Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 01:13, 27 August 2020

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Welcome to my talk page. You can contact me here.

Replies: Sometimes, I will reply on your talk page; if I do this, I will link the diff to my reply here. However, usually, in order to keep the discussion in one place, I will reply here, and I'll use either {{ping}} or {{talkback}} or both to inform you of the reply.

Looking for your message? Most talk pages on Misplaced Pages are organized in chronological order, meaning newer messages will appear at the bottom of the page. I archive my talk page seasonally. When messages are archived, you can find them in the archive box to the right. If you want to restart the discussion, don't do so on the archive page; instead, start a new thread here.

Note: While I try not to make mistakes too often, I'm far from being an infallible editor. If you think I've made a mistake, or otherwise feel that I could have done something better, I would warmly welcome your feedback here. (On Misplaced Pages, it is customary to respond to foolish behavior by whacking with a wet trout. )

WP:RETENTION: This editor is willing to lend a helping hand. Just ask.

Click here to start a new message

Our old F1 editing friend

Hello, sorry to bother you; I think you might just remember the multi-IP editor of F1 articles who eventually created an account (Rowde) and was subsequently blocked. He has created at least six other accounts, all of which have been blocked (being: GTCars, Jesschool, Mriffin, Nico Yu 14, GThomas00, GarethCollege and GarethThomas2000). All have been blocked except the last one where 'he' is up to several of his old tricks. Most were blocked by Favonian who blocked the 'master' back in the day, but he seems to be taking a break just now. Really, my question is, what is the way to report this sort of thing. I did look at SPI but it didn't seem to quite fit right... what could one put in 'diffs' say..? this editor must be up to 10s of 1000s of edits by now. Hope you can give me some 'pointers'. Many thanks. I feel I should know how to approach this but apparently I don't! Eagleash (talk) 18:49, 7 May 2020 (UTC)

Hi Eagleash. Ah yes, this guy. I vaguely remember them—it's been years now, no? Anyway, based on the clear username similarity, plus overlapping editing interests, I ran a check and GarethThomas2000 is  Confirmed to GarethCollege, so I blocked that account indefinitely. Good eye!

To answer your question, I think WP:SPI is probably the most appropriate general venue for these kinds of reports. As far as evidence goes, you could point out peculiar or suspicious edits that led you to think this might be the sockmaster. You could also point out things like the username similarities and overlapping interests. The requirement of diffs is for the benefit of administrators and checkusers who may not be familiar with the case. Alternatively, you may continue to report suspected sockpuppets directly to me—in private by email if necessary: Special:EmailUser/Mz7. Cheers, Mz7 (talk) 19:31, 7 May 2020 (UTC)

Thanks that's excellent; I was kind of thinking along the same lines re SPI but I'm still easily confused by that sort of thing... Yes it must be four years since you first became involved with them when they were persistently requesting redirects via AfC; which they then used to create articles for NN topics. It's three years since the first account was blocked. Thanks again! Best regards. Eagleash (talk) 19:55, 7 May 2020 (UTC)

SPI investigation for Dan Smythe

Hey I noticed you had said I filed the report in the wrong place, was the issue that I put the "user:" before the puppeteer's name? Just wanted to know for next time. Cheers. Sulfurboy (talk) 07:06, 9 May 2020 (UTC)

Sulfurboy, heh, the procedure is indeed a little confusing, but yes, that was the only issue. Cheers, Mz7 (talk) 17:23, 9 May 2020 (UTC)

Tech News: 2020-20

Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community. Please tell other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations are available.

Recent changes

• Everyone can now import photos from Flickr to Commons with the UploadWizard. Before this only autopatrollers on Commons could import photos from Flickr.

Problems

• Commons will be on read-only for a few minutes on 12 May. This will happen around 05:00 UTC. This is for database maintenance.
• Several wikis including Wikidata will be on read-only for a few minutes on 19 May. This will happen around 05:00 UTC. English Misplaced Pages will be on read-only for a few minutes on 21 May 05:00 UTC. This is for database maintenance.

Changes later this week

• The new version of MediaWiki will be on test wikis and MediaWiki.org from 12 May. It will be on non-Misplaced Pages wikis and some Wikipedias from 13 May. It will be on all wikis from 14 May (calendar).

Future changes

• JavaScript scripts and gadgets can no longer check multiple keys at once via mw.config.exists() or mw.user.tokens.exists(). You can use exists() or get() to check one at a time instead.

Tech news prepared by Tech News writers and posted by bot • Contribute • Translate • Get help • Give feedback • Subscribe or unsubscribe.

20:41, 11 May 2020 (UTC)

Creating New Page

Hello Mz7,

I thought I would ask a quick question. I am creating a wiki page for some. However, I just realized there were two previous attempts in 2007 and 2008 but on both occasions, the pages were deleted. Please, could you advise on how to go about it that the page won't be deleted again? Thank you — Preceding unsigned comment added by PymeFA (talk • contribs) 02:04, 12 May 2020 (UTC)

(Talk Page Stalker) @PymeFA: I would check to see why it was deleted (Like the reason why, it should be in a red box.) and try not to make the same mistake. (So it it was for copyvio don’t put copy righted material in it, or not notable enough, try to find more reliable references.) Hope this helps! Signed,The4lines |||| 02:23, 12 May 2020 (UTC)

@PymeFA: Apologies for my delay in responding. As The4lines explained above, it would be helpful to see why the articles were deleted in the past. If you could provide the name of the topic you want to write about, I could take a closer look for you. Speaking generally, the most common reason for why articles are deleted is lack of notability. The best tip I can give for writing new articles is pay close attention to sources. Make sure your sources are high-quality reliable sources that discuss the topic in detail. These include articles in mainstream news sources, books, scholarly journals, etc. One strategy is the "amnesia test": forget everything you know about the subject, research the subject, and write the article based only on the research. If you find that there's no much information out there about a subject, then it might not be notable enough for Misplaced Pages. See Misplaced Pages:Your first article for additional advice. Best of luck, Mz7 (talk) 04:38, 14 May 2020 (UTC)

Another possible F1 disruptive editor

Hello, sorry to bother you ... again! Is there any quick way that you can check that this account and this one are connected (or not) to the Rowde / GT accounts as noted above. The accounts are showing some similarities in editing style / habits and topics and there is the same propensity to ignore advice and failure to engage. I'm more interested in finding out that they are not connected than the alternative. (If that makes sense.) I think these two accounts are connected to each other if not actually to Rowde. Thanks. Eagleash (talk) 18:50, 12 May 2020 (UTC)

• @Eagleash: The following accounts are  Confirmed to be Rowde:
  • CaveMean (talk · tag · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log · CA · CheckUser(log) · investigate · cuwiki)
  • Foxydagmar (talk · tag · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log · CA · CheckUser(log) · investigate · cuwiki)
  • Foxydanger (talk · tag · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log · CA · CheckUser(log) · investigate · cuwiki)
•  Blocked and tagged. Mz7 (talk) 19:07, 12 May 2020 (UTC)

Gosh, it's a bit worse than I thought. Thanks hugely! There should be a special massive 'barnstar' for Rowde fighting! Eagleash (talk) 19:57, 12 May 2020 (UTC)

Um, I'm a little embarrased to bother you yet again but this account I think is them – even with just a couple of edits or so. Re-doing a revert of one of their regular IP ranges and some of their regular editing traits. Cheers. Eagleash (talk) 10:26, 15 May 2020 (UTC)

@Eagleash: No need for embarrassment.  Confirmed - that account is indeed Rowde, and I've blocked it. Thanks, Mz7 (talk) 22:32, 15 May 2020 (UTC)

Thanks!! I guess he'll never give up. Eagleash (talk) 13:00, 16 May 2020 (UTC)

Will he? username similarity and topics edited (sorry!) Eagleash (talk) 19:47, 20 May 2020 (UTC)

@Eagleash: Blocked. Thanks! Mz7 (talk) 20:17, 20 May 2020 (UTC)

No! Thank 'you'! Eagleash (talk) 21:15, 20 May 2020 (UTC)

DYK for Plumhoff v. Rickard

On 14 May 2020, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Plumhoff v. Rickard, which you recently created, substantially expanded, or brought to good article status. The fact was ... that in a 2014 case, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that a group of police officers acted reasonably when they fired fifteen shots to end a high-speed car chase? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Plumhoff v. Rickard. You are welcome to check how many page hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, Plumhoff v. Rickard), and it may be added to the statistics page if the total is over 5,000. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

 — Amakuru (talk) 12:03, 14 May 2020 (UTC)

M.A.M.A.T.I. B.E.A.U.T.Y2020

So this was sock. I remember the last socks when I remodeling the Def Leppard page last year. I’ll keep my eyes on these MANATIBEAUTY socks. I’m shocked this was a sock. Also I know this was a obvious sock due to the name but how you guys catch socks? You seem to understand something about them that I don’t get? A.R.M. 03:41, 15 May 2020 (UTC)

@ARMcgrath: In this case, I was responding to a report submitted by another user at Misplaced Pages:Sockpuppet investigations/M.A.M.A.T.I.2020.55. My guess is the user who reported these accounts was patrolling new pages and stumbled across the similar drafts submitted by this group of accounts. As far as catching socks goes, there is almost always something strange about a user's behavior that leads us to suspect sockpuppetry, and a closer look may uncover more evidence. Misplaced Pages:Signs of sock puppetry is an essay that someone wrote about this. Mz7 (talk) 04:55, 15 May 2020 (UTC)

Tech News: 2020-21

Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community. Please tell other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations are available.

