Wikipedia talk:WikiProject QRpedia

Wikimania 2012
We've pitched a session on QRpedia, at the forthcoming Wikimania, in Washington DC. Please add your name to the event page if you'd like to attend. Andy Mabbett ( Pigsonthewing ); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits

Use in churches
Yesterday, I set up the first use of QRpedia in a church, St Paul's Church, Birmingham; you can see pictures on commons The cost of deployment was £0.40 (GBP) - about half a US dollar. It could easily be applied in other historic churches (i.e subjects of Wikipedia article), or those with historical connections (i.e. articles about notable people, events, etc), and similar sites.

As a bonus, we also deployed a QRpedia code in an external noticeboard, for the square in which the church sits - making St Paul's Square the first public square in the world to use QRpedia. Andy Mabbett ( Pigsonthewing ); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 12:14, 24 March 2012 (UTC)

Cemetery display
I'm looking for ideas on how to display QR codes in a cemetery. Obviously, sticking them on the graves wouldn't be the best. Specifically, I've made a very preliminary inquiry to the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, DC. They've got a 35 acre cemetery, not too far from Capitol Hill, with about 300 links in Wikipedia to people buried/memorialized there, mostly from the years 1820-1870. About 50 QR codes could turn the place into an open air encyclopedia of pre-Civil War U.S. History.

But how to display them? I was thinking of some display sign I might have seen in a rose garden once - metal spikes with an angled metal piece attached at the top. Unfortunately, I haven't seen anything like that in the stores or on-line. Maybe a short piece of 4X4 post cut at the correct angle with the QR code on the top - a bit more work, but it shouldn't look too bad. Any other ideas? Smallbones (talk) 03:42, 9 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Two ideas: ask your local botanic gardens for the name of the supplier of their outdoor plant labels; and ask the supplier of memorial plaques for your local "civilian" cemetery for their suggestions. Good luck with your worthwhile project, and please let us know how you get on. It would be great if you could announce progress at Wikimania. Andy Mabbett ( Pigsonthewing ); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 07:41, 9 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Very good ideas. (Troutslap self) I'm off to search in local cemeteries, arboreta, and public gardens. Smallbones (talk) 15:00, 9 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Any news? 07:25, — Preceding unsigned comment added by Victuallers (talk • contribs) 18 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Sorry to say, none at all. I'll be in DC at the beginning of May and will try to follow up in person. Smallbones (talk) 16:37, 20 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Mrs. Smallbones found them. If anybody else is looking for "garden markers" try . There are some very cheap wire versions, and some pretty painted versions (at about $6.50 each). Now that I know how the QR codes can be reasonably displayed, I'll have more confidence going back to the CC folks.  Smallbones (talk) 18:14, 23 April 2012 (UTC)

6 QR codes are now placed in the cemetery for a one month trial. Will send pix. Next time you're near Capitol Hill in Washington, stop by and snap some codes (They'll be checking stats). Smallbones (talk) 22:51, 3 May 2012 (UTC)



Pretty much completed now - 60 codes posted, 25 Wikipedians took a tour of the Cemetery during Wikimania and now a news report onChannel 7 ABC WJLA in Washington at http://wj.la/M7BOUf  Smallbones (talk) 23:52, 17 July 2012 (UTC)

Use of new template
I disagree with the use of this template, and I don't see any discussion anywhere about it's creation or use. Can anyone advise? If anything, it needs to be placed on the talk page, not the main page. I can imagine that many of those who are interested in the quality and look of these articles (which are often Featured) will not appreciate this template on the front page. Thanks for any insight anyone is willing to give. LoriLee (talk) 15:37, 20 April 2012 (UTC)


 * I strongly agree, and moved the tag to the talk page. But the problem is that there is already another QRpedia tag at the top of talk.  I'd say one is enough.  In general I really dislike any tags on the article page (most don't get any results and just languish there looking ugly), but am ok with a few, e.g. the Commonscat template if put down by external links.  Maybe put it down by external links - but probably not.  At a minimum "participator" needs to be changed to "participant."  Smallbones (talk) 16:42, 20 April 2012 (UTC)
 * I also agree and have nominated the template for deletion. Andy Mabbett ( Pigsonthewing ); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 19:33, 20 April 2012 (UTC)

I am who made this template. Just to show a way to connect to the project. It's your turn to continue as you wish, I really didn't want to care of it. I thought the template was at its best place to warn the next editors to the connection with the outside world. (You know, people, on the other side of the window, walking on the street. :-) ) When I change something in an article, I rarely look at the talk page if I don't have a reason to do that. And I thought it would have been a kind of bait for the institutes and others to make new articles and new connections to them everywhere, if they would have seen themselves proudly as new members of a cultural invention. Never mind, on the Hungarian wiki this will work well. Feel free to change this on these pages, it was a suggestion only.

