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Images

Following on from this, just in case you were interested I finished off the image review for List of birds of Maryland. I'm a bit burnt out with images so I'm not sure I'll get round to doing papal tombs one, however I'll try and keep up with the current candidates. Best, Rambo's Revenge (talk) 10:01, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

Seeking help in writing more effectively

I write to you because of your recent edit to WP:Too long; didn't read-- here.

I'm told that I need help in improving my writing. Articles present no problem, but I don't do well enough in talk page venues. I know that this is a non-standard request. I urge you to construe it as just one step in a process of mitigating fundamental flaws in in the way I address issues like logical fallacies or unfounded complaints. Until this week, I theorized that my problems arose when I attempted persuasive writing rather than expository prose, but it's not that simple. An illustrative example of my writing is to be found at Misplaced Pages talk:Requests for arbitration/Tang Dynasty/Proposed decision.

ArbCom remedy

Voting is underway at WP:RfA/Tang Dynasty/Proposed decision.

Proposed ArbCom findings of fact included:

  • 3.2.2 Tenmei and dispute resolution. "... many of Tenmei's talkpage posts and submissions during this arbitration case have been very difficult for other editors to understand, to the point that experienced participants in dispute resolution have had difficulty in following them, despite what we accept as Tenmei's good-faith best efforts to assist us in resolving the case."

ArbCom remedies included:

  • 3.3.2 Tenmei and dispute resolution: "Should Tenmei become involved in any further disputes with other editors, whether concerning the content of articles (beyond ordinary day-to-day editing issues) or more formal dispute resolution procedures, he shall seek the assistance of a volunteer mentor or adviser to work with him in maximizing the value of his presentation by assisting him with formulating it in a clear and civil fashion."
  • 3.3.3 Editors advised: "Editors who encounter difficulties in communicating with others on-wiki are advised to seek help from others in presenting their thoughts clearly, particularly when disputes arise or when dispute resolution is sought."

When I initiated this ArbCom case, my intentions were quite limited, as explained best in my response to John Vandenberg here and as presented initially at WP:RfA/Tang Dynasty#Statement by Tenmei. However, the proposed decision's locus of dispute explains that "evidence in the case has expanded to include other disputes in which Tenmei has been involved."

Backstory

Caspian blue and others have determined that I am Japanese, despite the fact that I have avoided self-labeling in terms of nationality, gender, marital status, etc. I gather that Caspian blue has endured a number of caustic disputes with anonymous contributors and sockpuppets; and many of these were seen to have originated in Japan. Caspian blue is Korean; and aggrieved complaints about perceived anti-Korean bias are commonplace, not only involving those like me with perceived or actual Japanese backgrounds.

As ipso facto "evidence" of my "long-term harassment", Caspian blue alleges here that in 2008 "Tenmei ... attacked my ethnicity and taunted my ancestors ...." Inexplicably, Caspian blue's 2008 complaint at WP:AN/IncidentArchive471#User:Tenmei's abusing AfD and personal attacks did not encompass this specific claim ... which I would have thought implies that it simply didn't happen.

This one example suggests complicated subtexts affecting a broad tranche of wiki-edits. A risk aversion strategy has thus far proven inadequate; and ArbCom is correct in anticipating future difficulties.

I'm guessing that this message to you is arguably the sort of gesture ArbCom wants from me. Perhaps you will construe it as an illustrative example of WP:TLDR.

If you are willing to discuss this off-wiki, I've activated the e-mail send/receive option in my user preferences. If you can think of some other editor I might contact, I'd appreciate it.

Thank you for the time you invested in reading this. --Tenmei (talk) 23:19, 5 June 2009 (UTC)

Outline update - Good news and bad news - 06/08/2009

The big push continues.

And it seems to be working!

The good news is that there's growing support for outlines, and there are more editors than ever editing them!

The bad news is that the complainers are disproportionately represented on the project's various talk pages. While many editors work diligently on the front end, a handful of complainers are trying to tear down the project behind the scenes. Fortunately, barely enough supporters have been watching those pages that no consensus for moving or merging the outlines has succeeded. So far...

