User talk:I JethroBT/Archive 14

Page contents not supported in other languages.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Archive 10 ← Archive 12 Archive 13 Archive 14 Archive 15 Archive 16 → Archive 20

The Signpost: 15 April 2015

Mentoring

Yes, I am still looking for one. I'm pretty unsure when I edit anything on Wikipedia. Artheartsoul1 (talk) 01:03, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

The Signpost: 08 April 2015

Help with this article

I'm writing this article Mathias 'Paddy' Bauler, about a crooked Chicago alderman - want to help? There's been a lot written about him. Also, do you know anyone who might want to help delve into biographies (however short) about aldermen? It's sad that we don't have easy access to our own history. Victor Grigas (talk) 03:01, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

@Victorgrigas: Hey Victor. That sounds like interesting work. I'm sure you've been able to pull up some interesting stories on neighborhood politics around here, both historical and current! I'd like to help right now, but, I'll probably need to wait until May when I'll be finished with my IEG grant for The Co-op-- there's a lot of writing and reporting to do. Maybe you could send me a reminder next month? I, JethroBT drop me a line 18:43, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

This summer's Wiknic!

Hey man. Looks like we've got July 5 or 24 to choose from (nobody's created the page yet). I'm leaning toward the 24th since I'll be hosting people from across the pond on the 5th. Would the 24th be amendable? Should we perhaps, in true Wikipedia fashion, do a straw poll? Drummerdg (talk) 04:34, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

@Drummerdg: July 25th is a Saturday, the 24th is a Friday. TeriEmbrey (talk) 18:54, 22 April 2015 (UTC)
PMML can be a host site on Saturday, July 25th, especially if someone is willing to work on a page for Erasmus Corwin Gilbreath. The Museum & Library is publishing Gilbreath's journal and the corresponding exhibit opens at the end of June. TeriEmbrey (talk) 19:02, 22 April 2015 (UTC)
@TeriEmbrey: Eep, looks like they changed the date! But yeah that sounds good.Drummerdg (talk) 04:18, 23 April 2015 (UTC)

Mentoring assistance in working with moderators who aren't responding

hi,,,,can u help me work through an issue i have with getting a moderator to stop undoing the work our ISO standards committee has been trying to achieve through putting accurate info out onto wikipedia? Please email me and let me know how to resolve when moderator doesn't respond or understand the issue...

thanks very much,, — Preceding unsigned comment added by ISO-Convener (talk • contribs) 14:48, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

@ISO-Convener: I'm not sure there is much to resolve here. The text you've used is copyrighted (even if it was taken down). Wikipedia has specific policies that copyright text cannot be used. Even if the text is released under a free license, there are other concerns because the tone of the source text is not appropriate for an encyclopedia, and the topic does not appear to have coverage in multiple, independent, reliable sources. I, JethroBT drop me a line 18:53, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

The Signpost: 22 April 2015

Invitation to WikiProject TAFI

Hello, I JethroBT. You're invited to join WikiProject Today's articles for improvement. Feel free to nominate an article for improvement at the project's Nominated articles page. Also feel free to contribute to !voting for new weekly selections at the project's talk page. If interested in joining, please add your name to the list of members. North America1000 09:48, 28 April 2015 (UTC)

The Signpost: 29 April 2015

A barnstar for you!

The Defender of the Wiki Barnstar
I love you Jethro, this is why you get this beautiful barnstar. I also saw your input on the vandalism of the featured article. 0x38 (talk) 21:17, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

Books and Bytes - Issue 11

The Wikipedia Library

Books & Bytes
Issue 11, March-April 2015
by The Interior (talk · contribs), Ocaasi (talk · contribs), Sadads (talk · contribs), Nikkimaria (talk · contribs)

  • New donations - MIT Press Journals, Sage Stats, Hein Online and more
  • New TWL coordinators, conference news, and new reference projects
  • Spotlight: Two metadata librarians talk about how library professionals can work with Wikipedia

Read the full newsletter



MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 23:23, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

The Signpost: 06 May 2015

The Signpost: 13 May 2015

The Signpost: 20 May 2015

Template:Did you know nominations/Yoruba Tribal Marks

Hello I JethroBT,

Thanks for your willingness to help at WP:DYK. More grease to your elbow! Yoruba Tribal Marks was nominated yesterday for WP:DYK but The image currently on the article is a non-free image and an editor had suggested the use of a free image, I found one (this one) that is not copyright protected in one of the common blog around. Can we use that? Thanks! Wikic¤l¤gyt@lk to M£ 13:37, 23 May 2015 (UTC)

@Wikicology: Hey Wikicology. The image is not free of copyright; it's owned by its photographer, Laeila Adjovi, and can be found in this BBC article. Unless there is evidence that Adjovi released the photo under a free license, then I'm afraid it cannot be used. That said, DYK doesn't require an image, so don't worry if you cannot find a free one. I, JethroBT drop me a line 19:01, 23 May 2015 (UTC)
Thanks I J. The community is proud of you. Sorry for the late response, I never noticed that you'd replied. Wikic¤l¤gyt@lk to M£ 12:08, 24 May 2015 (UTC)

Can you help

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Ronn_Torossian A few months ago you were active on a page about me. And they continue to try and add unsourced 20 year old biased information. THank you. 165.254.85.130 (talk) 02:18, 24 May 2015 (UTC)

PMML Summer Wikipedians in Residence

PMML's Summer Wikipedians in Residence are starting soon (2 today, 1 later this week, and 1 next week). If you get a chance, please welcome them aboard.

