Wikipedia talk:Wikipedia Signpost

March 2017 skipped

The Signpost skipped the whole month, March 2017, for the first time. Response? --George Ho (talk) 20:59, 3 April 2017 (UTC)

Yeah. I hate to add pressure, but just wanted to say I miss Signpost! Can't wait for the next one, whenever that is. Stevage 00:48, 4 April 2017 (UTC)

This workhorse is tired. Tony (talk) 02:23, 4 April 2017 (UTC)

So am I. I don't have time and I'm already a month behind on reading.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 16:09, 5 April 2017 (UTC)

I feel your pain, Tony1. Burn-out is real! Look after yourself. Stevage 05:06, 7 April 2017 (UTC)

Thanks, Stevage. Just one problem the Signpost has faced more recently is the lack of IT maintenance. We went through many years when the editor-in-chief could just press a button for largely automated publication—and we had good, reliable tech-skilled people on board. The automated system broke down some time last year, and we've had no IT person since. It has meant that the act of publishing, which typically comes after a big heave of late nights by the editor-in-chief and others, then requires up to two hours of fiddly clerical work and crossed fingers. Tony (talk) 09:29, 7 April 2017 (UTC)

Make a WP:BOTREQ? Headbomb {t · c · p · b} 11:50, 7 April 2017 (UTC)

Thanks, Headbomb—We probably should have gone down that route last year. I'll check with colleagues. Tony (talk) 12:05, 7 April 2017 (UTC)

@Tony1: Last December I offered to be the nerd-in-chief, but at the time it sounded like Jarry1250 and/or Kharkiv07 were going to revive their bots. Again, offer is on the table! I'd love to be a part of the Signpost :) — MusikAnimal ^talk 23:53, 7 April 2017 (UTC)

I would like to take full responsibility for this, and deeply apologize to The Signpost team. I went through hell IRL, some of which I explained to them, so of which not. I more or less fell of the face of the earth without and support left behind. Sorry all. I can't commit to helping anytime soon, but I'm more than happy to send some of my stuff to anybody who wishes to take over. Kharkiv07 (T) 01:39, 8 April 2017 (UTC)

Clearly the current editor is too busy. That is unfortunate, but it is time to move on. (And it is one of the foreseeable problems with a single person left in charge since the previous co-editor resigned last November and was not replaced - without the one person, we have a single point of failure, and everything falls apart.)

Is there anyone else with the time and the inclination, willing to step up to the plate and help make the Signpost happen again? One or two of the regular authors perhaps? Or of the previous editors? No need for perfection here - something would be better than nothing for two months. There must be someone who wants to continue the 12 year tradition of weekly fortnightly monthly regular periodical community journalism. (I expect someone will tell me to do it. Sorry, not happening.)

If not, if everyone is just too exhausted to carry on, perhaps we should just mark this project as historical and close it down. A shame, but to everything there is a season: a time to be born, and a time to die. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.205.251.27 (talk) 11:29, 3 May 2017 (UTC)

I've posted over at Wikipedia:Village pump (miscellaneous). Perhaps that might elicit some attention if the current editorial and writing teams are exhausted..

Interested writer

I'm interested in helping and I see the Signpost needs help. Can I help? I made a short submission yesterday. 68.233.214.74 (talk) 16:03, 4 April 2017 (UTC)

Hi, 68. We're very keen to have more writers/editors on the Signpost. But you'd need to log in and get a username; then Pete, the editor in chief, would be in a position to talk. Would that be possible? Tony (talk) 04:11, 5 April 2017 (UTC)

I don't wanna be that guy, but...

...how long does it take to get this out to the people? Its been 8 weeks already, I've already gotten 2 editions of the Bugle, and Milhist publishes those monthly. Is there some reason why this hasn't shipped out in over two months, or is it just another sign of the slow death of Wikipedia as whole? TomStar81 (Talk) 17:37, 18 April 2017 (UTC)

Editor-in-chief apparently too busy in real life. Armbrust ^{The Homunculus} 19:41, 18 April 2017 (UTC)

Conversation ongoing over at WP:NEWSROOM. :-) Ed ^{[talk] [majestic titan]} 03:01, 19 April 2017 (UTC)

From weekly newspaper to bimonthly magazine? – Athaenara ✉ 13:03, 27 April 2017 (UTC)

The election for the board has begun. Would be good to at least see a special issue (one section if that is all contributors can manage) on the topic. I would take the lead but am running in the election myself. Doc James (talk · contribs · email) 15:32, 28 April 2017 (UTC)

I second this! The Signpost has played a really valuable role in raising awareness of previous elections and contributing to the debate around them, particularly because of the very static "statement and questions" format of the formal election process. It would be wonderful if anyone was able to whip up an election special. The Land (talk) 17:45, 30 April 2017 (UTC) (also a candidate so can't help)

I third ;) this! I came here with the precise question: could we get the special issue for the Elections? I did like your coverage, and having been a FDC candidate 2 years ago, I did enjoy Tony's questions and I hope they helped everyone to make their decision. Seeing how Q&As are limited this year, any additional questionnaire, debate among candidates, diligent coverage would be appreciated. Best, aegis maelstrom δ 11:36, 1 May 2017 (UTC)

