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User talk:EVula/Oct-Dec 2013
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![[en] As a dedicated Wikimedian, I don't limit myself to just one project or just one language.](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/75/Wikimedia_Community_Logo.svg/40px-Wikimedia_Community_Logo.svg.png?utm_source=en.wikipedia.org&utm_campaign=parser&utm_content=thumbnail){kind=logo}
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This is an archive of EVula's past discussions. You can't edit the contents of this page, so nyah.
If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, head over to User talk:EVula instead. |
This archive contains comments posted between October 2013 and December 2013.
The Signpost: 02 October 2013
- Op-ed: Commons medical diagnostic images under threat from unresolved ownership
Medical images have transformed many aspects of modern medicine. Over the past two decades the increasing sophistication of MRI, CT-scanning, and X-ray techniques has made these technologies the cornerstone of diagnosing a range of conditions, replacing what used to be largely guesswork by doctors. They can be the difference between life and death for a patient, and their importance is underlined by the tens of billions of dollars spent on them annually just in North America. For Wikimedia Foundation projects, advanced images are now a powerful tool for describing and explaining, and educating our worldwide readership of medical articles.
- Discussion report: References to individuals and groups, merging wikiprojects, portals on the Main page, and more
Current discussions on the English Wikipedia include...
- News and notes: WMF signals new grantmaking priorities
In what will be remembered as a game-changing week for Wikimedia grantmaking, the Foundation's executive director, Sue Gardner, published a forthright and in places highly critical statement, Reflections on the FDC process, and grantmaking staff revealed that the WMF will significantly strengthen its targeting of optimal impact in funding.
- Featured content: Bobby, Ben, Roger and a fantasia
Six articles and two pictures were promoted to "featured" status on the English Wikipedia last week.
- Arbitration report: Infoboxes: After the war
Editor's note: To go beyond the mere facts of cases, the "Arbitration report" invited several editors who participated in the recent Infoboxes case to comment on infoboxes: what they are, where new users can go to find out about them, specifications and protocols, best practices, and how the upcoming community discussion recommended by the Committee in the case decision should be framed.
- WikiProject report: U2 Too
This week, we revisited the enthusiastic editors at WikiProject U2. Started in June 2007, the project has grown in spurts, resulting in a collection of 8 Featured Articles and 24 Good Articles. The project maintains a to do list, portal, and a list of references.
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 03:12, 6 October 2013 (UTC)
The Signpost: 09 October 2013
- Traffic report: Shutdown shenanigans
If you're living in the United States, what did you do during the government shutdown? Well, it seems most people watched the final episode of Breaking Bad.
- WikiProject report: Australian Roads
This week, we moved to the esoteric world of Australian roads.
- Featured content: Under the sea
Seven articles, six lists, and twelve pictures were promoted to "featured" status on the English Wikipedia last week.
- News and notes: Extensive network of clandestine paid advocacy exposed
An investigation by the English Wikipedia community into suspicious edits and sockpuppet activity has led to astonishing revelations that Wiki-PR, a multi-million-dollar US-based company, has created, edited, or maintained several thousand Wikipedia articles for paying clients using a sophisticated array of concealed user accounts.
- In the media: College credit for editing Wikipedia
The University of California, San Francisco attracted substantial media attention over its new course offering that will give credit to fourth year medical students for editing Wikipedia articles about medicine.
- Arbitration report: Manning naming dispute and Ebionites 3 cases continue; third arbitrator resigns
A proposed decision has been posted in the Manning naming dispute. The workshop phase of the Ebionites 3 case closes 13 October. Arbitrator NuclearWarfare has resigned.
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 15:33, 10 October 2013 (UTC)
The Signpost: 16 October 2013
- News and notes: Vice on Wiki-PR's paid advocacy; Featured list elections begin
Media coverage on Wiki-PR, the multi-million-dollar US-based company that has broken several policies and guidelines on the English Wikipedia in its quest to create and maintain thousands of articles for paying clients, continued this week with a feature story by Martin Robbins in the British edition of Vice magazine.
