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Revision as of 20:11, 17 April 2008

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BLP statistics

Do we have any research on specifically BLP related vandalism, BLP problems and corrections, stability, and such? As opposed to "articles in general"?

I'd like to know how large our BLP issues are in reality without assuming. I'd do the classic "review 1000 randomly selected BLPs over 6 months and note how often, what kind, how serious, how durable, and did things get better" thing, but I don't have that kind of resource. perhaps others do, or have ideas how to?

(1000 would be a statistically significant number, able to give fairly tight replies if the data was assessed in a sensible neutral way. Then again, so would 500 probably.)

Thanks,

FT2 

Images to illustrate blog - screenshots of blogs o.k.?

I have been editting blog and noted that one thing the article needs is more images/enlivening. It would be nice to be able to include screenshots of various blog pages, e.g., that of Ellen Simonetti. I draw a blank as to the licensing issue associated with that, or if it is even o.k. There is this "fair use" option, which I sort of grasp, but not really... Does the use of a screenshot of someone's blog to be included in the article on blog constitute "fair use"?

So I write for advice. If we can answer this question, and come up with a standard licensing/fair use statement for screenshots of blogs that would allow such images to be included in the article (or if you have other suggestions...), that would be great, 'cause then we can include a number of interesting screenshots. I posted an inquiry on the talk page for blog on this, but got no response. Perhaps reply there? Thanks so much, Bdushaw (talk) 16:43, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

It constitutes fair use if you can come up with a rationale that sounds reasonable, e.g. "screenshots enliven" is probably right out.

Here's a couple steps. First, figure out the blog's license. Look at the blog itself for licensing information. If the blog is under a free license such as public domain, CC-BY or CC-BY-SA, it can be used on Misplaced Pages without a fair use claim. If you can't find an explicit license release, you must assume that all rights are reserved. Second, upload the image with a {{Non-free web screenshot}} tag. Third, you must add a rationale (per Misplaced Pages:Non-free use rationale guideline) for each use, itemizing why you think the image can be used as fair use. A lot of people get confused about who is asserting free use at this point; you, as the uploader and editor, are asserting a fair use claim, not the community or the site. Fourth, add the image to the pages for which you have asserted fair use.

The caveat is that fair use becomes less reasonable the more it is used, especially if there are freely licensed alternatives. For example, having multiple 'general' screenshots of the same site might raise questions. In the case of a page like blog, one would have to be very clear about what each screenshot uniquely adds to the page, to avoid it becoming a battle of spammers seeking to have their site portrayed as "the blog". There is already a freely licensed image on that page, so it would be an uphill climb to convince editors that a fair use image merits inclusion. - BanyanTree 02:45, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

Personally this sounds like something that is just going to end up being abused for self-promotion. If a screenshot of a blog is going to be provided, perhaps a mock blog, or even just a template for a blog might be better.--137.186.84.54 (talk) 00:33, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

I can see how that can happen; hopefully we can avoid that. I've added a screenshot for Simonetti's blog to the blog article to see what happens - in this case, the image is directly related to the article text, and IMO the image seems informative. It seems to me essential that for this to work the screenshot has to be related to the text, as opposed to allowing any ole blog screenshot. Random blog screenshots would not qualify as "fair use", I don't believe, insofar as I understand that notion, and a blog author can't/shouldn't upload images of his own blog for conflict of interest. I'll let the Simonetti screenshot percolate there for a while to see what happens. Thanks for the helpful discussion above. (In the mean time, I've run across this completely horrible article: Royaldutchshellplc.com...that certainly needs help.) Bdushaw (talk) 10:44, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

The Right to Vanish

If someone exercises the Right to Vanish, as I did by changing my username (please don't mention it here if you know it), then is it against the policy for someone to go against my wishes by exposing that name on a different page even after I specifically asked that it not be exposed? What happened was that my old userpage popped up on a page, and I removed it, explaining that I didn't want it to be there in the edit summary, and another user had the nerve to revert that edit and say "Why don't you just speedy it?" That may be a good idea, but isn't it common sense to not be that obnoxious and disrespectful, or is it just me? –The Obento Musubi (Contributions) 06:36, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

This is one of those vague areas I've tried to address before, but there never seems to be the consensus to do it. WP:RTV is a guideline, so its def not binding like a policy. And even that guideline only applies to those leaving the project altogether, not just a rename. So I guess this falls under WP:DICK, of not outing another user for no good reason. Try pinging User talk:Keilana, I think she's had some experience in this field. MBisanz 06:39, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

