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.
Hi Nick I am repharsing as you requested.
I i.e. AMAN TUGNAWAT to create new Artificial Intelligence products inspired by the Google search engine. Which is the best AI in the world in my opinion.
The reason for my last message not making sense is because I am trying to be cryptic here.
AND THE THING IS YOU CAN'T EVEN VERIFY IF ITS AMAN TUGNAWAT talking you right now.
You're still not making much sense, I'm afraid, MangoX0XA. I really don't care if you are the person you said you were - you do sound rather too young and immature actually to be them, and your English is not as good as I would expect for a graduate in Robotics and AI from a New York University. But whether you're trying to be cryptic or otherwise, the advice and welcome I left for you still stands. Nick Moyes (talk) 01:42, 25 July 2018 (UTC)
Hi there. I saw you marked Tashtego as reviewed. I had come across the page earlier on NPP and restored the redirect. Most minor characters even in major literary works don't have their own pages. The particular reasoning for an exception in this case (categories) could apply to others as well. Asking you to reconsider the decision. Happy patrolling and Best, Barkeep49 (talk) 01:35, 25 July 2018 (UTC)
Hi, Barkeep49 Thanks for contacting me. You'd be most welcome to unreview the page, or indeed to restore the redirect. My rationale for marking this old page as 'reviewed' was simply to reduce the backlog and to remove a 2010-dated page from the back of the NPP list. It wasn't to signal my approval of the redirect being removed. I did have my doubts about whether a separate page was actually necessary, but thought on this occasion I'd leave it up to other editors to work together on. So, I don't really have any decision I need to reconsider - feel free to edit the page as you deem most appropriate. Best wishes, Nick Moyes (talk) 01:51, 25 July 2018 (UTC)
Thanks for the message. Undoing someone else's review is a move that raises eyebrows so I only try to do it in cases of clear mistakes not this which is definitely more a judgement call. I will be marking it unreviewed (which you'll get a message about). Best, Barkeep49 (talk) 01:54, 25 July 2018 (UTC)
Also as someone who patrols at the "oldest" end of the feed you my be interested in a flow chart I've made about how I do it. If you have any recommendations or suggestions they'd be most welcome. Best, Barkeep49 (talk)
Thanks for the notification, Barkeep49 - I know what you mean about raised eyebrows on unpatrolling. To be honest, I don't often go down to the oldest end of the queue, but I've now added your workflow page to my list of useful pages, and will read through it. Thanks very much for that. If I'm honest, I'd have assumed that keeping the page reviewed would have been fine, even if the redirect were to be re-established. I'd welcome you putting me right if I've misunderstood something on that, especially if there's a perceived value in keeping an old redirect page unreviewed so that it comes up clearly at NPP if it's wrongly turned back into an article. (I'm feeling this issue might have helpfully identified a gap in my experience). Cheers Nick Moyes (talk) 02:10, 25 July 2018 (UTC)
I didn't actually restore the redirect - unless it's a cut and dry case (e.g. someone is trying to restore a page that has been decided on as redirect at AfD) I don't do two undo/rollbacks in a row. That promotes an edit war. Instead I've found in most situations another patroller will reach the same conclusion I did and restore the redirect. Hence my note here. Glad it seems like my workflow might be useful. Best, Barkeep49 (talk) 02:15, 25 July 2018 (UTC)
Aw, thanks, You are noot! Unfortunately not all the goat arrived in one piece. But I do appreciate the sentiment. Nick Moyes (talk) 22:21, 25 July 2018 (UTC)
Now, in addition to picture slideshows, we have slideshows that can display excerpts. Portals are not just for topic tasting anymore. Now they can be made useful for surveying Wikipedia's coverage of entire subjects. This gives a deeper meaning to their name. Hmmm. "Portals"... Doorways to knowledge.
Portal:Lithuania was redesigned using excerpt slideshows. Check it out.
For those of you who cannot wait to test out these new toys...
We have not one, but three excerpt slideshow components to pick from:
This one accepts source pages from where the page names are gathered from list items. Then an excerpt from one of those pages is displayed. The selection of what is included in the slide show can be limited to a specific number from the collection (of the page names gathered), and that selection is renewed from scratch each time the page is purged.
For example, if you specify Template:World Heritage Sites in Spain as a source page, the slideshow will cycle through those sites. Now you don't have to type them in one-by-one. This greatly reduces portal creation time.
Same as above, but gathers links instead of just linked list items.
Panoramic banners
{{Portal image banner}} displays a panoramic picture the width of the page, and adjusts its size, so it stays that way even if the user changes page view size. And it accepts multiple file names, so that the picture displayed randomizes between them each time the page is visited/purged.
Acaiman (/ˈkeɪmən/; also cayman as a variant spelling from Taínokaiman[additional citation(s) needed]) is an alligatorid belonging to the subfamilyCaimaninae, one of two primary lineages within the Alligatoridaefamily, the other being alligators. Caimans are native to Central and South America and inhabit marshes, swamps, lakes, and mangrove rivers. They have scaly skin and live a fairly nocturnal existence. They are relatively small-sized crocodilians with an average maximum weight of 6 to 40 kg (13 to 88 lb) depending on species, with the exception of the black caiman (Melanosuchus niger), which can grow more than 4 m (13 ft) in length and weigh in excess of 1,000 kg (2,200 Ib). The black caiman is the largest caiman species in the world and is found in the slow-moving rivers and lakes that surround the Amazon basin. The smallest species is the Cuvier's dwarf caiman (Paleosuchus palpebrosus), which grows to 1.2 to 1.5 m (3.9 to 4.9 ft) long. There are six different species of caiman found throughout the watery jungle habitats of Central and Southern America. The average length for most of the other caiman species is about 2 to 2.5 m (6.6 to 8.2 ft) long. (Full article...)
Snakes are elongated, limblessreptiles of the suborderSerpentes (/sɜːrˈpɛntiːz/). Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniotevertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more joints than their lizard ancestors, enabling them to swallow prey much larger than their heads (cranial kinesis). To accommodate their narrow bodies, snakes' paired organs (such as kidneys) appear one in front of the other instead of side by side, and most have only one functional lung. Some species retain a pelvic girdle with a pair of vestigial claws on either side of the cloaca. Lizards have independently evolved elongate bodies without limbs or with greatly reduced limbs at least twenty-five times via convergent evolution, leading to many lineages of legless lizards. These resemble snakes, but several common groups of legless lizards have eyelids and external ears, which snakes lack, although this rule is not universal (see Amphisbaenia, Dibamidae, and Pygopodidae). (Full article...)
Image 7
Male gharial
The gharial (Gavialis gangeticus), also known as gavialorfish-eating crocodile, is a crocodilian in the familyGavialidae and among the longest of all living crocodilians. Mature females are 2.6 to 4.5 m (8 ft 6 in to 14 ft 9 in) long, and males 3 to 6 m (9 ft 10 in to 19 ft 8 in). Adult males have a distinct boss at the end of the snout, which resembles an earthenware pot known as a ghara, hence the name "gharial". The gharial is well adapted to catching fish because of its long, narrow snout and 110 sharp, interlocking teeth. (Full article...)
Tortoises (/ˈtɔːr.təs.ɪz/) are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin for "tortoise"). Like other turtles, tortoises have a shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, and like other members of the suborder Cryptodira, they retract their necks and heads directly backward into the shell to protect them. (Full article...)
Turtles are reptiles of the orderTestudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked turtles), which differ in the way the head retracts. There are 360 living and recently extinct species of turtles, including land-dwelling tortoises and freshwater terrapins. They are found on most continents, some islands and, in the case of sea turtles, much of the ocean. Like other amniotes (reptiles, birds, and mammals) they breathe air and do not lay eggs underwater, although many species live in or around water. (Full article...)
Amphisbaenia/æmfɪsˈbiːniə/ (called amphisbaeniansorworm lizards) is a group of typically legless lizards, comprising over 200 extant species. Amphisbaenians are characterized by their long bodies, the reduction or loss of the limbs, and rudimentary eyes. As many species have a pink body and scales arranged in rings, they have a superficial resemblance to earthworms. While the genus Bipes retains forelimbs, all other genera are limbless. Phylogenetic studies suggest that they are nested within Lacertoidea, closely related to the lizard family Lacertidae. Amphisbaenians are widely distributed, occurring in North America, Europe, Africa, South America, Western Asia and the Caribbean. Most species are less than 6 inches (15 cm) long. (Full article...)
Toad is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands.
A distinction between frogs and toads is not made in scientific taxonomy, but is common in popular culture (folk taxonomy), in which toads are associated with drier, rougher skin and more terrestrial habitats. (Full article...)
Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All ten extant salamander families are grouped together under the orderUrodela from the group Caudata. Urodela is a scientific Latin term based on the Ancient Greek οὐράδήλη: ourà dēlē "conspicuous tail". Caudata is the Latin for "tailed ones", from cauda : "tail".
Salamander diversity is highest in eastern North America, especially in the Appalachian Mountains; most species are found in the Holarctic realm, with some species present in the Neotropical realm. Salamanders never have more than four toes on their front legs and five on their rear legs, but some species have fewer digits and others lack hind limbs. Their permeable skin usually makes them reliant on habitats in or near water or other cool, damp places. Some salamander species are fully aquatic throughout their lives, some take to the water intermittently, and others are entirely terrestrial as adults.
