User talk:MER-C/archives/34

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Re: GCE Ordinary Level (United Kingdom)
Sorry if I didn't make myself clear. This wasn't a copy from one Wikipedia text to another. This was an external website's copy of Wikipedia content - one that Wikipedia has no control over. --Shruti14 talk • sign 13:01, 3 March 2014 (UTC)
 * Discussion continues here. MER-C 13:20, 3 March 2014 (UTC)

CCI done!
Contributor copyright investigations/Brianis19 is now complete. I've never closed one, so I'd prefer to leave it to someone who knows what to do.-- S Philbrick (Talk)  13:22, 3 March 2014 (UTC)
 * Closed, thank you for helping out. (It shouldn't have been that long, I have only myself to blame for that). Actually, closing a CCI is rather simple: . MER-C 13:28, 3 March 2014 (UTC)

Spammer - cbronline??
Dear MER-C. Could you have a look at Special:contributions/115.119.113.194 (now blocked for 6 months, I reckon that if you spam >6 months the same type of site your IP is static enough to notice a block in the next 6 ..)? Background: cbronline.com, blacklisted after a massive campaign a couple of years ago, was recently removed from the blacklist (something that I disagree strongly with, but I am not going to revert that now), and checking the spam blacklist log, I saw that this IP tried to add cbronline.com not too long ago. The site this guy spammed, '...-technology.com' does have some familiar ring to it, and it looks similar to the '...-business-review.com'-type of sites related to cbronline. Is this related in some way, they are not as back as the Agora-people, are they? --Dirk Beetstra T C 13:45, 3 March 2014 (UTC)


 * You're on to something:
 * "airforce-technology.com is a product of Kable. Copyright 2014 Kable, a trading division of Kable Intelligence Limited"
 * kable.co.uk:
 * ""©2013 Kable Business Intelligence Limited. John Carpenter House, 7 Carmelite Street, London, EC4Y 0BS
 * cbronline.com/about-us:
 * "© CBR 2013 | Part of Progressive Digital Media Group Plc."
 * progressivedigitalmedia.com:
 * "Progressive Digital Media Group PLC © 2012  |   John Carpenter House, 7 Carmelite Street, London, EC4Y 0BS"
 * What a coincidence. MER-C 02:26, 4 March 2014 (UTC)


 * Thanks for finding that. I have re-blacklisted, mentioning above parts.  See MediaWiki talk:Spam-blacklist.
 * Maybe the -technology.com sites should be blanket blacklisted as well? --Dirk Beetstra T  C 08:03, 4 March 2014 (UTC)
 * I overlooked this: progressivedigitalmedia.com/business-information.html -- "PDM Intelligence Centers:" ... "Kable". Definitely the same company. Look in the db first, then blacklist the lot. Don't use a general regex, the potential for false positives is too great. MER-C 08:51, 4 March 2014 (UTC)
 * I've tossed it on XLinkBot (the hard way, one strike and you are out) for now. Indeffed another spammer.  There is a lot of the aaa-bbb.com type of stuff there (found another 'bbb' as well).  I am waiting for COIBot reports to see more.  A lot of it resides on the same server, so that helps.  --Dirk Beetstra T  C 08:55, 4 March 2014 (UTC)

About wiki-java 0.29 use
I have a few questions.

I use wiki-java 0.29

I connect to en.wikipedia.org

And I am trying to getImage but with zero success.

Can I get a tutorial or example with getImage method ?

Output: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?maxlag=5&format=xml&action=query&prop=imageinfo&iiprop=url&titles=File:HellenicArmySeal.svg&iiurlwidth=-1&iiurlheight=-1

returns null

Found the problem. In 0.29 the getImage don't work. In 0.27 the getImage work ! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 130.204.199.38 (talk • contribs)
 * RTFM (and the rest of that page as well):


 * File:HellenicArmySeal.svg is a commons image, it does not exist on enwiki. That said, it was (see r194) a trivial modification to get this working for said images. MER-C 11:47, 6 March 2014 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

 * Thank you! MER-C 12:48, 6 March 2014 (UTC)

About wiki-java 0.29 use
I use random method to get a random page.

How can I get the URL to the random page ?

Like http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konstantinos_Sapountzakis — Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.90.149.232 (talk • contribs)
 * Read this, then try again. MER-C 00:05, 7 March 2014 (UTC)

...

Thanks for the info ...

Well I found the solution to my problem myself.

Thanks for the help anyway. :)

Geranium Homes Deletion
Didn't you read the "Contest Deletion Page?" I just want to know if you read it or not... — Preceding unsigned comment added by Dappleblood (talk • contribs)
 * Yes, I did. That content cannot be allowed to remain on Wikipedia under any circumstance. You cannot repurpose a company's "about us" page as an encyclopedia article and there are precisely zero excuses for doing so. Consider this as your only warning. MER-C 04:23, 7 March 2014 (UTC)

Stale unblock request
I was clearing through some backlogs, and noticed that there's a 20 day old unblock request at User:Qpswiki1 which you had last dealt with. Since you seem to be most recently familiar with the case, could you either close or act on that request, so it stops showing up at CAT:UNB? Thanks! -- Jayron  32  13:57, 13 March 2014 (UTC)
 * I'm also the blocking admin, so that would be a no. Sorry. MER-C 00:36, 14 March 2014 (UTC)

Do not copy and paste content from external sites
Discussion copied to, please reply there instead. MER-C 11:52, 14 March 2014 (UTC)

