User talk:Jalexander-WMF/Archive 1

Page contents not supported in other languages.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Archive 1 Archive 2 Archive 3

Contribution team IRC meeting

Greetings! We will be having a meeting of the Contribution and Social Media teams tomorrow in #wikimedia-SM on IRC. Feel free to rebroadcast on social media and invite interested guests. The meeting will be at 11/11 19:00/7pm UTC (2pm Eastern Standard Time, 11am Pacific.) We hope to see you there! DanRosenthal Wikipedia Contribution Team 19:33, 10 November 2010 (UTC)

Contribution Team

Hi there! This is a message sent to all members of the Contribution Team. We're letting you know that there has been a rather major update - you can read more about it at Wikipedia talk:Contribution Team#Backlog Drive Update And Other News. Kind regards, Panyd and Chase me ladies, I'm the Cavalry (talk) 23:25, 10 December 2010 (UTC)

Hi. Please fix your broken code at MediaWiki:Common.css. If you don't understand what I mean, please fully revert your changes and use the talk page like everybody else. --MZMcBride (talk) 20:11, 11 January 2011 (UTC)

Aye was already looking at it, thanks for the heads up. Jalexander--WMF 20:18, 11 January 2011 (UTC)

Feeling Curious

Hi Jalexander. Just out of interest, what is an Associate Community Officer? --Physics is all gnomes (talk) 23:08, 4 February 2011 (UTC)

Hey :) Sure, Associate Community Officer (or sometimes Community Associate though my business cards say officer) Was the title I had during the fundraiser when I was working as a temporary staff member for the foundation (you know all those annoying Jimmy banners? The banners and the landing pages were a big part of my job :) ). Right now I'm transitioning into a little bit of a different job that will be doing both this study, some fundraising stuff (and more fundraising stuff later when the study as done as we ramp up for next year) as well as helping out with other projects or issues that pop up but for at least the next month the Associate Community Officer title is probably best. The best way to think about it is a bit of a "all purpose" position within the community department (which includes both community development stuff, fundraising etc). I hope that answered some of it... but if you have any other questions or want more let me know! Jalexander--WMF 00:07, 5 February 2011 (UTC)
Cool, sounds like an interesting job.--Physics is all gnomes (talk) 22:05, 6 February 2011 (UTC)

Discussion locations

Would it be possible to start discussions like the one at the administrators' noticeboard at more general places, like the village pump, and leave notices at places like AN if you want to get input from administrators and others who follow that noticeboard? I closed the discussion with this edit, but then undid it when I realised that you are an Associate Community Officer with the WMF. I do still think the discussion is in the wrong place, but will leave it at suggesting that you could change the venue yourself to get more feedback. Carcharoth (talk) 17:39, 6 February 2011 (UTC) PS. I've twigged who you are now - I hadn't recognised the name!

Aye, To be totally honest a discussion was not what I was originally intending to take place (though I did sort of let it roll) It was meant as more of an announcement and pointer to the main project page and discussion area (I also posted on VP and some project pages, The VP had some discussion but far less then AN ended up having). I'm setting up some more graphs about what people have been discussing. I'll try to pull everyone away by pointing them off in 20 minutes or so once those are set. Jalexander--WMF 21:45, 6 February 2011 (UTC)
Thanks. I confess I had missed that you had posted to the VP already. It is difficult to predict where a discussion will take off, and very difficult to drag people away from the places they frequent to the places where discussion should take place. The graphs are interesting - I will try and add my thoughts at some point as well. Carcharoth (talk) 00:03, 7 February 2011 (UTC)

Multiple sub-pages on your Wiki Guides project?

First I must thank you for heading up the Wikipedia:Wiki Guides project. Thank you. There are a number of issues being raised on the talk page. I am inclined towards action while discussing these issues, so I am going to start a number of draft RfCs. I was going to draft these in my userspace, but I thought you may want to have them under the WP:Wiki Guides page. So I thought I would ask you first. Would you like draft RfCs started under the WP:Wiki Guides page? Best regards. - Hydroxonium (H3O+) 00:06, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

I'm really glad to see some of the discussion that are happening already and it would be great to draft up some RfCs and ideas. Where you want to do it is totally up to you but I think it would be great to do them under the Wiki Guides page (and advertise them for others if you want on the talk page). Especially if you want others feedback I think people can sometimes get scared away from something in "User space" since they see it as private. Thanks again for taking the initiative to start up some of these and please let me know if you need any help, I'll keep an eye on them of course ;) Jalexander--WMF 00:14, 14 February 2011 (UTC)
Thank you - Sounds good. - Hydroxonium (H3O+) 00:21, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

Question related to Wiki Guides project

I can look at this graph File:ENnewEditors.jpg and the WP:Wiki Guides project and infer this → "the decline in users over the last several years is a major concern to the WMF". Is that a true and accurate statement in regards to the Foundation's position? If yes, is something like that statement written down somewhere in a place that I can read it? Thanks very much. - Hydroxonium (H3O+) 00:28, 16 February 2011 (UTC)

I would say that is a relatively accurate statement. I think it's been "said" (mailing list emails etc) multiple times and it is probably in the 5 year strategic plan and elsewhere. Let me poke around and get links for you when everyone wakes up in the morning (including me who shouldn't be up but is up because of the tech changes). Jalexander--WMF 10:09, 16 February 2011 (UTC)

Wiki Guides email stuff

Hi Jalexander, is there something wrong with my email or something? Because on the Wiki Guides page, it says that my email has not been recieved yet.WIERDGREENMAN (talk) 16:49, 22 February 2011 (UTC)

Hm, Let me look into it and see if it got lost. Did you receive the email I sent out to everyone last night? Jalexander--WMF 21:02, 22 February 2011 (UTC)
No. :(WIERDGREENMAN (talk) 22:07, 22 February 2011 (UTC)
Should I email my email to you?WIERDGREENMAN (talk) 22:27, 22 February 2011 (UTC)
Yeah, do you mind sending me another one? I'm looking but not finding it sadly :( Jalexander--WMF 22:29, 22 February 2011 (UTC)
Ok, I sent it to Jalexander@wikimedia.org.WIERDGREENMAN (talk) 22:52, 22 February 2011 (UTC)
Received :) I'll be sending you the welcome and last night's email soon. Jalexander--WMF 22:58, 22 February 2011 (UTC)

WikiGuide/B7

see User:Buster7/WikiGuide happy-happy...Buster Seven Talk 14:35, 27 February 2011 (UTC)

Oh very nice! I like! :) Jalexander--WMF 19:57, 27 February 2011 (UTC)
20px....Lightbulb!!! Ms Peppler is the only active noob from My10/1. Another editor has posted on her talk, in a very friendly manner, to discuss things about an article they have in common (Peppler's first edits). Which caused me to think to maybe contact the other editor, merely as a courtesy to both, and perhaps as a selling tool to advertise the WikiGuide project. Getting other editors aware and maybe involved seems like a good thing. The contact with the other editor would be informative only...not a sales pitch. A very important part of the project should be to "change the conversation" that WE (Wikipedia Editors) ALL have with newbies'. A part of the guides responsibilities may be; to run interference for the newbie, like a blocking lineman in American football, to remind other editors to nurture rather than chastize the newbie, to not necessarily hold the hands of the noob while crossing the street but letting them know where it may be better (and safer) to cross. Let me know what you think. Buster Seven Talk 19:26, 28 February 2011 (UTC)
I agree, and sometimes the best thing you can do for a 'guidie' (we need to come up with a better name...) is to find them someone who can answer more specific questions for subjects/articles etc. There is always room for multiple people to help as you reach in and answer questions and generally be friendly. It's great to make sure everyone see's what's happening. I mentioned it on the note you just left on the Project talk page but I think we're off to a great start. It's not a big surprise that most people have only gotten 1-2 responses so far (if that) I think we'll get a couple more and in general 10 is a small number (and this is why I hope to ramp it up with more and originally thought of 50 or so, people will drop off ;) ) Jalexander--WMF 19:32, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

Changes to Wiki Guides

Hi

I have made a few changes to the main project page and moved others off the talk page.