Hope all is going well otherwise! TeriEmbrey (talk) 18:17, 26 May 2015 (UTC)

The Signpost: 27 May 2015

Wikipedia Adventure nominated for deletion

Hi, I'm notifying you of a discussion where I mentioned you because you have been involved with The Wikipedia Adventure. You can comment here: Wikipedia:Miscellany_for_deletion/Wikipedia:The_Wikipedia_Adventure_(2nd_nomination). Cheers, Jake Ocaasi t | c 15:38, 30 May 2015 (UTC)

Benjamin Page

Hi Jethro,

I'm one of the wikipedian interns Teri mentioned. Nice to meet you! If you get a chance, could you look over and perhaps contribute to the page I'm working on? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:MohnJcIntyre/Benjamin_Page It's a work in progress, so any feedback or additions would be appreciated!

Thanks, MohnJcIntyre (talk) 15:23, 28 May 2015 (UTC)

@MohnJcIntyre: Hey John, welcome to Wikipedia! I've looked over the draft and done some basic copyediting; while the information there looks accurate to me, the article needs a bit more describing his work based on independent sources. Right now, the draft more or less reads like a summary of Page's CV using prose. What we need to find are sources that talk about his work and background a little more. A few sources that might be helpful to draw upon include this article from The New Yorker and this radio story from WBEZ. I, JethroBT drop me a line 19:25, 11 June 2015 (UTC)

The Signpost: 03 June 2015

The Wikipedia Library needs you!

The Wikipedia Library

Call for Volunteers

The Wikipedia Library is expanding, and we need your help! With only a couple of hours per week, you can make a big difference in helping editors get access to reliable sources and other resources. Sign up for one of the following roles:

  • Account coordinators help distribute research accounts to editors.
  • Partner coordinators seek donations from new partners.
  • Outreach coordinators reach out to the community through blog posts, social media, and newsletters or notifications.
  • Technical coordinators advise on building tools to support the library's work.
Sign up to help here :)

Delivered on behalf of The Wikipedia Library by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 06:16, 11 June 2015 (UTC)

The Signpost: 10 June 2015

Ye Ko Oo

Hi, thank for your declining speedy deletion on Ye Ko Oo article. I also believe that article meets WP:NFOOTY but some contributors do not see same as me. That article is nominated for deletion. Would you have a look and share your opinion here if it was not convenient for you.MyatLynnAung (talk) 08:46, 17 June 2015 (UTC)

The Signpost: 17 June 2015

Glenn E. Martin

The page I created was taken down for copyright infringement by you I believe. The BIO was taken from Glenn E. Martin's organization page www.justleadership.org and I added many citations. Do I need to rewrite his BIO? His BIO is public information across several pages. I have read a lot of wiki tutorials and have been teaching myself but there is still a lot to learn. I appreciate your support! JJ212510 (talk) 20:37, 14 June 2015 (UTC)jj212510

@JJ212510: Hi JJ. I'm sorry about the deletion; it was necessary, but I know it's frustrating. I've moved the article and its sources to your userspace at User:JJ212510/Glenn E. Martin. When it's ready, you can move the article back into the article space. The prose you used is owned by JustLeadershipUSA and cannot be used as is because it is copyright infringement even if there are citations or the information is public. I am sure all the information there is accurate, but there are other ways to phrase it, so please do your best to put the information in your own words. It's also important to note the importance of drawing on information about Martin from sources he is not affiliated with. It's generally not appropriate to rely on information from Martin's own organizational website to write an article about him. Good sources are independent from their subjects and are reliable. I, JethroBT drop me a line 21:00, 14 June 2015 (UTC)

Got it, thanks so much for taking the time to explain. I will re-write and submit it again. JJ212510 (talk) 14:31, 17 June 2015 (UTC)JJ212510

Hi I JetroBT. The article has not been worked on since the restoration and move to User:JJ212510/Glenn E. Martin. I initially tagged for speedy and warned the user but after realising that the article was restored and moved I reverted all my edits. Please advise, because as far as I and policy is concerned, the article is a copyright violation and is eligible to be speedily deleted. Optakeover(Talk) 19:05, 17 June 2015 (UTC)
@Optakeover: I'm willing to give the editor more time, but I understand the concern with copyright infringement even when the content is not directly in the article space. I've removed most of the infringing content from the article, but have left some details which I would not consider infringing because there are a limited number of ways to say the same thing. I, JethroBT drop me a line 21:40, 24 June 2015 (UTC)

Retiring

I am retiring after the arbcom case against me is closed, so you should remove me from the mentor list. Thanks. Lightbreather (talk) 20:45, 16 June 2015 (UTC)

@Lightbreather: I've marked you as inactive, so you won't be matched with anyone when we get things started again. If you ever want to come back though, please know you're welcome to mentor. But I understand your decision to retire. Be good to yourself, I, JethroBT drop me a line 21:44, 24 June 2015 (UTC)

Co-op Pilot Results & Mentoring

Hey there! The Co-op has been on a hiatus for a bit, but we are planning on opening up shop again soon. When you're able, please read over and respond to this update on our talk page. We have favorable results from our final report regarding the pilot, and we are interested in seeing who is available to mentor when we reopen our space and begin to send out invites again. Thanks, MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 23:16, 24 June 2015 (UTC)

This message was sent by I JethroBT (talk · contribs) via Mass Message. (Opt-out instructions)

The Signpost: 24 June 2015

Project table help

The Project table doesn't seem to be updating again. Can you help me get it fixed? TeriEmbrey (talk) 15:13, 29 June 2015 (UTC)

@TeriEmbrey: Yeah, automatic updates don't seem to work; I'm not sure how to fix that. But manual updates are still working-- I ran a successful update just now. All you need to do is head over to this page, look for "Pritzker_Military_Library-related" in the long dropdown list, and hit Go. The update takes a bit, as it has to parse through hundreds of articles, but it worked! I, JethroBT drop me a line 21:05, 29 June 2015 (UTC)
Many thanks! TeriEmbrey (talk) 13:35, 30 June 2015 (UTC)

2015 Pritzker Literature Award

The Pritzker Literature Award was announced today. The 2015 recipient is David Hackett Fischer. TeriEmbrey (talk) 18:49, 30 June 2015 (UTC)

The Signpost: 01 July 2015

Help!

