User talk:Durova

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Interested in potentially featurable images? Help improve existing material from the Wikipedia/Commons archives at User:Durova/Landmark images. Durova^Charge! 18:53, 20 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Archived talk 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43

The great triple crown race of 2008

Thanks for letting me know about this - but I think the timescales are unrealistic. Even if I nominated a FAC & GAC on 1st Jan they may well not be completed by 14 Feb. I nominated South West Coast Path for GA on 29th Nov & it hasn't been looked at yet & Somerset at Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/Somerset on the same date & it is still being discussed.— Rod ^talk 21:27, 26 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah, good point. Good idea though. I thought we were all just racing to Alexander da Grate anyway.... ;)cheers, Casliber (talk · contribs) 22:02, 26 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Ooh boy, bring it on :) I disagree with Rob - my GAC/FAC experiences have been a good deal faster...oh well. By the way, do we need to nominate, or to have the thing passed, by Feb 14? — Dihydrogen Monoxide _(Review) 22:29, 26 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, I'm aware that GAC and FAC aren't instant. If you nominate before February 15 I'll accept the results whenever they arrive. I'll revise the competition statement to make that more clear. Durova^Charge! 02:33, 27 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Awesome, thanks Durova! I assume if we nom a GAC/FAC this year it won't count? — Dihydrogen Monoxide _(Review) 02:36, 27 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Nope, gotta do 10 citations after the start of the new year. And then nominate no earlier than January 1. Durova^Charge! 02:51, 27 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Gift from Gujarat

Adorable! Thank you. :) Durova^Charge! 17:54, 27 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Apology

Durova, re your comment here[1], if I have made comments that you feel were intended to hurt you, I apologize without hesitation. I have never felt that this situation was a "Durova" problem, but a symptom of a larger issue in which you played a small role. It has never been my intention to magnify an error in judgment made by a single person. Risker (talk) 01:10, 28 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you very much. I wonder what we can do to bring the community closer together. It isn't good for people to be divided the way they are, and some healing would be good. So I'll throw this out on a lark: would you like to help raise Navajo rug to GA? Best regards, Durova^Charge! 01:15, 28 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I am sorry that I did not respond to your wonderful invitation sooner, Durova; shortly after leaving my earlier post here, I took a (virtual) machete to my watchlist, including just about every user page. And indeed, I am extremely flattered by your offer - interesting subject, fantastic learning opportunity, and a chance to make a significant content contribution. It pains me to have to decline the offer, not because I want to but because I know I will have very little time to be on-wiki in the next two months due to real-world commitments (hence the watchlist chopping as well). This weekend, I am trying to clean up a few things I've already started in anticipation of my lack of concentrated editing time. It would be disrespectful of me to make a commitment I know I cannot keep. I thank you again for extending this opportunity at collaboration; I hope that we can find a subject to work on together later in the year. Best, --Risker (talk) 02:15, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Sure thing, and best wishes. Keep in touch. Durova^Charge! 02:16, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

DYK

On 28 December, 2007, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article hook gauge, which you created or substantially expanded. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page.

--Wizardman 03:52, 28 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you! :) Durova^Charge! 03:55, 28 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Category:Eguor editors

Durova, this is to notify you that Category:Eguor editors has been nominated by someone else for renaming or deletion. (I know you did not create it, but I am notifying you as you created the Category:Eguor admins category.) Please see Wikipedia:User categories for discussion#Category:Eguor editors if you wish to comment. Cheers, Iamunknown 05:33, 28 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for the heads up. Durova^Charge! 05:36, 28 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Cross-stitched Barnstar

		The Cross-Stitched Barnstar
		I am proud to present you with this cross-stitched barnstar for racking up DYKs and generally soldiering on in Wikipedia:WikiProject Textile Arts. - PKM (talk) 08:40, 28 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Aw, thank you very much. :) Cheers! Durova^Charge! 08:41, 28 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Triple Crown candidate.

