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Changes to WP:STAR

  • It is the custom to reward Wikipedia contributors for hard work and due diligence by awarding them a barnstar.

Right here, first sentence is first problem, it equates a Barnstar with a cookie. If someone is looking for a cookie, they have found it right here right now and will look for a suitable barnstar to use as a cookie. I don't need suggestions for alternatives, just recognition that it is a problem. It will be pointless to fix problems like these, wasting my time if someone is going to revert with some summary like "I can't see the problem" if people want no help, I'll go do something else until Barnstars equate to cookies pervasively and then it'll be too late to do anything but smirk. Penyulap ☏ 09:12, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

Sorry, but what is the problem? Barnstars are like cookies! What do you think barnstars are for? mabdul 09:37, 20 May 2012 (UTC)
However..people value Barnstar more than they do for some cookie..or drink.Don't you think so? StrikeEagle ✈ 09:39, 20 May 2012 (UTC)
Bleh. They are all just strings of 0s and 1s lurking in a server somewhere. More poetically, barnstars and cookies are simple tokens of gratitude… the first sentence you refer to states:

It is the custom to reward Wikipedia contributors for hard work and due diligence by awarding them a barnstar.


And that is all there is to know. Isn't? benzband (talk) 14:43, 20 May 2012 (UTC)
What is the problem ? Zeros and ones ? Well to you, your local supermarket is just 'stuff on shelves' and that is that. In fact everyone in the store thinks the same way. It's a little more than that. There are qualified professional researchers Ph.Dorks, that arrange everything that you do, placing things in the best manner in the best position, with the most appropriate kind of labelling, omg labels, and then the store lighting in different areas for different reasons. A single display unit in the deli section just two meters wide will suck up more electricity than every lightbulb in every home of every person in the store and don't you wonder why they have such energy inefficient displays ? Do you realise that the supermarket freezer section, with the glass doors on it, those doors are heated ? The music that is played, there are teams of researchers spend more money on researching a single song than you spend on buying a car because the effect on mood it has on customers is supposed to put them in a mood to forget their budget, and dream with open pockets. Stuff on shelves, Zeros and ones, just words. This is like Do I frigging have to lecture until the end of time and paste up a long list of reverts to show there are reverts before putting in an edit notice, is it like that ? the edit notice is half done btw, the image is crap, but at least it is doing part of the job, as there are less reverts (but I still have to wait till there is another one to prove it still doesn't work with that crap image)
People complain everywhere on the noticeboards about the frivolous giving of barnstars, and this is where we are at ? with crap lack of support I don't know why I bother. Every freaking place on wiki it's the same, someone(Lucia Black, but it could be anyone) has started off a section above because they see a problem, and if they tried to change it themself, Hell no, they'd get reverted with the demand to lecture and teach and drag everyone kicking and struggling into enlightenment on something they have no interest in and don't want to know anyway. If it is so boring and menial like sportsfans and opera goers swapped places, then just get out of the way, or take a class in sports appreciation or marketing dynamics or visual design or whatever. Penyulap ☏ 16:29, 20 May 2012 (UTC)
Normally I would write "TL;DR anybody want to summaries it for me?", but I read it and I'm still not understanding the problem. "everywhere on the noticeboards" - and (really) how do you want to prevent editors to give them away? The barnstars are popularized since the WMF invented such systems like wikilove.
"as there are less reverts (but I still have to wait till there is another one to prove it still doesn't work with that crap image)" - there are always people not reading notices and simply doing stuff although red signs yell at them. The edit notice fulfill its needs. Although this belongs in another section: Did I miss something to add or change you have reached a consensus? mabdul 17:24, 20 May 2012 (UTC)
I am not trying to stop people giving awards, I want them to choose the correct type of award for the appropriate situation, that's not what has been occurring in a lot of cases and I can improve the situation by directing editors to the award that they want.
There is nothing that needs change as I gave up of exhaustion on what would have been a simple task, I figure half a job done is better than none at all. If you'd like to improve it, take down that ridiculous barnstar and replace it with a hand, palm open, facing the viewer, fingers flat and finger tips to the top of the image. Penyulap ☏ 17:41, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

There is no stopping anyone from giving away a barnstar (even if they never did anything to merit one. Even i still question how I got awarded with the special barnstar as it holds no specification) unless there's a large pattern of a certain user/IP giving them out. That said, the issue isn't to make users use them less, is to make users use them more wisely and carefully. The current format has too many specific barnstars that can be merged instead of having so many....in fact, there's so any, when is anyone ever going to use the original barnstar?Lucia Black (talk) 13:25, 21 May 2012 (UTC)

So, Penyulap, if there is a problem (for the sake of argument, let's presume that I understand and support the idea that there is a problem) what solution do you propose? Achowat (talk) 13:52, 21 May 2012 (UTC)
Organising with a view towards grouping the barnstars, possibly a table for the most popular type of awards given, Anti-vandalism table having the most popular antivandal barnstar banner as it will appear on a page, then the alternatives, if an alternative needs a full width display of how it appears on the page, it gets it, but otherwise just the image and a link to the star's page, this way you can fit a lot more in, including a few awards that are not barnstars, for smaller thank you's. So from the top of the page they can get the thing they are most likely after, and direct links away from the star page where they decide a barnstar is a bit over the top, rather than 'lock them in on the idea of a barnstar' because the alternatives are too hard to find (and they are too lazy).
after the groups for the most popular ones are done come the tables according to project and so on, dumping all the blank space from the current tables, otherwise retaining essentialist information. Less fluff.
I would re-visit the idea of the visual gallery too, it should exist somewhere, along with 'make your own' instructions. Possibly list somewhere the images in my visual gallery in a table with a number on each image, and a blank template editors can copy to the target page, enter the number, the title and the message and presto instant award. Makes giving a perfectly tailored award a 60 second task. Probably same sort of thing can be done for almost all awards so that it is fast easy and compact, with more variety despite no extra space, most importantly is the crosslinking from barnstars to wikilove awards so that editors don't cheapen the barnstar or give a small award when a large one was intended. Pretty sure the receiver of the award would like that too, people don't seem to like getting a barnstar for no good reason as much as they get disappointed by an award that they think doesn't recognise the scope of their effort.
The other award pages should have at least an opening that outlines what different awards are for, pretty much what should be on the award page, but as wp:star is often the first page they come to (or the only some editor go) it needs some consideration given to crosslinking. Penyulap ☏ 14:45, 21 May 2012 (UTC)
We talked about this already, and I thought you were going to sandbox it out. Do that work; show us that your idea is better than what we have now. Achowat (talk) 15:12, 21 May 2012 (UTC)
Me do all the work? how can you help as well, beyond critique ? can you help Lucia with groupings ? Penyulap ☏ 18:24, 21 May 2012 (UTC)
I'm not sold on the vision, so, unfortunately, I wouldn't be a useful tool in having it come to life. Achowat (talk) 18:33, 21 May 2012 (UTC)

Honestly achowat, we don't need a sandbox just to see how organization could work. The issue is you want to be the spectator. instead of actually trying to see how this idea would work. However, on this case myself am 50/50 on the idea. re-organizing sees a lil early. It would be easier working on the most general barnstars to the most specific.Lucia Black (talk) 02:13, 22 May 2012 (UTC)

  • chronological ordering, has it become more chrono than logical

I'd like to know if the chronological ordering of the barnstars on the WP:STAR page is actually more important than listing the stars by the apparent probability that an editor is looking for that star, that is, listing the most popular (or likely to be) first, so it is easy-to-find by an editor arriving at the page. I'm not knowing or suggesting the ordering of the page, just examining the status quo. Penyulap ☏ 02:37, 22 May 2012 (UTC)

Actually, Lucia, you're about 65% correct. I have no interest in doing the heavy lifting here. I think the Barnstars are fine as they are; I've seen no evidence to the contrary. But my more salient point is one that affects all non-profit, volunteer-style organizations, not just the WMF. We have volunteers who get excited with something like "Oh Oh! I have this great idea and it's going to be wonderful and efficient...someone should do that". Generally speaking, if you have an idea people expect you to implement it. This "WP:STAR Redesign" isn't the first time I've asked someone with a new idea to show their commitment to actually doing the work. The WikiMedals is another clear example. While organizing "by category" might make more sense in principle, I feel in practice it will be a far harder feat to organize. So, essentially, I'm asking for a sandbox because I'd like to know how Penyulap would like to group the stars, what s/he will do with the stars that don't fit Nice and Neat into that scheme, but also so that other editors have a clear, obvious example of what s/he means by "Group them By Category", before they discuss the merits of implementing such a proposal. Achowat (talk) 13:58, 22 May 2012 (UTC)
Whilst I'm looking to see if there are enough people aware of new users giving out barnstars when they really ought to be giving out smaller wikilove gifts, and concerned enough about it to want to work together to make improvements which would address that situation and be uncontroversial enough that they don't cause discomfort to the nostalgic. It is a matter of whether or not there are enough people who think it is significant enough to work together to improve the experience for that many users. I, for one, want to help. Penyulap ☏ 15:30, 23 May 2012 (UTC)
I think we tread into dangerous waters when we start evaluating when and why users award barnstars. Achowat (talk) 15:31, 23 May 2012 (UTC)

extraordinary claims and section break

ok, so we may not need a section break, but it gives it that 'Ta daaa' sort of feeling, which I feel I deserve because ANI is so incredibly busy it is so incredibly hard to go back and find something there. but, here it is.

For 11 days, large numbers of editors were so incensed and upset that Barnstars might have been given out inappropriately they discussed banning / blocking the editor responsible.

They also wanted to change policy banning IP editors from giving out Barnstars at all here

The discussion was arbitrarily closed thankfully, before things got completely out of hand. Penyulap ☏ 16:16, 23 May 2012 (UTC)

Still, this is just reactions from many editors to the action of a single editor, it doesn't really show just how many editors are giving out awards poorly. It would be pretty good to get input from more editors finding out how the barnstars are being awarded and how new editors are fairing in their endeavours. If there is widespread advice being given out to new editors across the project, then whatever that advice is, we could look to incorporating it into the docs.
How history of wiki barnstars, and guidance on their use should be combined or separated is a topic for discussion as well. Penyulap ☏ 15:51, 24 May 2012 (UTC)
What is your proposed solution to this apparent "problem"? Achowat (talk) 15:59, 24 May 2012 (UTC)
Possibly we can get more input than just the editors here, how do you feel about a request for wider commentary ? Penyulap ☏ 16:37, 24 May 2012 (UTC)
Request comments on what? If you have no solutions to offer, perhaps you should think a little bit harder about the causes of the problem. Achowat (talk) 17:10, 24 May 2012 (UTC)
Think harder ? I guess if a sparrow thought hard enough it could tell me how to fly. Penyulap ☏ 22:09, 24 May 2012 (UTC)
Bird flight. Achowat (talk) 03:15, 25 May 2012 (UTC)

Achowat, please dont have that WP:OWN-ish tone. And Penyulap, could you give a more concrete plan (step by step) on what needs to be done.Lucia Black (talk) 03:58, 25 May 2012 (UTC)

yes, I will give it a go, though I wouldn't call it concrete, but I'll come up with something. Penyulap ☏ 04:31, 25 May 2012 (UTC)
@Lucia: OWN-ish? It'd be great to drop me a line on my talk about what you mean. Achowat (talk) 12:22, 25 May 2012 (UTC)
It'd be best, you could figure things out on your own, instead of asking for constant elaboration for the simplest things. regardless, It would be great, If there was less judging and more elaborating or at least compromise. It would be great.Lucia Black (talk) 20:59, 25 May 2012 (UTC)

Barnstar - Countering Systemic Bias? Where Is It?

I have been poking about looking at barnstars and been a little surprised by the proliferation of nationalist - regional - and even politically linked barnstars.

I have no issue with awards that promote excellence in fields of knowledge, but there is a risk of adding to "Systemic Bias" by the promotion of barriers.

Systemic Bias is recognised as one of the most pervasive issues across wikiland - and yet there is no recognition of anyone who works to role it back - stop it even a little bit - anyone who is actually aware of the issue.

Thus, the idea of systemic bias is more troubling than intentional vandalism; vandalism is readily identified and corrected. The existence of systemic bias means that not only are large segments of the world not participating in the discussion at hand, but that there is a deep-rooted problem in the relationship of Wikipedia and its contributor editors with the world at large.

