Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Guild of Copy Editors/Coordinators/Archives/2021

__NONEWSECTIONLINK__

Emeritus status?
Hi, Would it be possible to become an official "coordinator emeritus"? I don't plan to completely disappear from the Wiki, and I would be happy to help with the occasional Guild chore when I have time. Cheers, Tdslk (talk) 05:32, 4 January 2021 (UTC)
 * I support this self-nomination/retirement/emeritus status. served nine terms as a coordinator (all consecutive). – Jonesey95 (talk) 07:01, 4 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Support. I've seen Tdslk do great work on here in the time I've been active. — Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 08:48, 4 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Works for me., the markup for the coordinator-emeritus topicon (if you're interested) is:

Remove the nowiki tags when placing. Congrats and all the best,  Mini  apolis  18:20, 4 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Support; why not? I'm glad you'll still be around. :) Cheers,  Baffle☿gab  18:39, 4 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Support – I hope you'll stay involved. Dhtwiki (talk) 04:21, 5 January 2021 (UTC)

Let's call this ✅ by acclamation from nearly all recent coordinators. Do stick around! – Jonesey95 (talk) 05:54, 5 January 2021 (UTC)


 * Support - Just saw this! Absolutely agree. Twofingered Typist (talk) 13:15, 7 January 2021 (UTC)

2020-12-20 database report is ready
... at WikiProject Guild of Copy Editors/Database Report. -- Beland (talk) 01:55, 28 December 2020 (UTC)
 * , this report has been processed. If you have a report from a more recent database dump, feel free to update it. – Jonesey95 (talk) 16:20, 19 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Report is now up on the same page for the 2021-01-20 dump. Thanks for all your work with this! -- Beland (talk) 02:51, 31 January 2021 (UTC)

New template proposal
Hi all; we currently use Archive-top to close drives and blitzes. This template is generally used to close discussions on talk pages rather than events such as ours. In the absence of any more suitable alternative templates, I propose forking that template and changing the wording from to
 * The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
 * The following event is closed. Please do not modify it. Participants should make any final adjustments and add their final statistics in the 48 hours after its closure.

or similar (and less shouty) wording. This would be more suitable for our purposes, would save closing coordinators the task of adjusting the text manually and could be used by other projects to close their events.

Alternatively, this wording could be added as a "|event" switch to the current template, which would be more economical on server space, but I'm not experienced in adding switches to templates. I may experiment in my user space over the next few days and see what can be done. Another alternative to a new template would be to hard-code the closing text into GOCE-new-drive-page and GOCE-new-blitz-page. That would be more localised but less attractive because it would clutter the transculded pages with extra code. What do other project members and coordinators reckon? Cheers,  Baffle☿gab  06:20, 23 August 2020 (UTC)
 * Thanks for bringing this up! It sounds like a good idea to me, but the finer details of templating are beyond the scope of my knowledge. I'm fine with whatever method you think will work best. Cheers, Tdslk (talk) 18:52, 23 August 2020 (UTC)
 * I'm leaning more towards creating a new template for it, as Participants should make any final adjustments and add their final statistics in the 48 hours after its closure doesn't necessarily apply to all events on Wikipedia. Of course, if a variable for the proposed  parameter can be created, like , I'd be fine with it being incorporated into the preexisting template. — Tenryuu 🐲  ( 💬 • 📝 )  20:39, 23 August 2020 (UTC)
 * Good idea, Baffle, including Tenryuu's addendum. Pinging, who's good at this stuff . Stay well and all the best,  Mini  apolis  23:36, 23 August 2020 (UTC)

Thanks all; I hadn't thought of having a variable timespan or message. I'll see if I can mock something up in my user space over the next few days. Cheers,  Baffle☿gab  05:14, 25 August 2020 (UTC)


 * Like Tdslk I know nothing about templates. coding etc... and am fine with what you believe best serves us. 12:06, 25 August 2020 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Twofingered Typist (talk • contribs) 12:07, 25 August 2020 (UTC)

Done at last
I've finally got around to making the above template; it's at WikiProject Guild of Copy Editors/Event close; it hasn't got a variable timespan but I'm sure one of our talented template editors could fix that! I've taken the liberty of adding it to the templates GOCE-new-blitz-page and GOCE-new-drive-page, and the current January drive. Feel free to revert my additions if necessary. Cheers and Happy New Year all,  Baffle☿gab  03:09, 1 January 2021 (UTC)
 * , that's awesome! However, I'll point out that you only forked archive top; if you want to close it off you'll need to get archive bottom forked as well; otherwise it'll enclose everything after it. In regards to a variable timespan, I added a parameter, time, which changes the numerical value. — Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 🎄 Happy Holidays! ⛄ 03:53, 1 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Oh cool; thanks for that. :) I've never needed to use archive-bottom on drive and blitz pages, we usually don't need  to exclude any content from the event closure; see last Jan's page, though I'll think about forking Archive-bottom if there's a need. Cheers,  Baffle☿gab  04:17, 1 January 2021 (UTC)
 * I've added a redirect (GOCEeventclose) for easier access, but would it be preferable to just move the template proper into templatespace? — Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 01:07, 1 February 2021 (UTC)

January 2021 backlog drive is over!
We finished another backlog drive! I've gone ahead and closed the event, but could someone walk me through the steps of uploading the partial screenshot of the backlog? I'm not sure if the image should be uploaded locally or on Commons. — Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 00:57, 1 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Upload it locally, not to Commons. I recommend going to File:Guild of Copy Editors backlog status 2020-12-01.png to see how it should end up, then open another page and click "Upload file" on your left-side toolbar. The process is NOT intuitive, but if you manage to get through it, you can make corrections afterwards. I don't know of an easier way. – Jonesey95 (talk) 01:55, 1 February 2021 (UTC)
 * , I've uploaded the screenshot and implemented it onto the drive page. I think the licence used is appropriate, as Wikipedia content uses CC-BY-SA with non-fair use content, but a check from someone who knows is appreciated. — Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 02:53, 1 February 2021 (UTC)
 * It looks good enough to me. Someone will fix it if it is wrong and they notice it. The minutiae of licensing, combined with the difficulty of the upload wizard, are too much for me. – Jonesey95 (talk) 03:42, 1 February 2021 (UTC)


 * I've audited the drive page totals and progress. I restored a copy edit tag placed in October where no work was done, nor taken credit for. I wonder if it matters that comments come after the word totals, as they do on some pages. My impression is that if they're not enclosed in parenthesis before the word count, some script is not able to run properly. Is that the case? Should they be changed? Dhtwiki (talk) 06:40, 1 February 2021 (UTC)
 * The script saves a lot of work, but it's a bit fussy. I remove everything extraneous before I run it Thanks and all the best,  Mini  apolis  15:57, 3 February 2021 (UTC)
 * OK. Also, I've gone ahead and copy edited the article tagged for October. So, it (Reo Brothers) is no longer on the backlog. Dhtwiki (talk) 19:01, 3 February 2021 (UTC)

