I recognize that this user page belongs to the Wikipedia project and not to me personally. As such, I recognize that I am expected to respectfully abide by community standards as to the presentation and content of this page, and that if I do not like these guidelines, I am welcome either to engage in reasonable discussion about it, to publish my material elsewhere, or to leave the project.
My real name is Larry Pieniazek and I like LEGO(r) Brand building elements. Feel free to mail me with comments or concerns if you don't want to post. As a note, I rarely get involved in anything any more, I confine my activity at WMF projects to a little light editing here and there, so your email is most likely to get a response on your talk page that I got it and I'm not going to do anything about it.
Here about a BLP that's persistently getting vandalized and you want me to semi protect it? Leave a note below, (User:Lar/Liberal Semi is no longer in use) and I or one of my TPWs will get it.
Here to leave me a message? Response time varies depending on where I'm active... Ping me if it's truly urgent, or find another admin.
Here about accountability? see my accountability page. Note: The apparent listification of the category (it's back but may go away again) does not change my commitment to my recallability in any way
Please read the two blue boxes :).
A Note on how things are done here:
Being a "grumpy old curmudgeon", I have certain principles governing this talk page which I expect you to adhere to if you post here. (This talk page is my "territory", (although I acknowledge it's not really mine, it's the community's) and I assume janitorial responsibility for it.)
Please observe Wikipedia:Etiquette and Talk Page Etiquette here.
I may, without notice, refactor comments to put like with like, correct indents, or retitle sections to reflect their contents more clearly. If I inadvertently change the meaning of anything, please let me know so I can fix it!
While I reserve the right to delete comments I find egregiously poor form, I am normally opposed to doing so and use monthly random archives instead. If you post here, your words will remain here and eventually in the archives, so please do not delete them, use strikeouts. In other words, think carefully about what you say rather than posting hastily or heatedly.
Edit warring here is particularly bad form. One of my WP:TPW's may well issue a short block, so don't do it.
When all else fails, check the edit history.
(cribbed from User:Fyslee's header... Thanks!)
(From User:Lar/Eeyore Policy)
A Note on threading:
Interpersonal communication does not work when messages are left on individual users' talk pages rather than threaded, especially when a third party wishes to read or reply.
Being a "bear of very little brain", I get easily confused when trying to follow conversations that bounce back and forth, so I've decided to try the convention that many others seem to use, aggregation of messages on either your talk page or my talk page. If the conversation is about an article I will try to aggregate on the article's talk page.
If the conversation is on your talk page or an article talk page, I will watch it.
If the conversation is on my talk page or an article talk page and I think that you may not be watching it, I will link to it in a note on your talk page, or in the edit summary of an empty edit. But if you start a thread here, please watch it.
I may mess up, don't worry, I'll find it eventually. Ping me if you really need to.
please note this is a personal preference rather than a matter of site policy
(From User:Lar/Pooh Policy)
Archives
Talk Page Archives
v
t
e
My 2006 archived talk
Archive 1
start through about 22 Jan 2006
Archive 2
22 Jan 2006 through 1 Mar 2006
Archive 3
1 Mar 2006 through 1 Apr 2006
Archive 4
1 Apr 2006 through 15 Apr 2006
Archive 5
15 Apr 2006 through 1 May 2006
Archive 6
1 May 2006 through 15 May 2006
Archive 7
15 May 2006 through 1 June 2006
Archive 8
1 June 2006 through 15 June 2006
Archive 9
15 June 2006 through 1 July 2006
Archive 10
1 July 2006 through 15 July 2006
Archive 11
15 July 2006 through 1 August 2006
Archive 12
1 August 2006 through 15 August 2006
Archive 13
15 August 2006 through 1 September 2006
Archive 14
1 September 2006 through 15 September 2006
Archive 15
15 September 2006 through 1 October 2006
Archive 16
1 October 2006 through 15 October 2006
Archive 17
15 October 2006 through 1 November 2006
Archive 18
1 November 2006 through 15 November 2006
Archive 19
15 November 2006 through 1 December 2006
Archive 20
1 December 2006 through 15 December 2006
Archive 21
15 December 2006 through 1 January 2007
My 2007 archived talk
Archive 22
1 January 2007 through 15 January 2007
Archive 23
15 January 2007 through 1 February 2007
Archive 24
1 February 2007 through 15 February 2007
Archive 25
15 February 2007 through 1 March 2007
Archive 26
1 March 2007 through 15 March 2007
Archive 27
Trentino — South Tyrol topics
Archive 28
15 March 2007 through 1 April 2007
Archive 29
1 April 2007 through 1 May 2007
Archive 30
1 May 2007 through 1 June 2007
Archive 31
1 June 2007 through 1 July 2007
Archive 32
1 July 2007 through 1 August 2007
Archive 33
1 August 2007 through 1 September 2007
Archive 34
1 September 2007 through 1 October 2007
Archive 35
1 October 2007 through 1 November 2007
Archive 36
1 November 2007 through 1 December 2007
Archive 37
1 December 2007 through 1 January 2008
My 2008 archived talk
Archive 38
1 January 2008 through 1 February 2008
Archive 39
1 February 2008 through 1 March 2008
Archive 40
1 March 2008 through 1 April 2008
Archive 41
1 April 2008 through 1 May 2008
Archive 42
1 May 2008 through 1 June 2008
Archive 43
1 June 2008 through 1 July 2008
Archive 44
1 July 2008 through 1 August 2008
Archive 45
1 August 2008 through 1 September 2008
Archive 46
1 September 2008 through 1 October 2008
Archive 47
1 October 2008 through 1 November 2008
Archive 48
1 November 2008 through 1 December 2008
Archive 49
1 December 2008 through 1 January 2009
My 2009 archived talk
Archive 50
1 January 2009 through 1 February 2009
Archive 51
1 February 2009 through 1 March 2009
Archive 52
1 March 2009 through 1 April 2009
Archive 53
1 April 2009 through 1 May 2009
Archive 54
1 May 2009 through 1 June 2009
Archive 55
1 June 2009 through 1 July 2009
Archive 56
1 July 2009 through 1 August 2009
Archive 57
1 August 2009 through 1 September 2009
Archive 58
1 September 2009 through 1 October 2009
Archive 59
1 October 2009 through 1 November 2009
Archive 60
1 November 2009 through 1 December 2009
Archive 61
1 December 2009 through 1 January 2010
My 2010 archived talk
Archive 62
1 January 2010 through 1 February 2010
Archive 63
1 February 2010 through 1 March 2010
Archive 64
1 March 2010 through 1 April 2010
Archive 65
1 April 2010 through 1 May 2010
Archive 66
1 May 2010 through 1 June 2010
Archive 67
1 June 2010 through 1 July 2010
Archive 68
1 July 2010 through 1 August 2010
Archive 69
1 August 2010 through 1 September 2010
Archive 70
1 September 2010 through 1 October 2010
Archive 71
1 October 2010 through 1 November 2010
Archive 72
1 November 2010 through 1 December 2010
Archive 73
1 December 2010 through 1 January 2011
My 2011/2012 archived talk
Archive 74
1 January 2011 through 1 February 2011
Archive 75
1 February 2011 through 1 March 2011
Archive 76
1 March 2011 through 1 April 2011
Archive 77
1 April 2011 through 1 May 2011
Archive 78
1 May 2011 through 1 December 2012
My post 2012 archived talk
Archive 79
1 December 2012 through 1 December 2013
Archive 80
1 December 2013 through 1 December 2016
Archive 81
1 December 2016 through 1 December 2018
Archive 82
1 December 2018 through 1 December 2020 ??
RfA Thank Yous
RFA Archive
Howcheng (27 Dec 2005) through present
All dates approximate, conversations organised by thread start date
Note: I archive off RfA thank yous separately, I think they're neat! An index to all my talk page archives, automatically maintained by User:HBC Archive Indexerbot can be found at User:Lar/TalkArchiveIndex.
