User talk:Brian0918/Archive 12

Monobook.css

Unfortunately, I lifted my monobook from User:Sasquatch. I don't know much about CSS files or anything. Maybe you could ask him? Good luck. --Ryan Delaney ^talk 07:33, 26 October 2005 (UTC)

I forget. Ive stopped using that css, but I just looked at that skin in my monobook history, and it might be the one at the bottom (with comment "image background," before the tooltips section). Otherwise its one of the little entries above, in the section thats impossible to read. I did it by making little tweaks via trial and error--I wasnt too systematic about it. sinreg, -St|eve 00:37, 27 October 2005 (UTC)

Thanks 4 the info

Thanks I will work on it.--tommiks 16:31, 26 October 2005 (UTC)

Fosfori Verdi

Hello Brian, I saw the screenshot you linked (thank you for using my skin ^_^ feedback welcome). You are an admin, right? This could be a reason for the fault, since some buttons aren't the same, but the "article" button should have a black background nonetheless. Hm. Try to add these four rows:

#p-cactions { background-color: #000000; }
#p-cactions li { background-color: #000000; }
#p-cactions li { background: #000000; }
#p-cactions li a { background-color: #000000; }

They are global background settings for link tabs; please let me know what you get with these on. BTW I'm wondering: would be better to add the "more tools" user-links in the existing "tools" sidebox or not? What do you think about it?
PS: all the ".itwiki_template_something" sections are specific of the italian wiki, you guys in en.wiki can safely delete them in your monobook. --Kormoran 01:27, 27 October 2005 (UTC)

On a second thought, I tried my skin by myself here on en.wiki and gone through some serious testing & debugging (the solution is way more complex than 4 rows), finally ending in Fosfori Verdi version 1.1 ^_^ You can get it here. The white background for thumbs and images is on purpose, since a number of pics are drawn "black on transparent" expecting to be displayed on a white background. However, you can easily change this by modifying the img{} section of my .css, at the very end of the file. --Kormoran 02:53, 27 October 2005 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/November (film)

I'm afraid I couldn't find enough information to flesh out the cast list in the November (film) article, so instead I've removed it entirely and expanded the lead section slightly (in the same way that the Sunset Boulevard (1950 film) article lists its cast). I think the article reads better that way, so thank you for your advice. Extraordinary Machine 15:33, 27 October 2005 (UTC)

Blocking IPs

Sorry, but could you block the IP address 210.8.54.32? Check out the contributions. I'm not too sure how to block IPs (or if I even can) and I know you can. Thank you. – Zntrip 02:54, 28 October 2005 (UTC)

Find-a-Grave

I'll try to knock out the remaining 98.5% tomorrow ;-). (Pruning takes a while, doesn't it!!) >: Roby Wayne ^{Talk • Hist • E@} 05:20, 28 October 2005 (UTC)

"leave a message" color; mania

Hi Brian. Could you make your leave-message color slightly different from the normal banner color? I'd appreciate the subtlety. Also, sign up to attend or volunteer @ wikimania! +sj + 08:16, 28 October 2005 (UTC)

infinite proxy blocking

Some of the IP addresses you have infinitely blocked are AOL IP addresses. I'm going to unblock them (just the AOL ones) but you should probably double check to make sure. Gamaliel 08:38, 28 October 2005 (UTC)

What exactly needs to be "cleaned-up" in Haute couture?

You put a cleanup tag on the Haute couture article, but didn't say exactly what should be cleaned up. I wrote much of the article, so I'm naturally concerned. I don't think there are any grammar or spelling errors, so what is it? Yes, I know about Anna Wintour's comment in the Guardian -- she didn't exactly say WHAT exactly she found so wrong, which is frustrating. I can't tell if there is something wrong (something that a fashion industry insider would know, and someone who's just a seamstress and a Vogue reader wouldn't) or if she just has a difference of opinion with something there.