Wikipedia:Systemic bias#Why it matters and what to do

Am I being daft? Or is there a missing barnstar for one of the biggest issues there is - and does that absence indicate a bigger issue, and even Systemic Bias against Countering Systemic Bias.

It gets quite surreal, even thinking about it?
Media-Hound 'D 3rd P^) (talk) 14:05, 27 May 2012 (UTC)

So what you are proposing you now? A new barnstar for/against 'Systemic Bias'? mabdul 18:26, 27 May 2012 (UTC)
True irony would be to propose one for those showing it. Fiddle Faddle (talk) 21:56, 27 May 2012 (UTC)
Fiddle Faddle It is truly ironic that the irony of your ironic comment could well an truly be lost on so many!
Media-Hound 'D 3rd P^) (talk) 22:17, 27 May 2012 (UTC)
Systemic bias is one of en.wikipedia's biggest weaknesses. I think that a barnstar for those who help tackle it would be a great idea. bobrayner (talk) 12:12, 28 May 2012 (UTC)
Do we have any idea what sort of actions or edits would be worthy of being awarded this Barnstar? Achowat (talk) 15:31, 29 May 2012 (UTC)
Frankly - as a start point, anyone who even notices the issue should qualify! Fiddle Faddle and bobrayner should get one for even grasping the issue.

Maybe it should be a graded Barnstar - level one for noticing, level 2 for giving a fuck, level 3 for saying it's bad and editing with that in mind, level 4 for fighting the good fight, and level 5 awarded to Ghandi (Posthumously), and engraved on the tomb stone of any Wikipedian after that have passed away and someone(?) notices that they also edited against it .... or should that be the motif for the actual Barnstar itself? A tomb Stone. Systemic Bias RIP. How Ironic!

It is actually depressing and beyond Ironic that such a massive and vital issue has not got a Barnstar, and no one noticed ...... and it may be necessary to even consider how to educate people into why such a BStar is required, and why it's such an issue that it is still missing!

It seems you can get a Bstar for being a performing seal, reverting anything with a bot and even just turning up and being a Technocrat - but the BIGGEST and most corrosive issue across all of Wikiland has just been missed.

Have a cookie!

Media-Hound 'D 3rd P^) (talk) 03:35, 30 May 2012 (UTC)
I don't think anyone would doubt that systemic bias is a problem, but simply recognizing it is a hard thing to award a Barnstar for. We want to reward the edits, not the editor. And absent a clear understanding of what kind of actions do (or even could) combat that bias, it's hard for me to get behind such an award. We have a systemic bias towards current events and science/technology, two issues I couldn't care less about. Should I be awarded this star simply for maintaining the pages regarding Heraldry and Parliamentary Procedure? Achowat (talk) 13:15, 30 May 2012 (UTC)
If you covered Parliamentary Procedure on a Global basis - country by country - well that would qualify... wouldn't it? There is parliamentary procedures in all sorts of places. Australia - New Zealand - Japan even has a Parliament ... and last I looked Places like India had one too! In fact there are a vast number on countries that have parliaments. So many places and so much to cover. Is the subject getting full coverage or only some coverage focusing upon certain countries?

Heraldry? Which forms? Which national groups? Heraldry is after all just badges and distinctions - so does it also address the same activities globally? Some of those distinctions come in the form of actual images and mortifications of the body. Heraldry is a very detailed and intricate business, but it is not just reserved to one country or even one continent. It does raise wider global matters. Heraldry is a form of Visual communication - using Symbols - and yet so are many other badging activities where symbols are used in culturally significant ways as emblems. I remember a fascinating discussion about the use of Symbols such as heraldic badges and a carved Coconut. One place the Heraldic shield communicated information, and on the other side of the world they used carved coconuts. The coconut was covered in symbols which communicated rank - status - family/Tribal allegiance and was even used for diplomatic activity. They had the exact same function, but only one was widely written about.

So if someone has passion for certain subjects - looks at them from a global perspective - addresses them globally - I'm sure that would be activity consistent with "Countering Systemic Bias" and it would be recognisable and suitable for an award! It's easy for people to end up task focused and subject focused and by that missing the Global aspects and significance.

In one way - anyone acting as a Translator would qualify for the award - and it's odd how there is not Translator's Barnstar either. Oh Sorry there is The Rosetta Barnstar Hmmm... ? Maybe there needs to be an Heraldic notion taken to Barnstars so that a decal or helmet or crest gets added for the actual translation acting to counter Systemic Bias? Imagine it - a talk page voting for a Barnstar over a translation and if it has actually acted to reduce systemic bias or not.

I do worry about one poor Wikipedian from Mongolia. They started a Wiki page written in Mongolian Cyrillic. It was flagged up as an Rfc - so I went to look. It was hard work tracking down any form of translation that was coherent - for even single words on the page. There are no listed Wiki translators in the field. I said that I was going to employ specific communication techniques to establish some form of dialogue. I also called the Mongolian Embassy at 8.30 am and had a chat. I even had to locate any form of on-line translation system that could deal with Mongolian Cyrillic - and I even had to do quite a few word searches on Wikipedia Monglia to see if any of the words lead to relevant pages ..... and they did!

As I found out the page was the Full Dynastic History of Mongal rulers from Ghengis Karn onwards. It is quite a complex subject and it just aint covered here in Wikiland in detail and this Mongolian Wikipedian was providing it and in a way that allowed more and more knowledge to be be revealed. It was interesting to find someone reaching out and saying here is Knowledge you do not have! I was quite excited about a quality addition - and the person using Mongolian Cyrillic had even made sure that there were images of as many of these characters as possible in place - and they had all been tracked down in Wiki commons - and by cross referencing with Wiki Mongolia it was possible to see that there were yet more images there which could be brought from one place to another and gaps filled ... a nice visual way to cross reference info - again a known communication technique to address barriers.

So I go back to the page and find it had been redirected - and sent to the wrong subject. It seems that someone with a Wiki redirect fetish just decided what the page was about and made the original page which they could not even read Vanish. Hmmmmm.... now that was a loss and the actions were not correct - oh and it also prevented new valid input to Wikiland that would have addressed Systemic Bias.

More annoying was that the page had been tagged as to be translated with a 2 week time limit - and yet within 5 hours it was redirected to the wrong page and the Wikipedian In Mongolia has never been heard from again! In total it took only 38 hours for the matter to be dismissed and less time from it being raised as an Rfc! Hmmmm...and the page it has been redirected too does not even have the relevant language inserts in Mongolian Cyrillic, and the chance to actually add then has gone! Oh would adding those have anything to countering Systemic Bias - and improving content?

As they say "Systemic Bias" is corrosive - and worst of all so many people don't recognise it when it's their own. Am I mad and insane to wonder at the issues that just keep coming up? At times it's almost Orwellian "Redirect Good - Systemic Bias Bad" just like sheep! Chant the mantra for long enough and it just has no meaning anymore.

Maybe that is why someone forgot the Barnstar!

Media-Hound 'D 3rd P^) (talk) 22:50, 30 May 2012 (UTC)

So it's your opinion that the only Systeic Bias worth countering is the pro-Western bias? I think that's folly. "Systemic bias" means that the kind of people who contribute are not an accurate cross-section of the world, or even the English speaking world. We are, largely, American, British, and Indian men with advanced education, disposable income, free time, and at least some interest and knowledge of computer programming. The things we are knowledgable about is not all of human knowledge. But there is, unfortunately, an insurmountable systematic (if not systemic bias) is that, for many (if not most) editors, the "sum of human knowledge" is inherently limited to "the knowledge published in English".


Rant aside, Systemic bias is an issue, a big one to be sure. But rewarding anyone who writes about non-Western things...it seems the scope of this Star is almost "too big". Systemic bias can be pointed to for any lack of coverage. "We don't have a page about the mayor of a small Belarussian town; systemic bias!" So now anyone that starts a new page or significantly expands a page is fighting that bias (because, if we weren't biased against 18th Century Sailboat Racing in present-day Nicaragua, then there would already be a page). I don't mean to poke fun, but I don't really see a defined area where this barnstar could be awarded. We have too many male editors, I signed up my female friend at a Meetup. Am I countering systemic bias? I'm sorry, but I really can't support a scheme without full understanding what, if any, edits or actions should be (and, as part of that, should not be) recognized with the award. Achowat (talk) 14:40, 31 May 2012 (UTC)

I've got a compromise for you. How about we ask the fine folk over at WP:CSB if they want this as a WikiProject Award. I'd have literally 0 problem with that. Achowat (talk) 19:52, 31 May 2012 (UTC)
Achowat - You asked a question "So it's your opinion that the only Systeic Bias worth countering is the pro-Western bias?"

....and the answer is NO! I actually have a far bigger grasp of the subject to limit the matter to seeing it only in a narrow manner. P^)

I have no objection to asking the fine folks over at WP:CSB for views. I happen to be one of them! P^) Not sure why that would require a compromise? Does it need an Rfc?

It seems your concern is over quantifiable action over subjective perception. It's easy to assess action and hard to asses ethics. Maybe there is a need for a different type of award that assess ethics over action?

Media-Hound 'D 3rd P^) (talk) 00:24, 1 June 2012 (UTC)
Let me explain why this is a compromise from a WPWPWA perspective. We maintain 4 major kinds of awards. "Barnstars and Other Related Awards", "WikiProject Awards", "Awards of National Merit", and "Personal User Awards". Each of them needs their own different kind of consensus. PUAs, for instance, only require one editor to use the award for it to be listed, and Barnstars and Other Awards (found at WP:STAR, and WP:ORA) need community consensus. Awards by WikiProect, essentially, just need a consensus of that project. Essentially, if WP:CSB builds an award, it's not really our place not to list it. Does that make a little more sense? Achowat (talk) 12:52, 1 June 2012 (UTC)
Achowat Thank you for clarifying your views on procedure and consensus. You did say "I've got a compromise for you. How about we ask the fine folk over at WP:CSB if they want this as a WikiProject Award."... and I did ask by return "Does it need an Rfc?". Could you clarify what you think is the best way to proceed with what you see as a compromise?

Given that Systemic Bias is a wiki wide issue and not just a project issue, does it need opinion just from the WP:CSB members or wider comment from across Wiki Land? If there is to be an Rfc, it would be helpful to know the best place for that to take place. I have had a look at the list of awards at WP:WPPA, and the list is interesting. Given that you have said "it seems the scope of this Star is almost "too big", I'm not sure if it fits within the scope of WP:WPPA. To my mind, making it just a Project Award acts to minimise the issue and it's significance to all Wikipedians. Should such a Barnstar be awarded with assessment levels that go with other project barnstars - the Nintendo Barnstar - the "Weird Al" Yankovic Barnstar - The Middle-earth/Tolkien Barnstar? There is a Dissonance there which needs exploring. Media-Hound 'D 3rd P^) (talk) 14:11, 1 June 2012 (UTC)
If a consensus for action is found at WP:CSB, then there's no need for RfC or any further action. And while there are small, top-based WPPAs, there's also {{Web Accessibility Barnstar}}, {{AAA Banstar}}, {{British Museum Barnstar}}, {{CVU Anti-Vandalism Award}}, {{Mind the Gap Award}}, and {{The Spoken star}}, which are a lot more in keeping with the style of award you're talking about. Achowat (talk) 14:22, 1 June 2012 (UTC)

Right Achowat - to summarise your view, it is up to WP:WPPA to reach consensus on the matter and not Wikipedians in general. I have considered your view and believe it to be wrong. If it is to be treated only as a project award, it would prevent those who are not part of the project receiving the Barnstar. It is quite possible for individuals to be rolling back systemic bias and not be aware that they are doing it. There is the repeated focus on action such as reverting vandalism, or tagging pages etc - readily "Quantified" actions. Other barnstars are assessed as a Judgement call - Translation - The Feather Barnstar - The Philosophy Barnstar - The Barnstar of Integrity - all of which (along with others) require judgement and discernment and not simply quantitative assessment. So I grasp your compromise, but I believe it to be wrong. So would that make Rfc the best option? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Media-hound- thethird (talk • contribs) .

While I disagree with your assessment that my opinion is that WPPA is the only way to find consensus, I agree that an RFC would find a consensus as well. However, after a weekend of thinking about it, I think it is very important that a CSB Barnstar be added to WP:STAR. Do you have a proposed image? Achowat (talk) 14:39, 4 June 2012 (UTC)
Oh! An image? Sorry, I'm not much of an artist. I was thinking something along the lines of the Escher water fall - Endless looping! Then I saw This and wondered if it was more appropriate? <Evil Grin }P^)>

Then I did think of a star and wondered if an Escher Pentagon wouldn't fit the idea. Small star inside the bigger issue - sort of getting people to think beyond the star!

