User talk:Smallbones

/Archive 1, User:Smallbones/Archive 2, User:Smallbones/Archive 3, User:Smallbones/Archive 4, User:Smallbones/Archive 5, User:Smallbones/Archive 6, User:Smallbones/Archive 7 User:Smallbones/Archive 8

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So, naturalists observe, a flea
Hath smaller fleas that on him prey;
And these have smaller still to bit 'em;
And so proceed ad infinitum.
Thus every poet, in his kind,
Is bit by him that comes behind.
Jonathan Swift, On Poetry: A Rhapsody (1733)

No, not these small bones, it's a family name

Thank you

I've seen how much you hate paid editors, and continuously making an effort to stop them, I really grateful to have you here on English Wikipedia :D .--AldNon^Ucallin?☎ 15:43, 20 March 2014 (UTC)

@Aldnonymous: Thanks for noticing! It's always good to get positive feedback. I will correct you, however, I don't hate paid editors, rather it is paid editing that is hateful. It is tearing down a wonderful structure that has been built up by many volunteers, that provides good information to whoever has access to the internet. If that information is poisoned, and people can't trust us, then the whole structure may collapse.

Your post reminded me of a news story from a couple of decades ago. After the fall of the Soviet Union people started cutting down and selling copper cable from high power electrical transmission systems (nominally still in use). I don't hate those folks who cut down the cable - they were doing what they had to do to survive. I did hate the fact that the transmission systems were being destroyed. It just seemed like there must be a pretty simple enforcement system that would stop the destruction. Everybody likely knew who was buying the cable - these folks could be stopped fairly simply if anybody took the obvious steps. Similarly, most people likely knew who was cutting the cable or where to look to stop folks from cutting more. So the system was messed up, but the parts of the system that led to the destruction of the cable could easily be fixed. The actual folks who cut the cable, in my mind, were less responsible than the authorities who couldn't be bothered to take a few minimal steps. That's my reading in any case.

Thanks again.

Smallbones_(smalltalk) 17:32, 20 March 2014 (UTC)

That was insightful, I'm the one who should thanking you (again :D), and... You're welcome.--AldNon^Ucallin?☎ 19:54, 20 March 2014 (UTC)

Editor of the Week

		Editor of the Week
		Your ongoing efforts to improve the encyclopedia have not gone unnoticed: You have been selected as Editor of the Week, for integrity and valiance in the fight against paid editing. Thank you for the great contributions! (courtesy of the Wikipedia Editor Retention Project)

User:Coretheapple submitted the following nomination for Editor of the Week:

I nominate Smallbones as Editor of the Week for the integrity that he brings to the project, and for his yeoman work - unsung, unrecognized, unappreciated - fighting to preserve Wikipedia from encroachments by paid editors. He has been an editor for more than eight and a half years, and during that time has edited a staggering 11,337 articles at last count. He is not an administrator, heaven only knows why (too much sense?), but a content contributor par excellence, with in excess of 31,000 edits, 65% of them in article space. He is a generalist's generalist, with his top contributions ranging from Bernard Madoff to Media, Pennsylvania. But his prodigious talents as a contributor are not the only assets he brings to the project. No one has fought longer and more valiantly against paid editing. It is a great pleasure to nominate Smallbones for Editor of the Week.

You can copy the following text to your user page to display a user box proclaiming your selection as Editor of the Week:

{{subst:Wikipedia:WikiProject Editor Retention/Editor of the Week/Recipient user box}}

Smallbones

A Favorite Photo

Editor of the Week for the week beginning August, 2014

A content contributor par excellence known for integrity and yeoman work fighting encroachments by paid editors.

Recognized for

Contributions ranging from Bernard Madoff to Media, Pennsylvania.

Nomination page

Thanks again for your efforts! Go Phightins! 16:04, 3 August 2014 (UTC)

• Thanks for your continuing concern over the issue and your calm, level-headed approach. ```Buster Seven Talk 18:36, 3 August 2014 (UTC)

Wow! It's always great to get feedback like this. Thanks Coretheapple and Buster7 Smallbones_(smalltalk) 18:49, 3 August 2014 (UTC)

Hey Smallbones, just wanted to express my thanks as well for both for your contributions and your engagement with others on broader ideas with Wikipedia that I've seen on Jimbo's talk page and other spots. I often find it difficult to jump into those conversations myself, but I do read them, and I appreciate your thoughtfulness. I, JethroBT ^{drop me a line} 02:02, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

• Very pleased to propose this. Your contributions are tremendously appreciated. Coretheapple (talk) 19:55, 7 August 2014 (UTC)

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everybody!!!

"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold,

I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."

Luke 2:10-11 (King James Version)

Chris Troutman (talk) is wishing you a Merry Christmas.

This greeting (and season) promotes WikiLove.

Spread the cheer by adding {{Subst:Xmas4}} to their talk page with a friendly message.

