User talk:Missvain/Archive 14

National Register of Historical Landmarks
1. Once I have introduced myself in the tea house what is the next step? 2. Am I allowed to use direct quotes if I source them? An example of a quote I wanted to use was from http://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/shell-county.htm - Texas historical commission. I wanted to quote the text from a historical marker when I created a page. Thepoodlechef (talk) 20:25, 30 March 2012 (UTC)
 * Template:Quote Yep. Hope this Wikipedia template helps. Maile66 (talk) 22:23, 30 March 2012 (UTC)

3. Ok I figured out in supposed to ask a question. So I did but it doesn't show up! I have submitted it twice! Thepoodlechef (talk) 02:50, 31 March 2012 (UTC)

India WikiWomen Edit-a-Thon
--Netha Hussain (talk) 05:19, 1 April 2012 (UTC)

We are different.
Sarah, you told in 20th tryer's talk page that I and he are the same person right?You are wrong. I live in India. I am not his nationality(I think so)I never post about admins not only at teahouse but anywhere else.But I am the same person as User:Kelphin! I made a new account because Kelphin was inacessable. I choose to remain Monareal as long as I am on wikipedia.--Monareal (talk) 11:40, 1 April 2012 (UTC)Not signed by kelphin because it is inacsessible.

Teahouse talkback: you've got messages!
KaseyVincent (talk) 20:59, 1 April 2012 (UTC)

Speedy speedy tagging
I agree that Princeton of Mindless Behavior doesn't look promising, but it's not meaningless and you tagged it WP:CSD only two minutes after it was entered. Newbies often put in a few words and then press "Save page" to see how it looks: it is discouraging and WP:BITEy if a speedy tag immediately pops up, and that is one of the reasons why WP has a bad name as unfriendly to newcomers. You should generally wait at least 10-15 minutes before tagging A1 or A3. See also uw-hasty.

Keep NPP-ing, though - a tedious but absolytely vital activity. There is good advice from an experienced admin at WP:10CSD and WP:A7M. Regards, JohnCD (talk) 21:16, 1 April 2012 (UTC)

David Fairchild
I see you added Category:Smithsonian Institution Archives related to the David Fairchild article. Can you tell me what prompted this? Thanks, GroveGuy (talk) 15:20, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
 * It's a part of the Smithsonian Institution Archives partnership, which I serve as Wikipedian in Residence. It is a hidden category, and is used for metrics purposes in noting what articles can be improved utilizing SIA sources. Fairchild is one of those figures! Thanks for coming by, and perhaps you'll have interest in participating in the project. Sarah (talk) 15:24, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
 * I see that the Smithsonian has a journal from Fairchild's days in Java. Very Interesting. On a different topic I see you have initiated a project. I have a question about projects. In your project you have a table: Smithsonian Institution Archives-related pages by quality. If you click on the number 4 on the B line you see the four entries with scores. Can you tell me how the score gets generated? GroveGuy (talk) 16:00, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
 * I have no clue! I generally don't use those scores...perhaps I would if I knew what they were for :) Sarah (talk) 16:04, 2 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Also, on your project page is: Press Release from Smithsonian Institution Archives about Wikipedian in Residence, Sarah Stierch (pdf). This is a dead link and you might want to fix it. GroveGuy (talk) 16:09, 2 April 2012 (UTC)

DYK nomination of Valerie Aurora
Hello! Your submission of Valerie Aurora at the Did You Know nominations page has been reviewed, and there still are some issues that may need to be clarified. Please review the comment(s) underneath your nomination's entry and respond there as soon as possible. Thank you for contributing to Did You Know! SusanLesch (talk) 16:28, 2 April 2012 (UTC)

DYK nomination of Valerie Aurora
Hello! Your submission of Valerie Aurora at the Did You Know nominations page has been reviewed, and there still are some issues that may need to be clarified. Please review the comment(s) underneath your nomination's entry and respond there as soon as possible. Thank you for contributing to Did You Know! SusanLesch (talk) 17:38, 2 April 2012 (UTC)

Request for article review (from edit-a-thon)
Hi Sarah! Sorry for the slightly belated posting, as I was busy earlier today. It was a good time at edit-a-thon, and I had a good chat at an eatery (though I would suggest we pick another eatery next time; I may help you with that! ;-)). Anyway, if you get a chance (no rush, no pressure), can you review this article at User:TheBlueWizard/Florence Meier Chase? I know it needs inline citations and some other secret sauces that would ward off the RfD and other boogeymen :-). Once that becomes good enough, I could move it to a proper place in WP. Um, I guess that's all for now. Thanks! --TheBlueWizard (talk) 00:23, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Hi! Great hanging out the other day, and yes, I promise another restaurant next time..perhaps you can be in charge of the meetup? :) Heh. Ok, a few things about the article:


 * 1) As you noted, we need inline citations.
 * 2) I would write a brief paragraph about her research, if you can, with citations. This will help clean up the "research and publications" section (aka a laundry list, as we say).
 * 3) Here is a recent list of publications I put together for an article Mary_Stuart_MacDougall. It'd be great if you can do something of the same type of format for Chase's publications.
 * 4) We might have a photograph of her in the archives that we can use. I'm going to ask the staff and I'll let you know!

I think once the citations and the publications section is worked on then it can be moved to the main space =) Keep me posted! Sarah (talk) 22:29, 1 April 2012 (UTC)
 * (blink) Me, in charge of a meetup?! What a scary thought! (ack! then a sly smile!) Now, about the research and publications part, all relevant info that I got from the folder on her is a WashPost obit that mentioned her researching on algae (it didn't explain in real depth what she was doing, and I don't know enough to really expand on that anyway), and printouts of LOC catalogs listing her publications, which I extracted from this website . Maybe I went too far in typing out the laundry list and not enough knowledge in making good/proper links as needed, or that there is no online versions of the publications, hm? I will have to find out how to do that properly.
 * Regarding the photos, I believe it is "produced" by US Gov't, and thus would be in public domain. But it's a good idea to check first. At any rate I will go about doing what I can. By the way, I realize there is another avenue to investigate: Washington Botanical Society. One WP article claimed it got disbanded, and I googled the web and found that there is another society called the Botanical Society of Washington, which has a website. I think I ought to pay that society a visit (physically), and pick their brains, especially on the history of that society (smile). Until next time... --TheBlueWizard (talk) 02:09, 3 April 2012 (UTC)

A kitten for you!
Dear Sarah...that Wiki-brownie was so yummy! Thank you a lot. So far so good as a Wikipedian...just being cautious about what I edit and what new Wiki pages I create. Thank you so much for your support!

