User talk:Elkman/Archive17

Hi. This is my talk page. If you ask a question here, you're most likely to get a response here, so you might want to put this page on your watchlist.

Vacation?
Hi, thanks so much for answering my question about the wrong entry of my house in the national register data base. I know exactly what happened, years ago we noticed that map quest was giving my neighbors house when you entered my address. so who ever was taking pictures got sent to my neighbors house. they looked, saw a new house and old barns and assumed my house was torn down. and since who ever he was, wasn't familiar with what my house looked like he didn't notice it was a few hundred feet to his left. hard to miss, it's huge. oh well. I am going to be up there at the end of next week [I live in another state] I will take a few pictures and when I get back, I can either try and make the changes myself or I can send them to you.I am finding the whole process really bewildering. Too bad you don't live up there we would be happy to give you a tour. at least, I don't think you live up thereCookie pierce (talk) 19:04, 8 February 2012 (UTC) Just curious, are you back from vacation? Nyttend (talk) 02:12, 21 April 2010 (UTC)


 * I'm back, but not inclined to do any real editing. There are a number of things about Wikipedia that are really irritating the hell out of me these days, and I don't see any point in contributing content.  I figure that someone else can do the work that I'd normally be doing.  --Elkman (Elkspeak) 04:17, 21 April 2010 (UTC)
 * Okay, just curious, since you still have the wikibreak template up. Nyttend (talk) 05:31, 21 April 2010 (UTC)
 * Do you know if the NRIS database has been updated since last spring? Thanks.  Nyttend (talk) 03:33, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

Favor
Sorry, but I don't think that Wikipolicy allows for blocks to help people stay away from Wikipedia (if I'm wrong, please point me to the policy), and I definitely can't punish you for anything you did here because I don't think you deserve punishment. --Orlady (talk) 04:10, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

Office politics
Elkman:

You are too valuable to the NRHP project to be taking extended leaves of absence, or asking to be blocked. And if you think "someone else" can easily do the work you normally do for this project, you're kidding yourself. The drama created by the quasi-stub faction is momentary, but the project's articles will be long-lasting, valuable sources of information. Think of the 146 people who have viewed the Gideon H. Pond House article this month, or the 190 who have viewed the Failing Office Building article. Bms4880 (talk) 21:54, 26 April 2010 (UTC)
 * I'm not taking the infobox generator down, if that's what you're asking about. As far as my article contributions go, the 336 people who read those articles are unimportant in comparison to at least one person who thinks I have nothing good to contribute to Wikipedia, any other volunteer projects, or society in general. Let someone with a good editing record create that article about the railroad depot in Granite Falls, Minnesota. --Elkman (Elkspeak) 00:46, 27 April 2010 (UTC)
 * FWIW, though you'd probably term me part of the "quasi-stub faction", I've never had anything but tremendous respect for your article contributions. Indeed, though I see a place in Wikipedia for stubs (upon which I'll happily agree to disagree with you), your articles are what I aspire to, though I currently don't have the time or patience to execute that kind of work.  I can't imagine who could possibly feel you have nothing good to contribute anywhere, and I've never heard anyone say such a ridiculous thing. Lvklock (talk) 20:47, 27 April 2010 (UTC)
 * As another of the "qausi-stub faction" I second Lvklock's comments and believe I coudn't create any form of worthy article without your continued contributions.--Pubdog (talk) 21:02, 5 June 2010 (UTC)
 * Man, I get distracted by off-line things for a few months only to come back to a Wikipedia without your generator available. That's a damned shame.  I really liked it and it was very useful.  It's too bad there are some very bad ideas that tend to float around on Wikipedia that only win because others yell loudly. --Bobak (talk) 16:06, 7 June 2010 (UTC)


 * I just wanted to stop by and say "Thank You" for creating the "Elkman Tool" (as it was introduced to me, by User:Pubdog. I've used it a number of times, and I think it's the best thing since antibiotics.--GrapedApe (talk) 02:20, 6 July 2010 (UTC)

Phoenix Theater/Old Petaluma Opera House
Hi Elkman ... way back in January 2008 (with this edit), you determined that The Phoenix Theater and the Old Petaluma Opera House were the same building. But I don't think that's correct. I was in Petaluma last Monday taking photos of NRHP listings and the building at 147-149 Kentucky St. (the address in the NRIS database for the Old Petaluma Opera House) is clearly not the same building as the Phoenix Theater (which is at 201 Washington St. ... around the corner and a block to the west). The building at 147-149 Kentucky has an 1870 date on it which corresponds to what's in the NRIS database. The Phoenix Theater article says that building dates to 1896. Before I remove the NRHP references from the Phoenix Theater article and also the redirect in the Sonoma County NRHP list article, I wanted to run this by you first. I know this is two and a half years after the fact, but can you explain your edit? Thanks. --sanfranman59 (talk) 07:44, 5 June 2010 (UTC)
 * I may have been making a stupid guess. I'm not sure what my intention was.  Feel free to correct it, especially since you've been there and I haven't.  --Elkman (Elkspeak) 00:58, 7 June 2010 (UTC)

Generator modification request
Could you make a minor change to the infobox generator? Properties that are listed on the 1st through the 9th of the month display a zero in their listing date, e.g. "September 05, 1997" for the original version of St. Paul AME Church (Urbana, Ohio). Would you be able/willing to change the coding so that it drops the zero in this case? Nyttend (talk) 13:52, 10 June 2010 (UTC)

Michael Shmerling page?
G day mate, I'm just wondering why you deleted the bio page of Michael Shmerling back in 2008? I'm Michael and was hoping that page would help with my career. As silly as it sounds, was hoping to have that up as a bio so when applying for or being researched for jobs in my field. Its funny cause places I've applied for have actually researched me first. It is of importance, so if possible could you undelete it?

Cheers Michael —Preceding unsigned comment added by Shmaza (talk • contribs) 15:02, 8 September 2010 (UTC)
 * I'm no longer an admin, having lost admin privileges nearly a year and a half ago. Maybe it was for the best, all things considered.  I don't remember why I deleted the page, and since I'm no longer an admin, I can't undelete it.  You should probably ask another admin about this.  Sorry.  --Elkman (Elkspeak) 15:21, 8 September 2010 (UTC)
 * Come to think of it, maybe it's better off for the encyclopedia that I'm not even editing Wikipedia very much any more. It's not like the encyclopedia has come to a halt without me.  The missing articles about obscure houses and railroad depots on the National Register of Historic Places in outstate Minnesota aren't of any real interest to anyone anyway.  Plus, I've caused far more damage to the encyclopedia in arguments and debates as compared to the rest of my article contributions. But, at least I spent a month sculpting, casting, and painting a latex mask that looked completely like shit and had the proportions wrong.  --Elkman (Elkspeak) 15:54, 8 September 2010 (UTC)

Meetup
Hello, Elkman. Discussion of a 2010 Minnesota Wikipedia Meetup has begun. Please see the talk page. Jonathunder (talk) 23:15, 27 September 2010 (UTC)

MPS study links in NRHP infoboxes
Hi Elkman -- If/when you have a chance, it would be nice if you could update your NRHP infobox generator as regards URLs of MPS documents. The MPS mentions in the infobox generator are very helpful, but the URLs have all changed. I noticed a bot run which updated all the existing MPS urls a while back, perhaps a month ago. I didn't go see who requested/ran the bot. But in new uses of the infobox the URLs come in with the old URLs which don't work. I myself know to update them, but it would be a convenience for others if this could be fixed.

For example, for the Barnes-Frost House the URL which comes in is: | mpsub = Colonial Houses of Southington TR which needs to be changed to:
 * mpsub = Colonial Houses of Southington TR

As a further possible enhancement, i wonder if you might consider choosing to compose a draft MPS inline reference to include in the body of a new NRHP article, as in: Draft reference to the Multiple Property Study document (please revise to include author and date from the document, usually in its section 11, and otherwise fully develop):

No problem if you choose not. Thanks for considering! --doncram (talk) 15:02, 30 September 2010 (UTC)
 * I'll see if I can get to revising the link eventually. It depends on whether I have time to do this in between my other projects, such as costume props that people have paid me to work on. But in any case, you know as well as I do that I don't have anything positive or worthwhile to contribute to Wikipedia at this point, so why should I bother?  Let someone else do the work.  --Elkman (Elkspeak) 17:24, 30 September 2010 (UTC)


 * If/when you were going to do some updates, another one is to change Category:National Register of Historic Places in Washington to Category:National Register of Historic Places in Washington (U.S. state) in new articles. Apparently the former worked previously, but was CfDed.