‹ The template below ( Talk header) is being considered for merging. See templates for discussion to help reach a consensus. ›
This is Lar's talk page, where you can send them messages and comments.
Put new text under old text. Click here to start a new topic.
Sign your posts by typing four tildes (~~~~).
New to Wikipedia? Welcome! Learn to edit; get help.
Assume good faith
Be polite and avoid personal attacks
Be welcoming to newcomers
Seek dispute resolution if needed
ArbCom 2018 election voter message
Hello, Lar. Voting in the 2018 Arbitration Committee elections is now open until 23.59 on Sunday, 3 December. All users who registered an account before Sunday, 28 October 2018, made at least 150 mainspace edits before Thursday, 1 November 2018 and are not currently blocked are eligible to vote. Users with alternate accounts may only vote once.
The Arbitration Committee is the panel of editors responsible for conducting the Wikipedia arbitration process. It has the authority to impose binding solutions to disputes between editors, primarily for serious conduct disputes the community has been unable to resolve. This includes the authority to impose site bans, topic bans, editing restrictions, and other measures needed to maintain our editing environment. The arbitration policy describes the Committee's roles and responsibilities in greater detail.
If you wish to participate in the 2018 election, please review the candidates and submit your choices on the voting page. MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 18:42, 19 November 2018 (UTC)
Administrators' newsletter – December 2018
News and updates for administrators from the past month (November 2018).
Administrator changes
Al Ameer son • Randykitty • Spartaz
Boson • Daniel J. Leivick • Efe • Esanchez7587 • Fred Bauder • Garzo • Martijn Hoekstra • Orangemike
Interface administrator changes
Deryck Chan
Guideline and policy news
Following a request for comment, the Mediation Committee is now closed and will no longer be accepting case requests.
A request for comment is in progress to determine whether members of the Bot Approvals Group should satisfy activity requirements in order to remain in that role.
A request for comment is in progress regarding whether to change the administrator inactivity policy, such that administrators "who have made no logged administrative actions for at least 12 months may be desysopped". Currently, the policy states that administrators "who have made neither edits nor administrative actions for at least 12 months may be desysopped".
A proposal has been made to temporarily restrict editing of the Main Page to interface administrators in order to mitigate the impact of compromised accounts.
Technical news
Administrators and bureaucrats can no longer unblock themselves unless they placed the block initially. This change has been implemented globally. See also this ongoing village pump discussion (permalink).
To complement the aforementioned change, blocked administrators will soon have the ability to block the administrator that placed their block to mitigate the possibility of a compromised administrator account blocking all other active administrators.
Since deployment of Partial blocks on Test Wikipedia, several bugs were identified. Most of them are now fixed. Administrators are encouraged to test the new deployment and report new bugs on Phabricator or leave feedback on the Project's talk page. You can request administrator access on the Test Wiki here.
Arbitration
Voting in the 2018 Arbitration Committee Elections is open to eligible editors until Monday 23:59, 3 December 2018. Please review the candidates and, if you wish to do so, submit your choices on the voting page.
Miscellaneous
In late November, an attacker compromised multiple accounts, including at least four administrator accounts, and used them to vandalize Wikipedia. If you have ever used your current password on any other website, you should change it immediately. Sharing the same password across multiple websites makes your account vulnerable, especially if your password was used on a website that suffered a data breach. As these incidents have shown, these concerns are not pure fantasies.
Wikipedia policy requires administrators to have strong passwords. To further reinforce security, administrators should also consider enabling two-factor authentication. A committed identity can be used to verify that you are the true account owner in the event that your account is compromised and/or you are unable to log in.
Obituaries
Shock Brigade Harvester Boris (Raymond Arritt) passed away on 14 November 2018. Boris joined Wikipedia as Raymond arritt on 8 May 2006 and was an administrator from 30 July 2007 to 2 June 2008.
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Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 03:36, 3 December 2018 (UTC)
Precious
ships and bridges
Thank you for quality articles such as SS Christopher Columbus, Ada Covered Bridge and Rika's Landing Roadhouse, for admin services on many levels in the past, for "english usage corrections", for help from 2005, for missing, - Larry, repeating (10 January 2009): you are an awesome Wikipedian!
-- Gerda Arendt ( talk) 00:05, 29 December 2018 (UTC)
Awesome
Ten years!
... repeating --Gerda Arendt (talk) 07:56, 10 January 2019 (UTC)
thank you so much for your thoughtfulness... It is easy to lose track of just how far back some things go. ++ Lar: t/ c 23:18, 12 January 2019 (UTC)
A year ago, you were recipient no. 2103 of Precious, a prize of QAI! -- Gerda Arendt ( talk) 07:17, 28 December 2019 (UTC)
Administrators' newsletter – January 2019
News and updates for administrators from the past month (December 2018).
There are a number of new or changed speedy deletion criteria, each previously part of WP:CSD#G6:
G14 (new): Disambiguation pages that disambiguate only zero or one existing pages are now covered under the new G14 criterion (discussion). This is {{db-disambig}}; the text is unchanged and candidates may be found in Category:Candidates for speedy deletion as unnecessary disambiguation pages.
R4 (new): Redirects in the file namespace (and no file links) that have the same name as a file or redirect at Commons are now covered under the new R4 criterion (discussion). This is {{db-redircom}}; the text is unchanged.
G13 (expanded): Userspace drafts containing only the default Article Wizard text are now covered under G13 along with other drafts (discussion). Such blank drafts are now eligible after six months rather than one year, and taggers continue to use {{db-blankdraft}}.
The Wikimedia Foundation now requires all interface administrators to enable two-factor authentication.
Members of the Bot Approvals Group (BAG) are now subject to an activity requirement. After two years without any bot-related activity (e.g. operating a bot, posting on a bot-related talk page), BAG members will be retired from BAG following a one-week notice.
Technical news
Starting on December 13, the Wikimedia Foundation security team implemented new password policy and requirements. Privileged accounts (administrators, bureaucrats, checkusers, oversighters, interface administrators, bots, edit filter managers/helpers, template editors, et al.) must have a password at least 10 characters in length. All accounts must have a password:
User accounts not meeting these requirements will be prompted to update their password accordingly. More information is available on MediaWiki.org.
Blocked administrators may now block the administrator that blocked them. This was done to mitigate the possibility that a compromised administrator account would block all other active administrators, complementing the removal of the ability to unblock oneself outside of self-imposed blocks. A request for comment is currently in progress to determine whether the blocking policy should be updated regarding this change.
{{Copyvio-revdel}} now has a link to open the history with the RevDel checkboxes already filled in.
Arbitration
Following the 2018 Arbitration Committee elections, the following editors have been appointed to the Arbitration Committee: AGK, Courcelles, GorillaWarfare, Joe Roe, Mkdw, SilkTork.
Miscellaneous
Accounts continue to be compromised on a regular basis. Evidence shows this is entirely due to the accounts having the same password that was used on another website that suffered a data breach. If you have ever used your current password on any other website, you should change it immediately.
Around 22% of admins have enabled two-factor authentication, up from 20% in June 2018. If you haven't already enabled it, please consider doing so. Regardless of whether you use 2FA, please practice appropriate account security by ensuring your password is secure and unique to Wikimedia.
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Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 21:38, 1 January 2019 (UTC)
2019
Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht
Happy 2019
begin it with music and memories
Not too late, I hope ;) --Gerda Arendt (talk) 13:43, 13 January 2019 (UTC)
Administrators' newsletter – February 2019
News and updates for administrators from the past month (January 2019).
Administrator changes
Enterprisey • JJMC89
BorgQueen
Harro5 • Jenks24 • Graft • R. Baley
Interface administrator changes
Enterprisey
Guideline and policy news
A request for comment is currently open to reevaluate the activity requirements for administrators.
Administrators who are blocked have the technical ability to block the administrator who blocked their own account. A recent request for comment has amended the blocking policy to clarify that this ability should only be used in exceptional circumstances, such as account compromises, where there is a clear and immediate need.
