Many thanks to User:Binksternet and User:Malcolm, among others, from whom I "liberated" a large amount of the HTML on my user pages (since I only know how to code in BASIC, Turing and Alcorn 8-bit).
Hello and welcome to this, the first ever edition of the WikiProject Stagecraft Newsletter! If you haven't been over to the WikiProject page lately then you're missing out - the whole thing has undergone a complete makeover - see below for more info!
On top of this, we have brand spanking new templates (such as this one) and a completely revamped Collaboration of the Month - again, see below for more info on all of this.
Finally, a warning - the new-look WikiProject is still having the finishing touches put on it. If you find something that doesn't work, you don't agree with or is just plain missing, please don't hesitate to let us know on the WikiProject's talk page. We'll try our very best to fix ASAP!
New Look
As mentioned above, the WikiProject has recently undergone a spring-clean and we're excited about it! If you don't mind - we'd like to take this opportunity to explain some of the features and generally show off about it a little.
Colour scheme All pages on the WikiProject now use two consistent shades of blue as part of the new streamlined interface (Those techies amongst us may wish to know that the precise names of the colours we use are: "lightblue" for headings and "#c0e0e0" for backgrounds).
Navigation Menu Every page on the WikiProject now has the official WikiProject navigation menu so you can easily flick between pages and get back to the main project page. Say goodbye to clicking the back button several times!
To Do list/Open Tasks If you're stuck on what to do to help us then a list of the most important tasks is now available on the main page. At the moment, the list is looking a little short so if you have found something that you think ought to be added, then feel free to edit the list and let us know. Please refrain from linking to a specific article that generally needs an overall update. Single articles like this should be nominated for a future Collaboration of The Month - see below.
Templates
All of the project's templates are now arranged in one handy page. Whilst we were going through we also noticed one was missing. We have now added the new template in the form of:
{{WPStagecraftWelcome}} - a welcome tag to be placed on the talk page of a new user.
{{WPStagecraft Newsletter}} - the template containing the latest edition of the WikiProject Newsletter (you're looking at it now!)
Collaboration of the Month
Ok, so this isn't exactly a new feature. It's always been there but has never really been updated on a, ahem, monthly basis. The Collaboration of the Month (COTM) is now in template form to enable it to be streamlined across the Project, without having to be manually updated on each page. Don't worry if we've lost you at this point - the point is, it works! You can now nominate an article for COTM on the COTM page.
The more sharp-eyed amongst you may well have noticed that the COTM at the moment is still that old fella, Stage lighting. That's because no-one has nominated a COTM for this month (being a new feature an' all...) so we've decided to leave it as it is for this month until a new one has been democratically voted for.
And finally...
Thanks very much for reading down this far - hopefully future newsletters won't be this long! Please, if you can, invite new members and drop us a line over at the talk page to let us know what you think of the new look/newsletter and any suggestions you may have.
You have received this newsletter because your name is on the list of Participants on the WikiProject page. If (like most of the old WikiProject) this information is out of date and you no longer wish to receive the newsletter, please remove your name from the Participants list and also click here to stop receiving the newsletter.
To stop receiving this newsletter, or to receive it in a different format, please let us know here. To view previous editions of the newsletter, click here. If you have any news or any announcements to be broadcast, do let us know on the talk page.
This user has been on Wikipedia for 16 years, 9 months and 26 days.
Sparky's Law: "The amount of aggravation a security guard gives you is inversely proportional to their actual authority."
Sparky's Second Law: "When they say 'Aim Away From Face', they ain't kidding..."
"It's always better to be a pessimist than a optimist. Optimists are always either right, or disappointed. Pessimists are always either right, or pleasantly surprised."
Even the most widely accepted, readily verifiable, intrinsic facts about the universe won't disabuse some people of their opinions. [citation needed]