All links are there, either through the edit summaries or through the infobox I have put on the main page.

Chaosdruid (talk) 04:40, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

I mentioned it on the project page but I like the changes, I'm going to start poking at it too to try and get some tabs going. Jalexander--WMF 19:28, 28 February 2011 (UTC)
Ah, sorry ! only just saw this, I think I got carried away lol...
Anyway, they are pretty straightforwards, the nested ones were a bit of a pain on the Emails tab, but seems ok now :¬)
Any thoughts on renaming any/further uses needed ? (I am just renaming "Guides" to "Guides (members)"Chaosdruid (talk)
Don't feel sorry! Never bad for someone else to dive in either instead or as well :) I'll take a look! Jalexander--WMF 22:44, 28 February 2011 (UTC)
(ec) Trying to add tabs on it now, if the talk page disappears, it did not work properly!
I thought it was broken for a moment then, but it was just an ec on here lol - PHEW! Chaosdruid (talk) 22:48, 28 February 2011 (UTC)

Non-free files in your user space

Hey there Jalexander, thank you for your contributions. I am a bot, alerting you that non-free files are not allowed in user or talk space. I removed some files I found on User talk:Jalexander. In the future, please refrain from adding fair-use files to your user-space drafts or your talk page.

  • See a log of files removed today here.

Thank you, -- DASHBot (talk) 05:02, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

Members list

Hi

I just added names to the members list, but there seem to be some who have not received emails (or is that email received when they send it to you?).

They are at the top of Wikipedia:Wiki Guides/Members

Hope all is well Chaosdruid (talk) 00:06, 2 March 2011 (UTC)

Awesome, yeah that's that I've received an email, sent a confirmation (and if I haven't they haven't gotten assignments) I haven't marked 3 recent ones from this week but there are a couple who never sent one. I think I'm going to ping them on talk pages etc. to see if they are still interested. Jalexander--WMF 04:43, 2 March 2011 (UTC)

Second Wave

When should the guides expect the second wave of newbies?? No rush, but anticipating like a new dad. In the meantime, I've started User:Buster7/Sandbox-Wiki Guides as a reservior for ideas, etc. Buster Seven Talk 18:07, 5 March 2011 (UTC)

Oh those look great! You should move some of them to the project area and point them out on the talk page (we have some new resource areas that chaosdruid made that would be good for them probably. I think they could be really useful to the other guides.
I'm planning on doing the 2nd wave either tonight (Saturday) or Sunday. Jalexander--WMF 05:26, 6 March 2011 (UTC)
Hi I have been hanging out on the en-help IRC channel to see what goes on over there, been a good learning curve, but I don't recommend it for everyone - It can get boring sitting there for a couple of hours doing nothing, but then suddenly I was helping three people at once!
I helped a couple of fairly new people but they seemed pretty much ok on their own, more experienced users than totally new (I keep nearly saying noob lol). 5 or 6 new users but most left prematurely before the help was fully given. 1 was a problem and that turned a bit sour, I have emailed the two copies of the emails to JA as well as the html for the talk pages.
One problem is that the name in IRC is not their on Wiki name it seems, whereas established users tend to have the same or something close. (and so you cannot contact them on Wiki after they leave IRC)
Good work on that page btw Buster! I will make some more tabs on the resources tomorrow if we can get in an IRC together would be good :¬) I should be around about 13:00 UTC, maybe 12:00 Chaosdruid (talk) 07:48, 6 March 2011 (UTC)
Aye, The en-help channel can be great. It's a nice thing to have on in the background too since you can have all the down times :) It's also a great place to ask for help from other experienced users. I've been thinking of recommending other guides join or hang out there if they want to get ideas/help out (I'm thinking of doing the same much more). Jalexander--WMF 07:55, 6 March 2011 (UTC)
When you get that email I recommend the Wiki pages first as the mails follow on from there, not one of my better days I am afraid :¬( Chaosdruid (talk) 07:59, 6 March 2011 (UTC)

(undent)...This is like waiting for the new Victoria Secrets Catalogue!! Sidebar:How do I get onto the IRC Channel? Sounds interesting.Buster Seven Talk 16:49, 8 March 2011 (UTC)

If you haven't already got an IRC program you need to get one, I use the Chatzilla add-on for Firefox, then you can click on one of these...Wikipedia:IRC#List_of_useful_channels Chaosdruid (talk) 19:14, 8 March 2011 (UTC)
Got Chatzilla (thanks for advice) as suggested. Which channel is the one that will be used for Guide discussions?? Buster Seven Talk 18:44, 9 March 2011 (UTC)

Batch 2?

Hey, I havn't been able to check my email for around a week, and I was wondering if Batch 2 for new users has come out and if so, is it OK if I start working with them late? Thanks. ► Wireless Keyboard ◄. 14:29, 11 March 2011 (UTC)

Yup but just got sent out on Wednesday. It's fine to start on them late, send us an email at Wikiguides@wikimedia.org when you started so we know :) (That's the email we're using most now because it's myself and Philippe especially since I'm going on vacation tomorrow and won't be able to check email as much and he will be. Jalexander--WMF 03:01, 12 March 2011 (UTC)

Wiki guidees question

I am guessing the Wiki guides project will be doing some type of analysis later on with respect to guidees and their experience. For those of us that know about the project, but are not participating, would it skew the results if we interacted with the guidees? Specifically, I was wanting to contact a guidee and praise them for all the good work they have been doing. I also wanted to get input from them on some teaching materials I have been working on for newer users. That would end up changing part of their experience here and could invalidate some of the results. I wanted to get your input on this before I did anything. Thanks much. - Hydroxonium (talk) 08:40, 8 March 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for asking Hydroxonium and no that's perfectly ok, encouraged even :) We don't want to eliminate any other/external factors that they could get anyway and evben if it has a connection with being guided that adds to the study (Would in fact be a benefit of it). Jalexander--WMF 03:02, 12 March 2011 (UTC)
Thank you - Hydroxonium (talk) 06:16, 12 March 2011 (UTC)

Welcome back

Hi

Hope you had an enjoyable break :¬)

Just to let you know there are some new tabs on the main page for the RfCs that Hydroxonium et al. were producing.

Chaosdruid (talk) 18:35, 21 March 2011 (UTC)

Autoconfirmation status

Related to the discussion at the Village Pump:

I have tried for a very long time to find out whether autoconfirmation requires ten edits PLUS four days, or if it requires ten edits OR four days (whichever comes first). It seems to me that it's the latter, and the difference is important. WhatamIdoing (talk) 22:12, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

Hey! The requirement is 10 edits PLUS 4 days (You need both to qualify) So for example:
  • If Account A is 30 days old and has 9 edits this account is not auto-confirmed
  • If the same account makes their 10th edits on their 40th day they will automatically become auto-confirmed.
  • If another account (Account B) has made 90 edits and has it's 3rd day it will not become auto-confirmed UNTIL it reaches it's 4th day. The time is calculated (in seconds) from account creation.