Big problem: ignorance of what outlines are for and their benefits

Most of the opposition seems to be unaware of the complete range of what outlines are used for. They just don't get it.

This is why it is important to complete the outline article draft. An article with a comprehensive treatment of outlines would be the perfect place to refer anybody unfamiliar with outlines to.

Opposers also don't seem to understand how outlines differ from some other page type that they prefer. Some think articles are good enough as an overview, others think portals are more in-depth, still others think categories or navigation boxes are the most efficient and useful way to organize and present topical information. Some have simply never seen an "Outline of" page before and think they are a new type of page (they've been around under other names since 2001).

If you run across anyone who doesn't understand the role of outlines on Misplaced Pages, Misplaced Pages:Why do we have outlines in addition to...? might help reduce their misconceptions or uncertainties about outlines.

On the bright side, you've got to see this...

To add the outlines and related support pages to your watchlist (takes less than 30 seconds), cut and paste them from Misplaced Pages:WikiProject Outline of knowledge/Watchlist into your raw watchlist. For a way to improve the display of your watchlist - by namespace (very useful) - see Watchlist sorter, or use the "super fast upgrade" at WP:OTS.

Or go to Misplaced Pages:WikiProject Outline of knowledge/Watchlist using Related changes (currently without the talk pages) and click on "Related changes" in the toolbox menu on the sidebar on the left side of your screen.

The big push

The big push started with about a thousand banners and notices being placed on article talk pages all over Misplaced Pages.

But it didn't stop there...

Welcome our new members...

The following Wikipedians have joined the OOK team.

Be sure to stop by their talk pages and introduce yourselves.

Enter the mentors!

I asked a bunch of mentors at WP:ADOPT for advice. Several of them answered on my talk page. Most of those who replied were happy to help, and posted some very good ideas. A couple even joined the project.

Here are their ideas, and what is being done about them. A few of the tasks still need volunteers:

Linking to outlines has begun

To the tops of about 30 subject articles, I placed a test batch of hatnotes leading to the corresponding outlines. The hatnotes look like this:

For a topical guide to this subject, see Outline of X.(Hidden: <!- PLEASE LEAVE THIS LINE IN PLACE because it leads to the page that serves as the table of contents for Misplaced Pages's overall coverage of this subject. Thank you.-->

The rationale for the hatnotes is that each outline is a topical guide for its subject, and since tables of contents go at the front of a book, a link to each outline should be placed at the front of its subject.

Unfortunately, not all editors agree. Some of the hatnotes have already disappeared.  :(

Some past discussions pertaining to the existence or location of outlines

Note that the "Lists of topics" are of two types, including outlines and indexes, so discussions to remove, move, or merge those are usually relevant to the OOK. Also, outlines are a type of list, so discussions that affect lists in general also pertain to outlines. We've got to be on our toes!

I've excluded links to live discussions, out of respect for WP:CANVASS.

Table of contents to OOK-related stuff

Here's a directory of outline support pages:

Keep up the great work!

The Transhumanist    04:26, 8 June 2009 (UTC)

WPOOK advert banner under development, here's the beta...

Thank you to those who suggested WPOOK have an animated advert banner. Penubag got working on it right away. Here's what he's come up with so far:

Penubag needs feedback.

I've posted a few changes for him to make to it.

Please post additional comments and suggestions for him at User talk:Penubag#Chocolate banner.

Thank you.

The Transhumanist    02:38, 9 June 2009 (UTC)

Outline collaboration!

As you know, Penubag is working on a banner to advertise the Outline WikiProject. And he's almost done.

The banner prominently presents the "Outline of chocolate", which of course will become the most widely advertised outline as soon as the banner goes live. The first thing many editors will do after seeing the banner is look for that outline.

The problem is, we don't have one.

So that's our first outline collaboration!

I started a draft this morning.

It needs to be finished and moved to the article namespace before we can start using Penubag's banner ad!

Come join in on the fun. It's chocolate!