If you google images connected with Systemic Bias you tend to get lots of scales and balances - a motif already used on a number of Barnstars, so it would need something relevant but outside of "The Box" - even Thinking Outside Of The Box? .. A Barnstar Outside Of The Box?

Media-Hound 'D 3rd P^) (talk) 16:10, 4 June 2012 (UTC)
Alternate Image idea: Saw this over at wiki commons:

Was wondering about the feasability of literally turning it through 180 degrees - turning the whole idea upside-down - and using that.

It has a subtlety too it that could work! Media-Hound 'D 3rd P^) (talk) 19:59, 9 June 2012 (UTC)

Barnstar point

Mention {{Barnstar point}} at WP:Barnstars? benzband (talk) 12:10, 9 June 2012 (UTC)

  • don't care given the state of the page and talkpage 'co-operation'. But ironically caring enough to point this out. Penyulap ☏ 13:26, 9 Jun 2012 (UTC)
I'm unfamiliar with that Template; is it an award? Achowat (talk) 08:53, 10 June 2012 (UTC)

"Barnstar points should always be awarded over trivial items. Use a barnstar point when you want to thank someone for something without (cough) degrading the value of the original barnstar."

benzband (talk) 14:25, 10 June 2012 (UTC)

Barnstar misuse?

A user rewarded me the The Civility Barnstar regarding the this discussion here and left a message stating "for good humour despite being a bit outnumbered on the Ell and Nikki issue". The user then gave barnstars for these users 2 and 3. Although this user found the discussion hilarious by giving those who participated, I don't. Because I made a mistake on proposing it for deletion and now they've made bad assumptions about what I did which kind of upset me. Isn't this type of action against this policy [1]? What could I tell user so that this doesn't happen again? Bleubeatle (talk) 05:17, 10 June 2012 (UTC)

There are not really any policies that govern the use of barnstars, and having read those links, I would be inclined to suggest it was poor taste rather than battleground tactics. Whilst it may be uncivil, given the state of civility that I have come to expect, it kindof fades into the norm for many editors around abouts. 'Unfortunate' I would call the situation, where documentation doesn't exist, then the community should try to assist each other instead, rather than descending into chaos. Penyulap ☏ 05:42, 10 Jun 2012 (UTC)
I can find no evidence in the diffs provided of anyone accusing Bleubeatle of acting in bad faith; being critical of someone's actions is not an assumption of bad faith. What did Zymurgy mean with his barnstar? I don't know, but Bleubeatle is free to decline/delete the barnstar from his talk page if he doesn't find it funny. CT Cooper · talk 22:53, 10 June 2012 (UTC)
I might be wrong. But when I saw the barnstar I thought it was ment as a friendly "cheer up" kind of comment. Considering the situation with the article and everything. Seems to be a storm in a teacup kind of situation and Bleubeatle hopefully will just move on from it.--BabbaQ (talk) 22:58, 10 June 2012 (UTC)
My main point is, bringing this barnstar situation up here was totally unnecessary and an overreaction.--BabbaQ (talk) 22:58, 10 June 2012 (UTC)
" totally unnecessary and an overreaction " is the primary way to describe everything on this page.
plus, this is the right place to ask, as good as any and better than most. Penyulap ☏ 01:54, 11 Jun 2012 (UTC)
Lets move on from this non-issue.--BabbaQ (talk) 18:01, 11 June 2012 (UTC)
Where to though ? I don't want to go with you if I don't like where you're going next, maybe you can move on by yourself and I can stay here and discuss things further, would that be ok ? you're not going to grab me in a headlock and drag me away are you ? Penyulap ☏ 02:51, 12 Jun 2012 (UTC)
You are funny.--BabbaQ (talk) 10:28, 13 June 2012 (UTC)

Sorry - but I do hope I have gotten this Dialogue "So Totally Wrong"?

Did, by any chance, anyone ... however small... however insignificant... however expendable under the Wiki Technocracy, report "Cyber Harassment".... and did they get "Dissed"? Disrespected - Disregarded - Disbelieved?

Sorry, if I'm seen as overreacting?

I just have so much experience of dealing with Bubbles, and using any prick who comes to hand in bursting them!

Media-Hound 'D 3rd P^) (talk) 03:26, 12 June 2012 (UTC)

Why are you guys following me around my contributions? Bleubeatle (talk) 05:40, 13 June 2012 (UTC)

Because this is a public wiki, and I saw this incident and had something to say about it. CT Cooper · talk 09:37, 13 June 2012 (UTC)

...

I was Added the Cast iron barnstar because for 3 original stars would get a cast iron barnstar. File:Cast-iron barnstar.jpg Cast Iron Barnstar is First Jpg file format barnstar. Cast Iron Used for 3 Original stars would award, but for get must have 3 original stars or more. Wikipedia had it but for me, it's too good. do not delete it because have consensus, so creator is User:Dr.K. is creator of that barnstar. you get it? Here ,So why i have powers. i protecting it because why? because, it's useful. give me a barnstar so i know! it's too good for me. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Rolandhelper (talk • contribs) 12:10, 14 June 2012 (UTC)

I'm a little confused.. What action would you like to take? Can you try to explain it as simply as you can? Achowat (talk) 12:28, 14 June 2012 (UTC)

Yes. I Would you know if Cast iron Barnstars Used To Awards for Anything. Cast Iron Can be getted if 3 Original Barnstars. Revert to before Again So You Blocked. Ok? Thanks & Cheers. --Ferry Roland 13:31, 14 June 2012 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Rolandhelper (talk • contribs)

Ok, just a few problems I have with this. The one biggest one is that we already have a "Cast Iron Barnstar" given out for something else. But the name/image can change. Frankly, I don't think this is a good idea to begin with. What use is there in giving an editor a Barnstar just because s/he's been given barnstars? It seems a little cyclic and not particularly useful. (And don't pretend I threatened to have you blocked. That's not what happened and you know it. I simply informed you of WP:3RR since it's likely that you aren't aware of it and, well, people get WP:3RR blocks all the time who had no idea they were doing anything wrong.) Cheers! Achowat (talk) 13:35, 14 June 2012 (UTC)

The tireless cybernetic contributor Barnstar

The tireless cybernetic contributor Barnstar
For wikipedians who greatly enhance their editing, through robots and automation, sustained over long periods
(average >300 edits a day for 200 days or >100,000 per year) first awarded by Penyulap, in June 2024_

(the green colours are about the monochrome origins of visual displays)

  • oppose as proposer, I view the barnstar page with contempt in it's current form. in accord with the observations of Nageh and Lucia Black. Penyulap ☏ 00:14, 4 Jun 2012 (UTC)
what you don't realise is it will be approved, so may as well pluck out your eyes now. (yes, I'm joking, put the fork down) Penyulap ☏ 04:40, 4 Jun 2012 (UTC)
Well if it is to be approved and there is no stopping it, can it come in different, lurid and psychotropic colour ranges with an option for it to also throb in and out? At least that way you can use if for self Psycho-flagellation when you need to stop looking at Wiki land!
If not, can we have a "Philip K. Dick" star for the electric sheep?

Media-Hound 'D 3rd P^) (talk) 12:26, 4 June 2012 (UTC)
So you don't like it, and yet you have awarded it twice yourself. Penyulap ☏ 09:16, 19 Jun 2012 (UTC)
BRFA ? nothing to do with them setting or saying anything, I never even thought of proposing it there actually, and that would spoil the fun really. The image is Green eggs and ham on this page, pretty much everything here is at the moment. Makes no difference to me if it's even this year, the artwork is the artwork and sticks and stones are completely meaningless. Think of the names of 10 dead artists, or think of 10 artworks by artists who are now dead. Easy right ? Now think of the name or the comment of a single dead critic. Ha! most people have to go look it up. Art goes on long after you're dead and gone, criticism dies by the time you stop talking. Penyulap ☏ 14:34, 4 Jun 2012 (UTC)
I mean this with all the respect in the world: What on Earth are you talking about? Bots edit counts are, in large part, decided by the parameters set at BRFA. Achowat (talk) 14:37, 4 June 2012 (UTC)
It's cool, I know you're not having a go at me, but seriously since when is this about building bots ? This is about enhanced editing. using all the bot tools and editing tools and so forth, not making them. Technical award doesn't need anything to do with enhancement, anyone can do that. Penyulap ☏ 14:40, 4 Jun 2012 (UTC)
The Technology Barnstar
if we are going to bring up redundancy, no comment. Penyulap ☏ 14:46, 4 Jun 2012 (UTC)
The Tip of the Day Barnstar
if we are going to bring up redundancy, no comment. Penyulap ☏ 14:46, 4 Jun 2012 (UTC)
Ok, so it seems the description is unclear. This is an award for a high semi-automated edit count, say using Twinkle, Huggle, or AWB? Achowat (talk) 14:47, 4 June 2012 (UTC)

Some kind of thank you thing

Is there some kind of flower or giftbox sort of thing to say thank you to someone who was super nice and really helpful? --Kinkykitteh (talk) 08:18, 18 June 2012 (UTC)

There is {{WikiThanks|Message. ~~~~}}. Otherwise there are many Wikilove templates, which you can see in the list below. benzband (talk) 09:44, 18 June 2012 (UTC)

Good Samaritan Barnstar!

Good Samaritan Barnstar
This is a sample message! --~~~~

Good Samaritan: Hope you know still, a "Good Samaritan" means "a person who voluntarily offers help or sympathy in times of trouble." This is an excellent phrase, the barnstar may be interesting.--Tito Dutta ✉ 09:30, 21 June 2012 (UTC)

Well, it kinda means that. See, The Samaritans hated the Jews, and vice versa. The point of Christ's parable was to say that there is a time when our petty differences don't matter, and life-and-death is one of those times. Knowing that, I have the problem that, if I was awarded this 'star' myself, I would immediately start thinking about why the user that I helped thought I hated hir.
My other big, big issue is in taking a Western Christian tradition and applying it across all English speakers, with the presumption that it is a universal narrative. I don't know that that could be said, or should be said. Achowat (talk) 12:39, 21 June 2012 (UTC)
Samaritan is not a Christian term anymore. Universally it is accepted as– "a person who voluntarily offers help or sympathy in times of trouble.". I am not a Christian, but I firstly know this meaning (meaning taken from Google). Still if it is a problem, I can clarify it in the barnstar! --Tito Dutta ✉ 06:57, 22 June 2012 (UTC)
How would this be any different from the current ones we have now? how would this one be awarded specifically?Lucia Black (talk) 07:16, 22 June 2012 (UTC)
for "voluntarily offering help or sympathy in times of trouble"– basic idea of the phrase! --Tito Dutta ✉ 01:27, 23 June 2012 (UTC)
Any response? --Tito Dutta ✉ 13:33, 3 July 2012 (UTC)
I think you are still yet to address the issue that this may be redundant to the Guidance and Helping Hand Barnstars. Achowat (talk) 17:29, 11 July 2012 (UTC)

The Feedback Responder Barnstar

The Feedback Responder Barnstar
message. Cheers, Riley Huntley talk No talkback needed; I'll temporarily watch here. 21:42, 30 June 2012 (UTC)


Requesting permission to add the barnstar to WP:Barnstar. The "Feedback Responder Barnstar" Barnstar is awarded to users who have demonstrated great effort and dedication in responding to feedback on the Feedback Dashboard and/or other related work for the Feedback Dashboard. Cheers, Riley Huntley talk No talkback needed; I'll temporarily watch here. 21:42, 30 June 2012 (UTC)

I like the idea, on the other hand it isn't visually a "barnstar"… Maybe a barnstar with say the feedback smiley in the middle? I could do that if it's a catchy idea. benzband (talk) 21:52, 30 June 2012 (UTC)
I agree that the image would do better to include a star. We should also decide where to post it. Is responding to Feedback something that is more akin to a WikiProject, or more like, say, countering Vandalism? Achowat (talk) 14:07, 2 July 2012 (UTC)
I'd say the latter. It just involves popping down to Special:FeedbackDashboard and answering the posts, and doesn't have a wikiproject page, just a description one as far as i can tell (Wikipedia:New editor feedback). benzband (talk) 14:40, 2 July 2012 (UTC)
So, can anyone put a star on that Smiley? Achowat (talk) 16:26, 2 July 2012 (UTC)
Green tickY Done. benzband (talk) 17:29, 2 July 2012 (UTC)
I say give it the day to see if anyone has opposition, absent any, list it at, where, "Wikipedia-space Barnstars"? Achowat (talk) 18:01, 2 July 2012 (UTC)
Green tickY Done. Achowat (talk) 17:50, 10 July 2012 (UTC)