Let me know if you have anything other questions. I obviously have an opinion in the discussion but the decision is the community as a whole I just want to make sure they have all the information. Jalexander--WMF 22:39, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

Thanks! I have slightly updated the relevant page to be clearer on this point. WhatamIdoing (talk) 23:11, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

Hi James. I previously contacted you at User talk:Jamesofur/Archives8#User talk:Jamesofur/Archives6#Anne Aghion and I am contacting you on the talk page of this account since you're more active here.

File:Anne Aghion- Photo.jpg remains deleted and Indiejilly (talk · contribs) has uploaded more pictures (File:Anne Aghion.jpg, File:MNMK Woman.jpg, and File:Mnmk poster pk.jpg). Because you have been in contact with Indiejilly before (who appears to own the copyrights to several images related to Anne Aghion), I ask you to contact Indiejilly again about the images. It would be a shame for the images to be redeleted for want of licensing information. Thank you. Cunard (talk) 02:18, 23 February 2011 (UTC)

Hey Cunard, I'm happy to send her an email though I think at some level we already have the information required. Given that she is verified to work for Anne I think that "own work" can probably be taken at face value? Jalexander--WMF 02:38, 23 February 2011 (UTC)
Ahh no license, Yes I'll give her an email. Jalexander--WMF 02:49, 23 February 2011 (UTC)
Thanks for the poke. We just sent out an email to her asking for her help trying to get the licence stuff set. I also want to try and get her hooked up with you on here if possible so that you guys can work together. Jalexander--WMF 03:25, 23 February 2011 (UTC)
Thank you for contacting Indiejilly. I will be happy to work with her on improving the article. By the way, did File:Anne Aghion- Photo.jpg have a license, and is it a duplicate of File:Anne Aghion.jpg? Cunard (talk) 06:48, 23 February 2011 (UTC)
It looks like the problem there was just "not enough info" That actually had a license (Self/CC-by-sa-3.0 and GNU dual ) Jalexander--WMF 06:58, 23 February 2011 (UTC)
I think the "not enough info" rationale for deletion is related to whether the uploader (Indiejilly) had the right to release the image. Because Indiejilly is verified as having the right to release the text/images under the relevant licenses, would you undelete File:Anne Aghion- Photo.jpg?

And is File:Anne Aghion- Photo.jpg a duplicate of File:Anne Aghion.jpg, or are they different images? Cunard (talk) 07:04, 23 February 2011 (UTC)

Ahh sorry I didn't answer that one, The two are different images but I'll get someone to undelete the other one. Jalexander--WMF 07:15, 23 February 2011 (UTC)
No worries. Thank you for your help. Cunard (talk) 07:21, 23 February 2011 (UTC)
It has been nearly two weeks since you said that you would get File:Anne Aghion- Photo.jpg undeleted. Is there any progress with regards to this and the unlicensed images on Commons? Cunard (talk) 03:19, 6 March 2011 (UTC)
James, are you reviewing this? Cunard (talk) 05:37, 6 March 2011 (UTC)
Aye, I was hesitant to undelete myself and asked someone else to review and do so. He wanted to wait until he heard back from IndieJelly. I'll give him a poke and try to find out what the status is on that. Jalexander--WMF 06:22, 6 March 2011 (UTC)
Another three weeks have passed. Would you undelete the image, or ask that person who is reviewing it to undelete it? Has any contact been made with Indiejilly (talk · contribs)? Cunard (talk) 04:29, 29 March 2011 (UTC)

Autoconformation RfC

A formal Request for Comment has now been started on this topic. Feel free to contribute; best, Ironholds (talk) 19:28, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

Please see my new message above. Cunard (talk) 04:29, 29 March 2011 (UTC)

Please see my old message above. Cunard (talk) 04:41, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

Welcome to Wikipedia from Jalexander

Hi, Jalexander! I want to welcome you to Wikipedia and thank you for your edit! I hope you like editing here and being part of Wikipedia and that we will see you around for a long time to come. When you leave messages on Discussion pages (like this one, or the article discussion pages) you want to try and remember to sign your name using four tildes (~~~~); when you save the page, this will turn into your name and the date. If you need help, check out the Wikipedia Cheatsheet, Wikipedia:Questions or of course feel free to ask me on my discussion page. If you put {{helpme}} (and a note about what you need help with), someone will come by shortly to answer your question. Again, welcome to Wikipedia!

Testing 123 Jalexander--WMF 16:51, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

Welcome to Wikipedia from Philippe

Hi, Jalexander! I want to welcome you to Wikipedia and thank you for your edit! I hope you like editing here and being part of Wikipedia and that we will see you around for a long time to come. When you leave messages on Discussion pages (like this one, or the article discussion pages) you want to try and remember to sign your name using four tildes (~~~~); when you save the page, this will turn into your name and the date. If you need help, check out the Wikipedia Cheatsheet, Wikipedia:Questions or of course feel free to ask me on my discussion page. If you put {{helpme}} (and a note about what you need help with), someone will come by shortly to answer your question. Again, welcome to Wikipedia!

testing 1,2,3
- Philippe 20:24, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

Welcome to Wikipedia from Philippe (WMF)

Hi, Jalexander! I want to welcome you to Wikipedia and thank you for your edit! I hope you like editing here and being part of Wikipedia and that we will see you around for a long time to come. When you leave messages on Discussion pages (like this one, or the article discussion pages) you want to try and remember to sign your name using four tildes (~~~~); when you save the page, this will turn into your name and the date. If you need help, check out the Wikipedia Cheatsheet, Wikipedia:Questions or of course feel free to ask me on my discussion page. If you put {{helpme}} (and a note about what you need help with), someone will come by shortly to answer your question. Again, welcome to Wikipedia!

Again, welcome to Wikipedia! Philippe Beaudette, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 00:13, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

Conversational page to provide essential concepts, terminology for new users

Hi JAlexander, I saw your comments on Wikipedia talk:Welcoming committee regarding efforts to improve retention of new users and wondered if you might be able to point me in the right direction: I have drafted a page for new users to help them understand the concepts in a conversational tone, what items that would be included in a Wikipedia page, and with the intention to help them ease in to some of the technical areas. The pages are meant to reflect the strategy to make the WP community more inviting and welcoming.

The existing documentation is really great if one already understands how Wikipedia works and it's terminology. If someone is trying to learn a concept, getting bounced to links that provide a lot of technical information can be a bit confusing. I have posted the question on Welcome committe talk page, have not received a reply and am not sure if this is the better place to discuss this topic.

The draft of the page is definitely a work in progress, but I was wondering if you knew who would be the right person/forum to run this idea by before I spend a lot more time on it? Thanks so much!!!--CaroleHenson (talk) 18:53, 28 May 2011 (UTC)

You're invited to the New York Wiknic!

You could be having this much fun! Seriously, consider coming.

This message is being sent to inform you of a Wikipedia picnic that is being held in your area next Saturday, June 25. From 1 to 8 PM or any time in between, join your fellow volunteers for a get together at Norman's Landscape (directions) in Manhattan's Central Park.

Take along your friends (newbies permitted), your family and other free culture enthusiasts! You may also want to pack a blanket, some water or perhaps even a frisbee.

