Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 00:31, 18 February 2010

• Samantha, the fearless leader of WikiVoices, was diagnosed with diabetes on Saturday. She hasn't done well since then and has been to the vet three times this past week. So don't count on a quick reply...I'm a Wiki Witch with a very sick little familiar.
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Question

Hello Lise. I noticed your great job in the past regarding restoration of many beautiful and important historical pictures from the USGov archives, and their subsequent nomination for FP. I would like to ask, what is the situation with historical portraits? Are there any special requirements for the FP? The question came to my mind when uploading photo of Mississippi Governor Theodore G. Bilbo File:Theodore Bilbo.jpg. Thanks in advance. - Darwinek (talk) 12:26, 13 February 2010 (UTC)

The 350 KB version is obviously too compressed to nominate. Glass plate photography can be fiendish to restore. Download one of the high resolution TIFF files from LoC and look it over at 200% resolution. It's a beautiful medium when it's done right, but photographic emulsions don't tend to adhere well to glass. Expect a lot of micro-scratches, specks, and other problems. If you're a real masochist go for the 159 MB version. But the 19 MB file is probably good enough. A tough choice for a first project, but doable. Durova 00:04, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

Poor kitty!

Sorry to hear that, Durova. I hope Samantha get better soon although diabetes is an illness for long term care. --Caspian blue 00:31, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

At least it's something really treatable. Considering what else was consistent with her symptoms (liver failure, etc.) this is good news. Thank you very much for your concern. :) Durova 00:54, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

Love the image collection. Tabby cat rules!. The lunar year (a.k.a Chinese new year) is coming. You can easily guess what animal year it will be after visiting the Chinese Misplaced Pages (sort of cat) :-) --Caspian blue 01:09, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

(edit conflict)
I've heard even the hors d'oeuvres are concerned enough to make the ultimate sacrifice. :-) All our prayers (or other gestures of loving universal assistence you wish), dear Samantha. -- Proofreader77 01:13, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

Samantha is a tiger! (I keep wanting to do a Chinese New Year restoration). The dear parrot hors d'oeuvre is safe for the present: Samantha is on a low feather diet. :) All the best, Durova 03:41, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

I love it Durova, I should start doing the same thing. We sometimes forget that the other person on the otherside of the computer screen is human. These pictures help others connect with you, even those who may disagree with you. Sorry to hear about you kitty. I would be devastated if that happened to my little dog. Okip (formerly Ikip) 04:34, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

Managed to stare straight at all those cat pictures for a full 30 seconds without actually reading the text. Hope she gets better. In the mean time, here's some catnip:

Peter 00:02, 17 February 2010 (UTC)

Are these facts correct?

Are these facts of the recently closed Arbcom correct?

• Wikipedia_talk:Requests_for_comment/Biographies_of_living_people#The_dangerous_precedents_set_in_this_Request_for_Comment

I was just a horrified and disgusted spectator, whereas you were right in the middle of it all.

Okip (formerly Ikip) 04:31, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

Saw your lead-up discussion at Casliber's user talk. It would be hard to answer in a few words. Some of the details are a bit off base but the general thrust appears to be meritorious. I hate to answer on this level, but it isn't likely to go unnoticed: your strong history of inclusionism will likely color the way that other editors interpret that post. Site culture has become all too apt to disregard the merits of a statement if they suspect an ulterior wikipolitical motive is behind it.

The irony is that BLP is the area where I've leaned closest to deletionism, but the radical actions of recent weeks are very shortsighted. The metric which has driven most of the action is inherently flawed: there actually isn't much overlap between BLP violations and unreferenced BLP articles. Our more serious problem as a website includes subtle vandalism such as what I outlined in this offsite article. One of those examples actually made statewide news in South Dakota while passing entirely below the administrative radar here at Misplaced Pages. It wouldn't be realistic to delete congressional biographies, yet our site culture hasn't absorbed the idea that we represent an attractive nuisance for genuine political skullduggery. Or that individuals who pass our notability threshold are usually notable enough to merit the attention of celebrity stalkers, and a few of them actually have one. For more than two years now I've been addressing one long term problem of that type where, at times, malicious impersonations of the BLP subject were quoted and cited in the article as if they were self-published statements.

