User talk:Serendipodous/archive 20

Mentoring students: be sure to check in on them

This message is going out to all of the Online Ambassadors who are, or will be, serving as mentors this term.

Hi there! This is just a friendly reminder to check in on what your mentees are doing. If they've started making edits, take a look and help them out or do some example fixes for them, if they need it. And if they are doing good, let them know it!

If you aren't mentoring anyone yet, it looks like you will be soon; at least one large class is asking us to assign mentors for them, and students in a number of others haven't yet gotten to asking ambassadors to be their mentors, but may soon. --Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 20:08, 21 February 2011 (UTC)

:( For a lot of classes, there is a fair space in between account creation and when they have their next required on-wiki activity... usually starting a sandbox version of the article they will be writing. So don't give up hope just yet.--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 20:40, 21 February 2011 (UTC)

groups of students in need of mentors

Hey Serendipodous. One of the classes working with the Wikipedia Ambassador Program, Jonathan Obar's Media and Telecommunication Policy, is working in small groups and would like us to assign a mentor to each group (rather than having students request the mentors they'd like, as other classes are doing).

I invite you to sign on as the mentor for one or more groups, especially if any of the topics catch your interest. To sign up, go to the course page and add yourself as "Mentor: you" in the section for that group. They students and/or professor or campus ambassadors should be cleaning things up soon to list all the usernames for each group and add a few more groups. Once you know who the students are in the group, you can leave them each a quick introduction to let them know you'll be mentoring their group.

Thanks!--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 19:10, 22 February 2011 (UTC)

Mentor

Hello, My name is Cory Skibba and I am participating in the WikiProject through my Political Science class at Winona State University, in Winona Minnesota, and i was wondering if you would like to be my Online Ambassador.

Please let me know, Cory Skibba — Preceding unsigned comment added by CSkibba07 (talk • contribs) 04:42, 27 February 2011 (UTC)

Discworld

Hi,
I've just come across the confusing mess that is Discworld's presence on Wikipedia. Sorry to call it that but, as a long-term WP reader prior to being a WP editor, that's my first impression. Anyway, I'd like to start tidying it all up and I'd value any advice you'd care to provide.
More specifically, however, I've begun a page move discussion here. Perhaps you'd like to add your thoughts?
Thank you LordVetinari (talk) 02:04, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

Talkback

Hello, Serendipodous. You have new messages at Thomas888b's talk page.
Message added 16:57, 6 March 2011 (UTC). You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{Talkback}} or {{Tb}} template.

Please could you confirm your interest in being interviewed by the signpost. Thomas888b (Say Hi) 16:57, 6 March 2011 (UTC)

Thanks, would you be able to answer these questions? -- Thomas888b (Say Hi) 18:17, 6 March 2011 (UTC)

Thanks, Look for it in the April 04 edition of the Signpost. Thomas888b (Say Hi) 19:10, 6 March 2011 (UTC)

2012

Hello, I received your response in your removal of the edits in the talk page: 2012 phenomenon. I promise not to stray from instructions when posting edits on talk pages, and I will abide by the rules in the future. Thank you. + Mike D 26 (talk) 11:21, 12 March 2011 (UTC)

2011 end times prediction and 2011 end times prediction

Have you seen these? Dougweller (talk) 06:24, 13 March 2011 (UTC)

Marking articles students are working on

Howdy, Online Ambassador!

This is a quick message to all the ambassadors about marking and tracking which articles students are working on. For the classes working with the ambassador program, please look over any articles being worked on by students (in particular, any ones you are mentoring, but others who don't have mentors as well) and do these things:

1. Add {{WAP assignment | term = Spring 2011 }} to the articles' talk pages. (The other parameters of the {{WAP assignment}} template are helpful, so please add them as well, but the term = Spring 2011 one is most important.)
2. If the article is related to United States public policy, make sure the article the WikiProject banner is on the talk page: {{WikiProject United States Public Policy}}
3. Add Category:Article Feedback Pilot (a hidden category) to the article itself. The second phase of the Article Feedback Tool project has started, and this time we're trying to include all of the articles students are working on. Please test out the Article Feedback Tool, as well. The new version just deployed, so any bug reports or feedback will be appreciated by the tech team working on it.

And of course, don't forget to check in on the students, give them constructive feedback, praise them for positive contributions, award them {{The WikiPen}} if they are doing excellent work, and so on. And if you haven't done so, make sure any students you are mentoring are listed on your mentor profile.

