ian Hall of Manchester University, deputy chair of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling

Several UK tabloids have also featured this quote in their reporting on the documentary.

Thanks, Smallbones(smalltalk) 03:22, 22 November 2020 (UTC)

Things heating up over in the Somalia domain

Suggestion to feature Movement communications insights (2020-11-24)

Hi, is there is still time to suggest a mention to m:Movement communications insights for the News from the WMF section? I could write a piece with the length and on the deadline that you define. We are seeking volunteers with different profiles to have a good representation of the diversity in our movement. The Signpost has a very interesting distribution that could help us reach out to volunteers that otherwise would miss this call for participation. Qgil-WMF (talk) 10:51, 24 November 2020 (UTC)

Suggestion by davidwr (2020-11-24)

The Signpost should write about... Twitter's greatly expanded "verified Twitter account" system, which according to this edit at WT:WPAFC,"Having a Wikipedia bio with 3 references is enough to be verified under some conditions."

From the Twitter link: https://help.twitter.com/en/managing-your-account/about-twitter-verified-accounts

Activists, organizers, and other influential individuals: [one item off "list A" and one item off "list B"]. List B includes A Wikipedia page about them with at least 3 external references to distinct, unaffiliated sources;

This might be better suited for the January newsletter since the program is on hold until 2021. davidwr/(talk)/(contribs) 21:48, 24 November 2020 (UTC)

Suggestion by ssr (2020-11-25)

The Signpost probably may write about, or just mention, our next Photo Wiki Excursion illustrated English language report: n:ru:Zelenogorsk Wiki Car Expedition for Railways and Swamps. There are links to previous ones within. As written (and shown) within, we regularly do this as officially recognized Wikimedia User Group to enrich Wikipedia and its "sisters" such as Commons, Wikivoyage and Wikinews. --ssr (talk) 23:46, 25 November 2020 (UTC)

Wikimedia mention

This article has been generating a lot of debate today on India-related noticeboards and articles. The complaint is addressed to Wikimedia but involves the English Wikipedia. Liz Read! Talk! 19:41, 3 December 2020 (UTC)

Here is the MSN version. Liz Read! Talk! 20:02, 3 December 2020 (UTC)
@Liz: I've added the MSM article to the next in the media section. Llewee (talk) 20:34, 10 December 2020 (UTC)

Suggestion by Gnom (2020-11-29)

German symphony orchestra releases first-ever professional recordings of orchestral music under free license – I just wrote about this for the GLAM newsletter, but it might also be someting for the Signpost. --Gnom (talk) 13:32, 29 November 2020 (UTC)

@Gnom: I put a note on outreach:Talk:GLAM/Newsletter/November 2020/Contents/Germany report highlighting the U.S. Marine Symphony Orchestra. I would assume its recordings are in the public domain, subject to any underlying copyrights on the music itself of course. davidwr/(talk)/(contribs) 17:07, 29 November 2020 (UTC)
Thanks, davidwr, the U.S. Marine Symphony Orchestra's performances do qualify as "government works" in certain circumstances, but they have never released anything under a free license. This is relevant because their works are technically only in the public domain in the United States, and remain protected by copyright in other countries. --Gnom (talk) 17:31, 29 November 2020 (UTC)
Musopen has been doing this for 15 years, so I don't think "first" is accurate here. Lots of examples in commons:Category:Musopen. czar 23:59, 6 December 2020 (UTC)
Thank you for your comment, Czar – do we know which orchestra(s) is/are featured in these recordings and who did the recordings? Also, they are all published under CC0, right? What I am trying to say is that it is a first, depending on how you define it :-) --Gnom (talk) 09:51, 7 December 2020 (UTC)
Mainly the Czech National Symphony Orchestra[1][2] mostly under PD Mark 1.0, though Musopen has all kinds of Creative Commons works so would have to trudge through that before landing on a superlative. Still, I'd rephrase the headline as is. czar 04:39, 8 December 2020 (UTC)
Thank you for helping me understand this better. It looks like that Musopen bought the rights to the recording from the orchestra(s) to then release it under CC0. I will try to open a discussion on your talk page to look into this. --Gnom (talk) 14:06, 12 December 2020 (UTC)

Suggestion by User:Mjroots (2020-12-10)

You might want to cover the recent requested move of the Fugging article. See talk:Fugging, Lower Austria. Mjroots (talk) 09:40, 11 December 2020 (UTC)

ArbCom voting stats

Something I compiled you may find useful for your upcoming article on the ArbCom election results. It was triggered by someone's query about how this year's voting turnout compared to previous years, so I compiled to satisfy my own curiosity. The numbers are drawn from (1) totals reported for each ArbCom election back to 2008 (vote counters did not count total votes before that year) & (2) the Foundation's reported numbers for "active editors" of en.wikipedia rounded to the nearest thousand. (What "active editors" exactly means, you'd need to ask them.)

Year Total votes cast in election Reported active editors (as of January)
2020 1713 39,000
2019 1695 38,500
2018 2118 39,000
2017 1993 39,000
2016 1950 37,000
2015 2674 38,000
2014 594 37,000
2013 945 39,000
2012 858 41,000
2011 736 43,500
2010 860 46,000
2009 997 50,000
2008 984 53,000

(Source for active editors -- defined as an editor with more than 5 edits a month -- is stats.wikimedia.org. As of 2018 the Foundation no longer tracks "very active editors" -- more than 100 edits a month.)

Two observations:

  1. The number of people voting in ArbCom is clearly independent of how many active editors en.wikipedia has.
  2. That notable fluctuation in votes falls during Lila Tretikov's tenure as head of WMF (May 2014—March 2016). I make no claim of any causal connection. -- llywrch (talk) 22:00, 21 December 2020 (UTC)
Can you link your sources? For definition of "active editor", meta:Research:Metrics#User_classes or shortcut Wikipedia:Activity. czar 23:57, 21 December 2020 (UTC)
Done. This gave me a chance to correct some wrong numbers. I thought I had found a page that gave numbers of active editors per year; if I had, I could not find it again. So I am providing stats for an arbitrarily picked month for each year; this correction chiefly effects my numbers for the years 2008, 2009, & 2014. (If this table is used, it will likely need to be tweaked to look more professional.) -- llywrch (talk) 23:29, 22 December 2020 (UTC)

I believe 2015 was the first year in which a mass-message was sent to all eligible voters, which explains the increase that year. Regards, Newyorkbrad (talk) 00:58, 22 December 2020 (UTC)

@Newyorkbrad: that seems to be the better explanation. (I had forgotten about that.) -- llywrch (talk) 23:48, 22 December 2020 (UTC)

Wikifunctions name

The winner of the Wiki of functions naming contest was "Wikifunctions", which has now passed legal review, so that will be the name of the new Wikimedia project to be created when the basic software for it is ready. "WikiLambda", a runner-up, will be the name of the underlying Mediawiki software extension. They will now be setting up the process and timeline for the Wikifunctions logo contest. --Yair rand (talk) 22:43, 22 December 2020 (UTC)

In the media suggestion

Wired covers the issue we had with establishing an article for Theresa Greenfield. --Masem (t) 17:56, 2 November 2020 (UTC)

