Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Council

Unassessed-Class versus Unassessed categories

I've made a request at CFD to reverse the March 2007 discussion and to rename Category:Unassessed-Class articles back to Category:Unassessed articles. Please comment there. -- Ricky81682 (talk) 06:16, 27 October 2015 (UTC)

@Ricky81682: Can you explain to the dummies (me) here what this is all about? Thanks in advance, Ottawahitech (talk) 03:40, 21 November 2015 (UTC)please ping me

There's a number of categories titled "Unassessed X articles" for when a project is added but no assessment (that's the default under the template I believe). However, some projects have "Unassessed-Class X articles" as well (see Category:Unassessed-Class comics articles by work group versus Category:Unassessed comics articles by work group. The majority are Unassessed not Unassessed-Class so I think the parent should reflect that. -- Ricky81682 (talk) 08:36, 21 November 2015 (UTC)

Mongols live in Mongolia?

Mongols do live in Mongolia, but they were a conquering people centuries before the modern country existed. We need a separate WikiProject for Mongolia, and not lump it into the Mongols WikiProject. --DThomsen8 (talk) 14:10, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

@Dthomsen8:Good comment. The last time I saw the issue of country wikiprojects addressed was in the now defunct Signpost Wikiproject Report: Where in the world is Wikipedia? back in 2012. Ottawahitech (talk) 19:28, 20 November 2015 (UTC)please ping me

19th Century Music

I am putting out some 'feelers' here about a new project. This genre is quite significant, has its own core of composers, musicians, lyricists, publishers, archives, festivals. This time period is quite fascinating and it includes the creation and performance of abolitionist songs, temperance songs, the songs of Stephen Foster and his ilk, and civil war songs. I believe this grouping of articles could very well use some improvement and collaboration for improvement on this topic. Any feedback is welcome. Best Regards,

Barbara (WVS) (talk) 00:42, 18 November 2015 (UTC)

Please see MOS:HEAD (sentence case) and WP:CENTURY.—Wavelength (talk) 04:00, 21 November 2015 (UTC)

• Hi Barbara, Just wondering if this proposed WikiProject is US-centric? Ottawahitech (talk) 04:09, 21 November 2015 (UTC)please ping me

As a general rule of thumb, if you don't already know two or three editors who are interested in that area, then there's no point in starting the WikiProject. It would be more practical and successful to join an existing group. WhatamIdoing (talk) 01:15, 27 November 2015 (UTC)

@WhatamIdoing, I know you believe that wp:WikiProjects are people. but... there are also a lot of w-proj tools available to projects that make them of interest to those who are not necessarily a formal part of the project. So, building a new project even without the help of others, can be useful? Ottawahitech (talk) 18:41, 1 December 2015 (UTC)please ping me

If you don't know of people who would actually use those tools, then there's no point in setting them up. Making those tools actually work requires tagging thousands of articles. For the typical established editor, that's weeks of work that doesn't result in direct improvements to articles.

I don't (ever) care about whether anyone is "a formal part of the project". I care about whether they are participating. WhatamIdoing (talk) 01:40, 14 January 2016 (UTC)

Skull image used in WikiProject Death's banner

WP:WikiProject Death has a (professional/museum-like) photograph of a real human skull as the image in their WikiProject banner. There's a discussion about whether the photo of a human skull in their WikiProject banner should be removed on the grounds that it is "tasteless" or "offensive". The discussion is centralized at Template talk:WikiProject Death#Images. WhatamIdoing (talk) 01:16, 27 November 2015 (UTC)

needs-photo=yes

I just discovered that one can request a photo for articles belonging to wp:WikiProject Canada by using this parameter needs-photo=yes in the wproj banner. Shouldn't this be standard for all WikiProjects? Just wondering out loudthanks to Northamerica. Ottawahitech (talk) 18:34, 1 December 2015 (UTC)please ping me

Ottawahitech Yes, and more broadly, it would be nice if WikiProject Banners were more standardized. Blue Rasberry (talk) 19:25, 2 December 2015 (UTC)

Ottawahitech, to be honest, this information shouldn't be encoded in WikiProject banners. Adding too many features to a template causes them to become bloated and too difficult to maintain. Harej (talk) 14:47, 3 December 2015 (UTC)

@Ottawahitech, Bluerasberry, and Harej: I know nothing about banner template maintenance or the hazards with banner template bloat, but as a non-techie, I'd support an initiative to standardize the banners, and would love it if needs-photo=yes worked in all of them. --Rosiestep (talk) 15:00, 3 December 2015 (UTC)

Hi Rosiestep and welcome to WikiProject Council, the central location for discussion for editors who are involved in setting up/maintaining wp:WikiProjects, I think. Please feel free to post any questions comments you have and hopefully there are experienced wproject-editors here who can help. Thanks for pinging me, by the way. Ottawahitech (talk) 15:00, 4 December 2015 (UTC)please ping me

Looks like this parameter is also available to wp:WikiProject Biography.

