User talk:Grey Knight

'''You have new messes  ( spare change ).

Less snarky
It just feels right to keep the stuff on my talk page in the snark right now. I have been using dictionary paste actually, to transform the writing of others into 'original words' -- writing this here now should save many a respectable admin a lot of time finding additional problems with my articles.

My goal has been to clean up the taxonomy boxes for all of Asteraceae both here and at the commons and I have actually, by my own estimation of myself have done a not too bad job of it. The attention my articles have received recently is kind of funny and anything that you can or want to do to any of the problem articles mentioned there or found by you will probably be welcomed by me. My first experience with the plant people was to learn that there is no ownership here. There are (however) also really big messes that no one claims ownership for as well. My first article for Asteraceae was Senecio vulgaris and enough time and experience has past that I am embarrassed by this article now. I have also been working on a table of plants and the amount of the dangerous stuff that is actually in the different plants -- this starts to go away from the goal of cleaning up the family though.

In the many decades which have been my life, I have worked successfully alone and I have worked successfully with other people. In the unreal internet life, I felt very successful (enough to have seen what are perhaps my software 'children' mature and become extremely beastly on their own) and recently, I have no way to measure the success as I have no idea how far my internet goes. Like, once I asked one of the commons photographers if he was making the eyes of the animals he had photographed larger -- quite soon after that, images that came here from time.com had software enlarged eyes. I have not been given a yardstick (or a micrometer) which can measure this for success or not.

So, much less snarky, it is wikipedia and you really can do what you want to and if you would like to help with those articles which have problem pastes, I will probably mostly appreciate it. -- carol (talk) 21:07, 18 June 2008 (UTC)


 * Looks good to me! I will thank you because the lazy web probably won't -- so thank you! -- carol (talk) 10:42, 19 June 2008 (UTC)

Snark
I perhaps cannot be snarky at my 'place' right now, so I am here.

They reverted the article which has the most references to it back to a redirection. Then they deleted it. Then they moved the article which is probably much much worse for plagiarism into the namespace. Effectively making it look like the people in the original edit history have plagiarised and not me because my edits in that history were to remove the taxonomy boxen which is going to be difficult to be called plagiarism.

My feelings about this have no understanding of what their job is. -- carol (talk) 09:44, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

Well, thanks :)
Nice of you to say I'd be a good mentor, but I'm one of those lucky (or unlucky) few who's life is tied to the seasons, and I really can't take on a mentorship role at this time of year. OTOH, I think you seem to have the right stuff, and I can try to chip in a bit when I have time and mental space :).

In Carol's case, I would also not be a very good mentor, because she's seen me in action as judge, jury, and executioner on commons (long story), so I don't know that she would ever be comfortable with me as an equal helping an equal (same long story... we do things differently on projects lacking arbcoms).

She's definitely worth the effort though, so if you have the time and the empathy, I'd strongly urge you to do what you can. Just remember to ask for help (me or someone else) if you find it getting a bit too much :-). -- SB_Johnny | talk  18:39, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for the advice
Thanks for that - I'll stick the template up! --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 02:15, 26 June 2008 (UTC)

mKR sources
I had two inspirations today. We might get input from
 * an mKR user, who I know is happy with mKR and mKE
 * Ralph Griswold, who helped me during early Icon implementation

I'm inclined to think that the situation would mean a great deal, even if no one talked to these people. Rhmccullough (talk) 03:20, 26 June 2008 (UTC)


 * I talked to mKR user; he is very concerned about his privacy. He is willing to share his thoughts re: mKR if he can remain anonymous. Rhmccullough (talk) 08:41, 26 June 2008 (UTC)


 * I found out Ralph Griswold died in 2006. Everything I know is recorded in User:Rhmccullough/Sandbox/Griswold. Rhmccullough (talk) 17:21, 26 June 2008 (UTC)

eh?
For some reason, your user contributions only seem to be listed upto the 7th July 2007 ? know anything about that? software error? --Allemandtando (talk) 12:35, 26 June 2008 (UTC)


 * Looks fine. --Allemandtando (talk) 13:25, 26 June 2008 (UTC)

THE MEDAL
Since the development discussion is taking place on Penubag's talk page, I've left a message for you there.

