Wikipedia:Village pump (miscellaneous)

The miscellaneous section of the village pump is used to post messages that do not fit into any other category. Please post on the policy, technical, or proposals pages, or - for assistance - at the help desk, rather than here, if at all appropriate. For general knowledge questions, please use the reference desk.
Please add new topics to the bottom of this page.
« Older discussions, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37

Centralized discussion
Proposals	Discussions	Recurring proposals
RfC about allowing watchlisting of user contributions Binding community discussion on the Abortion article titles, as requested by the Arbitration Committee. RfC on the proposed cessation of selective delete (other than history merge fixes) and resulting changes to deletion policies, including the removal of a Revision Deletion criterion. RfC on how files from non-copyright states should be treated and used on Wikipedia Note: inactive discussions, closed or not, should be archived.
archive · talk · edit · history · watch

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)

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

MIT Course on Copyright Law

Just in case someone is interested :) MIT is releasing, for fee, a lot of course material online - they call it "Open Courseware". Anyway, I just saw this course on Copyright Law - covering things like media and fair use. I figured it might be handy to some editors if they wanted to find out more! Link Enjoy. --Errant ^(chat!) 10:36, 16 February 2012 (UTC)

You wanted to say "for free", instead of "for fee", right? CasteloBranco^msg 18:38, 20 February 2012 (UTC)

University research project on categories seeks interviewees

Hey. I am a Wikipedian in Seattle who is a campus ambassador. I writing to ask for volunteers to be interviewed by researchers who are studying Wikipedia's categorization system.

A class at the University of Washington is conducting one-hour text chat interviews with Wikipedians who want to talk about Wikipedia's categorization system. The goal of the project is to get enough information to draft a proposal that information scientists spend time participating in developing Wikipedia's taxonomy system. The research results will be returned to interviewees and everyone else, and they are expecting to publish a paper based on the results of this project.

If you have ever used Wikipedia's category system in any way and are willing to schedule an interview with this group, then please put your name on this list. The followup will be that they will email you to schedule a time when you could meet them for a text chat.

Thanks for your attention. Blue Rasberry (talk) 17:49, 22 February 2012 (UTC)

Problems in the Spanish Wikipedia

We have problems in the spanish wikipedia. There is a blog in spanish that explains very good this problem but no good understood for the no spanish speakers and also because is in the blacklist. But now, there is another version with only 5 articles translated to english: http://untanglingtheweb-es.blogspot.com That is for everyone to want know what exactly happenend in the es-wiki. Thanks! PS: The tranlation is not 100% correct. Sorry for the mistakes. Thor8 (talk) 23:07, 22 February 2012 (UTC)

We too, in en.wiki, have stormy tea-cups. I trust it'll all blow over. I doubt there's much any of us can do here. You need to hash out es problems on the es.wiki. --Tagishsimon (talk) 23:13, 22 February 2012 (UTC)

No, I only intend make publicity for this blog. The people in all the wikipedias must it know. In the es-wiki the problem is very big, like the portuguese. Here there is sure problems but in our wikipedia there is a cancer! Read it and pass it please! 79.147.3.14 (talk) 00:11, 23 February 2012 (UTC)

I still didn't get the problem after reading the blog. You need to lay it out for outsiders if you want this to have any effect beyond shrugging, and even then we're in no position to intervene in the Spanish Wikipedia. Fences&Windows 00:13, 23 February 2012 (UTC)

I have to admit to some curiosity, but also have to reiterate that there is nothing that can be done from en.wp. If there are serious, legitimate problems, you'll have to go to the foundation for assistance. Resolute 00:19, 23 February 2012 (UTC)

Presumptions of link rots vs. MLA format

Modern Language Association has instructions on citing a source. If a web, providing a URL is optional yet beneficial; prior versions required a URL for a website or webpage. Unfortunately, everybody believes that separation of a title and URL is not acceptable per Frasier Crane, Sam Malone, and Sam and Diane. Why is a separation of URL and title not acceptable. Printable versions separate them; why can't web versions? --George Ho (talk) 00:46, 23 February 2012 (UTC)

I wouldn't call such a separation "unacceptable"; I just can't think of a reason you'd ever want to do it. I think having the title be a link works much better and doesn't waste space on the URL. URLs are listed separately in printed bibliographies so you can actually type them in to your browser. If the link is already there and clickable on your screen, why would you want to read the URL separately? Ntsimp (talk) 04:36, 24 February 2012 (UTC)

Because... that's how MLA formats work in print, and printable versions of Wikipedia articles separate them. Another thing: sometimes, a user can turn off the status bar of the browser, and a user won't be able to know what URLs the sources are without status bars. Even "copy shortcut" won't help this case, as sometimes a user doesn't copy-and-paste URLs. --George Ho (talk) 05:25, 24 February 2012 (UTC)

Frasier Crane isn't using MLA, it uses Citation Style 1. When viewing the page, CS1 templates render the URL to the title to create a link; when printing, the URL is printed. Per WP:CITEVAR, you need to discuss style changes. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 16:51, 24 February 2012 (UTC)

Would WP:Village pump (proposal) be fine? If not, where else? --George Ho (talk) 18:52, 24 February 2012 (UTC)

No, you need to discuss changes in citation style on the article talk page. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 09:40, 25 February 2012 (UTC)

Is Wikipedia also a thesaurus?

