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ARCHIVE PAGE 62: February 2013


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Shell view types

Hi Susan, I have been adding images to articles using the FIST tool. For example, Diodora inaequalis. How do I define the three views in the thumbnail caption? Ganeshk (talk) 17:28, 3 February 2013 (UTC)

I would call the views dorsal, ventral and lateral in the sequence you currently have them. Views of limpets like this one tend to be labeled a bit differently from views of coiled snail shells. Invertzoo (talk) 17:31, 3 February 2013 (UTC)
Thanks. I have updated the thumbnail captions now. Ganeshk (talk) 17:35, 3 February 2013 (UTC)

The Signpost: 04 February 2013

On February 12, 2012, news of Whitney Houston's death brought 425 hits per second to her Wikipedia article, the highest peak traffic on any article since at least January 2010. It is broadly known that Wikipedia is the sixth most popular website on the Internet, but the English Wikipedia now has over 4 million articles and 29 million total pages. Much less attention has been given to traffic patterns and trends in content viewed.
Article feedback, at least through talk pages, has been a part of Wikipedia since its inception in 2001. The use of these pages, though, has typically been limited to experienced editors who know how to use them.
This week, we took a trip to WikiProject Norway. Started in February 2005, WikiProject Norway has become the home for almost 34,000 articles about the world's best place to live, including 16 Featured Articles, 19 Featured Lists, and nearly 250 Good Articles. The project works on a to do list, maintains a categorization system, watches article alerts, and serves as a discussion forum.
This week, the Signpost's featured content section continues its recap of 2012 by looking at featured portals, a small yet active part of the project. We interviewed FPOC directors Cirt and OhanaUnited.
On 30 January 2013, Kevin Morris in the Daily Dot summarised the bitter debates in Wikipedia around capitalisation or non-capitalisation of the word "into" in the title of the upcoming Star Trek film, Star Trek Into Darkness.
Following the deployment of the Wikidata client to the Hungarian Wikipedia last month, the client was also deployed to the Italian and Hebrew Wikipedias on Wednesday. The next target for the client, which automatically provides phase 1 functionality, is the English Wikipedia, with a deployment date of 11 February already set.

The Tea Leaf - Issue Seven

 
Check out the Teahouse Easter Egg Badge, awarded for helpful suggestions about improving the Teahouse.
 
Check out the Teahouse Genie Badge, awarded for solving issues on the Teahouse Wishlist.

Hello again! We have some neat updates about the Teahouse:

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Thanks again! Ocaasi 02:25, 9 February 2013 (UTC)

Happy Valentines Day!

Hello there Invertzoo,

I would just like to let you know that I am wishing you a Happy Valentines Day! I know its a few days early, but I'm sure it wouldn't necessarily matter what time I give you this message. Also, what you are reading right now is actually my 2000th edit on Wikipedia, a large milestone for me, I have decided to make my 2000th edit dedicated to you especially, with this kind edit. I hope you have a fantastic Valentines Day, happy editing! The whimsical enigmatic Solo Toady! 10:03, 12 February 2013 (UTC)


The Signpost: 11 February 2013

Wikipedia has a long, daresay storied history with hoaxes; our internal list documents 198 of the largest ones we have caught as of 4 January 2013. Why?
Six articles, one list, and fourteen pictures were promoted to "featured" states this week on the English Wikipedia.
This week, we got the details on WikiProject Infoboxes.
Foreign Policy has published a report on editing of the Wikipedia articles on the Senkaku Islands and Senkaku Islands dispute. The uninhabited islands are under the control of Japan, but China and Taiwan are asserting rival territorial claims. Tensions have risen of late—and not just in the waters surrounding the actual islands.
Wikimedia UK, the non-profit organization devoted to furthering the goals of the Wikimedia movement in the United Kingdom, has published the findings of a governance review conducted by Compass Partnership.
Current discussions on the English Wikipedia include...
The WMF's engineering report for January was published this week.

Some baklava for you!

  Hi. I saw your wiki video and searched about you. I really admire the passion that you have for your work. It was really inspiring. Also, it was a pleasure to see your desk and working area in the video. It was like your small world. I bet it must be one of your precious things. Thanks for inspiring me.