Sahara Forest Project
The "whole lot" is not a copyvio because at one point I merged in the CEO section as a result of a separate AfD that had a merge result. Not sure how you want to handle this. Can you be more specific on what is a copyvio? Blanking the entire seems extreme at this point. -- Green  C  15:38, 14 March 2014 (UTC)
 * Some of that section was copied from . I spot checked and found copying from the given sources, the promotional tone of the article makes me suspicious of the rest. The substantial contributors to both articles are a single set of SPAs (Selllllo, IngridSFP, Ingrid Schiefloe), so you should not be surprised. MER-C 02:39, 15 March 2014 (UTC)

User:EnterpriseInsurance
Just a note to let you know that I saw your message and have unblocked this user. Regards, Yunshui 雲 &zwj; 水  19:25, 15 March 2014 (UTC)

Just FYI
I have once again launched an appeal, no LOLcats this time: Administrators%27_noticeboard. I am nothing if not an optimist. :) If even one person helps out because of it, it'll be worth something. But I'm clinging to the dream that a dozen will and we will find backlogs melting away..... --Moonriddengirl (talk) 11:24, 24 March 2014 (UTC)
 * That wasn't what I had in mind when I mentioned ranting on AN. That said, we could use the help but it doesn't address the underlying problems. MER-C 12:03, 24 March 2014 (UTC)

Fescal
Hi MER-C, I was wondering if you could take a look at the article Fescal and at the relevant AfD discussion. There's been a lot of paid editing going on lately, and some of the people involved in this article have been implicated in paid editing, as well as sockpuppet investigations related to the paid editing. Since you deal with a lot of spam-related stuff, I was curious if any of the references used in the article struck you as weird. Most of the references submitted are album reviews from bloggy-type sites, but I'm having some trouble getting past some of the super-effusive, pretentious write-ups, and I wonder if they're not just paid reviews submitted by promo companies, or even mechanically created in some cases. "birdsong, nurturing bass notes and drifting, omnipresent synth sit on the side of the boat, gently rocking your attention back and forth from idyllic sightseeing to a play with your evolutionary intentions." or "syrupy organ points are viscously flowing through clouds of hiss while mysterious processes are stirring underneath the lense of Fescal's microscope." Anyhow, I thought I'd run it past you in case this was something you'd had lots of experience with. Thanks! Cyphoidbomb (talk) 03:00, 30 March 2014 (UTC)
 * This looks like a rather desperate attempt to shoehorn the subject into Wikipedia, by the behaviour and the SPI alone I'd say this is commercial editing. I suspect most online music magazines are like this -- they only write about the stuff they like and the vapid prose roughly boils down to "I like this, please give this a listen". The band is marginally notable, so in light of the commercial editing it's safer to be on the delete side. MER-C 04:15, 30 March 2014 (UTC)

Re: Lack of Communication
Hello MER-C,

I understand I have not been responsive to many issues raised in chat. I have been mainly focused on improving various articles on Wikipedia and not focused on the dramatics of the community. I will try to be more responsive in the future should important messages arise, however my main concern remains the articles of Wikipedia. CanadaOlympic989 21:01, 30 March 2014 (UTC)

Speedy
Thanks for the speedy on that sandbox. I've rarely encountered recreations of deleted pages, so completely forgot that it qualified on that basis. "The more you know..." —  Scott  •  talk  11:38, 1 April 2014 (UTC)
 * I've deleted it yet again and salted (not sure if the latter will do anything). Next time it will be a block. MER-C 12:32, 1 April 2014 (UTC)

Links to FMD
Hi, you answered on an open discussion [|here] and said "We have a guideline on external links and your fluff does not address this." I don't understand what you mean by that as the guideline on external links seems to be in chorus with it and I also can't follow you on the "vapid promotionalism" as all I see there is fashion information [|like here]. I'm looking at the clothings and the models whoa re associated there. Just as an example. Any helping clarification is much appreciated. ► robomod 14:05, 1 April 2014 (UTC)


 * By "vapid promotionalism", I mean a promotional biography that doesn't include any negative information or criticism and wouldn't be out of place on the subject's website. I'm not sure that this clears WP:ELNO #1 after reading a few biographies, but my primary concern is your editing pattern. Your strong bias toward adding links to this website somewhat indiscriminately deserves scrutiny as to whether you are adding them for promotional purposes (i.e. spamming). MER-C 08:58, 2 April 2014 (UTC)


 * Thank you for this info. FMD has plenty of mixed biographies, I remember this [] about John Galliano being one (I could browse to pick out more if you want), but you also find negative facts in many brands and their history. Nevertheless I don't think you should take that site as a biographical complement to wiki, it is more work-database of the persons. I'm actually not reading a lot their designer biographies, only in cases where Wikipedia has little or unusable information, and this is also where I added links to FMD. One example is still Dries van Noten and I hope you agree with me at least on this. In this case I personally see it more as the fashion version of a CPDL.org []. Generally the reason why I added links to FMD is because of the mentioned surplus value (image of the person, all the works etc) not because of spamming. I’ve also contributed while being logged out with my ip, because whenever I close the browser, I have to log in again and happens only here. I hope I convince you on that and in any case, I will change my editing pattern, especially where needed. I’d love to have a critical but neutral eye like you watching me here to prove that I am not what User:Vituzzu, who is really treating users and editors like trash on his talk page (as an administrator…) , believes.  ► robomod  18:28, 6 April 2014 (UTC)

Our Page Was Deleted?
I jut logged in to finish working on the page I had started for Matanuska Valley Federal Credit Union to find the page has been deleted. Why was it deleted? Can you restore it? We were still in the process of creating the page and hadn't yet submitted it for approval to go live. I assume that once a page is submitted for publishing, we would be notified if there is anything disallowed by Wiki? Please just let me know what what wrong, how to fix it, and when I can get back to work on our page. Thank you! — Preceding unsigned comment added by MVmaniacs (talk • contribs)
 * I'm sorely tempted to block you right now for your utter contempt for Wiki pedia and your complete inability to make the most simple of observations. Please tell me why I shouldn't (hint: read this and this).