It's available in many, probably most. The question is whether it's preferable to have it in the WikiProject banner, or if you ought to use the plain old {{Photo requested}} template instead. WhatamIdoing (talk) 01:44, 14 January 2016 (UTC)

API for WikiProject assessment data?

Hi everyone! If any of you feel like giving some technical feedback, phab:T119997 could probably use your help. :) /Johan (WMF) (talk) 18:41, 1 December 2015 (UTC)

Johan (WMF) No question is asked there. Blue Rasberry (talk) 19:24, 2 December 2015 (UTC)

Eh. That was probably a bit confusing, yes. Sorry about that. I hope it's a bit more clear now. :) /Johan (WMF) (talk) 12:58, 4 December 2015 (UTC)

@Johan (WMF): Can you tell us what Phabricator is? What is in API? Ottawahitech (talk) 15:06, 4 December 2015 (UTC)please ping me

Of course. Phabricator is the system used for MediaWiki (the wiki application we use for Wikipedia) software development, after we switched from Bugzilla. It's there to make sure the developers know who's doing what and when and what needs to be done for something else to be possible, and is sometimes used for technical discussions related to the development. An API is a sort of interface designed for computers instead of humans, so that we can build technical tools that can use information from another piece of software. The Wikipedia API makes it easier to use information in Wikipedia in another program, for example. /Johan (WMF) (talk) 18:39, 4 December 2015 (UTC)

Wikiproject X

I have been asked a few times to help fix some projects that have been affected by WikiProject X's new layout. Have been asked to add the navigational templates, current discussion section and tools back ....and fix all the white space....but have been waiting to see if the project even gets off the ground..or realizes people want these things. Where can these projects talk about this? eg Wikipedia:WikiProject Women in Technology and Wikipedia:WikiProject Women/Women in Red intro is all messed up..let alone all the white space. -- Moxy (talk) 17:50, 2 December 2015 (UTC)

Hello, Moxy. Thank you for your assistance. While Wikipedia talk:WikiProject X might be a more precise venue, this page will also work. I will add a note on that talk page to cross-reference with this section.

I apologize for the troubles from the interface. They are prototypes and we specifically picked low-activity projects where the level of disruption would be minimal. (Women in Red is a case study of deploying it anew to a project that ended up becoming very popular... in the process, exposing some of the technical issues.)

Some of the issues with white space are caused by the awkward mix of old and new. The newer sections that we designed specifically is meant to use as much of the space as possible (though I understand this doesn't work consistently from browser to browser). Indeed, the replacement of the vertical table of contents with the horizontal icon row was to make more economical use of space. The older sections were simply plucked into the new design, which explains the inconsistency.

For the visual/interface problems (whitespace, unreadable intro, etc.), screenshots would help. We are aware of an issue with Internet Explorer 11, for example.

If there are specific tools people want, we do want to know. WikiProject X is only as useful as the feedback it receives. Thank you again for your help. Harej (talk) 14:46, 3 December 2015 (UTC)

Yes, please, talk about this. There is so much we need to fix, and the more you can bring to light that's affecting things, the more we have to work with to fix it. We're doing our best to work with both old and new here, but this is a huge task. -— Isarra ༆ 19:59, 3 December 2015 (UTC)

Thanks for posting this, Moxy. I have seen WikiProjectX wp:Wall of text posted on umpteen wp:talkpages, but have not been able to engage the editor behind these postings in meaningful discussion. So thanks for opening up the discussion here. Ottawahitech (talk) 15:16, 4 December 2015 (UTC)please ping me

As you mention Women in Red, we have had a serious issue with the membership feature which has only now been restored after problems since September. One of the problems now, even after reactivation, is that people cannot easily edit their profiles and in any case would prefer something much simpler. Can we not use a more traditional approach to members on the basis of all the other WikiProjects and the approach used for the WiR editathons?--Ipigott (talk) 17:39, 4 December 2015 (UTC)

@Isarra, more on this issue at Women in Red. --Rosiestep (talk) 23:34, 5 December 2015 (UTC)

Looking for guidance

As a template editor and active here I keep getting asked to revert the removal of films and now actors and writers from musicians and other navboxes. But I have been reluctant to do this because in the past the members of WP:Films edit war over this claiming ownership over all templates with films in them saying that NO films should be listed in navigational aids pointing to Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Film#Navigation. I am not sure how one project can run around all over removing these valid links claiming that one type of article cant be linked despite our guideline one the matter (WP:ADVICEPAGE). I am not sure how impeding our readers ability to navigate articles is helpful...but they really think this is a good idea....looks all to be based on the fact they dont like all the templates at the bottom of pages. What is the best way forward here....what do i tell people asking for help and how can we stop all the problem raised by the projects aggressive stance that they know best. -- Moxy (talk) 18:41, 5 December 2015 (UTC)