Nomination for deletion of Template:Barnstar of National Merit

Template:Barnstar of National Merit has been nominated for deletion. You are invited to comment on the discussion at the template's entry on the Templates for discussion page. mabdul 13:00, 15 July 2012 (UTC)

HC & Twinkle barnstars

It seems odd to me that there aren't any HotCat or Twinkle barnstars. I would make them and ask for permission to add them, but I'm not really an image person... I do better with text. But I was thinking for Twinkle a Twinkle head in the center with the barnstar around, but for HotCat the logo could be holdin a barnstar in its front paws. Brambleberry of RiverClan Mew ♠ Tail 20:14, 27 July 2012 (UTC)

Have you tried the Wikipedia:Graphic Lab? benzband (talk) 08:30, 3 August 2012 (UTC)
I'll go to it later; I'm busy at the moment. Thanks for the help. Brambleberry ☾of RC☽ 14:27, 3 August 2012 (UTC)
But we have {{The Categorisation Barnstar}} and Barnstars for whatever someone does in Twinkle, be it anti-vandalism, editing, etc. I don't see the value added with these new Barnstars. Achowat (talk) 14:31, 3 August 2012 (UTC)

Decidedly un-clever

I'm afraid this section will be conspicuous for its lack of entertainment value. I have, in all seriousness, encountered the following difficulties:

1. What is the meaning of

The Four Award is awarded to those that work all through on a same article, from its humble beginnings as a new article to its days of glory as a Featured Article  ?
This description has remained in place since February of 2009, so it seems I am alone in my inability to parse the meaning of the underlined portion.

2. I arrived here by clicking the Talk link at Wikipedia:Awards--the page which contains the passage described above.

However, if from this page you click the Project page link, you don't end up back at the page that gave rise to my question--you end up at Wikipedia:WikiProject_Wikipedia_Awards--a totally different page that does not contain the passage in question.
That is to say, the Talk links at Wikipedia:Awards and Wikipedia:WikiProject_Wikipedia_Awards both lead to this page, while the Project page link on this page leads back to (of course) only one of the pages: Wikipedia:WikiProject_Wikipedia_Awards.

Patronanejo (talk) 06:47, 3 August 2012 (UTC)

  1. Will this do?
  2. This is because Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Wikipedia Awards is the centralized talk page of many wiki-awards related pages. If you go to the top of this page, and click on [show] in the "centralized discussions" banner, you will see what i mean.
Cheers ~ benzband (talk) 08:24, 3 August 2012 (UTC)

Badges for Wikipedia Community Engagement

I've just got whiff of meta:Wikimedia Fellowships/Project Ideas/Badges for Wikipedia Community Engagement, which you may be interested in weighing in on. They're proposing to create a new "badge system"… benzband (talk) 08:28, 3 August 2012 (UTC)

"Awards by county" standards for inclusion

Ok, so this is a weird question and the attempt is to create a "standard" for inclusion. It appears we have a standard for Barnstars (consensus here), WikiProject Awards (Local consensus at the Project in question) and PUAs (which require a consensus of one). What standard is there for the Geographic Barnstars? It seems that a UN-member state can just have one by virtue of that, but what about unrecognized territories? What about sub-national entitites, like Canadian Provinces? Should they try to gain consensus here before adding an award to the page?

I only ask because I'm working pretty hard to build Portal:New England and I've come across more-than-a-few New England editors who should be recognized for their service. Achowat (talk) 14:37, 3 August 2012 (UTC)

Also if there is a geographical WikiProject that wants a barnstar for itself, then i don't think anyone can't stop that. benzband (talk) 14:41, 3 August 2012 (UTC)
We need not have awards on sub-national entitites as general, will consume too much space, but if there's a WikiProject with the star then no problem. For sub-national, you may use the country BoNM in my opinion. extra999 (talk) 04:23, 4 August 2012 (UTC)

Good student / Adoptee barnstar?

How about a barnstar for those new users or adoptees who are being mentored in any or all aspects of Wikipedia, who actually pay attention, do learn fast, and make mentoring a pleasure? David_FLXD (Talk) 05:10, 8 August 2012 (UTC)

Like {{adopteebarnstar}}? Achowat (talk) 13:41, 8 August 2012 (UTC)
Er... well, yeah. Hey, I looked first, really I did! I don't know why I didn't see that one in the list. But also, I had something more general in mind, which could also be used where there is no formal adoption. Is there a fast learner barnstar? David_FLXD (Talk) 21:32, 8 August 2012 (UTC)
There's the Exceptional Newcomer Award at WP:ORA. Achowat (talk) 00:10, 9 August 2012 (UTC)

New barnstar suggestion for Roads

Hi guys, I thought of suggesting this new Barnstar for contributors who edit a lot of Road related articles. It can be for roads, highways, etc. I tried creating a sketch, but couldn't. However, the idea of my sketch was a three-dimensional road pattern like the logo on the top left corner of this page in the shape of a star. What do you guys suggest? --Rsrikanth05 (talk) 11:44, 19 August 2012 (UTC)

I think the better way to effect that change would to visit WP:ROADS and see if they want a WikiProject Award. If they do, we can help you with the image and templating. Achowat (talk) 15:21, 19 August 2012 (UTC)
Okay, I'll post on the Noticeboard and see what happens. --Rsrikanth05 (talk) 17:52, 19 August 2012 (UTC)

Nomination for deletion of Template:The Environment Barnstar

Template:The Environment Barnstar has been nominated for deletion. You are invited to comment on the discussion at the template's entry on the Templates for discussion page. mabdul 19:41, 19 August 2012 (UTC)

Barnstar for Guyana/WikiProject Guyana

Hi there!

I wondered if someone here might be able to create a Guyana or WIkiProject Guyana Barnstar? Dthomsen8 and I (mainly the former!) are trying to get WikiProject Guyana moving again and it would be great to have a barnstar to encourage and reward members with...

Thank you,

Lorelei (talk) 16:03, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

Military barnstar

I wanted to commend someone for good work related to military articles. I was surprised not to find a Military Barnstar. Did I miss it? If there isn't one, should there be? Thanks. --MelanieN (talk) 15:56, 2 September 2012 (UTC)

See Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Awards. benzband (talk) 16:33, 2 September 2012 (UTC)
Thank you. --MelanieN (talk) 19:03, 2 September 2012 (UTC)

Nomination for deletion of Template:Classical Barnstar

Template:Classical Barnstar has been nominated for deletion. You are invited to comment on the discussion at the template's entry on the Templates for discussion page. mabdul 19:47, 19 August 2012 (UTC)

Nomination for deletion of Template:GA banner

Template:GA banner has been nominated for deletion. You are invited to comment on the discussion at the template's entry on the Templates for discussion page. benzband (talk) 11:36, 21 August 2012 (UTC)

Reggae barnstar

Would anyone like to create a barnstar for WikiProject Reggae? See Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Reggae#Reggae Barnstar. benzband (talk) 15:07, 14 September 2012 (UTC)


Consensus barnstar

I wanted to award a barnstar for a particular dedication to consensus process, but sadly did not find exactly that. Would that it did. Thanks. Alanscottwalker (talk) 15:15, 14 September 2012 (UTC)

WikiProject Eurovision barnstar

Hello everyone,

I was wondering if anybody would be so kind enough as to help create a barnstar for WP:ESC. A few of the project members have felt that such an award would be a great idea to show appreciation to members of the project who have shown such high standards of contributions and/or help significantly enough that a project thank you award would be a perfect to address this. If at all possible, could the barnstar feature File:Wiki Eurovision Heart (Infobox).svg as this is the image used on the project. Thanks - Wesley♦Mouse 22:32, 14 September 2012 (UTC)

Barnstar for talkpages.

Why doesn't there seem to be a barnstar for users who create talkpages for existing articles, and assign them with appropriate WikiProject banners, or for those who go around adding appropriate banners where they weren't before? Like my singing? Ha-la-la-la-la-la-LA-LAAA!!! (talk) 19:43, 4 August 2012 (UTC)

I don't know, that seems like a pretty mundane thing to have a barnstar for. Especially given that (per WP:LOCALCONSENSUS) no one can tell WikiProjects what articles to have or not have their banner on. Achowat (talk) 03:28, 5 August 2012 (UTC)
Agree with Achowat. extra999 (talk) 06:08, 5 August 2012 (UTC)
  • checkY Support – This is a unique idea to award users who make significant contributions to create/improve Wikipedia talk pages. This barnstar could encompass the creation of talk pages, the addition of relevant templates to talk pages, and WikiProject tagging and assessments. Northamerica1000(talk) 20:10, 30 August 2012 (UTC)
I could make it; this would be my first time designing a barnstar. I thought of the star on the award featuring either an open mouth, to signify talking, or a megaphone for the same signification, though I think I've seen another type of barnstar that has a megaphone on it... Like my singing? Ha-la-la-la-la-la-LA-LAAA!!! (talk) 03:33, 31 August 2012 (UTC)
  • Talk pages barnstar graphic ideas
  • Somewhat generic, lacks color
    Somewhat generic, lacks color
  • Copyrighted, requires permission for use from Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
    Copyrighted, requires permission for use from Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
I vote for the one with the fellow speaking into the microphone; to me this signifies taking a stand, which is effectively what users who establish talkpages and/or tag them appropriately are doing. Like my singing? Ha-la-la-la-la-la-LA-LAAA!!! (talk) 14:44, 11 September 2012 (UTC)
I like the moving lips one, which would look cool with a star in the background with the lips overlaid atop the star. I like the figure speaking into the microphone too. Northamerica1000(talk) 09:20, 24 September 2012 (UTC)
I'm having uncanny valley issues with the moving lips. Achowat (talk) 14:50, 24 September 2012 (UTC)

IDEA FOR CREATION OF: The Barnstar of Reluctant Respect (or some much better title!)

This barnstar would be awarded to another editor who presents an opposing viewpoint relentlessly — a viewpoint that the one awarding it may have either accepted or still opposes just as relentlessly. Nevertheless, the one awarding acknowledges — even if reluctantly — that, despite the back-and-forth and perhaps even passionate interaction and argumentation, the discussion is moving the article forward to become a better, balanced, and documented entry. This barnstar is also a gesture of good will to ease tensions that are often felt when two or more editors hold opposing viewpoints passionately and argue for their position.

We would need a great title and icon for this barnstar! Ideas?--Rereward (talk) 09:34, 7 September 2012 (UTC)

Well, I would like to create an icon for that. I just need a description for the icon. Phoenix PNX (talk) 05:02, 12 September 2012 (UTC)
What about a black sillhouette and a white sillhouette squaring up, as if before a boxing match? PS- think the award is a great idea! Benny Digital Speak Your Brains 11:04, 14 September 2012 (UTC)
Yes, the award is indeed a great idea. But I don't like boxing match icon proposal. It does not emphasize what is the most important: "the discussion is moving the article forward to become a better, balanced, and documented entry."--Antidiskriminator (talk) 12:10, 14 September 2012 (UTC)

Icon ideas — just brainstorming here to spur others to better ideas ... 1) Shaking hands with reluctant expressions? 2) Two editors back to back with swords — not opposing each other but facing "enemies" from opposite directions (the idea of balance)? 3) Two images of same person — banging head on table in frustration, then pondering the wisdom of the other's suggestion? 4) "Tom and Jerry" shaking hands (we all know that in the end they always respected each other, right?). Keep thinking ... and let's get this up.--Rereward (talk) 15:10, 19 September 2012 (UTC)

Simple car drawing, i.e. like this. Its wheels are in fact hamster wheels with a hamster in each wheel. Both hamsters are running and moving car forward.--Antidiskriminator (talk) 18:16, 19 September 2012 (UTC)

Too many

Don't you think the no. of the barnstars have flown out of hand. More than half are a mimic of some other, that is, fully covered under another barnstar, only difference is their names. It is my view, I suggest that we cut down the number of barnstars that we have, if not at least remove it from WP:BS. That page looks more like a junkyard. I am not suggesting particular barnstars to be removed, but is my feeling that their count is really too much. extra999 (talk) 20:40, 24 September 2012 (UTC)

Well, just saying "There are too many barnstars" is an insufficient argument. If there are some Barnstars that are unnecessary, then we need to decide which ones need to be delisted. Achowat (talk) 20:48, 24 September 2012 (UTC)
but there are people here who believe none of them should no matter what. I sughest we redirect some or change the formatting on the ones that repeat so that those obtain those barnstars will still have a barnstar. Generalizing the barnstars is the best course. We had thos argument before. Its focused too much on subjective.Lucia Black (talk) 21:07, 24 September 2012 (UTC)

How to handle too many barnstars

There are clearly way too many, and way too specific barnstars and some of these are also too vague that they tend to cover other Barnstars. I insist on this topic again, to help others make use of barnstars in a more easier way and not looking at a very big list of barnstars to choose from.