I think it's fantastic that people recognize the need for community journalism, but I don't think any of you realize the amount of work required to create something like this. If the volunteers can't put out a regular issue of the Signpost because of their real-life commitments, then it is time for new volunteers to step forward instead of demanding more from the existing ones. Gamaliel (talk) 17:19, 1 May 2017 (UTC)

Agree to keep the Signpost alive a larger group of people need to care sufficiently to put in the work. And yes a high quality paper is a huge amount of work. Doc James (talk · contribs · email) 04:22, 2 May 2017 (UTC)

Just to throw in a totally different approach: German-language Wikipedia's "Kurier", which is treated as the Signpost's German counterpart (and interwiki-linked), doesn't have any designated editors or an editor-in-chief and isn't published in "volumes" and "issues"; rather, anyone who feels that some news or issue calls for a Kurier-style article, can write and post it immediately. Most articles are kept; only rarely they are removed if there's a consensus on the talk page that something isn't really suitable as a "Kurier article". This has advantages and disadvantages, of course. The main advantage ist that the "Kurier" is updated continuously (there are several articles in most weeks, often one or more per day). The main disadvantage, probably, is that the quality and importance of the articles is fluctuating a lot. Gestumblindi (talk) 17:23, 30 April 2017 (UTC)

Now we've skipped April as well. I had a comic strip joke about Wikipedia to submit. I'm not sure whether it was in the strip or the comments, but whichever it was, it's yet another example of how Wikipedia is part of our world.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 18:01, 1 May 2017 (UTC)

Time for a simpler approach?

It seems like one of the primary issues with running the Signpost, and in getting it running again by interested editors, is that it's a huge amount of work. Perhaps - in the interests of getting issues out again - it would be best to trim out the unnecessary sections, simplify processes where possible, and then slowly add them back in at a later date. For what it's worth, I'd love to help but really don't have the time for at least another couple of months. Sam Walton (talk) 11:37, 3 May 2017 (UTC)

If we are willing to accept more ad hoc contributions that would simplify things some I think. Doc James (talk · contribs · email) 19:50, 3 May 2017 (UTC)

Sam, I'll hold you to that! Tony (talk) 08:12, 4 May 2017 (UTC)

I would be supportive of that; one thing I have found a bit daunting about being a copyeditor and an occasional contributor for the last year and a half or so is the complexity of the process. Montanabw^(talk) 03:12, 9 May 2017 (UTC)

Sam, warmly agreed. From a reader's perspective, I'd prefer a fixed schedule with variable quality over a variable schedule.

You could combine user:gestumblindi's idea of borrowing the continuous-editing process from the Kurier: have a single page listing all submitted articles. Pull the latest from that list when making the regular summaries + "editions". [Here you can leave out any articles that are not time-sensitive and not yet ready]. A script can ping {recent authors, copyeditors, alpha-readers} a day before the new edition is set to come out.

And to Doc's point, ad hoc contribs are easy and enjoyable. A concise template w/ links to "edit | submit news" below each page header would be inviting. (More than the current Contribute link, possibly streamlining the Suggestions link + header-box.) – SJ + 19:57, 7 June 2017 (UTC)

Overdue note from Editor in Chief

Hello all,

I'm sorry for the extended lapse in Signpost publication. I've been in communication with Tony1 about how to move forward, and I have been the bottleneck in making a statement.

I'm pleased to see that many community members have expressed an interest in what needs to be done to get back on track. To be perfectly honest, I don't see a clear path forward, but I'd like to find one soon. Both Tony and I have been buried in off-wiki responsibilities, and the simple fact is that in recent months, the two of us have been the core of the team that produces each edition. Many excellent contributors have done a great deal, but in terms of writing, soliciting, and editing the main news content, it has mostly fallen to the two of us.

At this point, I am pretty out of touch with what's needed in the short term to resume publication, though I believe I have a clear view of what's needed in the longer term. I'd like to get back on track in some form as soon as possible, even if it's at a somewhat reduced quantity and/or frequency of coverage. But to do so will require substantial help. In the next few days, I plan to put some time into planning out what that will look like, and figuring out how to incorporate any assistance that's offered. I'll start by reviewing and responding to the many kind and helpful messages that have come in.

Best, -Pete Forsyth (talk) 03:49, 6 May 2017 (UTC)

User:Peteforsyth Many thanks for the update. The roll the Signpost plays within or movement is very important. Glad to hear you are coming back to it :-) I will try to recruit some volunteers. Doc James (talk · contribs · email) 03:53, 6 May 2017 (UTC)

Greetings, -Pete Forsyth (talk) and Doc James (talk) Chiming in here with my two cents worth about recruiting volunteers. This morning I constructed another section on my User page about Active editors which may help locate additional help.

Another suggestion would be to only do two elements of the current Signpost each week of the month on a random basis. For example,

• Week 1; FROM THE EDITORS; RECENT RESEARCH
• Week 2; TECHNOLOGY REPORT; IN THE MEDIA
• Week 3; GALLERY; SPECIAL REPORT
• Week 4; OP-ED; FEATURED CONTENT
• Additional; TRAFFIC REPORT; BLOG; WIKIPROJECT REPORT

Note that I included "WikiProject Report" even though it's not showing in this Signpost issue. Back in January 2016, I had suggested several WP's that were archived here, but not acted on.