User:AndonicO
- DYK: Close Combat: A Bridge Too Far
- GA: Eugenio Espejo
- FC: Rise and Fall: Civilizations at War

Hello again Durova, I hope all has gone well for you? · AndonicO ^Talk 15:25, 28 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Your Majesty, good to see you've been hard at work! Your triple crown is on its way. Durova^Charge! 01:23, 29 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you very much, though "your janitorness" would have been just as good. ;) · AndonicO ^Talk 01:27, 29 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks

Thanks for the award! Hope you have a great New Year! I'll take a look at the cat article and try to word the impact of ferals on endangered species. I do have alot of source material on that!--Mike Searson (talk) 05:56, 29 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you, and happy new year to you also. Cheers! Durova^Charge! 06:08, 29 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Triple Crown Candidate

User:TomStar81
- DYK: USS Iowa turret explosion
- GA: USS Texas (BB-35) - Expansion occurred in January 2007, GAN was in December 2007
- FC: USS Missouri (BB-63), Iowa class battleship, USS Wisconsin (BB-64), Battle of Midway, Able Archer 83, Armament of the Iowa class battleship, USS New Jersey (BB-62), USS Kentucky (BB-66), plus many featured picture noms

Tom doesn't know I'm making this request/candidacy. I think it would be a very nice surprise for him. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask me. -MBK₀₀₄ 10:16, 29 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The Great Triple Crown Race 2008

Right, a question. Do all of the articles (DYK, GA + FA) have to be MADE in 2008 or NOMINATED? _{WEBURIEDOURSECRETSINTHEGARDEN}^{we need to talk.}• 16:07, 29 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

You have to write the DYK in the first six weeks of 2008, and you have to meet the "major contributor" standard to the GA and FA. That is, you have to add ten line citations. And all the nominations have to happen between Jan. 1 and Feb. 14. So if you take a stub and expand it for DYK, that's fine. And if you take a B-class article and improve it with several other people, that's fine also. Best wishes, Durova^Charge! 17:27, 29 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

OK, thanks. _{WEBURIEDOURSECRETSINTHEGARDEN}^{we need to talk.}• 21:00, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Triple crown candidate

User:Midnightdreary
- DYK: The Philosophy of Furniture
- GA: Eureka: A Prose Poem
- FA: The Raven

Hi Durova, Midnightdreary is an excellent editor who's in the middle of a lengthy (and therefore stressful) Featured Article Candidacy for Edgar Allan Poe. I think he's feeling a little discouraged and he shouldn't really -- he's a really great editor, but anybody who tries to tackle one of the vital articles is in for a bit of a rough ride at FAC. He's earned this Triple Crown and I think he could use the boost. --JayHenry (talk) 19:47, 29 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

History of clothing and textiles

I've started expanding History of clothing and textiles - I would appreciate your input! PKM (talk) 21:53, 29 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Good work. I've gone ahead and upgraded to B-class. Could use more material on non-ancient textile developments outside of Europe. Perhaps a discussion of batik, and of pre-Columbian textiles of the Americas. Also I've noticed our project has quite a few articles about Japanese textiles - enough that I've been thinking of starting a separate subcategory for the topic.

Another aspect to consider is the role of textile production in early industrialization, not just in European or American history but globally. A lot of countries have turned to textile production as a first step away from an agrarian economy. Then as a manufacturing economy develops and wages rise, textile production tends to shift elsewhere. In terms of material outlay it's one of the easier industries to initiate. Durova^Charge! 22:13, 29 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Great ideas. I would find a category "Japanese textiles" extremely useful in finding things to incorporate. I don't know much about them. - PKM (talk) 21:39, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Okay, I've decided to give the brain cells a rest and do some low-stress work for a couple of days. I'll create the subcategory. BTW I think I've found a topic for our project's next DYK. There's a style of embroidery from western India that works small mirrors into fabric. Fascinating! Cheers, Durova^Charge! 22:45, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Can you please look in to this?

Miss Durova, this is really getting out of hand!

And it is an emberasment for WikiPedia. This is about John H, Gohde and the abuse he is being put through by some rouge editors and other on user net groups. Persicution of John H. Gohde

I just brefly met the man and cannot stand charecter for him, but for Chirst sake, what do these people want from him and his family?

