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An RfC on the banners for the December 2022 fundraising campaign has been closed.
Technical news
A new preference named "Enable limited width mode" has been added to the Vector 2022 skin. The preference is also shown as a toggle on every page if your monitor is 1600 pixels or wider. When disabled it removes the whitespace added by Vector 2022 on the left and right of the page content. Disabling this preference has the same effect as enabling the wide-vector-2022 gadget. (T319449)
Arbitration
Eligible users are invited to vote on candidates for the Arbitration Committee until 23:59 December 12, 2022 (UTC). Candidate statements can be seen here.
The arbitration case Stephen has been opened and the proposed decision is expected 1 December 2022.
A motion has modified the procedures for contacting an admin facing Level 2 desysop.
Miscellaneous
Tech tip: A single IPv6 connection usually has access to a "subnet" of 18 quintillion IPs. Add /64 to the end of an IP in Special:Contributions to see all of a subnet's edits, and consider blocking the whole subnet rather than an IP that may change within a minute.
This maple leaf is awarded to TheSandDoctor for writing three new articles related to British Columbia during the sixth year of The 10,000 Challenge of WikiProject Canada. Congratulations, and thank you for your contributions! Reidgreg (talk) 23:57, 4 December 2022 (UTC)
Tech News: 2022-49
Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community. Please tell other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations are available.
Recent changes
The Wikisources use a tool called ProofreadPage. ProofreadPage uses OpenSeadragon which is an open source tool. The OpenSeadragon JavaScript API has been significantly re-written to support dynamically loading images. The functionality provided by the older version of the API should still work but it is no longer supported. User scripts and gadgets should migrate over to the newer version of the API. The functionality provided by the newer version of the API is documented on MediaWiki. [1][2]
Changes later this week
The new version of MediaWiki will be on test wikis and MediaWiki.org from 6 December. It will be on non-Wikipedia wikis and some Wikipedias from 7 December. It will be on all wikis from 8 December (calendar).
Hi! For some reason I feel drawn to ask you for guidance/help with the following dispute. It is outlined on Talk:Sam Brinton#BLP Are some editors being absurdly pedantic in saying that a linked article (citation) about the subject, identifying them in a picture, by first name, and by subject matter (involved in fetishistic sexual pursuits) is not sufficient ID for certainty for a BLP? The contents of the linked article are out there, so to speak, and personally I feel that there may just be a desire to 'protect' the subject of the Wiki article being played out. But that may be just me and I’m not pointing fingers, although I’m sure that that happens all the time. Thanks in advance for your help. Boscaswelltalk 05:19, 12 December 2022 (UTC)
@Boscaswell: I've reviewed and commented. I respectfully disagree with the assertion that the editors in question are being "absurdly pedantic" and note that caution should be used in verifying any information added to any article, but particularly those of living persons. Wikipedia articles can (and have) caused undue real harm to individuals (through errors etc) and we need to be particularly careful about that. An image bearing likeness in a tabloid is not enough to support the content and I am also concerned that your edit constituted WP:BLP and WP:OR violations; I will, however, extend good faith. But repeated (re)additions/reverts without establishing a clear consensus would be violations of WP:EW, WP:ACDS, and WP:DE and could very well result in sanctions. TheSandDoctorTalk 06:52, 12 December 2022 (UTC)
@Boscaswell: As @Drmies: pointed out, what I forgot to state explicitly last night -- but did imply -- is the need for reliable sources to verify any information added to any article; this is a pillar of Wikipedia and is non-negotiable. Failure to comply can and will result in loss of editing privileges. You can personally believe that the Daily Mail is a paper of record but the community emphatically disagrees. I would strongly recommend not editing further without reviewing WP:RS, the reliability of various sources listed at WP:RSP, and familiarizing yourself with discretionary sanctions applicable to areas you edit. If it isn't in a reliable source, it has no place on Wikipedia. Period. We all are entitled to our opinions on matters and the reliability of sources, but that must be "checked at the door" and deferred to community consensus on-wiki. TheSandDoctorTalk 17:20, 12 December 2022 (UTC)
TheSandDoctor I thank you for taking the time to give your guidance on this matter. I predict that in a few years' time, the current emphasis on denial of conservative sources on Wikipedia, and there is no question that this exists, will fall away. Either that, or the regard in which Wikipedia is held will diminish, and rapidly. As things stand, an editor on the thread you reviewed wishes to see me restricted from editing BLP's merely because I *think* that The Daily Mail is good, and I *think* that CNN is biased. (Note that I share that view of CNN with at least half of the population of the US.) Anyway, my prediction is of the future. Meanwhile, I must point out, and I do hope you appreciate, that I post only in accordance with recognised RS’s. Again, thank you for your input - I am very grateful. I wish you all the very best in everything. Boscaswelltalk 21:23, 12 December 2022 (UTC)
Tech News: 2022-50
Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community. Please tell other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations are available.