If you can, share what you're bringing at the discussion page.

Also, please remember that this is the picnic that anyone can edit so bring enough food to share!

To subscribe to future events, follow the mailing list or add your username to the invitation list. BrownBot (talk) 19:09, 19 June 2011 (UTC)

WN/I Had False Information That You Passed On

User:The Mark of the Beast misrepresented the situation.— Preceding unsigned comment added by PeterHarlington (talkcontribs)

For the record: User:PeterHarlington threatened another editor in an edit summary, and high-level Wikipedia staff deemed it serious enough to open a case investigating it. Harlington has continued to post intemperate remarks and accusations across a variety of pages.--Tenebrae (talk) 16:37, 31 July 2011 (UTC)
For the record: the information in WN/I is falsely presented and is proveable by me in citation and wikipedia form. The "threat" is definitely debateable and has been made out to be more than it is.
"Harlington has continued to post intemperate remarks and accusations across a variety of pages."
I request you list the:
Accusations HERE
Intemperate comments HEREPeterHarlington (talk) 16:50, 31 July 2011 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

The Barnstar of Diligence
As an example :) Jalexander--WMF 14:25, 5 August 2011 (UTC)

Re [1]

Make several geolocation boxes. Killiondude (talk) 17:01, 16 August 2011 (UTC)

Page-specific code in MediaWiki:Common.css

Is the page-specific code you added to MediaWiki:Common.css still needed? --MZMcBride (talk) 15:09, 8 October 2011 (UTC)

It is for now thanks for checking, we're going to be using those pages again in a couple tests coming up and may actually need to do a couple more. We're hoping to move them off wiki but for quick tests it is probably better to see how this works first. Jalexander--WMF 22:27, 11 October 2011 (UTC)

Wikipedia:The Musical in NYC Oct 22

Wikipedia:The Musical in NYC

You are invited to Wikipedia:The Musical in NYC, an editathon, Wikipedia meet-up and lectures that will be held on Saturday, October 22, 2011, at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts (at Lincoln Center), as part of the Wikipedia Loves Libraries events being held across the USA.

All are welcome, sign up on the wiki and here!--Pharos (talk) 04:27, 18 October 2011 (UTC)

You are invited to the National Archives ExtravaSCANza, taking place every day next week from January 4–7, Wednesday to Saturday, in College Park, Maryland (Washington, DC metro area). Come help me cap off my stint as Wikipedian in Residence at the National Archives with one last success!

This will be a casual working event in which Wikipedians are getting together to scan interesting documents at the National Archives related to a different theme each day—currently: spaceflight, women's suffrage, Chile, and battleships—for use on Wikipedia/Wikimedia Commons. The event is being held on multiple days, and in the evenings and weekend, so that as many locals and out-of-towners from nearby regions1 as possible can come. Please join us! Dominic·t 01:21, 30 December 2011 (UTC)

1 Wikipedians from DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Newark, New York City, and Pittsburgh have been invited.

New England Wikimedia General Meeting

The New England Wikimedia General Meeting will be a large-scale meetup of all Wikimedians (and friends) from the New England area in order to discuss regional coordination and possible formalization of our community (i.e., a chapter). Come hang out with other Wikimedians, learn more about ongoing activities, and help plan for the future!
Potential topics:
Sunday, April 22
1:30 PM – 4:30 PM
Conference Room C06, Johnson Building,
Boston Public Library—Central Library
700 Boylston St., Boston MA 02116
Please sign up here: Wikipedia:Meetup/New England!

Message delivered by Dominic at 09:12, 11 April 2012 (UTC). Note: You can remove your name from this meetup invite list here.

You're invited to Wiki-Gangs of New York @ NYPL on April 21!

Wiki-Gangs of New York: April 21 at the New York Public Library
Join us for an an civic edit-a-thon, Wikipedia meet-up and instructional workshop that will be held this weekend on Saturday, April 21, at the New York Public Library Main Branch.
  • Venue: Stephen A. Schwarzman Building (NYPL Main Branch), Margaret Liebman Berger Forum (Room 227).
  • Directions: Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street.
  • Time: 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. (drop-ins welcome at any time)

The event's goal will be to improve Wikipedia articles and content related to the neighborhoods and history of New York City - No special wiki knowledge is required!

Also, please RSVP!--Pharos (talk) 17:41, 16 April 2012 (UTC)

You're invited: Ada Lovelace, STEM women edit-a-thon at Harvard

U.S. Ada Lovelace Day 2012 edit-a-thon, Harvard University - You are invited!
Now in its fourth year, Ada Lovelace Day is an international celebration of women in science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM), and related fields. Participants from around New England are invited to gather together at Harvard Law School to edit and create Wikipedia entries on women who have made significant contributions to the STEM fields.
Register to attend or sign up to participate remotely - visit this page to do either.
00:25, 5 October 2012 (UTC)

Errors!

I'm going to put them at User talk:Jalexander/Merchandise giveaways. Sven Manguard Wha? 03:08, 26 October 2012 (UTC)

Signature

In general I abhor long stylistic signatures. I do byte counts, and I noted one edit that I think added 9 characters to a discussion, but took 50 to 100 to do it, due to the formatting of the signature, but if the question of what is WMF comes up often, the simple way to fix it is to add a link to WMF, or even WMF in your signature. See Wikipedia:Village pump (miscellaneous)#WMF Merchandise give away program. It is an understandable question. Few people read the information about WMF vs. Wikipedia, and while almost everyone knows what Wikipedia is, few have heard of the foundation. Apteva (talk) 00:31, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

You've got mail!

Hello, Jalexander-WMF. Please check your email; you've got mail!
Message added 02:33, 17 November 2012 (UTC). It may take a few minutes from the time the email is sent for it to show up in your inbox. You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{You've got mail}} or {{ygm}} template.

AutomaticStrikeout 02:33, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

Giveaway

I think that it is a great thing. But there may be issues you may wish to address. - jc37 04:07, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

Support Comment on WP:Merchandise giveaways for CMD

Hey Jc,

I saw you left support for CMT on the Merch nominations page at essentially the same time as I undid the nomination temporarily to sort out who the user was (User:CMD = very old user). That's sorted and I re added the nomination #Chipmunkdavis. I assume you meant him as well so moved your comment but if not feel free to remove it and send me a trout. Jalexander--WMF 05:06, 19 November 2012 (UTC) On a side note our two edits caused some weird history madness.

I just removed my comment for now. Thanks for the heads up : ) - jc37 05:15, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

On Gifts!

