User talk:(aeropagitica)/Archive 25

Persian Poet (talk · contribs)

Hi aeropagitica, can you please explain why his/her username is inappropriate? Khoikhoi 23:15, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

The username is very close to Persian Poet Gal, as reported on WP:AIV. It is a softblock, so the user can register a new identity, if required. (aeropagitica) 23:30, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

OK, thanks. Khoikhoi 02:38, 9 January 2007 (UTC)

Request to Unblock

I disagree that 75.15.203.99 (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · filter log · WHOIS · RDNS · RBLs · http · block user · block log) was blocked on a complaint of vandalism. I have checked his posts and they do not fall under the term vandalism, therefore I request that the block should be removed and his edits be reposted. trueblood 01:01, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Multiple users found that edits by an anonymous user operating under IP 75.15.203.99 constituted vandalism. I documented these and requested the block - which I believe was justified. The same user appears to have switched to IP 75.15.204.215 and continued vandalizing articles. Other editors have since reverted these edits. Given the record of vandalism and uncivil behaviour by User:Trueblood786, I am starting to wonder if User:Trueblood786 may have been the anonymous editor in question and sought to avoid accountability by editing under the IPs mentioned above.

Other editors who have acted on the vandalism in question include User:Eagle 101 and User:The Haunted Angel (both recipients of multiple barnstars including The RickK Anti-Vandalism Barnstar) and User:Eliyahu S. Regards -- Aylahs ^(talk) 02:18, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Rewriting an Existing Article

Hi, I want to do a rewrite of the Malamute page (naturally!) and am wondering about the etiquette of that, informal or not, as I don't want to step on anyone's toes. I was basically thinking of starting from scratch (the original is nearly entirely unsourced) in a sandbox I make under my username using some of the reliable websites about its history and standards as well as two books I own.

I've also gone over WP:CITE and don't know how best to cite the article. I plan to use my book sources most since they are heavily researched and won't change/disappear as websites might. What do you think I should do for that?

Also, any Wikipedia pages I should especially take a look at before I start this venture? ≈Krasniy^t/_c 06:26, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Hello! The way that I would go about this would be to outline by plan for the article on its Talk page - what needs to change and why. This will let you take in to account other editors' views on the subject and may prevent you from wasting time on something unnecessary. It doesn't need to be a point-by-point account, just broad strokes. I would then create a user sub-page called something like User:Krasniy/Alaskan Malamute and copy the text of the article over to work on. That way, no one should revert your changes before they are ready for you to paste back in to the live version.

The structure of the article at the moment is fine, so you can follow that layout. Follow the format described in WP:CITE or WP:FOOT. Take a look at the citation templates for examples. Harvard referencing seems to be quite good for books - I have used that before. As for looking at Help pages to assist you, I would always start with Wikipedia:Your first article, Wikipedia:Guide to writing better articles, Wikipedia:The perfect article and Wikipedia:Article development - the first two in particular. Let me know if you need any help, I will do what I can! Regards, (aeropagitica) 18:06, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

It's me again

Where can I find information about uploading pictures that I have taken and licensing issues that might come from it? Also, how do you reply to my messages and leave a copy on my own talk page? Thanks again, Rougeblossom 21:35, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

The best place to look for information about images on Wikipedia is Wikipedia:Uploading images. I would also think about uploading to Wikicommons rather than to Wikipedia, as this allows the images that you take to be shared amongst the WikiMedia group without the bother of multiple uploads. Image copyright tags advice contains information for image creators such as yourself. Lastly, to have this correspondence appear on both of our respective Talk pages, I simply copy-and-paste your enquiry and my response back on to your Talk page when I have finished. I prefer to format it as a script, that is - if you start a dialogue then your sections are fully left-justified; my sections are always indented by one space. If someone else joins in then they are indented twice. This way, I can instantly see which person has responded to a particular point without the bother of looking for their sig. Other people have their own methods of organising correspondence - you are free to find a style that suits you! Regards, (aeropagitica) 22:42, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

SERSeanCrane's adoption

Adoption: Sounds good. I've been working on some random articles...I'll try to narrow an interest list at some point but for now I've been checking the recent changes area. SERSeanCrane 23:04, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Great! Let me know if you have any questions about editing or participating in Wikipedia. There are many ways of contributing to this project and perhaps I can assist you in finding something that meets your needs and plays to your strengths as a researcher? Please don't feel afraid to ask a question. I'll do my best to find an answer for you. Half the fun of adopting people is discovering new information for myself with questions that I have not yet thought about asking! Regards, (aeropagitica) 23:12, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Another question...