Rather than waiting for "the full boat" of articles to be completed, thus creating a delay of publishing, it seems more practical to setup a new format and procedure.

The idea would be that when any two or three articles are done, "Go and publish" them. This would fit in with the irregular timing of article completions. I think Signpost readers would enjoy this variable content as well with each issue being different content.

Regards, — JoeHebda • (talk) 18:13, 6 May 2017 (UTC)

You could always switch to German-language Wikipedia's "Kurier" approach, which doesn't require designated editors. As I wrote above, the downside of this approach is that article quality isn't very consistent, and it introduces an element of randomness, but on the other hand, a constant stream of articles about current issues isn't a bad thing either. Gestumblindi (talk) 21:07, 6 May 2017 (UTC)

Gestumblindi, I like your idea. SarahSV ^(talk) 04:21, 8 May 2017 (UTC)

Gestumblindi, I think this is a reasonable enough idea; but I'm not entirely sure it accomplishes what I assume (?) is your main goal, which is to reduce the amount of effort required to get the Signpost out, and thereby make it easier to publish on a more frequent basis. There is one major obstacle that I think is pretty close to resolvable -- getting the publication process re-automated. The process is quite onerous, which is one of the main reasons that our publications became less frequent. I think with the right technical minds on it, the process could be pretty easily automated, perhaps in a way that is less susceptible to breaking with MediaWiki updates (which I think is what has happened in the past). Updating it could drastically reduce the amount of human effort required to put out each edition. Evad37 has expressed interest in taking a slightly different approach than has been done in the past. I'd like to know his current assessment of the feasibility of getting this accomplished soon, and what kind of help might be useful. -Pete Forsyth (talk) 05:15, 8 May 2017 (UTC)

My previous response should have been to JoeHebda, it was about publishing shorter and more frequent editions. To Gestumblindi, I agree there is value in such an approach, which English Wikipedians have maybe encountered at the Wikipedia Weekly Facebook group, sites like Wikipedia Review and offwiki.org, and even the Wikimedia-L email list.

If something like that is set up on Wikipedia, that might be a very worthwhile thing. But it would bear little resemblance to the Signpost, and I see no reason to use the same name, or to think of it as a replacement or competitor. -Pete Forsyth (talk) 17:01, 8 May 2017 (UTC)

I do not think that Gestumblindi's idea would be wise here, too much of an anarchy to have zero editorial control. The buck has to stop somewhere. Montanabw^(talk) 03:15, 9 May 2017 (UTC) The idea of doing different sections each week has some potential, though. Montanabw^(talk) 03:15, 9 May 2017 (UTC)

Publication process automation

My idea is to make a userscript rather than a bot. Its a bit hard to future-proof anything, other than not relying on anything currently marked as deprecated – but the advantage of a script rather than a bot is that any admin can edit it, rather than just the bot operator. And should it need to be adjusted in the future, there's tech-savy people at WP:VPT that can help with fixing scripts when there are breaking changes. I've started working on such a script at User:Evad37/SPS.js. There is quite a bit that the script needs to do (almost everything that is currently done manually)... I would guess that coding and testing it would be on the order of weeks, based on how long it took to code my last big scripting project. - Evad37 [talk] 07:33, 8 May 2017 (UTC)

I am not at all techie, but if someone can develop a userscript that can be used with relative ease, I'm for it. Montanabw^(talk) 03:15, 9 May 2017 (UTC)

See User talk:Jarry1250/Archive 19#Porting a script onto labs:

Though keen to upgrade the publication bot if someone can tell me what needs doing (sorry, after a burst of activity over the New Year I went back to work and dropped out of some of those convos). - Jarry1250 ^{[Vacation needed]} 23:06, 23 January 2017 (UTC)

Fantastic! Glad to see that it wasn't too hard. Updating the bot requires that DJ finish working out his fixes to the layout first, I think. ResMar 04:37, 25 January 2017 (UTC)

@Jarry1250: Are you still available to upgrade the publication bot if someone can tell you what needs doing?

@Resident Mario: Who is DJ? What fixes? What layout?

It would be a shame to have to spend on the order of weeks to reinvent this, if fixes can be relatively easily implemented. – wbm1058 (talk) 22:17, 9 May 2017 (UTC)

I think he meant TheDJ. Armbrust ^{The Homunculus} 00:57, 10 May 2017 (UTC)

Just noting here that the script has been completed: User:Evad37/SPS.js. I did let Pete know on his talk page, but he hasn't been active on-wiki since. - Evad37 [talk] 02:26, 31 May 2017 (UTC)

Great! I do still stand by my offer. I'm still really unclear in what way it is broken. - Jarry1250 ^{[Vacation needed]} 22:32, 8 June 2017 (UTC)

The next edition

I welcome the suggestions about general changes to the Signpost, and I'd like to continue those discussions; but in the immediate future, I think producing a new edition more or less in the mold of what we've been doing is the first priority. I am happy to work on that later this week (and could personally put some work in Thursday through Sunday, and could commit to publishing on Monday or perhaps earlier). Given the WMF board election schedule, earlier would be desirable, if we can publish something valuable and informative about the election.

With that in mind, can I solicit some perspectives on what the next edition should look like? Which of the various ideas and submissions that have come in over the past 2+ months are still worth pursuing, and which have become less relevant? What's the most important angle of the election to cover, and is there anyone willing to take a central role in assembling the needed information?

