Outreach Wiki

Wikimedia:Village pump/Archive 6

< Wikimedia:Village pump
This is an archive of past discussions. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page.

Wikimuseum edit

@Mu301: advised me to warn you guys: please check meta:Wikimuseum.--Felipe da Fonseca (talk) 12:07, 2 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

This could be of interest to those from the GLAM community. I don't have an opinion on this specific proposal, but it is an interesting idea to consider and discuss. --mikeu talk 17:33, 2 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

IP blocks edit

I was looking in the block log and I notice that some IP blocks are indefinite with account creation disabled. I generally think that this should be avoided because IPs are not so closely linked to individual people as accounts are, and we wouldn't want to indefinitely block an entire school from editing Outreach wiki because one student vandalized a page. I would like to propose that local IP blocks should generally be 6 months long and should block anonymous edits only. If we want to get more sophisticated with checkuser tools we can do so, but for the time being I think that this would be sufficient. Pinging User:Joalpe and User:Jeff G. who have made IP blocks in 2017-2018. --Pine✉ 20:13, 22 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]

@Pine: I commuted one block to 6 months anon only and paroled another.   — Jeff G. ツ 20:34, 22 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]
@Pine: Thanks for bringing this up. You're right. I have changed the expiration date of one IP I had blocked --this particular case is currently under global block anyway. --Joalpe (talk) 00:42, 25 July 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Proposal: change the design of the main page edit

Hi all. I would like to bring to your attention a discussion that is taking place at Talk:Main_Page#Featured_publications_on_the_main_page. The issue is a proposal to feature publications on the main page of the project. As of today, the main page remains mostly static. I hope you can come and comment. Good edits! --Joalpe (talk) 20:55, 24 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Broken link at MediaWiki:Histlegend edit

The "Edits by user" link at MediaWiki:Histlegend is broken. //tools.wmflabs.org/usersearch/index.html?page={{FULLPAGENAMEE}}&server=outreachwiki should be changed to //tools.wmflabs.org/sigma/usersearch.py?page={{FULLPAGENAMEE}}&server=outreachwiki. For example, on the page history of GLAM the current link produces the broken https://tools.wmflabs.org/usersearch/index.html?page=GLAM&server=outreachwiki. The change will produce the working https://tools.wmflabs.org/sigma/usersearch.py?page=GLAM&server=outreachwiki. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:26, 8 September 2018 (UTC)[reply]

@PrimeHunter: Thanks, fixed. --Steinsplitter (talk) 17:36, 27 September 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Reminder: No editing at 14:00 UTC on September 12 and October 10 edit

Hey everyone,

This is a reminder that, because of a server test to make sure we can still function in case of a catastrophe, there will be a short period of time (up to an hour, probably shorter) when you can read but not edit the wikis on September 12 and October 10. This will start at 14:00 UTC. You can read more at m:Tech/Server switch 2018. /Johan (WMF) (talk) 12:17, 10 September 2018 (UTC)[reply]

IP Block edit

Hi there!

I couldn't find a better place to do this, so sorry if this is at the wrong place. The IP 130.193.237.228 (talk · contribs) is vandalizing a lot of articles, so I think a block should be made.

Thanks in advance! —Thanks for the fish! talk•contribs 17:55, 4 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]

@Tks4Fish:  Y Done Thanks Koavf (talk) 18:18, 4 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Security incident involving account with Outreach admin permissions edit

It looks like we had a security incident with an account that somehow got admin permissions on Outreach wiki. I don't see a notice about this on Meta on the Stewards' noticeboard, and I don't know whether this problem was specific to Outreach or extended also to other wikis. Pinging Steward @Shanmugamp7: to request more information. --Pine✉ 06:14, 21 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]

  • I have been doing more poking around. It looks like Koavf (talk · contribs)'s account was compromised, and is now globally locked. I am not impressed with a bureaucrat losing control of their account, and I will want an explanation of how this could have happened, if and when Koavf returns. @Steinsplitter:, @Wittylama:, @Jami (Wiki Ed):, @OhanaUnited: you are the remaining bureaucrats on this wiki, and I would like to request that you revoke Koavf's bureaucrat and admin flags. Even if he returns, I will want an explanation of how this could have happened and what he will do to prevent a recurrence before I will trust him again with having the bureaucrat and admin flags. I regret the inconvenience to him and others, but I think that we should be cautious here about re-assigning the bureaucrat and admin flags to someone who lost control of their account. --Pine✉ 06:27, 21 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]
  • @Steinsplitter: please do not return those flags if and when he returns until and unless there becomes consensus to do so. In my opinion there needs to be a persuasive case for why he should be trusted again with those flags. I am likely to oppose re-granting those flags. --Pine✉ 13:40, 21 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]
  • My account was compromised 3 years ago and en.wiki's ArbCom restored my rights rather quickly after I re-gained control. I don't see a lot of issues with restoring his admin rights because of the limited impact on Outreach Wiki. On the other hand, Koavf is also a Checkuser on Wikispecies and that has far greater impact in terms of reach, impact and public-facing because of the rights he held there. OhanaUnitedTalk page 22:38, 21 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]
The stewards and WMF (understandably) have not gone into specifics, but from what I can tell, it looks like malicious JavaScript. --Rschen7754 06:41, 22 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Correction: at least part of it looks like malicious JavaScript, it's possible there were other factors involved. --Rschen7754 18:12, 22 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]

