Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Screencast/Archive 1

Archive 1

Hello

Let's talk about software to start with. I don't know what we're going to use, but I'd like to familiarize with whatever program a bit beforehand. Also, does anyone know if we're making .ogg videos. Thanks. - Peregrine Fisher (talk) 04:19, 18 September 2010 (UTC)

Note: There is a Comparison of screencasting software which should be useful, but could be improved. We'll probably also want to develop our own list of "programs used in the screencasts we've produced".

Note 2: I merged/redirected the content that was at List of screencasting software into the Comparison list (with notes here). Feel free to undo the redirect, if you can think of a better solution; or just improve the Comparison list.

(I use linux, which makes everything difficult (i.e. most of the screencasting programs for linux have not been updated in years))-- Quiddity (talk) 23:37, 18 September 2010 (UTC)

Pete may come back with requirements that obviate all this. In any case.

I just searched google for "screencast open source" and came up with CamStudio. It downloaded in about 20 seconds (it's 1.3 megs), and I had made my first (no audio) screen capture video about a minute later. If we're going to make videos on how to make videos (I think I read that somewhere), then we probably want an open source player so hopefully we can legally record videos (with GPL, CC, or whatever we need) of the player itself. I'll try and upload a quick video to youtube as proof of concept. Later, we'll have to figure out how to convert stuff between AVI and OGG or whatever.

As far as Linux goes, the program is so small, maybe you can run it in some sort of windows emulator? I haven't done Linux in years, but it seems like I used to have something that would run one windows program, or maybe it was just a full version of windows in one of Linux's windows. Can't remember.

This is my second youtube upload ever, so who knows if I did it right, or screwed up WP's copyright, or whatever. Anyways click here. - Peregrine Fisher (talk) 01:36, 19 September 2010 (UTC)

Re: Linux: Every time I've tried Wine (software), I've spat vinegar. I've heard it can be successful, but it is either beyond my command-line-fu (and possibly my hardware), or I'm picking bad examples to try with. However there are some linux options that I have yet to investigate (vlc, xvidcap, recordMyDesktop), so maybe something will emerge. -- Quiddity (talk) 02:23, 19 September 2010 (UTC)

If you have fu, then that's way beyond me. I was curious, so searched for linux screencast on google. The weird thing is that most of the articles and videos that come up are 2-4 years old. Not sure what that means, but I don't like it. I will be bringing a video camera and tripod, which will work in a pinch. But, if we want to make an instructional video on how to make screencasts with Linux, I guess we should actually be able to...make screencasts with Linux. It's very intersting, so maybe you could try one of the things mentioned above by google and report on it? - Peregrine Fisher (talk) 02:40, 19 September 2010 (UTC)

I'll definitely experiment further.

Regarding what we should be using on any given system, hopefully John Broughton or another experienced screencaster will be able to guide us. -- Quiddity (talk) 02:52, 19 September 2010 (UTC)

Hi guys, glad you are talking this over. I don't have any strong requirements -- as I think we'd all agree, open formats and free software are ideal, but sometimes the tools for doing that are not usable enough to make that the best option. Ideally, we will be able to host these on Commons, but OGG format can present its own challenges, so having higher-quality versions on YouTube or other sites may be a good option.

Here are the tools that seem like they might have the most promise, based on the research I've done so far (though we should not be limited to these by any means):

• Jing
• Pixetell (Windows-only, for now)
• Quicktime (At least with the Mac version, the free player software permits recording basic screencasts)
• Ubuntu's built-in screen capture software
• The Kaltura sequencer software that's in beta on Commons

I think maybe we should start a list in the project space (like WP:SCREENCAST/Software maybe) and start listing the pros and cons of various options -- sound good? -Pete (talk) 05:08, 19 September 2010 (UTC)

That sounds great. You left off CamStudio (probaly for a reason), so I'm going to let others comment for a bit, since some of them understand this area better than I do. - Peregrine Fisher (talk) 05:17, 19 September 2010 (UTC)

No issues with CamStudio from my end -- just not terribly familiar! -Pete (talk) 17:04, 19 September 2010 (UTC)

Sounds good. I'll try and try out some of the other ones you mention. - Peregrine Fisher (talk) 17:55, 19 September 2010 (UTC)

