Wikipedia:Village pump (miscellaneous)

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Help settle the Calton Hill dispute

If you are or have been a resident of Edinburgh, Scotland and are familiar with the Calton Hill, you might like to contribute to a current editorial dispute on its Discussion page. Your views would be greatly appreciated to help resolve a stand-off. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Kim Traynor (talk • contribs)

Wiki is getting better!

A couple years ago (maybe two or three), wikipedia was was just letting anybody post anything they wanted and wiki WAS ONLY CHECKING ABOT ONCE A MONTH!!! Now, wiki has cracked down on editors who edit their pages. Wikipedia now checks daily or weekly to make sure that the articles are true. But, I still see many articles that aren't. Fellow editors, give me your take on this, is wiki really improving?

--GBA — Preceding unsigned comment added by GokuBeatsAll (talk • contribs) 03:19, 25 January 2012 (UTC)

Please do not place spaces before new text, it causes problems with formatting. Also, I've been here since 2006, your understanding of how Wikipedia worked two or three years ago bears no resemblance to how things actually worked. They worked pretty much like they do now. "Wikipedia" is not a person, it is thousands of dedicated editors who check articles on their watchlists daily. Not all articles are watched, and some articles only become watched after errors are introduced.

"Wiki" is just the software this site uses, not the site itself, which is Wikipedia. I'm assuming that you were refering to the site when asking if it is improving. In terms of approaching finished, it never will. In terms of having more information and more accurate information, more gains occur than losses. Ian.thomson (talk) 03:32, 25 January 2012 (UTC)

Here is a link to the page history for the site guideline "Verifiability". Though the page has only been around since 2003, the concept is older. It has never been acceptable for people to just "post whatever they want." Ian.thomson (talk) 03:48, 25 January 2012 (UTC)

People post "whatever they want" all the time here. It's being able to actually prove that the information (even when referenced) is an error or misinterpreted or just catching the vandals in a timely manner. Perhaps that is all the user was refering to. Or maybe they actually think Jimbo is our King and we sacrifice a virgin to him monthy. Hard to tell.--Amadscientist (talk) 04:13, 25 January 2012 (UTC)

I never post anything verifiable, and I can prove it!  fredgandt 04:26, 25 January 2012 (UTC)

I know I used to check more than once a month, but seeking a virgin seems a much better use of my time. Now, what's the best way to save them from Jimbo. Hold on, here's an idea...!? Britmax (talk) 08:40, 25 January 2012 (UTC)

Recent Changes is patrolled for obvious vandalism at all times, and it is generally reverted within seconds. This has been consistent for years, and times have only gotten quicker with the invention of tools of Huggle. Dcoetzee 11:32, 2 February 2012 (UTC)

• Is Wikipedia getting any better?

I hope so, but I don't see the whole picture, yet. One thing I am concerned about is throwing out the bathwater with the baby, something that seems to happen a lot in large social groups. Ottawahitech (talk) 15:05, 9 February 2012 (UTC)

Requests

There are request for deletion or creation, Are there request for improving quality? 190.60.93.218 (talk) 14:47, 3 February 2012 (UTC)

I hearby request that every page on Wikipedia have its quality improved. ;-) Seriously, the WikiProject banners on the article talk pages usually give a quality rating, which is essentially an indicator of the article's need for improvement. Thanks. Regards, RJH (talk) 18:46, 3 February 2012 (UTC)

What if an article seriously need to be improved? 190.60.93.218 (talk) 19:07, 3 February 2012 (UTC)

It is not clear to me what you have in mind. A general observation "I don't like it" isn't specific enough to generate any focused activity. Any number of tags exist to request specific improvements. Do you have an example of a page you think belongs on a "request for improving quality" list? What, in particular do you think needs fixing. Why don't *you* fix it? - Ac44ck (talk) 20:35, 3 February 2012 (UTC)

We have WP:Peer review, and tags can be placed on articles in need of major improvement. In the case of a poor article having an old status of Featured Article or Good Article, there are reassessment processes that can end up removing or delisting those articles from their respective categories. DCItalk 04:22, 4 February 2012 (UTC)

Such requests are normally made by adding one of the Wikipedia:Template messages to the article. WhatamIdoing (talk) 05:12, 4 February 2012 (UTC)

