Wikipedia talk:Wikipedia Signpost/Newsroom/Archive 16

Newsroom discussions prior to May 2018 are archived at WT:POST.

Published
I've run the publishing script and it seems to have delivered with no errors. Do let me know if that's not the case. Thanks to everyone who helped out! (Also, somebody else needs to message the mailing list and post on to twitter and similar, because those require accounts I do not have. Cheers, Eddie891 Talk Work 20:14, 31 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Looks good I'll do a couple of checks. Thanks. Smallbones( smalltalk ) 20:16, 31 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Not a problem, but was checking the global delivery, and it seems to still describe The Signpost as weekly. Wherever the template for that is, it may be worth changing to monthly. Eddie891 Talk Work 20:23, 31 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Thanks for everything today, I think we have several "this week's" still hiding around HaeB mentioned a missing single page edition. Smallbones( smalltalk ) 21:48, 31 January 2021 (UTC)

Glitch in single-page edition
Too much content again! See WT: Wikipedia Signpost, we have a workaround. ☆ Bri (talk) 05:02, 1 February 2021 (UTC)

Thanks to everybody
It looks like a great issue. We'll let the readers decide, but barnstars all around! (give me a few days). Smallbones( smalltalk ) 21:48, 31 January 2021 (UTC)

Reader feedback
All: You can use the link above to monitor feedback on the January 31 issue. ☆ Bri (talk) 22:19, 31 January 2021 (UTC)

Pageviews by issue

 * Nov 1 issue 9 articles 2 articles 4,881 4th day; 6,345 7th day; 7,779 14th day; 8,961 21st day; 9,883 28th day;
 * November 29, 2020 issue 3 articles 8 articles 4th day 6,970; 7th day 9,297; 14th day 21,842; 21st day 26,609; 28th day 33,040.
 * December 28, 2020 issue 1st 6 articles remaining 6  4th day 4,943; 7th day 6,186; 14th day 7,???; 21st day 8,886; 28th day 9,757; 35th day 10,647.


 * January 31, 2021 issue 7 articles 6 articles 1st day 1,823; 2nd day 4,601; 3rd day 4,745; 5th day 7,178; 7th day 8,090; 14th day 9,559;

Thank you everyone
I just waded my way through the whole thing. OK, I confess I skimmed a few parts but with the year-end wrap-up it was kind of long.

I'm glad I read it, especially the top-50 report at the end.

Note to the editor-in-charge: If there's any author royalties for the Seuss piece coming my way, please donate them to the Wikimedia Foundation of your choice. That way I don't have to mess with this paperwork. davidwr/ (talk)/(contribs)  23:15, 31 January 2021 (UTC)


 * A tendency for  the articles to  be a tad long causing  me, an otherwise dedicated Signpost reader to  scan through  a lot  of it.  Naturally those responsible for its publication  have become hyper cautious to  avoid any emotion-stirring  content thus leaving  the magazine style abandoned in  favour of long, dry  reports. Much Kudos to  the two  in  charge for keeping  it  going though. Naturally there is always my dislike of the publication  being constantly  used as a permanent platform for the WMF which  already  has more than enough web sites, blogs, and other self-aggrandizing  Internet  presence, which talk a lot  but  don't really  say  much.


 * That said, today's important announcement by  a WMF staff may or may not  come as a surprise, but  was deliberately or unintentionally  engineered to  escape mention  in  this month's magazine (actually the WMF probably  doesn't  give two  hoots for  The Signpost and it's possible that  the majority  of its 300+ employees have never heard of it). Doubtless next  month's issue will nevertheless have something  to  say  on  the subject but  by  then it  will  be old news. I  can only  hope that  the job title  for  the next incumbent  will  more accurately  reflect  the actual  job  description and that in  the future the position will reflect  more pro-active 'executive' engagement  towards the volunteer communities and their needs. Whilst  I  have no  doubt  that  the outgoing title holder has been an excellent  ambassador for the Foundation  as a 'socio-political  movement', I  feel that  more truly  factory-floor focused top  management is required for what  is -  or was when I  joined it -  a collection  of encyclopedias. Certainly  the travel  restrictions due to  COVID-19 have rendered the job somewhat  less appealing, but 4 or 5 years in  it would permit  almost  any  normal  mortal to  take a couple of years off or even an early  retirement. Kudpung กุดผึ้ง (talk) 02:01, 5 February 2021 (UTC)

Sunday Publication
It looks like we'll have 8 or 9 articles. Copyediting help always appreciated. BTW this is the 24th monthly issue since I started as EiC (Bri filled in for a couple issues), so let's call it an even two years. Smallbones( smalltalk ) 02:15, 26 February 2021 (UTC)

