User talk:Xeno

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WikiProject BioWare

Giving it it's own section. First of all, I thought we were having a task force rather than a WikiProject?

Secondly, as I said on my user talk, I'm mentally drafting a barnstar, but have no software to actually make it (and I suck at drawing. I'd fail to draw a stick figure). --Thejadefalcon (talk) 16:01, 10 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Fail to draw a stick figure? Thats the easiest thing ever...now a fat stick man, that's a toughy. 'The Ninjalemming'' 16:04, 10 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

It's those dastardly stick torsos that get me. :P Okay, it was obviously an exaggeration. I draw like a five-year-old though (and a bad one). Anything more than a stick figure, and I throw the towel in (except for Borg Cubes, where I use a ruler). --Thejadefalcon (talk) 16:06, 10 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Actually fat stick dudes are quiet hard, how do you do a fat stick man. Anyways I reckon your drawing aint as bad as mine. I mean, I failed art...thats how bad it is. 'The Ninjalemming'' 16:08, 10 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah, that is bad. All you need to do is chainsaw a cow calf in half and put it in a giant pickle jar. --Thejadefalcon (talk) 16:11, 10 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Oh yeah! Or even better I could have got a pillow, put it in some glass (but square glass, don't forget that) and then presented it. I would have been awarded some nobel prize in art! damn if only I had decided that painting fire in mid air so that it was actually hot and moved was not that good. 'The Ninjalemming'' 16:13, 10 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Modern art, I spit on you. Now, let's get back to, you know, the topic at hand. --Thejadefalcon (talk) 16:16, 10 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Even better, cut someones hand off (preferbly a live person, that always gets them going) and hang it from the ceiling, so it slaps all those people above six foot tall. 'The Ninjalemming'' 16:18, 10 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I think the beginning of this thread was aimed at you xeno, that's most likely why it's here and not over at thejadefalcons many talk things that we just do completely random things on. But not as random as Keepers barncive. Thats just hilarious.:) 'The Ninjalemming'' 19:11, 10 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Oh... Well I'm shite at drawing too, so no help there. But yes, I still believe that "WikiProject" is the wrong name for this project. It's a task force (and rightly so), so you should update the page to reflect the same. –xeno^talk 19:12, 10 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

How? I thought putting it as a sub-under VG meant it WAS a taskforce. Oh other then some wording in the actual page, which suggest wikiproject...yeaaah. I'll fix that. 'The Ninjalemming'' 19:15, 10 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Yep. –xeno^talk 19:17, 10 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Fixed the wording except for the advert thing as Wikiproject fits better then taskforce. Oh and with the ad the top text isn't aligned which is annoying as hell for me. 'The Ninjalemming'' 19:22, 10 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Ninja, xeno gave us a nice little link for task forces. Silly you. --Thejadefalcon (talk) 10:22, 11 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Re: "Isn't this a serious taskforce?"

It's supposed to be, ja. --Thejadefalcon (talk) 09:41, 13 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Xeno your so boring :P and now a new question...how do we make the numbers visible? 'The Ninjalemming'' 19:58, 11 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Good question... –xeno^talk 20:01, 11 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Asked & answered!. (and fixed) –xeno^talk 20:26, 11 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Why didn't you know how to do that? 'The Ninjalemming'' 12:28, 13 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Contrary to popular belief, I'm not all-knowing =) I'm quite newbish when it comes to most very technical mediawiki things, to be honest. –xeno^talk 19:53, 14 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Hey xeno would putting this count as spam if you put it on the relevent talk pages? Like Mass Effect/2. And also on game related articles such as GTA or Gears, the talk page assessments have a 'this article is suported by the GTA taskforce' ect, so how do we get something like that? 'The Ninjalemming'' 12:37, 13 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I can add a paramater to Template:WPVG, as soon as we have a logo. –xeno^talk 19:53, 14 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

To save you some time, the sandbox is already updated, just missing the image. MrKIA11 (talk) 13:05, 15 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks ! –xeno^talk 21:40, 15 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

The Admin's Barnstar

		The Admin's Barnstar
		In recognition of your diligent work unblocking, unprotecting, and generally mopping up after others. Thanks! -- zzuuzz ^(talk) 16:15, 12 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks =) –xeno^talk 18:53, 12 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia: on the treatment of vandals

When I hear people talk about wikipedia, I hear lots of questions about the quality and reliability of its content. Not once have I heard anyone talk about the way we treat vandals. Protecting and improving content are important. Worrying about what vandals will think of us is not important. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 19:25, 12 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