You can also post a request at Wikipedia:Cleanup. -- œ^™ 08:08, 6 February 2012 (UTC)

User name not signing name

Can anyone explain and defend why it is allowed to have a signature name different from the User name? -DePiep (talk) 03:26, 4 February 2012 (UTC)

I see no issue with someone having differing user/signature name, as long as the two can be connected somehow. However, using a signature entirely different from your username is misleading, confusing, and, some might say, inappropriate. As for your statement, I can defend using a signature slightly different from your username. For example, I used my current signature, or a variation of it, when my username was DCI2026. Finally, I dropped the 2026 and went by the simpler "DCI," which is what my signature had suggested. I can defend this because the signature provided a simpler, more personalized version of the username that did not disrupt anything on the website. I hope this answered your inquiry somehow. DCItalk 04:19, 4 February 2012 (UTC)

This is the positive direction. The negative one (i.e. no connection between the two names, giving me the mental job to remember or search that) is: User:Thumperward|Chris Cunningham. This is always a mental step for me, the reader, and very often not even visible (for example in the Watchlist, where I see only the User:name). -DePiep (talk) 04:27, 4 February 2012 (UTC)

Doesn't the user in question include both names in his signature? DCItalk 05:06, 4 February 2012 (UTC)

He does when signing, but it does not show in a watchlist or history page. -DePiep (talk) 12:02, 4 February 2012 (UTC)

Sure, in those the username shows, and that is the crucial part in finding him. LadyofShalott 15:57, 4 February 2012 (UTC)

That is only so in this example. Can you or I get tell the user name from this signing: "Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits"? In general, since users are not required to sign with their username, others are bothered with the extra steps. -DePiep (talk) 12:34, 9 February 2012 (UTC)

Well yes, in that example a) the user name forms part of the string ("Pigsonthewing") and provides links to the user's page, his talk page and his contributions page. Should you be aware of the Andy Mabbett sig and be looking at a page history, I'd expect you to be able to recognise "Pigsonthewing". --Tagishsimon (talk) 12:47, 9 February 2012 (UTC)

Exactly: it requires that one should be aware that the signing name is not the name I see in History page. That's two steps added: 1. Know that there is (or might be) a different name involved, and 2. figuring out which name is what. -DePiep (talk) 12:58, 9 February 2012 (UTC)

Reagan Day commemoration

WikiProject Conservatism cordially invites you to celebrate Ronald Reagan Day. On February 6 The Conservatism Portal will commemorate Ronald Reagan Day with a format specially designed for the holiday. The Conservatism Portal has recently been promoted to Featured Portal. – Lionel ^(talk) 03:24, 5 February 2012 (UTC)

And Wikiproject Not Conservative, And Not American Either cordially invites you to ignore it entirely, or alternatively to celebrate Reagan's most significant lasting contribution to humanity. Please take your soapbox elsewhere... AndyTheGrump (talk) 03:45, 5 February 2012 (UTC)

Hmmm. I wonder if your antipathy also extends to WikiWomen's History Month? Or are your biases only limited to Americans and conservatives? – Lionel ^(talk) 08:38, 5 February 2012 (UTC)

On what basis do you assume that it is impossible to be simultaneously a woman, an American, and a conservative? Admittedly I can see good reasons why it might not be particularly sensible, but that doesn't make it impossible. ;-) AndyTheGrump (talk) 09:09, 5 February 2012 (UTC)

Margaret Thatcher; who maybe wasn't american, but did lick RR's ass. Let's have a Hate week, shall we? --Redrose64 (talk) 15:30, 5 February 2012 (UTC)

BTW. It isn't a holiday... AndyTheGrump (talk) 15:35, 5 February 2012 (UTC)

Are we having a quarrel on this as well? Breaking news: WikiProject Conservatism wants to celebrate conservatism. Let's just all get on with our (Wiki)lives. (Although I do like to remind us that our BFF is probably throwing a bigger party that day.) ZZArch ^{talk to me} 21:33, 5 February 2012 (UTC)

Key difference is that celebrating WikiWomen's History Month is overall celebrating the existence of about half the planet. Not being a misogynist is not a political view, and doesn't count as soapboxing. Ian.thomson (talk) 21:51, 5 February 2012 (UTC)