Recent changes

• If you forget your password you can ask for a new one to be sent to your email address. You need to know your email address or your username. You can choose that you need to enter both your email address and your username. This is a preference. This is to get fewer password reset emails someone else asked for. This is now available on all Wikimedia wikis.

Problems

• There is a bug that creates problems for iPhone users with iOS 13 and Safari. If you use an iPhone to read or edit Misplaced Pages and see bugs on the mobile site you can report them.
• Several wikis including Wikidata will be on read-only for a few minutes on 19 May. This will happen around 05:00 UTC. English Misplaced Pages will be on read-only for a few minutes on 21 May 05:00 UTC. This is for database maintenance.

Changes later this week

• The Misplaced Pages app for Android can let users add depicts on Commons. The beta version used computer-aided tagging. This was removed to get more specific depicts.
• There is no new MediaWiki version this week.

Future changes

• Graphs will be rendered in the reader's browser. This will use Javascript. Graphs will hopefully work better for everyone who uses Javascript. It will not work for users who don't use Javascript. This will not affect diagrams in image files.
• Some CSS for the skins has been simplified. This affects div#p-personal, div#p-navigation, div#p-interaction, div#p-tb, div#p-lang, div#p-namespaces, div#p-variants and div#footer. They will have to remove div. You will have to update your gadgets, scripts or user styles. This is so we can use HTML5.
• Some CSS for the Vector skin has been changed. This affects #p-variants, #p-namespaces, #p-personal, #p-views and #p-cactions. They can no longer use > ul. You might need to update your gadgets, scripts or user styles. See how.

Tech news prepared by Tech News writers and posted by bot • Contribute • Translate • Get help • Give feedback • Subscribe or unsubscribe.

17:19, 18 May 2020 (UTC)

SPI

Hi, you closed the case before I could comment on your comments. I am referencing Misplaced Pages:Username_policy#Using_multiple_accounts which is what I based it on. It is not biting, it was a preemptive effort to stop anything before it starts. Thanks, --Galendalia (talk) 18:57, 23 May 2020 (UTC)

@Galendalia: As I stated in my comment on the SPI, just "using multiple accounts" is not prohibited on Misplaced Pages; using multiple accounts for illegitimate purposes is prohibited. In neither of the cases you reported was there any prohibited activity by any of the accounts. For all we know, the user didn't like the username they picked at first and wanted to change it to a new one—but instead of being welcomed to the community, before they even join they are given a notice that they are "under investigation" for a serious breach of community trust. I feel that if you patrol Special:Log/newusers you could probably find a number of cases where multiple accounts are being created, but as far as the rules go the users have not violated Misplaced Pages policy until they actually use the multiple accounts for disruptive purposes. If you have reason to believe that, despite the accounts having no edits, there is a high likelihood they will disrupt Misplaced Pages in the future, I would be happy to block the accounts; however, the only reasons for this I can think of are if the usernames are disruptive in nature or if the usernames indicate that the user might be someone evading a block or ban. Mz7 (talk) 19:09, 23 May 2020 (UTC)

Understood - I will remove the notices and apply a welcome template on all 4 accounts. Thank you for the clarification! --Galendalia (talk) 19:13, 23 May 2020 (UTC)

Tech News: 2020-22

Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community. Please tell other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations are available.

Changes later this week

• The visual editor will now work in the Modern skin. The changes that needed to happen for this to work could cause problems for some scripts or gadgets.
• The new version of MediaWiki will be on test wikis and MediaWiki.org from May 26. It will be on non-Misplaced Pages wikis and some Wikipedias from May 27. It will be on all wikis from May 28 (calendar).

Tech news prepared by Tech News writers and posted by bot • Contribute • Translate • Get help • Give feedback • Subscribe or unsubscribe.

14:18, 25 May 2020 (UTC)

Editor of the Week : nominations needed!

The Editor of the Week initiative has been recognizing editors since 2013 for their hard work and dedication. Editing Misplaced Pages can be disheartening and tedious at times; the weekly Editor of the Week award lets its recipients know that their positive behaviour and collaborative spirit is appreciated. The response from the honorees has been enthusiastic and thankful.

The list of nominees is running short, and so new nominations are needed for consideration. Have you come across someone in your editing circle who deserves a pat on the back for improving article prose regularly, making it easier to understand? Or perhaps someone has stepped in to mediate a contentious dispute, and did an excellent job. Do you know someone who hasn't received many accolades and is deserving of greater renown? Is there an editor who does lots of little tasks well, such as cleaning up a citation.

Please help us thank editors who display sustained patterns of excellence, working tirelessly in the background out of the spotlight, by submitting your nomination for Editor of the Week today! MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 23:50, 26 May 2020 (UTC)

Articles for Creation: List of reviewers by subject notice

Hi Mz7, you are receiving this notice because you are listed as an active Articles for Creation reviewer.

Recently a list of reviewers by area of expertise was created. This notice is being sent out to alert you to the existence of that list, and to encourage you to add your name to it. If you or other reviewers come across articles in the queue where an acceptance/decline hinges on specialist knowledge, this list should serve to facilitate contact with a fellow reviewer.

To end on a positive note, the backlog has dropped below 1,500, so thanks for all of the hard work some of you have been putting into the AfC process!

Sent to all Articles for Creation reviewers as a one-time notice. To opt-out of all massmessage mailings, you may add Category:Wikipedians who opt out of message delivery to your user talk page. Regards, Sam-2727 (talk)

MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 16:35, 27 May 2020 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Plumhoff v. Rickard

The article Plumhoff v. Rickard you nominated as a good article has passed ; see Talk:Plumhoff v. Rickard for comments about the article. Well done! If the article has not already been on the main page as an "In the news" or "Did you know" item, you can nominate it to appear in Did you know. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Usernameunique -- Usernameunique (talk) 15:21, 30 May 2020 (UTC)

The Signpost: 31 May 2020

• From the editor: Meltdown May?

• News and notes: 2019 Picture of the Year, 200 French paid editing accounts blocked, 10 years of Guild Copyediting

• In the media: CBS on COVID-19, Sanger on bias, false noses, and five prolific editors

• Discussion report: WMF's Universal Code of Conduct

• Special report: The sum of human knowledge? Not in one Misplaced Pages language edition

• Featured content: Weathering the storm

• Arbitration report: Board member likely to receive editing restriction

• Traffic report: Come on and slam, and welcome to the jam

• Op-Ed: Where Is Political Bias Taking Us?

• Gallery: Wildlife photos by the book

• News from the WMF: WMF Board announces Community Culture Statement

• Recent research: Automatic detection of covert paid editing; Wiki Workshop 2020

• Community view: Transit routes and mapping during stay-at-home order downtime

• On video: COVID-19 spurs innovations in Wikimedia video and virtual programming

• WikiProject report: Revitalizing good articles

• On the bright side: 500,000 articles in the Egyptian Arabic Misplaced Pages

• Obituaries: Dmitrismirnov, Kattenkruid, Muidlatif, Ronhjones, Tsirel

Administrators' newsletter – June 2020

News and updates for administrators from the past month (May 2020).

Administrator changes

CaptainEek • Creffett • Cwmhiraeth

Anna Frodesiak • Buckshot06 • Ronhjones • SQL

CheckUser changes

SQL

Guideline and policy news

• A request for comment asks whether the Unblock Ticket Request System (UTRS) should allowed any unblock request or just private appeals.
• The Wikimedia Foundation announced that they will develop a universal code of conduct for all WMF projects. There is an open local discussion regarding the same.

Arbitration

• A motion was passed to enact a 500/30 restriction on articles related to the history of Jews and antisemitism in Poland during World War II (1933–45), including the Holocaust in Poland. Article talk pages where disruption occurs may also be managed with the stated restriction.

• Discuss this newsletter
• Subscribe
• Archive

Tech News: 2020-23

Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community. Please tell other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations are available.

Recent changes

• There is a new beta version of the Wikimedia Commons app for Android. It has a new zoom function when you look at images. It can also suggest places when you upload geotagged photos.

