User talk:Jontesta
Hi Jontesta, I just wanted to welcome you to Wikipedia and thank you for your good work on the simulation-related articles (such as your addition to Life simulation game). Perhaps you were active earlier anonymously, but you seem to have grasped WP:V/WP:CITE quickly. If you're interested, we have a videogames wikiproject that may be useful to you. Cheers, Marasmusine (talk) 14:04, 24 May 2010 (UTC)
- Thank you for the warm welcome. Jontesta (talk) 23:01, 5 June 2010 (UTC)
Good work!
[edit]Hi there! I just wanted to congratulate you on the excellent changes to the Adventure game article, especially the definition section, which I put all the way down the article originally because I knew it needed this sort of work ;) I look forward to seeing what other improvements you can make to this and other video game articles! Playclever (talk) 05:31, 7 June 2010 (UTC)
- Thanks! I noticed you were very active on the article as well. It's good to have knowledgeable editors on the topic. I will probably add some more later this week in the Adventure_game#Game_design section. I think the subheadings will be a useful way to categorize it but they may change as I add more. Jontesta (talk) 06:29, 7 June 2010 (UTC)
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[edit]I contested Ruritania, and thought it was probably just a momentary glitch on your part, but then noticed that you had also proposed Slough of Despond for deletion. If you really think that these are uncontroversial deletion candidates then you need to adjust your sights enormously before proposing any more articles for deletion. Phil Bridger (talk) 20:35, 26 December 2020 (UTC)
Happy New Year!
[edit]



Thanks for your contributions to Wikipedia, and a Happy New Year to you and yours! Le Panini [🥪] 23:48, 31 December 2020 (UTC)
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[edit]Categories
[edit]Hello, Jontesta,
Please do not empty a category "out of process". If you believe a category should be deleted, nominate it for deletion at Categories for Discussion. Just removing all of the contents of a category so it becomes empty is disruptive so please do not do this again. Thank you. Liz Read! Talk! 18:17, 16 June 2022 (UTC)
- I see you've done this now with more than one category. Again, nominate categories for deletion, do not empty them in order that they are deleted. Thank you. Liz Read! Talk! 18:19, 16 June 2022 (UTC)
- Hi Liz, if you check the articles in those categories, you'll notice that I didn't try to remove the tags from those articles to empty the categories. Rather, someone else filled them after they noticed they were empty. I did change the categories on two or three articles, and if the side effect is emptying the category, it will be up to someone else to decide whether to delete it or refill it with other suitable articles. I intend to continue this work of re-categorizing articles, and unless there's some policy that you think I violated, then I would appreciate you not accusing me of bad faith disruption. Happy editing. Jontesta (talk) 00:56, 28 June 2022 (UTC)
Motor City Rockers
[edit]@Jontesta: You are invited to vote on the article Motor City Rockers. I greatly improved it from what it used to be. Catfurball (talk) 17:39, 1 July 2022 (UTC)
Hello Jontesta! As we had this topic several times now I'd like to ask here, too: Would you consider doing the WP:BEFORE search - including searches at Google Books and Google Scholar - before doing more deletion nomations based on the absence of secondary sources? Thanks for letting me know! Daranios (talk) 11:12, 22 July 2022 (UTC)
- Hey Daranios! I customarily do, and this is a reasonable thing to ask. I'll admit that a lot of google scholar links are behind passwords or paywalls, and it's possible I miss something. But seeing as most of the time I'm within the consensus, I consider my searches to be broad enough. (Many of the scholar links end up being trivial mentions, let alone essays written by students as part of an assignment.)
- That said, I appreciate you raising the issue here and in good faith. I have noticed you try to raise it in AFD and it's usually with a tone of accusation, let alone personal attacks. You may have noticed, it's my personal policy to not take the WP:BAIT, especially in an AFD where it can turn the discussion into deep threaded WP:BATTLEGROUND.
- Wikipedia is built on WP:CONSENSUS and WP:CIVILITY. For the number of AFDs where you have been outside both, I think I'm being charitable by assuming good faith, that we have different views on what's a viable article. If I can do that for someone who is often out of step with Wikipedia consensus, you can certainly do that for the consensus that disagrees with you. I think your ask is reasonable, and I hope you see my request that way, too.
- Once again, I appreciate the way you're raising it here, and that's always the better way to handle this. Jontesta (talk) 16:17, 26 July 2022 (UTC)
- Hello Jontesta! Thanks for your reply, and thanks for not taking (too much) offense, good to hear your side of the story. I did reply in the AfDs the way I did for two reasons:
- First it seemed to me that you might have not done such a (reasonably thorough) search repeatly, because I did not have a hard time to find sources in several cases when you did not find any. I may have more access to some paywalled sources, which might be part of the reason. In this case I would like to ask you to check out The Wikipedia Library for any promising paywalled hits. I am not sure if this available to every Wikipedia editor, but I hope you have access to it. It does cover quite a number of paywalled journals. Many Google Scholar hits may indeed be trivial mentions or students essays (likewise in any Google search), but a few significant mentions among the others are sufficient after all. Our standards of may also difffer, I try to always keep the "why" of the notability requirement in mind, looking if there's enough material overall for a short article.
- My second reason why I reacted badly to some of your nominations was the way you phrased them, along the lines "there are no reliable sources on this topic". This sounds very absolute, especially when I did find sources then (and like, in the last instance, such a statement seems to ignore a secondary source already present). You might have a reason to discount existing sources, but that was not apparent from your phrasing. So if you were to phrase it in less absolute terms, not stating them like you have the definite knowledge that no sources exist in this universe, but rather point to sources you did see in your WP:BEFORE search, and briefly explained why you found them insufficient, I would appreciate that. (Including in cases which are paywalled. It's quite a difference to state "there are no secondary sources, period" as compared to "these paywalled sources may or may not have potential, but I will not assume notability until someone with access will analyze them".)
- Anyway, so far for my side of things and explanation why I sounded cranky. I stand by what I have said contentwise. I apologize if I have crossed the line to incivility in tone. Daranios (talk) 07:21, 27 July 2022 (UTC)
In your nomination, you confidently state several things that simply, and demonstrably, aren't true. I see you've gotten some input from Daranios, above, about BEFORE. So in this case, you either didn't do one, although your statements clearly imply you did, or you failed to find extant sources. I'm AGF'ing that that was the latter, and so here's a free tip: When searching on a fictional element for scholarly analysis, add the author's name to Google Scholar search. Another free tip? Don't nominate things you don't understand. If you seriously thought that Miraz, or any other major character with speaking lines in a C.S. Lewis work, doesn't have sufficient scholarly analysis to pass the notability bar, that is a WP:CIR failure. Please go fix your nomination to be less inaccurate, or, better yet, go withdraw the whole thing so it doesn't continue to make you look bad. Cheers, Jclemens (talk) 07:35, 11 August 2022 (UTC)
A barnstar for you!
[edit]| The Tireless Contributor Barnstar | |
| For your efforts to clean up low-quality articles at AfD and elsewhere, I award you the Tireless Contributor Barnstar. Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here 05:02, 24 August 2022 (UTC) |
Accuracy concerns at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Mater (Cars)
[edit]I hate to be back here again, but this nomination has avoidable problems:
This article is sourced to unreliable sources such as blogs, or promotional sources affiliated with the subject.