I'm no conservative (quite the polar opposite, in fact), but I see that they want to set aside a day to celebrate their hard work on improving conservatism-related pages. What's the big deal? Unless they are yelling "Obama is evil, all Wikipedians should vote GOP", I don't see what's so bad about it. ZZArch ^{talk to me} 23:44, 5 February 2012 (UTC)

Although I do think it's a good idea if we could have a preview of the commemorative edition, just to see if it's truly soapboxing or not. ZZArch ^{talk to me} 23:48, 5 February 2012 (UTC)

I'd be able to take WikiProject Conservatism's efforts a little more seriously if our Ronald Reagan Day article wasn't based entirely on primary sources, apart from a solitary dead link. And why the heck do me need a massive table that tells us the Session, Short title, Bill number, Date introduced, Senate, Assembly, Governor, Lead Author, Joint Author, Principal Co-Author, and Co-Authors (all 23 of them)? The legislature of the state of California seems to have decided in its infinite wisdom that once a year, they will add political propaganda/hagiography to the normal school curriculum, and I'd have thought that the public reaction to this might actually be of interest (assuming it wasn't 'so what?', which is I suppose entirely possible), and of more relevance to an encyclopaedia than a meaningless listing of the names of those peripherally involved. AndyTheGrump (talk) 00:10, 6 February 2012 (UTC)

More important holidays and observances held on February 6. From our article, the following important observances also fall on February 6. All share the distinction of relevance in more than just one U.S. state, and of having existed for more than a couple of years.

• International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation (United Nations)
• Sami National Day (Russia, Finland, Norway and Sweden)
• Waitangi Day, celebrates the founding of New Zealand.

Seriously, if we decide to slap an announcement up on the Pump for every made-up regional holiday, I fear that we'd never be able to do anything useful with this page. I wish everyone a happy Waitangi day. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 15:21, 6 February 2012 (UTC)

I want Drop me from spanish Wikipedia

I want to drop myself officially from Spanish Wikipedia. How can I officially be sign off, and so, they erased all my data?Sonia Murillo Perales (talk) 21:40, 5 February 2012 (UTC)

English Wikipedia has no control over the other Wikipedias. I don't think user data is ever completely erased. Ian.thomson (talk) 21:42, 5 February 2012 (UTC)

See m:Right to vanish, and/or ask at es:Wikipedia:Café. Dcoetzee 22:22, 5 February 2012 (UTC)

Problem with observatories

Good morning : this message adresse to one, who is strong in astronomy:

It is : in the page over a few asteroids, name:

• 4231 Fireman
• 4242 Brecher
• 4305 Clapton
• 4309 Marvin

It is deer that this asteroids are discovered in the Harvard College Observatory (in the Harvard University, what is en Cambridge, Massachusetts, come to the world say).

Gold, in the fish of the Minor Planet Center, one not see the Harvard College Observatory, but the Oak Ridge Observatory what is en Harvard, Massachusetts.

Is not it a confuzion between Harvard College Observatory (in Cambridge) and Oak Ridge Observatory (in Harvard) ?

Thank you very much if what one say respond to my question and pardon poor my not good english.

• 4231 Fireman (UAI MPC)
• 4242 Brecher(UAI MPC)
• 4305 Clapton(UAI MPC)
• 4309 Marvin(UAI MPC)

--Jean-François Clet (talk) 14:49, 6 February 2012 (UTC)

I'm not at all sure what your problem is, but I appreciate that English probably isn't your first language. I have left a note at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Astronomy#Observatory question. --Redrose64 (talk) 16:28, 6 February 2012 (UTC)

I not know that exist "Astronomy Question" : noon I know that this exist: I go to see it, thank you !--Jean-François Clet (talk) 17:11, 6 February 2012 (UTC)

Input on how the Wikimedia movement spend its funds?

Hi. The Wikimedia Board of Trustees are working towards developing guiding principles for how to raise and distribute funds to best benefit the Wikimedia movement. Those who have been following the several Fundraising and Funds Dissemination conversations are familiar with this, but you don't need to have followed them to give some input here.

A survey is planned to help figure out what resources (requiring funding) Wikimedians want and need, and at what priority. We want to present contributors with this list and ask them to allocate funds to the items on it or otherwise indicate their support for items on the list. There's a short amount of time left for me to draw this list together, and it could use more input. Since people may have wants and needs we don't anticipate, there will be a "write-in" option to allow them to bring those to our attention, which may raise awareness of needs we haven't considered.

