This is an archive of past discussions. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page.
@Dreamy Jazz: Am I misremembering? I seem to recall there was a way to comment at RFAR and still avoid these notifications. Maybe I'm dreaming about what should be instead of remembering what is.... Anyway, no worries, I know you're doing what they pay you the big bucks to do. But if what I'm asking rings a bell, that would be great. Floquenbeam (talk) 18:08, 23 August 2023 (UTC)
Hi. There is an update list which all users who commented in the case request were added to. This could probably be made more clear on the case page. Non-parties are free to remove themselves from the list.
Cool, that list is exactly what I sort of remembered. Thank you. I doubt I'll remember exactly where it is next time, but that's my problem not yours. Cheers! Floquenbeam (talk) 20:14, 23 August 2023 (UTC)
THIS is the year
Sole possession of first place for the first time since 2003? Best SS in the league (J.P Crawford), best pitching staff? J. Rod regressing (upward) to the mean? I'm starting to believe. MastCellTalk04:38, 28 August 2023 (UTC)
I'm more of a casual fan than my user page might lead one to believe; I just don't have the time or bandwidth anymore. Plus, it's hard being on the east coast. The rare Mariners game on TV usually ends way too late for me. They were on Apple+ last Friday and I made it to the 6th inning then crashed. I'd been keeping one eye on the wild card standings recently, and then during the Friday broadcast suddenly realized how close they were to the Rangers. I'm not paying close attention, I just assumed they 10 games behind or something. Without wanting to jinx anything ... yeah, this is exciting! Floquenbeam (talk) 14:11, 28 August 2023 (UTC)
Today's music is played by my brother's orchestra, conducted by two very young men on their way up, - the picture was taken shortly after the invasion of Ukraine began, - more detail on my talk. Images reached the day of the Tenebrae concert mentioned in July. -- Gerda Arendt (talk) 17:36, 2 August 2023 (UTC)
Hi Gerda, another month already! Your brother's orchestra, eh? You've certainly got a ton of different ties to music.
My story today - a first - isn't about an article by me, but one I reviewed for DYK, see here. I like all: topic, "hook", connected article (a GA on its way towards FA), image and the music "in the background". I just returned from a weekend of weddings, so also like the spirit ;) - Pics to come, I promise one cake, the other was too large! Good music, and better even in the concert ending the second day, - Goldberg Variations theme for an encore, after Dohnányi Serenade. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 20:24, 7 August 2023 (UTC)
Just got back from a (shorter) vacation no. 2. Disappointing news on my watchlist, wish I hadn't checked in for a few more days. Although I guess the universe is operating as it should; sometimes we keep the editors we deserve, and we lose the editors we don't deserve. Glad to hear you had a good concert, and continued thanks for the photos; it helps me tolerate this place. Floquenbeam (talk) 23:54, 20 August 2023 (UTC)
Thank you - one of the greatest "awards" I received here! When I take another pic of Wildsülze I always think of you ;) - Today's story is based on a 2011 DYK (Drmies was the reviewer), and while I wouldn't write such a complex sentence any more, I have no decent word to describe the hooks run now, on the basis that they have to be of interest to the general public, which opera singers are not, so they say. Take Berit Lindholm. Instead of what I suggested (above), or that she was the first Isolde in the Soviet Union (quite unique and almost unbelievable), look what several from the current crew found interesting. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 07:01, 21 August 2023 (UTC)
I'm too short of time (and too dim-witted to recall the DYK work flow), to follow all of that. For example, I don't know what (if anything) actually ran. But the person who proposed ALT1 here should not be allowed anywhere near the front page, and if an admin posted it, they should be desysopped for idiocy. I really hope it didn't make it on like that. I am starting to hate it here more and more. --Floquenbeam (talk) 13:53, 21 August 2023 (UTC)
Perhaps it helps to know that we'll have a few more days to prevent the idiocy to hit the Main page, and you just saying this same thing over there might help to prevent it ;) - no admin yet involved, no desysop necessary. The question asked in the thread was should it be removed from prep, and I had said (in some edit summary, I guess) "better no DYK than ALT1". I won't participate in the discussion further, remember Ray's rules? (If not, they are linked from my user page, - something I loved about this place.) --Gerda Arendt (talk) 14:10, 21 August 2023 (UTC)
FWIW, I've commented. I didn't look closely enough (a habit I'm going to need to break); I thought this was your nom, and that the reviewer had proposed ALT1 because they thought your hook was boring. So I'm less angry now, and probably wasn't fair to SB. But I still really don't think we should be doing stuff like this. Floquenbeam (talk) 14:44, 21 August 2023 (UTC)
Opera or not, I love that - thanks to Storye book - we can see her face now. Remember Lindholm. What DYK has now planned for a hook on her funeral day is that her director called her (or should it rather be "talked of her as") "that damn primary school teacher", and she included that in the title of her memoir, which I believe is negative for both of them, him for saying it (and the source is in Swedish, so we can't even check how to whom he said it, mocking or ironic perhaps), and her for not letting it go. I am speechless, in more than one respect. I'm often at WP:ERRORS, but think I'll better pass this one. At least it comes with her face, and I can only hope that most readers will just find that attractive, and ignore the hook. - A few new pics, of tiny flowers and tiny mushrooms. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 14:30, 28 August 2023 (UTC)
That's not a great hook, but (IMHO) it isn't nearly as insulting as the initial one. By a lot. "Dismissed early in career, but they were wrong" is much better than "double entendre about someone who recently died. Floquenbeam (talk) 15:54, 28 August 2023 (UTC)
Sorry but you told me nothing new ;) - Relief: per the unpredictable changes of DYK it seems to run not on her funeral day, - they switched from two sets to one and seem to have missed the special occasion. I hope it stays that way. Because I'm lazy, and if not would have to make her FA. my story today: epic voice - I learned: only good about the dead, and there's so much that was not just good but extraordinary. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 18:50, 29 August 2023 (UTC)
This too shall pass. - Ten years ago on 28 August, I heard a symphony, with a heavy heart because of the pending decision in WP:ARBINFOBOX, and not worried about my future here but Andy's. - It passed, and I could write the DYK about calling to dance, not battle, and Andy could write the DYK mentioning about peace and reconciliation, - look. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 15:30, 28 August 2023 (UTC)
Following an RfC, TFAs will be automatically semi-protected the day before it is on the main page and through the day after.
A discussion at WP:VPP about revision deletion and oversight for dead names found that [s]ysops can choose to use revdel if, in their view, it's the right tool for this situation, and they need not default to oversight. But oversight could well be right where there's a particularly high risk to the person. Use your judgment.
The SmallCat dispute case has closed. As part of the final decision, editors participating in XfD have been reminded to be careful about forming local consensus which may or may not reflect the broader community consensus. Regular closers of XfD forums were also encouraged to note when broader community discussion, or changes to policies and guidelines, would be helpful.
Miscellaneous
Tech tip: The "Browse history interactively" banner shown at the top of Special:Diff can be used to easily look through a history, assemble composite diffs, or find out what archive something wound up in.
Thanks! I suppose it was handled more gracefully than I had a right to expect. I was all set to launch into a "it's more uncivil to [do X] than to say a bad word", but I never had to. Floquenbeam (talk) 20:16, 5 September 2023 (UTC)
Funnily enough...
I am kind of feeling the same thing at the moment. I don't have enough time to really commit to a lot of on-Wiki things, and when I do log on I end up getting irrationally annoyed by things and potentially dragged into disputes that I had no real interest in joining in the first place... Enjoy your break and hope all's well with you and yours. — Amakuru (talk) 19:21, 6 September 2023 (UTC)
so many wiki-titans have been disappearing in recent years. i was wondering when you'd decide to follow them. here's hoping you, and many others, might undisappear someday. 128.189.82.174 (talk) 23:00, 6 September 2023 (UTC)
Yeah. I have only ever managed to just come in and wiki-gnome to an agenda since I gave up caring too much. I hope you find joy in whatever form in your life. LessHeard vanU (talk) 16:17, 8 September 2023 (UTC)
Today I remember Raymond Arritt, who still helps me, five years after he died, per what he said in my darkest time on Wikipedia (placed in my edit-notice as a reminder), and by teh rulez. - Latest pics from a weekend in Berlin (one more day to come). --Gerda Arendt (talk) 16:25, 19 September 2023 (UTC)
An RfC is open regarding amending the paid-contribution disclosure policy to add the following text: Any administrator soliciting clients for paid Wikipedia-related consulting or advising services not covered by other paid-contribution rules must disclose all clients on their userpage.