 * By the way, who's we? MER-C 02:41, 12 April 2014 (UTC)

Bug in ParseUtils class
Parsing template that contains something like {{  doesn't work. The solution is to use removeCommentsAndNoWikiTags on the text before counting accolades. Hunsu (talk) 08:33, 12 April 2014 (UTC)
 * In which methods do these bugs occur? MER-C 11:43, 12 April 2014 (UTC)
 * It does occur in getTemplateParameters. You must add s = removeCommentsAndNoWikiText(s); just after the instruction : String s = f.get(i);. Hunsu (talk) 11:51, 12 April 2014 (UTC)
 * I'll commit this with the next batch of changes. MER-C 03:53, 13 April 2014 (UTC)
 * Committed in r198. MER-C 12:41, 15 April 2014 (UTC)

Sorry I have made an error last time so I introduced another bug. The solution is

The problem with the last time solution is that we lose nowiki text and comment. eg. after parsing {{name|parm1=text}} we get param1=text1. Hunsu (talk) 11:19, 19 April 2014 (UTC)
 * Will be committed with the next changes. This is why we need unit tests, by the way. MER-C 03:49, 20 April 2014 (UTC)
 * For the tests I will add them perhaps next week, I just don't have time to do it. Hunsu (talk) 07:29, 24 April 2014 (UTC)

Reversion of link edit in Bilirubin article
You've recently undone my edit. I'd reversed the ClueBot's vandalism-suspecting removal of a reference link update by. The link you restored has been tagged as dead since 2013, and replacement link seems to be the original link's content, now hosted on a gov.usa.us server.

Original (now dead): https://web.archive.org/web/20130424213510/http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/scales/clinical_data.html

Presumably should have deleted the dead tag upon restoring the link, but I can't see the logic of restoring the dead link as such? --Eccentricity (talk) 20:14, 14 April 2014 (UTC)
 * That edit and site are nothing but spam: Sockpuppet investigations/BettyJBaileyJ, . That domain name is designed to be deceptive, the latest domain name used by this spammer is web.archivc.org. As for the dead link, use the real archive link instead. MER-C 00:02, 15 April 2014 (UTC)
 * Ah! Good catch; I would never have suspected something insidious in a page on bilirubin, but they must be crawling through broken links, or somesuch. I've thrown in a Wayback link. Thanks. Eccentricity (talk) 12:59, 22 April 2014 (UTC)

Perhaps You Can Help
I am trying to create a note that is also a reference for an article. I am trying to put this reference link along with the words "Ratings - Nielsen's in TV and Arbitron's in radio - help determine how much advertisers are charged to run commercials during TV programs and radio listening hours. The higher the rating, the more people there are watching and listening. That translates into a higher price for a commercial spot." I am trying to explain what references are in an article (which I hope to take to FAC) without going off-topic (and outside the scope of the article) in one of the sentences.

I have seen this done in other articles, but for the life of me I can't find any of them. Can you help? -  Neutralhomer •  Talk  • 12:05, 24 April 2014 (UTC)
 * Another admin helped me out with this, so no worries. Take Care... Neutralhomer  •  Talk  • 12:55, 24 April 2014 (UTC)

Gadget/proposals
Heads up! --Dirk Beetstra T C 09:16, 25 April 2014 (UTC)

Tristan.andrade.136
Hi MER-C, with regard to Tristan.andrade.136's unblock requests, it's starting to look like he's deliberately being disruptive/trolling--he just submitted four identical, incoherent unblock requests and seems to have no idea why he was blocked. Perhaps his talk page access should be revoked? Cyphoidbomb (talk) 17:57, 25 April 2014 (UTC)
 * Already done. MER-C 03:56, 26 April 2014 (UTC)

Blocked User? New Account?
Hello MER-C, I have noticed a number of similarities between the edits of a blocked user called Special:Contributions/Andrewbf and a contributor Special:Contributions/189.189.56.162. The latter editor has caused some disruption to a number of music genre pages. Seems to clearly be the same pattern, and same edits. I am sorry to have troubled you, but obviously large numbers of us enjoy Wikipedia and take time to ensure its accuracy and it is disheartening when it is disrupted. In this case you have filed a report at SPI: Sockpuppet investigations/Andrewbf. 183.171.177.180 (talk) 09:33, 26 April 2014 (UTC)
 * >you have filed a report at SPI
 * Did I? I don't remember doing so. I'm not familiar with genre warring and/or the blocked user to help you. I suggest you try User talk:Diannaa, or ANI. MER-C 09:44, 26 April 2014 (UTC)

Unfair ban
It was a big mistake to ban Norden1990. He was a helpful, hard-working editor. Wikipedia is getting more and more repulsive.Fakirbakir (talk) 12:13, 26 April 2014 (UTC)