Let's use this section for specific suggestions (lists of sections to publish, links to worthwhile proposed/submitted content, offers to take on a story or a project, etc.). No problem with continuing more general discussions in other sections. -Pete Forsyth (talk) 05:27, 8 May 2017 (UTC)

The next edition should cover a) Featured content; at least a sampler b) Perhaps a single traffic report based on the past month (as opposed to four separate ones), presuming the stats can be generated that way Milowent? 3) A combined NAN, ITM and research summary, perhaps just a bulleted list with short blurbs and links. 4) The best of the remaining ideas as a headlined story or two -- where ARE the submissions that have come in over the last 2+ months, anyway? Montanabw^(talk) 03:18, 9 May 2017 (UTC)

Actually, I just updated the featured content report... so now everything is in it until the end of April. Armbrust ^{The Homunculus} 10:17, 9 May 2017 (UTC)

OK, here are a few specifics:

• Thanks Armbrust, I'll review, and would be pleased if anybody else wants to do so as well.
• Milowent and Serendipodous, I see there is some now-very-outdated info in Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/Next issue/Traffic report. What do you think is the best thing to do about Traffic for this upcoming edition?
• There is nothing in Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/Next issue/News and notes yet. I think the most vital thing is to have some info about the Board election, even if it's only basic announcement stuff. If anybody wants to work on that, please feel free to jump in.
• There's some good content, primarily from Milowent, in Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/Next issue/In the media, but it's pretty dated by now. Probably worth keeping, but we could use some suggestions of significant, more recent news pieces. I'd think coverage relating to Turkey and China would be important. We definitely need to link this response] to Guy Macon's op-ed.
• An op-ed from Kaldari is queued up and ready to go, could probably use a close reading prior to publication, but there are no major issues.
• There's a lot of good stuff in Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/Next issue/Recent research which I think has not yet been published anywhere. I very much regret this one, and apologize to Tbayer (WMF) for the unannounced lapse. Shall we publish this more or less as-is? I can give it a review if so, unless plans to publish it elsewhere have emerged in the meantime.
• Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/Next issue/Technology report has a lot of good info; the lead story is now outdated, as it announces a test that has presumably now been run, and should be revised (if we run it) to report the results of the test.

-Pete Forsyth (talk) 19:17, 9 May 2017 (UTC)

Just has the News and Notes section updated for the newest user groups. But over months we saw sth shocking related to the movement and persons related, from WMF's objection to Trump's immigrant act to de-recognition of WMHK (and later WMPH) to WikiTribune. But sorry that I'm not willing to take all the tasks for this section - English is not my first language, in my home project (zhwp), there're undue tasks (preparations for our annual writing contest), and I have nearly zero experience on Signpost prior to this. It may be hard for me to gather everything to make a readable piece. --Spring Roll Conan ( Talk · Contributions ) 10:50, 10 May 2017 (UTC)

@Peteforsyth: Great to see you back in the saddle!

Agree with the focus on getting out the next issue as soon as possible. In my personal opinion, the most important thing is to revive the Signpost from this near-death experience and resume regular publication. And if that means having to delay some important news (that's already not so new anymore) until the subsequent issue, readers should be able to excuse it.

I had indeed already made preparations to publish the recent research section independently first, through our usual channels for the research newsletter. I was going to do that this week. But if publication here is imminent, I can wait until the weekend or Monday the latest. Last night I did some further work on the draft, and I can commit to having it in a publishable state tomorrow (Friday) evening PDT.

PS: I think this discussion is better suited for the Newsroom page; for now I will leave a note there pointing here.

Regards, Tbayer (WMF) (talk) 20:18, 11 May 2017 (UTC)

The section is now be ready to be published if needed (see also the Newsroom). Regards, Tbayer (WMF) (talk) 06:21, 13 May 2017 (UTC)

• @Peteforsyth: Today is the last day to reasonably give notice about the Wikimedia Foundation election voting period ending 14 May. I am at hand today by email, Skype, Google Hangouts, or whatever else. I do not have the technical ability to publish The Signpost. If there is anyone with the technical ability, I would like to help them in publishing now. If the issue were nothing more than a few sentences encouraging people to vote then I think that would be fine, but I think we also have a little content ready to go now. Blue Rasberry (talk) 13:59, 12 May 2017 (UTC)

• During your fight against Lila Tretikov and others, you suggested you were representative of a large part of the community. Perhaps, this was not so true ? Pldx1 (talk) 15:07, 12 May 2017 (UTC)

@Pldx1: To whom are you speaking? Blue Rasberry (talk) 19:57, 12 May 2017 (UTC)

Who is about to publish some "notice" as late as the 13 May about a 1–14 May election ? Great opinion makers ! Pldx1 (talk) 20:43, 12 May 2017 (UTC)

• @Peteforsyth: I wrote an election notice draft at User:Bluerasberry/election_2017. If an issue runs in time, then please consider sharing it. Blue Rasberry (talk) 19:57, 12 May 2017 (UTC)
  • Looks good Bluerasberry. I'll review more closely in a few hours, and should be able to publish a minimal edition within the next 12 hours. To anyone following along, I'd gladly accept further input or submissions in the meantime. Specifically, Tbayer (WMF) -- the Recent Research will certainly be part of it. -Pete Forsyth (talk) 18:39, 13 May 2017 (UTC)