The same thing that has happened to Wikipedia:WikiProject Composers is happening to WP:Films ,,,as in people are going out of there way to avoid this project from seeing there work. WikiProject Composers has the problem for years now that people will not tag new composers articles with the project banner so members there dont see them...now we have people avoiding adding "any navboxes" not just ones with films to actors articles because they say the film project just removes the template and removes the links aswell.....people are saying its best they dont see them to begin with. Having people go out of there way to avoid a group of editors is never a good thing....how can we solve this problem. -- Moxy (talk) 19:56, 7 December 2015 (UTC)

Perhaps anyone interested in these subject areas can join the WikiProjects and ask for a review of these policies, as generally, one has "standing" if one is actually a member. If it seems that the WikiProject is not providing for an open discussion of their policies (given reasonable wait for a response), then perhaps start an RfC on the WikiProject's talk page (or in a more neutral spot) -- with this, if there is any WikiProject policy that is out of line with Wikipedia-wide policy, this can act as a corrective given there is a consensus. This is all just my understanding of course. Stevie is the man! ^{Talk • Work} 22:09, 7 December 2015 (UTC)

(Offtopic) one has "standing" if one is actually a member I have posted to many w-projects without becoming a member, and in my experience most active w-projects appreciate input. Some are extremely helpful (WP:WikiProject Architecture comes to mind), and a few are hostile. Ottawahitech (talk) 02:37, 9 December 2015 (UTC)please ping me

I was talking about best practices -- if you want to improve your chances of being taken seriously in a WikiProject. Certainly, many WikiProjects these days are starving for input, from members or non-members, and so will welcome it. It seems to be the case here (and thus on-topic) that the WikiProjects in question might tend to be hostile to what are differing views. Stevie is the man! ^{Talk • Work} 10:03, 9 December 2015 (UTC)

Not glad to see one of these template editors ban today..but this may get the others to look at what there doing and how much a problem it is. Content editors are getting more and more upset. -- Moxy (talk) 16:44, 16 December 2015 (UTC)

Link please -- I'd like to see what has happened with that. Stevie is the man! ^{Talk • Work} 17:41, 16 December 2015 (UTC)

@Moxy:, me too. Ottawahitech (talk) 00:47, 20 December 2015 (UTC)please ping me

Hes editwar block is over ... I think the best thing we can do for our editors is to inform them of the problem like I did here. I hope letting people know there is a problem will stop all the questions all over. -- Moxy (talk) 19:03, 22 December 2015 (UTC)

Moxy, it's been a few weeks since your last update. How is this situation now? If we need to, we can expand ADVICEPAGE to use the explicit example of navboxes. WhatamIdoing (talk) 01:50, 14 January 2016 (UTC)

No luck...mentioned it at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Film#Time to look at what is best!! ....all i got was a run around....playing dumb. -- Moxy (talk) 14:14, 14 January 2016 (UTC)

It's clear you got "the brush off", with others implying/pretending that your issue wasn't something significant. You may have no choice but to start a site-wide discussion about it. Stevie is the man! ^{Talk • Work} 14:54, 14 January 2016 (UTC)

I have some ideas about how this could be addressed. I think it might be helpful to provide a more thorough explanation of the freedoms that WikiProjects have (e.g., to decide what they are interested in, to organize their pages, to write essays, etc. – all of these freedoms are only extensions of what we offer every individual editor), and the rights that they don't have (e.g., to demand that their advice be followed by the rest of their community). WhatamIdoing (talk) 19:25, 14 January 2016 (UTC)

That would be a good idea.. edit like this do not help our readers navigate the topic....it in fact impedes direct navigation causing readers to have only "run around links" to find cast members, creators and writers. There is no thought to those with accessibility issues ...making people have to click multiply times to find someone (every click is hard for some) and having to load huge pages (not all have fast internet nor unlimited data allowances) to find said info. Not to mention the fact many many readers navigate to the bottom of pages to find said info at a glance. Some edits are just odd to me ....I think most are done in good faith...but without realizing why we have nave templates to begin with. -- Moxy (talk) 13:56, 15 January 2016 (UTC)

What WikiProjects can and can't do

Yes

No

They're groups of editors, so we treat them like we would treat an editor. The equivalent of userspace in "Wikipedia:WikiProject Example" pages Use it for in-group communication, like you would use a user talk page. Use it for drafts, lists, and notes to yourself, like you would use a sandbox or user subpage. If your group is good at something, then you'll get respect, just like individual editors get respect for their expertise. The group gets to pick which pages it wants to support, just like individual editors.

They're groups of editors, so we treat them like we would treat an editor. You can't overrule the whole community. You can't dictate your group's preferences about infoboxes/navboxes/citation styles/anything else to editors at any article. WikiProjects don't own articles.