How do I reference websites like this, when in the template on the right it has 2007 and then a link? Mrmoocow 03:55, 9 January 2007 (UTC)

Erm, I'm not too sure what you mean with your question! Looking at the article, I see that it doesn't have references attached, so I would take a look at WP:CITE and WP:FOOT in the first instance, to see how to cite articles and place footnotes on to pages. I would also look at WP:RS to understand about reliable sources, as there are many websites that exist to speculate about video games and associated technology, so you don't want so place speculation on to an article instead of verifiable facts from reliable sources. Let me know if I have misinterpreted your question and I'll try to answer more accurately if I have. Regards, (aeropagitica) 22:57, 9 January 2007 (UTC)

I'll use the HTML way for now. I've tried it out on Warhawk (Commodore 64 game). Did I reference correctly? Mrmoocow 23:02, 9 January 2007 (UTC)

I think that you've done a good job with the article. The code looks neat and the sources look reasonable. Well done! (aeropagitica) 23:08, 9 January 2007 (UTC)

Dealing With A Vandal

I'm dealing with a vandal from the Arizona Diamondbacks that's pretty relentless. I've warned and now reported the individual but the page is still being vandalized. I have no problem reverting it myself but just for reference, is there somewhere we can request anti-vandal editors for a page? SERSeanCrane 23:41, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

OK, if you are dealing with a vandal and you have warned them up to {{test4}} without getting them to stop you can report them for administrator intervention. This allows an admin to assess the situation on the page and possibly block the editor if they persist. For IP editors use the code {{IPvandal|<IPaddress>}} and for logged-in editors use {{Vandal|<vandalname>}}. (aeropagitica) 23:52, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

RfA SNOW closes

Many apologies for my not having gotten back to you sooner, and many thanks for your thoughtful reply. I ought probably to have emphasized that I didn't mean to suggest that you were the only editor recently to have closed RfAs in this fashion and or that I found you to have erred substantively relative to any of the closes. I continue to agree with you on the normative question, and I see no reason for us, as a matter of policy, to disfavor closes such as yours. Nevertheless, such closes seem in direct contravention of the RfA front matter, such that either the closes are against consensus (unlikely) or the front matter, descriptive as it ought to be, no longer fully reflects practice (very likely). Although any modifications to the "closures" section might well serve only to muddy an issue on which common sense seems at present to prevail and on which we ought perhaps to leave well enough alone, those of us who are more inclined to process (or, more accurately, to our rendering written policy such that it comports with practice) die a little inside each time a RfA is closed early consistent with SNOW. I'll raise the issue at RfA talk sometime soon, and should no one else object to the instant discord between practice and policy, I'll surely let it go (it is, after all, a relatively entirely insignificant issue). Joe 00:33, 9 January 2007 (UTC)

Re: Thank you!

Awee, thanks! And... you're welcome too. It just seemed that you were well-qualified for the job, so I recommended you. It was very nice to meet you too! Wikipedia is just getting really big, which is a good thing most of the time, but you definitely don't get to meet everyone. Thanks for the well-wishes for the schoolwork load and hopefully, like you said, we'll cross paths again! --lovelaughterlife♥^talk? 04:11, 9 January 2007 (UTC)

My Request for Adminship

Thank you for your support in my my RfA, which passed with a tally of 117/0/1 (not 116). You jumped the gun in congratulating me and I got another sup in those few minutes :P I hope that my conduct as an admin lives up to the somewhat flattering confidence the community has shown in me. See you round on CAT:ABL! Please don't hesitate to leave a message on my talk page should you need help or want to discuss something with me.--Nilfanion (talk) 15:50, 9 January 2007 (UTC)