WikiProject

I am not sure if this WikiProject needs all of the bells and whistles that many other project do (categories, assessments, collaborations, templates, etc.), but if they are needed I'd be happy to help set them up as I have experience with starting WikiProjects (Björk, Cannabis, Rufus Wainwright). A WikiProject Screencast category might help to keep project pages together. --Another Believer _(Talk) 23:53, 18 September 2010 (UTC)

I don't see any reason not to do this whole hog. In particular, a cat sounds good. - Peregrine Fisher (talk) 05:19, 19 September 2010 (UTC)

Category for sure, please. We'll have templates eventually and can make a section then, but assessments probably won't be necessary as we're not an article-writing/rating project. -- Quiddity (talk) 06:42, 19 September 2010 (UTC)

I went ahead and created Category:WikiProject Screencast. A full assessment seems unnecessary, but some sort of system may be helpful if the project begins to develop numerous templates, pages, categories, collaborations, etc. over time. --Another Believer _(Talk) 17:30, 19 September 2010 (UTC)

I also created the basic WikiProject banner template {{WikiProject Screencast}} so that project pages can be grouped together without requiring assessments to be made. --Another Believer _(Talk) 21:30, 19 September 2010 (UTC)

This is great, thanks! I think something that would be really useful, too, is some design attention to our front page. For instance, we have "Participants," "Screencast ideas," "Existing screencasts," and "Software evaluation" as some of the areas we're trying to explore. I really like what WP:WikiProject United States Public Policy has done, with the tabbed interface, but there are of course other ways to organize that stuff too. Want to take a crack at that, AB? -Pete (talk) 22:35, 19 September 2010 (UTC)

I might be able to come up with something, especially considering my profile has a similar tab design. --Another Believer _(Talk) 22:57, 19 September 2010 (UTC)

(See tab discussion in designated section below.) --Another Believer _(Talk) 23:57, 19 September 2010 (UTC)

Content

What is the primary focus content wise? Understanding the culture that can impact editing The basics of editing and using the new editor? --LauraHale (talk) 00:41, 19 September 2010 (UTC)

Good question, although I didn't understand the latter half. I think we're trying to create tutorials on how to create tutorials. - Peregrine Fisher (talk) 05:24, 19 September 2010 (UTC)

Regarding culture, WhatamIdoing just put together WP:PRINCIPLES which should prove useful.

Regarding "new editor", do you mean the newish version of the Help:Edit toolbar? (That page is outofdate. There's a screenshot of the current version at WP:RefToolbar 2.0, and I've asked Z-man if there's a current helppage elsewhere) -- Quiddity (talk) 06:17, 19 September 2010 (UTC)

Tabs

I added tabs to the top of the project pages. Other project members may feel certain tabs are unnecessary, could be combined, or more may need to be added, but I wanted to just go ahead and get the templates available for members to edit. Hopefully the pages created will work for now.

• Home: obviously, the main page for the WikiProject (think of it as an article lead, summarizing the project)
• About: for a more detailed description of the project that could also contain "how to" and perhaps troubleshooting details
• Screencasts: a gallery space for screencasts created
• Software: details about software that could be used for generating screencasts, pros, cons, specs, etc.
• Events: a space to discuss future events, archive former events, meeting minutes, etc.
• News/Milestones: news about the WikiProject or external screencasts; project milestones, etc.

These last two tabs could be combined, as I am not sure how frequent events will be, but I thought I'd go ahead and create a space for discussion until another tab is needed. Feel free to post any thoughts, concerns or comments about the tabs here. Oh, and I did not give the Screencast ideas page its own tab as the current conversation seems like one that would take place on the project talk page (this page). Feel free to change if you disagree. --Another Believer _(Talk) 23:57, 19 September 2010 (UTC)

Fantastic -- thanks, AB! This looks really good. I see your point about the "ideas" page and this talk page. Not entirely sure though, it seems like having a separate place for "proposed" and/or "in-progress" screencasts might be a good idea. If we don't get that sorted out before this weekend, maybe we can just discuss in person. -Pete (talk) 13:46, 20 September 2010 (UTC)

No problem! Any project member is welcome to edit the tabs/layout as they see fit--I just set something up as a framework to work off of. --Another Believer _(Talk) 16:28, 20 September 2010 (UTC)

Ok. Based on a slightly confusing discussion with Pete ;) I'm going to attempt a reorganization of the content that is at outreachwiki and here. My aim is to provide (move) all of the content from there, over to this wiki, and to focus what we have around this weekend's endeavour (the research and development of a how-to guide, for other editors to use to produce hundreds of screencasts). Once the weekend is over, we can restructure this page to be less "development-notes", and more "how-to".