I looked at his natural health WikiPedia project and it is a lot of work and dedication.

Yes alternative medicene is debetalem so is God! But we do not go around hanging and buring Chritians, do we?

Is this an inquisition society?

I read a lot of the accusation levied at him, and many of the things he is saying has logical explanation and truths to it. Yes his way of saying it is offencive, but he as human being has rights, does he not?

I have met some of the people who are persecuting him, at one point they even accused me of being John H. Gohde..........

They even webt so far as to gang up on me to have me banned from Google Webmaster Help Group, and wrote offencive and liable accusations about my travel agency company in Thailand.

I just do not know what to say! They are all anonymously destroying the man and his family. Yes he should walk away from them, but the man has pride and he fights for his believes, which I respect!

Right or Wrong, a human being should not be abused and derided in such a matter. We are not Gestapo society!

My father had his whole family gassed in Auschwitz, and I will not stand idly and have a man condoned without a trial.

If you know who these people are please tell me! If they are WikiPedian editors I want this issue out in the open on WikiPedia, not on some back alley by people in masks!

We are a consensus society, here on WikiPedia, let's deal with this matter.

I know you have your way of doing things, and I will leave this in your sacred hands!

I have no alternative hidden motives, no conflict of interest, no self benifit what so ever! My heart is heavy with pain, for the suffering of this man, and nothing more!

Thank you, I hope you have a wonderful New Year holiday!

спасеба милаяа дюрова игорь Igor Berger (talk) 22:10, 29 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The things getting said over there are terrible. Unfortunately I have no control over it. I suggest you or he contact the web hosting company and attempt to get that site pulled. Best wishes. Durova^Charge! 22:27, 29 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Re: Your evidence

I really didn't think that a simple request for a civility strikethrough would turn up as arbitration evidence. Please remove it; it's trivial. Or if you insist on using it please include the entire exchange. Durova^Charge! 07:11, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It's only there to provide context for AzaToth's comment to Giano, and his reply to you giving his opinion of the comment, which is the real object of interest. --bainer (talk) 07:28, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Maybe the interest from your perspective, but once burned twice shy. I was trying in a small way to turn down the heat on that situation. I hoped a few words from me on behalf of civility toward Giano would be accepted as totally impartial. It didn't work at all. In spite of the fact that I never used IRC, a meme has linked me so closely with the idea of cabal that I cringe to see my name appear on the evidence page. Please respect my wishes: either leave me out altogether or post the whole thing so it's clear what I'm doing. A lot of people construe anything about me in extraordinarily bad faith. I'm trying to rebuild a reputation. Thank you. Durova^Charge! 07:40, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I think it's pretty obvious that you're interceding there as a voice of reason, and trying to de-escalate the situation, but since you really think there's a chance of confusion I've added the next two messages. --bainer (talk) 02:00, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Durova. I noticed your evidence section in the IRC case. Since you are trying to clear up misunderstandings there, do you think that you could briefly point out another possible misunderstanding, namely that Giano's reference to "John Reid" is in fact almost certainly referring to User:John Reaves? If you think it best for me to note this in my evidence section, I'll do that instead. Thanks. Carcharoth (talk) 01:35, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Links, please? Durova^Charge! 01:44, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It's the edit here. Looking at it again, I think I should ask Giano who he was referring to. I'm certainly finding it difficult to understand what he is saying there. What do you think he meant? Carcharoth (talk) 02:01, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, it's better to get it from the horse's mouth. Wouldn't be fair for me to venture a guess about another editor's intention. Durova^Charge! 02:05, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Fair enough. I did like your addition of the bit about the previous request for arbitration. I'd forgotten that. I had also been mentioning the end result of that RFARB (the arbitrators' opinion page) in several places, but not in the evidence section. I have managed to dig out some of the links to the RFARB at the points of filing by Irpen, thread moved by UC, and rejection. The discussion threads at the latter two points can be read here (just before UC moved large chunks of that discussion to the talk page) and here (the point at which rejection was confirmed). Feel free to add these links to your evidence section. Carcharoth (talk) 21:05, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for the help. I've added some of those. Durova^Charge! 21:26, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Happy Healthy New Year!

