User talk:The Wordsmith
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Contentious Topics awareness templates
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A TARDIS for you
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A rouge TARDIS (or the closest thing I could find on Commons), for having made a closure so Rouge that its effects travelled through time and were being challenged before you even issued it. . . . But to be serious, I appreciate that you undertook to close, and closed so thoughtfully, such a large and complex discussion even as it was getting international attention and pushback. Someone had to do it; the discussion was open for so long as to suggest no-one wanted to do it; I appreciate you doing it. -sche (talk) 16:08, 21 June 2024 (UTC) |
- @-sche, CommunityNotesContributor, Chetsford, and Starship.paint: Thank you for the kind words, I'm just glad the discussion is finished and we can move on (at least until the next challenge). I'm sure co-closers Tamzin and Theleekycauldron feel the same way. If you've got any recommendations for something more fun to read than that RFC (admittedly not a high bar) I could use a palate cleanser. Otherwise I think I'll pick up The Hobbit again. The WordsmithTalk to me 18:53, 21 June 2024 (UTC)
- The Hobbit sounds like a great palate cleanser! I was reading his Sea-Bell the other day and learning about the neat words Tolkien coined or resurrected in that and other writings (which might interest you, as a wordsmith, if you don't know them already), like ruel-bone and wikt:eucatastrophe. :o -sche (talk) 21:55, 21 June 2024 (UTC)
- You are welcome, the Wordsmith.... Project Hail Mary. starship.paint (RUN) 01:48, 22 June 2024 (UTC)
- Thanks, I just bought it for my Kindle. The WordsmithTalk to me 00:12, 23 June 2024 (UTC)
- @Starship.paint: Thanks for the recommendation, it made excellent beach/pool-side reading. I haven't finished it yet, but I hope to sometime this weekend. The WordsmithTalk to me 18:29, 31 July 2024 (UTC)
- You’re welcome! Interesting to have ‘horror’ story reading at the beach! starship.paint (RUN) 05:09, 1 August 2024 (UTC)
- @Starship.paint: Thanks for the recommendation, it made excellent beach/pool-side reading. I haven't finished it yet, but I hope to sometime this weekend. The WordsmithTalk to me 18:29, 31 July 2024 (UTC)
- Thanks, I just bought it for my Kindle. The WordsmithTalk to me 00:12, 23 June 2024 (UTC)
- You are welcome, the Wordsmith.... Project Hail Mary. starship.paint (RUN) 01:48, 22 June 2024 (UTC)
A barnstar for you!
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The Admin's Barnstar |
Thanks for all the work you've done at SPI the past couple days! Callanecc (talk • contribs • logs) 02:52, 13 July 2024 (UTC) |
Question
[edit]Hey, I have a special interest in improving articles with the 'written with advertisement like language' tag, or similar tags, especially corporate articles written in business talk instead of encyclopedic language. Do you know how I can find a list of such articles, or if there is a wikiproject focused on that? JoeJShmo💌 23:33, 15 July 2024 (UTC)
- (talk page stalker) As far as I'm aware, there isn't a WikiProject dedicated to that specifically, but Category:Articles with a promotional tone sounds like what you're looking for. There's 22,000 articles in the category so you shouldn't have a lack of things to do. Clovermoss🍀 (talk) 00:02, 16 July 2024 (UTC)
- Thanks! Maybe I'll make a wikiproject eventually ;) JoeJShmo💌 19:32, 16 July 2024 (UTC)
- Just to clarify, there is WikiProject Cleanup that might be of interest though it doesn't focus specifically on promotional articles. The WordsmithTalk to me 19:39, 16 July 2024 (UTC)
- Thanks! Maybe I'll make a wikiproject eventually ;) JoeJShmo💌 19:32, 16 July 2024 (UTC)
- That sounds like a great idea, and Clovermoss is right about that category. Fixing promotional articles is a great way to dive in and make a difference. The WordsmithTalk to me 18:18, 16 July 2024 (UTC)
The Signpost: 22 July 2024
[edit]- Discussion report: Internet users flock to Wikipedia to debate its image policy over Trump raised-fist photo
- News and notes: Wikimedia community votes to ratify Movement Charter; Wikimedia Foundation opposes ratification
- Obituary: JamesR
- Crossword: Vaguely bird-shaped crossword
policy question
[edit]Hey wordsmith. Hope all is well. I have a question relating to a case I'm involved in. Can a topic ban ever be justified because of a perceived lack of experience and/or policy knowledge? Per ARBPIA, an editor must be EC to edit in certain topics, however, is it up to an admin to determine, even after an editor reached EC, whether that editor has enough experience to be able to edit in that topic? JoeJShmo💌 21:35, 22 July 2024 (UTC)
- I've just gotten back from a vacation, but it seems like this issue was hashed out elsewhere. The WordsmithTalk to me 18:27, 31 July 2024 (UTC)
Sockpuppetry
[edit]Hi, about this SPI case you handled: Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/PakistanHistorian/Archive#24 June 2024. You had temp blocked 2407:D000:F:0:0:0:0:0/48, 92.40.0.0/16 (?) but these still appear to be quite active with the sock network and disrupting quite a lot of pages. Can the block be extended here again?