This group of amphibians is capable of regenerating lost limbs as well as other damaged parts of their bodies. Researchers hope to reverse engineer the regenerative processes for potential human medical applications, such as brain and spinal cord injury treatment or preventing harmful scarring during heart surgery recovery. The remarkable ability of salamanders to regenerate is not just limited to limbs but extends to vital organs such as the heart, jaw, and parts of the spinal cord, showing their uniqueness compared to different types of vertebrates. This ability is most remarkable for occurring without any type of scarring. This has made salamanders an invaluable model organism in scientific research aimed at understanding and achieving regenerative processes for medical advancements in human and animal biology. (Full article...)
Caecilians (/sɪˈsɪliən/; New Latin for 'blind ones') are a group of limbless, vermiform (worm-shaped) or serpentine (snake-shaped) amphibians with small or sometimes nonexistent eyes. They mostly live hidden in soil or in streambeds, and this cryptic lifestyle renders caecilians among the least familiar amphibians. Modern caecilians live in the tropics of South and Central America, Africa, and southern Asia. Caecilians feed on small subterranean creatures such as earthworms. The body is cylindrical and often darkly coloured, and the skull is bullet-shaped and strongly built. Caecilian heads have several unique adaptations, including fused cranial and jaw bones, a two-part system of jaw muscles, and a chemosensory tentacle in front of the eye. The skin is slimy and bears ringlike markings or grooves and may contain scales.
Modern caecilians are a clade, the orderGymnophiona/ˌdʒɪmnəˈfaɪənə/ (orApoda/ˈæpədə/), one of the three living amphibian groups alongside Anura (frogs) and Urodela (salamanders). Gymnophiona is a crown group, encompassing all modern caecilians and all descendants of their last common ancestor. There are more than 220 living species of caecilian classified in 10 families. Gymnophionomorpha is a recently coined name for the corresponding total group which includes Gymnophiona as well as a few extinct stem-group caecilians (extinct amphibians whose closest living relatives are caecilians but are not descended from any caecilian). Some palaeontologists have used the name Gymnophiona for the total group and the old name Apoda for the crown group'. However, Apoda has other even older uses, including as the name of a genus of Butterfly making its use potentially confusing and best avoided. 'Gymnophiona' derives from the Greek words γυμνος / gymnos (Ancient Greek for 'naked') and οφις / ophis (Ancient Greek for 'snake'), as the caecilians were originally thought to be related to snakes and to lack scales.
The study of caecilian evolution is complicated by their poor fossil record and specialized anatomy. Genetic evidence and some anatomical details (such as pedicellate teeth) support the idea that frogs, salamanders, and caecilians (collectively known as lissamphibians) are each others' closest relatives. Frogs and salamanders show many similarities to dissorophoids, a group of extinct amphibians in the order Temnospondyli. Caecilians are more controversial; many studies extend dissorophoid ancestry to caecilians. Some studies have instead argued that caecilians descend from extinct lepospondylorstereospondyl amphibians, contradicting evidence for lissamphibian monophyly (common ancestry). Rare fossils of early gymnophionans such as Eocaecilia and Funcusvermis have helped to test the various conflicting hypotheses for the relationships between caecilians and other living and extinct amphibians. ('Full article...)
Image 4
Various types of frog
Afrog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the orderAnura (coming from the Ancient Greekἀνούρα, literally 'without tail'). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" Triadobatrachus is known from the Early TriassicofMadagascar, but molecular clock dating suggests their split from other amphibians may extend further back to the Permian, 265million years ago. Frogs are widely distributed, ranging from the tropicstosubarctic regions, but the greatest concentration of species diversity is in tropical rainforest. Frogs account for around 88% of extant amphibian species. They are also one of the five most diverse vertebrate orders. Warty frog species tend to be called toads, but the distinction between frogs and toads is informal, not from taxonomy or evolutionary history.
An adult frog has a stout body, protruding eyes, anteriorly-attached tongue, limbs folded underneath, and no tail (the tail of tailed frogs is an extension of the male cloaca). Frogs have glandular skin, with secretions ranging from distasteful to toxic. Their skin varies in colour from well-camouflaged dappled brown, grey and green to vivid patterns of bright red or yellow and black to show toxicity and ward off predators. Adult frogs live in fresh water and on dry land; some species are adapted for living underground or in trees.
Frogs typically lay their eggs in water. The eggs hatch into aquatic larvae called tadpoles that have tails and internal gills. They have highly specialized rasping mouth parts suitable for herbivorous, omnivorousorplanktivorous diets. The life cycle is completed when they metamorphose into adults. A few species deposit eggs on land or bypass the tadpole stage. Adult frogs generally have a carnivorous diet consisting of small invertebrates, but omnivorous species exist and a few feed on plant matter. Frog skin has a rich microbiome which is important to their health. Frogs are extremely efficient at converting what they eat into body mass. They are an important food source for predators and part of the food web dynamics of many of the world's ecosystems. The skin is semi-permeable, making them susceptible to dehydration, so they either live in moist places or have special adaptations to deal with dry habitats. Frogs produce a wide range of vocalizations, particularly in their breeding season, and exhibit many different kinds of complex behaviors to attract mates, to fend off predators and to generally survive. (Full article...)
Tortoises (/ˈtɔːr.təs.ɪz/) are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin for "tortoise"). Like other turtles, tortoises have a shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, and like other members of the suborder Cryptodira, they retract their necks and heads directly backward into the shell to protect them. (Full article...)
Image 2
Male gharial
The gharial (Gavialis gangeticus), also known as gavialorfish-eating crocodile, is a crocodilian in the familyGavialidae and among the longest of all living crocodilians. Mature females are 2.6 to 4.5 m (8 ft 6 in to 14 ft 9 in) long, and males 3 to 6 m (9 ft 10 in to 19 ft 8 in). Adult males have a distinct boss at the end of the snout, which resembles an earthenware pot known as a ghara, hence the name "gharial". The gharial is well adapted to catching fish because of its long, narrow snout and 110 sharp, interlocking teeth. (Full article...)
Acaiman (/ˈkeɪmən/; also cayman as a variant spelling from Taínokaiman[additional citation(s) needed]) is an alligatorid belonging to the subfamilyCaimaninae, one of two primary lineages within the Alligatoridaefamily, the other being alligators. Caimans are native to Central and South America and inhabit marshes, swamps, lakes, and mangrove rivers. They have scaly skin and live a fairly nocturnal existence. They are relatively small-sized crocodilians with an average maximum weight of 6 to 40 kg (13 to 88 lb) depending on species, with the exception of the black caiman (Melanosuchus niger), which can grow more than 4 m (13 ft) in length and weigh in excess of 1,000 kg (2,200 Ib). The black caiman is the largest caiman species in the world and is found in the slow-moving rivers and lakes that surround the Amazon basin. The smallest species is the Cuvier's dwarf caiman (Paleosuchus palpebrosus), which grows to 1.2 to 1.5 m (3.9 to 4.9 ft) long. There are six different species of caiman found throughout the watery jungle habitats of Central and Southern America. The average length for most of the other caiman species is about 2 to 2.5 m (6.6 to 8.2 ft) long. (Full article...)
Turtles are reptiles of the orderTestudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked turtles), which differ in the way the head retracts. There are 360 living and recently extinct species of turtles, including land-dwelling tortoises and freshwater terrapins. They are found on most continents, some islands and, in the case of sea turtles, much of the ocean. Like other amniotes (reptiles, birds, and mammals) they breathe air and do not lay eggs underwater, although many species live in or around water. (Full article...)
Amphisbaenia/æmfɪsˈbiːniə/ (called amphisbaeniansorworm lizards) is a group of typically legless lizards, comprising over 200 extant species. Amphisbaenians are characterized by their long bodies, the reduction or loss of the limbs, and rudimentary eyes. As many species have a pink body and scales arranged in rings, they have a superficial resemblance to earthworms. While the genus Bipes retains forelimbs, all other genera are limbless. Phylogenetic studies suggest that they are nested within Lacertoidea, closely related to the lizard family Lacertidae. Amphisbaenians are widely distributed, occurring in North America, Europe, Africa, South America, Western Asia and the Caribbean. Most species are less than 6 inches (15 cm) long. (Full article...)
Snakes are elongated, limblessreptiles of the suborderSerpentes (/sɜːrˈpɛntiːz/). Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniotevertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more joints than their lizard ancestors, enabling them to swallow prey much larger than their heads (cranial kinesis). To accommodate their narrow bodies, snakes' paired organs (such as kidneys) appear one in front of the other instead of side by side, and most have only one functional lung. Some species retain a pelvic girdle with a pair of vestigial claws on either side of the cloaca. Lizards have independently evolved elongate bodies without limbs or with greatly reduced limbs at least twenty-five times via convergent evolution, leading to many lineages of legless lizards. These resemble snakes, but several common groups of legless lizards have eyelids and external ears, which snakes lack, although this rule is not universal (see Amphisbaenia, Dibamidae, and Pygopodidae). (Full article...)
Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All ten extant salamander families are grouped together under the orderUrodela from the group Caudata. Urodela is a scientific Latin term based on the Ancient Greek οὐράδήλη: ourà dēlē "conspicuous tail". Caudata is the Latin for "tailed ones", from cauda : "tail".
Salamander diversity is highest in eastern North America, especially in the Appalachian Mountains; most species are found in the Holarctic realm, with some species present in the Neotropical realm. Salamanders never have more than four toes on their front legs and five on their rear legs, but some species have fewer digits and others lack hind limbs. Their permeable skin usually makes them reliant on habitats in or near water or other cool, damp places. Some salamander species are fully aquatic throughout their lives, some take to the water intermittently, and others are entirely terrestrial as adults.
This group of amphibians is capable of regenerating lost limbs as well as other damaged parts of their bodies. Researchers hope to reverse engineer the regenerative processes for potential human medical applications, such as brain and spinal cord injury treatment or preventing harmful scarring during heart surgery recovery. The remarkable ability of salamanders to regenerate is not just limited to limbs but extends to vital organs such as the heart, jaw, and parts of the spinal cord, showing their uniqueness compared to different types of vertebrates. This ability is most remarkable for occurring without any type of scarring. This has made salamanders an invaluable model organism in scientific research aimed at understanding and achieving regenerative processes for medical advancements in human and animal biology. (Full article...)
Toad is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands.
A distinction between frogs and toads is not made in scientific taxonomy, but is common in popular culture (folk taxonomy), in which toads are associated with drier, rougher skin and more terrestrial habitats. (Full article...)
Caecilians (/sɪˈsɪliən/; New Latin for 'blind ones') are a group of limbless, vermiform (worm-shaped) or serpentine (snake-shaped) amphibians with small or sometimes nonexistent eyes. They mostly live hidden in soil or in streambeds, and this cryptic lifestyle renders caecilians among the least familiar amphibians. Modern caecilians live in the tropics of South and Central America, Africa, and southern Asia. Caecilians feed on small subterranean creatures such as earthworms. The body is cylindrical and often darkly coloured, and the skull is bullet-shaped and strongly built. Caecilian heads have several unique adaptations, including fused cranial and jaw bones, a two-part system of jaw muscles, and a chemosensory tentacle in front of the eye. The skin is slimy and bears ringlike markings or grooves and may contain scales.
Modern caecilians are a clade, the orderGymnophiona/ˌdʒɪmnəˈfaɪənə/ (orApoda/ˈæpədə/), one of the three living amphibian groups alongside Anura (frogs) and Urodela (salamanders). Gymnophiona is a crown group, encompassing all modern caecilians and all descendants of their last common ancestor. There are more than 220 living species of caecilian classified in 10 families. Gymnophionomorpha is a recently coined name for the corresponding total group which includes Gymnophiona as well as a few extinct stem-group caecilians (extinct amphibians whose closest living relatives are caecilians but are not descended from any caecilian). Some palaeontologists have used the name Gymnophiona for the total group and the old name Apoda for the crown group'. However, Apoda has other even older uses, including as the name of a genus of Butterfly making its use potentially confusing and best avoided. 'Gymnophiona' derives from the Greek words γυμνος / gymnos (Ancient Greek for 'naked') and οφις / ophis (Ancient Greek for 'snake'), as the caecilians were originally thought to be related to snakes and to lack scales.
The study of caecilian evolution is complicated by their poor fossil record and specialized anatomy. Genetic evidence and some anatomical details (such as pedicellate teeth) support the idea that frogs, salamanders, and caecilians (collectively known as lissamphibians) are each others' closest relatives. Frogs and salamanders show many similarities to dissorophoids, a group of extinct amphibians in the order Temnospondyli. Caecilians are more controversial; many studies extend dissorophoid ancestry to caecilians. Some studies have instead argued that caecilians descend from extinct lepospondylorstereospondyl amphibians, contradicting evidence for lissamphibian monophyly (common ancestry). Rare fossils of early gymnophionans such as Eocaecilia and Funcusvermis have helped to test the various conflicting hypotheses for the relationships between caecilians and other living and extinct amphibians. ('Full article...)
Image 4
Various types of frog
Afrog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the orderAnura (coming from the Ancient Greekἀνούρα, literally 'without tail'). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" Triadobatrachus is known from the Early TriassicofMadagascar, but molecular clock dating suggests their split from other amphibians may extend further back to the Permian, 265million years ago. Frogs are widely distributed, ranging from the tropicstosubarctic regions, but the greatest concentration of species diversity is in tropical rainforest. Frogs account for around 88% of extant amphibian species. They are also one of the five most diverse vertebrate orders. Warty frog species tend to be called toads, but the distinction between frogs and toads is informal, not from taxonomy or evolutionary history.
An adult frog has a stout body, protruding eyes, anteriorly-attached tongue, limbs folded underneath, and no tail (the tail of tailed frogs is an extension of the male cloaca). Frogs have glandular skin, with secretions ranging from distasteful to toxic. Their skin varies in colour from well-camouflaged dappled brown, grey and green to vivid patterns of bright red or yellow and black to show toxicity and ward off predators. Adult frogs live in fresh water and on dry land; some species are adapted for living underground or in trees.
Frogs typically lay their eggs in water. The eggs hatch into aquatic larvae called tadpoles that have tails and internal gills. They have highly specialized rasping mouth parts suitable for herbivorous, omnivorousorplanktivorous diets. The life cycle is completed when they metamorphose into adults. A few species deposit eggs on land or bypass the tadpole stage. Adult frogs generally have a carnivorous diet consisting of small invertebrates, but omnivorous species exist and a few feed on plant matter. Frog skin has a rich microbiome which is important to their health. Frogs are extremely efficient at converting what they eat into body mass. They are an important food source for predators and part of the food web dynamics of many of the world's ecosystems. The skin is semi-permeable, making them susceptible to dehydration, so they either live in moist places or have special adaptations to deal with dry habitats. Frogs produce a wide range of vocalizations, particularly in their breeding season, and exhibit many different kinds of complex behaviors to attract mates, to fend off predators and to generally survive. (Full article...)
Notice how the box bottoms line up. That readjusts even if you click the slideshow buttons.
By the way, when you include more than one box in a column, any left over whitespace in that column is divided between them.
Box-header colour
You may have noticed the new {{Box-header colour}} template used above. It lets you pick the color locally (right on the same page). Before, this was handled on a subpage somewhere.
Testing, testing
Now that we have lots of toys to play with for making cool portals...
Don't forget, that the majority of views of Wikipedia these days are from mobile devices. We need to make certain that portals display well on those. So, remember to check your work on portals in mobile view mode...
To see a portal in mobile view mode, insert a ".m" into a portal's url, after "en", like this:
It was meant to be cookies but it changed into a goat because of a glitch. ^_^
You are noot (talk) 17:25, 29 July 2018 (UTC)
You've got mail!
Hello, Nick Moyes. Please check your email; you've got mail! It may take a few minutes from the time the email is sent for it to show up in your inbox. You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{You've got mail}}or{{ygm}} template.You are noot (talk) 17:32, 29 July 2018 (UTC)
Hello You are noot. Sorry, I wont be able to pick up emails or reply here for a while. I'm out of country right now, with very limited internet access. Regards from Canada.Nick Moyes (talk) 22:30, 29 July 2018 (UTC)
NPR Newsletter No.12 30 July 2018
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Chart of the New Pages Patrol backlog for the past 6 months. (Purge)
Hello Nick Moyes, thank you for your work reviewing New Pages!
June backlog drive
Overall the June backlog drive was a success, reducing the last 3,000 or so to below 500. However, as expected, 90% of the patrolling was done by less than 10% of reviewers. Since the drive closed, the backlog has begun to rise sharply again and is back up to nearly 1,400 already. Please help reduce this total and keep it from raising further by reviewing some articles each day.
New technology, new rules
New features are shortly going to be added to the Special:NewPagesFeed which include a list of drafts for review, OTRS flags for COPYVIO, and more granular filter preferences. More details can be found at this page.
Probationary permissions: Now that PERM has been configured to allow expiry dates to all minor user rights, new NPR flag holders may sometimes be limited in the first instance to 6 months during which their work will be assessed for both quality and quantity of their reviews. This will allow admins to accord the right in borderline cases rather than make a flat out rejection.
Current reviewers who have had the flag for longer than 6 months but have not used the permissions since they were granted will have the flag removed, but may still request to have it granted again in the future, subject to the same probationary period, if they wish to become an active reviewer.
Editathons
Editathons will continue through August. Please be gentle with new pages that obviously come from good faith participants, especially articles from developing economies and ones about female subjects. Consider using the 'move to draft' tool rather than bluntly tagging articles that may have potential but which cannot yet reside in mainspace.
The Signpost
The next issue of the monthly magazine will be out soon. The newspaper is an excellent way to stay up to date with news and new developments between our newsletters. If you have special messages to be published, or if you would like to submit an article (one about NPR perhaps?), don't hesitate to contact the editorial team here.