Suggestion by Another Believer (2021-01-14)

---Another Believer (Talk) 15:46, 14 January 2021 (UTC)

I'm not sure if I should thank you for all the hard work, or report you to ANI for obvious self-promotion. I think I'll just say "thank you for all of your contributions" and call it a day. davidwr/(talk)/(contribs) 22:11, 14 January 2021 (UTC)
Davidwr, Hah! Thanks. ;p ---Another Believer (Talk) 14:20, 15 January 2021 (UTC)

---Another Believer (Talk) 17:51, 15 January 2021 (UTC)

Obviously, there's a ton of coverage re: 20th anniversary. Do you need help collecting all these sources or is someone already on this? ---Another Believer (Talk) 19:17, 15 January 2021 (UTC)

New textbook from Elsevier is heavily plagiarized from Wikipedia

The Signpost should write about a new glossy book from Elsevier that is heavily plagiarized from Wikipedia. See Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Chemistry#Plagiarism in Elsevier book and User_talk:Smokefoot#Possible copyright issue with an Elsevier book. It is possible that most written content of this 1000 page textbook is from Wikipedia. --Smokefoot (talk) 18:05, 2 January 2021 (UTC)

Suggestion by Tucoxn (2021-01-08) (In the Media)

The Signpost should write about this recent article in The Economist, titled "Wikipedia’s future lies in poorer countries: The site’s volunteer workforce has plateaued in the West, but is surging in Asia and Africa." The article might be behind a paywall. - tucoxn\talk 00:27, 8 January 2021 (UTC)

@Tucoxn: Along with the other 2 Economist articles in the same edition, and many more 20th birthday articles this will be in "In the media" Smallbones(smalltalk) 18:33, 16 January 2021 (UTC)

Podokesaurus

The Signpost should write about Podokesaurus. This article was promoted to FA on 1 January, after a lot of work from FunkMonk. Shortly after, it was nominated for state dinosaur of Massachusetts, and it just won (notice the illustration and some of the exact wording from the article used in the video):[3]. Note that it was the first dinosaur to be found and formally described by a woman. This may be worth a mention somewhere? Gog the Mild (talk) 11:56, 6 February 2021 (UTC)

I'm not sure if it has been officially made state dinosaur yet, but if it will be at a later date, perhaps we can make it TFA that day? FunkMonk (talk) 15:43, 7 February 2021 (UTC)

Suggestion by DTM (2021-02-07)

The Signpost could automate certain parameters related to its own statistics... Based on the 2018 and 2019 reports, and the 2020 report which is being compiled, items which could be automated:

  • Number of articles
  • Views
    • Page views per article
      • Total first week views
      • Total one year views — from this we can extract individual articles which have got the most pageviews. Accordingly we get the category views.
      • Further divide pageviews into desktop vs mobile etc
  • Contributions/Authorship
    • Total number of authors
    • Total number of unique authors — from this we extract the top contributors
  • Comments
    • How many comments per article — from this we get the articles with the most conversation and the amount of words
    • How many unique authors
  • Other useful stuff

The raw data could be flexible enough to pick up and interpret, say through Excel, and convert to meaningful graphs. This in turn could become the basis for the "annual report of The Signpost", with further inputs from The Signpost team. DTM (talk) 15:51, 7 February 2021 (UTC)

Suggestion by Aza24 (2021-02-24)

The Signpost should write about comparing articles now to those from ~10 years ago. What I mean is, maybe it would be fun to assemble a few leads for figures/places that have drastically changed over the last 10 years (Rudy Giuliani for instance, I'm sure there are better examples) and show the striking difference between their article(s) now and then. Aza24 (talk) 06:07, 24 February 2021 (UTC)

Suggestion by ssr (2021-02-25)

The Signpost should write about Bashkir Wikipedia's big celebration of its 15 anniversary which included government involvement. Here is the Russian report with photos in English you can ask Farhad Fatkullin who has English details (I love to link to Farhad Fatkullin article because I am the author of the article, but talking about username he is user:Frhdkazan) --ssr (talk) 10:52, 25 February 2021 (UTC)

Suggestion by ssr (2021-03-02)

The Signpost should write about usergroup m:NWR-Hist's biggest event ever made, the Wiki Excursion for photos, videos and texts for Commons, Wikipedia, Wikivoyage and Wikinews. The biggest event is marked with the biggest illustrated report in English language, here is the link: n:ru:Karelia Wiki Expedition of Petersburg Wiki Historians --ssr (talk) 13:18, 2 March 2021 (UTC)

Google Doodle featuring Masako Katsura

Yesterday, the subject of the Google Doodle was Masako Katsura – my FA from 2011. The article now mentions this in its "Legacy section", sourced to this Cnet news story (that plainly used the article as a roadmap for its bio of her, with no credit to the article or my writing). I'm not sure if any part of this is fodder for a story (possibly a brief mention in News and Notes), but I thought I'd raise it here in case. I'll note a few things that occurred to me in relation.

First, because of Wikipedia's prominence, coupled with the fact that our articles are almost always the first or close to first result on Google searches, and her relative obscurity, I am certain I made her much better known by making her article an FA, and subsequently having it featured on the main page. I have no direct evidence but I am betting the Google Doodle would not have happened if she didn't have this FA. It would be interesting to see if there's a connection between FA status and being chosen for the Google Doodle (it would seem sensible that the more obscure the subject, the more likely of a causal connection – but it doesn't seem something easy to check, and likely could only be inductively reasoned).

Second, When this article was on the main page it got thousands of views (I don't remember exactly how many and the pageviews tool doesn't go back that far, but I remember looking, and I think it was in the range of 10,000). Well, it got 313,051 page views yesterday! (And 8,045 for the stub part of Saturday it was functioning as a Doodle.) One thing I find very surprising is that despite having maybe 30× the views from when it was today's featured article, it got just about the same number of edits and vandalism (as another data point I just checked the history of The Grand Budapest Hotel, which was yesterday's TFA and it also got almost exactly the same number of edits/vandalism). Given the vast number more in pageviews you would expect a commensurate increase in edits/vandalism but there isn't. I don't know what to make of that. Just spitballing.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 15:23, 8 March 2021 (UTC)

Suggestion by Liz (2021-02-10)

Just a note that we now have a new oldest hoax at Wikipedia:List of hoaxes on Wikipedia, Sheikh Abu-Ali Urbuti at 14 years, 10 months. Not sure whether this is worth a mention but I thought I'd post a notice somewhere especially because it was a clever pun that escaped everyone's notice for so long. It might also have been a clue that this figure was 103 years old. Liz Read! Talk! 23:18, 10 February 2021 (UTC)