I saw the article Uncredited background singer in the Aticles for Deletion section and after viewing the page I'm scratching my head asking "What's wrong with this picture? Why is this even being discussed?" I viewed the About Wikipedia page and saw no reference to Wikipedia being a thesaurus, just "encyclopedia." Is there somewhere else it is put forth? Am I misguided? I can't fathom an article of this nature as being encyclopedic. What direction can I take to come up to speed on what Wikipedia is if the About Wikipedia page is incomplete? Ken Tholke (talk) 15:51, 24 February 2012 (UTC)

"Wikipedia is not a dictionary" is a famous quote, and sometimes Wiktionary is mentioned afterward. But Wikipedia has no sister project that is a thesaurus the last time I checked. Georgia guy (talk) 16:14, 24 February 2012 (UTC)

Thank you! It's a relief to hear someone else confirm what I thought. Ken Tholke (talk) 16:30, 24 February 2012 (UTC)

@ Georgia guy: See Wikisaurus. Rivertorch (talk) 22:45, 24 February 2012 (UTC)

In my experience people argue about what should not be in WP, see WP:NOT, rather than looking to a list of what should be included. I do not see what in the topic or content of Uncredited background singer is at all thesaurus-like and I do not think it would be appropriate in Wikisaurus. I would not be surprised to see AfD arguments that the article should be deleted because WP is not a directory but I would not agree with such arguments in this case. Thincat (talk) 10:51, 25 February 2012 (UTC)

Introducing Gayle Karen Young

Hi everyone,
I'm trying something new. For some of our most community facing staff, I'd going to try "introducing" them to the Wikimedia communities on local sites like Village Pump. This is just a trial to see if it does any good, but my hope is that it will give you an opportunity to interact directly with new staff and ask them any questions you might have. I'm starting with Gayle Karen Young. Gayle is the new Chief Talent and Culture Officer for the Wikimedia Foundation. She writes a little about herself on her user page, but I've clipped a section below.

Professionally, I'm an organizational psychologist. This means I work with organizations, teams, and individuals to support effective processes, execute to strategy, develop leaders, and engage employees...

...Two key professional pieces that bear relevance in my personal life are that I am board chair of an innovative global women's human rights organization called Spark. My work in the human rights of women and girls is near and dear to my heart and Spark also has a commitment to developing leaders and allies. We leverage a networked approach because the complexity of global issues needs networked solutions. I also facilitate for the Women in Management program at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, which is another way that my commitment to supporting women in leadership roles emerges.

Gayle expands on her initial thoughts quite a bit in another page, which I've copied onto her talk page. I think you'll get a good feel for her if you read that.

I'm a huge fan of Gayle's, and I think you will be too. May I encourage you to drop her a note on her talk page and ask her any questions or just welcome her? And please let me know if you care to have introductions of this sort done in the future. I'd greatly appreciate the feedback. Thanks! Philippe Beaudette, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 21:42, 24 February 2012 (UTC)

You've either got to laugh or cry. What does "execute to strategy" mean? Has the WMF now taken upon itself to redefine the English language? Malleus Fatuorum 22:04, 24 February 2012 (UTC)

I'd thought that this sort of corporate bollocks-speak became unfashionable in the 1990s. Clearly I was wrong. Why has someone who can't write been given in a position in the WMF, a project supposedly to write an encyclopedia? Malleus Fatuorum 22:07, 24 February 2012 (UTC)

Hmmm, yes. 'Do things' perhaps? Welcome to Wikipedia, Ms Young, where every word you write will be scrutinised, argued over, and nit-picked endlessly. We're a friendly bunch - or at least, some of us are... ;-) AndyTheGrump (talk) 22:11, 24 February 2012 (UTC)

There's no such thing as an "organizational psychologist", that's just floppy talk. Malleus Fatuorum 22:23, 24 February 2012 (UTC)

Really? You should perhaps let the University of Exeter know - they seem to be offering a MSc in the subject: [1]. AndyTheGrump (talk) 22:28, 24 February 2012 (UTC)

...and come to that, we have an article on it: Industrial and organizational psychology. AndyTheGrump (talk) 22:31, 24 February 2012 (UTC)

Yes, welcome to Wikipedia, Ms Young, where most folks are much grumpier than Andy ever were. Sgramnatically, —MistyMorn (talk) 22:49, 24 February 2012 (UTC)