LoriLee, this is the discussion. "Be bold", remember? Greetings. - Orion 8 (talk) 22:36, 20 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Hope we didn't jump on you and bite too hard. Where are you planning on putting the QR's in Budapest?  Parliament? Castle Hill? I'll suggest Margit hid and all the bridges.  All the best.  Smallbones (talk) 21:03, 23 April 2012 (UTC)
 * I do also think than this template should be on the talk page.--Kippelboy (talk) 05:15, 23 April 2012 (UTC)

First use in Australia
Thanks to User:Whiteghost.ink, QRpedia is now in use at Children's Chapel, St James' Church, Sydney. Andy Mabbett ( Pigsonthewing ); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 15:37, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

Mass stats
By July 1, I'll be posting a total of 61 QRpedia codes at the Congressional Cemetery in DC (60 people + 1 for the Cemetery itself). Is there a method of getting stats for the whole group at once? For example, I'd like to be able to go to the QRpedia site above, enter something like "CongCem group" and get basic stats for all 61 codes, plus a total. Would anything like that be possible?

A more modest approach (but perhaps not that useful) might be to put a link to the proper stats page in the talk page article template, e.g. on the John Quincy Adams talk page, the QR template near the top might have a link such as this: QRpedia statistics automatically included.

Smallbones (talk) 14:05, 21 June 2012 (UTC)


 * I've raised a QRpedia bug for the former and created QRpedia article for the latter . Andy Mabbett ( Pigsonthewing ); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 22:42, 18 July 2012 (UTC)
 * QRpedia now has a switch for articles, with a stats link. Andy Mabbett ( Pigsonthewing ); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 14:02, 19 July 2012 (UTC)


 * Thanks. Smallbones (talk) 20:27, 26 July 2012 (UTC)

Moscow and other Russia QR projects
It's a bit odd but the city of Moscow is essentially "borrowing" the QRpedia idea. See the Voice of Russia (quasi-governmental) and listen to the (1 minute segment noted in the text). Also see earlier story My interpretation, the IT dept. for the City of Moscow has seen Monmouthpedia and wants to imitate it by PAINTing QR codes for tourists all over the city. There are some other Russian cities doing this as well. They want to create their own wikis for this (likely to have some control). Still pretty slow going for them, but they could get "instant access" to all cultural sites, if they got the Mayor to say "let's just do it." They do have some potential problems with reinventing the Wiki-QRpedia wheel, bureaucratic mindset, control of expression typically allowed.

I'll likely contact folks at the Moscow article talk page, the Russian Wikipedia, etc. A likely useful strategy might be cooperation along the line "let us put up a couple of dozen codes, and then you can compare how the 2 systems work." Anybody interested in this should contact me. Smallbones (talk) 20:25, 26 July 2012 (UTC)


 * A picture from a Belarussian website is at and they specifically mention Monmouthpedia as the inspiration.
 * And from Moscow News (there should be an English version somewhere) But it is nice to know that the Russian word for Qr code is "kuarkod"  14 codes now posted, most on the main drag Tverskaya Street (maybe like Broadway or 5th Ave.), 200 planned.  The plaque format looks more like what the Moscow City government does. "painted" was a bad translation of "decorated."  Smallbones (talk) 01:25, 27 July 2012 (UTC)
 * It isn't QRpedia, and the principles of work of our goverment doesn't allow us even to suggest to use QRpedia on this stage of the project - because it's preparation began may be before QRpedia beginning, and it's money question for it's participants. Lvova Anastasiya (talk) 08:20, 27 July 2012 (UTC)
 * (and yes, I'm very serious about unpossibility. This project was known for us some months ago and our friends related with goverment were saying that it's too late already. but relax, we'll do QRPedia projects in onther city or town)
 * From the articles it is very clear where the inspiration came from, Monmouthpedia. If it is a question of money to cover costs for the Wikipedians involved, try a grant application at GAC. Piter or maybe a Golden ring city is the next obvious place to look. I understand about the mindset of Russian bureaucrats (and there is some of the same mindset in government officials here). But my first reaction was that Russian bureaucrats couldn't possibly pull this off. Just as an example - they want to recreate a type of Wikipedia just to create the articles to use for the QR codes - isn't that entirely backwards? I'd think that a "Let's pave the way with a demonstration project, and compare results" type of offer might have a chance of working.  Obviously, you'd have to work with the chinovniki.  Another interesting find in looking for info on this - street or sidewalk painting. See here.  All the best. Smallbones (talk) 13:50, 27 July 2012 (UTC)
 * Don't be so wikicentric. The beginning of this project was before Monmouthpedia, and the article may be inspired by it, that's why you're thinking that it's the same, but Monmouthpedia has not only the direct goal 'to give an access to information', and Moscow project is just 'to make Moscow more modern city'. And if any Russian organisation will take money from abroad it will have a lot of problems per new law about 'foreign agents'... We are thinking about some cities/towns, and one day we'll do something, I promice, but it's hard to discuss this idea as smth, that related to Moscow project. Lvova Anastasiya (talk) 17:02, 27 July 2012 (UTC)

