User talk:Erikzann

Salomon Heine
Hello, I was just going to flesh out the article, pondering a translation. Saw your request. De728631 (talk) 00:11, 1 August 2008 (UTC)


 * Fertig :) De728631 (talk) 15:38, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

Simple edits, Around the World
I saw your note on WikiProject Lists of basic topics.

We need someone to do some simple edits to the set of country profiles we are developing.

Really easy stuff, like adding the population figure for each country (which you would get off of each country article, so no hunting is required). We also need editors who would like to work with the finding and placing of images (like pics of cities, other cool places, animals, presidents, people in a cultural context, etc. etc. etc.).

Things like that.

There is a team of editors working on the set, and we'd love to work with ya.

Here is an example of the type of pages we are building. We're developing one for every country of the world, and everyone on the team is working on all of them, each team member completing a specific task or item for all of the countries of the world -- this approach keeps thing interesting, and is a lot like traveling around the world.

If you are interested, drop me a note.

And as you progress in the project, we'll introduce you to some wiki-tools to help you go...

...faster!

The Transhumanist 03:23, 1 August 2008 (UTC)


 * Just tell me what needs to be done. Erikzann (talk) 12:09, 1 August 2008 (UTC)


 * Cool. Do you use Firefox?  If not, please download and install it, because there are key tools and Wikipedia scripts available for that browser that are not available to other browsers.  Let me know when you've got it up and running.  The Transhumanist  18:14, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

Proposed deletion of List of basic mining topics
A proposed deletion template has been added to the article List of basic mining topics, suggesting that it be deleted according to the proposed deletion process. All contributions are appreciated, but this article may not satisfy Wikipedia's criteria for inclusion, and the deletion notice should explain why (see also "What Wikipedia is not" and Wikipedia's deletion policy). You may prevent the proposed deletion by removing the  notice, but please explain why you disagree with the proposed deletion in your edit summary or on its talk page.

Please consider improving the article to address the issues raised because even though removing the deletion notice will prevent deletion through the proposed deletion process, the article may still be deleted if it matches any of the speedy deletion criteria or it can be sent to Articles for Deletion, where it may be deleted if consensus to delete is reached. andy (talk) 13:06, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

List of basic mining topics
Hi, I started working on List of basic mining topics, which was on the 'requested basic lists' section, but now it's slated to be deleted. Could you take a look at it to see what's wrong with it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Erikzann (talk • contribs) 13:30, 1 August 2008 (UTC)
 * Looks good to me. I've contacted the person who posted the prod, at User talk:Andyjsmith, to familiarize him with the relevant WikiProject and have invited him to help us build lists of this type. The Transhumanist  18:07, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

Charles (Karl) Heine
Hello. I'll have a look at it for proofreading. But why did you choose that title? I see no point in naming him "Charles", let's move this article to Karl Heine, otherwise it'd only be confusing. De728631 (talk) 13:36, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

That was the title in the requested translation page. In retrospect, maybe the title in the request page was misnamed. Erikzann (talk) 13:43, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

That's what I think is the case. Normally, personal names are not changed to the English euqivalent unless we deal with monarchs. De728631 (talk) 16:31, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

Good work there, Erik! I finished the proofreading and moved the page to Karl Heine. De728631 (talk) 17:37, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

Thanks! Do you know if I could just bypass the request stage and start directly translating? Also I think I'll begin putting up my translations on my user page so people can proofread them, and by people I mean you. :D If you have time. Erikzann (talk) 17:42, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

Yes, of course you can directly translate articles, either if there is no topic on the English Wiki yet or if you think the English article needs to be fleshed out. I did that with a number of entries before. Just don't forget to add the Translation/ref template at the end of the article. De728631 (talk) 12:16, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

Karlín
The GIS thing would require a template on the English Wiki. I'll have a look if there is something around for Czech municipalities/towns. De728631 (talk) 14:18, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

Template:Geobox/type/settlement is what we needed. Check the article code to see how it works :) De728631 (talk) 14:32, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

List of basic mining topics
It would be a good idea to add more links to this page. The protestor's main complaint is that it is redundant with the mining article. Well, all you need to do is enlarge its scope so that it covers more than the main article.