Annual report
Is anyone else working on the annual report? I've made a few error corrections (my fault; I miscounted the data) and added some stats to the REQ section, but I'm no longer a coordinator so feel free to revert. I also hope you don't mind me 'gnoming' things here and there (mostly at REQ) ; just tell me and I'll buzz off. :) Cheers,  Baffle☿gab  12:44, 1 February 2021 (UTC)
 * I was going to try running some spreadsheets today (time-to-completion statistics, longest REQ wait times, a couple things for the annual leaderboard, etc). Not a coordinator either, so feel free to do things differently. – Reidgreg (talk) 13:53, 1 February 2021 (UTC)
 * I've been watching the page; please continue and let us know when you are done with your gnoming. – Jonesey95 (talk) 14:25, 1 February 2021 (UTC)
 * And thanks, both of you Stay well and all the best,  Mini  apolis  03:31, 2 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Okay, I think I filled in all the blanks. It certainly needs some more prosework and tidying (where you want to write out numbers as words, whether to capitalize drive, blitz and request, etc.).   I found discrepancies with some of the numbers:
 * I had slightly different figures for the request reasons. Is it possible that false positives weren't filtered out?  For example, article titles with "Michigan", "Organ" (&times;2), "Gandhi", "Megan" (&times;2), "Hooligan", "Raagangal" and "organization" may have inflated numbers when searching for "GAN".  (I'd isolated the purpose column before counting, which was easier with a spreadsheet.)  I went ahead and used my results.
 * Of the 752 requests submitted in 2020, 42 were declined or withdrawn. Fifty-one copy editors completed the remaining 710 requests, which were submitted by 276 editors. I got 27+14=41 declined or withdrawn (seems to check from req archive page), 44 copy editors and 261 submitters (from spreadsheet)
 * My numbers for the top-five copy editors and submitters were off by one or two from yours (or by a half-dozen with some of the larger numbers). I have the same basic order and same number of assists (for a half-point each).  I didn't count submissions which were withdrawn or declined if that accounts for some of them; otherwise not sure where discrepancies may have crept in.
 * It might be worthwhile to combine some of the data; I wrote a paragraph about the size of the req backlog. It was down to single-digits for some of late Feb and early March, coinciding with the rapid req completion times. – Reidgreg (talk) 20:34, 2 February 2021 (UTC)
 * I'm just rechecking some of the top requesters and top c/e's stats; I forgot I had 2021 data on the table that I didn't filter out. Cheers,  Baffle☿gab  22:15, 2 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Just came across a request (James M. Canty) that should have been joint-credited to two editors (see here and the following edit).  Baffle☿gab  22:23, 2 February 2021 (UTC)
 * I've now merged the entries in the archive with joint credits.  Baffle☿gab  20:06, 3 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Regarding withdrawn / declined, I must have failed to filter out 2019 requests; 41 is correct.  Baffle☿gab  22:47, 2 February 2021 (UTC)

Req submitter award
Oh, while I was playing with spreadsheets, I noticed that Tintor2 has become the fifth editor to have 100 copy-edit requests processed through WP:GOCER. Is it okay if I send a teamwork barnstar their way on behalf of the GOCE? – Reidgreg (talk) 20:44, 2 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Yes please; Tintor2 is also the fourth-most requesting editor of 2020, with 23 requests. Cheers,  Baffle☿gab  22:40, 2 February 2021 (UTC)
 * I appreciate their vote of confidence Thanks and all the best,  Mini  apolis  03:02, 3 February 2021 (UTC)
 * I'm fine with it. — Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 03:11, 3 February 2021 (UTC)
 * By all means! He's quite the contributor to WP. Twofingered Typist (talk) 13:18, 3 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Done, cheers! – Reidgreg (talk) 13:46, 3 February 2021 (UTC)

February 2021 blitz
We have two weeks left to us: 14–20 (with the holidays of Valentine's and President's days, as well as Ash Wednesday) and 21–27 (no holidays).

The requests page could stand some work, as well as working on the January backlog, a pretty usual theme.

I'd like to bring blitz award requirements into line with those of the drives, by halving barnstar word-count requirements and giving 50% bonuses for copy edits within the theme of the blitz. Dhtwiki (talk) 19:50, 10 February 2021 (UTC)


 * I assume there was some reason why the counts were set up the way they are—perhaps because they involved a "theme" rather than simply working on the backlog. It would be nice if we knew why before we change things. I can recall Blitzs where we edited articles on specific topics, cooking for example, but I have no idea how these lists were established. Twofingered Typist (talk) 22:08, 10 February 2021 (UTC)
 * No comment on the word-count awards but it might be useful to look through the old talk archives. I think this has been discussed before but I can't remember where off-hand. Edit: it's here. I'd think next week would be best for the blitz, it would give a break before the March drive. There's not much backlog to choose themes from so requests is fine by me. Cheers,  Baffle☿gab  00:10, 11 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Next week and requests for the blitz are fine by me too. Stay well and all the best,  Mini  apolis  01:41, 11 February 2021 (UTC)


 * I did a brief glance at February's backlog and it seems like a sizable portion of it appears to be India-related articles. Possible theme? — Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 01:42, 11 February 2021 (UTC)
 * The thread below "Word count?", "Discrepancy between Blitz and Drive barnstar requirements", is more relevant and is the one I started in 2016. The responses were: "It cheapens the barnstar to hand it out for less than full price.", which would make more sense if the awards given for blitzes weren't the same as those for drives; and "I've always figured that it was because it is easier to sustain high effort for a week than for a month.", whereas I find the blitzes relatively inflexible time-wise and, when there is a theme other than backlog + request, by subject-matter. I haven't been sedulous in searching the archives for reasons for the discrepancy. Perhaps I should try again. However, I detect a lack of enthusiasm for a change. Dhtwiki (talk) 02:15, 11 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Since we seem to be in agreement about the date (14–20) and theme (requests + backlog (both January and February)), I've gone ahead and created the blitz page and placed an announcement on the Ombox. Dhtwiki (talk) 03:18, 11 February 2021 (UTC)
 * I agree on the dates and the theme. I'm not sure about the word counts; they have been where they are for a very long time, AFAIK, so changing them should be done with care. I will be on a wikibreak for about four days, so you'll have to start the blitz without me. I recommend NOT trying to count the number of requests edited each day – it's a big hassle for no benefit. Take a look at the December blitz for the sort of count that is sufficient and useful. – Jonesey95 (talk) 04:05, 11 February 2021 (UTC)
 * I'd be concerned that adding a 50% bonus for blitzes would make extra book-keeping work for coordinators and participants. – Reidgreg (talk) 15:55, 11 February 2021 (UTC)
 * I don't think we should add a 50% bonus for blitzes. The bonus in the drives is/was to reward people for working on the oldest and presumably most difficult articles, since Requests are usually longish, and old articles were the ones left over after the low-hanging fruit had been picked. In a blitz, all of the themed articles are part of the blitz; I see no point in giving a bonus for every article edited. Maybe I'm missing some nuance in the proposal. – Jonesey95 (talk) 18:28, 11 February 2021 (UTC)