There is discussion about this on CU mailing list, for those who have access. Yes, I would like my user rights restored. Koavf (talk) 08:25, 23 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Welcome back Koavf. Sorry to hear about the issue. Best. --Joalpe (talk) 18:50, 23 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Yeah, a weird thing. I have a unique password for WMF. I'm looking forward to details on CU-list. I am also hoping that no one expects me to have a (insecure surveillance device) smartphone in order to be a bureaucrat here. I think that's the wrong solution. Koavf (talk) 19:29, 23 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]
I am pretty sure this will be solved in the best possible way. You are an active, good-faith editor. Let me know if I can be of any assistance. --Joalpe (talk) 22:04, 23 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]
I am going to take a firm stance. As far as I know, there is nothing that I would accept as an excuse for not using 2FA these days. Not using 2FA puts other people at elevated risk, such as by misuse of the editinterface permission. If someone does not want to use a smartphone then I believe that they can use an iPod or a non-phone mobile device. I oppose returning Koavf's admin and bureaucrat permissions on this wiki. The benefits do not offset the risks. Regrets, --Pine✉ 05:46, 24 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]
@Pine: If you know of a device I can use with free software that isn't a cellular mobile, I will happily investigate one. Koavf (talk) 05:53, 24 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]
There are tons of twofactor auth tools out there, for example this for firefox. I saw you got rights restored via meta, please enable two factor auth asap. And btw, if you know how-to a smartphone is not a insecure surveillance device. --Steinsplitter (talk) 14:34, 25 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]
@Steinsplitter: If this browser extension works, then that is great. If you know of cellular mobiles that can overcome these shortcomings, then I am all ears. Koavf (talk) 20:09, 25 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]
@Koavf: if you want a device for 2FA that isn't a cellular mobile and uses free software then my guess is that an old non-cellular Android device would be your cheapest and best option. If you don't require free software then iPods are an option too. I have heard that Google employees who have access to Google's data center hardware use a physical device as part of their authentication, and although I don't know how it works, that makes me think that there are probably also single-purpose devices that are designed for corporate users like Google employees that would also support 2FA, but my guess is that an old non-cellular Android device would be your cheapest physical option. I haven't tried a browser plugin and I don't know how secure it would be to use one of those for 2FA, but they sound like they're worth researching. --Pine✉ 04:39, 28 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks. Koavf (talk) 05:04, 28 October 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Bureaucrat removal edit

Hi all. Currently, this is one of the few wikis where bureaucrats can remove bureaucrats (see m:Bureaucrats). This was apparently done in 2010 with no community discussion presented phab:T25118.

I am not sure that this is a good idea going forward. For one, there was the security incident described above. This increases the damage that a hacked bureaucrat account can accomplish. Secondly, in the past there has not been high scrutiny of advanced permissions on this wiki - case in point, one bureaucrat was globally banned by WMF.

Thus, I am proposing that the ability to remove the bureaucrat flag is relegated to stewards. Thoughts? --Rschen7754 04:13, 17 December 2018 (UTC)[reply]

For those who aren't terribly familiar with the history, the bureaucrat rights used to be given out very freely as well, simply based on having been a trusted user elsewhere with WMF projects. This community has moved toward a much more stringent model in the past two or three years. Koavf (talk) 07:07, 17 December 2018 (UTC)[reply]
  Support realigning permissions to align with the rest WMF policies in regards to granting/revoking rights. A compromised bureaucrat scenario doesn't look good as evidenced above. --Arseny1992 (talk) 07:47, 17 December 2018 (UTC)[reply]
  Support It is necessary to define clearer guidelines on this subject, since currently this wiki does not have much "content" activity, but rather cleaning and administrative tasks. —AlvaroMolina (✉ - ✔) 02:56, 21 December 2018 (UTC)[reply]
  Support Seems reasonable. Quiddity (talk) 00:44, 22 December 2018 (UTC)[reply]
  Support Sounds reasonable. --Steinsplitter (talk) 19:25, 26 December 2018 (UTC)[reply]
  Oppose Maybe I'm the odd one out, but I notice that this wiki is self-contained and does not need this 'trimming' of 'crat rights. Both reasons provided aren't enough - anyone could be affected by one (even stewards). (ping me if you need further input, thanks) Leaderboard (talk) 20:33, 29 December 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Added to Phabricator: phab:T214133 --Rschen7754 01:29, 18 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

And done. --Rschen7754 01:24, 23 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Desysop request edit

Could a bureaucrat please desysop User:Barbara Fischer (WMDE) since they have apparently left WMDE? [1] [2] --Rschen7754 01:30, 22 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Why would that warrant desysopping? Koavf (talk) 04:42, 22 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Because they were only granted the admin privileges due to their job. Also, the account is not supposed to be used again and the sysop rights should be removed for security (unless they are re-hired, in which case the rights would be regranted). --Rschen7754 01:24, 23 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Makes sense.  Y Done Koavf (talk) 01:36, 23 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Admin request edit

Hello, I'm a new dashboard admin. Requesting admin access here for any useful maintenance I may come across. Xaosflux (talk) 18:26, 4 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

@Xaosflux: Best requested over at Wikimedia:Requests for permissions. Cheers. Quiddity (talk) 07:48, 7 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks, added there. Xaosflux (talk) 22:38, 7 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Bureaucrat request edit

Could a bureaucrat remove TA rights from User:EGalvez (WMF)? Account is globally locked. --Rschen7754 17:49, 9 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

 Y Done Thanks! Koavf (talk) 21:19, 9 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