Atizinha (talk) 04:26, 3 April 2012 (UTC) 
 * Meow! Who doesn't love a wiki-kitty? :) Thanks! I understand about being cautious - I was that way too for a long time before I started being bold and gaining confidence and then it was game on in regards to editing! Let me know if you need anything (or swing by the Teahouse!). Sarah (talk) 04:28, 3 April 2012 (UTC)

Thanks for the Barnstar!
Sarah: Thank You so much for the barnstar. Could you possibly lead me to a template for a userpage so i might properly display it?Gtwfan52 (talk) 05:10, 3 April 2012 (UTC)

Women geologists
If you were interested in Helen M. Duncan, maybe you'd be interested in doing up an article on Helen Niña Tappan Loeblich (1917–2004), American microfossil paleontologist? --Bejnar (talk) 17:17, 3 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Hi Bejnar! Right now, I'm actually focusing on developing articles related to men and women who are featured in the Smithsonian Institution Archives. It's a part of a project that I am involved in there, and I surely can use some help :) Thanks for the tip though, and I regret that right now I have a large heap of to-do's on my plate! Thank you again for all you do for Wikipedia and perhaps in the future I'll have a chance to participate in writing about Loeblich. Sarah (talk) 17:21, 3 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Is John Putnam Marble, the geochemist who did early radioactive age of the earth studies and compiled the international bibliography on radioactive materials, among those on your Smithsonian Archives list? For awhile he had his office in the Natural History Museum. --Bejnar (talk) 17:27, 3 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Regretfully, it looks like his archives are not held by the Smithsonian. You can search the Smithsonian collection here, as well. Sarah (talk) 17:36, 3 April 2012 (UTC)

thanks for the wikibrownie
I enjoyed it. Also I have some questions about my Article for Creation. HTcreager (talk) 18:02, 3 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Hi HT! If you want to get quick feedback and gain insight from myself and a number of other editors, I'd stop by the Teahouse and ask for feedback. Simply post a link to your AfC and you can also share any problems your having. We've been having a great time supporting editors there, and we've succeeded at keeping many an article! Sarah (talk) 18:48, 3 April 2012 (UTC)

Thank You!
Thank you for the brownie. I can honestly say that the wikipedia experience is going well, and everyone I've encountered so far has been really helpful. It's nice knowing wikipedians aren't as scary as I had believed. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Pistachio13 (talk • contribs) 18:37, 3 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Hey Pistachio! Yay! I'm glad it's going well and that people aren't as bitey as you though. Some can be, but, don't tell anyone I said that ;-) Sarah (talk) 18:50, 3 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Oh, and p.s., don't forget to sign all of your talk page comments and posts with four tildes like this: ~ ! That way we know who said what and the robot doesn't have to come by and sign it for you. :) Sarah (talk) 18:51, 3 April 2012 (UTC)

Valerie Aurora
Great if you could upload a copyright free picture of Valerie Aurora for her article. -- Esemono (talk) 08:59, 3 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Working on it! Sarah (talk) 14:13, 3 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Hi Esemono. A photo has been uploaded at Commons:File:Valerie Aurora headshot.jpg. Not sure how to add that to the nomination for possible inclusion? Sarah (talk) 16:28, 3 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Looks like it has been added. Good job! -- Esemono (talk) 00:22, 4 April 2012 (UTC)

Source
Hi Sarah, could you please add your source for the death date you included here? I've already reverted an IP adding the info as I couldn't find verification of it, and any such material needs a source as the recently deceased are still covered under BLP policy. Thank you, Jezebel's Ponyo bons mots 21:16, 3 April 2012 (UTC)
 * ✅ Sorry about that! Sarah (talk) 21:18, 3 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Thanks Sarah, I'll let the IP know the article has been updated. Cheers, --Jezebel's Ponyo bons mots 21:23, 3 April 2012 (UTC)

DYK for Jackson Miles Abbott
Casliber (talk · contribs) 00:02, 4 April 2012 (UTC)

Thanks!
Hi Sarah, thank you for the teahouse invite and the advice! Though my main interest is in reptiles and amphibians, I am also a birder. I initially was just interested in correcting some misinformation on the Crawfish Frog page, but I think I may work on improving some of the other pages (especially for North American amphibians). I am totally new to all this so the teahouse looks like it will be a great resource. Indianaherp (talk) 17:18, 4 April 2012 (UTC)

This Month in GLAM: March 2012
Unsubscribe · Global message delivery 18:47, 4 April 2012 (UTC)

Thank you for the Barnstar!
Hello SarahStierch, thank you so much for awarding me with a Science Fiction Barnstar, It actually means a lot! I was never expecting to receive anything for my contributions, but it is definitely very nice of you, thank you again! MunkkyNotTrukk (talk) 19:04, 4 April 2012 (UTC)
 * You are very welcome! You deserve it, and I hope it leads to many more barnstars in the future :) Sarah (talk) 18:38, 5 April 2012 (UTC)

Thanks for the Barnstar!
Thank you for the Barnstar! It was fun and thanks for saving Ms. Duncan's legacy. Undead q talk Undead q 23:40, 4 April 2012 (UTC)

A bowl of strawberries for you!

