User talk:Dom497/Archive/January - June 2014

GA recruitment question

Hi Dom, hope you're having a safe and enjoyable New Year. Here's my question: I have a new recruitee (User:ТимофейЛееСуда who has a GA in the queue. Would it be untoward if I use the article as my model review? Thanks, especially for all that you do for the project. Christine (Figureskatingfan) (talk) 18:42, 1 January 2014 (UTC)

@Figureskatingfan: Hey Figureskatingfan! I wouldn't see that as being a problem. If anything, it would actually help the recruitee as they would understand what they did wrong and how to improve in the future.--Dom497 (talk) 03:12, 2 January 2014 (UTC)

I didn't think so, but wanted to make sure. Thanks for the response. Christine (Figureskatingfan) (talk) 05:01, 2 January 2014 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

	The Original Barnstar
	Thank you for organizing the GAN backlog drive! I appreciate your efforts to create and maintain the project pages, and to keep the participants updated on our progress. We wouldn't have successfully reduced the backlog without your help. Edge3 (talk) 04:54, 3 January 2014 (UTC)

Thanks for your help as well! :) --Dom497 (talk) 14:51, 3 January 2014 (UTC)

backlog drive

Thanks for the barnstars! I checked the totals, and it seems that 112 articles were reviewed. Did you arrive at the same conclusion? Edge3 (talk) 05:01, 3 February 2014 (UTC)

@Edge3: I count 116.--Dom497 (talk) 15:32, 3 February 2014 (UTC)

Concerning my pledge the the backlog elimination drive...

...how much do I owe? J Milburn (talk) 11:50, 3 February 2014 (UTC)

@J Milburn: Please see the backlog talk page (I've pinged you there).--Dom497 (talk) 15:39, 3 February 2014 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

		The Good Article Barnstar
		For your diligent efforts in organizing and maintaing the GAN Backlog Drive. It was a fun experience for us all, and very much of it is owed to you. Cheers! — MusikAnimal talk 15:46, 4 February 2014 (UTC)

Thanks!--Dom497 (talk) 19:38, 4 February 2014 (UTC)

Query

Hi Dom497, after a article has became a GA, is there any timespan before I can nominate it for GA?RRD13 (talk) 12:28, 3 March 2014 (UTC)

Sorry to interrupt, but I'm not sure what this question means. If it is a GA, why would you need to nominate it for GA? Unless you mean "FA", in which case, no, there is no time limit. You might want to do some work on it first though. – PeeJay 13:06, 3 March 2014 (UTC)

@Royroydeb and PeeJay2K3: Thanks PeeJay2K3 for replying! RRD13, if your are referring to nominating a GA to FA, there is no timespan. :) --Dom497 (talk) 19:40, 3 March 2014 (UTC)

I am extremely sorry for the mistake. RRD13 (talk) 04:11, 4 March 2014 (UTC)

@Royroydeb: Why are your sorry? We all make mistakes. :) --Dom497 (talk) 20:37, 4 March 2014 (UTC)

List of Kings Island attractions

Heads up on a discussion here regarding the featured list you created. Figured you'd want to comment! --GoneIn60 (talk) 16:12, 14 March 2014 (UTC)

Look at my first GA review?

Hi there. Could you take a look at my first GA review and let me know if everything looks ok? I was using a recent review of Casliber as a template. Thank you! -hugeTim ^(talk) 00:07, 25 March 2014 (UTC)

@Hugetim: I took a quick look at the article and the review and the review looks pretty good (I don't have time to do a full out review). Whenever I review an article, I always put it on hold rather than just failing it. Hopefully, the nominator actually put some effort into getting the article to the GA standard so if there is stuff to fix, I give them the chance to fix it up while they can, rather than failing and the nominator having to wait another 3 months before someone reviews it. Also, remember that when the guidelines say the article should only be on hold for 7 days, you don't really have to follow it. If the nominator is actively working on fixing the problems and is making good progress, let them finish...you won't get in trouble for extending the hold. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask! :)--Dom497 (talk) 11:27, 25 March 2014 (UTC)