Time is running out.

July 15th is coming fast.

The Transhumanist 19:15, 26 June 2008 (UTC)

Pyramid
Eureka! Eureka!

I'm having an eureka event here!

I need a pyramid.

A 3D pyramid that I can swivel and tip to put in the proper perspective in an image.

I need it to have a rectangular base, with one pair of edges half the length of the other pair of edges.

Can you create one like that?

How would I turn and tip it?

I look forward to your response.

The Transhumanist 00:46, 30 June 2008 (UTC)

RE: Pyramid
Can probably do that, depending on what you mean exactly; I'll talk to you about it after getting these trophies and things done (assuming User:penubag's latest medal is satisfactory, I'll try for the globe one). -- tiny plastic Grey Knight &#x2296; 12:59, 30 June 2008 (UTC)


 * The pyramid is for the trophy. :)


 * See Penubag's talk page for details.


 * The Transhumanist 21:27, 30 June 2008 (UTC)

ALG EBR ASUX
I have no idea where to comment in that thing, that PTA or whatever is. I also think that the last week (or more) has been like the organization in A Scanner Darkly (film) a film which when I saw, I wanted to repair a few of the frames for (some of the scenes in the shade in front of the house were almost in their photograph like original form). And I laughed because they invented a flower for it (or reused the Batman invention).... Also, the software to make that film (convert photographs into animation like that) is in my gmail archives somewhere. I never put it on my web site because the script does some things that make the image frames unsuitable for conversion into video formats and keeping things simple for everyone involves a dumbing down that I did not need for myself when I wrote the little tools. But, I stray here.

If you did not see the movie, and it has been a while since I have seen it, there was an organization which overlooked everything and everyone and they had these special suits that changed 'skins' so that every few seconds they had a different appearance. There is at least one admin at the commons who doesn't take this very seriously and can be seen through quite easily. I am also sorry about making an analogy to a movie; it is a situation on the wiki which is not like real life. In real life, snarky usually is very affective (not 100% of the time, but more than 70%!!)!

Interestingly enough, this feeling from the last week does not surprise me.

What I would rather do is write an apology to the Plant Project people about my problem with what appears to be my desire to put the science of botany deeply back into its "Anals of" origins. This is just one of those side-effects from my birthsign which when I read that they chose the symbol for it because it looked like a digestive system I had one of those uncomfortable laughs and wondered when I would get home so I could sit somewhere safe for a while and consider that....

So, in summary, I have no idea where I am supposed to comment there and my instinct (be it correct or incorrect for this situation) is to paste the page with citation needed's which is probably more efficient than right. -- carol (talk) 22:20, 30 June 2008 (UTC)

you might not have seen
this. Broadly, if you make any comments on my page, it seems the citizens patrol will note them down and might use them against you in the future as the implication is that you will be dragged up in front of arbcomm. So Remember, swear loyalty to the party and denounce me at the first opportunity you get :-)  --Allemandtando (talk) 17:51, 2 July 2008 (UTC)

Cartoon/comic/pop culture preservation
Hello! Thanks for the message. I've been away from wikipedia for a bit, and now it seems someone has seen fit to delete the topic I set up at the village pump ... or at least I can't find it anywhere anymore. If you could, would you please let me know what it was you replied to me? If not, no problem. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Aebliss (talk • contribs)

Zeltim Odie Peterson
I have created Zeltim Odie Peterson. I hope you can help improve it. Best regards. Dolores Luxedo (talk) 02:27, 9 July 2008 (UTC)

Wierdness
Your blue bar at the top that looks like a new messages message says:

You have new messes (spare change).

but they link to Grand Opera Hous (Belfast) and "spare change" to another link. What's the joke?68.148.164.166 (talk) 08:45, 11 July 2008 (UTC)


 * Haha, I thought messes had something to do with mess halls. Thanks for the reply.68.148.164.166 (talk) 05:36, 12 July 2008 (UTC)