Season's Greetings

FWiW Bzuk (talk) 02:54, 23 December 2019 (UTC)

Happy Holidays

Hello Smallbones: Enjoy the holiday season, and thanks for your work to maintain, improve and expand Wikipedia. Cheers, DBigXrayᗙ Happy Holidays! 18:35, 24 December 2019 (UTC)

Spread the WikiLove; use {{subst:Season's Greetings1}} to send this message

Belated holiday greetings

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• File:Christmas Train Lanterns With Capiz.jpg

Belated holiday greetings. Merry Christmas and happy new year.
↠Pine (✉) 05:56, 27 December 2019 (UTC)

On behalf of everyone at The Signpost: past, present, and future because I asked all of them

Whack! You've been whacked with a wet trout. Did I miss a discussion about who we collectively honor?

No trout from me, sorry. How 'bout an otter instead? ☆ Bri (talk) 16:17, 27 December 2019 (UTC)

Happy New Year!

George Bellows, North River (1908), Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.		Best wishes for a healthy and prosperous 2020.
		Thank you for your contributions toward making Wikipedia a better and more accurate place. BoringHistoryGuy (talk) 12:39, 30 December 2019 (UTC)

LovelyLillith (talk) has bought you a whisky! Sharing a whisky is a great way to bond with other editors after a day of hard work. Spread the WikiLove by buying someone else a whisky, whether it be someone with whom you have collaborated or had disagreements. Enjoy!

Thank you for your warm holiday wishes! I understand many journalist-types enjoy a little bit of spirit to get them through tough editing deadlines, so here’s a glass raised both to your work at the Signpost as well as in hope for a good 2020. - Cheers, Lil

Spread the good cheer and camaraderie by adding {{WikiScotch}} to their talk page with a friendly message. Message received at 13:41, 1 January 2020 (UTC)

Happy New Year!

	Happy New Year
	Dear Smallbones, Best wishes to you and yours in 2020! Happy New Year! Mary Mark Ockerbloom (talk) 16:58, 1 January 2020 (UTC)

A supposition and a suggestion

A supposition: the material oversighted from Pete Buttigieg was not removed because it contained a link to this Slate article. It was removed because it named a person and their alleged Wikipedia username. The link is not the issue (as I keep demonstrating). Saying that a reliable source has alleged that Pete Buttigieg may have edited his own Wikipedia page is not the issue. @Levivich: Sounds reasonable?

A suggestion: Drop the hyperbole about censorship of the press. Report the story as you would any other news item involving Wikipedia. See what happens. If there are any threats or blocks, you will have your censorship story. If there aren't, you will have reported the original item as you had intended before this all started. What do you think? Bitter Oil (talk) 18:26, 1 January 2020 (UTC)

@Bitter Oil and Levivich: BO, I really don't know what you want me to do. I would like to have a real discussion of the issues raised by Ashley Feinberg's recent Slate article. These issues include what should we consider "outing" when somebody like Feinberg can find out in a half-hour on the internet, essentially all the info included under our definition of outing, without breaking into anything or breaking any laws. Now when she asks a Wikipedia editor his/her real name and the editor responds, why are we supposed to ignore the material she reports? It's not in our policies and guidelines e.g. Wikipedia:Linking to external harassment.

Now when 3 other reliable sources report her conclusions, including the Washington Post, are we really supposed to blacklist those articles as well? No, there's a link in there to something we don't like, so we can't even discuss that article, can't even mention the words "Washington Post".

Of course there's a cost to (supposedly) having such bizarre rules. One cost is that any admin or oversighters feels they have the right to look at my draft articles and say "no you can't publish that." If those people want to censor me, they should at least have the decency to let me come up with a final version and censor me *after publication.* . Another cost of such censorship is that we can't have a reasonable discussion of paid editors. Those folks are a real menace on Wikipedia. There's a huge amount of fraud going on on Wikipedia. Submitting to those supposed rules - we can't even suggest who those people we're talking about by linking through a reliable source that links through another reliable source - leaves us with a case of lockjaw. I'd much rather link to reliable sources and have a serious discussion about the cost to Wikipedians of allowing free-reign to those crooks. So obviously this isn't a case just about Pete Buttigieg. This is a case of let me at least be about to link to the Washington GD Post! Smallbones_(smalltalk) 21:13, 1 January 2020 (UTC)

Which article is already linked from another Wiki-in-media list (not The Signpost). Smallbones' link in the Signpost draft was seemingly/constructively singled out for suppression. Which just compounds the shittiness. ☆ Bri (talk) 22:51, 1 January 2020 (UTC)

Since it’s an oversight issue, it might be for the new arbcom to decide. Generally I don’t understand the logic of oversighting a link to WaPo. – Levivich 23:00, 1 January 2020 (UTC)

Don't misunderstand me. I am not saying that anyone should drop the larger issue of as raised by Levivich. I think we all pretty much agree on that. But as far as the Signpost goes, I am suggesting that perhaps there was a misunderstanding of sorts, created by very poor communication on the part of overly circumspect oversighters. But having given it more thought, I now agree that the issue should be resolved so that you can freely write about the Buttigieg instance without concern that you are going to get blocked (even if I don't think it is a possibility). I will will strike my suggestion. Bitter Oil (talk) 04:58, 2 January 2020 (UTC)

Food for thought

User:MER-C/AdminStats - what was deleted, blocked or protected in 2019?