So, again, what do YOU see as wrong? Zora 08:42, 28 October 2005 (UTC)

AOL vandalbot

Please hop on IRC and let the devs on #wikimedia-tech know straight away - vandalbots coming from AOL is a doomsday scenario, owing to their stupidly broad proxy network, and Tim Starling really wants to know about this stuff if it springs up. Try to keep it to as small ranges of AOL as possible, though Tim says he'd happily block the whole ISP if the alternative is making the wiki read-only. Drop a line to Wikitech-L as well (you have to subscribe first), detailing what makes you think it's a vandalbot and so on, best detail possible. (If it turns out not to have been a bot, blame me ;-) I'd rather you raised an unnecessary alarm than fail to raise a necessary one.) - David Gerard 09:25, 28 October 2005 (UTC)

I was making a page on New sex positions could you please tell me why you had deleted it.

Revert of Sa Di

Hi Brian, I saw you reverted my copyvio notice on the Sa Di article (since deleted). Would you please explain why ? I don't have much experience with Wikipedia, but it seemed to me a clear copyright violation. Since you are a long-time wikipedian, perhaps I missed something about a policy. Thanks. Ze miguel 12:01, 28 October 2005 (UTC)

OK, thanks. Ze miguel 12:03, 28 October 2005 (UTC)

I had made a new category: New sex positions could you tell me why was it deleted.

Gazaland

I was just coming online to try to write this for the Wikipedia:List of missing Africa topics--glad to see it's already been taken care of. Thanks, and nice work! --Dvyost 15:09, 28 October 2005 (UTC)

Please refrain from editing on a list you know nothing about. Thanks.

USS Perkins (DD-377)

I appreciate your effort to ensure that no copyvios happen. However, on USS Perkins (DD-377), the information came from DANFS, which was clearly noted in the article. DANFS is in the public domain, although some sites have taken that material and slapped a copyright notification on it. The text was created by the US Navy and, under US law, public domain. Thanks. Jinian 20:13, 28 October 2005 (UTC)

Counter-Vandalism

Award moved to User page. — BRIAN0918 • 2005-10-29 16:26

Cuba

Don't hold your breath on a consensus being reached on Cuba. The big-endians and little-endians both insist that their interpretation of Cuba is the only one, and while I try to keep an eye on the article, I don't feel like doing it every day. Caerwine 23:28, 28 October 2005 (UTC)

sdlr

The user you unblocked sdlr can't edit articles. Could you help him out? Please respond quickly, I don't have much time.

Prodego ^talk 02:35, 29 October 2005 (UTC)

Voluntary Wikipedia Questionnaire

My name is Oliver Metz. I am a student at Brent International School, Manila, an International school located in the Philippines. I am doing my last year of school (12th Grade) and I am writing a research paper (about 4000 words) on Wikipedia in ITGS (Information Technology in a Global Society). Of 10 randomly picked people you have been chosen as one. If you are willing and have the time to answer a few questions I would be grateful if you could fill out a short questionnaire of 6 questions.

Some Information about my essay:

My essay topic is about the freedom to collaborate and the usage of the Internet as a tool to do so. I will analyze topics such as Altruism versus Egoism as well as the Product Wikipedia itself.

My Thesis Statement: The Internet is not only a medium for communication, information and marketing but also a place for altruism, collaboration and cooperation. Wikipedia is the product of a voluntary collaborative effort that defies commonly held beliefs about human nature.

If you have any further questions or requests you would like to pose before filling out the questionnaire I'd gladly answer them.

you can write to: taklung@gmx.net (I check this e-mail address regularly)

Questionnaire:

Please answer the following questions by either inserting the answers or sending them to me via e-mail. (*are not necessarily required).

Name*: Age*: Nationality*:

1. How long have you been contributing to Wikipedia?

2. Have you or are you planning to donate money to the Wikipedia cause?

3. When you first heard of Wikipedia and the concepts it is based on, what did you think about it and did you believe it could work? What do you think now?