Update: the Board of Trustees elections are over. Let's await results then. --George Ho (talk) 03:13, 15 May 2017 (UTC)

• Hello all including @Peteforsyth:, I have revised the draft Traffic Report to include the most recent Top 10 we have prepared at WP:TOP25. There is no easy way to do "monthlong" reports based on our systems.--Milowent • ^hasspoken 19:24, 15 May 2017 (UTC)
• @Peteforsyth: I have added one more week to the featured content report... so now it contains exactly three months. Hopefully the Signpost will be published during the next week. Armbrust ^{The Homunculus} 23:28, 21 May 2017 (UTC)

Assistance from Evad37

@Bluerasberry: While not a simple walk in the park, publication instructions are available at Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/Newsroom/Coordination#Manual_process. Plus I've made a userscript to automate those steps. If you can get the writing and editing taken care of, I can hit the publish button when that's done. - Evad37 [talk] 00:20, 1 June 2017 (UTC)

@Evad37: Here are several articles. Some of them are tagged as needing updating, which I can get managed. Supposing those are updated and I get someone to play editor and greenlight them. Is that all you need?

• Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/Next_issue/Featured_content
• Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/Next issue/Traffic report
• Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/Next issue/Technology report
• Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/Next issue/Recent research
• Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/Next issue/In the media
• Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/Next issue/Op-ed

Blue Rasberry (talk) 01:16, 1 June 2017 (UTC)

@Bluerasberry: That's most of what's needed. Each article also needs a title and blurb, and should be properly formatted per the style guideline/cheatsheet (especially non-regular sections, like the Op-Ed currently in the newsroom). - Evad37 [talk] 02:05, 1 June 2017 (UTC)

It would also help if I had mass-message sender user right on meta, and page mover user right here - Evad37 [talk] 02:12, 1 June 2017 (UTC)
Requested at meta:RFH and WP:RFP/PM - Evad37 [talk] 03:09, 1 June 2017 (UTC)

@Evad37: Thanks for your support. I do not want to put you in the position of having any obligation, but right now, it is helpful to have your publishing assistance, and I also would like to ask you for a voice conversation sometime in which you take me through the publication process so that I can watch it and understand it better. You now have pagemover rights.

One of the requirements of getting mass message rights is a confirmation of the need to have it. @Peteforsyth, Pldx1, Milowent, Armbrust, and Wbm1058: and anyone else who wishes to comment - could I ask any of you to comment at the meta review page about Evad37 getting message rights so that they can use an automated tool to deliver The Signpost to subscribers on their userpages? Comment on either or both of two points - about the need for someone to do this, and about the extent to which Evad37 seems likely to use the tool in accord with Wiki rules. Blue Rasberry (talk) 14:16, 1 June 2017 (UTC)

With my Meta hat on, I think that conversation/comment here is quite suitable, no need to take comment to meta. Meta can reference the conversation. — billinghurst sDrewth 23:42, 1 June 2017 (UTC)

Both  Done now - Evad37 [talk] 00:16, 3 June 2017 (UTC)

@Bluerasberry: Also, I think Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/Next issue/Op-ed is ready now. Good luck! Kaldari (talk) 00:49, 7 June 2017 (UTC)

Next edition: last steps

Thanks @Evad37:! The sections all look ready to publish, even if the research update is short; I've marked them as such. I think just one thing remains to be written: A two-paragraph summary of Global elections: A Board update and a reminder about the FDC. @George Ho: any interest in writing a short summary? It might be good to add a one-para "From the editors" inviting help? And @ProgrammingGeek: your help in general would be most welcome -- readers becoming contributors is how the Signpost has persisted. --– SJ +.

Update: I've created stubs for each of these topics. Now we really are close to publishing: decide whether or not to include a "from the editors" article, sanity-check the election piece (sorry, no Tony-quality FDC interviews!). – SJ + 00:12, 8 June 2017 (UTC)

Should the election article go in News & Notes? That way we could include some brief notes like WP:POST/S#5k_featured_articles - Evad37 [talk] 02:09, 8 June 2017 (UTC)

As you like -- there was nothing else for N&N, so I used a more specific name. There's some value to getting out the notice about FDC elections before the end of the week. – SJ + 03:02, 8 June 2017 (UTC)

@Sj: I've added some in briefs to the elections article. It should probably be moved to the N&N page, with that page either WP:HISTMERGEd or just G6 deleted. - Evad37 [talk] 05:07, 8 June 2017 (UTC)

Moved to N&N. More ce/layout love would be nice, but this looks ready to publish. Perhaps tomorrow morning, giving people a bit longer to weigh in? – SJ + 17:20, 8 June 2017 (UTC)

Sounds good. I'll publish at around 02:00 UTC - Evad37 [talk] 23:34, 8 June 2017 (UTC)

@Evad37, OZOO, Armbrust, EpochFail, Piotrus, Tbayer (WMF), Milowent, and Kaldari: — you all have contributed to the current Signpost draft :) Anything missing before publication? Please take a final look.