Thanks Gotitbro (talk) 13:29, 5 August 2024 (UTC)
- Can you share a few examples of the disruptive edits from this range after the block expired? I'll check to see if there would be any collateral damage, too. The WordsmithTalk to me 15:54, 5 August 2024 (UTC)
- Well here is the latest one (needs PP for socking), mere hours after a previous IP sock was reverted. Others that I recently reverted include [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8]. [Most of the recent edits from 2407:D000:F:0:0:0:0:0/48 are from the sock network.]
- From the 92.40.194.0/23 range, these include: [9], [10], [11], [12]. The 'census update' edits from the range are also likely the same sock. Gotitbro (talk) 07:29, 6 August 2024 (UTC)
- I'm not seeing much risk in blocking the IPv6 range for a longer time, so I'll softblock that one. For the IPv4, it looks like there would be a ton of collateral damage there so it would be a bad idea to block the whole thing. What I can do instead is break it into smaller ranges that exclude most of the legitimate edits, I can do Special:Contributions/92.40.194.0/25 and Special:Contributions/92.40.195.0/24. The WordsmithTalk to me 15:53, 7 August 2024 (UTC)
Administrators' newsletter – August 2024
[edit]News and updates for administrators from the past month (July 2024).
- Global blocks may now target accounts as well as IP's. Administrators may locally unblock when appropriate.
- Users wishing to permanently leave may now request "vanishing" via Special:GlobalVanishRequest. Processed requests will result in the user being renamed, their recovery email being removed, and their account being globally locked.
- The Arbitration Committee appointed the following administrators to the conflict of interest volunteer response team: Bilby, Extraordinary Writ
Question regarding SPI
[edit]Hi, I see that you've noted that sockpuppetry was a strong possibility in the recent report of AraxesTheThief, but without technical evidence (as CU was declined), you can't be confident to place a block. Can I rerequest CU on that basis, as declining it may potentially let long-term sockpuppetry pass, which you've noted as a strong possibility? Aintabli (talk) 06:27, 9 August 2024 (UTC)
- Unfortunately that's not possible. All the known socks are already stale, so the Checkuser tool won't be able to provide any evidence which is why they already declined it. If there's future sock-like activity from that account or others, a new SPI can be opened and the new behavioral evidence can be evaluated as well. Or if their edits are disruptive, that can be handled through the normal channels. The WordsmithTalk to me 13:22, 9 August 2024 (UTC)
- Oh okay. We'll have to wait and see then. Thank you for the explanation. It wasn't clear to me that CU wouldn't be useful either way. Wish you a great Friyay. Aintabli (talk) 13:59, 9 August 2024 (UTC)
- Sadly the Checkuser tool is more limited than a lot of people think it is. Unless there's another account to compare it to that's edited en.wiki in the last 90 days, the tool is unlikely to show anything except maybe sleepers. After 90 days, IP data for logged-in accounts is generally discarded by WMF policy. For those, behavioral evidence is all we have to go on and we need to be confident in our findings to avoid blocking an innocent editor. Sometimes that unfortunately will result in illegitimate users avoiding blocks, but in my experience they often slip up and give us enough evidence to block sooner or later. The WordsmithTalk to me 15:31, 9 August 2024 (UTC)
- Oh okay. We'll have to wait and see then. Thank you for the explanation. It wasn't clear to me that CU wouldn't be useful either way. Wish you a great Friyay. Aintabli (talk) 13:59, 9 August 2024 (UTC)
Wisdom-inc