Are you interested in helping to generate that list of resources? Please add your thoughts to meta:Fundraising and Funds Dissemination/Resource list. --Maggie Dennis (WMF) (talk) 17:05, 6 February 2012 (UTC)

Announcement: Regional Fundraising Tests Starting Soon!

On the next couple of days we will be kicking off our Regional Fundraising Tests, targeting the countries that we took down for 10 days during our Annual Fundraiser last year. Our main goal is to provide an improved donor experience in each of these countries while decreasing the number of fundraising days.

The campaigns will be grouped by region (e.g. Africa, Asia, Middle East) for better efficiency as we work on localizing currencies, ask strings and local appeals.

Our first test will be on a few Portuguese and English speaking countries in Africa (specifically MZ, AO, CV, GW, ST, BW, NA, ZW), and it will last from 02/07 up to 02/14 (only 7 days!!). This test has the goal to compare the Jimmy appeal vs a local appeal as well as compare high vs low ask strings. Ppena (WMF) (talk) 01:39, 7 February 2012 (UTC)

Sorry, could you elaborate on which countries those are (Mexico, Cote D'Ivoire, Botswana, Zimbabwe?) and what "high v low ask strings" means? Thanks, Grandiose (me, talk, contribs) 17:16, 7 February 2012 (UTC)

Those are ISO country codes: Mozambique, Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Sao Tome and Principe, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe. "Ask string" means the choice of amounts to donate. So for example some people will get a choice of USD 2, 5, 10, 15, 20, 50, 100 or other, whilst other people get a choice of 5, 10, 20, 25, 50, 100, 150 or Other. Pcoombe (WMF) (talk) 20:58, 8 February 2012 (UTC)

TMZ.com is stealing our content

Copy/paste from what I posted to foundation-l.

In the news on the English Wikipedia, Eli Manning was named most valuable player for Super Bowl XLVI. TMZ.com, a top 500 website and one of the most popular gossip websites in the world[1], is using English Wikipedia content without license or attribution for almost all of its immense biography database.

A simple rundown using some random Super Bowl related bios, no inline citations for referential comparisons and I don't have the time to find the exact diff, but they exist:

American football players:

Eli Manning

• Wikipedia: [2]
• TMZ: [3]

Tom Brady

• Wikipedia: [4]
• TMZ: [5]

Wes Welker

• Wikipedia: [6]
• TMZ: [7]

Madonna was the halftime show.

• Wikipedia: [8]
• TMZ: [9]

Kelly Clarkson sang the American national anthem:

• Wikipedia: [10]
• TMZ: [11]

At the bottom of every single TMZ biography, I'm certain of which almost all are ripped from Wikipedia, is this:

© 2012 EHM Productions, Inc. All rights reserved.

They have a contact us form in case they're infringing on your copyleft. This is pretty much if you've ever touched the lead of a significant entertainment or sports biography. Keegan (talk) 08:00, 8 February 2012 (UTC)

Darkfalls pointed out that we do have a form letter available. Keegan (talk) 08:31, 8 February 2012 (UTC)

Show me the money

I have added a little humor in the subject title to what I consder a serious matter. I have noticed that there are many people out there publishing our work and making money out of it. For example, if you go to Amazon.com and search for "Modesto Cartagena" you will find a book that goes for $73. whose contents are articles from Wikipedia. We the editors in Wikipedia spend countless hours researching and writing for the project with the intention that our work is shared and used by those less fortunate. We do this for free. How is it possible that our work is being published and others who have done nothing in regard to making contributions, are profiting from it? Is there a deal between Wikipedia and these people? Where are the earnings of our work going to? What does Wikipedia have to say about this? Is it fair that others are making money from our work, I think not. I want to know what is going on and what is Wilipedia's stance in the issue. Tony the Marine (talk) 16:08, 8 February 2012 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Reusing Wikipedia content. --SarekOfVulcan (talk) 16:10, 8 February 2012 (UTC)

Basically, all Wikipedia content is under a free license, so anybody can do whatever they want with it, including selling it, so long as they attribute the original authors. There is no deal between Wikipedia and these people. --Yair rand (talk) 16:20, 8 February 2012 (UTC)

• Hum, I see. Thank you for the info. Tony the Marine (talk) 16:23, 8 February 2012 (UTC)