Quick conclusions:

• Biggest problems are spamming, vandalism and sockpuppetry in that order if you sum up deletions, protections and blocks.
• I was somewhat surprised to see G5 to be the number one CSD in mainspace.
• Spam deletions are G11 only. Given that the underlying reason behind some of sockpuppets is spam and UPE the numbers should really be bigger. Also some G13s, U5s, copyvios, PRODs, AFDs and saltings are also spam but aren't reflected in the logs. (Deletion reasons are not mutually exclusive. I count all reasons if multiple reasons are taken.)
• Lots of spambots being locked on Meta out of our sight.
• Portal deletions show up in a big way.

It's not likely that I will have enough time to do a writeup for the next Signpost. MER-C 08:38, 3 January 2020 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – January 2020

News and updates for administrators from the past month (December 2019).

Administrator changes

Dreamy Jazz • Newslinger • Rosguill

Deor • Spartaz • Xeno

Angusmclellan • clpo13 • Edgar181 • Matthewedwards • NCurse

CheckUser changes

Bradv • Casliber • David Fuchs • Maxim • Newyorkbrad • SoWhy • Xeno

Oversight changes

Bradv • Casliber • DGG • David Fuchs • Maxim • Newyorkbrad • SoWhy • Xeno

Someguy1221

Guideline and policy news

• A request for comment asks whether partial blocks should be enabled on the English Wikipedia. If enabled, this functionality would allow administrators to block users from editing specific pages or namespaces, rather than the entire site.
• A proposal asks whether admins who don't use their tools for a significant period of time (e.g. five years) should have the toolset procedurally removed.
• Following a successful RfC, a whitelist is now available for users whose redirects will be autopatrolled by a bot, removing them from the new pages patrol queue. Admins can add such users to Wikipedia:New pages patrol/Redirect whitelist after a discussion following the guidelines at Wikipedia talk:New pages patrol/Redirect whitelist.

Arbitration

• The fourth case on Palestine-Israel articles was closed. The case consolidated all previous remedies under one heading, which should make them easier to understand, apply, and enforce. In particular, the distinction between "primary articles" and "related content" has been clarified, with the former being the entire set of articles whose topic relates to the Arab-Israeli conflict, broadly interpreted rather than reasonably construed.
• Following the 2019 Arbitration Committee elections, the following editors have been appointed to the Arbitration Committee: Beeblebrox, Bradv, Casliber, David Fuchs, DGG, KrakatoaKatie, Maxim, Newyorkbrad, SoWhy, Worm That Turned, Xeno.

Miscellaneous

• This issue marks three full years of the Admin newsletter. Thanks for reading!

---

• Discuss this newsletter
• Subscribe
• Archive

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 20:07, 4 January 2020 (UTC)

Hot tip...

Read this and then check out the history here. Bitter Oil (talk) 22:27, 11 January 2020 (UTC)

historic Presbyterian churches and other sites

FYI, I have followed your lead and your use of source in List of Presbyterian churches in Pennsylvania to develop American Presbyterian/Reformed Historic Sites Registry (in progress), which will list all the Presbyterian historic sites. And in progress about adding items to corresponding disambiguation pages like First Presbyterian Church and Buffalo Presbyterian Church. It will further then be a big job to mention all those that are churches then in the corresponding state sections of List of Presbyterian churches in the United States. And to change all the NRHP-listed ones' articles to mention the APRHS listings. I am hopeful this is worthwhile; hopeful that the sources are substantial; not completely sure.

By the way I emailed request for copies of the two volumes " On holy ground" and "On holy ground II" about the first 200 American Presbyterian/Reformed Historical Sites, published by the Presbyterian Historical Society in 1982 and 1999. So far I have gotten just an automated reply. I am hopeful about these being good sources. Did you happen to get these? --Doncram (talk) 19:01, 13 January 2020 (UTC)

Six million

• here are my answers to Bri's questions. hope they are acceptable.

I don't know if you remember it, but it looks like you are about to win Wikipedia:Six-million pool. ☆ Bri (talk) 20:58, 3 January 2020 (UTC)

• There's still a chance he might not, if Wikipedia hasn't reached six million before 26 March 2020. JIP | Talk 22:30, 5 January 2020 (UTC)
  • Ok, Bri suggested a brief interview for The Signpost. I don't know exactly where we'll put it, but at least part of it will make it into the next issue.
• Q1: What are you going to do with the $6,000,000 prize? (just kidding!)

I don't know, but if i get in a catastrophic test plane accident and have my legs, one arm, and one eye destroyed, I know what I am doing with $6,000,000. Gentlepersons, they can rebuild me. They have the technology. They have the capability to build the world's first bionic Wikipedian. Mercurywoodrose will be that editor. Better than he was before. Better, stronger, faster, with more reliable sources.

• Q2: Do you remember why you made the December 2019 prediction 6 years ago?

I figured I knew just enough about mathematics to make a somewhat accurate back of the napkin estimate for the date, factoring in a bit of the slowdown in new article creation, and believing that this downward trend in new articles would continue. I'm sure I must have done an actual calculation, but the methods I used would probably give an actual statistician apoplexy. It was a miseducated guess.

• Q3: What's the biggest change you've seen in Wikipedia you've seen in that time (other than a couple of million articles)

A team of editors with way too much time on their hands created an automation system for creating new Portals. What's a Portal, you ask? Exactly... On a side note, the biggest change that did NOT occur is that the Deletionists and the Inclusionists are still engaged in a Manichean struggle, with neither side winning. The proof of this is that the number of articles has not gone to zero, decreased by a factor of Thanos, or expanded to infinity and beyond.