User talk:Drmies edit

See the history: this is my main argument for declaring this whole global account stuff to be just BS, nothing but an invitation to cross-wiki vandalism. Where am I going to get this next? My talk page on the Uzbek wiki? Drmies (talk) 15:01, 11 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

  • @Drmies: it looks like Trijnstel (talk · contribs) deleted the page. I didn't look at its contents, but I hope that this fixes the problem. If there are further issues please let us know. The Outreach admins do look at this page periodically. As an alternative to posting on this page, you can leave a message for one of us who is active on one of our talk pages. If you post here and don't get a response within a few days, or if you have an urgent request, you can ping one of the active admins to your request on this page, though please don't ping a lot of us at the same time. Best wishes, --Pine✉ 22:33, 22 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Video tutorial regarding Wikipedia referencing with VisualEditor edit

Hi, I have received a grant from WMF to support production of a video tutorial regarding creating references with VisualEditor. I anticipate that the video will be published in March 2019. Depending on funding considerations, this tutorial might be published in both English and Spanish. If this tutorial is well received then I may produce additional tutorials in the future. If you would like to receive notifications on your talk page when drafts and finished products from this project are ready for review, then please sign up for the project newsletter.
Regards, --Pine✉ 05:48, 26 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Wikimedia:Inactivity policy edit

Wikimedia:Inactivity policy

It seems that the last inactivity cleanup was done in September 2017. Maybe it is time to do another one? --Rschen7754 23:03, 10 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

@Rschen7754: What do you propose needs changing? Koavf (talk) 06:46, 11 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Nothing. It's just that as it has been over a year, more users have gone inactive, so maybe it is time to do another run of the policy. --Rschen7754 07:00, 11 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Gotcha. Koavf (talk) 07:02, 11 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Note: the use of wikilinks in section headers can cause problems with navigation on mobile devices. Clicking on a table of contents item will open the page link rather than the subsection note about the page. This behaviour is sometimes inconsistent across devices. I've moved the link above out of the section markup to avoid this. Please see v:Wikiversity_talk:Manual_of_Style#Links_in_Headings --mikeu talk 14:36, 11 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

How considerate. Thanks. Koavf (talk) 16:50, 11 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]
I wrote a script to pull the relevant usernames, https://quarry.wmflabs.org/query/34987
Username
Pharos
Kaganer
Jane023
Perohanych
Awinda
Abuse filter
Looks like @Koavf: notified them yet (E.g. here.) --Steinsplitter (talk) 14:23, 8 April 2019 (UTC)[reply]
My activity was very low in last two year (due to the heavy off-wiki workloads), but I intend to resume activity soon. --Kaganer (talk) 16:47, 8 April 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Me too. --Perohanych (talk) 19:00, 8 April 2019 (UTC)[reply]
@Steinsplitter, Koavf: Any update? --Rschen7754 16:53, 25 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
User:Koavf notified the users as far i can see, some of then asked to keep permission. I pinged Koavf above but got no reaction at all. --Steinsplitter (talk) 17:30, 25 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Somehow, I didn't ping all of the users' talk pages. Now I have. Also, I already desysopped User:Awinda. What more is needed? I'm not understanding what you want. Koavf (talk) 19:47, 25 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Just wanted to make sure that this wasn't forgotten. It seems that Jane023 wants to resign and Pharos did not respond, everyone else did. --Rschen7754 22:39, 26 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Wikimedia brands edit

FYI: "Branding (summarized as name and logo associations with projects and values) is a powerful tool for simplifying our invitation and increasing the familiarity of both Wikimedia projects and our values. If we are to make Wikimedia projects the essential infrastructure of free knowledge, we need to make sure people can quickly recognize who “we” are and what the connections are between parts of our ecosystem." See meta:Communications/Wikimedia brands/2030 research and planning and participate at meta:Talk:Communications/Wikimedia brands/2030 research and planning/community review --mikeu talk 18:38, 12 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Template import request edit

Please can someone import d:Template:Talk quotation? Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy 11:51, 25 April 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Done. --Steinsplitter (talk) 14:25, 25 April 2019 (UTC)[reply]

New museum digitalisation grant (pilot) edit

meta:Grants:Project/Rapid/Rodrigo Tetsuo Argenton/Pilot project at Geoscience Museum,

Hi,

My name is Rodrigo Tetsuo Argenton (talk) and I'm starting a new grant proposal to built a GLAM digitalisation project, could pleas check up, and see the proposal, and with you enjoy it, endorse, thank you. If you have any questions, pleas let me know. Rodrigo Tetsuo Argenton (talk) 20:39, 15 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

A proposal for WikiJournals to become a new sister project edit

Over the last few years, the WikiJournal User Group has been building and testing a set of peer reviewed academic journals on a mediawiki platform. The main types of articles are:

  • Existing Wikipedia articles submitted for external review and feedback (example)
  • From-scratch articles that, after review, are imported to Wikipedia (example)
  • Original research articles that are not imported to Wikipedia (example)

Proposal: WikiJournals as a new sister project

From a Wikipedian point of view, this is a complementary system to Featured article review, but bridging the gap with external experts, implementing established scholarly practices, and generating citable, doi-linked publications.