Synthetic digital paper
From the sections above you might know that I've been looking for something that is waterproof and easily printed on for outdoor use that will last. Not 100% sure that this is the answer, but you might try Fusion Digital Paper if that is also what you're looking for. According to a local print shop - they'd have to special order the paper at this point, but it's polyester, waterproof, tear proof, can be ordered with a multiuse adhesive back, cut to size, and very roughly $2 per code for a Congressional Cemetery size card. I'll probably get some just to see whether they can last over NE USA winters - my guess is that they can last several years. Smallbones (talk) 20:28, 27 July 2012 (UTC)

QRpedia at the Bartons Arms
QRpedia (linking to eight locally-relevant articles) is now in use at an historic pub in Birmingham, England, The Bartons Arms, a listed (legally protected) building, where Laurel and Hardy once stayed, and even worked behind the bar! Pictures are on Commons.

Translations of the English Wikipedia article would be appreciated, please. Andy Mabbett ( Pigsonthewing ); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 20:21, 1 August 2012 (UTC)

Fremantle, Western Australia
(Further to discussion at Wikipedia talk:GLAM getting started...)

I've been playing with a way of printing a bunch of code/plaques dynamically from a list of articles. See http://freo.org.au/qrpedia/ Of course, it's hardly beautiful doing it in HTML, and tricky to get the printing size correct (works okay when printed at 80% from Firefox); I might re-do as an SVG. Of course, it'll depend on the printing system: Roel mentioned stainless steel as a possibility. There's a few sites that would probably be better with laminated paper though... What have been other people's experiences with this?

Anyway, will report back as things progress! :-)

—Sam Wilson 01:23, 23 August 2012 (UTC)
 * Oh, and I might have a look at generalising it, towards solving feature #11. Would be a useful tool, at least for me. Sam Wilson 22:24, 23 August 2012 (UTC)


 * You should just go for it! Having plain test of "from Wikipedia" on the QRpedia code is not a problem.  The phrase is too simple to be copyrighted, it properly identifies the source, and a "credit line" like this is generally considered to be polite, even where it is not required.  I did run this by those who might be interested for the Congressional Cemetery project.  The WMF lawyers only officially give advice to the WMF, not to users, but they could give us all a general outline of the issues in a format that looks a bit serious.  Somewhere there is an outline of the allowed uses of Wikipedia trademarks, but this doesn't even rise to that level.
 * Have you thought about using the digital synthetic paper I mention about. Really it's just plastic that feels sort of like paper, and you can print one-off copies for a bit more than a xerox copy.  Right now the extra cost is a function of special ordering and special handling, but if it becomes popular, I'd guess the difference would only be in the cost of the paper, likely $0.10 per sheet.
 * BTW, you should try to promote Fremantle, Western Australia to FA or at least GA. And don't forget the famous people buried in the graveyards!  Smallbones( smalltalk ) 18:13, 24 August 2012 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the info! I've gone with the wordmark, and hoping for the best!  Looks like we might be getting help/funding from the local council and other organisations, and I think engraved metal is looking possible.  Although, do you know how weather-resistant the synthetic paper is?  Mainly, I've been playing around with the plaque generator thingie I mentioned above  and it's starting to look OK.  Any opinions?  I've put a link to it under the Template section of this page.
 * Sam Wilson 12:05, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

convenience break
The generator is a good idea. I made 60 codes to print out for the Congressional project - and I should know enough that I could put it into a basic template and they'd stay put and formated correctly. However, it always seemed that I had to reformat slightly with every code and the size was always moving around a line or two this way or that.

I tried two inputs into your generator and don't think either worked correctly, i.e. "John Philip Sousa" (without the quotes) and "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Philip_Sousa"

We should find the material on proper use of the wordmark. See here

BTW, how much to the stainless steel plaques cost? Smallbones( smalltalk ) 17:14, 27 August 2012 (UTC)


 * The trademark policy is pretty complete (and thus formidable) but the key to me here is:
 * "Things You Can Do, a Summary

...here are some of the things that you can do with the Wikimedia Marks that do not require our permission: ...describe your content as "source: Wikipedia" or "derived from Wikimedia free content projects" (or something similar)."