Please avoid posting the same thread in multiple forums; see WP:MULTI Wikipedia:Help desk#Show me the money. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 16:27, 8 February 2012 (UTC)

• I only posted the same thread in this and one other forum because I was not sure which one was the proper forum to discuss this issue. Tony the Marine (talk) 16:39, 8 February 2012 (UTC)

And in a further injustice, I now come to suspect that people more fortunate than us may also be sharing and using our work. — Bility (talk) 16:45, 8 February 2012 (UTC)

RIAA on NY Times

Unsurprisingly, the chief of RIAA is pissed off by our opposition to his cash cow bill, and has written this article to smear us. Any thoughts? ZZArch ^{talk to me} 22:02, 8 February 2012 (UTC)

"Would they have cast their clicks if they knew they were supporting foreign criminals selling counterfeit pharmaceuticals to Americans?" I had no idea the RIAA cared so much about drugs. "Perhaps this is naïve, but I’d like to believe that the companies that opposed SOPA and PIPA will now feel some responsibility to help come up with constructive alternatives." Even if they did, they have the scruples to not bribe congressmen as blatantly as you and your ilk do. "We all share the goal of a safe and legal Internet." lol no we don't. You want an Internet where you can sue someone for 250,000 dollars for downloading a song that not one cent of which has ever gone to the artist. Go get a real job, Sherman. --Golbez (talk) 22:16, 8 February 2012 (UTC)

As he says "respectful fact-based conversations can lead to progress." If he's prepared to drag the RIAA and MPAA into that fact-based world, we'd be highly delighted and more than cooperative. --Tagishsimon (talk) 22:19, 8 February 2012 (UTC)

The point is, what should we do? Shall we have Jimbo write a counter letter? Shall we ignore it? Shall we pursue some other means of setting things right? ZZArch ^{talk to me} 22:31, 8 February 2012 (UTC)

We'll note its contents and move on. Tempting as it is to get into a print battle with the RIAA, in general wikipedia has better things to do than get into a public slanging match. As individuals, I trust we will continue to read widely about the Big Content versus the Users IP wars, and impress our views strongly and repeatedly on our elected representatives. Right now ACTA, TPP and Canada's Bill C-11 are the games de jour.--Tagishsimon (talk) 22:46, 8 February 2012 (UTC)

If anything, allow Jimmy and/or the WMF write a counter-letter, perhaps talk about false defamation, but outside of noting this response on the appropriate SOPA/PIPA articleS, en.wiki should do nothing. --MASEM (t) 23:08, 8 February 2012 (UTC)

Concur; a response from us would only bolster his point, in his eyes, and frankly there's no sense in trying to reason with people when they're trying to get their grubby little fingers on more money. The Blade of the Northern Lights (話して下さい) 16:17, 9 February 2012 (UTC)

I think the reader responses to this column indicate quite clearly how persuasive the RIAA is to typical Internet readers (answer: we all hate them and aren't buying their arguments). Dcoetzee 01:33, 10 February 2012 (UTC)

I am dead set against copyright violation and support copyright except that I believe the copyright term is far too long. The RIAA article was full of half truths which amount to an overall lie. The problem for the Recording Industry Association of America is that they are rapidly approaching obsolescence. They know it and are using their wealth to try and keep the money like they got in the past for themselves even though they have no real purpose any more. Of course they are losing jobs, who wants records?, and CDs are rapidly following. Yes I agree with copyright and trying to ensure musicians get what's due to them. Apple and suchlike may not be wonderful but they do that. What is the purpose of RIAA any longer? It's whole function can be done by some office for just checking and collecting money from public performances in halls and suchlike. They no longer have any other useful purpose. RIAA screwed musicians then and still do so the quicker they die the better I think.

So as to the article we're going to continue to get this rubbish because they have lots of money just like those patent companies that plague the place for manufacturing companies. We are not in the business of entering into debates with such people except in extreme circumstances where the basic aims of Wikipedia are affected. They will die eventually but it will take a long time and the world will be better off. Dmcq (talk) 18:49, 10 February 2012 (UTC)

Audit Subcommittee appointments (2012): Invitation to comment on candidates

The Arbitration Committee is seeking to appoint at least three non-arbitrator members to the Audit Subcommittee, and is now seeking comments from the community regarding the candidates who have volunteered for this role.