I agree that the word-count status quo is fine; we have enough bookkeeping to do as it is, and (ahem) it took a while to get the January script run—I did it as soon as I got done with a long, requested copyedit. All the best,  Mini  apolis  20:13, 12 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Dates/blitz fine with me. Twofingered Typist (talk) 15:57, 11 February 2021 (UTC)


 * Since dates and theme have been determined, I'll put those on the community portal. — Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 20:24, 12 February 2021 (UTC)
 * I see that you do that by updating Community bulletin board, which is transcluded. Dhtwiki (talk) 21:04, 12 February 2021 (UTC)

January 2021 barnstars
Is calculation of barnstars done manually or are there some automatic components that can be employed? Dhtwiki (talk) 19:42, 10 February 2021 (UTC)
 * We have a script; I would've run it, but I've been copyediting Culture of Azerbaijan and it's been a fair amount of work. There's light at the end of that tunnel, though, and unless somebody beats me to it I should be able to do the barnstar table in a day or so. Would you like me to send you the script and documentation I have? Stay well and all the best,  Mini  apolis  01:38, 11 February 2021 (UTC)
 * I would like to see the script and its documentation. Is it not something that can be viewed as a Wikipedia page? Does sending it mean to my user talk page or through email? Dhtwiki (talk) 01:55, 11 February 2021 (UTC)
 * No; email me so I have your address, and I'll email you the script and its related documentation (I can't attach files to WP email). All the best,  Mini  apolis  00:58, 12 February 2021 (UTC)
 * The barnstar page is ready for distribution, with a link to Jonesey's extremely helpful all-purpose award template. Stay well and all the best,  Mini  apolis  20:08, 12 February 2021 (UTC)
 * I've sent you an email telling where you can send the script. Dhtwiki (talk) 20:54, 12 February 2021 (UTC)

Got it; check your inbox for two emails. Stay well and all the best,  Mini  apolis  21:17, 12 February 2021 (UTC)


 * I just glanced at this and believe there's a problem with my rollover number. My old rollover was 1,449,394.5, my new one is now 104036 which can't be right. Perhaps the problem is the number is so big the script ignores it? Would someone in the know mind checking? Many thanks. Cheers Twofingered Typist (talk) 21:48, 12 February 2021 (UTC)
 * I tried looking at the script. It seems to have rejected your November rollover words (stated in the bottom of your section on  the drive page) as it didn't recognize this as a numeric string and defaulted a value of zero.  I suspect this would probably be because of the commas in 1,449,394.5, but Tenryuu's 466,786.5 seemed to work alright. – Reidgreg (talk) 13:35, 13 February 2021 (UTC)


 * Thanks for looking at this for me. It can't be the .5 word since several others also have a half-word credit. Perhaps someone else will have an idea. Cheers, Twofingered Typist (talk) 14:15, 13 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Thanks, ; I know how to run the script, and that's about it I thought maybe the decimal was the problem, but apparently it's the size of the number (eight figures; seven seems to be okay). I don't know how to fix that; maybe an active editor who knows Visual Basic can. All the best,  Mini  apolis  14:23, 13 February 2021 (UTC)

Just looked at the script and didn't see anything obvious about the number of figures. However, I also looked at the November barnstar page and the November script added your old and new rollovers for that huge number; according to my calculations, your actual new rollover should have been 25,742 (your grand total over 100K, our largest award) and not that humongous number which doesn't make any sense. I think if you replace your new rollover on the January barnstar table with 25,742, you should be okay for March. All the best,  Mini  apolis  14:42, 13 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Oh boy. My suggestion above was based on the November barnstar page, not January. The script ignored your old rollover number for January (maybe because of its size), so if you add 25,742 to your January new rollover that will give you your rollover figure for March. This is why we're not going to do bonus word counts for blitzes   Mini  apolis  14:51, 13 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Rollovers shouldn't accumulate drive to drive like that.  Mini  apolis  14:51, 13 February 2021 (UTC)

Here are my rollovers to carry forward for 2020. They have been accumulating all through last year (and obviously previous years).

Jan-20 1241345.5; Mar-20 1399172; May-20 1451170; Jul-20 1405660.5; Sep-20 1,423,652.5; Nov-20 1449394.5

Doing the calculation manually: 1449394.5 + (raw total 136024 + bonus 68012) 204036 = 1653430.5 less 100,000 for award = 1553430.5 carry forward to March

I appreciate this is a major pain! Does this help? Twofingered Typist (talk) 19:07, 13 February 2021 (UTC) (This can be resolved anytime. Not a priority.)
 * Thanks,, but you may not understand how the rollover words work. They're only from the previous drive or blitz, and are not supposed to accumulate indefinitely like this. I don't know why they did in your case, and am hoping that once they're reduced to a realistic number (like the 25,742 noted above) the problem will resolve itself. Please don't lose sight of why we do this, and I hope sees this discussion when they return from wikibreak; I'm not the lead coordinator  I don't understand why this hasn't been happening to other editors. All the best,  Mini  apolis  20:19, 13 February 2021 (UTC)