Topology expert/expert in topology sock case
Hi, Thanks for your comments on this case. Can you say more specifically what edits of Expert in topology indicate to you that he/she is an established user? I assume that you agree that EiT is a sock, but you don't think that TE is involved. Oded (talk) 17:20, 11 July 2008 (UTC)


 * Please note my reply to your comments on my talk page. If this changes your opinion in any way, please also update your statement at the sock discussion page. Thanks for your help in this case. Oded (talk) 17:56, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Odie the talking pug
Thank you for your message. Some of those people on ANI were being so hurtful, especially Bugs and his crew. They're so full of hatred - and I'm sure they will never know the love of a pug or indeed any dog. I hope he steps on a rusty nail or some other minor mishap. Someone has actually already created an article about Odie the talking pug for me - but thanks again for your offer. I think everyone can now see how notable he truly is. Pug power (talk) 14:26, 14 July 2008 (UTC)

Interesting
about the cards - looking around Rorschach inkblot test had similar problems (I'm not sure so in that situation, because there is a medical aspect to the dispute that makes me think maybe we need to think a bit more careful about the handling of such material. --Allemandtando (talk) 13:50, 15 July 2008 (UTC)

That's a very good point - if something is truly a secret - we cannot write about it! --Allemandtando (talk) 13:56, 15 July 2008 (UTC)


 * If you can find a suitable article, give me a knock and we can put it to the test. :-) --Allemandtando (talk) 08:50, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Gospel Magic
Hi...I wrote the article for Gospel Magic. If you point out the problems with the article, I'm happy to revise it. The fist few paragraphs were there before I added to it and I didn't feel comfortable rewriting it as they reflected someone else's work. If you make a few suggestions, I will see what I can do.--64.131.243.108 (talk) 17:16, 15 July 2008 (UTC)Kismet

RE: Editing Practices
Thanks for your insight and feedback. Regardless of the outcome of my request, I do appreciate your time and effort to communicate with me and provide some useful information. Wikipedia had been blocked here in China for the past two years, so I could only use a proxy server to jump on briefly. This narrow window has left me with little ability to explore and develop a clearer understanding of policies and procedures. So again thanks for your tact and willingness to explain, which has helped and - if nothing else - put me at ease with the situation.

Kazkura (talk) 00:24, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Re:Help...
 B G  7even   09:38, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Other language wikipedias
Just out of interest - Do you happen to know how hosting works for other language wikipedias? Is the german (for example) hosted in germany or is it in the states? If it's hosted in Germany, they have quite strong laws again the display and use of nazi symbols. --Allemandtando (talk) 16:03, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Criticism
Thanks for posting the links at VP: I was not aware of those 2 pages. Looks like criticism-section has a lot of places it could link to for advice in resolving the issue. --Hroðulf (or Hrothulf) (Talk) 21:16, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Wow
Because of you, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We're getting close now!

I've replied to you at User:Penubag/graphics.

The Transhumanist 23:09, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Striking out?
Dear Grey Knight,

Could you please tell me how to 'strike out' my comment? I am not sure what you mean by this. If I understand you correctly, you want me to remove my statement about revealing my identity (is this correct?). I still believe that revealing my identity is an appropriate thing to do in the future so that people will believe that I am not 'expert in topology'. However, this doesn't mean that I will reveal my true identity. Also, I find it quite rude that Oded persistently asks me to admit that I am 'expert in topology'. Unless he has concrete evidence (not evidence about my writing style but 'real-life' evidence), his accusation is insignificant. However, I will remove what I said earlier (you are right that it is irrelevant to the discussion).

Also, I don't know why I am targeted for making mistakes. For example, the first person to really make a mistake (between Oded and I) was Oded. He wrote that the integers are a locally finite space which is incorrect as he admitted:. I did not ask him why he made this mistake nor did I persistently target him for this. In the next discussion I made a mistake by stating that a nowhere dense set had 0 measure: ; what I meant was that a set of 0 measure is nowhere dense. Of course, what I wrote still counts as a mistake. However, when I made this mistake, Oded responded with an 'attack'. He asked me why I made this mistake in quite a rude tone. Now almost everyone in Wikipedia that I know seems to attack me with this. I believe that his mistake was as bad as mine and that the sockpuppetry issue started because of this mistake.