 * Luckily, Norden1990 is not banned, but only blocked. --Demiurge1000 (talk) 12:41, 26 April 2014 (UTC)
 * ...with very clear instructions on what he needs to do to be unblocked. Are you, Fakirbakir, volunteering to check Norden1990's edits for copyright problems? (You should also read WP:Copyright violations.) MER-C 12:49, 26 April 2014 (UTC)
 * Fakirbakir, I hope you already understand that the purpose of Wikipedia is to provide an encyclopedia using free content. In fact, that Wikipedia is free is one of our fundamental principles.  Norden1990 was certainly hard-working, but from almost the moment he arrived to the moment he was blocked, much (perhaps even most) of this work was actively undermining our core mission.  Routinely contributing non-free text and images, particularly after being warned not to, is not helpful; it's downright harmful.  Of course, no one is irredeemable, and I hope he will return to help undo the damage he's caused to the project, and to start contributing productively.  Please consider joining us at the CCI, as this is the only way we have of salvaging his good contributions from what so far looks like a majority of copyvios.  —Psychonaut (talk) 10:27, 27 April 2014 (UTC)

Block?
Hi MER-C -

I was looking through Contributor copyright investigations/Vlad4, and noticed that the contributor was not blocked during or after the CCI, despite not responding to it in any way (that I can find). Looking through their contributions since the CCI was begun (not many, thank goodness), I've found copyvio at 22 Jump Street and A Haunted House 2, and it looks like there is probably more in his other contributions. Is the remedy to this an indefinite block and an updated CCI? Any chance you'd mind doing the paperwork on that? Thanks in advance, and let me know if there is something different that should be done other than my suggested actions. Dana boomer (talk) 16:56, 29 April 2014 (UTC)


 * Paperwork done. :( --Moonriddengirl (talk) 19:50, 29 April 2014 (UTC)


 * Thank you, MRG. The only good part of this is that it was only a handful more articles, and not hundreds. Dana boomer (talk) 20:10, 29 April 2014 (UTC)

Repeated insertion of copyrighted material despite warnings
Hello there. I'm not sure where to report this, but since you are familiar with copyright issues I thought it would be beneficial to bring this to your attention. A new user (Mohammed.baqr & Mohammed.baqer) keeps inserting copyrighted material to Supreme Council for Women. The material is copy-pasted from www.scw.gov.bh. He's been told several times about it, but do not seem to get the message. There are also the issues of using two accounts, COI and removal of sourced material. I'm not sure if this is a case of WP:IDIDNTHEARTHAT or WP:COMPETENCE. Cheers.  Mohamed CJ  (talk)  06:19, 30 April 2014 (UTC)
 * He's communicating, so that's a start. If he does it again, let me know and I will revoke his editing privileges. MER-C 10:44, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

Wowzers
Sorry I missed your RfA in January - you know mine would've been another support if I'd known! I've been mostly inactive on Wikipedia for the past couple of years and saw some of your work in the deletion log just this morning. Congratulations: to you for that star support tally and to Wikipedia for finally roping you in! – Athaenara ✉  12:54, 30 April 2014 (UTC)
 * Thank you. MER-C 13:12, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

Bug API ?
Is there any changes in the MediWiki API recently ? The code I execute months ago doesn't work since yesterday. I got an error when I try to save my edits (I got the captcha error as if I'm not logged in). When I succeed to save my edits they appear as if that the edits are made by my IP. I debugged my code and I verified that I'm logged in. Do have an idea about this problem ? Hunsu (talk) 18:07, 2 May 2014 (UTC)
 * I observed the same symptoms today :( ~ Nirvanchik ~ ⊤άλҟ 21:19, 2 May 2014 (UTC)
 * I can add more. Old versions of pywikibot (pywikipedia, compat) stopped working today, they doesn't log in to wikipedia too. New version (core) works as usually. ~ Nirvanchik ~ ⊤άλҟ 21:19, 2 May 2014 (UTC)
 * MER-C, are you subscribed to http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/mediawiki-api-announce/ ? I've subscribed today. Will be watching (.)(.) ~ Nirvanchik ~ ⊤άλҟ 21:26, 2 May 2014 (UTC)
 * Does r200 fix this problem? MER-C 03:01, 3 May 2014 (UTC)
 * Yes, it fix it thanks. Can you give more details about this problem?. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Hunsu (talk • contribs)
 * Yes. Wikimedia sites no longer want the xx_Token cookies but we were giving them anyway (use a debugger to intercept the cookie handling to see what is going on). MER-C 09:01, 3 May 2014 (UTC)

CCI update
Wizardman 02:24, 8 May 2014 (UTC)

Wizardman 19:20, 6 July 2014 (UTC)

John Graden
Hi. You deleted the page John Graden under WP:CSD, as the creation of a sockpuppet. The page has since been recreated at John Graden (Martial Artist). Could you look into this, thanks. Tassedethe (talk) 23:17, 10 May 2014 (UTC)
 * The content of that page was identical to the deleted version. SPI filed: Sockpuppet investigations/Sibtain 007. MER-C 02:13, 11 May 2014 (UTC)