Thanks,, let me assure you I could care less about the barnstars. But, my rollover total has accumulated since early 2016, as I showed above. For example Tennryu, who just started participating last year is carrying forward almost 600,000 words into March 2021's blitz—mine have accumulated over five years. I suspect the "problem" is that the Most Excellent Barnstar requires only 100,000 words which in most cases would wipe out an accumulated total in one or two Drives. The "trouble" begins once an editor is accumulating more than 100,000 words per Drive. The total will never be cleared if they keep up a similar pace in each Drive. One solution would be to raise the number of words required for Most Excellent to 250,000 or something like that. If I skip a Drive, you are correct, my rollover number would reset to 0. Anyway, lets see what Jonesey95 has to say after his break. Thanks again, cheers Twofingered Typist (talk) 21:30, 13 February 2021 (UTC)
 * AFAIK, the rollover words from two drives (or blitzes) ago should be wiped clean; they shouldn't accumulate like this. Someone who has the script and knows Visual Basic needs to see why this is happening. used to run up amazing totals without this happening, but that may have been before  wrote the script; back then, we had less participation (and lower totals) and the coordinators compiled the barnstar table by hand. We couldn't do that today with the help we have; as it is, only a couple of us run the script. All the best,  Mini  apolis  21:40, 13 February 2021 (UTC)
 * I did a quick glance at the archives, and in July 2012 LFStevens entered with a rollover total of 284,296, edited another 317,028 (!) words for a grand total of 601,324, and after deducting 100,000 for the Most Excellent Order of the Caretaker barnstar, had a new rollover total of 501,324. In other words, consistently prolific editors have always been able to accumulate a word hoard over multiple months. I agree that for these editors the rollover totals do start to look a bit silly, though. Theoretically, they could rest on their laurels with a token edited article for months on end and still get a fancy barnstar, but I don't think this has ever been an issue in practice. Tdslk (talk) 01:31, 14 February 2021 (UTC)
 * So long as an editor didn't miss a drive, rollover words could accumulate. There've only been a few (essentially Hall of Famers) who consistently cleared more words than would earn the highest award.  My rollover words peaked at about 300k in mid-2018 (after which it took about a year and a half to burn through them while still doing enough to stay on the leaderboard). – Reidgreg (talk) 04:14, 14 February 2021 (UTC)
 * With respect, that's not my understanding; rollover words may be more or less, depending on the award earned in the previous drive or blitz. I've been participating in nearly all the blitzes (although I don't much care for them), and my rollover words for this blitz are 17 because whatever award I earned in the last blitz used up the rest. Frankly, this is beginning to not work; the barnstars are going out late (they haven't been distributed yet, and the page has been up for two days), and I hope we're not starting to unravel like the LOCE did (when I came in, the GOCE had just replaced it). Unless someone is willing to rewrite the .vbs script, TT should accept a rollover figure that will work (over a million apparently doesn't) so we can move on. IMO, this is becoming a timesink. All the best,  Mini  apolis  16:24, 14 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Just checked the barnstar page, and rollover apparently gives up the ghost at one million. So ... we either fix the script, or accept what is.  Mini  apolis  16:32, 14 February 2021 (UTC)
 * How about we make up a shiny barnstar to give to an editor when their rollover count passes one million, and then the next drive their rollover resets at zero? (Also, this way we don't have to fix the script.) Tdslk (talk) 18:52, 14 February 2021 (UTC)
 * That's a fun suggestion. Perhaps it should be called the "Rollover Script-Breaking Barnstar". — Tenryuu 🐲  ( 💬 • 📝 ) 20:04, 14 February 2021 (UTC)
 * How about the "Word-hoard Award"? Tdslk (talk) 21:04, 14 February 2021 (UTC)
 * I kindof thought that the Hall of Fame was for such exceptionalism. I'd mentioned Twofingered Typist's rollover words when I proposed their induction to the HOF, though at that time they were a mere 700k. – Reidgreg (talk) 18:08, 15 February 2021 (UTC)
 * For the sake of peace, I accept what ever the script does/doesn't do. Life is too short, and I couldn't care less about barnstars anyway. I'm here to edit articles. Twofingered Typist (talk) 18:26, 14 February 2021 (UTC)

Looks like this is all settled, but just a quick comment: when I used to run the script, I had gotten it to a point where it worked well enough with most values, and rather than trying to continually tweak the script to handle every possible type of formatting and potential typographical issue, I would just run it, check the result for errors, find the cause, clean up that portion of the numbers, and run it again until it completed successfully and the numbers matched expectations at a glance. I'm pretty sure it's been changed at least some since I was originally the one running it. —Torchiest talkedits 22:12, 14 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Happy to see input from the helpful creator of the script, and I remember your caveat that it wouldn't cover every possible scenario. IMO, we've become way too focused on barnstars and leaderboards. All the best,  Mini  apolis  23:54, 14 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Um, is anyone going to actually give out the barnstars? It's a lot easier than generating the table.  Mini  apolis  23:58, 14 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Reidgreg's passed them out. Many thanks for your work! — Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 19:12, 15 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Yup. It took me about an hour:  25 minutes to manually verify the figures (fixing three things), 25 minutes to give out the awards, and 10 minutes to verify I gave out the right awards (fixing one I'd missed).  Much easier working from the script-generated table and using the award templates.  Oh, I didn't touch the rollover words for the four editors who earned Caretaker stars (have we had four on a drive before?). – Reidgreg (talk) 19:34, 15 February 2021 (UTC)

February 2021 blitz barnstars
I've made up a barnstar page for the February blitz. Would someone like to check it, and, if correct, pass out barnstars? I did not use the script, which I haven't learned, but calculated manually. Dhtwiki (talk) 23:37, 22 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Thanks very much, ; we don't use the script for blitzes because there are fewer participants, and we don't have to worry about the 50-percent bonus stuff. I'm still working on History of Azerbaijan (note to self: no more Azerbaijani articles for a while ), but if no one beats me to it tomorrow I can do it. Stay well (a good friend died of COVID-19 last week) and all the best,  Mini  apolis  03:17, 23 February 2021 (UTC)
 * I see that Jonesey has removed the prematurely applied checkmarks at the barnstar page and that Baffle gab has placed a closure notice on the Ombox. That was a fair amount of work setting up the barnstar page (partly due to the inefficiencies of doing it for the first time). I'm surprised that the script isn't being used for it. Sorry to hear of your friend's death. Dhtwiki (talk) 08:39, 23 February 2021 (UTC)

March drive
No, I haven't forgotten about the annual report (and hope my fellow coords haven't either), but it's time to start thinking about the March drive. How about the January and February backlogs and February requests? All the best,  Mini  apolis  23:19, 24 February 2021 (UTC)
 * I was almost going to post just about the same thing. I can get to setting up the page, if you'd like, so that others can concentrate on the annual report. Dhtwiki (talk) 00:03, 25 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Sounds good. If you need help with the annual report let me know what I can do to help. In any case I'll update the event on the community portal. — Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 00:38, 25 February 2021 (UTC)
 * I've set up the drive page and placed an announcement on the Ombox. If I'm not being premature, you can announce it at the portal. Dhtwiki (talk) 04:39, 25 February 2021 (UTC)

I've now finished triaging the February-tagged articles, and I did remove c/e tags from some of them. I noticed some of those I checked and removed in January for various reasons (mostly lack of refs) had been re-added to the Feb list but no matter, they're all dealt with now. I think It's a bit early to start checking the March batch. Cheers,  Baffle☿gab  00:40, 9 March 2021 (UTC)

2021-02-20 database report is ready
... at WikiProject Guild of Copy Editors/Database Report. -- Beland (talk) 03:56, 28 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Just posted the 2021-03-20 report at the same place. -- Beland (talk) 01:06, 26 March 2021 (UTC)

March 2021 barnstars
I've calculated barnstars for the March 2021 drive. Since I did the calculations by hand, not having mastered the script, I got to auditing many entries, found discrepancies, and made corrections to the drive page itself, where my edit summaries and comments placed among editors' article lists should tell the tale. I'd like feedback as to the appropriateness of what I did. I haven't forewarned individual editors as to the (sometimes radical) changes I made. Dhtwiki (talk) 06:15, 4 April 2021 (UTC)