If you think claiming to vanish gives you any "rights", you're almost certainly mistaken. That said, people shouldn't generally be trying to "out" someone who doesn't want that. If this is really a privacy concern, why draw any attention to it at all? Friday (talk) 14:25, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

I said nothing about rights except for the name, right to vanish. It's just common courtesy to not be an a**hole to other users. And about bringing attention, what attention am I bringing? The attention for other users to answer my question? –The Obento Musubi (Contributions) 17:40, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

The major consideration is whether or not you put a "tainted" User name in the past so that you could start fresh, but then continued with the same behavior which caused you to abandon the original account. In that case, I think it's certainly proper to have your previous behavior reported and discussed. If such is not the case, then it would depend on the circumstances. Corvus cornix_talk 21:33, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

No, I didn't use my previous account badly, it's just that my previous name was very personal. –The Obento Musubi (Contributions) 01:16, 5 April 2008 (UTC)

Well'n, that should be fine. But as for {I redact the name}... 68.101.123.219 (talk) 22:41, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

Seeing a Version That Has Been Edited Recently

Hi-

In January 2008,I read content about a specific subject that has since been edited significantly.

Is there any way I can acess the January version 2008? If so, how?

Thanks, Porthaul —Preceding unsigned comment added by Porthaul (talk • contribs) 17:43, 6 April 2008 (UTC)

Yes you can. When visiting the article in question, click the history tab at the top of the screen which will provide you with a chronologically list of all the revisions/versions of the article. You may view any one of them. Wisdom89 _{(T / )} 17:48, 6 April 2008 (UTC)

More specifically, by clicking on the date. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ftbhrygvn (talk • contribs) 12:18, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

article mentions COI editing by company?

See the WP article for Phorm, especially the section Phorm#Marketing_Team_Admits_Tampering_With_Wikipedia_Entry. This is referenced, and it's available in the edit history, but it seems a bit self-referential to me. There are many companies that make poor edits with a COI. What's the precedence for this kind of thing? Thanks. Dan Beale-Cocks 14:55, 8 April 2008 (UTC)

Also, it's a blatant copy vio, word for word identical to the first sentence in the register. Dan Beale-Cocks 15:01, 8 April 2008 (UTC)

I've moved it to the article talk page, because of both notability/newsworthiness and WP:SELFREF issues. And please, copying a single sentence is NOT a "blatant copyright violation"; it's fair use. -- John Broughton (♫♫) 23:45, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for fixing. About the copyright - I'm English, we don't have fair use so the US / WP copyright stuff isn't easy. It's not so much the length of the text that confused me, but the fact that the edit contained no original text. It was just a copy paste from some other, copyrighted, document. Dan Beale-Cocks 01:33, 12 April 2008 (UTC)

Image:I1a europe.jpg

Could someone with the ability please move this image & image-page (Image:I1a europe.jpg) to "Image:I1 europe.jpg" (just removing the newly improper nomenclature of the ending "a" from the name) as per the discussion on said image page, if it is at all possible for a moderator or other to do so? Nagelfar (talk) 07:19, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

Images can't be moved.Geni 17:04, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

WP:BLP concern being ignored by administrators

Can I get advice on what to do regarding WP:BLP when appeals to administrators fail? It has been determined by consensus (1, 2) that User:Leshrak's and User:Cambios's edit violate WP:BLP by placing undue weight on the material and by using unreliable sources. User:Leshrak has been blocked, but only for 24 hours and there is little doubt in my mind that he will return to his ways after he is unblocked. I've requested that the article be protected, but that requested was glossed over. I've moved the request back to the top, but based on my previous experience with administrators, I have little doubt that it will again be ignored. So I have two questions: 1.) What is my next step in attempting to prevent WP:BLP violations on Bobby Cox? 2.) What do I do in general when administrators do not do their job (as has happened to me so very many times)? Thank you. Dlong (talk) 15:07, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

Where do I go to get my account deleted? Dlong (talk) 15:58, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

Accounts cannot be deleted, however, you have the right to vanish. Also, you can request to have your user page and talk page deleted by an administrator. See user page on how to do that. Wisdom89 _{(T / )} 16:46, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

Helper Tools

I just used my account for the first time in two years and wonder what new developments hit the tool market. I happily used Lupin's navigation popups back then, and plan to use them now. My question: Is there anything new and better with similar functionality? Was there anything changed with Lupin's tool I should be aware of? Since Lupin seems to be inactive: Are the popups still maintained? --Yooden ☮

Still going as far as I know. See Misplaced Pages:Tools/Editing tools for the full list but the old warhorses of popups and AWB still the most used I think.Geni 20:41, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

So I'll stick with the popups. Thanks for your info! --Yooden ☮

Also, take a look at your user preferences - there is a new tab, Gadgets, which makes adding a tool much easier. And please remember that it's FOUR tildes for your signature; you've used THREE in the postings above, which leaves off the date/time stamp. (Previewing your edit is a good idea, if you can't remember whether three or four is the right number.)