Thanks Liz. I'm very interested in how many pageviews the article got (even since 2015) but it seems the pageview page doesn't work for deleted articles. Anybody know how to get it? Smallbones(smalltalk) 03:57, 11 February 2021 (UTC)
Smallbones, I've temporarily restored this article so you could see page views. They only go back to 2015 (the article was created in 2006) but they are pretty steady so people kept viewing this page. Maybe it was an internet joke that Wikipedia didn't know about? Please reply when you've viewed so I can redelete it. Liz Read! Talk! 04:36, 11 February 2021 (UTC)
Liz got it. Thanks. Smallbones(smalltalk) 13:04, 11 February 2021 (UTC)
  • Pageviews:3,263
  • Median:1
  • Daily average:2
Re-deleted. — The Earwig ⟨talk⟩ 15:13, 11 February 2021 (UTC)
Thank you, The Earwig. Liz Read! Talk! 19:14, 12 February 2021 (UTC)

Suggestion by Hawkeye7 (2021-03-11)

The Signpost should write about a new research paper on Producing distinction: Wikipedia and the Order of Australia. Although Australia-centric, it explores our concept of notability, especially when it comes to recognising the work of women. Hawkeye7 (discuss) 20:24, 11 March 2021 (UTC)

@Hawkeye7, Hfordsa, and HaeB: This is a *very interesting* pilot project right now. Ford has assembled a good group of folks, including some Australian Wikipedians to carry it through. I've pinged HaeB in case he wants to review it (whenever). I personally don't think it is ripe yet, but that might depend on how it is addressed. Is it a finished paper? no. Perhaps a project of Wikipedia Australia? Something that might be extended, e.g. to British honours? Or to a WikiProject. Lots of potential here! Email me if you have any specific ideas. Smallbones(smalltalk) 14:27, 14 March 2021 (UTC)

Nigeria "partnering" with Wikipedia to boost toursim

According to this article, the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation is "partnering" with Wikipedia and some internet giants such as Google to "contently build the tourism sector". Sparse on the details. -Indy beetle (talk) 04:38, 15 March 2021 (UTC)

Elaine Chao

Also, government report states Elaine Chao, former US Secretary of Transportation, directed staffers to edit the page on James S. C. Chao, her father (news here). -Indy beetle (talk) 04:42, 15 March 2021 (UTC)

Got it. Smallbones(smalltalk) 22:14, 15 March 2021 (UTC)

Suggestion by Enwebb (2021-03-16)

The Internet Archive now has a new feature, Internet Archive Scholar, to search for free versions of academic papers. Enwebb (talk) 15:46, 16 March 2021 (UTC)

This looks very good. Is it just for open access journals and pre-prints? Anybody interested in writing it up? Smallbones(smalltalk) 16:25, 17 March 2021 (UTC)

Wikimedia Enterprise

New media mention (petty edit wars)

 Closed The Ringer recently highlighted some of our pettiest edit wars in light of our 20th anniversary. See [4]. -- Calidum 17:05, 15 January 2021 (UTC)

@Calidum: "server not found." davidwr/(talk)/(contribs) 17:44, 15 January 2021 (UTC)
It still works for me. -- Calidum 18:02, 16 January 2021 (UTC)
It does NOT still fail for me. It must've been a transient error or something like that. davidwr/(talk)/(contribs) 01:38, 17 January 2021 (UTC)

Suggestion by TimTempleton (2021-01-17)

 Closed The Signpost should write about this coverage in TIME Magazine. [[5]] TimTempleton (talk) (cont) 15:35, 17 January 2021 (UTC)

How you all can help

There will be 2 Signpost articles about the 20th birthday feedback

Please help out by linking media stories in the proper column. You can do any of these steps (in order)

  • link to the article or video using the format [url Headline]
  • just describe in a couple of phrases what the article is all about. We might as well leave out the things that almost all the articles have in common (e.g. Wikipedia is 20 years old,very big with a lot of pageviews). Maybe just add a couple of quotes.
  • if you get that far write up a paragraph or two on why this article is meaningful or differs from the rest.
  • there's no need to sign these paragraphs, but if you write 3-4 fairly finished paragraphs, please add yourself in as an author in the byline.
  • I'll likely reorder and edit the paragraphs and try to add text making sense out of the whole collection. If you can do that , add yourself in as the 1st author.

@Another Believer, Davidwr, and Timtempleton: and all.

Smallbones(smalltalk) 18:29, 17 January 2021 (UTC)

Northern Luri Wikipedia

 Closed m:Proposals for closing projects/Closure of Northern Luri Wikipedia - it was deleted. The public langcom archives have a bit more backstory. Rschen7754 19:10, 17 January 2021 (UTC)

Suggestion by rchard2scout (2021-01-22)

 Closed The Signpost should write about Flyer22 Frozen, who has passed away recently. Her obituary is probably a good place to start. rchard2scout (talk) 15:52, 22 January 2021 (UTC)

Suggestion by Davidwr (2021-01-22)

 Closed The Signpost should write about... the passing of Flyer22 Frozen (talk · contribs). No need to elaborate or drag in details of the now-closed ARBCOM case involving her, just a brief mention that a long-time contributor has passed, with a link to either the announcement or the user's page or talk page. davidwr

Suggestion by Shushugah (2021-01-24)

 Closed The Signpost should briefly announce the upcoming Wiki Online Edit-a-thon (February 19-21 2021) about the intersections/coverage of trade unions and technology. Organized by Berlin Chapter of Tech Workers Coalition, it's open to all people curious about such topics. The event is visible at Wikipedia:WikiProject Organized Labour/Online edit-a-thon Tech February 2021.

Briefly about myself, I have been actively editing Wikipedia past 3 years. I am a recent member of WikiProject WP:LABOR and inspired by the Wikipedia Signpost article on the disappearance of labor violations, documented in the recent op-ed Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2020-12-28/Opinion ~ Shushugah (talk) 21:43, 24 January 2021 (UTC)

Suggestion by Vchimpanzee (2021-01-25)

 Closed The Signpost should write about Scott Hollifield's experience writing a bogus article and his opinions of Wikipedia now.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 23:56, 25 January 2021 (UTC)

Suggestion by Another Believer (2021-02-04)

 Closed Here's another piece about the storming of the Capitol article, published after the 1/31 issue of Signpost:

---Another Believer (Talk) 16:48, 4 February 2021 (UTC)

Yeah, it's amazing how this story has legs. There are at least 3 reliable sources on it now, so maybe there could be a Wikipedia article on it Wikipedia coverage on the storming of the Capitol, probably not, but still a very good job on the original WP article. Smallbones(smalltalk) 19:57, 7 February 2021 (UTC)

Katherine Maher stepping down as CEO of WMF

 Closed She's announced that she is leaving on 15 April [6]. Nthep (talk) 18:40, 4 February 2021 (UTC)

@Nthep: and others. We should have an interview on this and if you're quick you may be able to get in a question. (no promises though) You can ask anything you want, (nothing personal or in bad taste of course) but please nothing like a lecture ending up "So why didn't you do it the way I would have?" Smallbones(smalltalk) 20:05, 7 February 2021 (UTC)

Suggestion by Maile66 (2021-02-06)

 Closed The Signpost should write about... a humor list or category about internet buzz phrases of the moment. What I currently see at CSD are people (or parents of youth, I suspect) creating pages, with their qualifying background being that they are "an influencer". The youngest I've seen at CSD was a page for a 5 or 6-year-old "Youtuber and Influencer" on the internet. The terminology originated on social media sites, but there surely must be a way to write about this with humor. And I'm sure there are a lot of such phrases at any given time. — Maile (talk) 22:09, 6 February 2021 (UTC)