Thanks! --Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 18:14, 15 March 2011 (UTC)

Wikipedia Ambassador Program Newsletter: 21 March 2011

The newsletter of the Wikipedia Ambassador Program – Volume 3, 21 March 2011 This is the third issue of the Wikipedia Ambassador Program Newsletter, with details about what's going on right now and where help is needed. Where the courses are - A brief summary of how each of the 31 Public Policy Initiative courses are faring so far in the Spring 2011 term, as of 9-11 March. Feel free to add more detail. Tracking students' articles - Make sure students' articles are tagged with {{WAP assignment}} on the talk pages, and have the newly improved Article Feedback Tool active. Education portal in progress - Wikimedia staff have started work on an outreach portal for information about teaching with and about Wikipedia. Please help develop it! Online Ambassadors logistics - If you don't have a Wikipedia Ambassador sweatshirt, now's your chance to get one! (Also, some other more mundane, but important, details.) Steering committee preparing proposals - Look for discussions about two major proposals about the future ambassador program soon: the "Regional Ambassador" role, and elections for a new committee. Editing Friday returns - This Friday, join fellow ambassadors and others real-time collaboration on Wainwright Building.

Delivered by EdwardsBot (talk) 22:27, 21 March 2011 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Credo accounts

Hello... FYI, you might want to check out Wikipedia:Credo accounts as you're active on FAs and GAs. Cheers. --Ckatz^chat_spy 00:59, 24 March 2011 (UTC)

Service award level

There has been a major revision of the the Service Awards: the edit requirements for the higher levels have been greatly reduced, to make them reasonably attainable.

Because of this, your Service Award level has been changed, and you are now eligible for a higher level. I have taken the liberty of updating your award on your user page.

Herostratus (talk) 15:47, 24 March 2011 (UTC)

In fact, you went up two levels. Congratulations, and thank you for your many contributions to the Wikipedia! Herostratus (talk) 15:47, 24 March 2011 (UTC)

Mentor

Hello Serendipodous,

My name is Josh (User: Clyburn209) and I am a graduate student in the Masters in Science in Environmental Management at the University of San Francisco . I am participating in the Wikiprojects for my Environmental Law class. Each of us has to pick a case and either create a wikipage or further edit it. I have picked Kivalina v. ExxonMobil Corp., Et al. It is a very interesting case and there is already a small wikipage availible, but much more could be added. Would you be interested in being my wikimentor for this project? Thank you for you help.

Joshua Clyburn — Preceding unsigned comment added by Clyburn209 (talk • contribs) 04:14, 1 April 2011 (UTC)

I have done some work on the page, I am not too sure about the ref. I have the same reference for a few different portions and I didn't know how to make the same ref for each. Here is the link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kivalina_v._ExxonMobil_Corporation#Dismissal_by_district_court

Thanks, Clyburn209 (talk) 19:07, 9 April 2011 (UTC)

Repost of Category:Doctor Who directors

A tag has been placed on Category:Doctor Who directors requesting that it be speedily deleted from Wikipedia, because it appears to be a repost of material that was previously deleted following a deletion process. If you can indicate how it is different from the previously posted material, place the template {{hang on}} underneath the other template on the article and put a note on the page's discussion page saying why this article should stay. Administrators will look at your reasoning before deciding what to do with the page. If you believe the original discussion was unjustified, please contact the administrator who deleted the page or use deletion review instead of continuing to recreate the page. Thank you. –anemoneprojectors– 22:10, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

Also Category:Doctor Who producers, Category:Doctor Who writers and Category:People associated with Doctor Who. –anemoneprojectors– 22:14, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

I have deleted 2 of these 4, and asked a bot to empty and delete the other 2. עוד מישהו Od Mishehu 05:30, 4 April 2011 (UTC)

2012 phenomenon

For sure, but is it ok if I go through it in detail after Wednesday? Let me know if there is a hurry. Nergaal (talk) 02:04, 4 April 2011 (UTC)

Went through the first 2 sections for now. I've added a few fact tags where strong statements are made (just duplicate references there), and some clarification tags where some attention is needed. Nergaal (talk) 05:18, 4 April 2011 (UTC)

What I meant is to provide a laymen explanation for the highly technical term in paranthesis. This article is aimed at the masses, and having something like this would turn off that target. I was thinking trying something like: "eschatological (related to the final events in history)...". Nergaal (talk) 03:41, 5 April 2011 (UTC)