Technical news
Administrators can now choose to add the user's user page to their watchlist when changing the usergroups for a user. This works both via Special:UserRights and via the API. (T272294)
I'm jealous of your various "stroll around X" pictures this month. I've no time for anything besides a stroll to and from my car on the way to and from work. Some lovely views, I'm strolling vicariously through you. And I like the composition in the mushroom photo.
Following a motion, the contentious topic designation of Prem Rawat has been struck. Actions previously taken using this contentious topic designation are still in force.
Following several motions, multiple topic areas are no longer designated as a contentious topic. These contentious topic designations were from the Editor conduct in e-cigs articles, Liancourt Rocks, Longevity, Medicine, September 11 conspiracy theories, and Shakespeare authorship question cases.
Following a motion, remedies 3.1 (All related articles under 1RR whenever the dispute over naming is concerned), 6 (Stalemate resolution) and 30 (Administrative supervision) of the Macedonia 2 case have been rescinded.
Following a motion, remedy 6 (One-revert rule) of the The Troubles case has been amended.
An arbitration case named Industrial agriculture has been opened. Evidence submissions in this case close 8 November.
Miscellaneous
The Articles for Creation backlog drive is happening in November 2023, with 700+ drafts pending reviews for in the last 4 months or so. In addition to the AfC participants, all administrators and New Page Patrollers can conduct reviews using the helper script, Yet Another AFC Helper Script, which can be enabled in the Gadgets settings. Sign up here to participate!
No, I'm not in it, but - talking about memory - forgot if I stood behind Mary (left) or the Angel. My stories are both on the Main page, Bach pictured! I'm in the process of uploading pics from the first vacation day, - keep looking, three more rows to come for that day. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 16:21, 7 November 2023 (UTC)
I began another day of vacation pics, with the deepest blue of the sea ;) - we celebrate the birthday of a friend who wrote quite a book about the compositions of a man who will turn 300 soon. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 15:12, 14 November 2023 (UTC)
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.
Sorry, forgot to do the no-archive thing. The Jerome Kohl article reminded me of my own time at UW. Used to walk by the pictured Denny Hall all the time. Didn't know him (as a musician or as an editor) but sorry we lost him. Floquenbeam (talk) 18:08, 28 November 2023 (UTC)
If you have 5 minutes follow the link and get to the detail about Stockhausen and William Waterhouse (whom I knew). Jerome was about the fourth editor talking to me here (telling me that a source was wrong, still on Talk:Siegfried Palm). He never let me feel that he is an expert and I'm a foreign lay person. We disagreed about infoboxes, but kept talking respectfully. Missed much. Same for Brian Boulton with whom I didn't disagree but some of his friends don't want to here that ;) - It's on AN but I won't go again; I exceeded my voluntary 2 comments per discussion allowance already, and life is too short. - My brother, double bassist, was able to come to the Mozart performance, and was impressed. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 19:24, 28 November 2023 (UTC)
Following a talk page discussion, the Administrators' accountability policy has been updated to note that while it is considered best practice for administrators to have notifications (pings) enabled, this is not mandatory. Administrators who do not use notifications are now strongly encouraged to indicate this on their user page.
Arbitration
Following a motion, the Extended Confirmed Restriction has been amended, removing the allowance for non-extended-confirmed editors to post constructive comments on the "Talk:" namespace. Now, non-extended-confirmed editors may use the "Talk:" namespace solely to make edit requests related to articles within the topic area, provided that their actions are not disruptive.
The Arbitration Committee has announced a call for Checkusers and Oversighters, stating that it will currently be accepting applications for CheckUser and/or Oversight permissions at any point in the year.
Hello, I wanted to be the first to wish you the very best during the holidays. A while ago you put an informal Iban in place and it still holds today! I know you and I have not always been on the same side of issues on WP, but I respect you and I wish you and yours health and wealth in the new year. Lightburst (talk) 15:23, 16 December 2023 (UTC)
Thanks, Lightburst. We may disagree about a lot of things, but it's good to frequently remind myself that people I disagree with are still trying to do what's best for WP. We just think that's achieved in different ways. Happy Holidays and a Wonderful New Year. --Floquenbeam (talk) 22:17, 17 December 2023 (UTC)
Whether you celebrate Christmas, Diwali, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Festivus (for the rest of us!) or even the Saturnalia, here's hoping your holiday time is wonderful and - especially -
that the New Year will be an improvement on the old. CHEERS!
Share these holiday wishes by adding ((subst:User:Shearonink/Holiday)) to your friends' talk pages.
On reflection, some of the things that bothered me about WP the most are:
areas with lots of aggressive conflict and rudeness (makes me sad, and simultaneously brings out the worst in me)
areas that are particularly dysfunctional; that seem destined to not solve the problem they're supposed to (too frustrating to work in hopeless areas)
areas that require significant investment of time (I can only pop in and out at random times for random lengths of time; can't deal with ongoing issues)
If you're a TPS, please feel free to add to the list below. It's a wiki; if you think I got something wrong, change it. The worst that will happen is I'll change it back. In particular, please add something to the last list; I need somewhere to go when I want to be chill yet useful, and this is about the only category I can imagine wanting to do. --Floquenbeam (talk) 21:08, 6 December 2023 (UTC)
Stressful, dysfunctional, and timesink
AN, ANI, AN3, AARV
Stressful, dysfunctional, but I could pop in and out
WP:ITNC
ERRORS (half the time)
Stressful, somewhat functional, but time-consuming
SPI
XFD
RFAR, AE
Stressful, somewhat functional, and I can pop in and out
AIV
ERRORS (half the time)
Chill, but dysfunctional and timesink
WT:RFA
Chill, dysfunctional, but I can pop in and out
???
Chill, somewhat functional, but time-consuming
WP:DAB
actual article writing in non-controversial areas
Chill, somewhat functional, and I can pop in and out
Filter log review? The BLP one (located here) is certainly useful, and I find blatant BLP violations in there all the time. Even if you only have time to review one or two of the edits when you have free time, it could make a big difference.-- Ponyobons mots23:40, 6 December 2023 (UTC)
Rescuing drafts. This is actually something I hope to get back to when I have the time. There's a ton of declined drafts on notable topics that an experienced editor can get up to snuff pretty quickly. When I did this I'd also leave a little note to the original author thanking them for starting the article and letting them know I cleaned it up for them and published it, which actually feels good. ScottishFinnishRadish (talk) 23:55, 6 December 2023 (UTC)
WP:UAA is pretty black-and-white, and without reports you need to spend time on à la "is this editing from three different /16 ranges in a niche subtopic disruptive or not" that exist in AIV. DatGuyTalkContribs18:44, 7 December 2023 (UTC)
The user creation log! I like WP:UAA too (mentioned by DatGuy above). But what I especially like is to run my eye down this (set it to 500, because 50 is nothing) and taking care of anything that appeals to me. Can be done for 15 seconds or 15 minutes, whichever suits, and comes with the added benefit of chuckling at fun, inventive usernames that don't need taking care of. Bishonen | tålk18:10, 8 December 2023 (UTC).
I know you said that content creation is time consuming but it's less so if you do it in chunks. Personally I find joy in updating content in relevant articles when reading local news and learning more about local history through summarizing what's out there. But if there isn't anything in particular you want to focus on, there's a huge backlog of citation needed tags. Citation hunt can make that whole process more interesting. Clovermoss🍀(talk)18:37, 8 December 2023 (UTC)
I find WP:RM to be a pretty relaxing experience, at least if you skip the tricky ones. WP:CR is similar, but tends to require a bit more time per discussion closed (and you're more likely to get people complaining). -- Maddy from Celeste (WAVEDASH)18:41, 8 December 2023 (UTC)
WP:Adopt-a-typo. When I'm completely burnt out on any kind of drama but still kind of want to do semi-mindless productive editing, I go to my user and click on the userbox for one of the four personal-pet-peeve typos I've adopted. I've literally had only one person become argumentative -- typo in question being so common that it's arguably become standard -- in literal years. And heck, it's a typo. I can move on. Valereee (talk) 19:41, 8 December 2023 (UTC)
Sorry to see you're going through it. In the past I've found that unwatching WP:AN instantly makes Wikipedia better. There's also the WP:DABCHALLENGE if you want something lightweight that helps out in content space. Personally I find if I want to dig into content I'm much more productive on my alt that only watches pages I've worked on, instead of the 10k or so on my admin watchlist. Ivanvector (Talk/Edits) 18:24, 11 December 2023 (UTC)
I still write articles when I feel like it, and it's still fun. I don't get the impression that drama levels are unusually high lately, but I only sporadically check in on ARBCOMspace. Jo-Jo Eumerus (talk) 14:33, 14 December 2023 (UTC)
Thanks. Won't be a while until I even have time, but some good ideas there. Good to see all your names. I still don't really miss my daily WP fix, but I do miss daily interacting with a lot of people, including y'all. --Floquenbeam (talk) 17:27, 8 December 2023 (UTC)
Wishing you and yours a Happy New Year, from the horse and bishop person. May the year ahead be productive and distraction-free and may Janus light your way. Ealdgyth (talk) 14:31, 31 December 2023 (UTC)
Following a motion, the Arbitration Committee rescinded the restrictions on the page name move discussions for the two Ireland pages that were enacted in June 2009.