- Traffic report: Peaceful potpourri
A slow week, with low overall views and the Top 10 dominated by longstanding pages. Gravity, Alfonso Cuaron's outer space-set action art film, not only held its position at the top of the US box office but climbed to the top of the Wikipedia chart as well, showing that it has become a major talking point.
- WikiProject report: Heraldry and Vexillology
This week, we studied coats of arms and flags with the folks at WikiProject Heraldry and Vexillology. Started in September 2006, the project has grown to include 20 Featured Articles and nearly 50 Good Articles. The project maintains a portal, a list of resources, and a variety of images and templates.
- Featured content: That's a lot of pictures
Six articles, two lists, and thirty-three pictures were promoted to 'featured' status on the English Wikipedia last week.
- Arbitration report: Manning naming dispute case closes
The Manning naming dispute case has closed, with a strong and unanimous statement by the Committee against disparaging references to transgendered persons. Sanctions were enacted against six editors.
- Discussion report: Ada Lovelace Day, paid advocacy on Wikipedia, sidebar update, and more
Current discussions on the English Wikipedia include...
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 00:15, 19 October 2013 (UTC)
Email about coming to Nashville this week
It may take a few minutes from the time the email is sent for it to show up in your inbox. You can at any time by removing the {{You've got mail}} or {{ygm}} template.
Template:DC
Hello, EVula. I see you deleted Template:DC; could you please restore it to User:Launchballer/Template:DC because I'd like to put a template across it and I'm interested to see what was there before? It is simply a template to censor categories with, with DC short for "draft category", using source code [[{{#ifexist:{{#titleparts:{{BASEPAGENAME}}|1}}||:}}Category:{{{1}}}]]. Thank you.--Launchballer 09:11, 21 October 2013 (UTC)
Vanderbilt
Can you check on the recent edits of Vanderbilt contributors?--Pharos (talk) 20:31, 23 October 2013 (UTC)
The Signpost: 23 October 2013
- News and notes: Grantmaking season—rumblings in the German-language community
The next twice-yearly round of Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC) grantmaking is soon to close for community questioning and commentary. Ten nation-based Wikimedia chapters and one thematic organisation are asking for a total of more than US$5M of donors’ money from the Foundation’s renamed annual plan grant process. Aside from Wikimedia UK ($708k), the three biggest asks are from the German-speaking chapters: Wikimedia Germany is asking for $2.4M and Wikimedia Austria $311k; and the German-language-related Swiss chapter is applying for $500k.
- Traffic report: Your average week ... and a fish
Media, sports and Google Doodles dominate, though a very odd fish decided to crash the party.
- Featured content: Your worst nightmare as a child is now featured on Wikipedia
Twelve articles, four lists, and four pictures were promoted to "featured" status on the English Wikipedia this week, including the article on cabbage.
- Discussion report: More discussion of paid advocacy, upcoming arbitrator elections, research hackathon, and more
Current discussions on the English Wikipedia include...
- In the media: The decline of Wikipedia; Sue Gardner releases statement on Wiki-PR; Australian minister relies on Wikipedia
MIT Technology Review published a long article on what it called "The decline of Wikipedia". Editor involvement has decreased since 2007; according to the article, this has had an adverse qualitative effect on content, particularly on issues pertinent to non-British and American male geeks.
- WikiProject report: Elements of the world
This week, we headed to an elementary subject with WikiProject Elements. Founded by Mav in 2002, this project has grown to have 19 featured articles, 2 featured topics, and 68 good articles. The project also has a list of templates, and a periodic table of elements filled with pictures.