I hope you understand what I am trying to say regarding this. Enough evidence of my mistakes have been given (by other editors in Wikipedia) so here is another evidence of Oded's mistake:. I am sure that Oded and I have made an equal number of mistakes in Wikipedia or I have made a couple more mistakes than Oded.

Also, I am almost certain that 'Oded' is Oded Schramm. One can deduce this from the nature of the articles that he edits.

Thanks

Topology Expert (talk) 03:21, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

Interesting start of an essay there
Thanks for the link to it. Maybe I need to write an essay at some point myself. I don't even have time to think about that, though: got alligators to wrestle, creating an article on Toilet paper roll end-sheet folding (first step: figure out the best title) and other important matters. You would think that "be humble" would be one of those things that we'd be told to do to become a very model of a modern Wikipedian. Like civility, a little humility goes a long way. Noroton (talk) 18:43, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

Speaking of globes
Sorry, I forgot to notify you when I put this on penubag's centralised page the other day. Please see discussion there. Hope that helps! -- tiny plastic Grey Knight &#x2296; 07:26, 17 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Wow. It does.  I've posted my reply to you on Penubag's graphics page.  The Transhumanist  23:16, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

re protection of Origin of religion
Sorry I disagree with the one weeks protection. I also see some conflict of interest issues with the admin who put the protection on the article. There is an edit war "game" going on when the article quite clearly could still be worked. I disagree with your support for the protection and you can rest assured that now this page is on my watch list I will definitely be "watching" what transpires, and if I see the need for an administrators actions needing a review I will make sure that happens.--Sting  Buzz Me...   10:06, 22 July 2008 (UTC)
 * I have posted a response User_talk:Sam_Korn.Mr. Muntuwandi (talk) 15:04, 22 July 2008 (UTC)

re interested editor
G'day Grey Knight. I still smell something fishy about this whole Origins of religion business. The article Evolutionary origins of religion has been salted (by another admin with prior involvement in several of the articles I'm currently looking at) and now I can't access the history that had the material for a possible merger. I still have concerns over possible WP:GHBH issues? But it's such a tangled web that I'm still trying to figure it all out. The actions of a couple of administrators need looking into I feel, as a concerted effort has been made to hide article history, I'll assume good faith but would be happier if others looked into it. I've taken on board your comments re mediation and the RFC on the talk page. The RFC is a lesson in futility by the looks of it. Why so? Because of all the socks/suspects involved that's why. What I also see happening here and on related articles with this topic is that unsuspecting administrators get dragged into the whole "game" of cat and mouse. It wastes valuable admin time and creates a situation where legitimate editing of an article becomes virtually impossible due to all the tooing and throwing (dunno about the spelling there, but you get my drift I'm sure). I'd suggest you take the time (if you have a few hours to spare) and review edit histories and the parties involved please. It seems strange to me that now this has been brought to attention that PelleSmith has decided to go on an indefinite wikibreak? I'm glad actually as I feel some editors involved with this series of articles definately need to step back and let fresh eyes take a look at things. At least until the WP:GHBH issues can be cleared up.--Sting  Buzz Me...   23:41, 22 July 2008 (UTC)
 * I tried going on said wikibreak but was sucked in by Muntuwandi's disruption and subsequent socking (I know ... I should have let others deal with it)--but my point is that I announced said break initially before this crap started. As I've told Sam Korn if I'm needed to make any comments about anything just send me an email, but I'm rather intent on actually doing my psyche a favor and staying away from the Wiki this time around.  You're own out of left field, not even close to showing AGF insinuations about GHBH did help convince me how desperately I need away from this nonsense however, so do thank yourself.   Have a good one.PelleSmith (talk) 23:51, 22 July 2008 (UTC)
 * I replied to PelleSmith on his talk page but he archived it.--Sting  Buzz Me...   02:40, 23 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Ok I've just received an abusive email from PelleSmith. What should I do about it?--Sting  Buzz Me...   02:59, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