4. Why do you think people contribute to Wikipedia? With it being voluntary what interests do/did you follow when contributing to Wikipedia?

5. Do you think that Wikipedia appeals to Altruism? If yes, do you think such a thing can exist in our society in which greed and consumption apparently drive the world?

6. What do you think makes Wikipedia most beneficial to society?

Further comments*:

With kind regards,

Oliver Metz

Block

I found myself blocked this am by you - as an AOL user it happens frequently due to the dynamic ISP.

I unblocked myself, but find I am still blocked on the first page I tried to edit (Shearwater) - how do I get out of that?. Secondly, a reminder that dynamic ISPs should only be blocked for 15 minutes, thanks, jimfbleak 05:54, 29 October 2005 (UTC)

CTRL+F5; cache refresh Sceptre 08:00, 29 October 2005 (UTC)

Bezantee

Hi Brian, there seems to be a slight confusion at Bezantée between Romanesque and Norman architecture, I know we've differed on interpretation over this so as you've uploaded it, I'll let you sort it, which I'm sure is your preferred option. Also I think an example of where this particulat form of moulding can be found would be useful, don't you? Giano | talk 19:31, 29 October 2005 (UTC)

My RFA

Woohoo!! Thanks!! Babajobu 20:03, 29 October 2005 (UTC)

AOL

Please don't block AOL ips like this. I have something I need to go through. --Lord Voldemort ^{(Dark Mark)} 20:47, 29 October 2005 (UTC)

Wow, sorry about this post. I did sound fairly hostile. I meant no harm. I was just getting a little frustrated because I was trying to make a rare weekend edit and it wouldn't go through. Sorry 'bout it. See ya. --Lord Voldemort ^{(Dark Mark)} 16:34, 31 October 2005 (UTC)

Links removed

Brian, perhaps you want to leave a message on Mr. Wilkins's talk page, to let him know that you've removed the links to his (former) article? He edited my page from User talk:207.237.19.174. Joyous (talk) 22:24, 29 October 2005 (UTC)

Warnings

It breaches the wording of the higher templates, all of which refer to vandalism. Call it what it is. Writing Mary L is an AIDS infected bitch is vandalism. Writing a person's name with seriously libellous claims, as a user did recently, is vandalism. These templates are designed to give blunt warnings to stop. The lower numbers are designed to give less blunt requests that people desist. The wordings are carefully structured to deal with different levels of edits using different strengths of warnings and have a consensus behind them. Stop unilaterally changing agreed formats. FearÉIREANN\^(caint) 23:35, 29 October 2005 (UTC)

{test1-5} messages

Test template - Brian, I appreciate what you are doing with the test templates, but I might suggest that you initiate some discussion first - since you are doing more than tweeking these. These are heavily used messages. I just blocked someone for racid pediophilic vandalism and found myself leaving a 'please come back' message on his user page. That is NOT what I want to say. These messages need to cover a multitude of situations, and unless we are to have multiple templates, we need a 'lowest common denominator' message - or admins will continually have to write their own. As I say, I like your motives - and the lanuage could be improved. But perhaps you should restore the original test messages - and post a set of proposed changes on AN for discussion by RC patrolers. --Doc (?) 23:42, 29 October 2005 (UTC)

True. The last thing Wikipedia needed to say to a vandal accusing a prominent politician of genecide in random unconnected articles lately was "please come again". Template 4 designed for clear and deliberate continuous vandalism, while Template 6 is meant for the most serious case, such as someone lately who used his school computer to post homophobic rants and who refused to stop when asked nicely over and over again. It made it clear that Wikipedia might take action against him. The moment he read that he stopped, as did the guy replacing user pages with pictures of penises for months. They are bluntly worded because in the extreme cases where they are used polite 'please stop' notices have been found not to work. FearÉIREANN\^(caint) 23:53, 29 October 2005 (UTC)

re:Firefox Extension

Sorry, I know very little about javascript in general and I especially don't know how to code an extension. good luck though and if you ever figure it out let me know since I'd be interested in a tool like that. Jtkiefer ^{T | @ | C} ----- 04:16, 30 October 2005 (UTC)

script

Use cool_cats bot to what is probably a vandalised article and I have writen a revert and warn script but it is still being improved. --☺Adam1213☺ Talk+|WWW 04:41, 30 October 2005 (UTC) It does lookups. I looked at the code and I can see even some google copyvio checking