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 04:30, 27 October 2013 (UTC)
Vanderbilt Edit-a-thon
Hi, thanks again for coming to the workshop last week! As we briefly discussed after the workshop, we're trying to conduct an edit-a-thon next month, but we decided Saturday, November 16th would be better than the 23rd as we figured most students would go home for Thanksgiving break on Friday, November 22nd. Does this date change work for you? --Yunccha92 (talk) 05:14, 30 October 2013 (UTC)
- Hmm, what time? I've got a board meeting at 10am (which should let out around 11), but am otherwise free until 6:30 or so that evening. EVula // talk // ☯ // 05:18, 30 October 2013 (UTC)
- We're planning to start around 10:00am and ending around 5:00pm. Do you mind coming after your board meeting? At the moment thinking of having two sessions, one at 10:30am and one at 1:00pm, about presentations on Wikipedia Editing, but we could change the earlier time to accommodate you?--Yunccha92 (talk) 23:49, 30 October 2013 (UTC)
- Oh yeah, I could definitely come by as soon as the meeting is done. I'll be coming from East Nashville; Maps says it'll take me about 15 minutes to get there. However, there's no guarantee how long the meeting will run (and since I'm the one running the show, it'd be bad form for me to peace out early), so I'd feel bad if you change the time and then I end up running late. EVula // talk // ☯ // 01:25, 31 October 2013 (UTC)
- We actually decided to change the start of the edit-a-thon to 1:00 PM as we thought 4 hours (1 PM to 5 PM) would be enough anyway. We're hoping that this would give you enough time so that you won't be in a hurry. Does this work for you?--Yunccha92 (talk) 20:56, 31 October 2013 (UTC)
- Oh yeah, that sounds perfect. That gives me plenty of time to get from the board meeting to there, and even get to eat lunch beforehand. EVula // talk // ☯ // 05:00, 1 November 2013 (UTC)
- We actually decided to change the start of the edit-a-thon to 1:00 PM as we thought 4 hours (1 PM to 5 PM) would be enough anyway. We're hoping that this would give you enough time so that you won't be in a hurry. Does this work for you?--Yunccha92 (talk) 20:56, 31 October 2013 (UTC)
- Oh yeah, I could definitely come by as soon as the meeting is done. I'll be coming from East Nashville; Maps says it'll take me about 15 minutes to get there. However, there's no guarantee how long the meeting will run (and since I'm the one running the show, it'd be bad form for me to peace out early), so I'd feel bad if you change the time and then I end up running late. EVula // talk // ☯ // 01:25, 31 October 2013 (UTC)
- We're planning to start around 10:00am and ending around 5:00pm. Do you mind coming after your board meeting? At the moment thinking of having two sessions, one at 10:30am and one at 1:00pm, about presentations on Wikipedia Editing, but we could change the earlier time to accommodate you?--Yunccha92 (talk) 23:49, 30 October 2013 (UTC)
Maybe we could move Yun's page to something like Wikipedia:Meetup/Vanderbilt; then we can put it on Wikipedia:Wikipedia Loves Libraries, and I can also set up a Wikipedia:Geonotice for all of Tennesse. Also, I think perhaps this featured article might be useful: Buildings of Nuffield College, Oxford (notice that this is far from the most historic part of Oxford!).--Pharos (talk) 16:58, 4 November 2013 (UTC)
- Ooh, a Meetup, we've not had one of those in Nashville for quite a while! — Huntster (t @ c) 06:55, 5 November 2013 (UTC)
- We just created the page, Wikipedia:Meetup/Nashville/Vanderbilt Edit-A-Thon 2013! I was actually going to ask you guys about Geonotice, since I had a difficult time understanding how it works. Could any of you explain how to set one up for Tennessee? Also, Clifford and I were concerned that some of the buildings on the list of possible topics may not have enough information to serve as standalone articles. Just to be clear, we already anticipate that some on the list (e.g., cottages like Alpha, Belleview, or Euclid) will definitely not have their own pages, but regarding the others we weren't sure what criteria to use to determine whether a building should be incorporated into an existing and/or more encompassing page like Vanderbilt University or have its own page. We'd hate for any of our articles to be deleted on grounds that it doesn't have enough bulk to be a standalone page!--Yunccha92 (talk) 09:24, 5 November 2013 (UTC)