Could you please clarify how The Joplin Globe, Entertainment Weekly, Birmingham Mail, Popular Mechanics, or KSL-TV fit that description? All were present at the time of nomination, and 5 of 19 is a non-negligible number of sources.WP:BEFORE only revealed brief coverage that does not support a stand-alone Wikipedia article.
Please describe what BEFORE criteria you used, so I can help understand why you failed to find such.
- As before, I am assuming good faith that neither statement is an intentional falsehood. I would hate to see this sort of wildly inaccurate nomination turn into a pattern of behavior that could be interpreted as a user conduct issue. Cheers, Jclemens (talk) 06:13, 22 November 2022 (UTC)
PROD must only be used if no opposition to the deletion is expected.
I am uncertain why you believed a PROD of Sally Carrera would be uncontroversial. Looking at Page info there are 50 page watchers, and it was getting 200+ pageviews per day. Regardless of your assessment of the notability and sourcing of the article, I do not see any attempt to merge or redirect the article. Please refrain from using PROD on articles that might be likely to attract opposition; in such cases, proceed directly to the AfD process, ideally with an accurate nomination summary. When in doubt about whether an article should be PRODded, I offer my services to assist you in evaluating such cases in the future. Jclemens (talk) 06:28, 22 November 2022 (UTC)
- Jclemens, it's time to cease trying to change every content disagreement into a WP:BUREAUCRATIC order. It's okay that we have a good faith disagreement about what belongs on Wikipedia. For seven days my PROD was uncontested, and it was seconded by another long-standing editor, before it was deleted by a competent administrator. That should be enough for you to see how other editors, in good faith, believe that the PROD would be uncontroversial. There are many times where a consensus of Wikipedians agree with what I'm doing, regardless of your viewpoint at the margin.
- To be fair, sometimes the circumstances are the total reverse, and we have each found ourselves at the margin of community consensus at different moments. Instead of using the community consensus as a cudgel to accuse you of abuse of process, I'm going to continue trusting the community to read everyone's comments about the content and make constructive decisions. I am kindly asking that you do the same, and keep your comments directed at the content instead of me as an editor. If you can't accept my basic request then I'm going to ask you to stay away from my talk page. Thank you. Jontesta (talk) 23:50, 25 November 2022 (UTC)
Just wondering
[edit]If you have watchlisted deletion sorting pages? I find it useful to keep track with stuff, like Wikipedia:WikiProject Deletion sorting/Games, Wikipedia:WikiProject Deletion sorting/Popular culture, Wikipedia:WikiProject Deletion sorting/Popular culture, Wikipedia:WikiProject Deletion sorting/Literature, etc. Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here 05:12, 25 November 2022 (UTC)
- I haven't followed all of these but I will keep an eye out. I don't always have time but it's good to be aware of what's is around. Jontesta (talk) 23:54, 25 November 2022 (UTC)
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Time problems
[edit]Hello Jontesta! Just wanted to stop by with a comment to avoid misunderstandings: I did not forget about my recent dePRODs of the video game articles + Bat phone, and was going to look for sources eventually. It's just that there are so many activities with time constraints in my field of interest, i.e. deletion discussions, that I hardly get around to do any improvments on articles. We'll see if I can join the corresponding deletion discussions then. (I wish they did not happen with such a high frequency, to allow for the high time requirements of the search for proper sources...). Daranios (talk) 19:50, 28 November 2022 (UTC)
- Hey Daranios, I am going to give these more time. It's always possible that I'm wrong and that significant coverage could be found for these games, and that's always a good thing. To keep the volume of deletion discussions to a manageable level, it's been my practice to cap my AFD activity to a handful per week (usually less AFDs and/or more time). Recently, I've added some PRODs for topics that I would assume to be uncontroversial. But anyone can revert a PROD, and if I disagree with that revert, my choices are to increase my activity at AFD or risk forgetting about the issue entirely. It's better for everyone involved if the volume of deletion processes allows a good faith discussion to happen. I likely won't revisit these games at AFD until the new year, and maybe that will give them time to improve. Jontesta (talk) 21:26, 4 December 2022 (UTC)
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- Recent research: Hoaxers prefer currently-popular topics
And other new research findings.
The Signpost: 3 July 2023
[edit]- News and notes: Online Safety Bill: Wikimedia Foundation and Wikimedia UK launch open letter
... and a new Elections Committee.
- Disinformation report: Imploded submersible outfit foiled trying to sing own praises on Wikipedia
A few editors who fought many times to keep advertisements out.
- In the media: Journo proposes mass Wiki dox, sponsored articles on Fandom, Section 230 discussed
Are you now, or have you ever been, a Wikipedia editor?
- Featured content: Incensed
In which featured pictures have a pleasing orange/blue colour scheme for some reason.
- Traffic report: Are you afraid of spiders? Arnold? The Idol? ChatGPT?
Don't worry, they are mostly harmless.
- Humour: United Nations dispatches peacekeeping force to Wikipedia policy discussions
Mission to ensure stability in conflict-ridden area.
The Signpost: 17 July 2023
[edit]- News and notes: Big bux hidden beneath wine-dark sea as we wait for the Tides to go out?
Gitz666 unglocked, Wikimania scholarships given and a new admin anointed.
- In the media: Tentacles of Emirates plot attempt to ensnare Wikipedia
Ruwiki on the Ruinternet, Rauwerda on TEDx, and Jimbo on Fridman.
- Obituary: David Thomsen (Dthomsen8) and Ingo Koll (Kipala)
Philadelphians and Tanzanians say goodbye.
- News from the WMF: ABC for Fundraising: Advancing Banner Collaboration for fundraising campaigns
The collaboration process for the 2023 English fundraising campaign is kicking off now, right from the start of the fiscal year.
- In focus: Are the children of celebrities over-represented in French cinema?
Wikidata queries investigate nepo babies.
- Tips and tricks: What automation can do for you (and your WikiProject)
A summary of various tools designed over the years.
- Recent research: Wikipedia-grounded chatbot "outperforms all baselines" on factual accuracy
And various other research on large language models and Wikipedia.
- Humour: New fringe theories to be introduced
Bold move intended to "get some variety" into Wikipedia arguments.
- Cobwebs: If you're reading this, you're probably on a desktop
The annual report that tries to understand the Signpost through data, written in 2020, which never saw the light of day until now.
- Featured content: Scrollin', scrollin', scrollin', keep those readers scrollin', got to keep on scrollin', Rawhide!
In which choices have been made™.
- Traffic report: The Idol becomes the Master
Sex, drugs and violence, English, math and science.
The Signpost: 1 August 2023
[edit]- News and notes: City officials attempt to doxx Wikipedians, Ruwiki founder banned, WMF launches Mastodon server
And French gov't proposes legislation to slam Wikipedia, others.
- In the media: Truth, AI, bull from politicians, and climate change
Or just another brouhaha?
- Disinformation report: Hot climate, hot hit, hot money, hot news hot off the presses!
Hot damn, it's damned hot!
- Obituary: Donald Cram, Peter McCawley, and Eagleash
Three editors have departed.
- Tips and tricks: Citation tools for dummies!