Can I change it to a hold now, or is it too late? -hugeTim ^(talk) 12:17, 25 March 2014 (UTC)

It's too late but don't worry about it. :) --Dom497 (talk) 18:46, 25 March 2014 (UTC)

Citing a FAA File

Is there a way to cite a file from the FAA without using a url? The reason I'm asking is because this url has gone dead: [1] and there are no archives of it. The file had some info that I think would be useful to include in an article so I was wondering if it could be used as a reference.--Dom497 (talk) 19:52, 11 April 2014 (UTC)

What's the url that has gone dead? The link to the FAA page on Obstruction Evaluation/Airport Airspace Analysis opens fine for me, but it may be the one you're after is a subpage. Euryalus (talk) 22:16, 11 April 2014 (UTC)

Hello, Dom497. You have new messages at Wikipedia:Help Desk.
Message added — Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 21:32, 11 April 2014 (UTC). You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{Talkback}} or {{Tb}} template.

In general, the question would be: Do you have enough information to allow our readers to look up the source? "There once was an FAA file which confirmed this, but you can't see it because it has since been deleted without leaving a trace" is not a good reference. So if it was the electronic version of some paper document, cite the bibliographical information that allows readers to look up the document: Filing number, name of the organization which filed this document, official title (what kind of filing is this?) and so on. Or try a web archive like the Wayback Machine (http://archive.org/web/). However, I don't think an FAA filing of that kind would be considered more than a primary source and probably not the kind of source preferred for a Featured Article. Huon (talk) 23:10, 11 April 2014 (UTC)

Proposals to remove images

Hey Dom, do you know where the push is coming from for deleting track layout images? A photograph of the track doesn't provide a good replacement, as least to me, since the track can be better seen as a drawing that these images provide. Also, the drawings are more compact providing a unique look at the layout – not something that can be easily seen from a photograph. There are a number of other issues with photographs as well that I won't get into here. A comparable drawing would have to be made in CAD, which is not something I would consider "easily replaced". --GoneIn60 (talk) 19:16, 24 April 2014 (UTC)

@GoneIn60: I nominated it per what has been happening for several years. It's happened with pretty much every roller coaster that has had concept art released. Concept art is uploaded, roller coaster opens and concept art gets deleted. Also, per the deletion criteria: "...illustrates a subject for which a free image might reasonably be found or created that adequately provides the same information, or which could be adequately covered with text alone".

• Like I said, a free image could be found
• Created...like you said is possible but unlikely
• The ride experience section describes the layout pretty well in most roller coaster articles that are well-written, therefore, the image isn't technically needed.

Again, I did this based off what has been done in the past.--Dom497 (talk) 20:54, 24 April 2014 (UTC)

No problem, I was just curious. If this has been the trend, then I won't make a big fuss about it. Thanks! --GoneIn60 (talk) 21:02, 24 April 2014 (UTC)

You've got mail!

Hello, Dom497/Archive. Please check your email; you've got mail!
Message added 12:33, 29 April 2014 (UTC). It may take a few minutes from the time the email is sent for it to show up in your inbox. You can at any time by removing the {{You've got mail}} or {{ygm}} template.

Nikkimaria (talk) 12:33, 29 April 2014 (UTC)

GA

Hello Dom! I noticed that you reviews GA like me. I want to become a GA recruiter, but I must review 15 articles. Do you think it would be appropriate to do a June/July GAN backlog drive? I'll try and recruit some people if you'd like! WooHoo! • Talk to me! 01:05, 8 May 2014 (UTC)

@BrandonWu: I will address this sometime this week (hopefully). :) --Dom497 (talk) 00:24, 12 May 2014 (UTC)