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 design on Special:Log has changed. It will change again soon. Developers are working on fixing problems. [1]
Problems
Deployment of 1.32.0-wmf.13 has been partially delayed. All deployments have been resumed and successfully done after bug fixes. [2][3]
Deployment of 1.32.0-wmf.14 has been partially delayed. [4][5]
Changes later this week
The new version of MediaWiki will be on test wikis and MediaWiki.org from 31 July. It will be on non-Wikipedia wikis and some Wikipedias from 1 August. It will be on all wikis from 2 August (calendar).
Meetings
You can join the next meeting with the Editing team. During the meeting, you can tell developers which bugs you think are the most important. The meeting will be on 31 July at 18:30 (UTC). See how to join.
You can join the technical advice meeting on IRC. During the meeting, volunteer developers can ask for advice. The meeting will be on 1 August at 15:00 (UTC) as well as at 23:00 (UTC). See how to join.
The task: There are many geography portals that lack panoramas. Please add some. Please keep the file size down below 2 megabytes, and keep in mind that you may find quality banners at commons: at less than 200K (.2 megabytes). Good search terms to include with the place name are "banner", "cityscape", "skyline", "panorama", "landscape", etc.
Related task: There are also lots of geography portals that have panoramas used as gaudy banners (with print or icons splattered across them) or that display them in some random location on the page. In many cases, those pages would be improved by displaying the panorama as a clean picture at the top of the intro section, like on the examples above. This works best with banner-like panoramas. Please fix such pages when you come across them, if you believe it would improve the look of the page.
Taller images might be better suited displayed further down the page, or in the "Selected images" section.
Note that {{Portal image banner}} supports multiple images, and displays one at random upon the first visit, and each time the page is purged.
Fun activity #2: install "Selected images" sections
That is, image slideshows!
Over 200 have been installed so far. Just 1200 to go. (Be sure not to install them on portals with active maintainers, unless they want you to).
The title "Selected images" reflects the fact that not all images on Wikipedia are pictures, and encompasses maps, graphs, diagrams, sketches, paintings, pictures, and so on.
The task: Using one of the above templates directly on a portal's base page, replace static "Selected picture" sections, with a section like one of these:
Selected images
Image 1Salmon fry hatching (Salmo salar) - the larva has grown around the remains of the yolk - visible are the arteries spinning around the yolk and little oildrops, also the gut, the spine, the main caudal blood vessel, the bladder and the arcs of the gills.
Image 2Adiscus (Symphysodon discus) is guarding its eggs. As for most cichlids, brood care is highly developed with both the parents caring for the young. Additionally, adult discus produce a secretion through their skin, off which the larvae live during their first few days.
Image 3The red lionfish (Pterois volitans) is a venomous coral reef fish from the Indian and western Pacific Oceans. The red lionfish is also found off the east coast of the United States, and was likely first introduced off the Florida coast in the early to mid 1990s.
Image 4Koi are ornamental domesticated varieties of the common carpCyprinus carpio, originated from China and widely spread in Japan. They are very closely related to goldfish. The word "koi" comes from Japanese meaning "carp".
Image 8The northern spotted owl primarily inhabits old-growth forests in the northern part of its range (Canada to southern Oregon) and landscapes with a mix of old and younger forest types in the southern part of its range (the Klamath region and California). (from Old-growth forest)
Image 9A surface fire in the western desert of Utah, United States (from Wildfire)
Image 16Aerial view of deliberate wildfires on the Khun Tan Range, Thailand. These fires are lit by local farmers every year to promote the growth of a certain mushroom. (from Wildfire)
Image 24National map of groundwater and soil moisture in the United States. It shows the very low soil moisture associated with the 2011 fire season in Texas. (from Wildfire)
Image 25Elk Bath, an award-winning photograph of elk avoiding a wildfire in Montana (from Wildfire)
Image 26Lightning-sparked wildfires are frequent occurrences during the dry summer season in Nevada. (from Wildfire)
Image 31Wildland firefighter working a brush fire in Hopkinton, New Hampshire, US (from Wildfire)
Image 32Wildfire near Yosemite National Park, United States, in 2013. The Rim Fire burned more than 250,000 acres (1,000 km2) of forest. (from Wildfire)
Image 41InAbies grandis (grand fir), and many other species with spirally arranged leaves, leaf bases are twisted to flatten their arrangement and maximize light capture. (from Conifer)
Image 48A dirt road acted as a fire barrier in South Africa. The effects of the barrier can clearly be seen on the unburnt (left) and burnt (right) sides of the road. (from Wildfire)
Image 49Pinaceae: unopened female cones of subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa) (from Conifer)
The one on the left uses {{Random slideshow}} (which accepts file names), and the one on the right uses {{Transclude files as random slideshow}} (which accepts source pages from which the filenames are gathered).
The above section formatting is used on many of the pages you will come across, but not all. In those cases, use whatever section formatting matches the rest of the page.
Note that you may come across "Selected picture" sections done with {{Random portal component}} templates. That template call is the entire section. Replace it with a section that matches the other sections on the page, and put the new slideshow inside that.
{{/box-header|Selected images|noedit=yes}}
{{Transclude files as random slideshow
| {{PAGENAME}}
| Culture of {{PAGENAME}}
}}
{{Box-footer}}
And the new section blended right in with the formatting of the rest of the page. Note the use of the {{PAGENAME}} magic word. Plain article titles also work. Don't feel limited to one or two page names. But be sure to test each slideshow before installing the next one. (Or if you prefer, in batches - just don't leave them hanging). Report technical problems at the Portal design talk page.
Fun activity #3: upgrade "Selected article" sections
These sections, where unmaintained, have gone stale. That's because 1) the excerpts are static, having been manually copied and pasted, and 2) because they lack automatic addition of new entries.
All three of these will provide excerpts that won't go stale. The latter two can provide excerpt collections that won't go stale, by providing new entries over time. The key is to select source pages or source sections that are frequently updated, such as root article sections, mainstream lists, or navigation templates.
Where will this put us?
When the above tasks are completed for the entire collection of portals (except the ones with specific maintainers), we'll be more than half-way done with the portal system upgrade.
Keep up the great work. — The Transhumanist 19:14, 30 July 2018 (UTC)
After a discussion at Meta, a new user group called "interface administrators" (formerly "technical administrator") has been created. Come the end of August, interface admins will be the only users able to edit site-wide JavaScript and CSS pages like MediaWiki:Common.js and MediaWiki:Common.css, or edit other user's personal JavaScript and CSS. The intention is to improve security and privacy by reducing the number of accounts which could be used to compromise the site or another user's account through malicious code. The new user group can be assigned and revoked by bureaucrats. Discussion is ongoing to establish details for implementing the group on the English Wikipedia.
Following a request for comment, the WP:SISTER style guideline now states that in the mainspace, interwiki links to Wikinews should only be made as per the external links guideline. This generally means that within the body of an article, you should not link to Wikinews about a particular event that is only a part of the larger topic. Wikinews links in "external links" sections can be used where helpful, but not automatically if an equivalent article from a reliable news outlet could be linked in the same manner.
Technical news
The WMF Anti-Harassment Tools team is seeking input on the second set of wireframes for the Special:Block redesign that will introduce partial blocks. The new functionality will allow you to block a user from editing a specific set of pages, pages in a category, a namespace, and for specific actions such as moving pages and uploading files.
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 MediaWiki version that was released two weeks ago was late to some Wikimedia wikis. This was because of bugs. It was on all wikis 30 July. [7][8]
Changes later this week
The new version of MediaWiki will be on test wikis and MediaWiki.org from 7 August. It will be on non-Wikipedia wikis and some Wikipedias from 8 August. It will be on all wikis from 9 August.
Meetings
You can join the next meeting with the Editing team. During the meeting, you can tell developers which bugs you think are the most important. The meeting will be on 7 August at 18:30 (UTC). See how to join.
You can join the technical advice meeting on IRC. During the meeting, volunteer developers can ask for advice. The meeting will be on 8 August at 15:00 (UTC). See how to join.
Hello. I have read your explanation for deleted article in my page. Only source from many revolutions history of Kievan Rus' is story of past years. This does not mean that corrections referring to it should be deleted.
I also took description from one source. However, this is supported by many facts - campaign shifts the fact that Islam Gerei was often thrown out of throne and that, after year (1676), Turkish sultan had conflict with Cossacks (Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks). The Shaolin Monk 20:04, 4 aug 2018 (UTC)
Peer review newsletter #1
Introduction
Hello to all! I do not intend to write a regular peer review newsletter but there does occasionally come a time when those interested in contributing to peer review should be contacted, and now is one. I've mailed this out to everyone on the peer review volunteers list, and some editors that have contributed to past discussions. Apologies if I've left you off or contacted you and you didn't want it. Next time there is a newsletter / mass message it will be opt in (here), I'll talk about this below - but first:
THANK YOU! I want to thank you for your contributions and for volunteering on the list to help out at peer review. Thank you!
Peer review is useful! It's good to have an active peer review process. This is often the way that we help new or developing editors understand our ways, and improve the quality of their editing - so it fills an important and necessary gap between the teahouse (kindly introduction to our Wikiways) and GA and FA reviews (specific standards uphelp according to a set of quality criteria). And we should try and improve this process where possible (automate, simplify) so it can be used and maintained easily.