You don't really want to do this stuff by yourself, do you?
- Humour: Does Wikipedia present neutral perspectives?
A serious visual investigation.
- In focus: Journals cited by Wikipedia
A compilation of over 3M citations.
- Opinion: Are global bans the last step?
Possible solutions after being re-harassed.
- Featured content: Featured Content, 1 to 15 July
Due to unfortunate events, this issue is published as is, in its unfinished state.
- Traffic report: Come on Oppie, let's go party
Oppenheimer, Barbie, and a couple other scandals.
The Signpost: 15 August 2023
[edit]- News and notes: Dude, Where's My Donations? Wikimedia Foundation announces another million in grants for non-Wikimedia-related projects
Jimbo promises more transparency, Wikimania in Singapore, move away from Tides still planned, and Wikifunctions rolls out.
- In the media: An accusation of bias from Brazil, a lawsuit from Portugal, plagiarism from Florida
Harsh words from problematic fave Glenn Greenwald.
- In focus: 2023 Good Article Nomination drive is underway: get your barnstars here!
Rigorous Review of Content for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Wikipedia.
- Special report: Thirteen years later, why are most administrators still from 2005?
Damn kids need to get off our lawn and onto RfA.
- Tips and tricks: How to find images for your articles, check their copyright, upload them, and restore them
Because one gets some secondary skills when one has 645 featured pictures.
- Cobwebs: Getting serious about writing
The innards of the Signpost received a major overhaul in March/April 2019. Here's how we reduced behind-the-scenes busywork and improved writers resources.
- Opinion: Copyright trolls, or the last beautiful free souls on this planet?
For whom does the Creative Commons enforcement clause toll?
- Serendipity: Why I stopped taking photographs almost altogether
An announcement of 335,000 new images on Wikimedia Commons.
- Featured content: Barbenheimer confirmed
Some improvement on last week.
- Humour: Arbitration Committee to accept case against Right Honorable Frimbley Cantingham, 15th Viscount Bellington-upon-Porkshire
Case request cited misuse of tools by administrator who last used tools in 1661.
- Traffic report: 'Cause today it just goes with the fashion
Barbenheimer, Pee-Wee Herman and the Women's World Cup.
The Signpost: 31 August 2023
[edit]- From the editor: Beta version of signpost.news now online
News for the editoriat. Stuff that matters.
- News and notes: You like RecentChanges?
Wikipedia really comes into its own, editorially and artistically.
- In the media: Taking it sleazy
"Poli", which means "many", and "tics", which means "under-the-table Wikipedia article whitewashing campaigns".
- Recent research: The five barriers that impede "stitching" collaboration between Commons and Wikipedia
And other recent research publications.
- Draftspace: Bad Jokes and Other Draftspace Novelties
The good, the bad, and the nonsense.
- Humour: The Dehumourification Plan
A message from the Counter-Fun Unit.
- Traffic report: Raise your drinking glass, here's to yesterday
I just poured HOT GRITS down my pants ohh yeah
The Signpost: 16 September 2023
[edit]- News and notes: Wikimedia power sharing – just an advisory role for the volunteer community?
Plus: Africa news, funding report, U4C draft, roads fork and another ChatGPT block.
- In the media: "Just flirting", going Dutch and Shapps for the defence?
Plus a new judge, an "unimportant" record, and staying in the swim!
- Obituary: Nosebagbear
A Wikipedian and a friend.
- Serendipity: Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no paywall, for thou, Wikipedia Library, art with me
Non-flammable, BPA-free, and really whips the llama's ass.
- Featured content: Catching up
Covering all of August. Pretty much.
- Concept: Strange portal opened by CERN researchers brings Wikipedia articles from "other worlds"
The Signpost brings you the latest from the source.
- Traffic report: Some of it's magic, some of it's tragic
Sports, film and singers. We've got it all!
The Signpost: 3 October 2023
[edit]- News and notes: Wikimedia Endowment financial statement published
Finances during Tides Foundation management of the endowment are shown for the first time.
- In the media: History is written by whoever can harness the most editors
Plus Harvard, Yale, Lords and Commons, partners and trolls!
- Recent research: Readers prefer ChatGPT over Wikipedia; concerns about limiting "anyone can edit" principle "may be overstated"
And other new research publications
- Featured content: By your logic,
The first issue to feature two poetry article
- Concept: Wikipedia policies from other worlds: WP:NOANTLERS
Material must be written with the greatest care and attention; the level of detail and commentary regarding the antlers of living persons is to be kept to a minimum.
- Poetry: "The Sight"
Tamzin reflects on the hunt.
- Traffic report: There shall be no slaves in the land of lands, it's a Bollywood jam
Taylor Swift with an NFL tight end and Lauren Boebert with a Democrat?
The Signpost: 23 October 2023
[edit]- News and notes: Where have all the administrators gone?
Long time passing
- In the media: Thirst traps, the fastest loading sites on the web, and the original collaborative writing
Also: High fives, Wikipedia as a guide for counterfeiters and crossword makers, and Iskander at the UN.
- Gallery: Before and After: Why you don't need to know how to restore images to make massive improvements
The benefits of research.
- Featured content: Yo, ho! Blow the man down!
These titles never make much sense even at the best of times, so why not be random?
- Traffic report: The calm and the storm
They are still fighting.
- News from Diff: Sawtpedia: Giving a Voice to Wikipedia Using QR Codes
Sounds good!
- Humour: New citation template introduced for divine revelations, drug use, and really thinking about it
"Cite altered state" to join the distinguished ranks of CS1 templates
The Signpost: 6 November 2023
[edit]- Arbitration report: Admin bewilderingly unmasks self as sockpuppet of other admin who was extremely banned in 2015
"Is this an ArbCom case request or an M. Night Shyamalan movie?"
- In the media: UK shadow chancellor accused of ripping off WP articles for book, Wikipedians accused of being dicks by a rich man
Plus Gaza bias, Speaker Johnson, Maher, the music of websites, and antisemitism.
- News and notes: Board candidacy process posted, editors protest WMF privacy measure, sweet meetups
And three new admins!
- Opinion: An open letter to Elon Musk
You should learn some of our rules!
- WikiCup report: The WikiCup 2023
The winner is...
- News from Wiki Ed: Equity lists on Wikipedia
Do you ever wonder where Wikipedia articles come from?
- Recent research: How English Wikipedia drove out fringe editors over two decades
And other new research findings.
- Featured content: Like putting a golf course in a historic site.
Only literally.
- Wikidata: Evaluating qualitative systemic bias in large article sets on Wikipedia
A systematic approach.
- Traffic report: Cricket jumpscare
Plus Kollywood, Killers of the Flower Moon, and ongoing war.
The Signpost: 20 November 2023
[edit]- In the media: Propaganda and photos, lunatics and a lunar backup
Comic-con, Media summit, and a classic!
- News and notes: Update on Wikimedia's financial health
Plus: Sockpuppet investigators asking for help.
- Traffic report: If it bleeds, it leads
Or if it's Indian sport or cinema.
- Recent research: Canceling disputes as the real function of ArbCom
And other new research findings.
- Wikimania: Wikimania 2024 scholarships
Scholarship applications for Wikimania 2024 are now open!