 * I try to check "new" drive participants early on so that if there are issues I can point them out. (I don't check 10% of the articles; that's a full-time job. If there are minor issues I just fix them and move on.) I do check requests thoroughly, but with the odd few exceptions most new editors don't tackle requests during blitzes. I had a look at several of the editors' lists you amended. I don't see an issue with excluding articles from their lists if they do not fall within the drive's parameters (i.e. no copyedit template or request entry). The drive instructions do indicate that articles can be checked for "quality control purposes", but now the "offending" editor has no chance to "fix" the article in question. They'll have to be notified of the issues with each article and why it has been dropped from their counts. I guess it comes down to the amount of time one has to spend on all of this and whether there is an upside. Twofingered Typist (talk) 13:41, 4 April 2021 (UTC)


 * I gave editors the articles they claimed, even if it didn't have a template, but without the 50% bonus. I fixed the issues I found with articles. The barnstars should now be ready for distribution. Dhtwiki (talk) 05:13, 5 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Done.  Mini  apolis  21:30, 5 April 2021 (UTC)

IABot Archive tool
This - https://iabot.toolforge.org/index.php?page=runbotqueue - used to be the link to IABot that I've used for years to archive links in articles. For the past week or so there is an error message 503 Service Unavailable. Does anyone have any idea what's going on? Thanks. I left the same message at the Help desk but have heard nothing back. Twofingered Typist (talk) 21:22, 9 April 2021 (UTC)
 * There's a bug-report link at User talk:InternetArchiveBot, or you can try WP:VPT. I think maintains the bot. Good luck and all the best,  Mini  apolis  00:40, 10 April 2021 (UTC)


 * Thanks for this! The bug report link took me back to the page where I'm getting the error message, so I left a notice at WP:VPT. With luck someone there can clear it up. Cyberpower678's Talk Page seems inactive. Twofingered Typist (talk) 12:44, 10 April 2021 (UTC)

In case you're interested, here's the story: "It's down at the moment owing to a database issue." See T279341. ƒirefly ( t · c ) 12:56, 10 April 2021 (UTC)

April 2021 blitz
I've set up a Blitz page for April 18–24, which will give a week of downtime before the May Drive. If that's OK it needs only to be linked and announced. There is a mystifying instruction at WikiProject Guild of Copy Editors/Blitzes. It says: "3. (Before the April blitz only:) Update the year at WikiProject Guild of Copy Editors/BlitzIntro". What is that for? Dhtwiki (talk) 09:41, 15 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Ah, that is no longer necessary and should be removed. It was for the editnotice link to the previous blitz to count rollover words.  The April blitz is when the year has to be updated as it points to the Feb blitz (which the first time that "new" year is used).  I automated the switch in Feb 2019, so it no longer needs manual adjustment.  BTW, thanks for starting the blitz, I just realized we were running out of April! – Reidgreg (talk) 12:05, 15 April 2021 (UTC)
 * . Good catch! – Jonesey95 (talk) 14:21, 15 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Awesome; I've updated the posting on the community portal bulletin board. — Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 17:23, 15 April 2021 (UTC)

Barnstars
I've set up the barnstar page. Dhtwiki (talk) 16:17, 25 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Thanks, and I've given them out. Guess it's time to start thinking about the May drive. Stay well and all the best,  Mini  apolis  23:32, 25 April 2021 (UTC)
 * It used to be customary to allow participants 48 hours to add their final stats before finalising blitz and drive results. Has that custom now changed? I've added my stats at 22:47 UTC tonight, less than 24 hrs after close here. 48 hours from close would be 23:59 UTC on 26 April.  Baffle☿gab  00:11, 26 April 2021 (UTC)
 * That was because I was quick off the mark, probably about 12 hours after the blitz ended, not being aware any particular grace period. I did see a remark of yours that that you would "populate" the list at some point. I know that you continuously do considerable copy editing of the requests page. So, I'm not exactly sure why I didn't look into your contribution further. I've now added your totals to the barnstar page. Dhtwiki (talk) 11:15, 26 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Thanks Dhtwiki; to be fair I did create my section very late so it's understandable it would be overlooked. I've also been busier in RL this month, so have had less time to be active on WP. The grace period is noted at the top of the Blitz page: "Please do not modify this page, unless you are a participant adding your final statistics within 48 hours of the closure". Thanks and cheers,  Baffle☿gab  21:30, 26 April 2021 (UTC)

I seem to remember a 24-hour cushion after the close of a drive or blitz to allow editors to tie up loose ends, and don't think we need more than that. As mentioned above, it's time to plan the May drive. Stay well and all the best,  Mini  apolis  01:34, 27 April 2021 (UTC)
 * In that case, it might be a good idea to adjust the wording of WikiProject Guild of Copy Editors/Event close. I'll try and be a little less tardy with my stats next time. :) Cheers,  Baffle☿gab  02:53, 27 April 2021 (UTC)
 * No; since you created that page, I won't impose my preference on you . wanted to get the barnstars out a few days after the drives and blitzes ended, hence the 24-hour guideline. All the best,  Mini  apolis  13:25, 27 April 2021 (UTC)
 * There'd be no problem with that; I don't own the template; I made it so the GOCE would no longer need to rely on Archive-top and it's already been altered twice. I'll alter it myself later tonight. Cheers,  Baffle☿gab  20:32, 27 April 2021 (UTC)
 * ✅ by Jonesey.  Baffle☿gab  23:22, 27 April 2021 (UTC)

GOCE talk page template discussion at TfD
Echoing the thread on the home talk page, there is a discussion involving our usual talk page template at Templates for Discussion. Dhtwiki (talk) 23:25, 18 May 2021 (UTC)
 * Thanks, ; I commented on the discussion page. All the best,  Mini  apolis  13:27, 19 May 2021 (UTC)

2021-04-20 database report is ready
... at WikiProject Guild of Copy Editors/Database Report. I happened to notice that we only have about 350 left (including these) before we exhaust this list, though we do get about 30 new problem articles every month. Soon I'll need to come up with a more clever way to find bad grammar! 8) -- Beland (talk) 02:05, 28 April 2021 (UTC)
 * 2021-05-20 results posted in the same place. -- Beland (talk) 06:28, 23 May 2021 (UTC)

Newsletters
I just realized that: (1) there haven't been any GOCE newsletters this year, and (2) the June elections are on our doorstep. So I quickly whipped together a newsletter at WikiProject Guild of Copy Editors/Newsletters/June 2021. Whatever you official folks want to do is fine with me, whether you want to send it before the nominations open or wait for final results from the May drive. – Reidgreg (talk) 23:34, 30 May 2021 (UTC)