[edit]Thanks for closing the Wisdom-inc SPI. He is still active today on one of the reported IP ranges - Special:Contributions/143.58.176.0/24 10mmsocket (talk) 21:09, 10 August 2024 (UTC)
Thomas Hope
[edit]I am happy to see you changed Great Britain into US. A foolish mistake by a nitwit.Taksen (talk) 05:55, 11 August 2024 (UTC) Perhaps you can change born in 1704 very childish.Taksen (talk) 05:59, 11 August 2024 (UTC) Also the category 1799 deaths is a mistake.Taksen (talk) 06:03, 11 August 2024 (UTC)
- I have no idea what this is about. The WordsmithTalk to me 20:03, 12 August 2024 (UTC)
Sorry, it is about Thomas Hope (banker, born 1704).Taksen (talk) 08:16, 14 August 2024 (UTC)
- Oh, that was reverting a sockpuppet who was adding inaccuracies into articles (especially around estimated dates of birth/death). If you're willing to take responsibility for the edits, you're welcome to make the changes again. Though since Henry Hope's son (also named Henry Hope) was born in Massachusetts, it seems like him moving to the US is correct. The WordsmithTalk to me 18:56, 14 August 2024 (UTC)
Massive disruption
[edit]Hi, can you have a look at these IP ranges? I think they belong to Anujror as they originated from the same geographical location(Pakistan) and have an obsession with manipulating the result of a page move discussion on Talk:Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty just like the last range that you blocked[13].
- 182.191.136.0/21 see
- 116.71.12.0/23 see
- 94.20.88.173 see
- 182.191.128.0/21 see
- 116.71.14.0/23 see Ratnahastin (talk) 03:39, 13 August 2024 (UTC)
- Also if possible, can you please semi protect the talk page too? Ratnahastin (talk) 03:55, 13 August 2024 (UTC)
- I've applied semiprotection to the talkpage. Those IP edits are probably Anujror or a similar sock drawer, but they seem to be one-offs. Blocking them would probably not have any effect as he's probably already moved on, and it looks like there are a bunch of legitimate users on those ranges. Protection is usually the better option in cases like this. The WordsmithTalk to me 00:43, 14 August 2024 (UTC)
The Signpost: 14 August 2024
[edit]- In the media: Portland pol profile paid for from public purse
- In focus: Twitter marks the spot
- News and notes: Another Wikimania has concluded
- Special report: Nano or just nothing: Will nano go nuclear?
- Opinion: HouseBlaster's RfA debriefing
- Traffic report: Ball games, movies, elections, but nothing really weird
- Humour: I'm proud to be a template
CaseofGoliath SPI
[edit]Hi The Wordsmith, did you review the evidence I sent to the en-paid queue regarding Elianaisaac? Link WP:Sockpuppet investigations/TheCaseOfGoliath/Archive. S0091 (talk) 17:49, 15 August 2024 (UTC)
- I don't have access to that queue, but whoever does is free to take action independently of SPI if they determine it is warranted. The WordsmithTalk to me 17:55, 15 August 2024 (UTC)
- Ok. I wasn't sure if you had access of not. Because it was an open SPI with a CU request, I think they left it up to the CU to review (got a standard response a couple weeks ago before the check) but I will double check. I will be opening up a new one for new socks I found anyway but was waiting until the weekend in case I came across others and might include Elianaisaac again depending on the response I get. Thanks for all the work you do, The Wordsmith. S0091 (talk) 18:10, 15 August 2024 (UTC)
Christine-dark
[edit]CU is positive and so is behavioral evidence.[14] Hope you can block as soon as possible. Capitals00 (talk) 02:19, 17 August 2024 (UTC)
- Unfortunately SPI is extremely backlogged at the moment. Somebody will get to it as quickly as we can, but if there's vandalism or urgent disruption then the normal venues like WP:AIV are also available and usually have a faster response time. The WordsmithTalk to me 04:12, 17 August 2024 (UTC)