G'day again Grey Knight, I just wanted to thank you for all the trouble you went to with the info links etc. I still have concerns with WP:GHBH but it is pretty hard to actually nail down if people are doing that or not? I might tell Sam Korn my thoughts about it, and see what his opinion on it is? Just something that is playing on my mind. The cup of tea is a great idea. You give very sound advice. Hopefully I'm wise enough to take it? Thanks again for your assistance and enjoy your break. Cheers,--Sting  Buzz Me...   23:22, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

re: Hangul fonts
Hi, the only free TTF collection worth using is Un Fonts, from http://kldp.net/projects/unfonts/

The Batang, Dotum, Graphic fonts in the core package are worth checking out IMHO. If you use Ubuntu or Debian, sudo apt-get install ttf-unfonts-core should work. --Kjoonlee 14:12, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Too Fast
Beep-beep!. Thanks for the compliment. You guys at the help desk are really on top of things and I'm just glad to chip in.  TN ‑ X - Man  14:33, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

portal:afghanistan
If you could fix it by rearranging the boxes then great! thanks!Ardeshire Babakan (talk) 16:08, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

thank you User:Grey Knight. but i just found out that afghanistan doesn't have a wikiproject! so this section isn't needed. Thank you for the other help that you gave me. KhodafezArdeshire Babakan (talk) 16:21, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Cheers.Ardeshire Babakan (talk) 12:10, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

wikipedia index php error
Just further to what I posted on my talk page, it may or may not be that the error happens when I click on the links at the top of the page, e.g. the links that start with user page, and, above that, my / our log in links.

I have also taken a screen grab of the error message ... but not sure where or how to post it ...?

update: is it just me or do some links show up as red ... for example when I click on the user Nevers on this page, it shows as red, and returns an index error. But his talk page appears in blue and does not return an error.

A final note (?) hopefully, that in Safari, the link does not attempt to open multiple pages and scatter scraps all over the mac desktop like Safari 3 does. That particular reaction seems unique to FF3.

—Preceding unsigned comment added by Avaiki (talk • contribs) 20:39, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

avaiki (talk) 20:41, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

UPDATE

much, much later. ..

Greetings grey knight! I tried to do what you suggested to record the sequence of events with regards to the above error, but kept getting crashes all the time, and was unable to fulfill your suggestions, then the whole lot got lost in the day-2-day rush for survival.

I am now working from behind at corporate firewall at tvnz which uses IE explorer. Other browsers can be used but the security system continually pops up password requests. Anyway, different system, different browser, same result on some links e.g. the latest one was on the organised labour page, as raised at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Organized_Labour#index_error

apologies for the clumsy formatting - still getting my head around wikipedia formatting!

thanks,

jason

avaiki (talk) 21:38, 12 November 2008 (UTC)

. ..

UPDATE II

JUST sent you an email at tiny plastic with a header dump as originally suggested by you: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Avaiki#.22index.php.22

avaiki (talk) 04:54, 23 December 2010 (UTC)

. ..

We Meet Again
Thank you for catching that vandalism. Apparently that editor thought it would be hilarious to add a bunch of nonsense articles. Cheers!  TN ‑ X - Man  13:55, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

refactor maths desk
You can refactor it if you wish, or simply post the tex version underneath with a message similar to 'for clarity...'

I have no objection.87.102.86.73 (talk) 14:14, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

?
The Transhumanist 01:57, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

The Ruum!
YES! I remember that odd title! That's almost certainly it. I think we were reading some Bradbury around the same time, so that's where I got confused. Plus its also a sci-fi story, and sounds like something Bradbury might have written, anyway. Thanks!! :D --Ragemanchoo (talk) 04:49, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

Good work sir!
Why thank you! I am so glad we have found the story. Although the Captain rommel seem to remove my messages and abandon my kind efforts to help him. But we got there! Well done uncle King of the Fondue (talk) 11:20, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

Reply from BAS (re: Abdul Ahad)
Much to my surprise I received a reply from Mr. Sarker of Bangladesh Astronomical Society per Abdul Ahad's claim of honorary memebership of his organisation. If you (or Ragib) would like to have it, I can forward the eMail of you supply me yours. Regards. Uranometria (talk) 17:09, 30 July 2008 (UTC)

my hex sig
i'm glad someone noticed my hex signature. And no, i cant convert that sort of stuff in my head. Sorry. :) 31306D696E6E69636B6D (talk) 00:55, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