I went through and placed more clarification needed tags where it is hard to understand what is really says. You should double-check the edits I made to make sure I did not change the meaning to something else. I hope it helped though. Good luck! Nergaal (talk) 05:02, 5 April 2011 (UTC)

I just realized something IS missing from the article: some people ARE making money out of this! Yes, popular culture is a sh*t section to have, but in this case, things have been so blown out of proportions that this needs to be addressed somehow. When the 2012 movie makes 100M+, and other authors get rich on this subject, this ought to be covered in some controversy section. As for the alien invation thing, as long as it is brief it should be ok. The Invasion: LA actually uses this premise (without clearly linking it to 2012) but I am sure something like this is mentioned among some of the fearmongerers. Nergaal (talk) 22:23, 5 April 2011 (UTC)

I am having troubles with the FAC of South Park (season 1) due to copyediting. If you have some spare time these days, could you give it a quick go? I think it is in a good state, but at least a reviewer is complaining. Nergaal (talk) 20:36, 7 April 2011 (UTC)

Categories for discussion nomination of Category:Actors who have played Doctor Who

Category:Actors who have played Doctor Who, which you created, has been nominated for discussion. If you would like to participate in the discussion, you are invited to add your comments at the category's entry on the Categories for discussion page. Thank you. עוד מישהו Od Mishehu 05:26, 4 April 2011 (UTC)

Hello, Serendipodous. You have new messages at Od Mishehu's talk page.
You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{Talkback}} or {{Tb}} template.

mentorship

Yep, it looks like you're offering the right kind of advice. Thanks!--Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 19:35, 12 April 2011 (UTC)

Reliable sourcing on 2012

Hi, while I think this article should be able to survive FA and if it doesn't it's the fault of nitpicky editors, a lot of extremely useful sociological, Mayanist and religious data, which could counter accusations of WP:SYNTH and so forth, will be supplied in a book that's not going to be published until June: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1845536401 Shii (tock) 02:05, 14 April 2011 (UTC)

I thought it looked ugly to have half of the references be in the Citations section and the other half in the References section, and I couldn't find any explanation for why that was done, so I was basically attempting to make it look better for FAC... sorry. Shii (tock) 08:03, 14 April 2011 (UTC)

Thanks! I'm going to get a copy of the book I linked above somehow so come 2012 all the newspapers will be copying off of us. Congratulations on creating a FA! Shii (tock) 06:30, 27 May 2011 (UTC)

Tyche archiving

Feel free to discuss the archiving at Talk:Tyche (hypothetical planet)#Archiving. This came about after a bit of a discussion at User talk:Telemachus.forward#Reverts on Talk:Tyche (hypothetical planet). Wyatt Riot (talk) 02:23, 16 April 2011 (UTC)

Wikipedia Ambassador Program Newsletter: 22 April 2011

The newsletter of the Wikipedia Ambassador Program – Volume 4, 22 April 2011 This is the fourth issue of the Wikipedia Ambassador Program Newsletter, with details about what's going on right now and where help is needed. Voting begins for steering committee - The voting phase for the Wikipedia Ambassador Steering Committee election started this week, and will continue through 27 April. Seeking more Regional Ambassadors in the US - We are still looking for Regional Ambassadors for the United States! The deadline has been extended to Friday, April 29th. India pilot being organized now - Plans are currently underway for a pilot expansion of the Wikipedia Ambassador Program – in India! Hisham Mundol and other Wikimedia staff have begun recruiting Campus Ambassador candidates for Pune. Document DYK, peer review and other milestone at the trophy case - If students you are working with (or any others you notice) are doing work that makes to DYK, is nominated for Good Article status, or is just solid content worth marking, then please help us document the students' success at the trophy case. Ambassador program at Wikimania - We're planning a set of Wikipedia Ambassador Program presentations for Wikimania 2011, in Haifa this August. Changes to mailing list - A new low-volume mailing list, [Ambassador-announce-l], is being created. It will be reserved for key announcements and news, which we'd like all ambassadors to be subscribed to.

Delivered by EdwardsBot (talk) 16:37, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

Elenin

You might find this link useful: Will Comet Elenin Destroy The Earth This Year? -- Kheider (talk) 03:42, 25 April 2011 (UTC)

Hello, Serendipodous. You have new messages at Mike Rosoft's talk page.
You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{Talkback}} or {{Tb}} template.