Pankaj Pankajsancheti (talk) 22:53, 14 February 2013 (UTC)

Thank you Pankajsanchet, both for the baklava and for the compliments. I was glad to be able to try to help WIkipedia in this way. My working area is my little shell cave, you are right. But I live in NYC, where most apartments are very small, so what you saw is about all the space we have here! Best wishes, Invertzoo (talk) 23:28, 14 February 2013 (UTC)

Also saw your interview via the foundation's email marketing. Great job, Invertzoo! P.S. If you have any leftover baklava.... Fletcher (talk) 03:00, 15 February 2013 (UTC)

The Signpost: 18 February 2013

This week, we put our life in the hands of WikiProject Airlines. Starting in July 2005, the project has improved articles relating to airline companies, alliances, destination lists, and travel benefit programs. WikiProject Airlines has accumulated over 4,000 pages, including 4 Featured Articles and 26 Good Articles.
As of time of writing, twenty wikis (including the English, French and Hungarian Wikipedias) are in the process of getting access to the Lua scripting language, an optional substitute for the clunky template code that exists at present.
On February 15, the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) declared 'victory' in its counter-lawsuit against Internet Brands (IB), the owner of Wikitravel and the operator of several online media, community, and e-commerce sites in vertical markets. The lawsuit clears the last remaining hurdles for the WMF's new travel guide project, Wikivoyage.
Sue Gardner's visit to Australia sparked a number of interviews in the Australian press. An interview published in the Daily Telegraph on 12 February 2013, titled "Data plans 'unnerving': Wikipedia boss", saw Gardner comment on Australian plans to store personal internet and telephone data. The planned measure, intended to assist crime prevention, would involve internet service providers and mobile phone firms storing customer usage data for up to two years.
Two articles, nine lists, and thirteen pictures were promoted to 'featured' status on the English Wikipedia this week.

Liked your talk about lead paragraphs at the Wikipedia Meetup

Totally agree with what you said.--Tomwsulcer (talk) 15:24, 24 February 2013 (UTC)

There wasn't time then, but I wanted to add something that I came across years back that might amplify your thesis, and help you help others write better lead paragraphs. And it is the definition of a definition from Socrates. It's a way of moving a reader from the known to the unknown, logically, like telling someone what a new word means, and this can be applied to encyclopedia articles too. It's this:--Tomwsulcer (talk) 15:24, 24 February 2013 (UTC)

___________ is a __________ that ____________.

The first blank is the name, hopefully unique and easy to pronounce. The second blank is the category: something understood, known, familiar, that the subject belongs to. The third blank is the point of difference -- in what way the subject differs from others subjects in the category.--Tomwsulcer (talk) 15:24, 24 February 2013 (UTC)

Example: Crest (name) is a toothpaste (category) that prevents cavities (point of difference). So a user, unfamiliar with Crest toothpaste, will know first that "Crest" is a toothpaste, but then will know how it differs from other toothpastes. Obviously, marketers use this formula in advertising.--Tomwsulcer (talk) 15:24, 24 February 2013 (UTC)

Or, an example from mollusks:--Tomwsulcer (talk) 15:24, 24 February 2013 (UTC)

A Socorro springsnail (name) is a snail (category) that is an tiny endangered species with a gill (point of difference).--Tomwsulcer (talk) 15:24, 24 February 2013 (UTC)

This formula, or variations of it, I have found to be a generally good way of introducing a reader of an unfamiliar topic to a state of somewhat greater enlightenment.--Tomwsulcer (talk) 15:24, 24 February 2013 (UTC)

Thanks Tom! It was nice to meet you, albeit briefly, on Saturday at the NYC meet-up. Thanks for your very helpful suggestions. I would like to see something more or less like that applied throughout the encyclopedia because it would be a shame if Wikipedia started to become too opaque or too hard to understand, you know, if it started to exclude people from the learning process. All good wishes, Invertzoo (talk) 16:20, 24 February 2013 (UTC)

Wiki Meetup Follow Up

Dear Susan

Thank you again for all your advice and help introducing me to the world of Wiki at yesterday's event.

Your heads up regarding potential COI issue with respect to the pending Metropolis Video submission is also appreciated. I will make a point to note that I was a member of the group on the talk page once the entry has been uploaded and the page is created. Again - thanks MichaelDOwen (talk) 21:50, 24 February 2013 (UTC)

Kitchen Press Release

Thanks for looking into the permissions requirement for posting the press release.

I've learned that the document was from The Kitchen's archive and recently sent to a member of Metropolis Video who requested it.

I doubt it's accessible on line. However, I'm in the process of getting the name of the contact at The Kitchen and will ask for permission to use the press release in the article. My question then is what form should this permission take and how would I demonstrate it in the process of uploading an image to the Wiki Commons?

Again, thanks again for your help with this.