The FAQ section does not cover the question "Is it necessary to get supports to get gift?" And please don't decide only on the number of supports. The primary aim of this initiative seems to be rewarding the contribution and dedication to Wikipedia and not popularity among editors. I just nominated a Ukrainian admin. No one knows him here, I can ask some of his Ukrainian Wikipedia friends, but will that be canvassing? Not sure! (this is also not covered in FAQ, can someone ask others to "see" their nominations? Personally I am not going to do it). Number of supports might be a problem for non-en-Wikipedia users (eg. Commons, quotes etc). You can add a project specific donation box, I'll donate money in this project (not much, there is a huge difference between US dollar and Indian money, but little), very interesting project! --Tito Dutta (talk) 03:58, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

I'll add something about it thanks Tito. The answer is that, no, you do not need to get any supports etc on the page. While I like allowing people to add their support and show they value someone it is quite obvious that lots of users who are amazing assets to the program are going to be so in the shadows and I want to encourage those people to be nominated! Who gets extra support will greatly vary depending on who happens to visit the page and how well known they are. Thanks for the nomination! Jalexander--WMF 04:37, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

Merchandise

You sort of touched on this in the aforementioned question, but I was curious whether supports (or opposes) have any bearing on whether a nominee gets a piece of merchandise. Happy Thanksgiving. Go Phightins! 03:37, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

Mixed emotions

I watched a TV show the other evening called Elementary in which a character named Sherlock Holmes tells his colleague Watson to trust her first instincts. My personal experience doesn't always support that, but I'll share that my first instinct at seeing Wikipedia:Merchandise giveaways/Nominations was not positive. I support the initiative, and I understand the Wikipedia culture of openness, but I wish it had been done privately. It feels like a high school popularity contest. Yes, I contributed, which won't surprise you based upon my earlier question to you. I hope you will monitor it closely, while it is in a feel-good phase right now, and I hope that continues, there's the possibility of going south, not unlike some recent RfAs which started out unanimous, then took a turn.

My hope is that my initial reaction turns out to be an over-reaction. I do not feel strongly enough about this to urge a change at this point, but I'll reiterate my hope you keep an eye on it, in case any bud nipping is needed. (And just so there is no confusion, I love the concept of the giveaway program. My concerns are narrowly the decision to have a nomination page with support sections so openly.) --SPhilbrick(Talk) 14:27, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

I think the format of the page was what may have unfortunately hindered its goals. Using the word "support" on the page for example. Instead of separating the nom and everyone else, just have everyone comment under the section "why is this user awesome?". It would address SPhilbrick's concerns, and help against the idea that this is a "vote" and maybe hopefully get people to comment more in the style of testimonials (which, I think was the initial intent?)
That and, just like most things on-wiki, banned users (though not blocked ones) probably should have been made clear to be disqualified in the introduction. - jc37 16:12, 19 November 2012 (UTC)
I for one, am ecstatic that banned users have not been disqualified. Many banned users have done much more good for Wikipedia than the prefects who race to template their pages. Joefromrandb (talk) 04:43, 27 November 2012 (UTC)

Wikipedia Goes to the Movies in NYC this Saturday Dec 1

Wikipedia Goes to the Movies in NYC

You are invited to Wikipedia Goes to the Movies in NYC, an editathon, Wikipedia meet-up and workshops focused on film and the performing arts that will be held on Saturday, December 1, 2012, at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts (at Lincoln Center), as part of the Wikipedia Loves Libraries events being held across the USA.

All are welcome, sign up on the wiki and at meetup.com!--Pharos (talk) 07:19, 30 November 2012 (UTC)

Malleus

Hello,

It appears that Malleus Fatuorum is retiring from Wikipedia permanently. I was wondering if it could be possible that we speed up his shirt and send them over as early as possible, so we can send it possibly as a parting gift (or maybe inorder to try to lure him back )? Is it possible? I am sure we have got plenty of supports for him already; Can you please speed up the giving of the shirt part?

TheOriginalSoni (talk) 04:06, 21 December 2012 (UTC)

Restoring User talk:Malikussaid

Hello,

I did not understand why you restored the deleted version for user talk:Malikussaid. I had asked for the deletion of those revisions since they posted personal details online on the user page. TheOriginalSoni (talk) 09:26, 1 January 2013 (UTC)

Sorry, I'm working with Philippe and was while cleaning up his deletion of the page. They are now not only re-deleted but suppressed as well. Jalexander--WMF 09:29, 1 January 2013 (UTC)
Ok. Alright. Thanks TheOriginalSoni (talk) 09:31, 1 January 2013 (UTC)
Doing the "Open Space" thing at one of our earlier NYC Wiki-Conferences.

You are invited to celebrate Wikipedia Day and the 12th anniversary (!) of the founding of the site at Wikipedia Day NYC on Saturday February 23, 2013 at New York University; sign up for Wikipedia Day NYC here, or at bit.ly/wikidaynyu. Newcomers are very welcome! Bring your friends and colleagues!

We especially encourage folks to add your 5-minute lightning talks to our roster, and otherwise join in the "open space" experience!--Pharos (talk) 02:20, 2 January 2013 (UTC)

T-shirt?

Hi James. It's been about a month since I submitted the form at https://sugar.corp.wikimedia.org/shop/GiveawayInfo.html and I haven't received my t-shirt yet. Is there a problem? --Anthonyhcole (talk) 10:30, 1 January 2013 (UTC)

Hey Anthony, As far as I can tell just weird shipping length (it was sent on December 10th). I'll shoot you an email with the tracking info but the good news is that looking at it now says that you probably get it today :) Jalexander--WMF 18:56, 2 January 2013 (UTC)
No worries. I'm just used to getting stuff from Amazon in under a week, so was worried it might have gone astray. Cheers. :) --Anthonyhcole (talk) 19:03, 2 January 2013 (UTC)
I may be wrong but I think Amazon has a warehouse 1 island over from you ;) so would go a bit faster then from the US (but yes, I would have thought it would go faster as well). Jalexander--WMF 19:10, 2 January 2013 (UTC)

T shirt

Hi. Thanks for letting me know of my t shirt win. Please donate it to the nearest charity shop or give it to a homeless man, somebody more desperate for clothing than I am.♦ Dr. ☠ Blofeld 17:56, 3 January 2013 (UTC)

Nom page length

The nom page is too long (110+ nominations), can you archive few noms? --Tito Dutta (talk) 19:30, 10 January 2013 (UTC)

Thanks Titodutta, I will go through this afternoon and archive some more process (send out the initial emails ) a couple more to try and allow us to archive more soon after :). Jalexander--WMF 19:50, 10 January 2013 (UTC)
+1 --Tito Dutta (talk) 19:57, 10 January 2013 (UTC)

Beach balls?

Hi,

We got an OTRS ticket (2013011110006385) asking if Wikipedia is selling "Wikipedia beach balls". Are there any future plans to expand to anything like this?

Thanks, Legoktm (talk) 16:51, 11 January 2013 (UTC)

Questions about the t-shirts

When are they being mailed out? Did anyone get theirs yet? Is it being sent by the Post Office or by FedEx or UPS to my home? Dream Focus 21:13, 21 January 2013 (UTC)

I got mine, I believe through the USPS. Go Phightins! 22:31, 21 January 2013 (UTC)
Oh. It ask for the street address, and I gave it mine thinking it'd be a different method. There was no space to include a Post Office Box. I wonder if its still at the Post Office. Federal holiday today, so I'll have to ask tomorrow. Dream Focus 22:33, 21 January 2013 (UTC)
The short answer is for the giveaways I will send it however I need to ;) If someone puts in a PO box (Instead of street address) I'll deal with that and if they need it delivered general delivery by dog sled I'll try to find a way to get that done too ;). Currently the norm for me is USPS Priority within the country (and sometimes Canada) and then FedEx outside of the country. I originally did USPS everywhere but there were too many problems with how long it took internationally. Dream Focus: I'll check on yours, I know it's in the queue but with the amount of orders last week I don' t know where it is :) Jalexander--WMF 02:03, 22 January 2013 (UTC)
I got it in yesterday. I gave a street address, and they stuck it in my post office box instead, so that was fine. Dream Focus 15:24, 29 January 2013 (UTC)

"Questions? Please feel free to ask on talk page and/or poke me"...Poke. ;) —Theopolisme (talk) 06:27, 10 March 2013 (UTC)