Problems

• There was a problem with the Commons database on 27 May. Commons could not be edited for eight minutes. Because of this problem the database was moved. This caused another short read-only time on 29 May.
• The Vector skin had a problem where you couldn't add links to the article in other languages. You couldn't see the section if there were no links to other languages already. It also removed content translation links and links to language settings. This has now been fixed.

Changes later this week

• You can get a notification when someone links to a page you created. You can turn these notifications off for individual pages. You can soon turn them off also in the notifications you get.
• The new version of MediaWiki will be on test wikis and MediaWiki.org from 2 June. It will be on non-Misplaced Pages wikis and some Wikipedias from 3 June. It will be on all wikis from 4 June (calendar).

Tech news prepared by Tech News writers and posted by bot • Contribute • Translate • Get help • Give feedback • Subscribe or unsubscribe.

22:31, 1 June 2020 (UTC)

Mind blocking?

Mind blocking? Thanks. --Stay safe, ◊PRAHLAD (M•T•A•C) This message was left at 23:01, 1 June 2020 (UTC)

Prahlad balaji,  Done Mz7 (talk) 23:03, 1 June 2020 (UTC)

Hi, I am not other user(Maomao123)

Hi, Sorry for the trouble. Possible.... https://en.wikipedia.org/Wikipedia:Sockpuppet_investigations/Chinese-proti

I am very immature but not cowardly.

I only work alone.

I am not Maomao123. Plz Trust me.

Rather than getting help from User:Maomao123 , I had a harder time.

I am willing to undergo some technical investigation to resolve my ill-feelings.

And please catch the real sock dolls.

https://en.wikipedia.org/Wikipedia:Sockpuppet_investigations/Watersinfalls Bablos939 (talk) 10:53, 2 June 2020 (UTC)

Request for Roll back Rights

When I joined Misplaced Pages, at first as an IP, I started editing but then I noticed vandalism on users who used IPs so I created an account. I then joined the recent changes patrollers, I have undone many edits by IP vandals check https://en.wikipedia.org/Special:Contributions/Get_a_smart_idea ,but sometimes they do it over and over so it becomes tedious. If you could grant me this rights it would be an additional tool to getting rid of vandalism in Misplaced Pages even if it is temporary. Regards Got a Smart Idea 20:33, 2 June 2020 (UTC)

Hi Get a smart idea, thanks for contacting me. The Misplaced Pages guideline on the rollback states that we do not normally grant this permission to editors with fewer than 200 mainspace edits (i.e. edits to articles)—because you have only 46 edits to articles, unfortunately I think you need more experience before I can grant you this right. As an alternative, if you are looking to make it easier to revert vandalism, I strongly recommend installing WP:Twinkle, which is a tool that makes it considerably easier to revert vandals, warn them on their talk page, and report them to administrators—and it is available to any editor with more than 10 edits and 4 days of account registration. It even has a sort of "rollback" button that works very similar to the software rollback button. I noticed you also asked Useight for this permission, so I've pinged them to this discussion as a courtesy. Best of luck, Mz7 (talk) 20:42, 2 June 2020 (UTC)

Mz7I edit Misplaced Pages via IOS iPad so I can’t access the software. But anyway thanks for trying and replying. Got a Smart Idea 20:46, 2 June 2020 (UTC)

@Get a smart idea: Twinkle should work on an iPad if, instead of using the Misplaced Pages app, you browse Misplaced Pages in Safari, and then scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page and click the link that says "Desktop". This allows you to browse the desktop version of Misplaced Pages on your iPad. Mz7 (talk) 22:24, 2 June 2020 (UTC)

The reason I have less main space edits is because I mostly spend my time undoing edits by IP vandals. That’s why I requested temporary rights, so that when any administrator is dissatisfied with my work they could remove my rights but I don’t know if that is possible since you have clarified that. Regard Got a Smart Idea 20:51, 2 June 2020 (UTC)

@Get a smart idea: when you undo vandalism on articles, that counts as a "mainspace edit," so as you continue to do so, you will reach the usual 200 mainspace edits. I took a cursory look through your work and it is good. Your efforts are to be commended. Please continue to do what you're doing and I would be happy to grant rollback rights in the very near future. Useight (talk) 04:28, 3 June 2020 (UTC)

Deep Blue

I left a question on the end of the GA reassment of Deep Blue. Thanks, Signed,The4lines |||| 21:43, 3 June 2020 (UTC)

The4lines, thanks for the reminder! I'll take a look tonight. Mz7 (talk) 21:44, 3 June 2020 (UTC)

Thanks, I'm done with all. Best, Signed,The4lines |||| 15:46, 4 June 2020 (UTC)

I think I got them most. Signed,The4lines |||| 19:01, 8 June 2020 (UTC)

The4lines, thanks! I'll take a look later today. Mz7 (talk) 06:06, 9 June 2020 (UTC)

The4lines, sorry for delay - will get to it tomorrow Mz7 (talk) 03:56, 10 June 2020 (UTC)

The4lines, I posted some updates. Mz7 (talk) 22:26, 10 June 2020 (UTC)

Thanks, Done with the updates you posted. Signed,The4lines |||| 02:30, 13 June 2020 (UTC)

Done with the updates, Signed,The4lines |||| 22:46, 17 June 2020 (UTC)

Fixed, Signed,The4lines |||| 02:55, 18 June 2020 (UTC)

Thanks for you work on the GAR. I don't mind it it failed as it is more experice for me! Best, Signed,The4lines |||| 01:32, 22 June 2020 (UTC)

Tech News: 2020-24

Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community. Please tell other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations are available.

Recent changes

• Some articles have tables that can be sorted in different ways. For example a list of countries can be sorted alphabetically but you can click on the size column to sort them by size. If you clicked on the column a second time it would sort the countries from the bottom to the top instead. A third click will now take you back to the original sorting.
• Self-closed tags now work as in the HTML5 specifications. This means you should stop using some of them. <b/> is an example of a self-closed tag that won't work. area, base, br, col, embed, hr, img, input, keygen, link, meta, param, source, track, wbr can be self-closed. Pages with tags that should not be self-closed have been listed in a tracking category since 2016. They will be listed in Special:LintErrors/self-closed-tag. This doesn't affect <references /> or <ref />.
• There is a banner called WikidataPageBanner. It is for example used by the Wikivoyages, Wikimedia Russia and the Catalan, Basque, Galician and Turkish Wikipedias. It will now been seen by mobile visitors too. Before this it was only seen on desktop. The wikis should update instructions on MediaWiki:Sitenotice so that editors know to test and style for mobile too.

Changes later this week

• You can now edit MassMessage descriptions through the API. This is useful for tools and gadgets.
• The new version of MediaWiki will be on test wikis and MediaWiki.org from 9 June. It will be on non-Misplaced Pages wikis and some Wikipedias from 10 June. It will be on all wikis from 11 June (calendar).

Future changes

• A temporary fix helped wikis make their main pages more mobile friendly. This was in 2012. It has not been recommended since 2017. It will not work after 13 July. Wikis should use TemplateStyles instead. 118 wikis need to fix this. You can read more and see if your wiki is affected.

Tech news prepared by Tech News writers and posted by bot • Contribute • Translate • Get help • Give feedback • Subscribe or unsubscribe.

21:12, 8 June 2020 (UTC)

Cliff1911

Good catch on this. I don't know what happened there. Obviously, they got tagged as part of the big mass block-and-tag when I closed the SPI, but they didn't get blocked, so I'm not sure how I managed to do that. -- RoySmith (talk) 00:30, 10 June 2020 (UTC)

BTW, how did you notice that? -- RoySmith (talk) 00:32, 10 June 2020 (UTC)

RoySmith, no worries. I discovered the issue after Bri pointed out the possible mistake at Misplaced Pages:Conflict of interest/Noticeboard#Kickingback77 is ... back?. Mz7 (talk) 00:35, 10 June 2020 (UTC)

Mz7, Hmmm, I've got this figured out. User:Timotheus Canens/spihelper.js parses not just {{checkuser}} templates, but also {{user}} templates, which is where Cliff1911 was mentioned. Those found in checkuser templates get the "block" box checked by default; those found in user templates get it unchecked by default. So that's clearly what happened, and I just didn't notice that when I did the close. I'm sure Callanecc will find this of interest :-) -- RoySmith (talk) 00:53, 10 June 2020 (UTC)

Help with New Article

Hi, Please I need your help for an article I recently created on Misplaced Pages. The article has been published but it doesn't appear in search results whenever I search via my system browser or Google. However, whenever I search through Misplaced Pages search, the article do appear as part of the result. Please I need your help so that the article can appear whenever a search is done via regular browsers or Google. The title of the article is "Samuel Adegboyega University Library". Thank you. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Omorodion1 (talk • contribs) 06:47, 10 June 2020 (UTC)

