User talk:EraserGirl/Archive 6

Invitation to join WikiProject United States

 * Welcome to the Project! Please let me know if you have any questions, commments or suggestions.--Kumioko (talk) 20:26, 4 January 2011 (UTC)

New Years Message for WikiProject United States
With the first of what I hope will be monthly newsletters I again want to welcome you to the project and hope that as we all work together through the year we can expand the project, create missing articles and generally improve the pedia thought mutual cooperation and support. Now that we have a project and a solid pool of willing members I wanted to strike while the iron is hot and solicite help in doing a few things that I believe is a good next step in solidifiing the project. I have outlined a few suggestions where you can help with on the projects talk page. This includes but is not limited too updatingPortal:United States, assessing the remaining US related articles that haven't been assessed, eliminating the Unrefernced BLP's and others. If you have other suggestions or are interested in doing other things feel free. I just wanted to offer a few suggestions were additional help is needed. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, comments or suggestions or you can always post something on the projects talk page. If you do not want to recieve a monthly message please put an * before your name on the members page.--Kumioko (talk) 03:07, 12 January 2011 (UTC)

New WikiProject United States Newsletter: February 2011 edition
Starting with the February 2011 issueWikiProject United States has established a newsletter to inform anyone interested in United States related topics of the latest changes. This newsletter will not only discuss issues relating to WikiProject United States but also: You may read or assist in writing the newsletter, subscribe, unsubscribe or change the format in which future issues will be delivered to you by following this link. If you have an idea for improving the newsletter please leave a message on my talk page or the Newsletters talk page. --Kumioko (talk) 20:44, 4 February 2011 (UTC)
 * 1) Portal:United States
 * 2) the United States Wikipedians Noticeboard
 * 3) the United States Wikipedians collaboration of the Month - The collaboration article for February is Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
 * 4) and changes to Wikipolicy, events and other things that may be of interest to you.

Proposed deletion of Erna Lazarus


The article Erna Lazarus has been proposed for deletion&#32; because of the following concern:
 * This article has had no sources inserted since it was tagged in 2007. That's long enough. It should be rescued or deleted. If rescued, the filmography should be turned into a "Selected filmography" and cut down to six notable films, per guidelines

While all contributions to Wikipedia are appreciated, content or articles may be deleted for any of several reasons.

You may prevent the proposed deletion by removing the notice, but please explain why in your edit summary or on the article's talk page.

Please consider improving the article to address the issues raised. Removing will stop the proposed deletion process, but other deletion processes exist. The speedy deletion process can result in deletion without discussion, and articles for deletion allows discussion to reachconsensus for deletion. David in DC (talk) 17:01, 24 February 2011 (UTC)

Erna Lazarus
I've nominated this article for deletion, after the PROD notice was lifted. The article has been tagged for no having no sources on the article's page since 2007. WP:DEADLINE does not extend into infinity. The only source the editor who deleted the prior prod notice could find was evidently not sufficient to establish notability. assuming good faith, if it we're, the editor would have put it into the article, instead of onto the talk page. I agree. It's not enough to pass WP:GNG, let alone WP:BIO. I can find no better. If (A) the tag has been there since 2007 and (B) the editor who opposes Prod can find no source that establishes notability, and (C) I can find none either, WP:DUCK.David in DC (talk) 18:42, 24 February 2011 (UTC)
 * surprised that this small innocuous stub is being targeted for deletion. she was a writer in hollywood when women writers were not that uncommon, and she died at 102. it is profoundly sad that you can't find any potential merit in her life. granted her article is only a stub, but that is only because no one has researched her and expanded it. deleting it at this stage will ENSURE that that this article will never be expanded nor written and Ms Lazarus will be buried in obscurity.  If we go around deleting all stubs and only leave articles on WP that are fully formed, we would stunt the growth of WP as a whole.  congrats. EraserGirl(talk) 15:22, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

File:Fay Kanin.jpg listed for deletion
A file that you uploaded or altered, File:Fay Kanin.jpg, has been listed at Files for deletion. Please see the to see why this is (you may have to search for the title of the image to find its entry), if you are interested in it not being deleted. Damiens .rf 19:45, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

Unblock
{unblock-auto|i will give you any information you want, but so far you haven't asked for any}


 * It does not work like that. You need to copy and paste the "unblock-auto" template that you see when trying to edit. Please read and follow the above instructions closely.  Sandstein   21:44, 30 March 2011 (UTC)
 * I have read the instructions a few times and it is still vague. i don't know why i was blocked but there are easier ways to get me to quit editing WP! Here, i copied it and pasted it:

You are currently unable to edit pages on Wikipedia.