• Q4: How many articles have you created?

310. using created by me, and adding up the total articles by HAND. Computers! Ha! Who needs them! I did get into the top 400 editors by edit count, which of course is a meaningless measure, but it was fun while it lasted.

• Q5: What's your prediction for the 8,000,000th article? (the 7,000,000 pool is closed)

I cannot predict that, its beyond my processing capacity as a quasi-quantum computer, but I know what i would LIKE it to be. An article about ME, of course. Hopefully for something worthwhile, not notorious. First Wikipedian to be shot into the Sun for being too sarcastic? Well, that's sort of both...

• Q6: Is all the effort going into creating all these articles worth it? Shouldn't we be concentrating on quality over quantity by now? (Sorry, if that one is too serious)

I will answer with an entirely unrelated story: Paul Krassner, in his autobiography Confessions of a Raving, Unconfined Nut, wrote about Stewart Brand, Whole Earth Catalog confabulator, "He could be more of a minimalist than Bob Dylan. I told Brand about the time I went to hear Ram Dass speak, and in the audience a heckler shouted out his capsule critique, "Words!" I told Brand I later learned that the heckler had once ***** a goat. Brand scoffed, "Deeds!""

• Q7: What's your favorite article out of the last million created (since November 1, 2015)?

Aside from my own articles created during this time, of which my favorite subject is Jen Bartel (she rocks), I don't know. How about new articles on things i like? My first thought, I really loved Joker. That article was created, oh, wow, on my birthday! I didn't expect that!.

• Q8: Anything else you want to add? Feel free to be serious, philosophical, sentimental, humorous, thank your mother, etc.

I'm a little sad that new editors will be facing an ever more complete work, with fewer areas to expand without being an expert. Perhaps we should consider erasing Wikipedia every few decades, and recreating it from scratch, to give new editors that initial experience of joy and wonder that they can be part of this, not just an observer, by clicking that innocent little "edit" tab. But maybe there is hope, maybe that sense of wonder will persist into the future. I know I fell in love with Wikipedia, and while I'm no longer obsessed with editing, I may fall in love all over again.

Thanks,

Smallbones_(smalltalk) 05:08, 10 January 2020 (UTC)

Mercurywoodrose (talk) 02:56, 14 January 2020 (UTC)

Saturday Jan 25: Met 'Understanding America' Edit-a-thon @ Metropolitan Museum of Art

Jan 25, 12:30pm: Met 'Understanding America' Edit-a-thon @ Metropolitan Museum of Art

You are invited to join the Wikimedia NYC community for the Met 'Understanding America' Edit-a-thon @ Metropolitan Museum of Art on the Upper East Side. Together, we'll expand Wikipedia articles on American history and art, and the understanding that all communities bring to American culture, as reflected in the Met collection up until ca. 1900. With refreshments, and there will be a wiki-cake! Open to everyone at all levels of experience, wiki instructional workshop and one-on-one support will be provided. Saturday Jan 25 Met 'Understanding America' Edit-a-thon @ Metropolitan Museum of Art (RSVP on-wiki or at meetup.com). 12:30pm - 4:30 pm at Uris Center for Education, Metropolitan Museum of Art (81st Street entrance) at 1000 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan (note this is just south of the main entrance) Galleries will be open this evening until 9 pm, and some wiki-visitors may wish to take this opportunity to see exhibits together after the formal event. Newcomers are very welcome! Bring your friends, colleagues and students! --Wikimedia New York City Team 21:02, 21 January 2020 (UTC)

(You can subscribe/unsubscribe from future notifications for NYC-area events by adding or removing your name from this list.)

Suggestion for community view

I noticed in the newsroom for the Signpost you have a draft idea for community view on the most important Wikipedia articles since 2015; I'd like to propose the Donna Strickland one, for how it displayed popular views of Wikipedia's content gaps, the media's (mis)understanding of Wikipedia, and, as best exemplified here, for showing how a diverse team of editors from across the globe worked in tandem to expand, enhance, and translate the article across the encyclopedia. -Indy beetle (talk) 23:18, 21 January 2020 (UTC)

@Indy beetle: thanks for giving me a KITA on this. It could be a great article, but it needs input from the Signpost staff and the community and time is short. Please do write up the Donna Strickland article. You might mention the number of times the subject appeared Signpost articles (6?), or how many page views it had in 2019, or any reason you'd like. (I was thinking about that article as most important, but I decided not to.) My example will likely be Centennial comfort stations, which is important in that it is a small article with some personal meaning to the author (me). Most of our articles are similar. I suggested 120 words. We can judge that after the first 2 examples are written then get staff and invitees involved. If we're short of a dozen, there are masses we can ask, e.g. at Jimbo's talk page. Looking forward to seeing your contribution. Smallbones_(smalltalk) 00:21, 22 January 2020 (UTC)

I think my computer doesn't like the raven paradox

• Happy with you withdrawing the raven paradox article paragraph, mainly because my system is having a serious hissy fit about it - each time I load its page history anew and click on "oldest edits" (definitely not "older"!) it's giving me different pages. The first time it gave me a 2016 page - my fault for not checking the bottom edit was a create one. I think I'll leave off editing the Signpost till I've tracked down why this might be! Nosebagbear (talk) 14:21, 22 January 2020 (UTC)