 * Also there are a number of new valid architecture categories based on NRIS architecture categories which could be added, such as Category:Early Commercial architecture, Category:Bungalow/Craftsman architecture, Category:Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals architecture, and Category:Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements architecture, that i have been sharing about at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject National Register of Historic Places where Ebyabe also shared. Some of the newly valid ones now being redirects / covered at Architectural style (National Register of Historic Places).


 * I bet others would have suggestions/requests, too, if you let others know you might do some updating. Your tools have been tremendously useful to me and to others.


 * About previous stuff, what I understand mostly is that you have not liked me or others generating minimal stub articles, unless a certain threshold of development or need is met, a threshold that you set differently than i have. I don't want to re-open anything like an argument, but I wonder if you think list-articles i've been working on recently are good or bad.  These are about fraternal organization buildings (List of Odd Fellows buildings and others linked in its See also section), and also List of YMCA buildings and List of YWCA buildings.  I think they serve a good purpose, broadly, like the NRHP-listed bridge lists do, and I have chosen to develop them and to open stub articles for all their entries up front.  I think this rapid development approach has headed off a lot of misunderstandings that woulda been generated if they were shorter lists or had many redlinks.  I think i've had a lot more cumulative experience now, good and bad, with dealing with disambiguation- or Masonic- or Connecticut- or other-focused editor groups, and I think that rapidly generating the articles works a lot better, often, than leaving open red-links.  It certainly helps in establishing good categories right away, and also I've seen/learned the need for the architectural categories that correspond to these kinds of buildings.  Doing all of a certain type, at once, seems beneficial.  You can comment or not, but I just thought you might be less miffed about my going ahead with a lot of article generation, if you considered the pretty-good, immediately stable list-articles of these sort that I've been making.  Anyhow, hope you are doing well in your other activities.  Thanks, --doncram (talk) 22:39, 15 October 2010 (UTC)


 * Actually, I haven't even been following the articles you've been creating lately. I haven't been following WP:NRHP lately, at all.  I've mostly been hanging out on another forum -- at least until yesterday, when I screwed up there as well.  You can create whatever articles and lists you want.  I just don't care.  I'm not going to waste my time and cause another fiasco by saying anything about the articles and lists you've been writing.  Frankly, this encyclopedia is better without my involvement.
 * As far as updates to the infobox generator, I can probably fix the pdfhost.focus.nps.gov thing and the category for Washington (U.S. state). I'm hesitant to automatically classify something as Category:Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals architecture because I think that's kind of a synthetic classification that the National Register people developed.  That was my thought a few months ago when I last looked at auto-categorizing by architecture, anyway.  --Elkman (Elkspeak) 00:01, 16 October 2010 (UTC)
 * That would be great. Also the categories' appropriate treatment is not sorted out yet, it's not clear, there's not a consensus. --doncram (talk) 06:54, 16 October 2010 (UTC)

Elkman down?
Hey Elkman ... getting problem loading Elkman. Hope you're doing well.--Pubdog (talk) 23:23, 26 October 2010 (UTC)
 * My power went out last night because of the massive windstorm in the Midwest. It went out around 5:30 PM, and as of this morning it was still out.  Not only is the NRHP infobox generator down, my skate club web site is also down.  More importantly to me, my furnace doesn't run when there's no power, so it was really frigging cold in my house this morning.  --Elkman (Elkspeak) 13:51, 27 October 2010 (UTC)
 * OK, it's back up and running now. As soon as I go home, I'll take pictures of the inside of my refrigerator for the article on food spoilage.  --Elkman (Elkspeak) 20:37, 27 October 2010 (UTC)

FYI for anyone wondering today, the power went out again after a heavy wet snowfall. The infobox generator is down, and my furnace is out. No thanks to Xcel Energy. --Elkman (Elkspeak) 05:49, 15 November 2010 (UTC)

Suggestions for next Minnesota meetup?
Hi, Elkman, do you have any suggestions for a next date or place for a Minnesota meetup? I was disappointed to miss last Sunday's meetup once a work meeting coincided with the time announced for the meetup. I would be happy to arrange a meetup soon. -- WeijiBaikeBianji (talk, how I edit) 14:14, 3 November 2010 (UTC)

New meetup

 * Hey, Elkman, it was good to see you at the meetup yesterday. I hope we'll have more time to get acquainted at the next meetup. See you on the articles. -- WeijiBaikeBianji (talk, how I edit) 23:09, 21 November 2010 (UTC)

NRIS reference revision
Per the discussion at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject National Register of Historic Places and what Dudemanfellabra nicely programmed at Template:NRISref upon my request, could you possibly please now change the standard NRIS reference in the infobox/article generator to provide, now? That would provide for specific identification of the current NRIS version, while allowing changes at template to display or not the link to where the NRIS database is downloadable, or to allow formatting or other changes. I think it is ready to go now.

Testing footnote:

Thanks for your participating in the thread already! --doncram (talk) 22:01, 21 November 2010 (UTC)

Opinion requested on the use of SHPO sources
As you were at the meet-up at the Minnesota History Center, and an active member of the Minnesota WikiProject, I would like to ask you to please come and share your opinion on the use of certain sources that were found at the State Historic Preservation Office and whether or not they violate WP:RS or WP:OR in how they are being used. The discussion is taking place here. --Bobak (talk) 22:49, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

NRHP places having area of .9 acres, etc.
Hey, glad to see ur comments at wt:NRHP. I have a version of a generator going now, hope it will get better, and that it will be a good complement to what you provide.

As u know i created several new articles for National Register of Historic Places listings in Cass County, North Dakota. As i was doing that, i noticed that my version was putting in ".9 acres" for several articles where the NRHP nom docs only stated that they were on properties of size less than one acre. Then i notice that is documented as a feature of the NRIS data: "< than 1 acre .9, decimal implied" is given as a comment within the SCHEMA.DBF file. So i think it is better to have the NRHP infobox generator put in "area = less than 1 acre" rather than "area = .9 acre". Perhaps you could make that change, as well as implementing the NRIS reference change (to include )?
 * Thanks for doing both. --doncram (talk) 03:39, 22 December 2010 (UTC)

About the MPS documents, do you have a file providing correspondence between NRIS's multname entries and the refnums for them, which you could possibly send to me? I surmised before that you had built such a correspondence based on table at wp:MPS. But i was never sure whether or not u had just found a correspondence with the NRIS files. I don't see it there, myself. If u have a file and can email it to me, even if it is not perfectly updated, i would be much obliged. If not, no problem. Thanks! --doncram (talk) 22:32, 14 December 2010 (UTC)

MN SHPO
Thanks for the heads up. I will make sure I am there tomorrow (Friday). See you then! Myotus (talk) 22:39, 16 December 2010 (UTC)


 * I see you got some good stubs started at SHPO --it's like candyland for this stuff, isn't it? :-) How did you come up with the articles you decided to start?  I saw a few are like me: you had the photo and wrote an article for it, while others are spread out. For those did you just dive into random drawers or were you curious about those specifically? --Bobak (talk) 22:40, 20 December 2010 (UTC)
 * I was like a kid in a candy store knowing that my mom was only going to give me five minutes to load up on candy. Well, maybe it wasn't quite like that, but I really had to pick and choose what I was going to do.  I picked a few from the Anoka County list (,, , and ) because I knew that I had taken the photos and I wanted to put in something about those buildings.  I also made a list of the properties listed in the National Register as having national significance.  A few of these (, , and ) came from that list.  I also got the nomination forms for two new entries, the O'Donnell Shoe Company Building, and the Old Federal Building in downtown Minneapolis.
 * I knew I wouldn't have enough time to write entries for everything I wanted, though, so I made copies of the nomination forms for future entries:
 * Hospital, State School for the Feeble Minded, Faribault
 * Norway Lutheran Church, St. Paul
 * E.T. Archibald House, Dundas
 * William J. Mayo House, Rochester
 * Mayowood Historic District, Rochester
 * Charles P. Noyes Cottage, White Bear Lake
 * Bernard H. Pietenpol Workshop and Garage, Forestville Township
 * And still, that doesn't include everything. I wouldn't mind expanding the Washington County articles some more, for example. --Elkman (Elkspeak) 03:22, 21 December 2010 (UTC)
 * Excellent stuff! Great description of the experience, I know exactly how you felt.  I always ran out of time before I could copy anything --if anything I would work on scanning slides of historic/destroyed buildings.  I was thinking about that O'Donnell Shoe/Old Federal Post office, but I instead went after the Ramsey building added last year, the Minnesota Building.  The O'Donnell Shoe building is currently undergoing pretty heavy renovation, the photo I snapped was from the week before the most recent meet-up at MHS. It's funny you mention the Edward T. Archibald House in Dundas, because I was thinking of doing the nearby Ault Store.  Be sure to look up the slides for the Archibald House (or I can when I get their next) because the exterior has been repainted and changed a bit from what I can tell.  --Bobak (talk) 06:54, 22 December 2010 (UTC)

archive of old version NRIS and coords files
Hi, i wonder if u might be willing to compose an archive package of the now old version (March 13, 2009 version) NRIS data, including whatever coordinates files your system has used. I've been meaning to stash a full copy of the NRIS database into one of the free internet archives, to address a perceived need in the big past discussions about validity of NRIS as a source (i don't know if u followed this, it was at many places stemming from Masonic-focused editors where opened discussions). It would be nice, and no cost, and legal as the data is public domain, to stash away an archive, which could then be pointed to from wikipedia references to that version of NRIS. I wasn't particularly for or against doing this, but it does seem better in a way to have that documentation nailed down forever that way, and Orlady and some regulars at "wp:Reliable sources" supported having this done. Since the new NRIS is out, it's now or never in terms of documenting the data which your system and many thousands of wikipedia articles has relied upon.