Tech report's not quite finished with regards to bots, and I need to go through the tech news items for link formatting consistency - Evad37 [talk] 02:09, 8 June 2017 (UTC).  Done now - Evad37 [talk] 04:23, 8 June 2017 (UTC)

@Tony1, Pete Forsyth, Go Phightins!, and Gamaliel:: thoughts about the list of technical needs and a 'from the editors' note? It might also be nice to reach out to Ed, Romaine, Gestumblindi and editors of other wiki newsletters, to invite ideas for simplifying.

@Evad37, Kharkiv07, MusikAnimal, Jarry1250, and JoeHebda:: it seems there's a call for testing/maintaining a few scripted tasks - one-button publishing + archiving (done), filling draft articles w/ templates (mostly done?), pinging authors who have been regular contributors to a feature in the past (Joe, can we add the Signpost to the queue for the activity-bot?), making sure enough people know how these systems work. It might be worth having a small permanent section here for technical & automation requests.

– SJ + 01:13, 8 June 2017 (UTC)

Three of the automated tasks you ask for already exist – my script will do the publishing and archiving. And when reset, the newsroom will have buttons that create new articles already preloaded with the templates. - Evad37 [talk] 02:09, 8 June 2017 (UTC)

Grand. Perhaps a short list of requests & current solutions can be in the header? – SJ + 03:01, 8 June 2017 (UTC)

Links to all articles for the next issue:

From the editors News and notes (Elections) Technology report Featured_content Recent research

Traffic report In the media Arbitration report Op-ed

(can someone explain why Wikipedia_Signpost/Next_issue redirects to userspace rather than being used for this sort of summary?)

WP:Wikipedia_Signpost/Next_issue needs to exist but have no content when transcluded so that the draft articles don't break. I've changed it to be a noincluded list of its subpages. - Evad37 [talk] 02:09, 8 June 2017 (UTC)

Aha :) – SJ +

@Evad37: You're a hero. @Sj: Looking forward to seeing this on a more regular basis, I hope! And if so, I wish you the best of luck. If I can answer any questions, please don't hesitate to email me. Ed ^{[talk] [majestic titan]} 03:22, 8 June 2017 (UTC)

What about Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/Next issue/Arbitration report, summarizing two cases of this year? The last update was 26 March. --George Ho (talk) 04:29, 8 June 2017 (UTC); Pinging GamerPro64. 13:48, 8 June 2017 (UTC) --Yes! Added. – SJ +

Final deadline 02:00 UTC

Publication time is at or about 02:00 UTC. Any final, last minute changes should be made now. - Evad37 [talk] 23:36, 8 June 2017 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/Next issue/Humour is nearly blank; pinging Barbara about this. Also, Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/Next issue/Recent research needs a blurb and confirmation for publication. --George Ho (talk) 00:55, 9 June 2017 (UTC)

I think /Humour should be left for next time, to give Barbara a proper chance to work on it - Evad37 [talk] 01:35, 9 June 2017 (UTC)

RR blurb done - Evad37 [talk] 01:43, 9 June 2017 (UTC)

Thank you, I didn't realize that the deadline was so soon. Yes, please lets just wait until next time. I will also want other editors to get involved and want to contact them. I've been pretty busy fending off 3 AfD discussions on articles that I created about squirrels.

Best Regards,

Barbara (WVS) ✐ ✉ 21:01, 9 June 2017 (UTC)

Reviving the Signpost

If we as a movement want a Signpost, it appears someone is going to need to take the bull by the horns to revive it. Doc James (talk · contribs · email) 18:03, 31 May 2017 (UTC)

• Lots of people are submitting content which is not getting published. Recruiting an editor to do editorial work is fairly easy; people step up for that. Right now the bottleneck is the tedious act of publication and the learning curve of understanding The Signpost's software. Only a few people know how to publish and there are no instructions published which can lead a volunteer to do this without guidance from someone who knows. I propose to separate the act of publishing to be a paid staff role and leave other parts, like editor and content creation, to volunteers. I drafted a grant request at meta:Grants:Project/bluerasberry/fund a Signpost publisher. I also think that there should be a user group for The Signpost. There was a user group application in 2015 at meta:Wikimedia user groups/Applications/The Signpost. That application process is now deprecated; a new team could apply at meta:Special:Contact/affcomusergroup. If there were a user group for The Signpost then I think that would make a case for getting funding for a publisher. If there were funding for a publisher then I think that volunteering for The Signpost would be fun for others involved, and that it would be much more stable and effective. I can support a little of this but I do not want to be too involved. I like submitting content and reading the paper, and I appreciate the community around the paper. Blue Rasberry (talk) 21:34, 31 May 2017 (UTC)

Simplifying & automating should be enough to start -- Evad's done much of that already. (Needed next: a similar script to clear and repopulate 'Next issue' drafts with the standard template) – SJ +

I'm incredibly grateful for Evad37's response to help. I haven't contributed to the Signpost but I've read it a lot, if anyone needs me to play editor give me a ping, I have editorial experience off-wiki. ProgrammingGeek ^talktome 14:47, 1 June 2017 (UTC)

The Signpost died because it got organized to death and two key positions have been vacated. What we need is 1) an EIC who can oversee content 2) An editorial committee of staff who can discuss ideas and submissions, copyedit and do the gnoming work. 3) Writers who can commit to doing the regular content and 4) The tech piece to publish whatever gets created. This should not be brain surgery and we don't really need grants, committees or a user group to make it happen. We need 1 and 4. The folks at 2 and 3 already exist (I am one of them) but absent a wheel and a pilot, we are a bit adrift. Montanabw^(talk)

@Montanabw, can #1 be replaced by a consensus of the issue's editors (#2)? And wouldn't Evad's script take care of #4, if that too couldn't be made to operate by the issue's editors (#2). czar 21:33, 6 June 2017 (UTC)

All sound suggestions. – SJ + 22:55, 7 June 2017 (UTC)

Let's ask for help right away, in the current update [or before, if help is needed getting it out]. Most interested contributors don't know of the need; I only realized once I went looking. Here's a 1st pass:

Needed now

• publishing.