Updates
It can get quite lonely tinkering with peer review...
With a bit of effort we can renovate the place to look like this!
Update #1: the peer review volunteers list is changing
The list is here in case you've forgotten: WP:PRV. Kadane has kindly offered to create a bot that will ping editors on the volunteers list with unanswered reviews in their chosen subject areas every so often. You can choose the time interval by changing the "contact" parameter. Options are "never", "monthly", "quarterly", "halfyearly", and "annually". For example:
{{PRV|JohnSmith|History of engineering|contact=monthly}} - if placed in the "History" section, JohnSmith will receive an automatic update every month about unanswered peer reviews relating to history.
{{PRV|JaneSmith|Mesopotamian geography, Norwegian fjords|contact=annually}} - if placed in the "Geography" section, JaneSmith will receive an automatic update every yearly about unanswered peer reviews in the geography area.
We can at this stage only use the broad peer review section titles to guide what reviews you'd like, but that's better than nothing! You can also set an interest in multiple separate subject areas that will be updated at different times.
Update #2: a (lean) WikiProject Peer review
I don't think we need a WikiProject with a giant bureaucracy nor all sorts of whiz-bang features. However over the last few years I've found there are times when it would have been useful to have a list of editors that would like to contribute to discussions about the peer review process (e.g. instructions, layout, automation, simplification etc.). Also, it can get kind of lonely on the talk page as I am (correct me if I'm wrong) the only regular contributor, with most editors moving on after 6 - 12 months.
So, I've decided to create "WikiProject Peer review". If you'd like to contribute to the WikiProject, or make yourself available for future newsletters or contact, please add yourself to the list of members.
Update #3: advertising
We plan to do some advertising of peer review, to let editors know about it and how to volunteer to help, at a couple of different venues (Signpost, Village pump, Teahouse etc.) - but have been waiting until we get this bot + WikiProject set up so we have a way to help interested editors make more enduring contributions. So consider yourself forewarned!
And... that's it!
I wish you all well on your Wikivoyages, Tom (LT) (talk) 00:31, 11 August 2018 (UTC)
Your Note to Sylviagindick
You wrote: "As a retired museum curator, it's really great to see new articles being written about art and art history (and not the usual run of footballers, dull CEOs and minor companies that want to promote themselves here)." Yes. At least with the footballers we only have to verify whether they have played in a league that is considered fully professional. The minor companies are also easy: They are almost always good targets for G11. The dull CEOs are hard cases, because we have to determine whether the references are independent or just press releases and whether they meet general notability, which is not always a clear guideline. I also like to see articles on species (of insects or whatever), because if the species is properly documented, it is notable. Robert McClenon (talk) 20:48, 14 August 2018 (UTC)
Thanks for your comment, Robert McClenon. As for species: me too. In fact, that's been my main interest as a naturalist (though this AFD discussion is currently vexing me.) I am generally more inclined to expend effort to encourage and help retain editors like Sylviagindick who work in these more obscure areas than those creating the general mass of notable encyclopaedic trivia. But, as you're here, could I ask you about the current situation regarding WP:AFC? I would be interested in gaining experience and helping out there, but heard changes are currently happening to the review process. Where are we with that, and would now be a good time to get involved, or would it be better to wait until changes to the review process have been implemented and bedded in? Maybe we're already past that point? Your views on this would be most welcome. Regards, Nick Moyes (talk) 22:19, 14 August 2018 (UTC)
Since You Asked
Since you asked, here are my thoughts on Articles for Creation. First, there are several editors who either talk about how the review process is broken and should be replaced by something else or merged into WP:NPP, or who talk, sometimes grandiosely, about improving the review process. Most of the big-talkers are not reviewers and are engaged in the usual Wikipedia custom of selecting a group of volunteers to whom you do not belong and dumping on them. The AFC process does have a considerable amount of brokenness. There is a backlog of 2000 articles so that submissions may wait as long as two months for review. Also, most of the submissions are crud, such as the minor companies that want to promote themselves, and people who think that Wikipedia is Facebook. However, I have not seen a plausible way to reduce that backlog. We could discontinue AFC, and let the submitters become auto-confirmed and then go directly to article space, but that would put the burden on NPP and speedy deletion and AFD to get rid of the crud. We could simply let the submitters go into article space, but that would go against WP:ACPERM and would be worse than the backlog. There are many claims that some reviewers are arbitrary and have unreasonable standards. That is true of any volunteer process, but we try to ensure quality of reviews. I don't expect there to be any significant changes to the review process in the near future, because the talk about changes consists mostly of wind. It is as good a time as many to get involved in the process. However, I will caution you, as mentioned, that there are two problems. First, most of the submissions are crud, and many of the submitters are clueless. Second, there is a lot of empty talk and of dumping on the reviewers. If you want to help out anyway, you are welcome.
Robert McClenon (talk) 20:40, 15 August 2018 (UTC)
Hypericum punctatum article review
Thanks for the advice in your review of the Hypericum punctatum article. I've made the suggested changes and I'll try to keep the measurement advice in mind in the future as I tend to use many different units in one article. You suggested that I nominate the article for DYK and I'm willing to do any work involved but I'm quite unfamiliar with the DYK process. Thanks, Pagliaccious (talk) 15:08, 15 August 2018 (UTC)
@Pagliaccious: OK, thanks. I think cm (for plant height) and mm (for floral parts etc) together are fine. It was just the decimetre unit that worried me. re DYK. OK, so you probably already know that Did You Know...? puts brand new articles like yours on the Wikipedia Main Page, presenting an interesting 'hook' which attracts visitors in to these random articles. Editors have up to seven days to submit an article for 'Did You Know...? and these all have to meet certain criteria. It has to be long enough (yours is), new enough (your is), and, critically, every factual statement must be supported by a good reference - especially the 'hook' (that needs checking). By following the DYK instructions (which I did find unbelievably complex at first!) you end up creating a unique submission template for your article which, when ready, you then substitute into the DYK submissions list at the point corresponding to the date you first put the article into mainspace. You must do this within 7 days of the article going live. One editor often then comes along, reviews your submission and article, suggesting improvements to the article or sometimes even a better, more interesting 'hook' for readers to see. Once you've addressed any concerns (and this itself can take a while - but that doesn't matter so long as you submit it within 7 days), your DYK submission will eventually get approved by the reviewer and goes into a waiting list, often taking a few weeks to appear on the main page. Articles with good photos stand a good chance of being used - and there's a place on the template for you to add that image filename and even a different caption to that on the article. Once on the Main Page it's there for between 6 and 12 hours, often gathering a quite a few thousand hits whilst on view. It can be a bit of work the first time you wade through the DYK instructions.
Discussions are underway on the design of a portal tool (user script) that will hopefully have features for modifying portals at the click of a menu item, to make editing them easier. It might do things like change the color for you, add to a selection, add a new section, move a section, and so on.
As new portal components are built by our Lua gurus, those components are being used to upgrade portals. Each component automates a section of a portal in a particular way.
The sections that are mostly upgraded so far are the Intro, and the Associated Wikimedia section.
The sections currently undergoing upgrade are: Selected image, Categories, and the Intro.
The Intro? Isn't that done already?
Yes, and no.
The upgrade of the excerpt in intros is mostly complete (there are about 70 non-standard portals that still need it).
Now we are doing another upgrade of intros in the form of adding a panoramic picture at the top of the intro, on portals for which such a picture is available on Commons:. Dozens of panoramas have been added so far, and they are really starting to affect the look of portals — the portals that have them look really good.
Regions are the most likely subjects to have panoramas, but a surprising number of other subjects have banner-shaped pictures too. Some examples of non-geographic portals that they have been added to are:
Speaking of pictures, several hundred Selected image sections have been upgraded to include image slideshows.
Progress report: design
The push for automation continues, with new components under continuous testing in the field. As problems are spotted, they are reported to our programmers, who have done a fantastic job of keeping up with bug reports and fixing the relevant Lua modules fast. I am highly impressed.
Construction time on new portals is now down to as little as a minute or less. Though not in general. If you are lucky enough to spot portals that fit the profile of the new tools (their strengths), then a portal can be complete almost as soon as it is created, with the added time it takes to find and add a panorama. Source page titles are not generally standardized, and so it source pages in many cases must be entered manually. Where source page titles follow a standard naming convention, portal creation for those subjects goes quickly.
So, we still have some hurdles, but the outlook on portals is very good. New features, and many improvements to features are on the horizon. I'll be sure to report them when they become available.
What will the portal of the future look like? That is up to you!
I talked to the author of Shipley Hall about moving the article to the namespace Shipley Country Park, but he didn't want that. I think the problem is that Shipley Hall is defunct and Shipley Country Park is alive. Obviously I still think that move is the best option, what do you think? Szzuk (talk) 12:46, 20 August 2018 (UTC)
Hi, Szzuk. Thanks for discussing this, not only with me, but with the original author. I'm sure you recognise we can't have two articles on the same topic. I really think the lede in Shipley Hall covers the two names. And now we have a redirect which ensures users find it either way. I'd suggest you check whether there's anything from your new page that you could add to the main article. It would be quite OK to create and expand a new section on the modern Country Park within that article, too. Does this help? Regards, Nick Moyes (talk) 13:37, 20 August 2018 (UTC)
I've dropped a section about the country park into the hall article, I don't think the situation is ideal but it is ok, so I'm just leaving things be now, regards. Szzuk (talk) 13:43, 20 August 2018 (UTC)
Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community. Please tell other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations are available.
