User talk:Picopa

Sig workings
 S o p h i e   ( Talk )  - want 359

 S o p h i e

D u s <font color="#0000ff">t <font color="#6600cc">i SPEAK!!

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Adoption request
Hello there, Picopa! I'm Netalarm and I've been around on Wikipedia for quite some time now. It appears that you've indicated that you want to be adopted on your user page. While you can wait for an adopter to come forward and offer to adopt you, I would highly recommend that you also actively seek an adopter. From the cases I've seen, I've noticed that it is often much faster if the adoptee also actively participates in the matching process.

When choosing an adopter (click here for a list), there are a few things you'll want to check. First of all, you'll want to check if they are available. The column with the label "Adoption status" will tell you if they are able to accept more adoptees. You may also want to choose an adopter that has similar interests, which are indicated in the "Interests" column, though it is not required you do so. Once you have found an adopter you want, you may message them on their talk page and ask to be adopted. If you have any questions about this process (or about Wikipedia in general), feel free to message me on my talk page.

Click here to view a full list of adopters

Once again, welcome to Wikipedia! <font color="#00AA11">Netalarm <font color="#FF9933">talk 02:42, 24 November 2010 (UTC)

Adopt-a-user adoption
Hi, my name is Guoguo12 and I would be happy to adopt you! I have about 4800 edits and I've been around for a while. I have experience with anti-vandalism, as well as some experience in writing new articles and DYKs, and I'm usually online every day (although I'm not so sure about Thanksgiving). Please reply promptly. Thanks. Guoguo12 <font color="blue" size="1">--Talk-- 02:53, 24 November 2010 (UTC)
 * sure :D what do I need to do? Picopa (talk) 02:42, 25 November 2010 (UTC)
 * Okay, consider yourself adopted! Feel free to ask me questions any time at User talk:Guoguo12. If I am not around, try asking at the help desk.
 * By the way, I've noticed that you haven't made any edits in Wikipedia's article space (in other words, you haven't edited any articles). Out of curiosity, why is that?
 * (For the record, the image/WikiCookie is messing with the indents...) Guoguo12 <font color="blue" size="1">--Talk--  03:54, 25 November 2010 (UTC)

Adoption: Wikipedian basics
Anyway, let's actually start. Fighting vandalism on Wikipedia requires a bit of knowledge of Wikipedia's basic policies. So, below is a crash course (sort of) in Wikipedian policies and guidelines, in case you haven't read them. Every single one of the below is actually important, even in vandal fighting.
 * Neutral point of view: "Editors must write articles from a neutral point of view ... without bias."
 * Notability: "Wikipedia covers notable topics ... A topic is deemed appropriate for inclusion if it ... has received significant coverage in reliable secondary sources. Notability does not directly affect the content of articles, but only their existence."
 * Assume good faith: "Unless there is clear evidence to the contrary, assume that people who work on the project are trying to help it, not hurt it."
 * Consensus: "Consensus is Wikipedia's fundamental model for editorial decision-making." In other words, we do not vote on Wikipedia, we discuss and reach consensus (agreement).
 * Copyright violations: "Do not add content to Wikipedia if you think that doing so may be a copyright violation. Contributors should take steps to remove any copyright violations that they find." In general, users cannot copy and paste text from other websites onto Wikipedia.
 * Verifiability: "All quotations and any material challenged or likely to be challenged must be attributed to a reliable, published source using an inline citation."
 * Ignore all rules: Do what's best for Wikipedia. Note that this does not mean "don't follow the rules", but rather "if a rule prevents you from improving or maintaining Wikipedia, ignore it."

Go ahead and click on the links if you want to learn more about each of the subjects. I have only provided the basic meanings; the linked pages provide much more detailed information. As it is, I have left out one of the most important guidelines for vandal fighting. Here it is: Notice the word "deliberate". It is important to know that test edits are not vandalism, and thus cannot be reverted (removed) as vandalism. (We'll talk about reverting later.) But then, what are vandalism edits? Find out at WP:VANDTYPES.
 * Vandalism: "Vandalism is any addition, removal, or change of content made in a deliberate attempt to compromise the integrity of Wikipedia."

That's all for now. Feel free to ask any questions either here or at my talk page. Thanks, and Happy Thanksgiving (if you live in the US). Guoguo12 <font color="blue" size="1">--Talk-- 03:54, 25 November 2010 (UTC)

Adoption: More Wikipedia basics
I don't expect that you've finished contemplating the above, but in case you get bored or you're done, you may want to review the basic Wiki markup formatting symbols at Cheatsheet. Also, since you seemed a little concerned about referencing and BLP issues, you may want to read Referencing for beginners if you haven't already. Note that referencing gets a lot easier with tools like RefToolbar 2.0, which I recommend you install by going to Special:Preferences, clicking on "Gadgets", and checking the checkbox next to "refTools" under "Editing gadgets".

refTools is one example of an JavaScript tool on Wikipedia. While some users remove vandalism manually using the Undo button, many choose to use JavaScript tools or other semi-automated programs. Regardless of how they remove vandalism, all anti-vandals use some form of Special:RecentChanges, which logs all changes to all Wikipedia pages. The log entries take the following form (note that the links do not work):


 * (diff) (hist) . . Title; 10:06 . . (+1,864) . . 128.214.14.50 (Talk) (Add examples)

What the elements mean:
 * diff: "A diff is the difference between two versions of a page." Clicking on "diff" will show what the change was. See Help:Diff to learn how to read diffs. Diffs are important and can be used as proof of vandalism at WP:AIV, where vandals are reported to be blocked. (Only admins can block users.)
 * hist: Links to the history page of the article that was changed. If the article Bos was changed, the "hist" link will link to here.
 * Title: Click on it to go to the page that was changed.
 * 10:06: Time when the change occured. You can change the time zone by going to Special:Preferences.
 * (+1,864): This shows how much data was added or removed, in bytes. In this example, 1864 bytes of information were added.
 * 128.214.14.50 (Talk): The user that changed the page, followed by a link to the user's talk page. Clicking on the user page link for an IP user (a user that is not logged in) will display the user's contribs page, where you can see everything the user has edited. You can see your own contribs page at Special:Contributions/Picopa.
 * (Add examples): This is the edit summary. If the user left no summary, this parameter will not be shown.

Well, this should keep you busy for a while. Feel free to ask any questions you have. Guoguo12 <font color="blue" size="1">--Talk-- 00:17, 26 November 2010 (UTC)
 * Oh, and tell me when you're done with the above. Thanks. Guoguo12 <font color="blue" size="1">--Talk--  00:22, 26 November 2010 (UTC)

Adoption notice
To state the obvious, your adoption has been terminated because you are currently blocked indefinitely. In the event that this account is unblocked and you become active again, contact me at my talk page. Thanks and good luck. Guoguo12 <font color="blue" size="1">--Talk-- 02:57, 15 December 2010 (UTC)