Hi Omorodion1. New articles on Misplaced Pages have the "noindex" flag set, which asks search engines not to index the article. This flag will be dropped automatically after 90 days or after the article is reviewed by a new page reviewer as part of the new pages patrol process, whichever comes earlier. Because your article was created in the last 90 days and has not been reviewed by a new page reviewer, it still has the "noindex" flag set. The reason why this restriction is in place is to deter spam; unfortunately, we have had editors in the past who write articles specifically in order to promote their organizations in web search results, which is problematic because this produces a conflict of interest. I hope this information is helpful to you. Mz7 (talk) 06:59, 10 June 2020 (UTC)

Thanks. I think I'm clear now Omorodion1 (talk) 07:02, 10 June 2020 (UTC)

Disruptive User

Hello. I hope this message finds you well. I want to tell you that there is this user named FilmandTVFan28 that has been giving me hell for 4 years now, all because I used to be a vandal. Now I feel awful for my past vandalization, however my last straw came when he blocked my account TheFixer2000 forever without warning. I chose to come to you about this issue as I have heard many good things about you. So if you could please help me make sure I will be safe and allowed to edit Misplaced Pages again, i'd love that very much. Also I know this may be pushing my luck, but I would like to see FilmandTVFan28 blocked as they do not explain changes they have made and I have heard that they have given many other users (even innocent ones) hell just for even removing a period from a article. It's people like that that don't make this place a fun one to be at. Anyways I hope you have a good day and let's see how we can work together to fix this issue. Thanks and enjoy your day! :-)

WishyWish-88 (talk) 07:54, 15 June 2020 (UTC)WishyWish-88WishyWish-88 (talk) 07:54, 15 June 2020 (UTC)

Responded on your user talk page. Mz7 (talk) 19:46, 15 June 2020 (UTC)

Tech News: 2020-25

Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community. Please tell other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations are available.

Recent changes

• Toolforge hosts several tools created by the Wikimedia community like edit counters or enhanced editors. It is changing the domain from tools.wmflabs.org to toolforge.org. The routing scheme is moving from tools.wmflabs.org/toolname to toolname.toolforge.org. You can read the details. Tools that use OAuth will have to be updated to keep working. You can ask for help.

Problems

• There is a Wikidata item link in the sidebar on many pages. This disappeared for a couple of days for users who have the Monobook skin. This was because of a bug. It has now been fixed.
• Editing, logging in and logging out didn't work properly for a short period of time last week. It was soon fixed.

Changes later this week

• The new version of MediaWiki will be on test wikis and MediaWiki.org from 16 June. It will be on non-Misplaced Pages wikis and some Wikipedias from 17 June. It will be on all wikis from 18 June (calendar).

Future changes

• Pywikibot is a Python library to automate work on wikis. It will not support Python 2 after the new version in July. Support for Python 3.4 and MediaWiki below 1.19 will also be dropped. You should migrate to Python 3. You can ask for help.
• The selectors .menu and .vectorMenu will no longer work in the Vector skin. This can affect gadgets and user scripts. .menu should be replaced by ul. .vectorMenu should be replaced by .vector-menu.

Tech news prepared by Tech News writers and posted by bot • Contribute • Translate • Get help • Give feedback • Subscribe or unsubscribe.

21:38, 15 June 2020 (UTC)

New Page Reviewer newsletter June 2020

Hello Mz7,

Your help can make a difference

NPP Sorting can be a great way to find pages needing new page patrolling that match your strengths and interests. Using ORES, it divides articles into topics such as Literature or Chemistry and on Geography. Take a look and see if you can find time to patrol a couple pages a day. With over 10,000 pages in the queue, the highest it's been since ACPERM, your help could really make a difference.

Google Adds New Languages to Google Translate

In late February, Google added 5 new languages to Google Translate: Kinyarwanda, Odia (Oriya), Tatar, Turkmen and Uyghur. This expands our ability to find and evaluate sources in those languages.

Discussions and Resources

• A discussion on handling new article creation by paid editors is ongoing at the Village Pump.
• Also at the Village Pump is a discussion about limiting participation at Articles for Deletion discussion.
• A proposed new speedy deletion criteria for certain kinds of redirects ended with no consensus.
• Also ending with no change was a proposal to change how we handle certain kinds of vector images.

Six Month Queue Data: Today – 10271 Low – 4991 High – 10271

To opt-out of future mailings, please remove yourself here

MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 02:52, 18 June 2020 (UTC)

Please Check Vinod Kumar Dwivedi Misplaced Pages Page.

Vinod Kumar Dwivedi Misplaced Pages Page is not useful because in India more than one lakh Indian classical vocalist, so we can not create all persons Misplaced Pages page, so please delete this Misplaced Pages. लाल सिंह चड्डा (talk) 14:22, 19 June 2020 (UTC)

(talk page stalker)@लाल सिंह चड्डा: Please take it to WP:AFD if you want to deleted. Best, Signed,The4lines |||| 15:15, 19 June 2020 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

	The Template Editor's Barnstar
	Awarded for helping me fix {{Rappler cases}} via an inner template. Clever! Another step up the ladder to becoming a Misplaced Pages:Template editor some day... Psiĥedelisto (talk • contribs) 07:38, 21 June 2020 (UTC)

Would you mind?

Doing a GAR for Saturn V? I'm still working on fixing unsourced stuff and other thing. Would you be willing to do it when I'm done fixing? Best, Signed,The4lines |||| 03:37, 22 June 2020 (UTC)

@The4lines: Sorry, I'm going to have to decline because I am slightly exhausted after our previous GAR. As a bit of advice: please do not nominate any more articles for GA status if you have not significantly contributed to them. Throughout the Deep Blue GAR, I think it was challenging for you to answer questions like "what was the source for this statement?", "could you elaborate more on this part?", simply because you didn't write the content I was inquiring about. As I noted in the second footnote at the end of Talk:Deep Blue (chess computer)/GA2, WP:GAN/I does state that it is preferable that nominators have contributed significantly to the article and are familiar with its subject and its cited sources. Nominators who are not significant contributors to the article should consult regular editors of the article on the article talk page prior to a nomination. Addressing issues raised in the review becomes a lot easier when you heed this advice.

If you're looking to get some GAs under your belt, I would try to find a niche area of Misplaced Pages where there aren't a lot of interested editors, as these are going to be the places where there are still articles that need to be written or stubs that need to be improved. (For example, my GAs are in these kinds of niche areas: two are about books I've read, one is about an Olympic mascot, and another a Supreme Court case.) It's going to be a challenging endeavor to find these topics and improve the articles from scratch, but the feeling of being recognized for work that you contributed to significantly is quite rewarding. Mz7 (talk) 20:42, 22 June 2020 (UTC)

NASA topics are my best topic as I know a lot, and they used to be GA and FA but they got delisted long ago. Like Saturn V there is Myriads of unsourced stuff on the articles and no one are fixing them. I am going to fix them and then put them though GAN. Best, Signed,The4lines |||| 20:54, 22 June 2020 (UTC)

Tech News: 2020-26

Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community. Please tell other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations are available.

Problems

• There are some new tools to make it easier for newcomers to start editing. They are available on some wikis. These wikis had a problem with the visual editor for a short period of time last week. This was because of a bug in the new tools. It was soon fixed.
• Some user scripts and gadgets stopped working because of a change to CSS selectors. .vectorTabs should be replaced with .vector-menu-tabs to fix this.

Changes later this week

• The developers are working on a new interface to solve edit conflicts on talk pages. This will be released on 24 June. You can give feedback.
• The new version of MediaWiki will be on test wikis and MediaWiki.org from 23 June. It will be on non-Misplaced Pages wikis and some Wikipedias from 24 June. It will be on all wikis from 25 June (calendar).

Future changes

• A temporary fix helped wikis make their main pages more mobile friendly. This was in 2012. It has not been recommended since 2017. It will not work after 13 July. Wikis should use TemplateStyles instead. 91 wikis still need to fix this. You can read more and see if your wiki is affected.

Tech news prepared by Tech News writers and posted by bot • Contribute • Translate • Get help • Give feedback • Subscribe or unsubscribe.

18:49, 22 June 2020 (UTC)

Common WP:SOCK

Hi, Mz7 I think WP:SOCK of Misplaced Pages:Sockpuppet investigations/Balusingh12 and Misplaced Pages:Sockpuppet investigations/Realyaru are interconnected. Please have a look. Thank you. ~ Amkgp 💬 13:43, 27 June 2020 (UTC)

The Signpost: 28 June 2020

• News and notes: Progress at Misplaced Pages Library and Wikijournal of Medicine

• Community view: Community open letter on renaming

• Gallery: After the killing of George Floyd

• In the media: Part collaboration and part combat

• Discussion report: Community reacts to WMF rebranding proposals

• Featured content: Sports are returning, with a rainbow

• Arbitration report: Anti-harassment RfC and a checkuser revocation

• Traffic report: The pandemic, alleged murder, a massacre, and other deaths

• News from the WMF: We stand for racial justice

• Recent research: Misplaced Pages and COVID-19; automated Misplaced Pages-based fact-checking

• Interview: What is wrong with rebranding to "Misplaced Pages Foundation"?