The Transhumanist    22:00, 9 June 2009 (UTC)

WikiCup Newsletter XIX and XX

The WikiCup Newsletter (last week)

The WikiCup Newsletter
Round III, Issue 1 - June 7, 2009

Archive before | Archive after

Pool leaders

In this round of the WikiCup, the top contestant from each pool, along with four wildcards, will advance to the next round. The pool leaders are:

Pool A
  1. Mitchazenia (40)
Pool B
  1. Iceland Scorpion0422 (38)
Pool C
  1. Denmark Candlewicke (68)
Pool D
  1. Sweden Theleftorium (100)
Wildcard leaders
  1. Mexico Durova (75)
  2. Republic of Ireland Juliancolton (47)
  3. United States Useight (46)
  4. Wales Shoemaker's Holiday (35)
Content Leaders

As of this newsletter, the following is a list of participants in this round with the most:

WikiCup At a Glance

As of this newsletter, the WikiCup participants have collected a Round 3 total of:

This combines with the Round 1 totals and the Round 2 totals to make a grand total of:

Biggest Jumps

The difference between each contestant's point total from last week, and their point total from this week are:

Rank User LF TF D
1 Sweden Theleftorium 0 100 100
2 Mexico Durova 0 75 75
3 Denmark Candlewicke 0 68 68
4 Republic of Ireland Juliancolton 0 47 47
5 United States Useight 0 46 46
6 Mitchazenia 0 40 40
7 Iceland Scorpion0422 0 38 38
8 Wales Shoemaker's Holiday 0 35 35
9 Thailand Rlevse 0 14 14
10 Japan Wrestlinglover 0 12 12
11 Colombia ThinkBlue 0 6 6
12 Toronto GaryKing 0 3 3
13 Michigan the_ed17 0 3 3
14 Switzerland Sasata 0 0 0
15 Cambodia Paxse 0 0 0
16 Maryland Ottava Rima 0 0 0
  • LF = Last Week's score, TF = This Week's score, D = Difference between last week and this week's scores
  • This was generated from this diff.
From the Judges

Wow, what a big start to Round 3! We already have people past the 50 point mark, in one week. We can tell that this round is going to be tight, and we'll likely see every Top 8 contestant with over 500 (maybe 400) points by the end of this round. Keep working hard! – weburiedoursecretsinthegarden,  iMatthew :  Chat  , and The Helpful One

If you don't wish to receive this newsletter in the future, remove your name from this list. If you are not a participant, but would still like to receive this newsletter, feel free to add your name to the list.

The WikiCup Newsletter (this week)

The WikiCup Newsletter
Round III, Issue 2 - June 14, 2009

Archive before | Archive after

Pool leaders

In this round of the WikiCup, the top contestant from each pool, along with four wildcards, will advance to the next round. The pool leaders are:

Pool A
  1. Mitchazenia (74)
Pool B
  1. Iceland Scorpion0422 (51)
Pool C
  1. Denmark Candlewicke (171)
Pool D
  1. Sweden Theleftorium (228)
Wildcard leaders
  1. Republic of Ireland Juliancolton (118)
  2. Mexico Durova (106)
  3. Japan Wrestlinglover (59)
  4. United States Useight (59)
Content Leaders

As of this newsletter, the following is a list of participants in this round with the most:

WikiCup At a Glance

As of this newsletter, the WikiCup participants have collected a Round 3 total of:

This combines with the Round 1 totals and the Round 2 totals to make a grand total of:

Biggest Jumps

The difference between each contestant's point total from last week, and their point total from this week are:

Rank User LF TF D
1 Sweden Theleftorium 132 228 96
2 Denmark Candlewicke 85 171 86
3 Republic of Ireland Juliancolton 50 118 68
4 Switzerland Sasata 0 46 46
5 Japan Wrestlinglover 19 59 40
6 Mitchazenia 40 74 34
7 Mexico Durova 75 106 31
8 Colombia ThinkBlue 7 37 30
9 United States Useight 46 59 13
10 Iceland Scorpion0422 41 51 10
  • LF = Last Week's score, TF = This Week's score, D = Difference between last week and this week's scores
  • This was generated from this diff.
From the Judges

Turns out last week's newsletter was never sent out. Sorry about that! Since we already had it done, we are sending you both. This newsletter is the one for this week though. Anyway, we're seeing you guys working really hard. There are a few of you over 100 points in the first two weeks. Also, we have switched Ottava Rima from Pool D to Pool B, and Shoemaker's Holiday (who has withdrawn) from Pool B to Pool D. Scorpion0422 is more than likely to withdraw before this round ends, because he will be inactive next round. That would leave 2 contestants in Pool B. So, to make things fairly even, we have switched the two contestants. Sorry for all of the confusion!