Hopefully this works... Revert or improve, at thy will, or ask me to do so.

All done. See what you think. Critical feedback welcome. -- Quiddity (talk) 01:27, 22 September 2010 (UTC)

Sorry it was confusing, but it looks like you managed to extract some useful info :) I like the work you've done on this. I think the structure of the WikiProject will probably continue to be a work in progress for a little while as we figure out how we want to approach this stuff. -Pete (talk) 19:35, 22 September 2010 (UTC)

"Start" page

What do you guys think of having a tab/set of pages that walks people through the process of creating a screencast? It would nice to be able to tell people, for instance, just to go to WP:SCREENCAST/START if they're ready to get going on a screencast. But what exactly would that "start" page look like? I'm thinking maybe it would include some of the tabs we've already built: software, screencast ideas… -Pete (talk) 19:33, 22 September 2010 (UTC)

My intention with starting the "About" (now redirected, which is fine) was to not only offer an overview of the project but to essentially create a detailed "how to" page. In some ways, though, the WikiProject as a whole is the start page... as it offers (or will offer) links to articles about screencasts, offer ideas, host examples, and offer an informative "how to" to interested participants. To me, having a main project talk page along with a brainstorming page along with a "Screencast ideas" page seems redundant, but perhaps that is because they are not fledged out entirely. My preference would be to combine the "Brainstorm" and "Ideas" tabs (in some ways, these appear synonymous) and have a "How To" or similar tab with a thorough explanation of the creation process. I am, however, the first to admit that I know nothing about technology or the logistics behind screencast creation, so hopefully other project members will offer other ideas for you, Pete. --Another Believer _(Talk) 19:40, 22 September 2010 (UTC)

Here's my understanding of how the new layout should be working.

For the next 10 days or so:

• Home: Intro and Overview, related pages, a participants list, and a quick list of templates.
• Brainstorming: R&D notes for our development of the 7-10 "How-to-screencast" tutorials, and a "How-to" tutorial writeup.
• Screencast ideas: scratchpad of ideas for all the hundreds of videos that will be created in the future. This is Not what we're concentrating on this weekend. (But we might make 1 or 2 of these)
• Software: R&D notes of our testing out of all software.
• Events: Our daily agenda, local copy. To help timeplanning.
• Gallery: What already exists, which we should study, and emulate or improve-upon.

And then, once we've completed the weekend, and completed any tasks that we aren't able to finish in time whilst in SF, (eg 10 days from now), the tab-layout will be overhauled to something like (changes in bold):

• Home: As before.
• How-to: A full how-to guide, for creating screencasts, with embedded video examples (the 7-10 we create). Software agnostic.
• Screencast ideas: As before.
• Software: Recommendations of specific programs, with notes on quirks, and tips for success.
• Events: Mostly an archive (?)
• Gallery: Completed examples of the "Screencast ideas". Ideally, the videos will all be (1) hosted on commons, (2) listed here in our gallery, and (3) embedded in the appropriate wikiproject. (eg commons:File:Category explanation.ogv would be embedded at WP:WikiProject Categories and/or WP:HOTCAT).

Does that make sense, and what could be improved? Possibly we should start the empty "How-to" pagetab now, to slowly work on. :) -- Quiddity (talk) 23:08, 22 September 2010 (UTC)

This looks like a great approach, and matches my thoughts very closely (and expands upon them). Thanks for putting your thoughts down.

I'm curious what people think of how I incorporated the "Discussion" tab. It has always seemed to me that most of what happens at WikiProjects happens on the talk page, but unless you're a very experienced Wikipedian, you might not realize that. So I hope this will help a bit.