Changes later this week
The new version of MediaWiki will be on test wikis and MediaWiki.org from 21 August. It will be on non-Wikipedia wikis and some Wikipedias from 22 August. It will be on all wikis from 23 August (calendar).
Meetings
You can join the technical advice meeting on IRC. During the meeting, volunteer developers can ask for advice. The meeting will be on 22 August at 15:00 (UTC). See how to join.
Future changes
The 2018 Community Wishlist Survey begins on 29 October. The survey decides what the Community Tech team will work on. You can post proposals from 29 October to 11 November. You can vote on proposals from 16 November to 30 November.
Legacy JavaScript global variables have been deprecated for seven years. They will soon be removed from all wikis. Gadgets and scripts that use them will stop working. You can test your community's gadgets on "group0" wikis. For example Test Wikipediaormediawiki.org. The legacy JavaScript global variables are already disabled there. You can read the migration guide to fix old scripts. [9]
Besides being dangerously close to being a case of WP:Bite the newbiesWP:BITE, if you feel that there is "No evidence that a solitary bus [streetcar] stop is sufficiently notable to warrant its own page", then you need to prune Category:Muni Metro stations. Useddenim (talk) 11:35, 19 August 2018 (UTC)
@Useddenim: Thanks for stopping by to leave me your views on my new page patrolling and interaction with other editors. I see you left an identical comment for fellow reviewer, SounderBruce. Whilst I like a humourous page, just like the next editor, I'm honestly not sure what you're on about.
If you really think my redirect and edit summary of a new page about a single bus stop was uninformative and/or aggressive towards an editor with 3 months experience and 139 edits here, you will have to explain it better, I'm afraid. I'm always keen to encourage and assist 'newbies' as you call them (hence my work answering questions from newcomers at the Teahouse), but that doesn't extend to me retaining a non-notable page just to keep an editor happy. There was no intention to WP:BITE, nor do I think there was. We are building an encyclopaedia of notable things, here. If you don't like my WP:REDIRECT for the above article, or SounderBruce's WP:PROD for Burns Commons (The Hop), you - or they - are always welcome to go off and find reliable content and references yourself to justify reversion and/or retention. And we can then consider it. I certainly do not assess a solitary bus stop as notable, but maybe I missed a guideline somewhere (Please show it to me, and to Milwaukee 148, if you genuinely think it is liable to meet it). It may be that preparing future new articles in their user sandbox or as a 'Draft' at Articles for Creation is good advice, moving forward. But I really don't need you to tell me that I need to prune anything - we're all volunteers here. If you want to do that yourself, please go ahead. Regards, Nick Moyes (talk) 22:53, 19 August 2018 (UTC)
Apologies for being unclear. I was questioning “Why this one article?”, not objecting to the deletion per se. Other than with Cleveland’s HealthLine (Adelbert Road, Cornell Road and a few “East nth Street” pages), there’s been no progress in eliminating these non-notable stubs. Useddenim (talk) 21:24, 20 August 2018 (UTC)
@Useddenim: Ah, OK. Well that's simple. This solitary new page came up at new page patrol where we either give the go-ahead for Google to index new articles, or mark them for some kind of action or possibly even deletion - in this case, redirection seeming the appropriate response. It's only occasionally I might take it upon myself to investigate the creations of an editor if I have concerns about them, and I certainly had no interest in the topic itself, so would never get involved in that. We have enough to do with a back log of 2000 new pages, and increasing! Regards, Nick Moyes (talk) 21:47, 20 August 2018 (UTC)
Myself and others have been testing and experimenting with the new components in upgrading existing portals and in building new portals. They have now been applied in hundreds of portals.
The templates are ready for general use for portal creation.
They are still a bit buggy, but the only way we are going to work the rest of the bugs out is by using them and reporting the bugs as we come across them.
I look forward to seeing what new portals you create!
Placing a panorama (banner picture) at the top of the intro section is a nice touch, and really makes a portal look good. {{box portal skeleton}} doesn't automatically insert panoramas. So, you will need to do that by hand. They can be found at Commons:. For some examples, check out Portal:Sharks, Portal:Cheese, and Portal:Florence
Check the In the news and Did you know? sections for mismatches. That is, sometimes entries come up that shouldn't be displayed. If there are any, refine the search strings further, so they don't return such results.
Finish each portal you've created before creating a new one. We don't want unfinished portals sitting around.
I've tidied the refs but never added a google maps link. Szzuk (talk) 21:58, 23 August 2018 (UTC)
@Szzuk: Unless youre using an Infobox (into which you can drop coordinates directly) it's actually just the same as adding any other url in External links. With a desktop with Chrome browser, there's a way of pulling off a shortcut link, though not, it seems, on a mobile. Otherwise you can zoom in to cover the relevant area, and then extract the full url from the browser. Take a look at external links at the bottom of Mont Blanc massif, where I've added Bing maps and OpenStreetMap links to the region. Nick Moyes (talk) 10:07, 24 August 2018 (UTC)
I had a go at adding the coords but it was too tricky, adding coords isn't an unpopular activity, a bot will come along to tag the infobox then someone who knows how to do it will follow soon after, so I will leave it to them now, regards, Szzuk (talk) 13:19, 24 August 2018 (UTC)
No worries, Szzuk. It's actually not too difficult once you have the right tool. Try https://www.latlong.net/lat-long-dms.html which allows you to click on the map and get coordinates. I always forget exactly how to enter them, so I look at another page to remind me - like that for Derby. Then I paste them in and edit them accordingly. Bingo! Then just click on the coordinates displayed, then click for a Google map to check they're correct. Bingo! Keep up the good work. Regards, Nick Moyes (talk) 14:10, 24 August 2018 (UTC)
September 2018 at Women in Red
September is an exciting new month for Women in Red's worldwide online editathons!
@Mill 1: Thanks. I've made a few small tweaks myself relating to his discovery and publication of two species new to science. I'm still not convinced he fully meets our WP:NACADEMIC criteria, but, on the basis that any scientist skilled enough to recognise a species totally new to science has made a 'significant discovery', per that guideline, I've removed the notability tag I added. Nick Moyes (talk) 23:41, 26 August 2018 (UTC)
Jessica Rosemary Shepherd
Hi Nick, Thanks so much for your comment on my talk page about Jessica Rosemary Shepherd and for reviewing the page. I totally agree, I think I went overboard with citations simply because I found so many... but yes it makes sense to be a bit more economical. I've already cut it back a bit and will get it looking a bit less overflowing later today.Goblin Roger House (talk) 11:30, 28 August 2018 (UTC)
Dear AWB'er
I noticed over at the Portals WikiProject that you have or use AWB (or JWB).
There are some tasks that have turned up that are perfect for AWB.
We have many new portals, and they need:
To have a {{Portal}} template placed in the See also section on the corresponding root article, outline article, and index article.
A{{Portal}} template placed on the corresponding category page.
A link placed at the end (in the "bottom" section) on the corresponding navigation template. For an example, see Template:Birds.
The new portals can be found on Category:Single-page portals along with some revamped ones. You'll need to use the skip feature of AWB.
If you have any questions, please {{ping}} me, and ask them below. — The Transhumanist 01:59, 30 August 2018 (UTC)
Following a "stop-gap" discussion, six users have temporarily been made interface administrators while discussion is ongoing for a more permanent process for assigning the permission. Interface administrators are now the only editors allowed to edit sitewide CSS and JavaScript pages, as well as CSS/JS pages in another user's userspace. Previously, all administrators had this ability. The right can be granted and revoked by bureaucrats.
Technical news
Because of a data centre test you will be able to read but not edit the wikis for up to an hour on 12 September and 10 October. This will start at 14:00 (UTC). You might lose edits if you try to save during this time. The time when you can't edit might be shorter than an hour.
Some abuse filter variables have changed. They are now easier to understand for non-experts. The old variables will still work but filter editors are encouraged to replace them with the new ones. You can find the list of changed variables on mediawiki.org. They have a note which says Deprecated. Use ... instead. An example is article_text which is now page_title.
Abuse filters can now use how old a page is. The variable is page_age.
Arbitration
The Arbitration Committee has resolved to perform a round of Checkuser and Oversight appointments. The usernames of all applicants will be shared with the Functionaries team, and they will be requested to assist in the vetting process. The deadline to submit an application is 23:59 UTC, 12 September, and the candidates that move forward will be published on-wiki for community comments on 18 September.