Integrated banner for WikiProject Computer science
I have made a proposal for a integrated banner for the project  here . I invite you for your valuable comments in the discussion. You are receiving this note as you are a member of the project. Thanks --  Tinu  Cherian  - 10:19, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

article milestone template
Hi Grey Knight

The article milestone template you made hasn't had a real test yet, but maybe it will eventually. There's a new project page about long-term protected pages - when I discovered that page, I added a talk page section here that mentions the suggested milestone procedure and the template you made. I thought you'd be interested in knowing about that discussion.

Have a good one --Jack-A-Roe (talk) 04:39, 22 August 2008 (UTC)

Easy as pi?: Making mathematics articles more accessible to a general readership
The discussion, to which you contributed, has been archived, with very much additional commentary, at Village pump (proposals)/Archive 35 (subsectioned and sub-subsectioned). A related discussion is at (Temporary link) Talk:Mathematics and (Permanent link) Talk:Mathematics (Section "Making mathematics articles more accessible to a general readership"). Another related discussion is at (Temporary link) Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Mathematics and (Permanent link) Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Mathematics (Section "Making mathematics articles more accessible to a general readership"). -- Wavelength (talk) 01:25, 29 September 2008 (UTC)

Status report on the Country outlines (Around the World) project
Penubag has been hard at work developing awards for this project. He has completed a very professional looking medal, and is almost done with a trophy that is truly awesome - both of these awards are visually stunning.

I and a few others have been working steadily on the country outlines - one for every country of the world! They're shaping up nicely. So far, 28 of them have been moved to article space - these aren't complete, but they are complete enough to be made available for readers to benefit from them. The rest of the set still includes temporary data that was generated by template (because it matched most but not all of the countries), and before the lists can be moved to article space, all the temporary data needs to be checked for accuracy, and if incorrect it needs to be replaced with correct information.

The effort on the lists has been on 3 fronts:
 * 1) Working on the lists in article space to complete them so they will be good examples for editors working on the rest of the set.
 * 2) Adding or correcting other data (fixing redlinks, filling in blanks, etc.).  The main type of work participants in "the contest" will be doing.  The reason we're doing this is to get a feel for it, to develop the fastest methods for each type of task, etc.
 * 3) Improving the overall design and implenting changes on all 247 pages, whether in article space or not.

There has been some opposition to us running the contest based on edit counts or iterations. The concern is that we should reward quality work and not quantity, for fear of crappy edits done quickly without thought. I pointed out that the collection of pages are drafts in the Wikipedia namespace (therefore posing no danger to article space) and that most of the work needs to be done with power tools like AWB and Linky (which are specifically designed for repetitive work), but the reply was that we shouldn't set the precedent of rewarding barnstars for numerically-based tasks, and implied the threat of continuously MfD'ing the contest if we attempted to do so (like they did with the Awards Center - I was very surprised and disappointed that participants didn't step up to defend it). So we need to be careful in determining what exactly the awards will represent, and how they will be awarded.

Since rewarding iterations (passes with AWB on all of the pages in the set) are out, we really don't need the globe in stand anymore. Two awards should suffice.

Once we get started with the contest, I'd like to kick the whole thing off with a round of medals for those dedicated few who have worked hard on the project so far.

What do you think of all of this?

Your comments and suggestions are most welcome.

The Transhumanist 23:20, 22 October 2008 (UTC)

Your feedback is needed - what do you think of this...


What was your initial impression when you saw the above image?

Please look at it carefully. What is wrong with it?

In what other ways can it be improved?

I look forward to your reply (on my talk page, please).

The Transhumanist 00:14, 6 November 2008 (UTC)

According to User:The Transhumanist you are good at graphics...
Hey, I've heard you are very good with graphics. I was wondering if you'd be willing to design an icon for WP:AIVC. I pretty much suck at graphics, and I'd like a good icon, so if you'd want to, let me know. (Of course, I'd give you credit). Thanks,

Progress report: Country outlines
Development has been slow but continuous:

Penubag has done a fantastic job on the images for the awards we'll be using for our project's collaborations and contests. We now have 3 awards: a medal, a trophy, and a race ribbon. They all look tight. The trophy needs a small adjustment, but other than that, all 3 award images are complete and ready to use to create awards with.