Can't today, but leaving this here as a reminder. Might do so in a while. Depends on your required timeframe and my free time. --Floquenbeam (talk) 17:42, 8 December 2023 (UTC)
Listen, I could pull rank and drop a CU block on that page RIGHT NOW. Ha! (BTW this is someone with a longstanding grudge, obviously--see my log.) Drmies (talk) 19:53, 23 January 2024 (UTC)
ok, ok, no need for violent-sounding threats! i acknowledge your superior position in the heirarchy! i'm not worthy! --Floquenbeam (talk) pretend there's a date here.
Up and down, Floq. My semester isn't going badly--I'm teaching face to face, which is better than online, and in every class there's at least two or three people who are there to learn something. Besides that, I'm going downhill fast of course, haha--let's see how our new coach does. You? Drmies (talk) 21:20, 23 January 2024 (UTC)
Thanks for the advice, dad. Sorry about that coach thing. I'm not happy about it either. My colleague across the hall feels the same way you do. I don't understand why kids won't watch football with their parents--honestly, it's why we made them, that and picking things up off the floor. Oh, not "wallop": come on now Floq. Ireland! Awesome!! I hope they're having a great time. Send a postcard when you're there. Yeah, the oldest one is leaving this year. All that food I put into her and she just walks off--possibly to a fancy liberal arts place in North Carolina... Drmies (talk) 01:28, 24 January 2024 (UTC)
If you think this page should not be deleted for this reason, you may contest the nomination by visiting the page and clicking the button labelled "Contest this speedy deletion". This will give you the opportunity to explain why you believe the page should not be deleted. However, be aware that once a page is tagged for speedy deletion, it may be deleted without delay. Please do not remove the speedy deletion tag from the page yourself, but do not hesitate to add information in line with Wikipedia's policies and guidelines. If the page is deleted, and you wish to retrieve the deleted material for future reference or improvement, then please contact the deleting administrator, or if you have already done so, you can place a request here. SHB2000 (talk) 05:44, 31 January 2024 (UTC)
An RfC about increasing the inactivity requirement for Interface administrators is open for feedback.
Technical news
Pages that use the JSON contentmodel will now use tabs instead of spaces for auto-indentation. This will significantly reduce the page size. (T326065)
Arbitration
Following a motion, the Arbitration Committee adopted a new enforcement restriction on January 4, 2024, wherein the Committee may apply the 'Reliable source consensus-required restriction' to specified topic areas.
Community feedback is requested for a draft to replace the "Information for administrators processing requests" section at WP:AE.
A vote to ratify the charter for the Universal Code of Conduct Coordinating Committee (U4C) is open till 2 February 2024, 23:59:59 (UTC) via Secure Poll. All eligible voters within the Wikimedia community have the opportunity to either support or oppose the adoption of the U4C Charter and share their reasons. The details of the voting process and voter eligibility can be found here.
Community Tech has made some preliminary decisions about the future of the Community Wishlist Survey. In summary, they aim to develop a new, continuous intake system for community technical requests that improves prioritization, resource allocation, and communication regarding wishes. Read more
When I wrote the 2018 article for the tercentenary I wanted to see that hall. Now I did, and was told by a city official who gave the opening speech of the Abel Fest on 22 June last year that (as a look might have told me) it looked different when Bach worked there, a flat roof for example. Always learning ... --Gerda Arendt (talk) 10:30, 2 January 2024 (UTC)
The 2023 picture is from the Abel Fest in Köthen, celebrating the tercentenary of Carl Friedrich Abel, a viol virtuoso, composer and concert organiser in London (together with Bach's youngest son), born on 22 December 1723 in Köthen, where the new catalogue of his works was introduced, - my story today. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 21:47, 5 January 2024 (UTC)
Thank you for the encouragement! Even if I don't come here, there should be a new story every day (click Happy or New) and new pics from time to time (click Year), such as today, my mom's birthday, - with a DYK and a new GA, and a RD came later. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 23:17, 9 January 2024 (UTC)
I probably will have to, yes. But can I gently suggest - since we're suggesting things to each other - that you focus more on your ANI thread, and less on other people's issues. Floquenbeam (talk) 19:40, 9 February 2024 (UTC)
Hey there. What is the right place? This is the elephant in the room. It has even been discussed in the media, and it has a huge impact on the project. These articles all get tagged as "contentious", so one revert only. Then every contribution that is in any way negative, gets reverted and tied up in endless discussions. I could provide multiple examples. This effects millions of readers, who come here for an unbiased encyclopedic presentation, not a copyedit from the DNC. This simply does not improve the project. Magnolia677 (talk) 23:50, 16 February 2024 (UTC)
Yeah, a generic political complaint isn't likely to get much traction anywhere, but the NPOV noticeboard is at least a rational choice. The Crat's noticeboard doesn't really make any sense. Maybe Wikipediocracy? Floquenbeam (talk) 00:35, 17 February 2024 (UTC)
I know a good Wikipedian would comment more on written articles and less on photos, but ... I love that crocus picture. Gives me hope here in early February that spring is not as far away as it feels right now. --Floquenbeam (talk) 16:08, 6 February 2024 (UTC)
support hope! - you may have seen by the title that it was taken on a cemetery, returning from the burial of a distant but dear family member, so with a double meaning. For "warm" images feel free to turn to the recent places, but please don't get jealous again ;) --Gerda Arendt (talk) 16:20, 6 February 2024 (UTC)
FYI, won't be replying after Friday for a couple of weeks - vacation! But pix still appreciated. Perhaps I'll share some when I get back. Cheers. --Floquenbeam (talk) 18:04, 7 March 2024 (UTC)
Back from vacation (even though I wish I wasn't). Our first time in Ireland, and we returned for the 2nd time to the Netherlands. Apparently, it always rains in both places; I think we saw the sun maybe 3 times. But otherwise really quite lovely. Aran Islands, Dublin, Groningen, and Valkenburg (all 5 stars), and Galway (4 stars, although to be fair that's mostly the other tourists' fault). We didn't try to do all of Ireland, seems like a 1 month minimum task (and also, I was too scared to drive on the wrong side), so we settled for 2 places we could walk in depth rather than half a dozen in a week. Hope to go back. I always like seeing your Madeira pictures; the only thing I like more than the ocean is the mountains, and they have both. And sun. Floquenbeam (talk) 17:02, 25 March 2024 (UTC)
The Toolforge Grid Engine services have been shut down after the final migration process from Grid Engine to Kubernetes. (T313405)
Arbitration
An arbitration case has been opened to look into "the intersection of managing conflict of interest editing with the harassment (outing) policy".
Miscellaneous
Editors are invited to sign up for The Core Contest, an initiative running from April 15 to May 31, which aims to improve vital and other core articles on Wikipedia.
For rightfully undoing my unreasonable week-long block for stepping into a grey-area. (I also promise not to keep re-editing my comments from now on) TheSpacebook (talk) 19:51, 1 April 2024 (UTC)
Well, here's the outcome: [1] No exact statement that they had not recently been evading the block, but in my opinion a sufficiently unambiguous attempt to imply that they weren't to count as a lie. Oh well, I reckon I get angel points for AGF and trying to be helpful. Pinging Deepfriedokra too. JBW (talk) 22:28, 5 April 2024 (UTC)
Extended-confirmed right - would you be kind enough to reinstate it for me please?