I hadn't yet gotten around to getting any coordinates files to match the NRIS basic database files that i downloaded myself, though, and now i expect all is no longer available from the NPS. I can't fully document, myself, what is the data your system has used. If i get instructions on how this could be uploaded, would you possibly do such an archive uploading? I guess i could do one stash of my own copies of files without coordinates and then let you know how/where u could do a matching stash with coordinates, if you would. So, anyhow, i am hoping you might right now set aside an archive of your complete set of files now, rather than simply overwriting them with the new versions of NRIS database and coordinates. --doncram (talk) 15:40, 23 December 2010 (UTC)


 * Or maybe u just used the UTM coordinates data in the UTMZONEM.DBF file within the 2009 NRIS main download?
 * Your commenting at wt:NRHP would be most welcome.
 * Merry Xmas, hope u have a good holiday, thanks! --doncram (talk) 21:24, 23 December 2010 (UTC)

Question and ask for help.
Hello, Elkman.

I can't tell you how impressed I am with the Elkman NRHP infobox generator. For a long time members of the WikiProject Public art have been looking for a way to get all of the great information from the [http://sirismm.si.edu/siris/ariquickstart.htm SOS! Database] moved into Wikipedia in a nearly parallel way that you've developed with the NRHP. We've developed the process to make this as easy as possible in a manual way but of course this is time consuming and leads to a certain degree of inaccuracies. We would be eternally grateful if you could help develop a similar tool for public art. Who knows, you might just change the world a bit, too. In exchange, we could concentrate our efforts to document public art in Minnesota, even though this would greatly pain this Hoosier, and my friend who is a total Milwaukeean. --RichardMcCoy (talk) 02:55, 28 December 2010 (UTC)
 * Hmm. The way I implemented it for the National Register database was to download a copy of their database (which was in dBase format, but is now in Microsoft Access format), then convert the tables to text and import them to a MySQL database.  Then, my PHP scripts query that database and produce the output for the National Register infobox (Infobox NRHP).  If I were to write a similar query tool for the SOS! Database, I'd need to either import their database, or I'd have to find a way to query their database via some sort of web service or XML request, then interpret that data and extract the fields for an infobox.  I think their database is running on a Dynix (now Sirsi Corporation) IPAC system, but I really don't have any idea how to download an entire database from one of those systems, or to run automated queries from an external site and get data in an unformatted manner.  Do you have any contacts at the Smithsonian who would know the technical answers about how to download their database, or how to write an external query tool?  I'd be happy to help out as my time permits, but getting access to the data is the big unknown at this point.  --Elkman (Elkspeak) 04:54, 28 December 2010 (UTC)

Areas of less than an acre
I just noticed that the generator only provides area figures if they're greater than an acre. Just curious — were the old less-than-an-acre figures erroneous? I don't feel like replacing all of the old area figures if they're correct, but I definitely don't want to leave them in articles if they're wrong. Thanks! Nyttend (talk) 02:01, 29 December 2010 (UTC)
 * A request about these area figures — could you set the generator to provide areas of " Less than 1 acre " instead of "less than one acre"? Thanks!  Nyttend (talk) 12:21, 26 March 2011 (UTC)

Great to see you at the Wikipedia Tenth Anniversary Meet-up
Hi, Elkman,

It was great to see you at the meet-up and to hear your thoughts about editing as we were discussing the questions of the new visitor to the meet-up. I'll learn a lot about Minnesota history, even as a many-generation Minnesotan, as I read more of your contributions. I've just been doing some library searches, and between what I just searched up and what I've already checked out, I'll soon have plenty of new sources to add to the source lists I maintain to share with other wikipedians who edit articles on controversial subjects. If you have any suggestions for those, I'd be glad to hear them. See you on the articles; keep up the good work. -- WeijiBaikeBianji (talk, how I edit) 21:52, 16 January 2011 (UTC)

Coney Island of the West
Whew! What a busy few weeks, lots of offline stuff and with Wikipedia I've been catching up on a few buildings I'd meant to take care of (as well as a few projects unrelated to NRHP), but now I wanted to get back to SHPO and see if you'd be interested in collaborating on the Coney Island of the West. I can easily put together a DYK-worthy piece on the site, but I think there's enough information here to make something really nice including dozens of slides, an entire 65+ page, bound research & planning study by an architecture firm for the City of Waconia, lots and lots of old newspaper articles (spanning from at least 80 years), lot maps, letters (including those to MHS, and letters between the City and then-Attorney General Warren Spannaus), original architectural drawings (color sketches that also show the location of old Indian mounds), and simply more information than I've seen in any other file. I think this might be a fun thing to ding around at. I've noticed you can spot a few of the remaining structures (in ruins) on the south side of the island if you look at it using the Bird's Eye view function of Bing Maps. Hope everything's well! --Bobak (talk) 19:34, 28 January 2011 (UTC)
 * Sure, I'd be interested in collaborating on Coney Island of the West. It sounds like you've found a lot of research material already.  I went out there yesterday and took a bunch of photos of the ruined buildings.  There's one building on the south side of the island that must have been the caretaker's cottage, or perhaps a welcome building for the resort, that still had enough of the interior intact that you could recognize the different rooms.  There's also a boat house on the south end with a concrete foundation that's still recognizable.  Most of the other buildings on the island have completely collapsed.  It's an interesting photo study, and I'm going to put the whole photo set on Flickr.  --Elkman (Elkspeak) 15:56, 30 January 2011 (UTC)
 * Here's a link to my photos on Flickr. --Elkman (Elkspeak) 16:10, 30 January 2011 (UTC)
 * Those look great! You should take a look at the plans of the development at SHPO.  I'm heading out of the country for several weeks, but I'll be back in late Feb and be back in contact :-)  --Bobak (talk) 05:03, 1 February 2011 (UTC)

Nomination of MarsCon (Bloomington, Minnesota) for deletion
A discussion is taking place as to whether the article MarsCon (Bloomington, Minnesota) is suitable for inclusion in Wikipedia according to Wikipedia's policies and guidelines or whether it should be deleted.

The article will be discussed at Articles for deletion/MarsCon (Bloomington, Minnesota) until a consensus is reached, and anyone is welcome to contribute to the discussion. The nomination will explain the policies and guidelines which are of concern. The discussion focuses on good quality evidence, and our policies and guidelines.

Users may edit the article during the discussion, including to improve the article to address concerns raised in the discussion. However, do not remove the article-for-deletion template from the top of the article. Bongo  matic  08:50, 5 April 2011 (UTC)

NRHP tools page down?
Hi Elkman ... I haven't been able to access your NRHP tools pages for the past couple days. Please tell me that this excellent resource isn't down for good! --sanfranman59 (talk) 19:28, 15 April 2011 (UTC)
 * The stupid machine crashed while I was on vacation, so I had to have a friend reboot it. I don't know for sure if everything came back up successfully since it looks like the Ethernet hub appeared to have no connections.  It should be back now -- if it isn't, let me know and I can bang on it some more.  --Elkman (Elkspeak) 23:22, 18 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Looks good ... thanks.--Pubdog (talk) 10:28, 19 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Whew! That's a relief. I was afraid that your site had turned into a pumpkin or something. It's great to have it back. How dare you go on vacation! ;^) (I hope you did something fun.) --sanfranman59 (talk) 20:10, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

Orphaned non-free image File:Brand X-Do They Hurt.JPG
 Thanks for uploading File:Brand X-Do They Hurt.JPG. The image description page currently specifies that the image is non-free and may only be used on Wikipedia under a claim of fair use. However, the image is currently not used in any articles on Wikipedia. If the image was previously in an article, please go to the article and see why it was removed. You may add it back if you think that that will be useful. However, please note that images for which a replacement could be created are not acceptable for use on Wikipedia (see our policy for non-free media).