Heh, sorry for the delay, yeah that page was created as a draft for a possible fundraising test where we sent them to enWikipedia before they went to donate (long long ago it feels at this point). The main reason was because we thought about trying to fundraise with a Google Grant we received (for google ads on the search engine) and in order to use the wikipedia.org url on the ad we needed to actually send it to wikipedia.org :). In the end it wasn't done and so wasn't used (and hence why still a draft).
I'll ask Megan in fundraising (I've left but am still around) if she wants it.. otherwise it probably makes more sense to just unprotect it and redirect to The more legitimate shirt page ;) or Wikipedia:Merchandise. Jalexander--WMF 00:41, 12 March 2013 (UTC)
Thanks for the detailed reply. No hurry, I was simply a bit curious...anything telling you to "poke someone" has some sort of irresistible charm...is that just me? ;) —Theopolisme (talk) 14:08, 12 March 2013 (UTC)

Wikipedia Meetup NYC this Sunday April 14

Hi Jalexander! You're invited to our next meeting for Wikipedia Meetup NYC on Sunday April 14 -this weekend- at Symposium Greek Restaurant @ 544 W 113th St (in the back room), on the Upper West Side in the Columbia University area.

Please sign up, and add your ideas to the agenda for Sunday. Thanks!

Delivered on behalf of User:Pharos, 18:00, 10 April 2013 (UTC)

You have mail

Hello, Jalexander-WMF. Please check your email; you've got mail!
It may take a few minutes from the time the email is sent for it to show up in your inbox. You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{You've got mail}} or {{ygm}} template.

Dennis Brown - © Join WER 17:33, 19 April 2013 (UTC)

Aye, sorry for now response to you, was waiting for feedback but this was passed on to the appropriate people soon after you sent it to me. Jalexander--WMF 17:53, 19 April 2013 (UTC)
Thanks for forwarding it, I appreciate it. Dennis Brown - © Join WER 21:54, 19 April 2013 (UTC)

Re; WTM 10 years

You have a new message at User_talk:Buster7#WTM_10_years. He is going to touch 10 years in Wikipedia (on 10 July according to his own record, Wikipedia doed not have log entry). Please reply at Buster7's talk page! --Tito Dutta (contact) 22:34, 29 May 2013 (UTC)

Archiving merchandise giveaways

Your edit here said you were archiving the sections you removed, but I don't see them in either of the archives. I'm assuming you forgot. 149.254.250.9 (talk) 14:37, 9 July 2013 (UTC)

2nd Annual Wikimedia New England General Meeting

You are invited to the 2nd Annual Wikimedia New England General Meeting, on 20 July 2013 in Boston! We will be talking about the future of the chapter, including GLAM, Wiki Loves Monuments, and where we want to take our chapter in the future! EdwardsBot (talk) 09:52, 16 July 2013 (UTC)

Wikimedia NYC Meetup! Saturday October 5

Jefferson Market Public Library
Please join the Wikimedia NYC Meetup on October 5, 2013!
Everyone gather at Jefferson Market Library to further Wikipedia's local outreach
for education, museums, libraries and planning WikiConference USA.
--Pharos (talk) 21:48, 1 October 2013 (UTC)

Wikimedia NYC Meetup- "Greenwich Village In The 60s" Editathon! Saturday November 2

Jefferson Market Public Library
Please join Wikipedia "Greenwich Village In The 60s" Editathon on November 2, 2013!
Everyone gather at Jefferson Market Library to further Wikipedia's local outreach
for Greenwich Village articles on the history and the community.
--Pharos (talk) 21:41, 29 October 2013 (UTC)

Hi.

I sent you an email. Thanks. Ganímedes (talk) 16:23, 15 December 2013 (UTC)

A kitten for you!

Test. With cat.

Maggie Dennis (WMF) (talk) 20:24, 31 January 2014 (UTC)

Email

Hello, Jalexander-WMF. Please check your email; you've got mail!
It may take a few minutes from the time the email is sent for it to show up in your inbox. You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{You've got mail}} or {{ygm}} template.

INeverCry 09:36, 25 February 2014 (UTC)


Magi: Lost Kings or Aliens w/ GPS

Peace is a state of balance and understanding in yourself and between others, where respect is gained by the acceptance of differences, tolerance persists, conflicts are resolved through dialog, peoples rights are respected and their voices are heard, and everyone is at their highest point of serenity without social tension.

Good Luck in all you do to forward WP into the future. Your efforts will bear fruit that will bear fruit, ad infinitum
Happy Holidays..--Buster Seven Talk 25 December 2011 (UTC)

NYC Wiki-Picnic: Saturday June 22

Great American Wiknic NYC at Prospect Park
You are invited to the Great American Wiknic NYC in Brooklyn's green and lovely Prospect Park, on this Saturday June 22! We would love to see you there, so sign up and bring something fun for the potluck :) -- User:Pharos (talk)

Wikipedia Takes Brooklyn! Saturday September 7

Brookln Public Library
Please join Wikipedia Takes Brooklyn scavenger hunt on September 7, 2013!
Everyone gather at the Brooklyn Public Library to further Wikipedia's coverage of—
photos and articles related to Brooklyn, its neighborhoods and the local landmarks.
--EdwardsBot (talk)

Wikimedia NYC Meetup- "Queens Open History Edit-a-Thon" at Queens Library! Friday December 6

Queens Library
Please join Queens Open History Edit-a-Thon on December 6, 2013!
Everyone gather at Queens Library to further Wikipedia's local outreach
for borough articles on the history and the communities.
Drop-ins welcome 10am-7pm!--Pharos (talk) ~~~~~

New England Wikipedia Day @ MIT: Saturday Jan 18

NE Meetup #4: January 18 at MIT Building 5

Dear Fellow Wikimedian,

You have been invited to the New England Wikimedians 2014 kick-off party and Wikipedia Day Celebration at Building Five on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus on Saturday, January 18th, from 3-5 PM. Afterwards, we will be holding an informal dinner at a local restaurant. If you are curious to join us, please do so, as we are always looking for people to come and give their opinion! Finally, be sure to RSVP here if you're interested.

I hope to see you there! Kevin Rutherford (talk)

(You can unsubscribe from future notifications for Boston-area events by removing your name from this list.)

Saturday: NYC Art And Feminism Wikipedia Editathon

Jefferson Market Public Library
Please join Wikipedia "Art and Feminism Editathon" @ Eyebeam on Saturday February 1, 2014,
an event aimed at collaboratively expanding Wikipedia articles covering Art and Feminism, and the biographies of women artists!

There are also regional events that day in Brooklyn, Westchester County, and the Hudson Valley.
--Pharos (talk)

Upcoming Saturday events - March 1: Harlem History Editathon and March 8: NYU Law Editathon

Upcoming Saturday events - March 1: Harlem History Editathon and March 8: NYU Law Editathon

You are invited to join upcoming Wikipedia "Editathons", where both experienced and new Wikipedia editors will collaboratively improve articles on a selected theme, on the following two Saturdays in March:

I hope to see you there! Pharos (talk)

(You can unsubscribe from future notifications for NYC-area events by removing your name from this list.)