A request for comment closed with a consensus in favor of deprecating The Sun as a permissible reference, and creating an edit filter to warn users who attempt to cite it.
Technical news
A discussion regarding an overhaul of the format and appearance of Wikipedia:Requests for page protection is in progress (permalink). The proposed changes will make it easier to create requests for those who are not using Twinkle. The workflow for administrators at this venue will largely be unchanged. Additionally, there are plans to archive requests similar to how it is done at WP:PERM, where historical records are kept so that prior requests can more easily be searched for.
Miscellaneous
Voting in the 2019 Steward elections will begin on 08 February 2019, 14:00 (UTC) and end on 28 February 2019, 13:59 (UTC). The confirmation process of current stewards is being held in parallel. You can automatically check your eligibility to vote.
A new IRC bot is available that allows you to subscribe to notifications when specific filters are tripped. This requires that your IRC handle be identified.
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Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 02:15, 4 February 2019 (UTC)
Administrators' newsletter – March 2019
News and updates for administrators from the past month (February 2019).
Administrator changes
Evad37
There'sNoTime
Alex Shih • Brian • Mushroom • Nakon • Oscarthecat • PeruvianLlama • Ragib • Reaper Eternal • Rossami • Tom
Interface administrator changes
Evad37 • Galobtter
Ritchie333
CheckUser changes
There'sNoTime
Keegan • Ks0stm
Oversight changes
There'sNoTime
Ks0stm • Sphilbrick
Guideline and policy news
The RfC on administrator activity requirements failed to reach consensus for any proposal.
Following discussions at the Bureaucrats' noticeboard and Wikipedia talk:Administrators, an earlier change to the restoration of adminship policy was reverted. If requested, bureaucrats will not restore administrator permissions removed due to inactivity if there have been five years without a logged administrator action; this "five year rule" does not apply to permissions removed voluntarily.
Technical news
A new tool is available to help determine if a given IP is an open proxy/VPN/webhost/compromised host.
Arbitration
The Arbitration Committee announced two new OTRS queues. Both are meant solely for cases involving private information; other cases will continue to be handled at the appropriate venues (e.g., WP:COIN or WP:SPI).
paid-en-wpwikipedia.org has been set up to receive private evidence related to abusive paid editing.
checkuser-en-wpwikipedia.org has been set up to receive private requests for CheckUser. For instance, requests for IP block exemption for anonymous proxy editing should now be sent to this address instead of the functionaries-en list.
Miscellaneous
Following the 2019 Steward Elections, the following editors have been appointed as stewards: Base, Einsbor, Jon Kolbert, Schniggendiller, and Wim b.
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Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 21:13, 4 March 2019 (UTC)
Should Wikipedia:CommonsTicker be deleted?
To ask for deletion or not, I'll have to pass this idea off to you, the local contact on that page, since my real-life limitations have temporarily worsened to include a 3rd-degree burn up my shin. More pictures (eventually) for the Commons, though! However, I did fix a redlink on the above-mentioned page (see also the Edit summary) based on the following discussing the deleted, redlinked page:
14:59, April 21, 2015 Maintenance script (talk | contribs) moved page User:CommonsTickerBot to User:CommonsTickerBot~enwiki without leaving a redirect (Automatically moved page while renaming the user "CommonsTickerBot" to "CommonsTickerBot~enwiki") (revert)
Thanks for all you do in many ways, Geekdiva (talk) 02:14, 31 March 2019 (UTC)
TBH I have completely forgotten what this is. It was a long time ago. IIRC I set up the page at the request of some folks on Commons working on it. Near as I can tell, it's not actually doing anything, and if you follow the links to Commons, it isn't running at that end either. I have no issue if the consensus is to delete. It's not hurting anything being there but it also could confuse people. ++ Lar: t/ c 22:18, 3 April 2019 (UTC)
Administrators' newsletter – April 2019
News and updates for administrators from the past month (March 2019).
Administrator changes
Reaper Eternal • ThaddeusB
Bogdangiusca • Christopher Parham • Necrothesp • Schneelocke • Siroxo • Sarah
Mentifisto → Lofty abyss
Interface administrator changes
Mr. Stradivarius
Bureaucrat changes
DeltaQuad
Kingturtle
Technical news
In Special:Preferences under "Appearance" → "Advanced options", there is now an option to show a confirmation prompt when clicking on a rollback link.
The Wikimedia Foundation's Community health initiative plans to design and build a new user reporting system to make it easier for people experiencing harassment and other forms of abuse to provide accurate information to the appropriate channel for action to be taken. Please see meta:Community health initiative/User reporting system consultation 2019 to provide your input on this idea.
Arbitration
The Arbitration Committee clarified that the General 1RR prohibition for Palestine-Israel articles may only be enforced on pages with the {{ARBPIA 1RR editnotice}} edit notice.
Miscellaneous
Two more administrator accounts were compromised. Evidence has shown that these attacks, like previous incidents, were due to reusing a password that was used on another website that suffered a data breach. If you have ever used your current password on any other website, you should change it immediately. All admins are strongly encouraged to enable two-factor authentication, please consider doing so. Please always practice appropriate account security by ensuring your password is secure and unique to Wikimedia.
As a reminder, according to WP:NOQUORUM, administrators looking to close or relist an AfD should evaluate a nomination that has received few or no comments as if it were a proposed deletion (PROD) prior to determining whether it should be relisted.
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Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 21:57, 7 April 2019 (UTC)
ArbCom 2019 special circular
Administrators must secure their accounts
The Arbitration Committee may require a new RfA if your account is compromised.
Use strong, unique passwords for your Wikipedia account and associated email
Change your password now if your Wikipedia account password or email password is reused on another website, exposed, or weak
Enable two-factor authentication now for improved security
View additional information
Why have I received this message?
All administrators are receiving it.
What prompted you to send this message?
Recently, several Wikipedia admin accounts were compromised. The admin accounts were desysopped on an emergency basis. In the past, the Committee often resysopped admin accounts as a matter of course once the admin was back in control of their account. The committee has updated its guidelines. Admins may now be required to undergo a fresh Request for Adminship (RfA) after losing control of their account.
What do I need to do?
Only to follow the instructions in this message.
Check that your password is unique (not reused across sites).
Check that your password is strong (not simple or guessable).
Enable Two-factor authentication (2FA), if you can, to create a second hurdle for attackers.
How can I find out more about two-factor authentication (2FA)?
You can find out more about 2FA at m:2FA.
This message was sent to all administrators following a recent motion. Thank you for your attention. For the Arbitration Committee, Cameron11598 02:50, 4 May 2019 (UTC)
Administrator account security (Correction to Arbcom 2019 special circular)
ArbCom would like to apologise and correct our previous mass message in light of the response from the community.
Since November 2018, six administrator accounts have been compromised and temporarily desysopped. In an effort to help improve account security, our intention was to remind administrators of existing policies on account security — that they are required to "have strong passwords and follow appropriate personal security practices." We have updated our procedures to ensure that we enforce these policies more strictly in the future. The policies themselves have not changed. In particular, two-factor authentication remains an optional means of adding extra security to your account. The choice not to enable 2FA will not be considered when deciding to restore sysop privileges to administrator accounts that were compromised.
We are sorry for the wording of our previous message, which did not accurately convey this, and deeply regret the tone in which it was delivered.
For the Arbitration Committee, -Cameron11598 21:03, 4 May 2019 (UTC)
Administrators' newsletter – May 2019
News and updates for administrators from the past month (April 2019).
Administrator changes
HickoryOughtShirt?4 • RexxS
Necrothesp
Bratsche • Kyle Barbour • Kzollman • Madman
Interface administrator changes
Pharos
Bureaucrat changes
Primefac
CheckUser changes
Reaper Eternal
Guideline and policy news
A request for comment concluded that creating pages in the portal namespace should be restricted to autoconfirmed users.
Following a request for comment, the subject-specific notability guideline for pornographic actors and models (WP:PORNBIO) was removed; in its place, editors should consult WP:ENT and WP:GNG.