Hi Jethro,

I noticed that you edited the Veritas Language Solutions page to reflect the truth, I thank you for that.

May I ask how I can delete the entire page, I keep checking to see what people are up to and I would like to remove it.

Please can you advise.

Thank you for your time

Sharon Stephens — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.1.34.197 (talk) 20:26, 23 June 2015 (UTC)

We can't delete articles just because the people associated with that page request it. I have, however, proposed the article for deletion on the basis of limited coverage of Veritas Language Solutions, and that it doesn't really meet the the notability criteria for companies. The article has not really seen any substantive improvement that addresses these issues. If no objections are raised, the article may be deleted in a week or so. If there is some objections, the article can be brought to Articles for Deletion where a fuller discussion will take place about whether the topic meets the relevant notability criteria. I, JethroBT drop me a line 21:53, 24 June 2015 (UTC)

Hi Jethro - more than a week has gone by, can you delete it now please? Thanks Sharon — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.1.34.197 (talk) 12:44, 4 July 2015 (UTC)

invite

Thanks for inviting me to the co-op - not received a mentor yet, do you know how long the wait is? Thanks. Bayleyinlight (talk) 09:17, 7 July 2015 (UTC)

@Bayleyinlight: You're welcome, but usually the wait should be no longer than a few minutes. Not sure why HostBot isn't working properly. In any case, I can be your mentor. Let's swing over to Wikipedia talk:Co-op/Bayleyinlight to get started. I, JethroBT drop me a line 16:51, 7 July 2015 (UTC)

WP:Red link debate

Are you still going to close this? Flyer22 (talk) 16:58, 7 July 2015 (UTC)

I started to this weekend, but I got sidetracked with some off-wiki matters. I'll give it another stab today. Thanks for your patience. I, JethroBT drop me a line 17:06, 7 July 2015 (UTC)

You're invited to the Ally Skills Workshop at Wikimania!

Thank you for contributing to the grant request for training Wikipedia admins to be more aware of sexism! This grant has been approved in pilot form, and the Ada Initiative is running an Ally Skills Workshop at Wikimania 2015. This workshop will focus on teaching specific skills and techniques directly relevant to Wikipedia admins and editors, and in particular will teach people about the psychology of trolls. The workshop will be on Thursday July 16 from 2pm to 5pm in Don Diego 3.

If you are attending Wikimania, you are invited to apply to the Ally Skills Workshop! Space is limited and we may not be able to accept all applications, so apply now. More information, including a link to the application form, is here:

Ally Skills Workshop description and application form

People of all genders are welcome to attend. Unfortunately, travel scholarships for Wikimania are already closed and we don't know of any other sources of travel funding. If you know anyone else attending Wikimania who might be interested in attending this workshop, please encourage them to apply!

Thank you for your time,

Valerie Aurora (Instructor and Interim Executive Director of the Ada Initiative)

Valerietai (talk) 20:58, 7 July 2015 (UTC)

Final report for Co-op

Will the final report contain any summary of the characteristics of those seeking mentors? It would be interesting to know how many were amenable to the offered guidance, versus others who may have been less receptive. isaacl (talk) 22:45, 6 July 2015 (UTC)

@Isaacl: Hey Isaac. The short answer is that we did not plan to summarize participants in the Co-op. We didn't ask learners to provide personal information because we didn't want profile creation or follow-up surveying to be particularly intrusive or exhausting, though I can understand the value of knowing who our participants are. Our main goal was to evaluate whether mentorship had real benefits on newer editors, and whether the automated process of getting people matched together worked well. We also didn't have any particular predictions related to editor characteristics on whether they were more likely to be amendable to guidance compared to others.
But here's what I can tell you just from my observations. On the "receptive to guidance" side, I found that these editors tended to be interested in working on multiple articles (not just one). Editors who had slightly more experience editing were also more receptive to guidance compared to the newest editors. (We also had more experienced editors who sought mentorship, and probably got the most out of it, though this doesn't mean newer editors didn't benefit from mentorship-- they certainly did.)
On the "not receptive to guidance" side, one important note is that these editors tended to drop off from Wikipedia shortly after joining the Co-op, even when their mentor reached out to them; that was about half of our approx. 50-participant sample. There was no realistic way to contact them once they dropped off. What I can say is that six of them were motivated to edit in a manner that was inconsistent with our policies, and were summarily blocked due to ignorance or intentions to disrupt. This isn't too unusual; help spaces like the Teahouse have and continue to bring in a small proportion of editors who end up being blocked. The other main characteristic of these editors was that their expectations of Wikipedia were inconsistent with what actually happens here. For instance, this editor, a martial artist, tried to create an article about his teacher, which is somewhat problematic. So I think a lot of the "not receptive to guidance" is basically a frustration that Wikipedia isn't what they wanted it to be. I, JethroBT drop me a line 18:57, 7 July 2015 (UTC)
Hi, I JethroBT, I put a lot of welcome messages on talk pages of new editors and I only occasionally see a message from the Co-op...how did you select which editors you invited to receive a mentor? I couldn't figure out your selection process. Thanks! Liz Read! Talk! 22:26, 7 July 2015 (UTC)
@Liz: Hey Liz. Right now, it's a small number of invites going out (just 10 per day) because we only have a small number of active mentors. As of now, HostBot only invites editors who are recently autoconfirmed. To give you some context, during the pilot, we were inviting newly-created accounts that had made at least 10 edits. But we found that this resulted in half of our sample simply not responding to mentors they were matched with because they quickly went inactive, like most new accounts do. I, JethroBT drop me a line 01:34, 8 July 2015 (UTC)
I appreciate the clarification, I JethroBT. I guess this is just a pattern with some new editors. Hopefully, they'll return one day to edit again. I know when I first edited, years ago, I was very casual about it and not in a position where I wanted a mentor. Then when I later became a regular editor, I spent a lot of time learning how to navigate Wikipedia on my own and I wish I had had a mentor then! Liz Read! Talk! 08:44, 8 July 2015 (UTC)
Thanks very much for the overview; I appreciate it. Has there been any thought about trying to direct editors towards the venue that may work best both for them and for those seeking to help? I think the greater investment on both sides required by mentorship is most effective for editors who are truly open to improving their skills in furtherance of Wikipedia's goals. More casual editors can probably be served more efficiently at venues such as the Teahouse. isaacl (talk) 22:32, 7 July 2015 (UTC)

