User talk:Magister Mathematicae/2006-03

Another "Nice block!" message
I see you've received a few. I like your standards of silliness. Made me smile. And actually, I think it is pretty aesthetically pleasing too. Stands out. Like one of those executive toys on a desk. TransUtopian 05:06, 1 March 2006 (UTC)
 * thank you. -- ( drini's page   &#x260E;  ) 05:25, 1 March 2006 (UTC)

confused
Hi, the last few times I've come to Wikipedia I've been getting messages about editing and stuff, but I've never edited anything, only read. I don't know what's going on, is it possible someone is using my IP address? I'm worried about being seen as a vandal and blocked. Thanks, Lawrance Chow &mdash;The preceding unsigned comment was added by 192.169.41.45 (talk &bull; contribs).
 * Well I see you edit without having an account and thus yes, it's possible. See the message at the bottom of User talk:192.169.41.45: -- ( drini's page   &#x260E;  ) 00:09, 2 March 2006 (UTC)
 * This is the discussion page for an anonymous user, identified by the user's numerical IP address. Some IP addresses change periodically, and may be shared by several users. If you are an anonymous user and feel that irrelevant comments have been directed at you, please create an account or log in to avoid future confusion with other anonymous users. If you're concerned with privacy, registering also hides your IP address.
 * so I encourage you t sign up for a name so you don't get messages directed to others. -- ( drini's page   &#x260E;  ) 00:09, 2 March 2006 (UTC)

Esperanza Elections
Hey Drini! I wish to say thanks for your vote at the Esperanza elections.

I've made my way into the Advisory Committee, so if you ever need any help or have any queries about the stuff we do, please do not hesitate to ask. Thanks again, KnowledgeOfSelf 09:44, 1 March 2006 (UTC)
 * Hi Drini! A note from me too, thanks for your vote! Like KnowledgeOfSelf said, please let us know if there's anything we can do for you! --Joann e B 21:05, 1 March 2006 (UTC)

Syrnia Deletion
I'm a bit bemused by the deletion of the entry for Syrnia on Wikipedia. Sure if you deem yourself justified to delete a page set up by fans of a game. You should also delete the Runescape Wikipedia entry.

--Steve pd 14:34, 2 March 2006 (UTC)

I've had the reason explained to me now by User_talk:Zzyzx11 in my User_talk:Stevepd page. I hope those links worked properly. Sorry for causing the bother, I couldn't work out how to see a copy of the page before it had deleted and assumed it had held some decent content.

Hmm it seems those links didn't automagically get picked up, I'll definately have to read some of the links Zzyzx11 gave me instead of just guestimating my way through!

Sorry again for taking up your time with my slightly irate message.

Steve pd 18:43, 2 March 2006 (UTC)
 * It's ok, no big problem, I was away for a couple of days and thus couldn't reply before. Yes, I deleted it since it was nominated during 5 days and noone objected. I wasn't the one nominating it either, I was just doing the daily wikipedia cleanup. I get many "complains" so I'm used to them, but I'll always reply and explain my reasons I repeat had nothing against such entry, I was just doing cleanup (hundreds of cases like that every day, so if I see no opposition, I just go ahead and close the matter). -- (  drini's page   &#x260E;  ) 18:23, 3 March 2006 (UTC)

My RfA
Thank you for your support in my request for adminship. I'm delighted that the RfA succeeded with a final consensus of 52/17/7, and receiving comments including having 'excellent potential to become a great moderator', and I am now an administrator. It did however only just pass, and I shall do my very best to rectify any of my errors, including the general belief that I should do more article work. If you have any concerns, or if you ever feel that I may be able to help you, please feel free to leave a message on my talk page. Again, thank you! Ian13/talk 19:27, 4 March 2006 (UTC)

Sorry it took me so long
But I finally answered those questions you've had up on my coaching page since February 28. As you can tell from my contrib log, I've been taking a bit of a break from Wikipedia, but I'll come back eventually. Maybe this will do the trick and get me back into editing. Snurks T C 23:31, 5 March 2006 (UTC)

request
Hi, can you restore the history of my user page? Thanks. 22:00, 6 March 2006 (UTC)
 * done -- ( drini's page   &#x260E;  ) 22:02, 6 March 2006 (UTC)