And you might find it helpful to know that there is now an editor's index, so you can check a specific topic - for example, monitoring - to see what tools are listed there. -- John Broughton (♫♫) 23:25, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

I found the tab, I think I'll keep it the old way as long as it works.

Thanks for pointing out the Index, it's a very useful resorce! --Yooden ☮

Controversial template

Dear all, I was looking for a template to place here Electoral_fraud#List_of_controversial_elections - to highlight that it was a controversial topic and care should be taken to reference sources. The {{controversial}} template only goes on a talk page, can anyone think of a good one? Cheers, Casliber (talk · contribs) 00:27, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

If you don't need to specify why references should be used, Template:Unreferencedsect and Template:Refimprovesect may suffice. - BanyanTree 07:17, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

Could someone improve this article on a Chinese athlete? Thanks!

We are writing an article on a Chinese athlete Jin Jing and want to push this article onto the 'Did you know' on the main page. Could someone help us improve this article? Such as English and materials. Thanks!--Supportjinjing (talk) 01:15, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

Constant tagging on Holodomor Denial

Hello, there seems to be an issue at Holodomor Denial. POV tags are constantly being added and removed. Could somebody please take a look? It seems that the discussion between the contributing editors has come to a standstill. Thanks, Horlo (talk) 06:31, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

That would be Denial of the Holodomor? --Tagishsimon (talk) 06:48, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

It would also be a Freudian slip. In actual fact, there is an ongoing set of worries on the talkpage, centering around the lack of sources stating that this is a form of denialism like Climate change denial or Holocaust denial - which discussion is constantly derailed by the above user asking "can we remove the tag now". The moment that things start to be discussed and changes start to be made, naturally, tags will be removed.

Also, I'm not sure this is WP:RfC. --Relata refero (disp.) 07:15, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

copyrighted images from non-pubilcally available sources

What is the right procedure for dealing with a copyright violation where the original source is behind a firefall. Image:Baker-2006.jpg was taken from an employee database, the attributed source there is not correct. The CSD db-copyvio tag requires a URL for the original source which is not possible in this case. --Rtphokie (talk) 17:15, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

Sounds like a good question to ask at Misplaced Pages:Image copyright help desk or Misplaced Pages:Media copyright questions. -- John Broughton (♫♫) 23:19, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

{{db-imagevio}}'s URL parameter appears to be optional. Also, if a page needs to be speedy deleted but there is a problem with the existing tags, use {{delete|1=your reason here}}. --Random832 (contribs) 20:37, 14 April 2008 (UTC)

Photo stopped showing on page

http://en.wikipedia.org/Imad-ad-Dean_Ahmad It's my public domain photo so thats not issue. It used to work! Couldn't find specific help for this. Thanks :-) Carol Moore 16:14, 12 April 2008 (UTC)Carolmooredc {talk}

It will show if you specify a pixel count. Someguy1221 (talk) 17:49, 12 April 2008 (UTC)

Oh, I take that back...it worked in one preview, but now...Someguy1221 (talk) 17:51, 12 April 2008 (UTC)

OK, it works now; you can see what I did. I think this image, for some reason, doesn't like to be small :-/ Someguy1221 (talk) 17:54, 12 April 2008 (UTC)

Since I don't know arabic i'll have to say Mucho Gracias! :-) Carol Moore 23:24, 12 April 2008 (UTC)Carolmooredc {talk}

You might want to keep an eye on that image since it apparently needs a specified pixel size. Another editor may come along and remove the pixel info citing Misplaced Pages:MOS#Images and not realize that it is needed for this photo. --Gwguffey (talk) 19:39, 14 April 2008 (UTC)

Commercial News Archives

Does WP have any means of accessing commercial news archives (like NYTimes or LATimes)? Perhaps some helpful users who have such access would be willing to do some searches? It seems to me a great amount of the Notability problems for older topics might be solvable if there was some way to view these databases. Low Sea (talk) 16:18, 14 April 2008 (UTC)

Simply by having a library card for my local library, I have free web-based access to ProQuest Newsstand Complete. I would image that many editors have this or something comparable and are not even aware of it. Folks just need to visit their library's website and see what electronic reference materials are available to them. --Gwguffey (talk) 18:19, 14 April 2008 (UTC)

I agree that many users probably do have accesses they don't really use for WP. As a college student I have had access to EBSCOHOST for a while and didn't even think about using it for WP sources until recently. It would be nice if we could somehow start an association (cabal?) of WP editors who would be willing to do searches for other users. Of course the copyright issues of a commercial database would mean that the searchers would have to add the citation themselves since they could not forward the news content to the requester. Still, we have editors who do nothing but spell/grammar check, editors who do nothing but tag, it would be nice to have a few editors who do nothing but add WP:N proofs for difficult to source material.