And here is a good way to handle the situation without anyone getting butt-hurt over the idea of shortening the barnstars. I suggest we merge certain barstars criteria into one barnstar (maybe even make a new one to cover all of the criteria's given) Or redirect some. We change the format of the barnstars that have been decided to be too similar to another barnstar into the given barnstar. So anyone who has received the barnstar that is no longer in the list, they will still have a barnstar. The only difference is that the old barnstar will be replaced with the one more suited for it.

Here's a list of Barnstars we can redirect to(and remove them from the list once redirected).

Here's only a fraction of what could be done that can easily work.Lucia Black (talk) 20:17, 4 October 2012 (UTC)

Aside from the Graphic Design Barnstars, I'm going to have to, respectfully, disagree with pretty much every merge you propose. The Original Barnstar is not themed around editing; it's themed around any contribution to Wikipedia. Being a "Working Man" is not the same as being a "Tireless Contributor". Investigating issues is different than being precise. I can get behind depricating Red Link, Redirect (and may I propose Disambigutor's) into a more strongly expanded Wikilink Barnstar, but the description of that new 'star will need to be expanded to reflect the change. Achowat (talk) 12:03, 8 October 2012 (UTC)

Contrary Opinion

I am rather new to Wikipedia editing, but am surprised that there is anything like an "award". In a system of anonymous, unstructured work, how can any work be evaluated? The only possible validation can be that others do not re-edit, delete, etc. If contributions are known to be from a known source, is it not likely that the awards come from friends? FigureArtist (talk) 00:10, 8 October 2012 (UTC)

The Barnstar system is a social construction, it only has as much value as you decide to give it. And, frankly, I don't know that anyone has ever had any benefit or detriment based on Barnstars. (I've never seen a "Support - Lots of Barnstars" at RfA or an "Oppose - Too many Barnstars to block" at ANI). But for the people who do them right, it's a nice little surprise to wake up to find out a stranger thinks you're doing a good job. Achowat (talk) 11:57, 8 October 2012 (UTC)
Jumping in to add that I do not think editors here award enough Barnstars; secondly, there is nothing wrong with this great system in WP. Editors/admins award these based on a personal editor-to-editor merit and that is how medals/decorations were first invented!~©Djathinkimacowboy 00:27, 16 October 2012 (UTC)
IMHO, they're a token of recognition between editors, but at the same time just a bunch of pixels on your computer monitor (mostly harmless… really ;) Probably you already know of it, but if not you might wish to check out the humorous Wikipedia:Barnstaritis, which kinda pokes fun. :-) benzband (talk) 18:48, 16 October 2012 (UTC)

Mini fruit salad

Just wanted to pop by and ask if there's any help that I can get to render a few ribbons into mini-size? For example, the Original Barnstar and my own Quasar Barnstar do not have mini-ribbon templates. I hate to see them missing from my array of ribbons at my page. Help anyone please?~©Djathinkimacowboy 00:25, 16 October 2012 (UTC)

I, generally, only work in the Shadowed Ribbons department, but I might be able to help out with the minis (they are, as it turns out, way easier). I should be able to get to them by the end of the week (though, anyone should feel free...nay, encouraged to do them before I get a chance). Achowat (talk) 02:12, 16 October 2012 (UTC)
Thank you A. Well I do not have the foggiest idea how that sort of thing is done...it seems to go way over my head. I am particularly concerned about the Quasar not being in the main lineup, as well as not having a mini-ribbon. But as I mentioned before, there are at least two other really important Barnstars that have no minis either. By the way, the shadowed ribbons are just beautiful because I think they show more appropriate detail. The minis, whoever is doing them, are very nice too. Anyway, I appreciate anything you feel able to do in this department. I'm always wondering where I can learn to do general stuff like this, which I should have learned long ago and been of some better service to WP!~©Djathinkimacowboy 03:07, 16 October 2012 (UTC)
Actually, all of WP:RIB needs to be cleaned up (for instance, after the Barnstars, Topic Barnstars, Country Barnstars...things just go to hell in a handbasket). I think step 1 of putting the Quasar Barnstar higher on the list is to list it at WP:PUA, and then perhaps you and I can take a stab at fixing up WP:RIB. Achowat (talk) 12:24, 16 October 2012 (UTC)
Ok, now I'm a little confused as to what you mean by "mini ribbons". It seems that The Original is available in Shadowed, Textured, and Small. Please advise. Achowat (talk) 13:27, 16 October 2012 (UTC)
If you think it goes to hell in a handbasket now, you should've tried finding things on the page before I started in on the Great Reorganization. It was all like that. VernoWhitney (talk) 15:53, 16 October 2012 (UTC)
Oh god! That's only slightly more useful than just a straight-up linking to commons:Category:Wikipedia ribbon bars. Good work making it as usable as it is now. Achowat (talk) 16:20, 16 October 2012 (UTC)
Obviously I lost interest before finishing the job (and the main WP:* keeps getting updated haphazardly, so even the sorted parts are out of date now). <shrug> Now that I'm back and editing regularly I'll get around to it one of these months if nobody else beats me to it. VernoWhitney (talk) 17:31, 16 October 2012 (UTC)
Achowat, you're right and I'm with you except I am so useless it isn't funny. VernoWhitley, you certainly hit the nail on the head about that page. I still can't fathom how it got left in that state. Achowat, the trouble with the original barnstar that I had was I took the small one ("mini") and when I placed that on my page it was definitely not small. Also, I am with you regarding PUA and I will certainly lend a hand if I can at helping RIB. That stuff is so galactically removed from my humble abilities. You should have seen me, going bonkers trying to upload a crappy photo into the Commons. I gave up!!~©Djathinkimacowboy 20:42, 16 October 2012 (UTC)
I think I fixed the small barnstar on your page, so that's-a taken care of. WP:RIB is used by so few Users that it's fallen pretty low on my priorities list, but it's something WP:WPWPA should focus on more. Achowat (talk) 13:41, 18 October 2012 (UTC)

New parameter for single template

I've added a title= parameter to {{The Barnstar of Good Humor}} ([2]), so that (for example) users who want to use British spelling can do so with {{subst:The Barnstar of Good Humor|title=The Barnstar of Good Humour|1=message~~~~}}. However, as the templates have generic documentation, I'm not sure of the best way to document this. Any thoughts? Optimist on the run (talk) 07:19, 26 October 2012 (UTC)

 Done mabdul 09:27, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

WMF Merchandise give away program

Hey all!

I'm happy to announce the start of the WMF merchandise giveaways program. We're asking for community nominations for users who deserve something extra. Do you know a patient mentor? A trusted admin, or amazing photographer? A great writer or copyeditor?

The page, Wikipedia:Merchandise giveaways, and the program in general are very much in beta so we're looking for both nominations and general feedback about the process (how easy/hard it is, questions that aren't answered, prettier awards and page design etc! ). To keep discussion centralized please leave comments and questions on the project talk page. (cross posted from WP:VPM because of readership there and possible interest here) Jalexander--WMF 20:37, 14 November 2012 (UTC)

The presentation of a barnstar

How a person is awarded a barnstar?--180.234.251.83 (talk) 03:53, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

Hi! You can use a template (e.g. {{The Original Barnstar|1=Your message here. ~~~~}}), the file code (e.g. [[File:Original Barnstar.png]]), or just leave a kind note; or anything really! Since you ask about barnstars you probably already know of WP:BARNSTARS, which also has some links to other awards pages. Logged-in users have access to the m:WikiLove feature which enables bestowing a barnstar in a few simple clicks directly from an interactive menu on a user's talkpage. Happy editing :) benzband (talk) 18:08, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

A nugget of an idea....

I have a nugget of an idea for a new barnstar. I don't think it's been covered yet, but I was thinking of a sort-of "avoiding trouble" barnstar. One such scenario for awarding the barnstar would be if someone participated in a talk page discussion until it started to get heated, at which point the user refrained from participating in that conversation so as to avoid being sucked into conflict. I don't know if this is a good idea, but I was hoping to see what others think, if they understand what I mean. Greengreengreenred (talk) 09:01, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

"For bull shit"?

Is the redirect supposed to say "for bullshit, please see..."? Please respond on my Talkpage.

by Kevin12cd Talk to me This was posted at 22:22, 29 November 2012 (UTC)

Well, the logic is that WP:BS is a likely acronym WP:BULLSHIT, but WP:BS redirects to WP:Barnstars. —  HELLKNOWZ  ▎TALK 22:35, 29 November 2012 (UTC)

Shadowed Ribbons

Hi, I was wondering if anyone would be able to tell me how the current shadowed ribbons are created, or how shadow can be added to the textured ribbons. PS - I have Adobe Photoshop CS5.1. Cheers, Freebirdthemonk (talk) 14:48, 22 December 2012 (UTC)

The ones I made were either cut/paste/color modifications of existing ribbons or created using File:Ribbon.xcf as a base template. Using that xcf file you can copy in the color from the textured ribbons, but it generally needs a bit of tweaking to look good. VernoWhitney (talk) 21:02, 22 December 2012 (UTC)
The "easy" way is to Cut/Paste different single-colored ribbons based on the colors you want. But remember, when this method is used, you need to cite each of the ribbons you use, per the licensing of individual ribbon files. I have some experience in the Photoshop method, if there's any you'd like me to work on. Achowat (talk) 21:51, 22 December 2012 (UTC)
I only have a minimal amount of experience with Photoshop, so it might be better to let one of y'all have a go at this. Specifically, I was looking to make shadowed ribbon equivalents for Wikiproject Wikify's new award system. There are 8 of them, all listed on this page. For the first four, I was thinking about using variations of the "Wikifier's Barnstar" ribbon with the award's corresponding background. For the next two, maybe variations of the "Working Man's Barnstar"? And then I'm not quite sure about the last two. If anyone could make these, that would be great. I know there's a large community on this particular WikiProject that could use these ribbons. Cheers, Freebirdthemonk (talk) 23:10, 27 December 2012 (UTC)

New ribbons and ribbon numeral code

Hello! Three things:

  1. I've added two new ribbons of mine to the WP:Ribbons page: File:Tao barnstar rib.svg and File:Israel barnstar rib.svg. I hope that is OK.
  2. I have another two ribbons that I'd like some feedback on, before I add them to the page: File:Detective barnstar rib.svg and File:Eraser barnstar rib.svg.
  3. I've fixed the numeral code so there is no extra space.