@BrandonWu: Ok, here we go. You probably haven't noticed what has happened over the past 2 drives. Both were a result of me trying to revive the drives. The first drive was a good success (but still not great) and the 2nd drive was an absolute failure. Setting up a drive and figuring out how to run it (rules, how to attract people to participate, etc) isn't easy and setting up each drive did take quite a while to set up. After reviewing the 2 drives I came to the conclusion that the time I spent in running/setting up the drives didn't pay off (in terms that the results weren't the best) and therefore will not be setting up any more drives as I have better things to use my time for. Sorry.--Dom497 (talk) 23:49, 14 May 2014 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Nitro (Adlabs Imagica)

Hi there, I'm pleased to inform you that I've begun reviewing the article Nitro (Adlabs Imagica) you nominated for GA-status according to the criteria. This process may take up to 7 days. Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you might have during this period. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of BrandonWu -- BrandonWu (talk) 01:21, 8 May 2014 (UTC)

GA recruitment

Hey Dom, I've taken a few days to think about "taking over" the Centre from you, but I'm still undecided. I'm such a Libra! ;) Anyway, I think that it's a worthwhile project, with potential to help mentor editors to become better GA reviewers, since as I'm sure you've also noticed, the quality of GA reviews isn't always very high. Personally, I've had mixed results in my experience in the Centre. Sure, there's been editors who have volunteered to be a recruitee and who haven't followed through, and those who wouldn't be good reviewers no matter what you do. Part of the reason for that, I think, is human nature. People don't always know what they're getting into when they volunteer for such an intensive program, on both sides. This kind of program is perfect for me because I like this kind of mentorship, so I'm willing to put up with my recruitees not responding, or having to remind them that it's going on. It's true that I've experienced the same kind of inconsistency and lack of commitment from some folks, but what made it worth it, for me, were the 2-3 gems that responded well and who seemed to learn from it. Also, I gained some real allies and potential help in my own article writing.

I have some ideas about how we can improve upon the program and help other mentors have the same kind of experience I did. Maybe we can make it stricter by imposing more deadlines by setting up bots that if there's no movement on a recruitment page in 10 days, it's automatically closed. Or we can create a newsletter to help participants feel more involved and informed. I also think that mentors need to be educated about the process, and be trained to expect the kind of mixed results that's natural in this type of thing. Even if we had just a handful of mentors committed to the program, it could be successful.

At any rate, I wouldn't want to be the main person coordinating the project, but I would like to work with you or someone else to regenerize the program. I'll definitely need help in setting up bots and how to create a newsletter. Let me know what you think, please! Christine (Figureskatingfan) (talk) 20:30, 9 May 2014 (UTC)

@Figureskatingfan: I am very busy at school right now so I will address this hopefully in the next week. After a quick read-through, I like your view overall but I will discuss further later. Sorry. (oh, and I'm perfectly fine with being co-coordinators with you!)--Dom497 (talk) 22:47, 9 May 2014 (UTC)

I understand, it's that time of year. I'm in no hurry; whenever you can get to this is fine. Good luck with the finals! ;) Christine (Figureskatingfan) (talk) 23:00, 9 May 2014 (UTC)

@Figureskatingfan: Well if you think that, they get ready for the shocker of your life....I'm in Gr. 11! I actually have a seminar, 2 CPT's due, and 3 test all within the 5 days....--Dom497 (talk) 23:06, 9 May 2014 (UTC)

I'm not shocked at all; I remember reading on your user page that you were still in high school. As my dear departed mother would say, "You're such a remarkable young man." ;) Good luck with all your tests! 06:05, 10 May 2014 (UTC)

@Figureskatingfan: Ok, lets get this thing rolling. First question, what are your ideas? Second question, how exactly would having a newsletter have an impact on participants (sorry, I'm not seeing what your seeing). Other than that, I can see where you stand. I do know coding but only Java and not a very complex knowledge of it so me programming a bot is out of the question (we could still probably find another user who can help us it or even integrate it with Legobot). My biggest concern is training recruiters. How are we going to do that? Sure we can put together several scenarios but that's going to take way to much time (time that I don't have). Also, do you think anything is wrong with "The Process" (on the Recruiter Central page)? Finally, until we figure out a "new" program I've updated the banners on the RC page saying that no further recruitments will happen until we come up with revisions.--Dom497 (talk) 23:42, 14 May 2014 (UTC)

I think that we're definitely going to need assistance with the more technical aspects, like setting up bots and a newsletter. We can ask folks who have done similar bots for other projects; I'll research that in the next couple of days. As far as a newsletter is concerned, I suggested it because it's what other projects do, to keep their participants aware of what's happening and to encourage them to continue participating. We can develop the content later, but I'm thinking that it can include "success stories", stats about how many articles are successfully reviewed because of it, and that kind of thing. We wouldn't even need to publish it as regularly as other projects do, at least at first.