• Humour: Cherchez une femme

• Opinion: Trying to find COI or paid editors? Just read the news

• On the bright side: For what are you grateful this month?

• In focus: Edit Loud, Edit Proud: LGBTIQ+ Wikimedians and Global Information Activism

• WikiProject report: WikiProject Black Lives Matter

Tech News: 2020-27

Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community. Please tell other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations are available.

Problems

• Everyone was logged out. This was because a few users saw the wikis as if they were logged in to someone else's account. The problem should be fixed now.
• Some readers didn't see new edits to pages. If the page had been recently changed they saw an older version of the page instead. This only affected readers who were logged out. It lasted for ten days. It has been fixed.

Changes later this week

• The new version of MediaWiki will be on test wikis and MediaWiki.org from 30 June. It will be on non-Misplaced Pages wikis and some Wikipedias from 1 July. It will be on all wikis from 1 July (calendar).

Future changes

• The Modern and Monobook skins use the ID searchGoButton for the go button. This is searchButton for Vector. To have the same ID for all skins it will change to searchButton in Monobook and Modern too. This will affect gadgets and user scripts. It will happen on 23 July. They should be updated to use searchButton. You can read more and see a list of affected scripts.

Tech news prepared by Tech News writers and posted by bot • Contribute • Translate • Get help • Give feedback • Subscribe or unsubscribe.

16:31, 29 June 2020 (UTC)

suppression

Hi.
Would you kindly suppress something for me? If you say yes, I will post rev-del'ed diffs here. —usernamekiran (talk) 19:54, 29 June 2020 (UTC)

Hi Usernamekiran. Unfortunately, I don't think it's a good idea to post the diffs here publicly. Please instead email the diffs to me via Special:EmailUser/Mz7. Alternatively, you may email them to the oversight team's OTRS queue at Special:EmailUser/Oversight or by direct mailing oversight-en-wpwikipedia.org. Mz7 (talk) 19:58, 29 June 2020 (UTC)

sent the email to you. Forgot to change the default subject. —usernamekiran (talk) 20:25, 29 June 2020 (UTC)

You've got mail!

Administrators' newsletter – July 2020

News and updates for administrators from the past month (June 2020).

Administrator changes Malcolmxl5 John • TheCoffee • Tim! Creffett → GeneralNotability DeltaQuad → AmandaNP

CheckUser changes Bbb23 Interface administrator changes TonyBallioni

Guideline and policy news

• A request for comment is in progress to remove the T2 (template that misrepresents established policy) speedy deletion criterion.

Technical news

• Protection templates on mainspace pages are now automatically added by User:MusikBot II (BRFA).

Arbitration

• Following the banning of an editor by the WMF last year, the Arbitration Committee resolved to hold an RfC regarding on-wiki harassment. The RfC has been posted at Misplaced Pages:Arbitration Committee/Anti-harassment RfC and is open to comments from the community.
• The Medicine case was closed, with a remedy authorizing standard discretionary sanctions for all discussions about pharmaceutical drug prices and pricing and for edits adding, changing, or removing pharmaceutical drug prices or pricing from articles.

• Discuss this newsletter
• Subscribe
• Archive

Tech News: 2020-28

Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community. Please tell other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations are available.

Problems

• The Score extension has been disabled for now. This is because of a security issue. It will work again as soon as the security issue has been fixed.

Changes later this week

• The new version of MediaWiki will be on test wikis and MediaWiki.org from 7 July. It will be on non-Misplaced Pages wikis and some Wikipedias from 8 July. It will be on all wikis from 9 July (calendar).

Future changes

• Abstract Misplaced Pages is a new Wikimedia project. It will collect language-independent information that can be easily read in different languages. It builds on Wikidata. The name is preliminary. You can read more.
• The iOS Misplaced Pages app developers are thinking about new experimental tools. If you use an iPhone you can help them by answering the survey.
• Some rules for user signatures will soon be enforced. Lint errors and invalid HTML will no longer be allowed in user signatures. Nested substitution will not be allowed. A link to your user page, user talk page or user contributions will be required. You can check if your signature works with the new rules. This is because the signatures can cause problems for tools or other text on the page.

Tech news prepared by Tech News writers and posted by bot • Contribute • Translate • Get help • Give feedback • Subscribe or unsubscribe.

20:18, 6 July 2020 (UTC)

Ohh, lovely

This. Thank you. Bishonen | tålk 18:56, 7 July 2020 (UTC).

A question from an old CVUA student

Hey, its been a long time since we last had a discussion and I thought I'd drop by to ask a question on dealing with clear cases of WP:NOTHERE. The user in question (who is now blocked) started adding simply 'weird' info on articles like Beijing and Dhaka which I undid before giving them a warning. This weird info saga continued on with the articles of David Ige and articles I'd edited recently edited like CG Air Link, Rourkela Airport (this was reverted by Materialscientist) and another list before vandalizing my talk page. My question is reverting their edits with any tool would give them a notification so, once they've crossed their limits and have been reported to AIV should one revert their vandalism manually if it isn't tedious? Thanks and happy editing! Bingobro (Chat) 10:57, 10 July 2020 (UTC)

Hi Bingobro! Indeed it has been a while. If I am understanding your question correctly, your concern is about the software's notifications system, which alerts a user when one of their edits has been reverted by another user. Although it is a valid concern, personally I don't think you should worry too much about it. If the user has already been reported to WP:AIV, then an administrator should be around to see it relatively soon. Additionally, I'm not 100% sure whether manually reverting instead of using rollback or Twinkle would avoid sending a notification to the user. Mz7 (talk) 18:23, 11 July 2020 (UTC)

@Mz7:, Thanks for the help! Bingobro (Chat) 14:37, 12 July 2020 (UTC)

Tech News: 2020-29

Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community. Please tell other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations are available.

Recent changes

• Users can thank others for their edits. Checkusers can now see user data related to that action. This can help identify sock puppets who harass others using thanks.

Problems

• Everyone was logged out a couple of weeks ago to fix a security problem. The problem was not entirely fixed. Because of this everyone was logged out once again last week.

Changes later this week

• Wikis that are not for one specific language can translate pages. Sometimes parts of translations are outdated or missing. Outdated translations are marked with a pink background. Missing translations will also be marked in the future. This markup can sometimes break things. It can soon be disabled by using <translate nowrap></translate> on the source page.
• The new version of MediaWiki will be on test wikis and MediaWiki.org from 14 July. It will be on non-Misplaced Pages wikis and some Wikipedias from 15 July. It will be on all wikis from 16 July (calendar).

Future changes

• Wikimedia code review plans to use GitLab. It would be hosted on Wikimedia servers.

Tech news prepared by Tech News writers and posted by bot • Contribute • Translate • Get help • Give feedback • Subscribe or unsubscribe.

16:30, 13 July 2020 (UTC)

request for pending changes reviewer role

Hope you are doing well today! i just want to make you aware that i submitted a request for pending changes reviewer, I wanted to make you aware because I see the page does not get checked often, sorry to disturb you Trains2050 (talk) 18:35, 13 July 2020 (UTC)

😊

Ohhh I'm sorry I promise it won't happend again Angel zondeki (talk) 13:55, 16 July 2020 (UTC)

Jasksingh

I see you have blocked this user for 1 week, but frankly I would oppose such a lenient punishment given even productive editors (who engage in socking) get indef block. Jasksingh has been disruptive since he registered this account as visible from his edits to religions, coronavirus, etc. he significantly violates WP:OWN, WP:BATTLE and ultimately WP:CIR. He can convince if he is ready to accept a topic ban from religion on unblock request but 1 week block over socking for a net-negative like him is just not going to work at all. Abhishek0831996 (talk) 14:59, 17 July 2020 (UTC)

@Abhishek0831996: Thank you for your note. Firstly, I want to note that blocks are not "punishment", but rather a means of preventing disruption. In this case, I felt that a 1-week block was sufficient to prevent further abuse of multiple accounts. The sockpuppetry here was rather limited in scope and did not necessarily involve overt deception, and a cursory review of the user's edits indicated to me that their contributions are not exclusively disruptive. If the user continues to engage in disruptive editing after their block expires, we can always revisit the case. Mz7 (talk) 15:17, 17 July 2020 (UTC)

That is precisely the problem here. Just nobody bothers to administer in this area and people do get away by engaging in sneaky disruption and sincere editors are left with no option other than to simply leave the topic altogether or act as disruptively. I think that he was about to abuse the sock to cause more disruption but was caught early that's why it may seem that socking was "rather limited in scope". Should we wait until the instances of socking are large in numbers? I also don't see if this account was his first account if you see his very first edit. Let us not forget that this area has many sockmasters. This is clearly a returning user from the beginning. Abhishek0831996 (talk) 15:28, 17 July 2020 (UTC)

discussion at WP:SPI

Hi. Would you kindly take a look at WT:SPI#IP block exempt? It is only one brief, and explanatory comment there. —usernamekiran (talk) 15:27, 18 July 2020 (UTC)

@Usernamekiran:  Done for the same duration as your main account. Mz7 (talk) 22:03, 18 July 2020 (UTC)

Tech News: 2020-30

Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community. Please tell other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations are available.