- The watchlist geonotice should be active now; let me know if you guys are seeing it successfully.--Pharos (talk) 19:50, 6 November 2013 (UTC)
- Hmm, I'm not seeing anything. @Huntster: or @Yunccha92:? EVula // talk // ☯ // 19:03, 7 November 2013 (UTC)
- To clarify, you should be seeing this at the top of your watchlist, above the current "Three parallel policy proposals are being discussed" global notice. It's possible that a few Tennessee IPs that aren't in the database won't get it, but it should be working for at least 90% of them; otherwise, we have some kind of problem.--Pharos (talk) 20:18, 7 November 2013 (UTC)
- Nope, the only thing above that bulletpoint is the page header. I even looked at the source code to see if there was something in the source but being hidden from display, but there was nothing. I've tried on three connections: computer (connecting via my home Comcast connection), iPhone (AT&T), and iPad (Verizon), and none of them displayed the notice (and I made sure to turn off wifi for the latter two to ensure that I was using different networks). EVula // talk // ☯ // 20:29, 7 November 2013 (UTC)
- Hm, and you did see the global watchlist notice, right? Does https://geoiplookup.wikimedia.org give you the right location? (I also made a minor formatting change just now, might be a small chance that changes it.)--Pharos (talk) 21:17, 7 November 2013 (UTC)
- Nope, the only thing above that bulletpoint is the page header. I even looked at the source code to see if there was something in the source but being hidden from display, but there was nothing. I've tried on three connections: computer (connecting via my home Comcast connection), iPhone (AT&T), and iPad (Verizon), and none of them displayed the notice (and I made sure to turn off wifi for the latter two to ensure that I was using different networks). EVula // talk // ☯ // 20:29, 7 November 2013 (UTC)
- To clarify, you should be seeing this at the top of your watchlist, above the current "Three parallel policy proposals are being discussed" global notice. It's possible that a few Tennessee IPs that aren't in the database won't get it, but it should be working for at least 90% of them; otherwise, we have some kind of problem.--Pharos (talk) 20:18, 7 November 2013 (UTC)
- Hmm, I'm not seeing anything. @Huntster: or @Yunccha92:? EVula // talk // ☯ // 19:03, 7 November 2013 (UTC)
- The watchlist geonotice should be active now; let me know if you guys are seeing it successfully.--Pharos (talk) 19:50, 6 November 2013 (UTC)
@EVula:, I still don't understand how the geonotice works, but it seems like it's working so that's good news (I may ask questions about it during the edit-a-thon just out of curiosity). On a side note, we were wondering whether you want to bring your camera on the day of the edit-a-thon and go around with some people to shoot photos of the buildings today for the pages. Of course, it would depend on the weather but if it's sunny or even cloudy would you be up for it?--Yunccha92 (talk) 08:47, 8 November 2013 (UTC)
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The GLAM Logo Barnstar | |
| Thanks for your fantastic help at the Edit-A-Thon on Saturday! Clifford Anderson (talk) 00:22, 18 November 2013 (UTC) |
A cup of coffee for you!
 |
Hello EVula. My name is Lane. I understand that you participated in outreach to Vanderbilt. Thank you for that. I also do education outreach, particularly to people interested in developing health articles. Should you ever meet anyone there who wants to integrate Wikipedia into a health class, would you consider introducing us?