Good evening to you, Floquenbeam. I hope you are well and recovering from your period of "meh"! I know what real life stress is like, and it's a pain in the hiney. Anyway, I'm writing to you tonight, concerning an action which you very kindly undertook for me, around two and a half years ago, which was to remove my "extended-confirmed" right.
At that time, as I noted in the request, I thought I was never going to need it, or use it - (see here). However, I've recently come across an article on here, which I wish to chime in on, and unfortunately, it's restricted for editing to users holding the extended-confirmed right. It's a very contentious article, and the talk page which goes with it is under the same restriction, as well as there being active ARBCOM enforcement in place.
Would you please be kind enough to re-grant the right to me? I never imagined it would be used to stop people from editing things they want to talk about, but here we are. I'm so sorry to mess you about, but I've realised I do actually need it.
In fact, I was going to link to the log out page here, as an actual rickroll, and all I managed to do was log myself out. Floquenbeam (talk) 15:21, 23 April 2024 (UTC)
Hello Floquenbeam. I want to thank you for your kindness in our earlier dealings. You might remember them: they are fairly recent, so they are still on my talk page.
The reason I was writing is also another. I am considering terminating my wikipedia account. But before I go, I have a question to ask you. You may be aware of the User: M.Bitton.
My impression of him, is that he is well versed in Wikipedia's rules and wishes to use them in order to erase information that does not fit an agenda. This is simply my impression. However, the reason why I have this impression is experience.
On several occasions, he has removed well referenced information about slavery in Islamic states, by calling the information "cherry picking". View for example his act in Aghlabids. I added well referenced information about slave trade performed by the Aghlabids as a part of their warfare in Italy; in the section about their warfare in Italy. It is hard to understand how this can be viewed as "cherry picking" by any neutral person.
View also Haratin. The topic of the article describe an issue regarding slavery in Algeria. Consequently, I added the appropriate category of slavery in Algeria to it. Yet, he removed the categories by asking for references for the categories. Naturally, no references are needed when adding the category of Algerian slaveri to an article about Algerian slavery.
You may perhaps understand, why I have the impression that User: M.Bitton has an agenda to simply remove as much as possible in the topic slavery in Islam when the rules can be bent to allow it.
The reason I am telling you this, is because a User recently noticed an article started by me: Slavery in al-Andalus. The user expressed some concerns which I read and attempted to adress and adjust. However, the user asked User: M.Bitton to take a look at the article. I am convinced, that User: M.Bitton will erase as much as possible of the content, and ultimately the article itself by calling the information "cherry picking" and use the rules to complain about the smallest technicalities in the references until they are erased, thereby gradually erasing the article. I am also convinced, that User: M.Bitton will do so in more articles concering this subject.
I do not write this to make User: M.Bitton appear bad. I do not enjoy writing it. I am describing my impression and the reason for it, in order to explain myself and a serious concern.
I have to say, that I am not a well person. The reason I mention it, is not to get sympathy or get an advantage in a conflict. It is to explain my own behaviour. I am aware, that to first criticise a person and then refuse to engage in debate with them, can give a bad impression. But this is the responsibility I have to take for my health. I am forced to identify my triggers, and then avoid them. And to encounter - and this is only my impression, and I might be wrong - a hidden agenda to censur a subject by using the rules, is something that stimulate anxiety. My anxiety does not lower my lewel of comprehension: I have the intellectual capability to identify what I view as an agenda, and this will cause concern, but I rarely have the strenght to continue to engage in a conflict with someone who is apparently stronger than me. This is something I have the responsibility to accept.
I do not have the strenght to engage in a conflict with a person I suspect for an agenda, since that can trigger my anxiety. The article Slavery in al-Andalus will, I am quite sure, be heavily reduced and perhaps even erased. Can it be saved somewhere? To save it in a sandbox for me would not do much good. I am considering to terminate my account or simply stop logging in: if this agenda will ran its course, Wikipedia will not feel like a project of much use for me to be a part of. I have saved it in my sandbox, but if my account disapears, it will of course no longer be there. Perhaps the article can be saved somewhere else, until some person with more strenght than me can fight for the subject? I have been a member a long time, but I mainly write and do not know much of what can be done in these situations. But I have a vague memory of a user who "saved articles" several years ago.
I am not quite certain why I write this, other than the fact that I see what I identify as a serious problem. To be blunt, it saddens me deeply, and I do not know what else to do, but to simply express these concerns to someone.
I see you are on a break, and I appologise for writing to you with a thing like this, in a time like this: I realise my text is unsitably long. But I felt I needed to do something, and there was nothing else I could think of. I have to be honest and say openly, that I am not well enough to think of much else. There is no pressure to reply, or take any action. Thank you so much. --Aciram (talk) 02:02, 20 April 2024 (UTC)
It's possible to edit WP while avoiding any conflict, but you have to be willing to just give up. It's hard to have it both ways; it's hard to prevent what you consider pushing a POV while at the same time avoiding conflict. I don't think I have much of an answer, except you could maybe make a neutral request for more eyes on a few relevant wikiproject talk pages. I wonder if there is a Wikiproject slavery? Surely there is a Wikiproject Algeria. Look at the talk page(s) of the article(s) in question for relevant projects. It's easy to forget sometimes that it doesn't need to be two people arguing; it can always be a larger group discussing.
I will say that my past experience has been that the editor you mention is often (not always, but often) right on the merits, even if there is too much stress-inducing behavior. I know absolutely nothing about the topic you disagree about, so for all I know they are just dead wrong here, but just keep in mind the possibility that they are right, while too rude/brusque/uncollegial?
I am kind of trying to avoid too much conflict here myself, as I've felt kind of close to burning out on this place recently. Everything and everyone tend to annoy me. So I'm selfishly going to choose not to look into this further, and I hope you understand. I do support you quitting if you think it best, while I still hope you can still find some corner of this place where you can still enjoy it. -Floquenbeam (talk) 16:27, 25 April 2024 (UTC)
Partial action blocks are now in effect on the English Wikipedia. This means that administrators have the ability to restrict users from certain actions, including uploading files, moving pages and files, creating new pages, and sending thanks. T280531
We've finally got spring flowers here, too. I dumped some trellises in the backyard last fall, forgetting I'd planted daffodils in the same place. I went out to backyard to do a little early garden thinking, and discovered the daffodils had come up thru and around the trellises in a matter of days. To the point that if I tried to move the trellises, I'd be unable to avoid damaging the daffodils. So now I'm trapped, trellisless, until the flowers die off for the year. Floquenbeam (talk) 20:42, 5 April 2024 (UTC)
yes - should be a word - both vacation and food were enjoyable - less enjoyable was a cold that kept me from singing in choir for Easter - at the same I had three articles on the Main page at the same time because they died, a sad record - yesterday's is a problem: I worked on the article in 2010 when I was impressed by his playing and dedication, but later others did the same, and without adding references, sigh - On a brighter note: which of the three appearances of Hildegard do you like best? I couldn't decide. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 21:17, 5 April 2024 (UTC)
Thank you. For a short while last night, I had again three RD articles together on the page, including the Finnish organist who is probably the person having played most different organs, ever. He came to our church because it was a "free" day between two with a concert, and our conductor was afraid that he would have to entertain him, but no, he turned to the organ, fell in love with the instrument and played for the rest of the day, into the concert. I took photos but not good enough to share. I'll make him my story tomorrow. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 13:34, 10 April 2024 (UTC)
relief: the last of six RD articles in one week is now on the Main page - yesterday a great recital with many anti-war songs by Jewish composers whose music was banned by the Nazis. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 19:19, 18 April 2024 (UTC)
I'll have to keep an eye out for that double bass play (here, in English). Or, probably, someone has (illegally?) put it on YouTube by now. --Floquenbeam (talk) 17:10, 1 May 2024 (UTC)
Reminder to vote now to select members of the first U4C
You are receiving this message because you previously participated in the UCoC process.
This is a reminder that the voting period for the Universal Code of Conduct Coordinating Committee (U4C) ends on May 9, 2024. Read the information on the voting page on Meta-wiki to learn more about voting and voter eligibility.
The Universal Code of Conduct Coordinating Committee (U4C) is a global group dedicated to providing an equitable and consistent implementation of the UCoC. Community members were invited to submit their applications for the U4C. For more information and the responsibilities of the U4C, please review the U4C Charter.