Technical news
XTools Admin Stats, a tool to list admins by administrative actions, has been revamped to support more types of log entries such as AbuseFilter changes. Two additional tools have been integrated into it as well: Steward Stats and Patroller Stats.
Arbitration
In response to the continuing compromise of administrator accounts, the Arbitration Committee passed a motion amending the procedures for return of permissions (diff). In such cases, the committee will review all available information to determine whether the administrator followed "appropriate personal security practices" before restoring permissions; administrators found failing to have adequately done so will not be resysopped automatically. All current administrators have been notified of this change.
Following a formal ratification process, the arbitration policy has been amended (diff). Specifically, the two-thirds majority required to remove or suspend an arbitrator now excludes (1) the arbitrator facing suspension or removal, and (2) any inactive arbitrator who does not respond within 30 days to attempts to solicit their feedback on the resolution through all known methods of communication.
Miscellaneous
A request for comment is currently open to amend the community sanctions procedure to exclude non XfD or CSD deletions.
A proposal to remove pre-2009 indefinite IP blocks is currently open for discussion.
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Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 00:37, 5 May 2019 (UTC)
Administrators' newsletter – June 2019
News and updates for administrators from the past month (May 2019).
An RfC seeks to clarify whether WP:OUTING should include information on just the English Wikipedia or any Wikimedia project.
An RfC on WT:RfA concluded that Requests for adminship and bureaucratship are discussions seeking to build consensus.
An RfC proposal to make the templates for discussion (TfD) process more like the requested moves (RM) process, i.e. "as a clearinghouse of template discussions", was closed as successful.
Technical news
The CSD feature of Twinkle now allows admins to notify page creators of deletion if the page had not been tagged. The default behavior matches that of tagging notifications, and replaces the ability to open the user talk page upon deletion. You can customize which criteria receive notifications in your Twinkle preferences: look for Notify page creator when deleting under these criteria.
Twinkle's d-batch (batch delete) feature now supports deleting subpages (and related redirects and talk pages) of each page. The pages will be listed first but use with caution! The und-batch (batch undelete) option can now also restore talk pages.
Miscellaneous
The previously discussed unblocking of IP addresses indefinitely-blocked before 2009 was approved and has taken place.
The 2019 talk pages consultation produced a report for Phase 1 and has entered Phase 2.
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Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 09:48, 8 June 2019 (UTC)
Happy First Edit Day
Hey, Lar. I'd like to wish you a wonderful First Edit Day on behalf of the Wikipedia Birthday Committee! Have a great day! Mjs1991 (talk) 12:49, 8 June 2019 (UTC)
News and updates for administrators from the past month (June 2019).
Administrator changes
28bytes • Ad Orientem • Ansh666 • Beeblebrox • Boing! said Zebedee • BU Rob13 • Dennis Brown • Deor • DoRD • Floquenbeam1 • Flyguy649 • Fram2 • Gadfium • GB fan • Jonathunder • Kusma • Lectonar • Moink • MSGJ • Nick • Od Mishehu • Rama • Spartaz • Syrthiss • TheDJ • WJBscribe
1Floquenbeam's access was removed, then restored, then removed again.
2Fram's access was removed, then restored, then removed again.
Bureaucrat changes
28bytes • WJBscribe • Wizardman
Interface administrator changes
MSGJ • TheDJ
CheckUser changes
Beeblebrox • BU Rob13 • DoRD
Oversight changes
Beeblebrox • BU Rob13 • DoRD • GB fan
Guideline and policy news
A request for comment seeking to alleviate pressures on the request an account (ACC) process proposes either raising the account creation limit for extended confirmed editors or granting the account creator permission on request to new ACC tool users.
In a related matter, the account throttle has been restored to six creations per day as the mitigation activity completed.
The scope of CSD criterion G8 has been tightened such that the only redirects that it now applies to are those which target non-existent pages.
The scope of CSD criterion G14 has been expanded slightly to include orphan "Foo (disambiguation)" redirects that target pages that are not disambiguation pages or pages that perform a disambiguation-like function (such as set index articles or lists).
A request for comment seeks to determine whether Wikipedia:Office actions should be a policy page or an information page.
Technical news
The Wikimedia Foundation's Community health initiative plans to design and build a new user reporting system to make it easier for people experiencing harassment and other forms of abuse to provide accurate information to the appropriate channel for action to be taken. Community feedback is invited.
Miscellaneous
In February 2019, the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) changed its office actions policy to include temporary and project-specific bans. The WMF exercised this new ability for the first time on the English Wikipedia on 10 June 2019 to temporarily ban and desysop Fram. This action has resulted in significant community discussion, a request for arbitration (permalink), and, either directly or indirectly, the resignations of numerous administrators and functionaries. The WMF Board of Trustees is aware of the situation, and discussions continue on a statement and a way forward. The Arbitration Committee has sent an open letter to the WMF Board.
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Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 21:20, 1 July 2019 (UTC)
Hi
I'm just dropping in to say hello and find out how you're doing (and if you remember me!). Haven't seen you in ages. --kingboyk (talk) 17:38, 22 July 2019 (UTC) (Steve)
Hi! Yes indeed I do. I'm around sporadically. I kept my admin bit and use it for this and that but haven't edited as much as back in the day. I don't think I've edited a Beatles article in a coons age. I did not realise you had gotten so many KLF articles to FA! Well done. ++ Lar: t/ c 17:33, 23 July 2019 (UTC)
Good stuff. Yep, we had a really good run with the KLF articles - 4 featured, 3 remain so (4/5 if you include The Orb). My partner in crime on that project retired so we called it a day. I still check into WP:BEATLES occasionally. -- kingboyk ( talk) 19:22, 23 July 2019 (UTC)
Administrators' newsletter – August 2019
News and updates for administrators from the past month (July 2019).
Administrator changes
Johnuniq • Kosack • Valereee
Ad Orientem • Ched • Gadfium • Jonathunder • Nick • Yelyos
Bald Zebra • Beetstra • Doug Bell • Journalist • Ruud Koot • Splash • Voice of Clam
Interface administrator changes
Dinoguy1000
CheckUser changes
RickinBaltimore
Oversight changes
Beeblebrox
RickinBaltimore
Guideline and policy news
Following a request for comment, the page Wikipedia:Office actions has been changed from a policy page to an information page.
A request for comment (permalink) is in progress regarding the administrator inactivity policy.
Arbitration
Editors may now use the template {{Ds/aware}} to indicate that they are aware that discretionary sanctions are in force for a topic area, so it is unnecessary to alert them.
Miscellaneous
Following a research project on masking IP addresses, the Foundation is starting a new project to improve the privacy of IP editors. The result of this project may significantly change administrative and counter-vandalism workflows. The project is in the very early stages of discussions and there is no concrete plan yet. Admins and the broader community are encouraged to leave feedback on the talk page.
The new page reviewer right is bundled with the admin tool set. Many admins regularly help out at Special:NewPagesFeed, but they may not be aware of improvements, changes, and new tools for the Curation system. Stay up to date by subscribing here to the NPP newsletter that appears every two months, and/or putting the reviewers' talk page on your watchlist.
Since the introduction of temporary user rights, it is becoming more usual to accord the New Page Reviewer right on a probationary period of 3 to 6 months in the first instance. This avoids rights removal for inactivity at a later stage and enables a review of their work before according the right on a permanent basis.
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Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 19:23, 3 August 2019 (UTC)
Administrators' newsletter – September 2019
News and updates for administrators from the past month (August 2019).
Administrator changes
Bradv • Chetsford • Izno
Floquenbeam • Lectonar
DESiegel • Jake Wartenberg • Rjanag • Topbanana
CheckUser changes
Callanecc • LFaraone • There'sNoTime
Oversight changes
Callanecc • Fox • HJ Mitchell • LFaraone • There'sNoTime
Technical news
Editors using the mobile website on Wikipedia can opt-in to new advanced features via your settings page. This will give access to more interface links, special pages, and tools.