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
There is a new user right for users who can edit CSS and JavaScript for the entire wiki. Before this all admins could edit CSS and JavaScript. This was a security risk. This group is called interface administrators. Administrators can delete user CSS and JavaScript pages. [10][11]
There will be an A/B test on the Wikipedia mobile website. It starts this week. It tests how we show templates that show information about an article. The test will last two weeks. [12][13]
You can now use different CSS rules for different skins when you edit templates. This is because of TemplateStyles. [14]
When you get a new message on your talk page you get a yellow message in the toolbar. The preference to show or not show this has been removed. [16]
Problems
UploadWizard had problems with campaigns. Users could not upload files. This has now been fixed. [17]
You can get a notification when a link is made to a page you created. This has not worked since June. It was fixed last week. [18]
Changes later this week
The new version of MediaWiki will be on test wikis and MediaWiki.org from 4 September. It will be on non-Wikipedia wikis and some Wikipedias from 5 September. It will be on all wikis from 6 September (calendar).
Meetings
You can join the technical advice meeting on IRC. During the meeting, volunteer developers can ask for advice. The meeting will be on 5 September at 15:00 (UTC). See how to join.
Future changes
The Wikimedia Foundation Readers department will work on advanced mobile editing. You can read more about this and other things they plan to work on over the next year. You can also see the presentation.
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
FileImporter and FileExporter became standard features on all Wikis during the first week of August. They help you transfer files from local wikis to Wikimedia Commons with the original file information and history intact. [20]
Problems
The mobile skin displays a message at the bottom of the page about who edited last. This message showed raw wikitext. This has now been fixed. Some messages in Structured Discussions and content translation may still appear as raw wikitext. Developers are working on it. [21]
Changes later this week
The new version of MediaWiki will be on test wikis and MediaWiki.org from August 11. It will be on non-Wikipedia wikis and some Wikipedias from August 12. It will be on all wikis from August 13 (calendar).
Future changes
All wikis will be read-only for a few minutes on September 1. This is planned between 13:30 and 15:30 UTC. More information will be published in Tech News and will also be posted on individual wikis in the coming weeks. [22][23]
@Nihaal The Wikipedian: I added a whole lot of values, and fixed up the chembox. If I see a new chemicals page or draft, I usually try to improve the chembox. Most of the id values have links that are self referencing, The other values for melting point etc all come from PubChem with link in the box. There are notes and references parameters that you might be able to use to link to the source. Graeme Bartlett (talk) 08:12, 12 August 2020 (UTC)
@Nihaal The Wikipedian: As you didn't ping Graeme Bartlett, he wouldn't have seen your question (though he will now as I've just pinged him in my reply to you!)) I'm afraid I don't work on chemical pages, but it's pretty clear to me that if you look some of the blue links now in the infobox Graeme has added, you are taken to the relevant page about that chemical. Others, like density don't appear to be cited, though a couple of seconds on Google soon finds the answer at https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Methyl-hexanoate#section=Density
I genuinely don't know if it is convention to give a supporting reference to each value added. It certainly is not a bad thing to do, though might be unnecessary, so long as there are citation links to the relevant documents within the main body of the article. As you're quite new here (and as I can't properly guide you in this area) it might not be a bad thing - once you've readied your article - to go to the talk pages of WP:WikiProject Chemistry and introduce yourself as a new editor and ask for feedback/positive criticism on the draft. It'll easily get approved quickly at 'Articles for creation review, or I could move it into mainspace for you.
What I would suggest is that you ensure you have an inline reference to support the chemical's uses within the article. You are allowed to use the same reference many times to support statements on a page. See WP:REFNAME for how to do that. And don't forget my advice not to sign your posts on a separate line, but simply to place the four keyboard tilde characters immediately after your last sentence. Cheers, Nick Moyes (talk) 13:44, 12 August 2020 (UTC)
hi. it has now been over three months since our colloquy a while back, re editing practices. I just wanted to write briefly to make sure we will be able to start from this point on with a clean slate? in other words, that I have fully met the terms of any prior arrangements and restrictions?
with respect, I would like to think we could try to keep any future interactions to a minimum. also, with respect, now that we have reached this point in time, I would like to think that a clean slate could mean that any future interactions should not refer to any supposed past restrictions on my ability to edit, or to make proposals, or ideas, etc, at any venue,
i.e., I hope that I would now be able now be able to interact fully, without restrictions, in the same manner as any existing editor here at Wikipedia?
I am not planning to present any such proposals in the immediate future. however, I just wanted to confirm here that I have met the conditions of the arrangements that we agreed to above. based upon that, I would like to proceed from this point forward with, again, a clean slate, and no further reference to past actions, etc. I hope that sounds okay. I appreciate your understanding. thanks very much. cheers! --Sm8900 (talk) 15:17, 11 August 2020 (UTC)
HiSm8900. Thanks for dropping by, and sorry for the delay in responding. Without going back through past conversations and ANI discussions, I am personally quite happy to see you move forward from here. I won't give you carte blanche to repeat some past actions that clearly the community was not happy with, but Wikipedia is a learning experience. Nor am I going to unnecessarily rake over the past. So, providing you've learned from some of those interactions we all had, and do your best to avoid problems arising in future, I'm perfectly OK to put past concerns behind us. You take care. Nick Moyes (talk) 22:23, 13 August 2020 (UTC)
The Defender of the Wiki Barnstar
a barnstar for you!! I am sure you understand why it is well deserved!! thanks! Sm8900 (talk) 16:01, 12 August 2020 (UTC)
Hi Nick. thanks so much. I really appreciate your positive reply. and I am very pleased to be able to move forward on a positive note with you, and in our future interactions here. no problem. I will keep your points in mind. that sounds really fine, and very encouraging and positive. thanks! cheers!! --Sm8900 (talk) 15:07, 14 August 2020 (UTC)
Hi there, I noticed that you are one of the only active admins online right now, but I was wondering if you could look into Goatse.cx and provide urgent semi-protection to the page. It is being vandalized by a large number of new user accounts (likely sock puppets of each other) making the same edit and adding inappropriate images onto the page, causing a high level of disruption for the past half hour. Thanks, TribunalMan (talk) 19:18, 16 August 2020 (UTC)
Persistent vandalism
Hi. Could please semi-protect Goatse.cx? Unfortunately, the request has gone unanswered, while the severe disruption continues. Thanks. M.Bitton (talk) 19:22, 16 August 2020 (UTC)
@TribunalMan and M.Bitton: jeez guys - that was a challenge. I was sitting, happily watching TV with the wife and kids. Next time, please would you be kind enough to warn an admin if it's an extreme bit of NSFW. But thanks for reaching out - hope its sorted. (I've also reported the image as a copyvio, which might get an even speedier action at Commons). Cheers, Nick Moyes (talk) 19:40, 16 August 2020 (UTC)
Yes for sure, I can definitely gave an NSFW warning if something like this ever happens again. But I hope this didn't disrupt family time around the TV too much! Nevertheless, thanks for your quick intervention! TribunalMan (talk) 19:47, 16 August 2020 (UTC)
You're right, I should have warned you. Thank you for sorting it out. M.Bitton (talk) 19:48, 16 August 2020 (UTC)
No worries - thanks for your hard work, both. Much appreciated. Nick Moyes (talk) 19:54, 16 August 2020 (UTC)
Could you take a look at this draft please? It's by the same user (now soft blocked) who created Draft:Anime2012Mii , which you deleted, and several other deleted articles/drafts (Hedgehox (Upcoming IP), Hedgehox Developer. Draft:Hedgehox). This one is never going to be an article either, and I'm concerned about leaving the personal information (names, ages, medical conditions) extant until a six-month G13 can be applied. One's a teen, and one's a kid. I can't see the content of the deleted articles, but I suspect it was just more of the same. I don't think we're doing the editor/s any favours by leaving this draft around in case they come back with a different account. Meters (talk) 22:55, 18 August 2020 (UTC)
@Meters: Thanks for the heads up. I take your point and am still pondering the best course of action. Rather than immediately deleting it myself, I might put a CSD on it and thus force a second opinion. Not sure. Will think more, but act soon. Nick Moyes (talk) 23:01, 18 August 2020 (UTC)
Thanks. I couldn't decide what action was appropriate myself. Meters (talk) 23:02, 18 August 2020 (UTC)
Gosh - that felt like one of those horrible challenges they throw at you in WP:RFA and then oppose you for being an idiot when you try to offer a response. (I might keep that up my sleeve for later!) On balance, you did absolutely the right to flag this up, and I eventually decided a CSD G11 for promotion plus deletion to protect against the release of personally identifiable information was in the best interests of the individuals mentioned in it. (I'm always open for recall!) Cheers, Nick Moyes (talk) 23:15, 18 August 2020 (UTC)
It needed to go, I just wasn't sure how. Meters (talk) 23:40, 18 August 2020 (UTC)
You've got mail
Hello, Nick Moyes. Please check your email; you've got mail! It may take a few minutes from the time the email is sent for it to show up in your inbox. You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{You've got mail}}or{{ygm}} template.Tribe of TigerLet's Purrfect! 07:30, 15 July 2020 (UTC)
Looking for advice
Nick, thanks for your help a while back at Talk:Blockbuster LLC. Looking for some additional insight on a recent post there. Aside from being uncivil, there is a clear UNDUE concern, and I wasn't sure if it would be appropriate to bring this up at WP:NPOVN as a next step of dispute resolution. Perhaps you have an alternate suggestion I should follow at this point? Thanks in advance. --GoneIn60 (talk) 17:50, 19 August 2020 (UTC)
Thanks. I've responded on the article's talk page. Nick Moyes (talk) 19:00, 19 August 2020 (UTC)
Appreciate your time again and didn't intend to drag you back in. I'm fine with your assessment and added a few more comments. Thanks again. --GoneIn60 (talk) 19:49, 19 August 2020 (UTC)
About Remi Korchemny
There is only real achievements and not the way you labeled them as: “random achievements” But I will not bother anymore trying to prove anything. Radspeed (talk) 09:04, 25 August 2020 (UTC)
That's fine by me Radspeed, but the basis of Wikipedia is that almost everything that might be challenged needs to be supported with sources that are linked to the statements you've added. If you don't want to do that, that's OK, but you then have to accept that your edit contributions to Remi Korchemny are not acceptable in that form. In my view, the page, as you left it (see here) was indeed full of 'random achievements' of other athletes who you assert this person coached, plus all the medals that that athlete won. All that detail was neither needed nor verifiable because you failed to add any Inline Citations to sources that support them - just a load of bare urls to articles he wrote stuffed into the 'References' section. That was the reason all your edits were removed, as hat's not how we do things. You are welcome to try again, based on published, independent sources that talk about the guy, and putting all your personal knowledge of him to one side, and having made the appropriate Conflict of Interest declaration on your user page.