I live in NYC but I give tours of Wikipedia health content to people through videoconferencing. I also train people in the Wikipedia Education Program. Thanks for everything you have done for Wikipedia. Do you know OhanaUnited? He is another education guy and a Wikispecies person; species is a small community so I thought you might. yours, Blue Rasberry (talk) 19:48, 31 October 2013 (UTC) |
- I'll definitely keep you in mind. I'm still fairly new to doing any education outreach stuff, but I enjoyed the one event I've done so far. I definitely know OhanaUnited, though I've been ridiculously inactive over at Wikispecies for a long time (too much stuff on my plate to try going back there right now). EVula // talk // ☯ // 04:56, 1 November 2013 (UTC)
The Signpost: 30 October 2013
- Traffic report: 200 miles in 200 years
The top 10 encapsulates the history of human aviation; at #1, a Google Doodle celebrating the 216th anniversary of the first parachute jump; at #10, the enduringly popular scifi film Gravity, a paean to human spaceflight. It's odd to think it's taken us 200 years to travel about that many miles up.
- In the media: Rand Paul plagiarizes Wikipedia?
While giving a speech on behalf of a gubernatorial candidate, Paul advocated his pro-life position, and compared allowing unrestricted abortions to the film Gattaca. He went on to use strikingly similar language and phraseology in his speech to what the Wikipedia page reads. The Washington Post's article conceded that Wikipedia is a widely used source for trivial information, but mocked the fact that a politician would view it as a reliable source.
- News and notes: Sex and drug tourism—Wikivoyage's soft underbelly?
In January we raised several potentially troublesome issues for the Wikimedia movement in taking on Wikivoyage, including the apparent inadequacy of the English Wikivoyage sex-tourism policy, hurriedly strengthened against mention of child sex after our inquiries. However, both sex-tourism and illegal-activities policies remain equivocal about how the site should treat entries about sex tourism more generally, and drugs that are classed as illicit in almost every country. Yet the Signpost has found it remarkably easy to locate material in Wikivoyage that violates both the spirit and the letter of the policies.
- Featured content: Wrestling with featured content
This year's WikiCup competition has finished, while three articles, five lists, and six pictures, were promoted to "featured" status on the English Wikipedia last week.
- Recent research: User influence on site policies: Wikipedia vs. Facebook vs. Youtube
Laura Stein, a researcher at the University of Texas at Austin, has concluded that, based on her comparison of user policy documents (including the Terms of Service) of YouTube, Facebook and Wikipedia, Wikipedia offers the highest level of participation power overall.
- WikiProject report: Special: Lessons from the dead and dying
With Halloween, the Day of the Dead, and other gloomy celebrations this week, we're taking a look at Wikipedia's dead and dying. For some dead WikiProjects, the sole purpose of their life was simply to serve as a warning to others. Some of these projects may still be salvageable, but for most, a revival is unlikely. Here are some projects that never got off the ground and the lessons that can be gleaned from their follies
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 23:42, 2 November 2013 (UTC)
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The Signpost: 06 November 2013
- News and notes: Alleged "outing" of editor's personal information leads to Wikipedia ban
As part of the second major "outing" controversy to hit the English Wikipedia in less than a year, the Chelsea/Bradley Manning naming dispute was dragged into the spotlight yet again when the English Wikipedia's Arbitration Committee ruled by motion to remove the administrator tools from and ban long-time Wikipedia contributor Phil Sandifer.
- Traffic report: Danse Macabre
It's fair to say that commemorating death was a strong theme this week, with Lou Reed's passing generating interest, as well as a Google Doodle celebrating the costume designer Edith Head. And of course, the world's greatest celebrations of the dead, Halloween and the Day of the Dead, were also popular this week.
- Featured content: Five years of work leads to 63-article featured topic
HMS Hood, one of the most famous warships of the Second World War, was a battlecruiser and therefore part of what is now the largest featured topic on Wikipedia: "Battlecruisers of the world". The topic was promoted to "featured" status on the English Wikipedia last week alongside eleven articles, three lists, four pictures, and two other topics.