Finally, we know it's very early, but you can already sign up for the 2010 WikiCup, here! We want to get everything ready way in advance for next year. So we opened the list up, and we'll start working things out in September/October, most likely. Information is all on the page, and you may leave any questions on the talk page. So go sign up before your favorite flag is taken! 'weburiedoursecretsinthegarden,  iMatthew :  Chat  , and The Helpful One

If you don't wish to receive this newsletter in the future, remove your name from this list. If you are not a participant, but would still like to receive this newsletter, feel free to add your name to the list.

Delivered by The Helpful Bot at 21:58, 13 June 2009 (UTC) for the WikiCup. To report errors, please leave a message on the talk page.

I have no home internet access

Something's happening with the service provider that gives our apartment buildings TV and internet. It's going to be off for at least a week, maybe as long as two. I won't be able to do anything, and that includes FLC closures, etc. Matthewedwards :  Chat  19:30, 11 June 2009 (UTC)

Let me know if I can do anything. The Rambling Man (talk) 19:31, 11 June 2009 (UTC)
Thank you. Maybe Scorpion would like some help at FLC? Since you used to do it, it should be okay. I don't think there's anything else though. Thank you for offering. I'm going now, but I'll try to get to the library at some point. Matthewedwards :  Chat  19:36, 11 June 2009 (UTC)
I'm sure he'll cope. But by all means let him know that I'm available if and when required. Take it easy. The Rambling Man (talk) 19:38, 11 June 2009 (UTC)
Darn. Hope you get back online soon. Cheers, Dabomb87 (talk) 13:26, 12 June 2009 (UTC)
Just checking in. I am at the library for an hour. Still no internet at home. Matthewedwards :  Chat  02:03, 16 June 2009 (UTC)

Law & Order: Criminal Intent (season 1)

I have now been able to pass Law & Order: Criminal Intent (season 1). Congratulations. It was nice to work with you.

Apologies for the delay; because there was no rush I wanted to spend more time tweaking the prose. I have made a considerable amount of edits to the article, and I hope that you will agree with the majority of them. Of course, please revert anything that is not good.

Please see the new section that I have added to the talk page, Talk:Law & Order: Criminal Intent (season 1)#Suggestions for further improvement.

I think that it is inherently difficult to write neutral articles on TV series, perhaps partly because the nature of sources is likely to be dramatic in tone and in-universe. I'd love to see this become an FA one day, and I do feel that it has the potential; perhaps the main part to work on improving would be the plot summaries. It would be great to have another exemplary article on a TV season.

I hope that you get your internet repaired soon; if there are any questions about my comments or edits, then do of course ask me.

Once again, congratulations, and keep up the good stuff.  Chzz  ►  10:50, 12 June 2009 (UTC)

Thanks. I'll take a look at your suggestions and implement them when I get full access back. Matthewedwards :  Chat  02:04, 16 June 2009 (UTC)

Looking for a WikipediA author

Mathew,

I had trouble finding a discussion area on this site that this topic would be appropriate for but no luck.

Since you are very active I thought you may know who I can talk to.

I would like a non biased entry on WikiPediA on our company and what we do. One that conforms to the guidelines and is well written. We would like to have the details regarding LOGICBit posted here. We have been around since 1994 and since 1996 online.

Is there anyone you know that would accept such a project. We would gladly pay the writer for his/her time. I don't think anyone on my staff could write an unbiased entry without sounding like some sort of sales pitch. I sure can't.

Any help in this regard would be much appreciated.

No response necessary if this post is inappropriate and if so I apologize.