Please take a look and support/oppose/comment! Evolution and evolvability (talk) 04:25, 3 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Spambot activity edit

Outreach wiki is experiencing a minor but noticeable increase in spambot activity. We have no local checkusers. I have placed a notification on the Stewards' Noticeboard. --Pine✉ 20:37, 20 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Note regarding page protection edit

I protected the NavWiki page because there may be new users coming to that page looking for help, and I don't want them to accidentally edit that page instead of the talk page. While less likely, I also wouldn't want a vandal to put something on that page that would intimidate or mislead new users. Please ping me here on the Village Pump page if there are any questions or objections. Thank you. --Pine✉ 00:47, 26 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Wikimedia Space edit

Hello all. You might have seen on the Wikimedia-l a post on the newly released Wikimedia Space, and I am writing because this new resource might have an impact on this project and community. I say this because the new resource and Wikimedia Outreach appear to have overlapping goals. I am starting this topic on the Village Pump so we can have this discussion. Thanks. --Joalpe (talk) 13:08, 27 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

  • Thank you for the notice. I am okay with WMF conducting a certain level of experimentation. I have mixed feelings about whether that experiment is a good idea. Community members can make their own decisions about whether to go there. I would be concerned if WMF starts to try to centralize its communications there at the expense of on-wiki communications, email communications, and other methods. I especially don't want WMF to absorb mailing lists into Wikimedia Space. On the other hand, if people choose to go there without coercion or incentive from WMF, if WMF does not attempt to centralize communications there at the expense of other channels, and if WMF rapidly and carefully distances itself from policing communication or controlling policies on Wikimedia Space, then I would probably be okay with having Wikimedia Space be one option for communication. Community members routinely use a variety of tools and platforms to communicate, and I think that adding one more option is probably okay if the implementation is done in a careful, supportive, and non-controlling way. --Pine✉ 01:59, 30 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for your input, Pine. My understanding is that Wikimedia Space has been framed to do what you are describing: centralize communications. This centralization would include: some mailing lists and, as far as I understood the proposal, newsletters that are currently hosted on this project. I might be getting this wrong, though. I agree with you that two features make the Wikimedia Space not ideal: (1) moderators are exclusively --at least for now-- WMF staff members; and (2) the tool is not easily transposable to wiki text (yet). --Joalpe (talk) 19:26, 1 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Bookshelf link on the sidebar edit

Has anyone recently gone through the bookshelf to remove outdated information and to replace older resources with newer resources? If this page is not being maintained with a certain amount of vigilance then I suggest that we remove the link from the Outreach sidebar. @NSaad (WMF), Koavf, Joalpe: do you have any comments? --Pine✉ 19:56, 13 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Blocking of likely spambots edit

Note to administrators regarding blocks of likely spambots. Recently my practice has been to block the accounts indefinitely and revoke their email access, but leave their talk page access, and watch their talk pages. That way in the unfortunate event that I block a legitimate user they have a way to request an unblock. I mention this here in case anyone would like to comment on this practice or adopt it for their own use. Regards, --Pine✉ 22:43, 2 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Nice. I've noticed a huge uptick in vandalism on en.wq lately for some reason. Thanks. Koavf (talk) 01:33, 3 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Self-assignment of local translation administrator permission edit

A page was tagged for deletion because it should have been a Korean translation but the page was created in English. To my surprise, my local administrator permission was not sufficient to allow me to delete the page, so I assigned myself the translation administrator permission for Outreach. (By default, administrators are allowed to assign translation administrator permissions.) I may have use for the translation administrator permission in the future so I plan to keep it. My guess is that there will be no objections, but please {{ping}} if anyone has objections or concerns. Thanks, --Pine✉ 01:32, 21 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

For what it's worth, I trust your judgement. Koavf (talk) 01:53, 21 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

New tools and IP masking edit

Hey everyone,

The Wikimedia Foundation wants to work on two things that affect how we patrol changes and handle vandalism and harassment. We want to make the tools that are used to handle bad edits better. We also want to get better privacy for unregistered users so their IP addresses are no longer shown to everyone in the world. We would not hide IP addresses until we have better tools for patrolling.

We have an idea of what tools could be working better and how a more limited access to IP addresses would change things, but we need to hear from more wikis. You can read more about the project on Meta and post comments and feedback. Now is when we need to hear from you to be able to give you better tools to handle vandalism, spam and harassment.

You can post in your language if you can't write in English.

Johan (WMF)

14:18, 21 August 2019 (UTC)

Technical maintenance on 24 September edit

Technical maintenance will be performed on 24 September, between 05:00 AM UTC and 05:30 AM UTC. During this time you might not be able to save any edits.

Due to technical limitation, it is not possible to display here a Central Notice banner. Please set a banner.

In any case a read-only banner will be displayed when the databases will be locked. Trizek (WMF) (talk) 16:33, 23 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]


Auto-updating WiR table edit

Main discussion at Talk:Wikipedian_in_Residence

I'm in the process of writing some templates to be able to make the Wikipedian_in_Residence table easier to maintain using wikidata. Evolution and evolvability (talk) 00:40, 24 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Import request edit

In order to implement w:Template:WiR_table_row here, could I request the import of:

  1. w:module:WikidataIB/sandbox to module:WikidataIB
  2. w:Template:WiR_table_row to Template:WiR_table_row
  3. w:Template:WiR_table_start to Template:WiR_table_start

Thank you! Evolution and evolvability (talk) 23:55, 24 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