You're invited: Women's History Edit-a-thons in Massachusetts this March

Women's History Edit-a-thons in Massachusetts this March - You are invited!
New England Wikimedians is excited to announce a series of Wikipedia edit-a-thons that will be taking place at colleges and universities throughout Massachusetts as part of Wikiwomen's History Month from March 1 - March 31. We encourage you to join in an edit-a-thon near you, or to participate remotely if you are unable to attend in person (for the full list of articles, click here). Events are currently planned for the cities/towns of Boston, Northampton, South Hadley, and Cambridge. Further information on dates and locations can be found on our user group page.
Questions? Contact Girona7 (talk)

You're invited!

NE Meetup #5: April 19th at Clover Food Lab in Kendall Square

Dear Fellow Wikimedian,

New England Wikimedians would like to invite you to the April 2014 meeting, which will be a small-scale meetup of all interested Wikimedians from the New England area. We will socialize, review regional events from the beginning of the year, look ahead to regional events of 2014, and discuss other things of interest to the group. Be sure to RSVP here if you're interested.

Also, if you haven't done so already, please consider signing up for our mailing list and connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

We hope to see you there!

Kevin Rutherford (talk) and Maia Weinstock (talk)

(You can unsubscribe from future notifications for Boston-area events by removing your name from this list.)

Edit-a-thon invite

Adrianne Wadewitz Memorial edit-a-thons

Adrianne Wadewitz edit-a-thons in Southern New England

As you may have already heard, the Wikipedia community lost an invaluable member of the community last month. Adrianne Wadewitz was a feminist scholar of 18th-Century British literature, and a prolific editor of the site. As part of a worldwide series of tributes, New England Wikimedians, in conjunction with local institutions of higher learning, have created three edit-a-thons that will be occurring in May and June. The events are as follows:

We hope that you will be able to join us, whether you are an experienced editor or are using Wikipedia for the first time.

If you have any questions, please leave a message at Kevin Rutherford's talk page. You can unsubscribe from future notifications for Boston-area events by removing your name from this list.

New England Wikimedians summer events!

Upcoming events hosted by New England Wikimedians!

After many months of doubt, nature has finally warmed up and summer is almost here! The New England Wikimedians user group have planned some upcoming events. This includes some unique and interesting events to those who are interested:

Although we also aren't hosting this year's Wikimania, we would like to let you know that Wikimania this year will be occurring in London in August:

If you have any questions, please leave a message at Kevin Rutherford's talk page. You can unsubscribe from future notifications for Boston-area events by removing your name from this list.

New England Wikimedians summer events!

Upcoming events hosted by New England Wikimedians!

After many months of doubt, nature has finally warmed up and summer is almost here! The New England Wikimedians user group have planned some upcoming events. This includes some unique and interesting events to those who are interested:

Although we also aren't hosting this year's Wikimania, we would like to let you know that Wikimania this year will be occurring in London in August:

If you have any questions, please leave a message at Kevin Rutherford's talk page. You can unsubscribe from future notifications for Boston-area events by removing your name from this list.

Saturday June 21: Wiki Loves Pride

Upcoming Saturday event - June 21: Wiki Loves Pride NYC

You are invited to join us at Jefferson Market Library for "Wiki Loves Pride", hosted by New York Public Library, Metropolitan New York Library Council, Wikimedia LGBT and Wikimedia New York City, where both experienced and new Wikipedia editors will collaboratively improve articles on this theme:

11am–4pm at Jefferson Market Library.

We hope to see you there! Pharos (talk)

(You can unsubscribe from future notifications for NYC-area events by removing your name from this list.)

Sunday July 6: WikNYC Picnic

Sunday July 6: WikNYC Picnic

You are invited to join us the "picnic anyone can edit" in Central Park, as part of the Great American Wiknic celebrations being held across the USA. Remember it's a wiki-picnic, which means potluck.

1pm–8pm at southwest section of the Great Lawn, north of the Delacorte Theater.

Also, before the picnic, you can join in the Wikimedia NYC chapter's annual meeting.

11:30am-12:30pm at Yeoryia Studios, 2067 Broadway.

We hope to see you there!--Pharos (talk) 16:51, 28 June 2014 (UTC)

(You can unsubscribe from future notifications for NYC-area events by removing your name from this list.)

Sunday August 17: NYC Wiki-Salon and Skill Share

Sunday August 17: NYC Wiki-Salon and Skill Share

You are invited to join the the Wikimedia NYC community for our upcoming wiki-salon and knowledge-sharing workshop on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

2pm–5pm at Yeoryia Studios at Epic Security Building, 2067 Broadway (5th floor).

Afterwards at 5pm, we'll walk to a social wiki-dinner together at a neighborhood restaurant (to be decided).

We hope to see you there!--Pharos (talk) 15:58, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

(You can unsubscribe from future notifications for NYC-area events by removing your name from this list.)

Media Viewer RfC arbitration case - extension of closure dates

Hello, you are receiving this message because you have commented on the Media Viewer RfC arbitration case. This is a courtesy message to inform you that the closure date for the submission of evidence has been extended to 17 August 2014 and the closure date for workshop proposals has been extended to 22 August 2014, as has the expected date of the proposed decision being posted. The closure dates have been changed to allow for recent developments to be included in the case. If you wish to comment, please review the evidence guidance. For the Arbitration Committee, MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 10:00, 12 August 2014 (UTC)

Media Viewer RfC arbitration case - motion to suspend case

You are receiving this message as you have either commented on a case page or are named as a party to the case. A motion has been proposed to suspend the Media Viewer RfC arbitration case for a maximum of 60 days due to recent developments. If you wish to comment regarding the motion there is a section on the proposed decision talk page for this. For the Arbitration Committee, Callanecc (talkcontribslogs). Message delivered by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) at 02:33, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

Thursday December 4: NYC Wiki-Salon and Skill Share

Thursday December 4: NYC Wiki-Salon and Skill Share

You are invited to join the the Wikimedia NYC community for our upcoming wiki-salon and knowledge-sharing workshop in Manhattan's Greenwich Village.

6:30pm–8pm at Babycastles, 137 West 14th Street

Afterwards at 8pm, we'll walk to a social wiki-dinner together at a neighborhood restaurant (to be decided).

We hope to see you there!--Pharos (talk) 07:11, 27 November 2014 (UTC)

(You can unsubscribe from future notifications for NYC-area events by removing your name from this list.)

Wording

Hi Jalexander,

The wording in this notice is confusing to me: "This user has been banned by the Wikimedia Foundation from editing Wikimedia sites consistent with the Terms of Use". Does this mean:

  • This user has been editing Wikimedia sites in a way that is inconsistent with the Terms of Use, and is thus being banned by the Wikimedia Foundation from editing? or
  • This user has been banned by the Wikimedia Foundation from editing Wikimedia sites, said banning being consistent with the Terms of Use?

I assume the second. If so, can I suggest a slight rearrangement:

  • Consistent with the Terms of Use, this user has been banned by the Wikimedia Foundation from editing Wikimedia sites.