Adoption

Lovelaughter said you were a good 'adoptive parent', for lack of a better word. Is it okay if I get adopted by you? --Umalee 18:43, 9 January 2007 (UTC)

Yes, that's fine with me! Feel free to ask my any questions that you have about Wikipedia and I will do my best to answer them for you. There may be a delay where I am asleep or at work but I will respond as soon as I can! Regards, (aeropagitica) 18:50, 9 January 2007 (UTC)

Archiving

Hello! How do you personally archive your talk page? I've looked into the bot that does it and other methods but wondered what you do, and why you use it. Also, that box on top of your talk page, is that a template or can I yoink the code from here to put on mine? :) ≈Krasniy^t/_c 19:59, 9 January 2007 (UTC)

I archive my Talk page physically when it gets to 32k in size. It's quite easy to do!

1. Open the page for editing, go to the archive section and create a new link with the appropriate dates.
2. Cut the section of the Talk page that I want to archive and leave an edit summary to say so.
3. Open the now-saved empty Talk page - the new archive link will be in red.
4. Click in the link, open the empty page and paste the contents of the Talk page there.
5. Add a {{talkarchive}} tag so that visitors will know that they need to post to your current page for you to see their messages.
6. Finished!

It's quite ok for you to steal code from my or any other page. I think that I stole it from someone else in the dim-and-distant past. There are many more elegant pages than mine out there and also automated archive features, so don't be afraid to experiment. It's a good idea to not let your Talk page rise above 32k in size as some browsers cut off articles that are larger than this, and you don't want editors losing their comments because of Wiki-browser interaction issues. Regards, (aeropagitica) 22:28, 9 January 2007 (UTC)

Ah oke, that sounds pretty simple. Thanks a lot! ≈Krasniy^t/_c 00:05, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

Questions

Actually, I have a lot of questions. My first one would be if I saw were to see an article that needed clean up, or needed a professnial (think doctor or lawyer) and yet has no disclaimer saying so. What should I do in that case? Also, how do I make citations for an article? --Umalee 21:43, 9 January 2007 (UTC)

OK, if I came across and article that I thought required the attentions of an expert in the subject, I would tag it with {{expert}}. For tagging articles, I suggest that you look at Wikipedia:Template messages, as there are many messages for many different circumstances. User Talk pages also have their own set of tags, Wikipedia:Template messages/User talk namespace. These come in useful for vandal fighting, something that you may want to do later on in your Wiki-career. Citation information can be found at WP:CITE and footnote information can be found at WP:FOOT. There's a lot to take in with my answer. Let me know about your follow-up questions and we'll go from there. Regards, (aeropagitica) 22:43, 9 January 2007 (UTC)

I think I get it. My next question would be how would I know when to just delete a unverified sentence, or when to actually go out of my way to verify it? --Umalee 19:51, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

Your adoption offer

Hi there! Thanks for your offer of adoption. Sorry it took me so long to get around to responding, I almost forgot about it! If you're still interested, I would be delighted to be adopted by you. It would be nice to have someone who can help me out once in a while. This Wikipedia business is fun, but a little overwhelming. The UK time issue is not a problem seeing as I am in the UK myself :) Maxdave2010 18:05, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

Not a problem, welcome aboard! You can ask me any question about Wikipedia editing, policy or process that occurs to you. Don't be afraid! I'll try to help as best I can. Check out my Talk page and archives for other questions that my adoptees have asked. You might have similar questions. Welcome to Wikipedia and have a great time contributing, ok? (aeropagitica) 18:08, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

Blocking User_talk:Doctorlove08

Thank you for your quick work with this block. I enjoy fighting vandalism around wikipedia, and yet this is the first time I'd used a request for adminship to block an account. I was a little stunned at how quick and decisive it was. I was a little suprised you used an indefinate block instead of a 24h block. It is true that the account has so far only been used for vandalism, and I'm pretty sure it would never be used for anything good, but I'm trying to assume eventual good faith.