ArbCom 2023 Elections voter message
[edit]Hello! Voting in the 2023 Arbitration Committee elections is now open until 23:59 (UTC) on Monday, 11 December 2023. All eligible users are allowed to vote. Users with alternate accounts may only vote once.
The Arbitration Committee is the panel of editors responsible for conducting the Wikipedia arbitration process. It has the authority to impose binding solutions to disputes between editors, primarily for serious conduct disputes the community has been unable to resolve. This includes the authority to impose site bans, topic bans, editing restrictions, and other measures needed to maintain our editing environment. The arbitration policy describes the Committee's roles and responsibilities in greater detail.
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The Signpost: 4 December 2023
[edit]- News and notes: Beeblebrox ejected from Arbitration Committee following posts on Wikipediocracy
Just as his term was ending!
- In the media: Turmoil on Hebrew Wikipedia, grave dancing, Olga's impact and inspiring Bhutanese nuns
Plus Apple Pay, fiction, registration, expulsion, and elimination!
- Disinformation report: "Wikipedia and the assault on history"
An analysis of a literary mystery.
- In focus: Tens of thousands of freely available sources flagged
Continuing years of efforts to improve free-to-read access.
- Comix: Bold comics for a new age
"I think we ought to read only the kind of comics that wound or stab us. If the comic we're reading doesn't wake us up with a blow to the head, what are we reading for?" — Franz Kafka
- Essay: I am going to die
And so are you.
- Featured content: Real gangsters move in silence
Quite literally, and other fascinating featured articles, pictures and lists
- Traffic report: And it's hard to watch some cricket, in the cold November Rain
If you don't fancy the sport that occupies over 25% of the slots in these lists, there's always movies, celebrities, and political follies to fall back on – or an unusual fired-for-the-weekend CEO.
- Humour: Mandy Rice-Davies Applies
This page in a nutshell: Whether or not someone has denied unsavory allegations — though such a denial may not merit being given equal weight in an article — a worthless shitpost should still be included.
The Signpost: 24 December 2023
[edit]- Special report: Did the Chinese Communist Party send astroturfers to sabotage a hacktivist's Wikipedia article?
Wikipedia article histories are public records that can be easily examined, so unlike other websites, we can answer this question thoroughly.
- News and notes: The Italian Public Domain wars continue, Wikimedia RU set to dissolve, and a recap of WLM 2023
Not the best of times for Wikipedians across the world, but there are still glimpses of hope...
- In the media: Consider the humble fork
Forky on forky on forky, plus a strange donation scheme and other interesting bits of news.
- Discussion report: Arabic Wikipedia blackout; Wikimedians discuss SpongeBob, copyrights, and AI
Wiki goes dark and adopts Palestine flag logo; intellectual property rumblings from the bowels of the law.
- In focus: Liquidation of Wikimedia RU
Wikimedia Russia closes after founder is declared a "foreign agent".
- Technology report: Dark mode is coming
No more must Wikipedia always be a lightbulb in the dark — except metaphorically of course.
- Recent research: "LLMs Know More, Hallucinate Less" with Wikidata
And other new research publications.
- Gallery: A feast of holidays and carols
Peace on earth, goodwill to all!
- Comix: Lollus lmaois 200C tincture
the dilution makes it stronger.
- Crossword: when the crossword is sus
The Signpost Crossword is a 2018 online multiplayer social deduction game that takes place in space-themed settings where players are colorful, armless cartoon astronauts.
- Traffic report: What's the big deal? I'm an animal!
Bollywood, Hollywood, and both kinds of football to close out December.
- From the editor: A piccy iz worth OVAR 9000!!!11oneone! wordz ^_^
The debugging will continue until performance improves.
- Apocrypha: Local editor discovered 1,380 lost subheadings in ancient Signpost scrolls. And what he found was shocking.
Heartwarming — MUST READ — You Won't BELIEVE #4!!!!!
- Humour: Guess the joke contest
Winner receives a special prize!
- BJAODN: Bad jokes and other deleted nonsense
Edit summary: "Only need this page for about 30 minutes to demonstrate to a friend how easy it is to create a Wikipedia page. Then it will be deleted."
The Signpost: 10 January 2024
[edit]- From the editor: NINETEEN MORE YEARS! NINETEEN MORE YEARS!
The Signpost can now drink beer and chant slogans in Canada. What slogans should we chant for the next nineteen years?
- Special report: Public Domain Day 2024
Mickey & You: What can you do?
- Technology report: Wikipedia: A Multigenerational Pursuit
A techie looks at the big questions.
- News and notes: In other news ... see ya in court!
Let the games begin! The 2024 WikiCup is off to a strong start. With copyright enforcement, AI training and freedom of expression, it's another typical week in the wiki-sphere!
- In focus: The long road of a featured article candidate
The first of two installments, regarding a process of many installments.
- In the media: What is plagiarism? Oklahoma Disneyland? Reaching a human being at Wikipedia?
Watch out for those space ships!
- WikiProject report: WikiProjects Israel and Palestine
What are the editorial processes behind covering some of the most politically polarizing and contentious topics on English Wikipedia?
- Obituary: Anthony Bradbury
Rest in peace.
- Traffic report: The most viewed articles of 2023
Around the world in 365 days (with many stops in India).
- Crossword: everybody gangsta till the style sheets start cascading
The good news is that I've perfected the templates that allow other people to make actually good crosswords.
- Comix: Conflict resolution
Getting down to brass tacks &c.
The Signpost: 31 January 2024
[edit]- News and notes: Wikipedian Osama Khalid celebrated his 30th birthday in jail
Plus WMF child rights impact assessment, Chinese Wikipedia changes admin rules
- Opinion: Until it happens to you
A stream of consciousness about plagiarism on Wikipedia from the perspective of a user who directly witnessed it.
- Disinformation report: How paid editors squeeze you dry
And how you can stop them!
- In the media: Katherine Maher new NPR CEO, go check Wikipedia, race in the race
Another wobble, more Ackman, our usual pathological optimist, and football in dirty pants!
- In focus: The long road of a featured article candidate, part 2
Everything you really wanted to know about writing featured articles.
- Recent research: Croatian takeover was enabled by "lack of bureaucratic openness and rules constraining [admins]"
And other new research publications.
- Comix: We've all got to start somewhere
Writing a good subheading for a one-sentence joke is basically like writing an entire second joke so I'm not going to do it.
- Traffic report: DJ, gonna burn this goddamn house right down
Job changes, death, sex, murder, suicide and a vacation!
The Signpost: 13 February 2024
[edit]- News and notes: Wikimedia Russia director declared "foreign agent" by Russian gov; EU prepares to pile on the papers
"the exact extent of the obligations" unclear... many such cases!
- Disinformation report: How low can the scammers go?
Lower, trust me!
- Gallery: Before and After: Why you don't need to touch grass to dramatically improve images of flora and fauna
Finding the right bumblebee among all the bumblebees!
- In the media: Speaking in tongues, toeing the line, and dressing the part
The usual odd articles about Wikipedia.
- Serendipity: Is this guy the same as the one who was a Nazi?
The hunt for Bertil Ragnar Anzén.
- Traffic report: Griselda, Nikki, Carl, Jannik and two types of football
Plus films, Grammys and a rumble!