I'm also not entirely convinced that "Events" will be needed in the long run -- unless we think inspiring volunteers to organize occasional Screen Sprints on their own, which would be fantastic! Something, maybe, to discuss in person this weekend. -Pete (talk) 15:51, 23 September 2010 (UTC)

I was thinking we needed a "Discussion" tab the other day. Good work. - Peregrine Fisher (talk) 16:03, 23 September 2010 (UTC)

I've created WP:WikiProject Screencast/How-to as the location for our final polished tutorial. I've put in a rough skeleton just so that the page makes sense, but feel free to erase any/all of the content and start afresh. I don't want to lead us down the wrong path. :) -- Quiddity (talk) 20:50, 23 September 2010 (UTC)

Userbox

I made {{User WikiProject Screencast}}, so feel free to add it to your profile if you wish! --Another Believer _(Talk) 02:03, 22 September 2010 (UTC)

Looks great, I added it! Thanks! -Pete (talk)

Assessment?

Would it be worth incorporating the assessment feature most WikiProjects use? WP Screencast does not have too many Wikipedia articles to associate itself with, but it has the potential to oversee numerous template, files, portal pages (if a Portal is created at some point), re-directs, categories, etc. It may not seem like investing the time to establish now, but it might be worth structuring now while the project is as small as it is so that we are prepared for the future. Thoughts? I'm an organization freak, so just slap me on the hand with a ruler if you think I am going overboard here. --Another Believer _(Talk) 21:47, 23 September 2010 (UTC)

I'll give a very tentative "not as far as I can tell". Assessment is all about article-writing, and helping organize things like WP:1.0, which isn't anything to do with us. Also, WP:NOTAG ;) Anyone else is free to correct me though. -- Quiddity (talk) 22:13, 23 September 2010 (UTC)

No problem. I suppose the files are technically under the Screencast umbrella already since they will be displayed in the Gallery. --Another Believer _(Talk) 22:42, 23 September 2010 (UTC)

Which program do we use to demostrate creating a screencast?

We have to demo some software, but which one? - Peregrine Fisher (talk) 19:44, 25 September 2010 (UTC)

Script 3

On youtube. - Peregrine Fisher (talk) 16:11, 27 September 2010 (UTC)

Wikipedia:SCREENCAST/Software

Started it. I've been able to use CamStudio and Pixetell so far. - Peregrine Fisher (talk) 18:53, 19 September 2010 (UTC)

Great to see that page going, and to see various people starting to work with different tools! -Pete (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 19:36, 22 September 2010 (UTC).

The Software page is turning into a great resource. My only issue with it is that it offers project members' opinions without displaying whose opinion it is. One person may feel a particular program is good for "x", while 10 others may feel that same program is bad for "x". I think this page would make a much better resource for us as well as screencast creators if we treat the page the same way we treat Wikipedia articles. We should include citations, complete summaries, images, etc. whenever possible. That way, readers are reading reliable information and can be directed to external sources with additional details. There would be some redundancy with the Wikipedia articles about the software programs or the comparison table, but it would certainly be an informative and relevant page. --Another Believer _(Talk) 20:00, 22 September 2010 (UTC)

How articles get to be on the main page

Sage Ross sent me here, so it's his fault. After seeing Wikipedia: Verifiability and Neutral point of view, I thought it a good idea for Wikimedia to make a vid about how articles get on the main page. Who writes them, what the process is, how they are reviewed, what they are checked for, issues about expertise and the (usually) amateurs who write them. That kind of thing. And especially: they don't get there unless they are written, copy edited, and reviewed. I said I'm willing to help out with presentation. I don't know jack about video production though. --Moni3 (talk) 20:52, 21 September 2010 (UTC)

Hi Moni, so glad to see you here -- you have so much knowledge to bring to a project like this! Great recruit, Sage :) There are actually many of us here who remain somewhat unacquainted with jack, but we're giving it a go anyway =) One starting point might be drafting up an outline or a script..if you want to take a crack at that (especially if you can get a draft done before this weekend), maybe we can take a crack at it!

By the way, you might want to note the idea on this page, too: Wikipedia:WikiProject Screencast/Screencast ideas -Pete (talk) 01:11, 22 September 2010 (UTC)

It has been added to the ideas page. Feel free to start on a script (see our how-to) and collaborators will surely appear :) -- Quiddity (talk) 21:23, 27 September 2010 (UTC)

rough first take of "starting a sandbox article" - how to improve it?