Ok, thanks. But when the computer is straightened out, I'd love to see a different article. Smallbones_(smalltalk) 14:22, 22 January 2020 (UTC)

Your email

Just wanted to confirm receipt of your email of 22 January 2020, which I received at 18:32 UTC today. Unfortunately, I have commitments off-wiki that do not permit me to provide you with the requested information before the relevant deadline - I note the 24 January 23:59 UTC writing deadline for the next issue. Perhaps it would be helpful to make such requests earlier than 36 hours prior to the end of the writing deadline in the future, especially when the request involves activities taken a couple of months in the past. I'm sorry that I can't help you on such short notice. Risker (talk) 06:46, 23 January 2020 (UTC)

@Risker:I have discretion on the deadline. I can hold it for a couple of days here if needed. I can wait for your response until 6:30 UTC 26 January. Thats about . 66 hours from now. If you just have the basic information, e.g. if the report exists, that will be ok. Thanks. Smallbones_(smalltalk) 12:36, 23 January 2020 (UTC)

Thanks for your response. I wasn't onwiki again until today. Well, technically, I did try to log in at some point yesterday but kept getting error messages; and today I was mostly focusing on the Oversight and Checkuser OTRS queues before doing anything else. I'm sure you'd understand giving that work priority. If you have a chance, could you link me to the relevant Signpost article, assuming it was published? Risker (talk) 04:37, 28 January 2020 (UTC)

something else

And I don't want to leave you hanging with expectations but RL and out-of-country travel has limited my input for the next few weeks or longer. My apologies...^Atsme _Talk 📧 16:07, 24 January 2020 (UTC)

Our most important new article since November 1, 2015

Depends on the definition of "important" but the most important event to Americans was on the night of November 8, 2016, when Donald J. Trump was called the winner by major news broadcasts. Probably we do not have a new article for that event.--Dthomsen8 (talk) 19:06, 23 January 2020 (UTC)

@Dthomsen8: - importance is subjective - at least for The Signpost article. Note that the article must have been created after November 1, 2015. Presidency of Donald Trump might be what you're looking for. I was surprised that the 2016 Donald Trump presidential campaign article was started in the summer of 2015. There may be some other article somewhere in the middle. Please do put it right on Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/Next issue/Community view. Less than 120 words please - I can format for you once it is there. Smallbones_(smalltalk) 19:09, 23 January 2020 (UTC)

Signpost: User:MJL/sandbox3

Sorry to spring this on you last minute, but I've almost finished writing a special report for the next edition of the Signpost regarding Brian Boulton. Any chance there's still time to include it? –MJL ‐Talk‐^☖ 21:41, 25 January 2020 (UTC)

That's a beautiful article. I hope you can include it, Smallbones. Liz ^{Read! Talk!} 00:06, 26 January 2020 (UTC)

@Liz: I hope so too. Smallbones_(smalltalk) 00:08, 26 January 2020 (UTC)

Fixed a few post-copyedit dabs for you

I fixed a few dab links in Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/Next issue/In the media[1]. davidwr/(talk)/(contribs) 21:30, 26 January 2020 (UTC)

A cup of coffee for you!

After overseeing another great and successful edition of the Signpost, and writing a spot on editorial, you must be pretty tired. Hopefully this cuppa will perk you up and keep ya going! CaptainEek Edits Ho Cap'n!⚓ 06:53, 27 January 2020 (UTC)

Extra effort

		The Signpost Barnstar
		For a very large amount of hours for this month's issue of The Signpost and its many pieces. ↠Pine (✉) 04:58, 28 January 2020 (UTC)

Excellent work on the Signpost

Smallbones, it's an impressive outcome this month. Tony (talk) 10:19, 28 January 2020 (UTC)

Thanks @Tony1: That's especially meaningful to me coming from the best Signpost reporter that I ever saw. Smallbones_(smalltalk) 12:48, 28 January 2020 (UTC)

Asked Llywrch to close the Status Labs ToU RFC; also Upwork stuff

Heya Smallbones, I just asked Llywrch to close the Status Labs ToU RFC and I just want to ask what your Foundation Legal contacts say about it. Please let them know Doc James is sharing it with the Board and ask them if there is anything else the community can do to get enforcement action going.

Also how do you feel about reaching out to Upwork to see if we can get them to, for example, flag postings that mention Wikipedia, perhaps requiring them include the names of specific articles and subject matter that the prospective employers are asking to hire editors for, and providing the text of them somewhere so we can keep a closer eye on abuses? Their high-profile Chief Economist Adam Ozimek is a long-time Wikipedia fan who might be our best contact for such a request. I know someone said that they had offered to forbid requests for Wikipedia-related work if we changed our ToU to eliminate all paid editing, but we might be able to get more effective COI rules enforcement by getting a stream of article names to scrutinize (i.e., instead of driving the requests underground into postings which don't mention Wikipedia at all.) Please let me know what you think. EllenCT (talk) 01:36, 31 January 2020 (UTC)