What else can we add that describes this in concrete terms? I don't mind if you or anyone else adds things to this table; it might help organize our thoughts. WhatamIdoing (talk) 08:03, 19 January 2016 (UTC)

So two things we can do to move forward...first the chart above outlining do's and donts and a site wide discussion. I will start an RfC at the policy page this week. Any suggestions on the wording that would be best for a RfC.....as I dont want to single out any one editor or group as was done here...just want to see if the community believes a project/group of editors have the right to omit a certain type of articles for navigation aids...my guess is no but lets see what others say and the reasons behind the actions thus far. -- Moxy (talk) 18:43, 20 January 2016 (UTC)

Ranking contributors to pages in a WikiProject

Is there anyway to rank editors by number of contributions to pages included in a WikiProject? Extra credit would be to limit it to a period of time, like the last six months. I am not interested in showing such rankings in WikiProjects I'm involved in, but rather I would like to use this information to analyze who to invite to become members. Thanks for any ideas. Stevie is the man! ^{Talk • Work} 22:52, 5 December 2015 (UTC)

I am not sure how they did it, but if I remember correctly Wikipedia:WikiProject Medicine not only did this ranking a couple of years ago, but actually thanked the "winning" editors on their respective talkpages. I am sure whatamidoing will be be able to elaborate. Ottawahitech (talk) 02:49, 9 December 2015 (UTC)please ping me

Thanks for the lead! I inquired over there. Stevie is the man! ^{Talk • Work} 22:36, 9 December 2015 (UTC)

@Stevietheman: I followed you to :WikiProject Medicine (hope you don't mind) because I am also curious to find out how they got their stats. Did you ever figure it out? BTW interesting statistics here: Wikipedia:WikiProject Medicine/Stats Ottawahitech (talk) 00:44, 20 December 2015 (UTC)please ping me

See Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Directory#Edit counts of subject-area editors. That's where I think we can get useful data if some requested changes are implemented. The WP Medicine stats are much more than I need, and I would likely have to spend a lot of time programming to generate what they did, but I really don't need much more than what's provided in the WikiProject Directory, and it already lists the editors who have recently touched pages in my project. Stevie is the man! ^{Talk • Work} 12:00, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

The 2015 stats have been posted: Wikipedia:WikiProject Medicine/Stats.

If you want to know who actually writes the articles, then you might take a look at mw:User talk:Johan (WMF)#Wishlist (and follow some of the links). WhatamIdoing (talk) 01:53, 14 January 2016 (UTC)

@WhatamIdoing: Thanks, but I don't know what to look for at that link - it doesn't jump to anything. Stevie is the man! ^{Talk • Work} 11:17, 14 January 2016 (UTC)

Argh, it was the wrong link. I've fixed it. WhatamIdoing (talk) 19:22, 14 January 2016 (UTC)

Seeking active, well-structured WikiProjects to get ideas from in improving my WikiProject

I already know of the Military History and Medicine WikiProjects as being very active and nicely well-structured. Are there other strong examples I can look at as I make organic improvements to my WikiProject? Stevie is the man! ^{Talk • Work} 22:38, 9 December 2015 (UTC)

For active WikiProjects, see Wikipedia:Database reports/WikiProjects by changes.

—Wavelength (talk) 23:01, 9 December 2015 (UTC)

@Wavelength: the database report tells us it has not updated since 06 July 2015. Do you know how often we should expect it to update? Thanks in advance, Ottawahitech (talk) 00:55, 20 December 2015 (UTC)please ping me

Ottawahitech, the main page (Wikipedia:Database reports) says that the run frequency is weekly. The banner at the top of that page says (in part): "If you have an urgent need for a report to be fixed, please indicate so on the Talk page so we can prioritize it higher."

—Wavelength (talk) 01:24, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

Thanks Wavelength. I posted a query at:Wikipedia talk:Database reports, and am crossing my fingers that it will bear fruit, but it looks rather deserted there, sigh... Ottawahitech (talk) 01:42, 20 December 2015 (UTC)please ping me

I wish I had known about this sooner! Turns out my bot was inexplicably locked out of the database replicas on Tool Labs. But that's fixed now, and I am running the report as I speak. Harej (talk) 02:19, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

RenWeb

I am Pursuing the Deletion of The RenWeb ArticleJonnymoon96 (talk) 02:04, 10 December 2015 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jonnymoon96 (talk • contribs) 02:01, 10 December 2015 (UTC)

this part should be ∑F=ma=m dV/dt=∆mV

edited by mehrnaz from iran  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.198.35.193 (talk) 06:52, 12 December 2015 (UTC) 

Notice to participants at this page about adminship

Many participants here are long-term, core editors who know Wikipedia well.

So, please consider taking a look at and watchlisting this page:

• Wikipedia:Requests for adminship/Optional RfA candidate poll

You could be very helpful in evaluating potential candidates, and maybe even finding out if you would be a suitable RfA candidate.