It shouldn't be hard to come up with a general QRpedia standard of use, or a Fremantle standard of use, with WMF agreement, if we really want to go beyond "from Wikipedia". But "from Wikipedia" is so straightforward, so legally pristine, even without the explicit permission given above, that I'll just stick with that until I see what others do. Smallbones( smalltalk ) 17:43, 27 August 2012 (UTC)


 * I've sent an email to the WMF; we'll see what happens. And what a daft mistake on the generator, I made!  Sorry.  Is fixed now; have another crack at it.  And I'll let you know about the printing, when we've got the quotes.  And, we got our little project into the local paper here! I put a note on outreach:QRpedia (not sure about being called an 'IT specialist' though! grr...).  :) Sam Wilson 05:01, 28 August 2012 (UTC)

Does it last outside?
Following up on the Congressional Cemetery QR code project about 9 months later. From above you may remember that I've been concerned about how long the basic inexpensive laminated paper codes will last. They are lasting fairly well - through Hurricane Sandy, a couple of snowstorms, lots of rain and DC humid heat, and most of the DC winter so far. They still work, linking smartphones to articles (I tested this extensively on Saturday), but they clearly won't last forever and a few are looking a bit shabby. My recommendation - replace at least once a year - or use digital synthetic paper (I'll try this in the spring), or - if you really want to spend money for something fancy - the much more expensive ceramic codes. Smallbones( smalltalk ) 22:17, 18 February 2013 (UTC)
 * What about the plastic laminates, meant for outdoor use in gardens, which I showed you at Wikimania? I think the Smithsonian use them for their gardens. UK prices, equate to ~ $5 US each, if you order several different ones. Andy Mabbett ( Pigsonthewing ); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 00:05, 19 February 2013 (UTC)

"Display methods" information update
Hi,

I'm a member of the WMF legal team, and I'd like to ask for some assistance in updating the "display methods" guidelines, (located here). This morning, the legal team posted a blog concerning trademark licensing practices going forward in the context of QR code projects and Wikitowns. Please go here in order to view the post and participate in the blog's discussion. We want to make sure the information offered to those involved in QR code projects is as complete and up-to-date as possible.

Please assist if you can! Rkwon (WMF) (talk) 21:34, 8 March 2013 (UTC)
 * I have added a note to that effect to the guidelines. This is a very bad decision indeed. Andy Mabbett ( Pigsonthewing ); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 21:56, 8 March 2013 (UTC)
 * Thank you very much for your amazingly quick assistance. Rkwon (WMF) (talk) 22:06, 8 March 2013 (UTC)
 * Would you be able to help add a note someplace into the "Display methods" section stating that some of the example QR code photos include the stylized Wikipedia text or trademarked logos and do not reflect recommended WMF practice going forward? It may help to avoid confusion. Rkwon (WMF) (talk) 22:57, 8 March 2013 (UTC)
 * That section is concerned with methods, not content. I think the text I added is unambiguous and adequate. Andy Mabbett ( Pigsonthewing ); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 17:33, 11 March 2013 (UTC)

WMF trademark practices for QR codes and wikitowns
Geoff Brigham has asked me to place this section here as a possible discussion forum for the WMF blog post addressing trademark usage and QR codes. Best, Rkwon (WMF) (talk) 00:04, 9 March 2013 (UTC)
 * It seems this is a matter of expense - and it is currently quite expensive to handle a QRpedia-related TM request. Can you explain a bit more what drives those costs?   Is this a dilemma for all community TM requests, or special to this project?  In each of the areas of 'evaluation', 'drafting', 'negotiation', and 'monitoring' perhaps we can find ways to bring down this frictional cost. – SJ +  22:05, 9 March 2013 (UTC)
 * Hi SJ, thanks for the question. Some points, which hopefully will help answer your question:  (1) As the post indicates, other GLAM projects have been successful with the word mark approach, so we should be careful about creating too much process and bureaucracy around trademarks when their use, beyond the word mark, may not be critical to the success of the project.  (2) The trademark licenses are not with community members: they are with third-parties who often seek to negotiate terms, which takes a tremendous amount of WMF resources.  These parties are often traditional institutions or local government employees not closely familiar with trademark law (unlike our own community, which often is).  They sometimes do not understand Wikimedia and need education, which takes time.  The Monmouth agreement, for example, took 15 hours (conservatively) in back-and-forth negotiations by one of my legal counsel.  This legal counsel has only so many hours in a day, and her other responsibility is defending the content of users in litigation and otherwise (which she does quite successfully).  When she spends time on one responsibility, she has less for the other.  (3)  Once negotiated, WMF has an obligation to monitor those trademarks to ensure they do not fall into misuse or decay, another cost.  (See above photos how such decay is conceivably possible, especially in the Wikitown context.) (4)  For this program to work (unlike other one-off trademark requests), it must be scalable.   As I say, we have a number of examples of successful QR projects with use of our word mark.  The proposed approach allows the projects to go forward without much hinderance or oversight, and their success can always allow us to reconsider.  For example, if it is shown that Wikitowns demonstrate over time a quantifiable significant increase in sustained active editors, that would be a positive consideration in determining how we use our limited resources.  Take care,   Geoffbrigham (talk) 21:55, 11 March 2013 (UTC)