You can still read pages, but you cannot edit or create them.

Editing from 75.68.225.164 has been disabled by ProcseeBot for the following reason(s):

This IP address has been blocked because it is believed to be an open proxy or zombie computer. To prevent abuse, these proxies may be blocked from editing Wikipedia. If your ISP has misconfigured its proxy, you can try bypassing it by logging into Wikimedia's secure gateway athttps://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/. For more information about open proxies and what you can do, please see Wikipedia:Open proxies and the WikiProject on open proxies.

(Multi-RBL lookup • Sandbox test edit)

This block has been set to expire: 21:49, 28 May 2011.

Even if blocked, you will usually still be able to edit your user talk page and contact other editors and administrators by e-mail.

Note: Please use the [show] links across from each header to show more information.
 * OK, you need to use the actual unblock-auto template, or admins will not see your request. I've done it for you below.  Sandstein   22:16, 1 April 2011 (UTC)

The problem is apparently that you use an IP that is an open proxy, which is not allowed on Wikipedia (WP:NOP). If you do not know what this means, you likely can't fix it. You need to use another computer to edit Wikipedia or wait until 28 May 2011. Sorry. I'm leaving the request open in the event that a proxy specialist can give more useful advice.  Sandstein  22:19, 1 April 2011 (UTC)
 * that is completely and utterly stupid. nothing has changed regarding my computer, nor my service provider since i started editing WP.  so basically WP can kick me off and not allow me to get back on? no wonder only 12.5 percent of Wikipedia's editors are women.  it is run in a completely arbitrary and silly manner. I am starting to regret all the work and effort i have put into it. EraserGirl (talk) 14:31, 2 April 2011 (UTC)
 * You could, instead, help us by improving the messages and templates so they don't seem, as you say, "intentionally vague". For whatever reason, the IP address you are using showed up on lists likethis one. Wikipedia has had a huge problem with vandalism from anonymizing proxies such as those listed on that site; as such, we have a policy against their use, and we use an automated process to detect them. Sometimes mistakes do happen; our human team of volunteers will look at this case.--jpgordon:==( o ) 15:09, 2 April 2011 (UTC)


 * Comment This is crazy and unreasonable to block EraserGirl erroneously and then to assert it is her obligation to improve the vague and unreasonable templates and systems! What a nightmare.  EraserGirl is an editor who has a fine history of edits on Massachusetts people and places, who has passed a high quality Turing test and is not a zombie bot computer whatever, previously and now.  Please just unblock EraserGirl RIGHT NOW and then go off and fix the errors and bad wording elsewhere!

There are no bad edits performed by any computer or anyone else inEraserGirl's contribution history, from what i see. There is no reason not to unblock RIGHT NOW. -- do ncr  am  16:18, 2 April 2011 (UTC)