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That is not a real election. Don't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining. And don't call me a Wikimedian. --Floquenbeam (talk) 23:37, 2 May 2024 (UTC)
Hypothetically, if enough people vote "no" on the whole list, then no candidate will get the required 60% and we'll have a U4C with zero members. Again, hypothetically. Suffusion of Yellow (talk) 00:28, 3 May 2024 (UTC)
I don't know. I feel like we didn't pay enough attention at the start, and then things changed and we still didn't pay enough attention, and now we're in a situation where, if (say) 75% of editors felt they wanted a sea change in the way WMF operated, there is still simply no way to make that change democratically. It would only be thru some kind of strike, or some kind of bad publicity, or some faction inside WMF thinking they could use us to get more power. If we work really hard, we might be able to prevent things from getting worse, but I doubt we can ever make things better.
It's not so much that it's not an editor-driven movement, it's that the editors did drive the movement but gave it away by not caring or not paying attention or not understanding or being too trusting.
How do you feel about being called a "volunteer"? It always makes me feel like we're working for our hosting provider, rather than the other way around. – bradv15:25, 3 May 2024 (UTC)
I don't want to blow your mind, but we produce the content and they get the donations. Well not me, I don't really produce the content, but the general "we" does. I think that means we're working for them. ScottishFinnishRadish (talk) 18:11, 3 May 2024 (UTC)
When my wife was on a non-profit childcare board, and they had a free cookout for the families, I volunteered to cook hamburgers. When I edit here, it is a hobby, not a volunteer effort per se. Jip Orlando (talk) 14:40, 6 May 2024 (UTC)
Admin noticeboards revert
Hello, why did you revert me and not provide an explanation? I don't think people need to know that yamla needs to go shower... Ssendo (talk) 00:15, 14 May 2024 (UTC)
Hi.
I'm sorry for what i've done but for past week he threaten me in my talk page in Persian Wikipedia to doing this exactly. he just repeat and repeat to me when his ban lifted he will deleted this section and more. for rectification of my work i added 2 more live sources. best regards. Shahin (talk) 17:12, 14 May 2024 (UTC)
Aha, this is the information I didn't have. The only info I had available was what I could see on en.wiki. I understand the frustration, and we are all imperfect. Just a reminder that WP:EW says that being right is not a defense for edit warring; thanks for this; if you'd done that initially, it would have suddenly made it crystal clear to everyone that you were being productive and they weren't. I'll go tweak my comment at AN3. Cheers. --Floquenbeam (talk) 17:20, 14 May 2024 (UTC)
Concerns about POV pushing related to self identifying Native American terms
I saw the dismissive response to the very legitimate concerns you raised at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Indigenous peoples of North America regarding who is and who is not called a Native American on Wikipedia. I'm also an admin and I first encountered this issue a month or so ago. Since then I've been investigating the issue and compiling evidence of what is going on. I think there is a very strong indication of POV pushing here, with a small group of editors using the term "self identifying" if a Native American isn't from a Federally recognized tribe along with the phrase "organizations that self-identify as Native American tribes" instead of the generally accepted term "unrecognized tribe." The terms and phrases these editors are using are very contentious among many Native Americans and I believe no true consensus was achieved on the use of these terms here. The terms are also not the accepted terms used in most academic research or related literature. And since the terms can also be seen as insulting and questioning of someone's Native heritage, the terms can also bring BLP issues into articles about people.
What's these editors have been doing was recently covered in an article in the Gallup Independent, a very reputable newspaper in a city where nearly half the population is Native. The story isn't currently online but I have copies of the article I can send you. Someone also posted the article online on Tumblr.
I've been considering bringing this up to ANI or somewhere else, but I'm uncertain how to proceed. Do you have any thoughts on this and how to proceed? Thanks for any feedback you can share.--SouthernNights (talk) 20:11, 15 May 2024 (UTC)
Hi @SouthernNights: Unfortunately, these days, I do not have the time, nor the gumption, to argue with people who are not treating me with respect. Up until now, I felt that was actually a respectful and productive conversation on both sides - a pleasant surprise on WP. I don't think I'd say anyone in that conversation who disagreed with was me pushing a POV, but I do have an unverified feeling, mostly from lurking since it got on my watchlist somehow, that the project as a whole has become kind of rigid. Plus, I'm really unfamiliar with the topic, and I'm lily white, so I don't want to seem like the Lone Ranger riding in on my steed to teach people how to do things right, you know? To be honest, I was mostly going by gut feel. I learned a little from every comment made by every person, up until that last "everyone please fuck off to reddit" comment. I've got too short a fuse these days to deal with smug assholes.
I read that Gallup Independent article, it is mentioned on that same page in the section right below the one it question. It certainly felt a little like a smear piece, tbh. I have to believe that the truth is somewhere in between the two extremes? I just don't really know how to get to that elusive "somewhere".
As far as suggestions, I have very little faith in ANI to solve anything remotely complex. I don't think it's ripe for arbitration. I'm not 100% convinced that there is a widespread and severe behavioral problem here. I think if there was some way to keep the conversation on topic and civil, something like an RFC on that Wikiproject talk page might work for the content? Bring in a few outside opinions, anyway? And then if that didn't resolve things because someone was being insular or ignoring a consensus, then maybe, maybe escalate to ANI/ArbCom?
Sorry, I doubt this was terribly useful. I think I'm a little too fragile right now for a more robust debate, so I'm not sure how much I would participate in any of these proceedings. Floquenbeam (talk) 20:47, 15 May 2024 (UTC)
Actually, your feedback is very useful and I thank you for it. I've been hesitant to bring this up ANI b/c it didn't feel like the appropriate forum. Let me explore doing an RFC on this. And I agree that it's important to bring in outside opinions on all this. Again, thanks for the feedback. SouthernNights (talk) 21:03, 15 May 2024 (UTC)
Description
Hello . I wanted to talk to you. My previous account was blocked for no reason and cruelly. But let me explain. Shahin user makes wrong edits in Persepolis club article. His edits are valid without sources. I will explain examples to you. Apoel100 (talk) 08:21, 16 May 2024 (UTC)
He has claimed that the Asian Confederation has announced the Persepolis team as the best team! While the Asian Football Confederation has never spoken like this and this article is a fake article. Apoel100 (talk) 08:22, 16 May 2024 (UTC)
Saw this on my phone earlier, but I had forgotten you'd posted here until just now. This is not how you appeal a block. You appeal a block by reading WP:GAB, and then you post an unblock request on your talk page. Do both of these things, not just the unblock request. I'm going to block this account for block evasion. Floquenbeam (talk) 19:14, 16 May 2024 (UTC)
A peace dove for you!
NeuropolTalk has given you a dove! Doves promote WikiLove and hopefully this one has made your day happier. Spread the WikiLove by giving someone else a dove, whether it be someone you have had disagreements with in the past (this fits perfectly) or a good friend. Cheers!
Spread the peace of doves by adding ((subst:Peace dove)) to someone's talk page with a friendly message!
