User talk:Jimbo Wales

Request banned user (I alway enjoy my Ice Cream =)......Meow)

Jimbo, will you please ban I alway enjoy my Ice Cream =)......Meow from Wikipedia. This user was blocked for vandalized editing. -- 00:23, February 3, 2008 (UTC) (Null edit for archiving reasons, previous date was added manually. Fram (talk) 19:20, 28 February 2008 (UTC) )

Hello

Grrrlriot (talk) has smiled at you! Smiles promote WikiLove and hopefully this one has made your day better. Spread the WikiLove by smiling at someone else, whether it be someone you have had disagreements with in the past or a good friend. Happy editing!
Smile at others by adding {{subst:Smile}} to their talk page with a friendly message.

(empty comment for archiving purposes. Fram (talk) 08:35, 29 February 2008 (UTC) )

Editor Review

Hello Mr. Wales, I have a request. Would you please comment on my Editor Review, and let me know how you think I am doing. I am in pursuit of possibly applying for RFA again in the future, and I think that your comments, concerns, suggestions, ect. would be highly beneficial in this task. I thank you in advance. Dusti^{talk to me} 20:16, 27 February 2008 (UTC)

Please let me know here or on my talk page either way. Thanks, Dusti^{talk to me} 19:28, 28 February 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia Suggestions

I have posted the suggestions in the help desk but all I get is people telling me to post them in Village Pump/Technical and Bugzilla. I did that a long time ago and have gotten nothing back. I just want someone to tell me no were not doing that or yes we want to do that.

• User Talk Pages Suggestion

I have a suggestion which would be a pretty big overhaul of the user talk pages system used by Wikipedia. I have noticed that users always struggle with this when commenting and replying in user talk pages. When someone leaves a comment, do you reply on their talk page or on your own? If you do it on your own, will they see the reply? Have they set your talk page for watching? The result of this is almost always having half a conversation on one page and the other half on another page. Sometimes they even duplicate messages on both talk pages.

My suggestion is to have each comment section in a type of "template" in some Wikipedia Comments database, while only adding tags to all user talk pages of those who have participated (left a comment) in the section. Whenever someone edits the comment, they can do it on their own talk page, and even when it seems thay are editing their talk page, they are actually editing the template, so the changes will appear in all pages who have the tag. This way the full conversation will be visible in all user talk pages, and will never be duplicated. Every comment would have an ID (e.g. 00215468) and its template page has everything including the title, all messages and a list of all users who have commented on the section. When a user chooses to add a section to any user talk page nothing will be apparently different since the interface would remain the same, but they will be creating or editing a "template" without openly realizing it.

An example tag that would be included in user talk pages could be something like this:

{{Comment:00215468|title=Suggestion}}

Everytime the comment is edited, all users listed for the comment will receive the "new message" notice.

This would not apply for article discussion pages since it is better to keep those attached to their articles like they are now.

Some users have implemented it manually (e.g. User_talk:Alphax/Threads) but I would like to see if it is possible for Wikipedia officials to implement this natively into Wikipedia.

• Delayed Educational Wikipedia Suggestion

I'd also like to see an Educational version of Wikipedia. Let me explain myself. I know Wikipedia is very educational at the moment. The problem is that I have seen so many complaints about users searching for information on Wikipedia just to find a blanked page with streams of nasty curse words splattered all over (which I know don't last very long). Still, many children use Wikipedia for school/educational purposes and are vulnerable to sudden bursts of strong language, profanity and even adult content. My suggestion is to create a "filter domain" which is an "edu" Wikipedia address, that schools and parents can add to their "safe sites" list that would filter Wikipedia pages. The filtering can be fairly simple that would only allow pages with certain properties:

1) Locked pages

2) Special pages

3) Exclude pages with certain key words (profanity) in their content even if informative

4) Pages that have been unchanged by x minutes (x being a statistical number derived from the maximum amount of minutes a vandalized article stays unfixed)

These are just examples. Other rules can also be included.

Wikipedia has highly reliable information which can be stained by very short vandalism periods. A "delayed" version of Wikipedia would be priceless.