- Crossword: Our crossword to bear
&c.
- Comix: Strongly
That's more than weakly!
The Signpost: 2 March 2024
[edit]- News and notes: Wikimedia enters US Supreme court hearings as "the dolphin inadvertently caught in the net"
Plus, the U4C Charter keeps planting seeds, the RfA process is set to become more sustainable, and more news from the Wikimedia ecosystem.
- Recent research: Images on Wikipedia "amplify gender bias"
And other new findings
- In the media: The Scottish Parliament gets involved, a wikirace on live TV, and the Foundation's CTO goes on record
Plus, naughty politicians, Federal judge not a fan, UFOs and beavers.
- Obituary: Vami_IV
Rest in peace.
- Traffic report: Supervalentinefilmbowlday
If you say it loud enough the views will come your way!
- WikiCup report: High-scoring WikiCup first round comes to a close
135 battle it out; 67 advance
The Signpost: 29 March 2024
[edit]- Technology report: Millions of readers still seeing broken pages as "temporary" disabling of graph extension nears its second year
Much effort was spent drafting a movement charter about becoming "essential infrastructure of the ecosystem of free knowledge". How much is spent maintaining it?
- Interview: Interview on Wikimedia Foundation fundraising and finance strategy
Signpost interviews Wikimedia Foundation leadership on fundraising banners
- Special report: 19-page PDF accuses Wikipedia of bias against Israel, suggests editors be forced to reveal their real names, and demands a new feature allowing people to view the history of Wikipedia articles
And does it have anything to do with the unusual decision to let a zero-edit user open an arbitration request?
- Op-Ed: Wikipedia in the age of personality-driven knowledge
Can we compete with social media? Will aoomers forget Wikipedia?
- Recent research: "Newcomer Homepage" feature mostly fails to boost new editors
And several papers look at climate change on Wikipedia
- News and notes: Universal Code of Conduct Coordinating Committee Charter ratified
WLM winners announced, Wikimania 2024, a new Wikimedia movement affiliate, and active enwp admins reach a record low.
- In the media: "For me it’s the autism": AARoad editors on the fork more traveled
Worldwide women turned blue and controversies on Serbian & French Wikipedia.
- Traffic report: He rules over everything, on the land called planet Dune
Let me take you to the movies.
- Humour: Letters from the editors
The only worthwhile grievance is the one that prompts satire.
- Comix: Layout issue
margin: 0 auto !important;
The Signpost: 25 April 2024
[edit]- In the media: Censorship and wikiwashing looming over RuWiki, edit wars over San Francisco politics, and another wikirace on live TV
Plus, tribute songs and shout-outs outweighing vandalism and hoaxes, a dispute about the real king of the platform and other bits of news.
- News and notes: A sigh of relief for open access as Italy makes a slight U-turn on their cultural heritage reproduction law
Plus, new updates on the privacy and research ethics whitepaper and the graphs outage situation, and an Iranian former steward is globally banned from Wikimedia projects
- WikiConference report: WikiConference North America 2023 in Toronto recap
Outcomes of the event including newly published videos and photos, the archived conference website and program, and some attendee reflections on its significance.
- WikiProject report: WikiProject Newspapers (Not WP:NOTNEWS)
A WikiProject report on the 📰🌍 globe's finest news source!
- Recent research: New survey of over 100,000 Wikipedia users
And other recent research publications
- Traffic report: O.J., cricket and a three body problem
Plus Godzilla meets Francis Scott Key!
The Signpost: 16 May 2024
[edit]- News and notes: Democracy in action: multiple elections
WMF trustee elections, U4C results, Italian ArbCom, WMF and Endowment annual reports.
- Special report: Will the new RfA reform come to the rescue of administrators?
We don't know yet, but there is some encouraging news, nevertheless.
- Arbitration report: Ruined temples for posterity to ponder over – arbitration from '22 to '24
Some go out with a bang, some with a whimper, few with much of a comprehensible explanation.
- In the media: Deadnames on the French Wikipedia, and a duel between Russian wikis
Plus, the WMF joins the Unicode Consortium, Chris Albon talks about AI tools on Wikipedia, communities address under-representation on the site.
- Op-Ed: Wikidata to split as sheer volume of information overloads infrastructure
More queries are failing, and more frequently, so what is to be done?
- Comix: Generations
It do be like that sometimes.
- Traffic report: Crawl out through the fallout, baby
With cricket and some cute baby reindeer!
The Signpost: 8 June 2024
[edit]- News and notes: Wikimedia Foundation publishes its Form 990 for fiscal year 2022-2023
The Form 990, as well as highlights and FAQs, are now available for review.
- Technology report: New Page Patrol receives a much-needed software upgrade
A new model for collaboration between the WMF and the community?
- Deletion report: The lore of Kalloor
Hoaxes and the genesis of information.
- In the media: National cable networks get in on the action arguing about what the first sentence of a Wikipedia article ought to say
First line, sixth paragraph, body text or unified Reich?
- News from the WMF: Progress on the plan — how the Wikimedia Foundation advanced on its Annual Plan goals during the first half of fiscal year 2023-2024
Outlining progress against the four key goals
- Opinion: Public response to the editors of Settler Colonial Studies
A letter.
- Recent research: ChatGPT did not kill Wikipedia, but might have reduced its growth
And various research findings about Wikidata and knowledge graphs.
- Featured content: We didn't start the wiki
No we didn't write it, but we tried to cite it
- Essay: No queerphobia
An essay.
- Special report: RetractionBot is back to life!
... and flagging your articles with big ugly red notices! (This is a good thing.)
- Traffic report: Chimps, Eurovision, and the return of the Baby Reindeer
Movies, deaths, elections (but no cricket).
- Comix: The Wikipediholic Family
Some stuff's only okay in the privacy of the home.
- Humour: Wikipedia rattled by sophisticated cyberattack of schoolboy typing "balls" in infobox
Project in shambles – "it had never occurred to us that this was possible".
- Concept: Palimpsestuous
Hypertext.
The Signpost: 4 July 2024
[edit]- News and notes: WMF board elections and fundraising updates
Three new admins, but overall numbers still shrinking.
- Special report: Wikimedia Movement Charter ratification vote underway, new Council may surpass power of Board
Will we weather the storm?
- In focus: How the Russian Wikipedia keeps it clean despite having just a couple dozen administrators
Unbundling, automation, fighting spirit, and a bot named Reimu Hakurei.
- Discussion report: Wikipedians are hung up on the meaning of Madonna
Debate unsettled after seventeen years.
- In the media: War and information in war and politics
Advocacy organizations, a journalist, mycophobes, conservatives, leftists, photographers, and a disinformation task force imagine themselves in Wikipedia.
- Sister projects: On editing Wikisource
A journey to a sister project.
- Obituary: Hanif Al Husaini, Salazarov, Hyacinth, and PirjanovNurlan
Rest in peace.
- Opinion: Etika: a Pop Culture Champion
An article about Etika's appeal and legacy in pop culture.
- Gallery: Spokane Willy's photos
A virtual visit to the Inland Northwest.
- Op-Ed: Why you should not vote in the 2024 WMF BoT elections
"Simply not good enough".
- Crossword: On a day of independence, beat crosswords into crossploughshares
How well do you know the main page (no peeking)?