Regarding training recruiters: I think that "The Process" as you've set it up is one of the best parts of the project; I found it extremely helpful as a recruiter. I think we could tweak it some though, to make it more clear and improve it more. Again, I can go through what's already there and make suggestions. For example, one thing I'd like to see included is now that we have some experience under our belts, we can explain to both recruiters and recruitees what to expect, like that it's not always going to be successful. Like I said before, I think that this is the kind of thing that will naturally have mixed results, since it's a mentorship situation, and participants should understand that.

Anyway, those are my initial ideas/thoughts, which we can discuss. I'm just starting a period of my summer unemployment, so I have the time to develop much of these ideas. I just don't want to see something like this, with its potential to influence WP and to help the GA review process, go away. If we try and it doesn't work out, we know that it's not feasible here, but I don't think we're at that point yet. I think that this project is the kind of thing that needs the management of it to be more intense, and I'm willing to help provide it, if you're willing to work with me. Oh, I almost forgot: how did your exams go? ;) Christine (Figureskatingfan) (talk) 16:45, 15 May 2014 (UTC)

@Figureskatingfan: I help out with the newsletter (I used to help out with the WP Good Articles one but then my life got busy), it's just a matter of figuring out the content that would be placed in it (and the ideas for it that you listed are good). I'll go over The Process and see if I can come up with any ideas to improve it. Also, remember I'm in Gr. 11, I don't have exams till June! I just had a lot of assignments to finish in such a short period of time!--Dom497 (talk) 20:01, 15 May 2014 (UTC)

Ok, I think one thing I'm going to do is make 2 or 3 versions of the "quiz" that I previously asked recruiters to create. This will make it a bit less stressful on the recruiters side and will ensure consistency. I also think I could make a couple more minor changes. I will create a page under my userspace with an updated "The Process" within the next few days so we can work on it there.--Dom497 (talk) 20:20, 15 May 2014 (UTC)

I'll ask the folks at WP Good Articles for assistance, and then go from there. I have some time tomorrow (got bogged down today with errands and such) to look over The Process and see what improvements I can make. If I get to it before you, I'll go ahead and create a sandbox, if that's okay with you. Regarding the quiz: I'm not sure that we should create versions of it. Firstly, creating your own quiz can be a good exercise for the recruiters as well. Secondly, we don't want the answer key to get out, although I'm sure that if a participant really wanted to cheat and find the answers, he or she could. If we create the quiz, perhaps we can make it available only by request, through email. We could say, "We recommend that you create your own quiz, but if you need assistance and would like a sample quiz, please contact the coordinators through email." I looked at a few other recruiters' quizzes this week, and found a wide variety. My quiz, for example, is fairly easy and is only 7 questions long. I set it up that way because I think all we want to do is to ensure that recruitrees have at least read the GA criteria. Other recruiters had up to 20, but if that's the way they wanted to handle it, that's up to them. Different recruiters will stress different aspects of reviewing articles. Christine (Figureskatingfan) (talk) 22:58, 15 May 2014 (UTC)

@Figureskatingfan: I've set up a sandbox here.--Dom497 (talk) 11:17, 16 May 2014 (UTC)

March 2014 GAN Backlog Drive

Why do you consider it a failure? We got a good number of reviews done. It did coincide with a drive at AfC, which is why I didn't participate, and perhaps that put a damper on the GAN drive's potential. Nonetheless I for one am still happy to donate, just me know the amount and I'll send it over to the WMF. Thanks for your hard work, Dom497! — MusikAnimal ^talk 15:46, 20 May 2014 (UTC)