My concern, Bugs, is not that people will talk about how we treat vandals. It's how we treat vandals. The sarcastic approach won't lead to anything positive. Then again, the no-nonsense "just the ~~fax~~ templates, ma'am" approach might not either. I prefer to work in the middle, and see if there is any hope that the vandal might become a constructive contributor. For example, one of my adoptees began his wiki-career thusly. Do you think if I had been sarcastic, snarky, and dismissive, he would be an editor today? Or would he still be vandalizing? –xeno^talk 19:28, 12 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry, I can't follow that page. One thing I am certain of: The actual contents of the block notice do not matter. The vandal doesn't care about that. What he cares about is that he's blocked. Just look at the vile rants from guys who get a one day block. If you really want to fix something, go to work on the standard templates and soften them down. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 22:37, 12 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Just look at the red text on the right. That's the vandalism he was adding. When he asked for unblock, offering a {{2nd chance}} turned him into a contributor. I'd be happy to look at any suggestions you have on the block messages and help implement them - why not post at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject user warnings?. Our goal should be to show these folks the light and turn them into contributors (sounds kinda like a cult, doesn't it? creepy ;p). Thanks for the annotation in your archive, btw. –xeno^talk 22:38, 12 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Which user was that? I went to 257.23.1.72 and found no contributions. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 22:45, 12 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

257.x.x is a fake IP address since it's a stock RFA question. see User talk:98.200.236.84 –xeno^talk 22:48, 12 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I see. You unblocked him last July, he made 7 edits, and disappeared. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 22:55, 12 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Don't jump to conclusions until you've read the whole ~~book~~ thread Bugs =) [1] –xeno^talk 22:56, 12 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

The warning templates are even worse - a long blah-blah-blah that no one is likely to read. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 22:47, 12 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, but I think project uw is what creates the blocking templates, aren't they? –xeno^talk 22:48, 12 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

It's worth a try. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 22:55, 12 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I'll watchlist the page. –xeno^talk 22:57, 12 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Then I'd better watch what I say. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 23:02, 12 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

eh? I meant so that we can collaborate on improving user warning and block templates. isn't that your argument? that they need improved? –xeno^talk 23:05, 12 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

5 year blocks

5 year blocks are reserved for open proxies. Other IPs should not be blocked for longer than 12 months. I'd strongly urge you to dial it back to a year. –xeno^talk 20:00, 12 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I'll dial it back to 2. Is that acceptable? --Bobak (talk) 20:01, 12 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Is reblocking every year really that much of a bother? ( I realize that's most often what occurs ) 1 year is our usual ceiling for these things. –xeno^talk 20:02, 12 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I use Template:Schoolblock as my basis, which doesn't state a max. If anything, a long block can sometimes provoke an actual school administrator to wonder what on earth their own kids are up to. I've been emailed a request by a school network admin before letting me know that they made fixes and could they be unblocked (which I did, of course). --Bobak (talk) 20:06, 12 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Caught your re-edit. When school is so persistent to keep at it even after a year, it makes one wonder if they get just the same benefit from simply reading (and not adding) to the project --perhaps they can just create accounts from that IP. I'm not against that. --Bobak (talk) 20:07, 12 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

eh, its not going to kill anyone, so I'll put it back to a year. I'm in the middle of editing photos for the Project, so I'd rather not drag this on. --Bobak (talk) 20:11, 12 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

My hope is that in the brief period of time before the annual block is re-applied, there might be a few students who catch the constructive-contributor bug. But a 2 year soft-block with account creation enabled would be OK, I guess - I still think a year without is appropriate (as leaving account creation enabled just gives us a steady stream of VOAs to block). See this recent AN thread to get a gut-check of consensus on this for a very similar situation where I changed a length from 3 years to 1. –xeno^talk 20:11, 12 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

(re your comment while I was composing the above) Thank you. –xeno^talk 20:13, 12 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Working Wikipedian's barnstar

	The Working Man's Barnstar
	For spending hours tirelessly amending over 300 "funny" block templates I hereby award you this barnstar. Congratulations! ThaddeusB (talk) 21:21, 12 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

P.S. I am sure you get this a lot, but I thought I'd tell you anyway that you certainly are on my short list of "most respected" users on Wikipedia. --ThaddeusB (talk) 21:21, 12 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks...Though I did get a little tired at the end - I must be honest =) I appreciate this. –xeno^talk 21:23, 12 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I can imagine. Seems like it would make for a very boring day. :) --ThaddeusB (talk) 21:28, 12 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Thank You (for the swift block)

Well done. Swift bannings, sir. --Ninjasaves (talk.stalk) 23:09, 12 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

No problem. His intentions were clear... –xeno^talk 23:12, 12 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

WP:McD's MFD

Just a note, WP:Foodservice already covers the restaurant business, adding a fast food TF would be redundant. --Jeremy (blah blah) 11:40, 14 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

cheers, updated my !vote. –xeno^talk 19:49, 14 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Question re: protection templates