Unblocked myself
Drini, I just unblocked myself. It seems you blocked the IP address 192.148.223.10, which is what I'm using. I have no idea how I came to be confused with User:Controllerj11, other than the possibility it's a student of staff member at the university I work at. In any case, whilst attempting to address the problem, I discovered that your email link isn't activated. I'm not sure if you're aware of this or not, but figured I should point it out. Cnwb 04:57, 7 March 2006 (UTC)
 * The email link should be activated, I wonder why isn't, it's always been. Thanks for notifying me, and walk around the univ hallways with a bat in case you discover the vandal ;) -- ( drini's page   &#x260E;  ) 04:59, 7 March 2006 (UTC)


 * When I click on "E-mail this user" I get the message "This user has not specified a valid e-mail address, or has chosen not to receive e-mail from other users". Maybe it's got something to do with that Spamcop issue. In any case, I'm keeping my eyes peeled for Wikipedia vandals - do you know what they usually look like? :) Cnwb 05:03, 7 March 2006 (UTC)
 * That weird. I know all email addresses need to be re-confimed since past weekm but I thought I had reconfimed it already. In any case, should be fixed now. -- ( drini's page   &#x260E;  ) 05:05, 7 March 2006 (UTC)

Hi Coach!
I am doing just fine, still editing articles and learning more about some policies I never knew existed. Just got done with my exams at school and am kind of relieved at the moment. How are you doing? ( A rundhati Bakshi (talk • contribs)) 11:00, 7 March 2006 (UTC)

IP block collateral damage
User:132.33.132.19 is a massively shared proxy for Travis Air Force Base - as I just discovered when wikien-l-owner got an email asking about the block :-) I've unblocked it as collateral damage and explained that short blocks may still be needed, but it shouldn't be blocked long-term - David Gerard 11:06, 7 March 2006 (UTC)
 * ok point taken -- ( drini's page   &#x260E;  ) 18:10, 7 March 2006 (UTC)

Reply to your monobook.js request
I've written up a bit on WikiProject User scripts/Techniques; if that doesn't solve your problem, please let me know. JesseW, the juggling janitor 00:14, 8 March 2006 (UTC)

Image:Thelimit.jpg on commons
I just deleted it. Did they have a user account on en, have they been blocked? Should they be blocked on commons? All they've done was upload that one picture.

For serious vandalism, speedy deletion is not the speediest option, but you probably know that. :P The commons:COM:VP is monitored closely by lots of people. (I would prefer a response at commons:user talk:pfctdayelise.) --pfctdayelise (translate?) 07:33, 8 March 2006 (UTC)

Mediation for SqueakBox and me
Thank you for your interest. If you want to be the mediator I have no problem.

If you finally become the mediator of this process, I have to note that I cannot usually access the Wikipedia more than twice per week, so if sometimes it takes me some time to answer, please, be patient! Zapatancas 11:16, 8 March 2006 (UTC)

New / Expanded Welcome Messages for Newbies?
Hello. I have been thinking about this for some time now, mainly since I started RC patrolling some time ago. . . there are a lot of policies that Wikipedia enforces that most new people here have no clue about. I looked through the welcome messages that I put on new users' pages but they don't seem to address these problems. they tell you to "be bold" and tell you how to edit and make redirects and stuff. . . all necessary as they are simple. . . but none seem to tell you what you can't or aren't supposed to do.

I think it stinks when a new user comes here and goes to the trouble of writing an article only to have it deleted or under attack for rules that he/she never knew existed. Do you think there could be a way of creating a template that in a friendly way can welcome someone while also emphasizing what they are not allowed to do? In particular, I can think of several "no no's" that are repeatedly violated by people unaware that they did anything wrong. Among the things that I was thinking of adding was stuff like this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assume_good_faith http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winad http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:NOT http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:NFT http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notability http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:NOR http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_test http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Avoid_neologisms http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_personal_attacks http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Don't_be_a_dick http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Be_bold http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Ignore_all_rules

The material in these pages seems to me to be the most relevant as to what *not* to add and what newbies screw up on most (this semi-newbie not excepted) and the code of conduct expected out of people. I can't think of a way to force people to read this, but having a new article written with a good intention coming under fire at once will seem a lot more odious to me than showing rules in a welcome message.

Also, there is some content unsuitable for Wikipedia, but that *may* be suitable for other Wiki-sources, sich as Wiktionary, or Wikibooks, that the user may be able to make use of.

What do you think about this? Although there are some ill-intentioned people, there has really got to be a fun, non-abrasive way of getting this across. I would like to avoid these situations in the future if it can be avoided (something happened today to make me think of this but it's been brewing for some time now).

Copyrights on photos is something that still confuses me and I have been here six months.

Am I just trying too hard to be too nice or is this an idea worth pursuing?