The advanced version of the edit review pages (recent changes, watchlist, and related changes) now includes two new filters. These filters are for "All contents" and "All discussions". They will filter the view to just those namespaces.
Arbitration
A request for comment is open to provide an opportunity to amend the structure, rules, and procedures of the 2019 English Wikipedia Arbitration Committee election and to resolve any issues not covered by existing rules.
Miscellaneous
A global request for comment is in progress regarding whether a user group should be created that could modify edit filters across all public Wikimedia wikis.
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Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 00:37, 7 September 2019 (UTC)
Administrators' newsletter – October 2019
News and updates for administrators from the past month (September 2019).
Administrator changes
Barkeep49
Beetstra • KillerChihuahua • Kusma
Arcadian • Extraordinary Machine • Xeno
JamesBWatson → JBW
Interface administrator changes
Evad37
CheckUser changes
Courcelles • SilkTork • Timotheus Canens
Oversight changes
Courcelles • SilkTork • Timotheus Canens
Guideline and policy news
Following a discussion, a new criterion for speedy category renaming was added: C2F: One eponymous article, which applies if the category contains only an eponymous article or media file, provided that the category has not otherwise been emptied shortly before the nomination. The default outcome is an upmerge to the parent categories.
Technical news
As previously noted, tighter password requirements for Administrators were put in place last year. Wikipedia should now alert you if your password is less than 10 characters long and thus too short.
Arbitration
The 2019 CheckUser and Oversight appointment process has begun. The community consultation period will take place October 4th to 10th.
The arbitration case regarding Fram was closed. While there will be a local RfC focus[ing] on how harassment and private complaints should be handled in the future, there is currently a global community consultation on partial and temporary office actions in response to the incident. It will be open until October 30th.
Miscellaneous
The Community Tech team has been working on a system for temporarily watching pages, and welcomes feedback.
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Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 11:55, 2 October 2019 (UTC)
Administrators' newsletter – November 2019
News and updates for administrators from the past month (October 2019).
Administrator changes
GermanJoe • Girth Summit • Kees08 • Nosebagbear
DESiegel • GB fan • MSGJ • Voice of Clam • WilyD
DeltaQuad • Fang Aili • Pakaran
Bureaucrat changes
DeltaQuad • Pakaran
Interface administrator changes
MSGJ
CheckUser changes
L235 • Mz7 • SQL • ST47
Ivanvector
DeltaQuad
Oversight changes
L235 • Mz7 • ST47 • Stwalkerster • The Blade of the Northern Lights • Xaosflux
DeltaQuad • DGG • Julia W
Guideline and policy news
An RfC was closed with the consensus that the resysop criteria should be made stricter.
The follow-up RfC to develop that change is now open at Wikipedia:Requests for comment/2019 Resysop Criteria (2).
A related RfC is seeking the community's sentiment for a binding desysop procedure.
Arbitration
Eligible editors may now nominate themselves as candidates for the 2019 Arbitration Committee Elections. The self-nomination period will close November 12, with voting running from November 19 through December 2.
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Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 21:15, 3 November 2019 (UTC)
ArbCom 2019 election voter message
Hello! Voting in the 2019 Arbitration Committee elections is now open until 23:59 on Monday, 2 December 2019. All eligible users are allowed to vote. Users with alternate accounts may only vote once.
The Arbitration Committee is the panel of editors responsible for conducting the Wikipedia arbitration process. It has the authority to impose binding solutions to disputes between editors, primarily for serious conduct disputes the community has been unable to resolve. This includes the authority to impose site bans, topic bans, editing restrictions, and other measures needed to maintain our editing environment. The arbitration policy describes the Committee's roles and responsibilities in greater detail.
If you wish to participate in the 2019 election, please review the candidates and submit your choices on the voting page. If you no longer wish to receive these messages, you may add {{NoACEMM}} to your user talk page. MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 00:05, 19 November 2019 (UTC)
Administrators' newsletter – December 2019
News and updates for administrators from the past month (November 2019).
An RfC on the administrator resysop criteria was closed. 18 proposals have been summarised with a variety of supported and opposed statements. The inactivity grace period within which a new request for adminship is not required has been reduced from three years to two. Additionally, Bureaucrats are permitted to use their discretion when returning administrator rights.
Following a proposal, the edit filter mailing list has been opened up to users with the Edit Filter Helper right.
Technical news
Wikimedia projects can set a default block length for users via MediaWiki:ipb-default-expiry. A new page, MediaWiki:ipb-default-expiry-ip, allows the setting of a different default block length for IP editors. Neither is currently used. (T219126)
Arbitration
Voting in the 2019 Arbitration Committee Elections is open to eligible editors until Monday 23:59, 2 December 2018 UTC. Please review the candidates and, if you wish to do so, submit your choices on the voting page.
Miscellaneous
The global consultation on partial and temporary office actions that ended in October received a closing statement from staff concluding, among other things, that the WMF will no longer use partial or temporary Office Action bans... until and unless community consensus that they are of value or Board directive.
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Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 02:48, 2 December 2019 (UTC)
Be well at Christmas
Have a WikiChristmas and a PediaNewYear
It's cool that you are still around, albeit low key these day. Be well. Keep well. Have a lovely Christmas. SilkTork (talk) 18:20, 24 December 2019 (UTC)
Thanks! happy holidays to you and yours (and to all my TPWs as well) ++ Lar: t/ c 16:33, 26 December 2019 (UTC)
Administrators' newsletter – January 2020
News and updates for administrators from the past month (December 2019).
A request for comment asks whether partial blocks should be enabled on the English Wikipedia. If enabled, this functionality would allow administrators to block users from editing specific pages or namespaces, rather than the entire site.
A proposal asks whether admins who don't use their tools for a significant period of time (e.g. five years) should have the toolset procedurally removed.
Following a successful RfC, a whitelist is now available for users whose redirects will be autopatrolled by a bot, removing them from the new pages patrol queue. Admins can add such users to Wikipedia:New pages patrol/Redirect whitelist after a discussion following the guidelines at Wikipedia talk:New pages patrol/Redirect whitelist.
Arbitration
The fourth case on Palestine-Israel articles was closed. The case consolidated all previous remedies under one heading, which should make them easier to understand, apply, and enforce. In particular, the distinction between "primary articles" and "related content" has been clarified, with the former being the entire set of articles whose topic relates to the Arab-Israeli conflict, broadly interpreted rather than reasonably construed.
Following the 2019 Arbitration Committee elections, the following editors have been appointed to the Arbitration Committee: Beeblebrox, Bradv, Casliber, David Fuchs, DGG, KrakatoaKatie, Maxim, Newyorkbrad, SoWhy, Worm That Turned, Xeno.
Miscellaneous
This issue marks three full years of the Admin newsletter. Thanks for reading!
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Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 20:06, 4 January 2020 (UTC)
Burnout
I am wondering about Wiki burnout. How long do editors stay and why do they leave. I found a retired section listing missing editors. For some reason I found your site. Are you still an administrator? You seem to have had an active past and set opinions. Are you still an editor? Do you know of any Wiki research on average length of editor participation? It may just be ones own life that keeps people to come and go. Anyway feel free to ignore this question if you like. Eschoryii (talk) 06:23, 25 January 2020 (UTC)
I just looked at your page history and it looks like you left in 2010 and so I expect no response to my edit out of nowhere. Eschoryii ( talk) 06:43, 25 January 2020 (UTC)
Hi. First, some housekeeping, I moved your section to the bottom where it belongs. Talk page sections should usually be created in chronological order.