Thanks, Geoff, this is most helpful. Breaking out your points:
 * Necessity and value
 * (1) Use of marks beyond the word.
 * We have never compared the success of projects with just a wordmark to the same projects with visual icons. So we have only gut feelings to go on.   In general markers with visual logos look better: QRpedia_plaque_for_Shire_Hall,_Monmouth.jpg QRpedia_in_Prague_10_1.jpg.  The aesthetic alternative to using the proper marks is to make up a new project-specific mark, as some chapters do.   But this then deprives our Projects of a valuable visible association.
 * It seems to me the value of using a widely recognized mark is the distance at which a passerby makes the connection between what they are seeing and Wikimedia.  This effect is proportional to how central the mark used is to our brand.   If these partnerships enhance our brand - which I maintain they do, in a profound and excellent way, integrating our identity with everyday life, cultural preservation, and the highest quality knowledge curation - then using better-known marks provides more effective enhancement.  (Others may maintain different views.  But the question should be whether risk to the brand from using visual marks outweighs such enhancements.)
 * [(1.5) Instilling a sense of collaboration through word marks]
 * The point about not building needless bureaucracy is a great one, and working without trademarks where that is as good as the alternative is always preferable : if only for the reduced paperwork. One of the advantages of accepting a request by a partner museum to use our marks is the give-and-take of a collaboration in progress -- so to this end, offering a warm and positively-framed agreement to use a [word mark] solution would be welcome to them, even if the agreement is essentially a letter of intent, unrelated to trademark.  We could post such a template along with a formal list of "will allow" / "won't allow".


 * Cost and implementation
 * (2) Negotiating licenses with third parties
 * This makes sense. It also seems like a reasonable expense, in time and money, to pass on to the project organizers.  Some of the ways this could happen:
 * asking project organizers to work with local counsel, based off of WMF-hosted templates and boilerplate, to both educate the third-party and to reach an initial draft agreement that can be presented to WMF counsel
 * setting up a community Brand Committee (or a more focused GLAMME Groupe) to support such projects in planning which marks to use, in what way, whether to propose trademark agreements; and providing a second-pass review of the draft agreements before passing one on to WMF counsel for final review
 * developing a narrowly-defined sublicensing agreement that major chapters can enter into, allowing them to handle final review for non-commercial agreements enabling cross-branding of labels on GLAM exhibits. The uses of such a sublicensing agreement could be reviewed and spot-checked annually by WMF counsel in considering whether or not to renew it for the following year - soft security, but could be designed so as to meet our obligations.
 * (3) Monitoring for consistent quality
 * This also seems like a reasonable expense of time and wording to pass on to the project organizers - perhaps with a clause stating that the WMF as mark-holder also retains access and the ability to spot-check quality and request modifications or removal.
 * Regarding the quality of content used - local community quality control and monitoring seems appropriate, matching the quality measures on the projects themselves.
 * Regarding the placement, visibility, and accessibility of markers - more uniform standards and centralized spot-checking seems appropriate. But this too could be done largely by a central community group, reviewing snapshots by a local team.  Again this could be budgeted into the initial project overhead, or supported by a Brand Committee.
 * (4) Scaling and measuring success
 * I agree that a program supporting co-branded museum labels needs to be scalable. The community of GLAM enthusiasts would be happy to support a system that distributed the overhead.  We simply need a process that can take advantage of their interest and subject-matter expertise.  Measurement of success and outcome is something already handled by local teams.  Though again an element of peer review could be facilitated by a central community committee or group.
 * I don't think that most branding and outreach efforts should measure success in terms of sustained active editors. But it is true that we don't have a process or metrics for evaluating the impact of even obvious brand-partnership wins such as with respected museums and libraries.  Defining such metrics and process would help them become more effective, and could help guide these brand/TM decisions.
 * Regards, – SJ + 09:00, 12 March 2013 (UTC)

UmepediA
Hi everybody,

I just wanted to inform all of you of a project that I have initiated, as a volunteer, called UmepediA. It’s a QRpedia-project that Wikimedia Sverige is aiming to launch in June this year in Umeå, the largest city in the Northern part of Sweden.