Great American Wikinic

Were you or @Drummerdg: going to set up the Wikinic page and invite Wiki Chicagoans? I had held July 24th, but if we need a different Sat. PMML may be able to accommodate. TeriEmbrey (talk) 17:40, 7 July 2015 (UTC)

@TeriEmbrey: Hey Teri. I've sent you an e-mail regarding the event. Thanks, I, JethroBT drop me a line 22:10, 9 July 2015 (UTC)

POTD notification

POTD

Hi Jethro,

Just to let you know, the Featured Picture File:Yashima Gakutei - A woman playing a large suspended drum (tsuridaiko) A set of five prints for the Hisakataya poetry c... - Google Art Project.jpg is due to make an appearance as Picture of the Day on July 27, 2015. If you get a chance, you can check and improve the caption at Template:POTD/2015-07-27. Thank you for all of your contributions! — Chris Woodrich (talk) 23:46, 10 July 2015 (UTC)

@Crisco 1492: Sure thing! Glad to see this print up for POTD. I'll be a little busy this weekend as we have someone visiting, but I'll take a look into it early next week. Thanks for the heads up. I, JethroBT drop me a line 05:56, 11 July 2015 (UTC)

The Signpost: 08 July 2015

DyingScene.com

Good day sir - I'm writing to you today because someone at wikipedia is practicing favoritism regarding the extension DyingScene.com. I am unable to use this extension as a valid citation source due to the fact it was blacklisted over 7 years ago. How can DS not be considered a valid news source when sites like punknews.org and absolutepunk.net are? They do more interviews, album reviews, exclusive premieres and publish more original content then either of those sites. This week, an admin deleted a page I created because wiki will not accept DS as a valid source. Please instruct on what avenues we must pursue to get justice in this matter, thank you. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Robzwop (talk • contribs) 15:49, 14 July 2015‎ (UTC)

Talkback

Hello, I JethroBT. You have new messages at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Anime and manga.
Message added 10:24, 15 July 2015 (UTC). You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{Talkback}} or {{Tb}} template.

Narutolovehinata5 tccsdnew 10:24, 15 July 2015 (UTC)

Books and Bytes - Issue 12

The Wikipedia Library

Books & Bytes
Issue 12, May-June 2015
by The Interior (talk · contribs), Ocaasi (talk · contribs), Sadads (talk · contribs), Nikkimaria (talk · contribs)

  • New donations - Taylor & Francis, Science, and three new French-language resources
  • Expansion into new languages, including French, Finnish, Turkish, and Farsi
  • Spotlight: New partners for the Visiting Scholar program
  • American Library Association Annual meeting in San Francisco

Read the full newsletter

The Interior 15:23, 16 July 2015 (UTC)

The Signpost: 15 July 2015

At Last

File:Ras Benjih.jpg Find a mentor
I'd like to appreciate and welcomes you as my mentor. Ras Benjih (talk) 18:55, 20 July 2015 (UTC)

About Nyahbingi

File:Ras Benjih.jpg Ras Benjih
am I no longer able to finish this article?

I'm a Rastamon and I dont like to write about things that outside Rastafari. Thanks for letting me know. Ras Benjih (talk) 08:56, 22 July 2015 (UTC)

The Signpost: 22 July 2015

Invitation to WikiProject TAFI

Hello, I JethroBT. You're invited to join WikiProject Today's articles for improvement. Feel free to nominate an article for improvement at the project's Nominated articles page. Also feel free to contribute to !voting for new weekly selections at the project's talk page. If interested in joining, please add your name to the list of members. Bananasoldier (talk) 02:14, 31 July 2015 (UTC)

The Signpost: 29 July 2015

Reply

Thank you for the reply. The autobiography is not about me. I will visit the co-op for some guidance. Thanks again! Denisemedium Denisemedium (talk) 16:36, 31 July 2015 (UTC)

Co-op

It would be useful to compare the total effort put in by mentors with the results from the mentees. Do you have any such figures? All the best: Rich Farmbrough, 16:13, 3 August 2015 (UTC).

@Rich Farmbrough: Not at the ready, but I agree it would be a useful relationship to evaluate. There is also the question of how best to measure mentor effort (e.g. # of edits made on the relevant talk page, bytes added, perceived time spent engaging and reviewing mentee's work) and mentee results (# of articles, # of bytes added, # of contributions across namespaces). My time is somewhat limited over the next several months though, and I cannot commit to doing this analysis at this time. I, JethroBT drop me a line 18:07, 3 August 2015 (UTC)

Signpost article

I was just reading Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2015-08-05/Blog and you did a nice job on the write-up for the Co-op. I hope it brings in some new mentors to the program! Liz Read! Talk! 19:44, 5 August 2015 (UTC)

@Liz: Hey thanks, Liz! I appreciate you giving it a readthrough. I'd be thrilled to see more mentors on board. On your end, I hope your RfA concludes soon so you can freaking move on with your life, admin or not! (By the way, I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to participate there. I would have been happy to offer my support.) I, JethroBT drop me a line 22:51, 5 August 2015 (UTC)
I agree 100%, I JethroBT! Although I appreciate the bureaucrats' thoughtful consideration, I'm ready to get back to regular editing and get out of the spotlight. I'm not sure why this RfA seemed to hit a nerve but it seems like the discussion is about something larger than me. Liz Read! Talk! 22:59, 5 August 2015 (UTC)