The recent actions have undermined our consensus model and turned off a substantial portion of the community without getting us any closer to solutions for the serious side of the BLP issue. Durova 05:22, 15 February 2010 (UTC)

Congratulations

Your Featured picture candidate has been promoted Your nomination for featured picture status, File:French mutilé with mask2.jpg, gained a consensus of support, and has been promoted. If you would like to nominate another image, please do so at Misplaced Pages:Featured picture candidates. Abecedare (talk) 05:07, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

Your Featured picture candidate has been promoted Your nomination for featured picture status, File:French mutilé without mask2.jpg, gained a consensus of support, and has been promoted. If you would like to nominate another image, please do so at Misplaced Pages:Featured picture candidates. Abecedare (talk) 05:07, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

BLP contest page began

	The Unreferenced living persons contest
	Please help us build this contest. Your suggestions are warmly welcome. >> Sign up now. <<

As I write this, this page is still a red link, but it is a beginning. Thank you for your help and guidance:

Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Unreferenced_Biographies_of Living Persons#Unreferenced_living_person contest

Okip (formerly Ikip) 08:21, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

Successful featured picture nomination

An image created by you has been promoted to featured picture status Your image, File:Tropenmuseum Royal Tropical Institute Objectnumber 3444-7 Begrafenis bij plantageslaven2.jpg, was nominated on Misplaced Pages:Featured picture candidates, gained a consensus of support, and has been promoted. If you would like to nominate an image, please do so at Misplaced Pages:Featured picture candidates. Thank you for your contribution! Maedin\ 17:59, 15 February 2010 (UTC)

Ever get secondary confirmation on the 24 members of the "secret mailing list"?

Wikipedia_talk:Requests_for_comment/Biographies_of_living_people#Moving_unfavorable_facts

I would be interested if Scott Macdonald, Lar, Coffee, and Kevin were members. Okip 19:50, 15 February 2010 (UTC)

This is quite delicate. The entire discussion has been removed by an arbitrator whom I wish to avoid. A few brief comments, the secret mailing list phrasing is inapplicable; the concerns have surrounded a private web domain. I'm not in a position to comment upon the validity of those concerns other than to say that it would be a relief if its members stepped forward and discussed it openly. Also, considering that more than 90% of respondents supported Sandstein's opinion regarding the scope of ArbCom on policy issues, it would be better if arbitrators refrained from attempts to close and summarize a policy RfC or from the appearance of clerking its pages. There are plenty of non-arbitrators who could do those functions equally well (and this comment would be equally applicable no matter which arbitrator intervened). The Arbitration Committee is not Misplaced Pages's Steering Committee; clarity in that regard would foster community confidence. Durova 20:17, 15 February 2010 (UTC)

Re: Picture Restoration

I am not sure if you have an interest in restoring pictures uploaded by other users, but I recently submitted a few cannabis images for picture peer review, and it looks like some restoration is required for any of the images to obtain valued picture or featured picture status. I am not familiar with restoration, but I saw your accomplishments during last year's Wikicup and thought you might enjoy working on an image or two and guiding them through the valued/featured image process. If you are not interested, no problem... keep up the great work! --Another Believer _(Talk) 00:30, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

Well, considering that I was awarded a ribbon in the Navy for drug ops this would be somewhat of a stretch. The FAQ for this talk page is temporarily down to honor my ailing little buddy Samantha. I do ask a favor in return: which of my GAs would you like to improve for FAC? Durova 00:39, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

My apologies, but I am not familiar with any of the GA topics you have listed, and I am currently working on several articles and lists of my own. While I appreciate your willingness to swap favors, I was simply approaching you in case you had a particular interest in image restoration and were looking for images to work on. (And as a side note, the cannabis images are botanical and scientific in nature, not used to promote drug use). Thanks for your response, and (again) keep up the great work! I enjoyed browsing your submission for the Wikicup and your galleries on your profile page. Best wishes! --Another Believer _(Talk) 00:50, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

Those images are quite interesting actually. Am backlogged at the moment with existing commitments. But willing to reprioritize for an editor who's willing to joust with the WP:MOS dragons at the WP:FAC forest. Cheers, Durova 00:53, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

Will keep that in mind! --Another Believer _(Talk) 00:56, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

Your comment on Transcendental Meditation movement

Hi Durova. Your comment made me think: what if a user edited articles related to Catholicism from an IP that belongs to the Vatican? Sole Soul (talk) 01:35, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

The conduct is what matters, not the religion. Not a problem if a Vatican editor were doing something innocuous such as correcting spelling at the biography of a Pope. But if a group of Vatican-based accounts and IP addresses tried to promote Catholicism in article space and refused to accept feedback about site standards, then yes our response would be the same. Misplaced Pages is neutral with regard to religions. Durova 01:59, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

"our response should be the same" or "my response would be the same" are more accurate. Thank you. Sole Soul (talk) 02:17, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

A fair correction; let's hope it's functionally equivalent. :) Durova 02:23, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

Comment

Bravo Raystorm (¿Sí?) 16:05, 16 February 2010 (UTC) And I hope Samantha is doing okay

Thank you very much. Durova 16:47, 16 February 2010 (UTC) And the little darling isn't eating. Will be calling the V-E-T as soon as they open.