Inkbug (talk) 13:56, 24 December 2012 (UTC)

The Eraser one looks fine, but the Detective one looks odd with the pure black. Compare File:Great Editing in Progress Ribbon.png for how to do "black" in a more appealing style. Achowat (talk) 08:00, 25 December 2012 (UTC)
I've uploaded a new version of the detective ribbon, and two new ribbons: File:Nessie barnstar rib.svg and File:Zen Garden award rib.svg. What do you think? I'm afraid this is a bit to similar to the Zen Garden one – do you think so also? Thanks, Inkbug (talk) 11:16, 25 December 2012 (UTC)
Another one: File:Featured List Medal rib.svg. Inkbug (talk) 19:58, 30 December 2012 (UTC)
And one more: File:ACW barnstar rib.svg. If there are no objections, I'll add these to the page. Inkbug (talk) 08:13, 31 December 2012 (UTC)
I really don't much care for the ACW ribbon, but well that's not good enough. The other ones look good, with the exception of the Detective (which I have previously commented on). Achowat (talk) 08:22, 31 December 2012 (UTC)
I had changed the color of the black in the detective one – do you want an even lighter black? In addition, do you have any suggestions for the ACW one? Thanks, Inkbug (talk) 08:28, 31 December 2012 (UTC)
Ah! I should have checked the detective ribbon before commenting again. Good work on that! As to the ACW ribbon...I'm a simple man with simple tastes. I prefer my ribbons to be simple vertical bars, in keeping with their real-world use. I like the idea of the brown in the center separating Old Glory from the Confederate battle flag, but I think you can achieve the same result with less horizontals. Give me 15 minutes and I'll mock something up quick. Achowat (talk) 09:06, 31 December 2012 (UTC)
My proposal. Same idea, but using vertically striped ribbon segments to give a close approximation of the US and CS flags, as used on the barnstar itself. Achowat (talk) 09:26, 31 December 2012 (UTC)
Looks good to me. I'll convert to SVG soon. Thanks, Inkbug (talk) 09:28, 31 December 2012 (UTC)
Hi! I've added all of the ribbons (except ACW) to the page. I've made an SVG version of the ACW ribbon, which you can find here. I hope its OK – its not an exact duplicate (the proportions are a bit different, and the colors are based on the original SVG and not your PNG). I'm not sure where the ACW ribbon will go at all – I don't think it is listed on the barnstar pages. Thanks, Inkbug (talk) 14:58, 31 December 2012 (UTC)
Edit: I'm not sure I got the licensing on the new SVG correct. Can you check it for me? Thanks, Inkbug (talk) 15:00, 31 December 2012 (UTC)
ACW-ribbon looks great to me (I even prefer the darker blue). I'm not an expert on licensing, but as the creator of the original file, I feel that a link back to that file is good enough attribution. Someone over at the File: namespace noticeboards might be a better person to ask. But, by all means, add that one, as well. Achowat (talk) 00:08, 1 January 2013 (UTC)

Shinto Ribbon

I've noticed that the Shinto ribbon does not have a corresponding barnstar. The award image has been deleted, and neither the award nor the ribbon are in use. Should it be removed from the list? Inkbug (talk) 08:45, 28 December 2012 (UTC)

New Ribbon(s)

The Iron Wikification Barnstar Ribbon

I was finally able to create some ribbons to go along with Wikipedia:WikiProject Wikify's barnstar system. The first one I have already added to Commons. Is it worth adding to the list of ribbons? Cheers, Freebirdthemonk Howdy! 05:22, 3 January 2013 (UTC)

It looks very nice. This has one solid color with no bar, but it is your choice. Inkbug (talk) 06:24, 3 January 2013 (UTC)
The original design of the ribbon had two brackets, but it seemed too cluttered. So I stuck to using one set of brackets. Not to mention it looks more like an actual military-style ribbon with only one. Also, I'll post this on the Wikiproject's talkpage and get their approval. Cheers, Freebirdthemonk Howdy! 16:05, 3 January 2013 (UTC)
Here are all of the ribbons for the WikiProject: Freebirdthemonk Howdy! 17:17, 3 January 2013 (UTC)
  • Iron Wikification Ribbon
    Iron Wikification Ribbon
  • Bronze Wikification Ribbon
    Bronze Wikification Ribbon
  • Silver Wikification Ribbon
    Silver Wikification Ribbon
  • Gold Wikification Ribbon
    Gold Wikification Ribbon
  • Working Wikifier Wikification Ribbon
    Working Wikifier Wikification Ribbon
  • Greater Working Wikifier Ribbon
    Greater Working Wikifier Ribbon
  • NEW! Wikiproject Wikify Trophy Ribbon
    NEW! Wikiproject Wikify Trophy Ribbon
The first six look good. I'm afraid however that the trophy one won't be visible in smaller sizes. Inkbug (talk) 17:21, 3 January 2013 (UTC)
I was worried about that, but I didn't want to make a solid gold one that was very similar to the "Greater Working Wikifier Ribbon". I may need to play around with it and add something else to the center of the ribbon. Or, maybe I'll just remove the trophy and just leave the solid gold ribbon. Freebirdthemonk Howdy! 17:29, 3 January 2013 (UTC)
I think solid gold is fine, but your choice. Inkbug (talk) 13:25, 4 January 2013 (UTC)
Added new ribbon (with the trophy removed). Cheers, Freebirdthemonk Howdy! 01:55, 8 January 2013 (UTC)
That looks great! I'd put them unto the WP:Ribbons page also, in addition to them being in WP Wikify's page. Inkbug (talk) 07:08, 8 January 2013 (UTC)
 Done Cheers, Freebirdthemonk Howdy! 15:50, 8 January 2013 (UTC)

Incrememtal Service Awards

I wasn't sure if it was like this for some reason or another, but the incrememtal service awards are all saved in JPEG format instead of the typical PNG formatting of ribbons. This causes an annoying white border around the edges of the ribbon, such as on my awards page. I tested and found that converting the ribbons to PNG format corrects the problem. Are the ribbons in JPEG format for a reason, or can they just be converted and fixed? Cheers, Freebirdthemonk Howdy! 23:46, 7 January 2013 (UTC)

I've created some SVG ribbons for the Burba levels (1 2 3 4), but I haven't put them unto the page yet. Is that the kind of ribbon you are looking for? Inkbug (talk) 06:58, 8 January 2013 (UTC)
Yes. I have all the others,I just wanted to make sure there wasn't some particular reason they were all in JPEG format before I uploaded and replaced them all with a different format. Freebirdthemonk Howdy! 11:57, 8 January 2013 (UTC)
As far as I know there should be no reason not to convert them. However, only the Option 1 ribbons should be converted to PNG – the "small" versions should be made as SVG. Inkbug (talk) 12:39, 8 January 2013 (UTC)

Editor of the Week

To whom it may concern, a group of editors from the Editor Retention Project are planning on beginning an "Editor of the Week" award which would be given to an editor who achieves any of the following:

  • Writes or significantly expands articles on a regular basis.
  • Cleans up articles by, for example, adding sources, expanding citations with the necessary information, aligning prose with the manual of style, or improving the quality of the prose through copy-editing (such as making the text more concise and removing redundant wording).
  • Serves as notable voice of reason in discussions with other editors.
  • Performs behind-the-scenes work, not normally seen by the general community.

You can read more about the award here, but it was brought up that it might be appropriate to mention it here, so I've mentioned it here. Go Phightins! 21:12, 9 January 2013 (UTC)

IMHO, that seems to just be bringing up an 'official' version of the editor of the day system. Besides, one per weel may not be sufficient to recognise everyone (unlike one per day). Kayau (talk · contribs) 22:26, 9 January 2013 (UTC)
Well, maybe. This award is targeted to those editors who wouldn't otherwise be recognized...the ones that Wikipedia needs to strive to retain. We're not looking for someone who's written 25 FAs or who is an administrator, we're looking for someone who's done a ton of work improving references through a bunch of tiny minor edits for the last three years and has never gotten so much as a barnstar for their efforts. I understand your concern, but I hope this alleviates it; we're looking for the behind-the-scenes people who keep the project going. Go Phightins! 02:54, 10 January 2013 (UTC)
If User:bibliomaniac15 agrees to move the daily Wikipedian to project-space, maybe the community can decide together who will be awarded the daily Wikipedian award and smaller names can be recognised that way. I think the proposal is great, but once a week = 52/year, which really isn't enough and it does seem redundant with the Wikipedian of the day system. Kayau (talk · contribs) 04:46, 10 January 2013 (UTC)
Gerda Arendt currently runs EOTD, so I've talked to her. It should be noted however, that she's helped in the planning of this award. Go Phightins! 20:17, 10 January 2013 (UTC)
In that case, then, the scopes don't overlap since she'd have pointed it out of they did. I still think one per week isn't enough, though. We have a lot of Wikignomes working behind the scenes without much recognition. Kayau (talk · contribs) 03:47, 11 January 2013 (UTC)
If there are enough volunteers and nominations to increase the frequency of the award, that would be great. (Alternatively, there could be multiple editors of the week named, which would also recognize more people while also letting their name be heralded for a full week.) At present, the thought was that getting a weekly award out would be a good starting point, and the frequency can be re-evaluated once things have been running for a bit. isaacl (talk) 14:55, 11 January 2013 (UTC)
OPPOSE Shucks I'd just give 'em the Barnstar. This sounds like a community voted upon kinda thing. Problem with that is: 1) criteria. With more than one person voting inevitably it starts collecting rules and regulations and policies and standards and pretty soon becomes bureaucratic and cumbersome. 2) By the same process, it becomes increasingly easy to flunk, for failing to meet the ever expanding criteria. So instead of the pat on the back it is intended to be, it turns into a kick in the backside. Imagine having a bunch of editors decide NOT to award you something. This process is exactly what happened to "Good Article." It started out as a simple pat on the back, an alternative to the extremely rigorous standards for Featured Article. But over time an accretion of rules, regs., policies, standards--all well intentioned, all intended to improve quality and offer guidelines for reviewing and voting--made Good Article almost as difficult to award as Featured Article. Worse, much worse, it became easier and easier to fail. So instead of the simple pat on the back it was intended to be, has become a complex perilous enterprise with many obstacles to navigate, risking a big kick in the backside. I say: encourage editors by giving them a Barnstar, or PUA. And do so without hesitation, whenever you see good work. And I say this as one of those long time editors (four years) who tinkers, adding cites one sentence at a time, fixing little things, never anything flashy, and who is much more grateful for the personal compliment of the occasional PUA than the impersonal and often painful process of getting reviewed by fifty or a hundred peers. Look, for example, at the process to create a new administrator. Sheesh. Not for me.ElijahBosley (talk ☞) 23:41, 16 January 2013 (UTC)
PS Looking at the project page I see it is too late: they have already gone ahead and done this. They were not asking for our views, merely alerting us to a fait accompli. That's fine, best of luck with it, but I will watch from afar.ElijahBosley (talk ☞) 23:48, 16 January 2013 (UTC)
Well, as it turns out, I for some reason didn't watchlist this page and that's why it's taken me so long to come back here. Elijah, I understand your concerns. You may be right that this will turn into too much bureaucracy, but as of right now, we're doing all right. I appreciate your input. We've awarded two recipients thus far and have settled upon a third. We don't really have a mechanism for opposing, so hopefully that won't become an issue. All we're really doing is viewing a nomination, making sure it isn't bad faith or for some other reason shouldn't be accepted, and then moving it into the queue. Go Phightins! 00:42, 26 January 2013 (UTC)

United Nations Barnstar/Ribbon

Ribbon corresponding to United Nations Barnstar.

I noticed there was no barnstar/ribbon for work on pages related to the United Nations. I'm still working on the barnstar, but the ribbon is finished. Any suggestions? Cheers, Freebirdthemonk Howdy! 00:26, 26 January 2013 (UTC)

UN Ribbon in small
UN Ribbon in small
Hi! It looks nice, but I'm worried about the look in small sizes (see right). Maybe a blue ribbon with a gold circle in the middle and two gold bars on the sides? Inkbug (talk) 16:16, 26 January 2013 (UTC)
I see what you mean. Let me try that out. Cheers, Freebirdthemonk Howdy! 02:13, 27 January 2013 (UTC)

2 new WP:WWF barnstars

Is anyone interested in creating Platinum and Diamond (or whatever) Wikification barnstars, for 150+ and 200+ articles wikified respectively? We already have up to Gold (90+), at Wikipedia:WikiProject Wikify/Drives/Awards/3G, but in recent drives some editors have been doing much more. Thanks, benzband (talk) 19:54, 11 February 2013 (UTC)

I've been feeling creative recently. My inspiration to open Adobe PS is sporadic so hope you like them.
Wikification Barnstar Platinum
Wikification Ribbon Platinum
Wikification Barnstar Diamond
Wikification Ribbon Diamond

Geremy Hebert (talk | contribs) 13:09, 21 February 2013 (UTC)

Thanks! They are awesome and i've added them to the WP:WWF awards page. benzband (talk) 17:05, 21 February 2013 (UTC)

Create a ribbon

Hello. Could someone make a ribbon, equivalent to the {{The Maldives Barnstar of National Merit}} for the WikiProject Maldives. Or could someone teach me how to do it --Ushau97 talk contribs 12:45, 17 February 2013 (UTC)

The Maldives Barnstar of National Merit ribbon
What do you think? Inkbug (talk) 13:04, 17 February 2013 (UTC)
It looks good. Thank you! Ushau97 talk contribs 09:41, 18 February 2013 (UTC)
You're welcome. I've added it to WP:RIB#Country award Ribbons. Inkbug (talk) 10:16, 18 February 2013 (UTC)
If you have got enough time, a textured and shadowed version would be nice. Ushau97 talk contribs 11:16, 21 February 2013 (UTC)
Sorry, but I don't really have the tools to make textured and shadowed ribbons (SVG ones only need a text-editor, but these need a real graphics program). You can try asking some of the people who put their name here. Inkbug (talk) 17:46, 21 February 2013 (UTC)

Proposal - the globalization barnstar

Here is a new type of barnstar I am proposing: "the globalization barnstar"

It would be awarded to those who expand an article (or series of articles) to cover the subject at an international point of view. It would be appropriate if one writes about the subject the way it is in countries other than one's home country, especially countries in which English (or in other language Wikipedias, a language other than that one) is not the main language.