Our idea is that the bulk of the project will span from June 2013 to December 2014 and that it will be an integrated part of Umeå 2014 – European Capital of Culture. We hope that the lessons learned will make it easier for other Chapters to include QRpedia-projects in European Capital of Culture cities in their countries.

With around 100,000 inhabitants and a dispersed center Umeå would be a rather large QRpedia city with the problems and opportunities this creates. As Umeå is within the Arctic circle this would also be the coldest and snowiest QRpedia-city ever – an interesting aspect to handle.

Together with two volunteers, User:Mickeno and User:MikaelLindmark, we at WMSE have so far initiated cooperations with Umeå University, Umeå city and the Swedish National Heritage Board that all has stated their will to participate actively. The first workshop to teach university staff how to edit took place about two weeks ago.

We have also been in contact with a number of other organizations, including Västerbottens museum and a regional cooperation organization, that are all very interested in the idea.

The issue at hand is lack of funding and we have so far started to apply for funding from external sources. If we get funding then either myself, or someone else from Wikimedia Sverige's office, will start working to realise this project and help coordinate the effort.

You can use Google translate to read more about the planned project here.

As always, for this to be a success we are dependent on the help from volunteers to help translating articles from Swedish or English to other languages! In preparation for the work on the articles we have created a project on svwp where we plan to list all relevant articles (existing or needed) connected to Umeå's culture (broadly defined). You can find the list here.

We are still in the early planning stages, but I wanted to tell you as soon as possible. I will do my best to answer any questions you might have. Any thoughts or ideas are much welcome!

Regards,

John Andersson (WMSE) (talk) 16:41, 31 March 2013 (UTC)
 * Hello John, this sounds totally wonderful - and a great model for potential future work. Thank you for sharing, and good luck with your project!  Perhaps you can also engage discussions with some engineers and architects to design  some long-lasting cold-resistant markers... –  SJ  +  22:42, 5 April 2013 (UTC)

The New Art Gallery Walsall


QRpedia is now in use at The New Art Gallery Walsall. Andy Mabbett ( Pigsonthewing ); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 09:36, 10 May 2013 (UTC)

QRpedia bug - Apostrophes. HELP!
Something seems to have changed since QRpedia was transferred to Wikimedia UK... Codes for the following articles were generated and printed prior to the project's transfer:


 * Devil's Gap Battery
 * Devil's Gap Road
 * Devil's Gap Footpath
 * Harding's Battery
 * St. Jago's Arch

They worked just fine but that's no longer the case... Common factor? The apostrophe!

The problem seems to be that although the URL for the article is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Jago's_Arch, when it is copy-pasted into QRpedia it displays as https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Jago%27s_Arch and gives you a code for the latter URL. It used to work fine but if you were to scan that code now it returns en.qrwp.org/St._Jago%2527s_Arch, i.e. adding an extra '25' to the URL and this returns an HTTP 400 Bad request.

These codes have been integrated into wider information panels which will be costly to replace, so in an attempt to find a short-term fix I tried to create an in-wiki redirect (St. Jago%2527s Arch), but as you can see it doesn't let me create an article with this title.

Help please! --Gibmetal 77 talk 2 me 23:10, 26 January 2014 (UTC)

Statistics URL?
(Reposting from Template talk:WikiProject QRpedia.) http://qrpedia.org/stats.php seems to not work anymore. Should it be  instead? —Sam Wilson 03:10, 2 July 2014 (UTC)


 * I've changed the URL in the template, and updated the Statistics section of this page. Hope it's okay. Sam Wilson 04:31, 6 September 2014 (UTC)

Comment on the WikiProject X proposal
Hello there! As you may already know, most WikiProjects here on Wikipedia struggle to stay active after they've been founded. I believe there is a lot of potential for WikiProjects to facilitate collaboration across subject areas, so I have submitted a grant proposal with the Wikimedia Foundation for the "WikiProject X" project. WikiProject X will study what makes WikiProjects succeed in retaining editors and then design a prototype WikiProject system that will recruit contributors to WikiProjects and help them run effectively. Please review the proposal here and leave feedback. If you have any questions, you can ask on the proposal page or leave a message on my talk page. Thank you for your time! (Also, sorry about the posting mistake earlier. If someone already moved my message to the talk page, feel free to remove this posting.) Harej (talk) 22:47, 1 October 2014 (UTC)

WikiProject X is live!