I know how stressful things have been for you since I watched it all from the beginning. I just want to wish you a Happy & Healthy New Year. Hopefully the New Year will bring you lots of happiness and less stress. Please keep up the good work and happy editing! --CrohnieGal^Talk 13:42, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you. Durova^Charge! 17:47, 30 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Regarding a previous case of yours

Dear Durova, you may wish to see this thread. Several others have been blocked as well: [2], [3], [4], and [5]. Sincerely, --Le Grand Roi des Citrouilles^Tally-ho! 07:03, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

DYK

On 31 December, 2007, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Navajo rug, which you created or substantially expanded. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page.

--Royalbroil 13:55, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you! Durova^Charge! 16:52, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Imperial Triple Crown Request

I think I just qualified for my second Triple Crown:

DYK: Crested Shelduck GA: Crested Shelduck FA: King Vulture

Thanks. Rufous-crowned Sparrow (talk) 21:24, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Happy New Year, Durova

Thank you, and you too! Nearly everyone gets to 2008 ahead of my time zone (sob). Enjoy! Durova^Charge! 22:27, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

You're welcome, and thank you to you! Don't worry, in my time zone (California, Oregon and Washington: not sure what the zone is called), nearly everyone is ahead of me too. :) See you later. Acalamari 23:44, 31 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Textile Arts newsletter

Nice work. Happy New Year. - PKM (talk) 02:08, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Strikethroughs

I'm not against the idea of politely asking folks to rethink comments, but I keep coming across requests from you to refactor or strikethrough all over the 'pedia. Mind if I ask what your strategy is here? Avruchtalk 18:58, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

[6] Durova^Charge! 20:29, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia:Requests for arbitration/Zeraeph-SandyGeorgia

An Arbitration case in which you commented has been opened, and is located here. Please add any evidence you may wish the Arbitrators to consider to the evidence sub-page, Wikipedia:Requests for arbitration/Zeraeph-SandyGeorgia/Evidence. Please submit your evidence within one week, if possible. You may also contribute to the case on the workshop sub-page, Wikipedia:Requests for arbitration/Zeraeph-SandyGeorgia/Workshop.

On behalf of the Arbitration Committee, — Rlevse • Talk • 19:41, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Your message???

What? Who is this? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.86.110.255 (talk) 22:06, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I'm an editor who noticed you had edited a discussion that had closed several months ago. Durova^Charge! 22:09, 1 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Contributions from a range of IP addresses?

I suspect you might know. Is there a way for non-admin types to look at all contributions from a range of IP addresses? I'm nearly convinced that User:Teddy Bairz and User:Tracy Foster are one and the same user (I'm not alone, apparently others believe them to be sockpuppets of Josh Gotti), and that the sea of edits I see coming from 4.0.0.0/8 whenever they start seeing the false information they insert into articles reverted are simply that user trying to reinsert the data anonymously. I'd love to just be able to pull up a list of contributions from that dial-up pool and see what he's been up to on any given day. Obviously, stepping through 16 million contribution pages one by one isn't the answer I'm looking for.Kww (talk) 04:19, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Excellent question. Is there a reason you haven't gone the SSP or checkuser route? There ought to be a tool for that, and I think there is, but I'd have to feed a few bananas to the code monkeys to find out where. Durova^Charge! 04:44, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

There was for a very short time a tool built into the software for range contributions, but it was removed for being too slow. Checkuser can see all the edits on a given range, but I believe it is limited to /16 at the most. Wikiscanner can check a range, but their database copy only includes edits up to last August. Mr.Z-man 05:19, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I haven't gone the check user route because it seems futile. The only way to block him would involve blocking every dial up user in Cincinnati, which isn't going to happen. Category:Suspected_Wikipedia_sockpuppets_of_Josh_Gotti is huge, so he obviously makes use of the constant hopping that dial-up provides to evade blocks. Monitoring and containment seem to be the only real option.Kww (talk) 11:59, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Locomotives-Roundhouse2

