User talk:Smallbones

Page views on this page over 100 days

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)

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)[reply]

@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)[reply]

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)[reply]

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)[reply]

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

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

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)[reply]

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

DYK for Margo Humphrey

On 26 April 2015, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Margo Humphrey, which you recently created or substantially expanded. The fact was ... that Margo Humphrey based her colorful The Last Bar-B-Que on The Last Supper, creating one of the "iconic images in American visual culture? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Margo Humphrey. You are welcome to check how many page hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, live views, daily totals), and it may be added to the statistics page if the total is over 5,000. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

Thanks for improving the weekend on the wiki Victuallers (talk) 00:02, 26 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Nicola D'Ascenzo

I'd love it if you took some photos. Washington Memorial Chapel is close to both of us, and I'm eager to see the Aviation Windows in Lakehurst NJ. Not a resident of Rose Valley, he lived in Germantown. We can talk on Sunday. Best, == BoringHistoryGuy (talk) 18:28, 20 November 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Twelfth Street Meeting House

You might enjoy reading this. I'd been toying with starting an article about it for a couple weeks, but seeing yesterday's obituary for the architect who relocated the building spurred me into action. == BoringHistoryGuy (talk) 15:23, 21 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Published image

I've discovered that one of your pictures of Gettysburg appears in Hallowed Ground: A Walk at Gettysburg (illustrated edition) by James M. McPherson, he of the Pulitzer and Battle Cry of Freedom. A cropped version of File:Gettysburg mon 72nd Penna Inf.JPG appears on p. 169. One of mine, File:90th Penna Infantry Monument Gettysburg PA1.jpg (cropped) appears on p. 81, and one of Carptrash's images File:11th PA Infantry monument.jpg on p.45. The illustrated version was published in 2015. Images are more or less properly credited, one could quibble about compliance with CC-by-SA text requirements. Acroterion (talk) 00:31, 30 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

@Acroterion:, Thanks for the good news. Almost all of my photos are PD or CC-0 so I have no complaints on that score. I assume that the book is not online, so maybe I'll check out a few bookstores for it. Thanks again. Smallbones_(smalltalk) 03:51, 30 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Photo requests in Hazleton

Do you have any plans to go to back to Hazleton anytime soon? If so, may I suggest some photo request ideas? WhisperToMe (talk) 21:58, 17 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]

@WhisperToMe: I've got a ton of other things to do in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, but Hazelton looks pretty well covered. Look in Commons, esp. in the Postcards category. I might make it up there by late September. Leave me a list if you'd like. Smallbones_(smalltalk) 22:22, 17 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Ok! The list is related to the public school system, Hazleton Area School District

Hazle Township (five facilities are together)
- HASD administrative headquarters: 1515 West 23rd Street, Hazle Township, PA 18202
- Hazleton Area Career Center: 1451 W 23rd St, Hazle Township, PA 18202
- Hazleton Area High School: 1601 W 23rd St, Hazle Township, PA 18202
- Hazle Township Early Learning Center: 1400 West 23rd Street, Hazle Township, PA 18202
- Maple Manor Elementary / Middle School: 1700 West 22nd Street, Hazle Township, PA 18202
Hazleton:
- Hazleton Elementary / Middle School: 700 North Wyoming Street, Hazleton, PA 18201
- Heights-Terrace Elementary / Middle School: 275 Mill Street, Hazleton, PA 18201
- Arthur Street Elementary School: 424 East Ninth Street, Hazleton, PA 18201
Drums:
- Drums Elementary/Middle School: 85 S. Old Turnpike Road, Drums, PA 18222
- Hazleton Area Academy of Sciences: 40 Azalea Drive, Drums, PA 18222
Freeland: Freeland Elementary / Middle School: 400 Alvin Street, Freeland, PA 18224
McAdoo: McAdoo-Kelayres Elementary / Middle School: 15 Kelayres Road, McAdoo, PA 18237
Sugarloaf: Valley Elementary / Middle School, 79 Rock Glen Road, Sugarloaf, PA 18249
West Hazleton: West Hazleton Elementary / Middle School: 325 North St., West Hazleton, PA 18202

Thanks,

WhisperToMe (talk) 22:44, 17 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Sweet Home Chicago