Hello everyone!

You may have received a message from me earlier asking you to comment on my WikiProject X proposal. The good news is that WikiProject X is now live! In our first phase, we are focusing on research. At this time, we are looking for people to share their experiences with WikiProjects: good, bad, or neutral. We are also looking for WikiProjects that may be interested in trying out new tools and layouts that will make participating easier and projects easier to maintain. If you or your WikiProject are interested, check us out! Note that this is an opt-in program; no WikiProject will be required to change anything against its wishes. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you!

Note: To receive additional notifications about WikiProject X on this talk page, please add this page to WikiProject X/Newsletter. Otherwise, this will be the last notification sent about WikiProject X.

Harej (talk) 16:56, 14 January 2015 (UTC)

First QRpedia Installation in Karnataka, India
Hi All,

I have Initiated a QRpedia project for Bidar, north-eastern part of Karnataka state in India. In the first phase Bidar and Bidar Fort QR Codes will be displayed in front of the fort with the help of District Administration, Department of Tourism, Government of Karnataka, Bidar Rotary Club

I would require help spreading this word. Is there a meta project or page on which I can keep an update on this activity? Omshivaprakash (talk) 04:12, 10 April 2015 (UTC)
 * I've just seen this; is there an English-language page about the project, to which we can refer people? To answer your question, there's outreach:GLAM/Newsletter; specifically, add to outreach:Creating GLAM/Newsletter/June 2015/Contents/India report. Andy Mabbett ( Pigsonthewing ); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 21:10, 29 June 2015 (UTC)

QRpedia for dummies
Hi. On page http://qrpedia.org/ I've generated a code for Ljubljana, aiming to slovenian article for Ljubljana. It works fine for me on my phone. As soon as I've sent QR to friend in Serbia, he gets error. What should I do in order that he gets choice of articles about Ljubljana in different languages?--ModriDirkac (talk) 08:53, 23 June 2015 (UTC)
 * What error does he get? What phone/ operating system / QR reader app is he using, and does his phone support the relevant language? Can someone else in his locality and using his language try, on a different phone? Andy Mabbett ( Pigsonthewing ); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 21:06, 29 June 2015 (UTC)
 * He gets error that page doesn't exist. He's using Android in different language as I am (i use Slovene, he uses Serbian). Ljubljana exists in both languages. What is wrong? Should he use some specific application? :S--ModriDirkac (talk) 14:38, 30 June 2015 (UTC)

Possible resolutions for QR links in article namespace (and maybe all namespaces)

 * (This is not a response to Deryck C.'s inquiry, but rather my two cents on a follow up for the response to my "delete" comment.) First off, since I now better understand how the "QR" system works after doing a bit of research, thanks for any work that goes into maintaining the functionality of the QR system, since I can only imagine how complicated and time-consuming that must be. Anyways, with that being said ... Even though you have deleted the redirects, I still stick by my "delete" vote regardless, but I have a reason which I hope you can understand and/or appreciate, just as I now appreciate the QR system. In a nutshell, IMO, external links to a redirect in the article space, even by a tool as helpful as the QR system, should never be a reason to keep a redirect that is confusing and unlikely to be searched by readers who use either the main web version, mobile version, or app version of Wikipedia. What I'm getting at is this: If these redirect were to be kept due to the external links, who's not to say that any random redirect should be kept just because it represents a QR code? For example, image that a redirect titled Ghzhnxdhbbhgsr should be kept just for the fact alone that it is a redirect that targets George Washington and it happens to be the title that the QR system uses to redirect users of the QR system to that article. Basically, it's nonsense. I don't know how involved you are with the QR program, but I have a couple of suggestions to better improve the compatibility of the QR system, assuming neither one of these options has been considered already:
 * Proposing a new namespace be created exclusively for redirects which utilize the QR system, or
 * Finding some way to integrate the QR system into Wikidata.
 * Gnangarra, I assume that the "Wikidata" may have already been considered in the past, or maybe is already active since that would probably be the first option I would consider. Anyways, I hope that this clarifies what I meant in my "delete" comment and hopefully helps the QR program somehow. (...Considering that I have absolutely no idea how to even start a consensus-based discussion to implement either one of my suggestions since I don't know what's going on behind-the-scenes with QR that I done even know about.) Anyways, cheers! Steel1943  (talk) 19:30, 16 November 2016 (UTC)