- WikiProject report: WikiProject Accessibility
This week, we spent some time with WikiProject Accessibility, a project that strives to make Wikipedia accessible for users with disabilities. The project improves Wikipedia's guidelines and Manual of Style, collects useful templates and scripts, and provides support to impaired Wikipedians.
- Arbitration report: Ebionites 3 case closed
The Ebionites 3 case has closed with an interaction ban for the two editors involved in the dispute.
- Discussion report: Sockpuppet investigations, VisualEditor, Wikidata's birthday, and more
Current discussions on the English Wikipedia include...
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 07:36, 9 November 2013 (UTC)
The Signpost: 13 November 2013
- Traffic report: Google Doodlebugs bust the block
The numbers this week are beyond anything that has been seen since this report began. The top view count beats the average by an order of magnitude. Usually the appearance of numbers this big on the list is due to spamming, but in this case it seems they are due to honest interest; more specifically, Google Doodles, which for the first time claimed all five top slots. This column has raised numerous times the power of a Google Doodle to shine light on Wikipedia, but the wattage has never been as high as this.
- Featured content: 1244 Chinese handscroll leads nine-strong picture contingent
Five articles, two lists, one topic, and nine pictures were promoted to 'featured' status on the English Wikipedia last week.
- Special report: FDC staff raise the benchmarks for activities, impact, planning, and governance
The supporting staff of the Wikimedia Foundation’s powerful volunteer Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC) have released their assessments for the third half-yearly round of funding applications. The applications for the newly named annual plan grants were submitted by affiliated entities on 1 October, and comprise a total of more than US$5M in bids.
- News and notes: Trademark at issue again with the Italian Wikipedia and wikipedia.it
The Italian-language Wikipedia community has overwhelmingly voted to request the Wikimedia Foundation's assistance in recovering wikipedia.it, a website that has been frequently confused with the Italian Wikipedia.
- WikiProject report: The world of soap operas
This week, we followed the intricate storylines of WikiProject Soap Operas.
- Discussion report: Commas, Draft namespace proposal, education updates, and more
Current discussions on the English Wikipedia include...
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 09:14, 16 November 2013 (UTC)
The Signpost: 20 November 2013
- From the editor: The Signpost needs your help
As I said in August, contributing to the Signpost can be one of the most rewarding things an editor can do. The genre is refreshingly different from that of Wikipedia articles, and can allow writers to use a different range of skills. The need for an independent, volunteer-run Signpost continues to grow, given the increasing complexity and financial expenditures of the global Wikimedia movement, not to mention the English Wikipedia.
- Book review: Peter Burke's Social History of Knowledge—ambitious, fascinating, and exhaustive
Peter Burke's A Social History of Knowledge: Volume II: From the Encyclopédie to Wikipedia is a broad and wide-ranging look at how knowledge has been created, acquired, organized, disseminated, and sometimes lost in the Western world over the last two and a half centuries, a sequel to his 2000 book covering the prior three centuries, A Social History of Knowledge: From Gutenberg to Diderot.
- Featured content: Rockin' the featured pictures
Four articles, five lists, and thirty-four pictures were promoted to 'featured status' this week, including an image of a small fraction of the 18,000 taxis that serve Hong Kong.
- WikiProject report: Score! American football on Wikipedia
This week, we headed over to WikiProject National Football League. With 10 Featured Articles, 61 Featured Lists, and 142 Good Articles (as of publication), this WikiProject has done a lot of work improving American football articles.
- News and notes: Foundation to Wiki-PR: cease and desist; Arbitration Committee elections starting
The Wikimedia Foundation has sent a formal cease and desist letter to Wiki-PR—the public relations agency accused of breaking Wikipedia policies and guidelines by creating, editing, and maintaining several thousand articles for paying clients through a sophisticated array of accounts. The Foundation's attorneys, Cooley LLP, have demanded that Wiki-PR's employees abide by the site's Terms of Use and the language of a community ban from the English Wikipedia.