The Signpost: 05 August 2015

The Signpost: 12 August 2015

Orphaned non-free image File:SteazLogo.jpg

⚠
⚠

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

Note that any non-free images not used in any articles will be deleted after seven days, as described in the criteria for speedy deletion. Thank you. Mdann52 (talk) 22:02, 15 August 2015 (UTC)

@Mdann52: Thanks for updating the logo here. (But shucks, I liked their old logo better!) I'll go ahead and speedily delete the non-free image. I, JethroBT drop me a line 08:18, 21 August 2015 (UTC)

How you can help

Help me about a writing skill

Ras Benjih (talk) 06:40, 19 August 2015 (UTC)

@Ras Benjih: I'm sorry Ras, but I can't devote time to mentor you, and I found it frustrating trying to mentor you last month. In terms of writing, I would recommend that you stop creating new articles on your own right now. I think all or most of your new articles have been deleted because I think you've had difficulty understanding the scope of what is and isn't appropriate on Wikipedia. Creating new articles isn't the only way to contribute, though. Instead, I'd recommend improving existing articles. You can check out this area for a number ways you can do so. Each task has a nice series of steps on how to do that task, like how to add in references or how to improve existing articles. So, I encourage you to check those out and take some time to improve existing articles before you begin writing your own. I hope that helps. I, JethroBT drop me a line 20:18, 19 August 2015 (UTC)

Yes I've been told and I decided to be kind hearted. Experience and knowledge does count, honest speaking I don' t have an experience. Thanks for your effort, and may JAH bless you. Somebody told to stop editing/writing or else I'll be blocked and I don' want that. I will help where I can, like helping other users to format the boxes.

You're Great.

Ras Benjih/RasTalk 08:44, 31 Jul 20:38, 19 August 2015 (UTC)

WikiConferenceUSA?

Hey, have you thought about attending this conference? I've applied for a scholarship and I'm debating about whether or not to go - if I get the scholarship then it'll be a definite. You should apply for a scholarship as well. They have a set up for panels and I was thinking that it might be interesting to do one about the CO-OP as a way of trying to retain and teach users. In other words, if you're interested in going and creating a panel for this, I'll be more than willing to help out on the panel. I'm trying to think of one that I can do on my own, but I'm kind of drawing a blank as to how to present the material. I don't want to go into a panel disorganized. I'm thinking that it'd be helpful to have a panel on retaining editors at the very least, although I've thought about creating a panel on article creation for trouble topics, about what it's like to edit with a COI (via my volunteer gig), or how to unite people to tackle overwhelmed projects like AfC or any given article request page. By trouble topics I'm thinking mostly about how to go about creating articles on people who would pass notability guidelines for something major, like being a Senator or other notable political position, but the sources are almost nonexistent. I'm running into that especially with my volunteer job, as I'm finding a lot of state politicians from after the Civil War that aren't really frequently covered in RS. Tokyogirl79 (｡◕‿◕｡) 09:29, 20 August 2015 (UTC)

  • Also, if you can't go and want me to try to hold a panel, I'm willing to do that as well. I'd be nervous, but I think that it'd be a good panel topic. I know that this hasn't been uber successful yet, but that might be an even better reason to start: after all, some of the attendees might have suggestions. Tokyogirl79 (｡◕‿◕｡) 09:44, 20 August 2015 (UTC)
  • @Tokyogirl79: Hey Tokyogirl, your panel ideas sound like a fantastic, and thanks for inviting me to help out. I am interested in going to WikiConferenceUSA, but I have to reschedule some travel plans in October, so let me get those figured out this weekend before I commit. I'll definitely apply for the scholarship as well (though I wonder if my recent employment as a contractor with the WMF will impact my eligibility-- we'll see!)
As for the topic of the panel, while I think retention is important to talk about, I would rather make the panel more broad, like how we can help new editors accomplish their goals. My work in developing and piloting the Co-op (in addition to mentoring) has taught me that it's important to focus on more than just retention when it comes to engaging with new editors. That said, I've done work with the Pritzker Military Museum & Library in a Wikipedian-in-Residence with a COI, so a panel on that might be useful for Wikimedians interested in working with institutions (or are currently working with one). I wouldn't be able to contribute as much on trouble topics as you describe (but it sounds really interesting!) So, either working with newer editors or handling COIs while working/volunteering for an institution would work well for me. Which one of these would you prefer?
As for other logistics, it looks like we need at least three people to make a panel happen. There are a few people I have in mind for both of these that I can reach out to, but if you have anyone else in mind, we'll need to get a hold of them soon before we start making a submission. I, JethroBT drop me a line 17:34, 21 August 2015 (UTC)
  • I have to admit that I'm not entirely sure of who to ask for a panel, since I'm not sure how many of us are in the States or would be willing to travel. I'm more than happy to follow your lead in this, since that way I'd be able to get some experience on all of this stuff. It looks like they would like us to stick within specific topics, but I think that we'd be able to finagle just about anything into a discussion. Tokyogirl79 (｡◕‿◕｡) 03:36, 22 August 2015 (UTC)
  • Here's a thought: we could always do a presentation with a Q&A afterwards, if you want. The main thing I want to do is have something where we could talk with the audience afterwards to get their thoughts on the matter. I figure that we can do a presentation with just 1-2 people, since we could do a PowerPoint. Tokyogirl79 (｡◕‿◕｡) 06:43, 25 August 2015 (UTC)
@Tokyogirl79: I'm sorry I couldn't pull this together for a submission, unfortunately. I didn't make the time to put together a proper proposal. Still, I'll keep in touch about whether I can go as a visitor. I have some friends in the area I might be able to stay with. :) I, JethroBT drop me a line 09:50, 5 September 2015 (UTC)
  • I ended up suggesting a presentation on editing with a conflict of interest (and by extension, paid editors). I figure that I can work in a bit about the CO-OP in the part where I discuss ways that we (Wikipedia as a whole) could help educate people with a COI/PE, since this would have these editors work one on one with another, uninvolved editor. Tokyogirl79 (｡◕‿◕｡) 03:55, 6 September 2015 (UTC)

The Signpost: 19 August 2015

A barnstar for you!