 * Thanks for doing this, ! — Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 00:00, 31 May 2021 (UTC)
 * Thanks very much, . When the June blitz is bluelinked and we fill in the blanks, it'll be ready to go. Want to stand again for coordinator? All the best,  Mini  apolis  00:27, 31 May 2021 (UTC)

May 2021 drive barnstars
I've completed setting up the barnstar page for the May drive. Dhtwiki (talk) 14:17, 4 June 2021 (UTC)
 * Distributed; thanks! All the best,  Mini  apolis  00:29, 5 June 2021 (UTC)

An interesting take on Wikipedia's reliability
https://globalnews.ca/news/7921230/wikipedia-reliablity/?fbclid=IwAR1BZt-dk0NGdK1nl805fd72BKu6MV6Tu_07_e8Y7PxUDqTEq5pzoDsSan0

Twofingered Typist (talk) 17:41, 10 June 2021 (UTC)

June 2021 blitz
We have two weeks left, 13–19 and 20–26. I suspect that the second would be preferred, as the first has already (just) started. Dhtwiki (talk) 00:03, 13 June 2021 (UTC)


 * Guessing the theme's likely to be the March/April 2021 backlog and requests? — Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 00:08, 13 June 2021 (UTC)


 * Backlog and requests seems to be the usual theme these days. Dhtwiki (talk) 02:24, 13 June 2021 (UTC)
 * Sounds good to me. All the best,  Mini  apolis  15:16, 13 June 2021 (UTC)


 * Go for it. Twofingered Typist (talk) 15:59, 13 June 2021 (UTC)
 * Works for me. – Jonesey95 (talk) 17:38, 13 June 2021 (UTC)

The blitz page is set up. I've added a notice to the Ombox. Tenryuu, you have been adding a notification to the community portal, IIRC. Dhtwiki (talk) 21:13, 16 June 2021 (UTC)


 * Thanks, . I corrected the end date, as I do not believe this blitz is travelling backwards through time. — Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 21:51, 16 June 2021 (UTC)
 * Thank you for catching that. That 2015 date must have been from not correcting the template example thoroughly enough. Dhtwiki (talk) 22:00, 16 June 2021 (UTC)
 * Feel free to update the example dates in the page-creation templates if you wish, I'd considered doing it a while back but decided not to because people would realise it's obviously an example... mind you, a time-travelling template could be fun! :) Cheers,  Baffle☿gab  00:49, 17 June 2021 (UTC)
 * I actually added a new example, for copying and pasting, last April, with many updated parameters. Guess which parameter I forgot to update as to the year. I corrected that just now, although August will see a new coordinator list and new days and months. I don't know how to employ late-binding calendar arithmetic, although that should be possible somehow (e.g. via July, etc.). Dhtwiki (talk) 02:29, 17 June 2021 (UTC)
 * Me neither; I can't remember half of the things I used to create those templates now! "CURRENTMONTHNAME" should work but then there's the date numerals to fix (at least for Blitzes), which would make the example less obvious. Oh well, have fun with it; thanks for updating them. Cheers,  Baffle☿gab  05:02, 17 June 2021 (UTC)

N.B. If you try to reach the June blitz from the Guild's main page the closed April blitz page comes up. I was able to access June by clicking on Tenryuu's link to the Ombox above. Twofingered Typist (talk) 11:40, 18 June 2021 (UTC)


 * Thanks for catching that. I went into WikiProject Guild of Copy Editors/Blitzes/tabs and changed it. — Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 13:08, 18 June 2021 (UTC)

Truncated Template
The GOCE template appears to have been truncated. Not that I mind, but I don't remember there being a consensus to do anything to it.

Twofingered Typist (talk) 12:17, 17 July 2021 (UTC)
 * It's the result of this discussion, and a good alternative to deletion (which would force us to use Article history) IMO. The link to the Guild is sufficient advertising; did a great job! All the best,  Mini  apolis  13:45, 17 July 2021 (UTC)
 * I'm fine with it and agree with Miniapolis; the fluff's been cut out but it still retains the important things, like what is copy editing, who did it, from which group, and on what date. The discussion petered out without any action, so someone boldly changed it. — Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 14:12, 17 July 2021 (UTC)
 * Ah that explains it. Looks good. Twofingered Typist (talk) 17:50, 17 July 2021 (UTC)
 * I was working off of this discussion, as well, when I did my trimming. I was going to leave my work as a sandbox item until I put it forward for review, which I would attempt outside of a blitz or drive time, so as not to distract from that. Dhtwiki (talk) 21:44, 18 July 2021 (UTC)

July 2021 drive barnstars
The barnstar page for the July 2021 drive is ready to be checked and for barnstars to be distributed. Dhtwiki (talk) 22:39, 5 August 2021 (UTC)
 * Done. All the best,  Mini  apolis  14:03, 6 August 2021 (UTC)
 * Thanks, . This was on my docket for today, but you beat me to it. – Jonesey95 (talk) 15:44, 6 August 2021 (UTC)
 * Thank you,, for changing the leaderboard on the drive page to match the corrected entries at the barnstar page. Dhtwiki (talk) 01:54, 11 August 2021 (UTC)

August 2021 blitz
I've set up a new blitz page, with the blitz scheduled to run from August 15 to 21, concentrating on the April and May 2021 backlogs as well as requests. I've also set the tabs page. If it's okay, then what's left is to update the Ombox and advertise at the community portal. Dhtwiki (talk) 02:04, 11 August 2021 (UTC)
 * Thanks, ; I've updated the ombox. All the best,  Mini  apolis  12:38, 11 August 2021 (UTC)
 * Thanks, . I advertised at the community portal. — Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 16:55, 11 August 2021 (UTC)
 * Hello, coordinators! I am expecting to be away from Wikipedia for the next 24 hours or so, so I won't be able to do the counts at 00:00 UTC one hour from now and 25 hours from now (at the end of the blitz). If someone could at least record the numbers in a comment or here on this page, that would be helpful. – Jonesey95 (talk) 23:00, 20 August 2021 (UTC)
 * @Jonesey95: I think I recorded the daily change correctly in this revision, but let me know if there's anything that needs fixing. Update: Corrected by Miniapolis. — Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 04:06, 21 August 2021 (UTC)
 * The blitz barnstar table is up and ready for distribution. Guess it's time to start thinking about the September drive All the best,  Mini  apolis  16:03, 23 August 2021 (UTC)
 * I have delivered most of the barnstars. Per usual practice, someone else should deliver mine. Dhtwiki (talk) 01:39, 27 August 2021 (UTC)

Done.  Mini  apolis  01:56, 27 August 2021 (UTC)