Interested parties are invited to review the appointments page containing the nomination statements supplied by the candidates and their answers to a few standard questions. Community members may also pose additional questions and submit comments about the candidates on the individual nomination subpages or privately via email to arbcom-en-blists.wikimedia.org.

Following the consultation phase, the committee will take into account the answers provided by the candidates to the questions and the comments offered by the community (both publicly and privately) along with any other relevant factors before making a final decision regarding appointments.

The consultation phase is scheduled to end 23:59, 19 February 2012 (UTC), and the appointments are scheduled to be announced by 29 February 2012.

For the Arbitration Committee, –xeno^talk 04:00, 9 February 2012 (UTC)

Discuss this

A Windows Phone 7 Wikipedia app

Hi. I've written a simple, free Wikipedia app for WP7, which I've given a silly name WikiSentinel. The app may not be very useful, but it can download and display the list of global recent changes and changes made on a user's watchlist. I don't think I'm going to develop it further actually, but in case someone was interested, I've released the source code under MIT License on github, here. Feel free to fork or e-mail me for commit access. MIT License is one of those open-source licenses which are permitted on the WP7 Marketplace. Cheers. Kamil Kaczmarczyk (talk) 11:29, 9 February 2012 (UTC)

I am looking for a good biography article

I see biographies of living people on Wikipedia a lot. I find many of them are pretty hard to navigate. I know (vaguely) that there are Featured Articles on Wikipedia and tried to search for Featured Biography, but I end up in a hopeless loop.

How can I find some examples of well-written biographies of a living person? Thanks in advance, Ottawahitech (talk) 14:55, 9 February 2012 (UTC)

Perhaps the best place is Wikipedia:WikiProject_Biography/Assessment in which there are a couple of tables which show how many biog articles are of which class. If you hit the links against the FA, A or GA entries you'll find yourself in a category of articles of that class. --Tagishsimon (talk) 15:23, 9 February 2012 (UTC)

Here are 4 that are all Featured biographies and are well written. Mary Shelley, Edgar Allan Poe, Elvis Presley and Joan of Arc. Of course there are others that aren't FA that are good as well such as Smedley Butler, Douglas MacArthur and a lot of others. --Kumioko (talk) 17:03, 9 February 2012 (UTC)

To shamelessly advertise my own work, Zoya Phan; a bit off the beaten path, which is why I like working on it. The Blade of the Northern Lights (話して下さい) 18:10, 9 February 2012 (UTC)

Bill Clinton is a BLP good article. dci | TALK 19:17, 9 February 2012 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Featured articles does not have a single "Biographies" section, but does break out the biographies in each individual topic area. For living people generally, there are ~150 FAs which are in Category:Living people; you can get a list by running this report. (Form pre-filled; click "do it" at the bottom to get a list. It'll take about a minute to process.) Shimgray | talk | 23:26, 9 February 2012 (UTC)

Thank you so much for this info - I have been looking for this type of a report for a long-long time (not necessarily in connection with this subject) Ottawahitech (talk)

Publishing wikipedia articles for profit

While browsing aimlessly across the interwebs, I came across a book on Amazon that is literally a bunch of Wikipedia articles being sold at around $50 as a "network management book". It appears to be copyrighted, and I see no reference to Wikipedia or the appropriate licenses. I've also confirmed content that I contributed is included in that book. A subsequent search from this "author" shows an extensive list of books that are Wikipedia content. Is this permissible? If not, what recourse exists for Wikipedia/Wikipedians? Thanks in advance. //Blaxthos ( t / c ) 22:45, 9 February 2012 (UTC)

If you flip to the end of the book, there are meticulous references to the source & contributors, which more than satisfy our CC requirements. I cannot see that the book carries a CC license itself, but I'd not be surprised if there were one somewhere - whoever put this together clearly has a good appreciation of CC requirements. In general, re-use is permissible if citations are given (check) and if the info is made available under the same license (dunno). So I don't see a problem here. --Tagishsimon (talk) 22:57, 9 February 2012 (UTC)

Click "Search inside this book" at your link and then search on Blaxthos to see you are indeed listed among contributors five times. If you ask me, it's unethical towards buyers to charge a lot for such books without revealing in advance that it's copied from Wikipedia. But being ethical can often interfere with a business plan. PrimeHunter (talk) 23:13, 9 February 2012 (UTC)