 * Hi MER-C, probably related, due to odd activity over at Wikidata for d:Special:Contributions/2601:C:4300:60:6D40:EEE6:3F50:1EA0, I noticed Tim White (American singer) is the same as Tim White (singer), which was deleted as a Sibtain creation. I didnt add to the SPI as I dont want to complicate the existing/outstanding request if I have missed the mark somewhere. John Vandenberg (chat) 18:42, 13 May 2014 (UTC)
 * Yeah, that's another sock. Blocked, deleted and added to the SPI. MER-C 11:02, 14 May 2014 (UTC)

Unblock on hold
I have looked at the unblock request at User talk:OptimalWebmaster. Having read your comments, and looked at the editing history of the account, I fully see your reason for concern, but it does look to me like a good faith attempt to improve Wikipedia by replacing dead links, not like spam. I am inclined to unblock, but thought it best to check with you, in case you have other thoughts on the matter. The editor who uses the pseudonym "JamesBWatson" (talk) 13:44, 12 May 2014 (UTC)
 * This editor needs a new username -- it's what made me reach for the banhammer in the first place. Think optimal as in search engine optimization. He also needs to not add links to the websites he maintains for exactly the same reason. If he can contribute to the encyclopedia by some other means, then I don't oppose an unblock. MER-C 12:04, 13 May 2014 (UTC)

Persistent link spam from 103.255.109.148
About a month ago, you warned User:103.255.109.148 about inserting link spam. He or she has continued and probably warrants a block since this is blatant promotion of websites that are clearly unethical if not illegal (dissertation writing service, "degrees" for sale, etc.). ElKevbo (talk) 07:37, 15 May 2014 (UTC)
 * Blocked for two months. Let me know if they resume once the block expires. MER-C 10:35, 15 May 2014 (UTC)

Vlad4
Hello MER-C. This message is about Contributor copyright investigations/Vlad4 which you opened a while ago. The article List of Teen Titans Go! episodes appeared in the CCI, and I tagged it as a copyvio. The copyvio tag was repeatedly removed, so the page was protected by User:ThaddeusB, and then deleted by User:JamesBWatson. It's now been recreated using largely the same text (albeit split over multiple articles) by two new accounts with nearly identical names. All this is rather suspicious, so as someone more familiar with the CCI perhaps you could have a look. I've posted further details at User talk:JamesBWatson and Copyright problems/2014 May 17. —Psychonaut (talk) 21:29, 17 May 2014 (UTC)
 * I don't think there is enough for me to hand out any blocks. I gave an only warning for copied plot summaries, though. MER-C 04:48, 18 May 2014 (UTC)

Sock puppet doubt
Hello. Can you include User:Lucas McEntee to this investigation, including the suspected IP user from this nomination? I had my user and talk pages vandalized by some users from User:Sibtain 007's investigation. Thank you. --BiH (talk) 20:50, 19 May 2014 (UTC)
 * You're more than capable of doing that yourself and you know where the evidence is. MER-C 10:50, 20 May 2014 (UTC)
 * I hope I did fine? --BiH (talk) 19:58, 20 May 2014 (UTC)
 * You didn't provide any evidence in the form of diffs. Without diffs for each suspected sockpuppet your report will be summarily declined. —Psychonaut (talk) 20:08, 20 May 2014 (UTC)
 * I got further clarification that the strict enforcement of the requirement for diffs applies only to requests for checkuser. However, it's still a very good idea to include them anyway as it makes the investigating admins' jobs much easier. —Psychonaut (talk) 06:55, 21 May 2014 (UTC)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria
Hi! Could I ask for your help? (I hate to ping MRG every time I have a problem). I deleted what appeared to be a copyvio from 2006 at Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, and requested rev-deletion. The admin who answered that request has simply reverted the article to its 2006 status and deleted all subsequent edits and history. He doesn't know how to fix it. Could you take a look? Thanks, regards, Justlettersandnumbers (talk) 01:24, 23 May 2014 (UTC)
 * Done. MER-C 03:37, 23 May 2014 (UTC)
 * Many thanks indeed. Justlettersandnumbers (talk) 10:01, 23 May 2014 (UTC)

Request for comment
Hello there, a proposal regarding pre-adminship review has been raised at Village pump by. Your comments here is very much appreciated. Many thanks. Jim Carter through MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 06:46, 28 May 2014 (UTC)

Thanks.
Thanks for open me! Rigard.--MohandesWiki 12:43, 29 May 2014 (UTC)

Unblock request from user you blocked
Hi: You blocked User::HtorqueMarketing as an advertising account. He's in the IRC help channel and is willing to change names to be unblocked. Advising you that an unblock request has been made; I'm not entirely sure his company is notable, however. Yngvadottir (talk) 16:38, 2 June 2014 (UTC)

Precious again
  cleanup

Thank you for fighting spam, vandalism and rubbish with understanding for the Game of Teh Dramaz, - repeating: you are an awesome Wikipedian (25 February 2009, 7 June 2010)!