 * Ah..but stressing out is one of my best qualities!! ;-/ Thanks for the kind bowl of strawberries :D Nom! Sarah (talk) 18:40, 5 April 2012 (UTC)

Figueres Edit-a-thon
Hi Sarah,

Here you have some numbers:
 * Onsite participants: 8 (5 women, 3 men)
 * Online participants: 2
 * New registrations: 2 newbies -> 1 registered (User:Mscetrencada) and still editing (see contributions) and the other one was a museum professional helping editing another Wikipedian.
 * More than 175 diferent edits.
 * More than 14 related articles created or translated "during and after" the edit-a-thon Full list here

4 of the 5 women already had a registered user but are newbies (less than 100 edits each. Non usual Wikipedians)
 * List of editors:
 * Man
 * Arnaugir
 * Kippelboy
 * Davidpar
 * Women
 * Lamontse
 * eleleku
 * eboix
 * Mscetrencada
 * Cristina Jutge non registered Wikipedian


 * Online
 * Beusson
 * Elcaro (fr wiki)


 * Blogpost: My blog post with comments


 * Press coverage: A guy from La Vanguardia came by and interviewed me about this project for about an hour. We are waiting for being published in the Weekend's magazine quite soon (Will keep u updated about it)

Feel free to include this info where you need to.

NOTE: In Catalan wiki we are really interested in making our Women community of editors grow. We have improved our readers community of Women from 15% to 20% during last year but we also only have an 8% of Women editors. see the report in Catalan, we are now translating it ;)--Kippelboy (talk) 09:45, 5 April 2012 (UTC)
 * This is great Alex, and of course, anything I can do to support the work Catalan Wikipedia is doing, let me know. After school is done I hope I can do some more physical outreach, so perhaps we can brainstorm some ideas. Sarah (talk) 18:42, 5 April 2012 (UTC)
 * oh and yes, feel free to add the articles created at the event to the outcome page regardless of the "gender" of the subject matter. Thanks! Sarah (talk) 18:43, 5 April 2012 (UTC)

Re: WWHM
Hey Sarah. Unfortunately, though we had resources about Women at Princeton, no one wrote any articles or improved any articles about women at Princeton during the Mudd Library edit-a-thon. Next time! The outcomes for the event are all on the meetup page. Undead q 13:39, 5 April 2012 (UTC)

Punk music WWHM
Hi Sarah, i just read your note at WP:Punk. The article Bikini Kill was chosen in February to be WikiProject Punk music Collaboration of the Month; and other articles such as Delta 5, The Slits, The Innocents and The Go-Go's were proposed on the project talk page. Sadly, nothing came of it :S. ~ i'll concede we failed miserably, but then again the project isn't very active and the last COTM was in… *drumroll* 2009! Cheers for what you and evryone else did though. I'll drop a note if there are further developments :-) benzband  ( talk ) 15:01, 5 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Note: See WT:PUNK (last section :) benzband  ( talk ) 17:11, 5 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Ah, thanks ben for the update =) Sarah (talk) 18:45, 5 April 2012 (UTC)

Visiting your talk page, having 2 questions
This is my second visit. The first time I was too shy to say anything. I have two questions, please might you tell me where I should direct them, as I am new-ish? One: Where do I report pornographic content (and also probably a copyright violation), that I stumble upon in the course of editing on Wikipedia? I found some in January, and had no clue (it was removed, but just in case it happens again). Two: What do I do about people who keep reverting edits? I can't find any evidence that a certain financial services company lists a certain financial instrument as part of its services, so I deleted the information. It keeps on getting added back, but there isn't ever a source cited. I've spent tons of my time trying to verify it (even though I shouldn't, as it probably isn't that important, other than the fact that I see the Wikipedia entry propagated all over the web in search engine results, because other websites plagiarize Wikipedia, even though they shouldn't, including the unverified information, which is troubling, because people might be vulnerable to fraud as a result). But I can't find any citation, and the people who keep re-editing the page are very persistent, and I don't know what to do. They don't have user pages, just an IP address and contribution history, and their talk pages just have auto-posted warnings and such, although they go back for 5+ years, so I don't feel too inclined to take things up with them directly, if you know what I mean. Well, one of them has this photo of a man with a shaved head who says he likes anarchy and lives in Australia, and he has been on Wikipedia for awhile, and I don't want to lock horns with him, so to speak.

Can you tell me who I might speak to about these two matters? The first, the pornography, was a one time occurrence and vanished within 24 hours, though I floundered about and would have liked to be more discreet about notifying someone in a position of authority here to review it. (They were HUGE graphic images of naked people have sex, which I found amusing, but it was highly inappropriate content for Wikipedia, especially for minors including children under age 13). The other matter is much more of a concern to me.

Sorry for the long note, and don't worry if you don't have time to respond for awhile. Please don't be angry at me because you think I'm venting, because I'm not. I just saw that you were female, and I am too, and I felt more inclined to ask you than others. You can feel free to delete all of this if you like, or move it elsewhere, as it clutters up your talk page, and is more of a publicly visible plea than I would like. But of course it is your talk page, so I'm not trying to tell you what to do either. Oh dear, I'm talking myself into a corner now. I'm sorry. Thank you for your time. --FeralOink (talk) 12:45, 5 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Hi FeralOink! I'm so happy you stopped by, hi, and thanks for being bold and speaking up about your concerns! In response to your two questions:
 * Wikipedia is tricky regarding offensive/porn content. You are lucky that the article you stumbled across was a "win" regarding that kind of material, but, depending on what the article is about, you will find things that could be deemed pornographic/controversial/offensive. For example, if you look up at Wikipedia article about a sex act, you're bound to find an image of said sex act. (But, if you Google anything about that sex act, you will too, and probably worse things!). One thing I'd suggest you look at is Wikipedia:Not censored. It's often cited by editors who disagree with the removal of controversial content. And frankly, if anything ever concerns you you're welcome to post it on my talk page or email me (see the "E-mail this user" button on the left menu) and I can take a look.
 * Your second issue seems to be what Wikipedians call "edit warring", which is when you make an edit, someone reverts it, you fix the edit again, some reverts it, or vice versa (As in your case). When an issue like this erupts, you can always let the editor know on their talk page first, and if that does not work, you can follow the directions on this page "handling of edit warring behaviors". For example, I have a few articles that often get vandalized or where edit wars have erupted - editors (anonymous or with accounts) have been blocked from Wikipedia because of it, and the article gets protected so only certain users can edit it. I hope those links help, and of course, if you find something that is a problem you can email or leave a message for me here and I'll take a look.