Note that any non-free images not used in any articles will be deleted after seven days, as described in the criteria for speedy deletion. Thank you. Courcelles 04:20, 17 May 2011 (UTC)
 * Seems to have just been a bad edit by an IP that removed the infobox. Killiondude (talk) 06:27, 17 May 2011 (UTC)
 * I don't think it was a bad edit -- it was more like Unorthodox Behaviour, or perhaps an act of will. I told the IP editor, "Don't make waves." Of course, if he doesn't listen, he'll be subject to X-Communication.  --Elkman (Elkspeak) 15:28, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

Ski Lift No. 1
Thanks. I'm still not entirely sure, since unlike NY, CT and PA (three of the four states whose listings I usually work on), Colorado's nomination documents are generally not online (Ute Cemetery, which I'll be doing later, is the only exception I've found), whether Lift No. 1 is included in the listing or whether it applies only to the boat which is, ironically, not there at the moment. It helps just a bit to be working on listings from such a singular place as Aspen, though, where there's been more than enough written about it to establish notability from other sources (As noted, we have only two ski lifts on the Register ... the other is Proctor Mountain Ski Lift at Sun Valley, which is actually still in use. And there are only four total in use in the country).

I knew this would be an interesting article (as you might guess, yes I will be nominating it for DYK later today when (I hope) I get the footnotes to the magazine article separated by page to make things easier for reviewers, and I see PR and GA in this one's future, too). We have, I think, only one other article on an individual ski lift (because it connects two mountaintops), and I can just imagine the OTHERSTUFFEXISTS arguments this will give rise to. So it's probably important for the first real Wikipedia article on a ski lift to have its ducks in order. Of course, pace your comment about the stubbiness of what people usually submit, I always develop any article I create (not just in NRHP) to the fullest extent possible given the sources available ... I believe readers deserve no less.

Speaking of which, do any of your future diving plans for NRHP shipwrecks include coming out to upstate New York? We have one (not near me), I've been trying to get someone who dives to share pics of, but without success so far. Daniel Case (talk) 18:48, 18 May 2011 (UTC)

The shipwreck in question is the Land Tortoise, which I can safely say is the only NHL shipwreck in an inland freshwater lake, and possibly the only one in fresh water period. You can learn a lot about it and see some pics in the xlinks. Last summer I took a picture of the NHL plaque and state historic marker ... on the south shore of the lake, a mile or so from the actual site. After coming back, I wrote the head of the organization of divers who found it and have done so much with it, from one of their websites. Haven't heard a think back in months. So, I'm thinking of doing as you suggest. It might be nice to have an introduction. Do you, or anyone you dive with, know any divers who might have done some diving in Lake George? (There are a couple of other submerged listings there, too). Daniel Case (talk) 18:45, 19 May 2011 (UTC)

NRHP tools
Hey Elkman,

I occasionally use some of your tools when creating lists for the German wikipedia but one thing is really annoying – converting dates and the like. Would it be difficult to provide "other" output of the tools if I told you which output is desired in DE:WP? (F.ex. instead of 1983-12-15 we use ). --Matthiasb (talk) 22:09, 19 May 2011 (UTC)

Thank you for Infobox Generator
Hello & thank you ever so much for your Infobox Generator for National Register buildings. I have been using it a lot to fill in historic buildings in Humboldt County, California. What a time saver, and thank you so much for making it. I saw in a discussion somewhere a thread of should we use bots to make all the pages, or let humans use the Elkman Info Box generator and do it themselves? I don't feel qualified to jump in where I saw all that, but as a relatively new user (by number of edits), I'd ask that users be allowed to make pages, somehow it's more satisfying to look at a list of "these buildings desired" and get started than to fill out a stub article. But that's just my 2cents. Again thank you for that marvelous tool, saves hours - makes it easier to do more pages. Ellin Beltz (talk) 15:34, 24 May 2011 (UTC)

100 Grand Jin'
I have removed the CSD tag you placed on this article. CSD A1 does not apply or no longer applies because there is sufficient context to identify the subject of the article, which is a studio album by Jin the name of which is "100 Grand Jin'". Please let me know if you think that there are other grounds on which the article could be deleted, or if you think that I have made an error.James500 (talk) 23:53, 27 May 2011 (UTC)
 * Yeah, it identifies the content of the article, but it doesn't give anything more than the title of the album plus a few bare facts in the infobox. That still qualifies as being empty, the way I look at it.  Or is the state of the art at Wikipedia such that we only need one sentence and an infobox to represent a full encyclopedia article?  --Elkman (Elkspeak) 00:10, 28 May 2011 (UTC)

"No content" is CSD A3, not CSD A1 (which you have linked to). That policy says:

"However, a very short article may be a valid stub if it has context, in which case it is not eligible for deletion under this criterion. Similarly, this criterion doesn't cover a page with an infobox with non-trivial information. Caution is needed when using this tag on newly created articles."

It is not obvious to me that the information in the infobox is "trivial".James500 (talk) 08:22, 28 May 2011 (UTC)
 * Sheesh. It sounds like there's a growing faction of editors out there who are defending very short, context-free stubs.  OK, so the article may not strictly meet the criteria for speedy deletion, at least from a legalistic standpoint.  I don't feel like reading or writing huge long walls of text in a debate, because quite frankly, I've gotten way too much of that in other areas of Wikipedia.  In any case, you'll probably have to complain to someone else about this, because Jac16888 merged the thin stub into the main article about Jin (rapper).  --Elkman (Elkspeak) 16:56, 28 May 2011 (UTC)

I apologise if you feel that I was being legalistic. I was not trying to defend the stub. I was not trying to engage you in a debate. I was not trying to complain about the article being merged (because I recommended that it be merged on its talk page). I was only trying to explain why I removed your tag. James500 (talk) 08:26, 29 May 2011 (UTC)

Umm...
You may want to take a closer look at what you restored here. Cheers, OhNo itsJamie Talk 14:34, 30 May 2011 (UTC)
 * Oh geez. I didn't even look at the content close enough -- I just assumed that the removal was vandalism.  In fact, the removal was reverting vandalism.  The words "rectum" and "anus" should have given that away.  Next time, I'll have to look at what I'm doing more closely.  Or, maybe I should just let someone more skilled than myself take care of patrolling articles like this.  --Elkman (Elkspeak) 15:34, 30 May 2011 (UTC)
 * No worries, I screw up frequently myself. It's an easy mistake to make. If you look at the history, I think you were among several editors who thought they were restoring legit content. Cheers, OhNo itsJamie  Talk 16:19, 30 May 2011 (UTC)

Christeele Acres Historic District
Thanks for the work! I've nominated it for DYK. Nyttend (talk) 03:03, 5 June 2011 (UTC)

wow - nice photo

 * ) dm (talk) 13:54, 5 June 2011 (UTC)

DYK nomination of Christeele Acres Historic District
Hello! Your submission of Christeele Acres Historic District at the Did You Know nominations page has been reviewed, and there still are some issues that may need to be clarified. Please review the comment(s) underneath your nomination's entry and respond there as soon as possible. Thank you for contributing to Did You Know! Gerda Arendt (talk) 11:04, 7 June 2011 (UTC)

Can't get an infobox
NRIS#09000311 (McCullough-Price House), Chandler, Arizona. I want an infobox, but your creator is not working well. I put in an earlier entry (actually, 9 9000311, a bridge in Iowa), and it worked, though. Is this one too new for your creator? Raymie (t • c) 19:56, 10 June 2011 (UTC)
 * The house wasn't in the previous version of the database that I've loaded. However, I'm working on a new version of the infobox generator that has the 2010 database loaded.  You can get to the new infobox generator at this link.  I haven't finished all of the updates to the infobox generator and query tools, such as being able to automatically categorize properties by architecture.  Also, I don't have the new coordinate database loaded.  That's why I haven't rolled the whole thing out to everyone yet.  But, I'm willing to share this link with you because you asked nicely. :)  --Elkman (Elkspeak) 20:25, 10 June 2011 (UTC)
 * OK. I've asked for the nom form via email too to beef up the article (I have a newspaper article as my main source). As for the coordinates, I used the old ones in the county NRHP listing for now. Raymie (t • c) 21:09, 10 June 2011 (UTC)

DYK nomination of Povey Brothers Studio
Hello! Your submission of Povey Brothers Studio at the Did You Know nominations page has been reviewed, and there still are some issues that may need to be clarified. Please review the comment(s) underneath your nomination's entry and respond there as soon as possible. Thank you for contributing to Did You Know! Thelmadatter (talk) 00:43, 15 June 2011 (UTC)