--Gerda Arendt (talk) 10:43, 16 June 2012 (UTC) A year ago, you were the 155th recipient of my Pumpkin Sky Prize, --Gerda Arendt (talk) 08:19, 16 June 2014 (UTC)
 * Thanks. MER-C 11:46, 16 June 2014 (UTC)

Another one
Since you deleted the other two Matt Maher non-notable album covers, I am getting in touch with you on the third one that you may have missed. Here is the link File:Welcome To Life (Matt Maher album) coverart.jpg. Thanks,HotHat (talk) 08:45, 25 June 2014 (UTC)
 * Done. MER-C 09:08, 25 June 2014 (UTC)
 * Simply, thank you MER-C.HotHat (talk) 09:20, 25 June 2014 (UTC)

Thanks
Hi Thanks for fixing my errors on report for spam website. I hope i have done that on the correcr wiki space? All i wanted to inform admin my concern about the on going IP user content add on upcoming indian movies from this spam wensite. Its not a reliable site. Any ideas please let me know. Thanks again Daan0001 (talk) 01:03, 5 July 2014 (UTC)
 * I'll investigate your report tomorrow. MER-C 11:17, 5 July 2014 (UTC)

One more report
Hello I have reported at spam. Could you please have a look. I'm on mobile today so I have very few access get you full info. Daan0001 (talk) 08:41, 9 July 2014 (UTC)
 * That is a content dispute, not spam. MER-C 11:45, 9 July 2014 (UTC)
 * Could you please help me sorting this out ? Daan0001 (talk) 13:48, 9 July 2014 (UTC)
 * See Dispute resolution. I'm not going to intervene because I don't see the need to (and 3RR enforcement is not my thing). MER-C 00:41, 10 July 2014 (UTC)
 * Ok thanks. Daan0001 (talk) 09:39, 10 July 2014 (UTC)

Special:Contributions/Wikieditorcorrectors
Can you please block him/her? He/she added a fake name Michele Mears on song pages' liner notes, though User:Adabow and I undid each pages. 183.171.169.210 (talk) 08:36, 12 July 2014 (UTC)
 * I could, but I don't see sufficient reason to. That account hasn't edited since the last warning. MER-C 08:53, 12 July 2014 (UTC)

Oops
Yes, I did miss that you had linked SCV when I added a link. Oh well, can't hurt. -- S Philbrick (Talk)  19:49, 21 July 2014 (UTC)

Nomination for deletion of Template:Wikidata
Template:Wikidata has been nominated for deletion. You are invited to comment on the discussion at the template's entry on the Templates for discussion page. Kaldari (talk) 20:16, 21 July 2014 (UTC)

deadlock after grabCookies?
Tracking down this issue or even avoiding it, was not possible for me. (I am using the latest version of wiki-java). It appears the deadlock occurs quite low-level and I doubt the fault lies in your wiki-java but maybe you can provide a comment/idea? --McZusatz (talk) 19:48, 4 August 2014 (UTC)
 * Try updating to the latest 1.7.x JDK. I'm seeing this as a possible cause. MER-C 07:08, 6 August 2014 (UTC)
 * Thanks, I have updated to Java 8 and I had not any issues up to now. --McZusatz (talk) 21:38, 15 August 2014 (UTC)

Special:AbuseFilter/354
MER-C, I was considering splitting filter 354, and then 'strengthen' the old one:


 * Exclude Sandbox edits, and edits that have a 'draft'-template in them, from Special:AbuseFilter/354. Then add a 'hey, you are creating a promotional-page, please adapt your language to a more neutral one' (as most of the non-draft/sandboxes that hit the filter get simply deleted anyway - we could even consider making that filter blocking if they insist (and/or suggest them to bring it to AfC by linking there so the article will be in 'drafting' space).
 * Make a new abusefilter that includes the sandbox and draft-templated pages, but excludes everything hit by 354, that catches the overly promoting 'drafts' that are created (we could include edits in draft-space here).

Over the last 50 hits until now, the only articles remaining are drafts/sandboxes/afcs (some user talkpages were deleted and recreated with a block-message), with the only exception being diff (for that, maybe the target page should be filtered as having less than 100 edits to it and not belong to the editing editor, that catches messages to others).