 * I hope that helps with your questions :) And I'm so not angry with you, not at all! I'm glad you're editing and I know it can be tough figuring things out, but, I'm happy to help you! Also, I am working on a project as part of my fellowship called Wikipedia Teahouse, I encourage you to stop by there sometime and experiment with asking a question and/or making a profile. The goal is to make a warm, non-intimidating space for new editors to be comfortable asking questions and have those questions fielded by friendly Teahouse hosts. It's a nice place to hang out.


 * Talk to you soon and do let me know if you need anything else! Sarah (talk) 18:58, 5 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Thank you, thank you! Much appreciated, you've been very helpful! I feel better, reassured, all those good things. Yours truly, --FeralOink (talk) 06:18, 6 April 2012 (UTC)

Want to try a DYK for Lucile Petry Leone?
Take a look ... Lucile Petry Leone ... (out of time, handing this back to you!) Djembayz (talk) 03:50, 6 April 2012 (UTC)

the Tea leaf issue 2
Don't I exist anymore :-( NtheP (talk) 21:51, 5 April 2012 (UTC)
 * For some reason your name isn't on the mailing list :-/ Adding it now! Sorry :( Sarah (talk) 21:52, 5 April 2012 (UTC)
 * You need to get a bot to do this for you. Manually editing each editor's talk page is going to be a TPA when a few hundred editors are on the list.  A Quest For Knowledge (talk) 21:57, 5 April 2012 (UTC)
 * A bot is needed, this one I know works - User:ENewsBot/Requests. NtheP (talk) 13:36, 6 April 2012 (UTC)


 * I can do it quick with AWB. Just let me know when one is coming out and I can wizz it out in 5 minutes.  Rcsprinter  (talkin' to me?)  14:52, 9 April 2012 (UTC)

Signpost interview for the Teahouse
You might be interested in doing an interview with the Signpost wikiproject section, discussion's at.  Rcsprinter  (articulate)  14:51, 9 April 2012 (UTC)

DYK for Valerie Aurora
The DYK project (nominate) 17:17, 9 April 2012 (UTC)

Teahouse solicitations for GA reviews
Hi,

I hope that the Teahouse discourages this kind of thing. A bad GA review resulted from a Teahouse request. Hopefully this will be the only one - at least the only one I find out about! It was for a student in the Canada Education Program. This was the complete review (a couple of sentences): Talk:Joint attention/GA1 Thanks,  MathewTownsend (talk) 00:40, 6 April 2012 (UTC)
 * No I don't think it does. I think this was the wrong thing for a right reason (help get it assessed before end of term) but as you've found out, somebody doesn't appear to take feedback well. NtheP (talk) 13:40, 6 April 2012 (UTC)

Hi Mathew. I'd take this up between the reviewer, not me. It appears to me that the students did not get the feedback they needed else where so they came to the Teahouse looking for said help. The Wikipedians who participated in the review (Canoe and it also appears CyberCobra) aren't "official" Teahouse hosts (you can find that information here). And while we have no set rules against GA/FA reviews, it's not something that we have asked hosts to actively be involved in. I'm not responsible for peoples actions, just like I'm not responsible for a non-Teahouse hosts coming in and answering questions. So, as I said, I think it's best you take it up with those involved in the actual review. I also don't appreciate your patronizing and seemingly threatening tone ("at least the only one I find out about!!" - why, what are you going to do to me and those involved, send out the hounds?). It's disconcerting, makes me uncomfortable, and appears to be a parent calling their child out for poor behavior, and I surely, let alone anyone else involved, has done nothing to deserve that tone. Thanks, Sarah (talk) 13:53, 6 April 2012 (UTC)
 * I apologize for my "patronizing and seemingly threatening tone". I certainly didn't mean to be. The "at least the only one I find out about!!" was meant to be light hearted but obviously failed. I merely wanted to alert hosts or who ever responds that Education Program participants (almost all complete noobies and not understanding WP processes) may make inappropriate requests for GA reviews because of the pressure to get a GA for grades with a time limit looming, and that it would be helpful if the Teahouse staff were aware of this possibility. The editor who responded, Canoe, did so on the basis of a plea made at the Teahouse. Canoe's review was clearly inadequate, as recognized by GA regulars from whom I've received support, fortunately. But Canoe is a relatively new editor (less than 1000 edits) and a little on the "touchy" side.  I don't think Canoe knew anything about GA reviews and just wanted to jump in and help a Teahouse visitor.
 * But now I have to reassess the GA, something I don't have the time to do and become involved in an unpleasant situation because I value the integrity of GA process. Please just take this as a soft nudge to be mindful that the Teahouse has the potential (I'm not saying it will!) of negatively impacting the en:wp community, as the Education Program did in the past.
 * So far, the Teahouse seems to be very positive for the en:wp community. I admire you and commend you for your efforts. Again, I apologize for the way I worded my request. Truly, I had no idea that you would take as anything more than a light hearted "heads up". I'll be much more careful if I ever communicate with you in the future and choose my wording with great care. Best wishes, MathewTownsend (talk) 14:25, 6 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Hi Mathew. Regretfully, sarcasm isn't always best executed online, hence my frustration. I know I surely couldn't have been the only person to have read that as if you were serious. Anyone who knows me, knows I am very sarcastic and I love to laugh - so it's unlike me to be severely offended by something if I am aware of the intended tone. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to figure it out this time :) and I appreciate your thoughts and words about it!  And yeah, I don't even know Canoe, except for their recent visit to the Teahouse. But yeah, we aren't involved in that stuff, or at least, it's up the discretion of the hosts (and the majority of our hosts are long time editors, but most who aren't involved in AfC, GA, FA, reviews, etc.) I don't think we'll have to worry much about those things in the future, but, I'm surely keeping my eyes peeled. I hope the GA re-review wasn't too painful! (I'm shocked that students have to actually have a GA for their project, but..I guess I shouldn't be...!) Sarah (talk) 15:07, 9 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Hi Sarah! I see that trying my nice and overly apologetic doesn't work for you but rather leads to more misunderstanding. I wasn't being "sarcastic" as you seemed to have assumed. "Light hearted" does not equal sarcasm. (I suggest you look in a dictionary, as you seem to be confused.) Please don't assume bad faith so easily. A wiki principle is assume good faith. I suggest you do so.  This will be my last post on your page.  MathewTownsend (talk) 19:27, 9 April 2012 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!
....as if that isn't the prettiest barnstar I've seen :) Lately I feel like I don't deserve it, so I'm taken aback. Thank you Heather!!! Sarah (talk) 03:14, 10 April 2012 (UTC)