 * This account will be unblocked as soon as it can be established that the editing here is not beibg done through a proxy or zombie, as the block message says. Shouting to us about it will not help. --Anthony Bradbury"talk" 16:27, 2 April 2011 (UTC)
 * There are no bad edits, or even any questionable edits, by this editor. You are protecting wikipedia from a problem with this account that does not exist.  It is unreasonable to do anything besides immediately unblocking.  Then, sure, consult with this editor or her internet provider about some flag that needs to be set differently in their system, or whatever.  It has been acknowledged already that there are errors of vagueness and incomprehensibility in messages at least, and it is perfectly possible that it is ProcseeBot or other bot programming error, entirely unrelated to any responsibility of this editor.  Unblock now, figure out what are your problems later. -- do  ncr  am  16:35, 2 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Hi EraserGirl. First off: You shouldn't be blocked. Second off open proxies should be blocked. Now we have a problem, because you seem to be using an open proxy. When I read your comments, you don't intend to use an open proxy. In my opinion, the most likely situation is one of the following two: 1. There is a virus on your computer that makes your computer into an open proxy. This is not something you did intentionally, but something that happened nonetheless. It can probably be fixed by running an up-to-date antivirus tool. 2. For some reason your computer is configured to use an open proxy, probably without your knowing. I'm not really good with Windows (I'm assuming you are running windows, correct me if I'm wrong), and configuring local proxy settings or where they might be secretly hiding, but if you can tell us what browser you are using (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, etc), and, if you can, the verison, we might be able to help you fix the problem. On the other hand, it seems possible to me that a virus changed your settings to use a proxy, so running a virus scanner in this case doesn't seem unwise either. If you are using an open proxy intentionally, let us know why you need to do this, and we might be able to set you up with an exempt, so the block is circumvented. If you need any further help, don't hesitate to use the helpme or admin! templates for help with this. It's an annoying and possibly difficult technical problem, and there is no reason --if you need help with the technical side of things-- not to ask for help. One last note though: The block message is certainly not meant to be vague or misleading, quite the opposite. I'll have a look if I can make it less vague, but because I'm rather technically inclined, I don't think I can spot the problem quickly. If you have any suggestions to make it clearer, let us know.Martijn Hoekstra (talk) 17:07, 2 April 2011 (UTC)
 * thank you for finally explaining WHY i am blocked from editing and where the problem may lie. at least NOW i can try to do something about it. yes the notifications are vague and misleading i'm not a particularly dumb person but so far your note is the only thing that has made any sense. I run current multiple antivirus programs every morning.EraserGirl (talk) 17:25, 2 April 2011 (UTC)
 * And I assume nothing out of the ordinary showed up there? It is possible that your computer is configured to use an open proxy. Do you know what browser (and possibly version) you are using? The most likely candidates are Internet Explorer, Firefox or Chrome. This is all assuming you are using Windows, not a Mac or Linux. Martijn Hoekstra (talk) 17:31, 2 April 2011 (UTC)

Right now the IP address 75.68.225.164 does not seem to be in use. I have two easy explanations: If I am right, then once EraserGirl is back everything should be fine. Fortunately case 2 is the more likely case, so there will be nothing left to do. However, if this happens again, then we are probably in case 1 and EraserGirl will have to get her modem or router fixed. Hans Adler 18:23, 2 April 2011 (UTC)
 * 1) EraserGirl is using a broadband connection and either her cable modem or her wireless router has been hacked to function as an open proxy. EraserGirl has now either turned off her cable modem or has rebooted it, in which case it got a new IP address.
 * 2) EraserGirl had the misfortune of temporarily using an IP address that had previously been used by someone who had an open proxy running. (Because of a hacked modem or router, or intentionally.) EraserGirl has now either turned off her cable modem or has rebooted it, in which case it got a new IP address.
 * Hans, thanks for the helping hand. Summing it up for EraserGirl: We believe it is likely you'll be able to edit once you come back. Give it a try to see if it works now, and if it doesn't, let us know. If the block message is different, also let us know what block message you are getting, so we can sort this out as soon as we can. Martijn Hoekstra (talk) 18:46, 2 April 2011 (UTC)
 * I've unblocked, because I couldn't find any open ports any longer on this IP. I agree with Hans, it could well have been a dynamic IP thing. EraserGirl: sorry for all the trouble you had. Fut.Perf.☼ 18:54, 2 April 2011 (UTC)

Thank you Doncram for trying to help me. Thank you to all the admins who examined the problem. To whomever edits the template that appears to unsuspecting editors, just cut and paste the explanation above regarding open proxy servers and then detail EXACTLY WHAT you want an editor to do to appeal the block, and I mean in 'dummy language' just because you know what you are saying doesn't mean we do: the instructions to "cut and paste a template" was vague and unhelpful. Simply assuming someone is a zombie and expecting them to prove they are not is exactly the sort of thing that can get ones brains eaten.