- Humour: A joke
...!
- Cobwebs: Counting to a billion — manuscripts don't burn
Special:Diff/1 and related techno-trivia more complicated than you'd think.
- Recent research: Is Wikipedia Politically Biased? Perhaps
And other new publications on systemic bias and other topics.
- Traffic report: Talking about you and me, and the games people play
Elections, movies, sports.
The Signpost: 22 July 2024
[edit]- Discussion report: Internet users flock to Wikipedia to debate its image policy over Trump raised-fist photo
Iconic photograph, invalid fair use exemption criterion #3a claimant, or both?
- News and notes: Wikimedia community votes to ratify Movement Charter; Wikimedia Foundation opposes ratification
Establishment of power-sharing agreement between WMF corporation and volunteer user community in limbo.
- News from the WMF: Wikimedia Foundation Board resolution and vote on the proposed Movement Charter
Natalia Tymkiv, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation, on the Charter vote results, the resolution, meeting minutes, and proposed next steps.
- Essay: Reflections on editing and obsession
A lost Signpost submission from fifteen years ago brought into the light, as good and true now as it was then.
- In the media: What's on Putin's fork, the court's docket, and in Harrison's book?
Failing forks, smart and well-researched stories, LGBT rights, and oral sex!
- Obituary: JamesR
Rest in peace.
- Crossword: Vaguely bird-shaped crossword
Do you know these Wikipedia quotes?
- Humour: Joe Biden withdraws RfA, Donald Trump selects co-nom
Dems in disarray, GOP in chaos — analysts say news expected, but few can predict how race will shape up from here.
The Signpost: 14 August 2024
[edit]- In the media: Portland pol profile paid for from public purse
A STORM over an AI that writes articles. And other notes of interest.
- Recent research: STORM: AI agents role-play as "Wikipedia editors" and "experts" to create Wikipedia-like articles, a more sophisticated effort than previous auto-generation systems
And other findings.
- In focus: Twitter marks the spot
Musk's Twitter acquisition and rebranding have caused long debates on Wikipedia.
- News and notes: Another Wikimania has concluded.
And Movement Charter ratification vote comments have been published
- Special report: Nano or just nothing: Will nano go nuclear?
Possibly paid articles.
- Opinion: HouseBlaster's RfA debriefing
HouseBlaster's reflections on his RfA. In particular, do not ask superlative questions.
- Traffic report: Ball games, movies, elections, but nothing really weird
Just normally weird!
- Humour: I'm proud to be a template
Come in, you whippersnapper, have a cup of tea.
The Signpost: 4 September 2024
[edit]- News and notes: WikiCup enters final round, MCDC wraps up activities, 17-year-old hoax article unmasked
JCW compilation now tracks free DOIs, Wiki Loves Monuments getting started, WMF's status as UN observer stymied by China for fourth time.
- In the media: AI is not playing games anymore. Is Wikipedia ready?
Updates from the Portland pol's case, the war in Gaza, and other Wiki-related reports.
- Recent research: Simulated Wikipedia seen as less credible than ChatGPT and Alexa in experiment
And other new research findings
- News from the WMF: Meet the 12 candidates running in the WMF Board of Trustees election
Who are they, why are they running and what are they bringing to the Board?
- Wikimania: A month after Wikimania 2024
What all happened in Katowice?
- Serendipity: What it's like to be Wikimedian of the Year
Hannah Clover shares her fondest memories of her first Wikimania.
- Traffic report: After the gold rush
The Olympics (yay!) and the American election (oh no).
- Humour: Local man halfway through rude reply no longer able to recall why he hates other editor
"I can't remember whether he is an incompetent moron, or an incorrigible POV warrior, or some other thing, but either way, to hell with him."
The Signpost: 26 September 2024
[edit]- In the media: Courts order Wikipedia to give up names of editors, legal strain anticipated from "online safety laws"
ANI (but probably not the one you're thinking of), bias and bans, crisis and Clover, Engelhorn's euros, and will the zoomers inherit the project?
- Community view: Indian courts order Wikipedia to take down name of crime victim, editors strive towards consensus
In response to a takedown request, Wikipedia editors reached a consensus on how to handle it appropriately.
- Serendipity: A Wikipedian at the 2024 Paralympics
User Hawkeye7 opens up on his experience as a media representative following the Australian team at the latest Summer Paralympics in Paris.
- Opinion: asilvering's RfA debriefing
User asilvering reflects on their recent successful request for adminship.
- News and notes: Are you ready for admin elections?
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Fictional planets
[edit]Hi! I noticed that you brought a number of articles about fictional planets to WP:AfD last month. There is a list of such articles (it is at least intended to be a list of all fictional planets with standalone articles) at Extrasolar planets in fiction#List, in case you are interested in looking at the rest and determining which ones you might want to take to AfD. TompaDompa (talk) 09:34, 22 October 2024 (UTC)
- Thank you for raising this. By the way, I appreciate your work at Mesklin, and I regret raising that article for AFD. Based on your experience both removing and improving articles, I would would throw the list back at you and ask your opinion. I will try my best to rank them from "most likely to take to AFD" to "least likely."
- Darkover and Tralfamadore: These articles lack sufficient sourcing, and I doubt they have it.
- Mogo and Apokolips: Previously nominated for AFD by User:Piotrus, they did not reach a consensus for deletion, with suggestions for potential merging.
- Riverworld: This article is poorly sourced, but I would check for sources first.
- Gallifrey and Skaro: Both are primarily based on biased or affiliated sources, including the primary source itself. Independent sourcing for Doctor Who articles can be a roll of the dice.
- Gor: This is a series incorrectly labeled/scoped as a planet. Some AFD discussions have resulted in changes to the article’s scope or title.
- Alderaan and Coruscant: These articles are not well-sourced and have limited prominence in Star Wars. But they may still be notable.
- Jakku and Naboo: Also poorly sourced, but I have slightly more confidence in their notability due to their significant presence in the Star Wars movies.
- Ego the Living Planet: This article requires cleanup but likely does not need AFD.
- Discworld (world): While in poor condition, my impression is that this is notable.
- Abeir-Toril, Mystara, and World of A Song of Ice and Fire: Are these really "planet" articles, in the encyclopedic sense of how they are categorized? They primarily cover fantasy settings rather than celestial bodies.
- The others are likely notable. I would consider the AFD process for the first 3 to 6 articles I listed. The middle entries are more likely as candidates for a merge or cleanup, with the bottom of the list leaning towards sourcing and smaller fixes. Did you think that any of the planet articles need attention? Jontesta (talk) 15:47, 22 October 2024 (UTC)
- I haven't looked into it particularly closely, but I do have some quick thoughts about some of the articles. I tried to find sources for Tralfamadore some time ago and didn't find much, so it wouldn't surprise me if sufficient sourcing does not exist. For the Star Wars planets, my intuition is that Coruscant and Naboo are fairly likely to have sufficient sources whereas Jakku and Alderaan seem less likely to have that. I would be very surprised if Discworld (world) could not be properly sourced. TompaDompa (talk) 06:39, 23 October 2024 (UTC)
- I am certainly interested in this. Quick thoughts for now:
- Riverworld should be rewritten to be an article about the series (which is notable, and covered in that article), not about a book. This is a common failing of quite a few articles, some of which we saved by rewriting them in the past.