The recently closed near unanimous call for action

The recently closed near unanimous call for action speaks to the persuasiveness of your op-ed. Several of the !voters mentioned it specifically, and I'm sure many more either read it or were persuaded by those who did. Thanks for your staying power on this crucial issue. ☆ Bri (talk) 07:02, 31 January 2020 (UTC)

Yes, indeed. I'm very glad that you brought to our attention that the WMF wanted an explicit call to action from the community before taking any further action. Because of that, well, now they've got one. I hope you'll be able to communicate with the individual(s) who brought that to your attention and make sure they're aware of that outcome. Seraphimblade ^{Talk to me} 01:46, 1 February 2020 (UTC)

@Seraphimblade: I think I'll be able to get through on Monday, and I'd hope to get some sort of reaction by Wednesday, but this might take longer. I don't think that any WMFers responded in the Article comments, which might indicate that they'd like a bit of distance in order to formulate an official reaction. Smallbones_(smalltalk) 02:19, 1 February 2020 (UTC)

@Smallbones: any news? Would you please clarify whether the official(s) who asked for the mandate were on or off the record? EllenCT (talk) 18:20, 6 February 2020 (UTC)

@EllenCT:I consider this to be a delicate matter, and perhaps I haven't been very delicate myself. The emails were all on the record, but I doubt that you would recognize the names of the people involved. I believe I do have some discretion in this. My sole concern right now is how to best handle this very serious matter in a way such that I can still gather and publish news about it, while still assuming good faith for people who deserve it. Almost all the people involved, with the exceptions being those at Status Labs, deserve an assumption of good faith. But the conclusion that our method of dealing with undeclared already-banned paid editors does not work is obvious. I'm still trying to change that method, as best I know how. So, patience please, and thanks for the reminder that I've still got a lot to do on this. All the best Smallbones_(smalltalk) 18:52, 6 February 2020 (UTC)

No problem, I have the utmost respect for your discretion. Do you want to reach out to Upwork too? EllenCT (talk) 19:48, 6 February 2020 (UTC)

Do you want to try to open a discussion with Upwork, Smallbones? If you do, I don't want to interfere, but if you don't, I'd like to. EllenCT (talk) 22:32, 22 February 2020 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – February 2020

News and updates for administrators from the past month (January 2020).

Administrator changes

Ergo Sum • Nick Moyes • QEDK • Wugapodes

Dennis Brown

Aude • BrownHairedGirl • CALR • Jengod • John Reaves • J.smith • Kim Dent-Brown • K1Bond007 • MECU • Refdoc • RHaworth

CheckUser changes

Opabinia regalis • Premeditated Chaos

Interface administrator changes

Ragesoss

Guideline and policy news

• Following a request for comment, partial blocks are now enabled on the English Wikipedia. This functionality allows administrators to block users from editing specific pages or namespaces rather than the entire site. A draft policy is being workshopped at Wikipedia:Partial blocks.
• The request for comment seeking the community's sentiment for a binding desysop procedure closed with wide-spread support for an alternative desysoping procedure based on community input. No proposed process received consensus.

Technical news

• Twinkle now supports partial blocking. There is a small checkbox that toggles the "partial" status for both blocks and templating. There is currently one template: {{uw-pblock}}.
• When trying to move a page, if the target title already exists then a warning message is shown. The warning message will now include a link to the target title. [2]

Arbitration

• Following a recent arbitration case, the Arbitration Committee reminded administrators that checkuser and oversight blocks must not be reversed or modified without prior consultation with the checkuser or oversighter who placed the block, the respective functionary team, or the Arbitration Committee.

Miscellaneous

• Voting in the 2020 Steward elections will begin on 08 February 2020, 14:00 (UTC) and end on 28 February 2020, 13:59 (UTC). The confirmation process of current stewards is being held in parallel. You can automatically check your eligibility to vote.
• The English Wikipedia has reached six million articles. Thank you everyone for your contributions!

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Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 15:06, 1 February 2020 (UTC)

So what now?

The Signpost's "in the media" section did not get oversighted. No one was threatened with a block. Nothing was removed from Stuart_Anderson_(politician)#Allegations_of_Wikipedia_editing. Can we agree that the Signpost was not censored in any way? Can we further agree that it in all likelihood nothing would have happened had you published the Pete Buttigieg incident as written? You had said that you were going to take the Buttigieg case to ARBCOM - do you still plan to do that? There's still a disconnect between WP:OUTING and WP:RS even if oversighters chose not to enforce it consistently. Bitter Oil (talk) 23:48, 2 February 2020 (UTC)

Looks

Resolved

to me. EllenCT (talk) 18:20, 6 February 2020 (UTC)

Feb 19: WikiWednesday Salon NYC

February 19, 7pm: WikiWednesday Salon NYC

You are invited to join the Wikimedia NYC community for our monthly "WikiWednesday" evening salon (7-9pm) and knowledge-sharing workshop at Metropolitan New York Library Council in Midtown Manhattan. Is there a project you'd like to share? A question you'd like answered? A Wiki* skill you'd like to learn? Let us know by adding it to the agenda. Wednesday February 19 WikiWednesday Salon and Skill-Share NYC (optional RSVP on-wiki). 7:00pm - 9:00 pm at Metropolitan New York Library Council (8th floor) at 599 11th Avenue, Manhattan We especially encourage folks to add your 5-minute lightning talks to our roster, and otherwise join in the "open space" experience! Newcomers are very welcome! Bring your friends and colleagues! --Wikimedia New York City Team 21:01, 14 February 2020 (UTC)

(You can subscribe/unsubscribe from future notifications for NYC-area events by adding or removing your name from this list.)