( A rundhati Bakshi (talk • contribs)) 21:52, 9 March 2006 (UTC)


 * Thanks for your input Drini. I just might do that, but I am waiting to see what members of EA in general think if it . . . the problem is not so much my welcoming people as how effective this might be . . . someone suggested info overload . . . I don;t want that either, so maybe I could try some links with 1-3 line summaries below, and have the standard welcome message (pretty short as it is) below it. Thanks for your help. ( A rundhati Bakshi (talk • contribs)) 23:47, 9 March 2006 (UTC)
 * You don't need to wait for EA input here, you may try welcoming a few people with your personal message, and if people tell you it's too much info, you change it. An important part of wikipedia culture is that you can go ahead and try new things (WP:BOLD) . -- (  drini's page   &#x260E;  ) 00:00, 10 March 2006 (UTC)
 * Thank you. will try to take 2-3 lines that sums up the gist of each rule page above and maybe use it as an addition to the standard welcome page or in replace of it. I think most people who start editing *know* how to edit -- they just don't know the policies and get their ego bruised. I will try this. Thanks for your help . . . but i think this is a big enough issue that I would like input from others who run into the problem a lot as well. It may well be that this could solve some problems for others as well as myself. Thanks!!! ( A rundhati Bakshi (talk • contribs)) 03:27, 10 March 2006 (UTC)

Thank you
Thank you for checking out my talk page and keeping everything in order in regards to the anon user. Charles 23:18, 11 March 2006 (UTC)

My RFA
Nacon kantari  e |t||c|m 23:22, 12 March 2006 (UTC)

Re: unsigned2 template
It's inefficient. Transclusion takes up less space than substitution. Denelson83  05:55, 13 March 2006 (UTC)
 * And there's an ongoing argument about subst vs. non-subst for its companion, Template:Unsigned (see User talk:Tawkerbot). The current best advice is "subst or not as you like, but don't "fix" other editors' usage" RossPatterson 00:50, 14 March 2006 (UTC)
 * I see Denelson's signature it's even longer and more difficult to read to the less technically inclined. So the same argument implies we should go changing denelson's signature into a tempalte so newbies can read it easier. But oh, wait, templates in signatures must be always substed! -- (  drini's page   &#x260E;  ) 01:08, 14 March 2006 (UTC)
 * Don't get me started on overly-fancy signatures. You'll note I never do anything more than the default ~ . I don't believe comment signatures should detract from the comments themeselves, or overshadow them.  Maybe someday I'll start a Campaign for ~ , but that's unrelated to today's  subst issue. RossPatterson 02:25, 14 March 2006 (UTC)
 * It's tangentially related, but yes, I won't get you started on that. It's just illogical for people with fancy long signatures to complain about substing a standard message making things cluttering up. It's also related to the fact that templates on signatures should be substed and this being somewhat an extension on that. -- ( drini's page   &#x260E;  ) 02:28, 14 March 2006 (UTC)

I think I'd prefer it if you didn't 'fix' pages in my userspace, thanks. Not that I own it or anything, but bots fiddling with signatures of fourth-parties on third-parties' talk pages annoys me. Your bot hasn't visited them yet, but I imagine there are some usages in my talk archives too, and I'd very much prefer those to be left alone, archives that they are. Thanks. -Splash talk 01:13, 14 March 2006 (UTC)
 * they're not being fiddled, after all text won't change. Moreover youre argument supports substing instead of oposing. Since they having transcluded templates means that whenever someone else changes the tempalte your archived pages WILL change (and you don't want that, do you?) -- ( drini's page   &#x260E;  ) 01:14, 14 March 2006 (UTC)
 * I made it sound like a request, didn't I? I'm not arguing the point, I'm asking you to please not bot-ify my user talk pages or their archives. -Splash talk 01:33, 14 March 2006 (UTC)
 * alright, how about sprotecting them? -- ( drini's page   &#x260E;  ) 01:35, 14 March 2006 (UTC)
 * It's not like you to be wilfully difficult. -Splash talk 01:36, 14 March 2006 (UTC)
 * No, I want to comply with all the complains. Currently replace.py sackupports exeptions, but I'm using template.py which doesn't. I've noew filled a request to the pywikipedia mailing list to add such feature (shouldn't be that hard), and I'll stop substing unsigned2 until they code it -- ( drini's page   &#x260E;  ) 02:07, 14 March 2006 (UTC)
 * (sprotecting the page would have allowed me to continue and auto skipping them). After all, if they are archives, you dont' want random joe modifying them, ;) -- ( drini's page   &#x260E;  ) 02:14, 14 March 2006 (UTC)