Many thanks and best wishes,

Anna Frodesiak (talk) 22:31, 14 December 2015 (UTC)

WP:PJTF name change

Just a quick update about the "Percy Jackson" task force of WikiProject Novels, which recently changed its name (and expanded its scope) to become the Rick Riordan Task Force. I just redid its listing in the directory. Please do not hesitate to change something if I inadvertently broke formatting. Thanks very much in advance. -- 2ReinreB2 (talk) 01:41, 18 December 2015 (UTC)

WikiProject DYK (article alerts)

Did you know that:

• Article Alerts' is a fully-automated subscription-based system designed to notify WikiProjects and Taskforces when articles tagged by their banner enter Articles for deletion
• Article Alerts are updated daily by a BOT, and provide brief summaries of what happened, with relevant links to discussion or results
• Article Alerts allow a certain degree of customization
• User:B. Wolterding who coded the BOT was not permitted to operate it because he did not wish to disclose personal information which was required to operate a bot on the wp:tool server. He/she is now listed as a wp:Missing Wikipedian.

Source: Wikipedia:WikiProject Article Alerts in The Signpost Ottawahitech (talk) 03:32, 18 December 2015 (UTC)please ping me

The Toolserver (run by Wikimedia Deutschland) is also a "Missing Wikipedian", as of several years ago. (Wolterding declined to be identified to WMDE in 2008.) I wonder whether the WMF's Tool Labs has a similar policy. I've never heard of any such requirement. WhatamIdoing (talk) 01:58, 14 January 2016 (UTC)

Wikiproject Gnosticism

I would really like to revive the proposed project Wikipedia:WikiProject Council/Proposals/Gnosticism. Separating articles that are gnostic/ completely firm with the genre/opposed by Christian and Judaic doctrines/ away from Wikiproject Christianity and Judaism which ignore such articles. — JudeccaXIII (talk) 20:06, 20 December 2015 (UTC)

Linking to Wikiprojects on Meta

Hi

I'm not sure how this fits but there are several Wikiprojects on Meta that cover multiple Wikimedia sites, how best could these be listed within the Wikiproject directory? The ones I know are Wikiproject Education for Sustainable Development and Wikiproject UNESCO (which I made), WikiProject Chess and Wikiproject Roads.

Thanks

John Cummings (talk) 09:40, 23 December 2015 (UTC)

John Cummings. a side project of mine is making sure that all the WikiProjects have proper Wikidata entries. Once this happens, the WikiProject Directory (after some updates) will be able to link to projects on other wikis. Harej (talk) 16:55, 23 December 2015 (UTC)

Thanks Harej, Wikidata to the rescue :) John Cummings (talk) 17:58, 23 December 2015 (UTC)

From Voynich manuscript Solved by Bartender Karin Marie Olt copyright 4119-4258

Extended content

The answers to the Voynich Manuscript are as follows. The absinthe plant and it's healing properties were written on the Egyptian walls. In 1452,Young Leonardo and Lisa his twin sister were born.She was given to her wealthy Uncle at birth.He joined her at the age of three.As children,they learned all languages,and copied the information they saw from the hieroglyphics that were carved on the walls. They drew step by step illustrations on how to use many healing plants and herbs to cure diseases. The absinthe plant repelled fleas, dispelled tape worms and parasites from the body. See the large tape worm gracing the pages and wrapped around a woman?Also there are pictures drawn of women aiming their arms towards their back sides. See the body syringes? See the fennel plant with the large eyes drawn in the head in the bulb if the plant? Fennel root heals the eyes. Thujone is the extract from the blue flower of the wormwood/artemesia/absintheum plant it is being used to treat cancer today. When it is fermented with the fennel, and Chinese star anise, it creates the Holy Trinity of Herbs.See the right pointed stars?Fennel keeps cancer from reoccurring.Chinese star anise reduced the development of cancer.The molecular formulas to show fermentation are written as Os&Hs. Because I am a Professional Bartender,I noticed the juniper berries, and the hyssop plant.I researched maceration. That is the technique used to create absinthe by fermenting in alcohol. The alcohol they used was gin created from these juniper berries. I knew they were creating a green moonshine called absinthe. It was meant to be used inside and outside of the body to cure the black plague.Thujone has a hallucinatory affect. See the little head drawn in the blue flower?I also identified the plants lemonbalm,sage,thyme,veronica,Melissa,cilantro's coriander seeds,cardamon,lavender,and mint.I also discovered that all herbs have an assigned astrological sign,such as Taurus is the sign for mint. The words hunting for bull are written.See the Gemini Twins next to the zodiac wheel? That is young Lisa and Leonardo holding hands.The same twins from my dream! They came to me in a dream to tell me this was their life's work. They gave me all the answers. Then they said save the Children. See the cures for cancer and Ebola which is like the black plague in that the body erupts in large black spots and dies?If you get your chemistry books out, you will see the equations for the extraction of chlorophyll, light. That is photosynthesis. The M represents the extraction of glucose. The s8 is sulphur meets oxygen in the air. Remember ,when you write chemical equations you start from the middle of the page and work on both sides. Absinthe is to be made only when the moon is dark. See the pale moon? See the moon phases? The extract is most potent and can only be made during a dark moon. Also while being fermented the monks would sing to it. Why? Because certain sound frequency affected the bacteria. The monks low frequency pitch would kill the harmful bacteria and create good bacteria. This is called biotholomics. This manuscript was found in a Monastery. Leonardo drank Absinthe when he painted his twin sister Lisa and called it Mona Lisa. Any questions? I will answer them for you. This manuscript was copied and sold to make absinthe and chartreuse. No one knew it was to cure the black plague and cancer.The Egyptians loved us enough to leave the cures carved on the walls.This manuscript was lost in translation for over 6 centuries. I have contacted the holistic hospitals and told them of these cures. They responded with Thank you. We are now studying plants. One more important thing to tell you all is that this absinthe was a living biological energy force of healing light. When it was created it gave off a bright glowing green light.The molecular formulas to extract the plants living light energy force is written in this manuscript. Thank you for listening.Merry Christmas! Let's save the Children! Thank you. Karin Marie Olt — Preceding unsigned comment added by Karin1964 (talk • contribs) 14:14, 24 December 2015 (UTC)