Dear project participants,

The collapsed comment above is in regards to some redirects in the "Article" namespace which, in my opinion, had no encyclopedic value as search terms, but either have or had incoming links from the QRpedia system. The discussion I'm referencing can be found at Redirects for discussion/Log/2016 November 15. To reference my main point in the collapsed discussion in a nutshell, I don't believe that redirects with titles in the "Article" namespace that have no encyclopedic value as search terms to users of Wikipedia via a computer, mobile or the app should be retained just for the fact that it has an incoming QRpedia link. (For an extreme example, let's say that Jahhshjfvhfshbgjfchg would be kept as a redirect to Chicago for the lone fact that it has a QRpedia connection. Basically, the redirect is nonsense as a search term.) I propose a couple of possible resolutions that could provide a long-term solution to the QRpedia project, assuming that neither have been implemented or have been considered in the past: From what I see about the QR system and the history on WikiProject QRpedia, I noticed that this project was created in 2011, possibly in line with the creation of the QRpedia linking system through Wikipedia. Since if I recall, Wikidata didn't go live until 2012, I assume that this option may have never been considered due to it being launched after this project. Anyways, I think that either one of my propositions could provide a long-term solution to the project as a whole to prevent issues in the future with QR links being broken due to linked titles being deleted from Wikipedia. (Also, I assume that there is a lot about QR that I don't understand, and now that I know about its existence, I'm willingness mg to help out in whatever capacity I can.) Either way. I am pretty sure that converting all existing QR links to either one of my proposed solutions would probably be a Herculean task, but the task is probably necessary at this point. Steel1943 (talk) 20:05, 16 November 2016 (UTC)
 * 1) Proposing a new namespace be created exclusively for redirects which utilize the QR system, or
 * 2) Finding some way to integrate the QR system into Wikidata.
 * Also, want/need to declare that I do understand possible fixes of the such may have an actual monetary cost issue (as referenced in Redirects for discussion/Log/2016 November 15; $250?? Wow, but I see why), so I'm willing to brainstorm ideas to come up with alternative (and probably temporary) solutions in lieu of having to immediately replace the mediums on which the QR codes are printed. Steel1943  (talk) 20:26, 16 November 2016 (UTC)

Proposal for template identifying QR-linked redirects
I suggest that redirects from QR codes should be kept while there is QR code/plaque pointing to them. It's a specific instance of WP:RFD 4 "You risk breaking incoming ... links", so I propose we should: This is a reiteration of the same suggestion at WT:WA, Redirects for discussion/Log/2016 November 15, Wikipedia talk:Redirects for discussion/Log/2016 November 15 Mitch Ames (talk) 00:13, 17 November 2016 (UTC)
 * Create a template to put on such redirect pages (not the redirect's talk page) saying something like "this page is the target of a QR code, please don't delete it", with an parameter to state where the QR code is (so that the QR code's continued existence, and thus the need for the redirect can be verified). Putting a notice on the redirect ought not be a problem, because readers don't normally see them, but editors would when proposing to delete it - and we already put similar things on redirect pages, eg R from move.
 * Add something to WP:RFD saying something like "if the redirect is target of a QR code, add the template this-redirect-is-QR-code-target to the redirect page (not the redirect's talk page)".
 * This could be great for a temporary solution (considering I understand that these codes are printed on possibly-expensive mediums), but it's not a permanent one. In the eyes of search terms, an unhelpful search term is still an unhelpful search term no matter how it's tagged. Doing either one of the options I mentioned above essentially prevents this issue from ever happening. (I think the better option of the two I presented may be to integrate these into Wikidata; this could also make it a lot easier to access articles in different languages since they are linked directly to Wikidata, and I wonder if there's a way to forward existing codes to pull information from Wikidata and correlate them to the correct language.) Steel1943  (talk) 00:44, 17 November 2016 (UTC)
 * Either way, that idea with the template is a good start. I support the template being created, but it probably should be titled R from QR code to correlate with existing WP:RCAT template names and categories. Also, does such a category exist yet? If not, it will need to be created as well. Steel1943  (talk) 00:46, 17 November 2016 (UTC)
 * ... but it probably should be titled R from QR code ... — Agreed. The name I used was just a placeholder for the purpose of the sample WP:RFD text. Mitch Ames (talk) 01:10, 17 November 2016 (UTC)
 * Agree mostly, with a semantic quibble. R for QR code would be better, since the QR code uses the redirect, but isn't the redirect itself. (No objections to the "from QR code" redirecting there, since that "R from" is the more usual language.) --BDD (talk) 18:19, 18 November 2016 (UTC)

A new newsletter directory is out!
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Requested move at Talk:Venkateshvara
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