The Special Barnstar
I really appreciate how you contribute to Wikipedia! 
Minionlover2015 (talk) 17:51, 23 August 2015 (UTC)

The Signpost: 26 August 2015

Please help!

Please help editing the page titled Performance fabrics ,your experience and skills may come in handy,as the page has much scope to be a featured article.

You can help in many ways...

Please try to edit personally instead of leaving suggestions. Thanking you, Rajiv Sharma (talk) 18:08, 29 August 2015 (UTC)

The Signpost: 02 September 2015

Template:Co-op invite?

I came across a co-op notice on an editor's talk page and wanted to have the invite for future use, so went looking and found Template:Co-op invite and Template:Co-op invite2. However what I need is the actual code, so am wondering - where is the code to give someone an invite? For instance, {{subst:Wikipedia:Teahouse/Invitation|sign=~~~~}} is found at Wikipedia:Teahouse/Invitation and is the code to give someone a Teahouse invite. Thanks, Shearonink (talk) 15:16, 9 September 2015 (UTC)

I admit I'm not a coder of any stripe, I just edit, but do I really need to copy all that code that's within the editing window? Is there a shorter form that could be posted on the Template page? Thanks, Shearonink (talk) 15:20, 9 September 2015 (UTC)
@Shearonink: Good point-- it looks pretty easy to fix up the Co-op invitation page to look more like the Teahouse one. I'll see if I can fix that up over the next week. But in terms of the code, you should be able to use subst: for the Co-op invite templates in the same way as the Teahouse ones. I, JethroBT drop me a line 21:11, 12 September 2015 (UTC)
Excellent. I'm thinking that there might be other experienced editors who aren't necessarily a Co-op host or mentor but who might want to drop an invite on a newbie's page, I try to AGF & a friendly invite sometimes does the trick for folks starting to navigate WP's editing waters.
Re: the subst - yeah that makes sense I think... I barely understand the most elemental of Wiki-markup and "subst"-ing stuff always confuses me (even though I've used it a few times) but I'll keep it in mind. Do you know if there is any one WP page - or even category - that has all the newbie invites codes? Like Teahouse & Co-op & whatever else might be applicable to new editors? (Heh, I'm particularly fond of {{subst:User:Shearonink/ref}} as found here.) Shearonink (talk) 22:26, 12 September 2015 (UTC)
@Shearonink: Hm, I'm not aware of one centralized page, but Category:Welcome templates might be a good place to start. You could consider checking out Twinkle that has some welcome templates aimed at newer editors. That ref one you pointed out looks pretty useful. There are some others I like at User:Eloquence/Tips/Citations and User:Eloquence/Tips/Images. I, JethroBT drop me a line 13:36, 13 September 2015 (UTC)

The Signpost: 09 September 2015

— Preceding unsigned comment added by Asdiprizio (talk • contribs) 16:52, 15 September 2015 (UTC)

A kitten for you!

my barnstar was lost in the flood. here is a kitten, also can be used as a sandbag when the levee breaks. thank you friend. you complete me

Asdiprizio (talk) 16:02, 15 September 2015 (UTC)

The Signpost: 16 September 2015

The Signpost: 23 September 2015

Books and Bytes - Issue 13

The Wikipedia Library

Books & Bytes
Issue 13, August-September 2015
by The Interior (talk · contribs), Ocaasi (talk · contribs), Sadads (talk · contribs), Nikkimaria (talk · contribs)

  • New donations - EBSCO, IMF, more newspaper archives, and Arabic resources
  • Expansion into new languages, including Viet and Catalan
  • Spotlight: Elsevier partnership garners controversy, dialogue
  • Conferences: PKP, IFLA, upcoming events

Read the full newsletter

The Interior via MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 16:30, 1 October 2015 (UTC)

The Signpost: 30 September 2015

YGM

Hello, I JethroBT. Please check your email; you've got mail!
It may take a few minutes from the time the email is sent for it to show up in your inbox. You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{You've got mail}} or {{ygm}} template.

Airplaneman ✈ 01:40, 6 October 2015 (UTC)

The Signpost: 07 October 2015

Edit-a-Thon at Pritzker - Nov 13!

Hey, sorry to bug you. Bunch of the files that I had uploaded to commons druing edit-a-thon at Pritzker (way back in Nov 2013) are identified as having a wrong license. What should be the correct licence for them? Sample images below:

There is more information on my commons talk page.