Hey xeno, a quick question for you. Are those little locks that signify page protection allowed on protected user pages? Thanks, -T'Shael, Lord of the Vulcans 20:04, 14 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Like Template:pp-semi-vandalism, you mean? Sure, I don't see why not. –xeno^talk 20:07, 14 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Well, not that template per se, but that red lock that is in the very top right. T'Shael, Lord of the Vulcans 20:09, 14 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, you add small=yes. Now; if your question is: should the locks be used when there is no actual corresponding protection in place - no, they should be removed. –xeno^talk 20:11, 14 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Splendid, thank you. I was asking because user:Debresser removed the little lock from my user page (which is protected), so I just wanted to know if they weren't allowed on user pages for some reason. -T'Shael, Lord of the Vulcans 20:13, 14 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

(outdent) I think I've sorted it out with him/her. If you don't mind, would you mind putting that template on my user page for me? Thanks, -T'Shael, Lord of the Vulcans 20:16, 14 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I could do that, but this works as well. The /Icons page now won't get categorized in the maintenance category he mentioned. –xeno^talk 20:17, 14 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Wonderful. :) Thanks, xeno. -T'Shael, Lord of the Vulcans 20:18, 14 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

No problem. If you still want me to put it directly, I can do so; that way you could get rid of the "icons" page since it's the only thing on there. Just let me know. best, –xeno^talk 20:19, 14 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Actually, if you wouldn't mind doing that and then deleting the /Icons page, I would be most appreciative. -T'Shael, Lord of the Vulcans 20:22, 14 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Done, happy editing. –xeno^talk 20:24, 14 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks... (re: African American vs "black")

...for your helpful comments - I have no idea what got into [...] but you're right: time for bed. :-) Enki H. (talk) 03:33, 15 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

heh. Me neither. I guess I've confirmed that Canadians at least see things a lot differently. Living in a city with 50% visible minorities means it would be nearly impossible for me to see everyone in terms of a lineage-citizenship construction. Especially given that so many people aren't actually citizens, but permanent residents. –xeno^talk 12:46, 15 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

MiszaBot

How do I get it to archive stuff, because I want to a) clean up my talk page and b) clean up some article discussion pages? --Thejadefalcon (talk) 12:40, 15 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

See User:MiszaBot/Archive HowTo and let me know if you need further direction. Make sure that you leave all the options on their own line, that's the most common error people make when setting up Misza. –xeno^talk 12:47, 15 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Done my talk page. Now I'm just waiting to see if it works. --Thejadefalcon (talk) 12:58, 15 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Might I suggest numbered archives? Your talk page activity seems a little light to justify monthly archives. =) –xeno^talk 13:03, 15 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Like this? And when does the bot charge though the site? --Thejadefalcon (talk) 13:05, 15 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Yep...and it has already begun... The archival cometh! –xeno^talk 13:19, 15 June 2009 (UTC) ok I lied. seems to be late today. [reply]

And the Apocalypse soon after? --Thejadefalcon (talk) 13:20, 15 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Time will tell! –xeno^talk 13:20, 15 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

The bot is late? How can this be?! --Thejadefalcon (talk) 13:21, 15 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I dunno! I'm not happy about it either. Being at the tail end of the alphabet, MBiii has been arriving later and later. –xeno^talk 13:25, 15 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

← How do you find out how many users Wikipedia has anyway? --Thejadefalcon (talk) 13:39, 15 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Special:Statistics. –xeno^talk 13:42, 15 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Yeesh. I knew it'd be more than the number of pages (after all, not everyone creates a page), 9 million? And most of them are traitors who left Wikipedia! Kill them! Burn the heretic! --Thejadefalcon (talk) 13:45, 15 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Only 1.6% are active though =) –xeno^talk 13:46, 15 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

That's what I meant. Only 1.6% are true to the cause! Those dastardly traitors! --Thejadefalcon (talk) 13:47, 15 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

To get the link easily its on the main page below te title 'Wikipedia' and also, or 1.6% (1.6012340193572417837869616634571% with the closest estimate) are not on holiday, on a buisness thing, on an army exbibtion, dead, in hospital (possibly see previous point, although don't take it as funny; as these are real people), sockpuppets, random accounts created for vandalism/waste of time, deleted pages (for people who join to make it, their page gets deleted so they leave instantly with a total of one edit; although this may help your point), people like xeno who wasn't active for six months, left due to wiki related reasons (discrimination or something) ect. There are many reasons why people arn't active, so I think more then 1.6% are true to the c\use but can't do a thing about it. Just saying 'The Ninjalemming'' 14:42, 15 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Is the bot dead or did I foul up the coding somehow? --Thejadefalcon (talk) 11:47, 16 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

You're fine, the bot just has not ran for some reason. MrKIA11 (talk) 13:01, 16 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Bad bot! How dare it?! --Thejadefalcon (talk) 13:20, 16 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Strange, I left a note for Misza13 [2]. –xeno^talk 14:32, 16 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks. --Thejadefalcon (talk) 14:39, 16 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/P:ASTART