Your Featured picture candidate has been promoted Your nomination for featured picture status, Image:Locomotives-Roundhouse2.jpg, gained a consensus of support, and has been promoted. If you would like to nominate another image, please do so at Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates. MER-C 04:48, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you! :) Durova^Charge! 05:31, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

happy Mango season

'TIS MANGO SEASON....
Have a shlice of mango cheek...well, I am up to my armpits in the things. Yuletide means lots and lots of mangos, as well as turkey and ham and ice-cream and pressies. Were on special so I bought 3 crates for AU$20 and now I have both crispers in the refrigerator full and even with everyone eating two of the ##$@& things every mealtime... I am a bit mangoed out so I thought I'd spread the goodwill around....cheers, Casliber (talk · contribs) 05:22, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Mmmm, yummy! Thanks. Durova^Charge! 05:31, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Primetime

Thanks for the talk-page help. We recently uncovered a longterm sock of user:Primetime, and he's not very happy about being discovered and having his last 7 months of edits reverted. ·:· Will Beback ·:· 06:00, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you Will. Happy new year, Durova^Charge! 06:08, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Agarplate redbloodcells

Hi! I just finished some tweaks on the agarplate pic and I see you've already nominated it.. no biggie, I was wondering if you'd prefer me to add it as an edit or (seeing as it's early in the nom) upload it over the original. All I've done is noise-reduce the background and make some very subtle enhancements to the dishes themselves, but it looks good! Incidentally, it's probably worth amending the nom to mention that medical pics are highly valued on the wiki, as they're quite rare. Cheers for now, mikaul^talk 07:32, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks. Usually my cleanups have been to historic pics so I upload new version into a similarly named file while retaining the original. I guess that's not such an issue with modern medical images, so do whatever you think is best. And since you shared the work I'd be honored to call this a conominiation. Sorry to have jumped the gun; I hadn't noticed a reply. Cheers, Durova^Charge! 08:08, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Not at all, the truth is I forgot to upload it until I saw the nom ;o) I'll overwrite the original, I think, as it's basically the same, and see how it goes. --mikaul^talk 08:22, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you! And you're still invited to make it a conomination (quick quick - nobody else has voted yet). :) Durova^Charge! 08:43, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

o i c, I didn't know you could do that :o/ probably too late now, but never mind. Thanks for the invite. --mikaul^talk 10:22, 2 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Article and Date

Hi Durova, the article MIGHT have been "Inverted Narcissism", it was one of her very first 2 or 3 edits back before November 2005 (can you track by contribs?). Thanks for striking out, but it was my fault, I am very bleary eyed with this bronchitis and what I said was MOST unclear, I realised as soon as you said it. I might remember more details of the addy after a night's sleep too. --Zeraeph (talk) 00:51, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I wish I could help you check that. I've resigned my administratorship so I don't have that ability. Durova^Charge! 01:42, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Triple Crowns

I just saw your Triple Crown awards. What a great idea. I believe I qualify for your Napoleonic one. Have a look at my user page to confirm.

Thanks. - Shudde ^talk 09:33, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Nomination for User:Timeshift9:

Royal abdication

Hi Durova, and Happy New Year!

I was really touched by your and Filll's coronation, but I don't think that I deserve it. :( To be sure, I've helped out with a few Featured Articles and I earned one DYK very early in my Wiki-career (the funny story about Edwin Joseph Cohn's blood-protein purification demonstration). But I don't really have any Good Articles to my credit. I feel that I did help Harold Pinter become a Good Article, but my contributions were paltry and trivial compared to the amazing work of NYScholar, who deserves all the credit for that article. I hope to earn a Good Article someday, perhaps for Usher syndrome or Catullus 2 or Soddy's hexlet, but so far it's eluded me.