Sounds like a good topic for the late-March/early-April edition. Heck, that whole edition could have "humor"/"April Fools" as either a major theme or a minor undercurrent, depending on whether the "real news" that needs to be covered will make having an overt "humor theme" inappropriate. davidwr/(talk)/(contribs) 22:14, 6 February 2021 (UTC)
Hmm, maybe celebrate 20 years of Wikipedia by comparing "buzz phrases" of 2021 vs. the nearest equivalent phrase from 2001. I'm sure we have plenty of editors who were in their preteens or teens back in "ancient times." Some of them might even remember what the buzzwords of the day were. davidwr/(talk)/(contribs) 22:21, 6 February 2021 (UTC)
We could call Jimbo the "Influencer in Chief". I mean, when you really think about it, he and by extension Larry Sanger created something that really does influence the world every day. — Maile (talk) 00:56, 7 February 2021 (UTC)

We'll publish on March 29, so I can't see having an entire issue on humor, but I'm always looking for one good humor article. I'd especially like to get a cartoonist for the "humour" column. Perhaps the theme for late-March might be "Wiki April Fools Day jokes that didn't quite work". All the humo(u)rist would have to do is look back through the "Did you know ..." April 1 columns (or other places) for April fools jokes that didn't quite work and draw a picture interpreting it. So for example, if there was a DYK saying "Did you know that... hand size is related to the size of other body parts?" the cartoonist could draw a picture of two hands (just outlines) with tiny legs each with a speech balloon above their "heads" containing a simple "?". To make it even funnier, one of the hands could be larger than the other. Of course no politics or BLPs allowed. @Levivich: Do you think something like that might work? Smallbones(smalltalk) 02:36, 10 February 2021 (UTC)

Idea 2: Did you know ... that a Whopper is a great sandwich? Big ugly hamburger (with tiny legs, arms and hands): Wow! I wish that I'd written that myself! Alexa: You did. TV in background (with a little guy in a paper hat, holding up a burger): A Whopper is a great sandwich! Smallbones(smalltalk) 03:23, 10 February 2021 (UTC)

Suggestion by Ad Huikeshoven (2021-02-08)

 Closed The Signpost should write about the BoT distracting attention from establishing an (Interim) Global Council by starting a huge consultation process about how to select community board members m:Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_of_Trustees/Call_for_feedback:_Community_Board_seats, and especially because they are parting from free, open and democratic elections; while there are multiple consultations already running, like UCoC, implementation of strategy recommendations, grant making strategy, search for a new WMF CEO. Ad Huikeshoven (talk) 09:57, 8 February 2021 (UTC)

Suggestion by Shushugah (2021-02-21)

 Closed The Signpost should write about the results of Wikipedia:WikiProject Organized Labour/Online edit-a-thon Tech February 2021 which is available as a report Shushugah (talk) 19:57, 21 February 2021 (UTC)

Suggestion by USERNAME (2021-03-04)Ronaldcameron

 Closed The Signpost should write about... Ronaldcameron (talk) 14:43, 4 March 2021 (UTC)

I notice that wiki articles on notable rugby players list the teams they played for under the headings Amateur Teams / Provincial or State Sides / National Teams. This work well for players in the modern era but is misleading when describing the careers of players who never earned a penny from the game but who nevertheless played at the highest level in their day. I first noticed this when editing the entry for John M Bannerman who, as a player and an administrator, was strongly opposed to professional rugby. I suggest that this needs some thought. Ronaldcameron (talk) 14:43, 4 March 2021 (UTC)

New regulation in Indonesia affecting internet intermediaries

As reported by User:David Wadie Fisher-Freberg, Indonesian Wikipedians are "very concerned" about a new regulation in the country that "would allow the government to force ISPs and basically any web operator to unmask IP addresses of websites that are user-generated for a very broad set of reasons, including but not limited to 'inflammatory contents' and 'public disorder'. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has discussed this new regulation at length here. ..."

Regards, HaeB (talk) 08:17, 19 March 2021 (UTC)

Suggestion by Cabayi (2021-03-21)

The Signpost should write about... https://slate.com/technology/2021/03/japanese-wikipedia-misinformation-non-english-editions.html - Cabayi (talk) 13:25, 21 March 2021 (UTC)

We'll have it "In the media" Smallbones(smalltalk) 03:09, 24 March 2021 (UTC)

Suggestion by Gråbergs Gråa Sång (2021-03-24)

Something from here could deserve a mention: Wikipedia:Conflict_of_interest/Noticeboard#Tenebrae Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 12:40, 24 March 2021 (UTC)

  • This is going to be a problem for two reasons. One, WP:OUTING generally. Two, the Daily Dot "reporter" is "accredited" to Wikipediocracy. Then add transgender general sanctions for the Signpost author. I wouldn’t touch it with a ten foot pole myself. ☆ Bri (talk) 13:14, 24 March 2021 (UTC)
    • You are not wrong, but IMO that makes this even more interesting. I think it'd be sad if at least "in the news" couldn't touch it. I quote: "We have advised the oversight team that after careful review, we do not believe linking to the article constitutes suppressible outing. The article includes Frank Lovece's denial that he is Tenebrae, and per WP:RSP the Daily Dot is considered a generally reliable source for internet culture. Whether any link to the article should be on-wiki is therefore purely an editorial decision. It really does not matter if Lovece and Tenebrae are the same person or not, the COI is manifest and well documented." - Beeblebrox Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 13:27, 24 March 2021 (UTC)

@Bri: Would this be worth one or 2 lines in the Arb report? I'm not going to put it in "in the media". T-brae isn't really a public figure, but I can see this as a "local" Wikipedia "passionate" dispute. I might be willing to touch this with a 5-foot pole, but there are too many distracting but irrelevant details for me to do more than the basics. Smallbones(smalltalk) 18:14, 24 March 2021 (UTC)

Suggestion by Edge3 (2021-03-21)

The Signpost should write about... the passing of Yoninah, a veteran editor. See Wikipedia:Deceased Wikipedians/2021#Yoninah and User_talk:Yoninah#In Memory. Edge3 (talk) 21:56, 21 March 2021 (UTC)