BTW there was nothing ON my talk page telling me i was blocked, not to mention why. And when I checked my user profile it also said Erasergirl was NOT blocked. I knew there was a problem because the Edit tab was missing and the 'you have been blocked' template only appeared when i chose view the source of a page, if i had not clicked that link i would NEVER have known. Perhaps it would help if editors were told they were blocked and why on their talk page. thank you all. EraserGirl (talk) 23:07, 2 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Now i have forgotten what it was i came to WP to edit. eg


 * Hello, two things. Was the page you saw this one? Just so we know where your problem came from. Part of the problem may also be that the message you actually saw was a composite of two different items: the general "autoblocked" message, which is shown to every registered user who gets caught in an autoblock no matter the original block reason, and the actual block message that was given to the IP. It may well be that these two don't fit in with each other optimally, but that's because they both have to talk about rather different things. (The general message must cover a much larger range of possible situations.) – About the second part of what you say, I'm afraid it's just not technically possible: when we block an IP, for whatever reason, neither we admins nor the system have any way of knowing which registered accounts might happen to share that IP, now or later. Fut.Perf.☼ 23:21, 2 April 2011 (UTC)

I copied and pasted exactly what appeared to me ..it is above as a blockquote. Since i have one computer and the cats can't type, a message telling me someone using my computer to do zombie edits was completely strange. Beyond that I guess I can't help you make it easier on the next person who gets caught in a trap not of their own making.EraserGirl (talk) 23:35, 2 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Thanks for taking the time to help making the template better. The challenge is that open proxies can have many different causes, and the template has to remain right, without being overly technical, confusing or vague. We failed in that, seeing that you found it confusing, and even believed that to be deliberate. There are a few things we failed to communicate clearly.


 * 1) The IP adress you were using was blocked, not your account. Wikipedia admins don't know which IP you are using to protect your privacy. Without that knowledge there is no way we can put a notice on the talkpage of your account, because we don't know that the blocked IP corresponds to this account.
 * 2) There are mentions of open proxies and zombie computers, without explaining what they are. If someone is using an open proxy deliberately (which we believe is the large majority of cases when this message shows up), the user will know exactly what is meant. In your case, you had the misfortune of walking into a block that was not intended for you. We failed to communicate quickly that this was the case.
 * 3) There were are many possible cases where this problem can originate. A few possiblities: 1. This is a dynamic IP, and the person using it before you was running an open proxy. It was blocked rightfully for this reason, and we were unable to detect the situation had changed, dragging you into the block. 2. A virus on your computer left a back door open, allowing others to maliciously use your computer to do whatever they wanted on the internet, without being traceable to themselves but rather to you. (This is what is meant with a zombie computer). The block on the IP adress is proper to avoid damage, but the victim here is the user. 3. Something like a virus configured your computer to use an open proxy, with the intention of stealing your personal data. Again, the user is the victim, but the block is good. 4. Your internet provider uses proxies, and those proxies were misconfigured in such a way that they don't forward your original IP, and that anyone could connect to them. 5. Though your edit history and reaction showed otherwise, any human could assume you don't have any malicious intent. The automated tools we need to detect open proxies can't detect that, and should display that the user is using an open proxy, and that we don't allow that. The case that someone is actually using an open proxy deliberately is by far the most common case. So we need a template where none of the above are excluded, and is aimed at the case where the user is running an open proxy.
 * Anyway, I proposed a new template that might be more user friendly. It can be found at Template talk:Blocked proxy. If you don't mind, could you take a look if that text would have been more helpful? Feel free to comment on that page, or be bold and improve the wording. Again, sorry for all the confusion.Martijn Hoekstra (talk) 11:37, 3 April 2011 (UTC)
 * thank you for your long and gracious explanation. Hopefully this can provide improved template for the future.EraserGirl (talk) 20:57, 5 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Hi EraserGirl. I regret that it appears that, given the totality of circumstances surrounding this incident, your computer may have been used as an open proxy as a result of a virus infection.  I strongly recommend you runMalwarebytes on your computer.  Sailsbystars (talk) 12:40, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

Thank you for your suggestion, if i were not already running malewarebytes, i would take your advice.EraserGirl (talk) 20:57, 5 April 2011 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

 * more than happy to do it. thank you EraserGirl (talk) 22:19, 6 July 2011 (UTC)