Recent changes

• A temporary fix helped wikis make their main pages more mobile friendly. This was in 2012. It has not been recommended since 2017. The mobile main page special casing stopped working 14 July. 60 wikis now have main pages that don't work well on mobile. You can see which ones, how to fix it and how to get help in Phabricator. This is the same problem that was reported in Tech News 2020/24 and 2020/26.

Problems

• There is a problem with the interlanguage links. The interlanguage links are the links that help you find a specific page in a different language. The sorting is broken. The developers are working on a solution.
• Some users keep getting the notifications for the same event. Some of these are old events.
• Some users have trouble logging in. This is probably a browser cookie problem. The developers are working on understanding the problem. If you have trouble logging in you can see the details on Phabricator.

Changes later this week

• The new version of MediaWiki will be on test wikis and MediaWiki.org from 21 July. It will be on non-Misplaced Pages wikis and some Wikipedias from 22 July. It will be on all wikis from 23 July (calendar).

Future changes

• There is a Printable version link. This will disappear. That is because web browsers today can create a printable version or show how it will look in print anyway.

Tech news prepared by Tech News writers and posted by bot • Contribute • Translate • Get help • Give feedback • Subscribe or unsubscribe.

19:11, 20 July 2020 (UTC)

Use of rollback

Hi, one of my edits got rolled back. I used to edit wikipedia a lot in the 2000s but got discouraged. I occasionally edit without logging in still. I was a bit perturbed when I noted that the user who rolled back the edit was recently granted rollback rights by you (two weeks ago). This is User:Thanoscar21. I noticed your message on their talk page instructs that rollback should only be used for edits that are considered vandalism and not good faith edits. I believe the edit that was rolled back could only be considered a good faith edit. I wonder if perhaps you could please speak to Thanoscar21 about sticking to this instruction to restrict the use of the rollback functionality to vandalism as it seems it is being applied to a range of good faith edits by other users based on a quick glance at their contributions?--86.31.190.41 (talk) 22:45, 20 July 2020 (UTC)

You didn't provide a reliable source. For reference, here's the diff. I didn't use the "Rollback" rollback, I used the RedWarn tool, and in the edit summary, I said, "Not providing a reliable source". The rollback functionality that Mz7 granted me does not give the edit summary functionality. You changed the occupation of one of the characters, and saying you changed it based on what you saw from the episode is original research. Personally, I find it an odd rule, as you can't even trust your own eyes according to it, but it is what it is. This information come from the message they left me on my talk page. Thans, Thanoscar21_{talk, contribs} 23:25, 20 July 2020 (UTC)

@Thanoscar21: I agree it wasn't abuse of the rollback tool from a procedural standpoint because of the use of RedWarn to change the edit summary. However, I'm sympathetic to the anonymous user's complaint above. Although you reverted their edit because it was unsourced, in doing so you restored content that—by your same definition—is also unsourced. Note that in general, plot summaries of fictional works do not need to have citations because they can be verified by simply watching the fictional work (MOS:PLOTSOURCE), and I'm inclined to say that the brief character descriptions also do not necessarily require citations for a similar reason, as long as the claim is not too extraordinary. In this case, if I encountered this edit via recent changes patrol, I would avoid reverting and leave review of the edit to someone who watches the article. Mz7 (talk) 00:02, 21 July 2020 (UTC)

Tech News: 2020-31

Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community. Please tell other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations are available.

Recent changes

• The Starter kit is now available for wiki communities. This page lists technical resources, tools, and recommendations. These are essential to operate a wiki project. This is mostly useful for smaller wikis where the community has limited experience with this.
• The first features of the Desktop Improvements project are available for logged-in users on all wikis. In order to use them, uncheck Use Legacy Vector in your local or global preferences in section Skin preferences. More improvements are planned. Feedback is welcome.
• On multiple wikis, a UTCLiveClock gadget is available. For wikis that import the gadget directly from mediawiki.org, end users can now choose a different timezone to show instead of UTC.

Problems

• The deployment train for MediaWiki has been blocked this week.
• Translation Notification Bot was sending the same message multiple times to every translator. This has been fixed.
• Some users were receiving the same notification multiple times. This has been fixed.

Changes later this week

• The new version of MediaWiki will be on test wikis and MediaWiki.org from July 28. It will be on non-Misplaced Pages wikis and some Wikipedias from July 29. It will be on all wikis from JUly 30 (calendar).

Tech news prepared by Tech News writers and posted by bot • Contribute • Translate • Get help • Give feedback • Subscribe or unsubscribe.

13:52, 27 July 2020 (UTC)

Help with disruptive editor involved in SPI

Hi, I hope you are well. I saw Applebutter221’s request on the Editor Assistance page and offered to help . However, I was surprised by their initial response . I attempted to engage with the user , but the user ignored me and started a RfC ], so I went to their talk page and saw that an SPI has been filed . Initially, the SPI users in question were Swamifraud (later known as Swamiblue) & various IP addresses, but Applebutter221 acknowledged making some of the IP edits . In addition, I found it strange when today Applebutter221 predicted that another user, Sacredsea, would get involved in the dispute for which I was asked to offer 3O . However, I noticed that on this BAPS talk page, Swamiblue and Sacredsea have interacted in the past .

In reviewing the evidence on the SPI page, I also noticed Applebutter was aware of former sexual abuse allegations made on Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s page . In 2014, Swamiblue inappropriately attempted to add sexual assault allegations to Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s page in violation of BLP policy . One of the IP addresses also recently tried to add that same allegation, using 2 of the same sources that Swamiblue had originally used .

Since creating their account on July 27, Applebutter221 seems to only be editing articles with a very specific POV. The SPI was filed 2 weeks ago, and I’m not sure what to make of this, but I do find their current disruptive edits problematic and their disregard for reminders to engage in respectful or civil conversation is troublesome. I was wondering if you, as an uninvolved admin, could review and offer insight. Thanks! PinkElixir (talk) 04:57, 31 July 2020 (UTC)

Hi PinkElixir, I confess that I have not looked too deeply into this issue as it seems rather complicated, so I cannot comment on the POV or BLP issues. However, I did notice that Applebutter221 has now been blocked for sockpuppetry, so I suspect that should resolve your issues with that user. Mz7 (talk) 22:28, 1 August 2020 (UTC)

Hi Mz7, I also noticed the SPI block. Thanks for taking the time to respond, nonetheless! 22:52, 1 August 2020 (UTC)PinkElixir (talk)

Administrators' newsletter – August 2020

News and updates for administrators from the past month (July 2020).

Administrator changes

Red Phoenix

Euryalus • SQL

Jujutacular • Monty845 • Rettetast • Madchester

Oversight changes

GB fan

Keegan • Opabinia regalis • Premeditated Chaos

Guideline and policy news

• There is an open request for comment to decide whether to increase the minimum duration a sanction discussion has to remain open (currently 24 hours).
• Speedy deletion criterion T2 (template that misrepresents established policy) has been repealed following a request for comment.
• Speedy deletion criterion X2 (pages created by the content translation tool) has been repealed following a discussion.
• There is a proposal to restrict proposed deletion to confirmed users.

• Discuss this newsletter
• Subscribe
• Archive

Ezra Lee again

Another user: EzraLee1986 has edited the above page, here. This edit has disrupted a ref and the infobox. Given the user name, should this edit be reverted per Misplaced Pages:Username policy? I'll leave you to deal with it.shaidar cuebiyar (talk) 09:23, 2 August 2020 (UTC)

Hi Shaidar cuebiyar, thanks for the message. Because it has been several years since I last saw this article, I did not immediately remember the context of my involvement here. So, the username policy does not prohibit editors from using their real names to edit Misplaced Pages, unless the username implies they are a well-known living person that they are not (WP:REALNAME). I see you've already given them a COI warning; let's see how they respond to that. Mz7 (talk) 20:56, 2 August 2020 (UTC)

The ref you provided was the one which was disrupted. As for the COI warning, that was placed by another editor.shaidar cuebiyar (talk) 18:42, 3 August 2020 (UTC)

The Signpost: 2 August 2020

• Special report: Misplaced Pages and the End of Open Collaboration?