WikiProject Women in Red

WP:WikiProject Women in Red (WiR) started as a stand-alone project and after a few weeks, became as task force of the newly-formed WP:WikiProject Women, at which time it became WP:WikiProject Women/Women in Red. We have not found many benefits to this move, but we have found that the move makes navigation within the task force cumbersome. So we want to explore making a change. As WiR's page design is handled by WikiProject X, I've discussed moving back to WP:WikiProject Women in Red with @Harej but I also discussed with him the possibility of WP:Women in Red, e.g. like WP:WikiWomen's History Month. Thoughts? (cc: @Ipigott, SusunW, Megalibrarygirl, and Victuallers:) --Rosiestep (talk) 16:48, 28 December 2015 (UTC)

Whatever will simplify navigation and notification is what will get my vote. I don't understand the technical details or why one format is better over the others. What I know is that with the current set up, I do not receive notifications properly, (I'd say less than 1/2 of the page notifications). It seems as if each individual section of the project must be watchlisted to even attain a fraction of the notices. Then there is the whole situation where I end up somewhere I did not intend (Either at WikiProject Women, or at a dead end). Anything that will make it simpler will be an improvement, IMO. SusunW (talk) 17:00, 28 December 2015 (UTC)

I'm with SusunW, anything that will make things easier for editors and navigation. :) Megalibrarygirl (talk) 17:36, 28 December 2015 (UTC)

I certainly support making WiR a WikiProject in its own right and also hope for fundamental improvements in navigation. Now that Dr. Blofeld is less active on Wikipedia, the tie-up with WikiProject Women is more difficult to justify although I think we should still maintain the links to all the other women's projects we have on our main page. I also think WiR should progress from article creation to all other aspects of improvement up to GA and FA.--Ipigott (talk) 14:55, 30 December 2015 (UTC)

Wouldn't that defeat the object of calling it "women in red" if you plan on tackling GA and FA too? The name is intended to cover just missing articles is it not? Wouldn't it make more sense to just call it WP:Women and cover everything? You shouldn't feel like I have anything to do with it, WP:Women isn't my project, however much I did to get it running. Personally I think the emphasis should go more towards actual quality than quantity (though I do see a desperate need to even up the 15-85 percentage), or a least a project with seriously focuses on both. Yet you can't really have a Women in Red project which focuses on anything but missing articles, otherwise the name is redundant.♦ Dr. Blofeld 15:01, 30 December 2015 (UTC)

I have no problems with moving back if it makes things easier, but before we do so it might be worth taking another look at the project naming and scope. Should we be solely focusing on just missing articles or should we be working both on GAs/FAs as well as creating new articles. If so, why would we call in Women in Red etc. These are the sorts of questions I think need to be addressed here. If it's purely just missing articles everybody wants to work on rather than pursuing GAs on existing articles then that's fine and perfectly suitable of course.♦ Dr. Blofeld 17:39, 30 December 2015 (UTC)

The scope of Women in Red has always been new article creation focused on women's biographies and women's works, broadly construed. The scope of WikiProject Women is to unify women's projects under one umbrella, while focusing on article improvement (GA, FA), AfD responsiveness, new article creation, and so on. The current "task force" format within Wikipedia's "wikiprojects" doesn't lend for easy navigation within very active task forces, such as WiR. Maybe 1-10 years from now, things will be different. For now, though, Women in Red feels it would be easier to work on its scope as a stand-alone Wikiproject -- as it was previously --- rather than as a task force. I would make the move myself except that Wikiproject X has some programming incorporated into the WiR mainpage and I don't want to mess that up. Wikiproject X: let's make this split happen. --Rosiestep (talk) 18:38, 30 December 2015 (UTC)

Well, in that case keep the Women in Red project solely focused on missing articles and keep pursuing GAs/FAs as part of the general women scope.♦ Dr. Blofeld 19:03, 30 December 2015 (UTC)

Received an email about this project asking what does it do? Was it related to The Woman in Red (1984 film) ....I said no its about making articles of missing content.....perhaps this could be more clear in the projects info. .....that is mention of red links--Moxy (talk) 19:46, 30 December 2015 (UTC)