- Traffic report: Ill Winds
It's not hard to guess which event is leading interest in the top 25 this week. The sheer scale of Typhoon Haiyan is staggering; estimates place its maximum windspeed upon first landfall in the Philippines on November 6 at 315 km/h, which would make it the most powerful tropical cyclone ever to reach land. To date, the storm has killed nearly 4000 people and damaged or destroyed nearly 4 million homes.
- Arbitration report: WMF opens the door for non-admin arbitrators
Back in March, when the March 25 Arbitration Report covered the Audit Subcommittee appointment discussion, a statement from the WMF legal division clarified its position that access to deleted revisions required an RFA or RFA-identical process; therefore AUSC committee appointments were not open to non-admins. The WMF legal team has now further clarified its position, saying that running for and winning an election for arbitrator would qualify as the type of rigorous community selection process required for the checkuser and oversight rights held by arbitrators.
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 13:50, 24 November 2013 (UTC)
The Signpost: 04 December 2013
- Traffic report: Kennedy shot Who
Summary:Doctor Who nearly got cancelled in its first week because its premiere was swamped by coverage of the JFK assassination, which happened the same day. Thankfully, producers saw fit to rerun it the next day, which is now its official anniversary date.
- Recent research: Reciprocity and reputation motivate contributions to Wikipedia; indigenous knowledge and "cultural imperialism"; how PR people see Wikipedia
Wikipedia works on the efforts of unpaid volunteers who choose to donate their time to advance the cause of free knowledge. This phenomenon, as trivial as it may sound to those acquainted with Wikipedia inner workings, has always puzzled economists and social scientists alike, in that standard Economic theory would not predict that such enterprises would thrive without any form of remuneration.
- Discussion report: Musical scores, diversity conference, Module:Convert, and more
Recent discussions on the English Wikipedia include...
- News and notes: One decade of Wikisource; FDC recommendations raise serious questions
The sister project Wikisource, the digital library that hosts free-content primary sources, is now a decade old. Wikisource, which now has versions in 63 languages, is the sixth type of project to reach ten-year milestone and will be the last until 2016. The Wikimedia Foundation's volunteer Funds Dissemination Committee has published its recommendations to the Board of Trustees on 11 new applications for annual grants by 11 WMF-affiliated organisations. The maximum total budget for the current and upcoming March rounds is US$6M.
- WikiProject report: Electronic Apple Pie
This week, we returned to WikiProject Apple Inc. for a peek at their newest articles about the latest in gadgets and software. The last time we took a bite out of WikiProject Apple, they had just finished merging WikiProject Macintosh and WikiProject iPhone OS. Today, the project is hard at work rewriting their primary article, improving the subject's outline, and adding to the project's list of 25 Good Articles and 6 Featured Articles.
- Featured content: F*&!
Seventeen articles, four lists, and twenty-eight pictures were promoted to "featured" status in the last two weeks.
- Arbitration report: Ottoman Empire–Turkey naming dispute case opens; New discretionary sanctions draft proposal available for review
The Ottoman Empire–Turkey naming dispute case has opened. The second draft of the discretionary sanctions proposal is now open for review.
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 07:17, 5 December 2013 (UTC)
The Signpost: 11 December 2013
- Traffic report: Deaths of Mandela, Walker top the list
When one edits this page for too long, one is tempted to appoint oneself as the psychoanalyst for the human race, or at least the English-speaking portion thereof. Since nearly everyone uses Wikipedia, the constant stream of TV updates, pointless celebrity scandals, and inquiries after who has died can seem like a dreary peek into humanity's surprisingly banal collective consciousness.
- In the media: Edward Snowden a "hero"; German Wikipedia court ruling
Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales caught headlines last week when he referred to former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden ... Loek Essers of the International Data Group, (IDG) News Service is reporting that a German court has held Wikipedia liable for its content, but still does not have to fact check the information in advance.