MichaelDOwen (talk) 14:23, 25 February 2013 (UTC)

I am still researching the whole process, so I can't tell you yet how to do this. If the press release is protected by copyright then there is a process whereby permission may be granted, but it is neither very simple nor very fast. If the press release is not protected by copyright it is a different story of course. But U.S. copyright law is not a simple thing. Invertzoo (talk) 14:32, 25 February 2013 (UTC)
Also I wanted to add that the image of the press release would go into Wikimedia Commons, where it could be used by anyone at all for any purpose at all, even for commercial purposes (hypothetically at any rate), not just to illustrate the Metropolitan Video article. Invertzoo (talk) 16:34, 25 February 2013 (UTC)

The Tea Leaf - Issue Seven (special Birthday recap)

 
A celebratory cupcake from the Teahouse Birthday Badge

It's been a full year since the Teahouse opened, and as we're reflecting on what's been accomplished, we wanted to celebrate with you.

Teahouse guests and hosts are sharing their stories in a new blog post about the project.

1 year statistics for Teahouse visitors compared to invited non-visitors from the pilot:

Metric Control group Teahouse group Contrast
Average retention (weeks with at least 1 edit) 5.02 weeks 8.57 weeks 1.7x retention
Average number of articles edited 58.7 articles 116.9 edits 2.0x articles edited
Average talk page edits 36.5 edits 85.6 edits 2.4x talk page edits
Average article space edits 129.6 edits 360.4 edits 2.8x article edits
Average total edits (all namespaces) 182.1 edits 532.4 edits 2.9x total edits

Over the past year almost 2000 questions have been asked and answered, 669 editors have introduced themselves, 1670 guests have been served, 867 experienced Wikipedians have participated in the project, and 137 have served as hosts. Read more project analysis in our CSCW 2013 paper

Last month January was our most active month so far! 78 profiles were created, 46 active hosts answered 263 questions, and 11 new hosts joined the project.

Come by the Teahouse to share a cup of tea and enjoy a Birthday Cupcake! Happy Birthday to the Teahouse and thank you for a year's worth of interest and support :-)

-- Ocaasi and the rest of the Teahouse Team 20:45, 27 February 2013 (UTC)
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Zoogenetes

hello Invertzoo! hope you're doing ok. just giving you a heads-up about the new article. cheers, FoCuSandLeArN (talk) 22:03, 27 February 2013 (UTC)

The Signpost: 25 February 2013

On 13 February 2013, PR Report, the German sister publication of PR Week, published an article announcing that PR agency Fleishman-Hillard was offering a new analysis tool enabling companies to assess their articles in the German-language Wikipedia: the Wikipedia Corporate Index (WCI).
"Wikipedia and Encyclopedic Production" by Jeff Loveland (a historian of encyclopedias) and Joseph Reagle situates Wikipedia within the context of encyclopedic production historically, arguing that the features that many claim to be unique about Wikipedia actually have roots in encyclopedias of the past.
The Wikimedia Commons 2012 Picture of the Year contest has ended, with the winner being Pair of Merops apiaster feeding, taken by Pierre Dalous. The picture shows a pair of European Bee-eaters in a mating ritual—the male bird (right) has tossed the wasp into the air, and he will eventually offer it to the female (left).
Current discussions include...
Six articles, three lists, and twelve images were promoted to "featured" status on the English Wikipedia this month.
How can we measure the challenges facing a project or determine a WikiProject's productivity? Several prominent projects have been doing it for years: WikiWork.
Wikimedia Germany (WMDE) this week committed itself to funding the Wikidata development team, ending fears that phase three would be abandoned.

Copied from WP:MCQ note on "New image of an old press release"

This correspondence is copied from the WP:MCQ page:

What is the copyright status of a new photograph of an old (1977) press release? A new editor wants to upload his 2013 photograph of a paper press release from The Kitchen, dated October 6th and 8th 1977. The editor has not uploaded the image yet because I told him I want to check to see if there would be a copyright problem or not. I don't even know if a paper press release (which was sent out to journalists) is a "publication" or not. Invertzoo (talk) 12:59, 25 February 2013 (UTC)

Yup, that's a publication, and fully subject to copyright; taking a photo of it would not enable us to circumvent the copyright involved. --Orange Mike | Talk 17:46, 27 February 2013 (UTC)
Unless the press release had a copyright notice, which is highly unlikely since that would defeat its purpose, it should be PD, template "pd-pre1978." Press releases were intended to be published freely.--Wikiwatcher1 (talk) 18:08, 27 February 2013 (UTC)
Good point, watcher! --Orange Mike | Talk 19:17, 27 February 2013 (UTC)
Thanks so much Wikiwatcher and Orangemike! So it is indeed in the Public Domain, and should be templated as "pd-pre1978" when it is uploaded. Great! Thanks again! Invertzoo (talk) 13:19, 28 February 2013 (UTC)