@Moxy: Good point. I've just edited the lede to try and clarify the redlinks connection. If anyone wants to further tweak/clarify, please go for it! --Rosiestep (talk) 20:39, 30 December 2015 (UTC)

@Moxy: refer them to the Signpost article Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2015-12-16/WikiProject report it explains exactly what we do. SusunW (talk) 23:51, 30 December 2015 (UTC)

@SusunW: If you add this signpost article about Women in red to Category:WikiProjects featured in The Signpost you will make this knowledge available to more readers. Ottawahitech (talk) 16:03, 8 January 2016 (UTC)please ping me

•  Done Cool Ottawahitech had no idea that category even existed. SusunW (talk) 16:09, 8 January 2016 (UTC)

• I think my comments on GA and FA have been misunderstood. What I was trying to say was that we should not stop work on the articles we create under WiR just because they have reached Start or C class or even reached DYK. We should be able to take some of them much further, first to B, then to GA and finally to FA. Many of the women whose biographies we have covered during our editathons or from our lists of red links deserve far better coverage. I know that SusunW is keen to work on quality improvement and so am I. If we can identify the articles we have created (thanks to those new templates we have for the talk pages), then I think WiR should also be credited with taking them to GA or FA. It seems strange to me that the project should be limited exclusively to article creation. But I like the catchy "Women in Red" and think we should keep it. If we decide to improve other articles on women up to GA or FA, then they should clearly come under one of the other WikiProjects on women including WikiProject Women itself. I hope Dr. Blofeld will agree with this approach.--Ipigott (talk) 12:59, 31 December 2015 (UTC)
• "Being a task force" doesn't require using any subpages. If the page title isn't working, then you can move it to something that does work. Being a task force is supposed to save you some hassle with page tagging, template creation, and setting up bots. It's not supposed to force you to use a particular name. WPUS has many task forces, and they mostly don't use subpages as their names. WhatamIdoing (talk) 02:01, 14 January 2016 (UTC)

Restricting memberships of a Taskforce?

I can't find anything on whether that is possible. Perhaps they are all intended to be open to anyone to read about. I am attempting to set up a taskforce on a controversial subject and want to keep out the Troll types for the sake of clear thinking.Jed Stuart (talk) 03:33, 5 January 2016 (UTC)

My best guess is that memberships cannot be restricted in general, although some projects have niche positions that are elected by the membership. I don't think a subject-area taskforce would normally be seen as a niche position. I think you can get away with saying members must have an account, though. Stevie is the man! ^{Talk • Work} 16:51, 8 January 2016 (UTC)

I did not follow the wp:dramah at the time, but wasn't an editor who pushed for a project with restricted membership get banned from Wikipedia not too long ago? (I do not mean to start a rumour, just vaguely rememeber something like this -- please correct me if I am wrong) Ottawahitech (talk) 02:55, 10 January 2016 (UTC)please ping me

@Ottawahitech: I assume you're thinking about the "new" WikiProject Wikipedia, which happened about 4-5 months ago (you can find this version of the project in the page history). This project gave users different levels of membership as opposed to a simple "Members" list. The editor who created it, Tortle, isn't banned (in fact, they've never been blocked); they just aren't active right now due to (I'm assuming) real-life commitments. They're welcome to come back anytime (my opinion, at least). CabbagePotato (talk) 19:46, 10 January 2016 (UTC)

There are no provisions for invitation-only WikiProjects (including task forces). There are no provisions for banning individuals, except the normal WP:IBAN and WP:TBAN procedures, which can be used to stop any individual from talking to another individual, posting to a WikiProject's talk page, etc.

There have been very few problems with this in the past (fewer than I once predicted). The usual solution to the rare problem is for the good editors to abandon the WikiProject to the disruptive/angry/unpleasant/unwanted editor, but to keep working together – and possibly join or create a related WikiProject. (Think "I don't want to sit with the mean kid in the school lunch room, but the school won't let us make him move. Therefore, we will let him have the table that we used to sit at, and we will all go sit at another one.") This is ultimately a bad solution; therefore, I believe that it would be appropriate for WikiProjects to be able eject a would-be member if necessary. But as of now, no such procedure exists.

If your group is sufficiently small, you should consider keeping everything in your userspace; many editors would give you more leeway there. WhatamIdoing (talk) 02:10, 14 January 2016 (UTC)

Bringing inactive projects back to life

I just added an inactive project (Time) banner to Category talk:Lists of killings by law enforcement officers in the United States, 2015. I then proceeded to Wikipedia:WikiProject Time and after checking the talk page decided that to change the project status to semi-active to reflect some activity that is taking place.

Just wondering if and when this information will be reflected in all the talkpage banners which now depict this project as inactive? Thanks in advance, Ottawahitech (talk) 16:12, 8 January 2016 (UTC)please ping me

Ottawahitech, I believe that it will be fixed as soon as you undo this edit. WhatamIdoing (talk) 02:12, 14 January 2016 (UTC)

WikiProject watchlists

I vaguely remember that many w-projects used to have a watchlist which appeared as External links on the wikiproject page. See for example Wikipedia:WikiProject_Time#External_links. I also vaguely remember it used to be very useful tool.