• COI and paid editing: Some strange people edit Misplaced Pages for money

• News and notes: Abstract Misplaced Pages, a hoax, sex symbols, and a new admin

• In the media: Dog days gone bad

• Discussion report: Fox News, a flight of RfAs, and banning policy

• Featured content: Remembering Art, Valor, and Freedom

• Traffic report: Now for something completely different

• Gallery: Photos of threatened species from iNaturalist

• News from the WMF: New Chinese national security law in Hong Kong could limit the privacy of Misplaced Pages users

• Recent research: Receiving thanks increases retention, but not the time contributed to Misplaced Pages

• Essay: Not compatible with a collaborative project

• Obituaries: Hasteur and Brian McNeil

• In focus: WikiLoop DoubleCheck, reviewing edits made easy

Tech News: 2020-32

Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community. Please tell other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations are available.

Problems

• All queries to the Wikidata Query Service failed between 17:50 and 17:59 UTC on Thursday 23 July. Some queries failed during a longer period.
• Interlanguage links were ordered incorrectly for the past few weeks. This problem was also mentioned in Tech News two weeks ago. The problem is now fixed.
• There is a problem with the global preferences for the "Use Legacy Vector" option. Developers are working on fixing it.
• A bug in the Wikibase extension had disabled the "move" and "create" types of protection in the main (Gallery) namespace on Wikimedia Commons. New protections could not be added, and existing protections were not enforced, allowing some page moves and page creations that should not have been possible. This has now been fixed.

Changes later this week

• The video player will change to be simpler and more modern. This week, the current beta feature will become the video player for everyone on most non-Misplaced Pages wikis. The old player will be removed.
• Users' global.js and global.css pages will now also be loaded on the mobile site. You can read documentation for how to avoid applying styles to the mobile skin.
• In the MonoBook skin, the searchGoButton identifier is now searchButton. This may affect CSS and JS gadgets. Migration instructions can be found in T255953. This was previously mentioned in issue 27.
• Bot operators can use Pywikibot to regularly archive discussions. The behavior when the bot uses counter to prevent large archives was changed.
• The new version of MediaWiki will be on test wikis and MediaWiki.org from August 4. It will be on non-Misplaced Pages wikis and some Wikipedias from August 5. It will be on all wikis from August 6 (calendar).

Tech news prepared by Tech News writers and posted by bot • Contribute • Translate • Get help • Give feedback • Subscribe or unsubscribe.

15:43, 3 August 2020 (UTC)

Disambiguation link notification for August 7

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Stalled sockpuppet investigation

Hello, I saw that you did some great investigative work re. DavideVeloria88 (]), discovering that this user had apparently perpetrated a joe job against another editor, and that you were responsible for carrying out the indef block. I'm not sure if you've seen this: ] in which another account is accused of being a new sock for DavideVeloria88, but if not I wanted to let you know that it's been open since July 12th and that since that time the new user has been making some quite substantial POV edits, e.g. ], as well as edits to high-profile controversial articles, e.g. ]. If this is indeed a sock, it seems to me that the longer the investigation languishes the harder the work of mopping up the damage to the encyclopedia will be. Thanks, Generalrelative (talk) 05:51, 9 August 2020 (UTC)

FYI the identity was just confirmed and the block issued by another admin. Generalrelative (talk) 15:29, 9 August 2020 (UTC)

Josethewonderful

When you did the CU at Misplaced Pages:Sockpuppet investigations/FAHADChughtai123, did anything happen to come up related to Josethewonderful? Behaviorally, it sure looks like another sock that got missed. Jackmcbarn (talk) 04:57, 10 August 2020 (UTC)

Hi Jackmcbarn. Josethewonderful is certainly suspicious; however, the account appears to be  Unrelated to the FAHADChughtai123 group of socks based on CU. Josethewonderful is  Confirmed, however, to the following account: IamKhaleb (talk · tag · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log · CA · CheckUser(log) · investigate · cuwiki). IamKhaleb also previously published a draft about the same topic (Caleb Joshua Brown) under the name Draft:Khaleb. The targeted interest in promoting this relatively obscure topic makes me suspect WP:UPE or other WP:COI-editing may be involved. Mz7 (talk) 05:36, 10 August 2020 (UTC)

Josethewonderful

I see there are issues containing my profile to be blocked in light of the fact that I had been taking a shot at an article. I need you to comprehend that I am a solo wikipedia supervisor chipping away at pages to manufactured my record status. Expressing that I am working with another person is crazy and not reasonable. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Josethewonderful (talk • contribs) 10:19, 10 August 2020 (UTC)

Tech News: 2020-33

Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community. Please tell other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations are available.

Recent changes

• FileImporter and FileExporter became standard features on all Wikis during the first week of August. They help you transfer files from local wikis to Wikimedia Commons with the original file information and history intact.

Problems

• The mobile skin displays a message at the bottom of the page about who edited last. This message showed raw wikitext. This has now been fixed. Some messages in Structured Discussions and content translation may still appear as raw wikitext. Developers are working on it.

Changes later this week

• The new version of MediaWiki will be on test wikis and MediaWiki.org from August 11. It will be on non-Misplaced Pages wikis and some Wikipedias from August 12. It will be on all wikis from August 13 (calendar).

Future changes

• All wikis will be read-only for a few minutes on September 1. This is planned between 13:30 and 15:30 UTC. More information will be published in Tech News and will also be posted on individual wikis in the coming weeks.

Tech news prepared by Tech News writers and posted by bot • Contribute • Translate • Get help • Give feedback • Subscribe or unsubscribe.

16:06, 10 August 2020 (UTC)

Snow close of RfC re WP:RD/G/M?

Could you as an uninvolved admin have a look at the following?

Just the other day an RfC was opened on the following question: "Should the page Misplaced Pages:Reference desk/Guidelines/Medical advice be categorized as a guideline or a (type of) essay"? Although the discussion – which was somewhat acrimonious at times – has lasted only two days, the editor who opened this RfC wrote: "At this point perhaps a speedy close is in order...dont see what more could be said."

If I have counted correctly, one contributor opined this was not the right question, writing Neither. One came out clearly for A Type of Essay. 12 others !voted Guideline, and a final contributor even wrote, It should be policy. It would thus appear there is no community support for deprecation of the guideline status, and that the chance that this may change by a protracted discussion is negligible.  --Lambiam 20:05, 12 August 2020 (UTC)

Lambiam, thanks for reaching out. I skimmed through the discussion, and while I don't think a snow close is inappropriate here, I am going to decline for now because I am personally unfamiliar with the operations of the reference desk and its nuances. Mz7 (talk) 19:05, 13 August 2020 (UTC)

EruTheLord

Thanks for your work at Misplaced Pages:Sockpuppet investigations/EruTheLord. They'll be back, I am sure. - Sitush (talk) 20:40, 15 August 2020 (UTC)

Thanks for coming to Wiknic Midwest 2020!

Hi Mz7! Thanks for attending the Wiknic Midwest breakout session today! I hope you enjoyed it, and if you're interested in continuing to chat with others about local Wikimedia organizing across the US, look no farther than Wikimedians Active in Local Regions of the United States (WALRUS). WALRUS has calls twice a month – to get the invitations, shoot a message to Pharos. And, of course, always feel free to leave me a note if I can be any help. Best, Kevin (aka L235 · t · c) via MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 00:22, 17 August 2020 (UTC)

Tech News: 2020-34

Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community. Please tell other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations are available.

Recent changes

• If you revert an edit using the undo link your edit is marked with an undo tag. This will now only happen if you don't change anything in the edit window before publishing the undo. This is to keep users from marking edits as undos when they actually do something else.
• The new OOUI version will not work with Internet Explorer 8. This means the wikis will look strange and not work well in Internet Explorer 8. This was reported in Tech/News/2020/17. This is because keeping the wikis working with very old browsers creates other problems.

Changes later this week

• The new version of MediaWiki will be on test wikis and MediaWiki.org from 18 August. It will be on non-Misplaced Pages wikis and some Wikipedias from 19 August. It will be on all wikis from 20 August (calendar).

Future changes

• All wikis will be read-only for a few minutes on September 1. This is planned between 13:30 and 15:30 UTC. More information will be published in Tech News and will also be posted on individual wikis next week. This is a reminder. You can help by translating the announcement message.