Frank Rivera LOGICBit Science and Technology Corporation

Logicbit (talk) 21:29, 12 June 2009 (UTC)

Sorry. I don't know what you're talking about. Did I delete an article you wrote, perhaps? I can't really look into it, perhaps you could find another admin who may help you? Try User:Juliancolton? Matthewedwards :  Chat  02:05, 16 June 2009 (UTC)

WPOOK's advert banner is done!

Is it perfect? Can it be improved?

Penubag loves feedback. Please let him know if it can be further improved.

Thank you.

The Transhumanist    23:12, 15 June 2009 (UTC)

Outline update - Full Steam Ahead! - 06/18/2009

Several members of the WikiProject have been hard at work.

Buaidh has been building and refining the outlines on the U.S. States, the states' historical outlines, and the Historical outline of the United States. Lately, his edits have dominated the project's watchlist readout. (I think he's overdue for a barnstar or two. hint hint)

Penubag has been working on medals for all the main branches of the OOK, and has completed the OOK WikiProject's animated advert banner (see below).

Highfields has been filling in the currencies for each country on their respective outlines.

NuclearWarfare and Thehelpfulone have been busy with WP:AWB, posting banners and notices, and helping our sister project, the Index WikiProject, get established. Indexes work hand-in-hand with the outlines and are prominently linked to from the top of most of them. And the outlines, which serve as tables of contents, are only as good as the pages they link to.

Since we started integrating (linking) the OOK and its support pages into the encyclopedia and into the Misplaced Pages community, activity on outlines has been increasing. Though there's still much left to do.

But I digress. There are a couple more...

Welcome our new members! Stefan and MacMed

Stefan is building the Outline of sharks.

MacMed has joined our advanced wiki-tools team, and is currently adding links to outlines in the corresponding subject articles' see also sections.

Be sure to stop by their talk pages and say "hi".

WPOOK's advert banner has gone live!

Penubag has finished this WikiProject's animated advert banner, and it is now being displayed on the Misplaced Pages ads template which in turn is displayed on about 2000 user pages. Each time someone access one of those pages, there is a 1 in 184 chance of them viewing this:

Misplaced Pages ad for Misplaced Pages:Wikiproject Outlines
Misplaced Pages adsfile info – #184

If you'd like to display the banner on your userpage locked-on to the ad as above, use the following code:

{{Misplaced Pages ads|ad=184}}

(By the way, it's been awhile since we've barnstarred Penubag).

Watchers needed!

If you haven't already, please add the entire project's watchlist to your watchlist. Here's how:

From the edit window, copy and paste Misplaced Pages:WikiProject Outline of knowledge/Watchlist into your raw watchlist.
Or go to Misplaced Pages:WikiProject Outline of knowledge/Watchlist using Related changes and click on "Related changes" in the toolbox menu in Misplaced Pages's sidebar on the left hand side of the screen.

Check the watchlist every time you log on!

I forgot to mention this step above.  :)

The OOK is in 5 other Wikipedias?

I can't make heads or tails of 'em, but these links were on Portal:Contents/Outline of knowledge:

Resurrected from the grave yard...

I discovered an AfD discussion on possibly the first article named "Outline of", which was called Outline of Islamic and Muslim related topics, and which was created 4 years ago. Of course they deleted it. But now it has many friends, and so it has risen from the dead.  :)

See the DRV discussion at Misplaced Pages:Deletion review/Log/2009 June 7#Outline of Islamic and Muslim related topics.

A diamond buried in project space

Recruiting

Recruiters needed. Drop me a note if you are interested.