Portal space is not article space. - ALLST✰R▼^echo _{wuz here @} 19:01, 15 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

P: is not portal space. It may be a pseudonamespace used for some portals (like MOS:) but it shouldn't be used for vanity redirects imo. –xeno^talk 19:05, 15 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Please see this discussion I had with another admin who already reviewed my shortcuts. Portal, WP, WT, Wikipedia are all acceptable redirects. I got one admin saying this and another saying that.. until there's a policy, IMHO, they should be left alone. - ALLST✰R▼^echo _{wuz here @} 19:13, 15 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Please see Wikipedia:Namespace#Pseudo-namespaces. While these are accepted in limited cases for their usual purpose, I don't see a pseudo-namespace redirect to a different namespace than it's associated with as a good idea. I don't understand why you need three vanity redirects when WP:ASE is nice and short, and descriptive. What the hell is a PASTART? If you really feel strongly about this, I will restore it and file another MFD. –xeno^talk 19:16, 15 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

As all of my shortcuts have been nommed - in bad faith as harassment - for deletion, I have to fight for them all. lol P:ASTART is short for ALLSTAR TALK as it redirected to my talk page. - ALLST✰R▼^echo _{wuz here @} 19:28, 15 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

So do you still want me to undelete and file a new MFD? I maintain that it's not appropriate to have a vanity redirect in the mainspace that will show up high on the Special:Allpages/P list. WT:ASE seems like a fine shortcut (if, in fact, those MFDs close in a keep result. if not, why not register User:ASE?) –xeno^talk 19:32, 15 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

No just let it go.. and why would I register a second account? I don't sock. - ALLST✰R▼^echo _{wuz here @} 19:42, 15 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

WP:SOCK#LEGIT. Moonriddengirl has registered MRG, for example. For use as an appropriate within-namespace redirect shortcut and doppelganger. –xeno^talk 19:43, 15 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

More disruptions at Rorschach test

There is no end: [3].Faustian (talk) 13:11, 16 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Hey Xeno I have posted at Administrators' noticeboard [[4]].

They ( Faustian and Ward3001) continue to attempt to sensor Wikipedia. [[5]]

Anyway I though the images looked good and added to the article. Cheers--Doc James (talk · contribs · email) 14:22, 16 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks both for the note. I will contribute as necessary but per earlier comments I think I will recuse from any administrative action against individual users, but may fully protect if the edit war continues. –xeno^talk 14:23, 16 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Hello (re: WP:AN3)

please take a look at this: Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard/Edit warring#User: 98.194.124.102 reported by Supreme Deliciousness --Supreme Deliciousness (talk) 15:46, 16 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

You should take a look at WP:3RR as well and make sure you don't open yourself up to sanctions in your efforts. –xeno^talk 15:54, 16 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I have not reverted any of the articles three times within 24 hours, he removed references. Please take a look at the case at least. --Supreme Deliciousness (talk) 16:00, 16 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I must have miscounted then. I did block the IP for 72 hours. –xeno^talk 16:01, 16 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you very much, I just fear that when he comes back hes gonna continue the same way. --Supreme Deliciousness (talk) 16:03, 16 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I've urged them to review our dispute resolution processes. –xeno^talk 16:34, 16 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

correcting spelling in a barnstar?

Ninja just gave me a barnstar. Is it against any rules to correct spelling in it? :[ --Thejadefalcon (talk) 16:16, 16 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

No 'The Ninjalemming'' 16:16, 16 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I think I'd prefer waiting for the admin's comment. Unless... it's a conspiracy and you want me blocked? :( --Thejadefalcon (talk) 16:19, 16 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Hell yeah! ;P No really, it's not against the rules; there arn't really any rules on Barnstars and one isn't 'if someone spells Kitten as Kitchen, then leave it, no spello changing; it's not your barnstar to do what the hell with'. Xeno'd say the same but in a much, much better way :) 'The Ninjalemming'' 16:22, 16 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Would he say it in English? --Thejadefalcon (talk) 16:25, 16 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I think so, unless he has gone to get his voice boxed changed to spanish. 'The Ninjalemming'' 16:29, 16 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

*sighs* --Thejadefalcon (talk) 16:34, 16 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Since it's a barnstar and it's your own talk page and/or userpage so you've basically got free reign... As long as you're not changing the spirit of what was said, it should be fine. The guideline on this is at Wikipedia:TALK#Others' comments. –xeno^talk 16:31, 16 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
No, it was just a spelling correction. --Thejadefalcon (talk) 16:34, 16 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Correcting it whilst transplanting it to the userpage is your best bet, which I see you've done. –xeno^talk 16:44, 16 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

See :) 'The Ninjalemming'' 16:32, 16 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

TB

Replied at my talk Washburnmav (talk) 16:56, 16 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]