Submission deadline: Error: first parameter cannot be parsed as a date or time.! Publication scheduled for late Wednesday. Once all tasks are complete, editors-in-chief Gamaliel, Go Phightins!, or publication manager Pine will complete the publication process.
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Our current standard weekly schedule:
Thursday–Sunday: start. Start all pages that are to be included in the next edition, either on-wiki or in Google Docs. Please note that "News and notes", "In the media", and the "Arbitration report" are typically drafted in the latter, but suggestions for them are always welcome through our suggestions page. Note that Featured content, due to using a weekly schedule based on WP:GO, will not have a finalized content list until the Sunday (UTC) starts, and will thus usually be a little bit behind the others at this point.
Monday: draft. A rough outline of topics to be covered should be in place by the middle of Monday, so that if a regular reporter is unavailable, the editor can find a replacement for that week.
Tuesday, early Wednesday: mature versions. Aim to have reasonably mature drafts of all pages for comments by the managing editors, fellow journalists, and other interested editors. Signpost editors recommend any structural changes, reductions in length, expansions in scope, necessary coordination between pages, postponement to subsequent issue.
Wednesday: finish! Last-minute tweaks and copy-editors go through the drafts; publication in the evening. However, due to its prominent position at Portal:Featured content, the Signpostcannot publish if every single section of the Featured Content report isn't finished, and this section can't even really be started until Sunday mornings. Please pitch in if Featured Content is falling behind.
Current discussion
Ideas for Signpost features can be pitched and discussed by any interested parties here. Items should be listed directly at the opinion desk or the special desk, submissions from which are automatically transcluded here.
From the opinion desk
The following proposals have been transcluded from the opinion desk.
Are you asking us to do it? Because we both have our hands full with the Top 25/Traffic report. And unless it goes in the Signpost, I don't really know where to put it. Serendipodous22:12, 1 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, I've been asking for it over and over, with plenty of enthusiastic support. Why not just link to it from the bottom of the Traffic report? EllenCT (talk) 04:08, 2 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The following proposals have been transcluded from the review desk.
The following proposals have been transcluded from the dispatch workshop.
Ideas
This space is for editors sharing internal ideas about topics or issues the Signpost should focus on or find writers to address, but for which reports or proposals have not yet been drafted. Items here are automatically transcluded to the opinion and special desks so that contributing editors may be aware of our current editorial focus.
Wikimedia Ukraine: Possible follow-up with Wikimedia Ukraine on editing WP in the midst of war? (see previous coverage)
Copyright: How overly strict copyright limits are hurting Wikimedia contributors? Alternatively, how Wikimedia contributors' copyrights are violated on a daily basis?
Resource exchange: An interview with the people who help content creators at the Resource Exchange.
Public release I've seen a couple of stories about major releases of materials into the Creative Commons of large numbers of literary and scholarly works in the languages of India, specifically Kannada and Tamil, thanks to the efforts of Wikipedians. Perhaps a talk with some of the participants or an overview of these kinds of efforts?
Guerrilla Skepticism: Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia is still a hot topic amongst proponents of alternative medicine and science. This seems ripe for a news feature or perhaps an interview with Susan Gerbic.
Effectively ready for publication review; more briefs can be added as the week goes along and stuff happens but major stories will be held over until next week. Two reasons: this is already very long; and I don't have time to deal with it during the weekdays. ResMar06:29, 1 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]
OK, are any interviews in progress, and do you have anyone in mind who might be interested in doing the section for a while? Thanks, Rc. GoPhightins!02:23, 4 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I don't know of anybody in particular, although you could try inviting Mabeenot back. Meanwhile, I see you asked some questions for WP Christianity; you need to invite them to respond. Also, I don't prefer "Rc". Rcsprinter123(confess) @ 18:53, 4 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Mabeenot is unfortunately extremely busy in real life (I've emailed him about coming back a couple times before you took it on!). We're going to put the spot in "from the editor" this week and hope someone bites. We'll be happy to see you back whenever you can do it, Rcsprinter123! Ed[talk][majestic titan]05:22, 5 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, I second that. Don't feel you have to keep it up every week, just contribute when you can. I enjoy reading your reports. Gamaliel (talk) 05:31, 5 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Maybe we could include the roll-out of these little section links I'm seeing all over the non-main namespace all of the sudden. ResMar22:45, 4 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]
As an aside: does our agreement with them require us to run a blog post every week? I'd quite like to do it bi-weekly instead, because introducing what seems like a new weekly section will draw attention away from the rest of our (actual) articles. ResMar05:04, 4 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I'm fine with this going forward, but I'd like to run this one in-particular because it covers a lot of things that were in the news. A good tie in and it will save me some writing tomorrow. Gamaliel (talk) 05:18, 4 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]
In addition to once-off and irregular features contributed on an ad hoc basis, the Signpost has a number of regular reports (published on a weekly, biweekly, or monthly basis) for which experienced contributors tend to claim responsibility. This responsibility entails ensuring the report in question is consistently well-written and submitted before deadline, which in turn involves selecting the stories to be covered, managing the writing of the report (often contributing most of the content themselves, or recruiting other reporters to do so), and communicating with the newsroom to keep editors informed of developments. While all articles are subject to final review by the editor-in-chief (or managing editors), the regular reporter of a feature typically determines its direction and focus.
The Signpost is always looking for new reporters, so if you are interested in contributing to a given feature, contact the reporter listed as responsible for it below, add yourself to the "Contributors" column of the feature, or simply go right ahead and edit the draft article. If there is no reporter listed as responsible for a given feature, interested editors with experience contributing to the report and who feel up to the task can assume responsibility for it. If a regular reporter is unavailable or no draft for the next issue is listed above, any editor should feel free to write it that week.