NRHP tools page down?
Hi there ... just tried to get in and it appears to be down. Best wishes,--Pubdog (talk) 20:22, 20 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Hmm. I'm not sure what's going on.  I'm at work right now and I can't check on the computer, but when I tried calling home to see if the answering machine would answer, I got a busy signal.  That shouldn't happen, because nobody else is home.  Maybe my phone line is on the fritz.  --Elkman (Elkspeak) 20:33, 20 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Still down... thanks for checking!--Pubdog (talk) 23:40, 20 June 2011 (UTC)
 * The phone line is either shorted out, or something else is wrong with it. The landline and the DSL connection are both dead.  I called Qwest (soon to be CenturyLink), and they said they'll have someone out today to fix it.  I hope they figure it out, because I hate having two web sites down.  --Elkman (Elkspeak) 15:39, 21 June 2011 (UTC)

Thanks for getting it back working!KudzuVine (talk) 18:22, 21 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Don't thank me, thank the guy who climbed the telephone pole and connected my line to a working cable pair. :) --Elkman (Elkspeak) 22:41, 21 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Thanx to all! Cheers--Pubdog (talk) 00:57, 22 June 2011 (UTC)

DYK for Povey Brothers Studio
The DYK project (nominate) 18:02, 26 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the nomination. We may take this to GA soon. Cheers! Valfontis (talk) 22:23, 1 July 2011 (UTC)

Generator gracias
Thank you for the NRHP generator. Surprisingly, I still come across the occasional old Florida NRHP to which I didn't add an infobox for lo, these many years. Sarasota High School, to be exact. Plugged in the name, your generator generated, I added to the article, included a photo I took in my last binge a couple weeks back, and voila! That's French for "Lookie here!", if I'm not mistaken. Hope you're having a fun Independence Day weekend. Later, monsieur. ;) --Ebyabe (talk) 23:48, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

MNRR photo
Hi there. I've been sorting the ALCO diesel locomotive photos on commons into sub-categories, and I find I can't read the road numbers on File:MNNR Locomotives.jpg (though if I had to guess I'd say it's an ALCO RS-27). Can you provide any assistance? Cheers, Mackensen (talk) 15:53, 10 July 2011 (UTC)
 * The one on the right is Minnesota Commercial 80. I have another picture taken from a different angle that shows the road number plainly.  As far as the one in the center, I don't have any pictures that show its road number clearly.  I took those photos on July 31, 2001, nearly 10 years ago, with a Fujifilm DX-10, which is practically in the stone age as far as digital camera technology goes now.  Between the limitations of having 3/4 of a megapixel, the piles of materials in the way, and the fact that I didn't want to get arrested for trespassing on railroad property, those pictures aren't really helpful in determining the road numbers.  I can upload another picture or two from that album, if it would provide some more spotting details.  --Elkman (Elkspeak) 05:30, 11 July 2011 (UTC)
 * Here's a better picture of MNNR 80, which I can confirm is the same locomotive as in the picture I took. The caption claims it's an Alco RS23, but I've never heard of such a type. Here's a roster of their locomotives.  Based on the fragments of the road number I can see below the cab, and matching my picture to their better pictures, I'm going to take a guess that that's either 316 or 318.  If that's the case, it's an Alco RS-27, which would make it one of the last few in existence. --Elkman (Elkspeak) 05:44, 11 July 2011 (UTC)


 * Thanks for taking the time--I agree that it's almost certainly an RS-27. I'll update the file accordingly. Best, Mackensen (talk) 22:34, 11 July 2011 (UTC)


 * Also, an RS-23 is an MLW model. See and . Mackensen (talk) 22:45, 11 July 2011 (UTC)

Your unsubstantiated edits to Isabella Ranger Station
To reply to your rant, as you know your infobox generator provides false information much of the time, in the sense that it misidentifies architects, builders, and engineers who are associated with a project, labelling them all as architects when that is sometimes not accurate. In the case of Ranger Stations designed by the USFS, i have now compared your infobox generator output to actual full NRHP nom sheets for many cases, and found in every case that terming the CCC as the architect is incorrect. You are just like many other editors who have been misled by your infobox generator output. As you know, because i have pointed this out before to you, the www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com website gets this right.

About the Forest Service architects, they did indeed create custom plans and also created standard plans which were used for multiple structures. Yep. That does not change the fact that CCC is most likely not the architect of Isabella Ranger Station. You don't have any specific support for that assertion, do you? I am going to remove it again from the article, because it is not specifically supported, and evidence suggests that the assertion is false. -- do ncr  am  14:12, 23 July 2011 (UTC)


 * Thank you for your several helpful edits recently, such as your fixing coords in this edit. -- do ncr  am  15:04, 23 July 2011 (UTC)

New infobox generator
You may have seen Pubdog's comments at WT:NRHP about the new version of the generator — I can confirm that all the district infoboxes I generated lacked the "hd" parameter in nrhp_type and the coords as well. On an unrelated note, the districts whose infoboxes I generated were all in Indiana, and I was happy to see your notice of "Nomination forms aren't yet available for Indiana; check the NRHP Focus page for status, code = 0". Some Indiana sites have forms available through SHAARD; could you perhaps change the text to "status, code = 0, or check with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources"? Thanks for the update! Nyttend (talk) 21:23, 23 July 2011 (UTC)
 * Also, I noticed that a similar notice appears for Kentucky; however, most Kentucky nominations are on Focus. Nyttend (talk) 21:25, 23 July 2011 (UTC)

USFS "Architects"
At the AFD (now closed) on the USFS "Architects" article, you wrote:
 * The National Register database lists the architect as "USDA Forest Svce. Architecture Group" for several buildings in the Depression-Era Buildings TR in Oregon and Washington. "USDA Forest Service" is listed as the architect for several buildings in the Depression-Era USDA Forest Service Administrative Complexes in Arizona MPS. "USDA Forest Service, Region 2" is listed as the architect for the buildings in Depression-Era USDA Forest Service Administrative Complexes on Medicine Bow NF MPS. There are other multiple property submissions that list "U.S. Forest Service" or some variation, as well as a number of individual properties not part of multiple property submissions. The three documents Orlady cited are part of the Oregon and Washington MPS. I'm going to look at the MPS to see if those actually list an architect.

For the record, when Doncram created the article (under the title "USDA Forest Svce. Architecture Group"), NRIS was his only source. By the time I nominated it at AfD, it also cited the Oregon and Washington MPS. I read the MPS before I nominated the article for AfD. The builder/architect blank in that MPS does list "Civilian Conservation Corps/USDA Forest Service Architecture Group" (not abbreviated; I had forgotten that because it does not show up in a text search of the MPS). The text discussion focuses on the CCC and on the architectural character of the buildings, but it does say that the "Architecture Group in the regional office" was responsible for all of the designs, and it names 5 members of that group. If Doncram had been amenable to reworking the article to focus on the buildings, I wouldn't have gone near AfD, but I went to AfD because of his insistence that the "USDA Forest Svce. Architecture Group," and not its collective works, was the notable topic to be documented in the article. --Orlady (talk) 14:07, 27 July 2011 (UTC)

NRHP Generator and "Architects"
I have a suggestion... Correct me if I am wrong, but apparently the underlying problem is that the NRHP database (which your generator uses for information) does not distinguish between an architect, a builder, an engineer, etc. If this is the case, does it not mean that the database is unreliable for this information (no source is ever deemed 100% reliable on Wikipedia... even the best of sources can be unreliable for a specific fact... that does not change it's reliability in general... just for that fact)? To me, the best solution isn't to tweak the info-box so it says "architect and/or builder and/or engineer and/or connected to the building in some other way"... the best solution is to omit listing anything about the architects/builders/etc. If an editor can find a solid reliable source for the architect, they can add that to the info-box by hand). (Important note... if there are technical issues that I don't understand that make that impossible... or even difficult... forget I suggested this. my goal is to try to end the bickering about this aspect of the NRHP articles... not to make your life harder.) Blueboar (talk) 21:45, 28 July 2011 (UTC)
 * The way Elkman has handled the issue in his infobox generator, i.e. changing the field name, is sufficient to repress its display until some other source has been used to verify the information. In other words, an editor has to actively delete part of that line to make it show up. One would hope that someone willing to delete that part of the line would use a separate source to validate the edit.--Dudemanfellabra (talk) 21:53, 28 July 2011 (UTC)


 * Ah... yes, I see... that is essentially what I was wondering if he would (and could) do - I agree that it is best not display the info unless we actually know the answer to the question: "are the people listed on the NRHP database the builders or the Architects or something else?" and can support it with a valid source.  Thanks. Blueboar (talk) 22:00, 28 July 2011 (UTC)


 * I left a detailed reply at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject National Register of Historic Places‎. --Elkman (Elkspeak) 23:07, 28 July 2011 (UTC)