Thanks and sorry once again to bug you. -Prabodh 22:33, 12 October 2015 (UTC)

@Prabodh1987: Ahh, sorry I missed this message! I think the concern behind the wrong license tags is that these images (likely) belong in the public domain, and as Stefan2 commented on the Battle of Yingkou talk page, we may need to check if copyright has expired. Tonight, I'll start to do some research to see what I can verify. Thanks for bringing this to my attention  :) I, JethroBT drop me a line 00:39, 26 October 2015 (UTC)

Wikipedia_likes_Galactic_Exploration_for_Posterity_2015

Dear @I JethroBT:, I just modified the Grants:IEG/Wikipedia likes Galactic Exploration for Posterity 2015 proposal based on community feedback. Please see meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:IEG/Wikipedia_likes_Galactic_Exploration_for_Posterity_2015 I need help with the community notifications because I am not sure what that means. Do you mean posting on Signpost or the Space Project wiki group? Please help. Thank you. Geraldshields11 (talk) 10:53, 13 October 2015 (UTC)

This Thursday: Women in Architecture edit-a-thon @ University of Chicago

You are invited to join the Women in Architecture edit-a-thon @ University of Chicago on October 15! (drop-in any time, 3-7pm)--Pharos (talk) 18:25, 14 October 2015 (UTC)

The Signpost: 14 October 2015

Thanks re: HofJ

Thanks again, I JethroBT, for your appreciative support and for the barnstar, especially coming from an administrator. This means a lot to me, sir, thank-you. As a matter of fact, I would like to be an administrator myself someday, and use diplomacy as the main tool to get things done. Best, Prhartcom (talk) 01:57, 24 October 2015 (UTC)

@Prhartcom: You're very welcome! If you're considering making a run at RfA, let me know when you feel ready, and I can take some time to review your contributions, give you feedback, and help you prepare. A good place to start, if you want to get ready, is to read over Wikipedia:Advice for RfA candidates, and to start drafting responses for the three standard questions for yourself. I, JethroBT drop me a line 23:19, 25 October 2015 (UTC)
Thank you for the Advice for RfA candidates, I have read it and also the advice of other administrators. I believe I am getting close. I want to ensure that, when I run, it will not be as painful as some I have seen; instead I want to ensure that mine will be a somewhat obvious choice and will go smoothly with little objection.
Thank-you also for offering to review my contributions; I would greatly appreciate a review now, if you could, as I have been watching myself for some time and have been wondering how I look to other administrators.
I'm having trouble locating what are the three standard questions. I find reference to them but not what they actually are; can you please point me to them? I will start drafting those responses; you are right to suggest it; thank-you. I will show the first drafts to you when they are done. I do pledge to succeed at this.
By the way, I just posted a proposal at Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard/Incidents#Proposal; I'd be interested in your reaction. Prhartcom (talk) 00:17, 26 October 2015 (UTC)
@Prhartcom: Thanks for posting the proposal; I've replied over at ANI. I'll take some time to start a review later this week and get in touch with you via e-mail. It'll take me some time to do a good review of your work, so please give me a week or two. As for the responses, take your time with them. I found it helpful to draft your responses, let them sit for a while, and revisit them a week or so later. Take care, I, JethroBT drop me a line 07:05, 27 October 2015 (UTC)

The Signpost: 21 October 2015

Wikipedia Asian Month is COMING!

Hi I JethroBT ,

The Wikipedia Asian Month will begin in less than an hours, and once again, thank you for signing up! Let's help the world know more about Asia! Below are a few reminders for you:

  1. Please check out the rules here. Some rules have been adjusted—the most important being that on the English Wikipedia, stubs may be expanded with some limitations.
  2. Do take the time to read the Q&A if you have any questions, or ask on the talk page.
  3. The list of participants has been alphabetized so you can more easily find your name and report your contributions.
  4. There is a template that you can use on your user page. {{Template:User Asian Month‎}}

Enjoy the Wikipedia Asian Month :) --AddisWang (talk)

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 23:29, 31 October 2015 (UTC)

Halloween cheer!

Happy Halloween!

Hello I JethroBT:
Thanks for all of your contributions to improve Wikipedia, and have a happy and enjoyable Halloween!
    – North America1000 23:39, 31 October 2015 (UTC)


Send Halloween cheer by adding {{subst:Happy Halloween}} to user talk pages with a friendly message.
Sent to users on my mailing list. To opt-out forever, just remove your name.

The Signpost: 28 October 2015

The Signpost: 04 November 2015

The Signpost: 11 November 2015

The Signpost: 18 November 2015

Chicago meetups

I JethroBT,

I just came back from a very long period of inactivity, and I've read your messages about the various meetups you've organized at University of Chicago. I studied there, so I'm really glad to hear that you've reached out to those students! If you're planning any similar events soon, I'd love to join. I hope you're doing well! --Edge3 (talk) 02:45, 21 November 2015 (UTC)

@Edge3: Welcome back! (I've had to take my breaks too.) I don't have any events on my radar just yet, but I'll be sure you get in touch with you on your talk page about upcoming events. You might also reach out to Airplaneman, who has also been interested in organizing these events. While we're on the subject, Airplaneman, how do you feel about doing an edit-a-thon at one of the U Chicago libraries, without a particular theme aside from getting together and working on some content together? We could aim to do it in January or February when students aren't bogged down with finals. I've done plenty of thematic edit-a-thons, but I think we're due up for something more general and relaxed. Let me know what you think. I, JethroBT drop me a line 05:44, 24 November 2015 (UTC)
@Edge3: @I JethroBT: Hey all, I'm glad to see mutual interest in events at UChicago. I've been trying to involve more UChicago students in Wikipedia, and part of that includes reaching out to interest groups to harness particular passions. I've been in talks with the Feminist Forum about doing a feminism-themed edit-a-thon some time in the winter quarter (January–March). I do agree, though, that a general non-thematic edit-a-thon is a good way to focus less on specific content goals and more on Wikipedia itself (which sounds good for introducing people to editing). I love the idea of having an event in January sometime. Students return the week of January 4. Airplaneman ✈ 00:32, 28 November 2015 (UTC)
@Airplaneman: @I JethroBT: Sounds good! I think a non-thematic event would also be good, in addition to whatever themed events you've already planned. This would be a good way to just get people together in a more casual meetup. Edge3 (talk) 17:16, 29 November 2015 (UTC)

Disambiguation link notification for November 23

Hi. Thank you for your recent edits. Wikipedia appreciates your help. We noticed though that when you edited Rahmens, you added a link pointing to the disambiguation page Conte. Such links are almost always unintended, since a disambiguation page is merely a list of "Did you mean..." article titles. Read the FAQ • Join us at the DPL WikiProject.