Howdy, screencasters! I put up a rough first take of a screencast on how to start a userspace sandbox: File:Tutorial on starting a sandbox article on Wikipedia.ogv. I'd love to get some criticism, suggestions, and/or script edits; I'll probably re-recorded it soon. Here's the script.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 20:46, 23 September 2010 (UTC)

Suggestion 1: I saw somewhere (ahh, pg. 15 of Welcome2WP) the idea that the best way to create a user sandbox page is: to first create/save the link on your userpage, and then click that redlink to start the page. (That way, one gets directly to the editwindow, rather than having to navigate past the "*Start the.. *Search for.. *Look for.." page. (Eg try clicking this vs this), plus the user gets a permanent link to it, and other benefits).

Suggestion 2: Smaller dimensions. In my own attempts, I've been shrinking the browser-window to 800x600. Partially for the benefit of people with small screens, and partially so that there is less surface-area the viewer can be distracted by.

Otherwise it's looking good. I like your title-slides and yellow highlights. What software are you using, Wink? -- Quiddity (talk) 21:30, 23 September 2010 (UTC)

Thanks, those were excellent suggestions. I just uploaded my new version (which also has a bit of explanation of why you might want to create a sandbox, which Pete suggested).--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 18:23, 27 September 2010 (UTC)

Awesome! Looks great. I've added it back to the Gallery page. I'd suggest it is ready to be linked-to or embedded-in any relevant help page(s). :) -- Quiddity (talk) 21:23, 27 September 2010 (UTC)

Gallery appearance

How can we make the Gallery look more like a... well, gallery? Perhaps a wall of thumbnails followed by the Title, Author, date of creation, etc. underneath? Perhaps they can be categorized somehow, or separated by headings depending on the area of Wikipedia they apply to. Just starting a section to discuss potential ways to improve the appearance of the Gallery. --Another Believer _(Talk) 21:23, 23 September 2010 (UTC)

I'm just about to poke at that :) -- Quiddity (talk) 21:30, 23 September 2010 (UTC)

Poke away! --Another Believer _(Talk) 21:39, 23 September 2010 (UTC)

Yes, we need that transformed into a table format. Partially for aesthetics, but also to help avoid accidental duplication of coverage. (Covering the same topic from multiple perspectives, or for different target-audiences, is a good thing; we just want to avoid pure duplication of efforts). Any help with that appreciated. There are some notes at the top of the gallery page, for how I was envisioning it... -- Quiddity (talk) 21:23, 27 September 2010 (UTC)

Advertising

We need to put some videos on some high traffic sites, like ANI. Can anyone think of what video ANI needs? - Peregrine Fisher (talk) 18:19, 27 September 2010 (UTC)

Someone suggested "How to avoid being dragged to ANI every other week", with admins as the target audience - if anyone can actually determine how that is done... ;) -- Quiddity (talk) 21:23, 27 September 2010 (UTC)

I guess anything towards the top of Wikipedia:Database_reports/Most-watched_pages would be good, although I don't think it works perfectly. It says Little_Barrier_Island is the twelfth most watched page. - Peregrine Fisher (talk) 21:56, 27 September 2010 (UTC)

DVD

Can someone put a few of these videos on DVD so that I can take copies back to the University of Canberra for staff in my department? It would be a useful tool for some of them. --LauraHale (talk) 19:07, 27 September 2010 (UTC)

How will you get a hold of the physical copy of the DVD? Devourer09 (t·c) 02:23, 13 October 2010 (UTC)

Edit basics - script in progress

I'm working on a follow-up to the sandbox tutorial, as time allows. Here's the half-script I have so far. Basically, I'm trying to cover the equivalent of this lesson plan, probably spread across two videos. If anyone is interested in collaborating on this, let me know. My plan is do a very similar style to sandbox tutorial, although I'm open to other ideas.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 20:25, 28 September 2010 (UTC)

Thursday updates

G'morning! My coffee mug says "Be Bold"... :)

I've changed the project tabs to use Wikipedia:WikiProject Screencast/Tabs throughout. Partially so that only one page needs to be updated to make changes, and partially to remove the grey background color from the project pages. Feel free to tweak, or wholesale revert if I've gone mad.