@MusikAnimal: Well, the point of a backlog drive is to reduce the backlog. By the end of the drive, the backlog was even larger than what was when we started. There is no way this drive was remotely successful. If you really still feel like you should donate, your donation would be $5.30 (US). It's good to see that something I've started is still going on well (I started the AfC backlog drives). And just as an FYI, I will not be planning any further GAN drives...given how the last 2 have turned out, it's just not worth my time.--Dom497 (talk) 00:51, 22 May 2014 (UTC)

I'm sorry you feel that way. I suppose it depends on what you'd consider a success. I saw in both drives that you got people to work together toward a common goal, and many submissions were reviewed that otherwise would have idled for months longer. That to me is a success. Sometimes more submissions come in than can be reviewed, but that's just the utter size of the community we work in. The vandals will never stop vandalizing, and the backlogs will never stop backlogging... it's an endless cycle, and it will never be completed. At any rate, I believe the concept of the AfC/GAN is highly valuable, and I will gladly fill your shoes in organizing future drives. I completely understand if you're on the outs with coordinating them, just know that your efforts did not go unnoticed. Cheers, friend — MusikAnimal ^talk 14:33, 24 May 2014 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Nitro (Adlabs Imagica)

The article Nitro (Adlabs Imagica) you nominated as a good article has passed ; see Talk:Nitro (Adlabs Imagica) for comments about the article. Well done! If the article has not already been on the main page as an "In the news" or "Did you know" item, you can nominate it to appear in Did you know. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of BrandonWu -- BrandonWu (talk) 01:41, 24 May 2014 (UTC)

Precious again

sky loop
Thank you for quality articles for project Amusement Parks, such as SkyLoop and Krake which attracted 8k viewers (DYK?), for reviewing GAs and mentoring, - you are an awesome Wikipedian!

--Gerda Arendt (talk) 07:45, 25 May 2013 (UTC)

A year ago, you were the 495th recipient of my PumpkinSky Prize, --Gerda Arendt (talk) 07:06, 25 May 2014 (UTC)

DYK for Nitro (Adlabs Imagica)

Materialscientist (talk) 05:29, 30 May 2014 (UTC)

Falcon's Fury

To Dom497 In regards to the Falcon's Fury article. Hello, I have noticed that you keep reverting back my changes I have made to the Falcon's Fury article. I understand the first time you did so as I did not properly cite it and you removed it in good faith. However, today I went back and added a new line of information, one that I believe is rather important in the timeline of Falcon's Fury and it's delay, which the last line is regarding a statement from April 28th. The information I entered into the article is real and correct and I am in no way trying to vandalize the article in any shape or form. I want to help out in this part of the community. Please respond back to this message, as I believe we can both benefit if we resolve this properly. Thank you. -WikiUO99 — Preceding unsigned comment added by WikiUO99 (talk • contribs) 00:30, 2 June 2014 (UTC)

@WikiUO99: Hey WikiUO99! I no way was I trying to say that you were vandalizing the article. I did add information regarding the recent press release in the paragraph above a few days ago and I will admit I didn't word it the best. I've re-worded it to make things a bit more clear. Sorry for the confusion. :) --Dom497 (talk) 00:36, 2 June 2014 (UTC)

Template:Did you know nominations/Stony Brook (Fishing Creek)

Hi, please see the note on your DYK review. Yoninah (talk) 23:32, 7 June 2014 (UTC)

A pretty cool fact

One of Canada's Wonderland's Facebook page wall post stated that the Leviathan has the longest single lift hill chains in the world, at approximately 1000 feet. That's pretty cool. ///EuroCarGT 00:17, 8 June 2014 (UTC)

I swear at one point this was mentioned in the article....--Dom497 (talk) 00:46, 10 June 2014 (UTC)

DYK for Skyscraper (roller coaster)

Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 00:04, 14 June 2014 (UTC)