Our first double issue in almost four years, although we will try to return to a monthly schedule henceforth (incidentally, the last double issue saw Markham's storm petrel at GAN, and this one sees it finally pass FAC).
The March 2024 GAN Backlog Drive starts today; everyone is welcome to participate and help reduce the backlog of GANs.
The January edition of our monthly rolling contest was won by Quetzal1964 with 100 points from 40 articles, mainly related to various species of marine fish. simongraham was second with 80 points from 14 articles on jumping spiders.
The February edition saw Quetzal1964 win for the second time in a row, with 114 points from 43 articles. In second place was Snoteleks, with 21 points from 7 seven articles on various unicellular eukaryotes, including the GA Telonemia.
January DYKs
... that Dacrytherium, literally meaning 'tear beast', was named after its "tear-pit"? (3 January)
... that the wood-pasture hypothesis posits that semi-open wood pastures and not primeval forests are the natural vegetation of temperate Europe? (5 January)
... that until April 2023, when the genusTriassosculda was discovered, the mantis shrimp fossil record contained a gap of more than a hundred million years? (5 January)
... that although Olga Hartman believed that her basic research on marine worms had no practical value, it was applied to experimental studies of oysters? (6 January)
... that Oxford ivy grows towards the light to bloom and then towards the darkness when going to seed? (17 January)
... that S. F. Light(pictured) disliked using his full name? (20 January)
... that the fossil turtle Acherontemys was named for a "river of the fabled lower world"? (26 January)
... that having lived in Central Park for more than a year after becoming homeless, Flaco(pictured) has been accused of being a peeping tom? (19 February)
Can you point me to the policy and/or guideline to support your contentious claim that the use of more than 1000 red links in a single article is correct? —Isaidnoway(talk) 00:30, 3 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Hi Isaidnoway, each red-link in the article is unique. Each red-link points to a notable subject that could conceivably be developed into an article. The magnitude of the total red-links in the list article only reflects the highly speciose nature of the genus and not any mis-application of the use of red-links. As an experienced editor, I am sure you are already familiar with WP:RED and do not need to place templated tags on list articles suggesting that they "may" need cleanup. 'Cheers, Loopy30 (talk) 01:01, 3 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Per WP:REDLINK — Add red links to articles to indicate that a page will be created soon. I did a check and found 30+ red links that are 14 years old, and then 300+ red links that are 11 years old. That length of time does not equate to created soon. And fast forward to 2024 and now there are over 1000 red links. So yes, they may need clean up per the advice at Template:Cleanup red links. So I will be placing the cleanup tag back in the article. As an experienced editor, I am sure you already know that placing a cleanup tag in an article puts it into a category where other editors can see it, and then they can help with improving the article, you've heard of many hands make light work. And per the instructions at maintenance template removal — It is not okay to remove maintenance templates until the issue flagged by the template is remedied first. Thanks for your cooperation in this matter.Isaidnoway(talk) 12:53, 3 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
WP:REDLINK doesn't say use redlinks only if the article will be created soon. It says if they "will be created soon or that an article should be created for the topic because the subject is notable and verifiable". The latter applies to species articles. WP:REDLINK also says "remove red links if and only if Wikipedia should not have any coverage on the subject". — Jts1882 | talk 13:46, 3 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
The full sentence you refer to in WP:REDLINK is "Add red links to articles to indicate that a page will be created soon or that an article should be created for the topic because the subject is notable and verifiable." - the latter clause is what applies here.
For the first clause, completion of Wikipedia does not have a deadline. Even if over 90% of these red-linked topics are likely to never be completed within our lifetimes, it is still correct to red-link them. Unlike a regular article, the use of many red links in a list article does not interrupt or impair the reading as it would do in a block of text. In a genus list article, the species links are navigational aids to the species articles once they are created. The red colour also helps in allowing readers and editors assess which articles already exist.
In this case, the addition of the maintenance tag was not warranted as the only "maintenance" that could be done would be the generation of new species-level articles, something which is best done deliberately and not in the mass-generation of one-line stubs devoid of any further detail. Placing the tag on the list article was incorrect as there is no further maintenance needed to the article. Removal of these red-links would be detrimental to the article.
Since you boldly added the tag, and I subsequently reverted this addition, now is the time to discuss the validity of your edit before you decide to add it back. A wider discussion on the article talk page may be necessary to gain consensus for any eventual change.