It's easy.

Have fun.

If you need help, let me know. (Hint: the history section would be a good one to start with).

The Transhumanist 20:09, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

Now, time for some tools!
To upgrade your Wikipedia user account to use the same wiki-enhancements that I use, copy the contents of User:Optimum tool set/monobook.js into your monobook page. After saving the page, hold down Shift while clicking on Firefox's Reload icon, or press Ctrl-Shift-R - this last step clears your cache which is necessary to activate the scripts on your computer.

Doing so will add the following programs or changes to your account:

Watchlist sorter
This script sorts your watchlist by namespace, and adds spaces within each entry to make the watchlist easier to read. I got so used to this feature that I forgot it wasn't part of MediaWiki's default functionality! (MediaWiki is the wiki program that Wikipedia is implemented with).

wikEd
The wikEd user script replaces Firefox's text edit window, and adds lots of editing features. I rely heavily on its search and replace features, and I especially like how you can select text and have it search/replace only within the text you've highlighed. It also has local show changes and preview features (i.e., they bypass the server and save time). There are some annoying FireFox bugs, but the script places a convenient activation/deactivation button in the top-right corner of your userpage, so you can switch back and forth between using it and the default edit window. Thought I still rely on the default edit window for cutting and pasting, because FireFox bugs make cutting and pasting in wikEd difficult.

Known bugs and workarounds:
 * Inappropriate up and down arrow jumps - after pasting marked text, FireFox sometimes treats the next press of the up or down arrow key as ctrl-home and cltr-end, which jump to the beginning or end of the document, respectively.  This can be really annoying.  The workaround is to click the mouse where you want the cursor to be next. You could also update syntax highlighting by pushing the highlighting button.
 * Cutting and pasting page titles - sometimes you need to cut and paste a title of an article to make a link. Well, wikEd retains the fontsize of the items pasted (titles are HUGE).  All you have to do to revert them down to normal text size is backspace or delete the leading spaces right before it (which is also right after the point you wanted to insert it).  Another option is to push the [T]extify button right after pasting the heading text. At least this bug doesn't make the cursor jump like the previous bug.

Navigation popups
This turns your mouse pointer into a crystal ball: whenever you hover the mouse over an internal link, a box will popup giving you a peek into that page (showing the topmost part of that page). And this function is recursive, in that you can do it again to a link inside the box, and inside the next box that pops from inside that box, and so on. There is also a powerful menu provided of things you can do to the page in the popup.

Lupin's live feeds
Watchdog tools for monitoring changes to Wikipedia in real-time. This script adds the following 4 items to your toolbox menu in the sidebar on the left side of your screen:
 * Filter recent changes, a link to User:Lupin/Filter recent changes,
 * All recent changes, a link to User:Lupin/All recent changes,
 * Recent IP edits, a link to User:Lupin/Recent IP edits and
 * Monitor my watchlist, a link to User:Lupin/Monitor my watchlist.
 * Live spellcheck, a link to User:Lupin/Live spellcheck
 * When you visit these pages, a live, scrolling feed will begin, allowing you to watch changes to articles as they happen. On the first two above, only edits matching common vandalisms are listed (you can see this list at User:Lupin/badwords). On "All recent changes" nearly every edit is listed. And on "Monitor my watchlist, all changes are displayed.  If you ever wondered how some users respond almost instantly to changes made to a page, well now you know.
 * To check the contents of the entry, click on "show details". To hide that entry, click "hide details".

An essential tool combo
Firefox has internal windows called "tabs". They're just like the windows in Windows, except they are within the Firefox application, and are essentially windows within your Firefox window. Firefox lets you switch between and/or delete tabs very fast. To make this feature even better, an add-on called Linky lets you load lots of pages fast (autoloading the pages represented by links on a page, including limiting such loads to an area you have selected by highlighting).