The character = cannot be used in new usernames, to make usernames work better with templates. Existing usernames are not affected. [4]
Changes later this week
The new version of MediaWiki will be on test wikis and MediaWiki.org from 13 December. It will be on non-Wikipedia wikis and some Wikipedias from 14 December. It will be on all wikis from 15 December (calendar).
Question from Mahmoudhy4 (12:29, 14 December 2022)
hi
what about the man hewn to change lady --Mahmoudhy4 (talk) 12:29, 14 December 2022 (UTC)
@Mahmoudhy4: I don't understand the question. Please elaborate. TheSandDoctorTalk 19:31, 16 December 2022 (UTC)
Question from Inkedupdaddy (22:56, 16 December 2022)
I would like to create a wiki page on myself and my business, how may I go about doing that? --Inkedupdaddy (talk) 22:56, 16 December 2022 (UTC)
@Inkedupdaddy: Please read WP:AUTOBIO, this guide, and the notability criteria WP:NBIO and WP:NCORP. It is strongly recommended that you do not write about yourself or your company as that poses a conflict of interest. I would also strongly recommend reviewing this policy and make sure that you're in compliance. TheSandDoctorTalk 00:00, 17 December 2022 (UTC)
Message delivered to you with love by Yapperbot :) | Is this wrong? Contact my bot operator. | Sent at 22:30, 18 December 2022 (UTC)
Tech News: 2022-51
Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community. Please tell other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations are available.
Tech News
Because of the holidays the next issue of Tech News will be sent out on 9 January 2023.
Recent changes
On a user's contributions page, you can filter it for edits with a tag like 'reverted'. Now, you can also filter for all edits that are not tagged like that. This was part of a Community Wishlist 2022 request. [6]
A new function has been used for gadget developers to add content underneath the title on article pages. This is considered a stable API that should work across all skins. Documentation is available. [7]
One of our test wikis is now being served from a new infrastructure powered by Kubernetes (read more). More Wikis will switch to this new infrastructure in early 2023. Please test and let us know of any issues. [8]
Problems
Last week, all wikis had no edit access for 9 minutes. This was caused by a database problem. [9]
Changes later this week
There is no new MediaWiki version this week or next week.
The word "Reply" is very short in some languages, such as Arabic ("ردّ"). This makes the Discussion tools button on talk pages difficult to use. An arrow icon will be added to those languages. This will only be visible to editors who have the Beta Feature turned on. [10][11]
Future changes
Edits can be automatically "tagged" by the system software or the Edit filter configuration system. Those tags link to a help page about the tags. Soon they will also link to Recent Changes to let you see other edits tagged this way. This was a Community Wishlist 2022 request. [12]
The Trust & Safety tools team have shared new plans for building the Private Incident Reporting System. The system will make it easier for editors to ask for help if they are harassed or abused.
Realtime Preview for Wikitext is coming out of beta as an enabled feature for every user of the 2010 Wikitext editor in the week of January 9, 2023. It will be available to use via the toolbar in the 2010 Wikitext editor. The feature was the 4th most popular wish of the Community Wishlist Survey 2021.
Also, how does the bot interact with ((bare url inline))? Does it only target tagged tweet urls, or does it just get everything?
Mako001 (C) (T) 🇺🇦 04:08, 21 December 2022 (UTC)
Seasons Greetings
Whatever you celebrate at this time of year, whether it's Christmas or some other festival, I hope you and those close to you have a happy, restful time! Have fun, Donner60 (talk) 00:16, 23 December 2022 (UTC)))
Hello, TheSandDoctor! Thank you for your work to maintain and improve Wikipedia! Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! CAPTAIN RAJU(T) 19:16, 25 December 2022 (UTC)
Hello TheSandDoctor/Archives/2022, may you be surrounded by peace, success and happiness on this seasonal occasion. Spread the WikiLove by wishing another user a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, whether it be someone you have had disagreements with in the past, a good friend, or just some random person. Sending you heartfelt and warm greetings for Christmas and New Year 2023. Happy editing,
I wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a very happy and healthy New Year, Thank you for all your contributions to Wikipedia, –Davey2010Talk 11:59, 26 December 2022 (UTC)