Please let me know! Thanks! ~RayLast ^«Talk!» 18:49, 28 February 2008 (UTC)

I don't think a "delayed" Wikipedia would be very good provided the delay time was set too short. Rather I think the first thing that should happen for Educational Wikipedia should be that we set up a series of anti-vandalism bots (~50 of them should be good) here on English Wiki, and set the new article delay for 1 day. After that, a page becomes semi-locked after diasppearing from the New Articles log. Strenuous, but possible, and maybe even neccesary if the site is set up. --Gp75motorsports ^{REV LIMITER} 19:06, 28 February 2008 (UTC)

The anti-vandalism bots are doing a pretty good job at the moment. Only a delay must be added. A day could be a possible delay time. Semi-locking or locking the articles, in my opinion, would not be beneficial. Remember that it should be only a filter, not an overhaul of the articles system. The filter should not intervene with current editing, meaning that Wikipedians should not see any change. The suggestion is not about building and copying the whole encyclopedia with safe content either. It's just a tiny little filter. I feel safe to say that a significant delay would ensure the integrity of the articles practically 100% of the time. For new articles, for example, a rule could be that a {{safe-article|user1|user2|user3|user4|user5}} tag with 5 registered user's "votes" must be included before it can appear in the Educational Wikipedia.

Also note that the current Wikipedia pages such as http://en.wikipedia.org will see no change. People visiting the original site will see unfiltered content such as how it is now. Only those that visit the filter page (e.g. http://edu.en.wikipedia.org) will see filtered content. ~RayLast ^«Talk!» 19:27, 28 February 2008 (UTC)

Oh, okay. That sounds better. I presonally think it should be 10-15 uses signing the template (20 if possible). This would allow more of the community to comment. --Gp75motorsports ^{REV LIMITER} 23:55, 28 February 2008 (UTC)

Service Award Problem

Dear Mr. Wales. I hope you could help me Here is a problem with the service awards. I hope you could change this. Thank you so much for your time. :) --Nothing444 (talk) 23:19, 28 February 2008 (UTC)

Hello

Hello, Jimbo!Kitty53 (talk) 02:12, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

Hi! How are you? Ich kenne Deutsch. :D --HoopoeBaijiKite 19:47, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

Dear Jimbo

You know, I read everywhere (outside Wikipedia of course) that Wikipedia is a terrible source! My school teachers here in England told me that they would do horrible things to me if I used Wikipedia as a source, and you actually get marked down if you footnote Wikipedia here at university (I suspect).

To be honest with you? I think Wikipedia has saved my academic career. Not because it I use it as a source in the sense of referencing it in my essays (I am doing history, by the way) but because writing for Wikipedia as I have done, with the few featured articles I have written, has really taught me something about writing essays. It has taught me to take my time, to keep things neutral and well referenced. I even use (fact) tags in my plans to illustrate where I need verification!

Frankly, Mr. Wales when the end of my university career comes around, I think I will owe my final diploma in a small way to Wikipedia. I was a terrible essay writer before I started writing here during year, and now... 5 FAs and one successful RFA later I am here, getting some of the highest marks of my year. THEREFORE, I would like to give you this:

.

That is the full stop that will sit on the end of my diploma. Perhaps you can add it to your userpage somewhere, though it will undoubtedly get reverted because people won't know why you have ended a sentence with two full stops..

Regards, SGGH ^speak! 23:52, 29 February 2008 (UTC)

This picture injure feelings We Muslims

Hello Gentlemen supervisors That picture is false and inaccurate As there is no real images Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him

This picture injure feelings We Muslims Please remove

Link photos

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Mohammed_kaaba_1315.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Siyer-i_Nebi_298a.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Maome.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Siyer-i_Nebi_151b.jpg

and we would like to becarfule with adding any photo for Sensitive subjects... —Preceding unsigned comment added by Fayez.sa (talk • contribs) 06:08, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

Please understand that Wikipedia is not censored and may contain images that you find objectionable. This policy has been debated repeatedly and is not likely to change. If you do not wish to view particular images, please click here for more information. - Chardish (talk) 06:25, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

Are you concerned abut people seeing the picture or with seeing the picture yourself? Cause if it's the former, you're not helping by posting links here. If you're just concerned about yourself, there are ways to hide photos in Wikipedia while you browse it yourself, as the comment above shows. Equazcion •✗/C • 07:06, 1 Mar 2008 (UTC)

On the issue of images of Muhammad, my position is to provide the readers with the option of not seeing the images. A note at the top page of Muhammad informing them of the existence of images and possibly a link explaining how to disable the images seems reasonable to me. Or alternatively, show the images by a click. See reasons. A new reader who googles Muhammad and clicks on the first link is not aware of Wikiepdia's disclaimers (I wasn't aware of it before this dispute) nor with a knowledge of how to disable the images unless he visits the talk page in the aftermath.--Be happy!! (talk) 07:27, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