@Koavf, Evolution and evolvability: have these requests been completed? ↠Pine (✉) 06:15, 23 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]
@Pine, Koavf: I don't think so yet. The module:WikidataIB is still the old version. (test page). Evolution and evolvability (talk) 06:28, 23 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]
@Pine, Evolution and evolvability: I still have not done this because of the sheer headache I mentioned above. Do we really need to import dozens (hundreds?) of templates and modules for several hours for this? If the answer is yes, I'll do it but if not, I a do not want to deal with the headache of all this importing (nor do I want someone else to do it unless he is committed to ensuring that there are not a bunch of red links). Koavf (talk) 00:01, 24 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]
@Koavf, Pine: My understanding was that because module:WikidataIB is already present locally, it'd only be necessary to update the local version to the most current version from en.wp. I thought that importing the large number of additional templates and modules was only necessary for creating the initial local version of the module. Alternatives would be either A) import meta:User:ListeriaBot in stead, or B) Just redirect the Wikipedian in Residence page over to meta:Wikipedian in Residence to avoid duplication. What're people's thoughts? Evolution and evolvability (talk) 01:29, 24 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]
@Evolution and evolvability: I tried and had it just sit there without finishing for awhile, then tried again and got "Import failed: A database query error has occurred. Did you forget to run your application's database schema updater after upgrading? Query: UPDATE `page` SET page_latest = '207189',page_touched = '20191028012806',page_is_new = '0',page_is_redirect = '0',page_len = '130489',page_content_model = 'Scribunto' WHERE page_id = '52276' AND page_latest = '204412' Function: WikiPage::updateRevisionOn Error: 1205 Lock wait timeout exceeded; try restarting transaction ([IP address redacted])", then tried again and got a database error: "To avoid creating high replication lag, this transaction was aborted because the write duration (10.47375202179) exceeded the 3 second limit. If you are changing many items at once, try doing multiple smaller operations instead. [XdndPApAAEIAAEzMqe8AAACH] 2019-11-24 01:30:50: Fatal exception of type "Wikimedia\Rdbms\DBTransactionSizeError" This is why I don't like doing this. I tried a fourth time and a single revision was imported. Is that all that was needed? Koavf (talk) 01:32, 24 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]
@Koavf, Evolution and evolvability: I don't know how the import process works. Could scripting or a bot be used to automate the process? Also, would it be worth asking in IRC or Wikitech-l for advice regarding how to make import process be less time consuming? ↠Pine (✉) 01:35, 24 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]
This is definitely something a bot could do but I am too ignorant to be able to actually write one that does it. Koavf (talk) 01:39, 24 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]
@Koavf: Thank you for all your efforts on this. Sadly it's still not fully functional (test page), but does clarify what the best solution probably is for the Wikipedian in Residence page. Evolution and evolvability (talk) 02:13, 24 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Koavf and Evolution and evolvability how about creating a request on Phabricator for someone to create a bot that does the job? Perhaps someone would be willing to work on this for a Google Summer of Code or Outreachy internship. Also, I'll ping User:Astinson (WMF) to ask him for ideas. ↠Pine (✉) 02:53, 24 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Actually, there might also be an additional option for that one page: mw:Extension:InterwikiExtracts might allow it to be possible to transclude the whole meta:Wikimedian in residence across from meta to outreachwiki to keep them synchronised (ping [[User:|]] to check if I've misunderstood its capabilities). Evolution and evolvability (talk) 06:40, 24 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]
I can try to make this page and see what happens. Koavf (talk) 07:43, 24 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

┌─────────────────────────────────┘
 @Pine, Evolution and evolvability: phab:T239010 Koavf (talk) 07:54, 24 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

@Koavf, Evolution and evolvability: this proposal does not appear to be moving forward on Phabricator. ↠Pine (✉) 19:49, 19 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]
@Pine, Evolution and evolvability: Agreed. A soft redirect or a bot that cross references or just manual copying and pasting will have to do. Koavf (talk) 00:52, 20 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

The consultation on partial and temporary Foundation bans just started edit

Hello,

In a recent statement, the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees requested that staff hold a consultation to "re-evaluat[e] or add community input to the two new office action policy tools (temporary and partial Foundation bans)".

Accordingly, the Foundation's Trust & Safety team invites all Wikimedians to join this consultation and give their feedback from 30 September to 30 October.

How can you help?

  • Suggest how partial and temporary Foundation bans should be used, if they should (eg: On all projects, or only on a subset);
  • Give ideas about how partial and temporary Foundation bans should ideally implemented, if they should be; and/or
  • Propose changes to the existing Office Actions policy on partial and temporary bans.

We offer our thanks in advance for your contributions, and we hope to get as much input as possible from community members during this consultation!

-- Kbrown (WMF) 17:13, 30 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Feedback wanted on Desktop Improvements project edit

Please help translate to your language

Hello. The Readers Web team at the WMF will work on some improvements to the desktop interface over the next couple of years. The goal is to increase usability without removing any functionality. We have been inspired by changes made by volunteers, but that currently only exist as local gadgets and user scripts, prototypes, and volunteer-led skins. We would like to begin the process of bringing some of these changes into the default experience on all Wikimedia projects.

We are currently in the research stage of this project and are looking for ideas for improvements, as well as feedback on our current ideas and mockups. So far, we have performed interviews with community members at Wikimania. We have gathered lists of previous volunteer and WMF work in this area. We are examining possible technical approaches for such changes.

We would like individual feedback on the following:

  • Identifying focus areas for the project we have not yet discovered
  • Expanding the list of existing gadgets and user scripts that are related to providing a better desktop experience. If you can think of some of these from your wiki, please let us know
  • Feedback on the ideas and mockups we have collected so far

We would also like to gather a list of wikis that would be interested in being test wikis for this project - these wikis would be the first to receive the updates once we’re ready to start building.