It could probably be improved even more, at the expense of a few additional words. I guess if this is a one-off it doesn't matter, and might not be worth a change on the page in question. But if this is in a template somewhere and might get re-used, this slight tweak would at least be clearer to people like me. --Floquenbeam (talk) 20:51, 3 December 2014 (UTC)

@Floquenbeam: Thanks for the ping, both of the meanings you mention are correct actually. Your point is well taken but because the wording was signed off by Legal we don't want to change it right away. I will bring it up and if approved will update both the existing messages and the template for any future uses (which hopefully never/rarely happens). Jalexander--WMF 20:59, 3 December 2014 (UTC)
Heh. If Legal is involved, I doubt that "the expense of a few additional words" is going to be a concern (at least, that's been my experience with lawyers IRL). Looks like everything is in good hands, so I'll wander off. Cheers. --Floquenbeam (talk) 21:08, 3 December 2014 (UTC)
  • You should protect his talk page, as the Message Delivery bot seems to be leaving messages there. KonveyorBelt 22:47, 3 December 2014 (UTC)
  • Jalexander, I just noticed the ban notice on this user's page. There is a reference to the Terms of Use that is intriguing. Is there any way to find out what happened? Coretheapple (talk) 00:18, 4 December 2014 (UTC)
    @Coretheapple: Unfortunately we don't comment on bans, all I can tell you is that it was done as part of our ongoing obligation to protect the site and its users and if you want to ask more I can point you towards legal@ (but not necessarily make a promise about what will be said there). Jalexander--WMF 00:22, 4 December 2014 (UTC)
    @Konveyor Belt: At the moment I'm hesitant to protect the page as an official action.. but will bring it up. Jalexander--WMF 00:22, 4 December 2014 (UTC)
    OK, I was just curious because he left a nice note on my talk page a few days ago, and now he's suddenly poof! Coretheapple (talk) 00:56, 4 December 2014 (UTC)
    • Whoever in legal proposed that wording needs to rework the wording, it's meaningless. Sounds like something they made the intern draft. Montanabw(talk) 21:14, 4 December 2014 (UTC)
      • @Montanabw: I'm working on getting my planed tweaks approved, we're juggling a couple things today so getting the right people to approve has been slow but I plan to have it done before I sleep (hopefully long before I sleep). Jalexander--WMF 21:17, 4 December 2014 (UTC)
  • All: The wording has been adjusted to, hopefully, more correctly say what was originally intended. Jalexander--WMF 00:16, 5 December 2014 (UTC)
In a strict reading, the new version attributes to “this user” the property of being consistent with the ToU. The introductory phrase needs to be adverbial—a minimal change might be to tack an -ly suffix onto the first word—in order to modify either the verb (“banned“) or the whole sentence. (This was the essential problem with the previous version as well. Just moving it doesn’t help; in my reading all that’s been done is to dissociate the phrase from “Wikimedia sites” in favour of “this user”. OTOH an adverbial phrase can be positioned pretty freely, e.g. for emphasis or rhythmic effect.) Now it’s more than likely that anyone who gets ‘led down the garden path‘ will be forced by cognitive dissonance to divine the intended meaning, but I‘d recommend having the legal department take another look, wearing their grammar hats if possible, so as to minimize confusion in those to whom standard written English is more natural than legalese.—Odysseus1479 02:54, 5 December 2014 (UTC)
Odysseus1479 While I can see that as possible from a strict grammatical reading I honestly think that those reading the message will understand the content. I will bring up your concern with the team but, to be honest, I'm not sure I would hold your breath for a quick change at this point. While I would never pretend to be good at grammar (this is what I use Maggie for) this wasn't what I proposed (the lawyers rewrote it some wanting to keep it as close to the original as possible) and so I think they are doing so on purpose and will be hesitant to change it much more for now. Jalexander--WMF 20:59, 5 December 2014 (UTC)

Hello!

Hi @Jalexander-WMF, perhaps do you know why has User EDemiurge1000 been blocked permanently? Regards. 115ash→(☏) 10:42, 4 December 2014 (UTC)

(talk page stalker) 115ash - You should probably read the section above this - Basically As the Legal team are involved no one can be told the reasons as to why he was blocked, –Davey2010(talk) 11:12, 4 December 2014 (UTC)
115ash Unfortunately Davey is correct :( and we don't comment on bans. All I can tell you is that it was done as part of our ongoing obligation to protect the site and its users and if you want to ask more I can point you towards legal@ (but not necessarily make a promise about what will be said there). Personally I am always someone who pushes for as much transparency as possible but, sadly, sometimes we just can't and this is one of those times. Jalexander--WMF 11:58, 4 December 2014 (UTC)
at this point I think we've answered everything we intend to in this discussion Jalexander--WMF 21:39, 5 December 2014 (UTC)
Hi @Jalexander-WMF, perhaps you could tell us if the bans of user:demiurge1000 and User:Dcoetzee are related to each other?
You state that the bans were imposed "to protect the site and its users". Were the bans imposed in accordance with Wikipedia:Child protection policy?
Maybe you could tell us for how long the WMF has been investigating he above users?
Was the ArbCom involved in the investigation?
If the WMF banned the users to protect Wikipedia and its editors, the WMF should have probably notified the law enforcement authorities in order to protect other sites and their users. Was it done?
Were the users notified about proposed bans in advance? Were the users given an opportunity to defend themselves?
How sure is legal@ that the bans were the only option? 189.51.144.3 (talk) 01:02, 5 December 2014 (UTC)
IP, I think maybe you missed James's statement above. The Wikimedia Foundation does not comment on global bans that we initiate. Ever. Not on the content, the process, the reasons... nothing. Your questions will not be answered, I'm sorry. There are some things about which we can not be transparent, for a wide variety of reasons. Philippe Beaudette, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 01:25, 5 December 2014 (UTC)
Phil, I've missed nothing. James did provide the reason of the bans. In particular he said that the bans were imposed "to protect the site and its users". That's why I asked him some additional questions, and I still hope James will respond at least some of them. 213.55.81.174 (talk) 01:57, 5 December 2014 (UTC)
Hey IP sadly, like Philippe, I will not. As I said above I always prefer to say as much as possible and in the case of WMF bans I just can't say more. I've already said everything I'm able to. Sorry :( Jalexander--WMF 02:11, 5 December 2014 (UTC)
It's OK James. One last question not about the bans, but about the secrecy, if I may please. With that secrecy that surrounds the bans who are you trying to protect, the privacy of banned users, or the WMF's own conduct for doing nothing for more than a year ever since this problem was first brought to the attention of the authorities? 80.94.114.197 (talk) 04:43, 5 December 2014 (UTC)

Fatally ambiguous template

Hi, just noticed the template you inserted on two user talkpages recently: "This user has been banned by the Wikimedia Foundation from editing Wikimedia sites consistent with the Terms of Use."

Could you please reword the template text so that it doesn't have two directly opposite meanings?

Tony (talk) 12:38, 4 December 2014 (UTC)

(watching) Tony, you are not the first to notice, read above, --Gerda Arendt (talk) 12:42, 4 December 2014 (UTC)
Are these the "Terms of Use" to which you consistently refer? As a link to them is not provided, I cannot be absolutely certain that there aren't some other terms somewhere else to which you are referring, so that too is ambiguous. Wbm1058 (talk) 20:47, 5 December 2014 (UTC)
Those are, indeed, the Terms of Use which it refers too. I honestly don't think it's ambiguous there (Those Terms of Use are the only Terms of Use for the site) but I'll bring it up to see if they are ok with me adding a link. My main concern with that, to be honest, is that it just invites people to start demanding we call out specific sections of the Terms of Use trying to ferret out more information about the reasoning (which we won't do). Jalexander--WMF 20:51, 5 December 2014 (UTC)
wmf:Terms of Use, Terms of Use (fair enough, there is a hatnote), m:Terms of Use (is that identical?), mw:Terms of Use (nothing there), commons:Terms of Use (nothing there). Wbm1058 (talk) 15:38, 6 December 2014 (UTC)
That's it. The wording was horribly ambiguous. Tony (talk)