Yes, I agree with the revert, but I believe it best to keep the caption free of a spot to click to start any video, legal or not, avoiding the title containing the video name and the way you have presented it. I did the same thing about 4 years ago. Though it's legal to show events from the White House & Congress, we don't want new editors to think it's OK to display them that way, since most You Tube videos aren't for sure OK. People pull them, or violate copyright when the artists don't get paid for DVDs and music created for sale since one person decides to upload their copy to You Tube and all the other people get to enjoy their product for free. I wonder if there is a more official video from the White House which isn't on You Tube. The other thing that puzzles me is that every year, the President picks 5-6 people or bands to honor in the arts. They begin with small talk from the first couple, receive their medals, & appearances to honor the chosen ones, and then move to the Kennedy Center for a larger, Kennedy Center Honors series of performances with top people in the arts who perform their material. Every year, a national network (CBS, etc.) broadcast it, and after, sell the Kennedy Center concerts on DVD. Two years ago, that changed. You Tube banned any upload in the past two years of the Kennedy Center Honors (and it's always been difficult to find the White House appearances even on You Tube, like "Sweet Home Chicago", which was played again at the Kennedy Center 4 yrs ago before the new rules. So, that's why I began to revert it, but was so sick I ended in the hospital for a week and couldn't give it any thought. Sorry! I'd like to assume good faith and make newer friends since those editors from so many years ago are discontinuing editing. --Leahtwosaints (talk) 22:28, 29 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Little League NRHP photo

done ;-) I have more pix to upload later Ruhrfisch _><>°^° 02:22, 6 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Re: "what do people want to use the categorization system for?"

To answer the question you posted on Jimmy Wales' talk page, I use it all of the time.I use it to find the name of things that don't lend themselves to discovery thru normal lines of search. Maybe it's because I tend to think more in an associative manner -- rather than a systematic or analytical one -- that I find Wikipedia's category system very useful. (I consider it's absence from the mobile version of Wikipedia is a flaw in that software.) And because this category system has been created by people as an expression of a folksonomy, rather than a taxonomic system, I find it more intuitive & understandable -- unlike the subject index of a library catalog, which always fails me when I look for books on a given subject. (And I hope to God it is never rewritten into a taxonomic system -- that would destroy its usefulness for people who use it to find articles.) While I find it useful for finding articles, I can understand why you would find Wikipedia's category system unfit for your purpose. I hope this provides some kind of answer to your question. -- llywrch (talk) 16:27, 11 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

folksonomy, just checking.

Llywrch Would including a mutually exclusive category (say one of 100, or a Dewey Decimal type 1 in 1000) along with the others disrupt your use in any way? Thanks for the reply! Smallbones_(smalltalk) 16:43, 11 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not sure I understand your question, so excuse me if my answer is orthogonal to what you seek to know. If another category tag were added to articles -- I dunno, say "Category:Dewey-123" -- it shouldn't be any more disruptive than adding any category tag. As they are currently implemented, categories simply group articles together, & one article can belong to a practically unlimited number of groups. (OK, there may be some kind of practical limit -- too many category tags will cause the servers to slow down -- but I would expect that this number is larger than the number of tags normally added to an article.) What I would object to is replacing the current system -- as jury-rigged & unsystematic as it is -- with a rigorous taxonomic system. With a library subject catalog, for example, if I can't find a subject header that is identical (or close) to the subject I am researching, I'm out of luck -- which has been my chronic complaint about library catalogs. (In my experience, about the only part of those catalogs that have proven consistently useful is the author index -- but I know even this part breaks down when it comes to government publications.) -- llywrch (talk) 17:39, 11 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Llywrch . Your first part answered my question very well. My only additional question involves "breaking the rules" for Wiki categorization. I wouldn;t want Cat:982 and Cat:1982 in Iowa and Cat:Bridges in 982 or even Cat:962 and Cat:954 on the same article. Would it be possible to say "no, you just can't do that with this class of cats?" Bit of course the current system could work in parallel. Smallbones_(smalltalk) 19:50, 11 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Well, if the rule was enforced that only one "Dewey cat" (for lack of a better term) is attached to any article, then that should work. Since it won't be of use to anyone who isn't checking for quality of coverage, there shouldn't be any temptation for someone to add multiple "Dewey cats" to an article.