Suggestions, and a hope you will step back and rethink this
If you read a post, and you think someone is angry, ask them. They may not be. A study has shown that when reading emails, which is text communications like posts here, 90% of the time people reading the emails were certain they understood the meaning, as well as the intent, of the writer. They were wrong IIRC about 50% of the time. (let me know if you want a link to that and I'll try to find it.) Secondly, if you object to something someone wrote, it is far more helpful to say something like "you state 'Yadda yadda.' Did you mean Blah Blah? Because that's how it reads to me" rather than charging in and telling them how they feel - that's amazingly presumptuous, and in at least one case of which I am aware could not possibly have been more wrong. Not only am I not "very angry" I'm not even annoyed, although I am concerned. Thirdly, I am sorry you are taking the objections to adding a link to the Tea Room to the welcome template as though it were criticisms or even an attack on the project itself. I wish the project well and hope for its glowing and amazing and astounding success, I truly do. Finally, if you think a discussion thread is going in the "wrong direction" and becoming uncollegiate, then I suggest that throwing gasoline on the fire by attacking one of the contributors - not with specific objections to phrasing your find objectionable but rather with a huge lecture, bordering on personal attack, including your presumptions about their state of mind, and their "attitude" (I know of few things more contemptuous and insulting than telling someone "I don't like your attitude") is probably not going to help. I think perhaps you are too close to this project to see that what are valid concerns, civilly phrased, are not hostile attacks on the project, you, or even the idea of the link. They are just concerns. KillerChihuahua ?!? 15:45, 9 April 2012 (UTC)
 * adding: If, after reading this and re-reading my post which you took so ill and responded so poorly to, you wish to remove both your attack on me and my response, and let Jonathan respond himself, I will not object. (your post of 15:04, 9 April and my response of 15:11) I believe it may help to improve the atmosphere of the discussion if those two posts were removed, and I think if you consider the matter more carefully, you will agree. KillerChihuahua ?!? 15:52, 9 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Are you ignoring this, or thinking about how to respond? No rush either way but I'd like to know which it is. thanks - KillerChihuahua ?!? 20:32, 10 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Hi KC, thanks for the ping. I've been thinking about this, and after re-reading everything, multiple times, I do agree that we could have phrased our feelings and concerns in a better way and I do apologize for my role in it. However, I still feel that your response to J-mo was not well phrased either, and reads to me as using phrasing that attacks his reply beyond what was merited, and therefore I would feel odd removing our exchange, but leaving your initial response to him in place. It happened, and I'm not sure removing part of what happened serves any purpose. The discussion has seemed to already have improved significantly, and it's great to see more input there now! When we had originally proposed adding the link to the template, we were surprised that we had seen such little input, so I'm glad the conversation is taking place. I hope we can put this exchange behind us and continue in a productive manner from here on out, however, at the same time, I am not comfortable removing parts of the past conversation at this point. Again, thanks for starting the conversation regarding the template! Sarah (talk) 01:35, 11 April 2012 (UTC)
 * I have lost considerable respect for you. This reply has sealed it. I formerly thought well of you, but this is ... I have no words. You not only fail utterly to acknowledge your unprovoked attack on me, let alone retract, withdraw, or apologize, you actually blame me for your actions, with a goose-and-gander "lets spread the fault around to everyone" mentality. I see that Mathew has told you he is washing his hands of you. I strongly suggest you reconsider your approach. Twice now I have seen you attack experienced editors who voiced concerns in a very civil fashion, and while Matthew tried pouring oil on the waters (by offering an apology when none was indicated, hoping to calm you down) and got another accusation from you as a response, I have tried speaking to you as an intelligent adult with candor and concern, and gotten the extremely lame "oh I think your phrasing was bad" -so your theory of mind, your presumption, your hostility, your extreme defensiveness is automagically excused? No, dear, it is not. If you want to work in a professional environment, you must learn to treat others with the same civility and respect you expect from them. I honestly thought that if I spoke directly to you, you would examine your actions carefully and thoughtfully and actually respond to my concerns. Apparently not. I don't know if an Rfc is indicated at this point or not, but in my experience one who is deaf to concerns about their behavior towards others when addressed directly is usually also deaf at an Rfc, so I probably won't go to the trouble. However, if you continue treating other editors this way, one is in your future. Not everyone is as nice and placating as Mathew or as busy and disinterested in pursing what appears to be a lost cause as I.
 * Two final pieces of advice: If you think something is poorly phrased, quote the part that you have concerns about and state clearly what you think is wrong, don't make a blanket accusation. It is not helpful; most especially if the person about whom you are complaining has already requested specificity, you should IMO either specify or withdraw your statement. Doing otherwise is basically tantamount to trolling or name calling. Secondly, as you have said two or three times now that I have seen, that you don't know how to get more input on a discussion, I will direct you to this page, please pay special attention to 1.3.2 Consensus-building by soliciting outside opinions, 1.3.4 Consensus-building pitfalls and errors, all of section 2, Determining consensus, and finally, the Template:Centralized discussion. I hope these help you in the future. I'd give you a third piece of advice, to AGF and not be so darn quick to think ill of others; and not to be so quick to excuse your own poor behavior while jumping down the throats of others, but as I've already given that advice (albeit more gently phrased) and you have ignored me utterly I doubt a repetition will make an impression. Still, I am an incurable optimist, and hope springs eternal, so I leave it in, hoping that perhaps the more blunt phrasing will persuade you to examine how you treat others when more gentle phrasing has not. Puppy has spoken; puppy is done. KillerChihuahua ?!? 02:59, 11 April 2012 (UTC)
 * I thought I was reading a thoughtful rebuttal until you said "No, dear, it is not." How utterly hypocritical to suggest that Sarah isn't acting in a professional and respectful way while simultaneously demeaning her as if she were a child. I also don't understand why you state that she failed to apologize, when she actually does apologize only a few sentences further up. Regardless, I believe it is you who now owe her an apology for behaving exactly as you have accused her of. Civility is a 2 way street, not an ultimatum. Kaldari (talk) 03:26, 11 April 2012 (UTC)