(edit conflict) The confusion of psychology, psychiatry, and sociology is a common one, so not surprising that a university would attempt to profit from it. Malleus Fatuorum 22:51, 24 February 2012 (UTC)

Well I doubt Ms Young has too many confusions on that one, and I guess she's well versed on psychosocial factors too. One needs to be around here... —MistyMorn (talk) 00:07, 25 February 2012 (UTC)

How'd that go again? Didn't ArbCom say something remarkably like "5) Malleus Fatuorum (talk · contribs) is admonished for repeatedly personalizing disputes and engaging in uncivil conduct, personal attacks, and disruptive conduct." just a couple of days ago? Perhaps someone should inquire with ArbCom whether these sorts of mean-spirited and wholly superfluous comments are the sort of thing that they had in mind, and whether they have a preferred notion of how to respond to their continued appearance. WhatamIdoing (talk) 03:29, 25 February 2012 (UTC)

• Welcome to the community, Gayle :). Philippe's endorsement is good enough for me. Ironholds (talk) 23:14, 24 February 2012 (UTC)
• Adding my welcome! I promise we're mostly nice people once you get past the prickles :) (Oh, and you'll eventually either get used to or be assimilated by the insanity, but I'm sure they informed you of that risk when you took the job...) sonia♫ 01:35, 25 February 2012 (UTC)

Essays

When creating essays in our namespace, is it OK to host them about non-Wikipedia related content?

[[File:Wink.jpg]] (talk) 02:17, 25 February 2012 (UTC)

No. I guess "our namespace" refers to your userspace such as User:Walex03/What Wikipedia Is, but if it isn't about Wikipedia then it isn't OK anywhere at wikipedia.org. See Wikipedia:User pages#What may I not have in my user pages? and WP:NOTWEBHOST. Userspace pages can be nominated at Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion. PrimeHunter (talk) 02:39, 25 February 2012 (UTC)

Song content and structure

I think it would be nice if articles about popular songs would not just talk about stuff like sales and artists' strife but actually talk about the songs themselves. I realize the content of many or most pop songs is vapid or minute, but can't we give a "plot" or "message" summary. In any case, at least the musical aspect could and should be discussed by those who can [e.g., 4 4 time, strong beat, syncopation, kind of harmony]. 202.179.16.71 (talk) 04:01, 25 February 2012 (UTC)

finding reliable sources for such info is surprisingly tricky.Genisock2 (talk) 04:41, 25 February 2012 (UTC)

When looking at articles on musical concepts, I am often pleasantly surprised about the number of links to specific examples. For example, D♭ tuning tells us it is used in Chuck (album) (but no source is given!). So, a "what links here" from the "song" article can help. Unfortunately, there are so many "what links here"s to Chuck (album) that it is difficult to make headway. Why not suggest something at Wikipedia:WikiProject Music? Thincat (talk) 14:20, 25 February 2012 (UTC)

Template protected - additional new interwiki

The template Template:Infobox UK place is protected against vandalism so I can not add a new interwiki. Could you please add the french interwiki fr:Modèle:Infobox Ville du Royaume-Uni. Thanks. Skiff (talk) 12:25, 25 February 2012 (UTC)

Please add interwiki links to the template's documentation page, which is not protected. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 12:39, 25 February 2012 (UTC)

Possible trademark infringement of Wikipedia's globe logo

A trademark of a logo filed this past December, serial number 85504189, might infringe on Wikipedia's trademarks @ serial numbers 77482839, 77529070, and 77978442.

Infringement is based on whether a mark is confusingly similar. I had immediately mistaken the logo for Wikipedia's at first glance. You can look at the logos from those serial numbers at uspto.gov under trademarks. Boozerker (talk) 16:20, 25 February 2012 (UTC)

This is the other logo — Preceding unsigned comment added by Boozerker (talk • contribs) 16:47, 25 February 2012 (UTC)

Here are the links:

Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.: 77482839, 77529070, 77978442

The Crossroad Publishing Company, Inc.: 85504189. PrimeHunter (talk) 17:00, 25 February 2012 (UTC)

I've emailed the Foundation's legal team pointing them to this page. --Tango (talk) 22:22, 25 February 2012 (UTC)

Please help WP:HELP (example: WP:SPEEDY)

See ...#(I am over 30k) How to use a speedy template?, I started (must say, I like my own section title). The big question is: good & serious AGF editors there did not get to an answer, while there is no HELP for an editor like me except go to VP/x. -DePiep (talk) 00:00, 26 February 2012 (UTC)

You could have gone to Wikipedia:Help desk or used {{help me}}. I am curious why you you did not understand the instructions at Wikipedia:SPEEDY#Criteria, could you clarify which part of them was unclear to you? Yoenit (talk) 15:08, 26 February 2012 (UTC)