Needed soon

• ways to mass-contact [active] editors. are there current tools for this?
• more contributors to News & Notes [W/ only this + tech + random other pages each week, SIGN would still be v useful]
• publishing & EIC: can be a group familiar w the process, standards, + how to hit 'publish'
• process help: make simpler, consolidate process pages, update docs
• template help: simpler overview for drafts, ways to draft a beat even if it's not going out in the next edition
• ce & proofers: for quick feedback in the 24h before publication
• other scripting/bot support: generating lists of active users (by interest?), automating syndicated sections
  • Hi, SJ. I am an authorized MassMessage Sender and can send messages to as many editor talk pages as are needed to recruit Signpost submissions, editors, etc. I have also worked under JoeHebda in the Tip of the Day department, and under Montanabw at Wikiconference North America 2016. Ping me back. Cheers! {{u|Checkingfax}} {Talk} 06:30, 9 June 2017 (UTC)

Updated 'From the Editors'

A very brief letter from the editors, inviting help, would be nice. Something like:

From the editors – Help wanted!

Dear reader,

Our apologies for the recent hiatus. We love writing for you, but need your help to keep the Signpost publishing regularly. We are looking for help at all levels: editors and contributors, submitted news items and blurbs, and ideas to simplify the process. If you are interested, please join us. —{Evad37, OZOO, Armbrust, EpochFail, Piotrus, Tbayer, Milowent, Kaldari + all contributors to this edition}

Please edit mercilessly. – SJ + 22:16, 7 June 2017 (UTC)

I was pinged about writing a short paragraph as part of "From the editors". The above passage asks an encouragement to write stuff regularly. However, the delay has been three to four months, indicating that Signpost may slowly losing its regularity anymore. Also, like Wikipedia, Signpost is voluntary, but even something so voluntary serves readers of English Wikipedia. Here's my rough draft:

From the editors – Status of Signpost, more volunteers welcome

Dearest to all, especially readers,

Our apologies for the three- or four-month hiatus. We love writing for you but would not be able to publish Signpost regularly as we have had in the past. However, this should not imply the end of Signpost. We can still write and then publish articles from time to time. To make up for the long hiatus, we would ask you te the publishing pace of Signpost back to regular basis as it has been. Nevertheless, we would welcome our own efforts too join us to write articles part- or full-time for Signpost. We would be gladder and happier if you would like to publish the Signpost either biannually, seasonally, monthly, or weekly to help Signpost survive. If you are interested, feel free to join us. —{Evad37, OZOO, Armbrust, EpochFail, Piotrus, Tbayer, Milowent, Kaldari + all contributors to this edition}

My writing above might not be up to par, but this represents how we should be respectful to others' wishes. George Ho (talk) 23:42, 7 June 2017 (UTC)

Thanks. Here's a proper draft you can edit directly; I incorporated your suggestions. – SJ + 00:12, 8 June 2017 (UTC)

Ooh... Brilliant! I like your writing at that page better. ;) George Ho (talk) 00:48, 8 June 2017 (UTC)

I added two sentences. That's it. --George Ho (talk) 00:55, 8 June 2017 (UTC)

Ok, the letter looks ready for final review. – SJ + 19:26, 8 June 2017 (UTC)

What 'simpler' could look like

I would get just as much joy out of a Signpost that mainly syndicated + summarized specialized reports from around the projects, with only two regular unique sections: News + Notes and Op-eds. The rest could be largely covered by

• Syndicated newsletters: publishable as-is. (Tech, Research, Media*, Arbitration**)

  Published on whatever their natural schedule is. Optional: extra CE/layout/curation by Signpost.

• Automated reports: scriptable summaries + stats. (Featured articles, Popular articles [Traffic]***, Stats?).

  Normally w/ editing and short summary by Signpost, but not needed in a crunch. Optional: Analysis, longer summary.

• Special series: proposed and run by dedicated authors.

Syndicated articles would only go out in the Signpost when they had been published elsewhere. Automated reports could be published with minimal intervention, if noone had time to curate a summary [readers could improve a sparse summary if they desired]. Op-eds would appear when evailable, and could be queued up if too many arrived at once. This would guarantee a much lower minimal workload to publish an issue, while allowing for as many special items or series as desired.

* Cf. the internal media report. Does ComCom still produce / get it? Else this could be semi-automated. (And should search esp for mentions of smaller projects)

** ArbCom spends a huge amount of time communicating and summarizing. This could be as simple as agreeing on a page and format for a clerk to post terse updates.

*** NB: Traffic is currently both syndicated and an automated report w/summary. Perhaps Featured and Arbitration reports could be maintained as regular summaries in their own wikiprojects as well, then syndicated in The Signpost. – SJ + 19:26, 8 June 2017 (UTC)

Humour

I know some of the funniest places on Wikipedia. Is there a place for a short humorous essay once in a while?