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20:40, 17 August 2020 (UTC)

Another possible sock of 'Rowde'

Here. Not totally sure but trademark additional misplaced images and some other editing anomalies. Sections above #Our old F1 editing friend and #Another possible F1 disruptive editor. Many thanks (as usual!). Eagleash (talk) 00:29, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

Eagleash, after reviewing the technical data I think this is very  Likely to be Rowde, especially given the "Fox"-related username (c.f. #Another possible F1 disruptive editor).  Blocked and tagged. Thanks, Mz7 (talk) 02:06, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

Thanks muchly (again). He seems to have been around for 2 or 3 months but I only noticed him when he edited something on my watchlist. Eagleash (talk) 03:46, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

Appeal of arbitration enforcement sanction

Hello, I am sorry for bothering you, I kindly ask the sanction to be lifted. I understand that you do not trust me as I have deceptively misused Misplaced Pages. I completely understand that it may be difficult for you to trust me as I have caused disruptions in the past. I understand your concerns and hesitance in lifting the ban. Your concerns are completely valid, and I want to assure you that I understand your concerns. I deeply regret having caused all those disruptions. I will be sure to carefully cooperate with others to not repeat the same mistakes. When I make contributions to Misplaced Pages, I will think thrice before publishing the edit, and I will never edit war with others. If someone reverts my edit, I will not edit war with them. There is a reason for talk pages and edit warring does nothing productive for the community. I want to be able to engage in civil discourse with others on topics of my interest, such as modern US politics. I want to collaborate with others to make this website a better place. I want to be able to give my insights, but I also want to take in the insights of others. I want to be able to prove that I am capable of learning from my mistakes and capable of doing better. I recognize that my actions were wrong and harmful. It is my fault and my fault alone. I will not give any excuses for my wrongful actions because there is no excuse for disruptive actions on Misplaced Pages or not knowing the rules. I have received several warnings before, it was my own fault that I disrespected the rules. Not familiarizing myself with the rules is not an excuse.

I believe my topic ban should be lifted as I believe that I deserve a second chance as it was my first ban on Misplaced Pages. I want to personally pledge and promise to you that I will never, ever, use a second sockpuppet account again for disruptive purposes. I promise I will never edit war or remove sourced material with out clear summary. I understand that I need consensus from others. If things do not go my way, I have to understand that's OK. I understand that things will not always go my way, and that is perfectly normal and okay - it's not the end of the world. It's okay if others don't agree with me as everyone has different views and stances on various subjects. The most important and crucial thing is to respect everyone and their perspectives. I have to respect the contributions and inputs of others. It's not just about me, wikipedia is a community-driven platform. I cannot just go on about edit warring with others like I own the place, - if everyone did that Misplaced Pages would be a disruptive mess. Misplaced Pages is for everyone and I have to respect the insights of others, not just my own. Thanks to preventative measures meant to preserve the integrity of Misplaced Pages, Misplaced Pages can be the wonderful place it is today. During my ban, I read over the Misplaced Pages guidelines very carefully again. I pledge to carefully abide by all of these guidelines. You can trust me in that I will not edit war or abusively use a second sockpuppet account since I recognize that disruptive edits won't help anyone and goes against the community-driven based ideals of Misplaced Pages.

I deeply regret the disruptive damage I have caused on Misplaced Pages. I will fully accept the judgment that you make. Yeungkahchun (talk) 03:43, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

@Yeungkahchun: What? I am quite confused by this appeal, because just a few hours ago, you stated to me that this sanction was acceptable to you as a condition for returning from an indefinite block for using sockpuppets to disrupt the American politics topic area. I am not going to consider lifting the ban on the same day that I applied it. In fact, I do not envision agreeing to lifting the ban for at least six months to a year. Mz7 (talk) 04:44, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

• My apologies. I thought you meant I could appeal right now, I misunderstood - my sincerest apologies.

I completely agree with any conditions you have imposed and fully accept any sanctions applied on me. I do not oppose your judgement on me, nor do I want to cause you any trouble. I believe you are trying to set me on a right path and doing what is best for me and the Misplaced Pages community. I want to take the time right now to thank you for that. I really appreciate your very generous act and I want to let you know how appreciate I am towards you. Thank you. You are very generous to unblock in the first place and I wouldn't want to ask for too much. Best Yeungkahchun (talk) 05:22, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

Yeungkahchun, thank you for understanding, and rest assured there is no need to apologize any further. Welcome back. Mz7 (talk) 06:04, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

PCR

Hi, @Mz7:, Recently, I was granted PCR right by you. But now, I'm going to be busy in other works for some months. Therefore, I want this right to be removed (revoked). Tears. Empire AS 09:21, 20 August 2020 (UTC)

Hi Empire AS! Sorry to see you go! Before I pull the right, I just wanted to mention that I think PCR is probably the most lightweight right that administrators can assign, so in my opinion there is no harm in leaving it attached to your account even if you go inactive or don't use it for a few months. If you anticipate ever needing to use this right again, I would personally just leave it on your account. However, I don't want to stop you if you're sure—with this in mind, would you still like me to remove the right? Mz7 (talk) 17:11, 20 August 2020 (UTC)

Mz7, I'll be back after some months and would want a new start over. Recently, you know my other rights (AP) and (NPR) were removed due to some problems/issues. And I think, it would take months to fix that all issues. Therefore, I don't think that I should have this right due to that problems. However, I'll need this right after start over and then I may ask you on your talk page or there on permissions to be again granted this right. Thank you. Tears. Empire AS 03:31, 21 August 2020 (UTC)

@Empire AS:  Done, I have revoked PCR from your account. Please feel free to contact me at any time if you would like it back. Mz7 (talk) 03:35, 21 August 2020 (UTC)

Mz7, Thank you for help. Tears. Empire AS 03:40, 21 August 2020 (UTC)

Orphaned non-free image File:Soslogo.png

Thanks for uploading File:Soslogo.png. The image description page currently specifies that the image is non-free and may only be used on Misplaced Pages under a claim of fair use. However, the image is currently not used in any articles on Misplaced Pages. If the image was previously in an article, please go to the article and see why it was removed. You may add it back if you think that that will be useful. However, please note that images for which a replacement could be created are not acceptable for use on Misplaced Pages (see our policy for non-free media).

Note that any non-free images not used in any articles will be deleted after seven days, as described in section F5 of the criteria for speedy deletion. Thank you. --B-bot (talk) 17:56, 21 August 2020 (UTC)

AfD

Thank you very much for handling Misplaced Pages:Articles for deletion/Genopole, it was getting out of hand. Regards, Comte0 (talk) 03:34, 22 August 2020 (UTC)

SPI on User:Whorra

Thanks for closing this out. I knew something hinky was going on (I don't trust any new user I see who has the wherewithal to move articles around like that right out the gate), but wasn't sure if there was any other account playing around. --Ser Amantio di Nicolao_{Lo dicono a Signa.} 14:01, 24 August 2020 (UTC)

Tech News: 2020-35

Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community. Please tell other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations are available.

Changes later this week

• The new version of MediaWiki will be on test wikis and MediaWiki.org from 25 August. It will be on non-Misplaced Pages wikis and some Wikipedias from 26 August. It will be on all wikis from 27 August (calendar).

Tech news prepared by Tech News writers and posted by bot • Contribute • Translate • Get help • Give feedback • Subscribe or unsubscribe.

17:59, 24 August 2020 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission

Hi there, I'm pleased to inform you that I've begun reviewing the article McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission you nominated for GA-status according to the criteria. This process may take up to 7 days. Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you might have during this period. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Babegriev -- Babegriev (talk) 08:41, 25 August 2020 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission

The article McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission you nominated as a good article has been placed on hold . The article is close to meeting the good article criteria, but there are some minor changes or clarifications needing to be addressed. If these are fixed within 7 days, the article will pass; otherwise it may fail. See Talk:McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission for issues which need to be addressed. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Babegriev -- Babegriev (talk) 03:01, 26 August 2020 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission

The article McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission you nominated as a good article has passed ; see Talk:McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission for comments about the article. Well done! If the article has not already appeared on the main page as a "Did you know" item, or as a bold link under "In the News" or in the "On This Day" prose section, you can nominate it within the next seven days to appear in DYK. Bolded names with dates listed at the bottom of the "On This Day" column do not affect DYK eligibility. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Babegriev -- Babegriev (talk) 04:42, 26 August 2020 (UTC)

WP:SPI case

Hi! Would you care to take a look at Misplaced Pages:Sockpuppet investigations/JamesOredan? It's a known repeat offender who seems to be back at it (CU has been endorsed by a clerk). TompaDompa (talk) 20:24, 26 August 2020 (UTC)

@TompaDompa:  Done - I published some CU findings to that SPI. I'll let GeneralNotability, the case clerk, handle the blocking since he mentioned he wanted to do something with page protection. Mz7 (talk) 20:39, 26 August 2020 (UTC)

Thanks! TompaDompa (talk) 20:41, 26 August 2020 (UTC)

220.233.161.168

Could you please block user:220.233.161.168 ASAP for vandalism. CLCStudent (talk) 01:10, 27 August 2020 (UTC)

CLCStudent,  Done. Mz7 (talk) 01:13, 27 August 2020 (UTC)