I agree. Unfortunately, we probably didn't fully comprehend her impact on the project until we heard of her death. But the editors who have been leaving messages on her talk page, and the Proposed DYK queue for Yoninah, are pretty clear indications she had a long-term positive impact on Did You Know. We all learned from her by her example, and benefited many times from her guidance. — Maile (talk) 22:21, 21 March 2021 (UTC)
I'm very, very sorry but I just won't have the time to write it up myself. I don't think that there's much to work with at Wikipedia:Deceased Wikipedians/2021#Yoninah. The DYK queue sounds like a good idea. Anybody who wants to *try* to write it up is welcome, @Maile66 and Edge3:. But a warning - obits are the hardest things to write in all journalism. You don't get a second chance on obits. People who are very sensitive and under great pressure will complain about any perceived mistakes or slights and there is nothing you can do about it. Make absolutely sure that it is purely factual and not sentimental. Good luck. Smallbones(smalltalk) 03:24, 24 March 2021 (UTC)
@Smallbones: Do you have any examples of good obits? If we write it ourselves, what is the deadline for the Signpost? I didn't work with her that much, but I'm happy to help lay the foundations, and I'm sure that we can motivate other DYK editors to contribute. Edge3 (talk) 03:44, 24 March 2021 (UTC)
  • I don't know anything about writing obits, but a Signpost example would be good. How much space do we have for it,? Looking at Yoninah's talk page, I'm somewhat astounded by the messages left for her at In memory. We never know whom we affect by our own lives, but I previously thought Yoninah only impacted a handful of regular DYK editors. Her talk page gives evidence to a larger influence. Amazing. — Maile (talk) 10:34, 24 March 2021 (UTC)
  • Yeah, I was the one who originally posted to the talk page there. I would be happy to help, is there any information in particular that you are looking for? I know I can't link to the off-wiki obit itself, but I want to be sure that I wouldn't be violating any policy by sharing what I did find. It's nearly midnight where I'm at, so sorry in advance if I don't get back to you very promptly! ❯❯❯ Mccunicano☕️ 14:15, 24 March 2021 (UTC)

{{od}@Edge3 and Maile66: plus others. Sorry for the delay. Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2020-05-31/Obituaries has got 4 "good" obits (one was too short). Length - about the size of those or a bit longer. Please have it ready by this Friday (late evening NY time). I'll make sure there's a "blank" obit page ready in the Newsroom. Thanks. Smallbones(smalltalk) 16:22, 24 March 2021 (UTC)

Gerda Arendt FYI. — Maile (talk) 16:39, 24 March 2021 (UTC)
I copied the entry from Deceased Wikipedians as a placeholder, better than nothing. Added an image from one of her GAs, matching Passover - around when it will appear. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 17:08, 24 March 2021 (UTC)
@Smallbones: We've finished our edits to the obit, I think. I left a note at WT:DYK for additional editors to provide their input until tomorrow evening, but hopefully there's not too much that will change before the final deadline tomorrow. Edge3 (talk) 02:03, 26 March 2021 (UTC)

Suggestion by USERNAME (2021-03-29)

The Signpost should write about... 111.125.121.132 (talk) 18:51, 30 March 2021 (UTC)

Wikipedia should cease being a fake-news propaganda page. There are several articles that are published with false information and some with strong political bias. Failing to take this advice will subject Wikipedia to a libel suit.

Yawn... ---Another Believer (Talk) 20:07, 30 March 2021 (UTC)

Suggestion by Sennecaster (2021-03-29)

The Signpost should write about the frequency of copyright violations and the problems it causes for the wiki. I don't know if it's been covered before, but WP:CP and WP:CCI are pretty inundated with requests, not to mention that there are a growing number of FAs and GAs with copyvio (one was GA'd this week, although it is not the fault of the reviewer as the source was extremely difficult to track down.) I'm sure every other wikimedia project has copyvio problems as well; Commons I know for sure. Making editors aware of copyvio and its problems is something I and other frequent contributors to CCI want to emphasize (including the implications for the projects as a whole; what if someone starts suing?) We have more people active than ever at CCI right now, but we still are getting more requests than we are closing, and some of the behemoths (thousands of articles) from the very beginning are still open.

Not only that, sometimes removing the material is extremely difficult; we can't axe out half of a GA or FA, and some people fight our removals because they think we are taking a side, are extremely deletionist and therefore evil, or just flat out breaking consensus. In reality, we're trying to comply with policy and largely dislike the fact that we have to remove the content in the first place.

Lastly, this entire enterprise of Copyright Problems and CCI runs on the effort of 6 or 7 admins total. Sure, a regular user like myself is able to delete copyvio and tag it, but a sysop is the only one who can block an active repeat copyvioer, revdel extreme cases, and they all hold the necessary scripts used in those enterprises. I think these are all good reasons, and I think others that frequent CCI would appreciate the Signpost writing on it. I'm not sure what section this would go in, but I hope you consider! Kind regards, Sennecaster (talk) 16:45, 29 March 2021 (UTC)

The Signpost has had many, many stories on copyright [7] but almost all of them are over 5 years old. Would you @Sennecaster: like to wrie somthing up on it? Maybe on the history of copyright cleanup, maybe "where we stand now", maybe something completely different! email me if you have any ideas, copy deadline April 24. Smallbones(smalltalk) 15:54, 1 April 2021 (UTC)
Sounds good, though I will probably collaborate with other frequent CCI editors. retsacennS (Talk) (Pain and Suffering) 15:57, 1 April 2021 (UTC)

Suggestion by The C of E (2021-04-02)

The Signpost should write about WP:DYK's traditional April Fools Day celebration being another success with all articles features gaining enough views for entry on WP:DYKSTATS for a second year runni g. It was also popularly received outside of the project, with Twitter comments being positive. One saying we always win and another saying we are the only good website for april fools jokes (I do have more if you need them). The C of E God Save the Queen! (talk) 08:27, 2 April 2021 (UTC)

Suggestion by Piotrus (2021-04-08)

The Signpost should write about the book 'How I wrote a million Wikipedia articles'. www.amazon.com/dp/B08XZTYLHN Or was it already covered? Google didn't help. Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here 12:11, 8 April 2021 (UTC)

@Piotrus: It looks interesting, bit I haven't figured it out yet. Whar's the deal? Smallbones(smalltalk) 01:18, 12 April 2021 (UTC)
Smallbones, I think an Egyptian Wikipedian published (self-published) a book about his history on Wikipedia. Not sure if it will be picked up by other media, given it is self-published, but it is of some interest to us. I think they use the same username as they book's author, so I hope pinging User:Maher Asaad Baker ([https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%AE%D8%AF%D9%85:Maher_Asaad_Baker Arabic Wikipedia user page) - I presume, the author - is ok. Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here 06:05, 12 April 2021 (UTC)

Global mechanics

Hi. Could we look to cover some global mechanistics? Remind people about m:global user pages as numbers are still creating wiki by wiki. A little note about m:global blocks and the mechanisms for resolving (either WP:UTRS for local exclusion, or requesting steward's to exempt at m:SRGP. Differentiation between local and global blacklists. There may be more that you can think of, this what I am seeing some confusion and noise. Thanks for the consideration. — billinghurst sDrewth 02:08, 12 April 2021 (UTC)

Essay on image biases

This essay might be interesting to mention in the next issue - "Military-Photographic Complex". It discusses the editorial biases that can result from the fact that the US military produces so much high-quality public-domain imagery. It's scoped towards journalists and academics, but we run into very much the same issues on occasion - I have a feeling there was a Signpost piece discussing this in the past, but I've not been able to find it. Andrew Gray (talk) 17:35, 13 April 2021 (UTC)

Suggestion by Cabayi (2021-04-15)

The Signpost should write about...