And your position has been rejected again and again and again and again by the community - you are flogging a dead horse. --Fredrick day (talk) 11:33, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

Perhaps your complaint is better raised with Google, then, who has direct control over the output of search results. We build an encyclopedia based on our principles and guidelines and are not influenced by how high we appear on search results. Chardish (talk) 16:46, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

Collaboration and selfishness

"Wikipedia is an encyclopedia collaboratively written by many of its readers" says the welcoming page as I create my account. Your user page on the other hand categorizes you with the Randian Objectivists. How does Randian Objectivism go with Wikipedian Collectivism? Your generic Random Thinker (talk) 12:52, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

What is the issue exactly. We welcome editors of any all beliefs. Thanks, SqueakBox 12:59, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

Except those who believe Wikipedia is mismanaged. - CitationMonger (talk) 13:19, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

That is not a belief, it is an opinion. Thanks, SqueakBox 13:21, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

BLP COI by you

Without mentioning any other names, I understand that within the last month you emailed to a select mailing list that you felt unable, because of COI reasons, to participate in the BLP of certain Canadian journalist. The BLP of said journalist was subsequently edited by some Wikepedia.en administrators, including JoshuaZ and JzG. Based on increased Internet conversation on this topic, including mentions in Danny Wool's and Kelly Martin's blogs, is there anything that you would like to say to the project as a whole, openly and in public, about the situation? Cla68 (talk) 14:59, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

If accurate negative material that properly reflected high quality sources had not been removed from at least two articles numerous times; and removed merely because it was negative and not at all questionable in accuracy or balance (except in the minds of some people who without evidence simply assumed she could not actually be that bad); then Jimbo might have had a better idea of who he was dealing with. The same sad tale is now being replayed with Gary W. (but without the sex). NPOV should not be hijacked. And it is, over and over; but none the less Wikipedia keeps getting better; it is simply too open and too big for censorship to win in the end. WAS 4.250 (talk) 16:32, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

One of the biggest problems we have with notable BLP's is the fact that people constantly violate SYNTH in order to get the latest gossip and mediocre reporting in front and center. Even when gossip rag reporting is neutralized either by elimination or by adding more reliable sourcing, the innuendo remains, casting many figures in a less favorable light than they deserve.--MONGO 16:55, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

Yes, absolutely true. And further when we err, (and everyone makes mistakes) it is better to err on the side of not having a claim, rather than having a mistaken claim. But if you take that to the extreme you wind up with no encyclopedia at all. As usual, the solution is thoughtful informed balance. WAS 4.250 (talk) 18:50, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

Even with the worst possible interpretation it doesn't look like Jimbo did anything wrong. Thanks, SqueakBox 17:51, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

I saw Jimbo applying AGF to a person whose past history would indicate a different assumption would be more prudent. WAS 4.250 (talk) 18:50, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

My point is that if he is applying AGF then that should be that, surely we can't say that he should be doing anything other than this. And while I can see Jimbo having a COI re his article, articles on wikipedia, wikipedia foundation and wikia or articles that mention these topics I cant see him having any COI around a Canadian journalist, even if he knows her well, and that to ask admins to help a BLP violation at that article, even if true, is nothing for anyone to worry about. Thanks, SqueakBox 19:13, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

Yes, there is no evidence here of Jimbo misusing Wikipedia in this case, although arbcom and some admins have in my opinion made mistakes in deleting material that should not have been deleted (but we all make mistakes). The issue about "nothing for anyone to worry about" misses several aspects though:

1. This is juicy gossip that will be repeated in the blogosphere and tabloids and Jimbo needs a better response than "no comment" (I recommend a good joke as a response).
2. The incident highlights our ongoing BLP and COI issues and we need to be very very upfront that we are trying hard but are far from perfect on those issues.
3. Personally, I think it highlights the "Jimbo problem" at wikipedia, which I would detail as the sum of the issues I raised with Jimbo when he asked me on this page what I thought he was doing wrong. Some progress has been made in the areas I outlined. Lack of transparency in content decision making caused by use of private mailing lists to organize admin behavior is a key issue that this case highlights. WAS 4.250 (talk) 19:47, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

WAS, I find myself in agreement with your first 2 points but not your third though I do think Jimbo should listen to your advices. Thanks, SqueakBox 20:02, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

Is there any evidence that any Wikihours have been wasted here? Frankly I think this was more than any of us needed or wanted to know about Jimbo :) EconomicsGuy (talk) 20:16, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