Spartaz has warned us of (threatened to take) G4 (speedy delete) action if we run a competition that resembles the previously deleted Awards Center page. So whatever we do, any contests we run must differ substantially from the methods used there.

One type of competition I've been exploring is edit racing. I'm in the process of working the bugs out of this concept - the first race didn't work as expected - you see, because we only had an award for first place, the opponent didn't think it worthwhile to continue once it was clear who the winner would be. And since editors are in different time zones and usually need to start the race at different times, we need to base winning on personal start times - he who completes his assigned edits in the least time (rather than first), wins. And last but not least is quality control. What good is winning if your edits are ripe with errors? So I'll be exploring possibilities such as using a referee (whoever is overseeing a particular race), having participants watching each other for errors to knock them back, etc. I'm not sure yet.

Rich Farmbrough has been applying his bot expertise to filling in blanks in the country outlines (the population and area entries). I'm amazed at the number of edits he pumps out each day on a myriad of projects - ours makes up but a small time slice of his activity, and yet he has saved us many hours of manual work. Perhaps we should look into how he gets so much done. :)

Zlerman has chosen to work on one outline at a time, and is taking on Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. He also has been keen on noticing and reporting design issues pertaining to the whole set of country outlines. Keep up the good work!

Highfields has been filling in the names of capitals, and is our first race winner. Check out the award on his user pages.

As you probably know, this project has expanded to include working on any and all sets of pages that are linked to from the country outlines. Once the set of country outlines go live (in article space), traffic will likely increase for all the links included on them. The quality and usefulness of those pages will reflect heavily on the country outlines (the outlines, which are essentially lists of links, are only as good as the links they present), and therefore we've branched out to solve the biggest problems with those as well. So far, we've taken on:
 * The creation of disambiguation pages for country adjectivals ("German", "French", "Taiwanese", etc. About half done.)
 * The clean-up of the CIA World Factbook statistics on the "demographics of" country pages. We've been renaming those sections to provide a key string that AWB can use for targetting (for skipping and filtering).  Once that's done, we'll be able to break the clean-up down into simple AWB search/replace tasks, because we'll be able to target just those pages that include the CIA stuff.
 * Renaming the "Cuisine of" articles to their adjectival forms ("Chinese cuisine", "Italian cuisine", etc.)

Blackadam2 and Thehelpfulone have been helping out with the "demographics of" pages mentioned above.

And we have a couple speed addicts (addicted to wiki-velocity, not drugs)...

Both Robert Skyhawk and Thehelpfulone prefer (and excel at) simple AWB search/replaces. Robert hasn't actually joined our team yet, but he has been helping out quite a bit from the sidelines (via the WP:AWB/Tasks page. Unfortunately, there has recently been a non-AWB chore that has been holding things up on the AWB front - an edit to all the the headings which had to be reverted before too many new edits were made, because any new edits would make the reversion more difficult.  The headings have been restored, so now the way is clear for AWB operations, and there are many search/replace tasks in the queue.  AWB assignments have started again!

There's a similar bottleneck on the "Demographics of" pages (the "keying" mentioned above), but that's almost cleared too. :)

With my internet access somewhat crippled, I've been finding it difficult to keep up with you guys. However, I expect to be accessing a Linky-capable workstation on a faster server (I'm on it right now, as you can probably tell from my contributions list for today), and so I should really pick up speed. Feels goooooood. :)

Recruiting has been a bit slow (but steady), due in part to my crippled access, and because we've been waiting for the images for the awards to be completed. I expect the team to grow more rapidly as the bottlenecks are removed.

Well that's what's been happenin', and here's what's in the pipeline...

I'm about to begin work on a set of lists that corresponds to all the standard links on the country outlines, and these will be presented on the Topic outline of countries which will be organized exactly like the country outlines. Aside from being an extremely useful navigation aid, it will allow editors to easily see the state of country coverage on Wikipedia. I'll provide you with a link once I get up to speed on this.