Although I may not agree with you, I appreciate and will consider your advice. I do not like to leave disagreements bitterly, so I offer you a peace dove as a sincere apology for any grievances or misunderstandings I have caused, as well as to provide closure for any bitterness that may be reserved. I intend to issue one to CL as well, after receiving his response (if he has one). Thanks,NeuropolTalk16:04, 21 May 2024 (UTC)
I wouldn't say a bitter disagreement, more like a minor disagreement. But of course I accept the peace offering. I was trying to match the "tone" you used with Captainllama to see if you recognized it, but in light of the peace dove, I'll be less snarky. Captainllama has been doing this for 17+ years, and has about 5 times your edit count. It certainly doesn't mean they're automatically always right, but it does mean a better message - and mindset - would have been along the lines of "Hi Captainllama, can I ask why you didn't warn Editor X? I'm always looking for pointers from experienced editors". I'm sure you understand why that would cause less offense, but what I'm also trying to emphasize is that in general, this is a much better philosophy than "pushing" an experienced editor in a direction you think they should go. You know? Anyway, no residual bitterness on my end. --Floquenbeam (talk) 18:27, 21 May 2024 (UTC)
Thanks for the flowers, Gerda. Having kind of a shitty day (nothing major, just the usual dozen minor annoyances that I seem incapable of handling gracefully), and seeing a new May music section legit helped. Floquenbeam (talk) 17:53, 3 May 2024 (UTC)
did you listen and see? - today's story has a pic of a woman holding her cat, a DYK of 5 years ago - the recent pics show 2 orange tip butterflies --Gerda Arendt (talk) 14:50, 14 May 2024 (UTC)
I am at a slight disadvantage in that, when I first see a message that links to music on youtube, I can't access it. By the time I get to my home computer, my deteriorating memory and I have forgotten all about it. I've tried marking notifications about your messages as "unread", but then I forget about that and re-read them thinking they're new when I still can't access youtube. The same happens when I'm in a position to read new messages, but have no time to reply to them right then. I really should see someone about this.... --Floquenbeam (talk) 14:58, 14 May 2024 (UTC)
Instead of seeing someone better listen to music - any music you like! - My story today is about a person (born on 15 May) who wrote the lyrics for the one oratorio in my life so far which had me singing in choir in the world premiere. You can listen ;) - I listed the second performance at Frankfurt Cathedral because the author was pictured that day. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 22:22, 15 May 2024 (UTC)
Today's story mentions a concert I loved to hear and a piece I loved to sing in choir, 150 years old OTD. For easier listening than that dying soldier's song, I recommend the living room concert during the pandemic (in the article), with mom and himself for a partner (she playing piano, he playing clarinet instead of a missing soprano, on top of seducing singing), accompanying sister on the cello in "The Swan", and singing with dad (who was c. 85 at the time). --Gerda Arendt (talk) 14:39, 22 May 2024 (UTC)
last offer in May: photos of the river Rhine, and the adjacent Eltville rose garden, - high water and interesting weather --Gerda Arendt (talk) 19:14, 31 May 2024 (UTC)
Tradition at RfA
I realize that it's a tradition that came about at some point (although you'd probably understand the when better than I do) but my RfA is a fairly recent example of direct replies being completely fine. Clovermoss🍀(talk)14:09, 4 June 2024 (UTC)
Well good on you. I believe I engaged with opposers too. But my feeling is that these days, nominators and friends really drill it into candidates not to do it. Floquenbeam (talk) 16:17, 4 June 2024 (UTC)
I suppose I'm an unconventional nominator too, then. My advice to the candidate was to do whatever she was comfortable with. My point in bringing this up is that there is recent precedent (within the last six months) that this sort of thing won't doom an RfA. Clovermoss🍀(talk)16:26, 4 June 2024 (UTC)
Hey, you're not Floq! (It's because driveways = the way to the drive [common name for roads], while parkways = the way to parks [but then also adapted to include dubiously park-like roads]). Elli (talk | contribs) 22:45, 9 June 2024 (UTC)
I honestly forget exactly what it was. I think if I go back and look at the RFA, I might remember, and if I do that I'll ping you. I think it was inspired by the first few opposes. But it was kind of a meta question of some kind about how you think we should handle a certain situation or type of editor at a noticeboard - or another user's RFA. It might even have been about whether discussions should be cut off (at noticeboards) or moved to the talk page (for RFAs). It was mostly because I long to see a candidate think "the hell with what people want to hear, I'm going to answer honestly", and then have them say something clueful but that garners them a few opposes. The actual answer wouldn't have actually mattered. I decided against asking because, when I reflected on it a minute, I realized how big a jerk move that would have been. It is not an RFA candidate's fault that RFA is set up to punish direct honesty, and it wouldn't have been fair to you to do something like that. Someday a candidate is going to do it unprompted, and I'm going to be happy.
Hmmm. Re-reading this it sounds like I'm kind of giving you a backhanded compliment. I promise that isn't my intent, I'm really quite happy to have you joining the admin corps, and I don't mean to imply in any way you're not honest. Ugh, I should delete this and try again, but I'm tired and more depressed than normal that tomorrow is fucking Monday.
Thanks, and no worries; I was just super curious. Totally agree with you about the vibes around RfA, though I did try my best to be genuine in everything I said. Elli (talk | contribs) 00:12, 10 June 2024 (UTC)
I think the word you have been struggling to find is "disingenuous" (ever so slightly dishonest or insincere). I agree it's unlikely that Elli is disgenuous. Do really hate the environment at RFA, which practically requires candidates to respond with predictable and formulaic responses in order to succeed, unless they're really good candidates whose credentials supersede the potential barriers. Good luck, Elli. Risker (talk) 03:27, 10 June 2024 (UTC)
Your opposition to adding Starship to in the news
Why were you against adding Starship to in the news? It wasn't "incremental" it achieved something never done before in the history of mankind, namely successfully landing the first stage and upper stage of a rocket back to the surface of the Earth, albeit on the water's surface. Ergzay (talk) 21:09, 10 June 2024 (UTC)
Of course it can be incremental to do something never done before. Incremental progress is often doing something that has never been done before. And then the next time, doing something else that has never been done before. Also, please read my comment again. I specifically said I wasnt for or against posting that. I was clarifying that you could be logically consistent and still support posting Boeings news and not posting SpaceXs news. Floquenbeam (talk) 23:26, 10 June 2024 (UTC)
Thanks for protecting another who I had asked for help
Thanks ChaseKiwi, haven't had a barnstar in a while. Slacker that I am....
Committed suicide
Hello Floq, I hope you're well, it's been a while since we spoke... but as you can probably imagine I am not at all happy about your reversion at Etika. Your assertion that we shouldn't say committed suicide has been rejected by the community in the link I posted, and you have no place restoring your edit once it had been reverted. WP:MOS is clear that "Where more than one style or format is acceptable under the MoS, one should be used consistently within an article and should not be changed without good reason. Edit warring over stylistic choices is unacceptable." Your reason for changing this does not constitute a good reason, particularly on an article already signed off at a recent FAC. Please self-revert. — Amakuru (talk) 13:02, 24 June 2024 (UTC)
Hello Amakuru, I hope you're well too. I note that "committed suicide" was used exactly once, so "used consistently" is not an issue. I also note that we, apparently, are supposed to follow the sources, and the ones referenced in the article don't use committed. I also note my comment at WP:ERRORS, which I won't copy/paste here, but I'm sure you'll see. I would also like one good reason - not a policy, guideline, or essay, but just a real-world normal humans talking to each other actual reason - why it is so important to use "committed suicide" instead of "killed himself". I know it is not the case here (not a rhetorical flourish, I really do know this), but generally, what I've heard from others in real life boils down to "I shouldn't have to participate in this politically correct crap", but these days I'm less interested in giving a fuck what anti-PC people say, so I don't know of another one. Floquenbeam (talk) 13:12, 24 June 2024 (UTC)
(watching and not knowing how to indent) John made good points about avoiding "commit suicide." but is not active, sadly. How is this idea: regardless of how the article words it, and the sources worded it: as a phrase to which some readers react, it could be avoided on the Main page. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 13:37, 24 June 2024 (UTC)
That doesn't make sense to me; the history of Draft:Windows Embedded 8.1 Handheld doesn't have anything to do with the contents of Windows Embedded 8.1 Handheld. The edit history consists of messing around with redirects and odd AFC submissions (by you, I assume), except they have no content. Why would you do that? --Floquenbeam (talk) 14:04, 25 June 2024 (UTC)
I just wanted to drop a note thanking you for closing the Cat Predation thread at ANI. You were entirely correct that it'd gone on too long, and I appreciate you taking the time to wade through enough of that quagmire to sum up consensus. Thank you for your work! EducatedRedneck (talk) 18:08, 25 June 2024 (UTC)
You're welcome, I hope it proves at least partially helpful. I feel like whether a problem gets resolved quickly at ANI or metastasizes into a multi-week argument is pretty much a game of chance. I wish we had a better way. Floquenbeam (talk) 20:05, 27 June 2024 (UTC)
Null edit
Not certain how I am supposed to interpret that. Answer at leisure; I am fairly certain that if it was urgent you would have been clearer Elinruby (talk) 07:11, 28 June 2024 (UTC)