September drive
Time to throw together the September drive. How about the April–June backlog and July requests? All the best,  Mini  apolis  13:10, 27 August 2021 (UTC)
 * Sounds good to me! I can change the community portal shoutout once the others chime in. — Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 13:38, 27 August 2021 (UTC)
 * Agreed. Dhtwiki (talk) 08:42, 28 August 2021 (UTC)
 * The leaderboard and barnstar tables are up; if someone would give 'em out, that would be great. Thanks and all the best,  Mini  apolis  15:50, 2 October 2021 (UTC)
 * Nothing done in two days. Since  has been working on the database report, would either (or both) of you please give out the barnstars? It doesn't take long. Thanks and all the best,  Mini  apolis  19:38, 4 October 2021 (UTC)
 * Going through the list. Thanks for the heads up. — Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 20:16, 4 October 2021 (UTC)
 * ✅. That should be everyone! — Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 20:59, 4 October 2021 (UTC)

September newsletter
Hello fellow coordinators. From what I can tell the quarterly newsletters come out in the middle of the month, so I've tried preparing a mock-up of this month's here before that arrives. Still not finalised yet, as I'm wondering what else should be added on here. Comments very much appreciated. — Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 03:41, 1 September 2021 (UTC)


 * It looks good to me. I noticed that the progress chart hasn't been updated in about a year, when it was being done every quarter. How is that chart constructed? Dhtwiki (talk) 21:47, 1 September 2021 (UTC)
 * I update it from a spreadsheet on my computer. I have updated it. – Jonesey95 (talk) 23:56, 1 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Could I suggest that a general appeal be added to the newsletter inviting those who can to help with the Requests? I would say the waiting time is now well over 30 days, approaching 45. Just a thought. In any event the waiting time of 20 days is clearly no longer the case (and hasn't been for several months), so the Requests page should be updated to reflect that. Just a thought. Twofingered Typist (talk) 17:54, 9 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Bumped up the expected wait time at WikiProject Guild of Copy Editors/Requests/Guidelines. I'm working on the April backlog; participation in this drive seems lukewarm. All the best,  Mini  apolis  01:22, 10 September 2021 (UTC)
 * I'm ambivalent on this: while it would be nice to get more hands on requests (and yes, I myself haven't done any in a while), I worry about the possibility that the quality might go down; it might be worth it for us coordinators to keep an eye out on new copy editors doing requests if we're going this route. — Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 03:03, 10 September 2021 (UTC)
 * We also have the option of eliminating multiple open requests (we now have a limit of two), and probably have informal ways of making potential requesters aware that we are overburdened. I, too, recently haven't been working on requests as much as I have in the past. Dhtwiki (talk) 15:50, 10 September 2021 (UTC)

The middle of the month approaches. If no one has any outstanding comments I'll move the newsletter from my userspace to the September newsletter page. — Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 23:28, 14 September 2021 (UTC)
 * ✅. The newsletter is now in Wikipedia space. Not sure how to use the mailing bot to send it out, though... — Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 05:01, 17 September 2021 (UTC)
 * I can take care of that. Thanks very much, ! All the best,  Mini  apolis  13:07, 17 September 2021 (UTC)
 * When I saw it on my TP, I noticed to my horror that several of the years were 2020 (not 2021). I corrected them on the page, but dunno if I can unsend and resend it.  Mini  apolis  13:31, 17 September 2021 (UTC)
 * FYI, the June and August blitz reports in the newsletter are from 2020. I suspect last year's newsletter was copied but the information wasn't updated or noted as outdated.  You could make a bot request to change all the talk pages. – Reidgreg (talk) 13:38, 17 September 2021 (UTC)
 * This is a bummer. There are many errors in the newsletter. I partially blame myself for having it open in a tab for too long and not looking at it. I think we need to request removal of it from the pages it was delivered to. – Jonesey95 (talk) 14:03, 17 September 2021 (UTC)

, is there a bot capable of a mass revert like this? I seem to remember someone helping me out in my early mass-message days, but don't remember how (or who). I asked for help here. WP:NODEADLINE is good to remember. All the best,  Mini  apolis  14:52, 17 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Ah, my bad. Another user mentioned it on my talk page and it appears to mostly be a year issue. — Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 15:23, 17 September 2021 (UTC)
 * I'm not a bot operator but I've seen this done from mass messages. Jonesey or Baffle may know more.  Basically, you give the bot a list of pages (mailing list) along with search and replace text/code.  Having a bot simply remove it and then resending through mass messages (at a future date when it's ready) may be a better solution, per Jonesey. – Reidgreg (talk) 19:20, 17 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Bot request submitted. I hope I groveled adequately. I have italicized sections of the newsletter that appear to need updating and correcting. – Jonesey95 (talk) 20:39, 17 September 2021 (UTC)
 * ✅ —&thinsp;JJMC89&thinsp; (T·C) 04:28, 18 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Thank you, . – Jonesey95 (talk) 13:53, 18 September 2021 (UTC)

October 2021 blitz
I've set up a page for the October blitz, to run from the 17th to the 23rd and to concentrate on the May (16) and June (148) backlogs, as well as requests (1 August, 34 September, 12 October, excluding those marked as being worked on). Dhtwiki (talk) 18:31, 11 October 2021 (UTC)
 * Sounds good to me. I'll post something on the community portal in a few days. — Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 21:07, 11 October 2021 (UTC)
 * Thanks! If no one's beaten me to it, I'll tweak the ombox. All the best,  Mini  apolis  01:10, 12 October 2021 (UTC)
 * I went and updated the community portal posting. Cheers! — Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 18:20, 14 October 2021 (UTC)

The barnstar table is up; if someone would give them out (there aren't many), that would be great. Guess it's time to start thinking about the November drive. All the best,  Mini  apolis  18:42, 25 October 2021 (UTC)
 * Anybody home? The November drive is scheduled to start in six days. Pinging, and  to please give out the blitz barnstars, or there's not much point in having blitzes.  Mini  apolis  22:27, 26 October 2021 (UTC)
 * I just got my internet back after its being out for five days. I didn't complete my copy edit for the blitz. I'm going to be hard-pressed to do some catching up (I would have credited myself about 3,000 words for what I'd done with my article before my ISP connection crashed). Dhtwiki (talk) 23:32, 26 October 2021 (UTC)
 * Sorry about your internet outage; we don't realize how dependent we are until it's gone All the best,  Mini  apolis  01:23, 27 October 2021 (UTC)
 * The barnstars are all done; gave them out. Thanks for the poke; I missed the initial message from yesterday on my watchlist somehow. – Jonesey95 (talk) 01:26, 27 October 2021 (UTC)
 * As for realizing my dependency on the internet; so true. Even arranging for alternate internet access required internet access. As to barnstars, I gave out all but one barnstar. Jonesey's barnstar to me, his first, which is the one I kept, landed just seconds before I gave myself one, my last. And when I went to publish the check marks of their distribution on the barnstar report page, I had to wonder, when I previewed my changes, how the changes had magically already been done, as Jonesey had just published his markup. Dhtwiki (talk) 05:56, 27 October 2021 (UTC)
 * Apologies. Working six days this week, so I wasn't really checking Wikipedia as much as I normally do. — Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 06:09, 27 October 2021 (UTC)
 * Thanks all, and RL comes first How about the May-June backlogs and Requests for the November drive? May only has three articles left, but they're all long. I won't bother updating the ombox until we have the drive page to link to. All the best,  Mini  apolis  13:29, 27 October 2021 (UTC)
 * The November drive is all set up, I think, after a bit of a kerfuffle that took me a while to figure out. I think we need to include July in the backlog months, which gets us to almost 300 articles. We have routinely handled 200+ and sometimes 300+ articles during our 2021 drives. – Jonesey95 (talk) 16:05, 27 October 2021 (UTC)
 * I agree that July articles should be considered old. The three articles in May probably only needs a day or so to look over each. — Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 07:24, 28 October 2021 (UTC)
 * Update: I've posted the new drive on the community portal. — Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 07:53, 29 October 2021 (UTC)