To answer your questions... I'm still an admin here, but I gave up all other permissions on all other wikis. That was 98% by choice after I was not reconfirmed as a Steward (the 2%) in a process that I found highly controversial, not transparent, and unfair. That took some wind out of my sails so I stepped back. However if you review my contribution history, you'll see I still keep my hand in. Mostly I fix typos and other small things. I am very aware that WMF is very concerned about burnout but I don't know where to find particular studies that they have done. I suggest you ask at the wp:Village Pump for more info.(you probably want the miscellaneous section.) More active editors will have resources to share. Be prepared to explain why you want ot know, beyond curiosity... I hope that helps. ++ Lar: t/ c 17:32, 26 January 2020 (UTC)
Thanks for your response. It was timely so you are still active. I am a political scientist. Who is in control and how is power used? I only edit films I have recently watched. I spend most of my time reading talk pages. I love to watch edit wars. Wiki likes to eat its young and offend and lose their most experienced contributors. I learn more each year but I have not taken the full plunge. Reliable sourcing is more important than truth and accuracy. Consensus changes. Be bold only means do as we say in our guidelines. Any one can edit but do not offend an editor that watches his own set of articles. A watchlist is good to protect an article that suddenly is in the news. I just found an editor called Isaacsorry. He has been around only 4 months and just makes major edits in areas of music and Michael Jackson. I do not understand why he can just come in and take over. He has encountered pushback but the system is not served by a self appointed prolific actor. New editors need mentors. Your advice telling to be prepared to explain my motives is good advice. However there are days I just want to leave. I like the concept of Wikipedia but it is not my project. The first editor I followed was Lugnuts. I do not know him. He takes no prisoners. He knows the rules and is one of the top editors. He is everywhere. Someone asked him whether he had time for a real world job and he gets all offended. He has created a new article for any person who ever competed in the Olympics. The rules state you are notable if you are an Olympian. How is the encyclopedia improved with one line separate articles on each Olympic participant? The man is excellent on film and cricket. He knows and advises editors on the Wiki way. Sorry to take your time for me to express my frustrations about the Wiki world. Your approach to come and go as you please may need to be my answer. Eschoryii ( talk) 01:16, 27 January 2020 (UTC)
I could have stopped at thanks. Eschoryii ( talk) 06:11, 27 January 2020 (UTC)
Greetings from Indonesia. I don't agree with all your characterizations but I do agree with enough of them to validate your discomfort. Taking a wikibreak is often a good approach. Don't get too invested in things. I avoid using WP for research into current events. But when I want to know how dragonflies mate, it's superb. HTH ++ Lar: t/ c 02:07, 31 January 2020 (UTC)
Thanks Eschoryii ( talk) 13:17, 1 February 2020 (UTC)
Administrators' newsletter – February 2020
News and updates for administrators from the past month (January 2020).
Following a request for comment, partial blocks are now enabled on the English Wikipedia. This functionality allows administrators to block users from editing specific pages or namespaces rather than the entire site. A draft policy is being workshopped at Wikipedia:Partial blocks.
The request for comment seeking the community's sentiment for a binding desysop procedure closed with wide-spread support for an alternative desysoping procedure based on community input. No proposed process received consensus.
Technical news
Twinkle now supports partial blocking. There is a small checkbox that toggles the "partial" status for both blocks and templating. There is currently one template: {{uw-pblock}}.
When trying to move a page, if the target title already exists then a warning message is shown. The warning message will now include a link to the target title. [1]
Arbitration
Following a recent arbitration case, the Arbitration Committee reminded administrators that checkuser and oversight blocks must not be reversed or modified without prior consultation with the checkuser or oversighter who placed the block, the respective functionary team, or the Arbitration Committee.
Miscellaneous
Voting in the 2020 Steward elections will begin on 08 February 2020, 14:00 (UTC) and end on 28 February 2020, 13:59 (UTC). The confirmation process of current stewards is being held in parallel. You can automatically check your eligibility to vote.
The English Wikipedia has reached six million articles. Thank you everyone for your contributions!
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Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 15:05, 1 February 2020 (UTC)
Administrators' newsletter – March 2020
News and updates for administrators from the past month (February 2020).
Administrator changes
Money emoji
Athaenara • DeltaQuad
Fishhead64 • Kudpung • Mikaey
Bureaucrat changes
DeltaQuad
CheckUser changes
DeltaQuad
Oversight changes
DeltaQuad
Guideline and policy news
Following an RfC, the blocking policy was changed to state that sysops must not undo or alter CheckUser or Oversight blocks, rather than should not.
A request for comment confirmed that sandboxes of established but inactive editors may not be blanked due solely to inactivity.
Technical news
Following a discussion, Twinkle's default CSD behavior will soon change, most likely this week. After the change, Twinkle will default to "tagging mode" if there is no CSD tag present, and default to "deletion mode" if there is a CSD tag present. You will be able to always default to "deletion mode" (the current behavior) using your Twinkle preferences.
Miscellaneous
Following the 2020 Steward Elections, the following editors have been appointed as stewards: BRPever, Krd, Martin Urbanec, MusikAnimal, Sakretsu, Sotiale, and Tks4Fish. There are a total of seven editors that have been appointed as stewards, the most since 2014.
The 2020 appointees for the Ombudsman commission are Ajraddatz and Uzoma Ozurumba; they will serve for one year.
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Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 11:20, 2 March 2020 (UTC)
Administrators' newsletter – April 2020
News and updates for administrators from the past month (March 2020).
Administrator changes
Cabayi • Lee Vilenski
Boing! said Zebedee
Jonny-mt • MarkGallagher • PeaceNT
Money emoji → Moneytrees
Bureaucrat changes
SilkTork • WereSpielChequers
CheckUser changes
NativeForeigner
Oversight changes
Someguy1221
Daniel Case
Guideline and policy news
There is an ongoing request for comment to streamline the source deprecation and blacklisting process.
Technical news
There is a plan for new requirements for user signatures. You can give feedback.
Arbitration
Following the banning of an editor by the WMF last year, the Arbitration Committee resolved to hold a Arbcom RfC regarding on-wiki harassment. A draft RfC has been posted at Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee/Anti-harassment RfC (Draft) and not open to comments from the community yet. Interested editors can comment on the RfC itself on its talk page.
Miscellaneous
The WMF has begun a pilot report of the pages most visited through various social media platforms to help with anti-vandalism and anti-disinformation efforts. The report is updated daily and will be available through the end of May.
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Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 07:00, 1 April 2020 (UTC)
Administrators' newsletter – May 2020
News and updates for administrators from the past month (April 2020).
Administrator changes
Gnangarra • Kaisershatner • Malcolmxl5
CheckUser changes
Callanecc
Oversight changes
HJ Mitchell
Guideline and policy news
Discretionary sanctions have been authorized for all pages and edits related to COVID-19, to be logged at WP:GS/COVID19.
Following a recent discussion on Meta-Wiki, the edit filter maintainer global group has been created.
A request for comment has been proposed to create a new main page editor usergroup.
A request for comment has been proposed to make the bureaucrat activity requirements more strict.
Technical news
The Editing team has been working on the talk pages project. You can review the proposed design and share your thoughts on the talk page.
Enterprisey created a script that will show a link to the proper Special:Undelete page when viewing a since-deleted revision, see User:Enterprisey/link-deleted-revs.
Miscellaneous
A request for comment closed with consensus to create a Village Pump-style page for communication with the Wikimedia Foundation.
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Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 01:19, 2 May 2020 (UTC)
Administrators' newsletter – June 2020
News and updates for administrators from the past month (May 2020).
Administrator changes
CaptainEek • Creffett • Cwmhiraeth
Anna Frodesiak • Buckshot06 • Ronhjones • SQL
CheckUser changes
SQL
Guideline and policy news
A request for comment asks whether the Unblock Ticket Request System (UTRS) should allowed any unblock request or just private appeals.
The Wikimedia Foundation announced that they will develop a universal code of conduct for all WMF projects. There is an open local discussion regarding the same.
Arbitration
A motion was passed to enact a 500/30 restriction on articles related to the history of Jews and antisemitism in Poland during World War II (1933–45), including the Holocaust in Poland. Article talk pages where disruption occurs may also be managed with the stated restriction.