Many articles have been templated because they are written strictly at the point of view of the USA, USA/Canada, or the English-speaking world. A barnstar could help motivate people to expand many articles to cover other countries as well. Sebwite (talk) 10:20, 22 February 2013 (UTC)

If you review the [bottom of this page] you'll see the list of other language wiki's that the award has been used on. If this isn't suitable please refine your request, I didn't post to shoot down your suggestion rather that I'm feeling a surge in my artistic inclinations recently and like contributing in anything artsy. The editors here go to great lengths to keep POV out of articles but this is the 'English' Wikipedia.
Image What to type Title and description
Barnstar 1.0 Barnstar 2.0
or alternative version
The Rosetta Barnstar
The Rosetta Barnstar
 {{subst:The Rosetta Barnstar|message ~~~~}}

{{subst:The Rosetta Barnstar|message ~~~~|alt}}

Rosetta BarnstarThe Rosetta Barnstar

The Rosetta Barnstar may be given to any editor who exhibits outstanding translation efforts on Wikipedia.

Introduced on June 1, 2005 by Harðor, and was designed by David Levy.

Geremy Hebert (talk | contribs) 20:48, 22 February 2013 (UTC)

Film Barnstar 2.0

I have created and uploaded a Barnstar 2.0 version of the film barnstar, available here. FrigidNinja 03:18, 23 February 2013 (UTC)

The Halves

Has anyone ever given any thought to what which half of the Half Barnstar means? öBrambleberry of RiverClan 14:44, 1 March 2013 (UTC)

What do you mean? Kayau (talk · contribs) 14:47, 1 March 2013 (UTC)
Like, does the left half of the half of a barnstar mean content writing and the right copyediting, or the left being in favor of something and the right opposing? öBrambleberry of RiverClan 19:09, 1 March 2013 (UTC)
The two halves, like Yin and yang, are different and distinct, yet one could not exist without the other. They are complementary, not opposing forces; together they are an indivisible whole.ElijahBosley (talk ☞) 19:44, 2 March 2013 (UTC)

Award integrity

In the interest of maintaining integrity in the Wikipedia awards process I wrote the following essay. It is my opinion. -- Gwillhickers (talk) 00:44, 2 March 2013 (UTC)

The Excellent New Editor's Barnstar

I created this barn star at the request of User:Gtwfan52 who wanted something to encourage new users who were using best practices at a very early stage. It was created on 12 January 2013. I hope this can be incorporated into our "General Barnstars" for contributors to use when they see excellence in our new users!

The Excellent New Editor's Barnstar

A new editor on the right path
Put your message here. Amadscientist (talk) 07:12, 22 March 2013 (UTC)

--Amadscientist (talk) 07:13, 22 March 2013 (UTC)

Support. Love the stork.ElijahBosley (talk ☞) 14:48, 22 March 2013 (UTC)
This seems to have gained a consensus. I have implemented it under "General Barnstars". Thanks!--Amadscientist (talk) 08:49, 24 March 2013 (UTC)
Thank you for excellent barnstar for the excellent new editors.--Antidiskriminator (talk) 12:36, 30 March 2013 (UTC)

See also the following barnstar for new users:

The New Editor's Barnstar
Put your message here. Mlm42 (talk) 09:51, 4 April 2013 (UTC)

-- Mlm42 (talk) 09:51, 4 April 2013 (UTC)

Black Veil Brides Barnstar

I created this barnstar for editors who have contributed to Black Veil Brides' and possibly other hard rock related pages. I like how it incorporates Black Veil Brides iconic "pentacharm" symbol (star made up of 5 "BVB" logos put together). Thatemooverthere (Talk) 00:12, 30 March 2013 (UTC)

Why create this if theres no wikiproject or taskforce relating to black veil brides specifically? You have to ak the community if the barnstar you made is worth it. I dont think this barnstar is bvery usable unless it had a wikiproject and/or taskforce behind it.Lucia Black (talk) 04:13, 30 March 2013 (UTC)
I'll ask around WikiProject Rock music. Thatemooverthere (Talk) 22:30, 30 March 2013 (UTC)
I entered a query for the public here. Thatemooverthere (Talk) 00:33, 31 March 2013 (UTC)

West Virginia Barnstar

I did NOT create this barnstar, HOWEVER, User: Kelvinsong has done fine/perfect job, and IMO, after creating over 2,300 articles, a majority on WV communities, THIS should be it.

The West Virginia Barnstar
Thanks for your work to improve Wikipedia's coverage of West Virginia topics.

Coal town guy (talk) 16:25, 17 March 2013 (UTC)

HMMMMMM, I was able to post the template for Wikipedia Project WV...thanks for the inputCoal town guy (talk) 20:07, 19 March 2013 (UTC)
There appears to be some sort of html code error with this barnstar. Whenever a new barnstar is posted directly underneath it, it "gobbles" it up. Illegitimate Barrister (talk) 20:16, 19 March 2013 (UTC)
I corrected that, I forgot to place a 
|}
at the end. That was corrected in the template as well. You know, the one over thar....up yonder.......Coal town guy (talk) 20:22, 19 March 2013 (UTC)
Thanks for the fix! Take care! Illegitimate Barrister (talk) 20:23, 19 March 2013 (UTC)
Of course, OH, I almost forgot, our dialect is not said foar yew, we usually, place a more downward accent ALMOST like fur, but just a hint at a more German sound, sans umlaut of course yew, is contracted to ye, the e is short and pronounced like a long a....gives it that more authentic lilt. Just a FYI, no more of courseCoal town guy (talk) 20:33, 19 March 2013 (UTC)

The Roller Coaster Barnstar

I created this with Themeparkgc specifically in mind, but it could be used among the folks at WikiProject Amusement Parks.

To be awarded for outstanding contributions to the field of amusement park-related articles. The Roller Coaster Barnstar
For outstanding contributions to the field of amusement park-related articles. Zoke (talk) 21:37, 30 March 2013 (UTC)
I think it's a great idea! What do you think of renaming it the On the Right Track Barnstar? I think that's a great name given the roller coaster track and what it's awarded for.-- Astros4477 (Talk) 13:45, 6 April 2013 (UTC)
I would probably be against that, just because of the narrow use I had in mind and the generalization that that name would open up. I was thinking this would be like a version 2.0 of the already-existing Coaster Star. However, if consensus builds to go on your idea, I won't fight it. Zoke (talk) 16:42, 9 April 2013 (UTC)

Bug Squasher Award

Template:Bug Squasher Award, created by Xeno (talk · contribs) in 2009:

The Bug Squasher Award for Excellence
For your recent timely error report, I award you the Bug Squasher Award for Excellence in troubleshooting efforts. Thank you for catching this error so quickly! ~~~~

davidwr/(talk)/(contribs)/(e-mail) 21:22, 8 April 2013 (UTC)

Welcoming Barnstar Proposal

I'd like to propose for a Welcoming Barnstar to be made. It would be awarded to users that welcome new users. I thought of this while looking for a barnstar to give to the user that welcomed me when I joined Wikipedia. Please share your thoughts on this, thank you. --XapApp · talk · contribs 12:18, 19 April 2013 (UTC)

Would the Helping Hand Barnstar do the job? Feel free to design and nominate a new barnstar if you think there should be a separate barnstar for welcoming. You could ask the nice people at Wikipedia:Wikiproject Editor Retention for help and ideas. --Pine✉ 19:08, 30 April 2013 (UTC)

barnstar awards candidates

Greetings Wikipedia awards folks,

I would like to nominate the following editors for the Rescue Barnstar award: gtfwan52 cullen328 revent

all three editors have bent over backwards, in my opinion, to help me through my first article (Rittenhouse Elementary School). They have helped out when I've been stuck, guided me to the appropriate help pages, and calmed my occasional bouts of panic. They had also been extremely friendly, kind, compassionate, humorous, and welcoming. I couldn't have asked for a better first experience, and I feel that they are justly deserving of a barnstar.

Thank you for your consideration

gagegsGagegs (talk) 00:16, 30 April 2013 (UTC)

Most Barnstars are given by one editor to another, not by committee. Go ahead and give them out, you don't need anyone's approval. davidwr/(talk)/(contribs)/(e-mail) 02:27, 30 April 2013 (UTC)

VisualEditor is coming

The WP:VisualEditor is designed to let people edit without needing to learn wikitext syntax. The articles will look (nearly) the same in the new edit "window" as when you read them (aka WYSIWYG), and changes will show up as you type them, very much like writing a document in a modern word processor. The devs currently expect to deploy the VisualEditor as the new site-wide default editing system in early July 2013.

About 2,000 editors have tried out this early test version so far, and feedback overall has been positive. Right now, the VisualEditor is available only to registered users who opt-in, and it's a bit slow and limited in features. You can do all the basic things like writing or changing sentences, creating or changing section headings, and editing simple bulleted lists. It currently can't either add or remove templates (like fact tags), ref tags, images, categories, or tables (and it will not be turned on for new users until common reference styles and citation templates are supported). These more complex features are being worked on, and the code will be updated as things are worked out. Also, right now you can only use it for articles and user pages. When it's deployed in July, the old editor will still be available and, in fact, the old edit window will be the only option for talk pages (I believe that WP:Notifications (aka Echo) is ultimately supposed to deal with talk pages).

The developers are asking editors like you to join the alpha testing for the VisualEditor. Please go to Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-editing and tick the box at the end of the page, where it says "Enable VisualEditor (only in the main namespace and the User namespace)". Save the preferences, and then try fixing a few typos or copyediting a few articles by using the new "Edit" tab instead of the section [Edit] buttons or the old editing window (which will still be present and still work for you, but which will be renamed "Edit source"). Fix a typo or make some changes, and then click the 'save and review' button (at the top of the page). See what works and what doesn't. We really need people who will try this out on 10 or 15 pages and then leave a note Wikipedia:VisualEditor/Feedback about their experiences, especially if something mission-critical isn't working and doesn't seem to be on anyone's radar.

Also, if any of you are involved in template maintenance or documentation about how to edit pages, the VisualEditor will require some extra attention. The devs want to incorporate things like citation templates directly into the editor, which means that they need to know what information goes in which fields. Obviously, the screenshots and instructions for basic editing will need to be completely updated. The old edit window is not going away, so help pages will likely need to cover both the old and the new.