- News and notes: Wiki Loves Monuments—winners announced
Amid great anticipation the international prize winners have just been announced for the fourth annual Wiki Loves Monuments, now the world's largest photographic competition and one of the biggest events on the Wikimedia movement's calendar. ... The first prize has gone to David Gubler's photograph of a Swiss train crossing a viaduct.
- WikiProject report: WikiProject Wine
This week, the Signpost interviewed the Wine WikiProject.
- Interview: Wikipedia's first Featured Article centurion
On 7 December, Wikipedia editor Wehwalt reached the momentous milestone of 100 featured articles with History of Chincoteague, Virginia. Quite apart from the reading and research, that's around three-quarters of a million words of finalised text, not counting footnotes, image captions and the rest.
- Featured content: Viewer discretion advised
Three articles, one list, and eight pictures were promoted to "featured" status on the English Wikipedia last week.
- Technology report: MediaWiki 1.22 released
On 6 December, the latest version of the MediaWiki software was released. In development from March 2013 through October 2013, the release featured anti-spam and counter-vandalism improvements.
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 04:55, 12 December 2013 (UTC)
The Signpost: 18 December 2013
- WikiProject report: Babel Series: Tunisia on the French Wikipedia
This week, the Signpost interviewed the Tunisia WikiProject on the French Wikipedia.
- Traffic report: Hopper to the top
An animated Google Doodle for computer programmer and naval rear admiral Grace Hopper generated another record-breaking hit count for the year, though the count for the list overall was lower than for that of the previous holder.
- Discussion report: Usernames, template data and documentation, Main page, and more
Current discussions on the English Wikipedia include...
- News and notes: Nine new arbitrators announced
A little more than six days after the close of voting, the results of the annual Arbitration Committee (ArbCom) elections have been announced. Of the 22 candidates, 13 managed to gain more supports than opposes, though only one gained the support of more than half of the voters. Eight were elected to two-year terms, and a ninth will serve for one year.
- Featured content: Triangulum, the most boring constellation in the universe
Seven articles, three lists, and eight pictures were promoted to 'featured' status on the English Wikipedia this week.
- Technology report: Introducing the GLAMWikiToolset
This week, the GLAMWikiToolset, or GWToolset, is being deployed to the Wikimedia Commons. It allows for GLAM organizations to batch upload content based on various metadata stored in an XML schema. In the past this has been done by various bots, but now it will be easier for GLAMs to do it directly.
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 07:09, 19 December 2013 (UTC)
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174.236.225.193 (talk) 01:18, 27 December 2013 (UTC)
The Signpost: 25 December 2013
- Recent research: Cross-language editors, election predictions, vandalism experiments
Analyzing edits to the-then 46 largest Wikipedias between July 9 and August 8, 2013, a study identified a set of about 8,000 contributors with a global user account who have edited more than one of these language versions in that time frame.
- Featured content: Drunken birds and treasonous kings
Five articles, two lists, and five pictures were promoted to "featured" status on the English Wikipedia.
- Discussion report: Draft namespace, VisualEditor meetings
Current discussions on the English Wikipedia include...
- WikiProject report: More Great WikiProject Logos
We saved one last special report for 2013. After our well-received review of great WikiProject logos a couple years ago, it was only a matter of time before we collected a new batch of interesting iconography that showcases the creativity of the Wikipedia community. Hopefully, these logos will also inspire other projects to liven up their drab pages.
- News and notes: IEG round 2 funding rewards diverse ambitions
A significant move by the Wikimedia Foundation has been to broaden the types of activities it funds to develop several different programs for judging and allocating that funding, and to set up volunteer committees that initially assess applications for funding.
- Technology report: OAuth: future of user designed tools
Last month, the OAuth extension was deployed to all Wikimedia wikis. OAuth is a standard used for allowing users to authenticate third-party applications, also known as consumers, to take actions on their behalf.
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- EdwardsBot (talk) 05:53, 28 December 2013 (UTC)