Considering the sources involved, I would change "know" to "hear". As for wiki-hours, well, I'm refunding 100% of my wiki-paycheck for all hours spent on unapproved activities. :) WAS 4.250 (talk) 20:57, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

He he good reply! As for wiki-hours I'll try hard not to create Category:Users willing to refund their non-existent wiki-paycheck :) EconomicsGuy (talk) 21:03, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

If there wasn't a trail of edits by assumably mailing list editors like JohuaZ and JzG then there would't be an issue here. Now, would you all get out of the way and let Jimbo reply on his talk page? Cla68 (talk) 21:19, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

I think if you want a straight reply from Jimbo you have come to the wrong place. that may not be a good thing but it is so. And to be honest I dint revert your original post because it was you,w ith your record, and you posted nicely. Thanks, SqueakBox 21:26, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

Speaking for myself Jimbo never asked me to do anything, I simply stuck my nose into something that wasn't my business. I do that quite frequently. I suspect JzG may have had a similar motivation. The topic is interesting and prominent; it doesn't require Jimbo's intervention to make editors care about an interesting BLP. JoshuaZ (talk) 21:41, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

Thanks Josh, I only heard about this yesterday (through what I considered a trolling comment on this page, and which I reverted) and of course immediately put this CJ on my watchlist, because BLp issues involving Jimbo are high priority in my voluntary work here (which is why I responded to your thread,Cla). I checked the history and saw guy had been editing there and my reaction was, great, at least this one is being watched by an admin who is also interested in our BLP and NPOV policies 9and whom I trust) so seeing your thread, Cla, my response was immediately that this sounded positive and not negative. anyway, if Jimbo wants to reply here he will and you will catch it, there is, after all, a link to his contribs on this very page. Thanks, SqueakBox 21:56, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

These sorts of tabloid rumors have no place being on Wikipedia anyway. Even if it is all true, so what? It only becomes interesting if it leads to something more notable. Otherwise, it is a big yawn as far as I am concerned.--Filll (talk) 23:40, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

Just a Little Joke

Dear Mr. Wales, Below is just a little joke. I hope you don't get offended by it. I know you are the founder of wikipedia! I hope you enjoy it! --Nothing444 19:23, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

Welcome...

Hello, Jimbo Wales, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are some pages that you might find helpful:

• Introduction
• The five pillars of Wikipedia
• How to edit a page
• Help
• How to write a great article
• Manual of Style

Please sign your name on talk pages using four tildes (~~~~); this will automatically produce your username and the date. If you need help, check out Wikipedia:Questions, ask me on my talk page, or place {{helpme}} on your talk page and ask your question there. Again, welcome! Nothing444 19:23, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

A bit more lighthearted than leaving him, say, {{uw-vandalism4}} ; ) - Chardish (talk) 21:17, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

I woul never o that to Mr. Wales. Nothing444 23:48, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

How does someone with over 750 edits suddenly think that the above waste of time and space is a contribution to the encyclopedia? Yet, my important question that tries to shed light on a serious conflict-of-policy issue... that gets deleted, posthaste. Besides, Jimbo's not "the" founder of Wikipedia. Try "a" or "co-", and we're all fine. - CitationMonger (talk) 01:30, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

Forcing People to Sin - Images of Muhammad

Hi Mr. Wales,

While there is nothing wrong with having the pictures there, but I firmly believe that the readers should be given the option of not seeing the images. A note at the top page of Muhammad informing them of the existence of images and possibly a link explaining how to disable the images seems reasonable to me. Not doing that is like "forcing someone to do what he considers breaking God's commandment". Currently people are systematically trapped; their free will is taken away from them. If people are told about existence of those images, they can of course decide whether they want to see them or not. How many people are really aware of the Wikiepdia's special disclaimers? ; they just come here through google; Or do you know of any other scientific encyclopedia that has unveiled images? Is Wikipedia going to set a precedent here? Doesn't it sound like some form of Original Research? This is not an encyclopedic thing, it is a moral issue. Why not granting people to have the freedom of practicing their religion? --Be happy!! (talk) 01:21, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

Users haven't lost "their free will" as you suggest. Their free will is in action when they decide to log on to Wikipedia. I don't think that any one of us is forcing these users to look at the article. There should be a reasonable expectations for these users that possibly, just possibly, there could be photos on this article. Metros (talk) 01:30, 2 March 2008 (UTC)