Thoughts? --Dirk Beetstra T C 12:02, 14 August 2014 (UTC)
 * I agree we need to look in the draft namespace for spam but I don't know if we need more terms -- look at Special:Newpages in the user namespace for false negatives. I disagree with warnings because the user can just guess and check as to what's in the filter. I would put the more aggressive terms in their own filter and put that into test mode to see what happens. I'm not convinced that anything else needs to change, though. MER-C 13:26, 14 August 2014 (UTC)
 * If they need to adapt their language before they can save (or don't adapt it, if they ignore the warning), it will still result in a log-entry. If they adapt and make the article sound more neutral, then maybe it does not end up being deleted (as now practically everything is), if they don't continue to save, it saves us from deleting it, if they don't adapt and save, we end up deleting it anyway.
 * Still not sure what to do with the draft-space, though. It does not really help them forward when articles are there, so it is also less of a worry - however, the filter may show promotional accounts that also edit elsewhere.  --Dirk Beetstra T  C 11:31, 17 August 2014 (UTC)
 * The choice as I see it is deletion now as G11 or at a later date with G13 or a MFD per WP:FAKEARTICLE and/or WP:NOT (huge bottleneck). These pages are mostly about non-notable subjects where the act of page creation in an INDEXed (User) namespace is itself promotional. If it's overtly promotional, it gets rejected at AfC. And seeing a warning doesn't make the user suddenly be here to build the encyclopedia... MER-C 13:32, 17 August 2014 (UTC)
 * If the warning on the creation of INDEXed pages is not enough, we will evaluate that one in the future (see how many actually do not end up being deleted, we are now close to 100%, when I checked the filter yesterday, all of the last 50 were deleted), and switch to warn+deny. That will save work
 * I ran into one exception, that is: the article is promotional, but may actually be a good topic - I've slapped a template on it. The warning (and the denial) message could suggest that addition as a way of passing the filter (and being noted by the second).  --Dirk Beetstra T  C 03:32, 18 August 2014 (UTC)
 * I have 'split' the filter into Special:AbuseFilter/354 (the old one, testing non-draft edits) and Special:AbuseFilter/627 (includes draft space and draft-articles in userspace). Let's see what they hit, and how much actually remains of the first one after a couple of hours.  If over 99% gets deleted anyway ... maybe denying to save is an option.  --Dirk Beetstra T  C 06:39, 18 August 2014 (UTC)
 * Yes, I agree that we should try to stop the shit before it makes it onto Wikipedia. What I worry about is that pages that are made more difficult to delete >> pages that aren't created in the first place + pages improved enough to avoid deletion (extremely few). Remember who we are dealing with here.
 * >I ran into one exception, that is: the article is promotional
 * If you're talking about User:Fscalone/Clickn kids, the spam should have been reverted, the spammer given a level 4 warning and the page sent to MFD. MER-C 13:08, 18 August 2014 (UTC)
 * I see that argument (they turn from 'promotional' to 'not notable', the latter not being a speedy argument). I know that they will keep trying.  But lets first see what happens in normal mode, see if there are any false positives / false negatives that we can catch.  If it is tagged as a draft (noINDEXed) it is less of a worry to me, people might try to make something out of it at some point (generally also not, though).
 * I think I was talking about User:Mark.faisoniii - it is promotional, but seems to have some references. More of a serious attempt.  For the Fscalone-one, I missed that the original was already 4 years old.  They remembered .. --Dirk Beetstra T  C 13:27, 18 August 2014 (UTC)
 * Hmm, I should make LiWa3 also keep track of the draft namespace .. obvious spam-target and it may be more difficult to track who added it when. --Dirk Beetstra T  C 13:29, 18 August 2014 (UTC)
 * diff ✅ - not sure when the bot starts to pick this up, but that will happen at some time. --Dirk Beetstra T  C 13:31, 18 August 2014 (UTC)

Please help
I don't know if you enjoy reviewing articles. I review new articles, mostly from the oldest end of the list. I try not to hurry through the review process. I have reviewed an article and have tagged it for deletion. I spent quite a bit of time assessing the references and found them to prove that the subject of the article is not notable. I am asking you review the article Articles for deletion/Paul Jarvis (author). We can't seem to reach a consensus.

bpage (talk) 13:57, 15 August 2014 (UTC)
 * AFD closed as delete, though I ask you to exercise caution when posting on multiple talk pages to attract attention for a discussion. MER-C 02:29, 16 August 2014 (UTC)

Abbey Stone
In the middle of setting up an Abbey Stone page, how do you suggest we go about it.. the page I thought was in DRAFT form, not to be published until it was 100% right

Alan — Preceding unsigned comment added by Adbone (talk • contribs)
 * This is regarding Draft:Abbey Stone, where you regurgitated the subject's biography in violation of the purpose of Wikipedia and our copyright policy (short version). Promotion and copyright violations are not allowed anywhere on Wikipedia.
 * I'm also concerned about your username. Do you understand the Terms of Use regarding paid edits? MER-C 11:58, 18 August 2014 (UTC)

Singham Returns
Please take a look at the recent edits in the page Singham Returns by User:PacMan-2014 and User:Josephjames.me. They are changing the gross collection with different figures every day adding different sources. I told them to wait for some time but they are conducting an edit war with me. The budget is added by me with a valid source but that's also being changed frequently. Casting section is also written like a bollywood news site. I stopped reverting as I have to respect 3RR. I also initiated a discussion but not getting any response. Please see Talk:Singham_Returns. Please look into this and take an appropriate decision regarding this. Rameshnta909 (talk) 15:29, 19 August 2014 (UTC)
 * I'm going to pass on this one. I edit Bollywood articles a lot only because of the high incidence of spam and copyvios. You might have a case for asking for PC1 protection, in which case you should ask at WP:RFPP or WP:ANI. MER-C 05:17, 20 August 2014 (UTC)
 * Come on, man! I am not in a war with anybody and I have done just one revert in the Singham Returns page. I just used the figures by a reputed box office source (Box Office India), the collection figures of which are used in even featured articles like Kahaani. Their estimate collections are used for Hindi films in general. You can check recent examples like Kick. Thanks guys! Josephjames.me (talk) 12:09, 20 August 2014 (UTC)
 * I am not interested in this dispute. Please take it elsewhere. MER-C 12:23, 20 August 2014 (UTC)

Thank you and noted
Hi MER-C, Noted on your recent message on my page regarding copyrighted materials. I am a avid drama fan who sometimes do contribute to other web forums and then use the same text on wiki, but I will be more careful in the future on copying the same text or translating text word from word. I have read the copyrighted rules and understand what is prohibited from use on Wikipedia. I have gone through most of the articles I created in the past and re-worded the "summaries" originally. Jud8287703:44, 23 August 2014 (UTC)

Croinvest.eu
Hi MER-C, I am new on Wikipedia. Can you explain me why you have deleted my article Croinvest.eu? I am the owner of text so I don't violate any copyrights. I have added some external links because admin Largoplazo tell me that I need add some sources. I don't have intention to advertise. Best regards! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Crowdinvesting (talk • contribs)
 * How would I have known? I'm not going to restore it, because (1) an "about us" page is not an encyclopedia article and (2) it appears you are here exclusively to promote that site, in contradiction of the purpose of Wikipedia. Creation of an article about your employer or client is always promotional, regardless of the page content. MER-C 05:36, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