It's OK to remove this message. Also, to stop receiving these messages, follow these opt-out instructions. Thanks, DPL bot (talk) 09:07, 23 November 2015 (UTC)

ArbCom elections are now open!

Hi,
You appear to be eligible to vote in the current Arbitration Committee election. The Arbitration Committee is the panel of editors responsible for conducting the Wikipedia arbitration process. It has the authority to enact binding solutions for disputes between editors, primarily related to serious behavioural issues that the community has been unable to resolve. This includes the ability 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. If you wish to participate, you are welcome to review the candidates' statements and submit your choices on the voting page. For the Election committee, MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 16:09, 23 November 2015 (UTC)

Question

Hey, I had a question about a potential COI. Long story short, I've created articles for Lawrie Brewster, Jamie Scott Gordon, and Lord of Tears. (There's also another film article I've done that's Brewster related, but that's a redirect right now.) I'm Facebook friends with Brewster and Gordon. It's kind of the scenario where I saw their work, enjoyed it, and then found their public Facebook accounts they use for promoting their work. I've spoken a little with Brewster by way of me asking some Wikipedia related questions (straight up asking for sources and clarification on things for the LoT article), but they've never asked me to create anything nor have they ever even hinted at this. They were basically created in the same vein a lot of us create articles: out of pure fangirl/boy-ness. I don't think that there's really a COI here, but I figured that I would ask since I've never really written about anyone that I actually had a link to - albeit a tenuous one. Tokyogirl79 (｡◕‿◕｡) 10:01, 26 November 2015 (UTC)

@Tokyogirl79: Yeah, I agree there isn't a COI problem here. I think one factor that comes into play in situations like this is the nature of your affiliation with the individuals and the production. I try to avoid editing articles on people and places that I've had any professional affiliation. "Facebook friends" doesn't strike me as particularly close, and reaching out to them directly to ask them for sources and verification seems like a productive thing, not any sort of problem. I don't necessarily think it's a problem if the subjects have asked for certain edits to be made, so long as they are consistent with relevant considerations like WP:DUE and WP:NOTPROMO (but it's better if they make accounts and request it themselves). And as an aside on writing as a fan, if we had to stop writing on stuff we were fans of, Wikipedia would sure be a lot more empty! Thanks for asking for my perspective! I, JethroBT drop me a line 00:37, 27 November 2015 (UTC)
  • That's a relief to hear! Other than being a fangirl, there's no other ulterior motive. Heck, I've even hesitated to create some of them since I wasn't sure that they would pass criteria. I may approach them and ask them to upload some photos of themselves to WC just so we can have something for the bio articles, though. I just had this one little spot of panic since I've created a lot of articles on people in a certain group and I didn't want to make it seem like I was making a walled garden or anything. I don't think that anyone would really think that I'd do that, but I dunno - lately Wikipedia just seems a little stranger than usual. I don't know if it's just me or perhaps Yunshui retiring (or the now infamous Atlantic article) kind of put a damper on things for me, but lately Wikipedia just seems to be taking an odd turn. Tokyogirl79 (｡◕‿◕｡) 04:49, 27 November 2015 (UTC)
    @Tokyogirl79: I wasn't aware Yunshui had retired since you just mentioned it...sheesh, that hurts. I just left a message on his talk page. I hope to see him contributing again here in any capacity. I, JethroBT drop me a line 06:59, 27 November 2015 (UTC)
  • Now here's a question: I haven't created an article yet for one of the writers from the film, Sarah Daly. She tends to work on the same projects as Brewster (they're partners) and I've mentioned her in his article, but I don't know if she'd pass on her own or not. I'm mildly debating revamping it into an article like Adam Gierasch and Jace Anderson, since almost all of their work is the same. I may just add another field to the table on his page to mark the projects that she's written. Establishing notability for film writers is just so difficult since they don't always gain gobs of coverage. Tokyogirl79 (｡◕‿◕｡) 04:53, 27 November 2015 (UTC)
    That's a tricky situation, and I hate it when coverage is slim for a subject that should have more of it. Without a lot of general coverage, there's really only WP:CREATIVE to fall back on in this case. Maybe there is something there? The idea to combine two film writers together in one article is interesting, but challenging; I think there would need to be convincing evidence that the two generally are described as essentially one unit: Are they credited together in films they produce? Do they tend not to do a lot of work independent of each other? If there are awards for their work, is it awarded to both of them or just one? When their names do come up in sources, is it together (e.g. Rodgers and Hammerstein for their musicals) or separate (e.g. Gene Roddenberry and Rick Berman as executive directors for Star Trek: TNG)? To the extent they are separate, I think they need to be treated as independent articles, and can't inherit notability from the other. I, JethroBT drop me a line 06:59, 27 November 2015 (UTC)
  • It's definitely tricky. The articles that are out there that mention her, usually just mention her in relation to Brewster. However it's usually an offhand mention. I believe that they're a couple, but I'm not sure. If they were, then that would make it potentially easier since they could be a duo like Gierasch and Anderson. As far as their work goes, they pretty much go hand in hand with everything. If one is working on something in any capacity, the other is going to be included somehow - although with Daly it's almost always as the writer. She has a few to her credit - Kids vs Monsters (another one I wrote that I forgot about) and Lord of Tears. Technically that could be considered enough. As far as the stuff on Brewster's entry, I think that she's written at least 80% of those works. Tokyogirl79 (｡◕‿◕｡) 07:03, 27 November 2015 (UTC)
  • In any case, it's rare for one not to be mentioned, although Brewster has had mentions in the media that do not mention Daly. Tokyogirl79 (｡◕‿◕｡) 07:04, 27 November 2015 (UTC)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:I_JethroBT/Archive_14&oldid=1078279275"