For information on how to use these, see Tools/Optimum tool set.

The Transhumanist 20:33, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

Hey I think I got a basic grasp of most of the tools. What are these easy tasks you speak of? Erikzann (talk) 14:19, 10 August 2008 (UTC)

OTS
I've made a list of almost all the tools I use at WP:OTS.

I've also recorded a great many tips on using and developing Wikipedia at Tip of the day. Once you've tried out Firefox's tabs and tabbing features, and you've added the Linky add-on, let me know. I have some easy tasks for you that those come in handy for.

The Transhumanist 20:33, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

Some tips for you...
To avoid getting AfD'd in the future, if you create a new list for the basic topic collection, please place it in the Lists of basic topics's draft space. Many subjects already have drafts there, and so a subject you are interested in making a list for might already have a draft.

Another tip to avoid getting AfD'd on a new article you are working on is to place an under construction template on it. That'll let people know you are actively working on the page and that you aren't done yet.

Hi hope you find these tips helpful.

The Transhumanist 22:14, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Articles for deletion/List of basic mining topics
I've been defending the article you authored. I'm surprised you haven't responded to the nomination. The Transhumanist 21:11, 4 August 2008 (UTC)


 * Well, I don't actually know what I'm doing, so I don't even know how I would go about defending my own articles. The editing protocols are a lot more complex than I remembered. I.e. when I translated an article from German to English learning the translation protocols took longer than the actual translation. Erikzann (talk) 22:32, 5 August 2008 (UTC)


 * You're catching on quickly. You'll be up to speed in no time.  Cheers.  The Transhumanist  01:48, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Wanna play a game?
I've leap-frogged you on List of basic mining topics.

Your turn. :)

The Transhumanist 21:11, 4 August 2008 (UTC)


 * Hey thanks! I'm adding to the list of mining equipment and mining leaders. Erikzann (talk) 22:30, 5 August 2008 (UTC)


 * Cool. I look forward to seeing your end result.  The Transhumanist  01:48, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Speedy deletion of Medical findings
A tag has been placed on Medical findings requesting that it be speedily deleted from Wikipedia. This has been done under section A1 of the criteria for speedy deletion, because it is a very short article providing little or no context to the reader. Please see Wikipedia:Stub for our minimum information standards for short articles. Also please note that articles must be on notable subjects and should provide references to reliable sources that verify their content.

If you think that this notice was placed here in error, you may contest the deletion by adding  to the top of the page that has been nominated for deletion (just below the existing speedy deletion or "db" tag), coupled with adding a note on the talk page explaining your position, but be aware that once tagged for speedy deletion, if the article meets the criterion it may be deleted without delay. Please do not remove the speedy deletion tag yourself, but don't hesitate to add information to the article that would would render it more in conformance with Wikipedia's policies and guidelines. Lastly, please note that if the article does get deleted, you can contact one of these admins to request that a copy be emailed to you. triwbe (talk) 12:59, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

You deserve these...
Ha, thanks! :)

Tips for translating text
Hi Erik, I've proofread another one of your translations, thumbs up! Let me just mention a few things though: when using German (or any foreign language) terms in English, you don't reflect it. E.g. "...of the Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft..." is not applicable, just take the plain name. Secondly, contrary to the German Wiki, the English Wiki is apparently obsessed with wikilinking each and every year, like 1999, in the text. And as I speak of wikilinks, I like to use the search function for English terms that look prominent enough to have their own entry on here before I save the final text.

Otherwise, keep up your good work :) De728631 (talk) 15:05, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

Thanks! Erikzann (talk) 21:03, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

Hey
Haven't seen you around in awhile. When you return, drop me a note.

Thanks.