Admin before you have approved my text, he just said that I add some sources. After I have added some sources, you have deleted the article. I will remove links which are not appropriate according to your opinion. Croinvest.eu is the first Croatian crowdfunding platform which greatly contributes to the development of crowdfunding and crowdinvesting in the Middle and Southeastern Europe so I believe it deserves to be a part of Wikipedia. Crowdinvesting (talk) 12:16, 25 August 2014 (UTC)
 * Largoplazo is not an administrator. He obviously didn't do a proper job reviewing that page (and no, it's not an official approval) because he should have flagged it for copyright problems. I'm still not convinced you are here to build the encyclopedia, and consider this discussion pointless until I see evidence to the contrary. MER-C 12:52, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

I have found many articles structured like mine and they are not deleted. What I should do to convince you in contrary? Crowdinvesting (talk) 13:07, 25 August 2014 (UTC)
 * There are thousands of people who seek to abuse Wikipedia for promotional purposes and naturally some of the crap slips between the cracks. What I'm looking for is constructive contributions on a variety of topics. Even then, you shouldn't be creating articles on things you are affiliated with. MER-C 13:32, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

Noormohammed satya
You blocked (correctly, of course) this editor for multiple sockpuppetry. He has created some eight or nine socks. Looking at his talk page it is clear that his command of English is limited, and it appears that when he has found he was blocked he simply created another account in order to continue editing. His accounts are in series as far as I can see, not in parallel. There were also copyright issues, which he claims to have self-educated about. His problem, I suspect, is competence rather than deliberate malfeasance. I am marginally inclined to unblock, but obviously I would like your opinion first as the blocking admin, PhilKnight is also involved, as he and I separately denied the first two unblock requests. --Anthony Bradbury"talk" 16:19, 27 August 2014 (UTC)
 * >You blocked this editor
 * That would predate my successful RFA... (I remember CCIing him, and denying one unblock request). Anyway, I would test his understanding on the copyright policy before unblocking. To that extent, you should wait until Psychonaut's question has a satisfactory response. MER-C 00:32, 28 August 2014 (UTC)
 * Sorry, my mistake. As you point out, you denied unblock request but did not initiate the block. Psychonaut's question is, of course, a repeat of the question I already asked, which has yet to be answered. --Anthony Bradbury"talk" 10:38, 28 August 2014 (UTC)

page deletion
How do I contest when my page was deleted. They say it is due to copy write issues, however, it is my definition of my group. My definition has been used on other websites to describe my group. I have not copied anyones words.

Shannonjoyel (talk) 04:52, 28 August 2014 (UTC)
 * Wikipedia protects copyrights, including yours. If you want donate your content, that's an option. Chris Troutman  ( talk ) 04:59, 28 August 2014 (UTC)
 * Please see my response on the Wikipedia help desk. AndyTheGrump (talk) 05:10, 28 August 2014 (UTC)
 * >I use it on my website on my " about us" section
 * Yawn. I'm not going to undelete regardless of whether the content is compatibly licensed. And please show this page to whoever advised you to abuse Wikipedia for promoting your band on my behalf. MER-C 06:10, 28 August 2014 (UTC)

Spam referencing
Hello. At this CCI, you blocked the second editor as a obvious sock. I've just come across another one of the same, whose only contributions have been to add the site insideworldsoccer.com as a reference for generally trivial content. Then started looking, and have found another two, all accounts created on 26/27 July of this year, all doing the same thing. These two added the same link to two pages in the same minute. And this one re-added content here that I'd rewritten and re-ref'd during the earlier cleanup.

I'm happy enough to go round removing the latest batch, there aren't that many. But what I was wondering is if it'd be possible to blacklist the site? Its function seems to be re-publishing video and sensationalised content from elsewhere on the internet, marking the bottom of each page © inside world soccer, despite stating that they claim no copyright in any image content, thus attracting traffic to the multiple betting sites linked on their front page. And the spammers are now overwriting existing RS with links to the site, as e.g. here and here. Thanks, Struway2 (talk) 18:18, 28 August 2014 (UTC)
 * A cursory look at the usage of this site reveals it is probably too well used to be blacklisted. I might shove this on XLinkBot, but I will need to look further. MER-C 04:14, 29 August 2014 (UTC)

MER-C	whoadded insideworldsoccer.com COIBot	477 records; Top 10 editors who have added insideworldsoccer.com: Denkyu (60), Sadsadas (53), ClueBot NG (45), Hitsuu (24), Chalim Kenabru (18), Takotako168 (17), 124.82.12.115 (12), Motogila (10), Impale (9), Mattythewhite (8). Add User:Takotako168 to the list of spammers. And yep, copyvio as well:. Socks blocked, added to XLinkBot. I'm not comfortable blacklisting this until I see single digit usage here. MER-C 11:42, 29 August 2014 (UTC)


 * Thank you. As the site doesn't publish original content, all those links must be replaceable with reliable sources, but it might take a bit of time... cheers, Struway2 (talk) 12:06, 29 August 2014 (UTC)
 * Let me know when the existing links are cleared out so I can stick this site on the blacklist. MER-C 12:10, 29 August 2014 (UTC)
 * Will do. thanks again, Struway2 (talk) 12:14, 29 August 2014 (UTC)