Please help assess articles for Public Policy Initiative research

Hi Serendipodous/archive 20,

Your work as an Online Ambassador is making a big contribution to Wikipedia. Right now, we're trying to measure just how much student work improves the quality of Wikipedia. If you'd like contribute to this research and get a firsthand look at the quality improvement that is happening through the project, please sign up to assess articles. Assessment is happening now, just use the quantitative metric and start assessing! Your help would be hugely appreciated!

Thank you, ARoth (Public Policy Initiative) (talk) 17:14, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

Thanks

Thank you for fixing the grammar error on the Neptune article. Have a nice day. :) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 204.113.118.138 (talk) 20:13, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

Feedback on the European Southern Observatory article

Dear Serendipodous,

I am writing regarding the recent submission of the article on the European Southern Observatory (ESO) for peer review. Ceranthor mentioned you have an interest in astronomy, and from the "vanity closet" on your user page I can see you are an experienced Wikipedian who has contributed to a significant number of FA. I was wondering if you would be able to give a read through the article on ESO and let me know what should be improved for it to meet FA criteria.

Thanks in advance for your help, Barbara (on behalf of Lars Lindberg Christensen, director of ESO's education and public outreach department.) Lars Lindberg Christensen (talk) 13:08, 18 May 2011 (UTC)

Wikipedia Ambassador sweatshirt

Hi! This is the last call for signing on for a Wikipedia Ambassador hooded sweatshirt (in case you missed the earlier message in one of the program newsletters about it). If you would like one, please email me with your name, mailing address, and (US) sweatshirt size. We have a limited number left, so it will be first-come, first-served. (If more than one size would work for you, note that as well.)

Cheers, Sage Ross - Online Facilitator, Wikimedia Foundation (talk) 19:43, 19 May 2011 (UTC)

Main page appearance

Hello! This is a note to let the main editors of this article know that it will be appearing as the main page featured article on May 21, 2011. You can view the TFA blurb at Wikipedia:Today's featured article/May 21, 2011. If you think it is necessary to change the main date, you can request it with the featured article director Raul654 (talk · contribs) or at Wikipedia talk:Today's featured article/requests. If the previous blurb needs tweaking, you might change it—following the instructions of the suggested formatting. If this article needs any attention or maintenance, it would be preferable if that could be done before its appearance on the Main Page so Wikipedia doesn't look bad. :D Thanks! Tbhotch* ^{۩ ۞} 21:23, 19 May 2011 (UTC)

The asteroid belt is a region of the Solar System located roughly between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter. It is occupied by numerous irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids or minor planets. More than half the mass of the belt is contained in the four largest objects: Ceres, 4 Vesta, 2 Pallas, and 10 Hygiea. These have mean diameters of more than 400 km, while the remaining bodies range down to the size of a dust particle. Individual asteroids within the main belt are categorized by their spectra, with most falling into three basic groups: carbonaceous (C-type), silicate (S-type), and metal-rich (M-type). The asteroid belt formed from the primordial solar nebula as a group of planetesimals, which in turn formed protoplanets. Between Mars and Jupiter, gravitational perturbations from the giant planet imbued the protoplanets with too much orbital energy for them to accrete into a planet. Collisions became too violent and, instead of sticking together, the planetesimals and most of the protoplanets shattered. Asteroid orbits continue to be appreciably perturbed whenever their period of revolution about the Sun forms an orbital resonance with Jupiter. Other regions of small solar system bodies include the centaurs, the Kuiper belt and scattered disk, and the Oort cloud. (more...)

Please take the Wikipedia Ambassador Program survey

Hi Ambassador,

We are at a pivotal point in the development of the Wikipedia Ambassador Program. Your feedback will help shape the program and role of Ambassadors in the future. Please take this 10 minute survey to help inform and improve the Wikipedia Ambassadors.

WMF will de-identify results and make them available to you. According to KwikSurveys' privacy policy: "Data and email addresses will not be sold, rented, leased or disclosed to 3rd parties." This link takes you to the online survey: http://kwiksurveys.com?u=WPAmbassador_talk

Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments, Thank You!

Amy Roth (Research Analyst, Public Policy Initiative) (talk) 20:45, 24 May 2011 (UTC)

interwiki for Bogeyman

Hello,

Your interwikis for Bogeyman are not correct. You cannot have multiple interwikis for the same language (es:).