Oval Office address

Hi Smallbones, I saw that you commented on the talk page discussion of irrelevant speeches on the Oval Office address article. Unfortunately, it seems most of the other users in that discussion are no longer active on Wikipedia. I wanted to reach out to you to see if you could weigh in on a content dispute between an anon user and me (See https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Oval_Office_address&action=history). The anon keeps trying to restore non-Oval Office addresses to the list and even made an attempt to rename the page as "Address to the Nation" instead. I have been removing addresses that did not take place in the Oval Office. OCNative (talk) 09:08, 19 February 2020 (UTC)

The Tokarczuk interview

How are we doing with that? In January I talked to Polish Wikimedians (ping User:Klarqa) who told me they tried to get back to you and put you in touch with her agents, but then the communication broke down...? --_{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here} 13:12, 29 February 2020 (UTC)

Thanks for the reminder @Piotrus and Klarqa:. I would kill to get that interview, but so far I haven't been in a position to do so (interview, not kill). Many apologies. I'll email both of you on Monday, after the current issue comes out. Smallbones_(smalltalk) 14:13, 29 February 2020 (UTC)

Literally old news

I thought this [3] was pretty funny. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 14:24, 1 March 2020 (UTC)

Sorry for bothering you, but...

New Page Patrol needs experienced volunteers

• New Page Patrol is currently struggling to keep up with the influx of new articles. We could use a few extra hands on deck if you think you can help.
• Reviewing/patrolling a page doesn't take much time but it requires a good understanding of Wikipedia policies and guidelines; Wikipedia needs experienced users to perform this task and there are precious few with the appropriate skills. Even a couple reviews a day can make a huge difference.
• If you would like to join the project and help out, please see the granting conditions and review our instructions page. You can apply for the user-right HERE. — Insertcleverphrasehere ^{(or here)}_{(click me!)} 20:33, 1 March 2020 (UTC)

Probable vandalism on Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/About

I reverted probable vandalism on this page [4], as I assumed you're still the Editor in Chief. I'm not sure if vandalism warnings should be used outside of mainspace, but I thought I should let you know in case there's anything else I should do. I was a bit hesitant to revert 8 edits, but they all appeared to be distruptive. Clovermoss (talk) 09:10, 2 March 2020 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – March 2020

News and updates for administrators from the past month (February 2020).

Administrator changes

Money emoji

Athaenara • DeltaQuad

Fishhead64 • Kudpung • Mikaey

Bureaucrat changes

DeltaQuad

CheckUser changes

DeltaQuad

Oversight changes

DeltaQuad

Guideline and policy news

• Following an RfC, the blocking policy was changed to state that sysops must not undo or alter CheckUser or Oversight blocks, rather than should not.
• A request for comment confirmed that sandboxes of established but inactive editors may not be blanked due solely to inactivity.

Technical news

• Following a discussion, Twinkle's default CSD behavior will soon change, most likely this week. After the change, Twinkle will default to "tagging mode" if there is no CSD tag present, and default to "deletion mode" if there is a CSD tag present. You will be able to always default to "deletion mode" (the current behavior) using your Twinkle preferences.

Miscellaneous

• Following the 2020 Steward Elections, the following editors have been appointed as stewards: BRPever, Krd, Martin Urbanec, MusikAnimal, Sakretsu, Sotiale, and Tks4Fish. There are a total of seven editors that have been appointed as stewards, the most since 2014.
• The 2020 appointees for the Ombudsman commission are Ajraddatz and Uzoma Ozurumba; they will serve for one year.

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Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 11:21, 2 March 2020 (UTC)

You've got mail

Hello, Smallbones. Please check your email; you've got mail!
It may take a few minutes from the time the email is sent for it to show up in your inbox. You can at any time by removing the {{You've got mail}} or {{ygm}} template.

Mr Serjeant Buzfuz (talk) 17:25, 4 March 2020 (UTC)

March 18: First ever ONLINE WikiWednesday Salon NYC

March 18, 7pm: ONLINE WikiWednesday Salon NYC

You are invited to join the Wikimedia NYC community for our monthly "WikiWednesday" evening salon (7-9pm) and knowledge-sharing workshop. This month, as part of Wikimedia NYC's commitment to the well-being of members, we will hold WikiWednesday online via Zoom videoconferencing! To join the meeting from your computer or smartphone, just visit this link. More information about how to connect is available on the meetup page. We look forward to seeing local Wikimedians, but would also like to invite folks from the greater New York metropolitan area (and beyond!) who might not typically be able to join us in person! Is there a project you'd like to share? A question you'd like answered? A Wiki* skill you'd like to learn? Let us know by adding it to the agenda. Wednesday March 18 WikiWednesday Salon and Skill-Share NYC (optional RSVP on-wiki). 7:00pm - 9:00 pm online via Zoom We especially encourage folks to add your 5-minute lightning talks to our roster, and otherwise join in the "open space" experience! Newcomers are very welcome! Bring your friends and colleagues! --Wikimedia New York City Team 04:37, 17 March 2020 (UTC)

(You can subscribe/unsubscribe from future notifications for NYC-area events by adding or removing your name from this list.)