When giving feedback, please consider the following goals of the project:

  • Make it easier for readers to focus on the content
  • Provide easier access to everyday actions (e.g. search, language switching, editing)
  • Put things in logical and useful places
  • Increase consistency in the interface with other platforms - mobile web and the apps
  • Eliminate clutter
  • Plan for future growth

As well as the following constraints:

  • Not touching the content - no work will be done in terms of styling templates or to the structure of page contents themselves
  • Not removing any functionality - things might move around, but all navigational items and other functionality currently available by default will remain
  • No drastic changes to the layout - we're taking an evolutionary approach to the changes and want the site to continue feeling familiar to readers and editors

Please give all feedback (in any language) at mw:Talk:Reading/Web/Desktop Improvements

After this round of feedback, we plan on building a prototype of suggested changes based on the feedback we receive. You’ll hear from us again asking for feedback on this prototype.

Thank you! Quiddity (WMF) (talk)

06:53, 16 October 2019 (UTC)

Junk pages edit

I've deleted four junk pages which were created in a relatively short time span. Note to admins to keep an eye out for junk pages. Non-admins can tag these for deletion, following the directions at Wikimedia:Deletion policy. ↠Pine (✉) 20:44, 15 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Village pump archiving edit

I archived several threads from this page to Wikimedia:Village pump/Archive 6. ↠Pine (✉) 06:14, 23 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Appointments of local checkusers and oversighters for Outreach wiki edit

The following discussion is closed. Please do not edit it. The outcome of the discussion is "no consensus".
↠Pine (✉) 03:48, 24 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Enough junk pages are being created here that I am becoming increasingly open to the idea of having local checkusers so that they can look at IP ranges where junk accounts are created and create rangeblocks if appropirate. Also, occasionally there are needs for suppression of information here, and we don't have local oversighters, so when incidents happen, local admins usually apply revdel and then request suppression from a steward. What do others think about the idea of starting appointment processes for local checkusers and oversighters for Outreach wiki? I am not planning to request these permissions for myself in the near future, but I would be willing to assist with the appointment processes. ↠Pine (✉) 06:23, 23 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Proposal to start an appointments process for local checkusers edit

Yes edit

  • Agree We should have locals who can do steward activity because this is a particularly outward-facing wiki and having to wait on stewards (whose attention should be focused on large-spread abuse and abuse on smaller wikis) introduces overhead that we shouldn't have here. There are several long-term editors who are trusted and can perform this in this role if they are willing. Koavf (talk) 23:59, 23 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  • Agree Per nom and above. This sounds reasonable. --mikeu talk 06:10, 27 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Neutral edit

No edit

Discuss edit

Proposal to start an appointments process for local oversighters edit

Yes edit

  • Agree We should have locals who can do steward activity because this is a particularly outward-facing wiki and having to wait on stewards (whose attention should be focused on large-spread abuse and abuse on smaller wikis) introduces overhead that we shouldn't have here. There are several long-term editors who are trusted and can perform this in this role if they are willing. Koavf (talk) 23:59, 23 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  • Agree Per nom and above. Another reasonable suggestion. --mikeu talk 06:10, 27 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Neutral edit

