User talk:Nickshanks

Feel free to leave me a message. Old messages are archived here: Aug 2004–Oct 2005; Nov 2005–Mar 2008, Apr 2008–Oct 2010.

PGP key

Sorry for the delay in replying, don't check messages here as often as I used to. Yes I do still work in Hatfield, but no I don't have a PGP key; never encountered a situation where I've needed one. I have an ID commitment on Wikipedia because it's reasonably easy to deduce my real-world identity and in the event that my account was compromised I might suffer real-world reputation damage if I couldn't reassert control over it. Mhardcastle (talk) 07:04, 6 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Orphaned non-free image File:Spacehab logo.png

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Thanks for uploading File:Spacehab logo.png. The image description page currently specifies that the image is non-free and may only be used on Wikipedia under a claim of fair use. However, the image is currently orphaned, meaning that it is not used in any articles on Wikipedia. If the image was previously in an article, please go to the article and see why it was removed. You may add it back if you think that that will be useful. However, please note that images for which a replacement could be created are not acceptable for use on Wikipedia (see our policy for non-free media).

If you have uploaded other unlicensed media, please check whether they're used in any articles or not. You can find a list of "file" pages you have edited by clicking on the "my contributions" link (it is located at the very top of any Wikipedia page when you are logged in), and then selecting "File" from the dropdown box. Note that any non-free images not used in any articles will be deleted after seven days, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. Thank you. Skier Dude2 (talk) 06:45, 7 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Notification: changes to "Mark my edits as minor by default" preference

Hello there. This is an automated message to tell you about the gradual phasing out of the preference entitled "Mark all edits minor by default", which you currently have (or very recently had) enabled.

On 13 March 2011, this preference was hidden from the user preferences screen as part of efforts to prevent its accidental misuse (consensus discussion, guidelines for use at WP:MINOR). This had the effect of locking users in to their existing preference, which, in your case, was true. To complete the process, your preference will automatically be changed to false in the next few days. This does not require any intervention on your part and all users will still be able to manually mark their edits as being minor in the usual way.

For well-established users such as yourself there is a workaround available involving custom JavaScript. If you have any problems, feel free to drop me a note.

Thank you for your understanding and happy editing :) Editing on behalf of User:Jarry1250, LivingBot (talk) 21:00, 15 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Want to help?

Hi. I just created an article and I was wondering if you wanted to help with it. I used the Page History Statistics tool to find you based on your past edits.

Article Extrasolar planet

In Section 8.2 Resources of Extrasolar planet there is a link to your website: http://astro.nickshanks.com/library/extrasolar.xml that displays an error. Also, the page http://astro.nickshanks.com/library/extrasolar shows Total Planets: 131 (After Retractions). It looks like you've put a lot of work into that, but if the data is outdated perhaps the link should be removed from the article. I'm new to editing, so wanting this email to come across polite and respectful towards you. Senator2029 (talk) 17:00, 23 June 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, I discontinued maintenance of that when the Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia came online. — Nicholas (reply) @

Nomination of Year 2000 baby boom for deletion

A discussion is taking place as to whether the article Year 2000 baby boom is suitable for inclusion in Wikipedia according to Wikipedia's policies and guidelines or whether it should be deleted.

The article will be discussed at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Year 2000 baby boom until a consensus is reached, and anyone is welcome to contribute to the discussion. The nomination will explain the policies and guidelines which are of concern. The discussion focuses on good quality evidence, and our policies and guidelines.

Users may edit the article during the discussion, including to improve the article to address concerns raised in the discussion. However, do not remove the article-for-deletion template from the top of the article. Dbrodbeck (talk) 12:09, 3 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Orphaned non-free image File:Boulton watt banknote illustration.jpeg

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Thanks for uploading File:Boulton watt banknote illustration.jpeg. The image description page currently specifies that the image is non-free and may only be used on Wikipedia under a claim of fair use. However, the image is currently not used in any articles on Wikipedia. If the image was previously in an article, please go to the article and see why it was removed. You may add it back if you think that that will be useful. However, please note that images for which a replacement could be created are not acceptable for use on Wikipedia (see our policy for non-free media).

Note that any non-free images not used in any articles will be deleted after seven days, as described in the criteria for speedy deletion. Thank you. Cloudbound (talk) 20:58, 15 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

MSU Interview

Dear Nickshanks,

My name is Jonathan Obar user:Jaobar, I'm a professor in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences at Michigan State University and a Teaching Fellow with the Wikimedia Foundation's Education Program. This semester I've been running a little experiment at MSU, a class where we teach students about becoming Wikipedia administrators. Not a lot is known about your community, and our students (who are fascinated by wiki-culture by the way!) want to learn how you do what you do, and why you do it. A while back I proposed this idea (the class) to the communityHERE, where it was met mainly with positive feedback. Anyhow, I'd like my students to speak with a few administrators to get a sense of admin experiences, training, motivations, likes, dislikes, etc. We were wondering if you'd be interested in speaking with one of our students.

So a few things about the interviews:

Interviews will last between 15 and 30 minutes.
Interviews can be conducted over skype (preferred), IRC or email. (You choose the form of communication based upon your comfort level, time, etc.)
All interviews will be completely anonymous, meaning that you (real name and/or pseudonym) will never be identified in any of our materials, unless you give the interviewer permission to do so.
All interviews will be completely voluntary. You are under no obligation to say yes to an interview, and can say no and stop or leave the interview at any time.
The entire interview process is being overseen by MSU's institutional review board (ethics review). This means that all questions have been approved by the university and all students have been trained how to conduct interviews ethically and properly.

Bottom line is that we really need your help, and would really appreciate the opportunity to speak with you. If interested, please send me an email at obar@msu.edu (to maintain anonymity) and I will add your name to my offline contact list. If you feel comfortable doing so, you can post your nameHERE instead.

If you have questions or concerns at any time, feel free to email me at obar@msu.edu. I will be more than happy to speak with you.

Thanks in advance for your help. We have a lot to learn from you.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Obar --Jaobar (talk)