DragonCon
Do you go regularly? For years, I've had friends who've been trying to convince me to go. Yes, I too have a life outside Wikipedia. ;) --Ebyabe (talk) 00:46, 29 July 2011 (UTC)

Quick question
The old infobox for United Brethren in Christ (Cincinnati, Ohio) had "Private" in the "Governing body" line, but I just now generated an infobox and found that that line was empty. Was this intentional, or is it a bug? Thanks as always! Nyttend (talk) 02:59, 29 July 2011 (UTC)
 * That was a bug. That was a result of one of the changes they made to the schema.  I used to have some code in there to translate the ownership code, but since the code got flattened to a single field, I didn't translate it properly.  It's fixed now.  Thanks for letting me know about it.  --Elkman (Elkspeak) 03:26, 29 July 2011 (UTC)

Crash
Just wanted to let you know that citylist, countylist, and infobox generator pages are down. Other parts of www2.elkman.net are still running; for example, right now I'm looking at your photo of the raft over Nine Mile Creek while mountain biking in 2000. Nyttend (talk) 15:36, 1 August 2011 (UTC)
 * That's because Doncram hasn't (yet) accused me of lying about the statements I made while mountain biking on the Minnesota River bottoms. I'm probably supposed to put some sort of disclaimer in there saying that the trail is no longer at its original location because of flooding on the river bottoms, or that the MN&S swing bridge is really owned by Twin Cities and Western now, or that the washout east of Lyndale has since been repaired and re-landscaped.  --Elkman (Elkspeak) 15:41, 1 August 2011 (UTC)
 * I just saw your post at WT:NRHP. Would you mind restarting it with password protection?  You know that some of us appreciate your work.  Nyttend (talk) 16:24, 1 August 2011 (UTC)
 * I was thinking the same thing; if it's going to be a matter of contention limited to a single person, better to operate it with a password. While it would be nice for it to be fully open WP-style, it's probably not worth the walls-of-text. Think of it as semi-protection.   Acroterion   (talk)   16:40, 1 August 2011 (UTC)
 * Me too. Most of us definitely appreciate your work, and your NRHP tools are much too valuable to lose completely. Altairisfar (talk) 16:50, 1 August 2011 (UTC)
 * I could password-protect it and put up a disclaimer on it saying, "Some fields may be inaccurate or vague, so you need to validate them against another source," but then Doncram would complain anyway about the generated output. The only way to fix it would be to add fields to the infobox saying, "Architect or builder =", "was built or has other significance in =", and "NRHP nomination may or may not be available at =", and other terms of ambiguity that fill an article with weasel words.  --Elkman (Elkspeak) 17:18, 1 August 2011 (UTC)
 * The point being that you could make it available to those whom you chose to make it available, and if you wearied of complaints from someone, you could change the password and notify only those whom you wanted to continue to use it. Nyttend (talk) 17:23, 1 August 2011 (UTC)
 * I was afraid it was going to come to this eventually. But please don't let conflict with a single editor deprive the rest of us of a very useful tool. Is there any way that you can simply ignore him and not get drawn into his drama? --sanfranman59 (talk) 18:20, 1 August 2011 (UTC)
 * Nope, it's too late for me to ignore him. When my conduct and the contents of my infobox generator have been dragged up in several different forums, and when the output of my generator has been questioned so many times, there's no way I can ignore him and his accusations.  I might need to put the infobox generator back up again when I file the request for arbitration, though, so members of the Arbitration Committee can see the output that the generator provides.  I know ArbCom doesn't rule on content disputes, but they may need some background information as far as what's available in the database.  --Elkman (Elkspeak) 21:02, 1 August 2011 (UTC)
 * Please reconsider. I can't continue with WVa without the infobox generator.--Pubdog (talk) 01:08, 2 August 2011 (UTC)

Infobox generator improvements
Here are some suggested improvements. Given the nature of categories, it might be best to list the possibilities as comments and let the editor delete the suggestion or remove the comments on the valid categories. As a general rule, the articles from the code do not establish why they directly belong in Category:yyyy architecture so that category is probably best not used.


 * 1) . Since the built date is being used, Category:Buildings and structures completed in yyyy is probably better then Category:yyyy architecture
 * 2) . Bridges should be in Category:Bridges completed in yyyy
 * 3) . Religious buildings should be in Category:Religious buildings completed in yyyy
 * 4) . If the religious building's denomination is known, then if should be in Category:ccxx-century synagogues, Category:ccxx-century mosques or Category:ccxx-century denomination church building
 * 5) . Historic districts should generally not be placed in any specific year category since the buildings in the district generally span multiple years and don't represent a single architecture year. The individual buildings should be placed in the appropriate categories.
 * 6) . Cemeteries are better classified as established. While an overall design may be in place at establishment, that design usually changes over time, so these should go into Category:yyyy establishments

So, if you need something to work on, have fun. Vegaswikian (talk) 06:05, 2 August 2011 (UTC)


 * May I respectfully suggest that Elkman keep his generator output simple, but that the infobox template can/should be modified to allow (and encourage) human users to edit the output, as appropriate to the topic? The NRIS database isn't nearly as smart as people are, and while it likely would be a nightmare to program the code to make these kinds of judgments, a human should be able to sort these things out pretty easily. --Orlady (talk) 19:58, 2 August 2011 (UTC)
 * That's why I suggested that maybe the categories should just be included as a comment and let the editor select the correct ones. If that was done, then offering the range of possibilities would make sense. Vegaswikian (talk) 20:56, 2 August 2011 (UTC)

Username and Password
Hi ... this AM I tried to access the Elkman infobox generator and received the message "A username and password are being requested by http://www2.elkman.net. The site says: "Enter password for NRHP server"" How can I obtain a Username & Password? Please advise.--Pubdog (talk) 09:18, 2 August 2011 (UTC)
 * I'll second that. You may not have known how much so many people depended on this tool until you cut it off! Do please let us know what to do.  Smallbones (talk) 14:57, 2 August 2011 (UTC)

Infobox generator
I want to thank you for all your hard work on your Infobox generator. I know it's a thankless and costly task and you don't deserve all the flack you have had to take from a certain editor who was blocked August 2 for 3 months. I'm sure there are many other editors who value your work, so I hope you will grant access to your invaluable tool to me and these others. Best wishes. clariosophic (talk) 20:15, 4 August 2011 (UTC)
 * I've opened it back up again. I figure I've got two months and 27 days before I need to worry about future complaints and accusations of lying when people use this thing.  --Elkman (Elkspeak) 19:06, 6 August 2011 (UTC)
 * I think most everyone appreciates your work. Anyone who does not, should go write their own, and not complain about it.  In case it was not clear or you have not heard it enough, let me give you a big Thank You.  dm (talk) 01:00, 7 August 2011 (UTC)

Something weird with the NRHP database, methinks
Hey, dude! Hope you're chillin' out this weekend, yah? Ok, that's the extent of my "bro-speak". :)

This requires some explanation, so please bear with me. Relax and have a spot of tea, there's a good chap.

So, I was toying around with future roadtrip plans. I was looking at Georgia and South Carolina (since I've mostly polished off Florida), and was thinking of visiting Jasper County, South Carolina. I noticed that Grays Consolidated High School had no coordinates (it was added in 2007), so I thought I'd use your county list tool to hopefully find them. To my surprise, instead of 8 listings, there were over 50. And mostly not new ones. Some from as far back as the 1970s. I created that NRHP page in 2009 by splitting it off from one of the main lists. I know I couldn't have missed that much. After more research, I realized that the listings for Jasper County, South Carolina and Jasper County, Missouri were mixed together!

When you get a chance, could you check on this, please? I have a feeling this is an error on the Federales part. If that turns out to be the case, we should probably report it to them ASAP so they can fix it, and check for other similar instances.

Ain't we got fun? Anyway, finish your tea and have another cup, on me. Because I'm just that kinda guy. Pip, pip, and cheerio! :) --Ebyabe (talk) 18:36, 6 August 2011 (UTC)
 * Actually, that was an error on my part. When I converted my scripts to use the new database schema, I no longer had to look up a county code from the county table.  But, I didn't update the query in countylist.php to use the state code.  I checked this out by trying to query for stuff in Washington County, Minnesota.  I ended up with a lot of places seemingly moved to Minnesota that really belonged elsewhere.  (Did you know that Antietam Creek and the Potomac River meet up in Minnesota?  Or that Montpelier is a city in Minnesota?  Or that the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville is in Fayetteville, Minnesota?)
 * I've fixed the problem now, by properly checking the state code in the countylist.php query. It's working properly now, so it only gives me old favorites like the Soo Line High Bridge, St. Croix Boom Site, the Stillwater Bridge, and the Minnesota Territorial-State Prison Warden's House that are actually in Minnesota.  Thanks for pointing out the problem.  --Elkman (Elkspeak) 19:27, 6 August 2011 (UTC)

Georgia NRHP question
Got back from Savannah and many photos were taken. Whilst adding to articles, I found two listings for Savannah that weren't listed, and not in the NRHP database. They are on our favorite site, though. Maybe they were delisted? They are:

Asendorf, Cord, House (added 1980 - - #80004643) 1921 Bull St., Savannah

Mickve Israel Synagogue (added 1980 - - #80004646) None given, Savannah??