FWIW inre WikiProjects

I am a novice editor reviving a WikiProject. The assessment system was the draw. There seems to a sense that the day of the project is done. SOME SUITABLE RASPBERRY! Even this week WikiProject COVID-19 began. I assume for that assessment system. There is activity for those who can see it past the defunct, inactive, and ”not the new hotness” of tooling. —¿philoserf? (talk) 06:51, 17 March 2020 (UTC)

cc @Puddleglum2.0: —¿philoserf? (talk) 06:54, 17 March 2020 (UTC)

Hi Philoserf! You are correct -- WikiProjects are seeing their last days. For whatever reason, WikiProjects are dying; their are only five that still see lots .of activity: MILHIST, AFC, MED, GOCE, and WIR. As for the COVID-19 project -- I would think that that project will go defunct after the coronavirus is stopped, much like the Obama wikiproject ended when his presidency ended. If I can help in any way, please don't hesitate to ping me or drop me a note on my talk page! Thanks, Puddleglum^2.0_{(How's my driving?)} 17:41, 17 March 2020 (UTC),

Out of curiosity, why did you ping me? I don't think we've ever crossed paths before... I'm just curious, it's fine that you did! Thanks, Puddleglum^2.0_{(How's my driving?)} 17:42, 17 March 2020 (UTC)

I did ping you Puddleglum2.0. I think I saw your name on an article assignment for the Signpost. I hope that it is only some, perhaps many, WikiProjects that are going inactive, dormant, or defunct. The WikiProject System seems too useful to allow it to pass away. —¿philoserf? (talk) 17:48, 17 March 2020 (UTC)

Yes, Philoserf, it is only some WikiProjects that go defunct. Usually nowadays it's the newly founded projects that don't take off; the projects that have been around for years are usually still here. There have been a couple enthusiastic editors trying to revive projects recently, but the community generally doesn't accept the proposals. The system is very useful, however, I don't see it taking off again any time soon unfortunately. Thanks, Puddleglum^2.0_{(How's my driving?)} 17:59, 17 March 2020 (UTC)

Thank you for the perspective. Appreciated. —¿philoserf? (talk) 18:02, 17 March 2020 (UTC)

No problem! Apologies Smallbones for all the excess notifications you must have gotten! Puddleglum^2.0_{(How's my driving?)} 18:22, 17 March 2020 (UTC)

Arbitration evidence

Hi, I'm Jenhawk777. I have been keeping tabs on the Jytdog case and saw your contribution there. I just wanted you to know I empathize with how difficult this is to revisit, and say that I completely and totally admire you for stepping up and doing it anyway. Jytdog completely ran me off Wikipedia. I guess I wasn't as strong as you, but he was driving me insane--literally. He showed up on every article I worked on and obstructed everything I did. Anyway, that's done now and hopefully they won't let him come back. Thank you for being brave enough to speak up. Jenhawk777 (talk) 18:31, 21 March 2020 (UTC)

Traffic Report

I'm having no problems, it's just that the Top 25 Report is requiring more effort since Andrew.g's tool fell in January, given we have to compile the data for the list along with writing about the entries... and of course, this one will be nearly monothematic, and if I copied the structure from last time, the title'd be "In the hospital" or "In social isolation" (damn coronavirus). igordebraga ≠ 21:38, 25 March 2020 (UTC)

I only don't know if there will be this week's report (after all, you want to publish on Saturday). In any case, I put the last February list, but you can remove. (and see if you can make all the tables stay beside the graph, as the last two managed to do) igordebraga ≠ 00:56, 26 March 2020 (UTC)

Query

Can I email you? No Swan So Fine (talk) 18:01, 29 March 2020 (UTC)

• @No Swan So Fine: Please do. Smallbones_(smalltalk) 18:03, 29 March 2020 (UTC)

Administrators' newsletter – April 2020

News and updates for administrators from the past month (March 2020).

Administrator changes

Cabayi • Lee Vilenski

Boing! said Zebedee

Jonny-mt • MarkGallagher • PeaceNT

Money emoji → Moneytrees

Bureaucrat changes

SilkTork • WereSpielChequers

CheckUser changes

NativeForeigner

Oversight changes

Someguy1221

Daniel Case

Guideline and policy news

• There is an ongoing request for comment to streamline the source deprecation and blacklisting process.

Technical news

• There is a plan for new requirements for user signatures. You can give feedback.

Arbitration

• Following the banning of an editor by the WMF last year, the Arbitration Committee resolved to hold a Arbcom RfC regarding on-wiki harassment. A draft RfC has been posted at Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee/Anti-harassment RfC (Draft) and not open to comments from the community yet. Interested editors can comment on the RfC itself on its talk page.

Miscellaneous

• The WMF has begun a pilot report of the pages most visited through various social media platforms to help with anti-vandalism and anti-disinformation efforts. The report is updated daily and will be available through the end of May.

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Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 07:00, 1 April 2020 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

	The Original Barnstar
	I'm loving your research and work. I have no idea what a barnstar is. Dstrichit (talk) 03:27, 3 April 2020 (UTC)