I have opened a discussion on the article's talk page. Notifying Jts1882 as well, since he they replied here.Isaidnoway(talk) 18:08, 3 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I shouldn't have assumed that Jts1882s pronouns are he/him and I apologize for that.Isaidnoway(talk) 18:14, 3 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
New Zealand report: WikiProject Te Papa Research Expeditions, wrapping up the Auckland / Tāmaki Makaurau local histories project, and the Aotearoa Wikipedian at Large
Poland report: WikiMatejko editing action; The eighth European GLAM Wiki coordinators meet up
WMF GLAM report: Learn to upload to Commons with OpenRefine and get up to date on the International Museum Day, GLAM CSI, WiLMa Network, and WikiWorkshop
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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.
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The newsletter will not be returning to a monthly format (mainly because the author is busy failing every exam imaginable) and is on a bimonthly schedule for the foreseeable future.
The second round of the WikiCup was very competitive, requiring the highest points total to advance since 2014. Two TOL editors, AryKun and Fritzmann2002, advanced to the third round.
The March edition of our monthly rolling contest was won by simongraham, who amassed 118 points from 21 articles on various species of jumping spider; in second place was Quetzal1964 with 109 points from 53 articles on marine ray-finned fish.
Quetzal1964 and simongraham were also the top two in the April edition, although Quetzal was ahead this time, with 68 points to simongraham's 48. In the annual leaderboard, Quetzal and simongraham are in first and second place respectively, with 291 and 246 points; in third place is Snotoleks, with 76 points.
... that the cherry blossom was used symbolically in Japanese World War II propaganda, with falling petals representing "young soldiers' sacrifice for the emperor"? (8 March)
... that the Kīlauea lava cricket disappears from a lava field as soon as any plants start to grow there? (13 March)
... that Julian Assange's lawyer argued that the rules set by the Ecuadorian embassy requiring Assange to take care of his pet cat Michi were "denigrating"? (13 March)
... that mule deer sometimes prefer the flavor of one Rocky Mountain juniper tree, like "ice cream", over another? (21 March)
... that the skeleton panda sea squirt was known on the Internet for its skeleton-like appearance years before its formal description? (26 March)
... that only one fruit but several thousand seeds were known when Allenbya collinsonae was named? (26 March)
... that while named for alliums, the fossil Paleoallium(pictured) was not necessarily directly related to any allium species? (27 March)
... that the extinct genus Mixtotherium, meaning 'mixed beast', has traits of both extinct primates and hyraxes? (28 March)
... that the fossil fern Dickwhitea was described from a single block of chert? (28 March)
... that only six years after its 2016 discovery, the Meratus blue flycatcher(pictured) was found being sold in Indonesian songbird markets? (30 March)
... that the spirit liverwort is called such because of its proximity to the Māori afterlife? (31 March)
... that cultures of the fungus Lentinus brumalis have been flown on three different satellites? (31 March)
... that the English herbalist Nicholas Culpeper claimed that eating alkanet leaves would make a person's spit deadly to serpents? (31 March)
Eufriesea purpurata
Korowai gecko
Paleoallium billgenseli fossil
Male Meratus blue flycatcher
April DYKs
... that despite its name meaning 'unscented', Hypericum × inodorum can smell strongly of goat? (1 April)
... that color-changing cats(artist's impression pictured) could help us communicate with the future? (2 April)
... that the white-tailed jay(example pictured) found in Ecuador and Peru was once thought to have been brought to Mexico by pre-Columbian trade? (5 April)
Albania report: International Roma Day Editathon in Albania and Kosovo, 2024
Australia report: New images from Central Australia on Wikimedia Commons, Library Science WikiProject students edit Wikipedia & 1Lib1Ref in Australia and New Zealand
Albania report: Summer of Wikivoyage Edit-a-thon in Kruja; Traditional Albanian food photography competition
Brazil report: Open licensing guide from Midiateca Capixaba; Activities in Rio de Janeiro; First batch from LabDOC; New batch from NeuroMat; Hercule Florence photowalk
Czech Republic report: International discussion on the role of media and new GLAM partnership on the horizon
India report: Digitization concludes for Behar Herald and a digitization workshop held for libraries in Maharashtra