I also can forsee that such an assistance effort might be plagued by lazy users and for that reason I suggest that users making such requests would need to describe their own efforts as part of the request. Requests would be honored on a voluntary basis only and could be accepted, ignored, or rejected as "insufficient effort". -- Low Sea (talk) 19:14, 14 April 2008 (UTC)

You might want to take further discussion about this to Misplaced Pages:WikiProject Council/Proposals. --Gwguffey (talk) 20:04, 14 April 2008 (UTC)

Allegations of racism for hardblocking what I believe to be an inappropriate username

This user claims it was racist of me to hardblock what I think is a clearly inappropriate username. Could I get some feedback from the community? Trying to do the right thing here... --Orange Mike | Talk 15:17, 15 April 2008 (UTC)

I support the block. I think the reason is that "nigger" is used as an epithet and "nigga" is used as a term of endearment. Sceptre 15:21, 15 April 2008 (UTC)

I think a block of the username is appropriate. "Nigga" is an offensive username. I think the user should be allowed to create a new account. I think he/she saw this as playful: ? Darkspots (talk) 15:24, 15 April 2008 (UTC)

Two things: should this thread be on WP:AN/I instead of here? And, I think that nigga = nigger for the purposes of deciding if this is an offensive username. It's not up to us to discern what word means what to whom. I know what each word means to me, but that's hardly relevant. Darkspots (talk) 15:30, 15 April 2008 (UTC)

There's no point in it going to AN/I unless there's something to discuss, which it appears there's not, since there is consensus here (and from me) that the block was well reasoned and the backlash unfortunate and unnecessary. If we assume good faith, we can see that the name owner might well be miffed, but s/he either will come around to understanding, or will not. Not very much we can do there except talk calmly to him/her. --Tagishsimon (talk) 15:41, 15 April 2008 (UTC)

I too support the block. Even though some communities have accepted the N word (including various spellings) this username qualifies under WP:IU as "Offensive". Note the policy defines this as:

* Offensive usernames make harmonious editing difficult or impossible.

This is not racism, it is respect for the sensitivities of others who still find the N word problematic. Even some members of the black community have spoken out against the use of the N word by blacks because the wounds that word caused are still open and sore. While the user may find the name harmless from his/her own cultural perspective, it could be very difficult for others to discuss articles with him/her since they could be quite uncomfortable typing the user's name. I suspect this user would have similar problems if some user here was named Yessir Massah Boss Sir. And since discussion is the key concensus building -- which is core to WP -- anything that disrupts discussions is inappropriate at best. I find this comparable to the controversy over the Confederate Flag. For some it is a symbol of pride, for others it is a symbol of past evils. Until the wounds heal it will remain controversial. WP:IU also states:

Usernames that are clearly unacceptable for use on Misplaced Pages, but have no obvious disruptive intent may be blocked indefinitely, but the block should affect only that account (disable autoblocks, and disable "prevent account creation"). If your account has been blocked for this reason, don't take it personally; it is intended to disable the username you chose, not to prevent you from contributing. Please read this page carefully and choose a more appropriate name.

This user needs to recognize that by participating in WP he/she voluntarily become part of a community with its own culture. At WP we all have to make some sacrifices for the good of the whole community. I for example have to strive hard not to choke the living $h!+ out of certain editors who would rather tag and delete than improve! All this user needs to do is "choose a more appropriate name." -- Low Sea (talk) 16:20, 15 April 2008 (UTC)

It should be noted that I withdrew the hardblock and switched to a softblock. --Orange Mike | Talk 16:24, 15 April 2008 (UTC)

I support the block. Although I favor a lack of censorship, it seems more than acceptible to have minimum community standards for account naming conventions.—RJH (talk) 18:17, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

Notice on my talk page

Could someone who has some design skills please change the notice I have at the top of my talk page to be more "friendly" and less "warning"-like? Mostly I think the layout/colors could be changed, but if you want to change any of the text to be more friendly as well, please feel free. I'd like to have less of a "war" look when someone comes to the page that gets their blood boiling or angers them. I'd still like it eye-catching, so being as big as it is (or bigger) should be a good idea. Thanks in advance for the help. MECU≈talk 15:54, 15 April 2008 (UTC)