No edit

Discuss edit

  • Hi @Koavf: I would like to see more participation in this discussion. What do you think about the possibility of using MassMessage to place talk page notices on the Outreach talk pages of all unblocked users who have made an edit to Outreach in the past 90 days? ↠Pine (✉) 20:15, 29 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  • @Koavf: OK. Do you know how to get the list of contributors from the past 90 days who aren't blocked? I can get a list of recently active users from Special:ActiveUsers, but that list is for the past 30 days and I think that it includes blocked users. ↠Pine (✉) 21:38, 29 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]
*::
The following users have made edits since September first: 
1997kB
94rain
AVasanth (WMF)
Aamrs
Aguzanotti
Ah3kal
Ainali
Alicia Fagerving (WMSE)
Ambrosiani
Amire80
Andrews Lartey
Anthere
Anup Sadi
Ash Crow
Astinson (WMF)
Astrid Carlsen (WMNO)
Avery Jensen
Avicenno
Awangba Mangang
Axel Pettersson (WMSE)
B.jars
Base
Beat Estermann
Bsadowski1
Catherine Laurence
Cbderbylib
CelStrzel
Celina Strzelecka (WMPL)
Chongkian
CptViraj
Czar
Céréales Killer
Daniel Mietchen
DannyS712
DavidL
Djordjes
Dominik Theis (WMDE)
Douglaskmccarthy
Ebe123
Envlh
Evolution and evolvability
FULBERT
Florencia Guastavino (WMAR)
Fuzheado
Fæ
Gamaliel
Gampe
Gunay M.E.
Gytha
Hansmuller
Hasley
Hiperterminal
ITskandɹos
ITskandɾos
Iluvatar
Info-farmer
Ixocactus
Jagseer S Sidhu
Jianhui67
Joalpe
Joy Agyepong
KCVelaga
Karolina0089
Kbshah6p
Killarnee
Klara Sielicka-Baryłka (WMPL)
Koavf
Krinkle
Kruusamägi
Kwanele22
La Mantis
Lacbug
Lentokonefani
Ludo29
Luisina Ferrante (WMAR)
MGuadalupe (WMF)
MMiller (WMF)
MacedonianBoy
Marco Chemello (BEIC)
Mari Avetisyan WMAM
Marta Arosio (WMIT)
Martin Urbanec
MartinPoulter
Mary Mark Ockerbloom
Masssly
Mathglot
Melissamarzo
Meno25
Merrilee
MichellevL (WMNL)
Modjou
Mohammad
Mu301
NGC 54
NSaad (WMF)
Naga sai sravanth
Nawaraj Ghimire
Neboysha87
Nirmal Dulal
Nur Rahmi Nailah (WMID)
OlafJanssen
Omotecho
PDiazR (WMCL)
Pathoschild
Pigsonthewing
Pine
Praxidicae
Pru.mitchell
RSharma (WMF)
Rachmat04
RaymondSutanto
Reosarevok
RexxS
Romaine
Ruti-WMIL
Rzuwig
S.ann.adams
SGill (WMF)
SPatnaik (WMF)
Sabine Rønsen (WMNO)
Sadads
Safi-iren
Saileshpat
SakhileMbatha2
SandraF (WMF)
Slowking4
Sms2sms
SuperHamster
Susannaanas
Tar Lócesilion
Tofeiku
Tore Danielsson (WMSE)
Trizek (WMF)
TrudiJ
VHargyono (WMF)
VIGNERON
Valereee
Verdy p
Vlad5250
Vysotsky
WereSpielChequers
WikiBayer
Wikinade
Will (Wiki Ed)
Worrida
XXBlackburnXx
Xavier Cailleau WMFr
Xiplus
Yupik
ZI Jony
Zache
Åsa Paaske Gulbrandsen (WMNO)
Виолетова
আফতাবুজ্জামান
夢蝶葬花
魔法少女静樹
  • Hi @DannyS712: thanks for your work, but I don't think that every edit has been deleted from every user that was blocked in the past 90 days. There is one editor in that I recall blocking for making junk edits, probably advertising, but I left one of their pages alone because at least that one page wasn't clearly junk. There is probably a way to filter specifically for blocked editors. Can you look into that, please? ↠Pine (✉) 19:02, 30 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Contribs for visibility
Blocked users are included (Kbshah6p) and some users (ITskandɹos, ITskandɾos, Karolina0089, SakhileMbatha) had their contributions deleted just now but I didn't bother blocking them. Koavf (talk) 20:30, 30 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  • I would prefer that sending notices to unblocked users who have at least 1 edit in the past 90 days be a simple job. There is probably a way to create a query for this. @DannyS712: how did you create your list? Thank you, ↠Pine (✉) 06:51, 3 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]
  • I think a wiki like this would really struggle with getting 25 support votes (as required by the CU/OS policies) in a reasonable enough timeframe to be accepted by stewards. --Rschen7754 23:27, 15 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Page Wikimedia:Request an account edit

The page Wikimedia:Request an account has been created and deleted on numerous occasions. Instead of having this annoyance continue, I added some useful content to the page. There doesn't appear to be a page on Meta for requesting an account, but if there is one then I would link to the Meta page from the Outreach page. Is anyone aware of such a Meta page? ↠Pine (✉) 07:23, 9 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Movement Learning and Leadership Development Project edit

Hello

The Wikimedia Foundation’s Community Development team is seeking to learn more about the way volunteers learn and develop into the many different roles that exist in the movement. Our goal is to build a movement informed framework that provides shared clarity and outlines accessible pathways on how to grow and develop skills within the movement. To this end, we are looking to speak with you, our community to learn about your journey as a Wikimedia volunteer. Whether you joined yesterday or have been here from the very start, we want to hear about the many ways volunteers join and contribute to our movement.

To learn more about the project, please visit the Meta page. If you are interested in participating in the project, please complete this simple Google form. Although we may not be able to speak to everyone who expresses interest, we encourage you to complete this short form if you are interested in participating!

-- LMiranda (WMF) (talk) 19:00, 22 January 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Edit-a-thons and related events edit

@Astinson (WMF): someone mentioned in this month's Wikimedia Café an interest in getting help for an edit-a-thon. On the left nav for Outreach wiki we have resources for GLAM and Education. I think that it would make sense to have a link for edit-a-thons there also. What do you think about that idea, and is there a page that you would recommend linking to from the left nav for edit-a-thons? The link could be to a page on Meta if you would recommend one that is there instead of on Outreach. ↠Pine (✉) 21:32, 25 January 2020 (UTC)[reply]

@Pine: I didn't see this until today. I created a training a couple of years ago on the outreach dashboard that does a good job at describing the edit-a-thon process. Astinson (WMF) (talk) 23:04, 17 February 2020 (UTC)[reply]
@Astinson (WMF): OK. @Koavf: how do you feel about adding a link to a page on Outreach for editathons from the left nav, and having a link on the Outreach page to the dashboard page that Astinson (WMF) linked? ↠Pine (✉) 22:22, 23 February 2020 (UTC)[reply]
@Pine: Thumbs up emoji from me. Koavf (talk) 22:27, 23 February 2020 (UTC)[reply]
@Koavf: I accidentally learned that we already had a page named edit-a-thon which includes a link to the dashboard. I added the link to the left nav, and while I was there I alphabetized the links for "Projects" and "Resources", and I moved "Contact us" to its own section. One issue is that the new link for edit-a-thons doesn't use the "-url" suffix for the text, and I'm thinking that the suffix might be for linking to something that allows translations. How do the changes look to you, and is there a reason to include the -url suffix? Feel free to revert if you think that something is wrong or should be changed. ↠Pine (✉) 00:00, 24 February 2020 (UTC)[reply]
@Pine: I think it's great. Thanks. Koavf (talk) 00:01, 24 February 2020 (UTC)[reply]

step by step edit

hello there, I'm a new member here, could you tell me step by step guide for a beginner like me?