So I have to lay your three-fold crowns back at your feet until I do earn them. Much as I admire Freya, I can't wear a cloak of borrowed feathers. :)

If you have any tips for me, that'd be great! I've been a little despondent at how seldom my articles are awarded a DYK. :( I've started about 4000 referenced articles by now and only 1 has ever gotten a DYK; I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. Admittedly, they're usually on pretty technical subjects that a general reader would probably find boring. :( Willow (talk) 20:23, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Before we start the interregnum, please remember that the standard threshold for qualification is 10 line citations. You don't have to be the principal contributor to achieve that. Would you double check and confirm before I downgrade the award?

And regarding DYKs, nearly all of my submissions have been accepted. You're welcome to show me your new work and I'll see what I can do about helping you draft a good hook. Best wishes, Durova^Charge! 20:28, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, thanks for your speedy reply and offer of help! I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I didn't know that we're supposed to submit our own work for DYK; the Edwin Cohn DYK just happened without me doing anything. Unfortunately, I think I'm done creating new articles for the time being; I've already started too many articles that need improvement desperately.

I'm not sure what you mean by "line citations" — is that the same as "inline citations"? However, I just reviewed my work at Harold Pinter and I can safely say that I didn't contribute any references. My main contributions were minor re-wordings and re-arrangements of the prose to improve the flow and to make the article pithier and more easily intelligible to lay-people. The content of the article derives entirely from NYScholar. Willow (talk) 21:00, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, inline citations. All right; I'll see what I can do. I got pretty lucky with DYK: one of the first articles I ever started was a collaboration with Ghirlandajo who's an old hand at this. I was surprised to get a DYK nod for it, then looked around and figured out how it works. Probably I could have earned several other DYKs that I didn't try for. Lately I've been rebuilding Wikipedia:WikiProject Textile Arts so I've been writing more DYKs to bring attention to the project. Regards, Durova^Charge! 21:39, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, I really appreciate all your work there! :D I started the TA WikiProject, but after making its main page and article assessment system, I got pulled away by a bazillion people asking me to work on other things. :( I feel awful about abandoning PKM, Calliopejen1 and the others, and I get mad at myself for getting distracted every day by something new — blah. I'll try to make your crochet symbols tonight, though. :) Willow (talk) 21:55, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks. I joined that last summer when the project was pretty healthy and did some low key work, not noticing how participation was dropping off. After I handed in my bit and had more time for mainspace work I realized how much attention was needed. Spam had even crept into the templates! Most of the work I've done since then is very unglamorous (stub sorting, despamification, template updates) so I threw in a few DYKs because nobody much notices a brilliant new stub category. ;) Durova^Charge! 23:00, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Great and gracious lady, your symbols await your craft. :)

I used the following book as my reference

Pauline Turner (2001). How to crochet. London: Collins and Brown. pp. p. 150. ISBN 1-85585-827-4. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)

but then I noticed that a slightly newer book in my library has more and slightly different symbols (the crossbars are at right angles, instead of beveled)

Donna Kooler (2002). Donna Kooler's Encyclopedia of Crochet. Little Rock, AR: Leisure Arts. pp. p. 23. ISBN 1-57486-282-0. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)

Do you have a preference? It wouldn't take much more work to add the other symbols, although I'd have to do it tomorrow night, when I'm better rested. I'm a little under the weather at the moment. :P Willow (talk) 07:00, 4 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

PS. I really need to shed that Freya cloak, I'm feeling really uncomfortable; please forgive me.

I made these to illustrate thread weight for crochet thread. You're one of the few Wikipedians who can appreciate how much work was behind this photo.

Gorgeous, thank you! London and Little Rock, eh? I'll have to check this against Debbie Stoller to make sure whether you've chosen American or British terminology. I'm a southpaw myself, which means I look at the books just long enough to imagine geometric inversions and then create my own designs. I've just finished a Kleenex box cover in scallop stitching (four American double stitches into a single stitch, skip one, anchor with a flat stitch, repeat ad nauseam). Think you could do a schematic for that? I managed a DYK for granny square and maybe an article for scallop stitches could get there too.