I've also sorted the Scripts and Ideas page, so that items-under-development are at the top (to inspire collaborations and make work-in-progress more visible). The new name (Screencast Factory) is courtesy of one of the elder gods. :) He also suggested we need a screencast about "New User-Account guide - what features are now available to them", which I've added to the ideas-list at the Factory page, and will try to start a script for later.

More later, coffee now. -- Quiddity (talk) 16:34, 30 September 2010 (UTC)

One tab page = good! Coffee also = good! --Another Believer _(Talk) 16:53, 30 September 2010 (UTC)

New (fewer) tabs look fantastic. Thanks for setting them up and organising the project pages. :) --Aude (talk) 23:25, 30 September 2010 (UTC)

<nods head just to show that he is paying attention>! ;) HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 23:29, 30 September 2010 (UTC)

Script 3

Why is it stricken out? Seems to me that it's right there on the Commons, with words even! --Orange Mike | Talk 19:53, 1 October 2010 (UTC)

All the completed videos have been struck out ;)

There's currently a mishmash of visual-annotation styles in that subheading - it'll be cleaned up and vastly shortened in the next few days. -- Quiddity (talk) 20:08, 1 October 2010 (UTC)

To Do list

From long-term to short-term. Add items, or attack any items, on these lists. Please and thank you :) -- Quiddity (talk) 19:22, 1 October 2010 (UTC)

Moved to main project page: WP:WikiProject Screencast#To do

Wikiversity

I can see this content fitting perfectly somewhere on Wikiversity. Devourer09 (t·c) 02:24, 13 October 2010 (UTC)

videos requested by Wikipedia Ambassadors

LiAnna Davis and I polled the Wikipedia Ambassadors to find out what videos they would find most useful for helping students. Here's what they suggested:

User accounts

• Create a user account
• Create a user page

Communication

• Comment on a talk page
• Check messages on your talk page. When you receive more than one message since the last time you logged in, you need to either click the hist arrow on the message notification, or go to the talk page hist and do a compare
• Enable your own email
• Use all the buttons down the left side of the page, especially the "email this user" button

Navigation

• Get to the edit screen
• Navigate the hist of any article or page
• Using Wikipedia shortcuts

Article how-tos

• Add references
• Make a simple edit in a real article; probably with a comment on how not to be put off by complex infoboxes at the top and their syntax
• Create a new article
• Use templates such as filling in a citation template, an infobox, or adding a navbox
• Upload an image and add it to an article

Policies

• What the 5 pillars/most important policies (verifiability, what WP is not, etc.) are to give an outline of how the project "works"

Video interviews

• A longer video where an editor describes how he or she has written a DYKable article from scratch
• An interview with a Good or Featured article creator, describing that process

Some of these exist now or are in progress, others I think are new suggestions. LiAnna and I will be working on producing some of them, but we welcome any help we can get.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 14:57, 13 October 2010 (UTC)

WP:CONTRIB

Hey guys, just wanted to let you know that we're hoping to get a similar, smaller project together for the WP:CONTRIB team. Basically, we're looking to create all of the videos asked for by the ambassadors with the aim to getting them put on a Welcome Template for new users. They'll be posted on the official YouTube channel (copyright information pending) so there shouldn't be any problems with .ogg files. Any help you guys could give and even if you wanted to join the project for this one thing we'd be most appreciative! We really want to work with you guys on this so if anyone is interested please either leave a message on the WP:CONTRIB talk page or alternatively my talk page and we can get cracking! Panyd^{The muffin is not subtle} 23:24, 12 December 2010 (UTC)

Participation

I have a question, can adolescents such as myself participate in the project or are we not allowed to participate because of a WMF minors protection policy? —Ancient Apparition • Champagne? • 8:11pm • 09:11, 26 March 2011 (UTC)

This is a normal wikiproject - anyone of any age is welcome to participate. :) –Quiddity (talk) 19:41, 26 May 2013 (UTC)

Directory

I don't think this project is listed at Wikipedia:WikiProject Council/Directory/Wikipedia. You might want to do that. WhatamIdoing (talk) 06:09, 26 April 2011 (UTC)

Done. –Quiddity (talk) 19:39, 26 May 2013 (UTC)

power users?