The Transhumanist 00:56, 28 August 2008 (UTC)


 * Hey, I'm back now, what's up? I didn't hear from anyone for a few weeks so I got back to get ready for school. Erikzann (talk) 19:12, 5 September 2008 (UTC)


 * To ensure a user gets your message as soon as possible, Wikipidea has a message alert that notifies him wherever he may be on Wikipedia, whenever a message is left for him on his own talk page - so it is most effective to post replies on users' talk pages.


 * Glad to see you're back. We're still plugging away on the country lists.  They are starting to look good.  It won't be too long before we can move them to article space where they will become part of the encyclopedia itself.  One for every country of the world.  A pretty big accomplishment.


 * There are various tasks that need to be done on those still, like filling in missing data (population, area, name of the president, the prime minister, capital, etc.), and creating redirects so that standardized links (like Climate of x) lead to the relevant material.


 * One item is on Law enforcement. Like this (where "x" is the country's name):


 * Law enforcement in x


 * Underneath that, we need the articles on the police agencies and or police listed. For example, for France, it looks like this:


 * Law enforcement in France
 * National law enforcement agencies
 * National Police ("Police Nationale")
 * National Gendarmerie ("Gendarmerie Nationale")
 * Mobile Gendarmerie ("Gendarmerie Mobile")
 * Local law enforcement agencies
 * Police municipale (Municipal police) - may be maintained by local governments (communes), but have very limited law enforcement powers outside of traffic issues and local ordinance enforcement
 * Garde champetre or Police Rurale (Rural police) - may be formed by Rural communes, and are responsible for limited local patrol and protecting the environment
 * Équipes régionales d’intervention et de sécurité (SWAT teams) - are operated by The Department of Corrections (the prison system or Administration pénitentiaire)
 * In Wallis and Futuna, there is a territorial guard as well as royal police.

Can you do this for every country?

The links differ for each country. You'll have to seek them out. It's kinda cool, because you'll be exploring and learning how law enforcement works all over the world, and more importantly, you'll be gathering that information so that students all around the world can more easily find and learn it.

The Transhumanist 23:20, 7 September 2008 (UTC)

I'll get on it. So when is a list of basic topics considered 'done'? Erikzann (talk) 23:46, 8 September 2008 (UTC)

RfD nomination of Navy of Sudan
I have nominated for discussion. Your opinions on the matter are welcome; please participate in the discussion by adding your comments at the discussion page. Thank you. Ron Ritzman (talk) 00:07, 18 September 2008 (UTC)

RfD nomination of Navy of Belarus
I have nominated for discussion. Your opinions on the matter are welcome; please participate in the discussion by adding your comments at the discussion page. Thank you. Ten Pound Hammer and his otters • (Broken clamshells • Otter chirps • HELP) 16:01, 18 September 2008 (UTC)

Navy redirects
We've been "bluelinking" the Navy of x links in the basic topic country lists, by creating redirects for them, even for the countries that have no navy.

There's been a little controversy over the navy redirects for the landlocked countries (many of which have no navy), as you can see above. But it's all been worked out. Each country with no navy gets a redirect to wherever it is reported that it has no navy, or failing that, to its "military of" article.

The country lists are coming along slowing but surely. It shouldn't take too much longer before they will be complete enough to move into article space (!), but I can still use all the help I can get. (hint hint).

The Transhumanist 20:46, 23 September 2008 (UTC)

We could sure use your help in bluelinking the links in these lists (each link appears in the one of the various country basic topic lists):
 * User:ChiragPatnaik/Navies
 * User:ChiragPatnaik/Armies
 * User:ChiragPatnaik/Air Forces

To bluelink them, create a redirect to wherever the information is covered. If there is no entity, redirect to where that is (or should be) covered.

If you have any questions, please contact me. The Transhumanist 20:58, 23 September 2008 (UTC)

When you are back, drop me a note
The Transhumanist 02:01, 31 October 2008 (UTC)

Country outlines project update - 2009/03/08
Things have been slowing down again, so it's time for a big push...

We've gone live
This project needed a shot in the arm. Also, its draft pages have been littering Wikipedia's categories for months. The time seemed right to move all the country outline drafts to article space.