Flower image and sample code
Two issues with this item. Rgds ☆ Bri (talk) 17:54, 26 February 2021 (UTC)
 * 1) I think I found the sample code on github (2012) or Stack Overflow (2013) that the phabricator ticket implies an unnamed app developer used. Should we refer to it in the writeup?
 * 2) Our readers will probably figure out who the unnamed app developer is. The folks who worked on the phabricator ticket seem to have gone out of their way not to name them. The story appears to have attracted fairly wide interest in the developer community and we should prepare for them to be outed in our reader comments. Is there anything we should do prior to this outing?
 * See Wikipedia Signpost/Next issue/In the media 5th story down.
 * OK, I thought it was quite an interesting story, but when I went to write it up, I found that I knew nothing about what was really going on - just not a techie I guess. I don't want to "expose" anybody here or break the servers or anything like that. BTW should we link to the pageviews - that goes really slowly. any ideas or feedback?
 * Smallbones( smalltalk ) 02:20, 27 February 2021 (UTC)

Traffic report
I think we should have a discussion about whether we should publish an image of a naked dead woman's body in the traffic report (Death of Elisa Lam, February 7 to 13). ☆ Bri (talk) 22:16, 27 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Thanks for catching this. I guess I don't look at the pix closely enough. It's not the real pic - but a man in India. Based on the article text as well - 2 factors are off. On that alone, we should change it and not bother with the other issues. What to change it to? The only other non-video, non-fair use pic looks like the one for the hotel. The blood splotch one also used on the TR page looks unrelated to me, but may be we'll leave it, Smallbones( smalltalk ) 00:17, 28 February 2021 (UTC)
 * I changed just the one pic in the tank. Let me know if anybody objects. Smallbones( smalltalk ) 00:22, 28 February 2021 (UTC)
 * I put that in the Top 25 as a Commons replacement for a drowning picture in the first place, no problem in putting a less contentious image. Let's just think of a title, specially as the Signpost is supposed to get out before tomorrow's report is done (which forced me to put a January list instead of a February one). igordebraga ≠ 01:27, 28 February 2021 (UTC)
 * What kind of title and blurb would you like? My best is "What's the Rush? Anna Howard Shaw Day?" which isn't any good. We're pretty much ready to go otherwise. Smallbones( smalltalk ) 01:42, 28 February 2021 (UTC)
 * You might have notice I have a thing for song lyrics, but even then I'm struggling. Put a song about death that is hard to put as the "Deaths in 2021" write-up that also conveys how since last March our lives have been, well, as an entry outside the Top 10 said: ' Thanks to the movie, most people in the world probably think Groundhog Day involves doing the same thing over and over again, but they're wrong; that's called "living during the COVID-19 lockdown".' igordebraga ≠ 02:15, 28 February 2021 (UTC)
 * I'm kind of drawn to Jewish space lasers. Anything outside the usual celebs and routine death. ☆ Bri (talk) 02:40, 28 February 2021 (UTC)

OK Bri - no Jewish space lasers - people might misunderstand and think we are the crazy folks. , you're elected (for every month!) "Does it almost feel like you've been here before?" for the title is fine, and it even makes sense with my blurb! "Watching the Super Bowl at the Cecil?" And then you realize that there probably are people who meet at the Cecil every year to watch the Super Bowl! Pure genius! (irony) Then there is my favorite song about death from John Prine. Smallbones( smalltalk ) 03:29, 28 February 2021 (UTC)

Timer reset, minor issues
I've added an hour to the timer (which was the time I originally planned to publish) which is 2 hours 10 minutes from now.
 * In an hour or so, could somebody copyedit news and notes - there will be an addition to the top story.
 * In the disinformation report, I'm considering adding a final paragraph, which might be considered editorializing. Nygard's new lawyer announced yesterday a new bail proposal, dependent on him being monitored for not harassing people online. I really want to mention that that should include on Wikipedia.
 * For the Flower pic in In the media, we might as well just say "We don't know where rhe 90 million pageviews per day came from.

Advice anf copyediting appreciated. Smallbones( smalltalk ) 18:49, 28 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Except WMF staff do know where the pageviews came from ... they did some forensics to determine it, contacted the developer via DM, the developer patched their code, and the problem went away. ☆ Bri (talk) 18:58, 28 February 2021 (UTC)
 * So how do we report it without causing further problems? just take it out? Or using your words above? Smallbones( smalltalk ) 19:05, 28 February 2021 (UTC)

and all copyeditors. Smallbones( smalltalk ) 19:05, 28 February 2021 (UTC)
 * I'm around and will check in periodically. Kinda busy with RL, but can drop it when the time comes to publish. Planning for 4:00 pm or have things changed? Eddie891 Talk Work 19:47, 28 February 2021 (UTC)
 * $, 4:20 Smallbones( smalltalk ) 19:50, 28 February 2021 (UTC)

Give me 20 minutes to be ready to publish
Somebody other than me should still CE the N&N paragraph recently added. Smallbones( smalltalk ) 21:02, 28 February 2021 (UTC)
 * On standby-- Not familiar with the context of the report mentioned in N&N, so not the person to sign off on it. Eddie891 Talk Work 21:12, 28 February 2021 (UTC)

Let's publish!
All ready. Let's go! Publishing time.

Back in 5 minutes (by tradition).

Smallbones( smalltalk ) 21:19, 28 February 2021 (UTC)
 * on it Eddie891 Talk Work 21:19, 28 February 2021 (UTC)