Just a lightweight way to get your last edit summary off of people’s watchlists overnight. If you want to remove something, just remove it. If the edit summary is used to make accusations they can’t respond to, it escalates everything. Doing so intentionally would have warranted another warning for battlefield behavior. Doing so without really thinking warranted a quiet replacement as the latest post. Floquenbeam (talk) 11:14, 28 June 2024 (UTC)
ok fair enough. You now join the ranks of the very few admins who have ever given me a good explanation of their actions when asked. Noted. Elinruby (talk) 11:43, 28 June 2024 (UTC)
(Prompted by your recent help at ANI re user SunriseInBrooklyn.) Is there some central place one could look for a list of users banned from GA? If so, the bot that maintains GAN could use that to flag their nominations, or even forbid them. Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 17:52, 28 June 2024 (UTC)
@Mike Christie: I very much doubt it. Technically any topic ban from GA would be logged on this page: Wikipedia:Editing restrictions#Active editing restrictions. But they're not listed/worded in a uniform-enough way to be read by a bot. After a lot of Ctrl-F'ing, there appear to be 4 GA-related restrictions, worded as T-bans from "GA", "GAN", and "Good articles". Two of those are indef-blocked users, one is just a restriction to 1 GAN at a time, and one expires in October. So this seems uncommon enough that it wouldn't make sense to reformat them (and, even harder, make sure future bans were formatted right), or list them somewhere else, so a bot could read it. I think you just got unlucky. Hopefully not too much time was wasted. BTW, it was really airshipjungleman (sp?) who discovered it, so they deserved your thanks at ANI not me. Floquenbeam (talk) 18:21, 28 June 2024 (UTC)
Well, thanks for helping sort it out, anyway! Not much time was wasted, and if it's as rare as it appears to be I agree it's not worth worrying about. Good to know about the editing restriction page -- hadn't seen that, and frankly I hope I never have to think about it again, but now at least I know it's there. Thanks. Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 18:24, 28 June 2024 (UTC)
Enjoy today's story, related to my topic of the year: 300 years Bach's chorale cantatas, and the first was written for today. The music opens with a French overture for a chorale fantasy. -- Gerda Arendt (talk) 21:57, 2 June 2024 (UTC)
No need to tell me, I was one of the authors ;) - and I don't like celebrating death dates, but if the Main page has it ... - - The stats were good, 173k+ the day before (no idea which website had it then) and still 31k+ yesterday. The OTD people had no room for the cantata, arguing it had to be 11 June, just because that happened to be the date of the First Sunday after Trinity in 1724. On 11 June, it's no Sunday at all, let alone the correct one, - I can't help. - Did you see that I added another pic of Graham at Siegfrieds Mechanisches Musikkabinett, after his mother agreed to be seen? --Gerda Arendt (talk) 16:27, 4 June 2024 (UTC)
Today I wanted to write a happy song story, on a friend's birthday, but instead we have the word of thunder on top of it, which would have been better on 2 June, this year's first Sunday after Trinity. The new lilypond - thanks to DanCherek - is quite impressive. As my 2 Jun story said: Bach was fired up. - Today's Main page is rich in music, also Franz Liszt and a conductor. I try to avoid the topic infoboxes, really, but compare Liszt and Schumann: which difference do you see? --Gerda Arendt (talk) 14:06, 11 June 2024 (UTC)
Today is a feast day for which Bach composed a chorale cantata in 1724 (and we had a DYK about it in 2012). Can't believe that Jodie Devos had to die, - don't miss her video from the Opéra-Comique at the end, - story to come. The weekend - as I told you but not many others - brought plenty of music sung and listened to, and some of it is reflected in the last two stories! + pics of good food with good company --Gerda Arendt (talk) 14:06, 24 June 2024 (UTC)
Sorry, I know this makes me an ugly American commoner, but ... that ain't enough food on that plate! Glad the company was good, and I hope the tiny morsels were at least delicious. Dessert looked more reasonable...
Glad the weekend went well, and lots of music is always good.
Sorry to hear about Ms. Devos. Hard to believe cancer is still a thing (culturally, not medically. I know basically nothing medically). Back in the 70's everyone seemed convinced that we were just a decade or two away from obliterating it. Floquenbeam (talk) 21:31, 24 June 2024 (UTC)
I travelled too much to find time to upload more food pics with more substance ;) - more good company and music (click on "music")! - What do you think of the DYK on the talk of Gerhard Klingenberg? --Gerda Arendt (talk) 21:39, 30 June 2024 (UTC)
I don't know the DYK process terribly well. Does the reviewer just get to have their way? Or is there something similar to a 3rd opinion? Floquenbeam (talk) 23:24, 30 June 2024 (UTC)
If the reviewer and the nominator don't understand each other, a third pair of eyes could perhaps see where that happens. That N. and I understand the guidelines differently went to ANI as you may remember, and you made this wonderful comment on my talk that every hook should begin with "... that N. is terribly important". Of course I could go by that and life would be much easier, but I'd be ashamed to say about a great stage director and head of the Burgtheater only that early in life he changed to a stage name because of the regulations of his university, with the reason given that the average reader will not know without explanation that the Burgtheater is probably the leading German-language drama theatre, and so unique that it doesn't need a place for disambiguation. My point: someone who doesn't know can read the Burgtheater article, and even if they don't, it seems interesting to me that he became head of the theatre where he stepped in at age 18, more interesting at least than the above stage name thingy which he shares with hundreds of actors, and without a hint at a future great career. One possibility in such cases is to supply an ALT hook different of all provided, or point out in which direction it could go, another to support or unstrike a hook. Or talk to N. in a way they may understand which obviously isn't given to me ;) --Gerda Arendt (talk) 10:08, 1 July 2024 (UTC)
Local administrators can now add new links to the bottom of the site Tools menu without using JavaScript. Documentation is available on MediaWiki. (T6086)
WP:FUBAR, unsurprisingly, already exists for something else. But to be honest for a second, as humble and modest and unassuming as I am, I have occasionally, secretly, thought about modifying the jokey rules there into something real and turning WP:FLOQ into an actual thing. No, really. AN/ANI just seem so unfit for purpose. Floquenbeam (talk) 23:21, 11 July 2024 (UTC)
Haven't bantered with you in ages, but I'm being called away from the computer rather forecfully by Mrs. Floquenbeam. Some other time. Hope all's well IRL, Ponyo. Floquenbeam (talk) 23:30, 11 July 2024 (UTC)
When is enough enough
Circling back now that I've seen today's festival of fun-the GAR/teenage boy jokes, not the career edit warrior-and I hate that we have to clarify. Can @Bishzilla just eat the drama boards please? Nothing of value would be lost. StarMississippi23:51, 22 July 2024 (UTC)
No worries, took me a week to answer you to begin with due to some travel. April Fool's or not, Vaticidalprophet was correct in that nom. And we don't want to give the poor reptile indigestion.
I nominally understand the distinction between AN and ANI, but I feel like the existence of both and XRV just mean triple the drama. StarMississippi01:00, 23 July 2024 (UTC)
AN and ANI claim to be different, but it's kind of a superficial difference at best. AN is where the WP:Votes for banning usually happen, which seems to attract the ANI denizens too. AARV is new, so some of the denizens haven't found it yet. But no one can be sanctioned at that board, so the worst of them probably have no interest. Floquenbeam (talk) 01:32, 23 July 2024 (UTC)
I mean I can't disagree with the nom, especially ANI simply adds fuel to disputes and creates excessive drama
It's a cousin to the RfA reform.
There has to be a better way to say hey, A is doing something problematic that needs addressing without it turning into a digital Stocks situation. I think part of the challenge with Koavf situation (disclosure, voted to c-ban) is that in 20 years, you piss people off. And when they see you're being brought up, we humans take advantage to raise old situations. Ditto with Lightburst being a Contrarian, albeit one I've generally had positive interaction with even though we've disagreed on occasion. A closed venue will always bring about questions about was it handled fairly, but there has to be a better option. StarMississippi03:02, 25 July 2024 (UTC)
The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
I'm replying to:
Turning that comment into "suggestion of self-harm" is so pathetically over the top that I choose to ignore the rest of this. Playing that kind of rhetorical game disgusts me. People encouraging others to self-harm is an actual real horrible thing that happens, and you cheapen the victims of such when you smugly use that term here. Don't worry, I'm sure others who are more upset about the occasional use of the word "fuck" than an admin making such a loaded accusation will be along shortly to support you in your feud.
I'm no more in a "feud" with EEng than a substitute teacher is in a "feud" with a class clown they drag to the dean's office.
If we think it's wrong and dangerous to allow people to urge others to self-harm with an actual intent to get them to complete the requested action, where should we draw the line for tolerable lesser examples in the same genre? I would argue it should be at the very beginning, not to undermine the horribleness of more deliberate attempts to do that, but to provide a wide margin of safety between what is tolerated and people causing real-world harm. I don't tolerate people saying "that's gay", for example, even if they merely mean it like "that's stupid". They might not have a discriminatory intent or even be thinking about homosexuality, but they are using homophobic language and sending the message that gay=bad. Reinforce the idea that gay=bad a hundred times, building from a foundation of casual homophobia into serious bigotry, and a father who has a son who "refuses" to stop being gay might logically decide to beat or disown him after all other forms of persuasion and discipline have of course failed, because preventing someone from not being a very bad thing can justify "tough love". I'm not saying tolerating "that's gay" means someone's going to get whipped, but that expression can be the tip of a more troubling iceberg that could be uncovered by addressing it wherever seen, and stopping it does prevent ideas and culture from starting a long drift in a dangerous direction.