It's the synagogue I'm most interested in, since it has a fairly large article. I'd say they're contributing properties to the NHL Savannah Historic District, but the ppwk for it isn't online at nps either! Any help you could provide would be most appreciated. :) --Ebyabe (talk) 17:04, 23 August 2011 (UTC)
 * Both of those buildings show up with a status of "Pending/Listed", though I'm not sure if it means it's pending addition, or if it got in a status of limbo before being listed, or something like that. I checked out the documentation for those properties using NAHRGIS and it has a few things to say about them, but it doesn't say definitively whether the Asendorf House and the Mickve Israel Synagogue are listed or not.  The NHL nomination doesn't say definitively whether they're contributing properties or not.  I can tell you that they haven't been delisted, though.  I suppose this isn't 100% helpful, but it's about all I can determine from the database and from what I've found online.  --Elkman (Elkspeak) 22:53, 23 August 2011 (UTC)

NRHP infobox generator down
Good morning! Appears that the NRHP infobox generator is down. Best wishes.--Pubdog (talk) 09:37, 12 September 2011 (UTC)
 * Yeah, the machine went down last night for no apparent reason. I rebooted it and it should be available again. Thanks for letting me know.  --Elkman (Elkspeak) 13:20, 12 September 2011 (UTC)
 * Hi --- thanks for look at it so quickly. Got stuck this AM, so there may be another problem.  Thanks in advance for looking into it.--Pubdog (talk) 09:51, 16 September 2011 (UTC)
 * I've been having some spotty service through my ISP, for some reason. I don't know if their outgoing network traffic is being choked, or something.  Or maybe my DSL router just needed to be rebooted, which I just did.  Or, it could be that every computer in the world is trying to use my Linux box as a spam relay.  I'm going to keep an eye on things.  In the meantime, let me know if the infobox generator appears to be totally down, or if it works sporadically but isn't always accessible.  --Elkman (Elkspeak) 13:25, 16 September 2011 (UTC)

A cupcake for you!

 * PS, hope you enjoyed DragonCon, if you went. :) --Ebyabe (talk) 06:38, 22 September 2011 (UTC)
 * I don't think you've been putting any extra strain on the generator -- at least not that I've noticed. I think the issue last week was a bunch of virus-laden machines trying to use my server as a mail relay, probably as some new spamming operation.  Those email attempts come in pretty constantly, whereas infobox generator requests aren't nearly as frequent.  I don't think the database requests or the PHP interpreter take up nearly as much resources as a spam attempt.  But thanks for the thought.
 * I had a good time at Dragon*Con, other than having to quit the parade after only a few blocks. I was about ready to collapse due to heat exhaustion.  A lot of people took my picture, both when I was suited up as a Predator and as my Black Dragon outfit.  --Elkman (Elkspeak) 15:55, 22 September 2011 (UTC)
 * Oh, I haven't put any strain on the generator. But I've been assessing NRHP article importance of late, and finding quite a few articles needing infoboxes. I'm just adding the parameter, but it may result in an increased use of the generator at some point. I didn't know how much that would affect things. Don't want the lines to melt or anything. :)
 * Hate spam. Been reporting instances of that here of late. You know, as a break from all the importance assessing.
 * I've not been strongly motivated to go to DragonCon, but maybe I'll give it a go in '12. I have friends who've been going for years, so I could easily hitch a ride. If you've seen someone dressed like this guy, that's one of them. Anyway, glad you enjoyed it. If the spirit ever moves you, consider going to this one, it's a lot of fun. Later! :) --Ebyabe (talk) 16:40, 22 September 2011 (UTC)

RR Route templates
I see you are a participant in the RR maps Group. I put this on the railroad maps group discussion page but then read a note that the page seems not to be read often so I sending it to a few group participents in the hope of getting some advice.

Thanks

I have added more info to the Green Bay and Western page to the point where it needs a route diagram. I have the info to do this but no matter how many times I read the route diagram template page I just don't get it. Is there a "Templates for Dummies" page - oops I am sure use of "for Dummies" is a copyright violation!. But I need a real simple how to guide. Please reply on my talk page. Alternatly I can list the info for someone else to do it. But would really like to be able to do this. Years ago it seemed to be easier to cut, paste and edit something someone else had done - that does not seem to work now.

I would appreciate a reply at my talk page.--Wickifrank (talk) 13:26, 30 September 2011 (UTC)

Larry Millett
Hi Elkman. You told me once about a speech at the University (Richard Stallman) which was great. Here's another one upcoming: Larry Millett in Conversation with Garrison Keillor. Also Wikimedia is looking for people to interview and you would be great. That's it. -SusanLesch (talk) 15:54, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

NRHP script
Can you comment on the proper use of your script at Template:Did you know nominations/Hyde Park-Kenwood Historic District.--TonyTheTiger (T/C/BIO/WP:CHICAGO/WP:FOUR) 12:22, 11 November 2011 (UTC)
 * I don't know if you are still following this discussion, but I had a question about a possible alternative link for the script.--TonyTheTiger (T/C/BIO/WP:CHICAGO/WP:FOUR) 20:51, 15 November 2011 (UTC)

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Minor update request for generator
As always, thanks for the generator work! I have a small request — instead of having it say "Building is listed for architectural criteria" or "Building is not listed for architectural criteria", could you have it provide the criteria? I sometimes encounter situations when it would be helpful to see "Qualifies under Criteria A, C, and D" or "Qualifies because of historic importance, historic architecture, and information potential". Nyttend (talk) 13:40, 22 December 2011 (UTC)
 * OK, I've added it. It will show up listed as something like, "Criteria: architecture/engineering, person".  The database doesn't really list criteria A, B, C, or D any more, and I never remembered what those letters meant anyway.  I also updated it so it would list the architectural categories and year built even if the building isn't listed for architectural criteria, as in the James J. Hill House.  --Elkman (Elkspeak) 17:42, 22 December 2011 (UTC)
 * Thank you! While the letters work, I figured that spelling it out, as you've done, would work better.  I asked for this because when I'm writing an article, I'll generally try to explain (in normal text, not in bureaucratese) why a property qualified; see just above the references section of Pfleger Family Houses for an example of what I mean.  Ohio properties were already easy, since the Ohio SHPO's website includes skeleton coverage of each site with the criteria, but I can't immediately remember seeing such a thing in other states.  Nyttend (talk) 21:27, 22 December 2011 (UTC)

Request for the Generator
Would it be possible to include "|importance=Low" by default in the talk page banner you create in the generator? Most pages are low importance anyway, and it would help people that go through and rate new articles tremendously. Thanks!--Dudemanfellabra (talk) 18:47, 2 January 2012 (UTC)
 * Sorry to keep piling on the requests, but would it be possible to have a check box for "precise match" or something like that? It would be quite helpful when I'm looking for sites with very common short names, such as "City Hall" in Muncie, Indiana — there are many different Indiana properties with those words in their names, so it would be helpful to be able to look for "City Hall" without having to wade through city halls in Delphi, Fort Wayne, and Columbus.  Thanks!  Nyttend (talk) 15:24, 12 January 2012 (UTC)
 * Dudemanfellabra: I added the "|importance=Low" to the talk page template. I just didn't get a chance to notify you because I was very sick at the beginning of January.  Apparently, gastroenteritis spreads really easily.
 * Nyttend: I could probably add a checkbox for the exact match, but I wonder if it would really address the situation you're looking at. For instance, there's just one "City Hall" building with an exact name in Indiana, but if I do a search for "Masonic Temple" in Indiana, and turn exact matching on, the ones in Fort Wayne, Muncie, Franklin, and Evansville would all show up because their names match exactly.  If you're looking for a "City Hall" or a "Masonic Temple", or something even more common like "First Baptist Church", you might get results more easily by using the query by city function.  What's your thought on this?  --Elkman (Elkspeak) 17:50, 12 January 2012 (UTC)
 * I've seen your query by city before, but only occasionally, and then only when we were still putting everything into tables. I definitely didn't realise that it would have a link to the infobox (that's what I'm going for, since I put things such as architectural style and construction year into image descriptions), so that looks like it will be even more useful than what I'd requested.  Thanks so much!  Nyttend (talk) 00:21, 13 January 2012 (UTC)