Apostrophe Demons

Yes, nasty little beasts that seem to plague my computer. Very strange. In my defense I work in a profession with poor grammar and poorer handwriting. Thank you Tuckerj1976 (talk) 19:35, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

Thank you very much for taking the little blue demon in good humor. :) Durova 19:44, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

Favor

Hey Durova, can you do a picture restoration to File:PaulKrichell.jpg, I'm planning the triple crown on that article, and it needs a good cleaning. Thanks Secret 20:27, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

I do ask a favor in return: which of my GAs would you be improving for FAC? Durova 20:29, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

I could help you out with evaulating, can't really add much information for as it's not my specialty. I could try to help you I'm Just Wild About Harry, or collaborate an GA/FA of an entertainment article from the Kennedy Center Honors List of Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients or National Medal of Arts your choice. I'm surprised many of the articles of the subjects of these awards are just plain bad. Secret 20:48, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

• We could work on Pamela Churchill, I have a biography of her, and the article about her is just plain bad. Secret 20:52, 16 February 2010 (UTC)
  • "We"? You want two favors instead of one? Durova 20:55, 16 February 2010 (UTC)
  • I meant we could work on a article together if you want, any interesting bio your choice (as long as I could get the sources together). I which I could work on your GAs, like expanding them, but they aren't my specialties (unless I get the proper book sources). Secret 20:58, 16 February 2010 (UTC)
    • Glass plate photography restoration is very laborious. You have asked me to do a twenty hour restoration as a favor to you. When I ask you to do me a favor in return, you ask me for more work. It isn't as if I'm twiddling my thumbs; pardon if this seems testy, but I do have existing editing commitments a very sick pet who's returning to the veterinarian today for the third time in less than a week. Durova 21:05, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

Mary Rose at FAC

Mary Rose is up for FAC. Thought you'd might like to know.

Btw, I intend to get a grip on the appeal thing by the end of this week. I've been busy with job hunting and other stuff, but I've managed to find some rather interesting Haiti-related info and I've contacted the press secretary at the Ministry of Culture about the digital media initiative. However, there's not much happening from Swedish Wikimedia on the matter, but I hope I can recruit some help at the yearly meeting on the 27th.

Peter 23:55, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

That is absolutely wonderful! Best regards and please keep me updated. Durova 00:02, 17 February 2010 (UTC)

Expert Opinion

We are starting a portal for battleships as a part of Operation Majestic Titan, but we are short on battleship/battlecruiser featured picture material. At the moment we have 10 FPs, with an additional two I can think of off the top of my head that failed FPCs and one that I wanted your opinion on as a potential FPC: File:Yamato battleship under construction.jpg. This particular image is one a precious few to have been taken by the Japanese to have survived WWII (special service officers of the IJN destroyed almost on or relating to the Yamato-class just prior to the allied occupation of Japan). It doesn't seem right to have no FP of at least on battleship of the Yamato-class battleships, so I was interested in hearing whether this one has a chance of passing FPC.

On an unrelated note, I am sorry to here about Samantha. I'll keep here in my prayers, and I wish you luck in adjusting to this new development. TomStar81 (Talk) 04:26, 17 February 2010 (UTC)

Wonderful encyclopedic value. As a nominee this would have two types of problems: it borderlines on too heavily compressed at 323 KB and those dimensions. Usually I work with a minimum 10 MB TIFF file. If you could obtain a larger version it would be a roll of the dice to restore this for FPC because it's framed too tightly and needs rotation. The horizon is tilted and the only way to fix that would be to lose data at the edges of the image. With this composition I would be unable to work around that the way I did for a recent candidate The ed 17 ran. So you'd need to persuade the featured picture reviewers of its rarity and historic value. In practical terms it may have a better chance of passing if someone else worked on it. When one does a lot of restorations reviewers sometimes expect more than the archives and software can deliver. Durova 17:28, 17 February 2010 (UTC)

Hmmm I wonder if we could find a suitably large version of that in a book and scan it in as a tiff? AFAIK, it's not a rare print; it shouldn't be hard to find in a book (especially seeing as it is virtually the only photo of Yamato under construction, so there aren't a lot of choices). —Ed (talk • majestic titan) 19:42, 17 February 2010 (UTC)

Look for a good quality reproduction. A lot of book publishers save money by a process called halftoning. The result is perfectly encyclopedic by not feature-worthy. Durova 21:08, 17 February 2010 (UTC)

How does one tell if it is halftoned or not? —Ed (talk • majestic titan) 21:12, 17 February 2010 (UTC)