 * 1) My intent is to help her, not to demean her, and I do not believe that any part of my post can be read that way if you AGF and read it from that POV.
 * 2) She has not apologized. You are in error (unless you count the one "for my role in it" where "it" is poor phrasing, rather than her insults and attacks. Please see Non-apology apology)
 * 3) I agree civility is a two way street, which is why I advised her (not ordered, as I would had this actually been an ultimatum, as you erroneously suggest) that she treat others as she would prefer to be treated.
 * 4) What is your purpose in leaving this hostile, inaccurate message to me? While your defense of your friend is touching, I have raised serious concerns about how she is treating others. It is to her ultimate benefit to learn to handle civil criticism better, and to learn to not ABF and accuse others of thoughts and emotions they do not hold, and make grossly insulting comments based upon her misunderstanding of their meaning, and then when her misunderstanding is gently corrected, to acknowledge her error in a graceful and responsible way, rather than cementing others' poor opinion of her ethics as she has unfortunately done with first Mathew and now myself, just in the last few days. Working well with others largely involves being able to focus on trying to understand what the other person is trying to say, rather than jumping to conclusions about their motives and attacking them. Unfortunately, while you are a loyal friend you are not a very good role model for this purpose. I wish her to learn to discuss politely and civilly, and not burn bridges left and right. I have concern and care for her future. Your message seems to indicate that you have more emotion than thoughtful concern about how she is acting and how that is negatively affecting her standing among her peers. I want her to learn and do better, so she does not have difficulties in the future. KillerChihuahua ?!? 03:40, 11 April 2012 (UTC)
 * hilarious: "so she does not have difficulties in the future." you have failed Postel's rule - "applies to human communications no less than network communications: one should be conservative in what you produce and liberal in what you accept. If some properly formatted, meaningful communication causes your server to fail (i.e. "taking offense"), that's your own fault." the problem with the teahouse is that it is a drama pot. 98.169.253.6 (talk) 04:05, 11 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Regardless of your intentions, saying "No, dear, it is not" is just as demeaning as if you had patted her on the head. This is the 2nd time this week I've been told to AGF in the event of someone acting in a clearly insulting manner to another editor. When did AGF turn into an excuse to be blatantly rude? Kaldari (talk) 04:39, 11 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Not in my culture. In my culture that is regarded as a way of softening something which might otherwise sound harsh -a kinder, gentler approach. It is not viewed as demeaning at all, and I am surprised to hear anyone might consider it so. KillerChihuahua ?!? 05:09, 11 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Adding: Sarah, if you take my phrasing of "dear" as Kaldari did, and find it anything other than kind and well-intentioned, I will strike it and offer my apologies. I never heard of that phrase being considered "demeaning" and would not have used it had it occurred to me that anyone might take it so. KillerChihuahua ?!? 05:31, 11 April 2012 (UTC)
 * "I have lost considerable respect for you." you do of course understanding that you are lecturing a wikimedian fellow; who runs successful events; who is running the teahouse, an attempt to welcome newcomers to this disfunctional culture. why don't you drop the patronizing sanctimony stick? 98.169.253.6 (talk) 13:34, 11 April 2012 (UTC)
 * I am sorry you believe that is patronizing; it is not. One must have some respect for someone in order to lose any of it; and it is a matter of the remaining respect that I reach out and inform Sarah of the way her actions have affected my opinion of her. I also told Jimbo I lost respect for his judgment when he blocked Bishonen; I am hardly the type to withhold what I think could be useful feedback for someone because of their position, status, past accomplishments or current projects. To do so would be to do a disservice to them. KillerChihuahua ?!? 15:39, 11 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Adding: Let me be clear: My time is valuable and I would not be spending so much of it here if I did not think Sarah is worthwhile. I think she can learn from this. I hope to help. I would hate to see a very talented, intelligent person with so much potential continue on a path of hostility, ABF, dismissiveness etc which is costing her allies and respect. I would much prefer she learn from this and in the future not drive away colleagues. I am virtually positive her motives are good and it is stress which is causing her to react in such a manner to well meant comments. I am now done explaining my motives here; further attacks, criticisms, of my approach, and orders to go away will be ignored unless they come from Sarah herself. KillerChihuahua ?!? 15:46, 11 April 2012 (UTC)

Thank you for the Brownie!
Being new, I'm not sure what that means, but at least I get one without adding calories! Thank you so much and I look forward to many years of contributions and working with everyone! So much more fun than my day job and everyone has been amazing to work with. Best, Kristi Schneider (talk) 23:49, 10 April 2012 (UTC)

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 * here and here. benzband  ( talk ) 18:07, 11 April 2012 (UTC)

Thanks for my first Barnstar as a Registered Wikipedian
I received a Barnstar as an IP user--apparently an unusual event (it was for re-alphabetizing pages of plant genera). Thank you very much for my first Barnstar as a Registered User. Now, I'm trying to remember what edits I ever made having to do with NYC. Uporządnicki (talk) 01:30, 12 April 2012 (UTC)

<small not closed in the second tea leaf
Sarah, seems the reason you comment on my talk page was small was because there was an unclosed <small in the second tea leaf. Can a bot, or someone with AWB fix this on other talk pages?