In the meantime, keep up the good work!

Cheers,

The Transhumanist 05:38, 5 February 2009 (UTC)

Country outlines project update
There has been a flurry of activity on the project as of late - so much so that I felt compelled to write another progress report...


 * More racing award graphics!

Penubag has completed 4 more award graphics for our upcoming edit races. They look great!


 * New outline developer

Buaidh has joined the effort to develop country outlines. Like Zlerman, he has chosen specific outlines to work on. Which ones? All the countries of the Americas!


 * Bots!

User talk:Thehelpfulone now has a bot, and User talk:Robert Skyhawk has requested approval for one. Work on the country outlines using these should start soon. I feel the technological singularity approaching. :)


 * Regex

Several of us have been trying to figure out how to use regular expressions (regex), in AWB, and once we have done this, we should be able to insert country names into entries for all the outlines using a single search/replace regex.

User talk:Thehelpfulone has successfully used AWB and regex to complete a 2-line search/replace using the \n command.


 * Regex repository - please add to it!

As a reference aid, I've set up the page User:The Transhumanist/Regexes for reporting the regexes we use. Please post regexes you've used successfully to that page. That way, everyone on the team can learn from each others' successes and we thereby leverage our experience collectively. Thank you.

The Transhumanist 22:57, 9 February 2009 (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 03:00, 9 March 2009 (UTC)

Geography WikiProject update - 03/15/2009
You commented on the awards effort when it was just getting started a long while back - I thought you might like to see the end results...

The award images are complete!

After months of toil and attention to detail, Penubag has completed the set of images for this WikiProject's awards!

There are five race ribbons:



There's an engraved medallion:



And by far the hardest to create, a golden trophy:



If you are interested in the contests and collaborations that will feature these awards, drop me a note.

And be sure to pop by Penubag's talk page to let him know what you think of his graphics artistry.

The Transhumanist 22:41, 15 March 2009 (UTC)

Outline of knowledge project summary, and future direction
In response to a friend on Wikipedia who was wondering about how I've been and what I've been up to, I got to spewing about our little endeavor, and well, I got so carried away I pretty much told him everything. :) The message turned out to be a pretty good summary of what we've accomplished so far and the overall plan.

See User talk:The Rambling Man

The Transhumanist 23:13, 11 April 2009 (UTC)

Making A Userbox
Hey, Grey Knight. I was just wondering if you could help me in constructing a userbox, if you'd like to see a prototype here it is. LOL. . Yes, I'm joking about that; I'll change the article later into something else humourous, unless you like it. Kausill (talk) 01:45, 14 April 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 20:38, 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 04:42, 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 22:26, 17 May 2009 (UTC)

still getting the .php index error
. ..

Dear Mr. Knight

Last year some time, I think it was, or earlier, I raised some technical errors with you and you kindly responded with suggestions. The error was for the appearance of an error message appearing asking whether I wanted to open an index.php file, when clicking on "edit this page" or other tabs.

You asked me to add a live headers file add-on to Firefox to record the technical details. I did try but unfortunately I am working in a corporate environment where everything is very tightly locked down and cannot install anything.

Still getting the errors, in IE7, which is the only browser allowed.

Yes, an intermittent problems as you guessed, but persistant all the same. Not sure how widespread it is or how to test it further. Any other advice not requiring installation of add-ons to record what's happening?

thanks again

jason

avaiki (talk) 23:16, 24 May 2009 (UTC)

. ..

Invitation to particpate in the December 2010 Wikification Drive
Delivered by MessageDeliveryBot on behalf of WikiProject Wikify at 18:39, 30 November 2010 (UTC). Redirected here from User talk:tiny plastic Grey Knight.

Please confirm your membership
Delivered by MessageDeliveryBot on behalf of WikiProject Wikify at 19:42, 22 December 2010 (UTC).

Please confirm your membership
Delivered by MessageDeliveryBot on behalf of WikiProject Wikify at 19:42, 22 December 2010 (UTC). Redirected here from User talk:tiny plastic Grey Knight.

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