Colons in headings on the drive page
Every entry on the drive page has a colon at the end of the heading. I assume this is some quirk of the code behind the "Create your article list" button. Is anyone feeling brave enough to look under the hood and see what's happening? Cheers, Tdslk (talk) 01:11, 3 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Fixed this month's page (headings and the input box). The problem seems to originate from this edit to .  The final colon in the diff does not appear necessary.  Since this edit is from April 2020, I'm not sure why it's only become a problem now – maybe I misidentified the problem? – Reidgreg (talk) 01:34, 3 November 2021 (UTC)
 * That colon is absent from the code in – Reidgreg (talk) 01:37, 3 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Strange. Good diagnosis, all. I have removed the colon from the template. – Jonesey95 (talk) 03:00, 3 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Oops, another Baffle_gab cock-up. I'm not sure why I added a colon there. Thanks for removing it.  Baffle☿gab  05:24, 3 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Ah, but you and Jonesey fixed the problem with custom signatures, which takes a lot longer to deal with manually. – Reidgreg (talk) 13:52, 3 November 2021 (UTC)

November drive barnstar table ready
It's here, ready for distribution; I ticked Twofingered Typist's stuff, because I don't think it would be appropriate to disrupt his TP with barnstars. All the best,  Mini  apolis  02:27, 3 December 2021 (UTC)
 * @Miniapolis: Thanks! I can do this sometime tomorrow. — Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 06:19, 3 December 2021 (UTC)
 * I would support giving a final set of barnstars to Twofingered Typist. He earned them. We could put them on his most recent archive page if we wanted to be less disruptive. – Jonesey95 (talk) 17:01, 3 December 2021 (UTC)
 * ✅. I've passed out the barnstars, and left Twofingered Typist's in his December archive. — Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 22:53, 3 December 2021 (UTC)
 * A wonderful idea. Thanks and all the best,  Mini  apolis  02:26, 4 December 2021 (UTC)
 * I agree with giving TfT his barn stars. Should any remark be made about their having been awarded, so they're not so hidden?
 * With regard to my bling, my numbers were way off; and that affected the star I was awarded. I should have received an "old school" (or "league") barn star. Maybe others should be checked (as well as adding check marks to signify that the barn stars have been delivered?). Also, for the past two drives blank lines have been added (via "br" tags) between multiple barn stars. Why is that? Keeping a set of barn stars as one uninterrupted block is what I'm used to and prefer. Dhtwiki (talk) 17:57, 5 December 2021 (UTC)
 * @Dhtwiki: You might need to get to recheck the script. As for the blank lines, that's a consequence of Convenient Discussions that I use on talk pages, which automatically adds   tags with each press of the Enter key. I can get rid of those before sending barnstars to you. — Tenryuu 🐲  ( 💬 • 📝 ) 18:17, 5 December 2021 (UTC)
 * Could it have anything to do with my having included ("Space Launch System" subsection) as a parenthetical comment before the word count in one of my entries? If you cannot configure your talk-page tool to leave out the "break" tags, and if no one else minds them, I'll learn to deal with the added blank lines, which I've manually removed in the past when I copy the templates to my awards page. Dhtwiki (talk) 18:31, 5 December 2021 (UTC)

Parentheticals stop the script; they don't affect the word count.  Mini  apolis  18:47, 5 December 2021 (UTC)
 * An old version of the barnstar script was used to generate the page. There's a newer version that should work.  The problem was something I noticed a few years ago and fixed with Jonesey's assistance.  The old barnstar script checks lines for wordcounts in parentheses going left-to-right, so when it hit the article title Siege of Buda (1849), it used the disambiguator 1849 as the wordcount instead of the proper figure of 11776.  The newer version of the barnstar script checks right-to-left to avoid this problem.  I was kept busy by some other end-of-month stuff and didn't manually check the barnstar page this time. – Reidgreg (talk) 20:51, 5 December 2021 (UTC)
 * P.S.: No other copy edits during the drive had parenthetic numbers in their titles, so Dhtwiki was the only one affected. I adjusted the totals on the barnstar page to match the corrected figures. – Reidgreg (talk) 21:02, 5 December 2021 (UTC)
 * Counting Siege of Buda as 1849 words, rather than 11+k, explains the difference I encountered. Thank you for adjusting the grand totals, which I neglected to do after I changed my individual totals. I also finished leaving check marks to indicate that barnstars have been delivered, after checking that indeed they have. Dhtwiki (talk) 18:49, 6 December 2021 (UTC)

December newsletter
I hurried a draft at WikiProject Guild of Copy Editors/Newsletters/December 2021. Some numbers need to be filled in. Feel free to change things; I hope to get the rest done tomorrow. Oh, assuming a December blitz will be mid-month, around 12–18 December ahead of the holidays. – Reidgreg (talk) 03:16, 5 December 2021 (UTC)
 * Thank you for getting the newsletter started. I made a couple of changes. The dates for the blitz sound fine. Dhtwiki (talk) 18:00, 5 December 2021 (UTC)
 * The blitz dates are good for me too. All the best,  Mini  apolis  18:45, 5 December 2021 (UTC)
 * Thanks Reidgreg, I've added a note about TfT's service as a Guild coordinator, I hope that's acceptable but feel free to remove if you wish. Cheers,  Baffle☿gab  23:00, 5 December 2021 (UTC)
 * Okay, since there seems to be agreement, I set up a page for the December blitz as well. If I'm around and there are no objections, and if no one beats me to it, I'll send out the newsletter and update the Ombox tomorrow (Monday). – Reidgreg (talk) 00:11, 6 December 2021 (UTC)
 * Sent and updated ombox. Luckily noticed at the third preview that I'd forgotten to update the header of the mass message!  No errors reported. – Reidgreg (talk) 15:12, 6 December 2021 (UTC)
 * Thanks for doing that, Reidgreg. — Tenryuu 🐲 ( 💬 • 📝 ) 16:18, 6 December 2021 (UTC)