Bill Ayers Page

Ayers' Connection to Obama

Clearly, Ayers and Obama have a relationship even if it is not personal in nature. There is a political relationship. I have added this information as I was shocked to see it not included in this article. Having a relationship with someone does not necessarily mean that you hold the same views on all issues. However, given that Obama is now a public official running for the Presidency, information such as this is important. My post does not insinuate anything other than a modest relationship and is supported by facts from articles from Bloomberg News and the Washington Post. Comments are always welcome. If you would like to read the articles click on the links below. It seems that the Bill Ayers page has been locked to public editing. I recent made the following contribution.

Ties to Barak Obama

The below is copied directly from the article's talk page. This WP:SPA IP editor has been trying to insert the same content into multiple articles now, and forum-shopping by cutting and pasting this material into different discussion forums. I've left a warning on the editor's talk page and suggest we archive the discussion to avoid further disruption. Wikidemo (talk) 15:58, 16 April 2008 (UTC)

Ayers has had a longstanding relationship with Senator Barak Obama. He has donated money to Obama's political campaign and served with him on the nine-member board of the Woods Fund. They also lived within a few blocks of each other in the trendy Hyde Park section of Chicago, and moved in the same liberal-progressive circles there.

This edit was removed even though I documented the information with credible sources. I believe that someone removed the information for political reasons. Can this issue be resolved and my edit returned to the page and if not explained to me why it is not. Below is the conversation with myself and the person who removed the edit.

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/2008/02/obamas_weatherman_connection.html

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=adgAs9YOxRSc

The magnitude of their connection may still be something that has not been determined but to state that their is no connection is simply false. In my original edit, I did not include any POV at all. Please refrain from omitting information that is relevant and documented in the press. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.45.7.46 (talk) 04:53, 16 April 2008 (UTC)

A bug? Vandalism? A nested mess anyway

If you go to and click on the Copy editing category, and then the category of pages with German terms needing copy editing, you will see a big nested mess. This might be a bug or a mistake or vandalism. Anyway I think it needs some attention.--Filll (talk) 13:17, 16 April 2008 (UTC)

Mistake. Attended to. Thanks. --Tagishsimon (talk) 13:21, 16 April 2008 (UTC)

Lists of patents in articles

I'm trying to avoid an edit war between (primarily) a couple of editors who can't agree on whether articles should contain lists of patents. Example articles...

• Telluric current diff
• William Stanley, Jr. diff
• Atmospheric electricity

My question is: is there any guideline or policy that might help us resolve this matter without an edit war spreading across multiple articles? If not, can anyone recommend a place to discuss it? Thanks for your help. SHEFFIELDSTEEL 19:47, 16 April 2008 (UTC)

WP:LIST would probably be appropriate here. Also, WP:NOT#DIRECTORY. Wisdom89 _{(T / )} 19:49, 16 April 2008 (UTC)

Thanks! Discussion at Talk:Telluric_current#List_of_patents - contributions welcome :-) SHEFFIELDSTEEL 20:33, 16 April 2008 (UTC)

Help with Sticky Reference Cite error: Invalid

I just can't get the dang thing to work in J Street. Maybe too tired tonight to figure it out, if someone wants to take a peek. Thanks! Carol Moore 02:57, 17 April 2008 (UTC)Carolmooredc {talk}

Note: fixed by User:MantisEars.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 11:14, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

adding cats weirds things up

I tried to add categories to a previously uncategorised article (Hangover House) and ended up with this ]. What the heck is going on? It dumped text from the category page onto the article, and landed me with subcategories (or supercategories?) I don't want. All it needs is Category:Modernist architecture and Category:Houses in California. Please explain this to me! BrainyBabe (talk) 08:39, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

You just had curly brackets round the category names instead of square brackets. Angus McLellan (Talk) 10:42, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

Something so simple! Thanks for the prompt help. BrainyBabe (talk) 11:44, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

Repeated WP:POV based vandalism

After you review Binksternet user page and look at the long list of his reversions his purpose in assuring that Misplaced Pages articles uphold his POV in defiance of WP:POV to the extent of constituting multiple violations of WP:VAN it is apparent that he may be in need of a little counseling so as to keep Misplaced Pages articles neutral and in compliance with WP:NPOV. Help with preventing him from reverting acceptable contributions which he is reverting simply becasue they do not uphold or chalenge his POV in violation of WP:POV are not acceptable and a little help in curtailing them would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. 71.100.0.75 (talk) 20:11, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

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