Thanks for the endorsement of Oliver's barnstar.

And I loved the llama, by the way. Maybe I'll adopt one. Chico Venancio (talk) 02:01, 12 April 2012 (UTC)
 * OMG, I have no clue how to fix that. I fail! I totally did the delivery of that Tea Leaf manually, and I have learned my lesson that's for sure :) I'm sure one of my helpful page stalkers might be able to lend a hand. The only time in life when it helps to have stalkers is when it's on Wikipedia!! (You hear that stalkers!?) And yes, llama! It doesn't always come in handy, sadly, but, if the Archive bot doesn't clean up the recent messes I helped make, the llama will :) Sarah (talk) 02:04, 12 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Wow, delivering the Tea Leaf manually must have been quite a job... I'll try to fix this... Chico Venancio (talk) 03:01, 12 April 2012 (UTC)

Thanks for your kindness
Thank you very much. I have formerly written on wiki as an anonymous IP, but I appreciate your kindness. Sincerely, --LagunareG (talk) 03:47, 12 April 2012 (UTC)

Talkback
Debastein (talk) 19:13, 12 April 2012 (UTC)

Teahouse link?
Hi, SarahStierch, how are you? I can not see any link of Teahouse in User_talk:BrahmanAdvaita? I feel the message and sign is breaking the link!--Tito Dutta (Message) 19:08, 16 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Is not it a general courtesy to reply? --Tito Dutta (Message) 23:19, 17 April 2012 (UTC)
 * I took care of the problem, thanks Tito, sorry for the delay. I tend to let smaller things on my talk page sometimes get under the radar in lieu of other things sometimes, which is not a good thing. My apologies! Sarah (talk) 23:23, 17 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Hm, apologies not needed! Few days ago, in your Teahouse leaf 2, you forgot to close small tag after the signature, I manually corrected it in almost every page where you posted the message, see an example, most probably I did not inform about it in your talk page! But, after not getting any reply here too, I felt, messages are being deliberately ignored!--Tito Dutta (Message) 23:37, 17 April 2012 (UTC)

notability and your discussion on Q
I heard you on Q this morning, and you talked about how the article on Clara H. Hasse was nominated for deletion within less than an hour of having been created, despite her important work in discovering the cause of citrus canker.

Have you looked at that article as it was in the very beginning?

It said "she was an assistant horticulturist and botanist in the Bureau of Plant Industry, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C., and later worked at the Florida Experiment Station"... and that's it.

It did not say anything about why she was important. It provided no clue whatsoever about why anyone should care about Clara C. Hasse. It did not assert notability. Consider if the article on Barack Obama said "he is a lawyer from Chicago", and nothing else.

The reason that the article on Dr Hasse was nominated for deletion was that it did not assert notability. Once notability was asserted, by explaining her significant contribution viz. citrus canker, then it became obvious that we should keep the article.

Your discussion with Jian gave completely the wrong impression. If you are instructing people in how to edit Wikipedia, and they create articles which are that lacking in basic content, then you are instructing them wrong. You need to instruct them better. If the article does not explain why people should care from the very first edit, then it will get nominated for deletion. Make sure they understand that. (Feel free to use the "Obama is a lawyer" example for illustrative purposes.) DS (talk) 14:33, 18 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Hi DS! Thanks for coming by my talk page. I am aware of the Hasse article history, since I was there for the edit-a-thon. I regret that I focused on Hasse, when I should have focused on a different article (perhaps Helen M. Duncan). Regardless, I do feel like I make a decent point at expressing how notability and deletion issues challenge the representation of certain subjects in Wikipedia, specifically biographies of women. But, in such a short period of time you have only a limited amount of said time to get your point across, and I feel I did just that. Thanks for listening and thanks again for coming by. Sarah (talk) 14:44, 18 April 2012 (UTC)
 * What point do you feel you "got across", precisely? As one assumes your point was not to instruct people the wrong way on how to edit Wikipedia. Second question: you do understand that it is a valid reason to speedy delete an article if no assertion of notability is made, regardless of that person's actual or perceived notability, don't you? KillerChihuahua ?!? 15:18, 18 April 2012 (UTC)

sure Paansing (talk) 14:35, 18 April 2012 (UTC)

A Barnstar For You!

 * Awe, Rosalina, thank you! I'm honored and so happy to have you as a host on this project - your dedication and energy to it is invaluable. Sarah (talk) 01:51, 13 April 2012 (UTC)

Teahouse
Hi Sarah. I'll take the hint that after the second 'where have you been' message, that it's not working. I'm pretty packed trying to stay on top of several projects that are all coming together in the next few weeks. It also seems like the Q&A board is quite well staffed, and to be honest, I miss the spontaneity of live chat that I found in irc-en-help. So, you can take me off the host list. I do value what the Teahouse is doing and wish you the best. Good luck! I'm sure I'll see you around. Ocaasit &#124; c 14:14, 13 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Thanks Ocaasi for the update! Just doin' my job :) Thanks again, and great blog btw, I've been meaning to compliment you on it. So excited about the High Beam stuff, and seeing what else you are working on. Thanks again! Sarah (talk) 14:58, 13 April 2012 (UTC)