WHAT???

Well, the drafts had been sitting in Wikipedia space for a year.

WHAT???

Development has been moving at a snail's pace and we could use the help of the Wikipedia community at large (who are more likely to find these if they are in article space).

WHAT???

Yes, we've gone live. :)

This puts pressure on us to get the blatantly incomplete elements of these outlines done. The only glaring problem is the government branches sections. These need to be corrected ASAP.

I've mentioned THE GOVERNMENT BRANCHES SECTIONS many times to many people over the past year, but the problem just doesn't seem to have been taken seriously. So let me put it another way:

HELP!!! I need your help on this now. Almost all the countries have a government with an executive branch, a legislative branch, and a judicial branch. The links for these branches need to be completed for each country outline:


 * Here's a convenient list you can use WP:LINKY on to access and edit these quickly. Please copy the list's link to the top of your talk page so that you can access it easily.

If you spot any standardization in links, and ways we can automate parts of this process, or for groups of countries that have links in common, please let me know!

Administrative support for outlines
There has been growing pressure on me to write up the administrative pages for outlines - their instructions, guidelines, etc. Therefore, I'm now in the process of composing these. Fortunately, it is mostly a matter of gathering material from messages I've written to you guys over the past year. Still, this is taking up most of my time, and I will be buried in these for the foreseeable future.

Traffic control
The next big task after the government branches sections are cleaned up is link support for the outlines.

There's quite a list of links and notices that need to be put in place around Wikipedia, providing access to them to readers, and alerting editors to the need to develop and maintain these pages. This will keep our bot people very busy (and happy).

But the most important thing right now is to get the government branches sections completed. So please, put your bots aside, roll up your shirt sleeves, and start typing.

Thank you.

The Transhumanist 03:03, 9 March 2009 (UTC)

Do not read this one - The Hunt - Outline of knowledge WikiProject - 04/17/2009
Here's a trivia question for you...

While surveying libraries, their outline-related resources, and our coverage of them, I came across something funny...

What subclass is the Bible in the Library of Congress Classification?

Do you think they'd like this one at WP:DYK? (Nope. They didn't.)     :)

Libraries
For months, I've been sitting at a terminal in one of the largest libraries in the country, and I haven't even looked around at the available resources.

Until a few days ago.

I'm overwhelmed.

When compared to libraries, Wikipedia is small. (See Digest of Education Statistics 2008, Chapter 7:Libraries and Educational Technology Libraries, and turn to page 617).

But is that a fair comparison?

Yes.

Why?

Because we have growth potential. :)

And we cover everything, including libraries!

Guess what else I found?

Hunting for outlines
I began to study libraries and librarians, since they are experts in organizing knowledge. And of course I turned to Wikipedia to see what we had on the things I came across...

And while doing so I kept running into outlines on Wikipedia that are not (yet) part of the Outline of knowledge.

When I come across non-OOK outlines, generally I rename them, and reformat them to our standard outline format. But there is the occasional exception.

Here are some outlines I just added:


 * 1) List of energy topics --> Outline of energy (it converted great)
 * 2) List of Dewey Decimal classes --> Outline of Dewey Decimal classes (no conversion)
 * 3) Library of Congress Classification --> ??? (no rename, no conversion)

The last 2 are outlines by their very nature, and so our standard outline subheadings didn't seem to fit. So I left them as is.

I renamed the first 2, but the last one is the name of the outline, that is, the topic itself is an outline, and that outline is presented as the article's content, so I left the name as is. For now. This needs more thought.

Of course, that's not all. Concerning those last 2 outlines above...

Alternate outlines of knowledge
...not only are they outlines, but they are outlines of knowledge! Well, the top few levels, at least.

Uh, so?

What happens if we linkify them? :)

That is, what happens if we linkify their classifications to Wikipedia's outlines? :)  :)   :)

They become alternate top ends to the OOK
Yep.

What can you find?
I challenge you to find some "hidden" outlines.