Anyway, I wanted to check with you to make sure I did the right thing. Did I misrepresent the user's edits, or is it common to block them after only four edits? --Mdwyer 20:30, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

It depends upon circumstances - taking a look at the edits, you can see that they are not accidental vandalisms, so the probability increases that it is a vandal-only account. Indefinite means that the block can be repealed upon a successful review, if the editor decides to appeal. Regards, (aeropagitica) 22:05, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

I guess I have hopes that, with sufficient drugs and electro convulsive therapy, any vandal can become a good user... but maybe I'm being stupidly optimistic. :) In any case, thank you again! --Mdwyer 01:28, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

Unsigned comment

I thought it would be cheeky to slap an unsigned after your kind words at User talk:EdwinCasadoBaez, so instead I'm dropping you a line to let you know you forgot! :-) PS I think your explanation was charming and a wonderful example of WP:BITE in action. --Dweller 14:08, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

Thanks. You think that I bit when I left the message? I designed it to be constructive, can you let me know where I can improve it, please? (aeropagitica) 14:33, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

Sorry if I was ambiguous... no, I thought it was wonderful. It was nice of you to explain yourself at length to the newbie. Pretty much textbook not biting. --Dweller 16:16, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

Thanks, I was worried about that! Regards, (aeropagitica) 16:33, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

My RFA

Hey, thanks for participating in my recent RFA. You were amongst a number of editors who remained neutral on the topic. The RFA did not succeed (69/26/11). I am extremely grateful that you took the time to advise me on to improve as a Wikipedian and I'd like to assure you that I'll do my level best to develop my skills here to a point where you may feel you could trust me with the mop.

I've been blown away by the level of interest taken in my RFA and appreciate the time and energy dedicated by all the editors who have contributed to it, support, oppose and neutral alike. I hope to bump into you again soon and look forward to serving you and Wikipedia in any way I can. Cheers! The Rambling Man 19:51, 11 January 2007 (UTC) (the non-admin, formerly known as Budgiekiller)

Thanks

Thanks for blocking 63.250.143.9. Was that the proper place to report repeat offenders? SERSeanCrane 21:37, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

Yep, WP:AIV is the correct place to report vandals who continue to do so past the {{test4}} warning. (aeropagitica) 21:43, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

Can you take a look at the Tim McCarver article. I tagged the intro with 'fact' but I think it may just be vandalism. SERSeanCrane 21:52, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

Looks like Mc McCarver is being attacked by someone with a grudge, from several IP addresses and a joke account. I removed the unsubstantiated POV comment - no point tagging something like that with {{fact}}. You either provide the proof at the time of the edit or you don't make the edit. If one editor makes the same edit three times in a 24-hour period then they are liable to break the three revert rule and can be reported to AIV for blocking. You should also look at WP:NPOV to see what Wikipedia policy is on point-of-view material. You're doing a good job with the vandals, well done! Regards, (aeropagitica) 22:03, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

Are these vandals guilty of "3RR" at this point? Am I guilty of "3RR." (Tim McCarver) SERSeanCrane 14:51, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

An editor may be guilty of breaking the three revert rule when they place or remove the same section of an article three times in one twenty-four hour period. The exception to this is the editor who reverts the first editors' efforts. Vandal fighting is not considered to be a violation of 3RR. You can confirm this with a check of the editor's contributions and looking at the diffs supplied. If you find someone who is guilty of doing this, you can report them to Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard/3RR for action. Don't worry, you are not at fault when you are fighting vandals in this manner! (aeropagitica) 15:36, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

Requesting images

I am not very familiar with the law surrounding use of images, and despite reading Wikipedia's guidelines, I'm still not 100% clear. I have permission from a person to use their image on Wikipedia in whatever way we see fit. Is there anything we need to do to make this clear, and what tag should I use? Should I copy an e-mail from him in to the image description with "I, ******, hereby release this image into the public domain" or is that not necessary? Thanks! Goyston (talk) (contribs) 02:59, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

Thank you

		The Defender of the Wiki Barnstar
		This barnstar awarded for your prompt attention to the WBay situation. 68.76.222.11 06:16, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