My overall contributions so far (Important)
Hello SarahStierch, hope you are doing good :). I need to ask about a frank view/opinion on my contributions so far from all experienced users (all other users are also most welcome to comment). As i want to improve more and more day by day and help the project become more successful which i am proudly a part of. I am always truthful, i also intend to become an administrator in the future to help and serve the project better than ever and for that i need more help and support from all other users on every aspect. I had started my Wikipedia editor review Editor review/TheGeneralUser almost a month ago, but only one user till now have given me feedback about my contributions. Looking forward to hearing for suggestions from you and all members of the community :). Happy Editing! TheGeneralUser (talk) 18:53, 13 April 2012 (UTC)

Your HighBeam account is ready!
Good news! You now have access to 80 million articles in 6500 publications through HighBeam Research. Here's what you need to know: Thanks for helping make Wikipedia better. Enjoy your research! Cheers, Ocaasit &#124; c 21:00, 13 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Your account activation code has been emailed to your Wikipedia email address.
 * Only 407 of 444 codes were successfully delivered; most failed because email was simply not set up (You can set it in Special:Preferences).
 * If you did not receive a code but were on the approved list, add your name to this section and we'll try again.
 * The 1-year, free period begins when you enter the code.
 * To activate your account: 1) Go to http://www.highbeam.com/prof1; 2) You’ll see the first page of a two-page registration. 3) Put in an email address and set up a password. (Use a different email address if you signed up for a free trial previously); 4) Click “Continue” to reach the second page of registration; 5) Input your basic information; 6) Input the activation code; 7) Click “Finish”. Note that the activation codes are one-time use only and are case-sensitive.
 * If you need assistance, email "help at highbeam dot com", and include "HighBeam/Wikipedia" in the subject line. Or go to WP:HighBeam/Support, or ask User:Ocaasi.  Please, per HighBeam's request, do not call the toll-free number for assistance with registration.
 * A quick reminder about using the account: 1) try it out; 2) provide original citation information, in addition to linking to a HighBeam article; 3) avoid bare links to non-free HighBeam pages; 4) note "(subscription required)" in the citation, where appropriate
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 * Show off your HighBeam access by placing on your userpage
 * When the 1-year period is up, check applications page to see if renewal is possible. We hope it will be.

ARS Invitation

 * thanks for the invitation! I joined! Sarah (talk) 13:58, 14 April 2012 (UTC)

Teahouse link?
Hi, SarahStierch, how are you? I can not see any link of Teahouse in User_talk:BrahmanAdvaita? I feel the message and sign is breaking the link!--Tito Dutta (Message) 19:08, 16 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Is not it a general courtesy to reply? --Tito Dutta (Message) 23:19, 17 April 2012 (UTC)
 * I took care of the problem, thanks Tito, sorry for the delay. I tend to let smaller things on my talk page sometimes get under the radar in lieu of other things sometimes, which is not a good thing. My apologies! Sarah (talk) 23:23, 17 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Hm, apologies not needed! Few days ago, in your Teahouse leaf 2, you forgot to close small tag after the signature, I manually corrected it in almost every page where you posted the message, see an example, most probably I did not inform about it in your talk page! But, after not getting any reply here too, I felt, messages are being deliberately ignored!--Tito Dutta (Message) 23:37, 17 April 2012 (UTC)

DYK for Lucile Petry Leone
The DYK project (nominate) 01:35, 18 April 2012 (UTC)

Your Teahouse question!
I have posted an answer to your question here: Teahouse/Questions. --Tito Dutta Message Contribution Email 02:06, 18 April 2012 (UTC)

Issue with OTRS Tickets
Hey Sarah, thanks for the work you do for the OTRS team. :) I do have a concern though about how tickets in the permission queues are being handled, a specific example being 2012022210000342. I remember you sent a query to the mailing list looking for an admin to deal with a backlog of tickets, and I may have been harsh in my reply then. My apologies if it came across that way. But the tickets that I saw then, and now do not contain sufficient permission to be uploaded to Wikipedia or it's sisters. (A good reason for this specific ticket is mentioned in the private notes, which may of been what confused you) As far as I know there is a specific requirement for a license to be stated by the uploader and for it to be valid for us to accept it. Please understand that I'm not doing this to try and criticize your work, but I'm coming to you as a fellow OTRS member :) -- DQ  (ʞlɐʇ)  03:45, 18 April 2012 (UTC)
 * OK DQ! Thanks for the information, and I don't take it personal, thank you! I don't have time to deal with OTRS stuff too much right now due to two jobs and finishing my masters, but I do appreciate being told when somethings weren't handled correctly. I haven't been able to deal with permissions in a while, it's so time consuming, so I'm sorry if I left messes to clean up :( (I also went through almost 200 tickets, so a few screw ups are bound to happen, I guess : Sarah (talk) 03:50, 18 April 2012 (UTC)
 * And also, things like this help me realize what I did and didn't do wrong with OTRS - which can be overwhelming when dealing with so much - sometimes I also need reminders about those internal notes we leave each other on tickets. Again, I'm sorry this caused problems! I appreciate your constructive criticism and input. Sarah (talk) 03:53, 18 April 2012 (UTC)
 * No problem, thanks for your understanding. And yes OTRS is so time consuming, I just act more as a consult, or by onwiki or offwiki request these days because of it. :P --  DQ  (ʞlɐʇ)  03:58, 18 April 2012 (UTC)

Thanks for joining WikiProject Article rescue squadron!
{| style="border: 2px solid #CC3333; padding: 6px; width: 80%; min-width: 700px; background: lightsteelblue; line-height: 20px; cellpading=30" align=center Hi,, welcome to the Article Rescue Squadron! We are a growing community of Wikipedia editors dedicated to identifying and rescuing articles and content that have been nominated for deletion. Every day hundreds of articles are deleted, many rightfully so. But many concern notable subjects and are poorly written, ergo fixable, and should not be deleted. We try to help these articles and content to quickly improve and address the concerns of why they are proposed for deletion. This covers a lot of ground and your help is appreciated!
 * colspan="2" |