I dare you to take a look around Wikipedia for hidden outlines (that is, outlines not yet hooked into the OOK), and add your kills to WP:WPOOK.

My trophies are already there.

May the hunt begin!
The Transhumanist 20:40, 17 April 2009 (UTC)

What are the benefits of a tree structure?
The article doesn't say.

I'm interested, because I need to explain the benefits in the guideline on outlines I'm writing. (Outlines are a type of tree structure).

I've also asked the question at various reference desks, and these threads may help to jump start your brain on this question. :)


 * Reference desk/Science
 * Reference desk/Mathematics
 * Reference desk/Humanities
 * Reference desk/Language
 * Reference desk/Miscellaneous

What are the benefits of outlines, over and above regular articles?
What benefits have you noticed?

How are Wikipedia's outlines useful to you?

I look forward to your answers on my talk page.

The Transhumanist 04:43, 14 May 2009 (UTC)

WPOOK Update - 05/17/2009 - Blockbusting!
This project needs another shot in the arm.

So here it goes...

Countries WikiProject Collaboration - Contests!
I've contacted all 59 members of the Countries WikiProject to help in designing and conducting contests for the further development of the country outlines.

You are invited too.

Houston, we have a problem
The guidelines and outline article still aren't complete.

Which means you will be needed to help explain to the newcomers mentioned above what outlines are and how to develop them.

Please participate in the discussion at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Countries.

The Transhumanist 22:27, 17 May 2009 (UTC)

Has the shit hit the fan? - WPOOK update, 05/25/2009
Maybe...

We've started the next phase
I was experiencing mental block on the article draft for "outline" and on the outline guideline draft. And this was holding the whole project back. Without these (which are intended to explain the type of lists known as outlines in detail), the danger is higher that a controversy could go the wrong way.

I requested help on them, but there was none forthcoming.

So I went ahead and started us on the next phase of operations without those 2 pages...

Our AWB'ers and I have placed about '''1600 notices all over Wikipedia. And the plan is to place several thousand more'''.

This generated only one complaint, but it was a very vocal one, and attracted a few other detractors who seemed unfamiliar with the concept of hierarchical outlines and their benefits. However, just as many or more editors came to the defense of the OOK, and there was no consensus formed. But, dab is still trying to rally opposition to outlines at the Village Pump. See below...

Administrator noticeboard incident and Village Pump policy discussion
It appears that the banner placed on the talk page of the Outline of Switzerland caught the attention of an editor named Dbachmann who posted a rather forceful message on my talk page, another on WT:WPOOK, another at WP:VPP, and still another at WP:AN!

He went well out of his way to use negative hype to cause a stir.

It appears that Mr. Bachmann doesn't understand the nature of hierarchical outlines and their applications. And though he implied that he has never seen an OOK outline before, he was involved with a discussion on these when they were called "lists of basic topics".

His primary argument is that outlines are content forks of articles, and violate WP:CFORK.

But "topic lists", of which outlines are a type, have been around for almost as long as Wikipedia, and fall under the WP:LISTS and WP:STAND guidelines. They aren't intended as forks, as they are lists, bringing the benefits of lists to the corresponding subjects, such as grouping and navigation.

Someone suggested an MfD, but lists are articles, and are within the jurisdiction of AfD. Only the portal page, which merely lists the outline articles, falls within the scope of the MfD department.

The administrator's noticeboard was considered the wrong venue for the discussion, and the discussion was closed.

But Dab's discussion at the Village Pump is still active. Hopefully level heads will prevail there too.

Now what?
Am I disheartened or deterred? Hell no. I say "full steam ahead!"

But we really need to finish the article draft and the guideline. Otherwise there will continue to be confusion.

Over the next week or two, we'll be posting another 1600 or so notices. It's a good thing we didn't send out 10,000 of them all at once. :)

The Transhumanist 23:41, 24 May 2009 (UTC)

P.S.: Another related thread has popped up at WP:VPR. --TT  04:33, 25 May 2009 (UTC)