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Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 13:27, 1 June 2020 (UTC)
Happy First Edit Day!
Happy First Edit Day!
Have a very happy first edit anniversary!
I'll be honest, when I took a lot at your contribs I actually said aloud ″Wow.″ Even with your substantial contributions, you still prioritise quality over quantity! Over 15 years you have contributed a great lot to Wikipedia. Thank you for all the effort you have made.
Yours, Berrely • Talk∕Contribs 08:48, 8 June 2020 (UTC)
Happy First Edit Day!
Happy First Edit Day, Lar, from the Wikipedia Birthday Committee! Have a great day!CAPTAIN RAJU(T) 11:35, 8 June 2020 (UTC)
Black Lives Matter
Say their names. Thank you. ++Lar: t/c 02:29, 9 June 2020 (UTC)
Administrators' newsletter – July 2020
News and updates for administrators from the past month (June 2020).
Administrator changes
Malcolmxl5
John • TheCoffee • Tim!
Creffett → GeneralNotability
DeltaQuad → AmandaNP
CheckUser changes
Bbb23
Interface administrator changes
TonyBallioni
Guideline and policy news
A request for comment is in progress to remove the T2 (template that misrepresents established policy) speedy deletion criterion.
Technical news
Protection templates on mainspace pages are now automatically added by User:MusikBot II (BRFA).
Arbitration
Following the banning of an editor by the WMF last year, the Arbitration Committee resolved to hold an RfC regarding on-wiki harassment. The RfC has been posted at Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee/Anti-harassment RfC and is open to comments from the community.
The Medicine case was closed, with a remedy authorizing standard discretionary sanctions for all discussions about pharmaceutical drug prices and pricing and for edits adding, changing, or removing pharmaceutical drug prices or pricing from articles.
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Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 10:25, 1 July 2020 (UTC)
Administrators' newsletter – August 2020
News and updates for administrators from the past month (July 2020).
Administrator changes
Red Phoenix
Euryalus • SQL
Jujutacular • Monty845 • Rettetast • Madchester
Oversight changes
GB fan
Keegan • Opabinia regalis • Premeditated Chaos
Guideline and policy news
There is an open request for comment to decide whether to increase the minimum duration a sanction discussion has to remain open (currently 24 hours).
Speedy deletion criterion T2 (template that misrepresents established policy) has been repealed following a request for comment.
Speedy deletion criterion X2 (pages created by the content translation tool) has been repealed following a discussion.
There is a proposal to restrict proposed deletion to confirmed users.
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Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 08:20, 1 August 2020 (UTC)
Administrators' newsletter – September 2020
News and updates for administrators from the past month (August 2020).
Administrator changes
Eddie891
Angela • Jcw69 • Just Chilling • Philg88 • Viajero
CheckUser changes
SQL
Guideline and policy news
Following a request for comment, the minimum length for site ban discussions was increased to 72 hours, up from 24.
A request for comment is ongoing to determine whether paid editorsmust or should use the articles for creation process.
A request for comment is open to resolve inconsistencies between the draftification and alternative to deletion processes.
Arbitration
A request for comment is open to provide an opportunity to amend the structure, rules, and procedures of the 2020 English Wikipedia Arbitration Committee election and to resolve any issues not covered by existing rules.
An open request for comment asks whether active Arbitrators may serve on the Trust and Safety Case Review Committee or Ombudsman commission.
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Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 09:56, 2 September 2020 (UTC)
Administrators' newsletter – September 2020
News and updates for administrators from the past month (September 2020).
Administrator changes
Ajpolino • LuK3
Jackmcbarn
Ad Orientem • Harej • Lid • Lomn • Mentoz86 • Oliver Pereira • XJaM
There'sNoTime → TheresNoTime
Guideline and policy news
A request for comment found consensus that incubation as an alternative to deletion should generally only be recommended when draftification is appropriate, namely 1) if the result of a deletion discussion is to draftify; or 2) if the article is newly created.
Technical news
The filter log now provides links to view diffs of deleted revisions (phab:T261630).
Arbitration
The 2020 CheckUser and Oversight appointment process has begun. The community consultation period will take place from September 27th to October 7th.
Following a request for comment, sitting Committee members may not serve on either the Ombuds Commission or the WMF Case Review Committee. The Arbitration Committee passed a motion implementing those results into their procedures.
Miscellaneous
The Universal Code of Conduct draft is open for community review and comment until October 6th, 2020.
Office actions may now be appealed to the Interim Trust & Safety Case Review Committee.
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Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 10:43, 1 October 2020 (UTC)
12 years makes less difference than you might think.
I wrote this article ( Royal_Papua_New_Guinea_Constabulary ) basically in one long blast, 12 years ago. This diff shows that it hasn't changed that much since...
Community sanctions now authorize administrators to place under indefinite semiprotection any article on a beauty pageant, or biography of a person known as a beauty pageant contestant, which has been edited by a sockpuppet account or logged-out sockpuppet, to be logged at WP:GS/PAGEANT.
Technical news
Sysops will once again be able to view the deleted history of JS/CSS pages; this was restricted to interface administrators when that group was introduced.
Twinkle's block module now includes the ability to note the specific case when applying a discretionary sanctions block and/or template.
The 2020 Arbitration Committee Elections process has begun. Eligible editors will be able to nominate themselves as candidates from November 8 through November 17. The voting period will run from November 23 through December 6.
The Anti-harassment RfC has concluded with a summary of the feedback provided.
Miscellaneous
A reminder that standard discretionary sanctions are authorized for all edits about, and all pages related to post-1932 politics of the United States and closely related people. (American Politics 2 Arbitration case).
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Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 11:52, 1 November 2020 (UTC)
ArbCom 2020 Elections voter message
Hello! Voting in the 2020 Arbitration Committee elections is now open until 23:59 (UTC) on Monday, 7 December 2020. All eligible users are allowed to vote. Users with alternate accounts may only vote once.
The Arbitration Committee is the panel of editors responsible for conducting the Wikipedia arbitration process. It has the authority to impose binding solutions to disputes between editors, primarily for serious conduct disputes the community has been unable to resolve. This includes the authority to impose site bans, topic bans, editing restrictions, and other measures needed to maintain our editing environment. The arbitration policy describes the Committee's roles and responsibilities in greater detail.
If you wish to participate in the 2020 election, please review the candidates and submit your choices on the voting page. If you no longer wish to receive these messages, you may add {{NoACEMM}} to your user talk page. MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 01:15, 24 November 2020 (UTC)
Administrators' newsletter – December 2020
News and updates for administrators from the past month (November 2020).
There is a request for comment in progress to either remove T3 (duplicated and hardcoded instances) as a speedy deletion criterion or eliminate its seven-day waiting period.
Technical news
Voting for proposals in the 2021 Community Wishlist Survey, which determines what software the Wikimedia Foundation's Community Tech team will work on next year, will take place from 8 December through 21 December. In particular, there are sections regarding administrators and anti-harassment.
Arbitration
Voting in the 2020 Arbitration Committee Elections is open to eligible editors until Monday 23:59, 7 December 2020 UTC. Please review the candidates and, if you wish to do so, submit your choices on the voting page.
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Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 02:37, 1 December 2020 (UTC)
Precious anniversary
Precious
Two years!
-- Gerda Arendt ( talk) 07:19, 28 December 2020 (UTC)
My how time flies... thanks for all you to to make this a more welcoming place, dear Gerda Arendt! ++ Lar: t/ c 23:13, 28 December 2020 (UTC)
Administrators' newsletter – January 2021
News and updates for administrators from the past month (December 2020).
Administrator changes
Hammersoft
Andres • Brion VIBBER • Rkitko • Thatcher
CheckUser changes
Barkeep49 • BDD • CaptainEek • Primefac
Oversight changes
Barkeep49 • BDD • CaptainEek
Joe Roe
Guideline and policy news
Speedy deletion criterion T3 (duplication and hardcoded instances) has been repealed following a request for comment.
Technical news
You can now put pages on your watchlist for a limited period of time.