The advantage of this habit is that I can upload photos of everything I crochet to Commons because I own all the underlying creative copyrights. The downside is that I don't read crochet patterns. I'm like the musician who creates songs without knowing how to read music. Someday some poor right hander is going to try to duplicate my illustrations and she'll be in for a nasty surprise. ;)

I'm a better embroiderer and can duplicate any stitch or schematic I see. And where stitch orientation is an issue I just rotate the piece and work upside down. But not much of that is uploadable because I tend to follow patterns. I keep eyeing a piece on my wall and wishing I could use it to illustrate the candlewicking article, but durnit the thing is someone else's copyrighted design. Durova^Charge! 07:40, 4 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

What a fun letter! :) I can't tell you how wonderful it is to meet another crafter here; I was awfully lonesome when I first got here. :( My main love is knitting, which I'm pretty good at; but as I'm sure you know, knitting and crochet are as close as cousins, and I do crochet for fun and to make presents and vase-doilies. I love the way you can go in any direction with crochet, and also how its easy shaping and stiffness are wonderful for making little two- and three-dimensional figures like angels. I also use crochet doilies to illustrate the principles of curvature to my knitting students: too few increases = a cup, too many = a frill, just right = flat circle. I wonder that mathematicians don't do likewise! I'm pretty lame at embroidery, although I use it as duplicate stitch (Swiss darning) in knitting, to make flowers and leaves and to give the illusion that I can knit in a perfect circle, each stitch suspended from the next; it's wonderfully mystifying (and instructive) for some students. ;)

I'm pretty flexible about instructions vs. charts, but I usually use them only at the beginning; once I figure out the pattern by doing a swatch, I rarely look at them, because you can see from the stitches themselves where you are on the pattern. It's a lot safer than trying to follow written instructions exactly (which sometimes have mistakes in them!), and it lets you adjust the pattern to fit your gauge. I'm not like some people who can watch television and knit; I have to look, but my fingers do develop a pattern memory of their own, so that I'm usually not thinking about the knitting as I do it; my mind wanders off to happy, sunny fields populated by friends and kind words. :) Willow (talk) 08:10, 4 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

PS. I'm pretty sure that I used the American terminology throughout, but please correct me if I'm mistaken; two heads are better than one! :)

So you teach knitting? That's far more advanced than me. I've made a few sweaters that way and occasionally even follow patterns. One of the tests I set for myself in the German language was to get a sweater pattern. The thing was actually wearable when I finished, so I passed the exam. :) But it's so much slower than crochet. Durova^Charge! 08:52, 4 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Reply to MartinPhi

Hi Durova, your reply to MartinPhi on the AC RfC page should probably go on talk, not underneath their view. R. Baley (talk) 18:31, 4 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I had already posted a similar elaboration on talk before he directly challenged me in his opinion, which gives passersby a misleading impression. If he alters his statement accordingly I'll be glad to remove my reply. Durova^Charge! 01:39, 5 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Query of Concern regarding the private forwarding of emails when an ArbCom is involved

Durova... On several pages, I have seemed to detect a plan for Z to forward you a quantity of private emails of mine to her (or to others) through-out a period of time --- which may or may not prelim any knowledge I had of her posting here at WP. I would like you to please clarify what it is that is expected to be delivered to you and what it will seek to prove. Do realize that emails taken out of context over nearly 10 years can present a distorted perspective, drawing only upon those that would support certain contentions.

Durova, if this is what is to be considered,I request a chance to forward private emails from her to several of my addresses, JUST since the time when I had publicly established, after her mentorship began, of full and consistent support and defense of her on WP... and, also found on WP, will be a consistent pattern of my withdrawing from each and every conflict that ever threatened to develop.

Durova, since this is something that is obviously going on off-Wiki, yet is being used by you to judge me, I think it important for this to be addressed publicly on the appropriate ArbCom topic and discussion pages of the evidence and workpage topics.

Thank you for your openness and clarification of what is going on so that all can understand what your judgments are being drawn upon. A_Kiwi, TRCourage Spotted Owl (talk) 03:20, 5 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]