We have well over 6,000,000 Wikipedia articles here - we simply cannot allow uncited content to be added in that way, or the place will rapidly descend into a mess of unsubstantiated fact and fiction which are impossible to separate from one another. Unsubstantiated personal 'facts' given by the subject are never accepted. Thank you for wanting to improve the encyclopaedia, even if you seem to have got off on the wrong foot. Regards from the UK, Nick Moyes (talk) 10:17, 25 August 2020 (UTC)
Thanks
Thanks, Nick, for pointing out the similar pages in other languages. I was looking all over for flags of different countries to indicated availability in different languages and overlooked the obvious list. I was able to the read the other page in Italian, a language I am not quite fluent but stumble with. It has similarities to mine but I think not as complete. I think I left a message on it's discussion or talk page as you indicated but when I submitted the message, I got an error message stating that I should leave my message on the talk page of the user or include a Ping command to the user in message on the discussion page of the Wikipedia page. I grabbed the name of the last user to edit the page and resubmitted it. I hope they see it. I will wait to see if I receive a reply before sending messages to the other languages, which will have to be in English. JiminiVecchio (talk) 23:21, 22 July 2020 (UTC)
Teahouse
Hi Nick,
Profound greetings,
Thanks for endowing me with such a decent information.
SHISHIR DUA 17:59, 26 August 2020 (UTC)
I've enjoyed reading some of the links on your user page. As far as tea goes, "nerd tunnel vision" is the actual culprit. Charles Juvon (talk) 21:25, 30 August 2020 (UTC)
More than 300 editors used the Reply tool at these four Wikipedias. They posted more than 7,400 replies during the study period.
Of the people who posted a comment with the Reply tool, about 70% of them used the tool multiple times. About 60% of them used it on multiple days.
Comments from Wikipedia editors are positive. One said, أعتقد أن الأداة تقدم فائدة ملحوظة؛ فهي تختصر الوقت لتقديم رد بدلًا من التنقل بالفأرة إلى وصلة تعديل القسم أو الصفحة، التي تكون بعيدة عن التعليق الأخير في الغالب، ويصل المساهم لصندوق التعديل بسرعة باستخدام الأداة. ("I think the tool has a significant impact; it saves time to reply while the classic way is to move with a mouse to the Edit link to edit the section or the page which is generally far away from the comment. And the user reaches to the edit box so quickly to use the Reply tool.")[24]
The Editing team released the Reply tool as a Beta Feature at eight other Wikipedias in early August. Those Wikipedias are in the Chinese, Czech, Georgian, Serbian, Sorani Kurdish, Swedish, Catalan, and Korean languages. If you would like to use the Reply tool at your wiki, please tell User talk:Whatamidoing (WMF).
The Reply tool is still in active development. Per request from the Dutch Wikipedia and other editors, you will be able to customize the edit summary. (The default edit summary is "Reply".) A "ping" feature is available in the Reply tool's visual editing mode. This feature searches for usernames. Per request from the Arabic Wikipedia, each wiki will be able to set its own preferred symbol for pinging editors. Per request from editors at the Japanese and Hungarian Wikipedias, each wiki can define a preferred signature prefix in the page MediaWiki:Discussiontools-signature-prefix. For example, some languages omit spaces before signatures. Other communities want to add a dash or a non-breaking space.
New requirements for user signatures
The new requirements for custom user signatures began on 6 July 2020. If you try to create a custom signature that does not meet the requirements, you will get an error message.
Existing custom signatures that do not meet the new requirements will be unaffected temporarily. Eventually, all custom signatures will need to meet the new requirements. You can check your signature and see lists of active editors whose custom signatures need to be corrected. Volunteers have been contacting editors who need to change their custom signatures. If you need to change your custom signature, then please read the help page.
Next: New discussion tool
Next, the team will be working on a tool for quickly and easily starting a new discussion section to a talk page. To follow the development of this new tool, please put the New Discussion Tool project page on your watchlist.
This feature uses the help panel to explain what to do after selecting a suggested edit. For instance, if a newcomer selects a copyedit task, they are guided on what sorts of errors to look for. They can see examples of how to rewrite the text. You can try this feature on test.wikipedia.org. First enable the homepage and the help panel in your preferences there.
Since we launched "Guidance", the data we collected show good results (see image). Now, we see more users completing suggested edits than before Guidance was deployed.
Structured tasks
Design concept for the "add a link" structured task
Structured tasks is a project that aims to break down editing workflows into a series of steps. We hope newcomers can accomplish these tasks easily.
In the previous newsletter, we asked for feedback from community members on the idea. We had a good discussion in six languages with 35 community members (summary here). We have now posted new design mockups. We hope community members can check the mockups out and react to them (in any language). They are posted along with some of the main questions we are thinking about as we continue to refine our plans.
Other technical updates
Mockup of Variant D of the homepage on desktop.
We are currently working on Variants C and D (adjacent image) of the homepage. The goal is to increase the number of newcomers who start the newcomer tasks workflow. This is the team's main project at the moment.
We've made it easier to hide the help panel when not needed. [25]
The welcome survey has a new question for people who created their account: language skills. The goal is to find out how many newcomers know multiple languages, so that we can learn whether it is a good idea to integrate Content Translation as a newcomer task. To make room for this question, we removed one that is not being used. [26]
Community outreach
We continue to engage with more communities. We recently deployed the Growth features to Persian, Hebrew, and Russian Wikipedias. Learn more about getting the features.
If your community is having a remote event, and you are interested in hearing from the Growth team, please contact us! We have already participated to two community events online:
Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community. Please tell other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations are available.
Changes later this week
Normally pages can be moved to a title that has no existing page yet or to a page that has only one revision, which is a redirect to the page to be moved. A new user right allows editors to move pages over one-revision pages that redirect to anywhere. [27]
The new version of MediaWiki will be on test wikis and MediaWiki.org from 8 September. It will be on non-Wikipedia wikis and some Wikipedias from 9 September. It will be on all wikis from 10 September (calendar).
All MediaWiki API modules will now use watchlist instead of watch. This was inconsistent before. [28]
Future changes
The Wikipedia Android app team might work on patrolling tools in the future. You can let them know what tools would be useful for you or for less experienced patrollers. See the page on mediawiki.org.
OTRS will be updated to a new version. This will probably take around two days. OTRS agents will not have access to the system during these days. Emails that come in during the update will be delivered when the update is done. The plan is to start around 08:00 UTC on 14 September. This could change. [29]
The Wikipedia Android app will send push notifications if users want them. This could help you see for example when someone wrote on your talk page or your edit was reverted. This will need Google Play Services to work. It will also be possible to get the app without Google Play Services but push notifications will not work. Google Play Services is also used to make the app work for Android 4.4 users. [30][31]
Wikimedia code review could move to GitLab. It would be hosted on Wikimedia servers. You can take part in the consultation.
Dropdown menus in the Vector skin use a .menu class. This will not work in the future. Scripts can use nav ul instead. .vectorTabs and .vectorMenu will also not work. Some scripts need to be updated. You can read more in Phabricator.
The new version of MediaWiki will be on test wikis and MediaWiki.org from 31 July. It will be on non-Wikipedia wikis and some Wikipedias from 1 August. It will be on all wikis from 2 August (calendar).
You can join the technical advice meeting on IRC. During the meeting, volunteer developers can ask for advice. The meeting will be on 1 August at 15:00 (UTC) as well as at 23:00 (UTC). See how to join.
Administrator changes
Sro23
KaisaL • Ymblanter
Guideline and policy news
Technical news
Asterion • Crisco 1492 • KF • Kudpung • Liz • Randykitty • Spartaz
Optimist on the run → Voice of Clam
Arbitration
--Sm8900 (talk) 15:17, 11 August 2020 (UTC)
Administrator changes
CheckUser changes