Advice from the mentors

  • Astatine-210, Strdst grl, and Willscrlt - link to the outlines from the corresponding subject articles' see also sections - this is underway by MacMed (non-country outlines) and User talk:NuclearWarfare (counry outlines).
  • Astatine-210 - add a link to the outlines to the disambiguation pages of the corresponding subjects - good idea. Since "Outline" is just the type of page, not the subject, I think these might qualify for inclusion on disambiguation pages. We need someone to look into the relevant guidelines on this.
  • SimonTrew - provide a badge (userbox) for WPOOK members to add to their user pages - Penubag will have one for us soon.
  • Zachary crimsonwolf - create a card explaining outlines, and send it to everyone you know, and make it viral (by including a request for the recipients to send the card to everyone they know) - this task has been split in three:
  1. Creation of a "thank you for your interest" card which introduces (explains) outlines, to send to queriers, new participants to discussions, those who seem to be confused about outlines, etc.
  2. Creation of a thank you card / invitation to the WPOOK, to send to users we see working on outlines, including a request for them to invite others whom they think might be interested
3. Creation of an invitation to Wikignomes, with a brief rundown on the types of tasks there are for them to do on the outlines. The invitation will include a request for them to invite anyone they think would enjoy working on outlines.
  • weebiloobil - add examples to Misplaced Pages:Outlines - more examples will be added as suitable outlines are completed
  • weebiloobil - add a picture to Misplaced Pages:Outlines (it doesn't have to be relevant), to provide atmosphere and to break it up visually and add a splash of color - will do, and we'll add a caption to make it relevant, with a link to the outline on that subject. Thank you for the idea.
  • Zachary crimsonwolf - ask Jimbo Wales to bestow the award(s) for the country outlines contest, once you get it going first - we'll give that a try
  • Zachary crimsonwolf - ask everyone in the project to inform their acquaintances around Misplaced Pages about the OOK - will do, as soon as the cards
  • UzEE - collaborate with all the WikiProjects you share scope with - we've placed a banner on their talk pages, and have placed task notices on some. We'll be posting more tasks, and plan to create a section on contents system development and maintenance for each WikiProject page itself.
  • SriMesh - if you can't get outlines added to next year's WikiCup, then create your own WikiCup-like contest - there's 6 months left to this year to address reservations and work out the details at WikiCup. In the meantime, there's the 200-WikiProject contest, which needs input.

More outline tasks

New outlines in article space

New outline drafts

Main discussion pages

Keep up the great work

I'm impressed with the level of enthusiasm and work going into the outlines. I'm proud to be working with each of you.

The Transhumanist    23:24, 18 June 2009 (UTC)

Outline collaboration #2: Outline of Gibraltar

This outline is approaching completion.

I added a bunch more links, finding them with the following Google site-specific searches of Misplaced Pages:

(You can use the wikicode for the links above as the basis for new searches - just replace "Gibraltar" with any other country or region name).

Request: please redirect the redlinks! (bluelinking...)

The redlinks need to be bluelinked where possible. The most useful way is to create redirects leading to the material (which is usually included in a section of an article - see Misplaced Pages:Redirect#Redirects to page sections. That way, when the redirect pages are replaced by the actual articles, the links will already point to the right places.

Please take a crack at it, and bluelink a few.

Thank you.

Good luck.

Have fun.

The Transhumanist    01:08, 23 June 2009 (UTC)

P.S.: on an unrelated matter, where should the Outline of chocolate be placed on the OOK? -TT

I finally got to whack somebody with a trout!

That was fun.  :)

The Transhumanist    23:58, 23 June 2009 (UTC)

Outline update - Push push push - 06/25/2009

Work is proceeding apace...

New members
Hatnotes

The current consensus is that we can't place a hatnote leading to an outline at the top of a subject articles unless the outline being presented is of at least the same quality-level as the article.

What's next...

Improve outline quality by completing them.

Place hatnotes for the outlines of high enough quality.

Guidelines pertaining to outlines need to be updated. Outlines emerged as a class of pages only a few months ago, and most of the relevant guidelines don't cover them specifically. For example, Misplaced Pages:Stand-alone lists is incredibly out of date.

Invite wikignomes, wikielves, and wikifairies (all 2500+ of them) to help on the outlines .

Identify 600 more subjects with coverage extensive enough to justify outlines, create rudimentary drafts for them, and post notices to the corresponding WikiProjects and subject talk pages to help build them.

Convert outlines titled "List of" to outline articles, and add them to the OOK. There are a few hundred of these. Conversion instructions are needed.

Add a description of outlines to About Misplaced Pages and Misplaced Pages:Basic navigation, and add tips about outlines to the WP:TOTD and Tips library.

Keep up the great work!

The Transhumanist    20:27, 25 June 2009 (UTC)