Jimbo is the subject of an hour-long interview on Show 213 of Matt Forde's The Political Party podcast talking about Wikipedia & WT Social. Cabayi (talk) 06:15, 15 April 2021 (UTC)

Suggestion by Piotrus (2021-04-10)

The Signpost should write about this COI incident Wikipedia:Conflict_of_interest/Noticeboard#Anti_Defamation_League_citation_advocacy which got news coverage here. (Forward). Here's a fun news bite: "the organization hired an experienced Wikipedia editor last May to train eight of its staff to contribute". Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here 07:19, 10 April 2021 (UTC)

We'll have something. Still lookong for the right angle. Smallbones(smalltalk) 01:20, 12 April 2021 (UTC)
As of now there is a bullet at "In the media" for this item. ☆ Bri (talk) 00:33, 22 April 2021 (UTC)

Suggestion by Praveenp (2021-04-25)

A Wikimedian who was arrested by Uttar Pradesh, India Police in October 2020 is in critical condition. His name is Siddique Kappan (His wikimedia username is User:Sidheeq). He is from Kerala, India, and he was active in Wikimedia projects (mainly in Malayalam, English Wikipedias) until his arrest.

He is a journalist by profession and he was arrested from the home of Hathras rape and murder victim while reporting the victim Dalit girl's family members. UP Police has slapped Sedition, Terrorism as well as UAPA charges against him. Wiki page includes that information too.

Kappen is diabetic and now COVID positive. He was admitted to hospital only after he collapsed in the jail cell. With his deteriorating health, it was accused that Kappan was chained to hospital bed like an animal. Today's news reports say that he is in critical condition.

India holds Rank 142/180 in press freedom Index.

I hope this is signpost worthy. In this photo, he can be seen alongside WMF CEO and Executive Director User:Katherine (WMF): File:Katherine_Maher_in_WCI2016.jpg

--Praveen:talk 08:17, 25 April 2021 (UTC)

Oh no... This might be worthy to be added. DXLB Muzikant (talk) 16:52, 27 April 2021 (UTC)
Today, Supreme Court of India directed Uttar Pradesh government to move Kappan to a Hospital under Delhi govt. [8]--Praveen:talk 15:49, 28 April 2021 (UTC)

Shiraj Media advertising paid editing

I came across what appears to be a press release or puff piece about Shiraj Media: [9] It is advertising paid editing.--3family6 (Talk to me | See what I have done) 00:48, 14 May 2021 (UTC)

Too beautiful not to mention

"When Courtney Elizabeth Thurston and Matthew Paul Del Buono first met in person, they didn’t know each other as Courtney Thurston and Matthew Del Buono; they knew each other as user:IShadowed and user:Shirik. Those were the aliases that Ms. Thurston and Mr. Del Buono used as contributors to Wikipedia...." - full love story at: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/style/they-met-online-through-wikipedia-that-is.html?searchResultPosition=1 - kosboot (talk) 14:03, 16 May 2021 (UTC)

Got it, thanks. It will be in In the media. Smallbones(smalltalk) 02:35, 27 May 2021 (UTC)

New annual WMF fundraising record after just nine months

Financial development of the Wikimedia Foundation (in US$), 2003–2020
Black: Net assets (excluding Wikimedia Endowment, currently at $90m+)
Green: Revenue (excluding third-party donations to Wikimedia Endowment)
Red: Expenses (including WMF payments to Wikimedia Endowment)

The Wikimedia Foundation has taken $142 million in the first three quarters of this financial year – more than it took over the entire twelve months of the year prior. That's according to a quarterly review for the third quarter (January to March 2021) of the WMF financial year (which started 1 July 2020 and will end on 30 June 2021). The original year goal was $108 million (matching planned expenses in the annual plan); in the second quarter, this was raised to $125 million. By 31 March, the WMF had exceeded this revised target too, by $17 million. (Note also that last year the WMF underspent considerably, because so many events were cancelled. This is what led it to stash $9 million in a new Tides Advocacy fund, as people didn't know what else to do with the money. Given that the global pandemic actually accelerated over the past 10.5 months, one would expect that the same cancellations happened again.)

In addition to the $142 million, the first three quarters of the year have also seen $18.6 million added to the Wikimedia Endowment. Established in 2016, the Endowment was at $90 million at the start of the year; it will reach its ten-year-goal – $100 million – five years early.

As we speak, there are fundraising banners runnning in South America: 1 2 3 4. According to a Washington Post article published last week, "South America leads the world in new cases and deaths per capita." Readers there are asked to "defend Wikipedia's independence", saying a donation is required today so the WMF can continue to protect said independence. The banners add that it's the 2% of readers who donate that ensure that Wikipedia remains accessible to all. They also add that by donating money to the WMF, people can tell the volunteers that their work matters.

Now given that the WMF had already exceeded its original fundraising goal by $34 million six weeks ago, the Signpost could discuss whether or not this is ethically okay ... (Also posted for discussion at Wikipedia:Village_pump_(WMF)#New_annual_WMF_fundraising_record_after_just_nine_months.) Cheers, --Andreas JN466 10:55, 17 May 2021 (UTC)

Daily Dot article

Suggestion by Another Believer (2021-05-26)

---Another Believer (Talk) 18:59, 26 May 2021 (UTC)

Yeah, I just saw this at Jimbo's TP and thinking hard about it. I know James a bit and feell for him. I also know that there are interpersonal disagreements in most organizations, where some people just can't see eye-to-eye. If that's all it is, I wouldn't want to drag an un-named person's name thru the mud (I don't have a real clue on who it is). I guess I need more info (just email me please) and I should contact James as well. Still thinking. Smallbones(smalltalk) 02:50, 27 May 2021 (UTC)

Suggestion by Ahecht (2021-06-01)

It might be good to cover the implosion of Freenode, which hosts Wikipedia's IRC channels, as well as the migration of said channels to Libera.chat. See meta:Wikimedia_Forum#Freenode_(IRC) and Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard#IRC security, Oversight notice. --Ahecht (TALK
PAGE) 06:47, 1 June 2021 (UTC)

New Authority control template look (2021-06-08)

The Signpost should write about the new {{Authority control}} look.

Bamyers99 (talk) 02:30, 8 June 2021 (UTC)

Suggestion (2021-06-20)

The Signpost should write about Wikimedia Foundation Election 2021. 

Rtnf (talk) 06:48, 20 June 2021 (UTC)

from obit comment page

Image

I am not sure if we should really show the image which SlimVirgin replaced shortly before she stopped editing. I read the change as her wish to not be remembered by that image. To my knowledge, she didn't use it on her user page, but on her user talk page, - so if that image please with a correct caption. For me, the image that she had on her user page all the time, and didn't change, would be a better representation. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 18:49, 25 June 2021 (UTC)

Change made Gerda. Also not so sure about leading with a poem. Ceoil (talk) 01:36, 26 June 2021 (UTC)
  • The standard of writing is not a fitting tribute to Sarah. I did a complete copy-edit (by request) today, and it has been reverted or somehow ignored. What a waste of time. Tony (talk) 13:12, 27 June 2021 (UTC)
  • Sound Serial and Victoria; tricky stuff! FFIW am fine with the images too. Also like the poem, its fitting, but if smallbones is reading, per Ched on your talk, prefer the blue template. Ceoil (talk) 14:50, 27 June 2021 (UTC)
Also, can we archive this now resolved back-room stuff before publication; it was necessary but distracts from the gravity of the occasion. Pinging User:smallbones as editor to do this. Ceoil (talk) 15:03, 27 June 2021 (UTC)

Copy edit suggestions

I suggest the following minor copy edits:

  • modify the end of the sentence In March 2005 she was nominated for adminship and promoted with a majority of 77 to 1. to "... and passed 77 to 1."
  • remove the second "as" in The article was described by the late Brianboulton as covering "a difficult and challenging topic", and as "an important contribution to Wikipedia".