As I was writing this response, I had another idea one might want to pursue to get a sense of coverage: All articles on Wikipedia (as well as commons, etc.) have a duplicate entry over at Wikidata. Is there some way those articles could be organized into classifications to measure coverage? (I've dabbled over there a little bit, but it still appears to be a project with far more potential than use for a lowly editor like me.) For example, every biographical entry has the property "instance=human"; one could perform a query to find out just how many biographical entries exist in all of the Wikimedia projects, as well as follow-up queries that would report sex, living/dead, occupation, etc. If one had a thesaurus of all of the possible properties, one could sort them into library classifications with a minimum of work. (And if that failed many, although not all, have authority identifiers which could lend themselves to a similar query sort.) That would result with an answer far sooner than adding tags to all 5 million+ articles on the English Wikipedia -- & would be transferable to other Wikipedias -- & projects -- too. -- llywrch (talk) 20:48, 11 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

August 17: WikiWednesday Salon and Skill-Share NYC

Wednesday Auugust 17, 7pm: WikiWednesday Salon and Skill-Share NYC

You are invited to join the Wikimedia NYC community for our monthly "WikiWednesday" evening salon (7-9pm) and knowledge-sharing workshop at Babycastles gallery by 14th Street / Union Square in Manhattan.

Featuring special guest presentations on WikiVerse and Bringing Wikipedia to the Last Mile.

We will include a look at the organization and planning for our chapter, and expanding volunteer roles for both regular Wikipedia editors and new participants.

We will also follow up on plans for recent (UN Women!) and upcoming edit-a-thons, and other outreach activities.

We welcome the participation of our friends from the Free Culture movement and from all educational and cultural institutions interested in developing free knowledge projects.

After the main meeting, pizza/chicken/vegetables and refreshments and video games in the gallery!

Wednesday August 17 WikiWednesday Salon and Skill-Share NYC (RSVP on-wiki or at meetup.com).

7:00pm - 9:00 pm at Babycastles gallery, 137 West 14th Street

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! --Pharos (talk) 23:20, 16 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

P.S. Prep for our chapter elections next month in September (and add your candidacy!): Wikipedia:Meetup/NYC/Elections

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

Banc De Binary

Can you please tell me why you're insisting on retaining unverified claims on the page?--Tianderni (talk) 16:52, 25 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Banc de Binary is prohibited from advertising in the US by the SEC. Please don't mess with it. Smallbones_(smalltalk) 16:55, 25 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Yes they are and it is on the article. But Banc de Binary is not banned in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand so why you are keeping this fact. Can you please give a reliable source? Then I will add it back myself. --Tianderni (talk) 17:00, 25 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Railroad Switch

This illustration that you added to Railroad switch#Operation might be more appropriate under Railroad switch#Stub switch because it illustrates the mechanism of such a switch. It is not appropriate for the Operation section because it illustrates a type of switch that has been generally considered obsolete for well over a century (although they survived on non-passenger-carrying narrow-gauge lines). In the place where you put it, this illustration only serves to confuse. I invite you to undo your change or move this image. Douglas W. Jones (talk) 01:43, 7 September 2016 (UTC)[reply]

September 14: WikiWednesday Salon / Wikimedia NYC Annual Meeting

Wednesday September 14, 7pm: WikiWednesday Salon / Wikimedia NYC Annual Meeting

You are invited to join the Wikimedia NYC community for our evening "WikiWednesday" salon and knowledge-sharing workshop by 14th Street / Union Square in Manhattan.

This month will also feature on our agenda, upcoming editathons, the organization's Annual Meeting, and Chapter board elections.

We will include a look at the organization and planning for our chapter, and expanding volunteer roles for both regular Wikipedia editors and new participants.

We will also follow up on plans for recent (UN Women and CFR!) and upcoming edit-a-thons, and other outreach activities.

We also hope for the participation of our friends from the Free Culture movement and from educational and cultural institutions interested in developing free knowledge projects. We will also follow up on plans for recent and upcoming editathons, and other outreach activities.

Along with the main meeting, hummus and refreshments and video games in the gallery!

Wednesday September 14 WikiWednesday Salon / Wikimedia NYC Annual Meeting (RSVP on-wiki or at meetup.com).

7:00pm - 9:00 pm at Babycastles, 137 West 14th Street

Featuring a keynote talk this month to be determined! 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! --Pharos (talk) 18:06, 10 September 2016 (UTC)[reply]

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

Disambiguation link notification for September 12

Hi. Thank you for your recent edits. Wikipedia appreciates your help. We noticed though that when you edited American Archive of Public Broadcasting, you added a link pointing to the disambiguation page WGBH (check to confirm | fix with Dab solver). Such links are almost always unintended, since a disambiguation page is merely a list of "Did you mean..." article titles. Read the FAQ • Join us at the DPL WikiProject.

It's OK to remove this message. Also, to stop receiving these messages, follow these opt-out instructions. Thanks, DPL bot (talk) 09:37, 12 September 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Wrong about that one

Remember Reliance Globalcom? - 208.116.141.100 (talk) 14:55, 17 September 2016 (UTC)[reply]