If you have questions and can't find a better place to ask them, then please feel free to leave a message on my user talk page, and perhaps together we'll be able to figure it out. WhatamIdoing (talk) 01:09, 7 May 2013 (UTC)

Correction: Talk pages are being replaced by mw:Flow, not by Notifications/Echo. This may happen even sooner than the VisualEditor. WhatamIdoing (talk) 14:44, 7 May 2013 (UTC)

World Knowledge Medal.gif

image:World Knowledge Medal.gif has been nominated for deletion -- 65.94.76.126 (talk) 12:59, 9 May 2013 (UTC)

It has been renominated for deletion -- 65.94.76.126 (talk) 04:44, 11 May 2013 (UTC)

UK barnstar

We would like to have a barnstar that was suitable for awarding to people who have given exceptional help to our Wikimedia UK events such as speaking at conferences etc. I was thinking of maybe something stonehenge or Glastonbury Tor themed, but I'd be interested in people's inspirations. Jonathan Cardy (WMUK) (talk) 10:19, 23 April 2013 (UTC)

How about a barnstar overlaying a UK flag? --Pine✉ 19:05, 30 April 2013 (UTC)
@Pine: Probably not ideal - we have significant minorities in the UK who don't want to be part of the UK. So the Union Jack is not the unifying symbol that say the US flag might be there. Jonathan Cardy (WMUK) (talk) 12:05, 23 May 2013 (UTC)
@Jonathan Cardy (WMUK): OK, for me Stonehenge is a familiar association with the UK so using it in a WMUK barnstar makes sense. You could also consider a barnstar with a diagram of the Atlantic Archipelago if that's acceptable to all parties. --Pine✉ 02:32, 26 May 2013 (UTC)

The Science Fiction Barnstar

I got around to making a SVG version of the Science Fiction Barnstar I originally made, and I noticed the admonition to discuss and achieve consensus before adding new barnstars. Does this apply for 2.0 versions of existing list entries? Sophus Bie (talk) 14:13, 19 May 2013 (UTC)

I don't think so. It is not a new barnstar – just a cleaner and clearer version of an old one. Inkbug (talk) 14:35, 19 May 2013 (UTC)
Thanks for the clarification! I'll go add the SVG version, then. Sophus Bie (talk) 16:09, 19 May 2013 (UTC)

Barnstar giving criteria

I have nominated an essay for deletion. The deletion discussion have some comment on "Barnstar giving criteria": Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/Wikipedia:Trivializing and misuse of Awards --Tito Dutta (contact) 05:49, 27 May 2013 (UTC)

Barnstar usage data

I'm wondering if there is any place to find usage data for who has received a certain barnstar. For example, if I was in need of someone who is good at creating graphics, it would be good to know who has received the graphic creator's barnstar. Another example might be if a user has created a new draft for an article and is looking for a good copy editor, it would be good to be able to find those that have had a copy editors badge awarded them. So, where might I find this data? Are the barnstars using z templates or to they have comments in them that could be found with a tool? Technical 13 (talk) 16:44, 31 May 2013 (UTC)

Probably not directly but you may be able to get a good approximation by opening the image of the barnstar and see what User talk pages use it. davidwr/(talk)/(contribs)/(e-mail) 01:43, 1 June 2013 (UTC)

barnstar questions

1. Do you have to have a barnstar to be a barnstar? For instance, the make your own (wikilove) works with any image. And people tend to give (and store) the non-star containing barnstars, as barnstars. I guess you could call them awards or something. I'm just asking if people get irked if you call something a barnstar, when there is no star.

2. What is sort of the guidance for when you just do a make your own each time, when you save the code and re-use it, when you make a formal template page, and when you put it on the list? I have made a couple that I've re-used and thought were minorly nifty. Should I template-ize them and do you have to be a moderator to create templates?

The fluorine barnstar
For the Barber Cup image, a Roman fluorite carving TCO (talk) 17:41, 26 May 2013 (UTC)
The shake your manly hand barnstar
blablabla. TCO (talk) 17:39, 8 June 2013 (UTC)

TCO (talk) 17:39, 8 June 2013 (UTC)

1. No, any user can give a barnstar to any other user. The Barnstars a part of an Award Continuum that includes Personal User Awards, which seem closer to what you're talking about.
2. You can save the code or remake it any time, but Awards should only be housed in Template space and added to the pages when there is a consensus to do so at this talk page. Achowat (talk) 17:50, 18 June 2013 (UTC)

Soviet Barnstar

To the best of my ability I can not find an updated National Barnsatr 2.0 for the Soviet Union. I think the amount of information and involving the Soviet Union on Wikipedia and the contributions one can make to the Soviet Wikiproject calls for a separate barnstar to recognize Wikipedians who have made notable contributions to the project. Dmanrock29 (talk) 05:47, 28 June 2013 (UTC)

This is the prototype design I've come up with. Soviet Union Barnstar PrototypeDmanrock29 (talk) 17:19, 28 June 2013 (UTC)
Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't 2.0 Stars supposed to be in .svg by default? Achowat (talk) 22:47, 28 June 2013 (UTC)
Yes you are correct. Unfortunately I either 1) don't have the software to create a .svg file (I's using Photoshop CS5) or 2) My limited knowledge of both Photoshop and contributing to Wikipedia has inhibited me from uploading the file correctly. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Also, sorry for the slip up.Dmanrock29 (talk) 22:54, 28 June 2013 (UTC)
Obviously I don't know (well, it'd be obvious if you checked out my Commons contributions), but WP:SVG seems like a good place to start. Achowat (talk) 23:01, 28 June 2013 (UTC)
Thanks, I'll start reading then fix my upload.Dmanrock29 (talk) 23:48, 28 June 2013 (UTC)

Self-nomination?

If you truly believe you deserve a certain barnstar or ribbon, yet you haven't been awarded it, are you allowed to self-nominate yourself? (As in, go to a "Self-nomination" talk page and explain to others why it should be awarded. A discussion like this would be great for those who deserve awards, but aren't recognized.) [Soffredo] 00:37, 1 July 2013 (UTC)

It would be akin to going to the trophy store and buying yourself an award: sure, you could do it, but it isn't really meaningful unless you are being recognized by someone else. Plus asking to be thanked will inevitably lead to hard feelings when no one agrees with your self-evaluation. isaacl (talk) 03:26, 1 July 2013 (UTC)
Barnstars are all about earning another Wikipedian's appreciation through your editing. It's not always a fair process. I have four recommendations that you could use to earn appreciation:
  1. Check out Wikipedia:Reward board. Some editors are begging for help and are willing to compensate you with barnstars or actual stuff.
  2. Do a peer review. There's a long backlog of editors that just need suggestions on how to fix an article. You can stick to subjects you feel comfortable with and there's no qualification in order to participate.
  3. Sign-up at the "Good Article" recruitment center. Get trained on how to properly perform a GA review. You get a userbox for completing the course. Performing GA reviews might earn you some appreciation, not to mention channel your efforts to help specific programs.
  4. Earn a Four Award or Triple Crown.
These are just a couple ideas. Different WikiProjects also have to-do lists that you could help out on not to mention some project-specific awards. Regardless, editing Wikipedia is a thankless job; you have to enjoy doing it without any expectation of reward. Taking training courses like the GA review or the Counter-Vandalism Academy earn you some merit, but if you take a look at Wikipedia's awards you'll see most of them require significant work.
As for me, I almost never hand out barnstars and when I do it is because I see someone putting in some work that I appreciate. You've only been a Wikipedian for a few months and have about 1,500 edits. The folks with lots of barnstars have been here for 10 years and have more than 40,000 edits. Put in time and effort and the awards will come.
On an un-related note, I would recommend changing your user signature so it contains a link to your user page or talk page. It makes it easier for other editors to contact you or check you out. Chris Troutman (talk) 23:11, 19 July 2013 (UTC)

Convert ribbon graphics to templates

We have a great many png and svg ribbon alternatives to our myriad barnstars. I prefer the ribbon alternatives and I'm wondering if we could create matching templates like the service award templates. The templates contain a link switch that could be directed by the user to the applicable talk page section where they were awarded the barnstar. I'm not a pro at coding, so if a user could work out the code, I'd be happy to go ahead and implement it. Chris Troutman (talk) 22:09, 19 July 2013 (UTC)

Million Award -- design help, feedback requested

I have a proposal for a new award for editors who bring high-traffic articles to GA or FA level, which I'm tentatively calling the Million Award. My goal is to incentivize editors to work more on Wikipedia's most-read content.

The three tiers of the award would recognize editors who successfully promote articles with an estimated quarter-million, half-million, or million annual views. (Estimated is a key word here, as this award would not be strictly supervised or regimented--it's for editor encouragement only). This would include almost all topics at WP:Vital articles/Expanded as well as popular contemporary topics. The award is inspired in large part by the essay "Improving Wikipedia's important articles", which argues that Wikipedia incentives encourage editors to mass-produce articles on rarely-viewed topics rather than focusing on the core. With this award, I'm hoping to create a balancing incentive, giving editors bragging rights for their readership.

You can see the full proposal at User:Khazar2/Million, though the graphic design still needs to be done. Any thoughts, objections, or dire warnings before I move this to article space? Is anyone interested in helping to design the award? Thanks to all. -- Khazar2 (talk) 12:16, 17 August 2013 (UTC)

I'll comment on the proposal talk page. davidwr/(talk)/(contribs)/(e-mail) 17:45, 17 August 2013 (UTC)


The Occult Barnstar

I'd like to propose the occult Barnstar. The reason being that this topic area is particularly difficult for editors. Editors who, like me, specialise in this subject area are regularly subjected to barrages of abuse by editors with points of view that are not tolerant of occult topics. A lot of good work has been done by many editors in this subject area, but also many editors have left wikipedia altogether because they are just sick of the grief they get. I would propose a design that featured a pentagram, as that is a ubiquitous symbol in occultism. I can make the graphic if this proposal gets accepted. Morgan Leigh | Talk 01:13, 19 August 2013 (UTC)

Perhaps you'd want to see if WP:OCCULT has any use or desire for a WikiProject barnstar. Achowat (talk) 06:41, 19 August 2013 (UTC)

Animation Barnstar

I was thinking that it might be worth having a Barnstar for honoring work on articles about animated films and series, but wouldn't actually know how to create it myself. Does anyone else feel that this would be a good idea? --Jpcase (talk) 19:41, 17 June 2013 (UTC)

Have you considered talking to WP:ANIMATION to see if they want a WikiProject Award? If there's a need for this award, then they'd know. Achowat (talk) 17:55, 18 June 2013 (UTC)
I'm a member of the WP:FG and I believe that this star should be made since animation is such a huge topic and there are many contributors that deserve a recognition for them selfs. Pedro J. the rookie 17:38, 6 August 2013 (UTC)
I'm quite surpised that one has yet to be created. I think it's a good idea, I support it. --Khanassassin ☪ 15:39, 2 September 2013 (UTC)
Who cares since I've created it myself, but sure I'll support that. JJ98 (Talk) 19:39, 4 September 2013 (UTC)
When you created it, did you open a discussion here first? I think that it's worth going through this process, so that the Barnstar can be listed at Wikipedia:Barnstar, making it official and more accessible. I've been wanting to award this to other editors for a while now, but couldn't, since I had no idea that one existed. As I said to you on your talk page though, I would love to see your design and possibly use it if we can acquire consensus for this Barnstar to be listed. :) --Jpcase (talk) 20:09, 4 September 2013 (UTC)

The Kaiju Barnstar

I'd like to propose a barnstar known as the "Kaiju Barnstar", the reason being that this topic area concerns many pages and many editors specialize in the topic. There's been some fantastic work done on these pages, and many editors in this field have been left without recognition. My idea for a design would be a green or grey star with a Godzilla icon, specifically this one:

File:Godzilla 2000 kaiju.jpg


If this barnstar is accepted, however, I'm afraid I would be unable to create the entire graphic myself. --Matthew (talk) 17:20, 8 September 2013 (UTC)

Another editor removed your image because non-free images cannot be used outside of articles. I restored it but left it as a doc-link. As it is likely that the file itself will be deleted from Wikipedia altogether unless it is used in an article in the next few days, here is a link to the image in question: http://www.bloodsprayer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/godzilla2000.jpg . In any case, non-free images should not be used in barnstars. There are public domain images for Godzilla. Perhaps a crop from one of the free images found in Godzilla could be used (note: Not all images in that article are "free," check the file's description page before picking an image). davidwr/(talk)/(contribs) 17:48, 10 September 2013 (UTC)

WP:FOUR

Does WP:FOUR fall under your purview, and should I add a project banner to it? -- 70.24.244.158 (talk) 03:52, 12 September 2013 (UTC)

The Gordian Knot Barnstar

For editors who propose a simple and effective solution to a tangled mess of disputed editing, reverts, and so on, especially by eliminating a controversial lede phrase or sentence altogether since it is not essential to the topic. VEBott (talk) 13:42, 16 September 2013 (UTC)

Service Awards vs Incremental Service Awards

The two pages Wikipedia:Incremental_service_awards_(Ribbons) and Wikipedia:Service_awards basically contains somewhat the same ribbons/awards, but having completely different amounts of edits/time required for awarding.
IMHO Wikipedia:Service awards is by far better, but it lacks the different levels of the editor/signator, novice/burba etc as the Wikipedia:Incremental_service_awards_(Ribbons) page have.. What thoughts are you guys having?
I think it would be nice to merge them in some way and making all the number of edits/time the same.. Skibden (talk) 18:37, 25 September 2013 (UTC)

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