But hey, Blaxthos, turn it to your advantage; add each of the publications you've contributed to to your CV ;) --Tagishsimon (talk) 23:19, 9 February 2012 (UTC)

Talk about chutzpah. Judging by the number of reviews on amazon, the "author" has made more than a few bucks with this ploy. Dnorton38 sums it up best: "you cannot burn the book in disgust without having to buy a new Kindle." Thanks for the replies, all! //Blaxthos ( t / c ) 23:48, 9 February 2012 (UTC)

Lots of publishers have done this kind of thing, most infamously Alphascript. IMO, customer reviews will find people doing this and point out the important omitted facts in the advertising. Once that knowledge is published, anyone who is still buying it is doing it because they really want a paper copy. Dcoetzee 01:31, 10 February 2012 (UTC)

That practice might not be so bad if the publisher actually made an effort to go in and correct/edit the content. If you don't like the practice, you can always point out the issues by posting an Amazon customer review. I almost always check for negative comments before buying anything through Amazon. Regards, RJH (talk) 15:26, 10 February 2012 (UTC)

Office hours on the new "Legal and Community Advocacy" department

Hi, guys. Some of you may already know that the WMF is carving out a new department, promoting User:Philippe (WMF) to Director of Community Advocacy working under General Counsel Geoff Brigham. As community liaison, answering to Philippe, I'm tagging along as well. :) As per meta:Legal and Community Advocacy/LCA Announcement, "This new alignment will carry forward the Foundation’s goals of advocating for the community in new ways, ranging from fighting for content online, to facilitating community discussions about critical WMF initiatives that affect the community, to better supporting Wikimedia administrators and functionaries, to providing information about legislative initiatives worldwide that impact online content and censorship."

I understand that there is some confusion about what the department is meant to do, and I wanted to be sure that as many people as possible know that office hours are being held today in about 2 hours on IRC to discuss things. (See meta:IRC office hours if you need to know more about how to participate in that. If you can't participate in it, a transcript will be posted after.) I'd really hope to see good turn out there, because I'm honestly pretty excited about the possibilities. Being still an active editor (at least on weekends!), I'm a shameless cheerleader for community, and I'd love to see high participation in making this department function well to serve community needs. :) Even if you can't participate in the office hours, there are plenty of ways you can help shape this department at its ground level. Please read meta:Legal and Community Advocacy/LCA Announcement and play a part! --Maggie Dennis (WMF) (talk) 15:21, 10 February 2012 (UTC)

Move request

Talk:General_Nutrition_Centers#Move This move request has been open 7 days and needs more discussion. Ten Pound Hammer • ^{(What did I screw up now?)} 21:50, 10 February 2012 (UTC)

Deletion review on subpage of Article Rescue Squadron

Please comment here on whether the page should be relisted or not.--The Devil's Advocate (talk) 01:04, 11 February 2012 (UTC)

• Can you summarize a bit: which page are you talking about, what does relisting mean on Wikipedia, etc. Sorry for being so ignorant. Ottawahitech (talk) 10:56, 11 February 2012 (UTC)
  • I think they mean Wikipedia:Article Rescue Squadron/Rescue list, which is not in the article space so it is unclear why it was up for deletion. But I have no opinion on the matter; the whole topic of article deletion/rescue gets just a little too fanatical for my blood. Regards, RJH (talk) 21:45, 11 February 2012 (UTC)
  • And to answer more of the question, relisting means to list for deletion again. The review occurs at Wikipedia:Deletion review which a place to appeal deletion related decisions. For this sort of page, nominations for deletion happen at Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion. In this case an overwhelming number of people wanted to keep the page, and and admin closed the debate very early as a snow keep. The deletion review proposal contests that decision. Graeme Bartlett (talk) 22:16, 11 February 2012 (UTC)

Cross-section of categoeries

I see here that Wikipedia has a tool that provides a list of aricles that fit cross-sections of several categories (how many?). I wonder where I can find documentation that describes this (and other) tool(s). Thanks in advance Ottawahitech (talk) 10:50, 11 February 2012 (UTC)

MediaWiki 1.19

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Guillaume Paumier, via the Global message delivery system (wrong page? You can fix it.). 14:57, 12 February 2012 (UTC)