Arbitration
By motion, standard discretionary sanctions have been temporarily authorizedfor all pages relating to the Horn of Africa (defined as including Ethiopia, Somalia, Eritrea, Djibouti, and adjoining areas if involved in related disputes). The effectiveness of the discretionary sanctions can be evaluated on the request by any editor after March 1, 2021 (or sooner if for a good reason).
Following the 2020 Arbitration Committee elections, the following editors have been appointed to the Arbitration Committee: Barkeep49, BDD, Bradv, CaptainEek, L235, Maxim, Primefac.
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Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 00:08, 5 January 2021 (UTC)
Letting go
On this day in 1958 – The Lego Group, a Danish toy company, filed a patent in Denmark for the design of Lego bricks
I was just mulling over some details of the LEGO oeuvre at AfD. I was thinking that we need an expert and recalled that you were such. But the LEGO catalogue is now so extensive that perhaps you are burnt out on that too? But I am pleased to find that you still maintain a token presence here. Happy New Year! Andrew🐉(talk) 15:59, 23 January 2021 (UTC)
I put my oar in on Landspeeder, are there other LEGO related ones I might not be aware of? ++ Lar: t/ c 21:05, 23 January 2021 (UTC)
Thanks. I don't see much LEGO activity at AfD or elsewhere but, as it happens, today we have LUGNET which has been relisted twice and so is in need of input. For balance, perhaps we should also notify @Lugnuts:! Andrew🐉( talk) 09:26, 25 January 2021 (UTC)
I heartily endorse this product and/or service. LugnutsFire Walk with Me 10:00, 25 January 2021 (UTC)
I put my oar in at LUGNET ... you guys are sucking me into the very drama and politics I fled. But, AFD'ing LUGNet ??? WTF. ++ Lar: t/ c 16:45, 26 January 2021 (UTC)
Oh BOY did I put my oar in. ++ Lar: t/ c 07:05, 27 January 2021 (UTC)
Proconsul Piotrus is on point now. See Lego tire and Violence and LEGO! Andrew🐉( talk) 11:11, 28 January 2021 (UTC)
He's a bit of a deletionist. But then, so am I. On LEGO tire, merge is the best I can do, and on the other one, I think the move to a different name was warranted. ++ Lar: t/ c 18:07, 28 January 2021 (UTC)
And now I notice that we have a picture of LEGO bricks (right) on the main page today! We must have an article about this and here it is – the Baader–Meinhof phenomenon! Andrew🐉(talk) 12:23, 28 January 2021 (UTC)
Administrators' newsletter – February 2021
News and updates for administrators from the past month (January 2021).
Administrator changes
Hog Farm
Mattflaschen • Nandesuka • Savidan • Wangi
CheckUser changes
Berean Hunter • Xeno
Oversight changes
Someguy1221 • Xeno
Arbitration
The standard discretionary sanctions authorized for American Politics were amended by motion to cover post-1992 politics of United States and closely related people, replacing the 1932 cutoff.
Miscellaneous
Voting in the 2021 Steward elections will begin on 05 February 2021, 14:00 (UTC) and end on 26 February 2021, 13:59 (UTC). The confirmation process of current stewards is being held in parallel. You can automatically check your eligibility to vote.
Wikipedia has now been around for 20 years, and recently saw its billionth edit!
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Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 19:09, 1 February 2021 (UTC)
Jessi Slaughter cyberbullying case
An article you may be interested in, Jessi Slaughter cyberbullying case, has just been undeleted. Any help you could give to this, included BLP-related edits, would be very much appreciated. --Bangalamania (talk) 11:42, 25 February 2021 (UTC)
I think the deletion case was 11 years ago. That was a long time ago. I'm not sure I have any value to add, sorry. ++ Lar: t/ c 02:57, 1 March 2021 (UTC)
Administrators' newsletter – March 2021
News and updates for administrators from the past month (February 2021).
Administrator changes
TJMSmith
Boing! said Zebedee • Hiberniantears • Lear's Fool • Only • WGFinley
Interface administrator changes
AmandaNP
Guideline and policy news
A request for comment is open that proposes a process for the community to revoke administrative permissions. This follows a 2019 RfC in favor of creating one such a policy.
A request for comment is in progress to remove F7 (invalid fair-use claim) subcriterion a, which covers immediate deletion of non-free media with invalid fair-use tags.
A request for comment seeks to grant page movers the delete-redirect userright, which allows moving a page over a single-revision redirect, regardless of that redirect's target. The full proposal is at Wikipedia:Page mover/delete-redirect.
A request for comment asks if sysops may place the General sanctions/Coronavirus disease 2019 editnotice template on pages in scope that do not have page-specific sanctions?
There is a discussion in progress concerning automatic protection of each day's featured article with Pending Changes protection.
Technical news
When blocking an IPv6 address with Twinkle, there is now a checkbox with the option to just block the /64 range. When doing so, you can still leave a block template on the initial, single IP address' talkpage.
When protecting a page with Twinkle, you can now add a note if doing so was in response to a request at WP:RfPP, and even link to the specific revision.
There have been a number of reported issues with Pending Changes. Most problems setting protection appear to have been resolved (phab:T273317) but other issues with autoaccepting edits persist (phab:T275322).
Arbitration
By motion, the discretionary sanctions originally authorized under the GamerGate case are now authorized under a new Gender and sexuality case, with sanctions authorized for all edits about, and all pages related to, any gender-related dispute or controversy and associated people. Sanctions issued under GamerGate are now considered Gender and sexuality sanctions.
The Kurds and Kurdistan case was closed, authorizing standard discretionary sanctions for the topics of Kurds and Kurdistan, broadly construed.
Miscellaneous
Following the 2021 Steward Elections, the following editors have been appointed as stewards: AmandaNP, Operator873, Stanglavine, Teles, and Wiki13.
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Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 19:14, 1 March 2021 (UTC)
Nomination for merging of Template:UpdatedDYKNom
Template:UpdatedDYKNom has been nominated for merging with Template:UpdatedDYK. You are invited to comment on the discussion at the template's entry on the Templates for discussion page. Thank you. {{u|Sdkb}}talk 08:05, 3 March 2021 (UTC)
Thanks, I've opined there. Merge seems appropriate to me after all this time. ++ Lar: t/ c 01:21, 5 March 2021 (UTC)
Administrators' newsletter – April 2021
News and updates for administrators from the past month (March 2021).
Administrator changes
Alexandria • Happyme22 • RexxS
Guideline and policy news
Following a request for comment, F7 (invalid fair-use claim) subcriterion a has been deprecated; it covered immediate deletion of non-free media with invalid fair-use tags.
Following a request for comment, page movers were granted the delete-redirect userright, which allows moving a page over a single-revision redirect, regardless of that redirect's target.
Technical news
When you move a page that many editors have on their watchlist the history can be split and it might also not be possible to move it again for a while. This is because of a job queue problem. (T278350)
Code to support some very old web browsers is being removed. This could cause issues in those browsers. (T277803)
Arbitration
A community consultation on the Arbitration Committee discretionary sanctions procedure is open until April 25.
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Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 22:20, 1 April 2021 (UTC)
Administrators' newsletter – May 2021
News and updates for administrators from the past month (April 2021).
Administrator changes
Enchanter • Carlossuarez46
Interface administrator changes
Ragesoss
Guideline and policy news
Following an RfC, consensus was found that third party appeals are allowed but discouraged.
The 2021 Desysop Policy RfC was closed with no consensus. Consensus was found in a previous RfC for a community based desysop procedure, though the procedure proposed in the 2021 RfC did not gain consensus.
Technical news
The user group oversight will be renamed to suppress. This is for technical reasons. You can comment at T112147 if you have objections.
Arbitration
The community consultation on the Arbitration Committee discretionary sanctions procedure was closed, and an initial draft based on feedback from the now closed consultation is expected to be released in early June to early July for community review.
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Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 15:51, 7 May 2021 (UTC)