Alerting an internet provider about a spammer

Hello! So the anon(s) has been really keeping me on my toes about the silly rescue link thing on the Malamute page. I figure the time has come, if not past already, to tell Tiscali about it. I know they've read at least the first spam warning and I put a comment in the page about the talk page and to see Wikipedia policy on links. At this point, I don't see how they could possibly not know and it's basically vandalism. Anyhoo, how should I go about this? Thanks! ≈Krasniy^t/_c 17:58, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

You can take a look at Wikipedia:Abuse reports and list the IP addresses there. Has the editor used an IP address for more than one vandal attack? Check out Wikipedia:Abuse reports/Guide to abuse reports to make sure that the details are all recorded in your report for the investigator to act upon. Let me know if you need any more assistance with this. This editor is very persistent! Regards, (aeropagitica) 18:20, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

They have used the same IP twice through all this I believe. All together it's been 9 different IP addresses so far. I'll go about reporting the IP's Abuse reports Thanks for the help. :) ≈Krasniy^t/_c 20:22, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

Should I add further IP address to my report if there are new ones that vandalize the article? ≈Krasniy^t/_c 20:53, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

Check that they are coming from the same ISP, which I believe was Tiscali, somewhere near Manchester, UK. If they are then there is a strong possibility that it is the same person and you will have reasonable evidence so that you can add it to the report. If they are coming from multiple ISPs then each will have to have a separate case built up for the benefit of each ISP sysadmin. (aeropagitica) 23:35, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

Hmmm. I've been reading through the abuse reports page and I've seen a note that says reports will be rejected unless the IP addresses being reported have been blocked at least five times. As I am not aware of any of the Tiscali IP addresses being blocked for spamming the Malamute article, I think that I may have given you this advice too soon. As it stands, each IP editor posting the spam link will have to be warned and can only be blocked once they have gone past the {{test4}} or {{blatantvandal}} warning. This has to happen five times before the report can be posted. I think that this is a measure to stop the reports page from being swamped, which is understandable. We'll have to do this the long way, then. Is the article on your watchlist? If so, watch for the addition of the spam link and issue the appropriate warning to the offending editor. If we have reasonable grounds to assume that it is the same editor then they could be classed as a blatant vandal. If they edit the page twice under the same IP address having been warned about blatant vandalism then there may be grounds to block them. I think that this may have to be a long-term goal of yours. It is achievable, though! Regards, (aeropagitica) 16:50, 13 January 2007 (UTC)

HTML Wiki markup

Hi again! Where can I find information on basic HTML or other codes used on Wikipedia? Thanks, Rougeblossom 19:36, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

I would look at:

Help pages

Help:Editing	Wikipedia:Cheatsheet	Wikipedia:How to edit a page
Help:Wikitext examples	Help:List	Help:Table
Help:Link	Help:Piped link

for starters! These pages should contain everything that you need to know for standard edits to articles. Let me know if you need anything else. Regards, (aeropagitica) 00:25, 13 January 2007 (UTC)

WP:ADOPT

Hi there,

As a current Adopter with the Adopt-a-User program there has been some ongoing developments that we would like to bring to your attention.

A new Adopter's Area has been created where you can find useful resources and other Adopter's experiences. Please feel free to add any resources you may have found useful as an Adopter, as well as recount any experiences that you think may help others. If you know of any useful resources for new users / Adoptees then you can add them here.

Also the way the adoption process works has changed slightly. To decrease workload at Category:Wikipedians seeking to be adopted in Adopt-a-user, on offering adoption please change the {{Adoptme}} template to {{Adoptoffer}} on the user's user page, and this will add the user to Category:Wikipedians having been offered adoption. Users that have already been offered adoption can always have a second or third offer, but by separating out those users that have not had an adoption offer yet, it is hoped that no one will go lacking.

Furthermore numerous Adopters have been adding their details to a list of users available for adopting, to offer a more personalised service and allow new users to browse through and pick their own Adopter. The quickest way to adopt though, is still to contact users at the Category:Wikipedians seeking to be adopted in Adopt-a-user.

Finally - thanks for all your hard work, keep it up - and if you have any general questions or suggestions about the further development of Wikipedia:Adopt-a-User please bring them to our talk page. Cheers Lethaniol 13:47, 13 January 2007 (UTC)