I think all watchlists are now and one of the editors User:Dispenser who used to do this type of work and is still around has moved on to other interests. Anyone here interested in this topic? Thanks in advance, Ottawahitech (talk) 16:35, 8 January 2016 (UTC)please ping me

If you don't mind using AutoWikibrowser, it's fairly simple to roll your own project watchlist. Check out WP:LOU/CP. The first two linked watches are based on a Watchall page (list of all pages in the WikiProject) I build using these instructions. Stevie is the man! ^{Talk • Work} 16:59, 8 January 2016 (UTC)

@Stevietheman: not everyone (this includes me) has access to AWB. Ottawahitech (talk) 02:48, 10 January 2016 (UTC)please ping me

@Ottawahitech: access to use AWB isn't required as you don't have to login with it to build the lists. All you need to do is install the AWB app. All that's required is a modern version of Windows to install it on. Stevie is the man! ^{Talk • Work} 12:43, 10 January 2016 (UTC)

Its still works, just on another server because of the pricks at WMF don't allow redirects to third party servers (despite it working before they took over). They also don't like responding to email and take 6 weeks to restore service, but will immediately cut service off while writing that email to legal they requested you to write.
I updated Wikipedia:List of WikiProject watchlists (topical). — Dispenser 21:22, 8 January 2016 (UTC)

Thank you Dispenser for fixing all wp:WikiProject Watchlists. I know you are busy, but can anyone explain the issue of third party servers to those of us who are clueless (me). Thanks in advance, Ottawahitech (talk) 21:20, 9 January 2016 (UTC)please ping me

dispenser.homenet.org is my home server with a secure database connection to Wikimedia Labs. WMF and I have issues , like I want 24+ TB to archive links and they want to neuter the encyclopedia. They preach Open Source, then buy Google Apps licenses. Deny IP address access for privacy, then provide a public IP geolocation service. They talk about wanting a link checker, I mention I did it 8 years ago. They're just dysfunctional. — Dispenser 05:24, 10 January 2016 (UTC)

There is a proposed simple change to the software that would make WikiProject watchlists a lot easier to maintain. See Phabricator ticket. Harej (talk) 03:26, 18 January 2016 (UTC)

Democracy

User:Harej, someone just created WP:WikiProject Democracy. The project appears to be about promoting the use of democratic methods on Wikipedia, i.e., WP:NOTDEMOCRACY stuff, rather than about improving articles on the subject. Can you make sure that it gets listed in the correct section of the Directory? WhatamIdoing (talk) 02:15, 14 January 2016 (UTC)

WhatamIdoing, I added it to Category:Wikipedia WikiProjects, which is the proper category for non-content-related WikiProjects. Harej (talk) 03:36, 18 January 2016 (UTC)

Using AlexNewArtBot

Just wondering if anyone here has experience in setting up and running AlexNewArtBot for their project. Is it worth the trouble? What does it do? Thanks in advance, Ottawahitech (talk) 23:33, 16 January 2016 (UTC)please ping me

Winningest in sports articles under discussion

Please participate in the discussion at Wikipedia talk:Manual of Style#"winningest" in sports articles. --Dennis Bratland (talk) 21:09, 17 January 2016 (UTC)

WikiProject X Newsletter • Issue 6

Newsletter • January 2016

Hello there! Happy to be writing this newsletter once more. This month:

What comes next

Some good news: the Wikimedia Foundation has renewed WikiProject X. This means we can continue focusing on making WikiProjects better.

During our first round of work, we created a prototype WikiProject based on two ideas: (1) WikiProjects should clearly present things for people to do, and (2) The content of WikiProjects should be automated as much as possible. We launched pilots, and for the most part it works. But this approach will not work for the long term. While it makes certain aspects of running a WikiProject easier, it makes the maintenance aspects harder.

We are working on a major overhaul that will address these issues. New features will include:

• Creating WikiProjects by simply filling out a form, choosing which reports you want to generate for your project. This will work with existing bots in addition to the Reports Bot reports. (Of course, you can also have sections curated by humans.)
• One-click button to join a WikiProject, with optional notifications.
• Be able to define your WikiProject's scope within the WikiProject itself by listing relevant pages and categories, eliminating the need to tag every talk page with a banner. (You will still be allowed to do that, of course. It just won't be required.)

The end goal is a collaboration tool that can be used by WikiProjects but also by any edit-a-thon or group of people that want to coordinate on improving articles. Though implemented as an extension, the underlying content will be wikitext, meaning that you can continue to use categories, templates, and other features as you normally would.

This will take a lot of work, and we are just getting started. What would you like to see? I invite you to discuss on our talk page.

Until next time,

Harej (talk) 02:53, 20 January 2016 (UTC)