It's gratifying to see so many editors collaborating together in writing this piece, which is the best recognition that can be paid. isaacl (talk) 16:15, 27 June 2021 (UTC)

I changed the box as suggested. Thanks to everybody for your heko. Smallbones(smalltalk) 19:53, 27 June 2021 (U

Counterpunch article

T.J., Coles (June 25, 2021). "Wikipedia and the Military-Intelligence Complex: How the Free Encyclopedia Feeds the National Security State from Which It Emerged". CounterPunch.

This article alleging Wikipedia upholds neoliberal capitalism and US interests could make for a good addition to the next signpost. X-Editor (talk) 05:20, 29 June 2021 (UTC)

It's being panned on the comments page of the current Disinformation report rght now after a very brief mention in the article. Smallbones(smalltalk) 15:00, 29 June 2021 (UTC)
@Smallbones: Could you provide a link? X-Editor (talk) 01:07, 30 June 2021 (UTC)
Actually this is 6 years old, bit it's the same bug up the same orifice. Here's the new one [10]. Smallbones(smalltalk) 01:52, 30 June 2021 (UTC)
@Smallbones: Sorry I didn’t make it clear, but I was asking for a link to the discussion on Wikipedia about the article. X-Editor (talk) 02:10, 30 June 2021 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2021-06-27/Forum in the comments section midway and toward the bottom. Smallbones(smalltalk) 04:32, 30 June 2021 (UTC)

Thanks! X-Editor (talk) 05:16, 30 June 2021 (UTC)

Universal Code of Conduct Newsletter

The Universal Code of Conduct (UCoC) project team at the WMF has started a monthly newsletter to aggregate the goings-on with the development of the code. I think a summary of it may fit in the "News from the WMF" section (here's an example of the summary version of the first newsletter on my meta talk page). The second edition of the newsletter is slated to come out mid-July, in time for the next Signpost issue. I'm happy to write the blurb as well, if that would be helpful. Cheers, BChoo (WMF) (talk) 23:15, 2 July 2021 (UTC)

Suggestion by Mikehawk10 (2021-07-03)

I'd recommend that this month's discussion report include content from the RfC's on WT:BMI and WT:MEDRS. The RfC on BMI has earned a long read from CNET, and it might be worth covering. I'm involved, so I definitely can't take it myself, but there's a lot of content there to go through if one would be interested. — Mikehawk10 (talk) 03:46, 3 July 2021 (UTC)

Suggestion by Alexis Jazz (2021-07-03)

The Signpost should write about the restriction of GFDL-licensing for file uploads. — Alexis Jazz (talk or ping me) 15:19, 3 July 2021 (UTC)

Confirmed candidates for the 2021 Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees election

20 candidates were confirmed. Voting opens 4 Aug 2021. Please let me know if you have any questions. Xeno (WMF) (talk) 23:36, 3 July 2021 (UTC)

Suggestion by Z1720 (2021-07-11)

The Signpost should write about WP:URFA/2020, an initiative by editors to review and improve older FAs. Hog Farm will be an excellent editor to get information from. Z1720 (talk) 20:11, 11 July 2021 (UTC)

NPR interview on Wiki Gender Bias

Peaceray (talk) 04:56, 14 July 2021 (UTC)

Aiming to have a review of the underlying paper in "Recent research" too. Regards, HaeB (talk) 06:08, 23 July 2021 (UTC)

Suggestion by Berrely (2021-07-22)

A recent open-access research paper about WikiProject Tropical Cyclones has come out, titled "Wikiproject Tropical Cyclones: The most successful crowd-sourced knowledge project with near real-time coverage of extreme weather phenomena". Worth an article?— Preceding unsigned comment added by Berrely (talk • contribs) 11:43, 22 July 2021 (UTC)

Looks like a good journal article. I didn't see the open access license. @HaeB: have you already reviewed this - or want to review this issue? It looks pretty short. Smallbones(smalltalk) 23:08, 22 July 2021 (UTC)
Yes, it's definitely in scope for "Recent research" - in fact I already added it earlier today while doing the monthly update of our todo list of papers to cover, and left some comments on a Facebook post about the paper by one of its authors. Berrely: Feel free to contribute a review.
The paper's open access license is linked under "Under a Creative Commons license"; it's NC-ND unfortunately. Regards, HaeB (talk) 02:02, 23 July 2021 (UTC)

Suggestion by Ssr (2021-07-21)

The Signpost should write about... Russian Wikinews made 1 million of articles, then 1,2 million, and this lead to inclusion into top-20 of all Wikimedia projects including Wikipedias. It's bigger now than Wikipedia in Chinese. And this is not "botopedia" with many articles of no sense — the numbers are achieved by uploading archives of Russian language news stories by news websites with free licenses, major of then freshly-closed NEWSru.com with proper fame and over 20 years of professional journalistic work. These are stories written by journalists and not generated by bots. The stories are generally about notable events and may be used as RS in Wikipedia. There are original detailed reports on the records in Russian: on 10⁶ articles and on overcoming Russian Wiktionary. You can auto-translate there stories to get acquainted and also you can ask us (me) in English for more info. ssr (talk) 10:05, 21 July 2021 (UTC)

Suggestion by Johnbod (2021-08-02)

The Signpost should write about the announcement of the winners of the first Core Contest since 2017. I can do something if you like. Otherwise the enties are summarized here, and the winners given here. Johnbod (talk) 15:22, 2 August 2021 (UTC)

Suggestion by Gråbergs Gråa Sång (2021-08-09)

The Signpost should write about... I'm too lazy to check if this has recently been covered, but I got a small shock when I noticed that pending submissions at Wikipedia:WikiProject Articles for creation was less than 300. Good work deserves aknowledgement. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 18:42, 9 August 2021 (UTC)

And apparantly I'm too lazy to check 2 threads up. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 18:45, 9 August 2021 (UTC)

Suggestion by Curb Safe Charmer (2021-07-26)

The Signpost should write about the very successful AfC backlog drive which has been running in July and has seen the backlog drop from over 4,000 to under 500 as of Monday 26, with five days left to go. Curb Safe Charmer (talk) 14:09, 26 July 2021 (UTC)

Oops, just suggested this independently but I'll make it a seconded. Some further information: the Articles for Creation backlog was wiped from 4,000 to exactly 0 during the July 2021 Backlog Drive (ending with a negligible number of drafts). We get several hundred submissions per day and had an ever-rising backlog that peaked above 5,500 in April; the oldest drafts had been unreviewed for over five months, dangerously close to the six month G13 threshold. I can maybe help with writing this up if given some direction. — Bilorv (talk) 15:02, 4 August 2021 (UTC)
With the backlog drive now over the number of unreviewed drafts is creeping back up (currently 549) after 15 days, so it would be great if the article could include a call to action for editors with more than 500 edits to become AfC volunteers. Curb Safe Charmer (talk) 11:14, 16 August 2021 (UTC)