Glad you're feeling better
Sorry to hear you started the New Year with sickness, but glad that you're getting over it. Hopefully the rest of the year will keep getting better for you. It has for me. Here's to good fortune to all this year. You know, before December. :) -- ‖ Ebyabe  talk -   Opposites Attract   ‖ 18:07, 12 January 2012 (UTC)

NRHP infobox generator improvements?
Hi Elkman, I was playing around with your Infobox Creator. Cool tool! I wondered if you're interested in improving it? You're probably using the NRHP database dump. For Wiki Loves Monuments I created a database which contains all the NRHP listings which are in the lists here and it gets updated every night. Wouldn't it be nice to have your tool work on this database? It contains the newer monuments, user improvements, photos and it's accessible using an api. Easy access to the api at http://toolserver.org/~erfgoed/toolbox/search.html. You can also download a full dump of the database (daily updated too). Multichill (talk) 19:30, 25 January 2012 (UTC)

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Just curious
As far as I know, you can request your admin rights back at any time, can't you? Or am I mistaken? 28bytes (talk) 03:13, 30 January 2012 (UTC)
 * He can: Elkman tends to judge himself excessively harshly: I've given up asking him to give himself a break.  Acroterion   (talk)   03:20, 30 January 2012 (UTC)
 * It would help if you didn't go marching over to Malleus' talkpage, redaction or not, and wave a red flag. It would also be helpful if you didn't introduce your own issues with self-criticism into the debate. Yes, I know that people at WR can be cruel, and they were in your case, and you're entitled to oppose, but not by playing into the whole "civility block" hypocrisy.  Acroterion   (talk)   03:57, 30 January 2012 (UTC)
 * I can't ask for my admin rights back because I gave them up under controversial circumstances. As far as giving myself a break goes: There's no official Wikipedia policy that says I need to give myself a break or that I shouldn't be so hard on myself. If I'm mistaken, and there's a policy that says I need to stop being so self-critical, then someone should post a link here.  --Elkman (Elkspeak) 03:30, 30 January 2012 (UTC)
 * Oh, there's probably an essay someplace. Anyway, I originally stopped by here to ask about the comment on Malleus' talk page, but I saw you'd already tried to remove it. I made an ill-considered remark on his talk page myself once – in the middle of my own RfA, no less – but he was kind enough to let me strike it in that case once I thought better of it. What can I say, we all have the occasional moment of frustration. 28bytes (talk) 03:37, 30 January 2012 (UTC)
 * Indeed. And you all have to live with it, not try to pretend that it never happened. Malleus Fatuorum 04:43, 30 January 2012 (UTC)
 * I took the comment as a slightly misguided way of wishing you health and longevity. My76Strat (talk) 04:47, 30 January 2012 (UTC)
 * I have realized an error in my perspective which nullifies the above stricken comment. This edit outlines where I erred, and I certainly apologize for any agitation I way have spawned. My76Strat (talk) 05:45, 30 January 2012 (UTC)
 * I couldn't even begin to tell you've what done wrong MyStrat76. You need to think about what's happened, and what will happen as a result of what you've done. Malleus Fatuorum 05:57, 30 January 2012 (UTC)
 * I have pondered these things Malleus. I'm sure it is at best a miniscule consolation, but I have realized a few things I did wrong upon reflection. I misjudged you, I shouldn't have presumed such a right to judge, and my efforts belie my very intentions. While I yield to you as the one most concerned that injustice may loom, I don't expect that you believe I am perhaps second most. But I am concerned, and will speak loudly against any travesty that might ensue. It's really all I have left. My76Strat (talk) 06:36, 30 January 2012 (UTC)

<--Eh, just to make matters clear: Elkman, I'm with the civility police. Comments like "Go fuck yourself", even if withdrawn (and this was scrapped with a "let's play the victim" edit summary), are not OK. Consider this a non-templated and friendly warning of maybe the third level or so, since you are a seasoned editor and you should know better. Thank you. Drmies (talk) 19:29, 30 January 2012 (UTC)
 * Just apply the block and be done with it. A month-long block would be sufficient, since I screwed up (AGAIN), and it's not like I do anything useful around here anyway.  --Elkman (Elkspeak) 19:39, 30 January 2012 (UTC)
 * I don't think that would help the encyclopedia. Let's try this instead: anytime you feel like telling someone to do something anatomically impossible, please head over to my talk page and vent as much steam as you would like. Jonathunder (talk) 19:43, 30 January 2012 (UTC)
 * There may be some undocumented and extremely rare situations in which said act IS anatomically possible. Elkman...I'm not an admin but consider yourself blocked for 24 hours...you are limited to editing only in your userspace in the meantime.MONGO 19:53, 30 January 2012 (UTC)
 * (ec)Nothing I've done recently has helped the encyclopedia, so what's the harm in applying the appropriate enforcement? It's not like the world is waiting for articles like Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Omaha Depot (Westbrook, Minnesota) or Kline Sanatarium or Howard Lake City Hall.  Nor is the world any better off with articles like Hanover Bridge or Healy Block Residential Historic District, so what's the point?  --Elkman (Elkspeak) 19:54, 30 January 2012 (UTC)


 * So stop writing about train stations already and pick a new topic. Carrite (talk) 00:33, 31 January 2012 (UTC)
 * That's easy to say if you've never slept in one of them. For old soldiers like me who have some memorable nights in the station having missed the last train, I say write about all of them. My76Strat (talk) 00:48, 31 January 2012 (UTC)
 * Last time I was in that position we found a club that was open all night. Who knew that ['s-Hertogenbosch]] could be a lively place at 4AM. Strat, I think you should add an "Overnight accomodations" section to every one of those articles. Drmies (talk) 16:04, 31 January 2012 (UTC)
 * OK, so some of these train stations might be notable because they have a place to sleep overnight. Rock Island Depot (Faribault, Minnesota) most likely did not, though.  (It might have been built by the BCR&N first, but who cares?)  And apparently you can get coffee at the Chicago Great Western Depot in Red Wing.  Big deal.  You can get coffee anywhere.  And I can assure you that the Minneapolis Saint Paul Rochester & Dubuque Electric Traction Company Depot in Burnsville never offered sleeping accomodations, coffee, or even a heated waiting room.  I'm not sure what I was thinking when I created the latter two articles, but I can guarantee you that the world has NOT been made a better place by writing about some dinky little railroad stations in Burnsville or Red Wing.  --Elkman (Elkspeak) 16:24, 31 January 2012 (UTC)
 * I have lifted your block (that I didn't have the power to place anyway)...I seem to remember a User:Elkman, he was an instrumental contributor to the Glacier National Park article, and had it not been for him, the article wouldn't have been made a Featured Article...now get busy writing more articles!MONGO 18:19, 31 January 2012 (UTC)

Deleted NRHP-related categories
Hi Elkman, Is it possible to update your generator so the following categories don't come up: These were both deleted in CfDs. The second one was outright deleted while the first was merged to Category:Victorian architecture in the United States. However, those articles can be more appropriatley added to the respective subcategory within Category:Victorian architecture in the United States by state. Thanks and have a good day. --Starcheerspeaksnewslostwars (talk) 20:18, 6 February 2012 (UTC)
 * Category:Late Victorian architecture in the United States
 * Category:Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals architecture in the United States


 * I found a couple more errors in your generator due to renames in CfD:
 * Category:National Register of Historic Places in Washington (U.S. state) is now Category:National Register of Historic Places in Washington (state)
 * Category:Gothic Revival architecture in Washington (U.S. state) is now Category:Gothic Revival architecture in Washington (state)
 * Others who use the generator to populate a new article don't seem to check for red-linked categories. Could these be fixed so this problem doesn't continue. Thanks. --Starcheerspeaksnewslostwars (talk) 00:18, 25 February 2012 (UTC)

Edit-a-thon at Hennepin County Library
Minneapolis History edit-a-thon

We invite the Minnesota Wikipedia community and local historians to edit entries in Wikipedia on Minneapolis history. Please help us increase the depth of information on Minneapolis history topics by utilizing materials in the Minneapolis Collection. Find your own Minneapolis History topics to edit or work from a list developed by Special Collections Librarians.

Where: Minneapolis Central Library, 300 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis

When: Saturday, February 25, 2012, 10-5 pm

10 am - 11 am Orientation to Minneapolis Collection

11 am - 5 pm Edit-a-thon Website: Hennepin County Library, Special Collections, Map & Directions

Parking: Metered street parking or pay ramp in basement, enter on 4th Ave --HCLschlubb (talk) 16:31, 8 February 2012 (UTC)