RE: Firefox extension

Interesting idea. The problem is that for JavaScript to be able to look for a particular word, it has to be looking through a string. And as far as I know, I don't think JavaScript can take the whole page and turn it into a string. It can do a lot of other things with the HTML, but as far as I know, not read it if the page hasn't been specifically designed for my script to read it. Sorry.

However, I don't know why, but I have this hunch about the idea. I'll look into it. -- Daverocks 05:07, 30 October 2005 (UTC)

Special:Export is a nice tool, but, again, JavaScript can't turn the text of this page into a string, especially since in the XML file, none of the text is given IDs. Keep in mind that JavaScript was never originally designed to be as powerful as it is often used to be nowadays.

The idea that I have is that in the HTML of every Wikipedia page, things are given IDs. I could exploit this but... I'm not sure. I'll think about it. I'd love to continue talking, but I might not respond to your next message because I have to get off the computer. -- Daverocks 05:15, 30 October 2005 (UTC)

Ahh yes, Lupin is talking about the XMLHttpRequest() method. Unfortunately that's not my area of expertise in JavaScript :) But I'm sure he'd have ways of easily doing it with that. -- Daverocks 05:17, 30 October 2005 (UTC)

Whilst I'm flattered that you asked me, I know no javascript so I couldn't be of any real use. Sorry! --Celestianpower ^háblame 12:47, 30 October 2005 (UTC)

Javascript stuff

Very interesting request! I don't know offhand, but I'll look into it for you. As with any software engineering project, I'll need to get some feedback from you later on to see what sort of functionality you want incorporated into your request. I'll let you know if I make any progress with it. --HappyCamper 14:03, 30 October 2005 (UTC)

Firefox extension

Would you happen to know how to make a firefox extension using Javascript? It would be very simple and used to fight vandalism. The basic idea is to feed RC diff's into firefox, and let it determine which pages contain text (such as an obscenity) listed in a file. For pages that don't contain anything on this list, the tab is closed. The others remain open and ready to be examined. If you can't figure out how to hookup the IRC RC output into firefox, then it could be used with WP:CDVF to open new tabs in firefox to be checked. I found a guide to making extensions, but it says you need to know Javascript. Thanks. — BRIAN0918 • 2005-10-30 03:49

Hi Brian. hum, tough question. I haven't written any Firefox extensions myself. I'd say that what you propose could be a very interesting addition to WP:CDVF, however, having it as a separate entity could be difficult, especially in terms of keeping track of what has been checked or not. You could also add some checks for empty articles. Best luck to you. Ze miguel 16:37, 30 October 2005 (UTC)

Not everyone agrees

No, not everyone agrees, per the discussion you cite. And IRC doesn't count in the face of an on-Wiki discussion. -Splash^talk 17:21, 30 October 2005 (UTC)

No, I don't usually give a fig what those who dwell on IRC/mailing list decide and hand out to the rest of us as fiats. If they carry out those discussions in the oxygen of the Wiki, then that's entirely different. -Splash^talk 17:25, 30 October 2005 (UTC)

...no they're not...but more seriously, I think the extra stuff on the bottom of {test} is a good idea, but in the wrong place. Since this template often appears multiple times on, say, an anon's talk page, it is going to start looking more than a little odd if it is used regularly. I suggested at Template talk:Test removing the bullets but keeping the new phrasing. Does that sound reasonable? -Splash^talk 17:32, 30 October 2005 (UTC)