Best Regards,

Barbara (WVS) ✐ ✉ 14:46, 5 June 2017 (UTC)

I too want to know if the Signpost could use something like this.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 18:43, 7 June 2017 (UTC)

Too late. If it's from King Features, it's gone after a month.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 18:45, 7 June 2017 (UTC)

These sound like great ideas to me. Humorous essays: example? Comics: if you find a good CC comic artist that produces one-offs rather than a regular series, it would be a nice thing to try. – SJ + 22:25, 7 June 2017 (UTC)

I hereby propose: That once/month article be authored by a cadre of editors who believe that there is still humor in wikipedia (And I don't mean scary clown movies). I volunteer to write and will attempt to recruit more editors to my cause. I know one very skilled, prolific, and genteel editor that likes to do stand up, or so they claim. So how does one go about putting this idea into action?

Best Regards,

Barbara (WVS) ✐ ✉ 22:59, 7 June 2017 (UTC)

Here's the Submissions page; post this idea as an Opinion proposal, and link to a first example in your userspace. – SJ + 00:38, 8 June 2017 (UTC)

Signpost - Recruitment ideas

Greetings, Here is a list of ideas that may help attract more help for The Signpost.

• create Invitation to help at Signpost
• create a banner ad for Signpost

see {{Wikipedia ads}}, a plain one is #17, for RFC.

• create a Signpost Welcome box, for new contributors, participants.
• create a Signpost writer Userbox, to recognize anyone whose article is published.
• create a Signpost subpage to contain the above. For example: Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/Newsroom/Community
• add Signpost Barnstar info {{The Signpost Barnstar}} from Barnstars to new subpage.

While not complete, these are being used for some of the wikiprojects that I have seen & might be useful here. Discussion is welcome. Regards, — JoeHebda • (talk) 04:35, 8 June 2017 (UTC)

Wikipedia ads! Nice ideas. Subpage created. Please add details there: links to examples of each idea used in other wikiprojects? – SJ + 04:47, 9 June 2017 (UTC)

Hi Sj, being Bold, I redirected the Community page into the Newsroom Community page and added a wikilink to the Navbox. Now proceeding with high hopes for a better Signpost future. Cheers, — JoeHebda • (talk) 14:25, 9 June 2017 (UTC)

{{User Signpost writer}}. ProgrammingGeek ^talktome 19:11, 8 June 2017 (UTC)

This user contributes to The Signpost. You can too!

Thanks ProgrammingGeek for creating this userbox. Thank you for helping. Regards, — JoeHebda • (talk) 14:41, 9 June 2017 (UTC)

Latest issue out

It looks good. Thanks so much, Evad. – SJ + 05:12, 9 June 2017 (UTC)

Problem with transcluded latest issue

Just got my delivery – all red links. (As you probably all know) the talk page issue transcludes Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2017-06-09, in which you'll see all the links are broken. I'm going to see if I can figure out what's wrong with the markup, but I thought I'd post a note here first; maybe someone more familiar with the coding can fix it faster.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 02:24, 9 June 2017 (UTC)

Move along, nothing to see here: Mz7 has already fixed it.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 02:26, 9 June 2017 (UTC)

(edit conflict) There was an issue with the way the articles were linked at Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2017-06-09. This should fix it. Purge your user talk pages to see the updates. Mz7 (talk) 02:28, 9 June 2017 (UTC)

(edit conflict) I've created redirects for all the redlink links, and Mz7 fixed the original template, but the redlinks will continue to display on cached page versions until they're regenerated. Quiddity (talk) 02:30, 9 June 2017 (UTC)

Mine are all redlinks--just loaded it. ―Justin (koavf)❤T☮C☺M☯ 02:37, 9 June 2017 (UTC)

Thanks for the quick fixes Mz7 and Quiddity – I did try to sort it out myself but wasn't quick enough, and got an edit conflict. - Evad37 [talk] 02:40, 9 June 2017 (UTC)

@Evad37: Not the first time this has happened to the Signpost, if my memory serves... :-) Live and learn! Thanks for publishing the issue. Ed ^{[talk] [majestic titan]} 02:42, 9 June 2017 (UTC)

Email + other notifications

How are these sent out? That's how I used to get pinged about new issues. Is there also a script that sends out off-wiki social notifications? – SJ + 05:12, 9 June 2017 (UTC)

The details are towards the bottom of Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/Newsroom/Coordination#Manual_process... but I don't have access to those accounts. I have sent an email to the WikimediaAnnounce-L moderators requesting a posting (can't post to it directly because it is a closed list) - Evad37 [talk] 05:26, 9 June 2017 (UTC)

Subscribe inline

: 8 June 2024

If anyone's interested, I made an inline subscription template a while back: a small link to the latest issue that works well on personal dashboard pages. It'll show a small "new" icon () for a week after the issue goes live, and will show the issue date for a month. (Afterwards it'll just show the Signpost logo.) Enjoy, czar 06:44, 9 June 2017 (UTC)

No Issues since March

Has there been any issues since March? I have only received today's edition and no other editions since March. Simply south ...... time, department skies for just 11 years 22:03, 9 June 2017 (UTC)