- Discworld is an interesting case. The series is very notable, but is the world/universe? I'd expect that we would find it to be notable, but the article is not great right now. And yes, rename to 'universe', as suggested on talk.
- Abeir-Toril etc. Good point - at what point we differentiate between a setting and a planet? There are many settings which are notable and set on a planet, sometimes not even named (World of a Song...). Think for example The Witcher universe (ok, bad example, this somewhat surprisingly don't have a dedicated en wiki article; pl:Świat wiedźmina is pretty weak). All such articles need to be scrutinized, because they may be about non-notable entities and/or about a notable book series or franchises, improperly structured as plot summary fancruft about a given -verse.
- Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here 10:58, 23 October 2024 (UTC)
- Thank you for the honest input. Starting with the articles with the clearest status, I nominated Tralfamadore for deletion based on a WP:BEFORE search.
- I also fixed some of the clear instances of "keep" at the bottom of the list. I fixed some of the fantasy settings that are not really planets and added a short clarification at Category:Fictional planets. We would hope to find at least one source that refers to a place as a planet (instead of a kingdom or country). And if the fiction doesn't really treat it as a celestial body, then it belongs in the section of the encyclopedia with other Category:Fantasy worlds or Category:Fictional universes.
- The rest of the articles in the middle will need more time and review. But if any of you get to it before I do, I will try to be of help. Jontesta (talk) 16:26, 23 October 2024 (UTC)
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Doctor Who
[edit]I've addressed both Gallifrey and Skaro per our past discussion. Admittedly, I'm a bit disappointed they weren't notable, but alas, it's better we resolve that issue now rather than later. I'll probably see about trimming down Time War (Doctor Who) soon and figure out what the hell to do about that article. Is there anything else (barring very large issues, like Companions, that I can't feasibly manage on my own within a reasonable timeframe) that you feel needs to be addressed? Has one ever considered Magneton? Pokelego999 (talk) 19:23, 28 November 2024 (UTC)
- Your assistance has been very helpful. Working on Time War would be the most straightforward next task. I wonder a bit about the viability of List of Torchwood characters. I also wonder whether we might have slightly too many character lists, with separate articles for companions, supporting characters, aliens, and creatures. But you said those were large and complex, and I’m not in a rush to make any changes in that regard. I respect your editing and sound judgment. Jontesta (talk) 19:10, 2 December 2024 (UTC)
- @Jontesta I'll look into Torchwood characters and see if it can't just be merged back into the main articles; depends on how much space there is and the depth of coverage there is. It also depends on how much Wikipedia:LISTN applies here. Beyond that, I feel the other three lists have valid use cases, but given I already have a primary goal of working on Pokémon species lists, I don't have the time to work solo on a lot of these very large lists, and I would need to be working with at least one other person to be able to get a process down for improving them in a reasonable timeframe. I feel figuring out a form of inclusion criteria may be a valid path forward, or at the very least discussing inclusion criteria on pre-existing lists further, so that way we can cut down on the amount of work we need to do later. I can bring it up on the main WikiProject and see if I can get any further consensus on that. Has one ever considered Magneton? Pokelego999 (talk) 19:58, 2 December 2024 (UTC)
- Thanks for the update. I understand the challenges of working on large lists, and I appreciate the work that you have done so far. I’d be happy to collaborate if you want to divide the workload, especially on these larger lists. You have done plenty already. Let me know if there’s anything I can help with. Jontesta (talk) 13:11, 11 December 2024 (UTC)
- @Jontesta Thank you! I've opened a discussion at the WikiProject on how to proceed with inclusion criteria on these lists, though I've already pinged you there so you're aware of it. Depending on how the discussion at the Project goes, I'd greatly appreciate a second set of hands for List of Doctor Who supporting characters, which is easily the worst of the lists and the one most in need of an overhaul. I'd consider it the highest priority in terms of needing work. Magneton Considerer: Pokelego999 (Talk) (Contribs) 14:29, 12 December 2024 (UTC)
- I just caught up reading your discussion with the other Doctor Who editors, and I’m really impressed by how balanced everyone has been. It’s great to see people both working to clean up and improve certain articles, and also advocating for what is important to preserve. I will defer to those editors, especially since everyone is approaching this with such a practical mindset. If any discussions seem to stall, feel free to reach out. I can contribute a constructive voice where needed. Also, let me know if/when you decide to revisit the List of Doctor Who supporting characters. I think there is a lot of good content to preserve, and it’s more about streamlining things to avoid redundancy or excess. Jontesta (talk) 23:29, 18 December 2024 (UTC)
- @Jontesta Thank you! I've opened a discussion at the WikiProject on how to proceed with inclusion criteria on these lists, though I've already pinged you there so you're aware of it. Depending on how the discussion at the Project goes, I'd greatly appreciate a second set of hands for List of Doctor Who supporting characters, which is easily the worst of the lists and the one most in need of an overhaul. I'd consider it the highest priority in terms of needing work. Magneton Considerer: Pokelego999 (Talk) (Contribs) 14:29, 12 December 2024 (UTC)
- Thanks for the update. I understand the challenges of working on large lists, and I appreciate the work that you have done so far. I’d be happy to collaborate if you want to divide the workload, especially on these larger lists. You have done plenty already. Let me know if there’s anything I can help with. Jontesta (talk) 13:11, 11 December 2024 (UTC)
- @Jontesta I'll look into Torchwood characters and see if it can't just be merged back into the main articles; depends on how much space there is and the depth of coverage there is. It also depends on how much Wikipedia:LISTN applies here. Beyond that, I feel the other three lists have valid use cases, but given I already have a primary goal of working on Pokémon species lists, I don't have the time to work solo on a lot of these very large lists, and I would need to be working with at least one other person to be able to get a process down for improving them in a reasonable timeframe. I feel figuring out a form of inclusion criteria may be a valid path forward, or at the very least discussing inclusion criteria on pre-existing lists further, so that way we can cut down on the amount of work we need to do later. I can bring it up on the main WikiProject and see if I can get any further consensus on that. Has one ever considered Magneton? Pokelego999 (talk) 19:58, 2 December 2024 (UTC)
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Inadequate BEFORE searches
[edit]In the past six weeks, you have started at least four AfDs where sources were readily found by participants:
- Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Blandings Castle
- Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Spacing Guild (2nd nomination)
- Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/List of James Bond villains
- Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Drones Club
These aren't particularly edge cases; as the searcher on three of them, I can easily explain how I found plenty of adequate sourcing, and why I did no more than expected by BEFORE to find them. While an occasional oversight may seem acceptable given your prolific contributions to AfD, I note that many of your other recent AfD nominations are not the sort where detailed source searching is relevant, such as Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/List of Ibis the Invincible enemies which are more NOPAGE/AVOIDSPLIT issues. Likewise, this is not a matter of disagreement over the adequacy of sources--you listed none worth considering or stated there were none, when a simple search demonstrated this to be incorrect.
I have provided critique of your prior inadequate source searching here and here. I note that other editors such as Daranios have also provided helpful guidance, that does not appear to have improved your results substantially. We first identified this as an issue more than two years ago, which is plenty of time for you to have learned how to do a sufficiently robust BEFORE search that such sourcing disconnects should be vanishingly rare.