--PutriAmalia1991 (talk) 07:37, 4 February 2020 (UTC)[reply]

@PutriAmalia1991: We're happy to have you. Outreach is mostly used for publishing work done by existing Wikimedia project users and groups and creating works for the public. As a knowledge-sharing repository, it's a little different from most of our sister projects, so it's hard to say where to dive in if you haven't really worked on other Wikimedia projects much. Did you have anything in mind? Koavf (talk) 10:35, 4 February 2020 (UTC)[reply]
@Koavf: I haven't have anything in mind yet, could you give me an inspiration? --PutriAmalia1991 (talk) 12:27, 4 February 2020 (UTC)[reply]
I'm happy to have you work here but I would recommend one of the sister projects first. I think that voy: and q: are fairly easy to get into. Koavf (talk) 20:21, 4 February 2020 (UTC)[reply]
@PutriAmalia1991: I suggest you heed en:User talk:PutriAmalia1991#Please respect volunteers' time.   — Jeff G. ツ 23:19, 8 March 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Proposal to mark Best practices and Success stories as historical edit

Best practices and Success stories do not appear to be getting updates. I propose marking these pages as historical and removing the links to them from the main page. ↠Pine (✉) 05:24, 9 March 2020 (UTC) [reply]

Weak agree Unfortunately, that's correct. I also am not sure how much it really matters. Koavf (talk) 05:41, 9 March 2020 (UTC)[reply]
  • Comment I'd say that having two of our most important resources be out of date indicates a larger problem than merely a stale page. I don't yet have a strong opinion on the proposal. I do feel that we might want to solicit new best practices from the community and perhaps start a fresh page for this. --mikeu talk 16:47, 17 March 2020 (UTC)[reply]
stalepage/ inactive/ historical/ outdated? Ottawahitech (talk) 16:56, 17 March 2020 (UTC)[reply]
  • I would be fine with tagging them as "stale" or "outdated" as an alternative to "historical", and as I proposed with the "historical" tag also removing the links to the pages from the main page. If the pages become active again in the future then these actions may be reversed. ↠Pine (✉) 05:53, 18 March 2020 (UTC)[reply]

I marked the pages as historical and I removed the links to them from the main page. ↠Pine (✉) 00:13, 2 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Request to add #EduWiki search from twitter into the whitelist edit

Hi everyone,

We at the education team are working on a campaign called #EduWiki challenge on Twitter and other social media channels to help parents, students and teachers engage with Wikimedia projects during the time of pandemic. As I was working to include a search link in one tabs, there was some error saying the link is blocked. As in general twitter links works in outreach wiki, I wasn't sure what's happening... I was confused whether there is a mistake from my side. Where I reached to a colleague and the to User:Xaosflux, you can see the discussion . When I saw the whitelist, I tried to copy paste the exact code from Meta Wiki and accidentally added all the links that were whitelisted on meta. They are not of any use for us, so I have reverted them now. It will be a great help if we could add the twitter search list on whitelist, I have a query, as I see that twitter.com/search is globally banned can local whitelist still allow them? --SPatnaik (WMF) (talk) 09:06, 4 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

  • Questions Hi SPatnaik (WMF), thanks for moving the discussion to here and for asking for input.
Is there a way to set up the string that you whitelist so that it restricts results to only results that include the the query that you want?
Also, are you intending only to query for tweets that include the #EduWiki tag?
Yes, that's the campaign hashtag.-SPatnaik (WMF) (talk) 08:23, 7 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]
I'm pinging one of the Outreach Wiki bureaucrats, Koavf, who may have relevant knowledge and also an educated opinion regarding the request to whitelist a Twitter search query. ↠Pine (✉) 06:17, 6 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]
I can probably make the exception if you tell me exactly what is needed. E.g. "All links to https://twitter.com/* that include the hashtag [x]". Alternately, I don't see any problems with Twitter links as such, so it's not clear to me why you can't include them here. E.g. I just posted a link to Twitter's homepage in this comment and it wasn't blocked. Koavf (talk) 06:34, 6 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]
@Koavf:, It is this link https://twitter.com/search?q=%23EduWiki&src=typeahead_click&f=live, It just doesn't me to publish the link on Outreach. --SPatnaik (WMF) (talk) 08:23, 7 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]
@SPatnaik (WMF): Where is this link supposed to be? Koavf (talk) 08:58, 7 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]
@Koavf:, It will be used here Template:COVID-19 response buttons the first button, for take the EduWiki challenge. --SPatnaik (WMF) (talk) 19:49, 8 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

I can't make it work. Koavf (talk) 09:51, 9 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Yes @~riley:, thank you very much :) -SPatnaik (WMF) (talk) 15:27, 16 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]
You should strip out “&src=typeahead_click” from the URL, since the source of the click is this wiki not Twitter's search box. I've done that now. Not sure what is the effect of “&f=live”, so I left that in.
I know this thread is archived, but noting it here anyway. Pinging SPatnaik (W?F) FYI.
It might not make any difference if we don’t get any analytics from Twitter or if they apply smarts to detect this kind of thing.
– Pelagic (talk) 01:26, 9 August 2020 (UTC)[reply]
@SPatnaik (WMF): Since you are part of the education team at wmf I thought you may be interested in an upcoming program advertised on cnn:
CNN and Sesame Street will host a special coronavirus town hall for kids and parents? Cheers, Ottawahitech (talk) 15:09, 23 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]
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