There's a website called uses this which has interviews with interesting people and details the computers and software they use. I find it fascinating because it's so idiosyncratic, it's what some specific person uses, not an average or a survey. How about a screencast of some veterans, showing how they really edit, what scripts they use, how they are so fast, etc. What is like to patrol new pages, or curate AfC, or fight vandals. The beginner and howto videos are great, but maybe just a few of these "expert videos" would season the meal a little, give people a glimpse at what is possible. Silas Ropac (talk) 03:03, 27 February 2013 (UTC)

Where videos?

Is there an effort to ensure that these how-to files become available at Wikihow, Youtube, etc? Jim.henderson (talk) 11:03, 26 May 2013 (UTC)

I don't believe so. We did mention youtube/vimeo in the final step of the tutorial, but didn't elaborate. We did try hard to keep the tutorial as simple and non-overwhelming as possible, because anyone who hasn't tried to make one before, is likely to think that the process is more complicated than it actually is.

I see that wikihow Category:Wikipedia already exists and has 42 entries. (Some decent, some silly)

We can't really coordinate any upload efforts at youtube, because that would require a shared password. Also the quality of individual screencasts is very inconsistent. (In contrast to the official WMF youtube channel which is quite consistent.) –Quiddity (talk) 19:52, 26 May 2013 (UTC)

Thanks. After learning good things in youtube about bicycle repair and the use of Android I've become a mild believer in the use of video for such purposes. However, there seems to be a lot more video making than organizing, and it's something of a surprize that Wikihow doesn't step vigorously into the breach. Jim.henderson (talk) 10:56, 28 May 2013 (UTC)

Searching google for video howto brings up dozens of sites that are attempting the same thing. There's even a top 10 list from 2007!

I suspect that youtube's massive userbase trumps everything else, as viewers are simply statistically more likely to watch something related, and have "my/our" videos recommended in their sidebar (or at the end of the playthrough) as something to watch "next". It's also amongst the easiest to use for embedding, and one of the most reliable hosts. –Quiddity (talk) 22:10, 28 May 2013 (UTC)

There won't be an automated connection but yes, editors who want more audience ought to join Youtube, send a copy there, and link to it. This will also help readers who can't see the strange video formats Wikipedia uses. Jim.henderson (talk) 12:56, 18 March 2014 (UTC)

New to video group

Hey there. I thought I'd drop in and introduce myself. I'm with Wikiproject Medicine (mostly) and have made 2 videos so far. One as a summary to an article (Impacted wisdom teeth) and another for new medical editors (File:New medical editor.ogv). The latter I posted to my personal YouTube page after a request from another user who was unable to use Chrome at his institution. If there's anywhere I can help out or if I'm not following standards with the new video's please let me know. Best. Ian Furst (talk) 22:29, 31 May 2014 (UTC)

Comment on the WikiProject X proposal

Hello there! As you may already know, most WikiProjects here on Wikipedia struggle to stay active after they've been founded. I believe there is a lot of potential for WikiProjects to facilitate collaboration across subject areas, so I have submitted a grant proposal with the Wikimedia Foundation for the "WikiProject X" project. WikiProject X will study what makes WikiProjects succeed in retaining editors and then design a prototype WikiProject system that will recruit contributors to WikiProjects and help them run effectively. Please review the proposal here and leave feedback. If you have any questions, you can ask on the proposal page or leave a message on my talk page. Thank you for your time! (Also, sorry about the posting mistake earlier. If someone already moved my message to the talk page, feel free to remove this posting.) Harej (talk) 22:48, 1 October 2014 (UTC)

WikiProject X is live!

Hello everyone!

You may have received a message from me earlier asking you to comment on my WikiProject X proposal. The good news is that WikiProject X is now live! In our first phase, we are focusing on research. At this time, we are looking for people to share their experiences with WikiProjects: good, bad, or neutral. We are also looking for WikiProjects that may be interested in trying out new tools and layouts that will make participating easier and projects easier to maintain. If you or your WikiProject are interested, check us out! Note that this is an opt-in program; no WikiProject will be required to change anything against its wishes. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you!

Note: To receive additional notifications about WikiProject X on this talk page, please add this page to Wikipedia:WikiProject X/Newsletter. Otherwise, this will be the last notification sent about WikiProject X.

Harej (talk) 16:56, 14 January 2015 (UTC)