I am offering to mentor you, an if you are interested in me helping you improve, I would be happy to help. Failing that, I suggest you identify a deletion mentor to improve your searching, as your conduct risks inappropriately deleting notable articles if editors assume your BEFORE statements to be accurate. Jclemens (talk) 05:18, 10 January 2025 (UTC)
- I note that Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Lake Wobegon now appears to be relevant when it had not yet been explored at the time of my initial posting. Your commentary on the above critique and suggestions for corrective action are awaited, once you return to editing. Jclemens (talk) 17:04, 11 January 2025 (UTC)
Notice of noticeboard discussion
[edit]
There is currently a discussion at Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard regarding an issue with which you may have been involved. Jclemens (talk) 19:45, 12 April 2025 (UTC)
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- Community view: A Deep Dive Into Wikimedia (part 4): The Future Of Wikimedia and Conclusion
Annual plans, external trends, infrastructure, equity, safety, and effectiveness. What does it all mean?
- Obituary: Pvmoutside, Atomicjohn, Rdmoore6, Jaknouse, Morven, Martin of Sheffield, MarnetteD, Herewhy, BabelStone
Rest in peace.
- Traffic report: God only knows
Wouldn't it be nice without billionaires, scandals, deaths, and wars?
- Humour: New forum created for people who don't care about Wikipedia
If you are too blasé for Mr. Blasé and don't give a FAC.
The Signpost: 9 August 2025
[edit]- News and notes: Court order snips out part of Wikipedia article, editors debate whether to frame shreds or pulp them
Plus a mysterious CheckUser incident, and the news with Wikinews.
- Discussion report: News from ANI, AN, RSN, BLPN, ELN, FTN, and NPOVN
A review of June, July and August.
- Disinformation report: The article in the most languages
Who is this guy?
- Community view: News from the Villages Pump
Threads since June.
- In the media: Disgrace, dive bars, deceased despots, and diverse dispatches
And slop.
- Crossword: Accidental typography
It's not a conlang, it's a crossword puzzle.
- Comix: best-laid schemes o' wikis an' men
gang aft agley, an' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain, for promis'd joy!
- Traffic report: I'm not the antichrist or the Superman
Everybody's Somebody's Fool.
The Signpost: 9 September 2025
[edit]- News and notes: Wikimedia Foundation loses a round in court
UK Online Safety Act remains undefeated.
- In the media: Congress probes, mayor whitewashed, AI stinks
Plus Wiki rules, Wiki Spin, and physicists get street cred!
- Disinformation report: A guide for Congress
The price of Liberty is eternal vigilance.
- Recent research: Minority-language Wikipedias, and Wikidata for botanists
And other new research findings.
- Technology report: A new way to read Wikisource
Tis true: there's magic in the web of it.
- Traffic report: Check out some new Weapons, weapon of choice
With the usual mix of war, death, super heroes, a belt, and Wednesday.
- Essay: The one question
It's an easy one.
The Signpost: 2 October 2025
[edit]- News and notes: Larry Sanger returns with "Nine Theses on Wikipedia"; WMF publishes transparency report
This time "not merely negative".
- In the media: Extraordinary eruption of "EVIL" explained
Wickedpedia wrangles post-truth politics.
- Disinformation report: Emails from a paid editing client
Unexpected news!
- Discussion report: Sourcing, conduct, policy and LLMs: another 1,339 threads analyzed
Fifty hot topics from fourteen noticeboards.
- Community view: The pressing questions of the modern WWW, as seen from the Village Pump
Policy, politics, icons, captchas, and LLMs.
- Recent research: Is Wikipedia a merchant of (non-)doubt for glyphosate?; eight projects awarded Wikimedia Research Fund grants
And other recent publications.
- Opinion: Some disputes aren't worth it
When to walk away.
- Obituary: Michael Q. Schmidt
Rest in peace.
- Traffic report: Death, hear me call your name
Celebrities, deaths and software.
- Comix: A grand spectacle
All invited!
The Signpost: 20 October 2025
[edit]- News and notes: Board shuffles, LLM blocks increase, IPs are going away
And the "Global Resource Distribution Committee" emerges.
- Special report: The election that isn't
Two shortlisted WMF Board candidates removed from the ballot.
- Interview: The BoT bump
Who was bumped and why?
- In the media: An incident at WikiConference North America; WMF reports AI-related traffic drop and explains Wikipedia to US conservatives
...while Musk prepares to launch "Grokipedia".
- Traffic report: One click after another
Serial-killer miniseries, deceased scientist, government shutdowns and Sandalwood hit "Kantara" crowd the tubes.
- Humour: Wikipedia pay rates
Don't get too excited before you read this.
The Signpost: 10 November 2025
[edit]- News and notes: Temporary accounts go live and WMF board member self-suspends
ArbCom elections draw close, and Wikimania '27 in Santiago.
- Community view: Six Wikipedians' thoughts on Grokipedia, and the humanity of it all
It ain't a five course meal, according to one of our interviewees.
- Wikicup report: BeanieFan11, WikiCup victor of 2025, covers the results
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
- In the media: Jimbo's book, an argument about genocide, and a train of shame
Wikipedia's new rival, political controversy in Italy and other Wiki-reports.
- Recent research: Taking stock of the 2024–2025 research grants
$400,000 USD in total funding: what did we get?
- Opinion: With Grokipedia, top-down control of knowledge is new again
Does it shed any light on particular topics that are better suited to LLM-generation than others?
- Obituary: Struway
Rest in peace.
- Traffic report: The documentaried, the disowned, the deceased, Diwali and the Dodgers
You know your man is working hard, he's worth a deuce.
- Comix: Head of steam
'Sblood!
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The Signpost: 1 December 2025
[edit]- News and notes: Election cycles come and go, and Wikimedia Foundation achieves record revenue in 2024–2025!
Admin and ArbCom elections upcoming, BoT elects two new members, task force advises to close Wikinews and keep Wikispore, and other news from the Wikimedia world.
- In the media: Wales walk-off, antisemitism, supernatural powers, feminism turmoil, saints, and sex
Plus mammoth mummy sex-change operation completed!
- Recent research: At least 80 million inconsistent facts on Wikipedia – can AI help find them?
And other recent publications about contradictions and retractions.
- Disinformation report: Epstein email exchanges planned strategy, edits and reported progress
At work on Wikipedia whitewashing. How much should they be paid?
- Traffic report: It's a family affair
Even in these times there is something to be thankful for!
- Book review: The Seven Rules of Trust
Jimmy Wales and Dan Gardner write a book inspired by Wikipedia. What's in it?
- From the archives: "I have been asked by Jeffrey Epstein ..."
The twists and turns of Epstein’s portrayal on Wikipedia.
- Humour: An interview with Wikipe-tan
A conversation about being the mascot of Wikipedia.
- Opinion: AI finds errors in 90% of Wikipedia's best articles
Using ChatGPT to fact-check a month's worth of Today's featured articles.
- Serendipity: Highlights from the itWikiCon 2025
A recap of the latest convention of the Italian Wiki-community, held in Catania from 7–9 November.
- Comix: Madness
It could happen to anyone.