Suggestion by Ssr (2021-08-16)

Russian Wikipedians have uncovered an alleged network/farm of alleged paid editors that allegedly edit in favor of Russian authorities (allegedly!), but they were caught by mathematical analysis on alleged coordinated vote for Russian ArbCom—allegedly in a try to "grab power" in Russian Wikipedia. The investigation is in progress, 1st part of report was issued by investigators group. No English information is available now, and I am personally not familiar with the details enough to give good English comments. If you are interested, I can find the people who can. This is an alleged followup to notorious "12 editors" case from 2019 which has good English coverage. --ssr (talk) 09:27, 16 August 2021 (UTC)

@Ssr: please email me directly. Smallbones(smalltalk) 13:13, 19 August 2021 (UTC)
As one can see on ru:ВП:ДАТАПУЛЬТ there is not only statistical signs of election manipulation, but also there was a list of users from Proekt investigation — this users were in "Datapult" system more than a year ago.
Members of this web brigade voted against liberal candidates and I am one who suffered from them — if their votes were canceled in time, I would be a member of ArbCom. ·Carn·!? 08:32, 21 August 2021 (UTC)

Hong Kong national security Law incident in ZH wikipedia

EDITED for clarity SYSS Mouse (talk) 12:37, 1 September 2021 (UTC)

meta:Requests_for_comment/Ongoing_issues_at_Chinese_Wikipedia_-_Resorting_to_legal_threats_and_the_personal_safety_of_HongKong_Wikipedians
zh:Wikipedia:互助客栈/其他#就WG在qq群威胁其他wiki编辑诉诸法律一事，敦请公布调查结果。

In short:

An investigation report compiled by neutral zh admin Antigng is complete, and was sent to some other local admin, although the report itself will not be made public due to privacy concerns. The screenshot is real and unaltered and Walter Grassroot made false statement.

Specific phase:

  • 截图纯属无中生有，该对话或类似对话实际未于QQ群组发生：本人认为该断言成立的可能性几乎为零（即其成立的可能性可描述为1- 已确认）；

The screenshot is fake and that conservation or similar conversation did not happen in QQ group: I believe that the probability of that conjecture is true is almost zero (That the probability of screenshot is real is one - confirmed)

  • 截图基于真实QQ群组对话，但有所篡改，以至于当事用户Walter Grassroot君实际并未发表“举报香港用户至国安”或类似言论：本人认为该断言成立的可能性很小（即其成立的可能性可描述为1- 很可能）；

That screenshot is based on conversation in the QQ group is real but is edited and or modified, so much that involved user Walter Grassroot did not in fact made a statement of "Reporting HK user to National Law [authority]" or something similar: I believe the probability of that conjecture is true is very low (That the probability of screenshot is real is one - very likely)

  • 涉事用户Walter Grassroot君未在本案中提供不实信息：本人认为该断言成立的可能性很小，且该种可能性小于b)部分所涉断言成立的可能性；

That involved user Walter Grassroot did not make false statement in this incident: I believe that the probability of that conjecture is true is very low, and that probability is lower than the probability of second point.

In addition, someone told Antigng in private that staff in Wikimedia foundation believe that this incident should be left at local Wikipedia level.

SYSS Mouse (talk) 01:36, 1 September 2021 (UTC)

@SYSS Mouse: I have moved your suggestion here. ☆ Bri (talk) 02:30, 1 September 2021 (UTC)

Slate article on Wikifunctions & Abstract Wikipedia

Saw this today:

Peaceray (talk) 15:44, 1 September 2021 (UTC)

@Peaceray: I've added this to the next issue's In the media column as a barebones mention. Feel free to expand! ☆ Bri (talk) 16:35, 1 September 2021 (UTC)

In the Media

From Wired: '"One Woman’s Mission to Rewrite Nazi History on Wikipedia: Ksenia Coffman’s fellow editors have called her a vandal and a McCarthyist. She just wants them to stop glorifying fascists—and start citing better sources." https://www.wired.com/story/one-womans-mission-to-rewrite-nazi-history-wikipedia/ - kosboot (talk) 18:13, 9 September 2021 (UTC)

I came here to leave a note about this Wired article to. I fully understand you guys are looking for quality and not quantity in regards to suggestions, but I still thought it worth mentioning. --Dutchy45 (talk) 13:32, 10 September 2021 (UTC)
I also had some commentary about this, over here.  — SMcCandlish ☏ ¢ 😼  15:59, 15 September 2021 (UTC)

Suggestion by RekishiEJ (2021-09-16)

The Signpost should write about... Wikipedia:WikiProject Requested articles RekishiEJ (talk) 20:23, 16 September 2021 (UTC)

In the Media: American Libraries

Every couple of years American Libraries (the magazine of the American Library Association) has something on Wikipedia. This time it's an encouragement to "Acknowledge Wikipedia in the research process." https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2021/09/01/stop-source-shaming-wikipedia -- kosboot (talk) 00:59, 19 September 2021 (UTC)

Thanks. Smallbones(smalltalk) 01:35, 19 September 2021 (UTC)

Ooops!

Hello, Signpost,

You typically welcome new admins but I don't see a note about Blablubbs' RfA. Smallbones? My apologies if I missed it being mentioned, there was a lot of interesting content about RfAs this month and maybe it is in there. Liz Read! Talk! 21:13, 26 September 2021 (UTC)

In News and notes, Brief notes #2. Thanks for missing it! We know for sure now that the little thing matter! Smallbones(smalltalk) 21:17, 26 September 2021 (UTC)
I'm actually glad that it was my mistake and not the Signpost. I should trust in your proofreading! Liz Read! Talk! 00:42, 27 September 2021 (UTC)

Take the lead!

Right folks, we're running this competition again after 5 long years - see Wikipedia:Take the lead! Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 12:36, 11 October 2021 (UTC)

Fluxx?

(I'm not actually certain whether this just happened now or not.) It appears that the WMF is moving its grants system away from Meta and onto a closed-off platform called "Fluxx". A mention of it was posted to the guide for the "Wikimedia Community Fund" (see the PDF at the bottom, also mentioned in other parts). The system cannot be viewed by those without accounts in the Fluxx system. (I haven't seen this announced anywhere, and I might be misunderstanding some of this.) Might be worth looking into and covering. --Yair rand (talk) 21:23, 12 October 2021 (UTC)

China vetoes WMF's bid to sit at WIPO – again

China vetoed WMF's observer bid again over "misinformation" and "violation of One China". A short paragraph on news&notes or in the media will do as nothing is new. See WMF news post. Previous report at Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2020-09-27/In_the_media should be linked. –Artoria2e5 🌉 09:10, 9 October 2021 (UTC)

Bullet point added to news and notes. Not much to write about really. --Artoria2e5 🌉 05:24, 14 October 2021 (UTC)

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