Best regards,

Vargenau (talk) 14:49, 4 June 2011 (UTC)

Hello,

It is generally agreed that the interwikis must be "consistent", that is when you navigate from one language to another you cannot arrive on a different article in the same language that the one you started from.

If this is not true, interwikis robots cannot update interwikis automatically. See http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Pywikipediabot/interwiki.py

Best regards,

Vargenau (talk) 15:45, 7 June 2011 (UTC)

Hello,

You can break the en: article in several parts and link each part to the articles in the other languages.

If you want to keep a single en: article, you should link to the main article in the other language. This article should refer to the other articles in the same language (via normal links).

With interwikis, you can refer from a small article to a big one via anchors (foo#bar), but not the other way round.

Best regards,

Vargenau (talk) 16:13, 14 June 2011 (UTC)

Main page appearance (2)

Hello! This is a note to let the main editors of this article know that it will be appearing as the main page featured article on June 28, 2011. You can view the TFA blurb at Wikipedia:Today's featured article/June 28, 2011. If you think it is necessary to change the main date, you can request it with the featured article directors Raul654 (talk · contribs) or his delegate Dabomb87 (talk · contribs), or at Wikipedia talk:Today's featured article/requests. If the previous blurb needs tweaking, you might change it—following the instructions of the suggested formatting. If this article needs any attention or maintenance, it would be preferable if that could be done before its appearance on the Main Page so Wikipedia doesn't look bad. :D Thanks! ۞ Tbhotch^™ & (ↄ), My comment was grammatically incorrect? Correct it! → Click here for terms and conditions 05:16, 24 June 2011 (UTC)

Ariel is the brightest and fourth-largest of the 27 known moons of Uranus. Discovered on 24 October 1851 by William Lassell, it is named for a sky spirit in Alexander Pope's The Rape of the Lock and Shakespeare's The Tempest. Like its parent planet, Ariel orbits on its side, granting it an extreme seasonal cycle. As of 2011, almost all knowledge of Ariel derives from a single flyby of Uranus performed by the spacecraft Voyager 2 in 1986, which managed to image only 35% of the moon's surface. There are no plans at present to return to study the moon in more detail. After Miranda, Ariel is the second-smallest of Uranus's five round satellites, and the second-closest to its planet. Among the smaller of the Solar System's 19 known spherical moons (it ranks 14th among them in diameter), it is believed to be composed of roughly equal parts ice and rocky material. Like all of Uranus's moons, Ariel probably formed from an accretion disk that surrounded the planet shortly after its formation, and, like other large moons, it is likely differentiated, with an inner core of rock surrounded by a mantle of ice. Ariel has a complex surface comprising extensive cratered terrain cross-cut by a system of scarps, canyons and ridges. The surface shows signs of more recent geological activity than other Uranian moons, most likely due to tidal heating. (more...)

Talk:Timeline of prehistory

please see Talk:Timeline of prehistory. You remove the stone age timeline (part of prehistory) from the timeline article!?! --J. D. Redding 02:08, 28 June 2011 (UTC)

Ariel

Hi, I don't think we need this repeated on the page, IP was doing the right thing: --EdwardZhao (talk) 13:44, 28 June 2011 (UTC)

Linked talk does not equal neutral POV in definition

Actually, that subject pretty much sums it up 72.247.151.10 (talk) 21:40, 11 July 2011 (UTC)

There is NO agreed definition

Not just "no other." The only group that specifically agrees with the definition is approximately 2/3 of the voting members of the IAU. The sentence is misleading, as it stated the definition as a set fact. It is not a set fact. Just because one organisation has proclaimed it so does not make it a fact, and for a neutral point-of-view to be maintained, an article that states this as a fact to start out with, is therefore presenting that organisation's opinion as a stated fact, regardless of whether a footnote is made later.

The additional, clarifying information "according to the IAU definition of 'planet'" is informational, balances out the POV that the IAU's vote determines reality, is factual, and immediately references the fact that this is not an agreed-upon definition, merely one opinion out of many. It should remain.

I would appreciate you not vandalising this balancing information anymore. 72.247.151.10 (talk) 22:00, 11 July 2011 (UTC)

There are a number of religious organisations that have defined "God." As religious organisations, one could argue that they have expertise in the matter. It would not be considered NPOV to start out the article on God with one of these definitions. 72.247.151.10 (talk) 22:03, 11 July 2011 (UTC)