For Wikipedia, mere insults are unacceptable, even if more garden variety like "eat a bag of dicks", much less insults which use the language of self-harm for color. Editors need to a.) be a lot more respectful than that, and b.) when they are frustrated, choose better words to express their feelings, like grownups in a workplace and not like children in a schoolyard taunting match. -- Beland (talk) 02:38, 31 July 2024 (UTC)
I see there are other people on other pages who are having fun arguing the toss with you. I'd recommend staying on their talk pages, and off mine. I'm too disappointed in you to chat. Floquenbeam (talk) 03:45, 31 July 2024 (UTC)
Well, if at some point in the future you have an idea for a better solution to keep things civil, I'm open to suggestions. -- Beland (talk) 05:50, 31 July 2024 (UTC)
I suppose one suggestion off the top of my head would be to stop accusing other editors of "encouraging self harm" without any basis in reality. That is really an uncivil accusation. You could also avoid calling people class clowns, I guess. Or did you mean that you want suggestions for how we can make other people be more civil? Floquenbeam (talk) 15:55, 31 July 2024 (UTC)
I didn't call EEng a class clown, I merely used an analogy. They certainly do tell a lot of jokes on talk pages, but that is usually relatively harmless and actually does make me smile now and again. What I am calling EEng is chronically uncivil, which is disruptive to harmonious editing like a class clown is disruptive to classroom learning. If you don't find using the language of self-harm problematic even when using it to insult and not as a serious suggestion, that's fine, we can agree to disagree. -- Beland (talk) 21:13, 31 July 2024 (UTC)
If you find a public accusation "EEng encouraged self-harm" an accurate description of what happened, then that's fine, we can agree to disagree I do not wish to talk to you anymore. --Floquenbeam (talk) 22:15, 31 July 2024 (UTC)
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
Serbian Wikipedia
You remember the Serbian guy (Baba Mica) you permanently banned from Wikipedia some time ago because he was a nuisance. Or a pain in the ass. Well, now he is trying to gather as much support as he can on Serbian Wikipedia so that he can come back and show you guys how ignorant you are etc. It's no joke. He has managed to win the favor of one administrator. So expects a letter written in his favor in a day or two. Serbian Wikipedia is quite a mess, man. It is ruled by chauvinists. It's hell on Earth. I am telling you. Either you do something stop this madness or let it get worse than it already is. These guys won't stop no matter what. A bunch of them have been blocked on English Wikipedia. It's like Mexico back in the years of Spanish colonialism.--Владимир Нимчевић (talk) 19:53, 31 July 2024 (UTC)
I have to admit, I do not remember this user Baba Mica. Looking at their block log, it looks like I just removed talk page access for personal attacks, other admins did the actual blocking. Anyway, the "bad" news is, I have zero control over Serbian Wikipedia. The good news is, I believe English Wikipedia is reasonably immune from problematic people on Serbian Wikipedia trying to influence us. This is not my area of expertise, so I'm not sure I'll be able to help, but WP:AN is a reasonable place to go if we're swamped by problematic editors. --Floquenbeam (talk) 22:21, 31 July 2024 (UTC)
21:33, 22 February 2024 Floquenbeam talk contribs changed block settings for Baba Mica talk contribs with an expiration time of indefinite (account creation blocked, email disabled, cannot edit own talk page) (Personal attacks or harassment - continues to use talk page to makes PAs. also, says that they no longer wish to be part of the project)
Check your block log, forgetful one. :) You are the very one who blocked this nuisance. You did English Wikipedia a great favor. Otherwise, this one would have proven to be quite a nuisance. Serbian users tend to act irrationally. I am not sure if they do that out of pure joy or necessity. They just can't help but harass other with their point of view. Most of the time they forget where they are. They perceive English Wikipedia as an English version of Serbian Wikipedia. But what am I saying. Wikipedia is not a Serbian project in the first place. If they were honest with themselves, they could easily solve their little problem by opening a pure Serbian page. But they are not. On the contrary, they are twisted. Many administrators on Serbian Wikipedia are nationalists who use Wikipedia as some kind of tool to wage a just cause for Serbia and its people. Very funny, I must say. There are many articles written in a nationalistic tone. There are few administrators who think otherwise but they do nothing about raising nationalism on the project. They are just opportunistically sitting on the fence. Serbian Wikipedia is just like a mirror of real Serbia.Владимир Нимчевић (talk) 10:11, 1 August 2024 (UTC)
The story is today about the first published composition by Arnold Schönberg which I was blessed to hear. Listen, and perhaps read what Alma Mahler (to-be-Mahler at the time, to be precise, who was present at the first performance) said, and yes that was too much for the Main page ;) -- Gerda Arendt (talk) 12:34, 1 July 2024 (UTC)
Hi Gerda. Just returned from a mini-vacation. Your choice of picture for July is appropriate; I was just noticing on the drive up and back from vacation that there are day lilies everywhere. Seems like much more than last year. Getting away was nice, but as always, coming back from a vacation sucks! Floquenbeam (talk) 14:43, 8 July 2024 (UTC)
Only on WP. I saw this, and my first gut reaction was "Gerda's choir got WP:OUTED??" Glad to realize you meant "outing" in the normal human way, not the Wikipedian way. Floquenbeam (talk) 15:38, 8 July 2024 (UTC)
Do you have a word that is not ambiguous? It was a nice hike for those who like such things, showing new aspects (for me and most) of the area around our town, followed by sausages and salad buffed in the yard of our church, outside, all in pleasant weather which is rather rare this year. Pics to come, - for now I can offer the delicious yellow mushrooms which grow in unknown abundance - probably because of that weather. - Pictured on the Main page: Brian's Mozart family grand tour, my story today, and Mozart related to all three items of music on my talk: our 2023 concert, an opera in a theatre where a Mozart premiere took place, and those remembered, Martti Wallén, a bass, and Liana Isakadze, a violinist from Georgia, (whose article would be better with more details about her music-making), - just click on music below the day lilies. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 10:16, 9 July 2024 (UTC)
Just a look at music (on my talk) shows remembrance of three people who died, and creating an article or improving one is all I can do. Three are on the Main page today, and three others planned ... --Gerda Arendt (talk) 20:26, 23 July 2024 (UTC)
That's pretty extraordinary production, Gerda. Congrats on all the simultaneous main page appearences. I'm stunned and a little concerned that this is the last "July" entry already. Life is just flying by these days. See you in the "August music" section soon. -Floquenbeam (talk) 15:27, 1 August 2024 (UTC)
A dove for you!
Hi, Floquenbeam. I wanted to take the time today to extend an olive branch and apologize for my testy exchanges with you on AN/I and on my talk page. We both have the same goal at the end of the day of making this encyclopedia better, and there was a more civil way of expressing my disagreement with what's been going on with EEng or otherwise. In any case, I shouldn't have even gotten involved; I'm burning bridges and making enemies over a whole lot of nothing. It just simply isn't worth it. I'm hoping you can forgive me and we can hopefully move on to bigger, better and more important things. Wishing you all the very best. — ThatCopticGuyping me! (talk) (contribs) 00:05, 1 August 2024 (UTC) has given you a dove! Doves promote WikiLove and hopefully this one has made your day happier. Spread the WikiLove by giving someone else a dove, whether it be someone you have had disagreements with in the past (this fits perfectly) or a good friend. Cheers!
Spread the peace of doves by adding ((subst:Peace dove)) to someone's talk page with a friendly message!
One of the challengesbenefits of getting older is I am less and less capable of remembering who I'm arguing with, so this probably would eventually have been an unburned bridge anyway. But I do appreciate the gesture, and I also regret how I let my temper get the best of me. To explain why I'm reacting in what might seem an odd way, my goal has never been to enable rudeness; my issue has been that "civility" is so often weaponized here to win disputes, and that rudeness without bad words is so often ignored, while the first person to become exasperated loses. And, of course, that AN and ANI are not fit for purpose, and should both be merged into WP:Votes for banning. Anyway, yes, consider the hatchet buried. --Floquenbeam (talk) 15:36, 1 August 2024 (UTC)
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